USD

FX Daily: Fed cancels the free lunch

European FX markets will today be monitoring how US asset markets react to the news that the Fed will not be renewing its Bank Term Funding Program. US regional banks will be in focus here. Elsewhere, the focus will be on what should be a decent 4Q23 US GDP figure and central bank meetings in the eurozone, Norway, Turkey and South Africa.

 

USD: Let's see how the US regional banks do today

FX markets continue in their slightly risk-averse mode, where some of the investors' favourite high-yield currencies - such as the Mexican peso and the Hungarian forint - remain under some pressure.  This is despite global equity markets doing reasonably well. In short, we continue to see a very mixed investment environment and one in which conviction views can be dangerous.

Looking ahead today, there are two US themes to focus on. The first is the Federal Reserve's announcement last night that its Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) would end as scheduled

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Fed Officials Shift Focus to Inflation Amid European and British Currency Upside Momentum

Strong Bid In The USD

Ivan Delgado Ivan Delgado 14.10.2020 08:48
Daily EdgeIt was turnaround Tuesday as risk-off came back rather aggressively leading to a steady bid in the US Dollar, Japanese Yen and a surprisingly strong Canadian Dollar, decoupled from the underperformance of other commodity-related assets (AUD or Gold). The Pound also suffered from the lack of clarity on Brexit.To see an expanded version, right-click and select ‘open link in new tab‘. The indices show the performance of a currency vs a G8 FX basket. After scanning through the news, there was no specific catalyst that may have been pin pointed to spark the run to safe haven assets. The dominant themes remain the fiscal stimulus talks, with a positive outcome ahead of the US election rather illusive while the Presidential polls continue to show Biden pulling further away in the lead. The deterioration in COVID-related cases worldwide and some setback in vaccine news was attributed as a factor not helping either.When it comes to today’s hot trade of the day, I’ve made a video where I walk viewers through a potential short setup in the AUD/USD during the last European session. This was a short clearly identified via my proprietary order flow script. Traders could have been exposed to a ridiculous 15:1 risk reward assuming they let the position run as it turned out to be a monster of a trade off an hourly supply area.Hot Trade Of The DayTo see an expanded version, right-click and select ‘open link in new tab‘. In this section I pick a market or several ones that presented an opportunity to buy on weakness or sell on strength based on the higher timeframes outlook. My video analysis below will further elaborate on the logic behind the trade.   Insights – Hot Trade Of The DayIn this video analysis I dissect the information above. Ultimately, it is the traders’ call, via a set of entries thoroughly backtested, to enter and manage a position, hence the video is intended as educational in nature and not financial advice. 
GBP/USD Analysis: GBP Maintains Growth Momentum, Market Awaits US Inflation Report

Hot Trade: GBP/CHF

Ivan Delgado Ivan Delgado 21.11.2020 08:42
The Daily EdgeThe first thing that comes to mind when analysing the currency space is how focused the market has become to the immediate future. In other words, short-term economic jitters due to stricter lockdowns in many parts of the world appear to be overriding any hopes for the longer-term vaccine-fuelled positivism and Trump’s presidential departure.To see an expanded version, right-click and select ‘open link in new tab’. The indices show the performance of a currency vs a G8 forex basket. Indicators are available to use these measures via Tradingview and MT4. The underperformance of the Aussie, despite positive economic news in the form of an upbeat Australian jobs report, is a telling sign of precisely the narrative I am referring to. The market remains very cautious to commit capital into risky assets at a time when the surge in COVID-19 cases globally may see economies take another hard hit.Very narrow ranges dominateAnother observation that reflects the convoluted state of affairs in the forex market includes the narrow ranges. Even if the Aussie was the weakest on Thursday, the net gains in the rest of forex indices were so minuscule, that the extension of the AUD bear trends became largely limited when compared to normal dynamics. In fact, by matching the EUR (strongest) vs the AUD (weakest), the EUR/AUD only rose 60 pips for the day, which is way below the daily ATR.This week has been unusually quiet in the forex market. It’s a major rarity to see the overall performance of currencies being encapsulated within excruciatingly narrow ranges of -/+ 0.10% through the London session. Remember, this session in the UK is characterised by being the most volatile for currencies given the amount of customers’ volumes. As traders we must remain patient and let the market come to us. This is one of those times when patience pays off.Hot trade of the dayIn this section, I pick a market or several ones that presented an opportunity based on the concepts I teach. My video analysis below elaborates on the logic behind the trade.Global Prime offers one account type. ECN only, for all clients.Ivan Delgado
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

USD continues to weaken on hopes of further stimulus

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.12.2020 10:36
Euro Rises To The Highest Levels Since 2018The euro currency is posting strong gains, rising over one percent on the day. The gains largely on the back of a weakening US dollar.Earlier on Monday, the euro gave back the gains after testing the 1.2000 level. However, this decline saw prices retesting the trend line for support.A rebound from this trend line saw price action breaking past this previous resistance level.At the time of writing, the EURUSD currency pair is trading above the 1.2000 level.The Stochastics oscillator is however posting a lower high. This could signal a possible correction in the near term.The lower price level of 1.1900 is likely to act as support during this retracement.GBPUSD Attempts To Break The Trend LineThe British pound sterling is posting strong gains on the back of a weaker dollar. After price action consolidated above the 1.3300 level, the cable is attempting to push higher.For the moment, prices are stuck near the trend line. As long as the trend line holds as resistance, we could see the sideways consolidation to continue.However, in the event of a breakout off the trend line, then the GBPUSD will be aiming for the 1.3500 level next.For the moment, with the support level firmly established at 1.3300, the GBPUSD will be looking to make further gains to the upside.WTI Crude Oil Losing The 45.00 HandleOil prices are trading weaker on Tuesday. The declines come despite the US dollar taking a strong hit.The move to the downside comes after oil prices failed to make any big moves to the upside.As a result, WTI crude oil was consolidating around the 45.00 level for a considerable period of time.After losing this handle, oil prices are likely to push lower. The next key support is near the 43.50 level.However, we expect the pullback to see prices retracing the 45.00 handle.If resistance is firmly established here, then we could expect to see further declines down to the 43.50 level.Gold Prices Get A Boost From Weaker USDThe precious metal has been posting strong gains on the back of the US dollar. Gold prices are up nearly 2% intraday on Tuesday.The rebound also coincides with the impending correction in gold, as mentioned a day before. For the moment, we expect prices to retrace to the 1817.80 level.If this level holds, then gold prices could establish resistance. This will in turn renew the downside bias in the precious metal.The 1800 level once again comes into the picture, with the potential for gold to post further losses.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USD remains soft as US stimulus talks drag on

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.12.2020 09:09
EURUSD Pulls Back Off Recent HighsThe euro currency was trading soft on Monday with price action closing nearly flat.This comes as the euro continues to post a modest descent after briefly testing above 1.2170 last Friday.For the moment, a local swing low has formed near 1.2080. As long as this low holds, we could see price action resuming the uptrend.However, a close below this low and a potential retracement back to this level could confirm the downside.The key support area is likely to come from the dynamic support of the trend line. This is likely to coincide near the 1.2000 level in the near term.GBPUSD Drops As Brexit Trade Concerns MountThe British pound sterling was trading rocky on Monday as prices were in a steady decline since morning.This comes as the UK and the EU continue with the post-Brexit trade talks which have failed. The GBPUSD fell, as a result, briefly slipping below the 1.3300 level of support.However, price recovered off the lows before managing to close above this level once again.For the moment, it seems like the 1.3300 level will hold out as support. But if price breaches this level, then we could expect further declines.The Stochastics oscillator is currently nearing the oversold levels, which could suggest a possible retracement in the near term.WTI Crude Oil Gives Back GainsOil prices are trading weaker, down about 0.18% on the day. The declines come after oil price posted steady gains into last Friday’s close.However, price action is pulling back after testing new highs of above 46.50. The declines could see price stalling near the 45.26 level of support.As long as this support holds, we could expect the upside to resume. Oil prices will need to break past the previous highs to confirm the continuation to the upside.However, failure to post new highs could signal a move lower.A close below 45.26 could potentially expose oil prices to test the support level of 43.50 next.Gold Prices Rise 1%, Breaking Past 1850The precious metal is posting a strong recovery as price action zoomed past the 1850 handle.The gains come after gold prices managed to settle comfortably above the key price level of 1818.80.With the 1850 level giving way to further gains, gold prices could continue higher.The next key level of interest is the 1911.50. But prices could likely test this level if there is some support forming near the current levels.This could mean that gold prices might retrace back to the 1817.80 or the 1850 levels.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

USD rises slightly off the two- and half-year lows

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 09.12.2020 16:00
Euro Drops As ECB Meeting LoomsThe euro currency’s declines accelerated on Wednesday. The common currency is trading below the 1.2100 level which it held over the past few days.The declines come as the ECB will be holding its monetary policy meeting. Speculation is high that the central bank will increase its bond purchases.The current declines could stall near the dynamic support off the rising trend line. This could see a confluence of the 1.2000 level holding up for the moment.However, if the 1.2000 level breaks, then the next key support to look for will be the 1.1900 level.To the upside, price action could stall near 1.2100.GBPUSD Volatile Within A Flat RangeThe British pound sterling is giving back the gains made earlier. The volatility stems as Brexit negotiations drag on with no clear plan yet.The GBPUSD is currently settled within 1.3483 and 1.3300 levels. While the lower end of the range was briefly tested earlier this week, it has held up.The current pace of declines could see the 1.3300 support level coming under pressure once again.If the cable loses this support, then we could expect to see further declines.The next key support level is near 1.3122.Crude Oil Falls Back To 45.50 SupportOil prices continue to trade weak above the 45.50 level. Prices fell once again on Wednesday, testing the 45.50 level of support.So far, no new highs have formed. This consolidation could lead to a potential correction if support gives way.Below the 45.50, the next key support area is seen at the 43.50 level. We could expect this support level to hold in the near term.It would also mean that oil prices could continue trading flat within the newly established range below the 45.50 level.The Stochastics oscillator is also signalling a move lower. This could possibly confirm the downside bias for the moment.Gold Edges Down To 1850 SupportThe precious metal is seen retesting the support level of 1850 once again.This comes as prices barely rose close to the 1880 level before giving back the gains. The market sentiment remains mixed leading to the rather flat price action for the moment.However, the 1850 level will be critical. If gold prices lose this handle, then we could expect further declines to the 1800 level once again.This would come as gold prices will likely test the 1817.80 level to the downside.
Tokyo Core CPI Falls Short at 2.8%, Powell and Ueda Address Jackson Hole Symposium, USD/JPY Sees Modest Gains

USD rebounds on vaccine and stimulus hopes

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.12.2020 09:40
Euro Drops As ECB Meeting LoomsThe euro currency’s declines accelerated on Wednesday. The common currency is trading below the 1.2100 level which it held over the past few days.The declines come as the ECB will be holding its monetary policy meeting. Speculation is high that the central bank will increase its bond purchases.The current declines could stall near the dynamic support off the rising trend line. This could see a confluence of the 1.2000 level holding up for the moment.However, if the 1.2000 level breaks, then the next key support to look for will be the 1.1900 level.To the upside, price action could stall near 1.2100.GBPUSD Volatile Within A Flat RangeThe British pound sterling is giving back the gains made earlier. The volatility stems as Brexit negotiations drag on with no clear plan yet.The GBPUSD is currently settled within 1.3483 and 1.3300 levels. While the lower end of the range was briefly tested earlier this week, it has held up.The current pace of declines could see the 1.3300 support level coming under pressure once again.If the cable loses this support, then we could expect to see further declines.The next key support level is near 1.3122.Crude Oil Falls Back To 45.50 SupportOil prices continue to trade weak above the 45.50 level. Prices fell once again on Wednesday, testing the 45.50 level of support.So far, no new highs have formed. This consolidation could lead to a potential correction if support gives way.Below the 45.50, the next key support area is seen at the 43.50 level. We could expect this support level to hold in the near term.It would also mean that oil prices could continue trading flat within the newly established range below the 45.50 level.The Stochastics oscillator is also signalling a move lower. This could possibly confirm the downside bias for the moment.Gold Edges Down To 1850 SupportThe precious metal is seen retesting the support level of 1850 once again.This comes as prices barely rose close to the 1880 level before giving back the gains. The market sentiment remains mixed leading to the rather flat price action for the moment.However, the 1850 level will be critical. If gold prices lose this handle, then we could expect further declines to the 1800 level once again.This would come as gold prices will likely test the 1817.80 level to the downside.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

US dollar unmoved as euro brushes aside ECB stimulus

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.12.2020 09:03
Euro Firms Up After ECB MeetingThe euro currency regains its bullish momentum on the day. The gains came after the common currency posted declines for four consecutive days.This led prices to fall and test the trend line which offered dynamic support. Following this, the euro made a quick rebound and is attempting to rise higher.For the moment, price action will need to challenge the previous lows near 1.2150.If the euro can break past this level, then we expect to see new highs forming.However, if the common currency reverses near this level we expect a possible correction down to the 1.1900 level.GBPUSD To Remain Volatile Into Sunday Brexit MeetingThe GBPUSD currency pair continues to trade volatile, in reaction to the Brexit trade talks.Both the EU and the UK have until Sunday to finalize the deals. We expect the GBPUSD will therefore continue trading mixed into the weekend.For the moment, consolidation is taking place near the 1.3300 level of support.If price action closes firmly below this level, then further downside is possible. The bias remains completely mixed at this point.To the upside, GBPUSD will need to retest the 1.348 – 1-3500 level. Only a strong close above this level could confirm further gains.WTI Crude Oil Attempts To Log New HighsOil prices are trading bullish following days of consolidation near the 45.00 level.The gains are driven by news about two oilfields in Iraq under attack.For the moment, with the support level at 45.00 being establishing oil prices have room to rise.Furthermore, the next key challenge will be the psychologically important 50.00 level. However, the rise to this level is likely to be gradual.Oil prices will need to establish support near the upper levels to continue maintaining the bullish momentum.Gold Prices Continue To Remain Trading FlatThe precious metal did not react much to the news of the ECB’s stimulus expansion. As a result, gold prices remain fairly settled above the 1850 levels for the moment.As long as this support holds, we can expect price action to trade flat.To the upside, gains will be very likely capped near the 1900 -1911 levels.To the downside, if the support level gives way, then gold prices could be looking at steeper declines.Prices will likely fall back to the next key support area near 1817.80.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Stocks Close Mixed Amid Poor Jobless Data, COVID-19 Fears, and Stimulus Doubts

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.12.2020 16:27
Stocks closed mixed on Thursday (Dec. 10) after a new report showed that new jobless claims resurged to their worst level in months, while COVID-19 cases climbed to record numbers, and stimulus gridlock continues.News RecapThe Dow Jones fell 69.55 or .23%, the S&P 500 fell 0.13%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.54%.For the week ended Dec. 5th, 853,000 new jobless claims were reported. This is the worst level since September, the first increase in 4 weeks, and well above the market estimates of 725,000.A U.S. FDA advisory panel voted 17 to 4 to approve Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use. The full FDA approval could grant emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s vaccine as early as Friday.Stimulus talks continued to slog forward . While lawmakers plan to pass a one-week government funding extension through to Dec. 18, to buy more time to craft a stimulus deal before year’s end, there are still significant hurdles to cross. Democrats and Republicans apparently have found consensus in some areas such as PPP loans, but issues including state and local aid, liability protections, unemployment assistance and stimulus checks are still dividing Congress.After DoorDash (DASH) IPO’d on Tuesday, and surged, AirBnB (ABNB) followed suit and closed nearly 113% higher on Thursday.This has been the most lethal week yet for COVID-19 in the U.S. Thursday saw a record 229,000+ cases and over 3,100 deaths. The worst may not be over yet either. According to the CDC Director Robert Redfield, US COVID-19 deaths are likely to exceed the 9/11 death toll for the next 60 days.There is simply too much short-term uncertainty right now to predict what the next 1-3 months will be like. In the short-term, there will be optimistic days where investors rotate into cyclicals and value stocks, and pessimistic days where there will be a broad sell-off or rotation into “stay-at-home” names. Thursday’s session, for example, was a reflection of pessimistic sentiment, and a rotation back into tech. Other days, such as Wednesday (Dec. 9), tech may sharply sell-off and lead the declines.In the mid-term and long-term, however, there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel. Once this pandemic is finally brought under control and vaccines are mass deployed, volatility will likely stabilize, while optimism and relief will permeate the markets. The FDA advisory committee’s approval of Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency usage is certainly a step in the right direction. We could be just days away from vaccinations finally happening in America. Stocks especially dependent on a rapid recovery and reopening such as small-caps should thrive.Markets will continue to wrestle with the negative reality on the ground and optimism for a 2021 economic reopening. This is simply the lay of the land nowadays. More positive vaccine news seemingly trickles in by the day despite increasingly horrifying COVID-19 numbers, economic news, and political news.Because of how much the markets have heated the last 6-7 weeks, a correction could be a welcome sign. While short-term downside pressure could certainly persist based on days where bad news outweighs good news, due to this “tug of war” between sentiments, any subsequent move downwards would likely be modest in comparison to the gains since the bottom in March and since the U.S. election at the start of November. The vaccine is simply the “injection” that the markets need right now. It is truly hard to say with conviction that another crash or bear market will come. If anything, the mixed sentiment could keep markets trading relatively sideways.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there is short-term pessimism. A short-term correction is very possible. But it is hard to say with conviction that a big correction will happen.The premium analysis this morning will showcase a “Drivers and Divers” section that will break down some sectors that are in and out of favor. As a token of my appreciation for your patronage, I decided to give you a free sample of one “driver” and one “diver” sector. Do me a favor and let me know what you think of this segment! Always happy to hear from you. DrivingMaterials (XLB) The materials sector, as represented by the XLB ETF (shown above) , has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the vaccine rally. Vaccine news briefly sent the XLB ETF to its 2020 high in November. However, since then, the ETF has traded relatively sideways, and has slightly declined this week.Cyclical sectors such as materials are set to be the biggest winners from an economic reopening in 2021. However, ever since peaking at $72.41 a share, the ETF’s volume has plummeted and stayed low. There are not enough strong fundamentals to justify calling this sector a BUY at this time.I do like this ETF’s modest decline on Thursday (Dec. 10), and generally this week. But for me, it is not a large enough pullback for a convincing buy. I believe that the sector could pull back further or stay in a sideways pattern for the rest of the month. For the materials ETF to come back, exceed its 52-week high, and pierce that $72 resistance level, a stimulus package MUST pass ASAP, and a COVID-19 vaccine must be efficiently rolled out and scalable. If this happens and a near-term economic slowdown can be somewhat averted, then materials could benefit. But for now, my view is muddled.For the time being, there is too much uncertainty to make a conviction call. Therefore, this is a HOLD for the short-term. However, I am considerably more bullish on materials in the long-term. DivingUS Dollar ($USD)Although the U.S. Dollar somewhat recovered earlier in the week and pierced the 91 level, it plunge again on Thursday. I have been calling this dollar weakness for weeks despite the low level and expect the decline to continue.The world’s reserve currency is still hovering around its 2-year low and has plunged in excess of 12% since March. After briefly rising above an oversold RSI of 30, it has also returned right back towards that level. The dollar is also significantly trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while emerging market indices and currencies continue to grossly outperform this perceived safe asset.Further illustrating the dollar’s decline has been its performance relative to emerging markets. Just compare the performance of the iShares MSCI Emerging Market ETF (EEM) relative to the Invesco DB USD IDX Bullish ETF (UUP) since January. The difference continues to widen too.Many believe that the dollar could fall further as well due to a multitude of headwinds.If the world returns to relative normalcy within the next year, investors may be more “risk-on” and less “risk-off.” Which means that the dollar’s value will decline further.Additionally, because of all of the economic stimulus combined with record low-interest rates, the dollar’s value has declined and could have more room to fall. Do not forget that the Fed plans on holding interest rates this low for at least another two years. For the dollar’s value, rates remaining this low for two years is an eternity.As the world’s reserve currency, this plunge in value is concerning both in the short-term and mid-term for the US economy. A declining dollar means the strengthening of other foreign currencies- and this has already been happening. For example, the Australian dollar has now officially hit its highest level in 2 ½ years against the U.S. dollar . This may not be the end either.While the dollar may have more room to fall, this MAY be a good opportunity to buy the world’s reserve currency at a discount. The RSI at nearly 30 reflects this. But I just have too many doubts on the effect of interest rates this low, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation to be remotely bullish on the dollar’s prospects over the next 1-3 years.For now, where possible, HEDGE OR SELL USD exposure.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

What Markets To Focus On This Monday?

Ivan Delgado Ivan Delgado 14.12.2020 02:22
The Daily EdgeThe Sterling has been given a major boost in the open of the Asian session as the UK and the EU agreed to extend post-Brexit trade talks beyond Sunday following a call between leaders earlier on Sunday. In a joint statement, Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "responsible at this point to go the extra mile".To see an expanded version, right-click and select ‘open link in new tab’. The indices show the performance of a currency vs a G8 forex basket. Indicators are available to use these measures via Tradingview and MT4. Amid the absence of fundamental catalysts elsewhere, the Pound continues to dominate the headlines. The volatility around the currency is not for the faint-hearted as liquidity in the market quickly dries up each and every time that a Brexit-related headlines alters the market perception towards a deal or not deal in the trade talks. Not the safest conditions for market makers.By going through my scan of the key movers in the currency space, aside from the perky Pound, the commodity-linked currencies have been the best movers as of late. The Euro, the Swissy and the USD are off to a rocky start this week, especially the latter, extending its multi-month downtrend whose origin dates back to the COVID-19 led spike from March this year. Quite a trend!Aside from the Brexit talks going down to the wire, the events to pencil in the calendar for traders this week include. The European and US PMIs, alongside US retail sales, all on Wednesday. The very same day, in the American afternoon, the biggest event in the form of the FOMC takes place. Early Thursday in Asia, volatility is expected to be rich as well with the release of the New Zealand GDP data, followed soon after by the Australian jobs report. Later on Thursday, in European hours, the BoE and the SNB will meet. Lastly, on Friday, the BoJ must be accounted for.Analysis of the Forex trendsIn my video analysis below I use concepts such as momentum, market structures or order flow to come up with the daily outlook in the currency market.https://youtu.be/nNVGXm7rFTc20 Commodities available to trade at Global Prime.Ivan Delgado
Bitcoin riches through a routine

Bitcoin riches through a routine

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 09.12.2020 19:24
For some, the hair stands up when they hear the word “routine”. For market participants, it is one of the best ways to stop losing money. How often have you violated your best intentions? “I will never run a stop again”. “I will be patiently waiting for my target and not exit too early”. “Why did I not wait for my entry signal and not…”. The list is long and still, you feel like Sisyphus despite best intentions violating your own rules over and over and over again. Why? Bitcoin riches through a routine. The reason being that under stress is that we resort to our unconscious mind where we run programmed patterns. The subconscious being stronger than our motivations will always win. The only chance one has is to reprogram these patterns and that is best done by a daily routine that repeats as often as it takes to overpower the old subconscious unuseful programming. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Holding on to long positions: BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of December 7th, 2020 Looking at the weekly chart, anybody exited their trades early, must with agony look back asking “why didn’t I just ride the trend”. This agony will continue if a better routine isn’t implemented. We developed a quad exit strategy that supports better exit management from a psychological perspective. With prices quintupling since March this year, we currently do not see low-risk entry points. We also do not find ourselves forced just yet to take further partial profits with Bitcoin showing continuous strength even at these levels. BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, One last time: BTC-USDT, daily chart as of December 7th, 2020 If you give the second weekly chart a look, in last week’s Bitcoin chartbook publication you will see that we forecasted a bounce at US$18,089. This prognostic manifested as the above daily chart shows in detail and we were able to post this trade in our free telegram channel. The already partial profits taken ensuring risk elimination and as such a free your mind to enjoy unencumbered position management for the remaining position. This is also a fruit of routine. A weekly routine, that we share through our weekly publications. The daily chart shows that prices push into the distribution zone from the highs in 2017 (red horizontal box). A volume analysis for prices of the last two weeks shows support at US$19,045. The signs of strength for prices not immediately bouncing with this strong overhead shows a strength that makes us hold on to our entire long exposure. This allows for further profits should prices break to new all-time highs without the need to open a new high-risk breakout trade. BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, It is worth it: BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of December 7th, 2020 It doesn’t stop there. Just like the lack of a business plan is a near grantee of failure to a business, long term routines in trading are essential. Only with a clear vision from a top-down approach in time frame addressed routinely, warrants for a successful outcome. If you have a brief look at our chart book from October 6th 2020, you will find detailed target anticipation from a timing perspective which came to fruition with astounding accuracy. At Midas Touch, we pride ourselves to go the extra mile to not procrastinate in all time aspects of disciplined planning. That being said, the above chart is an extension in the forecast, this time from a price prediction perspective. We employ partial profit-taking based on our quad exit strategy. Bitcoin riches through a routine One can’t expect to overwrite a useful strong subconscious pattern like fight-flight which urges us strongly to take early profits. For that, a solution like our quad exit strategy is more useful. For any self-inflicted limiting belief though, a daily routine can be the cure for a long painful past in the markets where well-intended motivations were not effective to stop money-losing behavior in the markets.  Diligent practice and repetitive rehearsal as professional athletes do, does the trick. The importance is to accept this being a bit more work than just making up your mind and promise to not do the unwanted behavior ever again but rather rehearsing the newly wanted behavior for an extended period in your daily routine. We post real time entries and exits for many cryptocurrencies in our free Telegram channel. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. By Korbinian Koller|December 8th, 2020|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

How Will Gold Perform This Winter?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.12.2020 15:14
  Brace yourselves, winter is coming! It may be a harsh period for the United States, but much better for gold. Some of you may have seen snow this year already, but the astronomical winter is still ahead of us. Unfortunately, it could be a really dark winter. Instead of joyful snowball battles and making snowmen, we will have to contend with the coronavirus . The vaccines will definitely help (the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine were administered this week), but their widespread distribution will begin only next year. So, we still have to deal with the pandemic taking its toll here and now – as the chart below shows, the number of daily COVID-19 cases is still above 200,000 in the U.S. The increasing cases are one thing, but the soaring numbers of COVID-19-related hospitalizations is another, even more terrifying, issue. As one can see in the chart below, the number of patients in U.S. hospitals has reached a record of 100,000, due to a surge in the aftermath of Thanksgiving. Importantly, the situation may get even worse , as people spend more time indoors in winter, and large family gatherings during Christmas and Hanukkah are still ahead us… I know that you are fed up with the date about the epidemic . And I don’t write about the pandemic because I’ve become an epidemiologist or want to scary you; for that all you need to do is read the press headlines or watch TV for a while. I cover the pandemic because it still impacts the global economy, and in particular, it explains why the U.S. economic growth is slowing down. You see, in the summer and autumn of 2020, America’s economy roared back. But that might be a song of the past. As I wrote in Tuesday’s (Dec 8) edition of the Fundamental Gold Report , November’s employment situation report was disappointingly weak, and the high frequency data also point to a slowdown. For example, the number of diners and restaurants, as well as hotel and airline bookings, have declined in recent weeks. So, the increased spread of the coronavirus slows the economy down. A growing share of Americans, even those who were previously skeptical about the epidemiological dangers, worry about catching the virus, thereby reducing their social activity. However, there are also other factors behind the most recent economic slowdown. First, the previous recovery was caused by a low base and the end of the Great Lockdown . The deep economic crisis seen in the spring, with accompanying coronavirus restrictions, will not happen again. Therefore, the initial recovery was fast, but the pace of economic growth had to slow down. Second, the easy fiscal policy helped to increase the GDP , but Congress has so far failed to agree on another stimulus package.   Implications for Gold What does it all mean for the yellow metal? Well, the economy could rise again when the vaccines become widely available. However, we will face a harsh winter first. It means that the coming weeks might be positive for gold – especially considering that in recent years, the shiny metal rallied in January (or sometimes even in the second half of December). But what’s next for gold prices? Will they plunge in 2021 after the rollout of the vaccines? Well, the vaccines are in a sense, a real game changer for the world next year. As they revived the risk appetite, they hit the safe-haven demand for gold. So, yes, there is a downward risk, although it could already be priced in. However, the vaccines are a game changer only in a sense . You see, the vaccines might protect us from the virus, but they will not solve all our economic problems , therefore, caution is still required. On Monday (Dec 7), the Bank of International Settlements warned the public that “we are moving from the liquidity to the solvency phase of the crisis”. Actually, the post-winter, post-pandemic environment might be beneficial for gold. You see, gold is a portfolio-diversifier which serves as a safe haven asset during a period of turmoil, but it performs the best during the very early phase of an economic recovery – especially as the central banks will continue the policy of zero interest rates . Thus, the new stimulus package, low real interest rates , worries about the U.S. dollar strength and debt sustainability, and fears of inflation , which will accompany the economic revival in 2021, should support gold prices. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

PMs: Looking for Key Triggers

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.12.2020 15:15
  The question on everyone’s mind is: when is it a good time to buy some gold or silver after they bottom? The answer to that question is simple: when key triggers are met. Count-trend rallies in gold or silver don’t mean that they have enough energy and momentum to keep climbing. Miners also don’t have enough strength to lead the way in a fresh climb upwards for the PMs, so everything we see now only speaks of corrective action. Gold moved higher yesterday (Dec 8), while silver and mining stocks went in the opposite direction. It seems that the latter moved in tune with the trend, while the move in the former was rather accidental. Why? Because gold already invalidated yesterday’s daily rally at the moment of writing these words (in the overnight trading). Yes, the closing prices matter the most, but if gold was really after an important breakout, it wouldn’t have wiped out the previous day’s entire rally just several hours after the closing bell. I previously wrote that it had been quite possible for gold to rally up to its September lows, and the low in gold futures in terms of the closing prices was $1,866.30. Monday’s closing price for gold futures had been exactly $1,866, and yesterday, gold closed at $1874.90. At the moment of writing these words, it’s trading at $1,864.60. So, did anything particularly bullish happen on the gold market yesterday? Not really. But can gold move even higher from here? As discouraging (or encouraging, depending on one’s perspective) as this answer may be, it’s a “yes”. The US Dollar Index is currently trading at about 90.8, and its downside target is at about 90, so there is room for another short-term slide. Such a slide would be likely to trigger a rally in the yellow metal. How high could the rally go during this final part of the counter-trend corrective upswing? Perhaps to the mid-November high of about $1,900. Even though gold might theoretically rally all the way up to the early-November high, I don’t see this as being likely. Meanwhile, silver formed a tiny reversal yesterday and it’s moving lower today. Silver reversed after touching the declining resistance line, which is also the upper border of the triangle pattern. Did we just see a top in silver? That’s quite likely, but not certain. I wouldn’t be surprised if silver took one final attempt to break higher and rally and topped close to the early November high. After all, silver is known for its fake breakouts . Moreover, please note that silver has a triangle-vertex-based reversal point in the final part of the month, which could imply that this is where silver forms a final, or temporary bottom. This could have implications also for the rest of the precious metals sector, as its parts tend to move together in the short and medium term. Given the bearish post-Thanksgiving seasonality in the case of PMs and the tendency for them to form local bottoms in the middle or second half of December, it seems likely that the above is likely to be some kind of bottom.   Mining stocks moved 0.41% lower yesterday, despite a higher close in gold futures and the GLD ETF . The general stock market moved slightly higher yesterday, so it wasn’t the reason behind miners’ weakness. This lack of strength confirms the points that I made yesterday and further validates the bearish picture: What we see in the PMs is just a correction, not the start of a new, powerful upleg. If it was, miners would have been leading the way higher. We currently see the opposite. Over a week ago, I wrote that miners could move to the previous lows and by moving to them, they could verify them as resistance . The previous – October – low is at $36.01 in intraday terms and at $36.52 in terms of the daily closing prices. Yesterday, miners closed at $36.50. So, while gold closed at its September low (in terms of the daily closing prices), gold miners closed at their October low. If the USD Index declines one more time before bottoming, and gold rallies, miners could also move temporarily higher. How high could they move? I think that the mid-November high of about $38 (intraday high: $38.35, daily close: $38.01) would provide the kind of strong resistance that miners might not be able to breach. Still, this upside is based on two big IFs. The first “if” is if the USD Index declines to 90 or slightly lower – it’s extremely oversold, and the CoT reports confirm it. The second “if” is if the precious metals sector really reacts to USD’s decline with a visible rally. In the past few weeks, gold shrugged off quite a few USDX declines. And miners shrugged off even more positive news. Consequently, it seems that trying to take a profit from the possible, but not very likely, immediate-term upswing is not the best idea from the risk to reward point of view. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the following is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the downside target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USD flat amid new talks of stimulus bill

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 16.12.2020 09:16
EURUSD Likely To Challenge Previous HighsThe euro currency is once again back on the front foot as price action inches closer to test the previously established two and a half year high at 1.2176.The gains come as the common currency eased back from its declines earlier this week. Currently, the upside momentum is held by the support from the trend line.However, it will now be critical for the euro to break past the previous barrier. Failure to break out from this two and half year high could result in a possible reversal in price action.This would in turn once again shift focus to the downside.The key support level is near 1.1900. Therefore, in the event that the EURUSD fails to break out any higher, we could probably expect a near term correction in price action.GBPUSD Continues To Trade Flat, Above 1.3300The British pound sterling continues to trade flat albeit, price action is firmly supported above the 1.3300 level.Following the gap higher at the start of the week, the GBPUSD has been pushing lower. For the moment, there remains an unfilled gap from Monday’s open.To the upside, price action is trading well below the key upper range of 1.3483. The weakness in the US dollar is currently helping the British pound to push higher.However, it is unlikely to see any major gains coming in the near term.We expect the sideways range to be held until there is some kind of a resolution to the ongoing Brexit talks between the EU and the UK.WTI Crude Oil Advances To A Nine-Month HighOil prices are trading bullish once again following the previous few sessions where price action was rather subdued.As the bullish momentum slowly grips, oil prices are seen advancing to the previously formed nine-month high.A continuation to the upside could possibly see prices testing a new ten-month high shortly. This would mean that prices would near the 48.00 level for the moment.It would also put oil prices just $2 away from the psychological barrier of $50. The current gains to the upside are supported both by the technicals and the fundamentals in the markets.The key support level at 45.00 remains the downside for the moment.However, it is unlikely that we would see a sharp correction coming anytime soon.Gold Prices Back Near 1850 Technical ResistanceThe precious metal is trading over 1% on Tuesday.The gains come amid fresh talks in the US Congress about a new proposed coronavirus stimulus bill. If this bill is passed, this would put an end to the weeks of speculation in the markets.Gold prices have been trading rather flat after rising above the key support level of 1818.80 in early December this year.For the moment, the technical resistance level of 1850 is being tested once again.However, the stochastics oscillator on the four-hour chart is likely to print lower.This could mean that gold prices could once again retreat back and settle within the range of 1850 and 1818.80.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

USD subdued on US Stimulus and Brexit deal outcome

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 14.12.2020 08:00
EURUSD Fails To Post New Highs The euro currency’s rebound after the ECB meeting saw prices rising only to highs near 1.2150. Following this, price action retreated, edging closer back to the rising trend line. We expect the trend line support to once again come into the picture. As long as this support holds, the EURUSD might be looking to aim higher. In the event that the common currency loses the trend line support, then we expect price action to fall toward the 1.2050 level, marking the December 9 lows. To the upside, the EURUSD will have to break out above the previous highs of 1.2178 to continue the uptrend. GBPUSD Loses The 1.3300 Support The British pound sterling slipped below the support level of 1.3300 on Friday. This comes as Brexit talks come to a head. For the moment, the lower support near 1.3122 remains the key price point. As long as this support level holds, there is scope for the GBPUSD to push higher. However, prices will need to break out strongly above the 1.3300 level to continue the uptrend. This will then open the GBPUSD to the upper resistance level of 1.3483. To the downside, a close below 1.3122 could open the way for the cable to retest the 1.3000 round number support once again. Oil Prices Pull Back From A Nine-Month High WTI Crude oil prices rose sharply on Thursday to rise close to the 48.00 level. However, prices pulled back into Friday’s close. This comes as the 45.00 level is firmly establishing as support. Thus, a pullback could see this support level being tested once again. The Stochastics oscillator on the 4-hour chart remains mixed. There is enough room for prices to breakout higher. Above the 48.00 level, oil prices will be contending with a retest of the 50.00 level. To the downside, below the 45.00 support area, a correction could bring the commodity down to test the 44.00 handle next. Gold Settles Within The 1850 And 1825 Range The precious metal continues to trade flat for the second consecutive session. As a result, price action is trading within a tight band of the 1850 and the 1825 levels in the near term. The Stochastics oscillator remains biased to the downside. This could mean that if gold prices lose the 1817.80 level of support, then we expect the downside to continue. The next key level of support will be near the 1750 level. It would also mean that gold prices will be moving lower beyond the 30th November lows of 1764.22. To the upside, price action will need to firmly close above 1850 and continue to the 1900 level to establish the uptrend.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Bitcoin – mastering the turning point

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 16.12.2020 12:04
What we mean with the very first is that only for the reversal pattern of a “V” formation one wants to be the very first one to enter into a trade. This is the rarest occurrence of a turning point and for any other tuning points i.e.: double/triple bottoms, ranges, diamonds, rounding bottoms, divergences to name a few you’re always too early and as such not just a sitting duck for possible stops to be triggered but have additional risk due to capital exposed over time.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, No need to be first:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of December 15th, 2020In the daily chart, we can see our principle in action. Shorting the market on a triple top into the distribution resistance zone (red box) would make you a sitting duck. A closer look shows prices already trading above POC (point of control) of a volume analysis, indicating strength. This is confirmed by a strong trend overall (yellow trend line) and strong price behavior (daily price closes are indicating strength). You do not want to be always first just based on a price level. It requires more in-depth analysis and stacking of odds to enter or exit positions. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Overbought:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of December 15th, 2020A view from a linear regression perspective (directional lines red, turquoise, green) shows how extended prices are in the weekly time frame. It puts Bitcoin into a sell zone. Bitcoin is trading in stretched standard deviation levels and could easily snap back to its mean (thin red line). Taking partial profits if exposed from lower levels provides insurance for a possible retracement. Our quad exit strategy provides a guideline on taking profits like this.Nevertheless, recent weeks still point towards price behavior that indicates strength like last week’s candlestick hammer formation.BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, And the winner is:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of December 15th, 2020As always the bigger picture is what matters most. Looking back, Bitcoin has accomplished what most doubted. Its biggest opponents have joined the club and invested now themselves. This left us trading at 2017 highs and congesting there. Clearly representing strength. The monthly chart above shows that with the past “W” formation alone a presence of probabilities is set that makes even the worst scenario (a retracement to 14k) attractive (white dotted line). The highest likelihood is a breakout through all-time highs. This, in turn, allows for a continuation move to higher price levels (turquoise dotted line).Bitcoin - mastering the turning pointFrom the three most dominant aspects of trading (price, volume, and time), time seems to be the most overlooked in the trading approach. Traders are in principle too early in and out of trades. It is essential to at least add an edge like a volume analysis or otherwise high probability strategy if one trades form a price level perspective. Especially to not be caught by professionals who are aware of amateurs trading a support resistance approach only. At Midas Touch, we employ a complex stacking of odds to cut through a turning point in an effective way extracting low-risk entry points at the appropriate time. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Stock Pick Update: Dec. 16 – Dec. 22, 2020

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2020 14:19
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Energy stocks and one Financials stock again. In the last five trading days (December 9 – December 15) the broad stock market has been trading within a short-term consolidation following its recent record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index has reached new record high of 3,712.39 a week ago on Wednesday. Then it retraced some of the advance before going back up on Monday-Tuesday this week.The S&P 500 index has lost 0.31% between December 9 open and December 15 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have gained 1.32%. Stock picks were relatively much stronger than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have gained 0.91% and short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 1.73%. So short stock picks’ performance outpaced the benchmark return on the downside.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 9 open – December 15 close % change): XOM (+0.77%), EOG (+0.62%), PGR (+4.73%), BK (+0.51%), MMM (-2.10%)Short Picks (December 9 open – December 15 close % change): LNT (-0.81%), CNP (-1.64%), ABBV (-4.28%), DHR (-0.16%), APTV (-1.75%)Average long result: +0.91%, average short result: +1.73%Total profit (average): +1.32%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 16 – Tuesday, December 22 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 16) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (December 22).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Energy, 2 x Financials, 1 x Communication Servicessells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Real Estate, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesXOM Exxon Mobil Corp. - EnergyStock broke above its short-term downward trend line, uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $40 and resistance level is at $44-47 (short-term target profit level)COP ConocoPhillips – EnergyPossible short-term bull flag pattern, uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $42 and resistance level is at $45-50WFC Wells Fargo & Co. – FinancialsPossible short-term bull flag pattern – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $29.50 and resistance level is at $30.00Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Energy and Financials sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Deceptive Rally? Measuring Silver’s Relative Strength

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2020 17:43
It’s tempting to ride the silver rollercoaster. After-all, gold’s volatile little brother is just that – volatile. Its wilder price swings make some of the investment public believe they can profit from it more quickly. However, it’s important to remember and take note of the fact that silver (or gold and miners for that matter) should not be judged on its own when making a purchasing decision. It’s a bit more complicated and other factors come into play, such as relative strength.One must track the precious metals’ performance against equities or the USD Index. Asking questions is prudent; how is silver doing compared to gold, and why? The USDX is moving lower but the PMs are not rallying? Hmmm, is there enough strength for them to break out? Silver or gold don’t exist in a vacuum. Instead, their performance has to be judged relative to other factors.The white metal closed yesterday’s (Dec. 15) session right at its declining resistance line. It moved sharply higher today, soaring above both: its declining resistance line and its December high.This is exactly what silver tends to do right before significant declines – it’s exceptionally strong – more than gold and mining stocks. Why would this be the case? Because silver is a relatively thin market, where many institutional investors can’t go as there’s not enough silver for them. The “big players” generally go for gold, and silver is favored by the investment public. The silver manipulation theories are making the demand among the investment public even stronger, and the investment public (as a general group, not any individual person) tends to enter the market close to the tops.The above-mentioned factors – along with the relatively small size of the silver market – make the white metal perform very well (too well) near the local tops. Of course, this doesn’t work each and every time, just like any other trading technique, and one should also look for additional confirmations before making a trade (like weak miners , which tend to react differently than silver).It does imply, however, that it’s best not to take silver’s strength at its face value, and definitely not to view it as bullish unless it’s confirmed by the rest of the precious metals sector. Today’s breakout in silver and lack thereof in gold is not a bullish development, but a bearish one.Moving on to the performance of the mining stocks, let’s take a look at the chart below.The GDX ETF – proxy for precious metals mining stocks – moved higher yesterday, more than nullifying the previous day’s decline. But, overall, was it really strong? Absolutely not. In today’s trading on the London Stock Exchange, the GDX is up only a bit above Tuesday’s intraday highs, and it corrected only a bit more than a half of the December decline.Simply put:Gold is relatively weak compared to what’s happening in the USD IndexSilver is relatively strong to gold and breaking above the previous resistance levels without confirmations from neither gold, nor mining stocksGold and silver mining stocks are weak compared to what’s happening in goldThe above is a perfectly bearish combination on the relative strength front. Combining this with USDX’s proximity to its target area makes the overall implications for the precious metals market very bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the following is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the downside target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks.If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
METALS/MINERS SHIFTING GEARS – ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT? - PART I

METALS/MINERS SHIFTING GEARS – ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT? - PART I

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 17.12.2020 20:34
The recent bottom in Metals/Miners has everyone excited to see what this next upside price leg is capable of achieving.  The extended Pennant/Flag formation that setup a peak in August 2020 has nearly reached the Apex.  The upside move in Gold and Silver, as well as Junior Miner ETFs, over the past few weeks suggests a new upside price trend is setting up.  The concept that commodities and metals are very new to historically low price levels sets up expectations that a longer-term price advance could send Gold above $3750 and send Silver above $50 as expectations adjust to the new price cycles.WHERE ARE WE IN THE COMMODITY/METALS CYCLE?Some of my team’s recent research has highlighted our belief that we are just starting a Depreciation cycle for the US/Global stock market which aligns with the historic lows for Commodities/Metals. Take a look at our analysis of the Gold and the US$ cycle, Gold and the SPY and QQQ, and our price targets for Gold using our proprietary ADL tool for some additional background.Using our proprietary price modeling and Adaptive Learning technology, we’ve identified a broad market cycle that lasts between 9 to 9.5 years (on average) and we believe a US stock market appreciation phase ended in 2018~2019.  We feel the current rally in the US stock market is an “excess phase” (blow off top) rally that may extend well into early 2021 before suddenly shaking out the hype.  This same type of enthusiasm is taking place across the globe and in various classes of assets (Cryptos, various market sectors, Metals and Essential Minerals, and others).  The US Fed, and global central banks, are fueling the rally with easy monetary policies – attempting to keep the party going.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next research report!We suggest traders watch how hedging instruments react to this excess phase over the next 12 to 24 months.  When precious metals, miners and Cryptos (which have now become a new hedging instrument) begin to rally when the US stock market is flat or devaluing – then we may be very close to the end of the excess phase.BLOOMBERG COMMODITIES INDEX BOTTOMThese long-term Bloomberg Commodities Index and Silver to M2Money Supply charts highlight the extended downtrend in commodities over the past 12 years.  Interestingly, this decline in the Commodities Index,hart below, aligns with our longer term Appreciation phase in the US stock market from 2009 to 2018~19. Source : www.Bloomberg.comThe deep lows of the COVID-19 market collapse may have setup a major bottom in the Commodities Index going forward.  If our research is correct, commodities should start a major upward price trend which lasts for 5 to 7 more years.  We have highlighted a mean price range (in RED) from the 2009 to 2013 area suggesting commodity prices could recover to this level fairly quickly in a new Appreciation phase.BLOOMBERG SILVER TO MONEY SUPPLY RATIOThe following Silver to Money Supply Ratio chart highlights how inexpensive Silver is in comparison to historical values.  Even though Silver is trading near $26 per ounce right now, historical mean levels in Appreciation phases suggest Silver could rally 200% to 300% (or more) from these lows.  We’ve highlighted an area in RED on this chart showing a moderate mean average of the last Appreciation phase (2004 through 2011).  www.Bloomberg.comIn the second part of this research article, we’ll go over the setups in various Gold and Silver miner charts that may represent an incredible opportunity for traders.  If you understand the scope and consequences of these broad market cycles, the Appreciation/Deprecation cycles, and what this means for commodities, metals, miners and other assets, then you will quickly understand we are in the midst of a shift in these cycles.  We must prepare for what is next so we can adapt our trading style to profit from these new big trends.Take a minute or two to read the other research articles I’ve linked to at the start of this article.  It is important that you understand the longer-term cycles that are unfolding and how these cycles present very real opportunities for traders.  Then visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn about our Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy where we identify the best ETFs and other assets in any market trend.  BAN allows us to quickly identify when and how to invest our capital in top performing asset classes. Trading the hottest sectoral ETFs helps us beat market returns without having to scan and pick from thousands of stocks.Happy Trading!
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

METALS/MINERS SHIFTING GEARS – ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT? - PART II

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 18.12.2020 14:16
In the first part of our research, we highlighted our broad market super-cycle trend analysis.  This analysis suggests the global markets are shifting away from a stock market appreciation phase into a depreciation phase.  This shift will likely prompt a new commodities sector appreciation phase to begin fairly quickly.If you remember how Gold started to move higher in 2003~04 after reaching low price levels in 2001?  My research team and I believe a 9 to 9.5 year appreciation/depreciation cycle takes place in stocks and commodities, and the relationship between the two is inverted.  For example, the bottom in Gold which took place in 2001 also aligned with the end of a US stock market appreciation cycle that started in 1992.  The rally in Gold after 2001 was directly inverted to the new depreciation cycle in the US stock market at that time.  Let's review these past long-term Appreciation/Depreciation cycles:Long-Term Appreciation/Depreciation Cycle PhasesCycle Year StartStock MarketUS DollarPrecious Metals1983DepreciationDepreciationAppreciation1992AppreciationAppreciationDepreciation2001DepreciationDepreciationAppreciation2010AppreciationAppreciationDepreciation2019DepreciationDepreciationAppreciation2027 (proposed)AppreciationAppreciationDepreciationIf our research is correct, the current Depreciation phase has just started and we are experiencing an “excess phase” (blow-off) top formation in the US and Global stock markets.  This longer-term cycle phase chart (below) helps to illustrate how these cycles work.  Even though some of you may be able to find areas on this chart where the US Stock market did not decline within a depreciation phase, watch how the US Dollar and Gold reacted throughout these phases as well.  It is critical to understand that each of these assets can, and often do, engage in counter-trend phases (at times) when shifts in phase dynamics are more evident.  For example, the peak in the US stock market in 2000 was an example of how the US stock market reacted to a pending phase shift before Gold and the US Dollar began to react efficiently to this phase shift.Notice how we've also drawn the current and next phase of the markets highlighting target ranges out to 2036 and beyond. We suggest taking a minute to read some of our earlier research posts related to these cycle phases so you can better understand how to prepare for the big trends.Junior Gold Miners Should Rally In Legs – Targeting $95 or higherOur research team believes the end of the current stock market excess phase will happen sometime in early-to-mid 2021.  The end of this phase will usher in a new phase of capital deployment where investors seek out undervalued assets and hedge risk in the global markets.  Just like what happened after the bottom of the global markets after the 2009-10 credit market crash, it took nearly 2+ years for the markets (including precious metals) to come to the realization that a new stock market appreciation phase had setup.  This took place from 2012 to 2013.  After that shift in thinking took place, investors moved capital into the US stock market and away from hedge assets which resulted in a very strong upward price trend reaching the peak levels we see today.Our researchers believe the appreciation phase ended in 2019 and we are currently experiencing the same type of “excess phase” (blow-off top) that took place in precious metals in 2012~2013.  The end phase rotation of assets chasing a potentially weakening trend in the global stock market.  When and IF this excess phase ends, commodities and precious metals should really begin to skyrocket higher. Junior miners, seen in this GDXJ chart below, should begin to move higher in advancing legs.  We've drawn these legs on the chart (below) as arrows – showing you how price may advance in the future.  Each advancing leg will “reset” after a brief pause/pullback, then another advancing leg will begin.  Remember, this is a longer-term appreciation phase in commodities and metals that should last through 2026~2027 (or longer).Junior Silver Miners Should Also Rally In LegsJunior Silver Miners, SILJ, should begin to advance to levels near $21, then stall for a few days/weeks, then attempt to advance to levels above $28~$30 if our research is correct.  This advance in the Junior Silver miners will not likely peak near $30 though. This rally in metals, miners, and other commodities may last well beyond 2026~27 based on our research.  This type of trend could really turn into a life-changing appreciation/depreciation phase for traders.It is important that you understand the longer-term cycles that are unfolding and how these cycles present very real opportunities for traders and investors alike.  We deliver these free research articles to highlight our skills and technology solutions which help you stay ahead of market trends.  Our long-term cycle analysis can help long-term investors stay ahead of the pack, and give traders an edge by identifyingthe Best Assets Now to hold and trade. Visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn how we can help you protect and grow your investment and trading accounts.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Biden Trigger Inflation for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.12.2020 17:40
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to increase further government spending. For this and also other reasons, there is a risk that inflation under Biden’s presidency could be higher than under Trump’s. That would be great news for gold.Let’s face it, Biden won’t have an easy presidency. And I’m not referring to the fact that he will be sworn in as the oldest president in U.S. history or that he will have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the process of vaccine distribution across the country. I’m referring to Biden inheriting an economy with slow growth and too much public debt . Given the debt burden, it should be clear that under Biden’s presidency, real interest rates will remain at ultra-low levels. This is how a debt trap works – the more the debt grows, the less the economy (Treasury) can afford higher interest rates .Moreover, Biden will have to face the risk of inflation . Actually, some analysts say that the new POTUS could contribute to the rise of prices. Is it true? Will we finally see an acceleration in the inflation rate?So far, consumer inflation has been subdued. As the chart below shows, the CPI overall annual rate has declined from 2.3 percent before the epidemic to 1.2 percent in October.For some people, this is all really surprising given all the money pumped by the Fed into the economy. However, the disinflation is perfectly in line with our predictions from the May edition of the Gold Market Overview : “In the short run, we expect disinflation , but we think that the risk of inflation later in the future is higher than a decade ago.”Indeed, in the short-run, the negative demand shock outweighed other factors, and people simply increased their demand for money because of the enormous uncertainty and limited opportunities to spend money in the offline economy.But didn’t the Fed significantly increase the money supply ? It did, but the central banks create only a monetary base , while the majority (more than 90 percent) of the broad money supply is created by the commercial banks. So, for inflationary trends, what really matters is not the Fed’s balance sheet , but rather the commercial banks’ credit expansion, since whenever the banks grant loans, they also create deposits, i.e., money supply.Hey, wait a moment, but didn’t the pace of expansion of the banks’ credit and broad money supply also rise? They did! Just look at the chart below. And this is the reason why I believe that the risk of inflation in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis is higher than after the Great Recession , when banks were strongly hit and didn’t want to expand credit.Now the situation is different. However, banks expanded loans not to the consumers but to the entrepreneurs, probably because they needed credit to stay afloat during the Great Lockdown . So, the acceleration in the bank credit could be temporary – indeed, the pace of its expansion has been slowing down recently. But when the pandemic is over, consumers may again tap credit cards and real estate loans.Indeed, this is an important upward risk for inflation . Some economists point out here the pent-up demand, i.e., the strong increase in demand for a service or product, usually following a period of subdued spending. The idea is that consumers tend to hold off their demand during a recession, only to unleash it during recovery. It makes sense; during a crisis, the uncertainty rises, so people try to cut expenses and accumulate cash. When confidence returns to the marketplace, people spend money more freely.The same could happen during the current pandemic – not only did uncertainty rise, but people also had to practice social distancing and obey sanitary restrictions, which forced them to reduce their expenditures. Hence, when the pandemic is over, the demand for cash may fall, while spending could increase, thereby accelerating inflation . Of course, some demand will simply stay unrealized forever (it would be impossible to make up for all these missed opportunities to drink beers with friends), but when the storm is over and vaccines boost people’s confidence, they will spend a substantial part of their extra savings accumulated during the pandemic.Just take a look the chart below – as you can see, the U.S. personal savings rate has increased from about 8 percent before the epidemic to almost 34 percent in April. Now it is staying above 14 percent, so there is still potential to increase consumer spending in the future.In other words, people and businesses have not yet used all the stimulus they got from the Fed or the government. Because of this uncertainty, they spent as little as they could, and saved as much they could. Why this is so important? Because when people decide to spend their mountain of money, inflation could accelerate, boosting the demand for gold as an inflation hedge .Hence, when the pandemic storm is over, the demand for money should decrease, or the velocity of money should increase. Actually, this is what we have observed in the third quarter of this year – the velocity of M2 money supply has rebounded somewhat , as the chart below shows. So, although the second wave of COVID-19 infections would hamper this process, it’s possible that in 2021 we will see a rise in inflation. Higher inflation also means lower real interest rates, which is another piece of good news for the yellow metal.Last but not least, Biden is a supporter of major economic relief, including a second round of stimulus checks, so consumers’ spending power should increase further next year, thus contributing to higher consumer prices. So, although it’s not determined, there is a risk that inflation under Biden’s presidency could be higher than under Trump’s presidency. It would be great news for gold , especially that the Fed’s new regime means that it will not strongly react to rising inflation.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stocks Surge to New Records on More Optimism

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.12.2020 17:41
Major averages hit both all-time intraday and closing highs on Thursday (Dec. 17), riding on vaccine optimism and hopes that a stimulus package could be passed in a matter of days.News RecapThe Dow Jones climbed 148.83 points, or 0.5%, to 30,303.37 for a record close. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit intraday and closing records as well and gained 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively. In typical fashion, the Russell 2000 small-cap index once again beat the other indices and gained 1.30%.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday (Dec. 17) said that a stimulus deal was closing in. Congress appears to be nearing a $900 million stimulus package that would include direct payments to individuals. However, the package would exclude the partisan issues of liability protections for businesses and aid to state and local governments.Despite the optimistic tone of the day, jobless claims disappointed for a second consecutive week. Jobless claims totaled 885,000 last week, hitting their highest levels since early September. This was also significantly worse than the expected 808,000.An FDA panel officially endorsed Moderna's (MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine. It could officially be cleared for emergency usage as early as Friday (Dec. 18), and be distributed as soon as after the weekend. Upon authorization, government officials plan to ship nearly 6 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine in addition to the 2.9 million Pfizer (PFE) doses already in distribution.Real estate, materials and health care were the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, each gaining over 1%. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose 2.6% to lead the Dow higher.Tesla (TSLA) gained 5.32% and will now officially join the S&P 500.We are in the darkest days of the pandemic. On average, the U.S. is recording at least 215,729 additional COVID-19 cases a day . More than 114,200 Americans are also now hospitalized , and over 3,400 new deaths were recorded. According to the CDC Director, Robert Redfield, US COVID-19 deaths are likely to exceed the 9/11 death toll for the next 60 days.While sentiment has been positive over the last two trading sessions, there will still be a short-term tug of war between good news and bad news. It’s quite simple really - until a stimulus is passed and the virus is somewhat brought under control, there will be negative pressure on the markets. Even though a stimulus package passing appears to be imminent, time is running short and we may be at a fork in the road.For now, though, hopes that a deal could pass through are sending stocks higher.“Stimulus is still the main driver in the market right now until they get something done, and it does appear there is some motivation on that front to get something done,” said Dan Deming, managing director at KKM Financial, further stating that “the market’s benefiting from that (enthusiasm).”Additionally, Luke Tilley , chief economist at Wilmington Trust, said that another stimulus package was needed to keep the economic recovery from stalling before the mass distribution of a vaccine.“With the continued rising cases and mass vaccinations still a ways out, we could see some further weakness in jobs and even a flattening where we’re not even adding jobs at all ... that’s absolutely a possibility for this next jobs report,” Tilley said. “And if we were to not get another stimulus package, you’re going to have 10 to 11 million people fall off the unemployment rolls right away, and that would hit spending as well.”The overwhelming majority of market strategists are bullish on equities for 2021 though, despite near-term risks. While there may be some semblance of a “Santa Claus Rally” occurring, the general consensus between market strategists is to look past the short-term pain and focus on the longer-term gains. The mid-term and long-term optimism is very real.According to Robert Dye, Comerica Bank Chief Economist :“I am pretty bullish on the second half of next year, but the trouble is we have to get there...As we all know, we’re facing a lot of near-term risks. But I think when we get into the second half of next year, we get the vaccine behind us, we’ve got a lot of consumer optimism, business optimism coming up and a huge amount of pent-up demand to spend out with very low interest rates.”In the short-term, there will be some optimistic and pessimistic days. On some days, the broader “pandemic” market trend will happen, with cyclical and recovery stocks lagging, and tech and “stay-at-home” stocks leading. Sometimes a broad sell-off based on fear or overheating may occur as well. On other days, there will be a broad market rally due to optimism and 2021-related euphoria. Additionally, there will be days (and in my opinion this will be most trading days), when markets will trade largely mixed, sideways, and reflect uncertainty. But if we get an early Christmas present and a stimulus package passes, all bets are off. It could mean very good things for short-term market gains.In the mid-term and long-term, there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel. Once this pandemic is finally brought under control and vaccines are mass deployed, volatility will stabilize, and optimism and relief will permeate the markets. Stocks especially dependent on a rapid recovery and reopening, such as small-caps, should thrive.Due to this tug of war between sentiments though, it is truly hard to say with any degree of certainty that a correction will happen or more record high rallies will occur.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there is short-term pessimism. A short-term correction is very possible, but it is hard to say with conviction that a big correction will happen.The premium analysis this morning will showcase a “Drivers and Divers” section that will break down some sectors that are in and out of favor. As a token of my appreciation for your patronage, I decided to give you a free sample of a “driver” and “diver” sector. Please do me a favor and let me know what you think of this segment! I’m always happy to hear from you. DrivingSmall-Caps (IWM)In typical fashion, the Russell 2000 small-cap index once again beat the other indices and gained 1.30% on Thursday (Dec. 17). I truly love small-cap stocks in the long-term and this small-cap rally is more encouraging than the “stay-at-home” stock rallies from April/May. This is a bullish sign for a long-term economic recovery and shows that investors are optimistic that a vaccine will return life to relatively normalcy in 2021.I do have some concerns of overheating in the short-term however, especially with the headwinds that still exist. The Russell keeps outperforming no matter what the market sentiment of the day or week is. For example, although the week ended December 11th was an overall down week, the Russell 2000 STILL managed to outperform the larger indices and eek out another weekly gain of 1.02%. While it is remarkable, I do not see how this is sustainable in the short-term.The performance of the Russell 2000 index since early November has been nothing short of staggering. Although the Russell index is composed mostly of small-cap value cyclical stocks dependent on the recovery of the broader economy, and may be more adversely affected on “sell-the-news” kind of days, its hot streak since November has not cooled off in the slightest.Since the start of November, the Russell 2000 has skyrocketed and considerably outperformed the other major indices. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), in comparison to the ETFs tracking the Dow (DIA), S&P (SPY), and Nasdaq (QQQ), has risen 28.62%. This is at least 13% higher than all of the other major indices. Since the start of December, the Russell ETF has also outperformed the other ETFs between 4%-5%.However, when looking at the chart for the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , it becomes pretty evident that small-cap stocks have overheated in the short-term. These are stocks that will experience more short-term volatility. Stocks don’t always go up but the Russell’s trajectory since November has been essentially vertical. The IWM ETF keeps hitting record highs while the RSI keeps overinflating way past overbought levels. I would SELL and trim profits for the short-term but do not fully exit these positions. A stimulus could be imminent and send these stocks soaring more. But if there is a pullback, BUY for the long-term recovery. DivingUS Dollar ($USD)The U.S. Dollar’s plunge continues to its lowest levels in years. I called the return to oversold levels this week despite the currency piercing the 91-level last Wednesday (Dec. 9). I knew it was “fool's gold” and not the sign of any sort of breakout. I have been calling the dollar’s weakness for weeks despite its low levels, and I expect the decline to continue.For the first time since April 2018, the world’s reserve currency is now trading below 90.Why did the dollar plunge so much on Thursday (Dec. 17)? You can thank the Fed! After the Federal Reserve’s dovish tone and reassurance on Wednesday (Dec. 16) that it won’t be soon tapering its bond purchases, bearish traders took this as a sign to continue selling the dollar.“The latest blow to the dollar came from the Fed, which vowed not to touch policy even if the outlook for the U.S. economy brightens as it now expects,” said Joe Manimbo , senior analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.After hitting a nearly 3-year high in March, the dollar has plunged in excess of 13%.Meanwhile, other currencies continued strengthening on Thursday (Dec. 17), relative to the dollar:The euro rose 0.6% to $1.2270, hitting its highest level versus the dollar since April 2018. The euro is up more than 9% year to date.The dollar fell to a more-than-three-year low versus the Japanese yen and declined 0.4% to ¥103.07.The British pound was up 0.5% at $1.3575 - its highest since April 2018.Both the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar each gained 0.6% versus the US dollar.The US dollar was off 0.1% vs. the Canadian dollar.After briefly rising above an oversold RSI of 30 last week, the dollar’s RSI is at an alarmingly low 22.96. The dollar is also significantly trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.Many believe that the dollar could fall further too.If the world returns to relative normalcy within the next year, investors may be more “risk-on” and less “risk-off,” meaning that the dollar’s value will decline further.Additionally, because of all of the economic stimulus and seemingly imminent additional stimulus, the dollar’s value has declined and could have more room to fall. With a dovish Fed and record low-interest rates projected to remain this low for at least another two years, the dollar may not appreciate again for a very long time.While the dollar may have more room to fall, this MAY be a good opportunity to buy the world’s reserve currency at a discount - at least for a quick short-term trade. The low RSI reflects this.But I just have too many doubts on the effect of interest rates this low, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation to be remotely bullish on the dollar’s prospects over the next 1-3 years.For now, where possible, HEDGE OR SELL USD exposure.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

The freedom through Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 18.12.2020 19:28
There are many benefits of owning physical Silver. We mentioned in prior chartbooks various benefits for Silver as a wealth preservation method. Another field of assurance is the protection of your privacy through untraceable transactions. What is mentioned less is the independence from the grid. We got used to the conveniences of the modern world, but imagine a scenario where you simply out of electricity. Just the loss of your smartphone can be a dilemma. A step further being that the dependency on a computer should not have that much power you not being able to purchase groceries or gasoline. The freedom through Silver.What we mean to say is that in case of hyperinflation where cash renders its value, Gold and Bitcoin might not be enough of a hedge.Silver, Daily Chart, Last weeks high probability assumption held true:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of December 11th, 2020We posted the above daily chart in last week’s Silver chartbook publication. In addition we guided this anticipated price move manifesting, through our “Silver daily calls” with real-time entries posted in our free Telegram channel. Silver, Daily Chart, A week later:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of December 17th, 2020The market kindly moved as planned. A gentle dip of price shortly after the publication of the chartbook into the extremely low-risk entry zone (support) allowed for core position establishment. Followed by partial profit-taking based on our quad exit strategy to eliminate risk. Allowing (in addition to reload positions) for remainder position size to possibly see higher price levels for further targets.A conservative method for position building and consistent profit-taking.Silver, Weekly Chart, Clean chart:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of December 18th, 2020Stepping away from the noise of smaller time frames and exploring the larger picture, we can see that Silver is trading very clean and precise. As volatile as this instrument is trading on intraday charts it is due to its high liquidity one to be relied on through thorough technical analysis.A closer look at the weekly time frame reveals a steep move up starting in March this year. For a stunning 156 percentage gain. From the high price retraced to the 0.618 Fibonacci level to build there a eleven-week wide double bottom. This marked the bottom of a bull flag which two weeks later broke through its upper resistance line.Most importantly is the volume analysis of this entire move, which substantiates the newfound support. It is precisely in the middle of the sideways trading zone between US$26 and US$22, at US$24.14. Consequently, we find this to be the most likely bounce point for the next retracement. A low-risk entry point in case you are not positioned just yet. With this precision trading in the present and past, projections into the future become higher probable. “A=B” is as such our next major target point identified. We took the liberty to point out assumed resistance points along the way until we reach this target. Silver prices for possible partial profit-taking in assumed distribution zones.The larger time frame shows a high probability of this last turning point one to be counted on. This warrants for a physical silver acquisition that has a good chance to in time provide for the mentioned conveniences and freedom of being independent. Consequently, there is also a strong likelihood to add to your wealth preservation a degree of wealth growth.The freedom through Silver:What represents the most power of a commodity barter is its accessibility when you need it and the independence within limiting circumstances. With a possibility of rising princes per ounce for precious metals, Gold will be even in small denominations not ideal for smaller transactions. Consequently, Silver takes over a major role. In times where governments can control the internet and natural disasters or cyberattacks can wipe out electricity supplies for lengthy periods, holding physical Silver seems a no-brainer for diversified wealth preservation and day-to-day liberties. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold and Miners Are Not in Santa's Bag

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.12.2020 17:05
Do you feel the Christmas spirit when it comes to the yellow metal and miners? Because we don’t. Multiple signs over the past few days point to bearish weeks ahead for gold and the gold miners. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) - the most liquid vehicle for investors and traders to gain exposure to gold mining companies – is indicating that things are only about to go downhill from here and a lack of action from options traders only serves to confirm that.Despite rallying by 8.7% over a three-day stretch, the GDX traded sharply lower on Friday (Dec. 18), and yet again, failed to recapture its 50-day moving average (unlike gold). Moreover, GDX also closed below its early-December intraday high, while the GLD ETF remained above its analogous price level.The relative weakness (miners underperforming gold) supports the following bearish thesis:While gold corrected about 61.8% of its November decline, gold miners declined only half thereof. In other words, they underperformed gold, which is bearish.The GDX ETF moved to its 50-day moving average – the level that kept its rallies in check since early October. Can miners move above it? Sure, they did that in early November, but is it likely that such a move would be confirmed or followed by more significant strength? Absolutely not. Let’s keep in mind two things:Back in early November, the GDX moved above the 50-day MA, when gold did the same thing, so if the GDX wanted to rally above this MA, it “should have” done so yesterday. It was too weak to do it.The early-November move above the 50-day MA was invalidated in just 2 days.Moreover, please note that the performance of the GDX ETF from late-November to now looks like an ABC correction. This is not a bearish sign on its own, but it fits other indications described today and this week in general. It increases the chance that the top is already in or very, very close.Another important development was the spike in volume during last Thursday’s (Dec. 17) upswing. It resulted in the largest number of GDX shares traded since the November 6 top (on days when GDX is positive), and we all know what happened to GDX after November 6 (As a point of reference, the four other highest volume days since the November 6 top coincided with declines of 6.13%, 2.74%, 3.40% and 4.29%).In addition, options traders aren’t buying GDX’s rally. Despite put options (which profit when GDX declines) trading relatively flat, call options (which profit when GDX rallies) traded at a significant discount last Friday. Please take a look at the table below for details (courtesy of Yahoo! Finance)The lack of demand among options traders is another signal that last week’s rally is unlikely to continue.Lastly, I’d like to share with you some thoughts on price targets.How high could miners go? Perhaps only to the previous lows and by moving to them, they could verify them as resistance . The previous – October – low is at $36.01 in intraday terms and at $36.52 in terms of the daily closing prices. No matter which level we take, it’s not significantly above the pre-market price of $35.76, thus it seems that adjusting the trading position in order to limit the exposure for the relatively small part of the correction is not a good idea from the risk to reward perspective – one might miss the sharp drop that follows. Please note how sharp the mid-November decline was initially.That’s almost exactly what happened – the GDX ETF rallied to $36.92 in intraday terms, and to $36.50 in terms of the daily closing prices. The breakdown was verified in terms of the daily closing prices, which is more important than what happened in intraday terms.Consequently, the outlook is bearish as it seems that miners are ready for another move lower. There’s still a chance that the precious metals sector would move higher based on a possible short-term decline in the USD Index, but this chance is slim, especially given today’s pre-market decline in both the USD Index and gold.The next downside target for the GDX ETF is the February top in terms of the closing prices – $31.05.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stock Pick Update: Dec. 23 – Dec. 29, 2020

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.12.2020 12:29
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Technology stocks and one Energy stock this time.In the last five trading days (December 16 – December 22) the broad stock market has extended its short-term consolidation following record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,726.70 on Friday, before retracing most of last week’s advances.The S&P 500 has lost 0.24% between December 16 open and December 22 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.04%. Stock picks were relatively slightly stronger than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have lost 3.94%, however short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 3.86%. Short stock picks’ performance outpaced the benchmark return on the downside, but the whole portfolio followed broad stock market very closely.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 16 open – December 22 close % change): XOM (-5.74%), COP (-8.91%), WFC (-2.29%), BK (+0.02%), FB (-2.79%)Short Picks (December 16 open – December 22 close % change): DUK (-3.10%), EVRG (-4.03%), SPG (-5.23%), CBRE (-5.37%), KO (-1.57%)Average long result: -3.94%, average short result: +3.86%Total profit (average): -0.24%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 23 – Tuesday, December 29 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 23) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (December 29).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Technology, 2 x Energy, 1 x Financialssells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Real Estate, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesCRM Salesforce.com, Inc. - TechnologyStock remains above its short-term upward trend lineUptrend continuation playThe support level is at $220 and resistance level is at $240-250 (short-term target profit level)NVDA NVIDIA Corp. – TechnologyStock trades above medium-term upward trend linePossible breakout above short-term consolidationThe support level is at $490-500 and resistance level is at $550PSX Phillips 66 – EnergyPossible short-term bull flag pattern – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $60 and resistance level is at $70Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Technology and Energy sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold – The bull market continues

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 23.12.2020 13:04
Precious metal and crypto analysis exclusively for Celtic Gold on 22.12.2020After four corrective months and a final bloodbath towards the end of November, it looks as if the low is in! Gold – The bull market continues.ReviewOn August 7th, the price of gold hit a new all-time high of US$2.075 . At that time we warned of the temporary end of the gold rush. As a result, over the past four months, there has been tough and stretched correction, with several pullbacks towards the support zone between US$1.850 and US$1.865.By November 9th, gold prices had just recovered back to US$1,965 when the final bloodbath phase began quite abruptly. In the following days, with their fifth attempt the bears were finally able to break through the aforementioned support zone, forcing the gold market into a small panic sell-off. After all, this sell-off ended on November 30th with an intraday double low at US$1,764.Since 9th of November Mondays have become quite challenging for goldSince then, there has been a clear turnaround over the last three weeks. Quickly, the bulls staged an initial recovery to US$1,876 before gold came back down to test US$1,820 one more time. Since the FED press conference last Wednesday, gold bulls came roaring back pushing prices towards US,1906 further upwards. At the start of this trading week, however, as it happened most Mondays in the last eight weeks, gold got strongly pushed lower after reaching new highs at US$1,905. The sharp slide saw gold tumbling down testing its solid support at US$1,855 once again. In the meantime, prices have recovered that vicious attack and are trading around US$1,875 trying to stage another attack towards US$1,900.Overall, the turnaround is not yet completely in dry cloths, but with a very high probability the bull market in the precious metals sector is now starting again fully.Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of December 21st, 2020. Source: TradingviewWith a low at US$1,764, the timely forecasted correction bottomed most likely on November 30th. Since then, a recovery wave of more than US$140 has already been seen. The decisive element on the weekly chart now is the downtrend trend line of those last four months. Currently, this downtrend trend sits around US$1,915 and is moving a bit lower every day.The mere sight of this strong line of resistance apparently caused a sudden panic attack among the gold bulls at the start of this week. Hence, gold prices briefly went off from US$1,905 towards US$1,855 within a few minutes. However, we expect a first real test of this resistance line above US$1,900 over the next few days and weeks.Oversold weekly stochastic points to a contrarian opportunityOverall, the chances for a breakthrough during the next one or two months are also very good, and thus further price increases until spring are highly likely. In particular, the new buying signal from the stochastic oscillator looks pretty promising. Since the great panic in the summer of 2018 and the beginning of the fulminant uptrend in the gold market (starting from a low at US$1,160 in August 2018), the stochastic oscillator delivered a similarly oversold setup only in spring 2019 and November 2019. Each of those two setups were a great contrarian buy opportunity as each time followed a very strong rally in the gold market.In summary, we can assume the trend reversal for the gold market. Hence, over the next two to three months gold, silver and mining stocks should all move higher. A rally towards the November high at US$1,965 would be the absolute minimum for gold. More likely, however, would be a rally back above the psychological round number at US$2,000, including an extension towards US$2,015 and maybe even US$2,050. Nevertheless, this uptrend might present itself somewhat jerky and unround. Sharp pullbacks that emerge again and again will probably make life not that easy for trend-followers.A new all time is realistic in mid-summerOf course, a new all-time high above US$2,075 could also happen until early spring, given the exponentially increasing currency creations worldwide. Yet, it is not the primary scenario. More realistic would be a new all-time high during the second seasonally strong phase somewhere in midsummer.Gold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of December 21st, 2020. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the resistance zone between US$1,900 and US$1,920 becomes more obvious. This zone will most likely keep the gold bulls busy for a few more weeks. Moreover, as the stochastic oscillator on the daily chart has already reached its overbought zone, expecting a trading range between US$1,850 and US$1,920 likely well into mid of January is crucial.The support zone between US$1,850 and US$1,865 now has a very important catch-up function. If, contrary to expectations, this support does not hold, a further test of the upper edge of the medium-term uptrend channel around US$1,820 would also be acceptable. The 200-day moving avarage (US$1,816) is also approaching this price level. However, gold prices should not fall much lower, otherwise the bullish scenario will have to be questioned.In the conclusion, the daily chart is still bullish. An attack towards downtrend line slightly above US$1,900 is the most likely scenario in the short-term. However, this Monday’s sharp sell-off gives already a taste of the strength of this downtrend line. Pullbacks towards US$1,850 to US$1,865 and in particular another test of the 200-day moving average around US$1,820 would be another good entry opportunity. Only below US$1,800 will the bull market be in jeopardy. On the other side, the breakout above US$1,920 confirms the bullish case and opens up further potential towards US$1,955 and US$1,965.Commitments of Traders for Gold – The bull market continuesCommitments of Traders for Gold as of December 15th, 2020. Source: CoT Price ChartsAccording to the lastest CoT-report, the commercial short position increased again slightly. Overall, however, the constellation of the last one and a half years has hardly changed at all as the commercial traders continue to hold an extremely high short position. This accumulated  position currently sits at 306.342 short contracts.Commitments of Traders for Gold as of December 15th, 2020. Source: SentimentraderOverall, and on its own alone, the weekly CoT-report continues to provide a clear sell signal for gold. This has been the case for more than a year already and continues to signal a great need for correction.Sentiment: Gold – The bull market continuesSentiment Optix for Gold as of December 18th, 2020. Source: SentimentraderWith the sharp sell-off until the end of November, the precious metals sector was at least partially cleaned up with a final bloodbath lasting several days. The great euphoria of the summer has thus turned into the opposite. Although the quantitative sentiment indicators did not signal any real panic, those low levels of optimism should still have been sufficient for a sustained bottom and turnaround.BofA Global Investment Strategy, EPFR GlobalInterestingly enough, November saw exorbitant outflows from the gold ETFs. Here, huge quantities of gold were thrown onto the market in a panic attack with the push of a mouse click. And this despite the fact that the price of gold simply went through a normal and expected correction since the summer. This chart clearly speaks for a cleanup of the weak hands!Overall, the sentiment analysis thus provides a good starting point for the first quarter of 2021. In the short-term, however, optimism is already a little too high. The path towards a higher gold price should therefore not be straightforward in the next few weeks but might be interrupted again and again by treacherous pullbacks.Seasonality: Gold – The bull market continuesSeasonality for Gold as of December 18th, 2020. Source: SeasonaxSeasonal-wise, all traffic lights are green over the next two months, as the price of gold has statistically been mostly able to rise until mid to end of February and often into spring. Hence, from the seasonal perspective, caution is recommended from early march onwards.Overall, seasonality these days provides a strong buy signal.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioWith prices of US$23,400 for one Bitcoin and US$1,865 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently 12,54. That means you have to pay more than 12 ounces of gold for one single bitcoin! In other words, a fine ounce of gold currently costs only 0,079 Bitcoin, which means another loss of more than 30% for gold against bitcoin. Bitcoin has been mercilessly outperforming the price of gold for the last several months.Generally, you should be invested in both: precious metals and bitcoins. Buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in the two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals (preferably physically), while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin, one should hold 1% to 5%. Paul Tudor Jones holds a little less than 2% of his assets in Bitcoin. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin and maybe other Altcoins on an individual basis. For the average investor, who usually is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is already a lot!“Opposites compliment. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin (BTC-USD) you have a complimentary unit of a true safe haven in the 21st century. You want to own both!”– Florian GrummesPatience is recommended if you are not yet (fully) invested in BitcoinOnly a significant pullback in the next one to four months towards and maybe even below the old all-time high at around US$20,000 would result in another opportunity to enter or allocate into bitcoin.Macro update and conclusion: Gold – The bull market continuesTavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 20th,2020.For almost 16 months, the balance Sheet of the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) in the US has been exploding. In recent weeks, a new all-time high has been reached. Hence, the devaluation of the US-dollar (=fiat money) is therefore unabatedly continuing and is expected to accelerate further next year.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 22nd,2020.Over US$1 trillion in US Treasuries will be due in the next 15 days alone! The current pace of currency creation of around US$80 billion per month will not be enough, as much more US Treasuries in the order of US$5.8 trillion will be due curing the course of next year. US central bankers are caught in a trap and will have to create ever-increasing amounts of currency out of nowhere.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 18th,2020.Logically, therefore, inflation expectations in the US as well as worldwide are rising sharply.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 22nd,2020.At the same time, commodity prices are also on the verge of breaking out above their 12-year downtrend line and are expected to continue to rise strongly during the course of 2021.MoneyWeek, December 4th,2020.Not surprisingly, investors and financial market participants are therefore in a roaring 20s mood!  For the broad population, however, this is a catastrophic development, as inflation will devalue their monthly salary more and more quickly.For precious metals and the price of gold instead, this is the best of all worlds. At least until the spring, a recovery rally is expected for gold towards US$2,000 and silver towards US$30. Hence, another buying opportunities would present itself should gold drop one more time towards US$1,850 and US$1,820, respectively. Following the current “tax loss-selling” and the start of 2021, mining stocks should take over the lead in the sector again and could then outperform gold and silver until spring. Forecasting the full year 2021, silver in particular should be able to benefit from the rising inflation. Over the course of the year, a test of the all-time high around US$50 is conceivable. In midsummer at the latest, the price of gold should also be able to break out above US$2,100.Overall, silver and bitcoin remain the dream-team for the accelerating crack-up boom.Source: www.celticgold.eu
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Stimulus Hopes Fail to Rally Markets

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.12.2020 15:59
The S&P 500 closed down for the third consecutive day (Dec. 22), despite Congress’s long-overdue approval of an economic stimulus package.News RecapThe Dow Jones declined 200.94 points, or 0.7%, to 30,015.51. The S&P 500 closed down for a third consecutive day and fell 0.2%. Reflecting a return to the “stay-at-home” tech trade, the Nasdaq gained 0.5% on the day (Dec. 22). The small-cap Russell 2000 index managed to outperform yet again, rising 1.01%.Congress finally voted on and approved a $900 billion stimulus package to aid struggling Americans. Attached to this bill was also a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through Sept. 30. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law within the next few days.A mutant strain of COVID-19 discovered in the UK weighed on markets for a second consecutive day. While the vaccine(s) could still be effective on this strain, the strain appears to be more contagious than others. The discovery of this virus strain has caused stricter lockdown measures and travel restrictions worldwide.Travel stocks were the laggards of the day due to fears of the new strain of COVID-19. American Airlines (AAL) fell 3.9% and United (UAL) dropped 2.5%. Cruise lines all fell as well. Carnival (CCL) fell nearly 6%, Royal Caribbean (RCL) dropped nearly 3%, and Norwegian (NCL) plummeted 6.9%Apple (AAPL) led the Nasdaq higher as it jumped 2.9% due to investor excitement about their EV plans to challenge Tesla (TSLA) by 2024Mixed economic data came in on Tuesday (Dec. 22). The final reading on Q3’s GDP growth found that the US GDP grew 33.4% on an annualized basis, compared to the estimated 33.1%. On the other hand, US consumer confidence fell for the second month in a row and missed expectations - despite vaccine optimism.COVID-19 has now killed over 318,000 Americans (and counting). The CDC announced that this is now the deadliest year in American history as total deaths are expected to top 3 million for the first time. Deaths are also expected to jump 15% from the previous year. This would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when WWI and fatalities from the Spanish Flu Pandemic caused deaths to rise an estimated 46%.Markets have officially stumbled before Christmas and experienced a predictable tug-of-war between good news and bad news. While the general focus of both investors and analysts has appeared to be the long-term potential of 2021, there are some very concerning short-term headwinds.Although there was some anticipation that a stimulus deal could send stocks higher in the near-term, investors may be simply taking profits before the year’s end and rebalancing for 2021. On the other hand, it is very possible that the stimulus package was “too little too late,” and is being overshadowed by a more contagious strain of COVID-19 discovered over the past weekend in the U.K.While nobody predicted a renegade mutant virus weighing on market sentiment, short-term battles between optimism and pessimism were quite predictable.According to a note released on Monday (Dec. 21) from Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli“The market has been in a tug-of-war between the very grim near-term COVID backdrop and the increasingly hopeful medium/long-term outlook (driven by vaccines) – the latter set of forces are more powerful in aggregate, but on occasion, the market decides to focus on the former, and stocks suffer as a result.”Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of market strategists, including myself, are bullish on equities for 2021. It might just be a bit of a bumpy road getting there. I believe that a correction and some consolidation could be very likely in the short-term, on the way towards another strong rally in the second half of 2021. While it is hard to say with conviction WHEN we could see a correction, I believe that the market’s behavior as of late could be a potential preview of what’s to come between now and the end of Q1 2020. There is optimistic potential, but I believe a potential 5% pullback before the year’s end is possible, as well as a minimum 10% correction before the end of Q1 2020.According to Jonathan Golub , Credit Suisse’s chief U.S. equity strategist, choppiness in the economy and markets in the coming months could be expected before a surge in consumer spending by mid-2021. Golub said, “I don’t think that there’s a smooth, easy straight-line story on this...I think for the next three or four months, the reopening process is going to be sloppy.”I believe that the S&P’s three-day losing streak could be an ominous sign of what’s to come in the near-term. I do believe though that this is healthy and could be a good thing.Before Monday’s (Dec. 21) session, I had warned that the market was flashing signs of over-optimism and euphoria. In its most recent survey, for example, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) found that 48.1% of investors identified as being bullish - well above the historical average of 38%.A correction could be just what this market needs. Corrections also happen way more often than people realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). I believe we are overdue for one because there has not been a correction since the lows of March. This is healthy market behavior and could be a very good buying opportunity for what I believe will be a great second half of the year.The mid-term and long-term optimism are very real, despite the near-term risks. The passage of the stimulus package only solidifies the robust vaccine-induced tailwinds entering 2021, specifically for small-cap value stocks.In the short-term, there will be some optimistic and pessimistic days. On some days, such as Tuesday (Dec. 22), the “pandemic” market trend will happen - cyclical and COVID-19 recovery stocks lagging, and tech and “stay-at-home” stocks leading. On other days, a broad sell-off based on virus fears may occur as well. Additionally, there will also be days where there will be a broad market rally due to optimism and 2021 related euphoria. And finally, there will be days (and in my opinion, this will be most trading days), that will see markets trading largely mixed, sideways, and reflecting uncertainty.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is very possible. But I do not believe, with conviction, that a correction above ~20% leading to a bear market will happen.The premium analysis this morning will showcase a “Drivers and Divers” section that will break down some sectors that are in and out of favor. As a token of my appreciation for your patronage, I decided to give you a free sample of a “driver” and “diver” sector. Please do me a favor and let me know what you think of this segment! I’m always happy to hear from you. DrivingSmall-Caps (IWM)The Russell 2000 small-cap index once again beat the larger-cap indices and gained 1.01% on Tuesday (Dec. 22). Despite the profit-taking and negative sentiment during Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) session, small-caps didn’t get the memo.I do love small-cap stocks in the long-term and this small-cap rally is more encouraging than the “stay-at-home” stock rallies from April/May. This is a bullish sign for long-term economic recovery and shows that investors are optimistic that a vaccine will return life to relative normalcy by mid-2021.I do have some concerns about overheating in the short-term though. As I mentioned before, I believe that the S&P’s losing streak is only a preview of what could come in the next 1-3 months.According to the chart above for the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , it becomes pretty evident that small-cap stocks have overheated in the short-term. Stocks won’t always go up, but the IWM’s trajectory since November has been essentially vertical. The ETF keeps hitting record highs while the RSI keeps overinflating way past overbought levels as the volume shows instability.Since November, the Russell index has been on a run nothing short of astounding. Just look how the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) compares to the ETFs tracking the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq in that time frame. Since November, the IWM has risen nearly 28% and has at least doubled the returns of the ETFs tracking the other major indices.Although the Russell index is composed mostly of small-cap cyclical stocks dependent on the recovery of the broader economy and may be more adversely affected on “sell-the-news” kind of days, its hot streak since November has seemingly not cooled off as much as other indices and sectors.But I believe this will eventually happen in the short-term, and I hope it does for a long-term buying opportunity.In the short-term, small-cap stocks may have overheated and could experience the greatest volatility. SELL and take short-term profits if you can, but do not fully exit positions .If there is a pullback, BUY for the long-term recovery. DivingUS Dollar ($USD)If the dollar rallies at all again soon, do not be fooled.Ever since I called the dollar’s rally past the 91 level two Wednesdays ago (Dec. 9) a mirage, the dollar has declined by 1.25%.I believed it to be “fool's gold” then and I believe any subsequent rally that could come will be “fool’s gold” too.I still am calling out the dollar’s weakness after several weeks, despite its low levels. I expect the decline to continue as well thanks to a dovish Fed.The world’s reserve currency is still trading below 90 and has not traded this low since April 2018. Joe Manimbo , a senior analyst at Western Union Business Solutions, seemingly agrees with me as well and said that “the latest blow to the dollar came from the Fed, which vowed not to touch policy even if the outlook for the U.S. economy brightens as it now expects.”Since hitting a nearly 3-year high on March 20th, the dollar has plunged nearly 13% while emerging markets and other currencies continue to strengthen.On days when COVID-19 fears outweigh any other positive sentiments, dollar exposure might be good to have since it is a safe haven. But in my view, you can do a whole lot better than the US dollar for safety.I have too many doubts on the effect of interest rates this low for this long, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation to be remotely bullish on the dollar’s prospects over the next 1-3 years. Meanwhile, the US has $27 trillion of debt, and it’s not going down anytime soon.Additionally, according to The Sevens Report , if the dollar falls below 89.13, this could potentially raise the prospect of a further 10.5% decline to the next support level of 79.78 reached in April 2014After briefly rising above an oversold RSI of 30 last week, the dollar’s RSI is now at an alarmingly low 27.87. The dollar is also significantly trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.While the dollar may have more room to fall, this MAY be a good opportunity to buy the world’s reserve currency at a discount as the RSI is oversold. But I just feel you can do a whole lot better than the USD right now.I’m not a crypto guy either myself, but Bitcoin’s run compared to the dollar’s disastrous 2020 has to really make you think sometimes….For now, where possible, HEDGE OR SELL USD exposure.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
As USDX is Poised to Pop, What Happens to Gold?

As USDX is Poised to Pop, What Happens to Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.12.2020 16:50
After awakening from its slumber last week, the USD Index may be in the early innings of a short-term breakout. Bursting with energy, the dollar basket closed (on Dec. 22) above its declining resistance line (although more data is needed to confirm a larger move).And to quote Francis Bacon, because “we rise to great heights by a winding staircase of small steps,” Tuesday’s ‘small step’ may be the beginning of an epic comeback.Please see below:In this week’s early trading, the USDX moved lower and then rallied back up, after touching its previous resistance line, which now appears to have turned into support. Despite the initial decline, the USDX is now more or less where it had started this week’s trading. Its ability to reverse the initial decline appears bullish.While the USDX traded lower-to-flat from Dec. 23 – 25, the price action still follows a familiar playbook: In 2018, the USDX dipped below the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level before circling back with a vengeance (The initial bottom occurred in early 2018, with the final bottom not far behind.) Moreover, the 2018 USDX bottom also marked the 2018 top in gold, silver and the gold miners (depicted in charts 2 and 3 below).I previously wrote that the USDX was repeating its 2017 – 2018 decline to some extent. The starting points of the declines (horizontal red line) as well as the final high of the biggest correction are quite similar. The difference is that the recent correction was smaller than it was in 2017.Since back in 2018, the USDX’s bottom was at about 1.618 Fibonacci extension of the size of the correction, we could expect something similar to happen this time. Applying the above to the current situation would give us the proximity of the 90-level as the downside target.“So, shouldn’t gold soar in this case?” – would be a valid question to ask.Well, if the early 2018 pattern was being repeated, then let’s check what happened to precious metals and gold stocks at that time.In short, they moved just a little higher after the USDX’s breakdown. I marked the moment when the U.S. currency broke below its previous (2017) bottom with a vertical line, so that you can easily see what gold, silver, and GDX (proxy for mining stocks) were doing at that time. They were just before a major top. The bearish action that followed in the short term was particularly visible in the case of the miners.Consequently, even if the USD Index is to decline further from here, then the implications are not particularly bullish for the precious metals market.And as we approach the New Year and beyond, I expect a similar pattern to emerge.Why so?First, the USDX is after a long-term, more-than-confirmed breakout. This means that the long-term trend for the U.S. currency is up.Second, the amount of capital that was shorting the USDX was excessive even before the most recent decline. This means that the USD Index is not likely to keep declining for much longer.In addition, after last week’s drawdown in gold and the gold miners, the sun appears to be setting on the yellow metal. As ‘buy the dip’ morphs into ‘sell the rally,’ gold’s downtrend is likely to resume. Furthermore, the 2018 analogue signals that the SPX’s (S&P 500 Index) days are also numbered (If you analyze the chart above, you can see that the USDX bottom coincided with the SPX top.)Fundamentally, the USDX is also poised to pop.On Tuesday (Dec. 22), I highlighted the misguided narrative plaguing the U.S. dollar. In short:With liquidity spigots on full blast around the world, the U.S. isn’t the only region expanding its money supply (And remember, currencies trade on a relative basis.) In fact, the European Central Bank (ECB ) has more assets on its balance sheet than the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED).And after another update, the ECB’s spending spree has now reached a record €7 trillion (As a point of reference, the Dec. 22 ECB chart was relative to the FED, so both balance sheets were presented in U.S. dollars. The chart below depicts the ECB’s balance sheet in euros).Week-over-week, the ECB’s balance sheet increased by €59 billion. But the real story? The ECB’s total assets now equal 69% of Eurozone GDP – nearly double the FED’s 35%. So while EUR/USD clawed back some of its early-week losses (after the EU and the U.K. reached a Brexit agreement), its prior three-day downtrend (Dec. 18 – 22) is likely to continue (Remember, movement in the euro accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USDX.)Consequently, the implications for the precious metals market are not as bearish as everyone and their brother seems to tell you. Conversely, the forex market could provide the PMs and mining stocks with a substantial bearish push in the coming weeks – or even days.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Dollar rises as Trump signs Stimulus bill

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.12.2020 08:56
EURUSD Heading LowerThe euro currency attempted to rise higher but gave back the intraday gains. The rebound off the 1.2177 level of support was met with resistance from the trendline.With prices heading lower, the previous support level near 1.2177 comes under pressure.The Stochastics oscillator is also signaling a hidden bearish divergence. This could mean that price action will drift lower if the support breaks.Below 1.2177, the next key area of support will be the 1.2050 level.Given that this support area was not firmly tested before, we expect to see a possible test of this level.GBPUSD Gives Back Gains As Brexit Euphoria FadesThe British pound sterling is down over 0.6% on Monday. The declines come following last week’s rebound above the 1.3506 level of support.But as the trade deal euphoria fades, prices are drifting lower. As a result, the cable is likely to continue pushing lower.The next key level of support comes in at 1.3210. There is a possibility that the GBPUSD could establish minor support ahead of the decline to 1.3210.To the upside, a rebound could see the 1.3506 level being tested once again.If resistance forms here, then we expect to see a possible confirmation of prices heading lower.WTI Crude Oil Could Likely Form A TopOil prices maintained their bullish continuation with prices rising in early Monday trading. However, after rising to intraday highs of 48.94, the commodity gave back the gains, forming a lower high.If prices break down below the pivot lows of 47.76, then this will confirm that a top is in place. The next support level of interest comes near the 47.17 level.Below this minor support, oil prices could be on track to post further declines.The support area near 45.26 will come into the picture.The Stochastics oscillator is overbought at the moment, validating the short term move lower.Gold Prices Trade Flat Near Previous Swing HighsThe precious metal is on track to close flat on the day for Monday. This comes as prices attempted to rise intraday.However, as the momentum fizzled out, gold prices form a lower high. This could potentially trigger a short term decline.For the moment, the initial support level near 1859.50 comes into the picture. As long as this swing low from December 22 holds, there is scope for a rebound.But a failure at this level will open the way for further declines. The 1850 level of support comes into the picture.Despite the short term declines, gold prices are likely to remain supported at or near the 1850 level for the moment.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stock Pick Update: Dec. 30 – Jan. 5, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.12.2020 13:38
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Technology stocks and one Health Care stock this time. In the last five trading days (December 23 – December 29) the broad stock market has extended its record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,756.12 on Tuesday following the recent stimulus news.The S&P 500 has gained 0.91% between December 23 open and December 29 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.07%. Stock picks were relatively weaker than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have lost 0.30% and short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 0.16%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 23 open – December 29 close % change): CRM (-4.32%), NVDA (-2.36%), PSX (0.00%), FANG (+4.72%), SPGI (+0.47%)Short Picks (December 23 open – December 29 close % change): SO (+0.10%), AES (+0.73%), WY (-1.27%), ARE (-0.88%), CL (+0.52%)Average long result: -0.30%, average short result: +0.16%Total profit (average): -0.07%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 30 – Tuesday, January 5 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 30) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 5).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Technology, 2 x Health Care, 1 x Communication Servicessells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Energy, 1 x Real EstateBuy CandidatesNVDA NVIDIA Corp. - TechnologyStock trades along medium-term upward trend linePossible breakout above short-term consolidationThe support level is at $490-500 and resistance level is at $550, among othersINTC Intel Corp. – TechnologyStock retraced most of its recent declinesPossible breakout above medium-term downward trend lineThe support level is at $47 and the nearest important resistance level is at $52ABBV AbbVie Inc. – Health CareStock broke above short-term downward trend line – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $100-102 and resistance level is at $106-108Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Technology and Health Care sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Seeks Direction as USDX Slips

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.12.2020 17:36
As of Wednesday (Dec. 30) morning, gold is range trading and remains more or less flat as it seeks momentum. As we wait for the precious metals to act on a catalyst, let’s also take a look at the Euro’s relation to the U.S. Dollar and how both impact gold.Over the last 24 hours, the precious metals market did more or less nothing, despite the new daily decline in the USD Index. The latter is now testing its monthly and yearly lows, while the PMs are not. PMs – as a group – are not reacting to what should make them rally, and this is yet another bearish sign for the precious metals market.Figure 1 - USD Index (Sept – Dec 2020)The USDX is at its monthly and yearly lows and at the same time…Figure 2 - COMEX Gold Futures (Jan – Dec 2020)Gold is about $30 below its monthly high, and about $200 below the yearly low.After a temporary breakout, gold is back below its 2011 high. The breakout above the latter was clearly invalidated.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver Futures (Jan – Dec 2020)Silver is not even close to its 2011 high, and while it’s relatively strong compared to gold and miners on a short-term basis, it’s not at its December high right now. It’s also a few dollars below its yearly high.Figure 4 - GDX VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (Feb – Dec 2020)Miners remained relatively quiet on Tuesday (Dec. 29).We see that the GDX ETF moved lower once again despite the intraday attempt to rally. During Monday’s (Dec. 28) session, miners once again moved back to their 50-day moving average and… Once again verified it as resistance. The implications are bearish.Let’s get back to silver once again. On its chart, you can see a triangle-vertex-based reversal at the end of the year. Before the price moves close to the reversal, it’s relatively unclear what kind of implications a given reversal is likely to have. Well, including today’s (Dec. 30) session, there remain only two sessions until the end of the year, so we’re likely to see the reversal shortly.Based on the likelihood that the next big move is going to be to the downside, it would fit the overall picture more if the upcoming reversal was a top, not a bottom. A bottom would imply a rally in the following days or weeks, and the relative performance (as described above) along with other factors continues to favor a bigger decline.This means that we might not see a meaningful decline for a few more days, and we might even see one final move higher before the top is formed. This could be something that takes place in silver only, or something that we see in gold and miners as well. Still, I don’t expect it to be really significant in case of the latter. They are underperforming the metals, after all.Before summarizing, let’s discuss the USD Index’s main part – the EUR/USD currency pair in greater detail. After all, this pair often moves in tandem with gold.EUR/USD Decouples from FundamentalsJohn Maynard Keynes once said, “Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.”And right now, EUR/USD is putting his theory to the test.Because the euro accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USD Index, its rise (and likely fall) will determine if/when the war is won.But brimming with confidence and unwilling to wave the white flag, the EUR/USD has been green for five straight days and has rallied during nine of the last 12 trading days. And while sentiment and momentum are warriors that don’t die easy, the euro is losing fundamental soldiers left and right.Please see the chart below:Figure 5 - European Central Bank (ECB) Balance SheetAnother weekly update shows the European Central Bank’s (ECB) money printer continues to work overtime. And as I mentioned on Monday (Dec. 28), the ECB’s total assets now equal 69% of Eurozone GDP – nearly double the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) 35%.And why is this necessary?Because the Eurozone economy is in free-fall.Remember, currencies trade on a relative basis. Thus, a less-bad U.S. economy is good news for the U.S. dollar.Please see below:Figure 6 - 2020 Economic Indicators for Germany, France, Italy, SpainAcross Europe’s largest economies – Germany , France, Italy and Spain – economic activity is rolling over (To explain the chart, alternative economic indicators are high-frequency data like credit card spending, indoor dining traffic, travel activity and location information.)And underpinning the irrationality, the deceleration is happening as the euro is strengthening.Makes sense?Well, considering Spain’s retail sales dipped further into negative territory on Monday (Dec. 28) – coming in at – 5.8% vs. – 5.3% expected – the data speaks for itself.Figure 7 - Spain Retail Sales Constant Prices (Source: Bloomberg/Daniel Lacalle)The bottom line is: the euro bulls are fighting a war they’re unlikely to win. And as the fundamental data worsens, it’s analogous to a platoon losing more and more soldiers. Eventually, the infantry runs out of reserves and it’s time to wave the white flag.And then what happens?Well, then history tries to explain how it all went wrong.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Price Amplitude Arcs/Gann Suggest Stock Market Peak in Early April

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 31.12.2020 04:04
In the first part of this research article, we highlighted some of W.D. Gann's research, particularly the theory of price vibrations, angles, slopes, and how they relate to future price projections/targets.  We also showed how important it was to understand what price does when it reaches these critical inflection points.  In this second part of our research, we are going to explore Gann time/price cycles and how they relate to our Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs.Our research will show you exactly why we believe an early April 2021 peak may be setting up in the US/global markets and why you need to prepare for this now.  We believe the remainder of the bullish price trend may continue to push higher, scaling very close to the CYAN trendline on the chart below over the next 60+ days before starting to break lower as we near the end of March 2021.  Let's explore why we believe this is likely to happen.We highlighted the importance of the CYAN trend line and the multiple Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs that are arcing through the recent price range in Part I.  It is our belief that these critical levels represent a major inflection point in the advance of price and that price may continue to attempt to push higher – but may align itself below the CYAN trendline as it inches closer to the early April Gann price/time arc that we believe will set up a major top in the markets.Weekly SPY Chart Showing Key Price Trendline & Time FactorsWhen we apply time-factoring to the SPY chart below, we are inclined to support the theory that a 200% time factor applies to the current market setup from the lows established in 2009.  If we measure price trend and vibration from the 2009 low point, we immediately come to the October 13, 2014 lows – which were subsequently retested multiple times over the next 3+ years (August 2015, January 2016, February 2016).  Our researchers believe these lows represent the end of one cycle/vibration phase and the beginning of another.  By aligning a mirror-image of the original Gann Time-Arcs to the October 2014 lows, we can see that another critical Gann Vibration cycle is likely ending near mid-April 2021 through early July 2021.We believe the next few weeks and months, as well as almost all of 2021 and beyond, will be full of major trend changes and fluctuating price activity as global investors attempt to navigate the changes in the global markets.  Currently, many of the foreign markets are nearing what appear to be peak levels and, if our Gann research is correct, the US stock market is only about 90 days away from reaching the start of another Gann Time-factoring Vibration energy phase/cycle.  This means there is going to be another shift in how investors perceive value in investments and where capital moves to attempt to hedge/profit from this cycle phase.Weekly SPY Chart Showing Key Price Trendline & Time FactorsThis next Weekly SPY chart shows a closer look at the Gann Time-factor arcs and how they aligned with the previous price corrections.  Pay attention to how accurate these Gann Time-factor arcs predicted the downward price “vibrations” over the past three years.  Remember, these Gann phases are a replica of the 2009 bottom to 2014 peak – applied to the 2014 low price levels.  They represent an exact replica of the same price vibrations that took place between 2009 and 2014.  They also show a period of time between April 2021 and July 2021 which may represent a very big, deep vibration in price which may target low price levels near $292 on the SPY.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The bigger question in our minds is “do our Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs align with W.D. Gann price/time theories and the Law Of Vibration?”  If so, then our Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs may be somewhat close to what W.D. Gann attempted to describe relating to his Law Of Vibration and the universal key to unlocking the secrets of identifying and predicting future price peaks/troughs accurately.  If not, then we are confident they will lead us to even more breakthroughs as we continue to attempt to adapt and improve our technical analysis research.One thing is for certain, 2021 appears to be setting up as a traders market where trends may change very quickly and aggressively.  2021 is going to be a year where traders need to stay ahead of the risks and shifting market cycles to find the best assets to own and profit from.  Our BAN technology was designed specifically to address this issue – always being able to find and identify the best assets to own within any type of trend.Our researchers believe increased price volatility will likely be seen near the end of March 2021 and by mid-April 2021, we may already start to see signs of a broad market decline setting up.  Our research suggests a deep bottom may setup in October 2021 or later.  Are you ready for this type of move in the markets?  If not, learn how BAN can help you trade the best assets by visiting www.TheTechnicalTraders.com.
Bitcoin (BTC) Knocking on the Door to $30,000

Bitcoin (BTC) Knocking on the Door to $30,000

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 31.12.2020 07:47
Bitcoin (BTC) hit new all-time highs on both Dec. 30 and 31. The price briefly hit $29,300 on some exchanges this morning before a small pullback.   The rally has begun to show short-term signs of weakness and BTC is expected to soon reach a top.   New Bitcoin All-Time High Bitcoin continued its ascent on Dec. 30, creating a bullish candlestick and reaching a high of $28,996. Yesterday’s close was above that of the shooting star on Dec. 17, a bullish sign that indicates a dissipation of the previous resistance Technical indicators are bullish and have yet to show any weakness, suggesting that the upward move is expected to continue. BTC Chart By TradingViewFuture Movement The six-hour chart shows that while BTC has been increasing at an accelerated rate over the past week, there is a very significant bearish divergence developing in both the RSI and the MACD. This is a sign that the rally may be overextended and a correction is expected. BTC Chart By TradingViewThe two-hour chart shows more of the same bearish divergence. Furthermore, BTC is following a very steep ascending support line, which is unsustainable in the long-run. If a breakdown from the support line occurs, it’s possible that BTC will undergo a very sharp drop. BTC Chart By TradingViewBTC Wave Count The wave count suggests that BTC is in sub-wave 5 (shown in orange in the image below) of wave 5 (blue). A possible target for the top of the move is found at $29,800 — the 3.61 Fib extension of sub-wave 5 (orange fib). Once the correction begins, we would expect the entire move which began in September to be corrected. In that case, the two most important support areas would be the 0.382 and 0.5 Fib retracement levels, respectively found at $21,838 and $19,538. BTC Chart By TradingViewA closer look at the minor sub-wave count (black) shows that BTC is likely in minor sub-wave 5. This is also accentuated by the fourth minor sub-wave triangle, after which BTC moved upwards at a more accelerated rate. BTC Chart By TradingViewConclusion Bitcoin is expected to reach a high near $29,800 before undergoing a significant correction. For BeInCrypto’s previous Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post Bitcoin (BTC) Knocking on the Door to $30,000 appeared first on BeInCrypto.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

MicroStrategy Stock Up Over 200% Since Initial Bitcoin Purchase

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 01.01.2021 08:15
One of the most aggressive investments in Bitcoin during the past year has come from MicroStrategy, a NASDAQ-traded business intelligence firm. Led by CEO and Bitcoin mega bull, Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy has purchased over $1.3 billion in BTC. This $1.3 billion does not include the hundreds of millions of dollars in BTC that Saylor owns personally. Since MicroStrategy’s initial purchase of Bitcoin, not only has it made $1 billion in unrealized profits, but its stock increased by over 200 percent over the course of five months. MicroStrategy Enters the Bitcoin Arena Saylor was initially skeptical of Bitcoin, but once he changed his mind, things moved fast. A big catalyst to Saylor’s switch was the ongoing inflation the U.S. dollar is facing. In 2020 alone, the U.S. has printed about 35 percent of all dollars ever created, a staggering and scary amount for anyone who stores the majority of their wealth in USD. With continued economic uncertainty due to a global pandemic and increased inflation, Saylor decided that it would be safer to convert a portion of MicroStrategy’s treasury reserves into Bitcoin. Since this first transaction, Saylor has become one of the most prominent proponents of Bitcoin in the industry. He even said that he thinks Bitcoin will one day overtake gold’s market cap, Tweeting out; “It’s dangerous to think that gold and Bitcoin are similar & complementary investments. When the Bitcoin Dragon emerges from its lair, the first thing it will eat is the Kingdom of Gold.” So far, MicroStrategy has purchased over $1 billion in Bitcoin at different prices through different fundraising methods. In its most recent purchase, MicroStrategy raised $650 million in a debt offering and used the proceeds to purchase more BTC for its treasury reserves. Looking At the Charts When looking at the year-to-date MicroStrategy (MSTR) price chart, we can see a relatively flat line throughout the whole year as the price hovered around the $150 range. Starting in November, when Saylor first started purchasing Bitcoin for MicroStrategy, the stock price began to rise. By the end of November, the stock price jumped up to over $340 before eventually falling back down to $280. The price drop didn’t last long though, as MSTR quickly recovered and is now just dollars away from breaking the $400 mark. The post MicroStrategy Stock Up Over 200% Since Initial Bitcoin Purchase appeared first on BeInCrypto.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

2021 May Be A Good Year For The Cannabis/Marijuana Sector

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 03.01.2021 17:03
Great progress in terms of legalization was made for the Cannabis/Marijuana sector in 2020 that will.  The 2020 elections resulted in a number of US states engaging in new Cannabis friendly policies and laws being approved by voters. This suggests a new rally in the Cannabis sector may be setting up in 2021 and beyond for traders. Our BAN - Best Asset Now - trading strategy is always looking out for the next sector to make a trade, and the Cannabis sector is certainly one we are keeping our eyes on! Make sure you sign up for my FREE webinar to find and trade the Best Assets Now just like me.Weekly MJ Price Flag SetupMy research and I team believe the recent longer-term bottom in the MJ ETF, the Alternative Harvest ETF, suggests a broad bottom is setting up in the Cannabis/Marijuana sector.  If this bottom in the Cannabis sector continues to profit support for the entire sector, then we may see price appreciation across many individual Cannabis stocks over the next 12+ months.  Additionally, this price appreciation may prompt quite a bit of consolidation across the entire Cannabis/Marijuana sector.The global use and demand for CBD & THC related products may continue to expand as medical and personal use expands across the US and into other nations.  We are still near the infancy of understanding the true medicinal benefits of this all-natural product.  A new upward price trend in this sector may prompt a global expansion/consolidation event where the Cannabis/Marijuana industry attempts to restructure into true global power companies.Our research team is focused on the possibility that an early 2021 price decline in this sector may setup a broad sector bullish trend near March/April 2021 (or earlier).  We believe the process of this longer-term bottom setup will still require another attempt to consolidate near the MAGENTA support channel before a more substantial breakout will take place.  The current bottom setup is very similar to a Bullish Price Flag setup and we believe the next price low may be an area where real opportunity exists for a final bottom in price.Monthly MJ Bottom SetupThe following Monthly MJ chart highlights the same bottom setup on a longer-term chart basis.  Pay very close attention to how much volume has poured into this sector in October and November 2020.  It is very likely that a new price low, below $11.90~$12.00, will setup within 4 to 8+ weeks that will represent the final downside price move before the Price Flag pattern attempts an upside breakout.  We expect to see stronger volume surge into this final bottom as traders load up before the breakout move begins.As we've been suggesting for a number of months, the broader, longer-term market cycles and trends suggest the next 3 to 5+ years are going to be very dynamic for various market sectors.  Our research team believes the US and global markets have just recently started a broad depreciation phase which may last another 5 to 7+ years.  Typically, within these phases, commodities and other sectors rotate in and out of favor as capital is forced to seek out undervalued and potentially explosive sector trends.This bottom setup in MJ may prompt a number of individual Cannabis and CBD suppliers, processors, end-user manufacturers, and technology providers to engage in a series of acquisition and consolidation steps over the next few years if this sector becomes hot fairly quickly.  Rising prices and expectations may prompt this industry into a consolidation and technology/distribution expansion over the next 4 to 5+ years.  Very similar to the DOT COM/Technology bubbles recently, when a sector gets hot, it tends to prompt quite a bit of investment and activity surrounding the growth and consolidation of industrial components and technology.Do you want to stay ahead of these sector trends and learn which sectors are the best opportunities for your trades?  Our BAN Trader trades the Best Asset Now using to consistently earn better-than-market returns.  Learn how our BAN Trader solution can help you keep focused on the best trading opportunities in 2021 and beyond while helping you protect and grow your wealth.  Go to www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn more about BAN Trader, or let me teach you how to trade this strategy yourself by watching my FREE webinar! Scroll below to register for your seat now and make 2021 your year to PROFIT!!Happy Trading!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

GBPUSD Settles Comfortably Higher. Dollar strengthens slightly on year end flows

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.01.2021 08:22
EURUSD Drops Into The Year-End The euro currency was down over 0.63% into the yearly close. The declines come amid thin trading and the US dollar posting a modest rebound. The euro currency has been consolidating near the rising trend line over the past few days. While price action was making modestly higher highs, the pace of gains was gradual. The slowing momentum has led to a decline off the trendline consolidation. If the current declines continue, the euro could be looking to test the 1.2177 level of support. However, with the Stochastics oscillator somewhat oversold we may expect to see a modest rebound in prices. The British pound sterling is maintaining a bullish hold with prices posting a gradual rally since 29 December. The pace of gains, however, is likely to stall given the Doji candlestick patterns near the current levels. A bearish follow-through is required in order to confirm the downside. This could potentially see the GBPUSD falling to the 1.3500 level of support. As long as this support holds, the GBPUSD could be looking to make a rebound once again. With the threat of a hard Brexit now out of the way, the GBPUSD is likely to focus back on the fundamentals. The Stochastics oscillator remains overbought at the moment, indicating a possible correction in the near term. WTI Crude Oil Consolidates Near Current Highs Oil prices are trading flat ever since prices touched intraday highs of 49.29 on 21 December. Since then, oil prices pulled back and are trading in a sideways range. For the moment, this sideways range is likely to continue. However, the OPEC+ meeting today could offer something for oil investors. Depending on the outcome, oil prices could see a possible move in either direction. To the downside, support at 47.17 remains. As long as this support holds, oil prices are likely to maintain the upside bias. To the upside, a close above the 21 December highs of 49.29 is required in order to confirm further gains. Will Gold Breakout Higher? The precious metal was seen consolidating near the 1900 level. Price action previously tested this level before pulling back recently. In the process, we have a potential ascending triangle pattern emerging. If the 1900 level of resistance breaks, then we expect to see further gains coming. A breakout above 1900 will validate the bullish ascending triangle. It puts the next minimum target in price action toward 1922 at the very least. But this would also put gold prices above the 1900 level which has proven hard to break as both a resistance and support level previously.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

What Will the U.S. Dollar Ring in for 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.01.2021 15:16
The fate of the U.S. Dollar will weigh heavily on the future of the precious metals in 2021. At first glance, the USDX’s prospects look rather bleak in the first months of the year, but as the pages of the book turn, the dollar’s likely later ascension could prove rather bearish for gold and the PMs.Breaking hearts as the USD Index falls in and out of love, the greenback continues to leave bulls at the altar, which is likely to have important implications for the gold market in the following weeks . Dressed to impress, investors lined the cathedral aisles as the USDX looked ready to commit to the 90-level.But as cold feet turned into a dash for the exit, 2020 ended without a celebration.However, as we enter 2021 and net-short futures positions (non-commercial traders) remain at their highest level since 2006, the slightest shift in sentiment could have wedding bells ringing again.Please see below:Figure 1 – Net-short Futures PositionsIf you analyze the second red box (on the right side), you can see that the 2018 top in net-short futures positions ended with a violent short-covering rally, which propelled the USDX nearly 11% higher from trough to peak.Figure 2 – U.S. Dollar IndexIn this week’s early trading, the USDX moved lower, almost back to the 2020 lows. This was disappointing to anyone hoping that the December 31 rally was the beginning of a sharp rally, somewhat similar to what we saw in early September. In reality, the Dec. 31 rally and today’s decline don’t change much. It is not the immediate-term that is particularly important right now, but the medium and long-term pictures. The indications coming from them are much more decisive, and more important.And while the USDX remains indecisive right now, its price action still follows a familiar playbook: In 2018, the USDX dipped below the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level before circling back with a vengeance (The initial bottom occurred in early 2018, with the final bottom not far behind.) Moreover, the 2018 USDX bottom also marked the 2018 top in gold, silver and the gold miners (depicted in the below).Figure 3 – USDX, USD, GOLD, GDX, and SPX ComparisonAlso reprising its former role, the USDX’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) mirrors the double-bottom seen in 2017-2018 (the green arrows at the top-left of the chart). As the initial pattern emerged (with the RSI below 30 in 2017), it preceded a significant rally, with the USDX’s RSI surging to nearly 70. And just like the chorus from your favorite song, the pattern repeated in 2018 with nearly identical results.Today, it’s more of the same.If you look at the pattern at the top-right of the chart (the green arrows), the only difference is time. And in time, the USDX’s likely ascension will put significant pressure on gold, silver and the gold miners. In addition, the precious metals’ underperformance relative to the USDX further implies that a drawdown is the path of least resistance.Moreover, let’s keep in mind the similarity in cryptocurrencies – we now have a parabolic upswing, just like what we saw in early 2018. The history does seem to be rhyming, and this doesn’t bode well for the stock market (there are some individual opportunities, e.g. Matthew Levy, CFA managed to reap great gains in the Taiwanese ETF – it gained over twice as much as the S&P since Dec. 3 ), as well as the precious metals market.It appears that the USD Index is repeating its 2017 – 2018 decline to some extent. The starting points of the declines (horizontal red line) as well as the final high of the biggest correction are quite similar. The difference is that the recent correction was smaller than it was in 2017.Since back in 2018, the USDX’s bottom was at about 1.618 Fibonacci extension of the size of the correction, we could expect something similar to happen this time. Applying the above to the current situation would give us the proximity of the 90 level as the downside target.“So, shouldn’t gold soar in this case?” – would be a valid question to ask.Well, if the early 2018 pattern was being repeated, then let’s check what happened to precious metals and gold stocks at that time.In short, they moved just a little higher after the USDX’s breakdown. I marked the moment when the U.S. currency broke below its previous (2017) bottom with a vertical line, so that you can easily see what gold, silver, and GDX (proxy for mining stocks) were doing at that time. They were just before a major top. The bearish action that followed in the short term was particularly visible in the case of the miners.Consequently, even if the USD Index is to decline further from here, then the implications are not particularly bullish for the precious metals market.To summarize, gold’s recent strength is underpinned by a dormant U.S. dollar. But with the greenback more unloved than the villain in a superhero movie, it won’t take much to change the narrative. Furthermore, with net-short futures positions going from excessive to extreme, the game of musical chairs is likely to end with the shorts capitulating and the USDX moving higher. The implications may be unclear for the next few days, but they are bearish for the next few weeks to months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

LTC Moves Above $150, Reaching Highest Price Since 2018

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 04.01.2021 19:54
On Jan. 4, the Litecoin (LTC) price reached a high of $173, a high not seen since 2018. While it could continue increasing and reach the $185 resistance area, it appears the current rally is top-heavy, and a corrective movement will soon follow. LTC’s Long-Term Movement The weekly chart shows that LTC has finally moved above the June 2019 highs at $145 and has actually reached a weekly close above this level. If it continues increasing, the next resistance areas would be at $186 and $225, the 0.5 and 0.618 Fib retracement levels, respectively. Technical indicators are bullish, supporting the possibility of a breakout and a gradual move towards the resistance areas outlined. Chart By TradingViewCryptocurrency trader @Pentosh1 outlined a chart, stating that once the final resistance area at $140 is broken, a significant upward move is likely to follow. Since the tweet, LTC has moved above this level and is thus likely to continue increasing. Source: TwitterContinuation of the Move The daily chart shows signs of weakness, in the form of a bearish divergence in the RSI. Nevertheless, both the MACD and the Stochastic Oscillator are bullish. Due to the very rapid rate of increase, there aren’t any significant support areas. The closest is at $120. Chart By TradingViewThe two-hour chart shows signs of continuation in the form of hidden bullish divergence in the RSI. Combined with the long lower wick, this suggests that LTC is likely to move upwards. LTC Chart By TradingViewWave Count The wave count suggests that LTC has begun a bullish impulse (shown in white below) with its March lows, currently trading near the top of the third wave, which has become extended. The sub-wave count is shown in orange. Therefore, while LTC could potentially increase in the short-term, reaching a high near the $185 resistance area outlined in the first section, a correction would likely follow. LTC Chart By TradingViewLTC/BTC The weekly chart shows that both the RSI and the MACD have formed bullish divergence since the beginning of April despite the ongoing decline. LTC has been moving upwards since it reached a low of ₿0.0036 on Nov. 12. If LTC/BTC resumes its upward movement, the closest resistance area would be at ₿0.008. LTC Chart By TradingViewConclusion To conclude, while LTC could potentially resume its movement towards the $185 area, it is overdue for a correction. LTC/BTC meanwhile looks bullish in the long-term. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post LTC Moves Above $150, Reaching Highest Price Since 2018 appeared first on BeInCrypto.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

ESG Flows Drive Clean Energy to Fresh Highs

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 05.01.2021 00:04
The ESG theme has taken the capital markets by storm in 2020. Fund flows into this space have been relentless, helping to drive the clean energy sector to fresh highs. In the first half of 2020, 23-new exchange-traded funds were launched under the ESG umbrella. By the end of the Q3, ESG index funds hit $250 billion in value. The ESG umbrella focuses on many different areas and has flourished during the pandemic. With a vaccine on the horizon, the question for investors is whether this sector will remain sustainable.What is ESG and ESG InvestingThe term ESG stands for:EnvironmentalSocialGovernanceThe term brings to mind concepts like climate change, diversity and inclusion, and resource scarcity. While these are forms of ESG, it also covers social practices, including labor and talent management and data security and product safety. It includes employee experience, executive pay, and ethics. There is a wide divide amongst stakeholders on what the term means and how to communicate and manage the concept.ESG investing appears to be a derivative of socially responsible investing (SRI), which has been in existence for decades. While profits have always been considered the "mothers milk" of stocks, modern investors have realized that shortchanging stakeholders is a high price for society to pay. A company's stakeholders include its employees, customers, suppliers, as well as the environment, which play a crucial role in the functioning of the corporation.There is a fine line between ESG investing and SRI. ESG investors actively look for companies that show robust environmental, social, or governance attributes. SRI focuses on excluding industries that have failed to demonstrate compliance in socially responsible areas. ESG provides broader flexibility into specific companies' practices and the different management attributes that make up a corporate initiative.Inflows Into ESG Have Been ImpressiveInflows to ESG have been robust. ESG ETFs surged to $22 billion in the first half of 2020, which was more than 3X the 2019 total, according to Bloomberg. One of the issues that regulators face is that there is no clear definition of what constitutes ESG.The Concept is Here to StaySome corporate actions show me that ESG is here to stay. Stakeholders at public companies are getting assurances from management that their contributions will remain an essential aspect of management's focus. In 2020, Starbucks Corp. announced that the company would mandate antibias training for executives and tie their compensation to increasing minority representation in its workforce. Their diversity and inclusion mandate's target is to have 30% of corporate employees be minorities by 2025. While profits at any level are key, it's hard to imagine that an executive will allow their bonus to be eroded by failing to meet a corporate ESG mandate.The Best Asset Now ProcessI have mentioned this before and I have not wavered. I like to use a BAN strategy (Best Asset Now) to find leading sectors. Two ETFs have largely outperformed the rest that conforms to the ESG concept. These ETFs represent sectors that have shown leadership and are currently two of the top-5 best performing ETFs in 2020. These ETFs have generated bullish chart patterns that point to much higher prices following their recent breakouts.There is a reason to be bullish. President-elect Joe Biden named former Secretary of State John Kerry to lead his administration's climate change efforts. Kerry will be the "climate czar" and will be in charge of coordinating programs that are expected to stretch across multiple agencies. This could include executive orders issued by the new President-Elect to provide avenues beyond Congress to advance climate priorities. This is positive news for clean energy ETFs. If you are a stock trader, these are the BAN ETFs to look at which will outperform.*source - https://etfdb.com/compare/highest-ytd-returns/TAN Hits Fresh HighsThe Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Solar ETF accelerated to multi-year highs in November and is poised to test resistance near the 2011 highs at $91.70. This would add another 11% to its already robust 162% return in 2020. While prices could temporarily consolidate near this $92, a close above this level would lead to a test of the 2010 highs at $115. A close above $115 could lead to a test of the all-time highs near $307. Momentum is positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram is printing in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory which points to higher prices.*source TradingviewPBW Invesco Exchange-Traded Wilderhill Clean Energy ETFHas broken out and is poised to test the 2008 highs near $119.50. Support is seen near the 10-week moving average of $71.70. Momentum is positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram is printing in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory, which points to higher prices.Be sure to sign up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own!*source TradingviewDo you want to stay ahead of these sector trends and learn which sectors are the best opportunities for your trades?   Learn how our BAN Trader Pro education and alerts can help you keep focused on the best trading opportunities in 2021 and beyond while helping you protect and grow your wealth.  Go to www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn more about BAN Trader Pro, or let me teach you how to trade this strategy yourself by watching my FREE webinar! Scroll below to register for your seat now and make 2021 your year to PROFIT!!I wish you all a healthy and profitable New Year!!
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Hot Trade: Time To Turn Bullish The USD?

Ivan Delgado Ivan Delgado 05.01.2021 02:12
Daily EdgeChart of the dayTo see an expanded version, right-click and select ‘open link in new tab’. The indices show the performance of a currency vs a G8 forex basket. Indicators are available to use these measures via Tradingview and MT4. Oftentimes there is this constant debate. What matters the most, technicals or fundamentals? My personal stance in the subject is that while the latter is critical to understand the ‘whys’ of long-term trends, it is the technicals that show us the road map to get there, in other words, the ‘hows’.With that out of the way, in today’s write-up I want to solely concentrate on the technicals of the world’s reserve currency. Where the USD index (equally-weighted vs G8 FX) has landed, the way it’s gotten there (in terms of the volatility expansion seen) and the structure it’s formed, all suggest to me we may be in for a resurgence of USD buy-side flows this January.These are the reads I am getting in the USD index from a monthly chart perspective:The index is testing what’s arguably been the most determinant inflection point since the GFC in 2008.Every time this area has been tested, without exceptions, a major trend change has followed.The area is confluent with not one but two 100% projection targets. These measures are depicted via green arrows in the chart above.If history is any indication, January is by a large margin the best performing month of the year for the USD index (data since 1982).The over-extension to the downside has reached a 2-standard deviation (ATR-based) away from its central mean (13ema off the monthly chart).Analysis of the USD indexIn my video analysis below I lay out the rationale that leads me to think there are significant risks for bullish price action in the USD in coming months.Need a VPS? Check out Global Prime’s complimentary offers.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USD extends losing streak into 2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 05.01.2021 09:19
Euro Gaps Higher Testing December HighsThe euro currency gapped higher on the open on Monday as traders returned from the year-end holiday.The US dollar resumed its declines from 2020 pushing currencies such as the euro higher. The common currency briefly rose to test the Dec 30, 31 highs before pulling back.If price action continues on the pullback, we could see a near term decline. This would potentially make way for a triple top pattern as well.A break down below January 1 lows of 1.2121 could validate the bearish pattern. For the moment, the EURUSD is likely to trade within the highs and lows of 1.2312 and 1.2121 respectively.Sterling Falls On Risk Of Lockdown MeasuresThe British pound sterling is posting steep losses on Monday.The declines come amid threats of new tougher lockdown measures in the United Kingdom. The one day implied volatility is once again pushing higher.After trading near the highs, Monday’s bearish close could confirm the downside. This would potentially open the way for the GBPUSD to test the 1.3500 level of support.As long as this support holds, it remains within the long term uptrend. However, the GBPUSD will need to post higher highs to confirm this.Failure near the 1.3500 could open the way for the GBPUSD to extend declines lower to the 1.300 level.WTI Crude Oil Pulls Back From Multi-Month HighsOil prices rose to multi-month highs on Monday in anticipation of the OPEC+ meeting. Furthermore, tensions in the Middle East also added to the bullish fundamentals.Prices rose to highs of 48.97 before giving back the gains. For the moment, oil prices remain consolidated near the current levels between 46 and 49.The uptrend since early November remains intact for the moment. Only a strong close and a lower high around the 46.00 level will confirm otherwise.For the moment, oil prices will need to establish support near the 48.00 level to continue pushing higher.Gold Rises To An Eight-Week HighGold prices popped higher as the US dollar continued to extend declines. The pace of gains in the precious metal was however bigger, rising almost 2% intraday.The gains come amid a mixed set of narratives, including the Georgia senate runoff election.Price action has finally emerged from the consolidation from which there has been an ascending triangle pattern.The current gains put gold prices within reach of the 1950 level next. A strong close above this level is required to confirm further upside.To the downside, we expect prices to retest the 1900 – 1911 level in the short term to establish support.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Bitcoin (BTC) Drops Back but Manages to Hold On Above $30,000

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 05.01.2021 08:09
After reaching an all-time high on Jan. 3, Bitcoin (BTC) fell the day after, creating successive bearish daily candlesticks. Bitcoin is expected to break down from its short-term pattern and decrease towards the support levels outlined below.   Bitcoin Rally Stalls After reaching an all-time high price of $34,789 on Jan. 3, BTC stalled the next day, dropping all the way to a low of $28,130. However, it proceeded to create a long lower wick (shown with the green arrow in the image below) and reach a close of $31,988. While the lower wick is a bullish sign, the candlestick is not. BTC so far has created two bearish candlesticks, a shooting star on Jan. 3 and a hanging man on Jan. 4 — both normally considered bearish reversal signs. Despite the bearish candlesticks, technical indicators do not yet confirm the bearish reversal. While the MACD has generated a lower volume bar on the daily, it has yet to reach a close. Furthermore, the Stochastic oscillator has not yet made a bearish cross nor has the RSI crossed down below 70. If a downward move were to occur, the three closest support levels would be found at $25,230, $22,290 and $19,340 (0.382, 0.5, and 0.618 Fib retracement levels respectively). Besides being Fib levels, the latter two also provide horizontal support. BTC Chart By TradingViewShort-Term BTC Movement The two-hour chart also provides a somewhat bearish outlook. First, we can see that BTC is possibly trading inside a descending triangle, which is considered a bearish reversal pattern. Second, BTC appeared to have broken out from this pattern last night but was rejected by the $32,800 resistance area (red arrow), making the previous breakout only a deviation. Therefore, until BTC is able to successfully break out and reclaim the $32,800 minor resistance area, the trend is considered bearish and a breakdown is expected. A breakdown that travels the entire height of the pattern would take BTC down to $25,240, close to the 0.382 Fib retracement level from the previous section. BTC Chart By TradingViewThis view is supported by the six-hour time-frame, which similarly shows that the previous support area has turned to resistance, rejecting BTC last night and leaving a long upper wick in place. Technical indicators have also turned bearish, supporting the possibility of a breakdown. BTC Chart By TradingViewConclusion Bitcoin is expected to break down from its descending triangle and gradually decrease towards the closest support area at $25,240. For BeInCrypto’s previous Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post Bitcoin (BTC) Drops Back but Manages to Hold On Above $30,000 appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Will the Fed Support Gold Prices in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.01.2021 13:16
Gold ended 2020 at $1,891, partially thanks to monetary policy easing. In 2021, the Fed may not trigger a comparable rally in gold, but it should offer gold prices some support.Welcome to 2021! I hope that it will be a wonderful year for all of you; a much healthier, calmer and normal year than 2020 was. And even more profitable of course! Indeed, at least gold bulls could be satisfied with the last year, in which the price of gold jumped from $1,523 to $1,891 ( London A.M. Fix )! It means that the yellow metal gained more than 24 percent, as the chart below shows.I know that 24 percent does not look impressive compared to Bitcoin , which gained more than 260 percent in 2020, but it’s still a great achievement relative to other assets or gold in the past. Not to mention the fact that gold’s price level looks more sustainable, while the recent parabolic rises in cryptocurrencies suggest a price bubble .One of the reasons behind gold’s rally was the easy monetary policy adopted by the Fed (and other central banks) in a response to the pandemic and related economic crisis . In a way, the Fed reintroduced the quantitative easing first implemented in the aftermath of the Great Recession . So, gold’s bullish move shouldn’t be surprising.However, there are also some important differences in the monetary policy that followed the global financial crisis and the coronavirus epidemic . First, when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, the Fed went big. But when COVID-19 infections spread widely through America, the Fed went not only big, but also fast!Just look at the chart below. As you can see, it took just about two months for the U.S. central bank to slash the federal funds rate to zero in the spring of 2020, while it took over a year during the Great Recession.Moreover, from February to November, i.e., in just nine months, the Fed expanded its balance sheet by about $3 trillion, while a decade ago, such an increase took over six years!Implications for Gold in 2021What does the difference in the Fed’s stance imply for the price of gold in 2021? Well, on one hand, because the Fed acted aggressively, there is less room for further monetary policy easing . In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the Fed gradually fired from increasingly powerful weaponry, announcing new rounds of asset purchases from 2007 to 2013, while in a response to the coronavirus, the Fed has fired a bazooka at the outset. This decreases the odds for further monetary policy easing, pushing market expectations towards normalization. You see, when you are at the bottom, the only possible move is up.This is my biggest worry for the gold market in 2021: that monetary policy has already become so dovish, that now it can be only hawkish – at least on a relative basis. The real interest rates are so low that – given the prospects of economic recovery on a horizon – they can only go up, especially if inflation does not increase.On the other hand, inflation could really rise in 2021. Additionally, the fact that the Fed went both big and fast means that the U.S. central bank became more dovish than in the past , which should be positive for the yellow metal. Moreover, a decade ago the central banks at least pretended that they would like to tighten their stance and normalize monetary policy. They even said that quantitative easing would be reversed, and the Fed’s balance sheet would return to its pre-recession level.Now, the illusions have dissipated. The central banks will buy assets for years to come, if not indefinitely, and there will be no taper tantrum . The eventual exit from the current easy monetary stance will be ultra-slow and gentle. The Fed has a clear dovish bias, so the interest rates may go down further – after all, given the debt trap , the central banks could be forced to cap the bond yields , which should support gold prices.Therefore, in 2020, the Fed no longer only intervened on a large scale as it did a decade ago, but it also acted quickly. The change of strategy from go big to go big and fast can be positive for gold prices, but only when the market participants do not believe that the Fed is out of ammunition and only when they expect the normalization of interest rates. Although some investors expect an interest rate hike this year, I believe that the Fed will remain dovish and successfully manage market expectations in order to suppress market interest rates. So, although without the next crisis (such as a debt crisis ) or inflation, the price of gold may not rally substantively, it should be supported by the Fed in 2021 .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

NEO Bounces Above Support, Could Make Another Breakout Attempt

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 05.01.2021 14:40
The NEO price has been decreasing since its rejection at the $23 resistance area on Sept. 18. It has found support on lower time-frames and could soon make another breakout attempt. Despite this, the NEO/BTC chart remains in bearish price discovery, giving no bullish reversal signs. Long-Term Resistance NEO has been trading below the $23 resistance area since it initially broke down in Oct 2018. Until now, it has made three unsuccessful breakout attempts, the most recent one being on Sept 18, 2020. If it were to break out above this area, the next resistance levels would be at $82, 130, and $208, respectively. Therefore, the lack of overhead resistance could be the trigger for a very sharp rally. However, technical indicators are neutral, leaning bearish. This casts some doubt on the possibility of a breakout. Chart By TradingViewCryptocurrency trader @LisaNEdwards outlined a chart that has the price going all the way to $45. Due to the lack of resistance above the $23 area, a breakout could very well take the price to $45 or even higher. Source: TwitterDescending Resistance Line The daily chart shows that NEO has been following a descending resistance line since it reached a high of $24.87 on Sept. 17. It has validated the line four times so far. Also, we can see a support level at $13.20, which has been validated twice. Technical indicators are bullish, supporting the possibility that NEO will break out above this resistance line and make another attempt to break out above $23. Chart By TradingViewThis possibility is supported by the two-hour chart, which shows a breakout from a short-term descending resistance line and its validation as support afterward. Furthermore, the long lower wicks are a sign of buying pressure, another indication that it will likely head upwards. NEO Chart By TradingViewNEO/BTC Despite the relative bullishness from the NEO/USD pair, the NEO/BTC chart remains firmly bearish. NEO has been decreasing at an accelerated rate since it first broke down from the 9000 satoshi area at the beginning of Dec. There are no bullish reversal signs whatsoever, and the trend remains bearish until it can successfully reclaim the 9000 satoshi area. NEO Chart By TradingViewConclusion To conclude, NEO should gradually increase and break out above the $23 resistance area, potentially moving towards the next resistance levels. Despite this, the NEO/BTC chart remains bearish without yet providing any bullish reversal signs. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post NEO Bounces Above Support, Could Make Another Breakout Attempt appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

GBPUSD Attempts To Pare Losses

John Benjamin John Benjamin 06.01.2021 08:35
Dollar slips, brushing off ISM dataEuro Trades SubduedThe euro currency is trading subdued following the volatile price action on Monday which closed almost flat.Price continues to remain bullish but a breakout off the current levels is needed.Price action is likely to close with an inside bar on Tuesday. This could mean that a breakout from this range could set the short term momentum in the markets.The bias remains mixed, albeit to the upside. The common currency will need to post higher highs to confirm the continuation of the uptrend.The British pound sterling is posting modest gains on Tuesday following the strong sell-off on Monday. But price action remains subdued in comparison to Monday’s prices.The Stochastics oscillator remains near the oversold levels. However, this bias remains mixed.To the downside, the support area near 1.3500 is likely to come in as support.To the upside, for the uptrend to continue, GBPUSD will need to rise above the previous highs near 1.37.Crude Oil Gains Over 5%Oil prices are bullish on Tuesday, rising over 5% intraday.The gains come on the second day of the OPEC+ meeting. Saudi Arabia, alongside other countries, opposed Russia’s proposal of raising production. The current gains in oil prices will likely push it to the psychologically important level of $50.00 and barrel.Following this, we could expect some profit-taking to push prices back lower. The support level near 49.15 is likely to come in initially.As long as prices hold above this level, we could expect to see a continuation higher.If the 49.15 handle is lost, then a deeper correction could be expected toward the 47.17 level of support.Gold Tests 1950 Once AgainThe gains in the precious metal saw price rising to the 1950 level. This marks the second retest of this level since November 2020.Previously, prices fell back right after testing this level. At the moment, the Stochastics oscillator is in the overbought levels.This could potentially signal another correction lower. The immediate support level is near the 1911 – 1950 level for the moment.In the event that gold prices continue to edge higher, then a higher low needs to form above 1950. Above this level, the next clear challenge will be the psychological level of $2000.
DeFi TVL Reaches $20 Billion While ETH Locked Dwindles

DeFi TVL Reaches $20 Billion While ETH Locked Dwindles

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 06.01.2021 07:50
The total value locked (TVL) figure for the decentralized finance ecosystem has reached a record level just shy of $20 billion. However, more and more Ethereum is being withdrawn from the space. Decentralized finance (DeFi) has hit another milestone in terms of total value locked according to metrics provider DeFi Pulse. On Jan. 6, the figure hit $19.87 billion, an all-time high and an increase of 2,800% since the same time last year. Many have questioned this method of measuring market sentiment and performance since numbers can be duplicated from the same asset being farmed or wrapped for use on different protocols.  However, it’s one of the few DeFi metrics we have and does provide some insight on the overall performance of the fledgling financial ecosystem. DeFi TVL Chart – DeFi PulseDeFi Positive Feedback Loop Writing in the latest Defiant newsletter, researcher Owen Fernau labeled the TVL growth a “positive feedback loop,” noting that it should also serve to push the price of ETH higher as has happened in recent weeks; “TVL’s growth serves as a positive feedback loop: increases in value locked suggest increased utility of Ethereum,” Ethereum currently constitutes around 35% of the TVL which is measured in USD. Its price surge and other metrics suggest ETH is still undervalued. So while TVL is increasing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that more ETH is being locked in DeFi. In fact, the opposite is occurring. The amount of ETH locked in DeFi has fallen by 26% since its peak of 9.5 million ETH in October 2020. Today, that figure stands at just below 7 million ETH. Where is the ETH Going? There could be a number of reasons for this exodus of ETH. speculation on spot markets could be driving Ethereum holders to trade the asset since its volatility has increased along with the price. Arbitraging could also be occurring, but this is likely to be done by the whales since smaller trades and swaps would be eaten up in gas fees at the moment. The amount of the asset locked in the Beacon Chain deposit contract also continues to climb and has now reached 2.27 million ETH, or roughly 2% of the total supply. This is a third of the 6% that is currently locked in DeFi. At today’s prices, the amount of ETH staked and locked for at least another year is valued at $2.45 billion. According to the ETH 2.0 Launchpad, it’s currently yielding just over 10% for investors. The numbers are all bullish for Ethereum which is proving its versatility time and time again despite the exorbitant current cost of using it. The post DeFi TVL Reaches $20 Billion While ETH Locked Dwindles appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Despite Signs to the Contrary, Gold at or Near Top

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.01.2021 16:13
The thing that most likely raised quite a few eyebrows this week was – in addition to gold’s recent move by itself – the fact that gold rallied mostly without the dollar’s help. Yesterday (Jan. 5) I wrote that one swallow doesn’t make a summer and that a single session rarely changes much.We didn’t have to wait for long – the situation seems to be getting back to normal.Figure 1 - COMEX Gold FuturesAfter the January 4th rally, gold moved only insignificantly higher, and it’s even a bit lower in today’s pre-market trading.Figure 2 - USD IndexWhile the USD Index didn’t decline on Jan. 4, it did in the following days – yesterday and in today’s pre-market trading. So, the gold-USD link seems to be relatively normal after all; it doesn’t – by itself – indicate further relative strength in gold .There are three important things that one needs to note here.The first one is what I already wrote previously – gold is not even above its Nov. 2020 high, while the USDX is below its 2020 low, which means that gold is weak relative to the USD Index and Monday’s (Jan. 4) rally seems to have been an exception.The second one is also something that I wrote about previously – gold is right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal and it might have just topped (given its tiny decline despite a decline in the USDX).The third one is that the USD Index has quite a steep declining resistance line that’s based on the early-November and late-November highs. Each previous attempt to break above it that we saw in the last few weeks failed. But thanks to the steepness of the line, the USD Index is at this line even despite today’s decline. All it takes for the USD Index to break above it is for it to do… nothing. This should be relatively easy given how excessive the bearishness is in this market, how similar it is to what we saw in early 2018, what’s happening in the RSI and even given the similarity between 2018 and now in the cryptocurrencies. You can see details on the chart below.Figure 3 - USDX, USD, GOLD, GDX, and SPX ComparisonBy the way, someone who is not interested in markets or investments at all just called me yesterday to ask if I can help an individual they knew with cryptos – this is a classic case study of something that you see in the final stages of a price bubble. It’s an example of the general public buying, and they tend to enter at the tops. Bitcoin is at about $35,000 when I’m writing these words - you have been warned.How does it all combine? The gold-USD link is intact and a soaring USDX would likely trigger a sell-off in gold. There are many reasons due to which the USDX is likely to rally soon, even the situation in the cryptocurrency market makes the current time similar to early 2018. The triangle-vertex-based reversal in gold is right about now, so it seems that we won’t have to wait for long.Figure 4 - COMEX Silver FuturesAdditionally, silver is showing strength.Figure 5 – VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETFMiners, however, are not showing strength. They even declined yesterday (by just one cent, but still) while gold moved a bit higher, but this is just a small confirmation of what we’ve been seeing for many weeks.Let’s study the above chart:Miners were underperforming gold for many days and weeks, and they showed strength on Monday (Jan. 4). Just like in the case of gold – it was a one-day phenomenon, and one swallow doesn’t make a summer.During the day, the GDX ETF managed to rally above its 50-day moving average – just as it did at its November top. Unlike gold, miners are not very close to their November high. They corrected about 61.8% of the decline from this top. Moreover, please note that miners have corrected about 38.2% of the August – November decline. They haven’t even erased half of the decline that occurred in the previous months – so it’s definitely too early to say that miners started a new powerful rally here. Instead, we see that miners are making lower lows and lower highs.Moreover, please take note of the spike in volume that we saw on Monday. There were very few cases when we saw something similar in the previous months, which was at the November high and at the July high, right before the final 2020 top. The implications are bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Markets Recover Some Losses, While Eyeing Georgia

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.01.2021 16:28
Stocks gained on Tuesday (Jan. 5) after the major indices all sold off to start the year on Monday (Jan. 4).News RecapThe Dow Jones closed 167.71 points higher, or 0.6%, at 30,391.60. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% and the Nasdaq climbed nearly 1%The Georgia Senate run-off elections on Tuesday (Jan. 5) were the main focus of investors. At the time of publication, Democrat candidate Raphael Warnock was declared the winner over the incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler for the first Senate seat up for grabs. The other contested seat between Democrat Jon Ossoff and incumbent Republican David Perdue had yet to be called.The balance of power in the Senate depends on these results and markets could be volatile. Many believe that if the Democrats sweep the Georgia seats and win control, then higher taxes and progressive policies could hurt the market. On the other hand, others believe that a Democrat sweep could bring on larger and quicker stimulus relief.Better-than-expected ISM U.S. manufacturing data came in and helped stocks higher. According to the ISM, manufacturing rose to 60.7 in December from 57.5 in November. The consensus was that the index would slightly decline to 57.Energy stocks led the S&P higher and soared by 4.5% after Saudi Arabia agreed to voluntary production cuts in February and March. Oil giants such as Chevron (CVX) rose 2.7% as a result.Oil futures surged by 4.9% and briefly broke past $50 a barrel for the first time since February.Copper is a precious metal traditionally seen as a leading indicator for the global economy. On Tuesday (Jan. 5), it hit its highest level in nearly eight years and gained more than 2%.Gold also reached an 8-week high due to more declines from the dollar.Boeing (BA) was the best-performing Dow stock and gained 4.4%.U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday (Jan. 4) announced a national lockdown to slow the spread of a new, more contagious, coronavirus strain. Under these restrictions, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essentials, work (if they can’t from home) and exercise. Most schools, including universities, will also move to remote learning.According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University , more than 85 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed globally, including 20.8 million in the U.S. and 2.7 million in the U.K.Meanwhile, over 5 million people in the U.S. have now received a COVID-19 vaccination.After stocks sharply dropped on Monday (Jan. 4) to kick off 2021, widespread gains on Tuesday (Jan. 5) offset some of these losses. While Monday (Jan. 4) was the first time since 2016 that the Dow Jones started a year off with declines, two major catalysts sent the major averages higher: the oil production agreement reached between OPEC and Russia, and better than expected manufacturing results from December.This tug of war between good news and bad news can be expected in the early part of this new year. Although Monday (Jan. 4) witnessed a sharp pullback (and in my opinion, a predictable one), Tuesday (Jan. 5) witnessed a reversal. In general, though, I still believe that markets have overheated and that between now and the end of Q1 2020, a correction could likely happen.Markets have overheated, and I believe that much of the good news ranging from economic stimulus to vaccines has been baked in. Eventually, the reality on the ground will outweigh the positive news in the short-term.National Securities’ chief market strategist Art Hogan put it best in my opinion, saying that he believes we could see a 5%-8% pullback as early as this month. Hogan said that“we have a tug of war between virus news and vaccine news the better part of six months, and that’s been balanced off by stimulus...That seems to be behind us, and right now I think the virus news takes over a little bit.”Additionally, if the Georgia elections on Tuesday (Jan. 5) go as I think they’ll go (Democrat sweep), it could be a short-term catalyst leading to a potential correction. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is at stake with these elections. Investors are likely to prefer a divided Senate. If the Democrats sweep and wrestle away Senate control from the Republicans, it could leave President Biden’s powers largely unchecked, and enable him to pass more ambitious, progressive, and less market-friendly policies.At the time of this publication, Democrat candidate Raphael Warnock was declared the winner over the incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler for the first Senate seat up for grabs. The other contested seat between Democrat Jon Ossoff and incumbent Republican David Perdue had yet to be called.According to John Stoltzfus , chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management , the S&P 500 could fall by 10% if the Democratic candidates sweep the Georgia runoffs.“It is thought by not just a few folks on Main Street as well as on Wall Street that if tomorrow’s run-off results in a sweep for the Democrats — providing them with control of the Senate as well as the House — that it would bode ill for business with the likelihood that corporate tax rates could rise substantially,” Stoltzfus said.On the other hand, a Democrat sweep could mean potentially larger stimulus packages - and soon.There is optimistic potential, but the road towards normality will hit inevitable speed bumps and uncertainty. This Senate election and the potential market reactions reflect that.If and when a correction does happen, I believe it will be healthy and a good thing. Corrections are normal market behaviors and happen more frequently than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). Since we have not had one since March 2020, I believe we are long overdue, and the catalysts are there. Most importantly though, a correction could be a great buying opportunity for what I believe will be a strong second half of the year.While there will certainly be short-term bumps in the road, I love the outlook in the mid-term and long-term once vaccines become more widely available. The pandemic is awful right now, and these new infectious strains are quite concerning. But despite this, I believe the positive manufacturing data released on Tuesday (Jan. 5) is a step in the right direction, especially considering all the restrictions that most countries are living through.The consensus is that 2021 could be a strong year for stocks. According to a CNBC survey which polled more than 100 chief investment officers and portfolio managers, two-thirds of respondents said the Dow Jones will most likely finish 2021 at 35,000, while five percent also said that the index could climb to 40,000.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is very possible. But I do not believe, with conviction, that a correction above ~20% leading to a bear market will happen.The premium analysis this morning will showcase a “Drivers and Divers” section that will break down some sectors that are in and out of favor. As a token of my appreciation for your patronage, I decided to give you a free sample of a “driver” and “diver” sector. Please do me a favor and let me know what you think of this segment! I’m always happy to hear from you. DrivingSmall-Caps (IWM)Figure 1 - iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)After seeing a sharp pullback since Christmas week, the Russell 2000 briefly returned to its winning ways on Tuesday (Jan. 5). The IWM Russell 2000 ETF which tracks the small-cap index witnessed a 1.55% gain - its best day in a while.Although I genuinely love small-cap stocks in the long-term as the world will eventually reopen, I believe that in the short-term the index has overheated. Until the start of this week, the RSI for the IWM Russell 2000 ETF was at an astronomical 74.54. Although the RSI is at a more manageable 62.84, I still believe that the party of seeing vertical gains is over for now.Small-caps in the short-term will be more sensitive to bad news, and right now there is a lot. Vaccine gains have possibly been baked in by now and stocks just don’t go up vertically the way that the Russell 2000 did between November and late December. It is very possible that small-caps in the near-term could trade sideways before an eventual larger pullback. I truthfully hope small-caps decline a minimum of 10% before jumping back in for long-term buying opportunities.For now, SELL and take short-term profits if you can - but do not fully exit positions .If there is a pullback, this is a STRONG BUY for the long-term recovery. DivingUS Dollar ($USD) Figure 2 - U.S. Dollar ($USD)I have zero faith in the U.S. Dollar as a safe asset, even if we may see some short-term volatility and “risk-off” trades. I still am calling out the dollar’s weakness after several weeks despite its low levels. I expect the decline to continue as well thanks to a dovish Fed.Any time the U.S. Dollar rallies, it is simply “fool’s gold.” Since I started doing these newsletters about a month ago, I have consistently said that any minor rally the dollar would experience would be a mirage. Since the dollar briefly pierced the 91-level on December 9th, it has fallen over 1.8%. Despite the dollar experiencing another mini-rally and nearly piercing the 91-level again on December 22, I remained steadfast in my bearish outlook of the dollar. Since the open on December 23rd, the U.S. Dollar has declined another 1.25%. I believed the dollar would drop back below 90 before the new year, and here we are to start off 2021 with the dollar at 89.41. Since hitting a nearly 3-year high on March 20th, the dollar has plunged nearly 13.8% while emerging markets, foreign currencies, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies continue to strengthen. Gold for example reached an 8-week high on Tuesday (Jan. 5)On days when COVID-19 fears outweigh any other positive sentiments, dollar exposure might be good to have since it is a safe haven. But in my view, you can do a whole lot better than the U.S. dollar for safety.I have too many doubts on the effect of interest rates this low for this long, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation to be remotely bullish on the dollar’s prospects over the next 1-3 years. Meanwhile, the US has $27 trillion of debt, and it’s not going down anytime soon.Another headwind to consider for the dollar is the Georgia Senate election. If Democrats sweep, there could be more aggressive stimulus in the near term. With Democrats controlling both the House and the Senate, more stimulus could be bearish for the dollar.Additionally, according to The Sevens Report , if the dollar falls below 89.13, this could potentially raise the prospect of a further 10.5% decline to the next support level of 79.78 reached in April 2014. With the dollar now at 89.41, we are coming dangerously close.The dollar’s RSI is also nearly oversold once again and is trading significantly below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.For now, where possible, HEDGE OR SELL USD exposure.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Stellar’s XLM up Almost 150% in Last 7 Days

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 06.01.2021 17:09
Has alt season arrived? It just might have. Stellar Lumens (XLM) has appreciated dramatically over the past week. Before altcoin season commences, bitcoin and ether may need to see drastic price increases. Bitcoin has already broken the $35,000 handle for the first time, and ether is up over 50% in the last week. Although the number one and two cryptocurrencies have been stealing the show, Stellar’s XLM token has been the biggest gainer of the week, by far. In the last seven days, XLM is up over 140%, increasing its price by over 90% in the last 24 hours alone. According to CoinGecko, an online cryptocurrency market capitalization aggregator, this makes XLM the top-performing cryptocurrency out of the 100 largest tokens. What Caused the Recent Price Spike? It’s hard to pinpoint what caused XLM to take off, as there have been few announcements that would point to such a massive increase in growth. The US Treasury of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the largest US-based banking regulator, recently issued guidance on banks using stablecoins for settlement. Some users think Stellar is particularly positioned well for adoption. Since the announcement doesn’t point to any specific blockchain protocol, those users are mostly just speculating, though. XLM massively appreciating this week against the dollar | Source: TradingViewWhat is Stellar and XLM? The Stellar network is a decentralized, open-source protocol that allows cross border transactions between any pair of currencies. Its native cryptocurrency, XLM, is a governance token that serves as a reward mechanism for users who help secure the network. As the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization with a current valuation of almost $9 billion (according to CoinGecko), the Stellar network is one of the biggest players in the blockchain space. Managed by the Stellar Foundation, a non-profit oversight board, Stellar is looking to position itself as an easy and accessible bridge between cryptocurrency and fiat currencies. Since the inception of the Stellar network in 2015, the network has processed over 450 million unique transactions made by over four million individuals. With Stellar’s open-source and decentralized technology, both small-sized developers and gigantic conglomerates can take advantage of the network to potentially increase transaction efficiency. Stellar is looking to continue its mainstream adoption growth by offering users transactions with any currency on the blockchain. It’s unclear whether Stellar will rise at the astronomical rate it currently is, but it may be a project to keep an eye on. The post Stellar’s XLM up Almost 150% in Last 7 Days appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

DASH Breaks Out but Struggles to Sustain Rally

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 06.01.2021 20:12
The DASH price has broken out from a long-term resistance area but has failed to initiate a significant upward move. While DASH has bounced at a crucial support area, it has yet to confirm a bullish trend. Long-Term Breakout DASH had been following a descending resistance line since Jun. 2018, when it was trading at $225. After four unsuccessful breakout attempts, DASH finally moved above this line at the beginning of Nov. 2020 and is currently in the process of validating it as support. Technical indicators are relatively bullish, even though the MACD appears to have lost some strength. If DASH continues moving upwards, the next resistance areas would be at $135 and $175, respectively. Chart By TradingViewCryptocurrency trader @Mesawine1 outlined a DASH chart stating that DASH has broken out from a descending resistance line and validated it as support afterward. The line coincides with that which we have outlined, and DASH has indeed broken out. Source: TwitterStill Waiting on a Bullish Trend The daily chart provides the first support area at $85.5, the 0.618 Fib retracement level of the entire upward move. DASH has bounced three times on this support area, most recently having done so on Jan. 4. While the bounce here possibly suggests that the correction is done, technical indicators aren’t yet bullish. On the contrary, the Stochastic Oscillator has made a bearish cross, and the RSI is below 50. Chart By TradingViewUntil DASH breaks out from the short-term descending resistance line and/or reclaims the $98 area, we cannot consider the trend bullish. Nevertheless, unlike the daily time-frame, indicators on the lower two-hour time-frame are bullish. DASH Chart By TradingViewWave Count The wave count suggests that DASH is in a long-term wave 3, which began with the March low (shown in white in the image below). Currently, DASH seems to have completed sub-waves 1-2 (shown in orange) and is possibly in sub-wave 3. A likely target for the top of the move is between $173 and $177, found using the Fib extension of wave 1 (white) and external fib retracement of wave 2 (black). Furthermore, this target coincides with the long-term resistance area outlined in the first section, making it a likely target for the top. A decline below the wave 2 low at $62.4 would invalidate this particular wave count. DASH Chart By TradingViewConclusion To conclude, DASH should eventually begin an upward move towards $173 – $177. However, there are no signs that the upward move has begun, thus making it possible that DASH will continue consolidating before eventually beginning to move upwards. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post DASH Breaks Out but Struggles to Sustain Rally appeared first on BeInCrypto.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

GBPUSD Gives Back Gains From Previous Day

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.01.2021 09:47
Dollar recovers from a fresh two and half year lowEURUSD Pares Gains Near Trend-LineThe euro currency is down about 0.20% intraday. The declines come right after the common currency rose to a new two and a half year high.However, the test of the trendline from below indicates strong resistance here. For the moment, the current continuation remains questionable.The euro currency will need to post a strong decline and a lower high to confirm the start of a correction.For now, the initial support is near the 1.2215 level. As long as this level holds, the upside bias in the euro remains intact.The Stochastics oscillator is also quite overbought and gives scope for further declines in the common currency.The British pound sterling is seen giving back the gains made on Tuesday. This puts price action to trade rather flat but increases the downside bias.On the short term charts, the formation of a lower high indicates that the pound sterling could push lower.However, prices will contend with the initial support level near 1.3506. As long as this level holds, there is scope for the GBPUSD to make gains.However, if prices close below this level convincingly, then there is scope for a continuation to the downside.This will bring the sideways range of 1.3500 and 1.3100 back into focus.Oil Gains As Saudi Cuts OutputWTI crude oil touched $50.00 a barrel on Wednesday in the early Asian session. The gains came after the OPEC+ meeting saw Saudi Arabia cutting oil output by one million barrels per day.The rise to $50.00 marks the first time testing this level since February 25, 2020. For the moment, price action is seen retesting the rising trendline from below.If the trendline holds, then we expect to see a possible reversal off the $50.00 handle.A breakout above the trendline could see further gains likely. However, for the moment, oil prices could consolidate between the 50.00 and 47.00 price levels.Gold Price Retreats Off 1950 ResistanceThe precious metal once again failed to breakout above the key 1950 level of resistance.Following the failure, gold prices lost close to 2.30% intraday. The declines push gold prices back to the key support level near the 1900 – 1911 price area.As long as this support level holds, gold is likely to post a rebound.However, if price closes convincingly below the 1900 level then that could potentially put an end to the current rally.For the moment, the bias in gold prices remains mixed.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Began 2021 With a Bang, Only to Plunge

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 07.01.2021 15:44
2021 started off well for gold. It’s not surprising, as January is usually positive for the yellow metal, but the Georgia runoff results may constitute an additional bullish factor in the longer term.What a start to the new year! Gold has begun 2021 very well : as the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal (London A.M. Fix) increased from $1,891 on December 31, 2020 to $1,947 on January 5, 2021.Should we be surprised? Not at all! Our readers are perfectly aware that January is historically a good month for gold, so the recent gains are perfectly understandable.And, as a reminder, although I’m cautious in formulating my bullish outlook for gold in 2021, especially later this year, my view remains optimistic and I expect the continuation of gold’s bull market . Although there are some reasons to worry, I don’t think that gold has had its last word.After all, gold’s fundamentals are staying positive . The Fed continues its dovish monetary policy and the real interest rates are kept deeply under zero. The fiscal policy is also loose and the public debt is rising. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has been weakening since March 2020, as the chart below shows.Georgia Runoff’s Implications for GoldGold’s positive fundamentals in the long term can be strengthened by Georgia runoffs. At the time of writing this article, Democrats have already won the U.S. Senate race in Georgia – as Raphael Warnock beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler – and lead in the second, edging closed to control of the chamber.You see, if Democrats win both races in Georgia, they will have 50 Senate seats, the same as Republicans. However, in case of split voting results in the Senate, the Vice President (as president of the upper chamber), is the tiebreaker. So, with Kamala Harris as Vice President, Democrats would have control over the Senate.Along with a change in the White House and a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, we would be seeing a “blue sweep” of Congress. Such a revolution could lead to a higher fiscal stimulus, stricter corporate regulation and higher taxes. In other words, investors expect that a Democrat-controlled Senate would expand the U.S. fiscal deficits even further.Indeed, some analysts expect another big stimulus package of about $600 billion to accelerate the economic recovery from the coronavirus-related recession , if Democrats take over the Senate. With unified control over Washington, really big opportunities lie in front of Democrats, including $2,000 stimulus checks. The expectations of larger government spending is positive for gold prices , as higher expenditures would increase the public debt, weaken the greenback (indeed, the dollar fell on January 6), and they could also bring some inflationary effects, if the Fed decides to monetize the new debt (and why should it refuse to do what it’s done for so many years).However, the prospects of larger government borrowing have increased bond yields , which could be negative for the yellow metal in the short-term. This is probably why the price of gold declined on January 6 (although there was also normal profit taking in the gold market). Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower that day, so equities were also hit by the increased possibility of a blue wave and prospects of stricter regulations and higher taxes. With both bond and equities hit by the vision of a Democratic-controlled Senate, gold could be the biggest beneficiary of the Georgia runoff. As a reminder, this scenario (the blue wave) for the U.S. November elections was considered to be the most positive for the gold prices – and nothing changed here for the past two months.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

What’s Next for BNB After Another All-Time High?

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 07.01.2021 13:54
The Binance Coin (BNB) price reached a new all-time high on Dec. 29 and has been moving upwards since. BNB should continue moving upwards towards the targets of $50 and potentially near $70. BNB Reaches All-Time High On Jun. 22, BNB reached an all-time high of $39.51. It began a significant downward movement afterward, which lead to a low of $6.38 on Mar. 13. However, it has been moving upwards since. On Dec. 29, it reached a new all-time high and has been increasing, reaching a high of $44.90 to date. The previous resistance area at $39 is now likely to act as support. Chart By TradingViewFuture Movement Cryptocurrency trader @Tradingtank outlined a BNB chart, stating that it’s likely to increase. They gave targets of $46 and $52. Source: TwitterTechnical indicators on the daily time-frame are bullish, supporting the continuation of an upward move, even though the rally is overextended. However, since BNB is trading at an all-time high and there are no resistance levels above the current price, we need to use a fib extension to determine future targets. Chart By TradingViewFurthermore, the two-hour chart shows that BNB is also following an ascending support line, which coincides with the minor $42 support area. As long as BNB is trading above this level, the trend is bullish. Similar to the daily time-frame, indicators on the two-hour time-frame are also bullish. BNB Chart By TradingViewWave Count The wave count suggests that BNB is probably in wave 3 of a long-term bullish impulse (shown in white below), which began in March. A possible target for the top of the entire move is at $69.58, which would give waves 1:3 a 1:1.61 ratio, common in bullish impulses. BNB Chart By TradingViewThe short-term chart shows that BNB is likely nearing the top of sub-wave 3 (shown in orange), while the minor sub-wave count is given in black. The most likely targets for the top of sub-wave 3 are at $46 and $50-$51, found using a combination of fib extensions (orange) and projections (black). BNB Chart By TradingViewConclusion To conclude, as long as BNB is trading above its short-term ascending support line, it should continue rallying towards $50 and possibly $70. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post What’s Next for BNB After Another All-Time High? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

BAL Breaks Out and Reclaims Numerous Resistance Levels

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 07.01.2021 17:10
The Balancer (BAL) price has been increasing since breaking out from a descending resistance line on Dec. 29. BAL has reclaimed numerous resistance areas and looks like it will rally towards at least $26. Breakout and Reclaim of Resistance BAL had been following a descending resistance line since Sept. 13. It made two unsuccessful breakout attempts before finally moving above the line on Dec. 28. On Jan. 6, it also moved above the $18 area, which previously acted as resistance. BAL is currently in the process of validating it as support. If it continues rallying, the next resistance area would be at $26.80, the 0.618 Fib retracement level of the entire downward move. The following resistance area is at the all-time high price of $38.18. Technical indicators on the daily time-frame are bullish, supporting the possibility that the upward momentum will continue. Chart By TradingViewCryptocurrency trader @Mesawine1 outlined a BAL chart, which shows the same breakout from a descending resistance line. Since the tweet, BAL has already reclaimed the first resistance area at $18 and is now moving towards the next one at $26.80. A breakout above this level would likely take BAL towards a new all-time high. Source: TwitterShort-Term Movement The shorter-term six-hour chart supports the possibility of upwards continuation. BAL has broken out from a short-term descending resistance line and has followed that up with a reclaim of the $15 and the $17.50 area. As long as it’s trading above the latter, it should continue moving upwards. Despite some bearish divergence on lower time-frames, technical indicators are still bullish, similar to those on the daily time-frame. Chart By TradingViewWave Count The most likely wave count suggests that BAL is currently in an extended wave 3 (shown in white below), which has a possible target of $26.75. The target is found by giving waves 1:3 a 1:1.61 ratio, common in such impulses. Furthermore, it coincides with the previously outlined resistance area. The sub-wave count is given in orange. The loss of the $15 minor support area would invalidate this particular wave count. BAL Chart By TradingViewConclusion To conclude, BAL should continue rallying until it reaches the next closest resistance area at $26.70. A breakout above this level could take it towards a new all-time high price. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here! Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of BeInCrypto. The post BAL Breaks Out and Reclaims Numerous Resistance Levels appeared first on BeInCrypto.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver, you got to know how!

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 08.01.2021 13:47
We have identified the most commonly made mistake in technical analysis to be the representation. Representation equals psychology! Psychology being the most important aspect of trading means that the way charts are represented is extremely important. Rarely do we see trading supportive setups. Silver, you got to know how!Here are a few tips we find useful to get the best out of your chart space.Less is not always more.In our opinion charts from cell phones are useless. Their aspect ratios and general size do not allow for the professional to translate into a decision-making process that is conducive to execution. While larger handheld devices and small laptops are an upgrade to these stamp size representations, we still vote for a multi-screen trade setup for the following reasons. For back testing and chart analysis you want to see nuances of various time frames represented next to each other.For execution, you want a quiet workspace meaning it isn’t conducive to flip between workspaces or expand and collapse windows. Take small time frames. Sorting and execution windows should be outside your main visual sensory field as they produce a lot of data leading to data exhaustion over time. Split widescreen monitors into halves or thirds because stretched chart windows distort the ratio to the point that trend and range differentiation are hard to make out. This being one of the most important things to read out of a chart.Silver, Monthly Arithmetic Chart. Silver, you got to know how!Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 7th, 2021.Another aspect little known is the principle on how to use arithmetic versus logarithmic charts. You want to use arithmetic charts for shorter time segments to have an accurate representation of trends and ranges. For long term monthly data, it is advisable to use logarithmic representation. This is due to the fact that event proportions get swallowed once price ranges are stretched.Let us illustrate. If you compare the above arithmetic chart, from exactly ten years ago with the logarithmic one below, you will find a vast difference in how one can interpret price movement at first glance. Looking at a larger time segment with vast price movement the arithmetic representation “swallows” data through compression. What is interpreted as insignificant noise (to the very left of the chart) in the arithmetic chart, with a two-year sideways segment, becomes significant in the logarithmic chart where one can see much more clearly that we had a major downtrend of a 32% price drop.  Silver, Monthly Chart, Logarithmic, Silver, you got to know how!Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 7th, 2021.Secondly, the logarithmic representation shows much more clearly that from this price drop low at US$4.05 a clear uptrend established. This with two major up legs advancing to US$49.83, representing a 1,130% gain.Silver, Monthly Chart. Starting the year with a large time frame overview:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 7th, 2021.Why a correct representation like this is significant becomes obvious when looking at the present time. The recent directional advancement of Silver prices is birthed out of a previous 34% drop. This is even more significant if you include the quick washout, represented by the down wick, which accounts for a 45% drop. Prices have more than doubled since those lows. Enough reason to look in the past of Silver price behavior at the beginning of possible longer trends. Without the use of a logarithmic presentation, one might have not ever noticed a possible similarity.In short, it is essential once looking at larger time stretches on larger time frame charts to consider the use of a logarithmic representation. Otherwise, you might lose analysis opportunity through chart compression.Technology marketing tries to sell us all sorts of gadgets blinding us to believe that technological toys empower a better trading result. Wrong! Do not get lured into trading on the fly from your cell phone while driving. Trading is like a competitive sport. You do not win a gold medal at the Olympics while texting your buddies. If you want to win the game of market participation you need to dedicate your time in a quiet space with appropriate tools.Silver, you got to know how!Execution requires a maximum reduced data density to keep some powder dry for mental capacity in case of surprises, distractions, and other abnormalities to not get into a stress-induced reactionary intuitive field but rather stay focused. Only an anticipatory rule-based execution in this counterintuitive environment leads to success. This principle demands a chart representation as quiet as possible to keep data overloads at a minimum. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

USD grinds higher despite poor payrolls report

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.01.2021 09:16
Euro Falls For A Second Consecutive SessionThe euro currency was down over 0.41% into Friday’s close, marking the second session of consecutive declines. The drop comes after the euro touched highs of 1.2284 on Wednesday last week.While it is too early to call for a correction, the current drop remains consistent with the overall view. The EURUSD has been in a strong uptrend with little to no major corrections.For the moment, the line in the sand comes in at the 1.2177 level of support. If the euro loses this handle, then we expect to see a move to the 1.2050 level of support next.While this could weaken the upside bias, there is still scope for a rebound. But a close below 1.2050 will no doubt accelerate the declines to 1.1900 next.GBPUSD Closes Flat As Consolidation ContinuesThe British pound sterling is seen trading flat as the consolidation near the top end of the rally continues.The cable has been in a strong volatile ride since late last year due to the Brexit trade talks. This has pushed the currency to test highs above 1.3650.However, following the gains, price has been trading rather flat. On the short term charts, we see the consistent lower highs forming.This could result in the descending triangle pattern likely to emerge. If the GBPUSD closes below the 1.3500 level of support, then we expect to see further declines lower.The cable will most likely move back within the sideways range of 1.3500 and 1.3150 levels.Crude Oil Rises To A Nine-Month HighOil prices continue to push higher with prices settling near 52.60 last Friday. It marks the highest levels since February.The gains also come with nine weekly consecutive gains so far. With price action cutting past the trendline from below, we expect to see a continuation higher.But if price action retraces the gains, then a correction back to the 49.00 level is quite possible. Establishing support at this level will continue to see the bullish bias intact.The next key level to the upside will come near the 55.00 level which marks a major support/resistance level back in late 2019/early 2020.Gold Prices Push Past 1850The precious metal continues to post strong declines. On Friday, the commodity lost over 3% into the close to settle at 1847.Prices are now trading near a three-week low. The weekly bearish price action candlestick is also likely to signal a continuation lower.The next key level of support comes near the 1817 level. If gold prices lose this handle, then we might get to see a stronger decline.The next main support level will be found near the 1671 level and would potentially mark a strong retracement after testing new all-time highs just a few months ago.
Bitcoin riches through sitting on one’s hands

Bitcoin riches through sitting on one’s hands

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 11.01.2021 12:11
Jesse Livermore said: “It was never my thinking that made the big money for me, it always was sitting.” Easier said than done. We are wired to take quick small profits and find it as such extremely difficult to sit through lengthy-time periods to ensure larger profits should a trade develop into a sustainable trend.While trailing stops most often fail being set too tight motivated again by the fear of losing one’s gains, one solution is our quad exit method that we use in our free telegram channel in which we post-trade entries and exits in real-time.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Taking profits into the extended move:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of January 9th, 2021Here is an example of the application of this psychological and money management tool. We entered a long trade on April 15th last year at US$6,726. Shortly thereafter, we took partial profits to erase risk at US$6,993 and locked in some more profits at US$7,248. This did not just provide for solid trade results. Most of all it satisfied the psychological hunger to now be able to sustain the idea of “sitting on one’s hands”. With a preset like this, we were able to let the remaining position size of twenty-five percent, fittingly named “the runner”, do its thing. We exited the trade last week on 1/9/2021 at US$40,729 (a 506% profit). An exhaustion move with a confirmed counter directional signal on a larger time frame warranted to do so. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Ten runners still on the move:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of January 9th, 2021 bStill, we would be in trouble without another additional methodology in play. We call these reloads. Far from a typical form of a high-risk methodology of pyramiding, this way of adding an individual low-risk trade allows for ending up with multiple runners should a trend develop as it has over the last three quarters in Bitcoin.With this methodology, there is no need to pick tops and bottoms. Surviving runners extend into building a large position size. In the same way, partial profit-taking of such a position through closing out trades, meaning reducing overall position size is possible. Useful if possible trend exhaustion, distribution zones, or otherwise target zones establish themselves throughout the upward move.The weekly chart above shows with yellow arrows entry points of trades we posted live in our free Telegram channel where we still have the runner portion exposed to the market. It is this combination of tools we apply that allows us to be left with choices. This in regard to additional entries and various partial profit taking points. It allows us to let a good portion ride while sitting on our hands.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin riches through sitting on one’s hands:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of January 10th, 2021 cNow that the cat is out of the bag and mass media has pointed out Bitcoin´s staggering gains last week, professionals typically fade the money coming in from amateurs stimulated by the hype. But not so fast. Are we seeing Bitcoin’s typical extreme retracement? In the weekly chart above we have identified four (A to D) major retracement support zones.All-time new highs from 2017, retested in November last year near US$19,888 (D).The most dominant supply zone marked by a “POC” of the 4th leg up volume analysis near $23,512 (C).Fibonacci retracement 0.618 with price zone near US$27,392 (B).Fibonacci retracement 0.786 with price zone near US$33,945 (A)Yes, we had a four-leg move up from US$3,782 and we are extended without a doubt, but who says we won’t find ourselves in a few years at levels tenfold from here. Livermore was right in his approach of sitting on one’s hands. Luckily our approach takes the worry and guesswork out of these debates. We let the runners run. Should we see a deep retracement we get additional low-risk entries with their runners possibly surviving as well. And yes, if you are relying on an, in part, income-producing system this is certainly a spot right here to take partial profits off the sum of your runners. What is not wise is to tighten stops here or typically place them somewhere where they are emotionally comfortable in the middle and have the typical experience that they just get nicked out before prices advance further again.Bitcoin riches through sitting on one’s handsJesse Livermore also said: “Nobody can catch all the fluctuations.” With the above-described methodology, one doesn’t need to. This self-regulatory system allows taking the agony of being right, the need for perfect timing, and most of all the hardship of not letting the cash register ring out of the equation. Livermore also stated: “Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon”. We find that the illustrated approach is one way to circumvent the difficulties of participating in a steep trend without its typical pitfalls. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

What Underperforms Gold and Heralds More Declines?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.01.2021 17:03
With the gold miners underperforming gold, and gold underperforming the USDX, it was only a matter of time before the house of cards came crashing down.The writing has been on the wall all along with signs for all to see. On Jan. 5, I warned that the GDX was approaching an inflection point in the following way:The GDX ETF managed to rally above its 50-day moving average – just as it did at its November top. Moreover, please take note of the spike in volume that we saw yesterday. There were very few cases when we saw something similar in the previous months, which was at the November high and at the July high, right before the final 2020 top. The implications are bearish.And despite Friday’s (Jan. 8) 4.82% sell-off, the GDX’s last hurrah is likely to end with even more fireworks.Please see the chart below:Figure 1 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), GDX and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart Comparison – 2020With technicals foretelling the decline, many bullion bulls closed their eyes to the plethora of warnings signs that you can find in the previous Gold & Silver Trading Alerts.For example:A huge volume spike in the first session of 2021 was very similar to what we saw at the November 2020 and July 2020 tops – this heralded declines.The GDX’s stochastic oscillator bounced above 80, mirroring similar readings that preceded five pullbacks since September.Arguably the most important indication that keeps on flashing the very bearish signals , the GDX’s underperformance relative to gold remained intact.In addition, the GDX is on the cusp of forming a head and shoulders pattern . If you analyze the chart above, the area on the left (marked S) represents the first shoulder, while the area in the middle (H) represents the head and the area on the right (second S) represents the potential second shoulder.Right now, $33.7-$34 is the do-or-die area. If the GDX breaks below this (where the right shoulder forms) it could trigger a decline back to the $24 to $23 range (measured by the spread between the head and the neckline; marked with green).Since there’s a significant support at about $31 in the form of the 50% retracement based on the 2020 rally, and the February 2020 high, it seems that we might see the miners pause there. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a pullback from these levels to about $33, which could serve as the verification of the completion of the head-and-shoulder pattern. This might take place at the same time, when gold corrects the decline to $1,700, but it’s too early to say with certainty.Also, let’s not forget that the GDX ETF has recently invalidated the breakout above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the 2011 – 2016 decline.Figure 2 - GDX VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (2009 – 2020)When GDX approached its 38.2% Fibonacci retracement, it declined sharply – it was right after the 2016 top. Are we seeing the 2020 top right now? This is quite possible – PMs are likely to decline after the sharp upswing, and since there is just more than one month left before the year ends, it might be the case that they move north of the recent highs only in 2021.Either way, miners’ inability to move above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and their invalidation of the tiny breakout is a bearish sign.The same goes for miners’ inability to stay above the rising support line – the line that’s parallel to the line based on the 2016 and 2020 lows.In summary, the GDX’s train has likely gone off the rails, with silver in the front car and gold in the back. And as the technical derailment unfolds, a resurgent U.S. dollar is likely to accelerate the impact. Furthermore, if the S&P 500 hops on board – and declines from its current state of euphoria – damage to the precious metals mining stocks could be particularly violent.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Revisiting Our October 23 Four Stocks To Own Article – Part I

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 12.01.2021 03:28
Just before the US Elections, we authored an article related to four stocks/sectors that we thought would do well immediately after the November 2, 2020 elections.  The article highlighted how sector rotation in almost any market trend can assist traders in finding solid trading triggers.  We picked four stocks from various sectors for this example:AALAmerican AirlinesTravel/LeisureACBAurora CannabisCannabisGEGeneral ElectricIndustrial/Specialty IndustrySILJJunior Silver Miners ETFPrecious Metals MinersWhen you review my Yahoo! Finance article from October 23 and the November 6 follow up article related to these stock picks, you will quickly see that all of these stocks exhibited similar types of technical patterns.  They were all bottoming in an extended rounded bottom formation and had all started to near a Pennant/Flag Apex in price.  Additionally, many of them, with the exception of SILJ, had set up a very clear RSI technical divergence pattern over the course of setting up the extended bottom in price.My research team and I selected these stocks because of key expectations related to the post-election mentality of investors related to various sectors.  First, the cannabis sector had a number of new US states approve cannabis legislation – providing for an expected increase in business activity for the entire cannabis sector.  Second, no matter who won the election, another round of stimulus was likely to be approved resulting in increased economic opportunity for companies like GE and AAL.  The Travel and Leisure sector still had its risks as a surge in COVID cases could greatly disrupt future travel expectations.  Junior Silver Miners was our “hedge trade”.  If none of these other stocks started to rally, then Silver Miners would likely move 15% to 20%+ higher over time.We thought it would be a good time to check in with our picks to share the importance of using sector trends to your advantage.  Currently, there are dozens of sectors that are either in a solid bullish trend or are shifting into new bullish trends.  Being able to catch these setups early and having the confidence to act on these trends is very important. We highlighted some of these setups in our October 23 article, but they happen all the time in various market sectors.What is important is being able to see the setups, identify the sectors that have the strongest capability for future trends, then determining if you should trade the Sector ETF or some individual stocks within that sector.  Generally, the Sector ETFs provide enough liquidity and opportunity that you don't need to worry about the individual stocks.  Yet, sometimes, applying the same techniques to the strongest sector stocks can add a very valuable component to your trading.Below, we have highlighted the accomplishments of each stock symbol over the past 60+ days.  For this example, we will estimate a $20k allocation for ALL TRADES ($5k each) and use a simple 33% target allocation for Target 1, Target 2, and the Trailing Remainder.  That means, we take 33% of the position off at Targets 1 and 2, then let the remaining 33% trail with a protective stop.SymbolEntry PriceTarget 1 %Target 2 %Last Price %AAL$12.6039.81%NA22.44%ACB$4.68124.35%NA114.72%GE$7.6322.77%NA48.56%SILJ$14.68NANA10.11%Our $20k sample account would look something like this right now...SymbolEntry PriceTarget 1 $Target 2 $Last Price $AAL$12.60$656.87NA$6,408.61ACB$4.68$2,068.28NA$10,802.59GE$7.63$375.71NA$6,995.44SILJ$14.68NANA$5,505.50   Total =>$29,712.14Overall, this represents a +48.5% net account profit in just over 60 days by focusing on sector trends and rotations.  In the future, if any of our higher Target levels are reached, we'll pull another 33% of these trades and lock in these gains while we let the remaining position carry forward with a trailing stop.  The trailing stop should be based on the last completed target level reached.  For example, if Target 1 is reached, then the stop should be placed just below the Entry Price level.  If Target 2 is reached, then the stop should be placed just below the Target 1 level and it should begin to trail higher as new price highs are reached.Usually, we will pick an exit price level based on some type of trend failure or reversal point.  In most cases, this happens when the longer-term (Weekly based) moving averages change direction and price activity displays a clear technical pattern showing the bullish trend has ended.  Most traders are capable of determining their own exit points using technical indicators and other tools as they wish.  Be sure to sign up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own!When some sector is trending very strongly, we don't want to attempt to second guess the peak level or end of the trend.  We just want to ride that trend for as much profit as we can – unless some other sector sets up a new opportunity where we can better deploy our assets for profits. We like to let the trend work itself to an eventual end and use our Target Levels to lock in gains along the way.American Airlines TradeThe following Weekly chart of American Airlines (AAL) highlights the simple trade we suggested on October 23, 2020.  As you can see, the upward sloping lows in price aligned with the upward sloping RSI trend (in the lower pane).  AAL has reached our first target level (the MAGENTA line) and has recently settled near $15.13.  Our stop level should be just below our entry price level, near or below $12.60 at this time as we wait to see how the bullish trend continues.In Part II of this article, we'll go over the remaining three stock symbols we initially suggested on October 23, 2020 and highlight even more details related to sector trending.Many years ago I was researching Japanese Candlesticks and the teaching of Seiki Shimizu (The Japanese chart of charts: Shimiz) settled well with my thinking.  In his writing, he suggests that more than 60% of the time traders are waiting for new setups/trades.  This is something that many traders need to fully understand in order to balance aggressive trading tendencies with their abilities to create profits and protect assets.If this theory is correct, then trades only need to focus on the 30% to 40% of any 12-month span of time  (three to four months) where the bigger sector trends/trades setup and initiate.  Otherwise, these trends may continue, in some form, over the remainder of the time to generate profits (or not).  This type of thinking suggests that traders only need to focus on the best immediate setups in any market trends/sectors and ignore the “froth” in the markets on a day-to-day basis.  Doing so will allow most traders the freedom to create profits by taking skilled and effective entry triggers while being able to enjoy life, family, and other hobbies.  Trading does not need to be a full-time, 24/7 effort.  The global markets generate big sweeping sector trends sometimes 2 to 4 times a year as capital moves in and out of various trend cycles (short, intermediate, and long term).  All we have to do is find the best sectors to trade, then wait for the trigger/entry setup. Now, imagine what it would be like if you could accomplish something like this every week or month with technology? You can with my BAN Trader Pro strategy and Hotlist.BAN Trader Pro can help you identify and trade the Best Asset Now.  The BAN Hotlist helps us identify the strongest and best trade setups in any market sector.  Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the BAN Trader Pro system trades.  You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to profit from sector rotation with my strategy. You can sign up here for my 100% educational webinar for free.Have a great week!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

USD extends gains, rising to a three-week high

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.01.2021 08:56
Euro Extends Declines For Third Consecutive SessionThe euro currency is posting declines for the third consecutive day. As a result, the common currency fell to a four-week low intraday before recuperating some of the losses.The broadly stronger greenback has pushed the EURUSD lower, which has been pending a correction for quite a while. For the moment, the euro is seen consolidating near the 1.2177 level.With the Stochastics oscillator currently oversold, there is scope for prices to post a rebound. The longer-term hidden bullish divergence could however see price making an attempt to push higher.As long as the previous highs of 1.2343 holds, we expect the overall trend to remain flat.GBPUSD Breaks Down Lower From Descending TriangleThe British pound sterling finally gave way as price broke down from the descending triangle pattern. This comes even as prices broke down past the key support/resistance level near 1.3500.However, following the initial decline to a two week low, the cable is recovering from the intraday lows. We could now expect prices to potentially retest the lower support area near 1.3542 – 1.3500.As long as this level stalls from price posting gains, we could expect to see further downside. The Stochastics oscillator is currently oversold and coincides with the rebound.However, if prices rise above the 1.3542 level, then it would invalidate the descending triangle pattern. We could expect to see the price either consolidating or renewing its bullish momentum.Oil Price Gains Pause After A 4-Day GainWTI crude oil prices are taking a breather following the strong winning stretch from last week. Price action is largely muted, even failing to post any new highs.As a result, oil prices are confined within last Friday’s range. Since the overall bias remains to the upside, there is scope for the commodity to continue to edge higher.However, on the short term charts, we see the trendline coming under a retest once again from below.If the trendline begins to act as resistance, then we could see some downside correction. The immediate lower support level near 49.00 comes into the picture.This should ideally support prices in the near term. But given that the Stochastics oscillator is likely to signal further upside, oil prices are likely to break the trendline to the upside.Gold Trades Flat Following Last Week’s DeclinesThe precious metal is on track to close flat on Monday. Price briefly slipped to test the 1817.80 level before pulling back.Overall, gold prices are currently confined to trade within the 1850 and 1817.80 levels. Only a strong breakout from this range will confirm the next direction.The bias remains to the downside for the moment, but that could change if gold prices manage to rise above the 1850 handle.This will then potentially set the stage for gold to test the 1911.50 level. The Stochastics oscillator remains near the oversold levels and somewhat mixed.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Blue (Wave) Beats Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.01.2021 14:15
What a week! First gold soared to almost $1,960, but then its price (London P.M. Fix) plunged to $1,863 on January 8, as the chart below shows.This is quite strange (and bearish) behavior, given what happened last week. First, there were violent pro-Trump protests in Washington D.C. The rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. During these riots, five people died. Given the chaos in the capital, gold, which is a safe-haven asset , should shine.Second, the December Employment Situation Report came out . It turned out that the nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000 last month . The numbers fell short of expectations, as the pundits expected that the U.S. economy would add 50,000 jobs. The contraction in the nonfarm payrolls means that the winter wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. labor market rather significantly.Third, despite the rollout of vaccinations (which is rather sluggish), the epidemic in the U.S. is taking its toll . The number of daily new cases of the coronavirus is above 250,000, the record high, as the chart above shows. So, we see the impact of the winter holidays showing up in the data.Rioting will also not help in limiting the spread of the coronavirus . Furthermore, hospitalizations and deaths are also rising. The past week saw the first time the U.S. reporting more than 3,900 deaths in a single day, as the chart below shows.Lastly, both Democratic candidates won the runoffs in Georgia , which means that Democrats took control over the Senate. The unexpected blue wave raised expectations for higher taxes and larges fiscal deficits , which should be positive for gold.Implications for GoldThese factors should have been bullish for gold and they should have made the price of the yellow metal rally, but they weren’t and they didn’t. It seems that investors generally welcomed the blue wave and focused on a positive side of that development, or it might have been the case that the gold market was reacting to technical developments, not the fundamental ones. In any case, we can see the replay of the 2016 presidential election when everyone expected that Trump’s victory would be bad for the equity markets and positive for the precious metals market. But back then shares soared while gold plunged. We are currently witnessing something similar. Everyone thought that a blue wave would be the best scenario for gold, but the yellow metal dropped again.Why? Well, maybe it was just a “buy the rumor, sell the fact” phenomenon. Or maybe investors just don’t care about the long-term consequences of larger fiscal stimulus, such as rising public debt . Instead, they assumed that more government spending would accelerate GDP growth . This is why the real interest rates rose (see the chart below), which pushed the gold prices lower.Another issue is that when Trump didn’t support the riots, investors assumed that there will ultimately be a peaceful transition of power and started to sell safe-haven assets such as gold. With Democrats taking control of both the White House and the whole of Congress, investors increased their risk-appetite, which created downward pressure on gold prices.Moreover, the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting published last week indicate that further monetary easing is not likely in the very near future.However, sooner or later the Fed will have to step in. The worsening condition of the U.S. labor market and rising bond yields will prompt the central bank to provide further accommodation. After all, the main task of the central banks is to provide the governments with fiscal room. And at some point, investors will start to worry about the rising fiscal deficits and public debt.So, as long as the real interest rates are rising, gold will be in trouble . But at some point the rates should stabilize, or they could even decline again – especially if inflation emerges – which would help the gold prices.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Sterling Snaps Back Higher On BoE Official Comments

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.01.2021 09:17
USD gains ease following a three-day winning streakEURUSD Consolidates Below 1.218The euro currency is catching a bid following the dollar weakness on Tuesday.The dollar’s gain came to a halt after three consecutive days of gains. This has pushed the euro to test the 21 December lows of 1.2133.Price action has been broadly flat after pulling back off the lows intraday. However, the euro will need to break out strongly above the 1.2180 level.Only a strong close above this level will see further gains coming up. To the downside, a continuation could see the 1.2050 level of support coming under the test of support next.The British pound sterling is posting strong gains on Tuesday. This comes following comments from a BoE official who was speaking out against negative rates.The gains saw the GBPUSD breaking past the 1.3500 level. This invalidates the descending triangle pattern. Prices continue to rise past the trend line as well.This has pushed the GBPUSD to test a two day high following the recent declines over the last week.Despite the short term gains, the bias still remains to the downside. But this could change if the GBPUSD can rise above the January 4 highs of 1.3700.WTI Crude Oil Inches HigherOil prices continue to post modest gains with price action managing to rise above the trend line. As a result, WTI crude oil prices are now close to the next round number level of 53.00.On the intraday charts, we see the bearish divergence on the Stochastics which is suggesting a lower high.Therefore, there is a risk of prices posting a correction in the near term unless oil prices can continue higher.To the downside, the recent swing lows near 51.53 remain the key level to watch.A break down below this level could potentially set the stage for a correction down to the 49.00 handle.Gold Prices Set To Close Flat Yet AgainThe precious metal is likely to close flat once again, marking a flat print for the second consecutive day.Although prices rose higher intraday, the gains quickly disappeared. There is a possibility of prices forming a bearish flag pattern currently.Therefore, if gold prices break down below the 1817.80 level of support, this view will be validated.The bearish flat pattern potentially signals a stronger correction to the downside. This could push prices down to the November 30th lows near 1770.00.
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Stock Pick Update: Jan. 13 – Jan. 19, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.01.2021 14:23
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Financials and one Materials stock this time.In the last five trading days (January 6 – January 12) the broad stock market has extended its record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index has reached new record high of 3,826.69 on Friday following new stimulus package hopes.The S&P 500 has gained 2.40% between January 6 open and January 12 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have gained 1.59%. Stock picks were relatively weaker than the broad stock market’s performance last week. However, our long stock picks have gained 3.35% outperforming the index . Short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 0.17%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (January 6 open – January 12 close % change): ECL (+1.65%), CE (+3.80%), KMI (+7.87%), VLO (+1.45%), NVDA (+1.98%)Short Picks (January 6 open – January 12 close % change): PLD (-1.43%), SPG (+1.70%), DUK (-1.13%), PEG (+1.97%), HON (-0.27%)Average long result: +3.35%, average short result: -0.17%Total profit (average): +1.59%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 13 – Tuesday, January 19 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 13) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 19).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Financials, 2 x Materials, 1 x Consumer Discretionarysells: 2 x Real Estate, 2 x Communication Services, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesAXP American Express Co. - FinancialsStock remains above its medium- and short-term upward trend linesPossible breakout above the previous highThe resistance level is at $124 and support level is at $113SPGI S&P Global Inc. – FinancialsPossible upward reversal from the support level of $212-213The resistance level is at $325 – short-term upside profit target levelSHW Sherwin Williams Co. – MaterialsStock broke above the short-term downward trend line – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $710 and resistance level is at $740-750Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Financials and Materials sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

3 Price Drivers in a Globalized World

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.01.2021 16:02
Do you want to know how gold will be doing soon? Or the USDX? You have to look at the German and French economies. You may ask “What? How can they be tied together?” Well, the globalization of markets is one of the core foundations of the modern world. With everything interrelated, nothing in economics can be examined in a vacuum state. That includes the three precious metals price drivers: stocks, yields and currencies.The EUR/USD currency pair is a perfect example of this interconnectivity. Being the most popular and most traded currency pair in the world, the EUR/USD is influenced by many factors, including the price action in the USD Index as well as the strength of the European and American economies at any given time. The same level of interconnectedness can be applied to the other price drivers.Let’s take a fundamental look at stocks, yields and currencies.As you can see in our Correlation Matrix , the 30-trading-day correlation values are strongly negative in the case of all key parts of the precious metals market (gold, silver, senior miners, junior miners) and the USD Index, while they remain generally positive in case of the link with the stock market. Both links are most visible when we take the 250 trading days into account (effectively about 1 year).Figure 1The closer to -1 the number gets, the more negatively correlated given assets are, and the closer to 1 it gets, the stronger the positive correlation. Numbers close to zero imply no correlation.So, what do these markets tell us about future movements in the price of gold?Future HistoryYesterday , I highlighted the record excess that’s building up across U.S. equities. And as we approach the middle of January, investors are giving new meaning to Paul Engemann’s Push It to the Limit .Last week, the S&P 500’s option Gamma (21-day moving average) reached the top 0.37% of all-time readings. And on Monday (Jan. 11), the 10-day MA set a new record.Please see the chart below:Figure 2Keep in mind, Monday’s record was set on an absolute basis (by analyzing the number of outstanding options contracts). However, relative to the S&P 500’s market cap (which biases the reading lower as stocks move higher), it’s the fourth-highest since 2011. More importantly though, the last three times Gamma exposure reached the current level, the S&P 500 fell by 7.9%, 7.3% and 31.0% over the following two months (the vertical red lines above).From a valuation perspective, the derivatives frenzy has also helped push the NASDAQ (4.17x), S&P 500 (2.85x) and Russell 2000’s (1.49x) price-to-sales (P/S) ratios to their highest levels ever.Please see below:Figure 3 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Liz Ann Sonders)And a day after the milestones were set, U.S. small business confidence (the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index) fell to a seven-month low (Jan. 12).Figure 4 - (Source: Bloomberg/Daniel Lacalle)In addition, while economists expected a print of 100.2 (the red box on the left), the reading came in at 95.9 (the red box on the right), more than two points below the index’s historical average. Furthermore, nine out of 10 survey categories indicated that economic conditions are worse than they were in November.Figure 5As another wonder to marvel at, U.S. Treasury yields are also surging (which I’ve mentioned during previous editions). And because corporate profits are still on life support (due to the lack of real economic activity), the spread between the S&P 500’s earnings yield and the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield just hit its lowest level in over two years.Please see below:Figure 6 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Lisa AbramowiczTo explain, the earnings yield is the inverse of the S&P 500’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio (calculated as earnings divided by price). The percentage is often compared to the yield on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury to gauge the relative value of stocks versus bonds. If you look at the middle of the chart, you can see that the spread between the two peaked at more than 6% in 2019 (as companies’ EPS rose and bond yields fell). However, with the opposite occurring today, the spread between the two has fallen below 2.23%.Thus, with bond yields beginning to breathe new life, Jerome Powell’s (Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve) argument that P/E multiples are “not as relevant” in a world of low interest rates is starting to lose its luster.EUR/USD Struggles with RealityDespite bouncing yesterday (as declines rarely happen linearly), the EUR/USD is still treading fundamental water.Over the last few weeks, I’ve been highlighting the increased economic divergence – as a weak U.S. economy is overshadowed only by an even-weaker Eurozone economy (Remember, currencies trade on a relative basis.)And as another data point of validation, yesterday, Bloomberg Economics reduced its first-quarter GDP forecast (for Europe) from a rise of 1.3% to a decline of 4.0%. Furthermore, the team also reduced their full-year GDP growth forecast from 4.8% to 2.9%.Please see below:Figure 7If you analyze the red box, you can see the massive drop in economic activity that’s expected during the first three months of 2021. And even more pessimistic, Peter Vanden Houte, ING’s Chief Economist wrote (on Jan. 7) that he believes “it will take until the summer of 2023 for the Eurozone to regain its pre-crisis activity level.”Also plaguing Europe, please have a look at the sharp decline in the Eurozone household savings rate:Figure 8 – (Source: Refinitiv/ING)To explain, the huge spike in 2020 was a function of government programs to replace lost wages at the onset of the pandemic . However, as the crisis unfolded and the level of government spending became unsustainable, the household savings rate in Germany and France (Europe’s two largest economies) sunk like a stone.Moreover, with Eurozone retail sales plunging by 6.1% in November, and assuming the household savings rate followed suit, you can infer that households are allocating resources to necessities and not discretionary items that boost GDP.The bottom line?The European economy is underperforming the U.S. economy and the deluge of bad data is slowly chipping away at the euro. And as the fundamental damage continues, the EUR/USD should come under pressure and help propel the USD Index higher.As part of the fallout, gold will likely drop below its rising support line and then decline further. Once it bottoms, we’ll have a very attractive entry point to go long in the precious metals and mining stocks.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Mild Rally Continues

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.01.2021 17:25
Have you ever had a stock that's so far in the green that you’d never sell it? Rolling with “House Money?”My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth. Hopefully, you’ll find the below enlightening from my perspective, and I welcome your thoughts and questions.We are now firmly in the second week of 2021. After markets declined to start the week, we saw a muted recovery on Tuesday (Jan. 12).With Democrats gaining full control of both the legislative and executive branches of the government, the prospect of further stimulus has sent stocks soaring to their highest valuations in years. However, the short-term tug of war between good news and bad news will continue.I am especially concerned about overstretched valuations for stocks combined with the return of inflation.The S&P 500 is trading at its highest forward P/E ratio since 2000, and the 10-year treasury is at its highest level since March. Overvalued stocks combined with inflation returning by mid-year is quite concerning for me. I feel that a correction between now and the end of Q1 2020 is likely.According to Goldman Sachs’ Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, U.S. stocks and bond markets could possibly “ take more of a breather ” in the near term. National Securities’ chief market strategist Art Hogan also believes that we could see a 5%-8% pullback by the end of this month.Generally, corrections are healthy, good for markets, and more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). Because we haven’t seen a correction since March 2020, we could be well overdue.This is healthy market behavior and could be a very good buying opportunity for what should be a great second half of the year.While there will certainly be short-term bumps in the road, I love the outlook in the mid-term and long-term once the growing pains of rolling out vaccines stabilize.The consensus is that 2021 could be a strong year for stocks. According to a CNBC survey which polled more than 100 chief investment officers and portfolio managers, two-thirds of respondents said the Dow Jones will most likely finish 2021 at 35,000, while five percent also said that the index could climb to 40,000.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is very possible. I don’t think that a correction above ~20% leading to a bear market will happen.House money is fun to play with, but trust me - you won’t feel as well if you let it ride through a full correction without taking profits.Best of luck, and happy trading! The Nasdaq’s RSI is Back Below 70...Where Does it Go from Here?Figure 1- Nasdaq Composite Index $COMPI am staying with the theme of using the RSI to judge how to call the Nasdaq. While an overbought RSI does not automatically mean a trend reversal, with the Nasdaq, I always keep a close eye on this . I initially changed my short-term call on the Nasdaq from a SELL to a HOLD on January 5. I liked the Nasdaq’s declines to start 2021, especially after overheating. The RSI was no longer overbought as well.After changing the call back to a SELL on January 11th, the Nasdaq declined 1.45%.Over the last several weeks, this has been a consistent pattern for the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq pulled back on December 9th after it exceeded an RSI of 70, and briefly pulled back again after passing 70 again three weeks ago. We exceeded a 70 RSI again before the new year, and what happened on the first trading day of 2021? A decline of 1.47%. Tech can rally at any time and witness a plunge at any time. Truly, this sector could move sideways before seeing a correction sooner rather than later.Although there are also tailwinds for tech, they are specific to subsectors. Do what you can to find tech sub-sectors that are innovating, disrupting, and changing our world.I am especially bullish on cloud computing, e-commerce, and fintech.The Nasdaq is no longer overbought, and its RSI is now hovering around 64. I like this level more as a HOLD, but I still feel that it has overheated in the short-term.I am generally optimistic and bullish for 2021, but I would like a pullback closer to the 50-day moving average before considering buying back in.I also have some concerns with the Democrats winning Senate control, and its potential consequences for tech. It may not happen in 2021, but a Democrat-controlled Congress could raise taxes and further regulate high growth companies.Additionally, love him or hate him, the censorship of President Trump across social media platforms raises questions about what constitutes free speech, and if Big Tech has too much power.Because the RSI is back in HOLD territory, I’m switching my call again from SELL back to HOLD.If the RSI ticks back up above 70, I’m switching back to SELL. The Nasdaq is trading in a clear pattern.Do not let anyone tell you “this time is different” if fears of the dot-com bubble are discussed. History repeats itself, especially in markets. I have many concerns about tech valuations and their astoundingly inflated levels. The recent IPOs of DoorDash (DASH) and AirBnB (ABNB) reflect this.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the NASDAQ, the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a good option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
USD recovers from Tuesday's declines

USD recovers from Tuesday's declines

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.01.2021 08:55
Euro Pares Gains As USD Bounces BackThe euro currency is resuming its decline as the USD is making a rebound following the one-day slump on Tuesday. As a result, the euro currency formed a lower high above the 1.2200 level.With the Stochastics oscillator also signaling a bearish move, further declines are likely.Following the break down below Monday’s lows near 1.2138, the euro currency could post steeper declines. The next main target is seen near the 1.2050 level of support.To the upside, any rebound is likely to stall near the 1.2179 level. The downside bias changes only if the euro currency can rise above Wednesday’s highs of 1.2220.GBPUSD Pulls Back After Strong GainsThe British pound sterling is posting losses following the solid gains made from earlier in the week.After briefly rising close to 4th Jan highs near 1.3702, the cable gave back the gains intraday. This has led to a bearish close.For the moment, the bias still remains to the upside. Price action could potentially form a reversal near the trendline around the 1.3600 level.If price crashes through this level then we could see a move back to the 1.3500 handle.With the Stochastics oscillator also moving out from the overbought levels, the downside is likely to prevail in the near term.WTI Crude Oil Pulls Back From An Eleven-Month HighCrude oil prices are likely to signal a correction if the price action closes with a Doji.This comes after a steady patch of gains that pushed the commodity to an 11-month high. Given the strong pace of gains, prices are likely to make a short term correction.For the moment, the long term trend line continues to offer support. But if price loses this handle, then we expect to see a move lower.The support level near 49.00 remains within reach. The Stochastics oscillator is also moving out from the overbought levels at the moment, adding to the downside bias.Gold Prices Continue To Consolidate Into A Bearish PatternPrice action in the precious metal remains mixed. In the medium-term outlook, the current consolidation near the 1850 level is likely to signal a bearish flag pattern.But price action needs to post a strong close below the 1850 level to validate this pattern.The Stochastics oscillator remains currently in the overbought level, keeping the bias somewhat mixed.To the upside, a move from the 1850 level could see prices attempting to retest the 1911.50 level where resistance could once again form.But if prices break down lower, then we could see a strong correction taking place.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Higher Yields Hit Gold, But for How Long?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.01.2021 14:38
The price of gold remains at $1,850, and the key drivers are higher bond yields and a stronger risk appetite.Last week, the yellow metal tanked below $1,900 again, and it hasn’t rebounded since the plunge – instead, the price of gold has stayed at around $1,850.What happened? The main driver of the recent weakness in the precious metals market has been the Democratic victory in the Georgia Senate elections. Thanks to this trifecta, the Democrats have taken control of the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Consequently, there are lower chances of a political gridlock in Washington and higher chances of smooth cooperation between Congress and the incoming administration of Joe Biden. So, the expectations of additional economic support have risen, thereby strengthening hopes for a quicker economic recovery.Hence, investors went euphoric and increased their risk appetite. They sold safe havens such as gold and disposed of treasuries, pushing the bond yields higher (see the chart below), which in turn hurt the yellow metal .However, the interest rates are still historically low, and the real interest rates remain deeply in negative territory. Although some measure of normalization is standard, the return to pre-pandemic levels is unlikely . The unprecedented increase in worldwide debt implies that we are stuck in a high debt and low interest rate trap. After all, all these debts have been sustainable only because the yields have been low, so I doubt whether we will see an important rebound in them.But the recent episode shows how sensitive gold is to the changes in the real interest rates and that gold investors – as we wrote in the latest Gold Market Overview – shouldn’t forget about the possibility of an increase in the real interest rates, which is a serious downward risk for gold.Implications for GoldIs gold doomed now, given that the Democrats swept both the White House and Congress? Not necessarily. The macroeconomic outlook for 2021 might be worse than for 2020, as the economy should recover and monetary policy should be less dovish – but it’s still positive for gold. After all, historically, gold has shined during the early phases of various economic recoveries. Some analysts even claim that we have not reached the phase of an economic recovery yet – as the liquidity crisis has transformed into a solvency crisis.In other words, it’s always important to distinguish the short-term outlook from the longer-term potential. Gold currently suffers because of the higher yields, but the long-term picture seems to be more positive. The real interest rates, which are more important for the precious metals market, have increased to a lesser extent – and they have stayed well below zero (as the chart above shows).At some point, investors will start factoring in that a large fiscal stimulus projected by the Democrats could increase the public debt to uncomfortable levels, thereby increasing the risk of a sovereign debt crisis . They could also begin pricing in the risk of higher inflation and a larger Fed’s balance sheet , as the U.S. central bank and the Treasury wouldn’t welcome much higher interest rates . As a reminder, gold benefited from the easy fiscal policy in the aftermath of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic , so it shouldn’t go out of favor now. Indeed, the huge fiscal deficit combined with the current account deficit will take the so-called twin deficit to a record 25 percent of the GDP , which shouldn’t be without an impact on the price of gold.Instead, gold still has a material upside in the upcoming months, although it could shine less brightly than it did last year , at least until inflation rebounds, or until the Fed expands its accommodative monetary stance. Yes, the U.S. central bank remains dovish, but it’s not eager right now to shoot from its bazooka again. So, the monetary policy will be relatively more hawkish than it was in 2020, which could limit potential gains in the gold market.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Target accuracy versus support and resistance stops

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.01.2021 19:07
Silver is trading sideways. Time to evaluate stops and targets. When the mind is overwhelmed due to data overload or too many variables in a probable outcome, it likes to simplify. In its extreme, it resorts to intuitive responses like fight-flight. What is overwhelm? In most cases, it is an emotional response to an unsolved problem. For trading, this means a data stream evaluation that accumulates to too many questions and results in a desire for simplicity. In the case of exits, most beginning and intermediate traders resort to a support and resistance stop. But that is a very simple way to get taken out of the market. Target accuracy versus support and resistance stops.It is foolish to find a rigid module like a line in the sand (a single price level) in a game with a high degree of variables. Variables that are in constant flux in a dynamic model. Driven by collective psychology, even irrational at times. It would be best if you had real likelihoods based on movement in price, volume and time (at a minimum).If you learn how to drive a car, the dynamics aren’t just pushing the various pedals at the appropriate time. After years of experience, you find the deciding value of surviving this game to be all surrounding factors. For example, slowing down when you see children playing near the street or in heavy rain on the freeway. You create more distance between the car in front of you if its driver is swerving and you suspect a drunk driver. You can feel if something is wrong, but it isn’t an intuitive response due to feeling overwhelmed. It is a subconscious filled with many rules that you have over time hip pocketed that in their sum alarm you to slow down or even stop.Silver, Daily Chart, Stacking Odds:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of January 13th, 2021.A traffic route needs readjustments in the event of a new force affecting traffic. Trading targets are affected by real-time factors, as well. Aspects like new data releases, momentum, volume, and price behavior as a whole. This, in alignment with the time component, weakens a static approach that tries to insist on a simple number of a support resistance price level. To get to a more accurate probability prediction, one needs first to widen a single target number to a target zone (A, B). A zone that is more in alignment with a distribution zone based on prior fractals.Most importantly, look at the way of how prices move towards such zones. An action-reaction principle comes into play if prices moved fast towards a distribution zone (C). In turn, this increases the likelihood of a bounce. On the other side of the spectrum, a slow directional creep of prices much more easily can penetrate a support/resistance price zone.  Silver, Weekly Chart, Exit Management:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of January 13th, 2021.Proper exit management requires a similar complex strategy mixed of experience and a clearly defined approach of targets versus a flawed system of a support and resistance trailing stop.In the weekly chart above, you can see an example of how targets and stop levels change throughout time. Directional support resistance lines update with each candle printing. Standard deviation bands, which work great for the Silver market, are moving along with price behavior. They also work as flexible target and stop levels.Silver, Monthly Chart, Target accuracy versus support and resistance stops:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 14th, 2021.Right now, Silver is trading sideways. It is important to know when to get out with our established positions. We post those in real time in our free Telegram channel.Entries are exits, and exits are entries. In principle, your entry system can be applied for your partial profit-taking as well. It is futile to try to pick tops and bottoms; resorting to an inadequate support resistance approach isn’t a lucrative solution.You want to stack odds in your favor. Also, a core element is a multi exit approach. It provides choices widening one’s possibility to catch larger moves (see our quad exit strategy). Certainly, counter signals at the same time frame are an excellent way to take some profits off the table.When prices trade in regions that it has traded in before, you might consider tools like fractal analysis, linear regression channels (A), and fixed range volume analysis (B). These, amongst others, to identify high probability supply and demand distribution zones.Should prices trade at all-time highs, the main focus needs to be on momentum analysis, counter signals on the same and higher time frames as the entry and signal time frame, and tools like Fibonacci extensions. Volume analysis is a precious component to determine where it is wise to lighten up the load. Novices predict price level. For instance, an analysis where one expects a high probability in time when price changes direction, is more valuable in opposition to a fixed price zone.Target accuracy versus support and resistance stopsExits are the holy grail of trading. In alignment with risk control, they determine the level of profitability. For most, it is here where the rubber meets the road. Above all, exits are the deciding factor if a system is consistent (winning) or an endless string of losers. Here, an advanced system approach that takes many analysis factors into account brings actual value to your trading results.Targets are changing quite substantially through time. The market is in motion, and as such, forces in play need constant reevaluation to be genuinely accurate in their probabilities. Just like driving a car, you can’t just expect to reach your destination each time to work the same way. It would be best if you considered all factors. From the health of the driver to the mechanical condition of the car. From traffic and weather conditions to any unexpected influencing factors of each ride. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Sterling Rebounds As BoE Negative Rate Talk Fades

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.01.2021 09:12
USD steadies on prospects of new stimulus talksEURUSD Rebounds From A 4-Week LowThe euro currency is posting a modest rebound intraday after falling to a four week low earlier on Thursday.The rebound comes as the recent dollar gains take a pause, awaiting more news on the new stimulus talks.Price action in the euro remains currently below the 1.2177 level. Therefore, a continuation to the upside could see this level coming in as resistance.Only a strong breakout above this level could rekindle the upside bias. The Stochastics oscillator is currently signaling a bullish divergence in this aspect.Therefore, the price action near 1.2177 will be critical. To the downside, a continuation below current lows could see the 1.2050 level coming into the picture next.The British pound sterling is posting strong gains, recovering from the declines on Wednesday. The rebound comes following speculation that the Bank of England will not be considering negative interest rates.This has proven to be bullish for the cable which has made a strong rebound. Price action will now be testing Wednesday’s highs of 1.3701.A breakout above this level could post further price gains in the currency pair.To the downside, support is firmly established near 1.3624 which could hold against any pullbacks for the moment. The Stochastics oscillator is also likely to turn higher, adding to the bullish bias.Oil Prices Consolidate Near Highs As Bullish Momentum Slows WTI crude oil prices are trading flat having risen to highs of 53.90 intraday on Wednesday.The declines push the price action back below the rising trend line. This could potentially see the trend line being retested from below.The Stochastics oscillator is nearing the oversold levels and therefore could see a possible move higher once again.However, oil prices will need to break out above the recent highs to continue higher. The next key target will be the 55.00 level.To the downside, if the trendline acts as resistance, then a close below 52.20 is required.Only a strong daily close below this level will open the way for a correction toward the 49.00 handle.Gold Prices Continue To Remain Muted The precious metal is trading subdued, in anticipation of further news on the stimulus proposal from the new Biden administration.Price action is strongly consolidating near the 1850 handle for the moment. This could continue for a while before leading to a strong breakout.The bias also remains mixed at the moment. To the upside, gold prices need to post a strong breakout above the 1850 handle, which will open the way to the 1911 – 1900 resistance level next.To the downside, the 1817.80 level of support once again comes into the picture.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Pandemic 2020 Is Gone! Will 2021 Be Better for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.01.2021 11:52
Hurray! The disastrous year of 2020, which brought about the COVID-19 pandemic , the Great Lockdown , and the economic crisis , is over! Now, the question is what will 2021 be like – both for the U.S. economy and the gold market.To provide an answer, below I analyze the most important economic trends for the next year and their implications for the yellow metal.Society gains herd immunity by vaccination and the health crisis is overcome.With herd immunity approaching, the social fabric returns to normality, and the economy recovers.The vaccine rollout increases the risk appetite, reducing the safe-haven demand for both gold and the greenback .The return to normality and realization of the pent-up demand (comeback of spending that was put on hold during the U.S. epidemic ) accelerates the CPI inflation rate .The Fed stays accommodative, but the recovery in the GDP growth and the labor market makes the U.S. monetary policy less aggressively dovish than in 2020.However, the Fed continues to use all of its tools to support the economy in 2021 and, in particular, it does not hike the federal funds rate , even if inflation rises.As a result, the real interest rates stay at ultra-low levels. However, the potential for further declines, similar in scale to 2020, is limited, unless inflation jumps.The American fiscal policy also remains easy, although relative to 2020, government spending declines, while the budget deficit narrows as a share of the GDP.However, the public debt burdens continue to rise. Although the ratio of debt to GDP decreased in Q3 2020 amid the rebound in the GDP, it’s likely to increase further in the future, especially if Congress approves the new fiscal stimulus.Given the dovish Fed conducting a zero-interest rate policy , increasing debt burden, and strengthened risk appetite amid the vaccine rollout, the U.S. dollar weakens further. The American currency has already lost more than 11 percent against a broad basket of other currencies since its March peak.What does this macroeconomic outlook imply for the gold prices? This is a great question, as some of the trends will be supportive for the yellow metal, while others might constitute headwinds, and some factors could theoretically be both positive and negative for the price of gold. For instance, the end of the recession seems to be bad for the yellow metal, but gold often shines during the very early phase of an economic recovery, especially if it is accompanied by reflation , i.e., a return of inflation.The tailwinds include the continuation of easy monetary and fiscal policies . The federal debt will remain high, while the interest rates will stay low, supporting the gold prices, as was the case in the past (see the chart below).There is also an upward risk of higher inflation. In such a macroeconomic environment, the U.S. dollar should weaken against other currencies, thus supporting gold prices . As a reminder, the relative strength of the greenback in recent years (see the chart below) limited the gains in the precious metals market.However, there are also headwinds . You see, levels are significantly different concepts than changes. The latter often matter more for the markets. What do I mean? Well, although both monetary and fiscal policies will remain accommodative, they will be less accommodative than in 2020. Although the real interest rates should stay very low, they will not decline as much as last year (if at all).In other words, the economy will normalize this year after suffering a deep downturn in 2020, so the economic policy will be less aggressive. Hence, the level of bond yields and the ratio of federal debt to GDP should stabilize somewhat – actually, thanks to the rebound in the GDP in the third quarter of 2020, the share of public indebtedness in the U.S. economy has decreased, as the chart below shows.Hence, although the price of gold could be supported by the continuation of easy monetary and fiscal policies, low real interest rates, and weak dollar, it’s potential to rally could be limited. The accommodative stance of central banks and unwillingness to normalize the monetary policy for the coming years should prevent a significant bear market in gold , but without any fresh triggers of further declines in the bond yields or without the spark of inflation, the great bull market is also not very likely. So, unless we either see a serious solvency crisis or sovereign debt crisis , or an substantial acceleration in inflation, gold may enter a sideways trend . Or it can actually go south, if it smells the normalization of monetary policy or increases in the interest rates.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Our Custom Valuations Index suggests Precious Metals will decline before their next attempt to rally

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 17.01.2021 22:50
My team prepares Custom Valuations Index charts to understand how capital is being deployed in the global markets alongside US Dollar and Treasury Yields.  The purpose of the Custom Index charts in this article is to provide better insight into and understanding of underlying capital movements in various market conditions.  Recently, we discovered the Custom Index chart shares a keen alignment with Gold (and likely the general precious metals sector).  Let's explore our recent analysis to help readers understand what to expect next in precious metals.Weekly custom valuations index chartThe first thing that caught my attention was the very clear decline in the weekly Custom Valuations Index recently, as can be seen in the chart below.  The second peak on the Custom Valuations Index chart occurred on the week of August 3, 2020.  Gold also peaked at this very same time.  This alignment started an exploratory analysis of the Custom Valuations Index and the potential alignment with the precious metals sector.The peak in the Custom Valuations Index on March 20, 2020 (near the height of the COVID-19 market collapse) presented a very clear upside target which was confirmed with a second peak level in August 2020.  The fact that the Custom Valuations Index reached that peak level again and that peak level also aligned with the peak price in Gold may just be a coincidence.  As we continue to explore this unique alignment, we'll explore more unique characteristics to see if there is a link that is more than mere chance.There have been two very clear Pennant/Flag formations as you can see on the above weekly Custom Valuations Index chart.  The first one is highlighted in BLUE and the second one is highlighted in GREEN.  In both of these instances, the Custom Valuations Index broke lower and Gold followed this trend.  Currently, the Custom Valuations Index has begun to breakdown into a new bearish trend. This suggests that Gold and Silver may also move lower as this Custom Index attempts to find a bottom.Now, let's do a more in-depth analysis of Gold and the Custom Valuations Index.  In the following charts, we've attempted to highlight key price traits that took place in Gold over the past 9+ years and wanted to see if these key price points were reflected in the Custom Valuations Index chart.  The purpose of this is to identify if our assumption that the Custom Valuations Index chart is aligned to Gold (in some way) shows any additional (past price) alignment to validate our thinking.Weekly Gold chartFirst, we'll start with a Weekly Gold chart that highlights key price points, peaks, bottoms, and breakout/breakdown events.  We want to see if the Custom Valuations Index chart also aligned with these key price moves/dates.The following Gold Futures Weekly chart highlights the Appreciation/Depreciation cycles we've identified in earlier research as well.  The GREEN ARCs near the bottom of the chart show you where each cycle starts and stops.  The RED descending line represents a Depreciation Cycle and the GREEN Ascending line represents an Appreciation Cycle.  We are focusing on the September 2011 peak price in Gold and the key price events after the “Failure Peak” that took place to set up the bottom in early 2015, the rally in early 2016, and the breakout rally in June 2019.  Does the Custom Valuations Index chart show these same characteristics and dates?weekly customs valuation chart and gold price historyThis next chart is the Weekly Custom Valuations Index chart with the same highlighted price points/dates.  The first thing we see from this chart is that the “Failure Peak” (October 2012) was a higher price peak on this Custom Index chart than the setup on the Gold chart at the same time.  Thus, the Custom Valuations Chart represented the extended “excess phase” top in Gold as a continued upward trend.  The downtrend after the October 2012 peak on this Custom Valuations Index chart does align with the big breakdown on the Gold chart (above).Be sure to sign up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own!Additionally, the early 2015 bottoming on the Custom Index chart represented a very early sign that Gold may be looking for a bottom as well.  Gold did move lower throughout the next 11+ months, but so did the Custom Valuations Index price. It makes sense that the Custom Valuations Index may be representing underlying key market dynamics that could be applied to the Gold chart in some way.The Initial Gold Rally in February 2016 was the first real clear trigger on both these charts that coincided with a breakout/rally trend in Gold.  This rally attempt eventually stalled near the end of 2016 and began an extended “momentum base” setup.  Notice how the Custom Valuations Index chart represented this momentum base as and extended sideways Pennant/Flag formation that ended near June 2019.  Also, notice how the stalling in the Custom Valuations Index chart initiated many weeks before Gold actually peaked in 2016.From the February 2019 Breakout, we can clearly see the impressive rally in the Custom Index chart aligned with a big rally in Gold.  What is interesting is the DUAL PEAK in the Custom Index chart that first setup from the lows of the March 2020 COVID-19 bottom.  Could it be that extreme price move somehow represented a key future target for Gold and for the Custom Index chart? There is very little corresponding data to compare to – so we'll have to continue to try to dig deeper for any confirmation of this unique setup. Yet, we can't underestimate the DUAL PEAK setup on the Custom Index chart and the fact that the second peak, August 2020, also aligned perfectly with the current peak price in Gold. Since that August 2020 peak, both Gold and the Custom Index chart have continued to breakdown and trend lower.  It makes sense that Gold will continue to move lower, in alignment with the Custom Index chart, attempting to find a new bottom/momentum base.  We believe the 200 to 240 level on the Custom Valuations Index chart may be a suitable range for this new bottom.One thing we can say with a moderate degree of certainty is that the Custom Valuations Index chart appears to lead the precious metals in many instances and it appears to perfectly align in other instances.  Our research suggests the US and global markets have recently entered a Depreciation Cycle phase which may last many years.  The Custom Valuations Index chart is suggesting that the US, global and precious metals sectors are weakening and attempting to find/set up a new momentum/base. This would suggest that capital will move away from precious metals as well as major market sectors and attempt to find opportunities in undervalued or other hot sectors.  Eventually, once the new momentum base/bottom is firmly established in Gold and the Custom Valuations Index chart, the US and Global major market sectors will likely resume a very strong upside price trend.The key take-away from this research is that sector rotations related to precious metals, major global markets and potential early warning signs of strength or weakness may be attainable by focusing on how the Custom Valuations Index trends in comparison to Gold and the major indexes.  Currently, the Custom Valuations Index is suggesting that precious metals will move lower and try to find a new bottom/base.  This means other market sectors will perform better than precious metals for a period of time.This is also an important reason to focus your attention on finding the best and hottest sectors for new trade opportunities.  When broad components of the market enter bearish trends, like the Custom Valuations Index is suggesting for precious metals, it is best to have a proven system for identifying the best sector trends and trade opportunities.  While one sector may stall, others are rallying.  Long term success is found by focus your trading capital on the strongest opportunities while avoiding weaker trends.2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using my BAN strategy.  You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors right now in my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, cycles and momentum then the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you. Those who want even more trades use my BAN Hotlist to make sure their trades are going with the momentum to maximize their odds of success.Don't miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months.  2021 and beyond are going to be incredible years for traders.  Staying ahead of these sector trends is going to be key to developing continued success in these markets.  As some sectors fail, others will begin to trend higher.  Learn how BAN Trader Pro can help you spot and trade the best trade setups while mitigating risks at every turn. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.Please take a minute to visit my website to learn about our BAN Trader Pro and our other services and courses that are all designed to give you that edge you need to be a successful trader. Enjoy your weekend!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

USD rises to a three-week high despite weak retail sales

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.01.2021 08:46
Euro Inches Closer To 1.2050 The euro currency resumes the declines with prices now inching closer to the 1.2050 level of support.The declines come as the euro currency remains in a short term downtrend for the moment. This is evident from the lower highs that have been forming since prices retested the trendline from below on the 6th of January.The current declines to the 1.2050 could see a possible rebound taking place. This will most likely keep the EURUSD within a sideways range of 1.2177 and 1.2050.A break out from this range could possibly set the direction for the next leg.The stochastics oscillator is oversold and therefore coincides with the support level near 1.2050 likely to hold up in the short term.GBPUSD Double Top Pattern In Play The British pound Sterling has formed a double top pattern on the four-hour chart and prices broke down below this level on Friday.As a result, this bearish pattern could possibly see the cable likely to continue to push lower. The previous support level near 1.3506 will likely come in as the downside target.However, considering that the stochastics oscillator is also oversold but a possible rebound is likely to occur. This would see the GBPUSD pushing back to retest the 1.3611 level.Establishing resistance at this level could further validate the downside by his.However, if the cable manages to close above the 1.3611 level, then it would invalidate the double top pattern and as a result, we could possibly see either a consolidation or a possible move higher.Oil Prices Give Back Gains Crude oil prices were down close to 3% on Friday. This comes even as prices attempted to make a rebound earlier in the week on Thursday.However, this rebound led to a lower high emerging. Following this, prices gave back the gains on Friday and lost the support from the trend line as well.For the moment, the bias still remains to the upside. We need to wait for evidence to see a lower high forming in order to confirm the downside.For the moment, the lower target remains the support area near 49.00.In the short term, any rebound in prices could see the previous swing low near 52.30 playing a key role. If there is any rebound, then prices are likely to stall near this level.A strong close above 52.30 could potentially see another short term game in prices.Alternately, if we see a reversal near 52.30 or a continuation from the current levels, then we could expect the retracement towards 49.00.Gold Prices Hold Steady In A Sideways Range The precious metal was also trading weaker on Friday with prices down over 1%.However, price action remains subdued for the moment with the sideways range between 1850 and 1818 levels holding up for the moment.The lack of further bearish momentum is likely to see this possible consolidation resulting in either a strong retracement back to the upside. Alternatively, failure of support near 1818 could accelerate the decline.The stochastics oscillator currently remains well above the oversold levels thus indicating further room to the downside.However, the support level near 1818 is likely to hold up for the moment. As a result, gold prices are likely to continue trading in a sideways range for a while.To the upside, only a strong breakout above the 1850 level is likely to accelerate any gains that might come its way. The next key target will be the 1911.50 level of resistance.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin, no exits necessary

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 18.01.2021 12:04
Well, maybe it isn’t quite that simple. If you want to have both, an income-producing approach and wealth preservation long-term investing strategy, you still need to take partial profits at times; you still need to use a tool like our quad exit. Generally speaking, though, you do not need to worry about exits regarding Bitcoin trading.While bitcoin is consistently exploring new all-time highs since 11/30/2020, many wonder how high will this go. It is even harder to predict good exit points when price enters the uncharted territory of new all-time highs. Wall Street gurus speak of sell points with various six, seven, and eight-figure numbers of all sorts. But isn’t it evident that if Bitcoin reaches these higher echelons, you do not want to sell it? Sell it for what? What would be more interesting to own than Bitcoin if it trades at US$700,000 or US$7,000,000 or US$7,000,000,000? All you want is just to own Bitcoin. It will be the currency that will purchase you whatever you need. Being limited at twenty-one million, Bitcoin is a scarce “digital commodity”.BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, Roadmap overview:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of January 18th, 2021The above chart shows in blue to the right in histogram style average volume traded on Bitcoin. We marked in green horizontal lines peak volume regions where bulls and bears had extended battles of buys and sells. Supply and distribution zones. The highest volume peak, called POC (point of control), is marked in a yellow horizontal line. Bitcoin prices will likely see much higher price levels than recent all-time highs, but we find a roadmap like this essential. A market crash in the stock market could temporarily drag Bitcoin along, but Bitcoin will recover with much vigor and quick speed. In such a scenario, these supply zones will provide an opportunity for reload entries to the runners which we are already holding as a core position. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Time cycle and Fibonacci projections:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of January 18th, 2021Bitcoin is consolidating right now, and we see a bottom to be established soon. Afterwards Bitcoin might be heading towards the recent highs, followed by a breakthrough again. The weekly chart above tries to keep the bigger picture in check. We stacked exit odds projections by using a time cycle instrument and a Fibonacci extension tool. We shared the target numbers of where we find partial profit-taking sensible over the next six years marked in red to the chart’s right. But let the runners (the last 25% of each initial position) run! No exits are necessary for those.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Real-time partial profit prediction zones:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of January 18th, 2021Zooming now into a smaller time frame, we are trying to illustrate on this daily chart how these volume measurement tools (available in almost all charting software packages) can also help to predict partial profit-taking zones. To the right, we plotted volume again, to the left mirrored green box zones show sensible profit taking zones should bitcoin prices retrace. After smart entry places those zones are needed to take some profit off the table.But that isn’t all. With a volume histogram open like this, you can see distribution zones establishing in real-time. Establish meaningfulness by comparing the volume peak levels with prior peaks. This volume analysis approach is advantageous when bitcoin should be extending in new all-time high territory again.Bitcoin, no exits necessaryAt Midas Touch, we advise our clients to hold a portion of their wealth in Bitcoin. We use the quad exit strategy as a risk reduction tool for entries. We do recommend taking partial profits if income-producing profit-taking fits your investment style. But in general, we are holding on to what we call runners, the last 25 % of a trading position, and while we have in any other commodity exit targets for those as well when it comes to Bitcoin, we just let them run add infinity.In other words, while one was thinking in the last hundred years of one’s wealth and profits measured in fiat currencies, it might be sensible to now instead think of one’s net worth in Bitcoin! Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBPUSD Trades Flat Above The 1.3050 Technical Support

GBPUSD Trades Flat Above The 1.3050 Technical Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.01.2021 09:12
USD rises to a one-month high as Yellen TestifiesEURUSD Reversing Just Off 1.2050 Technical Support The euro currency posted a steady decline as price action reversed just a few pips of the 1.2050 level of support. The declines come on the back of a strengthening US dollar.Speculation that the new Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen will not be pursuing a weaker dollar policy has pushed the greenback higher. This has led to the euro posting a steady decline over the week.Despite the rebound just above the 1.2050 level, the bias remains to the upside. Any gains are likely to stall near the 1.2177 level at best. A reversal near this level will confirm a further continuation lower.On the other hand, we could expect the EURUSD to firmly test the current support near 1.2050.The British pound sterling extended declines but managed to post a reversal above the 1.3050 level of technical support. The rebound comes as prices fell through the 1.3611 level of support late last week.The declines open the way for the cable to retest the support level near the 1.3506 region. However, at the current reversal, we could expect the cable to retest the 1.3611 level once again.Establishing resistance at this level will likely confirm further downside. But this could change if the GBPUSD manages to close back above the 1.3611 level.To the downside, the declines could stall near the 1.3506 level of support keeping prices to move in a sideways range.Oil Prices Attempt A Modest Rebound WTI crude oil prices posted a rebound following the declines from last week. Prices got a boost early on Monday following stronger GDP numbers out of China.However, the current retracement remains somewhat subdued. Unless we see a breakout above the previous highs of 53.74, we could expect a continuation lower.This will mark a correction in crude oil prices which has been in a steady trend for a while.The immediate downside target for oil prices is the 49.00 area. Establishing support there could potentially mark a correction into the longer-term uptrend that oil prices are in currently.Gold Rebounds Off 1817 Support Level The precious metal touched down below 1817 intraday to a one-month low. However, prices quickly reversed losses to rise above this technical support.For the moment, prices remain above the 1817 level and could see some upside. But only a close above the 1850 level can confirm this.In such an event, gold prices are likely to extend gains further. This will open the way for the precious metal to test the next key resistance level near 1911.50.To the downside, only a strong close below the 1817 level will confirm further downside in prices.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Vanguard LifeStrategy Funds are now available in Europe

Raph Antoine Raph Antoine 19.01.2021 09:35
Imagine, that your Dad or cousin didn’t invest in that pharma stock a while ago that initially surged, then stagnated and in the end underperformed the market.  Because most of them do. Now, he doesn’t even want to sell it anymore because of the emotional attachment. Imagine he didn’t have to think about when selling or buying. Or even rebalancing. He/she almost certainly isn’t following Banker on Wheels to realize that, as of December 2020, there is a new kid in town. Vanguard LifeStrategy is now available to European Investors! Your financial advisor may not like that, given the fees he’s charging, but who cares – the Golden Retriever Portfolio (with a little nuance) is now available in one UCITS ETF! WHAT IS VANGUARD LIFESTRATEGY? It may not necessary be your cup of tea – I get it. Some investors like flexibility.  But learn more about these funds to make that comment during a (post Covid-19) family reunion when someone asks about the best investment. Whether it’s a bull or a bear market, it could save them lots of money.  And stress. If they ask about Bonds, tell them the Babushka doll includes that as well. The advantage of this investment is that it’s easy to explain, even a Golden Retriever gets it. [Read more]
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Price Drops Amid Stimulus and Poor Data

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.01.2021 11:27
The price of gold has declined further amid incoming U.S. President Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus and poor economic data, which is a bearish sign.The weakness in the gold market continued last week. As the chart below shows, the London P.M. Fix declined below $1,840 last Friday (the price of the yellow metal later declined even further, i.e., below $1,830).The downward trend is a bit disturbing given the poor economic data reported last week. First, the jobless claims increased from 784,000 on January 2 to 965,000 on January 9, 2021 , as one can see in the chart below. This increase surpassed market expectations and indicates that there is a long way ahead for a full recovery in the U.S. labor market.Second, U.S. retail sales declined 0.7 percent in December from the previous month . Importantly, the decrease was larger than the expected 0.1 percent drop. Third, the Empire State Index increased 3.5 percent in January. Although the index grew, it rose at a slower pace than in December and below expectations.All these economic reports show that the U.S. economy has slowed down, and that we could see more stimulus coming in an effort to stimulate economic growth. Indeed, on Thursday, Jerome Powell excluded any tapering of the quantitative easing in the near future , saying that he “expect[s] that the current pace of purchases will remain appropriate for quite some time”. The recent weak economic data that show slack remaining in the labor market can only reassure the Fed that it should continue providing accommodation and not think about raising interest rates .Moreover, on Thursday (Jan. 14), Biden unveiled a massive stimulus plan worth $1.9 trillion to support the economy amid the COVID-19 epidemic . The aid package, that would be on top of the $900 billion stimulus adopted by Congress in December, includes $1 trillion in direct checks to Americans, about $440 billion for small businesses particularly strongly hit by the epidemic, and about $415 billion to fight the coronavirus and speed up the distribution of vaccinations.The continuation of the dovish monetary policy and expansion of the easy fiscal policy should theoretically send the price of gold higher.Implications for GoldThey should, but gold has gone south instead. Therefore, the drop in the price of gold amid poor economic data, Powell’s remarks, and Biden’s announcement is a bearish signal .However, it might be also the case that we will see a replay of March, when the first wave of the pandemic initially hit the precious metals market. Investors were stocking up cash then, selling both equities and gold. We observed a similar pattern on Friday, so we could see a reversal after some time.Moreover, Biden’s fiscal aid, if adopted, would increase U.S. government spending, budget deficit and public debt even further. As a reminder, the federal government spent a record $6.5 trillion in fiscal 2020, while the national debt has already risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s presidency. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s projection from early January, the U.S. fiscal deficit would total $2.3 trillion for fiscal 2021. However, with Biden’s new stimulus, it would be much larger and could even surpass the record deficit of $3.1 trillion for the last fiscal year.So, the ballooning fiscal deficits and debts, together with a recession caused by the pandemic and the Great Lockdown , should be sufficient reasons to be cautious and hold part of one’s investment portfolio in safe-haven assets such as gold . Yet many investors are still turning a blind eye to the negative effects of a fiscal stimulus. But just because they cover their eyes, the elephant will not disappear from the room. Indeed, the gold elephant – and gold bull , his cousin – will not disappear, although they may hide for a while .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

GBPUSD Back Above 1.3611, The Double Top Low

John Benjamin John Benjamin 20.01.2021 08:35
USD turns weaker after rising to a one-month highEURUSD Retraces To the 1.2144 Price Level The euro currency is posting a strong retracement following the decline close to the 1.2050 level of technical support.The current rebound has pushed price action to test a minor support level near 1.2144. With the stochastics oscillator currently showing a hidden bearish divergence, price action will either have to break out above 1.2177 resistance or it is likely that we could see a continuation to the downside.This could mean that the technical support near 1.2050 will once again come under pressure. If prices break below this level, then the EURUSD could be looking towards posting their correction down to 1.1900 level.To the upside, price action will need to post or strong gain about 1.2177 in order to keep the upside bias intact.The British pound sterling continues its strong reversal price action as prices our trading currently above the 1.3611 level.This was the low from the double top pattern that had formed previously. If we see a strong close above 1.3611, then it would potentially keep the GBPUSD within a sideways range.This would mean that the cable will be trading back within the 1.3701 and 1.3611 levels.For the moment, however, the stochastics oscillator still remains somewhat weak as far as the bullish bias is concerned.As a result, a reversal near 1.3611 could potentially reiterate the downside buyers. This would then open the way for the cable to test the 1.3506 level of support.WTI Crude Oil Rebounds. But Can It Post Further Gains? WTI crude oil prices are posting a strong recovery with price action attempting to retest the previously formed highs.However, the reversal looks to be a bit fragile at the moment. As a result, if prices fail to break out above the trend line once again and above the previous highs near 53.80, then we could expect to see some downside correction taking place.For the moment, the oil prices remain somewhat mixed in their bias.Price action on the daily chart shows a bullish reversal following the Doji pattern which comes after the strong declines from Monday.However, from here on, oil prices will need to close above the previous highs in order to continue to post further gains.Gold Stays Muted Despite A Weaker USDThe precious metal is trading subdued, unmoved by the weaker US dollar. As a result, prices remain rangebound within the 1850 and 1818 levels for the moment.The stochastics oscillator also remains rather flat suggesting the sideways movement is likely to continue on for a bit further.Only a strong breakout within this range could result in a potential direction being established in the near term.The bias also remains mixed at this moment. On the daily chart, following the strong rejection below 1817.79, prices have managed to close bullish.However, the resistance level near 1850 will prove to be critical at this point.The stochastics on the daily chart timeframe remains near the oversold level, therefore giving support to the upside buyers if there is a breakout above 1850.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Here’s Why Gold Recently Moved Up

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.01.2021 15:52
Gold moved higher as the USD Index moved lower in today’s pre-market trading. Before providing you with my thoughts on why that happened and what the implications are, let’s see exactly what transpired.Figure 1 - USD IndexIn yesterday’s (Jan. 19) analysis , I commented on the above USD Index chart in the following way:The USD Index is after a major breakout above the declining resistance lines and this breakout was confirmed. Consequently, the USD Index is likely to rally, but is it likely to rally shortly? The answer to this question is being clarified at the moment of writing these words, because the USD Index moved back to its rising short-term support line that’s based on the 2021 bottoms.If the USD Index breaks below it, traders will view the 2021 rally as a zigzag corrective pattern and will probably sell the U.S. currency, causing it to decline, perhaps to the mid-January low or even triggering a re-test of the 2021 low.If the USD Index performs well at this time and rallies back up after touching the support line, and then moves to new yearly highs, it will be then that traders realize that it was definitely not just a zigzag correction, but actually the major bottom. In the previous scenario, they would also realize that, but later, after an additional short-term decline.The weak performance of mining stocks that we saw last week, and relatively strong performance of silver (up by 1.24%) compared to gold (up by 0.34%) in today’s pre-market trading suggest that PMs are very ready to slide right now. This – as markets are interconnected – might make the strength in the USD Index more likely than not. In this case, the second above-mentioned scenario would be realized, and the price moves that I’ve been describing for some time now, would gain momentum quickly.In either case, it seems that the outlook for the precious metals market remains bearish for the short and medium-term. It is only the immediate and very short term that have any notable differences. Therefore, it seems to make sense to keep the short positions in the mining stocks intact.The USD Index moved lower, and at the moment of writing these words, its trading slightly below the rising support line. Is the more bearish (on a temporary basis) forecast for the USDX and more bullish forecast for gold being realized?Let’s take a look at gold.Figure 2 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold is rallying today, but overall, it remains in a back-and-forth consolidation pattern, which continues to be similar to what we saw in November after a very similar (yet smaller) sharp decline.Gold moved slightly above its September low in intraday terms, but not in terms of the closing prices.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners were barely affected yesterday. They moved slightly higher, but it seems to have been just a pause, similar to what we saw in mid-November – nothing more than that.Ok, so that’s what happened. Before stating that the USD’s breakdown and gold’s strength today are game changers for the very short term, let’s think about the possible explanation for these price moves. Is anything special happening today that makes today’s session at least a bit different than other sessions? Something that could be affecting the USD Index and gold?Of course, there is something like that! It’s the U.S. President’s inauguration day!In any case, such a day could affect the temporary market movement, but this year it’s particularly the case, because of the recent Washington D.C. riot and popular conviction that “something might happen” that would prevent the inauguration and effectively allow Donald Trump to remain the U.S. President.As I explained previously, I think that the probability for seeing the above is extremely low, but at this time, the markets and investors might be worried that this really is something that’s at least somewhat possible. If so, then the USD Index should be moving temporarily lower and gold – being a safe-haven asset – is likely to be moving higher. Of course, only temporarily, because it will soon become clear that the inauguration takes place without any major obstacles. There might be some local protests etc., but nothing that would change the situation in any meaningful manner. Consequently, this is most likely the day when the uncertainties and tension regarding the transfer of power in the U.S. start to decrease. At the same time, it’s likely that they will peak right before decreasing. Therefore, what we’re seeing in the USD Index and gold right now is perfectly understandable and natural. And likely temporary.This means that the breakdown in the USD Index could be invalidated soon – perhaps even tomorrow (or later today) and the opposite would be likely in the case of gold and silver’s strength. They might fade away quite quickly. Either way, the outlook remains bearish in my view.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Dollar muted as Joe Biden sworn in as president

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.01.2021 08:10
EURUSD Reverses Near 1.2144, Will It Push Lower? The euro currency is trading with some modest losses on Wednesday. The declines come after price action made a rebound just a few pips above the 1.2050 technical support.This rebound pushed prices to test their technical resistance level near 1.2144. Following this small rally, price action reversed gains.At the moment, prices remain stuck within the 1.2144 resistance and 1.2050 support. With the stochastics oscillator moving out from the overbought levels, we expect to see a retest back to the 1.2050 level, a bit more firmly.If the euro currency loses the support near 1.2050, then we expect a gradual decline towards the 1.1900 level next.To the upside, a close above the 1.2177 – 1.2144 level, will open the way to further gains.GBPUSD Briefly Rises Above 1.3700 But Fails To Hold The British pound sterling continued its bullish rally with prices briefly rising above the 1.3700 handle once again.However, the intraday gains were quickly scaled back as prices pulled back later in the day. As a result, the GBPUSD is currently trading within the sideways range of 1.3700 and 1.3611.The stochastics oscillator is currently overbought but is likely to head lower. This would mean that if the cable loses the support near 1.3611, then we expect to see price action falling back to the previous lows.This would open up the way towards 1.3506 level of technical support.In the medium-term outlook, we expect the GBPUSD to maintain a sideways range between 1.3700 and 1.3500.WTI Crude Oil Gains Lose Steam Near 53.77 WTI crude oil prices continue to hold a bullish front with price once again testing the 13th January and 15th January highs near 53.77.However, the strong pace of gains is showing signs of weakening. Price action has failed to make any significant highs beyond this level.The failure to close above 53.77 could potentially open the way for a move back lower. This would mean that the previous swing low formed near 51.85 is likely to be the short term support for the moment.If price action breaks down below this level of support, then we could expect to see further continuation lower.For the moment, given the bullish momentum in oil markets, we might see another attempt being made to the upside.In the event that crude oil prices close above 53.77, then it would open the way to further gains.Gold Prices Rise To An Eight-Day High The precious metal has managed to rise to an 8-day high following a close above the 1850 handle on an intraday basis.The Stochastics oscillator currently looks somewhat bullish with the possibility that the overbought conditions may persist.If price closes above 1850 on a daily basis, then we expect to see further gains. The next key technical resistance for gold is the 1911.50 level.In the near term, gold prices will need to establish support once again near the 1850 handle. Given that there has been a strong consolidation taking place near this technical support, there is a good chance that price action might continue to push higher.To the downside, a close below the 1850 handle will open up to the 1817.80 level of technical support.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Will Biden Inaugurate Gold’s Rally?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.01.2021 16:12
The price of gold increased on Inauguration Day, arousing investors’ hopes for a new bullish phase.Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official now – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been sworn in as the President and Vice-President of the United States, respectively. What does this imply for America?Well, before we move on to Biden, let’s say goodbye to Trump. You can love him or hate him, but there is no denying that the 45th presidency was excellent for the price of gold . As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal rose more than 50 percent since January 2017 (although gold initially declined after the election results).But Trump is now out of the White House, while Biden is in. What are the economic implications of this change? Well, I used to claim that people generally overestimate the impact that politics and the power of Presidents have over economic developments. However, this time may be different for two reasons.First, Biden is going to quickly reverse many of Trump’s decisions . For instance, he is going to reverse the construction of the border wall, the travel ban targeting mainly Muslim countries, and the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord as well as from the World Health Organization. Biden will also impose a mask mandate on federal property, reversing Trump’s ambiguous stance on the epidemic in the U.S.Second, the 46th presidency could be remembered in the future as having been fiscally lavish – and Biden seems to be determined to overshadow Trump in that matter. He has already proposed to spend $1.9 trillion to stimulate the economy – on top of previous aid packages worth more than $3 trillion. Importantly, Biden calls his mammoth plan just “the first step” and he is going to soon announce a plan for spending on infrastructure and clean energy which could be worth more than $2 trillion. Additionally, Janet Yellen , likely the next U.S. Treasury Secretary, has recently confirmed the stance of the new administration, saying that the government should act “big” to jump-start the economy, as “the benefits will far outweigh the costs” of being bold.Implications for GoldWhat does Biden’s presidency imply for the gold market? Well, we have already covered this theme in the two latest editions of the Gold Market Overview (and we will continue this topic in the next issue), but let us repeat that, from the fundamental point of view, Biden’s presidency looks promising for the price of gold . Although larger government expenditures can boost the GDP in the short run (the long-term economic impact could actually be negative), they will also expand the fiscal deficits and the federal debt .Higher debts not only makes the economy more fragile and prone to debt crises , but they also make the normalization of monetary policy more difficult. The truth is that the U.S. simply cannot afford higher interest rates. You see, the higher the debts, the lower the interest rates must be to handle the debt servicing costs. Welcome to the debt trap . So, the Fed will have to maintain the federal funds rate at practically a zero level for a long time. The lower the real interest rates , the better it is for gold.Oh, and did I mention inflation already? With the massive amount of stimulus injected into the U.S. economy, there is an overriding risk of overheating and increase in inflation, which would be positive for the gold prices.So, as long as there is a strong risk appetite, hope for better politics (“this time will be different and this president will be different than everyone else and everything will change for the better”) and faster economic growth, gold may struggle.However, when the honeymoon ends and investors acknowledge risks related to the higher fiscal stimulus, or when some economic crisis arrives and the risk appetite vanishes, gold will shine. Indeed, gold investors didn’t appear to be afraid of President Biden, as the price of gold increased on Inauguration Day.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

What's next for Bitcoin – $56k or $16k?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 21.01.2021 21:21
Bitcoin traders and enthusiasts are riding the wave after the incredible rally from $9,000 to $42,000 throughout Q4:2020.  It certainly was an incredible run – more than quadrupling in value in less than three months. Now we find ourselves in an early 2021 corrective phase which will end in either another Breakout/Rally attempt or an Excess Phase (Blow-off) Top.  This article highlights both potential outcomes because at this stage it is difficult to determine a single high-probability outcome.Before I continue, I urge readers to review our How To Spot The End Of An Excess Phase article from November 27, 2020. You can re-read it here. This is an excellent primer for the content of this current research article.What A Bitcoin Breakout Would Look LikeLet's take a look at what a Breakout/Rally technical setup in Bitcoin would look like in the near future.  Looking at the chart below, price must hold above critical support near $27,800 as any new lower low would constitute a continuation of the Bearish downtrend.  Therefore, any renewed rally attempt would likely initiate from levels near $28k (or just below this level). Using a Fibonacci Price Extension, we can see the $46,280 (0.618) and the $56,190 (1.0) Fibonacci Extension levels are key potential upside price targets if a breakout/rally resumes.  We are measuring the most recent bottom, in late November, to the current high price level, then aligning the Fibonacci price extension bottom to the current price lows (near $30,260).  This allows us to see future potential price target levels if this rally/uptrend continues.Again, it is critical that the support level near $27,800 holds and price lows do not breach this level.  Any breach of this support level would constitute a “new lower low” in Fibonacci Price Theory – which suggests a downtrend is continuing.What A Bitcoin Breakdown Would Look LikeThe opposite aspect of this recent peak is that it may be setting up as an Excess Phase (blow-off) Top, as we can see the #1 (extreme rally) and #2 (sideways flag) setup in price recently.  The completed Excess Phase pattern consists of five total processes:The extreme upside price rallyThe TOP, followed by a moderate downside price trend that sets up the FLAGThe breakdown of the FLAG trend, which then targets a broader support levelThe breakdown of that support level, which then targets the ultimate bottom/momentum base levelOnce the ultimate bottom/base is established, then a new momentum/bottom begins and trend usually attempts another rally attempt.Be sure to sign up for my webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own FREE RIGTH NOW!Obviously, when you look at the Bitcoin to USD chart (below), it is fairly easy to identify the #1 and #2 setup of the Excess Phase Top.  The next question is will price breakdown and attempt to move below the $27,800 recent low support level or will it hold above this level, prompting another rally attempt.  If price breaks below the $27,800 support level (near recent lows on January 11, 2021), then we need to be very cautious of the broader Excess Phase Top process continuing and a continued breakdown resulting in lower price trends.  If the $27,800 support level holds, as we suggested in the Breakout/Rally example above, then there is a strong chance that $42k to $56k could be the next upside targets.I understand that readers and traders want to have more clarity on the direction Bitcoin will go, but ultimately, we need price to complete the next phase of this process. It all hinges on the current $27,800 support level right now.  As long as that support level holds, then there is a very strong possibility that another upside price rally will begin at some point in the future.  If it is broken and the Flag Breakdown continues, then it would appear the Excess Phase Top has moved into Phase #3 and will likely continue to unfold.Why wait for Bitcoin to begin a new trend – Stock sectors are movingEven though we will wait and see on Bitcoin, we see a wide variety of other sectors to play instead of holding out for the right Bitcoin trade. We have seen some explosive trading opportunities in sectoral ETFs despite the pullback in Bitcoin and other assets. One of our Best Asset Now Hotlist ETFs has grown by 23.55% since we identified its trigger a short 9 days. Some of our subscribers that traded options on that BAN Hotlist trigger did really, really well!If you love Cryptos or not, don't miss out on the opportunities that are setting up in the broader, global market and stock sector ETFs with our BAN strategy. If you want to improve your own trading strategy and win-rate, then you need to subscribe to BAN Trader Pro to get my daily BAN Hotlist, my pre-market video walkthrough of the charts every morning, and my BAN strategy trade alerts. Happy Trading!
New administration spurs risk on sentiment

New administration spurs risk on sentiment

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.01.2021 09:17
EURUSD Gains On A Weaker Dollar And ECB Meeting The euro currency made a rebound, led by a weaker greenback and the ECB meeting on Thursday.The central bank did not make any changes which saw the euro rising as a result. However, the gains were capped near the familiar resistance area between 1.2177 and 1.2144 levels.This has led to another bearish signal from the intraday Stochastics oscillator. As a result, if the euro fails to close above 1.2177, then a drop is likely.This opens the way for the common currency to test the lower support at 1.2050. However, the daily price action looks somewhat bullish at this point. Therefore, only a close above 1.2177 will confirm further gains.This potentially puts the 1.2050 level into the picture at the moment.GBPUSD On Track To Settle Above 1.3700 The British pound sterling continues to keep a bullish hold. After failing to break out above 1.3700 level, prices managed to do so on Thursday.With intraday gains pushing the GBPUSD somewhat higher, we expect the 1.3700 level to hold for the moment.This will potentially open the way for the currency pair to post further gains. The next key target will of course be the 1.3950 level which was briefly tested as support back in April 2018.However, the gains will continue only on a strong continuation to the upside.At the current levels near 1.3700, price action is testing the support from 2018 March. Therefore, with this level now likely to act as resistance, we could see a decline.WTI Crude Oil Settles Into A Sideways Range Crude oil prices trade mixed as the developments on the ground unfold. With the new President Biden being quick to rejoin the Paris climate accord, speculators expect further changes on fossil fuel.President Biden was quick to announce new curbs on the US oil industry. The current sideways range in the oil markets reflect this sentiment. Speculators remain on the sidelines for now in order to ascertain more data.As a result, WTI crude oil prices are likely to maintain a sideways range within 53.77 and 51.87 levels for the near term. Only a strong breakout from this range will set the next direction.The intraday Stochastics oscillator is also currently turning flat. To the downside, a close below 51.87 will open the way toward the 49.03 level of support.While to the upside, a close above 53.77 could see oil prices building up the bullish momentum.Gold Prices Trade Flat As Investors Weight Stimulus Prospects The precious metal is giving back some of the gains made on Wednesday, after rising to a nine-day high on an intraday basis, prices are pulling back.This comes as investors wait on further announcements from the new Biden administration. Speculation is high that the new Democrats government, which also now holds a thin majority in Senate could announce new stimulus measures.For the moment, price action in gold remains flat in anticipation of the news. The current pullback could see gold prices retesting the 1850 level.If strong support is established here, then we expect further gains. The 1911.50 level of resistance becomes the next upside target.If the 1850 handle is lost, then gold prices are likely to head lower. The 1817.80 level comes in as support.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Emerging Markets Stocks and ETFs for 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.01.2021 16:41
There’s not a rigid definition of what an emerging market is. For example, China is still the leading country in many emerging market ETFs and funds. But is it fair to consider China an emerging market any longer? It has nearly 1.4 billion people and was the only major economy globally to see GDP growth in 2020.That’s like calling Giannis Antetokounmpo an up and coming superstar despite winning the last two NBA MVP awards.But even if I did see China as an emerging market, it wouldn’t be my top choice for 2021.If you’ve been reading my newsletters, you know that I love emerging market exposure this year. The dollar is weakening and should continue to weaken with trillions more in stimulus and rising commodity prices.Meanwhile, emerging markets are perfectly positioned to exploit this and grow as a result.You also know that I’ve been talking about specific emerging markets like Taiwan, Thailand, and Russia.But in this special emerging markets newsletter , I will aim to further talk about what to look for when investing in a country, what other emerging markets to consider, and why I think they are set to outperform the US markets this year, after many years of underperformance.Why emerging markets?For several reasons!For one, did you know these facts about emerging markets? They have:-85% of the world population-77% of the land mass-63% of global commodities-59% of global GDP (using PPP)-12.5% of world’s market capConsider this for long-term investing too. Advanced economies are aging rapidly while emerging economies have youthful demographics.That’s why PWC believes that emerging markets (E7) could grow around twice as fast as advanced economies (G7) on average.For emerging markets, this could be very advantageous in the coming decades.With American debt building up at an alarming rate, and the U.S. Dollar set for broader declines, this trend could begin sooner than we realize.U.S. investors also usually have >5% exposure to emerging markets, making this an even more untapped opportunity.Aren’t emerging markets risky?Of course, you have to consider political risk, credit risk, and economic risk for emerging markets.But did you see the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago? Have you noticed how its currency has performed since March? Figure 1- U.S. Dollar $USD Have you also seen the Fed’s balance sheet? Have you seen the S&P’s valuation and the tech IPO market?I would even argue that emerging markets could hedge against America’s political, economic, and currency risks right now. The pandemic only exacerbated this.Furthermore, if you look at the returns of the emerging markets I will discuss today: Taiwan (EWT), Russia (ERUS), Thailand (THD), Vietnam (VNM), South Korea (EWY), Indonesia (EIDO), Chile (ECH), and Peru (EPU), you will see that all have outperformed the S&P 500 (SPY) since September. Figure 2-SPY, EWT, ERUS, THD, VNM, EWY, EIDO, ECH, EPU comparison chart- Sep. 1, 2020-Present Taiwan iShares ETF (EWT) Figure 3-iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT) The Taiwan iShares ETF (EWT) has overheated more than the other emerging market ETFs based on its RSI that I will discuss. But if you’ve been reading my newsletters, you know I love Taiwan.Taiwan has also arguably been the best call I’ve made since starting these newsletters.I have been consistently calling Taiwan a better buy than China, despite China’s undeniable upside. Taiwan has the same sort of regional upside, without the same kind of geopolitical risks.Consider this too. Despite China’s robust economic response to COVID-19, retail sales still fell 3.9% over the full year, marking the first contraction since 1968. Lockdowns have also returned to China with a vengeance thanks to a new wave in COVID-19 infections.Ever since I called the EWT a buy on December 3rd, it has gained nearly 16% and outperformed the MSCI China ETF (MCHI) by approximately 3%.It has also outperformed the SPY S&P 500 ETF by nearly 11%.Taiwan also is unique for a developing country because of its stable fundamentals. It has low inflation, low unemployment, consistent trade surpluses, and high foreign reserves.It also has a diverse and modern hi-tech economy, especially in the semiconductor industry. With a diverse set of trade partners, Taiwan could only be scratching the surface of its potential.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Why You Shouldn’t Get Excited About Gold’s Mini-Rally

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.01.2021 16:49
Gold seems to be sleeping off its latest mini-rally and lacks the momentum to reach new highs. What happens from here? Has the USD bottomed? And what does it mean when we factor in the EUR/USD pair and poor economic indicators from Europe into the equation?Not much happened yesterday (Jan. 21), but what happened was relatively informative. And by “relatively” I mean literally just that. Gold moved lower yesterday and in today’s pre-market trading, doing so despite another small move lower in the USD Index. The moves are not big, but they are meaningful. They show that gold’s inauguration-day rally was likely a temporary blip on the radar screen instead of being a game-changer.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold FuturesLooking at the above gold chart, I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. Consequently, there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.Besides, there’s also a declining resistance line just around the corner.And that’s not even the most important thing. The most important thing is that based on the similarity to how things developed between 2011 and 2013, gold’s downward trajectory is likely to have periodic corrections at this time – up to a point where it simply plunges.Figure 2 - GOLD Continuous Contract (EOD)When the current situation is compared to what we saw about a decade ago, it shows what one should expect, assuming that the history repeats itself.Gold kept on declining with corrections along the way until April. In April, the decline accelerated profoundly. The biggest problem with the latter was that practically nobody expected this kind of volatility. Those who were thinking that it’s just another move lower that will be reversed were very surprised.Right now, you know in advance that a bigger move lower is likely just around the corner, and you won’t be surprised when it comes. Whether we have to wait an additional few days or first see gold rally by $10 or $30 is not that important, if it’s about to slide $150 and then another $200 or so.I would like to add that gold is declining today and based on the similarity to the November consolidation, it’s exactly the day when we should expect to see a decline. Of course, the similarity doesn’t have to persist, and the history doesn’t have to repeat itself to the letter, but what’s happening right now seems to be confirming the analogy in a considerable way. This means that more declines are likely just around the corner. If not immediately, then shortly.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver FuturesSilver turned south after reaching (approximately) the price level that stopped the rally in July and November 2020, and also earlier this year. This seems relatively natural and the outlook for silver remains bearish for the next several weeks.Silver corrected a bit more of this year’s downswing than gold, which is normal given the bearish outlook. The same goes for miners’ underperformance. Let’s keep in mind that silver’s “strength” is temporary – once the decline really starts, and it moves to its final part, silver is likely to catch up big time.Figure 4 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETFAs far as the miners are concerned, mining stocks didn’t correct half of their 2021 decline. They didn’t invalidate the breakdown below the rising support line, either. In fact, the GDX ETF closed yesterday’s session below the 50-day moving average. Technically, nothing changed yesterday.Please note that the November – today consolidation is quite similar to the consolidation that we saw between April and June (see Figure 4 - green rectangles). Both shoulders of the head-and-shoulder formation can be identical, but they don’t have to be, so it’s not that the current consolidation has to end at the right border of the current rectangle. However, the fact that the price is already close to this right border tells us that it would be very normal for the consolidation to end any day now – most likely before the end of January.If we see a rally to $37, or even $38, it won’t change much – the outlook will remain intact anyway and the right shoulder of the potential head-and-shoulders formation will remain similar to the left shoulder.However, does the GDX have to first rally to $37 or $38 to decline? Absolutely not. It could turn south right away, thus surprising most market participants.Figure 5 – USD IndexIn Tuesday’s (Jan. 19) analysis , I commented on the above USD Index chart in the following way:The USD Index is after a major breakout above the declining resistance lines and this breakout was confirmed. Consequently, the USD Index is likely to rally, but is it likely to rally shortly? The answer to this question is being clarified at the moment of writing these words, because the USD Index moved back to its rising short-term support line that’s based on the 2021 bottoms.If the USD Index breaks below it, traders will view the 2021 rally as a zigzag corrective pattern and will probably sell the U.S. currency, causing it to decline, perhaps to the mid-January low or even triggering a re-test of the 2021 low.If the USD Index performs well at this time and rallies back up after touching the support line, and then moves to new yearly highs, it will be then that traders realize that it was definitely not just a zigzag correction, but actually the major bottom. In the previous scenario, they would also realize that, but later, after an additional short-term decline.It’s now clear that the former scenario is being realized. The support levels that could trigger the USD’s reversal are based on the potential inverse head-and-shoulders pattern – the red line that’s slightly above 90, and the horizontal line that’s slightly below it. It’s also possible that the USD Index tests it yearly lows. None of the above would be likely to change the outlook for the precious metals sector, at least not beyond the immediate term.Later yesterday (Jan. 21) and also in today’s overnight trading, the USD Index moved to the upper of the above-mentioned support lines. Is the bottom already in? This seems likely, but it’s not crystal-clear yet. However, it doesn’t really matter, because the precious metals market responded to the USD’s strength for just one day (in a meaningful way that is) and taking a closer look at that day reveals that it was not the USDX’s performance that gold reacted to, but to the underlying news – the inauguration-day-based uncertainty. So, even if the USD Index declines some more here before soaring, gold doesn’t have to move significantly higher. In fact, it would be unlikely to do so.Stocks have rallied, and based on this rally, the weekly RSI moved close to 70 once again.Figure 6 – S&P 500 IndexThis is important because the last two major declines were preceded by this very signal. We saw the double-top in the RSI at about 70, exactly when the stock market started its big declines, and we’re seeing the same thing right now. If this was the only thing pointing to much lower stock values on the horizon, I would say that the situation is not so critical, but that’s not the only thing – far from it. Before moving to these non-technical details, let’s recall why the stock market analysis and the USD index analysis matters for precious metals investors and traders.The analyses matter because gold, silver, and mining stocks are likely to decline in parallel with a decline in stocks and the USD’s rally. This is likely to take place up to a certain point, when precious metals show strength and refuse to decline further despite the stock market continuing to fall and the USDX continuing to rally. This kind of performance happened many times, including in the first half of last year.Since the S&P 500 futures are down in today’s overnight trading, perhaps we have indeed seen a top. Even if not, it doesn’t seem that one is very far away, based on how excessive the situation looks from the fundamental point of view. Let’s discuss some of those non-technical issues.Mind Over MatterDespite Janet Yellen’s recent assertion that “the United States does not seek a weaker currency,” her tongue-in-cheek comments are actually doing just that. The newly minted U.S. Treasury secretary urged lawmakers to “act big” with regard to prospective stimulus, saying that the benefits “far outweigh the costs.”And since her worst-kept secret became public on Jan. 18, the USD Index has been under fire ever since. Furthermore, as her words instill the EUR/USD with borrowed confidence, the precious metals are displaying the same bold behavior.Please see below:Figure 7However, despite the narrative overpowering reality, the Eurozone fundamentals don’t support the recent rally. And why is this important? Because as you can see from the chart above, as goes the EUR/USD, so go the PMs.Yesterday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde revealed that the Eurozone economy likely shrank in the fourth quarter – all but sealing a double-dip recession.Please see below:Figure 8 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Holger Zschaepitz)In contrast, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecasting model (as of Jan. 21) has the U.S. economy expanding by 7.5% in Q4. Furthermore, even if we take the Atlanta Fed’s estimate with a grain of salt, the Blue Chip consensus (forecasts made by private-sector economists) is for growth of nearly 4.0% (tallied as of early January). And even more telling, economists with a bottom 10% Q4 GDP forecast ( see Figure 9 - the shaded light blue area below) still expect positive growth.Figure 9The bottom line?We can now add the Eurozone GDP to the long list of relative underperformances.Expanding on the above, European consumer confidence (released yesterday) went backwards again in January and is now less than 10 points above its April low. Furthermore, the current reading is still well-below the long-term average.Figure 10On Jan. 8, I highlighted the significant divergence between European CPI and U.S. CPI (inflation). For context, European CPI was – 0.30% in December (negative for five-straight months), while U.S. CPI was 0.40% in December (positive for seven-straight months).I wrote:Weak CPI is a precursor to a weaker euro. Why so? Because since asset purchases fail to produce any real economic growth, the ECB will be forced to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy. As a result, the cocktail of paltry economic activity and lower bond yields leads to capital outflows as foreign (and domestic) investors reallocate money to other geographies (like the U.S.). Thus, capital will likely exit the Eurozone and lead to a lower EUR/USD.And today?Well, it’s exactly what the ECB is doing.Due to the economic malaise confronting Europe, the ECB is targeting its bond-buying activity toward financially weaker counties (like Italy) as opposed to financially stronger countries (like Germany). Essentially, it’s conducting a shadow operation of yield curve control (YCC).Please see below:Figure 11If you analyze the red box above, you can see that Europe’s weighted-average bond yield has increased in 2021. And why is this happening? Because as Europe’s economic deterioration merges with Italy’s fiscal plight, this cocktail has made European bonds riskier, and thus, investors demand a higher interest rate. And while higher interest rates are bullish for a country’s currency when they’re a function of economic growth, a crisis-like spike in yields (due to solvency concerns) means the exact opposite.Furthermore, if you follow the gray bars at the bottom-half of the chart, the ECB actually decreased its bond purchases toward the end of December (2020), Then, once January hit (2021), it was back to business as usual.As a result, the ECB’s attempt to scale back its asset purchases was (and will be) short-lived. And as the economic conditions worsen, the money printer will be working overtime for the foreseeable future.To that point, Bloomberg Economics expects the ECB to purchase €15 billion worth of bonds per week until 2022 – more than doubling its pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) to nearly €1.85 trillion.Please see below:Figure 12And in real-time?Well, the ECB’s balance sheet hit another record-high on Friday (Jan. 15) – with total holdings still at 69% of Eurozone GDP (nearly double the U.S. Fed’s 35%).Figure 13And why does all of this matter?Because, as I highlighted on Jan. 12, the ECB’s relative outprinting is a precursor to a lower EUR/USD.Figure 14I wrote:Turning to the second chart (Figure 6 - on the right), notice how the EUR/USD tracks the FED/ECB ratio? To explain, the ratio (the light blue line) is calculated by dividing the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) balance sheet by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) balance sheet. Essentially, its direction tells you which monetary authority is printing more money. If you analyze the EUR/USD (the dark blue line), it trades higher when the FED is out-printing the ECB (the light blue line is rising) and trades lower when the ECB is out-printing the FED (the light blue line is falling). The key takeaway? With the light blue line falling, it means that the ECB is outprinting the FED . And if this dynamic continues, the EUR/USD (the dark blue line) should move lower as well.The top in the FED/ECB total assets ratio preceded the slide in the EUR/USD less than a decade ago and it seems to be preceding the next slide as well. If the USD Index was to repeat its 2014-2015 rally from the recent lows, it would rally to 114. This level is much more realistic than most market participants would agree on.In conclusion, the EUR/USD’s recent strength is built on a foundation of sand. Instead of following the hard data, traders are letting the narrative cloud their judgment. Moreover, due to their strong correlation with the EUR/USD, gold and silver are falling into the same trap. However, once the semblance of strength evaporates, a decline in the EUR/USD is likely to usher a move lower for the PMs. Furthermore, with gold already approaching the upper trendline of its November consolidation channel, the momentum may wane sooner rather than later.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Will Inflation Make Gold Shine in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.01.2021 16:51
Inflation will be one of the greatest upside risks for gold this year. Will it materialize and make gold shine?The report about gold in 2021 would be incomplete without the outlook for inflation . We have already written about it recently, but this topic is worth further examination. After all, higher inflation is believed to be one of the biggest tail risks in the coming months or years, and one of the greatest upside risks for gold this year .Most economists and investors still believe that inflation is dead. After all, the only way to justify the central banks’ unprecedentedly dovish actions is the premise of low inflation. And the only way to justify the buoyant stock market amid the new highs in the number of Americans in hospital with COVID-19 is the expectation of an inflationless economic recovery this year. In other words, many people forecast the return to the Goldilocks economy after the end of the pandemic .On the surface, it seems that they might be right. We haven’t seen double-digit inflation since the end of 1981. And last time the CPI annual rate was above 3 percent was in January 2012. Actually, in the last ten years, inflation was below the Fed’s 2-percent target most of the time, as the chart below shows.Moreover, the inflation rates dropped significantly during the U.S. epidemic and the Great Lockdown when people distanced socially and limited their spending. So, given the strength of the negative demand shock and the following plunge in inflation, why should we worry about the risk of higher inflation?Well, shouldn’t it be obvious after experiencing a pandemic, i.e., an improbable but impactful event? Even a small probability of a surge in inflation should be worrying, especially given the pile of debt and, thus, limited room for central banks to hike interest rates to prevent inflation.Moreover, the likelihood of an increase in inflation is not so small . As I’ve explained several times, the case for higher inflation is stronger today than in the aftermath of the Great Recession . The first reason is that the broad money supply has surged . This is because the banks haven’t been hit so far (in contrast to the financial crisis where banks suffered greatly), so they have been lending freely, as the chart below shows.Second, in contrast to the previous economic crisis where people did not spend money because they had no income or they decided to repay their debts, this time, people didn’t spend money because they were stuck at home. But when the health crisis is over and people get vaccinated, some consumers may go on a spending spree . The realization of pent-up demand may overwhelm the firms’ capacity, leading to an increase in prices. There are already some signs of bottlenecks, or supply falling behind demand, such as the increase in prices of some commodities like iron ore.In other words, when the world returns to normality, the private sector will find itself flush with cash. And I bet that some households will try to make up for all the time not spent in movie theatres, restaurants and hotels during the last year.Third, there might also be some structural shifts in the global economy, which will reverse the current disinflationary forces . As Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan argue in their book The Great Demographic Reversal , the era of low inflation, caused by globalization, is now ending. You see, in the 1980s and 1990s, China, India and post-communist countries from Europe and Central Asia, entered the global economy. As a consequence, the global labor supply for production of tradeable goods rose enormously, leading to weak inflationary pressure. But all this is going into reverse. Globalization is now weakening and there are no big countries in the queue to enter the global economy. Actually, ageing in China and other countries reduces the global labor supply, thus strengthening inflationary pressure.Last but not least, the politicians and central bankers have become more complacent . The thoughtless and irresponsible stance of politicians is unsurprising, especially given the temptation to inflate away the public debt . However, the central banks also stopped worrying and embraced the inflation bomb. For example, the Fed has changed its monetary regime in 2020, announcing that it would tolerate overshooting of inflation above its target for a undetermined period of time.The bottom line is that inflation should return in the coming months (more precisely, in the second half of the year, when the distribution of vaccines will be widespread). We shouldn’t experience double-digit rates, but the markets don’t expect a deflationary crisis either. As the chart below shows, inflationary expectations have already returned to pre-pandemic levels.All this is good news for price of gold . The case for reflation in the global economy is definitely stronger than after the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. The present risk of higher inflation should support the demand for gold as a hedge against inflation . And the increase in inflation expectations lowers the real interest rates , thereby positively affecting the yellow metal. Although gold will face some important headwinds this year, inflation expectations are likely to outpace the increase in nominal bond yields, which would put downward pressure on the real interest rates and support gold prices.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Recent triggers in these sectors suggest US Stock Markets may enter a rally phase

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 22.01.2021 21:30
Recently, our Best Asset Now (BAN) Hotlist generated a new trigger on the SPY chart.  Typically, this type of trigger suggests the SPY is starting a new, potentially explosive, upside price rally.  But what really interests us is the potential that the strongest sectoral ETFs may continue to see a much stronger upside price rally as a result of this new trigger.RECENT BAN SPY TREND TRIGGERThe strength of the BAN Hotlist is not the general market triggers it gives, such as the SPY, Dow Jones, or NASDAQ, but instead the ability to align these major market triggers with the strongest performing sectoral ETFs. This allows those using the Hotlist and BAN strategy to take advantage of the best-performing assets in the markets in any market trend.  The new SPY trigger, seen on the chart below, suggests the US stock markets may be starting a new upside price trend, which will cause capital to rotate into different sectors.  Our simple BAN Hotlist and strategy helps us identify these sectoral opportunities.QQQ GENERATES A SIMILAR TYPE OF BREAKOUT TRIGGERTraders love when ideas drawn from one chart is corroborated by other charts. As we can see from the chart below, the QQQ appears to have confirmed this BAN trigger with a similar type of upside price breakout. This upside move in the QQQ aligns with some of our recent research that suggested the Technology sector had stalled after having been one of the fastest-growing sectors for several months now.  We may start to see certain sub-sectors of technology really start to advance faster than the SPY/QQQ – which creates explosive opportunities for traders/investors.Recently, we published a research article suggesting a lower US Dollar would prompt major sector rotations in the US and global markets. Within that article, we highlighted the fact that the Materials, Industrials, Technology, and Discretionary sectors had been the hottest sectors of the past 180 days, but the Energy, Financials, Materials, and Industrials had shown the best strength over the past 90 days.  Technology had fallen/stalled dramatically over the past 90+ days.Overall, we believe the best performing sectors are likely to be sub-sectors of the SPY and QQQ. Potentially, certain components of the Technology, Health Care, Discretionary & Utility sectors.  Beyond that type of general analysis, we rely on the BAN Trader system to rank the “Best Assets Now” and tell us when new trade entry triggers are generated. It is very likely that this new SPY BAN trigger will prompt an extended upside price rally across a number of assets over the next few days/weeks.  Are you ready for these big market rotations expected in 2021?  Do you want to learn how BAN can help you find and trade the “Best Assets Now”? You too can also trade Best Assets Now with no proprietary indicator, scanners, or algorithms just by watching my FREE webinar. Not only will it show you a strategy you can implement tomorrow, but you will also receive over $100 worth of free goodies designed to make you an even better trader... no strings attached. Go ahead and watch the webinar now - click here to start! If you want to improve your own trading strategy and win-rate, then you need to subscribe to BAN Trader Pro to get my daily BAN Hotlist, my pre-market video walkthrough of the charts every morning, and my BAN strategy trade alerts.Happy Trading!
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Technology & Energy Sectors Are Hot – Are You Missing Out?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 24.01.2021 21:22
We have seen some really big moves in various S&P sectors over the past 60+ days and these trends look like they may continue for a while.  Near the end of 2020, in October and November, the markets seemed to stall a bit before the US elections, but they have really started to trend much higher over the past 60+ days.  Technology and Energy seem to be leading the charge in some respects. The most important thing for traders is to find decent breakout trends in stocks and sectors that have a real potential for strong continued trending.  When we find these types of longer-term trends, we can scale in and out of the typical up/down price trends, over time, to generate some incredible returns.Technology Heating Up AgainThe move in the IXN Global Technology ETF charted below, looks like it is starting to accelerate higher.  It has already moved +17% over the past 60+ days, but there is a real potential that global investors are starting to pile back into technology ahead of the Q4:2020 earnings reports.  This may prove to be one of the hottest sectors in 2021 – so keep an eye on this new breakout rally.Energy and Exploration Setting Up For Another Move HigherOne of the biggest movers over the past few months has been the recovery of the Oil/Gas/Energy sector after quite a bit of sideways/lower price trending.  You can see from this XOP chart, below, a 44% upside price rally has taken place since early November, and XOP has recently rotated moderately downward – setting up another potential trade setup if this rally continues.  Traders know, the trend if your friend.  Another upside price swing in the XOP, above $72, would suggest this rally mode is continuing.Recently, we published a research article suggesting a lower US Dollar would prompt major sector rotations in the US and global markets where we highlighted the fact that the Materials, Industrials, Technology, and Discretionary sectors had been the hottest sectors of the past 180 days, but the Energy, Financials, Materials, and Industrials had shown the best strength over the past 90 days.  Technology, Healthcare, Financials, Energy, Consumer Products/Services, Foreign Markets have all been hot over the past 4+ months, but what is trending right now?  We believe the best performing sectors are likely to be sub-sectors of the SPY and QQQ. My research team and I believe Technology and Energy still have lots of room to run.  Financials could be a big winner too if the recent upside trend continues. We rely on the BAN Hotlist to rank the “Best Assets Now” and tell us when new trade entry triggers are generated.In short, 2021 is going to be an incredible year for BAN Trader subscribers because of the big trends, high volatility, stimulus, and policies with the Biden administration. The time is now to learn and trade the Best Assets Now Hotlist using our proven sector rotation strategy. Our BAN Trader Pro strategy is proving to be an incredible advancement that allows us to dominate and generate Alpha. We urge you to take advantage of the BAN Trader Pro technology and prepare for the big trends that we expect to continue throughout all of 2021 and into 2022 and beyond.I am teaching my BAN trading strategy in a 1-hour FREE webinar. The webinar is 100% educational and you will get everything you need to trade my powerful strategy on your own, with no proprietary trading tools or indicators, and with no strings attached. Learn this strategy now and join me in my webinar at https://joinnow.live/s/EPdGTI.Enjoy the rest of the weekend!Chris VermeulenChief Market Strategistwww.TheTechnicalTraders.com
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GBPUSD Remains Steady Within The Bullish Channel

John Benjamin John Benjamin 25.01.2021 09:16
Dollar likely to push higher after FOMC and GDPEURUSD Closes With A DojiThe euro currency continued its attempts to break out from the resistance area near 1.2177 and 1.2144.However, price action closed somewhat flat, resulting in a Doji close on Friday. The Doji pattern in the resistance area could see a possible reversal.However, the sentiment remains mixed for the moment. A strong bullish close could see the euro currency rising above 1.2177.This will open the way forward for the EURUSD to retest the 6th January highs of 1.2349. Alternately, a bearish close following the Doji could signal a possible move back toward the 1.2050 level of support.There is also an ascending triangle pattern emerging near the resistance area. A successful upside breakout puts the near term target toward the 6th January highs, if not closer.The British pound sterling closed on Friday with losses, although price action remains firmly within the ascending price channel.The support level near 1.3500, clearly remains the major line in the sand. Further upside is likely to continue upon establishing firm support near this level on a daily and weekly basis.To the upside, a possible continuation may see the GBPUSD attempting to test the 16th April 2018 highs near 1.4376.Watch the minor rising trendline, which if breached could see the correction back to the 1.3500 handle.But the Stochastics oscillator is likely to signal another short term momentum to the upside.If the GBPUSD fails to break past the 21st January highs of 1.3745, then we might see a possible pullback.WTI Crude Oil Closes Flat On A Weekly BasisThe recent bull run in the oil markets is slowing down with the commodity posting a flat close for two consecutive weeks now.On Friday, oil prices were testing the lower end of the sideways range between 53.77 and 51.87. This comes after the second minor rising trendline was breached.While there was a small pullback into the weekly close, the overall bias remains mixed. This sideways range could continue especially if the current rebound off the floor could see prices attempting to rise back.But in the event that oil prices break down below the 51.87 level, then we expect a correction toward the 49 – 50 region in the short term.The confluence of the major rising trendline alongside the horizontal support could put a lid on the declines.Gold Prices Steady In A Sideways RangePrice action in gold remains stuck within a sideways range with the 1818 level of support holding up for the moment. The overall trend remains flat after gold price touched a new all-time high on 7th August 2020.This sideways shift could either see the trend beginning to change or a possible pause before the bullish run picking up pace.The overall bias remains mixed within this sideways range of the 1950 and 1818 levels.For the moment, price action has formed a lower high and is currently pushing lower. Therefore, a retest of the 1818 level is quite likely.A break down below this support area could see a possible shift in the trend.To the upside, unless the 1950 level gives way, prices might remain stuck in the range.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

After Your Recent High - Where to Now, Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.01.2021 17:39
Gold is suffering a hang-over after it’s early January highs, while the EUR/USD pair is buckling - so when gold declines, where will its bottom be?After injecting itself with Janet Yellen’s stimulus sentiment, gold came down from its highs on Friday (Jan. 22).And like the GDX ETF, it’s important to put gold’s recent run into context. For starters, gold is still trading below its August declining resistance line, it topped at its triangle-vertex-based reversal point (which I warned about previously ) and the yellow metal remains well-off its January highs.Figure 1Looking at the chart below, we can see gold approaching the upper trendline of its November consolidation channel.Figure 2I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. I wrote about this previously (Jan. 21), saying that there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.And what happened last Friday?Well, gold fell by 0.52% as the Yellen -led intoxication began to wear off. Gold also continues to decline in today’s pre-market trading, despite a small move lower in the USD Index.Also adding to the upswing, one of the most popular gold indicators – the stochastic oscillator (see below) dipped below 20 last week. Itching to move off oversold levels, the yellow metal responded in kind. However, if you analyze the green arrows below (at the bottom of the chart), you can see that the first green arrow has a red arrow directly above it (marking gold’s November top).Currently, the stochastic oscillator is right near that level, and with November acting as a prelude, the yellow metal could suffer a similar swoon in the coming days or weeks.Figure 3 – Gold Continuous Contract Overview and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart ComparisonBack in November, gold’s second decline (second half of the month) was a bit bigger than the initial (first half of the month) slide that was much sharper. The January performance is very similar so far, with the difference being that this month, the initial decline that we saw in the early part of the month was bigger.This means that if the shape of the price moves continues to be similar, the next short-term move lower could be bigger than what we saw so far in January and bigger than the decline that we saw in the second half of November. This is yet another factor that points to the proximity of $1,700 as the next downside target.Moving on to cross-asset implications, Yellen’s dollar-negative comments tipped over a string of dominoes across the currency market. Ushering the EUR /USD higher, the boost added wind to the yellow metal’s sails.Figure 4And because the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USD Index, the currency pair is an extremely important piece of gold’s puzzle. However, beneath the surface, the euro is already starting to crack. After breaching critical support last week, Yellen’s comments basically saved the currency, as a rally in the EUR/USD was followed by a rally in the EUR/GBP.Figure 5However, with Eurozone fundamentals drastically underperforming the U.S. (and many other countries as well), a come-to-Jesus moment could be on the horizon.In summary, Friday’s detox – with the EUR/USD flat-lining and gold moving lower – could be a precursor to a rather messy withdrawal. Right now, the euro is hanging on for dear life, as technicals, fundamentals and cross-currency signals all point to a weaker euro. As a result, due to gold’s strong positive correlation with the EUR/USD, the yellow metal is unlikely to exit the battle unscathed.So, why is gold likely to bottom at roughly $1,700 (for the interim)?One of the reasons is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the recent 2020 rally, and the other is the 1.618 extension of the initial decline. However, there are also more long-term-oriented indications that gold is about to move to $1,700 and more likely, even lower.(…) gold recently failed to move above its previous long-term (2011) high. Since history tends to repeat itself, it’s only natural to expect gold to behave as it did during its previous attempt to break above its major long-term high.And the only similar case is from late 1978 when gold rallied above the previous 1974 high. Let’s take a look at the chart below for details (courtesy of chartsrus.com)Figure 6 - Gold rallying in 1978, past its 1974 highAs you can see above, in late 1978, gold declined severely right after it moved above the late-1974 high. This time, gold invalidated the breakout, which makes the subsequent decline more likely. And how far did gold decline back in 1978? It declined by about $50, which is about 20% of the starting price. If gold was to drop 20% from its 2020 high, it would slide from $2,089 to about $1,671 .This is in perfect tune with what we described previously as the downside target while describing gold’s long-term charts:Figure 7 - Relative Strength Index (RSI), GOLD, and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) ComparisonThe chart above shows exactly why the $1,700 level is even more likely to trigger a rebound in gold, at the very minimum.The $1,700 level is additionally confirmed by the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2015 – 2020 rally.There’s also a good possibility that gold could decline to the $1,500 - $1,600 area or so ( 50% - 61.8% Fibonacci retracements and the price level to which gold declined initially in 2011). In fact, based on the most recent developments in gold and the USDX (how low the latter fell without a rally in the former), it seems that $1,500 is more likely to be the final bottom than $1,700. The $1,700 level is likely to be a bottom – yes – but an interim one only.Before looking at the chart below (which is very similar to the chart above, but indicates different RSI, volume, etc.), please note the – rather obvious – fact: gold failed to break above its 2011 highs. Invalidations of breakouts are sell signals, and it’s tough to imagine a more profound breakout that could have failed. Thus, the implications are extremely bearish for the next several weeks and/or months.Figure 8 - RSI, GOLD, and MACD ComparisonThe odd thing about the above chart is that I copied the most recent movement in gold and pasted it above gold’s 2011 – 2013 performance. But – admit it – at first glance, it was clear to you that both price moves were very similar.And that’s exactly my point. The history tends to rhyme and that’s one of the foundations of the technical analysis in general. Retracements, indicators, cycles, and other techniques are used based on this very foundation – they are just different ways to approach the recurring nature of events.However, every now and then, the history repeats itself to a much greater degree than is normally the case. In extremely rare cases, we get a direct 1:1 similarity, but in some (still rare, but not as extremely rare) cases we get a similarity where the price is moving proportionately to how it moved previously. That’s called a market’s self-similarity or the fractal nature of the markets. But after taking a brief look at the chart, you probably instinctively knew that since the price moves are so similar this time, then the follow-up action is also likely to be quite similar.In other words, if something looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. And it’s likely to do what ducks do.What did gold do back in 2013 at the end of the self-similar pattern? Saying that it declined is true, but it doesn’t give the full picture - just like saying that the U.S. public debt is not small. Back then, gold truly plunged. And before it plunged, it moved lower in a rather steady manner, with periodic corrections. That’s exactly what we see right now.Please note that the above chart (Figure 8) shows gold’s very long-term turning points (vertical lines) and we see that gold topped a bit after it (not much off given their long-term nature). Based on how gold performed after previous long-term turning points (marked with purple, dashed lines), it seems that a decline to even $1,600 would not be out of ordinary.Finally, please note the strong sell signal from the MACD indicator in the bottom part of the chart. The only other time when this indicator flashed a sell signal while being so overbought was at the 2011 top. The second most-similar case is the 2008 top.The above-mentioned self-similarity covers the analogy to the 2011 top, but what about the 2008 performance?If we take a look at how big the final 2008 decline was, we notice that if gold repeated it (percentage-wise), it would decline to about $1,450. Interestingly, this would mean that gold would move to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the entire 2015 – 2020 rally. This is so interesting, because that’s the Fibonacci retracement level that (approximately) ended the 2013 decline.History tends to rhyme, so perhaps gold is going to decline even more than the simple analogy to the previous turning points indicates. For now, this is relatively unclear, and my target area for gold’s final bottom is quite broad.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

GBPUSD Testing The Medium-Term Trend Line

John Benjamin John Benjamin 26.01.2021 09:52
Dollar Index likely to push higherEURUSD Stuck Near Technical ResistanceThe euro currency is looking to break out from the technical resistance range of 1.2177 and 1.2144.However, price action remains weaker as it struggles to break out from this range. Meanwhile, the ascending triangle pattern continues to remain in play for the moment.In the event that prices break out above 1.2177, then we would see a rise toward 1.2300 at the very least.The stochastics oscillator currently is moving down from the overbought levels and therefore signals that price action could potentially push lower.However, this is subject to price is breaking the minor trend line that we see for the moment.Or breakdown below this trendline will see the euro currency once again attempting to slide towards the technical support near 1.2050.Price action in the British pound sterling is on track to close with muted gains on Monday. This comes as the GBPUSD attempted to push higher intraday above the 1.3700 level.However, prices pulled back lower to briefly test the medium-term trendline. From a daily chart perspective, a break of this trendline could possibly see prices once again sliding towards the 1.3500 level of support.The stochastics oscillator on the four-hour chart is currently pushing lower suggesting that the momentum might be heading to the downside.As a result, we expect the cable to continue trading somewhat mixed over the coming few sessions.The test of 1.3611 will be crucial as a breakdown below this level will no doubt open the way for the GBPUSD to test the 1.3500 level.Oil Prices Remain MixedWTI crude oil prices continue to maintain a mixed bias with prices giving back the intraday gains made.As a result, oil prices are once again trading near the lower end of the sideways range at 51.87.Given that this consolidation comes after the recent rise in prices, we could expect to see prices snapping lower.The recent rebound of this lower end of the range so the stochastics oscillator rising from the oversold levels.However, at the time of writing, the stochastics oscillator is once again likely to signal or move to the townsite.If oil prices lose the 51.87 technical support, then we expect a decline towards the 49.00 handle eventually. This will also see a confluence with the longer term trend line.Gold Prices Confined To Friday’s RangeThe precious metal is trading subdued with much of price action staying within the range from last Friday.As a result, price action is seen consolidating near the 1850 level of support multiple times. This consolidation could potentially give way for the markets to break out in the near term.To the downside, the 1817.79 level of technical support remains within scope. Given the multiple rejections near this level recently, we expect the support level to hold.Meanwhile, to the upside or close above the recent highs near 1873 to 1874 level could see prices eventually rising toward the 1911.50 technical resistance.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Will Biden’s Executive Blitzkrieg Defeat Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.01.2021 12:22
A new sheriff is in in town, and he’s making some rearrangements. Will the new order of things support the price of gold?What a blitzkrieg! Joe Biden certainly wastes no time in signing executive orders. Since inauguration, he introduced several policies, including mandating masks on federal property, in airports and on certain public transportation, and the end of a travel bank on some countries. Biden also terminated the construction of the wall at the Mexican border, halted the withdrawal from the WHO and placed the U.S. back on the path to rejoining the Paris climate accord.We’re seeing a reversal of many of Trump’s policies. The new President’s actions shouldn’t materially affect the gold market , but if they manage to restore widespread confidence in the U.S. government, they could limit the safe-haven demand for gold .Biden also modified the government’s stance on the epidemic in the U.S., treating it very seriously. He undertook several executive actions intended to speed up the production of COVID-19 supplies, thereby increasing testing capacity, and hopefully reducing the spread of the coronavirus . Biden also started a “100 days mask challenge”, urging Americans to wear masks, and announced a “National Strategy for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness”, arguing that “America deserves a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that is driven by science, data, and public health — not politics”.All these actions show that combatting the pandemic will be Biden’s priority and that he intends to deliver a more centralized federal response to the epidemiological threat. It’s high time! As the charts below show, the coronavirus has already infected almost 25 million Americans while killing more than 400,000.Figure 1Figure 2The U.S. equity markets welcomed Biden’s actions by reaching new record highs. However, these gains and increased risk appetite among investors didn’t prevent the modest jump in gold prices in the aftermath of the inauguration. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal increased to above $1,860 on Thursday (Jan. 21).Figure 3Implications for GoldBut what do Biden’s rearrangements imply for the gold market in the medium and long run? Well, mainstream economists and the markets expect that Biden’s actions, including fiscal stimulus, will speed up the fight with the pandemic and will revive the economy. This positive sentiment could be negative for the yellow metal.However, I believe that people overestimate the positive economic impact of the upcoming stimulus. After all, many people have money, but they can’t spend it due to widespread lockdowns, and there will be a huge price to pay for aid coming in the form of a ballooned fiscal deficit and public debt . But the problem is that neither money nor debt constitute the real wealth, so I remain skeptical about the benefits of another government’s fiscal package.Of course, my opinion is irrelevant here. What is important is that Mr. Market likes the idea of additional stimulus, so the bonanza in the financial markets can last. The expectations of higher economic growth and accompanying stronger risk appetite could be negative for gold .However, at some point, the fragility and limitation of the debt driven growth will become clear – you cannot print wealth – and investors will face the harsh reality of a debt trap . It will be delayed, but there will be a reaction to the increased debt and the risk of higher inflation . This reaction, in turn, should be beneficial for the yellow metal.Not long ago, I was afraid that U.S. fiscal policy will be less dovish in 2021 – however, with Biden’s fiscal stimulus in the cards, the fiscal policy could actually become even more lavish this year than it was in 2020. It should also be a supportive factor for the price of gold, especially considering that it would force the Fed to remain very accommodative as well.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Russell 2000 ETF Initiates New Rally Trend

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 26.01.2021 22:38
Last week my team and I alerted our readers to the current trends and shifting sectors that are getting hotter every day.  Technology, Energy, Financials, Industrials and others are experiencing bullish trends we haven't seen in years.  The Russell 2000 ETF, URTY, is starting a new breakout uptrend just after our BAN Trader Pro system suggested the SPY may initiate a new bullish rally.  You can read relevant research posts here: Recent triggers in these sectors suggest US Stock Markets may enter a rally phase and Technical Traders are using the BAN Hotlist triggers with huge success using regular ETFs, Leverage ETFs, and Options.As we can see in the chart below, the Russell 2000 has been one of the top performers since just after the November 2020 elections. Originating a breakout trigger on November 3, near $43.46, and confirming a “New High Breakout” on November 9, near $51.37, the Russell 200 sector has been rallying very strongly over the past 60+ days. The current “New Price High” breakout suggests this rally may continue.  Fibonacci price extensions show a peak may target levels near $125~$130 – nearly 20%+ higher than current prices.These sector trends that initiated in early November 2020 are a result of capital being deployed in sectors that are expected to benefit from new policies, Q4:2020 earnings, and renewed investor interest in 2021. Billions in capital have been redeployed into the markets with very high expectations.  This will result in big trends, increased volatility and even more opportunities for efficient traders. My Best Asset Now strategy that I teach to you for free helps you find these hot sectors and ride them out for explosive gains.The strength of this uptrend in URTY, breaking above the January 2020 highs, suggests any continued rally from this point may be reflective of the incredible -$80.34 collapse that took place as a result of COVID-19.  Using this range as a basis for future upside price expansion, Fibonacci Price Theory suggests a $130 to $141 upside target level. If these levels are accurate, we may see another 25%+ upside move in the Russell 2000 ETF, URTY.With so much opportunity in ETFs and other stocks/sectors, it is important for traders to be able to identify the best setups, triggers and trends.  Our BAN Trader Pro newsletter service is designed to help you accomplish that with our easy to follow trade alerts and my daily pre-market report.  The daily BAN Hotlist, also included in the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service, provides a very clear ranking and trigger system that shows you to trade the very best trend setups given their relative strength and momentum for more active traders who want to enhance their own strategies.One of our members recently wrote us this email:Hello Chris– I want to share a success story but do not want my real name shared (you can use my first name  - “Dave”)I signed up in late December and have taken 7 trades using the BAN system.  I did get into HAIL and SILJ not on a new system signals but as part of the “pre-launch” of the actual BAN system that started in January. All 7 trades I exited in profit.  I’ve been using the signals to go in and out of swing trades as “New” alerts are added.  I’m looking forward to the market turning over and entering into 3 trades at the top of the list (sic).I signed up for the quarterly plan at $250 per quarter, that means I have already gotten a 2,189% ROI on my initial investment.  I’ve more than paid for my subscription for the whole year 5x over in 1 month.Chris – Thank you very much for setting up this system.  It is easy to use, easy to understand and frankly gives you great entry signals.  I very much like quick in and out trades in addition to the longer horizon trades that you teach.  Just waiting for the market to turn over to get into those trades and use your system but in the meantime, your signals are giving great entry points. Dave, sent by email on January 21, 2021. Dave's public review can be found at The Technical Traders - Verified Reviews.I publish these articles and research posts to teach our readers the importance of using efficient trading strategies to grow their wealth, achieve financial goals, and have more free time.  2021 is going to be full of great trading opportunities for those who know how to take advantage of sector rotations, relative strength and momentum. Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months for those subscribers using BAN strategy.  Sign up now and I will teach you how to create and trade your own hotlist in my FREE (less than) one-hour tutorial on the Best Asset Now.For those that don't have the time to research and create their own BAN Hotlist, you can get my Hotlist, research, and trade alerts delivered to you with the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service. Subscribers of BAN Trader Pro will also receive my daily pre-market video where I walk through the charts of all the major asset classes, my BAN Hotlist, and other trade setups and things to watch out for in the markets.  You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to only trade the Best Assets Now to generate incredible results.Happy Trading!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

GBPUSD Edges Higher But Remains Range-Bound

John Benjamin John Benjamin 27.01.2021 08:17
Dollar trades mixed ahead of FOMC meetingEuro Recoups Losses The euro currency pared losses from Monday as the US dollar weakened on Tuesday.Price action continues to remain to consolidate near the key resistance area of 1.2177 – 1.2144.Since Friday, the euro currency has been stuck in this resistance area. Meanwhile, the ascending triangle pattern continues to remain in play.For price to continue to push higher, a breakout above the 1.2177 level is needed.To the downside, a breakdown of the trend line could open the way for the euro to retest the 1.2050 level a bit more firmly.The British pound sterling followed suit with many of its peers by paring losses from Tuesday.Price action posted a strong rebound, which coincides with the medium-term trend line. This rebound saw prices breaking past the 1.3700 handle once again.Further gains are needed to confirm the continuation of the upside.For the moment, the Stochastics oscillator shows that there could be further room to the upside.However, if prices reverse, then watch for the trend line to break. This will open the way to the 1.3500 level for the GBPUSD.Crude Oil Maintains A Hold On The Sideways Range WTI crude oil prices continue to remain trading flat within the larger horizon. Price action gave back the short term gains made.For the moment, oil prices remain firmly entrenched within the 53.70 and 51.87 levels.With prices failing to push higher, we could see an eventual breakdown.A strong close below 51.87 will no doubt see the 49.00 level coming into play.But for the moment, the sideways range could continue, unless the breakout is driven by some strong fundamentals.Gold Prices Subdued On Stimulus Worries The precious metal was seen trading subdued albeit, trading flat. Price action managed to post intraday gains before giving them back.As a result, gold prices are back trading strongly near the 1850 handle. A close below this level could open the way toward the 1817.80 level of support once again.However, the direction is likely to be determined by some fundamental catalyst for the moment.To the upside, the 1911.50 level is within reach if gold prices can close out above the 1874.00 level.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The Sky Has Just Cleared for Stocks in the Short Run

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.01.2021 16:38
Yesterday, I highlighted the seesaw nature of the S&P 500 grind just in time for the intraday bear raid to hit. How much of a damage has it done, should we pay attention to hanging man candlestick? My article discussed not so smooth sailing ahead in the month of February. Muddling though, yes – start of a real correction, no. Why should it be on the immediate horizon anyway? Quoting my yesterday‘s analysis: (…) The Fed‘s foot is back on the pedal, but inflation hasn‘t reared its ugly head yet – the path of least resistance for stocks remains higher. Unless the corona vaccination programs disappoint the markets, hurting cyclicals and the breadth of stock market advance, that is. Such a turn would take quite some activist economic policy steps to counter, as you can imagine. In today‘s article, I‘ll shine light upon yesterday‘s tremors, and the S&P 500 sectoral outlook, demonstrating that we‘re merely experiencing another rotation within the ongoing stock bull market. And the stock pickers will also benefit. Now that you know what‘s up, let‘s dive into the technicals (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Long lower knot with the bears temporarily flexing their muscle before the bulls stepped in. Improving volume shows a certain degree of conviction, which is a welcome sign for today‘s session. While the daily indicators are extended, they don‘t support any call for a great rollover to the downside. My yesterday‘s words are valid also today, with us having seen the opening push lower already: (...) The daily indicators seem to favor largely sideways to mildly higher trading action in the nearest days. That‘s one point of view, with the other being that prices haven‘t declined enough to lure in the buyers yet. Given the volume examination, I lean towards sideways trading coupled with an unsuccessful push lower as the most probable scenario over the coming 1-2 weeks. Then, higher prices. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) have also held ground quite well yesterday. While slowing down in pace, the ascent isn‘t broken with a lower low. Investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) had a much better day yesterday. Both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) – support the stock bull market to continue. With the latter one refusing to budge yesterday, we have likely seen local lows for January already. The stocks to 10-year Treasuries ($SPX:$UST) ratio shows the preference for risk-on assets as intact. The post-election performance is contained within a quite tight, upward sloping channel. The spread between 3-month and 10-year Treasuries is telling me about increasing willingness to park funds on the sidelines. That‘s the very short-term, daily interpretation. The big picture view reveals that money is flowing away from the long end of the curve (understandably so given the surefire prospects for the return of inflation, in my view), and stocks are benefiting. Volatility spiked yesterday before retreating soundly. Another push higher is likely to come soon, but I am not looking for it to overcome yesterday‘s highs really. I view $VIX as rangebound for the coming weeks with a spike here and there, within the pattern of lower highs. What would make me change my mind? A new narrative replacing the current one of a spending-heavy administration making its moves hand in hand with the Fed. Hand on your heart, how likely is that this soon in the game? S&P 500 Sectoral Performance Technology (XLK ETF) smartly recovered from the intraday plunge but might not be yet out of the woods as the coming sessions would show. Considering its appreciation since the early September climactic top that I‘ve called, the sector has visibly slowed down after leading the S&P 500 from the vicious bear market bottom on March 23. Semiconductors (XSD ETF) belong among the leaders too. While they have performed much stronger than technology since Sep 03, they haven‘t recovered the daily setback to the same degree. Still, they keep trading within their steeper upward sloping channel comfortably thus far. Even after a one way elevator ride, a period of consolidation sooner or later comes, and we might be on the doorstep of one here. Healthcare (XLV ETF) is the second S&P 500 sectoral heavyweight, and it keeps doing fine. Pushing higher, being among the better performing sectors recently, which is supported by its internals. Enter biotech. What semiconductors are to tech, biotech (XBI ETF) is to healthcare. And this leading segment continues to outperform healthcare as a whole, which bodes well for the S&P 500 as such. Financials (XLF ETF) are the third heavyweight, and appear to be done in the very short run with their corrective move. That‘s the message of rising volume and long lower knot to me. The value to growth sectoral ratio (VTV:QQQ) shows we‘ve reached levels consistent with another rotational wave into growth. Just look at the sectors trading with low price/book and price/earnings ratios, and you‘ll see the defensives (utilities, consumer staples), financials and real estate rebounding. Materials, industrials and energy are also ready to rebound, displaying the same price patterns as financials. Summary A sharp intraday correction has come and gone, and the tech performance remains the key precondition of its return. And given the short-term relative weakness in the sector, the nearest days may bring another push lower that won‘t however jeopardize the bull market in the least.  
Rosy February for S&P 500? Not So Fast

Rosy February for S&P 500? Not So Fast

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.01.2021 09:20
With Biden in the White House, Trump's hallmark policies with the exception of 2017 tax cuts, are being undone. Would that be true also about the stock bull market that I called back in spring 2020? Still in autumn that year, I‘ve been saying that there isn‘t any stopping of the bulls (for now). The Fed‘s foot is back on the pedal, but inflation hasn‘t reared its ugly head yet – the path of least resistance for stocks remains higher. Unless the corona vaccination programs disappoint the markets, hurting cyclicals and the breadth of stock market advance, that is. Such a turn would take quite some activist economic policy steps to counter, as you can imagine. Can there be a better indicator than the dollar having rolled over to the downside, which I called in early summer to have happened? Ever since, the dollar has been largely on the defensive, and I projected that to last well into 2021. Here we are, with mammoth stimulus plans, reparations for slavery, minimum wage hikes, Green New Deal coming – you name it, we have it – and my prediction is naturally valid also today. Wait, there is one more clue, and that‘s interest rates. Slowly but steadily, they‘re rising, especially on the long end. With the decreasing foreign appetite (did you know that Russia‘s gold reserves already surpassed its dollar reserves in value terms?) for U.S. government bonds, the Fed will have to step forward increasingly more. Rising rates will be reinforcing inflation as the two go hand in hand. Rising rates thus can‘t be viewed exclusively as bullish spirits returning into the real economy, but as an inflationary surprise looming that will also be reflected in growing outperformance of international stocks vs. the U.S. stock indices. Hi, my name is Monica and I‘m finally back, with truly mine and free Stock Trading Signals, and own website to boot! Nothing is standing now in the way of my personal blog and active trading style. Yes, I am so happy to be making a return with my very own daily free analyses and intraday updates after being the author of Stock Trading Alerts since early 2020. What a great and rewarding experience I could have delivered to you, the truly grateful ones. Check out my fresh bio, drop me your questions anytime, and I‘ll answer to the benefit of all. Now that you know what‘s up, let‘s dive into the technicals (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook 2021 is about stocks trading near the upper range of their Bollinger Bands volatility spectrum. The weekly indicators haven‘t flashed sell signals, yet volume isn‘t at its strongest. Still, it‘s representative of an ongoing bull market, where 2021 won‘t however be as good a year for the stock market as 2020 was. Still, it‘ll be a good year where S&P 500 would comfortably beat not only the 4,000, but 4,200 mark. We‘ll also experience significant corrections but the nearest one won‘t arrive in February in earnest. I see the coming month as a relatively weak one, muddle through if you will. The daily chart shows the upward sloping trend channel nicely, with the breakdown attempt at the turn of the year soundly defeated. The daily indicators seem to favor largely sideways to mildly higher trading action in the nearest days. That‘s one point of view, with the other being that prices haven‘t declined enough to lure in the buyers yet. Given the volume examination, I lean towards sideways trading coupled with an unsuccessful push lower as the most probable scenario over the coming 1-2 weeks. Then, higher prices. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) aren‘t pushing higher as vigorously as they had been recently. A sell signal? Hardly. Sign of caution? Don‘t jump the gun. I count on the pattern of higher highs and higher lows to continue, supporting the stock market rally. The ratio of high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) isn‘t flashing danger yet either. Visually, there is no relative overextension to S&P 500, and the recent moves favor muddling through with an upward bias over the coming weeks. Inspecting S&P 500 relative to the high yield corporate bonds to all bonds (PHB:$DJCB) ratio shows quite clear skies ahead. Risk appetite isn‘t really waning. Rising Treasury yields (i.e. falling Treasury prices) are synonymous with economic expansion but a bit more is at play in 2021. This year, I am turning towards the explanation of inflation slowly but surely making a return, which is nowhere better seen than with the food price indices. The Fed also says that food price inflation is the best predictor of forthcoming, broader inflation. That explains quite nicely the rising rates in the face of the real economy waiting for months for the stimulus to arrive. With the dollar stuck deep in its bear market as one more sign of the inflationary storm striking this year, who would want to take the other side of the trade? Emerging Markets, Smallcaps, and S&P 500 Market Breadth It‘s my view that we‘ve entered the era of emerging markets (EEM ETF) outperforming the U.S. indices. That doesn‘t mean the S&P 500 would crater, but it would lag behind in appreciation. The emerging markets support the stock upswing to go on still. The Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) keeps trading in sync with the S&P 500, helping in its rebound from the mid-Jan lows. Their strong performance shows that they expect smooth sailing for the announced $1.9T stimulus plan. New highs new lows are the only (temporary) fly in the bullish ointment here. Spelling solid potential for a bear raid, I look for the downside from this divergence in the making to prove rather temporary and shallow. Precious Metals and Bitcoin Let‘s talk real money, these safe haven assets. Yes, given the 2020 performance and cues from monetary policy taken, it‘s hard to argue that Bitcoin didn‘t behave as another fiat currency nemesis. Still, I‘ll focus on precious metals within this section, because I‘ll be introducing Gold Trading Signals in the near future, so stay tuned for yet another daily publication of mine. Another market call that proved correct – gold didn‘t really give up all its summer rally, and the prolonged base building is in its latter stages. Yes, it‘s my view that we‘re going to see gold fireworks enter this spring, and that these prices represent a favorable entry point for a medium-term oriented investor. As for the short-term one, I‘ll cater to their needs in my upcoming daily publication, and today, with my first 2021 analysis, aim to provide you with a big picture view over the financial landscape at large, kind of my gameplan for the first half of 2021 if not more. The gold miners to gold ratio is trading at favorable levels for the buyers, and I look for the miners to start performing better over the next few weeks. The healthy period of long base building is drawing to an end. Silver would also join in the party, and the gold chart is sending a signal that this is going to unfold before too long. Bitcoin, the greatest beneficiary of aggressive monetary policy in 2020, agrees. Its chart pattern would favor some more sideways trading as a healthy precondition of another upleg, but don‘t be surprised if the cryptocurrency correction doesn‘t flatten the 50-day moving average. Yes, I‘m looking for the bulk of the corrective move in terms of prices, to be over already. Summary Over the coming two weeks of earnings reports, stocks are in for some short-term volatility. Sizable correction? Not really. But we‘re trading at quite elevated levels, and the month of February is shaping up to be weaker than January. No doubt about it, but there won‘t be a correction to speak of this early in 2021. With the Fed stepping up its balance sheet expansion, the monetary policy hasn‘t yet lost its charm, and inflation isn‘t on the radar screen of most. Investor sentiment is at greed, but not extreme greed. The put to call ratio is rising, which points to a not so smooth sailing ahead. Still, the bull market has better days in its future, but given the momentary balance of forces and especially the risk-reward ratio, I‘m not jumping in with both feet. As this is my first analysis in 2021, I‘m actually waiting on the sidelines for now. Subscribers to Monica‘s Insider Club, which features the trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals, would know right away when I make any move.
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When to adjust your stop loss

Fawad Razaqzada Fawad Razaqzada 26.01.2021 09:35
When to adjust your stop loss   I have already written a lengthy report with plenty of examples on how to manage your risk when in a trade in THIS article. But I wanted to provide a template here to give you an idea of exactly when I normally adjust the stop loss.  Let's get straight to the point. The diagram below describes how I normally adjust the stop loss for a long trade and the opposite of this for a sell trade: Source: TradingCandles.com   To show you how I use the above template to manage the stop in some of my most recent trade signals for the private group, here are a couple of real world examples: Example 1: USD/CAD The USD/CAD was one of my recent trade signals. The idea was to sell the rallies into resistance in a downtrend. So, after a two- or three-day rebound into the bearish trend line, I thought it was the right time to issue a sell trade idea:  Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com   In addition to the above chart, I posted the below hourly chart showing the specifics of the trade entry, as well a short rationale behind the idea: "USD/CAD daily sows price reaching a potential resistance area (trend line and 21-day eMA) after a counter trend rebound off the lows. The long-term trend is bearish. So we will look for a sell setup here." "USD/CAD short trade idea on H1 chart – the idea is based off the daily and the fact that on this timeframe rates have rallied to and stalled at the 61.8% Fibo. The invalidation level is above the most recent high on H1 and also the trend line above the daily. The main target is the liquidity below the recent low " Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com     After providing the above trade signal, rates started to go down as we had envisaged, prompting me to provide the following update, as my focus now was on reducing the risk (as we always do after entering a trade): "USD/CAD update – lower the stop on this so we can lock in some profit as price has now created some structure below our entry range. It is important to continually monitor your positions, especially at times like now when the markets are all over the place. " Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    As can be seen from the above 4-hour chart, the reason why I moved the stop lower was because of the fact price had created a structure of interim lower highs and lower lows. I did not take into account the entry range and didn't just move the stop loss just for the sake of moving it to breakeven or better. But there was good reason for us to do so, and price action told us when it was the right time.  As it happened, the USD/CAD stalled just ahead of our intended target, which, together with the fact the US dollar was weakening against some other currencies, meant it was probably the best time to close it manually. So I provided the following rationale and chart for the subscribers behind my decision to close it ahead of the target: "USD/CAD closing it manually here for at least +125 pips profit. Oil prices have stalled and the US dollar has shown signs of life against some currencies already e.g. against euro and gold. So let's not take any chances and close this for a very good profit."  Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    Example 2: GBP/JPY Another of our trade ideas which required management of the stop was the long GBP/JPY setup, which was issued on 11th January 2021. This is what I wrote to the group: "GBP/JPY is looking quite bullish and think more gains are likely in my view as ongoing risk rally keeps the pressure on the safe haven yen and I think the pound will bounce back because no-deal Brexit has been avoided. The next key objective is the long-term bear trend and previous high around 142.71ish " Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    I then issued the specifics of the GBP/JPY long trade idea on the 4-hour chart as rates were testing the bullish trend line. The stop low below the most recent lows on 4H candles and thus the trend line: Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    The GBP/JPY hit our first target for at least +100 pips and by now I had tightened the stop on the small portion still left open as shown on the updated chart to lock in some profit in case price reversed: Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    As it turned out, this trade reversed and stopped us out of the second portion (for a small profit). But on reflection, perhaps I shouldn't have adjusted the the stop too tightly as price subsequently rebounded again after re-testing our entry area: Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com    Final words It is impossible to know ahead of time whether adjusting the stop loss is better than not doing anything at all. The way I see it is that you should adjust the stop loss as price action evolves and the market makes new price structures. On occasions, you might regret adjusting the stop loss. But essentially, what you want to do is reduce risk and remain in control of the trade. A small win is, after all, a win, and certainly not a loss. I would rather make a small win than lose a full 1R on any given trade.   
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin, a peaceful future

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 27.01.2021 09:55
Part of the government being able to lend against your savings is the need to deposit your currency into the banking system. You’re forced to do so since it is impracticable to make long-distance financial transactions with cash tucked under your mattress and the risk of theft. Bitcoin allows for long-distance trade in a short time. This, without exposure to the government and as such not vulnerable to devaluation. This is more than just attractive.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, From last week’s chart book:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of January 18th, 2021Last week we posted this daily chart to find ourselves taking four profitable long entries (posted in real time in our free Telegram channel) within this sliver of a forecasted support zone (see chart below). BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Just like Ordered:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of January 25th, 2021BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, Large time frame precision forecasting:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of January 18th, 2021We also posted this monthly chart (see above) with a single-entry price in our last week’s chartbookpublication. Bitcoin dropped from US$35,770 to US$28,850. It turned around only 38 points below the predicted entry-level of US$28,888. Trading entry risk of less than 0.13 percent (see chart below).BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, Extremely low-risk large time frame turning points:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of January 25th, 2021We didn’t point this out as our achievement but rather illustrating that Bitcoin is tradeable with high accuracy. It is a likely tradeable instrument. If you are new to this market instrument, we encourage you to educate yourself about its various aspects and possible benefits for your wealth preservation and wealth creation portfolio.We see bitcoin from these levels quickly rising to all-time highs and beyond.Bitcoin, a peaceful futureWe are not naive to realize there is a simplification underlying this hypothesis, but nevertheless, we find it compelling that such a way to peace is at least a possibility. We are confronted with a future from various aspects pointing towards a need to change in a shorter period than we are used to. Finances presenting such a huge element of our life, at least allowing for such a paradigm shift to transpire, is, in our humble opinion, an essentially needed first step and an encouraging thought for a better tomorrow. In other words, as Paul Tudor Jones stated: A Bet on Bitcoin Is a Bet on Human Ingenuity. And he is not alone in pointing towards a better future. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stock Pick Update: Jan. 27 – Feb. 2, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2021 14:13
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Consumer Discretionary and one Energy stock this time.In the last five trading days (January 20 – January 26) the broad stock market has extended its long-term uptrend. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,870.90 yesterday, as investors awaited big-tech quarterly earnings releases. The S&P 500 has gained 0.88% between January 20 open and January 26 close.In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 4.22%. Stock picks were relatively much weaker than the broad stock market’s performance last week. Our long stock picks have lost 6.12% and short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 2.32%. The Energy sector has been the strongest in the previous month, but last week there have been significant declines in oil stocks. Hence that relatively big drawdown of our portfolio.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (January 20 open – January 26 close % change): COP (-10.11%), PXD (-8.09%), C (-9.59%), SPGI (+0.42%), APD (-3.25%)Short Picks (January 20 open – January 26 close % change): WBA (+2.56%), MNST (-1.48%), SPG (+7.28%), EQR (+3.85%), TTWO (-0.62%)Average long result: -6.12%, average short result: -2.32%Total profit (average): -4.22%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 27 – Tuesday, February 2 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 27) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (February 2).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Consumer Discretionary, 2 x Energy, 1 x Health Caresells: 2 x Industrials, 2 x Consumer Staples, 1 x MaterialsBuy CandidatesMCD McDonalds Corp. - Consumer DiscretionaryStock may break above two-month-long downward trend lineThe resistance level is at $217.50 and support level is at $207.50ORLY O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. – Consumer DiscretionaryPossible upward reversal following the recent correctionThe resistance level is at $465 – short-term upside profit target levelWMB Williams Cos., Inc. – EnergyStock trades within a consolidation following downward correction – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $20.75 and resistance level is at $22.75Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Consumer Discretionary and Energy sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

How the Eurozone Affects Gold, and Why You Should Care

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2021 16:14
In our globalized economy, currency pairs have a negative correlation with gold, so how does the current EUR/USD situation impact the yellow metal?It pays to pay attention to what is happening in Europe. As is well known, there are many currency pairs in the world, but the most traded one is the EUR/USD. How does that affect you as a gold investor? The equation goes something like this: if the economy of the Eurozone sinks and takes the EUR down with it, the USD rises – and vice-versa. Gold, which is usually inversely related to the dollar, will also either rise or decline based on the latter’s behavior.Before we get to Europe though, let’s take a look at what gold is currently doing.Once again, yesterday’s (Jan. 26) session was relatively uneventful on the technical front, but that doesn’t mean that the outlook is any more bullish.Conversely, it remains bearish because of multiple developments that happened before the current pause. For instance, the invalidation of gold’s breakout above its 2011 high. Even though it had help from a sliding USD Index, the yellow metal still failed to hold above this critical support level.It seems that the only thing that made gold rally in the recent past was the U.S. inauguration-based uncertainty. As it fades away, gold is losing its gleam. In fact, the previous relative weakness seems to have already returned.Figure 1 – USD Index futures (DX.F)Taking the previous two days into account (precisely: yesterday and today’s pre-market trading), we see that the USD Index declined. In such a situation, gold should have rallied or at least paused, but what did it do?Figure 2 - COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold declined. This means that gold’s weakness relative to the USDX is back.Looking at the above chart, I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. Consequently, there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.Let’s get back to the USD Index for a minute.I think that the USD Index is likely to rally in the following weeks, but as far as the next several days are concerned, the situation is relatively unclear.The USD Index finds itself after the breakout above the declining medium-term resistance line, but it’s also after a breakdown below the rising short-term support line. Consequently, it’s very short-term outlook is relatively unclear. In all cases, I don’t see it moving visibly below the previous 2021 low.And since the situation is unclear with regard to the short-term in case of the USDX, it would be natural for gold to hesitate. Since it’s already declining, it seems that even if the USDX tested its previous 2021 low, gold would not rally far.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver Futures (SI.F)Similarly to gold, silver is not doing much. The white metal is moving back and forth after the big January slide and it seems to be preparing for another move lower.Let’s keep in mind that silver has a triangle-vertex-based reversal in late February – close to Feb. 23. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it seems quite likely that it will be a major bottom (not likely the final one for this slide, though).Figure 4 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners didn’t do much yesterday either, so my previous comments on them remain up-to-date. To explain the pattern, I wrote on Jan. 11 :If you analyze the chart above, the area on the left (marked S) represents the first shoulder, while the area in the middle (H) represents the head and the area on the right (second S) represents the potential second shoulder.Right now, $33.7-$34 is the do-or-die area. If the GDX breaks below this (where the right shoulder forms) it could trigger a decline back to the $24 to $23 range (measured by the spread between the head and the neckline; marked with green).And after analyzing Thursday’s (Jan. 21) price action, I wrote the following (on Jan. 22):As far as the miners are concerned, mining stocks didn’t correct half of their 2021 decline. They didn’t invalidate the breakdown below the rising support line, either. In fact, the GDX ETF closed yesterday’s session below the 50-day moving average. Technically, nothing changed.Regarding the GDX ETF’s current consolidation pattern (November to present), it mirrors what we saw between April and June of last year (the shaded green rectangles above).I added:Both shoulders of the head-and-shoulder formation can be identical, but they don’t have to be , so it’s not that the current consolidation has to end at the right border of the current rectangle. However, the fact that the price is already close to this right border tells us that it would be very normal for the consolidation to end any day now – most likely before the end of January.If we see a rally to $37, or even $38, it won’t change much – the outlook will remain intact anyway, and the right shoulder of the potential head-and-shoulders formation will remain similar to the left shoulder.But with many paths to get there, is hitting $37 or $38 a prerequisite to the eventual decline? Absolutely not. The GDX ETF could reverse right away and catch many market participants flat-footed.Remember, it’s important to keep last week’s rally in context. Despite the Yellen-driven bounce, the GDX ETF is still down considerably from its January highs.Having said that, let’s take a look at the market from a more fundamental angle.The Widening Economic DivergenceFor weeks, I’ve been highlighting the economic malaise confronting the Eurozone. And like a fork in the road, the U.S. and Europe continue to head in opposite directions. More importantly though, the fundamental fate of the two regions, and the subsequent performance of the EUR/USD, will go a long way in determining the precious metals’ destiny.Figure 5If you analyze the chart above, you can see that gold and silver tend to track the performance of the EUR/USD. And while gold bucked the trend on Tuesday (Jan. 26), silver still remains a loyal follower. Thus, as the European economy sinks further into quicksand, its relative underperformance is likely to pressure the EUR/USD and usher the PMs lower.On Friday (Jan. 22), the IHS Markit Eurozone Composite PMI fell to 47.5 in January (down from 49.1 in December), with services falling to 45.0 (from 46.4) and manufacturing falling to 54.7 (from 55.2).Please see below:Figure 6To explain, PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) data is compiled through a monthly survey of executives at more than 400 companies. A PMI above 50 indicates business conditions are expanding, while a PMI below 50 indicates that business conditions are contracting (the scale on the left side of the chart).In contrast to the Eurozone, the U.S. Composite PMI rose to 58 in January (up from 55.3 in December), with services rising to 57.5 (up from 54.8) and manufacturing rising to 59.1 (up from 57.1).Figure 7In addition, after European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde revealed (on Jan. 21) that the Eurozone economy likely shrank in the fourth-quarter (all but sealing a double-dip recession), Germany (the Eurozone’s largest economy) cut its 2021 GDP growth forecast from 4.4% to 3.0%.And not looking any better, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Report – which covers IMF economists' analysis over the short and medium-term – has the U.S. economy expanding by 5.1% in 2021 versus only 4.2% for the Eurozone. More importantly though, the Eurozone economy is expected to contract by 7.2% in 2020 versus 3.4% for the U.S. As a result, Europe has to dig itself out of a much larger hole.Please see below:Figure 8Also noteworthy, the IMF downgraded its GDP growth forecast for Canada. And because the USD/CAD accounts for more than 9% of the movement in the USD Index (though still well below the nearly 58% derived from the EUR/USD) it’s an important variable to monitor.Continuing the theme of Eurozone underperformance, U.S. consumer confidence (released on Jan. 26) rose from 87.1 in December (revised) to 89.3 in January (the red box below).Figure 9 - Source: Bloomberg/ Daniel LacalleIn contrast, Eurozone consumer confidence (released on Jan. 21) retreated in January. And while both regions’ readings are still well below pre-pandemic levels, currencies trade on a relative basis. As a result, the relative underperformance of the Eurozone is bearish for the EUR/USD.Figure 10If that wasn’t enough, the ECB essentially admitted it wants a weaker euro. On Tuesday (Jan. 26), reports surfaced that the ECB will investigate the causes of the euro’s appreciation relative to the greenback. Translation? The central bank is studying ways to devalue the currency.Adding more fuel to the fire, the yield differential between the U.S. and Europe foretells a higher USD Index. Dating back to 2003, after the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield troughed and began rising, the USD Index (except for 2008-2009) always followed suit.Please see below:Figure 11 - Source: Daniel LacalleIn contrast, if you analyze the area at the bottom, you can see that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has bounced by 57 basis points from its August low. But moving in the opposite direction, the USD Index is lower now than it was it August.Furthermore, notice the large divergence that’s occurred since the beginning of December?Figure 12The abnormal behavior above highlights the power of sentiment. Because U.S. investors ‘want’ a lower USD Index, they’re willing to overlook technicals, fundamentals, historical precedent and essentially, reality. However, if the dynamic reverses, the USD Index is ripe for a resurgence.Circling back to the euro, the currency is already starting to crack. On Monday (Jan. 25), I wrote that Janet Yellen’s pledge to “act big” on the next coronavirus relief package ushered the EUR/GBP back above critical support.However, on Tuesday (Jan. 26), the key level broke again.Please see below:Figure 13More importantly though, a break in the EUR/GBP could be an early warning sign of a forthcoming break in the EUR/USD.Figure 14If you analyze the chart above, ~20 years of history shows that the EUR/GBP and the EUR/USD tend to follow in each other’s footsteps. As a result, if the EUR/GBP retests its April low (the next support level), the EUR/USD is likely to tag along for the ride (which implies a move back to ~1.08).Figure 15And like a falling string of dominoes, if the EUR/USD retests ~1.08, the PMs should come under significant pressure.Figure 16If you analyze the chart above, you can see that over the last ~20 years, gold and silver tend to live and die with the EUR/USD. Naturally, there are also other factors, but the point is that the performance of this currency pair shouldn’t be ignored. As a result, a euro collapse (or at least a significant decline in it) could deliver plenty of fireworks. Conversely, once order is restored and weak Eurozone fundamentals are accurately priced into the EUR/USD, the precious metals will present us with an attractive buying opportunity.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

US Stock Market Rolls Lower After 18% Rally Since November 2020

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.01.2021 03:23
Price action is usually conducted in a series of up and down price phases – or waves/cycles.  Typically, price will move higher or lower in phases- attempting to trend upward or downward over time. This type of price action is normal.  Extended upward trends with very little downward price retracements happen sometimes – but not often.  They usually happen in “excess phase” rallies or after some type of news event changes expectations for a symbol/sector.Putting Concerns Into Perspective – Still BullishSince early November 2020, the US stock market has continued to rally in a mode that is similar to an excess phase rally – showing very little signs of moderate price rotation. While price volatility has continued to stay higher than normal, you can see from the SPY Daily chart below that it has rallied from $324.40 to $385.95 (over 18%) in just under 90 days.  At some point in the future, a moderate price rotation/retracement will happen that may be in excess of 6% to 11% - as has happened in the past.The purpose of this research post is to alert readers that the markets appear to have started a period of downside price rotation – which is normal. This SPY Daily chart, above, highlights the upward support channel originating from the March 21, 2020, COVID-19 lows (CYAN line) and also the upward support channel originating from the early November 2020 lows (YELLOW line). It is important to understand that any downside price retracement which stays above the CYAN line level should be considered a normal range price rotation within a bullish trend.  This suggests a -3% to -4% downside price trend from current levels would simply qualify as downward price rotation within a bullish trend – nothing more.If price were to break below the CYAN upward trending support channel, then we would become more concerned that a deeper price downtrend is setting up which may target lows from Mid-November 2020 (-6.5%) or the late October 2020 lows (-13% to -14%) from current SPY price levels.  Obviously, a deeper downside trend targeting the October 2020 lows would suggest the US stock markets are potentially entering a new phase of trending – possibly a sideways consolidation trend.TRAN Testing Support Near 12,180The following Transportation Index daily chart shows a very clear picture of how this “rollover” in the markets has setup and where real support is likely to be found.  The early January lows, near 12,180 are the most likely immediate support level on the TRAN Daily chart, below.  If the US stock market attempts to find immediate support to sustain the current bullish rally trend, then this level in the TRAN will likely hold up well over the next few days/weeks. Otherwise, if the TRAN breaks below this level, then the next viable downside target become the November 2020 lows (or somewhere close to those levels).Be sure to sign up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own!Using Fibonacci Retracement Theory from the early November 2020 lows to recent highs, we achieve the following levels:25% retracement: 12,628.9238.2% retracement: 12,331.4450% retracement: 12,065.4761.8% retracement: 11,799.51The 12,180 level we are suggesting will turn into critical support is just above the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level.  Therefore, any further downside trending would be predicated by a breach of both the 12,180 level and the 12,065.47 level.  If price holds above either of these support levels confidently, we would consider further downside risks unlikely.VIX Spike Higher BeginsThe upward spike in the VIX recently is indicative of how volatile the markets have become after nearly 90 days of continued upward trending.  Whenever the US stock market enters a decidedly bullish price trend for an extended period of time, the VIX naturally “normalizes” into a lower boundary and becomes hypersensitive to moderate price rotations.  We've seen this happen many times in the past.Because of the way the VIX is calculated, when these breakout moves happen while the market is conducting a relatively normal price rotation/correction, the VIX can sometimes spike above 35 or 45. To put this into perspective, the 2008-09 market crash prompted a VIX move to near 95.  The COVID-19 market crash prompted a VIX move to near 85. Many other moderate market downtrends over the past 10+ years prompted VIX moves above 30~40.  Three of the biggest “normal range” VIX moves happened in August 2011 (VIX level near 48),  August 2015 (VIX level near 53.50), and February 2018 (VIX level near 50).If another big market rotation were to take place in the near future, we believe early February would be the time/place for it to happen based on our predictive modeling system's expectations (see this research article: (https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/what-to-expect-in-2021-part-ii-gold-silver-and-spy/).  We also believe this downside price swing will end fairly quickly and that a continued bullish price trend will resume in March or April 2021.The potential for a broader market rotation and trend “reset” is aligning with our December 2020 predictions for 2021.  Quite possibly, the downside price trending we are seeing now is the start of a 15 to 25+ day market rotation which will likely “reset” the bullish trending bias and allow for broader market trends to continue higher. We consider this an opportunity for traders to take advantage of this rotation in major markets and sectors.2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using the Best Assets Now strategy.  Are you ready for these big market rotations expected in 2021? You can trade my BAN ETF strategy with no proprietary indicator, scanners, or algorithms just by watching my FREE webinar. Not only will it show you a strategy you can implement tomorrow, but you will also receive over $100 worth of free goodies designed to make you an even better trader… no strings attached. Go ahead and watch the webinar now – click here to start. If you want to improve your own trading strategy and win-rate without doing the research yourself, then you need to subscribe to BAN Trader Pro newsletter service to get my daily BAN Hotlist, my pre-market video walkthrough of the charts every morning, and my BAN strategy trade alerts.Happy Trading!
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

GBPUSD Trades Mixed As It Fails To Post New Highs

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.01.2021 08:15
Markets trade mixed on FOMC dayEuro Briefly Slips To 1.2050 Technical SupportThe euro currency, along with many of its peers was trading mixed on Wednesday. This comes as the dollar briefly strengthened into the run-up to the Fed meeting.Price action lost the support off the minor trend line and briefly fell close to the 1.2050 technical support.However, price action was quickly rejected just above the 1.2050 level. The euro managed to recover the losses rather quickly.The downside bias is likely to rise as the currency pair has failed to make any moves above the resistance area of 1.2177 – 1.2144 level.However, considering that the Stochastics oscillator is likely to trigger a bullish signal, we could see another attempt to the upside.The British pound sterling gave back some of the gains from Tuesday on an intraday basis on Wednesday.Price action once again attempted to post new highs but failed to build up the momentum.The consolidation near the 1.3700 level has resulted in a possible ascending wedge pattern.If price action breaks lower, we could see a retest back to the 1.3050 level in the near term.To the upside, GBPUSD will need to post strong gains to close firmly above the 1.3700 level of resistance.WTI Crude Oil Bounces Off Lower Support Of RangeOil prices remain flat for yet another day. Price action briefly fell to the floor near 51.87 from the sideways range.But prices quickly recovered off this level intraday. For the moment, the sideways range remains intact and oil prices could settle in this range for a while longer.The upside level near 53.77 remains untested yet in the recent few sessions.The Stochastics oscillator has also turned flat currently underlining the sideways movement in the oil markets.Gold Loses The 1850 Support LevelThe precious metal was trading below the 1850 level just ahead of the Fed meeting. However, the declines coincide with the Stochastics oscillator also moving close to the oversold levels.As a result, we could see price attempting to breakout above the 1850 level once again.Above this level, gold prices will challenge the 21 Jan highs near 1874.05.Only a strong close above this level could trigger further gains.To the downside, the support level near 1817.79 remains in play and could put a lid on further declines.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

S&P 500 and Gold Bulls, Get Ready to Meet the Bears

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.01.2021 09:08
Yesterday‘s recovery ended on a weak note as stock bulls gave up the opening gap. Disappointing in the very short run, especially given that other key markets acted likewise weak. Neither corporate bonds, nor gold, nor oil could get their act together, and are hanging in the balance. Inviting the bears to probe the defences, how far south will they be able to get? We have the Fed meeting later today, and while I am not looking for hawkish surprises or any outright optimism, the investors aren‘t taking chances. Sell now, ask questions later seem to be the mantra before the U.S. open. While Monday‘s hanging man candlestick predictably didn‘t bring follow through selling on Tuesday, I am looking for the bulls to get tested today. Once the dust clears, we can go on making new highs, but the short-term storm (storm in a teacup, more precisely) hasn‘t started yet. In today‘s article, I‘ll examine the S&P 500 standing, look into precious metals, and finally answer a pointed question about gold. Let‘s start (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Stocks are hanging in the short-term balance following yesterday‘s weak close. Unconvincing volume, inviting a premarket push to the low 3800s as we speak. The aftermath of the Fed will set the tone for the coming sessions, but I would look for early credit market clues before buying any dip. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) had a weak day yesterday, missing the opportunity to rise. Quite to the contrary, they traded relatively weaker than the S&P 500 did. Any time corporate bonds start underperforming stocks, I am watching closely, and often from the sidelines. Investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) closed about unchanged while Treasuries paused and didn‘t really advance compared to Monday. They appear waiting for the Fed, unwilling to move before discounting possible hawkish surprise (positive assessment of the economy would do that trick) as a false alarm. The ratio of high yield corporate bonds against short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) with the S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows the very short-term vulnerability in stocks. How low will these go as the greed sentiment gets taken down a notch? You see, yesterday I did strike an optimistic tone in the runup to the regular session‘s open, but the bulls missed a good opportunity to act, and the resultant signals favor the bears to step in now. That‘s the essence of my trading style – neither a permabull, nor a permabear, and always ready to turn on a dime should the facts change. The market breadth indicators show we‘re on the doorstep of a push lower. Instead of holding ground, new high new lows solidly declined, while both the advance decline line and advance decline volume muddled through. That‘s not exactly a bullish constellation. Precious Metals in Focus Gold also appears to be acting a bit weak in the short run. No surprise as I don‘t see the lengthy consolidation as quite over yet. This one will more likely wear you out than scare you out. Simply put, the gold bulls better wait for spring to usher in another precious metals upleg as the miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio isn‘t sending any kind of confirmation that the sector has made a turn. The gold to silver ratio keeps treading water, and isn‘t declining below its early September lows. On the other hand, it‘s not trading too far from them either, which translates into silver not acting at its weakest exactly. That‘s a bullish sign, showing that this 5-month long consolidation is really getting long in the tooth. Completing the picture, miners (GDX ETF) reveal lackluster short-term performance. Long upper knot and volume as low as could have been, mean that we better brace ourselves for a down session today. From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hi Monica, congratulations and best wishes on your new venture and I look forward to following your work. I'm an English working class boy, now very Grey who follows the gold market like a hawk. I'm a longterm investor in PM's sector and I have a largish position in PM miners (still in profit on most) but the last six month are playing havoc with my nerves. The best metaphor I have that describes my current situation is that I have a large bowl of golden soup with a big fly swimming in it and its name is Mr Radomski. His latest missive of 25 Jan outlines "where to now Gold" with a possible/probable decline of gold to between $1500 - $1600. I was rather hoping you might comment on his analysis and on how you see things developing over the coming months. I appreciate that you don't give financial advice but his very bearish view is discomforting given the mad world we have around us and if Gold could crash to these levels in the current situation it begs the question why bother investing in PM's. A: Thank you for the question and for authorizing me to print it just the way it arrived. I‘ll answer solely from my personal perspective, and won‘t comment on personalities. I understand your frustration with gold being unable to really move, but as I tweeted already yesterday, this months-long correction is one to wear you out, not to scare you out. Please check my Aug 07 article written for Sunshine Profits called S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, where in the section Calling out gold, I discuss the yellow metal‘s prospects. Compare that with my Monday‘s article Rosy February for S&P 500? Not So Fast to see how things turned out in the sector precisely. It‘s with the same conviction that I say today again that this long consolidation in gold is in its latter stages. For now, gold is still rangebound, and I don‘t see a deflationary crash repeating that would bring it to said $1,500 - $1,600 levels. Definitely not. Looking at the real world around us, the Fed is becoming more active in expanding its balance sheet, new stimulus checks are coming (money flowing directly into the real economy, not sitting on commercial banks‘ balance sheets), and fiscal policy isn‘t tame exactly either. Inflation is making a steady return, and it‘s a question of time (think months) before it becomes broadly acknowledged. In such an environment, a gold drop would be bought with both hands, thank you very much. Copper is rising, base metals aren‘t doing badly, and food price inflation is hot. We‘ve entered a decade of commodities, which would outperform paper assets. Who could tell me why gold would crash, even temporarily? What kind of mayhem in the bond markets would have to trigger that? Make no mistake, no single market moves in a vacuum. Quite to the contrary, I look at gold and Bitcoin as the safe haven plays, with Bitcoin being the wild and volatile one. I am saying that Bitcoin has clearly decoupled, and once gold does the same, it means a vote of no confidence in the financial system. But this is not where we are currently. Gold is taking its cues from interest rates, real ones to be precise. The king of metals is also doing well during times of rising inflation. Take the Fed keeping rates as low as can be for as long as eye can see (practical view of things), rising inflation bringing down opportunity costs of holding precious metals, and you have a great driver of higher gold prices. Given the economic policy steps, how likely is a deflationary shock now? Instead, look for the newly created money to keep entering the real economy, battling the high savings rate. Once you see the velocity of money to pick up, that would be the cherry on the cake. Gold unbound next. For now though, arm yourself with patience, and don‘t let any gloomy forecasts not matching your real world experience of what‘s truly going on in this Brave New World, drive you to abandon your prior decision. Have the facts, the rationale changed? Constantly evaluate these, honestly and truthfully without getting scared. No, the answer is that the drivers are still in place, and will be gaining an upper hand increasingly more over time. I see gold as breaking higher from this lengthy consolidation in spring, and as I‘ve explained in Monday‘s article, miners are set to outperform the metal early in this move when it comes, because they‘ve been beaten down quite sufficiently already. Look also at the gold to silver ratio. Spikes in favor of gold are what I would look for in the next monetary crisis, or liquidity crunch. Currently, none is on the horizon. Summary Time has come for another daily downswing in stocks, and it remains to be seen whether it entices the buyers to act. Technology, communications and consumer staples were among the best performing sectors yesterday, which doesn‘t paint a picture of broad short-term strength. Repeating the final sentence of yesterday‘s summary, the nearest days may (see today‘s session for proof) bring another push lower that won‘t however jeopardize the bull market in the least.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Dollar gives back gains after Fed meeting

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.01.2021 07:29
Euro Trades Mixed As Trend-Line Being Tested From BelowThe euro currency is attempting to pare losses from Wednesday. However, price action remains biased to the downside.The short term intraday bounce led the common currency to briefly rise to the 1.2144 level of resistance.A confluence of both the trendline and the horizontal resistance level is keeping prices capped below this level.We expect the EURUSD to probably consolidate within 1.2144 and 1.2050 levels for the near term.Given the fact that the support level near 1.2050 has not been tested yet, we expect prices eventually sliding to test this support level.GBPUSD Rebounds Amid A Mixed BiasThe British pound sterling is posting gains after a rebound from the trendline.Prices remain confined within the ascending wedge pattern. A breakout above the previous highs could confirm further upside.For the moment, price action is likely to range within the ascending wedge pattern.The trend line is currently being tested and a close above this level could signal further gains.However, if price retreats near the trend line, then this will open the risk to the downside.A break down from the ascending wedge pattern will open the way for the GBPUSD to test the 1.3500 level next.Oil Prices Drift Between 53.77 And 51.87WTI crude oil prices continue to maintain a sideways range within the said levels. Prices attempted to make some modest gains, but at the time of writing, oil prices are giving back those gains.The current slide could see the lower end of the range being tested once again. With the previous uptrend now coming to a halt, the current consolidation could see a breakout.The overall bias remains mixed, but a breakout below the 51.87 level could see a possible correction down to the 49.00 level of support.To the upside, above the 53.77 level, we could expect price to test the 55.00 level next.Gold Prices Manage To Recover LossesThe precious metal is seen recovering from the losses from Wednesday. After losing the 1850 handle, gold prices are back above this level once again.However, the pace of the rebound remains weak and we could see price losing the 1850 handle once again.In the medium term, gold prices are firmly above the 1817.79 level of support. As long as this support holds, we expect the precious metal to possibly rise toward the 1874 handle.But in the near term, we could see price action consolidating around the 1850 level for a while.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

A million reasons to buy Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.01.2021 10:05
Silver, Weekly Chart, Multiyear range break, significant trend, range, and?Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of January 28th, 2021.We are at such a significant point in history where fundamentals are more important for long term wealth preservation prediction than usual. Here is why:U.S. debt is at US$27 trillion.With the transition of the current presidency and the need to print enormous amounts of money to fund national vaccinations, future monetary expansion is inevitable.Silver is the only deflationary asset that’s left that has lost value since the 1980s. While some investors might think this is a good reason not to buy Silver, a contrarian or counter-intuitive approach would find an opportunity in something so undervalued.The greater the amount of currency in circulation, the greater the potential money flow they can trail into precious metals. When the economy collapses and cashflow comes flowing out of the stock market, it will find its way back into precious metals, and prices will rise.  Gold/Silver Ratio, Monthly Chart, Still room to catch up:Gold-Silver Ratio, monthly chart as of January 28th, 2021.But this isn’t all. As of December 11, 2020, Silver’s one-year price change is up 41.94%, and gold’s one-year price change is up 24.75%. Looking at the monthly Gold/Silver-Ratio chart above, we can see that there is still plenty of room for Silver to catch up. We even have support here right now, which would point out that gold runs first again, and then Silver is under pressure to follow.Monthly Chart of Silver, Forecast:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 28th, 2021.Silver is looking very bullish by not having retraced deep in its sideways range since March of last year (27.5%). Therefore, we find it sensible to look at fundamentals more closely when it comes to larger timeframe target projections. Metal prices are strongly correlated with the economic meltdown. Hence, if the banks are too big to fail and keep forestalling inevitable problems into the future by ongoing money printing, we can continue to see prices remain less than stellar. Only when fear strikes the masses will the money leave the stock market and ultimately find itself into precious metals. Is COVID-19, the pandemic, that catalyst?A million reasons to buy Silver:The disparity between economic conditions in corporate earnings will not post well for equities forever. Investors are building up alternative hedges. We have seen massive profits in Bitcoin. If “exotics” get attention like this, a more radical shift in common alternatives like Silver might be ahead.JP Morgan has decreased their short positions after years of accumulating Silver. It leads one to believe that with rumors of J.P. Morgan’s massive silver accumulation, it’s relinquishing recent silver short positions. It could portend a future where silver prices can no longer be manipulated as they once were, as the main manipulator has decided to cash in.With history changing so fast and a million reasons for owning Silver, it is wise to look at markets from both sides. A fundamental and a technical one. More than ever! Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Late Yesterday, I Called the S&P 500 Ambush As Likely Over

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.01.2021 16:30
The downswing potential I warned about yesterday, came. Heavy selling continued as the Fed threw cold water in assessing the pace of the recovery, and didn‘t signal readiness to prop it up even more than it does currently. That‘s a disappointment even though nobody really discusses V-shaped recovery anymore. Its pace is uneven – one of the few things that were quite „equally distributed“ yesterday, were sectoral losses in the S&P 500. The investors jumped on the selling bandwagon, confirming my yesterday‘s reservations: (…) We have the Fed meeting later today, and while I am not looking for hawkish surprises or any outright optimism, the investors aren‘t taking chances. Sell now, ask questions later seem to be the mantra before the U.S. open. With volatility spiking to levels unseen since September and October 2020, the question on everyone‘s mind is whether this is the start of another corrective move, and how fast would stocks recover. Make no mistake about it, they will recover – the bull isn‘t over by a long shot, and as I‘ve written in my Monday‘s 2021 prognostications, this year will be still a good one for stocks. Let‘s assess the damage yesterday‘s selling has done, and look at the course ahead (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook The selling wave in the S&P 500 didn‘t stop with yesterday‘s Fed, and picked up steam instead. While the daily indicators flashed their sell signals, this doesn‘t rule out stabilization next, which would disappoint those calling for a (10% or similar) correction. The bull market is intact, and one tough Fed assessment of the situation on the ground, won‘t end it. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) held up much better than than stocks did, and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries haven‘t broken below their recent lows either. Unless they do, that‘s a good sign for stocks to get their act together, regadless of the weak price recovery attempts thus far. The ratio of high yield corporate bonds against short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) with the S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows how far the very short-term vulnerability in stocks that I highlighted yesterday, had reached. While I did strike an optimistic tone in the runup to Tuesday‘s regular session open, the bulls missed a good opportunity to act, and the resultant signals favored the bears to step in on Wednesday, which they did. Changing the tone, that‘s the essence of my trading style – assessment of momentary outlook, and drawing conclusions accordingly. So, what about follow through selling and the reflexive rebound – which of the two would win the day? More S&P 500 Clues The Force index in S&P 500 plunged deeply into negative territory. Short-term damage has been done while Bollinger Bands (a measure of volatility) barely budged, and both moving averages‘ slope remains intact. As I have called publicly and verifiably outside of my website at the onset of today‘s Asian session that we‘re likely to witness partial recovery in today‘s regular session, it appears well underway. And little wonder, if you look at volatility ($VIX) to get a feel for how extraordinary yesterday‘s move was. The spread between 3-month and 10-year Treasuries shows that the game hasn‘t really changed. That has also made me vocal about not getting scared out by yesterday‘s slide in stocks. Where is the rally in Treasuries (TLT ETF)? The intraday performance would have been expected to be much better thanks to the gloomy Fed views. Yet it wasn‘t. While Treasuries may pause at these levels or even rise next, they don‘t look to me to exert momentary pressure on stocks in any way. Long upper knot, selling into temporary strength, that‘s all there was to a dollar rally? That‘s another clue that stocks have overreacted. Summary The anticipated downswing brought a bloodbatch across the board, and it indeed enticed the buyers to act – just as the odds favored. Gold held relatively well, and none of the other indicators were in place to declare the move to be the start of a real correction. My open long position is in the black! Again, see today‘s action for proof that the bull market wasn‘t endagered in the least... Trading position (short-term; futures; my take): the already initiated long positions (100% position size) with stop-loss at 3525 and initial upside target at 3900 are justified from the risk-reward perspective. Below, you‘ll find my time-tested approach to money management per trade. If you’re using e-mini S&P 500 futures, 1-point move in the S&P 500 amounts to $50. Multiply that with the difference between the entry and stop-loss, and better don’t risk more than 6% or maximum 8% of your trading account on this trade alone. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and the upcoming Gold Trading Signals. Thank you, Monica Kingsley Stock Trading Signals Gold Trading Signals www.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Here’s What’s More Important than the Recent Reddit Mania

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.01.2021 16:36
GameStop! Reddit! Silver manipulation (that’s been discussed for over two decades)! It’s exciting but pay attention to these more important factors.Is the above really the key thing that’s happening in the markets right now? No, it’s only the most interesting thing. I admit, what we’re seeing on the Internet right now is truly absorbing, but one should realize that it’s what used to happen multiple times in history. This time it’s simply more visible as the conversations and associated images are publicly available and widely distributed.In yesterday’s intraday Alert , I commented on the issue of the likely implications of these cumulative purchases on the precious metals market as a whole and what difference they are likely to make over the course of the following months and weeks – next to none.Well, there is one effect that I’m expecting to see. It’s the increased volatility during the following price declines – likely proportionate to what was so vigorously bought in the last few days.Figure 1 – GameStop Corporation (GME) - NYSEThe above GameStop chart shows a near-vertical rally, and it also shows the spike in volume. The purchasing power seems to have dried up and the price – as expected – fell. Those, who bought at $300, were already at a 33% loss as of yesterday’s close.The various forums (other forums joined in, it’s not just Reddit anymore) are filled with messages and images encouraging to “hold”. But sooner or later people will realize that without fresh buyers the price is going to fall, and one by one, they are likely to panic and sell – especially knowing that they won’t be “punished” by the “forum community” in any way, as it’s not known to the forum participants who is selling and when.The topic of silver manipulation , paper silver and paper gold really is older than 20 years, and it’s been mostly the same argument over all those years. The price managed to rally from below $5 to about $50 – if there was a massive long-term manipulation, then it wasn’t particularly effective. If it didn’t prevent silver from rallying so far, then why would it prevent silver from rallying from below $20 to $200? Anyway, this topic is too broad to be fully discussed, even in a lengthy Alert – the point that I want to make here is that nothing new happened in the silver market – it just got more spotlight.So, what’s more important and timelier than the above topics, even though it doesn’t get as much attention – and can herald a decline in the precious metals?Figure 2 – S&P 500 (ES.F)First, the almost-confirmed medium-term breakdown in stocks!On Wednesday, the S&P 500 futures moved visibly below the rising support line and closed below it for the first time. Despite yesterday’s strength, stocks were unable to rally back above it and so far, today, stocks are moving lower. If the S&P 500 futures close today below this line, the breakdown will be confirmed by both: three consecutive daily closes and a weekly close. This will be a bearish sign for the short term.If stocks slide further shortly, it will be particularly bearish for silver and mining stocks, which means that those who bought yesterday based on forum messages etc. would be likely to find themselves at a loss relatively soon. This, in turn, means that the decline could be quite volatile.Second, there is also another market that could ignite the powerful decline in the PMs and miners – the rallying USD Index.Figure 3 – USD Index (DX.F)Despite the intraday decline, the USDX is once again close to its 2021 highs.The USD Index is testing its previous 2020 highs, and it might (!) be forming the right shoulder of a short-term head-and-shoulders pattern. The key word here is “might”. If the USDX rallies above its previous highs (about ~91), this pattern will be invalidated and the short-term outlook for the USDX will be clearly bullish. This would also serve as a breakout above the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern (mid-Dec. low being the left shoulder, the early 2021 low being the head, and the recent low being the right shoulder), which would have even more bullish implications (with the price target above 92).Would this be enough for gold to decline to $1,700? It might not be enough, but it might be enough for the miners to move to my above-mentioned initial downside targets ($31 and $42.5 for GDX and GDXJ, respectively).So, the bearish storm seems to be brewing. How are the precious metals responding? Let’s take a look at gold.Figure 4 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold shrugged off yesterday’s “exciting news” coming from the internet’s forums. It rallied initially, almost touched its declining resistance line, and then reversed, thus erasing the previous gains. It’s now trading pretty much at the same levels where it was trading two days ago. The outlook remains bearish and yesterday’s reversal actually makes it even stronger.Figure 5 – COMEX Silver Futures (SI.F)Silver is visibly stronger than it was a few days ago, but if the precious metals sector is about to head lower (especially given the breakdown in stocks) this would be normal even without the entire “let’s buy silver” forum theme.And miners?Figure 6 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners invalidated the breakdown below the neck level of the head and shoulders pattern. Invalidations of these breakouts tend to be “buy” signals. BUT yesterday’s session has “ this time really was different” written all over it.Part of the purchase encouragements on forums were for mining stocks. While silver has indeed rallied yesterday (and so did AG, which was particularly promoted), the GDX ETF moved higher only somewhat. It still closed more or less at its mid-January low and it didn’t manage to erase Tuesday’s decline.Overall, I think that the proper context is the relative weakness of miners and not the direct implications of the technical invalidation.Moreover, please note that if the symmetry in terms of shape between both green boxes on the above chart is to be upheld, then it shouldn’t be surprising to see a quick volatile upswing that’s very short. In fact, since the volatility now is smaller than it was in late April 2020, what we saw yesterday might have already been the analogy to what had happened back then.All in all, the outlook for the precious metals market remains bearish for the following weeks, regardless of what the next few days will bring.Also… Do you remember about bitcoin? Some time ago, I wrote that the bitcoin situation made the overall situation in currencies similar to late 2017 / early 2018.Figure 7 - Bitcoin Vault (BTC.V)Just as we saw back then, bitcoin soared while the USD Index plunged. Then both markets reversed .Figure 8That was also the time when precious metals and miners (and stocks) topped.So, what’s new?We just saw another clear confirmation that this is the very final inning of the rally. You probably heard that in the final part of a bull market, everything that’s in it soars. If it’s a gold bull market, then even stocks that have “gold” in their name will likely rally even though they might have nothing to do with the precious metals market. People don’t care to check, and emotions are too high to bother checking what they are actually buying.Well, there’s a cryptocurrency that started as a joke, but then became a relatively big market.Dogecoin .The reason why I’m mentioning it is that dogecoin just soared…Figure 9And it had previously soared in this way in early 2018, a few weeks after bitcoin topped.This is exactly what one would expect to see at a market top, based on common sense (analogy to buying just about anything close to the top), but the fact that we already saw pretty much the same thing in bitcoin, dogecoin, and the USD Index at the top 3 years ago should be flashing a big red light even for the most bearish of USD bears and most bullish crypto bulls.Remember, early 2018 was also the moment when the stock market and PMs topped.The above indications are on top of myriads of other factors pointing to lower precious metals and mining stock prices – this is all much more important than forum posts – even very convincing ones.Please note that today’s volatility is somewhat expected - it’s Friday (options expire) and it’s also the final session of the month. Quite many people and entities might want to push prices and indices in their favor, so that options expire on their preferred side of their options’ strike prices. So, whatever happens today might easily be erased in early February.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Risk off sentiment caps off a volatile week

John Benjamin John Benjamin 01.02.2021 07:32
EURUSD Back Near 1.2144 Resistance AreaThe euro currency has now posted back-to-back gains for two consecutive sessions. As a result, price action is trading back near the technical resistance area of 1.2144.However, price action remained somewhat mixed as the buyer still remains to the upside. A strong reversal of the resistance area near 1.2144 could potentially confirm the downside.For the moment, we expect the EURUSD to consolidate between the 1.2144 and 1.2050 levels. Further gains can only be expected if the common currency can close strongly above the 1.2177 level.The stochastics oscillator continues to remain rather subdued and points to a possible drop towards the 1.2050 technical support.GBPUSD Consolidates Within The Ascending Wedge PatternThe British pound Sterling continues to trade rather mixed albeit near the recent highs. The consolidation has formed the ascending wedge pattern which could potentially signal a correction lower upon a bearish breakout.On Friday, the currency pair managed to pull back from the recent loss only to give back the gains towards the end of the week.The stochastics oscillator remains trading flat. This suggests the sideways price action in the GBPUSD currency pair.As long as no new highs are forming, the GBPUSD currency pair is likely to eventually post a correction towards the 1.3500 level.Crude Oil Closes Almost Flat For The Third Consecutive WeekConsolidation in the crude oil markets continues to stretch into the third week. Price action continues to trade nearly flat for three weekly sessions so far.As a result, price action is firmly entrenched within the sideways range between 53.77 and 51.87.The flat trading comes amid concerns of the vaccine rollout which could potentially delay the global economic recovery. Price action has been repeatedly testing the 51.87 level of support which has held up so far.However, a breakdown below this level could potentially see a short-term correction on the horizon.We continue to maintain that the downside target remains near the 49.00 handle for the moment.Gold Gives Back Gains After Testing 1874 ResistanceThe precious metal attempted to post modest gains on Friday as price action tested the 1874 level of resistance.However, prices gave back the gains rather quickly intraday to settle back near the 1850 handle. Failure to break out above the 1874 level of resistance could signal a possible move lower.However, price action remains flat within 1874 and 1818 levels for the moment. Given the current positioning of the stochastics oscillator, we might expect to see prices pulling over and possibly testing the 1818 level of support.But, on a weekly basis, we see price action trading within the range from the previous week. As a result, a breakout is likely to occur in the medium term.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

How Will Silver’s (SLV) Recent Spike End?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.02.2021 16:11
When Joe Public buys shares during a wave of euphoria, they do it close to a market top or before the beginning of a decline. Looking at you, SLV!Silver rallied on Friday (Jan. 29), gold reversed its direction before the end of the day and so did miners, with the latter slightly underperforming gold. I wrote this before, and I’ll stress this once again today – the above is a perfectly bearish indication of an upcoming downturn in the precious metals market. This is not the first time it’s happening, and this combination of relative strengths worked reliably in the past. And we are not only just seeing that happening – we are seeing that at precisely the moment that is similar to previous patterns that were followed by sizable declines, which means that the relative bearish factors are even stronger.This also applies to the huge inflows to the SLV ETF that we just saw most recently. Let’s take a look below.Figure 1The inflows were huge, which means that a lot of capital poured into this particular silver ETF . No wonder – it was very popular among Reddit (and other forums) participants last week. Naturally, these investors are – in general – not professionals and they are not institutions either. They are part of the “investment public”, which tends to buy massively close to market tops and/or before important price declines.This indication might work on an immediate basis, but it could also work on a near-term basis – it depends on other circumstances. Did this work previously? Let’s check – after all, there were two other cases when we saw big spikes in SLV inflows – at the end of 2007 and at the beginning of 2013.What did silver do back then? I marked those situations with blue, vertical lines on the chart below.Figure 2The beginning of 2013 was when silver was not only already after its top, but was also in the final part of the back-and-forth trading that we saw before the bigger declines in that year.In late 2007, silver was still rallying, but it topped soon after that and subsequently plunged. At the 2008 bottom, silver was well below the levels at which the huge SLV inflows occurred.Consequently, the spike in inflows is not a bullish sign. It’s a major bearish sign for the medium term, especially knowing that it was the investment public that was making the purchases.Also, please note that the late-2007 spike wasn’t preceded by sizable inflows, but both the early 2013 and 2021 spikes were. Also, back in 2013, silver was already after a major top (just like right now) while in early 2007 it was breaking to new highs.As of now, silver just broke to new highs, but since this move is not confirmed yet, it seems that the current situation is still a bit more similar to what we saw in 2013 than in 2007. Therefore, the scenario in which we don’t have to wait long for silver’s slide is slightly more probable.The current volatility in silver suggests that the price moves are likely to be quick in both directions, so when the white metal tops it might be difficult to get out of one’s long position at prices that were better than one’s entry prices (provided that one joined the current sharp run-up).Especially since stocks just declined visibly and confirmed the breakdown below the rising support line in terms of three consecutive trading days, a weekly close, and a monthly close.Figure 3Stocks have also invalidated their breakout above their rising red support/resistance line. And it all caused the RSI to form a double-top near the 70 level, which preceded the two biggest price declines in the previous years.Figure 4It seems that while the bigger investors head for the hills, the individual public continues to focus on Gamestop and its recent gains. However, remember that they have to cash in above their entry price to make a profit, which is not that probable.The most important detail that we saw on Friday was the relatively low volume, on which Gamestop rallied. The buying power seems to be drying up and it seems that it won’t be long before everyone that wanted to buy, will already be “in”. And then, the price will start to slide as that’s what it simply does when there are no buyers and no sellers. Afterwards, a part of the public will sell, further adding to the selling pressure, which will see more declines, and so on. And as the final stock buyers turn into sellers, the top in stocks could be in.If stocks slide further shortly, it will be particularly bearish for silver and mining stocks , which means that those who bought yesterday based on forum messages, etc., would be likely to find themselves at a loss relatively soon. This, in turn, means that the decline could be quite volatile.Figure 5On a short-term basis, silver showed strength – also today, when it rallied slightly above the early-September high. Perhaps the final part of those who might have been inclined to buy based on the “ silver manipulation ” narrative and the forum encouragements in general, have decided to make their purchases over the weekend, and we’re seeing the result in today’s pre-market trading.This, coupled with the miners’ relative weakness means that the bearish outlook remains intact. If it “feels” that the precious metals market is about take off, but the analysis says otherwise (please remember about the first chart from today’s analysis), then it’s very likely that the PMs are topping. That’s what people see and “feel” at the top.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Expectations for Silver given the GameStop price action and the Reddit Revolution

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 01.02.2021 21:40
Near the end of 2020, my research team identified trends, pullbacks, and overall upward/downward trends in US major markets as well as those for Gold and Silver.  It is time we revisited these early 2021 predictions in relation to what is happening in the markets currently. You can revisit our original publication entitled What To Expect in 2021 Part II - Gold, Silver, and SPY.At the time we made these predictions, we were unaware of the global phenomenon, the Reddit #wallstreetbets movement, that was taking place.  Our expectations are based on our advanced predictive modeling system and what it sees as the highest probability outcome for price.  The recent news that this Reddit group has targeted a number of symbols (GME, AMC, BB, amongst others), as well as SILVER, may change the dynamics/liquidity of the markets very quickly.What we are witnessing is the incredible strength of the retail trader when they act in a “pack-form”.  The retail traders of the world, using a social media platform, have found new strength as the global markets continue to struggle with COVID-19 and institutional weakness. In a way, these retail traders are focusing on an institutionally authorized “exploit”, like a game exploit, where short-sellers have been permitted to overrun many smaller traders and companies over the past decade or so – ever since the “Uptick Rule” was removed.  This has created an environment where excessive risks were allowed by many institutions as short sellers were able to enter short positions far in excess of the floating shares available.  With extreme leverage in place, these positions were ticking time-bombs waiting to explode. And then along comes the Reddit group – hungry, happy, and en mass.  They identify this structural weakness, which was legally allowed to happen, and begin their “autist wave” of buying these heavily shorted symbols.  Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Gamestop became a “shot across the bow” for these hedge funds and has sent a liquidity ripple across the global markets.  Is the financial system at risk because of excessive leverage, derivatives, and institutional manipulation?  What would it take to completely disrupt these hedge funds and what are the consequences of these short-squeeze runs?  Is this issue bigger than many people expect?  Could it turn into a “liquidity trap”?These are all questions that are certainly going to be answered over the next 6+ months and no one really has a true understanding of how the “deleveraging process” will take place.  If push comes to shove and institutional shorts are forced into excessive losses, then we may see a bigger corrective trend setup in 2021 as a result of this capital/liquidity trap that has sprung.Now, before we continue to review some of our 2021 expectations, let's review a couple of important charts...SPY Must Hold Above SupportThe following Daily SPY chart highlights the major support channel originating from the March 2020 lows.  If this channel is breached, we may begin a deeper downside trend that could align with a volatility/liquidity trap event.  Losses generated by these excessive, leveraged, short positions will prompt firms to pull profits from other symbols/sectors.  This wave of volatility may be just starting.Silver Targets $55 Or HigherSilver has recently been targeted by the Reddit group as one of the most heavily shorted precious metals on the planet.  Currently, silver has rallied above $30 in early trading on Monday, February 1, but has come down closer to the opening (which gapped significantly).  If Silver rallies above $35 and continues to trend, $50 to $55 is the next target level.  After that level is reached, we move into uncharted territory (above $55) and the sky's the limit for Silver and Gold.revisiting our 2021 ExpectationsNow, onto our 2021 Expectations and how this new dynamic of volatility and liquidity may change things. If the increased volatility and liquidity issue persists beyond February 2021, we would expect the global markets to begin to immediately reflect a transition away from excessive risks and leverage.  This would take place by off-loading positions in at-risk and in-profit trades throughout the world to position portfolios in a means to mitigate 3x+ std deviation risks.  This deleveraging process may prompt a huge upside move in precious metals because any global deleveraging event, if it aligns with a moderate price correction event, may push institutions to urgently address leverage issues.  This urgency, in combination with the retail trader revolt, may prompt an excessive liquidity trap in certain sectors/symbols – almost like a “flash-rally” event.Overall, we believe the global markets will settle back into our expected 2021 ranges – although Gold and Silver may rally far beyond our upside 2021 expectations if the Reddit group continue to push Silver higher like they did with Gamestop.  So, at this point, be prepared for massive volatility ranges and continued upside price trends in Gold and Silver while the markets address these global institutional and leverage issues.What this means for traders is that we should expect to see some really big trends through almost all of 2021.  Most importantly, we will end up with more rational price trends and a potentially reduced leverage environment for many sectors and symbols.  This should prompt various market sectors to initiate or resume trends as capital is put to work in sectors that have a stronger growth potential over the next few years.2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using my BAN strategy.  You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors yourself with no proprietary indicators or algorithms just by taking my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don't have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you. In addition to trade alerts that can be entered into at the end of the day or the following morning, subscribers also receive a 7-10 minute video every morning that walks you through the charts of all the major asset classes. For traders that want more trading than our 20-25 alerts per year, we provide our BAN Trader Pro subscribers with our BAN Hotlist of ETFs that is updated each day.Happy trading!
Bitcoin - Consolidation brings new opportunities

Bitcoin - Consolidation brings new opportunities

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 02.02.2021 08:33
ReviewSource: Messari December 31st, 2020After a massive rally from the beginning of October, Bitcoin almost reached prices around US$20,000 on December 1st. Despite a heavily overbought situation, the bulls only needed a two-week breather. The successful breakout immediately caused a further acceleration, so that bitcoin prices continued to explode until January 8th 2021 and were able to rise to almost US$42,000. Bitcoin had thus increased more than tenfold in less than 10 months since the Corona crash! Looking at 2020 as a whole, Bitcoin pretty much outperformed everything, gaining 318%.Source: Dan Held on TwitterOver the last three weeks, however, there was, not surprisingly, a wave of profit-taking hitting the bitcoin market. Hence, prices retraced all the way back down toward just under US$29,000. This rapid correction represented a drop of 31% in just 14 days. In the big picture, however, this is not unusual. Instead, bitcoin has seen countless corrective price moves like this over the past 10 years. In the last bull market between autumn 2015 and December 2017, there were a total of six sharp pullbacks, all of which amounted to sell offs between 29% and 38%.Source: Dan Tapiero on TwitterIn the bigger picture however, volatility is still relatively low. Rather, the relative volatility indicates that the range of fluctuation is only just slowly beginning to rise again and should spike towards the later stages during the course of this current bull market.Overall, bitcoin has been in a new bull market since the Corona Crash in March 2020 and is likely to head for much higher price regions in the coming 10 to 24 months. Daily fluctuations of US$10,000 and more will then become increasingly common.Technical Analysis For Bitcoin in US-DollarBitcoin, Weekly Chart as of February 2nd, 2021. Source: TradingviewWith the breakout above the all-time high around US$20,000 on December 16th, 2020, the Bitcoin rally that had been underway since March 2020 already accelerated once again significantly. Although the market was already heavily overbought on all timeframes, bitcoin doubled within the following four weeks and reached a new all-time high at around US$42,000 on January 8th, 2021. After such a price explosion, it takes time to digest this strong rise. The pullback towards and slightly below US$29,000 is therefore perfectly normal and healthy.From the perspective of the weekly chart, however, there are no clear signs for an end of that correction yet. Looking at the “old” support zones and the overbought stochastic oscillator, a return to the breakout level around US$20,000 would be quite conceivable. Beyond that, there are two long-term upward trend lines that could also act as possible targets on the downside.Using the classic Fibonacci retracements from the low at US$3,850 to the recent high at US$42,000, the 38.2% retracement at US$27,425 would be the minimum correction target. If bitcoin can continue to hold above this retracement, this would be an extremely bullish sign of strength. A first retest of the recent lows at US$29,000 was also successful and thus far created a nice double low which might already have marked the turning point. However, prices below those lows would confirm a larger and deeper type of correction. Prices around US$27,500 and lower towards US$20,000 to US$22,000 would then become increasingly likely.However, since bitcoin is undoubtedly in an established bull market and in an overarching uptrend, the surprises are generally happening to the upside. Therefore, the only thing to note here is that new prices above US$40,000 would probably signal a continuation of the steep rally. In this case, prices around the next psychological level at US$50,000 should follow quickly.To summarize the weekly chart remains bullish above US$20,000. At the same time, there are still no signals for an end to the recently started pullback. In view of the relatively fresh stochastic sell signal, there is a distinct possibility that the correction of the last four weeks could extend significantly. However, if the bulls can keep the prices above US$29,000, the rally can continue at any time.Bitcoin, Daily Chart as of February 2nd, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the correction of the last three weeks had created a pretty oversold situation and thus a low-risk entry opportunity. Now that bitcoin quickly recovered from those lows around US$29,000, the good low-risk set up is certainly gone. Especially since a third attack pullback US$29,000 would now have to be interpreted as weakness.But although the 200-day moving average (US$16,738) as well as the established support zone at US$20,000 are far away from current pricing around US$34,000, the setup looks promising. Based on the principle that a trend in motion is more likely to continue than to suddenly turn around, it is important to look for entry opportunities on the long side only (“buy the dip”). Bitcoin now has to surpass its recent high above US$38,600 to establish a short-term series of higher lows and higher highs. This would shift the daily chart clearly back into bullish territory.Overall, the daily chart is coming out of an oversold setup recovering quickly, but somehow is still stuck in a downtrend short-term. However, bitcoin has now been trading around and above USD 30,000 for more than four weeks already. This means that a base is being formed from which the rally should continue rather sooner than later.Sentiment Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunitiesBitcoin Optix as of January 24th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe quantitative sentiment indicator “Bitcoin Optix” signaled a short-term exaggeration at the end of December and then especially at the beginning of January. However, the sharp pullback in the order of 31% completely cooled down any excessive optimism and even created a small panic among the weak hands in the short term.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of February 1st, 2021. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index The much more complex Crypto Fear & Greed Index, on the other hand, continues to measure an increased level of greed in the entire crypto sector. However, such conditions did persist for many months in the past.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of January 24th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn a long-term comparison, however, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has also declined significantly and currently reflects a rather balanced sentiment picture.Overall, the overly optimistic sentiment has been cleared up surprisingly quickly due to the price decline from US$42,000 down to US$29,000. Hence, nothing stands in the way of a continuation of the rally from a sentiment perspective. Seasonality Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunities –Bitcoin seasonality. Source: SeasonaxFrom a seasonal perspective, bitcoin has been most often moving sideways from mid o January until mid-April. Accordingly, the recently started correction could well drag on for at least a few more weeks.Bitcoin seasonality in bull market years. Source: SeasonaxHowever, if we only use the price development in bull market years, the data set shrinks to the years 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017. But at the same time, it becomes clear that in these years bitcoin always found an important low between mid-January and mid-February.Overall, one would be well advised not to expect any exaggerated price explosions in the coming weeks. Statistically, these tend to occur in the months of April to June and October to December. However, the seasonal outlook for the next one to two months is not really unfavorable either.Sound-money: Bitcoin vs. GoldSound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of January 25th, 2021. Source: ChaiaWith current prices of US$33,650 for one bitcoin and US$1,864 for one troy ounce of gold, the bitcoin/gold ratio is currently around 18.05, i.e., you currently have to pay more than 18 ounces of gold for one bitcoin. In other words, one troy ounce of gold currently costs only 0.055 bitcoin.Goldbug´s Achilles Heel, Source Midas Touch Consulting January 25th, 2021.This means that bitcoin´s outperformance against gold has clearly intensified in the past two months. An end to this major trend is not in sight. Quite the contrary, despite possible short-term fluctuations and countertrend moves, gold and silver are more likely to lose further against bitcoin.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and of 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to Bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is normally also invested in equities and real estate, more than 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile Bitcoin is already a lot!Opposites compliment. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin you have a complimentary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro OutlookSource: Investing.comWith the inauguration of Joe Biden, the political circumstances in the USA have shifted significantly, but the loose monetary policy of the last twenty years is likely to continue and intensify significantly. The prices for gold and silver, as well as for bitcoin, will therefore continue to be driven upwards in the medium term by the constant expansion of the money supply.US Total Debt, © Holger Zschaepitz. Source Twitter @Schuldensuehner, 20. Januar 2021The monetary policy, backed by nothing but the blind trust of the citizens, had already led to an unprecedented debt orgy in the USA since the end of the gold standard in 1971. The record-high US national debt was further exacerbated by the Corona crisis in 2020 and is now rising parabolically. The same applies to pretty much all other countries and currency zones on our planet.Global Stock Market Cap, © Holger Zschaepitz.. Source Twitter @Schuldensuehner, 24. Januar 2021Driven by the constant currency creation, the market capitalization of global stock markets therefore continues to rise. It is important to realize that the stock markets no longer reflect the real economy as they used to. The only thing that matters is the constant expansion of liquidity via central bank balance sheets.Source: Bitcoin ResourcesThe unregulated and decentralized Bitcoin is therefore increasingly a thorn in the side of central bankers and politicians. After all, the irresponsible central bank policy can be recognized quite easily here. One can even say that in view of Bitcoin prices above US$30,000, the hyper-inflationary tendencies of fiat currencies are already becoming visible here. Whereas in the gold market one can always intervene in a depressing way on prices via so-called paper gold, the short-selling attacks on the Bitcoin markets are collapsing like a soufflé due to the digital scarcity. The decentralized structure of bitcoin is also a phenomenon that the technocrats will not be able to deal with, even with a ban.However, we have to assume that in the coming months or years there will be a concentrated attack on bitcoin by central bankers and politicians. However, the more institutional capital is invested in Bitcoin, the more difficult this undertaking will be.Source: Flipside CryptoA real point of criticism, on the other hand, is the extremely unbalanced distribution of the Bitcoins mined so far. Slightly more than 2% of the wallets hold 95% of the Bitcoins. This threatens to create a new power structure that can manipulate Bitcoin prices in its favor at will.Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunitiesSource: Messari December 28th, 2020Bitcoin is undoubtedly in the middle of a new bull market. The final top has not yet been reached by a long shot. Prices around US$100,000 and possibly even above US$300,000 are quite conceivable in the next 10 to 24 months. The main drivers will be an institutional buying spree, as these institutional investors will come under an increasing pressure due to rising prices.Of course, there will be some brutal pullbacks on the way to higher prices. To be able to profit from this bull market, you need to be patient. And you really need to have internalized the so-called “Hodl” strategy.In summary, bitcoin is consolidating at high level trying to build a new base. This consolidation may well last a few more weeks and could also bring lower prices. More likely, however, is a continuation of the rally towards US$50,000 in the near future already.Source: Regard NewsAlso, it more an more smells like “altcoin season”. Bitcoin prices have already doubled from the old all-time high. Then, in the last four weeks, Ethereum also reached its December 2017 high around US$1,400. In the next phase, Ethereum should outperform Bitcoin. Afterwards, the smaller altcoins will explode. This time, the highflyers are likely to be in the booming DeFi sector. However, anyone who wants to play along here has to practice tough risk management and take profits regularly and quickly.Analysis sponsored and initially published on January 26th, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Florian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running is own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.Florian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.eu
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USD rises to a two-week high

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.02.2021 08:39
Euro Resumes Slide, After A Two-Day GainThe euro currency is trading weaker on Monday following two daily sessions of gains previously. Price action remains confined below the 1.2144 level of resistance.Given the current pace of declines, the EURUSD currency pair is likely to test the 1.2050 level of support more firmly.We expect the support level near 1.2050 to hold up for the moment. As a result, the EURUSD could maintain a sideways range within 1.2144 and 1.2050 levels.The stochastics oscillator is currently moving closer to the oversold levels. Therefore, we could expect to see prices rebounding off the 1.2050 handle.In the unlikely event that the EURUSD loses the 1.2050 support, we could expect to see a larger correction down to 1.1900.GBPUSD Testing The Lower Trend-LineThe British pound sterling is also on track to post declines following a period of consolidation since last week.Price action is currently testing the lower trendline of the ascending wedge pattern. A continuation to the downside could potentially open the way for the GBPUSD to test the 1.3500 level of support.However, for this to materialize, the GBPUSD will need to post a convincing breakdown lower.Given that price action closed rather flat on a weekly basis, a bearish close this week could potentially strengthen the downside bias.This could mean that the cable could be looking to post further declines in the medium-term outlook.Crude Oil Bounces Off Lower End Of The RangeWTI crude oil prices are posting modest gains rising over 1% on Monday. This comes as prices briefly slipped below the lower end of the range near 51.87.Despite the current pace of gains, oil prices remain stuck within the range between 53.77 and 51.87. Only a strong breakout from this level will potentially confirm further direction in the commodity.For the moment, the continuation to the upside could see the 53.77 level being tested.On a weekly basis, we see that oil prices are trading flat for three consecutive weeks so far.The stochastics oscillator is currently moving out from the oversold levels and gives support to the upside bounce.Gold Prices Struggle To Breakout Above 1874The precious metal continues to trade flat amid the US dollar strengthening. While prices have managed to stay afloat above the 1850 level of support, the upper resistance level near 1874 is proving hard to break.As a result, gold prices remain caught within the 1874 and 1850 levels for the moment. The stochastics oscillator also signals the rather choppy movement within the said levels.Price action on the higher chart timeframes also continues to remain mixed. As a result, we could expect to see gold prices staying below the 1874 level for becoming few sessions.The bias still remains to the downside, however, a swing low is being formed near the 1835 level.A close below this level will potentially open the way for gold prices to retest the lower support near 1817.79.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Correction in Stocks Almost Over While Gold Is Basing

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.02.2021 16:30
In line with expectations and probabilities, the stock bulls returned, and I closed Friday initiated long position for a solid 40-point gain in S&P 500! All right, but are the bulls as strong as might seem from looking at this week‘s price performance? Such were my yesterday‘s words: (…) is this the dreaded sizable correction start, or the general February weakness I warned about a week ago? I‘m still calling for the S&P 500 to be in a bullish uptrend this quarter and next, though I‘m not looking for as spectacular gains as in the 2020 rebound. That‘s still my call. Fears from the Fed talking taper contours, GameStop and silver squeeze are taking a back seat to the realities of leading economic indicators rising, stimulus coming, and the central bank more than willing to mop it up. Commodities are red hot, leading precious metals, and inflation will rear its ugly head this year for sure. The momentary dollar resilience which I called both preceding Mondays to happen, will give way to much lower values. Twin deficits are a curse. Such were my observations on gold – please read yesterday‘s extensive analysis. It‘s one of the most important ones written thus far on gold: (…) I don‘t see gold plunging to any dramatic number such as $1,700 but given that the dollar looks to have stabilized for now, and may even attempt a modest and brief rally from here, gold may get again under corresponding (and weak) pressure – should the silver squeeze be defeated. After the margin raise, it is certainly on the defensive now. Yet I see encouraging signs for the new precious metals upleg to emerge (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook I laid out the case clearly on Friday as to why we‘re witnessing another downswing lacking internal balance. We didn‘t have to wait long for the recovery from options expiry plunge, yet the volume leaves a little to be desired. Wasn‘t weak really, just Monday‘s regular, lower volume. Lower volume days can get challenged. I would prefer to see follow through in price advance coupled with a volume reading I could interpret positively so as to be able to call this correction as fully over. Credit Markets & Risk Metrics Both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) – are trading at their local lows, neither rising nor breaking below – given the bullish price action in S&P 500, I treat their short-term underperformance as a watchout. Volatility is still elevated, yet calming down – slowly but surely.That‘s pointing out we‘re in the latter stages of the correction. The put/call ratio has retreated again, reflecting my yesterday‘s point that the fear in the markets is in a generally declining trend. Both moving averages are still falling, and the spike didn‘t reach the pre-elections and early September peaks either. Still no change in sentiment, and we‘re well on the preceding path marking further stock market gains. Shining Light on Gold The king of metals is still ill positioned to keep the silver short squeeze gains. Yes, I am not trusting the daily indicators one bit, and look instead at the lower volume and repeated inability to keep intraday gains. This is the sign of an approaching upleg in the precious metals – miners rebounding relative to gold after preceding breakdown. Should the mining companies keep their relative gains, that would be encouraging for the whole sector. What if the stock market though puts the carefully laid plans to rest? The above chart shows that there has been in recent months no clear relationship either way and interconnectedness of reaction between the two assets. Let‘s stay objective and don‘t succumb to the plunge in stocks fear mongering. The gold to silver ratio is similarly to the $HUI:$GOLD ratio showing that the tide in precious metals is turning, and the time for the bears is running up. I like the fact that love trade is starting to kick in as opposed to fear trade. Love trade, that means rising preference for gold because the economy is doing better, while fear trade is about hiding in the bunker. On one hand, gold is vulnerable to rising (long-term Treasury) yields, and it‘s also lagging behind the commodity complex. It‘s also trading with the negative correlation to the dollar, which is set to put up a some fight in the short run again – please see my yesterday‘s extensive gold market analysis bring proof for these assertions as these form the short-term watchouts for the gold bulls. From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hi Monica, I wanted to say a big thank you for responding to my question last week which I did find reassuring. Little did we see what a week we would have to follow hey, especially in silver. I know that it has to cross the Rubicon at $30 and hold but I would like to get your observations. Can silver get going now (you thought Spring more likely) I also like platinum and wondered what you see there and finally can gold shuffle of its winter blues sooner rather than later. A: Always welcome – it‘s common knowledge that I love to engage in discussion with readers and everyone concerned. I called for gold to get going through spring, and now with WallStreetBets, silver has sprung to life. Platinum I see as notoriously lagging behind, and its catalyst demand in a challenged market is one of the fundamental culprits – jewellery demand won‘t save it. Palladium has much better prospects, not to discuss the wild swings in rhodium to get an idea what PGMs can deliver. Gold is still within its basing pattern, and unless it attracts the attention of internet crowd (see my yesterday‘s reply on how to play the silver squeeze), will take its time in breaking higher. Look at the gold-silver ratio – it‘s the white metal‘s turn to deliver stronger returns now, which is in line with the economic recovery underway (silver is an industrial metal, too). Summary The stock market recovered, and looks set to digest today‘s premarket gains on top of Monday‘s ones, signifying that the correction is in its latter stages. Credit market recovery is a missing piece of the puzzle. Gold though isn‘t out of the woods yet in the short run, but I see its medium-term bullish case getting stronger even as it remains rangebound for now. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals. * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Dollar Rises to a Two-Month High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.02.2021 08:06
EURUSD Touches Down To 1.2050 Level Of Support The euro currency finally fell to the support level of 1.2050, testing the level more firmly. While price action is trading below this level, we could expect to see some consolidating taking place.The Stochastics oscillator is also firmly in the oversold level, it supports the possibility of price action consolidation near this level.However, if the bearish momentum continues, then the euro currency is likely to extend declines further.The next main support level is near 1.1900. However, if resistance forms near the 1.2050 level, the declines can be confirmed.GBPUSD Breaks Down From Ascending Wedge The British pound sterling is extending declines after losing the support from the trendline of the ascending wedge pattern.With price action now clearing the ascending wedge pattern, further downside is likely.As the Stochastics oscillator is now near the oversold level, we could expect to see a rebound in the near term. This could see a short term retracement back to the breakout level once again.To the downside, price action is likely to find support near the Jan 26 swing lows of 1.3610. A break down below this level will confirm further declines to the 1.3500 level of support.WTI Crude Oil Rises To A One-Year High Crude oil price finally broke out from the range it has been in for nearly three weeks. The strong upside breakout pushed the commodity toward a new one-year high.A pullback is likely to occur in the near term toward the upper range near 53.77. Price action will need to break out strongly above the 55.00 level in order to maintain the upside.Given the current momentum, the downside looks a bit limited for the moment.However, this could change if oil prices lose the 53.77 support level. It would once again put price action back within the sideways range.Gold Prices Slip Below 1850 Technical Support The precious metal broke past the 1850 level of support on Tuesday.The declines come as price action was consolidating between the 1850 and 1874 levels. If the current pace of decline continues, then we expect to see a move to the 1817.80 level of support once again.The Stochastics oscillator is moving closer to the oversold levels. Therefore, the support area near 1874 is likely to find support once again.This will keep prices supported above this level for the near term.Given the current momentum, the precious metal is unlikely to breakout above the 1874 level of resistance.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Bitcoin profits through quad exit strategy

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 03.02.2021 11:23
We use quad exits to honor the principle of “Choices.” Our approach is an “all in” system with a high expectancy of immediate profits based on the action-reaction principle. We are contrarians and are fading moves. As such, we exit half of the position shortly after entry for small gains to mitigate risk. Then we take another 25% off the position on our first target and another 25% on our 2nd final target.Here are the significant advantages of the Quad Exit Strategy: It is typically getting more and more stressful for the mind through increased fear that gained profits might disappear. The quad exit supplements by making you emotionally an instant winner on your first exit.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Risk taken out before the breakout:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of February 1st, 2021The principle is that the more extended a move, the more extensive the possible snap back to the mean. Fear of missing out on profits tends for amateur traders to either make a tight stop, which takes them out or worse, they use a stop somewhat in the middle, taking quite big profits away and still getting stopped out. Principle-based though is to have either an extensive stop or take a profit target. However, both are very hard to do due to our human psychology. With the Quad Exit Strategy, you erase these hardships. You exit with half to mitigate risk and create a psychological balance following the instinct to cash in. Now you have two segments of each 25% of the total position size still left to be very flexible in maneuvering.The daily chart above shows the various points of interest within a trade sequence. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Volume analysis supportive of runner success:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 1st, 2021In our personal experience, after the second exit with yet another profit booked, one is very much at ease to let the runner (= the last 25% of the position size) do what it needs to do: RUN!With price sitting right on a high volume analysis support node as seen on the weekly chart above, it’s survival has a good chance. Even if the trend continuation should fail it will get stopped out at break even entry levels and we still took profits on 75% of our original position size.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin profits through Quad exit strategy:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 1st, 2021.The large time frame chart shows supportive of the trend. With a healthy Fibonacci retracement of .618%, the odds for trend continuation are in favor.Of course, no one knows when a trend is over, but you don’t have to worry using the Quad Exit Strategy.Bitcoin profits through Quad Exit Strategy:Typically, one is glued to the screen when prices go into one’s favor with a biased emotional emphasis on up and downticks. With the Quad Exit Strategy however, you have an emotionally balanced mindset since 75% of the positions are successfully cashed in already. Now you can apply reliable technical analysis for the runner part. That means evaluating how much risk you are willing to take for this position part versus how likely the projections are for it to go further. You can do this unbiased and with a fresh mind. It also allows for wide and accurate stop placement and makes you see the market for what it truly is. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

EUR and Silver: Going Down a One-Way Street

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.02.2021 17:25
Since the precious metals like to ride along with the EUR/USD, and the latest Eurozone data looks grim, what are the implications for the PMs?Just when everyone and their brother thought that silver was going straight to the moon… it plunged. And that’s not the end of the decline.Figure 1 – COMEX Silver FuturesI previously emphasized that silver’s volatile upswing is likely just temporary, and I discussed the Kondratiev cycle which implies much higher gold prices but not necessarily right away, because the value of cash (USD) would be likely to soar as well. The latter would likely trigger a temporary slide in gold – and silver.Well, was silver’s rally just temporary?This seems to have been the case. The white metal declined back below not only the 2020 highs, but also back below this year’s early high. Please remember that invalidations of breakouts have immediately bearish implications and we just saw more than one in case of silver.So far today (Feb. 3), silver is quiet, but let’s keep in mind that back in September, it took only a few sessions for the white precious metal to move from approximately the current price levels to about $22.Will silver slide as much shortly? This is quite likely, although the downswing doesn’t have to be as quick as it was in September.Terms like the silver shortage , the size of the silver market and silver manipulation became incredibly popular in the last couple of days, which - together with huge SLV volume, and this ETF’s inflows - confirms the dramatic increase in interest in this particular market. This is exactly what happens close to market tops: silver steals the spotlight while mining stocks are weak. I’ve seen this countless times , and in most cases, it was accompanied by multiple voices of people “feeling” that the silver market is about to explode. For example, please consider what happened in early September 2020 on both (above and below) charts. Silver jumped and almost reached its August 2020 high, while the GDX was unable to rally even to (let alone above) its mid-August high.Don’t get me wrong, I think that silver will soar in the following years and I’m not shorting silver (nor am I suggesting this) right now and in fact I haven’t been on the short side of the silver market for months. In fact, I expect silver to outperform gold in the final part of the next massive upswing, but… I don’t think this massive upswing has started yet.Gold had it’s nice post-Covid panic run-up, but it didn’t manage to hold its breakout above the 2011 highs, despite multiple dovish pledges from the Fed, the open-ended QE, and ridiculously low interest rates. Plus, while gold moved above its 2011 highs, gold stocks have barely corrected half of their decline from their 2011 highs. Compare that to when the true bull market started about two decades ago – gold miners were soaring and multiplying gold’s gains in the medium run.Let’s take a look at mining stocks, using the GDX ETF as a proxy for them.Figure 2 – VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Are miners weak right now? Of course, they are weak. It was not only silver that got attention recently, but also silver stocks . The GDX ETF is mostly based on gold stocks, but still, silver miners’ performance still affects it. And… GDX is still trading relatively close to the yearly lows. Silver moved a bit above its 2020 highs – did miners do that as well? Absolutely not, they were only able to trigger a tiny move higher.And based on yesterday’s decline, most of the recent run-up was already erased.Interestingly, the most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder ( figure 2 - both marked with green) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Due to the uncanny similarity between the two green rectangles, I decided to check what happens if this mirror-similarity continues. I used purple, dashed lines for that. There were two important short-term price swings in April 2020 – one shows the size of the correction and one is a near-vertical move higher.Copying these price moves (purple lines) to the current situation, we get a scenario in which GDX (mining stocks) moves to about $31 and then comes back up to about $34. This would be in perfect tune with what I wrote previously. After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.All in all, it seems that silver’s run-up was just a temporary phenomenon and the next big medium-term move in the precious metals and mining stocks is going to be to the downside.Having said that, let’s take a look at the markets from the fundamental point of view.EUR-on to SomethingFor weeks , I’ve been warning that the fundamental disconnect between the U.S. and Eurozone economies could pressure the EUR/USD.And on Jan. 29, I wrote:The economic divergence between Europe and the U.S. continues to widen. On Jan. 28, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that U.S. GDP (advanced estimate) likely expanded by 4.0% in the fourth-quarter.Figure 3Making its counter move, Eurozone fourth-quarter GDP was released on Feb. 2, revealing that the European economy shrank by 0.7% (the red box below). Even more revealing, France and Italy – Europe’s second and third-largest economies – underperformed the bloc average, contracting by 1.3% and 2.0% respectively (the blue box below).Figure 4 - Source: EurostatIn addition, German retail sales (released on Feb. 1) declined by 9.6% in December – well below the 2.6% contraction expected by economists. And why is this relevant? Because the month-over-month decline was the largest since 1956 and speaks volumes coming from Europe’s largest economy.Please see below:Figure 5If that wasn’t enough, Spain’s (Europe’s fourth-largest economy) Q4 GDP inched up by only 0.40% (the red box below). And not only did the figure come in well below the Spanish government’s December estimate (of an increase of 2.40%), the country’s exports declined by 1.4%, while business investment plunged by 6.2% (the blue boxes below).Figure 6 - Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain’s National Statistics Institute)Moreover, as the fiscal situation worsens across Europe’s four-largest economies, the European Central Bank (ECB) has no choice but to pick up the slack. As of Feb. 2, the ECB’s balance sheet now totals more than 70% of Eurozone GDP (up from 69%). More importantly though, the figure is more than double the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) 34.5% (down from 35%).Please see below:Figure 7Thus, while the ECB’s money printer works overtime relative to the FED’s, the dominoes are lining up for a material fall:The ECB’s relative outprinting causes the FED/ECB ratio to declineA declining FED/ECB ratio causes the EUR/USD to declineA declining EUR/USD causes the precious metals to declineTo explain, please see below:Figure 8The red line above depicts the movement of the EUR/USD, while the green line above depicts the FED/ECB ratio. As you can see, when the green line rises (the FED is outprinting the ECB), the EUR/USD also tends to rise. Conversely, when the green line falls (the ECB is outprinting the FED), the EUR/USD tends to fall.As it stands today, the FED/ECB ratio has declined by 0.26% week-over-week and is down by nearly 18% since June. And if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the EUR/USD is starting to notice. As the FED/ECB ratio tracks lower, the EUR/USD is starting to roll over. And if history is any indication, the EUR/USD has plenty of catching up to do.Also signaling a profound EUR/USD decline, I warned on Jan. 27 that the EUR/GBP could be the canary in the coal mine.On Monday (Jan. 25), I wrote that Janet Yellen’s pledge to “act big” on the next coronavirus relief package ushered the EUR/GBP back above critical support.However, on Tuesday (Jan. 26), the key level broke again.Please see below:Figure 9More importantly though, a break in the EUR/GBP could be an early warning sign of a forthcoming break in the EUR/USD.Figure 10If you analyze the chart above, ~20 years of history shows that the EUR/GBP and the EUR/USD tend to follow in each other’s footsteps. As a result, if the EUR/GBP retests its April low (the next support level), the EUR/USD is likely to tag along for the ride (which implies a move back to ~1.08).As it stands today, the wheels are already in motion. On Feb. 2, the EUR/GBP made another fresh low and the initial support level is all but gone.Figure 11Furthermore, notice how the EUR/USD is tracking the EUR/GBP lower? Despite being a fair distance from the ~1.08 level, the euro’s weakness relative to sterling is a sign that the Eurozone calamity is finally starting to weigh on its currency.If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the EUR/USD has already broken below its December and January support.Figure 12More importantly though, we could be approaching a point of no return.Figure 13Barely breaking out of a roughly 12-year downtrend, the EUR/USD has yet to invalidate the declining long-term resistance line. As a result, and with the EUR/USD already rolling over, a break below the 1.16/1.17 level puts ~1.08 well within the range of the 2015/2016 lows.And how could this affect the PMs?Well, notice how they like to tag along for the EUR/USD’s ride?Figure 14Despite silver’s short squeeze providing a short-term reprieve, it’s no surprise that the EUR/USD’s weakness has been met with angst by the PMs.Please see below:Figure 15As a result, the floundering euro is ushering the PMs down a one-way street. And while they may veer off to view the scenery from time to time, they all remain on a path to lower prices. Thus, yesterday’s sell-off highlights the superficiality of Monday’s (Feb. 1) surge. But while finding a true bottom requires time and patience, once it occurs, the PMs long-term uptrend will resume once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

USD Struggles to Breakout from a Two-Month High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.02.2021 08:18
Euro Posts Declines For Three Consecutive Days The euro currency is posting declines for three consecutive days. Price action is now trading below the 1.2050 level.This comes even as the Stochastics oscillator is firmly below the oversold level. Price action posted a modest rebound back to the 1.2050 level where resistance has been established.Given the current pace of declines, we could expect the common currency to fall to the 1.1900 level. The downside bias will only change if price rises above the 1.2050 level.GBPUSD Turns Flat But Downside Bias Rises The British pound sterling pushed below the rising wedge pattern and price action is likely to fall further.The short term resistance level near 1.3678 is likely to keep a lid from price posting further gains. To the downside, we expect the declines to continue toward the 1.3500 level.On the daily chart, price action is trading flat for the second daily session. However, a strong bearish candlestick is required to confirm further downside.The daily Stochastics oscillator is also moving lower from the overbought levels for the moment.WTI Crude Oil Rises For Third Daily Session Crude oil prices are posting solid gains for the third consecutive session.The gains come on the back of declining crude oil inventories. It’s further due to news that the Democrats took first steps toward advancing President Biden’s proposal of $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid.Price action is now inching closer to the next main resistance level of 57.35. The Stochastics oscillator is also showing further room to the upside.In the near term, any declines could see the price retesting the 53.77 level. However, it is unlikely that we will see any short term pullbacks currently.Gold Prices Subdued Below 1850 The precious metal is posting modest declines a day after the precious metal fell over 1.2%. However, price action remains well supported above the 1817.80 level.In the near term, we expect price action to remain trading flat within the 1850 and 1817.80 levels.The Stochastics oscillator is currently slipping into the oversold level. This could indicate further near-term downside.Stronger price action is, however, expected on the back of fundamentals. This is especially regarding the Coronavirus stimulus bill.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Need to Consolidate Now, And Gold Will Anyway

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.02.2021 16:00
After Monday‘s great rise, stocks continued without much of a pause yesterday too. Did they get ahead of themselves, or not really? And what about those correction calls, is the alarm over now? As said yesterday, the bulk of the correction in stocks, is over. Is it clear skies ahead now? In my very first 2021 analysis 10 days ago, I‘ve called for a not so rosy February ahead. Last Friday, options expired with stocks taking a plunge, so the current month will get an optical boost. I am looking for higher prices, and no correction around the corner. Gold is in a different situation, still basing and unable to keep intraday gains. Having predictably given up the silver short squeeze boost, the search for the local bottom in largely sideways price action continues. That‘s likely to be the case given that the dollar has stabilized and is peeking higher (before eventually moving to new lows, is still my call). Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook The daily S&P 500 chart looks bullish at first glance – that‘s the V-shape rebound effect. The volume though isn‘t the greatest really. But what about yesterday‘s upper knot though? It looks to me we‘re in for a period of gains digestion. Right now, stocks look vulnerable to retracing part of the advance. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) relative to the S&P 500 (black line) posture improved, and no dissonance to speak of remains. The 3-month Treasuries though haven‘t relented much, and remain well bid. There is not much willingness in the market place to push short-term yields higher, and that‘s a short-term sign of caution. S&P 500 Sectoral Peek Technology (XLK ETF) has recovered, and gapped higher on quite low volume. Approaching its Jan highs, it‘s not though optically in the strongest position, and would do best if it were able to maintain gained ground. Financials (XLF ETF) have rebounded in a sign of cyclicals‘ strength. It‘s very good for the health of the stock bull market to see them perform this well, spreading strength across other sectors. Broad based advance is the hallmark of health. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold has declined, yet Stochastics hasn‘t turned lower just yet, and the volume of the yesterday‘s trading doesn‘t tip the scales either way. In short, gold remains rangebound for now still, and its range isn‘t really a wide one. Silver did slide, as the margin adjustments also thake their toll. The post-December trend of higher highs and higher lows is intact though, and given my yesterday-presented views about the gold-silver ratio, the white metal has a great future ahead of it still. The economy is recovering, this is an industrial metal, and the mining surplus/deficit optics is favorable to silver outperforming gold in the next upleg of this precious metals bull market. The miners, seniors represented by GDX ETF, are still bobbing near the Dec and Jan lows, yet the pattern is thus far still a basing one. Would it bring another push lower as in late January? Looking at the subsequent demand, I don‘t think such an attempt would have an overly long shelf life. Let‘s overlay the GDX chart with GDXJ, which are the junior miners. The riskier, and generally thinly traded ones. Seeing their attempts to outperform since the late November low, is an tipping sign of the sector not really wanting to keep declining much longer. That‘s another reason why I;m calling for much higher precious metals price before spring is over. Just in time for inflation... From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hey Monica…I had wondered where you'd disappeared to for a while there. Welcome back Regarding silver, the gap from monday's breakout filled nicely there, negating an island reversal. Yet, having been out since july, every time I look at the chart, the upside breakout gap of 21 july stares at me like a gaping crevasse on the everest of uptrend beginnings. I know we are going to the moon and back at some point in the next two or three years, but what do you think is the probability of a short term deflationary spike coming up? Maybe another black swan, which would fulfil the dual function of shakeout the nouveau buying masses, and put my mind at rest by filling the gap before takeoff? A: I am back, fully independent thankfully, and won‘t disappear. Well, as you‘ve seen this week, nothing goes to the moon for there are always willing parties to trim the wings… when it starts to hurt. I am also very bullish about precious metals prices as the conditions facilitating them are in place. But I have publicly called the March 2020 crash as the only deflationary spike we‘re going to see. That year, and this year won‘t bring a new crash either. See how well the financial system recovered from GameStop and silver? Margin debt is still rising, and the Fed won‘t contract any time soon. Inflation – not just food, but all commodities (copper, oil, lumber, base metals, agriculture) are broadly advancing, and a great measure of inflation to come and be felt more broadly. I am not really looking for a giant shakeout in precious metals this year really – and by the shape of things, neither in 2022 pr 2023. But remembering how the $1,050 gap in gold got filled in late 2015, I understand your concern, and say that we would get advance signs of such a potential outcome, which aren‘t present currently though. Summary The stock market recovered, and looks set to be digesting prior gains today. The correction indeed remains largely over in terms of prices. Gold is still bidding its time, which is both expected and desirable for the upcoming bull leg. Patience is the name of the game in precious metals currently still. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
Will Interest Rate Increase Cause Gold to Plunge in 2021?

Will Interest Rate Increase Cause Gold to Plunge in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.02.2021 17:50
The decline in the real interest rates is the most important downside risk for gold. Will it materialize, plunging the price of the yellow metal?The rise in inflation is the most significant upside risk for gold this year, but there are also a few important downside risks. The most disturbing for us is the possibility that the real interest rates will increase. Why? Please take a look at the chart below.As you can see, there is a strong negative correlation between the real yields and gold prices . When the interest rates go up, the yellow metal falls, and when the rates go down, gold rallies . Indeed, the real interest rates peaked in November 2018 at 1.17 percent, just one month before the last hike in the Fed’s last tightening cycle . Since then, they were falling, reaching their historical bottom below -1.0 percent in the summer of 2020. Not coincidentally, gold was experiencing a bull market during this period, reaching its record high of almost $2010, just when the rates bottomed. And, as the rates normalized somewhat, the price of gold corrected to the level below $1,900.Now, the obvious question is whether there is further room for real interest rates to go down . In 2019, they were falling amid the economic slowdown and the dovish Fed cutting the interest rates. Last year, they plunged even further (with a short spike because of the surge in the risk premium ), as a result of the COVID-19 related economic crisis and the U.S. central bank slashing the federal funds rate to practically zero.However, the Great Lockdown and resulting deep downturn are behind us. When we face the second wave of the pandemic and people become vaccinated, there will be an economic recovery. As well, the Fed has already brought the interest rates to zero – meaning that without the U.S. central bank implementing NIRP , the nominal policy rates reached their lower bound. So, assuming that the Fed will not cut interest rates further and that investors will not expect a further slowing down of the economy, the room for further declines in the real interest rate is limited.The only hope lies in the increase in inflation expectations, which is actually quite probable, as I explained in the previous part of this edition of the Gold Market Overview . Given the surge in the broad money supply , the pent-up demand, and some structural shifts, reflation in 2021 is more likely than it was in the aftermath of the great financial crisis .However, gold investors should also be prepared for a negative scenario of low inflation. After all, the Fed has repeatedly undershot its annual inflation target. In this case, the real interest rates may stay roughly the same or they could even rise.Let’s take a look at the chart below, which shows the gold prices and real interest rates after the Great Recession . In the very aftermath of the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy , they surged, but after the panic phases ended, they were falling until the end of 2012, just when, more less, the bear market in gold started.Now, somebody could say that the real interest rates were falling for four years until reaching bottom at the end of 2012, so we shouldn’t worry about the normalization of interest rates. However, the COVID-19 related economic crisis was very deep, but also very short. Everything is happening now at an accelerated speed, so we could already be reaching the local bottom in the interest rates (or be close to it).Of course, there are important differences between that period and today . First, as I’ve already emphasized, there is now a higher risk of an increase in inflation. Second, in 2013, there was a taper tantrum , while today, the Fed maintains an ultra-dovish stance and does not signal any interest rate hikes in the foreseeable future. Although the U.S. central bank didn’t expand its quantitative easing in December, showing that it feels comfortable with some increases in the bond yields , it’s not going to accept substantial rises in the interest rates. The dovish Fed’s bias is one of the main factors behind the downward trend in the real interest rates (even if they normalize somewhat, they reach further lower peaks and bottoms over time).Third, the U.S. dollar looks different. As the chart below shows, the greenback started to appreciate in 2011, pushing gold prices down. But today it is more likely that the U.S. dollar will weaken further due to a changing administration in the White House, the economic stabilization and cash outflows into developing countries, soaring public debts, a zero-interest rate policy, and the risk of an increase in inflation.If so, the normalization of the real interest rates (if it happens, which is far from being certain) doesn’t have to plunge the yellow metal . In other words, there are important downside risks to the bullish case for gold this year, but 2021 does not have to look like 2013 in the gold market.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USD strengthens on the back of strong economic data

John Benjamin John Benjamin 05.02.2021 07:29
EURUSD Falls To A Two-Month Low The euro currency continues its descent, now for the fourth consecutive session. The declines accelerated following two days of subdued price action earlier this week.The current pace of decline opens the downside target to the 1.1900 level of support. But in the near term, the common currency could reverse losses.A retest of the 1.2050 level to establish resistance will be ideal.This will also potentially confirm the downside as the Stochastics oscillator is very oversold under current market conditions.GBPUSD Rebounds On BoE Meeting The British pound sterling reversed losses in one single session, intraday. Price action posted strong gains following the BoE coming out slightly hawkish than expected on negative rates.As a result, the GBPUSD was back near the ascending wedge breakout level of 1.3678.While this coincides with the Stochastics oscillator recovering from just off the oversold conditions, prices are struggling to breakout higher.Therefore, if the GBPUSD fails to move above 1.3678 then we could expect prices to continue to drift lower.But with the recent swing low forming near 1.3585, we could expect this level to hold in the near term.Oil Rally Takes A Pause WTI Crude oil prices are trading weaker following the previous strong bullish sessions.Price action is reversing gains after testing the 56.00 level. The declines could, however, see near term gains once again.For the moment, the bullish bias remains in place. If the declines continue, then oil prices could be testing the 53.77 level of support in the near term.Establishing support here could potentially confirm the long term bias to the upside.For the moment, above 56.00, oil prices could be testing the 57.35 level of resistance next.Gold Prices Fall To A Two-Month Low The precious metal is down over two percent on an intraday basis.The declines accelerated after the precious metal lost the footing near 1817.89 support.The sharp declines could see the precious metal touching down to 1764.22 where the next key support level resides. This will put gold prices down to a three-month low.The formation of a lower low will no doubt change the bias in gold prices to the downside.However, we expect the declines to hold near the 1764.22 level in the medium term.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

CAD/JPY could follow GBP/JPY lead and break higher

Fawad Razaqzada Fawad Razaqzada 05.02.2021 09:02
Thanks to ongoing risk-on and reflationary trades, stock and crude oil markets extended their gains on Thursday, while safe-haven Japanese yen and gold sold off. The USD/JPY was among the best USD pairs, while other yen pairs also rallied – most notably, the GBP/JPY thanks to a hawkish Bank of England. Investors are now looking ahead to the publication of US jobs report on Friday. But we will also have the Canadian employment report released at the same time. So, the USD/CAD could be an interesting pair to watch when the reports are released. However, with the JPY selling off, I am keen to keep the focus on the yen pairs for now. Among them, the CAD/JPY is the next one to watch for a possible breakout, with the CAD finding good support from ongoing crude oil rally. A potentially stronger-than-expected Canadian employment report on Friday could be the trigger for a bigger rally. Before we discuss the CAD/JPY, lets discuss the GBP/JPY first. The latter staged a nice rally on Thursday rally from the support area shown on the chart after the Bank of England was less dovish than expected, causing the pound to rally across the board on Thursday. But with Brexit being avoided last month and the UK vaccinating more than 10 million people, the path of least resistance was always going to be to the upside for the GBP/JPY. So, I think more gains will follow for this pair. Luckily, the ledges in the private group got on board the rally before it took off as you can see from the before/after charts: Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.comSource: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com I have shared the GBP/JPY trade setup that I posed to the private group, because the CAD/JPY is showing a similar setup as you will see below. The CAD/JPY has in fact started to move above the key resistance zone in the 81.50-82.10 range – and area which is now potentially going to be support: Source: TradingCandles.com and TradingView.com From here, the CAD/JPY could rise towards the point of origin of the initial breakdown in February 2020, at around 82.70 to 83.00, before potentially taking out the 2020 high at 84.75 next. It is important therefore that the bulls manage to defend the above support area for price to maintain its bullish bias and attract fresh buying as rates make higher highs and higher lows. The private group has been informed exactly how we are going to trade this setup.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Thoughts on EUR/USD at 1.20ish

Fawad Razaqzada Fawad Razaqzada 05.02.2021 16:26
The EUR/USD has finally dipped back to long-term support around 1.20ish and I see a lot of bearish commentary around it. The bigger picture is still bullish as per the weekly chart, so I will be actively looking to go long on the first sign of a bull signal on the daily or lower time frames. The EUR/USD is potentially following the path of 2017-18 as per the chart. If correct, rates could head toward 1.25+ in the next couple of months or so. With the EUR/USD at these levels, the EUR/GBP and other euro crosses could find support. As a side note, this is why I decided that the private group should take profit on the first portion of their short trades on the EUR/GBP. It may be the incorrect decision, but there is nothing wrong with taking +123 to +169 pips profit on this slow-moving pair. The second portion can remain open in case it keeps going lower over time. This is the before/after chart of the EUR/GBP trade: Going back to the EUR/USD topic, I remain bullish on this pair because of the potential return to normalcy with COVID vaccines slowly being rolled out etc. I also think the ECB is done with providing additional measures. The next move is likely to be tapering of QE, but this won't happen any time soon.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

The profit maze of Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 07.02.2021 10:35
We took for many months the stands of a Permabull in Silver and still do. Our primary call for acquiring physical Silver might find some hurdles. You might not get any. When we started in March of last year at the price of US$12 to urge for acquiring physical Silver holdings, we already experienced the vast percentage difference between the spot price and the actual acquisition price of Silver. This phenomenon persists to the present day. And what to do if one can’t purchase real Silver anymore?We look at the markets primarily from the perspective of risk. As long as you do not have too dramatic pullbacks (= a homogeneous equity curve), you can always recover from a temporary setback. After all, not every investment idea might work out.If Silver’s physical acquisition should come to a halt, we find mining stock ownership to be an excellent second choice.Here is why. Leveraged positions like ETFs, futures, and options allow special restrictions made by brokers and clearinghouses tied with their firms’ positions. Large players like this can also go belly up, especially in six sigma events. In that case, it is essential to find liquidity, the ability to transfer positions from one broker/clearinghouse to another, and mostly to liquidate positions. An option they may deny you through their regulative powers.Sil, Global Silver Miners ETF, Weekly Chart, ETFs might look good, but they aren’t:SIL Global X FDS Global X Silver Miners ETF in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 4th, 2021.  Monthly Chart of Silver, Think long term and win:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 4th, 2021.While Silver’s smaller time frames can be intimidating at times due to their volatility and recent limelight in the news, the larger monthly time frame clearly shows the health of the trend in motion and the long term opportunity.With this bigger picture in place, mining stocks will follow the uptrend.Daily Chart, Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, The profit maze of Silver:Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, daily chart as of February 4th, 2021.There is a vast array of choices to participate in mining stocks. You can employ various strategies like buying the market leaders or underdogs, for example. In this field, evaluation can change quickly based on depository discoveries, soil sample quality and many other factors. Another point of consideration is the accessibility of stock depending on the country you are trading from, which exchanges you can access.The above chart depicts the stock price of our sponsor Reyna Silver which we find undervalued and very attractive as a long-term investment. Stocks in this price range have the advantage that not too much of your money is parked long term. And still percentage returns can be substantial. (Disclaimer: Please note that Reyna Silver is the sponsor of our weekly silver chartbook).In this specific case, you can see that there is excellent support at CA$0.98 from a volume analysis perspective, right below where prices trade for a low-risk entry on a long-term time horizon.The profit maze of Silver:While we hold physical Silver in the highest regard to risk-averse wealth preservation (next to Gold and Bitcoin), additional investments in mining stocks are prudent. As a stockholder, you are a part-owner of a company with the acquired rights by law. From all the choices out there to participate in the Silver boom, mining stocks seem to be the ones with the smallest risk potential.With a goal of long term investing and wealth preservation, it is essential to look at investments from a risk perspective rather than leverage.Besides, many mining stocks pay dividends. That additional income flow can be reinvested, and one participates in the 8th miracle of the world: “Compound interest.” Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Will 2021 Prompt A Big Rotation In Sector Trends? - PART I

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 07.02.2021 19:41
An interesting question was brought to my research team recently related to sector trends in 2021 and what may shift over the next 10 to 12+ months.  It is very difficult to predict any future trends that may set up over the next year or longer, but we took the effort to consider this question and to consider where trends may change over time. The one thing my research team and I kept returning to is “how will the global economy function after COVID and how much will we return to normalcy over the next 12 to 24+ months?”  We believe this key question will potentially drive sector trends and expectations in the future.  When COVID-19 hit the globe, in early 2020, a forced transition of working from home and general panic took hold of the general public.  Those individuals that were able to continue earning while making this transition moved into a “protectionist mode” of stocking, securing, preparing for, and isolating away from risks.  This shift in our economy set up a trend where certain sectors would see benefits of this trend where others would see their economies destroyed.  For example, commercial real estate is one sector that has continued to experience extreme downside expectations while technology and Healthcare experienced greater upside expectations.Longer-term Sector Trends – What's Next?When we look at a broad, longer-term, perspective of market sectors, we can see how many sectors have rallied, some are relatively flat, and others are still moderately weak compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.  The top row of these charts, the $SPX (S&P500), XLY (Discretionary), XLC (Comm Services), and XLK (Technology) sectors have all shown tremendous rallies after the COVID-19 lows in March 2020.  We can also see that XLI (Industrials), XLB (Materials), and XLV (Healthcare) have all started to move higher recently.One needs to consider the manufacturing component of technology, S&P 500/Industrial related companies, Technology and Healthcare services/products in relationship to Materials and Material/Chemical manufacturing.  Many of these industries require massive amounts of raw materials in order to build and supply finished products to the marketplace.  This suggests a broad commodity sector rally may be setting up while other stronger sectors continue to rally.Any resurgence of the global economy after nearly a year of efforts to find an effective cure vaccine/cure for COVID-19 will likely prompt capital to search out undervalued and strong sector trends.  Given the strength of the NASDAQ & Technology sectors as well as the Discretionary sector recently, we believe a shift this likely to focus on Healthcare, Commodities (Basic Materials, Agriculture and Metals), and certain manufacturing sectors – almost like a resurgence of the manufacturing/industrial economy.SPY Monthly Chart Shows Clear Breakout Rally AttemptWhen we compare the longer-term rally in the SPY to the QQQ (see the two charts below), we can clearly see the SPY has just recently rallied above the YELLOW trend line from the lows established in 2009 & 2010.  These lows represent a critical support/resistance channel for the markets moving forward from the 2009 market bottom.  They also represent an acceleration phase cycle in price when the price moves above this level. Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Throughout almost all of 2011~2020, we can clearly see the price trend stayed below this YELLOW level.  Recently, though, the SPY price has rallied above this level for the first time since early 2011.  This suggests a broad SPY rally as initiated and that further upside price trending is likely as long as prices stay above the YELLOW support level.  If this level fails in the future, then a larger downside price trend may prompt a deeper price correction.The important factor for this chart is the recent rally above the YELLOW support channel.  The resurgence of the global economy and global central bank support may be prompting a very strong upward price phase – something we have not seen in more than a decade.QQQ Has Continued A Very Strong Rally Since 2009Comparing the same levels of the SPY chart to the QQQ chart presents a very different picture.  The QQQ price activity has, almost continually, stayed above the same YELLOW support/resistance level originating from the 2009 bottom.  This suggests that the strength of the technology sector, a major component of the NASDAQ, drove quite a bit of upward market expansion over the last 10+ years and is continuing to drive market prices higher.  This incredible trend related to technology services, products, support, and infrastructure has really served as a technological revolution over the past 2 decades.  Yet, will these expectation last if the market changes dynamics?It appears the QQQ is poised to target the $356~$357 level, which would complete a full 200% Fibonacci Measured Move to the upside. If and when that happens, we may see some increased volatility/rotation in the NASDAQ/Technology sector after watching this sector rally more than 100% from the March 2020 COVID-19 lows.Of course, technology will still continue to play a major role in our lives, but we may see these sectors attempt to restructure and re-balance if a new Commodity/Basic Material/Manufacturing phase takes root.  This process may take place over many months or years, but we believe it is very likely given the extent of the rally phases of these sectors and the process of rebuilding a functioning global economy.In Part II of this article, we'll dive deeper into the trends and setups that make this shift in global market sector a real potential for future profits.  Remember, we are not making any call that the market it topping or collapsing from these levels.  We believe the resurgence in the global economy may prompt a restructuring of value in many sectors over the next 2 to 3 years – where Commodities, Basic Materials, and Manufacturing may suddenly become hot sectors as the global economy attempt to rebuild after COVID-19.  This does not detract from the bullish trending in current sectors, it just means many undervalued sectors may become very hot over the next 15+ months.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Have a relaxing Sunday!
Stimulus bets rise as labor market continues to remain weak

Stimulus bets rise as labor market continues to remain weak

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.02.2021 07:45
EURUSD Snaps A Four Day Losing Streak The euro currency posted gains on Friday, marking an end to four consecutive daily declines. The rebound comes after price reversed near a three-month low of 1.1951.As a result, prices pared losses to close on Friday near 1.2050. This level initially served as support.If price action forms resistance here, then we expect to see the EURUSD trading within the price band of 1.2050 and 1.1951.A breakout from this range will further set the direction.To the downside, the next support level is at 1.1900. To the upside, a strong close above 1.2050 could open the way for price to test the 1.2144 level next.GBPUSD Price Action Invalidates Ascending Wedge Pattern The British pound sterling continues to hold a strong bullish momentum. The strong reversal after price fell to a two-week low has now invalidated the ascending wedge pattern.This keeps price action biased to the upside. After Friday’s close, the GBPUSD is trading back close to the three and half year high.The currency pair has also now closed with bullish gains for four consecutive weeks.Still, the momentum is slowing and unless the GBPUSD closes strongly above 1.3755, we expect price action to remain flat near the current highs.Oil Prices Settle Near A 13-Month High WTI Crude oil prices continued to advance with price action closing near a 13-month high. Prices briefly traded close to the next key resistance level of 57.35.We could expect a push higher for the commodity to test this level firmly. Further gains can be expected only on a strong breakout above this level.This means that a reversal near 57.35 will potentially see a possible retracement coming.The previously held resistance level near 53.77 remains the initial downside target for the moment.The price level near 40.55 however marks the 61.8 Fibonacci retracement level for the decline from 65.62 in January 2020 through the zero level on 20th April.Therefore, the correction, if applicable could see a stronger pullback.Gold Prices Pull Back From A Three-Month Low The precious metal managed to recover some of the losses on Friday. Price action closed with over one percent gains on the day, after falling to a three-month low previously.The retracement puts gold prices close to the 1817.80 level where resistance could form.Unless we see a strong close above 1817.80, gold prices could hold a sideways range between 1817.80 and the recent lows near 1784.81.Despite the current pullback, gold price closed on a bearish note for the week. Therefore, a continuation to the downside cannot be ruled out.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

More Than a Snapback Rally in Gold As Stocks Keep Marching

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.02.2021 16:30
Stock bulls aren‘t wavering, and the upswing continues without a pause. Is the move (still) in balance with the relevant markets as one catches up to the other, or is a digestion of prior sharp gains nearby? It didn‘t come earlier this week, and in today‘s article, I‘ll lay down the rising probabilities of seeing at least a short-term pause in the stellar pace of gains since Monday. Gold pause gave way to selling pressure yesterday, spurred to a degree by the post-Monday‘s trading action. As both metals declined by around 2.5%, this move probably appears overdone to more than a few. Me included, as I called it a kneejerk reaction before yesterday‘s close. In today‘s analysis, I‘ll demonstrate why precious metals investors shouldn‘t be afraid of a trend change – none is happening. Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Stocks continue higher without stopping, and the daily volume rose a little. The bulls are strong, and took prices almost to the upper Bollinger Bands border amid positive moves in CCI and Stochastics. The daily of daily increases looks set to slow down as minimum though – starting today. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are still pushing higher. While I ignored Tuesday‘s and Wednesday‘s upper knot, yesterday‘s one is arguably a more respectable one, and that‘s because of the drying volume. It wouldn‘t be unimaginable to experience HYG to pause shortly, which would support my prior assessment about SPX. High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio with S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows that the two are tracking each other tightly in recent days. Actually, stocks are reaching for the leadership position, which given their performance since the start of November is very short-term suspect (stocks have lagged a little relative to the credit markets, and now they‘re trying to lead). That‘s yet another reason why to be cautious about (at least today‘s) trading – and for all the coming days, you know now where to find my daily analyses. Russell 2000 and S&P 500 Smallcaps aren‘t weakening vs. the 500-strong index in the least, which means that the stock bull market continues unabated. It also disproves the recent significant correction ahead calls on the internet that aren‘t hard to come by. Here we are after Friday‘s bloodbath that I called as out of whack with the internals, here we are at new index highs, this soon. In yesterday‘s analysis, I presented the value to growth ratio‘s message of the rotation from tech into value as value having to try once again. Technology (XLK ETF) had a strong week, so let‘s inspect its performance vs. the smallcaps – see the above chart. It shows that the Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) has carved a nice, almost rounded bottom, and is primed for higher values ahead, which also supports the notion of no stock market top ahead. Gold in the Spotlight The yellow metal is attempting to stage a recovery – a modest one thus far as it has been rejected at $1810 earlier. How disappointing is that? We‘ll see at the closing bell (my assumption is that the bulls will prevail today comfortably), but the implications of the moves thus far doesn‘t change my thesis of a break higher from the 5-month long consolidation in the least. It‘s that the technical (not to mention fundamental) factors propelling it higher, are still in place. The caption says it all – we‘re in the closing stages of the prolonged consolidation, and prices will rebound next, as so many preceding sizable red candles had trouble attracting follow through selling, and yesterday‘s candle is in a technically even more difficult position to achieve that. The moving averages aren‘t seriously declining, and I look for the death cross (50-day moving average puncturing the 200-day one) to fail relatively shortly. The Force index in gold agrees that we aren‘t seeing a really serious push to the downside here. Look at the start of 2021, how deep it went back then – we‘ll carve out a nice bullish divergence as I look for gold to get serious about turning up. Yes, the Force index won‘t decline as low as in early January. Silver didn‘t yield all that much ground as the short squeeze got squeezed. The chart is still bullish, and I stand by the calls mentioned in the caption here – a great future ahead for the white metal in 1H 2021 and beyond. Ratios and Miners The gold to silver ratio also continues favoring the white metal, whose this week‘s retreat (post-Monday) didn‘t affect the downward trending values in the least. The miners to gold ratio continues supporting my call of breakdown invalidation leading to a new precious metals upleg. I made the calls along these lines both on Tuesday and prior Monday, when I featured my 2021 prognotications on stocks, gold, dollar and Bitcoin – please do check them if you hadn‘t done so already. Senior gold miners (GDX ETF) are taking a back seat to juniors (GDXJ ETF), andthat‘s a hallmark of bullish spirits returning – first below the surface, then very apparently. While we have to wait for the latter, its preconditions are here. Summary The stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place even as the stock bull run shows zero signs of having topped. It‘s time for the gold and silver bulls to reappear after yesterday‘s outsized setback. Crucially, it hasn‘t flipped the short- and medium-term outlook bearish as the factors powering the precious metals bull run, are in place. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals. Thank you, Monica Kingsley Stock Trading Signals Gold Trading Signals www.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Stocks Be Brady or Mahomes?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.02.2021 15:46
One week, Reddit bandits take on hedge funds and win, pumping up stocks like GameStop and AMC while the broader market sees its worst decline since October.What a difference a week can make.The indices then see their most significant gains the next week since Joe Biden's election victory and don't see a down day all week.Now we're here- still amid a tug of war between sentiments. For now, though, things are looking rosy. That is, of course, unless you're Patrick Mahomes this morning.Can the market keep up it’s winning streak this week? It’s possible. But I’d be surprised if we don’t see at least one sharp pullback before this Friday (Feb. 12).Can the market keep up its winning streak this week? It's possible. But I'd be surprised if we don't see at least one sharp pullback this week.Despite tailwinds moving the markets right now, such as stimulus progress, an ever-improving vaccine delivery, the possibility of an effective one-dose vaccine from Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), falling COVID numbers, and an improving economic outlook based on consistently falling jobless claims and corporate earnings that continue to crush, I want you to be wary of complacency and overvaluation.Yes, I know I keep saying this. I also know that earnings are on pace to rise by over 20% in 2021. Since 1980, only 12 years have earnings increased by 15% or more. Except for 2018, the market gained an average of 12% in all of those years.But consider some valuation metrics that scream “bubble.”As of February 4, 2021, the Buffett Indicator , or the ratio of the total US stock market valuation to the GDP, was at a level not seen since the dotcom bubble. If you take the US stock market cap of $48.7 trillion and the estimated GDP of $21.7 trillion, we're nearly 224% overvalued and 84% above the historical average.With the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all currently trading at record closes, fears of a bubble are genuine. The S&P 500’s forward 12-month P/E ratio is back to above 22 and well above the 10-year average of 15.8. The Russell 2000 is also back at a historic high above its 200-day moving average. Tech stock valuations are also approaching dot-com bust levels.Yes, the outlook is healthy and for good reason. According to a recent Bank of America survey of 194 money managers, bullishness on stocks is at a three-year high, and the average share of cash in portfolios, a sign of protection from market turmoil, is at its lowest level since May 2013.But always remember that when the market gets what it expects, and we’re expecting strength by mid-year, it’s usually a time to sell rather than buy.While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March, I still maintain that some correction before the end of Q1 could happen.Corrections are healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. They are also way more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. How Frothy is Tech Again?Figure 1- Nasdaq Composite Index $COMPI remain bullish on tech. Its earnings continue to defy expectations with stocks like Amazon, Alphabet, PayPal, and eBay all crushing estimates last week. I’m also especially bullish on subsectors such as cloud computing, e-commerce, and fintech for 2021.But please monitor the RSI.The Nasdaq is opening the week at another record high and is continuing to show strength. But there are clear echoes of the dotcom bubble 20-years ago, and the index has been trading in an RSI-based pattern.Let’s break down the Nasdaq since December and how it has reacted whenever the RSI has exceeded 70.December 9- exceeded an RSI of 70 and briefly pulled back.January 4- exceeded a 70 RSI just before the new year, and declined 1.47%.January 11- declined by 1.45% after exceeding a 70 RSI.Week of January 25- Exceeded an RSI of over 73 before the week, and declined 4.13% for the week.Every single time the RSI exceeded 70, I switched my Nasdaq call to a SELL.Why?The Nasdaq is trading in a precise pattern.The RSI is at around 67.50 so I’m not ready to switch my call again. But I am a bit concerned. Tech valuations, especially the tech IPO market, terrify me. SPACs don’t help either.The ratio of market value to total revenues has also not been this high since the dotcom bust.I still like tech and am bullish for 2021. But for now, I'm going to stay conservative and say HOLD while monitoring the RSI.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the NASDAQ, the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a good option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

What’s Next for the Silver Roller Coaster?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.02.2021 16:32
After a frenzy of Reddit induced activity that captivated everyone, silver painfully gave back what it gained. What’s next for the white metal?As the precious metals’ version of moral hazard, silver tipped over the flowerpot, and left gold to clean up the mess. After silver’s short squeeze mania ended in tears on Feb. 2, the white metal gave back 97% of its squeeze -induced gains. Conversely, bearing the brunt of the market’s wrath, gold gave back 237% of the momentum-induced gains.Please see below:Figure 1As a result, silver is doing what it normally does near market tops: outperforming among comments regarding silver shortage .Positioning itself for an epic blow-off top, silver’s Feb. 1 surge ended in less than 24 hours. In addition, silver is approaching two triangle-vertex-based reversal points – which could come to a head by the end of February or early March. However, given the two set ups, they could be signaling one climactic reversal or two separate reversals of differing magnitudes. As it stands today, it’s still too early to tell.Figure 2 - COMEX Silver FuturesHowever, supporting the argument of a single blow-off top, I mentioned last week that the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) took in nearly $1 billion in daily inflows on Jan. 29. For context, that was nearly double the previous record.Please see below:Figure 3 - Source: Bloomberg/Eric BalchunasBut because too much of a good thing can often be bad, the frantic buying mirrored an ominous period in SLV’s history.Please see below:Figure 4 - COMEX Silver FuturesIf you analyze the volume spikes at the bottom of the chart, 2021 and 2011 are a splitting image. To explain, in 2011, an initial abnormal spike in volume was followed by a second parabolic surge. However, not long after, silver’s bear market began.SLV-volume-wise, there's only one similar situation from the past - the 2011 top. This is a very bearish analogy as higher prices of the white metal were not seen since that time, but the analogy gets even more bearish. The reason is the "initial warning" volume spike in this ETF. It took place a few months before SLV formed its final top, and we saw the same thing also a few months ago, when silver formed its initial 2020 top.The history may not repeat itself to the letter, but it tends to be quite similar. And the more two situations are alike, the more likely it is for the follow-up action to be similar as well. And in this case, the implications for the silver price forecast are clearly bearish.Based on the above chart, it seems that silver is likely to move well above its 2011 highs, but it’s unlikely to do it without another sizable downswing first.In conclusion, if silver meets its maker, the white metal is likely to lead gold and the miners to slaughter. Moreover, silver is well known for its false breakouts and its relative strength is often a precursor to substantial declines. As a result, last week’s short squeeze was much more semblance than substance. In contrast, once the metals rebase and trade at more appropriate levels, an attractive buying opportunity will emerge.For more insight, let’s look at the relative performance of gold, silver and the gold miners, and compare how they’re impacted by the USDX and the SPX. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the precious metals all broke down in September, after the USDX broke above resistance.Figure 5To explain, I wrote on Jan. 18:Like traffic lights flashing red, notice how the HUI Index (proxy for gold stocks) is trading well below its early 2020 highs? In stark contrast, gold remains moderately above its early 2020 highs, while silver is significantly above its early 2020 highs. The misaligned performance – with silver outperforming and gold miners underperforming – puts a bow on this bearish package.The bottom line?It is not only the case that silver was strong and miners were weak in the last several days – it’s been the case over the past several months as well. The implications are bearish.Also troubling is that the stock market that’s soaring in the medium term, hasn’t shined its light upon the PM market. Contrasting the mantra that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats,’ equity market strength hasn’t triggered a sustainable rally in silver or the gold miners. And this “should have” been the case – both are more connected to stocks than gold is. Gold stocks because they are, well, stocks. Silver, due to multiple industrial usesAll in all, based on what we saw in silver recently, it doesn’t seem that we’re likely to see much higher precious metals prices without seeing a major decline first.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Gold About To Spring As Stocks Cool Off At Highs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.02.2021 16:15
Stock bulls aren‘t yielding an inch of ground, and technically they have precious few reasons for doing so. It‘s still strong the stock market bull, and standing in its way isn‘t really advisable. With the S&P 500 at new highs, and the anticipated slowdown in gains over Friday, where is the momentary balance of forces? As the proverbial rubber bands gets pushed upwards still, what about those rising probabilities of seeing at least a short-term pause in the stellar pace of gains since last Monday? Gold did recover on Friday, and didn‘t disappoint after Thursday‘s slide. The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long. Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook and Its Internals Stocks keep pushing higher, and the bulls are strong regardless of the little contraction in the daily volume. The daily indicators attest to the strength of the uptrend, but the pace of daily increases looks set to slow down as minimum though. Imagine that all the constituent shares in the S&P 500 had equal weight (i.e. forget about $NYFANG) – this is the chart you get. RSP ETF is only now challenging its highs, which is however not a disappointment or a red light flashing divergence at all. The march to new highs in the S&P 500 still looks satisfactorily broad based. Market breadth confirms that very clearly. Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume aren‘t disappointing in the least, and new highs new lows have made a strong comeback from preceding setback. The intermediate picture is one of strength. Credit Markets and S&P 500 Sectoral Ratios High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio with S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows that the two are tracking each other tightly in recent days. Stocks haven‘t yet yielded in their attempt at taking leadership position, regardless of their performance since the start of November (which makes the attempt suspect in the very short-term, as stocks have lagged a little relative to the credit markets back then). Bearish prospects? No way, dips are still to be bought. The financials to utilities (XLF:XLU) ratio still broadly supports the stock market advance. Looking at the bond market dynamics, I expect utilities to remain under pressure while financials would gain faster. I‘m not worried by the current relatively depressed ratio‘s value, and don‘t consider it a warning sign for the S&P 500 in the least. Consumer discretionaries to consumer staples (XLY:XLP) is another leading ratio worth watching. It‘s currently at quite elevated levels, as I view the discretionaries as extended while the staples have undergone an appealing pullback. Even though that makes for short-term headwinds in the ratio, it‘s still primed to support the stock market bulls. Gold & Silver Friday‘s gold session still is cause enough for optimism among the gold bulls about an important low being made. The other option would be a brief dip below Thursday‘s lows, which I however due to more powerful $USD reversal on Friday (erasing all Thursday‘s gains on the heels of poor non-farm payrolls data), don‘t look at as the more likely scenario currently. For now, it still remains most probable that Thursday‘s bottom in gold won‘t be overcome by much, not going down to more than $1760 (though I am obviously not betting all in my trading plans on this strong support) – if at all. It‘s the „if at all“ part that I subscribe to most heavily. Silver‘s chart is the livelier one, less under pressure but given the recent squeeze-driven run, the white metal might need to cool down a bit here. The 1H real economy recovery outlook is though guaranteed to put a solid floor below any sub $26 dip should that – which is as questionable as in case of gold – happen at all. Base building at roughly current levels would be a healthy development for the bulls to rejoice. Precious Metals Ratios Checking out on the gold to all corporate bonds ($GOLD:$DJCB) ratio reveals relative strength in the yellow metal currently. It‘s trading much farther above its late Nov low than the metal itself. Similarly to the case junior miners to senior ones are making, this is a hidden sign of strength in the precious metals sector, whose next upleg is knocking on door. The miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio‘s false breakdown announcing another upleg that I discussed on Feb 01 already, is still intact, and sending the very same signals of internal strength inside the precious metals complex. The 1H 2021 future is bright, and approaching fast. Summary The stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place. I wouldn‘t be surprised to see today or tomorrow a brief and weak whiff of lower prices – nothing to call home about if you were a bear, that is. The gold and silver bulls apprear to be staging a return, slowly but surely, which is consistent with the price damage repair pattern frequently experienced after sizable red candles that felt to at least part of the marketplace as out of the left field. The case for the next upleg remains as strong as it has ever been in my view. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

PMs Charging Higher As Stocks Keep Pushing On a String

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.02.2021 16:23
Stocks keep cooling off at their highs, and calling for a correction still seems to be many a fool‘s errand. Does it mean all is fine in the S&P 500 land? Largely, it still is.Such were my yesterday‘s words:(…) It‘s still strong the stock market bull, and standing in its way isn‘t really advisable. With the S&P 500 at new highs, and the anticipated slowdown in gains over Friday, where is the momentary balance of forces?Still favoring the bulls – that‘s the short answer before we get to a more detailed one shortly.The anticipaded gold rebound is underway, and my open long position is solidly profitable right now. In line with the case I‘ve been making since the end of January, the tide has turned in the precious metals, and we are in a new bull upleg, which will get quite obvious to and painful for the bears. Little noted and commented upon, don‘t forget though about my yesterday‘s dollar observations, as these are silently marking the turning point I called for, and we‘re witnessing in precious metals:(…) The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long.Finally, I‘ll bring you an oil market analysis today as well. So, let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsA strong chart with strong gains, and the volume isn‘t attracting either much buying or selling interest. That smacks of continued accumulation, with little in terms of clearly warning signs ahead.The market breadth indicators are all very bullish, and pushing for new highs, as the caption points out precisely.The intermediate picture remains one of strength.Credit Markets and TechnologyHigh yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is powering higher significantly stronger than the investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) one. The bullish spirits are clearly running high in the markets.Technology (XLK ETF) as the leading heavyweight S&P 500 sector, keeps charging higher vigorously after not so convincing post-Aug performance. Crucially, its current advance is well supported by the semiconductors (XSD ETF – black line), meaning that apart from the rotational theme I‘ve been been mentioning last Thursday, we have the key tech sector firing on all cylinders still.Gold & SilverLet‘s overlay the gold chart with silver (black line). The disconnect since the Nov low should be pretty obvious, and interpreted the silver bullish way I‘ve been hammering for weeks already. Please also note that the white metal has been outperforming well before any silver squeeze caught everyone‘s attention.Let‘s go on with gold and the miners (black line). See that end Jan dip I called as fake? Where are we now? Miners are no longer underperforming, and the stage is set for a powerful rise.Just check the gold miners to silver miners view to get an idea of how much the white metal‘s universe is leading everything gold. Another powerful testament to the nascent bull upleg in the precious metals.Continuing with gold and long-term Treasuries (black line), we see that the king of metals isn‘t giving in. Instead, it‘s rising in the face plunging Treasuries that are offering higher yields now. No, the yellow metal is decoupling here, as the new precious metals upleg is getting underway. The greenback is the culprit – and again in my yesterday‘s analysis, I called the headwinds it‘s running into. The world reserve currency will indeed get under serious pressure and break down to new lows as the important local top is being made.From the Readers‘ Mailbag - OilQ: "Hi Monica, I am glad I found you after you 'disappeared' from Sunshine Profits! As you had been back then already covering gold and oil at times, I wonder what's your take on black gold right now. A little great birdie told me oil will be the next Tesla for 2021 - what's your take?"A: I am also happy that you found me too! Thankfully, my „disappearance“ is now history. I‘ll gladly keep commenting, in total freedom, on any question dear readers ask me. Back in autumn 2020, seeing the beaten down XLE, I wrote that energy is ripe for an upside surprise. I was also featuring the fracking ETF (FRAK) back then. Both have risen tremendously, and it‘s my view that the oil sector (let‘s talk $WTIC) is set for strong gains this year, and naturally the next one too. Think $80 per barrel. Part of the answer is the approach to „dirty“ energy that strangles supply, and diverts resources away from exploitation and exploration. Not to mention pipelines. Did you know that the overwhelming majority of ‚clean‘ energy to charge electric cars, comes from coal? And that the only coal ETF (KOL) which I also used to feature back in autumn, closed shop? Oil is clearly the less problematic energy solution than coal.These are perfect ingredients for an energy storm to hit the States by mid decade. I offer the following chart to whoever might think that oil is overvalued here. It‘s not – it‘s just like all the other commodities, sensing inflation hitting increasingly more.SummaryThe stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place. Expect though any correction to be a relatively shallow one – and new highs would follow, for we‘re far away from a top.The gold and silver bulls are staging a return, as last week‘s price damage is being repaired. The signs of a precious metals bull, of a new upleg knocking on the door, abound – patience will be rewarded with stellar gains.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.Thank you,Monica KingsleyStock Trading SignalsGold Trading Signalswww.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co* * * * *All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

USD extends decline for three-days

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.02.2021 08:59
EURUSD Gains But Watch The Hidden Bearish Divergence The euro currency snapped strongly above the 1.2050 level, but price action formed a lower high.The hidden bearish divergence on the chart could, however, see prices pushing lower.To the downside, the euro currency is forecast to push down lower to the 1.2050 level of support.If price breaks down below this level, then we expect further downside.The previous low near 1.1953 will however need to crash lower to continue the downtrend.But the support level near 1.2050 level will act as the line in the sand.GBPUSD Rises To A New Three-And-Half Year High The British pound sterling continues to push higher with price action rising to a new three and a half year high. The gains come as the GBPUSD moves closer to the 1.3777 level.Given that this level has served as support in the past, we could expect GBPUSD to form resistance at this level.If price reverses near this level, then we might expect price action to slip back to the 1.3500 level of support. But in the near term, GBPUSD will need to break down below the 1.3758 level of support to confirm the downside.In the event that the currency pair rises above 1.3777 level, then we expect a further upside that could see the next level near 1.4368.WTI Crude Oil Breaks From A 6-Day Winning Streak WTI crude oil prices are pushing lower following a six-day winning streak. Price action rose to a 13-month high prior to the pullback.But for the moment, the declines are likely supported near the 57.35 level of support. If price action loses this support, then we expect to see further declines.The next main support level near 53.77 will be the level to watch. For the moment, watch how the daily price action will unfold near the current highs.We would need to see a bearish follow through to the downside to confirm the correction.In the event that the support level near 57.35 holds, we could expect to see further gains.Price action will need to break out above the current highs of 58.59 in order to confirm further continuation to the upside.Gold Prices Rise For Three-Consecutive Days The precious metal is posting strong gains, rising for three consecutive days. Despite the gains, prices are below the 1850 level of resistance.In the near term, we might expect prices to move sideways within the 1850 and 1817.80 level. If price breaks out above 1850 level, we could expect to see further gains.The next key level will be near the 1874.00 resistance level. To the downside, the support level near 1817.80 will likely keep prices supported from any further declines.Meanwhile, we continue to see the hidden bearish divergence forming on the 4-hour chart.Therefore, it is quite likely that the 1817.80 level could be tested in the near term.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin, the real move is still ahead

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 10.02.2021 12:17
BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, The ladder of success:BTC-USD, monthly chart as of February 9th, 2021A part of this story is that those who fear and fight progress, on the other hand, are curious and would like to see some profits for themselves but can’t bring themselves to participate. In the monthly chart above, we can see profit potentials in each time segment illustrated by the percentage.While doubters try to be right, those who take risks make money. Not every story is a success story, but Bitcoin´s past, present, and in our opinion, future as well is more than rosy. BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, The runaway train:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of February 9th, 2021In each of these success stories comes one specific point that has its tricky part from a psychological perspective and, as such, an extra hurdle on how to participate in a market at that particular point of the trend.When advancements seem overbought, but the critical mass of investors is not yet on board, the supply is limited, and peer pressure in the professional market-making forces governments, institutions, hedge funds, banks, and so forth to participate to have a core holding. Everybody hopes for a retracement to get into the move with relatively low risk, but prices join the runaway train.At this point, prices seem already high compared to their origin and the steepness of the trend, but investors often wake up 5-10 years later and can’t believe they didn’t join the party with prices up to higher levels.We recommend to take aggressive entries on smaller time frames and reduce the risk factor by trading small position size. Due to the use of our quad exit strategy and letting runners run and transfer to higher time frames, one can still build a sizeable position over time.The daily chart above depicts such a train entry scenario with entry points at the midline of a linear regression channel.BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, Bitcoin, the real move is still ahead:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of February 9th, 2021This chart shows what we mentioned as a comment in our last paragraph. Waking up one day and looking back and thinking to oneself: “Why didn’t I buy Google, Amazon, Bitcoin @ $ …, now it is at $…”.There is no need to bet the farm, but just because Bitcoin is trading near US$47,000 doesn’t mean it is expensive. What is costly is shying away from participation just because entering the market here is the most difficult from a psychological perspective.Our 32-month projection price, based on a 4.76 Fibonacci expansion, is pointing towards US$210,000!Bitcoin, the real move is still ahead:A good example is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway stock trading at US$350,000. Indeed, many have underestimated the immense growth of this stock over the last decade. Think about these price levels for Bitcoin within the next few years …  and beyond! Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Ripe for a Breather As Gold and Silver Remain Strong

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.02.2021 15:44
Both the upside and downside in stocks appears limited as these keep cooling off not far away from recent highs. Yesterday‘s session sent us a telling signal that the bears might wake up from their stupor briefly. Largely though, all remains well in the S&P 500 land. The anticipated gold rebound is underway, and the significant upper knot of yesterday‘s session isn‘t concerning – gold is not rolling over to the downside here. Let alone silver. I view yesterday‘s trading as consistent with a daily pause within an unfolding uptrend. My open long position is growingly profitable, and I‘ve covered the bullish case in detail both on Monday and Tuesday. Today‘s analysis will strengthen the story even more. Given the dollar performance, I can‘t underline enough the importance of what we‘re witnessing – let‘s move to my Monday‘s dollar observations, which are silently marking the turning point I called for, directly relevant to precious metals: (…) The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long. Finally, I‘ll bring you uranimum market analysis today as well. By popular demand, I‘ll dive into the commodity and its miners. You know already that my focus goes much further than the key topic of these analyses (stocks and precious metals). I am regularly covering oil, commodities and currencies too – just check out my trading story if you hadn‘t done so already. So, let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook and Its Internals A first day of hesitation into a very strong chart with non-stop gains recently, yet it‘s exactly these moments when the bears might try to raise their heads once again. Just to rock the boat, that‘s all. The Force index is warning that its solid upswing is due a reprieve here in what I perceive to be initial signs of selling into strength. Not too much, but distribution had an upper hand yesterday over accumulation. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) didn‘t perform fine yesterday at all. On declining volume, the bulls couldn‘t close above Monday‘s opening prices, which given the post Jan 20 performance doesn‘t bode well for the short term. The steep uptrend simply appears in need of a rest. Smallcaps, Emerging Markets and Oil S&P 500 vs. the overlaid Russell 2000 (black line) isn‘t sending any warning signs of internal weakness when the two are compared. The rising tide is lifting all (stock) boats. Neither the emerging markets (black line) are diverging – the many stock bull markets around the world, they are all doing fine. The oil to gold ratio keeps leaning in favor of oil, just as it‘s expected during an economic recovery, coupled with inflation that‘s lighting fire across commodities. The stock bull isn‘t going down really. Gold & Silver Let‘s overlay the gold chart with silver (black line). My yesterday‘s words are a good fit also today – the disconnect since the Nov low should be pretty obvious, and interpreted the silver bullish way I‘ve been hammering for weeks already. Please also note that the white metal has been outperforming well before any silver squeeze caught everyone‘s attention. The gold to silver ratio sends a similarly clear message – the coming precious metals upleg will be characterized by silver outperforming gold for a variety of reasons beyond the industrial demand and versatility ones. Silver‘s above ground stockpile isn‘t being added to at the same pace as gold‘s is, and its recycling is less feasible practically speaking. Solar panels are but one of the ever hungry industrial applications, making heavy demands on silver reserves. Let‘s overlay the senior gold miners chart with both junior mining stocks (also gold) and silver mining stocks. See the late Nov turning point, where silver miners started outperforming both the gold juniors and gold seniors. That‘s another proof of the precious metals bull waking up. From the Readers‘ Mailbag - Uranium Q: Hi Monica, despite all the dire warnings of $1500 on gold, you seem to be spot on so far. Where do you think uranium might be headed. It looks risky but some say nowhere but up others nowhere but down! A: Thank you very much! That‘s honest analysis, free from fearmongering. I have been very vocal in writing here, on Twitter, and within comments everywhere that hypothetical technical targets divorced from reality (nonsensical) are dangerous to those who take them without a pinch of salt or two. Whenever I turn from a precious metals (or stock market) bull to a more cautious tone, you all my dear readers, will be the first ones to know. Just as now, the technical signs supporting the bullish (PMs) case are appearing increasingly forcefully (hello, dollar), the same way I‘ll present to you the weakening bullish factors whenever their time comes. We are far away from that in both markets, and in oil too (you‘ll hear me cover that one more often as well). Uranium was hit pretty hard with the Fukushima disaster of 2011 that brought about a long bear market. In 2016, a bottom was reached, and the commodity is slowly but surely on the mend. No spectacular gains, but modest positive returns that not even coronavirus managed to bring down. The same though couldn‘t be said about uranium miners as the below chart shows. Having taken a plunge, they‘ve recovered with the veracity of Bitcoin (called right in my first 2021 analysis), outperforming uranium as a commodity greatly. Still, these remain considerably below their 2011 highs (over $105), and given the energy mix and policies, I am clearly on the bullish side of the uranium opinion spectrum. Summary The stock market keeps holding gained ground, but regardless of the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution is called for given the weakening credit markets, which may prove to be very temporary indeed. Expect any correction to be relatively shallow – and new highs to follow, for we‘re far away from a top. The gold and silver bulls are consolidating gains amid their return, and the bullish case for precious metals is growing stronger day by day. Crucially, it‘s not about the dollar here, but about the sectoral internals, and decoupling from rising Treasury yields. The new upleg is knocking on the door, and patience will be rewarded with stellar gains. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
That Wasn’t Much of a Down Day..

That Wasn’t Much of a Down Day..

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.02.2021 15:55
Technically, the Dow and S&P snapped their 7-day winning streak.Technically.I hardly consider a decline of 0.03% and 0.11% for the Dow and S&P, respectively, a down day.Meanwhile, the Nasdaq and Russell saw a record close for who knows how many consecutive days.Can the market keep this up? Who even knows anymore. Everything seems to defy expectations and logic. Yeah, it's possible. But I'd be surprised if we don't see at least one sharp pullback before the end of the week.The sentiment is surely rosy right now. The economic recovery appears to be gaining steam, and the Q1 decline everyone predicted might not be as swift as we anticipated- if at all. President Biden's stimulus could officially pass within days as well and provide much-needed relief to struggling businesses and families.Have you seen the vaccine numbers lately, too? More people in the U.S. have now been vaccinated than total cases. On Monday (Feb. 8), vaccine doses outnumbered new cases 10-1. New daily COVID cases have also reached their lowest levels since October.With Johnson and Johnson's (JNJ) one dose vaccine candidate seemingly days away from FDA approval, the outlook is certainly more positive at this point than many anticipated.But we're not out of the woods yet, and three non-pandemic related factors still concern me- complacency, overvaluation, and inflation.Jim Cramer's "Seven Deadly Sins" from Mad Money Monday night (Feb. 8) reflect many of my concerns too:Source: CNBCYes, I know I keep saying to beware. I also know that earnings are on pace to rise by over 20% in 2021. Since 1980, only 12 years have earnings increased by 15% or more. Except for 2018, the market gained an average of 12% in all of those years.But consider some valuation metrics that scream “bubble.”As of February 4, 2021, the Buffett Indicator , or the ratio of the total US stock market valuation to the GDP, was at a level not seen since the dotcom bubble. If you take the US stock market cap of $48.7 trillion and the estimated GDP of $21.7 trillion, we're nearly 224% overvalued and 84% above the historical average.Keep in mind; this chart was dated February 4. This number has only grown since then. Tuesday (Feb. 9) was hardly a down day. If anything, it was plain dull.Fears of a bubble are genuine. The S&P 500’s forward 12-month P/E ratio is back to above 22 and well above the 10-year average of 15.8. The Russell 2000 is also back at a historic high above its 200-day moving average. Tech stock valuations are again approaching dot-com bust levels.Bank of America also believes that a market correction could be on the horizon due to signs of overheating.While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March, I still maintain that some correction before the end of Q1 could happen.Corrections are healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. They are also way more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.Bank of America also echoed this statement and said that “We expect a buyable 5-10% Q1 correction as the big ‘unknowns’ coincide with exuberant positioning, record equity supply, and ‘as good as it gets’ earnings revisions.”The key word here- buyable.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. Small-Caps are Officially Overbought Figure 1- iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)This pains me to write this because I love Russell 2000 small-cap index in 2021.But this is getting ridiculous now.As tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , small-cap stocks have been on a rampage since November. Since the close on October 30, the IWM has gained nearly 50% and more than doubled ETFs' returns tracking the larger indices. What happened to the Nasdaq being red hot? This chart makes it look like an igloo.Since the close on January 29, the Russell has done just about the same again and gained 11.10%. It’s outperformed all the other major indices by a minimum of 5% in that period.Not to mention, year-to-date, it’s already up a staggering 18%.Small-caps are funny. They either outperform and underperform and can be swayed easily by the news. I foresaw the pullback two weeks ago coming for over a month, and unfortunately, I see the same thing happening now. But only for the short-term.I remain bullish due to aggressive stimulus, which could be put in motion this week.I also love small-cap stocks for the long-term, especially as the world reopens and this Biden agenda gets put in motion. It seems like things are finally trending in the right direction.For now, though, the index is once again overbought.The RSI is at a scorching 75, and I can't justify calling this a BUY or HOLD right now. It's an excellent time to take profits.SELL and take profits. If and when there is a deeper pullback, BUY for the long-term recovery.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold and Silver: Is Recent Rally Cause for Concern?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.02.2021 16:54
Does gold’s most recent rally and the inflow of capital into silver change the fundamental outlook of the PMs? If so, what about equities?In short, yes, the U.S. dollar is down, thereby boosting gold. Yes, the recent massive interest in silver has everyone talking about getting in on the action. However, one must remember that markets don’t move in a straight line and countertrend rallies are expected along the way. Keep your eye on the ball. Now, let’s examine what exactly is happening.Gold moved higher once again yesterday (Feb. 9), but it reversed and declined before the closing bell. Miners declined as well. Does it mean that the next top is in or about to be in? That’s exactly what it means. Especially considering that gold’s reversal took place almost right at the triangle-vertex-based reversal and during USD’s breakout’s verification.Figure 1 - USD IndexI previously wrote that because assets don’t move in a straight line, it’s plausible that the USD Index retests its declining resistance line, while gold retests its rising support line. If this occurs, the USDX is likely to decline to the 90.6 range, while gold will receive a short-term boost . I emphasized that the outcome does not change their medium-term trends and the above confirmations signal that the USDX is heading north and gold is heading south.The part that I put in bold is exactly what is being realized right now. The USDX is correcting after the breakout, likely verifying the previous resistance as support.Unless the USDX breaks back below the declining medium-term support line in a meaningful way, the bullish implications for the following weeks will remain intact. At the moment of writing these words, the USD Index is practically right at the support line, which means that it’s quite likely to reverse shortly.Figure 2 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold formed a reversal yesterday, but it ended the session slightly higher. The latter might seem bullish, until one compares that to the size of the daily decline in the USD Index. The move lower in the latter was quite visible, so what we saw in gold should be viewed as USDX’s underperformance and thus a bearish sign.Let’s keep in mind that gold was just at its triangle-vertex-based reversal (based on the declining black resistance line and the rising red support line), which perfectly fits the shape of yesterday’s session – the shooting star reversal candlestick. The implications are bearish.Today, gold moved slightly higher, but the move was too small to change anything. Gold didn’t move above yesterday’s intraday high, which means that the short-term top might already be in.What about silver, did the white metal change anything?Figure 3 - COMEX Silver FuturesNot really. Just like gold, silver is taking a breather after the increased volatility. This is normal.Speaking of silver, please note how big the silver inflows were last week.Figure 4This might seem bullish at first sight – a lot of capital entering the silver market is bound to push the silver price higher, right?Wrong. This could simply be an indication of a temporary (yet massive) increase in the white metal’s potential (which no doubt will be realized, but not necessarily yet), which is something that we tend to see at market tops along with increased interest in terms like “ silver squeeze ” or “ silver manipulation ”.Please compare the first spike that you can see on the above chart with what silver did next (on the following chart).Figure 5Silver declined severely in the first half of 2013. Also please note that at that time, the silver market was already well after the massive monthly volume spike. We saw the same thing in mid-2020.The outlook for silver is very bullish for the next years, but the implications of the above factors are very bearish for the medium term.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, stocks’ day of reckoning is coming . And it might be very, very close.Eyes Wide ShutAs the NASDAQ Composite records yet another all-time high, investors are sleepwalking through one of the most dangerous equity markets ever.On Feb. 4, I warned that fund managers’ cash positions were frighteningly low.I wrote:Mutual fund managers are now holding less than 2% of their portfolios in cash – an all-time low.Figure 6 - Source: SentimenTraderMoreover, with fear of missing out (FOMO) taking a sledgehammer to valuation, pension funds are also following the bad behavior. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that pension fund cash positions have fallen to 2.6% – also an all-time low.Figure 7 - Source: SentimenTraderAnd with daydreams of riches continuing to transfix rationality, the upward inertia has left equity bears nearly extinct. As of Jan. 15 (the latest data available), S&P 500 short interest has hit its lowest level since the peak of the dot-com bubble.Please see below:Figure 8To explain the importance, fund managers’ cash positions and short sellers are akin to airbags in your car. In the event of a crash, airbags serve their purpose by cushioning the blow. Similarly, when the market crashes, short-sellers cover their positions (by purchasing the underlying asset), helping to alleviate the downward impact. Similarly, when fund managers’ cash positions are high, they have more ‘dry powder’ at their disposal to hit the bid and support prices. As a result, with both variables being excommunicated, nearly every investor is now driving with their pedal to the metal.Also encapsulating the speculative euphoria, last week, technology companies recorded their highest-ever weekly inflow.Please see below:Figure 9And not to be outdone, the Russell 2000 (a proxy for U.S. small caps) is also earning its fair share of speculative gold medals. On Feb. 4, I warned that money was pouring into companies that are on the brink of financial distress.I wrote:Figure 10The red line above represents companies with ‘weak balance sheets.’ Essentially, these are companies with high leverage ratios that rely on a strong economic backdrop to service their debt. At the end of 2019, these companies made up roughly 6% of the Russell 2000 index. Today, that figure has nearly doubled to an all-time high of more than 11%.Moreover, amid investors’ foray into the riskiest corners of the U.S. equity market, they’ve also bid the Russell 2000 (as of Feb. 8) to more than 39% above its 200-day moving average (also an all-time high).Please see below:Figure 11 - Source: thedailyshot.comIgnoring a sound diet, bond investors also continue to feast on junk food. On Feb. 8, the average yield on junk bonds (represented by Barclays U.S. Corporate High-Yield index) fell below 4% for the first-time ever.Please see below:Figure 12In addition, issuances of CCC-rated debt – the riskiest tier of junk – have been massively oversubscribed , as yield-hungry investors throw caution to the wind. More importantly though, the frenzy has lured even riskier companies to the market, with the group raising a record $52 billion in January alone.Even more indicative of the reckless behavior, the riskiest companies are also negotiating the riskiest loan terms. Peddling payment-in-kind (PIK) interest, junk bond issuers are now paying investors with IOUs. Unlike traditional bonds, where fixed cash flows are paid at pre-defined dates, PIK bonds are essentially loans on top of loans. Here, investors forego cash payments and add hypothetical interest payments to their bond’s principal balance. Then, at maturity, investors receive the entire proceeds.And what’s the problem?Well, as I’m sure you can tell, the IOUs are worthless if insolvency strikes first.Moving up the speculative ladder, in January, small traders bought call options at nearly 9x their 2019 pace. For context, ‘ s mall traders’ purchase 10 or less call option contracts and have exposure to 1,000 shares or less. As such, they’re usually the least sophisticated market participants.But because their Delta/Gamma splurge continues to impact dealers’ hedging activity, U.S. equity volume has gone completely parabolic. On Feb. 8, U.S. equities (trading at record prices) exchanged hands at nearly 4x their historical average.Please see below:Figure 13In addition, as more and more first-time buyers dip their toes into the equity pool, the ripple can be felt across Google Search trends. As of Feb. 8, online searches for “penny stocks” have exploded.Figure 14 - Source: thedailyshot.comEven more telling, retail interest in the stock market usually peaks during bouts of volatility. In a nutshell: when the stock market crashes and news outlets cover the story (that otherwise wouldn’t during normal times), it piques the interest of the general public. As a result, crashes tend to bring about investing tourists.Please see below:Figure 15 - Source: SentimenTraderTo explain the chart above, the blue line depicts the trend in “buy stocks” in Google searches over the last ~17 years. If you analyze the first two spikes in October 2008 and March 2020, they occurred alongside extreme market stress. However, if you look at the third spike on the right side of the chart (almost as high as March 2020), it’s occurred alongside U.S. equities current melt-up.The key takeaway?As the equity bubble grows larger, it’s sucking in more and more unsophisticated investors. However, as 2000 proved, overconfidence can give way to fear at the blink of an eye.As the final chart in today’s edition, investors’ belief in a utopian future has also come full circle.Please see below:Figure 16To explain, the white line above depicts the movement of Citigroup’s Global Risk Aversion Macro Index – which uses credit spreads, swap spreads and implied volatility to quantify investors’ perception of risk. As you can see, the index is now back to its pre-pandemic lows. More importantly though, the reading encapsulates all of the above and highlights the excessive complacency underwriting global equities.In conclusion, global stocks are living on a razor’s edge and their margin for error continues to dwindle. And due to gold and silver’s moderate-to-strong correlation with the S&P 500 (250-day correlations of 0.71 and 0.87 respectively), one false step could knock over the entire house of cards. As a result, it’s prudent to consider these cross-asset implications when assessing the future performance of the precious metals. However, once the events reach their precipice, the PMs will be able to resume their long-term uptrend.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Platinum Begins Big Breakout Rally

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 10.02.2021 21:58
If you were not paying attention, Platinum began to rally much higher over the past 3+ days – initiating a new breakout rally and pushing well above the $1250 level.  What you may not have noticed with this breakout move is that commodities are hot – and inflation is starting to heat up.  What does that mean for investors/traders?DAILY PLATINUM CHART SHOWS CLEAR BREAKOUT TRENDFirst, Platinum is used in various forms for industrial and manufacturing, as well as jewelry and numismatic functions (minting/collecting).  This move in Platinum is more likely related to the increasing inflationary pressures we've seen in the Commodity sector coupled with the increasing demand from the surging global economy (nearing a post-COVID-19 recovery).  The most important aspect of this move is the upward pricing pressure that will translate into Gold, Silver, and Palladium.We've long suggested that Platinum would likely lead a rally in precious metals and that a breakout move in platinum could prompt a broader uptrend in other precious metals.  Now, the combination of this type of rally in Platinum combined with the Commodity rally and the inflationary pressures suggests the global markets could be in for a wild ride over the next 12 to 24+ months.This Daily Platinum chart highlights the recent upside breakout rally that has prompted a rally from $1050 to $1250+.  If this rally continues to target the 100% Fibonacci price extension, near $1300, then it will become very clear that Platinum is rallying away from other precious metals.  If this coincides with a continued general Commodity price rally, then we may start to see an inflationary cycle setting up that really change things – very quickly.This type of “triple-whammy” is very similar to the commodity/inflationary price rally that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  For those of you that don't remember this trend, commodities started to rally in the early/min-1970s, prompting Gold to rally a low price near $100 (in 1976) to a higher level near $195 (in 1978) – but that was just the beginning.  After that rally stalled a bit, a bigger commodity price rally took place in 1979 that prompted a much bigger Gold price rally and started an inflationary price cycle that prompted the US Fed to take aggressive action in curtailing inflation.  Gold rallied from $169 in late 1978 to over $870 in early 1980 – a 420% increase.PLATINUM MAY LEAD A COMMODITY PRICE RALLYWe believe the rally in Platinum is a strong signal that a Commodity price rally is initiating and that an inflationary price cycle may be starting.  If our research is correct, evidence of this cycle phase will continue over the next 6+ months where commodities will continue to rally overall and where market inflation will become very tangible in the US and across the globe.  This will prompt the US Fed, and global central banks, to begin to take immediate action to contain any potential run-away inflation concerns – obviously tightening monetary policy and raising interest rates.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Platinum may rally above $1500 if this rally extends to the 200% Fibonacci price extension level – and that move may come very quickly.  This weekly Platinum chart, below, shows a green arrow that points to the 200% Fibonacci price extension level (near $1500). Remember, the commodity price rally in 1979/1980 lasted more than 24 months and prompted a big 400%+ rally in Gold.  If that type of rally were to happen today, Gold would rally to levels near $7500 (or higher).Pay attention to what is happening with Platinum and you'll start to understand the inflationary/institutional demand for this unique metal.  If our research is correct, we may see a new rally in Gold and Silver fairly quickly as Platinum acts as a catalyst for an inflationary cycle paired with a Commodity rally (very similar to the 1979 to 1980 rally). It is a great time to be an active trader in these markets.  One of our recent BAN trades just closed out for a 47% gain.  These big trends may be here for the next 24+ months and 2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using the BAN Trader Pro technology.  The BAN Trader Pro technology does all the work for us.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Have a great day!
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Soft inflation data keeps USD pressured

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.02.2021 08:41
EURUSD Rises To A Two-Week High The euro currency continues to push higher, rising for the third consecutive day, to a two-week high.The gains, however, are slowing as price moves closer to the 1.2144 – 1.2177 level of resistance. We also continue to see the hidden bearish divergence on the chart, which could suggest a pullback.To the downside, price is likely to stall near the 1.2050 level of support for the moment. However, a close below this level could see the Feb 5 lows of 1.1952 come into the picture.If the current bullish moment continues, then the euro currency will need to break out above 1.2177 to confirm further upside.GBPUSD Pushes Higher But Gives Back Gains The British pound sterling continues to rise higher, marking a new high of 1.3866 intraday. But price action is pulling back after testing this level.The Stochastics oscillator is firmly in the overbought levels supporting the upside bias. For the moment, the downside remains limited until we see a lower high forming.Given the current pace of gains, the GBPUSD is seen testing the support area of 1.3790.A strong close on a weekly basis above this level is needed to confirm further upside.For the moment, the untested support level near 1.3759 will be the likely downside target in case of a correction.Oil Price Grinds Higher To A New 13-Month High WTI crude oil prices continue to maintain a strong bullish moment.Price action rose to fresh highs of 58.73. This makes price action likely to test the unfilled gap from January 20 last year at 59.47However, with price now trading below the trend line, this could act as a potential resistance for price action.To the downside, the support level at 57.35 is already tested albeit only slightly.Therefore, any declines could see this level coming under a firm re-test. Only a strong close below 57.35 will confirm a move down to the 53.77 level of support.Gold Prices Rejected Near 1850 The precious metal is struggling to breakout above 1850 as price action was firmly rejected near this level intraday.Overall, gold prices remain trading subdued compared to the gains made in the previous sessions.We expect the precious metal to maintain a sideways range between the 1850 resistance and 1817.80 level of support in the near term.The Stochastics oscillator is also starting to move a bit down from the overbought levels currently. This will likely mark an end to a three-day winning streak in gold.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Feeling the Growing Heat and Tensions in Stocks?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.02.2021 16:03
Yesterday was a prelude, a little preview of things to come. We better get used to brief and shallow corrections again, after being lulled by the many preceding sessions. It appears that we‘re now going to get the consolidation period even as the overall S&P 500 metrics remain in a healthy territory. This is the (print-and-spend-happy) world we live in, and we better not fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. So, for all the tech bashers, we‘re going higher – like it or not. Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Its Internals A second day of hesitation, this time with a thrust to the downside. Comfortably repelled, but still. Is it just one of a kind, or more would follow over the coming sessions? I think this corrective span has a bit further to run in time really. Remember my yesterday‘s words though – the bears are just rocking the boat, that‘s all. The caption describes nicely the mixed momentary situation in market breadth. I am looking especially at new highs new lows right now for whether they would be able to keep the relative high ground, or not, and what would accompany that. Now, it‘s amber light. A supportive warning sign comes from the put/call ratio – we‘re getting a bit too complacent here again. Well worth watching. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) wavered yesterday as well, yet bottom fishers appeared, pushing up the volume. The bond markets are clearly buying the dip here. High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still lining up closely with the S&P 500 index. Pulling in tandem, these aren‘t showing any momentary divergence. When it comes to the high yield corporate bonds to all corporate bonds (PHB:$DJCB) ratio, the picture gets different, as the riskier end of the corporate bond spectrum isn‘t firing on all cylinders. That‘s part of the watchout story justification. Technology, Value and Growth Technology (XLK ETF) hadn‘t suffered a profound setback really yesterday. The volume wasn‘t there, and half of the intraday losses were recouped – the bears weren‘t serious, and as the caption says, be wary of tech bubble callers constantly warning about significant corrections with unclear timings. Both tech and S&P 500 are primed to go to much higher levels before things get really ridiculous. Also, remember that since September, the sector has been not at its strongest really. Here comes the rotation between value and growth – given the current status, tech has been underperforming. It‘s the other sectors that are now catching up since the start of Feb. All in all, the chart doesn‘t scream imbalance – the accompanying S&P 500 advance has been relatively orderly. Gold & Silver Today‘s precious metals section will be shorter than usually, because the many bullish factors discussed throughout the week, remain in place. Just check out the metals & miners ratios, or yet another timely call of the dollar top. Let‘s dive into the gold and silver price action that I tweeted about earlier today. My open long position remains profitable, and the very short-term question remains what‘s next. Regardless of the upper knots, I don‘t see the short-term uptrend as exhausted, and you all know pretty well my medium- and long-term bullish case (stronger for silver than for gold in 2021 really). Despite being quite hot in the short run, silver isn‘t willing to correct to any kind of reasonable target. I view the current indecision as part of an ongoing consolidation, and don‘t discount the bullish implications. The key takeaway however is, how much would have to happen to flip this (and gold‘s) chart bearish. I remain cautiously optimistic in the short run, and very optimistic as regards the medium- and long-term. Summary The stock market keeps holding gained ground, having defended yesterday‘s values largely. Given the signs of creeping deterioration, which is however not strong enough to break the bull‘s back, let alone jeopardize it, the short-term caution in the 3,900 vicinity is still warranted. The gold and silver bulls are consolidating gains, and the bullish case for precious metals remains strong. Crucially, it‘s not about the dollar here, but about the sectoral internals, decoupling from rising Treasury yields, and holding firm against corporate ones. The new upleg is knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Will Tesla Charge Gold With Energy?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.02.2021 17:08
Tesla has supported the price of Bitcoin, but it can affect gold as well.The bull market in cryptocurrencies continues. As you can see in the chart below, the price of Bitcoin has recently increased to almost $47,000 (as of February 10). The parabolic rise seems to be disturbing, as such quick rallies often end abruptly.However, it’s worth noting that the price of Bitcoin has partially jumped because of the increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate form of currency by the established big companies. In particular, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has recently published a series of tweets that significantly affected the price of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies.Furthermore, Tesla updated its investment policy to include alternative assets as possible investments. In the last 10-k filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2021, Tesla stated:In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity.Importantly, these assets also include gold :As part of the policy, which was duly approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets including digital assets, gold bullion, gold exchange-traded funds, and other assets as specified in the future.This means that Tesla wants to diminish its position in the U.S. dollar and to diversify its cash holdings. In other words, the company lost some of its confidence in the greenback and started to look for alternatives. So, it seems that Musk and other investors are afraid of expansion in public debt , higher inflation , and the dollar’s debasement .And rightly so! The continued fiscal stimulus will expand the fiscal deficit even further, ballooning the federal debt. With the budget resolution passed last week, only a simple majority will be needed in the Senate to get Biden’s $1.9 trillion package approved, a majority that Democrats have.Remember also that the U.S. economy added only 49,000 jobs in January , while 227,000 jobs were lost in December (revised down by 87,000!). The poor non-farm payrolls will strengthen the odds of a larger fiscal stimulus and easier fiscal and monetary policies.Hence, combined with the ultra-dovish monetary policy and a Fed more tolerant to inflation, the upcoming fiscal support could ultimately be a headwind for the dollar. Initially, the prospect of fiscal support caused positive reactions on the financial markets, but as the euphoria passes, investors start to examine the long-term consequences of easy money and the large expansion of government spending. Importantly, the larger the debt, the deeper the debt trap , and the longer the zero interest rates policy will stay with us, as the Fed won’t try to upset the Treasury.Implications for GoldWhat does Tesla’s move imply for the precious metals market? Well, we are not observing the kind of rally in gold that we are currently witnessing in the cryptocurrencies sphere (see the chart below). And – given the size of the gold market – it’s unlikely that Musk & Co. could ignite a mania similar to the one seen in Dogecoin. The gold market is simply too big. Even the silver market could be too large for similar speculative plays – as the failure of the recent attempt of a short squeeze has shown.However, the update of Tesla’s investment policy is a confirmation of gold as a safe-haven asset and portfolio diversifier . If other big companies follow suit, and we see an actual reallocation of funds from the U.S. dollar towards gold, the price of the yellow metal will get an invigorating electric impulse .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Dollar steadies after a four-day decline

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.02.2021 08:39
EURUSD Reverses Near 1.2144 Resistance Level The euro currency is giving back the gains made from Wednesday as price action failed to rise above the technical resistance level near 1.2144.As a result, price action is quite bearish, amid the hidden bearish divergence as well. However, given the fact that price action has broken out from the falling price channel, this decline could merely be a retracement to the breakout level.We could see EURUSD retest the breakout level near 1.2080 to the downside. Below this level, the lower support area near 1.2050 is also likely to hold the declines.In the near term, we could expect the EURUSD to move in a sideways range between 1.2144 and 1.2080 levels.GBPUSD On Track To Retest 1.3590 The GBPUSD currency pair is giving back the gains made from the previous day with prices turning lower.On the intraday charts, we see prices trading currently below the 1.3821 swing low. A confirmed daily close below this level could potentially see price action testing the previous untested support level near 1.3790.As long as this support level holds, we could expect to see further upside. But for price action to continue higher, we would need to see the GBPUSD rising past the current highs above 1.3850.However, if the GBPUSD loses the 1.3759 level of support, then we could expect further declines in the near term.This would also potentially open the way for the currency pair to slide towards the 1.3500 level of support.WTI Crude Oil Rally Takes A Pause The recent pace of strong gains in the WTI crude oil market is seen to be slowing with prices likely to close flat for a second consecutive day. This could potentially see the onset of a short term correction in the markets.The initial support level near 57.35 is likely to be tested in the short term. As long as this support level holds, we could expect crude oil prices to maintain the upside bias.However, in the event that oil prices lose the 57.35 support, then we might expect to see a steeper correction. Below this level, the next main support comes in near 53.77.Given the recent bullish momentum in the oil markets, there is also strong evidence of a bearish divergence building up.Therefore, this could see a short-term correction which can only be confirmed upon a daily close below the 57.35 support level.Gold Prices Slip To A Three-Day Low The precious metal is down nearly 1% intraday as the short term bearish momentum is strong. Price action is likely to retest the support area near 1817.80.The stochastics oscillator on the intraday charts are also signaling further room to the downside. However, the declines might stabilize after testing the 1817.80 level.In the event that gold prices breakdown below this level, then we might expect to see further declines.The initial price level to watch will be the 1785.25 level which marks the lows from the 4th of February.A close below the swing low could potentially open the way for gold prices to test 1764.22 next.
Gold During the Pandemic Winter

Gold During the Pandemic Winter

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.02.2021 14:36
The pandemic winter will take longer than we thought. The longer we struggle with the coronavirus, the brighter gold could shine.A long, long time ago, there was a bad virus, called the coronavirus , that killed many people all around the world and severely hit the global economy. Luckily, smart scientists developed vaccines that defeated the coronavirus and ended the pandemic . Since then, humankind lived happily – and healthy – ever after.Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? This is the story we were all supposed to believe. The narrative was that the development of vaccines would end the pandemic and we would quickly return to normalcy. However, it turns out that this was all a fairy tale – the real struggle with the coronavirus is more challenging than we thought .First, the rollout of vaccinations has been very, very slow . As the chart below shows, on February 1, 2021, only about 1.77 percent of Americans became fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Of course, full protection requires two doses, so it takes some time. But in many countries, the share of the population which received at least one dose of the vaccine is also disappointingly low, as the chart below shows.It means that our progress towards herd immunity is really sluggish . At such a pace, we are losing the race between injections and infections. And we will not reach herd immunity until the second half of the year or even the next winter…Second, there is the problem of mutations . The new strains are rapidly popping up which poses a great risk in our fight with the coronavirus. One of these new variants was identified in the United Kingdom and quickly spread through the country. Although it’s not more lethal, it’s more infectious, which makes it more dangerous overall. And the more variants emerge, it’s more likely that we could see a mutation resistant to our current treatments and vaccines. Indeed, some of the mutations change the surface protein, spike, and have been shown to reduce the effectiveness of combating the coronavirus by monoclonal antibodies.The really bad part is that these two problems are strongly connected. The longer the vaccinations take, the more active cases we have. The more active cases we have, the more mutations happen, as each new infection implies more copies of the coronavirus, which gives it more chances to mutate. The more mutations occur, the higher the odds of a really nasty strain. Therefore, the longer the vaccination process takes, the more probable it is that it will not work and that vaccine-resistant variants might emerge.Given that in many countries vaccinations are practically the only rational strategy to fight the virus, the vaccine-resistant strain would be a serious blow. Surely, some vaccines could be relatively easily updated, but their rollout would still require time – time we don’t have.What does it all imply for the gold market? Well, the more sluggish the vaccinations, the higher the risk that something goes wrong and that our battle with COVID-19 will take more time. The longer the fight, the slower the economic recovery. The longer and bumpier road toward herd immunity, the slower lifting sanitary restrictions and social distancing measures, and the later we come back to normalcy. The longer we live in Zombieland, the easier fiscal and monetary policies will be, and the brighter gold will shine.Another issue is that we shouldn’t forget about the possibility of the pandemic’s long economic shadow. A recent paper has examined the effects of 19 major previous pandemics, finding a long shadow of the economic carnage. Although financial markets are still (wrongly, I believe) betting on a V-shaped recovery, the history suggests that a double dip is likely, as eight of the last 11 recessions experienced it. Recessions sound golden, don’t they?However, there is one caveat here. The sensitivity of economic activity to COVID-19 infections and restrictions has significantly diminished since the Great Lockdown in the spring of 2020. There are three reasons for that. First, people fear the coronavirus less. Second, epidemic restrictions are better targeted and implemented. Third, entrepreneurs adopted better to cope with the epidemic.The greater resilience of the economy means a smaller downturn and fewer long-term scars, which will limit any upward COVID-19 related impact on gold prices . But a softer economic impact also implies a quicker recovery, which – together with the upcoming big government stimulus – could increase consumer prices, thus supporting gold prices through the inflation channel. Indeed, commodity prices have been surging in 2021, so gold may follow suit.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

A Sleepy Week for the Indices?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.02.2021 15:45
For once, we have a week in 2021 where the market really didn't move all that much.Except for weed stocks that whipsawed GameStock-like and Bitcoin and Dogecoin making waves thanks to Lord Elon, it's really been kind of a boring week for the major indices.The S&P and Nasdaq closed at another record high Thursday (Feb. 11), while the Dow barely retreated from its own record high. The red-hot Russell has lagged this week.However, it’s all relative. No index has moved upwards or downwards more than about 0.30% week-to-date.It’s about time we had a week of relative quiet in the market.The sentiment is indeed still rosy right now. The economic recovery appears to be gaining steam, and the Q1 GDP decline everyone predicted might not be as sharp as we anticipated. We could also be days away from trillions of dollars of much-needed stimulus getting pumped into the economy.Earnings continue to impress, too, and are on pace to rise by over 20% in 2021. Since 1980, only 12 years have earnings increased by 15% or more. Except for 2018, the market gained an average of 12% in all of those years.We could also days away from FDA approval of a one-dose vaccine from Johnson and Johnson (JNJ).The COVID numbers and vaccine trend could truly turn the tide of things. More people in the U.S. have now been vaccinated than total cases, and the week kicked off (Feb. 8) with vaccine doses outnumbering new cases 10-1. Dr. Fauci also claims that vaccines could be available to the general public by April.But we're not out of the woods yet. Sure this week has been calm.But it’s almost been “too calm.”I still worry about complacency, valuations, and the return of inflation.“You wouldn’t know it from the sedate action in the averages,” but Wall Street is on “a highway to the danger zone,” CNBC ’s Jim Cramer said.“In a frothy market, stocks will have enormous rallies that are totally disconnected from the underlying fundamentals.”He’s not wrong.Look at the Buffett Indicator as of February 4. Where I track this indicator usually updates once a week and shows the total U.S. stock market valuation to the GDP. If you take the US stock market cap of $48.7 trillion and the estimated GDP of $21.7 trillion, we're nearly 224% overvalued and 84% above the historical average. This ratio has not been at a level like this since the dotcom bubble.Worse? This chart was dated February 4. The market’s only risen since then.This is what I mean by don’t be fooled by the relative calm of this week.The S&P 500’s forward 12-month P/E ratio is also well above its 10-year average of 15.8. The Russell 2000 is also back at a historic high above its 200-day moving average. Tech stock valuations are again approaching dotcom bust levels.Still not sold? Look at Goldman’s non-profitable tech index. It’s approaching an absurd 250% year-over-year performance.Bank of America also believes that a market correction could be on the horizon due to signs of overheating.While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March, I still maintain that some correction before the end of Q1 could happen.Corrections are healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. They are also way more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.Bank of America also echoed this statement and said that “We expect a buyable 5-10% Q1 correction as the big ‘unknowns’ coincide with exuberant positioning, record equity supply, and ‘as good as it gets’ earnings revisions.”The key word here- buyable.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. The Streaky S&P Is Back at a Record Figure 1- S&P 500 Large Cap Index $SPXThe S&P continues to trade as a streaky index. It seemingly rips off multiple-day winning streaks or losing streaks weekly.After the S&P 500 ripped off a streak of gains in 6 of 7 days, it promptly went on a 3-day losing streak, followed by another record close.I would hardly call that a 3-day losing streak, though. I’d even say it was a boring week for the S&P 500 with muted moves.The outlook is healthy, though, especially when you consider earnings. More than 80% of S&P stocks that have reported earnings thus far have beaten estimates.What could be on tap for next week? Who even knows anymore. But if earnings keep on outperforming, and the sentiment remains stable, it could be another strong week.The S&P’s RSI is ticking up towards overbought. However, because it’s still below 70, and because of the streaky manner in which the index has traded, it remains a HOLD.A short-term correction could inevitably occur by the end of Q1 2021, but for now, I am sticking with the S&P as a HOLD.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the S&P, the SPDR S&P ETF (SPY) is a good option.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as red-hot small-caps and emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
S&P 500 Correction Looming, Just as in Gold – Or Not?

S&P 500 Correction Looming, Just as in Gold – Or Not?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.02.2021 16:50
Stocks are clinging to the 3,900 level, and the bulls aren‘t yielding. Without much fanfare, both the sentiment readings and put/call ratio are at the greed and compacent end of the spectrum again. How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Gold‘s hardship is another cup of tea, standing in stark comparison to how well silver and platinum are doing. At the same time, the dollar hasn‘t really moved to the upside – there is no dollar breakout. If the greenback were to break to the upside, that would mean a dollar bull market, which I don't view as a proposition fittingly describing the reality – I called the topping dollar earlier this week. The world reserve currency will remain on the defensive this year, and we saw not a retest, but a local top.This has powerful implications for the precious metals, where the only question is whether we get a weak corrective move to the downside still, or whether we can base in a narrow range, followed by another upleg (think spring). February isn't the strongest month for precious metals seasonally, true, but it isn't a disaster either. As has been the case throughout the week, I‘ll update and present the evidence of internal sectoral strength also today.One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThird day of hesitation, this time again with a thrust to the downside. Marginally increasing volume, which speaks of not too much conviction by either side yet. As the very short-term situation remains tense, my yesterday‘s words still apply today:(…) I think this corrective span has a bit further to run in time really. (…) the bears are just rocking the boat, that‘s all.The market breadth indicators are deteriorating, without stock prices actually following them down. Thus far, the correction is indeed shaping to be one in time and characterized by mostly sideways trading. Unless you look at the following chart.Volatility has died down recently, yet a brief spike (not reaching anywhere high, just beating the 24 level) wouldn‘t be unimaginable to visit us by the nearest Wednesday. In all likelihood, it would be accompanied by lower stock prices. Well worth watching.Credit Markets and TechThere is a growing discrepancy between high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and its investment grade counterpart (LQD ETF). Both leading credit market ratios have been diverging not only since the end of Jan, but practically throughout 2021. The theme of rising yields is exerting pressure on the higher end of the debt market as the stock investment fever goes on – that‘s my take.No, this is not a bubble – not a parabolic one. The tech sector is gradually assuming leadership in the S&P 500 advance, accompanied by microrotations as value goes into favor and falls out of it, relatively speaking. Higher highs are coming, earnings are doing great, and valuations aren‘t an issue still.Gold, Silver and RatiosUnder pressure right as we speak ($1,815), the yellow metal‘s technical outlook hasn‘t flipped bearish. Should we get to last Thursday‘s lows, it would happen on daily indicators ready to flash a bullish divergence once prices stabilize. But for all the intense bearish talk, we haven‘t broken below the late Nov lows.For those inclined so, I am raising the arbitrage trade possibility. Long silver, short gold would be consistent with my prior assessment of the gold-silver ratio going down. Similarly to bullish gold bets, that‘s a longer-term trade, which however wouldn‘t likely take much patience to unfold and stick.A bullish chart showing that gold isn‘t following the rising yields all that closely these days. Decoupling from the Treasury yields is a positive sign for the sector, and exactly what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation and twin deficits biting.Silver continues to trade in its bullish consolidation, and unlike in gold, its short-term bullish flag formation remains intact. The path of least resistance for the white metal remains higher.Gold juniors (black line) keep their relative strength vs. the senior gold miners, and the mining sector keeps sending bullish signals, especialy when silver miners enter the picture.SummaryThe stock market tremors aren‘t over, and the signs of deterioration keep creeping in. The bull run isn‘t however in jeopardy, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right now.The gold bulls find it harder to defend their gains, unlike the silver ones. That‘s the short-term objective situation, regardless of expansive monetary and fiscal policies, real economy recovery, returning inflation and declining U.S. dollar. The new upleg keeps knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Canada Launches First Bitcoin ETF: Is the US Far Behind?

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 13.02.2021 08:32
Canada’s Purpose Investments launched its bitcoin exchange traded fund on Feb. 11, according to its website. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which the Canadian government approved, becomes the first crypto exchange traded fund (ETF) in North America. CAD and USD versions will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the tickers BTCC and BTCC.U respectively. According to the prospectus, the ETF will be audited by Big Four advisory Ernst and Young. Cidel Trust will handle custodian chores in Canada, while Gemini Trust Company, which is owned by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, is the sub-trustee for non-Canadian holdings. Canadian Connection to Gemini Gemini Trust is more than just a big name partner for Purpose Investments. The Winklevoss twins were among the first in the US to apply for a bitcoin ETF back in 2017. Their interest in institutional investment vehicles as well as the October 2020 integration of US tax calculation applications to their platform positions the company well as a sub-custodian in this case. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied the Gemini Trust bitcoin ETF application due to the immaturity of the bitcoin market at the time. However, the Winklevoss twins claim that they are still interested in pursuing this direction. Canada Now; US Next? Canada can now claim this first in bitcoin history for North America. In the US, Gemini is not alone in trying to gain SEC approval for an ETF. On Jan. 22, Valkyrie Fund filed an application with the SEC to establish an ETF. VanEck also dusted off its plans for a bitcoin ETF, which had been formally withdrawn in 2019. Hope for Change The change in the US after the presidential election brings some hope for the cryptocurrency community and professional investors. The latter entering the market in 2020 made the current bitcoin bull run possible. Thus far, institutional investors attempting to gain exposure to cryptocurrency do so through investment companies such as Grayscale. As a result, Grayscale Bitcoin Fund has been a huge success.  The ability to hold exposure and trade on North American markets was not possible in the US until Thursday. However, investors dealing on American markets are still stuck waiting. The Yellen Era Will the new Chair of the SEC, Janet Yellen, move the commission’s stance on crypto? She has given mixed messages since her tenure as head of the US Treasury Department. Two issues will show the direction of the SEC in the Yellen era. These are how the SEC handles the Ripple Labs case. The SEC, under former-Secretary Mnuchin, charged Ripple and two of its CEOs with selling unregistered securities. The other issue? ETFs. If Yellen makes a change regarding ETFs, then the US may eventually catch up with Canada. The post Canada Launches First Bitcoin ETF: Is the US Far Behind? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The profit maze of Silver - 13.02.2021

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 13.02.2021 15:55
We took for many months the stands of a Permabull in Silver and still do. Our primary call for acquiring physical Silver might find some hurdles. You might not get any. When we started in March of last year at the price of US$12 to urge for acquiring physical Silver holdings, we already experienced the vast percentage difference between the spot price and the actual acquisition price of Silver. This phenomenon persists to the present day. And what to do if one can’t purchase real Silver anymore?We look at the markets primarily from the perspective of risk. As long as you do not have too dramatic pullbacks (= a homogeneous equity curve), you can always recover from a temporary setback. After all, not every investment idea might work out.If Silver’s physical acquisition should come to a halt, we find mining stock ownership to be an excellent second choice.Here is why. Leveraged positions like ETFs, futures, and options allow special restrictions made by brokers and clearinghouses tied with their firms’ positions. Large players like this can also go belly up, especially in six sigma events. In that case, it is essential to find liquidity, the ability to transfer positions from one broker/clearinghouse to another, and mostly to liquidate positions. An option they may deny you through their regulative powers.Sil, Global Silver Miners ETF, Weekly Chart, ETFs might look good, but they aren’t:SIL Global X FDS Global X Silver Miners ETF in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 4th, 2021.  Monthly Chart of Silver, Think long term and win:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 4th, 2021.While Silver’s smaller time frames can be intimidating at times due to their volatility and recent limelight in the news, the larger monthly time frame clearly shows the health of the trend in motion and the long term opportunity.With this bigger picture in place, mining stocks will follow the uptrend.Daily Chart, Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, The profit maze of Silver:Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, daily chart as of February 4th, 2021.There is a vast array of choices to participate in mining stocks. You can employ various strategies like buying the market leaders or underdogs, for example. In this field, evaluation can change quickly based on depository discoveries, soil sample quality and many other factors. Another point of consideration is the accessibility of stock depending on the country you are trading from, which exchanges you can access.The above chart depicts the stock price of our sponsor Reyna Silver which we find undervalued and very attractive as a long-term investment. Stocks in this price range have the advantage that not too much of your money is parked long term. And still percentage returns can be substantial. (Disclaimer: Please note that Reyna Silver is the sponsor of our weekly silver chartbook).In this specific case, you can see that there is excellent support at CA$0.98 from a volume analysis perspective, right below where prices trade for a low-risk entry on a long-term time horizon.The profit maze of Silver:While we hold physical Silver in the highest regard to risk-averse wealth preservation (next to Gold and Bitcoin), additional investments in mining stocks are prudent. As a stockholder, you are a part-owner of a company with the acquired rights by law. From all the choices out there to participate in the Silver boom, mining stocks seem to be the ones with the smallest risk potential.With a goal of long term investing and wealth preservation, it is essential to look at investments from a risk perspective rather than leverage.Besides, many mining stocks pay dividends. That additional income flow can be reinvested, and one participates in the 8th miracle of the world: “Compound interest.” Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

5 reasons why people prefer to trade options over stocks

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 13.02.2021 21:13
As technical traders, we know the importance of following the price charts using proven trading strategies and implementing risk and position management. Here at TheTechnicalTraders.com we are stepping things up a notch by adding options to our trading.By using options, a trader can leverage, hedge positions, and generate income via selling premiums. There are basic options, strategies, and complex, and everything in between. Because of that, I have brought options trading specialist Neil Szczepanski to join our team.I will let Neil introduce himself.Hi everyone!  Neil Szczepanski here.  In case you are wondering it is pronounced “Sus’ pan ski".  Yes, I have roots in eastern European ancestry and I’m first generation.  I love options and have been trading them for many, many years. I like options because you have more ways to be profitable in your trading.  I hate putting on a position and then waiting for the market to go your way.  I want to be in control of my trades and options allows for that.  Also, trading can equal freedom. Think about this: imagine having a job that you can do from anywhere on the planet, work as much as you want, and make as much money as you want?  Imagine having that same job that has no boss breathing down your neck and you call the shots. Well, that is what options trading can be like if you have the skills or access to someone who tells you what and when to buy and sell options contracts.You control your own destiny and I have seen traders start with as little as $500.  Options are especially attractive because they can cater to the small guy with smaller accounts via leverage, allowing them to take on big positions with little capital. On the flip side, the more wealthy sophisticated traders use options to protect and hedge positions and can do more complex strategies that provide even more consistent and lucrative returns with lower risk.No matter what category of options trading you fall into, they work incredibly well, and I will teach you while providing professional trades to execute. Over my next few posts, I am going to explain some more about why trading options can be consistently profitable without having to take on huge risks. Today I am going to talk about why I love swing-trading options and the power of leverage that options provide us traders.MAKE BIG MONEY WITH SMALL ACCOUNTSAs I alluded to above, options give the average trader ways to break into the trading world because of leverage. A little capital can go a long way, and if options trading is done properly you can have significantly less risk than buying the stock outright. You can start small, make smart bets that generate returns, and continue building your account through sound risk management techniques like position sizing, etc.For example, when an underlying stock is super expensive, like Telsa for example, it can be prohibitive for the average person just starting out trading to own that stock… let alone 100 shares! Options give you the ability to control those shares for a specific period of time at a fraction of the price. Each individual options contract lets you control 100 shares of Tesla without having to buy the stock.Sign up now to receive information on the launch of the Technical Traders' options trading courses and newsletter!Let us take a look at a simple example where you want to buy TELSA with an expectation that it will go up at least 5% in value in the next month. If you wanted to buy and hold 100 shares of TESLA, then you would need to spend $80,482 to own those shares. Since all we want to do is to be able to sell the shares and lock in the profit when they go up by 5% or more.   We don’t need to own them but rather just have the right to control them within the options contract timeframe. When we hit our targets, we can sell the option contract and take profit (or take possession/delivery of the underlying shares on contract expiry).  This is called option assignment.Below is a sample of a Tesla options chain, where we can see that the price of the stock is $804.82.  Let’s say you could allocate $2,000 to this trade - you would be able to buy almost 2.5 shares of TSLA. But with $2,000, you could buy an option contract at the money that would let you have the right to buy 100 TSLA shares anytime in the next 30 days at a price of $800/share. With options, you have the ability to take your $2,000 trade and have the same controlling interest in an underlying stock as the person that just spent over $80,000 to buy the stock.So to continue with the TSLA example, let’s say on March 12th TSLA was trading for $844 (the 5% gain you were expecting).  If you bought and sold the stock, you would have made a 5% return of $4,000. If you had bought the option, and then take on the assignment (let it expire) you would have the right to buy 100 TSLA shares at $800 and then turn around and sell them for $844.  Your profit would be $4,400 (less the cost of the option contract), a little more profit than had you bought the shares outright. However, if you look at your return it is more than 225% using options!!! Options enable the small players to trade stocks that would normally be outside of their price range, and this is one of the reasons we have seen an increase in options trading popularity over the last year. In fact, options trading volume has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.Of course, the above trade is a dream, but the reality can be quite scary. If you took the options trade and TSLA dropped below $800, then your liability starts mounting, however, the loss with owning the stock could be over $80,000 while the total loss with buying the options would be the price you paid for the option which is $1,950.  A big reversal of the stock would be catastrophic in both cases but can be much worse for the stock owner.  So it is important to make sure you trade with proper risk management and protections in place. While the adage “with great power there comes great responsibility” was popularized within a different context, I feel it applies to trading options.I know at this point you are probably thinking what the heck is he talking about and options are WAY too complicated for me.  Don’t worry, I’m going to teach and show you in a very simple and easy way how to trade options.  I am also going to provide trades that limit the max loss per trade, and reduce risk so get ready for some excitement!SWING TRADING OPTIONS IS THE PERFECT SIDE-HUSTLEI love teaching, technology, and trading. I knew early on that these were the things that would drive my career path. At the same time, I had kids to feed so I needed to supplement my income to support my growing family. I was able to achieve this through swing trading options. This allowed me to focus on my career and family while making modest yet consistent income, without having to be glued to my screen every day since swing trades last a few days or weeks.We have all seen the traders with 10 monitors looking at charts all day, making trades, and watching and waiting on every single turn in the market.  I can tell you this is NOT my idea of trading.  I prefer swing trading, where I can set up trades to enter and exit every couple of days or even weeks.  Swing trades are meant to be short duration, and they are not intra-day, so you can set up your trades and manage them when you have time to yourself.I once got advice from a great old friend that sometimes it is wise to look at the animal kingdom to learn how we can improve and live our lives.  There is a lot we can learn from the animal kingdom.  Some of the necessities we need as a human being is food shelter, social acceptance, and security.  As such, we should always have back up plans. Going back to the animal kingdom, if we look at say prairie dogs, for example, we know that they always have two holes.  One is for the main entry and exit and the other is for emergency exits.  Side hustles are just that and swing trading can be a really useful back-up/extra income plan.  It is your second hole!Swing trading is also a great way to gain entry into the world of trading.  It is like dipping your toe in the water to test it before you jump in head first.  With swing trading, you can learn all about options and other financial instruments like futures, CFD, and currencies. The best part about swing trading is it can eventually turn into a full-time job, replacing your regular job.  Now, instead of trading during your free time, you can trade when you don’t have to be at work, leaving you with even more time to enjoy life and family. This is the ultimate freedom.  That is what I have done using several strategies that generate consistent, low-risk gains for 20+ years. One of my favorite strategies that I have developed is called the C-LEAP strategy.  In this strategy, you enter and exit positions once every two weeks.  It is one of the least risky strategies I have ever developed, and I use a simple checklist to follow it. I have had past students generate tens of thousands of dollars every month using this strategy, and I have found it to be easy to learn and very consistent.As you may or may not know, I am preparing some options courses where I will teach basic options trading as well as more advanced strategies. Anyone can learn how options work but the most important thing is what strategy you use.  You also need to know how and when to use the right strategy.  I love teaching people how to trade options and live by two principles when doing so: “Trading can be simple but it is not easy” and "I want EVERYONE to win not just me and in fact, I have no desire to win if everyone else loses.". I am really excited to get to know some of you soon when I launch my LIVE options courses and get you on the path to winning trades!I will also be running The Technical Traders' new service – Options Trading Signals – where I will share my knowledge, model portfolio, a weekly trade, and opportunities report, and trade alerts with subscribers. Look for the launch of my newsletter and courses at the end of February! Make sure you sign up now to keep informed of the launch of my newsletter and courses. You can sign up at www.thetechnicaltraders.com/options-trading.In the next article Neil will keep giving you reasons to love trading options, including how you can trade options with less risk than stocks, how you can better react to volatility with options compared to stocks, and how you can attain consistent profits with lower drawdowns by trading options. So come along with me for the ride and change your life with a new skill trading options!All my best,
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Silver protection against exuberance

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.02.2021 10:46
Weekly Chart of Silver, The trend is your friend:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 11th, 2021.First and foremost, remove yourself from the noise. There is no need to read every news item. Turn those notifications on your phone off to not let media frequently trigger fear and uncertainty emotions within. Make a longer-term plan that excludes short-term uncertainties and, as such, escapes temporary exuberance hype. Once your mind has settled down, approach the market with a simple but sound wealth preservation strategy first and wealth creation second. It is much harder to make back what you already earned once lost.Looking at the chart above, you find silver in an uptrend. Trend-following strategies are the most common and quite powerful.  Daily Chart of Silver, Silver protection against exuberance:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 11th, 2021.Next, we find physical silver holdings a lot more attractive than any other Silver investment derivatives. Yes, the physical Silver purchase’s actual price is much higher, as indicated in this chart versus the spot price. Since this phenomenon has persisted already for nearly a year and as such is a trend, it should only be interpreted that physical Silver is in higher demand than any holdings where your rewards are paid out in a fiat currency. After all, you want to have wealth preservation against fiat currencies since money printing is also in exuberance. So do not shy away from this factor in regard to the acquisition.Weekly Chart of Silver, Price projection:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 11th, 2021.We find there to be a fair chance that Silver spot prices might advance to the mid fifty range within this year. We would not be surprised for this trend to have a total of five legs reaching just short below three-digit numbers within the upcoming years.Silver protection against exuberanceThere are other ways to protect yourself, like Gold, for example. As much as we find Silver to be very attractive here, the most we care about is illustrating that a proactive stand with a quiet mind is an opportunity right now. Finding yourself shell shocked in hopes the overwhelm might settle and circumstances return to a familiar previous point in time is a dangerous one. We see multiple confirmations in the market that point towards a different future to unfold. Acting on a longer time frame to buy “insurance” for possible hyperinflation and other monetary threats could be a wise decision to ensure your nest egg.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 12th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Cannabis, Alternative Agra, Mushrooms, and Cryptos – Everything ALT is HOT

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 14.02.2021 20:20
The recent rally in Marijuana and Alternative Pharma/Agriculture stocks has been impressive, to say the least.  One thing we have to remember about this sector is that it rallied to highs in 2018 and 2019, then fell out of favor for many months.  The anticipation of this new sector emerging within the US, and across many areas of the globe, prompted quite a bit of excitement after 2016 when many US states voted to legalize Marijuana. Even before this date, the alternative medicine and consumer product use related to Marijuana has been heavily speculated on by investors/traders.If we were to consider the out-of-favor phase of this sector over the past 15+ months, after the rally/hype phase which took place in 2017 and early 2018, we've seen many cannabis stocks collapse 70% to 85% or more recently.  This downward price trend likely set up a number of incredible opportunities based on expanded marketplace opportunities, enterprise valuations, and longer-term consumer/pharmaceutical use applications for CBD and other chemical extracts.  Additionally, we need to also consider what would happen if a consolidation phase were to take place in this industry – how would cannabis leaders play a role in acquiring smaller, yet important, firms with innovative technology/solutions.The MJ Alternative Harvest ETF Weekly chart below highlights the incredible decline in the cannabis sector after the August 2018 peak. MJ fell from a high of $45.40 to a low of $9.34 – representing a -86% decline.  Aurora Cannabis (ACB) peaked at 150.34 in October 2018 and recently bottomed near $3.71 – representing a massive -97.5% decline.Over the past two months or longer, this sector has started to heat up again with a moderately strong rally setting up.  Over the past 14+ days, a big upside rally initiated pushing price levels upward by +80% to +150% or more from recent lows.  Historically, when one considers the longer-term potential for growth, revenues and consolidation within this industry sector, we believe this rally may be just starting.If we were to consider a potential continued focus on the Cannabis/Alternative Agriculture supply and industry sector over the next 4+ years, we would have to take a look at the deep decline in price levels recently and the opportunity for some type of industry consolidation over the next 5 to 10+ years.  Obviously, this industry/sector is here to stay, and, much like the Alcoholic Beverage industry in the 1960s to early 2000s, we are in a very early stage of the legalization, expansion, and consolidation phase of this sector.Using these two sectors for comparison, the first question is just how big is the Cannabis/Alt marketplace compared to similar types of markets?  The Cannabis sector currently makes up about 1/10th of the total US Alcoholic beverage annual sales ($25.3B Cannabis: $252.82B Alcohol - https://www.statista.com/topics/1709/alcoholic-beverages/).  From a conservative standpoint, Cannabis consumers very likely cross-over into the Alcoholic beverage consumer market on a fairly high basis.  This means the consumer market for Cannabis is very likely 60% to 75%, or more, of the Alcoholic-beverage market.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The second question should be what additional advantages does the Cannabis/Alt sector have that differentiate it from the Alcoholic-beverage industry?  That answer lies in an unknown factor – the pharmaceutical/consumer product use that is currently in its infancy.  CBD has already shown great promise, but the long-term capabilities, use, and application of various alternative chemical compounds found in various strains of plants, mushrooms, and other organic sources are still part of the “X-Factor”.The third question in our minds becomes, how long before these unknowns/X-Factor components become a reality?  We can't attempt to put the answer into dates or predictions, but we do believe the speed at which these organic compounds will be introduced and mapped-out into potential medical-use solutions has been clearly illustrated by the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccines/medical advancements have been delivered.  These solutions only took “months” to come to market.  If the same type of capabilities were applied to the Cannabis/Alternative marketplace, and thus toward the multiple supply/innovation companies within this sector, a massive boost of growth, innovation, and consolidation within this sector over time. Let's take a look at some current statistics & data below.Marijuana Tax Revenues by state appear to be strong and growing.  One thing to consider about this Tax data is that a relatively large portion of actual sales are still going unreported (as illicit transactions).Source: https://loudcloudhealth.com/resources/marijuana-tax-revenue-by-state-map/Legalization & Acceptance of Marijuana within the US has now reached almost every state – with only six states still showing Marijuana is fully illegal.  All other states have adopted Marijuana use in some form over the past 5+ years.Source: https://disa.com/map-of-marijuana-legality-by-stateThe US Cannabis Consumer Market is expected to increase by more than 15 to 20% in 2021 after more than doubling in 2020.  From 2018 to 2021, the total consumer market was expected to increase by more than 350%.  By the end of 2022, that ratio increases to levels beyond +450% compared to the 2018 levels.Source: https://mattermark.com/vc-investment-sparks-high-times-american-cannabis-industry/Obviously, the deep price decline in the Marijuana sector, which recently ended, did not properly reflect the market capabilities and expectations for future growth and earnings.  We believe this sector could become one of the hottest sectors for growth over the next 2+ years and it may prompt a massive consolidation phase within this industry which will create potential behemoth conglomerate Cannabis firms – very much like the Alcoholic Beverage industry.I am able to find these trends, like MJ, by using my Best Asset Now strategy. My subscribers and I are loving the strategy as we closed our MJ trade last week after taking profits at the 7,%, 15%, 20%, and 48% levels in two weeks! This is how we make consistent profits from the BAN strategy while still getting that awesome, excitable feeling from being in an explosive trade!!Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.In the second part of this article, we'll explore various Marijuana sector charts showing where traders may find real opportunities for profits if the current rally phase continues.  This exciting industry sector may become one of the hottest sectors for traders and may prompt a massive consolidation phase within this industry over the next 5+ years.  Get ready for some big trends and opportunities.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

GBPUSD Rebounds, Brushing Aside Weak GDP Numbers

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.02.2021 07:23
Slow start to the week with China and US markets closedEURUSD Recovers From A Three-Day Low The euro currency touched a three-day low on Friday at 1.2080 before recovering. Price action is subdued for the past three sessions with a lower high currently forming.This comes after price slipped to a three-month low at 1.1951 on February 5th. The downside bias is starting to build up.The common currency will need to rise above the recent swing high of 1.2187 in order for the upside bias to hold.Failure to do so could potentially open the way for further declines, especially if the swing low of 1.1951 gives way.For the moment, the support area near 1.2050 will be critical to the downside. The Stochastics oscillator is moving up and could signal another test to the resistance area near 1.2144 – 1.2177.The British pound sterling made a sharp recovery with price action on Friday posting a strong rebound.The gains put the GBPUSD back near the previous highs at 1.3866. But with the Stochastics oscillator signaling a lower high, we could see a pullback.The support level near 1.3759 remains in scope to the downside. As long as the cable holds gains above this level, there is room for further gains.But a close below this level could potentially see a larger correction taking place.For the moment, the uptrend remains intact with price making consistently higher lows.Oil Advances To A New Eleven-Month High WTI Crude oil prices resumed the bullish momentum following three days of subdued trading. Prices settled at 59.55 on Friday, marking a new 11-month high.The rebound comes after oil prices briefly fell to the support area near 57.35. This potentially cements the 57.35 level as a strong support area in case of any downside.Despite the gains, oil prices are now nearing a multi-year resistance area between the 65.5 and 61.5 levels.Price action has on previous occasions failed to break past this level.Therefore, unless there is a strong momentum led breakout, we could see price action consolidating in this resistance area.Gold Prices Find Support Near 1817.89 The declines in the precious metal stalled after prices once again tested the 1817.89 level of support. A retest of this level, alongside the Stochastics oscillator attempting to move out from the oversold levels, could keep prices to the upside for the moment.This will mean that gold prices will continue to maintain a sideways range between 1850 and 1817.89 levels in the near term.On the daily charts, gold prices closed flat following the losses from the previous day.Therefore, if price action turns bearish today, we could expect to see the previous lows at 1784.81 from 4th February coming under test once again.To the upside, price action needs to post a strong close above the 10th of February highs of 1855.30 for any signs of further gains.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

S&P 500 Correction Delayed Again While Silver Runs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.02.2021 14:15
The window of opportunity for the stock bears is slowly but surely closing down as Friday‘s gentle intraday peek higher turned into a buying spree before the closing bell. The sentiment readings and put/call ratio are at the greed, euphoric and compacent end of the spectrum again. I asked on Friday:(…) How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Today, I‘ll say that waiting for a correction is like waiting for Godot. Trust me, I have come to experience quite some absurd and Kafkaesque drama not too long ago. What an understatement.One week ago, I called the dollar as making a local top, and look where we are in the process. Coupled with the steepening pace of rising long-dated Treasury yields, that‘s a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) as they benefit from the widening yield curve.Gold remains a drag on the precious metals performance, with silver and platinum flying. The miners‘ outlook and internal dynamics between various mining indices, provides a much needed proof to those short on patience. Little wonder, after 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls. Little wonder given the monstrous pace of new money creation beating quite a few prior interventions combined.Yet, the precious metals complex is coming back to life as the economic recovery goes on, and will get new stimulus fuel. Commodity prices are rising steeply across the board, yet inflation as measured by CPI, will have to wait for the job market to start feeling the heat, which it obviously doesn‘t in the current pace of job creation and low participation rate. Until labor gets more powerful in the price discovery mechanism (through market-based dynamics!), the raging inflationary fire will be under control, manifesting only in (financial) asset price inflation. That‘s precisely what you would expect when new money is no longer sitting on banks‘ balance sheets, but flowing into the economy. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThe weekly S&P 500 chart is still one of strength, without a top in sight. And the lower volume, I don‘t view as concerning at all.After a three day sideways consolidation, stock bulls forced a close higher on Friday. Low volume, but still higher prices. The bears missed an opportunity to act, having hesitated for quite a few days. Not that the (big picture) path of least resistance weren‘t higher before that, though.The market breadth indicators got a boost on Friday, but it‘s especially the new highs new lows that have a way to go. One would expect a bigger uptick given Friday‘s price advance, but the overall message is still one of cautious but well grounded optimism.Credit Markets, Treasuries and DollarThe high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio performance is lining up nicely with the S&P 500 one, and definitely isn‘t flashing a warning sign for the days to come.Long-term Treasuries are declining at a faster pace than has been the case in late 2020, which is (not immediately right now, but give it time and it‘ll turn out to be) concerning. Thus far though, the money flows are positive for the stock (and other risk on) markets as the liquidity tide keeps hitting the tape.Who suffers? The dollar. No, it‘s not breaking higher (retracing breakout before a run higher – no) above the 50-day moving average or any way you draw a declining resistance line on higher time frames. The greenback is getting ready for another powerful downleg.Gold and SilverGold bulls have repelled another selling wave, which was however not the strongest one. The fact there was one in the first place even, is more (short-term) concerning for the gold bulls. But please remember that it was first gold that got it right in jumping higher on the unprecedented money printing spree as we entered spring 2020, followed by copper, base metals, agricultural commodities, and also oil now (remember my recent bullish calls for over $80 per barrel in less than 2 years). Gold keeps catching breath, frustrating the bulls who „know“ it can only go higher, but its spark isn‘t there at the moment. A perfect example is Monday‘s session thus far – spot gold 0.25% down, spot silver 1.25% up. It‘s been only on Friday when I touted the gold-silver spread trade idea as not having exhausted its potential yet, not by a long shot:(…) For those inclined so, I am raising the arbitrage trade possibility. Long silver, short gold would be consistent with my prior assessment of the gold-silver ratio going down. Similarly to bullish gold bets, that‘s a longer-term trade, which however wouldn‘t likely take much patience to unfold and stick.Silver keeps acting in a bullish way, tracking commodities ($CRB) performance much better than gold does at the moment. While both are a bullish play with the many factors arrayed behind their upcoming rise, it‘s silver that will reap the greatest rewards – today and in the days and weeks ahead. Gold and Silver MinersBack to the beaten down and underperforming gold. See that the yellow metal still isn‘t following the rising yields all that closely these days. Decoupling from the Treasury yields bodes well for precious metals universally, and it‘s precisely what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation, twin deficits biting, and the dollar balancing on the brink.The miners examination also proves no change in the underlying bullish dynamic that is largely playing out below the surface. We‘re seeing the continued outperformance of junior gold miners vs. the seniors, and also the great burst of life in the silver miners – these are outperforming ever more visibly the rest of the mining companies.This is a long awaited chart to flip bullish. Thus far, we have had one recent bullish divergence only (the GDX refusal to break to new lows when gold broke below its Jan lows) – once gold miners start leading the yellow metal, the sentiment in the precious metals community would get different compared to today really.SummaryThe deterioration in stock market got postponed with the latter half of Friday bringing in fresh buying pressure. Would the bears appear, at least to rock the boat a little? They had a good chance all the prior week, but didn‘t jump at the opportunity. Their window is closing, slowly but surely. The stock bull run is on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction soon.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably. That‘s the objective assessment regardless of unprecendented monetary and fiscal policies, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation cascading through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water. The new upleg keeps knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded (unless you took me up on the gold-silver arbitrage trade, and are popping the champagne already).
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Five Biggest Altcoin Gainers From Feb. 8 – Feb. 15

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 15.02.2021 14:35
BeInCrypto breaks down some of the biggest altcoin movers and shakers from the previous week. Will their momentum continue? During the week of Feb 8 -15, these five altcoin picks rallied the most: Bitcoin Gold (BTG) – 125% Ravencoin (RVN) – 125% DASH (DASH) – 124% Graph Token (GRT) – 113% Lisk (LSK) – 109% Biggest Altcoin Gainers BTG has increased considerably over the past two weeks but has yet to move above an important resistance area at $32. RVN reached an all-time high price of $0.09 on Feb. 14 and is currently in the process of validating the previous all-time high resistance area as support. DASH has already moved above the long-term $236 resistance area and should continue increasing at an accelerated rate. Despite reaching an all-time high of $2.81 on Feb. 11, the lack of price history for GRT makes analysis of the token difficult. LSK reached an all-time high price of $4.93 on Feb. 14 but has fallen slightly since, retesting the all-time high resistance area, above which it previously broke out from. BTG The BTG chart shows a massive upward move that has been going on since a breakout from it validated a long-term descending resistance line as support (green arrow). Since then, the BTG increase has turned parabolic, reaching a high of $33 so far. All three of the: RSI, MACD, and Stochastic Oscillator are still increasing, suggesting that the trend is bullish. However, until BTG breaks out from the $32 area and validates it as support, the upward move is not yet confirmed. BTG has not reached a close above this level since Jul. 2018. If it does so successfully, the rate of increase should significantly accelerate. BTG Chart By TradingViewRVN RVN increased considerably last week, reaching an all-time high price of $0.09 in the process. While RVN has fallen slightly since, it’s in the process of validating the previous all-time high resistance area at $0.075 as support. Technical indicators are bullish since all three of the: MACD, RSI, and Stochastic Oscillator are increasing. Once RVN manages to clear this area and validate it as support, the rate of increase is likely to accelerate. RVN Chart By TradingViewDASH Last week’s rally took DASH above the $236 resistance area, the 0.382 Fib retracement level of the most recent downward move. Previously, DASH had traded below this level since Apr. 2018. Currently, DASH is in the process of moving above this area, something which could trigger an accelerated rally towards the next resistance area at $571. Technical indicators are bullish and support the continuation of the upward movement. DASH Chart By TradingViewGRT The GRT chart shows a significant upward movement that has been going on for the past week. This led to an all-time high price of $2.81 on Feb. 12. GRT fell shortly afterward but has regained the majority of its losses since then. Before Dec. 17, 2020, the lack of price history makes it difficult to construct a proper analysis of the token. GRT Chart By TradingViewLSK LSK has increased immensely over the past three days, reaching an all-time high price of $4.70 on Feb. 14. While it has dropped significantly since then, the decline served to validate the $2.90 area as support, leaving a long lower wick behind. Technical indicators are bullish, and since there is no resistance above the current price, the rate of increase may significantly accelerate from here on out. LSK Chart By TradingViewFor BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. The post Five Biggest Altcoin Gainers From Feb. 8 – Feb. 15 appeared first on BeInCrypto.
USD Trades Weaker Amid Bank Holiday

USD Trades Weaker Amid Bank Holiday

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.02.2021 08:31
EURUSD Subdued Amid Thin TradingThe euro was trading subdued, with price action once again attempting to retest the resistance level near 1.2144.Price action in the EURUSD is somewhat flat with the US markets closed on account of the president’s day holiday today.The short term trend appears to be flat for the moment unless the common currency is able to break out above the resistance area between 1.2144 and 1.2177.Meanwhile, the stochastics oscillator is posting a lower high. This could suggest a short-term correction to the downside.The support level near 1.2050 is likely to remain the downside target for the moment.GBPUSD Surges Past 1.3900The British pound Sterling continues to surge ahead with price action rising above 1.3900.So far, GBPUSD has been posting gains for nearly five consecutive weeks.A continuation to the upside could see price action rising towards the 1.4400 level. This would mark the highest level since mid-2016.But the current pace of gains has seen no meaningful pullback just as yet. Therefore, the lack of any support to the downside is likely to open the downside risk.The recent swing high near 1.3867 is likely to act as support. But if the GBPUSD loses this handle, we expect a correction down to 1.3759 next.Oil Prices Rally On Cold WeatherOil prices opened on a bullish note in the Asian trading session rising to a new 13 month high.The gains came as the cold winter has fueled demand for the fossil fuel.Price rallied to a new high of 60.75 before giving back some of the intraday gains. However, towards the late European trading session, oil prices were seen giving back some of these gains.If oil prices continue to pull back, then we might get to see prices covering the gap from Monday’s open. To the upside, the next main resistance level is near 61.35.The current rally in the oil prices also comes as the US dollar has been trading weaker over the past few weeks.Gold Price Confined To Friday’s RangeThe precious metal is trading subdued with price action firmly stuck within Friday’s range.With both the Asian and US markets closed, trading in the precious metal is slow. Price action is back near the support level of 1817 region.For the moment, the support level seems to be holding up which could provide a short-term boost to the upside. The resistance level near 1850.00 will likely once again act as resistance keeping a lid on any further gains.However, watch the stochastics oscillator which is likely to signal a shift in the momentum.In the event that gold prices lose the 1817 support, we could expect price action toward the 4th February lows at 1784.79.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Bitcoin, be a contrarian

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 16.02.2021 10:50
It is easier said than done since we like seeing the confirmation. We enjoy seeing prices go up and then would be willing to commit to buying. Unfortunately, it is too late to participate at that point since the risk is increasing the more prices advance. The result is that many novices trade breakout trades. This is one of the most apparent form of market participation. Since the whole world can identify such a trade, it is a low probability technique.A real edge is created by conditioning oneself to ask the right questions at the right time. When prices retrace within a general uptrend having a clear rule set of participation is very useful. When prices go up, using a supporting exit strategy like our quad exit to take partial exits and generally asking oneself where to get out is the right behavior.The following three charts describe the essential scenarios we see for Bitcoin to progress further.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Minor dip with high risk:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 15th, 2021.As much as a minor retracement would point for the most aggressive trend direction from a risk perspective regarding mid and long-term market participation, we see no low-risk entries to take part in. In this case, we prefer the price to penetrate 50k successfully and would like to enter on a bounce of this significant number. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Consolidation zone below US$50,000:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 15th, 2021.The next way prices could unfold is consolidation below the larger 50k marker. We find entries on the low end of the trend rage attractive as participation by taking partial profits on the range box’s upper rim and possible continuation of the remaining position size to all time new highs.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin-be a contrarian:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 15th, 2021.The real contrarian opportunity would lay in a larger retracement to fade for the well-prepared trader. Bitcoins’ nature has been to show substantial retracements. A move like this would evoke emotions of doubt. Contrarian to these emotions, the larger the decline, the more aggressive an entry in position size should be.All three scenarios require a well-prepped plan. Instead of following the market’s evolution with emotional observation, focus on the prepared battle plan and engage only if your preconceived ideas are matched by price behavior.Bitcoin, be a contrarianIf you follow prey to your intuitive, emotional response, you will find yourself in the urge of wanting to get into the market once prices show a clear direction. This is also precisely at that spot where “fear of missing out” comes into play, another emotional trigger. Conscious efforts have to be made to overwrite these non-quality questions from a market participation perspective. Write notes into your charts and rehearse quality-question-timing for market participation until they become second nature. A low-risk entry methodology starts with these quality questions, and doing so within a trade, is one of the best performing trading methods out there. Be a contrarian to market direction and be a contrarian to your emotions.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 15th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Still No S&P 500 Correction, Still No Real Change in the Metals

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.02.2021 16:11
Yesterday‘s thin volume session didn‘t bring any material changes as the window of opportunity for the stock bears to act, is slowly but surely closing down. Friday‘s intraday move brought increasingly higher prices, and Monday‘s trading extended gains even more. Euphoric, complacent greed as evidenced by the sentiment readings and put/call ratios, is on.I asked on Friday:(…) How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Both on Monday and today, I‘ll say that waiting for a correction is like waiting for Godot. Right from the horse‘s mouth as my personal experience with quite some absurd and Kafkaesque drama got richer recently.The dollar keeps topping out, which I called it to do a week ago – and its losses have been mounting since. Long-dated Treasury yields are rising in tandem, which is a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF). The former benefit from the widening yield curve, the latter from plain devaluation.Gold performance is still short-term disappointing, and silver and platinum are leading. But it‘s the miners and the moves between various mining indices, that work to soothe the bulls‘ impatience. Understandable as we are in 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, witnessing record pace of new money creation.The ongoing economic recovery will get new stimulus support, and that will work to broaden the precious metals advance. Commodity prices are universally rising, and over time, inflation as measured by CPI, will do so too. But not until the current pace of job creation picks up and participation rate turns – we‘re far from that moment. Until then, inflation will be apparent only in (financial) asset prices, which is in line with new money no longer sitting on banks‘ balance sheets, but flowing into the real economy. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThe bulls had an opportunity to act for quite a few days in a row, yet missed it. Their inaction confirms that the path of least resistance for stocks is to still rise.The market breadth indicators have improved on Friday, but especially the new highs new lows has a way to go. It could have ticked upwards more given Friday‘s price advance, but didn‘t. The put/call ratio has moved upwards (see chart below), but the overall message is still one of cautious yet reasonable optimism – not enough to trigger the sizable correction quite some participants are constantly awaiting.Credit Markets, Treasuries and DollarThe high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio performance isn‘t out of whack with the S&P 500, but the investment grade corporate bonds to longer dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) are not confirming exactly. Before the corona crash, the high yield ones were leading the investment grade ones for countless quarters. From the Mar 2020 bottom, the investment grade ones were in the pool position. And since the end of Dec 2020, the high yield ones are leading again, but investment grade ones aren't going up anymore, but down the way long-term Treasuries do. One more sign of the euphoric stage in stocks we're in.Long-term Treasuries are the chart to watch for the market to throw a fit – or not. They‘re declining at a faster pace than has been the case in late 2020, which can bring about trouble - not immediately right away, but over time it can turn out so. The dynamic of money moving into the stock market is thus far still positive as the many risk on assets are gaining on the fast pace of new money creation. The worry about a sudden, sharp reversal is misplaced for now.The dollar is on the receiving end – there is no breakout verification before a run higher in progress – no. Neither above the 50-day moving average, nor any way you draw a declining resistance line on higher time frames. The greenback is about to test and break below its 2021 lows. Solidly below.Gold and SilverGold bulls stood their ground on Friday, yet their yesterday‘s and today‘s performance is rather weak. Not disastrously so, but still indicative of the headwinds gold bulls face. Gold‘s spark isn‘t there at the moment. Putting it into context, please remember that it was first gold that jumped in the unrivalled money printing era arrival in spring 2020, followed by copper, base metals, agricultural commodities, and also oil now (remember my recent bullish calls for over $80 per barrel in less than 2 years). Silver price action is the bullish one, in line with commodities ($CRB) performance being much stronger now. Silver is definitely better positioned to benefit from the upcoming precious metals rise – today and in the days and weeks ahead. Gold and Silver MinersThe heat gold is taking from rising Treasury yields, is also progressively weaker. The decoupling from rising nominal (real) yields bodes well for precious metals universally, and it‘s precisely what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation, twin deficits, and the dollar on the brink.Gold to all corporate bonds chart reflects the current dillydallying nicely. Gold isn‘t breaking down into a bearish downtrend. The miners examination also proves no change in the underlying bullish dynamic playing out below the surface. Junior gold miners are oputperforming. the seniors, and there is also the great burst of life in the silver miners – these are outperforming ever more visibly the rest of the crowd.Once this chart flips bullish, we have the new upleg clearly visible. Thus far, we have had one recent bullish divergence only (the GDX refusal to break to new lows when gold broke below its Jan lows) – once gold miners start leading the yellow metal, the sentiment in the precious metals community would get different compared to today really.SummaryThe deterioration in stocks got postponed as both Friday and Monday brought new buyers into the market. Would the bears appear, at least to rock the boat a little? I stand by my call that they had a good chance all the prior week, but didn‘t jump at the opportunity – their window is closing, slowly but surely. The stock bull run is on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction soon.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably, with both under pressure in Tuesday‘s premarket. Coupled with the miners‘ signals, and unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Here’s What’s Eating Away at Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.02.2021 16:53
Gold is dodging bullets, as it comes increasingly under fire from rising U.S. interest rates and a USD that is poised to surge.Catching unsuspecting traders in yet another bull trap , gold’s early-week strength quickly faded. And with investors unwilling to vouch for the yellow metal for more than a few days, the rush-to-exit mentality highlights a short-term vexation that’s unlikely to subside.Please see below:Figure 1Destined for devaluation after hitting its triangle-vertex-based reversal point (which I warned about previously ), the yellow metal is struggling to climb the ever-growing wall of worry.Mirroring what we saw at the beginning of the New Year, gold’s triangle-vertex-based reversal point remains a reliable indicator of trend exhaustion.And when you add the bearish cocktail of rising U.S. interest rates and a potential USD Index surge, $1,700 remains the initial downside target , with $1,500 to even ~$1,350 still possibilities under the right curcumstances.Please see below:Figure 2 - Gold Continuous Contract Overview and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart ComparisonTo explain the rationale, I wrote previously:Back in November, gold’s second decline (second half of the month) was a bit bigger than the initial (first half of the month) slide that was much sharper. The January performance is very similar so far, with the difference being that this month, the initial decline that we saw in the early part of the month was bigger.This means that if the shape of the price moves continues to be similar, the next short-term move lower could be bigger than what we saw so far in January and bigger than the decline that we saw in the second half of November. This is yet another factor that points to the proximity of $1,700 as the next downside target.In addition, as a steepening U.S. yield curve enters the equation, I wrote on Jan. 27 that the bottom, and subsequent move higher, in U.S. Treasury yields coincided with a USDX rally 80% of the time since 2003.Figure 3 - Source: Daniel LacalleAnd while the USDX continues to fight historical precedent, on Feb. 12, the U.S. 30-Year Treasury yield closed at its highest level in nearly a year. As such, the move should add wind to the USDX’s sails in the coming weeks.Please see below:Figure 4In conclusion, gold is under fire from all angles and dodging bullets has become a near impossible task. With the USD Index likely to bounce off its declining resistance line (now support), a bottom in the greenback could be imminent. Also ominous, a steepening U.S. yield curve signals that the yellow metals’ best days are likely in the rearview. However, as the situation evolves and gold eventually demonstrates continued strength versus the USD Index, its long-term uptrend will resume once again.Before moving on, I want to reiterate my previous comments and explain why $1,700 remains my initial target:One of the reasons is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the recent 2020 rally, and the other is the 1.618 extension of the initial decline. However, there are also more long-term-oriented indications that gold is about to move to $1,700 or lower.(…) gold recently failed to move above its previous long-term (2011) high. Since history tends to repeat itself, it’s only natural to expect gold to behave as it did during its previous attempt to break above its major long-term high.And the only similar case is from late 1978 when gold rallied above the previous 1974 high. Let’s take a look at the chart below for details (courtesy of chartsrus.com)Figure 5 - Gold rallying in 1978, past its 1974 highAs you can see above, in late 1978, gold declined severely right after it moved above the late-1974 high. This time, gold invalidated the breakout, which makes the subsequent decline more likely. And how far did gold decline back in 1978? It declined by about $50, which is about 20% of the starting price. If gold was to drop 20% from its 2020 high, it would slide from $2,089 to about $1,671 .Figure 6 - Relative Strength Index (RSI), GOLD, and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) ComparisonIf you analyze the red arrow in the lower part of the above chart (the weekly MACD sell signal), today’s pattern is similar not only to what we saw in 2011, but also to what we witnessed in 2008. Thus, if similar events unfold – with the S&P 500 falling and the USD Index rising (both seem likely for the following months, even if these moves don’t start right away) – the yellow metal could plunge to below $1,350 or so. The green dashed line shows what would happen gold price, if it was not decline as much as it did in 2008.However, as of right now, my initial target is $1,700, with $1,500 likely over the medium-term. But as mentioned, if the S&P 500 and the USD Index add ripples to the bearish current, $1,400 (or even ~$1,350) could occur amid the perfect storm. ~$1,500 still remains the most likely downside target for the final bottom, though.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Three More Reasons We Love To Trade Options!

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 16.02.2021 19:53
A couple of days ago Neil, my options trading specialist and I posted an article how you can benefit and profit by trading some very easy to implement strategies we teach. If you missed the first half of this article entitled "5 Reasons Why People Prefer To Trade Options Over Stocks" then click on the title to revisit it.  In this final part, back to finish off telling you why I love to trade options and will walk through how adjustments and risk management of options can help give you better control of your trades and profits. Hopefully everyone enjoys the information and we look forward to helping everyone win with options trading!REDUCE RISKEveryone has heard a story about someone who mischaracterized or misunderstood their options trade, then having their account blow up when the underlying stock goes the wrong way. This happened recently with a Robinhood trader who woke up one morning to see his account at -$730,165. In this tragic event the kid took his life because he thought he had lost $730,165 and couldn't reach his brokerage to understand his account. We learned later that the negative balance did not represent uncollateralized indebtedness at all, but rather his temporary balance until the stocks underlying his assigned options actually settled into his account.  In short it was a delay in processing of the options contracts in his account, and not the actual trade that went awry.  This is why it is very important that in this game of trading you get the proper training so you understand your risk. The risk is real. So how can options be less risky? Simple: because you can define your risk right at the outset of the trade. Further, you can adjust your risk/reward ratio 24/7, and not just during market hours with a stop loss like stocks. In very volatile markets risk management becomes even more important and your exposure to unlimited risk can destroy your account very quickly. Think back to the tech bubble in 2002, or the subprime mortgage crisis, and don't forget the consequneces of the great recession.  Or even the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020!  The most successful traders are good at maximizing their winners, but more importantly, they are even better at minimizing their losses on losing trades. This includes making sure you prepare for black swan events. One of the questions I always get is how do you control and/or manage your risk with options?  In the following diagram, you can see that if you use options around your existing positions you can cap your max loss at about $7.  To achieve this, the trade-off is to cap your upside at about $13.  In this scenario, we own stock the orange line represents this. Let’s assume the price is $110 so the profit is about $3.  We sell a call to pay for a put that we buy.  So the max profit in the line created by selling the call and the max loss is defined by the buying of the put.  This is called collaring your stock position using stock options.  As I mentioned this trade is on 24/7 and not just during market hours like a stop for stocks.FLEXIBILITY TO REACT TO MARKET VOLATILITYYou don’t need to always be right on direction. With options, you can put on a position and adjust and move with the market minimizing your losses or turning a losing trade into a winning trade. You can sell premium with options and make money even when the underline stock goes nowhere. You get paid for the time by selling the rights to the stock that you can either own or not own. With stocks it is more limiting, you can either buy more or sell and take your loss if the price goes against you, that’s it.Sign up now to receive information on the launch of the Technical Traders’ options trading courses and newsletter!If you are trading options you have way more flexibility than stock.  With stock you can buy, sell short and buy more.  I hate adding to a losing position and quite frankly not sure why anyone would do that.  With options you can roll out of a leg in your option spread and adjust to where the market is going.  Think of this as steering a boat through a series of rocks rather than just running them over and damaging the ship.  You control where you want to go and avoid the disasters.  You can also turn losing positions into winning ones by adjusting.  With my new Options Trading Signals newsletter ("OTS") we will go through these steps and show how you can create winning positions or minimize your losses in ways that is simply not possible with stocks.CONSISTENT RETURNS WITH less severe DRAWDOWNSConsistent returns and less dramatic drawdowns can be achieved with an options strategy rather than a just buying stock strategy. I usually only allocate 50% or less of my overall account into options positions yet achieve better returns than if I were to invest 100% into stocks. I also don’t have nearly the same levels of drawdowns, or the sudden trend reversal risk, that one would take by being 100% in stocks. Holding cash also allows me to capitalize on opportunities like if a black swan event. When such an event does eventually hit, I have cash available to buy in while all stocks are on sale. So, I can still get a better return, with fewer drawdowns, and with cash to be ready to jump on buying opportunities. One can get all of the best of all worlds!I am really excited about sharing my knowledge and strategies with you. I will be writing another article this week that walks you through my simple strategy to consistently generate profits from the market. I will be walking through a few trades with you so make sure you don’t miss out.Selling options is the best way to get consistent returns that are undeniable and consistent.  Nothing in the market is guaranteed except the premium you sell on an options contract.  The best part about selling premium is the stock can go against you, with you, or do nothing and you can profit on any of those scenarios.  Today's current market conditions are RIPE for selling premium since there are many new options traders piling into the market, buying options, and inflating the premium on options.  This is a supply and demand game and because the demand is high and the supply is low this is creating a premium price skew to the upside.  This is clearly an edge we can take advantage of but in order to do so, you must understand how the market works and more importantly how options work.  My new OTS service will detail our weekly trades and walk you through how to take advantage of this edge.  To further my point that options can simply provide better returns, let us look at the below Silver chart to see why buy and hold is a tough game to play. If you entered Silver in August 2020 at roughly $25, then you would have zero gains 7 months later if you had bought the stock. However had you sold a Put Option at $24 for 7 months it would have expired worthless and paid you the entire premium that you sold it for.  Currently, an option contract 7 months out on Silver is trading at $296 at the time of this article being written, so, this trade would have netted a $256 gain even though the underlying SLV stock went absolutely nowhere. If you want to learn more about options, then join me in March when I will start teaching basic options trading, as well as offering courses on more advanced strategies. Anyone can learn how options work but the most important thing is what strategy you use.  You also need to know how and when to use the right strategy.  I love teaching people how to trade options and live by two principles when doing so: “Trading can be simple but it is not easy” and “I want EVERYONE to win not just me and in fact, I have no desire to win if everyone else loses.”. I am really excited to get to know some of you soon when I launch my LIVE options courses and get you on the path to winning trades!I will also be running The Technical Traders’ new service – Options Trading Signals – where I will share my knowledge, model portfolio, a weekly trade, and opportunities report, and trade alerts with subscribers. Look for the launch of my newsletter and courses at the end of February! Make sure you sign up to keep informed of the launch of my newsletter and courses. You can sign up now at www.thetechnicaltraders.com/options-trading.All our best,Chris Vermeulenand Neil Szczepanskiwww.TheTechnicalTraders.com
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

USD trades mixed on comments from Fed officials

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.02.2021 07:49
Euro Gives Back Intraday GainsThe euro currency rose to a four-week high after GDP numbers came out better than forecast.But price action soon gave back the gains as the resistance level proved too hard to breach.Price action briefly rose past 1.2144 before retreating from the resistance level between 1.2177 and 1.2144. For the moment, the EURUSD remains well above the 12th February lows.However, a close below this level could see further short term declines. The main support level at 1.2050 remains the downside target for the moment.GBPUSD Slips But Upside Remains IntactThe British pound sterling continues to post steady gains. Price action was seen trading a bit weaker after testing highs of 1.3951 on Tuesday.But a quick recovery from the intraday lows is keeping the upside bias intact.Further gains could likely see the cable testing the 1.4000 round number level in the near term.To the downside, the current intraday lows near 1.3869 and the highs from 10th February at 1.3866 form the initial support.Only a strong close below this level will open the downside toward the 12th Feb lows at 1.3775.Crude Oil Retreats From 60.92WTI crude oil prices are giving back the gains after prices touched a new 13-month high earlier this week.The declines come after prices fell to fill the gap from last Friday at 59.55. With most of the intraday declines already pulling back, the upside could resume.The fundamentals remain bullish for oil markets especially with the cold winter in the US. This could see oil prices likely to test the 61.00 level next to the upside.Any corrections could likely stall near the 57.35 level for the moment. Establishing support here could also further strengthen the potential for more gains.Gold Slips Below 1817 Technical SupportThe precious metal lost the 1817.79 technical support on Tuesday.However, after prices fell to intraday lows of 1789.37, there was a quick recovery.The current pullback could see gold prices retesting the 1817.79 level once again. The bias remains mixed as we could see some consolidation taking place near this level.Only a strong close below 4th Feb lows of 1784 will see further downside.The next key target for gold is near the 1764.22 level of support. To the upside, gains could be limited to the 1850 handle once again.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Got Bond Concerns?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 17.02.2021 15:25
The market largely continued last week’s mixed moves, with the S&P and Nasdaq mildly retreating from record highs and the Dow eking out another record close.The sentiment remains mostly rosy thanks to earnings that continue to impress, plummeting virus numbers worldwide, indicators that the economic recovery is gaining steam, and imminent stimulus.But we’re not out of the woods yet, and I still worry about complacency and valuations.But now, you can add one more concern to the list- rising bond yields.On Tuesday (Feb. 16), the 10-year Treasury yield jumped 9 basis points to top 1.30% for the first time since February 2020. The 30-year rate also hit its highest level in a year.Why is this concerning?Rising interest rates=less attractive stocks.Sure, the banks benefit. But what do you think this means for growth sectors such as tech that have benefited from low-rates?You couple that with the fact that according to the Buffet Indicator (Total US stock market valuation/GDP), the market could be 228% overvalued, and tech stocks may be at valuations not seen since the dotcom bubble? Genuine concerns.A rebound in rates could also put a dent in the economic recovery if both companies and consumers find it increasingly expensive to borrow.While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March and feel that the wheels are in motion for a healthy 2021, I still maintain that some correction before the end of Q1 could happen.Bank of America also echoed this statement and said last week that “We expect a buyable 5-10% Q1 correction as the big ‘unknowns’ coincide with exuberant positioning, record equity supply, and ‘as good as it gets’ earnings revisions.”Corrections are healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. They are also way more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one to help people who needed help instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don’t think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market, will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. The Streaky S&P Is Back at a Record Figure 1- S&P 500 Large Cap Index $SPXThe S&P continues to trade as a streaky index. It seemingly rips off multiple-day winning streaks or losing streaks weekly.Before Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) “decline” (if you can call it that), here’s how the S&P has traded in February. It kicked off the month by ripping off a streak of gains in 6 of 7 days. It then promptly went on a 3-day losing streak, followed by a two-day winning streak and more record closes.Then it declined a 0.06% to kick off the President’s Day shortened trading week.More than 80% of S&P stocks that have reported earnings have beaten estimates, which is quite impressive. Yes, the forward P/E ratio is historically high. However, this P/E ratio has coincided with growing earnings.With the index also up 5.9% month-to-date and a healthy outlook for the second half of the year, we could have some more room to run.While the S&P’s RSI is still hovering around overbought levels, it’s remained stable at a HOLD level, mainly reflecting its muted moves over the last week and change.A short-term correction could inevitably occur by the end of Q1 2021, but for now, I am sticking with the S&P as a HOLD.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the S&P, the SPDR S&P ETF (SPY) is a good option.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as red-hot small-caps and emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Is That the S&P 500 And Gold Correction Finally?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.02.2021 16:21
The stock bears finally showed they aren‘t an extinct species – merely a seriously endangered one. Yesterday‘s close though gives them a chance to try again today, but they should be tame in expectations. While there is some chart deterioration, it‘s not nearly enough to help fuel a full on bearish onslaught in the S&P 500. There is no serious correction starting now, nothing to really take down stocks seriously for the time being.The Fed remains active, and monetary policy hasn‘t lost its charm (effect) just yet. Commodities and asset price inflation has been in high gear for quite some time, yet it‘s not a raging problem for the Main Street as evidenced by the CPI. Food price inflation, substitution and hedonistic adjustments in its calculation, are a different cup of tea, but CPI isn‘t biting yet.Meanwhile, the real economy recovery goes on (just check yesterday‘s Empire State Manufacturing figures for proof), even without the $1.9T stimulus and infrastructure plans. Once we see signs of strain in the job market (higher participation rate, hourly earnings and hours worked), then the real, palpable inflation story can unfold. But we‘re talking 2022, or even 2023 to get there – and the Fed will just let it overshoot to compensate for the current and prior era.Meanwhile, the wave of new money creation (we‘re almost at double the early 2020 Fed‘s balance sheet value - $4T give or take then vs. almost $7.5T now – and that‘s before the multiplier in commercial banks loan creation kicks in) keeps hitting the markets, going into the real economy, predictably lifting many boats. It‘s my view that we have to (and will) experience a stock market bubble accompanied by the precious metals and commodities one – to a degree, simultaneously, for the stock market is likely to get under pressure first. Again, I am talking the big picture here – not the coming weeks.Meanwhile, the intense talk of S&P 500 correction any-day-week-now is on, just as outrageous gold, silver and miners‘ drop projections. Let‘s examine the bear market is gold – some say that the late 2015 marked bottom, I‘m of the view that the 2016 steep rally was a first proof of turning tide. But the Fed got serious about tightening (raising rates, shrinking its balance sheet), and gold reached the final bottom in Aug 2018. Seeing through the hawks vs. dove fights at the Fed in the latter half of 2018 (December was a notable moment when Powell refused to the markets‘ bidding, remained hawkish in the face of heavy, indiscriminate selling across the board – before relenting).Since then, gold was slowly but surely gathering steam, and speculation in stocks was on. The repo crisis of autumn 2019 didn‘t have a dampening effect either – the Fed was solidly back to accomodative back then. These have all happened well before corona hit – and it wasn‘t able to push gold down really much. The recovery from the forced selling, this deflationary episode (which I had notably declared back in summer 2020 to be a one-off, not to be repeated event), was swift. Commodities have clearly joined, and the picture of various asset classes taking the baton as inflation is cascading through the system, is very clear.Quoting from my yesterday‘s analysis:(…) The dollar keeps topping out, which I called it to do a week ago – and its losses have been mounting since. Long-dated Treasury yields are rising in tandem, which is a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF). The former benefit from the widening yield curve, the latter from plain devaluation.Gold performance is still short-term disappointing, and silver and platinum are leading. But it‘s the miners and the moves between various mining indices, that work to soothe the bulls‘ impatience. Understandable as we are in 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, witnessing record pace of new money creation.The ongoing economic recovery will get new stimulus support, and that will work to broaden the precious metals advance. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookFinally, there is a whiff of bearish activity. Will it last or turn out a one day event as thus far in Feb? The chances for a sideways correction to last at least a little longer, are still on, however the short- and medium-term outlook remains bullish.Credit Markets and TreasuriesHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) wavered yesterday, trading in a sideways pattern during recent days. Encouragingly, yesterday‘s session attracted increasing volume, which I read as willingness to buy the dip. One dip and done?Long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) are the key chart on my radar screen right now. The rise in yields is accelerating, and if progressing unmitigated, would throw a spanner into many an asset‘s works. Even though it‘s not apparent right now, there is a chance that we‘ll see a slowdown, even a temporary stabilization, over the coming sessions. The larger trend in rates is higher though, and in the dollar to the downside.Gold, Silver and CommoditiesThe heat gold is taking from rising Treasury yields, has gotten weaker recently, with the decoupling from rising nominal (real) yields being a good omen for precious metals universally. The dynamics of commodity price inflation, dollar hardly balancing under the weight of unprecedented economic policy and twin deficits, attests to the gold upleg arriving sooner rather than later.Let‘s step back, and compare the performance of gold, silver, copper and oil. The weekly chart captures the key turns in monetary policy, the plunge into the corona deflationary bottom, and crucially the timing and pace of each asset‘s recovery. Gold and silver were the first to sensitively respond to activist policies, followed by copper, and finally oil. Is their current breather really such a surprise and reversal of fortunes? Absolutely not.SummaryThe bearish push in stocks has a good chance of finally materializing today. How strong will its internals be, will it entice the bulls to step in – or not yet? The stock bull run is firmly on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction with today‘s price action.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably, with both under continued pressure. The yields are rising a bit too fast, taking the metals along – temporarily, until they decouple to a greater degree. Combined with the miners‘ signals, and unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Setting Up Major Bottom So Could We See A Breakout Rally Begin Soon?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 17.02.2021 20:44
There has been quite a bit of chatter related to precious metals lately.  The rally in Cryptos, particularly Bitcoin, and various other stocks have raised expectations that Gold and Silver have been overlooked as a true hedging instrument. As these rallies continue in various other stocks and sectors, Gold and Silver have continued to trade sideways over the past 6+ months – when and how will it end?GOLD SUPPORT NEAR $1765 MAY BECOME A NEW LAUNCHPADMy research team and I believe the recent downside trend in Gold has reached a support level, near $1765, that will act as a launching pad for a potentially big upside price trend. This support level aligns with previous price highs (May 2020 through June 2020) after the Covid-19 price collapse, which we believe is an indication of a strong support level.  As you can see from the Gold Futures Weekly chart below, if Gold price levels hold above $1765 then we feel the next upside rally in metals could prompt a move targeting $2160, then $2400.The February 2021 Gold contract expires on February 24 – only a few days away.  The CME Delivery Report shows an incredible amount of contracts already giving notice of a “Delivery Request”. This suggests that on or near February 25, a supply squeeze for Gold and Silver may become a very real component of price.For example, there are 32,831 contracts requesting delivery for February 2021 COMEX 100 Gold Futures as of February 16, 2021. That reflects a total delivery obligation of 3,283,100 ounces of Gold. The Silver contract deliveries are similar in size.  As of February 16, 2021, here are 1,865 February 2021 COMEX 5000 Silver contracts requesting delivery. That translates into over 9,325,000 ounces of Silver.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!We still have another five trading days to go before the February contract expires.  How many more futures contract holders will pile into the Delivery Que at COMEX and how will this translate into any potential price advance or decline?SILVER TRENDS HIGHER – ALREADY SHOWING STRONG DEMANDSilver has already begun to move higher while Gold continues to wallow near recent lows.  Our research team believes the next few days of trading in Gold and Silver could become very volatile as global traders suddenly realize the demand for Deliveries may squeeze prices much higher.  Traders should stay keenly aware of this dynamic in the Precious Metals markets as we may continue to see futures contract delivery requests out-pace supply as Precious Metals prices continues to move higher.The 100% Fibonacci measured move technique we are showing on these charts helps us to understand where and how upside price targets become relevant.  If support on these charts hold and the February 24, 2021 futures contracts expire with strong demand for physical deliveries, then we believe an upside price squeeze may setup fairly quickly (over the next 5 to 15+ days) in both Gold and Silver.We need to watch how Gold reacts near this support level and to pay attention to the delivery data from COMEX.  If these levels continue to increase over the next few days, before the February 24 expiration date, then we need to consider how and when the price will start to reflect this strong demand.  Currently, Gold price activity does not properly reflect what is happening in Silver and Platinum related to the demand for metals.  We believe, over the next 30 to 60+ days, this will change as Gold may enter a new bullish price phase – targeting $2400.  At this point, we believe the answer to this question will become known by February 25th or so.Precious Metals, Miners, Rare Earths, and Junior Miners may set up some really interesting opportunities for traders.  The entire Metals/Miners sector has been under moderate pressure recently and we believe that trend may be ending soon. 2021 is going to be full of these types of trend rotations and new market setups.   Staying ahead of these sector trends is going to be key to developing continued success in these markets.  As some sectors fail, others will begin to trend higher.  Learn how BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups. You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors right now in my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, cycles and momentum then the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you in determining what to buy, when to buy it, and how to take profits while minimizing downside risk. In addition, you will be kept fully informed of the market with my short pre-market report delivered to you every morning along with the BAN Hotlist for those looking for more trades.Happy trading!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

GBPUSD Signalling A Bearish Correction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.02.2021 07:28
Dollar gains afer retail sales surprises to the upsideEuro Weakens To A Seven-Day LowThe euro currency is accelerating the pace of declines comparing to the previous few days. On an intraday basis, the euro slipped to a seven session low before recovering slightly.The declines come as the EURUSD has now breached the rising long term trendline once again.Still, given the recent rebound after the trendline breach on 5th February, we could see a recovery once again.Therefore, to the downside, only a confirmed close below 5th February lows of 1.1951 will see further declines coming.Meanwhile, to the upside, a reversal could see the trendline coming in as resistance or the euro could possibly breakout above the trendline once again.The long term correction could see the 200-day moving average being tested which currently sites around the 1.1800 region.The British pound sterling is extending declines following a flat close on Tuesday. Still, price needs to close below Tuesday’s low of 1.3901 to confirm further downside.The next immediate downside target is seen near 1.3733 where price established strong resistance previously. This price level forms the ideal target to the downside with support likely to come in.But in the event that the GBPUSD loses this handle, we might get to see further declines. This will push the cable down to the 1.3500 level which is pending a retest anyways.To the upside, price action will need to post a reversal and possibly rise above the Tuesday highs of 1.3950 in order to maintain the uptrend.WTI Crude Oil Inches Higher But Likely To Close FlatWTI crude oil is showing signs of losing its bullish momentum. Price action is seen struggling to get a foothold above 60.00.This has led to price action being rejected over the past three trading sessions. For the moment, the overall bias remains firmly to the upside.But this could change if oil prices close below Tuesday’s low of 59.31. This will potentially confirm the downside for the short term. The long term trendline will act as support in case of such a move.To the upside, oil prices are nearing the 61.35 level which marks the highs from 8th January. Given the current momentum it is unlikely to see oil prices rising further unless there is a strong breakout above 61.35.Gold Prices Fall To A Two-Month LowThe precious metal resumes its declines with price action currently trading near the 1777.50 level.The decline marks a new two-month low in the commodity. A break down below this level could further accelerate declines.Still, considering that this support level has held up previously around early December last year, the precious metal could post a rebound.The daily Stochastics oscillator is also nearing the oversold levels. This could coincide with the support level holding up.However, if the precious metal loses this support, we could see prices potentially falling to the next key support level near 1650.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

S&P 500 Correction – No Need to Hold Onto Your Hat

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.02.2021 16:09
Yesterday‘s bearish price action in stocks was the kind of shallow, largely sideways correction I was looking for. Not too enthusiastic follow through – just rocking the boat while the S&P 500 bull run goes on. Stocks are likely to run quite higher before meeting a serious correction. As I argued in yesterday‘s detailed analysis of the Fed policies, their current stance won‘t bring stocks down. But it‘s taking down long-term Treasuries, exerting pressure on the dollar (top in the making called previous Monday), and fuelling commodities – albeit at very differnt pace. The divergencies I have described yesterday, center on weak gold performance – not gaining traction through the monetary inflation, instead trading way closer in sympathy with Treasury prices. Gold has frontrunned the other commodities through the corona deflationary shock, and appears waiting for more signs of inflation. It didn‘t make a final top in Aug 2020, and a new bear market didn‘t start. It‘s my opinion that thanks to the jittery Treasury markets, we‘re seeing these dislocations, and that once the Fed focuses on the long end of the curve in earnest, that would remove the albatross from gold‘s back.I can‘t understate how important the rising yields are to the economy (and to the largest borrower, the government). Since 1981, we‘ve been in one long bond bull market, and are now approaching the stage of it getting questioned before too long. The rates are rising without the real economy growing really strongly, far from its potential output, and characterized by a weak labor market. Not exactly signs of overheating, but we‘ll get there later this year still probably.It‘s like with generating inflation – the Fed policies for all their intent, can‘t command it into happening. The Treasury market is throwing a fit, knowing how much spending (debt monetization) is coming its way, and the Fed‘s focus is surely shifting to yields at the long end. Bringing it under control would work to dampen the rampant speculation in stocks, and also lift gold while not hurting commodities or real economy recovery much. Sounds like a reasonable move (yield curve control), and I believe they‘re considering it as strongly as I am talking about it.Let‘s quote yesterday‘s special report on gold, inflation, and commodities:(…) the wave of new money creation (we‘re almost at double the early 2020 Fed‘s balance sheet value - $4T give or take then vs. almost $7.5T now – and that‘s before the multiplier in commercial banks loan creation kicks in) keeps hitting the markets, going into the real economy, predictably lifting many boats. It‘s my view that we have to (and will) experience a stock market bubble accompanied by the precious metals and commodities one – to a degree, simultaneously, for the stock market is likely to get under pressure first. Again, I am talking the big picture here – not the coming weeks.Let‘s examine the bear market is gold – some say that the late 2015 marked bottom, I‘m of the view that the 2016 steep rally was a first proof of turning tide. But the Fed got serious about tightening (raising rates, shrinking its balance sheet), and gold reached the final bottom in Aug 2018. Seeing through the hawks vs. dove fights at the Fed in the latter half of 2018 (December was a notable moment when Powell refused to the markets‘ bidding, remained hawkish in the face of heavy, indiscriminate selling across the board – before relenting).Since then, gold was slowly but surely gathering steam, and speculation in stocks was on. The repo crisis of autumn 2019 didn‘t have a dampening effect either – the Fed was solidly back to accomodative back then. These have all happened well before corona hit – and it wasn‘t able to push gold down really much. The recovery from the forced selling, this deflationary episode (which I had notably declared back in summer 2020 to be a one-off, not to be repeated event), was swift. Commodities have clearly joined, and the picture of various asset classes taking the baton as inflation is cascading through the system, is very clear.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsFinally, a daily downswing – not meaningful, but it‘s as good as it gets. The slightly lower volume though shows that there is not a raging conviction yet that this sideways move is over.The market breadth indicators aren‘t at their strongest. Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume dipped negative, which isn‘t worrying unless you look at new highs new lows as well. While still positive, $NYHL is showing a divergence by moving below the mid-Feb lows. Seeing its decline to carve a rounded bottom a la end Jan would be a welcome sight to the stock bulls. Before then, nothing stands in the way of muddling through in a shallow, corrective fashion.Credit Markets and TreasuriesThe divergence in both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) – show the bond market strains. HYG:SHY clearly supports the S&P 500 rally, while LQD:IEI isn‘t declining in tandem with long-term Treasuries. Instead, it‘s carving out a bullish divergence as it‘s trading well above the Sep and Oct lows – unlike the TLT.Speaking of which, such were my words yesterday, calling for a Treasury reprieve to happen soon:(…) Long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) are the key chart on my radar screen right now. The rise in yields is accelerating, and if progressing unmitigated, would throw a spanner into many an asset‘s works. Even though it‘s not apparent right now, there is a chance that we‘ll see a slowdown, even a temporary stabilization, over the coming sessions. The larger trend in rates is higher though, and in the dollar to the downside.The dollar is still topping out, and a new daily upswing doesn‘t change that – I look for it to be reversed, and for the new downleg reasserting itself.Gold, Silver and CommoditiesThe encouraging, budding short-term resilience of gold to rising Treasury yields, got a harsh reality check yesterday. While the latter ticked higher, gold declined regardless. Closing at the late Nov lows, it‘s still relatively higher given the steep rise in long-term Treasury yields since. A bullish divergence, but a more clear sign of (directional) decoupling (negating this week‘s poor performance) is needed.Let‘s look again at gold, silver, and commodities in the medium run. Silver decoupled from gold since the late Nov bottom in both, while commodities haven‘t really looked back since early Nov. Till the end of 2020, gold wasn‘t as markedly weak as it has become since, and actually tracked the silver recovery from the late Nov bottom. And the reason it stopped, are the long-term Treasury yields, which quickened their rise in 2021. It looks like an orderly decline in TLT is what gold would appreciate – not a rush to the Treasury exit door.SummaryThe bearish push in stocks has a good chance of finally materializing also today. How strong will its internals be, will it entice the bulls to step in again? Signs are for this correction to run a bit longer in time – but the stock bull run is firmly on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right away.The gold bulls recovered a little of the lost ground, but that doesn‘t flip the short-term picture their way in the least. While the yellow metal is leading silver today, its overall performance in the short run remains disappointing, and the silver-gold spread trade I introduced you to a week ago, a much stronger proposition. Still, given the miners‘ signals, unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold’s Downtrend: Is This Just the Beginning?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.02.2021 16:43
With the yellow metal just posting its lowest close since June and a bearish pattern forming, how vulnerable is gold to a further decline?Gold and mining stocks just broke to new yearly lows – as I warned you in my previous analyses. And that’s only the beginning.Let’s jump right into the charts, starting with gold.Figure 1 - COMEX Gold FuturesIn early February, gold broke below the rising red support line and it then verified it by rallying back to it and then declining once again. It topped almost exactly right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal, which was yet another time when this technique proved to be very useful.Gold has just closed not only at new yearly lows, but also below the late-November lows (in terms of the closing prices, there was no breakdown in intraday terms). This means that yesterday’s (Feb. 17) closing price was the lowest daily close since late June 2020. At the moment of writing these words, gold is also trading below the April 2020 intraday high.Gold was likely to slide based on myriads of technical and cyclical factors, while the fundamental factors remain very positive – especially considering that we are about to enter the Kondratiev winter, or we are already there. As a reminder, Kondratiev cycles are one of the longest cycles and the stages of the cycle take names after seasons. “Winter” tends to start with a stock market top that is caused by excessive credit. In this stage gold is likely to perform exceptionally well… But not right at its start. Even the aftermath of the 1929 top (“Winter” started then as well), gold stocks declined for about 3 months before soaring. In the first part of the cycle, cash is likely to be king. And it seems that the performance of the USD Index is already telling investors to buckle up.And speaking of stocks, what about mining stocks? As you might already well know, just as with gold, the miners moved below the November lows in terms of both the intraday prices and daily closing prices. What does that mean? If you’d like to explore mining stocks in detail and are curious to know more about their prices and possible exit levels, then our full version of the analyses contains exactly what you need to know.Getting back to gold…Figure 2If the fact that gold invalidated its breakout above its 2011 high, despite the ridiculously positive fundamental situation, doesn’t convince you that gold does not really “want” to move higher before declining profoundly first, then the above chart might.As I wrote above, gold is currently more or less when it was trading at the April 2020 top. Where was the USD Index trading back then? It was moving back and forth around the 100 level.100!The USD Index closed a little below 91, and gold is at the same price level! That’s a massive 9 index-point decline in the USDX that gold shrugged off just like that.There’s no way that gold could “ignore” this kind of movement and be “strong” at the same time. No. It’s been very weak in the previous months, which is a strong sign (not a fundamental one, but a critical one nonetheless) that gold is going to move much lower once the USD Index finally rallies back up.Right now, waiting for gold to rally is like waiting for the light to turn green, arguing that eventually it has to turn green, while not realizing that the light is broken (gold just didn’t rally despite the huge decline in the USDX). Yes, someone will fix it and eventually it will turn green, but it doesn’t mean that it makes much sense to wait for that to happen, instead of looking around and crossing the street if it’s safe to do so.Yes, gold is likely to rally to new highs in the coming years. And silver is likely to skyrocket. But in light of just two of the above-mentioned factors (gold’s extreme underperformance relative to the USD Index and the invalidation of a critical breakdown) doesn’t it make sense not to purchase gold right now (except for the insurance capital that is) in order to buy it after several weeks / few months when it’s likely to be trading at much lower levels?We live in very specific times. Getting a “like” on a post or picture becomes a necessary daily activity and means of self-validation. Not “liking” something that others posted or that is massively “liked” may be frowned upon or even viewed as being disrespectful. Plus, it seems that no matter what you do, everyone gets offended very easily. When did honesty, independence and common-sense stop being virtues?When it comes to gold investment analysis, it’s surprisingly similar. You either like gold and think that it’s going higher right away or you’re “one of them”. “Them” can be anyone who tries to manipulate gold or silver prices, “banksters”, or some kind of unknown enemy. “ Analysts' ” goal is often no longer to be as objective as possible and to provide as good and as unbiased an analysis as possible, but to simply be cheering for gold and provide as many bullish signals as possible regardless of what one really thinks about them. The above may seem pleasant to readers, but it’s not really in their best interest. In order to make the most of any upswing, it’s best to enter the market as low as possible and to exit relatively close to the top. What happens before a price is as low as possible? It declines. Why would something like that (along with those describing it) be hated by gold investors? It makes no sense, but yet, it’s often the case.Top of FormBottom of FormThe discussion – above and below – can be viewed as something positive or negative for any investor, but while reading it, please keep in mind that our goal is the same as yours – we want to help investors make the most of their precious metals investments. Call us old-fashioned, but regardless of how unpleasant it may seem, we’ll continue to adhere to honesty, independence and common-sense in all our analysesOk, but why on Earth would the USD Index rally back up? The Fed is printing so much dollars – why would they be worth more?!Because the currencies are valued with relation to each other and whether or not the USD Index moves higher or lower doesn’t depend only on what the Fed is doing.Figure 3What other monetary authorities do matters as well and right now the ECB is outprinting the Fed (that’s what the decline in the green line above means), which means that the euro is likely to fall more than the U.S. dollar. Therefore, the EUR/USD currency exchange rate would be likely to decline and since this exchange rate is the biggest (over 50%) component of the USD Index, it makes perfect sense – from the fundamental point of view – to expect the USD Index to move higher.Can gold rally despite higher USD Index values? Absolutely. However, it would first have to start to behave “normally” relative to the USD Index, and before that happens it would have to stop being extremely weak relative to it. And the fact that gold is at the same price level despite a 9-index-point decline in the USDX is extreme weakness.To make the technical discussion easier, I’m attaching the previous chart once again.Figure 4On Monday (Feb. 15), I wrote the following about the above chart:The size and shape of the 2017-2018 analogue continues to mirror the current price action . However, today, it’s taken 118 less days for the USD Index to move from peak to trough.Also, it took 82 days for the USDX to bottom in 2017-2018 (the number of days between the initial bottom and the final bottom) and the number amounts to 21.19% of the overall duration. If we apply a similar timeframe to today’s move, it implies that a final bottom may have formed on Feb. 12. As a result, the USDX’s long-term upswing could begin as soon as this week.Also noteworthy, as the USDX approached its final bottom in 2017-2018, gold traded sideways. Today, however, gold is already in a downtrend. From a medium-term perspective, the yellow metal’s behavior is actually more bearish than it was in 2017-2018.Also supporting the historical analogue, the USD Index’s current breakout above its 50-day moving average is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. Case in point? After the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is roughly 94.5.Based on this week’s rally it seems that the final bottom formed on Tuesday (Feb. 16) – just 2 trading days away from the analogy-based target, and in perfect tune with what I wrote back then. The breakout above both: the declining blue line, and the 50-day moving average was verified, and the short-term outlook here is clearly bullish.But isn’t the current situation similar to what happened in mid-2020? The correction that was followed by another decline?In a way, it is. In both cases, the USD Index moved higher after a big decline, but that’s about it as far as important similarities are concerned.What is different is the entire context. Even a single look at the above chart provides an instant answer. The mid-2020 correction was like the mid-2017 correction, and what we see right now is the post-bottom breakout, just as we saw in the first half of 2018.There are multiple details on the above chart that confirm it, including the sizes of the medium-term declines, the position of the price relative to the declining support/resistance lines, as well as relative to the 50-day moving average, and even the green arrows in the RSI indicator show how similar the preceding action was in case of this indicator. The vertical dashed line shows “where we are right now” in case of the analogy.Also, the fact that the general stock market has not yet declined in any substantial way only makes the short-term outlook worse (particularly for silver and miners). When stocks do slide, they would be likely to impact the prices of miners and silver particularly strongly.And please remember, we’re looking for the bottom in the precious metals sector not because we’re the enemy of gold or the precious metals investor . On the contrary, we’re that true friend that tells you if something’s not right, even if it may be unpleasant to hear. We want to buy more and at better prices close to the bottom, and we’ll continue to strive to assist you with that as well.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

GBPUSD Advances Higher Again, But Can It Hold The Gains?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.02.2021 08:00
USD weaker after a two-day gainEuro Attempts To Pare LossesThe euro currency is making a solid recovery, in a bid to recoup the losses from Wednesday.Price action is posting a reversal after it broke out from the long term daily trendline for the second time.However, the current pace of gains coincides with likely resistance from the trendline and the 50-day moving average.If the euro fails to close above Wednesday’s highs of 1.2107, then we might expect to see a continuation lower.For the moment, the support level near 1.2050 might help to stall further declines in the currency pair.But a daily close once again below this level will confirm further downside.The British pound sterling posted a strong reversal snapping a two-day losing streak. Price action was bullish as it broke past the previous highs near 1.3950.On an intraday basis, the GBPUSD rose to highs of 1.3985 before giving back some of the gains.Further upside is likely to continue as the GBPUSD approaches the key 1.4000 round number level.But given the current set up of the Stochastics oscillator, the bullish momentum might be losing steam.For the moment, the line in the sand is the Tuesday high of 1.3950. A daily close below this level could keep either prices moving sideways or a drop to Wednesday’s lows of 1.3829.Crude Oil Down Over One PercentOil prices are down over one percent on Thursday. The declines come after the commodity rose to intraday highs of 62.22 before giving back the gains.The overall bias in crude oil remains to the upside. Therefore, unless there is strong evidence of a correction, price action is likely to remain bullish.For the moment, the immediate trendline will be key to watch. A break down below this trendline could potentially accelerate short term declines.The main support level is near the 57.35 level. A close below 60.87 could potentially see the short term correction taking place.However, if oil prices manage to reverse the current gains, we could expect to see further upside in the near term.Gold Prices Steady Above 1764The precious metal is trading flat on Thursday following the sharp declines from the day before. Price action has not yet tested the 30 November lows of 1764.22.For the moment, we expect gold prices to consolidate between 1817.80 and 1764.22 levels. A breakout below 1764.22 could however extend declines down to the next key level near 1750.On a weekly basis, prices are consistently posting lower lows.However, the support level around the 1764 region is holding up. A weekly close below this level could open the way for further downside in the precious metal.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Large Silver cycles

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 19.02.2021 11:13
It´not a secret anymore that Silver is in a boom.The investor is digesting pandemic news for nearly a year now. And the newly termed phrase at the World Economic Forum: “In 2030, you will own nothing and be happy” makes one think twice.The chartist finds himself for almost a year in a bullish trend in Silver. This after Silver trading in a range for seven years. He/She sees Gold on the top of the list of ‘Top assets by market cap’ with Silver ranking 6th and Bitcoin ranking 9th.The market participant focused on fundamentals and market cycles is wondering how long the dollar will hold up as a fiat currency. Typically (over the last 600 years), a fiat currency hyperinflates after 93 years.Nevertheless, the question of “How much” is one to be answered, and it could be much larger time cycles that provide guidance there.The world viewed from a different angle might give clues:Toddlers have anxiety symptoms which can manifest in not eating properly, quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts as well as constantly worrying or having negative thoughts and feeling tense and fidgety.Social Media addiction among  teens and young adults has exploded leading to an inability to stop or curb this addictive behavior despite suffering losses in friendship, decreased physical social engagement, and a negative impact at school.Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.The elderly are unwanted in a production-oriented society that measures human value by productivity rate.Yet, pet clothing stores and fresh pet food sections in grocery chain stores are becoming the norm.Any endeavors, including the arts, are measured against the benchmark of profitability. Resulting in the worship of money over beauty, ethics, and principles.The list goes on and could point as far back as to decadent times before the fall of Rome.Daily Chart of Silver, Range Trading:Silver in US Dollar, dailly chart as of February 18th, 2021.One part that has changed over time is the integrity of the markets. Free markets and their principle benefits are endangered. And then typically lies have short legs, and truth prevails.While Silver prices are still held in a range by artificial shorts, the cost of physical Silver much more accurately describes its value increase.  Weekly Chart of Silver, One deep breath and go:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 18th, 2021.Once desperate bears have to give way to Silver’s real value and demand, we most likely see price-advances much more significant than generally assumed.S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, Monthly Chart, Large Silver cycles:S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 18th, 2021.A view at the S&P500 chart above from a professional chartist’s perspective would qualify the hypothetical crash scenario, not as an abnormality but rather a typical scenario after advances this extended in time.In Rome, the leading coin used was The Denarius. With a 90% silver content (4.5 grams per coin), it was equal to a day’s work wages. Rome’s prosperity came from barter, and a finite amount of Silver came into the empire. Within 75 years, the Silver content per coin was diluted down to only 5%. Various emperors did this to finance wars and extravaganza. It was mainly hyperinflation that broke the empire. Sounds familiar?Large Silver cyclesOur intent is not to judge the world and the state it finds itself in, but markets reflect in cycles, and any view larger than one’s lifetime is hard to gauge. We might be in the midst of a market phase where next time around, we get a severe market correction; it might get ugly in a hurry. The result might be more dramatic than the corrections we have seen in the last 20 years. In this case, a look as far back as the Romans could be useful to determine how aggressively we hedge our bets, how much we buy into physical Silver. It looks like a few extra ounces couldn’t hurt.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 19th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

For stocks, has the “Rational Bubble” Popped?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.02.2021 15:38
In keeping with last week’s theme, the market has mainly traded sideways this week. However, that correction I’ve been calling for weeks? We have potentially started.While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March and feel that the wheels are in motion for a healthy 2021, I still maintain that some correction before the end of Q1 could happen.Bank of America also echoed this statement and said last week that “We expect a buyable 5-10% Q1 correction as the big ‘unknowns’ coincide with exuberant positioning, record equity supply, and as good as it gets’ earnings revisions.”Yes, the sentiment is still positive. That won’t change overnight. Vaccines seem more effective than we thought, especially against other variants of the virus. All that extra stimulus money and record low-interest rates could keep pushing stocks to more records and stimulate pent-up consumer spending. It’s not like the Fed is going to switch this policy up anytime soon, either.They don’t call it a stimulus for nothing.For weeks we’ve likely been in a rational bubble. Dhaval Joshi , the chief European investment strategist for BCA Research, has said that low bond yields meant the rally we’ve seen with stocks made sense.“Rational, because the nosebleed valuations are justified by a fundamental driver. And not just any fundamental driver, but the most fundamental driver of all – the bond yield.”Take a look at this chart comparing a “rational bubble” to an “irrational bubble.”But now? Things have possibly changed. Complacency, valuations, surging bond yields, and inflation concern me.They’re all connected. But look especially into the 10-year yield. It’s hovering around 1.30% for the first time in over a year.Why is this concerning?Rising interest rates=less attractive stocks.Look at this other chart. Forward P/E ratios are continuing to rise along with bond yields. In high-growth sectors, such as tech, this is especially concerning. The chart shows, in fact, that tech earnings yields have now been surpassed by the bond yield plus a fixed amount.The only three ways this can be resolved are for stock prices to decline, bond yields to fall, or earnings to rise and improve stock valuations. Considering earnings season is over, only options 1 or 2 seem feasible in the near-term.You combine this info with the Buffet Indicator (Total US stock market valuation/GDP), and you have a market that could be 228% overvalued.I’ve already correctly called the Russell 2000’s pullback after how much it’s overheated. Since February 9th, when I switched the call to a sell, it’s declined roughly 3.40%.More could follow.Look. Corrections are healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017), and we haven’t seen one in a year.A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one to help people who needed help instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don’t think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market, will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. A Needed Cool Down for the Russell 2000Figure 1- iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)Since February 9, the Russell 2000 small-cap index has lagged behind the other indices after significantly overheating. I switched my call to a SELL then, and it promptly declined by 3.40%.I do love small-caps for 2021, though, and I really like this decline. If it declines about another 1.50%, I’d feel more confident switching the call to a BUY.As tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , small-cap stocks have been on a rampage since November.Since the market’s close on October 30, the IWM has gained nearly 44.5% and more than doubled ETFs’ returns tracking the larger indices. If you thought that the Nasdaq was red hot and frothy, you have no idea about the Russell 2000.Not to mention, year-to-date, it’s already up a staggering 14%.Judging from these types of returns, the IWM’s decline since February 9 is hardly shocking. But for me, it’s still not enough, outside of switching the call to a HOLD.It pains me not to recommend you to BUY the Russell just yet. I love this index’s outlook for 2021. Aggressive stimulus, friendly policies, and a reopening world could bode well for small-caps. Consumer spending, especially for small-caps, could be very pent-up as well.But we need to just hold on and wait for it to cool down just a little bit more for a better entry point.HOLD. If and when there is a deeper pullback, BUY for the long-term recovery.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as the streaky S&P, inflation, and emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Why the Sky Is Not Falling in Precious Metals

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.02.2021 16:03
Stocks are predictably staging a continued recovery from the mostly sideways correction – a shallow one not strong enough to break the bulls‘ back. Credit markets are largely behaving – with the exception of long-term Treasuries, which I see as highly likely to draw the Fed‘s attention – just as I discussed in detail yesterday. The S&P 500 keeps doing fine, and so does my open position there – in the black again. On one hand, volatility remains low regardless of intraday attempts to rise, on the other hand, the put/call ratio has risen quite high yesterday – it‘s as if the traders are expecting a shoe to drop, similarly to the end of Jan. Will it, is there any on the horizon?Treasuries at the long-end are falling like a stone, and those on the short end (3-months) are seeing higher prices in 2021. The bond market is clearly under pressure, and exerting influence primarily upon precious metals (and commodities such as oil, which are experiencing a down day today, after quite a string of foreseeable gains). The bearish sentiment in gold and miners is running rampant, and it‘s been only yesterday when I answered a question on ominous head and shoulders patterns in the making, at my own site. This clearly illustrates the razor edge we‘re at in precious metals:(…) This is more often than not the case with H&S patterns – they are not the most reliable ones, highly judgemental at times, and their targets are more often than not far away, which makes them a not fully reliable trading proposition when a long enough time (trade) series is taken. I rather look at what is driving individual moves – which asset classes influence it the most at a given time? Where to look for so as to get most precise information? With gold and gold miners (they still trade quite tightly together), it's the Treasury yields on the long end.As I wrote in today's (Feb 18) precious metals report, despite the new 2021 lows in TLT, gold isn't amplifying the pressure – it's trading well above the $1,770 level, and enjoys a stronger session today than silver. Look at the gold – TLT evolving relationship, as that's the key determinant right now. The post-Nov dynamic speaks in gold's favor – under the surface. Don't underestimate the Fed either.Plenty to talk and cover in the precious metals really – just as usual at such crossroads. Let‘s briefly recap all the ducks lining up in stocks first.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and VolatilityRepeated lower knots mark a refusal to decline as the daily dips keep being bought. Given the constructive developments in high yield corporate bonds and its key ratio (HYG and HYG:SHY), I fully expect the uptrend to keep reasserting itself once again. The talk about a top, imminent correction or stretched valuations, is still premature.The best known volatility measure is still refusing to rise on a lasting basis, indicating that the environment remains favorable to higher stock prices.Dollar and TreasuriesThe world reserve currency is on the doorstep of another powerful decline, and not initiating a bull market run. The caption says it all – this is the time for antidollar plays to thrive in our era of ample credit, unprecedented money creation that‘s triggering a Roaring Twenties style of speculative environment, not a Kondratieff winter with a deflationary shock as you might hear some argue.Look around, check food, energy, or housing prices, and you‘ll see how connected to reality are the calls of those writing that inflation isn‘t a problem (monetary inflation lifting many asset classes). Check that against Fed President Daly stating that the inflationary pressures now point downwards… and make your own conclusions about the new money wave hitting the real economy.Gold, Silver and MinersJust as gold is challenging (resting on) the late Nov lows, so is the miners to gold ratio. That‘s a key one – I mentioned at the very end of Jan that I would like to see it start to lead higher. Seeing the latest two-day losing streak, it‘s not happening, and the late Jan breakdown which might have turned out to be false, may not materialize in the short run. Let‘s get a proper perspective by displaying this chart in weekly format.Is this the dreadful breakdown threating doom and gloom in the precious metals? Zooming out definitely provides a very different take – a more objective one than letting (fear) emotions run high and tickitis to take over.We‘re still consolidating, and not making lower lows – regardless of this week‘s increased gold sensitivity to rising yields as seen in the plunging TLT values. Inflation is making its way through the system as surely as Titanic‘s watertight compartments were filled with water. I‘ve discussed on Wednesday at length inflation, past Fed action and asset appreciation, and yesterday explained why the central bank will be tied into a war on two fronts as it gets to seek control over the yield curve at the long end too.Another short-term worrying chart as silver miners are caught in last days‘ selling whirlwind. Even the juniors lost their short-term edge over the seniors, making me think that a potential washout event before a more universal sectoral rebound, might be at hand.Pretty worrying for those who are all in gold – unless they took me up on last Friday‘s repeated idea that silver is going to outperform gold in the next precious metals upleg, which I formulated that day into a spread (arbitrage) trade long silver, short gold. Check out the following chart how that would have worked out for you.The dynamics favoring silver are unquestionable – starting from varied and growing industrial applications, strengthening manufacturing and economy recovery, poor outlook in silver above ground stockpile and recycling, to the white metal being also a monetary metal. Silver is bound to score better gains than gold, marred by the Bitcoin allure, would. SummaryThe bearish push in stocks didn‘t indeed take the sellers far – just as I wrote yesterday, there was no reason to hold on to your hat. The stock bull run is firmly entrenched, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right away as all we‘re going through, is a shallow correction (in time especially).Bearish dollar, $1.9T or similar stimulus not priced in, and yet gold isn‘t taking a dive. Amid very positive fundamentals, it‘s the technicals that are short-term challenging for gold – we‘re in truly unchartered territory given the economic policies pursued. I stand by my call to watch the TLT chart very closely – it looks like an orderly TLT decline is what gold needs, not a selling stampede. Despite the current disclocation with gold being the weakest of the weak (I am looking at commodities for cues), I still stand by the call that a new PMs upleg is only a question of time – a shortening one, at that.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

What Is The Next Move For Silver/Gold? Follow Treasuries and Commodities Trends To Find Out

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 21.02.2021 13:56
Gold continues to wallow near its recent low price level, near $1765.  Silver has continued to trend moderately higher – but still has not broken out to the upside.  Many analysts have continued to estimate when and how metals will begin the next wave higher.  My research team and I believe we've found some answers to these questions and want to share our research.Silver Explodes In Late-Stage Excess RalliesThe first thing we want to highlight is that Silver tends to rally excessively in the later stages of any precious metals rally.  For example, in mid-2010, Silver began an incredible upside price rally after Gold rallied from $720 (October 2008) to $1265 (June 2010).  This suggests that the price relationship between Gold and Silver “dislocated” in the early stage breakdown of the financial markets near the peak of the 2008-09 Housing Crisis Peak.  Then, in late 2010, Silver began to move dramatically higher while Gold continued to push an additional 80%+ higher.The Silver rally in 2010~11 is clearly evident on this Silver/Gold Weekly chart, below.  The lack of any Silver price advance compared to Gold prior to the 2010 rally is also evident.  One interesting fact relating to how Silver reacted to the 2008~09 Housing Crisis is the deep collapse we see on the left edge of this chart.  A similar collapse happened just recently as COVID-19 shocked the global markets in 2020. One key aspect we found very interesting is how Silver recovered moderately slowly in 2009~10 before launching into an incredible breakout rally in late 2010 – nearly 15 months after the bottom.  Currently, after the COVID-19 bottom, Silver has rallied a bit more aggressively and quickly.  While Gold has languished below $1800 recently, Silver has continued to gain value compared to Gold.  This new dynamic may suggest the current setup in Precious Metals is transitioning into the late-stage excess rally much quicker than in 2009-10.Treasury Yields Drive Explosive Trends In SilverHow do Treasury Yields relate to price action in Silver?  The first thing we need to understand is that Silver can rally while Yields are rising or falling.  What happens when Yields rise over long periods of time is that Silver will tend to attempt to find support while trending moderately higher.  Eventually, if fear subsides in the global markets, Silver may fall in price in the later stages of rising Yields.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!As you can see on the Treasury Yield to Silver chart below, Yields collapse in 2008 & 2009, as the Housing Crisis unloaded on the global markets.  Yields also collapsed in 2020 as COVID-19 shocked the global markets.  In 2009-10, interest rates collapsed and Yields collapsed until late 2013.  Silver continued to form a base in 2015~16 as Yields rose and peaked.  Near the peak in Yields in 2018, Silver continued to attempt to establish a bottom.What we find interesting related to this chart is the steep collapse in Yields after the 2018 peak and the recent rally in both Yields and Silver.  We believe Yields may stall and begin to move lower – resulting in another rally attempt in Silver and Gold.  We believe the recent rally in Yields is a reaction to the deep lows related to COVID-19 and that Silver is representing a price pattern similar to 2008-09 – a deep low, followed by a moderately strong price recovery.  Yields could stay low for much longer than many people expect if our research are correct.If Yields continue to stay near or below current levels, the lowest ever experienced in recent history, then Silver should begin another rally attempt very quickly – possibly within just a few weeks.  The question becomes, what would prompt Yields to fall quickly from current levels?  Could some type of global credit or financial crisis be brewing again?Commodities & Metals AlignLast but not least, we want to highlight the correlation between commodities and Silver/metals.  When commodities prices rise, in general, Silver rises as well.  The Monthly Commodity & Silver chart, below, highlights the rally in Commodities in 2010~2011 as well as the incredible rally in Silver that took place at the same time.  Now, focus on the hard right edge of this chart and pay attention to the rally in Commodities and Silver that has taken place over the past 12+ months.  What is brewing is that Commodities are rallying from a deep bottom that has taken over 9 years to complete.  The continued decline in commodities since 2011 has prompted a very strong price recovery attempt after the COVID-19 deep lows.  Silver has reacted to this rally in Commodities, like it usually does, to prompt a fairly strong upside price trend.Recently, though, Silver has stalled while Commodities prices have rallied.  This suggests that Silver is congesting in a new momentum base and should begin an explosive upside price rally – comparable to the rally we are seeing in Commodities.  Commodities have rallied near 20% over the past 12 weeks while Silver has nearly the same amount over the same span of time.  From the COVID-19 lows, the Commodity Index rallied nearly 22% while Silver rallied more than 127%.  If Silver were to maintain this ratio, the 20% rally in Commodities should prompt a 110% rally attempt in Silver.Given our research related to how Silver has moved compared to Gold, Treasuries, and Commodities, we believe Silver is basing and building momentum for a big breakout rally.  We believe the upside move in Yields has put pressure on Silver and Gold recently to stall/consolidate.  We believe Commodities are building strong upside price momentum which should push Gold and Silver higher.  As the Commodity rally continues while Gold and Silver stall, an incredible amount of upside price momentum builds up over time.  When it breaks, it could be very explosive.A change of direction in Yields could prompt Silver and Gold to resume a strong upside price trend. Either way, as long as Commodities continue to rally and Yields begin to stall or more sideways, Gold and Silver are poised to attempt another advancing leg higher.Our research team believes Gold and Silver are poised to make another big price advance.  We wish we could tell you exactly when it will happen – but we can't.  Our estimate is that within the next 2 to 4 weeks, continued pressures will likely push both Gold and Silver into an upside breakout price trend.  We believe the amount of rally pressure that is building in Gold and Silver is immense.  Time will tell if we are correct or not.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Stay safe and warm!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

GBPUSD Steadies Over A Three-And-Half-Year High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.02.2021 07:47
Risk on sentiment pushes dollar lowerEuro Closes The Week Almost FlatThe euro currency managed to pull back after hitting a two-week low during the week. Price action remains steady within the 1.2050 and 1.2144 levels for the moment.The overall trend remains flat with the key price level established. Only a strong break out from either of these levels will indicate further direction in the trend.The Stochastics oscillator on the daily chart could likely signal a move to the upside.However, for this to happen, the euro currency will need to break out above 1.2177 – 1.2144 levels.To the downside, support is firmly established at 1.2050 which has held up on the previous retest.The British pound sterling has closed with gains for six consecutive weekly sessions so far.The gains put the GBPUSD over a three and half year high, closing on Friday at 1.4018. This puts the currency pair near a multi-year support/resistance level.A continuation to the upside could see further gains coming.In the short term, price action is able to make consistent higher lows in maintaining the bullish trend. Therefore, further gains are likely as long as the current moment holds.The daily Stochastics oscillator is in the overbought levels since 9th February. This could, however, change if the momentum shifts to the downside.For the moment, the initial level near 1.3851 will be key ahead of any short term corrections.Oil Prices Pullback From A 13-Month HighOn Friday, WTI Crude oil prices closed with back to back losses. This led to the weekly price action closing in the red after prices briefly rose above 61.35 earlier in the week.The declines come after oil prices have been moving in a sharp and steady trend.On the 4-hour charts, we see the trendline breached. This has led to a modest pullback with prices rejected ahead of moving lower.If oil prices continue to move lower, then we could see the 57.35 level of support being tested. Establishing support here could potentially boost the upside.The Stochastics oscillator is currently near the oversold levels and could see some recovery in prices.To the upside, the price level of 60.87 needs to be breached in order for oil prices continue pushing higher.Gold Pulls Back From A Seven-Month LowThe precious metal fell to a seven-month low over the week before managing to recovery with bullish gains on Friday.Price action closed with gains after Thursday’s doji pattern. This also comes near the support level of 1764.With the Stochastics oscillator also turning higher, the current rebound could see gold prices likely to test the 1817.79 level of to establish resistance once again.Overall, price action could remain trading within these levels for the near term. Further downside is likely if gold loses the support near 1764.For the moment, there is a possibility that the precious metal could move to the upside.This is especially true with the Stochastics oscillator on the daily chart moving deeper into the oversold levels.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Kiss of Life for Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.02.2021 16:24
The narrow trading range in stocks continues, and the shallow sideways correction will eventually resolve itself with another upleg. The signs are countless, and the riskier part of the credit market spectrum agrees. As money flows from the Tresury markets, and sizable cash balances are sitting on many a balance sheet, there is plenty of fuel to power the S&P 500 advance.With volatility in the tame low 20s and the put/call ratio again moving down, the bears‘ prospects are bleak. As I wrote last week, their time is running out, and a new stock market upleg approaches. It‘s the bond market that‘s under pressure, with both investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries suffering in the accelerated decline.Gold is the most affected, as the sensitivity of its reaction to the rising long-tern yields, has picked up very noticeably. How long before these draw both the Fed‘s attention and action – what will we learn from Powell‘s testimony on Tue and Wed? And when will the much awaited stimulus finally arrive, and force repricing beyond the metals markets?Before that, gold remains on razor‘s edge, while silver leads and platinum flies for all the green hydrogen promise. The dollar has given back on Thu and Fri what it gained two days before, and remains in its bear market. Not even rising yields were able to generate much demand for the world reserve currency. Its lower prices stand to help gold thanks to the historically prevailing negative correlation, counterbalancing the Treasury yields pressure.Plenty of action that‘s bound to decide the coming weeks‘ shape in the precious metals. And not only there as oil experienced 2 days of lossess in a row – practically unheard of in 2021 so far. On Saturday, I‘ve added a new section to my site, Latest Highlight, for easier orientation in the milestone calls and timeless pieces beyond the S&P 500 and gold. Enjoy!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe weekly indicators suggest that a reversal is still not likely. There is no conviction behind the weekly decline, and signs are still pointing to a sideways consolidation underway.The daily chart reflects the relatively uneventful trading – we‘re in a phase of bullish base building before powering off to new highs. See how little the daily indicators have retreated from their extended readings, and the barely noticeable price decline associated.S&P 500 InternalsAll the three market breadth indicators show improved readings, and my eyes are on new highs new lows throwing their weight behind the prior two indicators‘ advance. The overall impression is one of balance.The value to growth (VTV:QQQ) ratio shows that tech (XLK ETF) has fallen a bit out out of step recently – we‘re undergoing another microrotation into value stocks. The stock market leadership is thus broadening, confirming the findings from the advance-decline line (and advance-decline volume) examination.Credit MarketsOne chart to illustrate the bond market pressures – high yield corporate bonds are holding gained ground while investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries are plunging like there is no tomorrow. With each of their rebound attempt sold, the dislocations are increasing – a great testament to the euphoric stage of the stock market advance. Gold and TreasuriesGold price action isn‘t as bearish as it might seem based on last week‘s moves. Yes, the readiness to decline in sympathy with rising yields, is diconcerting, but the yellow metal stopped practically at the late Nov lows, and refused to decline further. Low prices attracted buying interest, and due to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment for the week ahead, the yellow metal may surprise on the upside. Time for the bulls to prove themselves as the tone of coming weeks‘ trading in gold is in the balance.The daily chart‘s correlation coefficient has moved into strongly positive territory in 2021, illustrating the headwinds gold faces. Despite the prevailing wisdom, such strongly positive correlation isn‘t the rule over extended periods of time. That‘s the message of the daily chart – but let‘s step back and see the bigger picture similarly to the way I did on Friday witht the $HUI:$GOLD ratio.Not an encouraging sight at the moment. The tightness of mutual relationship is there, and given the decreased focus on timing (one candle representing one week) coupled with the correlation coefficient being calculated again over a 20 period sample, the week just over shows that regardless of the post-Nov resilience, gold is clearly getting under more pressure.Gold and DollarLet‘s do the same what I did about long-term Treasuries and gold, also about the dollar and gold. Their historically negative correlation is receding at the moment as the two face their own challenges. The key question is when and from what level would the fiat currency and its nemesis return to trading in the opposite directions. Such a time is highly likely to be conducive to higher gold prices.On the weekly chart, the negative correlation periods are winning out in length and frequency. Certainly given the less sensitive timining component through weekly candlesticks and 20-period calculation, the current strength and level of positive correlation is rather an exception and not a rule. Combining this chart‘s positive correlation between the two with the daily chart‘s negative yet rising readings, highlights in my view a potential for seeing an upset in the momentary relationship.In other words, the gold decline over the past now almost 7 months going hand in hand with mostly sliding dollar, would turn into higher gold prices accompanied by lower dollar values. How much higher gold prices, that depends on the long-term Treasuries market – that‘s the one playing the decisive role, not the dollar at the moment.Gold, Silver and MinersSilver is doing fine, platinum very well, while gold struggles and needs to prove itself. That‘s the essence of the long silver short gold trade idea – the silver to gold ratio attests to that.Quoting from Friday‘s analysis:(…) The dynamics favoring silver are unquestionable – starting from varied and growing industrial applications, strengthening manufacturing and economy recovery, poor outlook in silver above ground stockpile and recycling, to the white metal being also a monetary metal. Silver is bound to score better gains than gold, marred by the Bitcoin allure, would. Final chart of today‘s extensive analysis is about the two miners to gold ratios, and the divergencies they show. The ETF-based one (GDX:GLD) is sitting at support marked by both the late Nov and late Jan lows, while $HUI:$GOLD is probing to break below its late Jan lows, and these were already lower than the respective late Nov lows.Both ratios are sending a mixed picture, in line with the theme of my latest reports – gold is on razor‘s edge, and the technical picture is mixed given its latest weakness. That‘s the short run – I expect that once the Fed‘s hand is twisted enough in TLT and TLH, and speculation on yield curve control initiation rises, the focus in the precious metals would shift to inflation and its dynamics I‘ve described both on Wed and Fri. SummaryThe sellers in stocks aren‘t getting far these days, and signals remain aligned behind the S&P 500 advance to reassert itself. Neither the Russell 2000, nor emerging markets are flashing divergencies, and the path of least resistance in stocks remains higher.Gold‘s short-term conundrum continues - positive fundamentals that are going to turn even more so in the near future, yet the key charts show the king of metals under pressure, with long-term Treasury yields arguably holding the key to gold‘s short-term future. The decoupling events seen earlier this month, got a harsh reality check in the week just over. Yet, that‘s not a knock-out blow – the medium- and long-term outlook remains bright, and too many market players have rushed to the short side in the short run too.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

FOMC Minutes Disappoint Gold Bulls

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.02.2021 17:26
The recent FOMC minutes are hawkish and negative for the price of gold, but the Fed will remain generally dovish for some time.Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) published minutes from its last meeting in January . They reveal that Fed officials became more optimistic about the economy than they were in December. The main reasons behind the more upbeat economic projection were the progress in vaccinations, the government’s stimulus provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, and the expectations of an additional sizable tranche of fiscal support in the pipeline:Most participants expected that the stimulus provided by the passage of the CAA in December, the likelihood of additional fiscal support, and anticipated continued progress in vaccinations would lead to a sizable boost in economic activity.The Committee members were so convinced that the longer-run prospects for the economy had improved, that they decided to skip reference to the risks to the outlook in their official communications:in light of the expected progress on vaccinations and the change in the outlook for fiscal policy, the medium-term prospects for the economy had improved enough that members decided that the reference in previous post-meeting statements to risks to the economic outlook over the medium term was no longer warranted.Hence, the recent minutes are generally hawkish and bad for gold . They show that the FOMC participants turned out to be more optimistic about the U.S. economy over the medium-term, as they started to expect “strong growth in employment, driven by continued progress on vaccinations and an associated rebound of economic activity and of consumer and business confidence, as well as accommodative fiscal and monetary policy.”And, although they acknowledged that inflation may rise somewhat in 2021, the Fed officials generally were not concerned about strong upward pressure, with “most” participants still believing that inflation risks were weighted to the downside rather to the upside. In other words, they expect more growth than inflation.Implications for GoldThe Fed officials that have become more optimistic about the economy are proving negative for gold prices. Gold shines most when the Fed is pessimistic about GDP growth and the labor market, as these two factors are more prone to loosen the Fed’s monetary policy . In other words, gold prices need more inflation than economic growth in order to grow. Alternatively, gold needs the Fed to do something and expand its monetary accommodation.Indeed, the last week hasn’t been good for the price of the yellow metal. As the chart below shows, it declined below $1,800 to $1,773 on Thursday (Feb. 18), the lowest level since November 2020.Of course, the decline in the gold prices was more related to the significant selloff in the U.S. bond market than to the FOMC minutes. The bond yields increased sharply. For instance, the 10-year TIPS yields rose from -1.06 on February 10 to -0.87 on February 18, 2021, as one can see in the chart below.However, both events clearly show elevated expectations about the medium-term economic growth. Both investors and central bankers have become more optimistic about the future amid progress in vaccinations and greater prospects for additional fiscal stimulus. The strengthened risk appetite has supported equity prices, making some investors head for the exits in the gold market .Having said that, although gold prices still have some room to go lower – especially if real interest rates rally further – the fundamentals are still positive . I’m referring here to the fact that the U.S. economy has fallen into the debt trap . Both private and public debt is enormous. In such an environment, the interest rates cannot significantly increase, as they would pose a great risk to an overvalued equity market and Treasury. So, the Fed wouldn’t allow for really high interest rates and would intervene, either through expanding its quantitative easing program or through capping the yield curve .Another issue is that the Fed is not going to change its dovish monetary policy anytime soon. Even in the recent, relatively upbeat minutes, Fed officials acknowledged that economic conditions were far from the central banks’ targets:Participants observed that the economy was far from achieving the Committee’s broad-based and inclusive goal of maximum employment and that even with a brisk pace of improvement in the labor market, achieving this goal would take some time (…) Participants noted that economic conditions were currently far from the Committee’s longer-run goals and that the stance for policy would need to remain accommodative until those goals were achieved.Moreover, the Fed’s staff assessed the financial vulnerabilities of the U.S. financial system as being notable . The asset valuation pressures are elevated, and vulnerabilities associated with business and household debt increased over the course of 2020, from levels that were already elevated before the outbreak of the pandemic . So, given all these fragilities, it is unlikely that we will see a really hawkish Fed or significantly higher interest rates. There is also a possibility of the next financial crisis, given the high debt levels. All these factors should support gold prices in the long-term, although more declines in the short-term are possible of course, due to the more positive sentiment among investors and rising bond yields.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

USD falls for the third consecutive day

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.02.2021 07:15
EURUSD On Track For A Three-Day GainThe euro currency is on track for a three-day back to back gain. Price action is recovering sharply following the declines during the middle of last week.For the moment, price action will be challenging last week’s highs of 1.2168. A convincing breakout above the resistance area of 1.2177 will put the bullish bias back on the table.Currently, the 4-hour chart is also shaping up to show an inverse head and shoulders pattern. Therefore, a successful breakout above 1.2177 will push the euro currency toward 1.231 level at the very least.This will mark a lower high comparing to the highs from January this year.GBPUSD Maintains Its Impressive RallyThe British pound sterling maintains a strong hold on the bullish momentum with six consecutive weekly gains so far.Price action is nearing the April 2008 highs of 1.4376. The strong uptrend could be further cemented if the cable breaks out sharply from the rising price channel.The immediate support to the downside is near the 1.3951 level at the moment. However, with the current pace of gains, we expect prices to continue rising above the 1.4000 level.On the daily chart as well, price action remains biased to the upside following the strong bullish reversal pattern on Thursday last week.Crude Oil Attempts To Pare LossesWTI crude oil prices are looking bullish with price action posting a strong recovery after the declines from Thursday and Friday last week.For the moment, price is yet to breakout above last Thursday’s highs of 62.22. But this is essential for the commodity to maintain its bullish position.Following the reversal in the direction on Monday, we expect the minor support near 58.85 to hold prices from declining further.To the upside, oil prices will be battling the confluence of the horizontal resistance level and the trendline around the 60.87 region.If price fails to close out above this level, we could see a correction down to the 57.35 level eventually.Gold Prices Rise To A Four-Day HighThe precious metal is posting strong gains on Monday, capitalizing on a weaker greenback. As a result, price action is up over 1.5% intraday and is trading near a four-day high.Despite the current gains, XAUUSD will need to breakout above the 1817.79 level of resistance. A breakout above this level will also push price action out from the falling price channel.This could potentially signal the end of the correction in gold prices as the upside resumes.However, ahead of further gains, a high low within the 1817.79 – 1764.22 levels could give it more upside bias. This will potentially confirm the end of the current declines.Above 1817.79, gold prices will challenge the 1850 levels next.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Bitcoin, supreme beauty in motion

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 23.02.2021 11:19
Bitcoin surpassed another milestone trading well over 50k last week. Even the strongest doubters start joining in. All professionals have begun to take a bite, and we are far from speculating if this idea has merit. Now the question is how long it will hold steadfast under the attack of possible government coin inventions.It isn’t easily replaced since it already has a history. New inventions might not become an immediately acceptable standard. After all, the large part is trust. We are always rushing to Gold and Silver because of its long historical trust established as a means of barter. With a world much more intertwined geographically, we need a third payment method to allow for large-distance transactions. Something Gold and Silver cannot easily provide.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, When to get in:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of February 22nd, 2021.The question isn’t any longer if Bitcoin will make it or whether it is a bubble or whether it is a temporary thing. The question all that are not holding Bitcoin should be asking is: “Where can I get in?”With bitcoin´s past volatility, it is safe to say we will find ourselves in a retracement in the not-to-distant future where entries near US$51,500 and at the levels below of US$47,500 and US$37,500 are entry zones to keep an eye on. No need to bet the farm but ignoring Bitcoin to wait for another round of next advances isn’t advisable. BTC-USDT, Hourly Chart, Know when to get out:BTC-USDT, hourly chart as of February 22nd, 2021.One can tell what type of money has entered the arena by the way price is advancing. When breakout trades in frequency dominate all other chart pattern formations, it is evident that less-educated funds entered the arena. Last Friday, we advised channel members in our free Telegram channel to take partial profits at US$55,500, a smart point of exit. Yes, prices did advance even higher to US$58,352, but we perceive markets not from maximizing profits but from a risk perspective. This chart shows how volatile noise came in right after these price levels and bears and bulls started their struggle. A time where one would want to be exposed with less position size and stay sidelining from an entry perspective.BTC-USDT, Monthly Chart, Bitcoin, supreme beauty in motion:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of February 22nd, 2021.One might think that 58k is high. Especially looking back that Bitcoin at some point could be acquired for less than US$2. Those exposed for a more extended period to this investment vehicle, remember the fierce retracements of up to 80-90%. The future does not have to equal the past. With most of the money from a volume perspective not being allocated yet, we still find an immense potential for much higher price levels than Bitcoin trading right here. Yes, we might find ourselves in a steep retracement once this first bull wave is over. All this should be perceived is as an opportunity and not feared of Bitcoin going away. It won’t.With second legs typically being much larger than the first and a three-leg advancement being modest, we find our projections conservative.Bitcoin, supreme beauty in motion:In times where hyperinflation again destroys much that some hoped for and others worked for, by over-borrowing, the need for a barter method that cannot be diluted, Bitcoin fits like a glove. Its mathematical standard of limitation to the number of twenty-one million allows for the trust given not to be disappointed. Like times where we had the gold standard, one can rely on its stability. It found its stable place alongside precious metals to be a safe haven and a way to continue doing business and measure one’s wealth against. Its mathematical beauty provides the safety and freedom needed to return to truthful value exchange.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 22nd, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

It‘s Only Tech That‘s Sold – Not S&P 500, Gold Or Silver

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.02.2021 15:52
S&P 500 is getting under modest pressure, and technology is to blame. Is the correction about to turn nasty from sideways? Still no signs of that, even as the investment grade corporate bonds are being sold of as hard as long-term Treasuries. Yet, these corporate instruments have only now broken below their late Oct lows – unlike long-dated Treasuries, whose price action resembles free fall.These government debt instruments are arguably the key asset class for every precious metals investor to watch. What used to be gentle decoupling signs over the latest weeks and months, got thoroughly tested the prior week. Yet, I stood firm in not calling gold down and out. The support zone at late Nov lows generated a rebound that was oh so likely to materialize.Silver naturally outperformed, both copper and oil had a strong day, and agrifoods are making new highs. The inflation dynamics described in Friday‘s article aptly called Why the Sky Is Not Falling in Precious Metals, continues unabated, and the pressure keeps building inside the metals and commodities. Not even the dollar managed to benefit from the rising yields – the resumption of its bear market I called on Feb 08, is one of the 2021 themes. Money keeps flowing from the Treasuries market, and there is plenty sitting on the sidelines (corporate or private) to still deploy and power stocks and precious metals higher. Also those ready to withstand Bitcoin volatility (hello, the weekend Elon Musk tweet follow through), stand to benefit – cryptos are behaving like a store of value, a hedge against currency debasement. I wrote in my very first 2021 analysis that the Bitcoin correction wouldn‘t get far.Powell‘s testimony is about to bring volatility, but does it have the power to change underlying trends? Not really – while his latest high profile assessments brought about a downswing, stocks recovered in spite of the GameStop (contagion?) drama too. Should we see a replay of the above, new highs are coming – and they are, in both stocks and precious metals. We‘re in a commodities supercycle on top!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe daily chart shows yesterday‘s turn of events clearly. The volume increased, indicating that the bulls will need to grapple with more downside.Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume have curled noticeably, yet new highs new lows continues higher. That‘s a confirmation of the broad based nature of the stock market advance, further illustrated with the following chart.What if all the constituent shares in the S&P 500 had equal weight (i.e. there is no $NYFANG)? The above chart is the reflection – and it‘s challenging the latest highs. The rotation theme I‘m discussing so often, means in this case taking the baton from tech, and seeing it pass to value stocks. Such broad advance is a healthy characteristic of bull runs far from making a top.TechnologyHere is the culprit behind yesterday‘s decline – on increasing volume, technology (XLK ETF) has plunged. Yet it‘s the semiconductors (XSD ETF) that I am looking at for clues as to how reasonable has the decline been. And given how the tech is holding up, it‘s a bit accentuated.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still behaving reasonably – the overlaid S&P 500 prices (black line) aren‘t accelerating to the downside. Thus far, everything keeps pointing to stocks behaving a bit more sensitively than throughout 2021 mostly, yet far from crashing or showing their readiness to. The real correction has to wait still – this is not the real deal.Gold, Silver and TreasuriesGold price action indeed proved not to be as bearish. Finally, we‘re seeing a clear refusal to move down even as Treasury yields continue to plunge. How long will this new dynamics stick, where would it take the yellow metal? I treat it as a valuable first swallow.The scissors between gold and silver keep widening, and the white metal again outperformed yesterday. That‘s exactly the dynamics of the new precious metals upleg that I‘m expecting.Both depicted miners to gold ratios show a clear pattern of post Nov resilience. GDX:GLD is not breaking to new lows, while $HUI:$GOLD rejected them. Bobbing around, searching for a local bottom before launching higher? That‘s my leading scenario.SummaryThe unfolding correction got a new twist with yesterday‘s downswing in stocks, and unless tech gets its act together, appears set to run further. Emerging markets fell harder than the Russell 2000 yesterday, which is another proof that the correction isn‘t yet over.Gold and silver price action remain encouraging, and the same can be said about oil and many other commodities. Once the stimulus bill is passed, the positive fundamentals that are going to turn even more so, given the Fed‘s accomodative policies. Will these work to stave off the rising Treasury yields as well? If so, then gold‘s fundamentals got a crucial boost, which would soon be seen in the technicals too. As I wrote yesterday, the metals didn‘t get a knock-out blow – the medium- and long-term outlook remains bright, and too many market players on the short side in the short run, means a high likelihood of a reversal – which is precisely what we saw.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

GBPUSD Steadies On Lockdown Lifting Optimism

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.02.2021 07:26
USD turns volatile as Powell testifies to CongressEURUSD Perched In Resistance Area The euro currency is strongly consolidating within the resistance levels of 1.2177 and 1.2144.Price action managed to rise to the upper level of the range before giving back the gains. The volatility in the tight range comes as the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies to Congress.A breakout above 1.2177 could open the way for the common currency towards wider gains. This will potentially see price action rising to test the highs from January this year.Alternately, if prices fail near the resistance level then we expect a move back lower.To the downside, support at 1.2050 should hold the declines for the moment.The British pound sterling, which has already seen a strong bull run got another boost on Tuesday.The UK Government prepared a roadmap towards re-opening its economy. This puts further upside pressure on the currency pair which is already enjoying a strong rally.Price action is trading outside the rising price channel currently. With the Stochastics oscillator firmly in the overbought levels, the upside momentum could fail.Any downside corrections could stall near the 1.3951 level of support for the moment.Given that the currency pair has been pushing higher on a steady note, we could expect a brief pullback in the near term.WTI Crude Oil Pulls Back From A New 13-Month High Oil prices surged higher intraday on Tuesday. Prices tested a new 13-month high of 62.96 in the early Asian trading session.However, since then, oil prices gradually drifted back lower. The test of support near 60.87 confirms that prices are well supported at this level.However, for the short term, oil prices will need to breakout higher and continue further to maintain the bullish trend.The Stochastics oscillator on the four-hour chart is also likely to signal another push to the upside.For the moment, the line in the sand is the 60.87 technical support. If oil prices lose this support, then we expect a deeper correction down to 57.35 or toward the 19 Feb lows of 58.56.Gold Gains Slow As Price Approaches 1817.79 The precious metal pulled back just a few points away from the 1817.79 level of technical resistance.The Stochastics oscillator which is currently signaling a hidden bearish divergence could see a continuation in price to the downside.This is unless, of course, the precious metal manages to breakout above the 1817.79 price level. Such a move will potentially open the way toward the 1850 handle.Meanwhile, if prices drift lower then we could expect a move closer to the 1764 level of support. However, it is unlikely that this level of support will be tested once again.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Tech Holds the Key to S&P 500

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.02.2021 15:38
The Powell inspired, coinciding (have your pick) S&P 500 stop run is almost history now, with the futures trading over 3,880 again as we speak. No surprise here, but since the long-term Treasuries plunge went on largely unabated, that‘s concerning.Even if not now as in right away, TLT and TLH have to power to trouble the stock bulls seriously. And the financials benefiting from the greater spread, won‘t save the day, as the key chart to watch now is technology and also healthcare. Healthcare especially because biotech didn‘t get its act together yesterday really, while semiconductors did better. With consumer discretionaries hurt, utilities and consumer staples can‘t be relied on in a rising rates environment, and communications can‘t save the day either. The sectoral outlook remains mixed, even as value continues greatly outperforming growth this month. The stock bulls simply need tech clearly stabilized and turning here so as to think about new S&P 500 highs again. Long-term Treasuries are starting to hold greater sway over the stock market fate now, too. The dollar‘s woes thus far continue playing out largely in the background.Did gold shake off the TLT shackles? Still early to say, but the clear, directionally opposite move gives the bulls benefit of the doubt thus far. Yesterday‘s gold session didn‘t convince me, so I am not trumpeting the end of yellow metal‘s downside yet. Still, cautious optimism remains – even in the short run, let alone for the medium- to long-term: there, the (bullish) picture is simply clearer.Let‘s remember my yesterday‘s words about trends and flashes in the pan:(…) Powell‘s testimony is about to bring volatility, but does it have the power to change underlying trends? Not really – while his latest high profile assessments brought about a downswing, stocks recovered in spite of the GameStop (contagion?) drama too. Should we see a replay of the above, new highs are coming – and they are, in both stocks and precious metals. We‘re in a commodities supercycle on top!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookYesterday‘s intraday reversal reached just a little above Monday‘s closing prices, highlighting that more needs to be done for the index to regain upside momentum. The Powell testimony reversal was a good start, and stock bulls need to do more once this event gets in the rear view mirror later today. Given the premarket action reaching 3,890, the case is not lost.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) recovered, and crucially did better than stocks. The volume comparison is also a tad more positive. Should this credit market outperformance in the short run hold, then the S&P 500 is more likley to advance than not, too.High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still behaving reasonably – the overlaid S&P 500 prices (black line) aren‘t accelerating to the downside. The cue to move higher in stocks is apparent.TechnologyIt‘s the tech (XLK ETF) again – its yesterday‘s reversal is not nearly enough for the S&P 500 to think about taking on new highs. Semiconductors (XSD ETF) subtly outperformed, but they don‘t give outrageously bullish signs either. The tech jury is still out, and this heavyweight sector remains vulnerable, with consequences to the S&P 500 if it doesn‘t keep on the muddle through recovery path at the very least.Treasuries and DollarNo spike in TLT volume shows there isn‘t real willingness to buy the dip the way it were in mid Feb – back then, I could call for a moderation in the decline‘s pace for at least a day, now I can‘t do that. This chart presents the greatest challenge for the markets – going well beyond stocks, precious metals and commodities. Dollar bulls are predictably on the run. Truly bearish chart targeting much lower lows, in line with the theme I‘ve been banging throughout 2020‘s latter half – the dollar has gotten on the defensive, and would remain there throughout 2021. The technical rebound is over, and not even higher yields can help the greenback much.Gold, Silver and PlatinumTrue, gold‘s yesterday‘s candle leaves much to be desired for the bulls, but once again, we‘re seeing a clear refusal to move down even as Treasury yields continue to plunge. It‘s still a valuable first swallow, and more has to follow. Gold isn‘t getting anywhere in today‘s premarket while silver, copper, oil and soybeans are all up mildly. Agrifoods reached a new 2021 high yesterday – commodities clearly like and anticipate the inflationary Fed speak message they get.One look at the precious metals group – gold the laggard, silver leading, and platinum even more so – check out on the caption when the latter decoupled – 2 weeks before silver did. The anatomy of the unfolding precious metals upleg goes on in this predictable fashion, where platinum has the power to keep running more along the lines of commodities such as copper. That means powerfully.Yesterday‘s watchout though are the miners, which dragged down both the $HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD ratios – not below their lows, but still. A great illustration of the yellow metal‘s woes, and low credibility of its yesterday‘s candle with a sizable lower knot.SummaryStock bulls are far out of the woods yet, and technology stabilization must kick in first. Little proof thus far it‘s there, and I view the rising rates as starting to bite the stock market too.Gold and silver also got under the Powell pressure yesterday, and haven‘t escaped the confines of Treasury yields pressure thus far. The markets are clearly wary of the testimony‘s part II still.
How Bond Yields Are Affecting Gold

How Bond Yields Are Affecting Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.02.2021 17:54
As U.S. Treasury yields rise, gold, which is seen as an inflation hedge, is hurting. Despite the obvious warning signs, investors remain bullish.After Monday’s (Feb. 22) supposedly “groundbreaking” rally, the situation in gold developed in tune with what I wrote yesterday . The rally stopped, and miners’ decline indicated that it was a counter-trend move.Figure 1Despite Monday’s (quite sharp for a daily move) upswing, the breakdown below the neck level of the broad head-and-shoulders remains intact. It wasn’t invalidated. In fact, based on Monday’s rally and yesterday’s (Feb. 23) decline, it was verified. One of the trading guidelines is to wait for the verification of the breakdown below the H&S pattern before entering a position.What about gold stocks ratio with other stocks?Figure 2It’s exactly the same thing. The breakdown below the rising long-term support line remains intact. The recent upswing was just a quick comeback to the broken line that didn’t take it above it. Conversely, the HUI to S&P 500 ratio declined once again.Consequently, bearish implications of the breakdowns remain up-to-date . Having said that, let’s consider the more fundamental side of things.Swimming Against the CurrentAfter trading lower for six consecutive days, gold managed to muster a three-day winning streak. However, with the waves chopping and the ripple gaining steam, every swim higher requires more energy and yield’s decelerating results.For weeks , I’ve been warning that a declining copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio signaled a further downside for gold. And with the ratio declining by 2.88% last week, gold suffered a 2.51% drawdown.Please see below:Figure 3Over the long-term, the ratio is a reliable predictor of the yellow metal’s future direction. And even though the weekly reading (3.04) hit its lowest level since May 2020, it still has plenty of room to move lower.Figure 4For context, I wrote previously:To explain the chart above, the red line depicts the price of gold over the last ~21 years, while the green line depicts the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio. As you can see, the two have a tight relationship: when the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio is rising (meaning that copper prices are rising at a faster pace than the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield), it usually results in higher gold prices. Conversely, when the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio is falling (meaning that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is rising at a faster pace than copper prices), it usually results in lower gold prices.As the star of the ratio’s show, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has risen by more than 47% year-to-date (YTD) and the benchmark has surged by more than 163% since its August trough.Please see below:Figure 5On Jan. 15 , I warned that the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) had painted itself into a corner. With inflation running hot and Chairman Jerome Powell ignoring the obvious, I wrote that Powell’s own polices (and their impact on real and financial assets) actually eliminate his ability to determine when interest rates rise.As a result, the central bank had two options:If they let yields rise, the cost of borrowing rises, the cost of equity rises and the U.S. dollar is supported (all leading to shifts in the bond and stock markets and destroying the halcyon environment they worked so hard to create).To stop yields from rising, the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) has to increase its asset purchases (and buy more bonds in the open market). However, the added liquidity should have the same net-effect because it increases inflation expectations (which I mentioned yesterday, is a precursor to higher interest rates). Opening door #2, Powell’s deny-and-suppress strategy is now playing out in real time. On Feb. 23 – testifying before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee – the FED Chairman told lawmakers that inflation isn’t an issue.“We’ve been living in a world for a quarter of a century where the pressures were disinflationary,” he said.... “The economy is a long way from our employment and inflation goals.”And whether he’s unaware or simply ill-informed, commodity prices are surging. Since the New Year, oil and lumber prices have risen by more than 24%, while corn and copper prices are up by more than 14%.Please see below:Figure 6In addition, relative to finished goods, the entire basket of inputs is sounding the alarm.Figure 7To explain the chart above, the blue line is an index of the price businesses receive for their finished goods. Similarly, the green line is an index of the price businesses pay for raw materials. As you can see, the cost of doing business is rising at a torrent pace.More importantly though, Powell’s assertion that inflation is an urban legend has been met with eye rolls from the bond market . To repeat what I wrote above: Powell’s own policies (and their impact on real and financial assets) actually eliminate his ability to determine when interest rates rise.Case in point: the U.S. 10-year to 2-year government bond spread is now at its highest level since January 2017.Please see below:Figure 8To explain the significance, the figure is calculated by subtracting the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield from the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield. When the green line is rising, it means that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is increasing at a faster pace than the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield. Conversely, when the green line is falling, it means that the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield is increasing at a faster pace than the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield.And why does all of this matter?Because the above visual is evidence that Powell has lost control of the bond market.At the front-end of the curve, Powell can control the 2-year yield by decreasing the FED’s overnight lending rate (which was cut to zero at the outset of the coronavirus crisis). However, far from being monolithic, the 5-, 10-, and 30-year yields have the ability to chart their own paths.And their current message to the Chairman? “We aren’t buying what you’re selling.” As such, the yield curve is likely to continue its steepening stampede.Circling back to gold, all of the above supports a continued decline of the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio. With yields essentially released from captivity, even copper’s 8.02% weekly surge wasn’t enough to buck the trend.As a result, gold’s recent strength is likely a mirage. The yellow metal continues to bounce in fits and starts, thus, it’s only a matter of time before the downtrend continues. Furthermore, with the USD Index still sitting on the sidelines, a resurgent greenback would add even more concrete to gold’s wall of worry.And speaking of gold’s wall of worry, the sentiment surrounding it is far from being negative.Figure 9 - Source: Investing.comThe above chart shows the sentiment of Investing.com’s members. 64% of them are bullish on gold. As you can see above, there are also other popular markets listed: the S&P 500, Dow Jones, DAX, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD Index, and Crude oil. The sentiment for gold is the most bullish of all of them. Yes, the general stock market is climbing to new all-time highs every day now, and yet, people are even more bullish on gold than they are on stocks.When gold slides, the sentiment is likely to get more bearish and particularly high “bearish” readings – say, over 80% would likely indicate a good buying opportunity. Naturally, this is not the only factor that one should be paying attention to.The bottom line? As it stands today, being long the precious metals offers a poor risk-reward proposition. However, in time (perhaps over the next several months), the dynamic will reverse, and the precious metals market will shine once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Bonds And Stimulus Are Driving Big Sector Trends And Shifting Capital

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 25.02.2021 03:36
Falling Bonds and rising yields are creating a condition in the global markets where capital is shifting away from Technology, Communication Services and Discretionary stocks have suddenly fallen out of favor, and Financials, Energy, Real Estate, and Metals/Miners are gaining strength.  The rise in yields presents an opportunity for Banks and Lenders to profit from increased yield rates. In addition, historically low interest rates have pushed the Real Estate sector, including commodities towards new highs.  We also note Miners and Metals have shown strong support recently as the US Dollar and Bonds continue to collapse.  The way the markets are shifting right now is suggesting that we may be close to a technology peak, similar to the DOT COM peak, where capital rushes away from recently high-flying technology firms into other sectors (such as Banks, Financials, Real Estate, and Energy).The deep dive in Bonds and the US Dollar aligns with the research we conducted near the end of 2020, which suggested a market peak may set up in late February. We also suggested the markets may continue to trade in a sideways (rounded top) type of structure until late March or early April 2021.  Our tools and research help us to make these predictions nearly 4 to 5+ months before the markets attempt to make these moves.  You can read this research here:2021 MAY BE A GOOD YEAR FOR THE CANNABIS/MARIJUANA SECTORPRICE AMPLITUDE ARCS/GANN SUGGEST A MAJOR PEAK IN EARLY APRIL 2021 – PART IIWHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021 PART II – GOLD, SILVER, AND SPYIf our research is correct, we may have started a “capital shift” process in mid-February where declining Bonds, rising yields and the declining US Dollar push traders to re-evaluate continued profit potential in the hottest sectors over the past 6 to 12+ months.  This would mean that Technology, Healthcare, Comm Services and Discretionary sectors may suddenly find themselves on the “not so hot” list soon.Bonds Collapsing While Yields Continue To RiseThe following TLT Weekly chart highlights the extended downward trend taking place in Treasury Bonds.  This downside pricing pressure would usually support a rising stock market and moderately weaker precious metals.  But given the way the US Dollar is also declining, we are seeing fear become more of an issue as the high-flying stock market starts to look quite a bit over valued.  Rising yields also puts Financials and banking/lending near the top of the list for future profit potential.US Dollar Struggling To Find SupportThe Invesco US Dollar ETF, (UUP) Weekly below chart shows how weak the US Dollar has been after the COVID-19 price rotation.  The continued decline in price levels after May 2020 is a very clear indication that the US Dollar is reacting to the continued stimulus efforts as well as the decreased economic expectations.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Combined, the Bonds and US Dollar decline are raising the fear-factor among global investors and causing many to rethink where future growth and profits will originate.  Many are landing on the Financial and Energy sectors right now.Financial Sector Begins To Skyrocket HigherThe following Direxion Financial Bull 3x ETF (FAS) Weekly chart shows the incredible advance in the Financial Sector over the past 6+ months.  Almost like a sleepy rally, Financials have been rallying while traders have been focused on Technology, Healthcare and other sectors that seemed hot.  This shifting trend in sectors, and the associated shifting capital, suggests we may be nearing a tidal shift in sector trends – moving away from Technology and into Financials, Energy, Real Estate, and others.Volatility is still 2x to 3x what we have seen 4 to 5+ years ago.  This suggests any breakdown in trends could prompt a very volatile price correction/transition.  As sectors continue to shift, we urge traders to pay attention to the risks in the markets related to this elevated volatility which seems to be present in every sector. We believe we may be starting an extended “capital shift” process which may last well into March/April 2021 before real opportunities setup possibly in May or June.  The markets will do what they always do, react to traders, capital, and global central bank influence.  There are times when certain sectors enter a euphoric phase and there are times when the global markets revalue risk.  We may be nearing an end to a euphoric phase and starting a revaluation phase. This means many various sectors and symbols will present some very real opportunities for profits over the next few weeks and months.  Marijuana, Cryptos, Metals, Miners, Financials & Real Estate appear to be leading opportunities related to sector trends.  If these trends continue throughout 2021, we may see a revaluation/capital shift to propel these trends higher.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Have a great rest of the week!
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

GBPUSD Gets Rejected After Testing A Three-And-A-Half-Year High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 25.02.2021 08:26
USD fights back from a five-week lowEuro Trades Subdued But Supported By The Trend-Line The euro currency is trading rather mixed, a day after prices almost closed flat on Tuesday.Overall, the long-term trendline on the daily chart is supportive of prices. Therefore, we could see price action attempt to push higher.The 50-day moving average is also close and could come in as dynamic support. For the near term though, the EURUSD currency pair will need to close convincingly above the resistance area of 1.2177 and 1.2144.This resistance area is proving hard to break out in the near term. Therefore, there is a very good chance that the EURUSD might remain in a sideways range for now.To the downside, the 1.2050 level will hold the currency pair from posting further declines.The British pound sterling rose to a fresh three-year high at 1.4140. But prices were rejected intraday with the currency pair likely to close bearish or flat.Given that this pattern comes near the top end of the rally, it could potentially signal the start of a correction in the GBPUSD.The cable has not made any decent pullbacks so far. Therefore, a close below Tuesday’s low of 1.4055 could spell trouble.For the moment, prices might test the support area near 1.3950. This would mark a short-term correction in price action.The Stochastics has also moved out from the overbought levels but could signal a reversal once again.Crude Oil Rises Over 3%, Inching Closer To A Two-Year High Oil prices managed to shrug off the uncertainty of the past few days with price action once again surging.On an intraday basis, spot crude oil prices rose over 3% in what is likely to be a strong recovery. The gains come after oil prices closed bearish last week.However, at the time of writing, crude oil has managed to pare last week losses to rise higher.On the intraday charts, oil prices are yet to close fully above the previous highs of 62.97. But given the bullish momentum, we could expect to see further gains.The only downside scenario here is to see oil prices pulling back. This would mark a failure near the short-term trendline and could open the way to the downside.The support near 60.87 remains critical under such circumstances.Gold Prices Likely To Close Bearish For A Second Day The precious metal is failing to capitalize on the support level it established near the 1764 handle. Prices are falling for the second day, albeit the pace of declines is limited in comparison.To the upside, the reversal comes just a few points below the 1817.80 level. Given that this level was already established as resistance, we expect prices to hold between the two levels for the moment.On the weekly chart, we have the double bottom pattern that has formed around the 1764 handle.Therefore, a breakout above 1817.80 is needed to keep the bullish bias alive.A close above 1817.80 will open the way for gold prices to challenge the 1850 handle next.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Silver, when everything fits

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 25.02.2021 10:14
One factor supporting our theory that Silver will find itself in its next leg up is the early release data from “The Silver Survey 2021” (a significant annual report from “The Silver Institute” in conjunction with the research firm “Metals Focus”). Their research suggests a total demand increase to an eight-year high of 1,025 billion ounces of Silver.Suppose you think of ease of covid as a catalyst. In that case, that to one side will provide more supply in the mining industry workers to return to their workplace, the other side of demand easily outweighs through a whole world returning to business as usual.Suppose demand from Solar cells to jewelry, from physical investments to Wall Street traded silver products generally increase. In that case, we find our temporary sideways range breather soon to break out above US$30 to enter the next up leg.Daily Chart of Silver in US-Dollar, Slowly but surely:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 25th, 2021.As you can see on the daily chart, Silver is starting to push higher through its smaller ranges within the range to prepare for a breakout and obeying the trendline (yellow dotted line) as directional support.  Gold/Silver-Ratio, Weekly Chart, The ratio suggests for Silver to catch up:Gold/Silver-Ratio, weekly chart as of February 25th, 2021.Once desperate bears have to give way to Silver’s real value and demand, we most likely see price-advances much more significant than generally assumed.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, And the future is bright, Silver, when everything fits:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 25th, 2021.The last eleven month’s price advances might seem staggering regarding percentage. Especially if you consider that a physical ounce of Silver is currently sold around US$40. Hence, we still see Silver prices reaching three-digit numbers at some point in the next few years. Midterm projections already show Silver prices sitting right above major support from a volume based analysis. And linear regression channel projection points at substantial advances within this year.Silver, when everything fits:We find ourselves in an uptrend in Silver. It just has established its first foundation and has a great range of expansion to offer. Consequently, this results in an excellent risk/reward-ratio for participation. In addition, fundamental long-term data supports the sustainability of that trend. Most importantly a world fiscal policy forces investor into safe havens. Also, the Gold/Silver-Ratio suggests Silver to be the underdog with much ground to catch up. We might see Silver prices in an entirely different echelon in the not too far distant future.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 25th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Why Tech Is Giving Me Jeepers – Watch Out, Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.02.2021 16:08
Powell testimony is over, with markets rejoicing the promise of still accomodative Fed. Value keeps surging over growth, and regardless of yesterday‘s great performance, tech has a vulnerable feel to it – semiconductors lead higher, fine, but communications didn‘t confirm, and the healthcare-biotech dynamic isn‘t painting an outperformance picture either. Real estate isn‘t taking as strong a cue while consumer discretionaries recovery could also be stronger. Thus far though, no need to think about taking losses to optimize your gains elsewhere.Just as I wrote yesterday:(…) the financials benefiting from the greater spread, won‘t save the day, as the key chart to watch now is technology and also healthcare. … The sectoral outlook remains mixed, even as value continues greatly outperforming growth this month. … Long-term Treasuries are starting to hold greater sway over the stock market fate now, too. The dollar‘s woes thus far continue playing out largely in the background.Did gold shake off the TLT shackles? I‘m getting increasing doubts that only a strong move to the upside would dispel. As long-term Treasuries were staging an intraday reversal, gold took an intraday plunge before recovering. Not a good sign of internal intraday strength. Could it be a bullish flag? Still possible, but again, gold would have to rally from here. Doing so would result in a bullish divergence in its daily indicators.The precious metals sectoral dynamics remains positive though – silver and platinum are bullishly consolidating, and as I‘ll show you in today‘s final chart, the many mining indices are doing fine as well. The overly strong reflationary (I would call a spade a spade, and say inflationary) efforts are driving commodities higher in a supercycle just starting out.Not to get complacent, GameStop (GME) squeeze has made a comeback yesterday. Will it coincide with broader stock market woes on par with late Jan? Way too early to say – let‘s jump right into the charts for an objective momentary view instead.Here they are, all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.S&P 500 and Its InternalsStrong S&P 500, everything looks fine on the surface – just as should be, befitting buy the dip mentality. Strong volume, no meaningful intraday setback, so far so good.The equal weight S&P 500 chart is looking better and better day by day. New highs, strong uptrend, broadening leadership. It‘s a mirror reflection of the big names‘ woes, and a testament to value outperforming growth. This bull run is far from making a top.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) had a good day yesterday, and so did the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio. Yet it‘s the daily stock market outperformance that is noticeable here – optimistic sign of an all clear signal. I‘m not taking it totally at face value given tech performance – in a short few days, I can easily become more convinced though.TechnologyStrong daily tech (XLK ETF) upswing, yet only half the prior downside erased so far, and the volume could be higher compared to the preceding downswing. Semiconductors (XSD ETF) are leading again, fine. Yet it‘s the heavyweight names that matter the most to me right now – check out yesterday‘s observations:(…) The tech jury is still out, and this heavyweight sector remains vulnerable, with consequences to the S&P 500 if it doesn‘t keep on the muddle through recovery path at the very least.DollarLook how little the Powell tremors achieved – the dollar bulls are still on the run. Upswings are being sold as the greenback remains on the defensive, targeting much lower lows this year. The technical rebound is over, and not even higher yields can help the greenback much.Gold, Silver and MinersFor a second day in a row, gold‘s performance isn‘t convincing – the willingness to clearly and directionally decouple from rising yields, is being questioned. On the other hand, e.g. the 10-year UST yield is approaching the summer 2019 lows – it‘s at 1.38% now. I‘m looking for the rising rates to slow down and possibly even pull back a little from here over the coming weeks. Or would the market just like to slice through that resistance? Inflation isn‘t universally that strong right now yet I think – just look at the velocity of money.Everything silver related is doing fine, silver miners (SIL ETF) rebounded strongly, First Majestic Silver Corp (AG) and Hecla (HL) are in clearly bullish patterns. The white metal‘s every dip is being bought, the silver-to-gold ratio keeps improving, and even gold juniors (GDXJ) started once again outperforming the seniors (GDX). The bullish signals under the surface keep increadingly more coming to the fore, and the miners to gold ratio‘s ($HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD) is the final ingredient missing.SummaryStock bulls did great yesterday, but everything isn‘t fine yet in the tech realm. Due to its sheer weight in the S&P 500 index, pulling the cart a bit more enthusiastically is what the 500-strong index needs to take on new highs, because value stocks can‘t do it all.Gold and silver fared mostly well during the Powell testimony part II, yet gold didn‘t convince me really again. I look for the yellow metal bulls to get tested soon. The wildcard is reaction to the rising Treasury yields as they‘re in a key resistance zone of summer 2019 lows overall (10-year approaching it, and as regards 30-year, it‘s been overcome already). Plunging dollar and short-term gold-dollar correlation moving to positive figures, isn‘t a pleasant sight for coming days.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gold Declines Despite Powell’s Easy Stance

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.02.2021 18:13
Powell testified before Congress and reiterated the Fed’s dovish stance, but nevertheless, gold continued to slide.On Tuesday, Powell testified before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He offered no big surprises, so the markets were little changed. But the price of gold ended that day with a slight loss, as the chart below shows – perhaps just because Powell didn’t surprise, and struck a dovish tone.Anyway, what did the Fed Chair say? In his prepared remarks, Powell acknowledged the improved outlook for later this year . As I noted in the last edition of the Fundamental Gold Report about the recent FOMC minutes , a more optimistic Fed about the U.S. economy is bad news for gold.Additionally, Powell downplayed concerns about the recent rises in the bond yields (see the chart below), calling them “a statement of confidence” for an improving U.S. economic outlook, or “a robust and ultimately complete recovery”. This is also a negative comment for the yellow metal, as it would prefer the Fed reacting more aggressively to the increasing rates, and, for instance, implementing the yield curve control . The higher the yields, the worse it is for gold, which is a non-interest bearing asset.However, Powell also made some dovish comments . First of all, he reiterated that the Fed’s easy stance will last very long – longer than it used to be in the past . This is because the Fed implemented last year a new monetary framework, according to which the U.S. monetary policy will be informed by the assessments of shortfalls of employment from its maximum level, rather than by deviations from its maximum level. Moreover, the Fed will seek to achieve inflation that averages two percent over time. These changes imply that the Fed will not tighten monetary policy solely in response to a strong labor market, but only to an increase in inflation . However,But inflation must not merely reach two percent – it should rise moderately above two percent for some time in order to prompt the U.S. central bank to taper the quantitative easing and hike the federal funds rate .The second reason why the interest rates will stay lower for longer is that the economy is a long way from the Fed’s employment and inflation goals, and “it is likely to take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved”. On Wednesday, Powell acknowledged that it may take more than three years to reach these goals. This means that the Fed will treat any possible increases in inflation this year as temporary and will leave interest rates unchanged.Implications for GoldWhat does Powell’s testimony imply for the gold market? Well, gold bulls may be disappointed as the Fed Chair didn’t sound too dovish . He neither announced an expansion in the quantitative easing, nor the yield curve control, nor negative interest rates , nor a “whatever it takes” approach. And it seems that the yellow metal needs such things right now in order to survive – just like fish need water.However, the rising bond yields could become a problem at one point for the Fed. If they continue to rise, Uncle Sam will not be happy, and the Fed will have to step into the market to buy government bonds. The central bank and Treasury are good old friends and the close relationship between Powell and Yellen may only strengthen this beautiful friendship – and support gold prices.Moreover, the increasing bond yields (despite an ultra-dovish Fed) imply that reflation trade is strong. So far, investors just expect a return of inflation to a moderate level, but given the enormous surge in the broad money supply (see the chart below) and Biden’s mammoth fiscal plan, the risk of overheating is non-negligible.It would be really strange if such an aggressive monetary expansion wouldn’t affect the prices. As one can see, the growth in the M2 money supply is 2.5 times faster than during the Great Recession . Actually, we are already seeing inflation – but in the asset markets, not the CPI . The stock and house prices are surging. The commodity sector has also already been gaining and gold may follow suit .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

GBPUSD Holds Steady Above 1.41

John Benjamin John Benjamin 26.02.2021 09:21
USD gives back gains as risk currencies riseEuro Rises To A Three-Month High The euro currency finally broke past the resistance area of 1.2177 – 1.2144. The breakout pushed the common currency to a three-month high on an intraday basis.The gains come as the US dollar failed to maintain its reversal on Wednesday.If the current momentum continues then we might get to see the Euro once again attempting to test the 6 January highs of 1.2349.However, ahead of these gains, a pullback to establish support near 1.2177 would be ideal.For the moment, the EURUSD is still not out of the woods unless we see a higher low forming above the resistance area.The British pound sterling is giving back the gains from Wednesday. The declines come as the cable rose to a new three and half year high earlier this week.The current declines come as investors head into the weekend with the drop likely coming as a result of profit-taking.The GBP currency has enjoyed a strong rally and got an additional boost as the UK is already preparing plans for re-opening its economy.For the moment the pullback is likely to be met with skepticism. A continuation below Wednesday’s low of 1.4080 could, however, see the currency pair making a short-term correction.The downside could be supported near the round number 1.4000 level.Crude Oil Holds Steady At A 13-Month High Oil prices are steady after rising to a new 13-month high. The gains come as the latest report shows a drop in US Crude oil output.The weaker dollar is also helping the commodity to maintain its hold. For the moment, prices are supported near the trendline.Still, even a close below the trendline could keep the upside bias intact.The support area near 60.87 will hold the prices from posting further declines.But a close below 60.87 could potentially open the way for oil prices to fall further. This could see the 57.35 level coming under scrutiny next.Gold Prices Slip As Treasury Yields Rise The precious metal continues to trade weak with price action extending declines for a third consecutive day.The declines come as Treasury yields are rising higher. Investors are betting that the global economy will re-open quicker than anticipated with appetite for further stimulus falling.Gold prices have been trading within the 1817 and 1764 levels since the middle of February.We expect this sideways range to continue.To the downside, gold prices will likely retest the previously formed support at 1764.22.
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Commission-Free Indices at FBS

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 26.02.2021 13:11
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Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Dead Cat Bounce? Bears Aren‘t Taking Prisoners Now

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.02.2021 15:30
Right from the open, stocks have been losing altitude yesterday, and value couldn‘t indeed overpower the tech slide. Long-dated Treasuries had a climactic day of incomplete reversal on outrageous volume. Regardless of the evidence of asset price inflation, there is almost universal short-term vulnerability, and yesterday‘s broad based selling spanning precious metals and commodities, confirms that. The dollar has been missing from the party though, only having reversed prior losses to close little changed on the day.Are we seeing a trend change, or a time-limited yet powerful push lower? That depends upon the asset – in stocks, I look for the tech big names and healthcare to do worse than value (the VTV:QQQ ratio jumped up greatly through the week, portending the tech issues). Both silver and gold would be under pressure, and I look for the white metal to be mostly doing better overall. Oil and copper would take a breather while remaining in bull markets.That roughly matches my very short-term idea for where the markets would trade, echoing the expressed, tweeted need to watch oil and copper turn the corner still yesterday (copper didn‘t, not confirming any intraday turnaround notions as valid) – the below being written 7hrs before the U.S. open:(…) As yesterday's session moved to a close, the dollar erased opening losses, and went neutral. TLT's massive volume shows that yields are likely to stabilize here for now, and even decline a bit – HYG absolutely didn't convince me. The oil-copper tandem didn't kick in yesterday. Right now, we're in a weak constellation with both silver, oil, and stocks down. Copper's modest uptick doesn't cut it. So, the outlook for the European session on Fri is more bearish than bullish for stocks really, and gold rather sideways in the coming hours. Would we get a bounce during the U.S. session? It‘s possible to the point of likely. The damage done yesterday though looks to have more than a few brief sessions to run to repair. If you were to be hiding in the not too greatly performing S&P 500 sectors before the uptrend reasserts itself, you would be rather fine. The same for commodities and metals which were solidly trending higher before – oil, platinum, copper. E.g. look at yesterday‘s low platinum volume, or at the modest Freeport McMoRan decline – these charts are not broken while I see silver relegated to sideways trading (with a need to defend against the bears sternly) and silver miners taking their time.Just as I wrote yesterday, technology is the most precarious spot as long-term rates are turning and the dollar hasn‘t moved yet. Should it start coming to life (it did yesterday as the 10-year yield retreated from 1.60% back below 1.50%), overcoming the 91 – 91.5 resistance zone, that would help put into perspective the concerted selling we saw yesterday, especially if it continues in future days in similar fashion.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsThe Force Index shows that the bears have the upper edge now, and volume coupled with price action, shows no accumulation yet. The chart is worrying for it could reach the Jan lows fast if the sellers get more determined.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) reveal the damage suffered, underlined by the strong volume. High yields in TLT and LQD are starting to have an effect on stocks.Another stressed bond market chart – long-term Treasuries show a budding reversal to the upside. Given yesterday‘s happenings in the 10-year bond auction with the subsequent retreat from high yields since, and the dollar moving over 90.50 as we speak, the signs are in place for the TLT retracing part of the steep slide as well.TechnologyThe momentum in tech (XLK ETF) is with the bears as the 50-day moving average got easily pierced yesterday again. It‘s still the heavyweights that matter (roughly similar to the healthcare situation here), and the sector remains very vulnerable to further downside.VolatilityThe volatility index rose, but is far below the two serious autumn 2020 and the late Jan 2021 corrections. It even retreated on the day, regardless of the heavy S&P 500 selling. Neither the options traders are taking yesterday‘s move as a true game changer, even though it was (for the bond markets). Would the anticipated stock indices rebound today bring it down really substantially, spilling over into commodities too, and show that this indeed wasn‘t a turning point? Gold, Silver and MinersGold didn‘t rise in spite of the falling long-term Treasuries for too long, as Tue and Wed hesitation (which I view with suspicion on both days) was resolved with a strong decline. This time, I am not calling for the yellow metal to rise the way I did a week ago. It‘s that the many precious metals market signals have become less constructive too. Silver is being taken down a notch or two, and the miners are already reflecting that in yesterday‘s close. Silver miners steeply declining, the bullish outperformance of gold juniors vs. gold seniors was lost yesterday. Given the red ink on Thursday already in copper, and its arrival into oil today, the bears are having the short-term (more than several sessions) upper hand. The miners to gold ratio ($HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD) as the final ingredient missing, can keep on waiting.SummaryStock bulls got a harsh reality check, and everything isn‘t very fine yet in the tech arena. By the shape of things thus far, today‘s rebound is more likely than not to turn out a dead cat bounce, and more short-term downside remains likely since Monday, regardless of all the value stocks performance.Gold and silver didn‘t escape the bloodbath either, and aren‘t out of the woods – neither gold, nor silver. Treasury yields are taking a good look around, having a chance to stabilize and retreat to a degree, but gold appears unfazed thus far, and the commodities‘ dynamics doesn‘t bode well. On the other hand, the dollar looks getting ready to move higher over the coming days, and thanks to the short-term correlation between the two turning positive, that would help the embattled yellow metal down the road.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Finally- the Stock Market Tanks

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.02.2021 16:07
Surging bond yields continues to weigh on tech stocks. When the 10-year yield pops by 20 basis points to reach a 1-year high, that will happen.Tuesday (Feb. 23) saw the Dow down 360 points at one point, and the Nasdaq down 3% before a sharp reversal that carried to Wednesday (Feb. 24).Thursday (Feb. 25) was a different story and long overdue.Overall, the market saw a broad sell-off with the Dow down over 550 points, the S&P falling 2.45%, the Nasdaq tanking over 3.50%, and seeing its worst day since October, and the small-cap Russell 2000 shedding 3.70%.Rising bond yields are a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, bond investors see the economy reopening and heating up. On the other hand, with the Fed expected to let the GDP heat up without hiking rates, say welcome back to inflation.I don’t care what Chairman Powell says about inflation targets this and that. He can’t expect to keep rates this low, buy bonds, permit money to be printed without a care, and have the economy not overheat.He may not have a choice but to hike rates sooner than expected. If not this year, then in 2022. I no longer buy all that talk about keeping rates at 0% through 2023. It just can’t happen if bond yields keep popping like this.This slowdown, namely with the Nasdaq, poses some desirable buying opportunities. The QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq is down a reasonably attractive 7% since February 12. But there still could be some short-term pressure on stocks.That correction I’ve been calling for weeks? It may have potentially started, especially for tech. While I don’t foresee a crash like we saw last March and feel that the wheels are in motion for a healthy 2021, I still maintain that some correction before the end of March could happen.I mean, we’re already about 3% away from an actual correction in the Nasdaq...Bank of America also echoed this statement and said, “We expect a buyable 5-10% Q1 correction as the big ‘unknowns’ coincide with exuberant positioning, record equity supply, and as good as it gets’ earnings revisions.”Look. This has been a rough week. But don’t panic, and look for opportunities. We have a very market-friendly monetary policy, and corrections are more common than most realize.Corrections are also healthy and normal market behavior, and we are long overdue for one. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017), and we haven’t seen one in a year.A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what could be a great second half of the year.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one to help people who needed help instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and the end of Q1 2021 is possible. I don’t think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market, will happen.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. Nasdaq- To Buy or Not to Buy?Figure 1- Nasdaq Composite Index $COMPThis downturn is so overdue. More pain could be on the horizon, but this road towards a correction was needed for the Nasdaq.Before February 12, I would always discuss the Nasdaq’s RSI and recommend watching out if it exceeds 70.Now? As tracked by the Invesco QQQ ETF , the Nasdaq has plummeted by nearly 7% since February 12 and is trending towards oversold levels! I hate to say I’m excited about this recent decline, but I am.While rising bond yields are concerning for high-flying tech stocks, I, along with much of the investing world, was somewhat comforted by Chairman Powell’s testimony the other day (even if I don’t totally buy into it). Inflation and rate hikes are definitely a long-term concern, but for now, if their inflation target isn’t met, who’s to fight the Fed?Outside of the Russell 2000, the Nasdaq has been consistently the most overheated index. But after its recent slowdown, I feel more confident in the Nasdaq as a SHORT-TERM BUY.The RSI is king for the Nasdaq . Its RSI is now under 40, which makes it borderline oversold.I follow the RSI for the Nasdaq religiously because the index is simply trading in a precise pattern.In the past few months, when the Nasdaq has exceeded an overbought 70 RSI, it has consistently sold off.December 9- exceeded an RSI of 70 and briefly pulled back.January 4- exceeded a 70 RSI just before the new year and declined 1.47%.January 11- declined by 1.45% after exceeding a 70 RSI.Week of January 25- exceeded an RSI of over 73 before the week and declined 4.13% for the week.I like that the Nasdaq is almost the 13100-level, and especially that it’s below its 50-day moving average now.I also remain bullish on tech, especially for sub-sectors such as cloud computing, e-commerce, and fintech.Because of the Nasdaq’s precise trading pattern and its recent decline, I am making this a SHORT-TERM BUY. But follow the RSI literally.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the NASDAQ, the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a good option.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as the streaky S&P, inflation, and emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Does Gold Have a Green Light to $1700?

Does Gold Have a Green Light to $1700?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.02.2021 16:21
Gold just doesn’t seem to care and is stubbornly ignoring its inverse relationship with the USDX. What accounts for gold’s current downward trend?It’s really hard to get a more bearish combination of factors for gold than what we just saw.A good way to start the discussion would be to reply to a question that I received about the USD Index recently.Hi, I have been reading your articles about the USD bottoming and moving in a similar pattern to 2018. I am seeing a possible head and shoulder pattern on Jan 18th (left shoulder), Feb 5 th (the head), and Feb 17th (right shoulder). For all its problems, the euro seems to be going higher and higher. Just wondering what your thoughts are.Figure 1Indeed, the head-and-shoulders pattern formed as you described it (I added a dotted neckline to the formation on the above chart), but since it wasn’t as significant as the breakout above the declining medium-term resistance line, the implications of the latter overwhelmed the bearish implications of the H&S formation. The USD index invalidated the breakdown below the neck level of the formation, so what was previously a sell signal, has now turned into a buy signal. Consequently, we have yet another reason to expect higher values of the USD Index in the following weeks and months.Figure 2Based on the obvious similarity to early 2018, the verification of the breakdown is likely the final step before a major rally in the USDX. This will likely translate into lower precious metals and mining stock prices, especially if the general stock market declines as well.Let’s use another question that I received to segue to the following part of the analysis.What happens to gold if the dollar crashes, instead of going up?That’s just what happened early during the day, yesterday (Feb. 25). Well, it was just intraday action rather than a big medium-term crash, however, it shows what could happen. Simply put, gold declined anyway. Why did it do so? Because it wanted to do so based on technical/emotional factors. Maybe that was just a temporary reversion in direction? No – when the USD Index came back up, gold declined even more, and we see the continuation of this pattern today as well.What if the USD Index declines much more? The last time when gold was trading at these levels in 2020, the USD Index was trading at about 100. The latter declined about 10 index points and gold is at the same level. So, gold has already proven its ability to ignore the USD’s declines. There will be a time, when gold soars in response to even mild declines in the USDX, but this is likely to happen only after gold declines significantly – and it “wants” to rally.Figure 3In previous analyses , I commented on the above chart in the following way:The move higher in gold was notable, but nothing game changing. The last time gold moved above the declining short-term resistance line, was when it actually topped. The invalidation of the breakdown marked the start of another very short-term decline. The small decline in today’s overnight trading might be the very beginning of this invalidation that leads to another slide.That’s exactly what happened. The failed breakout led to another slide and gold is currently right after its breakdown to new 2021 lows. The road to ~$1,700 gold is now fully open. That’s when gold would be likely to take some sort of breather and gather strength (well, weakness, but “gathering weakness” just doesn’t sound right) for another wave down – likely to $1,500 or so.Please note that gold didn’t close at new yearly lows yesterday. This observation is important in comparison with the fact that…Figure 4Mining stocks did.Miners closed at new 2021 lows yesterday, even though gold didn’t, which once again proves their weakness and once again confirms the bearish outlook.I previously wrote that gold’s ~$1,700 target is likely to be aligned with the GDX’s ~$31 target and this remains up-to-date. After that, I expect some kind of corrective upswing – perhaps to $33 or so, and then another – big – move lower. Please note that the corrective upswing would be yet another (and final) verification of the head and shoulders pattern, and its very bearish implications would take place only after this verification. That’s why I expect the decline to be particularly significant. You can read more about this broad H&S pattern over here.Silver just went through a triangle-vertex-based reversal , and it seems to have indeed triggered a reversal.Figure 5Silver moved a bit higher on Wednesday (Feb. 24) and in yesterday’s early trading, but it didn’t exceed the recent high. This means that my previous comments on the above chart remain up-to-date:The move lower is not yet super significant, but given the reversal point, it could just be the beginning. Remember the triangle-vertex-based reversal at the beginning of the year? Back then, practically nobody wanted to believe that silver and the precious metals market was topping at that time. It was the truth, though. Gold and mining stocks were never higher since that time and the same thing would have most likely happened to silver if it wasn’t the #silversqueeze popularity that gave it its most recent boost.Now, there’s also another triangle-vertex-based-reversal in a few days , and since these reversals tend to work on a near-to basis, silver might top any day now, even if it hasn’t topped earlier today.Based on what’s happening in the markets right now, it seems just as possible that silver and the rest of the precious metals market will form a temporary bottom within the next few days.Figure 6Moreover, please note that it’s the last delivery day for silver futures, and instead of a supply-crunch-based rally, we see a decline. Naturally, this is bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Will There Be Roaring Twenties for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.02.2021 16:59
The 2020s might be less roaring than the 1920s, which seems like good news for gold.The United States is strongly polarized, with blue versus red, liberals versus conservatives, and so on. People are divided along many lines, but the biggest division line is between those who count decades from 0 to 9 and those who count them from 1 to 10. It is intuitive for many people to adopt the first method, especially that we think of decades as ‘the 20s’, ‘the 30s’, and so on. However, the catch is that there was no Year Zero, so the first decade of the common era was years 1 to 10. Following this logic, the current decade started on January 1, 2021, not January 1, 2020.So, I feel fully entitled to investigate how gold will behave in the new decade. The issue is especially interesting as some analysts claim that we are entering the Roaring Twenties 2.0. Are they correct?On the surface, there are some similarities. The 1920s were a decade that followed the nightmare of World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic . It was a time of quick economic growth (the U.S. GDP grew more than 40 percent in that period) and rapid technological innovation fueled predominantly by the rising access to electricity and big improvements in transportation (automobiles and planes).Fast forward one century and we land in the 2020s, which is a decade following the nightmare of the coronavirus pandemic . There are hopes for an acceleration in technological progress driven mainly by the rising scope of remote work, digital solutions, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G networks, robotization, super-batteries, electric vehicles, and so on. And given the pent-up demand and months spent in lockdowns, consumers are ready to congregate and spend!However, there are good reasons to be skeptical about the narrative of the Roaring Twenties 2.0 . The era of post-war prosperity was fueled by the return to the normalcy in the sphere of economic policy. I refer here to the fact that after WWI, there was a successful transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. In contrast, in the aftermath of the Great Recession , there is a gradual transition from the peacetime economy to a wartime economy, that was only accelerated during the epidemic and the Great Lockdown .In particular, both the government spending and the fiscal deficits were sharply reduced in the post-war era. In consequence, the U.S. public debt declined, especially in real terms. Similarly, the Fed reversed its monetary policy and allowed for monetary contraction (and quick recession) in 1919-20 to reverse wartime inflation .In other words, the tighter monetary and fiscal policies led to an environment of economic prosperity. Also helpful for the U.S. were developments such as trustbusting and an economic recovery in Germany after its hyperinflation – all developments that will not replay in the 2020s.In contrast, neither the fiscal policy nor the monetary policy are going to normalize anytime soon , even if the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion under Trump’s presidency – a level that rivals Italy’s. The debt-to-GDP ratio has soared, as the chart below shows. And Joe Biden doesn’t worry about deficits – instead, with his plan of $1.9 trillion economic stimulus, he is going to balloon the public debt even further by increasing government spending.But maybe we shouldn’t worry about the debt? After all, after WW2, the public debt was even higher, but the economy didn’t collapse – actually, it grew so rapidly that the debt-to-GDP ratio diminished significantly. Yup, that’s correct, but after the pandemic, the economy will not recover as quickly as in the aftermath of WW2. Oh, and by the way, the economy grew its way out of debt only thanks to several years of high inflation .Therefore, the current complacency and naïve belief in low- interest rates and debt-driven economic recovery makes the scenario of the Roaring Twenties 2.0 not very likely, despite all the fantastic technological progress we are observing. So, instead of acceleration, we could rather observe an economic slowdown due to the poor economic policy that hampers the expansion of the private sector. Indeed, the recent report by the World Bank warns about the lost decade: “If history is any guide, unless there are substantial and effective reforms, the global economy is heading for a decade of disappointing growth outcomes.” This is good news for the gold market.But even if the Roaring Twenties 2.0 do happen, it wouldn’t have to be very bad for the yellow metal. It’s true that the 1920s was a period of wealth, prosperity, and decadence in which people didn’t think about preserving capital and investing in safe-haven assets such as gold . In contrast, there was a lot of risk-taking fueling the boom in the stock market. However, the Roaring Twenties were an inflationary period of debt-driven growth that ended in the systemic economic crisis called the Great Depression – and gold can shine in such an macroeconomic environment .Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold – Final Sell-Off

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 27.02.2021 14:37
Precious metal and crypto analysis exclusively for Celtic Gold on 27.02.2021Gold has been in a long and tenacious correction for nearly seven months already. On Friday the gold-market shocked traders and investors with yet another bloodbath similar to the one seen end of November last year. However, this capitulation probably means: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!ReviewThe price for one troy ounce of gold hit a new all-time high of US$2,075 on August 7th, 2020 and has been in a tough correction since then. After a first major interim low on November 30th at around US$1,764, gold posted a rapid yet deceptive recovery up to US$1.959. Since that high point on January 6th, the bears have taken back control.Obviously, the two sharp sell-offs on January 6th and January 8th had demoralized the bulls in such a strong way that they have not been able to get back on their feet since then. And although the bullish forces were still strong enough to create a volatile sideways period in January, since early February the bears were able to slowly but surely push prices lower.Just yesterday day gold finally broke below its support zone around US$1,760 to 1,770, unleashing another wave of severe selling into the weekly close. Now after seven month of correction, spot gold prices have reached a new low at US$1,717.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 18th 2021On the other hand, the relative strength of silver remains strikingly positive. In this highly difficult market environment for precious metals, silver was able to trade sideways to up since the start of the new year. The same can be said of platinum prices.Overall, the turnaround in the precious metals sector has not yet taken place but seems to be extremely close. Since the nerves of market participants were significantly tested either with a tough and tenacious volatile sideways stretch torture or with sharp price drops like yesterday, most weak hands should have been discouraged and shaken off by now. At the same time, however, the sector has become pretty oversold and finally shows encouraging signs of being a great contrarian opportunity again.Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of February 27th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the weekly chart gold lost the support of the middle trend line with the large uptrend channel in January. With a weekly close at US$1,734 the bears are clearly in control. However, Friday lows around US$1,725 hit pretty much exactly the long standing 38.2% fibonacci retracement from the whole wave up from US$1,160 to US$2,075. Hence, gold is meeting strong support right here around US$1,715 to US$1,730. Looking at the oversold weekly stochastic oscillator the chances for a bounce and an important turning point are pretty high. Hence, the end of this seven-month correction could be very near.However, only a clear breakout above the downtrend channel in red would confirm the end of this multi-month correction. Obviously, the bulls have a lot of work to do to just push prices back above US$1,850. If the Fibonacci retracement around US$1,725 cannot stopp the current wave of selling, then expect further downside towards the upper edge of the original rather flat uptrend channel in blue at around US$1,660. The ongoing final sell-off can easily extend a few more days but does not have to.In total, the weekly chart is still clearly in a confirmed downtrend. Prices have reached strong support at around US$1,725 and at least a good bounce is extremely likely from here. However, given the oversold setup including the sell-off on Friday there are good chances that the correction in gold is about to end in the coming week and that a new uptrend will emerge.Gold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of February 27th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the price of gold has been sliding into a final phase of capitulation since losing contact with its 200-MA (US$1,858). Not only predominating red daily candles but also lots of downtrend-lines and resistance zones are immersing this chart into a sea of red. That itself should awake the contrarian in any trader and investor. However, it is certainly not (yet) the time to play the bullish hero here as catching a falling knife is always a highly tricky art. But at least, the daily stochastic oscillator is about to reach oversold levels. Momentum remains bearish for now of course.Overall, the daily chart is bearish. Last weeks sell-off however might be overdone and has to be seen in conjunction with the physical deliveries for February futures at the Comex. However, a final low and a trend change can only be confirmed once gold has recaptured its 200-MA. This line is currently far away, and it will likely take weeks until gold can meet this moving average again. Further downside can not be excluded but it should be rather shallow.Commitments of Traders for Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Commitments of Traders for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: CoT Price ChartsSince the beginning of the year, commercial traders have reduced their cumulative net short position in the gold futures market by more than 21% while gold prices corrected from US$1,965 down to US$1,770.Commitments of Traders for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn the long-term comparison, however, the current net short position is still extremely high and does actually signal a further need for correction. However, this situation has been ongoing since mid of 2019. Since then, commercial traders have not been able to push gold prices significantly lower to cover their massive short positions.We can assume that since the emergence of the “repro crisis” in the USA in late summer 2019, the massive manipulation via non-physical paper ounces no longer works as it did in the previous 40 years. The supply and demand shock caused by the Corona crisis in March 2020 has certainly exacerbated this situation. In this respect, COMEX has lost its mid- to long-term weight and influence on pricing. This doesn’t mean however, that short-term sell-offs like yesterday won’t happen anymore.Nevertheless, the CoT report on its own continues to deliver a clear sell signal, similar to the last one and a half years already.Sentiment: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Sentiment Optix for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: Sentiment traderThe weak price performance in recent weeks has caused an increasingly pessimistic mood among participants in the gold market. The Optix sentiment indicator for gold is now below its lows from November 30th. In a bull market, however, these rather pessimistic readings are rare and usually short-lived. In this respect, even the currently not extreme negative sentiment could well be sufficient for a sustainable ground and turnaround.Overall, the current sentiment analysis signals an increasingly optimistic opportunity for contrarian investors. The chances for a final low after seven months of correction are relatively good in the short term already.Seasonality: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Seasonality for Gold as of February 22nd, 2021. Source: SeasonaxFrom a seasonal point of view, the development in the gold market in recent weeks is in stark contrast to the pattern established over the last 52 years. Thus, a strong start to the year could have been expected well into February. Instead, gold fell sharply from US$ 1.959 down to US$1.717 so far.If one pushes the statistically proven seasonal high point from the end of February to the beginning of January, a grinding sideways to lower phase including interim recoveries as well as recurring pullbacks is still to be expected until April. The beginning of the next sustainable uptrend could therefore theoretically be estimated approximately starting in May. Of course, these are all just abstract seasonal mind games.In any case, statistically speaking, the seasonality for gold in spring is not very supportive for about four months. In this respect, the seasonal component continues to call for patience. At the latest in early summer however, gold should be able to trend higher again. The best seasonal phase typically starts at the beginning of July and lasts until the beginning of October.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioSound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of February 22nd, 2021. Source: ChaiaWith prices of US$47,500 for one Bitcoin and US$1,734 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently sitting at 27.39. That means you have to pay more than 27 ounces of gold for one Bitcoin. In other words, an ounce of gold currently only costs 0.036 Bitcoin. Bitcoin has thus mercilessly outperformed gold in the past few months. We had repeatedly warned against this development since early summer 2020!© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 17th, 2021Generally, you should be invested in both: precious metals and bitcoin. Buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in these two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals (preferably physically), while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin, one should hold at least 1% to 5%. Paul Tudor Jones holds a little less than 2% of his assets in Bitcoin. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin and maybe other Altcoins on an individual basis. For the average investor, who usually is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is already a lot!“Opposites complement. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin (BTC-USD) you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven in the 21st century. You want to own both!”– Florian GrummesMacro update and conclusion: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 19th, 2021.In the big picture, the “confetti party” continues. As usual, the Fed’s balance sheet total rose to a new all-time high of US$7,557 billion. The increase in assets again concentrated almost entirely in the securities holdings. The Fed balance sheet total now corresponds to 35% of the US GDP.© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 17th, 2021In the eurozone, the unprecedented currency creation continues as well. Here, the ECB’s balance sheet climbed to 7,079 billion EUR reaching a new all-time high. The ECB balance sheet now represents 71% of the euro-zone GDP.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 12th, 2021.But the Chinese are doing it the most blatantly. Here, the money supply has increased by US$5.4 trillion since March 2020!© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 15th 2021.As repeatedly written at this point, the expansion of the central bank’s balance sheets has far-reaching consequences. The GSCI raw materials index has risen significantly in the past 11 months. Accordingly, inflation expectations are also rising more and more and still have a lot to catch up.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 20th 2021.Wood prices in the USA provide a good example of the rapidly rising commodity prices. Lumber saw the fastest increase since 1974 and has risen by more than 35% since the beginning of the year. During the same period, gasoline increased by 20%, natural gas by 26%, agricultural raw materials are around 25% more expensive and base metals jumped over 20% higher! Hence, inflation is coming, and central bankers won’t be able to stop it.While silver and platinum have been anticipating this “trend” for weeks and have been holding up much better than gold, the precious metal sector is still in its correction phase. This correction began after a steep two-year rally in last August and can be classified as perfectly normal and healthy until now.© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 18th, 2021.After seven months and a price drop of nearly US$360, the worst for gold is likely over. In view of the recent slight increase in real US yields (currently -0.92%) the pullback over the last few weeks can be justified. Yet, it is important to focus on the bigger picture. This is where the international devaluation race to the bottom continues unabated and will sooner or later lead to significantly higher gold prices too.Technically, Friday’s sell off might have marked the final low for this ongoing correction. As well, the slide could continue for a few more days, but the remaining risk to the downside seems rather shallow. In the worst-case Gold might drop to US$1,650 to US$1,680.To conclude, this means for Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here! The Bottom may arrive soon within the next week or has already been seen on Friday.Source: www.celticgold.euFeel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Florian Grummes|February 27th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin/gold-ratio, Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold correction, Gold Cot-Report, gold fundamentals, Silver, The bottom is in|0 CommentsFlorian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.euAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stocks, Gold – Rebound or Dead Cat Bounce?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.03.2021 15:10
None of Friday‘s intraday attempts to recapture 3,850 stuck, and the last hour‘s selling pressure is an ill omen. Especially since it was accompanied by high yield corporate bondsh weakening. It‘s as if the markets only now noticed the surging long-end Treasury yields, declining steeply on Thursday as the 10y Treasury yield made it through 1.50% before retreating. And on Friday, stocks didn‘t trust the intraday reversal higher in 20+ year Treasuries either.Instead, the options traders took the put/call ratio to levels unseen since early Nov. The VIX however doesn‘t reflect the nervousness, having remained near Thursday‘s closing values. Its long lower knot looks encouraging, and the coming few days would decide the shape of this correction which I have not called shallow since Wed‘s suspicious tech upswing. Here we are, the tech has pulled the 500-strong index down, and remains perched in a precarious position. Could have rebounded, didn‘t – instead showing that its risk-on (high beta) segments such as semiconductors, are ready to do well regardless.That‘s the same about any high beta sector or stock such as financials – these tend to do well in rising rates environments. Regardless of any coming stabilization / retreat in long-term Treasury yields, it‘s my view that we‘re going to have to get used to rising spreads such as 2y over 10y as the long end still steepens. The markets and especially commodities aren‘t buying Fed‘s nonchalant attitude towards inflation. Stocks have felt the tremors, and will keep rising regardless, as it has been historically much higher rates that have caused serious issues (think 4% in 10y Treasuries).In such an environment, the defensives with low volatility and good earnings are getting left behind, as it‘s the top earners in growth, and very risk-on cyclicals that do best. They would be taking the baton from each other, as (micro)rotations mark the stock market bull health – and once tech big names join again, new highs would arrive. Then, the $1.9T stimulus has made it past the House, involves nice stimulus checks, and speculation about an upcoming infrastructure bill remains. Coupled with the avalanche of new Fed money, this is going into the real economy, not sitting on banks‘ balance sheets – and now, the banks will have more incentive to lend out. Margin debt isn‘t contracting, but global liquidity hasn‘t gone pretty much anywhere in February. Coupled with the short-term dollar moves, this is hurting emerging markets more than the U.S. - and based on the global liquidity metrics alone, the S&P 500 is oversold right now – that‘s without the stimulus package. It‘s my view that we‘re experiencing a correction whose shape is soon to be decided, and not a reversal of fortunes.Just like I wrote at the onset of Friday:(…) Would we get a bounce during the U.S. session? It‘s possible to the point of likely. The damage done yesterday though looks to have more than a few brief sessions to run to repair. True, some stocks such as Tesla are at a concerning crossroads, and in general illustrate the vulnerability of non-top tech earners within the industry. Entering Mon‘s regular session, the signs are mixed as there hasn‘t been a clear reversal any way I look at it. Still, this remains one of the dips to be bought in my view – and the signs of it turning around, would be marked by strengthening commodities, and for all these are worth, copper, silver and oil especially.As for gold, it should recover given the retreating long-term yields, but Fri didn‘t bring any signs of strength in the precious metals sector, to put it mildly. Look for TLT for directions, even as real rates, the true determinant, remain little changed and at -1%, which means very favorable fundamentals for the yellow metal. And remember that when the rate of inflation accelerates, rising rates start to bite the yellow metal less.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsFriday‘s session doesn‘t have the many hallmarks of a reversal. Slightly higher volume, yet none of the intraday upswings held. The Force index reveals that the bears just paused for a day, that there wasn‘t a true reversal yet. The accumulation is a very weak one thus far, and the sellers can easily show more determination still.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are plain and simple worrying here. The decent intraday upswing evaporated as the closing bell approached. A weak session not indicative of a turnaround.The high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) performance was weaker than the stock market performance, which isn‘t a pleasant development. Should the bond markets keep trading with a more pessimistic bias than stocks, it could become quite fast concerning. As said already, the shape of the correction is being decided these days.Stocks, Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsAfter having moved hand in hand, emerging markets (EEM ETF) have weakened considerably more over the prior week than both the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 (IWM ETF). EEM is almost at its late Jan lows – given Fri‘s spike, watching the dollar is key, and not just here.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) didn‘t reverse with clarity on Friday, regardless of positive semiconductors (XSD ETF) performance. At least the volume comparison here is positive, and indicates accumulation. Just as I was highlighting the danger for S&P 500 and gold early Thursday, it‘s the tech sector that holds the key to the 500-strong index stabilization.Gold and SilverReal rates are deeply negative, long-dated Treasuries indeed turned higher on Friday, yet gold plunged right to its strong volume profile support zone before recovering a little. Its very short-term performance is disappointing, It was already its Tue performance that I called unconvincing – let alone Wed‘s one. I maintain that it‘s long-dated Treasury yields and the dollar that are holding the greatest sway. Rates should retreat a little from here, and the gold-dollar correlation is only slightly positive now, which translates into a weak positive effect on gold prices.But it‘s silver that I am looking to for earliest signs of reversal – the white metal and its miners have the task clear cut. Weeks ago, I‘ve been noting the low $26 values as sufficient to retrace a reasonable part of prior advance, and we‘ve made it there only this late. Thu and Fri‘s weakness has much to do with the commodities complex, where I wanted still on Thu to see copper reversing intraday (to call it a risk-on reversal), which it didn‘t – and silver suffered the consequences as well. Likewise now, I‘m looking to the red metal, and will explain in today‘s final chart why.Precious Metals RatiosThere is no better illustration of gold‘s weakness than in both miners to gold ratios that are bobbing around their local lows, rebounding soundly, and then breaking them more or less convincingly again. The gold sector doesn‘t yet appear ready to run.Let‘s get the big picture through the copper to oil ratio. Its current 8 months long consolidation has been punctured in the middle with oil turning higher, outperforming the red metal – and that brought the yellow one under pressure increasingly more. Yet is the uptick in buying interest in gold a sign of upcoming stabilization and higher prices in gold that Fri‘s beaten down values indicate? Notably, the copper to oil ratio didn‘t break to new lows – and remains as valuable tool to watch as real, nominal interest rates, and various derivatives such as copper to Treasury yields or this very ratio.SummaryStock bulls are almost inviting selling pressure today with the weak finish to Fri‘s session. While the sectoral comparisons aren‘t disastrous, the credit markets indicate stress ahead just as much as emerging markets do. Still, this isn‘t the end of the bull run, very far from it – new highs are closer than quite a few might think.Gold and silver took an even greater beating on Fri than the day before. Naturally, silver is much better positioned to recapture the higher $27 levels than gold is regarding the $1,800 one. With the long-dated Treasuries stabilization indeed having resulted in a short-term dollar upswing, the greenback chart (and its effects upon the metals) is becoming key to watch these days. Restating the obvious, gold is far from out of the woods, and lacking positive signs of buying power emerging.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Treasury Yields Rally May Trigger A Crazy Ivan Event (Again) In The Market

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 01.03.2021 20:05
Since shortly after the US November elections, my research team and I have been clear about our research and our belief that the bullish rally in the markets would continue to drive the strongest sectors higher and higher.  In December 2020, we shared an article suggesting our proprietary Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs and GANN theory indicated a major price peak could set up in early April 2021.  On February 3, 2021, we also published an early warning that Treasure Yields were set up to prompt a big topping pattern sometime over the next 6+ months .  We followed that up with a February 21, 2021 article suggesting future Gold and Silver price trends may be tied to the moves in Treasury Yields and the resulting stock market trends.Now that the Treasury Yields have completed what we suggested would be required to start a “revaluation event” in the stock market, we believe that a “Crazy Ivan” event may soon setup in the global markets.  Many months back (August 28, 2019), we published an article about precious metals were about to pull a Crazy Ivan price event (https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/precious-metals-crazy-ivan-followup/). This prediction came true in 2020 and 2021.  Now, we are suggesting the global markets may pull a new type of Crazy Ivan event – a price revaluation event prompted by the rise in Treasury Yields.The Yields SetupIn our February 3, 2021, research article about the Treasury Yields, we suggested that a series of setup processes take place that prompt a broad market correction related to Treasury Yields.  First, Yields must fall from levels above the Breakdown Threshold to levels below the Setup Threshold to complete the first stage of the setup.  This first stage sets up the potential for moderate sideways price trends nearing a peak, or congestion.  The second stage of this setup is that Yields must fall to levels below ZERO.  This move creates the potential for one of two outcomes when Yields begin to rally.If Yields rally back above the Setup Threshold and/or the Breakdown Threshold, but then stall and reverse back below the Breakdown Threshold, then the markets will likely stall/congest or enter a sideways/rolling top type of trend for a period of 2 to 6+ months. If Yields rally back above both the Setup Threshold and the Breakdown Threshold and continue to rally higher, then the markets begin to start a sideways/correction event which we are calling a Crazy Ivan event.We have highlighted all the areas in the charts below where the Yields have fallen to levels below ZERO on this chart and you can clearly see how the SPX reacted to these upside Yields recovery events.  Every time (in RED) where the Yields rallied above the Setup and Breakdown Threshold levels, a broad market downtrend setup within 6 to 12+ months of this event.  We believe the markets are about to do the same type of thing and we are calling it a Crazy Ivan event because we believe the current market setup is vastly different than the previous setups.If the markets start to roll over and volatility continues to stay higher or rise, we can benefit from it with our Options Trading Signals which we use non-direction trades to sell premiums. This allows options traders to profit from volatility and not worry about which way the market moves.The current Crazy Ivan setupThe following current Yields chart shows a more detailed example of what is currently taking place related to the Crazy Ivan setup.  Yields are back above the 1.35 level on this chart and have quickly rallied above the Setup and Breakdown Threshold levels.  If Yields continue to rally from this level, we believe the markets will quickly shift into a sideways/rolling top formation which will eventually prompt a new Crazy Ivan price event (a big revaluation event).  If yields stall near these current levels and move back below the Breakdown Threshold, then we may still see a bit of sideways trading for a while, but usually the markets will begin to resume an upward price trend if Yields stay below the Breakdown Threshold.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The outcome hinges on what Yields do in the next 4 to 12+ months and we believe traders and investors need to prepare for big shifting trends in major sectors and indexes going forward.  The setup process is already complete at this point.  We are not waiting for anything to further complete this potential for the Crazy Ivan event.  We are just watching Yields to see if they continue higher or stall and move back below the Breakdown Threshold.  At this point, the Crazy Ivan price revaluation event is almost a certainty – it is just a matter of time.What we expect to see is not the same type of market trend that we have experienced over the past 8+ years – this is a completely different set of market dynamics. Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors in 2021, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.In the second part of this article we will publish later this week, we will review and share more data and details related to the rising Yields and the pressures that will likely be placed on the global markets.  You don't want to miss the conclusions of our research.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Bitcoin on the move

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 02.03.2021 11:00
Our optimism for further advances is principle-based. The following analysis shows why we perceive a continuation in price advances with low-risk entry possibilities.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, A healthy breath:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of March 1st, 2021.A glance at the monthly chart above shows that as much as the trend is steep, it is in good health. The upper wicks on the monthly candles indicate a healthy breath. What expands must retrace. And Bitcoin does just that. It has strong pushes upwards but then gives profits partially back. It takes a deep breath up to be followed by harmonious breathing out. We see no indication from the most critical larger time frame why Bitcoin prices could not continue to advance soon, even to surpass their all-time highs within the next months. There is no blow-off volume plotted nor irregular fractal volume distribution of supply and demand zones. There are no warning signals of ill health. This athlete is fit for a marathon. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Most likely:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of March 1st, 2021.All trading instruments have their probabilistic personality. Bitcoin is volatile and has typically larger retracements in size. These personalities provide for a good mathematical guideline of what is most likely to happen. Of course, they can also change over time).A closer look at the weekly chart above shows prices to sit right below a distribution zone indicated by a volume analysis showing resistance overhead at US$47,396. Bitcoin most likely gets pushed one more time to lower price levels before advancing. Therefore, we are buying into the market within a range center at prices of US$37,630 (+/-1k).BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Bitcoin on the move:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of March 1st, 2021.We see three possible scenarios. The daily chart shows in their most likely probability scenario: number one likely, scenario two the second likely, and scenario three the least likely. One should participate in all three events with entries and use our quad exit strategy to protect these events from costing any money. Instead, irrespective of their longer outcome, provide for at least a small profit.Bitcoin on the move:With larger time frames in mind, technical analysis isn’t the only factor pointing towards higher prices. The sustainability of Bitcoin and demand for this technology are more and more transparent. Some argue that Bitcoin’s anonymity creates crime. We find the true principle there to be an aspect of criminal behavior within humanity. Cash is used for some unlawful transactions. That doesn’t render cash transactions inherently to be illegal. In a world where excessive data eradicates privacy, one needs to be asking if the need for a payment system that allows for some of that privacy isn’t something necessary. That is to say protection of human potential that is born out of personal privacy.Less philosophical, there is a need for wealth preservation right now. Worldwide monetary policy eradicates the value of fiat currency fast. For the short term, we find there to be a threat of further value dilution. Upcoming stimulus package payments require money printing again. For the midterm, we see the first signs of a different attitude towards the risk of the printing machine between European countries and the US. Ill-gotten behavior has an extended shelf life when the whole world dances the same waltz. Once opinions diverge, resulting in various diverging actions, the house of cards is tumbling fast. In this case, while Bitcoin might be dropping temporarily and take one of its deeper breathing out phases, it will be the first that takes an inhale on a level astounding even its fans.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller| March 1st, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Continues Declines on Bond Yield Jitters

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.03.2021 16:30
The economy seems to be recovering, while bond yields are increasing again, sending gold prices down.Not good. Gold bulls can be truly upset. The yellow metal continued its bearish trend last week. As the chart below shows, the price of gold has declined from $1,807 on Monday (Feb. 22) to $1,743 on Friday (Feb. 26).What happened? Well, last week was full of positive economic news. In particular, personal income surged by 10 percent in January, compared to only 0.6-percent rise in the previous month. Meanwhile, consumer spending increased 2.4 percent, following a 0.4-percent decline in December. This means that, on an absolute basis, personal consumption expenditures have almost returned to the pre- pandemic level, as the chart below shows.Additionally, durable goods orders jumped by 3.4 percent in January versus a 1.2-percent increase one month earlier. Moreover, initial jobless claims declined from 841,000 to 730,000 in the week ending February 20, as the chart below shows. It means that the economic situation is improving, partially thanks to the December fiscal stimulus.And, on Saturday (Feb. 27), the House of Representatives passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Although the bill has yet to be approved by the Senate, the move by the House brings us one step closer to its implementation. Although the additional fiscal stimulus may overheat the economy and turn out to be positive for gold prices in the long-term, the strengthened prospects of higher government expenditures can revive the optimism in the financial markets, negatively affecting the safe-haven assets such as gold .Finally, on Saturday, the FDA authorized Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine against COVID-19. This decision expands the availability of vaccines, which brings us closer to the end of the epidemic in the U.S. and offers hope for a faster economic recovery. The new vaccine is highly effective (it provides 85-percent protection against severe COVID-19 28 days after vaccination) and most importantly, requires only one dose, which facilitates efficient distribution. So, the approval of another vaccine is rather bad news for gold and could add to the metal’s problems in the near future.However, the most important development from the last week was the jump in the bond yields . As the chart below shows, after a short stabilization in the first half of the week, the yields on the 10-year Treasuries indexed by inflation rose from -0.79 to -0.60 percent on Thursday (Feb. 25). This surge in the real interest rates is negative for the price of gold.Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for the price of gold? Well, the increase in the bond yields is clearly bad for the yellow metal. Although they have partially risen to strengthened inflation expectations, the real interest rates have also soared. It means that investors expect wider fiscal deficits and expanding vaccination to accelerate inflation only partially, but in a large part, it will speed up real economic growth. This is a huge problem for gold, as real interest rates are a key driver of gold prices.An additional issue is that the expectations of higher economic growth and inflation create accompanying expectations for the Fed to tighten its monetary policy and hike the federal funds rate , which exerts downward pressure on gold prices.This is what we were afraid of at the beginning of the year. We noted that the real interest rates were so low that the next move could be up. Importantly, there is further room for upward trajectory, as the real interest rates are still importantly below the pre-pandemic level.However, we wouldn’t bet on the return to the levels seen last year. After all, interest rates didn’t return to the pre-crisis level after the Great Recession , so it’s unlikely that they will do it now. Additionally, investors should remember that the U.S. government is now so heavily indebted that if Treasury yields continue to increase, the Fed would have to intervene. A failure to do so would mean that the interest expenses would grow too much, creating serious problems for the Treasury. So, the current bearish trend in gold may not last forever – although it may still take some time.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

What Correction in Stocks? And Gold?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.03.2021 16:30
Stocks thoroughly rebounded yesterday, and corporate credit markets did even better. These are optimistic signs as the shape of the correction has been decided – again, as shallow, less than 5% one. Long-termTreasuries are no longer in a free fall, volalility has retreated back to the low 20s, and the put/call ratio swung back towards the bottom of its recent range.Technology has rebounded as well, and the microrotations in the stock market keep being the haollmark of stock bull‘s health, and the risk-on (high beta) sectors and segments such as financials, semiconductors, or capex (capital expenditure such as construction and engineering) - and airlines are catching breath too.Such was the sectoral themes likely to do well that I mentioned yesterday:(…) That‘s the same about any high beta sector or stock such as financials – these tend to do well in rising rates environments. Regardless of any coming stabilization / retreat in long-term Treasury yields, it‘s my view that we‘re going to have to get used to rising spreads such as 2y over 10y as the long end still steepens. The markets and especially commodities aren‘t buying Fed‘s nonchalant attitude towards inflation. Stocks have felt the tremors, and will keep rising regardless, as it has been historically much higher rates that have caused serious issues (think 4% in 10y Treasuries).In such an environment, the defensives with low volatility and good earnings are getting left behind, as it‘s the top earners in growth, and very risk-on cyclicals that do best. They would be taking the baton from each other, as (micro)rotations mark the stock market bull health – and once tech big names join again, new highs would arrive. Then, the $1.9T stimulus has made it past the House, involves nice stimulus checks, and speculation about an upcoming infrastructure bill remains. Coupled with the avalanche of new Fed money, this is going into the real economy, not sitting on banks‘ balance sheets – and now, the banks will have more incentive to lend out. Margin debt isn‘t contracting, but global liquidity hasn‘t gone pretty much anywhere in February. Coupled with the short-term dollar moves, this is hurting emerging markets more than the U.S. - and based on the global liquidity metrics alone, the S&P 500 is oversold right now – that‘s without the stimulus package. It‘s my view that we‘re experiencing ... not a reversal of fortunes. … this remains one of the dips to be bought in my view.All right, we‘re seeing a rebound in progress, on the way to new highs – but what about the embattled gold? Its seasonality component was „slated“ to help the bulls in Feb, and the king of metals instead succumbed to nominal yields pressure. Would the Mar historically negative slant be likewise invalidated – and again precisely for the reason called long-dated Treasuries?Regardless of the immensely positive fundamentals behind the precious metals (including real rates, the true determinant, little changed and at -1%), it has thus far been commodities and Bitcoin who rose and held on to their gains since the 2H 2020. Please remember the big picture chart about commodities and precious metals taking turns in rising that I presented on Feb 17. The bullish case for gold (let alone silver) isn‘t lost – merely thoroughly questioned these weeks of sordid $HUI:$GOLD underperformance.Are we seeing signs of decreasing financial asset price inflation – or an accelerating one? It‘s the inflation and inflation expectations that are weighed against the nominal rates trajectory. As the rate of inflation accelerates, rising nominal rates would bite the yellow metal less – and there is no denying that the risk of inflation is running as high as can be.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookSo far, so (very) good in stocks – volume is lagging but the Force index still flipped positive, indication that at worst, we‘re likely to muddle through in a sideways to higher trading pattern over the nearest days.Credit MarketsAfter a worrying move on Friday, high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are once again assuming leadership, and I see this chart as the one with more bullish implications for the coming days than the S&P 500 alone. That‘s the dynamic I am looking for in a good run.Both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated ones (LQD:IEI) – are looking to get back in closer sync than has been the case in 2021 thus far. It would take time, but would prove that the stock market can still keep on rising when faced with even higher nominal rates than we saw thus far.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) clearly reversed, and while the volume isn‘t convincing on a standalone basis, coupled with semiconductors (XSD ETF) and other value stocks performance, it‘s encouraging enough to treat any significant correction calls heard elsewhere, as again plain wrong and premature, for the full picture view didn‘t support such calls in the first place, and you know what is being said about every broken clock being right twice a day…Having said so, let‘s turn to precious metals, which offered more than a few bullish signs way earlier in Feb. Based on the evolving charts and gold‘s failure to gain credible traction, I was at least able to time most of the downside before it happened – such as last week. Still, there has been little bullish that could be said about the PMs complex, as encouraging signs emerged only to be gone shortly. So, where do we stand at the moment?Gold and Copper to Oil RatioRising TLT rates are turning a corner, but the yellow metal is staying at the strong volume profile support zone that marks the April-May consolidation zone. Earlier today, gold cut all the way to its lower end (that‘s low $1,700s) before rebounding. The danger zone hasn‘t been cleared in the least yet, but the signs of silver reversing once again from a double test of $26, is as encouraging as copper rising again, and oil not tanking.The copper to oil ratio whose long-term perspective I featured yesterday, is making a clear turn on the daily chart. Coupled with the TLT stabilization, and the dollar trading with relatively little correlation to gold these days, the table is set for a short-term rebound in the metals. How far would these take the sector? The numerous bears would have you believe that not too far & that another downleg to ridiculously low values is at hand, but I am not convinced and prefer reading the tape instead. Yes, even in the mostly bearish PMs chart setups where nothing bullish has stuck for longer than several day over the past weeks. I repeat that the $1.9T stimulus bill (and infrastructure bill, even slavery reparations if we get that far really) hasn‘t been truly factored in by the markets – and yesterday‘s S&P 500 action proves that.Silver and MinersSilver keeps consolidating in a bullish pattern well above $26 still (not that it would be the line in the sand though), and when the silver miners (SIL ETF) start leading again, a new silver upleg would be born. For now, these are still mirroring the weak gold miners‘ performance, which is free from bullish signals for the yellow metal still. The gold sector isn‘t yet ready to run, plain and simple.SummaryStock bulls are on a solid recovery path, and new all time highs are again closer in sight. Crucially, the corporate credit markets and S&P 500 sectoral performance confirm, and once emerging markets join (the dollar weakens again), more fuel to the rally would be available.Gold remains precariously perched, yet isn‘t breaking down – the bull run off last spring‘s consolidation remains intact – regardless of the short-term gloom and doom. I see the metals as likely to recover next as the Treasury yields stop biting. Restating the obvious, gold is far from out of the woods.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

So, Where Is the Corrective Upswing?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.03.2021 15:07
Can the precious metals move lower before a short-term correction, and after correcting, will they continue their medium-term downtrend?Gold & silver reversed yesterday (Mar. 2) and the GDX rallied after bottoming right in my previous target area, but it’s still unclear if the bottom is in.Let’s check what’s happening in the charts.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)In short, gold reversed yesterday after touching the upper border or my target area. Can the temporary bottom be in? Yes. Is it likely to be in? Not necessarily. Most likely it’s not in yet, because gold still hasn’t moved to its strong support levels.The size of the first part of the move sometimes tends to be identical or near-identical to the size of the final move. The size of the initial, August decline was almost just like the November decline. Now, copying the January 2021 decline to the current situation (blue, dashed lines), provides us with the target at about $1,675.The above price area coincides with the previous 2020 lows, and it’s also slightly below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2020 upswing. Gold would be likely to at least reach this retracement before forming the temporary bottom.Consequently, it would not be surprising to see gold suffering another ~$50 decline before finding a short-term bottom. More importantly though, if the initial move lower coincides with an S&P 500 correction, it would be likely to push mining stocks and silver lower in a more visible way.On the bullish front, the shape of yesterday’s candlestick does indeed look like an intraday reversal. And we saw the same kind of intraday reversal in silver.Figure 2 – COMEX Silver FuturesThe fact that silver’s triangle-vertex-based reversal is approximately today / was approximately yesterday (it’s unclear) further validates the scenario, in which precious metals move higher in the short term.I previously wrote that silver is likely to catch up with the decline at its later stage, while miners are likely to lead the way. That’s exactly what we’ve been seeing in the last few months. Silver is still likely to catch up with the declines when silver investors panic – just as they tend to do close to the end of given price moves (selling close to the bottom and buying close to the top). So far, miners remain the asset of choice for trading, but sometime during the next downswing, we might move to silver in order to magnify gains from both declines. As a reminder, please consider what happened on March 13 and March 16, 2020 and consider that the GDX ETF bottomed (in terms of the daily closing prices) on March 13. That was when silver was only in the middle of its decline.Speaking of mining stocks, let’s take a look at the GDX ETF chart.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)The GDX moved higher shortly after we successfully exited our short positions, relatively close to the bottom. But is this rally about to take miners much higher before they turn south once again? It’s unclear at this time.It could be the case that we see an immediate move lower once again as gold declines to $1,675 or so, but it could also be the case that miners correct to $33 - $34 now, and then move to new lows later.All in all, it seems that we are already seeing the corrective upswing, or one is about to start after another very short-term downswing. Once this corrective upswing is over, the downtrend is likely to resume.Why would this be the case? There are myriads of reasons and I’m going over most of them each week in my flagship Gold & Silver Trading Alerts , but to name just a few, it’s gold’s invalidation of the breakout above its 2011 high, despite having an extremely positive fundamental picture, gold’s weak performance relative to the USD Index, miners’ relatively weak performance compared to gold, and the medium-term breakout in the USDX.And speaking of the USD Index, let’s take a look at its chart.Figure 4While the medium-term breakout continues to be the most important technical development visible on the above chart (with important bullish implications for the following months), there is one factor that could make the USD Index decline on a temporary basis.This factor is the similarity to the mid-2020 price pattern. I previously commented on the head and shoulders pattern that had formed (necklines are marked with dashed lines), but that I didn’t trust. Indeed, this formation was invalidated, but a bigger pattern, of which this formation was part, wasn’t invalidated.The patterns start with a broad bottom and an initial rally. Then it turns out that the initial rally is the head of a head-and-shoulders pattern that is then completed and invalidated. This is followed by a sharp rally, and then a reversal with a sizable daily decline.So far, the situations are similar.Last year, this pattern was followed by a decline to new lows. Now, based on the breakout above the rising medium-term support line, such a bearish outcome doesn’t seem likely, but we might see the pattern continue for several more days, before they disconnect. After all, this time, the USD Index is likely to really rally – similarly to how it soared in 2018 – and not move to new lows.What happens before the patterns disconnect? The USD Index could decline temporarily.This means that the temporary bottom in the precious metals and miners could have already formed, but it’s far from being crystal-clear.All in all, markets tend to reverse only after reaching important support or resistance levels, which means that PMs and miners might still move lower before their short-term corrective upswing, but it could also be the case that the latter is already underway. Depending on how many confirmations we get of the bullish outlook, it might or might not be a good idea to enter temporary long positions here. After all, the medium-term downtrend started in August 2020 and it remains intact – thus, quick long positions are against the trend and thus riskier.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Weak Jobs Data, Stocks and Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.03.2021 16:19
Stocks gave up some of Monday‘s strong gains, but I find it little concerning in the sub-3,900 pre-breakout meandering. It‘s about time, and a play on the tech sector to participate meaningfully in the coming rally (or at least not to stand in the way again). Talking obstacles, what about today‘s non-farm employment change, before the really key Fri‘s release? A bad number makes it less likely for market participants to bet on the Fed raising rates soon – but frankly, I don‘t understand where this hawkish sentiment is coming from, now when we‘re not at even talking taper. Raising rates in the current shape of the recovery, where we have commodities and financial asset prices rising, and that‘s about it? No, the current economic recovery isn‘t strong enough to entertain that thought. The need for stimulus asap is obvious. Thus, prior trends in the commodities and currency arenas are likely to continue, and not even the current long-term Treasuries stabilization can prevent the greenback from falling more than temporarily.Just as I wrote yesterday about stocks:(…) All right, we‘re seeing a rebound in progress, on the way to new highs.Gold scored modest gains yesterday, but these aren‘t enough to flip its short-term outlook bullish. Yes, it‘s sitting within the strong support zone (with another one over $40 further lower), and it isn‘t breaking down. It could actually stage a rebound precisely off this support zone next, as sharp rallies are born during the opposite sentiment clearly prevailing, which is what we have in gold now.Silver remains relatively solid, and commodities aren‘t breaking down. We have a month historically strong for copper, and I talked both yesterday and Monday what that means for the copper to oil ratio – and its relationship to gold, given the very accomodative monetary policy without real end in sight. This is then checked against nominal rates matching up against inflation, inflation expectations.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsYesterday‘s downswing didn‘t attract much volume, making it a short-term hesitation That‘s the meandering, the search for direction just below the 3,900 mark that I had been tweeting about yesterday. If you look at the equal weighted S&P 500 chart (RSP ETF), it‘s clear that new highs are still a little off given the sectoral balance of power.The market breadth indicators reflect the daily indecisiveness fittingly. While not worrying in themselves, they‘re showing that Monday‘s session wasn‘t the beginning of an endless bullish streak. Rather, it‘s just a part of the bullish turn that would over time prevail more convincingly.Credit MarketsThe key leading credit market ratio – high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) – is slightly leaning bullish here. And that‘s good given the talk of bubble bursting, significant correction just ahead (started) – that‘s what I am looking for in uncertain times. Ideally though, such a bond market leadership should last a bit longer than one day, to lend it more credibility.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) once again reversed to the downside, or so the chart says. While high, the volume isn‘t trustworthy – it doesn‘t stand comparison to the visually similar early Sep pattern, which was followed by a break to new lows in the latter half of the month. Then, as the overlaid S&P 500 (black line) shows, high beta pockets and value sectors have assumed leadership, powering the S&P 500 advance.DollarThe USD index is keeping close to the 91 mark, and yesterday‘s candle reveals that the potential upside isn‘t probably all that great. This is consistent with the dollar being in a bear market, sliding to new lows in 2021 with likelihood bordering on certainty. Plain and simple, it‘ll be on the defensive regardless of where long-term rates go.Gold and SilverGold had a good chance to rebound higher throughout this week, but didn‘t – given its Monday‘s performance, I had some reservations even as the support zone held, and upswing could easily follow – especially given the positive copper to oil ratio‘s move, or TLT not putting fresh pressure. But that‘s not happening in today‘s pre-market session, as the support‘s lower border is being tested again.Silver keeps holding the $26 level, and still trades at the 50-day moving average. While it‘s lagging behind both platinum and copper, its chart is (unlike gold‘s) bullish. Remember, the most bullish thing prices can do, is to rise. Not to rebound and fizzle out, only to rebound and fizzle out again, the way we see in gold as it keeps offering both bearish and bullish signs.OilOil keeps trading in a bullish fashion, and the 3-day long correction hasn‘t broken even Feb local lows yet. While we‘re for increased volatility in here, the uptrend remains strong, and volume currently doesn‘t support a deep correction theory. Just look how little have the retreating daily indicators achieved when it comes to the underlying price move? That‘s a reflection of a strong uptrend, which would be however best advised to resume sooner rather than later so as not to lose the technical advantage.SummaryStock bulls are on a recovery path, and new all time highs are basically a question of when the tech would step up to the plate again. Despite today‘s premarket weakness reaching well below the 3,870 level, the S&P 500 internals and credit markets performance (including foreign bonds) doesn‘t indicate that much downside potential currently. This correction‘s shape is largely in, and I mean the price downside – patience though will be needed before seeing new highs.Gold remains stuck in its support zone, unable to rally, not breaking down. The copper advantage of yesterday is lost for today, but seeing it and silver recover would be the most likely outcome once the immediate threat of rising Treasury yields retreats more noticeably. Gold is far from out of the woods, and flirting with the support level without a convincing rebound, is dangerous to the bulls.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

EURAUD capped by falling channel

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.03.2021 11:00
Intraday Market Analysis – Channel TradeDespite Australia’s soft retail sales number, the euro remains under technical pressure. The pair has been sliding within a bearish channel since last October and the eurozone’s retail reading today is unlikely to change the course.As the pair rebounds after the RSI dipped into the oversold territory, the euro may encounter stiff selling pressure in the 1.5530-1.5600 supply zone.On the downside, 1.5250 is the next target should the sell-off accelerate.USDCHF reaches 5-month highToday’s jobless claims may stir up the volatility in the US dollar. A low number would heighten the reflation fear as the labour market may have recovered faster than expected.The pair is hovering right under last October’s high around 0.9200. The recent drop of the RSI from the overbought area would suggest some leeway to the upside.A bullish breakout could trigger an extended rally as shorts cover their positions. On the downside, 0.9130 is the intraday support to monitor.XAGUSD tests 12-month long trendlinePrecious metals have taken a toll as the greenback made a comeback. Silver is trying to hold on to its near-year-long rising trendline, and a successful bounce could resume the uptrend.The double dip on the line (25.80) is a serious test of the buyers’ commitment. However, an RSI divergence showing a loss in the bearish momentum may give the buy-side an edge.A rebound will need to lift offers around 27.00 to gain traction. Failing that, the price could start to reverse.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold Predictive Modeling Suggests A New Rally Targeting $2300+, But When Will it Start?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 04.03.2021 15:12
One of our readers' favorite tools is the Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) predictive modeling system.  This tool maps out technical and price patterns into an array of similar setups using historical data, then applies that data to current and future price bars.  Using the ADL predictive Modeling tool, we can see into the future based on historical technical analysis that maps statistically relevant price activity and shows us the highest probability outcomes. Monthly ADL Gold PredictionsIn this research article, we're going to focus on Gold and how current price action suggests a bottom is likely near the $1720 level.  The YELLOW price channels on this Monthly Gold chart highlight exactly where we believe support is located for Gold.  If this $1700 price level is breached to the downside, then the previous lows, near $1400, are the next support level for Gold.Our ADL predictive modeling system suggests the $1720 support level will hold, prompting a new rally to levels above $2200 within 30 to 60+ days.  The ADL system predicts an aggressive move in Gold near May or June 2021.  The move higher may happen earlier than the ADL Monthly predictions indicate.  There is a chance that a move back above $1850 starts the move higher before the end of March or April 2021 – propelling Gold toward the $2300+ peak.  The actual peak level predicted by the ADL predictive modeling system is $2315.2-Week ADL Predicts Gold May Start To Rally near Mid-MarchThis 2-Week Gold Chart highlights a similar ADL price prediction.  What we find interesting about this ADL outcome is the similar price predictions originating from vastly different origination points.  The Monthly ADL prediction originates from a date of August 1, 2020 – the peak price bar.  This 2-Week ADL prediction originates from a date of November 23, 2020 – the intermediate low DOJI bar before the recent continue downward trend targeting the YELLOW price channel. Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The similarities between these two unique ADL predictions suggest that Gold may attempt to find support fairly quickly near the $1700 to $1720 level, then attempt to move above $1795~1825 as an early stage rebound off the lower YELLOW price channel.  The 2-Week ADL price prediction suggests that Gold will quickly attempt to move higher, before or near March 20th, targeting levels above $1900.  Then, as you can see from the YELLOW DASH LINES on this chart, Gold will attempt to move moderately higher over the next 2 to 3+ months targeting levels above $2030.If these ADL price predictions are accurate and Gold does find a solid bottom near $1700, then we would want to watch for an upward price trend to start to setup near March 15th or so, attempting to push Gold prices above $1850 to $1900.  If that happens, then the next phase of the ADL price predictions would become even more relevant.  That means the upward price trend would attempt to target the $2050 level, then the $2300 level before June or July 2021.Our ADL predictive modeling system accurately called the rally in gold in 2019 and has delivered some incredible predictive analysis over the past few months.  You can read some of our earlier ADL predictions here:November 22, 2020: ADAPTING DYNAMIC LEARNING SHOWS POSSIBLE UPSIDE PRICE RALLY IN GOLD & SILVERAugust 4, 2020: REVISITING OUR SILVER AND GOLD PREDICTIONS – GET READY FOR HIGHER PRICESMarch 28, 2019: PRECIOUS METALS SETUP FINAL BUYING OPPORTUNITYMiner ETFs May See Big GainsIn terms of sector ETF trends, a stronger upside move in Gold would likely prompt Miner ETFs to also move dramatically higher over the next 30 to 60+ days.  This GDXJ Weekly chart highlights a Fibonacci 100% measured move higher which suggests the $73.91 and $91.71 levels could become our next upside targets. Additionally, one has to consider the process that would likely prompt Gold to move higher throughout this span of time.  A continued commodity rally could prompt some of this move to happen, but fear would also have to be factored into this move if Gold were to rally above $2300 as the ADL system predicts.  Any renewed fear would likely come from global financial or credit market concerns or be related to hyper-inflation concerns.  We'll have to see how things progress throughout the rest of 2021 to really get a better feel for what may be driving this upward price trend.We suggest traders pay very close attention to what happens in Gold over the next 2 to 4+ weeks.  If our ADL predictions are accurate, we could see some really big moves in the global markets, various sectors and metals/miners very quickly. If the markets start to roll over and volatility rises, we can benefit from it with our Options Trading Signals which we use non-direction trades to sell premiums. This allows options traders to profit from volatility and not worry about which way the market moves.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors in 2021, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gold Approaches $1,700 on Rising Economic Confidence

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.03.2021 16:39
Gold remains in a bearish trend as economic confidence has improved, however, inflation can change all that around.The chart presenting gold prices in 2021 doesn’t look too encouraging. The yellow metal continued its bearish trend at the turn of February and March. So, as one can see, the price of gold has declined from $1,943 on January 4 to $1,711 on Wednesday (Mar. 3) This means a drop of 232 bucks, or 12 percent since the beginning of the year.What is happening in the gold market? I would like to blame the jittering bond market and increasing bond yields , but the uncomfortable truth is that the yellow metal has slid in the past few days despite the downward correction in the bond yields. If you don’t believe, take a look at the chart below. This is an important bearish signal, given how closely gold is usually linked to the real interest rates .So, it seems that there are more factors at work than just the bond yields. One of them is the recent modest strengthening of the greenback , probably amid rising U.S. interest rates and ECB officials’ remarks about possible expansion of the ECB’s accommodative stance if the selloff in the bond market continues.Another piece of bearish news for the gold market is that President Joe Biden struck a last-minute stimulus deal with Democratic Senators that narrows the income eligibility for the next round of $1,400 stimulus checks. It means that the upcoming fiscal stimulus will be lower than previously expected, negatively affecting inflation expectations and, thus, the demand for gold as an inflation hedge .Lastly, I have to mention the high level of confidence in the economy. Indeed, the recent rise in the bond yields may just be a sign of more optimism about the economic recovery from the pandemic recession . Hence, despite all the economic problems the U.S. will have to face – mainly the huge indebtedness or actually the debt-trap – investors have decided to not pay too much attention to the elephants in the room. As the chart below shows, the credit spread (ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread), which is a useful measure of economic confidence, has returned to the pre-pandemic level, indicating a strong belief in the state of the economy. This is, of course, bad for safe-haven assets such as gold.Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for gold prices? Well, from the long-term perspective, the recent slide to almost $1,700 could just be noise in the marketplace. But gold’s disappointing performance is really disturbing given the seemingly perfect environment for the precious metals . After all, we live in a world of negative interest rates , a weak U.S. dollar, rising fiscal deficits and public debt , soaring money supply and unprecedented dovish monetary and fiscal policies . So, the bearish trend may be more lasting, as market sentiment is still negative. Investors usually turn to gold, a great portfolio diversifier and a safe haven , when other investment are falling. But the worst is already behind us, the economy has already bottomed out, so confidence in the economy is now high, and equities are rising.Having said that, the recent jump in the bond yields also means rising inflation expectations . Indeed, as the chart below shows, they have already surpassed the levels seen before the outbreak of the pandemic .Actually, the 5-year breakeven inflation rate has reached 2.45 percent, the highest level since the midst of the Great Recession . So, in some part, investors are selling bonds, as they are preparing for an reflation environment marked by higher inflation . At some point, if the fear of inflation strengthens, then economic confidence will waver, and investors could again turn toward gold.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver, don’t be fooled

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 05.03.2021 12:25
Here are the facts why there is a higher likelihood for Silver prices to advance:A lot of news items attract buyers. Silver is in the limelight.Physical Silver prices trade up to 30% over the spot price.We had a bullish twelve-month period for Silver prices. Consequently, describing the first leg of a trend. With a high probability of two more legs to be following.We see money inflow into the precious metal sector as a whole. These are safe haven seeking investments due to the threat of hyperinflation caused by unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus.Possible highest ever physical delivery months within this year for Silver futures traded on the COMEX exchange.Daily Chart of Silver in US-Dollar, Good support:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 5th, 2021.Looking at this sideways range, we find ample support of prices within the range right now as a healthy spot to acquire physical Silver. We pointed out that last time around prices touched the simple 200 moving average, Silver prices exploded. We expect a similar scenario now. There is a likelihood that prices might already take off in the upcoming week here from the secondary volume analysis support point (POC=point of control). These stacked up edges of support provide for tighter stops and great risk-reward ratios.  Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Stacking Odds:Gold in US Dollar, monthly chart as of March 5th, 2021.A great way timing your Silver entry is also looking at inter-market relationships. Once Gold, the sector leader, will find its support, Silver will follow. This technique might help distinguish if Silver will be bouncing from primary or secondary POC in the upcoming week (as indicated in the first chart of this article).The monthly chart above shows that Gold has entered a prime buy zone between US$1,650 and US$1,700. Both the Fibonacci retracement and the fractal volume analysis demand zone substantiate that fact.Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Silver, don’t be fooled:Gold in US Dollar, monthly chart as of March 5th, 2021.Another view at Gold reveals that it bounced strongly last time it touched its simple 20 months moving average. It is a confirmation that we might be able to temporarily bottom here and support a possible Silver up move. In such a case Silver might be temporarily topping by mid-August to mid-September this year. At that time, Silver will be ripe for partial profit taking to reduce long-term risk by using our quad exit strategy.Our thinking is all programmed for a hundred years to benchmark against dollars. I am sure you have noticed your groceries to be more expensive now or better said, everything being more expensive. Maybe thinking the dollar is worth less is a more somber way of perceiving the change. Benchmarking against Silver or Gold or even Bitcoin might be a more accurate measure of value perception. Average monthly wages in Venezuela representing a value of US$6 are an excellent example of what hyperinflation can look like.If you are holding your wealth in US-Dollars only, you are at extreme risk. We are not too specific on Silver or Gold or mining companies or Bitcoin or land, but we are risk averse. We urge you to look critically at fiat currency holdings. The risk/reward-ratio of Silver at this time is excellent. Usable as a hedge against this risk!Silver, don’t be fooled:When you hear from many various sources that Silver “is the thing to buy,” it feels like “too good to be true.” Sound fundamental analysis shows that holding physical Silver is, in fact, a prudent course of action. Silver prices are manipulated. They do not reflect true value. Physical prices trading much higher than the spot price. Once truth can’t be suppressed anymore, we see a fair likelihood for Silver prices to advance rapidly. Our conservative targets for the Silver market point at annual highs near Labor Day. At that point we aim to take partial profits.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 5th, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Great ADP Figures But Things Can Still Turn Nasty

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.03.2021 15:48
Powell gave a wait-and-see answer to my yesterday‘s rhetorical question about the bears just starting out, indeed. The S&P 500 plunged, breaking far outside the Bollinger Bands confines, illustrating the extraordinary nature of the move. Rebound would be perfectly natural here (and we‘re getting one as we speak) – but will it be more than a dead cat bounce?Stocks partially recovered from last Friday‘s intraday plunge, and good news about the stimulus clearing House followed after the market close – stock bulls took the opportunity, and Monday‘s session gave signs that the worst is over. Tuesday‘s move partially negated that, but even after Wednesday, the short-term case was undecided (even as tech kept acting relatively weak).Yesterday‘s session though gives the short-term advantage to the bears, and that‘s because of the weak performance I see in other stock market indices and bonds. The Russell 2000 got under pressure, negating what by yesterday still looked like a shallow correction there. So did the emerging markets and their bonds. More downside can materialize either suddenly or slowly over the coming say 1-2 weeks. It depends on the tech and its heavyweight names, where these find support. Corporate credit markets aren‘t weakening as dramatically though – as you‘ll see illustrated later on, both high yield corporate bonds and the HYG:SHY ratio are holding up much better than stocks. While that‘s bullish, the S&P 500 apparently hasn‘t yet learned to live with higher rates – let alone considerably higher ones.The key element playing the markets now, is the Fed‘s approach to inflation, rising long-term Treasuries in the face of central bank inaction and inflation denialism, which translates into the dollar taking the turn higher courtesy of the stresses induced across many asset classes. I asked yesterday:(...) How far is the Fed announcing yield curve control, or at least a twist program? Markets crave more intervention, and those calling for rate hikes to materialize soon, are landing with egg on their faces – mark my words, the Fed is going to stay accommodative longer than generally anticipated – have we learned nothing from the Yellen Fed?The ostrich pose on inflation isn‘t helping – it‘s sending Treasuries down, turning much of the rest red. Does the Fed want to see the market forcing some kind of answer / action the way it did in Dec 2018? The Fed is risking such a development now, this time through inaction, and not thanks to monetary tightening as back then.While some argue that inflation just brings a Fed rate hike closer, I really doubt that this option is treated seriously inside the Eccles building. It would be the right choice if you were serious about fighting inflation before it takes root – but in whose interest is that? Just look at the transitory statements, Fed official beliefs that to see it hit even 3% would be extraordinary, and you understand that their models understating it considerably in the first place, aren‘t even sending them the correct, magnitudinal signals.I see it as more probable that they would just try to suppress its symptoms, and succumb to the markets even more vocally demanding some action, by going the twist route. In effect, they would be then fighting the war on two fronts, as I explained in the middle of Feb already.Food inflation running hot, commodities on fire, and gold is going nowhere still. The bears are vocal, and I‘ve laid down a realistic game plan yesterday, discussing the gold support levels and perspectives. If you‘re disappointed that gold isn‘t doing as well as commodities, consider the mid-Feb described cascading inflation process as it devours more and more of the financial landscape – we still have a weak job market that doesn‘t contribute to the inflationary pressures, relegating the true, undeniable inflation to the 2022-3 timeframe.Let‘s keep the big picture – gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – I am not capitulating to (hundreds dollars) lower numbers below $1,650 on a sustainable basis. The new precious metals upleg is a question of time even though the waiting is getting longer than comfortable for many, including myself. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsReasonably heavy volume with most of yesterday‘s candle, pushing vigorously to start a new downtrend. Given yesterday‘s move, some kind of retracement is likely today as a minimum, but the bears have the upper hand now.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) haven‘t declined below last week‘s lows, and are still at bullish divergence readings. Will they keep above these? Doing so is essential for the still unfolding S&P 500 correction.High yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) aren‘t as panicky as stocks here, which is more than mildly optimistic.Put/Call Ratio and VolatilityThe put/call ratio is well below the Feb or Jan highs, while the volatility index is much higher relatively to these. While that‘s an opportunity for even more panic, volatily would quickly die down if today‘s S&P 500 upswing sticks. Then, it would be time to evaluate the changes in posture. Either way, this correction appears to have longer to run still.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) compared to the value stocks (VTV ETF) shows where the engine of decline is – and it‘s starting to have an effect on value, high beta plays. Not until tech stabilizes, can the correction be called as really close to over – just check how the equal weighted S&P 500 (RSP ETF) suffers right now.Gold, Silver and MinersAnother bite into the volume profile support zone, and the gold upswing isn‘t here still. Another missed daily opportunity to rebound. The yellow metal is still in a precarious position until it shakes off the rising (nominal, not real) rates albatross.Silver is in a technically stronger position, but signs of deterioration are creeping here too. It‘s painfully obvious when the miners are examined – the silver ones are leading to the downside, and the gold ones, well seniors outperforming juniors isn‘t a sign of strength really. The sky isn‘t definitely clear here.SummaryStock bulls have to once again try to repair the damage, and their success depends on the tech the most. The S&P 500 internals are slightly deteriorating, but the credit market performance remains more solid. New highs remain a question of time (and the stimulus carrot).Gold remains acting weak around the lower border of its support zone, and silver is joining in the deterioration, not to mention the mining indices. The yellow metal is though short-term holding up rather well, when the TLT and USDX pressures are considered.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

3… 2… 1… Let the Corrective Rally Begin

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.03.2021 16:43
Folks, it seems that gold has formed an interim bottom, and a short-term corrective upswing is now likely, before the medium-term downtrend resumes.Any further declines from this point are not likely to be significant for the short-term. The same applies to silver and the miners.In yesterday’s (Mar. 4) intraday Gold & Silver Trading Alert , I described briefly why I think that the very short-term bottom is already in (or is at hand), and in today’s analysis, I’ll illustrate my points with charts. Let’s start with gold.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold just reached its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (based on the entire 2020 rally), and it just bounced off the declining red support line based on the August and November 2020 bottoms.Gold didn’t reach the previous 2020 lows just yet, but it moved very close to them and the two strong above-mentioned support levels could be enough to trigger a corrective upswing. After all, no market can move up or down in a straight line without periodic corrections.I previously wrote that when gold moves $1,693 we’ll be closing any remaining short positions, and when gold moves to $1,692, we’ll automatically open long positions in the miners. Since gold moved below $1,690, that’s exactly what happened.Yesterday (Mar. 4), gold futures were trading below $1,692 for about 10 minutes, so if you acted as I had outlined it in the Gold & Silver Trading Alerts, you made your purchases then. The GDX ETF was trading approximately between $30.80 and $31 (NUGT was approximately between $49.30 and $50) at that time – this seems to have been the exact daily bottom.One of the bullish confirmations came from the silver market .Figure 2 – COMEX Silver FuturesI previously wrote that silver is likely to catch up with the decline at its later stage, while miners are likely to lead the way.While gold miners showed strength yesterday, silver plunged over 4% before correcting part of the move. Yesterday’s relative action showed that this was most likely the final part of a short-term decline in the precious metals sector, and that we should now expect a corrective rebound, before the medium-term decline resumes. If not, it seems that the short-term bottom is at hand and while silver might still decline somewhat in the very short term, any declines are not likely to be significant in case of the mining stocks. At least not until they correct the recent decline by rallying back up.Speaking of mining stocks, let’s take a look at the GDX ETF chart.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Mining stocks showed strength yesterday. Even though gold moved visibly to new yearly lows, the GDX didn’t move to new intraday lows. The GDXJ did move to new intraday lows, but the decline was relatively small compared to what happened in gold and to what happened on the general stock market. The latter declined substantially yesterday and the GDXJ is more correlated with it than GDX – hence GDXJ’s underperformance was normal. Still, compared to both gold’s decline and stocks’ decline, the GDXJ and GDX declined very little.The price level at which miners showed strength matters greatly too. Miners stopped their decline practically right in my target area, which I based on the 50% Fibonacci retracement and the 2020 highs and lows. Moreover, the proximity of the $31 level corresponds to the 2019 high and the 2016 high. Since so many support levels coincide at the same price (approximately), the latter is likely to be a very strong support.Moreover, the RSI was just close to 30, which corresponded to short-term buying opportunities quite a few times in the past.How high are miners likely to rally from here before turning south once again? The nearest strong resistance is provided by the neck level of the previously broken head and shoulders pattern, which is slightly above $34.Also, let’s keep in mind the mirror similarity in case of the price action that preceded the H&S pattern and the one that followed it. To be precise, we know that the second half of the pattern was similar to its first half (including the shape of pattern’s shoulders), but it’s not yet very clear if the follow-up action after the pattern is going to be similar to the preceding price action. It seems quite likely, though. If this is indeed the case, then the price moves that I marked using green and purple lines are likely to be at least somewhat similar.This means that just as the late-April 2020 rally was preceded by a counter-trend decline, the recent decline would likely be followed by a counter-trend rally. Based on the size of the April counter-trend move, it seems that we could indeed see a counter-trend rally to about $34 this time.There’s also an additional clue that might help you time the next short-term top, and it’s the simple observation that it was relatively safe to exit one’s long positions five trading days after the bottom.That rule marked the exact bottom in November 2020, but it was also quite useful in early February 2021. In early December 2020, it would take one out of the market only after the very first part of the upswing, but still, let’s keep in mind that it was the “easy” part of the rally. The same with the October 2020 rally. And now, since miners are after a confirmed breakdown below the broad head and shoulders pattern, it’s particularly important not to miss the moment to get back on the short side of the market, as the next move lower is likely to be substantial. Therefore, aiming to catch the “easy” part of the corrective rally seems appropriate.So, if the bottom was formed yesterday, then we can expect to take profits from the current long position off the table close to the end of next week.Finally, let’s take a look at the USD Index.Figure 4 – USD IndexWhile the medium-term breakout continues to be the most important technical development visible on the above chart (with important bullish implications for the following months), there is one factor that could make the USD Index decline on a temporary basis.This factor is the similarity to the mid-2020 price pattern. I previously commented on the head and shoulders pattern that had formed (necklines are marked with dashed lines), but that I didn’t trust. Indeed, this formation was invalidated, but a bigger pattern, of which this formation was part, wasn’t invalidated.The patterns start with a broad bottom and an initial rally. Then it turns out that the initial rally is the head of a head-and-shoulders pattern that is then completed and invalidated. This is followed by a sharp rally, and then a reversal with a sizable daily decline.So far, the situations are similar.Last year, this pattern was followed by a decline to new lows. Now, based on the breakout above the rising medium-term support line, such a bearish outcome doesn’t seem likely, but we might see the pattern continue for several more days, before they disconnect. After all, this time, the USD Index is likely to really rally – similarly to how it soared in 2018 – and not move to new lows.What happens before the patterns disconnect? The USD Index could decline temporarily.Back in November 2020, the second top was below the initial one, and we just saw the USD Index move to new yearly high. Did the self-similar pattern break yet? In a way yes, but it doesn’t mean that the bearish implications are completely gone.In mid-2020, the USD Index topped after moving to the previous important intraday low – I marked it with a horizontal line on the above chart.Right now, the analogous resistance is provided by the September 2020 bottom and at the moment of writing these words, the USD Index moved right to this level.Consequently, it could be the case that we see a decline partially based on the above-mentioned resistance and partially based on the remaining self-similar pattern. The latter would be likely to lose its meaning over the next several days and would be decisively broken once the USD Index rallies later in March. The above would create a perfect opportunity for the precious metals sector to correct the recent decline – and for miners (GDX ETF) to rally to $34 or so.Please note that if gold rallies here – and it’s likely to – then this will be the “perfect” time for the gold and stock market permabulls to “claim victory” and state that the decline is over and that they were right about the rally all along. Please be careful when reading such analyses in the following days, especially if they come from people that have always been bullish. If someone is always bullish, the odds are that they won’t tell you when the next top is going to be (after all, this would imply that they stop being bullish for a while). Just because anyone can publish an article online, doesn’t mean that they should, or that others should follow their analyses. The internet is now replete people who claim to have expertise in the markets, and we all saw what happened to the profits of those who bought GameStop at $300. It’s the same thing that happened to the profits of those who were told since the beginning of this year that gold is going to rally – they turned into losses. What we see as well are internet echo chambers, where you are more likely to only read articles that express what you already agree with, instead of being exposed to differing viewpoints that shed light on other critical factors.Gold is likely to rally from here, but it’s highly unlikely that this was the final bottom, and that gold can now soar to new highs. No. The rally in the USD Index has only begun and while it could pull back, it’s likely to soar once again, similarly to how it rallied in 2018. And gold is likely to respond with another substantial wave lower. This doesn’t mean we’re permabears either or that we want to see gold fail. On the contrary, gold has a bright future ahead, but not before it goes through a medium-term decline after this corrective rally is over.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Stimulus And Consumers Are The Keys To Further US/Global Economic Recovery – Part I

Stimulus And Consumers Are The Keys To Further US/Global Economic Recovery – Part I

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 08.03.2021 03:55
At this point in our lives, we are hoping the new COVID-19 vaccines will do their part to help move the world towards more normal consumer and economic activities.  The US Senate recently a new $1.9 Trillion stimulus package that should continue to provide assistance to various levels of consumer, state governments, and corporate enterprises.  The next question in our mind is “what will the recovery look like if/when it happens?”.  We need to look at three critical components of the global economy to help answer this question: Consumer Activity, Debt, and Supply/Demand Functions.Consumer activity makes up more than 60% of the US GDP.  It also drives money flow as consumers engage in economic activity, create credit for new purchases and help to balance the supply/demand equilibrium functioning properly.  The participation of the consumer within an economy is essential for a healthy growing economy.WHERE ARE CONSUMERS NOW & WHERE WILL THEY BE IN THE FUTURE?The US has passed more than $4 Trillion in COVID-19 stimulus over the past 12+ months.  At the same time, global central banks have also engaged in various easy money policies to spark global economic activity.  When we combine the efforts of world governments and central banks, we've seen an unprecedented amount of money deployed throughout the globe recently – and that money needs to find its purpose and use in the global economy quickly of the global economy is going to recover enough to spark a new wave of economic growth.We believe two key components of consumer engagement are at play right now; investing/trading in the US and global markets and Real Estate.  Whereas US consumers have been reducing debt exposure on credit cards and tightening their spending in other ways, trading volumes in the stock market Indexes and ETFs have increased dramatically over the past 12 months.  Additionally, low supply and low interest rates have kept the US housing market active, in addition to the boost in activity from people moving to more rural areas as the work-from-home phenomenon settles into the new normal.CASE-SHILLER HOME PRICE INDEXThis Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index chart, below shows how quickly home prices have rallied over the past 12 months. Just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this index was flattening.  Then the moratorium on foreclosures and extended assistance for homeowners pulled many homes back off the market in early 2020.  That reduced supply and prompted a rally in home prices across the US.The assistance provided to these “at-risk” homeowners accomplished two very important economic benefits.  It eliminated a wave of new foreclosures (albeit possibly temporarily) and it prompted a seller's market because supply had been constricted.  The result is that many homeowners witnessed a 6% to 10% increase in their home values over the last 12+ months.DELINQUENCY RATES ON CONSUMER LOANSUnlike in 2006-2008 when delinquency rates skyrocketed during the housing crisis, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, delinquency rates collapsed to the lowest levels over the past 25+ years.  Consumers took their extra capital, stimulus checks, and federal assistance and used the past 12+ months to eliminate certain debts.  Even though we are starting to see an uptick in delinquency rates in Q4 2020, these levels would have to climb considerably before we get close to the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!This suggests that a broad spectrum of US consumers are in a much better economic position related to revolving debt, or credit card debt, than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.  If these consumers begin to engage in a new economic recovery by engaging in a healthy credit expansion, we may see a boost to certain sectors of the economy over the next 24 to 36+ months.REAL PERSONAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURESUnlike many other indicators, Real Personal Consumption has risen past the pre-COVID-19 peak levels.  This suggests that consumers are still spending money on Durable Goods and are continuing to buy essential items to support their lifestyles and families.  Yes, there are a number of people that are unemployed or have transitioned to other types of work, but the stimulus efforts and extended unemployment assistance has translated into real consumer engagement for Durable Goods, as we can see from the chart below.Remember, Durable Goods are not typically found at Grocery Stores or Walmart.  They are items that have extended life-cycles (greater than three years); such as cars, planes, trains, furniture, appliances, jewelry, and books.  This rise in Durable Goods suggests that a large segment of the US consumer is actively engaged in making bigger-ticket purchases recently – possibly as a result of buying a new home, transitioning away from traditional work environments, and/or repositioning family essentials in preparation for a post COVID-19 world.  This type of economic engagement may continue for many months forward.CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – ALL URBAN CONSUMERSThe following Consumer Price Index chart shows that general consumer prices briefly dipped when COVID-19 hit in March 2020, but they have since rallied to new highs.  This is partially a result of the rise in home prices and rising commodity prices, which contribute to a rise in price levels for consumers.All of this data is showing that the US consumer is actually much more economically healthy than consumers were in the midst of the 2007-08 housing crisis. The stimulus efforts and partial economic shutdown did result in a large number of displaced or disadvantaged consumers, but it also shows that many US consumers were able to quickly transition into a different type of economic environment with very little extended economic risks.The new $1.9 Trillion stimulus package will offer even more assistance to consumers.  This new stimulus will be spent as new COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out, suggesting the US is quickly moving away from extended risks related to the pandemic.  This means consumers will likely start attempting to go back to normal in certain ways.  Does this mean that the recovery efforts will strengthen the bullish price trend in the future and the US stock markets will continue to rally?In our effort to better identify opportunities for traders and investors as the post-COVID-19 recovery unfolds, we will continue to identify various market sectors that my research team and I believe have a strong potential for increased bullish price trends.  All of the data we've presented so far suggests the US consumer is much healthier than many people consider and that many US consumers are still actively engaged in some type of work/income solution.  The only reason why housing, durable goods, CPI, and other economic indicators continue to rise is because US consumers are actively engaged in buying/consuming bigger, durable goods.  This suggests the new $1.9 Trillion COVID relief effort may begin to push the US economy further into overdrive, and possibly pushing the supply/demand balance even further beyond the equilibrium zone.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect this year, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets.For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.In Part II of this article, we'll take the data we've reviewed already and apply it to current market conditions, trends, and technical setups as we look for new opportunities in consumer-based sectors.  My team and I believe some very big sector trends are going to set up as a result of everything that is converging on the US and global markets.  It's time to get ready for some big trends. 
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

No More Rocking the Boat in Stocks But Gold?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.03.2021 15:23
Stocks sharply reversed intraday, and closed just where they opened the prior Friday. That indicates quite some pressures, quite some searching for direction in this correction that isn‘t over just yet. Stocks have had a great run over the past 4 months, getting a bit ahead of themselves in some aspects such as valuations. Then, grappling with the rising long-term rates did strike.So did inflation fears, especially when looking at commodities. Inflation expectations are rising, but not galloping yet. What to make of the rising rates then? They‘re up for all the good reasons – the economy is growing strongly after the Q4 corona restrictions (I actually expect not the conservative 5% Q1 GDP growth, but over 8% at least) while inflation expectations are lagging behind. In other words, the reflation (of economic growth) is working and hasn‘t turned into inflation (rising or roughly stable inflation expectations while the economy‘s growth is slowing down). We‘re more than a few quarters from that – I fully expect really biting inflation (supported by overheating in the job market) to be an 2022-3 affair. As regards S&P 500 sectors, would you really expect financials and energy do as greatly as they do if the prospects were darkening?So, I am looking for stocks to do rather well as they are absorbing the rising nominal rates. It‘s also about the pace of such move, which has been extraordinary, and left long-term Treasuries trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. Thus, they‘re prone to a quick snapback rally over the next 1-2 weeks, which would help the S&P 500 regain even stronger footing. And even plain temporary stabilization of theirs would do the trick.This is taking me directly to gold. We have good odds of long-term rates not pressuring the yellow metal as much as recently, and inflation expectations are also rising (not as well anchored to 2% as the Fed thinks / says). As I‘ll show you in the charts, the signs of decoupling have been already visible for some time, and now became more apparent. And that‘s far from the only suggestion of an upcoming gold upswing that I‘ll bring you today.Just as I was calling out gold as overheated in Aug 2020 and prone to a real soft patch, some signs of internal strength in the precious metals sector were present this Feb already. And now as we have been testing for quite a few days the first support in my game plan, we‘re getting once again close to a bullish formation that I called precisely to a day, and had been banging the bearish gold drum for the following two days, anticipating the downside that followed. Now, that‘s what I call welcome flexibility, extending to accentuated, numerous portfolio calls.And the permabears keep (losing capital through many bullish years in a row in some cases) calling for hundreds bucks more downside after a respite now, not even entertaining the thought that gold bottom might very well not be quarters ahead. It‘s easier to try falsely project own perma stickers onto others. Beware of wolves in ill-fitting sheep clothing. Look at full, proven track records, compare varying perspectives of yesteryear too, and wave off cheap halo effects.It‘s the above dynamic between nominal rates taking a breather, dollar getting back under pressure, commodities continuing their rise and stocks gradually resuming theirs – see the ebbing and flowing that I‘m laying down in the daily analyses on the revamped homepage, and you‘ll get a knack for my timings of local tops or bottoms just the way I did in the early Sep buying climax or in the corona crash.True mastery is in integrating and arguing opposing views with experience and adaptability daily. People are thankfully able to recognize these characteristics on their own – and they have memory too. Who needs to be told what to read and consider by those embracing expertise only to turn against it when the fruits were no longer theirs? Sour grapes. Narrow thinking is one of the dangers of our era replete with empty and shallow shortcuts. Curiosity, ingenuity and diligence are a gift to power mankind – and what you get from financial analysts – forward in a virtuous circle.If gold prices rise from here, they have bounced off support. Simple as that, especially given the accompanying signs presented. There is time to run with the herd, and against the herd – in both bull and bear trends, constantly reevaluating the rationale for a position, unafraid to turn on a dime when justified.Whatever else bullish or bearish I see technically and fundamentally in rates, inflation and dollar among much else, I‘ll be duly reporting and commenting on as always. It‘s the markets‘ discounting mechanism of the future that counts – just as gold cleared the deflationary corona crash in psring 2020, just as it disregarded the tough Fed tone of 2H 2018, just as it sprang vigorously higher in early 2016 stunning bears in all three cases with sharp losses over many months, or just as stocks stopped declining well before economic news got better in April 2020 or March 2009. Make no mistake, the markets consider transitioning to a higher inflation environment already now (the Fed timidly says that reopening will spike it, well, temporarily they say), when inflation expectations are still relatively low, yet peeking higher based on the Fed‘s own data. Such were my Friday‘s words:(…) Let‘s keep the big picture – gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – I am not capitulating to (hundreds dollars) lower numbers below $1,650 on a sustainable basis. The new precious metals upleg is a question of time even though the waiting is getting longer than comfortable for many, including myself. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsStrong rebound after more downside was rejected, creating a tweezers bottom formation, with long lower knots. This is suggestive of most of the downside being already in. The Feb 25 upswing had a bearish flavor to it, while the Mar 1 one looked more constructive – and Friday‘s one is from the latter category. That doesn‘t mean though this correction won‘t be in the 5% range. The 3,900 zone is critical for the bulls to pass so as to clear the current precarious almost no man‘s land.The market breadth indicators are actually quite resilient given how far this correction has reached. New highs new lows are holding up still very well, yet they too indicate that this correction has further to go in time. While the bullish percent index still remains in the bullish territory, it indicates how far the correction has progressed technically, and that we can‘t declare the bullish spirits as having returned just yet.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) ilustrate this fragility for they haven‘t rebounded as strongly as stocks. This correction doesn‘t appear to be as really over just yet, also given the sectoral picture that I am showing you next.S&P 500 Sectoral LookTech reversed, but higher volume would be welcome to lend the move more credibility. This sector is still the weakest link in the whole S&P 500 rebound, and not until I see the $NYFANG carve out a sustainable bottom (this needn‘t happen at the 200-day moving average really), I can declare this correction as getting close to over. The bullish take on the volume is that the value sector has undergone strong accumulation, as can be readily seen in the equal weight S&P 500 index (RSP ETF). The above chart shows that cyclicals are performing strongly – with industrials (XLI ETF) and energy (XLE ETF) leading the charge as the tech and defensives are trying to stabilize, and the same is true about consumer discretionaries (XLY ETF).Gold‘s Big Picture ViewGold‘s weekly chart shows two different stages in the reaction to rising long-term rates. The first half was characterized by the two tracking each other rather closely, yet since late Dec, the nominal rates pressure has been abating in strength within the mutual relationship. While TLT plunged, gold didn‘t move down as strongly. Real rates are negative, nominal rates rose fast, and inflation expectations have been trending higher painfully slowly, not reflecting the jump in commodities or the key inflation precursor (food price inflation) just yet – these are the factors pressuring gold as the Fed‘s brinkmanship on inflation goes on. Once the Fed moves to bring long-term rates under control through intervention – hello yield curve control or at least twist – then real rates would would be pressured to drop, which would be a lifeline for gold – the real questions now are how far gold is willing to drop before that, and when that Fed move would happen. Needless to add as a side note regarding the still very good economic growth (the expansion is still young), staglation is what gold would really love.Copper and Silver Big Picture ViewThe red metal keeps rising without end in sight, reflecting both the economic recovery and monetary intervention. This is a very bullish chart with strong implications for other commodities and silver too. That‘s the essence of my favorite play in the precious metals – long silver short gold spread, clearly spelled out as more promising than waiting for gold upswing to arrive while the yellow metals‘ bullish signs have been appearing through Feb only to disappear, reappear, and so on.As you can see, silver performance approximates commodity performance better than gold one. And as the economic recovery goes on, it‘s indeed safer to be a silver bull than a gold bull – another of my early Feb utterances.Miners to Gold Big Picture ViewThis gold sectoral ratio made an encouraging rebound last week, but isn‘t internally as strong as it might appear, because the juniors (GDXJ ETF) aren‘t yet outperforming the seniors (GDX ETF), which had been the case in early 2021 and late in Feb as well – right till I sounded the alarm bells on Feb 23-24. This is precisely why I was not bullish in tone at all in the past week, as gold hadn‘t been acting as strongly now as it had been right before the Feb 22 upswing that I called. And I am missing this ingredient at the moment still.SummaryStock bulls stepped in and repaired much of Thursday‘s damage, flipping the balance of power as more even at the moment. While the medium-term factors favor the bulls, this correction is slated to go on still for longer, as all eyes are on tech (big names) as the deciding sector.Gold still remains acting weak around the lower border of its support zone, silver is refusing to decline more, and signs overall favoring a rebound, are appearing. It‘s still a mixed bag though, with especially gold being far from out of the woods yet.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

How to Join the Mining Party… Before it Ends

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.03.2021 18:39
Forget gold and silver for a moment. Do you hear the music? Yes, it’s coming from the mining ETFs club. But how long will the party last?And more importantly, why miners, you may ask? Because miners tend to outperform in the early days of a major rally.After closing only $0.10 below my initial downside target of $31 on Mar. 1 , the GDX ETF could be ripe for an upward revision. Able to ignore much of last week’s chaos, the GDX ETF’s outperformance of gold and silver signals that the tide has likely turned.Please see below:Figure 1To that point, I warned on Mar. 1 that help was on the way:The GDX ETF has garnered historical support at roughly $29.52. The level also coincides with the early-March high, the mid-April low and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. As a result, a corrective upswing to ~$33/$34 could be the miners’ next move.Furthermore, after alerting subscribers on Mar. 4 – writing that when gold moves to $1,692, we’ll automatically open long positions in the miners – the GDX ETF ended Friday’s (Mar. 5) session up by 3.2% from my initial entry of ~$30.80 - $31. Thus, from here, the GDX ETF has roughly 3.8% to 7.0% upside (as of Friday’s close) before the $33/$34 levels signals that the momentum has run its course.For now, though, positioning for more upside offers a solid risk-reward proposition . Prior to the initial decline, miners were weak relative to gold . However, after outperforming on Mar. 5, their steady hand was a sign of short-term strength. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the size and shape of the current price action actually mirrors what we witnessed back in April.Please see below:Figure 2 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), GDX and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart Comparison – 2020For context, I wrote on Mar. 5:Miners stopped their decline practically right in my target area, which I based on the 50% Fibonacci retracement and the 2020 highs and lows. Moreover, the proximity of the $31 level corresponds to the 2019 high and the 2016 high. Since so many support levels coincide at the same price (approximately), the latter is likely to be a very strong support. Moreover, the RSI was just close to 30, which corresponded to short-term buying opportunities quite a few times in the past.In addition, a short-term upswing could provide a potential pathway to $35 – as this level also corresponds with the GDX ETF’s late-February high, its monthly declining resistance line and its 50-day moving average. The abundance of resistance levels – combined with the fact that an upswing would further verify the GDX ETF’s breakdown below the neckline of its potential head and shoulders pattern – should keep the upward momentum in check.Over the medium-term, the potential head and shoulders pattern – marked by the shaded green boxes above – also deserves plenty of attention.For context, I wrote previously:Ever since the mid-September breakdown below the 50-day moving average , the GDX ETF was unable to trigger a substantial and lasting move above this MA. The times when the GDX was able to move above it were also the times when the biggest short-term declines started.(…)The most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder (figure 2 - both marked with green) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Due to the uncanny similarity between the two green rectangles, I decided to check what happens if this mirror-similarity continues. I used purple, dashed lines for that. There were two important short-term price swings in April 2020 – one shows the size of the correction and one is a near-vertical move higher.Copying these price moves (purple lines) to the current situation, we get a scenario in which GDX (mining stocks) moves to about $31 and then comes back up to about $34. This would be in perfect tune with what I wrote previously. After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, stocks’ day of reckoning is coming . And it might be very, very close.As I explained previously, based on the similarities to the 1929 and 2008 declines, it could be the case that the precious metals sector declines for about 3 months after the general stock market tops. And it seems that we won’t have to wait long for the latter. In fact, the next big move lower in stocks might already be underway, as the mid-Feb. 2021 top could have been the final medium-term top.In conclusion, the gold miners should continue to glisten as oversold conditions buoy them back to the $33-$35 range. Due to the GDX ETF’s recent strength, combined with gold rallying off of the lows on Mar. 5, the PMs could enjoy a profitable one-week (or so) party. However, with the celebration likely to be short-lived, it’s important to keep things in perspective. While this week’s performance may elicit superficial confidence, medium-term clouds have already formed. As a result, positioning for an extended rally offers more risk than reward.(We normally include the "Letters to the Editor" section in the full version of Gold & Silver Trading Alerts only, but today I decided to include it also in this free version of the full (about 10x bigger than what you just read) analysis, so that you get the idea of how this part of the analysis looks like. It might be quite informative too. Enjoy:)Letters to the EditorQ: Could you update your thoughts regarding physical [gold and silver] for those looking to acquire additional positions - specifically, what do you think premiums and availability are going to look like when/if spot goes a $100 or $200 down from here? By way of example, I bought some U.S. gold buffaloes at $1854 spot at $1954. Those same coins at $1710 spot are still around $1930, if there are any to be found.A: It’s a tough call, because the premium values don’t follow the technical patterns. Still, based on the analogy to situations that seem similar to what we saw recently, it seems that we can indeed say something about the likely physical values close to the likely $1,450 bottom.Figure 43 - Source: didthesystemcollapse.orgThe above chart shows the eBay premium for 1 oz Gold American Eagle coins over the spot gold price.In April 2020, the premium spiked at about 14%. It was likely even higher in March (we don’t have the direct data), but the volatility back then was bigger than it is right now, so it seems that the current premium and the April 2020 premium values are a better proxy for the future bottoming premiums than the March 2020 bottom premium would be. If the volatility increases, one could see the premium at about 15% or so.With gold at about $1,450, the above-mentioned information means Gold American Eagle coins can cost about $1,670.Still, since gold futures prices seem more predictable than the prices of bullion coins, I’d focus on the former even while timing the purchase of the latter.Moreover, please note that I’m planning to focus on buying mining stocks close to the bottom and move to metals only later. The reason is that miners tend to outperform in the early days of a major rally (just like they did in the first quarter of 2016). The fact that the premium is likely to be high when gold bottoms in a volatile manner is yet another reason for the above. When switching from mining stocks to physical holdings several weeks or months later, one might be buying at a smaller premium over the spot, and also after having gained more on miners than on the metals. Of course, the above is just my opinion, and you can purchase whatever you want – after all, it’s your capital and your investment decisions.Q: Please note that I am glad to see gold moving downwards but I am a little confused – the trading report I just received recommends selling at 1690ish but the mailing previously said 1450ish - please see attached.Could you please investigate and advise.A: If anything in the Gold & Silver Trading Alerts seems confusing, please refer to the “Summary”, the trading/investment positions, and the “Overview of the Upcoming Part of the Decline” sections for clarification. In this case, we exited the remaining short positions when gold hit $1,693 and almost immediately entered long ones (when gold hit $1,692). We now have long positions in the mining stocks with the plan to exit them in a week or so, and re-enter short positions then, because the next big move is likely to be to the downside (perhaps as low as $1,450 or so). Also, the above is just my opinion, not a recommendation or investment advice.Q: Hi P.R., thanks for the advice on this trend, it’s been an amazing trade.As I’m trading on XAUUSD, are you also able to advise the targets for a gold long entry,or should I wait for the final bottom before opening any longs?A: I’m very happy that you’re making profits thanks to my analyses. While I think that the very short-term (for the next 5 trading days or so) outlook for gold, silver and mining stocks is bullish, I think the targets are more predictable for mining stocks than they are for gold and – especially – silver. Still, this time, the short-term upside target for gold is also relatively clear – at about $1,770. That’s why I put the $1,758 in the “For-your-information target” for gold in the “Summary” section below.Q: Are we looking for the short-term upside move to be 1-5 weeks before the final decline into the 1350-1500 zone? I'm a little unsure of the timing you're laying out.A: I’m looking for the short-term upswing to take place between 1 and 3 weeks – that’s the part of the “Overview of the Upcoming Part of the Decline” section about it:It seems to me that the initial bottom has either just formed or is about to form with gold falling to roughly $1,670 - $1,680, likely this week.I expect the rebound to take place during the next 1-3 weeks.After the rebound (perhaps to $33 - $34 in the GDX), I plan to get back in with the short position in the mining stocks.In my opinion it’s most likely that this counter-trend rally will take about 1 – 1.5 weeks. Then, I think that the decline to about $1,450 in gold will start.Q: Thank you for sending out the Alert # 2 with the new changes in the Gold and Silver trades today. This is necessary, so please send out the alert once you enter back to the short positions, please.A: I’m happy that you enjoyed this intraday Alert. I will indeed send you – my subscribers – an intraday confirmation that the long positions were closed and when we enter new short positions. Still, please note that we already have binding profit-take exit prices in place, which means that when prices move to the target levels (e.g., GDX to $33.92), the long positions should be automatically closed, and profits should be taken off the table – even without an additional confirmation from me (it takes time for me to write and send the message and then some time usually passes before one is able to act on my message).Q: You have informed us to make the move when the Gold price “REACHES” $1693.00. My question is; Does the word “Reach” mean when the price touches that point, if only for a moment, or does “Reach” mean when it closes the day at or below $1693.00?Thank you for your response to this question.A: “Reaching” a price means the same thing as “touching” the price or “moving to” the price. This means moving to this price level on an intraday basis – even for just one tick . If I mean closing prices, I will specifically describe them as such.For instance, I currently have binding exit positions for the current long position in the mining stocks – and these are exactly the price levels that I have put in my brokerage account as a limit sell order.Q: Please comment on the Hindenburg Omen for stocks:Figure 44 - Source: RefinitivA: Thanks. The Hindenburg omen is not one of the most reliable indicators - even on the above chart, it’s clear that most of the signals were not followed by declines. Please note how many fake initial signals there were before stocks finally declined in 2019 or 2020. There are many other reasons to think that stocks are going to move much lower, though. In the very short-term they could still move higher, but this move could be fake and could turn out to be the right shoulder of the head-and-shoulders top formation.Q: 1) for shorter-term trades such as the potential 10% pop in the GDX, is NUGT better?2) the plan after we re-enter a short trade when the GDX gets to $33/$34 might mean a longer haul before we hit rock bottom . You have mentioned time-scales up to 20 weeks (ish). Due to a longer holding period , would the CFD route be a cheaper route when compared to NUGT? I’m asking in general terms because each provider imposes different fees and I don’t expect you to comment on the fees charged by IG, which is the service I use.I also recognize that NUGT only offers 2 X leverage, whereas CFD’s offer up to five times leverage.Finally, the manner in which you detail the rich tapestry of the economic forces that impact PMs is revealing and educational. I find this all fascinating.I have my own views which can be summed up like this: How many inflationary false-dawns and panics has the bond market had? Ever since 2008, when the FED launched QE, there have been numerous bouts and hissy fits of inflationary expectations that have subsequently sunk like a dodgy soufflé. I think this time is no different and it’s entirely possible the 30-year bond could drop to ZERO. I am in the deflationary camp.How might the 10 year at zero or possibly sub-zero and longer, out on the duration curve to (TLT ETF) dropping to 0.5%, affect the price of gold?Your thoughts as ever, are much appreciatedA: 1) That depends on whether one seeks leverage or not, and how much thereof. Please note that some short-term trades could sometimes become medium-term trades if the market decides to consolidate or move in the other direction before continuing the predicted trend. In this case, non-leveraged instruments are at an advantage over the leveraged ones, because they don’t suffer from the back-and-forth trading as much as the leveraged ones do.If one’s desired exposure to the GDX ETF wouldn’t exceed the cash that one dedicated to trading, then in order to have the same exposure one would simply have half of the capital employed in NUGT (which is 2x leveraged). This way, the exposure would be identical, but the NUGT would imply additional risk of losing more capital if the trade takes much longer than planned and/or if the price moves adversely first.Please note that there is also an additional way to gain leverage (it’s not available for everyone, though) and that is through the use of margin on one’s brokerage account. I’d prefer to use margin for the GDX before aiming to gain leverage through NUGT.In other words, I’d first use more cash for GDX before I’d go into NUGT. If I wanted to have even bigger exposure than the one achieved by employing more capital to GDX, I would then consider using margin, and then I would consider using NUGT if I still wanted to get more leverage.There might be some traders who would seek to combine both for even bigger leverage (buying NUGT on margin), but this is definitely not something that I’d recommend to most people. In fact, it seems that in many cases, sticking to the GDX would be a good way to go.2) I think I already replied to the first part of your question (NUGT vs. CFD) above. Also, for other people reading this reply – please note that CFDs (contracts for difference) are not available in many areas, including the USA and Canada.I’m glad to read that you enjoy reading my explanations of the current situation in the markets (precisely, my opinions on it).Real interest rates are one of the most important drivers for gold (along with the USD Index), so a drop in the 10-year rates to zero or sub-zero levels would likely be very beneficial for the gold prices.Figure 45Also, based on the pace at which the rates have rallied recently, they might be topping here, but… There was no decline in the previous 40 years that was as big as what we saw between 2018 and 2020. Consequently, the corrective upswing might be bigger as well. Also, the above chart is not necessarily the scale that is big enough to make very long-term conclusions.Figure 46Over the past centuries, whenever the rates fell very low, they then rallied back up with vengeance. After WW2, it theoretically would have been a “good idea” to keep stimulating the economy with low rates – and yet, they soared. Right now, the monetary authorities strive to be very dovish and keep pumping liquidity into the system, and yet the rates are rallying anyway.So, while the analogy to the previous years – or the past few decades – suggests that the rally in the rates might be over or close to being over, the very long-term chart suggests otherwise.To make the situation even more complicated, if the stock market has already topped in February, and we have already entered the Kondratiev winter cycle, it means that we can theoretically expect the rates to fall, then rise in a credit crunch, and then fall much lower.All in all, the outlook for the interest rates is anything but simple and clear. Perhaps what we see right now already IS the credit crunch and the 10-year rates are on their way to above 2% - after all, they used to return above their 200-day moving average after the previous medium-term declines. It seems to me that the move above 2% in the 10-year rates could correspond with gold’s decline below $1,500.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Intraday Market Analysis: US Dollar In Bullish Continuation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.03.2021 11:17
EURUSD tumbles in falling channelThe US dollar continues to push forward as prospects of a strong US recovery take root.After conceding the intermediate support of 1.1950, the euro came under renewed pressure and is now sliding towards the daily support level of 1.1750.A bullish RSI divergence and the price testing the lower band of the bearish channel suggest that a rebound is overdue. A better-than-expected GDP data from the eurozone might just give the single currency the relief it needs. Though the upper band (1.1970) will be a tough nut to crack.AUDUSD remains under bearish trendlineThe Aussie might not be out of the woods yet as market fever over the greenback is still in full swing. The pair is heading towards the daily support level of 0.7580, a critical level where a failure to bounce could signal an upcoming reversal.A fairly neutral RSI says there is still room for a retracement in the next few hours.The price action is then likely to go sideways between the support and the bearish trendline (0.7720) before a breakout would lead to a new direction.SPX 500 rallies back from daily supportThe S&P 500 climbed back after the US Senate passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The demand zone around 3700 from the daily timeframe has seen strong bids.On the hourly chart, a bullish MA cross and a rally above 3845 have prompted the short side to cover. 3900 is the immediate resistance and its breach could resume the upward movement.An overbought RSI might signal a potential pullback but as long as the index stays above 3730, the bias remains bullish.
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Bitcoin, how not to lose

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 09.03.2021 14:01
BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Conservatively Bullish:BTC-USDT, monthly chart as of March 8th, 2021.One of the best ways to keep one’s emotions in check is reducing position size. It allows for accepting risk and, as such seeing the market for what it is. Looking at the monthly chart above, this size reduction on new entries is also in accordance with the risk at these more extended levels. We see prices progressing higher, but entry risk once the price has moved up this far aligns to our risk control parameters from a psychological perspective and a statistical one. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Steep and steady:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of March 8th, 2021.This weekly chart shows price behavior even more clearly. For nearly three years, Bitcoin prices meandered around the mean (yellow line). Last year in October, Bitcoin prices broke out of this range. Already four weeks later, in November 2020, prices extended above typical standard deviation levels. Nothing atypical for Bitcoin, which loves sharp advances. And again, we do not see prices decline from here rapidly. However, what is affected are stop levels and entry probabilities, which makes the astute trader behave more risk-averse both in exposure size and trading frequency.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Bitcoin, how not to lose:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of March 8th, 2021.The green arrows on the daily chart show our long entries last week. We posted these in real-time in our free Telegram channel. Each of these entries had a position size reduced by thirty-five percent. We were also able to finance all three trades (=take partial profits shortly after entry based on our Quad exit strategy to eliminate risk). For now, we are holding remainder small position sizes for possible price advances without a skewed view due to the more than usual conservative approach (= minimal position size).Bitcoin, how not to lose:It takes quite some experience to judge oneself on emotions of over- self-confidence. If you had an excellent run on investments, take some money off the table. Wire it from your brokerage. Consider self-gifting, vacation, or otherwise reward yourself. Make sure your daily self-assessment routine contains this checkpoint of possible over-confidence. Reduce size for upcoming trades and pat yourself on the shoulder for a job well done.You could give more considerable amounts of profits up due to negligence and being complacent, not abiding as diligent to your trading rules, as usual. This can be especially painful in these heightened emotional states. Consequently, this causes even more dramatic setbacks trying to brush early warning signals of over trading and under-selecting signal quality off and trying to prove yourself. Like the market, you need to take a breath, celebrate, and return light footed on half size for the next run-up.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 9th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Gold Drops below $1,700, while Senate Passes Biden’s Plan

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.03.2021 14:14
Gold remains inert to President Biden’s large and hazardous economic plan, and ended up dropping below $1,700.President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus is coming! On Saturday, the U.S. Senate passed the American Rescue Plan on a party-line 50-49 vote. This means that after the House’s vote on Tuesday, Biden could sign the bill into law soon, and those $1,400 payments to most Americans could start to go out as soon as this month.The final bill includes not only $400 billion in checks of $1,400 to most Americans, but also $300 a week in extended unemployment benefits, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments.The American Rescue Plan would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history. It would also be one of the most frivolous and superfluous economic programs. There is simply no need for such a large plan. Please take a look at the chart below.As one can see, U.S. personal income has increased during the pandemic, not decreased. Once again, people are now receiving higher income than one year ago. So, Biden’s stimulus with another round of $1,400 checks is not economically or socially justified.Indeed, the U.S. economy is already recovering. On Friday (Mar. 5), we got surprisingly good data about the American labor market , that showed the economy added 379,000 jobs in February, much above expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has slightly decreased further, as one can see in the chart below. Employment is still down by 9.5 million, or 6.2 percent, from the pre-pandemic level seen one year ago, but additional unemployment benefits or plain checks will not help bring people back into employment – in fact, the effect may turn out to be the reverse.Hence, Biden’s fiscal stimulus will bring little benefit to the economy, while significantly expanding the federal debt and risking overheating the economy. Indeed, the plan is estimated to increase the already high public debt (see the chart below) by an additional ten percentage points as a share of GDP .Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for gold prices? From the fundamental point of view, Biden’s plan should be positive for the yellow metal. This is because it can increase inflation in the long-run, if people finally decide to spend all the money they got from Uncle Sam. It will not happen in the immediate future, as households will initially save the received payments, and some of them will repay their debts, but they are likely to spend more this year, to compensate for curbed consumption in 2020.However, whether Biden’s plan turns out inflationary or not, it will expand the already mammoth public debt. It should weaken the position of the greenback and increase the odds for a debt crisis or paying out this debt through inflation or financial repression. The higher the debt, the more difficult it will be for the Fed to normalize interest rates (welcome to the debt trap , my friends). All these factors should support gold prices in the long run.However, gold remains deaf to Biden’s disharmonious symphony. Indeed, as the chart below shows, the yellow metal has declined below the important level of $1,700 last week. It seems that the fiscal stimulus (together with the rollout of vaccinations and the economic recovery) has so far strengthened the risk appetite among investors who don’t focus on long-term consequences of the fiscal stimulus.This may change one day, but the sentiment in the gold market is clearly negative right now, and the fundamentals are more positive. The fundamentals may come to the fore in the end. However, gold may struggle further, especially if real interest rates go up again.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Is Gold Now Replaying 2010-2012?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.03.2021 14:57
The 2019-2021 gold chart is disturbingly similar to that of 2010-2012, but it does not have to be the harbinger of a bear market.Many ancient cultures saw history as cyclical. According to this view, society passes through repeated cycles. Can this apply to gold as well? I’m not referring here to the simple fact that we have both bull and bear markets in the precious metals – I refer here to the observation that gold’s price pattern seen in 2019-2021 mirrors that of 2010-2012 . Please take a look at the chart below.As you can see, in both periods, gold was steadily rising to a peak in the third quarter of the second year. A decade ago, the yellow metal gained 29 percent in 2010 and 74 percent as it hit the top. Then, it declined 19 percent by the end of 2011. Fast forward to more recent times. Gold gained 18.4 percent in 2019 and 62 percent at the peak. Afterwards, it declined 9 percent by the end of 2020.So, although the magnitude has now been weaker than in the aftermath of the Great Recession , the pattern is quite similar. The next chart – which presents the normalized gold prices in both periods to indices (when the starting point equals 100) – nicely illustrates how gold in 2019-2021 closely resembles gold from 2010-2012.This similarity may be disturbing. Should the pattern hold, then gold could go down significantly and stay in a sideways trend for years. As a reminder, this is what happened a decade ago. Gold bulls fought until the end of 2012, when they gave up and the yellow metal entered a full bear market, plunging 45 percent from the top to the bottom in December 2015. Then, it stayed generally flat till the end of 2018. If this cycle replays, we could see the price of gold go below $1,200 by the end of 2024.To be clear, there are some arguments to support the bearish case . Just as in the 2010s, the world is recovering now from the global economic crisis . The recession is over and the prospects are only better. Perhaps they’re not rosy, but they’re certainly better than many previously expected, which is what matters for the financial markets. As the worst is behind us, the risk appetite is returning, which could put gold and other safe-haven assets into oblivion. Actually, some could even argue that gold may now plunge even earlier, as a decade ago it was supported by the European sovereign debt crisis , which peaked in 2011-2012.However, there are also important reasons why gold could break the pattern and diverge from the 2010-2012 trend. First, we now have a much more dovish Fed . The U.S. central bank slashed the federal funds rate much quicker and expanded its balance sheet more decisively. Additionally, to avoid a taper tantrum caused by its announcement about tapering asset purchases, this time the Fed will normalize its monetary policy in a very, very gradual way, if at all. It means that interest rates will stay lower for longer. Lastly, the U.S. central bank changed its monetary policy framework, i.e., it prioritized the labor market over price stability and became more tolerant to higher inflation .Second, we also have a much easier fiscal policy . Even before the global pandemic , Trump significantly expanded budget deficits , but the Great Lockdown made them even larger. As pundits believe that the fiscal response in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was too small, they now want to go big – indeed, Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic plan is waiting to be passed by Congress.Third, this recovery might be more inflationary than a decade ago . This is because not only did the monetary base increase, but the broad money supply did as well. Last time, the Fed injected a lot of liquidity to the banking sector to bailout the banks. Now, the money has flowed much more through Main Street and the household sector, which could turn out to be more inflationary when all this money will be spent on goods and services. Also, last time we observed some deleveraging in the private sector, while now the supply of loans is continuously increasing at a positive rate. We are also already observing reflation in the form of a commodity boom, so gold may follow suit.To sum up, the patterns seen in the gold market in 2010-2012 and 2019-2021 are remarkably similar. So, the recent gold’s weakness may be really disturbing. However, this resemblance does not have to be a harbinger of further problems coming for gold bulls . After all, as Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. Indeed, the macroeconomic and political environment is now clearly different than a decade ago – it’s more fundamentally positive for the price of gold.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Stocks Shaking Off Weak Tech As Gold Bottoms?

Stocks Shaking Off Weak Tech As Gold Bottoms?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.03.2021 15:28
Stocks spiked higher, but not before going sideways to down prior on the day. And the close to the session hasn‘t been convincing either – does it count as a reversal? In my view, we haven‘t seen one yesterday really, regardless of this correction not being over just yet. There are still some cracks I tweeted yesterday about in need closing first, such as the worrying corporate bonds performance, manifest in the HYG:SHY ratio, or the tech searching for the bottom (it‘s $NYFANG precisely). Quoting from yesterday‘s extensive analysis spanning beyond stocks, metals and the Fed:(…) Stocks have had a great run over the past 4 months, getting a bit ahead of themselves in some aspects such as valuations. Then, grappling with the rising long-term rates did strike.So did inflation fears, especially when looking at commodities. Inflation expectations are rising, but not galloping yet. What to make of the rising rates then? They‘re up for all the good reasons – the economy is growing strongly after the Q4 corona restrictions (I actually expect not the conservative 5% Q1 GDP growth, but over 8% at least) while inflation expectations are lagging behind. In other words, the reflation (of economic growth) is working and hasn‘t turned into inflation (rising or roughly stable inflation expectations while the economy‘s growth is slowing down). We‘re more than a few quarters from that – I fully expect really biting inflation (supported by overheating in the job market) to be an 2022-3 affair. As regards S&P 500 sectors, would you really expect financials and energy do as greatly as they do if the prospects were darkening?Stocks are well positioned to keep absorbing the rising nominal rates. What has been the issue, was the extraordinarily steep pace of such move, leaving long-term Treasuries trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. While they can snap back over the next 1-2 weeks, the 10y Treasury bond yield again breaking 1.50% is a testament to the Fed not willing to do anything at the moment. Little does the central bank care about commodities moves, when it didn‘t consider any market moves thus far as unruly.Gold market offered proof of being finally ready for a rebound, and it‘s visible in the closing prices of the yellow metal and its miners. Being more than a one day occurence, supported by yesterday presented big picture signals, the market confirmed my yesterday‘s suggestion of an upcoming gold. It appears we‘ll get more than a few days to assess the legs this rally is made of, facilitating nimble charting of the waters ahead my usual way:(…) Just as I was calling out gold as overheated in Aug 2020 and prone to a real soft patch, some signs of internal strength in the precious metals sector were present this Feb already. And now as we have been testing for quite a few days the first support in my game plan, we‘re getting once again close to a bullish formation that I called precisely to a day, and had been banging the bearish gold drum for the following two days, anticipating the downside that followed. Flexibility and broad horizons result in accentuated, numerous other portfolio calls – such as long Bitcoin at $32,275 or long oil at $58 practically since the great return with my very own site. We‘re now on the doorstep of visible, positive price outperformance in the gold miners (GDX ETF) as gold prices didn‘t break the higher bullish trend by declining through both the Mar 4 presented supports of my game plan. As I wrote yesterday, if prices move higher from here, they have simply bounced off support, especially given the accompanying signs presented, not the least of which is the dollar getting back under pressure. Make no mistake, the greenback isn‘t in a bull market – it‘s merely consolidation before plunging to new 2021 lows. I have not been presenting any USDX declining resistance lines and breakout arguments, because prices can be both above such a line, and lower than at the moment of „breakout“ at the same time – ultimately, rising and declining supports and resistances are a play on the speed of the move, where pure inertia / deceleration / reprieve doesn‘t break the prior, higher trend. And as I called in summer 2020 the dollar to roll over and keep plunging, that‘s still what‘s unfolding.How does it tie in to commodities and stocks? We‘re not at extreme moves in either, and I see copper, iron, oil, agrifoods as benefiting from the reflationary efforts greatly. Similarly and in spite of the $NYFANG travails, it would be ill-advised to search for stock market tops now (have you seen how well the Dow Industrials is doing?) – no, we‘re not approaching a top that I would need to call the way I did in the early Sep buying climax. This is still the time to be running with the herd, and not against it – you can ignore the noise to the contrary for both the S&P 500 and commodities have a good year ahead. As for precious metals, we might have seen the bottom already – and in any case by the current shape of things, I don‘t see it occuring quarters ahead and hundreds buck lower.Bringing up the constant reevaluation of position‘s rationale, market reactions and narratives:(…) It‘s the markets‘ discounting mechanism of the future that counts – just as gold cleared the deflationary corona crash in psring 2020, just as it disregarded the tough Fed tone of 2H 2018, just as it sprang vigorously higher in early 2016 stunning bears in all three cases with sharp losses over many months, or just as stocks stopped declining well before economic news got better in April 2020 or March 2009. Make no mistake, the markets consider transitioning to a higher inflation environment already now (the Fed timidly says that reopening will spike it, well, temporarily they say), when inflation expectations are still relatively low, yet peeking higher based on the Fed‘s own data. Gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – and it‘s one of the scenarios that it has just happened, especially if gold convincingly closed back above $1,720 without undue delay.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookWe have seen two intraday reversals to the downside yesterday, yet I think the effects would prove a temporary obstacle to the bulls only. Such candlestick patterns usually slow down the advance, but don‘t end it – and that‘s consistent with my yesterday‘s words of most of the downside being already in. Once the 3,900 zone is confidently passed, the bears would have missed the chance to reach below Thursday‘s lows.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) still ilustrate ongoing fragility for they have plunged below their Feb lows. This correction doesn‘t appear to be as totally over just yet, also given the sectoral picture that I am showing you next.Put/Call Ratio and VolatilityOption players clearly aren‘t concerned by yesterday‘s S&P 500 price action, and the VIX is painting a similarly neutral picture – just as the sentiment overall. Very good, we‘re primed to go higher next, from a starting position far away from the extreme greed levels.Technology and ValueThe sectoral divergence continues, and tech is still the weakest link in the whole S&P 500 rebound. The big $NYFANG names, the Teslas of this world, are the biggest drag, and not until these carve out a sustainable bottom (this needn‘t happen at the 200-day moving average really), I can declare this correction as getting close to over. It‘s the cyclicals, it‘s value stocks that is pulling the 500-strong index ahead, with financials (XLF ETF), industrials (XLI ETF) and energy (XLE ETF) leading the charge.Treasuries and DollarNominal, long-term Treasury rates have at least slowed their quickening Feb pace, even in the face of no action plan on the table by the Fed – the dollar moved higher on the realization next, and it‘s my view that once new Fed intervention is raised, it would have tremendous implications for the dollar, and last but not least – the precious metals.Gold and SilverFinally, this is the much awaited sign, enabling me to sound some bullish tone in gold again – the miners are outperforming the yellow metal with more than a daily credibility, which I view as key given the lackluster gold price action before yesterday (absence of intraday rebounds coupled with more downside attempts). It would turn stronger once the gold juniors start outperforming the seniors, which is not the case yet.Coupled with the 4-chart big picture view from yesterday, it‘s my view that the gold market is laying the groundwork for its turning:(…) Real rates are negative, nominal rates rose fast, and inflation expectations have been trending higher painfully slowly, not reflecting the jump in commodities or the key inflation precursor (food price inflation) just yet – these are the factors pressuring gold as the Fed‘s brinkmanship on inflation goes on. Once the Fed moves to bring long-term rates under control through intervention – hello yield curve control or at least twist – then real rates would would be pressured to drop, which would be a lifeline for gold – the real questions now are how far gold is willing to drop before that, and when that Fed move would happen. Needless to add as a side note regarding the still very good economic growth (the expansion is still young), stagflation is what gold would really love.Silver is carving out a bottom while both copper and platinum are turning higher already – these are That‘s the essence of one of my many profitable plays presented thus far – long silver short gold spread – clearly spelled out as more promising than waiting for gold upswing to arrive while the yellow metals‘ bullish signs have been appearing through Feb only to disappear, reappear, and so on.SummaryStocks haven‘t seen a real reversal yesterday, but more backing and filling till the tech finds bottom, appears due. The medium-term factors favor the bulls, but this correction isn‘t over yet, definitely not in time.Now, gold can show some strength – and silver naturally even more. The signs overall favoring a rebound, are appearing with increasing clarity for the short term, and the nearest weeks will show whether we have made a sustainable bottom already, or whether the $1,670 zone will get tested thoroughly. The bulls have the upper hand now.
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Intraday Market Analysis – DAX Shrugs Off Correction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.03.2021 08:14
DAX 30 surges to new highThe German index rallied to a new high as investors priced in the benefits of economic normalization.The ascent above 14180 was the result of short-covering and momentum trading when that critical resistance broke away. The latest correction might have ended right there with the bullish bias intact on the daily timeframe.Short-term traders’ profit-taking might cause a retracement towards the demand zone between 14180 and 14310. However, the buying interest is likely to stay strong as trend followers jump in.USDCHF drops on profit-takingRetreating US yields have led to profit-taking on the US dollar.An RSI divergence in the overbought area was a sign of a loss in the bullish momentum. Then a 100-pip drop below the 20 and 30-hour moving averages and a bearish MA cross confirmed the overextension.The pair is now testing its first key support at 0.9250. An oversold RSI indication could attract some bargain hunters. Though a failure to hold on to that level may trigger a deeper correction towards 0.9180.USDCAD tests major resistanceAs the US dollar is grinding along a falling trendline, there is a chance of a breakout if the Bank of Canada convinces markets of its resolve to keep interest rates at a record low.Price action has been building up support above 1.2570 in a rectangle-shaped consolidation. The narrowing range between the support and the resistance is typical of the market’s indecision ahead of a catalyst.A close above 1.2700 on the daily trendline could prompt sellers to rush to cover their positions, fuelling a breakout rally.
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Stocks Love Rising CPI, and Gold Should Too

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.03.2021 16:09
Monday‘s reversal I didn‘t trust, gave way to another upswing – still within this getting long in the tooth correction. It‘s not over, and corporate bonds aren‘t yet confirming – it has lately become a reasonable expectation that when the higher quality debt instruments (think LQD, TLT) have a good day, junk corporate bonds get under pressure, but seeing their (HYG) performance more aligned with the S&P 500 is what I am looking for in a rally on solid footing.Which is what we‘re not having yet. Just compare the tech performance to the rest of the market, especially when viewed from the decling new highs new lows (yes, these closed higher on Monday). It‘s apparent that yesterday‘s S&P 500 upswing was the result of reallocation to tech to the detriment (mild, but still) of much of the rest, in light of the key development of the day – falling Treasury yields.The stock market simply keeps dealing with the rising nominal rates, which would be easier when these move less fast and steeply than till now. Consolidation of their recent move appears underway, in fits and starts, as long-term Treasuries are:(…) trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. While they can snap back over the next 1-2 weeks, the 10y Treasury bond yield again breaking 1.50% is a testament to the Fed not willing to do anything at the moment. On one hand, the central bank is fine with commodities on the move, which aren‘t yet really showing in CPI, (today‘s 0.4% reading is a baby step in this direction) and which the Fed claims would be only transitory. On the other hand, the bond market is buying into this assertion to a degree, because otherwise the long-term bonds decline would continue rather unabated. As we are in the reflationary stage when economic growth is rising faster than both inflation and inflation expectations, this laissez faire approach to inflation isn‘t likely to bite the Fed now as much as to truly wake up the bond vigilantes. It‘s that the „high rates“ we‘re experiencing currently, do not compare to the early 1980s, which underscores the fragility of the current monetary order. The Fed knows that, and it has been evident in the long preparatory period and baby steps in the prior rate raising and balance sheet shrinking cycle. The market will see through this, and the central bank would be forced to move to bring long-term rates down through yield curve control or a twist program, which would break the dollar, drive emerging markets, and not exactly control inflation – real rates would drop like a stone in such a scenario, turning around gold profoundly. But we‘re not yet there, as inflation is still too low and economic growth too high to force this scenario to play out. Market players are though already hedging against the rising (commodity prices thus far chiefly) inflation – and gold is still mostly on the defensive even as TIPS are starting to turn. What we‘re seeing in the miners to gold ratio, are green shoots in obvious need of follow through to turn the yellow metal sustainably around.Bottom line, if I had to pick only two markets to watch right now, it would be long-term Treasuries and the dollar.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookDaily rebound with a long upper knot, indicating consolidation ahead just as much as the low credibility Monday reversal. Force index is turning positive, but I am not looking at it to absolutely spike just yet. Overall though, the balance of forces is slowly but surely shifting towards the buyers, which would become more evident once we clear the key 3,900+ zone – perhaps even later today.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is the key non-confirmation, which can be partially explained by the bond market strains and reallocations into the long end of the curve instruments. Stocks are as a result relatively extended, yet without accompanying warning signs in the put/call ratio or the VIX. So far so good.Technology, Value and UtilitiesWhat a difference a day (of higher TLT prices makes)! Technology, which has been trading almost like utilities (lower black line) lately (yeah, reopening), rebounded ($NYFANG likewise strongly), and the value stocks endured a modest daily setback. Part and parcel of the microrotations as the stock market is getting used to higher nominal rates within the stock bull run as evidenced by the rebounding bullish percent index. Yes, this S&P 500 correction is in its latter innings.Treasuries and DollarNominal, long-term Treasury rates retreated on the day, and so did the dollar. Emerging markets liked that more than their bonds, which means that the current reprieve in yields is more likely temporary than not.Gold in the SpotlightMiners‘ outperformance of the yellow metal goes on, today illustrated with the stronger $HUI. Given the CPI readings just in, the gold bulls have a good reason to run with the assumption that even Fed‘s own real inflation underestimating models, are starting to reveal its slow appearance in the basket of consumer prices.It was on Monday when I showed you this chart first, and we‘re within a gold rebound highlighting some relative strength in the yellow metal vis-a-vis the rising rates – in the latter half of the 7-month long correction. The key narrative shift would be one of focus on inflation, inflation expectations, which would be also manifest in the Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) chart. Thus far, the presented big picture view is a reason for modest, guarded optimism (in need of constant monitoring).Silver and Its MinersSilver has turned higher yesterday, and so did platinum – it‘s however the silver miners (SIL ETF), which is making the upswing a little suspect, as in need to prove itself stronger.SummaryStocks are likely to take yesterday‘s setback in their stride, and this long, drawn out correction increasingly appears to be approaching its inevitable end. The medium-term factors favor the bulls, and new highs are a question of broad based advance across the sectors, adjusted for the reopening trades favoring high beta stocks.The belated and thus far rather meek gold rebound can proceed, and should the mining stocks keep their outperformance (ideally accompanied by silver miners doing the same with respect to the white metal), that would be a hallmark of the unfolding rebound carrying on. For now, guarded optimism is still the name of the game in the precious metals arena.
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Gold, Miners: How Long Will Short-Term Rally Last?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.03.2021 16:45
Gold rallied, gold miners soared to new March highs and the USD Index finally moved lower; and most likely, these price moves are not yet over.The precious metals market finally moved yesterday (Mar. 9) after providing us with bullish indications for quite a few days. Let’s jump right into charts and examine the details, starting with the part of the precious metals market that showed particular strength – mining stocks.Figure 1 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Even though gold moved lower in early March, gold miners stopped declining after reaching my target area based several techniques – most importantly the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2020 rally, and the previous lows and highs. Just as miners’ relative weakness had previously heralded declines for the entire precious metals sector, their strength meant that a rally was about to start. And that’s just what we saw yesterday (Mar. 9).Ultimately, it seems that the above corrections will result in the GDX ETF moving to about $34 or so.The resistance levels in the $34 - $35 area are provided by:The late-February 2020 highThe rising neck level of the previously completed head and shoulders patternThe analogy to how big miners’ correction was in April (assuming that the mirror similarity continues)The declining blue resistance lineThe 50-day moving averageAdditionally, please note that the last few local tops were accompanied by RSI at about 50. The latter is currently below 45, suggesting that this rally has more potential, but that it’s not particularly extreme.The confirmation that the top is indeed in might come from the volume. Please note that the last three times when we saw really important tops, the GDX rallied on particularly strong volume. If we see something like that within the next 5 trading days or so (quite likely on Monday or close to it), we’ll have an even bigger chance of catching the reversal.Consequently, the GDX is likely to form a top in the above-described area.After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, the day of reckoning for stocks is coming , and it might be very, very close.As I explained previously, based on the similarities to the 1929 and 2008 declines, it could be the case that the precious metals sector declines for about three months after the general stock market tops. And it seems that we won’t have to wait long for the latter. In fact, the next big move lower in stocks might already be underway, as the mid-Feb. 2021 top could have been the final medium-term top.Let’s consider what the GDX and GLD did on an intraday basis yesterday.Figure 2 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and Gold ETF (GLD) ComparisonAs I already wrote, mining stocks rallied to new monthly highs, and the above 4-hour chart (each candlestick represents 4 hours of trading) makes it crystal-clear that the late-February bottom was the moment after which miners stopped declining and started to trade sideways. Gold (here: the GLD ETF, which I’m using to have an apples-to-apples comparison – both ETFs trade on the same exchange) continued to decline in March. Well, to be precise, miners did form new yearly lows in March, and we went long almost right at one of those intraday lows , but the moves were not significant enough to really change anything.So, since miners no longer wanted to decline, and there were only two other things left for them to do: either nothing or rally.They had been doing nothing for several days, due to the lack of bullish leadership in gold. They just got this leadership yesterday, and they soared.Now, let’s keep in mind what I wrote in yesterday’s intraday Alert – namely, that mining stocks tend to rally particularly well in the initial part of the upswing, and then they underperform during the final part of the rally . So, when gold is above $1,750 or so, miners might already be rallying to a limited degree. Consequently, miners might rally above $34.27, but that is far from being certain. They might actually rally slightly less – perhaps to exactly $34 or so.I applied the Fibonacci retracement levels to the above chart, but I actually used them as Fibonacci extensions. My current upside target for gold is at about $1,770 (which corresponds to about $166 in the GLD ETF) and it’s at about $34 for mining stocks (GDX ETF). The Fibonacci extensions emphasize that if both targets were to be reached, then it means that gold so far rallied (intraday) about half of its entire rally, while mining stocks rallied (intraday) about 61.8% of their entire rally. This perfectly fits miners’ tendency to outperform in the initial part of a given move, which makes both price targets more reliable.Having said that, let’s move to gold.Figure 3 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold rallied strongly after bottoming right in the middle of my target area and after moving almost right to its June 2020 bottom, and after almost doubling its initial January decline. Yesterday’s rally also meant invalidation of the brief breakdown below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the entire 2020 rally. Thus, the very short-term trend is up.Please keep in mind that the upswing might be relatively short-lived – perhaps lasting only one week or so. There’s a triangle-vertex-based reversal point on Monday, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see an interim top at that time, especially considering that:The triangle-vertex-based turning points have been working particularly well in the recent past – they marked the January and February tops.The corrective upswings during this medium-term decline (especially in mining stocks) often took about a week to complete – at least the easy part of the upswing took a week.The USD Index has been rallying relentlessly – just like in 2018 – in the last couple of days, but a quick pullback would not be surprising. In fact, it seems that one is already underway.Figure 4 - USD Index (DX.F)On March 8, the USD Index had closed above its lowest daily closing price of August 2020 (92.13), but yesterday, it closed back below this resistance. This means that we just saw an invalidation of the breakout – which is a bearish sign for the short term.How low could the USD Index move during this pullback? Not particularly low, as the similarity to 2018 implies a rather unbroken rally. The February 2021 high of 91.6 seems to be a quite likely target, but we might see the USDX move a bit lower as well – perhaps to one of the classic Fibonacci retracements based on the recent upswing – lowest of them (the 61.8% one) being at about 90.8.This pullback might trigger a question about the validity of the analogy to the 2018 rally, which seems to have taken place without any interruptions.Figure 5The analogy seems to remain intact when looking at it from the long-term point of view. Let’s keep in mind the recent decline was a bit sharper and it took less time to complete.The 2017 – 2018 decline took 387 day (between the top and the first low) and then there were 82 days between the initial and the final low (21.19% of the decline).This time, there were 269 days between the top and the first low. Adding 21.19% to this time, points to Feb. 12 as the "proportionately identical" bottom time target. The final bottom formed on Feb. 25 - just 9 trading days away from the analogy-based target. The analogy remains clearly intact.“So, doesn’t it imply that there shouldn’t be any pullbacks until the USD Index rallies above 94? ”No. And this becomes obvious once we zoom in.Figure 6You see, it’s not true that there were no pullbacks during the 2018 rally. There were, but they were simply too small to be visible from the long-term point of view.The first notable pullback took place in early May 2018, and it contributed to a corrective upswing in the precious metals market. To be precise, the USD Index declined after rallying for 56 trading days, but gold rallied earlier – 51 trading days after the USD Index’s final bottom. The USDX’s immediate-top formed 16 trading days after its final bottom, and gold’s bottom formed 10 trading days after the USD’s final bottom.Comparing this to the size of the previous decline in terms of the trading days, it was:51 – 56 trading days / 283 trading days = 18.02% - 19.79%10 – 16 trading days / 283 trading days = 3.53% - 5.65%Now, let’s examine the current situation.Figure 7The preceding decline lasted for 200 trading days and there were 41 – 42 trading days between the final USDX bottom and the short-term reversals in gold and USDX. Comparing this to the final USDX bottom, we get 7 – 8 trading days.Applying the previous percentages to the length of the most recent medium-term decline in the USD Index provides us with the following:18.02% - 19.79% x 200 trading days = ~36 - ~40 trading days3.53% - 5.65% x 200 trading days = ~7 - ~11 trading daysThe above estimation of about 36 – 40 trading days almost perfectly fits the current 41 – 42-day delay, and the estimation of about 7 – 11 trading days almost perfectly fits the current delay of 7 – 8 trading days.In other words, the analogy to the 2018 performance does not only remain intact – it actually perfectly confirms the validity of the current corrective upswing. Once again, it’s very likely just a pullback, not a big trend reversal.Also, please note that back in 2018, the USD Index corrected after moving back above its mid-2017 lows and now we see the analogy to that – the USDX corrects after moving back above its mid-2020 lows. Back in 2017, the USD Index corrected to approximately its previous short-term high (the January 2018 high). Now, the February high is providing strong support at about 91.6 – that’s where this brief correction might end – on an approximate basis.The above perfectly fits the scenario in which the precious metals market rallies on a very short-term basis (likely to about $1,770 in gold and about $34 in GDX), and then resumes its medium-term decline.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Stocks Bulls Can Take a Rest – But Gold Ones Can‘t

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.03.2021 15:40
The daily banging on the 3,900 threshold shows in yesterday‘s upper knot, and this milestone has very good chances of being conquered today. More important than the exact timing though, are the internals marking the setup – we‘ve indeed progressed very far into this correction. While not historically among the longest ones, it‘s still getting long in the tooth – just as I was writing throughout the week.And it is getting stale, even if I look at the star non-cofirnation, the high yield corporate bonds. Relatively modest daily upswing, outshined by investment grade corporate bonds. Yes, the credit markets are calming down, and the tiny daily long-term Treasuries upswing doesn‘t reflect that fully just yet. Besides giving breathing room to defensives such as utilities and consumer staples, it‘s also very conducive to the precious metals sector.Copper, oil or agrifoods aren‘t flashing warning signs either – this is a healthy consolidation of steep prior gains as the dollar is getting again under pressure on retreating yields. Just as stocks are undergoing the larger rotation in favor of high beta value plays (financials and manufacturing ones are doing great, airlines jumped), the leaders out of the corona deflationary crash are leading no longer (technology). The picture of the unfolding reflationary recovery is a healthy one as rates are rising on account of improving economic environment, and inflation doesn‘t really bite yet.Ideal environment for the stock market to do well (hello my profitable open position), and for commodities to do really well. While the Fed is prepping the markets for (temporary, they say) higher inflation readings, gold didn‘t react too bullishly to yesterday‘s mildly positive CPI data – just wait for PPI data which would reflect the surging commodity prices more adequately. At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsVolume isn‘t sharply contracting, and coupled with the price action, the rebound above 3,900 has good chance of succeeding. The path most ahead to entertain your imagination as well, looks as a little congested series of daily candles followed by a longer white one. We‘re in a stock bull market after all, and still not in danger of a significant (10%+) correction as I have been writing throughout 2021.Market breadth indicators have turned the corner really, underscoring accumulation within a returning bull market advance – just as the bullish percent index shows. A brief sideways to higher consolidation of this week‘s advance would only help to solidify it before the next run higher.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio‘s degree of non-confirmation has decreased, at least if you take direction into view. Finally, high yield corporate bonds are turning higher, and once they catch breath even more, the all time highs already in sight would be conquered as smoothly as the 3,900 zone I delineated earlier.Gold Sector ExaminedVery mild upswing in both the gold miners and gold – along the lines of a daily consolidation with bullish undertones. This early in the precious metals upswing, miners are in the pool position, and their relative and gradually increasing strength has been visible since the early Mar days. So far so good here.Silver, Platinum and the RestSilver isn‘t yet outshining the rest of the crowd, and that‘s good, for it often tends to do so in the later stages of the precious metals sector advance. Within the coming precious metals advance, I continue to view silver outperformance as expected. Part monetary metal, part commodity, it‘s uniquely position to benefit. Its yesterday‘s setback is nothing to be concerned about as the gold, gold miners and platinum rebound keeps doing largely well.Comparing the gold miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio to the silver miners to silver (SIL:$SILVER) ratio is returning a bullish snapshot of the current advance too. The beaten down gold sector is leading the charge, and the silver one will play catch-up in time.SummaryHaving reached the 3,900 zone, the S&P 500 is likely to consolidate the gains next. Due to the improving key markets (corporate bonds and tech), I am not looking for any this week‘s potential setback to turn the tide in this aging correction really.The gold upswing is proceeding, helped by the weakening dollar and ever so slightly retreating Treasury yields. After clearing the volume profile defined support at $1,720 and stretching a little below, the bulls next objective is the roughly $1,775 figure marking the Feb lows. Should that one be conquered, the odds of having seen gold bottom this Monday, would have dramatically increased.
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Intraday Market Analysis – Dow Jones Reaches New Highs

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.03.2021 08:29
US 30 surges from daily supportUS Congress’s green light on the $1.9 trillion relief package seems to have put stock markets back on track. This came in as half-expected on the technical side as the index bounced off the year-long bullish trendline on the daily chart.From the hourly perspective, the breakout above the previous high (32050) has triggered a broader rally fuelled by short-coverings.As the RSI shows signs of overheating, a limited pullback might attract more buyers. 32300 near the short-term trendline would be the support to watch for.XAGUSD recovers from key supportLower treasury yields have made the non-yielding metal more attractive, right when buyers bid up the price from its daily support level (24.80).Following the previously mentioned RSI divergence, an indication of a potential reversal, silver saw a limited drop then rallied above the first resistance of 26.20.After a brief consolidation, the price could rise towards the next target around 27.00 as long as it stays above 25.60.To the downside, 24.80 is critical in keeping the bullish sentiment intact.NZDUSD looks for a bullish breakoutThe New Zealand dollar is having its fair share of markets’ renewed affection for risk assets. A rebound from the psychological level of 0.7100, a two-month low has brought the pair to its first hurdle: 0.7270 where strong selling pressure could cap the rally.The kiwi is gathering momentum near the rising trendline as the RSI falls back into the neutral zone. If buyers can overcome this resistance, an extended rally may push the price towards 0.7400.A drop below 0.7160 though could lead to a retest of the daily support.
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Resting Stock Bulls and Gold Question Marks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.03.2021 16:12
Stock bulls went right for all time highs yesterday, clearing the 3,900 threshold in this correction – one that is in its very late innings indeed. But the preceding upswing has been sharp, and not all the internals support such a swift recovery, which is why I am still looking for consolidation to strike at any moment.We might be actually experiencing such a daily one right now, as today‘s premarket session has sent S&P 500 futures a few dozen points down. The big picture is though one of of the stock market getting used to rising rates, which are rising in reflection of the economic growth. But what about the snapback short-term rally in long-term Treasuries? It‘s not materializing as the instrument went down again yesterday – unconvincingly bobbing above recent lows. The defensive sectors such as consumer staples and utilities, reversed yesterday (at a time when technology rose), sending a warning that we‘re about to see higher rates again. Probably not happening as fast as through Feb, but still. Let‘s bring up my recent perspective on high rates, what they are exactly:(…) the „high rates“ we‘re experiencing currently, do not compare to the early 1980s, which underscores the fragility of the current monetary order. The Fed knows that, and it has been evident in the long preparatory period and baby steps in the prior rate raising and balance sheet shrinking cycle. The market will see through this, and the central bank would be forced to move to bring long-term rates down through yield curve control or a twist program, which would break the dollar, drive emerging markets, and not exactly control inflation – real rates would drop like a stone in such a scenario, turning around gold profoundly. But the market knows the Fed isn‘t getting ready to really do anything more than it does right now. Gold rebounded on Tuesday, and the rally took it above $1,730 but the daily reversal is concerning. As I wrote yesterday in the title, the gold bulls can‘t rest – but they are resting, and prices are back at the lower end of the $1,720 volume profile.Assessing the damage in the early stages of today‘s session will clarify whether the rally‘s dynamics are still intact, or not – regardless of today‘s headwinds. Silver isn‘t exactly at its strongest today, and we‘re likely to get soon into the session an idea about where miners‘ strength is. And it‘s more likely that it won‘t be anything to write home about.Let‘s recall my yesterday‘s words, and pick what‘s relevant to the metals:(…) While the Fed is prepping the markets for (temporary, they say) higher inflation readings, gold didn‘t react too bullishly to yesterday‘s mildly positive CPI data – just wait for PPI data which would reflect the surging commodity prices more adequately. At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Commodities are likely to do well in this reflationary phase, and the same goes for its turn to inflation. With precious metals, much depends upon their discounting mechanism‘s timing – when would they start doubting the transitory inflation utterances.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing continues in pretty much a straight line, and the frequency of upper knots raises the probability of a short-term reprieve. Yes, it‘s risk-on, but a little pause would be healthy. Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have moved higher yesterday, mirroring the S&P 500 advance. That‘s encouraging even though the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still visibly lagging behind stocks. The non-confirmation‘s seriousness has though decreased markedly over the two last sessions, pointing to improving internals of the upcoming stock market upleg.Technology and ValueTechnology has been rallying on decreasing volume, also demonstrating a prominent upper knot. If there is one sector where the coming S&P 500 consolidation would originate, it would be here. Value stocks held their own yesterday, in a nod to the high beta reopening trades. I am not looking for VTV to weaken distinctly here.Gold and YieldsThe gold upswing reversed intraday while long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) hadn‘t really moved in their tight daily range. Erasing much of the overnight selling today, would be probably the most the bulls would be able to achieve today. But even that isn‘t the deciding factor to determine the fate of the recovery off the $1,670 area.Upswing in the BalanceGold miners are still painting a positive picture. They are outperforming gold while silver isn‘t spiking – the white metal is under even more pressure today than gold itself. So, the signs from miners and silver balance each other out to a degree. The whole sectors keeps hanging in the balance after yesterday‘s session. Each day or even hour the bulls don‘t utilize to reverse today‘s setback, is questioning the upswing continuation. Not much to add here as the daily momentum apprears shifting to the bears again.SummaryHaving conquered the 3,900 zone, the S&P 500 is likely to consolidate the gains next. The put/call ratio and volatility are at relatively lower readings, and the next setback for stocks would come from tech again. Not overly dramatic, but a brief challenge still.The gold upswing stalled, and its fate is being decided. Having fallen through the volume profile defined support at $1,720, the bulls objective is to recapture this zone. Tall order..
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

History Rhymes: Does USDX’s Uprising Mean Gold’s Climax?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.03.2021 16:48
The yellow metal’s behavior looks more bearish now than it did in 2017-2018. The USDX has a lot of bullets in its chamber, and gold can be riddled with them.Plenty of warning signs on the near-term horizon: The USDX is after a long-tern breakout, traders are reducing net-short positions, and the slightest shift in U.S. dollar sentiment can lead the rest of the herd to follow. If a USDX resurgence is combined with an equity shock, then the precious metals are in for trouble.Last Friday (Mar. 12), we focused quite a bit on the moves in the gold miners and how their related ETFs (GDX and GDXJ) are faring and which will suffer most during the next phase of the decline. We also touched on this subject last Wednesday as well. It was important to shed light on the miners because they’ve been leading the charge in the corrective upswing. I also wanted to explain the Eurozone’s impact on the precious metals and how crucial it is to examine the bigger picture and how the pieces are all connected. Today, let’s shift our attention over to the currency perspective, namely the USDX.The price shape and time analogies are truly remarkable right now. It’s quite often the case that history rhymes, but it’s rare for it to rhyme so closely and clearly to what we now see in the case of the USD Index. And the implications for precious metals investors are profound.On Mar. 8 , I warned that with the USD Index confronting its mid-2020 lows (resistance), a short-term dip could occur in the coming days. But after declining by 0.34% last week, the negativity could be short lived.Case in point: the 2017-2018 analogue is already in full swing, and while short-term dips were part of the historical journey, the USDX could be about to exit its consolidation phase.Please see below:You can also see the similarity between two periods and the technical patterns that they included in the chart below:Even while looking at the price moves for just a second, the size and shape of the 2017-2018 analogue clearly mirrors the 2020-current price action . Although this time, it took less than 118 days for the USD Index to move from peak to trough.In 2017-2018, it also took 82 days for the USDX to form a final bottom (the number of days between the initial bottom and the final bottom) and the duration amounts to 21.19% of the overall timeframe. If we applied a similar timeframe to today’s move, then the USD Index should have bottomed on Feb. 12. It actually bottomed (finally) on Feb. 25, which was just 8 trading days away from the former date. Taking into account the sizes of the moves that preceded the previous declines (they took approximately one year to complete), this is extremely close and an excellent confirmation that the self-similar pattern remains intact.In addition, as the USDX approached its final bottom in 2017-2018, gold traded sideways. Today, however, gold has been in a downward spiral. From a medium-term perspective, the yellow metal’s behavior is actually more bearish than it was in 2017-2018.Finally, the USD Index’s breakout above its 50-day moving average (which it still holds today) is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. Case in point: after the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is roughly 94.5.Moreover, gold’s trepidation alongside the USD Index strength on Mar. 12 adds even more validity to the 2017-2018 analogy.I wrote on Mar. 10:It’s not true that there were no pullbacks during the 2018 rally. There were, but they were simply too small to be visible from the long-term point of view.The first notable pullback took place in early May 2018, and it contributed to a corrective upswing in the precious metals market. To be precise, the USD Index declined after rallying for 56 trading days, but gold rallied earlier – 51 trading days after the USD Index’s final bottom. The USDX’s immediate-top formed 16 trading days after its final bottom, and gold’s bottom formed 10 trading days after the USD’s final bottom.Comparing this to the size of the previous decline in terms of the trading days, it was:51 – 56 trading days / 283 trading days = 18.02% - 19.79%10 – 16 trading days / 283 trading days = 3.53% - 5.65%More importantly though, when the USD Index turned a short-term decline into consolidation in mid-2018, gold’s hesitant reaction highlighted the yellow metal’s anxiety. And what followed? Well, gold’s next move was significantly lower, while the USD Index’s next move was significantly higher. This means that it was likely a good idea that we took profits from our long positions recently when the GDX moved to $32.96 (opening at $30.80 - $31).Please see below:In addition, if we analyze the pairs’ very recent price action, it’s a splitting image.On Friday (Mar. 12), the USD Index rallied by 0.28%, while gold was (roughly) directionless despite the intraday volatility. And just like in 2017-2018, the yellow metal’s behavior signals a forthcoming climax . As a result, gold and the USD Index are behaving exactly as they did before going their separate ways in 2017-2018. And this means a bearish gold price prediction for the following weeks (not necessarily hours, though).Please see below:To explain, I wrote on Mar. 10:Let’s examine the current situation: the preceding decline lasted for 200 trading days and there were 41 – 42 trading days between the final USDX bottom and the short-term reversals in gold and USDX. Comparing this to the final USDX bottom, we get 7 – 8 trading days.Applying the previous percentages to the length of the most recent medium-term decline in the USD Index provides us with the following:18.02% - 19.79% x 200 trading days = ~36 - ~40 trading days3.53% - 5.65% x 200 trading days = ~7 - ~11 trading daysThe above estimation of about 36 – 40 trading days almost perfectly fits the current 41 – 42-day delay, and the estimation of about 7 – 11 trading days almost perfectly fits the current delay of 7 – 8 trading days.In other words, the analogy to the 2018 performance does not only remain intact – it actually perfectly confirms the validity of the current corrective upswing. Once again, it’s very likely just a pullback, not a big trend reversal.The bottom line?Given the size of the 2018 upswing, 94.5 on the USD Index is likely the first, of many, potential upside targets.Adding to the list of upside catalysts, the USD Index still has plenty of other bullets in its chamber. For instance, we’re also in the early innings of a shift in U.S. dollar sentiment. With short interest hitting an all-time high in late-2020, it was a complete fire sale. Today, however, short interest may have peaked.Please see the below chart based on the CoT report :Please consider how big rallies followed the moments when the net speculative position as % of total open interest started to rally back up after being oversold for months. The situation here is still more extreme than it was in early 2018 and 2014, suggesting that the upcoming rally might be bigger than the ones that we saw then.As further evidence, speculative futures traders ( non-commercial ) actually reduced their net-short positions by 1,216 contracts last week (the net of the two values in the red box below). As a result, the slightest shift in sentiment could lead the rest of the herd to follow.Finally, let’s not forget that the USD Index is after a long-term, more-than-confirmed breakout. This means that the long-term trend for the U.S. dollar is up.In conclusion, the USD Index is likely shifting from consolidation to ascension. With the size, scope and duration of the recent price action mirroring 2017-2018, it’s only a matter of time before the USD Index’s medium-term breakout gives way to a material breakthrough. What’s more, the USD Index is finally reacting to the rise in U.S. Treasury yields . Initially ignoring the late-2020 surge, a bottom, and subsequent rally in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has lifted the USD Index 80% of the time since 2003. And with the relationship seemingly restored in 2021, the combination is profoundly bearish for the PMs, especially given today’s triangle-vertex-based reversal in gold.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Are The US Markets Sending A Warning Sign?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 16.03.2021 01:05
After an incredible rally phase that initiated just one day before the US elections in November 2020, we've seen certain sectors rally extensively.  Are the markets starting to warn us that this rally phase may be stalling?  We noticed very early that some of the strongest sectors appear to be moderately weaker on the first day of trading this week.  Is it because of Triple-Witching this week (Friday, March 19, 2021)?  Or is it because the Treasury Yields continue to move slowly higher?  What's really happening right now and should traders/investors be cautious?The following XLF Weekly chart shows how the Financial sector rallied above the upper YELLOW price channel, which was set from the 2018 and pre COVID-19 2020 highs.  Early 2021 was very good for the financial sector overall, we saw a 40%+ rally in this over just 6 months on expectations that the US economy would transition into a growth phase as the new COVID vaccines are introduced. Be sure to sign up for our FREE market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!We are also concerned about an early TWEEZERS TOP pattern that has set up early this week.  If price continues to move lower as we progress through futures contract expiration week, FOMC, and other data this week, then we may see some strong resistance setting up near $35.25.  Have the markets gotten ahead of themselves recently?  Could we be setting up for a moderately deeper pullback in price soon?The following SSO, ProShares S&P 500 ETF Weekly chart, shows a similar setup.  Although the rally in the SSO is not quite the same range as the XLF, we are seeing a solid TWEEZERS TOP pattern setup on the SSO chart over a period of many weeks.  We also found the moderate weakness in the US indexes interesting this morning.  Last week, we continued to see very strong buying trends.  Today, we see those trends have almost vanished.  Are the markets setting near highs waiting for some announcement or news to push them into a new trend?The US stock markets have not experienced a moderate price pullback since August 2020 – when the SPY pulled back almost 11%.  Volatility is still quite high with 2% to 3%+ swings between trading days.  A moderate pullback from these levels could represent another -8.5% to -14% decline before true support is found.Watching the Yields, Precious Metals, and the moderate weakness in trend that started this trading week, we can only suggest that active traders/investors remain moderately cautious.  Our BAN Trader Pro strategy is currently 100% CASH (no trades) for a reason.  Pay attention to this rotation in the markets and the moderate weakness recently.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect this year, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets.For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.Have a great week!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Intraday Market Analysis – US Dollar Starts Consolidation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.03.2021 08:22
USDCHF stays in rangeAfter its meteoric rise, the US dollar is likely to go sideways as traders await a new catalyst from this week’s FOMC.The break below 0.9260 along with a bearish MA cross was a sign that the price action has gone into a consolidation if not a reversal. A brief rally is not excluded but the recent high of 0.9375 may cap any advance in the short-term.The lower band of the trading range is 0.9180, a resistance-turned-support which also lies around the 20-day moving average on a larger time frame.EURGBP finds support above the bearish trendlineProfit-taking seems to be the theme at the beginning of the week, and in the case of the sterling, buyers have reduced their bets in anticipation of the BoE meeting.The euro took a chance to bounce from the key short-term support area around 0.8550 after a week-long consolidation. The rise above the bearish trendline coupled with the previously mentioned RSI divergence would confirm the bullish bias.Clearing the psychological level of 0.8600 would open the path towards the next target 0.8650.GER 30 looks for support after the new highThe DAX is looking to consolidate its gains on the high ground after global markets regained optimism.A declining RSI indicator from a previously overbought situation is good news for traders looking to join the rally. As the bull market has seemingly resumed, a momentary pullback could see strong buying interest in bidding up the index.14390 is the immediate support but a failure to bounce would suggest a protracted retracement towards the rising trendline (14250).
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

When to trade Bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 16.03.2021 11:40
All markets are related. Looking for liquidity provides times when execution is guaranteed, and slippage minimized. Professionals tend to gravitate towards the futures and forex markets. These markets are leveraged and least regulated (no uptick rule for shorting the market).Stacking Liquidity, When to trade Bitcoin:Stacking Liquidity, GMT daily chart as of March 15th, 2021The chart above tries to show when these prime times occur daily to place one’s trades. For the long-term investor, these times guarantee good fills and good times to get in and out of their positions. For short- to mid-term trades, these times represent in addition opportunities to find themselves in transactions at the right time. To clarify, whenever a market opens around the globe, it means an abnormality, a possible imbalance. These imbalances can be the seed to a directional move more significant than at other times.If you visit Wall Street, you will find market makers on typical days trade the market open for about ninety minutes, then handing over operations to their assistants while enjoying elaborate lunches and returning for the last 90 minutes of the trading session. You want to focus alongside this more meaningful time in the market rather than being caught in the noise.It is stacking one’s odds that provide for a consistent outcome of profitable trading. In this case, we minimize risk by entering and exiting the market at Prime Time. Prime Time being liquidity stacked session overlaps (Asia+London and London+New York). BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, The weekend fake:BTC-USDT, daily chart as of March 15th, 2021That leaves us with weekend moves that have a lower probability of follow-through. Last weekend’s move to all-time new highs is a good example. Old highs got penetrated, but actual price behavior reveals once the Asia session starts on Monday.Short-term trading as such is directionally neutral for now. For the midterm, we plotted possible reentry zones in the daily chart above.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, A bright future:BTC-USDT, weekly chart as of March 15th, 2021We find the long-term price expansion of Bitcoin still in place as long as prices do not runaway towards the upside exuberantly in fast motion.Even if you have high time frame entries or exits, it is wise to pick market times of a high degree of liquidity and strong participation.When to trade Bitcoin:It is essential to look at one’s desired trading instrument for abnormalities like the weekend night moves on Bitcoin. Position yourself before breakouts to such moves to avoid traps and volatility that requires larger stops, representing larger risk.Bitcoin has a relationship with the precious metal sector. Gold leading this sector typically shows price moves at the London session open (4:00 am EST), and as such, these are times to have an eye out for Bitcoin as well. Gold also is known to move at the U.S. premarket hours (8:30 am EST), and the actual NYSE opens at 9:30 am EST. Picking one’s battles timed to suggested hours in the first chart of this publication allows for risk minimization. Consequently, it provides a scheduled trading routine versus the risk of struggling to pay 24/7 attention and deal with a lot of price noise and fatigue risk.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 16th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Stock Bulls Run – Will Gold Ones Too?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.03.2021 15:37
Resting on Friday, surging on Monday. Feeble downswing attempt defeated right after the open, and then just bullish price action. Retail data today, and another FOMC meeting tomorrow – I view the former as not too likely to spoil today‘s market action. About the latter, remembering the latest reactions to Powell pronouncements, I look for the markets to be affected to a much greater degree.Don‘t look for material surprises, or be spooked by bets on the Fed tightening through dot plot adjustment or other forward guidance tools.I expect no change from what I wrote yesterday:(…) Who could be surprised, given the modern monetary theory ruling the economic landscape? The Fed amply accomodative, one $1.9T stimulus bill just in, and a $2T infrastructure one in the making. That‘s after the prior Trump stimulus, and who would have forgotten how it all started in April 2020? The old congressional saying „a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you‘re talking real money“, needs updating.Global liquidity isn‘t retreating exactly, emerging markets are building a solid base regardless of the dollar going higher two days in a row, and emerging market bonds are fighting to recover just as much as long-dated Treasuries. Coupled with the sectoral analysis, this is conducive for the unfolding stock market upswing and for commodities as well. We‘re still in a constructive environment for both, and I look within the latter at especially copper, nickel and iron to do well. Meanwhile, the precious metals upswing is going fine, and the miners keep outperforming – both gold and silver ones. The time for the bulls isn‘t running out, and the real battles will come once the gold bulls conquer the volume profile thin zone around $1,760. Will the bulls reach it on tomorrow‘s Fed underplaying the threat of inflation and showing tolerance to its overshoot? That‘s certainly one of the possibilities.The best course of action is to keep a pretty close eye on the metals – no bullish / bearish change from Thursday‘s words:(…) At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing is ready to proceed further now, and slight volume hint tells me to look for higher prices today. Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) continue trading in a weak pattern, which however hasn‘t been able to force the stock market down. And not that I looked at it to have a chance to. I continue to view the junk corporate bond market as under pressure in sympathy with investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries, which scored modest gains yesterday too. It‘s a euphoric rush into stocks simply. VolatilityThe volatility index shows no signs of panic returning, and the put/call ratio is getting very complacent again. Doesn‘t look like the boat will capsize today really.Value Stocks and TechValue stocks (VTV ETF) repelled a daily downswing attempt, which is positive considering that technology (XLK ETF) rose more strongly. The leadership in the stock market advance is broadening, and that‘s good news for the bulls.Gold Upswing AnatomyGold added modestly to its recent gains, and would do well to clear the $1,730 area some more really. The low volume is a sign that current prices aren‘t attracting enough interest to step in, and either buy or sell. Given the below chart though, the initiative is still within the bulls.It‘s that the miners keep outperforming gold without really slowing down, and that‘s still what I like to see well before the upswing makes an intermediate top. The daily indicators remain far from extended. Will the bulls take advantage accordingly?Silver, Copper and OilSilver is consolidating and by no means outperforming, as it so often does at the very late stage of precious metals upswings. The deductive conclusion is that the days of the upswing aren‘t likely over just yet.Both copper and oil are consolidating within their bullish patterns, and today‘s downswing taking both down around 1.5% from yesterday‘s prices shown above, is taking them nearer to where I would increase weighting. Yes, I‘m bullish stocks and commodities still, and look for precious metals to be gradually joining in some more.SummaryAfter the brief consolidation of S&P 500 gains, we‘re again in the full upswing mode, and the credit markets aren‘t a show stopper. The stock market bull is alive and well, and deeper correction has been yet again delegated to the dustbin. The top is very far off as this still nascent recovery gets so much stimulus fuel that overheating becomes a very real possibility this year already.Gold keeps turning an important corner on, but the bulls could get more comfortable only with an upswing that clears the $1,730 zone now, given the strong performance mining indices are showing. Adding to that even more decreased sensitivity to rising yields would compound the pleasant sight for the bulls. The runup to tomorrow‘s Fed will be telling.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Consolidates Gains

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.03.2021 08:27
XAUUSD builds support for a comebackA weaker US dollar has offered gold the opportunity to make a comeback just ahead of the Fed meeting later today.After having established a base at the round number 1700 the precious metal is struggling to clear the resistance at 1740, which coincides with the 20-day moving average. A neutral RSI suggests there is still room on the upside and a bullish breakout could add an extra $20 to the ounce (1760).However, in the case of a retreat below 1700, the price action is likely to go sideways and test the previous support at 1675.USDCAD capped by the falling trendlineThe Canadian dollar rises further as improvements in the domestic economy may lead the central bank to cut back on its QE.The bearish trendline from March 2020 has so far contained the US dollar’s multiple rebounds. The break below 1.2470 has confirmed that sellers are still in control.As the RSI dipped into the oversold area, short-term traders may take profit and cause a brief bounce. The zone between the psychological level of 1.2600 and the trendline is where strong selling interests would be.EURJPY tumbles to the trendlineThe euro took a hit after the suspension of the AstraZeneca shots caused a hiatus in the vaccine campaign across the continent.A diverging RSI in the overbought zone suggests an overextension and a loss in the bullish momentum. The pair is testing the rising trendline as the RSI goes into oversold. A failure to bounce back could send the price to the 20-day moving average (128.85).On the upside, 130.40 may keep a lid on the price action for the next few days.
Squaring the Bets Prior to the Fed

Squaring the Bets Prior to the Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.03.2021 15:14
Barely visible, but still a red candle – does yesterday mark a turning point? Even the volatility index refused to decline further on the day, and the option traders increased their put allocations. Is this a real reason to be cautious, or it represents mere window dressing before the Fed?When it comes to the sectoral view, not much has really changed in the S&P 500. Technology rose yesterday but gave up all intraday gains. Value stocks appear ready for a breather, and financials, energy and industrials all declined. That doesn‘t bode extraordinarily well for today‘s session, but this is not the place to look at when it comes to trading today‘s markets.It‘s the long-term Treasuries that I am focused on the most. Still as extended as lately ever relative to their 50-day moving average, they‘re weighing heavily on the markets. Stocks have gotten used to their message of rising inflation and economic recovery as we‘re still in the reflation phase, and not in the inflation one – but it‘s the precious metals that are suffering here, showing best in the copper to 10y Treasury yield ratio.I am not looking for the Fed to act today by adjusting its forward guidance stance or language, or taking a U-turn on inflation. No, they‘ll maintain the transitory stance even though markets are transitioning to a higher inflation environment already. The Fed won‘t do much this time.My prior Monday‘s words ring true also today:(…) Inflation expectations are rising, but not galloping yet. What to make of the rising rates then? They‘re up for all the good reasons – the economy is growing strongly after the Q4 corona restrictions (I actually expect not the conservative 5% Q1 GDP growth, but over 8% at least) while inflation expectations are lagging behind. In other words, the reflation (of economic growth) is working and hasn‘t turned into inflation (rising or roughly stable inflation expectations while the economy‘s growth is slowing down). We‘re more than a few quarters from that – I fully expect really biting inflation (supported by overheating in the job market) to be an 2022-3 affair. As regards S&P 500 sectors, would you really expect financials and energy do as greatly as they do if the prospects were darkening?So, I am looking for stocks to do rather well as they are absorbing the rising nominal rates. And this still translates into yesterday‘s throughts:(…) Global liquidity isn‘t retreating exactly, emerging markets are building a solid base regardless of the dollar going higher two days in a row, and emerging market bonds are fighting to recover just as much as long-dated Treasuries. Coupled with the sectoral analysis, this is conducive for the unfolding stock market upswing and for commodities as well. We‘re still in a constructive environment for both, and I look within the latter at especially copper, nickel and iron to do well. For gold, the key question remains whether copper upswings will outpace any yield increases on the long end, which have moderated their increases in Mar compared to Feb. That‘s good but not nearly enough given that even gold afficionados have come to expect lower prices lately quite en masse. Sign of capitulation off which the upswing was born? Yes, and the key questions now are whether we‘re seeing a pause, or a top in the upswing, and whether the next selling pressure would break below the $1,670 zone or not – see my early March game plan. The volume profile thin zone around $1,760 appears out of reach for now, without a Fed catalyst. I don‘t look for the central bank to invite any speculation on when the next rate hike might come (forget Brazil‘s example). They might not even talk about bringing down rates at the long end through a twist program. I certainly don‘t look for clues as to increasing the $120bn monthly pace of monetary injections. Unless the market perceives the Fed as underplaying the threat of inflation and showing tolerance to its palpable overshoot, the overall mix of positions and conference statements might bring gold under renewed pressure as it meanders a little below $1,730 as we speak.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing took another daily breather yesterday in the end, and the volume doesn‘t send clear signals either way. Consolidation followed by new highs appears though the most likely scenario.Credit MarketsAfter quite some time, stocks are trading at very elevated levels relative to the high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio. Now, it‘s three days in a row that the latter doesn‘t confirm the stock market upswing. The bulls better be cautious here over at least a few sessions as the latest historical evidence shows that Fed pronouncements haven‘t been accompanied by fully risk-on moves exactly.Let‘s not forget the big picture, and that‘s of the stock market rising at the expense of debt instruments. Please note how little has the early Mar correction achieved in denting the S&P 500 appeal. The stock market bull is alive and well, very well actually.Gold in the StraitsGold still remains resilient to rising yields, but its inability to rally convincingly is worrying for the bulls. After all, this $1,730 zone shouldn‘t have been any real obstacle after three days of the rally, yet the yellow metal had to rise from the dead on Friday to fight another day. And given that it hasn‘t progressed since, it makes me think the bulls are hanging around for a remotely possible Fed surprise only.It‘s only the miners that are kind of still positive here. Yet, even their upswing was challenged yesterday, but that was on low volume. And that‘s constructive for the bulls when it comes to interpreting yesterday‘s events.The lack of silver outperformance before the sellers take over, is another sign why the upswing might not be over just yet. Still, these are just secondary clues, for nothing is more bullish than rising prices, which is what we obviously haven‘t seen in the metals much really.Key Ratio SpeaksWhile not tracking each other as closely as lately, the copper to 10y Treasury yield is sending an ominous signal still. The key question is whether long-dated Treasuries rise, or gold falls – I am not looking for copper to deviate from the current steeply rising trajectory much.SummaryS&P 500 is again entering daily consolidation mode, justifying my decision to take some of the prior profits off the table earlier today. While the Fed won‘t likely deliver real surprises later today, the credit markets are flashing warning signs more noticeably than yesterday. Still, the stock market bull is very far from making a top.Gold is being increasingly more challenged and stuck in the $1,730 zone, instead of clearing it.The yellow metal awaits today‘s Fed pronouncements, and barring a dovish(ly perceived) surprise, it looks ready to give up a portion of recent gains. All eyes on long-term Treasuries remains the battle cry.
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Intraday Market Analysis – Post-FOMC Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.03.2021 08:41
NAS 100 challenges key resistanceFOMC officials’ pledge to keep the monetary policy accommodative has pumped up the appetite for risk assets. After reaching near the March high of 13330, the tech index saw profit-taking as the RSI shot into the overbought zone.The price has bounced off the demand zone around 12900. As the bullish sentiment makes its return after the recent correction, a neutral low RSI could prompt bargain hunters to get onboard.A rally above the previous high may extend the recovery towards 13700.AUDUSD breaks above the consolidation rangeA fall in Australia’s unemployment rate has confirmed the country’s strong fundamentals and put the Aussie back on track. After hitting the supply area around 0.7800, the price action has previously gone sideways for the lack of a catalyst.An oversold RSI indicator has raised traders’ interest to buy the dip at the psychological level of 0.7700. A rally back above 0.7835 could resume the medium-term uptrend.In the case of a pullback, the area between 0.7670 and 0.7700 would see strong buying interests.NZDUSD attempts a U-turnDespite a worse-than-expected GDP, the kiwi rallied on the back of a dovish US Federal Reserve. Having established support at 0.7100 on the daily chart, the pair is gathering momentum for the next round of rally.A low RSI suggests there is plenty of room on the upside, though the price action will first need to clear the origin of the latest sell-off at 0.7270.That would pave the way for a rise above 0.7300. The reversal would gain traction as long as the pair stays above the immediate support at 0.7150.
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Reversing the Fed Moves?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.03.2021 15:22
Fed messaging was rightfully interpreted as dovish – full employment is in effect its single mandate now. Yes, the central bank will tolerate higher inflation, and has prepped the markets for its advent (as if these didn‘t know already). Powell managed to walk the fine line between economic optimism, pushback on the idea of raising rates or taper, and yet implicitly acknowledged the growing liquidity concerns with one little, gentle prod. Markets naturally liked the tone, overlooking no mention of action on rising yields, and stocks, metals and commodities turned positive on the day – quite strongly so. The dollar declined visibly as long-term Treasuries recovered intraday losses on high volume. Highly charged finish to the day, but today‘s analysis will show that little has actually changed in its internals. Rates are rising for the good reason of improving economy and its outlook, reflation (economic growth rising faster than inflation and inflation expectations) hasn‘t given way to all out inflation, and stocks with commodities remain in a secular bull market. We‘re in the decade of real assets outperforming paper ones, but that will become apparent only much later into the 2020s.So, the central bank confirmed my yesterday‘s assessment of its tone and Treasuries take:(…) I am not looking for the Fed to act today by adjusting its forward guidance stance or language, or taking a U-turn on inflation. No, they‘ll maintain the transitory stance even though markets are transitioning to a higher inflation environment already. The Fed won‘t do much this time.They might not even talk about bringing down rates at the long end through a twist program. I certainly don‘t look for clues as to increasing the $120bn monthly pace of monetary injections. Unless the market perceives the Fed as underplaying the threat of inflation and showing tolerance to its palpable overshoot, the overall mix of positions and conference statements might bring gold under renewed pressure as it meanders a little below $1,730 as we speak.Long-term Treasuries … are weighing heavily on the markets. Stocks have gotten used to their message of rising inflation and economic recovery... – but it‘s the precious metals that are suffering here, showing best in the copper to 10y Treasury yield ratio.For gold, the key question remains whether copper upswings will outpace any yield increases on the long end, which have moderated their increases in Mar compared to Feb. That‘s good but not nearly enough given that even gold afficionados have come to expect lower prices lately quite en masse. Sign of capitulation off which the upswing was born? Yes, and the key questions now are whether we‘re seeing a pause, or a top in the upswing, and whether the next selling pressure would break below the $1,670 zone or not – see my early March game plan. The volume profile thin zone around $1,760 appears out of reach for now, without a Fed catalyst.And while we got a good confidence building one yesterday, I don‘t see it as strong enough to power precious metals higher immediately. It‘s nice that gold is decoupling from the rising yields but I view its upswing as demanding on current and future patience. Gold miners are still showing the way, and will be a key barometer in telling whether today‘s premarket downswing in antidollar, risk-on plays is a meaningful turn or not. For now, the renewed long-term Treasury yield increases (and tech selloff to a degree) point to reemergence of lingering Fed doubts.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe upper knot in the S&P 500 upswing spells short-term caution. The chart posture would be stronger without it, but at the same time, the volume and candle itself aren‘t ones of reversal. The most likely outcome of upcoming sessions still appears as resumption of the prior grind higher, which is in line with my yesterday‘s message of consolidation followed by new highs as the most likely scenario.Credit MarketsThe long upper knot in the high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio shows that the bond market isn‘t on board with the Fed – at a time when stocks aren‘t panicking in the least. Given the big picture in the economy and the combo of monetary and fiscal policy initiatives, I look for this to be a storm in the tea cup when it comes to (higher future) stock prices, and I am keenly on the lookout for possible deterioration in the corporate bond markets as relates to the S&P 500.Technology and ValueThe tech upswing wasn‘t really convincing, but it‘s been value stocks‘ turn to drive higher S&P 500 prices. No change in dynamic here. It‘s however the relation to not as strong Russell 2000 or emerging markets yesterday that hints at headwinds in stocks for today. A play on patience, again.Inflation ExpectationsYesterday‘s Fed message gave no reason for these to decline, and prior uptrend continues unabated. Bond yields haven‘t though frontrunned them yesterday, which I however look to see changed today.Precious MetalsThe gold ETF formed a bullish candle, tracking the rising miners well. But likewise to the HYG:SHY ratio‘s upper knot message, this one is concerning as well. The key question is about the staying power of GDX outperformance – the key argument for the gold market character having changed with the Mar 08 bottom, which might very well be THE bottom, and not a local one. The decoupling of the yellow metal from rising yields is even more visible now than when I first showed you the weekly $GOLD - TLT overlay chart two weeks ago.Platinum goes down while the copper engine runs (and silver did join in yesterday). This chart sends a message of short-term indecision extending to other commodities, including oil. SummaryS&P 500 is in my view merely testing the buyers‘ resolve, and doesn‘t want to turn the consolidation on declining VIX into a rush to the exit door. Despite the surprisingly early turn against the Fed day move, this doesn‘t represent a trend change or arrival of the dreaded steep correction. The stock market bull is very far from making a top.Gold is again under pressure today, back in the $1,730 zone instead of having cleared it. Understandable given the dollar and Treasuries reversal of yesterday‘s Fed moves, but not rushing to the downside head over heels.
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Intraday Market Analysis – Sterling Tests Key Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.03.2021 08:18
GBPUSD builds bullish momentumThe Bank of England followed the US Fed’s dovish footstep on Thursday in an attempt to rein in inflation expectations. This has led the pound to hit a wall once again at the psychological level of 1.4000.Those who believe in the third time’s a charm may find support at 1.3850 after the pair made a series of higher lows.A bullish breakout could push the price towards 1.4150 or even end the three-week-long consolidation. A drop below 1.3800, however, may dent the upward bias from a medium-term perspective.USDJPY in rectangle consolidationRally in risk assets come at the expense of a safer Japanese yen. Though the BoJ would sit on its hands and find no issue in a weaker currency as global trade makes a comeback.The US dollar has so far found support above the previous lows around 108.30. The RSI has dropped back into neutral territory from an overbought situation, which may prompt more buyers to get in the game.A breakout above the horizontal range (109.30) could extend the rally to last June’s high at 109.80.XAGUSD bounces off ascending trendlineA softer US dollar is exactly what commodity traders have been waiting for. Silver is looking to safeguard its gains after the latest pop above the resistance at 26.40.An over-extended RSI was followed up by profit-taking in the supply area. However, a nascent rising trendline hints at buyers’ strong interest in bidding up the price.A reversal is in the making if the price action succeeds in staying above 25.80.A bullish breakout above 26.90 could trigger a broader rally into the 28s.
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Breaking the Spell of Rising Yields

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.03.2021 15:00
Markets didn‘t buy into the Fed messaging, and quite a few moves were reversed. Stocks declined, commodities got under pressure, and oil took it on the chin. Long-dated Treasuries plunged again as the dollar reversed Wednesday‘s losses. Overall picture is one of nervousness as the Fed‘s statements and their consistency are getting a second look. Plus, triple witching can exaggerate today‘s trade swings, getting reversed in subsequent sessions too.The greatest adjustment is arguably in the inflation projections – what and when is the Fed going to do before inflation raises its ugly head in earnest. There is still time, but the market is transitioning to a higher inflation environment already nonetheless. In moments of uncertainty that hasn‘t yet turned into sell first, ask questions later, let‘s remember the big picture. Plenty of fiscal support is hitting the economy, the Fed is very accomodative, and all the modern monetary theory inspired actions risk overheating the economy later this year. As I wrote yesterday:(…) Rates are rising for the good reason of improving economy and its outlook, reflation (economic growth rising faster than inflation and inflation expectations) hasn‘t given way to all out inflation, and stocks with commodities remain in a secular bull market. We‘re in the decade of real assets outperforming paper ones, but that will become apparent only much later into the 2020s.The largely undisturbed rise in commodities got checked yesterday just as stocks did, but the higher timeframe trends (technical and fundamental drivers) hadn‘t changed, which will be apparent once the dust settles. As I‘ll lay out in today‘s analysis, the gold market is springing back to life, and the precious metals upswing rationale is still very much on the table, and the decoupling from rising nominal yields goes on – I view yesterday‘s selloff in the miners as partially equity markets driven.Bottom line, I made good decisions to subscribers‘ benefit by closing profitable stock market positions before the downswing hit, and not writing off gold.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookOrderly downswing yesterday that wouldn‘t stand out on the chart in a few weeks really. The only stunning thing about it is how soon after Wednesday‘s FOMC it came. Yet, this chart isn‘t sending signals of a key reversal just in.Credit MarketsThe non-confirmation in the high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio caught up with the 500-strong index yesterday. Is a new downtrend starting here? While high yield corporate bonds for the all the Treasuries market turmoil haven‘t arguably bottomed yet, the degree to which they can pull stocks down still, is an open question. Conversely, once HYG swings higher again, stocks would get on a firmer footing.Technology and ValueThe tech sold off again, and the interest-rate sensitive defensives (utilities, consumer staples and REITs) suffered yesterday. Yes, even the sharply recovering real estate sector did. Coupled with value stocks giving up intraday gains, the stock market internals have (not insurmountedly, but temporarily) deteriorated.Gold and SilverGold not following the declining TLT path is the most important green shoot within the market. The yellow metal held up very well in yesterday‘s selling pressure across the board, and not even gold miners (viewed through a $HUI overlay or $HUI:$GOLD ratio) gave up on the upswing – more downside price action in the latter would have to come today to cast real doubts.Weekly chart examination of essentially equivalent metrics (enriched with the key copper ingredient) shows clearly the PMs decoupling stage – silver cast off the shackles still in 2020 while gold is doing so now. It‘s still early on in the process, but invalidating excessively bearish targets – gold has the benefit of my doubt, until I call that one off. I don‘t think that would happen today.Crude OilThe one-way trip starting in Nov met its largest downswing yesterday, signifying we better get used to oil no longer moving in one direction only. Amid the reports of excess stockpiles and European lockdowns denting the demand, OPEC+ is keeping up with the production cuts, undermined largely by Iranian exports only. But look how little has the oil index ($XOI) declined – it‘s relative position shows the excessive nature of yesterday‘s move. In my view, oil would be rangebound once it bottoms, before breaking higher again. The world economy is improving, leading indicators are rising, and the only fly in the ointment are yields, and a stronger dollar pressuring emerging markets. The forces of reflation, liquidity and demand growth will outweigh this unfolding, temporary setback. SummaryS&P 500 is once again experiencing downswing, yet the VIX hasn‘t truly spiked – and neither has the put/call ratio. While there is no stampede to the exit door, the market internals have deteriorated, and may take more than a few sessions to get repaired. For one, tech is again in the driving seat.Gold has been quite resilient lately, and yesterday‘s developments also outside of the bonds arena are boding well for the $1,670 bottom hypothesis. Especially given the hints presented above, and that stock market weakness coupled with safe haven play attraction, might help here further.
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Silver, simple and effective

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 21.03.2021 10:12
Why we find Silver to be the number one hedge towards an uncertain future, an excellent investment to make stellar returns, and a simple way to protect your wealth is as follows:Precious metals have a history of perfect risk mitigation of a portfolioPrecious metals have an intrinsic tangible commodity value if held in physical formSilver is the underdog in its sector, needing to catch up with gold, providing for an additional edgeSilver is trending (now in a consolidation period – and within this consolidation strong – after a potent first trend leg up)Fundamental facts point overwhelmingly towards a strong Silver demandSilver is in the public eye, the news, creating demand in various investor and consumer classesActual proof of demand outweighing supply through the now consistently for a year divergence between spot and physical acquisition price for Silver (a 35% difference at the moment).Monthly Chart of Gold/Silver-Ratio, The turbo edge:Gold-Silver ratio, monthly chart as of March 18th, 2021.A look at the monthly chart of the Gold/Silver-Ratio above shows that historically price violations of the 40 moving average result in a move much more closer towards a median zone. Imbalance, principle-based, returning to balance. This, even with the most moderate early area of a 43.50 level (our studies show a reasonable likelihood of a value of 18), provides a turbo stack-able edge for a Silver purchase. These additional boosters for a higher likelihood of success of your investment make all the difference.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, A healthy trend:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of March 18th, 2021.The weekly chart of Silver shows that even though the last six months were one of consolidation for Silver prices, within that consolidation, there was consistent follow-through of strength for direction. You can make this out by eyeballing price within this sideways period (after the stellar advance from March 2020 to August 2020) creeping upward on the blue midline for the linear regression channel. Strong volume node price support at US$25 is now substantiated by holding through the Fed announcement this week. Consequently providing good support and low risk for more physical Silver acquisition.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Silver, simple and effective:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of March 18th, 2021.The last 50 years on a monthly Silver chart bring to light that Silver can move for substantial distances. These bull trends live above the 100-moving average. The bears have their upper hands below this average line. Silver jolted out of a six-year bear range cycle far above the 100-moving average. Consequently, probability is now on the side for Silver investors. That with quite some upside potential for the long run. We feel confident that Silver sees new all-time highs in the not-so-distant future and most likely three-digit figures not too far out as well.Silver, simple and effective:A mistake here and there is human. If you miss an entry once in a while, that’s fine. But right now, we see a tendency of hope replacing sound wealth preservation strategy. A typical move of the subconscious when exposed for too long to a stressful situation. A hopeful mindset is not a good point of origin for investing. Emotional states aren’t the best investment advisors. The future is far from clear may this be fiscal or monetary, political or economical. A simple and effective way right now is what is needed to get grounded. Consequently, finding oneself on an emotionally sound foundation to operate from.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 18th, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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After The FOMC – What's Next?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 22.03.2021 03:01
I have received numerous emails and questions regarding the market's set up and what to expect after the Triple-Witching event (FOMC, Futures/Options expiration) last week.  It appears many traders/investors are seeking some clarity related to price trends and the potential opportunities that are setting up in the US markets right now.  In this research article, my research team and I provide some greater detail related to what we believe is likely to happen over the next 5 to 8+ weeks.Our recent Gann/Fibonacci research article drew quite a bit of attention from readers.  Their biggest concern was that we were suggesting a major peak in the markets could setup in early April 2021.  We want to be clear about this longer term market setup to make sure our readers and followers fully understand the implications of this technical pattern. A peak/top could start to setup anytime after April 1, 2021, based on the Gann/Fibonacci research we've completed.  But, that peak/top setup could also happen anytime between April 2021 and August 2021 (or slightly later).  Timing this pattern is not something we can accomplish very easily as the range of dates where this Gann/Fibonacci inflection level exists consists of about 5+ months.  The one key factor we continued to stress in that article was to “watch for a technical breakdown in price above the $379 to $380 price level on the SPY”.  Many readers may be able to comprehend what we are trying to say by this statement, but we'll try to help clarify it by showing what it would look like on a price chart.Back in November 2020, we published a research article about how to spot an Excess Phase Top and the 5 unique phases that take place when this type of top executes.  You can read this article here: www.thetechnicaltraders.com/how-to-spot-the-end-of-an-excess-phase-part-ii/.  It is important to understand how capital continues to seek out opportunities within any market trend and how the current shift away from the NASDAQ and into the Dow Jones, Russell 2000 and other various sectors has started to shift the way the markets are reacting right now.  We are seeing more weakness in the Technology and Internet sector now than we've seen in almost a decade.  This could be setting up the first technical patterns of an Excess Phase Top already.Monthly NQ Chart Shows Excess Phase Top May Already Have StartedThe following Monthly NASDAQ chart highlights the five unique stages of an Excess Phase Peak and shows the recent weakness in the NASDAQ price trend may have already started the Phase B (Price Flagging) stage.  Within this phase, price trends moderately higher for many weeks as weakness in the bullish price trend sets up a “rollover” type of peak.  Obviously, the previous excess phase rally is stalling and traders are not yet fully aware of the risks that may continue to be present if this pattern persists.  This Phase C (Breakdown of the Flagging pattern) would prompt a move to intermediate support, which will likely become the Critical support level in the NQ that may prompt the bigger Breakdown event(See the “D” setup).So, what would price activity look like if our research is correct?  How does this translate into opportunity for traders/investors right now and what should they look for in the future?Expect Many Weeks of Flagging In The NQLet's focus on the Weekly NQ Futures chart, below, and how the price has already set up into a potential sideways Bullish Flagging trend.  The first thing we want you to focus on is the broken YELLOW bullish trend line.  We would expect any continued sideways Flagging trend to trade within the CYAN price channels we've drawn on this chart.  If this happens, we should continue to expect some moderate upside price trending throughout the sideways Flagging price channel before a bigger breakdown in price happens (as we've drawn in MAGENTA).  This is why traders and investors need to fully understand the scope of our Gann/Fibonacci research article and to understand this setup may last into July/August of 2021 before finally entering a deeper downside price trend.We profit from volatility by using non-directional options trading strategies so watch our webinar on How To Become An Options Strategy Master now!If our research is correct, the sideways Flagging trend will prompt a moderate upside price trend for many weeks (possibly 4 to 8+) before a moderate breakdown event will see price levels fall -12% to -16% - targeting #D (the critical support level).  At that point, the trend may firm up near support and begin a moderate upside price trend for many weeks or months; or we may see a technical price bounce near this level before a more immediate breakdown of price takes place.  Either way, the Breakdown Zone is where we would consider a “technical price failure” to have confirmed – validating our Gann/Fibonacci peak prediction.Currently, numerous sectors are generating new bullish trend triggers – many of which have already rallied 20 to 40% or more.  As we suggested earlier, the shift in how capital is being deployed in the markets has prompted various sectors,many of which have been overlooked over the past 12+ months,  to really begin to accelerate higher.  This is because the froth near the peak in the NASDAQ, as well as the new geopolitical landscape, has prompted traders/investors to shift focus into new opportunities in sectors they believe have continued growth opportunities.  For example, the Marijuana, Consumer Discretionary, Infrastructure and Real Estate sectors appear to be entering new bullish trends while the Technology, Healthcare, BioTech and Chip Manufacturers appear to be stalling.What this means for traders/investors is that there is still lots of opportunity to trade the best opportunities in the markets.  This is the focus of my BAN trading Strategy.  Until we see a confirmed technical breakdown in the major markets, various sectors continue to present very strong opportunities for skilled technical traders.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect this year, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  Learning to profit from these bigger trends and sector rotation will make a big difference between success and failure.  We want to be clear, we are not calling for an April 1 peak in the markets based on our Gann/Fibonacci research.  We are suggesting that a bigger “topping” pattern is already setting up in the markets and skilled technical traders should already be preparing for underlying risks related to this technical pattern.  If you are not prepared for this, then please pay attention and learn from our research. You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets.In Part II of this research article, we'll attempt to share more information about the Excess Phase Peak setup that may be setting up in the US markets and what to watch out for.  Additionally, we'll take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial chart to compare the NASDAQ setup to the INDU setup.  Where we are seeing weakness in the NASDAQ right now, the Dow Jones Industrial chart appears to show a much stronger price trend right now.Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
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Intraday Market Analysis – Finding Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.03.2021 07:50
AUDUSD tests key supportIn Australia’s worse-than-expected retail sales, traders saw not a reason to dump, but rather an opportunity to get in for cheap.After the RSI shot into the overbought territory post-FOMC, the indicator cooled off as the price came down to test the support at 0.7700.The subsequent rebound above 0.7770 was a sign that buyers are still in the business. 0.7850 is the intermediate resistance and its clearance could propel the Aussie above 0.79.On the downside, 0.7620 is the major daily support buyers should be aware of.GBPJPY tumbles after over-extensionThe BOJ’s tweak to widen the long-term rates cap to 0.25% from the previous 0.2% came off as a rate hike in disguise, sending the yen higher across the board.Technically speaking, the RSI’s bearish divergence was a warning on an overstretched rally. Zooming out on the daily chart an overbought RSI suggests a pullback towards the 20 or 30-day moving average (149.00).On the hourly chart, successive breaks below 151.30 then 150.80 have confirmed the turnaround. 151.80 is the resistance after the first round of sell-off.USDCAD breaks bearish momentumDespite an improvement in retail data, the Canadian dollar came under pressure as the price of oil tanked.The RSI divergence from last week indicated a loss of momentum in the sell-off. Then a breakout above the resistance at 1.2490 and a bullish MA cross have heightened the odds of a reversal.1.2570 is the next hurdle and a close above that level could trigger a new round of rally. In the case of a retracement, the demand zone between 1.2360 and 1.2460 may see strong buying interest.
Tide Is Turning in Stocks and Gold

Tide Is Turning in Stocks and Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.03.2021 13:51
Friday‘s session ended in a tie, but it‘s the bears who missed an opportunity to win. Markets however dialed back their doubting of the Fed, which has been apparent in the long-term Treasuries the most. One daily move doesn‘t make a trend change likely though, especially since the Mar pace of TLT decline is on par with Feb‘s and higher than in Jan. While Treasuries paused in early Mar, they‘re now once again as extended vs. their 50-day moving average as before.And that poses a challenge for interest rate sensitive stocks and to some degree also for tech - while I expect value to continue to lead over growth, technology would recover some of the lost ground on rates stabilization. And it‘s true that the $UST10Y move has been a very sharp one, more than tripling from the Aug 2020 lows.Inflation expectations are rising, and so is inflation – PPI under the hood thus far only. Financial assets are rising, perfectly reflected in (this month consolidating) commodity prices. Cost-driven inflation is in our immediate future, not one joined at the hip with job market pressures – that‘s waiting for 2022-3. The story of coming weeks and months is the stimulus avalanche hitting while the Fed still merrily ignores the bond market pressures.And stocks are going to like that – with tech participating, or at least not standing too much in the way, S&P 500 is primed to go to new highs rather shortly. Given the leadership baton being firmly in the hands of value, smallcaps are likely to outperform the 500-strong index over the coming weeks and months. The volatility index is confirming with its general downtrend, commodities, including oil, will be the 2021+ place to be in – just see how fast is Thursday‘s steep correction being reversed. I‘ll be covering black gold more often based on popular demand, so keep your questions and requests coming!The precious metals upswing goes on, and landed the yellow metal comfortably above $1,740. Not too spectacular, but the miners are still painting a bullish picture. I view the increasing appeal of the yellow metal (alongside the bullish sentiment hitting both Wall and Main Street) as part of the inflation trades, as decoupling from rising yields which increased really fast. As gold is arguably the first asset to move in advance of a key policy move, it might be sensing the Fed being forced (i.e. the markets betting against the Fed) to moderate its accomodative policy. Twist, taper – there are many ways short of raising the Fed funds rate that would help put pressure off the sliding long-dated Treasuries, not that these wouldn‘t be susceptible to move higher from oversold levels. And just like the yellow metal frontrunned the Fed before the repo crisis of autumn 2019, we might be seeing the same dynamic today as well.For the cynical and clairvoyant ones, we might sit here in 3-6 months over my notes on „the decoupling that wasn‘t“ - all because rates might snap back from the current almost 1.8% on the 10-year bond.For now, my Friday‘s words remain valid also today:(…) The greatest adjustment is arguably in the inflation projections – what and when is the Fed going to do before inflation raises its ugly head in earnest. There is still time, but the market is transitioning to a higher inflation environment already nonetheless. In moments of uncertainty that hasn‘t yet turned into sell first, ask questions later, let‘s remember the big picture. Plenty of fiscal support is hitting the economy, the Fed is very accomodative, and all the modern monetary theory inspired actions risk overheating the economy later this year. Rates are rising for the good reason of improving economy and its outlook, reflation (economic growth rising faster than inflation and inflation expectations) hasn‘t given way to all out inflation, and stocks with commodities remain in a secular bull market. We‘re in the decade of real assets outperforming paper ones, but that will become apparent only much later into the 2020s.The largely undisturbed rise in commodities got checked yesterday just as stocks did, but the higher timeframe trends (technical and fundamental drivers) hadn‘t changed, which will be apparent once the dust settles.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and InternalsFriday‘s session on understandably high volume and with some intraday volatility, closed with prices little changed. While the daily indicators are weakening, I see that as a temporary move that would be followed by higher highs in the index.Market breadth indicators are largely constructive, attesting to the broad base of the current S&P 500 advance. Even on little changed days such as Friday, both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume have risen. I wouldn‘t be concerned with the weak new highs new lows here much as the sectoral structure remains positive – both technology (XLK ETF) and value stocks (VTV ETF) have rejected further intraday declines.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have turned higher, and so did their ratio to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY). This is a positive factor for further gains in stock prices.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsThe Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) isn‘t flashing any warning signs, and continues performing as robustly as the 500-strong index. Given the stage of the bull market we‘re at, smallcaps can be expected to start outperforming at some point in the future, just the same way their underperformance was over since early Nov. As regards emerging markets, their base building accompanied with Friday‘s upswing when faced with rising yields and solid dollar, is encouraging.Gold and SilverThe gold upswing is progressing along, and the daily consolidation in the miners (GDX ETF) isn‘t an issue when compared to a stronger gold performance. Friday was also characterized by a bigger upswing in the junior miners (GDXJ ETF) than in the seniors (GDX ETF), which is positive. The overall impression is of GDX readying a breakout above late Jan and early Feb lows, which bodes well for the precious metals sector as such next – especially given that this decoupling is happening while nominal yields aren‘t truly retreating.Both silver and platinum continue their base building while copper, the key ingredient within the copper to Treasury yields ratio, keeps bullishly consolidating. Silver miners aren‘t sending signals of underperformance, which means that the precious metals upswing dynamics remain still healthy on a closing basis. As regards premarket silver weakness, putting it into context with other markets is key – thus far, it‘s the odd weak one, so I am not jumping to conclusions yet.SummaryS&P 500 trading was undecided on Friday, yet didn‘t bring any clues invalidating the bullish outlook. Volatility remains low, but the put/call ratio has risen, even without a corresponding downswing (or danger of seeing one). The Fed doubting induced pullback appears more than likely in its closing stages.Gold had another resilient week, and the precious metals upswing examination bodes well for the move higher to still continue. Miners are leading, and the yellow metal keeps breaking the spell of higher Treasury yields, supported by copper not yielding ground either.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Miners: Why Apparent Strength is Just a Facade

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.03.2021 16:41
Despite everyone saying the bottom is in, and that gold and miners are set for takeoff, the signs still point south. The real question: how low can they go?Let’s take a look at some price targets for where the GDX and GDXJ mining ETFs might land up.With the miners attempting to reclaim Pride Rock, it won’t be long until the GDX ETF is singing Hakuna Matata.Rising U.S. Treasury yields? No problem.A reinvigorated USD Index? Who cares.But while strength is often viewed through the eyes of the beholder, the GDX ETF is far from being The Lion King. Sure, its bravery in the face of familiar foes is reason for optimism. However, we’ve seen this movie before. While the recent rally may resemble Mufasa, beneath the surface, the GDX ETF’s tepid price action looks a lot like Simba.If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the GDX ETF moved to the upper level of my initial target range. However, with the Mar. 19 close eliciting a sell signal from the stochastic oscillator (the black and red lines at the bottom section of the chart), a historical reenactment (repeat of the early-2021 performance) could deliver another sharp move lower.In addition, the shape of the early-January swoon is eerily similar to today’s price action. Case in point: back in January, the GDX ETF enjoyed a material daily rally, consolidated , then sunk like a stone. Because of that, the recent move higher and a few days of back-and-forth trading ( consolidation ) is nothing to write home about.To explain, I wrote on Mar. 18:Mining stocks followed gold higher, and they moved to the upper part of my previous target area, but not yet to its upper border. As you may recall, I mentioned the possibility of GDX moving to the $34 - $35 area and my original target for this rally was slightly below $34.The GDX ETF now encountered the strongest combination of resistance areas, while the Stochastic indicator moved above the 80-level. Technically, the situation is now much more bearish in the GDX ETF chart than it was at the beginning of the year. Back in January, the GDX ETF was only at the declining blue resistance line.Now, in addition to being very close to the above-mentioned line it’s also at:The neck level of the previously broken broad head and shoulders patternThe 50-day moving averageThe previous (late-February) highs.Consequently, it’s highly likely that we’ve either just seen a top or one is close at hand.But if we’re headed for a GDX ETF cliff, how far could we fall?Well, while the S&P 500 is a key variable in the equation, there are three reasons why the GDX ETF might form an interim bottom at roughly ~$27.50 (assuming no big decline in the general stock market ):The GDX ETF previously bottomed at the 38.2% and 50.0% Fibonacci retracement levels. And with the 61.8% level next in line, the GDX ETF is likely to garner similar support.The GDX ETFs late-March 2020 high should also elicit buying pressure.If we copy the magnitude of the late-February/early-March decline and add it to the early-March bottom, it corresponds with the GDX ETF bottoming at roughly $27.50.Keep in mind though: the interim downside target is based on the assumption of a steady S&P 500 . If the stock market plunges, all bets are off. For context, when the S&P 500 plunged in March 2020, the GDX ETF fell below $17, and it took less than two weeks for it to move as low from $29.67. As a result, U.S. equities have the potential to make the miners’ forthcoming swoon all the more painful.If gold forms an interim bottom close to $1,600, this could also trigger a corrective upswing in the mining stocks, but it’s too early to say for sure whether that’s going to be the case or not.Also supporting the potential move, the GDX ETF’s head and shoulders pattern – marked by the shaded green boxes above – signals further weakness ahead.I wrote previously:Ever since the mid-September breakdown below the 50-day moving average , the GDX ETF was unable to trigger a substantial and lasting move above this MA. The times when the GDX was able to move above it were also the times when the biggest short-term declines started.(…)The most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Turning to the junior gold miners , the GDXJ ETF will likely be the worst performer during the upcoming swoon. Why so? Well, due to its strong correlation with the S&P 500, a swift correction of U.S. equities will likely sink the juniors in the process.What’s more, erratic signals from the MACD indicator epitomizes the GDXJ ETF’s heightened volatility.Please see below:To explain, I wrote on Mar. 12:The above chart is a big red warning flag for beginner investors . The flag reads: “verify the efficiency of a given tool on a given market, before applying it”.The bottom part of the above chart features the MACD indicator . Normally, when the indicator line (black) crosses its signal line (red), we have a signal. If it’s moves above the signal line, it’s a buy sign, and if it moves below it, it’s a sell sign.But.If one actually looks at what happened after the previous “buy signals” in the recent months, they will see that in 5 out of 6 cases, these “buy signals” practically marked the exact tops, thus being very effective sell signals! In the remaining case, it was a good indication that the easy part of the corrective upswing was over.I’m not only describing the above due to its educational value, but because we actually saw a “buy signal” from the MACD, which was quite likely really a sell signal.More importantly though, the MACD indicator is far from a light switch. While false buy signals often precede material drawdowns, the reversals don’t occur overnight. As a result, it’s perfectly normal for the GDXJ ETF to trade sideways or slightly higher for a few days before moving lower. This is what we saw last weekBut how low could the GDXJ ETF go?Well, just like the GDX ETF, the S&P 500 is an important variable . However, absent an equity rout, the juniors could form an interim bottom in the $34 to $36 range and if the stocks show strength, juniors could form the interim bottom higher, close to the $42.5 level. For context, the above-mentioned ranges coincide with the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement levels and the GDXJ ETF’s previous highs (including the late-March/early-April high in case of the lower target area). Thus, the S&P 500 will likely need to roll over for the weakness to persist beyond these levels.Some people (especially the permabulls that have been bullish on gold for all of 2021, suffering significant losses – directly and in missed opportunities) will say that the final bottom is already in. And this might very well be the case, but it seems highly unlikely to me. On a side note, please keep in mind that I’m neither a permabull nor a permabear for the precious metals sector, nor have I ever been. Let me emphasize that I’m currently bearish (for the time being), but earlier this month, we went long mining stocks on March 4 and exited this trade on March 11.Another reason (in addition to the myriads of signals coming not only from mining stocks, but from gold, silver, USD Index, stocks, their ratios, and many fundamental observations) is the situation in the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM), which is not yet at the levels that triggered a major reversal in the past. The Index is now back above 27. However, far from a medium-term bottom, the latest reading is still more than 17 points above the 2016 and 2020 lows.Back in 2016 (after the top), and in March 2020, the buying opportunity didn’t present itself until the $BPGDM was below 10.Thus, with sentiment still relatively elevated, it will take more negativity for the index to find the true bottom.The excessive bullishness was present at the 2016 top as well and it didn’t cause the situation to be any less bearish in reality. All markets periodically get ahead of themselves regardless of how bullish the long-term outlook really is. Then, they correct. If the upswing was significant, the correction is also quite often significant.Please note that back in 2016, there was an additional quick upswing before the slide and this additional upswing had caused the $BPGDM to move up once again for a few days. It then declined once again. We saw something similar also in the middle of 2020. In this case, the move up took the index once again to the 100 level, while in 2016 this wasn’t the case. But still, the similarity remains present.Back in 2016, when we saw this phenomenon, it was already after the top, and right before the big decline. Based on the decline from above 350 to below 280, we know that a significant decline is definitely taking place.But has it already run its course?Well, in 2016 and early 2020, the HUI Index continued to move lower until it declined below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The emphasis goes on “below” as this retracement might not trigger the final bottom. Case in point: back in 2020, the HUI Index undershot the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and gave back nearly all of its prior rally. And using the 2016 and 2020 analogues as anchors, this time around, the HUI Index is likely to decline below 231. In addition, if the current decline is more similar to the 2020 one, the HUI Index could move to 150 or so, especially if it coincides with a significant drawdown of U.S. equities.Moreover, let’s keep in mind that an unwinding of NASDAQ speculation could deliver a fierce blow to the gold miners. Back in 2000, when the dot-com bubble burst, the NASDAQ lost nearly 80% of its value, while gold miners lost more than 50% of their value.Please see below:Right now, the two long-term channels above (the solid blue and red dashed lines) show that the NASDAQ is trading well above both historical trends.Back in 1998, the NASDAQ’s last hurrah occurred after the index declined to its 200-day moving average (which was also slightly above the upper border of the rising trend channel marked with red dashed lines).And what happened in the first half of 2020? Well, we saw an identical formation.The similarity between these two periods is also evident if one looks at the MACD indicator . There has been no other, even remotely similar, situation where this indicator would soar so high.Furthermore, and because the devil is in the details, the gold miners’ 1999 top actually preceded the 2000 NASDAQ bubble bursting. It’s clear that miners (the XAU Index serves as a proxy) are on the left side of the dashed vertical line, while the tech stock top is on its right side. However, it’s important to note that it was stocks’ slide that exacerbated miners’ decline. Right now, the mining stocks are already declining, and the tech stocks continue to rally. Two decades ago, tech stocks topped about 6 months after miners. This might spoil the party of the tech stock bulls, but miners topped about 6 months ago…Also supporting the 2000 analogue, today’s volume trends are eerily similar. If you analyze the red arrows on the chart above, you can see that the abnormal spike in the MACD indicator coincided with an abnormal spike in volume. Thus, mounting pressure implies a cataclysmic reversal could be forthcoming.Interestingly, two decades ago, miners bottomed more or less when the NASDAQ declined to its previous lows, created by the very first slide. We have yet to see the “first slide” this time. But, if the history continues to repeat itself and tech stocks decline sharply and then correct some of the decline, when they finally move lower once again, we might see THE bottom in the mining stocks. Of course, betting on the above scenario based on the XAU-NASDAQ link alone would not be reasonable, but if other factors also confirm this indication, this could really take place.Either way, the above does a great job at illustrating the kind of link between the general stock market and the precious metals market that I expect to see also this time. PMs and miners declined during the first part of the stocks’ (here: tech stocks) decline, but then they bottomed and rallied despite the continuation of stocks’ freefall.Even more ominous, the MACD indicator is now eliciting a clear sell signal . And displaying a reading that preceded the dot-com bust in 2000, the NASDAQ Composite – and indirectly, the PMs – continue to sail toward the perfect storm.As further evidence, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio has broken below critical support.Please see below:When the line above is rising, it means that the HUI Index is outperforming the S&P 500. When the line above is falling, it means that the S&P 500 is outperforming the HUI Index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the ratio has broken below its rising support line. For context, the last time a breakdown of this magnitude occurred, the ratio plunged from late-2017 to late-2018. Thus, the development is profoundly bearish.For further context, the ratio is mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in early 2018. After breaking below its rising support line, the ratio rallied back to the initial breakdown level (which then became resistance) before suffering a sharp decline. And with two-thirds of the analogue already complete today – with the ratio rallying back to its initial breakdown level (now resistance) last week – a sharp reversal could occur sooner rather than later.In addition, because last week’s bounce was merely a technical development, the HUI Index’s recent strength is nothing to write home about. What’s more, the early-2018 top in the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio is precisely when the USD Index began its massive upswing. Thus, with history likely to rhyme again, the outlook for the PMs remains profoundly bearish.Moreover, please note that the HUI to S&P 500 ratio broke below the neck level (red, dashed line) of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern and it verified this breakdown by moving temporarily back to it. The target for the ratio based on this formation is at about 0.05 (slightly above it). Consequently, if the S&P 500 doesn’t decline at all (it just closed the week at 3913.10), the ratio at 0.05 would imply the HUI Index at about 196. However, if the S&P 500 declined to about 3,200 or so (its late-2020 lows) and the ratio moved to about 0.05, it would imply the HUI Index at about 160 – very close to its 2020 lows.In conclusion, with the miners’ recent confidence likely to fade, it’s only a matter of time before they show their true colors. With the USD Index raring to go and U.S. Treasury yields seemingly exploding on a daily basis, the PMs recent move higher is akin to swimming against a strengthening current: while they’re making progress, each stroke requires more and more energy. In addition, if a drawdown of U.S. equities enters the equation, the metaphor will be akin to swimming against a tsunami. The bottom line? Long positions in the PMs offers more risk than reward over the next several weeks or so. However, once the medium-term climax is complete, it will be smooth sailing once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

After The Fed Week – What's Next? Part II

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 22.03.2021 18:41
In the first part of this research article, we shared more detail related to the Excess Phase Peak technical pattern that is setting up in the NASDAQ and to highlight the validity of our Gann/Fibonacci Technical research which suggested a peak in the markets may set up sometime after April 1, 2021.  We've received many questions and comments from our readers and followers related to these articles.  Many people seem to believe we are calling for an April 1 market peak based on this research, yet the technical patterns we are highlighting suggest a longer-term market peak may already be setting up. In this second part of our more detailed “what next” article, my research team and I will highlight exactly why we believe traders and investors need to be prepared for an extended technical topping pattern and how it will likely set up over the next 60 to 90+ days.  Let's continue our research from Part I and go into more detail related to this technical setup.In Part I, we focused on the NASDAQ and how the recent downside price rotation may align with our Gann/Fibonacci research as well as align with the Excess Phase Topping pattern highlighted in our November 2020 research.  Now, we're going to focus on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and our Custom US Stock Market Index showing how these two market sectors have yet to react like the NASDAQ already has.Dow Jones Has Yet To Break Key Price ChannelLooking at the chart below, we can see that the INDU has yet to break the YELLOW upward price trend line.  We  have not seen price move below this support channel yet, thus we don't have any confirmation that a weakening in price trend is taking place.  In fact, recently the INDU has rallied higher over the last few weeks as capital has shifted away from the NASDAQ and into various other sectors. Next, we believe the INDU still has another 3% to 5% to rally further before reaching the GREEN 1.618% Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc on the chart below.  This suggests the INDU may continue to rally a bit further before reaching resistance while the NASDAQ may attempt a more moderate price rally within the sideways (#B) Flagging channel.  This setup suggests the INDU and SPY have not yet reacted to price weakness like the NASDAQ already has.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!We've drawn a MAGENTA line on this chart highlighting what we believe a “technical breakdown” in price will look like for the INDU.  First, a rollover top sets up, prompting a downward price trend to set up the sideways Flagging trend.  After 4 to 8+ weeks of sideways Flagging, a broad downtrend will take place where price will fall -10% to -15% - targeting the CYAN support level near $29,000.  Much like the NASDAQ, this critical support level is the last line of defense before a bigger breakdown in price may occur – possibly resulting in a very deep price correction.Custom US Stock Market Index Chart Mirrors INDUThis final Custom US Stock Market Index Weekly chart, below, shows a similar type of setup as the INDU.  These Custom Index charts are tools we use to help gauge the overall market trends and possible technical setups.  They help to normalize price trends and variances between the major US indexes and provide a different perspective of price on a chart.The first thing we notice when looking at this chart is that the Custom US Stock Market Index has yet to break the YELLOW upward price channel – just like the INDU chart.  Secondly, we can see the Custom US Stock Market Index chart is much closer to the heavy MAGENTA Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc than the INDU chart is – this suggests there may only be a 3% to 5% upside potential left in the markets related to any potential rally attempt.  Readers need to understand this does not mean that markets are limited to +3% to +5% at this stage – many sectors may trend +10% or more while the Custom US Stock Market Index chart rallies only 1.5% or so.  The stock market is a “market of stocks” - not a single entity related to the Custom US Stock Market Index chart.  Therefore, we may see various rally ranges in various sectors while we see more muted trends in some of these major indexes.The last thing we want to point out on this chart is the Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc that originates from February 2020 (pre-COVID-19 highs).  It appears there is a high likelihood of a weakening uptrend on this chart after April 15, 2021.  It also appears there is a likely APEX inflection point near May 5 through May 10.  This APEX in price may become a key date for a potential breakdown in the trend on this Custom US Stock Market Index chart.Overall, what we are seeing on this chart is that we have yet to break below the YELLOW upward price trend line and we are nearing the key Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc levels – this suggests the markets may be nearing a period of consolidation and/or weakening upward price trending. The key to all of these setups is the process of the Excess Phase Peak setup - where price must complete the four phases (A through D) before finally attempting a larger breakdown event (#E).Additionally, traders should stay keenly aware that various sectors will likely continue to trend in wide ranges with varying degrees of trend slopes while this extended pattern continues to setup.  On this Custom US Stock Market Index chart, we are suggesting that the #C breakdown event (targeting #D), may take place in July or August 2021.  This suggests we have about 3+ months of rotational sideways trending to navigate before the extended Excess Phase Peak #C breakdown event takes place.As these trends continue to setup, we want you to understand how various opportunities for trend will continue to setup over the next few months in various sectors and indexes.  These price rotations will likely prompt 8% to 25% price trends in a number of the best performing sectors and symbols.  The key to finding and targeting this success is to know which sectors/trends are have the highest probability for success.  That is what our Best Asset Now strategy does for us – it shows us when to engage with the market trends and which assets are the best performing assets to invest in.Don't miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months.  2021 and beyond are going to be incredible years for traders.  What we expect to see is not the same type of market trend that we have experienced over the past 8+ years – this is a completely different set of market dynamics. You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribersHave a great week!
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – Awaiting A Breakout

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.03.2021 07:47
EURUSD consolidates near the support area The US dollar stayed subdued as Treasury yields retreated on Monday, relieving pressure on its European counterpart. The pair has fallen back from the double top at 1.1990 after it went into an overbought situation. The euro is looking for support while hovering above the major demand area around 1.1830. The current consolidation is an opportunity to build up momentum. The resistance at 1.1990 is a tough nut to crack but a bullish breakout could send the price towards 1.2050. GER 30 retreats after being overbought Equity markets are treading water at the start of the week as investors remain cautious about the inflation outlook. The DAX 30 has pulled back from the all-time high at 14810 after the RSI continuously ventured into the overbought area. Instead of chasing the momentum buyers may likely wait for a discount before jumping on the trend. The previous low at 14400 coincides with the rising trendline and could be a key zone of congestion where trend-followers would bid up the index. USOIL recovers from daily support The oil price has recouped some losses from concerns about vaccine rollouts and new lockdowns in parts of Europe. The RSI has recovered into the neutral zone as the price found support in the demand area around 58.50 on the daily chart. WTI is now at a crossroad as a deeper retracement could trigger a reversal. Otherwise, what is happening could be a mere three-wave correction. As for now, the 38.2% Fibonacci level (62.00) is the next resistance. The uptrend may only resume if buyers can push through 64.80 once again.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Dangerous Game of Chicken

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.03.2021 15:32
Monday‘s higher stock prices don‘t mean that the sky is the limit now – there were quite a few signs of weakness in related markets as well. The put/call ratio moved lower agains, and so did VIX. But it‘s the market internals that are the giveaway sign – technology has been the predictable upswing driver, reflecting my yesterday‘s thoughts on the rising yields pressure:(…) One daily move doesn‘t make a trend change likely though, especially since the Mar pace of TLT decline is on par with Feb‘s and higher than in Jan. While Treasuries paused in early Mar, they‘re now once again as extended vs. their 50-day moving average as before.And that poses a challenge for interest rate sensitive stocks and to some degree also for tech - while I expect value to continue to lead over growth, technology would recover some of the lost ground on rates stabilization. And it‘s true that the $UST10Y move has been a very sharp one, more than tripling from the Aug 2020 lows.We got that reprieve yesterday, and tech jumped on board enthusiastically, while other usual beneficiaries didn‘t – utilities didn‘t move, but at least consumer staples swung higher. Coupled with the value stocks mostly treading water yesterday, it makes for a weak daily market breadth. The key events of today and tomorrow are the Congress testimonies – while Powell is set to downplay inflation, inflation expectations and still overall elevated / rising long-dated Treasury yields, it‘s my view that the market is again squaring the bets, best seen in the commodities lately (think Thursday and today) – but I look for the Fed to project the same messaging it did on Wednesday, and perhaps double down on it.I don‘t view the market as in danger of a deflationary collapse, not when the stimulus avalanche is hitting and the Fed is reluctant to change course. I am not looking for them to telegraphs such a turn today or in the weeks to come, and that would mean recovery in the commodity prices.Gold is an island of relative, temporary peace, but the miners are concerningly weakening – both gold and silver ones. Darkening clouds here regardless of the support the copper to 10-year Treasury yields can offer. Still, the yellow metal has decoupled from rising nominal yields to a remarkable degree lately.Let‘s quote yesterday‘s observations:(…) As gold is arguably the first asset to move in advance of a key policy move, it might be sensing the Fed being forced (i.e. the markets betting against the Fed) to moderate its accomodative policy. Twist, taper – there are many ways short of raising the Fed funds rate that would help put pressure off the sliding long-dated Treasuries, not that these wouldn‘t be susceptible to move higher from oversold levels. And just like the yellow metal frontrunned the Fed before the repo crisis of autumn 2019, we might be seeing the same dynamic today as well.For the cynical and clairvoyant ones, we might sit here in 3-6 months over my notes on „the decoupling that wasn‘t“ - all because rates might snap back from the current almost 1.8% on the 10-year bond.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookBoth the volume and upper knot are short-term suspect on yesterday‘s S&P 500 upswing – I wouldn‘t be surprised by continued consolidation unless the testimonies today and tomorrow, bring a game changer.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF), and the volume comparison to preceding day looks here better than in stocks. Still, it can‘t be said the move either in HYG or in investment grade corporate bonds (LQD) was a bullish rush. These two markets merely joined in the long-dated Treasuries recovery, not signalling return of animal spirits.Technology, Financials and UtilitiesSuch a sectoral view of rising tech (XLK ETF), for a few sessions weakening financials (XLF ETF) and unconvinced utilities (XLU ETF) isn‘t a bullish constellation to drive the 500-strong index reliably ahead at breakneck speed really.Gold in the SpotlightSimilarly to Mar 12, the precious metals upswing is being challenged – miners (GDX ETF) are underperforming. Today‘s session will tell whether we‘re witnessing consolidation, or a renewed rollover to the downside, the chances of which have risen yesterday.The weekly view remains positive – the pace of gold‘s decline became less sensitive to nominal yields move, turning higher before these did, and currently not making much headway. Still, that‘s arguably the clearest sign of the turning tide in the gold market.Silver, Silver Miners and CopperSilver is getting under pressure on rising volume, and its miners are declining too, highlighting increasing risks to the white metal. Disregarding today‘s premarket action, that alone makes it worthwhile to dial back (take profits off the table) in the long silver short gold spread I introduced you to on Feb 12. It‘s that the degree of momentary commodities underperformance looks like taking a meaningful toll on the white metal (and that concerns oil as well, which would turn short-term bearish with a breakdown below $57 to $57.50 on a closing basis and on high volume without a prominent lower knot.SummaryS&P 500 upswing isn‘t as strong as it might seem, and today‘s deceptively small downswing has the potential to turn ugly on Fed missteps. Seeing these happen, I don‘t view as a leading scenario for today or tomorrow, however.Gold and for that matter silver bulls too, have to prove shortly that the upswing isn‘t taking more than a pause – that is, that it isn‘t rolling over. The signals from the commodities space aren‘t encouraging, and platinum trading isn‘t helping to clarify the outlook for today‘s session either.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – Bearish Breakout

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.03.2021 07:31
GBPUSD cuts through major supportThe pound saw fresh sell-off despite a fall in the UK’s unemployment rate as average earnings, an indication of inflation remained subpar.Two failed attempts to breach the psychological level of 1.4000 have put the short side back in control. The bearish breakout below 1.3800 has intensified the selling pressure by triggering stop-losses and would call 1.3650 as the next target.In the meantime, as the RSI dipped into the oversold area, a brief pullback to around 1.3850 might fill more sell orders.XAUUSD breaks out of consolidation rangeGold came under pressure as the US dollar claws back losses from previous sessions.On the daily chart, the price is entangled between the 20 and 30-day moving averages which act as resistance after the February sell-off.Zooming into the hourly chart, the precious metal has been struggling near the supply area 1750-55.The narrowing trading range between the resistance and the rising trendline is a prelude to a breakout, and a close below 1728 would resume the downtrend with 1700 as the target.SPX 500 slides on profit-takingAs a reminiscence of the trade war, brewing international tensions with China could derail investor sentiment once again. After a two-week-long rally, the S&P 500 has retreated from its peak at 3989 in search of stronger support.Divergence between the price action and the RSI was a sign of exhaustion. Then successive breakouts below 3936 and 3911 prompted short-term traders to take profit.The latest rally could be a dead cat bounce unless it achieves a new high. To the downside, 3860 would be the next stop.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Bitcoin, no genius required

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 24.03.2021 09:44
Why do we mention this? Bitcoin is in a massive uptrend right now, and we are about to see another leg up. Typically, the choice of participating or staying sidelined is with more minor consequences than this time around. We are in a wealth transferring market cycle. An event happening typically every 93 years. An event at the end of a fiat currency dissolving into hyperinflation and leaving many in despair. E.g. have you noticed your grocery bill being over 20% higher and mass media not mentioning it? Get informed and not mislead and do not wrongly be instructed that this bitcoin ship has sailed and there are no ways to participate at these levels. They will look timid in a few years to come.S&P-500 Index, Weekly Chart, Warning signs of a larger cycle ending:S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 19th, 2021.We posted a similar to the above chart on February 19th in our weekly Silver chartbook to indicate a possible extended stock market with a more than typical retracement possibility.S&P-500 Index, Weekly Chart, Double top with Indicator divergence confirmation:S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 22nd, 2021.Now only five weeks later, we see the first possible cracks. The weekly chart shows a possible directional change with divergences in both a directional indicator (Stochastic in yellow) and a momentum oscillator (Commodity Channel index in white), confirming this suspicion through divergences. Hence, we might get a trend reversal over the next few weeks or months. BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Possible breakout (Short to midterm):Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 23rd, 2021.While due to the need to cover margin calls an actual market crash would temporarily drag all asset classes down, in the early stages of a trend direction change, money would flow from the stock market into safety asset classes like Bitcoin. The chart above shows Bitcoin in a consolidation phase that looks to resolve through a breakout to the upside. Besides, we find fractal volume transaction support at the US$50,870 price level.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin, no genius required:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 22nd, 2021.The weekly chart of Bitcoin illustrates the health of the recent trend extension. Price is trading above directional support (yellow trendline) and within the norm of Fibonacci retracement levels.Bitcoin, no genius required:Systems promising more than a hundred percent returns earned within a year, sell at exorbitant prices. You do not need to have such returns as compound interest takes very well care for those getting consistent. Why would vendors sell these unique methodologies instead of making their own fortunes with them?In short, you need high-quality principle-based guidelines, apply hard work and be independent of the good opening of others versus getting fooled by “rich quick” schemes and fool’s gold promises. There is no genius required, just good old hard work like in any other field that requires mastery for competition level.If trading were a mathematical competition, we would find all rocket scientists to be the winners in this game. But the is far from the truth. Instead, it is precisely the opposite based on a simple principle distinction. The mathematical mind seeks a precise and optimal solution. It aims at a reduction to a constant. This approach fails the high degree of aspects defining the human psyche and all the grey zones that come with it. It is much more essential to find a trading approach that fits your personality.Consequently, eliminate any system purchase. One needs to work refining one’s own path. One needs to find a niche in the time frame, market, and volatility to one’s specific personal makeup.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 23rd, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Why Retreating Yields Don‘t Lift All Boats

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.03.2021 15:09
Stocks declined but won‘t they run higher next? Tuesday‘s downswing changed precious little, and the Congressional testimony was a non-event. The key happening was in long-dated Treasuries, which rose yet again – the much awaited rebound is here, and brings consequences to quite a few S&P 500 sectors.The index is likely to advance, but the engine is going to be tech this time – not value stocks. I view this as a deceptive, fake strength in the bull market leadership passing over to value inevitably next. That‘s why I expect the S&P 500 advance to unfold still, a bit rockier than it could have been otherwise. This will hold true for as long as TLT is at least somewhat rising:(…) technology would recover some of the lost ground on rates stabilization. ...the $UST10Y move has been a very sharp one, more than tripling from the Aug 2020 lows.Technology though declined yesterday, and so did value stocks. Many markets went through selloffs yesterday, among commodities most notably oil. While nothing has substantially changed, we got a serious whiff of risk-off environment, pertaining precious metals too.Especially concerning was the miners underperformance, given that none of the moves indicated accumulation within the sector. Reason number two to expect PMs short-term vulnerability was ignorance of retreating yields that stretches a bit further below what can be viewed as a run of the mill PMs upswing correction. A short-term crack in the TLT decoupling dam that can still be reversed even though it doesn‘t look likely at the moment – better not to wave it off it though.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookRegardless of yesterday‘s setback, the outlook in stocks hasn‘t changed. Once the current corrective move is over and value reassumes leadership, expect the gains to be more pronounced than what we would experience rather shortly.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) moved higher, and in the latter, the upswing was backed by a rising volume. The bond markets are coming back into favor, taking a little luster off the stock market appeal on the daily basis.Nowhere is yields influence better seen than in financials (XLF ETF), which give the impression of expecting futher retreat in yields, and haven‘t thus far reached any meaningful support. That would provide headwinds to the S&P 500 advance, especially as it translates into other cyclicals.Gold and SilverGiven the above chart, my yesterday‘s words ring even truer seeing Tuesday‘s closing prices:(…) Similarly to Mar 12, the precious metals upswing is being challenged – miners (GDX ETF) are underperforming. Today‘s session will tell whether we‘re witnessing consolidation, or a renewed rollover to the downside, the chances of which have risen yesterday.The bearish turn is just as visible in silver and silver miners, and it would be premature to declare it a bullish divergence. Given that silver bulls didn‘t attempt a rebound, and volume isn‘t consistent with capitulation, the risks to the downside materially increased.Precious Metals and CopperThe full precious metals sector got under serious pressure yesterday, and so did copper. Given the upswing having rolled over to the downside yesterday (especially when viewed through $HUI:$GOLD metrics), the bulls have to prove themselves through a stronger action than a dead cat bounce.SummaryS&P 500 upswing has better prospects of continuing than not, and the volatility and put/call ratio readings confirm we aren‘t in for a true setback really. The stock bull market is far from having made a top, and will continue grinding higher.Gold and silver decline going hand in hand with even weaker miners, means that the upswing was effectively ended – the only thing that can bring it back, is renewed miners outperformance and expected alignment of the yellow metal to Treasury yield moves, which is absent at the moment.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Mining ETFs: Headed for Their Next Slide?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.03.2021 16:34
The mining ETFs (the GDX and GDXJ) have hit resistance and look tired. After their corrective rally, a slide looks promising. The miners are done correcting and if they were at a water amusement park, would they head for the lazy river? How about the wave pool? Nah… they’d be headed straight for the slides. If you’ve been waiting for a high-quality sign that the next big move in the precious metals sector is underway – you just got it.There are days on the markets when nothing happens, there are days when what happens is visible only to some ( like Monday’s session ), and there are days when the market’s signals are crystal-clear – as if the charts were practically screaming at the person examining them. Yesterday, was one of the latter kind of days.Without further ado, let’s take a look at the key development that we just saw in the precious metals’ world – the big decline in the GDX ETF – proxy for mining stocks.After the tiny breakdown that I described yesterday (Mar. 24), the GDX ETF declined significantly, and it even opened the session with a price gap. If you look at the left side of the chart, you’ll see that this is the way in which the big January decline started. In the next 2 months, the value of the GDX ETF declined by over $8.But is the corrective upswing really over? Did the move higher end at a price level that was likely to stop it? Yes, definitely so.On March 10 (when we were already long), I wrote the following :Even though gold moved lower in early March, gold miners stopped declining after reaching my target area based several techniques – most importantly the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2020 rally, and the previous lows and highs. Just as miners’ relative weakness had previously heralded declines for the entire precious metals sector, their strength meant that a rally was about to start. And that’s just what we saw yesterday (Mar. 9).Ultimately, it seems that the above corrections will result in the GDX ETF moving to about $34 or so.The resistance levels in the $34 - $35 area are provided by:The late-February 2020 highThe rising neck level of the previously completed head and shoulders patternThe analogy to how big miners’ correction was in April (assuming that the mirror similarity continues)The declining blue resistance lineThe 50-day moving averageConsequently, it makes sense for the GDX ETF to slide form here, as the corrective rally that was likely to take place is most likely already over.The clearly visible sell signal from the stochastic indicator (lower part of the chart) confirms the above as well.Having said that, let’s take a look at even bigger decline in the GDXJ ETF – proxy for junior mining stocks.While senior gold miners declined 2.54% yesterday, junior miners declined by 4.04%.The remarkable thing about both declines is that they took place almost without gold’s help. GLD ended yesterday’s session just 0.73% lower. The general stock market – another market that could temporarily impact the prices of mining stocks – declined by 0.76% yesterday.In comparison, the declines that we saw in both proxies for mining stocks were huge. This is very important , because the recent declines in the precious metals sector and the recent rallies in the precious metals sector were preceded by – respectively – the relative weakness of miners compared to gold and the relative strength of miners compared to gold.What we saw yesterday is a crystal-clear sign that the waiting for the next big move lower is over.This month’s “buy” signal from the MACD indicator seems to have once again marked a great shorting opportunity. On March 12 , I wrote the following:The above chart is a big red warning flag for beginner investors . The flag reads: “verify the efficiency of a given tool on a given market, before applying it”.The bottom part of the above chart features the MACD indicator . Normally, when the indicator line (black) crosses its signal line (red), we have a signal. If it’s moves above the signal line, it’s a buy sign, and if it moves below it, it’s a sell sign.But.If one actually looks at what happened after the previous “buy signals” in the recent months, they will see that in 5 out of 6 cases, these “buy signals” practically marked the exact tops, thus being very effective sell signals! In the remaining case, it was a good indication that the easy part of the corrective upswing was over.I’m not only describing the above due to its educational value, but because we actually saw a “buy signal” from the MACD, which was quite likely really a sell signal.I recently added that the MACD indicator is far from a light switch. While false buy signals often precede material drawdowns, the reversals don’t occur overnight. As a result, it’s perfectly normal for the GDXJ ETF to trade sideways or slightly higher for a few days before moving lower. This is what we saw last week.And yesterday, we saw the 4%+ daily slide, which means that everyone who shorted the market based on the MACD’s “buy” signal is already profitable.Once again – please remember to check whether a given technique or indicator actually worked for your favorite market before applying it and entering a trade.Another market that appears to confirm the bearish narrative is silver.Silver moved lower in a more visible manner, which might be surprising to some investors (especially those that went long based on the “ silver short squeeze ” movement almost two months ago), but it’s not surprising to me. If the history repeats itself to a considerable degree, then it’s not odd to see the same kind of performance that we saw in the similar stage of a given price move.In this case, I already discussed the self-similarity present in the silver market, and I marked the similar patterns with red rectangles. The current situation seems similar to early March 2020, when silver was just starting a major decline while being between its 50- and 200-day moving average. Let’s keep in mind that gold actually moved to a new high in early March, and silver was very far from doing so. Back then, silver underperformed, so it’s no wonder that it’s underperforming right now. While the silver shortage was the topic of the day for many days about two months ago, it seems that more bearish headlines will soon be more popular.Please note that a move below ~$24 in silver will imply that everyone who bought in late January or February, when silver was particularly popular is already in the red. As silver then moves even lower, those investors will most likely feel significant emotional pressure to sell – and some will, most likely making the decline bigger and sharper.Gold seems to have topped in the lower part of my target area and the levels reached by its price as well as the levels reached by the stochastic indicator seem to indicate that the top is indeed in.Gold reversed after failing to break above the declining short-term resistance line, relatively close to its triangle-vertex-based reversal , which is a bearish combination. The stochastic (lower part of the chart) didn’t move to the 80 level, but it was very close to it and it was the proximity of this level that was enough for the tops to form in quite a few previous cases – including the November 2020 top. Based on yesterday’s closing price, we didn’t see a sell signal in this indicator yet, but once we see just a little more weakness, we’ll get this confirmation. Based on what we saw in mining stocks yesterday, it seems that we’ll see it shortly.Right now, traders are likely taking the wait-and-see approach with regard to the USD Index. The latter just moved to its previous yearly highs. It’s already after verification of the breakout above the February highs, so it seems that it’s ready to break higher any day – or hour – now. When that happens, I expect the rally to take the USDX to at least 94, perhaps to 94.5 or 95. The September 2020 high is 94.8, so this level is the most likely upside target for the short term. I don’t think that the rally in the USD Index would end once it reaches the proximity of 95, but that’s when we might see another breather (perhaps after a breakout above this level and perhaps before the breakout, it’s too early to tell at this time).All in all, it seems that the next move lower in the precious metals market is already underway and that we’re going to see new 2021 lows in gold and mining stocks in the next several weeks or days.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

How to Stop Being Scared or Shaken Out Of Winning Trades

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 24.03.2021 23:29
The markets really frightened a lot of people in the last month. We've received lots of emails and comments from people wondering what's happening in the markets and why thedeeper downtrend didn't prompt new trade triggers. Well, the quick answer is “this downtrend did prompt new BAN trade triggers and this pullback is still quite mild compared to historical examples”. Allow me to explain my thinking.The recent FOMC meeting as well as the expiration of the future contracts usually prompts some broad market concerns. Many professional traders refuse to trade over the 7+ days near an FOMC meeting – the volatility levels are usually much higher and this can throw some trading strategies into chaos. Our BAN Trader Pro strategy handles volatility quite well most of the time.Recently, theBAN Trader Pro strategyinitiated new trade triggers of subscribers and myself. Our members are engaged in the best-performing assets for the potential upside price rally that may take place over the next couple of months. Our strategies target opportunities based on proven quantitative technology – not emotions and use proven position management to maximize gains while reducing drawdowns.Transportation Index Daily Chart Is BullishThis leading index shows early strength in the market with an upside target of $14,668. That is a 3.5%-4.5% upside move ahead of us.Recently, we've seen some substantial support in the Transportation Index that aligns with our BAN Trader Pro strategy. The rally in the Transportation Index, which usually leads the US economy by at least 2 to 4 months, suggests the markets are actively seeking out a support level/momentum base for another rally phase. Using a Fibonacci Extension tool, we can clearly see the TRAN has another 3.5% to 4.5% to rally before reaching the 100% measured move target near $14,668. This level represents a full 100% rally phase equaling the initial rally from levels near $12,000 which started back in February 2021.Dow Jones Industrial Index Daily Chart is BullishThe Dow Jones Industrial Average has already reached the 100% Fibonacci Measured move – and broken above that level. If the markets rally from this recent pullback, webelieve a 4% to 5%+ rally in the Dow index is very possible. This type of bullish price trend suggests a target level near $34,000.One thing, many traders fail to consider is these 4% to 5% rallies in the Transportation Index and/or the Dow Jones Industrial Average will likely prompt an 8% to 20%+ rally in some of the best-performing assets/sectors. For example, after the bottom in early February, during a time when the index rallied less than 1%, the best-performing assets we tracked rallied more than 7% to 25%. The strength of these top-performing sectors/symbols can be very powerful – even while the US major indexes are drifting sideways.If the Transportation and Dow Index rally 4% or more over the next few weeks, then some of the best performing sectors will strong gains in our favor. It depends on how strong these top-performing sectors react to the underlying momentum associated with each symbol though.How to Avoid Emotional Trading DecisionsTrading based on emotions can lead to early, and sometimes foolish, entry and exits of positions. The market has a way of faking/shaking price which often prompt traders to react to the 2% to 4% swings in the markets as if they are catastrophic. Some of the best advice we can offer active traders other than becoming part of our trading group and pre-market analysis and trade alerts are..._ Trust your system/strategy and follow it from entry to exit trigger._ Define your risks and run the strategy efficiently_ Develop ways to identify andresolve strategy failure early and often_ Trading involves risks – learn to execute the strategy within your risk parameters (position sizing)_ Don't let emotions control you. Trade rules should protect you during high & low volatility conditions.If you don't have a strategy and can't see yourself sticking to these simple rules, then maybe it is time to find a better strategy or to attempt to develop some of these tactics into your existing strategy. You can follow me to success with my ETF Swing Trading Strategy, or our Options Trading Strategy at any time if you want all the work done for you.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now|soyou don’t miss our next special report!Far too many people get lucky with a strategy then leverage their trading because they feel they will never fail. Failure of any strategy, often represented as the largest drawdown amount, should be multiplied by at least 3x when comparing risks. Just because your strategy showed one period of drawdown representing a -$5,500 loss does not mean that type of price activity is an isolated event. That type of drawdown could happen repeatedly, over a very short period of time, representing a -$16,500loss.The strongest strategy components are those that help to contain losses, manage risks and allow for the protection of capital. Remember, “living to trade another day” is far more important than huge gains off of one or two trades followed by a string he big losers that blow up your account.In closing, get ready for a recovery in stock prices. With the indexes poised to move higher by another 3.5% - 5% before reaching the next 100% measured move suggests some sectors will post spectacular gains. Don't let emotions dictate your decisions – run your strategy (or find a better strategy to trade with). The best performing sectors/symbols usually continue to outperform the US major indexes when trending higher.Don't miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months. 2021 and beyond are going to be incredible years for traders and investors. Staying ahead of these sector trends is going to be key to developing continued success. As some sectors fail, others will begin to trend higher. Learn how BAN Trader Pro can help you spot the best trade setups and deliver alerts to your phone and inbox.We've built this technology to help us identify the strongest and best trade setups in any market sector. Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the BAN Trader Pro system trades. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Risk-off Is Back Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.03.2021 15:44
Stocks reversed yesterday, and the close below 3,900 indicates short-term weakness instead of muddling through in a tight range. Especially the sectoral reaction to still retreating yields, is worrying. Yesterday‘s session means a reality check for prior reasonable expectations:(…) The index is likely to advance, but the engine is going to be tech this time – not value stocks. I view this as a deceptive, fake strength in the bull market leadership passing over to value inevitably next. That‘s why I expect the S&P 500 advance to unfold still, a bit rockier than it could have been otherwise. Tech faltered yesterday, and neither the other sectors were convincing. Rotation within stocks didn‘t work yesterday or the day before, and that‘s short-term concerning for the stock market bull health – as in, the path ahead would be truly rockier, and accompanied by brief, sharp selloffs such as the one bringing S&P 500 futures to 3,865 moments ago. The bull market isn‘t though over by a long shot – all we‘re going through is a recalibration of the rising inflation – I still stand by my year end call for $SPX at 4200.It‘s commodities that are under the greatest pressure now, and the copper and oil signals doesn‘t bode well for the immediate future. These are likely starting consolidation of post-Nov 2020 sharp gains – they are no longer frontrunning inflation expectations. This has also consequences for silver, which is more vulnerable here than the yellow metal now.Gold is again a few bucks above its volume profile $1,720 support zone, and miners aren‘t painting a bullish picture. Resilient when faced with the commodities selloff, but weak when it comes to retreating nominal yields. The king of metals looks mixed, but the risks to the downside seem greater than those of catching a solid bid.That doesn‘t mean a steep selloff in a short amount of time just ahead – rather continuation of choppy trading with bursts of selling here and there. What could change my mind? Decoupling from rising TLT yields returning – in the form of gold convincingly rising when yields move down. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookWhile yesterday‘s volume isn‘t consistent with a true reversal, it still says we‘re not done with the downside, which however shouldn‘t reach all too far. Force index on the other hand, looks as starting its decline, so the short-term picture is mixed. Whether the 50-day moving average test would lead to a rebound, is an open question – but I think it will.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio gave up all of yesterday‘s gains, but isn‘t leaving stocks as extended here. Much depends upon whether squaring the risk-on bets would continue, or not. Both stocks and the ratio appear consolidating here, and not rolling over to the downside.Technology and FinancialsTechnology (XLK ETF) showing weakness while financials (XLF ETF) aren‘t yet ready to run – that‘s a fair description of the moment. What‘s most concerning, is the tech weakness on still rising long-term Treasuries.Treasuries and Inflation ExpectationsVolume behind the TLT upswing is drying up, and S&P 500 sectors are sensing another turn to the downside. Utilities aren‘t getting anywhere while $NYFANG is as weak as could reasonably be, which doesn‘t bode well for stocks.Commodities showed daily resilience as inflation trades meekly turned around – but make no mistake, inflation expectations runup appear getting questioned on a short-term basis, and the more volatile commodities feel that.Gold and MinersThe precious metals sector remains under pressure, and the renewed and visible miners underperformance highlights that. Yesterday‘s gold upswing happened on lower volume than the preceding downswing, adding to the woes. Silver though remains more vulnerable to the downside than gold, and miners aren‘t painting a bullish picture at all.SummaryWith the tech underperformance returning to the fore, the S&P 500 is short-term exposed, but the momentarily elevated put/call ratio looks as marking not too much downside left as prices approach the 50-day moving average. Once value stocks turn upwards, the stock bull market would be running again.Until gold and silver miners show outperformance again, both metals remain vulnerable to short-term downside – silver more so than gold, which could catch a bid as a safe haven play. But should gold strength return on declining yields, that would be another missing ingredient in the precious metals bull market.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Have Commodities Peaked? We doubt it

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 25.03.2021 19:47
While everyone was paying attention to the FOMC, Gold & Silver, and the Treasury Yields, it appears the recent commodity rally trend took a big hit on Thursday, March 18, 2021.  Our guess is that the FOMC statement did nothing to support the continued commodity price rally as the US Fed continued with near-zero interest rates and economic support through 2023.  The rally in commodities was likely based on expectations of a much stronger economic recovery as the COVID vaccines take the pressure off economic shutdowns and further restrictive economic conditions, but that may not be the case.Commodities Rollover May Be Misleading TradersThe rollover in commodities suggests the markets are reacting to renewed expectations, post-FOMC.  They may continue to consolidate near support (near $16.30) before attempting to move higher as traders digest the Fed comments and fall back into economic recovery expectations.  Any move below $16.00 as seen on the chart below may likely prompt a consolidation phase within historical support channels (see the Weekly DBC chart below).Commodities Attempting to Base Near SupportThe following weekly DBC chart shows how the COVID-19 event collapsed commodity prices and how they've just recently rallied back to levels above the pre-COVID price range – above $15.00. When we start to look at longer-term trends, we start to see a number of key price levels that become important technical factors related to future trends.  The support levels that setup in 2019, pre-COVID, are still very valid current support levels for commodities.  If a continued economic recovery takes place, DBC will likely find support above $15 and then begin another rally phase targeting prices above $19 to $20.  This current rollover in commodity prices may be nothing more than a pause in price before another rally starts.Commodities Break Major Monthly Price ChannelLastly, looking at the Monthly DBC chart, below, highlights the very long-term price trends and what becomes immediately evident is that price has recently broken above the RED downward sloping price channel line. The momentum of the price rally that recently broke this downward price channel was strong enough to pierce this downward sloping channel – and it would not be uncommon for price to pause after this price breach.  The YELLOW support levels, from the weekly DBC chart, continue to confirm the $15 to $16 as active support.  Any price rotation or pause near this level will likely hold within this support range before attempting another move higher.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals nowso you don’t miss our next special report!We targeted price lows from 2012~2014 as a potential upside price target if the rally phase continues.  After breaking the major downward sloping price trend, it is very likely that once DBC prices rally above $18.50, a continued rally phase may target the $25 price level with an extended run over many months.Historically, a rally in commodities does not always prompt a rally in the US major indexes.  In 2007~08, commodities rallied extensively while the US stock market collapsed.  In 2010~11, commodities rallied as the US stock market rallied more than 27%.  In 2016~2018, commodities rallied as the US stock market rallied more than 62%.  The current breakout above the RED longer-term price channel suggests we may see a stock market rally aligned with a commodity price rally based on the recent comments by the US Fed.  Unless a major credit market or other catastrophic event takes place, we believe this upward trend in commodities may prompt an extended recovery rally in both commodities and the US stock market.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect this year, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and manage positions for maximum profits from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets, and this year we see a change in leading sectors taking place from what they were last year.For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with educational daily market video, updates, research, and my trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist, which ranks the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my subscribers.Happy Trading!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Double Top Breakout

John Benjamin John Benjamin 26.03.2021 07:03
USDCHF rallies above double top The US dollar continues its advance against the Swiss franc after solid GDP growth last month. The buck’s previous bounce from the 20-day moving average (0.9220) and then a close above 0.9300 have put the uptrend back on track. The bullish breakout above the double top at 0.9375 would trigger a new round of rally. An overbought RSI may lead to a brief pullback where the pair would be looking to gain momentum. If that happens the former resistance area around 0.9350 would be the support to monitor. USDNOK rises along the trendline Sliding oil prices have forced the crude-dependent Norwegian krone to take a backseat. The dollar has been grinding up along a week-long rising trendline. Lifting offers around the previous top at 8.6700 has confirmed that buyers are still in control. An RSI in the neutrality area suggests there is still room on the upside and a bullish breakout above 8.6800 could lead to a broader rally. In the case of a pullback, the demand zone between 8.5400 and 8.5800 could see strong bids from trend followers. EURJPY bounces off major support Tensions around the EU’s vaccine supply have put a strain on the euro as traders rush into a safer Japanese yen. The pair has broken below the 30-day moving average, a bearish movement that could trigger an extended consolidation if not an outright reversal. On the hourly chart, after being oversold, price action is making an attempt to rebound from 128.20. 129.20 is a key area of congestion as it coincides with the falling trendline. Needless to say, traders would try to sell into strength as the pair recovers.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Is Silver the New Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.03.2021 14:30
Many analysts expect silver to outperform gold this year. It’s possible, but investors shouldn’t count on improving economic conditions and industrial demand.Silver has recently become a hot investment theme. For months, if not years, some analysts claimed that silver is undervalued relative to gold. Then, at the beginning of 2021, Reddit revolutionaries tried to trigger a short squeeze in silver. Although that attempt failed, silver has, so far, clearly been outperforming gold this year , as the chart below shows. So, is silver now a better investment than gold?Well, why would it be? After all, many investors buy silver for the same reasons that they purchase gold – it’s a rare, monetary metal which may be used as an inflation hedge , a safe-haven asset against tail risks , or a portfolio diversifier . It’s just cheaper than gold – and this is why it’s often called the poor man’s gold.Indeed, silver has a very high positive correlation with gold . Just take a look at the chart below, which illustrates the movement of gold and silver prices since April 1968. The shapes of the lines are very similar and the correlation coefficient is as high as 0.90!On the other hand, silver may indeed outperform gold. After all, silver has a dual nature. It is not only a monetary asset – like gold – but also an industrial commodity. This implies that silver is more business cycle -sensitive than gold. Therefore, given that the global economy is recovering from the deep recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Great Lockdown , silver may outperform gold. In other words, although both gold and silver could benefit from reflation during the recovery, improving economic conditions could support the latter metal more .Another argument for silver shining brighter than gold in 2021 is the historical pattern according to which silver prices tend to follow gold prices with some lag, just to catch up with them later – often overreacting compared with gold’s behavior.So much for theory. Let’s move on to the data now and analyze the previous economic crisis , i.e., the Great Recession , and the following recovery. As the chart below shows, both metals moved generally in tandem, however, silver was more volatile than gold .For example, from its local bottom in mid-2007 to its local peak in early 2008, silver rose 79 percent, while gold “only” 57 percent. Then, in the first phase of the global financial crisis , silver plunged 58 percent (from $20.92 to $8.88), while gold slid 30 percent (from $1011.25 to $712.5). Subsequently, silver skyrocketed 448 percent, reaching a peak of $48.7 in April 2011. Meanwhile, the price of gold reached its peak of $1875 a little bit later, in September 2011, gaining 166 percent. Finally, silver plunged 46 percent by the end of 2011, while gold dropped only 19 percent. This shows that the economic recovery and industrial revival that followed the Great Recession didn’t help silver to shine. Actually, the bluish metal underperformed gold .Similarly, silver plunged more than gold (25 versus 17 percent) in the run-up to the burst of the dot-com bubble , as one can see in the chart below. It also gained less than gold in the aftermath of the 2001 recession (25.4 versus 27.5 percent), and then it plunged in the third quarter of 2002, significantly underperforming gold.Therefore, the recent history doesn’t confirm the view that silver should be outperforming gold in the early stages of a recovery, because it’s an industrial commodity that benefits from improving economic conditions. Silver was never in a bullish mode when gold was in a bear market, and it rather tends to rally rapidly in the late stage of the commodity cycle, like in the 2000s.Actually, one can argue that silver has the best period behind itself. After all, it soared 141 percent from late March to September 2020, while gold rallied “only” 40 percent. So, it might be the case that the catch-up period, in which silver outperforms gold, is already behind us. Indeed, as the chart below shows, the gold-to-silver ratio has recently declined to a more traditional range of 60-70.This, of course, doesn’t mean that silver cannot rise further. However, it seems that the metal has already caught up somewhat with its more precious cousin . So, it’s possible that silver can outperform gold in 2021, as Biden’s focus on renewable energy may help silver – as a major part of the metal used in industry is now linked to solar panels and electronics, but history teaches us that investors shouldn’t count on industrial demand . Silver didn’t outperform gold during recoveries from the previous recessions. Although silver has a dual nature, its price is highly correlated with gold prices. Therefore, macroeconomic factors, such as the U.S. dollar , real interest rates , risk appetite, inflation , public debt , monetary policy , fiscal policy , etc., should have a stronger impact on silver than industrial demand . As always, those entering the silver market should remember that silver price movements are more violent than in the gold market.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

The REIT Special - An Inflation Hedge

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.03.2021 15:01
In the premium editions of my newsletters, you know that I have been consistently touting the iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF) as a potential hedge against inflation.In this REIT Special Edition, I will break down the WHY. But not, we aren’t going to just talk about the ICF ETF. We will dig into what specific real estate sectors you might want to consider when looking at REITs to invest in.But first and foremost, what is a REIT, and why are they such strong bets right now?Let’s just say, if you want to invest in real estate but do not necessarily have the capital, you will want to read on. If you don’t have the patience for illiquid assets like buildings, you will want to read on. And suppose you want the easiest, most convenient way to diversify your portfolio and add real estate exposure. You will want to read on.A REIT, or real estate investment trust, is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estate assets. Think of REITs as mutual funds for real estate. REITs pool the capital of numerous investors.For the most part, REITs trade on public exchanges like stocks, which makes them highly liquid, unlike physical real estate assets. But the thing I love most about REITs? They also almost mirror the consistent income streams you can get from real estate assets. REITs pay some of the best and most consistent dividends on the market. All while you as an investor don’t have to get your hands dirty and buy, manage, or finance the property.REITs invest in almost every real estate sector. However, in this edition, we will focus specifically on multifamily, hospitality, industrial, and healthcare. Why? Multifamily and hospitality could see substantial recoveries after 2020. Industrial and healthcare had strong 2020s and could continue to succeed in 2021 and long after.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. MultifamilyFigure 1- iShares Residential Real Estate ETF (REZ)Multifamily or residential REITs own and operate apartment buildings and/or manufactured housing.The most important factors to focus on when researching multifamily REITs are affordability, population growth, and job growth. For example, large cities such as New York and LA have higher living costs and more renters. But their job growth and population growth are severely lagging right now. You want large urban centers that show strong in-migration trends and job growth.Figure 2: Marcus & Millichap Forecast Consider the multifamily market in the Sunbelt and Mountain region. Even before COVID, there was a migration boom and significant employment growth, especially in the Sunbelt region. Plus, this region didn’t lock down as strictly as big cities like New York and LA and saw fewer job losses during the pandemic.The Mountain region is also seeing a rapidly growing population, a strong quality-of-life, and affordable living costs. Do you know the ONLY state that saw year-over-year job growth for total nonfarm payrolls in January 2021 while also leading in year-to-date growth? Idaho .While multifamily growth will be likely be fragmented based on region, there are two ways you can play this:Research individual REITs with the most exposure to growing regions.Add broad-based exposure to multifamily assets through ETFs like the iShares Residential Real Estate ETF (REZ) . While this ETF does not focus EXCLUSIVELY on residential REITs, as it has exposure to healthcare and self-storage, too, this is an easy and convenient way to give yourself multifamily exposure.For more of my thoughts on REITs focusing on hospitality, office, industrial, and healthcare, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Why It‘s Reasonable to Be Bullish Stocks and Gold

Why It‘s Reasonable to Be Bullish Stocks and Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.03.2021 15:02
Another day, another reversal – and a positive one for stocks. Universal sectoral weakness gave way to a unison rebound amid constructive outside markets. After weeks of on and off fits over rising Treasury yields, S&P 500 ran into headwinds on their retreat, and recaptured its luster yesterday as long-dated Treasuries (TLT ETF) rolled over to the downside. I guess nothing boosts confidence as much a troubled 7-year Treasury auction.While it‘s far from full steam ahead, it‘s a welcome sight that the reflation trade dynamic has returned, and that technology isn‘t standing in the way. I think we‘re on the doorstep of another upswing establishing itself, which would be apparent latest Monday. Credit markets support such a conclusion, and so does the premarket turn higher in commodities – yes, I am referring also to yesterday‘s renewed uptick in inflation expectation.Neither running out of control, nor declaring the inflation scare (as some might term it but not me, for I view the markets as transitioning to a higher inflation environment) as over, inflation isn‘t yet strong enough to break the bull run, where both stocks and commodities benefit. It isn‘t yet forcing the Fed‘s hand enough, but look for it to change – we got a slight preview in the recent emergency support withdrawal and taper entertainment talking points, however distant from today‘s situation.Now, look for the fresh money avalanche, activist fiscal and moterary policy to hit the markets as a tidal wave. Modern monetary theorists‘ dream come true. Unlike during the Great Recession, the newly minted money isn‘t going to go towards repairing banks‘ balance sheets – it‘s going into the financial markets, lifting up asset prices, and over to the real economy. So far, it‘s only PPI that‘s showing signs of inflation in the pipeline – soon to be manifest according to the CPI methodology as well.Any deflation scare in such an environment stands low prospects of success. That concerns precious metals – neither rising, nor falling, regardless of the miners‘ message. After the upswing off the Mar 08 lows faltered, the bears had quite a few chances to ambush this week, yet made no progress. And the longer such inaction draws on, the more it is indicative of the opposite outcome.Yes, that‘s true regardless of the dollar continuing down for almost a month since my early Feb call before turning higher. When I was asked recently over Twitter my opionion on the greenback, I replied that its short-term outlook is bullish now – while I think the world reserve currency would get on the defensive and reach new lows this year still, it could take more than a few weeks for it to form a local top. Once AUD/USD turns higher, that could be among its first signs.Regarding gold, yesterday‘s words are true also today:(…) Gold is again a few bucks above its volume profile $1,720 support zone, and miners aren‘t painting a bullish picture. Resilient when faced with the commodities selloff, but weak when it comes to retreating nominal yields. The king of metals looks mixed, but the risks to the downside seem greater than those of catching a solid bid.That doesn‘t mean a steep selloff in a short amount of time just ahead – rather continuation of choppy trading with bursts of selling here and there. What could change my mind? Decoupling from rising TLT yields returning – in the form of gold convincingly rising when yields move down. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookYesterday‘s reversal was overall credible – more so in its internals than as regards the daily volume. On a positive and contrarian note, the put to call ratio reached higher highs yesterday, leaving ample room to power a swift upswing should it come to that. And it could as quite many investors are positioned for a downswing in stocks.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio gave up all of yesterday‘s gains, but isn‘t leaving stocks as extended here. Much depends upon whether squaring the risk-on bets would continue, or not. Both stocks and the ratio appear consolidating here, and not rolling over to the downside.Value and TechnologyValue stocks (VTV ETF) finally showed clear leadership yesterday, the volume didn‘t disappoint, and technology (XLK ETF) recovered from prior downside on top. Closing about unchanged, it‘s key to the S&P 500 upswing continuation with force as opposed to muddling through.Gold in the SpotlightThe troubled miners got a little less problematic yesterday. The GDX ETF recovered from intraday losses while gold didn‘t exactly plunge. Its opening strength was a pleasant sight as more often than not, miners‘ weakness while gold goes nowhere, is a signal for going short the metal. But as this sign didn‘t result in a gold slide, my viewpoint is turning bullish again because we might be seeing fake miners weakness that would be resolved over the coming week with an upswing. Now that the Wall and Main Street expectation for the coming week aren‘t probably as bullish as for the week almost over, an upswing would be easier to pull off (should it come to that).Big picture view remains (positively) mixed – the selling pressure is retreating but gold isn‘t yet reacting to declining yields. Once it clearly does, the waiting for a precious metals upswing would be over.Silver and MinersSilver staged an intraday reversal, which copper couldn‘t pull off. Not that it attempted to, but still the commodities selloff appears a bit overdone, given that nothing has fundamentally changed. Both gold and silver miners stabilized on the day, meaning that the sector is in a wait and see mode, unwilling to turn bearish just yet.SummaryThe odds of an S&P 500 upswing have gone up, and volatility made a powerful retreat below 20 once again. Value stocks have turned upwards, and the stock bulls appear readying another run.Miners closed at least undecided yesterday, but gold and silver miners showing outperformance again is missing. Both metals still remain vulnerable to short-term downside. Once gold strengthens on declining yields, that would be another missing ingredient in the precious metals bull market.
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Precious Metals Miners Setting Up For A Breakout Rally – Wait For Confirmation

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 26.03.2021 19:23
Precious Metals have continued to slide sideways as the US stock markets have rallied into the FOMC meeting last week.  Not by coincidence, metals have continued to base/bottom near recent lows as concerns about the global debt/credit markets, central banks, and precious metal supplies continue to linger.  The US Fed indicated it will do whatever is necessary to support the recovering economy.  The question my research team asks in relation to the basis for a move in metals/miners is “do the global markets believe the global central banks still have control of the underlying global banking/credit markets well enough to prevent another massive rally in metals?”.This question should be first and foremost for metals precious metals enthusiasts.  Recently, there has been quite a bit of concern related to a Silver Squeeze and COMEX deliveries.  Currently, there is some speculation that the Perth Mint has a very limited supply of physical metals on hand and nearly 60x that amount on their balance sheets (Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetsilver/comments/mc18no/perth_mint_unallocated_silver_is_not_backed_by/).  We're no expert related to this lack of physical inventory, but if it is true, then a breakout rally in metals (a true metals SQUEEZE) could be just days or weeks away.Wait For Confirmation Of Miners Bullish BreakoutThe charts we are including in this article suggest “Wait For Breakout Confirmation” because we believe the current technical/price setup may prompt a bit of an extended bottoming formation.  If and when the breakout in miners happens, the upside price move could be very quick and efficient.The Weekly NUGT chart, below, shows how well price has consolidated near the $51 level and how the extended downside trend line (originating from the 2016 peak) aligns with the current price level.  Our researchers believe once this trend line is breached to the upside, NUGT may attempt a rally to levels above $108, the 0.618 Fibonacci Price Extension level, fairly quickly (possibly within 3 to 6+ months).  The $146 target level, a full 100% Fibonacci measured move, would represent a massive +167% price rally in NUGT (if it happens).  Quite literally, this breakout setup could be very explosive if and when it happens.Junior Silver Miners Showing Stronger Support – Waiting For Breakout ConfirmationThe following Weekly SILJ Junior Silver Miners chart shows a different type of price setup.  Junior Silver Miners have held up much stronger than Gold Miners over the past 6 months.  The reported Silver Squeeze could prompt a really big breakout trend IF and WHEN the current Pennant/Flag formation completes (which appears to be only a few weeks away).Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals nowso you don’t miss our next special report!The first (0.618) Fibonacci target is near $20.50 – a 40% increase from current price levels.  The second target, a100% Fibonacci measured move, is near $25.25 – a 74% increase from current price levels.  Ideally, this type of breakout move in Metals Miners will happen as a pause in the upward movement of the US Dollar takes place.I believe the US stock market will continue to rally 4% to 8%, or more, over the next (3 to 5+) few weeks.  After that, we may start to see more weakness in the US stock market and the price trends leading up to this period of weakness is where we think Metals and Miners may start to rally.Again, we need to wait for confirmation of these breakout moves.  The technical/price setup we are seeing in both NUGT and SILJ suggests a potential breakout move may happen within the next 2 to 5+ weeks. There could be a deeper downside price move, a washout price low, that happens as the APEX of this move completes.  It is not uncommon for a “washout” trend to happen near a Flag/Pennant APEX.Overall, the next few weeks in the markets suggest we are likely to see fairly big sector trends and moderately strong support for Metals and Miners.  The strength of the US Dollar will likely keep metals from attempting any type of breakout move for a few more weeks.  When the Metals/Miners breakout move starts, though, it could be VERY EXPLOSIVE.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets.For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.Have a great weekend!
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – Bullish Case

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.03.2021 08:00
USDJPY accelerates rallyThe US dollar climbs as the US economy is gaining steam while other parts of the world face new Covid restrictions.The pair has shot up to last June’s high at 109.85 after it broke out of the consolidation range under 109. The bias remains strongly bullish, though an overbought RSI would suggest a temporary pullback as traders take profit.In that case, the rising trendline and 20 and 30-hour moving averages would become the demand zone. A deeper retracement may find support from the former resistance at 109.20.XAUUSD awaits breakout catalystA firm US dollar is weighing on gold as Treasury yields hold ground. The recovery stalled after the price broke below the rising trendline, denting the optimism for a swift rebound.The precious metal is likely to stay range-bound until a catalyst, be it fundamental or technical, triggers a breakout.1718 is a key support and a bearish breakout could deepen the correction towards 1700.To the upside, bulls will need to remove 1745 to bring back confidence. After that, an extended rally may carry the price to 1780.GER 30 surges to new highEquity markets recovered swiftly after lower-than-expected US personal consumption expenditure quelled the fear of reflation.The DAX has bounced off the key short-term support at 14430 to challenge the all-time high at 14800.Solid momentum above a bullish MA cross confirms that buyers are still in control of the price action. A close above 14800 may convince more trend followers to join in and push the index higher.To the downside, 14590 would be the immediate support for the RSI to cool off.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

What Could Slay the Stock & Gold Bulls

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.03.2021 15:31
Put/call ratio didn‘t lie, and the anticipated S&P 500 upswing came on Friday – fireworks till the closing bell. Starting on Thursday, with the rising yields dynamic sending value stocks higher – and this time technology didn‘t stand in the way. What an understatement given the strong Friday sectoral showing, acocmpanied by the defensives swinging higher as well. And that‘s the characterization of the stock market rise – it‘s led by the defensive sectors with value stocks coming in close second now.Still last week, the market confirmed my early Friday‘s take:(…) While it‘s far from full steam ahead, it‘s a welcome sight that the reflation trade dynamic has returned, and that technology isn‘t standing in the way. I think we‘re on the doorstep of another upswing establishing itself, which would be apparent latest Monday. Credit markets support such a conclusion, and so does the premarket turn higher in commodities – yes, I am referring also to yesterday‘s renewed uptick in inflation expectation.Neither running out of control, nor declaring the inflation scare (as some might term it but not me, for I view the markets as transitioning to a higher inflation environment) as over, inflation isn‘t yet strong enough to break the bull run, where both stocks and commodities benefit. It isn‘t yet forcing the Fed‘s hand enough, but look for it to change – we got a slight preview in the recent emergency support withdrawal and taper entertainment talking points, however distant from today‘s situation.Commodities have indeed turned again higher on Friday, as seen in both copper and oil – and so did inflation expectations. While some central banks (hello, Canada) might be ahead in attempting to roll back the emergency support, the Fed isn‘t yet forced by the bond market to act – which I however view as likely to change over the coming months.With 10-year Treasury yields at 1.67%, last week‘s decline didn‘t reach far before turning higher. Remembering stock market woes the first breach of 1.50% caused, stocks have coped well with the subsequent run up – while in the old days of retirees actually being able to live off interest rate income, a level of 4% would bring about trouble for S&P 500, now the level is probably just above 2%. Yes, that‘s how far our financialized economy has progressed – and I look for volatility to rise, and stocks to waver and likely enter a correction at such a bond market juncture. As always, I‘ll be keeping a close eye on the signs, emerging or not, as we approach that yield level.Again quoting my Friday‘s words, what else to expect as the bond markets takes notice:(…) Now, look for the fresh money avalanche, activist fiscal and moterary policy to hit the markets as a tidal wave. Modern monetary theorists‘ dream come true. Unlike during the Great Recession, the newly minted money isn‘t going to go towards repairing banks‘ balance sheets – it‘s going into the financial markets, lifting up asset prices, and over to the real economy. So far, it‘s only PPI that‘s showing signs of inflation in the pipeline – soon to be manifest according to the CPI methodology as well.Any deflation scare in such an environment stands low prospects of success. For deflation to succeed, a stock market crash followed by a depression has to come first. And as inflation is firing on just one cylinder now (asset price inflation not accompanied by labor market pressures), it isn‘t yet strong enough to derail the stock bull run. The true inflation is a 2022-3 story, which is when we would be likely in a full blown financial repression and bond yields capped well above 2% while inflation rate could run at double that figure. Then, the Fed wouldn‘t be engaged in a twist operation, but in yield curve control, which the precious metals would love, for they love low nominal and negative real rates.Gold might be already sensing that upcoming pressure on the Fed to act – remember their run for so many months before the repo crisis of autumn 2019 broke out:(…) After the upswing off the Mar 08 lows faltered, the bears had quite a few chances to ambush this week, yet made no progress. And the longer such inaction draws on, the more it is indicative of the opposite outcome.Not only that gold miners outperformed the yellow metal on Friday, with their position relative to silver, the king of metals is sending a signal that it would be the one to take leadership in the approaching precious metals upswing. And the dollar wouldn‘t be standing in the way – let‘s continue with my Friday‘s thoughts:(…) When I was asked recently over Twitter my opionion on the greenback, I replied that its short-term outlook is bullish now – while I think the world reserve currency would get on the defensive and reach new lows this year still, it could take more than a few weeks for it to form a local top. Once AUD/USD turns higher, that could be among its first signs.Once higher rates challenge the stock market bull, the dollar would do well in whiff of deflationary environment (remember the corona runup of spring 2020), but it would be the devaluation that would break it – and it‘s my view that devaluation would not happen against other fiat currencies, but against gold (and by extension silver). With devaluation (it‘s still far away in the future), a true inflation would arrive and stay, which forms a more drastic scenario to the more orderly one I discussed earlier in today‘s article.Another challenge for the stock market bull comes from taxes, as the current and upcoming infrastructure stimuli (wait, there is the $2T one to move the U.S. to a carbon-neutral future on top) would result in higher tax rates next year, which would further hamper productive capital allocation as people and institutions would seek to negate their effect. Needless to say, gold, miners and real assets would do very well in such an environment.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStrong S&P 500 upswing on Friday, on a not too shabby volume. The key question is whether the bulls can keep the momentum on Monday, and ideally extend the gains at least a little. Signs are they would be able to achieve that.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) reached the mid-Mar highs, and need to confirm Friday‘s upswing – odds are they would continue higher on Monday as well, because the volume comparison is positive and daily indicators don‘t appear yet ready to turn down.Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectation as measured by Treasury inflation protected securities to long-dated Treasuries (TIP:TLT) ratio, keep making higher highs and higher lows – the market is recalibrating towards a higher inflation environment, but not yet running ahead of the Fed as the 10-year Treasury yield (black line) shows. It‘s so far still orderly.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsThe Russell 2000 (IWM ETF, upper black line) is underperforming the S&P 500, and so are the emerging markets (EEM ETF) – both signals of the defensive nature of the stock market upswing. The animal spirits aren‘t there to the full extent (don‘t be fooled by the strong VTV showing), but have been making a return since Thursday.Gold, Silver and MinersA new turn is taking shape within the Tuesday-challenged precious metals upswing – the miners appear yet again assuming leadership. The call I made on Thursday, hinting at a change, appears materializing to the bulls‘ benefit.Comparing gold and silver at the moment, results in the conclusion of the yellow metal leading higher after all – and the positive turn in copper (which is also reflected in the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio) confirms that.Crude OilBlack gold keeps defending the 50-day moving average, showing the reflation trade in both commodities and stocks isn‘t over yet. The oil index ($XOI) is once again pointing higher, and so is the energy ETF (XLE). While Friday‘s volume was relatively modest, oil has good prospects to keep recovering this week.SummaryThe odds of an S&P 500 upswing were confirmed by the Friday‘s upswing, in line with the put/call ratio indications. Credit markets concur, and while the sectoral constellation isn‘t totally bullish, it can still carry the index to new highs.Miners made an important turn higher relative to gold, and the sector can enter today‘s trading on a stronger footing than was the case on Friday. The green shoots in the precious metals sector appear likely to take a turn for the better this week and next. As always, keeping a close eye on the gold‘s relationship to nominal yields, is essential – be it decoupling from rising ones, or a strong upswing on retreating ones.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

How To Spot Boom and Bust Cycles

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 29.03.2021 16:04
One of the most important aspects of trading is being able to properly identify major market cycles and trends. The markets will typically move between four separate stages: Bottoming/Basing, Rallying, Topping/Distribution, and Bearish Trending.  Each of these phases of market trends is often associated with various degrees of market segment trending as well.  For example, one of the most telling phrases of when the stock market is nearing an eventual Topping/Distribution phase is when the housing market gets super-heated.  Yet, one of the most difficult aspects of this Excess Phase rally trend is that it can last many months or years, and usually longer than many people expect.Until Gold Really Starts To Rally, Expect A Continued Rally In The Stock MarketWhen an Excess Phase rally is taking place in the stock market, we expect to see the Lumber vs. Gold ratio moving higher and typically see the RSI indicator stay above 50.  Demand for lumber, a commodity necessary for building, remodeling, and other consumer essential spending, translates well as an economic barometer for big-ticket consumer spending. Extreme peaks in this ratio can often warn of a pending shift in consumer spending and how the stock market reacts to an Excess Phase Peak.  Let's take a look at some of the historical reference points on this longer-term Weekly Lumber vs. Gold chart below.First, the 1992 to 2005 ratio levels represent a moderately low Gold price level compared to a somewhat inflated Lumber price level.  You can see how that dramatically changed between 2005 and 2012 – this was a time when Gold started a historic rally phase just before the Housing/Credit crisis of 2008-09.Since that time, the Lumber to Gold ratio has stayed below historical low reference points (near 0.6).  This shift in the Lumber to Gold ratio suggests that demand for Gold outpaced demand for Lumber over the past 10+ years.  Now, the Lumber to Gold ratio is climbing back to levels near or above that 0.6 level and may soon move higher if the post-COVID economic recovery continues while demand for Gold stays somewhat muted.Traders need to pay attention to this current rally in the Lumber vs. Gold ratio because a breakout rally above the 0.60 level would likely mean a continued rally phase for the US stock market and strong sector trending related to consumer spending, housing, and speculative sectors.  Whereas, a failure to rally above the 0.60 level at this stage may indicate that the US stock market will begin to stall and potentially move into a sideways correction before starting a new trend.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals nowso you don’t miss our next special report!Lastly, we have drawn some Std Deviation channels on this longer-term Lumber to Gold Weekly chart above.  It is very important to understand that a continued rally in the Lumber to Gold ratio will break above the upper downward sloping channel from the 1999 peak and potentially prompt a big upside price rally – likely pushing the US stock market to extended new highs.A Closer Look At The Current SetupWhen we zoom into the current price trends on the following Lumber to Gold ratio chart below, we can clearly see the two recent rally trends; the first after the 2016 US elections and the second after the COVID-19 bottom.  The most important aspect of this chart right now is that any continued rally in the Lumber to Gold ratio may quickly breach the 0.60 historical range and potentially prompt a very big rally in the US stock market over the next few months.The new COVID stimulus and the continued efforts to pass an Infrastructure Bill in the US Congress may prompt enough of a capital injection into the US economy to set off a “booster phase” rally at this stage in the economic recovery.  One simply can't rely on the fact that the Lumber to Gold ratio is near a historically critical level, we need to actually wait to see confirmation of a breakdown in this trend before we can say what is likely to happen in the near future.  If the ratio climbs above 0.60 and continues to rally higher, then it is very likely that the US and Global stock market trends will also continue much higher.Historical Peaks & Rallies – When To Be ConcernedThis longer-term Lumber to Gold ratio chart shows how the SPY continued to rally through various stages of the rally in the ratio level. We also have to remember the peak in 2000 was related to two important economic events; the DOT COM bubble burst and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Subsequently, the breakdown in the Lumber to Gold ratio that started in 2004 was related to a broadly weakening housing market trend – prompted by an ever-increasing Fed Funds Rate which began in 2004-05.  Currently, we have the US Fed promising “near-zero” rates through 2022 and an easy money policy throughout that time to support stronger global market recovery.  Barring any unforeseen credit, economic, or global market event, we believe a breakout rally in the Lumber to Gold ratio, assuming Gold stays below $2250 and does not enter a breakout rally phase, will coincide with a moderately strong US stock market rally.When should you start to be concerned that a top is setting up based on this ratio?Very simply put, when you see Gold start to rally above $2150~$2250 and breakout into a true rally while the price of Lumber begins to fall somewhat sharply, then we believe traders should start to actively protect positions and prepare for a bigger breakdown in the stock market trend.  Until Gold starts to react as a proper hedge, this speculative “excess phase” rally will likely continue higher.As a warning for all our friends and followers, a breakdown of this upside rally trend could be sudden if a major market event takes place.  For example, if a sudden collapse in the credit/debt markets were to happen (related to risk exposure or bank/financial firm failures), then we may see a very sudden breakdown in this ratio.  Additionally, if war or geopolitical economic tensions break out where excessive global risks become a factor, then we may also see this ratio turn negative quickly.Traders need to understand the potential for a continued stock market rally near these current levels is quite strong, but there are still risks of a sudden breakdown in trending.  The question that nobody can answer is “what will the catalyst event be and when could it happen?”. Until then, trade the hottest sectors using my Best Asset Now strategy, which you can learn NOW by signing up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find the best sectors to trade.Until the end of the trend is upon us, get ready for some really interesting global market trends and sector opportunities.  It is very likely that volatility will stay higher than normal prompting 2% to 4%+ rotations in market trends.  These next few years are going to be a trader's dream market in terms of trending and price rotation. For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.Enjoy your Sunday!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

A Climbing USDX Means Gold Investors Should Care

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.03.2021 17:17
Positions in the USDX are shifting from shorts to longs, so gold investors should look closely. Why? Because it’s an inverse relationship.We’ve discussed the negative correlation between the dollar and the precious metals many times before, but it can never be discussed enough, particularly as the situation develops and the outlook for the USD Index becomes more positive.Once the USD Index lands some knockout punches, the precious metals will be hurting, as they tend to do when the dollar rises. Gold, silver and the miners will eventually rise, but for the medium-term, they are still in bearish territory.Counted out, counted down and rarely counted on, investors threw in the USD Index’s towel long before the fight even began. However, after shaking the cobwebs and landing a few haymakers, the greenback’s Rocky-like comeback is proof that ‘it ain’t over till it’s over.’Let’s look at the factors influencing rise of the USD Index as well as some of the historical patterns:1. Repositioning from Short to LongNow, with thousands of screaming fans chanting “USD, USD,” the eye of the tiger could be eying another move higher. As evidence, if you analyze the chart below, you can see that non-commercial (speculative) traders have quietly repositioned from net-short to net-long.To explain, notice how oversold periods in 2014 and 2018 – where net-speculative short interest as a percentage of total open interest was extremely high – preceded sharp rallies in the USD Index? Thus, with 2021 the most extreme on record, the forthcoming rally should be significant.How significant? Well, let’s take a look at how things developed in the past – after all, history tends to rhyme.Let’s focus on what happened when the net speculative positions were significantly (!) negative and then they became significantly (!) positive, so without paying attention to tiny moves (like the one that we saw last summer), let’s focus on the more meaningful ones (like the one that we see right now – the net positions just became visibly positive – over 16%, after being very negative for quite some time.In short, that’s how the following profound rallies started:The big 2008 rally (over 16 index points)The big 2009 – 2010 rally (over 14 index points)The 2011 – 2012 rally (over 11 index points)The 2013 rally (“only” over 5 index points)The big 2014 – 2015 rally (over 20 index points)The 2018 rally (over 15 index points)The current rally started at about 89, so if the “normal” (the above shows what is the normal course of action) happens, the USD Index is likely to rally to at least 94, but since the 5-index point rally seems to be the data outlier, it might be better to base the target on the remaining 5 cases. Consequently, one could expect the USD Index to rally by at least 11 – 20 index points, based on the net speculative positions alone. This means the upside target area of about 105 – 114.Consequently, a comeback to the 2020 highs is not only very likely, but also the conservative scenario.2. The 10-Year Treasury YieldAdding to the momentum, in 2020, the USD Index sat out the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield’s ferocious upswing. Defying historical precedent, a bottom and subsequent move higher in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has coincided with a rise in the USD Index 80% of the time since 2003 . But now in sync, 2021 has been a much different story. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the USD Index has been moving in lockstep with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield since the New Year.3. Reclaiming 200-Day Moving AverageIn addition, not only has the USD Index broke above its previous highs, but the basket just reclaimed its 200-day moving average (which is often indicative of a long-term uptrend). As a result, the greenback continues to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee .For historical context, after recapturing its 200-day MA in 2018, the USD Index only suffered mild pullbacks before surging above 95. As such, with the mid-2020 highs the USD Index’s next opponent, 94.5 is unlikely to put up much of a fight.Keep in mind though: in the very-short term, the USD Index could move lower and retest its prior 2021 highs. However, the damage should be minimal, and it wouldn’t invalidate the USD Index’s medium-term breakout. Because of this, the outlook remains profoundly bearish for the gold, silver , and mining stocks over the medium term. If you analyze the table below, you can see that the precious metals tend to move inversely to the U.S. dollar.4. The History Really Rhymes: The 2017-2018 UpswingBut saving the best for last, the 2017-2018 analogue could be the USD Index’s knockout punch. With this version likely to be titled “The Resurgence: Part 2,” while history often rhymes, it’s rare for it to rhyme with this level of specificity .Please see below:Even more revealing, while it took less than 118 days for the USD Index to move from peak to trough in 2020-2021, the uprising could occur at a much faster pace. In 2018, the USD Index’s breakout above its 50-day moving average is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. And after the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is 94.5 .Furthermore, in 2017-2018, it also took 82 days for the USDX to form a final bottom (the number of days between the initial bottom and the final bottom) and the duration amounts to 21.19% of the overall timeframe. If we applied a similar timeframe to today’s move, then the USD Index should have bottomed on Feb. 12. It actually bottomed (finally) on Feb. 25, which was just 8 trading days away from the former date. Taking into account the sizes of the moves that preceded the previous declines (they took approximately one year to complete), this is extremely close and an excellent confirmation that the self-similar pattern remains intact.Also noteworthy, as the USDX approached its final bottom in 2017-2018, gold traded sideways. Today, however, gold has been in a downward spiral and it doesn’t seem that the decline is over. From a medium-term perspective, the yellow metal’s behavior is actually more bearish than it was in 2017-2018.And while the self-similar pattern is already playing out as predicted, please read below for further explanation as to why the USD Index’s current and historical price action remains a spitting image:It’s not true that there were no pullbacks during the 2018 rally. There were, but they were simply too small to be visible from the long-term point of view.The first notable pullback took place in early May 2018, and it contributed to a corrective upswing in the precious metals market. To be precise, the USD Index declined after rallying for 56 trading days, but gold rallied earlier – 51 trading days after the USD Index’s final bottom. The USDX’s immediate-top formed 16 trading days after its final bottom, and gold’s bottom formed 10 trading days after the USD’s final bottom.Comparing this to the size of the previous decline in terms of the trading days, it was:51 – 56 trading days / 283 trading days = 18.02% - 19.79%10 – 16 trading days / 283 trading days = 3.53% - 5.65%Also indicating a messy divorce, when the USD Index turned a short-term decline into consolidation in mid-2018, can you guess what happened next? Well, the USD Index moved significantly higher, while gold moved significantly lower.Please see below:Moreover, when comparing the pairs’ behavior in mid-2018 to today, it’s ominously similar.Please see below:For additional context, I also wrote on Mar. 10:Let’s examine the current situation: the preceding decline lasted for 200 trading days and there were 41 – 42 trading days between the final USDX bottom and the short-term reversals in gold and USDX. Comparing this to the final USDX bottom, we get 7 – 8 trading days.Applying the previous percentages to the length of the most recent medium-term decline in the USD Index provides us with the following:18.02% - 19.79% x 200 trading days = ~36 - ~40 trading days3.53% - 5.65% x 200 trading days = ~7 - ~11 trading daysThe above estimation of about 36 – 40 trading days almost perfectly fits the current 41 – 42-day delay, and the estimation of about 7 – 11 trading days almost perfectly fits the current delay of 7 – 8 trading days.In other words, the analogy to the 2018 performance does not only remain intact – it actually perfectly confirms the validity of the current corrective upswing. Once again, it’s very likely just a pullback, not a big trend reversal.Likewise, a potentially bearish pattern that I have been monitoring – where the USD Index’s price action from July to October 2020 mirrored the price action from December 2020 to February/March 2021– has officially been broken . With the USD Index’s medium-term breakout trumping the former, the potentially bearish pattern has been invalidated and the USD Index is likely to continue its ascension.But to what end?Well, if we look back at 2020, the USD Index attempted to recapture its previous highs. But lacking the upward momentum, the failure was followed by a sharp move lower. Today, however, the USD Index has broken above its previous highs and the greenback verified the breakout by consolidating, moving back toward the previous lows and rising once again. Now, the USD Index is visibly above its previous highs .Taken together, and given the magnitude of the 2017-2018 upswing , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. And in the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.In conclusion, the USD Index went from being on the ropes to winning the crowd. And with the momentum building and the adrenaline rising, it’s only a matter of time before the USD Index lands another haymaker. Moreover, given the precious metals’ negative correlation with the U.S. dollar – combined with the fact that technicals, fundamentals and sentiment are now riding with the greenback – an uprising could leave the gold, silver, and mining stocks battered and bruised. However, after a tough period of soul searching, the precious metals will regain the heavyweight championship once again. Or, if one wants to put it in more technical terms, gold, silver, and miners are likely to start a massive rally, but only after declining visibly first.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin is invaluable

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 30.03.2021 08:27
In fact, Bitcoin is a decentralized global digital network which in essence is transforming analog assets into digital assets. It has been growing at 200% a year. Now after 12 years in existence Bitcoin is a digital trillion-dollar network.What supports its long-term stability is that its decentralization and transparency are immune against policy. While we typically at the mercy of policymakers and as such a middleman that can manipulate the use of a payment method, with Bitcoin, the individual is genuinely safe. Looking at the world around us where it is hard to find any field not infiltrated by groups who seek to take advantage, manipulate, and flat out lie, it is a true need one can trust a store of value to benchmark against.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Our chart from last week’s chartbook:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 23rd, 2021.We posted the above short to midterm chart prediction in our last week’s chartbook publication.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, As anticipated-another leg up:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 29th, 2021.The market unfolded quite as planned. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Health and sustainability:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 29th, 2021.If we analyze Bitcoin prices advancing from last August’s lows, we can find an intact Elliot impulse wave pattern. The Health and sustainability of this trend are derived from the three propulsion proportions. While advancing strongly in the first wave with a 323 % advancement, the pace cooled down to a 99% second leg upward. These stunning advancements followed yet again by a more moderate increase of 44% to its recent all-time highs. This abstinence of a blow-off top or run-away train allows us to believe that prices could march higher.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin is invaluable, Projections:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 29th, 2021.When examining projections, we like to stack odds by looking at both a time and a price component. The above chart shows this blend using a time cycle approach (vertical lines) and a Fibonacci extension probability measurement. Stacking these projection tools would lead us to a price target near ninety-seven thousand for the mid-next year. Our “conservative” projection is marked with the yellow circle on the top right of the chart.Bitcoin is invaluable:Looking around, and you will find that the Dollar is what around the world most value storage is bench-marked against. It seems frightening to us since the Dollar has no gold standard or otherwise intrinsic value that we still give it this much power only based on a belief. With economic powers shifting towards the east and a lack of political and economic leadership, beliefs can change, and as such, currency stability is endangered. Hedging your store of value through an instrument that holds intrinsic value based on principles over beliefs seems more than logical.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 30th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – Fading Sell-Off

John Benjamin John Benjamin 30.03.2021 08:31
USOIL sees bearish momentum stallingWTI climbed back in anticipation of extended production cuts by OPEC+ in their upcoming meeting in April. The pullback would be temporary as an RSI divergence showed a loss in the sell-off.Following a rebound from the support at 57.20, an RSI double top in the overbought area suggests that the US crude has been consolidating in search of momentum.The latest breakout above the psychological level at 62.00 is a confirmation that buyers have regained control and the price could be on its way to 65.USDCAD recovers towards supply areaThe recent retreat in oil prices has weighed on the loonie while the US dollar kept the high ground across the board. The pair is grinding higher towards the supply zone near 1.27.However, selling pressure is likely to intensify as the US dollar tests the 20 and 30-day moving averages on the daily chart, within a year-long downtrend.1.2540 is the immediate support and a bearish breakout could further depress the price action.To the upside, 1.2680 is the hurdle to lift before the bulls could press for a reversal.US 30 tests a record highStock markets recouped losses from previous choppy sessions as investors saw the dip as an opportunity.After rallying above the former resistance at 32500, the Dow Jones is making an attempt at the previous high at 33250. A bullish breakout could extend the rally to new record highs.While market sentiment remains positive, an overbought RSI could prompt a pullback driven by profit takings.The demand area between 32500 and 32700 could see strong buying interest if the index cools off.
Liquidity Boost for Stocks and Gold?

Liquidity Boost for Stocks and Gold?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.03.2021 15:53
Friday‘s great run gave way to yesterday‘s consolidation, and stock bulls appear in need of more before taking out the psychological 4,000 mark. The Archegos crash isn‘t causing contagion fears the way GameStop in late Jan did. The current volatility and put/call ratio simply doesn‘t reflect that.The theme is still one of reflation – while inflation expectations are rising, and so are the inflation data for those who care to examine them closely enough, true inflation isn‘t yet here with us. Markets are merely transitioning to a higher inflation environment already, not buying the Fed‘s transitory explanation. Commodities are basing at the conquered levels before another run higher.Make no mistake though, the current S&P 500 upswing is heavily reliant on the defensive sectors – technology isn‘t standing in the way, utilities and consumer staples are doing great, and so are several areas within the real estate sector such the residential one, or REIT ETFs that can be expected to keep doing well. Couple that with value stocks not really retreating, and you get the current view of S&P 500 advance structurally.Credit markets though are a little lagging behind – thanks to the return of rising yields, working its predictable magic on investment grade corporate bonds as well. Such were my points from yesterday‘s extensive analysis, diving into the big picture across the markets and the economy:(…) With 10-year Treasury yields at 1.67%, last week‘s decline didn‘t reach far before turning higher. Remembering stock market woes the first breach of 1.50% caused, stocks have coped well with the subsequent run up – while in the old days of retirees actually being able to live off interest rate income, a level of 4% would bring about trouble for S&P 500, now the level is probably just above 2%. Yes, that‘s how far our financialized economy has progressed – and I look for volatility to rise, and stocks to waver and likely enter a correction at such a bond market juncture. As always, I‘ll be keeping a close eye on the signs, emerging or not, as we approach that yield level.The bond market isn‘t merely anticipating an economic recovery that has good chances of overheating still this year, it‘s also reacting to:(…) the fresh money avalanche, activist fiscal and moterary policy to hit the markets as a tidal wave. Modern monetary theorists‘ dream come true. Unlike during the Great Recession, the newly minted money isn‘t going to go towards repairing banks‘ balance sheets – it‘s going into the financial markets, lifting up asset prices, and over to the real economy. So far, it‘s only PPI that‘s showing signs of inflation in the pipeline – soon to be manifest according to the CPI methodology as well.Any deflation scare in such an environment stands low prospects of success. Continuing:(…) For deflation to succeed, a stock market crash followed by a depression has to come first. And as inflation is firing on just one cylinder now (asset price inflation not accompanied by labor market pressures), it isn‘t yet strong enough to derail the stock bull run. The true inflation is a 2022-3 story, which is when we would be likely in a full blown financial repression and bond yields capped well above 2% while inflation rate could run at double that figure. Then, the Fed wouldn‘t be engaged in a twist operation, but in yield curve control, which the precious metals would love, for they love low nominal and negative real rates.As I wrote on Twitter, it‘s a question of time when gold starts anticipating the policy turn, snifffing it out just like the Fed having to abandon hawkish positions of late 2018, or the runup to the repo crisis of autumn 2019. We got quite a few decoupling signs, some on prolonged basis, but gold isn‘t yet leading commodities the way it did both before and after the corona deflationary shock. Let‘s not forget about the currencies and arbitrage opportunities there – the yen carry trade is still very much alive, making it a no brainer to borrow in declining currency while parking the proceeds elsewhere – and the one-way trading in $USDJPY in 2021 is a fitting testament thereof. A powerful argument against deflation on our doorstep, by the way.Quite to the (deflationary shock) contrary at the moment – both commodities and precious metals are under pressure in today‘s premarket session. Another undoing of the miners‘ outperformance?Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookDaily consolidation on average volume – no hinting at serious troubles down the road. Buy the dip mentality still rules the day.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) chart looks a bit tired to the upside – the bulls had to defend against a serious downswing yesterday first. Contracting volume precedes rising volume, and the best the bulls can hope for, is sideways trading coupled with downswing rejection followed by another move higher.Technology and ValueTechnology (XLK ETF) repelled an intraday downswing while value stocks (VTV ETF) merely couldn‘t keep up all the gained ground during the day. So far so good in the run up or base building on the path to new all time highs.Gold in the SpotlightThe daily resilience in the miners would come under heavy pressure today, and GDX can be expected to close lower. Would they still show outperformance vs. the yellow metal? I wouldn‘t bet the farm on it – it appears the Mar 04 game plan will be tested soon instead.Miners to gold (black line) still keeps painting a bullish picture on the weekly chart, as it refuses to follow the yellow metal to the downside. Where would it be should the $1,670 support zone get tested again – would that level be sufficient enough to power a rebound?Silver, Miners and CopperSilver clearly illustrates the sectoral weakness – the selling waves get harder to repel, and upswing attempts are happening on lower volume. While copper goes sideways, the white metal is breaking lower, and its miners aren‘t showing any strength at all.SummaryS&P 500 keeps consolidating Friday‘s gains without signs of upcoming, groundbreaking weakness. With volatility at around 20, the path of least resistance remains overall higher – until tech says no more. Again, no hint at that today still.Gold is again approaching the $1,670 support, and miners‘ performance will send as valuable clues just as before the Mar 08 bottom. Given today‘s downswing, that will be an even more important indication, bearing medium-term consequences as well.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Has Gold “Ever Given” to You?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.03.2021 17:01
Neither the Suez Canal blockade nor the SLR exemption’s expiration should significantly affect gold, whose price is likely to be soon shaped by other factors.Do you think you’ve had a bad day? If yes, then imagine the helmsman of the Ever Given who somehow managed to get his giant container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade and causing economic damage worth millions of dollars each hour. Sure, the blockade won’t sink the global economy (pun intended), but it won’t help it either. After all, the Suez Canal is the gateway between Europe and Asia, through which around 12-13% of world trade flows, as does 30% of the world's daily shipping container freight. So, every day of obstruction disrupted the movement of goods worth about $9 billion, having a significant impact on global trade.Of course, the world won’t end, and ships can always choose an alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, but this route takes several days longer. So, the blockade has significantly delayed the consignments of goods and fuel, and exacerbated the already pandemic-disturbed supply channels. As a reminder, there are shortages of containers, semi-conductors, and other inputs and finished goods, that have significantly lengthened delivery times and pushed prices up. Although the blockade of the Suez Canal was temporary, it added additional disruption on top of existing supply problems. Meanwhile, the central banks and governments interpret everything as demand problems that need to be addressed through easy monetary policy and loose fiscal policy .The accident of the Ever Given won’t significantly impact gold prices. And, as the chart below shows, we haven’t seen any substantial effects so far.However, the blockade could remind investors (if they somehow managed to forget amid the pandemic ) that black swans exist and fly low, and it’s reasonable to have a portion of one’s investment portfolio in safe havens such as gold (for instance, the insurance part of the portfolio ). Additionally, the upward pressure on prices (although limited) could strengthen the appeal of gold as an inflation hedge , especially considering that officially reported inflation is likely to jump next month because of the low base effect and all the recent supply disruptions.Fed Allows for Expiration of SLRAnd now for something completely different. The Federal Reserve Board announced that the temporary change to its supplementary leverage ratio , or SLR, for bank holding companies will expire as scheduled on March 31. What does this mean for the U.S. economy and the gold market?The SLR is a regulation that requires the largest U.S. banks to hold a minimum level of capital. The ratio says how much equity capital the banks have to hold relative to their total leverage exposure (3% in the case of large banks and 5% in the case of top-tier banks). To ease strains in the Treasury market during the Covid-19 epidemic , the Fed temporarily excluded the U.S. Treasuries and central bank reserves from the calculation. In other words, banks could increase their holdings of government bonds and central bank reserves without raising equity capital.But now, with the exemption expired, their equity capital will be calculated again relative to the banks’ total leverage exposure, including Treasuries and central bank reserves. So, it might be the case that the banks will have to either increase the amount of equity (which is rather unlikely) or reduce the amount of government bonds. And if they sell Treasuries, it would add to the upward pressure on the bond yields . This would prove rather negative for gold, which is a non-interest-bearing asset.However, it doesn’t have to be the case. I mean here that the U.S. eight large and systematically important banks wouldn’t fall below their 5% regulatory minimum. Actually, they are said to have a roughly 25% buffer above minimum thresholds, so the expiry of the SLR exemptions doesn’t have to significantly affect the functioning of the Treasury market, at least not immediately. Hence, the impact of the expiration of the SLR exemption could have limited effect on the gold market , if any.It seems that the price of the yellow metal will be rather shaped by the real interest rates , the U.S. dollar, inflation, the level of confidence in the U.S. economy, etc. In the short-term, the focus on economic recovery could continue the downward pressure on gold prices, but in the long-term, the stagflation theme could resurface and push the price of the yellow metal up.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – Moving Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 31.03.2021 07:54
EURUSD capped by bearish moving averages The US dollar continues to advance across the board supported by improving economic outlook. After a short pause along the 20 and 30-hour moving averages, the sell-off renewed below 1.1760. A further drop below the psychological level of 1.1700 could drive the price towards 1.1600, a critical support level for the ten-month-long rally on the daily chart. As the RSI falls into the oversold area, a limited rebound could be met with selling pressure between the moving averages and 1.1775. NZDUSD weighed by bearish MA cross The New Zealand dollar is still struggling near its five-week lows as the appetite for growth-sensitive currencies fades. The kiwi has had a timid rally after the RSI went sharply into an oversold situation. It was probably due to profit-taking rather than fresh dip-buying. Buyers’ failure to hold onto 0.7000 suggests a lack of commitment after the daily chart showed a bearish MA cross. 0.6940 is the immediate support and a bearish breakout could trigger a new wave of sell-off towards 0.6900. XAGUSD sees limited bounce Silver slipped again amid rising long-term US yields as holding the precious metal would incur a higher opportunity cost. The price has retreated to January’s low at 24.00. Profit-taking from short-term traders may help lift bids while an oversold RSI recovers into neutrality. However, sentiment would remain bearish as long as the price stays below 24.80. Trend followers are likely to sell into strength in case of a rebound near the moving averages. A drop below 23.60 could trigger an extended sell-off into the 22s.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stocks: big moves!

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 31.03.2021 11:05
Stepping up the ladder to 4000 The stock market keeps steadily going upwards towards the mark of 4000. While there have been and will be inevitable dropdowns below the support of the 50-MA, the overall trend is a clear uptrend. What's important is that the recent turbulence was not as high as the one in September-October - that's a sure sign of true recovery and stabilization of the economy seen in the corporate environment. Having that as a background, let's review particular stocks now. Tweeting down No one can deny Elon Musk the liberty to say whatever he finds necessary on Twitter. That doesn't mean it does any good to the valuation of Tesla, though. Sometimes we may even think that he does it intentionally like that time when he said that Tesla's value is too high - and the stock dropped. The announcement that Tesla may be bought with Bitcoins didn't prevent the stock price from going down. Partially, because of another controversial tweet about unions that the US authorities are considering as a possible threat to labor union participants. On the other side, there was another comment that Elon Musk tweeted - and eventually deleted is that very soon, Tesla may weigh more than Apple. Whatever there is, the support of 550 is there, and it may be reached again. At the same time, a bounce upwards is also possible. For this reason, if you're considering taking a rather risky mid-term position, you may think of buying Tesla - that's if you're ready to hold out enough time until it starts recovering. Because when it does, then from the current $600 to the all-time high of $900 it's a 50% value growth potential. Chinese affairs Alibaba is now under double pressure. First, Jack Ma's company is under direct pressure, scrutiny, and counteraction from the side of the Chinese authorities. Second, strategically, global geopolitical tension between China and the "Western world" growing around the Uyghur region is making the future of Alibaba even more cloudy than it is now. In any case, the stock is now at nine-month lows. Moreover, it trades above the support zone of 215-220. Technically, a bounce upwards is very possible. If it happens, then there is the entire $100 above to meet the all-time high again. Potentially, it's an almost 50% value gain possibility - that may take a few months, though. Therefore, Alibaba may be a risky buy for a long-term strategy. Or, observe it further as fundamentally, grounds are shaking beneath Jack Ma's feet. Beating everyone Shooting up from $50 to $54, Coca-Cola performed as well as never since the start of the recovery. Definitely, it's one of the best performers of the S&P 500 so far. Fundamentally, it has a very good business outlook. Sales are going better and better, most observers suggest it's a buy stock - for a long-term scenario. For the short-term, though, you have to take into account that this growth was really aggressive. Not that it never happens in the stock market but this stock has been oscillating between the two sides of the indicated channel since March. Currently, it's in an upswing. However, observe it closely as it approaches $55. At or slighly above that mark, it may reverse to do a technical correction - in this case, it may go all the way down to $51-52. Therefore, observe possible reversal pattern in the shotrt-term - they may occur at any time. Remember that you can trade stocks not only through Metatrader 5 but also through the FBS Trader app!
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Stocks, Gold and the Troubling Yields

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 31.03.2021 16:03
Yesterday‘s consolidation in stocks was a bullish one, and the S&P 500 upswing has good prospects of proceeding unimpeded. Strange but true if you consider that also a plan to considerably raise taxes would be announced today, so as to help pay for the stimulus wave. The bond markets are calmly overlooking that so far, enabling the run to the 4,000 mark.And it still appears a question of time. Inflation isn‘t yet biting (forget about the German CPI data for now), fresh money keeps hitting the markets, and Archegos is about to become a distant memory. Stocks seem immune to the rising yields spell at the moment, meaning that value trades can remain at elevated levels while technology is stuck in no man‘s land and defensives are consolidating recent sharp gains (consolidating until the rising yields come back with vengeance).And there is little reason given the Fed‘s stance why they shouldn‘t. Much of the marketplace is buying into the transitory inflation story, and inflation expectations aren‘t yet running too hot. As the economic growth is stronger than current or future inflation, we‘re still at a good stage in the inflation cycle – everyone benefits and no one pays.When such reflation starts to give way to decreasing or stagnant growth rates accompanied by rising inflation metrics, the stock market performance stops being as positive as it had been since the Mar 2020 bottom. At such a time, the current transitioning to a higher inflation environment would be at a very different (commodity prices) stage, and so would the bond yields (no longer well below 2% on 10-year Treasuries).Points made in my Monday‘s extensive analysis, ring true also today:(…) With 10-year Treasury yields at 1.67%, last week‘s decline didn‘t reach far before turning higher. Remembering stock market woes the first breach of 1.50% caused, stocks have coped well with the subsequent run up – while in the old days of retirees actually being able to live off interest rate income, a level of 4% would bring about trouble for S&P 500, now the level is probably just above 2%. Yes, that‘s how far our financialized economy has progressed – and I look for volatility to rise, and stocks to waver and likely enter a correction at such a bond market juncture. As always, I‘ll be keeping a close eye on the signs, emerging or not, as we approach that yield level.Gold isn‘t yet sensing the coming Fed intervention – similar to Europe or Australia, the central bank would have to take aim at the long end of the curve in earnest – yield curve control I raised mid-Feb already, as twist wouldn‘t be enough at that stage. Look for a full fledged financial repression and deflation standing no chance then – boon to all real assets, a time when gold would truly shine.For now though, Fed‘s credibility isn‘t being questioned and challenged in the markets. Bond yields are rising in an orderly fashion – if you can consider the 2021 run as orderly. I can‘t but I am not calling the shots at the Fed either so as to highlight the record 2021 TLT price extension below its longer-term moving averages. The unchallenged USD/JPY exchange rate shows that the yesterday mentioned yen carry trade is running hot:(…) making it a no brainer to borrow in declining currency while parking the proceeds elsewhere – powerful argument against deflation on our doorstep, by the way.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStocks consolidated in a bullish fashion, and the stage is set for an upswing next. I see it as merely a question of time, and the early reaction to non-farm employment change, is neutral – look for the key Friday figure though.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) underperformed yesterday as both the investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries rose. The HYG daily volume shows that this upswing isn‘t a done deal yet.Russell 2000 and Emerging MarketsWhile the 500-strong index is basing, both smallcaps (IWM ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF) attempt a turn higher. See how elevated $SPX remained vs. the two – it‘s clear the current upswing is a defensive one.Gold in the SpotlightGold miners weren‘t able to repeat their Monday‘s feat exactly, but aren‘t plunging faster than gold either. Sending inconclusive signals, is the takeaway – unless you step back and look at exactly the same weekly chart, which reveals miners comfortably outperforming the yellow metal. Be still ready for a coming test of my Mar 04 game plan, though.Gold with the overlaid copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio (black line) shows that in the current (consolidation) phase of the commodities bull run, gold has lost its luster with yesterday‘s upswing. Again, how fast and from what level would it regain its footing, is the key question - $1,670 or not.Silver, Platinum and CopperSilver selling pressure unfortunately still dominates as the volume shows. White metal is in the straits much more than copper or platinum, which are merely going sideways (just as oil is).SummaryS&P 500 keeps consolidating Friday‘s gains without signs of upcoming, groundbreaking weakness. With volatility moving down again, the path of least resistance is still up – and tech isn‘t saying no.Gold is again in the proximity of the $1,670 support, and miners‘ performance will send as valuable clues just as before the Mar 08 bottom. Nothing convincing to draw conclusions either way at the moment.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Just Can’t Seem to Breakout

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 31.03.2021 16:18
Confirmed, unconfirmed, verified, and invalidated: breakouts and breakdowns are now ubiquitous. And the implications are bearish for gold.Let’s start today’s analysis with a discussion of the key market that everyone is interested in – gold.Gold’s Failed Breakout – A Sell SignIn short, gold just invalidated its small breakout above the declining blue resistance line. The previous breakout was small and thus it required a confirmation. It never got one, and instead gold plunged, invalidating the move. This is yet another sell sign that we saw.It also serves as further proof that ever since the beginning of the year, gold permabulls (many people continue to claim that gold can only go up, even now) were destroying value rather than creating it. On a side note, we have nothing against checking out the work of other analysts, but we encourage you to check if someone was both bullish and bearish on a given market. If they never changed their mind, it seems that you can save some time by not reading what they come up with, as you already know the outcome. Besides it’s not like they would prepare you in advance for any decline (in case of permabulls).Getting back to the current market situation – since gold moved lower quite visibly yesterday (Mar. 30), and even (almost) reached its early-March high, it might be tempting to think that the decline is over. This seems unlikely in my opinion.The less important reason for the above is visible right on the above chart. Earlier this month, gold topped very close to its triangle-vertex-based reversal. The previous two triangle-vertex-based reversals also triggered declines. So, if something similar triggered similar moves, then it might be worth checking how big did the previous declines end up being.Both previous 2021 declines were followed by quite visible declines. The one that started in early Jan. took gold over $130 lower, and the one that started in mid-Feb. took gold over $170 lower. The current decline started at $1,754.20, so if the history is to rhyme (as it often does), gold would be likely to decline to at least $1,584 - $1,624. This target area corresponds quite well to the support provided by the early Mar. and early Apr. 2020 lows.The more important reasons due to which it seems likely that the decline will continue are: the rally in the USD Index and the rally in the long-term interest rates.The USD’s RallyAs far as the latter is concerned, it seems unlikely that we’ll see the Fed stepping into action with another Operation Twist until the general stock market slides. Otherwise, such a big intervention might seem uncalled for. Consequently, the long-term rates are likely to rally some more. And gold is likely to respond by declining further.As far as the USD Index in concerned, it just moved to new yearly highs, and since the nearest strong resistance is relatively far (from the short-term point of view), it seems that the move higher will continue with only small corrections along the way.The USD Index has not only confirmed the breakout above its Feb. highs, but it even managed to break above the rising red support line. This line, along with the rising black line based on the Feb. and mid-March lows, creates a rising wedge pattern that was already broken to the upside. The moves that tend to follow such breakouts often are as big as the size of the wedge. I used red, dashed lines for this target-determining technique. Based on it, the USD Index is likely to rally to about 96.65.The above target is slightly above the mid-2020 highs, so it might seem more conservative to set the upside target at those highs, close to the 94.5-94.8 area. The mid-2020 highs are likely to trigger a breather, but it doesn’t have to be the case that the USD Index pauses below these highs. Conversely, it could be the case that the USD Index first breaks above the mid-2020 highs and consolidates after the breakout. In fact, that’s what it did with regard to the breakout above the Feb. 2021 highs.Consequently, I’m broadening the target area for the USD Index, so that it now encompasses also the more bullish scenario in which the USDX takes out the mid-2020 highs before consolidating.Either way, we’re currently in the “easy part” of the USD’s rally. Even if it’s going to consolidate at or below the mid-2020 highs, it’s still very likely to first get there, and this implies a move higher by at least another full index point. This means that the gold price is likely to decline some more before finding short-term support. The scenario fits very well with the situation that I outlined based on the gold chart earlier today.Silver LossesSilver just broke to new 2021 lows. Everyone buying silver (futures) in Jan. / Feb. is now at a loss and in an increasingly inconvenient situation.Why would this be important? Because it means that everyone who jumped into the silver market with both feet based on just very brief research (“research”?) which in many cases was following instructions provided at various forums is in a losing position right now.Sometimes the losses are small – for the very few, who were early, but in some cases, the losses are already quite visible – especially for those, who bought close to $30.Why is this important? Because it emphasizes the need to verify the quality of the information that one chooses to act on, and because it’s a tipping point after which the previous buyers are likely to start becoming sellers, thus adding to decline’s sharpness.The “new silver buyers” losses are not huge yet, but after another move lower, they will likely become such and the sales from those buyers would likely make these declines even bigger.When everyone and their brother was particularly bullish on silver a few months ago, I wrote that they might be quite right, but the timing was terrible. So far, the losses for those, who bought silver earlier this year are not that big, but, in my opinion, they are likely to become much bigger in the following weeks.Of course, I expect silver price to soar in the following years (well over $100), but not without plunging first in the short and/or medium term.The Miners’ Relative StrengthLet’s take a look at the mining stocks. In yesterday’s analysis , I explained the likely reason behind the temporary strength in the mining stocks, and I emphasized that it’s not likely to last. This explanation remains up-to-date:Ultimately, it’s never possible to reply to the “why did a given market move” other than that “because buyers won over sellers”. It’s not particularly informative, though. The reason that seems most likely to me is that it was… a purely technical development that “needed” to happen for a formation to be complete.This hypothesis would explain also one odd thing that happened yesterday. Namely, while the GDX closed the day slightly higher, the GDXJ ended the day lower. This would make sense if the general stock market declined ( junior mining stocks – GDXJ tend to follow its lead more than seniors – GDX) – but the point is that the general stock market ended yesterday’s session basically flat (declining by mere 0.09% decline).“Ok, so what kind of formation are miners completing?”Quite likely the head and shoulders formations. The reason for yesterday’s underperformance of the GDXJ would be the fact that in case of this ETF’s head-and-shoulders formation , the neckline is descending much more visibly. These formations are more visible on the 4-hour charts – so, let’s zoom in.Currently – based on yesterday’s (Mar. 30) closing prices – both formations are completed, and while it could still be the case that both ETFs move back to their previous necklines to verify the breakdowns, the implications are already bearish for the short term.The price targets based on those formations are $29.6 and $40.7 for the GDX and GDXJ, respectively. However, let’s keep in mind that the H&S-based targets should be viewed as “minimum” targets, not necessarily the final ones.All in all, the technical picture currently favors lower precious metals (and mining stock) prices over the next several weeks. In my view, this is either the middle or the final part of the very final decline in the precious metals market, before it takes off based on multiple positive factors of long-term nature.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Stock ATHs and Gold Double Bottom

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.04.2021 15:25
Bullish run in stocks that lost steam before the close – does that qualify as a reversal? Given the other moves such as in the Dow Industrials, Russell 2000 and emerging markets, it‘s unlikely that the S&P 500 met more than a temporary setback. Just look at the rush into risk-on assets as an immediate reaction to the infrastructure and taxation plans – see the high yield corporate bonds moving higher (and this time also investment grade corporate bonds finally) as long-dated Treasuries keep losing ground, and the dollar noticeably wavered.Yes, emerging worries about how this will be all paid for – not that an ideological challenge to modern monetary theory would be gaining any traction, but rather what would be the (quite predictable) effect of steep tax increases? Reduction in economic activity, unproductive moves to outset the effects, decrease in potential GDP? Remember the time proven truth that whatever the percentage rate, the government always takes in less than 20% GDP in taxes. The only question is the degree of distortions that the tax rate spawns.So, the S&P 500 upswing has good prospects of proceeding unimpeded (more profits!) as:(…) Stocks seem immune to the rising yields spell at the moment, meaning that value trades can remain at elevated levels while technology is stuck in no man‘s land and defensives are consolidating recent sharp gains (consolidating until the rising yields come back with vengeance).And there is little reason given the Fed‘s stance why they shouldn‘t. Much of the marketplace is buying into the transitory inflation story, and inflation expectations aren‘t yet running too hot. As the economic growth is stronger than current or future inflation, we‘re still at a good stage in the inflation cycle – everyone benefits and no one pays.Neither the 10-year Treasury yield, nor inflation expectations as measured by TIP:TLT ratio or RINF, are signalling trouble for the stock market. It‘s only commodities ($CRB) that have been consolidating through March – but that‘s of little consequence if you switch the view to a weekly chart (a bullish flag). The path of least resistance remains higher, and that rings true for copper, base metals, agrifoods or oil. If in doubt, look at lumber marching unimpeded to new highs.Precious metals are noticing the changing leadership baton, and have rebounded. Anticipating the copper upswing next? So much of the red metal would be needed in the years to come, whatever the actual rate of car fleet electrification. The same for ubiquitous silver applications well beyond solar panels. The cry in our Roaring Twenties is for more copper, nickel, zinc – just wait when the industrial giants‘ hunger for raw materials turns its focus onto Wall Street as the key sourcing (prospecting) place.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsStocks haven‘t genuinely reversed yesterday – the slighly higher volume doesn‘t pass the smell test. Higher highs are the most likely scenario next.A bit mixed picture in the market breadth indicators at first sight, but not more concerning than on a daily basis only. More volume behind the upswings is missing, essentially – and new highs new lows are lagging behind their mid-Mar highs. I expect the situation to be resolved over the coming week, as tomorrow‘s non-farm payrolls won‘t likely disappoint market expectation too much really.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) confirmed the stock market upswing with a bullish move on high volume, closing at daily highs. The slow motion run into risk-on again appears underway.Tech, Value and FinancialsTech (XLK ETF) rose, and so did industrials (XLI) before retreating similarly to consumer staples (XLP ETF) or real estate (XLRE ETF). Value stocks (VTV ETF) and financials (XLF ETF) scored modest declines too, but I chalk it down to the indiscriminate selling wave into the close – it‘s a temporary setback only.Gold in the SpotlightBoth gold and gold miners rebounded strongly yesterday as the futures touched $1,680. Rising volume behind both moves, yet a partial retreat before the close – not really worrying. The key point to note is the higher high miners made when compared to their pre-Mar 08 levels.Gold‘s Force index is likely to cross over into positive territory finally again, and the open question is for how long it remains there. Thus far, there is no reason to doubt the rebound‘s veracity. The missing piece in the puzzle is the copper to Treasury yields ratio, which should better start confirming the upswing so as to lend it more credibility.Silver, Platinum and CopperSilver jumped higher as well, being a little weaker than the yellow metal in comparison, which is fine given the upcoming precious metals upleg being led by the king of metals. The key move happened in copper, which would truly power the upswing once it clears the $4.10 zone. The other side of the coin is where would the 10-year Treasury yield trade at that time, of course.SummaryS&P 500 is likely to challenge the 4,000 mark before too long, and the stock market bull top remains very far in sight thereafter still.Precious metals rebounded, and miners confirm the gold move. Once the commodities consolidation is over and copper joins in the party, the sky would get clearer for both metals sensing the upcoming Fed (yield curve control) move.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Will Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Rebuild Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.04.2021 17:23
Biden just announced an ambitious and expensive infrastructure plan. Will it rebuild gold?Yesterday (Mar. 31), President Joe Biden the big infrastructure plan , the second major legislative initiative after the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan passed in early March. The proposal includes about $2.2 trillion in new spending over eight years, boosting government expenditures even further .Despite the name, the plan assumes that only a part would be spent on infrastructure. To be more specific, Biden wants to spend $600 billion on transportation infrastructure (such as bridges, roads, airports, etc.), and more than $300 billion on improving utilities infrastructure (drinking-water pipes, electric grids, broadband). He also proposes to put more than $300 billion into building and upgrading housing and schools, $400 billion to care for elderly and disabled Americans, and almost $600 billion in research and development infrastructure, manufacturing, and job training.That doesn’t sound bad at all (after all, infrastructure is critical), but there is a catch. The plan assumes that all the spending will be financed by tax hikes. Biden proposes to raise the U.S. corporate tax rate from the 21 percent set by Trump to 28 percent, as well as to eliminate all fossil fuel industry subsidies and loopholes. So, according to the proposal, the tax reforms will add about 0.5 percent of GDP in fiscal revenues, which are believed to fully pay for investments within the next 15 years.Implications for GoldWhat does Biden’s infrastructure plan mean for the U.S. economy? Well, I won’t argue that American infrastructure needs upgrading. There is a bipartisan agreement here. The problem is, however, that government spending programs are usually inefficient, and cost more than initially planned . Additionally, the plan seeks to give the government a significant role in new important areas, and to introduce anti-business and pro-labor unions regulations.So, generally speaking, the proposal stems from Biden’s progressive belief that government can and should be a primary driver for economic growth, which is just plain wrong. As both economic theory and empirics show, the private sector is inherently more efficient than the bureaucrats (you can ask people in the former communist countries whether it’s true). Such a revolution in U.S. economic policy will weaken the allocative efficiency and hamper the long-term pace of economic growth.Last but not least, the idea to raise taxes when the economy hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic recession is controversial, at least. Higher taxes will weaken corporate America and redistribute resources from the private sector to the public sector, negatively affecting the economy in the long-run. As well, I don’t believe that the tax revenues will fully finance the plan, so the fiscal deficits will increase further, ballooning even more the already mammoth pile of federal debt (see the chart below).And how will Biden’s infrastructure plan affect the gold market? Well, in the long-run, higher government spending, public debts, inflation , and corporate taxes should hamper the pace of economic growth and weaken corporate America and Wall Street. Hence, the proposal could be positive for gold prices, at least from the fundamental point of view .However, Biden’s bold actions seem to be welcomed so far by the financial markets. This is because the fiscal stimulus – and the rollout of vaccination – is strengthening the risk appetite. There are also hopes that the “go big” approach will allow the American economy to recover more swiftly than previously expected and quicker than its European peers. These expectations could propel the bond yields further up (see the chart below), also strengthening the U.S. dollar, and creating additional downward pressure on the gold prices .Therefore, although the Fed will have to step in and ease its monetary policy if the interest rates rise too much, the bond yields have room to move higher. This upward trend could continue to put gold under pressure , unless the yellow metal finds a way to diverge from its relationship with interest rates, for example, by attracting more investors worried about inflation.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Intraday Market Analysis – Rally Overheated

Intraday Market Analysis – Rally Overheated

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.04.2021 08:56
USDCHF sees rally over-stretchedThe US dollar tanked after an increase in US jobless claims tempered market optimism. The pair has met stiff selling pressure at 0.9470 since last July.The RSI has repeatedly ventured into the overbought area and suggested that the rally could have overextended itself.0.9400 is the immediate support and a bearish breakout could trigger a broader sell-off to 0.9350. Below that, a deeper pullback may lead the price action towards the medium-term support level at 0.9220 on the daily chart.AUDUSD bounces back to resistanceThe Aussie has found support from better-than-expected retail sales of -0.8% versus a consensus of -1.1%.Following the pair’s fall below the daily trendline and the key floor at 0.7580, the market has turned into a consolidation mood.An oversold RSI has triggered some short-covering, but the current rebound may attract more sellers in the supply zone around 0.7660.A bullish breakout could raise offers to 0.7750. Failing that, the price action would remain in a downward trajectory and test 0.7530 once again.EURNZD looks for Fibonacci supportThe euro is struggling to keep its balance between upbeat PMI and new lockdowns.The pair has been trying to rebound from last March’s bottom near 1.6330. After establishing a base around 1.65 the price action has surged with solid momentum.The current retracement is testing the 50% Fibonacci level (1.6730). A deeper correction would test the 61.8% level.1.6890 is a critical resistance on the upside, and if buyers succeed in clearing the way the euro could extend the rally above the psychological level of 1.7.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

What is the target for S&P?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 02.04.2021 12:09
S&P 500 is trading just below the key milestone of 4000. It’s likely to hit this level by the end of this week. What is the reason for this growth and what is the forecast? Let’s find out! Biden’s infrastructure plan Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as Biden announced its $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan to offset the corporate tax increase from 21% to 28%. The US President said this tax hike would bring $2 trillion over 15 years. However, some Democrats are still able to cut the increase to less than 28%. Unlike Nasdaq’s big jump, S&P 500’s growth was modest. This huge plan includes $620 billion in spending on transportation, including electric-vehicle incentives, and $500 billion – on growing the domestic manufacturing sector, with a focus on the chip industry and green manufacturing. Thus, it has a greater impact on the tech Nasdaq than S&P 500. However, the overall effect was taken positively by investors as the US economy will recover faster with the government’s help. On the other hand, the tax hike is a negative factor for stocks. Best month since November March was the best month for S&P 500 since November and their fourth positive month in five! It gained more than 4%. Bullish forecasts Sanford C. Bernstein strategists projected S&P 500 at 8000 in 100 months (eight and a half years). Let’s wait and see! Technical analysis S&P 500 (US 500) has been rising and rising without any stops since the coronavirus hit the markets in late February of the last year. It has broken through the key psychological mark of 4000. The way up to 4050 is open now. If it manages to break it, it may jump higher to the next round number of 4100. However, as we can notice, the upper line of Bollinger Bands lies just above the current price, indicating the price is too high. Besides, after the price breaks such significant resistance levels, it usually retraces back. It’s a so-called natural sell-off, after which the price will continue rising. However, if bulls keep momentum the rally up will continue without any stops. Just in case, support levels are 4000 and 3945. Important! The trading of stock indices will be close today at 16:00 MT because of the Easter holidays. Remember that you can trade stocks not only through Metatrader 5 but also through the FBS Trader app!
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Silver, Focus on resilience

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 03.04.2021 07:25
Silver’s price faces just the same strain. Much influenced by various strings pulling. It is essential to stay focused on the prime fundamentals and the clear long-term case for the shiny metal. Numbers for demand are overwhelmingly positive, and the fact that news coverage is strong doesn’t justify the temporary price dip to be principle-based.It is not easy to be a contrarian, yet it is very rewarding. We firmly believe this to be another rare opportunity to add to one’s physical holdings of Silver.The four cornerstones for resilience are:You. Take care of yourself first. A year without gyms, cooped up at home, and social isolation took a toll. Make sure you are balanced.People. No matter if corporate or family. We all went through this. As a result, people, worn out and making more mistakes, have changed. Don’t take your spouse and kids for granted. Treat your loved ones with extra care and renourish. They are your backbone. Accept that people essential to your business might not be as reliable as they used to be. Reevaluate partnerships and supply chains and have a watchful eye where your business is vulnerable. This is especially important if you trade with other people’s money.Technology. With supply chains banged up, it is wise to have backup systems in place and not expect smooth operations in case of extraordinary circumstances. Have necessary parts stockpiled and be self-dependent.Operations. Check your operations for their processes, people, and technology. Think risk control over efficiency. Form KYC to regulatory changes and increased fraud; this isn’t a time to streamline and maximize. Instead, set up systems to monitor compliance, strengthen your partnerships and supply chain reliance. Overall under the motto: “Never assume!” as we are now living in a world of fast change.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Last week´s setup:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of March 24th, 2021.We posted this chart in last week’s Silver chartbook publication.  Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Execution on the plan:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of April 1st, 2021.Since prices moved into our pre-planned entry zone of the yellow circle, we posted two entries live on our free Telegram channel. We were able to take already partial profits based on our Quad exit strategy to eliminate risk and are now holding two runners.Sideways range entries like these with quick risk elimination are representative of resilience. One doesn’t know which one of these entries will be the one where the remainder position size will break through the upper boundary of the range. One doesn’t need to. As long as the entries are low risk, this engagement in a tough sideways zone with the clarity of great success once the range breaks in the direction of the trend supports persistent efforts.Monthly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Silver-Focus on resilience, The edge on our side:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of April 1st, 2021.It is a misconception that one needs to be right to make money. But the ego constantly suggests us to find that best entry price. However, there is no such thing. We need to try resiliently until we get it right and control risk and reward ratios over sample sizes. An effort that requires a resilient mindset.A look at the most critical large time frame chart above shows three crucial factors.A preceding strong directional leg from US$12 to US$30 indicating a trend.A very favorable risk-reward ratio for the large time frame players.And if you have a closer look within the red box, you will find excellent volume transaction support below the price we are trading right now.Trading is a business no matter what time frame. You are in charge of wealth preservation and creation and you are the core anchor. Hence, you need to be in the best shape. Review your business plan and be aware that resilience requires a review of your breaking points. While we typically streamline business for efficiency, resilience points towards risk control and a look at dependencies. Ask yourself what can be learned from last year’s challenges and what can be done that similar surprise events do not negatively impact your business.Silver, Focus on resilience:Why did we pick this topic? Because trading and investment systems are only as good as their weakest link. With human error in trading being the number one equity curve killer, you are the weakest link. With change gaining speed, we find a top-down approach necessary to assure resilience to act upon the opportunities that change offers, maturely and fittingly. It isn’t business as usual; these times require extra preparation for the long haul.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|April 2nd, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

S&P 500 Fireworks and Gold Going Stronger

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.04.2021 15:13
Bullish run in stocks is on, driven by tech gains and value swinging higher as well. Throughout the markets, risk-on has been making a return as long-dated Treasury yields retreated, dollar fell and commodities continue their bullish flag formation. As I have tweeted on Thursday, it were the investment grade corporate bonds that signalled the turnaround in yields spreading to TLT next. Given such a constellation, the dollar‘s appeal is taking a dive as the bond market gets its reprieve. When nominal yields retreat while inflation (and inflation expectations) keep rising, real rates decline, and that leads to dollar‘s decline.Stocks are more focused on the tidal wave of liquidity rather than the tax increases that follow behind. So far, it‘s still reflation – tame inflation expectations given the avalanche of fresh money, real economy slowly but surely heating up (non-farm payrolls beat expectations on Friday), and not about the long-term consequences of tax hikes:(…) Reduction in economic activity, unproductive moves to outset the effects, decrease in potential GDP? Remember the time proven truth that whatever the percentage rate, the government always takes in less than 20% GDP in taxes. The only question is the degree of distortions that the tax rate spawns.And as the falling yields were embraced by tech with open arms, the sector‘s leadership in the S&P 500 upswing is back. As you‘ll see further on, the market breadth isn‘t pitiful either – slight non-confirmation yes, but I am looking for it to be gradually resolved with yet another price upswing, and that means more open profits (that‘s 7 winning stock market 2021 trades in a row).The Fed thus far quite succeeded in passing the inflation threat off as transitory, but the rebalancing into a higher inflation envrionment is underway – just look at the bullish consolidation across many commodities.The crucial copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio is slowly turning higher as the red metal defends gained ground, oil rebound is progressing and lumber is moving to new highs. And don‘t forget the surging soybeans and corn either. Apart from having positive influence upon S&P 500 materials or real estate sectors, precious metals have welcomed the turn, rebounding off the double bottom with miners‘ leadership and silver not getting too hot yet. And that‘s positive for the white metal‘s coming strong gains – let alone the yellow one‘s.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsSlightly lower volume during the whole week and Friday is merely a short-term non-confirmation. It isn’t a burning issue as stocks closed the week on a strong note. The bullish price action on the heels of improving credit markets and technology-led S&P 500 upswing, has good chances of going on.See by how much market breadth improved vs. Thursday – both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume turned reasonably higher, and given the tech leadership in the upswing, new highs new lows merely levelled off. For them to turn higher, value stocks would have to step to the fore again.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio confirmed the stock market upswing with its own bullish move, and the two are overlaid quite nicely at the moment. No whiff of non-confirmation here.Tech and ValueTech (XLK ETF) rose strongly, and value stocks (VTV ETF) stocks more than defended prior gains. Even financials (XLF ETF) moved higher, regardless of the rising Treasuries. The breadth of the stock market advance isn‘t weak at all, after all.Gold in the SpotlightLet‘s quote the assessment from my Easter update:(…) There had been indeed something about the gold decoupling from rising Treasury yields that I had been raising for countless weeks. The rebound off Mar 08 low retest is plain out in the open, miners keep outperforming on the upside, and the precious metals sector faces prospects of gradual recovery, basing with a tendency to trade higher before the awaited Fed intervention on the long end of the curve comes – should the market force its hand mightily enough. Either way for now, given the rising inflation and inflation expectations, a retreat in nominal rates translates into a decline in real rates, which is what gold loves.That‘s the dynamic of calm days – once the Fed finally even hints at capping yields, expect gold fireworks. Remember, the ECB, Australia and others are in that fight at the long end of the curve already. And with so much inflation in the pipeline as the PPI underscores, an inflationary spike is virtually baked in the cake.Another weekly gold chart, this time with miners overlaid. Since the Mar 08 bottom, their outperformance has become very apparent, and miners made a higher high as gold approached the bottom last week. Coupled with the waning power of the sellers, these are positive signs for the precious metals sector.Gold‘s daily chart reveals the rebound‘s veracity – just as sharp as the dive to the second bottom was. Silver moved higher, scoring smaller gains than the yellow metal, which isn‘t however an issue as the white metal tends to outperform in the latter stages of precious metals upswings. We aren‘t there yet, and haven‘t seen it outperform in mid-Mar either.SummaryS&P 500 has challenged and conquered the 4,000 mark, and the upswing‘s internals keep being aligned bullishly. No sharp correction in sight indeed.Precious metals rebound lives on, accompanied by the miners‘ outperformance. Copper and many commodities keep consolidating, which is actually bullish given the retreat in yields. Another confirmation of the approaching upleg in commodities and precious metals as inflation starts running hotter and hotter.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Bitcoin is invaluable - 06.04.2021

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 06.04.2021 10:10
In fact, Bitcoin is a decentralized global digital network which in essence is transforming analog assets into digital assets. It has been growing at 200% a year. Now after 12 years in existence Bitcoin is a digital trillion-dollar network.What supports its long-term stability is that its decentralization and transparency are immune against policy. While we typically at the mercy of policymakers and as such a middleman that can manipulate the use of a payment method, with Bitcoin, the individual is genuinely safe. Looking at the world around us where it is hard to find any field not infiltrated by groups who seek to take advantage, manipulate, and flat out lie, it is a true need one can trust a store of value to benchmark against.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, Our chart from last week’s chartbook:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 23rd, 2021.We posted the above short to midterm chart prediction in our last week’s chartbook publication.BTC-USDT, Daily Chart, As anticipated-another leg up:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 29th, 2021.The market unfolded quite as planned. BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Health and sustainability:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 29th, 2021.If we analyze Bitcoin prices advancing from last August’s lows, we can find an intact Elliot impulse wave pattern. The Health and sustainability of this trend are derived from the three propulsion proportions. While advancing strongly in the first wave with a 323 % advancement, the pace cooled down to a 99% second leg upward. These stunning advancements followed yet again by a more moderate increase of 44% to its recent all-time highs. This abstinence of a blow-off top or run-away train allows us to believe that prices could march higher.BTC-USDT, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin is invaluable, Projections:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 29th, 2021.When examining projections, we like to stack odds by looking at both a time and a price component. The above chart shows this blend using a time cycle approach (vertical lines) and a Fibonacci extension probability measurement. Stacking these projection tools would lead us to a price target near ninety-seven thousand for the mid-next year. Our “conservative” projection is marked with the yellow circle on the top right of the chart.Bitcoin is invaluable:Looking around, and you will find that the Dollar is what around the world most value storage is bench-marked against. It seems frightening to us since the Dollar has no gold standard or otherwise intrinsic value that we still give it this much power only based on a belief. With economic powers shifting towards the east and a lack of political and economic leadership, beliefs can change, and as such, currency stability is endangered. Hedging your store of value through an instrument that holds intrinsic value based on principles over beliefs seems more than logical.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 30th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Bitcoin – Grab it while you can

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 06.04.2021 10:11
BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Accelerated moves:Bitcoin in US Dollar, monthly chart as of April 5th, 2021.Looking at the logarithmic monthly chart of Bitcoin above, you can see Bitcoin’s unique trading behavior. Each of the five thrusts in the last ten years were unique in their structure. After a brief steep decline (red) follows a strong bounce to the break-even point (yellow). This consistent strength in itself is notable. Truly remarkable is what comes after. Prices accelerate substantially further up (turquoise). It is these boost moves in their consistency that we have not seen in any other instrument. It makes Bitcoin unique and creates an edge for the trader as well as the investor.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Favorable abnormalities:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of April 5th, 2021.What has changed over the years is the substructure of moves within smaller time frames. The weekly chart above shows clearly how retracements are very flat within the last twelve months. Supply-demand imbalances are widening since the number of coins free in the markets for speculation and trade is shrinking due to corporate hoarding of coins. Larger size offers are quickly gobbled up, which leads to small percentage retracements. This lines up with our fundamental findings observing exchange and corporate Bitcoin wallets. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Exploiting stacked edges:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of April 5th, 2021.This stacking of odds both fundamentally and charts-wise on the larger time frames leads us to market participation. When low-risk opportunities presented themselves in fulfillment of our daily call pre-setup, we posted a trade entry in our free Telegram channel on April 5th 2021. We were already able to eliminate risk based on our Quad exit strategy. With prices now trading above our volume fractal analysis representing support (green horizontal line), we are positioned in case Bitcoin should break out to new highs.Bitcoin – Grab it while you can:The fundamental reason for these price explosions is hoarding. One aspect is hodlers. Another aspect is the limited amount of Bitcoin. Only 21 million coins will exist with the final coins being minted in around 2140. Once the circulating supply reaches its maximum, Bitcoin miners will no longer receive block rewards. Currently, just over 18.5 million BTC has been produced, equivalent to minting 88.3% of the maximum supply in just over a decade. This alone would have a negligible effect, though, on overall trading behavior. What started supporting these accelerated moves was when many newbies came into the market to buy a Bitcoin or two to just let them sit on an exchange. Still not atypical for a multi-wave acceleration. Now the common picture has turned. We see many sizeable withdrawals from exchanges into wallets that typically do not show any distribution. This genuinely aggressive hoarding behavior of prominent players like hedge funds and pension funds, and large corporate players cause another more dramatic supply imbalance on the already limited supply of Bitcoin. Facts that fundamentally support the general belief that Bitcoin is a genuine alternative to Gold as wealth storage.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|April 6th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

New S&P 500 Highs or Metals Rising?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.04.2021 15:59
Bullish run in stocks is on, driven by tech gains and value not yielding an inch. A rare constellation given the the long-dated Treasuries performance especially – as if the narratives were flipped, and value „could“ move up on rising yields. Well, liquidity and bets on the stocks benefiting from the coming infrastructure bill. Any way you look at it, the market breadth is positive and ready to support the coming upswing continuation, even though I look for a largely sideways day in stocks on Tuesday given the aptly called fireworks to happen yesterday. Sizable long profits in stock market trades #6 and #7 have been taken off the table – 149 points in my Standard money managements, and 145 points in the Advanced money management that comes on top.Both the VIX and put/call ratio are at extended levels – the first below 18 (formerly unimaginable to stock market non-bulls), the second approaching local lows again. As I have written yesterday:(…) Throughout the markets, risk-on has been making a return as long-dated Treasury yields retreated, dollar fell and commodities continue their bullish flag formation. As I have tweeted on Thursday, it were the investment grade corporate bonds that signalled the turnaround in yields spreading to TLT next. Given such a constellation, the dollar‘s appeal is taking a dive as the bond market gets its reprieve. When nominal yields retreat while inflation (and inflation expectations) keep rising, real rates decline, and that leads to dollar‘s decline.It‘s the (extra Archegos related?) liquidity that has helped to erase quite steeper intraday decline in the long-dated Treasuries (TLT ETF) but the dollar took it on the chin. Quoting my yesterday‘s dollar observations:(…) As I have tweeted on Thursday, it were the investment grade corporate bonds that signalled the turnaround in yields spreading to TLT next. Given such a constellation, the dollar‘s appeal is taking a dive as the bond market gets its reprieve. When nominal yields retreat while inflation (and inflation expectations) keep rising, real rates decline, and that leads to dollar‘s decline.The Fed thus far quite succeeded in passing the inflation threat off as transitory, but the rebalancing into a higher inflation envrionment is underway – just look at the bullish consolidation across many commodities.Apart from oil, there have been quite a few commodity moves up yesterday – copper leading the rebound out of its sideways pattern, lumber reaching for new highs, agrifoods far from breaking below consolidation lows. These are the pockets of strength as the $CRB index moved down yesterday.Not the case of precious metals, if a joint view is taken. The rebound off the double bottom goes on, miners are in the pool position (senior ones, that is), and silver isn‘t reaching for the stars yet.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookQuite an overshoot above the mid-Feb and mid-Mar highs, daily indicators are quite extended, and sideways trading today would be a bullish achievement. The upswing continuation next isn‘t in jeopardy in the least though.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is trading in lockstep with the stock market upswing, sending no warning signs.Tech, Finance and UtilitiesTech (XLK ETF) rose strongly, and financials (XLF) as one of the value stocks (VTV ETF) bellwethers moved higher regardless of the intraday turn in TLT, which was however embraced by defensives such as utilities (XLU ETF). Quite good market breadth still.Gold and SilverGold not moving much while miners rose still, which is bullish for the full precious metals sector – the upswing simply continues, and as each of the resistances ($1,760s being the next one) is cleared, the odds of no retest of the second bottom rise. Needless to say, seeing gold and miners roll over from here, wouldn‘t be a bullish development at all.Silver didn‘t rise yesterday, which is of little consequence though, as the white metal is famed for moving in bursts at times. Given the copper performance, especially in the face of barely budging Treasury yields, both precious metals stand a good chance of rising today. The degree of miners‘ outperformance would provide further clues.SummaryS&P 500 run above 4,070 is likely to be consolidated but I‘m not looking for a sharp correction starting here in the least. Tech could face short-term headwinds now given its upcoming resistance test, but that‘s about it.Precious metals rebound goes on, with the miners still outperforming. Copper though appears pointing the way higher now too as the approaching upleg in commodities and precious metals in response to inflation running hotter and hotter, gains traction.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Dollar is Back

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.04.2021 16:43
Previously dismissed, the USDX may now be back with a vengeance. Sentiment is swinging away from shorts and there is an uncanny historical pattern.With a potential bearish pattern already broken, the USDX is resuming its journey northward. And why is it geared to do well? Is it because the U.S. economy is ripping head? Definitely not - that’s not happening. It’s rather because other regions (think Europe and Japan) are doing even worse.The dollar’s imminent rise doesn’t mean that gold can’t still experience some very short-term upswing, but for the medium-term, the precious metals continue to face bearish headwinds.With the greenback laying back and enjoying a well-deserved Easter vacation, gold, silver and the gold miners avoided a dollar-drama for at least another day. However, with the USD Index working to regain its supremacy, along with investors’ respect, the ‘death of the dollar’ narrative has quietly dissipated from the investing zeitgeist.Case in point: the USD Index has broken above its monthly declining resistance line and has already made four new highs since the New Year. More importantly though, because the precious metals have a strong negative correlation with the U.S. dollar, the upward momentum has coincided with an 8.78% drawdown of gold, a 6.18% drawdown of silver and a 6.41% drawdown of the GDX ETF.Please see below:And showing no signs of slowing down, with a well-rested USD Index itching to get back to work, we could see ‘business as usual’ in the coming days. On Apr. 2, I warned that a short-term correction could usher the USD Index back to its March high.That’s exactly what happened yesterday (Apr. 5).However, with the corrective culmination approaching the finish line, the USD Index remains poised to resume its uptrend.Adding to the optimism, the tide has already gone out on a sea full of USD Index shorts. And because Warren Buffett once said that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked,” highly leveraged speculators could be the next to follow.Please see below:To explain, notice how oversold periods in 2014 and 2018 – where net-speculative short interest as a percentage of total open interest (based on the CoT data) was extremely high – preceded sharp rallies in the USD Index? Thus, with 2021 the most extreme on record, the forthcoming rally should be significant.How significant? Well, let’s take a look at how things developed in the past – after all, history tends to rhyme.Wayback PlaybackLet’s focus on what happened when the net speculative positions were significantly (!) negative and then they became significantly (!) positive, so without paying attention to tiny moves (like the one that we saw last summer), let’s focus on the more meaningful ones (like the one that we see right now – the net positions just became visibly positive – over 16%, after being very negative for quite some time.In short, that’s how the following profound rallies started:The big 2008 rally (over 16 index points)The big 2009 – 2010 rally (over 14 index points)The 2011 – 2012 rally (over 11 index points)The 2013 rally (“only” over 5 index points)The big 2014 – 2015 rally (over 20 index points)The 2018 rally (over 15 index points)The current rally started at about 89, so if the “normal” (the above shows what is the normal course of action) happens, the USD Index is likely to rally to at least 94, but since the 5-index point rally seems to be the data outlier, it might be better to base the target on the remaining 5 cases. Consequently, one could expect the USD Index to rally by at least 11 – 20 index points, based on the net speculative positions alone. This means the upside target area of about 105 – 114.Consequently, a comeback to the 2020 highs is not only very likely, but also the conservative scenario.Moreover, let’s keep in mind that the very bullish analogy to the 2018 rally remains intact. Please see below:To explain, I wrote on Friday (Apr. 2):What we saw yesterday definitely qualifies as a small correction. In fact, even if it was doubled it would still be small. And – more importantly – it would be in perfect tune with what happened in 2018 during the big rally.After rallying visibly above the:93 level200-day moving average61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the final part of the declinethe USD Index moved back below the 93 level. This happened in May 2018 and it happened last week.Since both rallies are so similar, it’s nothing odd that we see a pullback in a similar situation.Back in 2018, the pullback was small and quick. It ended without the USD Index reaching its 200-day moving average. The pullback ended when the USDX moved approximately to its previous high and slightly below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement.Applying this to the current situation (previous high at about 92.5, the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at about 92.7, and the 200-day moving average at 92.66), it seems that the USD Index would be likely to find its bottom in the 92.3 – 92.7 area.Because of this, the outlook remains profoundly bearish for the gold , silver , and mining stocks over the medium term (even though the next few days are relatively unclear, especially due to gold’s triangle-vertex based reversal that’s due this week ). If you analyze the table below, you can see that the precious metals tend to move inversely to the U.S. dollar.The 2017-2018 AnalogueBut as the most important development affecting the precious metals, the USD Index’s 2017-2018 analogue is already unfolding before our eyes. With this version likely to be titled ‘The Resurgence: Part 2,’ while history often rhymes, it’s rare for it to rhyme with this level of specificity . For context, in 2018, the USD Index’s breakout above its 50-day moving average is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. And after the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is 94.5.Even more ominous for the precious metals, when the USD Index turned a short-term decline into consolidation in mid-2018, can you guess what happened next? Well, the USD Index moved significantly higher, while gold moved significantly lower.Please see below:USDX Broke a Potential Bearish PatternLikewise, a potentially bearish pattern that I had been monitoring – where the USD Index’s price action from July to October 2020 mirrored the price action from December 2020 to February/March 2021– has officially been broken . With the USD Index’s medium-term breakout trumping the former, the potentially bearish pattern has been invalidated and the USD Index remains on a journey to redemption.But to what end?Well, if we look back at 2020, the USD Index attempted to recapture its previous highs. But lacking the upward momentum, the failure was followed by a sharp move lower. Today, however, the USD Index has broken above its previous highs and the greenback verified the breakout by consolidating, moving back toward the previous lows and rising once again. Now, the USD Index is visibly above its previous highs .Taken together, and given the magnitude of the 2017-2018 upswing , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. And in the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.No, not because the U.S. is doing so great in economic terms. It’s because it’s doing (and likely to do) better than the Eurozone and Japan, and it’s this relative performance that matters, not the strength of just one single country or monetary area. After all, the USD Index is a weighted average of currency exchange rates and the latter move on a relative basis.In conclusion, while the USD Index’s decline on Apr. 5 created a goldilocks environment for the precious metals, the latter should have enjoyed a much larger upswing. However, with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield jumping by another 2.37% and the precious metals still shaken from a string of false breakouts, their relatively weak performance was quite revealing. Think about it: if gold, silver and the gold miners can’t make up ground when their main adversary retreats, how are they likely to respond when the USD Index regains its mojo? As a result, with the USD Index’s attitude about to shift from accommodating to unkind, gold, silver and the gold miners will likely see lower levels before forming a lasting bottom.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Stronger US Dollar Reacts To Global Market Concerns – Which ETFs Will Benefit? Part II

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 06.04.2021 20:49
In this second part of our exploration of the recent US Dollar rally and what it may be reacting to in relation to the current US stock market highs and continued rally, we will explore some of the underlying factors that are translating into US Dollar strength while the US stock market continues to push higher.In the first part of this research article, we highlighted the US Dollar reaction to the 2008-09 credit market crisis and how the US Dollar actually started to bottom/rally in early 2008 – just as the rollover top in the US stock markets continued to setup.  The way the US Dollar reacts to stress factors in the global markets is to strengthen as a safe haven as capital is constantly seeking the best environment for investment and profits.  When the markets enter a period of turmoil, the US Dollar typically begins to strengthen before the global markets really begin to react to the fear or turmoil.The recent news of large financial institutions and hedge funds taking large losses and closing operations is somewhat similar to the Lehman event of 2008.  These types of larger corporate debt collapses have wide-range global market effects.  Sometimes, these events can ripple into other global corporations who engaged in this level of financing or credit functions.  For example, Credit Suisse's attempt to recoup potential losses from the Greensill collapse may be a very complicated and fruitless process according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.Weekly US Dollar Shows Uptrend StartingThe current US Dollar Weekly chart, below, shows how the US Dollar has strengthened over the past 3 months and how this current uptrend aligns with the $89 lows from early 2018.  One of the most interesting aspects of this chart is the peak in early 2020, as the COVID-19 virus market collapse bottomed, which was followed by an extended decline.  As mentioned earlier, the US Dollar acts as a safe haven during times of uncertainty and chaos.  Obviously, the initial COVID-19 market selloff prompted quite a bit of uncertainty and chaos, prompting the US Dollar to rise nearly 9% in just two weeks.  Does the current upside trending in the US Dollar translate into more uncertainty and chaos in the markets?Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The recent bottom on this Weekly US Dollar chart happened on January 6, 2021. This was the day that Congress certified the US state electors.  It was also the day that chaos took place in Washington DC.  From that point onward, the US Dollar began a decidedly upward price trend.  Since that low on January 6, the US Dollar has risen over 4.60%.  Over that same time, the SPY has rallied more than 7.5%, which obviously fails to show any US or global market concerns.Weekly Smart Cash vs. US Dollar CorrelationsThe following chart shows the US Dollar (as a GOLD line) and our Custom Smart Cash Index (as a BLUE line) and highlights the threshold of the US Dollar that usually prompts a breakdown in price in the stock market.  The ORANGE threshold level on this chart for the US Dollar is 94.10 and the PURPLE threshold level on this chart 99.50.  Once the US Dollar reaches levels above the ORANGE threshold, the SPY becomes much more volatile and tends to retrace lower over time.  Once the US Dollar reaches above the PURPLE threshold, it appears the US Dollar reaches major resistance, stalls, and contracts, which prompts a fairly large upside price trend in the SPY.Currently, the US Dollar Index is trading just above 93.00 and it just 1.1 away from the ORANGE threshold.  Should the US Dollar continue to rally over the next few weeks and months, our research suggests the US stock market will enter a period of increased volatility with broad sector trending/rotation.  As you can see on this chart, near the end of 2018, the US Dollar Index rallied above the ORANGE threshold while the Custom Smart Cash Index entered a period of extended price volatility (2019 through the COVID-19 bottom in 2020).  Once the US Dollar Index fell back below the ORANGE threshold (July/August 2020), the Custom Smart Cash Index began to rally estensively.The current rally in the US stock market will likely continue until the US Dollar Index moves comfortably over the ORANGE threshold, there is a strong possibility the US stock market will enter a period of extended volatility and trending.  That means that the current bullish price trend may enter a broader rally phase – targeting a new excess phase peak.  Or, it may shift into more of a sideways price trend with a broad range of price rotation – like what happen in 2015 to 2016.Interestingly enough, near the end of 2016, as the US stock market bottomed and began to rally, the sectors that lead that rally included precious metals, miners, utilities, regional banking, and technology (later in 2017).  This suggests we need to watch metals & miners as well as utilities and regional banking sectors later in 2021.Currently, the leading sector trends are Real Estate, REITS, US Financials, Global Infrastructure, Global Natural Resources, Technology, Consumer Services, and Aerospace & Defense.  These leading sectors suggest many traders/investors believe the next few years will be filled with various advantages in technology, raw materials, consumer activities and infrastructure/defense spending.  Get ready for some really big trends in various sectors and be prepared to jump into some of these bigger trends.Don’t miss the opportunities to profit from the broad market sector rotations we expect this year, which will be an incredible year for traders of my Best Asset Now (BAN) strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets.For those who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.Happy Trading!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

BAC and Citi: which one is a better buy?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 07.04.2021 10:20
What’s going to happen? Bank of America and Citigroup will report their earnings in Q1’2021 on April 15 before the market open. What to do with it? If BAC and Citi outperform market expectations, it’s possible that the price of their respective stocks rises. Therefore, if you’re convinced that the results will be better than thought, you buy before the reporting date of April 15 in the expectation that the price will rise. Once it goes higher, you sell. Are we convinced that these banks will outperform? The fundamental factor that supports the rising profits and, consequently, stock value growth for both banks is the improving economic outlook. Primarily, in the US, and globally. One of the specific elements is the rising US Treasury yields which have a direct influence on the banks’ own interest rates and, hence, profits. However, this factor may not have reached its full momentum in Q1’2021 as it wasn’t yet clear during the first months of the year how the situation will unroll. That’s why this factor is more about the mid-term and long-term. However, that doesn’t mean that observers won’t include that into their reaction to the coming release of the earnings data on April 15. Bank of America, Citigroup, and other stocks are available in FBS Trader! Besides, you can trade stock through MetaTrader 5. What’s expected? The estimated EPS of BAC for Q1’2021 is $0.63; the one of Citi - $2.24. Take into account the differences now: Citi brought much stronger data in the last two quarters of 2020 against the forecasts than the Bank of American did against the market’s projections. In the meantime, Citi’s stock looks more vulnerable responsive to the downward pressures while BAC is making all-time highs. On the one hand, it makes it easier to plan for an optimistic scenario of Citi: it has its pre-virus high of $82 to be reached by bulls. The Bank of America, on the other hand, is already exploring uncharted upside territories. Therefore, we can only extrapolate that a better-than-thought earnings report may push its stock further above – into the area of $43 per share.
On the Verge of Stocks Pullback

On the Verge of Stocks Pullback

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.04.2021 15:51
S&P 500 is still consolidating Monday‘s sharp gains, showered with liquidity. Yet it seems that eking out further gains is getting harder as the price action took the index quite far from its key moving averages. If I had to pick one sign of stiffer headwinds ahead, it would be the tech sector‘s reaction to another daily retreat in Treasury yields – the sector didn‘t rally, and neither did the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Value stocks saved the day, and it appears we‘re about to see them start doing better again, relatively speaking.Yes, the risk-reward ratio for the bulls is at unsavory levels in the short run. What about being short at this moment then? It all depends upon the trading style, risk tolerance and time horizon. I‘m not looking for stocks making a major top here as the bull run is intact thanks to:(..) Well, liquidity and bets on the stocks benefiting from the coming infrastructure bill. Any way you look at it, the market breadth is positive and ready to support the coming upswing continuation, even though I look for a largely sideways day in stocks on Tuesday given the aptly called fireworks to happen yesterday. Sizable long profits in stock market trades #6 and #7 have been taken off the table – 149 points in my Standard money managements, and 145 points in the Advanced money management that comes on top.My prognosis for yesterday‘s session materialized, and we have seen quite a record number (around 95%) of stocks trading above their 200-day moving averages, which is similar to the setup right after the post-dotcom bubble bear market 2002/3 lows, or 1-2 years after the bull market run off the Mar 2009 lows. Hard to say which one is more hated, but I see the run from Mar 2020 generational low as the gold medal winner, especially given the denial accompanying it since.Gold made a run above $1,740 in line with retreating yields and copper not giving up much gained ground, but the immediate run‘s continuation to the key $1,760s or even better above $1,775 looks set to have to wait for a few sessions. I don‘t expect today‘s FOMC minutes release to change that. While the metals are likely to take their time, the healthy miners‘ outperformance supports its continuation once the soft patch we appear entering, is over.The Thursday called dollar downswing is playing out, putting a floor below the commodities, which are undergoing a much needed correction from their late Feb top. It‘s not over yet, and the shy AUD/USD upswing is but one clue. Given the oil price meandering around $60 (by the way, not even the unlikely decline to $52 would break black gold‘s bull run), the USD/CAD performance as of late is disappointing, as the greenback got mostly stronger since mid Mar. More patience in the commodities arena appears probable as we‘re waiting for both Treasury yields and inflation expectations to start rising again.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe SPX headwinds are readily apparent, and a brief pullback would be healthy. Don‘t look though for too much downside.Russell 2000 and Emerging MarketsSmallcaps are still underperforming for now, but emerging markets scored gains thanks to improving yield differentials and another down day in the world reserve currency.Focus on TechnologyTech (XLK ETF) was the key retreating sector yesterday – little wonder the mid Feb resistance it‘s approaching. The big names ($NYFANG, black line) are lagging behind still, showing that the sector got a little ahead of itself on a short-term basis.Gold and SilverGold‘s Force index finally crossed into positive territory, but the yellow metal isn‘t taking yet advantage of retreating yields in a visually outstanding way. Quite some resistance in the $1,740s needs to be cleared first, which would likely take a while, but the rally‘s internals are still on the bulls‘ side.Gold miners keep strongly outperforming the yellow metal, with the seniors (GDX ETF) doing particularly great – better than gold juniors or silver miners. Seeing signs of the silver sector getting too ahead, wouldn‘t likely be bullish at all unless sustained – at the current stage, I can‘t underline these words enough in the ongoing physical silver squeeze.Gold to Silver RatiosSince the gold bottom was hit in early Mar (that‘s still the leading hypothesis), the precious metals‘ leadership has moved to the yellow metal – and it‘s visible in both the gold to silver ratio and gold miners to silver miners one. The time for the white metal to (out)shine would come, but clearly isn‘t and won‘t be here any day now.SummaryS&P 500 is likely to keep consolidating gained ground, and (shallow) bear raids wouldn‘t be unexpected here – in spite of solid corporate credit markets performance. Yet, it‘s the extraordinary nature of VIX trading and put/call ratio moves, that point to the bull market run as intact and merely in need of a breather.Precious metals are likely to run into short-term headwinds before clearing out the next major set of resistances above $1,760s. The upswing though remains healthy and progressing, and will be led by the gold sector.
Fed Officials Shift Focus to Inflation Amid European and British Currency Upside Momentum

Intraday Market Analysis – Deeper Correction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.04.2021 08:14
USDJPY continues to pull back The US dollar struggles to find buyers amid dovish FOMC minutes. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near the psychological level of 111.00 from last March. An RSI divergence was an indication that the rally was already losing steam. A breakout below 109.30 could trigger a deeper correction to the demand area between 108.40 and the 30-day moving average found on the daily chart. A rebound will need to lift offers around 110.55 first before more buyers would commit their chips. USOIL awaits breakout Oil prices came under pressure after data showed an increase in US oil production at the end of March. The upbeat sentiment has softened after the US crude dipped below the 20 and 30-day moving averages for the first time in four months. The bearish MA cross may attract more sellers. On the hourly chart, the price action is currently in a rectangle consolidation between 57.20 and 62.20. A bearish breakout could trigger a broader sell-off towards 52s, while 64.70 would be the immediate target on the upside. UK 100 tests major resistance The FTSE 100 has reached a three-month high after Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK’s economy would reopen next week. The index is rising along the 20-hour moving average and is heading towards the previous high at 6960. A breakout above that major resistance could open the door to the pre-covid level (7400). The RSI has entered the overbought area and may draw a temporary pullback. In this case, the resistance-turned-support 6805 would be the level to watch for trend followers.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Navigating the Tidal Wave of Liquidity

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.04.2021 15:50
S&P 500 moved marginally higher in spite of its short-term very extended position, powered by liquidity and almost defying the odds. Credit markets were hinting at deterioration, the yen carry trade I talked a week ago has run into a brick wall as viewed by the USD/JPY exchange rate reversal – but stocks didn‘t listen, and their market breadth indicators are actually quite healthy.We‘re still in the rare constellation I discussed two days ago – Treasury yield moves are exerting no real pressure either on value stocks or technology including heavyweights, which are picking up the tech upswing slack. Microrotations still pointing higher are the name of the game, on the wave of infrastructure bill expectations as well.Still, the risk-reward ratio for the bulls is at unsavory levels in the very short run even as the longer time frame perspectives remain really bright. Consider these points made yesterday:(…) we have seen quite a record number (around 95%) of stocks trading above their 200-day moving averages, which is similar to the setup right after the post-dotcom bubble bear market 2002/3 lows, or 1-2 years after the bull market run off the Mar 2009 lows. Hard to say which one is more hated, but I see the run from Mar 2020 generational low as the gold medal winner, especially given the denial accompanying it since.Gold kept its run above $1,740 intact and regardless of the daily weakness in the miners – should that one be repeated more consistently, it would become worrying for the bulls. Looking though again at the USD/JPY chart, I‘m increasingly optimistic that the currents working against the king of metals, have turned. That‘s because whenever yen, the currency perceived by the market place as a safe haven one, strengthens, gold tends to follow its cue – and that‘s where we are now. The precious metals run to the key $1,760s or even better above $1,775 is approaching, and has already sent my open gold position solidly into the black. The soft patch I cautioned against at the onset of yesterday‘s session, has materialized in the miners, and might be very well over by today‘s closing bell. Yes, I look for mining stocks to reverse yesterday‘s weakness even in the competition for money flows with the S&P 500 holding up gained ground.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 keeps hugging the upper border of Bollinger Bands, and the willingness to trade at these extended levels, has decreased as the volume shows. Long-term investors correctly perceive higher highs as coming, short-term ones view the entry point as unfavorable.Credit MarketsBond markets wavered yesterday – both corporate and Treasury ones. Yet, note the turn higher in both high yield corporate bonds and investment grade ones, defying TLT – this bodes well for the stock market upswing health.Focus on Technology and ValueTech (XLK ETF) reversed its Tuesday‘s retreat, and $NYFANG (lower black line) powered upwards while value stocks (upper black line) or Dow Jones Industrial Average didn‘t yield an inch. The advance is broad-based but tech heavyweights might take a moment in overcoming their mid-Mar highs.Inflation ExpectationsThe Treasury inflation protected securities to long-dated Treasuries (TIP:TLT) ratio appears ready to move upwards, and the rising yields are clearly doubting its recent dip.Gold in the SpotlightGold miners compared to gold, don‘t paint a daily picture of strength. Jumping to conclusions on account of the hanging man formation in gold, would be premature though.Zooming out, the weekly gold chart with overlaid copper to 10-year Treasury yield, paints a picture of (bullish) turnaround and decoupling. Gold has been clearly attempting to move higher lately, and that will reflect upon the precious metals complex positively as it undergoes its own rotations lifting gold, silver or miners at different stages and magnitudes.SummaryS&P 500 is likely to keep consolidating gained ground, and (shallow) bear raids wouldn‘t be unexpected here – in spite of the strong market breadth. We‘re witnessing VIX trading well below 20 for four sessions in a row while the put/call ratio has risen to the approximate midpoint of its usual range – the bull market is intact, and a breather wouldn‘t be surprising here.Miners moving higher again is the first step to power gold upwards sustainably again, but the shifting currency winds would help here as strengthening yen would facilitate beating the next major set of resistances above $1,760s.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

U.S. Labor Market Is Recovering. Will Gold Too?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.04.2021 16:55
The March nonfarm payrolls were surprisingly strong. If the current favorable trend in the U.S. labor market continues, gold may struggle.As the chart below shows, in March 2021, total nonfarm payrolls rose by 916,000 , following gains of 468,000 in February (after an upward revision). The latest gains were the largest since August 2020. It’s important to note here that job growth was widespread, although led by gains in leisure, hospitality, education, and construction.Furthermore, the U.S. economy added significantly more jobs than expected . Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecasted 675,000 additions, but it turned out that employment in January and February combined was 156,000 higher than previously reported. Also on the positive side, the unemployment rate declined from 6.2 to 6 percent , as the chart below shows. As the unemployment rate is much below its high from April 2020, it’s clear that the U.S. labor market is recovering from the pandemic recession .However, significant slack remains. First, the unemployment rate is still 2.5 percentage points higher compared to February 2020, before the pandemic started. Second, the broader unemployment rates, which paint a more accurate picture of unemployment, are even further from their pre-pandemic levels. For instance, the broadest U-6 rate was 10.7 percent in March, i.e., 3.7 percentage points above the level seen in early 2020. Third, the labor-participation rate is 1.8 percentage points lower than its pre-pandemic level, which means that many people simply dropped out from the labor market instead of searching for a job.Implications for GoldWhat does it all mean for the yellow metal? Well, gold’s reaction to a generally good employment situation report was positive . As the chart below shows, the London price of the shiny metal increased from $1,726 on April 1 to $1,745 on April 6, 2021, when the fixing resumed after the holidays.The explanation for gold’s positive reaction might lie in the fact that although the employment report was positive, it won’t be enough to alter the Fed’s monetary policy . As a reminder, the U.S. central bank wants to see “substantial further progress” towards labor market repair before tapering the asset purchases and raising the interest rates . Of course, further such reports with almost one million job gains would force the Fed to admit that the situation improved substantially.However, the Fed would like to see a continuation of the current trend for a while before it will alter its stance. Indeed, as Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans recently said, “those conditions will not be met for a while (…) Policy is likely on hold for some time.”And it won’t be easy to sustain the current favorable trend in the labor market. This is because the large share of the unemployed are long-term unemployed, roughly 43 percent, and there is a risk that these people will get discouraged and drop out from the labor market. It’s easier to put short-term unemployed than long-term unemployed into work again.Regardless, gold’s reaction amid the surprisingly strong nonfarm payrolls report and the accompanying rise in the bond yields could be seen as encouraging . Some analysts even believe that the yellow metal has bottomed out.However, given that the U.S. outpaces its major peers in the pace of economic recovery, it might be too early to call the return of the gold bulls . So, the medium-term downside risks remain present in the gold market. Although the single report won’t cause an immediate shift in the Fed’s stance, if this trend continues, the market expectations of the Fed’s tapering and hikes in the federal funds rate could move up, exerting downward pressure on gold prices.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Stocks: Q1'2021 earnings reports coming!

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 09.04.2021 15:21
What will move the market on April 12-16? The third full week of April is expected to be relatively quiet on Forex - with a few exceptions. Primarily, it will be the Reserve Bank of New Zealand that announces its Cash Rate on Wednesday – that may create shifts in NZD/USD and other pairs with NZD. Also, Australian labor authorities will announce the Employment Change and Unemployment Rate – some upbeat data may push AUD. Other than that, no major events are planned for the Forex week. In the meantime, the stock market is opening the earnings reports season – that’s the prime time for stock market movers. The US corporate landscape may be experiencing turbulence through the middle of the next month. Therefore, fasten your seatbelts, and prepare to see your stocks moving in MT5 and FBS Trader. Trade ideas JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs These major banks will release their earnings on Wednesday before the US market open. Both brought strong financial performance results in the previous quarter, and the market is not expecting any less than that this time. Both stocks are now slightly below the recently made all-time highs and will likely beat them if the outlook is optimistic. Bank of America and Citigroup Another couple of the largest US banks, these two are notably different in their stock price performance. While BAC has been pretty bullish lately – probably, the most bullish among all the banks – and its stock has been busy making a new all-time high, Citigroup has not yet reached the pre-virus levels. That’s why the release of the earnings report may be crucial for Citi to possibly form a stronger uptrend. That is, if investors are satisfied with the results on Thursday. PepsiCo PepsiCo releases its earnings report on Thursday, too. Its stock price performance has been notably turbulent, with a clear resistance in the area of $145-147: this was the pre-virus all-time high that was challenged only once since the virus kicked in. In December, the stock price moved up and even inched above it but then plunged to $130 – another key level that has been supporting the stock price all along since May. Currently, Pepsico stock is very close to the resistance area again. Therefore, a strong earnings report may finally push it through to new all-time highs. General Electric Friday will bring us the report of General Electric. This stock’s performance has been quite peculiar: it was going flat until the very end of 2020 where it suddenly took off to currently trade slightly above the pre-virus high that corresponds to an important level of 2018. Beating that level and moving into the upside may start a whole new strategic uptrend for General Electric which has done a lot to restructure its financial layout and make investors happy. You can trade stocks in the FBS Trader app or in MetaTrader 5!
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

The Curious Staircase Rally in Stocks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.04.2021 15:58
Another day of tiny S&P 500 gains defying gravity, boosted by overnight price action. Well, liquidity overpowering junk corporate bonds opening with a bullish gap only to partially close it. With some credit market hints at deterioration present, the yen carry trade is getting a new lease on life today, and that‘s generally bullish for risk-on assets such as stocks – but not really for precious metals.With all the Fed support, the Powell bid is in, affecting „traditional“ sectoral dynamics of rotation. Value is probably about to feel the heat if you look at the very long lower knot in financials (XLF ETF) yesterday. Yes, this interest rate sensitive sector still rose in the face of long-dated Treasuries‘ gains. Needless to say, technology loved that, and its heavyweights ($NYFANG) keep driving the sector up. It looks to be a question of time before Tesla (TSLA) joins – Square (SQ) already did.The key question is the rotation‘s degree – now that the yields appear ready to retreat still a little more (the 10-year yield appears targeting the low 1.50% figure if not declining further), which is what technology anticipates even though utilities and consumer staples have been dragging their feet a little lately. But value stocks aren‘t selling off in the least (yet?). Is the TINA still strongly in effect when those stock market segments that could have been expected under more stringent monetary policy to be sold, aren‘t no more? Rising tide lifting really all boats – in stocks.Gold has retreated from yesterday‘s almost $1,760 highs accompanied by continued miners‘ outperformance. That‘s likely on account of the yen getting under pressure today, even though gold defended the Mar 08 bottom in spite of $USDJPY peaking in the closing days of Mar. The yellow metal is still sensitively reacting to the nominal yield moves, which are serving as a tailwind – both in the short run and when you zoom out and add copper into the picture (final chart of yesterday‘s analysis).One of the key things that I am still waiting for before declaring the gold bottom to be absolutely in, is its run above the key $1,760s or even better above $1,775 level. Let‘s though first watch for the miners not running out of steam.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 keeps hugging the upper border of Bollinger Bands, yet the willingness to trade at these extended levels has slightly returned yesterday. Hard to time any bear raid in these circumstances really.Credit MarketsVery tight correlation indeed as the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio keeps tracking the stock market moves. Not even the HYG volume picked up yesterday, making it impossible to call for a turnaround as investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) keep rising in sympathy with TLT.Technology and ValueTech (XLK ETF) sprang to new highs on TLT erasing its Wednesday‘s losses while value again kept gained ground. Broad-based advance not pointing to much downside really unless $NYFANG turns in earnest.Gold and SilverGold turned strongly higher on the retreat in rising nominal yields (even as inflation expectations ticked lower yesterday) and the yen tailwind, but the volume behind the rally off the second imperfect bottom, is quite weak overall (concerning).Silver joined in yesterday‘s party, and both copper and platinum moved higher as well. Seeing the white metal not spiking yesterday is actually a positive sign of the precious metals upswing health, daily woes notwithstanding.Crude OilPrecious few directional signals in oil, yet higher prices are still favored by the oil index ($XOI). This consolidation is still relatively young, and not even a crash to roughly $52.50 would break the uptrend.SummaryS&P 500 keeps consolidating in a vulnerable and stretched position, yet offers no signs of an immediate retracement of a portion of prior gains. The current setup is unfavorable for short-term oriented (bullish leaning) traders who prefer higher signal clarity to the tight correlation we‘ve seen this week.After yesterday‘s fireworks, miners hold the key in today‘s session as the $1,760s are still a tough nut to crack – the precious metals‘ upswing health will be tested.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Will Upcoming Inflation Take Gold With It?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.04.2021 16:25
Inflation is coming. Gold may benefit from it, especially if inflation turns out to be more long-lasting than central bankers and markets believe.Brace yourselves, inflation is coming ! Importantly, not only grumblers such as myself are talking about rising prices right now, but even the Fed officials themselves admitted that inflation will jump this year. Indeed, in the latest dot plot , the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) expects that the PCE annual percent change will soar from 1.3 percent in December 2020 to 2.4 percent at the end of this year. Importantly, their projections increased significantly in the last three months when they amounted to 1.8 percent.And remember, we are talking here about the official inflation figures. The real inflationary pressure, which also affects asset prices, is much stronger. Furthermore, the pandemic changed the composition of consumption, as people are buying more goods and less services. And guess what, the prices of goods are rising more than the prices of services, so many people’s actual consumption baskets have become more expensive than official ones, implying that true inflation is higher than the officially reported one, as the IMF has recently admitted .Does this mean that the FOMC members have all suddenly become monetary hawks worried about higher inflation? Not at all. The Fed believes that inflation will be temporary, caused by the base effects (very low inflation readings in the second quarter of 2020) and by the reopening of the economy that will trigger higher consumer spending and some increases in prices.The U.S. central bank might be right. After all, there will be some temporary forces at play. There always are, but – oh, what a funny thing! – the Fed always cites “transient effects on inflation” when it’s increasing, but not when it’s declining. The problem is, however, that the markets don’t believe the U.S. central bank . Please take a look at the chart below, which displays inflation expectations over the next five and ten upcoming years.As you can see, both medium-term and long-term inflation expectations have significantly increased in the last few months. It means that investors don’t only expect a temporary rise in inflation – on the contrary, they forecast a more persistent increases in prices . Indeed, Mr. Market believes that inflation will be, on average, 2.5 percent in the next 5 years and almost 2.3 percent in the next 10 years, significantly above the Fed’s target of 2 percent.Of course, it might be the case that Mr. Market is wrong, and Mr. Powell is right. But what is disturbing is the Fed’s confidence – or, rather overconfidence – that it can contain inflation if it turns out to be something more than only a temporary phenomenon. Such a conceit led to stagflation in the 1970s. Gold shined at that time.Then, as today, the central bank focused more on the maximum employment than inflation, believing that it can always control the latter by raising the federal funds rate if necessary. But, as Robert J. Barro, from Harvard University, points out , “the problem is that hiking short-term rates will have little impact on inflation once high long-term expected inflation has taken root.”And the recent Fed’s actions, including the new monetary framework, according to which the U.S. central bank tries to overshoot its target for some time, may easily waste the reputational capital that was created by Paul Volcker and de-anchor inflation expectations.In other words, a negative shock can be accommodated by the central bank without long-lasting effects, as people understand that it’s a unique one-off event, after which everything will return to normalcy. But the Fed is far from normalizing its monetary policy . On the contrary, it has recently signaled that it wouldn’t raise interest rates preemptively to prevent inflation, as it could hamper the economic recovery. The risk here is that if people start to view exceptional as the new normal, their inflation expectations could shift, and become unanchored.To sum up, it might be the case that markets are overstating short-term inflation risks. But it’s also possible that politicians and central bankers understate the longer-term inflationary dangers , as Kenneth Rogoff, also from Harvard University, argues . After all, unlike in the aftermath of the Great Recession , when only the monetary base skyrocketed, the pace of growth of the broad money supply also soared this time – and it’s still increasing, as the chart below shows.In other words, while all the created liquidity after the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 flowed mainly into the financial markets, during the pandemic , it flowed into the real economy to a much larger extent, which can create more inflationary pressure.What’s more, the easy monetary policy is now accompanied by a very loose fiscal policy and the unprecedentedly large fiscal deficits , which could push the economy deeper into the debt trap . This could undermine the central-bank independence and prevent a timely normalization of interest rates , not to mention the weakening of globalization’s downside impact on inflation, caused partially by demographic factors and reshuffling in supply chains. Last but not least, the rising commodity prices and international transport costs, accompanied by the weakening U.S. dollar, may be harbingers of an approaching inflation monster.What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, the jump in inflation in 2021 should be positive for the yellow metal , which could gain as an inflation hedge . The downward pressure on the real interest rates should also be supportive for gold prices, although the rally in the bond yields may counteract this effect. But if Powell is right and inflation turns out to be only temporary, then gold may be hard hit, and we could see a goldilocks economy again (i.e., fast economic growth with low inflation). However, if markets are right, or if the long-term inflationary risks materialize, which even investors may understate, gold should shine.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get a 7-day no-obligation trial for all of our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – Last Chance To Rebound

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.04.2021 09:58
GBPUSD meets critical supportThe pound falls back as traders take profit after a strong performance from the start of the year.The price action has retreated to March’s low at 1.3670, a support on the daily chart to keep the uptrend intact. The pair is likely to consolidate from that major level while the RSI recovers from the sub-30 area.1.3770 is the immediate resistance and a bullish breakout may convince buyers that the correction is over.To the downside, 1.3600 would be the target if the pair struggles to find bids.USDCAD struggles to bounce higherA fall in Canada’s unemployment rate from 8.2 % to 7.5 % in March helped lift the loonie against its US counterpart.The pair has met strong selling pressure around the supply area (1.2640) found on the daily chart.An overbought RSI has prompted short-term traders to take profit. However, the price’s subsequent failure to make a higher high signals weakness in the past week’s rally.A drop below 1.2535 could trigger a broader sell-off in the continuation of the downtrend with 1.2470 as the next target.EURAUD pierces through multiple resistancesThe Aussie was spoiled by the government’s restrictions on the AstraZeneca vaccine which would delay its vaccination campaign.After bouncing off a three-year low (1.5260) the euro has been building up its momentum. The latest surge above the key resistance at 1.5600 suggests that buyers are gaining confidence and aiming for 1.5690.An overbought RSI might temper the optimism and 1.5530 is first support in case of a pullback. As long as the price is above the base of the recent rally (1.5430), the bias will remain bullish. 
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Stocks or Gold – Which Is in the Catbird Seat?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.04.2021 15:13
S&P 500 spurted higher after prior days of tiny gains. Still lining up the upper border of the Bollinger Bands on the daily chart, stocks keep defying gravity. But the corporate credit markets are sending a gentle warning sign as they failed to move higher in unison on Friday. Given the Fed support and liquidity injections talked on Friday:(…) the Powell bid is in, affecting „traditional“ sectoral dynamics of rotation. Value is probably about to feel the heat if you look at the very long lower knot in financials (XLF ETF) yesterday. Yes, this interest rate sensitive sector still rose in the face of long-dated Treasuries‘ gains. Needless to say, technology loved that, and its heavyweights ($NYFANG) keep driving the sector up. It looks to be a question of time before Tesla (TSLA) joins – Square (SQ) already did.The spanner in the works proved to be long-dated Treasuries as these gave up all intraday gains, and closed in a non-bullish fashion. The retreat in rising yields is running into headwinds, much sooner than the 10-year one could reach the low 1.50% figure at least. Value stocks and cyclicals such as financials appear calling it out, and both rose on Friday – and so did industrials and technology, all without tech heavyweights‘ help. Utilities and consumer staples went mostly sideways, disregarding the danger of yields about to rise again.The rotation simply isn‘t much there, and the TINA trade isn‘t letting much air to come out of the S&P 500 sectors that would be expected to sell off in a more relaxed monetary policy. Treasury holders keep demanding higher rates, disregarding the soft patch in inflation expectations since mid-Mar. And they‘re right in doing so, for the PPI missed badly on Friday – the development I had been anticipating since mid-Feb.Inflation in the pipeline is one of the reasons behind gold‘s resilience – and its continued rebound off the imperfect double bottom test.While the yellow metal‘s candlestick on Friday mirrors the USD/JPY one, the miners erased opening losses in a bullish show of outperformance. Given the continued consolidation in commodities keeping a partial lid on silver, that‘s bullish – gold appears sensing the upcoming pressure on the Fed to act once yields reach levels high enough to cause havoc across the markets, starting with stocks, just as I described on Mar 29.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsS&P 500 keeps pushing higher, into the upper border of Bollinger Bands that are now widening. Taking into account prior week‘s Easter-shortened trading, the weekly volume behind the upswing just in, is considerably lower than before – and that‘s not bullish.Market breadth indicators aren‘t arrayed in an overly bullish way. Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume have been lately unconvincing, but at least new highs new lows turned up. They‘re still below the early April peak, revealing that not as many stocks are pushing to make new highs.Credit MarketsVery tight correlation between the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio and the stock market ended on Friday, and it remains to be seen whether that was a one day occurence only. Investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) gave up half of intraday gains as long-dated Treasuries declined – the downward pressure appears returning into the debt markets.Technology and FinancialsTech (XLK ETF) turned from the sector most heavily extended to the south of its 50-day moving average, to the north of it. And given the hesitation a ka reversal in TLT reflecting upon $NYFANG, the sector‘s steep gains are likely to meet a headwind soon – and value stocks appear to be anticipating that with an upswing of their own, reflected in the financials (black line).Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectations as measured by the TIP:TLT ratio are basing, but bond yields refuse to budge, clearly agreeing that there is higher inflation coming. Gold and SilverGold miners are keeping the sector above water, and the daily gold downswing becomes much less credible as a result.Silver and copper daily downswings are in line with the gold one – there is no indication of a pocket of underperformance in commodities or elsewhere about to spill over and exert pressure on the precious metals sector.SummaryS&P 500 upswing is leaving the index in a vulnerable position, and especially the tech‘s reversal is leaving it in a perched place where no sector is however being really sold off. The current setup is still unfavorable for short-term oriented (bullish leaning) traders who prefer higher signal clarity to the tight correlation we‘ve seen this week, even more so given the corporate credit markets non-confirmation.Miners did their job on Friday, and the precious metals upswing hasn‘t lost its spark in spite of both metals closing down. The $1,760s are still a tough nut to crack, but I look for these levels to be challenge in the near future.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold Miners: Corrections are Normal

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.04.2021 16:41
Keep your eye on the ball. Just because the GDX ETF went up last week doesn’t mean that it’s in an uptrend. Corrections are part of the game.Just as the USD Index recently (last week) suffered a countertrend decline within a medium-term uptrend, so has the GDX ETF experienced a corrective upswing within a medium-term downtrend.Nothing moves in a straight line, so recent developments in both the gold miners and the USD Index are nothing to worry about. Everyone is still on track. Gold and the miners are headed for a medium-term downtrend and the USD Index is still gathering steam and will be leaving the station.With the gold miners attempting to dig themselves out of their 2021 hole, the labor of love could end as quickly as it began. With a temporary retreat of the USD Index last week and dormant U.S. Treasury yields doing much of the heavy lifting, the GDX ETF had plenty of help breaking down its wall of worry.However, with April showers likely to derail further construction activity, off-site momentum may not be as kind. Case in point: the GDX ETF is still trading below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern, and while the senior miners’ bounce above their March high may seem like a ground-breaking event, the synthetic strength is likely to hammer the miners over the medium term. Why so? Well, like a current running on extremely low voltage, Friday’s (Apr. 9) intraday bounce occurred on relatively low volume – with the positive momentum evaporating into the close.Please see below:As further evidence, the March/April corrective upswing took the form of a zigzag pattern, which is indicative of a countertrend move within a medium-term downtrend. In addition, if you analyze the chart above, notice how fits and starts were part of the senior miners’ price action back in January? In both cases, the GDX ETF moved above the declining blue resistance line and the 50-day moving average. Yet … the GDX ETF is lower now than it was then.Furthermore, back in January, the GDX ETF initially ignored gold’s daily (Jan. 6) weakness. Thus, Friday’s (Apr. 9) outperformance by the GDX ETF is far from an all-clear. In fact, it could be the final creak before the foundation crumbles.Some might say that mining stocks are showing strength compared to gold as the GDX to gold ratio broke above its declining resistance line.However, I don’t think it’s fair to say so. I think that seeing a breakout in the GDX to gold ratio is not enough for one to say that the miners to gold ratio is breaking higher.After all, the GDX ETF is just one proxy for mining stocks, and if miners were really showing strength here, one should also see it in the case of other proxies for the mining stocks when compared to gold.For instance, the HUI Index to gold ratio, the XAU Index to gold ratio, and the GDXJ ( junior mining stocks ) to gold ratio.There is no breakout in the HUI to gold ratio whatsoever. In fact, the ratio is quite far from its declining resistance line. Even if we chose other late-2020 tops to draw this line, there would still be no breakout.There is no breakout in the XAU to gold ratio either. The previous attempts for the XAU to gold ratio to rally above their 2020 high marked great shorting opportunities, which is very far from being a bullish implication.But the most bearish implication comes from gold’s ratio with another ETF – the GDXJ.The breakout in the GDXJ to gold ratio is only tiny and unconfirmed. These moves always (since Oct. 2020) provided sell signals – the small breakout below the declining resistance line were always invalidated and they were then followed by visible short-term declines.Five out of five previous attempts to break above the declining resistance line failed and were followed by short-term declines. Is this time really different?It seems to me that the five out of five efficiency in the GDXJ to gold ratio is more important than a single breakout in the GDX to gold ratio, especially considering that the latter was preceded by a similar breakout in mid-March. That breakout failed and was followed by declines.Taking all four proxies into account, it seems that the implications are rather neutral to bearish. Especially when taking into account another major ratio - the one between HUI and S&P 500 is after a major, confirmed breakdown.When the ratio presented on the above chart above is rising, it means that the HUI Index is outperforming the S&P 500. When the line above is falling, it means that the S&P 500 is outperforming the HUI Index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the ratio has broken below its rising support line. For context, the last time a breakdown of this magnitude occurred, the ratio plunged from late-2017 to late-2018. Thus, the development is profoundly bearish.Playing out as I expected, a sharp move lower was followed by a corrective upswing back to the now confirmed breakdown level (which is now resistance). Mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in early 2018, after breaking below its rising support line, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio rallied back to the initial breakdown level (which then became resistance) before suffering a sharp decline. And with two-thirds of the analogue already complete, the current move lower still has plenty of room to run. Likewise, the early-2018 top in the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio is precisely when the USD Index began its massive upswing. Thus, with history likely to rhyme, the greenback could spoil the miners’ party once again.In addition, the HUI to S&P 500 ratio broke below the neck level (red, dashed line) of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern and it verified this breakdown by moving temporarily back to it. The target for the ratio based on this formation is at about 0.05 (slightly above it). Consequently, if the S&P 500 doesn’t decline, the ratio at 0.05 would imply the HUI Index at about 196. However, if the S&P 500 declined to about 3,200 or so (its late-2020 lows) and the ratio moved to about 0.05, it would imply the HUI Index at about 160 – very close to its 2020 lows.All in all, the implications of mining stocks’ relative performance to gold and the general stock market are currently bearish.But if we’re headed for a GDX ETF cliff, how far could we fall?Well, there are three reasons why the GDX ETF might form an interim bottom at roughly ~$27.50 (assuming no big decline in the general stock market ):The GDX ETF previously bottomed at the 38.2% and 50.0% Fibonacci retracement levels. And with the 61.8% level next in line, the GDX ETF is likely to garner similar support.The GDX ETFs late-March 2020 high should also elicit buying pressure.If we copy the magnitude of the late-February/early-March decline and add it to the early-March bottom, it corresponds with the GDX ETF bottoming at roughly $27.50.Keep in mind though: if the stock market plunges, all bets are off. Why so? Well, because when the S&P 500 plunged in March 2020, the GDX ETF moved from $29.67 to below $17 in less than two weeks. As a result, U.S. equities have the potential to make the miners’ forthcoming swoon all the more painful.Also supporting the potential move, the GDX ETF’s head and shoulders pattern – marked by the shaded green boxes in the first chart above – signals further weakness ahead.I wrote previously:The most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Turning to the junior gold miners , the GDXJ ETF will likely be the worst performer during the upcoming swoon. Why so? Well, due to its strong correlation with the S&P 500, a swift correction of U.S. equities will likely sink the juniors in the process. Besides, junior miners have been underperforming recently even without general stock market’s help.Furthermore, erratic signals from the MACD indicator epitomizes the GDXJ ETF’s heightened volatility. Remember though that the MACD indicator is far from a light switch. While false buy signals often precede material drawdowns, the reversals don’t occur overnight. As a result, it’s perfectly normal for the GDXJ ETF to trade sideways or slightly higher for a few days before moving lower.Please see below:And unlike its senior counterpart, the GDXJ ETF cemented its relative underperformance by moving lower on Friday.So, how low could the GDXJ ETF go?Well, absent an equity rout, the juniors could form an interim bottom in the $34 to $36 range. Conversely, if stocks show strength, juniors could form the interim bottom higher, close to the $42.5 level. For context, the above-mentioned ranges coincide with the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement levels and the GDXJ ETF’s previous highs (including the late-March/early-April high in case of the lower target area). Thus, the S&P 500 will likely need to roll over for the weakness to persist beyond these levels.Some people (especially the permabulls that have been bullish on gold for all of 2021, suffering significant losses – directly and in missed opportunities) will say that the final bottom is already in. And this might very well be the case, but it seems highly unlikely. On a side note, please keep in mind that I’m neither a permabull nor a permabear for the precious metals sector, nor have I ever been. Let me emphasize that I’m currently bearish (for the time being), but about a month ago, we went long mining stocks on March 4 and exited this profitable trade on March 11.As another reliable indicator (in addition to the myriads of signals coming not only from mining stocks, but from gold, silver, USD Index, stocks, their ratios, and many fundamental observations) the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM) isn’t at levels that elicit a major reversal. The Index is now back at 40. However, far from a medium-term bottom, the latest reading is still more than 30 points above the 2016 and 2020 lows.Back in 2016 (after the top), and in March 2020, the buying opportunity didn’t present itself until the $BPGDM was below 10.Thus, with sentiment still relatively elevated, it will take more negativity for the index to find the true bottom.The excessive bullishness was present at the 2016 top as well and it didn’t cause the situation to be any less bearish in reality. All markets periodically get ahead of themselves regardless of how bullish the long-term outlook really is. Then, they correct. If the upswing was significant, the correction is also quite often significant.Please note that back in 2016, there was an additional quick upswing before the slide and this additional upswing had caused the $BPGDM to move up once again for a few days. It then declined once again. We saw something similar also in the middle of 2020. In this case, the move up took the index once again to the 100 level, while in 2016 this wasn’t the case. But still, the similarity remains present.Back in 2016, when we saw this phenomenon, it was already after the top, and right before the big decline. Based on the decline from above 350 to below 280, we know that a significant decline is definitely taking place.But has it already run its course?Well, in 2016 and early 2020, the HUI Index continued to move lower until it declined below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The emphasis goes on “below” as this retracement might not trigger the final bottom. Case in point: back in 2020, the HUI Index undershot the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and gave back nearly all of its prior rally. And using the 2016 and 2020 analogues as anchors, this time around, the HUI Index is likely to decline below 231. In addition, if the current decline is more similar to the 2020 one, the HUI Index could move to 150 or so, especially if it coincides with a significant drawdown of U.S. equities.In conclusion, akin to Humpty Dumpty, “all the King's horses and all the King's men” are unlikely to put the GDX ETF back together again. With the HUI Index to gold ratio, the XAU Index to gold ratio and the GDXJ ETF to gold ratio all splintering beneath the surface, the GDX ETF’s recent strength simply masks all of the cracks in the precious metals’ foundation. Furthermore, with the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields threatening to swing the wrecking ball, the metals’ house of cards could soon face demolition. Thus, even though the long-term outlook for gold, silver , and mining stocks is very bullish, the short- and perhaps medium-term outlooks remain profoundly bearish, and investors that ignore the warning signs will likely find themselves submerged in the rubble.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – Testing Daily Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.04.2021 08:29
USDCHF retreats to major supportThe US dollar is treading water as traders await inflation data which would dictate the next movement.The greenback has fallen back to test the medium-term support (0.9210) from the daily chart after a three-month-long rally.An RSI divergence right above the key level is a sign that the correction has lost its momentum. Though a bullish breakout above 0.9280 will be needed to confirm a reversal.To the downside, a drop below the said support would trigger a new round of sell-off towards 0.9140.XAUUSD looks for supportGold is striving to consolidate its latest gains after a fall in US yields last week. After having established a solid support base at 1677, the price has rallied back to March’s high at 1757.A bullish breakout could lead to a sharp recovery as a result of triggering stop-losses and momentum buying.But for now, an overbought RSI has prompted profit-taking within the supply area. 1730 is the first line of defense as the metal pulls back to rebuild support.A deeper correction may lead to test 1710.US 30 rises along the trendlineThe Dow Jones flies high after Chairman Jerome Powell expressed his optimism in an interview that the US economy was set for a strong rebound.Following a breakout above its latest consolidation range (33250), the index has been grinding up along a rising trendline.The psychological level of 33400 would be the next target for the bulls. Though an overshot RSI may lead to a temporary pullback.The 30-hour moving average is the immediate support. Further down, 33510 along the trendline may see more buying interests.
Qatar's Leniency Towards Crypto Violators Under Scrutiny: Global Watchdog Calls for Stronger Action

BTC hit new record as first crypto exchange goes public!

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 13.04.2021 12:59
Bitcoin hit a record high of $62,650 today, driven by encouraging news: Coinbase Global Inc., the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US, will go public on the Nasdaq index on April 14! It’s one of the most significant events for crypto fans in 2021. Why? It will be the first listing of this kind for a cryptocurrency company. It’s so intriguing as if this listing goes well, it will open the doors for other start-ups in the sector. Most of the time, companies that make their debut on the market aren’t profitable at the beginning. Here’s another story. The company has already revealed astonishing earnings that might push the stock price up on April 14th. Coinbase ended 2020 with a revenue of $1.1 billion. What is more impressive is that the company’s revenue for the first quarter of 2021 has already surpassed the revenue for the entire 2020 year: $1.8 billion. Wow! Coinbase is one of the most fascinating companies to go public in recent history! Some analysts believe such a huge hype over this event may lead to an extremely high valuation. By some estimates, the company may reach $80 billion or even $100 billion. According to crypto lender Nexo: “Coinbase listing on the Nasdaq is as bullish a signal as possible at this current stage”. Some investors have doubts over the company’s stability as cryptocurrencies are volatile, but anyway it will be interesting to follow and should improve the market sentiment. BTC/USD, other cryptocurrencies, Nasdaq, and other stocks will be mostly impacted! Follow the event on April 14 and keep an eye on the charts! What’s happening with Bitcoin? BTC/USD is trading inside the ascending channel. If has managed to break the all-time high of $62,650, therefore, the way up to the next round number of $65,000 is clear now. Such a great event may even drive Bitcoin to $70,000 – everything is possible! After the hype dies down, BCT/USD may drop. If it drops below the psychological level of $60,000, it may drop to the recent low of $59,500. Check our FBS Trader app, where you can easily trade cryptocurrencies and other assets! Besides, you can trade stocks in MetaTrader 5!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Still a Bullish Fever in Stocks?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.04.2021 15:46
S&P 500 went nowhere yesterday – just like the prior Monday, heavy buying into Friday‘s close met no follow-up the day after. After almost touching 16 to close the week, VIX peeked higher yesterday only to reverse back down. Nice try but if you look at the put/call ratio turning down simulatenously, the alarm bells are far from ringing.The S&P 500 rise of late isn‘t without its good share of non-confirmations though. The ones seen in Russell 2000 and emerging markets got a fresh company in the corporate credit markets. No denying that the stock market is in a strong uptrend, but it got a bit too stretched vs. its 50-day moving average – a consolidation in short order would be a healthy move, but the CPI readings above expectations don‘t favor one today.If you look at the put/call ratio again, its lows throughout Mar and Apr haven‘t been reaching the really exuberant levels of prior months, hinting at a less steep path of S&P 500 gains. And what about the volume print as stocks went about making new highs? Not encouraging either, and it‘s not that rising yields would be causing trouble:(…) The retreat in rising yields is running into headwinds, much sooner than the 10-year one could reach the low 1.50% figure at least. Value stocks and cyclicals such as financials appear calling it out, and both rose on Friday.And financials had a good day yesterday too. Technology welcomed the reprieve, and the heavyweights joined in increasingly more. Again though, more than a little stretched, these $NYFANG generals are rising while the troops (broader tech) are hesitating, which makes a down day / consolidation quite likely, especially should the TLT retreat again. As I wrote yesterday:(…) The rotation simply isn‘t much there, and the TINA trade isn‘t letting much air to come out of the S&P 500 sectors that would be expected to sell off in a more relaxed monetary policy. And that‘s probably what gold is sensing as it grew weak yesterday. The rising yields aren‘t yet at levels causing issue for the S&P 500, but the commodities‘ consolidation coupled with nominal yields about to rise, has been sending gold down yesterday – and miners confirmed that weakness by leading lower. This would likely be a daily occurence only unless and until copper gives in and slides – that‘s because of the inflation expectations having stabilized for now, but Treasury yields not really retreating. Yes, gold misses inflation uptick that would bring real rates down a little again – and is getting one in today‘s CPI as we speak.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 is no longer trading above the upper border of Bollinger Bands, but volume isn‘t picking yet up either. That makes a largely sideways consolidation the more likely scenario here.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and the investment grade ones (LQD ETF) declined yesterday while long-dated Treasuries went nowhere – but the bullish spirits in stocks didn‘t evaporate proportionately. This non-confirmation isn‘t too pressing at the moment.Technology and ValueTech (XLK ETF) stumbled yesterday, and it wasn‘t because of $NYFANG (black line) – yet value stocks didn‘t sell off either during these lately turning vapid rotations.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsThe long underperformance in both indices vs. the S&P 500 goes on, and is actually a stronger watchout than the corporate credit markets at the moment. Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectations as measured by the TIP:TLT ratio are basing, but bond yields are aiming higher again, making higher inflation on the horizon a virtual certainty.Gold, Silver and MinersThe daily underperformance in miners is worrying – this daily leadership to the downside, where gold and silver declined proportionately to each other. Given that commodities didn‘t point to greater weakness, I consider yesterday‘s precious metals downswing as a bit exaggerated. SummaryS&P 500 still appears as entering a consolidation, but I‘m not looking for way too much downside. The Big Tech names would decide, and if you look at Tesla doing well yesterday, the S&P 500 correction would play out rather in time than in price.Gold depends upon the miners‘ path, and nominal yields trajectory. Once more inflation spills over into CPI readings, that would work to negate temporary weakness caused by real rates pressures, which is what we are getting.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Dovish Fed and Higher Inflation Equals Stronger Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.04.2021 16:47
The latest FOMC minutes were dovish, especially in light of the recent increase in inflation. That’s good for gold.Last week, The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) published minutes from its last meeting in March . They show that – in light of positive economic indicators – the members of the Committee turned out to be more optimistic about the U.S. economy since the previous meeting. But this is what we already know from the March economic projections.What is new and much more important is that Fed officials expressed the view that despite all the progress, the economic situation remained unsatisfactory with many indicators still far from the pre-pandemic level and the Fed’s long-term targets:Despite these positive indicators and an improved public health situation, participants agreed that the economy remained far from the Committee's longer-run goals and that the path ahead remained highly uncertain, with the pandemic continuing to pose considerable risks to the outlook.In consequence – and this is probably the key message from the recent minutes – the FOMC members reaffirmed that they are in no rush to taper the quantitative easing . Furthermore, the U.S. central bank will announce a change in the pace of asset purchases well in advance:Participants noted that it would likely be some time until substantial further progress toward the Committee's maximum-employment and price-stability goals would be realized and that, consistent with the Committee's outcome-based guidance, asset purchases would continue at least at the current pace until then. A number of participants highlighted the importance of the Committee clearly communicating its assessment of progress toward its longer-run goals well in advance of the time when it could be judged substantial enough to warrant a change in the pace of asset purchases. The timing of such communications would depend on the evolution of the economy and the pace of progress toward the Committee's goals.And the hike in the federal funds rate will happen only after the start of the normalization of the Fed’s balance sheet . So, given a lack of any communication in this regard, investors shouldn’t expect any increases in the interest rates for years .Last but not least, the Fed not only started to expect higher inflation – as a reminder, the FOMC participants expect 2.4 percent PCE inflation in 2021 – but it also “viewed the risks of upside inflationary pressures as having increased since the previous forecast”. However, the central bankers still believe that the increase in inflation this year will be transitory due to the base effects and supply disruptions:In the near term, the 12-month change in PCE prices was expected to move above 2 percent as the low inflation readings from the spring of last year drop out of the calculation. Most participants also pointed to supply constraints that could contribute to price increases for some goods in coming months as the economy continued to reopen. After the transitory effects of these factors fade, however, participants generally anticipated that annual inflation readings would edge down next year.This is a puzzling view in light of the fact that many participants “judged that the release of pent-up demand could boost consumption growth further as social distancing waned.” So, in some magical way, the release of pent-up demand could boost consumption, but not prices, and inflation could be increased only by supply factor, but not by demand factors.Implications for GoldWhat do the recent FOMC minutes imply for the yellow metal? Well, the increase in expected and actual inflation rates combined with the Fed’s dovish stance could create downward pressure on the real interest rates and the U.S. dollar, thus supporting gold prices . The yellow metal could also benefit from the elevated demand for inflation hedges in an environment of stronger upward pressure on prices.Indeed, the price of gold jumped shortly on Thursday (Apr. 8) above $1,750, as the chart below shows. This upward move was temporary, though, but that can change soon, as the inflation genie has popped out of the bottle.The Producer Price Index increased by one percent in March , twice more than in February, and significantly above the expectations of a rise of 0.4 percent. As well, the final demand index moved up 4.2 percent for the twelve months ended in March, the largest increase since September 2011. Meanwhile, the index for all commodities surged even more (12 percent!), in the fastest pace since the Great Recession , as the chart below shows. Importantly, the Consumer Price Index has also been rising recently (I will cover this report in the next edition of the Fundamental Gold Report).Of course, the rise in inflation may also increase the nominal bond yields, which could be negative for the gold market. However, the rally in the bond yields was mainly caused by the fact that investors priced in a more aggressive path of the federal funds rate than the FOMC members have indicated. But after the recent minutes it seems that these traders are starting to capitulate and will not fight the Fed anymore. This would be good news for the gold market.Indeed, the second quarter started much better for the yellow metal than the awful beginning of the year, and there are some reasons (dovish Fed, higher inflation, limited potential for further rally in the bond yields) for cautious optimism. But the key problem is that the Fed is still relatively hawkish compared to the Bank of Japan or the European Central Bank . Well, we will see, stay tuned!If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Many Sectors Are Primed For Another Breakout Rally - Are You?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 13.04.2021 21:42
As we start moving into the Q1:2021 earnings season, we need to be aware of the risks associated with the volatility often associated with earnings data and unknowns.  Nonetheless, there are other factors that appear to be present in current trends which suggest earnings may prompt a moderately strong upside breakout rally – again.One key factor is that the US markets are already starting to price in forwarding expectations related to a reflation economy – a post-COVID acceleration in activity, consumer participation, and manufacturing.  Secondarily, we must also consider the continued stimulus efforts, easy monetary policy from the US Fed, and the continued trending related to the 12+ month long COVID-19 recovery rally. In some ways, any damage to the economy related to COVID-19 may have already happened well over 6+ months ago.  Certainly, there are other issues we are still dealing with and recovering from, but the strength of the US economy since May/June of 2020 has been incredible.  When we combine the strength of the economic recovery with the extended support provided by the US Fed and US government stimulus/policy efforts, we are left with only one conclusion:  the markets will likely continue to rally until something stops this trend.Just this week, after stronger inflation data posted last week, and as earnings data starts to hit the wires, we are seeing some early signs that the US major indexes are likely to continue to trend higher – even while faced with odd earnings data.  If this continues, we may see the US major indexes, and various ETF sectors, continue to rally throughout most of April – if not longer.Come watch over 60 investment and trading LEGENDS share their secrets with you for free – click here for your FREE REGISTRATION!Today, Aphria (APHA), announced a third-quarter “miss” on sales, and net operating loss fell more than 14%.  This tugged many Cannabis-related stocks lower and pulled the Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ) lower by over 4%.  Still, the Transportation Index, Financial sector ETF (XLF), and S&P500 SPDR ETF (SPY) rallied to new all-time highs.This suggests the market is discounting certain sector components as “struggling” within a broadly appreciating market trend.  In this environment, even those symbols which perform poorly won't disrupt the Bullish strength of the general markets.  Because of this, we believe the overall trend bias, which is Bullish, will continue to push most of the market higher over the next few days/weeks... at least until something happens to break this trend or when investors suddenly shift away from this trend.SPY Rally May Be Far From Over At This StageLet's start by reviewing this SPY Daily chart below (S&P500 SPDR ETF).  As you can see, the recent rally has already moved above the GREEN 100% Fibonacci Measured Move target level near $410.  Any continued rally from this level would suggest an upside price extension beyond the 100% Fibonacci Measured Move level is initiating.  This type of trending does happen and can often prompt a higher target level (possibly 200% or higher) above our initial targets.What is interesting in our review of these charts is the SPY may be rallying above recent price range targets, using the Fibonacci Measured Move technique, but other sectors appear to really have quite a bit of room to run.Transportation Index Continues To Suggest Stronger US RecoveryThis Transportation Index Daily Chart, TRAN, suggests a target level near $15,627 so it is reasonable to assume the Transportation Index may continue to rally more than 4% higher from current levels.  Ideally, if this were to happen, it would suggest the broader economic recovery is strengthening and we may expect to see the US major indexes continue to rally higher as well.At this time, when economic data and Q1:2021 earnings are streaming into the news wires, we usually expect some extended volatility in the markets.  The VIX may rally back above 19 to 24 over time if the markets reflect the varied earnings outcomes we expect.  Yet, we believe the overall bias of the markets at this stage of the trend is solidly Bullish.Financial Sector ETF Ready To Rally Above $37The Financial sector ETF (XLF), as seen in the following chart, is poised to break higher after a dramatic recovery in price after December 2020.  The rally from $29 to over $35 represents a solid +20% advance and the recent resistance level, near $35.30, is a key level to watch as this sector continues to trend.  Once that resistance level is breached, we believe a continued rally attempt will target $37, then $39.40.The expected recovery in the US economy will prompt more consumer spending and the use of credit.  Over the past 8+ months, US consumers have worked to bring down their credit levels and saved more money because of the change in how we addressed COVID work-styles and lack of travel (and extra money from the Stimulus payments).  That may not change right away, but eventually, consumers will start to engage in the economy as travel starts to recover and summer activities start to take place.  This suggests spending, travel, vacationing, eating out and other activities will prompt a new wave of economic activity within the Financial Sector.The US markets are uniquely poised to further upside price gains because the US has such a dynamic core economy.  Our base of consumers is, generally, working in jobs, saving more, and more capable of traveling within the US to engage in summer activities.  Because of this, we believe the continued recovery of the US economy will prompt another wave of higher prices throughout the Q1:2021 earnings season.  We believe a number of solid earnings and expectations will support the market and future expectations will support a continued moderate price rally in certain sectors.The strongest sectors are going to continue to be the best performers over time.  Being able to identify and trade these sectors is key to being able to efficiently target profits.  You can learn more about the BAN strategy and how to identify and trade better sector setups by registering for our FREE webinar here.  We've built this technology to help us identify the strongest and best trade setups in any market sector.  Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the BAN Trader Pro system trades.  You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Happy Trading!
Intraday Market Analysis – Extended Rally

Intraday Market Analysis – Extended Rally

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.04.2021 08:34
EURUSD tests major resistanceA 2.6% yoy rise in US CPI has so far failed to impress traders as the Fed may remain patient longer than the market.After a short consolidation around 1.1900, the RSI has receded from the overbought area, laying the groundwork for a new round of rallies. The next target would be the key resistance level of 1.1990 from the daily chart.A bullish breakout may signal that the euro could resume its year-long rally.In case of a pullback, 1.1870 is a critical support to keep the optimism intact.EURGBP builds bullish momentumThe pound struggles across the board after Britain’s economy showed a slower than expected growth in February.The euro has previously come under selling pressure near the daily supply area (0.8730). The RSI has since retreated into the neutrality zone.Despite profit-taking, the pair has stayed afloat above 0.8620 which would suggest that buyers are still in control of the price action.A surge above the said resistance could trigger a runaway rally as a combination of short-covering and fresh buying.UKOIL trades in narrowing rangeBrent crude ticked up after data showed oil imports into China surged 21% in March. The price action remains range-bound however for lack of a major catalyst.The narrowing consolidation is a sign of the market’s indecision and a breakout is bound to happen soon.A bearish MA cross on the daily chart may weigh on the sentiment but as long as 61.20 holds firm as support, there is a chance of a rebound.On the upside, a rise above 65.15 could extend the rally towards 68.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

New Day, New ATHs with Gold in the Wings

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.04.2021 16:07
S&P 500 went up yet again yesterday, and the corporate credit markets‘ non-confirmation quite resolved itself. While the same can‘t be said about smallcaps or emerging markets in the least, S&P 500 doesn‘t care, and keeps up the staircase rally without real corrections to speak of.Not even intraday ones, unless you count the sharp and brief premarket one yesterday before the CPI figures came out. That‘s the result of the sea of liquidity in practice, and the avalanche of stimuli. The 1.50% yield scare on 10-year Treasuries is long forgotten, and technology welcomes every stabilization, every retreat from even quite higher levels, and value stocks barely budge. No real rotation to speak of and see here, move along.Such were my recent observations:(…) No denying that the stock market is in a strong uptrend, but it got a bit too stretched vs. its 50-day moving average – a consolidation in short order would be a healthy move, but the CPI readings above expectations don‘t favor one today.Talking gold prospects early yesterday:(…) And that‘s probably what gold is sensing as it grew weak yesterday. The rising yields aren‘t yet at levels causing issue for the S&P 500, but the commodities‘ consolidation coupled with nominal yields about to rise, has been sending gold down yesterday – and miners confirmed that weakness by leading lower. This would likely be a daily occurence only unless and until copper gives in and slides – that‘s because of the inflation expectations having stabilized for now, but Treasury yields not really retreating. Yes, gold misses inflation uptick that would bring real rates down a little again – and is getting one in today‘s CPI as we speak.CPI inflation is hitting in the moment, and its pressure would get worse in the coming readings. Yet the market isn‘t alarmed now as evidenced by the inflation expectations not running hot – the Fed quite successfully sold the transitory story, it seems. Unless you look at lumber, steel or similar, of course. None of the commodities have really corrected, and the copper performance bodes well for the precious metals too.The stalwart performance in the miners goes on after a daily pause as gold gathers strength and silver outperformed yesterday. Silver miners and gold juniors are pulling ahead reliably as well, not just gold seniors.The run on $1,760 awaits.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 is no longer trading above the upper border of Bollinger Bands, the price action remains bullish, and volume is ever so slowly picking up (sending weak early signs thereof), but the bulls better watch out for a catalyst forcing a down day once in a while again.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and the investment grade ones (LQD ETF) turned around yesterday, and so did long-dated Treasuries – and that supports the bullish spirits in stocks. It was indeed right to view the prior non-confirmation as not too pressing at the moment.Technology and ValueTech (XLK ETF) rose strongly yesterday, and so did the kingmaker $NYFANG (lower black line) and Tesla that I called out yesterday. But value stocks didn‘t sell off – a powerful testament to the TINA trades driving no real rotations to speak of as nothing gets really sold off just on its own.Gold and MinersGold isn‘t in a decline mode anymore, and appears picking up strength so as to take on the $1,760s. Volume is returning, and the current reprieve in rising yields is welcome.Miners returned to the limelight, and it‘s my view they would lead gold by breaking above their recent highs convincingly, as the tide in the metals has turned. Time and desirably a catalyst of such move, is all that is needed. Geopolitics (to the short-term rescue) or more unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates, that‘s I am looking for next.Silver and MinersSee the gold and silver miners trading in lockstep, remember gold juniors as well, and you get this bullish picture where the whole precious metals sector is slowly coming back to the limelight. In case of silver, the return in volume is boding well for the days ahead – all without the classic signs of bearish isolated silver outperformance. SummaryS&P 500 and the still elusive consolidation – the Fed speakers won‘t likely trigger one today, but bulls, watch out for some daily downside with little to no warning in your plans, after all.Gold and miners‘ paths are aligned, and nominal yields trajectory is boding well for the days ahead when patience is still needed before the nearest resistances in both assets are taken out with conviction.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Does Gold Want to Move Lower?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.04.2021 16:26
Gold’s slight rally might be getting some people excited, but appearances can be deceiving. USDX action hints at gold really wanting to move lower.The yellow metal has climbed, but only with lacklustre energy. If the USD Index is not rising, then gold should really be shooting up and breaking new monthly highs, but it isn’t. Readers have been asking what’s happening and some have been concerned with gold’s apparent strength. So, let’s break it down.History tends to rhyme and what happened before, will – to some degree - happen again. Gold is not immune to this concept, and the current implications are bearish.Let’s jump right into the charts for details.Gold topped right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal, just like it did in mid-March and in early January (please note the points that are marked on the above chart for confirmation – they are described in red). That happened on Thursday (Apr. 8), and since that time gold has continued to move lower.Gold invalidated the breakout above its mid-March highs, proving that what we saw was nothing more than just an ABC (zigzag) correction within a bigger downswing. The moves that follow such corrections are likely to be similar to the moves that precede it. In this case, the move that preceded the correction was the 2021 decline of over $150. This means that another $150+ decline could have just begun.It might appear bullish that gold rallied yesterday (Apr. 13), but it only appears this way until one compares this rally with what happened in the USD Index during the same time. Paying attention to today’s (Apr. 14) pre-market price moves further emphasizes the fake nature of yesterday’s rally in gold.The point is not that gold rallied, but that it hasn’t rallied enough.During yesterday’s session, the USD Index moved to new monthly lows and this decline continued in today’s pre-market trading. Consequently, if gold was at least reacting to the USD’s movement “normally”, it should move to new monthly highs. If gold “wanted” to rally, it would have likely exploded to the upside. But what happened instead? Gold moved higher only somewhat yesterday – not to new monthly highs – and in today’s pre-market trading it’s actually slightly lower.This tells us that gold “wants” to move lower now.The USD Index moved lower, and it can move even lower on a very short-term basis, perhaps to the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2021 rally, and the previous lows. And what would be the likely effect on gold? Based on what we saw yesterday, and what we see so far today, it seems that gold will likely ignore this decline in the USD Index, while waiting for the latter to finally show strength – so that it (gold) could decline.After all, gold has already topped right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal point . Consequently, it’s no wonder that it now continues to trade sideways, waiting for a trigger to move much lower.Moreover, please note that the recent zigzag makes the situation similar (approximately symmetrical) to what we saw about a year ago – between April and early June. Once gold breaks to new yearly lows, one could view this as a breakdown below the neckline of a major head and shoulders pattern where the April 2020 – June 2020 and the recent consolidations are the shoulders of the pattern. Based on such a pattern, gold would be likely to slide profoundly, probably well below $1,500. And the relative performance of gold vs. the USD Index tells us that such a short-term breakdown (to new yearly lows) is a likely outcome in the following weeks.Gold stocks also failed to rally to new monthly highs, and they seem to be forming a relatively broad topping pattern, just as they did in mid-March and at the beginning of the year.The sell signal from the Stochastic indicator as well as the fact that miners failed to invalidate the breakdown below their broad head-and-shoulders pattern points to a bearish outlook for the following weeks (and perhaps months).All in all, the outlook for the precious metals market remains bearish and the recent rally didn’t change anything.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

US Equities Climb A “Wall Of Worry” To New Highs

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 14.04.2021 18:26
Low volume rallies have become a standard of trending recently.  We see higher volume when volatility kicks in near areas of broad market volatility.  Otherwise, we see lower volume trending push the prices higher recently in a “melt-up” type of mode.Two recent standout events confirm this type of trending and volatility phases of the markets: (1) the September 2020 to early November 2020 (pre-US Election) rotation in price; and (2) the recent February 2021 to late March 2021 sideways price rotation related to the FOMC meeting/comments.  Both of these events centered around external market components and prompted an extended period of price volatility related to uncertainty.  After these events passed, price fell back into a low volume rally mode for many months, where most of the actual price gains happened.The following Daily QQQ chart highlights my observations related to this type of price activity.  We start in the pre-COVID-19 price rally from October 2019 to the peak near mid-February 2020.  It is easy to see the decreased volume activity while prices climbed more than 27%.  Then, the COVID-19 even sent volatility skyrocketing higher and prices collapsed by 30%.  This type of “Wall Of Worry” trending is common and presents a very clear opportunity for traders.After the March 2020 bottom, prices began another low volume rally that lasted from April 2020 to August 2020 – totaling a substantial +45% gain.  Again, starting in mid November 2020 and ending in mid February 2021, the QQQ rallied over 15% in a low volume “melt-up” trend.Come watch over 60 investment and trading LEGENDS share their secrets with you for free – click here for your FREE TICKET!Currently, the volume has started to subside after the FOMC meeting/comments volatility and we are starting to see moderately strong upward price trending in the QQQ.  This suggests we have entered another “Wall Of Worry” trend which may continue for many weeks or months.The following Weekly XLY, SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF chart highlights how diverse this “Wall of Worry” trend really is.  It translates into other sectors with almost the same velocity as it does in the QQQ.  In this example, we can see the strong trending, highlighted by GREEN ARROWS, at the same time as the decreasing volume took place.  Each of these rally trends coincides with the QQQ trends.  The rally from April 2020 to August 2020 represented a +35% gain.  The rally from November 2020 to February 2021 represented a +21% gain.  The current rally attempt has already advanced over 17% higher and may continue to rally for many more weeks.If there is no future disruption of this low volume trending, then we may expect to see the US stock market continue to move in this manner for many weeks or months to come.  These low-volume “Wall Of Worry” trends can be very profitable and can prompt big moves in sector ETFs.Many traders continue to miss opportunities in these markets because of worry or concerns of a breakdown in the trend. Eventually, something will prompt a correction or breakdown of this rally trend.  But until that happens, traders need to be able to identify and profit from these strong low volume rallies as they present some of the lowest volatility price advances recently. Being able to identify and trade these sectors is key to being able to efficiently target profits.  You can learn more about the BAN strategy and how to identify and trade better sector setups by registering for my FREE Trading Course here. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Enjoy the rest of the week!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Intraday Market Analysis – Bullish Turnaround

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.04.2021 09:07
NZDUSD recovers above daily MAThe New Zealand dollar gained support after the RBNZ kept its monetary policy unchanged.The Kiwi has found an effective floor above the psychological level of 0.7000 after a week-long sideways action.A breakout above the consolidation range (0.7070) has triggered a runaway rally as the short side scrambles to cover.On the daily chart, the surge above the 30-day moving average suggests that the recovery could extend further if 0.7180 is lifted. 0.7045 is the immediate support in case of a pullback.USDJPY falls to medium-term supportThe prospect of the Fed to maintain the low rate course continues to drive the US dollar lower.On the daily chart, the pair has come under pressure at the psychological level of 111.00 while the RSI made a double top in the overbought area. The sell-off is heading towards the first major support at 108.40.On an hourly chart, the RSI’s triple dip into the oversold territory could lead to a temporary rebound. 109.60 is the hurdle on the upside where intraday traders may look to sell into strength.NAS 100 breaks into new highGrowth stocks are making a comeback as receding Treasury yields make risk assets attractive again. A bullish close above February’s high at 13908 suggests that buyers have returned.The NASDAQ index may resume its uptrend as market sentiment improves.After hitting the milestone at 14000 the market may take a moment to digest the new record high while the RSI falls back into the neutrality area.The demand zone between the previous lows at 13670 and 13800 may be of trend followers’ interest.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

ING believes EUR/USD will break 1.20, and you?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 15.04.2021 13:28
What is moving the markets these days? What are the main drivers of currency pairs?First, the vaccination pace. The second, the recovery speed. And finally, investors are concerned about how soon the central banks will tighten the policy (increase rates or/and cut asset purchases).Let’s analyze the most traded pair – EUR/USD. At the first sight, the US is doing better than the Euro Area. The percentage of vaccinated people is much higher in the US than in the EU. Elsewhere, after problems with AtraZeneca’s vaccine, Johnson & Johnson stopped sending its vaccine to the EU as well because of the possible negative side effects.While the US does not depend on J&J, Europe may suffer a delay of 3-4 months to obtain its goal to vaccinate 70% of the population. As a result, it may significantly worsen the situation in Eurozone and press the euro down.However, EU Retail sales came out much better than expected this Monday: 3.0% vs the forecast of 1.3%. It’s just the beginning of further growth – more to come in the months ahead! Elsewhere, according to Barclays, European people acquired savings at 600 billion euros ($714 billion) during long lockdowns. But when they feel free to go out without any restrictions, they will tend to spend them more. So, consumer spending will grow and help the economy to recover.ForecastsING foresees the tentative recovery for Europe. The bank points that the USD has started losing its steam and the breakout of EUR/USD above 1.2000 is very likely! According to ING’s model, EUR/USD is undervalued by almost 2%. Indeed, if you look at the chart below, you’ll notice that the RSI indicator is well below 70.00 level, so it’s not overbought.US retail sales todayToday US retail sales will come out at 15:30 MT and will have a great impact on EUR/USD. The general rule is that if US retail sales are better than expected, the USD will surge; if worse – the USD will fall. However, some analysts believe that if retail sales come out better than the forecasts, it may fuel the ongoing risk-on sentiment and press down the USD, which will push EUR/USD higher. Anyway, follow the results and keep an eye on the charts.Tech analysisEUR/USD has failed to cross the resistance of 1.1990-1.2000 so far. However, if it does, the way up to the 100-day moving average of 1.2050 will be open.On the flip side, if it breaks below the 50-day moving average of 1.1960, the way down to the 200-day moving average of 1.1890 will be clear.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Stocks, Gold and Commodities Meet the Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.04.2021 15:56
S&P 500 in the red – unprecedented. Don‘t pin your hopes too high for a (sharp) correction though. Yes, this time stocks listened to the weakening corporate credit markets, and the daily retreat in long-dated Treasuries inspired some profit taking in tech. Quite some run there as yields stabilized, which has turned XLK from very stretched to the downside of its 50-day moving average, to the upside extreme. Tesla also followed suit but I doubt this is a true reversal of tech fortunes.As stated yesterday:(…) That‘s the result of the sea of liquidity in practice, and the avalanche of stimuli. The 1.50% yield scare on 10-year Treasuries is long forgotten, and technology welcomes every stabilization, every retreat from even quite higher levels, and value stocks barely budge. No real rotation to speak of and see here, move along.CPI inflation is hitting in the moment, and its pressure would get worse in the coming readings. Yet the market isn‘t alarmed now as evidenced by the inflation expectations not running hot – the Fed quite successfully sold the transitory story, it seems. Unless you look at lumber, steel or similar, of course. None of the commodities have really corrected, and the copper performance bodes well for the precious metals too.And the Fed mightily confirmed the message yesterday, which is what commodities loved. Inflation has a free reign, all it has to do is to take advantage of it. And if I look at rising oil filtering into higher gasoline and food prices, the real inflation will keep on biting (even though black gold is excluded from CPI calculations).I don‘t expect these recent observations to change much, especially since we got the daily breather yesterday – but 3, let alone 2 red candles in a row? I haven‘t seen that in stocks for quite a while:(…) No denying that the stock market is in a strong uptrend, but it got a bit too stretched vs. its 50-day moving average – a consolidation in short order would be a healthy move, but the CPI readings above expectations don‘t favor one [on Tuesday].Precious metals didn‘t swing higher immediately, but I expect them to take the commodities‘ cue next. When Powell says the Fed isn‘t thinking about selling bonds back into the market, and that he learned a lesson (hello, late 2018), real rates aren‘t probably rising much any time soon. It appears to me a question of time before inflation expectations squeeze the nominal yields some more, which is what gold would love.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookDaily downswing on marginally higher volume that doesn‘t shift the perspective towards a corrective territory in the least. The correct question instead is probably whether the S&P 500 upswing reasserts itself the next day or the day after.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and the investment grade ones (LQD ETF) reversed to the downside yesterday, and long-dated Treasuries didn‘t have a good day either. The reversals are though not to be trusted as I look for the upswing in both to continue.Technology and ValueTech (XLK ETF) driven by $NYFANG (lower black line) and then also Tesla (TSLA), were the key underperformers yesterday. Value stocks kept moving higher, and higher SPX prices are more likely next in this no real rotations to speak of environment, courtesy of all the extra liquidity.Inflation ExpectationsYields are not rising, but aren‘t yet retreating either. Have the rising inflation expectations been banished? I‘m not convinced even though they aren‘t running hotter in the wake of PPI and CPI figures, which are bound to get worse next – if copper and oil are to be trusted (they are). Remember that this is the Fed‘s stated mission for now – to let inflation run to make up for prior periods of its lesser prominence. Gold in the LimelightNominal yields are gradually taking the pressure off the yellow metal as the miners keep outperforming gold. Seniors (GDX ETF) would lead gold by breaking above their recent highs convincingly (solidly above $35 on rising volume and bullish candle shape), as the tide in the metals has turned. The unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates would do the trick.Silver, Copper and OilWhile silver recovered intraday losses, both copper and oil surged on the Fed reaffirmations. The table is set for miners and both precious metals to move higher next. outperformance.SummaryWhat a fast S&P 500 correction, how did you like it? The bulls have yet again reversed the setback in today‘s premarket session, and the slow grind higher keeps going on.Gold and miners are likely to take a cue from the surging commodities, and grow emboldened by the nominal yields retreat. Patience is still needed before the nearest resistances in both assets are taken out with conviction.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – Bullish Extension

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.04.2021 08:40
AUDUSD gains momentum as rally extendsMarkets bid up the Australian dollar after the country’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.8% to 5.6% in March.A brief pullback overnight near the 30-hour moving average (0.7700) was met with strong buying interest. The RSI’s easing from the overbought zone suggests that there could be more room on the upside.The latest rally above 0.7750 may attract more momentum players into the bidding war. This might open the path to 0.7850, a key resistance on the daily chart.USDNOK tests lower band of consolidation rangeSurging oil prices have put the commodity-sensitive Norwegian krone on the launchpad against a soft US dollar.Successive breakouts below 0.8470 then 0.8390 were a strong sign that the bias remains bearish.The US dollar may carry on its downtrend following a three-month-long consolidation between 8.3200 and 8.7200. There is a chance of a temporary rebound as the RSI rises back from the oversold area.8.3200 would be the next target while 8.4500 is the immediate resistance in case of a retracement.UK 100 lifts January’s resistanceThe FTSE 100 climbs higher as value stocks gain momentum amid the UK’s reopening.The bullish close above January’s high at 6963 indicates that the bulls are still in charge of the price action despite recent profit-takings.The next round of rally could set the pre-pandemic level above 7400 as the target in the weeks to come.In the short term, the index will need to lift the psychological level of 7000. An overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback, and 6920 would be the closest support in that case.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold Fireworks Doubt the Official Inflation Story

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.04.2021 16:09
The S&P 500 red candle and then some – erased in a day, that‘s what you get with the Fed always having your back. The staircase climb certainly looks like continuing without any real breather. Whatever steep ascent you compare it to (Jun or early Sep 2020), this one is different in that it doesn‘t offer but token corrections. Not that it would be reasonable to expect a steep downswing given the tide of liquidity, but even sideways trading has become rarer than it used to be.With the VIX still below 17 and the put/call ratio in the middle of its slowly but surely less complacent range, the path of least resistance is higher – the signs are still aligned behind the upswing to go on: (…) Don‘t pin your hopes too high for a (sharp) correction though. Yes, [on Wednesday] stocks listened to the weakening corporate credit markets, and the daily retreat in long-dated Treasuries inspired some profit taking in tech. Quite some run there as yields stabilized, which has turned XLK from very stretched to the downside of its 50-day moving average, to the upside extreme. Tesla also followed suit but I doubt this is a true reversal of tech fortunes.Just at yesterday‘s moves – technology surged higher without too much help from the behemoths, and value stocks surged. Even financials ignored the sharp retreat in yields. Yes, that‘s the result of retails sales outdoing expectations and unemployment claims dropping sharply – the economic recovery is doing fine, manufacturing expands, and inflation doesn‘t yet bite. We‘re still in the reflationary stage where economic growth is higher than the rate of inflation or its expectations.Gold loved the TLT upswing and Powell‘s assurances about not selling bonds back into the market in rememberance of eating a humble pie after the Dec 2018 hissy fit in the stock market (isn‘t this the third mandate actually, the cynics might ask). I called for the sharp gains across the precious metals board sending my open position(s) even more into the black – both on Wednesday:(…) CPI inflation is hitting in the moment, and its pressure would get worse in the coming readings. Yet the market isn‘t alarmed now as evidenced by the inflation expectations not running hot – the Fed quite successfully sold the transitory story, it seems. Unless you look at lumber, steel or similar, of course. None of the commodities have really corrected, and the copper performance bodes well for the precious metals too.and Thursday:(…) Precious metals didn‘t swing higher immediately, but I expect them to take the commodities‘ cue next. When Powell says the Fed isn‘t thinking about selling bonds back into the market, and that he learned a lesson (hello, late 2018), real rates aren‘t probably rising much any time soon. It appears to me a question of time before inflation expectations squeeze the nominal yields some more, which is what gold would love.The stalwart performance in the miners goes on after a daily pause as gold gathers strength and silver outperformed yesterday. Silver miners and gold juniors are pulling ahead reliably as well, not just gold seniors.The run on $1,760 awaits.This is just the beginning, and as I had been repeatedly stating on Twitter:(…) The GDX closing convincingly above $35 would usher in great gold and silver moves.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookNew ATHs, again and this time on rising volume – the momentum still remains with the bulls even though the daily indicators are waning in strength, and as said earlier, $NYFANG causes a few short-term wrinkles.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio performance got better aligned with the S&P 500 one, now that nominal yields have retreated.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsReflecting the turn in the Treasury markets, both the Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF) clearly turned higher, confirming the direction the S&P 500 has been on practically non-stop since late Mar.Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectations are going down, that‘s the conventional wisdom – and nominal yields duly follow. But the RINF ETF isn‘t buying the TIPS message all that much, proving my yesterday‘s point:(...) Have the rising inflation expectations been banished? I‘m not convinced even though they aren‘t running hotter in the wake of PPI and CPI figures, which are bound to get worse next – if copper and oil are to be trusted (they are). Remember that this is the Fed‘s stated mission for now – to let inflation run to make up for prior periods of its lesser prominence. Gold in the LimelightGold is surging higher ahead of the nominal yields retreat, as the bond vigilantes failed yet again to show up. In the meantime, the inflationary pressures keep building up...Gold, Silver and MinersAs stated the day before, seniors (GDX ETF) would lead gold by breaking above their recent highs convincingly (solidly above $35 on rising volume and bullish candle shape), as the tide in the metals has turned. The unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates would do the trick, which is exactly what happened. Silver scored strong gains as well, yet didn‘t visibly outperform the rest of the crowd. I look for the much awaited precious metals upleg to go on, and considerably increase open profits.SummaryThe daily S&P 500 downswing is history, and the relentless push higher (best to be compared with a rising tide), goes on.Gold and miners took a cue from the surging commodities, and nominal yields retreat. Patience has been rewarded, and a close above $1,775, is what I am looking for next as the gold bottom is in.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Rates Rally Further, Pushing Gold Down?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.04.2021 16:54
The recent rally in the bond yields pushed gold prices down, but this trend won’t continue forever, as the Fed will likely be forced to step in.In March, we saw a continuation of the rally in bond yields that started in February. As the chart below shows, the 10-year real interest rates have soared from -1.06 on February 10 to -0.66 percent on March 23.What is clear from the chart is the strong correlation between the 10-year TIPS yields and the gold prices. As a consequence, the rising bond yields made gold struggle. However, in March, the real interest rates were much more choppy compared to February, when they surged decisively. It may signal a lack of fuel for the further rally, at least for a while.Now, what is important here is that despite the recent jump in the real yields, they remain extremely low from the historical point of view . And they remain well below zero! This is good news for the gold market, as the yellow metal shines the most when real interest rates are negative.Of course, the direction of change is also very important, not just the absolute level. So, the question is, will the rates increase further? Well, it’s unfortunately possible, as the improving economic outlook and risk appetite are encouraging investors to buy stocks rather than bonds.On the other hand, the rising inflation expectations suggest that real yields may struggle to increase further , or they actually may go down. As the chart below shows, the market expectations of inflation in the next 10 years, derived from the Treasuries, have risen from 0.50 at the bottom in March 2020 to 2.31 on March 24, 2021.Given the increase that has already taken place, the further rise may be limited. But the broad money supply is still rising at an accelerating pace, and investors still don’t believe that the Fed will not hike the federal funds rate to combat rising inflation. They don’t buy the new monetary framework and all the talking about letting inflation overshoot the Fed’s target. Of course, the promise to be irresponsible in the future is not very credible, but investors shouldn’t underestimate the recklessness of central bankers .You see, we live in an era of weak policymakers unable to make serious commitments, or take unpopular actions, contrary to the needs of Wall Street and the government. For example, Janet Yellen , as a Treasury Secretary, should stress fiscal discipline – instead, she praised the “go big” approach of the new administration. Congress has already passed the $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus and the next additional spending is coming . The legislative proposal of new government expenditures on infrastructure and other priorities (such as climate change and the labor market) could collectively cost more than $3 trillion.It’s true that the additional government spending and the necessary borrowing could push up the yields (this is an important downward risk for gold). But rising interest rates could hamper the economic recovery and make government financing more costly, further ballooning already mammoth fiscal deficits . So, the Fed will likely have to step in and expand its quantitative easing program or introduce other measures, such as the yield curve control, to curb the long-term interest rates. It will weaken the dollar, thus supporting gold prices.As a reminder, the Bank of Japan has started to target the yield on 10-year government bonds at around zero percent in 2016, as it decided that the rapid monetary base expansion via large-scale asset purchases was unsustainable. More recently, the European Central Bank has announced in March the acceleration in the pace of its QE in a response to the rally in bond yields.So, do you really think that the Fed won’t follow suit? That Powell will not help Yellen, his former boss from the Fed? The sharp increase in yields would be inconsistent with the Fed’s dovish policy and the overall debt-driven economic growth. Hence, if the interest rates increase too much, be sure that the Fed will do something, providing a long-awaited support for the price of gold.What is “too much”? Not so much, at least not in the debt-trap we live in. Some analysts believe that this could occur if nominal 10-year Treasury yields rise over 2 percent, not too far from the current levels, as one can see in the chart below.Should we be surprised, given the bond bubble created by the central banks? They have kept the bond yields artificially depressed for years, so even a modest normalization – perfectly justified by the expectations of economic recovery and rising inflation – could collapse the house of cards and cause a financial crisis . Hence, although markets have become more optimistic recently, I’m afraid that bears and black swans haven’t said the last word yet. And neither has gold.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get a 7-day no-obligation trial for all of our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Are Metals & Miners Starting A New Longer-Term Bullish Trend?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 19.04.2021 03:53
Almost in stealth mode, precious metals have begun to bottom and start a new upside price trend while the US stock market focused on the FOMC meeting a few weeks back and current economic data.  Gold, Silver, and many of the Miner ETFs recently started a moderately strong push higher – almost completely behind the scenes of the hype in the markets regarding IPOs and Bitcoin's new recent highs.All the Gold traders know that when Gold starts a new leg higher, it could mean inflation fears are being amplified in the global markets and/or fear is starting to creep back into the markets.  After the recent rally in the US major indexes and as we plow through Q1:2021 earnings, it makes sense that some fear and inflation concerns are starting to take precedence over other concerns.  Will the markets just continue to push higher and higher? Or are the market nearing some type of intermediate-term peak after rallying from November 2020? Only time will tell...The recent move in Gold and Silver prices suggests traders and investors are starting to act more aggressively to hedge against downside market risks.  My research team and I believe these upside trends may confirm an upside breakout trend in Precious Metals and Miners within 2 to 4+ weeks. You may find some of our earlier research articles related to metals, including our April 15th price targets for Gold, Silver, and Platinum, and our research from March 26th where we explore an impending miners breakout rally.Custom Metals Index Shows Breakout Starting – 433 Level Is ConfirmationLet's start by reviewing our Custom Metals Index Weekly chart, below.  The continued downward price slide from the early August 2020 peak has extended more than 8 months. Recent lows also align with the peak levels just before the COVID-19 market collapse (February 2020).  Our research suggests this level will act as a strong support level and may prompt a new bullish price leg in Precious Metals and Miners if we continue to see confirmation of this uptrend in the future. Confirmation for our research team would be a strong close above 433 on our Custom Metals Index chart – closing above the 2021 Yearly highs.We urge readers to pay close attention to the RED price channels on this Custom Metals Index chart.  These historic price channels may become very relevant in the near future.  A strong upside price breakout in precious metals may prompt a rally that extends aggressively higher – attempting to reenter this current price channel.  If this were to happen, Gold would have to rally above $2165 by July 2021.  This would certainly put Precious Metals into a new longer-term bullish price trend.Junior Gold Miners Need To Continue Higher To Confirm Breakout/Rally TrendThe following GDXJ chart highlights the base/bottom that has setup in Junior Gold Miners and also highlights the past failed breakout attempts following the CYAN downward sloping trend line.  If this current breakout attempt is valid, we will see a continued upward price trend that confirms the breach of this downward sloping trend line over the next 5 to 15+ days.  We expect this move to happen fairly quickly given how traders have shifted focus recently into hedging against downside price concerns.Miners and Junior Miners tend to lead Precious Metals prices in volatile price trends.  Junior Miners act as a leader for the Precious Metals sector as investors expect stronger Precious Metals prices to translate into stronger earnings for Junior Miners.  Therefore, when traders perceive Precious Metals prices are bottoming or starting a new uptrend, Junior Miners will likely lead the rally in metals because Junior Miners will directly benefit (bottom-line profits) if metals prices move higher. Ideally, we would like to see a strong close above $53~54 to confirm this upside breakout trend.  This past standout high/resistance level seems key for any continuation of any bullish breakout trends.14+ Months Into A New Depreciation Cycle – What Next?As the US stock market continues to push into new all-time highs almost every week and inflation concerns are starting to rise, while global central banks are still acting to support the global market recovery, it seems oddly similar to the 2001~2009 Depreciation Phase which prompted a rally in Gold from $262 to over $1900 (over 700%).  We wrote about this change in global cycle trends in our December 18, 2020 research entitled Metals & Miners Shifting Gears.The Monthly Gold chart below highlights our research into the broader Appreciation/Depreciation phases of the global markets.  Notice how Gold rallied during the last Depreciation phase (from 2001 to 2011) – even starting to rally higher just before the Depreciation phase started and continuing for nearly a year after it ended.  This happens because global traders/investors start shifting their focus into hedging against risk before the Depreciation Phase actually kicks into gear – just like what is happening right now; on the right edge of this chart.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The price Appreciation Phase ended near the end of 2019 (just before the COVID-19 market collapse). Yet, the US stock market has continued to rally higher and higher over the past 24 months, well into the start of the Depreciation Phase cycle.  This is what we call an “Excess Phase Rally” - where prices continue to trend because of momentum and herd mentality from traders.  As we are seeing right now, certain sectors, technology, and the US major indexes are still pushing to new all-time highs.  This is partially because traders continue to pile into the momentum trades/trends – chasing those profits.Gold has started to react to the Depreciation cycle in a way that suggests the global markets may eventually transition into a bit of a sideways price trend or come under some type of renewed valuation concerns over the next 3 to 5+ years.  This type of general market concern, as well as the desire to hedge against risk, may prompt a continued rally in Gold to levels above $3000 - as shown on this chart. Staying ahead of these types of sector trends is going to be key to developing continued success in these markets.  As some sectors fail, others will begin to trend higher.  Learn how BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups. You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors right now in my FREE course. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, cycles and momentum then the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you in determining what to buy, when to buy it, and how to take profits while minimizing downside risk. In Part II of this article, we'll highlight continued opportunities in various metals/mining stocks/ETF as well as continue to highlight our believe that Precious Metals and Miners are starting a broad market transition into the Depreciation Phase cycle.  Are you ready for it?  Are you ready for increased global stock market volatility and trends while Precious Metals may start a new 140% to 250% potential price rally?Have a great weekend!
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – Breaking All-Time Highs

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.04.2021 08:42
GER 30 resumes uptrendWith the fear of reflation now taking a backseat, improved risk sentiment is pushing equity markets into new highs.The DAX has built a floor around 15160 following the latest rectangle consolidation. Bullish candles above the previous high at 15360 could draw more momentum players into the game.The 20-hour moving average crossing the 30-hour one is the final confirmation that the uptrend is picking up speed again. 15270 is the demand zone if the index falls back in search of more bids.USDCHF falls below major supportThe greenback remains underwater as US yields retreat from recent highs. Selling pressure has increased after the pair broke below the critical support at 0.9220 on the daily chart.Recent rebounds have been opportunities for short-term trend followers to sell into strength.A neutral RSI may encourage more sellers to jump on board. 0.9140 is the next target on the way down.On the upside, the newly established supply area around 0.9240 could be a tough nut to crack.USOIL breaks above consolidation rangeWTI crude oil has rallied back after the US EIA reported falling inventories. After a four-week-long consolidation, the latest surge above 62.10 suggests that buyers may have retaken control of the price action.64.80 from last month’s sell-off is a key resistance to lift if the bulls expect to turn the sentiment around once for all.In the meantime, profit-takings driven by an overbought RSI may lead to a brief retracement.The psychological level of 61.00 would be the support to keep an eye on.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Pausing Stocks and Gold Fireworks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.04.2021 16:28
The S&P 500 went back to relentless rallying on Friday, yet the selling wave before the close looks to indicate hesitation ahead. Even though VIX is attacking the 16 level, and the put/call ratio ticked higher, the bulls are little disturbed thus far – and they‘re unlikely to get upset. Whatever consolidation comes, would be a sideways one – one to be bought.That‘s the result of ample liquidity in the system, which is denting the rotations. Yields can go up or down, yet the sectoral adjustments to the downside aren‘t largely there, and that extends beyond the recently discussed financials. It concerns tech specifically, as the sector appears at a turning point – it defended gains: (…) without too much help from the behemoths, and value stocks surged. …. Retail sales outdoing expectations and unemployment claims dropping sharply – the economic recovery is doing fine, manufacturing expands, and inflation doesn‘t yet bite. We‘re still in the reflationary stage where economic growth is higher than the rate of inflation or its expectations.Gold loved the TLT upswing and Powell‘s assurances about not selling bonds back into the market in rememberance of eating a humble pie after the Dec 2018 hissy fit in the stock market (isn‘t this the third mandate actually, the cynics might ask). I called for the sharp gains across the precious metals board sending my open position(s) even more into the black.Miners keep supporting the upswing in both metals, and the technical picture has turned, reflecting the economic realities and commodities‘ run anounced on Wednesday. Now, it‘s up to gold and silver to catch up on what they missed since the early Aug 2020. Inflation is running hotter, and the Fed is tolerant of it, amply supplying liquidity. The gold bottom is in, and much brighter days ahead.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookNew ATHs, again and this time on rising volume – the momentum still largely remains with the bulls in spite of the late day selling pressure, and as said earlier, $NYFANG causing a few short-term wrinkles.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) have weakened, driven by the TLT retreat. This is a bearish omen unless the bulls step in, which could take a while.Technology and ValueReflecting the decline in long-dated Treasuries, tech wavered while its big names declined, and it was up to value stocks to save the day.Gold in the LimelightThe gold sector is running, and miners show no signs of stopping their solid outperformance of the yellow metal. These two have risen on Friday in spite of TLT turning lower again – the decoupling from nominal yields is getting more pronounced.The miners to gold ratio is as well pointing higher, and the higher low it made at the end of March, speaks volumes. The pressure is to go higher as the next precious metals upleg unfolds.Miners in FocusGold seniors (GDX ETF) are matched in strength by silver miners (SIL ETF), and have convincingly broken above their recent highs and the declining resistance line connecting November and January tops. The unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates are at work, and silver can be once again expected to start doing better than gold soon, and to considerably increase the open profits.SummaryThe daily S&P 500 consolidation looms, but will be a buying opportunity – not a sign of a market top. If you disliked the staircase climb for offering precious few opportunities to join without a discounted entry, your time is approaching.Gold and miners keep surging as the commodities signposted, little hampered by the daily increase in nominal yields. Patience has been rewarded, and as we closed above $1,775, the gold bottom can be declared as in.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold, USDX: The Board is Set, the Pieces are Moving

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.04.2021 16:44
A culminating point has been reached. With the USD Index being backed up by solid fundamentals, can gold hold the line?Have you ever noticed how often the language of war is used in finance and economics articles? A given company is on the defensive or the offensive, a stock is pushing forward, something else is rallying, positions are being taken… who will fire first? It’s the case of continuous push and pull factors that makes military strategies and concepts relevant to the subject of money.Now, when it comes to gold and the USD Index, it’s not the great battle of our time (in reference to today’s title), as Gandalf explained to Pippin in The Lord of the Rings, but it’s a battle, nonetheless. For the yellow metal, it could even be the deep breath before the plunge. We’ll soon find out.With an epic struggle for supremacy set to unfold in the coming weeks, battle lines have officially been drawn: with the USD Index hovering near its 50-day moving average and gold recapturing its 50-day MA, negatively correlated assets have officially collided. And, as the rules of engagement specify that to the victor go the spoils, which one is likely to wave the white flag?Well, with the USD Index built on a foundation of relative fundamentals and gold a beneficiary of shifting sentiment, the former remains locked and loaded and poised to neutralize the threat. Case in point: despite the USD Index’s recent recoil, non-commercial (speculative) futures traders actually increased their net-long positions last week .Please see below: Source: COTMoreover, let’s keep in mind that when net-speculative short interest as a percentage of total open interest (based on the CoT data) became extremely high in 2014 and 2018, the USD Index recoded two of its sharpest rallies in history. How sharp? Well, let’s take a look at how things developed in the past – after all, history tends to rhyme.Let’s focus on what happened when the net speculative positions were significantly (!) negative and then they became significantly (!) positive, without paying attention to tiny moves (like the one that we saw last summer).In short, rallies that began with extreme pessimism include:The big 2008 rally (over 16 index points)The big 2009 – 2010 rally (over 14 index points)The 2011 – 2012 rally (over 11 index points)The 2013 rally (“only” over 5 index points)The big 2014 – 2015 rally (over 20 index points)The 2018 rally (over 15 index points)The current rally started at about 89, so if the “normal” (the above shows what is the normal course of action) happens, the USD Index is likely to rally to at least 94, but since the 5-index point rally seems to be the data outlier, it might be better to base the target on the remaining 5 cases. Consequently, one could expect the USD Index to rally by at least 11 – 20 index points, based on the net speculative positions alone. This means the upside target area of about 105 – 114. Consequently, a comeback to the 2020 highs is not only very likely, but also the conservative scenario.In addition, let’s keep in mind that the very bullish analogy to the 2018 rally remains intact. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that back in 2018, the USD Index rallied sharply and then corrected back to its previous highs. And in similar fashion, the current weakness is nearly identical. More importantly, though, with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level sitting just below the USD Index’s 50-day MA, the cavalry is already on the way.Please see below:The current correction is much bigger than what we saw in mid-April 2018, so it seems that what we see right now is more of an analogy to what we saw in June 2018. That was the first big correction after the breakout – above the 50-day moving average and the declining blue resistance line – that definitively ended the yearly decline.I marked the situation from 2018 that seems similar to what we see right now with a dashed, horizontal line. Back in 2018, the pullback ended when the USD Index moved to its first Fibonacci classic retracement level (the 38.2% one). In case of the current rally, I marked those retracements with red. The USD Index is already below the first two (taking today’s pre-market decline into account) and it seems to be on its way to reach the final – most classic – 61.8% retracement. This kind of retracement provides substantial short-term support and it’s something that’s likely to trigger a rebounding.This retracement is slightly above the 90.7 level, and at the moment of writing these words, the USD Index is trading at 91.14. This means that the USD Index can reach its very strong short-term support any day – or hour – now.The very important detail about the June 2018 decline (and bottom) is that while this was the moment after which the USD Index’s started to move higher at a slower pace, it was also the moment after which the precious metals market started to decline faster.At the beginning of the year, I wrote that the precious metals market was likely to decline and that the preceding rally was likely fake. That’s exactly what happened.Right now, I’m writing that the recent rally was also fake (a correction within a medium-term decline) and – even more importantly – it seems likely that the next downswing could take place at a higher pace than what we saw so far this year. And – just as was the case in 2018 – this upcoming (fast) decline is likely to lead to the final bottom in the precious metals sector.Of course, just because the bottom is likely to be formed in the following months, doesn’t mean that it’s in at this time or that it’s a good idea to ignore the bearish implications of the situation in the USD Index (as well as other indications pointing to lower gold prices).As further evidence, the USD Index’s 2020 decline has not invalidated its long-term breakout. And with the long-term implications taking precedence over the medium- and short-term ones, the USDX still has its guns pointed in the right direction.Adding reinforcements to its infantry, the USD Index also has another ally in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield. After sitting out much of the rally in 2020, the former has been following in the latter’s footsteps since the New Year’s Day. And while the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield’s frailty has been a negative over the last two weeks, the dynamic could be about to flip.Please see below:Trending in the opposite direction of the USD Index futures, non-commercial (speculative) futures traders have moved from net-long to net-short the U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note . For context, bond prices move inversely of yields, so a lower U.S. 10-Year Treasury results in a higher U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield. And after non-commercial (speculative) futures traders reduced their long positions by nearly 43,000 contracts and increased their short positions by more than 44,000 contracts, speculators went from being net-long nearly 84,600 contracts to net-short nearly 2,700 contracts.Please see below:As a result, if the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield and the USD Index engage in an all-out offensive, their military might could indicate the death knell for the precious metals. Case in point: if you analyze the table below, you can see that gold, silver and the mining stocks often move inversely to the U.S. dollar.The bottom line?Given the magnitude of the 2017-2018 upswing , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. And in the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’s absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is doing (and likely to do) better than the Eurozone and Japan, and it’s this relative outperformance that matters , not the strength of just one single country or monetary area. After all, the USD Index is a weighted average of currency exchange rates, and the latter move on a relative basis.In conclusion, the generals have mapped out their strategies, soldiers have manned the perimeter, and the loser of the upcoming battle will likely end up losing the war. However, with the precious metals being outmanned and outgunned, the USD Index will likely plant its victory flag, while gold, silver and the mining stocks are forced to retreat and regroup. As a result, a major fallback is likely before the precious metals can resume their long-term uptrend. Due to the USD’s breakdown below the 50% retracement, they could decline in the very near term (while gold rallies a bit more – say to $1,800 or so), but don’t let that trick you into thinking that the next big move is going to the upside. In my view, that’s actually likely to be an important top that’s then going to be followed by an even more important decline in the precious metals and mining stocks. Then, after several weeks or months of declines, PMs can bottom and finally soar without huge declines on the horizon.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – Recovery Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 20.04.2021 08:33
EURUSD breaks above key resistanceThe euro recoups last month’s losses as traders reposition themselves for this week’s ECB meeting.After a few days of consolidation under the key level of 1.1990 from the daily chart, the strong momentum above this resistance is a confirmation that buyers are in control of the price action.1.2110 would be the next target as the pair makes its way back.An overbought RSI may lead to a brief pullback. If so, the demand area between 1.1880 and 1.1940 may see strong buying interest.USDJPY faces strong supplyThe market’s expectation of further falls in US Treasury yields keeps sending the greenback lower.The pair’s successive breakouts below the daily moving averages and the critical support at 108.40 have triggered a new round of sell-off.There is a chance of a rebound as traders take profit after the RSI went deeply into the oversold territory. Bears are likely to sell into strength in the supply zone around 108.90.On the downside, 107.80 would be the next target as a continuation of the bearish momentum.SP 500 tests rising trendlineMajor stock indices stay high on hopes that the recovery is firmly on track. The S&P 500 has been grinding up along a rising trendline established earlier this month.However, a double top in the RSI’s overbought area may temper buyers’ willingness to chase bids.The trendline (4150) is the immediate support as the index makes a retreat. 4120 is a key level to keep the uptrend intact in the short term.On the upside, the psychological level of 4200 could be the target as buyers push for a new record high.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold Rebounds Amid Positive Economic Reports

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.04.2021 10:55
Several economic indicators have surprised us on the positive side. Nevertheless, the price of gold has rebounded.Finally! The price of gold has been rising recently . As the chart below shows, the yellow metal rebounded from the late March bottom of $1,684 to above $1,770 on Friday (Mar. 16). This could be a promising start to the second quarter of 2021, which looks better than the first.As you know, gold struggled at the beginning of the year, falling under strong downward pressure created by the improving risk appetite and rising bond yields . But the strength of these factors has begun to fade. You see, it seems that economic confidence has reached its maximum level, and it could be difficult for markets to become even more euphoric.Please take a look at the chart below which shows the level of credit spreads – as you can see, they have fallen to very low levels, which implies that they won’t get much lower than they are right now. So, it appears that the next big move will rather be a rise in credit spreads or a decline in economic confidence.Second, it seems that the rally in bond yields has run out of fuel , at least for a while. The U.S. long-term real interest rates reached their peak of minus 0.56% on March 18 of this year. Since then, they are in a sideways or even downward trend, declining to almost -0.70% last week, as you can see in the chart below.As I explained earlier several times, the markets didn’t buy the Fed’s story of allowing inflation to rise substantially without hiking interest rates for several weeks or even months. However, it seems that Powell and his colleagues have finally managed to convince investors that they are really serious about the new framework, which puts full employment over inflation.Of course, there are also positive geopolitical factors contributing to the rebound in the gold prices . The tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as the U.S. and Russia, have been rising recently. However, it seems that the decline in bond yields allowed gold to catch its breath, and that the macroeconomic outlook – including the credit spreads, interest rates, inflation, monetary policy and fiscal policy – will remain the key driver of gold prices throughout the year.Implications for GoldWhat does all this mean for the price of the yellow metal? Well, the recent jump in the price of gold is encouraging. What is important here is that this rebound occurred amid the flood of positive economic data . For instance, the initial jobless claims have decreased to 576,000, a lower level than expected and the lowest since the pandemic started, as the chart below shows.Additionally, retail sales surged 9.8% in March , following a 2.7% decline in February, while the Fed’s Beige Book reported that “national economic activity accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April”. Additionally, both the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index and the Empire State manufacturing index surprised us on the a positive side.The fact that gold held its gains and continued the rebound even after the publication of several positive economic reports is bullish . Of course, it might be simply the case that the reduction in the real interest rates simply outweighed other indicators, but it’s also possible that gold’s bears got tired.Indeed, the sentiment was so negative in the gold market that it couldn’t get much worse than it already was. Gold shined brightly during the Great Lockdown and economic crisis . But now, when the economy is recovering, gold has become persona non grata . However, this might imply that we are either close to or we have already reached the bottom. Only time will tell, of course, but the macroeconomic outlook seems to be rather friendly for the price of gold, especially if the real interest rates stop rising or even start declining again.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Gold Reversal? Have No Fear!

Gold Reversal? Have No Fear!

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.04.2021 15:38
S&P 500 closed in the the red, vindicating my bearish sentiment going into Monday‘s session. And as I have tweeted during the day, the sellling doesn‘t appear to be over. Friday‘s:(…) selling wave before the close looks to indicate hesitation ahead. Even though VIX is attacking the 16 level, and the put/call ratio ticked higher, the bulls are little disturbed thus far.While VIX rose yesterday, it finished only a little above 17 – the tide in stocks hasn‘t turned to fear even temporarily in the least, and the current consolidation would still be one to be bought.That‘s the result of ample liquidity in the system, which is denting the rotations. Yields moved higher yesterday, and defensives including tech or Down Jones Industrial Average rightly felt the pressure more than value stocks.Gold got caught in the daily selling, but again the miners and commodities reveal how little has changed. Oil and copper keep doing very fine, and the precious metals upleg appears undergoing a daily correction only – one that doesn‘t change the larger trend, which is higher (and for the dollar by the way, it‘s pointing down – I‘m not placing much weight upon the USD link arguing that gold is acting weak to the weakening dollar, and thus has to fall). I look at the ratios, yields and other commodities for stronger clues.And the matter of fact is that inflation expectations have yet again turned higher, confirming my earlier calls about transitioning to a higher inflation environment made either recently or more than a month ago. Remember that the Fed wants inflation above all, and made so amply clear:(…) Now, it‘s up to gold and silver to catch up on what they missed since the early Aug 2020. Inflation is running hotter, and the Fed is tolerant of it, amply supplying liquidity. The gold bottom is in, and much brighter days ahead.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStocks are visibly in a vulnerable position as not enough new buyers have stepped in. The volume print attests to having to go some more on the downside before a local bottom emerges.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) weakened, and more so than the TLT did – that‘s what a risk-off environment looks like. Thus far, no change on the horizon – this overdue, little correction can keep going on.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsBoth smallcaps and emerging markets are revealing the concerted selling yesterday – unless these turn higher next, the S&P 500 has further to go to the downside still.Gold in the LimelightGold‘s daily reversal may look ominous, but really isn‘t – it‘s merely a temporary setback. The miners have held up relatively well, and I consider the yellow metal‘s selloff as a reaction to the retreat in nominal yields and first red day in the S&P 500 in quite a while. I‘m standing by the call of decoupling from nominal yields getting more pronounced, and by increasingly lower dollar values powering precious metals higher, especially in the second half of this year – the USD/JPY pair offers clearly clues for the king of metals even now.Look how stubborn the miners to gold ratio is – no, this precious metals upleg isn‘t ending here, no way, it‘s merely getting started, and the panicked bears doubling down this early from the imperfect second bottom, is telling you as much about the state of the market as the ongoing silver squeeze driving relentlessly PSLV stockpile higher, bypassing the SLV.Silver and CopperSilver retreated in tandem with gold but again the fierce copper (copper to 10-year Treasury yields ratio) reveals that this isn‘t a move to be trusted. The trend in precious metals remains higher.SummaryThe S&P 500 consolidation is here, and is a shallow one just as anticipated. The risk-off moves were evident across the board yesterday, and might very well not be over just yet (when looked at from a larger than daily perspective).Gold and miners are undergoing a shallow correction as well, but nothing more than that. Before too long, precious metals will shake off the setback, and revert to breaking above another resistance, the $1,800s. Since we broke above the two levels I discussed recently (the $1,760s and closing above $1,775 on solid internals), the lows can be comfortably declared as in across the precious metals board, and I look for miners to keep leading the upleg.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – Bullish Continuation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.04.2021 08:58
GBPUSD breaks to 4-week highThe pound rallied across the board after the UK’s unemployment rate fell from 5.1 % to 4.9 %.The pair has surged to a four-week high, breaking above the consolidation range on the daily chart in the process. This is a signal that the uptrend may have resumed.The previous high at 1.4200 could be the next on the list. But for now, profit-taking around the psychological level of 1.4000 may drive the price lower while the RSI returns to the neutrality area. The resistance-turn-support 1.3900 would be the area of interest.AUDUSD hovers under major resistanceThe Australian dollar struggles to keep the high ground following the RBA’s dovish meeting minutes overnight.The Aussie has come under pressure in the major supply area between 0.7800 and 0.7850. The RSI’s repeated indication of an overbought situation may keep the price action subdued. 0.7700 is the immediate support to test buyers’ commitment.On the upside, a breakout would see a pick up in the bullish momentum and open the door to last February’s high at 0.8000.NZDUSD tests critical daily resistanceThe New Zealand dollar grinds higher as the CPI improved from 1.4% to 1.5%. The kiwi’s rally has gained traction after offers around 0.7180 were lifted.0.7270, a key resistance from the daily chart is the next hurdle. A bullish breakout may help the pair resume its thirteen-month-long rally. In a similar fashion to its Australian counterpart, an overshort RSI could mean a brief consolidation in search of buying interest.0.7120 is the first line of defense in case of a retracement.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Gold’s Next Decline Be Its Final One?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.04.2021 14:48
If gold’s recent rally is just a correction within a larger medium-term downswing, and the 2018 pattern repeats, this could mean the final plunge.Gold continues to move just like it did at the beginning of this year, and – combined with the bottoming USDX – it heralds declines in the PMs.I previously emphasized that despite jumping above the upper (red) border of the roughly one-and-a-half-month trading channel, the bearish implications of the yellow metal’s inability to close above its November 2020 low are more important - and this has remained the case.Despite a daily rally in gold, we haven’t seen a daily close above the lowest one of late November 2020. Consequently, the breakdown below this level was not invalidated and its bearish implications remain intact.In addition, gold’s stochastic indicator is mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in early 2021. If you analyze the bottom area of the chart above, you can see that the indicator recorded three material moves higher (triple top) before gold eventually rolled over.In particular, the first sell signal occurred slightly below the 80 level, the second was above it, and the same was the case with the third one.The stochastic indicator has just moved to new highs, just like it did in early 2021, and it also flashed (so far tiny but still) a sell signal. Back in January, this action meant that the final top was in or about to be in (not more than a few sessions away). The implications here are definitely bearish. Especially given Monday’s session, when gold showed that it’s ready to slide even without the USD’s help.Speaking of the USD Index, please note that it seems to have bottomed almost right at its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the previous 2021 rally.In addition, let’s keep in mind that the very bullish analogy to the 2018 rally remains intact. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that back in 2018, the USD Index rallied sharply and then corrected back to its previous highs. And in similar fashion, the current weakness is nearly identical.The current correction is much bigger than what we saw in mid-April 2018, so it seems that what we see right now is more of an analogy to what we saw in June 2018. That was the first big correction after the breakout – above the 50-day moving average and the declining blue resistance line – that definitively ended the yearly decline.I marked the situation from 2018 that seems similar to what we see right now with a dashed, horizontal line. Back in 2018, the pullback ended when the USD Index moved to its first Fibonacci classic retracement level (the 38.2% one). In case of the current rally, it seems that another classic retracement worked – the 61.8% one.The very important detail about the June 2018 decline (and bottom) is that while this was the moment after which the USD Index’s started to move higher at a slower pace, it was also the moment after which the precious metals market started to decline faster.At the beginning of the year, I wrote that the precious metals market was likely to decline and that the preceding rally was likely fake. That’s exactly what happened.Right now, I’m writing that the recent rally was also fake (a correction within a medium-term decline) and – even more importantly – it seems likely that the next downswing could take place at a higher pace than what we saw so far this year. And – just as was the case in 2018 – this upcoming (fast) decline is likely to lead to the final bottom in the precious metals sector.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Gold Unleashed – Rip Your Face Off Rally Is Here

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.04.2021 16:30
S&P 500 had another day in the the red, and buy the dippers might be tempted to say enough is enough – but I am not convinced yet. The selling doesn‘t appear as over yet, and the premarket upswing stopped right below my tweeted target of 4,133, overcoming which would have flipped the entry into the U.S. session as bullish. More of the same is expected for today – the bulls would need to demonstrate strength, which I am afraid won‘t convincingly happen right now. The VIX and options traders sense the shifting sands too. We‘re in the correction territory quite firmly now, and it isn‘t over by a long shot.Nominal yields have retreated a little, reflecting the daily downswing in inflation expectations – but the overall dynamics hasn‘t changed as Treasuries keep frontrunning the TIP:TLT. As for liquidity, it‘s still obscuring rotations to a degree, but it must be said that pressure was felt almost fully across the S&P 500 board. That‘s risk-off – a much needed whiff thereof.Gold defied the daily selling stretching over to commodities such as oil. Gold and miners defied also the daily weakness in silver which I rightly found little concerning. The decoupling from the Treasury yields pressure goes on, and is further relieved by Treasuries catching a bid again.The dollar staged a daily reversal, but for how long would that last? The other indicative engine behind the precious metals growth, the USD/JPY pair, is tilting solidly in the direction of the yen carry trade suffering a setback, which means unwinding quite a few „no brainer“ trades, including those short precious metals. Remember, when yen as the safe haven currency strengthens, gold usually likes that.Such is the amply clear big picture:(…) Now, it‘s up to gold and silver to catch up on what they missed since the early Aug 2020. Inflation is running hotter, and the Fed is tolerant of it, amply supplying liquidity. The gold bottom is in, and much brighter days ahead.The stage is set for both gold and silver‘s rip your face of rally, powered by the miners. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookA bit too early to buy the dip in my view – I would prefer to see signs of strength, including in smallcaps and emerging markets, above much else.Credit Markets and OilThere are signs of stabilization in the credit markets, but not sufficiently so for me yet – high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) aren‘t able to keep the ground gained through the day, and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) retreated considerably before the close. Risk on isn‘t in favor yet, and it shows in quite a few S&P 500 sectors, including the persisting weakness in energy or $XOI (the oil sector) that has the power to send black gold lower before it recovers.By the way, oil is in a precarious position short-term, especially should it break on a closing basis below $61.50. Above that, the price action is just a bullish consolidation. The bullish outlook is intact, in spite of the weakness in the oil sector. A break below $59 would worry me though - but I don't think things would get that bad for the bulls really.Technology and ValueDown across the board, but the tech heavyweights matter the most right now. And looking at their performance, the correction isn‘t over yet.Gold and SilverThis is as bullish as it gets. Miners are leading, and Treasury yields aren‘t a headwind any longer for now. Naturally I‘m standing by the call of decoupling from nominal yields getting more pronounced, and by increasingly lower dollar values powering precious metals higher, especially in the second half of this year.Silver isn‘t visibly or consistently outperforming, and not only nominal yields as such, but their ratio accounting for copper, is supporting the unfolding precious metals upleg.SummaryThe shallow S&P 500 consolidation doesn‘t appear over just yet as the risk-off moves were evident across the board yesterday.Gold and miners sharply recovered from their correction as anticipated, and the trend of higher highs and higher lows in the yellow metal goes on. The unfolding precious metals upleg is doing very well, having beaten also $1,775 on strong internals.
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Intraday Market Analysis – Whipsaw Catalyst

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.04.2021 08:20
USDCAD breaks out of rangeThe Canadian dollar surged after the BoC announced a reduction of its asset purchasing program.After a month-long consolidation, the loonie may have finally found momentum to break free. The sell-off below 1.2470 suggests strong selling interest and potential for bearish continuation. The price may retrace briefly after the RSI shot into the oversold zone.1.2650 is the immediate resistance and 1.2420 would be the next target. A combination of short-covering and fresh buying could send the price to 1.2360.EURGBP falls from key resistanceSterling rises higher as the UK’s core CPI accelerates to 1.1% YoY. The euro has met stiff selling pressure at 0.8720, a key resistance on the daily timeframe.Successive breakouts below 0.8670 then 0.8640 are a sign that sellers have taken control of the short-term direction.The RSI has recovered into the neutrality area, leaving the price vulnerable at the end of the current consolidation. The support-turned-resistance 0.8670 may cap a rebound.A drop below 0.8590 could trigger a new round of sell-off.XAUUSD grinds along rising trendlineBullion advances higher as the dollar index stays muted at a seven-week low. The price action has been in consolidation following a recent rally above 1757.A neutral RSI may suggest there is still room on the upside. 1814 from the daily chart is a major resistance, and its breach could trigger a reversal. On the downside, 1777 is the immediate support in case of a pullback.Further down, 1760 along the bullish trendline is a congestion area and may see strong buying interest from short-term trend-followers.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

USD/TRY: testing all-time highs

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 22.04.2021 10:05
Today, USD/TRY is peaking above 8.30 - that's the zone of the all-time highs! The first time the Turkish lira dropped that much value was in November 2020. Back then, a new Turkish Central Bank governor was appointed to put it back onto a healthy course - and Naci Aqbal managed to do it countering double-digit inflation. Eventually, USD/TRY dropped below 7.00. However, unfortunately for the Turkish lira, Naci Aqbal had to leave his post in February - and the national currency of Turkey responded by losing value again. Taking into account these constant staff changes in the highest ranks of the Turkish Central Bank, it's not a surprise that the national Turkish currency behaves in such an unstable manner. On top of that, see that, global investors are increasingly losing faith in the Turkish economy that is becoming less attractive for investment and hence propels the lira's depreciation. One of the reasons for the current upswing of USD/TRY may be the announcement that Joe Biden may officially recognize the actions of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 towards the Armenian population as genocide - a move that will definitely strike hard at the US-Turkish relations, and the Turkish authorities already warned their American counterparts of that. In the meantime, this move may be considered as US warning to Turkey as well: so far, while being in the NATO, Turkey did not hesitate to purchase Russian arms raising questions - at least, on the American side - about the true nature of its intentions and loyalty to the military alliance. In any case, the US-Turkish relations are becoming worse day by day, and that's pressing on the Turkish lira. If it continues like that, USD/TRY may well reach 9.00 in the nearest future. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Continues to Rebound, Despite Hawkish Powell’s Letter

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.04.2021 15:52
The price of gold rebounded further, despite hawkish Powell’s letter to Senator Rick Scott.The second quarter of 2021 started much better than the first one for the gold bulls . As the chart below shows, the yellow metal rebounded from the late March bottom of $1,684 to $1,778 on Tuesday (April 20).Is it a temporary recovery in a long, downward slide or a return to the bull market that started in 2019? Well, it’s probably too early to determine whether that’s the case. What is, however, crucial here is that the yellow metal has managed to go up, despite some bearish news. The most important fact is that Powell has replied to the letter from Senator Rick Scott on rising inflation and public debt . The Fed Chair’s reply was rather hawkish , as he said that any overshoot of inflation target would be limited:We do not seek inflation that substantially exceeds 2 percent, nor do we seek inflation above 2 percent for a prolonged period (…) we are fully committed to both legs of our dual mandate – maximum employment and stable prices (…) We understand well the lessons of the high inflation experience in the 1960s and 1970s, and the burdens that experience created for all Americans. We do not anticipate inflation pressures of that type, but we have the tools to address such pressures if they do arise.Although Powell didn’t say anything surprising, his tone and emphasis on the commitment to stable prices could be interpreted as generally hawkish and, thus, negative for the gold prices. However, the yellow metal continued its rebound, which is encouraging .Implications for GoldSo why has gold been rising recently? Well, in a sense, the reason might be simple: the sentiment was so negative that the downward trend had to reverse. However, there are also some fundamental factors at play here. First of all, the rallies both in the bond yields and the US dollar have stalled . As the chart below shows, both the greenback and the real interest rates have receded from their March peaks..The declines in the bond and forex markets enabled gold to catch its breath. Of further importance is that they started falling when it became clear that the Fed would be more dovish and tolerant of higher inflation than was originally believed by the markets.Second, there has been a surge in global coronavirus cases which renewed a demand for the safe-haven assets, such as gold . Also, in the US, the number of confirmed cases and hospitalizations is increasing in some areas of the country, despite the vaccination progress. That is the effect of the new variants of the virus and the pandemic fatigue, i.e., many people tired of it have dropped their infection control measures.Third, inflation is accelerating , which is becoming increasingly visible. For example, the latest IHS Markit U.S. Manufacturing PMI shows that costs and charges have historically elevated in March.Supplier lead times lengthened to the greatest extent on record. At the same time, inflationary pressures intensified, with cost burdens rising at the quickest rate for a decade. Firms partially passed on higher input costs to clients through the sharpest increase in charges in the survey’s history.Commenting on the numbers, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, said:Raw material prices are increasing at the sharpest rate for a decade and factory gate selling prices have risen to a degree not seen since at least 2007. The fastest rates of increase for both new orders and prices was [sic] reported among producers of consumer goods, as the arrival of stimulus cheques in the post added fuel to a marked upswing in demand.What matters here is that the inflationary pressure is likely to remain with us for a while, despite the pundits’ claims that it’s triggered merely by temporary factors. In the 1970s, they were talking the same – until stagflation emerged and gold shined .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
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SPX Short Squeeze – Here Or Not?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.04.2021 16:07
S&P 500 turned around at the open, and didn‘t look back. Is the selling over, have the markets turned the corner? Buy the dip looks to have won the day, VIX has been beaten back, and corporate credit markets scored strong gains. The benefit of the doubt would go with the bulls as the Russell 2000 and emerging markets joined in the buying spree. Heck, even the option traders turned more complacent again.The table looks set for brighter days, but it‘s the odd performance in value (the reopening fireworks don‘t seem to go stale ever really) ignoring retreating yields, which the tech heavyweights strangely neither rejoiced. That reminds me of the dog that didn‘t bark story. I‘m thus looking for a daily consolidation of surprisingly easily gained ground without ruling out a weak downswing attempt – but it‘s the upside potential that‘s looking short-term limited here. The daily SPX chart doesn‘t give me confidence yet to declare this correction as not returning next week.Nominal yields have again retreated a little, and inflation expectations are sending inconclusive messages – but don‘t forget that inflation is what the Fed ultimately wants. It just has to balance that with the Treasuries market not going into a tailspin – for now, mission accomplished, inflation expectations have peaked, move along, nothing to see here.But the higher commodity prices are sending a clear message to the contrary – look for the PPI readings to be affecting CPI increasingly more. Markets aren‘t waiting for the Fed, and have been transitioning to a higher inflation environment already, even though the Fed sold the transitory talking points quite well – it would indeed be a 2022-3 story when inflation supported by the overheating job market would kick in. That‘s the context decreasing nominal yields should be interpreted in.Gold welcomes this reflation period with nominal yields becoming a tailwind, as reflation is also a time when commodities do great, not just the stock market. And we‘re in the decade of precious metals and commodities super bull runs – and these are well underway. The debasement of fiat currencies against real assets is set to continue, and will accelerate given the unprecedented fiscal and monetary support already and ahead – sorry dollar bulls, the greenback declines are resuming – just look at the yen and yields nodding to the metals upswing.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe dip was bought right at the open yesterday, in a tentative sign of strength. A superficial one, precisely, for the correction might not be over.Credit MarketsBoth the high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) rose in tandem, but the volume wasn‘t entirely there – similar to stocks. Regardless of the sectoral imbalances discussed below, it‘s a strong argument for why any resumption of selling won‘t likely get too far.Technology and ValueValue keeps pulling the 500-strong index ahead while the leadership in tech remains outside the woefully underperforming heavyweights. I‘m looking at that to change over time, though.Gold and SilverGold upswing is still in a healthy shape, with miners outperforming. The retreating nominal yields have turned into a tailwind as gold gathers strength to break the $1,800 level shortly.Yesterday was characterized by silver‘s strength, and that means an issue of varying proportions usually ahead. But I am interpreting the chart as a weak setback only, a very temporary one – this isn‘t any kind of turnaround.Gold‘s Big PictureThis is the key chart proving that the precious metals upleg has started weeks ago – the caption says it all. Look for much higher prices ahead as weeks and months roll by.SummaryThe shallow S&P 500 consolidation won‘t likely continue today as another good unemployment figure came in, and I look for the sectoral imbalances to improve later today and tomorrow.Gold and miners are taking a little breather, together with silver. Nothing unexpected or groundbreaking, the precious metals upleg is well established already, and $1,800 will be history as early as next week, when the rip your face off rally continues.
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Silver, Read the moves

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 23.04.2021 12:14
Not every price advance is the same in its validity. Let us have a look at why recent Silver price movements are so promising:Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, The giveaway:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of April 21st, 2021.A glance at the daily chart above shows with green arrows our entry points on Silver over the last three weeks. We post all entries (and exits) in real-time in our free Telegram channel. The very first three entries (green arrows to the left) were based on momentum. We stepped up to the plate finding fractal volume support, and use the contrarian approach to step into momentum to take advantage of the action/reaction principle supporting our Quad exit strategy for quick risk mitigation of early partial profit-taking.Another look shows that at points A, B, and C, the lows of each retracement (leg 1,2,3) are very modest in percentage. Meaning the bears didn’t get a foot in the door. Consequently, we built a more aggressive position size. We took advantage of low-risk entry points again.The final giveaway that price might pierce through the central heart at US$26 of a previous congestion zone is marked with a yellow circle. For four days, price rejected this distribution zone, represented by the long wicks to the upside. But at no time was there a follow-through of price decline to the downside from bears attempting to short US$26.We now find ourselves positioned well with ten runners left:SymbolDATEentryfin 50%1st target 25%2nd target 25%(= runner)XAGUSD3/3023.780000023.870000023.9500000XAGUSD3/3124.300000024.380000024.8300000XAGUSD4/124.280000024.710000024.8400000XAGUSD4/424.588000024.688000024.8440000XAGUSD4/524.780000025.000000025.1400000XAGUSD4/1224.690000024.930000025.3500000XAGUSD4/1325.300000025.420000025.9700000XAGUSD4/1925.715000025.800000026.0700000XAGUSD4/2025.755000025.940000026.5470000XAGUSD4/2025.930000026.000000026.0350000  Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, The original plan and its risk:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of April 1st, 2021.We posted this monthly chart three weeks ago in our weekly chartbook. Our long-term plan is in motion just as strategized. It is necessary now that we have eliminated the risk to expand our projections and set target zones for our ten runners. We consider them as one whole position unit. We visualize this progression in the following chart.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Silver, Read the moves:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of April 21st, 2021.We find ourselves not only in a risk-free position but have pocketed some substantial profits. We also carry a 2.5 typical position size in runners (10x 25% of standard size).This allows for opening up to a more significant risk/reward-ratio. We changed our original target near all-time highs to a runner target now at US$73.33 (based on Fibonacci number sequencing). The financing target for half of the position size is set to US$28.77. We will exit another 25% position size as well at US$47.63. These targets are based on fractal volume analysis of distribution zones.Silver, Read the moves:When dealing with more complex methods of risk elimination, position building, transfer time frames, and money management, it is essential to read the market right. While most follow hunches, leverage, or simplified money management and are at most times not even aware of the risk they are taking on, we scrutinize the market in its development of turning points to not arrive at unrecoverable risk positions. Trading isn’t about maximizing profits. It is a constant evaluation of probabilities and market behavior to ride market cycles like surfer ocean waves.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|April 22nd, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Gold: a trend change coming?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 23.04.2021 14:12
We've been talking a lot about the long-term downtrend of gold that's been the case since July 2020. Frequently, the price goes above and below that channel but then inevitably gets back into it. Since the end of 2020, that channel's upside has been mostly coinciding with the 100-MA. Now, golf is up there testing 100-MA below $1,800. Will it break the trend then?First, even if it does, the trend may still stay valid just like it's been before: 80% of the time, the price was within the channel, but 20% still saw it deviate from the trend. Therefore, what we see now is just a possible breakout - whether it'll be a true trend change, only time will show: fo that, the changing configuration of the Moving Averages will serve as an indicator; so far, they're all aligned in a downward formation.Second, gold may go as high as 200-MA at $1,850 just as it did twice previously. That all will not be an impediment for it to get back down into the channel: whatever the bullish breakaway is, it won't change the trend unless it goes beyond the resistance of the 200-MA at $1,850. Lastly, observe an interesting thing: there is a double top at $1,955, and there is a double bottom at $1,680. The gold price failed to cross either. That suggests a possibility that in the coming months, it'll trade between the two revolving around the core channel of $1,800-1,850. Let's watch it!Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Those Tax Hikes I Warned About..

Those Tax Hikes I Warned About..

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.04.2021 15:57
Remember how every month in 2021 started off hot and then saw a pullback and volatility occur by the second half of the month? Welcome to the second half of April.After switching my calls on the SPDR S&P ETF (SPY) and the SPDR Dow Jones ETF (DIA) a week ago (Apr. 16), both have declined over 1% and are on track for their first losing weeks in more than a month.Despite the month’s promising start with blowout jobs reports, stronger-than-expected earnings, the lowest jobless claims in months, and more, remember how I said to stay vigilant on inflation and potential tax hikes?Well, the market on Thursday (Apr. 22) tanked thanks to rumblings that President Biden could hike the capital gains tax rate for those earning over $1 million. This isn’t just some ordinary tax hike either. Biden would essentially double the current tax rate of 20% to 39.6% for those wealthy investors and hike it as high as 43.4% for the richest of the rich.Not to mention President Biden has been talking for weeks about hiking corporate taxes to 28%.Tax the rich? Guess Mr. President has to fund his spending sprees somehow, no?Although April historically has been the strongest month for stocks over the past 20 years, with the S&P 500 witnessing gains in 14 of the past 15 years, not everything is smooth sailing right now. Especially if you’re a SPAC or a speculative sector.In fact, for the broader market, I’d even caution that we may be at or around a peak, with most of the good news priced in already. Despite what’s been a rough week, the Dow and S&P are still at historically high levels. According to Binky Chadha , Deutsche Bank’s chief U.S. equity strategist, we could see a significant pullback between 6% and 10% over the next three months because of potentially full valuations and inflation fears.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one to help people who needed help instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:We could see more volatility and more muted gains than what we’ve come to know over the last year.April is historically strong, but please monitor overvaluation, inflation, bond yields, and potential tax hikes. Be optimistic but realistic. A decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market, appears unlikely. Yet, we could eventually see a minor pullback by the summer, as Deutsche Bank said.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. Is the S&P Still Too Frothy?Figure 1- S&P 500 Large Cap Index $SPXOn the one hand, according to Sanford C. Bernstein strategists, the S&P 500 index could double by the end of the decade and reach 8,000.Historically, we could really be at a strong entry point for the long-term too. Over two weeks ago, we marked the first anniversary of this bull market. Historically, S&P 500 bull markets since 1957 on average resulted in price gains of 179% and lasted an average of 5.8 years.Because the S&P 500 has risen just about 84.81% since March 23, 2020, if history tells us anything, we may just be getting started.Furthermore, earnings season is off to a roaring start, with companies crushing estimates. There’s no reason to believe this will end either. Not to mention, it’s April, historically the strongest month for stocks.On the other hand, despite this week’s minor pullback, the S&P 500 continues to hover around record highs as it approaches 4200 for the first time in its history. It’s also potentially historically overvalued. I’m more worried about valuations than I am excited about earnings.Also, I’m not pleased about potential tax hikes for this frothy market.I don’t see this as a buyable index at the moment. While it’s not quite as frothy as it was a week ago and more of a HOLD as of April 23, 2021, if it pops anymore, it could be more sellable. I’d prefer a deeper pullback.HOLD. The S&P has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels and valuations, but strong earnings could give the index some momentum. For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the S&P 500, the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) is a great option.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as tech, inflation fears, and why I love emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

The Tax Plan to Slay the Stock Bull?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.04.2021 16:11
A day like almost any other – S&P 500 about to take again on the ATHs until the capital gains tax hike proposal came, shaving off 50 points in stocks within an hour. The 4,415 support held though, both before and after the closing bell. Are we ready to shake off the cold water and resume running higher again?Depends on where you look – stocks have quite some recovering still to do, and it‘s the precious metals and commodities that are performing best today. Both as an index and sectoral collection, the S&P 500 sustained broad damage, concentrated in the tech heavyweights. The volatility spike has been partially repelled but option traders seem expecting another shoe to drop, which attests to us better dampening expectations of a fast return above 4,170.Look still though how little has changed, as if the tax raising plans haven‘t been around since the infrastructure bill or implicitly even before. It‘s still April, and markets are pricing in not only this select reality, but broader tax increases coming. Yes, they have woken up, and the reflation paradigm is getting an unwelcome companion. This hit won‘t bring down the bull, but will slow it down – and the implications for broader economy will only hasten the pronounced advent of the commodities supercycle (well underway since the corona deflationary crash last year). As the Chinese say, may you live in interesting times, and I am glad to have caught the April 2020 turnaround reasonably well. I‘m bringing this up just to say that this isn‘t the time to turn bearish on stocks yet – not in the least. The initial panic is over, real economy keeps recovering (amazing how fast were the reasonably good unemployment claims of yesterday forgotten, right?), inflation expectations aren‘t running progressively hotter, and Treasury yields continue retreating.Another argument for why this is a storm in a tea cup (I‘m talking merely stock market perspective now, not the very real consequences about to hit the economy like a trainwreck in slow motion), is the Russell 2000 and emerging markets performance yesterday – reasonably bullish given the setback most keenly felt in the S&P 500 and Bitcoin. Unless the latter recaptures $52,500 promptly and convincingly, it‘s going to remain in hot water as yet another tax cash cow on the horizon, which aligns nicely with the Yellen weekend cryptos announcement. A bit over 24hrs ago in response to a question from my great West Coast subscriber, I highlighted Bitcoin vulnerability as it has been unable to revert back above the 50-day moving average, drawing the $52,500 line in the „bulls still have a chance“ sand. Now, I would have to be convinced by the upswing‘s strength recapturing said level, which I‘m not expecting even though the asset trades quite extended relative to the lower border of its daily chart Bollinger Bands.Thus far, precious metals, copper, oil and other commodities are holding up best – little surprising given the risk-off nature of yesterday‘s move and potentially misplaced hopes that the 28% collectibles tax on the metals would survive. These things tend to creep.Gold or miners held up reasonably well yesterday, and I look for them to be fastest in recapturing the lost ground, followed by silver. The precious metals upleg has started, we‘re in a real assets super bull market, and this little hiccup won‘t derail it. The sad implication would actually drive it as capital formation would be hampered, unproductive behaviors encouraged, and potential output lowered. Pretty serious consequences – add to which inflation as that‘s what the Fed ultimately wants, and the recipe for more people falling into higher tax brackets through illusory gains, is set. Then, as inflation starts firing on all cylinders – a 2022-3 story when the job market starts overheating – the pain would be felt more keenly. And this is supposed to be the environment where the dollar would be in a bull run, now and ever? Wake up:(…) we‘re in the decade of precious metals and commodities super bull runs – and these are well underway. The debasement of fiat currencies against real assets is set to continue, and will accelerate given the unprecedented fiscal and monetary support already and ahead – sorry dollar bulls, the greenback declines are resuming – just look at the yen and yields nodding to the metals upswing.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe intraday reversal is thus far lacking volume and follow through. That means it would be premature to jump to conclusions as to the shallow correction extending deeper.Credit MarketsThe high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio isn‘t panicking either. So far, the move has been hesitant and orderly.Technology and ValueValue keeps being most resilient, and the tech sector stands in the middle, dragged lower by the heavyweights. I would like these to stop leading to the downside so as to declare the correction as approaching its end in terms of prices.Inflation ExpectationsThe inflation expectations are in a momentary limbo, but seem as likely to rise again shortly. That would be one more piece of the puzzle bringing real rates down, making the yellow metal‘s fundamental outlook more positive (as if it hadn‘t been already).Gold and SilverThe decline across the gold sector has been orderly yesterday, and the retreating yields (helped by the stock market turmoil) are putting a nice floor below the king of metals. I look for miners to keep leading higher shortly again.The key message is the one by the copper to 10-year Treasuries yield – a little hesitation yesterday, hinting at a little more time being necessary to overcome the $1,800 barrier next.SummaryThe S&P 500 is at a crossroads determining how low would the shock-facilitated consolidation stretch. Thus far, signs are modestly leaning in favor of the worst being in, and a gradual repair coming next.Gold and miners took a daily dive in sympathy with stocks yesterday, but I look for the precious metals sector to recover fastest, and overcome the next resistance convincingly.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will a Fiscal Revolution Raise Gold to the Throne?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.04.2021 16:29
Revolution, baby! There is growing acceptance for an aggressive fiscal policy, which could be supportive for gold prices from the fundamental, long-term point of view.We live in turbulent times. The pandemic is still raging and will most likely have lost lasting effects on our society. But a revolution is also happening right before our eyes. And I don’t mean another storming of the U.S. Capitol or the clash of individual investors with big fish on Wall Street. I have in mind something less spectacular but potentially more influential: a macroeconomic revolution.I refer here to the growing acceptance of easy fiscal policy . In the aftermath of the Great Recession , the central banks adopted an aggressive monetary policy , slashing interest rates to almost zero and introducing quantitative easing . It has become a new norm since then.But fiscal policy was another kettle of fish. Although almost nobody cared about balanced government budgets, people at least pretended to worry about overly large fiscal deficits and an overly quick accumulation of public debt . For example, while Obama wanted $1.8 trillion in fiscal stimulus in a response to the global financial crisis of 2007-09, Congress passed a package of about $800 billion, as Republicans opposed larger spending. But in March 2020, Congress passed the CARES act worth about $2 trillion (and additional significant stimulus in December 2020), with the full support of Republicans.Even Germany – the country famous for its fiscal conservatism – ran a fiscal deficit in 2020 and – what’s more – agreed to issue bonds jointly with other EU countries, although it was previously a taboo. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), another bastion of economic orthodoxy, which advocated for austerity and balanced budgets for years, gave up during the epidemic and started to call for more fiscal stimulus to fight the economic crisis .And this fiscal revolution is already seen in data. As the chart below shows, the U.S. fiscal deficit has increased from 4.6 percent of GDP in 2019 (which was already at an elevated level) to 15 percent of GDP in 2020, the highest level in the post-war era.According to the IMF’s Fiscal Monitor Update from January 2021 , fiscal deficits amounted to 13.3 percent of GDP , on average, in advanced economies, in 2021, a spike from 3.3 percent seen in 2019. As a consequence, the gross global debt approached 98 percent in 2020 and it’s projected to reach 99.5 percent of the world’s GDP by the end of this year.What is important to note here is that government support wasn’t limited mainly to the financial institutions and big companies (such as automakers), as was the case in 2009, but it was distributed more widely. There was a huge direct money transfer to Main Street, including checks for practically all citizens. This is important for two reasons.First, money flowing into the economy through nonfinancial institutions and people’s accounts may be more inflationary. This is because money doesn’t stay in the financial market where it mainly raises asset prices, but it’s more likely to be spent on consumer goods, boosting the CPI inflation rate . Higher officially reported inflation (and relatively lower asset prices) should support gold , which is seen by investors as an inflation hedge .Second, the direct cash transfer to the people creates a dangerous precedent. From now, each time the economy falls into crisis, people will demand checks. It means that fiscal responses would have to be increasingly larger to meet the inflated expectations of the public. It also implies that we are approaching a universal basic income, with its mammoth fiscal costs and all related negative economic and social consequences.Summing up, we live in revolutionary times. The old paradigm that “central banks are the only game in town” has been replaced by the idea that fiscal policy should be more aggressively used. Maintaining balanced budgets is also a dead concept – who would care about deficits when interest rates are so low?However, assigning a greater role to fiscal policy in achieving macroeconomic goals increases the risk of higher inflation and macroeconomic instability, as politicians tend to be pro-cyclical and reckless. After all, the economic orthodoxy that monetary policy is better suited to achieve macroeconomic stability didn’t come out from nowhere, but from awful experiences of the fiscal follies of the past. I’m not a fan of central bankers, but they are at least less short-sighted than politicians who think mainly about how to win the next election and stay in power.Hence, the growing acceptance of easy fiscal policy should be positive for gold prices , especially considering that it will be accompanied by an accommodative monetary policy. Such a policy mix should increase the public debt and inflation, which could support gold prices. The caveat is that investors have so far welcomed more stimulus flowing from both the Fed and the Treasury. But this “go big” approach of Powell and Yellen increases the longer-term risk for the economy, which could materialize – similar to the pandemic – sooner than anyone thought.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get a 7-day no-obligation trial for all of our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – Triple-Tested Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 26.04.2021 08:32
US 30 bounces off key supportThe Dow Jones recoups losses as investors expect some leeway for President Biden’s fiscal plans.The index has found support at 33700. There have been three consecutive tests at this level which is a sign that buyers remain in control of the price action. A rally back above 34150, the base of the latest sell-off could convince traders of the underlying strength.A new high at 34400 would be the next target should momentum picks up. As the RSI ventures again into the overbought area, 33700 is a critical support in case of a pullback.GBPUSD retreats in search of supportThe pound is looking for support after a better-than-expected PMI suggests economic resilience.The latest sharp sell-off came from the psychological level of 1.4000, also a major resistance on the daily chart. Its breach could revive the thirteen-month-long uptrend.As for now, an oversold RSI has prompted some short-covering. 1.3810 is the immediate support to test the strength of rebound.Further down, 1.3720 will need to see solid buying interest to save the chance of a reversal.EURAUD tests key supply areaThe euro climbed back after the euro zone’s service PMI recovered to 50.3. The previous sell-off has met robust support at 1.5420. The subsequent rally above 1.5530 suggests that buyers are still committed to pushing higher.The price may test the supply area at 1.5670 for the third time. Profit-taking from short-term traders would be expected.A bullish breakout may trigger a broader recovery as the short side rush to cover their bets. On the downside, 1.5500 would be a key support to monitor.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

No Upsetting the Apple Cart in Stocks or Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.04.2021 15:35
The tax hike proposal shock is over, and S&P 500 took again on the ATHs on Friday. Buying pressure throughout the day lasted almost till the closing bell, and is likely to continue this week as well. And why shouldn‘t it – has anything changed? The artificial selling any capital gains tax hike would generate, is likely to come before year end – not now:(…) Look still though how little has changed, as if the tax raising plans haven‘t been around since the infrastructure bill or implicitly even before. It‘s still April, and markets are pricing in not only this select reality, but broader tax increases coming. Yes, they have woken up, and the reflation paradigm is getting an unwelcome companion. This hit won‘t bring down the bull, but will slow it down – and the implications for broader economy will only hasten the pronounced advent of the commodities supercycle (well underway since the corona deflationary crash last year). The move towards risk-on was clearly there, overpowering the USD bulls yet again as the dollar bear market has reasserted itself. It‘s not just about EUR/USD on the way to its late Feb highs, but about the USD/JPY too – the yen carry trade is facing headwinds these days, acting as a supportive factor for gold prices. While these went through a daily correction, commodities pretty much didn‘t – lumber is powering to new highs, agrifoods didn‘t have a down day in April, copper and oil scored respectable gains. The market is in a higher inflation environment already, and it will become increasingly apparent that commodity-led inflation is here to stay.Back to stocks and bonds, the S&P 500 took well to a daily rise in Treasury yields – and that‘s the key factor overall. The turnaround was most clearly seen in tech heavyweights but defensive sectors such as consumer staples or utilities didn‘t do well (they‘re interest rate sensitive, after all), and Dow Jones Industrial Average traded closer to the optimistic side of the spectrum. The second piece of the puzzle came from value stocks and financials, which are working to put an end to their own shallow correction – just as you would expect when rates take a turn higher.So, another volatility spike has been banished, but option traders aren‘t yet satisfied, and keep piling into protective instruments. I view this as a fuel of the upcoming rally continuation, unless the tech‘s earnings batch doesn‘t disappoint as Netflix subscriber base growth did.One more argument in favor of the S&P 500 upswing, comes from the smallcaps – the time of their outperformance, is approaching. Likewise emerging markets are starting to do better, and the dollar effect is part of the explanation.Gold took sensitively to the rise in yields, and retreating dollar didn‘t lift it up really. The yellow metal disregarded proportional increase in inflation expectations, and so did the miners – indicating that a brief soft patch in the precious metals sector can‘t be excluded. This doesn‘t change my Friday‘s thoughts that:(…) The precious metals upleg has started, we‘re in a real assets super bull market, and this little hiccup won‘t derail it. The sad implication would actually drive it as capital formation would be hampered, unproductive behaviors encouraged, and potential output lowered. Pretty serious consequences – add to which inflation as that‘s what the Fed ultimately wants, and the recipe for more people falling into higher tax brackets through illusory gains, is set. Then, as inflation starts firing on all cylinders – a 2022-3 story when the job market starts overheating – the pain would be felt more keenly. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookIt‘s not an issue that the two latest upswings happened on decreasing volume as I view the preceding modest volume spike as a sign of weak selling turning into accumulation. There is plenty of doubt to drive further S&P 500 gains.Credit MarketsBoth high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG ETF) and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) have risen on Friday, and the divergence to long-dated Treasuries is another key factor driving the risk-on return conclusion.Technology and FinancialsThe $NYFANG strength was the key deciding factor in the S&P 500 upswing, and value stocks didn‘t stand in the way much either. Financials joined in the upswing by tech are a sign of the shallow correction drawing to its end.Gold & Miners WeeklyCompare this chart to the one that I published on Thursday – the red candle smacking of reversal is actually just an initial rejection in my view. It‘ll take a while to return back above the 50-day moving average, but that‘s a question of time merely. Gold miners are still outperforming, and the upside momentum in the gold sector merely paused. We may see a brief pullback as the bears try their luck, but it will be only a temporary setback – there is no telling weakness in any of the markets I am looking at that would indicate otherwise.Gold, Silver and Key RatioThe copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio shows that the markets aren‘t buying the transitory inflation story – the rush into commodities goes on, and justifiably so. Just look how much silver has been resilient, and the white metal is uniquely positioned to benefit both from the economic recovery, forced shift into green economy, and building monetary pressures.Seniors vs. JuniorsThroughout the 10+month long correction, juniors had been the more resilient ones, but it was the seniors that I called to lead gold out of the bottom. And they did, meaning that juniors had underperformed over the coming month clearly. Once animal spirits return even more to the precious metals sector, their outperformance is likely to return as the market appetite for ounces in the ground grows. We aren‘t there yet, but the new upleg is well underway.SummaryThe S&P 500 turned around convincingly, and new highs are a question of a rather short amount of time – be prepared though for headline risks should we get an (unlikely) earnings disappointment.Gold and miners are in consolidation mode as they failed to take advantage of plunging dollar and rising commodity prices, but the precious metals sector is likely to play a catch up relative to commodities as its sluggish post Aug performance would get inevitably forgotten.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gold Miners: Were Upswings Just an Exhausting Sprint?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.04.2021 16:22
Indicators are pointing to gold and mining ETFs running out of breath. They don’t seem to have what it takes to the move to the finish line.Despite gold, silver and mining stocks’ recent corrective upswings, the precious metals are running out of steam. After bursting off of the lows – while failing to recognize that it’s a marathon and not a sprint – the precious metals’ late-week breather signals that their stamina isn’t what it used to be.Moreover, with false breakouts and sanguine sentiment causing an adrenaline rush that’s likely to fade, the precious metals’ transformation from stalwart to sloth could leave investors feeling increasingly dejected.Case in point: with the HUI Index (a proxy for gold mining stocks ) already verifying the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern – which didn’t occur until later in 2008 – the miners’ outlook is actually more bearish now than it was then.Please see below:To explain, note that the 2007 – 2008 and the 2009 – 2012 head and shoulders patterns didn’t have the right shoulders all the way up to the line that was parallel to the line connecting the bottoms. I marked those lines with green in the above-mentioned formations. In the current case, I marked those lines with orange. Now, in both cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02.That’s why I previously wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move to about 300 in the HUI Index”. And that’s exactly what we saw – the recent high was slightly above 299.This means that the recent rally is not a game-changer, but rather a part of a long-term pattern that’s not visible when one focuses on the short-term only.The thing is that the vast majority of individual investors and – sadly – quite many analysts focus on the trees while forgetting about the forest. During the walk, this might result in getting lost, and the implications are no different in the investment landscape.From the day-to-day perspective, a weekly – let alone monthly – rally seems like a huge deal. However, once one zooms out and looks at the situation from a broad perspective, it’s clear that:“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (-Ecclesiastes 1:9)The rally is very likely the right shoulder of a broad head and shoulders formation. “Very likely” and not “certainly”, because the HUI Index needs to break to new yearly lows in order to complete the pattern – for now, it’s just potential. However, given the situation in the USD Index (i.a. the positions of futures traders as seen in the CoT report , and the technical situation in it), it seems very likely that this formation will indeed be completed. Especially when (not if) the general stock market tumbles.In addition, three of the biggest declines in the mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here), all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the decline exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.Can we see gold stocks as low as we saw them last year? Yes.Can we see gold stocks even lower than at their 2020 lows? Again, yes.Of course, it’s far from being a sure bet, but the above chart shows that it’s not irrational to expect these kind of price levels before the final bottom is reached. This means that a $24 target on the GDX ETF is likely conservative.In addition, mining stocks are currently flirting with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early 2020 high.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.I know, I know, this seems too unreal to be true… But wasn’t the same said about silver moving below its 2015 bottom in 2020? And yet, it happened.Keep in mind though: scenario #2 most likely requires equities to participate. In 2008 and 2020, the sharp drawdowns in the HUI Index coincided with significant drawdowns of the S&P 500 . However, with the words ‘all-time high’ becoming commonplace across U.S. equities, the likelihood of a three-peat remains relatively high.Senior Miners: GDX ETFMoving on to the GDX ETF, the senior miners were unable to hold the upper trendline of their corrective zigzag pattern. Similar to the price action in late 2020/early 2021, the GDX ETF rallied slightly above the upper trendline of its roughly one-and-a-half-month channel before eventually rolling over. More importantly, though, the GDX ETF’s failure in early 2021 ended up being a prelude to the senior miners’ severe drawdown.Please see below:Furthermore, with the senior miners likely to peak in the coming days, the GDX ETF is poised to move from the right shoulder of its bearish H&S pattern. Following in the HUI Index’s footsteps, the GDX ETF’s correction back to the high of its left shoulder signals that the upward momentum has likely run its course.If that wasn’t enough, the GDX ETF’s stochastic oscillator is also flashing a clear sell signal. If you analyze the two red arrows positioned at the bottom of the chart above, you can see that the black line has once again crossed the red line from above. As a result, the GDX ETF’s days are likely numbered.Junior Miners: GDXJ ETFAs further evidence on this bearish scenario, let’s take a look at other proxies for the mining stocks. When analyzed through the lens of the GDXJ ETF, the junior miners remain significant underperformers.Please see below:To explain, the GDXJ ETF is now back below its late-Feb. highs - please note how weak it remains relative to other proxies for mining stocks. Unlike the HUI or the GDX, the GDXJ didn’t move visibly above its late-Feb. highs and it had already invalidated this small breakout.Moreover, the GDXJ/GDX ratio has been declining since the beginning of the year, which is remarkable because the general stock market hasn’t plunged yet. This tells us that when stocks finally slide, the ratio is likely to decline in a truly profound manner – perhaps similarly to what we saw last year.So, how low could the GDXJ ETF go?Well, absent an equity rout, the juniors could form an interim bottom in the $34 to $36 range. Conversely, if stocks show strength, juniors could form the interim bottom higher, close to the $42.5 level. For context, the above-mentioned ranges coincide with the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement levels and the GDXJ ETF’s previous highs (including the late-March/early-April high in case of the lower target area). Thus, the S&P 500 will likely need to roll over for the weakness to persist beyond these levels.Also, contrasting the GDX ETF’s false breakout, both the HUI and the XAU indices ended the week below the necklines of their previous (based on the rising necklines) bearish H&S patterns. Moreover, if you analyze the right side of the charts below, while both the HUI and XAU indices initially bounced above their necklines, investors quickly sold the rallies.Mirroring the GDX ETF, both indices are also eliciting sell signals from their stochastic oscillators. And with the GDX ETF the only wolf still howling at the moon, expect the senior miners to follow the rest of the pack lower in the near future.Also, eliciting bearish undertones, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio has recorded a major, confirmed breakdown. And with the ratio nowhere near recapturing its former glory, it’s another sign that the GDX ETF is a significant outlier.Please see below:When the ratio presented on the above chart above is rising, it means that the HUI Index is outperforming the S&P 500. When the line above is falling, it means that the S&P 500 is outperforming the HUI Index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the ratio has broken below its rising support line. For context, the last time a breakdown of this magnitude occurred, the ratio plunged from late-2017 to late-2018. Thus, the development is profoundly bearish.Playing out as I expected, a sharp move lower was followed by a corrective upswing back to the now confirmed breakdown level (which is now resistance). Mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in early 2018, after breaking below its rising support line, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio rallied back to the initial breakdown level (which then became resistance) before suffering a sharp decline. And with two-thirds of the analogue already complete, the current move lower still has plenty of room to run. Likewise, the early-2018 top in the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio is precisely when the USD Index began its massive upswing. Thus, with history likely to rhyme, the greenback could spoil the miners’ party once again.In addition, the HUI to S&P 500 ratio broke below the neck level (red, dashed line) of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern and it verified this breakdown by moving temporarily back to it. The target for the ratio based on this formation is at about 0.05 (slightly above it). Consequently, if the S&P 500 doesn’t decline, the ratio at 0.05 would imply the HUI Index at about 196. However, if the S&P 500 declined to about 3,200 or so (its late-2020 lows) and the ratio moved to about 0.05, it would imply the HUI Index at about 160 – very close to its 2020 lows.All in all, the implications of mining stocks’ relative performance to gold and the general stock market are currently bearish.But if we’re headed for a GDX ETF cliff, how far could we fall?Well, there are three reasons why the GDX ETF might form an interim bottom at roughly ~$27.50 (assuming no big decline in the general stock market ):The GDX ETF previously bottomed at the 38.2% and 50.0% Fibonacci retracement levels. And with the 61.8% level next in line, the GDX ETF is likely to garner similar support.The GDX ETFs late-March 2020 high should also elicit buying pressure.If we copy the magnitude of the late-February/early-March decline and add it to the early-March bottom, it corresponds with the GDX ETF bottoming at roughly $27.50.Keep in mind though: if the stock market plunges, all bets are off. Why so? Well, because when the S&P 500 plunged in March 2020, the GDX ETF moved from $29.67 to below $17 in less than two weeks. As a result, U.S. equities have the potential to make the miners’ forthcoming swoon all the more painful.The Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM)As another reliable indicator (in addition to the myriads of signals coming not only from mining stocks, but from gold, silver, USD Index, stocks, their ratios, and many fundamental observations) the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM) isn’t at levels that trigger a major reversal. The Index is now approaching 47. However, far from a medium-term bottom, the latest reading is still more than 37 points above the 2016 and 2020 lows.Back in 2016 (after the top), and in March 2020, the buying opportunity didn’t present itself until the $BPGDM was below 10.Thus, with the sentiment still relatively elevated, it will take more negativity for the index to find the true bottom.The excessive bullishness was present at the 2016 top as well and it didn’t cause the situation to be any less bearish in reality. All markets periodically get ahead of themselves regardless of how bullish the long-term outlook really is. Then, they correct. If the upswing was significant, the correction is also quite often significant.Please note that back in 2016, there was an additional quick upswing before the slide and this additional upswing caused the $BPGDM to move up once again for a few days. It then declined once again. We saw something similar also in the middle of 2020. In this case, the move up took the index once again to the 100 level, while in 2016 this wasn’t the case. But still, the similarity remains present.Back in 2016, when we saw this phenomenon, it was already after the top, and right before the big decline. Based on the decline from above 350 to below 280, we know that a significant decline is definitely taking place.But has it already run its course?Well, in 2016 and early 2020, the HUI Index continued to move lower until it declined below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The emphasis goes on “below” as this retracement might not trigger the final bottom. Case in point: back in 2020, the HUI Index undershot the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and gave back nearly all of its prior rally. And using the 2016 and 2020 analogues as anchors, this time around, the HUI Index is likely to decline below 231. In addition, if the current decline is more similar to the 2020 one, the HUI Index could move to 150 or so, especially if it coincides with a significant drawdown of U.S. equities.The NASDAQCircling back to the NASDAQ Composite, the unwinding of excessive speculation could deliver a fierce blow to the gold miners. Case in point: when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the NASDAQ lost nearly 80% of its value, while the gold miners lost more than 50% of their value.Please see below:Right now, the two long-term channels above (the solid blue and red dashed lines) show that the NASDAQ is trading well above both historical trends.Back in 1998, the NASDAQ’s last hurrah occurred after the index declined to its 200-day moving average (which was also slightly above the upper border of the rising trend channel marked with red dashed lines).And what happened in the first half of 2020? Well, we saw an identical formation.The similarity between these two periods is also evident if one looks at the MACD indicator . There has been no other, even remotely similar, situation where this indicator would soar so high.Furthermore, and because the devil is in the details, the gold miners’ 1999 top actually preceded the 2000 NASDAQ bubble bursting. It’s clear that miners (the XAU Index serves as a proxy) are on the left side of the dashed vertical line, while the tech stock top is on its right side. However, it’s important to note that it was stocks’ slide that exacerbated miners’ decline. Right now, the mining stocks are already declining, and the tech stocks continue to rally. Two decades ago, tech stocks topped about 6 months after miners. This might spoil the party of the tech stock bulls, but miners topped about 6 months ago…Also supporting the 2000 analogue, today’s volume trends are eerily similar. If you analyze the red arrows on the chart above, you can see that the abnormal spike in the MACD indicator coincided with an abnormal spike in volume. Thus, mounting pressure implies a cataclysmic reversal could be forthcoming.Interestingly, two decades ago, miners bottomed more or less when the NASDAQ declined to its previous lows, created by the very first slide. We have yet to see the “first slide” this time. But, if the history continues to repeat itself and tech stocks decline sharply and then correct some of the decline, when they finally move lower once again, we might see THE bottom in the mining stocks. Of course, betting on the above scenario based on the XAU-NASDAQ link alone would not be reasonable, but if other factors also confirm this indication, this could really take place.Either way, the above does a great job at illustrating the kind of link between the general stock market and the precious metals market ( gold , silver , and mining stocks) that I expect to see also this time. PMs and miners declined during the first part of the stocks’ (here: tech stocks) decline, but then they bottomed and rallied despite the continuation of stocks’ freefall.Even more ominous, the MACD indicator is now flashing a clear sell signal . And because the current reading is analogous to the one that preceded the dot-com bust, the NASDAQ Composite – and indirectly, the PMs – continues to sail toward the perfect storm.With all of that said: how will we know when a medium-term buying opportunity presents itself?We view price target levels as guidelines and the same goes for the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index (below 10), but the final confirmation will likely be gold’s strength against the ongoing USDX rally. At many vital bottoms in gold, that’s exactly what happened, including the March bottom.In conclusion, with the gold miners running low on strength, stamina and staying power, their fragile foundation is already crumbling beneath the surface. With the HUI, XAU and GDXJ proxies unable to match wits with the GDX ETF, the lone survivor is unlikely to put up much of a fight going forward. Moreover, with the USD Index poised to bounce off of the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (the precious metals have a strong negative correlation with the U.S. dollar), the foursome are likely to huff and puff their way to lower prices. However, after a period of medium-term recovery, the precious metals will be ready to run with the bulls once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Bitcoin, Exploration needs persistence

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 26.04.2021 18:36
Bitcoin is in a steep uptrend, and as such, the trader’s business is to exploit each retracement if it offers a low-risk entry point.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, The road map:Bitcoin in US Dollar, monthly chart as of April 26th, 2021.We always advise finding the bigger picture first. The monthly chart illustrates clearly the directional market, which is the essence of edge for a trader. Anything that gives us an edge is of value, and all those edges mounting up together to a true edge is what we are after.Where interest arose was finding besides the trend two additional points of interest: First, we identified a significant volume support supply zone near US$47,680. Secondly, there seems to be a pattern if you look at the vertical lines we drew, that prices seem to bounce to the long side once the CCI (Commodity Channel Index) approached near the zero lines.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Stacking the odds:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of April 26th, 2021.The next step is finding supporting factors and other odds stacked in lower time frames. One way measuring retracements is through Fibonacci retracement tools. In the above weekly chart, we did this by measuring from each leg lows (1-4) to the highs to find an overlapping high probability point of support for a possible turning point to occur.The yellow circle provided just such a zone of odds in our favor with a carpet of support under the price. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Fine-tuning the entry:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of April 26th, 2021.Now zooming into the daily chart time frame, we are looking to extrapolate an ideal time to enter the market with the most negligible risk. When prices were rejected twice into the zone below US$48,000, we were alerted to act (wicks within the yellow circle).We bought the opening session on Sunday the 25th of April at US$49,000 and immediately eliminated risk through our Quad exit strategy, taking half of the position off once it reached US$50,750. Now we find ourselves positioned riskless and look fearless into the unknown future.Bitcoin, Exploration needs persistence:No one knows the future. Yes, prices might retrace even further to the next high probability zone near US$37,310 (see monthly chart above). A thirty-nine percent chance, as our systems indicate. But as explorers, we never have ideal circumstances. We get a window of opportunity, and often explorers need to retreat. However, with persistence, they do make their goals come true, even if it takes a few attempts. It is entry risk minimization and our quad exit strategy that allows us to try persistently without losing money to find those trades that pay off handsomely. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|April 26th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – In Search Of Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 27.04.2021 08:11
EURUSD pulls back to supportThe euro popped higher after the Eurozone’s bond yields rose on improved sentiment. The pair maintained its recovery trajectory after it turned 1.1990 from resistance into support.The euro has met strong selling pressure at March’s high at 1.2110 while the RSI shot into the overbought area.The current retracement would test the demand zone between the psychological level of 1.2000 and 1.2045.A rebound followed by a rally above 1.2110 would suggest a bullish continuation towards 1.2180.NZDUSD rises above consolidation rangeRisk sentiment makes its return at the start of the week driving higher the commodity-linked New Zealand dollar.The pair has found strong support by the demand area above 0.7120. The current rebound is heading towards the key resistance (0.7270) from the daily chart.A bullish breakout could end the two-month-long consolidation and put the kiwi back on track.A rise above 0.7210 is the final confirmation for the bullish MA cross as the upward momentum accelerates. 0.7165 is the closest support in case of a retracement.XAUUSD tests major supportGold keeps the high ground as the US dollar index remains subdued near an eight-week low. Price action is currently sideways as buyers are trying to accumulate momentum after the latest series of higher highs.The RSI has cooled down from the overbought zone. The area around 1764 and the rising trendline (1770) is important support on an hourly basis.A rebound could propel the precious metal back to 1815.On the downside, however, a drop to 1744 may extend the consolidation by shaking out weak hands.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

The Inflation Tsunami About to Hit

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 27.04.2021 15:59
Stocks went on to push higher yesterday – the pressure is building. Trends in place since last week, remain in place for this earnings rich one too. Reflation still rules, reopening trades are well underway, and inflation expectations are modestly turning up again without putting too much strain on the Treasury markets.While Monday wasn‘t an example of a risk-on day, the markets are clearly moving there:(…) overpowering the USD bulls yet again as the dollar bear market has reasserted itself. It‘s not just about EUR/USD on the way to its late Feb highs, but about the USD/JPY too – the yen carry trade is facing headwinds these days, acting as a supportive factor for gold prices. While these went through a daily correction, commodities pretty much didn‘t – lumber is powering to new highs, agrifoods didn‘t have a down day in April, copper and oil scored respectable gains. The market is in a higher inflation environment already, and it will become increasingly apparent that commodity-led inflation is here to stay.Yesterday was a great day for commodities again as these scored stronger gains than tech or $NYFANG, the main winners within the S&P 500 (defensives took it on the chin – seems like we‘re about to see rates move higher again). Anyway, VIX didn‘t object as options traders piled into the clearly complacent end of the spectrum again. Both the Russell 2000 and emerging markets loved that – the best days for smallcaps are clearly ahead:(…) the time of their outperformance, is approaching.Gold miners didn‘t outperform the yellow metal yesterday while silver did – are the ingredients for a metals‘ top in place? I don‘t think so, and have actually called out on Twitter the GDX downswing as likely to be rejected and ending with a noticeable lower knot. And here we are. No changes to my Friday‘s thoughts that:(…) The precious metals upleg has started, we‘re in a real assets super bull market, and this little hiccup won‘t derail it. The sad implication would actually drive it as capital formation would be hampered, unproductive behaviors encouraged, and potential output lowered. Pretty serious consequences – add to which inflation as that‘s what the Fed ultimately wants, and the recipe for more people falling into higher tax brackets through illusory gains, is set. Then, as inflation starts firing on all cylinders – a 2022-3 story when the job market starts overheating – the pain would be felt more keenly. When even Larry Summers starts talking the dangers of an inflationary wave, things are really likely getting serious down the road. On a side note, my tomorrow‘s analysis will be briefer than usual, and published probably a bit later as I have unavoidable dental treatment to undergo. Thank you everyone for your patience and loyalty – it‘s already a little over 3 months since I could start publishing totally independent. Thank you so much for all your support!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe bears are certainly running (have certainly run) out of time, and the upper knot of yesterday‘s session looks little concerning to me. Tesla enjoying the Bitcoin moves, more tech earnings soon, and favorable sectoral composition of the S&P 500 advance favor the coming upswing.Credit MarketsDebt instruments got under pressure – high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and investment grade ones (LQD ETF) have declined in a signal of non-confirmation, and joined the long-dated Treasuries in their downswing. I am not yet convinced this is a serious enough more to warrant a change in S&P 500 outlook.Technology and FinancialsThe $NYFANG strength continues, powering tech higher – and that‘s the engine behind solid S&P 500 performance. Notably, financials weren‘t waiting yesterday on other value stocks turning higher, and that‘s bullish.Gold, Silver and MinersGold caught a bid, and refused to decline intraday, which almost matches the miners‘ performance. Given these two daily stands, I‘m in favor of disregarding the usual outperformance warning of silver doing considerably better.This is the proper view of the miners and miners to gold ratio – noticeable outperformance in the latter while the former is getting ready to rise again.Gold and the Key RatioAs is visibly even more true today than yesterday, the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio shows that the markets aren‘t buying the transitory inflation story – the rush into commodities goes on, and justifiably so. This chart is clearly unfavorable to lower metals‘ prices.SummaryThe S&P 500 keeps pushing for new all time highs, which looks to be a matter of relatively short time only. Credit markets non-confirmation is to be disregarded in favor of strong smallcaps, emerging markets and cornered dollar in my view.Gold and miners are in consolidation mode, but this is little concerning to the bulls. No signs of an upcoming reversal and truly bearish plunge - the precious metals sector is likely to play a catch up relative to commodities as its sluggish post Aug performance would get inevitably forgotten.
Will Euro and Gold Go Up With Pandemic Upturn in Euro Area?

Will Euro and Gold Go Up With Pandemic Upturn in Euro Area?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.04.2021 16:39
The worst may already be behind the euro area’s economy. This bodes well – both the euro, as well as gold, can benefit from it.The Governing Council of the European Central Bank met last week, keeping its monetary policy unchanged. The inaction was widely expected - no surprises here. The June meeting could be much more interesting as the ECB will have to decide whether or not to slow its bond buying under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme that was accelerated in the second quarter of the year. Given the dovish stance of the European policymakers, and the bank’s pledge to provide the markets with favorable financing conditions during the pandemic, we shouldn’t expect any tapering soon.Certainly, there are important dovish parts of the latest ECB’s statement on its monetary policy . It stems from the grim economic situation in the euro area. The real GDP declined by 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, and it is expected to decrease again in the first quarter of 2021. The nearest future doesn’t look promising:The near-term economic outlook remains clouded by uncertainty about the resurgence of the pandemic and the roll-out of vaccination campaigns. Persistently high rates of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and the associated extension and tightening of containment measures continue to constrain economic activity in the short term.However, investors should always look beyond the near-team outlook. In the medium-term, the situation in the euro area looks much better. As the ECB notes, this is because the current virus wave seems to have peaked in Europe, while the pace of vaccination is accelerating:Looking ahead, the progress with vaccination campaigns, which should allow for a gradual relaxation of containment measures, should pave the way for a firm rebound in economic activity in the course of 2021.Furthermore, the European Union’s 750 billion euro recovery fund has cleared a key court challenge. Last week, the Germany’s constitutional court dismissed objections to the European aid package.All these factors are positive for the euro and, thus, also for the price of gold. As you can see in the chart below, gold was highly correlated with the spread between the American and German long-term government bond yields - the widening divergence in the US and European interest rates that started in August 2020 pushed the yellow metal down.Implications for GoldThe third wave of pandemic has already peaked in Europe; therefore, the old continent may somewhat catch up with the US. This could narrow the divergence in yields, creating downward pressure on the greenback while supporting the gold prices .Another positive factor for the euro and the yellow metal is the fact that although inflation jumped in both the US and the euro area, it’s much higher in the former country as the chart below shows. So, the purchasing power parity could support the common currency, as well as gold, against the greenback.What’s funny here is that Lagarde , just as Powell , argued that inflation “has picked up over recent months on account of some idiosyncratic and temporary factors and an increase in energy price inflation”. Sure, some idiosyncratic and temporary factors helped inflation to soar, but there are always some idiosyncratic and temporary factors. All the same, the central bankers point to them only when inflation rises, never when it declines. They always refer to these factors to justify their dovish bias and easy monetary policy.Of course, it might be the case that inflation won’t materialize, just like it never did after the Great Recession . But this time may be really different due to the surge in the broad money supply and a huge increase in government spending in the form of direct cash transfers to citizens who are hungry for traveling, eating in restaurants, and generally a normal life with all its money-spending. So, inflation is the wild card, which makes it reasonable to have some gold in investment portfolios . Investors should remember that gold is an investor’s asset rather than a demand asset, which means that in periods of reflation , gold initially lags commodities, only to outperform them and shine brightly in later phases.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Market Leverage Reaches New All-Time Highs As The Excess Phase Rally Continues

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.04.2021 00:35
A recent Forbes article highlights the incredible increase in market leverage since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.  There has never been a time in recent history where market leverage has reached these extreme levels.  Additionally, highly leveraged market peaks are typically associated with asset bubbles. The easy money policies and global central bank actions have prompted one of the longest easy money market rallies in history.  Historically low interest rates, US Federal Reserve and global central bank asset-buying programs, and extended overnight credit support have prompted some traders and investors to move into a more highly leveraged position expecting the rally to stay endless.  Although, the reality of the global market trends may be starting to cause traders and investors to become a bit unsettled.  Precious Metals, Utilities, and Bonds have all started reacting to perceived fear related to this extended bullish rally trend recently.https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2021/04/24/uh-oh-market-leverage-at-all-time-high/?sh=29eadac1e8a9My research team and I believe the current market rally will likely continue as capital shifts away from extended market sectors.  We believe the transition away from the new US President and the new policies associated with this change of leadership has already started taking place – which is why Precious Metals, Utilities, and Bonds are starting to trend.  Yet, we believe the momentum behind this current rally is likely to extend through the end of April and into early May 2021. Custom Volatility Index Shows Bullish Trending & Price Volatility RisksOur Custom Volatility Index chart, below, shows the US markets have just recently rallied back to previous bullish market trending levels (above 13 on this chart).  Once this Custom Volatility Index reaches these levels, we normally expect two market traits to continue.  First, we expect bullish trending because the Volatility Index above 10~11 strongly suggests an extended bullish trend is in place.  Secondly, we expect moderate price rotation to take place after the Volatility Index reaches levels above 13~14.It is very common for the Volatility Index to move above the 13~14 level in extended rally trends.  Yet, it is also common for the markets to rotate or retrace after reaching these levels.  Therefore, this Custom Volatility Index chart shows the US markets have moved into extreme bullish price trending and has already reached a peak level near 15 – which suggests we can expect some moderate price rotation within the next 3 to 5+ weeks.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Whenever the US major indexes trend higher in longer-term extended trends, the Custom Volatility Index typically stays above 10~11 and continually attempts to rally above 12~13.  The “Peak Volatility Channel” on this chart highlights areas of extreme peaks in the markets.  When the Custom Volatility Index reaches this level, price becomes more likely to rotate or retrace a bit before attempting to move higher.  Smart Cash Index Shows Global Markets Need To Break Above 210 TO Begin A New Rally PhaseOur following Custom Smart Cash Index shows the global markets have been struggling to move higher over the past few months.  Even though the US markets have attempted to rally to new highs, the Smart Cash Index chart shows this recent rally has not been seen in the global markets. My team and I believe the next rally phase in the markets must initiate with the Smart Cash Index chart rallying above 210 and representing a moderately strong global market push higher throughout the May/June 2021 time span.  If the Smart Cash Index fails to move above the 210 price level, the we believe a moderate price correction may be setting up for May or June 2021 where the US markets may move moderately lower, attempting to retest recent support, then begin another rally attempt.Currently, the global stock market and financial system leverage may be an unknown catalyst for some type of future market movements.  The Forbes article suggests these new all-time high leverage levels are likely the result of global central bank policies where traders and investors believe the central banks will continue to support the markets indefinitely.  As much as we would like to think this may be the case, the reality is that, at some point, normalization will take place in the global markets and that presents an ominous deleveraging event in the future.We are watching how the market's sectors are shifting trends and how some of the strongest sectors are shifting and weakening over the past 60+ days.  For example, the Russell 2000 had been one of the strongest market sectors up until about 2 months ago.  Now it appears to be trading in a sideways trend – attempting to move back into a bullish price trend.Our research team believes traders and investors need to be prepared for quickly shifting sector trends over the next 6+ months as this highly leveraged global market event plays out.  Our research suggests a price rotation event is near and the global markets are still trending in a moderately strongly bullish trend. The strongest sectors are going to continue to be the best performers over time.  Being able to identify and trade these sectors is key to being able to efficiently target profits.  You can learn more about how I identify and trade these sectors by registering for my FREE course here. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – From Support To Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.04.2021 08:14
USDJPY rises to major resistanceThe Japanese yen stayed muted after the Bank of Japan revised down its inflation forecasts.The bearish MA cross on the daily time frame may weigh on the US dollar as it recovers towards 108.90, a previous daily support now turned into a resistance.The rally above 108.20 in the short-term has prompted some sellers to cover reducing the downward pressure. A close above 108.50 would help gain momentum.As the RSI shows an overbought situation, 108.20 would be the first support In case of a retracement.EURGBP tests triple topEuro buyers are encouraged by news of easing of restrictions in Italy and France. The pair has risen back to the major support area around 0.8720-0.8730.After the failure of the first test, strong bids have supported the price to form a triple top. Would the third time be the charm?A neutral RSI gives buyers enough space to play around. A breakout above 0.8730 would confirm the bullish MA cross on the daily chart and trigger a rally towards 0.88s.On the downside, a drop below 0.8670 may drive the correction down to 0.8630.GER 30 consolidates near a record highThe German index stagnates as the earnings season kicks off in Europe. Last week’s sell-off below 15180 was a sign that buyers took profit after the index made a series of record new highs.On the daily chart, the uptrend is so far intact as the price action hovers above the 20-day moving average. 15410 is the immediate resistance and a bullish breakout would resume the upward movement.However, a breach below 15090 could dent the short-term optimism and trigger a new round of sell-off to 14800.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Financial Sector Appears Ready To Run Higher

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.04.2021 15:43
As we transition into the early Summer months, we are watching how different market sectors are reacting to the continued shifting of capital over the past 60+ days.  One this is very clear, certain market sectors are strengthening while others have run into resistance and are consolidating.  We believe the next few weeks and months will continue this type of trend where capital continues to shift away from risks and into sectors that show tremendous strength and opportunity.We wrote about how Precious Metals are likely starting a new bullish price trend on April 18, 2021. You can read that research article here: https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/metals-miners-may-have-started-a-new-longer-term-bullish-trend-part-ii/.We wrote about how the recent bullish price trend was based on a “wall of worry” and how the markets love to climb higher within this environment on April 14, 2021.  You can read that research article here: https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/us-equities-climb-a-wall-of-worry-to-new-highs/.We also published an article on April 11, 2021 suggesting the Cannabis Sector had reached a Pennant Apex and would likely begin a new bullish price trend after some “shakeout” price volatility near the Pennant Apex.  You can read that research article here: https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/is-the-cannabis-alternative-sector-rally-ready-to-breakout-again/.XLF May Rally Another 8% - 10% Or MoreToday, we are revisiting a recent research article suggesting the Financial Sector may be poised for another rally trend targeting the $38.00 level first, then the $39.40 level based on our research.  The financial sector continues to trend higher after the COVID-19 market collapse.  Global central banks and government policies are very accommodating to stronger earnings and growth in the Financial sector.  Recently, the US Government passed a new COVID stimulus bill that allocates money for at-risk borrowers to help elevate foreclosure actions.It is very likely that these continued actions to support a stronger US and global recovery will translate into higher price trending in the Financial sector as we move into the Summer months – where weather and Summer activities push people back outside and into more active lifestyles.Using our Fibonacci Measured Move technique, we have identified a support level in XLF near $34.50.  Therefore, as long as price stays above this level, we believe a continued bullish price trend will push future prices towards the target levels near $38.00, then $39.40. We are watching for the next 0.61% Fibonacci level, near $36.93, to be breached as a sign the bullish price trend is accelerating.Although the market may appear to be very extended and overbought, we still believe there is room to run for certain market sectors.  XLF, MJ, GDXJ, SILJ, and many others have recently moved into our watchlist for new bullish trends.  Are you ready for profit from these moves?Identifying the strongest sectors within the current market environment, as well as knowing when price trends generate clear entry triggers, can mean the difference between long-term targeted success and simply guessing at trades.  If you want to take advantage of a strategy that helps you find and execute better market sector trades, then sign up now for my FREE course that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum.For those of you who believe in the power of trading sectors that show relative strength and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day, let my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service do all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my BAN Trader Pro subscribers.Have a great week!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

USDX: Subtle Changes, Remarkable Outcomes

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.04.2021 15:50
Even the smallest moves can be of utmost importance to a number of investors. This time, the USDX was the one to give a subtle nod to the upcoming changes.In yesterday’s analysis , I wrote about the subtle, yet very important short-term detail that likely indicated a major turnaround in the USD Index. This is huge news for the precious metals investors, as a major turnaround in the USDX (and the subsequent rallies) would be very likely to translate into a severe price slide.The important change was that the situation regarded the USD’s 61.8% Fibonacci retracement.Last week , I wrote the following:I wouldn’t be surprised to see this week end without any major reversal, but we could see one on Monday. Some traders won’t be able to adjust their stop-loss levels at that time, so if anyone “big” wants to squeeze the profits out of individual traders shorting the USDX before the latter rallies, it would be a perfect time. The idea could be to trigger a small sell-off early on Monday, which would then trigger stop-loss selling, and it would allow the “big” market participant to re-enter the long positions at lower prices.The fact that the USD Index moved slightly below its very important short-term support (the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement) on Monday (Apr. 26) and then it invalidated this breakdown yesterday (Apr. 27) perfectly fits the above quote.The invalidation of the breakdown is a bullish phenomenon, and even though the price moves are still small, they already suggest that a bigger rally is likely just around the corner. In today’s pre-market trading, the USD Index moved higher once again, which means the invalidation was not accidental.If we zoom in, we’ll see the full importance of what just happened on a short-term basis.We just saw a short-term breakout! Finally, after many days of declines, the USD Index showed enough strength to rally above its short-term declining resistance line.This is yet another sign that the recent price action – despite not being very visible – is a game-changer for the short term.Naturally, the bullish situation in case of the USD Index has bearish implications for the precious metals market.In fact, we can see the implications on the gold market already.As the USD Index broke higher, gold broke below its rising support line, and at the moment of writing these words, it’s already trading below the $1,770 level. The odds that the final top was formed last week – at $1,798.40 – have further increased.In the previous analyses, I wrote quite a lot about the broad head and shoulders pattern in the mining stocks. I discussed that in detail on Monday , so I don’t want to cover the same ground once again today, but as a quick reminder, the HUI Index (proxy for gold stocks) – based on this (hypothetical) pattern and the analogy to previous broad H&S patterns (ones preceding the 2008, 2013 slides) – was likely to form a top close to 300. It topped at 299.09.Now, the thing that I would like to add today is that we see a possibility of seeing a similar broad head-and-shoulders pattern in gold . I marked gold’s April – June 2020 performance with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation (the rectangles are identical). As you can see, the current price action and the recent short-term, corrective upswing are near-perfectly aligned.Of course, back in 2020 the volatility was huge, and investors were very anxious due to the start of the pandemic-based lockdowns and their immediate follow-up. Consequently, it’s no wonder that back then we saw many back-and-forth movements, and this time – when investors calmed down – the correction is simply a zigzag.We have an analogy in price and time, and a good reason to think that we shouldn’t have analogy in terms of shape. We can also see a breakdown in gold (and a breakout in the USD Index) suggesting that the correction is over.Therefore, it’s likely that what we’re witnessing now will eventually (once gold moves to new yearly lows) turn out to be a broad head-and-shoulders pattern, with very bearish implications.Relative Performance SignThose who have been following my analyses for some time know that right before bigger declines, the precious metals market tends to behave in a specific way. There’s also a specific way in which it behaves during a bottoming process. Consequently, I’m on a constant lookout for these relative signs in order to better forecast gold’s and silver’s outlook . The good news is that we just saw one, and it perfectly fits the rest of today’s analysis.Namely, yesterday was the session during which the following happened at the same time:Gold declined – but only slightly.Gold stocks declined much more visibly, showing weakness relative to gold.And silver showed strength by rallying somewhat.This combination of silver’s outperformance of gold and mining stocks’ underperformance of gold is profoundly bearish for the short term. Consequently, it seems very likely to me that the corrective upswing in the precious metals market is already over and the final short-term top was formed last week.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Calm Down, It‘s a Shallow Gold Correction

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.04.2021 17:55
Stocks keep pushing higher after a day of indecision yesterday, and the signals are largely still very constructively aligned behind another upswing. Yes, stocks are moving overall up as we approach the Fed statement and press conference. It‘s the precious metals that are on the defensive – a fact I had been writing about both on Monday and Tuesday, as well as tweeting out extensively before leaving for the dentists‘ - I wish that visit was both easier and took less time, and I could prepare a longer analysis for you today instead.Let‘s talk today‘s moves and charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe sectoral composition of the SPX upswing, isn‘t exactly strongest, but that‘s no obstacle to the unfolding move higher. A measured one, prone to brief and shallow intraday pullbacks whose upward bias can‘t be denied though. That‘s the path of least resistance, and I do like also both smallcaps and emerging markets.Gold Before the Opening BellThe outlook for gold deteriorated during the second half of yesterday‘s trading as copper gave up some of its gains while long-dated Treasuries plunged. And overnight, gold felt obliged to fill the void, and went $10 down.Precious Metals in the NowThe situation is far from bleak – gold is nibbling at the bearish gap, but it‘s the miners that are providing more than a glimmer of hope. And as silver is losing altitude (short-term painful but of little consequence given how great a future awaits the white metal shortly), we‘re witnessing short-term rebalancing in the precious metals sector. Namely since long-dated yields have barely moved thus far and copper almost erased its overnight losses already.SummaryThe S&P 500 keeps pushing for new all time highs, and today‘s Fed isn‘t likely to change that materially. No, I‘m not looking for them making any noises about taking away the punch bowl.Gold‘s downswing would likely prove short-lived, and miners would be pulling the PMs sector ahead again. Once the sector stabilizes in both time and price, silver would catch up again. Let‘s see how successful the Fed is today in selling the transitory inflation story and defending Treasuries, really.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Bearish Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.04.2021 08:21
USDCHF breaks below consolidation rangeThe US dollar remains subdued as the Fed offers no signs of tapering.After falling below the key level at 0.9220, the bearish MA cross on the daily time frame may keep buyers at bay. Their failure to lift offers around 0.9180 despite a week-long consolidation strongly suggests that sellers are in control.Any rebound was seen as an opportunity to join the downward movement. A close below 0.9115 could render the greenback vulnerable.0.9040 would be the next target should there be a new round of sell-off.AUDUSD tests double topThe Australian dollar shrugged off March’s weaker-than-expected CPI as risk appetite grew.The pair has met stiff selling pressure at the supply zone around 0.7820, the origin of last month’s sell-off. However, the Aussie has established a solid base above 0.7700.As the RSI bounces back into the neutral area from the sub-30 level, the bullish momentum from 0.7725 is a sign of buying the dip.A breakout above 0.7815 may trigger a runaway rally to 0.7950, a prerequisite to resuming the fourteen-month-long uptrend.XAGUSD gathers bullish momentumSilver strengthens as the US dollar’s sell-off continues after the Fed’s cautious tone on inflation. The precious metal has come to rest after reaching the major resistance (26.60) on the daily chart.The bullish MA cross is an indication of strong buying interest. A breakout above that resistance would confirm the bullish bias and send the price to 28.20.On the hourly chart, sentiment remains upbeat as long as the price action stays above 25.70.A bearish breakout could extend the correction towards 25.20.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

How to trade EUR/USD ahead of US GDP?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 29.04.2021 11:26
The Federal Reserve left the policy unchanged yesterday and signaled that it wouldn’t be ready to tighten the policy anytime soon. After that meeting, the USD dropped and EUR/USD rocketed to the two-months high.Today, the pair has already reversed down as the demand for the greenback resurged. Fresh worries over the increase in coronavirus cases in India are worsening the market sentiment and therefore supporting the safe-haven US dollar.Besides, the USA will publish its Advance GDP growth at 15:30 MT (GMT+3), which is widely expected to beat forecasts. If the data is really stronger-than-expected, the USD will get another stimulus to rise and EUR/USD will fall. Nevertheless, in the long term, EUR/USD is likely to move higher as the focus will shift to the European economic recovery.ForecastAccording to Westpac, “EUR/USD looks set to remain in the upper half of its 1.17-1.22 range, but is likely to struggle towards range resistance.”Technical tipsIn the long term, EUR/USD is moving in a downtrend, while in the short term, it’s trending up. After breaking the upper trend line, the pair reversed down as the RSI indicator came closer to 70.00, signaling the pair is overbought. It may fall to the 100-day moving average of 1.2050, but it’s unlikely to break this level on the first try as it’s strong support, which the pair has failed to cross several times. So, this decline should be just a correction ahead of the further rally up. If it bounces off the 1.2050 mark, on the way up it will meet resistance levels at yesterday’s high of 1.2125 and the high of February 25 at 1.2175.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Silver, Lies have short legs

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.04.2021 14:26
Now, how do these men in charge manipulate the markets precisely? Our findings show that one can see almost infinite creativity to manipulate the investor. You hear endless stories about the use of Silver in green energies. Fact is that we have only 2% of battery-used vehicles in place in the auto industry. Only 5% of green energy based on solar panels using Silver is at present opposing 95% of traditional energy production. So we are talking about long-term projections that are already reflected in the current price speculation.When it comes to industrial use, numbers are more transparent. Still, few see the cycle push back. As soon as silver prices rise, the industry walks away from intense Silver usage. Rather it economizes or uses alternative ways to produce their merchandise. Here we have a near self-regulative counter mechanism from the influences of investor-driven price spikes kept Silver mostly range-bound.What is recently often spoken about is spoofing.While it is true that this method of price speculation, a way where laddering prices and volume distribution manipulate order presentation into the depth of bid and ask, can drive prices artificially, this way of market manipulation is affecting markets only short-term. Meaning you might have found yourself in the less liquid times of the day feeling awkward trading since the bid-ask spread behavior is uncommon. And yes, this can affect stop levels and cause difficulties for order execution.Nevertheless, the significant picture, the long-term picture of monthly and annual charts, is nearly unaffected. These manipulation techniques merely aim to get investor psychology out of balance. Lies have short legs meaning they run themselves out. No one can manipulate a market as deep as the Silver market over extended time frames to the extent that the wealth distribution we are talking about and where your purchase of physical Silver can make the difference of ending up with hyper-inflated currency near worthless or an early stance right now accumulation commodity value that is sustainable for the long term both on the preserving of wealth and creation of wealth.Accept the presence of these short-term lies and liars. Walk steadfastly through this commotion undisturbed with one’s psyche to follow one’s plan. Accumulate repeatedly small amounts of Silver on market dips.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Silver, Taking Profits:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of April 29th, 2021.The daily chart clearly shows that despite many efforts of trying to keep Silver prices low, Silver has advanced twelve percent – a substantial move within four weeks.This warranted us to take partial profits on the overall exposure we created within these weeks (see our last week’s chartbook release for more details). While we see prices continue to rise within the upward green channel, our approach is a conservative one, and with the possibility to retrace to US$25, it seems prudent to take some profits off the table. All our entries and exits are posted in real time on our free Telegram channel.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Always be prepared:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of April 29th, 2021.A different view from a larger time frame shows that there is a possibility that prices might retrace as far as US$25. We are less focused on what prices might be doing in their highest likelihood. Instead, we take on the extra work to be prepared for any eventuality. This to never find ourselves being surprised by the market. Having a plan for any eventuality allows us to follow price along, and if a price or time picture matches our prepared plans, we execute.We identified the slightly higher probability of prices to advance immediately since we overcame a distribution zone marked with a dark green horizontal line, which now serves as support.Nevertheless, US$25 works like a magnet from what we coined the “beauty principle” and, as such, would be an excellent opportunity for reentry should the market decline to a supply zone of US$24.75 to US$25.27 (see turquoise circle).Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Silver, Lies have short legs:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of April 29th, 2021. bLooking at the weekly chart above, we find prices trading above the point of control (POC) in yellow at US$24.21. This is the core volume node from a volume transaction perspective. Coupled with the harmonious advance and retracement percentage patterns, we find the larger picture bullish and intact. Unharmed of any manipulation tactics that could deter the longer-term picture.In professions where the complex language for relatively simple procedures is used to make these procedures nearly impossible to be transparent, these rules are created to extract participants’ money. While in typical law interpretations, the motive has limited application for sentencing in the regulative markets, the motive is the distinguishing factor of right or wrong. This fact alone should tell one that small investors have the short end in this game. Accepting the realities of being the underdog versus trying to fight it and taking the game and its rules for what it is and still developing systems and edges to come out as a consistent winner is more effective than complaint about injustices. There is always a way… lies have short legs, and the truth will always beat those who only marginally and temporarily get the upper hand briefly at best.Silver, Lies have short legs:The market game is rigged. Which one isn’t? But you can learn the rules and beat them at their own game. The market isn’t the casino where the rules make certain you lose.It is possible to be a consistent winner. You can still find your niche in the market. Yes, you have to improve your performance and stack your odds even more, but you can certainly be on the up and up. Do not be discouraged but instead inspired by the hurdles the market holds for you in-store, and there are plenty. This sport isn’t for the faint-hearted, but the rewards compensate for the hardships more than enough.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|April 22nd, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Enough Consolidation Already!

Enough Consolidation Already!

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.04.2021 15:43
Stocks are readying another push higher, and not just on the heels of the still accomodative Fed. The Fed won‘t simply remove the punch bowl, let alone discuss removing it, and will keep repeating the transitory inflation mantra ad nauseam. The ingredients are in place for a continued upswing in stocks and commodities. Look for nominal yields to continue rising, and my hunch is that won‘t be enough to turn the dollar around. We‘re about to experience continuously rising inflation expectations, rising nominal yields, and declining dollar:(…) When even Larry Summers starts talking the dangers of an inflationary wave, things are really likely getting serious down the road. (…) we‘re in the decade of precious metals and commodities super bull runs – and these are well underway. The debasement of fiat currencies against real assets is set to continue, and will accelerate given the unprecedented fiscal and monetary support already and ahead – sorry dollar bulls, the greenback declines are resuming – just look at the yen and yields nodding to the metals upswing.And the emerging markets are embracing the unfolding currency moves – they are rising with more vigor than the Russell 2000 lately. Little wonder for they are farther from their prior highs than the smallcaps. When it comes to S&P 500 sectors, yesterday brought us a rare rotation out of tech while the heavyweights still eked out minor gains – and that rotation is as telling a sign of a risk on sentiment returning as much as the credit market performance is.The key more in the gold sector was in the miners, whose continued resilience is a good omen. In other words, what a recovery from the daily setback I covered amply between the regular trading sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Enriching the examination with copper and yen performance, let alone real yields, leads to a universally bullish verdict on the precious metals upcoming price path.What‘s not to love about this reflation before inflation starts to bite noticeably more? Forget about those pesky commodities and my incessant bullish calls within the sector too…Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStocks are merely gathering strength before another upswing. Enough consolidation already, seems to be the rallying cry here.Credit MarketsA strong sign of risk-on returning here – high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) clearly outperformed investment grade ones (LQD ETF), and these mirrorer the long-dated Treasuries performance.Technology and FinancialsAnother proof of risk-on is in both the technology performance disregarding $NYFANG holding ground, and in the Dow Jones Industrial Average weakness. Value stocks and cyclicals such as financials (XLF ETF) are having a field day, and as will be apparent from today‘s oil analysis, energy (XLE ETF) is a great pick as well.Gold, Silver and MinersGold caught a bid, and refused to decline intraday, but the miners scored gains – that‘s as bullish as it gets. It might seem disappointing in light of nominal yields not going anywhere, but only until you examine the great copper performance.Gold‘s volume hints at accumulation within this flag-approximating consolidation, where the next upswing would be ushered in by the miners. Note how silver gave up prior day‘s gains, and remains ready to join strongly next.Crude OilOil is in an upswing mode, and the bullish spirits are confirmed by the oil sector ($XOI) moves. The multiweek consolidation is in its closing stages.SummaryThe S&P 500 keeps pushing for new all time highs, and remain well positioned to close there any day now, especially since the credit markets favor risk on, and the defensives underperformance concurs.Gold and miners are ready for another upswing, and the commodities performance, inflation expectations and nominal yields trajectory favor that. The inability of the sellers to push prices below $1,760 speaks volumes.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – Extended Rally - 30.04.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 30.04.2021 08:40
USOIL speeds up runaway rallyWTI crude oil gained momentum after EIA data showed a sharp reduction in US inventories.The bullish momentum has accelerated following a breakout above the intermediate resistance level at 64.3. The previous high at 66.40 would be next as sentiment turns around.There is limited risk to the downside as the RSI shows a double top in the overbought area. The 20-hour moving average has acted as support and may do so in case of another retracement.Failing that, 63.60 would be the second line of defense.NAS 100 meets tough resistanceStronger-than-expected quarterly results lift market optimism as the earnings season is in full swing.The index has been struggling to keep its head above 14070 after it resumed the uptrend above February’s high at 13900. The RSI’s repeated incursions in the overbought area are a sign of exhaustion in the supply zone.A bearish breakout below 13880 suggests a lack of conviction so far from the buy-side.13720 between the 20 and 30-day moving averages on the daily chart would be a critical support to monitor.USDCAD rebounds briefly after sell-offThe US dollar struggles as core personal consumption expenditures fell short of expectations. After falling below the short-term support at 1.2370 the greenback has come under increasing pressure.An oversold RSI may prompt sellers to take profit, offering the pair a chance to claw back some losses. Though the price action remains vulnerable to the downside. 1.2420 is a major resistance that would cap any velleity to rebound.1.2200 would be the next target when selling pressure picks up again.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold Can’t Wait to Fall – Even Without USDX’s Help

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.04.2021 15:45
Gold started its decline without anyone’s assistance. And when the USDX takes off, that downhill tumble can only increase.The USDX declines and the precious metals sit by idly, twiddling their thumbs. If they had the strength that’s being talked about, they should be soaring by now, or getting ready to. So, what’s their problem?In the previous days, I discussed the signals coming from the precious metals market or for the precious metals market, as they kept on emerging, and we just received yet another round of indications. And yes, they also confirm the bearish outlook for the following weeks - or a few months.Let’s start by looking at the USD Index.On the above chart you can see that this week, the USD Index broke to new monthly lows. And you can also see that gold didn’t move to a new monthly high. In fact, it was not even close to doing so – it just closed the day below $1,770. This is a clearly bearish sign for gold.And what about the USD Index?It’s making a second attempt to break below its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Will it be successful? It might be, but… Another support level is just around the corner. Perhaps the proximity to the rising support line based on the January and February lows was actually enough to trigger the rebound yesterday. In this case, the bottom in the USDX is already in. But, we’ll know with much greater certainty when the USDX finally breaks above the declining resistance line and then confirms this breakout.On the above 4-hour USD Index chart we see that the previous short-term breakout was invalidated, which triggered a substantial sell-off, but… Whatever was likely to happen based on this invalidation seems to have already happened. And it seems that we’re about to see another attempt to break higher. Will the USD Index be successful this time? That’s quite likely, but that’s not the most important thing from the precious metals investors’ and traders’ point of view.PMs Play the Fiddle While USDX BurnsThe key thing is that during the recent declines in the USDX (and during the move to new highs in case of the general stock market), gold , silver, and mining stocks didn’t soar. They “should have” if the situation was normal or bullish. They declined instead, which means it’s highly likely that even if the USD Index doesn’t break out now (but a bit later), the decline in the PMs will not be avoided but only delayed.In fact, to be more precise, it’s unlikely to be delayed as well – what might be delayed is the increase in the pace at which gold, silver, and miners are about to slide. After all, gold and gold stocks are already moving lower (while silver is trading sideways).By the way, silver’s lack of movement recently is perfectly normal in the early stage of a decline – the white metal tends to catch up big-time in the final part of a given move.On the above gold chart, you can clearly see how gold moved back up to its rising short-term resistance line this week, and – instead of invalidating the breakdown – it bounced from it and declined once again. This is what verifications of breakdowns look like.Also, let’s keep in mind that the situation now seems to be a mirror image of what we saw in April – June 2020, and at the same time it’s somewhat similar to what we saw at the beginning of the year. You can see the former (the rectangles are identical) on the above chart, and you can see the similarity to the early January action below.Just as was the case in early January, we first saw a pause – a rebound – and the decline continued only thereafter. It seems that the Jan. 7, 2021 price action is quite similar to what we saw yesterday (Apr. 29). Moreover, please note that both happened just above the declining blue support line. It was the final pause before the move higher was invalidated.Having said the above, let’s move to gold stocks:Miners: GDX and GDXJ ETFsIn yesterday’s analysis, I described the GDX’s previous performance in the following way:Gold stocks’ intraday recovery that we saw yesterday may seem profound, but not if we consider what happened in the USD Index and the general stock market. The former declined substantially while the latter was close to its all-time highs. This is a combination of factors that “should have” made gold miners move to new highs – and a daily gain of less than half percent is a sign of weakness, not strength.In today’s pre-market trading the S&P 500 futures moved to new highs, and gold miners showed gains in the London trading, but they are nothing to write home about – and more importantly, nothing that would change the bearish forecast for gold I described more broadly previously .The bearish interpretation of the previous “strength” turned out to have been correct – the GDX ETF declined yesterday.The decline was even more visible and important in the case of the GDXJ ETF, where we have trading positions.This ETF for junior gold and silver miners ( gold miners have much bigger weight in it, though) moved and closed back below its March 2021 highs.Consequently, we have a situation in which:The USD Index is about to reverse and rally.Gold signals that it just can’t wait for the USD Index to rally, and it’s already declining (the pace at which it declines is likely to greatly increase once the USD Index takes off).Gold miners behave relatively normally, which in this case means that they are declining more than gold does (GLD just closed 1.14% below the highest daily close of April, while the GDX just closed 5.59% below the highest daily close of April). Besides, their recent move back to the May 2020 highs and the subsequent decline further increases the odds that the decline is going to shape the right shoulder of a huge head and shoulders formation with extremely bearish implications (once completed).GDXJ is underperforming GDX just as I’ve been expecting it to. While GDX declined by 5.59% so far (in terms of the closing prices), GDXJ declined by 5.67%. This might seem an unimportant level of underperformance, but the perspective changes once one realizes that GDXJ is more correlated with the general stock market than GDX is. Consequently, GDXJ should be showing strength here, and it isn’t. If stocks don’t decline, GDXJ is likely to underperform by just a bit, but when (not if) stocks slide, GDXJ is likely to plunge visibly more than GDX.The above combination tells me that we are very well positioned in case of our short position in the GDXJ.Besides, as an analytical cherry on the bearish GDXJ cake, please note that we just saw a sell signal from the MACD indicator (lower part of the chart) while it was visibly above 0, and after a relatively big short-term rally. We saw this kind of performance only several times in the previous year, and it meant declines in almost all cases. We saw it only once before this year – in early January, and a sizable decline followed.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

One More Day of Hesitation?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.04.2021 16:18
Stocks reached for new ATHs but got slammed down only to recover next. VIX doesn‘t provide a picture of calmness really even though the put/call ratio seems still uneventful, and credit markets leaning risk-on. The Fed naturally didn‘t draw any hawkish cards on Wednesday to disconcert the markets, yet they‘re throwing a fit a day later, starting from equities, bonds, all the way to precious metals.One would have said that as:(…) The Fed won‘t simply remove the punch bowl, let alone discuss removing it, and will keep repeating the transitory inflation mantra ad nauseam. The ingredients are in place for a continued upswing in stocks and commodities. But stocks are questioning that in today‘s premarket session, in spite of nominal yields not exerting a real pressure on the sensitive S&P 500 sectors. Technology has recovered from an intraday plunge, and semiconductors (XSD ETF) didn‘t lead lower in any way. The defensives had a good day really while the usual suspects (value, cyclicals) benefiting from rising yields, did great – even though long-dated Treasuries (TLT ETF) almost closed the bearish gap.Treasuries though took their toll upon gold – the nominal yield going up did bite, even though inflation expectations rose in tandem, and not at all hesitantly. It‘s as if the market place didn‘t deem inflation at the moment too high, i.e. as if real rates were actually rising (those believing so are in for a surprise). Personally, I find it odd that the transitory inflation story is still getting some ear, and wonder when last have the lumber, oil, copper, iron, nickel, zinc, corn, soybean (and soon also coffee) prices been checked.Dollar bulls, remember:(…) we‘re in the decade of precious metals and commodities super bull runs – and these are well underway. The debasement of fiat currencies against real assets is set to continue, and will accelerate given the unprecedented fiscal and monetary support already and ahead – sorry dollar bulls, the greenback declines are resuming.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStocks made the move, were rebuffed, and returned. Some backing and filling would be hardly surprising though.Technology and FinancialsTechnology recovered from steep intraday losses, and their chart doesn‘t look to be breaking down. $NYFANG isn‘t in a decline mode, and your typical defensive sectors scored strong gains yesterday. And as the sectors usually embracing rising rates did well, chances are yesterday‘s S&P 500 setback would shortly be forgotten.Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectations are rising again, and so do the Treasury yields. These aren‘t frontrunning expectations by much, but the brief respite in the bond market surely seems to be about over.Gold, Silver and MinersGold yet again caught a bid, and recovered a good portion of intraday losses. The buyers stepped in but given the lull in the nominal yields drawing to its end, seeing gold mirroring the rise in yields is disconcerting. On the other hand, copper consolidated on the day, and thus didn‘t counter the Treasuries effect.While gold is under short-term pressure and well bid, miners had a worse day, and didn‘t outperform the yellow metal. It‘s only within GDX that the chart is more optimistic – not within HUI. Talking silver, it‘s actually good the metal didn‘t move at all on the day – in spite of the challenging setup, the precious metals appear to be making a low.SummaryThe S&P 500 is still meeting headwinds, remaining vulnerable to more backing and filling. The bullish signs are still there, but not getting all the short-term follow through (HYG, IWM, EEM), and it looks that closing at new ATHs won‘t happen today. Patience.Gold and miners are likely making a bottom here, in spite of inconclusive HUI performance. Silver resilience along with base metals is tipping the scales towards maintaining even the very short-term bullish outlook – let alone the medium-term one. The next upswing is approaching.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Sings a “Hot N Cold” Song

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.04.2021 18:18
Although spring has begun, we can still find ourselves in winter, or even summer. Gold may benefit from such a seasonal aberration.Oh, how wonderful, spring has finally started, hasn’t it? We have April, after all. Well, in calendar terms, it’s indeed spring, but economically it can be summer already or still the beginning of winter. How so? I refer here to Kondratiev cycles (also known as Kondratieff cycles or Kondratyev cycles).As a reminder, Nikolai Kondratiev was a Russian economist who noted in the 1920s that capitalist economies experience long super-cycles, lasting 40-60 years (yup, it’s not a very precise concept). His idea was that capitalism was not on an inevitable path to destruction, but that it was rather sustainable and cyclical in nature. Stalin didn’t like this conclusion and ordered a prison sentence and, later, an execution for Kondratiev. And you thought that being an economist is a boring and safe profession!The Kondratiev cycles, also called waves, are composed of a few phases, similar to the seasons of the year. In 2018, I defined them as follows:Spring : economic upswing, technological innovation which drives productivity, low inflation , bull market in stocks, low level of confidence (winter’s legacy).Summer : economic slowdowns combined with high inflation and bear market in stocks, this phase often ends in conflicts.Autumn : the plateau phase characterized by speculative fever, economic growth fueled by debt, disinflation and high level of confidence.Winter : a phase when the excess capacity is reduced by deflation and economic depression, debt is repaid or repudiated. There is a stock market crash and high unemployment rate , social conflicts arise.However, other economists define these phases in a slightly different manner. For them, spring is an inflationary growth phase, summer is a period of stagflation (inflationary recession ), autumn a deflationary growth period, while winter is a time of deflationary depression.So, which phase are we in? That’s a very good question. After all, the whole concept of Kondratiev cycles is somewhat vague, so it’s not easy to be precise. But some experts believe that we are likely in the very early part of the winter after a very long autumn . Indeed, there are some important arguments supporting such a view.First, we have been experiencing a long period of disinflation (and later just low inflation), a decline in the bond yields , and economic growth fueled by debt. I refer here to the time from the end of the Great Recession until the Covid-19 pandemic , but one can argue that autumn lasted since the early 1980s, when both interest rates and inflation peaked, as the chart below shows.Second, winter is believed to be a depression phase with stock and debt markets collapsing, but with commodity prices increasing. And this is exactly what we are observing right now. I refer here to the rally in several commodity prices. This is at least partially caused by the disruption in the supply chains amid the epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide pandemic, but if the bull market in commodities sets in for good, this could be a negative harbinger for the stock market. After all, more expensive raw materials eat into corporate profits.Third, winter is thought of as a period that tears the social fabric of society and deepens the inequalities. The data is limited, but the coronavirus crisis has been one of the most unequal in modern U.S. history, as its costs have been borne disproportionately by the poorer parts of society that have been unable to work online.So, “winter is coming” may be a belated warning, as winter could have already begun. Later during this period, we could see bankruptcies of firms and financial institutions, and even some governments, as a delayed consequences of the coronavirus crisis. This is bad news for the whole of Westeros and its economy, but good for gold. Investors who don’t like the cold should grab a golden blanket to hedge them from the winter.However, in 2018, I expressed the opinion that summer may come in the 2020s, as the debts are rising and the inflationary pressure is growing:As the global economy recovered and now expands, inflation is low, while stocks still rally, we enjoy spring. This is why gold has remained in a broad sideways trend in the last few years. However, as we are on the edge of the next technological revolution, confidence is finally rising and there are worries about higher prices, and we could enter the summer phase in the not-so-distant future.And I still believe that my opinion makes sense. Indeed, after the global financial crisis of 2007-9, we have seen several spring features: low inflation, a bull market in stocks, and a low level of confidence (after all, there was “the most hated rally in the stock market”), which was a legacy of winter, i.e., the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the following economic crisis .And summer is generally a period of stagflation, which is exactly what I’m expecting. You see, after a strong economic recovery in the nearest quarters, the U.S. economy is likely to return to a mediocre pace of economic growth, but with much higher inflation. After all, there is strong monetary and fiscal stimulation ongoing right now, another feature of summer. Meanwhile, winter is generally a deflationary period, so the specter of inflation rather suggests that summer may be coming and investors should hedge themselves against waves of gold.Luckily, gold offers its protection not only against winters, but also against summers . Indeed, gold performs the worst during autumns, when there is disinflation, like in the 1980s and the 1990s, and the best during winters (due to the economic crisis – remember the 2000s?) and the summers (due to high inflation – remember the 1970s?).Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get a 7-day no-obligation trial for all of our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Psychological Level

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.05.2021 08:52
EURUSD retraces to major supportThe euro pulled back after the block’s CPI dropped to 0.8% in April. Though the pair maintains its bullish trajectory from the daily chart’s perspective, a healthy pullback seems necessary for buyers to catch up after it rose back above the last leg of sell-off (1.1990).With an RSI deep in the oversold area, the psychological level of 1.2000 near the 20-day moving average would be a critical level to test buyers’ confidence.The rally would only resume if the euro climbs back to the previous high at 1.2150,GBPJPY exhibits bearish MA crossThe Japanese yen gained traction after the unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in March. The pound falls back in search of the next support as the yen recoups losses across the board.The RSI’s double top in the overbought area was an indication of exhaustion past the key resistance at 152.00. A breakout below 151.00 would confirm the bearish MA cross.The next level to find potential buying interest would be around 150.10. On the upside, the long side will need to lift 152.10 to resume the U-turn.SPX 500 tests resistance-turned-supportThe S&P 500 consolidates recent gains as rebounding corporate profits raise investors’ risk appetite. Buyers are striving to hold above 4180 after they cleared the former supply zone.A rally above 4219 would open the path to a new high above 4300. However, a slide below could dent the short-term fever and trigger profit-taking.4140, the lower band of the previous consolidation range would be a major support to monitor.Its breach could lead to a deeper correction towards the rising trendline (4050) on the daily chart.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin – Fail, Learn, Improve

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 03.05.2021 10:33
The good news is: We still see Bitcoin to be the number one asset class in your wealth preservation portfolio. And this with a good chance to see higher prices in the near future.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Whatever works:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of May 3rd, 2021.One healthy way for progress is to walk the road less traveled by and be independent of the good opinion of others. Stacking odds means backtesting any and all ways to find probabilities in your favor to stack your odds against the market. In Bitcoin, we found a high likelihood in specific trading patterns. The daily chart isn’t atypical for Bitcoin to produce the pointed-out price movement series (A, B, C, D, E) in sequence. You will find in comparing our lines not only similarities in percentage moves but also steepness of angles. In this case, our future projection is noteworthy because the distance between points C and D in the right side of the chart is much shorter than in the same white-lined picture to the left. This means a minor retracement – meaning a more aggressive step in of the bulls.What is also essential is that Bitcoin might seem to be ranging and indeed has large retracements but is trading in a wide range up-sloping directional channel (yellow lines), which further indicates strength. We conclude that a progression of price to the upside has a higher likelihood than downward movement and that a taking out of all-time highs is a possibility in store.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Don’t trust your feelings:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of May 3rd, 2021.Another glance at the daily chart illustrates another principle we follow: “Don’t trust your feelings.” The linear regression channel indicates short-term drift elements to the sideways/downside. When Bitcoin isn’t advancing, it has temporary sideways periods of a few days where stops are taken out. Observing the market these days, one has the feeling of continuous downward movement. These brief periods resolve when the overall “feel consensus” is discouraged, in an upward jolt trend day.Looking at “a,” you find such a drift along the midline of the regression channel. We might see a few days following such a movement (similar to the past), but we advise you to look out for low-risk long entry opportunities not to miss a possible next steep leg up. The higher probability nevertheless is an immediate rise of price towards all-time highs as indicated in the prior chart. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Last week´s entry:Bitcoin in US Dollar, daily chart as of April 26th, 2021.We posted this entry chart in our last week’s chartbook publication, and the trade matured nicely through the previous week’s price advances from our entry at US$49,000 near to currently US$58,000. This leads us to the more significant larger weekly time frame observation.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin, Fail, Learn, Improve:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of May 3rd, 2021.Here the picture has significantly changed. A bullish engulfing pattern marked within the white square has turned the larger time frame more bullish. This candlestick price pattern states nothing more than all bear traders within the week of the red candle have now been proven wrong. They have either been stopped out or are underwater now. A reversal pattern that gives the bull traders an edge.More importantly, price trades now above a meaningful supply zone marked in yellow from a volume node transactional analysis point of view.We are confident that shortly all-time highs will be tested. A spot where we take partial profits and expect follow-through to new all-time highs.Bitcoin – Fail, Learn, Improve:In a world changing more rapidly than ever since the start of the industrial revolution, one needs to keep on one’s toes if one wants to be ahead of the curve and bet one’s money on perceptions about the future. Statistical edges in isolation or a purely fundamental approach are just not enough. A flexible mind is required most to accept failure and an immediate process to learn from one’s mistakes and implement the gained wisdom, improving and adjusting one’s bets. The times of “set it and forget it” is from a past that does not equal the future. “Adapt or die” comes to mind. And as much as this might seem extreme, markets are very unforgiving, and wealth preservation is key to ensure in part a happy future for yourself and your loved ones. Each extra step taken might create that additional edge necessary to beat the game of finance to your advantage.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 3rd, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Taper Smoke and Mirrors

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.05.2021 15:03
Once in a while, stocks closed in red – is that a reversal or the most the bears could hope for these days? Thursday‘s hanging man got its follow through, yet the bulls staged a rebound into the close. Perhaps that‘s as good as the selling pressure gets, for I think the path of least resistance is still higher in S&P 500.If you look at the VIX or the put/call ratio, Friday‘s setback is readily apparent, and stocks seem ripe for an upswing now. Fed‘s Kaplan did its job s with the taper talk, yet I think he played the bad cop part – the Fed will really act ostrich in the face of not so transitory inflation, for as long as the Treasuries market doesn‘t throw a tantrum.And the 10-year yield has been quite well behaved lately, closing at 1.65% only on Friday. The April calm seems to be over, and I‘m looking for the instrument to trade at 1.80% at least at the onset of summer. Then, let‘s see how the September price increases telegraphed by Procter & Gamble influence the offtake – will the price leader be followed by its competitors? That‘s one of the key pieces of the inflation stickiness puzzle – and I think others will follow, and P&G sales and profitability won‘t suffer. The company is on par with Coca Cola when it comes to dividends really.Once there, we would progress further in the reflation cycle when inflation is no longer benign and anchored. We‘re though still quite a way from when the Fed tries to sell rising rates as proof of strengthening economic recovery – once the bond market would get to doubt this story though, it would be game over for its recent tame behavior.Friday‘s retreating Treasuries though didn‘t lift gold, and neither helped miners – it‘s not that inflation expectations would be sending a conflicting signal, as these slightly receded too. Inflation at the moment is probably still too low for the complacent market lulled to sleep by the transitory story, but look for that to change.Once the reality of modern monetary theory driven spending in eternity does result in higher inflation biting into real rates even more, the below quote would need to be updated:(…) It‘s as if the market place didn‘t deem inflation at the moment too high, i.e. as if real rates were actually rising (those believing so are in for a surprise). Personally, I find it odd that the transitory inflation story is still getting some ear, and wonder when last have the lumber, oil, copper, iron, nickel, zinc, corn, soybean (and soon also coffee) prices been checked.The taper story being revealed for a trial baloon that it is, would quickly reverse Friday‘s sharp USDX gains, where particularly the USDJPY segment is worth watching. In the end, the debasement of fiat currencies against real assets would continue, and accelerate as the dollar goes fully onto strategic defensive in 2H 2021 again.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookStocks declined, volume remained elevated – so is this the start of a downswing, or rather its closing stage? In spite of weak smallcaps and emerging markets, it‘s the latter – thanks to the credit markets, including emerging market ones.Credit MarketsIt‘s the high yield corporate bonds intraday recovery that appears key here, for the junk bonds joined the investment grade ones and long-dated Treasuries. The dip is being bought in the credit markets.Technology and FinancialsTechnology recovered from steep intraday losses, and so did $NYFANG. To complete the picture, value stocks were out of the daily favor too.S&P 500 Market BreadthIt‘s not just the advance-decline line or advance-decline volume to pay attention to right now, but the new highs new lows too. All three indicate that we are nearing a local bottom.Gold and Miners Short-TermGold is quite holding up, yet not totally convincingly, especially when miners are examined. This setup screams danger as the retreating nominal yields were ignored on Friday. But...Gold and Miners Long-TermThe copper to 10-year Treasury yield isn‘t breaking lower, and neither is gold. The stage is set for the yellow metal (and silver naturally too) to catch up and start outperforming the commodities, especially in the 2H of 2021. The miners to gold ratio‘s posture is curious to say the least. Is it a fake breakdown along the late Mar lines, or it it attempting to lead lower in earnest? The 2018 and 2019 gyrations are more applicable than the uniquely deflationary corona crash in my view – but the miners need to turn higher and lead relatively shortly to confirm.Crude OilCrude oil quite steeply declined on Friday, but the daily downswing doesn‘t have the characteristics of a reversal. The post-correction pattern of higher highs and higher lows remains intact, and black gold is like to return to scoring gains shortly.BitcoinSuch was the Bitcoin chart on Sunday when I tweeted about this go long opportunity. Since then, prices have risen to almost $59,000 as we speak. The uptrend is reasserting itself, but might take a while longer before the Bollinger Bands‘ upper border is reached.SummaryThe S&P 500 is probably almost done meeting headwinds, and the risk-on trades are likely to return before too long – the top of this bull market is still far away.Gold and miners need to prove themselves – especially the miners. With gold holding $1,760 and miners rebounding, the benefit of the doubt given to the precious metals upswing, would be justified – this precious metals upleg is quite well established already.
USDX, Gold Miners: The Lion and the Jackals

USDX, Gold Miners: The Lion and the Jackals

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.05.2021 16:10
The USD Index let out a roar heard across all markets. The king of the financial jungle arrived, along with the greenback’s largest single-day gain.Just as the African landscape sometimes needs to show the strongest of its inhabitants, so does the less remote but equally ferocious financial environment. This time, the USDX seems to have won the fight – its fangs and claws turned out to be the sharpest, and so are the rallies. There is nothing left for gold and its acquaintances than to run through the forest… run.Sometimes, even jackals need to find shelter to lick their wounds in patience, waiting for a better time to come back to fight. However, they will come back eventually – they always do.What About Gold, One of the Jackals?With a triple-top in gold’s stochastic oscillator akin to three warning signs of a nervous breakdown, the yellow metal is still recovering from last week’s crisis of confidence. And with the price action mirroring what we witnessed in early January – right before gold suffered a significant slide – the yellow metal could soon need therapy.Please see below:To explain, while gold’s corrective upswing was slightly bigger than I had anticipated, please note that the length thereof was in tune with the border of the green ellipse I used to mark the likely upside target area. In other words, the recent rally was not a game-changer . The yellow metal’s inability to crack $1,800 highlights the medium-term implications that I’ve been warning about. As a result, it’s become increasingly clear that gold’s recent strength was nothing more than a short-term upswing within a medium-term downtrend.For more on the significance of gold’s stochastic oscillator, I wrote previously:The first sell signal occurred slightly below the 80 level, the second was above it, and the same was the case with the third one.Since back in early 2021, the stochastic indicator moved to new highs – and so far it hasn’t – and since the USD Index might even move slightly lower before finding its short-term bottom, gold could move slightly higher on a temporary basis, before topping. Perhaps (there are no certainties on any market, but this seems quite possible in the near term) it would be the round nature of the $1,800 level and the 300-day moving average that’s very close to it that would trigger a reversal and another massive decline. From the medium-term point of view, another $20 rally doesn’t really matter. It’s the few-hundred-dollar decline that’s likely to follow that really makes the difference.In addition, it seems that gold is moving in a way that’s somewhat similar to what we saw between mid-April 2020 and mid-June 2020. It’s trading sideways below $1,800 but above ~$1,660. Back in 2020, the range of the back-and-forth movement (size of the short-term rallies and declines) was bigger, but the preceding move was also more volatile, so it’s normal to expect smaller short-term volatility this year (at least during this consolidation).Why is this particularly interesting? Because both consolidations (the mid-April 2020 – mid-June 2020 one and the March 2021 – today one) could be the shoulders of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern, where the mid-June 2020 – early-March 2021 performance would be the head. The breakdown below the neck level – at about $1,660 – would be extremely bearish in this case because the downside target based on the pattern is created based on the size of the head. The target based on this broad pattern would be at about $1,350 (I marked it with a thin dashed red line on the chart below – you might need to click on it to expand it for this line to become visible). Is this level possible? It is. When gold soared above $2,000, almost nobody thought that it would decline back below its 2011 highs (well, you – my subscribers – did know that). Gold below $1,500 seems unthinkable now, but with rallying long-term rates and soaring USD Index, it could really happen.The Lion - USD Index (USDX)After delivering a ferocious 0.75% rally on Apr. 30 – the greenback’s largest single-day gain since Mar. 4 – the USD Index let out a roar that was heard across all corners of the financial markets. And while gold, silver and mining stocks are still cackling in disobedience – as evidenced by the trios’ decelerating correlations over the last 10 days – every once in a while, the lion has to show the jackals who he is.To explain, as the USD Index’s recent plight elicits whispers of a new order in the currency kingdom, the greenback’s stoic behavior has been misjudged as weakness. And while the vultures circle and prophecies of the USD Index’s demise become louder, the lion is slowly moving to his feet.Case in point: with the zeitgeist forecasting new lows for the greenback, non-commercial (speculative) futures traders are still holding firm. Despite the greenback’s suffering, the immaterial decline in net-long positioning last week was relatively muted and highlights investors’ quiet respect for the U.S. dollar.Please see below: Source: COTMoreover, with prior periods of extreme pessimism followed by monumental rallies in the USD Index, unless ‘this time is different,’ it’s simply a matter of when, not if, the U.S. dollar feasts on the precious metals’ overconfidence.To explain, I wrote previously:When net-speculative short interest as a percentage of total open interest (based on the CoT data) became extremely high in 2014 and 2018, the USD Index recoded two of its sharpest rallies in history. How sharp? Well, let’s take a look at how things developed in the past – after all, history tends to rhyme.Let’s focus on what happened when the net speculative positions were significantly (!) negative and then they became significantly (!) positive, without paying attention to any tiny moves (like the one that we saw last summer).In short, rallies that followed periods of extreme pessimism include:The big 2008 rally (over 16 index points)The big 2009 – 2010 rally (over 14 index points)The 2011 – 2012 rally (over 11 index points)The 2013 rally (“only” over 5 index points)The big 2014 – 2015 rally (over 20 index points)The 2018 rally (over 15 index points)The current rally started at about 89, so if the “normal” (the above shows what is the normal course of action) happens, the USD Index is likely to rally to at least 94, but since the 5-index point rally seems to be the data outlier, it might be better to base the target on the remaining 5 cases. Consequently, one could expect the USD Index to rally by at least 11 – 20 index points, based on the net speculative positions alone. This means the upside target area of about 105 – 114. Consequently, a comeback to the 2020 highs is not only very likely, but also the conservative scenario.In addition, let’s keep in mind that the very bullish analogy to the 2018 rally remains intact. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that back in 2018, the USD Index rallied sharply and then corrected back to (roughly) the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level. And while the current decline is of a much larger magnitude than what we saw in mid-April 2018, the USD Index is still following its June 2018 analogue by declining slightly below another critical Fibonacci retracement – the 61.8% one. Moreover, amid the greenback’s surge on Apr. 30 – which I warned was forthcoming – the USD Index invalidated its breakdown below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The bottom line? The sharp reversal is extremely bullish for the U.S. dollar.More importantly, though, when the USD Index resumed its uptrend in June 2018 – marked by the vertical dashed line near the middle of the chart – the measured move higher also coincided with an accelerated drawdown of gold , silver and mining stocks.Please see below:To explain, I wrote on Apr. 21:I marked the situation from 2018 that seems similar to what we see right now with a dashed, horizontal line. Back in 2018, the pullback ended when the USD Index moved to its first Fibonacci classic retracement level (the 38.2% one). In case of the current rally, it seems that another classic retracement worked – the 61.8% one.The very important detail about the June 2018 decline (and bottom) is that while this was the moment after which the USD Index’s started to move higher at a slower pace, it was also the moment after which the precious metals market started to decline faster.At the beginning of the year, I wrote that the precious metals market was likely to decline and that the preceding rally was likely fake. That’s exactly what happened.Right now, I’m writing that the recent rally was also fake (a correction within a medium-term decline) and – even more importantly – it seems likely that the next downswing could take place at a higher pace than what we saw so far this year. And – just as was the case in 2018 – this upcoming (fast) decline is likely to lead to the final bottom in the precious metals sector.As further evidence, I warned on Apr. 30 that the USD Index was ripe for a reversal. And while entering long positions in the USD Index is an appetizing thought, shorting the gold miners offers much more bang for our buck.I wrote (with regard to possible long positions in the USD Index futures):I would be looking to re-enter long positions as soon as the USD Index confirms the breakout above the declining resistance line. At the moment of writing these words, the USDX is already trading back above this line, so the only thing that it needs to do now is to stay there. Still, given today’s pre-market movement, it seems that we might even see an invalidation of the move below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. A weekly close above both levels would be very bullish for the short term and a sign for me to get back to the long positions .But – that is all based on the assumption that I would want to have any position in the USDX. And I don’t because I think that having a short position in mining stocks provides a much better risk-to-reward ratio.That’s exactly what we saw – a weekly close above both levels.Adding even more ferocity to the USD Index’s roar, the recent downtrend has not invalidated its long-term breakout. And with the long-term implications taking precedence over the medium- and short-term ones, the USDX’s uptrend remains intact.Please see below:The bottom line?Given the magnitude of the 2017-2018 upswing , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. In the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is doing (and likely to do) better than the Eurozone and Japan, and it’s this relative outperformance that matters , not the strength of just one single country or monetary area. After all, the USD Index is a weighted average of currency exchange rates, and the latter move on a relative basis.In conclusion, with mischievous market participants nipping and clawing at the USD Index’s mane, it’s only a matter of time before the greenback strikes back with a vengeance. And while the precious metals consider the USD Index’s territory up for grabs, the greenback’s pride is unlikely to stay hidden for much longer. As a result, while gold, silver and mining stocks’ gaze across the grassland, the sun has likely set on their recent rallies. However, once the wet season washes away the litany of financial-market imbalances, the eventual bloom will allow the precious metals to grow stronger in the long run.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Will Biden Build Back Better… Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.05.2021 13:22
New spending is coming! And because of that, Biden’s speech to Congress was fundamentally positive for gold.Last week was full of big events. The FOMC released its newest statement on monetary policy meeting, while Powell held the press conference. On the same day, President Joe Biden made his first speech to Congress . Let’s take a look at his words.First of all, Biden laid out his American Jobs Plan , which proposes more than $2 trillion to upgrade US infrastructure and create millions of jobs. No matter that infrastructure spending has no stimulus effect, according to economic research .Second, if you think that $2 trillion is a lot of money, given America’s huge indebtedness, you are clearly wrong. Two trillion is practically nothing and definitely not enough, so Biden proposed another $1.8 trillion American Family Plan in investments and tax credits to provide lower-income and middle-class families with inexpensive childcare.Third, Biden understands that all these expenditures cannot be funded solely by increasing already huge fiscal deficits (see the chart below) and issuing new bonds.So, he proposed a hike in tax rates:It’s time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to pay their fair share. Just pay their fair share (…) We take the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% of Americans –those making $400,000 or more – back up to 39.6%.No matter that corporate taxes are implicit taxes on labor and that the current proposals for tax hikes are unlikely to fund the White House’s ambitious plans.Biden also proposed several reforms of the labor market: a 12-week paternal leave for families and an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour.So, in short, his speech called for several bold economic policies aiming to increase government spending and strengthen the American welfare state. Sounds good… for gold.Implications for GoldWhat does the Biden speech, and more generally his economic agenda, imply for the precious metals market? Well, it seems that the President cares not only about the workers, but also about the gold bulls. His plan is fundamentally positive for the yellow metal . After all, Biden wants to further increase government spending, which will weaken the long-term pace of economic growth and add to the mammoth pile of the public debt .There are also hints that this massive government spending flowing directly to the citizens could ignite inflation . After all, the US economy has already recovered from the pandemic recession , at least in the GDP terms, as the chart below shows. So, Biden’s economic agenda risks that the economy will overheat igniting inflation.He also adopted a more confrontational stance toward China, which could elevate the geopolitical worries and increase the demand for safe-haven assets such as gold .Another potential benefit is the proposal to raise corporate taxes, which is clearly negative for the US stock market and the greenback . Hence, gold could gain at their expense, especially if we see a pullback in the equity market…Last but not least, the increase in the minimum wage, and other labor market reforms, will not help in a quick employment recovery, so the Fed will maintain its dovish policy for longer. Indeed, we should look at Biden’s message together with the Fed’s signals. Biden proposed trillions of dollars in new spending, while Powell reiterated no hurry to raise interest rates . What a policy mix! We have both easy monetary policy and loose fiscal policy , a golden policy mix , indeed.Gold didn’t react strongly to these events, which is a bit disturbing, but this can be explained by the gains on Wall Street, as investors felt reassured that a financial bonanza would last undisturbed. So, the economic confidence remains high, but if it wanes, especially if inflationary threats come to the surface, gold may perform better.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

BOE may go hawkish on May 6

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 04.05.2021 15:29
What will happen?Bank of England will make a policy statement on Thursday at 14:00 MT (GMT+3). It’s widely expected that the bank may raise its growth projections and, more importantly, taper its quantitative easing programme, by cutting asset purchases. If it happens, the GBP will get a stimulus to rise. Indeed, most of the recent economic indicators revealed that the British economy is recovering faster than the BOE forecast in February. Both manufacturing and services industries showed the strongest numbers in seven years in April. Retail sales jumped in March. Well, but what if no policy tightening? In this case, the GBP is likely to fall. Tech analysisGBP/USD has been trending up for over a year already. If it manages to break above the chain of recent highs of 1.4000, it will rally up to the high of February 24 at 1.4150. On the flip side, if it breaks below the low of April 30 at 1.3800, it may fall to the lower trend line, which the pair is unlikely to cross on the first try as it has failed to break below this line for over a year. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

SPX Correction Arriving or Not?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.05.2021 16:26
One more day of upside rejection in S&P 500, in what is now quite a long stretch of prices going mostly sideways. As unsteady as VIX seems at the moment, it doesn‘t flash danger of spiking in this data-light week, and neither does the put/call ratio. As I wrote yesterday about the selling pressure, these tight range days accompanied by 30-ish point corrections is as good as it gets when the Fed still has its foot on the accelerate pedal. Yes, you can ignore the Kaplan trial baloon (have you checked when he gets to vote on the FOMC?) that spiked the dollar on Friday but didn‘t put all that a solid floor before long-dated Treasuries as seen in their intraday reversal. Highlighting the key Treasury, inflation and reflation thoughts of yesterday, as these are still here to power stocks higher:(…) the 10-year yield has been quite well behaved lately, closing at 1.65% only on Friday. The April calm seems to be over, and I‘m looking for the instrument to trade at 1.80% at least at the onset of summer. Then, let‘s see how the September price increases telegraphed by Procter & Gamble influence the offtake – will the price leader be followed by its competitors? That‘s one of the key pieces of the inflation stickiness puzzle – and I think others will follow, and P&G sales and profitability won‘t suffer. The company is on par with Coca Cola when it comes to dividends really.Once there, we would progress further in the reflation cycle when inflation is no longer benign and anchored. We‘re though still quite a way from when the Fed tries to sell rising rates as proof of strengthening economic recovery – once the bond market would get to doubt this story though, it would be game over for its recent tame behavior.Gold market enjoyed its fireworks, aided mightily by the silver squeeze run. The inflation theme is getting rightfully increasing attention, and commodities are on the run across the board. Just check yesterday‘s oil analysis or the bullish copper calls of mine. I could just as easily say that copper is the new gold – it has been certainly acting as one over the past many months, yet the yellow metal‘s time in the limelight is about here now. And don‘t forget about silver bring you the best of two worlds – the monetary and industrial applications ones.When it comes to USD/JPY support for the unfolding precious metals upswing, we indeed got the reversal of Friday‘s USD upside:(…) The taper story being revealed for a trial baloon that it is, would quickly reverse Friday‘s sharp USDX gains, where particularly the USDJPY segment is worth watching. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe declining volume tells a story of not enough conviction to go higher or lower – the market remains vulnerable to brief spikes either way such as those seen and covered in both today‘s intraday Stock Trading Signals.Credit MarketsAs inconclusive intraday the corporate credit markets may seem, the pressure to go up is there, regardless of the high yield corporate bonds reversal. Long-dated Treasuries aren‘t standing in the way but it must be noted that these have given up their intraday upswing completely, and opened with no bullish gap.Technology and FinancialsTechnology lost the advantage of higher open, and wasn‘t helped by the poor daily $NYFANG performance. At the same time, value stocks continued higher but gave away a portion of intraday gains. The markets are on edge, and a bigger move this or more likely next week, shouldn‘t come as a surprise.Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsThe Russell 2000 turned higher on Monday, and emerging markets seem waiting for more signs of dollar weakness. Overall, the U.S. indices still continue outperforming the international markets.Gold and Miners Short-TermVolume returned into the gold market, and so did miners‘ outperformance. While these didn‘t close anywhere near their mid-Apr highs unlike gold, they had extremely undeperformed on Friday – what happens over the next few sessions would provide clue as to whether strength genuinely returned yesterday.Gold and Miners Long-TermThe copper to 10-year Treasury yield is edging higher again, and the miners to gold ratio strongly rebounded, proving my yesterday‘s point that the real parallels are the 2018 and 2019 gyrations, not the uniquely deflationary corona crash.SummaryThe S&P 500 remains vulnerable to short-term spikes in both directions, but the medium-term picture remains positive – the strong gains since late Mar are being worked off here before another upswingGold and miners proved themselves yesterday, and scored strong gains in a universally supportive array of signals across commodities, Treasuries, and also the USD/JPY daily move. Well worth not retiring the benefit of the doubt given to the precious metals bulls – more gains are in sight.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – NASDAQ In Search Of Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 05.05.2021 08:48
NAS 100 tumbles after exhaustion Tech stocks slip as investors’ bet on a US recovery favors traditional sectors in their asset rotation. The recent peak above 14000 could lead to a pullback as investors may think twice before chasing higher highs. A quadruple top near 14050 and a repeatedly overbought RSI are a sign of exhaustion. After a halt at 13950 a breach below 13720 triggered a sell-off exacerbated by profit-taking. This would add pressure on traders who are still on the long side. 13340 would be the next support level. AUDUSD drops below consolidation range The Australian dollar eased off following the RBA’s commitment to keeping the policy loose for another three years. The pair has so far failed to overcome the supply area at 0.7820 on the daily chart. The two-week-long consolidation suggests a lack of conviction from the long side. A bearish close below the lower band of the current range would trigger a sell-off as buyers try to bail out. 0.7675 could be temporary support.On the upside, 0.7766 is the first hurdle to lift before a recovery could carry on. NZDUSD falls from supply area The New Zealand dollar clawed back some losses after the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%. The pair is heading south after having met tense selling pressure near the daily resistance at 0.7300. Strong momentum below 0.7150 then 0.7125 is an indication that buyers are currently out of the picture. 0.7210 may cap a brief rebound after the RSI went into oversold. A fall below 0.7120 could deepen the correction.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Forex majors: short-term and long-term

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 05.05.2021 12:19
EUR/USD: a downswing loomingAt the beginning of the virus hit, EUR/USD was in the zone of 1.10. By the end of 2020, it rose to 1.2350. Since then, it’s been going mostly downwards as the USD is gaining momentum with the recovering US economy. Currently, it trades around 1.20, and if the US economic optimism stays for another month or two, we are likely to see the pair challenge the tactical supports of 1.17 and 1.16.GBP/USD: post-BrexitFrom the depths of 1.20 at the beginning of the pandemic, this pair has been going upwards almost in a straight line to reach 1.42 in February. Since then, it dropped some of the gains and has been floating below 1.40. Pound’s offensive may have stopped due to the accumulating effect of Brexit as the UK is seeing a lower financial dynamic than before. Locally, 1.38 and 1.38 are the supports bears may be aiming at. If these get broken in the coming weeks, it may be a start of a whole new multimonth downswing back to 1.20.EUR/GBP: bouncing upwards or five-year lowsWhile this pair dropped to 0.83 in the first part of 2020, it has been trading around 0.90 in the second part. However, it ceded most of the gains during previous months going down to 0.85 in April. That level turned out to be a tactical low that sent the currency pair into the upside. EUR/USD bounced off that level a month ago to reach 0.87 – this is the current resistance level. Currently, the pair is on the way downwards after bouncing off it a few days ago. If bears keep pulling, it may reach 0.86 and aim at 0.85 once again. In the larger perspective, the behavior of EUR/GBP in the coming weeks will indicate if it is going to re-take the gains made through 2020 or go further downwards to the five-year lows of 0.83.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Janet Smoke and Mirrors

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.05.2021 15:44
Weak overnight trading gave way to tepid European session with a predictable buying interest at the U.S. open - which fizzled out though after a few minutes. The tight range consolidation of late gave way to heavy selling as Janet Yellen talked rate hikes and inflation. Friday‘Kaplan trial baloon, and now this – she walked back her statement in the aftermarket, and stocks kept recovering since. Even the VIX upper knot doesn‘t look so spooky anymore, but the options traders aren‘t convinced. But how many such headline shocks have we seen recently? Capital gains tax plans, anyone? See how the market did next, shaking off the shock and rising on the Fed‘s continued liquidity wave next. Watch what they do, not what they say – and for now, the ingredients are still in place for further stock gains, and I made a good decision to buy yesterday‘s dip on signs of intraday stabilization.Even long-dated Treasuries dialed back their gains and inflation expectations receded on this perceived readiness to take that pesky „transitory“ inflation seriously. The dollar though had a hard time reversing Monday‘s losses that were virtually guaranteed once the 2021 mini-taper tantrum played out on Friday in currencies. The big picture is still the same – we‘re still living the good reflation, and even if it doesn‘t miraculously rekindle lasting inflationary flames, the print & spend magic recipe will be tried again until it does.Gold rose on the S&P 500 selloff only to reverse lower, but has anything materially changed? Miners keep doing better – they declined less, and the volume wasn‘t just there to the same extent as with the yellow metal.And the other commodities? I‘m known for incessantly beating the copper bullish drum, and also the oil one, and here we are with further gains added since my latest oil analysis. Silver might pull back a little here, but look for it to mirror the insatiable appetite for base metals and other commodities. Beyond the Green New Deal mandates, the monetary demand is set to help power the white metal higher.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookQuite a steep increase yesterday, and more upside price action returning SPX back into the range over the coming days, is needed to fix that dicey look in the daily indicators. Nothing unimaginable in this data-light week (don‘t look at non-farm payrolls), unless a black swan arrives. No signs thereof in the credit or currency markets, luckily.Credit MarketsPlunging in line with stocks, junk corporate bonds made an intraday recovery on high volume – their dip was also bought. And as the investment grade bonds maintained their opening gains as much as long-dated Treasuries did, the stage is being set for stocks to shake off yesterday‘s plunge.Technology and ValueHas technology found the bottom, or not? Semiconductors (XSD ETF) aren‘t overly positive, and a similar statement can be made about $NYFANG performance. Tech didn‘t join in much sturdier moves across the defensives, and didn‘t welcome retreating rates the way it used to earlier. Value stocks are the ones to rely upon as even financials (XLF ETF) rose on such a TLT move – but stellar S&P 500 gains require both parts of the stock universe to do well simultaneously.Gold and Miners Short-TermGold and miners need to stand their ground, and return to gains. It looks that miners would once again lead the yellow metal higher, now that nominal yields are biting less, and USD/JPY isn‘t exerting pressure.Gold and Miners Long-TermGold is struggling to overcome $1,800 for a few weeks already, but both the black lines shown in the above chart, support the eventual break higher. I assume that when that comes, it would just leave the bears in the dust.SummaryS&P 500 looks ready to continue its gradual recovery, and take on the all time highs next. A key enabler would be the tech heavyweights no longer standing in the way – tentative signs of their local bottom are appearing.Gold and miners suffered a minor setback yesterday, and the signals from related markets continue supporting further gains in spite of prolonged hesitation in the yellow metal lately.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USDCAD Struggles To Bottom Out

John Benjamin John Benjamin 06.05.2021 07:16
USDCAD reaches a 3-year lowThe US dollar remains under pressure as downbeat ADP jobs data fails to impress the market. General sentiment remains bearish as the pair grinds down along the 30-day moving average.The price action is about to test the February 2018 low of 1.2250. The recent bounce to 1.2350 indicates that sellers may be taking some chips off the table.A briefly overbought RSI might have prevented bidders to get into the action. One may expect traders to buy the dip when the greenback reaches the said support level.EURGBP tests key supportThe euro weakened after PMIs in Germany and France came out below consensus. The pair has struggled to clear the major supply area around 0.8720 on the daily chart.The triple top has kept the price action in check, which suggests that profit-takings have prevailed for the lack of further commitment from the buy-side.0.8590 is key support as a bearish breakout could make the euro vulnerable to the downside.On the upside, 0.8688 is the immediate resistance from the latest sell-off.USOIL rises above major resistanceWTI crude price consolidates gains as US inventories slash another 8M barrels. By clearing the resistance at 66.30, a major level from the previous sell-off the price action has signaled a bullish continuation.March’s high at 67.90 would be a formality as the rally gains impetus. However, an overbought RSI shows signs of over-extension.There is limited downside risk if trend followers wait for a pullback to jump onboard. 65.00 would be the first support to look for.Further down, 62.90 is critical in keeping optimism intact.
Lumber and Copper Are Surging. Will Gold Join the Party?

Lumber and Copper Are Surging. Will Gold Join the Party?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.05.2021 15:47
There’s no inflation … None at all. Only, completely by accident, lumber prices are skyrocketing. Gold is likely to remain silent, but it may catch up later.The rise in lumber prices can be seen in the chart below:What a surge! It happened because of the limited supply and strong demand for new houses. But it’s not just lumber. Many raw commodities are rallying too. The price of copper, for example, has just approached its record height (from February 2011), as the recovery of the global economy boosted demand. Just take a look at the price below.Indeed, the trend is up. Commodity prices are on the rise as a whole as the chart below clearly shows. Even Warren Buffet warned investors against a “red hot” recovery, saying that his portfolio companies were “seeing very substantial inflation” amid shortages of raw materials.Of course, commodity price inflation and consumer price inflation are quite different phenomena, as consumers don’t buy lumber or copper directly but only finished products made from these materials. However, at least part of this producer price inflation may translate into higher consumer prices, as producers’ ability to pass higher costs on consumers has recently increased – people have a large holding of cash and are willing to spend it.Implications for GoldWhat do rallying commodity prices imply for the precious metals? Well, rising commodity prices signal higher inflation, which should increase the demand for gold as an inflation hedge . Of course, there might be some supply disruptions and bottlenecks in a few commodities. However, the widespread character and the extent of the increase in prices suggest that monetary policy is to blame here and that inflation won’t be just transitory as the Fed claims.What’s more, the commodity boom is usually a good time for precious metals . As the chart below shows, there is a strong positive correlation between the broad commodity index and the precious metals index.There was a big divergence during the pandemic when commodities plunged, while gold at the same time shined brightly as a safe-haven asset . So, the current lackluster performance of the yellow metal is perfectly understandable during the economic recovery.Indeed, the rebound in gold has been weak, and gold hasn’t even crossed $1,800 yet, although it was close this week, as the chart below shows.There was a rally on Monday (May 3) amid a retreat in the US dollar, but we were back in the doldrums on Tuesday, amid Yellen’s remarks about higher bond yields . She said that interest rates could rise to prevent the economy from overheating:It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn't overheat, even though the additional spending is relatively small relative to the size of the economyHowever, Yellen clarified her statements later, explaining that she was not recommending or predicting that the Fed should hike interest rates. Additionally, several FOMC members made their speeches, presenting the dovish view on the Fed’s monetary policy . For example, Richard Clarida, Fed Vice Chair, said that the economy was still a long way from the Fed’s goals and that the US central bank wasn’t thinking about reducing its quantitative easing program .Anyway, the price of gold has been trading sideways recently as it couldn’t break out of the $1,700-$1,800 price range. This inability can be frustrating, but the inflationary pressure could help the yellow metal to free itself from the shackles. The bull market in gold started in 2019, well ahead of the commodities. Now, there is a correction , but gold may join the party later . It’s important to remember that reflation has two phases: the growth phase when raw materials outperform gold and the inflation phase when gold catches up with the commodities. So, we may have to wait for a breakout a little longer, but once we get it, new investors may flow into the market, strengthening the upward move.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Stocks and Gold – Hot and Hotter

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.05.2021 15:50
The rebound off Tuesday‘s lows continued semisuccessfully yesterday – further upside was rejected in spite of signs of strength both within the S&P 500 and outside markets. Technically, the bulls are still on a dicey, vulnerable ground – but increasingly less so. It‘s that VIX is calming down, and the put/call ratio has sharply moved into its complacent spectrum. And not only that – new highs new lows are rising in spite of the advance-decline line being little moved.These are all budding signs of the upcoming break higher, and no change in the reflationary positive dynamics for stocks, let alone the red hot commodities. These (copper, agrifoods, base metals, lumber, oil) continue appreciating in spite of nominal yields pulling back a little these days. Make no mistake though, deflation isn‘t about to break out. Lower yields no longer work in support of all the defensive sectors – technology has passed the leadership baton long ago to value stocks (think Mar), but appears to be bottoming here in spite of the reversal late yesterday. That‘s positive as any S&P 500 advance has to count on both value and tech pulling ahead more or less simultaneously. A welcome sign of returning animal spirits in the 500-strong index would be the Russell 2000 juices flowing again. Thus far, even the emerging markets are hesitating.Not that they should be – the USD Index looks very vulnerable to me here, and its anticipated downside move (the smoke and mirror games I talked about on Monday and Wednesday are nothing but a distraction) would help lift international markets, and is also part of the explanation behind the strong commodity performance these days. This CRB Index move is key, and shows how far have real assets progressed in shaking off the dollar link – if you compare the dollar‘s value in early Feb and now, you are looking at very meaningfully higher commodity prices over that same time period.Gold and silver are about to shake off the dollar shackles as they catch up to commodities that have left them in the dust since Aug or Nov. The key metrics such as nominal or real yields support the precious metals rebound increasingly more – don‘t be fooled, gold would break above the $1,800 resistance, whether you look at it as a purely psychological one, or as a neckline of an inverse head and shoulders on the daily chart. The advance across the real assets, the precious metals and commodities super bull, would be more well rounded then. As I wrote yesterday:(…) I‘m known for incessantly beating the copper bullish drum, and also the oil one, and here we are with further gains added since my latest oil analysis. Silver might pull back a little here, but look for it to mirror the insatiable appetite for base metals and other commodities. Beyond the Green New Deal mandates, the monetary demand is set to help power the white metal higher.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookShort-term vulnerability and drying up volume as we‘re waiting for the daily indicators to turn brighter. Some more sideways trading would do that trick.Credit MarketsThe corporate credit markets keep signalling higher stock prices next, though. Notably, both HYG and LQD rose in spite of long-dated Treasuries turning up as well.Technology and ValueDid it bottom, did it not? For much of yesterday‘s session, the tweezer bottom approximating formation was in place. Both semiconductors (XSD ETF) and heavyweights ($NYFANG) gave up the encouraging intraday gains, and value (VTV ETF) wasn‘t strong enough to save the day. The question of a tech bottom remains of crucial importance, and looking at the distance between both XLK and $NYFANG price swings relative to the 50-day moving average, the odds are good for higher tech prices right next.Inflation ExpectationsInflation expectations have moderated their run, and are currently consolidating. The key sign here is that Treasury yields are no longer frontrunning them, but have come modestly down lately. Coupled with the USD/JPY below 109.20 making a rounding top, that‘s one less headwind for gold.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners aren‘t underperforming, and the tentative signs of strength beyond the intraday flavor returning, are there.Silver didn‘t outperform yesterday, which means that the precious metals sector isn‘t approaching short-term overheating. At the same time, the copper to 10-year Treasuriy yields is increasingly supportive of the coming gold upleg.SummaryS&P 500 is short-term consolidating only, and getting ready for a new upswing whenever the technology behemoths turn. These are the decisive factor of sustainable and noticeable stock market gains. Gold and miners have bullishly consolidated yesterday, and are amply supported by related markets to score strong gains next.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold & Silver Begin New Advancing Cycle Phase

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 06.05.2021 17:17
Before going into detail regarding my latest research and cycle phases, I want you to think of these cycle phases as Advancing and Declining cycle trends.  They act as a “build-up of trend”, then an “unwinding of trend”.  In each instance, trends can be either Bullish, Bearish, or Neutral in nature.  My research team and I believe a new Bullish Cycle Phase has begun in Gold and Silver.  If our research is correct, the next Advancing Cycle Phase may prompt a broad rally in Gold and Silver.Understanding Cycle Phase Analysis & Trends in MetalsWe interpret these cycle phases as unique trend segments involved in a broader cycle scope.  For example, over a longer-term rally, we may see many Bullish Advancing and Declining cycle phases take place – one after another.  Conversely, we may see many Bearish cycle phases take place in an extended downtrend.  Another type of cycle phase can also exist, the Reversal Cycle Phase – where price Advances in one direction and Declines in the opposite direction.  This type of Rotation Cycle Phase exists as the current completed Cycle on the Gold chart, below.As we are nearing the end of the current Declining Cycle Phase as seen in the chart below, we will soon begin the new Advancing Cycle Phase in Gold.  Gold's Reversal Cycle Phase that took place between December 21, 2020, and May 10, 2021, will likely close higher than the midpoint (or Apex) of the total Cycle Phase.  This suggests a new bullish price trend has taken over and the price is more likely to move higher in the next Advancing Cycle Phase. If this trend continues, then the price will continue to rally higher in the Declining Cycle Phase as well – as we saw in the first Cycle Phase: between March 16, 2020, and August 3, 2020.Gold & Silver Phase Tables – Will Price Continue A New Bullish Cycle Phase?To help explain our Cycle research, we've put together these tables to detail the Cycle Phases and price logic we use to interpret each Advancing and Declining phase.  Each table entry consists of an Advancing, then Declining Cycle Phase.  Combined, they make up a complete Cycle Phase.  We are measuring price at the midpoint (Apex) of the Cycle Phase to determine if any Advancing or Declining Cycle Phase is Bullish or Bearish in trend.  If both Advancing and Declining Cycle Phases show the same trend direction, we define that completed Cycle Phase as Bullish or Bearish.  If they differ in trend types, we define that completed Cycle Phase as a Reversal Phase.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!Gold has been in a downtrend recently while Silver has continued to stay somewhat bullish in a sideways price trend.  You can see from the tables below, Gold recently completed a Reversal Cycle Phase (ending with a Bullish Declining Phase) while Silver has continued to exhibit Bullish Cycle Phases since March 9, 2020.Both Gold and Silver ended their last completed Cycle Phases recently.  Gold will end the last completed Cycle Phase on May 10, 2021.  Silver ended its last completed Cycle Phase on April 12, 2021. The next Advancing Cycle Phase for both Gold and Silver will begin this week and next week – and will continue until July 19, 2021.  After that, the Declining Cycle Phase will begin and last until late September, for Gold, and late October for Silver.If our research is correct, we may see extended bullish trending over the next 6+ months in both Gold and Silver.Silver Cycle Phases Continue To Show Stronger Bullish TrendingThe following Silver Weekly Chart highlights the Cycle Phases and highlights the price trends for each Advancing and Declining Cycle Phase.  While Gold has experienced an extended Bearish Cycle Phase over the past 5+ months, Silver has continued to show stronger bullish price Cycle Phases and continues to attempt higher closing price levels at the end of each Cycle Phase.  We believe this suggests Silver is likely to see some explosive upside price trending when the $28.42 level (the higher YELLOW line) is breached.  This level represents historical price resistance for Silver.  Once this level is breached, we believe Silver will begin to advance higher very quickly.Remember, we have until July 19, 2021, before the first Advancing Cycle Phase in Silver ends.  This Advancing Phase may prompt a move above the $28.42 level and may attempt to rally above $30.00 as we have drawn on the chart (below). If the Declining Cycle Phase continues this bullish trend, we may see Silver trading above $32.00 ~ $33.00 before Halloween 2021.  This would represent a +26.5% rally in Silver from the last completed Cycle Phase price level.In closing, we want to suggest that a rally as we are proposing in Gold and Silver will also present a renewed risk factor for the US and global markets (potentially). In the past, we have seen precious metals rally while the US stock market rallies.  It is not uncommon for precious metals to begin to move higher while the US stock market continues to move higher.  This type of price activity simply suggests that global traders/investors are moving capital into Precious Metals as the US stock market climbs a strengthening “wall of worry”.  This type of price action happened from 2004 to 2009 – prior to the Credit Crisis/Housing Crisis.As we've been suggesting for many months, the next few years are going to be full of incredible opportunities for traders and investors. Smart traders will quickly identify these phases of the market and will understand how to position themselves to take advantage of this next phase. You can learn more about how I identify and trade Gold, Silver, and the markets by watching my FREE step-by-step guide to finding and trading the best sectors. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily pre-market reports, proprietary research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers. Sign up today!Happy Trading!
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Intraday Market Analysis – US Dollar Fails To Find Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.05.2021 07:26
USDCHF tanks to new lowsThe US dollar falls as higher continuing jobless claims point to volatility in the labour market. The bearish MA cross from the daily chart is a reminder of the US dollar’s weakness across the board.The latest consolidation has ended up with a breakout below 0.9110 in continuation of the downtrend. As the RSI shows an oversold situation, profit-taking could lead to a short rebound towards the resistance at 0.9145.However, this might turn out to be a dead cat bounce if trend followers seize it as an opportunity to sell into strength. 0.9020 would be the next target in the next round of sell-off.GBPUSD consolidates recent gainsSterling found support after the BoE raised its forecast for Britain’s economy and hinted at reducing its stimulus programme.The bullish MA cross on the daily chart may give buyers an edge as the price action wraps up its sideways action. A confirmation may come in with a breakout above 1.3960.Strong momentum above the psychological level of 1.4000 could prompt short-term sellers to bail out. This would resume the pair’s upward trajectory.On the downside, the demand zone between 1.3800 and 1.3840 is of interest for those wishing to bet against a soft greenback.US 30 extends all-time highThe Dow extended gains to an all-time high as investors rebalance assets away from over-stretched growth stocks.The index continues to grind higher along the 20-day moving average as a sign of optimism.Following its breakout above the 33700-34250 range, buyers seem to have regained control of the price action. A runaway rally gained traction after sellers closed their positions when it was still cheap to do so.An overbought RSI may suggest a temporary pullback. 34200 is the immediate support in case of a pullback. Further down, 33770 would be a critical level to maintain the short-term bullish fever.
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Silver eats doubt for breakfast

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 07.05.2021 09:39
The good news is: You do not need to know how the future unfolds to preserve your wealth. And Silver eats doubt for breakfast.Silver prices will continue to rise. Why are we so sure about this? Unlike most who try to gain clarity about how the future might look like, we instead eliminate all scenarios where Silver prices wouldn’t be rising. Even if you are not a specialist in trading fundamentals, by now, it intuitively feels just wrong that central banks put this much freshly printed currency into circulation. Historically, precious metals are the most common safe haven in times of trouble and doubt. This will be no different this time around.Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Last week’s chart:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of April 29th, 2021.In last week´s publication, we posted the above chart with this comment:“We identified the slightly higher probability of prices to advance immediately since we overcame a distribution zone marked with a dark green horizontal line, which now serves as support.”…and spot on we were:  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Like we hoped:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of May 6th, 2021.While these weekly charts might appear somewhat similar, something significant has happened. The following the daily chart shows this more clearly.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Resistance penetration:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 6th, 2021.Zooming into the smaller time frame, we can see the significance of last week’s price movement. Not only did the POC (point of control) support supply zone based on volume transaction (green horizontal line) get cemented by three rejected candle wicks, but the original breakout through significant resistance at US$26.55 all the way to prices above US$$27 paves the way to further advances.Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, When to cash in some chips:Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of May 6th, 2021.While entries are essential for risk minimization, exits distinguish the good trader. They should be as such the true focus in one’s trading approach. Looking at the Gold chart above, the leader of the precious metal sector and as such followed by Silver shows a clear seasonal pattern. We identified a high probability for precious metal prices peaking in the first week of September and will, as such, take partial profits (see our quad exit strategy) at that time from our Silver holdings.Silver eats doubt for breakfast:Our mind craves certainties in an uncertain world and even more when predicting an unknown future. It is the process of accepting these uncertainties and applying principles of wealth preservation that supports the outcome of sound investment strategies.One of these principles is the process of elimination. We were asking if there is a scenario where Silver wouldn’t rise, which is much more fruitful than trying to predict a precise model of the future. We literally couldn’t come up with a scenario that would work against the Silver price advance over the long term.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 7th, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Trade ideas for the week of May 10-14

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 07.05.2021 10:03
The week will be full of US data: inflation, jobless claims, retail sales, and some other reports. They will have a huge impact on the currency pairs with the US dollar and also gold. Inflation is the main topic of traders’ talks these days as it is getting closer to the levels unseen in 14 years, but the Fed tries to assure investors that inflation will stay at these heights just for a short period. However, market participants do not fully trust these words and watch closely for Fed’s actions, when it will start tapering: cut asset purchases or hint about raising interest rates. When it happens, it will send the US dollar soaring.EUR/USDThe economic situation is getting better in the Euro Area. Increasing vaccinations and plans to ease travel restrictions can push EUR/USD higher to April highs of 1.2150. Besides, any progress on the EU Recovery Fund should positively impact the euro as well this quarter. USD/CADThe Bank of Canada was the first bank to tighten the policy after the pandemic crisis. The Canadian dollar gained on that hawkish move. Thus, USD/CAD is going down and down. Besides, the CAD was supported by rising oil prices as Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters. Sooner or later the pair may hit the psychological level of 1.2000.DisneyThe earnings season is coming to an end! Walt Disney is one of the latest to deliver it earnings results. They will be out on May 13 at 23:30 FBS Trader time (GMT+3). The forecast is $0.27 per share. If the actual data beats the market estimate, Disney will surge. Otherwise – drop. Besides, Disney is trading at the local lows at the moment of writing, thus if earnings are strong, it will push the stock up with a greater force.XBR/USDXBR/USD is the UK Brent crude oil. It has been moving gradually up these days, driven by the easing of travel restrictions and the global economic recovery. Some analysts are even talking about oil hitting $80.00 a barrel, but it should break the $70.00 resistance at first and rising cases in India may cap gains.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Ready for More Hot Gold and Stocks Profits

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.05.2021 16:22
One final attempt to go down before reversing to strong gains all the way to the closing bell – the S&P 500 returned to trading back at the upper border of its prolonged consolidation range. Again at 4,200, new ATHs are back in sight – that‘s at least what the impression from declining VIX says, and the option traders might disagree here all they want, they‘re likely to be the next cannon fodder in the bullish advance.Needless to say that my reasonably and justifiably aggressive long positions in both S&P 500 and gold, are innundated with rising profits. Initiated in the vicinity of Tuesday‘s lows, I look for more gains in stocks (we‘ll get to the metals shortly) in spite of smallcaps still lagging behind (don‘t worry, they‘ll catch up over time, and I will cover that), and precisely because emerging markets are rejoicing over further dollar woes. Yes, the glitzy and fake tightening show is officially over since I first vocally called for it in Monday‘s analysis.Keep an eye on the big picture presented yesterday:(…) no change in the reflationary positive dynamics for stocks, let alone the red hot commodities. These (copper, agrifoods, base metals, lumber, oil) continue appreciating in spite of nominal yields pulling back a little these days. Make no mistake though, deflation isn‘t about to break out. Lower yields finally coincided with (supported) the defensive sectors the way it ideally should – technology bottom searching is over, Dow Jones Industrial Average is spurting higher, utilities recovered, and consumer staples continued upwards as if nothing happened at all. Maybe is this heavy on P&G sector placing faith in the market leader‘s pricing power to result in a success once September arrives with the rest of crowd following? That‘s the part of the cost-push inflation I discussed on Monday. I truly hope that people are paying attention, and don‘t put all their eggs into e.g. the dollar basket when it comes to commodities:(…) the USD Index … anticipated downside move ... would help lift international markets, and is also part of the explanation behind the strong commodity performance these days. This CRB Index move is key, and shows how far have real assets progressed in shaking off the dollar link – if you compare the dollar‘s value in early Feb and now, you are looking at very meaningfully higher commodity prices over that same time period.Gold and silver fireworks arrived, and more is to come! What a better proof than a broad based advance across the sector, starting with both metals, and extending to gold and silver miners left and right. Not to mention the copper fires burning brightly – if you were listening to my incessant red metal bullish calls, you‘re very happy now. And just as in the precious metals, there is more to come here too. So happy for all you who had the patience to wait out a couple of adverse sessions, because:(…) The key metrics such as nominal or real yields support the precious metals rebound increasingly more – don‘t be fooled, gold would break above the $1,800 resistance, whether you look at it as a purely psychological one, or as a neckline of an inverse head and shoulders on the daily chart. The advance across the real assets, the precious metals and commodities super bull, would be more well rounded then. As for Bitcoin, such was my yesterday‘s (still valid) assessment in a series of updates of the leading, but currently lagging crypto when compared to Ethereum or Dogecoin, the latter being a true middle finger to the financial system. GameStop, silver squeeze, Doge...Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookYesterday‘s rebound happened on rising volume, lending it credibility for the sessions to come. The bears weren‘t obviously convinced enough to sell as yesterday‘s volume lagged behind Tuesday‘s one.Credit MarketsThe corporate credit markets kept yesterday and still keep today signalling higher stock prices next. Notably, both HYG and LQD rose again in spite of long-dated Treasuries turning up as well.Technology and ValueTechnology did indeed bottom, and the heavyweights contributed reasonably enough to its advance. Semiconductors could have fared a little better, but that‘s not a major issue. At the same time, value stocks continued their steep ascent, as reliably as ever.S&P 500 Market BreadthThe S&P 500 advance wasn‘t accompanied by either new highs new lows or the advance-decline line turning up noticeably. Might be disappointing at first sight, but the overall impression is still of a healthy and quite broad advance.Gold and Miners Short-TermMiners and gold are in tune with each other, jointly pulling the cart of the precious metals advance. No further words are necessary here, I believe.Gold, Silver and Miners Long-TermJust as strongly when I doubted the miners to gold plunge on Monday, the ratio swiftly recovered starting Tuesday and extending gains yesterday. Please note silver springing to leadership position again – gradually first, more obviously throughout this week on the silver squeeze heels, which would be a volatile ride, but once again, silver is the best of both worlds – the monetary and industrial applications ones.Crude OilCrude oil pulled back a little yesterday, but the series of higher highs and higher lows since April hasn‘t been violated. The table remains set for further gains, and the only question is how fast these come – I‘m standing by my calls for at least $80 West Texas Intermediate before 2022 is over. Seasonality is still good for black gold, so enjoy the ride!SummaryS&P 500 is readying another reach for the highs, finally supported (a ka not being hampered by) technology. Risk on is returning and high beta stock markets pockets are expected to keep doing well. Gold, silver and miners have firmly positioned themselves to extend yesterday‘s much awaited and well deserved gains. The upleg is just getting started, now that the few weeks‘ consolidation is over.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – DAX Aims For New Record High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.05.2021 08:06
GER 30 tests previous record highThe DAX has recouped recent losses as risk sentiment made its way back in the market. By clearing the previous crash point at 15270 the price action has confirmed the bullish MA cross.The index then established support at 15100. As it climbs back towards the peak at 15520, an overbought RSI could be the rally’s Achilles’ heel.Profit-taking near the resistance level may trigger a brief retracement.On the upside, a breakout could extend the rally to a new record high.USDCAD tumbles towards 2017’s lowThe US dollar fell as the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April from a previous 5.8%.The February 2018 low at 1.2250 has failed to contain the bearish mood. The market remains unidirectional to the south.The RSI has dipped into the oversold territory and could trigger some short-covering from intraday players. Though selling into strength is likely to be the motto if the price climbs back towards 1.2280.September 2017’s low at 1.2060 would be the next target when the sell-side doubles down.EURGBP looks to break out of rangeThe euro rose after ECB official Martin Kazaks said the ECB could reduce emergency bond purchases (PEPP).The pair has found strong buying interest in the demand zone above 0.8600. An RSI divergence on this major support was a foresign that the selling pressure had lost steam.The current rebound is still within a consolidation range between 0.8610 and 0.8720.A bullish breakout may open the path towards 0.8780. A failure to do so would lead to a pullback to test bids at 0.8655.
What‘s Not To Love About These Great Bull Runs?

What‘s Not To Love About These Great Bull Runs?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.05.2021 14:39
A bit of selling at the open, and off to new highs – the S&P 500 bulls are taking no prisoners. The long recent consolidation has been broken, and it was again to the upside. Option traders are still having a hard time agreeing with the declining VIX, which is pointing to them serving as still some more cannon fodder next in the bullish advance. In fairness though, it can‘t be denied that the average put/call ratio has been rising over the last 3 months.Still, that doesn‘t change the reality that my reasonably and justifiably aggressive long positions in both S&P 500 and gold, are going even more profitable. No problem that the Russell 2000 didn‘t climb as much – emerging markets stepped into the void on account of predictably cratering USD. Friday didn‘t bring any changes to the narratives – the very weak non-farm payrolls weren‘t a selling catalyst in the least. All eyes remain on reopening trades to the effect that value stocks are rising effortlessly whatever the nominal rates direction. In spite of inflation and inflation expectations not being negligible, we‘re in still in the reflationary period where economic growth is higher than either of these two.Not only is the S&P 500 advance a very broad one as evidenced by the number of stocks trading above their 50-day moving average (with tech playing a positive role once again), commodities continue being on fire. Especially the base metals such as copper welcomed the uptick in inflation expectations. With the recent two trial baloons (Kaplan and Yellen), the Fed might be exploring market reactions if it had moved to counter inflation at least to some degree. Hold not your breath though, that would tank the risk-on assets – they won‘t do that any time soon.Gold is making its run, unhampered by nominal yields rising on the day. Miners have continued their advance, and the precious metals upleg offers a sight of health. Note also that the silver miners have been doing overall better than the gold ones throughout the long soft patch starting in Aug 2020, just as silver did. That‘s precisely what to expect in an environment of inflation running hot:(…) Gold and silver fireworks arrived, and more is to come! What a better proof than a broad based advance across the sector, starting with both metals, and extending to gold and silver miners left and right. Not to mention the copper fires burning brightly – if you were listening to my incessant red metal bullish calls, you‘re very happy now. And just as in the precious metals, there is more to come here too.And as the Fed continues playing ostrich when it comes action, commodities including oil continue doing great. While black gold consolidated over the last few sessions, it remains primed to go higher.Bitcoin is also enjoying upside momentum as it aims to clear the 50-day moving average vicinity. Its uptrend is gradually reasserting itself – patience required still. But it‘s the steep gains in other cryptos such as Ethereum making new highs practically on a daily basis, that is catching much attention. ETH/USD looks short-term extended though, and I would prefer waiting for a pullback, especially given the last two candles‘ shape (both having significant knots – today is shaping up to be a day of more upside rejection).Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookWe‘re again at the upper border of the Bollinger Bands, and the daily indicators are constructive with more room to grow. We‘re staring at a positive week ahead.Credit MarketsThe corporate credit markets did waver a little on the day, investment grade bonds more so than the high yield ones, which is understandable given the long-dated Treasuries setback.Technology and ValueTechnology rebound continues, and should so aided by the recent earnings announced. I am not looking for a meaningful dip in $NDX or whichever part of the tech sector over the nearest days as $NYFANG did its job quite well on Friday. Yet again, value stocks continued their steep ascent come hell or high water.Inflation ExpectationsA rare sight indeed – Treasury yields have run behind inflation expectations on Friday.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners continue running higher together, and neither gold‘s upper knot nor miners reaching visually escape velocity compared to the yellow metal, is an issue, because copper had a great day.Silver consolidated daily gains, lagging behind both gold and copper. No issues, the white metal has great days ahead still, and Friday‘s session proves that the precious metals upswing is nowhere near overheated.Crude OilCrude oil bulls defended Thursday‘s lows, and the bullish consolidation continues. Look for an upside breakout next as this isn‘t a double top. I‘m standing by my calls for at least $80 West Texas Intermediate before 2022 is over. Seasonality is still good for black gold, so enjoy the ride!SummaryS&P 500 is at new highs, and its ascent is far from over – no signs of a major or even local top to be made. The index will have an easier time now that the short term tech / Nasdaq outlook has flipped bullish as well. Gold, silver and miners continue to be well positioned to reap further gains as the well balanced rally continues. The copper and nominal yields combo balances each other out, so the factors speak for a bullish consolidation in the short term as a minimum.Crude oil is getting ready to resume its upswing in a modest fashion, and I look for its early Mar top to be challenged this or next week.Bitcoin upswing is very gradually reasserting itself, and the bulls would be well advised to pay attention as the 50-day moving average is likely to start sloping upwards perhaps as early as this Friday, thus supporting the prices above the late Apr base.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.Thank you,Monica KingsleyStock Trading SignalsGold Trading SignalsOil Trading SignalsBitcoin Trading Signalswww.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co* * * * *All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

GDX, HUI: Will Paradise Turn into a Dystopia?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.05.2021 16:29
The GDX and HUI Index are enjoying a blissful moment. With HUI behaving civilly, will the GDX cling to the unrealistic and try to leap to cloud “ten”?With the GDX ETF punching a hole through its glass ceiling, the senior miners are now witnessing an environment that’s beyond their wildest dreams: sunshine, clear skies and a utopia that’s eluded them since the beginning of the New Year. However, while leaving paradise is often more difficult than arriving, the GDX ETF’s recent vacation is likely coming to an end. And with the senior miners about to resume the daily grind of real life, their optimism will likely fade with the tropical sun.To explain, while the GDX ETF remains on cloud nine, the HUI Index (a proxy for gold mining stocks ) has already left the resort. With the latter’s long-term outlook still intact and its broad head & shoulders pattern remaining on schedule, I wrote previously that the right shoulder would likely form after the HUI Index reaches 300. And after closing at 301.72 on May 7, the BUGS (after all, HUI is called the Gold Bugs Index) are currently living up to expectations.Please see below:Moreover, while corrective short-term upswings within a medium-term downtrend can feel discouraging, it’s important to remember that similar instances occurred in 2008 and 2012. Remember: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers warned us that the waiting is the hardest part. However, in the end, the wait should be more than worth it.To explain, note that the 2007 – 2008 and the 2009 – 2012 head and shoulders patterns didn’t have the right shoulders all the way up to the line that was parallel to the line connecting the bottoms. I marked those lines with green in the above-mentioned formations. In the current case, I marked those lines with orange. Now, in both cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02.That’s why I previously wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move to about 300 in the HUI Index”. And that’s exactly what we saw. To clarify, one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a rising neckline – was already completed, and one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a horizontal neckline – is being completed, but we’ll have the confirmation once miners break to new yearly lows.For more context, I wrote previously:The recent rally is not a game-changer, but rather a part of a long-term pattern that’s not visible when one focuses on the short-term only.The thing is that the vast majority of individual investors and – sadly – quite many analysts focus on the trees while forgetting about the forest. During the walk, this might result in getting lost, and the implications are no different in the investment landscape.From the day-to-day perspective, a weekly – let alone monthly – rally seems like a huge deal. However, once one zooms out and looks at the situation from a broad perspective, it’s clear that:“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (-Ecclesiastes 1:9)The rally is very likely the right shoulder of a broad head and shoulders formation. “Very likely” and not “certainly”, because the HUI Index needs to break to new yearly lows in order to complete the pattern – for now, it’s just potential. However, given the situation in the USD Index (i.a. the positions of futures traders as seen in the CoT report , and the technical situation in it), it seems very likely that this formation will indeed be completed. Especially when (not if) the general stock market tumbles.In addition, three of the biggest declines in the mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here), all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the decline exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.Can we see gold stocks as low as we saw them last year? Yes.Can we see gold stocks even lower than at their 2020 lows? Again, yes.Of course, it’s far from being a sure bet, but the above chart shows that it’s not irrational to expect these kind of price levels before the final bottom is reached. This means that a $24 target on the GDX ETF is likely conservative.In addition, mining stocks are currently flirting with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early 2020 high.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.I know, I know, this seems too unreal to be true… But wasn’t the same said about silver moving below its 2015 bottom in 2020? And yet, it happened.Keep in mind though: scenario #2 most likely requires equities to participate. In 2008 and 2020, the sharp drawdowns in the HUI Index coincided with significant drawdowns of the S&P 500 . However, with the words ‘all-time high’ becoming commonplace across U.S. equities, the likelihood of a three-peat remains relatively high.Circling back to the GDX ETF, on May 7, the senior miners inched closer to their May 2020 high. And while the development may seem bullish on the surface, the price action actually creates symmetry between the GDX ETF’s left and right shoulders. With May 2020’s peak occurring at nearly the same level, a move lower from here would only enhance the validity of the GDX ETFs H&S pattern.On top of that, this is the third time that the GDX ETF has poked its head above the upper trendline of its roughly one-and-a-half-month channel. An ominous sign, the GDX ETF’s swoon in late 2020/early 2021, occurred precisely after the senior miners delivered their third act. Furthermore, a small breakout without confirmation is akin to a promise from a friend that can’t keep his word. Thus, with the GDX ETF still underperforming gold on a relative basis, it’s important to analyze the recent price action within its proper context.Please see below:For more context, I wrote on May 5:The history might not repeat itself, but it does rhyme, and those who insist on ignoring it are doomed to repeat it. And there’s practically only one situation from more than the past four decades that is similar to what we see right now.It’s the early 2000s when the tech stock bubble burst. It’s practically the only time when the tech stocks were after a similarly huge rally. It’s also the only time when the weekly MACD soared to so high levels (we already saw the critical sell signal from it). It’s also the only comparable case with regard to the breakout above the rising blue trend channel. The previous move above it was immediately followed by a pullback to the 200-week moving average, and then the final – most volatile – part of the rally started. It ended on significant volume when the MACD flashed the sell signal. Again, we’re already after this point.The recent attempt to break to new highs that failed seems to have been the final cherry on the bearish cake.Why should I – the precious metals investor care?Because of what happened in the XAU Index (a proxy for gold stocks and silver stocks ) shortly after the tech stock bubble burst last time.What happened was that the mining stocks declined for about three months after the NASDAQ topped, and then they formed their final bottom that started the truly epic rally. And just like it was the case over 20 years ago, mining stocks topped several months before the tech stocks.Mistaking the current situation for the true bottom is something that is likely to make a huge difference in one’s bottom line. After all, the ability to buy something about twice as cheap is practically equal to selling the same thing at twice the price. Or it’s like making money on the same epic upswing twice instead of “just” once.And why am I writing about “half” and “twice”? Because… I’m being slightly conservative, and I assume that the history is about to rhyme once again as it very often does (despite seemingly different circumstances in the world). The XAU Index declined from its 1999 high of 92.72 to 41.61 – it erased 55.12% of its price.The most recent medium-term high in the GDX ETF (another proxy for mining stocks) was at about $45. Half of that is $22.5, so a move to this level would be quite in tune with what we saw recently.And the thing is that based on this week’s slide in the NASDAQ that followed the weekly reversal and the invalidation, it seems that this slide lower has already begun.“Wait, you said something about three months?”Yes, that’s approximately how long we had to wait for the final buying opportunity in the mining stocks to present itself based on the stock market top.The reason is that after the 1929 top, gold miners declined for about three months after the general stock market started to slide. We also saw some confirmations of this theory based on the analogy to 2008. Consequently, we might see the next major bottom – and the epic buying opportunity in the mining stocks – about three months after the general stock market tops. The NASDAQ might have already topped, so we’re waiting for the S&P 500 to confirm the change in the trend.The bottom line?New lows are likely to complete the GDX ETF’s bearish H&S pattern and set the stage for an even larger medium-term decline. And if the projection proves prescient, medium-term support (or perhaps even the long-term one) will likely emerge at roughly $21.But why ~$21?The target aligns perfectly with the signals from the GDX ETF’s 2020 rising wedge pattern. You can see it in the left part of the above chart. The size of the move that follows a breakout or breakdown from the pattern (breakdown in this case) is likely to be equal (or greater than) the height of the wedge. That’s what the red dashed line marks.The target is also confirmed when applying the Fibonacci extension technique. To explain, if we take the magnitude of the GDX ETF’s recent peak-to-trough decline and extrapolate it by multiplying it by the Fibonacci sequence, the output results in a target adjacent to $21. I used the Fibonacci retracement tool to show that in the above chart. Interestingly, the same technique was useful in 2020 in order to time the March bottom.The broad head-and-shoulders pattern with the horizontal neckline at about $31 points to the $21 level as the likely target.Likewise, when analyzing the situation through the lens of the GDXJ ETF, the junior miners are eliciting the same bearish signals. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that despite the recent strength, the GDXJ ETF is still trading below its medium-term rising support line (the thick black line below). More importantly, though, with the junior miners failing to reclaim this key level, their bearish H&S pattern remains intact.Even more ominous, the GDXJ ETF remains a significant underperformer of the GDX ETF. Despite sanguine sentiment and a strong stock market creating the perfect backdrop for the junior miners, the GDXJ ETF has failed to live up to the hype.To explain, I wrote previously:GDXJ is underperforming GDX just as I’ve been expecting it to. Once one realizes that GDXJ is more correlated with the general stock market than GDX is, GDXJ should be showing strength here, and it isn’t. If stocks don’t decline, GDXJ is likely to underperform by just a bit, but when (not if) stocks slide, GDXJ is likely to plunge visibly more than GDX.Expanding on that point, the GDXJ/GDX ratio has been declining since the beginning of the year, which is remarkable because the general stock market hasn’t plunged yet. However, once the general stock market suffers a material decline, the GDXJ ETF’s underperformance will likely be heard loud and clear.Please see below:So, how low could the GDXJ ETF go?Well, absent an equity rout, the juniors could form an interim bottom in the $34 to $36 range. Conversely, if stocks show strength, juniors could form the interim bottom higher, close to the $42.5 level. For context, the above-mentioned ranges coincide with the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement levels and the GDXJ ETF’s previous highs (including the late-March/early-April high in case of the lower target area). Thus, the S&P 500 will likely need to roll over for the weakness to persist beyond these levels.Moreover, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio has recorded a major, confirmed breakdown. And with the ratio nowhere near recapturing its former glory, it’s another sign that a storm is brewing. Moreover, after moving back and forth for the last few months, not only has the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio broken below its rising support line (the upward sloping black line below), but the ratio has also broken below the neckline of its roughly 12-month H&S pattern (the dotted red line below). As a result, given the distance from the head to the neckline, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio is on a collision course back to (at least) 0.050.Please see below:When the ratio presented on the above chart above is rising, it means that the HUI Index is outperforming the S&P 500. When the line above is falling, it means that the S&P 500 is outperforming the HUI Index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the ratio has broken below its rising support line. For context, the last time a breakdown of this magnitude occurred, the ratio plunged from late-2017 to late-2018. Thus, the development is profoundly bearish.Playing out as I expected, a sharp move lower was followed by a corrective upswing back to the now confirmed breakdown level (which is now resistance). Mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in early 2018, after breaking below its rising support line, the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio rallied back to the initial breakdown level (which then became resistance) before suffering a sharp decline. And with two-thirds of the analogue already complete, the current move lower still has plenty of room to run. Likewise, the early-2018 top in the HUI Index/S&P 500 ratio is precisely when the USD Index began its massive upswing. Thus, with history likely to rhyme, the greenback could spoil the miners’ party once again.In addition, the HUI to S&P 500 ratio broke below the neck level (red, dashed line) of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern, and it verified this breakdown by moving temporarily back to it. The target for the ratio based on this formation is at about 0.05 (slightly above it). Consequently, if the S&P 500 doesn’t decline, the ratio at 0.05 would imply the HUI Index at about 196. However, if the S&P 500 declined to about 3,200 or so (its late-2020 lows) and the ratio moved to about 0.05, it would imply the HUI Index at about 160 – very close to its 2020 lows.All in all, the implications of mining stocks’ relative performance to gold and the general stock market are currently bearish.But if we’re headed for a GDX ETF cliff, how far could we fall?Well, there are three reasons why the GDX ETF might form an interim bottom at roughly ~$27.50 (assuming no big decline in the general stock market ):The GDX ETF previously bottomed at the 38.2% and 50.0% Fibonacci retracement levels. And with the 61.8% level next in line, the GDX ETF is likely to garner similar support.The GDX ETFs late-March 2020 high should also elicit buying pressure.If we copy the magnitude of the late-February/early-March decline and add it to the early-March bottom, it corresponds with the GDX ETF bottoming at roughly $27.50.Keep in mind though: if the stock market plunges, all bets are off. Why so? Well, because when the S&P 500 plunged in March 2020, the GDX ETF moved from $29.67 to below $17 in less than two weeks. As a result, U.S. equities have the potential to make the miners’ forthcoming swoon all the more painful.In conclusion, with gold, silver and mining stocks staying at the same springtime resort, their departure from reality implies plenty of jet lag at the end of their trip. And with the clock ticking, passengers boarding and their flight nearing takeoff, a return to real life is just around the corner. Moreover, with the USD Index long overdue for some R & R, a reversal of fortunes could leave the precious metals suffering severe envy. Thus, while gold, silver and mining stocks have enjoyed nothing but sun, sand and surf over the last few weeks, the pile of work that awaits them will likely keep them swamped over the medium term.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Sees Limited Upside

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.05.2021 07:58
USDCHF faces strong resistanceThe US dollar struggled to bounce back after the US labor market showed inconsistencies. Despite a week-long consolidation above 0.9075, the bearish momentum was a reminder that sellers are still in charge of the price action.The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold territory may prompt short-term traders to take some chips off the table triggering a limited rebound.0.9100 is a tough resistance where trend-followers could be on standby. A failure to break out would lead to renewed pressure towards 0.8940.AUDUSD rallies towards February’s highThe Australian dollar has found solid support from rallies in commodity prices. The pair saw strong momentum after it cleared the triple top at 0.7810.From the daily chart’s perspective, a bullish close above the supply zone around 0.7850 could confirm the bullish MA and resume the uptrend from March 2020.The previous high at 0.8010 would be the next target. 0.7835 near the 30-hour moving average struggles as a support, which means that 0.7760 is the second line of defense in case of a deeper correction.XAGUSD hovers under major resistanceBullions prices grind higher as the US dollar remains under pressure. The recovery accelerated after silver broke above the daily resistance at 26.60.28.30 is a major hurdle ahead and a bullish breakout could extend the rally towards 30. Though an overbought RSI would suggest a potential retreat to attract more buying interest.The resistance-turned-support 27.10 is the first level to monitor. Further down, the demand zone between 26.15 and 26.56 is key in keeping the upward bias intact
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The social value of Bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 11.05.2021 10:14
Immediately you are an outcast from grocery store reward cards and retail loyalty programs. Add those 10-20% increased costs on your food and goods bills in addition to ramped inflation prices, and you are underwater quickly. We have outlived antiquary systems of antisocial payment systems. As such, we see Bitcoin prices further rising based on the apparent fundamental data and a world demanding a more social and more modern way of self-expression and doing business.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, No bear claw yet:Bitcoin in US Dollar, monthly chart as of May 10th, 2021.It is not only crucial in fundamental data and the underlying story of a market to try to keep it simple but in technical analysis as well. Without clarity in the bigger picture, one shouldn’t attempt to trade smaller time frames. A look at the monthly chart of Bitcoin above reveals its strength within its uptrend.Breaking its range in October last year, a steep uptrend followed. In February this year, Bitcoin seemed running out of steam rejecting prices above US$58,000 only to see another run-up in March. The Doji candlestick formation in April finally gave the trend a pause. Classified as in indecision bar, it still showed some strength, with the lower wick part being, the longer one.The astounding aspect is that we have not seen yet in May the bears to seem to get a strong foot into the door. There has been only a brief dip so far. While the month is still young, for now the bullish indications outweigh a bearish consensus.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Another angle confirms:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of May 10th, 2021.Now zooming into the weekly time frame, the market shows no difference. With these extension levels, it is atypical that we see this length of a sideways breather in opposition to a stronger fade of prices and a more bearish dominance.Strong resistance zones are always ideal for some partial profit-taking (red box), and as such, we advocate our quad exit strategy. We wouldn’t take all chips off the table here, though. And we wouldn’t short a bull this strong either.Noteworthy here is the significant price level of US$55,510. Prices closing above or below this price level will determine if we are heading sideways or temporarily further down. BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, The social value of Bitcoin:Bitcoin in US Dollar, weekly chart as of May 10th, 2021. bAnother weekly view unearths more signals of strength:Swiftness and size of the recovery from the temporary dip (red and green line). The Bounce made it back above the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement levels and prices are still trading between 0.5 and o.618.Holding extended levels of the standard deviation of considerable time (dotted lines with the mean near US$31,900)Prices trading within a significant support of a supply zone based on volume transaction analysis (yellow box)We are not saying that a breakout to new all-time highs is imminent. Prices most likely decline from here. We are saying that Bitcoin’s typical normal trading behavior expected strong fade has not matured in its expected time frame. There is inherent strength within the Bitcoin market that make price declines attractive buying opportunities and a continuous sideways movement a warning signal for possible higher trading levels to come within the summer.The social value of Bitcoin:Money is a means to express yourself. Most like cash because it is anonymous, instant, and a practical way to fulfill our wishes and needs. Is it really? Or are we living in a more modern world of electric vehicles and renewable energies? It isn’t entirely untraceable due to its serial numbers, and it is expensive. Cash handling is cumbersome, and any larger business has massive backdoor operations that are a security threat and labor-intensive. It is impractical for long-distance and just old-fashioned, so the planet needs resource-oriented efficient operations in all forms.Bitcoin isn’t just of social value, but it fits its times. It expands the freedom of individual expression, and it is planet-friendly with a low imprint. It is the future.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 11th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Tesla is at local dips. Time to buy?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 11.05.2021 13:09
This article describes how Tesla is positioned now on the stock market, what headwinds and tailwinds it has, and what analysts forecast.US-China tensionsJoe Biden has left 25% tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles imposed by Donald Trump. As a result, Elon Musk’s plans to expand its Shanghai plant and make it a global export hub have been ruined. It’s not beneficial for Tesla, that’s why the company now is likely to decrease the proportion of China's output in its global production. What happens in China, stays in China There were disputes over how Tesla handles consumer data and whether it can violate the national safety rules. As a result, Tesla agreed to build a data center in Shanghai by the end of June and store the data gathered by Tesla’s cars locally.Tesla’s sales in China growTesla's sales in China have been rising even despite the regulatory pressure from the Chinese government. The company has generated $3 billion in revenue in China in the first quarter of 2021, it’s three times more than a year ago and accounts for 30% of total Tesla’s revenue.Competition is getting hotterHowever, Tesla is not the only electric vehicle producer in China. It’s competing with Nio, which is quite popular in China. Besides, electric-vehicle competition is growing around the globe: Lucid Motors, Ford, and Volkswagen. Chip shortageThere is a chip shortage around the world, and it creates some significant problems for electric-vehicle producers and Tesla as well. However, it cannot be viewed as a negative factor only for Tesla, it’s a challenge for the whole EV industry and also other sectors dependent on chips. Besides, it will only be a temporary setback.Buy or not to buy?It’s a tricky question as some analysts believe that Tesla has more room to fall further, while at the same time others forecast Tesla to skyrocket. For example, Wedbush's Dan Ives expects Tesla to reach $1000! Isn’t it too optimistic, what do you think?As you may have noticed, there are more headwinds than tailwinds for now, but Tesla tends to rise no matter what. So when such a company as Tesla is at the local dips, it’s likely to attract buyers as it has many investors that believe in the company and it’s still the #1 electric vehicle producer. Let’s look at what the charts will tell us!Tech analysisTesla has dropped out of the ascending channel. It’s approaching the psychological mark of $600.00. Since the RSI indicator is not yet below the 30.00 level, the stock may drop to this support level. However, the falling should stop at that point as the stock is already below the lower line of Bollinger Bands and the 200-day moving average just below $600 will be a strong barrier. When it reverses up, it may meet resistance levels at the 50-day moving average of $680.00 and late-April highs of $750.00. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
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Bulls Getting Caught in the Whirlwind

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.05.2021 15:49
Seemingly uneventful and tight range day in S&P 500 gave way to extraordinary selling once the 4,220 intraday support broke – extraordinary by recent standards. The bulls obviously have quite some damage to repair before thinking about taking on new highs. Prices have moved back into the prolonged consolidation, in what isn‘t a true breakdown though yet. Neither the smallcaps, nor the emerging markets, let alone S&P 500 fell on sharply rising volume, which speaks in favor of a bad day, chiefly driven by tech (yes, I‘m looking at you, $NYFANG) and weak credit markets. Look at market breadth – new highs new lows stunningly rose yesterday in spite of the 500-strong index losing quite a few dozen points.Classic risk off positioning, if only the defensives as a group did a lot better – but it could have been worse had commodities joined in the melee. They didn‘t, and they are thus the dog that didn‘t bark, detracting credibility from yesterday‘s stock market plunge (unless they catch up next, that is).Both copper and lumber reversed, but won‘t this turn out as another buying opportunity, especially in copper? Little has changed in the reflationary and reopening trades – financials managed to shake off the rising yields easily yesterday. True, VIX and put/call ratio aren‘t painting a picture of calmness, but especially the option traders are positioned a bit too bearishly at the moment. Again, it‘s a question of how long before the tech bottom hunters step in. Make no mistake though, growth is going to keep lagging behind value.Gold, silver and miners are in a vulnerable position even though neither the technical nor fundamental reasons behind their rally changed. The rising yields are a testament of rotation out of stocks into bonds not having worked yesterday, and should commodities such as copper get hurt again, precious metals would land in hot water likely. Thus far though, no sign thereof – the momentum remains with the bulls overall, and higher time frames confirm that.Miners are not flashing outrageous underperformance, merely a modest daily one – the short-term fate of the precious metals upleg will be determined by long-dated Treasuries, copper and should the dollar (or USD/JPY) move, then through the contribution of fiat currencies. Even a brief comparison of the USD Index and the dollar-yen pair reveals though that risk-on is the prevailing move of 2021.Crude oil was less hurt by all the selling yesterday, but should it break below $64 on a closing basis, $62 could very easily come next. The daily indicators have weakened, and the bulls don‘t appear ready to break above $66 next.Cryptos are also in a wait and see mode, yet with noticeably less bearish undertones than black gold. Bitcoin remains choppy around its flat 50-day moving average, and should better return trading above it – no prodding by Ethereum though helps. The bulls are still taking a short-term break.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 suffered a sizable daily setback, and the recent consolidation‘s lows are likely to have to be defended next. Deceleration of the daily declines accompanied by a lower knot ideally would be the first sign that I would be looking for – alongside a positive turn in the credit markets.Credit MarketsCorporate bonds showed no strength relative to long-dated Treasuries, and that doesn‘t bode well for today‘s session. High yield corporate bonds have though still been performing better in April than the two instruments represented by black lines on the above chart, which attests to risk-on being still the environment we‘re in.Technology and ValueTechnology gave up all the gains since Thursday, and $NYFANG broke below its rising blue support line, and the deterioration among the heavyweights continues. Besides tech, $TSLA illustrates that eloquently just like $ARKK. The rotation out of the behemoths is weighing down the index – this is the area where bleeding needs to stop.VolatilityThe VIX open within the body of Friday‘s candle (harami position) didn‘t bode well, and volatility having closed significantly above Friday‘s open, attests to the strength of yesterday‘s move. This spike doesn‘t appear as over yet.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners are in a vulnerable position, and consolidation of recent sharp gains would be healthy and desired. The volume in both gold and silver shows the sellers don‘t have enough conviction, and pullbacks remain buying opportunities regardless of the threatening nominal yields move (inflation expectations made a similarly sharp uptick yesterday).The weekly chart shows how little has changed, how minuscule power has been sapped yesterday. The upleg across the precious metals remains alive and well as we aren‘t crashing into a deflation.BitcoinBitcoin reverted back below the 50-day moving average, and neither Ethereum is crashing. The technical outlook is though turning neutral, and the bulls will have to prove themselves. Until prices return back above the blue moving average, Bitcoin remains short-term vulnerable.SummaryS&P 500 got under selling pressure that is showing no signs of abating, yet the weakness remains concentrated in quite a few tech names. Besides these, credit markets aren‘t doing fine either.Gold, silver and miners continue being resilient, and the coming correction would likely be a shallow one. Increasing nominal yields are countered by rising inflation expectations and copper prices, helping to keep the metals out of harm‘s way.Crude oil bulls will have to step up to the plate, and defend the unfolding upsing that‘s threating to crash below the recent lows.Bitcoin is getting sold off today as well, and the bullish to neutral short-term outlook of yesterday, is turning to a neutral one as a minimum.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Jumps above $1,800. What’s Next?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.05.2021 16:54
Gold jumped above $1,800, and it’s the disappointing jobs data that added fuel to the fire.The gold market is a funny place. On Thursday (May 6), I complained that the yellow metal couldn’t surpass $1,800:The price of gold has been trading sideways recently as it couldn’t break out of the $1,700-$1,800 price range. This inability can be frustrating, but the inflationary pressure could help the yellow metal to free itself from the shackles.And voilà, just later that day, the price of gold finally jumped above $1,800, as the chart below shows. Hey, maybe I have to complain about gold more often?But jokes aside. The move is a big deal, as gold has finally broken above the key resistance level. What’s important here is that the breakthrough wasn’t caused by some negative geopolitical or economic shock, but rather by fundamental and sentiment factors.So, what happened? First, there is a weakness in the US dollar . With global economic recovery progressing, the safe-haven appeal of the greenback is simply vanishing. Another issue here is – and I pointed this out in the Fundamental Gold Report dedicated to the latest ECB’s meeting – that the pandemic in the Eurozone has reached its peak. So, the worst is already behind the euro area, and it can catch up with the US now, supporting the euro and gold against the dollar.Second, the bond yields have been heading lower recently . As one can see in the chart below, the real interest rates have corrected significantly since their peak in March. In early May, the 10-year TIPS yields slid further, returning to almost -0.90 percent.What is noteworthy here, the real interest rates declined more than the nominal interest rates. It resulted from the increase in the expected inflation. Indeed, as the chart below shows, the 10-year breakeven inflation rate jumped in early May . As a reminder, I wrote on Thursday that “the inflationary pressure could help the yellow metal to free itself from the shackles” and this is exactly what happened.Implications for GoldWhat does gold’s jump above $1,800 imply for its future? Well, the crossing of an important obstacle is always a positive development. The decline in the interest rates, coupled with the weakness in the US dollar, means that the markets are convinced that the Fed would remain very dovish, even despite the rising inflation .Other positive news for the gold market is April’s nonfarm payrolls that came in below the forecasts. The US economy added only 266,000 jobs last month (see the chart below), although many analysts and even the FOMC members expected a nearly 1 million increase in employment. Such a disappointment made traders slash the bets on the pace of the Fed’s monetary tightening. A softer expected path of the federal funds rate is a fundamentally positive factor for gold.In other words, the weak employment report relieves a lot of the pressure put on the Fed to tighten its monetary policy. So, the US central bank will continue to provide monetary support, despite all the progress observed in the economy, and that easy stance will stay with us for longer than previously expected. In that sense, April’s disappointing jobs data may be a game-changer for gold, and it could add fuel to the recent rally that started on Thursday.Of course, one weak employment number doesn’t erase the impressive economic recovery. Moreover, I would like to see that gold hold the recent gains through the coming days before organizing a party for the gold bulls. However, it seems that I was right in saying that the second quarter would be much better than the first one. Gold is indeed gaining momentum! And, what’s really important, the yellow metal started to rise amid a strong economic recovery – it implies that we can be observing important, bullish shifts in the market sentiment towards gold.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – NASDAQ Tests Bulls’ Commitment

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.05.2021 08:39
NAS 100 heads towards important support The tech index retreats as investors continue to rotate out of growth-sensitive stocks. A dead cat bounce to 13800 has met stiff selling pressure, turning the former support into a resistance. The nosedive below the temporary support level at 13400 is an indication that the short side has gained the upper hand. 12880 is a critical support from the daily chart as a bearish breakout could initiate a reversal in the medium term. On the upside, the index may see a limited rebound while the RSI recovers into the neutrality area. EURUSD tests major resistance The US dollar consolidates as traders await inflation data later today. The price is currently hovering under the daily supply zone around 1.2200. A breakout would confirm the bullish MA and put the euro back on track towards 1.24. However, the pair could be vulnerable to the downside as an overbought RSI indicates overextension. 1.2055 is the immediate support should there be a lack of momentum buyers. Further down, 1.1990 near the 30-day moving average is a critical level to keep short-term sentiment upbeat. GBPAUD breaks above double top The Australian dollar softens as commodity prices pull back. The pair has been grinding up steadily from its support base at 1.7780. The latest breakout above 1.8060 has shifted the action to the upside after two previous failed attempts. 1.8200, a major resistance level on the daily chart would be the next on the list. Its breach could reverse the pound’s misfortune and turn the thirteen-month-long downtrend around. In the meantime, a retracement on the back of an overbought RSI may meet buying interest around 1.8000.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – NASDAQ Tests Bulls’ Commitment - 12.05.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.05.2021 08:41
NAS 100 heads towards important supportThe tech index retreats as investors continue to rotate out of growth-sensitive stocks. A dead cat bounce to 13800 has met stiff selling pressure, turning the former support into a resistance.The nosedive below the temporary support level at 13400 is an indication that the short side has gained the upper hand.12880 is a critical support from the daily chart as a bearish breakout could initiate a reversal in the medium term.On the upside, the index may see a limited rebound while the RSI recovers into the neutrality area.EURUSD tests major resistanceThe US dollar consolidates as traders await inflation data later today.The price is currently hovering under the daily supply zone around 1.2200. A breakout would confirm the bullish MA and put the euro back on track towards 1.24.However, the pair could be vulnerable to the downside as an overbought RSI indicates overextension. 1.2055 is the immediate support should there be a lack of momentum buyers.Further down, 1.1990 near the 30-day moving average is a critical level to keep short-term sentiment upbeat.GBPAUD breaks above double topThe Australian dollar softens as commodity prices pull back. The pair has been grinding up steadily from its support base at 1.7780.The latest breakout above 1.8060 has shifted the action to the upside after two previous failed attempts.1.8200, a major resistance level on the daily chart would be the next on the list. Its breach could reverse the pound’s misfortune and turn the thirteen-month-long downtrend around.In the meantime, a retracement on the back of an overbought RSI may meet buying interest around 1.8000.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Bulls Coming to Terms with Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.05.2021 15:43
Bulls had to fight hard to recover from intraday downside, and hadn‘t managed to close the menacing gap at the open. The VIX gap remained unchallenged too, but the volatility metric soundly retreated from its daily highs, and not even the option traders did add to their bearish bets. The tide seems to be in the early stages of turning as technology caught a solid bid and the behemoths didn‘t disappoint on a daily basis. Growth not lagging as badly is essential to the 500-strong index, but look for it to keep underperforming value.While a lot more needs to be done, the strongest sign of bullish resolve has come from the Russell 2000 and emerging markets. Both welcomed the continuing dollar woes, and faced off with the rising rates that would ultimately cut into their profitability – much further down the road. Let‘s put my yesterday‘s words into perspective:(…) Neither the smallcaps, nor the emerging markets, let alone S&P 500 fell on sharply rising volume, which speaks in favor of a bad day, chiefly driven by tech (yes, I‘m looking at you, $NYFANG) and weak credit markets. Look at market breadth – new highs new lows stunningly rose yesterday in spite of the 500-strong index losing quite a few dozen points.Classic risk off positioning, if only the defensives as a group did a lot better – but it could have been worse had commodities joined in the melee. They didn‘t, and they are thus the dog that didn‘t bark, detracting credibility from yesterday‘s stock market plunge (unless they catch up next, that is).The key points are improving corporate credit markets and commodities rejecting more downside (with the exception of lumber). Copper still keeps doing great, confirming my assessment that this would turn out as another buying opportunity. Gold, silver and miners stood the test, and remain consolidating at the high ground gained. Real rates turning more negative are their powerful ally, which explains why the rising nominal yields haven‘t exerted lasting selling pressure. Miners are by no means lagging behind, and silver isn‘t getting as overheated so as to put the precious metals upleg into danger, and neither are the USD/JPY move consequences (still positive on a daily basis). The sizable open gold profits will continue growing in all likelihood.Overall, we seem to be having a risk-off move in stocks not spilling over to commodities, precious metals or cryptos, all driven by the growing inflation threat – the market is getting attentive again. How long before it forces the Fed to talk, act and not play ostrich? The evidence isn‘t strong thus far, but there is a lot of time left till the Jun Fed meeting. Needless to say, bold moves would crater risk-on assets, which is why I‘m not expecting any real action yet with the 10-year yield at 1.64% only. CPI may force them as much as it wants today, but that won‘t do the trick as I just tweeted..Crude oil remains underpinned in the very short run by the Middle East tensions and the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, making for a positive technical outlook and rising open oil profits.Among cryptos, Ethereum keeps doing fine without any meaningful pullback or deceleration, but Bitcoin remains choppy around its flat 50-day moving average. The rising support line connecting its Apr and May lows better hold as the risk of extending losses should prices break below $56,300 roughly, is very real and would coincide with e.g. Ethereum taking a breather.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookNo daily volume indicative of a true reversal, and market breadth indicators turning deeply negative – such are the consequences of value stocks participating in yesterday‘s selloff. Repeating yesterday‘s notes, deceleration of the daily declines accompanied by a lower knot ideally would be the first sign that I would be looking for – alongside a positive turn in the credit markets. And we‘re near to getting both.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds made at least some attempt to close the bearish daily gap, and the volume doesn‘t say it was a desperate attempt. Contrast that with the quality debt instruments, and you see risk-on seeking to return.Technology and ValueTechnology bleeding stopped yesterday, yet didn‘t bring about a broader rally. We‘re still waiting for both growth and value to pull in the same direction – for that though, the market has to cope with the inflation fears first though.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners keep aligned in a strong position after yesterday‘s downswing was rejected, and it is precisely the 10-year yield lagging woefully behind the inflation expectations this week why the rising nominal yields aren‘t a credible threat.Silver daily outperformance isn‘t too worrying, not even should it be fully retraced next – the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio keeps moving in support of the precious metals upleg. We aren‘t crashing into a deflation – the markets are once again facing the high inflation reality.Crude OilCrude oil bullish consolidation is in its latter stages as the the rising volume heralds. Look for the uptrend to reassert itself next.SummaryS&P 500 recovered from heavy intraday selling pressure, and both tech and credit markets appear to be turning. Once the market comes to terms with the rising inflation and stops worrying about a Fed response this early, stocks would take on the recent highs once again. And that includes Nasdaq as the $NDX outlook has flipped bullish throughout yesterday‘s recovery (I hope the bulls were taking advantage – it‘s not too late to do so now).Gold, silver and miners keep chugging along, and the sound rejection of lower values bodes well for the short-term. The only question remains how much basebuilding do we have still ahead before the next upswing, amply supported by the negative real rates.Crude oil bulls look to have no more waiting in front, and amid the headlines arriving, I look for black gold to close solidly above $66 before the week is over.Bitcoin is still hesitating while Ethereum runs, presenting a potential vulnerability in its mostly neutral to bullish short-term outlook. I specifically don‘t like the upside rejection of today, thus striking a cautious tone.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold: Lose a Battle to Win the War

Gold: Lose a Battle to Win the War

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.05.2021 16:00
Gold scored some victories over the past days, but it’s playing a risky game. One misstep and the yellow metal might lose the war.Sometimes, a good strategist needs to give up a few battles to eventually win the war. Or, at least, convince their enemy that they’re defeated while preparing a counterattack. Just the same, a chess player may need to sacrifice a piece in order to checkmate a king. Sun Tzu has spoken, and the Art of War translates well here.In the world of trading, the same rules often apply. A good investor needs to give up a few unfavorable days to eventually score a final victory. Again, controlling one’s emotions and adhering to patience are key. These principles are important when waiting out gold’s temporary upswings in a medium-term downswing, and also when waiting for gold’s eventual ascent. Don’t let short-term intraday moves cloud your vision.Yesterday (May 11), I wrote that the rally in gold and stocks might have just burnt itself out, and the markets didn’t wait long to agree with me.Is it 100% certain that the top is in? Absolutely not, as there are no certainties in any market, and sound position management should be utilized at all times. But based on what happened yesterday, and what we saw in today’s pre-market trading, the odds that the corrective top is already in have greatly increased.Let’s take a look at the charts for details, starting with the stock market .The Influence of the Stock MarketThe markets are self-similar (which is another way of saying that they have a fractal nature), which generally means that while the history tends to rhyme, it also tends to rhyme in similar shapes of alike or various sizes.For example, the rally from 2018–2020 seems very similar to the rally from 2020 to the present.Both rallies started after a sharp decline, and the first notable correction took the form of back-and-forth trading around the previous high. I marked those situations with green rectangles.Then the rally continued with relatively small week-to-week volatility. I created rising support lines based on the final low of the broad short-term consolidation and the first notable short-term bottom.This line was broken, and some back-and-forth trading followed, but it was only about half of the previous correction in terms of price and time.Then, we saw a sharp rally that then leveled off. And that was the top . The thing that confirmed the top was the visible breakdown below the rising support line right after stocks invalidated a tiny breakout to new highs. That’s what happened in February 2020, and that’s what happened this month.Combining this with the recent underperformance of the NASDAQ (the previous leader which just moved to new monthly lows) suggests that this might have indeed been the top.“But why didn’t the mining stocks or silver end yesterday’s session higher given the above, and the fact that stocks declined yesterday? Any tips on that?”I see two likely reasons.One is that the stock market reversed before the end of the day, so many investors and traders might have thought that the correction was already over, and they were eager to jump back into the market. This would explain why mining stocks (and GameStop) ended yesterday’s session higher.The second reason is that miners don’t necessarily slide right after the top. Sometimes, they tend to move back and forth, testing the previous high (on lower volume).That’s what happened in early January 2021, and that’s what happened yesterday. Did it change anything with regard to the bearish implications of the current situation? Not at all. Besides, the most bearish thing about gold stocks is visible on the long-term HUI Index chart.The HUI IndexWhile corrective short-term upswings within a medium-term downtrend can feel discouraging, it’s important to remember that similar instances occurred in 2008 and 2012. And to some extent also in early 2000.The head and shoulders patterns from 2007 – 2008 and from 2009 – 2012 had the final tops – the right shoulders – very close to the price where the left shoulders topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02.This week’s intraday high in the HUI Index was 307.56, and yesterday’s closing price (the highest closing price we saw recently) was 302.92. That’s one-tenth of an index point away from the left shoulder’s top; if the HUI slides from here – which seems likely – we’ll have a near-perfectly symmetrical H&S pattern with very bearish implications for the following weeks and months.I previously wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move to about 300 in the HUI Index”. And that’s exactly what we saw. To clarify, one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a rising neckline – was already completed, and one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a horizontal neckline – is being completed, but we’ll have the confirmation once miners break to new yearly lows.Consequently, the recent rally is not a game-changer, but rather a part of a long-term pattern that’s not visible when one focuses on the short term only.Let’s get back to the broader tops for a while.Gold, Its Battles and the WarIn August 2020 – at the top – gold’s peak was forming over approximately 4 trading days, and it plunged on the fifth day.At the beginning of this year – at the yearly top – gold was peaking for 2-4 trading days (depending on how one treats the initial daily decline that was then followed by a small corrective upswing) and it plunged on the fifth day.Today is the fourth day of what is likely to become a topping pattern (we will know for sure only after gold slides). Consequently, the fact that gold didn’t slide profoundly yesterday (except for the intraday decline) is not odd at all. Conversely, it’s in tune with the previous topping patterns.Moreover, please note that since gold is repeating (to some extent) its 2011-2013 performance (actually, more of an average of gold’s trading performances from the above period and from 2008), it’s particularly normal for it to form a broader top here.I previously wrote that the situation is similar to 2008 in a way and to 2012-2013 in a slightly different way. When I’m looking at it now, it’s quite normal that the gold market is mixing both previous performances. But it’s always easy to see things with the benefit of hindsight.In 2008, before the final slide, we had clearly lower lows as well as lower highs. During the 2012-2013 consolidation we had a more or less horizontal pattern that was then followed by the final slide. Right now, we have something in between – we have lower highs and lower lows, but it’s not as clear as it was in 2008.Back in 2008, it took gold 29 weeks to move from the initial (March 2008) top to the final (October 2008) top.Back in 2011-2013, it took gold 55 weeks to move from the initial (September 2011) top to the final (October 2013) top.The arithmetic average of the above is 42 weeks, and last week was the 39 th week after the August 2020 top. If gold stops here or shortly, it will be almost right in the middle of the similarity between both periods.Consequently, the way gold and mining stocks are performing now is perfectly normal for a medium-term decline – it’s not a game-changer. The medium-term forecast for gold remains bearish.What’s Going on With the Euro?Let’s get back to the issue of head and shoulders patterns – this time in the context of the currency markets.What one might not notice at first sight, but what is very important, the USD Index just invalidated a small breakdown below the head-and-shoulders pattern, and it rallied back above its neckline. This is a classic buy sign and a sign that the breakdown below the rising support line will be invalidated shortly.There’s also a potential head and shoulders pattern present in the euro.The European currency moved to the line that’s parallel to the rising neck level of the potential head and shoulders pattern. If it now declines and moves to new yearly lows, the situation will be extremely bearish – what is more, not only for the euro but also for the precious metals market, which tends to move in tune with the dollar competitor.As far as silver is concerned, there’s not much new to report – my forecast for silver hasn’t become more bullish recently. The white metal continues to repeat its 2019-2020 performance, and it’s after a short-term period of outperformance relative to gold, which indicates major tops. Unlike gold or mining stocks, silver recently moved to its early-2021 high.Interestingly, please note that silver is repeating more or less the same pattern from the past that the general stock market does. And we all know what happened to silver (and mining stocks) when the general stock market plunged in March 2020.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – US Dollar Bounces Off Key Levels

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.05.2021 08:12
USDJPY rebounds from Fibonacci levelThe US dollar jumped after April’s CPI rose 3% YoY nearly doubling markets’ expectations.The greenback has found solid support after a double-dip at the 61.8% (108.30) Fibonacci retracement level.The bullish momentum above 109.20 indicates buyers’ commitment to pushing beyond the recent consolidation range. A close above 109.70 could open the path towards 110.50.With the RSI in the overbought area, profit-taking may briefly drive the price south, 108.65 is the closest support in case of a pullback.GBPUSD reaches supply zoneSterling retreats as the greenback rallies across the board on upbeat inflation. The pair has met stiff selling pressure at the supply zone (1.4200) on the daily chart.A combination of profit-taking and surging interest for the US dollar could trigger a deep correction. An RSI divergence suggests a loss in the upward momentum, and when this happens in the proximity of a major resistance may foreshadow a reversal.1.4010 then 1.3890 are the next support levels if buyers start to dump their stakes.USOIL rises towards March’s highWTI crude climbed after the International Energy Agency said demand would outpace supply.The price action has kept its bullish bias after it bounced back from the demand zone around 64.00 which lies on the 20-day moving average. A close above the previous peak at 66.60 would prompt more buyers to join the rally.Last March’s high at 67.90 would be the next target and its clearance may send the price towards 70s. On the downside, the previous resistance at 64.90 has turned into a support.
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Caution, the crypto sector is getting a bit overheated in the short-term

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 13.05.2021 12:41
It’s been a massive rally over the last 15 months in the crypto sector since bitcoin bottom at US$3,800 on March 13th, 2020. reaching price at around US$65,000 bitcoin saw a price explosion of more than 1,600%! Now however the sector seems ripe for some form of a healthy pullback and a breather. Bitcoin – Caution, the crypto sector is getting a bit overheated in the short-term!ReviewBitcoin year to date, Daily Chart as of May 10th, 2021. Source: TradingviewSince the beginning of the year, the price of Bitcoin has increased by almost 100%. Thus, the outperformance of Bitcoin compared to almost all other asset classes continued mercilessly. It seems as if bitcoin, or rather the crypto sector, wants to suck up everything like a black hole.Bitcoin´s waning momentum is a warning signalHowever, the Bitcoin markets have also been witnessing an increasingly waning momentum since late February. In particular, the pace of the rise had slowed down more and more since prices pushed above US$60,000 in March for the first time. Although another new all-time high was reached on April 14th at around US$65,000, the bulls are showing more and more signs of fatigue after the spectacular rally. Interestingly enough, this last new all-time high coincided exactly with the stock market debut of Coinbase.Only a few days later, a significant price slide down to just under US$50,000 happened, which was caused by a huge wave of liquidations. According to data provider Bybt, traders lost a total of more than US$10.1 billion that Sunday through liquidations forced by crypto exchanges. More than 90% of the funds liquidated that day came from bullish bets on Bitcoin or other digital currencies. In this regard, the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance was at the center of the earthquake with liquidation worth nearly US$5 billion. As the price of bitcoin fell, many of these bets were automatically liquidated, putting further pressure on the price and leading to a vicious cycle of further liquidations. Many (especially inexperienced) crypto traders were wiped out without warning.Year to date gains sorted by market-cap. Source Messari, May 10th 2021.After a quick recovery back to US$56,000, bitcoin continued its correction and fell back to US$47,000 by April 25. Since then, it has managed a remarkable recovery, as the bitcoin bulls are trying hard to restart the uptrend. So far, this recovery has at least reached a high of US$59,600. Nevertheless, the price development of bitcoin remains rather tough until recently, while numerous altcoins and so called “shitcoins” experienced incredible price explosions in recent weeks.The exciting question now is whether the current recovery remains just a countermove within a larger correction or whether the turnaround has already been seen and Bitcoin is therefore on the way to new all-time highs?Technical Analysis For Bitcoin in US-DollarBitcoin, Weekly Chart as of May 13th, 2021. Source: Tradingview.On the weekly chart, bitcoin has been stuck at the broad resistance zone between US$58,000 and US$65,000 for the past two and a half months. At the same time, the bulls continue trying to break out of the uptrend channel which is in place since 14 months. However, the recent pullback has so far only begun to clear the overbought situation, if at all. A somewhat larger pullback or simply the continuation of the consolidation would certainly do the market good. On the downside, the support zone between US$41,000 and US$45,000 remains the predestined support zone in case the bears should actually show some more penetration. If, on the other hand, price rise above approx. US$61,000, the chances for a direct continuation to new all-time highs increases quite a lot.Weekly Chart with a fresh sell signalOverall, the big picture remains bullish and higher bitcoin prices remain very likely in the medium to longer term. However, since reaching US$ 58,000 for the first time at the end of February, bitcoin has been increasingly weakening in recent weeks. Another healthy pullback towards the support zone of US$41,000 to US$45,000 USD could recharge the bull´s batteries. With fresh powers a breakout to new all-time highs in the summer is likely. Obviously, a good buying opportunity cannot be derived from the weekly chart at the moment. Rather, the stochastic sell signal calls for patience and caution.Bitcoin, Daily Chart as of May 13th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, bitcoin slipped out of a bearish wedge on April 14th and has been attempting a countermovement since the low at just under US$47,000. However, this recovery is somewhat tenacious and currently hangs on the upper edge of the uptrend channel. Given the overbought stochastic and the relatively large distance to the exponential 200-day moving average (US$41,694), another pullback has an increased probability. The liquidation wave on April 18th clearly showed how quickly the whole thing can slide, given the exuberant speculation with derivatives and leverage.Of course, the bulls (and thus rising prices) have always a clear advantage in a bull market. Also, in view of the huge monetary expansions, speculation on the short side is not recommended. One is better advised with regular partial profit-taking (without selling one’s core long positions completely) as well as a solid liquidity reserve, with which one can take advantage of the opportunities that arise in the event of more significant pullbacks. The blind “buy & hold” or “hodl” strategy has also proven its strengths and can rightfully be maintained given the bullish medium to longer-term outlook.Daily Chart now on a sell signalSummarizing the daily chart, bitcoin is so far “only” in a countermovement within the pullback that began on April 14th. Only with a breakout above approx. US$61,000 the bulls would clearly be gaining the upper hand again. In this case, a rally towards approx. US$69,000 USD becomes very possible. On the downside, however, bitcoin prices below US$53,000 would signal that the bears have successfully fended off the breakout above the upper edge of the uptrend channel in the short term. The next step would then be a continuation of the correction and thus lower prices in the direction of the support zone around US$44,000 as well as the rising exponential 200-day moving average.Sentiment Bitcoin – Caution, the crypto sector is getting a bit overheated in the short-termBitcoin Optix as of May 9th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe rather short-term “Bitcoin Optix” currently reports a balanced sentiment. What is striking is the fact that the last sentiment highs since February have always been weaker. I.e. the sentiment momentum is falling. At the same time, the temporary panic on April 25th brought an exaggeration to the downside (panic low = green circle), with which the ongoing recovery can be explained.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of May 12th, 2021. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index The much more complex and rather long-term “Crypto Fear & Greed Index” currently indicates a slightly exaggerated optimism or “increased greed”.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of May 12th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn the very long-term comparison, sentiment is somewhat overly optimistic.Overall, quantitative sentiment analysis is increasingly sending warning signals. In particular, the decreasing momentum of the sentiment peaks with simultaneously exploding altcoin prices must be taken seriously. Therefore, a contrarian entry opportunity is definitely not present in the crypto space. Instead, one is well advised to wait patiently for the next wave of panic or liquidation.Seasonality Bitcoin – Caution, the crypto sector is getting a bit overheated in the short-termBitcoin seasonality. Source: SeasonaxStatistically, the sideways spring phase for bitcoin ends at the beginning of May. This has often been followed by a sharp rally into June. However, this year bitcoin only reached an important high on April 14th and has been consolidating since then. Hence, the seasonal pattern doesn’t really match up with this year’s price action so far.In conclusion, the seasonality is basically changing from neutral to green these days. However, the course of the year has not been in line with the seasonal pattern. A continuation of the consolidation therefore seems more likely.Sound Money: Bitcoin vs. GoldBitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of May 10th, 2021. Source: TradingviewAt prices of US$58,075 for one bitcoin and US$1,835 for one troy ounce of gold, the bitcoin/gold-ratio is currently trading at around 31.7. This means that you currently have to pay almost 32 ounces of gold for one bitcoin. Put the other way around, one troy ounce of gold currently costs about 0.03 bitcoin. Thus, bitcoin has been running sideways against gold at a high level for a good month and a half.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is a good guideline!Overall, you want to own gold as well as bitcoin, since opposites complement each other. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the pristine digital features of bitcoin you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro Outlook and Crack-Up-BoomFED Balance Sheet. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 7th 2021.The U.S. Federal Reserve’s total assets continued to rise in recent weeks, reaching a new all-time high of USD 7,810 billion. The biggest increase was in holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, which rose by USD 25.66 billion to a total of USD 5,040 billion.ECB Balance Sheet. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 4th 2021.The ECB balance sheet also reached a new all-time high of EUR 7,568 billion. Driven by ultra-lax monetary policy (quantitative easing), total assets rose by a further EUR 9.7 billion. The ECB balance sheet is now equivalent to 76.2% of euro area GDP.Bloomberg Commodity Index. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 5th 2021.Due to these massive monetary expansions, the consequences of this irresponsible central bank policy are now slowly but surely becoming more and more apparent. For example, the Bloomberg Commodity Index has more than doubled since March 2020 and most recently rose to its highest level since 2011. Numerous commodities are reaching new highs, fueling inflation fears. The loss of confidence in fiat currencies typical of the crack-up boom is taking hold. This mass psychological phenomenon is gradually building up and may already be unstoppable. The accelerating crack-up boom is the ideal environment for precious metals, commodities and cryptocurrencies.Mentions of Inflation. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 5th 2021.Even Bank of America (BofA) recently acknowledged in a commentary that “inflation is here.” In doing so, they referenced the exploded number of mentions of “inflation.”Conclusion: Bitcoin – Caution, the crypto sector is getting a bit overheated in the short-termEthereum new all-time highs © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 10, 2021.One of the main beneficiaries of the increasing flight out of the fiat systems in recent months has been cryptocurrencies. First and foremost, it was bitcoin which led the way up for the entire sector. Now, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, has risen to a new all-time high well above $4,300. Ethereum dominance reached a new record of 19%. Since the beginning of the year, Ethereum has thus gained nearly 500%.Bitcoin Dominance © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 10, 2021.The market capitalization of the entire crypto sector did reach more than US$2.5 trillion. Mainly due to the price explosion in Ethereum and Altcoins during recent weeks, Bitcoin dominance had been fading down to below 44%.Ethereum Market Capitalization © Messari via Twitter @RyanWatkins_, May 10, 2021.With a Bitcoin dominance of below 40%, however, the air has always been very thin for altcoins in the past, and sharp pullbacks followed in 2017 and 2018. The speculative madness became particularly dramatic in the case of the fun and meme coin Dogecoin. This essentially worthless coin has been rising from US$0.005 to US$0.672 in just a few months, making it worth almost as much as the Daimler Group. Once again, the markets are thus providing an example of the extent to which the vast quantities of fiat currencies created out of thin air are distorting everything and fueling wild speculation.Be careful, be patient!Overall, it is imperative to advise caution in the current environment. While a long-term top in bitcoin is not yet in sight, a significant correction or sharp pullback should not come as a surprise and would be good for the overheated sector. The “worst case” envisages a pullback in the direction of around US$44,000. In this area, bitcoin would already be a buying opportunity again. In this scenario, the altcoins would temporarily but very likely take a severe beating. Subsequently, bitcoin could take the lead again and march on towards US$100,000 once this pullback is done. Alternatively, the tenacious sideways consolidation continues until bitcoin prices above US$61,000 confirm the continuation of the rally to new all-time highs.Analysis sponsored and initially published on May 10th, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Translated into English and partially updated on May 13th, 2021.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Florian Grummes|May 13th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, bitcoin crashing, Bitcoin dominance, Bitcoin Sentiment, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum correction, Gold, technical analysis|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running is own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.Florian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.eu
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Everything Going Down the Inflation Drain?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.05.2021 15:41
The inflation scare amplified by CPI data caught the mainstream off guard, and the S&P 500 made no attempt at the opening gap. Both the VIX and put/call ratio sharply rose to levels unseen in quite a while – while volatility remains well below the late Jan, Feb, or early Mar spikes, the options ratio keeps trending higher since late Feb.Technology disappointed and so did the tech heavyweights, but these might put up a fight in the tentative support zone reached. The heavy selling didn‘t spare value stocks or the Russell 2000 either. Emerging markets suffered too, amplified by the rush into the dollar. While steeply up on the day, the greenback is having issues meaningfully extending gains today as not only the USD/JPY pair highlights.Are there any bright spots in the indiscriminate selling across the many assets?Credit markets certainly aren‘t one – neither corporate nor Treasury ones. Unless these turn thus facilitating the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rebound, the relief stock market rallies can‘t be trusted yet. Commodities and precious metals held up relatively well, but their test is coming – should the Fed get serious about fighting inflation, commodity superstars such as lumber, copper (extending to silver) would suffer – don‘t look for that though – all we‘re experiencing now, is:(...) a risk-off move driven by the growing inflation threat – the market is getting attentive again. How long before it forces the Fed to talk, act and not play ostrich? The evidence isn‘t strong thus far, but there is a lot of time left till the Jun Fed meeting. Needless to say, bold moves would crater risk-on assets, which is why I‘m not expecting any real action yet with the 10-year yield...… at 1.69% only, which isn‘t yet serious enough to spur the Fed into action.Gold and miners remain relatively resilient, and one isn‘t leading the other to the downside. With high inflation already here (don‘t look for too much relief once the low year-on-year comparison base is history), real rates are turning more negative – and nominal ones aren‘t yet catching up onto what‘s coming. Seriously, I don‘t know why majority of market participants have been caught this much off guard by the inflation data, which is the basis of cost-push inflation I had been talking quite many times already.Caught in the selling wave eventually, black gold cratered overnight but not before I took sizable oil profits off the table. The tide appears to be turning though as the low $64 held earlier today, so I have issued an Intraday Update for Oil #1 featuring new trading position details.And the same profit-taking happened in Bitcoin too, via a waiting exit order right below the rising support line connecting its Apr and May lows that I talked yesterday. What a headline-facilitated plunge it brought (as if Elon Musk didn‘t know about the real world costs of crypto mining earlier etc.), not sparing Ethereum either. No surprise here, let‘s keep an eye on the bottom forming next.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookBottomless S&P 500 pit that doesn‘t attract buyers to step in just yet. The obvious support in sight is the 50-day moving average, but how much of an undershoot it would take to turn stocks around? We haven‘t yet seen deceleration of the daily declines accompanied by a lower knot ideally, though today‘s session is shaping up promising for precisely this outcome.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio with overlaid S&P 500 prices shows that the latter are taking a lead (i.e. being more panicky) when it comes to the unfolding selling wave. HYG certainly didn‘t enthuse yesterday, and neither did the less risky counterparts.Technology and ValueValue and growth sold off in tandem, and the question remains whether $NYFANG support zone would hold. Examining the volume and steepness of the price declines, chances are it would, which has positive implications for $NDX naturally as well. Once yields stabilize, animal spirits would start returning, but don‘t look for them arriving in force very soon – there is quite some technical damage to repair first.Inflation ExpectationsTreasury yields are slowly but surely catching up on to the inflation scare. The long consolidation in yields is in its latter stages, and inflation expectations didn‘t wait in continuing their upward march. One more reason why gold is taking the selling left and right, in its stride.Gold, Silver and MinersThe caption says it all – gold keeps up bullishly consolidating, and odds are that the nominal yields won‘t bite now that inflation is finally broadly recognized to be an issue. What a wait!Silver didn‘t lead to the downside yesterday either, and the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio is still underpinning the precious metals upleg, which I am not really looking to sink into the early spring desperation.BitcoinBitcoin waterfall arrived, and prices haven‘t convincingly stabilized so far. Even Ethereum was hurt in the selling, but no issues, it seems a question of time only before cryptos turn up again. Stay tuned!SummaryS&P 500 is showing signs of stabilization, and much depends upon the tech and credit markets performance next. Today should provide modestly optimistic signs, by no means though guaranteed in the panic gripping the markets since Monday. Once S&P 500 and Nasdaq come to terms with the rising inflation and stop worrying about a Fed response this early, the 500-strong index would take on the recent highs once again. Gold, silver and miners are still well positioned to repel the downside pressures, with silver being arguably the most (short-term) vulnerable now. The basebuilding continues, and the only question remaining is how much of it is still ahead before the next upswing (amply supported by negative real rates) arrives.Crude oil lived up to its volatile reputation, but the tide appears turning here as well. Amid the headlines and positive seasonality, my outlook on black gold remains bullish.Bitcoin has quite some recovering ahead, and its stabilization has started. I would look for indications of decreased vulnerability next, which are obviously at a much lower level in Ethereum.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Musk crashed Bitcoin. Time to buy dips?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 13.05.2021 15:42
What happened?Elon Musk, Tesla’s founder and CEO, said the company wouldn’t accept Bitcoin as payment any longer. As a result, BTC/USD dropped to $45,300, the low unseen since March.Why has Musk done that?He explained his actions with environmental issues: “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions”. Indeed, this problem exists. According to Citigroup’s report, Bitcoin mining is consuming 66 times more electricity than it did back in late 2015, and as a result, carbon emissions are increasingly rising.What’s next?He won’t sell any of the Bitcoin Tesla already holds and what’s more important, he signaled he might accept other cryptocurrencies as payment if they are less energy-intensive. Well, what would be his next #1 crypto? Maybe Dogecoin? He asked about that his followers on Twitter already: 78% said yes. There are some talks about ETH and XRP right now.What about Bitcoin?Musk’s tweet can’t make an end to Bitcoin. The BTC is still the #1 cryptocurrency by the market cap and it’s likely to keep its uptrend in the long term. For most investors, it’s just a good opportunity to buy the dips.Tech tipsThe RSI indicator hasn’t yet crossed the 30.00 level on the daily chart. Therefore, there is still some room to fall further, but probably the price reverses up from the current levels. If it jumps above the midline of Bollinger Bands at $55,000, the way up to $60,000 will be open. In the opposite scenario, the move below the lower trend line at $48,000 will press down the crypto to the $45,000 support.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
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Intraday Market Analysis – S&P 500 Sees Bids On Trendline

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.05.2021 08:09
SPX 500 rebounds from daily trendlineThe S&P 500 reverses sharp decline as investors digest soaring consumer prices.On the daily timeframe, the index saw strong buying interest on the rising trendline (4040) from March 2020. In conjunction with the RSI’s double-dip in the oversold territory, traders were eager to pick up bargains. The sharp correction may end as swiftly as it started if buyers succeed in pushing above 4150.That would confirm the bullish MA cross off the major support. From there the price could rally back to the previous peak at 4144.NZDUSD bounces off supportThe risk-sensitive New Zealand dollar swings up as the ‘risk-off mood recedes. The pair has found support along with the 30-day moving average, above the demand zone around 0.7120.An oversold RSI could have led the sell-side to take profit at the support, turning the price around in the process. However, the kiwi faces multiple technical headwinds.The bulls will need to close above 0.7240 to regain the upper hand. Then 0.7305 is another key resistance. 0.7045 is the second support in case of a bearish breakout.XAUUSD finds Fibonacci supportGold struggles to hold on to its gains after the US dollar’s latest surge. The price action has met strong selling pressure at 1845, resistance from last February’s sell-off.It would be too soon to call a reversal, however, as the underlying momentum remains bullish. The precious metal has bounced back from the 38.2% Fibonacci level (1811) with the RSI skimming over the oversold area.The psychological level of 1800 sits at the 50% retracement level. A breakout above 1845 may extend the rally towards 1870.SPX 500 rebounds from daily trendlineThe S&P 500 reverses sharp decline as investors digest soaring consumer prices.On the daily timeframe, the index saw strong buying interest on the rising trendline (4040) from March 2020. In conjunction with the RSI’s double-dip in the oversold territory, traders were eager to pick up bargains. The sharp correction may end as swiftly as it started if buyers succeed in pushing above 4150.That would confirm the bullish MA cross off the major support. From there the price could rally back to the previous peak at 4144.NZDUSD bounces off supportThe risk-sensitive New Zealand dollar swings up as the ‘risk-off mood recedes. The pair has found support along with the 30-day moving average, above the demand zone around 0.7120.An oversold RSI could have led the sell-side to take profit at the support, turning the price around in the process. However, the kiwi faces multiple technical headwinds.The bulls will need to close above 0.7240 to regain the upper hand. Then 0.7305 is another key resistance. 0.7045 is the second support in case of a bearish breakout.XAUUSD finds Fibonacci supportGold struggles to hold on to its gains after the US dollar’s latest surge. The price action has met strong selling pressure at 1845, resistance from last February’s sell-off.It would be too soon to call a reversal, however, as the underlying momentum remains bullish. The precious metal has bounced back from the 38.2% Fibonacci level (1811) with the RSI skimming over the oversold area.The psychological level of 1800 sits at the 50% retracement level. A breakout above 1845 may extend the rally towards 1870.
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Silver’s market manipulation is your way in

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.05.2021 09:44
The only chance to participate in a rigged game and come out ahead is beating them in their own game. One way of stacking the odds in your favor is to recognize patterns within the markets, and market manipulation is just that, a pattern.We believe strongly that Silver prices will see new all-time highs by the end of the year. We also believe in a high probability for Silver prices to reach near triple-digit price levels. And we know just because one knows direction and targets does not mean one arrives at these prices with a position intact or a position at all.Here are a few examples of what we mean.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, The minefield:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 13th, 2021.We tried to illustrate that a single event of chart characteristics could point towards volatility or otherwise trading instrument characteristics on the daily chart above. The sum of all variances of Silver events, although points clearly at aiming to discourage the investor and short-term traders alike. Typically the daily time frame is the entry time frame for longer-term plays like weekly and monthly time frame setups. It is challenging to find propper low-risk entry points. Here are the obstacles for the market participant to enter the market:dark cloud cover and bullish engulfing candlestick patterns are extreme reversal patterns typically much rarer in occurrenceeach range gets its highs and lows taken out which can be described “fishing for stops” (orange boxes)the sheer amount of yellow wicks shows the general volatility and challenges for low-risk stop placementconsistent pattern failuresfollow up day retracement levels of 70 to 90 percent are outside the normrare but extreme trend days irrespective of the market is trending or rangingJust to name a few. Silver in US-Dollar, 60 Minute Chart, But that is not all:Silver in US-Dollar, hourly chart as of May 13th, 2021.Since our recent chartbook release about spoofing activities in the Silver market, we have been feverishly working on identifying various intraday market behaviors that are atypical to typical market behavior as a whole and the Silver market specifically. Our findings confirmed that individual patterns aren’t uncommon, but the sheer sum of patterns is definitely not normal.A look at the intraday 60-minute chart above, a time frame entry tool often used for daily and weekly time frame setups, is concerning:Every extreme gets faded.Reversal patterns are dominating the field.Previous days lows get gunned for stops.Ranges get spiked out for stops to be hit in both directions.Range expansions are happening in both directions.And all this by observing just a few days back. There is much more.Silver in US-Dollar, 60 Minute Chart, The cure:Silver in US-Dollar, 60 minute chart as of May 13th, 2021.So what can be done? Let us rather focus on solutions versus a minefield of obstacles. The most predominant patterns we found were volume and time-based. A market this thick can not sustain manipulation through the significant market hour activity of the world taking place. Moves getting artificially faded mainly before the Asian session open and the British market open for Silver. To protect your risk, you need to enter the market at the following time slot and counter fade: 20:30 EST to 21:30 EST. We found this time segment the one of least risk when used in conjunction with our Quad exit strategy, which allows for risk mitigation by taking shortly after entry half of the position of the table.The chart illustrates with green and red horizontal lines that at each day at this same time, an imminent move follows to allow for this first target of risk elimination to get hit. It also shows that volume increases at this point to substantiate a more real move versus the prior artificial fades. We also suggest trading small in size and instead build long-term position out of runners (again, view our Quad exit strategy).In addition, we advise against scalping and frequent intraday trading. Instead, we find stepping away from the noise and trading monthly charts to be an intelligent way to protect wealth. The most secure way of participating in the Silver market is to accumulate physical holdings.Gold in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Silver’s market manipulation is your way in:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 14th, 2021.Pick your spots wisely. Overtrading in minefield conditions is risk expansive. A top-down approach from a longer-term directional perspective should guide when to engage in the market. The daily chart above shows one such substantial directional support. When prices reach the green line again (linear regression channel), the 60 min entry strategy based on time of day (20:30 EST to 21:30 EST) and a keen eye on your volume bars is vital to participate in a low-risk manner to get a piece of the pie.One more thing! It is much more proficient to work with a volume-based support measurement tool (yellow line) for transactional support versus typical TA tools of horizontal support and resistance lines.Silver’s market manipulation is your way in:Market participation is an endless path of hurdles overcome and a honing of difficult to acquire skillset in a challenging profession. Market manipulation is as old as time. Complaining about it doesn’t benefit but your ego. Taking the role of a detective instead and examining the market with curiosity for its complexity of rules or, in this case, manipulated rules to then build in opposition a rule set that provides advantages for your market plays is a more proper approach.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 14th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Is the Selling Madness About Over?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.05.2021 15:43
The inflation scare amplified by CPI data has died down yesterday a little. Buying returned into the S&P 500, lifting Nasdaq ever so little too. VIX steeply rejected moving higher, and looks ready to decline today, but the put/call ratio doesn‘t share the optimism as obviously the bearish scenarios, powered by the inflation scare forcing a deflationary outcome in an overleveraged financial system is emboldened by the downfall‘s steepness since Monday and ineffective attempts to coutner it on Tuesday. While one swallow doesn‘t make a summer, the technical picture in the hardest hit tech is gradually improving, worthy of benefit of the doubt while you dance close to the Nasdaq exit door.Credit markets have crucially improved, with the junk corporate bonds leading the way, and value stocks being soundly bought again. All it took was a decent daily stabilization in long-dated Treasuries coupled with an intraday upswing attempt – no issue that it fizzled out before the close, apparently. The markets are coming to terms with higher inflation, and the commodities hit starting with lumber, stretching to copper, and eventually also oil and soybeans yesterday, would likely recover – first those that hadn‘t been all that overheated. The Fed isn‘t serious about fighting inflation, otherwise it wouldn‘t be rolling out the speaking procession on an almost daily basis. Occam‘s razor at work:(…) all we‘re experiencing now, is:(...) a risk-off move driven by the growing inflation threat – the market is getting attentive again. How long before it forces the Fed to talk, act and not play ostrich? The evidence isn‘t strong thus far, but there is a lot of time left till the Jun Fed meeting. Needless to say, bold moves would crater risk-on assets, which is why I‘m not expecting any real action yet with the 10-year yield...… at 1.66% only, which by no means serious enough to spur the Fed into action.We‘ve been there already, and as stated, 10-year yields above 2% would start to bite stocks, but it‘s only higher levels that would force the Fed into action and pegging them in the 2 to 2.5% range. We‘re far away from that, these are just (mild) birthing cramps, a premature alarm. We‘re still in a reflation – so far.Gold and miners resilience leading to further upswings, is on – and it seems that precious metals would lead select pockets of commodities (yes, silver looks ready to do that job, and that extends to the so far still range bound silver miners one day too) higher as we keep transitioning to a higher inflation environment for months already:(…) With high inflation already here (don‘t look for too much relief once the low year-on-year comparison base is history), real rates are turning more negative – and nominal ones aren‘t yet catching up onto what‘s coming. Seriously, I don‘t know why majority of market participants have been caught this much off guard by the inflation data, which is the basis of cost-push inflation I had been talking quite many times already.Negative real rates would start supporting the metals increasingly more as the decoupling from nominal yields gathers more steam. The precious metals upleg is still in its early stages, and about to add more to my open gold profits.Crude oil would be positively affected by the anticipated rebound in commodities from the weekly setback, as these would balance out the rising yields in a way, and would do well past reflation time. Right on cue, my new oil position is already profitable.Bitcoin had a high volatility day yesterday, but closed almost where it opened. Tentative signs of stabilization and accumulation are here, and Ethereum isn‘t wasting time in returning to growth, which is a positive signal for the best known crypto.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 recovered, but it‘s all about volume and the upper knot pointing to stiffer headwinds just next.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) made a steep and credible recovery, and the investment grade ones didn‘t perfom all too badly either upon the daily TLT „miracle“.Technology and ValueTech recovery left much to be desired, and the long upper knot isn‘t appetizing. Obviously much depends upon the next TLT and inflation expectations moves, but $NYFANG seems to be readying a temporary respite next. Given how value performed yesterday, that would be overly positive for the S&P 500 as the index needs to be firing on both cylinders to make real progress.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners keep trading in harmony, and new precious metals upswing is in the making. See how little an TLT uptick coincided with that turn.Silver daily downswing might not appear to confirm the bullish assessment, but I think that‘s a daily occurence only.Crude OilCrude oil dipped a bit too far yesterday, but doesn‘t appear to be breaking down. I look for more backing and filling before the upswing resumes.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are getting to (and should) flex some muscles, and not muddle through in the 4,130 ramge for too long. The weak retail sales aren‘t exactly a positive catalyst but at least it puts to rest the misguided notions of the Fed springing to action.Gold, silver and miners are well positioned for the upswing resumption, and much of the downside indeed appears to be in already.Crude oil meandering goes on, but without bearish overtones – the chart remains bullish.Bitcoin has started to timidly repair the damage inflicted while Ethereum is back to growth already. The leading crypto‘s position still remains murky at the moment.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

When Euphoria Ends, Gold Bulls Enter the Scene

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.05.2021 16:11
Market participants are very optimistic about an economic recovery, but these positive expectations may be exaggerated. The end of this euphoria should be good for gold.The optimism about the pace of economic recovery from the 2020 recession is growing. The analysts race in upward revisions of GDP growth in the coming quarters. For example, the IMF – in the April 2021 edition of the World Economic Outlook – expects at the moment that the US economic output will increase by 6.4% this year, compared to the 5.1% growth forecasted in January.The euphoric mood has some justification, of course. The vaccination is progressing, entrepreneurs are used to operating under sanitary restrictions, economies are reopening and governments are spending like crazy. At the same time, central banks are maintaining ultra-easy monetary policy , keeping financial conditions loose.Furthermore, some economic data is consistent with strong rebounding, especially in manufacturing. For instance, the IHS Markit U.S. Manufacturing PMI Index posted 59.1 in March, up from 58.6 in February – being the second-highest value on record since May 2007 when data collection began. Services are also recovering vigorously, as the IHS Markit US Services PMI Index registered 60.4 in March, up from 59.8 in February. It’s the fastest rate of growth since July 2014.Now, the question is how strong the current boom is and how long it is going to last. Well, there is no need to argue that we will see a few strong quarters of GDP growth in the US and other countries. But for me, the euphoria is exaggerated. You see, the current recovery is not surprising at all. As the Great Lockdown plunged the world into a deep economic crisis , the Great Unlocking is boosting the global economy.And there is the base effect . There was a low base in 2020, so the seemingly impressive recovery in 2020 is partially merely a statistical phenomenon. Let’s illustrate this effect. In Q2 2020, the real GDP plunged from $19,020 to $17,302 trillion or 9.03%year-over-year, as the chart below shows.However, the rebound to the pre-recession level would imply the jump of 9.93%, almost one percentage higher! This is how the math works: when you divide a numerator by a smaller denominator, you get a greater percentage. So, it would be alarming if the recovery were not strong after one of the deepest crises in history.Another issue that makes me more skeptical than most pundits is the fact that the main reason behind economic growth upgrades is massive fiscal stimulus . Uncle Sam injected more than 13 percent of the GDP in government spending (only in 2020) that ballooned the fiscal deficits . Meanwhile, the Fed widened its balance sheet by almost $4 trillion. So, it would be quite strange if we didn’t see impressive numbers in light of such unprecedented inflows of monetary and fiscal liquidity. But it means that the impressive recovery in statistics is driven, at least partially, by soaring money supply and public debt (see the chart below).And my three last concerns. First, the job recovery is more sluggish than the GDP recovery . The unemployment rate is still above the pre-pandemic level, while the labor force participation stands significantly below the level seen in February 2020. Second, a full return to normal life will occur if vaccines remain effective. But there is a tail risk of new variants of the virus, which could even be vaccine-resistant . Third, history teaches us that when the pandemic ends, social unrest may reemerge. After all, the epidemic left us with deepening inequalities and rising living costs.What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, the market euphoria about the economic rebound is negative for gold. We have already seen how these optimistic expectations freed the risk appetite and boosted economic confidence, sending bond yields higher, but gold prices lower.However, just as the doomsday scenarios created in the midst of the epidemic were excessively negative, the current ones seem to be too optimistic. I expect that with the year progressing, these expectations will soften or shift to the medium-term, which could be more challenging. After all, the low base effect will disappear, and both the monetary and fiscal policies will have declining marginal utility. At the same time, there will be an increased risk of high inflation , debt crisis , stock market correction or even financial crisis . After all, the current levels of stock indices are partially caused not by fundamentals, but by the elevating risk tolerance thanks to the central banks standing behind most asset classes ready to intervene in case of problems.It seems that this process has already begun and the reopening trade is waning. Economic confidence is very high, so the room for further increases is limited. The low-hanging fruits have been collected, and when economies reopen fully, the structural problems will become more important than the cyclical ones. Investors have started to worry about higher inflation, especially because the Fed remains unmoved by rising prices. A jobless recovery would prolong the Fed’s very dovish stance , as the US central bank focuses now on full employment rather than on stable prices. All these factors explain why the price of gold has been rebounding recently, and why it can rise even further later this year , although the fact that the US enjoys a stronger recovery than the EU or Japan could support the interest rates and the greenback , creating some downward pressure on the yellow metal.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles To Hold Gains

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.05.2021 08:47
USDCHF drops after bearish crossThe US dollar came under renewed pressure after retail sales showed a flatline in April. The latest rebound has struggled to clear 0.9090.An overbought RSI at this key resistance was a warning of exhaustion. Then a fall below 0.9030 was a confirmation of the bearish MA cross. This is a strong signal that the price action has reversed its course to the downside.A breakout below 0.8985 could trigger a new round of sell-off towards 0.8930. 0.9050 is the closest resistance if the price goes sideways.AUDJPY bounces from supportThe risk-sensitive Australian dollar rebounds as risk appetite returns. The pair has bounced off the 20-day moving average on the daily chart which coincides with the short-term support at 84.25.General sentiment remains upbeat as the Aussie carries on the fourteen-month-long rally. Strong momentum above 84.85 points to 85.80 as the next target.The bullish MA cross is another indication of recovery. As the RSI shows an overbought situation a temporary pullback towards 84.55 is possible.UK100 recovers above psychological levelFTSE 100 bounces back as inflation fears take a back seat. The index saw strong buying interest at 6840, a demand zone on the daily chart.The rally above 6980, the origin of the latest sell-off then the psychological level of 7000 is an indication that buyers have strong conviction to push back.The crash seemed to be an opportunity to buy the dip once again. A close above 7045 would prompt more buyers to join and send the price towards the peak at 7165.On the downside, 6940 is the immediate support.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Apple, Tesla, and Bitcoin are in a technical ‘Excess Phase Top”

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 17.05.2021 14:58
Yesterday I highlighted thebroad market cyclesand what technical analysts call the “Excess Phase Top” process, which usually takes place after the markets peak and setup a downward price trend.There are a number of technical setups that take place throughout this process. Today, I will be exploring the charts of Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), and Bitcoin (BTC) to see where they are in the process.The suggestion I am making by highlighting these market trends and setups is that a Cash Position is a viable allocation of capital away from risks and losses. Many traders don't view a cash position as a properly allocated use of capital. We believe taking a cash position at the right times can anddoes provide very clear benefits, including:Eliminating risks of further losses/drawdowns.Setting up a process of protecting cash and waiting for a confirmed re-entry trigger.Avoiding the failure of buying into a declining market – which is one of thebiggest faults of active traders.Using the Cash position as a hedge against shifting currency/market valuations.Remember, in many cases, broad market downtrends are often associated with bigger trends in currencies and global market sectors. Chasing these trends can lead to further risks if you are not careful and skilled in your trading decisions. Keeping your capital in a Cash Allocation/Position is often the easiest and safest way for you to ride out volatile downside price trends and allows you tore-deploy your cash into new trades when the time is right.Understanding Broad Market Cycles & TrendsBefore we get started, we are going to share the broader market cycles chart with you to refresh your memory (or if you missed the first part ofthis research article).Before looking at the charts, please bear in mind that these patterns often take place over many months. Usually, the initial topping (#1) phase and flagging formation (#2) take place over a 60 to 90+ day span of time. Yes, sometimes these setups can take place over shorter spans of time, but usually, they last over 60+ days.Additionally, the breakdown of the Flag formation (#2), which leads to the setup of intermediate support (#3), can often take many months to complete aswell. My research team and I have seen the Flagging setup last well over 30 days at times and after the immediate support level is reached, markets sometimes attempt to move sideways for many weeks/months before attempting to break below that support level.APPL Continues To Flag Out – Watch for potential breakdown below $115.The Weekly AAPL chart below highlights the rally from $35 to over $140 over the past 2.5 years (notice the price split that happened in 2020). This rally reached a peak near January 25, 2021 (#1) and has fallen nearly 20% from the peak levels before starting a sideways Flag formation (#2). This type of setup completes the first two processes of the Excess Phase Top setup and aligns with the broader market cycles to suggest we mayhave entered the “Complacency” phase of price trending.The sideways Flagging pattern (#2) on this chart suggests AAPL may continue to move within this price channel before attempting to either recover, by moving to new highs or to break below the $115 level (#3), which would confirm the next phase of the Excess Phase Top pattern. If we see any continued breakdown in price, traders need to prepare for the markets to attempt to move downward, targeting historical support levels, where we expect price toconsolidate for many weeks/months. I have drawn a YELLOW line near a very clear support level for AAPL near $80 as a potential downside price target. If this Excess Phase Top pattern fails, we will likely see AAPL rally back above $145 and attempt to break into a new bullish trending phase.Tesla Breaks Below Flag Channels – What's Next?The following Weekly TSLA chart highlights the rally from $73 to over $900 over the past year (note the price split that happened in 2020). This rally also reached a peak near January 25, 2021 (#1) and has fallen nearly 40% from the peak levels before starting a sideways Flag formation (#2). At this phase of price action, we can see TSLA has recently broken below the lower Flag price channel and may be attempting to start a downward price trend where price will seek out intermediate support.I have drawn a YELLOW line near a very clear support level for TSLA near $430 as a potential downside price target for this next phase of the Excess Phase Top pattern (#3). From atechnical standpoint, if the support level near recent lows, near $540, holds, and price is unable to move below this level, then we may see a technical failure of the Excess Phase Top pattern. The move to the intermediate support level, which must be lower than the lows of the Flag formation, is critical in confirming the move into “Complacency” and the transition into “Anxiety” on the Broad Market Cycle example. Without this subsequent breakdown in price happening, we would consider the Excess Phase Top pattern potentially invalid (or failed) and start to watch for any new upside price trending – eventually targeting recent highs near $780. At this point, the $540 lows have become the new critical price level for TSLA and we are expecting price to continue to move lower, possibly breaching the $540 level.Bitcoin Gaps Lower After Peak & Breaks Flag Lows – What's Next?This last chart for Daily BTC Futures highlights the rally from $10,200 to over $65,500 over the past 7.5 months. This rallyreached a peak near April 14, 2021 (#1) and Gapped lower on April 19, 2021. The recent downside price move from that peak totaled nearly -27% before starting a sideways Flag formation (#2). In order to confirm the next phase of this Excess Phase Top pattern, we would watch for price to break lower, breaking the Flag formation channels, and attempt to break below the recent support level near $47,440. If we see a strong breakdown in price where closing price levels break below $47,440, I would expect price to move quickly below $40,000 and attempt to seek out critical support.I have drawn a YELLOW line near a very clear support level for BTC near $34,250 as a potential downside price target for this next phase of the Excess Phase Top pattern (#3).Recently, Bitcoin broke below the Flag formation lower channel and briefly traded below support near $47,440. If we continue to see downward price trending where price closes below this level, I would consider this technical confirmation of the Excess Phase Top pattern, suggesting price will attempt to continue moving lower while trying to seek out intermediate support (near the YELLOW line possibly).At this point, Bitcoin is showing moderate weakness and has already attempted to break recent support. Any confirmation of further downward trending could push us out of the Complacency phase and into the Anxiety phase of the broad market cycles. Are you ready for what's next?The question of “Should You Be In Cash” right now is a very valid concern for many traders/investors. Learning how to identify and understand risks and technical patterns/setups in the markets is critical to understanding how to protect and grow your wealth. Additionally, learning to use the Cash Position, and proper position sizing, asa valid type of trading allocation is essential, in our thinking, to protect your assets throughout volatile market trends. The next 12 to 24 months are almost certain to include much higher price volatility and big price rotations/trends, which will translate into incredibleopportunities for traders/investors.Over the next 6+ months and beyond, there are going to be incredible market moves. Staying ahead of these index and sector trends is going to be key to developing continued success. As somesectors fail, others will begin to trend higher, and this is the type of research and work I share every day at The Technical Traders Ltd.Happy Trading!Chris VermeulenChief Market Strategistwww.TheTechnicalTraders.com
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Watch Out As Gold Appears To Be Staging New Momentum Base In Preparation For A Big Upside Move

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 17.05.2021 15:03
Although Gold has continued to drift downward after reaching a peak near $2089.20 in early August 2020, our Custom Gold Inverse Trending Index suggests this weakness has actually built a very strong momentum base – preparing for a big move higher.The relationship of Gold to the US Dollar is a fairly widely known correlation.  When the US Dollar is weaker, Gold tends to rally.  When the US Dollar is stronger, Gold tends to be weaker.  Yet the combination of EURUSD and JPYUSD (plotted in INVERSE) in combination to the trend of the US Dollar related to Gold is difficult to ignore.  Let's explore this unique correlation a bit deeper.Exploring Currency/Gold Correlations – Are We Starting A New 7 Year Gold Rally?The Weekly Gold vs Currencies Chart, below, may seem a bit complicated, so let me try to explain what I'm trying to illustrate. First, the CYAN colored line is the US Dollar Index.  What I want to share with you is the US Dollar enters periods of strength or weakness for extended periods of time.  You can see the US Dollar Index weakening near the left edge of this chart near 2006-07, then strengthening again after a moderate bottom near 2013~14, then starting to weaken again after the recent peak in March 2020.  These roughly 7-year cycles act as major US Dollar Index bias trends.  We are current within a weakening US Dollar Index bias based on our research.Second, the 85 to 86 level on the US Dollar appears to be a moderately critical support level.  When the US Dollar falls below this level, entering a period of broad overall weakness, Gold tends to react to US Dollar strength more aggressively than when the US Dollar stays above the 85~86 level.  A good example of this can be seen by the 2019 to 2020 rally in Gold while the US Dollar Index traded moderately higher while above the 86 level.Next, when the EURUSD and JPYUSD move into a position of strength compared to the US Dollar, Gold tends to trend generally higher as the US Dollar weakness is persistent in driving traders/investors into safe-havens.  The 0.65 level, the BLUE line, on this chart highlights the combined threshold for the US Dollar Index and the EURUSD/JPYUSD trend bias.Lastly, we want to highlight how Gold reacted to US Dollar bottoming rotations in different bias trends.  We've highlighted a number of US Dollar bottoms with MAGENTA arcing arrows.  Notice how stronger upside moves in the US Dollar Index while trading below the 85~86 level prompted fairly deep downside price trends in Gold.  You can see this happen over and over again in 2008, 2010, and 2011.  Now, compare the US Dollar rallies/bottoms in 2014, 2016, and 2018 to how Gold reacted while the US Dollar Index had transitioned into a bullish bias (moving above the 85~86 level, or trending towards this bias). The deep low in the US Dollar Index in 2011 prompted a very big change of trend for Gold – prompting a -20% decline followed by a deeper -38% decline before starting to bottom in 2015.  The US Dollar bottom in 2015 prompted another-20% decline in Gold prices, yet the transition of the US Dollar moving to levels above 85~86 while the EURUSD/JPYUSD fell below 0.65 prompted a shift in how Gold started reacting to US Dollar weakness.  The US Dollar bottom in 2016 actually prompted some moderate strength in upside trending in Gold and continued a new bullish bias for Gold over the past 6+ years.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!Now, with Gold rallying off the current US Dollar weakness while trading quite strongly above $1800, we are starting to see a transitional shift in the US Dollar Index and the EURUSD/JPYUSD correlation.  Just like in 2006-07, if the US Dollar continues to weaken and trail below the 85~86 level, the current bullish trending in Gold will likely continue to strengthen.  At that time, reactions to US Dollar bottoms may prompt some Gold volatility and rotation, yet the bias of the trending appears to be starting a new 7-year bullish Gold trending phase (just like what happened between 2007 and 2014).  All we need to see happen is for the US Dollar to continue to weaken to levels below 85~86 (or continue to drift lower) while the EURUSD/JPYUSD correlation continues to strengthen.Comparing Inverse EURUSD/JPYUSD to Gold TrendsOur research team decided to try to use the EURUSD/JPYUSD correlation and attempt to align it to the price of Gold.  In order to do this, because of the inverse price relationship between the two, we had to invert the EURUSD/JPYUSD price structure.The Japanese Candlesticks on the chart, below, are reflective of our EURUSD/JPYUSD correlation to Gold.  The GOLD line on the chart, below, is the real Gold Futures price level.We are starting to see an upward price correlation between these two symbols as well as a potential technical correlation setting up over the next few weeks.  If the US Dollar continues to weaken, pushing the EURUSD/JPYUSD higher, we'll likely see an RSI bullish breakout confirm the price trigger that has just broken the downward price channel on this chart (the MAGENTA line).It appears the recent weakness in Gold translates into the building of a new momentum base for precious metals near $1700.  Are you ready for what may come next?Although it may be difficult for you to see and understand these broad market bias phases and cycle trends, there are two key elements I hope you to conclude from our research:It appears a, roughly, 7-year currency/gold cycle phase takes place where the US Dollar becomes decidedly weaker while the EURUSD/JPYUSD becomes decidedly stronger – then these two switch directions/strengths.  When the US Dollar is weaker throughout this 7 year cycle phase, Gold tends to become a bit more reactive to US Dollar strength, yet Gold continues to trend higher showing a very defined bullish trend bias.The transitional process of this cycle phase appears to be shifting into US Dollar weakness right now.  The recent downward price trend in Gold appears to be a new Momentum Base in price near, or above $1700.  If our research is correct and the proposed current transition takes place in the near future (the new cycle phase), we may see Gold enter a very defined bullish trend bias lasting more than 4~5+ years.If you believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily pre-market reports, proprietary research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers. Sign up today!In Part II of this article, I will explore longer term charts and how this currency correlation may be confirming a big upward price trend in Gold and what it means for traders/investors.  I will also explore how this new potential rally phase in gold translated into proper positioning of assets and preparations for broad market volatility.Have a great weekend!
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Being a Gold Bull Is Now Far Too Easy - Don’t Be Deceived

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 17.05.2021 15:18
Easy choices lead to a hard life (or at least losses), and because gold’s downside move is delayed, it’s extremely easy to be bullish on gold right now.It’s easy to get carried away by the day-to-day price action, and it’s even easier to feel the emotions that other market participants are feeling while looking at the same short-term price action. Right now, it’s tempting to be bullish on gold. It’s “easy” to be bullish on gold while looking at what happened in the last 1.5 months. But what’s easy is rarely profitable in the long run.“Easy choices – hard life. Hard choices – easy life” – Jerzy GregorekLet’s get beyond the day-to-day price swings. The Fed has been keeping the interest rates at ultra-low levels for many months, and it has just pledged to keep them low for a long time. The world is enduring the pandemic, and the amount of money that entered the system is truly astonishing. The savings available to investors skyrocketed. The USD Index has been beaten down from over 100 to about 90. And yet, gold is not at new highs. In fact, despite the 2020 attempt to rally above its 2011 high, gold’s price collapsed, and it invalidated the breakout above these all-important highs. It’s now trading just a few tens of dollars higher than it had been trading in 2013, right before the biggest slide of the recent years.Something doesn’t add up with regard to gold’s bullish outlook, does it?Exactly. Gold is not yet ready to soar, and if it wasn’t for the pandemic-based events and everything connected to them, it most likely wouldn’t have rallied to, let alone above its 2011 highs before declining profoundly. And what happens if a market is practically forced to rally, but it’s not really ready to do so? Well, it rallies… For a while. Or for a bit longer. But eventually, it slides once again. It does what it was supposed to do anyway - the only thing that changes is the time. Everything gets delayed, and the ultimate downside targets could increase, but overall, the big slide is not avoided.Let’s say that again. Not avoided, but delayed.And this is where we are right now. In the following part of the analysis, I’m going to show you how the situation in the USD Index is currently impacting the precious metals market, and how it’s likely to impact it in the following weeks and months.Riding investors’ emotional roller coaster, the love-hate relationship between financial markets and the USD Index is quite absurd. However, with alternating emotions often changing like the seasons, the greenback’s latest stint in investors’ doghouse could be nearing its end. Case in point: with the most speculative names in the stock market enduring a springtime massacre, beneath the surface laughter has already turned into tears. And while gold, silver and mining stocks have been buoyed by the intense emotional high that’s only visible on the surface, it’s only a matter of time before the veneer is lifted.To that point, while I won’t romanticize the USD Index’s recent underperformance, it’s important to remember that extreme pessimism is often the spark that lights the USD Index’s fire.Please see below:To explain, the bars above track various market participants’ four-week allocations to the U.S. dollar, while the horizontal light blue line above tracks the USD Index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that fund flows have fallen off of a cliff in recent weeks. However, if you analyze the behavior of the USD Index near Jan-20, Jan-21 and Mar-21, you can see that extremely pessimistic fund flows are often followed by short-term rallies in the USD Index. As a result, with the latest readings already breaching -4 (using the scale on the left side of the chart), USD-Index bears have likely already offloaded their positions.What’s more, not only did the USD Index end last week up by 0.10%, but the greenback invalidated the breakdown below its head & shoulders pattern – which is quite bullish – and also invalidated the breakdown below its rising dashed support line (the black line below). Moreover, while the greenback fell below the latter again on May 14, the short-term weakness is far from a game-changer as the breakdown is not confirmed.Please see below:On top of that, with the USD Index hopping in the time machine and setting the dial on 2016, a similar pattern could be emerging. To explain, I wrote on May 11:While the self-similarity to 2018 in the USD Index is not as clear as it used to be (it did guide the USDX for many weeks, though), there is also another self-similar pattern that seems more applicable now. One of my subscribers noticed that and decided to share it with us (thanks, Maciej!).Here’s the quote, the chart, and my reply:Thank you very much for your comprehensive daily Gold Trading Reports that I am gladly admitting I enjoy a lot. While I was analyzing recent USD performance, (DX) I have spotted one pattern that I would like to validate with you if you see any relevance of it. I have noticed the DX Index performing exactly in the same manner in a time frame between Jan. 1, 2021 and now as the one that started in May 2016 and continued towards Aug. 16. The interesting part is not only that the patterns are almost identical, but also their temporary peeks and bottoms are spotting in the same points. Additionally, 50 daily MA line is almost copied in. Also, 200 MA location versus 50 MA is almost identical too. If the patterns continue to copy themselves in the way they did during the last 4 months, we can expect USD to go sideways in May (and dropping to the area of 90,500 within the next 3 days) and then start growing in June… which in general would be in line with your analysis too.Please note the below indices comparison (the lower represents the period between May-Dec 2016 and higher Jan – May 2021). I am very much interested in your opinion.Thank you in advance.And here’s what I wrote in reply:Thanks, I think that’s an excellent observation! I read it only today (Monday), so I see that the bearish note for the immediate term was already realized more or less in tune with the self-similar pattern. The USDX moved a bit lower, but it doesn’t change that much. The key detail here would be that the USDX is unlikely to decline much lower, and instead, it’s likely to start a massive rally in the next several months - that would be in perfect tune with my other charts/points.I wouldn’t bet on the patterns being identical in the very near term, though, just like the late June 2016 and early March 2021 weren’t that similar.As soon as the USD Index rallies back above the rising support line, the analogy to 2016 will be quite clear once again –the implications will be even more bullish for the USDX and bearish for the precious metals market for the next several months.Please note that back in 2016, there were several re-tests of the rising support line and tiny breakdowns below it before the USD Index rallied. Consequently, the current short-term move lower is not really concerning, and forecasting gold at much higher levels because of it might be misleading. I wouldn’t bet on the silver bullish forecast either. The white metal might outperform at the very end of the rally, but it has already done so recently on a very short-term basis, so we don’t have to see this signal. And given the current situation in the general stock market – which might have already topped – silver and mining stocks might not be able to show strength relative to gold at all.If that wasn’t enough, the USD Index’s long-term breakout remains intact . And when analyzing from a bird’s-eye view, the recent weakness is largely inconsequential.Please see below:Moreover, please note that the correlation between the USD Index and gold is now strongly negative (-0.92 over the last 10 days) and it’s been the case for several weeks now. The same thing happened in early January 2021 and in late July – August 2020. These were major tops in gold.The bottom line?After regaining its composure , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. In the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is doing (and likely to do) better than the Eurozone and Japan, and it’s this relative outperformance that matters , not the strength of just one single country or monetary area. After all, the USD Index is a weighted average of currency exchange rates and the latter move on a relative basis.In conclusion, with investors and the USD Index likely headed toward reconciliation, the greenback’s medium-term prospects remain robust. With macroeconomic headwinds aligning with technical catalysts, investors’ risk-on inertia is already showing cracks in its foundation. And with the USD Index considered a safe-haven currency, a reversal in sentiment will likely catapult the USD Index back into the spotlight. Moreover, with gold, silver and mining stocks often moving inversely to the U.S. dollar, the mood music will likely turn somber across the precious metals market. The bottom line? With the metals’ mettle likely to crack under the forthcoming pressure, their outlook remains profoundly bearish over the next few months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Same Old Song and Dance – Almost

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.05.2021 16:21
Pendulum keeps swinging back into the S&P 500 bullish camp, as the Nasdaq rebound was mightily aided by rising long-dated Treasuries while value couldn‘t care less about their direction. Just as sharply the VIX rose, that steeply it retreated over the past two days, hinting that stocks are returning back to the old normal, which means about to go upwards. Option traders didn‘t agree that profoundly, but they aren‘t sending a trustworthy warning sign.I care more about corporate bond markets returning to life, and the retreating yields once the less alarming nature of Thursday‘s PPI has been digested. The transitory inflation story got modestly supported, but while I think that the red hot CPI inflation would die down a little (i.e. not keep rising ever as steeply as was the case with Wednesday‘s data) once the year on year base to compare it against normalizes, a permanently elevated plateau of high and rising inflation would be a reality for more than foreseeable future simply because the Fed would be as behind as Arthur Burns was in fighting the 1970s inflation, and upward price pressures in the job market pressures would kick in.Given though the mammoth scale of money printing and fiscal injections that surely has the bond vigilantes rolling in their graves, it‘s miraculous that the bond markets aren‘t revolting more, much more. Okay, you may look at it as that the 10-year Treasury yield has more than tripled since August, but the low base (0.5% rate) is distorting the view. Plenty of room still before financial repression enters stage right even more noticeably (we are nowhere near the panic yield levels causing genuine hardship for the S&P 500), but we have time – I am looking for a reprieve in the Treasuries markets, which would help especially the tech sector recovery.Gold and silver enjoy the retreating yields, unequivocally. And not even copper‘s short-term vulnerability as the red metal consolidates, is spoiling the technical picture much. Gold miners continue leading higher as silver ones keep lagging behind, but that‘s not an issue – the precious metals sector is primed to go up and extend my open gold profits.As the hottest running commodities take a breather (lumber sorely needs consolidation instead of down limit moves, copper‘s most bullish outcome would be sideways to a little lower trading, with soybeans being best positioned to weather last week‘s setback):(…) it seems that precious metals would lead select pockets in commodities (yes, silver looks ready to do that job, and that extends to the so far still range bound silver miners one day) higher as we keep transitioning to a higher inflation environment for months already.The Fed isn‘t serious about fighting inflation, otherwise it wouldn‘t be rolling out the procession on almost daily basis. Negative real rates would start supporting the metals increasingly more as the decoupling from nominal yields gathers more steam. The precious metals upleg is still in its early stages.Crude oil recovered from Thursday‘s setback, hitching a ride alongside other commodities on Friday. Still within its latest range, and on not stellar volume, but the bulls deserve continued benefit of the doubt as bullish spirits return, making the open oil position even more profitable.Bitcoin has been struggling over the weekend, giving up Friday‘s gains and then some. The next bottom remains elusive but the cryptocurrency isn‘t down and out. Outshined by its competitors though, oh yes – Ethereum continues bullishly basing, making the open Ethereum position profitable.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 recovery continues – just as sharply as the index went down. Makes you think to what degree were the algos‘ risk-adjustments per volatility implied, exacerbating the selloff and driving powerfully the comeback,Credit MarketsCorporate bonds – whether high yield or investment grade ones – confirmed the stock market recovery with upswings of their own, and long-dated Treasuries aren‘t likely to stand in the way next.VolatilityFurther confirmation of how fast the correction came, and disappeared, came from the volatility spike getting lost faster than it could influence its moving averages anyhow.Technology and ValueTech recovery is confirmed by the $NYFANG one, and I view the lower volume as little concerning. The TLT breather and inflation expectations calming down a little, would be more important, and value stocks show that their return of bullish spirits is to be taken seriously.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners keep trading in harmony, and the miners‘ outperformance reasserting itself bodes well for the week ahead. Just as I wrote on Friday, check once again how little an TLT uptick coincided with that turn.Silver isn‘t wildly outperforming gold in any way, pointing to this precious metals upswing as having further to run. In spite of the sideways to down consolidation in copper, its ratio to 10-year Treasury yield remains healthy and supportive of further metals‘ run, and of commodities in general – but these are likely to take a breather (compared to their prior perfomance) once Treasury yields would go sideways. So, keep the overt bullishness in check.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin continues building a base, but the volume behind the downswings looks to favor the sellers now. Ethereum is another cup of tea, continuing to form a bullish flag before another advance, but it must return to outperformance first. We aren‘t there yet.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are ready to defend and extend gains, and credit markets confirm the drive higher both in tech and value as Russell 2000 catches its daily breath too.Gold, silver and miners are well positioned for the upswing continuation, powered by further retreat in real rates. Higher precious metals prices are ahead.Crude oil is still bullishly range bound, and the resumption of deliveries to the South and East won‘t crater it. Neither would the Middle East tensions spike it tough, but that‘s relevant to the precious metals too.Bitcoin‘s short-term outlook isn‘t yet bullish, but this can‘t be said about Ethereum to the same degree, which would be outperforming the best known crypto hands down. For those in favor of spread trades, going long Ethererum while shorting Bitcoin (the positions‘ relative moves with equal risk exposure), seems a great idea. Ethereum outlook remains bullish, and the sole question remains how far and for how long it would pull back before another upleg.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Metals Preparation For A Big Upside Move (Part II)

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 18.05.2021 05:23
In the first portion of this research article, I highlighted the correlation between Gold and the US Dollar as well as the correlation between the US Dollar and the EURUSD and JPYUSD.  The purpose of this example was to highlight the different phases of US Dollar appreciation vs depreciation compared to the EURUSD/JPYUSD.  The EURUSD and JPYUSD are often compared to the US Dollar as major global currencies.  Therefore, when the US Dollar moves into a depreciation phase, we expect to see the EURUSD and JPYUSD move into an appreciation phase.How this correlated to the price of Gold and the phases of advancing vs declining precious metals is simple to understand.  Gold will stall, or more broadly downward, while the US Dollar is within an advancing/appreciation phase.  Gold will move higher or begin an upward trend bias when the US Dollar begins to generally weaken or moves into a declining/depreciation phase.Understanding Cycle Phases & Correlative Gold Price Trend BiasIn the first portion of this research article, I highlighted this relationship by detailing the 2007-08 US Dollar depreciation phase that lasted until a major bottom setup in 2014 (almost exactly 7 years).  That next US Dollar appreciation phase lasted until a recent major peak in March 2020 (almost exactly 7 years).  If the US Dollar continues to decline in value after the COVID-19 virus event and the change in cycle phases, we can expect another 5 to 7+ years of advancing precious metals prices as a result.The recent bottoming in Gold, just above the $1700 price level, set up a very unique scenario related to potential future advances in price.  The current Gold rally from the 2015 lows, near $1045.40, to recent highs near $2089.20 represents almost a 100% price advance.  In my opinion, this rally in Gold is similar to the rally that took place between 2000 and 2005 – starting near the end of a US stock market appreciation phase and lasting about 3.5 years into a US stock market depreciation phase.  Our researchers believe the US stock market has completed a recent price appreciation phase in 2018~2019 and that we are only about 1~2 years into a new US stock market depreciation phase – which may last until 2027~2029.The Monthly Gold Futures chart, below, highlights these Appreciation/Depreciation phases and the advancing/declining price of Gold over the past 25+ years.  We want you to pay very close attention to how Gold started to rally in 2000 as the markets peaked because of the DOT COM rally.  This rally started in the midst of a US stock market appreciation phase – just like what happened in 2015.  Gold prices rallied from the 2000 lows to reach the initial +100% advance by early 2006 (in the midst of a housing market rally and in the midst of a Depreciation US stock market phase).  After that, Gold rallied another +265% reaching a peak price level $1923.70 in September 2011.Currently, Gold has rallied approximately 100% from the 2015 lows – similar to the 2000~2006 rally.  The current downside price move in Gold suggests the recent highs, near $2089.20 in August 2020, complete a Cup-n-Handle pattern.  Additionally, because we have just entered a US stock market Depreciation phase, we believe the price of Gold will continue to advance to levels highlighted in the chart above.  The first target level is $2600, then $3200, then $3790.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!Our Currency Correlation Inverse Trend Index also aligns with the Appreciation/Depreciation cycle phases.  If the US Dollar continues to decline in value over the next 2 to 5+ years, attempting to consolidate below $84 as it has done in the past, then we believe the EURUSD/JPYUSD currency values may advance above the threshold (near 0.65) to prompt a stronger rally in precious metals over the next 4+ years.US Dollar & Currency Correlations Suggest Big Advance In Metals Is PendingThe primary driver of this move is the declining US Dollar – not the move higher in the EURUSD or JPYUSD.  These other currencies are simply barometers of the global perception of the strength of the US Dollar.  A weakening US Dollar will usually be prompt a moderate advance in Gold prices.  We believe the correlation between the US Dollar value (above or below the 85~86 level), as well as the correlation of the strength of the EURUSD and JPYUSD in comparison to the US Dollar, may prompt a change in how Gold reacts to moderate trend bias as well as how Gold reacts to changes in the US Dollar trends.  The bias trend of Gold within this extended market cycle phase tends to mitigate Gold price volatility as the US Dollar temporarily bottoms/bases and starts to rise.  This suggests a broader rally in Gold throughout this new market cycle phase may extend much higher than many people expect.The following Monthly Custom Metals Inverse Trend chart, below, highlights the bottoming/basing formation in the currency correlation compared to Gold.  You can see the moderately deep bottom that set up in Gold between the peak in 2011 and the bottom in 2015, as well as the recent rally in gold to the new highs.  The recent moderate selloff in Gold correlated to a very minor decline in the Inverse Currency Index – suggesting that a bigger rally is setting up as currencies rotate into the new cycle phase.Our Custom Metals Index Weekly chart, below, highlights the recent upward price rotation in the precious metals/miners sectors.  Pay very close attention to the RED price channels on this chart and the LIGHT BLUE arching GANN Fan resistance levels near the recent tops in price.  We believe any upside price advance above these current GANN arcs will prompt a rally that may push metals prices back into the RED price channels – advancing possibly +10% to +30% higher before the end of 2021.  This advance may prompt Gold to rally to levels near our $2600 price target before the end of 2021.  Silver may advance to levels above $39~$44, more than 30% to 40% from current price levels if Gold continues to advance as we expect.US Dollar Flirting With Massive Price Decline Once $89.00 Is BreachedOne key factor that is likely to drive this new advance in Gold and Silver – the US Dollar trends.  I am watching two critical support levels in the US Dollar right now; $89.70 and $89.20.  If the US Dollar falls below either of these support levels, Gold will likely advance higher as the currency depreciation cycle phase appears to be continuing to engage as we expect.  Remember, the key level for the US Dollar is that 85~86 level. The closer we get to those levels, the more conviction traders and investors will have regarding the advancing precious metals prices.  The 89 price level for the US Dollar is likely the breaking point for this cycle phase to really break loose so watch that level very closely.As the US stock market attempts to shrug off inflationary concerns and worries that the US Fed may be forced to raise rates to curb inflationary trends, Traders and Investors should start to pay attention to precious metals and the currency correlations related to these broader market cycle phases.  My research team and I have published a number of articles related to these Appreciation/Depreciation cycle phases and attempted to warn of potential market volatility events over the past 8+ months, including: How To Spot The End of an Excess Phase (November 27, 2020); Are We Days Away From Potential GANN/Fibonacci Price Peak? (March 17, 2021); Adapting Dynamic Learning Shows Possible Upside Price Rally In Gold & Silver (November 22, 2020).What is important to understand about this potential cycle phase shift and new precious metals trend bias is that it may take many weeks or months to complete before the bigger rally really starts to build momentum.  Yet, the evidence is starting to build that a decreasing US Dollar trend may prompt this new cycle phase shift in the currency correlation and that may prompt a big shift in how precious metals and miners start to rally higher.  Right now, we are seeing Gold and Silver start to shift into a new bullish trend bias – therefore, we may be starting to see a shifting in expectations; which is very similar to what we saw in 2000~2005 – just before Gold exploded higher.Make sure you stay on top of the prices of precious metals if you want to be able to take advantage of the expected rally. Every morning I share my market analysis and review the price action of precious metals with my premium subscribers of BAN Trader Pro. Join now to get my pre-market video analysis deilvered to your inbox every morning, and get ready for a great ride in Gold and Silver over the coming months and years!Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – DAX Back To Peak

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.05.2021 07:39
GER 30 retests record highGermany’s DAX 30 claws back previous losses as the economic outlook brightens.On the daily timeframe, the latest sideways action has allowed the RSI to drop back to the neutrality area, which is good news for a breakneck bull market.On the hourly chart, strong momentum above the last leg of the sell-off indicates traders’ conviction in buying the dip.April’s high at 15520 is the main obstacle and a breakout could push the index to a new record high. 15220 is the closest support in case of a pullback.USDJPY retraces for supportThe Japanese yen stayed muted as the country’s GDP contracted slightly more than expected in Q1.The surge above 109.70 is an indication that buyers have regained control after a two-week-long consolidation. The US dollar is pulling back after the RSI overshot to 80.Buying interests are likely to be found at the demand area between 108.65 and 108.90. Further down, a drop to 108.30 may extend the consolidation.On the upside, bulls could trigger a broader rally if they succeed in clearing the resistance at 109.70.EURGBP recovers after RSI divergenceThe euro inched higher after Eurozone bond yields climbed to multi-month highs. The pair is still in a recovery phase following last week’s sell-off.The RSI divergence has signaled a deceleration in the bearish momentum. The breakout above 0.8610 has prompted more sellers to take profit, lifting pressure on the single currency.0.8640, support turned into resistance is the next hurdle. A bullish breakout could send the price to 0.8680. 0.8560-90 is the demand area if the pair needs to find bids.
Bitcoin, the beauty principle

Bitcoin, the beauty principle

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 18.05.2021 12:33
Bitcoin is for 14 months in a bull run, and we see future price levels take out all-time highs within this year. That is not all. When you look back through all time frames over the last twenty years, you will find Bitcoins’ trading behavior to be unusually directional. While most heavily traded market instruments trade most of the time in a sideways zone, any directional tools used in charting for Bitcoin come in handy. Bitcoin is also volatile and accelerates fast in its directional legs, not ideal for low-risk reentries with the conventional use of fixed indicator settings. Consequently, we will illustrate our termed “beauty principle” on moving averages in the following chart.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Thinking from the market’s perspective:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 17th, 2021.Looking at this year’s price action from a daily time frame perspective, we find support near US$30,000 at the beginning of the year and a low-risk long entry at a double bottom near the end of January. From there, the price explodes to the upside.A. Once prices trend higher and point A is identified as a significant low, we import a moving average indicator. We set it that the price precisely touches the indicator line. The settings turn out to be 52.B. Like A, another major low got identified, and again we import a moving average and set its settings for a precise price touch to the indicator line. The settings turn out to be 37.C. We enter the market once the price touches the 37 MA and the price bounces for an 8% move. Enough for generous financing if you use our quad exit strategy and walk away with profits with the rest position stopped out at break-even entry levels. In this case, we generously allowed this trade to be a small losing trade should you use a different exit strategy that doesn’t mitigate risk.D. Another extremely low-risk entry point provides a profitable trade of more than 28% if measured to the ATH, equaling a risk-reward ratio of over 1:55 with our 0.5% stop size.E. Like D, prices turn precisely at the moving average touch, and advances exceeding 17% could have been made (r:r 1:34).F. Shows that once both moving averages touch and flat line, the temporary trend is invalidated.We are trying to illustrate that thinking from the market’s perspective, being principle-based, provides better results. Better than insisting on the market price to bounce from random assumed settings as fixed parameters.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Visual harmony:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 17th, 2021.The beauty principle is wide span. Since the all-time high in April this year, the price has tapered off. Over the last week, the price decline has accelerated. While the most typical technical analysis was at a loss to identify the low-risk entry point near US$42,280 (we post all our entries and exits in real-time in our free telegram channel), a linear regression channel only based on user settings that made the point a and point b touch precisely these two market highs, allowed us to pinpoint this precision low-risk entry.At a closer look, you will find no help from TA tools like support resistance lines or transactional volume support, which was at a void Chanel at US$42k.Instead, you will find at point d exactly the same candlestick overshoot length through the bottom line of the linear regression line as on point c.Please don’t take our word for it. Experiment with this way of accommodating the market versus rigid methods in a fluid environment. You will find the beauty principle to be principle-based and very useful.  BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin, the beauty principle, Room to go:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of May 17th, 2021.Let us zoom out to the bigger picture using a weekly chart. We can see that Bitcoin only had two major legs yet in this uptrend. Consequently, if the price closes within the sideways zone Nr.2 (red box) above US$44,500 by the end of this week, we have excellent chances for further price advances.Bitcoin, the beauty principle:What we termed the beauty principle isn’t only applicable to directional indicators but most technical interpretations. Inventors and, more importantly, interpreters of technical tools that manipulate the values a chart is made of (like price, volume, transactions, time, range) insist on strictly defined rules. They create, in a world of uncertainties, a tool to try to gain certainty. They support the ego’s need of being right. While this can help partially for confidence and the psychology of trading, it is, in our humble opinion, a limited way of trying to restrict a field that in principle has a vast number of variables and, as such, needs more room for interpretation. Instead of insisting on a rigid number setting of an indicator being matched by the market, it is much more useful to look back at the most recent event and instead adjust ones’ setting to the way it fits what the market did at that time. Ride the wave and let the market dictate your behavior versus trying to please the ego. This is much more principle-based versus hoping for the market to behave as you want it to. Especially knowing that the market does not care what you want in the first place.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 17th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Tests February’s Peak

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.05.2021 09:31
GBPUSD grinds to 3-month high Sterling carries on its ascent as Britain’s jobless rate dropped to 4.8% between January and March. The pound was supported by rising bids after it broke above 1.4150. The breakout confirms the bullish MA cross from last Friday. February’s peak at 1.4240 is a major resistance ahead. Its breach could extend the rally to 1.44s. In the meantime, there is a limited risk to the downside as an overbought RSI within this supply zone may trigger profit-takings. 1.4130 is the immediate support should this happen. USOIL retraces from major supply zone Oil prices stay high as reopenings across Europe raise expectations of demand recovery. WTI is currently hovering under March’s peak at 67.90, a critical supply area where stiff pressure can be expected from profit-taking and fresh shorting. The price is likely to go sideways in the short term to build up momentum. The RSI has returned to the neutrality zone. A rebound from the area near 64.30 would suggest solid support. Further down, 63.30 is critical in safeguarding the current uptrend. XAUUSD tests daily resistance Weakness in the US dollar continues to fuel demand for bullions. Gold has been inching up along the 30-hour moving average. Bullish sentiment takes a foothold after a series of higher highs. The price action is now testing a key resistance level at 1874 from the daily timeframe. Combined with an overextended RSI, the supply pressure could prompt short-term traders to cash in. 1844 would be the first support in case of a correction. On the upside, a bullish breakout may send the price to the psychological level of 1900.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold: Reversal Is the Name of the Game

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.05.2021 15:47
When the USDX declines, the PMs usually celebrate and rise as a result. However, this was not the case yesterday – and we can’t ignore it.“Reversal” is the name of the game, at least when it comes to the precious metals market.The USD Index declined profoundly once again yesterday (May 18), and gold, silver, and mining stocks ignored this move. They didn’t want to follow in its footsteps anymore.As you can see, the USD Index reached its horizontal support provided by the previous important low. Low that was formed after a fake breakdown below the neck level of a supposedly bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. The USDX is not only at similar price levels; it’s also right after a supposedly bearish breakdown below. The reversal could be just around the corner, or we might have already seen it, given today’s (small, but still) pre-market move higher.As I mentioned above, yesterday’s sizable decline in the USDX should have triggered substantial rallies in the PMs. What happened instead?Reversals .What Happened to Gold?Gold reversed right at its triangle-vertex-based… well, reversal, and the combination of resistance lines.The reversal in gold took place after gold moved very close to its mid-January highs and the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the August 2020 – March 2021 decline.The sizes of the current rally (taking the second March bottom as the starting point) and the rally that ended at the beginning of this year are practically identical at the moment.Just as the rallies from early 2012 and late 2012 (marked with blue) were almost identical, the same could happen now.The March 2021 low formed well below the previous low, but as far as other things are concerned, the current situation is similar to what happened in 2012.The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally had ended in huge volume, which is exactly what we saw on Friday. To be 100% precise, the 2012 rally didn’t end then, but it was when over 95% of the rally was over. Gold moved very insignificantly higher since that time. Most importantly, though, it was the “dollars to the upside, hundreds of dollars to the downside” situation. And it seems that we are in this kind of situation right now once again.Interestingly, back in 2013 gold started its gargantuan (…) slide from about $1,800 and it is not far from this level also today.Moreover, let’s keep in mind that the RSI indicator just topped slightly above 70, which is what tends to happen when gold tops. The upside seems very limited. In fact, it seems that the top in gold is already in.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped. I don’t want to get into too many USD-related short-term details, as I did that yesterday, but let’s take a closer look at the short-term developments on the stock market .Stock MarketIn short, the situation doesn’t look pretty. To explain, I wrote the following on May 11:The markets are self-similar (which is another way of saying that they have a fractal nature), which generally means that while the history tends to rhyme, it also tends to rhyme in similar shapes of alike or various sizes.For example, the rally from 2018–2020 seems very similar to the rally from 2020 to the present. Both rallies started after a sharp decline, and the first notable correction took the form of back-and-forth trading around the previous high. I marked those situations with big rectangles.Then the rally continued with relatively small week-to-week volatility. I created rising support lines based on the final low of the broad short-term consolidation and the first notable short-term bottom.This line was broken, and some back-and-forth trading followed, but it was only about half of the previous correction in terms of price and time.Then, we saw a sharp rally that then leveled off. And that was the top . The thing that confirmed the top was the visible breakdown below the rising support line right after stocks invalidated a tiny breakout to new highs. That’s what happened in February 2020, and that’s what happened this month.“Time is more important than price; when the time comes, the price will reverse”. Both rallies took an almost identical amount of time: 60 weeks vs. 59 weeks.Stocks moved a bit higher recently, but yesterday’s and today’s pre-market decline seem to be telling investors that the initial slide was not just another correction in the bull market. This is the first time when the S&P 500 was unable to get back above its rising support line after temporarily breaking below it. Instead, we saw an attempt to rally, and now we see another slide lower.This is bearish for gold’s forecast , but also very bearish for silver and mining stocks, which are more correlated with the stock market than gold is.Speaking of silver, let’s take a look at its price chart.The white metal has clearly reversed yesterday (May 18), and at the moment of writing these words, it’s trading back below its May 10 high and the $28 level. Just like it is the case with gold, it seems to me that the outlook for silver is bearish.Mining stocks seem to have reversed in a rather odd manner, but in one that’s ultimately in tune with how tops are formed based on technical analysis principles.The same (or very similar) opening and closing price levels accompanied by an intraday reversal after an intraday decline – when seen after a short-term rally – are called a “hanging man” candlestick. In short, it’s one of the reversal candlestick patterns. It should have been confirmed by a huge volume – it wasn’t, so it’s not that important, though.The most important details are still based on the preceding day’s huge volume, the RSI, and the way the GDX ETF topped in the past.The GDX ETF soared to new highs on volume that was much greater than 40M shares. This happened only three times in the past 12 months. In each of those three cases, it was a major top, or it was very, very close to it.The RSI just moved above 70, and it happened only twice recently. One time it heralded the 2020 top, and the other time we saw it in late February 2020 – right before a huge slide started.Consequently, taking all the above into account, it seems to me that the situation in the precious metals market is very bearish right now, as it seems to be either topping or after the top. If I didn’t have a short position in the junior mining stocks right now, I would have opened it today.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Stock Market Attempts To Break Support Channel – What's Next?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 19.05.2021 22:12
The recent price volatility related to the surprise Jobs number, nearly ten days ago, and the potential for inflationary price trends extended beyond the Fed expectations has created a unique type of sideways price rotation on the INDU chart.  This recent price volatility suggests the markets are struggling to identify future trend bias as well as attempting to shake out certain traders and investors (running stops).Additionally, the downside price trend we've recently seen in Lumber, breaking away from the continued rally mode, and Bitcoin, breaking downward nearly -54% from recent highs, suggests a broad market “washout” is taking place.  How far will this trend continue?  Will the US stock market break downward like Bitcoin has recently done?  Let's take a look at the charts and try to answer some of these questions.Before we continue exploring charts, I suggest readers review some of my recent research posts relating to this potential downward price trend in the US/Global markets, including: Are We Days Away From Potential Gann/Fibonacci Price Peak? (March 17, 2021); Market Leverage Reaches New All-Time Highs As The Excess Phase Rally Continues (April 25, 2021); and Are Apple, Tesla, and Bitcoin Entering a Technical ‘Excess Phase Top’? Should You Be In Cash Right Now? Part II (May 15, 2021).Expect Continued Price Volatility As Markets Attempt To Establish New TrendsWe'll start by exploring the Dow Jones Industrial Average Daily chart, below, and the first thing we want to highlight is the extended upward (YELLOW) price trend channel.  This upward sloping price channel has been in force since the March 2020 COVID-19 lows.  It was confirmed by the November 2020 lows and retested in March 2021.  Typically, when price channels this strongly over an extended period of time, the price channel becomes a psychological barrier/wall for price trending.  When it is breached or broken, price trends often react moderately aggressively – with excessive volatility.Over the past 10+ days, near the right edge of this chart, we can see that price has started to react with much higher volatility and broad sideways price trends.  It appears the INDU chart has entered a new phase of market price activity – moving away from moderately low volatility bullish trending and into much higher volatility sideways rotation.  We attribute this to a shift in how traders and investors perceive the future actions of the US Fed and how risks are suddenly much more prominent than they were 3+ weeks ago.  It appears the “rally euphoria” has ended and traders are starting to adjust expectations related to a slower economic reflation of the global economy.Depending on how traders and investors perceive the future growth opportunities in the US and global markets, as well as how new strains of the COVID-19 virus may continue to disrupt global economies, we may see a fairly big change in trend throughout the rest of 2021 and possibly into 2020.  In our opinion, the tremendous rally phase that took place between October 2020 and now has been anchored on the perception that the COVID vaccines would allow for an almost immediate and nearly full economic recovery attempt.  Now, after we are seeing various new strains of COVID ravage India, Europe, Africa and parts of South-East Asia, expectations may be changing quickly.Everything Hinges On How Price Reacts Near The YELLOW Support Channel LineThis Weekly Dow Jones Industrial Average chart highlights the same upward sloping price trend from the March 2020 COVID-19 lows.  It also shows the start of the broad market rotation over the past three weeks and highlights three key “standout lows” that we interpret as critical support levels.  These support levels are at $32,090, 30,575, and $29,875.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!If we continue to see downward price trending which breaks through the YELLOW upward sloping price channel line, it is very likely that price will continue to move lower while attempting to find new support near these standout low price levels.  This suggests any breakdown in the INDU may prompt a further -5% to -11% downside price move.If the recent price rotation stalls and continues to find support above the YELLOW upward sloping price channel line, then we expect the US markets to transition into a sideways bottoming formation which will prompt another rally attempt in the near future. Everything hinges on what happens over the next few weeks related to this key YELLOW upward sloping price channel.What this means for traders and Investors is that certain market sectors are still posed for strength and growth over the next 6 to 12 months.  The recent downside price volatility suggests broad market concerns related to a continued reflation trade are certainly evident in how the markets are trending.  Yet, within this potential sideways rotation, there are sectors and trends that still present very real opportunities for profits. If the major US indexes find support above the YELLOW price channel line and attempt to mount another rally, traders need to be prepared for this potential opportunity in the markets – attempting to target the best and strongest market sectors.As I just mentioned, everything hinges on what happens over the next few days and weeks related to the YELLOW price support channel.  One way or another, the markets are either going to attempt to rally higher while this support channel holds or a bigger breakdown event may take place as price breaks below the support channel and attempts to find new, lower, support.Learn why we moved our BAN clients into CASH over a week ago and learn how we use the BAN trading strategy to manage risks and take advantage of the strongest market sectors. Please take a minute to learn about our BAN Trader Pro strategy and how it can help you identify and trade better sector setups.  Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the BAN Trader Pro system trades.  You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.Enjoy the rest of your day!!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Euro Searches For Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 20.05.2021 07:43
EURUSD retreats from resistanceThe euro slowed its advance after April’s CPI dropped to 0.7% YoY.The pair has met selling pressure at February’s peak at 1.2240. An overbought RSI is likely to prompt short-term players to take profit, pushing the price into a deeper correction.The divergence is a sign of loss of momentum in the bid war. The previous supply zone near 1.2150 has turned into a support where buyers may wait for a bargain.On the upside, a bullish breakout could trigger an extended rally above 1.2300.USDCAD rebounds to resistanceThe US dollar climbed back after the Fed minutes left the door open for discussing tapering. The pair had previously dipped below September 2017’s low at 1.2060, increasing the downward pressure.The rebound may turn out to be elusive just to let the RSI recover into the neutral area. The price action faces multiple layers of resistance.After clearing the closest one at 1.2135 early bulls will need to lift 1.2200 to force sellers to start to fold.On the downside, a return to 1.2010 may send the exchange rate towards 1.1920.UK 100 consolidates above major supportFTSE 100 remains under pressure after the UK’s inflation doubled to 1.5% last month. The surge from the demand area near 6840 indicates buyers’ commitment to keep the boat afloat.Recent whipsaws are a strong sign of the market’s indecision in the short term. Sideways action may offer opportunities for range trading.The psychological level of 6900 is a demand area. An oversold RSI could help lift the index temporarily.7066 is the immediate resistance and its breach could send the price back to 7166.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

10-Year Note Yields: Opportunity to Benefit?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.05.2021 15:43
Given yesterday’s headlines with Bitcoin plunging, did you take a peek at interest rates? Could a stronger dollar lie ahead with higher rates?While everybody’s eyes are peeled on cryptocurrencies and a crowded short DXY trade, let’s revisit the potentially polar opposite of a crypto instrument: 10-year notes. Yields rose on Wednesday, settling at 1.683%, just off the intraday high of 1.692%. I like to take a look when few others are looking. As yields closed near the highs of the day, with other risk assets seeming out of favor, at least temporarily, let’s revisit the 10-year notes.Figure 1 -CBOE 10-year US Treasury Yield Daily Candles January 19, 2021 - May 19, 2021. Source stockcharts.comBonds and equities have an interesting relationship. The trade that has worked in recent years has been long the bonds or 10-year notes (short yield) and long the $SPX . That trade has worked for a long, long time, overall. However, trends eventually change and given the current environment of the US Dollar Index approaching a key long-term Fibonacci retracement level, and yields looking like they want to climb, things could turn out differently in the short run.In my May 11th publication , we were eyeing potential precision entry levels for a short trade in the June 10-year notes (higher yields). Remember, bond prices and yields move inversely to one another . We discussed some key technical indicators, and the idea was sound. Reviewing this analysis, the 50-day moving average was a key level that was analyzed and discussed. That idea was put on pause due to the bounceback that occurred in the $SPX , and a trader would usually not want to be caught short bonds with a snapback rally and $VIX crush in the cards. Since that is so “last week”, we can now take a look and see what has transpired since then. The 50-day moving average has held like a rock in $TNX over 4 trading sessions. We can see what appears to be a “cup and handle(y) type of bullish continuation pattern that is forming here. It just feels like rates want to rise, and therefore the 10-year note futures could fall.Figure 2 -June 10-year T-Note Futures CBOT (ZNM2021) 4 Hour Candles April 12, 2021 - May 19, 2021. Source tradingview.comIt really doesn’t get more textbook than this , as we can see a clear head and shoulders formation occurring here in the June 10-year notes. Rallies to the neckline have stalled, and yields have been finding support at the 50-day MA. Notice the potentially bearish MACD (12,26,9) action on the 4-hour candle chart, trading just south of the zero line. RSI(14) appears to be anything but bullish.But, what do you think? The Fed says rates will remain “lower for longer”. That theme still exists. However, please remember that the Fed only sets the overnight lending rate and not the longer-term duration rates. Thankfully, free markets determine such rates. What is the market telling us? And what about the DXY? As we approach some longer-term important technical levels, how could this affect the price of 10-year notes? There is a flux of data pulling markets in bipolar directions at this time, in my opinion, and this could create opportunity.Based on the recent price action, there could be a potential opportunity to benefit from a market curve pricing discrepancy between the actual short-term rate levels set by the Fed, and what the charts are showing us with the recent action in the 10-year note.Now, for our premium subscribers, let’s dig into the ZNM2021 short-term technicals and the potential key levels for today. In addition, we have been stalking the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) , which is especially interesting, given yesterday's action in Bitcoin. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian ContributorSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Markets Rising from the Ashes

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.05.2021 15:52
S&P 500 caught a partial bid yesterday, enough to stave off the break of prior Wednesday‘s lows. All isn‘t fine under the surface though as yet another Fed trial baloon emerges – this time, talking about talking taper, doing predictable wonders for the dollar. As I have stated, it‘s when the Fed would really move that the greenback would go up again. The important word here is „really“ - this doesn‘t qualify yet, but the noises can‘t be ignored.That‘s taking me to the partial bid mention as it shows in the S&P 500 sectoral action – tech rises and value continues trembling. The Russell 2000 keeps lagging while emerging markets seem to still doubt the Fed‘s seriousness. But the VIX daily move is positive as the daily spike has been clearly rejected – another, this time a smaller and pickier algo repositioning at work. At the same time, option players got positioned for another shoe to drop, tying in well with their moves overall since late Feb.Inflationary fears aren‘t by any means quelled just yet – Treasuries disregarded yesterday‘s retreat in inflation expectations. The Fed approach needs a refresher:(...) when the central bank‘s manual consists mostly of transitory inflation talking points and tolerance to upside overshoots. The market is thinking otherwise, and the speed with which stocks seem to be discounting the P&L impact of cost-push inflation, sends a warning as clear as the dissipating PPI effects. Just wait for when the job market pressures add in. In my view, the market is worrying that the Fed is losing / has lost the inflation battle.At the same time, the Fed is prepping / making noises it‘s prepping for the inflation specter. As said, inflation is the tool to eventually sink stocks, and the fear is hitting value and tech alike. Yet similarly to Nasdaq upswing yesterday, corporate credit markets are sending a glimmer of hope that the return to risk-on is approaching, and could lift the challenged value stocks, which typically don‘t take well to retreating yields lately. At the same time, we‘re still in the phase of their outperformance of tech, which is in line with the reflation and reopening themes. The discrepancies in sectoral performance of late are the explanation behind the S&P 500 pendulum swinging bullish delayed again.Gold caught a safe haven bid but the miners hesitated to a degree. Silver sold off in sympathy with most commodities, but not much has changed overall in the precious metals upswing anatomy. Yes, the upcoming soft patch I first mentioned on Monday, isn‘t over yet – but the miners to gold ratio says this is just white noise aka pullback within an uptrend. Metals bulls needn‘t worry, and could time it the way I did – to take off the table sizable open profits in the maxed out position sizing limits of mine that had been accumulating since the march to imperfect second bottom in late Mar. Keep in mind the big picture:(…) as I stated a month ago, the unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates, are forming a bid below the metals, mainly below gold. What started as a decoupling from rising nominal yields that I talked in early Mar, will continue in a more obvious way, the more the markets would worry about Fed‘s perceived control over inflation.By the same token, the more the Fed moves to control nominal rates, the more under pressure real rates would get. Patience still though as I am looking for the 10-year yield to trend modestly lower over the coming weeks, and for return of rising yields in early autumn. For now, metals keep looking forward, discounting…Crude oil isn‘t happy about the Iranian deal, and keeps searching for a bottom. It would however come back once the risk appetite returns. For now, let‘s see where the bulls would step in – the oil sector ($XOI) still favors that to happen relatively soon.Bitcoin and Ethereum are recovering from yesterday plunge, and more than a few bulls are dipping their toes in. The worst certainly appears to be over, and the very profitable Bitcoin short (closed yesterday) resulted in smashing gains. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 is far out of the woods just yet – the market breadth attests to weakening leadership. While the bullish percent index remains okay for now, new highs new lows better start recovering alongside value.Credit MarketsCorporate bonds – whether high yield or investment grade ones – show an early sign of S&P 500 support, the junk ones especially.Technology and ValueTech rose without much help from $NYFANG, but it‘s value that needs to be watched closely. Fed-driven change in gears wouldn‘t serve the sector well.Gold, Silver and MinersGold bulls better get ready to defend gained ground as a move lower appears increasingly likely, not only the miners say.The copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio spells short-term caution for both gold and silver.Crude OilCrude oil is about to form a local low quite soon, and the starting signs of accumulation are there.SummaryS&P 500 bulls have the initiative and budding credit market support. How well they defend the gains, needs to be watched closely next.Gold and miners still indicate we haven‘t left the soft patch as silver waits for more support from the commodities space.Crude oil is stabilizing and the oil index supports higher prices, but the local bottom isn‘t yet formed.Bitcoin and Ethereum recovery goes on, making it worthwhile to eye an opportune entry point after the washout.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Holds Onto Major Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.05.2021 09:35
AUDUSD treads water above supportThe Australian dollar recovered as last month’s jobless rate fell to 5.5%. The pair is currently in an extended consolidation above the key daily support at 0.7690.Buyers’ failure to hold could send the Aussie back to 0.7600 which is critical to the integrity of the uptrend. 0.7815 acts as a gatekeeper after a rebound stopped short of pushing higher.Only by clearing this resistance would buyers commit more chips to the table. A bullish breakout may resume the rally with 0.7890 as the first target.CADJPY goes into temporary correctionThe Canadian dollar bounced back after the job market showed the third straight month of gains. The strong bearish momentum below the psychological level of 90.00 was an indication of profit-taking.The RSI has recovered to the neutrality area following the initial dip. Though it would be too soon to call a reversal as the price action has built support on its way up. 89.60 is the closest one.Further down 89.05 is important to maintain the bullish bias. A rally above 90.60 may prompt more trend followers to jump in.SPX 500 consolidates above key supportUS equity markets remain subdued as risk appetite takes a backseat. The S&P 500 has pierced through the 30-day moving average, adding pressure on the buy-side.The price action is again testing the demand area around 4040 after a short-lived rebound. A bearish breakout could trigger a new wave of sell-off to 3900. On the upside, 4185, former support turned into resistance is a major obstacle before the rally could carry on.In the meantime, sideways actions within a 140-point range may last into the weekend.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold, Silver, Miners: The Zenith and Its Shadows

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.05.2021 14:49
Most likely we saw the precious metals reach their zenith on May 19, like the tropical sun on the day of the equinox. What will come afterward?Usually, when we think about the zenith, we have in mind a natural phenomenon caused by the tropical sun being exactly over our heads. But the zenith can also mean that something reached its peak – and just as the sun starts casting increasingly longer shadows after retreating from the highest point in the sky, the same happens when an asset on the market starts backing out after topping.Its shadow – i.e., its ramifications – is cast in one particular direction, and it usually goes this way until the sun sets. Therefore, just as the shadows are getting longer, and longer, and longer, the drop after the top could go lower, and lower, and lower…During yesterday’s (May 20) session, we saw more or less the repeat of the previous day’s indications – gold stocks reversed once again, and gold is trading where it was trading two days ago. Silver is already trading lower. Consequently, much of my previous comments remain up-to-date.On Wednesday, gold miners reversed in a classically bearish way, and yesterday’s low-volume session (also a reversal) looks like Wednesday’s reversal’s shadow.The GDX ETF first tried to rally to new highs, then it failed to hold them. Wednesday’s reversal took place on big volume (important bearish confirmation), and the “shadow reversal” took place on relatively low volume. The low volume doesn’t confirm the reversal, but it more or less invalidates the seemingly bullish fact that miners closed yesterday’s session higher.Moreover, please note that the volume was similarly low to what we saw on January 7, 2021, when the 4-day top was ending. Yesterday was the fourth day of what appears to be a broad top.Let’s also keep in mind that the RSI indicator just moved back below 70 after being above it. This happens rarely, and when it happened previously (in the past 1.5 years), it meant that a huge price decline was about to follow.Silver reversed in a different manner.The white metal didn’t move to new highs yesterday. Conversely, it moved lower, and then it only recovered intraday decline without moving visibly higher ( silver futures ended the day only $0.04 higher). The true reversal happened on Tuesday – and what we saw yesterday and on Wednesday was just its consequence. It’s quite often the case that the tops and bottoms in the precious metals market take place more or less (!) simultaneously, but not necessarily exactly on the same day. Consequently, what we saw this week is quite normal.Gold didn’t manage to move to new intraday highs yesterday – however, it didn’t decline visibly either.It moved a bit lower in today’s pre-market trading, and overall, it’s just $8 higher than it was at the end of Tuesday’s session. This might seem positive given that gold managed to move slightly above its declining medium-term resistance lines. However, given what’s happening in the mining stocks and all the signals from them, I doubt this breakout will really hold.Here’s another reason: the Fed is attempting to control the long-term rates, and we just saw a short-term exodus from the cryptocurrency market. Theoretically, capital should be flowing into gold as a safe-haven / inflation-hedge asset, and it should be soaring . But it’s not. It did move higher recently, but compared to what “should have” happened given the importance of the above-mentioned developments, the reaction is barely noticeable.Instead, gold seems to be insisting on repeating – to some extent – its 2012 performance, and – to some extent – its 2008 performance. Either way, it seems that gold is about to slide.The reversal in gold took place after gold moved very close to its mid-January highs and the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the August 2020 – March 2021 decline.The sizes of the current rally (taking the second March bottom as the starting point) and the rally that ended at the beginning of this year are practically identical at the moment.Just as the rallies from early 2012 and late 2012 (marked with blue) were almost identical, the same could happen now.The March 2021 low formed well below the previous low, but as far as other things are concerned, the current situation is similar to what happened in 2012.The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended in huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year.What is even more interesting is that back in 2013 gold started its gargantuan (…) slide from about $1,800 and it is not far (from the long-term point of view) from this level also today.Moreover, let’s keep in mind that the RSI indicator just topped slightly above 70, which is what tends to happen when gold tops. The upside seems very limited. In fact, it seems that the top in gold might already be in.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Tug of War and Its Profitable Resolution

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.05.2021 15:57
S&P 500 bid is improving in breadth, and the fake moves rich consolidation‘s lows are getting more distant. And they are likely to stay that way as the market reassesses the Fed intentions to talk about talking taper – making the dollar catch a bid at first, the greenback keeps predictably tanking now, meaning that the Fed noises aren‘t to no surprise of mine taken seriously in the currency arena:(…) It‘s when the Fed would really move that the greenback would go up again. The important word here is „really“ - this doesn‘t qualify yet, but the noises can‘t be ignored.The market simply isn‘t convinced the Fed is serious about taking on inflation through (gradual) removal of the punch bowl – or about shaping its forward guidance credibly this way (yet). Inflation expectations are cooling down a little, and the Treasury market is tracking them closely. But this doesn‘t mean that bonds are taking the central bank seriously – this move is part and parcel of the transitory vs. getting (practically permanently unless a Fed game changer arrives – still unlikely) elevated inflation readings debate that I discussed on Monday:(..) while I think that the red hot CPI inflation would die down a little (i.e. not keep rising ever as steeply as was the case with Wednesday‘s data) once the year on year base to compare it against normalizes, a permanently elevated plateau of high and rising inflation would be a reality for more than foreseeable future simply because the Fed would be as behind as Arthur Burns was in fighting the 1970s inflation, and upward price pressures in the job market pressures would kick in.Thus I see the Treasury market reprieve as likely to continue, affecting positively tech and the defensive sectors such as utilities (currently forming a bullish flag), or the more bullish consumer staples and industrials posture. We‘re still in the value outperforming growth environment (reflation and reopening themes), it‘s just right now (last few days) that tech is pulling stronger ahead than value. The discrepancies in sectoral performance of late have been the explanation behind the S&P 500 pendulum swinging bullish delayed again. Value‘s reaction to the yields trajectory ahead would be telling, and I have no doubts there is quite some more juice left in the long value trade (and that the Russell 2000 isn‘t rolling over to the downside here).VIX is confirming the coming calm and so does the put/call ratio – bulls rejoice as the credit markets point in the same direction too. Inflation sinking P&L and stocks isn‘t yet on the cards, not by a long shot – my open S&P 500 profits keep growing.Gold and silver aren‘t crashed by the Fed noises about prepping for the inflation specter. Quite to the contrary, miners are pulling ahead, and copper offers still a positive view when combined with yields. The precious metals upleg is in no jeopardy as we work through this short-term soft patch in its closing stages – my new gold positions are profitable already.The miners to gold ratio says this is just white noise aka pullback within an uptrend – nothing to disturb the bulls. Keep in mind the big picture:(…) as I stated a month ago, the unavoidable inflation data bringing down real rates, are forming a bid below the metals, mainly below gold. What started as a decoupling from rising nominal yields that I talked in early Mar, will continue in a more obvious way, the more the markets would worry about Fed‘s perceived control over inflation. The more the Fed moves to control nominal rates, the more under pressure real rates would get – more than a single kiss of life for precious metals.Crude oil declined once again but is about to carve out a local bottom. The recent selloff has been a little overdone – that‘s what headline risk usually does. The oil sector ($XOI) isn‘t panicking, and still favors the bulls.Bitcoin and Ethereum rebounded from extremely oversold levels, and both are chopping around their 50-day moving averages. Bitcoin is the stronger one here, as can be seen from the strength of yesterday‘s rebound compared to the preceding day‘s selloff starting position. Still, even this choppy environment allowed me to grab some very modest long Ethereum profits as this second oldest crypto isn‘t yet ready to offer more.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookWe‘re quite close to the 4,180s level, closing above which I view as key for further S&P 500 gains.Credit MarketsCorporate bonds – whether high yield or investment grade ones – have turned very supportive of S&P 500 gains. I would look next for junk bonds to catch up more vigorously to give the stock bulls some more real legs.Technology and ValueTech and $NYFANG keep rising, bullish Nasdaq bets paying off – and finally value has turned. Watch out though as Fed-driven change in gears wouldn‘t serve VTV well – but again, there is still time.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners are indicating that the upswing pause shouldn‘t be overrated – and nominal yields won‘t stand in the way.The copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio is turning supportive again as the red metal is holding up well in spite of nominal yields retreating or China attempting to cool down domestic speculation in this and other commodities.Bitcoin and EthereumThe caption says it all – the crypto rebound hasn‘t elicited full interest of neither the bulls nor the bears thus far.SummaryS&P 500 bulls still have the initiative and increasing credit market support. I expect the outlook would turn clearly bullish shortly as this correction is much closer to its end that the start of the April started tired sideways trading full of fake breaks higher or lower.Gold and miners posture keeps improving, but look for silver to remain vulnerable to the downside thanks to the pressure on commodities that I expect from both the bond markets and inflation expectation moves.Crude oil is stabilizing and the oil index supports higher prices, but the local bottom isn‘t yet convincingly formed.Bitcoin and Ethereum rebound has stalled, and we‘re in the backing and filling stage with Bitcoin being the stronger one here. The dust hasn‘t settled yet in the crypto land.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Basel 3 the Silver bull

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 21.05.2021 16:12
Gold being the leader in the precious metal sector has a massive effect on Silver, and this is again another factor for our strongly bullish consensus.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Last weeks chart:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 21st, 2021.We published the green part of the daily chart above in our last week’s chartbook release pointing towards the consistency of the lower green regression channel line. With the additional transactional support supply line from our fractional volume analysis at US$26.85, odds were stacked. The astute reader took a low-risk entry below US$27 , the day after chartbook release.  The right side of the chart illustrates the target near US$28.50. This has been the 4th trade in this upward move that allowed for these low-risk market engagements. A part of time closing in towards Basel 3. Typically more significant retracements would follow after such an extension, but we continue to advocate the lower green line to be one for low-risk entries. Only because the situation with Silver due to Basel 3 is unique.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Acquiring coins and bullion:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of May 20th, 2021.The weekly chart above shows how Silver’s strength doesn’t ease even after a significant up-leg from March 2020. A bullish continuation triangle shows a minor trend within. Transaction volume has cemented a carpet of support below the price. It is again the lower green line that we find most attractive for low-risk trades (acquisitions). Just do not be deterred by the price difference between the spot price and the actual physical acquisition price.It would also come as no surprise if a triangle break would already manifest soon. Especially since US$27 has built itself out to be the significant volume analysis support zone for price.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Easily underestimated:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of May 20th, 2021.The monthly time frame shows how significant moves can get once the US$20 mark gets penetrated by price. We expect this time around for the price to exceed the US$50 mark. This because, typically, the length of the congestion zone before a range expansion directly influences the size of the following move.We would not be surprised to see a bull trend for many years to come. Doubters that find prices right now to be expensive will look back with agony why they didn’t grab some physical Silver when it was cheap.Basel 3 the Silver bull:A word of advice. Abnormalities like this bring with them changed market behavior. If you came late to the party or weren’t otherwise able yet to take advantage of low-risk entries, do not be discouraged. We mentioned market manipulation in our last two chartbooks. Banks have the resources to participate with an edge towards the market to get their desired physical acquisitions at a price that makes trading bumpy for the individual investor. Don’t bet the farm. Trade small size. Precision trading isn’t required for physical acquisitions since you do not aim to sell a week later.And do not use times like these to change your approach to the market. Generally speaking, you should not change your system when you struggle but either before or after market abnormalities. Confidence is the most crucial part of trading and investing. You do not want to jeopardize this confidence by altering your trading approach if your system might not have produced the desired results yet.Simplify if you feel you have to alter your approach with the toolset that you are familiar with. We are confident that even very small physical Silver acquisitions will make you smile down the road.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 21st, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Bitcoin, nothing will edge me out

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 24.05.2021 10:15
Yes, a trillion US-Dollar was lost last week in the crypto space, and yes, Elon Musk’s tweets influence Bitcoin that can make one weary or doubtful. More substantial, regulatory concerns got cemented by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell calling cryptocurrencies risky and talking about the implementation of digital currency. This aligning with Chinas crypto ban and their digital yuan release planned. The treasury department was putting a cherry on top of the worry cake, stating that any US$10,000 or more transaction value shall require reporting to the IRS in the future.These shakeup attempts are nothing new, neither are steep price declines. It is pretty common once new inventions start hitting the mainstream, prominent figures gain temporary influence with their opinions. Regulation is THE battle in the discussion about Bitcoin since Bitcoin offers decentralization. That is precisely the reason why bans and centralized digital currencies will gain neither the trust nor the attractiveness of use. In short, Bitcoin isn’t just here to stay. Bitcoin as usual, will after more significant retracements like the one last week, not just advance on a near term basis but also rise to new all-time highs in the long term.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Keep calm and keep trading Bitcoin:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of May 24th, 2021.Our optimism about Bitcoin’s trend continuation isn’t based on emotional beliefs but factual past of this volatile trading instrument’s volatility. The weekly chart above shows clearly that large retracements from significant highs are standard. It also indicates that consistently old highs are taken out, and a strong directional trend throughout the years has been persistent.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Up-Sideways-Down-Sideways-Up:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 24th, 2021.A common mistake made by market participants is perceiving the market in up and down moves. When emotions flare up in a substantial decline, one asks: “Where do I get in? What is the next support level?” Only in a “V” shaped recovery, an early entry like this is applicable. These “V” rallies are rare. The highest probability is that markets after steep declines or advances trade for a while sideways.Consequently, one doesn’t get a trophy being first. Instead one is sitting duck in a position exposed with time risk without movement. Typically, double bottoms and long stretched-out sideways movements following. As such, we see no urgency to buy into the Bitcoin market. Instead pick Your low-risk entry spot wisely without insisting on being right (=aiming to buy at an ideal low price). BTC-USD, Hourly Chart, Bitcoin, nothing will edge me out, When to buy?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, hourly chart as of May 24th, 2021.While professionals might attempt to fade extreme moves, for typical long-term investors, it is a futile endeavor to try to “catch a falling knife” on a massive down day like last Wednesday. After all, who knows if Bitcoin was to turn at US$40,000, US$34,000 or US$30,000.In the above 60 minute chart, we illustrate how to time the following entry from a low-risk perspective. Low-risk perspective being the most meaningful perspective in our view.We had four legs down. Price got cut in half from near US$60,000 down to below US$ 30,000. Very likely, you are emotionally exhausted trying to pinpoint the lows in this ten-day lasting high volatility sale. On top, prices reversed in a “V” shaped fashion from an intraday point of view. They gained 41%. This was another emotional roller coaster. Within the white square these accumulated energies of emotions typically get released by the novice market speculator through entering into a long trade to find him/herself exposed at high risk.We find the very first opportunity that is reasonable on much-reduced size at the double bottom. Still, what we are looking for is an additional washout spike through the new lows set at around US$30,000. This would result in a hammer formation or other Doji-shaped daily bar. Consequently, allowing to then engage the following day with tight stops after bottom building. This setup might as well establish this week.Bitcoin, nothing will edge me out:In principle, two things would need to happen for Bitcoin to be endangered to not outpace any and all other payment methods.First, the opposing digital payment method would need to be limited in supply as Bitcoin is. Secondly, no central figure could be in charge of a system that is self-regulative.Suppose citizens would lose faith in either yuan or dollar as a payment vehicle, for example, due to extreme inflation. Why would the same people find instant trust in their digital counterparts freshly offered as their replacements?Bitcoins’ worth is principle-based. Principles being ultimate truths where one does not need to extend good faith and unearned trust but can lean on a truthful certainty. It will be this truth that will outshine all efforts to keep control.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 24th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Inflation Easing, Now What?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.05.2021 12:04
S&P 500 refused to keep early gains, and reversed back into no man‘s land – on little convincing volume. For now, we remain chopping below my 4,180s level, conquering which on a closing basis would a bullish achievement. Until that happens on convincing internals, fake moves in both directions would remain with us. The Fed telegraphing the talk about talking taper is a first step in preparing the markets not to get surprised by the actual deed, but how far is that one really? Stocks, bonds and currencies aren‘t reacting much – it‘s only commodities that are in consolidation mode, but this can be chalked down to inflation expectations calming down over the prior three trading days. Until the Fed truly moves or makes its forward guidance as unequivocal as can be in this respect, the markets would be in a doubting attitude (or at a minimum, a wait and see one): (…) The market simply isn‘t convinced the Fed is serious about taking on inflation through (gradual) removal of the punch bowl – or about shaping its forward guidance credibly this way (yet). Inflation expectations are cooling down a little, and the Treasury market is tracking them closely. But this doesn‘t mean that bonds are taking the central bank seriously – this move is part and parcel of the transitory vs. getting (practically permanently unless a Fed game changer arrives – still unlikely) elevated inflation readings debate. While I think that the red hot CPI inflation would die down a little (i.e. not keep rising ever as steeply as was the case with Wednesday‘s data) once the year on year base to compare it against normalizes, a permanently elevated plateau of high and rising inflation would be a reality for more than foreseeable future simply because the Fed would be as behind as Arthur Burns was in fighting the 1970s inflation, and upward price pressures in the job market pressures would kick in. Thus, look for the Treasury market calm to continue, affecting the defensive sectors and to a certain degree tech too. Technology isn‘t being rotated to anyhow strongly – the reopening trades are the star performers as $NYFANG lags behind. Tech though rebounded off very oversold levels, and isn‘t likely to revisit them. That‘s the essence of my (moderately but still) bullish Nasdaq calls and open S&P 500 profitable positions. Gold and silver have been going different ways, with the white metal driven by commodities giving off air. The gold sector though remains well positioned as the miners keep more or less pulling ahead, nominal yields aren‘t rushing headlong to the upside, and inflation isn‘t turning around. Copper relative to the 10-year Treasury yield remains a watchout, with the red metal relevant especially to silver. For now, gold remains a coiled spring with limited downside until conditions materially change, and my open gold profits can keep growing at their own pace. Crude oil found a daily bottom that looks promising to hold at first sight, but the oil index ($XOI) gave up all of its intraday gains. In this light, the $WTIC rebound looks a bit stronger short-term than could have been expected, meaning that a downswing attempt in black gold can‘t be excluded. At the same time, upside potential is greater though. Bitcoin made one more attempt on Wednesday‘s lows on Sunday, and Ethereum undershot them. Both have swung higher but remain well below Friday‘s levels – the lookout remains tense until at least $38,000 in Bitcoin and $2,400 in Ethereum are taken out convincingly. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook S&P 500 didn‘t undergo a reversal on Friday, the volume or conviction of the sellers wasn‘t there. Contrast that with Nasdaq (black line), and the turn lower looks menacing – at first sight only. There wasn‘t any real volume to talk of in QQQ (and neither in SPY for that matter). Tech overall would keep underperforming, but has been beaten down a bit too much. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds performed better than the investment grade ones while long-dated Treasury yields once again retreated. The sentiment is turning back to risk-on. Technology and Value Tech driven by its riskier segments keeps rising while $NYFANG did drag its feet on Friday. Value though saved the day in spite of giving up all intraday gains as TLT repelled its bears. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold sector is cooling off without giving up gained ground. Miners aren‘t leading to the downside while nominal yields could provide a greater tailwind to the yellow metal. Thanks to inflation expectations and commodities at the moment, it doesn‘t. Silver is lately losing altitude as much as copper does, but the red metal‘s ratio to 10-year Treasury yield isn‘t pulling the yellow metal down – because of real rates barely changing. Crude Oil Crude oil is basing, and the forces between the bulls and bears are more than even now – current prices are attracting buying interest, which might however take a while to materialize in sustainably higher prices unless the oil index recovers too. Summary S&P 500 bulls remain supported by the credit markets, with value pulling ahead again while tech‘s worst clearly appears over. Time to be bullish both the 500-strong index and look for a Nasdaq entry point as this April started sideways trading full of fake breaks higher or lower, is slowly drawing to its end. Gold and miners defend gained ground, but look for silver to remain vulnerable to the downside thanks to the pressure on commodities that I expect from both the bond markets and inflation expectation moves. Crude oil is stabilizing and the oil index supports higher prices, but one more pullback might be on the cards. And should commodities turn red en masse again, black gold wouldn‘t probably escape. Neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum have truly stabilized yet, and remain short-term range bound with more selling pressure a distinct possibility. While the worst appears over on a very short-term basis, the dust hasn‘t settled just yet. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold: The Past Years Are Often the Best Guides

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.05.2021 15:36
As we know, history tends to rhyme. It’s never the same, but when you zoom out, the bigger picture often looks very similar. What does it mean for gold?Short-term implicationsWith gold’s back-and-forth price action mirroring its behavior from 2012, the yellow metal is likely destined for devaluation.Back then, gold zigzagged with anxiety before suffering a material drawdown. In fact, in early October 2012, it moved slightly above the initial highs right before sliding.Moreover, while the yellow metal has bounced above its declining resistance line (the black line below), the price action mirrors gold’s behavior from early January. If you analyze the blue line below, you can see that investors’ optimism regarding gold’s short-term breakout quickly faded and the yellow metal sunk like a stone. In addition, with gold’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) moving slightly above 70 before the January swoon occurred, an identical development is already playing out in real time.Gold seems to be insisting on repeating – to some extent – its 2012 performance, and – to some extent – its 2008 performance. Either way, it seems that gold is about to slide.The reversal in gold took place after gold moved very close to its mid-January highs and the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the August 2020 – March 2021 decline.The sizes of the current rally (taking the second March bottom as the starting point) and the rally that ended at the beginning of this year are practically identical at the moment.Just as the rallies from early 2012 and late 2012 (marked with blue) were almost identical, the same could happen now.The March 2021 low formed well below the previous low, but as far as other things are concerned, the current situation is similar to what happened in 2012.The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended on huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year. Consequently, forecasting much higher gold prices here doesn’t seem to be justified based on the historical analogies.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.Back in 2008, gold corrected to 61.8% Fibonacci retracement, but it stopped rallying approximately when the USD Index started to rally, and the general stock market accelerated its decline. This time the rally was not as volatile, so the lower – 50% Fibonacci retracement level will hold the rally in check.Taking into consideration that the general stock market has probably just topped and the USD Index is about to rally, then gold is likely to slide for the final time in the following weeks/months. Both above-mentioned markets support this bearish scenario and so do the self-similar patterns in terms of gold price itself.MACD and the Long TermApproaching the subject from a different side, remember the huge gap between the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield and the U.S. 10-Year breakeven inflation rate? The situation in the very long-term MACD indicator is yet another confirmation that what we saw recently is similar to what we saw before the huge 2012 – 2013 slide. We get the same confirmation from the gold to bonds ratio, and I’ll move to that a bit later.With February’s monthly close the last piece of the puzzle, the MACD indicator’s sell-signal is now perfectly clear. If you analyze the chart below (at the bottom right), you can see that the MACD line has crossed the signal line from above – a development that preceded significant drawdowns in 2008 and 2011.Based on gold’s previous performance after the major sell signals from the MACD indicator, one could now expect gold to bottom in the ~$1,200 to ~1,350 range. Given the price moves that we witnessed in 1988, 2008 and 2011, historical precedent implies gold forming a bottom in this range. However, due to the competing impact of several different variables, it’s possible that the yellow metal could receive the key support at a higher level.Only a shade below the 2011 high, today’s MACD reading is still the second-highest reading in the last 40 years. More importantly though, if you analyze the chart below (the red arrows at the bottom), the last four times the black line cut through the red line from above, a significant drawdown occurred.Also ominous is that the magnitude of the drawdowns in price tend to coincide with the magnitude of the preceding upswings in MACD. And with today’s reading only surpassed by 2011, a climactic move to the $1,250/$1,450 range isn’t out of the question for gold. The above is based on how low gold had previously declined after a similarly important sell signal from the MACDNow, the month is not over yet, so one might say that it’s too early to consider the sell signal that’s based on monthly closing prices , but it seems that given the level that the MACD had previously reached and the shape of the top in the black line, it makes the situation so similar to 2011/2012 that the sell signal itself is just a cherry on the bearish analytical cake.Considering the reliability of the MACD indicator a sell signal for major declines, the reading also implies that gold’s downtrend could last longer and be more severe than originally thought. As a result, $1,500 remains the most likely outcome, with $1,350 still in the cards.As further evidence, if you focus your attention on the monthly price action in 2008, you can see that gold is behaving exactly as it did before it suffered a significant decline.Please see below:To explain, after making a new all-time high in 2008 (that was a breakout above the 1980 tops), gold declined back to its rising support line before recording a short-term corrective upswing. This upswing ended approximately at gold’s previous monthly closing price. I marked it with a horizontal, blue, dashed line.Similarly, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that an identical pattern has emerged. With gold’s corrective upswing following a reconnection with its rising support line, history implies that a sharp decline should occur in the coming months and that the reversal is at hand or already behind us. After all, the thing that triggered the decline almost a year ago was the fact that gold made a new all-time high . Moreover, the recent high was very close to the previous high in terms of the monthly closing prices (Dec. 2020 - $1,895.10 vs. the recent intraday high of $1,891.30).What about the HUI Index?Not only are ominous signs emerging from gold’s medium-and-long-term charts, but beneath the surface, the gold miners are also folding their hands. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the HUI Index back-and-forth price action mirrors its behavior from 2008 and 2012 and its bearish head & shoulders pattern is also gaining similarity. In addition, the BUGS (after all, HUI is called the Gold Bugs Index) stochastic oscillator has moved all-in like the 2012 analogue (depicted at the bottom part of the chart below), and thus, it seems to be only a matter of time before the HUI Index completely blows its bankroll.Please see below:To explain, the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over. And with investors rejecting the HUI’s recent attempt to break above the 61.8% level, the house of cards is slowly coming down.The bottom line?If the HUI Index hasn’t already peaked, history implies that a top is increasingly imminent. As a result, in my opinion, now is the time to enter short positions and not exit them.Now, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02.That’s why I previously wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move to about 300 in the HUI Index”. And that’s exactly what we saw (a move above 320 is still close to 300 from the long-term point of view). To clarify, one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a rising neckline – was already completed, and one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a horizontal neckline – is being completed, but we’ll have the confirmation once miners break to new yearly lows.In addition, the recent rally is not a game-changer, but rather a part of a long-term pattern that’s not visible when one focuses on the short term only.The thing is that the vast majority of individual investors and – sadly – quite many analysts focus on the trees while forgetting about the forest. During the walk, this might result in getting lost, and the implications are no different in the investment landscape.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – DAX Surges To A New High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 25.05.2021 06:57
GER 30 jumps above previous highThe DAX 30 recoups last week’s losses as the EU sets to reopen its borders. The psychological level at 15000 has proven to be a solid demand zone.The rally above the intermediate resistance at 15400 acts as a confirmation of the bullish MA cross.By lifting offers around the previous peak at 15540 the index would break free of its recent consolidation range. Renewed interest from momentum buyers may send the market to new record highs.15350 is the first support in case of a retracement.XAUUSD trades in consolidationGold consolidates its gains as the US dollar index stays subdued at the start of the week.The rally gained momentum after it broke above the daily resistance at 1855.The latest sideways action has enabled the RSI to retreat into the neutrality area. This may attract more buyers without raising concerns of overextension.A bullish close above 1890 could swiftly lift resistance at 1900 and resume the rally to 1917. On the downside, 1853 is the closest support if the price action requires more bids.NZDJPY bounces off psychological supportThe New Zealand dollar saw support after retail sales showed a 2.5% increase in Q1. The pair is hovering above a major support (77.70) from the daily chart.The psychological level at 78.00 has seen strong buying interest after the bears’ failed to push lower on several occasions. The support-turned-resistance at 78.50 has so far capped the kiwi’s rebounds.A bullish breakout would send the price towards 79.00. An overbought RSI may signal a brief pullback for the bulls to gather momentum.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Option Traders Are a Bit Too Calm Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.05.2021 16:18
S&P 500 rose once again, and the slight retreat before the close isn‘t an issue in light of constructive credit markets. Tech, communications, industrials, value, real estate and financials rose while healthcare and notably utilities didn‘t play along. VIX has calmed down yet again, but the put/call ratio scored bullish complacency readings not seen for months. The boat is increasingly getting tilted towards the bullish side - but open long profits can keep growing.Credit markets though aren‘t flashing warnings signs – be that corporate bonds, Treasuries of various maturities, or different Treasury spreads such as the 10 to 2 year one. It‘s just the dollar that is tanking here on the Fed telegraphing taper vs. the market continued bet that it‘s still bluffing, for now:(…) Stocks, bonds and currencies aren‘t reacting much – it‘s only commodities that are in consolidation mode, but this can be chalked down to inflation expectations calming down over the prior three trading days. Until the Fed truly moves or makes its forward guidance as unequivocal as can be in this respect, the markets would be in a doubting attitude (or at a minimum, a wait and see one).The S&P 500 is firing on both cylinders at the moment, with technology jumping higher off very oversold levels, and $NYFANG not lagging too noticeably behind. Nasdaq is well bid at the moment, and it remains to be seen how value takes to retreating yields in the still ruling reopening trades atmosphere.Gold and miners aren‘t flashing warning signs, and the silver outperformance isn‘t a call to the exit door. The charts and macroeconomics speak in favor of continued bullish consolidation before a spurt higher in all three assets. And as the Fed isn‘t perceived in the least as about to get tough(er) (whatever that means, cynics would say), the path of least resistance remains up as the copper to 10-year yield ratio confirms. No, not too much cream has come off in commodities. Open gold profits can keep growing at their own pace but I wouldn‘t be surprised by a brief setback first either..Crude oil bulls have proved themselves on the Iranian (no) sanction news, and the oil index ($XOI) remains overall constructive, but favoring a little pullback in black gold first. The downswing attempt I wrote about yesterday, is increasingly unlikely now while the upside potential got greatly exhausted. Time to wait for another mispricing – one that would offer corrections to join the budding trend.Bitcoin and Ethereum still remain vulnerable as the prior buying fizzled out without taking on the upper border of the $38,000 - $40,000 zone that would let the bulls start turning the tide. It hadn‘t happened yet, and the retracement of yesterday‘s upswing is reaching a bit too far for both Bitcoin ($37,000) and Ethereum ($2,435) – the lookout remains tense.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 path of least resistance still looks to be up, and Nasdaq 100 definitely feels like joining (black line). The tired chart look still favors some consolidation first, though.Credit MarketsThe debt markets, whether corporate or Treasury ones, favor the stock market upswing to continue. The sentiment is turning back to risk-on.Technology and ValueTech driven by both riskier segments and $NYFANG is equally participating as value is in the S&P 500 upswing.Gold, Silver and MinersGold sector keeps cooling off, unchallenged on the downside. Nominal yields posture remains positive.Silver offers a little roller coaster ride, but the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio is still in quite fine shape, and real rates aren‘t biting.Bitcoin and EthereumThe tug of war is at a precarious stage – how much of yesterday‘s gains would be erased today? The bulls don‘t seem to be out of the woods yet.SummaryS&P 500 faces little immediate danger of plunging lower – we are about to have a likely uneventful session today.Gold and miners aren‘t however remotely seriously challenged by the bears, and consolidation before another upswing (also in silver) seems most probable.Crude oil has reached the top of its recent range, expecially when the oil sector is considered.Bitcoin and Ethereum still remain at crossroads, but the coming upper or lower knot‘s prominence, would be telling.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Eerily Serene Risk-off Markets

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.05.2021 15:29
S&P 500 had a mixed day, and the credit market underlines the shift to risk-off. Halfway shift, to be precise – the high yield corporate bonds recovered the intraday downside but value sold off all the way to the closing bell. Well, rising yields used to add to tech‘s problems since mid Feb, and retreating yields don‘t breathe enough life into the sector now. It‘s clearly visible that the high beta segments are facing the yields‘ headwinds while $NYFANG is in the black, but more than a little lagging.The Treasury market reprieve I announced on May 18 to last more than a good few weeks, is here. While it works to lift tech and hamper value, the days of value doing fine are far from over as the VTV:QQQ ratio illustrates:(…) We‘re still in the value outperforming growth environment (reflation and reopening themes), it‘s just right now (last few days) that tech is pulling stronger ahead than value. ... Value‘s reaction to the yields trajectory ahead would be telling, and I have no doubts there is quite some more juice left in the long value trade (and that the Russell 2000 isn‘t rolling over to the downside here).Emerging markets are welcoming the dollar woes and yields reprieve, and the Russell 2000 isn‘t too much of a drag either. VIX refused further downside yesterday, and is hedging off bets as much as the option players do – no change in prior trends here, just a move away from the complacent end of the spectrum. The stock bull run is still about dips being bought.The key move is in the debt markets, and concerns inflation (expectations). For now, it appears that the Fed trial baloons (Kaplan, even Yellen – thinking about talking taper, suggesting rate hikes) have worked in dialing back the inflation trades to a degree (stock market correction isn‘t thus necessary for players to pile into Treasuries) – more about the Fed‘s „coming soon“ taper bluff:(…) The market simply isn‘t convinced the Fed is serious about taking on inflation through (gradual) removal of the punch bowl – or about shaping its forward guidance credibly this way (yet). Inflation expectations are cooling down a little, and the Treasury market is tracking them closely. But this doesn‘t mean that bonds are taking the central bank seriously – this move is part and parcel of the transitory vs. getting (practically permanently unless a Fed game changer arrives – still unlikely) elevated inflation readings debate.While I think that the red hot CPI inflation would die down a little (i.e. not keep rising ever as steeply as was the case with Wednesday‘s data) once the year on year base to compare it against normalizes, a permanently elevated plateau of high and rising inflation would be a reality for more than foreseeable future simply because the Fed would be as behind as Arthur Burns was in fighting the 1970s inflation, and upward price pressures in the job market pressures would kick in.The much awaited Jun 10 CPI readings would likely come on the hotter side of the spectrum, but would be part and parcel of a continued move to a higher inflation environment where commodities‘ pressures are amplified by job market ones – not that the distortions and disincentives to work wouldn‘t be there.Gold and silver are set to benefit, either way you look at it. Be it through the Fed or market‘s perceptions of the Fed (i.e. buying into its bluff), nominal rates are retreating while real rates remain very constructive for continued precious metals run. The only short-term warning sign comes from miners that aren‘t surging higher. Open gold and silver profits can keep growing at their own pace but I wouldn‘t be surprised by a brief setback first either:(…) The charts and macroeconomics speak in favor of continued bullish consolidation before a spurt higher in all three assets. And as the Fed isn‘t perceived in the least as about to get tough(er) (whatever that means, cynics would say), the path of least resistance remains up as the copper to 10-year yield ratio confirms. No, not too much cream has come off in commodities. Crude oil traded with little volatility yesterday, but the bulls are a little short-term exposed as the oil index ($XOI) shows. Downswing attempt, however modest, shouldn‘t be surprising.Bitcoin and Ethereum are recovering in fits and starts, and the picture is turning bullish especially for the latter. With Bitcoin, the upper border of the $38,000 - $40,000 zone hasn‘t been cleared yet, but the signs from both Ethereum and Cardano are bullish already. It surely seems the market doesn‘t want to crash some more right now as the rally hasn‘t run out of steam yet.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 wavered a little yesterday, with signs pointing to more significant overnight deterioration not materializing. Nasdaq 100 is likewise probably going to consolidate its gains next – unless the value trade kicks in again, disregarding the yields‘ growing calm.Credit MarketsThe debt markets recovery is on, and I am looking at high yield corporate bonds for clues as to the S&P 500 upswing veracity.Technology and ValueTech was driven just by $NYFANG yesterday, pointing to the strong risk-off nature of yesterday‘s session.Inflation ExpectationsBond yields and inflation expectations are turning down relatively sharply, continuing to track each other closely. It certainly looks like we‘re in for a calm summer (my prior words).Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver rising while miners keep lagging behind, isn‘t a truly bullish sign. Wait and see is the right course of action as there hasn‘t been any reversal (let alone attempt at it), protecting sizable open profits.The weekly perspective offers mixed view of miners to gold ratio‘s breather while the copper to 10-year yield isn‘t budging – yet (see above what I wrote about taking the cream off commodities).Crude OilBlack gold is a little extended here, and consolidation of recent sharp gains is the most likely outcome, the oil index says so too.SummaryYesterday‘s S&P 500 posture deterioration is likely to remain temporary unless the credit markets move down, taking Nasdaq 100 with them. Muddle through seems most likely for today.Gold and silver upswing would be on sounder footing when the miners decide to join, and do away with the stark non-confirmation.Crude oil has reached the top of its recent range, expecially when the oil sector is considered – an opportunity after readjustment to no Iranian sanction news, is in the making.Bitcoin and Ethereum are likely to continue their recovery, overcoming the key resistance zone in the first, and reasserting upside momentum in the latter (the overnight price action has been very positive).Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold: The Rainy Season Is Coming

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.05.2021 16:06
Exact weather is hard to predict, even with forecasts, but we can look for clouds on the horizon to prepare ahead of time.During the dry season, people near the equator feel like the sun is getting closer each day, making the heat unbearable at some point. The weather needs to periodically correct itself, allowing for some torrential downpours – this way life can survive. The same happens on the market; we can’t try to reach the sun by rallying incessantly. Patience is key. One thing is certain – a major storm front is moving closer, taking into account how the PMs behave.Gold just moved higher once again, but mining stocks refused to follow. This is one of the most reliable indications that a top is being formed.Before moving to the precious metals sector, let’s take a look at the USD Index.When I described the above chart yesterday (May 25), I wrote that the USD Index had been trading at about 89.6. Since this is the level at which the USD Index closed the day (approximately), practically everything that I wrote about its chart remains up-to-date:This week’s move lower is a continuation, and most likely the final part, of a specific multi-bottom pattern that the USD Index exhibited recently.I marked those situations with green. The thing is that the U.S. currency first declined practically without any corrections , but at some point it started to move back and forth while making new lows. The third distinctive bottom was the final one. Interestingly, the continuous decline took place for about a month, and the back-and-forth declines took another month (approximately). In July 2020, the USDX fell like a rock, and in August it moved back and forth while still declining. In November 2020, the USDX fell like a rock (there was one exception), and in December it moved back and forth while still declining.Ever since the final days of March, we’ve seen the same thing all over again. The USD Index fell like a rock in April, and in May we’ve seen back-and-forth movement with lower lows and lower highs.What we see right now is the third of the distinctive lows that previously marked the end of the declines.And what did gold do when the USD Index rallied then?In August, gold topped without waiting for USD’s final bottom – which is natural, given how extremely overbought it was in the short term.In early January, gold topped (which was much more similar to the current situation given the preceding price action) when the USDX formed its third, final distinctive bottom.The USD Index is after a two-month decline, half of which was the back-and-forth kind of decline. It’s forming the third – and likely the final – bottom, and gold just refused to react positively to this situation in today’s pre-market trading.This might be “it” – the markets might be forming their final reversals here, starting to follow the most bearish (in the case of gold) part of the analogy to the price action in 2008 and 2012.The Repeating PatternGold has now moved higher, and it even moved slightly above $1,900 in today’s pre-market trading, which seems positive. But it doesn’t change anything with regard to gold’s analogies to how it performed in 2008 and 2012 right before the slide.Gold seems to be insisting on repeating – to some extent – its 2012 performance, and – to some extent – its 2008 performance. Either way, it seems that gold is about to slide.The initial reversal in gold took place after gold moved very close to its mid-January highs and the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the August 2020 – March 2021 decline. Yesterday’s close was the first close above this important resistance, so the breakout was not confirmed.The sizes of the current rally (taking the second March bottom as the starting point) and the rally that ended at the beginning of this year are practically identical at the moment. The current move is only a little bigger.Just as the rallies from early 2012 and late 2012 (marked with blue) were almost identical, the same could happen now.The March 2021 low formed well below the previous low, but as far as other things are concerned, the current situation is similar to what happened in 2012.The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended on huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year. Consequently, forecasting much higher gold prices here doesn’t seem to be justified based on the historical analogies.The thing I would like to emphasize here is that gold didn’t form the final top at the huge-volume reversal on Sep. 13, 2012. It moved back and forth for a while and moved a bit above that high-volume top, and only then the final top took place (in early October 2012).The same happened in September and in October 2008. Gold reversed on huge volume in mid-September, and it was approximately the end of the rally. The final top, however, formed after some back-and-forth trading and a move slightly above the previous high.Consequently, the fact that gold moved a bit above its own high-volume reversal (May 19, 2021) is not an invalidation of the analogy, but rather its continuation.There’s one more thing I would like to add, and it’s that back in 2012, gold corrected to approximately the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level – furthermore, the same happened in 2008 as you can see in the below chart. Consequently, the fact that gold moved above its 50% Fibonacci retracement doesn’t break the analogy either. And even if gold moves to $1,940 or so, it will not break it. It’s not likely that it is going to move that high, as in both cases –in 2008 and 2012 – gold moved only somewhat above its high-volume reversal before forming the final top. So, as this year’s huge-volume reversal took place close to the 50% retracement and not the 61.8% retracement, it seems that we’ll likely see a temporary move above it, which will create the final top. And that’s exactly what we see happening so far this week.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.Back in 2008, gold corrected to 61.8% Fibonacci retracement , but it stopped rallying approximately when the USD Index started to rally, and the general stock market accelerated its decline. This time the rally was not as volatile, so the lower – 50% Fibonacci retracement level will hold the rally in check.Taking into consideration that the general stock market has probably just topped, and the USD Index is about to rally, then gold is likely to slide for the final time in the following weeks/months. Both above-mentioned markets support this bearish scenario and so do the self-similar patterns in terms of gold price itself.While gold moved to new highs, the GDX ETF didn’t (and neither did silver ).It moved mere nine cents higher and this move took place on relatively low volume – making that a bearish indication, not a bullish one.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Stock Market Cycles Tipping The Balance From Euphoria To Complacency - Is Gold Setting Up For A Rally Above $2000 Again?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 27.05.2021 01:28
Gold has set up a very strong confluence pattern across multiple foreign currencies recently.  This upside confluence pattern suggests that Gold has now moved into a much stronger bullish price phase compared to various currency pairs.  This upside move in precious metals aligns very well with my broad market cycle phase research. I urge traders/investors to start paying attention as we transition into this new longer-term cycle phase.Recently, my team and I published a series of articles related to these longer-term cycle phases and how they related to the current market trends.  The biggest concept we want to highlight is that we've transitioned away from an Appreciation cycle phase and into the early stages of a Depreciation cycle phase.  Often, near this type of transition, the global markets experience a unique type of Excess Phase Peak.  This type of price pattern happens because traders/investors are slower to identify the end of a trend and often attempt to continue the Thrill/Euphoric phase of the previous market trend – until the markets prove them wrong.You can review some of our most recent research posts about these topics here: US Dollar Breaks Below 90 - Continue To Confirm Depreciation Cycle Phase (May 23, 2021); Bitcoin Completes Phase #3 Of Excess Phase Top Pattern - What Next? (May 20, 2021) and; What To Expect - A Critical Breakout Warning For Gold, Silver & Miners Explained (May 18, 2021).Stock Market CyclesThe custom graphic shown below highlights the phases of typical market trends through various stages of market trends.  My team and I believe we have crossed the peak level (or are very near to that crossover point) and have begun to move into the Complacency and Anxiety phases of the market trend.  As suggested, above,  the psychological process for traders/investors at this stage is to hope and plan for the never-ending bullish price trend while the reality of the market trend suggests a transition has already started taking place and the market phase has shifted.Our research suggests the last Appreciation phase in the market took place from mid/late 2010 to mid/late 2019.  That means we started a transition into a Depreciation cycle phase very near to the beginning of 2020.  Our belief that a moderate price rotation is pending within the markets stems from the excess phase rally that took place after the COVID-19 virus event.  We've witnessed the sideways price trend in precious metals over the past 8+ months which suggested that global traders were confident an economic recovery would take place (eventually).  Yet, the question before everyone is, as we move away from an Appreciation cycle phase and into a Depreciation cycle phase, what will that recovery look like?  Can we expect the recovery to be similar to levels seen in the previous Appreciation cycle phase?  Let's take a look at how these phases translated into trends in the past.Appreciation and Depreciation Cycle PhasesThe first Depreciation cycle phase (1983~1992) took place after an extended deflationary period where the debt to GDP was rather low comparatively. It also took place within a decade or so after the US moved away from the Gold Standard.  The strength in trending we saw in the US stock market was directly related to the decreasing interest rates and strong focus on credit/equities growth throughout that phase.The second Depreciation cycle phase (2001~2010) took place after the DOT COM rally prompted a huge boom cycle in equities and as a series of US/global events rocked the US economy.  First, the September 11, 2001 attack in New York, and second, by the engagement in the Iraq War.  Additionally, the US Fed was actively supporting the US economy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which prompted many American's to focus on supporting a stronger US economy.  This, in turn, prompted a huge rally in the housing market as banks and policies supported a large speculative rally (FOMO) in Real Estate.The current Depreciation cycle phase (2019~2027+) comes at a time where the US Fed has been actively supporting the US/global economy for more than 11 years and after an incredible rally in Real Estate and the US stock market.  Additionally, a new technology, Crypto currencies, has taken off throughout the world as an alternate, decentralized, asset class – somewhat similar to how the DOT COM rally took off. As we've seen this incredible rally in global equities, Cryptos, commodities and other assets over the past 7+ years, we believe the last Appreciation cycle phase is transitioning into an Excess Phase Peak (see the Euphoria/Complacency phases above), which may lead to some incredibly volatile price trends in the future.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!You may be asking yourself, “how does this translate into precious metals cycles/trends?” after we've gone through such a longer-term past cycle phase review...The recent upside price trends in precious metals are indicative of two things; fear and demand.  First, the economic recovery and new technology are increasing demand for certain precious metals and rare earth elements (such as battery and other technology).  Second, the move in Gold and Silver recently is related to credit, debt, economic and cycle phase concerns.  As we've seen Bitcoin move dramatically lower and as we start to move into a sideways price trend in the US stock market, there is very real concern that the past price rally has reached an intermediate Excess Phase Peak.Please take a moment to learn about our BAN Trader Pro strategy and how it can help you identify stock market cycles, which phase we are in, and how that will lead us to trade better sector setups.  Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the BAN Trader Pro system trades.  You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.Have a great day!!
Hanging by a Proverbial Thread

Hanging by a Proverbial Thread

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 27.05.2021 15:34
S&P 500 in a tight range with bearish undertones in the credit markets – but where is the decline? Given the ample Fed support, don‘t count on too much unless the 4,180s zone gives in yet again. Highly unlikely according to the VIX, and even option traders have turned more complacent again. The S&P 500 may be in a precarious balance all it wants, but will gladly take any bullish clue (hello, unemployment claims) – unless the markets lose the faith in the Fed, the bulls are quite safe:(…) For now, it appears that the Fed trial baloons (Kaplan, even Yellen – thinking about talking taper, suggesting rate hikes) have worked in dialing back the inflation trades to a degree (stock market correction isn‘t thus necessary for players to pile into Treasuries) – more about the Fed‘s „coming soon“ taper bluff.The market simply isn‘t convinced the Fed is serious about taking on inflation through (gradual) removal of the punch bowl – or about shaping its forward guidance credibly this way (yet). Inflation expectations are cooling down a little, and the Treasury market is tracking them closely. But this doesn‘t mean that bonds are taking the central bank seriously – this move is part and parcel of the transitory vs. getting (practically permanently unless a Fed game changer arrives – still unlikely) elevated inflation readings debate.The much awaited Jun 10 CPI readings would likely come on the hotter side of the spectrum, but would be part and parcel of a continued move to a higher inflation environment where commodities‘ pressures are amplified by job market ones – not that the distortions and disincentives to work wouldn‘t be there.While inflation expectations dipped a little yesterday, bond yields mostly refused to decline – that‘s a short-term phenomenon, a daily noise worth keeping an eye on, together with the performance of red hot commodities. Copper being in better shape, with sound fundamentals underlined by the speculative stockpiling, rose a little yesterday, but lumber lacking the longer-term advantage of timber confirming its advance, reversed to the downside. Commodities are for now a mixed bag in consolidation mode, but their secular bull market is unquestionable, and so far it‘s only the precious metals that are calling the Fed‘s taper bluff. All the excess liquidity has to find a home somewhere, and it‘s in the financial markets, driving up asset prices – with the pace of appreciation the only variable until Fed‘s true game changer arrives. Again, that‘s unlikely.Precious metals are behaving as if the inflation battle has been lost, with all that‘s going on being about managing perceptions only. And boy and girl, these are attended to finely – the Fed balance sheet keeps expanding but inflation is cascading through the PMI, PPI and CPI. The lull having arrived, would prove of fleeting shelf life as I am looking for the inflation fires to reignite in the autumn surely. Crude oil is refusing to budge much, and keeps (bullishly) consolidating near the upper end of its recent range, with the oil index not too visibly underperforming. Bitcoin and Ethereum are recovering in fits and starts, and have rejected overnight downside. That‘s encouraging, and the picture keeps turning bullish especially for the latter. With Bitcoin, the upper border of the $38,000 - $40,000 zone hasn‘t been cleared yet, but the signs from both Ethereum and Cardano are strong already. No matter the many hit jobs (another China miner one for ESG superficial consumption), unless punitive taxation of crypto profits and / or digital national currencies arrive, the market is safe from another takedown. In this light, the summer Fed report on cryptocurrencies could be insightful, but don‘t pin your hopes for great impact too high.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 took a daily breather unlike Nasdaq 100, but everything isn‘t fine below the surface.Credit MarketsThe struggling corporate credit markets epitomize the daily uncertainty. The long-dated Treasuries rise doesn‘t appear to be over, which would underpin especially Nasdaq 100.Technology and ValueTech was driven just by $NYFANG yesterday, pointing to the strong risk-off nature of yesterday‘s session – in spite of solid VTV performance. These two messages are non-congruent.Gold, Silver and MinersGold is short-term perched high, especially should nominal yields rise some more than they did yesterday. Coupled with the tamed inflation expectations of latest days, the yellow metal is short-term vulnerable.Silver is taking the copper to 10-year Treasury yield cue, and would be more volatile than gold in the near term.Bitcoin and EthereumEthereum is taking a daily breather while Bitcoin is working off its prior retreat. The pressure to go higher is slowly building.SummaryS&P 500 is likely to remain choppy with a general upward bias that only a clear break of 4,180 would invalidate, which is unlikely to happen though.Gold and silver upswing would be on sounder footing when the miners decide to join, and do away with the stark non-confirmation. Dips are still being bought.Crude oil offered a modest intraday downswing that tellingly didn‘t attract new sellers.Bitcoin and Ethereum are likely to continue their recovery, but it won‘t happen in a clear line pointing one way.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold Surpasses $1,900. What’s Next?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.05.2021 16:45
Gold surpassed $1,900 most recently – and it’s likely that the rally will continue for a while.Gold bulls have an opportunity to celebrate. As the chart below shows, the price of gold has been rising recently. And yesterday (May 26) it finally jumped above $1,900, which is an important psychological level.The question we should ask now is “what’s next?” Well, as the jokes go on, the price of gold will either go up or down. But in earnest, there are significant downside risks for the yellow metal. First of all, the Fed could overreact to rising inflation and increase real interest rates .However, these worries seem to be overblown. The Fed’s monetary policy is always asymmetrical, i.e., it eases its stance in response to recession more than it tightens it in response to inflation. The federal funds rate gets lower and stays at these low levels for longer, partially because of all the enormous indebtedness of the contemporary economy.The tapering is surely the risk that looms on the horizon. But the Fed will maintain its quantitative easing and zero-interest-rate policy for at least the rest of 2021. So, there is still room for gold to move further north , especially after the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market resulting in renewed confidence in gold as an attractive inflation hedge .After all, the US monetary policy is loose, and real interest rates are still in negative territory. The fiscal policy remains very easy, and the public debt is high. Inflation is huge and rising. And there is also an issue of depreciation of the greenback . The Fed’s easy stance, low interest rates and high inflation weaken the US dollar, supporting gold prices.Last but not least, the level of risk appetite/confidence in the Fed and the economy has already reached its peak, as the GDP has recovered with an unprecedentedly high pace of growth. In other words, the post- pandemic euphoria is behind us – now the harsh, inflationary reality sets in. Maybe we won’t repeat the 1970s stagflation , but inflation is probably more deeply embedded than the Fed thinks. And it seems that the markets are finally getting this idea, pushing some investors into gold’s warm and shiny embrace .Implications for GoldWhat does it all mean for gold prices? Well, recently two broad trends have dominated the markets: rising inflation expectations and rising economic confidence. In other words, market participants expected reflation . However, economic confidence has peaked, and now investors focus more on inflation. So, we are moving slowly from the reflation phase to the inflationary phase, which is beneficial for gold – if this trend continues, the yellow metal could continue its upward march.Every investor should remember one great historical pattern, basically as old as the Roman Empire. The money supply is first aggressively boosted with the excuse that “there is no inflation”. When upward pressure on prices becomes clear, that excuse transforms into “inflation is transitory” or into “the rise in inflation is caused by idiosyncratic factors”. Have you heard about Arthur Burns, the Fed Chair in the 1970s and the predecessor of Paul Volcker ? As Stephen Roach notes on him:Over the next few years, he [Burns] periodically uncovered similar idiosyncratic developments affecting the prices of mobile homes, used cars, children’s toys, even women’s jewelry (gold mania, he dubbed it); he also raised questions about homeownership costs, which accounted for another 16% of the CPI. Take them all out, he insisted!Finally, the officials admit that there is inflation, but they blame it on speculators and other external, unfavorable or even hostile factors. To be clear, I’m not predicting hyperinflation or even double-digit inflation in the US, but recent economic reports suggest that upward price pressure could be more lasting than the Fed and the pundits believe.So, inflation could remain elevated for a while , especially given that the description of Burns downplaying it is worryingly similar to the current Fed’s stance under Powell . As Stephen Roach points out, the current size of fiscal and monetary stimuli is unprecedented, especially taking into account the pace of the recovery:Today, the federal funds rate is currently more than 2.5 percentage points below the inflation rate. Now, add open-ended quantitative easing – some $120 billion per month injected into frothy financial markets – and the largest fiscal stimulus in post-World War II history. All of this is occurring precisely when a post-pandemic boom is absorbing slack capacity at an unprecedented rate. This policy gambit is in a league of its own.Indeed, but gold loves chess, gambits included. After all, chess is a royal game, while gold is a royal metal!If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Russell 2000 Closes Above 50-Day SMA. Reconstitution Play!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.05.2021 18:32
Do you have exposure to small-cap equities? How do the small-caps measure up versus the large-caps at this moment?There is always opportunity somewhere, and we do our best to find it. Not only in trading and business, but in life too. So, what can we find today in the markets?Yesterday, the Russell 2000 ($RUT) closed above its 50-day simple moving average, a welcome sign for small-cap bulls. The index has lagged behind its large-cap counterparts as of late and hasn’t closed above its 50-day moving average since May 7th.After taking the pulse of the markets and digesting the opinions of other participants, it can be challenging to get excited about an $SPX at 4200 and with a 44.58 P/E ratio (trailing twelve months). So, more aggressive swing traders tend to look elsewhere in the hunt for return.A quick note on the $SPX P/E ratio (ttm): Figure 1 - S&P 500 PE Ratio 1870 - 2021. Source multpl.comTalk about a long-term chart. Anyway, this does look like a potential head and shoulders setup here, although it looks like current levels have exceeded the neckline. Food for thought. At what point is the S&P 500 fundamentally overvalued?Let's get back to small caps.Figure 2 - IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF December 10, 2020 - May 26, 2021. Source stockcharts.comAbove, we see the close above the 50-day moving average, the MACD(12,26,9) fast/slow line cross approaching the zero line, and the RSI(14) crossing 50. This, my friends, is visual Mozart to me; a confluence of indicators . Of course, nothing works all of the time, but when multiple technicals can be stacked in your favor, a distinct advantage can be created.Wednesday’s settlements had the SPY up 0.20% on the day, the DIA up 0.03%, the QQQ up 0.35%, and the IWM up 1.87%. A whopping change in tune from the recent large-cap money flow theme. It is certainly worth noting and perhaps utilizing for adjustment and/or speculation.Why Were the Small-caps Up So Much Comparatively on Wednesday?One thing to know is that the Russell indices are reconstituted yearly in June. This reconstitution is designed to remove underperforming stocks from the index and add new stocks to the index. The goal is to have and maintain a more accurate representation. This process begins on June 4, 2021, and ends with the reconstituted index ready on June 25. The new index components take effect after the market closes on June 25, which would be for Monday’s open on June 28.Isn’t this a valuable nugget?Another viable way to play the Russell reconstitution would be to pair it with another index ETF like SPY . If you are overall bearish on the market, this could be a great way to reduce risk, and still participate in the “Russell reconstitution trade” .Take a look:Figure 3 - IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF / SPY S&P 500 ETF Ratio August 27, 2020 - May 26, 2021. Source stockcharts.comThis chart is the IWM divided by the SPY . The IWM to SPY ratio. You can see that the small-cap index had fallen out of favor versus the large-cap index from March until now. Again here, we see the MACD looking to tilt bullish and the RSI(14) looking to bullishly cross the 50 line.So, this can be a way to take advantage of the Russell Index reconstitution even if you are bearish. This can be achieved by buying IWM and selling SPY , on a dollar-for-dollar basis. It is a way to look for one index to outpace the other (or not decrease as much as the other). Got it?Now, for our premium subscribers, let’s examine some strategy ideas that surround the Russell 2000 reconstitution and review the other markets and key levels that we are covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian ContributorSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USDJPY Confirms Bullish Reversal

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.05.2021 07:31
USDJPY breaks above critical resistanceThe US dollar rallies on solid growth and jobless claims data. The pair has found bids in the daily demand zone between 108.30 and 108.60. Repeated tests of the support without breach have suggested strong interest in keeping the price afloat.The latest impetus above 109.70, the upper band of a three-week-long consolidation range, reverses the gear in favor of the dollar.110.50 then the psychological level of 111.00 would be the next target.In the meantime, an overbought RSI may initiate a brief pullback towards 109.00.XAGUSD bounces off rising trendlineJitters in US Treasury yields put a cap on bullions’ advance. Silver has been grinding up along a rising trendline since late March.The breakout above 28.30 has put the psychological level of 30 in buyers’ line of sight. This is an indication that the bulls are still in charge.A rally back above 28.20 would bring in momentum and turn what looks like a short-term recovery into the continuation of the medium-term uptrend.As the price tests the trendline (27.50), a neural RSI may attract more bids.UK 100 consolidates in pennantThe FTSE remains subdued after the number of Covid cases in the UK broke above 3,000 for the first time in over six weeks.The index is trading in a narrowing range between 6980 and 7075. This is a sign of the market’s indecision intraday. A break above the pennant would boost momentum and lead the price to 7160, eventually turning into a bullish continuation.A bearish breakout, however, may trigger a cascade of sell-off to 6925 and then towards 6820 as buyers try to bail out.
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Buy the Dip, Again?!

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.05.2021 16:16
S&P 500 attempted a breakout, but retreated. Is that a reversal, or proof of more pressure building up? Much starker move in the high yield corporate bonds would speak in favor of a reversal, but only until the higher end of the debt markets is examined. Or the volume for that matter, as these would put the reversal hypothesis to rest.VIX continues turning lower, and option traders are getting the message – finally, the put/call ratio appears to be on a declining path, meaning that fewer market participants are expecting another shoe to drop. As if one fell in the first place, really. Is that the worst of the inflation scare being over, for now? Probably yes, and the retreating Treasury yields are mollifying – but as explained in ample detail, this calm before the (autumn) storm, is deceptive. Calling the Fed‘s bluff, precious metals (and some commodities) are onto something, really.One more proof why the stock market bears are at a disadvantage, comes from other indices, namely the Russell 2000 (look for value to benefit), and emerging markets. The magic of ample Fed support is making its way through the system, lifting prices in many asset classes amid still rampant speculation. It‘s only the cream of select commodities that has been taken off – in the big scheme of things, nothing but a consolidation within an existing secular bull market, is happening there. While the inflation trades have been dialed back to a degree, they haven‘t been broken as the Fed is in a reactive, not proactive mode. More precisely, it remains in denial of the inflation ahead.Gold is holding up strongly, and has been in little need of miners‘ support lately. Both are consolidating, readying for another push higher that would coincide with further retreat in long-dated Treasury yields – unless these are counterbalanced with the collapse of inflation trades. Once again, I am not looking for that to happen – soft patch, prolonged commodities consolidation yes, turn to deflation no. In such an environment, silver would have a tougher ride and be vulnerable to volatile swings defined by how the inflation, yields, expectations and Fed action bets play out.Crude oil isn‘t offering but token discounts to enter on the buyers‘ side, and remains reasonably well supported by the oil index price action. The lower daily volume isn‘t an issue – the daily chart remains bullish.Bitcoin and Ethereum went through a steep overnight correction, and they would enter the Memorial weekend stormy waters not exactly in a rising mode. While the sellers appear to be in control, odds are that Ethereum would turn around first, followed by Bitcoin moving with less veracity, but still – even later today. The daily indicators are likely to carve out a bullish divergence next. I‘ll discuss it more in the nearest upcoming analysis, which would be on Tuesday – enjoy your long weekend!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 daily hesitation goes on, for as long as Nasdaq 100 plays ball and carves out its own modest consolidation pattern.Credit MarketsDaily struggle in high yield corporate bonds needs to be read in the context of high open, and intrasession reallocation to the quality debt instruments. Unless we push lower in earnest, this is a storm in the tea cup for equities as the HYG:SHY ratio confirms.Technology and Value$NYFANG wasn‘t strong enough to drive tech yesterday, but the many sectors forming value such as financials or consumer discretionaries, performed solidly – and the industrials did smashing too. More market breadth is though what the S&P 500 needs.Gold, Silver and MinersGold very modestly declined even as the miners opened threateningly down. The temporary woes might not be over, but illustrate the yesterday mentioned limited scope for gold to decline.Supported by the copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio, the precious metals sector stood the test yesterday, but we might be at the higher range of the ratio‘s range, which would send especially silver under pressure once the ratio‘s correction occurs.Crude OilCrude oil‘s slow march higher continues, and neither the oil index nor the volume signal weakness ahead today.SummaryS&P 500 is likely to remain choppy with a general upward bias that only a clear break of 4,180 would invalidate, which is unlikely to happen though – especially with the end of month window dressing.Gold and silver might see modest profit taking today, but the upswing remains on solid footing, awaiting the miners to join and lead again.Crude oil offered an even more modest intraday downswing than the day before – one that tellingly didn‘t attract new sellers.Bitcoin and Ethereum are likely to refuse lower prices, but the only open question remains when that would happen – still before the Memorial weekend, or after.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Will Gold Shine Under Bidenomics?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.05.2021 17:46
Bidenomics is a big departure from sound economics. But when reason sleeps, gold fortunes are born.Biden’s triumph in the presidential election does not just mean that a new man lives in the White House. It actually implies a fundamental shift in economic policy . Some analysts even see Biden’s agenda as a decisive break with neoliberalism or “Washington consensus”.You see, in the old orthodoxy, most economists trusted in markets, argued for privatization, deregulation, and liberalization. Taxes and social benefits should be low and don’t discourage work and investments. The governments should run balanced budgets, avoiding large and permanent fiscal deficits , while central banks should hike interest rates to prevent inflation from running out of control.The focus was on scarcity and limited supply. The economy was believed to operate generally at potential, so the key factors to fast economic growth were structural reforms and adequate supply-side policy to strengthen incentives to work and invest. Governments shouldn’t run fiscal deficits as they could crowd out private investments, and they shouldn’t stimulate the demand as it would misallocate resources and could overheat the economy, leading to inflation. The monetary policy was better suited to occasionally fight economic crises .How much has changed! Now, the focus is on slack and the demand side of the economy. The growth is held by chronic lack of demand – this is the key tenet of Keynesian economics, the hypothesis of secular stagnation, and the Modern Monetary Theory – so, governments and central banks should continuously stimulate the economy through easy monetary and fiscal policies . As real interest rates are low and demand is weak, rising public debt is not a problem. Inflation is not a problem either; after all, if there is always slack in the economy which operates below its full potential, there is practically no risk of inflation.Indeed, Biden has pushed the American Rescue Plan Act of $1.9 trillion (or about 9%of the GDP ) without presenting any plan of longer-term deficit reduction. And additional huge government expenditures are coming with Biden’s infrastructure plan. It seems that no one is interested any longer in how the government is going to pay for its spending and obligations, or in long-term consequences of practically unprecedentedly large fiscal deficits (see the chart below). Interest rates are low, so let’s live like there’s no tomorrow!Another notable example is, of course, the Fed’s new monetary framework. The US central bank has ultimately disregarded the idea of the Philips curve and the natural rate of unemployment . There is no level of employment that could boost the inflation rate, so there is no need for any preventive actions. What really counts is the actual inflation rate, not the expected one. The central bank shouldn’t fight with symmetrical deviations from the economy’s long-term path determined by technological progress and other supply-side factors any longer, but only with shortfalls from the full employment.So, what does Bidenomics (and Powellomics) imply for the gold market? Well, Biden is not the first politician who thinks that there are no economic limits to his ideas. But the pandemic and the economic crisis, the environment of ultra-low interest rates, and the fact that the Democratic base has shifted further to the left implies that Bidenomics may become a radical departure from sound economics. However, a crazy idea that “borrow & spend without a limit” is the key to prosperity is positive for the gold market , as the yellow metal is a safe-haven asset and a hedge against insane economic policies.What is important here is the fact that we have actually tested this approach. In 1960, just like today, the Keynesian economists who dominated in the mainstream (and politicians who trusted them) thought that the main task of economic policy is to actively and permanently stimulate aggregate demand. The result was stagflation in the 1970s, as it turned out that economies may overheat as well. Gold shined then, so it should also benefit today from similarly unsound economic ideas and policies.So far, the pace of economic recovery has been fast, while the inflation rate has remained limited. But this may change quickly when people stop trusting that the Fed and the government will swiftly take action to contain inflation if it breaks out. However, given the current mindset and macroeconomic ideas, how probable is it that the policymakers will accept substantial interest rate hikes, cuts in spending, and probably also a recession when faced with 1970s-style inflation? Not very likely, indeed. Hence, if inflation continues to rise, while the Fed remains ultra- dovish , inflationary expectations may become unanchored, and inflation may get out of control taking gold with it on a wild journey north.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver, time is on your side

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 30.05.2021 19:00
Daily Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Income producing:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 27th, 2021.We were again able to profit last week from lower trendline entry trades by taking half off after the initial price moves in our favor (see our quad exit strategy). We overall lightened up on our positions near options expiry (5), since a possible more significant retracement is likely. Our reentry projections are US$27.38 and US$26.41.From a daily trading perspective, we are now stepping away from aggressive short-term reloading. Think exits versus entries! The above daily chart shows that principle-based entry density should be in the establishment zone of a trend and not when the world wakes up to Silvers directional run.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Just getting started:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of May 27th, 2021.While it is sensible to get modest with aggressive trade frequency on daily timeframe, the weekly chart is still bullish. At the beginning of this year, a double top in price was firmly rejected, and prices were forced back into range. Over the last two months, Silver has advanced enormously from US$24 to US$28. Two weeks ago, we had a failed breakout through a significant resistance trendline. This week prices managed to trade above what was previously resistance and has now become support. No need to cash in the chips just now! We see a bullish consensus confirmed.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Persistent strength:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of May 27th, 2021.Trustworthy guidance needs to be taken by the more significant player participation represented on the larger time frame charts. A look at the monthly chart shows volume supported buying. We can also see a strong supply zone below actual trading prices based on our fractional volume analysis at US$26.68 (yellow line). With this much focus on the precious metal sector and Gold coming to the forefront, we see Silver to rise into a stellar future in tech mid- to longer-term.Silver, time is on your side:We use a hybrid model of income-producing trading and long-term investing. We take partially initial profits quickly to mitigate risk. And we leave small portions of each winning trade exposed to the market and do not trail stops. Why no stops? The further one stretches a rubber band, the more extreme it snaps back. As such, in principle, trailing stops are a flawed methodology to protect profits. By taking partial profits early instead but leaving remainder positions exposed with only a break-even stop, the likelihood is that these runners survive significant retracements and end up in a trending environment to outpace any other profit-taking methodology. Result:” If you catch a long-term trend, the rewards are enormous.” In the case of Silver, this long-term trend has a very high probability. With the intent of wealth preservation and long-term investments, we find the Quad exit strategy contrarian to “hodling”, Martingale strategies, pyramiding, and any other high-risk approach the one to surpass typical expectations.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 27th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Needs Further Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 31.05.2021 10:28
USDCHF rebounds from daily supportThe US dollar popped up after April’s core personal consumption expenditure rose by 3.1%.The pair has bounced off 0.8930, a key support on the daily chart. Momentum above the psychological level of 0.9000 is a sign of strong conviction from the buy-side. A break above 0.9045 may reverse the bearish sentiment and open the door to the daily resistance at 0.9090.As the RSI has overshot above 80, buyers might show caution in chasing after green candles. 0.8970 would be the first support in case of a pullback.EURGBP struggles to find supportSterling climbed after the BoE commented it may look at discussing rate hikes if the economy continues to improve.The euro has given up all recent gains after the pair broke below 0.8620. This is a reminder that the pair is still in a wide consolidation range between the base of the rebound (0.8480) and the key daily resistance (0.8720).The RSI is rising back from the oversold territory. 0.8560 may turn out to be temporary support if sentiment deteriorates. A pullback is likely to meet stiff selling pressure near 0.8640.CADJPY surges towards a 3-year highThe Japanese yen is still licking its wounds after both CPI and the unemployment rate fell short of expectations.The loonie has been trading in the 89.60-90.70 range to consolidate its gains. Last week’s pop caught the short side by surprise.Stop-losses and momentum buying exacerbated the rally. This confirmed that buyers are still in control of the price action despite recent attempts to break lower.There is a chance of a brief retracement towards 90.30 to cool off the RSI. January 2018’s high at 91.50 would be the next target.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USDJPY Looks For Buying Interest

John Benjamin John Benjamin 01.06.2021 10:20
USDJPY retraces in search of supportThe US dollar’s rally ran out of steam for lack of liquidity during the long weekend in the US and the UK.Traders are cautious in bidding up amid thin trading volume especially after last week’s surge above the psychological level of 110.00. The RSI is retreating into the neutrality area. The bearish MA cross may attract some selling interest in the near term.The zone between 109.00 and 109.30, a former resistance, would be a key support to watch for. The peak at 110.20 is the resistance in case of rebound.XAUUSD breaks out of horizontal consolidationGold stays on high ground following a retreat in Treasury yields at the end of last week. The precious metal is consolidating its gains after the previous round of rallies.The general direction remains upward despite a choppy path. A bullish breakout above 1911.00 after a brief pause suggests strong buying interest.1900.50 is the immediate support as buyers build up their stakes. 1927.50 would be the next target. Then an extended rally may send the price back to January’s peak at 1959.00.US 30 recovers towards peakUS stock markets remain well-supported by recovery momentum into the summer. The Dow Jones index is still rising steadily towards the previous high at 35100.The rally above the supply zone around 34500 suggests that the bulls were willing to pay up to reverse the sell-off. A break above the intermediate resistance at 34700 could increase the bullish momentum.As the price achieves a series of higher highs again, an overbought RSI may briefly temper the bullish fever. 34220 is the closest support.
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Bitcoin, change of mind required

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 01.06.2021 14:47
Too many players try to make the markets fit into their cookie-cutter technical analysis beliefs versus looking at the specific trading vehicles’ intricacies. While chart patterns could be blindly traded for the more significant part of the last century, many edges have dissipated. It is critical to accept that certain edges work for some time and then vanish. With the rapid changes of Bitcoin´s main trading and investing groups, a frequent change of mind is necessary. Only then will you be able to profit from Bitcoin’s stellar rise.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Directional trendlines work:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 31st, 2021.When back testing which elements of technical analysis are valid, it is essential to pin the findings to their specific time frames.The above daily chart shows that directional trend-lines for entries and stops are suitable.While typical, a top-down approach is essential, in this case, the daily time frame supersedes importance. It holds significance for shorter-term trades as setups and is an entry time frame tool for larger time frame players. Clearly an excellent time frame to start one’s investigations.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, High volume transactions as support and resistance:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 31st, 2021. bBitcoin eludes old-school technical analysis suggesting to draw horizontal support and resistance lines. Mainly due to the degree of volatility inherent from Bitcoin, amongst other factors.What suits this trading vehicle very well, though, is transactional volume-based supply and demand zones. As the daily chart above shows clearly, Bitcoin abides high volume nodes pointed out by the fractional volume analysis diagram to the right side where high transaction volume points are represented through horizontal white lines. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, First signs of life:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of May 31st, 2021. cLooking at last week’s chartbook publication, we find that prices have adhered to our expectations. After the double bottom near US$32,000 at the time, prices now moved upwards and touched precisely our upper bound sideways channel line marked in yellow near the US$41,000 price mark. An excellent point to take partial profits for those who established early entries. This represents roughly a US$9,000 advance or a 28% move).Since then, the price has declined to its high-volume node supply zone near US$34,000. There we took low-risk entries in the hopes of further price advances. All trades are posted in real-time in our free Telegram channel.We eliminated risk out of all entries by taking 50% of position size out after initial price movements in our favor. Again, we will take some profits off the table once the upper range boundary is touched near US$41,000.Bitcoin, change of mind required:Even more important than knowing what works is knowing what doesn’t work. Classical chartists will find Bitcoin´s behavior on breakouts, upper directional trendlines in smaller time frames, and Fibonacci extension targets on larger time frames to be performing poorly, to name just a few.We follow the principle of “never assume.” Never assume just because it has worked for a hundred years that it still does. Instead, do your homework. Make sure to check what still provides an edge and what doesn’t. You will be amazed how much of classical technical analysis has vanished. Getting these kinks out of one’s stacking odds tools and instead replace with true odds of newly found edges will make all the difference between a performing system and a frustrating journey of consistent losses.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|May 31st, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Biden Proposes $6 Trillion Budget. Will Money Flow Into Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.06.2021 16:02
Biden proposes $6 trillion of government spending in the 2022 fiscal year. This continuation of ultra-loose fiscal policy could support gold in the long run.On Friday (May 28), the White House presented the President’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year that starts on October 1, 2021. Biden trumped Trump and proposed $6 trillion, over one trillion more than Trump in his last year’s proposal for $4.8 trillion. Furthermore, POTUS wants to raise government outlays to up to $8.2 trillion by 2031.According to the White House, the proposed fiscal agenda will further increase the total federal debt-to-GDP ratio , from the current 129.1% to 136.9% by 2031. Meanwhile, the federal debt held by the public is estimated to rise from the current 100.7% to 108.5% of the GDP. The current level of the US public debt compared to the size of the economy is presented in the chart below.Despite the increase, Janet Yellen , Treasury Secretary, said that “it is a fiscally responsible program”. Yeah, right. Of course, it’s true that real interest rates are very low, and therefore the debt service costs are bearable; but the interest rates could go up one day. And even when the bond yields are low, there is still the crowding out effect and other negative consequences, as higher government expenditures imply higher taxes and fewer resources for the private sector. Last but not least, the GDP has practically returned to the pre-pandemic level, so such big fiscal programs are clearly excessive and could add to inflationary pressure.Implications for GoldWhat does the budget for the next fiscal year mean for gold prices? Well, although Trump was trumped in the last elections, trumpism is still doing well. Here I’m referring to the fact that Trump started to balloon the government spending and fiscal deficits well before the pandemic . Then the coronavirus hit and the fiscal policy became even looser. And now President Biden raises the stake, widening the budget deficit and public debt despite the recovery from the economic crisis .In the short term, it doesn’t have to be good news for gold. This is because big deficits and federal debt could exert upward pressure on the Treasury yields, resulting in higher interest rates, which would suppress the price of gold.Also of importance is the fact that the 2021 fiscal year was a period with an unprecedented size of the fiscal stimulus. So, although Trump proposed ‘only’ $4.8 trillion of government spending and almost $1 trillion of deficit, the actual numbers were much bigger: $7.2 and $3.7 trillion, respectively. In contrast, Biden’s proposal sees the budget deficit worth ‘only’ $1.8 trillion. In relative terms, the fiscal deficit is projected to decline from the current 16.7% to 7.8%.Of course, the actual numbers will probably be bigger than the White House’s projections. But still, when compared to the previous year, the fiscal policy will become tighter – on a relative basis. However, the fiscal policy will remain ultra-loose; the fiscal deficits are never assumed to decline below $1.3 trillion or 4.2 percent of the GDP, and the public debt is projected to reach a level not seen since World War II.However, the Fed is ready to intervene if the interest rates increase too much. And, at some point, the current ‘debt elephant’ will become too big to pretend it’s not present in the room. The current policy mix of ultra-loose monetary policy and ultra-loose fiscal policy (despite the economic recovery) is unprecedented and raises the risk of a debt crisis in the more distant future. It seems that some policymakers are starting to notice that, as they switched their narrative from “debt is no problem” to “we have to pay for it through raising corporate taxes”. We can see that even in the White House’s document, as it factors in an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.Hence, the continuation of the US’s irresponsible fiscal policy could add to the positive momentum in the gold space, especially while taking into consideration that all these new social and infrastructure programs arrive during a period of economic expansion and inflationary pressure. So, the era of big government (with bigger government expenditures and fiscal deficits) and higher inflation is back. It could be, thus, an era of shining gold.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

No More Bloodbath – Beyond Cryptos

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.06.2021 16:06
S&P 500 again rejected within sight of ATHs – again, but not totally convincingly. Especially the credit markets‘ mixed picture leans in effect slightly bullish, yet for the 500-strong index, the source of short-term worry would likely be the tech sector again. Either not pulling ahead as strongly, or taking a breather, which should be more noticeable in XLK than in Nasdaq 100.VIX looks to be done declining, and the option traders have hedged their Thursday‘s bets. Given the wavering risk-on segment of the credit markets, it‘s probably justifiably enough. Inflation expectations rose a little though, faster than the Treasury yields moved, which could be taken as a sign of value likely to do overall fine next – and that‘s also confirmed by smallcaps and emerging markets. As I wrote on Friday:(…) Is that the worst of the inflation scare being over, for now? Probably yes, and the retreating Treasury yields are mollifying – but as explained in ample detail, this calm before the (autumn) storm, is deceptive. Calling the Fed‘s bluff, precious metals (and some commodities) are onto something, really.It‘s only the cream of select commodities that has been taken off – in the big scheme of things, nothing but a consolidation within an existing secular bull market, is happening there. While the inflation trades have been dialed back to a degree, they haven‘t been broken as the Fed is in a reactive, not proactive mode. More precisely, it remains in denial of the inflation ahead.In other words, I am not buying into the taper smoke and mirrors. The Fed knows that it can‘t (seriously) take away the support – it can only talk that, and look what the market does next. It‘s a long journey of preparation, and I am not looking for the central bank to move any time soon:(…) soft patch, prolonged commodities consolidation yes, turn to deflation no. In such an environment, silver would have a tougher ride and be vulnerable to volatile swings defined by how the inflation, yields, expectations and Fed action bets play out.Gold upswing remains well supported by the little lagging miners, and the broader view shows just how little breathing space the bears have. Not enough hot air has left commodities while nominal yields look as likely to retreat further. Silver is similarly bullish as it shows no signs of overheating.Crude oil suffered a daily setback, not nearly enticing enough for the buyers – but the oil index doesn‘t favor more downside at the moment. The daily chart remains bullish, and the pressure to go higher is building up.Bitcoin and Ethereum entered into the long weekend on a weak note, but the buyers stepped in. Having convincingly defended the rising support line, carved out a bullish divergence, and the initiative has moved to the bulls.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 daily reversal that may or may not be threatening – and in my opinion, it isn‘t. Nasdaq 100 closed higher on the day, signifying that the risk-off shouldn‘t be overrated.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds are in no mood to steeply decline, and attest to a risk-off whiff merely. As I am looking for TLT to turn up shortly, HYG wouldn‘t likely suffer too much.Technology and ValueSimilarly, the tech downswing shouldn‘t be taken at face value – $NYFANG did fine but value did even better. More market breadth is though what the S&P 500 needs.Gold, Silver and MinersGold rejected yet another downswing attempt, and so did the miners. The chart remains bullish, and the path of least resistance higher.The copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio remains on fire, amply supporting the precious metals sector – and as silver isn‘t taking the copper cue in full exactly, the appreciation potential is especially juicy.Bitcoin and EthereumThe long weekend volatility was resolved at the rising black support line, and Ethereum trades now at $2,550 with Bitcoin changing hands for $36,100. The path taken to conquer the red resistance will be insightful, and the below ratio is tipping the scales in the bulls‘ favor.A lot of upside pressure building in the Ethereum to Bitcoin ratio, with the weekend attempt at the lows revealing the turning tide. SummaryS&P 500 is upside bias remains unchanged in spite of Friday‘s woes. Any dip would likely be temporary.Gold and silver remain primed to go higher, as much as the miners. The upleg is very far from over, and the only watchout is for the white metal not to get caught in the commodities consolidation trade.Crude oil downswing came on cue, but the bulls might not have gotten a discount steep enough to join, solid oil index performance notwithstanding. At the same time, the largely sideways consolidation is taking a bit too long already.Bitcoin and Ethereum have turned, but expect still volatile trading ahead, albeit with a bullish flavor.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Major Indexes Consolidate Into Sideways/Flagging Pattern – Watch For Aggressive Trending Soon

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 01.06.2021 16:14
Over the past few weeks, the US major indexes have consolidated into a sideways price channel.  This is most obvious on the NASDAQ and SPY charts as we've seen moderately deep pullbacks through the months of April/May 2021.  My research suggests this sideways price Flagging might be concerning for active traders/investors. When the market flags into a sideways price pattern and near an Apex level, price tends to act in a very aggressive manner while attempting to establish a new trend. The longer price continues to trade within that sideways/flagging price range, the more aggressive and violent the new trend may be when it finally breaks free of the sideways price channel.After Many Weeks Of Sideways Price Trending – What's Next?The Weekly SPY chart, below, highlights the seven weeks of moderate sideways price activity and shows the extended resistance level (MAGENTA Line) which represents an almost extreme rally trend originating from the 2009~2011 initial price bottom/rally after the housing/credit crisis. My research team and I are cautious of how the SPY has rallied recently, targeting the prior MAGENTA Line trend level and then dramatically stalled after briefly touching this level.Long Term SPY Chart Highlights Incredible Price - “Fuzzy Double Top” From 2009 Bottom LevelsThe following Monthly SPY chart shows you the bigger picture.  As the bottom setup in 2009-2010, price rallied sharply and set up an upward sloping price channel off these highs. Usually, as prices move away from the bottom, a sharp recovery may take place initially after the bottom completes.  This initial upward price trend often represents some of the strongest upward price momentum one will see as the bullish trend continues to unfold.  It is very unusual for price to rally very strongly after a deep price bottom, then move into weaker bullish trending, then begin to accelerate into a very aggressive upward price trend targeting or reaching the initial bullish momentum after the initial deep bottom level. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!This is exactly what happened in this case with the SPY.  Price rallied off the bottom, began to stall in a bullish trend while still moving higher, then after COVID-19 began to rally excessively back to the original MAGENTA upward sloping price channel.  This type of price activity is very unusual and typically relates to a hyper-parabolic price trend.Transportation Index Forming Tight Price Flag – Which Way Will It Break?This Weekly Transportation Index highlights the Flagging price formation that has recently set up.  Although one could argue the current trend is still very bullish overall, the recent sideways price formation suggests the momentum behind the recent bullish price trend has weakened.  We have drawn both bullish and bearish arrows on this chart to illustrate that the Apex of the Flag formation may prompt some type of wild, volatile price activity.  This Apex has nearly completed as of last week.  It is very likely that a more volatile price trend will begin over the next few weeks and we believe this could be the beginning of a bigger price trend lasting through August or September 2021.If the trend resumes as a bullish price trend, then we may continue to see a melt-up in price targeting the $16,500 level (or higher).  If the trend breaks lower, then we believe the Transportation Index may attempt to move below the $14,000 level and possibly attempt to retest the early 2021 lows near $12,000.Custom Volatility Index Confirms Bigger, Aggressive Price Trends/Breakouts Are PendingLastly, we want to highlight our Custom Volatility Index Weekly chart – which we use to measure and gauge market peaking and bottoming setups as well as overall trend direction and momentum.  When the Custom Volatility Index moves above 12~13, it is nearing an extreme bullish trend phase (or potentially nearing a peak price level where bullish momentum may stall).  When the Custom Volatility Index moves below the 9~10 level after reaching the 12~13+ level, we are experiencing a moderate price pullback (usually).  When the Custom Volatility Index falls below the 9~10 level, this suggests the markets are breaking major support channels and falling into a new type of Bearish trending (possibly attempting to target the 3~5 level – or lower).Currently, the Custom Volatility Index has reached levels above 14 on April 12, 2021.  That is the origination of this recent stalling in the Weekly SPY chart (near the top of this article).  The current sideways price action in the SPY after April 12 was illustrated in the Custom Volatility Index as the large candlestick bars rotating near the 10~11 level.  This period represents a fairly large range price volatility period where prices have stalled.Now, the Custom Volatility Index is back above 13.50 and reached a high of 14.33.  This move higher suggests the markets are back into bullish exhaustion/peaking range while the SPY and Transportation Index are still suggesting a sideways price Flag formation is Apexing.  We expect some very volatile price action to pick up throughout most of June 2021 which may prompt a new major price trend in the US Major Indexes because of this setup.As various assets seek out critical support and resistance levels in early June 2021, pay attention to how markets react near past critical stand-out lows and highs.  For example, The Transportation Index chart, above, highlights a “stand-out” low near $12,000 that is a likely downside price target if we see a breakdown trend in early June.  These past stand-out price levels often represent very important support and resistance levels for technical traders.Again, we are not making a prediction that a breakdown event is going to crash the markets right now.  We are suggesting that a price volatility event is about to happen in early June based on our research.  This volatility event may prompt a new major price trend if the event is big enough to break through historic support/resistance levels.  If not, then we may see a moderate 8 to 11% price rotation take place before the markets resume the bullish trending phase again.We are suggesting that traders prepare for this volatility event which appears to likely happen in early June 2021 and may last many weeks (through August or September 2021).  Only time will tell how this plays out, but we are fairly certain a spike in the VIX is near and that we may see a moderate downside move in the SPY – possibly below $400.  Many various sectors will likely rotate as well and set up excellent opportunities for active traders throughout this volatility event.For those of you who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily pre-market reports, proprietary research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers. Sign up today!Enjoy the rest of your Memorial Day Weekend!
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USDX: Trick or Treat, Looks Like an Early Halloween

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.06.2021 16:24
The FED has recently been tricked with its own money. Could the central bank’s scary reverse repos become a treat for the USDX?The USD Index (USDX)With the ghosts of 2015 attempting to scare the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) into tapering its asset purchases, the latest reverse repo nightmare could be gold, silver and mining stocks version of the boogeyman. Case in point: with the liquidity fright helping the USD Index sleep better at night, the greenback should benefit from the FED’s latest house of horrors: And with the central bank’s daily reverse repos hitting an all-time high of $485 billion on May 27 (with another $479 billion sold on May 28), Halloween may come early this year.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the daily reverse repo transactions executed by the FED, while the red line above tracks the federal funds rate. If you focus your attention on the red line, you can see that after the $400 billion level was breached in December 2015, the FED’s rate-hike cycle began. Thus, with current inflation dwarfing 2015 levels and U.S. banks practically throwing cash at the FED, is this time really different?Likewise, with reduced liquidity poised to bolster the USD Index, not only are the fundamentals trending up but also the technicals. The USD Index jumped above its declining resistance line based on May’s highs, as well as the declining resistance line that started with the late-March high. This is important not only (and not primarily) because of the double-breakout. It’s important and particularly bullish, as it emphasizes that the third – and quite likely the final – short-term bottom in a row is already in.In addition, the USD Index might be in the early innings of forming an inverted head & shoulders pattern. For context, an inverted H&S pattern is a bullish development that if formed, could usher the USD Index well above 94.5 (to about 97-98). However, completing the right shoulder requires an upward breach of 93 (the blue line), so at this point, it’s more of an indication than a confirmation.Please see below:For more context, I wrote previously:This week’s move lower is a continuation, and most likely the final part, of a specific multi-bottom pattern that the USD Index exhibited recently.I marked those situations with green. The thing is that the U.S. currency first declined practically without any corrections , but at some point it started to move back and forth while making new lows. The third distinctive bottom was the final one. Interestingly, the continuous decline took place for about a month, and the back-and-forth declines took another month (approximately). In July 2020, the USDX fell like a rock, and in August it moved back and forth while still declining. In November 2020, the USDX fell like a rock (there was one exception), and in December it moved back and forth while still declining.Ever since the final days of March, we’ve seen the same thing all over again. The USD Index fell like a rock in April, and in May we’ve seen back-and-forth movement with lower lows and lower highs.What we see right now is the third of the distinctive lows that previously marked the end of the declines.And what did gold do when the USD Index rallied then?In August, gold topped without waiting for USD’s final bottom – which is natural, given how extremely overbought it was in the short term.In early January, gold topped (which was much more similar to the current situation given the preceding price action) when the USDX formed its third, final distinctive bottom.I received a few questions recently asking what would need to happen for me to change my mind on the precious metals sector’s outlook. There are multiple reasons, and it’s impossible to list all of them. However, one of the reasons that would make me strongly consider that the outlook has indeed changed (at least for the short term) would be a confirmed breakdown in the USD Index below the 2021 lows to which gold would actually react.As further evidence, the Euro Index might be in the midst of forming a bearish H&S pattern. If you analyze the right side of the chart below, you can see that the symmetrical pattern has the current rally mirroring the summer of 2020. And while we’re still in the early innings of forming the right shoulder, three peaks were recorded during the second half of 2020 before the Euro Index eventually rolled over. Likewise, with a symmetrical setup that seems to already be in motion, the Euro Index may be heading down a similar path of historical ruin. In the second half of 2020, the decline was not that big, but it’s no wonder that this was the case as that was only the left shoulder of the pattern. Completion of the right shoulder, however, would imply another move lower, at least equal to the size of the head – to about the June 2020 lows or lower.Gold and the EuroFurthermore, last week’s decline actually ushered the Euro Index back below the dashed resistance line of its monthly channel. And with its recent triple top mirroring the price action we witnessed in mid-to-late 2020 – before the Euro Index plunged – it won’t take long for confidence to turn into fear.Please see below:More importantly, though, the completion of the masterpiece could have a profound impact on gold, silver and mining stocks. To explain, gold continues to underperform the euro. If you analyze the bottom half of the chart above, you can see that material upswings in the Euro Index have resulted in diminishing marginal returns for the yellow metal. Thus, the relative weakness is an ominous sign, and if the Euro Index reverses, it could weigh heavily on the precious metals over the medium term.If that wasn’t enough, with the USD Index hopping in the time machine and setting the dial to 2016, a bullish pattern is slowly emerging. To explain, I wrote on May 11:While the self-similarity to 2018 in the USD Index is not as clear as it used to be (it did guide the USDX for many weeks, though), there is also another self-similar pattern that seems more applicable now. One of my subscribers noticed that and decided to share it with us (thanks, Maciej!).Here’s the quote, the chart, and my reply:“Thank you very much for your comprehensive daily Gold Trading Reports that I am gladly admitting I enjoy a lot. While I was analyzing recent USD performance, (DX) I have spotted one pattern that I would like to validate with you if you see any relevance of it. I have noticed the DX Index performing exactly in the same manner in a time frame between Jan. 1, 2021 and now as the one that started in May 2016 and continued towards Aug. 16. The interesting part is not only that the patterns are almost identical, but also their temporary peeks and bottoms are spotting in the same points. Additionally, 50 daily MA line is almost copied in. Also, 200 MA location versus 50 MA is almost identical too. If the patterns continue to copy themselves in the way they did during the last 4 months, we can expect USD to go sideways in May (and dropping to the area of 90,500 within the next 3 days) and then start growing in June… which in general would be in line with your analysis too.Please note the below indices comparison (the lower represents the period between May-Dec 2016 and higher Jan – May 2021). I am very much interested in your opinion.Thank you in advance.”And here’s what I wrote in reply:“Thanks, I think that’s an excellent observation! I read it only today (Monday), so I see that the bearish note for the immediate term was already realized more or less in tune with the self-similar pattern. The USDX moved a bit lower, but it doesn’t change that much. The key detail here would be that the USDX is unlikely to decline much lower, and instead, it’s likely to start a massive rally in the next several months - that would be in perfect tune with my other charts/points.I wouldn’t bet on the patterns being identical in the very near term, though, just like the late June 2016 and early March 2021 weren’t that similar.As soon as the USD Index rallies back above the rising support line, the analogy to 2016 will be quite clear once again –the implications will be even more bullish for the USDX and bearish for the precious metals market for the next several months.”Please note that back in 2016, there were several re-tests of the rising support line and tiny breakdowns below it before the USD Index rallied. Consequently, the current short-term move lower is not really concerning, and forecasting gold at much higher levels because of it might be misleading. I wouldn’t bet on the silver bullish forecast either. The white metal might outperform at the very end of the rally, but it has already done so recently on a very short-term basis, so we don’t have to see this signal. And given the current situation in the general stock market – which might have already topped – silver and mining stocks might not be able to show strength relative to gold at all.On top of that, the USD Index’s long-term breakout remains intact . And when analyzing from a bird’s-eye view, the greenback’s recent weakness is largely inconsequential.Please see below:Moreover, please note that the correlation between the USD Index and gold is now strongly negative (-0.90 over the last 30 days) and it’s been the case for several weeks now. The same thing happened in early January 2021 and in late July – August 2020; these were major tops in gold.The bottom line?After regaining its composure , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. In the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term.Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is doing (and likely to do) better than the Eurozone and Japan, and it’s this relative outperformance that matters , not the strength of just one single country or monetary area. After all, the USD Index is a weighted average of currency exchange rates and the latter move on a relative basis.In conclusion, ghouls, goblins and ghosts are popping up everywhere, and while the USD Index has been under investors’ negative spell, the curse may have just been broken. Moreover, with plenty of skeletons in the financial markets’ closet and liquidity slowly being drained from the system, the narrative of excessive money printing has become an old wives’ tale. More importantly, though, with the greenback finding technical support at roughly the same time, we could be witnessing a paradigm shift in U.S. dollar sentiment. The bottom line? With gold, silver and mining stocks benefiting from the USD Index’s recent struggles, a coven is gathering, and it will likely torch the precious metals over the medium term.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Struggles To Clear Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.06.2021 07:14
AUDUSD returns to major supportThe Australian dollar stays muted after a dovish RBA kept the official interest rate unchanged overnight.Despite a rebound above the resistance at 0.7750 the pair is struggling to gain momentum. The supply zone around 0.7800 is a major hurdle that has foiled the Aussie’s previous attempts.The RSI has retreated into the neutral area and may allow buyers greater leeway in making another push.On the downside, the support (0.7680) on the daily chart is critical in keeping the price afloat in the short term.USDCAD meets resistanceThe Canadian dollar rallied on better-than-expected March GDP growth. The US dollar’s recent bounces have failed to clear the key resistance at 1.2140. An overbought RSI in that supply area was rather a signal to sell into strength.The selling pressure intensified after the price dipped to the psychological level of 1.2000. The bearish MA cross indicates a new round of sell-off which would carry the greenback towards May 2015’s low at 1.1920. Any rebound might be capped by the resistance at 1.2090.EURCHF gathers rebound impetusThe Swiss franc inched lower after the Q1 GDP came in worse than expected. From the daily chart’s perspective, the euro is in a flag-shaped consolidation following February’s surge. There is potential for continuation after a bullish breakout.The pair has seen solid support above 1.0930. The current retracement has allowed the RSI to cool down. A break above 1.1020 could bring in momentum.A combination of short-squeezing and fresh buying may extend the rally towards 1.1070.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Forms Bearish Divergence

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.06.2021 07:45
GBPUSD retreats from major resistanceThe pound slips due to concerns over possible delays to June 21 lockdown lifting. The pair saw strong selling interest at the supply zone (1.4200) from last February. The RSI’s failure to achieve a higher high as opposed to the price action indicates exhaustion.Divergence near a key resistance could be a forward warning for a correction. The drop below 1.4160 is a confirmation of weak demand. A break below 1.4100 may send the pound to the psychological level of 1.4000.On the upside, the peak at 1.4250 has become resistance.GER 30 grinds towards new highThe DAX stays muted following Germany’s downbeat retail numbers in April. The index is looking to hold on to its recent gains after it broke into new highs.On the daily chart, the 20-day moving average crossing above the 30-day one suggests an acceleration in the rally after a month-long consolidation. 15800 would be the next target as trend followers rejoin the action.In the meantime, the latest surge has sent the RSI into the overbought area. A temporary pullback is likely to seek support above 15410.USOIL climbs to 3-month highOil rallies as markets expect delays in the Iran nuclear talks. WTI crude has rallied above the March peak at 67.90. This is an indication that buyers have regained control of the direction.The bulls have cleared the way to 70.00 even though the path could be choppy due to intraday volatility. The price is inching up along the 30-hour moving average. A high RSI may prevent traders from chasing after the momentum.Around 66.70 is a key area of congestion after it turned from resistance into support.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold Seems Stuck at $1900. Are Inflationary Fears Exaggerated?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.06.2021 14:06
Gold is fluctuating around $1,900 amid a sideways trend in real interest rates and a decline in inflationary expectations.Gold surpassed $1,900 at the end of May. However, it has been struggling since then to rally decisively above this level. Instead, the price of the yellow metal has been oscillating around this level, as the chart below shows.Why is that and what does it mean for the gold market? Well, on the one hand, we could say that the yellow metal is in a normal pause during an uptrend. However, the lack of more aggressive price appreciation amid high inflation , ultra-loose monetary policy , depreciating dollar and super easy fiscal policy could be seen as disturbing.From a fundamental perspective, the timid price behavior of gold could be explained by a sideways trend in real interest rates . Their lackluster movement, in turn, could have resulted from the downward correction in long-term inflationary expectations (blue line), as the chart below shows.Investors’ inflation bets have lost some steam, starting a debate about whether expectations of inflation have already peaked. After all, it might be the case that inflation fears have been exaggerated and investors have overshot, as they often do. In addition, some of the FOMC members signaled that it could be a good idea to begin discussing tapering quantitative easing .If this was really the peak of inflationary expectations, the news would be bad for gold, which is seen as a hedge against inflation . However, many analysts expect that inflation expectations have room for further rises and could reach levels close to 3%.Implications for GoldWhat does all this mean for the price of gold? Well, market-based inflationary expectations have recently declined, dragging the real interest down and restraining gold from moving upward. However, inflation worries won’t disappear anytime soon . After all, the PCE inflation , the favorite Fed’s inflation gauge, jumped 3.1% in April, beating the expectations. Even in the Eurozone, where price pressure is usually lower than in the US, the inflation rate rose from 1.6% to 2% in May, which is the highest level since October 2018.Furthermore, consumer-based inflationary expectations jumped from 3.4% to 4.6% in May, so inflation worries are still around. They could increase the uncertainty and increase the safe-haven demand for gold . Although higher uncertainty could limit some spending, we should remember that households have accumulated more than $2 trillion in excess savings during the pandemic . So, inflation may be more lasting than many policymakers and pundits believe . If inflation doesn’t turn out to be merely transitory, gold could gain some fuel for the upward march.Higher inflation implies weakened purchasing power of the dollar. If we add America’s growing public debt problem to constantly rising prices, the downward trend in the greenback could continue, supporting the price of gold.Of course, only time will tell whether or not current inflation worries are justified. However, please note that the economy didn’t collapse last year due to a lack of liquidity but due to the Great Lockdown . The implication is that the Fed has increased money supply well above demand , injecting a lot of liquidity into the system. The expansion in the Fed’s balance sheet and commercial banks’ credit (after all, this time not only the monetary base has jumped, but the broad money supply as well), combined with the Great Unlocking, generated a great inflationary wave that lifted all asset classes: from commodities, through equities, to cryptocurrencies , including crypto-memes like Dogecoin.And it might be just a coincidence, but the Fed introduced a new monetary regime that is prone to higher inflation also during the last year. A cynical interpretation could be that the Fed knew very well that its last year’s monetary expansion could result in higher inflation.Hence, inflationary expectations didn’t have to peak, and they could increase later this year supporting gold prices . Having said that, if inflation really turns out to be only transitory, the current situation wouldn’t be much different from 2011-2013, when gold prices struggled amid expectations of monetary policy tightening . Of course, the Fed is even more dovish now under Powell than under Bernanke or Yellen , but higher inflation would be an additional argument for a bull market in gold .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Gold: First Steps Down in the Short Term

Gold: First Steps Down in the Short Term

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.06.2021 16:03
Gold rallying on low volume yesterday was a clear bearish sign; the yellow metal dropped about $15 in today’s pre-market trading. What will happen next?Yesterday’s (Jun. 2) and today’s sessions were quite rich in signals for gold, silver, and mining stocks, but only if one knows where to watch.Gold: Short-Term MovesGold closed ~$5 higher yesterday, and this move took place on relatively low volume. In fact, gold hasn’t rallied on volume this low since Apr. 26. This is a bearish sign for the short term, and indeed after the Apr. 26 session, gold moved lower in the following days.And, right on cue, gold was about $15 down in today’s pre-market trading . While this decline might seem surprising to some, it’s actually a perfectly natural thing for gold to do right now.The low-volume daily rally was only a confirmation, as we knew that Tuesday’s daily reversal was critical all along – based on the triangle-vertex-based reversal we recently saw. Combination of this with highly overbought RSI, a sell signal from the stochastic indicator, and, most importantly, the analogies to how the situation in gold developed in 2008 and 2012, provides us with an extremely bearish outlook for gold.Many other factors are pointing to these similarities, and two of them are the size of the correction relative to the preceding decline and to the previous rally. In 2012 and 2008, gold corrected to approximately the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Gold was very close to this level this year, and since the history tends to rhyme more than it tends to repeat itself to the letter, it seems that the top might already be in.In both years, 2008 and 2012, there were three tops. Furthermore, the rallies that took gold to the second and third top were similar. In 2008, the rally preceding the third top was bigger than the rally preceding the second top. In 2012, they were more or less equal. I marked those rallies with blue lines in the above chart – the current situation is very much in between the above-mentioned situations. Also, the current rally is bigger than the one that ended in early January 2021 but not significantly so.Since I realize that it’s most difficult to stay on track right at the top, let me remind you about two key facts:We have open-ended QEs – money is being pumped into the system at an unprecedented pace, even when stocks are well beyond their all-time highs. The world has been in a pandemic for over a year, and the economies were hit hard. And yet, gold – the king of safe hedges – did not manage to soar above its 2011 highs and then stay above them. Given how extremely positive the fundamental situation is, gold’s reaction is even more extremely bearish. This market is simply not ready to soar without declining significantly first. The bull market and bear markets move in stages, and the final slide was postponed multiple times, but it’s clear that gold is not ready to soar to new highs without completing this final stage – the downswing.Remember what happened when gold previously attempted to break above major long-term highs? It was in 2008 and gold was breaking above its 1980 high. Gold wasn’t ready to truly continue its bull market without plunging first. This downswing was truly epic, especially in the case of silver and mining stocks; and now even gold’s price patterns are like what we saw in 2008.Lessons Learned From HistoryMy previous comments on the analogies to 2008 and 2012 remain up-to-date:Back in 2008, gold corrected to 61.8% Fibonacci retracement , but it stopped rallying approximately when the USD Index started to rally, and the general stock market accelerated its decline.Taking into consideration that the general stock market has probably just topped, and the USD Index is about to rally, then gold is likely to slide for the final time in the following weeks/months. Both above-mentioned markets support this bearish scenario and so do the self-similar patterns in terms of gold price itself.What would change my mind with regard to gold itself? Perhaps if it broke above its January 2021 highs and confirmed this breakout. This would be an important technical indication on its own, but it would also be something very different from what happened in 2008 and 2012. If that happened along with strength in mining stocks, it would be very bullish. Still, if the above happened, and miners didn’t react at all or they declined, it would not be bullish despite the gains in the gold price itself.The March 2021 low formed well below the previous low, but as far as other things are concerned, the current situation is similar to what happened in 2012.The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended on huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year. Consequently , forecasting much higher silver or gold prices here doesn’t seem to be justified based on the historical analogies.The thing I would like to emphasize here is that gold didn’t form the final top at the huge-volume reversal on Sep. 13, 2012. It moved back and forth for a while and moved a bit above that high-volume top, and only then the final top took place (in early October 2012).The same happened in September and in October 2008. Gold reversed on huge volume in mid-September, and it was approximately the end of the rally. The final top, however, formed after some back-and-forth trading and a move slightly above the previous high.Consequently, the fact that gold moved a bit above its own high-volume reversal (May 19, 2021) is not an invalidation of the analogy, but rather its continuation.There’s one more thing I would like to add, and it’s that back in 2012, gold corrected to approximately the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level – furthermore, the same happened in 2008 as you can see in the below chart. Consequently, the fact that gold moved above its 50% Fibonacci retracement doesn’t break the analogy either. And even if gold moves to $1,940 or so, it will not break it. It’s not likely that it is going to move that high, as in both cases –in 2008 and 2012 – gold moved only somewhat above its high-volume reversal before forming the final top. So, as this year’s huge-volume reversal took place close to the 50% retracement and not the 61.8% retracement, it seems that we’ll likely see a temporary move above it, which will create the final top. And that’s exactly what we see happening so far this week.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.Also, please note that while it might seem bullish that gold managed to rally above its declining black resistance line recently (the one based on the 2020 top and the 2021 top), please note that the same happened in 2012 – I marked the analogous line with red. The breakout didn’t prevent gold from sliding. When the price reached the line, we saw a short-term bounce, but nothing more than that – the gold price fell through it in the following weeks.Meanwhile, the USD Index has just confirmed its short-term breakout, suggesting that the analogy to 2016 and the similarity to how it bottomed (triple bottom with lower lows) in mid-2020 remains intact – and so does the bullish outlook for the universally-hated-and-massively-shorted U.S. currency.The USD Index reversed yesterday in a supposedly bearish manner, but today’s pre-market price action shows that it was just a fake reversal. It seems that a major bottom in the USDX is already in, as the breakout above the declining short-term resistance line (that started with the April top) was verified. And with the outlook for the USD Index being bullish, the implications for the precious metals market are bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

When Markets Get Scared and Reverse

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.06.2021 16:09
S&P 500 wasted another good opportunity to rise – one where the credit markets were largely aligned. Is it a sign of upcoming tremors that the 500-strong index couldn‘t defend the daily gains? Commodities weren‘t under pressure, the dollar wasn‘t surging (looking at the closing prices), precious metals did well, and even lumber enjoyed a white candle again.Inflation expectations retreated, and so did Treasury yields – what‘s holding stocks then? Neither uncertainty about the Fed policy, nor surging inflation cutting into P&L, nor crashing bonds – what we‘re seeing is run of the mill volatility as stocks move both into a structurally higher inflation environment, and await Fed moves which are much farther down the time line than the markets appreciate. Heck, even the option traders keep undergoing the earlier announced shift to complacency.Yes, the taper talk has dialed back the inflation trades to a degree, but hasn‘t knocked them off in the least. In a reflation, both stocks and commodities do well, and we‘re still far away from worrying about weakening GDP growth rates (today‘s ADP and unemployment data are a good proof thereof) – in my view, worries about inflation not retreating nearly enough during this Treasury market lull (taking up this summer) would come into the picture first.Reopening trades aren‘t over, the housing market activity (housing starts, new home sales) has slowed down a little while XLRE keeps running, financials remain as strong as value (yes, there is more juice in that trade still), and no mad rush into tech (growth) is underway. Capacity utilization isn‘t at the top of the pre-corona range exactly, and oil prices (these serve as additional tax, a drag on the economy) aren‘t biting nearly enough. The job market isn‘t at the strongest either, and the hours worked don‘t match prior extremes either. Last but not least, global supply chains haven‘t entirely recovered to meet the reopenings-boosted demand.Plenty of extra reasons why I talked the transitory vs. getting structurally elevated (unanchored) inflation yesteerday:(…) The Treasury market‘s lull only means that inflation trades have been dialed back somewhat, but haven‘t been broken. As I wrote on May 27, so far it‘s only the precious metals that are relentlessly calling the Fed‘s bluff – by rising almost in a straight line. And when you thought the transitory or permanently elevated inflation debate couldn‘t get any more ridiculous, there comes the Dudley dove talking how transitory could become permanent – it‘s almost as miraculous as being half pregnant.Seriously, it‘s a testament to the Fed communication‘s success that the transitory story has been swallowed hook, line and sinker to this degree. We‘re getting a temporary reprieve but the cost-push inflation isn‘t going away. At the same time, we‘re in a reflationary period before inflation starts biting noticeably more. How close before the wheels come off, and would that come from inflation or growth worries? There are two distinct possibilities: GDP growth and its projections start sputtering, or inflation (including inflation expectations) don‘t come down nearly enough as much as the transient camp believes. I‘m in the latter camp.Timing is everything, though. Any growth scare wouldn‘t materialize before we „discover“ that inflation isn‘t really going away. Add the job market pressures entering the fray – discussed on May 19 – you‘ll sooner take fright over persistent inflation hitting the growth prospects than seeing them downgraded first. No deflationary scare quarters ahead either, sorry – 2021 will be another good year in stocks.This also speaks against a sharp (think 10% and higher) correction in the stock market over the summer, and likewise affects commodities. These would employ a wait and see approach, with precious metals sticking out like a sore finger. Forget the taper dog and pony show. When the Fed is forced to move, precious metals win – either way.In other words, we‘re undergoing stock market and commodities‘ gyrations as we‘re settling into the new reality of higher inflation including expectations, which isn‘t yet putting the stock market to test. Neither the 10-year yield rising way over 2.5% would derail the sttock bull run – but the associated volatility would be keenly felt already at the 2% level. We‘re very far from that, meaning I am not worried about the stock market leadership baton passing exlusively over to tech (growth) stocks. That would equal panic.Gold ascent is slowing down, but miners don‘t support a lasting downswing. Volatility around the $1,900 mark, yes but a plunge on stock market downswing / Fed tapering / commodities reversal, no – as if any of the three actually applied. After initial selling when liquidity needs to be raised no matter where from (the AMC saga coming soon to a theater near you), gold is likely to recover, and faster than silver (the white metal would suffer from any marked slowdown in inflation, I must add).Crude oil rose strongly once again, and so did the oil index – the energy sector ETF is doing great. The daily chart still remains bullish, offering no clues of a reversal, let alone of a correction.Bitcoin and Ethereum recovery goes on, and I‘m looking for more base building before the bulls take on and overcome the red ETH resistance line featured on Tuesday. Patience is needed before more confidence returns into the sector.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 OutlookS&P 500 and Nasdaq wavering in latest days is an eloquent warning sign that the bears will try their luck – and they would ultimately fail.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds actually outperformed the rest of the crowd, making the SPX stumble harder to stomach.Technology and ValueTechnology had a mixed day while value remains unyielding. It‘s true that the daily leadership was with XLK yesterday, but that still remains white noise as value isn‘t yet down and out. Not by a long shot.Gold, Silver and MinersGold rose a little stronger than the miners yesterday, but the move in either shouldn‘t be overrated. While the yellow metal can‘t break higher with confidence now, its dips remain to be bought.The copper to 10-year Treasury yield ratio stabilized yesterday, but the swing in either copper or long-dated Treasuries spells no short-term calm.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum charts are solidly recovering, but some breather next wouldn‘t surprise me. Overall, the stage remains set to go higher.SummaryWhat doesn‘t go up, must come down – but look for any S&P 500 downside to be largely bought when the dust settles.Gold and silver remain well bid, but the slowing pace of gains means that the bears might come out from hibernation – only to be repelled though. Look for copper to stabilize as a precondition, with miners not falling through the floor.Crude oil odds favor a new upleg to proceed, but unless commodities and metals rebound, black gold would get vulnerable.Bitcoin and Ethereum are peeking higher, and rebound continuation is more probable than other scenarios.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Sees Deeper Correction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.06.2021 09:48
EURUSD confirms bearish divergenceThe US dollar further recovers after the ADP showed nearly a million jobs added last month.A bearish RSI divergence in the supply area (1.2255) was a forward warning that the previous rally was losing steam.The fall below 1.2185 suggests that the bulls may start to unwind their positions. A brief rebound around 1.2200 saw strong selling interest. Sentiment has turned bearish and the drop below 1.2130 could trigger a broader sell-off towards 1.2070, the first support found on the daily chart.AUDJPY sold from major resistanceThe Australian dollar slipped after muted retail sales in April. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near 85.15. Four failed attempts to clear this resistance level suggest exhaustion from the buy-side.The break below 84.75 could be the straw that broke the camel’s back as buyers start to bail out. The sell-off could gain momentum once it goes below 84.55. Then 84.25 is the next support.An oversold RSI may lead to a temporary pullback, which could turn out to be a dead cat bounce.NAS 100 falls from daily resistanceEquity markets dip on upbeat jobs numbers as the inflation scare resurfaces.The Nasdaq 100 has been struggling near 13800, a major resistance level on the daily chart. The first dip below 13620 has prompted cautious buyers to get out near 13710 while they still could.13400 is the base of the latest rally and a key support in the short term. Its breach could send the index to 13160. An oversold RSI may temporarily alleviate the selling pressure as new sellers await a rebound before joining in.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Finds Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.06.2021 10:09
XAUUSD grinds short-term resistanceGold is recouping recent losses as the US dollar dips on unconvincing jobs data.The price has met strong buying interest at the key support at 1855, which lies near the 20-day moving average. The V-shaped recovery is likely to meet resistance below 1910. An overbought RSI could prompt short-term players to take profit.Bullish sentiment remains unchallenged from the daily chart’s perspective despite short-term volatility. A bullish breakout could resume the rally towards 1950.EURCAD bounces from demand zoneThe Canadian dollar slipped after the unemployment rate rose to 8.2% in May.The euro has so far been capped by the 30-day moving average on the daily chart.From an intraday point of view, the pair has established a support base around 1.4640-1.4660, after a lengthy consolidation. The sellers’ struggle to reach lower could be a sign of exhaustion, which may attract early buyers in the hope of a reversal.A rally above 1.4750 could challenge the major supply area at 1.4820.SPX 500 rallies to previous peakThe S&P 500 rallied after mixed US nonfarm payrolls tempered reflation fears.The short-lived correction saw solid bids at 4165, the base of a previous rally.Bullish momentum above the immediate resistance of 4125 is an indication that the short side has rushed to cover their bets. 4245 is a critical resistance and its breach could propel the index to a new record high.The RSI has ventured into the overbought area. A temporary pullback is likely to look for support above 4185.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Where Next in the Taper Drama

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.06.2021 12:02
S&P 500 duly rose on the little weaker than expected non-farm payrolls as the taper theme (start of discussions moving to serious contemplation) got dialed back. The Fed‘s forward guidance manouevers can continue, and inflation trades breathed a sigh of relief. Encouragingly for the S&P 500, reflation trades weren‘t affected as evidenced by value stocks rising again regardles of the long-dated Treasuries action.Of course, volatility welcomed the retreat in yields as much as technology did – but the option traders aren‘t buying into the upswing nearly as much. Practically speaking, Friday‘s moves in the dollar, some commodities and precious metals, reversed a great chunk of the preceding day‘s bigger swings. The guessing game on the Fed‘s taper goes on, and the upcoming CPI readings won‘t add to the markets‘ peace. Most likely, fuelling the sense of taper urgency as the inflation figures won‘t be coming on the low side. Add in the job market slowly catching fire, and you‘ll understand why I have been calling for months for elevated inflation readings.It‘s the market reaction what matters – what is at stake, is how much the Fed is still expected to fight inflation, whether it plays ostrich in toeing the transitory line much to the satisfaction or dismay of the marketplace. As I wrote on Friday:(…) Should the transition into a higher inflation environment be appreciated for what it is, the dive in gold, silver and copper wouldn‘t have been that steep. On the other hand, the sharpest moves tend to be the countertrend ones – yes, I‘m still of the opinion that the current reflationary period with reopening rush (more juice left in value over growth trades) is conducive to higher stock market and commodity prices. Including precious metals, naturally.Moreover, the taper talk (...is…) exposing a key vulnerability in the Treasury market. The Fed is well aware that its ample support is a condition sine qua non, and that rising yields (rising real rates) aren‘t in the largest borrower and real economy‘s interests. Financial repression has to come into the picture, and that‘s one of the reasons why precious metals have been on a tear lately. We‘re also a long way from inflation breaking the back of stock market bulls.So stocks have taken the risk-on cue, amply reversing Thursday‘s losses – but the same can‘t be said about gold, silver or copper. Precious metals pared Thursday‘s setback to a good degree only, and these words apply to miners as well. Not that conducive conditions hadn‘t been in place to facilitate more gains, but the optimism over Fed moves being dialed back to a more distant future, is more guarded. Understandably so when Janet Yellen would welcome higher inflation and higher rates as per her G7 meeting proclamation. The bulls aren‘t out of the woods – all eyes on nominal yields, inflation expectations and the dollar now.Oil is refusing to budge, and the oil index doesn‘t favor too much downside. Should commodities stall again though, oil would be no exception – in spite of its next upleg getting underway after the long sideways consolidation (with a bullish slant, however).Cryptos can‘t get their mojo, but aren‘t falling through the floor either. The consolidation goes on, and bulls better step in and overcome Thursday‘s highs for the recovery to continue. That‘s not unimaginable for Ethereum or Cardano, though – it‘s only that Bitcoin is acting really weak relatively speaking.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookBoth S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 grew sharply, and if you look under the hood, the signals are positive. If only higher volume confirmed them.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds met an intraday setback, which is part of the short-term watchouts.Technology and ValueTechnology including $NYFANG dialed back Thursday‘s overreaction – just as was likely, and the value stocks confirming in the upswing stretching over to high beta plays in tech as well, are a positive sign for Monday.Gold, Silver and MinersIt‘s nice that gold recovered from yet another dive but, its white candle could have closed nearer to the daily highs – it‘s concerning that it didn‘t, and the same applies to miners. The return of strength has been suboptimal when nominal rates solely are assessed. Of course, that ties in to the retreat in inflation expectations being the other side of the coin, coupled with rising rates expectation underpinning the dollar.Silver recovered stronger than copper, but the red metal‘s ratio enriched with 10-year Treasury yield view, could have driven stronger gold gains. However, silver‘s outperformance isn‘t worrying here.Crude OilCrude oil is continuing its low volatility rise, volume isn‘t drying up, and the oil index supports the upleg to proceed.SummaryS&P 500 bears got on the defensive again, and credit markets give the bulls benefit of the doubt. How will another attempt at all time highs unfold, is to be closely observed for signs of strength / weakness.Gold and silver remarkably rebounded, but could have recouped even more of Thursday‘s losses. It remains a (short-term) red flag they didn‘t. The bulls haven‘t proved themselves entirely, which can be explained by yields, inflation and dollar.dynamics.Crude oil bullish chart message hasn‘t weakened one iota on Friday, and black gold‘s upleg remains underway – while a meaningful correction isn‘t favored, taking a breather would be healthy.Bitcoin and Ethereum meek recovery, bottom searching after Elon‘s broken heart emoji tweet goes on, and the Miami show didn‘t help much. The longer prices stay this low without steadily attempting a march higher, the more vulnerable they are.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 07.06.2021 18:52
Gold and silver prices experienced quite a roller coaster ride over the last few days. Given the fast recovery on Friday we see two potential scenarios for the precious metal markets to unfold. Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?ReviewThe double low at US$1,676 in mid-March and at US$1,678 at the end of March marked the end of the eight-month correction in the gold market. In the past two months, gold was able to recover from this double low by a whopping US$240. Our conservative recovery targets of US$1,785 and US$1,855 were quickly achieved. Furthermore, gold continued its recovery until US$1,916 so far.Over the last two weeks however, the bulls (despite various attempts) failed to recapture the psychological US$1,900 level. Not surprisingly, a fast pullback brought prices back to US$1,856 on Friday early morning in the Asian markets. From here, gold came roaring back to US$1,895 as the latest non-farm payroll US job data missed expectations later during that day.The silver price, on the other hand, was able to hold up somewhat better than the gold price during the entire correction since last august. However, once the attack on the resistance zone around US$30 failed at the beginning of February, silver prices got beaten down together with the falling gold price. Accordingly, Silver reached its low on March 31 at US$23.78. But in contrast to gold, this level thus marked a higher low within the correction that began on August 7th. Currently, silver is trading just below US$28 keeping eye contact with the crucial hard resistance zone around US$30.Overall, thanks to the significant recovery over the last two months, the picture for the precious metals sector has improved significantly. The healthy pullback has been completed. The bull-market is intact. The question now remains how much time gold and silver will need to break out to new all-time highs and what type of pullback(s) we are going to see during the run up to new all-time highs.Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarWeekly Chart – Clear Breakout from the Downtrend ChannelGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of June 6th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the weekly chart, gold prices had managed to easily jump above the downtrend line of the previous nine and a half months in mid of May. Thus, the correction, which began with the new all-time high at US$2,075 on August 7th, 2020, has now most likely ended. Ultimately, this healthy correction seems to have unfolded in a bullish flag pattern.At the same time, gold has been reaching the midline of the three-year uptrend channel (currently around US$1,920). In addition, the 61.8% retracement of the correction at US$1,923 has been missed so far. Thus, the zone between US$1,920 and US$1,925 remains a strong hurdle. If the bulls would manage to break through US$1,925 a quick rally towards the next resistance zone around US$1,950 to 1,960 is extremely likely. This zone around US$1,960 however is a concrete resistance as gold had failed miserably in early November and early January at this level.Overall, the weekly chart is bullish with a slightly overbought stochastic. But there aren't any signals pointing to a pullback or a trend change here. In fact, the bullish momentum makes the continuation of the rally towards US$1,960 quite likely. If on the other hand the pullback from last week gains strength, expect a target zone of US$1,820 to US$1,845. Here, a very good buying opportunity would probably arise shortly before the seasonally best time of the year.Daily Chart – Stochastic With A Fresh Sell SignalGold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of June 6th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart gold had to weather a quick pullback last Thursday and early Friday morning. This pullback led prices back to the upper edge of the former downtrend channel, hence testing the resting breakout. So far, bulls managed to come back immediately, and the daily cycle might have ended in an extremely quick fashion with a low Friday morning in Asia.In the best case, the bulls still have enough fuel to extend the recovery towards the 61.8% retracement at US$1,923 and especially towards the hard resistance around US$1,960. Such an advance would likely free some more momentum (especially in silver) and could even create an escalation until midsummer. An escalation would mean that gold would test the US$2,000 to US$2,025 range before any more significant pullback can unfold.A more defensive perspective on the other hand would be, that a healthy but larger pullback has already started last Wednesday. Gold would likely come under some more selling pressure in this scenario. This could mean a continued sell-off down to the 200-day moving average (US$1,843) and the 38,2%-retracement at US$1,825 within June and July.In both cases gold will test its 200-day moving average at some point. In the “escalation” scenario it would take quite some more time and gold would first explode towards around US$2,000 before a larger pullback would then wipe out all the euphoria later in autumn again. Alternatively, we will get the pullback towards the upper edge of the former downtrend now and gold uses this little correction as a launch-pad for higher prices later in the summer. Subsequently, an attack on the US$2,000 level is expected sooner or later this summer (July to September). Overall, the picture in the precious metals sector has certainly improved considerably thanks to the strong recovery over the last two months. As well, it needs to be noted that the real momentum is going to be in silver market, once the resistance at US$30 is has been overcome.Commitments of Traders for Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?Commitments of Traders for Gold as of June 6th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderDue to the gold price recovery over the last two months, the Commitment of Trades Report (CoT) has deteriorated again. The cumulative net short position stood at 248,175 contracts as of last Tuesday. In the long-term comparison, this set-up however, is rather high and continues to urge caution and patience. Hence, the CoT-report delivers a sell signal.Sentiment for Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?Sentiment Optix for Gold as of June 6th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderSentiment numbers for gold are showing a rather neutral rating at the moment. So far, the recovery has not created any significant optimism let alone extreme euphoria. It is however extremely likely that the ongoing recovery will at least see some form of exaggerated optimism before it rolls over or pauses. Thus, sentiment does not stand in the way of a continuation of the rally.Seasonality for Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?Seasonality for Gold over the last 53-years as of June 6th, 2021. Source: SeasonaxOver the last 53-years a strong seasonal pattern has evolved for the gold market. Accordingly, gold would find its typical early summer low somewhere in June or July. Subsequently, a strong advance would follow in the next step pushing gold prices to a seasonal top around late September or early October.In the current situation this could mean a continuation of the pullback that started last Wednesday over the next few weeks. From a projected low around US$1,820 to US$1,840 gold would then be ready to strongly rally during midsummer.Seasonality for Gold over the last 5-years as of June 6th, 2021. Source: SeasonaxHowever, reducing gold´s historical movements to the last five years shows quite a different seasonal cycle! Hence, in the current bull market since 2016 gold tends to show strength up until mid to end of August before rolling over significantly in September. The weakness in June and July has not been evident over the last five years.Given this statistical evidence gold has quite a high probability of simply continuing its rally towards US$1,960 and US$2,000 to US$2,025 over the next two to three months! Only after such a rally a large pullback would be likely.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioSound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of June 6th, 2021. Source: TradingviewWith prices of approx. US$36,000 for one Bitcoin and US$1,890 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently sitting at around 19. That means you now have to pay only 19 ounces of gold for one Bitcoin. Put the other way around, an ounce of gold currently only costs 0.052 Bitcoin. Thus, Bitcoin has lost around 45% against gold to where it traded in March and April.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is a good guideline!Overall, you want to own gold as well as bitcoin, since opposites complement each other. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the pristine digital features of bitcoin you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro update and Crack-up-Boom:FED Balance Sheet. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, June 3rd, 2021.As in almost every other week, the Fed balance sheet has hit a fresh all-time high. Fed chairman Jerome Powell keeps the printing press rumbling despite rising inflation. The total assets expanded by 0.4% to a new record of US$7.94 trillion. The Fed’s balance sheet now equals 36% of the GDP for the U.S..ECB Balance Sheet. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, June 5th, 2021.Of course Madame Lagarde is pushing even harder and the ECB balance sheet is now on course to 80% of Eurozone’s GDP. This rise to the moon looks more and more parabolic as the total assets rose by another 14.5 billion EUR on QE . You can be sure that none of these irresponsible central bankers will have the guts to return to a more sustainable monetary policy.World total stock market cap. © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, June 6th, 2021.One of the most obvious consequences is asset price inflation of course. While the worldwide economic has been rather muted the market cap of all stock markets combined hit a new all time driven by the overflowing liquidity provided by nearly all central banks on this planet.But while further rising equity portfolios are certainly to be welcomed by most investors, the increased cost of living is becoming a serious problem for many people. This is true especially since the vast majority of people in any society is always struggling to meet ends needs. They simply don´t own anything that they could invest. Hence the rising tension within most western societies. Those who at least understand what’s going on are forced to become speculators and often use credit and margin to somehow profit from the asset price inflation. However, with credit and margin but without experience they only increase the imbalances in the system.Inflation pops © Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, May 31st, 2021.Overall, the crack-up-boom is up and running and accelerating. Like a dance on the volcano. And Central bankers are doing everything to outpace any deflationary forces by simply printing more and more. Yet, the worldwide race to the bottom has no exit but is a dead end.Conclusion: Gold – Healthy Pullback or Escalation Until Midsummer?Never before in the last 50 years it was more important to own some physical gold and silver. Independently of any price appreciation or any potential speculative gains. Simply as a protection against the loss of purchasing power and many other looming worst case scenarios.As well from a technical point of view it is vital to now own a full physical position in precious metals. The 8-month pullback from the new all-time high is done and the bulls are back in the driving seat. Once gold sustainably takes out its all-time high at US$2,075 expect an acceleration and a rather quick rally towards approx. US$2,500 and probably higher. By then you will only run behind a train that has left the station. Physical supply is already tight, and premiums are often absurdly high.Technically speaking, gold is in a recovery since March 31st which still has room to continue towards US$1,960 and approx. US$2,025. Judging from the past, gold bulls should have enough strength to push prices towards those two numbers over the coming two to four months. Any pullback or breather on the way higher should be welcomed as one of the last chances to buy gold below US$2,000 and silver below US$30.Hence, the “healthy pullback” scenario over the coming weeks might be perfect for anybody who still needs to get positioned. However, in a bull market surprises are usually happening to the upside and a direct escalation until midsummer would leave many marveling at the wayside.To conclude, buy any dip.Source: www.celticgold.euFeel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.About the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is also chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

One Last Hooray Before CPI?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.06.2021 15:03
S&P 500 downswing was rejected but did it need to happen in the first place? Squaring the bets before Thursday‘s CPI doesn‘t appear to be underway – the risk-on sentiment reigns still in the credit markets, but value stocks aren‘t cooperating, for they declined against the backdrop of a litlle rising Treasury yields.VIX probed lower values, and doesn‘t look likely to have much success breaking below them next – and the put/call ratio is still rather complacent. The S&P 500 rally is about to be challenged, but stocks will ultimately prevail – I look for the bad inflation data to spur momentary panic selling. The bets on taper would increase regardless of how distant that concept is. Stocks would waver, but get over that eventually, and tech is probably going to do fine.The dollar doesn‘t look to be turning around – Thursday‘s upswing has been erased, but look for the greenback to reflexively rise when confronted with „taper now“ prospects. But is the Fed ready to welcome higher rates, and work towards them? I look for plenty of assurances that the support would be very gradually withdrawn so as not to affect the markets…Toothless compromises for public consumption fit into the picture greatly too...Summing up:(…) The guessing game on the Fed‘s taper goes on, and the upcoming CPI readings won‘t add to the markets‘ peace. Most likely, fuelling the sense of taper urgency as the inflation figures won‘t be coming on the low side. Add in the job market slowly catching fire, and you‘ll understand why I have been calling for months for elevated inflation readings.While many of the counter agruments sound fine (low yearly base, disrupted supply chains, reopening demand rush etc), they would be forgotten over the coming months as little relevant. Commodities exerting cost-push influence, and job market pressures, would be a one-two punch to the transitory inflation arguments. Deflationary shock simply isn‘t likely at the moment – the market will more probably find out the Fed isn‘t as serious about taper as it pretends to be – the ostrich pose. Or we might be cushioned into a higher inflation environment actually (thank you, Janet), being told it‘s for our own good.Gold remains vulnerable to an opportunistic dump, and silver alongside commodities even more so. Look for precious metals to recover from the setback as the taper realization sinks in (too soon, bridge too far). Liquidity isn‘t going away, and neither is inflation – precious metals will like that. Crude oil daily consolidation doesn‘t rule out its continuation today, as especially the volume attests to. Don‘t look for an end to its bull run, though.Bitcoin is breaking below its recent closing lows while Ethereum is nowhere near challenging them. The disconnect is likely to grow wider as the BTC sentiment further sours.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 defended gained ground while Nasdaq 100 rose a little – the 500-strong index rally is likely to be driven by the tech sector in the very short term.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds could have retreated more yesterday, and it‘s a bullish sign they didn‘t.Technology and ValueTechnology including $NYFANG was yesterday‘s stalwart sector as value wavered. I‘m not reading too much into VTV setback though, for it fits the consolidation definition, and not one of reversal.Gold, Silver and MinersGold is tireless, but miners aren‘t confirming in the short run – not being caught off guard by another potential flushout (especially in the runup to the CPI in the thinly traded hours), is a good starting point.Silver isn‘t outperforming in any way, and it‘s the copper chart that spells more consolidation ahead. That has implications for the red metal‘s ratio to the 10-year Treasury yield – especially when it spikes on the misplaced taper fears (watered down compromise, anyone?), dragging precious metals alongside.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin‘s rebound off the break below its closing May local lows, is suspect at best – not to be trusted at the moment. Ethereum on the other hand is in much better shape.SummaryS&P 500 bears shouldn‘t expect too much success, for credit markets are likely to support the upswing while value pares yesterday‘s losses.Gold and silver are likely to benefit, the yellow metal especially. Don‘t look for silver to escape the coming tremors first, though.Crude oil chart remains bullish, and dips are likely to be bought before too long. The unfolding breather appears healthy thus far.Bitcoin remains struggling, and the bulls better not expect too much. Ethereum is among the most resilient crypto spaces to be in right now.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Las Dudas En Torno La Próxima Reunión Del BOC

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.06.2021 16:02
Ayer, el USDCAD marcó su punto máximo en 6 años, con un enfoque sobre qué hará el BOC en su reunión de mañana. Sin embargo, aparentemente muchos analistas creen que el alza en el “loonie” no se debe tanto a factores domésticos, sino por debilidad del billete americano. Entonces, podría ser que suba el CAD a pesar de lo que haga el banco central. Desde su última reunión, los datos económicos muestran un panorama mixto. Lo que es desafortunado para los analistas que intentan pronosticar qué hará el BOC. La pregunta más importante es cuándo empezarán a reducir su programa de compra de activos. En lo que hay acuerdo Naturalmente hay un consenso sólido en que la tasa se mantendrá como está. Las proyecciones del mercado son que no habrá un alza hasta finales del próximo año, que está dentro del plazo del compromiso del mismo BOC. Pero no por eso los mercados serán complacientes ante otras medidas que podría tomar los reguladores, incluyendo el “taper”. La provincia más poblada, Ontario, adelantó el fin de los confinamientos por covid, sugiriendo que la normalización de la economía va más rápido de lo inicialmente programado. Por otro lado, la dependencia canadiense sobre su vecino al sur quedó de manifiesto luego del informe de empleo NFP estadounidense de mayo. En qué hay desacuerdo En general, los analistas prevén que el “taper” será “pronto”. Pero no hay acuerdo en lo que significa “pronto”. Más o menos la mitad dice que el BOC anunciará el inicio de su proceso de reducción de compras, y la otra mitad dice que será después. También existe la posibilidad que además el banco central dará un tono menos optimista, al reducir los pronósticos de crecimiento dado el escenario de comercio internacional. El rendimiento de los bonos han estado al alza, en particular la parte más alejada de la curva, en una señal de que los inversionistas están cada vez más preocupados por la posibilidad de inflación. Debido a la falta de consenso, no sería sorpresa que haya una reacción más fuerte en el CAD independiente de que pase. Si el BOC confirma que empezará el taper luego de la próxima reunión, podríamos ver un alza en el “loonie”. Por otro lado, parece haber suficiente especulación de algún tipo de cambio en la política, lo que implica que si el Gobernador Poloz da un tono más pesimista, podríamos ver una baja en la divisa. Los otros elementos a considerar El crudo ha estado al alza, marcando los mejores precios desde el otoño del 2018. Naturalmente esto ayuda al dólar canadiense, pero el aumento en el costo de la energía podría preocupar al BOC en cuanto a su impacto sobre la recuperación. En el fondo, el banco central sigue en modo de apoyo económico, y no han dado señales de que la economía haya normalizado. Entonces, es poco probable que reduzcan significativamente su estímulo.
Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Attempts Reversal

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Attempts Reversal

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.06.2021 16:02
AUDUSD rallies from key demand zone The Australian dollar claws back losses against a weaker dollar after a mixed bag of US jobs data. The pair saw a strong rebound off the demand zone (0.7650) from the daily chart. The initial surge above 0.7740 is a sign of commitment from the buy-side. As the short side rushes to cover their positions, we can expect more momentum. The zone around 0.7730 has turned into a support. After the RSI drops from its overbought condition, a break above 0.7770 could trigger a runaway rally towards 0.7850. USDJPY tests rising trendline The Japanese yen advanced after a slower-than-expected GDP contraction in Q1. The US dollar has come under pressure in the supply zone near 110.30, the origin of April’s sell-off. The RSI’s repeated rise into the overbought area is an indication of exhaustion in the upward momentum. The pair is now testing the trendline from April which coincides with the psychological level of 109.00. As the RSI recovers into the neutral area, we could expect strong buying interest. 109.80 is an intermediate resistance on the way up. UK 100 holds firm after breakout The FTSE 100 consolidates its gains as investors await confirmation of the June 21 reopening. Price action has found support at 7010 after it broke above the flag consolidation. This is a sign of a bullish continuation now that the sellers could be out of action. 7115 is the immediate resistance and its clearance would lead to the previous peak at 7165. A bullish close above this critical level would lift the index to 7200. On the downside, a drop below 7040 may extend the consolidation towards the psychological level of 7000.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

US Government Stimulus Went Wrong. How Will Gold React?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.06.2021 19:18
Gold may benefit from government money flooding households and people less willing to work – as evidenced by the low value of nonfarm payrolls.According to the recent BLS Employment Situation Report , total nonfarm payrolls rose by 559,000 in May, following disappointing increases of 278,000 in April, as the chart below shows. What is disturbing here is that this time the US economy also added significantly fewer jobs than expected – economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecasted 671,000 additions. Moreover, labor force participation and employment-population rates were little changed, remaining significantly below the pre-pandemic levels.On the positive side, the unemployment rate edged down from 6.1% to 5.8%, as the chart above shows. However, even though the number of unemployed people fell considerably from its recent high in April 2020, it remains well above the level seen before the Covid-19 epidemic. In February 2020, 5.7 million Americans were without a job, while now it is 9.3 million. It means that the labor market is still far from recovery . Or, actually, given all the generous unemployment benefit supplements introduced during the pandemic, the new equilibrium unemployment rate may be simply higher than in the past.Implications for GoldAnyway, the new employment situation report is positive for the gold market . May nonfarm payrolls report is disappointingly weak and missed expectations for the second month in a row. It means that the April report wasn’t just an accident, and the US labor market has to face some serious problems.The sad truth is that Americans don’t want to work. Even the decline in the unemployment rate was caused to a large extent by the drop in the labor participation rate, as workers just left the labor market. This fact explains why employers report worker shortages despite an army of a few million unemployed people. According to the recent Fed’s Beige Book , many companies have difficulties finding new employees, so they had to boost their wages to attract candidates:It remained difficult for many firms to hire new workers, especially low-wage hourly workers, truck drivers, and skilled tradespeople (…) A growing number of firms offered signing bonuses and increased starting wages to attract and retain workers.Even the BLS admitted that “rising demand for labor associated with the recovery from the pandemic may have put upward pressure on wages”. Indeed, wage increases accelerated to 2% in May year-over-year, up from just 0.4% in the previous month. They could add to the inflationary pressure or reduce companies’ margins and investments, reducing the pace of real economic growth. So, the jump in wages seems to be good for gold . Hence, the yellow metal could continue its long-term upward trend after the recent pullback below $1,900 (see the chart below).Additionally, disappointing employment situation news will postpone tapering of the Fed’s quantitative easing . The weak nonfarm payrolls report gives a strong hand to the doves within the FOMC who don’t want to even start talking about talking about tapering. Hence, the US monetary policy should remain very dovish , with the real interest rates at ultra-low levels supporting gold prices . Indeed, the expected path of the federal funds rate , derived from the Fed Fund futures , has declined from the prior levels.In other words, although May nonfarm payrolls report is an improvement when compared to April, the level of employment is still 7.6 million below its pre-pandemic peak. So, even if we see further improvement later this year (which is likely, as many states end the unemployment benefit supplements this month), it will take several more months to fully eliminate the slack in the labor market. The implication is clear: precious metals investors shouldn’t bet on a change in the Fed’s stance anytime soon. And as the yellow metal is very sensitive to tapering fears, this is positive news for gold bulls.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

EUR/USD: calm before storm on Thursday

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 09.06.2021 14:18
US inflation report and ECB meeting will shake the market on Thursday. More opportunities for traders! Read the article to know how the market will probably react.What will happen?Traders can’t wait for Thursday to come! Why? Two significant events will be out: the US inflation report and the ECB policy decision. They will probably shake the markets and create good opportunities for traders to earn a decent profit!What to expect from ECB?ECB is expected to avoid discussing any changes as the German ZEW economic sentiment came out worse than expected, that’s why the bank doesn’t have enough reasons to tighten the policy.What to expect from US inflation?If the US inflation is greater than the market forecast, the Federal Reserve may start discussing tapering (cutting asset purchases), which in theory would push the USD up. In the opposite scenario, if the US inflation is less than anticipated, the USD may weaken. However, it seems that traders do not expect the Fed to react even if inflation is hot as according to the central bank, inflation is only transitory. No action from the Fed – the USD is likely to fall. Follow the report and catch the overall market flow!Tech outlookOn the EUR/USD chart, the diamond pattern has recently occurred. The pair broke through the lower line at the right, which meant the trend changed its direction downwards and it was interpreted as a sell signal. The pair dropped to 1.2100. From that point, EUR/USD has recovered some of its losses and started modestly rising. The pair has already crossed the 50-period moving average. It needs to break above the 100-period moving average of 1.2200 as well to confirm the bullish momentum. If it manages to cross it, the way up to the high of June 3 at 1.2215 will be open.On the flip side, if it drops below the support zone of 1.2170-1.2160, it may fall to the 200-period moving average of 1.2140 and then to the low of late Mat at 1.2130. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Risk Off Markets, Seriously?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.06.2021 15:55
S&P 500 hard at work erasing that early bear raid, but the bulls managed to stage a comeback. Yet, the risk off atmosphere is palpable in bonds, rallying as if no inflation were on the horizon. Or as if no taper was coming.Rest assured, it isn‘t:(…) The dollar doesn‘t look to be turning around – Thursday‘s upswing has been erased, but look for the greenback to reflexively rise when confronted with „taper now“ prospects. But is the Fed ready to welcome higher rates, and work towards them? I look for plenty of assurances that the support would be very gradually withdrawn so as not to affect the markets…Toothless compromises for public consumption fit into the picture greatly too...Look, the $6T boondoggle is dead on arrival, and won‘t turn out nearly so in the end and fast enough, which would take a little pressure off the still hot inflation trades. Commodities, followed by silver, and finally gold would feel (by extent of reaction) the short-term pinch, but remember that inflation fires on two engines - and the job market one is arriving:(…) Commodities exerting cost-push influence, and job market pressures, would be a one-two punch to the transitory inflation arguments. Deflationary shock simply isn‘t likely at the moment – the market will more probably find out the Fed isn‘t as serious about taper as it pretends to be – the ostrich pose. Or we might be cushioned into a higher inflation environment actually (thank you, Janet), being told it‘s for our own good.Gold is more vulnerable than silver to a scared dump, and the miners weakness shows it won‘t be smooth sailing for the yellow metal either. Copper consolidation doesn‘t add to the certainty, but the red metal‘s bullish bias is clearly there, both in the short run and medium-term as I had been stating months ago that you can‘t (attempt to) build a green economy without copper, silver, or nickel, among much else. It‘s massive and we‘re in a commodities superbull already – and the lumber arguments (not confirmed by timber weakness as I remarked) can be easily refuted by the $CRB index performance.Crude oil daily consolidation didn‘t reach far, again – and the oil index still doesn‘t support deeper downside that could be bought. Yes, the days of higher oil are still coming, for black gold prices can‘t wreck the real economy just yet. Last but not least, the U.S. is no longer a swing producer (wildcard for prices) as the rig count shows.Bitcoin is showing rare daily strength, testing the late May lows while both Ethereum and Cardano are way weaker. The Bitcoin upswing is thus likely to run out of steam.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 again defended gained ground, and Nasdaq 100 again rose a little – the 500-strong index rally is still likely to be driven by the tech sector in the very short term.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds‘black candle looks ominously – but only for the short term. Quality debt instruments rising is a sign of rush to safety and uncertainty ahead of tomorrow‘s CPI. It‘s though still a bullish sign that HYG rose.Technology and ValueTechnology including $NYFANG had a relatively good day, but the black candle is a sign of unease in stocks, underlined by value.Gold, Silver and MinersGold held up quite well once again, but the miners repeated non-confirmation is a loud warning, in spite of the nominal yields retreat. Rebalancing in safety trades ahead.Silver isn‘t flashing warning signs of outperformance in any way, and it‘s the copper chart indecision that‘s soundly affecting the red metal‘s ratio to the 10-year Treasury yield. So far so good.Crude OilCrude oil bulls had to defend against meek premarket selling yesterday, and the volume still supports them.SummaryS&P 500 tremors will likely be resolved to the upside when the CPI and other dust settles, and I am not looking for a Nasdaq disappointment either.Gold and silver are likely to repel the onslaught miners‘ weakness is signalling, with the white metal getting under pressure more than the yellow one – at a time when GDX and HUI would attempt to throw off the PMs bulls.Crude oil chart remains bullish, and dips are likely to be bought. Getting stretched but no real breather on the horizon just yet (apart from CPI).Bitcoin upswing better be viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion while Ethereum keeps sideways consolidating.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold: Do Not Underestimate My… Copper?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.06.2021 16:03
Copper is often overlooked when looking for gold price movement clues. But this time, its breakout invalidation may have the high ground.Do you know what the key commodity in today’s world is? Crude oil. It’s the most commonly used good on the planet. In terms of versatility and number of applications, silver is not far behind, but there is also one more market that definitely comes to one’s mind when one hears “world commodity” – copper. And for a good reason – while it doesn’t have as unique properties as silver or gold, copper is much cheaper and thus more widely available.Consequently, what’s happening in copper prices might have quite profound effects on the rest of the world, including the precious metals market. And the thing is: something very important happened to the price of copper recently.The Importance of the Brown MetalNamely, copper has just invalidated its breakout to new highs, which means that – just like in the case of gold in August 2020 – it wasn’t strong enough to soar higher. Well, it’s not to say that copper is weak, as it has more than doubled its price since the 2020 lows. However, it does mean that it’s likely time for a bigger corrective downswing, especially given that we haven’t seen one in many months. For instance, when gold invalidated its breakout above the 2011 high despite very bullish fundamentals, it meant that forecasting gold at lower levels was very much justified.Likewise, when copper failed to hold its breakout above the 2008 high back in 2011, it was followed by a multi-year decline. Will the same happen this time? I wouldn’t bet on that given the amount of money being pumped into the system, but even if this is not the case, copper is likely to suffer a significant drawdown on a temporary basis. No market can move up or down in a straight line, and neither copper nor gold nor silver are exceptions to this rule.Ok, but why is it important for the precious metals investors?Because of two things:Both markets tend to move in a big way at similar times. The more local moves can vary, but the really big price moves are usually aligned. For example, the 2008 – 2011 rally and the fact that they both bottomed in late-2015 / early-2016.The copper price is quite closely related to the general stock market and the former’s inability to hold above its previous highs seems to be an indication of a change in the trend in the general stock market as well.As I wrote before, the general stock market’s decline is not required for the precious metals sector to decline, but it would likely exacerbate the decline, just like it did in 2008 – especially in the case of silver and mining stocks.And speaking of stocks, let’s check what the S&P 500 is doing.The markets are self-similar (which is another way of saying that they have a fractal nature), which generally means that while the history tends to rhyme, it also tends to rhyme in similar shapes of alike or various sizes.For example, the rally from 2018–2020 seems very similar to the rally from 2020 to the present. Both rallies started after a sharp decline, and the first notable correction took the form of back-and-forth trading around the previous high. I marked those situations with big rectangles.Then the rally continued with relatively small week-to-week volatility. I created rising support lines based on the final low of the broad short-term consolidation and the first notable short-term bottom.This line was broken, and some back-and-forth trading followed, but it was only about half of the previous correction in terms of price and time.Then, we saw a sharp rally that then leveled off. And that was the top . The thing that confirmed the top was the visible breakdown below the rising support line right after stocks invalidated a tiny breakout to new highs. That’s what happened in February 2020, and that’s what seems to be taking place right now.Back in 2020, the rally ended when the weekly RSI moved above 70 once again and when the S&P moved slightly to its new highs. While the history doesn’t have to repeat itself to the letter, if we see another small move higher – to new highs – that also takes the RSI above 70, please keep in mind that it’s not really a bullish development, but actually history forming its final rhyme. And the implications appear bearish for the precious metals sector, as it’s likely to be hit by the first wave of stock market declines – just like it was the case in 2008, 2020, and… 1929.Moreover, mining stocks’ performance relative to hold has been heralding the declines across the precious metals market for some time now.While gold is not doing much today, it’s important to note that yesterday it moved quite close to its previous highs (and visibly above $1,900) before declining. And how did gold miners react?In short, they didn’t. And the GDX ETF has just closed at a new monthly low.Even without considering the invalidation of the breakout to new highs, the sell signal from the RSI and stochastic indicators, and even without noticing that the GDX corrected to its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement without invalidating it, one can clearly see that gold stocks refused to follow gold higher during the most recent rebound. This is bearish – and quite profoundly so.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Bitcoin market, the ultimate enforcer

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 09.06.2021 17:52
The market doesn’t care. It isn’t budging to any of your moves. The market can evoke inappropriate responses on your side by depleting your financial security and self-confidence. This can have a similar effect for a trader in the situation of execution. They freeze. Another failure confronted with the shock of yet another stop level hit makes the speculator incapable of acting. They watch victimized how prices go way beyond their comfort level and planned exit price. Intimidated, they sit and might lose their livelihood in a single trade.This Bitcoin trend is worth the extra effort to face the enforcer.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, First things first, overview:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 7th, 2021To escape the ‘enforcer’, the most crucial factor is emotional removal. Markets trigger emotions, and the top-down approach on a quiet chart (not moving) is critical here. Whether you are a long-term investor or a short-term position trader, you always want to be on the side of the most potent force. The most significant player is the monthly chart´s direction.While recent events might dampen the mood if you are positioned in Bitcoin, the monthly chart above shows that everything is in a healthy order of Bitcoins directional expansion move. Bitcoin had broken a multiyear sideways range and advanced nearly fourfold after its breakout from the channel highs. It retraced by 50%, which is conservative for Bitcoin. A fractal volume analysis shows precisely at the same supply zone as the Fibonacci analysis support (green horizontal line).Should emotions have cooled off for participating in the Bitcoin market, then these emotions are deceiving. The retracement might have intimidated you, while with a fresh view at this chart, the professional trader should think: “Entries”. This month and maybe even the next month might represent a sideways market. More importantly be prepped for large time frame entries.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Making Plans:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of June 7th, 2021To stay emotionally balanced and independent of the market’s possible intimidating moves, it is best to be prepared with a plan.On the weekly chart above, you see part of one of our strategies of how the future might unfold. Once price penetrated the 18 simple moving average (red) prices declined swiftly.Right now, they creep up the 40 simple moving average (orange), but probabilities are in favor of a retest of recent lows near US$30,000. (= a break of the 40 SMA). While this price level is also equivalent to the neckline of a head and shoulders formation (yellow), we anticipate, after a swift spike through the 52 simple moving average to hold and prices (white dotted line), to advance from there.This leaves us with an entry zone near levels of US$27,000 to US$31,000, which we will fine-tune on a smaller frame at the time of entry. All our entries and exits are posted in real-time in our free Telegram channel. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Low risk first:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of June 7th, 2021Safety first is critical. In trading, this means risk mitigation at all costs. No one knows a specific level of entry where the markets will turn. Gladly you do not need to. What you do need is a methodology to protect your capital. Keeping your losses small in the case you are wrong. We use quad exits to ensure this risk reduction. The daily chart above shows a confirmation of our prior higher time frame assessments. As much as we are generally in an attractive long-term investment entry zone, we do not trade from a time cycle in a low-risk environment just yet.The bear flag formation with prices right below POC warrants patience to wait for time cycles to provide more low-risk entries in the future. POC = point of control = high volume node as a strong distribution zone.Bitcoin market, the ultimate enforcer:In the case of Bitcoin, the market isn’t the only intimidator. An accumulation race around the globe has ensued. Governments, central banks, financial institutions, hedge funds, large investors, and now you are all after the digital currency. Naturally, the big players throw every trick in the book at their opponents. Minor players quickly are squashed by altered chart patterns and unusual market behavior on all time frames.Therefore, what is required is a humble determination not to be intimidated out of this market. Certainly, a rare source of wealth protection over the following years, if not decades. We have managed by applying ourselves daily in analysis and research to extract fundamental data and technical principles that work as stacked edges in trading this complex market throughout various time frames. We share our findings in our free Telegram channel with full transparency. In addition, you will also find there our real-time entry and exit signals to encourage investors and traders alike not to be bullied out of this significant market niche. Consequently, being part of what we foresee as the biggest bull run in Bitcoin´s history.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 7th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Awaits Momentum Catalyst

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.06.2021 07:40
EURUSD grinds major resistanceThe euro consolidates its recent gains ahead of today’s ECB meeting. The pair has recovered from the 30-day moving average (1.2105).Hourly MAs have shown a bullish cross through the path upward could be choppy. A break above 1.2205, the origin of the latest sell-off would strengthen the bullish bias. Lifting 1.2250 would be a step closer to the peak at 1.2350.In the meantime, an overbought RSI has prevented traders from chasing momentum. 1.2150 is the immediate support.USDCAD trades in a limited rangeThe Canadian dollar dropped after a dovish BoC gave no hint of taper. The US dollar has been treading water near a six-year bottom. The horizontal consolidation between 1.2010 and 1.2140 is a sign of the market’s indecision.The bears may have covered some of their bets as the RSI showed a deeply oversold situation on the daily chart. Though sentiment remains bearish unless the greenback clears offers at the critical resistance at 1.2175.1.2060 has become the immediate support as the range narrows.WTI rally gains tractionOil prices rose after the US secretary of state said sanctions on Tehran may not be lifted. WTI crude gained momentum after it closed above the March peak and psychological level at 68.00. Following a brief sideways action, 68.50 has established itself as key support.A short-term pullback has allowed the RSI to become neutral again. 70.60 is the closest resistance.The 20-hour moving average would cross above the 30-hour one when the rally picks up steam again. Then 72.40 would be the next target.
Volatility? All Eyes on CPI – Looking Beyond the Data Release

Volatility? All Eyes on CPI – Looking Beyond the Data Release

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.06.2021 13:15
Market participants are all waiting with bated breath ahead of today’s CPI data release. It’s an important one after last month's shocker. So, what’s your plan?In general, data releases can be fickle and tricky events. While they may provide opportunities for algorithmic traders due to short-term spats of volatility, it can be challenging to initiate or exit a position as the market digests the data upon release. Longevity in trading can be achieved by being flat around data releases (or at least not highly leveraged); and/or having a what-if plan already in place.Today’s CPI data (this publication is being written before the data release) could provide some fireworks. Last month, the expectations were for a 0.2% print, and we got 0.8%. Today, the market is looking for 0.4% for the CPI print (includes food and energy) and 0.5% for Core CPI (excludes food and energy). Could this be on the lofty side? Or, will inflation begin to spiral out of control?Keep in mind that we are heading into a Fed Meeting June 15 -16 . If prices continue to rise at an exponential rate, will the Fed really be willing to raise interest rates? It would be appropriate by many standards to do so. However, the theme has been “lower for longer”; and this creates a sense of uncertainty as to what the plan may be if we get another huge CPI print. While neither you nor I have a crystal ball available, my inclination is that the print could be below expectations. If that happens, it would fit the Fed’s “transitory inflation” theme that was discussed in the past. We will find out at 8:30 AM ET today.As traders wait on this data, the $VIX certainly caught a bump in yesterday’s trading.Figure 1 - $VIX Volatility Index March 10, 2021 - June 8, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comWe can see some technically bullish signs in the $VIX above, with some long daily tails on the candles coinciding with the April lows. RSI(14) and MACD(12,26,9) are showing bullish crossover signs. The $VIX can be a bit of a tricky barometer to trade technically.Figure 2 - SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF March 9, 2021 - June 8, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comThe SPY indeed put in a down session yesterday with the $VIX higher. As we have been discussing, the S&P 500 is near the higher end of its range and will most likely need a catalyst to get moving one way or the other.The 50-day moving average is $414.58 right now, which is only 1.676% away from the current price. A move down to the 50-day moving average could be of interest.In addition, we can see the Fibonacci retracement levels of interest in the SPY from the May 19th low to the June 8th highs. We see the 50% retracement level @ $414.38 and the 61.8% retracement level at $412.26. I like how the 50% retracement level lines up with the 50-day moving average here.Figure 3 - SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF March 9, 2021 - June 8, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comNext, no one knows with any degree of certainty how the equity markets will react to the CPI print, whether it exceeds or misses expectations. Here is what we do know: the last data release brought the cash S&P 500 near the 50-day moving average, which held up well. It then tested the 50-day moving average four trading sessions later, and it once again held up very well. Could the same type of price action be in store this time?Nobody knows. However, I am inclined to look for a move for a potential pullback opportunity, between $412.26 (61.8% Fibonacci retracement level above) and the 50-day moving average ($414.58 as of the close on June 8th). If the market moves higher off the CPI data, so be it. The market will be there tomorrow. Remember to monitor the 50-day moving average level, as it changes each day!Now, for our premium subscribers, let's recap the eight markets that we are currently covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Will Gold Rally Continue in the Upcoming Months?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.06.2021 15:25
May was certainly a positive month for the yellow metal. Gold could keep its momentum later this year, but a lot depends on the Fed and inflation.We left May in the rearview mirror, and as the chart below shows, it was the second positive month in a row for the yellow metal. Gold rose 7% last month – this is 12.3% since the local bottom on March 31, 2021 . The jump was driven mainly by inflation fears, a weak greenback and a decrease in real interest rates .Hence, I was right: the second quarter has been so far much better for the shiny metal than the first one, in which it declined by 11%. Gold even jumped temporarily above $1,900 at the turn of May and June. Since then, it has been fluctuating around this level. All this means that the yellow metal fully recovered its Q1 losses, finishing last month virtually flat year-to-date.Now, the key question is: what’s next for gold? Outlooks are, as always, divided. Some analysts point out that gold’s struggle to move decisively north above $1,900 amid all the increase in the money supply , public debt and inflation is disturbing and has bearish implications for the future. For instance, the French bank Société Générale still believes that we will see $2,000 per ounce by the end of the year, but its conviction towards this forecast has weakened. I have to admit – the lack of a stronger rally in gold is something I also worry about.But on the other hand, some believe that gold is still in a long-term bull trend . For instance, the World Gold Council , in its latest Gold Market Commentary , points out that sentiment towards gold became more bullish in May , as net positioning on COMEX futures rose to its highest level since February. Moreover, not only gold ETFs recorded their first monthly inflows since January 2021, but also the highest ones since September 2020.Furthermore , the WGC’s 2021 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey reveals a slightly stronger conviction towards gold , as there is a growing recognition among central banks of gold’s performance during periods of economic crises . The report notes that 21% of central banks expect to increase their gold reserves within the next year (value relatively unchanged from last year’s survey) and that no central bank expects to sell gold this year – down from 4% in 2020.Also, Commerzbank remains bullish on gold despite recent volatility . Although the German bank expects that the Fed will start tapering its quantitative easing by the fourth quarter, it’s forecasting rising inflation. As a result, nominal interest rates will stay below the inflation rate leaving real bond yields significantly below zero.Implications for GoldWhat does all this imply for the gold market? Well, there are both downside and upside risks for gold in the future . Possible drawbacks are the unwinding of the Fed’s bond-buying program and the new tightening cycle . Strengthening expectations of asset purchases tapering and normalization of the ultra-dovish monetary policy could trigger an increase in the interest rates and outflows from the gold market.To the other group of factors, I would include higher inflation. After all, we have never seen such coexistence of dovish monetary policy and easy fiscal policy . Not surprisingly, investors started to worry about record-breaking inflation. As the chart below shows, market-based probabilities derived from options (calculated by the Minneapolis Fed , which computes probabilities from option prices) show that the previous expectations of the CPI annual rate above 3% over five years have significantly increased recently. Higher inflation would increase demand for gold as an inflation hedge and decrease real interest rates, supporting gold prices.So, gold’s future depends on the Fed’s reaction to rising inflation , or whether or not investors will focus on nominal and real interest rates. If the US central bank stays behind the inflation curve, real interest rates will stay in the negative territory, supporting the price of gold. However, if the Fed tightens its monetary policy decisively, or if investors focus on rising nominal bond yields in a response to inflation, the yellow metal may go down.To that point, the most recent changes in the Fed’s framework, comments from the FOMC members and disappointing data about the US labor market suggest that we are far away from any serious tightening. So, gold has room for moving higher.Having said that, it seems that gold needs more negative events (or even a kind of financial crisis ) to rally decisively further . So far, the US economy remains in the boom phase and higher inflation doesn’t seem to significantly disrupt the functioning of the markets. Perhaps gold bulls will have to wait a bit longer until we move from reflation to stagflation . Today’s report on inflation and upcoming FOMC meeting could provide more clues about gold’s future – stay tuned!If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Inflation Storm Coming

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.06.2021 16:15
S&P 500 going nowhere, repelling selling pressure concentrated to value as tech mostly defended the daily ground – that‘s a fair summary of the stock market going into today‘s CPI. VIX rising and the put/call ratio as complacent as can be, are signs of quite some moves ahead.I won‘t go into the transitory vs. getting permanently elevated inflation arguments too much today – see them covered in detail namely on Jun 08, Jun 02, May 27, May 17, and May 12.Over the coming month – most likely starting with the CPI readings for September – the low yearly base effect and reopening rush would be sufficiently history. But the strained and disrupted supply chains beyond microchips, high cost base as evidenced by the CRB index lumping many commodities together, difficulties hiring, and not exactly labor market friendly policies a la minimum wages, would deliver a one-two punch to the transitory concepts – because transitory as in temporary, brings up to my mind J. M. Keynes „In the long run, we‘re all dead“ quote.As I‘ve stated on Twitter, commodities with silver, then gold are more in danger than stocks for today - but even these would eventually recover. The Fed isn‘t in a position to do more than token steps to satisfy public consumption, so keep in mind the big picture regarding taper, rate raising, or even the (market declared so historically) balance sheet contraction success on a lasting basis (we‘re not in the post WWII era when the U.S. could grow its way out of debt as in the „City on the Hill“ inspirational speech decades later.(…) The dollar doesn‘t look to be turning around – Thursday‘s upswing has been erased, but look for the greenback to reflexively rise when confronted with „taper now“ prospects. But is the Fed ready to welcome higher rates, and work towards them? I look for plenty of assurances that the support would be very gradually withdrawn so as not to affect the markets…Toothless compromises for public consumption fit into the picture greatly too...Look, the $6T boondoggle is dead on arrival, and won‘t turn out nearly so in the end and fast enough, which would take a little pressure off the still hot inflation trades. Commodities, followed by silver, and finally gold would feel (by extent of reaction) the short-term pinch, but remember that inflation fires on two engines - and the job market one is arriving.Commodities exerting cost-push influence, and job market pressures, would be a one-two punch to the transitory inflation arguments. Deflationary shock simply isn‘t likely at the moment – the market will more probably find out the Fed isn‘t as serious about taper as it pretends to be – the ostrich pose. Or we might be cushioned into a higher inflation environment actually (thank you, Janet), being told it‘s for our own good.Gold is confirming yesterday mentioned point of being more vulnerable than silver to a scared dump, and the miners weakness still shows it won‘t be smooth sailing for the yellow metal either. And it isn‘t. Copper is worrying down even more, hinting that today‘s session will be far from a calm one in the bond arena. Remember though the big picture once again:(…) the red metal‘s bullish bias is clearly there, both in the short run and medium-term as I had been stating months ago that you can‘t (attempt to) build a green economy without copper, silver, or nickel, among much else. It‘s massive and we‘re in a commodities superbull already – and the lumber arguments (not confirmed by timber weakness as I remarked) can be easily refuted by the $CRB index performance.Crude oil would likely be among the more hesitant movers today, still consolidating.Bitcoin has shown rare daily strength yesterday – one that wasn‘t reflected universally in the crypto space. However impressive daily run, residual doubts remain, and Ethereum is still range bound.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 again didn‘t move much, and neither did Nasdaq. Both calm and nervousness before today‘s CPI, likely to be resolved higher.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds‘ yet another black candle looks ominously – but only for the short term. Quality debt instruments rising is a sign of rush to safety and uncertainty ahead of CPI. As said yesterday too, it‘s though still a bullish sign that HYG rose.Technology and ValueTechnology including $NYFANG again had a relatively good day, and the unease shown by its black candle is to be seen foremost in value.Inflation ExpectationsThey‘re moving lower, but the TIP:TLT ratio isn‘t to be trusted even as the lull in yields remains on through the summer.Gold, Silver and MinersThe above is a picture of momentary stress to be reversed like a spring board, exactly in line with either of these two tweets before that happened: first on inflation, second on transitory vs. permanently elevated.Bitcoin and EthereumThe crypto bulls aren‘t out of the woods yet, but it‘s not unreasonable to expect the biting inflation to improve their stance.SummaryS&P 500 remains well positioned for further gains, and it paid off to wait through the premarket tremors in Nasdaq too.Gold and silver are well positioned to withstand the pressures, and the miners to invalidate their recent weakness.Crude oil would likely hitch a ride in a tight range on the bullish side, without sprinting.Bitcoin and Ethereum look to be entereing a wait and see session today – the bulls have much work ahead, not only in bringing Ethereum out of its sideways consolidation.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Fakes Rebound

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 11.06.2021 09:53
USDCHF fails to bounce backThe US dollar surged after May’s core CPI rose by 3.8% yoy.The pair remained under pressure after it broke below the lower band of the consolidation range at 0.8930. An oversold RSI has led to a brief whipsaw, which has turned out to be more of an opportunity to sell into strength.Unless the greenback can lift the offers around the psychological level of 0.9000, the price could see another round of sell-off. February’s low at 0.8870 would be the next target should the pair dip below 0.8920.EURJPY capped by key resistanceThe euro weakened after the ECB maintained its accommodative monetary stance.The pair has so far kept its bullish bias following a rally above April 2018’s high at 133.48. The price action has bounced off 132.90, the base of a previous rally which also coincides with the 20-day moving average on the daily chart.133.80 is a major resistance, as its breach could clear the path for an extended rally above 134.However, a drop below the aforementioned congestion area may prolong the sideways actions towards 132.50.GER 30 seeks support on key daily levelThe DAX consolidates gains as investors weigh high valuation against the pace of recovery.On the daily chart, a bullish MA cross is a sign of acceleration in the rally after a six-week-long consolidation.The index is currently looking for support from the 20-day moving average (15475). Bullish sentiment remains strong as long as buyers hold above this key level. Failing that, 15350 would be the next line of defense.On the upside, a recovery to 15720 would bring in momentum players for a runaway rally.
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Silver, there’s so much more going on

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 11.06.2021 10:42
This means the environment where you can extract the financial gains to live a more free life is first squeezing you into a very unfree daily exercise, for most an unsustainable task.In addition, the only way to succeed is to overcome an endless array of obstacles. Setbacks are the norm, and most expect riches to come soon, but it takes experience to be a consistent trader.It is especially now, with Silver being right before breakout to new highs, essential to have one’s ducks in a row. Professional market makers are all in line to get their piece of the pie and make this market with all its potential not easy to trade for individuals.Monthly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Good risk/reward ratio:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 11th, 2021.We find the only way to consistency is by looking at the market always from a risk perspective. If risks are acceptable, exposing one’s capital is fair. The monthly chart above shows prices heading for the third time to the US$30 mark with a reasonable chance of a breakout. A fractal volume transaction analysis of the Silver market from March last year up to recent data shows a strong supply zone at US$27.50.If you take a low-risk trade near the levels we are trading at publishing date, above US$27.50, a reasonably tight stop can be placed below the US$27,50 support zone. Liquidating half of your position into the momentum of a breakout slightly above US$30 would eliminate risk. Consequently, a second partial profit target (another 25% of total exposed capital) near US$39 with a final target to close out the position at US$47.83, just shy of ATH (all-time highs), would create a more than favorable total risk/reward-ratio on this trade (=acceptable low risk for the reward). Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Various forces at work:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of June 11th, 2021.Zooming into the smaller weekly time frame, we can make out what forces are at work. Bulls and bears are at a tug of war, and both are defending their turf. It is hard to make out when the final attack at the US$30 mark will occur, with Gold also playing a role as the leader of the precious metal sector.Nevertheless, this chart shows the primary support and resistance levels and is supportive of our monthly chart assessment of a low-risk idea. With either the secondary channel supporting price right now or a few weeks ahead of the main channel lower trendline providing the support, we might have various opportunities for this play to pan out.Important here is to stick to one’s plan and not be deterred by real-time market behavior evoking emotions that are not principle-based in the alignment of our explicit risk control.We are sharing our attempts to place trades in real-time in our free Telegram channel. There, more importantly, you will find a community of professional traders exchanging their ideas, and you can find support for your way of market interpretations.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Anticipatory positioning:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of June 11th, 2021.While Fridays are typically days where Silver can give back some of their directional profits gained through the week, like everything, this is just a probability. While many make their bets on confirmed breaks, one gets more often a low-risk entry if acting anticipatory.In addition to the previously pointed out US$27.50 supply zone, the daily chart shows support near US$27.76. With stacked odds and relatively little distribution volume at the resistance zone at US$28.29, we gave it a shot. We traded more aggressively than usual towards a possible breakout.Only time will tell if these trades stay within income-producing profits or if some of these runners are getting rewarded on a different scale. But with a strong directional advantage (see the linear regression channel red/ blue/green and quite a few other edges as well), we are confident that sooner or later, recent highs in Silver will have to give way.Silver, there’s so much more going on:The only way to overcome all these hurdles is to seek out support. Do not hide your losses from your family and friends. Look for traders and, ideally, a mentor. Accept the steep learning curve and, most of all, the extended timeline it takes to become consistent in this business. Treat it like a profession with a business plan and accept a disciplined daily routine to come out ahead.Mastering oneself is the real task here. It takes self-responsibility, dedication, and sacrifice. One needs to accept that this isn’t a hobby but needs to become a career to work out in your favor. This is the only way to overcome the juggernaut you are up against.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 11th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The FED Holds the Market. How Long Will It Last?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.06.2021 15:59
With investors discrediting fundamentals to follow the FED’s instruction, it seems everything relies now on a few people’s say-so.It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's the FEDWith Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED), donning his cape like Superman and his monetary crew akin to The Avengers, investors’ faith in the FED was on full display on Jun. 10. Case in point: with the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) surging by 4.93% year-over-year (YoY) – the highest YoY percentage increase since 2008 – the bond, stock and currency markets barely flinched.The commodity PPI surged by 17.25% YoY in April. And if you exclude the 17.36% YoY jump in July 2008, it was the largest YoY percentage increase since December 1974. For context, the commodity PPI often leads the headline CPI and that’s why tracking the former’s movement is so important. Moreover, reconnecting with the green line implies a ~5.50% YoY percentage increase in the headline CPI.Please see below:And with the indicator proving quite prescient once again, the gap on the right side of the chart was nearly filled on Jun. 10.Furthermore, while investors continue to see the world through the FED’s X - Ray Vision, “base effects” are now the primary defense among the superhero’s supporters. However, as I’ve mentioned on several occasions, it’s important to remember that the core CPI increased by 0.74% month-over-month (MoM). And if you exclude April’s rise of 0.92% (which was only one month ago), it was the highest MoM percentage increase since 1982.Please see below:The FED Has Become Independent Thought’s KryptoniteOn top of that, with the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI running extremely hot, the real federal funds rate is now at its second-lowest level ever . For context, the federal funds rate is the overnight lending rate set by the FOMC, while the real federal funds rate is adjusted for inflation by subtracting the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI.Please see below:So how can we explain investors’ lack of prudence?Well, as Bloomberg eloquently put it on Jun. 10… Source: BloombergThus, with the FED mesmerizing investors and keeping them under its spell, market participants have determined that it’s easier to follow the FED rather than fight it. However, when screaming fundamentals are dismissed as irrelevant, it often ends badly for those who fail to heed the warnings. To that point, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) – which will be released on Jun. 15 – will provide important clues on the inflationary trajectory, Nordea’s trend model signals that YoY CPI prints still have plenty of room to run.Please see below:To explain, the light blue line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI, while the dark blue line above tracks the projected YoY percentage change in Nordea’s trend model. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that April and May’s prints were accurately forecasted. More importantly, though, with the dark blue line signaling that the headline CPI should rise by more than 7% YoY in the coming months, investors’ faith in the FED will be put to the test over the medium term.Likewise, even though the FED has become independent thought’s kryptonite, if investors dismiss the scorching inflationary summer, they’ll likely incur deeper burns in the fall.To explain, I wrote on Jun. 10:With the Jun. 15/16 policy meeting not leaving enough time for FED officials to “communicate very early, very often what we’re going to do” (spoken by Philadelphia FED President Patrick Harker) and the Jul. 27/28 policy meeting excluding a summary of the FED’s economic projections, either the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium (late August) or the Sep. 21/22 policy meeting is when the fireworks will likely begin.With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealing on Jun. 8 that U.S. job openings surged to an all-time high of 9.286 million – and came in well above the consensus estimate of 8.300 million – the only thing depressing the U.S. labor market are ill-advised enhanced unemployment benefits.Please see below:To explain, the red line above tracks U.S. nonfarm payrolls, while the green line above tracks U.S. job openings. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the latter is often a strong predictor of the former. However, with enhanced unemployment benefits still in effect until mid-to-late June or early July (across ~25 states) – and nationwide until Sep. 6 (expected) – the shift likely won’t occur overnight. But once the benefits expire, U.S. nonfarm payrolls will likely spike in August (reflecting July’s data) and September (reflecting August’s data) and lift the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield and the USD Index in the process.The bottom line? With a potential spike in the Shelter CPI likely to coincide with a major resurgence in the U.S. labor force, September has all of the necessary ingredients to force the FED’s hand .The ECB Is Not Reducing AnythingOn top of that, I warned that prophecies of the European Central Bank (ECB) reducing its bond-buying program in June were much more semblance than substance.I wrote on Apr. 27 :Recent whispers of the ECB tapering its bond-buying program are extremely premature. With the European economy still drastically underperforming the U.S., it’s actually more likely that the ECB increases the pace of its bond-buying program.And after the ECB released its monetary policy decision on Jun. 10, what was clear before now is the reality.Please see below: Source: ECBIn addition, ECB President Christine Lagarde said the following during her press conference:"The U.S. economic situation and the Euro Area economic situation are very different stories. The two economies are at different points in the recovery cycle. ""Any discussion about exit from the PEPP would be premature, too early, and it will come in due course, but certainly, for the moment it is too early and premature – simple as that.""Any kind of transition, exit, whatever you call it, has not been discussed"And although the ECB increased its Eurozone GDP growth, as well as inflation expectations, and Lagarde even said that “there was [a] debate on the pace of the purchase, on some of the analytical aspects of the use of our instruments,” she reiterated: Source: ReutersThe bottom line?While the EUR/USD remains materially overvalued, the ECB’s policy is not the only fundamental data point that supports this thesis. Case in point: it was a trifecta for Germany (Europe’s largest economy) on Jun. 9, with imports, exports, and consequently the German trade balance, all missing economists’ consensus estimate. To explain, exports rose by 0.30% MoM versus 0.5% expected, imports fell by 1.7% MoM versus a decline of 1.1% expected and the trade balance came in at €15.9 billion versus €16.3 billion expected.Please see below:The S&P 500 Is Losing MomentumFinally, while it may not be visible on the surface, the S&P 500’s momentum continues to decelerate. Even though the U.S. equity benchmark followed the ‘ don’t fight the FED’ mantra to another all-time high on Jun. 10, optimism is waning. Case in point: while the YoY percentage change in the FED’s balance sheet (released on Jun. 10) was roughly flat this week, the YoY percentage change in the S&P 500 continues to move lower. And with a summertime soirée likely the last “hurrah!” for the S&P 500 and the FED’s balance sheet – with all signs pointing to the latter tightening in September – a move lower for both variables will likely occur over the medium term.Please see below:The red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the S&P 500, while the green line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the FED’s balance sheet. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that investors’ optimism often rises and falls with the pace of the FED’s asset purchases. To that point, the FED’s YoY rate of expansion of its balance sheet peaked (for good) during the third week of February and has been in free fall ever since. Similarly, the S&P 500’s YoY rate of expansion peaked during the third week of March and has declined substantially.The bottom line? With the weekly metric hitting a 2021 low on Jun. 3 and a reduction of the FED’s bond-buying program poised to push the YoY percentage change into negative territory in the coming months (again, likely in September), the S&P 500 is slowly running out of gas.In conclusion, the FED has mesmerized the investing public once again, and saving the day doesn’t even require the central bank to do anything anymore. However, with reality undefeated and a major regime shift likely to occur in September, there are only a few hours left until the clock strikes midnight. Moreover, with bond market imbalances at or near their all-time highs, the PMs will likely detest the forthcoming climax. Think about it: if the PMs can only muster tepid rallies when the fundamentals are historically (though synthetically) tilted in their favor, the price action could get ugly once the sanity finally prevails.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Is Gold Really an Inflation Hedge?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.06.2021 17:19
Inflation is back, and that’s usually depicted as good for gold. But is the yellow metal still a hedge against inflation, or has something changed?Inflation has returned. This is partly understandable. After all, during the Covid recession , consumers and businesses accumulated a lot of cash as their spending was reduced, while revenues were sustained by money transfers from the government. These funds are now entering the economy, which makes demand grow much faster than supply, thus boosting prices. After some time, supply may catch up, curbing inflation. However, there is an important risk that inflation will turn out to be higher and/or more permanent than many analysts believe.From the fundamental point of view, gold should benefit from higher inflation. But why? In theory, there are several channels by which inflation supports the yellow metal. First, the inflationary increase in the money supply makes all goods and services more expensive, including gold. Indeed, the scientific paper by Lucey and others finds a reliable long-run relationship between gold and the US money supply.Second, gold is a real, tangible and rare good with limited supply that cannot be increased quickly or at will. These features make gold a key element during the so-called flight into real values or into hard assets, which happens when inflation gets out of control. In other words, gold is the ultimate store of value which proved to hold its worth over time , unlike paper currencies that are subject to inflation and lose their value systematically.Third, inflation means the loss of purchasing power of the currency, so when the greenback depreciates quicker than its major peers, the dollar-denominated price of gold increases. Fourth, when inflation is unexpected or when the Fed remains behind the curve and doesn’t hike nominal interest rates , real interest rates decline, supporting gold prices.Fifth, high inflation increases economic uncertainty, which increases safe-haven demand for gold . In other words, an outbreak of inflation introduces some turbulences and leads to portfolio rebalancing, thus increasing gold’s appeal as a portfolio diversifier . During inflation, bonds underperform, so gold’s attractiveness increases.And last but definitely not least, gold is perceived as an inflation hedge . But is it really a good hedge against inflation? I analyzed this issue a few years ago – it would be nice to provide an update in light of more recent developments. So, let’s take a look at the chart below, which shows gold prices and CPI annual inflation rates.As one can see, the relationship between these two series is far from being perfect. Actually, the correlation coefficient is significantly below zero (-0.41), which means that the correlation is negative ! It means that although there are certain long-term trends – for example, gold rallied during stagflation in the 1970s and entered a bear market during the disinflation period in the 1980s and 1990s – there is no positive relationship between the CPI annual percentage change and the price of gold on a monthly basis.In other words, the data shows that gold may serve as an inflation hedge only in the long run , as gold indeed preserves its value over a long time (for example, in the period from 1895 to 1999, the real price of gold increased on average by 0.3% per year). It is a good choice for investors also when there is relatively high and accelerating inflation, usually accompanied by fears about the current state of the U.S. dollar and a lack of confidence in the Fed and the global monetary system based on fiat monies .However, let’s not draw conclusions too hastily. The chart below also presents the CPI and gold – but this time both series are year-on-year percentage changes (previously we had gold prices, now we have annual percentage changes in these prices).Have you noticed something? Yup, this time both series behave much more similarly . Indeed, the correlation coefficient is now positive (0.44). Hence, there is a positive relationship between gold and inflation although not always seen in absolute prices (but in changes in these prices), and not always seen in the CPI (as inflation has broader effects not limited only to consumer prices).Summing up the above analysis, it seems justified to claim that gold could benefit from the current elevated levels of inflation, especially if it turns out to be more lasting than commonly believed. It will also be good for gold if the Fed remains dovish and tolerant of inflation surpassing its target significantly.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Inflation Bets – Squaring or Not

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.06.2021 17:20
S&P 500 shook off another record making inflation reading, and bond markets couldn‘t be happier. Volatility is back down, but the option traders turned cautious – that‘s fodder for the next upswing eventually. Many signs are pointing towards it – emerging markets rising with the dollar on the defensive, for example. Yes, the dollar with yields are key to watch now.S&P 500 was led higher by Nasdaq, which more than welcomed further retreat in yields. The tech led rally is here, and value while not down and out, is taking a breather. Especially financials don‘t like the move in yields, and we aren‘t at the 1.40% mark on 10-year Treasury bond yet. The summer lull in bonds is here, and my views on inflation getting permanently elevated, Fed‘s taper plays, bond yields retreat, inflation rearing its ugly head later this year before a growth scare strikes, can be found in the Latest Highlights and this week‘s articles amply discussed.So, stocks don‘t look like retreating, as the bond market momentum doesn‘t favor much downside, and tech would likely overpower that.Let‘s briefly check the reactions of other markets to yesterday‘s well telegraphed CPI springboard theme in stocks and precious metals.Gold moves better be viewed through the leading miners – these recovered from their prior underperformance. The yellow metal‘s swings best be viewed now through the optics of how much inflation is perceived as burning, declining TIP:TLT ratio notwithstanding. And the premarket moves throughout commodities mean that the marketplace isn‘t convinced about the Fed‘s seriousness in tackling inflation, justifying my earlier deep skepticism on the taper smoke and mirrors games.Crude oil chart is about decreasing upside momentum, and rising volume smacking of distribution as the lower knots show. I‘m looking for relatively shallow drop maximunm, and a correction in time rather than in price.Bitcoin is still challenging the declining resistance line connecting May and Jun rebound highs, and Ethereum isn‘t confirming Bitcoin‘s strength. The bears have an opportunity to strike, weekend including.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 upswing was clearly driven by the Nasdaq surge, which is a defensive reaction to retreating yields taking their toll on high beta plays.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have underperformed on the day, but the picture doesn‘t uproot the risk-on trades in the least.Technology and ValueTechnology including $NYFANG was again in the driver‘s seat as value just can‘t take to the sharply retreating yields.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners rising is the most important feature, with gold reliably refusing its premarket decline coming in as second. Look for passing the baton between gold and silver alongside the inflationary winds affecting commodities.Silver isn‘t visibly outperforming, and the copper to 10-year yield ratio is increasingly putting a firm floor below precious metals declines.Crude OilCrude oil is hanging in the balance, but a sharp correction isn‘t favored.SummaryS&P 500 remains well positioned to survive and thrive in the inflation fears as it‘s too early these take a toll on P&L or bring about doubts about economic growth.Gold and silver are well positioned to reap the benefits of higher inflation and lower real rates, and the miners keep confirming.While ripe for a breather, crude oil would probably trade in tandem with other commodity inflation trades, so look for shallow pullbacks only.Bitcoin and Ethereum are stuck at the moment, and break higher above resistance or its rejection, would reveal the next short-term direction.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Walks On Thin Ice

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 14.06.2021 09:57
USDJPY enters supply areaThe US dollar struggles to bounce higher as high inflation seems temporary.The previous sell-off below the demand area near 109.80 has spoiled the recovery mood. The former support has turned into a resistance and so far capped the greenback’s advance.The pair is in horizontal consolidation while the RSI returns to neutral conditions.110.30 would be the next hurdle if the price action turns around. A fall below 109.20 could trigger another round of sell-off towards 108.60, a major support on the daily chart.NZDUSD capped by falling trendlineThe New Zealand dollar sees profit-taking in anticipation of this week’s FOMC.The pair has been in extended consolidation after it broke above the daily resistance at 0.7300. The descending trendline indicates increasing selling pressure.The kiwi has a well-established demand zone around 0.7115, a key support from the daily chart. As the RSI rises back from an oversold situation, buying interest could push the pair towards the trendline (0.7180).The ten-week-long rally may resume only if the price breaks out.US 30 consolidates gainsThe Dow Jones Industrial Average rallies as the recovery goes in full swing in the US.The latest whipsaw barely dented investors’ faith. The index has recouped most of the losses from the May sell-off. Buyers have been building their stakes above the 30-day moving average (34350). 34750 is the key resistance intraday, its breach may send the price action to the peak at 35100.On the downside, a deeper correction would test the critical demand area between 33500 and 33700 from the daily chart.
USDX: The Cleanest Shirt Among the Dirty Laundry

USDX: The Cleanest Shirt Among the Dirty Laundry

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.06.2021 15:20
The precious metals seem to be ready for vacation deep dives, but all signs indicate that the USDX will stay on the side of the pool, perfectly dry.The USD Index (USDX)With the USD Index washing away its sins in recent weeks, the greenback has recorded five daily rallies of more than 0.40% since May 26. And with the up days growing stronger and the down days growing weaker, the change in the trend will be clear to more and more traders, which eventually would likely cause a shift in the sentiment. Case in point: while gold, silver and mining stocks are looking forward to their summer vacations (deep dives seem to be in the vacation plans, especially given today’s pre-market ~$20 decline in gold) , the USD Index has been hard at work rehabbing its reputation. And with the U.S. dollar easily the cleanest shirt among the currency basket of dirty laundry, the smell of fresh linen has begun to pique investors’ interest.For one, not only are the USD Index’s fundamentals trending up, but the technicals are also moving in the same direction. And after the USD Index closed visibly above its previous weekly close, the greenback’s verified breakout above its declining resistance line remains a source of optimism. Moreover, while the USD Index still remains below its dashed rising resistance line and its 50-day moving average, subtle signs signal that the dollar is slowly cleaning up its act.Please see below:Second, while the USD Index’s rally occurred slowly at first in 2016, the momentum gathered steam as sentiment shifted. And while we’re only in the first stage of the two-stage process, it’s important to remember that investors are forward-looking.Third, the USD Index recently bounced off of a triple (declining) bottom and prior instances were followed by significant rallies (the identical patterns formed in mid-and-late 2020 and are marked by the shaded green boxes above). During that time, the USD Index originally declined steadily before zigzag corrections culminated with new lows. However, with the third time being a charm, the third distinctive bottom was the final one.For context, the USDX sunk like a stone in July 2020, before moving back and forth while still declining in August. Similarly, in November 2020, the USDX fell from grace once again (there was one exception) before moving back and forth while still declining in December. More importantly, though, ever since the final days of March, we’ve seen the same thing all over again. After the USD Index lost its confidence in April, we saw back-and-forth movement with lower lows and lower highs in May. However, with the third distinctive low likely already achieved, the USD Index’s best days may lie ahead.Head & Shoulders Patterns AheadAnd what happened to gold, silver and mining stocks in the time of the two previous analogues?Well, in August, gold topped without waiting for USD’s final bottom – which is natural, given how extremely overbought it was at the time. Likewise, in early January gold topped (which was much more similar to the current situation given the preceding price action) when the USDX formed its third and final distinctive bottom.In addition, while the development is more of a wildcard at the moment, the USD Index might be in the early innings of forming an inverted head & shoulders pattern. For context, an inverted H&S pattern is a bullish development that if formed, could usher the USD Index to about 97-98. However, completing the right shoulder requires an upward breach of 93 (the blue line on the chart above), so at this point, it’s more of an indication than a confirmation.However, if we turn the pattern upside down, the Euro Index might be in the midst of forming a bearish H&S pattern . If you analyze the right side of the chart below, you can see that the symmetrical pattern has the current price action mirroring the summer of 2020. And while we’re still in the early innings of forming the right shoulder, three peaks were recorded during the second half of 2020 before the Euro Index eventually rolled over. Likewise, with a symmetrical setup that seems to already be in motion, the Euro Index may be heading down a similar path of historical ruin. In the second half of 2020, the decline was not that big, but it’s no wonder that this was the case as that was only the left shoulder of the pattern. Completion of the right shoulder, however, would imply another move lower, at least equal to the size of the head – to about the June 2020 lows or lower.Please see below:Moreover, with the USD Index’s triple bottom mirrored by a likely triple top in the Euro Index , last week’s decline actually ushered the Euro Index materially below the dashed resistance line of its monthly channel. And with the price action mirroring what we witnessed in mid-to-late 2020 – right before the Euro Index plunged – investors’ confidence could soon turn into fear.Furthermore, the completion of the masterpiece could have a profound impact on gold, silver and mining stocks. To explain, gold continues to underperform the euro. If you analyze the bottom half of the chart above, you can see that material upswings in the Euro Index have resulted in diminishing marginal returns for the yellow metal. Thus, the relative weakness is an ominous sign, and if the Euro Index reverses, it could weigh heavily on the precious metals over the medium term. That’s another point for the bearish price prediction for gold.The 2016 AnalogueAlso, foretelling another revival, the USD Index has hopped into the time machine and set the dial to 2016. With the flashback scrubbing the stains off of the USD Index’s 2016 downswing, Mr. Clean could be arriving at just the right time.As you can see on the above chart, what we saw this year is quite similar to what happened in 2016. If the analogy continues, the back-and-forth trading is likely to be followed by an upward acceleration. The trigger for it could be the rally back above the 50-day moving average and the rising dashed line. The confirmed breakout above both in 2016 resulted in sharper rallies in the USDX and much lower gold prices (gold declined about $200 between early October 2016 and its December 2016 lows).Finally, the USD Index’s long-term breakout also remains intact . And when we steady the binoculars and observe the currency landscape, the greenback’s recent weakness is largely inconsequential.Also, please note that the correlation between the USD Index and gold is now strongly negative (-0.93 over the last 10 days). The same thing happened in early January 2021 and in late July – August 2020; these were major tops in gold.The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. In the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is outperforming the Eurozone and the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index – the relative performance is what really matters .In conclusion, investors are well aware of the USD Index’s dirty laundry, and the euro’s squeaky-clean image is starting to show stains. Moreover, with the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) poised to come clean and scale back its asset purchases in September, the USD Index should shine over the medium term. More importantly, though, with gold, silver and mining stocks exhibiting strong negative relationships with the U.S. dollar, the greenback’s eventual shower could send all of the precious metals’ gains down the drain.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Why Inflation Trades Have Further to Run

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.06.2021 16:04
S&P 500 ran out of steam shortly after Friday‘s open, yet caught fire before the close. The sectoral disbalance driven by retreating yields went on, and tech remains still the engine of stock market growth – but look for the leadership to broaden into financials, industrials or energy as we go forward. Volatility made a new 2021 low while the put/call ratio has sharply risen to more neutral readings. Paring the bets is getting underway before this week‘s FOMC – the Fed is perceived to perhaps want to at least start debating taper, if not present the sketch of its seriously watered down shape. They‘ll make taper hints and noises at most, it would be much ado about nothing – the markets are just getting spooked now, most notably the dollar (having risen on the unreasonable expectation something palpable and material would come out of that – but remember, talk is cheap, and Jackson Hole is the more likely venue and time that would happen, with 2022 most probably being the year of taper).Another example of undue anticipatory reaction is Friday‘s gold weakness, in all likelihood to Thursday‘s Macron push to make G7 sell their gold to bail out Africa. Gold market appears taking it seriously, which wouldn‘t benefit the G7 populations during these times of still uneasy monetary activism left and right.Back to stocks – the 500-strong index increase was defensive in nature, with tech delivering the lion‘s share. Value is sputtering during the yields reprieve that I see lasting through the summer. Autumn, that would be another cup of tea – apart from the unyielding $CRB index, rising oil prices affecting sectors beyond transportation, and the job market heating up (hiring difficulties), the serene period in Treasuries would be over. Yes, that means I think the bond markets have it wrong with their sudden appreciation, and that equities and commodities are right not to tumble.Deflationary episode or a noticeably disinflationary one isn‘t in our future – the disconnect between inflation expectations expressed as TIP:TLT and RINF, is growing. Just as the experience on the ground. Even if we take a look at 2-year basis (May / Apr 2019 as a starting period to take out "low base argument“), we get per annum CPI for May 2021 at 2.55% and Apr 2021 at 2.23%. Hardly a deceleration, but a continuously building up inflation momentum when prior months are equally robustly examined.Inventories are down across many sectors beyond autos, and need to be replenished as economic activity isn‘t going down and parts of the world are reopening. That would help put upside pressure upon prices, even to the point of inflation surprise spikes – economic activity isn‘t moving down, and the inventory buildup would spill over into 2022.When I stated on Tuesday that inflation would be sold as being for our own good, it indeed is – remember that both the Fed and Treasury want higher inflation. One more sign to put the transitory argument at bay, and one more nail in the dollar‘s coffin. As if the heavy spending wasn‘t breaking the camel‘s back already – and no, the $6T boondoggle reshaping and adjourning doesn‘t count as making a difference.Gold is getting inordinarily spooked while neither miners nor silver nor commodities would call for that – Macron effect and taper fears in play. When I look at the key ratios, including copper to 10-year yield, the yellow metal‘s weakness is unjustified, especially as relates to silver. Keeping in mind the big picture, it‘s when the Fed moves, or declines to move as per market perceptions, that precious metals would benefit. The current on guard position in case they did the right thing and fought inflation, is misplaced. At the same time though, the miners to gold ratio had a third consecutive week of retreating – quite a consolidation waiting to be reversed.Crude oil knows no respite, and doesn‘t mind rising in spite of weaker oil index or XLE, the energy ETF. Part of its allure apart from the supply situation comes from the real assets drive, the unyielding $CRB index, and the rising economic activity. Corrections remain to be bought, and $68 remains a memory.Bitcoin has broken above the declining resistance line connecting May and Jun rebound highs, but Ethereum isn‘t thus far mirroring its relative strength. Both cryptos remain rather choppy, and the Saturday down, Sunday up trading shows that.On a different note, tomorrow there will be no regular analysis, only brief updates should the market conditions including retail sales data require that. I need to set aside serious time and give color to the important and beneficial negotiations about the future. Thank you for your support and understanding – I hope that one day would be enough. I have thus prepared a longer piece for today, and will be back in time well before the Fed with the regular daily report on Wednesday.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 upswing was once again clearly driven by the Nasdaq surge, which didn‘t look at the daily pause in yields.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have wavered, but given the rest of the credit markets‘ performance, the HYG close wasn‘t all too weak.Technology and ValueSelect technology segments apart from $NYFANG continued rising better than the heavyweights or merely pausing value stocks.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners declined, but refused to lead gold to the downside. The yellow metal‘s decline is most probably the Macron effect and Fed fears result as the move in either real or nominal rates doesn‘t justify that in the least. But again, I think this Treasury rise would ultimately fail, and rates would be back to rising.Silver outperformance isn‘t stark as regards commodities, and the copper to 10-year yield ratio isn‘t flashing warning signs for the white metal. Once the uncertainty in the king of metals is removed (needless to say, no new flush of supply through the open market a la central bank sales decades ago, is what the gold market would welcome the most), the current consolidation can be resolved through another upswing.Bitcoin and EthereumA little mixed picture in cryptos where Bitcoin relative strength isn‘t confirmed by Ethereum‘s moves. The bulls haven‘t entirely reasserted themselves.SummaryS&P 500 remains well positioned to push higher unless value stocks panic over retreating yields again or to a greater degree than before. Nasdaq upside momentum is strong enough to cushion stock market downside at the moment, and credit markets aren‘t in a risk-off mode.My Wednesday‘s words about gold being more vulnerable than silver to a scared dump, came true – only the catalyst was different. Miners weren‘t spooked to such a degree on Friday though, meaning the gold storm might not be as serious as the mounting fears indicate.While ripe for a breather, crude oil once again didn‘t take one, but the oil index weakness (sideways consolidation) warrants short-term caution – the oil outlook though remains bullish.Bitcoin moves aren‘t yet mirrored at least equally strongly in Ethereum. While encourating gains, the bulls can‘t celebrate just yet.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Bitcoins’ actual value

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.06.2021 18:34
No hype lasts that long. What can stay this long is doubt, if not fear, about something new. Change is certainly something many are afraid about. You can touch Gold, build real estate, see land, and it all has history, but that history also includes in all tangible asset classes there to be times when it got taxed or seized.What we are facing now could be a larger cycle that one might intellectually grasp, but who does believe that we see times of hyperinflation and the dollar rendering worthless. Very few. Hope is a natural tendency of the human spirit to be trusted in at times of adversity.In our opinion, that is the only reason why Bitcoin is still so cheap. And herein lies the opportunity for each individual to still preserve their wealth and or create it.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Worthwhile a shot:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of June 14th, 2021Consequently, to our conviction that Bitcoin can not be thought away anymore, we took three low-risk entries after Bitcoins’ recent decline into the congestion range. We posted these entries in real-time  in our free Telegram channel. We took partial profits on all three trades to eliminate risk and by now have raised the stops to break even entry levels for the remainder of exposed capital.After news that Tanzania might join El Salvador in accepting Bitcoin as one of the main payment method methods, prices soared to break through the upper triangle resistance line. What was resistance has now become support. The most substantial supply zone to price is near the POC (point of control, most transaction volume at this price level).Another sign of strength is that at the last decline, prices only managed to go as far down at US$35,000, a far cry from previous US$33,000 levels, indicating strength.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Two bullish scenarios:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of June 14th, 2021Looking at the weekly chart, we can determine that Bitcoin now has cemented a nice double bottom slightly above US$30,000 (yellow line) after a strong down move. We find three high-volume nodes supporting price (green horizontal lines).Noteworthy as well is that the point of this reversal has happened right at the mean (white directional channel with blue dotted line). Consequently, we anticipate two scenarios (A, B) to be the most likely price behavior of the future. Should more fundamental data flow into the market supporting Bitcoins recently gained upward momentum, scenario A is expected to be found over the third quarter.If the bears would be temporarily successful, we anticipate them not driving prices lower than US$27,500. We would see price only briefly giving way to the downside to snap back up with vigor. BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Up, up, and up:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 14th, 2021What always reveals the fundamental forces at play and the leading guidance for a trader’s choice of trading tools/systems are the larger time frames. Examining the monthly chart, we can see the strength and direction where Bitcoin is most likely to head. Price turning at the midpoint of the linear regression channel is no accident.We see a high likelihood for this month to end in a green candle and consequently for July as well.It doesn’t matter where you look; the opinions are always torn into two camps for Bitcoin. Recent attacks of Bitcoin not being green due to its energy consumption provided for much debate again. We are not taking sides. It again seems more principle-based to view from a larger perspective why people put numbers on value output ranges of energies merely based on an emotional basis. Electric cars and wind energy were fought at their time just as well.Bitcoins’ actual value:As investors, we never have a sure bet. We try to stack the odds in our favor, and with sensible money management produce in the trades, we engage in more profits on the winning trades versus the losing trades losses. Bitcoin is no different! Don’t bet the farm and pick low-risk entry points. We do not think it to be wise to have extreme opinions in either direction. Or in other words, any form of emotional engagement in the markets is typically not producing favorable results. What we are empathetic about though is, that doubting Bitcoin on a fundamental basis is simply being ignorant of a vehicle with proven facts. Engaging in this market has its rewards for sure. It might turn out to be one of the better long-term trades in challenging times. Bitcoins’ actual value is yet to be determined by a future no one knows, but its credibility is unquestioned.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 14th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

The ETF You Want for Sunny and (Potentially) Cloudy Days

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.06.2021 08:23
Are you getting frustrated waiting for a meaningful pullback in US equity ETFs? There have been pullbacks in some sectors if you know where to look.If you like to buy on pullbacks in bull markets (like me), you may have trouble swallowing some of the price levels and medium-term overbought technicals on many instruments right now.Digging deeper into the trenches, some areas have had meaningful pullbacks, and we are going to get into one ETF right now that is currently trading at/near key technical levels.Figure 1 - Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) August 21, 2020 - June 14, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comI like to find bullish short to medium-term technicals, and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) just closed over its 50-day moving average yesterday. This technical action comes after a period of retracement and consolidation that dates back to the beginning of 2021. Its 52-week high close is $121.94, put in back on February 9, 2021.The TAN ETF strategy and top holdings can be viewed here .So, while everyone is still talking about inflation and the upcoming Fed decision, we can focus our attention on an ETF that has pulled back nicely over a four + month time period and is exhibiting some signs of bullish technical strength. Also, take note of the RSI above 50 (57) and the MACD poised to cross the zero line.We can see that June 14th's candle was a gap higher and a close above the 50-day moving average. More clarity can be obtained by viewing an intraday 15-minute chart:Figure 2 - Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) June 10, 2021 - June 14, 2021, 15 Minute Candles Source stooq.comThe gap-up volume and TAN ’s ability to stay above and close above its 50-day moving average could be a bullish signal.US Administration and Solar OutlookJust like some of the other markets that I am currently following, TAN seems to make sense given the current US administration and democratic congressional majority. In fact, just as I am writing this, Reuters published an article about first-quarter US solar installations soaring . I do wish that this article would come out later instead, but it is out now.Although there are some supply chain concerns in solar right now (think commodities), there ought to be many initiatives and subsidies put forth by the Biden administration in the coming years. Regardless of your personal opinion on solar vs. fossil fuels, the idea is to try to profit from economic conditions. TAN could be a great addition to holdings to get exposure from a sector that has already experienced a meaningful pullback; brought on partially by the buy the rumor, sell the fact type of trading action that we saw in TAN from November 2020 (US presidential election) and January 2021 (inauguration).Based on the technicals that we have covered above and the pullback/consolidation that we have seen in the medium-term in TAN , this seems like a potentially solid entry point area.For additional details on the US Solar Market, the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) just released their Q2 2021 report. You can view it here . It contains numerous datasets, charts, and other data, including projected residential and commercial installation projections.Figure 3 - Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) April 14, 2008 - June 14, 2021, Weekly Candles Source stockcharts.comLet’s also take note that TAN has traded at these levels before. It traded north of $220 back in the Summer of 2008. Hint, hint: there was $4 per gallon retail gasoline in the US at that time. I think it is wise to know the long-term trading history of instruments that are covered.What could TAN do if additional solar subsidies are issued by the Biden administration and residential + commercial installations increase? Time will tell.Now, for our premium subscribers, let's look to pinpoint potential entry levels in TAN , and recap the eight other markets that we are covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

What’s Your Trade Ahead of the Fed? Wooden Opportunity?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.06.2021 11:26
US equity markets sold off a bit in Tuesday’s session ahead of today’s FOMC statement. What is your plan?Major US equity indices traded lower ahead of the Fed meeting, and the debate over growth versus value stocks continues. Is there any magic language or policy stance that can come out of today’s Fed meeting to provide clarity in this market?PPI data came out stronger than expected yesterday. This data adds more fuel to the inflationary theme, while Retail Sales were weak. The markets should have been lower from this data, and they were, albeit slightly.As the anticipation builds to today’s FOMC statement at 2:00 PM ET today and the subsequent press conference at 2:30 PM ET, it seems like a good time to revisit a market that we are following - lumber .If you have been following along and read the June 9th publication , you know that we are eyeballing the lumber markets for an ETF trade possibility. While the lumber market has been just insane to the upside in 2021, it has recently pulled back substantially. The question remains: are these higher lumber prices sustainable? If so, is there a way to participate via an ETF?While this may seem like an obscure sector or at least an underappreciated one, let’s take a look at the front-month lumber futures to get caught up on the most recent price action.Figure 1 - Random Length Lumber Futures Continuous Contract February 21, 2020 - June 15, 2021 Daily Source stooq.comFront-month lumber futures made a pandemic low of 251.50 on April 1, 2020. Its recent and all-time high is 1733.30, which was put in on May 10, 2021. Taking a 50% retracement of this move, we have a value of 992.40. Yesterday’s low in front-month lumber futures was 943.70 and a close of 1009.90. Yesterday’s trading was also on higher than average volume. It is important to note that it traded below the psychologically important level of 1000, through the 50% Fibonacci retracement, and then reversed intraday and closed higher. This kind of price action really gets me going.Let’s also illustrate this price action described above via weekly candlesticks:Figure 2 - LBS1! Random Length Lumber Futures Continuous Contract September 2019 - June 2021 Weekly Candles Source tradingview.comIsn’t that something? I wanted to illustrate this via the weekly candlesticks to add a little more clarity. The weekly candlestick that is being formed this week could be a sign of things to come. Now before we go any further:I strongly suggest against trading in Lumber Futures. They can be illiquid, and experience many limit up and limit down days. You could be stuck in a losing position and not be able to get out. The only traders in Lumber futures should be hedgers that are in the wood business or deep pocket institutional traders that have real money to burn. Futures trading entails unlimited risk. I am sure that many fortunes have been made, and many more have been lost during this insane lumber market. Being on the wrong side of a futures market like Lumber can be brutal.Lumber is a very thin contract and may only trade a few hundred contracts per day. But with such intriguing technicals, I want to circle back to an ETF that we covered in the June 9th publication : WOOD iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF.Figure 3 - iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (WOOD) Daily Candles November 10, 2020 - June 15, 2021. Source stockcharts.comSo, we see some interesting potential weekly candlestick formation in the Lumber futures and an interesting daily candle in WOOD. While the 2 instruments do not trade a perfect or near-perfect correlation, a correlation exists.I like the idea of getting long the WOOD ETF based on the action in the Lumber futures markets.While trying to catch a falling knife can be a precarious proposition, I view this as buying a pullback in a bull market. While we discussed certain levels in the June 9th publication , I would like to explore some different levels and a potential scaling/tranche entry strategy today.And, while the price of gold certainly hasn’t caught an inflation bid (at least not yet), this could be a wooden opportunity. Maybe a wooden opportunity is the new golden opportunity.Now, for our premium subscribers, let's look to pinpoint potential entry levels in WOOD , and recap the eight other markets that we are covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Inflation Tipping Point

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.06.2021 15:45
S&P 500 hasn‘t extended Monday‘s gains, continuing to trade in a cautious, tight range. Not that it would be driven by Treasury yields that much on a daily basis – the tech breather was one day delayed, but still didn‘t erase Monday‘s gains in full. Yes, Nasdaq didn‘t reverse, and I‘m looking for it to reassert its strength in spite of having approached the rising resistance line connecting the Feb and Apr highs.Sure, a little rotation later today wouldn‘t be unimaginable as I am looking for the Fed to largely bypass bringing up taper, which would mean continued ostrich pose when faced with rising inflation (did you see yesterday‘s PPI beating expectations? Another confirmation of my Monday‘s points of inflation being baked in the cake, and in spite of all the transitory rhetoric, working its way through the system as reliably as water through Titanic‘s compartments. The coming Fed disappointment in doing the right thing (fighting inflation even as late as it is now before the expectations become obviously unanchored, eventually turning velocity of money around).Let‘s check my Monday‘s assumptions and where we stand in the run up to today‘s FOMC:(…) Paring the bets is getting underway before this week‘s FOMC – the Fed is perceived to perhaps want to at least start debating taper, if not present the sketch of its seriously watered down shape. They‘ll make taper hints and noises at most, it would be much ado about nothing – the markets are just getting spooked now, most notably the dollar (having risen on the unreasonable expectation something palpable and material would come out of that – but remember, talk is cheap, and Jackson Hole is the more likely venue and time that would happen, with 2022 most probably being the year of taper).The yields reprieve … I see lasting through the summer. Autumn, that would be another cup of tea – apart from the unyielding $CRB index, rising oil prices affecting sectors beyond transportation, and the job market heating up (hiring difficulties), the serene period in Treasuries would be over. Yes, that means I think the bond markets have it wrong with their sudden appreciation, and that equities and commodities are right not to tumble.Deflationary episode or a noticeably disinflationary one isn‘t in our future – the disconnect between inflationary expectations expressed as TIP:TLT and RINF, is growing. Just as the experience on the ground. Even if we take a look at 2-year basis (May / Apr 2019 as a starting period to take out "low base argument“), we get per annum CPI for May 2021 at 2.55% and Apr 2021 at 2.23%. Hardly a deceleration, but a continuously building up inflation momentum when prior months are equally robustly examined.Inventories are down across many sectors beyond autos, and need to be replenished as economic activity isn‘t going down and parts of the world are reopening. That would help put upside pressure upon prices, even to the point of inflation surprise spikes – economic activity isn‘t moving down, and the inventory buildup would spill over into 2022.When I stated on [prior] Tuesday that inflation would be sold as being for our own good, it indeed is – remember that both the Fed and Treasury want higher inflation.So, the S&P 500 won‘t be broken by today‘s Fed moves, and tech would withstand the move in yields. The sectoral leadership would broaden to include e.g. financials, industrials and energy as the cyclical trades are far from over. Volatility has risen a little over these tow days, and option traders are raising their guard again, but today‘s FOMC would largely turn out to be a non-event – in stocks.The dollar would get frightened, but the 2021 lows have held in May, and are holding up in June. Unless they break (I‘m not looking for that to happen this month), the greenback is likely rangebound for now. It would be during autumn when both the continuous rise in inflation and the European recovery getting more broadly recognized and established, would start biting the world reserve currency more again.Gold has inordinarily suffered through the taper fears, and silver remains the stronger metal. Obviously, as I am not looking for the inflation trades to roll over – quite to the contrary, I expect them to grow in strength, which extends to yesterday‘s bloodbath in copper too. Just like I called for springboard price action before the CPI release on Thursday, I am calling for gold to welcome the Fed‘s inaction, leading to break through the $1,900 mark. Probably not today, but tomorrow‘s action should be pretty bullish – you know what they say about the first moves on key event days, being the false ones…Anyway, inflation expectations seem to be getting it right again, in rising back above the April lows. The copper to 10-year yield ratio has been beaten down badly, and both fundamentals and technicals are arrayed behind the red metal, which would positively reflect upon silver too. And miners, they‘re likely to get their act together alongside gold.Crude oil remains the reliable commodity star, refusing to yield much ground at all. And since the oil index confirms its yesterday‘s strength, buying the dips in expectation of more gains, is the way to go.Bitcoin closed for a second day above the declining resistance line connecting May and Jun rebound highs, peeking above 41,000. Its current move to 39,000 represents an opportunity to join in on the long side, as both the daily and weekly chart look incresingly bullish, in accumulation. Ethereum is lagging a little at the moment, but the base ushering return of its outperformance, is getting long in the tooth. I see that not animal spirits of an outrageously bullish variant, but bullish spirits climbing the wall of worry, are returning to the crypto space.That was yet another long daily analysis, which won‘t likely need much updating post the Fed. Some throw off moves in the opposite direction of the real move, are to be expected, and barring a needed change in open positions, I will be covering the very short-term reactions and takeaways on Twitter. It means that in all likelihood tomorrow, and surely on Friday, there will be no regular analysis, only brief updates should changed market conditions require that. The unfolding important and beneficial negotiations about the future require that. Thank you for your support and understanding – Monday 21st marks the return to usual programming during the next week.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 downswing was led by Nasdaq yesterday, but is nothing more than a daily fluctuation – gains for the 500-strong index are probably nearer than they are for tech, but it‘s a question of relatively short time for both to rise in tandem once again.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds went through a little correction but overall, the corporate credit markets are standing on firmer ground than the long-dated Treasuries.Technology and ValueTechnology was weighed down by $NYFANG as value continued its shallow basing. That‘s a picture of daily caution overall, as high beta plays surely aren‘t dumped en masse. As a sidenote, the Russell 2000 continues holding up well, and that‘s constructive.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners are more resilient in their decline than gold, which increases odds of a sharp turnaround in the yellow metal next.Silver has been and is likely to outperform gold, and the washout in the copper to 10-year yield ratio highlights the excessive nature of both moves – I‘m looking for copper to rebound, which would have greater effect upon silver than gold.Crude OilCrude oil offers one long, drawn out upswing with precious few and less than shallow interruptions. It seems that only a serious short-term blow to (hesitation in) the bullish commodities trade, reopenings and economic activity rising environment, would make black gold decline somewhat.SummaryS&P 500 remains well positioned to shake off the inflation worries over the Fed doing nothing. Inflation isn‘t yet strong enough to dent P&Ls, and brighter days for both the 500-strong index and Nasdaq, are ahead.Gold is likely to recover strongly today, but would be outperformed by silver – reliably. Miners won‘t stand aside as the yellow metal takes on $1,900 again.The breather in crude oil is looking once again to be deferred. Pullback are to be bought (the oil index confirms), and the oil outlook remains bullish.Bitcoin and Ethereum are in accumulation mode and the bears look to have run out of time – look for today‘s downswing to be decisively invalidated over the coming week.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold: Skis Are On, Time to Choose the Slope

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.06.2021 15:56
Depending on the upcoming FOMC meeting, gold will need to choose one of the two ways down – the ski trail or the black slope. Which one lies ahead?In the skiers’ vernacular, a ski trail is a very easy way down, with a light gradient at full length. It looks like the late-2012 decline in gold. However, there is also a black slope – a steep and dangerous road on which inexperienced skiers can hurt themselves badly; it’s very similar to what happened to gold in 2008 and 2020. While we don’t know yet which way we will choose to go down (as we have probably just reached the top), the nearest FOMC event will most likely shove us towards one of them. Let’s put our helmets on.The world is holding its breath for today’s comments from the Fed, knowing that one of the approaches would be a game-changer.If the Fed hints that it’s ready to taper its stimulus, the long-term rates will likely rally, whereas stocks, precious metals and commodities will likely slide. But if they don’t do that, it seems that whatever has been going on in the above markets will likely continue based on their technical developments.In the case of gold, it means either a measured late-2012-style decline or a more powerful slide similar to the moves we saw in 2008 and 2020. Which one will it be? Either way, the next big move is likely to be to the downside (even if dovish comments were to spur some immediate-term gains). Why? Because history tends to rhyme, and right now, gold is simply repeating its price patterns from the past that were preceded by relatively similar events (invalidation of the breakout to new all-time highs – just like in 2008; similarity with regard to price moves, volume, and key indicators – just like in 2011-2012).Gold declined once again today, but since it remains between the declining medium-term support line and the rising short-term resistance line, the tug-of-war between bulls and bears remains in place.The above chart is likely either perplexing, confusing or appearing random for those who haven’t stumbled upon the technical analysis toolkit. But to those who have learned about its principles and have used it themselves, the above chart is very exciting. And to those who took the expertise to the next level and see an even bigger picture, the chart is relatively calm, and normal.Gold: How Exciting Are Recent Moves?Why would the above chart be so exciting? Because gold just broke below its rising dashed support line and closed the day below it. This is the first time that it managed to do that, despite coming close to it a few times before. The excitement is even bigger because of what happened on an intraday basis – gold moved back to its declining support line based on the 2020 and 2021 highs and then it moved back up. Consequently, based on the same session, both bulls and bears have an indication that “they were right all along”. Was yesterday’s session a major breakdown, or a confirmation of the May breakout?But how excited can you get if it’s clear that gold is simply repeating its price patterns from the past that were preceded by relatively similar events (invalidation of breakout to new all-time highs – just like in 2008; similarity with regard to price moves, volume, and key indicators – just like in 2011-2012).Watching a football match is not as exciting when you already know the outcome, is it?What’s likely to happen now? Gold is likely to move back and forth, but will ultimately break below the declining support line, which will be a major “uh-oh” moment for those who think that gold will move higher from here based on the very positive fundamental situation. Yes, it is very positive, but it doesn’t mean that gold would rally right away. It could decline despite the fundamentals, just like it did in 2008 and in 2013. And it seems that it’s about to slide.Back in 2008, gold corrected to 61.8% Fibonacci retracement , but it stopped rallying approximately when the USD Index started to rally, and the general stock market accelerated its decline.Taking into consideration that the general stock market has probably just topped, and the USD Index is about to rally, then gold is likely to slide for the final time in the following weeks/months. Both above-mentioned markets support this bearish scenario and so do the self-similar patterns in terms of gold price itself.Moreover, while the pace of gold’s decline in 2012 started off slow, the momentum picked up later on as the drawdown became more vicious. As a result, the tepid pace of gold’s current slide remains deceptive and isn’t a cause for concern.Please see below:The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended on huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year. Consequently , forecasting much higher gold prices here doesn’t seem to be justified based on the historical analogies.The thing I would like to emphasize here is that gold didn’t form the final top at the huge-volume reversal on Sep. 13, 2012. It moved back and forth for a while and moved a bit above that high-volume top, and only then the final top took place (in early October 2012).The same happened in September and in October 2008. Gold reversed on huge volume in mid-September, and it was approximately the end of the rally. The final top, however, formed after some back-and-forth trading and a move slightly above the previous high.Consequently, the fact that gold moved a bit above its own high-volume reversal (May 19, 2021) is not an invalidation of the analogy, but rather its continuation.The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.Also, please note that while it might seem bullish that gold managed to rally above its declining black resistance line recently (the one based on the 2020 top and the 2021 top), please note that the same happened in 2012 – I marked the analogous line with red. The breakout didn’t prevent gold from sliding. When the price reached the line, we saw a short-term bounce, but nothing more than that – the gold price fell through it in the following weeks. Consequently, if history rhymes, the support provided by the current declining medium-term support line is unlikely to trigger anything more than a short-term bounce. And since we’re already after this event, gold’s next attempt to break below it might be successful.Having said that, let’s take a look at silver.Silver’s Failed Attempts to Break OutSilver price confirmed its breakdown below its rising support line, and it has just finished invalidating its fifth attempt to break above the early January highs. This is a clearly bearish combination, even without taking into account the similarity between now, 2020, and 2008.Let’s keep in mind that silver might hesitate to decline substantially at first, but then play a huge catch-up close to the end of the decline – just as it did in 2020.Miners: Breaking Below Support Lines Without USDX HelpThe breakdown in the GDX ETF is also crystal clear. Moreover, it’s almost confirmed, as the GDX ETF closed below its rising dashed support line for the second day in a row.We saw a buy signal from the stochastic indicator, but the breakdown in terms of closing prices is more important, as the buy signals from the stochastic (below 20) were not that reliable so far this year. Please note that the mid-January buy signal was followed by much lower prices in the following weeks. The same was the case with the first buy signal that we saw in late February.And indeed, the supposedly bullish signal has already been reversed by another sell signal. Thus, the trend remains down and the outlook remains bearish.The breakdown is also clear in the case of the 4-hour chart featuring the proxy for junior miners – the GDXJ ETF.On the above chart, we see that the huge-volume rally has once again worked as a sell signal – in the past, it often heralded short-term declines like the current one.What’s particularly interesting, gold and gold miners have broken decisively below their rising support lines without the USD Index’s help. This is a sign of weakness in the PMs market.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Silver with a turbo

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 17.06.2021 13:36
Recent trading sessions have driven Silver and Gold to lower levels. Still, Silver already shows relative strength within the precious metal sector. As a result, we might witness one of the last cheap points for adding to one’s physical silver holdings.Gold/Silver-Ratio, Monthly Chart, How much?Gold/Silver-Ratio, monthly chart as of June 17th, 2021.The Gold/Silver-ratio can help identify relative strength/relative weakness relationships between the two metals. Consequently, it is mighty helpful to guestimate which of the ones is moving first. Furthermore, one can time one’s trade placements. In addition, it is a barometer of the overall larger picture for long-term assessments from a fundamental perspective.A look at the monthly Gold/Silver-ratio shows that Silver is pushing against a support level, which, if breaking, could lead to a two-legged move, adding a 50% turbo boost to silver prices in relation to Gold (red arrows down).  Gold/Silver-Ratio, Weekly Chart, Trending down:Gold/Silver-Ratio, weekly chart as of June 17th, 2021.Now zooming in to the weekly time frame, we can see that the ratio is trending down. Consequently, Silver is catching up with Gold. Typically, once the ratio price meets the upper red regression line (yellow circles), it consequently declines.Trading in a triangle would mean that a lower white support line break could initiate a more volatile downward movement. Consequently, this would represent added turbo fuel to a more sustainable Silver upward movement.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Think long term:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 17th, 2021.Looking at the isolated silver price from a long-term perspective (monthly chart), we can clearly see the bullish consensus (bullish triangle in white lines). Moreover, the thick volume supply zone between US$22 to US$25 suggests that reaching US$20 once again has a much lower probability.Silver with a turbo:Your typical weekly market newsletter sounds something like: “Maybe up, but it could also be sideways and down is also an option”—a protective means never to be wrong for the author. More rarely, you will find extreme opinions which give a doomsday picture to hope five or ten years later, a market crash gets the author noticed, and if not, no one remembers what was said 5-10 years ago. Nevertheless, there are market wizards. Decades of track records supporting sound market analysis. Stanley Druckenmiller is such a genius with 30 years in a row producing an average of more than 30% profits return per year on his client’s money. More impressively, his worst year is still a double-digit number. When we heard him recently stating that the dollar would lose within 15 years its status as a leading currency globally, the hypothesis that motivated us nearly two years ago, starting as a permabull in our publications, felt confirmed. Another turbo in play. It is these puzzle pieces more and more now coming together that support our firm belief that inter-market relationships paint a picture where Silver could become the predominant shade of a futuristic picture of wealth preservation. In this context, we are aggressive buyers here for physical Silver in this temporary price dip.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 17th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold Asks: Will the Economic Boom Continue?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 17.06.2021 15:59
The US GDP has already recovered from the pandemic recession. What’s next for the economy and the gold market?Ladies and Gentlemen, the economic crisis has ended. Actually, not only is the recession over but so is the recovery! This is at least what the recent GDP readings are indicating. As the chart below shows, the US nominal GDP has already jumped above the pre-pandemic level . The real GDP, which takes inflation into account, remained in the first quarter of 2021 below the size of the economy seen at the end of 2019, but it will likely surpass this level in the second quarter of the year.As one can see in the chart below, in terms of GDP growth, the situation is a bit worse, as the annual percentage changes are still below the pre-epidemic level . However, this should change in the second quarter of 2021 when the growth pace is likely to peak amid base effect and reopening of the economy.So, the question is: what’s next? Will the economic boom become well-established or will we see a lot of volatility or even new slumps? Given the recent flux of disappointing high-frequency indicators that fell considerably short of expectations (just think about April’s nonfarm payrolls ), the question is very relevant.Well, there are many threats to growth , that’s for sure. The first is, of course, the ever-evolving coronavirus and its new variants. However, judging by preliminary evidence, the vaccines should remain effective, allowing economies to function freely.The second obvious danger is clearly the economy overheating and higher inflation . The Fed and the Congress injected a lot of liquidity into the economy although it would recover if it was left to its own devices thanks to the rollout of vaccinations and easing lockdowns. So, much of government funds arrived just when the economy practically recovered, which is a recipe for higher prices and inflation-related turbulences in the financial markets.Third, the increase in debt – both private and public – makes the global economy more fragile. Given the level of indebtedness, even small increases in real interest rates would be dangerous. They would increase the costs of servicing debts for the governments and could hit the asset prices. The fact that the Fed will be under great pressure to remain very dovish is, of course, positive for gold prices . Even if we see some effort to normalize the monetary policy , interest rates and the Fed’s balance sheet will never return to the pre-recession levels.Last but not least, there is a threat of financial crisis . Many people are worried that there is a bubble in the stock market (and in other markets as well, such as the cryptocurrency market). Indeed, the equities have been reaching new peaks and the valuations are elevated. The margin debt has also jumped. Not surprisingly, the relative frequency of Google searches for the “stock market bubble” has recently risen (just as for the word “inflation”).Even the Fed in its latest Financial Stability Report expressed some concerns. This is what the Fed Governor Lael Brainard said in a statement linked to the report :Vulnerabilities associated with elevated risk appetite are rising. Valuations across a range of asset classes have continued to rise from levels that were already elevated late last year. Equity indices are setting new highs, equity prices relative to forecasts of earnings are near the top of their historical distribution, and the appetite for risk has increased broadly, as the "meme stock" episode demonstrated. Corporate bond markets are also seeing elevated risk appetite, and the spreads of lower quality speculative-grade bonds relative to Treasury yields are among the tightest we have seen historically. The combination of stretched valuations with very high levels of corporate indebtedness bear watching because of the potential to amplify the effects of a re-pricing event.To sum up, the US economy has already recovered from the coronavirus recession, which is bad for safe-haven assets such as gold , as the yellow metal doesn’t like economic expansions. However, there are important threats to sustainable economic growth, which should support the price of gold.Actually, there is still room for gold to rally further . This is because we are in an inflationary phase of the economic expansion (this boom will be more inflationary than the post- Great Recession period), and all the money created during the pandemic has flowed into the asset markets, pushing their prices into elevated levels not necessarily justified by fundamentals (just think about Dogecoin). Gold could benefit from such a bubble, as well as from an inflationary and hot environment. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold: The Fed Wreaked Havoc on the Precious Metals

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.06.2021 17:02
Gold declined yesterday, or I should say, it rushed down at breakneck speed. And while it might have been a surprise for some, it wasn’t for me.However, we should stay alert to any possible changes, as no market moves in a straight line. Tread carefully.On a side note, while I didn’t check it myself (well, it’s impossible to read every article out there), based on the correspondence I’m receiving, it appears I’ve been the only one of the more popular authors to be actually bearish on gold before the start of this week. Please keep that in mind, along with me saying that yesterday’s decline is just the beginning, even though a short-term correction might start soon. Having that in mind, let’s discuss what the Fed did (and what it didn’t do) in greater detail.Look What You DidWith the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) reverse-repo nightmare frightening the liquidity out of the system, I highlighted on Jun. 17 that the FED raised the interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) from 0.10% to 0.15%.I wrote:The FED hopes that by offering a higher interest rate that it will deter counterparties from participating in the reverse repo transactions. However, whether it will or whether it won’t is not important. The headline is that the FED is draining liquidity from the system and increasing the IOER is another sign that the U.S. federal funds rate could soon seek higher ground.Please see below:To explain, the red line above tracks the U.S. federal funds rate, while the green line above tracks the IOER. If you analyze the behavior, you can see that the two have a rather close connection. And while we don’t expect the FED to raise interest rates anytime soon, officials’ words, actions and the macroeconomic data signal that the taper is likely coming in September.And in an ironic twist, while the question of whether it will or whether it won’t seemed reasonable at the time, the tsunami of reverse repurchase agreements on Jun. 17 signal that 0.15% just isn’t going to cut it. Case in point: while the FED hoped that the five-basis-point olive branch would calm institutions’ nerves, a record $756 billion in excess liquidly was shipped to the FED on Jun. 17 . For context, it was nearly $235 billion more than the daily amount recorded on Jun. 16.Please see below:To explain the significance, I wrote previously:A reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the FED in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the FED at an alarming rate.The green line above tracks the daily reverse repo transactions executed by the FED, while the red line above tracks the U.S. federal funds rate. Moreover, notice what happened the last time reverse repos moved above 400 billion? If you focus your attention on the red line, you can see that after the $400 billion level was breached in December 2015, the FED’s rate-hike cycle began. Thus, with current inflation dwarfing 2015 levels and U.S. banks practically throwing cash at the FED, is this time really different?Furthermore, I noted on Jun. 17 that the FED’s latest ‘dot plot’ was a hawkish shift that market participants were not expecting.I wrote:The perceived probability of a rate hike by the end of 2022 sunk to a 2021 low on Jun. 12. However, after the FED’s material about-face on Jun. 16, I’m sure these positions have been recalibrated.Please see below:And as if the chart above had been inverted, the perceived probability of a rate hike by the end of 2022 has now surged to more than 90%.The Death Toll of June 17thIn addition, while I’ve been warning for months that the bond market’s fury would eventually upend the PMs, not only has the FED’s inflationary misstep rattled the financial markets, but the U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) jumped to 3.25% on Jun. 17.Please see below: Source: Mortgage News DailyFurthermore, please read what Matthew Graham, COO of Mortgage News Daily, had to say:“Markets were somewhat surprised by the Fed's rate hike outlook. Granted, the Fed Funds Rate (the thing the Fed would actually be hiking) doesn't control mortgage rates, but the outlook speaks to how quickly the Fed would need to dial back its bond buying programs (aka "tapering"). Those programs definitely help keep rates low. The sooner the Fed begins tapering, the sooner mortgage rates will see some upward pressure .”To that point, with tapering prophecies officially morphing from the minority into the consensus, the PMs weren’t the only commodities sent to slaughter on Jun. 17. For example, the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) plunged by 2.37% as the inflationary unwind spread. For context, the S&P GSCI contains 24 commodities from all sectors: six energy products, five industrial metals, eight agricultural products, three livestock products and two precious metals.Exacerbating the selling pressure, China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration announced on Jun. 17 that it would release its copper, aluminum and zinc supplies “in the near future” in a bid to contain the inflationary surge that’s plaguing the region. As a result, if the psychological forces that led to the surge in cost-push inflation come undone, the USD Index could move from the outhouse to the penthouse.To explain, I wrote on Apr. 27:Why is the behavior of the S&P GSCI so important? Well, if you analyze the chart below, you can see that the S&P GSCI’s pain is often the USD Index’s gain.To explain, the red line above tracks the USD Index, while the green line above tracks the inverted S&P GSCI. For context, inverted means that the S&P GSCI’s scale is flipped upside down and that a rising green line represents a falling S&P GSCI, while a falling green line represents a rising S&P GSCI. More importantly, though, since 2010, it’s been a near splitting image.Inflation Is Still ThereIn the meantime, though, inflationary pressures are far from contained. And while the S&P GSCI’s plight would be a boon for the USD Index, the greenback still has plenty of other bullets in its chamber. Case in point: with the FED poised to taper in September and investors underpricing the relative outperformance of the U.S. economy, VANDA Research’s latest FX Outlook signals that over-optimism abroad could lead to a material re-rating over the summer.Please see below:To explain, the chart on the right depicts investors’ expectations of economic strength across various regions. If you analyze the second (CAD) and the third (GBP) bars from the right, you can see that positioning is more optimistic than the economic growth that’s likely to materialize. Conversely, if you analyze the first bar (USD) from the left, you can see that positioning is more pessimistic than the economic growth that’s likely to materialize. As a result, with U.S. GDP growth poised to outperform the U.K., Canada, and the Eurozone, an upward re-rating of the USD Index could intensify the PMs selling pressure over the medium term.On top of that, while the inflation story is far from over (and will pressure the FED to taper in September), the Philadelphia FED released its Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey on Jun. 17. And while manufacturing activity dipped in June, “the diffusion index for future general activity increased 17 points from its May reading, reaching 69.2, its highest level in nearly 30 years .”In addition, “the employment index increased 11 points, recovering its losses from last month,” and “the future employment index rose 2 points … [as] over 59 percent of the firms expect to increase employment in their manufacturing plants over the next six months, compared with only 5% that anticipates employment declines.” For context, employment is extremely important because a strengthening U.S. labor market will likely put the final nail in QE’s coffin.But saving the best for last:“The prices paid diffusion index rose for the second consecutive month, 4 points to 80.7, its highest reading since June 1979 . The percentage of firms reporting increases in input prices (82 percent) was higher than the percentage reporting decreases (1 percent). The current prices received index rose for the fourth consecutive month, moving up 9 points to 49.7, its highest reading since October 1980 .”Please see below: Source: Philadelphia FEDInvestment Clock Is TickingAlso, signaling that QE is living on borrowed time, Bank of America’s ‘Investment Clock’ is ticking toward a bear flattener in the second half of 2021. For context, the term implies that short-term interest rates will rise at a faster pace than long-term interest rates and result in a ‘flattening’ of the U.S. yield curve.Please see below:To explain, the circular reference above depicts the appropriate positioning during various stages of the economic cycle. If you focus your attention on the red box, you can see that BofA forecasts higher interest rates and lower earnings per share (EPS) for S&P 500 companies during the back half of the year.As further evidence, not only is the FED’s faucet likely to creak in the coming months, but fiscal stimulus may be nearing the dry season as well.Please see below:To explain, the blue bars above track the U.S. budget deficit as a percentage of the GDP. If you analyze the red circle on the right side of the chart, you can see that coronavirus-induced spending was only superseded by World War Two. Moreover, with the law of gravity implying that ‘what goes up must come down,’ the forthcoming infrastructure package could be investors’ final fiscal withdrawal.The Housing MarketLast but not least, while the S&P 500 has remained relatively upbeat in recent days, weakness in the U.S. housing market could shift the narrative over the medium term.Please see below:To explain, the red line above tracks the S&P 500, while the green line above tracks U.S. private building permits (released on Jun. 16). If you analyze the arrows, you can see that the former nearly always rolls over in advance of the latter . For context, the S&P 500 initially peaked before building permits in 2018 and alongside in 2015. However, in 2018, when the S&P 500 recovered and continued its ascent – while building permits did not – the U.S. equity benchmark suffered a roughly 20% drawdown. Thus, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that building permits peaked in January and have declined significantly. And if history is any indication, the S&P 500 will eventually follow suit.In conclusion, the PMs imploded on Jun. 17, as taper trepidation and the USD Index’s sharp re-rating dropped the guillotine on the metals. And with the FED’s latest ‘dot plot’ akin to bullet holes in the PMs, the walking wounded is still far from a recovery. With inflation surging and the FED likely to become even more hawkish in the coming months, the cycle has materially shifted from the goldilocks environment that the metals once enjoyed. And with the two-day price action likely the opening act of a much larger play, the PMs could be waiting months for another round of applause.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

FOMC Announced Two Rate Hikes in 2023. Gold Didn’t Like It!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.06.2021 17:47
The newest Fed’s statement and dot-plot indicated a much more hawkish tone among the FOMC members than the markets expected, and gold dropped.On Wednesday (June 16, 2021), the FOMC has published its newest statement on monetary policy . The statement was barely changed. The main alteration is that the Fed has ceased saying that “the pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world”. Furthermore, with the CPI annual rate jumping to 5% in May, the US central bank acknowledged that inflation is not any longer “running persistently below this longer-run goal”. Hence, both modifications are slightly hawkish , as the Fed noticed an improvement in the epidemiological situation, as well as higher inflation. Bad news for gold.However, the statement was only slightly changed, so the investors focused more on the accompanying dot-plot and Powell’s press conference instead. According to the fresh economic projections , the Fed forecasts higher GDP growth and higher inflation this year, as the table below shows.As one can see, the FOMC expects that the GDP will soar 7% in 2021, compared to a 6.5% rise expected in March. They also assume that the pace of economic growth will be slightly higher in 2023. Meanwhile, the Fed officials believe now that the PCE inflation (core PCE) will jump to 3.4% (3%) this year , compared to 2.4% (2.2%) seen in March. They also forecast a slightly lower unemployment rate in 2022.But the most impactful change occurred in the expected path of the federal funds rate . The FOMC members now forecast that the US policy rate will be 0.6% at the end of 2023, an important upward change from 0.1% projected in March. In other words, the US central bankers believe that two interest rate hikes will be appropriate in 2023 . It means that they started to think about tapering, which is fundamentally negative for gold prices.Indeed, Powell said during his post-meeting press conference that we can “think of this meeting that we had as the talking about talking about meeting [at which the Fed will start tapering], if you like”.Implications for GoldWhat does the recent FOMC meeting imply for the gold market? Well, the Fed struck again. As a result, the price of gold plunged. As the chart below shows, the London P.M. Fix slid from about $1,865 on Tuesday to $1779 on Thursday.The reason is simple : the fresh dot-plot shows that a majority of the Fed officials currently forecasts two quarter-point rate hikes in 2023 . 13 of 18 FOMC members see some interest rate increases in 2023 compared to just 7 members in March. Moreover, 7 participants now predict some upward moves next year. These changes lifted market expectations of future interest rates . In consequence, the bond yields increased, which raised the opportunity costs of holding non-yielding bullion . Furthermore, the more hawkish stance of the Fed strengthened the US dollar, creating downward pressure on gold prices. In other words, the new economic outlook revealed some hawks among the FOMC members and that there might be less tolerance toward higher inflation than previously thought.However, the bullish case for gold is not over yet . After all, the Fed maintained its very accommodative monetary policy, and it will not hike interest rates this year and probably not also in 2022. Additionally, the dot-plot is not the official projection of the future path of the federal funds rate, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. A lot may happen by 2023. Also, the Fed leadership seems to be more dovish than many of the regional Fed presidents.Last of all, Powell repeated that inflation is merely transitory. But why hike interest rates if inflation is merely transitory and federal debt is ballooning? Hence, it might be the case that the Fed is testing the markets. High inflation is still with us, and it may be more lasting than the Fed believes. Even with two interest rate hikes, the real interest rates should stay negative.Having said that, the hawkish Fed’s statement and hawkish economic projections are fundamentally negative for the yellow metal in the medium term . The chances of a replay of 2013 have increased. It seems that gold may struggle without an inflationary turmoil, stagflation , the dovish counter-strike at the Fed, or a debt crisis .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Greatest sale of Japanese stocks

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 21.06.2021 11:51
What happened?Nikkei 225 has sharply dropped after the hawkish surprise from the Federal Reserve. The central bank claimed it might raise interest rates in 2023 (or even in late 2022) and also started a discussion on cutting bond buys. Well, that decision pushed the USD dollar up and pressed some stocks down. Which ones? Stocks that were favored in reflation trade or, in other words, those that benefited from higher inflation: value and cyclical stocks. The worst performers of the last week were banks and cyclical-heavy Japanese stocks.The Japanese stock index Nikkei dropped by 4% – the most since April! It has a huge proportion of economically sensitive stocks, that’s why the hit was so hard. Uniqlo (Fast Retailing Co.), the clothing retailer, and the chip-equipment producer Tokyo Electron Ltd. dropped the most on the index. Besides, the slow vaccination pace in Japan and the dark outlook for the Tokyo Olympics pressed the stock index down as well. Still, the JP 225 is at the all-time highs. This drop may be just a healthy correction ahead of the further rally up.Let’s look at the chart!The JP 225 index is moving inside the descending channel. The long lower shadow of the last candle gives a bullish signal. The sentiment has started changing, and the stock index may rise to the 50-day moving average of 28,900. The breakout above this level will drive the pair to the last week’s high of 29,400. This resistance level won’t be broken on the first try as the stock index has failed to do that a few times. On the flip side, the move below the 200-day moving average of 27,500 will push JP 225 to the next round number of 27,000.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Have Gold Stocks Lost All Their Vigor?

Have Gold Stocks Lost All Their Vigor?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.06.2021 16:10
Gold sank profoundly on Jun. 17, taking its crew along. While it has the strength to go up for one more breath, other PM assets may not be that tough.The Gold MinersWhile investors believed that superficial strength indicated clear skies ahead, I warned on Jun. 14 that storm clouds were likely to rain on gold, silver and mining stocks’ parade.I wrote:Not only has gold’s RSI fallen precipitously, but the yellow metal’s stochastic oscillator is also at levels that preceded significant historical drawdowns. As a result, while a $100+ decline is likely to materialize in the short term , an even larger decline will likely occur over the medium term. And with the 2008 and 2012-2013 analogues becoming even more valid by the day, gold’s ominous path forward will likely catch many market participants by surprise.And with the technical realities finally drowning the yellow metal, it was a tough pill to swallow for those that didn’t heed the warning.Please see below:As part of the problem, the vast majority of individual investors and – sadly – quite many analysts focus on the trees while forgetting about the forest. However, once one zooms out and looks at the situation from a broad perspective, it’s clear that: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (-Ecclesiastes 1:9)Therefore, while investors often focus all of their attention on the yellow metal, I warned on Jun. 14 that the HUI Index’s ominous behavior signaled significant downside for gold, silver and mining stocks.I wrote:With the HUI Index acting as the PMs’ canary in the coal mine, the bearish implications are as clear as day when eyeing the long-term chart. In the past three weeks, two key events unfolded:The stochastic oscillator delivered a clear sell signal.The self-similarity patterns became increasingly valid.And with last week’s price action adding further confirmation, investors’ optimism is showing severe cracks in its foundation.On top of that, even though the HUI Index plunged by more than 10% last week , the carnage may not be over. Case in point: the HUI Index is in the midst of forming the right shoulder of its bearish head & shoulders pattern, and if completed, could result in a profound decline over the medium term. For context, with gold approaching its late-April bottom and its rising medium-term support line, the yellow metal could bounce at roughly $1,750. In the process, the gold miners may follow suit. However, the bearish implications remain intact over the medium term, and a significant slide is likely to follow.Please see below:To explain, if you held firm in 2008 and 2013 and maintained your short positions, you almost certainly realized substantial profits. And while there are instances when it’s wise to exit one’s short positions and re-enter at more attractive prices, the smooth declines of gold, silver, and mining stocks mean that the risk-reward of doing so is tilted toward the downside. Or to put it more bluntly, the prospect of missing out on the forthcoming slide makes exiting the short positions a risky investment decision. For context, we believe that holding the short position is the most prudent course of action. However, if gold, silver and mining stocks become extremely oversold, we may consider covering on a short-term basis.If that wasn’t enough, I warned previously that the recent plunge was weeks in the making:I wrote the following about the week start started on May 24 :What happened three weeks ago was that gold rallied by almost $30 ($28.60) and at the same time, the HUI – a flagship proxy for gold stocks… Declined by 1.37. In other words, gold stocks completely ignored gold’s gains. That shows exceptional weakness on the weekly basis and is a very bearish sign for the following weeks.To that point, the HUI Index is still following two medium-term historical analogies. To explain, back in 2008, right before a huge slide, in late September and early October gold was still moving to new intraday highs, but the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market declined then. If stocks hadn’t declined back then so profoundly, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would likely be present but more moderate.Moreover, in 2012, the HUI Index topped on Sep. 21, and that was just the initial high in gold. At that time the S&P 500 was moving back and forth with lower highs – so a bit more bearish than the current back-and-forth movement in this stock index. And what was the eventual climax? Well, gold moved to new highs and formed the final top (Oct. 5). It was when the S&P 500 almost (!) moved to new highs, and despite both, the HUI Index didn’t move to new highs. Thus, the similarity to how the final counter-trend rally ended in 2012 (and to a smaller extent in 2008) ended is uncanny .On top of that, the stochastic oscillator (which flashed a clear sell signal ) is singing a similar tune. Not only do these signals often precede massive price declines on their own, but the analogies of 2008 and 2012 serve as confirmation that the huge decline has only just begun and that forecasting lower gold prices is currently justified.Thus, if history rhymes, as it tends to, the HUI Index will likely decline profoundly and find medium-term support in the 100-to-150 range. For context, high-end 2020 support implies a move back to 150, while low-end 2015 support implies a move back to 100. And yes, it could really happen, even though it seems unthinkable.The HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over. Now, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02.That’s why I previously wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising to see a move to about 300 in the HUI Index”. And that’s exactly what we saw (a move above 320 is still close to 300 from the long-term point of view). To clarify, one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a rising neckline – was already completed, and one head-and-shoulders pattern – with a horizontal neckline – is being completed, but we’ll have the confirmation once miners break to new yearly lows.Furthermore , three of the biggest declines in the mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here), all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early 2020 high.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.Keep in mind though: scenario #2 most likely requires equities to participate. In 2008 and 2020, the sharp drawdowns in the HUI Index coincided with significant drawdowns of the S&P 500 . However, with the Fed turning hawkish and investors extremely allergic to higher interest rates, the likelihood of a three-peat remains relatively high.Let’s zoom in.To explain, the senior miners’ weekly decline occurred relatively uninterrupted, with little buying pressure witnessed on Jun. 18. Moreover, not only did the GDX ETF close below its April lows and its March highs, but it also dipped below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Thus, while the senior miners’ RSI (Relative Strength Index) signals a buying opportunity (by falling below 30), the technical damage (breakdown below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement) justifies the bearish outlook even in the short run. Of course, I remain on the lookout for this breakdown’s invalidation as it would be a sign of potential strength.Finally, let’s consider the size of the possible corrective upswing based on the analogy to 2012. Back then, the GDX ETF’s corrective upswing didn’t recapture 61.8% or even 38.2% of its previous decline, and the bullish correction was rather “muted” relative to gold. Thus, the notable detail here is that the GDX ETF started its November 2012 correction with the RSI close to 30, but also when it moved slightly below its previous (August) lows, and the final short-term bottom took place after the second (!) day when it declined on big volume.So, if history is going to continue to rhyme (which seems likely), even if gold corrects quite visibly, gold stocks’ corrective upswing might not be that significant. If we see “screaming short-term buy signals” or something like that, we might close or even briefly switch to the long side, but for now, the trend remains down.In conclusion, gold, silver and mining stocks’ plight was a humbling experience for many investors. And while the recent slide highlights the importance of investing without emotion, we remain confident that the precious metals will soar once again. However, because secular bull markets don’t occur in a straight line, based on the similarity to how similar situations developed in the past, a final profound decline will likely occur before the metals resume their resurgence. As a result, even though gold, silver, and mining stocks are poised to shine in the long run, I still think that short positions in the precious metals sector – especially in the junior miners – currently remain attractive from a risk-reward perspective.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Fed Didn‘t Tame Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.06.2021 16:45
As resilient as it had been before Wednesday, S&P 500 met selling pressure on Friday, including the best performing tech sector. Bullard‘s comments on the „inflation surprise“ and first rate hike before 2022 is over – are they full of hot air, testing the waters before taper, or serious intent? Given the ease with which precious metals and then select commodities such as copper or soybeans tumbled, rate hikes might appear to be baked in the cake now – but in reality, it‘s the unyielding inflation that would prove rather persistent than transitory.The Fed did the bare minimum, acknowledging inflation in passing, implying it would go away on its own. But it‘s more complicated than that – bank credit creation isn‘t strong, and had been declining before bond yields bottomed in Aug 2020. Are banks reluctant to lend, or customers to borrow? The result of production not ramping up as wildly as expected (reopening trades) is compounding the disturbed supply chains and commodity prices rising (cost-push inflation). Add to that job market pressures, and you have a recipe for inflation being more transitory than originally thought. In other words, cyclical and structural as import-export prices hint at too..Money in the system isn‘t flowing into production or capacities expansion – inventories have instead been drawn down, and need to be replenished. Just as I have written the prior Monday, that would be putting upside pressure on prices as much Europe awakening or hard hit countries such as India springing back. So, fresh money results in excess liquidity, trapped in the system, and flowing to bonds, which explains the Fed‘s need to act and fix repo rate at 0.05%. So much for the recent spike in Treassuries – this whiff of „almost deflation“ has it wrong, and yields will revert to rising – regardless of when exactly (or if) other parts of the intended $6T stimulus package get enacted.Sure, the Fed actions have shortened the (sideways) lull in Treasuries, made the dollar spike, but haven‘t changed the underlying dynamic of the free market not willing to pick up the slack in credit creation should the Fed indeed taper. Chances are, they would still taper, but later in 2022 – such was and still is my expectation, with bank credit creation being (hopefully) the key variable on their watch as a deciding factor. In the meantime, the inflation problem will get even more embedded – not a fast galloping inflation or hyperinflation, but a serious problem raising its ugly head increasingly more through the years to come.In short, the Fed played the dot plot perceptions game which amounts to no serious attempt to nip inflation in the bud. The markets (precious metals, commodities) got thrown off prior trends, but will see through the bluff that can‘t be followed by actions. The inflation trades (and by extension modest rise in yields as we drift towards 2.50% on the 10-year before that tapering actually starts, with positive consequences for financials and cyclicals) haven‘t been killed off, and will reassert themselves when the markets test the Fed (and they will). To be clear, I am calling for persistently elevated (not hyper) inflation (PCE deflator readings coming soon) with the 10-year yield reverting to its more usual trading range – so essential to financial repression reducing the real value of all obligations.Keep also the following macroeconomic point on your mind – inflation isn‘t strong enough currently to knock off the P&L to make stocks roll over, we‘re still in a reflation and commodities super bull market. Lower GDP growth potential equals growth (tech) doing fine, but expect the stock market leadership to broaden yet again to include the beaten down industrials and financials.So, there is no taper (wait for Jackson Hole), but we‘re enduring almost a taper tantrum, and stocks might need to test the 4,050 – 4,100 broad support zone that has more chances of holding than not. Doing so, it would confirm that value is far from down and out, and that we have further to run. As menacing as the VIX looks, the put/call ratio is already positioned on a rather cautious side, meaning that no great S&P 500 correction is starting here. It doesn‘t look so currently – the dislocation in credit markets (high yield end) appears temporary.Gold and silver are being hit by the hawkish Fed bets, and so are the inflation expectations. Miners are buying into it, meaning that the miners to gold ratio is threatening a downswing on the weekly chart. Has the true downtrend in the metals started? The yellow metal is actually sitting at two strong supports, and silver to gold ratio remains still in an uptrend. Simply put, the last 3 days trading action appears too exagerrated given the bond market disequilibrium amplifying the dollar upswing. Sure, it‘s a stiff headwind, but the Fed is still as easy as can be, and the copper to 10-year yield ratio remains constructive on the weekly chart, and starting to doubt the decline‘s veracity on the daily one.Oil is a great example of the commodities fever being far from over, and I‘m looking for more (basing) strength in black gold in spite of the oil index getting inordinarily spooked alongside many real assets. That‘s consistent with the persistent inflation not yielding much at all.Bitcoin and Ethereum also appear buying into the hawkish Fed narrative, when in reality money is still loose. But the dollar effect is in play in cryptos too – even if the dollar is range bound on high time frames, its current upswing hasn‘t fizzled out yet – the markets aren‘t yet near doubting the Fed.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 daily downswing still looks to be part of a correction, and no topping pattern. Nasdaq has held up relatively well, and I‘m expecting more strength in tech, followed gradually by value.Credit MarketsThe intraday reversal in high yield corporate bonds is what matters the most, and better be followed by local bottom forming here.Technology and ValueTechnology has been quite resilient, contrasting with the doom and gloom in value or more lag in smallcaps.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners are reacting as if tightening was already on, and real rates actually not declining. While the dollar link has been more influential, gold price action next would decide the fate of both technical factors mentioned in the caption. Another, stronger support line including 2019 lows, is below.Silver has been and is likely to outperform gold, and in hindsight, the current storm would be of the rea cup variety. While copper rebound isn‘t here yet, the ratio to 10-year yield indicates a reprieve.Bitcoin and EthereumNeither Bitcoin nor Ethereum chart is bullish, and the only argument not to boot, is the presence of two BTC supports.SummaryS&P 500 is approaching a deciding point in its still reflationary era. Value stabilizing in the face of rising tech and Treasuries would be the next bull market run objective.Gold and silver aren‘t out of the woods just yet but tentative signs of stabilization look to be here. Conquering the pre-FOMC levels, attacking $1,900 seems for now to be more than a few weeks away.Crude oil remains well positioned to extend gains as the commodity selloff on Thursday barely touched it. The oil outlook remains bullish.Bitcoin and Ethereum aren‘t on an immediate winning streak, and the recent closing lows in Bitcoin (below 33,000) remain to be monitored for a turn in sentiment. The weekly basing pattern though can‘t be ignored, making a break below 30,000 unlikely to succeed the earlier we were to move into the 35,000 – 40,000 range. That‘s a big if.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Bitcoin or bonds

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 21.06.2021 23:35
One of the bigger doers is Ray Dalio. A principle-based manager of people and money with US$140 billion under management in his company Bridgewater Associates. Dario recently stated that he’d rather own Bitcoin than bonds. Do we need to say more?US Government Bonds 30Year Yield in USD, Monthly Chart, Where is it heading?US Government Bonds 30 YearR Yield in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 21st, 2021.A glance at the 30-year bonds over the last ten years shows a clear downtrend. We used a linear regression channel to illustrate this price decline. In 1987 bonds were trading at US$10 and have been declining ever since.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Strong up-thrusts:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 21st, 2021.A logarithmic representation of Bitcoin, on the other hand, over the same time span shows a continuous up movement. But that isn’t all. One of Bitcoin’s characteristic patterns is its strong up thrusts after retracements. This represents very favorable risk/reward-ratios, and eyeballing the figure scale to the right gives you an idea of the potential percentages of these up thrust gains. Thus, we find the recent retracement to be an invitation to participate in this market with low risk and, for the first time, ample confirmations from leaders on Wall Street. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, One or the other:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of June 21st, 2021.With prices moving away from POC (point of the control-white horizontal line), the rubber band gets stretched in this sideways zone of Bitcoin. The daily chart shows that two support zones are of interest to us, and we are posting our low risk entry attempts live in our free Telegram channel. Prices have just entered zone 1, and we positioned ourselves. Should this support fail to draw prices back to the US$38,800 price region (and beyond), we will again be aggressive buyers in zone 2.Bitcoin or bonds:The core problem is leverage. If you are well off, you have earned a level of comfort that provides little incentive to do the work it takes to familiarizes yourself with Bitcoin. The fact is that we are at an inflection point in history where a wealth transfer might be in process that leaves those reluctant to educate themselves out and diminishes their prosperity holdings. We do not share the belief in scarcity motivations. Still, We want to encourage you to consider that the recent increase of prominent players in the financial world stacking up on Bitcoin or, better said, getting public with their beliefs about Bitcoin after they stacked up might be the last time before this rocket is off to the moon.Consequently, this makes your wealth preservation much more expensive in the not too far distant future. As such, pulling up one’s sleeves to gain some more in-depth knowledge might result in data of what the fuss is all about. Thus, in our humble opinion, it is a strategically smart move.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 21st, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

22 June 2021

Stock market news Stock market news 22.06.2021 09:40
SAVILLS PREDICTS DEMAND FOR OPERATIONAL REAL ESTATE ACROSS EUROPE, FORECASTING TOP ‘YOUTHFUL’ AND ‘AGED’ CITIESAs part of its latest Global Living research, Savills has identified the cities and regions in Europe that in five years’ time will be particularly ‘youthful’, having the largest share of people aged 20-39, and those that will be the most ‘aged’, with the highest number of people aged 65 or older. The global real estate advisor expects this to drive an increase in demand for purpose built student housing, co-living and multifamily in ‘youthful’ cities, as well as senior housing and housing with care in ‘aged’ ones.By country, the UK will have the most ‘youthful’ cities in 2026 (22), followed by Germany (18) and France (14). Germany will be the country with the most ‘aged’ cities (25), with France (15) and Italy (14) making up the top three.Paul Tostevin, Director in Savills World Research team, says: “These two groups are not mutually exclusive. Germany may be home to the most ‘aged’ cities in Europe, but it is also home to the second largest number of youthful cities. Scale is an important factor too. The number of 20-39 year olds in Berlin, for example, is lower only than London and Paris in Western Europe.”Marcus Roberts, Head of Europe for Savills Operational Capital Markets, says: “Operational residential real estate has proven to be extremely resilient in a time of exceptional global upheaval. Global investment into the ‘living’ sectors held up better than the office, retail or hotel sectors last year and that positive sentiment has continued in 2021. “Given the amount of capital chasing the sector and the limited amount of high quality stock available, our analysis allows developers, investors and operators to look five years into the future and anticipate in which cities demand for senior living, healthcare, student housing, co-living and multifamily is likely to grow.”The pandemic has also served to emphasise how social humans are and has shone a light on the ‘loneliness issue’. Purpose-built operational residential schemes can help to tackle this problem, according to Savills. For example, many housing with care and senior living schemes offer private rooms for residents as well as a support network and sense of community, while co-living can provide contacts for people moving to a new city and student housing can help young people to build networks and find relationships. With an emphasis on the social impact and value of real estate taking centre stage, and its importance expected to continue to grow in the coming years, developers, investors and operators are already ensuring their assets provide not just a place to live but access to amenities and strong integration with the wider community. Demographic trends in Poland, though often considered grim, can spur new opportunities for real estate investors. “Poland takes the fourth place among countries with the largest expected number of ‘aged’ cities within next five years. Eleven ‘aged’ cities set us ahead of some Western European countries, such as Spain or Netherlands but also make Poland stand out in the CEE. In the forthcoming years this can translate into attractive investment opportunities for international investors as there is an undersupply of quality senior living assets” says Jacek Kałużny, Associate Director, Residential Capital Markets, Savills Poland. “On the other hand Poland still boasts a number of ‘youthful’ cities such as Cracow or Wroclaw, that will undoubtedly attract new investors interested in operational assets, such as student housing or residential”.-ends-For further information, please contact: Kai Störmer, Savills Europe Press Office        Tel: +44 (0) 207 075 2885Jan Zaworski, Savills Poland Press Office Tel: +48 (0) 666 363 302Founded in the UK in 1855, Savills is one of the world's leading property agents with 600 offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East offering a broad range of specialist advisory, management and transactional services.Should you not wish to receive Savills press releases, please email us at: kontakt.rodo@savills.pl. Click here for our Privacy Policy.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Calling the Fed‘s Bluff

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.06.2021 15:51
S&P 500 risk-on trading yesterday confirmed that it would have indeed been too early to write off value stocks. Financials, energy sprang higher, accompanied by the as of late usual tech suspect – the heavyweights though merely defended gained ground. Coupled with the credit market perspectives, it was a clear risk-on day as evidenced by the VIX and put/call ratio. The markets have turned on a dime, ignoring the Fed messaging of prior week as shown in the surging CRB index, reversing dollar and Treasuries:(…) Given the ease with which precious metals and then select commodities such as copper or soybeans tumbled, rate hikes might appear to be baked in the cake now – but in reality, it‘s the unyielding inflation that would prove rather persistent than transitory.The Fed did the bare minimum, acknowledging inflation in passing, implying it would go away on its own. But it‘s more complicated than that – bank credit creation isn‘t strong, and had been declining before bond yields bottomed in Aug 2020. Are banks reluctant to lend, or customers to borrow? The result of production not ramping up as wildly as expected (reopening trades) is compounding the disturbed supply chains and commodity prices rising (cost-push inflation). Add to that job market pressures, and you have a recipe for inflation being more transitory than originally thought. In other words, cyclical and structural as import-export prices hint at too.Money in the system isn‘t flowing into production or capacities expansion – inventories have instead been drawn down, and need to be replenished. Just as I have written the prior Monday, that would be putting upside pressure on prices as much Europe awakening or hard hit countries such as India springing back. So, fresh money results in excess liquidity, trapped in the system, and flowing to bonds, which explains the Fed‘s need to act and fix repo rate at 0.05%. So much for the recent spike in Treassuries – this whiff of „almost deflation“ has it wrong, and yields will revert to rising – regardless of when exactly (or if) other parts of the intended $6T stimulus package get enacted.Sure, the Fed actions have shortened the (sideways) lull in Treasuries, made the dollar spike, but haven‘t changed the underlying dynamic of the free market not willing to pick up the slack in credit creation should the Fed indeed taper. Chances are, they would still taper, but later in 2022 – such was and still is my expectation, with bank credit creation being (hopefully) the key variable on their watch as a deciding factor. In the meantime, the inflation problem will get even more embedded – not a fast galloping inflation or hyperinflation, but a serious problem raising its ugly head increasingly more through the years to come.In short, the Fed played the dot plot perceptions game which amounts to no serious attempt to nip inflation in the bud. The markets (precious metals, commodities) got thrown off prior trends, but will see through the bluff that can‘t be followed by actions. The inflation trades (and by extension modest rise in yields as we drift towards 2.50% on the 10-year before that tapering actually starts, with positive consequences for financials and cyclicals) haven‘t been killed off, and will reassert themselves when the markets test the Fed (and they will). To be clear, I am calling for persistently elevated (not hyper) inflation (PCE deflator readings coming soon) with the 10-year yield reverting to its more usual trading range – so essential to financial repression reducing the real value of all obligations.For now, the dollar is supported by all the tightening messaging, and as extended as it had been on a daily basis after Friday‘s close, yesterday‘s reversal had a strong consolidation feel to it, meaning that the dollar upswing might not be over just yet. The same thing can‘t be said about Treasuries, which look set to go on an overall slowly but surely rising yield path. Additionally, more calm on the risk-off (tightening) front means less panicked safe haven flows that leave out gold and silver, whose moves are sensitive to inflation and inflation expectations (among much else).The PCE deflator would surely come below the CPI reading – by default thanks to „weighted substitution“ effects. But the fact of current inflation not meaningfully decelerating remains sticking out as a sore thumb – the Fed is playing games and jawboning inflation expectations, which thanks to the real economy including job market constrainst described above, would prove of temporary effect, springing higher as a temporarily submerged water polo ball.For gold and silver, this means a patience game where the factors remain still arrayed behind their rise. Remember, the Fed can‘t tighten as fast as it projects to – seriously raising tapering looks slated for Jackson Hole, with actual execution coming next year. Provided that bank credit creation springs back to life, this needn‘t be a problem for stocks. Rate hikes though are a different cup of tea – any thought of normalizing yields is misplaced as Greenspan, Bernanke, and Powell were able to hike Fed funds rate to lesser and lesser levels, which means that with my anticipated, persistent inflation for years to come, even the projected (market-based, for it would be the markets who raise rates, not the Fed) return to e.g. 2.5 – 3.0% range on the 10-year, would guarantee real rates conducive to the precious metals bull run.Crude oil, given the extent its prices are set outside of the U.S. control (no longer a swing producer, rig count having troubles reaching pre-corona levels given the current policies), is better positioned than the metals, where we have to wait before these „get it“. Reopening, reflation and uptick in economic activity will work to lift black gold, and energy stocks agree. In spite of short-term technical non-confirmations, the picture remains bullish, and a deep plunge in oil unlikely.Cryptos don‘t offer a happy sight for the bulls as the key 30,000 support in Bitcoin looks likely to be tested soon. Yesterday‘s move also in Ethereum reveals newfound bearish vigor. Not that the news out of China would be helpful here.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 daily downswing looks successfully reversed – just as the Friday‘s intraday attempt to close the HYG gap hinted at. With tech leadership intact, good days for Nasdaq are a mainstay.Credit MarketsHolding on to the gained ground in high yield corporate bonds while TLT doesn‘t run wild again, would be the best scenario for further stock gains.Technology and ValueBoth technology and value did great yesterday, and it‘s been the cyclicals, high beta pockets driving the S&P 500 upswing. Even the Russell 2000 decisively joined, but don‘t look for much of outperformance in smallcaps (still an understatement).Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners are still trading in corrective depths, with not nearly enough convincing upswing attempt yet. Still, precious metals are well positioned to benefit from the Fed inability to move as much as it gives impression it would. Once silver gets whiff of both the Fed‘s predicament and current (plus expected) inflation not yielding much ground, it would lead gold higher again. It‘s a process though and we haven‘t even started it yet (today‘s Powell testimony would be insightful).Crude OilBlack gold remains well positioned to rise again as the oil index correction ran its course.SummaryS&P 500 looks ready to consolidate gained ground before attempting another push higher, led by Nasdaq again.Gold and silver aren‘t out of the woods just yet but I‘m lookign for tentative return of confidence – a marathon rather than sprint.Crude oil looks likely to extend gains without much deeply reaching consolidation.Bitcoin and Ethereum are approaching decision time, where the floor could fall out pretty fast if the bears aren‘t stopped at 30,000 in BTC. The weekly basing pattern is intact for now, but prices returning good 5,000 higher would help also the ETH bulls with an even chance in this prolonged consolidation – to be resolved with a steep move either way, the risks of which being to the downside, are highly pronounced.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

XAUUSD tests critical daily support

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 23.06.2021 10:17
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Looks For Rebound CatalystThe US dollar catching its breath offers bullions some respite.Gold is now hovering above May’s low at 1760, an important support from the daily chart. Its breach could invalid the rally from late March.The bullish RSI divergence indicates that the sell-off may have lost steam in this demand zone. A combination of profit-taking and fresh buying could help the metal recover.A confirmation would be close above the psychological level of 1800, which would then convince buyers to join in.USDCHF struggles on high groundThe US dollar softens, as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell insists on not raising interest rates too soon.The pair has come under pressure near 0.9250, previously a support that has turned into a key resistance. The RSI divergence suggests a loss in the upward momentum and buyers may close out at the first sign of weakness.0.9170 is the immediate support. Its breach could trigger a 100-pip fall to the next level at 0.9070. A rally above the said resistance may propel the price to above 0.9300.NAS 100 grinds along bullish trendlineThe US tech index shrugged off inflation fear and recovered to an all-time high.Price action has bounced off of the rising trendline established in late March. This is a strong bullish indication amid sell-offs across equity markets.The RSI has returned to the neutral area, allowing buyers to accumulate without appearing to overdo it. The Nasdaq has broken above 14220 and may trigger a runaway rally towards 14400 as momentum players stake in. 14080 near the trendline is a key support to monitor.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Fed’s Liquidity Circus and Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.06.2021 11:23
Fed pumped so much money into the financial system, that the latter started sending it back. How will this and Fed’s more hawkish tone impact gold?With Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED), testifying before Congress on Jun. 22, his prepared remarks signaled that the FED remains on autopilot. Despite saying that “job gains should pick up in coming months as vaccinations rise,” he added that “we at the FED will do everything we can to support the economy for as long as it takes to complete the recovery.”And while Powell supported our thesis by saying that “labor demand is remarkably strong and over time we will find ourselves with low unemployment and wages going up across the spectrum,” when asked if inflation is transitory, he responded:“[Perhaps] all of the overshoot in inflation comes from categories such as rising used car and trucks, airplane tickets, hotel prices that have been affected by the reopening of the economy. [And while] these effects have turned out to be larger than we expected , the incoming data are consistent with the view that these factors will wane over time .” For context, of course inflationary pressures will “wane over time.” That’s not up for debate. However, “when” is the key question.But in a bid to remove any doubt, he added:" We will not raise interest rates preemptively because we fear the possible onset of inflation . We will wait for evidence of actual inflation or other imbalances."Thus, while investors clearly cheered the FED Chair’s dovish sentiment on Jun. 22, Powell (for better or worse) still remains out of touch with reality. Case in point: the Philadelphia FED released its Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey on Jun. 22. And while “the full-time employment index fell 20 points to 4.3 in June after rising 17 points last month,” the report revealed that “both future activity indexes suggest that the respondents expect overall improvement in nonmanufacturing activity over the next six months.”Please see below: Source: Philadelphia FEDMore importantly, though, with the inflation drama still unfolding, the report showed more of the same:“After reaching its all-time high in May, the prices paid index mostly held steady in June at 49.0 Forty-nine percent of the firms reported increases, none reported decreases , and 33 percent of the firms reported stable input prices. Regarding prices for the firms’ own goods and services, the prices received index rose 12 points to 28.9 in June, its highest reading since June 2018.”Please see below: Source: Philadelphia FEDSimilarly, the Richmond FED also released its Survey of Manufacturing Activity on Jun. 22. And while the report cited that “average growth rates of both prices paid and prices received by survey participants declined slightly but remained elevated in June,” employment was more optimistic, with the report revealing that “many manufacturers increased employment and wages in June and [expect] further increases in the next six months.”Please see below: Source: Richmond FEDWhat’s more, while the FED admitted its inflation error on Jun. 16 – as evidenced by the increase in its forecast for the headline Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index – Powell is now pretending that growth doesn’t exist. For context, the FED increased its 2021 real GDP growth estimate from 6.5% to 7.0% on Jun. 16, so Powell’s assertion on Jun. 22 that the economy "is still a ways off" is quite the contradiction.Moreover, absent a severe spread of the Delta variant – which White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said was “the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19” – U.S. economic growth should easily outperform its developed-market peers.For example, many deflationists cite the slowdown in loan activity as a sign of a weak U.S. economy. However, with U.S. commercial banks releasing their deposit figures on Jun. 22, the argument is much more semblance than substance.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks deposits held by U.S. commercial banks, while the red line above tracks consumers’ revolving and credit card loans. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that a material gap is present. However, with unprecedented fiscal policy (stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits) flooding consumers’ bank accounts with dollars, why borrow money if you already have the cash to make the purchase?To that point, if we compare U.S. commercial banks’ deposits to the U.S. federal debt, the connection is even clearer.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks deposits held in U.S. commercial banks, while the red line above tracks the U.S. federal debt. If you analyze the sharp move higher in 2020, it’s another sign that U.S. citizens don’t need to borrow money when the government is already writing the checks. For context, there is a slight lag because the U.S. federal debt references Q1 data and U.S. commercial banks’ deposits reference Q2 data.Likewise, while rising U.S. nonfarm payrolls remain the key piece to solving the FED’s puzzle, the idea that monetary support is helping the real economy lacks credibility. To explain, the FED sold a record $792 billion worth of reverse repurchase agreements on Jun. 22. Moreover, when the FED buys $120 billion worth of bonds per month, the cash filters throughout the U.S. banking system and then financial institutions exchange that cash for Treasury securities on a daily basis, is QE really helping anyone?Please see below: Source: NY FEDFor context, I wrote previously:A reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the FED in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the FED at an alarming rate.More importantly, though, after the $400 billion level was breached in December 2015, the FED’s rate-hike cycle began. On top of that, the liquidity drain is at extreme odds with the FED’s QE program. For example, the FED aims to purchase a combined $120 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month. However, with daily reverse repurchase agreements averaging $520 billion since May 21, the FED has essentially negated 4.33 months’ worth of QE in the last month alone.To that point, the flood of reverse repurchase agreements signals that financial institutions have no use for the FED’s handouts. Think about it: if commercial banks could generate higher returns by originating loans for consumers and businesses, wouldn’t they? And with 74 counterparties participating on Jun. 22 – up from 46 on Jun. 7 – the FED’s liquidity circus is now on display every night.If that wasn’t enough, I’ve highlighted on several occasions that gold exhibits a strong negative correlation with the U.S. 10-Year real yield (inflation-adjusted). And unsurprisingly, when the latter peaked in late 2018 and began its descent, it was off to the races for gold.Please see below:To explain, the gold line above tracks the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price , while the red line above tracks the inverted U.S. 10-Year real yield. For context, inverted means that the latter’s scale is flipped upside down and that a rising red line represents a falling U.S. 10-Year real yield, while a falling red line represents a rising U.S. 10-Year real yield.More importantly, though, if you analyze the relationship, you can see that before the U.S. 10-Year real yield plunged, gold was trading below $1,250 (follow the arrow). Conversely, once the U.S. 10-Year real yield hit an all-time low of – 1.08% in 2020, gold was trading above $2,000.Thus, what emotional gold investors fail to appreciate is that the yellow metal benefited from abnormally low interest rates. And with further strength dependent on another all-time low, the FED’s tightening cycle (which is already subtly underway) paints an ominous portrait of gold’s medium-term future.To that point, with Morgan Stanley telling its clients that “ We are past “Peak Fed” for the cycle and the market knows it ,” overzealous gold investors ignore the difficult realities that lie ahead.Please see below:To explain, the blue line above tracks the U.S. 10-Year real yield and important fundamental developments are marked in red. If you analyze the “Peak Fed” labels near 2012 and 2020 and compare them with gold’s behavior on the first chart above, you can see how abnormally low U.S. 10-Year real yields coincided with abnormally high gold prices. As a result, with the former poised to move higher in the coming months, the yellow metal will likely head in the opposite direction.What’s more, not only are the PMs dodging bullets from the bond market, but the USD Index has barely made its presence felt. For example, while the FED’s hawkish shift (even if Powell won’t admit it) is extremely bullish for the greenback, market participants – who are willing to give the FED the benefit of the doubt – still remain skeptical of the recent rally.Please see below:To explain, the black line above tracks Citigroup’s USD Positioning Alert Indicator (PAIN). For context, the index gauges whether or not positioning is crowded in the currency market. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that U.S. dollar sentiment has fallen off of a cliff. However, with all signs pointing to a September taper, a violent short-covering rally could catch many investors off guard.As further evidence, when the FED delivered its taper announcement in December 2013, the USD Index recorded (with a delay) one of its sharpest rallies ever.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the USD Index. If you analyze the left side of the chart, you can see that after the FED revealed its hand, the USD Index found a bottom and surged roughly six months later. Thus, with a similar announcement likely in the fall, the PMs could be confronted with even more negativity.And no, Basel 3 is not likely to be a game-changer for the gold market in the near term – I discussed that on June 2 .In conclusion, while the gold, silver, and mining stocks remain ripe for a short-term rally (no market moves in a straight line and PMs are no exception), their medium-term outlook remains extremely treacherous. And though Powell calmed investors’ nerves on Jun. 22 and market participants remain loyal followers, it’s important to remember that he is far from omniscient. After a significant about-face regarding the future trajectory of the headline PCE Index – a forecast that he made only three months ago – his confidence game is all about sentiment. Thus, while investors will give him the benefit of the doubt until the bitter end, the recent behavior of the bond market, the USD Index and the precious metals signal that the winds of change have already begun to blow.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Dialing Back the Fed Fears for Now

Dialing Back the Fed Fears for Now

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.06.2021 16:17
S&P 500 extended gains as the Powell testimony calmed the markets that the punch bowl isn‘t going away „any day now“ - that urgent it might have felt to some given the post-FOMC hit first to precious metals, and then to select commodities with stocks. If the dollar is getting second thoughts about buying into the hawkish Fed (at least a little), then Treasuries certainly are. And it‘s the performance of value stocks that‘s signalling a certain paring of the tightening bets. While reflation or inflation trades aren‘t over, value is still set to underperform tech, and only select sectors are to rejoin its stock market leadership. Yes, the market breadth is going to widen as stock bull run is far from over, and what we have seen (despite the special alarm bells attached), is a run of the mill shallow correction. That‘s what bull markets do, they climb a wall of worry. Open profits are growing.So, we got a preview of what a true tightening attempt could look like at its earliest stages, and at the same time the Powell pledge not to raise rates unless the recovery is complete, so to say. So as not to disturb the the job market recovery, assuring us at the same time that 1970s stagflation isn‘t on the horizon. For now, it indeed isn‘t as economic growth is still running faster than (current) inflation, which means that any growth scare is far down the road. Yet, the no stagflation assurances smack of this inflation narrative progression, so a healthy dose of suspicion is well placed. It‘s my view that the inflation expectations jawboning bought the central bank just a little time before the inflation trades regain traction. The Fed simply doesn‘t appear to want to act decisively.With more taper discussions deferred to Jackson Hole, the best the Fed can do now, is to attempt to reinterpret the meaning of the word transitory – and that‘s exactly what Bostic is already doing. Suddenly, the phase of higher inflation won‘t be less than 3 months as originally expected, but perhaps 2 to 3 quarters. That‘s a world of difference!Gold and silver are bound to like this shift in meanings, and market based inflation expectations are starting to see through that language. Even though miners and miners to gold ratio aren‘t marking such a turning point yet, the wait and see posture is there already. Given the commodity moves (CRB not too far from prior highs already, copper recovering from its bearish overshoot, oil stubbornly extending gains little by little), silver is likely to lead gold during the next meaningful upswing. For now, basing isn‘t over just yet – but the below Fed posture will come back to haunt it as much as opting to focus on PCE deflator (taken to extremes, you downgrade from a steak to a hamburger to what next? Cat or dog food?):(…) In short, the Fed played the dot plot perceptions game which amounts to no serious attempt to nip inflation in the bud. The markets (precious metals, commodities) got thrown off prior trends, but will see through the bluff that can‘t be followed by actions. The inflation trades (and by extension modest rise in yields as we drift towards 2.50% on the 10-year before that tapering actually starts, with positive consequences for financials and cyclicals) haven‘t been killed off, and will reassert themselves when the markets test the Fed (and they will). To be clear, I am calling for persistently elevated (not hyper) inflation (PCE deflator readings coming soon) with the 10-year yield reverting to its more usual trading range – so essential to financial repression reducing the real value of all obligations.Crude oil welcomes the current tightening perceptions reprieve, and the oil sector is running ahead in the anticipated stock market breadth broadening. Steep downswings aren‘t favored, and black gold would suffer only should the Fed turn genuinely hawkish, which they objectively can‘t do now. So, more oil profits are ahead.Cryptos have rebounded after the 30,000 support in Bitcoin held on a closing basis. It‘s up to the bulls now to prove that the washout marks the start of accumulation as favored by the weekly charts.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 daily upswing continued, driven yet again by Nasdaq – more gains are likely, with or without preceding sideways consolidation.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds extended gains more vigorously than the defensive, higher quality debt instruments.Technology and ValueTechnology driven by $NYFANG was the engine of yesterday‘s growth, with value unable to extend gains (still consolidating within its current underperformance).Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners are holding on to the recent lows, giving impression of being about to peek higher as the Fed noises die down for now.Silver hasn‘t yet gotten its mojo back but the copper to 10-year yield ratio suggests an upswing attempt isn‘t that far away.Bitcoin and EthereumLocal bottom looks to be in place, and the bulls need to defend current levels as a very minimum in order to keep in the game.SummaryS&P 500 looks ready to consolidate and extend gains, with Nasdaq still in the driving seat.Gold and silver upswing attempt is coming next as in Fed hawkishness gets duly reassessed. Even though miners don‘t favor much lasting success currently, the base building before renewed push higher (above $1,820) is underway.Crude oil looks likely to extend gains thanks to reflation, and money is flowing back into commodities now that the Fed is reinterpreting the „context of tightening and transitory“.Bitcoin and Ethereum have staved off further downside for now, but the bulls would need to break above 44,000 minimum in Bitcoin so as to regain bull market momentum. That‘s tall order for now.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Stocks Love the Back and Forth with the Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.06.2021 16:12
S&P 500 declined, but the risk-off move looks exaggerated, of base building before another upswing flavor – just as I wrote in yesterday‘s summary. VIX is trending down again, and the option traders don‘t have their guards raised too high – the only fly in the ointment are thus the closing prices in credit markets. But again, yesterday was a risk-off day, and the sectoral S&P 500 view mirrors that – take it as pushing the spring down before it recoils. Let the open S&P 500 and Nasdaq profits rise!That‘s when the S&P 500 breadth would widen once again, now that the markets got a feel for what the Fed hawkishness was all about – remember, bank credit creation isn‘t there to take up the slack (and tomorrow, look for Fed‘s PCE deflator interpretation to give them an excuse to safely defer tightening to 2023 as they talk job creation some more next):(…) So, we got a preview of what a true tightening attempt could look like at its earliest stages, and at the same time the Powell pledge not to raise rates unless the recovery is complete, so to say. So as not to disturb the the job market recovery, assuring us at the same time that 1970s stagflation isn‘t on the horizon. For now, it indeed isn‘t as economic growth is still running faster than (current) inflation, which means that any growth scare is far down the road. Yet, the no stagflation assurances smack of this inflation narrative progression, so a healthy dose of suspicion is well placed. It‘s my view that the inflation expectations jawboning bought the central bank just a little time before the inflation trades regain traction. The Fed simply doesn‘t appear to want to act decisively.With more taper discussions deferred to Jackson Hole, the best the Fed can do now, is to attempt to reinterpret the meaning of the word transitory – and that‘s exactly what Bostic is already doing. Suddenly, the phase of higher inflation won‘t be less than 3 months as originally expected, but perhaps 2 to 3 quarters. That‘s a world of difference!Gold and silver keep basing, and haven‘t yet made a serious recovery attempt – and neither have inflation expectations (unless you look at RINF, of course). I see commodities – CRB, agricultural ones amongst which grains (wheat) are best positioned for an upswing, and of course the bludgeoned copper (now at $4.30, it‘s a great point to go long using both my Standard and Advanced money management techniques). It‘s that the copper to 10-year yield ratio doesn‘t favor much precious metals downside (nominal yields aren‘t a risk here – only the dollar that appears consolidating before another push higher, seriously is).Crude oil is wavering, and so are oil stocks – but that‘s a short-term situation only. Black gold, XOI and XLE remain my mid-term bullish picks (once this so far too shallow consolidation is over, look for more gains ahead), and the commodity has already brought nice profits yesterday and earlier today.Cryptos base building is intact, and both Bitcoin and Ethereum have rejected more downswing attempts. Much higher prices though must be achieved to flip them into a bull market again.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 daily consolidation after a prior steep upswing bodes well for continued gains, driven yet again by Nasdaq.Credit MarketsAll the debt instruments down, giving up intraday gains, in what appears a daily retreat only (check the low volume).Technology and ValueThe sectoral S&P 500 view could hardly be more risk-off than yesterday.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners are holding on to the recent lows, giving impression of being about to peek higher as the Fed noises die down for now – and today‘s premarket price action confirms the prior sentence taken from yesterday‘s daily report.Silver has been equally to gold beaten down, but the copper to 10-year yield ratio suggested an upswing attempt hasn‘t indeed been that far away.Crude OilIt‘s not a daily reversal, but a daily hesitation in oil – I‘m still not looking for an overly sharp price drop.SummaryS&P 500 led by Nasdaq looks set to close at new all-time highs today, in a reversal of yesterday‘s very much risk-off session.Gold and silver buyers are back in action, very humbly thus far. Not even miners yet confirm bullish spirits as having returned – the journey to pre-FOMC highs will be a long one.Crude oil consolidation is arriving, but don‘t look for it to break the uptrend. We have much further to run before black gold prices become an issue.Bitcoin and Ethereum keep staving off further downside,with the accumulation hypothesis favored by the weekly charts apparently underway. The bulls though need to break above 44,000 minimum in Bitcoin so as to regain bull market momentum.Trading position – S&P 500 (short-term; futures; my take): the already initiated long positions (100% position size) with stop-loss at 4000 and initial upside target at 4250, are justified from the risk-reward perspective.If you’re using e-mini S&P 500 futures, 1-point move in the S&P 500 amounts to $50. Multiply that with the difference between the entry and stop-loss, and better don’t risk more than 6% or maximum 8% of your trading account on this trade alone.Advanced money management trading position – S&P 500 (short-term; futures; my take):  the already initiated long positions (50% position size) with stop-loss at 4000 and initial upside target at 4250, are justified from the risk-reward perspective.If you’re using e-mini S&P 500 futures, 1-point move in the S&P 500 amounts to $50, and taking me up on this trade idea means adding one half to your currently open position. Multiply that with the difference between the entry and stop-loss, and better don’t risk more than 9% or maximum 12% of your trading account on the combination of the standard money management (featured here as trade #1) and advanced money management trade (introduced just below as #2).Trading position – Nasdaq 100 (short-term; futures; my take): long positions (100% position size) (opened via a buy limit order at 13,520) with stop-loss at 12,500 and initial upside target at 13,700, are justified from the risk-reward perspective. If you’re using e-mini Nasdaq-100 futures, 10-point move in Nasdaq 100 amounts to $200. Multiply that with the difference between the entry and stop-loss, and better don’t risk more than 6% or maximum 8% of your trading account on this trade alone.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

The Silver island within CBDCs

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 25.06.2021 11:27
To us, the answer is quite simple. Money is personal. It feels inherently good to have cash in your wallet or under the mattress. It might be fun to some to have apple pay at a time of the iPhone craze, but do you want to give up on your privacy and a feeling of control over your savings at times of uncertainty. Change needs to be incentivized, and we do not see anything that typical card and payment systems haven’t done there already? In short, we know the stability of the inherent value and the historical proof of attraction of precious metals to outweigh any appeal central banks could try to entice us with. Our money is on Silver.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Physical purchase opportunity:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of June 25th, 2021Some countries already gave way to their cash due to hyperinflation. Even if you live under the rule of the mighty dollar, you can feel inflation with each grocery shop. Meaning there is a risk that the dollar isn’t so mighty after all anymore. Not everybody has that much wealth to invest in the housing market or real estate. Quickly your options diminish. With Gold being pricey and Bitcoin not being everybody’s cup of tea, our suggested bet on a physical silver purchase is not so far-fetched.The monthly chart of Silver reflects these assumptions showing a strong breakout from a multi-year sideways trading range. Recent behavior provides an investment opportunity since prices declined, and a low-risk entry scenario is unfolding.A physical purchase transaction for a long-term play has its obstacles, you might say. There is a premium to be paid over the spot price, and as such, it doesn’t provide quite as much transaction speed as the click of a button on a trade.Review our chart above one more time and enter anywhere between the red and green horizontal lines. You will find that you have an exceptionally favorable risk-reward ratio. More so if considering that we would only exit half of our position near the US$50 mark and expect the remainder to go much higher. The risk assumption is the unlikeliness for the price to penetrate much into the previous multi-year channel resistance (now support) of the US$20 mark.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Confirming the bull:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of June 25th, 2021Let us zoom now into the smaller weekly time frame. We find that the chart shows nicely how the strength of the multi-year breakout last year persisted. When you look at the neutral sideways zone, you can tell that it entails inherent strength. Foremost, we didn’t see a dramatic decline. Secondly, this sideways trading zone nearly persisting now for a year will make the next breakout to higher price levels magnify in both price and time duration. Clearly, another part of the puzzle why we see the US$50 level not only be reached but also taken out at some point. Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Tricky but manageable:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of June 25th, 2021.Silver spot price trading is a bit trickier right here. Volatility is high around options and futures contract expiry time. Typically, we fade momentum as contrarians. In these scenarios, we prefer a late confirmed entry to avoid the increased risk volatility early entry. The daily chart above shows the various stacked odds of support. We are sitting on a supply support zone (green box). In addition, the price is also above the simple 200-day moving average. Most dominantly, we are trading right at directional support of the lower rim of a congesting triangle (yellow line).The Silver island within CBDCs:Some might argue the lack of long-distance transaction capability with precious metal payment options, and rightfully so. We are not opposed to say Bitcoin, for example, within your wealth preservation portfolio. We are highly confident that history has shown that the stability of money and payment methods are all about trust. In time of the information age and shaky economic grounds, we doubt that individuals blindly accept their greenbacks, even if exchanged over time, to be transferred into bits and bytes. Especially if this means that every purchase is documented, and privacy erased. It feels too natural and too safe to be able to either carry or store at home your true treasures without a ledger at the bank.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 25th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

FED: What’s Going On Behind the Scenes?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.06.2021 15:49
The FED allows banks to do much more than what is proper based on the “economy is still bad” narrative. What does this mean for a private investor?Banking on a ComebackWith the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) releasing its annual bank stress tests on Jun. 24, Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles said that “the banking system is strongly positioned to support the ongoing recovery." For context, the FED’s stress tests analyze the health of U.S. banks’ balance sheets and reveal how they would fare if hypothetical economic doomsdays were to occur.And while Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Jun. 22 that the U.S. economy "is still a ways off," the results of the stress tests are a contradiction. Case in point: the report revealed that since “all 23 large banks tested remained well above their risk-based minimum capital requirements […] the additional restrictions put in place during the COVID event will end .”Translation? The FED will allow U.S. banks – like JPMorgan , Bank of America and Citigroup – to resume share buybacks and standard dividend payments (roughly $130 billion worth) as of next month.Please see below: Source: U.S. FEDOn top of that, the FED considers the following a scary situation:“The severely adverse scenario is characterized by a severe global recession accompanied by a period of heightened stress in CRE and corporate debt markets. The U.S. unemployment rate climbs to a peak of 10-3/4 percent in the third quarter of 2022, a 4 percentage point increase relative to its fourth quarter 2020 level. Real GDP falls 4 percent from the end of the fourth quarter of 2020 to its trough in the third quarter of 2022. The decline in activity is accompanied by a lower headline consumer price index (CPI).”However, even if this hypothetical malaise occurs, the FED believes that all 23 banks will pass the test with flying colors.Please see below: Source: U.S. FEDTo explain, the third column from the left depicts the banks’ regulatory capital ratios under the “severely adverse scenario.” Moreover, if you compare the results with the fourth column from the left, you can see that even if an economic meteor strikes, participants’ ratios will still remain above their regulatory minimums. For context, common equity tier 1 capital (CET1) is the most liquid source of banks’ capital, and the CET1 ratio is used to gauge banks’ ability to absorb losses should an economic shock occur.But why is all of this so important?Well, if the FED was so worried about the U.S. economy, would it allow financial institutions to frivolously spend their collateral on dividends and share buybacks? Remember, U.S. banks supply credit card loans, mortgages, commercial loans and finance the sectors that were hardest hit by COVID-19 (commercial real estate, hospitality, energy, etc.). Thus, with the FED giving banks the ‘all-clear,’ it’s a sign that the U.S. economy is much stronger than the FED lets on.In addition, The White House announced on Jun. 24 that a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal was reached . And calling the milestone “the largest federal investment in public transit in history and the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak,” lawmakers want to cook the U.S. economy until it boils. For context, the agreement includes $579 billion of new spending with the rest being diverted from untapped coronavirus-relief funds.Please see below: Source: The White HouseMore importantly, though, with U.S. lawmakers hell-bent on pushing the limits of inflation and economic growth, the ominous impulse remains bullish for the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield and the USD Index. Regarding the latter, if U.S. GDP growth outperforms the Eurozone, the EUR/USD – which accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index – should suffer in the process. Likewise, with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield materially undervalued relative to realized inflation and prospective GDP growth , unprecedented spending should put upward pressure on interest rates. Furthermore, the bullish cocktail should force the FED to taper its asset purchases in September .To explain, while the PMs are allergic to a rising U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield, the latter doesn’t have to move for the metals to suffer. For example, following the FED’s announcement on Jun. 16, the U.S. 2-Year, 3-Year and 5-Year Treasury yields surged. And while the development flattened the U.S. yield curve – meaning that short-term interest rates rose while long-term interest rates stood pat – the PMs still suffered significant drawdowns. Thus, while the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield remains ripe for an upward re-rating, even if it stays in consolidation mode, short-term interest rate pressures are just as ominous.Will We See Another Inflation Surprise?To that point, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index scheduled for release today, another inflation ‘surprise’ could rattle the bond market once again. To explain, I wrote on Jun. 22:The FED increased its year-over-year (YoY) headline PCE Index forecast from a rise of 2.40% YoY to a rise of 3.40% YoY on Jun. 16. However, with the Commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) surging by 18.98% YoY – the highest YoY percentage increase since 1974 – the wind still remains at inflation’s back. Moreover, with all signs pointing to a YoY print of roughly 4% to 4.50% on Jun. 25, the “transitory” narrative could suffer another blow on Friday.As further evidence, the Kansas City FED released its Manufacturing Survey on Jun. 24. And with the composite index rising from 26 in May to 27 in June, Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the KC FED, had this to say about the current state of affairs:“Regional factory activity rose again in June and expectations for future activity were the highest in survey history . While the majority of firms continue to face increasing materials prices and labor shortages, many firms have also increased selling prices and capital expenditures for 2021.”To that point, while the KC FED’s prices paid and prices received indexes declined slightly from their all-time highs, both gauges remain above their prior historical peaks.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the KC FED’s prices paid index, while the red line above tracks the KC FED’s prices received index. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that both remain extremely elevated.On top of that, survey respondents provided the following anecdotal evidence: Source: KC FEDAlso supportive of future economic growth, U.S. manufacturers spent $36.218 billion on machinery in May (the data was released on Jun. 24) – only a slight decrease from the all-time high of $36.364 billion set in April. And with machinery representative of long-lived assets that have high breakeven costs, the recent splurge signals that manufacturers remain optimistic about the recovery.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks manufacturers’ machinery orders, while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the Private Employment Cost Index (ECI). If you analyze the relationship, you can see that when manufacturers invest in long-term equipment, wage inflation often follows. As a result, if the two lines continue their ascent, it will only increase the odds that the FED tapers in September. Forecasting more hawkish, not more dovish FED seems to be appropriate at this time.Knock Knock? It’s China, We Want More MoneyOn top of that, with the U.S. goods trade balance (exports minus imports) revised to -$88.11 billion on Jun. 24, foreign production is required to stock U.S. shelves. And with the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (the cost to ship from China) unrelenting in its parabolic rise, it’s another indicator that inflationary pressures are unlikely to abate anytime soon.Finally, with the FED selling another $813 billion worth of reverse repurchase agreements on Jun. 24 (~$53 million below the all-time high set on Jun. 23), the liquidity drain remains on schedule.Please see below: Source: NY FEDTo explain the significance, I wrote previously:A reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the FED in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the FED at an alarming rate.More importantly, though, after the $400 billion level was breached in December 2015, the FED’s rate-hike cycle began. On top of that, the liquidity drain is at extreme odds with the FED’s QE program. For example, the FED aims to purchase a combined $120 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month. However, with daily reverse repurchase agreements averaging $520 billion since May 21, the FED has essentially negated 4.33 months’ worth of QE in the last month alone.In conclusion, while the PMs should recover a meaningful chunk of last week’s downswing, their medium-term outlook isn’t so sanguine. With FED hawks and doves splintered down the middle, the fundamentals are firmly tilted in the former’s favor. And with inflation and U.S. GDP growth both accelerating concurrently, unemployment is the only card left for the doves to play. However, with enhanced unemployment benefits expiring in early July for roughly 30% of claimants, U.S. nonfarm payrolls should show strength in August and September. Thus, with the FED’s taper talk likely to grow louder over the next few months, the PMs may not like what they will hear.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Jumping the Fed Tightening Ship

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.06.2021 15:55
S&P 500 powered higher after the daily pause, yet its solid gains don‘t have such a risk-on feel as the credit markets do. Depending on tech heavyweights for the lion‘s share of gains isn‘t though an immediate concern – the market breadth is slowly improving after value stocks were bombed out post-FOMC. Signs of life are returning, facilitated by the Fed‘s $8.1T and growing reasons to celebrate, so don‘t be spooked too many lower knots in VIX when there is no panic in the options arena either.As tech-reliant as the S&P 500 is, the path of least resistance is still higher – and in the same way (tight trailing stop-loss) Nasdaq could be approached too, so as to protect our open profits while letting them grow.PCE deflator readings often come below CPI thanks to the „weighted substitution effect“ at play, and it would come back to haunt the Fed. Taken to extremes, you downgrade from a steak to a hamburger, and then what? Cat or dog food? Obviously, this measure is favorable to the Fed as it defers the taper speculation further to the future. Together with the redefinition of how long transitory used to last earlier, and what transitory (inflation) means now, the central bank wins in leaving the punch bowl available for longer (the job market offerrs plenty of excuses too). If last week gave us any lesson, it was that market players are all too quick to sell both the winners and losers. The spike in Treasuries was a clear warning sign of stress.Gold and silver keep basing, for my taste a little bit too long. Not even silver is waking up – it isn‘t inspired by CRB. First stocks, then commodities, and finally precious metals would recover from the tightening speculation – it‘s thus far working this way. As I wrote yesterday, it‘s that the copper to 10-year yield ratio doesn‘t favor much precious metals downside (nominal yields aren‘t a risk here – only the dollar that appears consolidating before another push higher, seriously is).The greenback though missed an opportunity to rise, and quelling the inflation fears through an „understated“ (different approach in accounting) figure, wouldn‘t be a bullish driver. USD/JPY also hasn‘t been trading favorably to the yellow metal lately, meaning the (gold) inflation trades may have to retrace a little more of their recent run before continuing higher. Again, gold is spending too much time at its recent support while silver isn‘t showing signs of life – miners to gold ratio isn‘t taking initiative either. Better clear off that zone...Crude oil keeps trading with a bullish outlook, and oil stocks have a great future ahead – the intraday and upcoming volatility might not be always pleasant, but black gold is far from making a top..Cryptos base building hypothesis hasn‘t been invalidated, but the current downswing better gets solidly retraced, otherwise we‘re in for another hot weekend.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is going higher, reliably powered by tech stocks (heavyweights, precisely).Credit MarketsRisk-off Wednesday gave way to some animal spirits returning yesterday.Technology and ValueThe sectoral S&P 500 view isn‘t though a true picture of risk-on yesterday.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners keep going nowhere – there is no momentary sign of strength, just temporary stability. Bigger move is coming. Silver isn‘t yet leading gold, and the copper leadership is thus far being lost. Precious metals are obviously afraid of tightening, and had been hurt hardest in last week‘s liquidation.Bitcoin and EthereumPrices are again approaching danger zone.SummaryS&P 500 led by Nasdaq looks set to extend gains, and the leadership supporting the advance, will broaden.Gold and silver still haven‘t regained short-term bullish momentum, and the longer they fail to do that, the more precarious their position in this long base building.Crude oil seesaws in the short run, but the consolidation is likely to be resolved with higher prices, and oil equities rising again.Bitcoin and Ethereum bulls better step in, and vigorously defend the 32,500 before the bears‘ appetite increases.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Seeks Rebound Opportunity

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 28.06.2021 08:36
EURUSD hovers under psychological resistanceThe euro bounced back after the core PCE of the US stayed subdued in May.After rallying above 1.1910, price action has turned this former resistance into a support base. The current consolidation could be an accumulation phase for the buy-side.Early bulls are aiming at the psychological level of 1.2000. A bullish breakout would force sellers to unwind their positions and trigger a recovery above 1.2100.In the meantime, buyers could be getting involved while the RSI is in the neutral area.GBPJPY tumbles from supply zoneThe sterling continues to suffer from BOE’s warning against “premature tightening”.The pair has met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone around 155.20, a major resistance from the daily chart. The sell-off has accelerated after the support at 154.20 failed to hold.The subsequent drop below 154.00 was a confirmation of the bearish MA cross. 154.50 has become a resistance. 153.10 is the next support as the RSI bounces off an oversold situation. Below that, the price may retrace all the way back to 152.00.US 30 breaks above multiple resistancesThe Dow Jones recouped recent losses as investors’ buy-in for Biden’s infrastructure deal.The bulls have successfully pushed past 34100 then 34350. This indicates that the lack of selling interest has helped buyers regain the upper hand.Momentum traders seem unfazed by an overbought RSI so far. The index is heading towards 34750, a supply zone from the previous sell-off. A bullish breakout would open the door to the peak at 34850.On the downside, the psychological level of 34000 has turned into a key support.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Bitcoin – First contrarian buy opportunity

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 28.06.2021 11:52
In view of the sharp price declines, crypto investors are asking themselves these days whether the sector is already being stuck in a new “crypto winter” since almost seven weeks or whether the brutal pullback may have been just a healthy shakeout after all, laying the foundation for significantly higher prices in the medium term. Bitcoin – First contrarian buy opportunity.ReviewSince the new all-time high at US$64,895 on April 14th, prices for Bitcoin have come under tremendous pressure. Currently, Bitcoin is “only” trading around US$33,000 USD and thus almost 50% lower than in early April! While Ethereum and numerous small altcoins were just getting ready for the grand finale, Bitcoin´s increasing fatigue was gradually becoming more and more obvious. Finally, the spectacular crypto bull run ended on May 12th with Ethereum´s parabolic new all-time high at US$4,375.Consequently, the entire sector topped, and a merciless wave of liquidation followed, taking pretty much everything down with it. Bitcoin only temporarily found a low at US$29,500, as this low was slightly undercut again on Monday 24th of June at US$29,250. Ethereum, on the other hand, did not find any support at all in recent weeks and kept falling towards a new low at US$1,711 this week. This low was well below the panic low of June 21st at US$1,896. In the last 4 days, however, crypto bulls are trying to get back on their feet posting a nice transitory bounce from extremely oversold levels (Bitcoin +17.91%, Ethereum +19.5%).You have been warnedSix weeks ago, we had warned of an imminent pullback in a timely and pretty aggressive manner. However, the fact that the crypto sector then took such a heavy beating just a few days later surprised us, too. The enormous volatility in May was mainly due to the preceding excessive speculation with leverage and borrowed money. For example, positions worth more than US$8 billion were closed on numerous exchanges within a few minutes on May 19th through forced liquidations. Also, in the last week falling prices have yet created another wave of liquidations.Overall, bitcoin has at least managed to trade sideways between roughly speaking US$29,000 and US$41,000 in the last five weeks. However, things have not calmed down (yet). The bottom line is that since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has experienced turbulent ups and downs and a small gain of about 20%.Technical Analysis for Bitcoin in US-DollarBitcoin in USD, weekly Chart as of June 27th, 2021. Source: Tradingview.On the weekly chart, bitcoin temporarily slipped out of its major uptrend channel to the downside. However, with a strong bounce it managed to return to this trend channel. If the bulls can actually defend this steep trend channel, prices below US$30,000 would not be seen in the future. Due to the violent correction in recent weeks, the stochastic oscillator is clearly oversold and would now offer more than enough room for a significant recovery.Overall, bitcoin has been running sideways between US$29,000 and US$41,000 on its weekly chart for several weeks in a very volatile fashion. However, the up-trend is still intact. Hence in case of doubt, the bulls will now at least rehearse a larger recovery.Bitcoin in USD, daily Chart as of June 27th, 2021. Source: Tradingview.On the daily chart, bitcoin failed to regain the lost exponential 200-day moving average (US$40,200) in recent weeks. As the last attempt failed on June 15th, the bears directly counterattacked. Due to this violent price slide in the order of US$11,000 within only eight days and the resulting extreme oversoldness, the balance of power may now have shifted again in favor of the bulls. The stochastic oscillator for example is not oversold but showing diverging higher lows. Nevertheless, the long wick of Tuesday's daily candle suggests a trend reversal.In summary, the daily chart is still in the short-term downtrend and thus actually bearish. However, the rapid recovery back to US$35,500 within three days allows us to rate the daily chart as slightly bullish. With the Fibonacci retracements, two realistic recovery targets between US$40,000 and US$42,000 as well as between US$49,000 and US$51,000 can be defined. Whether the strength of the bulls will be sufficient towards the second target, however, cannot be said at the moment. If Bitcoin drops below US$30,000 once again, we must assume that lower lows are still to come.Sentiment Bitcoin – First contrarian buy opportunityBitcoin Optix as of June 27th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe short-term sentiment data for the Bitcoin reached the panic zone again.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of June 27th, 2021. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed IndexAlternative.me’s much more complex and rather long-term sentiment model has been reporting extreme levels of fear in the crypto sector for weeks now. At the start of the week, the model recorded rarely seen lows around 10. Currently its sitting at 22. The panic in the sector might thus have reached an absolute extreme and short-term top.Crypto Fear & Greed Index long-term as of June 27th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn the big picture, the mood is beaten down and depressive.Overall, the quantitative sentiment analysis thus provides clear contrarian buy signals. Of course, the mood can still fall further, but a contrarian entry opportunity looks just exactly like this!Seasonality Bitcoin – First contrarian buy opportunityBitcoin Seasonality. Source: SeasonaxStatistically, the typical sideways phase for bitcoin during spring ends at the beginning of May. This is often followed by a sharp rally into June and then a sell-off towards October. However, this year bitcoin only reached an important high on April 14th and has been sharply correcting since then. Obviously, the seasonal pattern doesn’t really match up with the price action so far this year.In conclusion, seasonality is basically changing from neutral to red these days. However, the course of the year so far has not been in line with the seasonal pattern.Sound Money: Bitcoin vs. GoldBitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of June 27th, 2021.Source: TradingviewAt prices of approx. 33,000 USD for a Bitcoin and 1,780 USD for a fine ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio is currently trading at around 18.5. This means you currently have to pay slightly more than 18 ounces of gold for one Bitcoin. Put the other way, one troy ounce of gold currently costs about 0.053 bitcoin. Compared to the highs in March and April, bitcoin had initially lost over 56% against gold. However, in recent weeks, the Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio has been consolidating sideways. Looking at the heavily oversold stochastic, a recovery in favor of bitcoin is actually more likely on the short- to medium time horizon. The difficulty, however, is that any movement in bitcoin has a much stronger impact than the other way around due to the larger numbers.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is primarily invested in equities and real estate, a maximum of 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is a good guideline!Overall, you want to own gold and bitcoin, since opposites complement each other. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense, you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the pristine digital features of bitcoin you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro Outlook and Crack-Up-Boom UpdateECB Balance sheet as of June 22nd, 2021. Source Holger ZschaepitzThe ECB expanded its balance sheet again by EUR 35.6 billion, so that total assets once again jumped to a new all-time high of EUR 7,736.5 billion last week. The ECB’s balance sheet total is now equivalent to 77.7% of the eurozone GDP.However, after the FED on the other side of the Atlantic mentioned 10 days ago that they plan to raise interest rates in two years, there was a significant pullback, especially in the commodity and precious metals markets due to a stronger U.S. Dollar. The crypto markets also sold off significantly again as a result.Actually, it is a bad joke that financial markets are trembling before a possible US interest rate hike in 2023. However, the global financial drama is now completely dependent on the central banks. They use their unprecedented power to play their mass psychological games. So far, this has always worked out well somehow in the past decades. The fact that the required rescue sums have steadily increased over the past 23 years since the first hard intervention in 1998 (long-term capital management crisis) receives only a marginal note in the mainstream media. Even though, it is no longer millions and billions that are needed for rescue, but trillions and soon probably even quadrillions. A truly free financial market, on the other hand, would have long since buried numerous unprofitable business models and probably driven interest rates worldwide to double-digit heights. But this must not and cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances, as the drop height has become too high and public order could quickly be jeopardized during the overdue cleanup. Therefore, politicians and central bankers simply carry on doing what they are doing. As long as it just somehow works….FED Balance sheet & US Home Prices as of June 23rd, 2021. Source: Holger ZschaepitzThe result is a rampant crack-up-boom in which everything becomes more expensive due to the expansion of the money supply. For example, U.S. house prices have been rising for years in tandem with the expansion of the U.S. money supply. Recently, a new all-time high was reached in tandem.Commodities/Equities-Ratio as of June 21st, 2021. Source: Incrementum AG 2021 and Crescant CapitalIn the big picture, the current pullback in commodities, precious metals and cryptocurrencies should therefore only represent a small dent. Soon, the Fed will have to row back its interest rate statements. Otherwise, the real estate market in the US will quickly get cold feet. A departure from the constant expansion of the currency supply had not been announced anyway. Since global economic growth is on extremely shaky ground and was only artificially generated with the help of global central bank acrobatics, there is no escape from the devaluation policy. All central banks are competing with each other, forcing millions of investors in all countries of the world to flee into real assets (even outside the fiat system). This flight movement will only accelerate. In the short term, however, one is quite well advised to act cautiously and wait and see, because there are still no clear signs of an end to the temporary “risk-off mode”.Conclusion: Bitcoin – First contrarian buy opportunityThe negative coverage of Bitcoin and Ethereum reached an absurd peak at the start of the week. Of course, the pullback in recent weeks has been hard and deep. But then, that has always been the case in the highly volatile crypto sector. Most weak hands may have been thrown off initially during the 56% setback. The extremely high level of panic (as seen in the sentiment data) now clearly point to a fast approaching turning point.Presumably, the recovery might has already started on Monday afternoon with the low at US$29,250. Possible recovery targets in the coming months are initially sitting around US$40,000 to US$42,000 and US$49,000 to US$51,000.Bitcoin-Future in USD, weekly chart as of June 25th, 2021. Source: TradingviewDepending on how the bitcoin will behave at these marks, it will be easier to assess whether the correction is already over or whether there will have to be another downward wave. In the worst case, there is still an open gap in the bitcoin future between US$24,000 and US$26,500. However, as the situation currently stands, the open gap in the Bitcoin Future on the upside in the range of US$46,650 to US$49,100 might be closed first.Analysis sponsored and initially published on June 23rd, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Translated into English and partially updated on June 27th, 2021.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Florian Grummes|June 27th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin correction, Bitcoin Sentiment, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, cryptocurrency, Ethereum, Ethereum correction, Gold, technical analysis|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running is own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.Florian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.eu
Stock ATHs, Hesitant Metals and Simmering Inflation

Stock ATHs, Hesitant Metals and Simmering Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.06.2021 15:42
S&P 500 keeps powering to new highs, and little wonder – thanks to the infrastructure stimulus euphoria. The return of (at least some) strength into value stocks at expense of tech outside $NYFANG, clearly marks the risk-on shift as much as credit markets do. And what about the much awaited PCE deflator data? The figure aligned with the inflation camp much better, yet the marketplace arguably expects better inflation data ahead - the transitory inflation thesis is the mainstream one, but I‘m still of the opinion that inflation wouldn‘t decline as meaningfully, especially when measured through CPI, PPI, and import-export prices, proving more persistent than generally appreciated. Markets‘ inflation optimism can be seen in the relatively muted Treasury yields increase. If they were worried as much as before, the spike would have been larger, but we‘re well into the summer lull in the bond markets I announced back in May, with yields rising again in autumn – gradually moving well beyond 2% on the 10-year yield.Contrast the modest yields increase with financials rising, real estate consolidating, and you‘ll come to the conclusion that the path of least resistance for the S&P 500 is still higher. Tech is unlikely to be derailed – and hasn‘t been as value continued its recovery. VIX keeps pushing for new lows, making consecutive series of lower highs, and I also remarked on Friday about the option traders:(…) Depending on tech heavyweights for the lion‘s share of gains isn‘t though an immediate concern – the market breadth is slowly improving after value stocks were bombed out post-FOMC. Signs of life are returning, facilitated by the Fed‘s $8.1T and growing reasons to celebrate, so don‘t be spooked by too many lower knots in VIX when there is no panic in the options arena either.PCE deflator ... is favorable to the Fed as it defers the taper speculation further to the future. Together with the redefinition of how long transitory used to last earlier, and what transitory (inflation) means now, the central bank wins in leaving the punch bowl available for longer (the job market offers plenty of excuses too).As we have to square hawkish-turned-dovish Fed talk with growing monetary (and fiscal) support, the biggest risk would be a hawkish miscalculation. Certainly the evolving position on inflation at the central bank is illustrative of deferring the problem to the future, for it to perhaps go away on its own as job market is talked instead. If only inflation expectations (be they TIP:TLT or RINF) cooperated… It looks to me the inflation trades are merely consolidating now before another upleg – CRB index has already erased all the post-FOMC plunge, with materials (XLB ETF) having much further to go before the damage there gets repaired too.Gold and miners remain petrified for now, modestly resilient vs. the daily increase in nominal yields, and not reacting to the stubborn current inflation, let alone future one. Treasury yield spreads though show the markets aren‘t expecting inflation to run out of control. Even the red metal dipped on the positive inflation news, sending the copper to 10-year yield ratio to the bottom of its recent range. The explanation lies in the dollar resilience, keeping a lid on precious metals in the on-off tightening rhetoric, regardless of where real rates and TIPS are now and about to go.Crude oil keeps though trending higher, offering brief dips that are all too fast reversed. The bullish outlook is on, and oil stocks paint a great future ahead – the associated volatility might not be always pleasant, but black gold is far from making a top..Cryptos base building hypothesis still hasn‘t been invalidated, and the weekend rebound actually confirmed it. Steep upswing on high volume though is missing as much as moving back to the upper ranges of the post mid-May plunge.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is going higher, with tech stocks taking a breather as the stock market breadth widens.Credit MarketsThe return of risk-on in credit markets, is on.Technology and ValueUnder the sectoral S&P 500 hood, we see the advance being driven by value stocks rebound, and $NYFANG, which is a little contradictory message – explained only by the market taking note of persistent inflation.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners still keep going nowhere – there is no momentary sign of strength, and actually creeping deterioration as also seen in the selling into GDX strength. Bigger move is coming – keep an eye on the miners. Silver isn‘t yet leading gold, and the copper move was at odds with the 10-year Treasury yield one. Precious metals are obviously afraid of tightening, but they would be led by real assets (commodities including copper) in readjusting to the current MMT on steroids still reality.Crude OilAdd in the reopenings, increased economic activity, and supply picture, and you‘ll get the highly resilient crude oil – bullish chart primed for further gains.SummaryS&P 500 keeps reaching higher as value is coming back to life, and Nasdaq consolidates – yet another rotation in the ongoing bull market.Gold and silver short-term bullish momentum is absent, miners are weak, and the dollar upswing risk can‘t be overlooked – precious metals are ignoring real rates and inflation at the moment, and are still basing.Crude oil seesaw ended shortly after Friday‘s open, and the consolidation has indeed been resolved with higher prices, supported by rising oil equities.Bitcoin and Ethereum are no longer hanging by a thread, but need to approach the upper border of their recent range to improve their short-term outlook noticeably.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

USDX, Gold: The Hunter and the Prey

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.06.2021 16:44
Just before the hunt begins, the hunter needs to be sure its prey feels safe. Will we see a promising short-term rally in gold?After the USD Index reasserted its dominance once again, its bellowing howl sent shivers down the spine of currency traders. When the U.S. Dollar Index is on the hunt, the precious metals are often its prey. The alpha wolf is poised to lead the pack over the medium term, and the sheep will likely be sent to the slaughter, but the predator needs to gather force first; a peaceful period of prosperity should ensue over the next several days. And this short-term decline could help uplift gold, silver, and mining stocks.To explain, I warned last week that a short-term decline was likely after the USD Index’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) jumped above 70. And after eliciting some weakness, another pullback to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level also aligns with the price action that we witnessed in 2016.Please see below:To that point, after the USD Index broke above its short-term declining resistance line in 2016, it followed that up by retreating a bit below its rising support (dashed) line and then consolidated for about a month before rallying sharply. In the process, the USD Index corrected to approximately its 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level before rallying once again (in fact, it moved slightly below it). For context, there was also a huge intraday reversal in the following days, but it was an event-driven one (it was when Donald Trump won the elections), so it’s unlikely to be repeated. As of today, with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at about 91.3, the USDX could bottom close to this level. Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but it becomes quite important once one considers what happened in gold during the final part of the move to the 38.2% retracement in 2016. That was when gold made most of its gains.However, given the yellow metal’s inability to bounce after its profound decline, the forthcoming rally will likely be weaker than originally expected. For context, the initial projection was based on the similarity to gold’s behavior in 2012. However, with the yellow metal struck in neutral and failing to gain any traction, the current environment seems more bearish than it was in 2012. The bearish gold price forecasts currently seem justified , in the medium term.Moreover, if the USD Index can surpass 93, the greenback will complete its inverse head & shoulders pattern, and the milestone implies a short-term target of roughly 98.Let’s keep in mind that the near-term decline in the USD Index is likely to be small – and nothing more than a blip on the radar screen, when viewed from the long-term point of view. The USD Index often records material upswings during the middle of the year. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that summertime surges have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record. Likewise, double bottoms often signal the end of major declines and often ignite significant rallies. For example, in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018, a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights. In addition, back in 2008, U.S. equities’ plight added even more wind to the USD Index’s sails. And if the general stock market suffers another profound decline (along with gold miners and silver ), a sharp re-rating of the USDX is likely in the cards.Please see below (quick reminder: you can click on the chart to enlarge it):If that wasn’t enough, the thesis is also supported by the USD Index’s long-term chart. To explain, the USDX’s long-term breakout remains intact, and if we steady the binoculars, the greenback’s uptrend is clearly in place.Please see below:Moving on to the Euro Index, the recent symmetrical decline mirrors the drawdown that we witnessed in mid-2020. And if the Euro Index breaks below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern, the slide could be fast and furious. For context, completion of the right shoulder signals a decline to (roughly) the June 2020 lows or even lower. However, with a short-term corrective downswing in the USD Index likely to usher the Euro Index higher, the development should help support gold, silver, and mining stocks this week.Please see below:For context, I wrote previously:The completion of the masterpiece could have a profound impact on gold, silver and mining stocks. To explain, gold continues to underperform the euro. If you analyze the bottom half of the chart above, you can see that material upswings in the Euro Index have resulted in diminishing marginal returns for the yellow metal. Thus, the relative weakness is an ominous sign. That’s another point for the bearish price prediction for gold.Circling back to the 2016 analogue, the USD Index has already hopped into the time machine. And with the flashback eliciting memories of past glory, a reenactment won’t be applauded by the PMs.As you can see on the above chart, what we saw this year was quite similar to what happened in 2016. The analogy that I described previously worked just like in the past. Namely, the back-and-forth movement after the breakout was followed by a quick rally.The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds , ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop. In the months to follow, the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is outperforming the Eurozone and the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index – the relative performance is what really matters .In conclusion, while wolves will likely circle gold, silver and mining stocks over the medium term, the leader of the pack – the USD Index – is well-fed for now and shouldn’t disrupt the precious metals’ short-term corrective upswing. However, when its stomach growls and the hunt continues, the alpha’s bared teeth, fixed stare, and horizontal ears may scare gold, silver and mining stocks to death. Thus, while the precious metals are likely safe in the short term, the nights might grow colder and darker even amid the summer sun.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Hits Resistance

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 29.06.2021 09:58
USDJPY struggles to clear offersThe Japanese yen bounces back after a rise in April’s retail trade figure, while the US dollar struggles to consolidate its gains above the psychological level of 111.00.Yesterday’s bullish momentum above 110.85 has faded. This suggests a lack of commitment from the buy-side. Short-term price action could become vulnerable if 110.40 fails to hold. The pair may retest 109.80 should that happen.Otherwise, by lifting offers around 111.10 the bulls could expect a runaway rally towards February 2020’s peak at 112.00.AUDUSD seeks supportThe Australian dollar pulls back as risk appetite abates earlier this week. The pair has met resistance at 0.7610, previously a demand zone now turned into a supply zone.Sentiment remains mixed after the mid-June sell-off. Indeed, buyers are likely to test the water before committing themselves.The Aussie may seek support at 0.7540. Further down, 0.7500 is a critical level to keep the rebound relevant. On the upside, a break above 0.7610 may attract momentum players and open the path towards 0.7700.GER 30 awaits breakoutThe Dax 30 inches up, thanks to the support from last week’s recovery momentum.Price action has spent the past week consolidating gains after a V-shaped rebound. The narrowing range indicates stiff pressure from both sides and a breakout would dictate the direction for the days to come.The bulls are striving to push back to the previous high at 15800. Then the psychological all-time high of 16000 would be within reach. On the downside, a drop below 15500 would prolong the correction to 15400.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Bitcoin, eighty percent rule based

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.06.2021 13:04
In short, what to do and when to do it is leveraged since you make a sizeable money bet, and your typical resource for such stress (e.g., intuition) is not just worthless but the worst choice in a counterintuitive environment. In addition, we use a tool called “the daily call” to plan ahead. The daily call is a strategy planning outside trading hours to gauge the market and lay strict rules of “what not to do” to reduce losing trades.It is these refined rule structures and plans that allow us to always stay calm when Bitcoin trades with its volatility nerve-racking around turning points for the unprepared. We see little alternative to catch important low-risk entry points for long-term trades like the one coming up right now for this digital currency.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, What happened since last week?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of June 29th, 2021.Opportunities are plentiful when it comes to Bitcoin. Which makes this sequenced rule-based behavior especially necessary. Our last weekly chartbook publication posted the chart above (left side with grey background). Less than 48 hours after publication, the assumed scenario manifested. It was this precise planning that allowed us an entry at US$29,176.3. We took half of the position off at US$31,804.3. Therefore, eliminated risk and locked in some partial profits (see our quad strategy). This trading method allowed for stress-free observation of the quick retest of lows following with wiggle room for the stop level. It isn’t clear if this was the ultimate turning point in this sideways zone that Bitcoin is trading right now. More likely than not, one of our efforts grabbing the lows of this range might succeed. If not, income-producing partial profit-taking pays for our efforts.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Long term entry validation:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of June 29th, 2021.A weekly chart analysis grants a view that monthly/yearly charts have now a confirmed weekly entry setup. Present is a low-risk long entry with lower price rejections set (see wicks in yellow ellipse). We would aim in more partial profit taking slightly below recent all-time highs. We would expect these highs to give way for prices to climb much higher. BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, And the winner is:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of June 29th, 2021.It is an incredible feat to time, no matter how high a timeframe, a millisecond entry of a push of a button which might have significant effects on your future, and consequences materialize years from that little action of your finger. Such steps are far removed from a typical task where you shovel a hole in the ground and see with each stroke of the spate your results in real-time. In the familiar environment, cognitive aspects are aligned with intuitive physical behavior.But it isn’t the ‘doing’ that gets you rich in the markets, but rather good planning, little work, and lots of patience. Due to these circumstances, it is imperative to always look at the larger timeframes. This will create a much broader perspective and will help to not get lost in the casualties of Bitcoin´s daily volatility. Temptations that easily lure one in for overtrading.Observing the monthly chart, we find beauty in its simplicity. Prices trade above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. Fractal volume analysis in addition grants support. And with this month nearly closing, we seem to be having two months showing wicks to the downside rejecting lower price levels. To us a setup for taking a low-risk entry at the beginning of July. Given that present levels hold till the end of the second quarter.If prices decline sharply before month’s end, all bets are off.You will find confirmations within our free Telegram channel, where we post all our market entries and exits in real-time.Rarely do stars align that nicely, yet we have found the mind again playing tricks, especially for easy trades. Without a precise rule-based sequence and detailed entry and exit planning, human errors are guaranteed.Why is it eighty percent and not a hundred? The market has too many variables to be tamed by a purely left-brained approach. It requires experience (=screen time), creativity, and some thinking outside the box to make the market give up profits consistently to the trader.Bitcoin, eighty percent rule-based:Why a tightly knitted web of rules is necessary is to be able to execute one’s plan. Have you ever wondered why you ran a stop or, numerous times in a row, betrayed your own plan? Simple! When too many question marks arise within the flow to commit to trade by actually pressing the button, it gets harder and harder to pull the trigger. Conflicts are eating away confidence. There is a necessity of a clear, sequenced rule-based event chain to act without hesitation consistently. We found that a well-rehearsed scenario with clarity to act in your own best interest is one way to step into this field of uncertainty and repeatedly act on your plan. The alternative is a bad relationship between a well-developed edge and the ability to act upon these edges. Most of the time, this causes human errors. Consequently, the edge is mitigated to that extent that one consistently loses money.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|June 29th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto buying opportunity, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The Run Ignoring Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.06.2021 15:58
S&P 500 reached new highs powered by technology, even as value or Russell 2000 took a daily breather. With VIX going nowhere, and the put/call ratio turning complacent, the path of least resistance remains higher, and not even emerging markets are derailed by the strong dollar. While yesterday‘s stock market upswing was a defensive one as the credit markets and tech internals reveal, there is little to upset the cart – Thursday‘s ISM manufacturing will probably show solid expansion, and it would be only Friday‘s non-farm payrolls (better said what effect these could have on the Fed‘s labor market rationale for keeping the punch bowl available) to bring about volatile trading.With the Fed support intact and fiscal one not retreating either, with inflation expectations not spiking, the current data are disregarded to a degree. Incorrectly in my view as Friday‘s:(…) PCE deflator ... figure aligned with the inflation camp much better, yet the marketplace arguably expects better inflation data ahead - the transitory inflation thesis is the mainstream one, but I‘m still of the opinion that inflation wouldn‘t decline as meaningfully, especially when measured through CPI, PPI, and import-export prices, proving more persistent than generally appreciated. The Fed is behind the curve in taking on inflation even according to El-Erian, and its monetary actions support both the Treasury markets and the red hot real estate. The lull in Treasuries is likely to last into the autumn, and the ensuing yields increase would reflect both the economic recovery and newfound appreciation of inflation. I maintain we‘re still in a reflation – a period of economic growth stronger than inflation – in a multi-year economic expansion, and also that inflation will surprise those considering it transitory (as if this word had any meaning still attached, after all the time length redefinitions). As a side note, if only consumer price inflation was measured without substitution, hedonistic adjustments, and owner‘s equivalent rent. In this environment, tech is unlikely to be derailed, and value will play catch up.Precious metals are feeling the heat of inflation not being taken seriously, and miners are leading to the downside – not a bullish short-term perspective. Silver is inspired by copper‘s short-term woes more than by the CRB resilience. Coupled with the dollar keeping high ground, both metals are facing stiff headwinds.Crude oil is likely to shake off the production quota increase uncertainty looming over the coming OPEC meeting – the correction has been thus far muted, with oil stocks bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. But that‘s nothing that couldn‘t be repaired over the nearest weeks – XLE would contribute to stock market gains, and black gold would remain way more resilient than oil stocks.Cryptos are scoring gains as the base building hypothesis grows in strength, and the bulls have the initiative.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is going higher, with tech stocks once again in the driver‘s seat.Credit MarketsThe risk-off turn in the credit markets wasn‘t overly strong.Technology and ValueTech was primarily driven by $NYFANG as other sectors either held ground, or modestly declined.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and miners still keep going nowhere, and the yesterday mentioned creeping deterioration is increasing the danger of a broader short-term decline.Also the GDX:GLD ratio ($HUI:$GOLD isn‘t properly calculated today unfortunately) reflects the momentary straits in the precious metals market. Silver remains under pressure as much as copper does.Bitcoin and EthereumQuite a few good days in a row in the crypto space – the bulls are on the move.SummaryS&P 500 keeps consolidating yesterday‘s late session gains, preparing for a fresh upswing.Gold and silver are on the defensive in the short-term, and miners aren‘t pointing in the bullish direction at the moment – precious metals keep ignoring real rates and inflation.Crude oil chart remains bullish, and the steep energy sector decline won‘t be of a lasting duration.Bitcoin and Ethereum are scoring gains as the base building hypothesis grows in strength, and overcoming the recent corrective highs followed by the 200-day moving averages, are the next medium-term objectives.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Getting a TAN and Sticking with Working Strategies

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.06.2021 18:05
Another day, another all-time high seems to have been the prevailing theme lately. Sticking with working strategies and themes may seem challenging, but fighting the tape is not the answer.It can feel counterintuitive for traders to go with the trend sometimes. I know! A trader may see a chart going from the bottom left of the chart to the upper right-hand corner and wants to take the other side of the trade badly, even though it is counter-trend. Logic might dictate that whatever market you are following should be selling off, and it continues roaring higher like a roaring bull. While I am not trying to be oversimplified here, I want to reiterate that the trend is indeed your friend .Even when many technical indicators might indicate that a market is overbought (or oversold), a market will oftentimes continue moving in the same direction, leaving many counter-trend traders in its wake. This is the reason that buying pullbacks in a bull market has been the focus here, opposed to trying to pick tops. It is never easy picking tops and bottoms in any market.This is the major reason that I like to revisit what has been working.Looking back at the US equity markets over the last couple of weeks, the theme seemed to be bipolar at face value; but has it really? If we take out the fundamental development of the Fed changing stance on interest rates, has the price action been anything more than typical?Figure 1 - S&P 500 Index May 18, 2021 - June 29, 2021, 10:00 AM, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comI know it felt like the sky was falling when the Fed changed its stance on future interest rate guidance. In reality, the pullback was pedestrian on the day of the event, and the subsequent market digestion brought the S&P 500 to the 50-day SMA (slightly below) for a short period. There is nothing so spectacular about that. It is just the sign of a healthy bull market.Looking at the pullback that we saw two weeks ago, it was approximately 2.24%. It felt like it was a larger selloff than that, right? That is what happens when the markets are fired up with emotion, and everyone has their take on what is going to happen next.In reality, if a trader had a plan to buy the pullback at a predefined level, the news of the projected interest rate hikes was just a vanilla buying opportunity. Our readers were prepared, as we have been analyzing what has been working recently: buying the $SPX at the 50-day moving average as detailed on several occasions - including the June 10th publication . It was on our shopping list, and waiting for the pullback was indeed the right move.It takes discipline, patience, and execution.As the S&P 500 has marched higher since touching the 50-day moving average, we currently have the daily RSI(14) sitting near 65-66 and the index trading near the psychologically round number of 4300. Many traders may use these metrics to take some chips off the table . However, is shorting the market there the right thing to do? Some traders may try, some may succeed, and some will lose. The important message of the day is to trade with the trend, and have a plan in place when conditions are right.It is not to say that buying dips is the only way. For example, our Premium subscribers were alerted to TAN Invesco Solar ETF in our June 15th publication.Figure 2 - TAN Invesco Solar ETF April 27, 2021 - June 29, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comOn June 14th, TAN closed above its 50-day moving average for the first time in a long time. While this entry seems like more of a momentum-based entry, it is important to note that TAN had undergone a long period of consolidation and pullback .Figure 3 - TAN Invesco Solar ETF May 8, 2020 - June 29, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comSo, in this case, we identified a market with a good theme that has pulled back for an extended period. For a trigger, a close above the 50-day SMA made sense.Let’s take a look in more detail at TAN for any premium subscribers that have open positions. Did I mention that TAN was the top-performing ETF of all unleveraged ETFs yesterday? It was up 6.29% on June 28, 2021.Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – S&P 500 Holds New Record High

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 30.06.2021 10:15
SPX 500 soars to ATHGrowth stocks help lift the S&P 500 index to an all-time high.The rally has gained traction after it cleared the previous peak at 4270. This has convinced trend followers that the bulls are still in charge of the action. The index is heading towards 4320.The RSI has returned to the neutral area but its bearish divergence may foreshadow a pullback. Short-term buyers may take profit at the first sight of weakness.4270 is the immediate support. Then the former supply zone around 4245 would be a major support.EURGBP tests bearish trendlineThe pound retreats as Britain awaits the EU’s nod to extend the trade grace period for Northern Ireland. The euro has consolidated its recent gains after closing above 0.8580 with 0.8565 establishing itself as a support level, the base of the latest rally.Price action is testing again the falling trendline which has been acting as a key resistance.The crowded trade is heavily skewed to the sell-side. A bullish breakout above 0.8610 would prompt sellers to cover, building momentum for a potential reversal.NZDUSD retreats to critical supportA new round of lockdowns across Australia is taking a toll on its neighbor.Indeed, the kiwi has met stiff selling pressure at 0.7100. The latest drop below the psychological level of 0.7000 may have put a dent in buyers’ optimism.The RSI is rising back from an oversold situation. Profit-taking may lead to a limited rebound. The bulls will need to push through 0.7050 to reverse their predicament. A fall below 0.6960 however, may shatter the hope for a rebound and trigger a new round of sell-off as buyers scramble to get out.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold: Bearish Development Just Around the Corner?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.06.2021 15:19
While we might see a small uptick in gold prices soon, it’s not likely to last long. We should be prepared to open our parachutes any time now.The decline in gold continues, and while we might see a small pop-up higher here, it’s unlikely to last. And why could gold move slightly higher and correct the recent declines?Because it has just reached the rising support line based on its previous important lows. The possible rebound could take place based on this single development. However, just because it might happen doesn’t make it very likely, and it doesn’t mean that taking any action now is justified. The medium-term forecast for gold remains bearish.The situation in the USD Index is one of the reasons for this outlook:We recently saw a breather that was similar in terms of time and price to the previous patterns which happened after quick short-term rallies. And now, the USDX is moving higher once again. As soon as it exceeds the previous June highs, it’s likely to rally more substantially, perhaps stopping temporarily at the late-March high or rallying even higher, to 95 or so.Either way, gold is likely to get the bearish push off the cliff that will likely take it below the above-mentioned rising red line. Gold’s next support is at the previous 2021 lows – close to $1,670.Besides, while gold bounced off the rising red line visible on the first chart, the yellow metal actually broke visibly below a much more important support line.In fact, that was the first time when gold managed to break below this line and not rally back up. This time is already different.Moreover, let’s keep in mind that gold stocks’ relative performance not only hasn’t stopped indicating the bearish outlook recently but also provided a screaming sell sign once again on Monday.Namely, the GDX ETF declined and closed below its previous monthly lows as well as below the late-April lows. This breakdown took place without gold’s help, which makes it particularly bearish.Please note that the volume that accompanied this week’s declines is relatively low, and the declines tend to end on huge volume. Consequently, the low-volume readings imply that we’re not at the bottom yet. Also, silver hasn’t broken visibly lower, and it didn’t “catch up” with the miners, which could indicate that the bottom is in. So, it likely isn’t.The above-mentioned breakdown was even more profound in the case of the GDXJ – a proxy for junior mining stocks .The size of the recent “upswing” was comparable to the mid-November 2020 one, so it confirms the analogy to this period that I mentioned while discussing the gold’s chart yesterday .The next short-term downside target is at about $42 – a bit below the previous lows, as that’s where the 50% Fibonacci retracement line coincides with the previous highs and lows (and also with the 2019 highs that are not visible on the above chart).The 4-hour candlestick chart shows that junior miners moved slightly higher at the beginning of yesterday’s session only to decline in its final hours. So, it’s not that we’re not seeing any corrections – we do have them, but they are so tiny that they are barely noticeable from the daily perspective.All in all, it seems that the outlook for the precious metals market – especially for the junior gold miners – is very bearish for the following weeks and months, and it seems that the profits on our current short position will grow much more quite soon.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Tests Important Support

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 01.07.2021 09:43
GBPUSD rests on daily supportThe sterling fell back after the UK’s GDP contracted more than expected in Q1. Indeed, the pair is now back to square one after it gave up gains from the previous rebound.The psychological level of 1.4000 has been a tough resistance to crack. The lack of momentum suggests that sentiment remains downbeat. The pair is retesting 1.3790, a key support from the daily timeframe.A bearish breakout would trigger a new round of sell-off to 1.3700. On the upside, a recovery may be choppy with 1.3940 as the first resistance to lift.USDCAD rises towards recent peakThe Canadian dollar remains underwater after April’s negative growth.Sentiment has turned in favor of the greenback once again as it climbs above 1.2400. This indicates buyers’ commitment to recoup all losses from previous sessions.The bullish MA cross out of the short-lived consolidation may pull more trend followers to the rally. A break above 1.2480 would trigger an extended rally towards 1.2600.The RSI has slipped back into the neutral area. The former resistance at 1.2330 is a support in case of a limited pullback.USOIL bounces off bullish trendlineWTI rose back after data showed US inventories dropped by 8.2 million barrels last week.Price action has bounced off the rising trendline (72.00) from late May while the RSI was in an oversold situation. This indicates that the ball is still on the bulls’ side. The uptrend is valid as long as the trendline remains intact.Volatility helps buyers accumulate stakes. 72.80 is the closest support along the line. For more cautious traders, a break above 74.40 would confirm trend continuation.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Suffered in June - Will It Rebound in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.07.2021 15:29
June was a terrible month for gold. Without a fresh crisis or a strong dovish signal from the Fed, gold may continue its disappointing performance.June wasn’t too kind to gold. As the chart below shows, the yellow metal plunged more 7.2% in the last month , the biggest monthly decline since November 2016. In consequence of the June rout, the whole first half of this year was awful for gold, which lost 6.6% in that period, the worst performance since H1 2013.The dive was a result of the latest Fed’s dot-plot published in the aftermath of the June FOMC meeting which showed that the US central bankers could want to hike the federal funds rate earlier than previously thought . Although the dot-plot is not a reliable forecast of what the Fed will do, and a quarter-point hike in the interest rates in two years from now isn’t particularly hawkish , the change was sufficient to alter the crowd psychology. As a result, the market narrative has shifted from “the Fed will tolerate higher inflation, staying behind the curve” to “the Fed won’t allow inflation to run wild and will hike earlier because of the stronger inflationary pressure”.The subsequent comments from the Fed officials helped to consolidate the new narrative . For example, only this week Thomas Barkin, Richmond Fed President, noted that the US central bank has made “substantial further progress” toward its inflation goal in order to begin tapering quantitative easing . Meanwhile, Fed Governor Christopher Waller stated that the Fed could begin tapering as soon as this year to have an option of hiking interest rates by late next year. Robert Kaplan, Dallas Fed President, went even further, saying that he “would prefer [a] sooner” start of reducing the pace of Fed’s asset purchases than the end of the year.The hawkish U-turn among the Fed led to higher nominal bond yields , real interest rates , and a stronger US dollar , which also contributed to gold’s weakness. Meanwhile, inflation expectations reversed in June after a peak in May, which increased the real yields and also hit gold prices.Implications for GoldWhat do the changes in the Fed’s stance on the monetary policy and the market’s new narrative imply for gold? Well, the hawkish revolution is fundamentally negative for the yellow metal . Investors are now less worried about higher inflation , as they believe that the Fed will tighten its monetary policy sooner than previously thought. Such expectations boost the market interest rates, making the dollar more attractive compared to its major peers, while non-interest-bearing assets such as gold become less alluring.However, this narrative, like all narratives, may quickly change. If we see more disappointing economic data coming, the Fed could return to its previous dovish stance . Also, if high inflation turns out to be more persistent or disruptive than expected, the demand for inflation hedges or safe-haven assets such as gold may increase again.Furthermore, if inflation turns out to be merely transitory, as the Fed and the pundits believe, the US central bank will remain behind the curve, and gold may survive . Or, the Fed will have to lift the interest rates aggressively, increasing the risk of recession .What is important here, the yield curve has already flattened. It is still high and far from the negative territory, but the peak is behind us. Thus, gold will suffer initially because of the hawkish Fed only to rebound later during the next economic crisis . But well, it seems that gold indeed needs a new catalyst to rally , and without any crises or dovish signals sent by the Fed, it will struggle .If you enjoyed today’s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today . If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Silver, all aboard

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 01.07.2021 16:20
We find various cycles aligning, both historical time cycles and price trading cycles. When inter-market inflection points fall in place in addition, we know sooner or later the train will depart.It will be of little consequence what final match will launch the rocket thrusters, but you do not want to be late for the firework.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Don’t miss out!Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 1st, 2021.There are times where you want to trade confirmed (late entries), and there are times where you need to be ahead of the curve.When we last year advised physical silver purchase at US$12.00, it took only two days until the spread from spot prices versus actual physical silver acquisition prices spread wide open. This spread reached eventually beyond a 25% difference. Quickly small denomination coins were sold out as well.The early entry provided a 150% gain compared to the multiyear range breakout with 50% gains. The significant difference is risk. A breakout scenario always carries inherent risk and on a typically already volatile trading instrument like Silver especially.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Early means low risk:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 1st, 2021.Furthermore, when silver moves, it moves quickly. If entry prices move away quickly, it represents a risk: the later your move, the more comprehensive your stop.The weekly chart above shows how prices doubled in just three weeks. Trading along with the crowd (confirmed late entries) isn’t the game, and the term “you snooze, you lose” comes to mind. With the physical acquisition comes a whole other bag of flees along. Nibbling at least on a small position size at an earlier stage might be the more advisable course of action. Should you then miss the train, you still have some skin in the game.  Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Realistic projections:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 1st, 2021.From a large timeframe perspective, there are risks as well. With Gold trading at high levels per ounce and an evident demand of banks and other prominent players, Gold could become unaffordable for small retail investors. This would force typical gold investors to look for the next best thing, Silver.While many boast spectacular targets with precise numbers, we try to stay humble not to evoke unnecessary emotions (greed, fear of missing out), hindering trading. A simple study of second legs in Silver and related markets as a sum typically is approx. 2.3x factor of the first leg (US$11,64 to US$30.09). This suggests a good risk/reward ratio.Silver, all aboard:Our confidence about a substantial Silver move stems from the fact that historically news-loaded congestion zones break eventually for significant price changes. We find that both, fundamentals and technicals, point towards a second-leg development that could be nothing short of astounding in price movement. Physical prices will mirror that with a high likelihood of supply shortages and, as such, an even more volatile move where acquisition prices could be substantially higher than the spot price.In times of monetary uncertainties, holding physical Silver is more than just insurance. In our humble opinion more likely a necessity. It doesn’t have to be sizeable but should be present in your wealth-creating and even more wealth-preserving portfolio.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 1st, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, Silver Manipulation, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

NFP Data on Tap, S&P 500 Slowly Grinds Higher, Overbought?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.07.2021 18:39
Holiday-style trade, narrow ranges, and low volatility have been this week’s theme in the S&P 500 thus far. What is the slow chug leading up to, with Friday's BIG Jobs Number?It seems like we just got the last jobs number yesterday , but here we are again awaiting the big data drop on Friday at 8:30 AM ET. The market consensus seems to be for 700K jobs added during the month of June, with some consensus indicators showing 690K. The expectations have seemed to increase over the last week, as expectations have risen from ~ 660K.Last month, the Non-Farm Payroll number missed expectations; printing at 559K versus 645K expected, and the US Equity and bond markets did not care, as both marched higher.But that was so last month . How could the markets behave on Friday’s data release?I tend to avoid having leveraged open positions heading into big data releases like NFP and CPI. Longer-term swing trades and position trades are just fine to hold onto, however.There is some seasonality for the S&P 500 to move higher heading into the 4th of July. Some analysis shows getting long 2 days prior to the release yields certain results over X amount over a number of years, and other analysis seems to show getting long the day before is good too. You can read about what veteran Trader Larry Williams had to say about this last year.Analyzing the SPY today for the ETF Traders out there:Figure 1 - SPDR S&P 500 ETF February 18, 2021 - July 1, 2021, 10:20 AM, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comLooking at the SPY , we have been higher eight out of the last nine trading sessions! That is a rare feat in the index. Given the recent selloff to the 50-day moving average that we were waiting for, it does make sense that we have continued higher, but eight out of the last nine sessions is rare. This is just some food for thought. In addition, we are seeing Daily RSI(14) at 67, which could indicate the SPY approaching short-term technically overbought levels in the trading days ahead. It is not all that often where the SPY will hold an RSI(14) Daily level above 70 for a lengthy period.Drilling down further to the hourly candles, I notice some indications of short-term overbought levels (well, we have been higher in eight of the last nine trading sessions, after all!).Figure 2 - SPDR S&P 500 ETF June 15, 2021 - July 1, 2021, 10:45 AM, Hourly Candles Source stooq.comThere aren’t too many surprises here when looking at the hourly chart. The S&P 500 has been moving higher steadily, and it feels like we are headed for a short-term volatility spat (either higher or lower) with the NFP data release on Friday.Let’s keep in mind that this is a Holiday week in the US. Trading volumes tend to dry up, and slow moves higher can be a prevailing theme during holiday-style trading. US equity markets are closed on Monday, July 5th in observance of Independence Day in the US. Some futures products will trade on July 5th with abbreviated trading sessions. You can see the Holiday trading hours for the CME here . Be sure to know the holiday trading hours for your product!Heading into Friday, I am not expecting much in the way of market fireworks before the NFP data release. The slow grind higher has been the theme as market participants await the big NFP jobs data.Let’s recap the markets we are following and see if there are any key levels or developments in each for Premium Subscribers .Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thanks for reading today’s article. Have a great Independence Day Weekend!Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael Zorabedian Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Roaring Comeback of Reflation and Commodities

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.07.2021 15:45
S&P 500 broadening leadership and fresh reflationary ATHs are here – the FOMC „tightening“ hit notwithstanding. Energy, financials and industrials I discussed yesterday and before, were among the leaders, with tech not staying far behind. Crucially, the tech breadth was also improving – such rotations are the stock bull market‘s health. Neither the VIX nor the put/call ratio are arguing. The sentiment going into today‘s non-farm payrolls, remains constructive, and unlikely to result in reconstruction of the Fed tightening bets. Such was my real-time Twitter interpretation.Credit markets remained constructive, and risk-on this time – that‘s in line with value upswing, accompanied by the Treasury yields‘ inability to retreat further. Near the top of its recent range, the 10-year Treasury yield is trading within the summer bond market calm atmosphere, and so are the beaten down inflation expectations at a time when:(…) the dollar is catching a strong bid. We‘re still in a reflation, in the reopening trades stage – one where inflation expectations have been (unduly) hammered down while inflation hasn‘t taken a corresponding turn. Notably, commodities haven‘t been derailed in the least, so pay no attention to lumber – the real assets‘ world is much richer and profitable.Remember the big picture – fiscal stimulus very much on, monetary accomodation aggressive, no worries about the economic expansion slowing down. Pickup in economic activity associated with inventories replenishment is sure to be kicking reliably on. Open long profits in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can keep growing!Precious metals are waking up from their slumber, not meaningfully led higher by the miners yet, but base building and peeking higher. Yesterday‘s thoughts apply for days and weeks to come:(…) stabilized post FOMC, as the real rates effect and underestimated inflation is working in their favor. Coupled with commodities on fire, more than partially suspect Fed tightening and tapering promises, silver is the metal that would do better on the rebound after the smackdown. And it did yesterday.Crude oil was catapulted higher on the Saudia Arabia – Russia negotiation speculation, but the production increase is the figure to watch today. Below 500,000 barrels per day, it‘s expected to be $WTIC bullish, but a bigger figure shouldn‘t be surprising. The $76 - $77 area in oil looks tough to crack this week, so taking respectable oil profits off the table early yesterday, was a good move. Regardless of the oil stocks strength, a temporary, volatile (countertrend) move shouldn‘t surprise today.Crypto bears are still probing lower values in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the short-term balance of forces appears flipping into their favor - Ethereum is getting hit comparatively more.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is going higher, with tech marginally contributing to the advance.Credit MarketsCredit markets performance was clearly risk-on yesterday, but the time for quality debt instruments to play a little catch up (in the corporate space), looks approaching.Technology and ValueThe anticipated value upswing extended gains yesterday, bringing it almost within spitting distance of prior highs. At the same time, tech scored gains too.Gold, Silver and MinersGold rebounded even though miners didn‘t confirm – as said yesterday, the yield-inflation spread is getting too out of whack here, let alone the mispriced inflation expectations.Silver and copper declined yesterday, but their recent consolidation patterns haven‘t been broken – upswing continuation remains likely here.Crude OilCrude oil remains strong, but vulnerable to today‘s headline risk.SummaryS&P 500 keeps trading near its highs, with a bullish bias, characterized by sectoral rotations and improving market breadth including in Nasdaq.Gold and silver bulls are getting on the move, as the depressed nominal yields are helping attract buying interest – real rates at work.Crude oil is momentarily vulnerable, but its strongly bullish chart isn‘t in danger of being derailed in the still solidly expanding real economy across the world.Bitcoin and Ethereum bulls are again on the short-term defensive, but the weekly charts posture isn‘t yet in jeopardy. The bulls though are losing a tactical advantage.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

FED: U.S. Cocktail of Growth and Inflation

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.07.2021 16:06
The inflationary cauldron continues to boil. However, the USDX and Treasuries are undervalued relative to U.S. GDP growth prospects. What’s going on?The Rising Tide of InflationWhile investors are all-in on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) “transitory” narrative, the inflationary cauldron continues to boil. Case in point: the IHS Markit released its manufacturing PMI on Jul. 1 and the report read that “June PMI data from IHS Markit signaled the joint-fastest improvement in the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector on record.”Please see below:Moreover, demand remained resilient:“New orders growth remained substantial in June, despite the rate of expansion easing from May's historic high. The pace of increase was the second-fastest on record, with firms continuing to note marked upturns in demand from both new and existing clients.”More importantly, though:“Suppliers' delivery times lengthened to the greatest extent on record in June, as component shortages and transportation issues exacerbated supply-chain woes. Subsequently, vendors hiked their charges. Input costs rose at the fastest pace since data collection for the series began in May 2007 , as greater global demand for inputs put pressure on material shortages. Manufacturers were able to partially pass on higher costs to clients, however, as the rate of charge inflation matched May's historic peak .”Please see below: Source: IHS MarkitOn top of that, the J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI (also released on Ju1. 1) had a similar message: Source: IHS Markit, J.P. MorganThus, while FED Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Jun. 22 that the U.S. economy "is still a ways off” and that "we will not raise interest rates preemptively because we fear the possible onset of inflation., we will wait for evidence of actual inflation or other imbalances:”The FED increased its 2021 real GDP growth forecast from 6.5% to 7.0% on Jun. 16.The headline Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index rose by 3.91% year-over-year (YoY) on Jun. 25 and came in ahead of the FED’s revised forecast of 3.4%.The bottom line? Powell’s gambit is a classic case of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’To that point, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its 2021 U.S. GDP growth forecast from 4.6% to 7.0% on Jul. 1 (pending the passage of U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent infrastructure package).Please see below: Source: ReutersSimilarly, The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) doubled its 2021 U.S. GDP growth forecast on Jul. 1. Excerpts from the report read:“As the pandemic eases and demand for consumer services surges, real (inflation-adjusted) GDP is projected to increase by 7.4% and surpass its potential (maximum sustainable) level by the end of 2021.In CBO’s projections, employment grows quickly in the second half of 2021 —reflecting increased demand for goods and services and the waning of factors dampening the supply of labor, including health concerns and enhanced unemployment insurance benefits.”In addition, the group’s “PCE price index” forecast of a 2.8% YoY rise is still too low, and forthcoming prints will likely surprise to the upside.Please see below: Source: CBOPiecing it all together: with economic growth projected to reach the levels last seen in 1984, does the FED need to purchase a combined $120 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month? As a reminder, the FED’s daily reverse repurchase agreements averaged $642 billion in June and the transactions essentially negated 5.35 months’ worth of QE in the last month alone. However, the psychological effect isn’t the same as an actual taper announcement.Please see below:The U.S. 10-Year Treasury YieldOn top of that, the last time U.S. economic growth hit 7%, the USD Index and the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield reached highs of 151 and 11% respectively. And while similar strength is unlikely to emerge this time around, it’s still a reminder of how low the pair’s current readings are relative to the prospective GDP growth.To that point, while the long-end of the U.S. yield curve remains in its own little world, Goldman Sachs expects the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield to end 2021 at 1.90% (roughly 44 basis points higher than the Jul. 1 close).Please see below:Likewise, Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), predicts that the U.S. cocktail of growth and inflation should result in higher long-term interest rates in the coming months. Source: ReutersAs further evidence, following the spike in the headline PCE Index on Jun. 25, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is now trading at its lowest level relative to realized inflation since the mid-1970s.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield, while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the headline PCE Index. If you analyze the relationship, it’s been nearly 50 years since the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has underperformed to this degree. As a result, while the front-end of the U.S. yield curve (2s, 3s, 5s) is destined to move higher as the taper talk heats up, participation from the long-end (10s, 20s, 30s) will only add to the PMs’ ills.The USD Up, the EUR DownFurthermore, with the FED’s hawkish shift lighting a fire under the greenback, U.S.-Eurozone growth differentials should also propel the USD Index higher over the medium term. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index.To that point, I warned on Apr. 8 that a shift in the central bank sentiment would uplift the U.S. dollar over the medium term.I wrote:On Mar. 31, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its fourth quarter Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER). The U.S. dollar’s fourth-quarter share of allocated FX reserves fell to its lowest level since 1995, and coincidentally, the USD Index often tracks global central banks’ net-purchases of U.S. dollars (25-year correlation of 0.70).And with a current reading of 59%, you may be thinking: the ‘death of the dollar’ is unfolding before our eyes. Keep in mind though: global central banks often behave like average investors. Meaning? They buy after an uptrend is already in place. Case in point: since 1995, 83% of major USD Index bottoms were followed by an increase in allocated FX reserves . For context, the largest increase occurred from 2014 to 2015 (2.67%), while the lone decrease occurred from 2018 to 2019 (– 1.21%).Please see below:In addition, because the current reading of 59% is 1.70 standard deviations (SD) below the 25-year average, there is a ~4.5% chance that dollar-share declines in the coming months and a ~95.5% chance that dollar-share increases (applying standard normal probabilities).Fast forward to the present, and the IMF announced on Jun. 30 that the U.S. dollar’s share of allocated FX reserves increased from 58.94% to 59.54%.Please see below:In addition, I warned that the euro would likely head in the opposite direction:The euro is another critical component. Following the same script, global central banks often buy the euro after it rises and sell the euro after it falls. More importantly though, euro-share has a seven-year correlation of 0.92 with the EUR/USD . For context, euro-share is currently 0.30 SD above its seven-year average, which implies a ~62% chance of moving lower in the coming months.And surprise, surprise, the euro’s share of allocated FX reserves decreased from 21.29% to 20.57%.Please see below:The bottom line?While central banks have warmed up to the U.S. dollar once again, its current share of allocated FX reserves is still 1.53 SD below its 25-year average (which implies a ~93.7% chance of moving higher). Thus, if the momentum continues, it could add to the PMs selling pressure in the coming months.Nonfarm Payrolls Incoming!Finally, with U.S. nonfarm payrolls scheduled for release today, I noted that outperformance likely won’t materialize until August or September. However, with initial jobless claims (released on Jul. 1) coming in better than expected – at 364,000 vs. 390,000 expected – the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) revealed that “this is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.”Please see below: Source: DOLAnd while it’s more of a wild card at this point, U.S. nonfarm payrolls have been lagging behind the recent decline in initial claims.To explain, the red line above tracks U.S. nonfarm payrolls, while the green line above tracks inverted initial jobless claims. For context, inverted means that the latter’s scale is flipped upside down and that a rising green line represents falling initial jobless claims, while a falling green line represents rising initial jobless claims. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that U.S. nonfarm payrolls have some catching up to do. Thus, while we don’t expect any substantial progress until August or September, a strong print for June would serve as a pleasant surprise.In conclusion, the PMs remain range-bound, as they debate whether the next catalyst will be bullish or bearish. However, with U.S. economic growth poised to outperform in the coming months, not only are the USD Index and Treasury yields (both long and short) undervalued relative to U.S. GDP growth prospects, but inflation is surging, and a forthcoming taper should only add to their upward momentum. As a result, the medium-term outlook remains bearish for the precious metals market, even though the long-term outlook is bullish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Will Fed Hawks Peck Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.07.2021 17:13
Although gold doesn’t have to suffer during the actual tightening cycle, the Fed’s hawkish turn is fundamentally negative for gold prices.Oh no, my worst nightmare related to the precious metals has materialized. In the June edition of the Gold Market Overview, I wrote:Of course, gold is not a perfect inflation hedge in the short term. If the interest rates increase or the Fed tightens the monetary conditions in response to inflation, gold may struggle. Actually, the start of normalization of the monetary policy could push gold downward, just as it happened in 2011.And indeed, the Fed turned hawkish in June . The FOMC members started talking about tapering quantitative easing , and at the same time the recent dot-plot revealed great willingness among them to hike interest rates . And, in line with the prediction, gold prices plunged in response to the Fed’s hawkish signals about possible normalization of the monetary policy . As the chart below shows, the London (P.M. Fix) price of gold declined from $1,895 to $1,763 in June.Now, the key question is: what’s next for gold? Was the June slide just a correction? An exaggerated reaction to the not-so-meaningful economic projections of the FOMC members? After all, “they do not represent a Committee decision” and they “are not a great forecaster of future rate moves”, as Powell reminded in the prepared remarks for his press conference in June.But maybe it's the other way around? Did the Fed’s about-face mark the end of the bull market in gold ? Are we witnessing a replay of 2013, where expectations of the Fed’s tightening cycle and higher interest rates (and later the taper tantrum ) sent gold lower, pushing it into bears’ embrace?To find out, let’s check how gold behaved in the previous tightening cycles. As one can see in the chart below, the last tightening cycle of 2015-2019 wasn’t very detrimental for the yellow metal ; gold prices weren’t declining, they remained in the sideways trend.Of course, the tightening created downward pressure on gold. We can see that its price started to rally when the normalization ended, and it accelerated when the Fed turned dovish and started the cycle of interest rate cuts. However, gold didn’t enter a bear market ; it’s consoling news for all gold bulls.Neither the tightening cycle of 2004-2006 was negative for gold prices . On the contrary, the price of gold appreciated in that period. Interestingly, it was a period of rising inflation , as the chart below shows. Similarly, the tightening cycle of the mid-1970s was accompanied by accelerating CPI annual rates , and it was also a positive period for gold.Hence, the upcoming tightening cycle doesn’t have to be bad for the yellow metal . If it is accompanied by rising inflation, gold may rise in tandem with the federal funds rate . So, it turns out that the key is not the actual changes in the Fed’s policy and interest rates, but the expectations of these changes, which translate into the real interest rates .Indeed, the chart below reveals a strong positive correlation between gold prices and real interest rates. It shows that gold suffered not from the actual previous tightening cycle, but from the expectations of the tightening cycle . As one can see in the chart, the yellow metal definitely entered a bear market in late 2012, just when the real interest rates bottomed out. And then, gold prices plunged in 2013 amid the taper tantrum, when the surprising announcement of tapering of asset purchases by Ben Bernanke pushed the bond yields much higher. Importantly, the actual tapering began a few months later, while the first interest rate hike came only in December 2015.So, what does this short review of the previous tightening cycles imply for the gold market? Well, the good news is that gold doesn’t have to suffer from the tightening cycle , especially if higher inflation turns out to be more lasting than commonly believed. This is because the real interest rates will remain low. And, given the increase in the public debt , Wall Street’s addiction to easy money, and the Fed’s dovish bias, the upcoming tightening will probably be less tight than the previous ones.However, I also have some bad news. First, it might be the case that inflation and inflation expectations have already peaked in May, while the real interest rates have reached the bottom. In this scenario, the outlook for gold is rather grim .Second, although gold may be fine with the actual tightening cycle, we are in the expectations phase. And what do I mean by that? Investors are betting that the Fed will start tightening its monetary policy soon; for example, they expect the official announcement on tapering as early as September 2021. And the expectations are what matters. The Fed’s meeting in June could have been a mini taper-tantrum, as it surprised investors, the bond yields rose, and the price of gold plunged. So, if history is any guide, it seems that gold still has more room to slide .Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support Post-NFP

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 06.07.2021 08:48
EURUSD struggles to bounceThe US dollar drops after an uptick in last month’s unemployment rate. Sentiment towards the euro grew a tad more bearish after it fell below 1.1850, the support of the recent consolidation range.However, an RSI divergence suggests a loss in the downward momentum, and its double-dip into the oversold territory may make sellers reluctant to double down. Buyers will need to lift offers around 1.1880 before they could push for a reversal.Below 1.1800, the pair would be heading towards the daily support at 1.1710 by default.XAGUSD rallies above resistanceBullions bounce back as weaker-than-expected jobs data take a toll on the US dollar.On the daily chart, silver has found support at the 61.8% (25.70) Fibonacci retracement level from the late March rally. 26.50 has so far capped the bulls’ attempts.The latest breakout is a confirmation of the previously mentioned bullish RSI divergence. The bears may rush to cover their bets before it becomes too expensive to do so.27.20 would be the next target when the rebound gains traction.GER 30 looks to break out of triangleThe DAX 30 consolidates near its recent peak as the euro zone’s economy picks up steam.The index is in an ascending triangle as buyers are willing to pay up. This often occurs as a continuation pattern as the price will typically breakout in the same direction as the underlying trend.A close above 15750 may prompt the last sellers to cover. The RSI stays neutral, laying the groundwork for a breakout. A runaway rally could lift offers towards the milestone at 16000.A drop below 15500, however, may trigger a correction to 15280.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support Post-NFP - 06.07.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support Post-NFP - 06.07.2021

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 06.07.2021 08:48
EURUSD struggles to bounceThe US dollar drops after an uptick in last month’s unemployment rate. Sentiment towards the euro grew a tad more bearish after it fell below 1.1850, the support of the recent consolidation range.However, an RSI divergence suggests a loss in the downward momentum, and its double-dip into the oversold territory may make sellers reluctant to double down. Buyers will need to lift offers around 1.1880 before they could push for a reversal.Below 1.1800, the pair would be heading towards the daily support at 1.1710 by default.XAGUSD rallies above resistanceBullions bounce back as weaker-than-expected jobs data take a toll on the US dollar.On the daily chart, silver has found support at the 61.8% (25.70) Fibonacci retracement level from the late March rally. 26.50 has so far capped the bulls’ attempts.The latest breakout is a confirmation of the previously mentioned bullish RSI divergence. The bears may rush to cover their bets before it becomes too expensive to do so.27.20 would be the next target when the rebound gains traction.GER 30 looks to break out of triangleThe DAX 30 consolidates near its recent peak as the euro zone’s economy picks up steam.The index is in an ascending triangle as buyers are willing to pay up. This often occurs as a continuation pattern as the price will typically breakout in the same direction as the underlying trend.A close above 15750 may prompt the last sellers to cover. The RSI stays neutral, laying the groundwork for a breakout. A runaway rally could lift offers towards the milestone at 16000.A drop below 15500, however, may trigger a correction to 15280.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Bitcoin prices are deceiving

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 06.07.2021 13:10
With more volatility, the risk gets higher to buy breakouts, and the fear towards market participation when prices decline is magnified as well.Consequently, Bitcoin is, from an emotionally intuitive perspective, hard to trade.Should you struggle with such emotions while Bitcoin is right now to be attained at a bargain, consider the following:Bitcoin has had 15 corrections in 12 years, just like this one.El Salvador, Paraguay, Panama, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina are heading for full Bitcoin adoption. Altcoins hype is losing momentum, and that money flows into Bitcoin.Gold and Silver prices are still suppressed by big players, leaving room for Bitcoin to move.Paul Tudor Jones increased his Bitcoin exposure from one to five percent.Bitcoin has a 200% annualized rate of return over the last ten years. Fiat currency’s value loss in purchasing power is rapidly increasing.Bitcoin reached a critical mass with its 150 million users, that could quickly expand into the billions.Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, Daily Chart, Performance versus insurance:Bitcoin in US-Dollar versus Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 6th, 2021.Gold outperforms inflation by about a percent over the last 100 years, but Bitcoin is necessary for your wealth preservation portfolio to not only have a basic insurance but also some growth. Looking at the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio daily chart above for the last 12 months, you can see how Gold flat lined over this period while an investment in Bitcoin more than tripled your trading capital.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Short term risk:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 6th, 2021.Bitcoin seems to struggle to cement price support above US$30,000, but the short-term perspective often gets overvalued. Price attempted three times to surpass its -1 standard deviation (white dotted line) but failed to reach the mean (blue dotted line).We have a significant supply zone based on fractal volume analysis near US$32,900. Still, it wouldn’t surprise us if Bitcoin temporarily breaks through its directional support (white directional line). And again, this is the very short-term daily picture. Let us have a look at a more suitable time frame for wealth preservation. A time frame that is immune to Bitcoins volatility. BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Time on your side:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 6th, 2021.Large time frame guidance is, in principle, the most important one. Time perspective analysis gets greatly overlooked. Looking at the monthly chart above, you will find that upthrusts in Bitcoin are quite cyclical. Stars seem to align with a healthy retracement, the time cycle having matured and Bitcoin overall being ready for its second leg. Typically, this leg is the largest in size from a technical analysis perspective. As such, we find large time frame plays to be in favor both in risk/reward-ratio and in timing. In our humble opinion, six-figure targets are certainly within reach over the next 6 to 9 month period.Bitcoin prices are deceiving:Anti-cyclical purchases can provide for a massive edge. When you buy a motorcycle in winter, you can get up to thirty percent discounts. Purchasing Bitcoin on one of its typical declines is no different. Like watching for seasonal patterns, it pays to be a contrarian. Professional traders get accustomed to the emotional discomfort. It provides the edge needed to consistently come out ahead in one’s placed trades. To gain the required confidence stepping into the market at times when it is hard to press the button is planning and practice. Write down the reason why you want to own something. Start with paper trading and small position size to accept the risk and try to execute while your intuition would tell you otherwise. Over time, you will find these efforts to be handsomely rewarded, and it substantially changes your overall performance.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 6th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto buying opportunity, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

HUI: The Illusionist's Trick Left Investors Speechless

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.07.2021 15:52
The gold miners’ 2021 gains prompted a standing ovation among investors. However, they didn’t notice a magic trick until everything vanished.The Gold MinersAfter the HUI Index plunged by more than 10% and made all of its 2021 gains disappear, the magic trick left investors in a state of shock. But while Mr. Market still hasn’t sawed the HUI Index in half, the illusionist is likely gearing up for his greatest reveal. Case in point: while the Zig Zag Girl captivated audiences in the 1960s, the HUI Index’s zigzag correction leaves little to the imagination. And with the recent swoon a lot more than just smoke and mirrors, the HUI Index’s short-term optimism will likely vanish into thin air.To explain, despite the profound drawdown, the HUI Index hasn’t been able to muster a typical relief rally. Moreover, with ominous signals increasing week by week, if history rhymes (as it tends to), the HUI Index will likely find medium-term support in the 100-to-150 range. For context, high-end 2020 support implies a move back to 150, while low-end 2015 support implies a move back to 100. And yes, it could really happen, even though such predictions seem unthinkable.Please see below:Furthermore, the underperformance of gold stocks relative to gold is also worthy of attention. With the junior miners often performing the worst during medium-term drawdowns, short positions in the GDXJ ETF will likely offer the best risk-reward ratio. To that point, if you held firm in 2008 and 2013 and maintained your short positions, you almost certainly realized substantial profits. And while there are instances when it’s wise to exit one’s short positions, the prospect of missing out on the forthcoming slide makes it quite risky.To explain, I warned that the recent plunge was weeks in the making:I wrote the following about the week beginning on May 24:What happened three weeks ago was that gold rallied by almost $30 ($28.60) and at the same time, the HUI – a flagship proxy for gold stocks… Declined by 1.37. In other words, gold stocks completely ignored gold’s gains. That shows exceptional weakness on the weekly basis and is a very bearish sign for the following weeks.Thus, while the HUI Index remains steady for the time being, back in 2008, the ominous underperformance signaled that trouble was ahead. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks hadn’t declined back then so profoundly, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, the HUI Index’s bearish head & shoulders pattern is extremely concerning. When the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here), all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.In addition, when the HUI Index peaked on Sep. 21, 2012, that was just the initial high in gold. At that time, the S&P 500 was moving back and forth with lower highs. And what was the eventual climax? Well, gold made a new high before peaking on Oct. 5. In conjunction, the S&P 500 almost (!) moved to new highs, and despite the bullish tailwinds from both parties, the HUI Index didn’t reach new heights. The bottom line? The similarity to how the final counter-trend rally ended in 2012 (and to a smaller extent in 2008) remains uncanny.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 high.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.Keep in mind though: scenario #2 most likely requires equities to participate. In 2008 and 2020, sharp drawdowns in the HUI Index coincided with significant drawdowns of the S&P 500. However, with the Fed turning hawkish and investors extremely allergic to higher interest rates, the likelihood of a three-peat remains relatively high.If we turn our attention to the GDX ETF, lower highs and lower lows have become mainstays of the senior miners’ recent performance. Moreover, while the GDX ETF’s swift drawdown occurred on significant volume, the recent bounce hasn’t garnered much optimism. As a result, we’re likely witnessing a corrective upswing within a medium-term downtrend.Please see below:Finally, comparing the current price action to the behavior that we witnessed in 2012, back then, the GDX ETF corrected back to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level and then continued to make lower highs before eventually rolling over. And today, the senior miners are displaying similar weakness. Gold stocks are declining even while correcting, and the lack of meaningful upswings signals that the current environment is very bearish.In conclusion, while gold, silver, and mining stocks will attempt to pull rabbits out of their hats, the bunnies’ bounce will likely fade over the medium term. Moreover, with the precious metals searching for a magic bullet that likely doesn’t exist, another disappointment could leave investors without an ace in the hole. The bottom line? While gold, silver, and mining stocks will likely dazzle the crowd in the years to come, their wizardry could resemble black magic in the coming months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

The Rise of Precious Metals and Commodities

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.07.2021 16:15
S&P 500 closed Friday on a strong note, and as the holiday-shortened week is usually accompanied by positive seasonality, it would be reasonable to expect extension of gains. Is therre any show stopper at the moment? Credit markets are strong and in a risk-on mode – but what about the odd strength in long-dated Treasuries? Are the stock traders getting it right – or the bond ones? Remember that such divergencies can take a long time to resolve, and don‘t require immediate action. It‘s the same with the Industrials and Transports in the Dow theory. So, don‘t jump to S&P 500 bearish conclusions just yet.The stock market advance is characterized by improving market breadth, and a fresh push of reflationary trades. It would have been all too easy to lose one‘s cool post the June FOMC, and declare value to have topped – while tech amply helped by heavyweights powers the S&P 500 advance, value performance ain‘t too shabby. Even financials are weathering relatively well the retreating yields pressure, counterbalanced by the Fed relaxing share buybacks and dividend rules. Real assets including energy are surging again, and the Fed‘s bluff is being called.Little wonder when all the central bank did, was influence inflation expectations, and precisely nothing about current inflation – let alone pressures in the pipeline. I‘ve discussed the cost-push pressures building up, leading to inflation becoming unanchored. Add job market pressures beyond the difficulties in hiring, and the issue grows more persistent. While it‘s not biting overly noticeably for the financial markets to take notice the way they did in Mar and early May, left unattended, inflation would come to bite in the not so distant future. The takeaway is that with the constant redefinitions of what transitory should mean now, the concept of Fed as inflation fighter is subject to well deserved mockery.Look for the lull in Treasury market to continue, it‘s almost goldilocks economy as the monetary and fiscal support rivals wartime footing circumstances. Makes you wonder what would be on the table if we were faced with a recession. Thankfully, that‘s not on the horizon – we‘re in a multi-year economic expansion that won‘t end with the tapering or tightening games this year or next, not in the least.As I wrote on Friday, thinking also about the value strength:(…) accompanied by the Treasury yields‘ inability to retreat further. Near the top of its recent range, the 10-year Treasury yield is trading within the summer bond market calm atmosphere, and so are the beaten down inflation expectations at a time when the dollar is catching a strong bid. Notably, commodities haven‘t been derailed in the least, so pay no attention to lumber – the real assets‘ world is much richer and profitable.Remember the big picture – fiscal stimulus very much on, monetary accomodation aggressive, no worries about the economic expansion slowing down. Pickup in economic activity associated with inventories replenishment is sure to be kicking reliably on. Open long profits in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can keep growing!Precious metals are duly reacting today to the pressures to go higher, building up for weeks. Look for miners to confirm the upswing that isn‘t going unnoticed in the commodities arena either.Crude oil took off on the absence of OPEC+ deal, but I am looking for it to base in the $70s before we see triple digit crude prices next week. The Brent crude lag looks a bit suspicious to me, so a little breather might be in order here.Crypto bears are getting a beating, with the odds favoring upswing to continue – the Ethereum outperformance of Bitcoin is conducive to the accumulation thesis I had been mentioning for weeks.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is going higher, and so is Nasdaq. The decreasing volume might usher in a little consolidation over time but there is no imminent reason to call for one today.Credit MarketsCredit markets performance remains strong across the board, but I am looking for TLT to face headwinds soon.Technology and ValueTech is up, value is up – what else to wish for? Defending the gained ground, that is.Gold, Silver and MinersGold is attempting to go higher, and based on the yield-inflation spread getting ever more compressed and a tad off inflation expectations, I‘m looking for miners to confirm the upcoming gold advance.Silver and copper are also building energy to go higher, and it‘s my view they would surge to recapture a good portion of the post FOMC decline before taking a breather.Bitcoin and EthereumStrong base building in the cryptos continues, and the bulls have the tactical advange at the moment.SummaryS&P 500 keeps trading near its highs, with a bullish bias, characterized by sectoral rotations and improving market breadth including in Nasdaq. A little sideways consolidation appears looming, but I am looking for a positive week.Gold and silver bulls are getting ever more strongly on the move, and Friday‘s upper knot is a preview of things to come – the depressed nominal yields with unrelenting inflation are helping attract buying interest.Crude oil enjoyed more than its fair share of good news, but remains bullish today‘s tremors notwithstanding. Great future ahead for black gold, the Saudi Arabia – UAE spat regardless.Bitcoin and Ethereum bulls are the favored side these days as the weekly charts posture isn‘t yet in jeopardy. The basing pattern looks to be one of accumulation rather than distribution.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the four publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Finding Opportunity During a US Holiday Trading Week

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.07.2021 18:09
It’s the week of the Independence Day Holiday, and that typically leads to lighter volume trade. There is little in the way of economic data this week, so let’s find some potential opportunities.Last week’s Non-Farm Payroll data was a refreshing change of pace for market participants. As the market expected 700K jobs added during June, the market got a print of 850K. The S&P 500 moved higher on Friday, tacking on about 25 handles from the time the data was released, and the close.It was one of those Fridays where the market was up off of economic data and just kept drifting higher. The pre-holiday trade factored in here too, and volumes seem to dry up in the afternoon. On days like that, you would have to find a very compelling reason to get long or short anything. Most professionals are closing up their books ahead of the long weekend and just wanting to be flat. Over a period of years, I came to learn that Fridays were my least productive trading days, so I personally look to be flat, and/or have only longer-term swing trades or position trades on heading into a weekend.That is useful insight, but it is so last week. What can we find this week?First, I want to mention that this week is a light one on the economic data front. On Tuesday, we get the ISM Services PMI (manufacturing expansion or contraction). On Wednesday, we get the FOMC meeting minutes, which could provide some additional depth to the last Fed statement. We expect a light volume, holiday-week style trading week on the major exchanges this week.Tropical Storm ElsaWe also have Elsa - currently a Tropical Storm (and will hopefully stay that way). Trade themes tend to center around energy, insurers, orange juice during Florida storms. I am currently writing to you from the projected path of Elsa, and hopefully, it will be weaker than expected! Personally, I would be looking to fade Elsa. I somewhat kid, but did you know that you can actually trade weather?Figure 1 - SPDR S&P 500 ETF January 29, 2021 - July 6, 2021, 10:10 AM, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comA simple observation: The S&P 500 has been higher in nine of the ten last trading sessions. It has been unfadable and looking forward to this week on lighter volume; it may take a surprising catalyst to send the index lower in any meaningful fashion. We are approaching technically overbought levels according to RSI (14), but what could be a catalyst for substantially lower prices? Sideways consolidation could be the next theme in the short-term on light holiday week volume.Given the expectations for the style of this week, and not wanting to chase an index higher that is approaching daily overbought levels (but not looking to get short either), we can look to particular stories and themes in order to find a potential opportunity.Let’s Talk Banks & KBENow that we have the first Fed interest rate hike hint out of the way, we can think about bank stocks over the longer term. Higher interest rates can create net interest margin expansion for banks and can boost the bottom line.Many bank stocks sold off on the Fed news initially (a buy the rumor sell the fact type trade). Now that we have pulled back a bit in the bank names, I begin analyzing ETFs for opportunities.Figure 2- KBE S&P Bank ETF October 30, 2017 - July 6, 2021, Weekly Candles Source stockcharts.comAbove, we have the KBE S&P Bank ETF. You may be thinking - banks? They are so boring! The truth is I do like boring. There is a meaningful pullback off the highs in the banking sector of the S&P 500 already. We like to buy pullbacks in bull markets, right? The above chart is a weekly chart, and we can see that the price is approaching the previous highs made in late 2019 and that we are at the bottom of the most recent consolidation range.Perhaps a quieter S&P 500 this week can provide an opportunity in an ETF that has pulled back over 9% from its 2021 highs; as the S&P 500 has continued to make new highs.Turning to the Daily Charts:Figure 3- KBE S&P Bank ETF September 1, 2020 - July 6, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comWe have several levels to consider here. First, we are very close to the recent low point of the consolidation range ($49.15) combined with the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of $49.02.However, what if the broader market finally pulls back/consolidates? A move lower could give us a dip in the KBE, potentially to the 2019 highs near $48. This pullback could be soon and could coincide with a daily RSI (14) reading at oversold levels near 30 or lower.That’s the kind of stuff I like to see, and I like having a plan in place for when it happens. I like looking at the key 61.8% retracement level of $47.39 and the 2019 highs of $48.11.Now, since we are covering so many markets, let’s start the week off correctly and see where the nine covered markets are trading for Premium Subscribers.Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael ZorabedianStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold: The Tapering Clock Is Ticking

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.07.2021 15:42
With the FED increasingly hawkish and the USDX rising from the ashes, don’t be fooled by the recent upswing in gold. The bears are getting ready.With the reflation trade getting cut off at the knees, the only asset class not feeling the pain is U.S. equities. However, while shorts capitulate and send the U.S. 10-Year Treasury higher (and the yield lower), the flattening of the U.S. yield curve screams of a potential recession. However, while the development is bullish for the USD Index and bearish for the PMs, investors are putting the cart before the horse.To explain, while the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield languishes in its depressed state, J.P. Morgan told clients on Jul. 6 that the Treasury benchmark is roughly three standard deviations below its model-implied fair value. For context, J.P. Morgan believes that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield should trade at roughly 1.60%, and, given the three-sigma underperformance, standard normal probabilities imply a roughly 99.9% chance that the Treasury benchmark will move higher over the medium term.Please see below:However, while the bond market ‘wants what it wants’, it’s important to remember that a flattening of the U.S. yield curve has the same effect on the PMs. For example, while I’ve been warning for months that the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) will likely taper its asset purchases much sooner than investors expect, the minority view is now the consensus. And with that, the hawkish shift reduces inflation expectations, reduces growth expectations and often results in lower long-term interest rates. However, while the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield still remains significantly undervalued in our view, ‘the ghost of tapering past’ has investors aiming to front-run a September reveal.As evidence, the FED released the minutes from its Jun. 15/16 policy meeting on Jul. 7. An excerpt from the report read:“Various participants mentioned that they expected the conditions for beginning to reduce the pace of asset purchases to be met somewhat earlier than they had anticipated at previous meetings in light of in-coming data.”And surprise, surprise, while I’ve been warning for some time that surging inflation will likely force the FED’s hand, the report revealed:Source: U.S. FEDThe Container WarBut with long-term yields signaling the death of inflation, is a regime shift already underway? Well, I warned previously that inflationary pressures are unlikely to abate anytime soon:I wrote:With the U.S. Census Bureau revealing on Jun. 8 that U.S. imports from China (goods) totaled nearly $38 billion in April, more and more data signals that the U.S. economy will continue to feel the inflationary burn. Shipping costs are also exploding at an unprecedented rate.Please see below:To explain, the lines above track the shipping costs to-and-from various regions. If you analyze the dark blue line sandwiched in the middle ($6.5K), average shipping costs continue to skyrocket. Moreover, if you’re shipping from Shanghai to Rotterdam, New York or Genca, global businesses are nowhere near solving these “transitory” issues.And providing another update on Jun. 28, the situation has only worsened.To explain, if you compare the first chart to the one directly above, you can see that the composite container rate (the dark blue line) has increased from $6.5K to $8.1K in only two weeks. What’s more, shipping from Shanghai to Rotterdam (the gold line) has increased from $10.5K to $12.0k, while Shanghai to New York (the gray line) has risen from $7.6K to $11.2K. As a result, does it seem like inflationary pressures are a thing of the past?To that point, with the old adage implying that ‘the third time’s the charm,’ the surge lives on.Please see below:To explain, the composite container rate has now gone from $6.5K through $8.1K to $8.4K in less than a month. And with shipping costs from China (Shanghai) leading the charge, the FED’s “transitory” narrative still lacks empirical credibility.To that point, can you guess which trading partner accounts for 17.3% of U.S. imports?Source: U.S. Census BureauThe bottom line? While the bond market may ‘wish upon a star,’ inflationary pressures are unlikely to subside until the FED tapers its asset purchases (and/or raises interest rates).What Can the Services PMI Tell Us?As further evidence, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its services PMI on Jul. 6. And while the headline index declined from 64 in May (an all-time high) to 60.1 in June, inflation remained abundant:“Prices paid by service organizations for materials and services increased in June, with the index registering 79.5 percent, 1.1 percentage points lower than May’s reading of 80.6 percent. 17 services industries reported an increase in prices paid during the month of June … [with] only [one] industry reporting a decrease.”In addition, ISM Chair Anthony Nieves added:“According to the Services PMI, 16 services industries [out of 18] reported growth. The composite index indicated growth for the 13th consecutive month after a two-month contraction in April and May 2020. The rate of expansion in the services sector remains strong, despite the slight pullback in the rate of growth from the previous month’s all-time high. Challenges with materials shortages, inflation, logistics and employment resources continue to be an impediment to business conditions.”For context, the ISM requires written permission before redistributing any of its content, and that’s why I quoted the findings rather than including a screenshot of the report. However, if you want to review the source material, you can find it here.Likewise, IHS Markit also released its U.S. services PMI on Jul. 6. An excerpt from the report read:“Contributing to the robust rise in activity across the service sector was a further marked increase in new business at the end of the second quarter. Alongside strong customer demand, firms attributed the upturn in new sales to the acquisition of new clients. Although the rate of new business growth slipped to a three-month low, it was still the third-fastest on record.”And following right along:Source: IHS MarkitFurthermore, while oil prices have surged in 2021 so far, major companies haven’t increased their capital investments. As a result, not only are U.S. crude oil inventories still ~6% below their historical average (as of Jun. 30), but dormant supply could put upward pressure on prices in the coming months.Please see below:To explain, the gold line above tracks the Brent price, while the blue line above tracks major oil companies’ capital expenditures. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that investments in drilling infrastructure have fallen off a cliff. And with demand likely to remain abundant as economies reopen, fuel, gasoline and heating oil prices will likely remain elevated.The Swagger of the USDXFinally, with the USD Index regaining its swagger and the EUR/USD falling from grace, the cocktail of a hawkish FED and fundamental underperformance is weighing heavily on the euro. Moreover, with growth differentials poised to widen in the coming months, U.S. dollar strength could cast a dark shadow over the PMs.Please see below:To explain, the various lines above track Bank of America’s quarterly projections for G6 real GDP levels. If you focus your attention on the dark blue (U.S.) and light blue (Eurozone) lines, you can see that the former is leading the pack, while the latter is vying for the last place. On top of that, the U.S.’s projected outperformance of Japan, Canada, and the U.K. is bullish for the USD/JPY and the USD/CAD but bearish for the GBP/USD.In conclusion, while the PMs remain upbeat, it’s likely another case of ‘been there, done that.’ For example, it was roughly four months ago that falling real yields helped uplift gold before it eventually collapsed. And with a similar event unfolding once again, gold has demonstrated rational (though, superficial) strength. However, with the clock ticking toward a taper announcement and the USD Index rising from the ashes, the corrective upswing is likely another head fake within gold’s medium-term downtrend.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

FOMC Minutes: A Confirmation of Fed’s Hawkish Shift?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.07.2021 15:55
The latest FOMC minutes were… mixed. The discussion between hawks and doves continues giving gold no comfort. Who will gain the upper hand?Yesterday, the FOMC published the minutes from its last meeting in June. Investors who counted on some clear clues are probably disappointed, as the minutes can please both hawks and doves. Indeed, the report showed that the Fed officials are divided on their inflation outlook and the appropriate course of action. The dovish side believes that the recent high inflation readings are transitory and they will ease in the not-so-distant future, while the hawkish camp worries that the upward pressure on prices could continue next year:Looking ahead, participants generally expected inflation to ease as the effect of these transitory factors dissipated, but several participants remarked that they anticipated that supply chain limitations and input shortages would put upward pressure on prices into next year. Several participants noted that, during the early months of the reopening, uncertainty remained too high to accurately assess how long inflation pressures will be sustained.Importantly, most FOMC members recognized that the risks to inflation forecasts leaned more to the upside. This means that the hawkish shift is indeed real, although the Fed will remain very accommodative:Although they generally saw the risks to the outlook for economic activity as broadly balanced, a substantial majority of participants judged that the risks to their inflation projections were tilted to the upside [emphasis added] because of concerns that supply disruptions and labor shortages might linger for longer and might have larger or more persistent effects on prices and wages than they currently assumed. Several participants expressed concern that longer-term inflation expectations might rise to inappropriate levels if elevated inflation readings persisted. Several other participants cautioned that downside risks to inflation remained because temporary price pressures might unwind faster than currently anticipated and because the forces that held down inflation and inflation expectations during the previous economic expansion had not gone away or might reinforce the effect of the unwinding of temporary price pressures.As a consequence of fast economic growth and higher inflation than expected, some participants suggested that it would be appropriate to taper the quantitative easing and hike the federal funds rate sooner than previously thought. Or, to be at least prepared if higher inflation turns out to be more persistent than the consensus sees it:In light of the incoming data and the implications for their economic outlooks, a few participants mentioned that they expected the economic conditions set out in the Committee's forward guidance for the federal funds rate to be met somewhat earlier than they had projected in March (…)Various participants mentioned that they expected the conditions for beginning to reduce the pace of asset purchases to be met somewhat earlier than they had anticipated at previous meetings in light of incoming data (…)Participants generally judged that, as a matter of prudent planning, it was important to be well positioned to reduce the pace of asset purchases, if appropriate, in response to unexpected economic developments, including faster-than-anticipated progress toward the Committee's goals or the emergence of risks that could impede the attainment of the Committee's goals.However, despite all these hawkish commentaries, the majority of FOMC members remains extremely cautious and believe that the economy has still a long way to achieve the Fed’s targets, especially full employment:Many participants remarked, however, that the economy was still far from achieving the Committee's broad-based and inclusive maximum-employment goal, and some participants indicated that recent job gains, while strong, were weaker than they had expected.So, given that the economy hasn’t yet fully recovered, inflation will likely be just transitory, and there is high uncertainty about the economic outlook, it would be premature to tighten the monetary policy and raise the interest rates:Participants generally agreed that the economic recovery was incomplete and that risks to the economic outlook remained. Although inflation had risen more than anticipated, the increase was seen as largely reflecting temporary factors, and participants expected inflation to decline toward the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run objective (…)Several participants emphasized, however, that uncertainty around the economic outlook was elevated and that it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the paths of the labor market and inflation. In their view, this heightened uncertainty regarding the evolution of the economy also implied significant uncertainty about the appropriate path of the federal funds rate (…)Participants discussed the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases and progress toward the Committee’s goals since last December when the Committee adopted its guidance for asset purchases. The Committee’s standard of “substantial further progress” was generally seen as not having yet been met, though participants expected progress to continue (…) Some participants saw the incoming data as providing a less clear signal about the underlying economic momentum and judged that the Committee would have information in coming months to make a better assessment of the path of the labor market and inflation. As a result, several of these participants emphasized that the Committee should be patient in assessing progress toward its goals and in announcing changes to its plans for asset purchases.Implications for GoldWhat do the recent FOMC minutes imply for gold? Well, in some sense, not so much. The minutes don’t include any revolutionary insights we are not aware of. Moreover, they lacked any clear guidelines about the future US monetary policy, as we could find both hawkish and dovish remarks in them.And indeed, the price of gold was little changed in the aftermath of the FOMC minutes, and it remained slightly above $1,800 it reached the day before (see the chart below).However, the minutes haven’t offered any significant dovish counterweight to the recent hawkish statement and the dot-plot. The statement is often more aggressive than nuanced and soft. Hence, although the minutes do show the discussion among the Fed’s officials, the hawkish shift is real. Perhaps the most important part of the document is the paragraph about the transition into a post-pandemic world.Members judged that the economic outlook had continued to improve and that the most negative effects of the pandemic on the economy most likely had occurred. As a result, they agreed to remove references in the FOMC statement that noted that the virus was "causing tremendous human and economic hardship" and that "the ongoing public health crisis continues to weigh on the economy." Instead, they agreed to say that progress on vaccinations had reduced the spread of COVID-19 and would likely continue to reduce the negative economic effects of the public health crisis.So, although the recovery is not completed and the economy hasn’t reached the Fed’s goals yet, the normalization of the US monetary policy has begun. It’s a fundamentally negative development for the gold market. Of course, gold bulls may find some comfort in the fact that it will still take at least a few meetings to develop and announce a plan of tapering the asset purchases; the interest rates cycle will start only later. Another positive factor is, of course, that gold managed to stay above $1,800 despite the lack of any clear dovish signals in the minutes.Nonetheless, the Fed’s hawkish U-turn – unless reversed because of another economic crisis, or unless accompanied by stagflation – should imply higher bond yields, a stronger greenback and, thus, weaker gold.In other words, the minutes won’t change the current market narrative, which assumes that the economic recovery is on track while inflation is just transitory. As a reminder, the latest job gains were surprisingly strong, which moves the US economy closer to full employment. Such a narrative implies strong economic confidence and limited demand for safe-havens such as gold.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – NASDAQ Holds Despite Whipsaw

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 09.07.2021 10:30
NAS 100 bounces off trendlineThe Nasdaq index whipsaws as investors fear that the economic recovery may stall.Sentiment remains upbeat as the composite rebounds from a seven-week-long rising trendline. This congestion area includes the former resistance at 14560 which has turned into key support.Trend followers were quick to see the oversold RSI as an opportunity to double down on the bullish bandwagon.14830 has now become a hurdle and a bullish breakout could lead the index to the historic high at 15000.USDCHF falls from daily resistanceThe Swiss franc shot up as markets grew weary of the Delta variant spread. Whereas, the US dollar has stumbled on the supply area around 0.9275 from the daily timeframe.Last Friday’s attempts below 0.9200 have shown weakness in the upward impetus. Following a feeble rebound, the dollar’s clean-cut through said support confirms the bearish turn. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound.Once below 0.9140, the greenback could be vulnerable to an extended sell-off towards 0.9080.EURJPY slips below psychological supportThe Japanese yen rallies amid surging demand for safe-haven currencies.The break below the psychological level of 130.00 has invalidated the rebound in late June. Sellers are still in control of the action after the bearish MA cross.The euro is now hovering near the critical support (129.60) on the daily chart. A bearish breakout could push the pair towards 128.90.In the meantime, an oversold RSI may prompt early bulls to test the water. The base of the latest sell-off at 131.00 is a major resistance ahead.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Struggles At Resistance

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 12.07.2021 11:43
XAUUSD rally slows downGold grinds higher as the US dollar softens amid lower Treasury yields.The rally slowed as the bulls pushed towards the key resistance at 1824. A bullish breakout could trigger an extended rally and further confirm the reversal.However, the RSI divergence may temper the enthusiasm. Its failure to follow the price and achieve a higher high is a warning sign of fading momentum.1790 is the immediate support and its breach could send the price to 1775, where the precious metal first broke out of its bearish range.CADJPY recovers temporarilyThe Canadian dollar bounces back after a fall in June’s unemployment rate.The drop below 88.00, the origin of the previous rebound, has put the loonie back on the correction path.The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold zone has prompted intraday players to take profit, momentarily driving up the price.This may turn out to be a dead cat bounce as the pair tests the supply area around 88.80. A drop below 87.40 could lead to another round of sell-off towards the major demand zone around 86.50 on the daily chart.UK 100 holds above daily supportThe FTSE 100 recovers as lackluster GDP growth may keep the BOE off the hawkish path.The index is in consolidation between the daily support at 6940 and 7200. As long as the bulls bid up the price above the support, the medium-term rally is still intact.The current volatility is a sign of short-term turnover. After the RSI rose back from an oversold situation, price action found support at the psychological level of 7000.7150 is the resistance ahead, a breakout could challenge the peak at 7200.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Bitcoin, stay on course

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 12.07.2021 14:07
We post live entries and exits of trades in our free Telegram channel . We are not doing this to encourage shadow trading since, in principle, one should not trade another person’s trading system. This free service is provided for confidence-building, especially when jittery markets like right now tempt amateurs to stray from their approach. Confidence to use it as a confirmation tool when your signals align and provide a discussion board to share doubts and ask questions in difficult times.Don’t let Bitcoin get away, it has a high probability to take off soon.Bitcoin is going through a rough patch of building a bottom. When inherently volatile Bitcoin gets squeezed into tight sideways ranges, low-risk entry points get harder to execute. Over time, there is no directional follow-through, and a trader’s confidence gets weary. Typically, this leads to a low probability of being exposed to the final push-through move. One quickly can accumulate losing trades now trying to chase or otherwise catch a trade with a different than usual entry approach.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Cyclical probabilities:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 11th, 2021.Why are we warning to keep focused here? Looks can be deceiving. Most find Bitcoin less in the limelight right now. Do not underestimate Bitcoins’ explosive volatility! The weekly chart above shows Bitcoin at precisely the same week in July a year ago. A similar picture is presented. A ten-week congestion zone of price uncertainties and battles between bulls and bears. Then in less than a month, prices shot up by 36%. We were followed by a quick retracement, not even retesting breakout levels. The rest is history with a steep push to US$64,895, a 560% move.In other words, we saw from the week of the 13th of July last year a more than 6x move out of the blue.Who says this could not happen again this year around?BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Anything is possible:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 11th, 2021.No one knows the future, but we know that Bitcoin is a highly cyclical and seasonal trading vehicle. It would be nothing less than foolish to rule out Bitcoin moving quickly again.All it takes is a surprise news item, and the picture of the market can change.The chart above, again a weekly picture, shows a similar high volume fractal support zone (see histogram to the right side of the chart). Again, battles for seven weeks now between bears and bulls, with a likely high point of resolve within reach. When there is a trading zone with long candle wicks, there is a chance that both bears and bulls experienced losing trades getting stopped out. At this time, confidence can wane, and it is at this time, staying on course is critical. Plan your trades and trade your plan.S&P 500, Monthly Chart, Stock market blow-off top:S&P 500 in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 11th, 2021.But cyclical reasons aren’t the only edge considered. We stack a minimum of twelve edges before we consider a play and look for low-risk entry points. The monthly chart of the S&P 500 index shows staggering advances over the last twelve years. What is different in this final leg up over the previous fifteen months is its size. The price has nearly doubled. In addition, you can find the absence of a significant retracement. Also pointing towards a possible blow-off top is the steepness of the angel of price advancement (see while lines, the final stretch to the very right is much steeper versus the previous legs up).While prices have continuously revisited either the twenty simple moving average or the forty simple moving average (turquoise line), the recent price shoot-up has stretched far from these averages. What goes up must come down. Should the stock market surrender some of its profits, money could likely flow towards Bitcoin again.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin, stay on course:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 11th, 2021.A final look at Bitcoin from a monthly time frame perspective shows a possibility of a harmonious continuation pattern. Bitcoin seems to find support near the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. In addition, it gets fractal volume analysis supply support (green horizontal box). The candlestick wicks to the downside of the last three months indicate support, and prices get rejected from lower levels. So far, and this month’s candle isn’t finished printing yet, we have a smooth rollover turning point in the making.Bitcoin, stay on course:We recommend not to experiment with a different approach to the markets when you are in a rut. Never follow other people’s recommendations as a reason for making a trade. Use principles only as reasons to stack your edges. Follow as close as possible a prefabricated plan you made for executing your trades to be emotionally uninfluenced by surprising market behavior in real-time. When in doubt, stay out is also a term that comes to mind, and it is undoubtedly always a good decision to reduce position size when unexpected losing trades make you feel uneasy. Use any methods to keep your confidence and coolness to accept the risks when exposing your money to the market.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 12th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold: High Time to Move Out of the Penthouse

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.07.2021 14:29
Gold’s days in a glamorous apartment at the top of the PMs’ building are numbered. We’d better prepare for a rapid elevator ride to the first floor.The Gold MinersWith the gold miners essentially running laps on the treadmill, the HUI Index, the GDX ETF, and the GDXJ ETF are working extremely hard but making little progress. And with the gambit resulting in ‘one step forward, two steps back,’ frustrating exhaustion has mining stocks questioning their every move. To that point, even though the trio transitioned from the conveyor belt to the stairs in recent weeks, history shows that slow climbs often culminate with elevator rides lower. Should we expect a different outcome this time around?Gold ended the week in the green (up by $27.30), but the HUI Index was stuck in the red (down by 1.39). This is extremely noteworthy, as a similar divergence occurred at the end of May. For context, when the yellow metal rallied by $28.60 in a week back then, the HUI Index fell by 1.37 index points.In the following weeks, the HUI Index declined by about 50 index points, while gold declined by about $150.And with the ominous imbalance preceding the pair’s precipitous declines, again, should we expect a different outcome this time around?Please see below:To explain, with the HUI Index unable to muster any meaningful relief rallies, I warned that the recent plunge was weeks in the making:I wrote the following about the week beginning on May 24:What happened three weeks ago was that gold rallied by almost $30 ($28.60) and at the same time, the HUI – a flagship proxy for the gold stocks… Declined by 1.37. In other words, gold stocks completely ignored gold’s gains. That shows exceptional weakness on the weekly basis and is a very bearish sign for the following weeks.To that point, with the HUI Index’s ominous signals only increasing, if history rhymes (as it tends to), medium-term support will likely materialize in the 100-to-150 range. For context, high-end 2020 support implies a move back to 150, while low-end 2015 support implies a move back to 100. And yes, it could really happen, even though such predictions seem unthinkable.Furthermore, with the junior miners often suffering the most during medium-term drawdowns, short positions in the GDXJ ETF will likely offer the best risk-reward ratio. For context, if you held firm in 2008 and 2013 and maintained your short positions, you almost certainly realized substantial profits. And while there are instances when it’s wise to exit one’s short positions, the prospect of missing out on the forthcoming slide makes it quite risky.Even more bearish, a drastic underperformance by the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline back then so profoundly, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, the HUI Index’s bearish head-and-shoulders pattern is already sounding the alarm. When the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here), all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.In addition, when the HUI Index peaked on Sep. 21, 2012, that was just the initial high in gold. At that time, the S&P 500 was moving back and forth with lower highs. And what was the eventual climax? Well, gold made a new high before peaking on Oct. 5. In conjunction, the S&P 500 almost (!) moved to new highs, and despite bullish tailwinds from both parties, the HUI Index didn’t reach new heights. The bottom line? The similarity to how the final counter-trend rally ended in 2012 (and to a smaller extent in 2008) remains uncanny.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.Keep in mind though: scenario #2 most likely requires equities to participate. In 2008 and 2020, sharp drawdowns in the HUI Index coincided with significant drawdowns of the S&P 500. However, with the Fed turning hawkish and investors extremely allergic to higher interest rates, the likelihood of a three-peat remains relatively high.As further evidence, let’s analyze the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the senior miners celebrated gold’s strength by falling to their previous lows on Jul. 8. If this is not a shocking proof of extreme underperformance, then I don’t know what would be one.Please see below:Regarding the latter, on Jun. 29 (the June low), the GDXJ ETF closed at $45.83. And on Jul. 8, it closed at $45.53. Ladies and gentlemen, we had a breakdown.Of course, we see that the breakdown was invalidated, but the fact that it moved to new lows while gold rallied is extremely bearish. It seems like the junior miners simply can’t wait to break to new lows.The bottom line?If gold repeats its June slide, it will decline by about $150. Taking the entire decline into account (since August 2020), for every $1 that gold fell, on average, the GDX was down by about 4 cents (3.945 cents) and GDXJ was down by about 6.5 cents (6.504 cents).This means that if gold was to fall by about $150 and miners declined just as they did so far in the past year (no special out- or underperformance), they would be likely to fall by $5.92 (GDX) and $9.76 (GDXJ). Given the Jul. 8 closing prices, this would imply price moves to $27.76 (GDX) and $35.78 (GDXJ). So, the profits on the current short position are likely to soar.In conclusion, while the HUI Index, the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF are likely to have some small breathers along the way, their sprints lower are likely far from finished. When we combine their extreme underperformance relative to gold with the bearish 2008 and 2012 analogues, the gold miners might just huff and puff and blow their own houses down. As a result, while 2021 has already delivered two desperate pleas for more oxygen, the trio will likely require a third ventilator in the coming months. The outlook for the following weeks remains very bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold: Ominous Clouds Gather Above the Metals

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.07.2021 14:39
The news hitting the market is clouding the precious metals outlook – higher U.S. Treasuries and a hawkish FED are turning into a dangerous concoction.Running Out of ExcusesWith investors’ attention span rivaling that of a young child, the inflationary carousel has gone from hot to cold and to hot once again. For example, after short-covering, the Delta variant and the FED’s hawkish shift dropped the guillotine on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield, the long-term benchmark languished in defeat. However, with inflation’s reincarnation once again shifting the narrative, I warned on Jul. 9 that investors are still underestimating the inflationary fervor.I wrote:With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) scheduled for release on Jul. 13, another dose of reality could be forthcoming. Case in point: with the Commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) surging by 18.98% year-over-year (YoY) in May – the highest YoY percentage increase since 1974 – the print implies a roughly 5% to 5.5% YoY increase in the headline CPI. To explain, when the commodity PPI increased by 17.4% YoY in July 2008, the headline CPI rose by 5.3% in August. Thus, with the commodity PPI surging by 18.98% in May, all signs point to another ‘surprising’ headline CPI print for June.To that point, with the headline CPI surging by 5.32% YoY on Jul. 13 (vs. 4.90% expected), the “transitory” narrative suffered another body blow. For context, all inflation is transitory. However, there is a profound difference between three months of transitory inflation and 12 months of transitory inflation.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the commodity PPI, while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the pair have a close connection.Likewise, while investors comb through the print and search for aberrations that support their outlook, they’re missing the most important link. For example, with the Used Cars and Trucks CPI surging by 45.2% YoY in June, disbelievers suggest that once the outlier recedes, it will quell the inflationary momentum. For context, I’ve been warning since April that the Manheim Used Vehicle Index signaled a profound jump in the Used Cars and Trucks CPI.Despite that, while investors lament the obvious (of course the Used Cars and Trucks CPI will decelerate in the coming months), the commodity PPI is still the most important indicator of where the inflation story is headed next.Please see below:To explain, the scatterplot above depicts the relationship between the headline CPI and the commodity PPI (since 1994). For context, the headline CPI is plotted on the vertical axis, while the commodity PPI is plotted on the horizontal axis. If you analyze their movement, you can see that the pair have a strong linear relationship (correlation). Moreover, if you focus your attention on the right side of the chart, you can see that the commodity PPI has only risen by 15% YoY or more (for a month) five times since 1994. On top of that, if you follow the red arrow, you can see that the PPI/CPI relationship remains on trend. The bottom line? If the commodity PPI (which is scheduled for release today) remains hot, then expect the headline CPI to follow suit.The Economy Growing… Too Much?Furthermore, while the Used Cars and Trucks CPI is poised to slow over the medium term, I warned on Jun. 3 that rent inflation could easily take its place. For context, the Shelter CPI accounts for more than 30% of the movement of the headline CPI. And with The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) projecting that the Shelter CPI will increase from “2.0%annualized to about 4.5%” and “last through at least 2022,” the “‘transitory’ increases to the rate of overall inflation may be more prolonged than many are expecting.”Please see below: Source: Fannie MaeLikewise, with inflation surging and the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) pouring gasoline on the fire, St. Louis FED President James Bullard told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Jul. 12 (released on Jul. 13) that “I am a little bit concerned that we’re feeding into an incipient housing bubble ... [and] I think we don’t need to be doing that with the economy growing at 7%.”Please see below:Source: WSJIn addition, Conagra Brands CEO Sean Connolly also warned on Jul. 13 that “this is an atypical level of inflation [and] it’s the highest inflation level our company has seen in as many years as we can remember.” For context, Conagra Brands is an American food manufacturer and is home to well-known brands such as Marie Callender’s, Healthy Choice and Slim Jim.Please see below:Source: BloombergIf that wasn’t enough, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was asked during the company’s Q2 earnings call on Jul. 13 about how the current recovery compares to the recovery following the global financial crisis (GFC). He responded:“I think they're completely different fundamentally…. The consumer, their house value is up, their stock rises up, their incomes are up, their savings are up, their confidence are up. The pandemic is kind of in the rearview mirror. Hopefully, nothing gets worse with it. And they're ready to go.”He added:“Jobs are plentiful, wages are going up. These are all good things. And so, obviously, if the inflation can be worse than people think, I think it will be a little bit worse with these kinds of things. I don't think it's all temporary, but that doesn't matter if we have very strong growth.”Even more revealing, while Dimon said that he’s “not predicting” that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield “goes to 3%,” he mentioned that “you may have growth in the second half this year [that’s] stronger than it's ever been in the United States of America.” Furthermore, CFO Jeremy Barnum said that the largest bank in the U.S. is putting its money where its mouth is and that’s why the cash on its balance sheet has not been invested in U.S. Treasuries.Please see below:Source: JPMorgan/Seeking AlphaFinally, with the Chicago FED releasing its Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC) on Jul. 13, its labor cost index is now at an all-time high and its non-labor cost index remains materially elevated. Thus, the FED is running out of excuses for not scaling back its bond-buying program.Source: Chicago FEDIn conclusion, the PMs continue to hope for a bullish catalyst, but the news hitting the market is clouding their outlook. While conventional wisdom suggests that surging inflation is bullish for the gold, silver, and mining stocks, the cocktail of higher U.S. Treasury yields and a hawkish FED more than offsets the optimistic long-term argument. As a result, while the PMs may generate short-term bursts of strength, and their very long-term outlook remains favorable, their medium-term outlook is extremely ominous. With the USD Index gunning for 93, and surging inflation likely to force the FED’s hand, a September taper is unlikely to elicit a positive response from the metals.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Technical Analysis – GBP Finds Buying InterestFOREX

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 15.07.2021 09:40
GBPUSD bounces off Fibonacci levelThe better-than-expected UK CPI in June has lifted the sterling across the board.Price action has seen strong support above 1.3730, a critical demand zone on the daily chart. After the initial rally, the pair has bounced off the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (1.3800) while the RSI recovered back to the neutral area.Following a previous failed attempt, a bullish breakout above the supply zone around 1.3920 could boost confidence on the buy-side and trigger a reversal.Then the psychological level of 1.4000 would be the next target.USDCAD gains key supportThe Canadian dollar softened after the BOC cut its bond-buying less aggressively than expected. The pair previously saw profit-takings near the recent top at 1.2550.The RSI’s triple top in the overbought area was already a sign of overextension. The price has once again bounced off 1.2430, a former resistance turned into a support. A bullish breakout could extend the rally beyond 1.2600.But if buyers struggle to hold the range, the greenback could be vulnerable to a sell-off. Then 1.2300 would be the next stop.NZDUSD rallies to major resistanceThe New Zealand dollar soared after the RBNZ cut its QE program in anticipation of policy tightening.The initial surge above 0.7010 reveals renewed buying interest after the kiwi spent weeks above the important daily support at 0.6920.The psychological level of 0.7000 saw its role reversed into a support. A rally above 0.7060 brings the kiwi closer to the critical supply area at 0.7100. Its breach may trigger a bullish reversal.In the meantime, an overbought RSI can lead to a limited pullback as buyers build their momentum.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Silver, a new way to think

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 15.07.2021 15:33
For example, let us assume grocery prices have increased by 33% within the last twelve months. This would mean that if you had US$150,000 in your bank account, they would now only be worth US$100,000. But you rarely think this way. Usually, you always take your currency as the base and instead think that grocery prices went up.What is required is to compare values. This is especially essential when it comes to wealth preservation. Let us assume you have a 401k. What this means is you have your value stored in the stock market. The stock market is highly overvalued. And you get for your stocks and bonds dollars at maturity. Hence, you own something expensive, but you receive possibly little purchasing value in exchange. In other words, you are exposed to risk.If you would like to add something to your long-term investment plan, you should look for value compared to what you already own. You should purchase cheap value. And Silver is a good bet.S&P 500 versus Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, History repeats itself:S&P 500 versus Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 15th, 2021.Starting from the left on the above monthly chart comparing the S&P 500 versus Gold, the stock market began to explode in 1995. While the stock market had a bubble build up tripling in price in the following six years, Gold lost 33% of its luster. Eight years later, the picture was reversed. Now Gold had run up three hundred percent, and the stock market was cut in half.As of late, we see a similar picture. While the Gold market is trading sideways to down, the stock market had another substantial seventy percent run-up. From a technical perspective view, this run-up has characteristics of a blow-off top. We expect a reversal and would not be surprised to see the stock market losing 40% or more and, in turn, Gold nearly doubling.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Bet on the strong horse:Silver versus Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 15th, 2021.Gold is the leader in the precious metal sector and enjoys popularity in wealth preservation, but we find Silver’s price development to be the more aggressive one. If you look at the weekly chart above, you will find Silver pushing stronger towards another leg up than Gold has over the last eleven months. Hence, we suspect Silver to outpace Gold by percentage in the next leg up. Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Fifty/fifty and rising:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 15th, 2021.We can make out that Silver broke out of a multi-year sideways range on the monthly chart above. It moved substantially, building the first leg last year and building a one-year-long bull flag, which is about to resolve itself.As of right now, the odds are only 50/50 for Silver monthly prices to rise, but if prices hold current levels, these odds can change dramatically within the next two weeks. A price close above US$26.07 by the end of this monthly candle will make us an aggressive buyer in August.Silver, a new way to think:One way to illustrate how deep the thinking in currency reaches is the phenomenon of the 99-cent store. The illusion that anything below a dollar is cheap created an empire (99only).Another one is the abnormal behavior of the markets in the denomination units of the currency at 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars, for example. Below each of these units, value is perceived cheap, and above these increments, value is expensive. Consequently, stops are placed closely near these figures. Meaning it shouldn’t be underestimated how deeply these behaviors in relationship to currency are rooted. It requires proactive reconditioning, training, if you will, to think, in other units as a benchmark. You can use ounces of Gold or Silver and even Bitcoin. Practice this new way of translating cost and value to you, and you will have a heads-up to procrastinators who hang on to an old paradigm that does not actively reflect a measurement tool translating their wealth.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 15th, 2021|Tags: Gold/Silver-Ratio, low risk, S&P500/Gold-Ratio, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Bond Yields Slipping, How Long Can Inflation Be Transitory?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.07.2021 20:28
Since the big CPI and PPI prints earlier this week, markets have been trying to figure out direction and sentiment. What will be the outcome of continued higher inflation prints?Capital markets seem to be a bit confused as to what to do next. As Federal Reserve Chair Powell testified in front of House and Senate committees over the last two days, there doesn’t seem to be any additional clarity in my eyes.I wanted to wait until the Fed’s 2-day testimony concluded before publishing today’s opinion piece to gain any additional clarity on the markets.There is a conundrum that exists right now. We keep getting higher inflation readings, and the Fed has already telecasted that higher rates are in the cards in 2023 (maybe 2022). Inflation is a problem and needs to be tamed. One way of taming it is to raise interest rates. There are other tools at the Fed’s disposal to tame interest rates like tapering and more. The question becomes, at what point is action going to be taken?As the Fed testified in Congress yesterday and today, interest rates fell and the price action seemed anything but typical following Wednesday’s poor 30-year bond auction. We get it, the markets are addicted to low interest rates, but unless hyperinflation is the goal, it feels like something needs to change soon. When will the Fed begin tapering bond buying? How about some incremental tapering or very fractional interest rate increases such as an eighth of a percentage point or something? If something doesn’t change soon, we could be heading for a 1981 style inflationary environment. Rates are going to have to rise, and the stock market is not going to like it. However, action needs to be taken.Will the US equity markets be able to maintain their upward trajectory?All of this stimulus, decade-plus near-zero interest rates, bond buying, and market addiction to easy monetary policy will have repercussions eventually.Since we have been analyzing TLT, let’s take a look at the 30 Year Bond Futures:Figure 1 - U.S. Treasury Bond Futures July 8, 2021 - July 15, 2021, 1 Hour Candles Source stooq.comThe puzzling price action (or perhaps not so puzzling in retrospect given the 2-day Fed testimony) is the creep higher after the weak demand shown in Wednesday’s 30-year bond auction. If you were short bonds at this time via TLT or any product, things were looking good. Since that auction, we had the Fed testimony, which showed many select congress members pleading for interest rates to be kept low. Unfortunately, if rates remain at rock bottom levels, it seems like inflation could spiral out of control. This continued inflation would be bad for the American people.It is unusual price action; to say the least. The 30-year bond auction was priced at 2%, and demand was extraordinarily weak. There is a solid explanation of this most recent bond auction on Barrons.However, today, we have 30-year bonds catching a bid near 1.94%. Yes, it is illogical. Yes, markets can be illogical for extended periods.Looking at the 30-year bond from a perspective of yield:Figure 2 - U.S. 30 Year Treasury Bond Yield July 7, 2021 - July 15, 2021, 1 Hour Candles Source stooq.comFed’s James Bullard, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President urged for tapering of bonds earlier today.At the time of writing, we have the bonds continuing to be bid with the $SPX moving lower. The message of the market is exhibiting signs of change in my eyes. I don’t want to sound any overall warning bells just yet, but I am tuned in all day, every business day.Now, let’s review the markets we are monitoring along with analyses on the other seven markets we are covering for Premium Subscribers.Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael ZorabedianStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Struggles To Bounce

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.07.2021 06:40
AUDUSD tests key supportThe Australian dollar softens as the state of Victoria goes into a five-day lockdown.Last week’s bearish breakout below 0.7450 has given the bears the upper hand. The price’s failure to lift offers around 0.7500 further confirms the downward bias. The current consolidation is likely an accumulation phase for the sell-side.Buyers are struggling to hold above the critical support at 0.7410. A drop could invalidate the timid rebound and trigger a new round of sell-off towards 0.7300.EURGBP capped by resistanceThe Pound rallied after average earnings jumped in the past three months. The euro’s latest rebound was capped by 0.8565, where strong selling interest pushed it back to the base.From the daily chart’s perspective, the pair moves south in a falling channel in spite of a choppy path. A break below the floor at 0.8510 could send the price towards 0.8480, key support from April’s rally.On the upside, even if buyers succeed in clearing 0.8565, 0.8595 could be a tough resistance to crack in the short term.US 30 rally seems overstretchedThe Dow Jones consolidates as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stressed again on the temporary nature of inflation. The rally has halted at May’s high at 35090.The RSI divergence shows a loss in the upward momentum, suggesting that buyers were eager to take profit. A shooting star at the latest high is another indication of a lack of commitment from the buy-side, which may foreshadow a correction.34660 is the key support and its breach would prompt short-term buyers to bail out, confirming the U-turn in the process.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Is FED Playing Cat and Mouse with Investors?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.07.2021 15:18
Investors prick up their ears to front-run the FED’s taper. It looks like a tricky game though, given its contradictory statements – what’s the truth?You Don't Say!At first it was nothing, then it was something, and now it’s…Source: CNBCSpeaking with CNBC on Jul. 15, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – who preceded Jerome Powell as the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) – said that declining long-term Treasury yields is “the market expressing its views that inflation does remain under control.” However, while the contradictory statements of “several more months of rapid inflation” and “inflation does remain under control” are quite humorous, she has a point: with bond investors eager to front-run the FED’s forthcoming taper, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has been the main casualty. And with gold often moving inversely of the U.S. 10-Year real yield, the development has strengthened the yellow metal.Please see below:To explain, the gold line above tracks the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price, while the red line above tracks the inverted U.S. 10-Year real yield. For context, inverted means that the latter’s scale is flipped upside down and that a rising red line represents a falling U.S. 10-Year real yield, while a falling red line represents a rising U.S. 10-Year real yield.If you analyze the relationship, you can see that one’s pain is often the other one’s gain. And if you focus your attention on the right side of the chart, you can see that the U.S. 10-Year real yield’s recent malaise has uplifted the yellow metal.Despite that, while Powell and Yellen continue to make excuses for their lack of foresight, Powell actually told Congress on Jul. 15 that surging inflation caught ‘everyone’ by surprise.Please see below:Source: CNBCHowever, while I’ve been warning for months that inflation was likely to boil, both policymakers are underestimating the lasting effects. And in the process, bond investors have buried their heads in the sand. Conversely, while “temporary” and “transitory” remain Powell’s favorite buzzwords, supply chain disruptions still haven’t fully filtered into the core Consumer Price Index (CPI).Please see below:Source: Robin Brooks/Institute of International Finance (IIF)To explain, the chart on the left depicts the effect of supplier delivery times on the core Producer Price Index (PPI). If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the red and light blue lines are roughly three standard deviations above their historical average (follow the scales on the right side of both charts). Conversely, if you analyze the chart on the right, you can see that the core CPI (the light blue line) is still less than two standard deviations above its historical average. As a result, the core CPI still hasn’t felt the brunt of the inflationary surge.What’s more, the New York FED released its Empire State Manufacturing Survey on Jul. 15. And with one header reading “Selling Prices Increase at Record-Setting Pace,” cost-push inflation remains alive and well.Please see below:Source: NY FEDIn addition, New York’s’ manufacturing sector expanded rapidly and supply chain disruptions (delivery times) remain an issue. An excerpt from the report read:“Business activity grew at a record-setting pace in New York State, The headline general business conditions index shot up twenty-six points to 43.0. New orders and shipments increased robustly. Delivery times continued to lengthen substantially, and inventories expanded. Employment grew strongly, and the average workweek increased. Input prices continued to increase sharply, and selling prices rose at the fastest pace on record. Looking ahead, firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months, with the index for future employment reaching another record high.”Turning to the second major player in gold’s bearish forecast, the USD Index is hitting its stride. And as sentiment shifts, the U.S. dollar is gaining significant support from speculators.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue, gray and light blue lines above represent net-long positions of non-commercial (speculative) futures traders, asset managers and leveraged funds. When the lines are falling, it means that the trio have reduced their net-long positions and are expecting a weaker U.S. dollar. Conversely, when the lines are rising, it means that the trio have increased their net-long positions and are expecting a stronger U.S. dollar. And if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that non-commercial futures traders and asset managers have completely changed their tune (though leveraged funds’ movement has been minimal).On top of that, the latest USD Outlook from Vanda Research offers an interesting take on the FED’s forthcoming taper. Predicting that a ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ event will unfold over the next several weeks, the firm believes that speculators will likely front-run the expected announcement.Please see below:To explain, if you analyze the first chart on the left, the pink bars (two months before), the dark blue bars (actual event) and the light blue bars (two months after) depict speculators’ USD positioning before, during and after hawkish FED announcements. And if you analyze the relationship, more often than not, speculators buy the U.S. dollar in anticipation, hold throughout the event and then bail after the drama unfolds. As further evidence, if you turn to the chart on the right, you can see that leveraged funds are notorious for front-running the FED’s actions. With eight weeks preceding major FED events often resulting in significant increases in net-long positioning, leveraged funds aim to strike while the iron is hot. The bottom line? With the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium scheduled for Aug. 26-28 (roughly six weeks away), another front-run could already be underway.Finally, while I’ve been warning for some time that the FED’s daily reverse repurchase agreements are the fundamental equivalent of a shadow taper (though, it doesn’t have the same psychological effect), the FED sold $776.261 billion worth of reverse repos on Jul. 15 and $859.975 billion worth of reverse repos on Jul. 14. More importantly, though, with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield often moving inversely of the FED’s international reverse repos, bond investors are behaving as if the taper is already underway.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue line above tracks the quarterly percentage change in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield, while the light blue line above tracks the FED’s inverted (scale flipped upside down) international reverse repos. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the larger the liquidity drain, the more bond investors position for slower growth, lower inflation and a hawkish FED.Conversely, the dynamic has the opposite effect on the USD Index. With U.S. dollars being siphoned out of the system, it’s akin to the FED reducing its QE program. As such, the liquidity drain (lower supply of dollars) is extremely bullish for the greenback.In conclusion, while the PMs have been buoyed by falling real yields, their relative performance has been extremely subdued. From March through May, gold rallied sharply once the U.S. 10-Year real yield reversed course. This time around, however, the bounce has been tepid, as concerns over a prospective taper counters the bullish optimism. As a result, with the USD Index gaining steam, inflation surging and a taper announcement likely to commence in September, the PMs’ optimism could evaporate at the drop of a dime. Thus, it’s prudent to avoid reading too much into their recent strength.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Rebound Gains Traction

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Rebound Gains Traction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.07.2021 08:43
USDJPY challenges key resistanceThe Japanese yen weakened after the BoJ slashed growth forecasts due to pandemic curbs.The greenback has met buying interest at 109.70, a major demand zone on the daily timeframe. A successful rebound would safeguard the rally in the medium term.An oversold RSI has prompted the bulls to stake in for a bargain as it recovers to the neutral area.The support-turned-resistance at 110.50 is the first hurdle, its clearance could propel the price to the psychological level of 111.00.USDCHF bounces towards daily supply areaThe US dollar claws back losses as June’s retail sales beat the consensus. The pair has found support on the 30-day moving average (0.9120).The bullish breakout above 0.9195 indicates that buyers may have turned the tide in their favor. The bullish MA cross also points to an acceleration to the upside.0.9260 is a major resistance ahead. Its breach would resume the rally and open the path towards April’s peak at 0.9450. 0.9170 is the immediate support in case of a pullback.EURAUD rallies to previous highThe euro rises as the eurozone’s CPI meets the market’s expectation in June. Sentiment remains bullish after the price broke above the major resistance (1.5940) from the daily chart.The latest correction could be mere accumulation to lay the groundwork for the next round of rallies. The pair bounced back from the 50% (1.5790) Fibonacci retracement level. A bullish breakout above 1.5980 would trigger a runaway rally towards 1.6100.On the downside, 1.5870 is the first support to let the RSI cool down.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

USDX: A Crocodile Just About To Strike

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.07.2021 15:06
Taking a sip from a crocodile pond is risky, but some animals try anyway. And die. Beware, as trying to profit from the PM’s pool now could end alike.Just as ignoring a crocodile hiding in plain sight, ignoring the USD Index is a dangerous activity. And while investors continue to drink from the pond, the greenback’s nose is literally perched at the water’s surface. The USD Index is currently consolidating below the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern, so its wide eyes are also glaringly visible. And with a strike liable to happen at any moment, a leap above 93 could make the USD Index devour gold, silver and mining stocks.To explain, the USD Index often soars during the summer months (major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year), and while the greenback’s back-and-forth movement has uplifted the PMs, once the USDX resumes its likely uptrend, the former’s optimism could dissipate rather quickly. As a result, if the ambush ushers the USD Index above 93, the next stop is likely 98.Please see below:Furthermore, the seasonal thesis remains intact: I mentioned above that the USD Index often records material upswings during the middle of the year. And with the hunter’s disguise nearly always catching overzealous investors by surprise, will the next trap be any different?In fact, the USD index seems to be breaking above the neck level of its inverse head-and-shoulders formation at the moment of writing these words.The week started with a breakout, so there’s plenty of time for the markets to react before the next bigger break takes place (the next weekend). In other words, this week could be quite volatile and nothing like the previous weeks’ boredom. Gold, silver, and mining stocks might slide quite profoundly before we hear Friday’s closing bell.If you analyze the chart below, you can see that summertime surges have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and double bottoms often signal the end of major declines or ignite significant rallies. For example, in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018, a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights. In addition, back in 2008, U.S. equities’ plight added even more wind to the USD Index’s sails. And if the general stock market suffers another profound decline (along with gold miners and silver), a sharp re-rating of the USDX is likely in the cards.Please see below (quick reminder: you can click on the chart to enlarge it):On top of that, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, a profound uptrend is already in place.Please see below:As another important variable, the Euro Index’s recent symmetrical decline mirrors the drawdown that we witnessed in mid-2020. And if the Euro Index breaks below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern, the steep decline could usher the index back to the June 2020 lows or even lower. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index.In addition, when the Euro Index reached the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern in early April 2021, late September 2020, and late October 2020, a fierce rally ensued. However, this time around, the corrective upswing has been extremely weak. As a result, with lower highs and lower lows plaguing the Euro Index in recent weeks, it’s likely only a matter of time before the neckline breaks.Please see below:Even more relevant, the completion of the masterpiece could have a profound impact on gold, silver and mining stocks. To explain, gold continues to underperform the euro. If you analyze the bottom half of the chart above, you can see that material upswings in the Euro Index have resulted in diminishing marginal returns for the yellow metal. Thus, the relative weakness is an ominous sign. That’s another point for the bearish price prediction for gold.The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, while gold, silver and mining stocks are increasingly treading water, the USD Index’s jaws are expanding. And with the greenback poised to take a bite out of the trio’s performance over the medium term, the precious metals could be in for a long and arduous recovery. However, after the drama unfolds, gold, silver and mining stocks are poised to continue their long-term secular uptrends.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Bitcoin, reinvent yourself

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 20.07.2021 11:12
The weekly snapshot taking isn’t picked at random.Each trade should have at least three timeframe components.A trade setup time frame where the edges get stacked, and risk/reward is determined, with targets and a stop level.A time frame higher than the setup timeframe, which needs to confirm trading direction. If you have a long entry set up on a daily chart, but the weekly chart has a downtrend of price, this setup is invalid and should therefore not be executed.And an entry time frame is the next lower time frame below the setup time frame, allowing for more precise entry timing and stacking odds to minimize risk.For example, suppose you are a position trader with a typical holding period of 2-4 weeks. In that case, you are looking for a trend on the weekly chart. Find a setup on a daily chart in the direction of that trend. And fine-tune the entry on the sixty-minute timeframe.This makes the weekly chart a part of even the largest time frame market participants and day-traders should not ignore its trend, hence our choice for weekly publications.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, Monthly time frame for direction:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 20th, 2021.One of the best ways to reinvent yourself, meaning to get in a proper neutral state, is finding a relatively quiet trading spot within the 24/7 Bitcoin trading environment. Or even better, turn your real-time data feed off, so that the charts can not stimulate you with movement. Start with the largest time frame from your triple time frame set up and get a sense of the long-term direction (sideways, up, steep up, down, steep down) and only consider setups in the time frame below (the setup time frame) that follow this direction.In this week’s chart book, we take as an example the monthly time frame for a long-term Bitcoin position. Bitcoin, reinvent yourself.We can see on the monthly chart above a clear long-term bullish note on Bitcoin. In addition, we see good support based on our overlaying two Fibonacci retracements. In retracement A from the absolute lows of the latest strong up-leg from March last year, we get good price support. From the second measurement of the pure breakout leg through US$20,000, we have already had a bounce with a doji indecision bar of last month. Consequently, we are looking for long setups only on the next lower time frame, the weekly chart.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Weekly time frame for setups:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 20th, 2021.Having identified the monthly time frame to a bullish trend on Bitcoin, we wouldn’t consider even a beautiful short setup since we insist on all edges stacking in our favor. This already cuts our entry horizon of possibilities in half.The weekly chart above shows an entry possibility on low risk near prices on the bottom of a sideways range right now (yellow box). This ten-week trading range between US$30,000 and US$39,000 has substantial fractal volume support, as shown in the histogram on the right side of the chart. We also find previous price support (see a green horizontal line). In addition, prices trade at the mean, also a typical reversal and support spot (yellow directional line). BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Daily time frame for execution:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 20th, 2021.The weekly chart time frame planning sets the tone for our daily calls. A daily review for what execution setups we would be looking for and, most of all, filtering out any trades we are NOT interested in.  See our daily call methodology. We post these daily calls for various asset classes daily in our free Telegram channel.By focusing on what not to do, we avoid the blue car syndrome and use a tool to reinvent ourselves.In the daily chart above, you can see a possible turning point in the making. We would not be surprised if prices penetrate the range violently to quickly reverse, creating a wick, as it has in the past (white circles).No matter what methodology you use in fine-tuning your entries and reducing risk, right now is the time to pay attention.Bitcoin, reinvent yourself:The neutral mindset isn’t the only aspect of trading that calls for a daily reinvention. The mind that observes is a different one than the mind that executes trades. The observer evaluates, compares, and debates, necessary to find edges and build systems. The executioner must follow a clear set of rules blindly and can’t afford debate. Last-minute evaluation creates stress and an unwanted reach for intuition-an aspect not valuable for a counter-intuitive environment.Consequently, this means a scheduled daily routine where one reinvents oneself repeatedly to be a valuable tool in market participation or otherwise; the vast sea of choices within the market swallows you and exploits the lack of discipline.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 20th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Powell Gave Congress Dovish Signs. Will It Help Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.07.2021 14:41
Powell admits that inflation is well above the Fed’s target, but he still considers it transitory. Gold increased in response – only to fall again.Last week, Powell testified before Congress. On the one hand, Powell admitted in a way that inflation had reached a level higher than expected and is above the level accepted by the Fed in the longer run:Inflation has increased notably and will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.It means that the Fed was surprised by high inflation, but it doesn’t want to admit it explicitly. Instead, Powell admitted that inflation would likely stay at a high level for some time. The obvious question here is: why should we believe the Fed that inflation will really moderate later this year, given that the US central bank failed in forecasting inflation in the first half of 2021?What’s more, Powell acknowledged that he hasn’t felt comfortable with the current level of inflation:Right now, inflation is not moderately above 2%; it is well above 2%. The question is, where does it leave us six months from now? It depends on the path of the economy.It means that, at some point in the future, if high inflation turns out to be more persistent than expected, the Fed will act to bring inflation back to lower levels. However, nobody knows when exactly it could happen – and I bet that, for political reasons, it would happen rather later than sooner.Indeed, even though inflation turned out to be higher than previously thought, Powell downplayed the danger of rising prices, reiterating the view that inflation is transitory. In particular, Powell maintained that recent price hikes were closely related to the post-pandemic recovery and would fade after some time:The high inflation readings are for a small group of goods and services directly tied to reopening.I dare to disagree. It’s true that the hike in the index for used cars accounted for one-third of the June CPI jump. But two-thirds of 5.4% is 3.6%, still much above the Fed’s target! Anyway, in line with its narrative, the Fed doesn’t see a need to rush with its tightening cycle. After all, the US labor market is – according to Powell and his colleagues from the FOMC – still far from achieving “substantial further progress”, with 7.5 million jobs missing from the level seen before the start of the pandemic. So, the tapering of quantitative easing is – as Powell noted – “still a ways off”. So, overall, Powell’s remarks were dovish and positive for the yellow metal.Implications for GoldWhat does Powell’s recent testimony imply for the gold market? Well, the yellow metal initially rose after his appearance in Congress. This is probably because investors bought the narrative about transitory inflation and decided that monetary taps would stay open for a long time and tapering would start later than investors expected in the aftermath of the recent dot-plot. The rising cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus is another reason why investors could bet that the Fed would maintain its accommodative monetary policy. So, the bond yields declined, while the price of gold increased as the chart below shows.However, gold’s reaction was disappointingly soft given the dovishness of Powell’s remarks, and the yellow metal declined again later last week amid some better-than-expected economic data. It seems that there is hesitancy among precious metals investors about whether or not to take a more decisive step with purchases of gold. The reason is probably that, sooner or later, the interest rates will have to rise in response to inflation. It means that the opportunity costs of holding gold will increase, exerting some downward pressure on gold.Nevertheless, the real interest rates should remain low, so gold prices shouldn’t drop like a stone. Actually, in the longer run, when inflation creates some economic problems while the economic growth slows down, the yellow metal could finally benefit from the stagflationary conditions.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 20.07.2021 15:07
After the sharp drop in the first half of June and a tenacious sideways bottoming out, the gold price recovered to US$1,834 and thus reached its 200-day moving average (US$ 1,827) again. Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?ReviewSince gold prices reached a new all-time high at US$2,075 on August 7th, 2020, the entire precious metal sector has been in a multi-month correction. After eight months within this correction, gold fell back to an important double low at around US$1,676 in mid and late March. From there, prices recovered strongly in April and May. This wave up ended at US$1,916 (+14.3% in eight and a half weeks). Subsequently, gold prices came under strong selling pressure once again. A quick and steep sell off took prices down by US$142 within just one week between June 11th and 18th. But it was not until June 29th that the gold market finally found its turning point at US$1,750. From here, an initially tenacious but step by step more dynamic recovery towards US$1,834 began. Over the last few days, gold slipped back below US$1,800 only to recover quickly back to US$1,815.While central bankers, politicians and the media have been talking down the increasing fears of inflation (US consumer price index +5.4% in June), gold was only able to recover slowly from the severe pullback in June. Nevertheless, gold current trades about US$65 higher than at its low point a three weeks ago. Is this the end of the typical early summer correction in the precious metals sector or is there still some more downside to come?Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarWeekly Chart – The series of higher lows remains intactGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of July 20th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the weekly chart, gold has been moving higher within a clearly defined uptrend channel (dark green) since autumn 2018. The lower edge of this trend channel was tested in April 2019. The sharp pullback in June, on the other hand, has so far ended at US$1,750 and thus at the connecting line (light green) of the last three higher lows. At the same time, the upper edge of the former downward trend channel (red) was successfully tested for support.If the correction is now over, gold could already be on the way to its upper Bollinger Band (US$1,911). In any case, the stochastic has turned upwards again and thus provides a new buy signal.Overall, the weekly chart is not (yet) convincing, but the bullish tendencies prevail. To confirm the uptrend, a higher high is needed in the next step, which would require gold prices above US$1,916. Until then, however, the bulls still have a lot of work to do. If, on the other hand, the low at US$1,750 is being taken out, another retracement towards the lower edge of the uptrend channel at around US$1,670 to US$1,700 is very likely.Daily Chart – Around the falling 200-day moving averageGold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of July 20th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, gold had good support at the cross of a downtrend and an uptrend line. Starting from that zone and the low at US$1,750, gold did already recover slightly above the still falling 200-day moving average (US$1,824). However, as the stochastic oscillator has already moved into the overbought zone and created a new sell signal. As well, the upper Bollinger Band (US$ 1,831) is blocking the bulls. Hence, a consolidation around the 200-day moving average would be a highly conceivable scenario.Bulls need to gain confidence againOnce the important 200-day moving average will have been sustainably recaptured and the bulls will have gained some confidence, the rally could continue and transform into the typical summer rally. The next target would then be the downward trend line from the all-time high via the high from the end of May. This line is currently sitting at around US$1,892 and is falling a few dollars a day.In summary, the daily chart is overbought in the short term. This means that the risk/reward ratio is not good right now. Ideally, however, the bulls will succeed in consolidating around the200-day moving average for at least a few days or even several weeks. This would provide the launching pad for the summer rally and higher gold prices. If, on the other hand, prices fall below US$1,790 again, the correction will likely continue. However, only below US$1,765 the promising setup for a midsummer rally would be destroyed.Commitments of Traders for Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?Commitments of Traders for Gold as of July 19th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe commercial traders used the sharp pullback in June to cover their short positions again. This has eased the setup in the futures market somewhat. Nevertheless, with 221.028 contracts sold short as of last Tuesday, commercial traders still hold a relatively high short position on the gold future in a longer-term comparison.In summary, the current Commitment of Trades report (CoT) still does not provide a contrarian buy signal but calls for caution and patience.Sentiment for Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?Sentiment Optix for Gold as of July 19th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe Sentiment in the gold market fell to a low at the end of June and has since recovered quite a bit. However, this low did not represent an extreme, but rather showed only a slight increase in pessimism. The last “real” panic low in the gold market, on the other hand, was last seen in August 2018 with the sell-off at that time down to US$1,160. No one can predict when and if such a good contrarian opportunity will arise again in this bull market. It remains to be said that the correction in June did not lead to any extreme pessimism, and that confidence has already prevailed again.The sentiment thus tends to reinforce the doubts about a sustainable and imminent wave up.Seasonality for Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?Seasonality for Gold over the last 53-years as of July 14th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderA strong green light, on the other hand, currently comes from the seasonal component! Statistically, a major bull move in the gold market begins precisely in these days. This wave up usually lasts until the end of September or even mid-October. Although the price action of the last three weeks left the impression of an early summer doldrums, it is precisely this price behavior that fits the seasonal pattern.Hence, as soon as the gold market will start to move, the chances of a strong movement up are very favorable from a seasonal perspective.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioBitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of July 20th, 2021. Source: TradingviewWith prices of around US$29,500 for one bitcoin and US$1,815 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently around 16.25. This means that you currently must pay a bit more than 16 ounces of gold for one bitcoin. Conversely, one ounce of gold currently costs 0.0615 bitcoin. Since the sharp sell off at the beginning of May, the bitcoin/gold ratio has mainly been running sideways. Another price slide does not seem out of the question given the continued weakness of bitcoin. However, the long-term uptrend in favor of bitcoin remains intact, while the stochastic on the ratio chart is heavily oversold.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is a good guideline!Overall, you want to own gold as well as bitcoin since opposites complement each other. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the pristine digital features of bitcoin you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro update and Crack-up-Boom:FED Balance sheet as of July 10th, 2021. Source Holger ZschaepitzIn terms of monetary expansion, the global uptrend continued in recent weeks, of course. The balance sheet of the US Federal Reserve grew by US$19 billion to a total of US$ 8,097.8 billion and thus once again reached a new all-time high. The Fed’s balance sheet total is now equivalent to 37% of the GDP in the USA.ECB Balance sheet as of July 13th, 2021. Source Holger ZschaepitzThe ECB’s balance sheet rose by another EUR 18.7 billion last week to a new all-time high of EUR 7,926.6 billion. With this, the ECB also created new billions out of thin air, as it does every week, completely irrespective of which of its various goals (symmetric or average price target, pandemic emergency purchase program PEPP or quantitative easing) is currently supposedly being pursued.ECB Balance sheet in percentage of Eurozone GDP as of July 10th, 2021. Source Holger ZschaepitzThe ECB’s balance sheet total is now equivalent to over 75% of the GDP of the entire Eurozone, reflecting the ECB’s huge increase in power. The central bank has long since been unable to concentrate on its actual goal of price stability. Instead, it has taken on too many other tasks in the ECB Tower in Frankfurt. And these fiscal and monetary interventions are becoming increasingly vertical.Central banks are destroying the free marketDigital Euro as of Jul 14, 2021. Source: European Central BankHowever, printing money has never worked in the history of mankind. It will not work this time either. The question remains how long the music will continue to play for the dance on the volcano, and whether it will still be possible in time to finally and completely eliminate the free markets with a new digital EUR currency.ECB = Reichsbank 2.0 as of July 8th, 2021. ©Stefan SchmidtIn the end, Madame Lagarde, just like Rudolf Havenstein, is a prisoner of the absurd financial policy that has maneuvered itself into a dead end thanks to an unbacked paper money system. Havenstein, by the way, was also an inflationist and, until his death in November 1923, interpreted the Weimar hyperinflation as a product of the unfavorable balance of payments and did not get the idea that it had come about through the unbridled use of the printing press.Conclusion: Gold – Has the summer rally already begun?After the sharp pullback in June and an initially tenacious bottoming phase, gold recovered towards US$ 1,834 in the last two weeks. Even though this rally took quite some effort, gold makes the impression that there is more upside to come. The summer rally has probably already started. After a temporary consolidation around the 200-day moving average, August should bring significantly higher gold prices (US$1,865 and US$1,910). Short-term pullbacks towards and below US$1,800 are therefore buying opportunities.However, the performance of the mining stocks does not quite fit into this optimistic picture. The GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF) is currently trading well below its 200-day moving average. And heavyweights such as Newmont Corporation and Barrick Gold have not been able to get back on their feet at all since the sell-off in mid-June. Despite this weakness in gold mining stocks, the call for a summer rally in the sector will have to be canceled if gold moves back below US$1,765.Analysis initially written on July 15th and published on July 19th, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Translated into English and partially updated on July 20th, 2021.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Florian Grummes|July 20th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin correction, bitcoin/gold-ratio, Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold correction, Gold Cot-Report, gold fundamentals, gold mining, Gold neutral, Silver, The bottom is in|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is also chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Intraday Market Analysis: AUD In Correction Territory

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.07.2021 10:41
AUDUSD drops along moving averageThe Australian dollar remains underwater as the RBA minutes say no to a rate hike before 2024.The sell-off has accelerated after the Aussie fell through 0.7410, the last stronghold from a previous bounce. The pair is sliding along the 20-day moving average, and the downtrend is heading towards the next support at 0.7230 from the daily chart.However, a repeatedly oversold RSI may prompt sellers to take some chips off the table, causing a temporary rebound. 0.7440 is likely to cap the buyers’ push.USDCAD breaks above major resistanceThe commodity-linked Canadian dollar took a hit after risk appetite receded. The pair saw strong momentum plays after it cleared 1.2650, a major resistance from last April.Short-covering in a crowded bearish trend may have contributed to high volatility. This could be an inflection point for the greenback in the medium term.In the meantime, February’s high at 1.2870 is the next target. Meanwhile, the RSI is back to the neutral area, and the direction is up as long as the price stays above 1.2600.NAS 100 recovers from moving averageThe Nasdaq index seeks support as investors grow wary of the Delta sell-off. The bearish breakout below the key short-term support at 14550 has put buyers under pressure.Price action has so far bounced off the 30-day moving average but buyers will need more assurance to commit again. 14550 is the first support after a rebound above 14680.A high RSI may slow down the pace of the rally. A recovery may only see the light of day if the bulls succeed in pushing above the major hurdle at 14880.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Junior Miners: New Yearly Lows! Will We See a Further Drop?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.07.2021 13:38
It seems that choosing GDXJ to short the PMs was a good decision – juniors closed the day at new 2021 lows. Will our profits only grow from now on?Gold’s yesterday’s intraday attempt to rally was not bullish. On the contrary, it was what usually happens right before a big slide. Especially given the USDX’s breakout.Let’s start with the latter.Yesterday there was a second session in a row when the USD Index closed above the neck level of the broad (~yearly) inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. Furthermore, it’s been moving slightly higher in today’s session, at least so far.This is a very bullish price action – the USDX’s breakout was not accidental, nor was it based on geopolitical news (the latter tends to trigger temporary moves that are then reversed). Additionally, it was preceded by a consolidation. Consequently, it seems that this breakout has a huge chance of being confirmed (we need just one more – today’s – daily close) and followed by another sharp rally. The previous highs at about 94.5 are the initial upside target, but based on the inverse H&S pattern, the USDX is likely to rally to about 98.Therefore, what just happened (the breakout above the formation’s neckline) has really bullish implications for the U.S. currency. And since the latter tends to move in the opposite direction to gold, silver, and mining stocks, it’s also very bearish for them.Gold and Its StocksThat would be enough on its own to make the outlook for the PMs bearish, but we have many more bearish indications, and some of them are truly profound. The most bearish confirmation of the bearish price prediction for gold doesn’t come from the USD Index but from the extreme underperformance of gold stocks relative to gold.The GDX ETF (senior gold miners) moved below the recent lows, and it closed the day below the neck level of a head-and-shoulders pattern based on the 4-hour candlestick chart. At the same time, the GLD ETF is still relatively close to the middle of its previous decline. If the comparison is still unclear, please consider the mid-May bottom. The GLD ETF closed just slightly below it, while the GDX a few dollars below it.And if you think this kind of relative weakness is bearish, just wait until you see what the junior mining stocks did.Junior miners declined not only below the neck level of the recent head-and-shoulders pattern (very clearly in both: intraday and closing price terms), but they actually closed the day at new 2021 lows! And they didn’t invalidate this breakdown yesterday, despite the intraday attempt!There are two markets that primarily impact the performance of the junior mining stocks. One is gold, and the other is the general stock market. Gold is now about $140 above its 2021 lows, while the S&P 500 is over 16% above its 2021 highs. And yet, the GDXJ is below its previous 2021 lows. It seems that choosing junior miners as a proxy for shorting the precious metals sector was a good decision – our profits are rising rapidly, and it seems that they are going to soar much more in the following weeks.What’s more, juniors are underperforming senior gold miners too. You can see that by comparing the two previous charts and by examining their ratio.The ratio declines when junior miners underperform seniors. This happens often when the general stock market declines – juniors are more correlated with the latter than the seniors. Interestingly, juniors underperformed recently, even while stocks were strong. If the general stock market declines from here, the underperformance is likely to take an epic form – just as it did in early 2020.This level of underperformance and weakness is truly breathtaking.If miners – in particular, juniors – were able to decline so much without meaningful help from gold and the general stock market, just imagine the carnage they will suffer once this “help” finally arrives.And given the breakout above the neck level of the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern in the USD Index, it seems like the key trigger to set the wheels in motion is already here.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Silver, the exception

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 23.07.2021 11:28
We highly advocate to never throw good money after bad money and only use Anti-Martingale strategies. However, the rare situation that Silver finds itself in right this moment allows for adding paper plays to your physical silver holdings. The reasons are as following: While the spot price dipped below US$25, physical acquisition prices held relatively steady. This stretch between spot and actual Silver purchase prices shows an imbalance that works like a rubber band effect. As such, we would even be as confident to say this is still a physical acquisition of silver opportunity.First and foremost, recent silver price drops shouldn’t cause you to sell your physical holding. Secondly, it is worth considering taking on small position-sized spot silver trades to leverage one’s physical holdings.Fundamentally thinking: Has anything changed?Are supply chain discrepancies fixed?Is the economy on solid grounds?Has money printing stopped, as the FED Balance sheet hits a new all-time high?FED balance sheet as of July 21st, 2021. The balance sheet of the Federal Reserve (US central bank) has hit another all-time high as FED president Jerome Powell keeps the printing press rumbling despite spiraling inflation. Just last week alone, total assets rose by another US$39billion to US$8,240.5billion. This is equal to around 37% of US’s GDP.Do not be deterred by temporary price imbalances, but look at the larger picture and the necessity of some wealth preservation insurance.Gold/Silver-Ratio in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Stretched and ready to snap back:Gold/Silver-Ratio, daily chart as of July 22nd, 2021.It isn’t only the “stretch play” between spot and actual physical silver acquisition price that is an edge on silver entries right now. The Gold/Silver-ratio also has had a recent run-up in price, where Silver eventually will have to catch up to its big brother Gold. The daily chart above shows how the “stretch” between the two precious metals rose from a level of 62 to 73 over the last six months. An imbalance extreme that will have to return to its mean (and beyond) at some point.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Silver, the exception, Buying zone opportunity:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 22nd, 2021.If you give the up-sloping green buying channel a look at the weekly chart above, you will find that each time price penetrated this zone, a sturdy leg up followed. You will find a histogram of fractal volume analysis to the right of the chart. It illustrates extended bars, meaning good support, at price levels between US$24 and US$25. You can also find an indicator divergence on the “turbo” (thin yellow line) on the Commodity Channel Index oscillator (indicator below the volume bars).With the round number of US$25 showing good previous support for price reversals, we are confident in a longer-term play to be engaged at these levels. As contrarians, we take entries at the lower part of this up sloping bull flag. Consequently, possibilities open up to finance trades at higher levels. In addition, we are already positioned if prices break through the upper resistance line (red horizontal line).  Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Good timing for risk reduction:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 22nd, 2021.The daily chart provides the opportunity to fine-tune one’s entry. Consequently, we stack our odds one more time and reduce risk. Silver prices already reversed from US$24.80 levels to the upside, and we posted real-time entries for this trade in our free Telegram channel. We use our quad exit strategy to reduce/eliminate risk early on.A closer look at the chart above shows that this first attempt might not be successful right away for follow-through. We have strong resistance above us (red horizontal box). In addition, the yellow line represents the simple 200-moving average. Probably the most observed moving average, and as such significant in technical analysis.Consequently, we expect prices to decline from there and providing a low-risk double bottom entry near the US$25 levels. This would allow the reader ample time to compare their findings. Compare your charts and trading system with our approach to plan a possible trade setup. We are fully transparent and as such, feel free to ask questions in our free Telegram channel.Silver, the exception:Things that are hard to do are most of the time the right actions in trading. Doubling up at a time when the hard thing was to honor your stop does not reduce your cost average. Even though, your broker makes it sound so alluring, instead it increases your risk massively. And yet, this 100-year cycle has dealt us right now an unusual card. Times require us to pay extra attention to making the right moves not to get train wrecked.The stern action right now is to be a contrarian early enough to hold cards or, better said, physical Silver before it will be unattainable. This allows for exceptional moves, but not by adding more risk. Instead, by identifying unusual opportunities in alignment with timing and not insisting on old paradigms. There is no shame in easing into this with prudence and small position size. Ignoring exceptional circumstances and procrastinating might become a costly path of action. We invite you to our free Telegram channel to ask questions of any kind to form a self-directed opinion to take care of your financial future actively.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 23rd, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, FED balance, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold’s Behavior in Various Parallel Inflation Universes

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.07.2021 12:44
The current high inflation could theoretically transform into hyperinflation, disinflation, stagflation, or deflation. What does each mean for gold?Inflation, inflation, inflation. We all know that prices have surged recently. And we all know that high inflation is likely to stay with us for a while, even if we assume that the CPI annual rate has already peaked, which is not so obvious. But let’s look beyond the nearest horizon and think about what lies ahead after months of high inflation, and what consequences it could have for the gold market.From the logical point of view, there are three options. Inflation rates could accelerate further, leading to hyperinflation in an extreme case. They could remain more or less the same, resulting possibly in stagflation when the pace of GDP growth decelerates. And, finally, the rates of annual changes in the CPI could slow down, implying disinflation, or they could even become negative – in this scenario, we would enter the world of deflation. So, which of these “flations” awaits us?Although some commentators scare us with the specter of hyperinflation, I would reject this variant. Surely, the inflation rate at 5% is relatively high, but it’s not even close to 50%, which is an accepted hyperinflation threshold. We also don’t see people getting rid of depreciating money as quickly as possible – instead, the demand for money has been rising recently (or, in other words, the velocity of money has been decreasing).It’s also worth remembering that hyperinflation usually occurs when fiscal deficits are financed by money creation, especially when the government cannot raise funds through borrowing or taxes, for example because of a war or other sociopolitical convulsions. Sure, the budget deficits are partially monetized, but we are far from the situation in which the US government would be unable to collect taxes or find lenders ready to buy its bonds. Hence, gold bugs counting on hyperinflation may be disappointed – but I doubt that they would really want to live during the collapse of the monetary system.The opposite scenario, i.e., deflation, is also unlikely. To be clear, asset price deflation is possible if some of the asset bubbles burst, but the absolute declines in the consumer prices, similar to those observed during the Great Depression, or even the Great Recession, are not very probable. The broad money supply is still increasing rapidly, the fiscal policy remains easy as never, and the Fed remains ultra-dovish and ready to intervene to prevent deflation. For deflation to happen, we would need to have the next global financial crisis which would severely hit the aggregate demand and oil prices.Although there are significant vulnerabilities in the financial sector, it’s definitely too early to talk about significant deflation risks on the horizon. As with hyperinflation, this is bad news for gold, as the yellow metal performs well during the deflationary crises (although at the beginning, people usually collect cash, disposing of almost all assets).So, we are left with two options. Inflation will either diminish to its previous levels (maybe to slightly higher readings than before the pandemic), and we will return more or less to the Goldilocks economy, or inflation will stay relatively high (although it may subside a bit), while the economic growth will slow down significantly (and more than inflation). It goes without saying that the latter option would be much better for gold than the former one, as gold doesn’t like periods of decelerating inflation rates and of a decent pace of economic growth (remember 1980 and the 1990s?). So, could gold investors reasonably ask whether we will experience disinflation or stagflation?Well, the Fed believes that the current high inflation readings will prove to be temporary and we will return to the pre-epidemic era of low inflation. But you can’t step in the same river twice, and you can’t step in the same economy twice. You can’t undo all the monetary and fiscal stimulus nor the surge in the broad money supply and the public debt (see the chart below).So, the pre-pandemic low inflation readings are not set in stone. And the impact of some deflationary forces could be exaggerated by the central bankers and the pundits – for example, the recent ECB research shows that “the disinflationary role of globalization has been economically small”.Hence, I worry about stagflation. And I’m not alone. The results of the latest biannual survey of the chief U.S. economists from 27 financial institutions for the U.S. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association also highlight the risks of high inflation and stagnation. They reveal that 87% of respondents consider “stagflation, as opposed to hyperinflation or deflation, as the bigger risk to the economy.”Actually, the GDP growth is commonly projected to slow down significantly next year. For example, according to the recent Fed’s dot-plot, the pace of the economic growth will decline from 7% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022. It’s still fast, but less than half of this year’s growth. And it’s likely to be slower, as the FOMC members tend to be overly optimistic.The stagflation scenario could be positive for gold, as the yellow metal likes the combination of sluggish (or even negative) growth and high inflation. Indeed, gold shined in the 1970s, the era of The Great Stagflation. Of course, there are important differences between then and now, but the economic laws are immutable: the mix of easy fiscal policy and monetary policy superimposed on economic reopening is a recipe for overheating and, ultimately, stagflation.However, so far, the markets have bet on transitory inflation. Moreover, they are focused on fast economic expansion and the Fed’s hawkish signals. But we could see more uncertainty later this year when higher interest rates and inflation hamper the economic activity. In that case, gold could get back on track.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – S&P 500 Resumes Rally

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 26.07.2021 09:56
SPX 500 breaks to new highThe S&P 500 rose back to its previous high on strong corporate earnings.The index has met strong bids around 4250, the top range of the late June consolidation. The subsequent surge gave no room for sellers to get a foothold.An overbought RSI may prompt intraday traders to take profit at the peak (4392). 4380 has been established as fresh support where buyers could be lurking around. Further below, 4350 may provide another layer of support.On the upside, a bullish breakout would extend the rally towards 4440.USDCAD hovers above supportThe Canadian dollar stays muted despite a slight improvement in retail sales in May. The greenback has met stiff selling pressure near February’s high (1.2800).The sharp drop is likely due to profit-taking after a rally above the resistance of 1.2650 from the daily chart. If longs succeed in holding 1.2500, the sentiment would remain bullish. Failing that, the pair may retreat to 1.2300.The RSI is rising back to the neutrality area, a sign of buying interest in the demand area. 1.2730 would be the immediate resistance ahead.EURGBP bounces off demand zoneThe pound remains under pressure after lackluster retail sales ex-fuel in June. The pair’s advance beyond 0.8610 has forced sellers to cover their positions.The price has dropped back to the demand zone at 0.8550 for accumulation.The RSI has recovered back to the neutral area. A rally above 0.8585 would confirm the bullish bias and rekindle buyers’ enthusiasm.0.8610 is the next resistance, then a break above 0.8660 may trigger a runaway rally. On the downside, 0.8510 is still key support.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

USDX Defends Its Growth Thesis - Will It Pass With Honors?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.07.2021 16:10
The USDX rose above its inverse H&S pattern neckline. After months-long preparation, is it ready to take its final test… and shine?The USD Index (USDX)With investors putting the USD Index through a rigorous exam last week (ending Jul. 23), months of study helped the greenback pass the test with flying colors. Case in point: with the USD Index rising above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern, the head implies a medium-term target of roughly 98. On top of that, with the USD Index’s textbook validation adding to the bullish momentum last week – with the greenback verifying its recent breakout and responding with further strength – the U.S. dollar is likely to graduate with honors in the coming months.What’s more, the bullish breakout was further validated when the USD Index closed the week above the neck level of its H&S pattern, and it’s difficult to imagine a more sanguine sign for the U.S. dollar. Thus, with the greenback poised to move sharply higher in the coming weeks, gold, silver and mining stocks are likely to head in the opposite direction.In addition, the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun. To explain, major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year, and with the dollar’s bullish IQ often rising with the temperature, gold, silver and mining stocks will likely feel the heat over the medium term.If you analyze the chart below, you can see that summertime surges have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and double bottoms often signal the end of major declines or ignite significant rallies. For example, in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018, a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights. In addition, back in 2008, U.S. equities’ plight added even more wind to the USD Index’s sails. And if the general stock market suffers another profound decline (along with gold miners and silver), a sharp re-rating of the USDX is likely in the cards.Please see below (quick reminder: you can click on the chart to enlarge it):On top of that, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the smart money is already backing the greenback.Please see below:As further evidence, the latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report shows that non-commercial (speculative) futures traders have increased their long exposure to the U.S. dollar (the light blue line below). More importantly, though, with longs bouncing off a roughly 10-year low and the current positioning still well below the highs set in previous years, the U.S. dollar still has plenty of room to run.Source: COTFinally, as the polar opposite of the USD Index, the Euro Index’s recent symmetrical decline mirrors the drawdown that we witnessed in mid-2020. And while the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern still requires further verification, a continuation of the trend could usher the index back to the June 2020 lows or even lower. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index.In addition, when the Euro Index reached the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern in early April 2021, late September 2020, and late October 2020, a fierce rally ensued. However, this time around, the corrective upswing has been extremely weak. As a result, with lower highs and lower lows plaguing the Euro Index in recent weeks, it’s likely only a matter of time before the neckline officially breaks.Please see below:Even more relevant, the completion of the masterpiece could have a profound impact on gold, silver and mining stocks. To explain, gold continues to underperform the euro. If you analyze the bottom half of the chart above, you can see that material upswings in the Euro Index have resulted in diminishing marginal returns for the yellow metal. Thus, the relative weakness is an ominous sign. That’s another point for the bearish price prediction for gold.The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, the USD Index will likely emerge victorious in this epic battle of wits. Moreover, with the GDXJ ETF (our short position) avoiding mirroring gold’s recent strength, it seems that when the USDX finally does rally profoundly, junior mining stocks will fall substantially. However, following a profound climax, gold, silver and mining stocks will likely resume their secular uptrends.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Bitcoin, low-hanging fruit

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 27.07.2021 10:56
Once in a high likely entry zone, like the daily sideways channel on Bitcoin over the last weeks, the questions arise:Will prices break higher or lower?If to buy, when and where to buy?How much should I risk?BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Bitcoin, low-hanging fruit, What has changed since last week?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 27th, 2021.The daily chart above shows what has changed since last week’s chartbook release.A week ago, we wrote: “In the daily chart above, you can see a possible turning point in the making. We would not be surprised if prices penetrate the range violently to quickly reverse, creating a wick, as it has in the past (white circles).”A good plan was created, and the markets matched our expectations. But how were we able to end up with six long positions that all produced already booked partial profits? Let us explore the answers to the three questions asked earlier.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Will prices break higher or lower?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 27th, 2021.Answer to question 1: No one knows for sure in which direction a channel breaks, but one way to stack the odds in your favor is trading across multiple time frames. If you get signals within a short period for monthly, weekly, daily (yearly) time frames, the likelihood for a reversal just got stacked in your favor.We got a yearly signal entry on July 18th and a weekly entry signal on July 19th. A daily entry on July 20th followed. On July 21st, we were filled on yet another weekly and a monthly setup long for Bitcoin. And the next day, on July 22nd, we had yet another daily long signal.This entry frequency across all time frames in a very short time gave us confidence that the turning point had a high probability, and indeed, prices turned. We already were able to take early profits through our quad exit strategy to eliminate risk and book partial profits (all entries and exits were posted in real-time in our free Telegram channel).So, in short, you do not have to worry if you employ various systems for sideways markets and trending markets and trade all time frames; the worry gets taken off your shoulder by a self-regulatory system.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, If to buy when and where to buy?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 27th, 2021. cAnswer to question 2: Take every low-risk entry point as you would typically, even though you feel uncomfortable with them coming in such a short period of time. You will need a quad exit strategy or a similar exit strategy to reduce risk quickly.We posted about two dozen of these more significant turning points live in our Telegram channel over the last 3.5 years with a hit rate above eighty percent. No need for greed, though. Simply exit your targets, as usual, to mitigate risk, as we have.The chart above shows the actual values of our entries and exits so far. We touched the upper bound of the channel and have now still five units exposed to the market. That is more than one full trade size-wise, with the advantage now that these remaining parts of the trades are psychologically untainted and easy to let ride further should a true trend continuation on the larger time frames unfold.Two more points are noteworthy. All entries came within less than a week. And more than half of the total position size gets cashed in on the first burst up within a day. It is this low-risk exposure and risk elimination in a brief period of time that we are after. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, How much should I risk?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 27th, 2021.Answer to question 3: Assume a maximum of ten trades simultaneously, which reduces your typical 2% maximum risk per trade to 0.2% per trade on total investment capital. The idea here is not to leverage or pyramid, but to increase odds and minimize risk for a more significant turning point.This means you do not want to have a more extensive total exposure at any time of 2% of your total investment capital of correlated trades. Why? A 27% loss is about the breaking point of systems where you can still recover from a loss. Remember, when you lose 50% on a position, you now need to make a 100% gain to be at break even. You do not want to mess with this principle being stacked against you. There is a near 100% certainty of 13 losses in a row in a thousand sample size. Take these times two percent, and you find the logic of why the “maximum 2% rule” is sensible.Looking at the chart above, you can see why this aggressive entry behavior is almost necessary with Bitcoin. Once in motion, Bitcoin is hard to stop and moves without a breath through the entire range within a week. Later entries are higher-risk trades.While Bitcoin typically retraces quite strongly, we are confident that we might see a second leg coming shortly. We do not trail stops at this time any further than towards break-even entry levels.Bitcoin, low-hanging fruit:It is tough to step up to the plate and that with size, after a more extended period of drought of trades. And yet exactly this is one of the best ways to make money!It requires confidence, a lot of focus, discipline, and a clear, refined rule set. In the case of the above-described scenario, it is the self-regulating aspect of the trading system by trading through various time frames to identify a high likely turning point. While each trade is low risk, the sum of transactions and, more importantly, the tight time interval of occurrence of entries guides towards a higher likely probability of prices to move through a reversal phase. It is imperative to back and forward test one’s systems if it is in alliance with this principle. We have found that in more cases than not, it is and, as such, encourage you to have a look if our methodology might fit your trading system as well.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 27th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

ECB Turns Even More Dovish. Breakthrough for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.07.2021 15:46
The ECB has become the exact opposite of the FED in terms of monetary policy. This dovishness might actually be bad news for gold.The European Central Bank held its monetary policy meeting last week. It was an important event, as it was the first meeting since the adoption of the new ECB’s strategy, and as the ECB has introduced some changes. It left the interest rates unchanged, but it modified its forward guidance.Long story short, the ECB announced that it would keep its policy rates at ultra-low levels for even longer than previously pledged, as it doesn’t want to tighten prematurely:In support of our symmetric two per cent inflation target and in line with our monetary policy strategy, the Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until we see inflation reaching two per cent well ahead of the end of our projection horizon and durably for the rest of the projection horizon, and we judge that realised progress in underlying inflation is sufficiently advanced to be consistent with inflation stabilising at two per cent over the medium term. This may also imply a transitory period in which inflation is moderately above target.Previously, the ECB maintained that it would keep the interest rates unchanged until inflation expectations converge with the central bank’s target. The change implies that the ECB is unlikely to raise the interest rates until at least 2023, as this is when the projection horizon ends. Central bankers want inflation to be stable at the target, and they won’t hike without tapering quantitative easing earlier.Additionally, the ECB has decided to keep the pace of its asset purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme at the current (faster than it was originated) pace over the third quarter of 2021:Having confirmed its June assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council continues to expect purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) over the current quarter to be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of the year.So, the ECB’s monetary policy has become even more accommodative. The alteration could be explained by two factors: the ECB’s new strategy and the Delta variant of the coronavirus. But the real reason is, of course, protecting the European government from the market interest rates – however, this is a topic for another discussion.I have covered both of the ‘official’ factors recently, warning my readers that the change in the strategy implies that the ECB has adopted an even more dovish stance and that the spread of Delta could prompt the central banks to further loosen their stance. This is exactly what has happened – as Christine Lagarde pointed out during her press conference:The recovery in the euro area economy is on track. More and more people are getting vaccinated, and lockdown restrictions have been eased in most euro area countries. But the pandemic continues to cast a shadow, especially as the delta variant constitutes a growing source of uncertainty.Implications for GoldWhat does the change in the ECB’s monetary policy imply for the gold market? Well, one could say that more dovish central banks are positive for gold, which likes the environment of low interest rates and bond yields.However, economics is about relative values. So, from the point of view of the comparative analysis, the ECB’s dovish shift is bad news for the yellow metal. This is why the Fed looks hawkish in comparison to the ECB, its main counterparty. After all, the Fed has actually started talking about tapering and monetary policy normalization, while the ECB has just announced that it would keep its quantitative easing at an elevated pace and would maintain its ultra-low interest rates for even longer.Hence, the greenback appreciated relative to the euro after the ECB’s monetary policy meeting. Although a stronger dollar creates downward pressure on the yellow metal, the price of gold barely moved and is still trading around $1,800, as the chart below shows.However, there is a silver lining here. Some market participants were actually disappointed that the ECB didn’t provide a stronger adjustment. Indeed, no monetary bazookas this time. Moreover, the ECB’s decision was not unanimous, so there is some sort of a hawkish camp. Last but not least, it might be the case that the Fed will also loosen its stance if the Delta variant spreads in a dangerous way. Having said that, the divergence in monetary policy and interest rates across the pond should be a headwind for gold prices for a while.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

China Soft Ahead of Fed, Big Tech Earnings. Transports Lower

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.07.2021 21:16
Markets are lower in afternoon trading in New York today. China fears have created uncertainty, and why we looked to short the Transports yesterday.It seems like rough markets have a way of originating in China.Thinking back to 2007, I remember watching the China markets meltdown. This process began well ahead of the US financial crisis of 2008.Looking back at markets that you have lived and traded through, you amass a mental library of history and look to learn from it. Before 2007, I spent years as a Real Estate Agent and remember the days of people being approved for home purchases on variable ARMs and very low-income requirements. You just knew the music would have to stop at some point as banks loaded up subprime borrowers with debt that logic would dictate as unpayable.The China markets started to crack ahead of the US markets back then.Figure 1 - Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index March 24, 2007 - May 2, 2008, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comI do remember watching this market at the time. Other China indices fared even worse. Around this time, the $SPX experienced a pullback too, but one of a much lesser magnitude.Figure 2 - S&P 500 Index August 1, 2007 - December 7, 2007 Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comAs we can see, the $SPX also pulled back around this time, but in more of a pedestrian manner, with a 5.4% pullback over an 11 day period versus 10.8% for China around the same time period.It is important to note that the $SPX had pulled back prior to this time and rebounded to all-time highs. I am mentioning all of this as markets have memories and accelerated moves in China catch my attention. Let’s also mention the obvious here: the Covid meltdown in Feb - March 2020.As China is grabbing all of the headlines today, let’s see how the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite has fared yesterday and today.Figure 3 - Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index March 17, 2021 - July 27, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comYes, the Shanghai Composite is lower over the last two days. However, the sky isn’t falling, at least not yet. It is lower by 2.9% or so over the past two sessions. Note the support that was found around its 200-day moving average.What All of This Means for UsI believe it is smart to avoid getting too caught up in the daily headlines, for the most part. Price and divergences can tell better stories than any news headlines, which often come out much too late.This is the reason that it made sense to target the Transports to the downside yesterday. We had a pattern of lower highs and lower lows, with clear divergence from the direction of the broader markets since May 1st. In case you missed it, you can read about the analysis of the Transports in the July 23rd publication and in yesterday’s July 26th publication.As we targeted the short side of the IYT yesterday afternoon around $258.00, let’s see how the transports are faring in today’s market down day.Figure 4 - iShares Transportation Average ETF March 1, 2021 - July 27, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comThe IYT is lower by 2.54% as of the time of this writing. As discussed, the Transports were already trading lower versus the broader indices.Right now, we see the RSI(14) at 40 and daily MACD crossover brewing to the downside with the fast line crossing the slow line.We will hear from the Fed tomorrow.The FOMC statement and subsequent press conference is slated for tomorrow. Those kinds of days can be tough to trade, and depending on the Fed’s tone, anything could happen.Now, for our premium subscribers, let's look cover some potential take profit levels and strategies in IYT, and recap the other markets that we are covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael ZorabedianStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Awaits Catalyst Breakout

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 28.07.2021 09:47
XAUUSD seeks supportGold bounces back as the US dollar retreats ahead of the Fed meeting later today.The price has been treading water above 1790 as the bulls struggle to save the rebound. The dip below the psychological level of 1800 has shaken out weak hands.The current consolidation is a sign of indecision ahead of a catalyst-driven breakout. 1824 is a major hurdle and its breach would heighten momentum and resume the stalled rally.Below the support, the bears may push gold towards 1755 and threaten the rebound.AUDUSD consolidates post-breakoutThe Australian dollar inched higher, supported by upbeat CPI, in Q2. Though price action struggles to bounce back after it broke below 0.7410, a support from the previous timid rebound.Sentiment has grown increasingly bearish and sellers are eager to offer at higher prices. 0.7440 has turned from a demand into a supply zone.If buyers fail to push above this threshold, 0.7290 would be the path of least resistance. A bearish breakout could trigger a new round of sell-off to last November’s lows around 0.7130.USOIL tests fresh supportOil prices continue to recoup previous losses as traders bet on tightening supply.WTI’s swift recovery above 71.10 is an encouraging sign that buyers are still hanging around. Following the breakout, 70.10 has established itself as a fresh support.The RSI has dropped back to the neutrality area and the bulls may have the last word if the support holds tight. Otherwise, price action could be seeing 66.00 sooner than expected.On the upside, 74.70 is the key resistance to clear before the bullish trend could carry on.
USDX: More Sideways Trading Ahead?

USDX: More Sideways Trading Ahead?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.07.2021 14:54
The USDX reportedly invalidated its bullish H&S pattern yesterday, but did it actually do so? The line based on daily closing prices says otherwise.Yesterday’s (Jul. 27) supposedly big news was the breakdown below the neck level of the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern in the USD Index. Invalidations of breakouts are bearish, and what’s bearish for the USDX is usually bullish for gold, silver, and mining stocks. So, what happened? And what didn’t happen?What happened was that the USD Index moved a bit below the declining neckline based on the previous intraday highs.What didn’t happen was the move below the declining neckline based on the previous highs in terms of daily closing prices (dashed line).So, was the breakout really invalidated? Not necessarily, especially that the USDX is moving back up in today’s pre-market trading (at least at the moment of writing these words).Moreover, while the USD Index moved lower yesterday, gold refused to rally.To be precise, it did move higher, but only by $0.60, so it generally ignored the USD’s movement.Consequently, yesterday’s session might have seemed to be a game-changer at first sight, but it seems much more likely that it wasn’t one. In my view, yesterday’s price movement was the continuation of the back-and-forth trading that’s analogous to what we saw in the first half of June. Gold was moving back and forth in a boring manner then too. The boredom was over quite quickly and a big short-term slide followed – I think the same is likely to happen shortly.Gold Miners’ AidMining stocks’ performance also supports this scenario.If it was the beginning of another sizable move higher in the PMs and miners, the latter would be likely to show strength before gold. And that’s not taking place.Senior gold miners were practically flat yesterday, just as gold was – that is, only slightly higher. On the other hand, junior gold miners ended the session slightly lower – very close to their previous 2021 lows.Junior miners (the GDXJ ETF) haven’t invalidated the breakdown below the neck level of the bearish head and shoulders formation. Consequently, the very bearish implications of the breakdown remain intact.All in all, the precious metals sector seems poised for another move lower, quite likely to the previous yearly lows in the case of gold and well below the previous 2021 lows in the case of the mining stocks. Yesterday’s decline in the USD index doesn’t change that. To clarify, the above-mentioned targets will most likely be just interim stops within an even bigger decline that will get us to the ultimate buying opportunity for the PMs and miners later this year.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Fed Nothingburger, Dollar Lower, Focus on GDP, PCE

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.07.2021 04:22
It was a rather pedestrian FOMC Statement day on Wednesday. There is GDP data incoming, and the widely Fed-followed Core PCE Price Index data comes out on Friday. What can we take away from the FOMC Statement and press conference?Rates unchanged. No rush to raise interest rates. Inflation should persist.No surprises here.However, there was some notable price action in the US Dollar Index during Wednesday’s session. The US Dollar Index initially rose on the FOMC statement at 2:00 PM. During the press conference, the USD fell as Fed Chair Jerome Powell mentioned that inflation should persist for several months. It is noteworthy price action and can be a forward-looking indicator for the direction of other asset prices.First, let’s take a look at the daily chart of the $DXY:Figure 1 - US Dollar Index November 1, 2020 - July 28, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comAs we know, the US Dollar has been in a longer-term downtrend. The repeating pattern has been lower daily highs. Short the dollar was a heavily crowded trade recently that we examined and discussed. After reaching oversold conditions, a quick bounce occurred. However, with no rush to raise interest rates and Fed open market operations continuing, the $DXY could try the downside once again. This downward move could impact the prices of commodities even further to the upside. There is a key Fibonacci level that was not quite reached in the index on its last downside attempt (near $88.41).Figure 2 - US Dollar Index July 28, 2021 - July 28, 2021, 1-minute Candles Source stooq.comI find value in this type of analysis; when you can take a daily/longer-term trend/outlook and then take an intraday peek on a day such as a Fed day. I would have guessed that the market would be factoring in further inflation already. However, based on the $DXY behavior intraday, it appears that the US Dollar may want to get set to go and retest the recent low near $89.50.GDP Data, Core PCEOn Thursday morning, we are getting GDP (q/q), and on Friday morning we will get the Core PCE data. GDP can be a market mover, and the Fed does like to monitor the PCE data for inflation signals.As the US Dollar may weaken some, a place to park some cash could be in the UDN - Invesco DB US Index Bearish ETF. I wouldn’t expect any home runs here; the ETF is unleveraged, but a 2 - 3% pop could be in the cards here if the $DXY wants to test its recent lows.Figure 3 - Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund - September 4, 2020 - July 28, 2021, Daily Candles Source stockcharts.comUDN is doing its job rather well and is inversely tracking the US Dollar Index at an efficient rate. Other traders could use the $DXY product on ICE if their accounts are enabled for it. ICE passes through the monthly fee for its products to retail traders (somewhere in the neighborhood of $110 per month) to trade these products and receive quotes.So, using UDN can give traders some pure exposure to a dollar decline. We will be eyeballing the $21.48 - $21.64 levels as potential TP targets for now. Levels and sentiment can change quickly, so stay tuned!Now, for our premium subscribers, let's review the other markets that we are covering. Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael ZorabedianStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Perfect Time to Invest In FAANG

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 29.07.2021 09:44
What happened?Apple, Microsoft, and Google reported their financial results for the second quarter. Despite strong earnings, the companies closed in red yesterday. Why? The global market sentiment worsened due to China’s tech crackdown and the Covid-19 resurgence. Besides, investors expected a tremendous profit from these companies and priced in a good outcome before the releases. Thus, investors who bought the stocks before the earnings reports started selling them afterward. In this case, traders say the so-called “buy the rumor, sell the fact” scenario happened. What to do now?The stocks from the FAANG group will keep rising in the long term with a high probability. Therefore, investors are eagerly waiting for these stocks to drop to buy them at a lower price. So, now it’s a good time for traders to enter! Perhaps you may wait longer for the prices to dip a bit lower to enter at more attractive levels. Let’s discuss the earnings results of Apple, Microsoft, and Google and also find the levels at which traders should consider buying these stocks.Apple Apple has released encouraging results. Just look: iPhone sales rose 49.8% in the second quarter of 2021 in comparison with the second quarter of 2020, while Apple's services revenue increased 32.9%, marking the fastest pace of growth since 2018. Wow, so good! Besides, both earnings results and revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations. These numbers tell investors that the Apple company is well-positioned and it will grow further. From a technical point of view, Apple is just slightly below the all-time highs. It would be great if it falls to the low of July 19 at $142.00, where investors can enter the market. However, if it reverses up from the current levels, consider buying now. According to UBS, the stocks of Apple will hit $166, while JPMorgan set its price target at $175. GoogleGoogle’s earnings results came out better as well. Google's core advertising business showed a 69% increase in revenue in comparison to the year prior. Moreover, Google’s cloud services and AI sector added tailwinds to the company. On the daily chart, the stock price has reversed down to the $2700 support level. It may reverse up from it today or it may drop to the low of July 19 at $2585, where a great opportunity to enter the market will appear. MicrosoftMicrosoft demonstrated astonishing earnings and revenue results for the second quarter as well. Its cloud segment rose more than analysts expected. The stock price of Microsoft may fall to the 200-day moving average of $280 or even deeper to the low of July 19 at $275. These levels will be good for entering. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Behavior of Inflation and Bond Yields Seems… Contradictory

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.07.2021 19:15
The bond yields dropped despite surging inflation. It’s not a usual thing on the market, so we have to ask: what does it mean for gold?The markets hide many mysteries. One of them is the recent slide in the long-term bond yields. As the chart below shows, both the nominal interest rates and the real interest rates have been in a downside trend since March (with a short-lived rebound in June). Indeed, the 10-year Treasury yield reached almost 1.75% at the end of March, and by July it decreased to about 1.25%, while the inflation-adjusted yield dropped from -0.63% to about -1%.What’s intriguing, this drop happened despite the surge in inflation. As you can see in the chart below, the seasonally adjusted annual CPI inflation rate surged to 5.3% in June, the highest level since the Great Recession. Even as inflation soared, the bond yields declined.Why is that? Are bond traders blind? Don’t they see that the real interest rates are deeply negative? Indeed, the TIPS yields are the lowest in the history of the series (which began in 2003), while the difference between the nominal 10-year Treasury yields and the CPI annual rates is the lowest since June 1980, as the chart below shows.The pundits say that the decline in the bond yields suggests that inflation will only be temporary and there is nothing to worry about. This is what the central bankers repeat and what investors believe. However, history teaches us that the bond market often lags behind inflation, allowing the real interest rates to plunge. This happened, for example, in the 1970s (see the chart above), when the bond market was clearly surprised by stagflation.Another issue here is that the central banks heavily influence the bond markets through manipulation of interest rates and quantitative easing, preventing them from properly reacting to inflation. Actually, some analysts say that the bond market is the most manipulated market in the world. So, it doesn’t have to predict inflation properly.Implications for GoldWhat does the divergence between the bond yields and inflation imply for gold? Well, as an economist, I’m tempted to say “it depends”. You see, if inflation is really temporary, it will start declining later this year, making the real interest rates rise. In that case, gold would suffer (unless inflation decreases together with the pace of economic growth).It might also be the case that the divergence will narrow as a result of the increase in the nominal interest rates. Such a move would boost the real interest rates and create downward pressure on gold.However, if inflation turns out to be more persistent than expected, investors will fear an inflation tail risk, and they will be more eager to buy gold as an inflation hedge. As I’ve explained, the decline in the bond yields doesn’t have to mean low inflation expectations. It may also indicate expectations of slower economic growth. Combined with high inflation, it would imply stagflation, a pleasant environment for gold.Another bullish argument for gold is the observation that the price of gold has recently lagged the drop in the real interest rates, as the chart below shows. So, it might be somewhat undervalued from the fundamental point of view.However, given the upcoming Fed’s tightening cycle and the record low level of real interest rates, I would bet that the above-mentioned rates will increase later this year, which should send gold prices lower. But if they rise too much, it could make the markets worry about excessive indebtedness and release some recessionary forces. Then, the current reflation could transform into stagflation, making gold shine. So, gold could decline before it rallies again.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Sees Few Bids

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 30.07.2021 09:00
USDJPY tests key supportThe Japanese yen finds support as June’s unemployment rate fell below 3%.A bearish MA cross on the daily chart is likely to cloud buyers’ mood. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near 110.60.The FOMC whipsaw was a sign that sellers still retain control since the downturn started earlier this month. 109.40 is a key support and its breach would invalidate last week’s rebound. Sellers would then be eager to push below 109.00.On the upside, a bounce will need to clear 110.20 to make the mood turn around.USDCHF in a deeper correctionThe US dollar tumbled as US GDP growth in Q2 came out below market expectation.The breakout below 0.9120 was a confirmation that the bears have gained the upper hand following a three-week-long consolidation. Bearish sentiment accrued as momentum traders jumped in aggressively.The price is heading towards the psychological level of 0.9000, right above the critical support (0.8930) on the daily chart.An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound which is likely to be capped by 0.9165.US 30 breaks to new highsThe Dow Jones index found support from the prospect of continuous stimulus in the US.The index consolidated its gains after it rallied above the peak at 35100. 34800 is a fresh support as buyers have a stake in after the breakout confirmation.US indices lately have been exhibiting a volatility pattern in which a sharp drop is followed by strong bidding.While sentiment remains generally positive, a deeper pullback here may test 34500. As the rally resumes, 35500 would be the next target.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Be Ready to Sell AUD

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 30.07.2021 16:03
What is happening?The Reserve Bank of Australia will hold a meeting on August 3. Analysts believe the bank may increase its quantitative easing program, while other banks are lowering their bond buys or discussing this decision.Why?Australia is poorly coping with the new Covid-19 wave. Sydney's current lockdown is expected to end on August 28 and there are some rumors that it might be extended. Five weeks of lockdown haven’t helped – infections continue to spread.What to expect?Westpac, an Australian bank, claimed that the RBA may lift the purchase pace from 5 billion Australian dollars to 6 billion. If the bank increases asset purchases, it may surprise the markets and send the AUD down.The AUD has already weakened. It has dropped against all major peers in July! Just look at the chart.ForecastAUD/USD is forecasted at 0.73 at the end of 2021 by Wells Fargo, 0.74 by the end of March 2022, 0.75 by the end of June 2022, and 0.76 by the end of September.Tech tipsAUD/USD is moving inside the descending channel. However, it has been stuck in a range between 0.7340 and 0.7400 since July 21. It’s touching the upper trend line now, therefore the pair is likely to reverse down. If it drops below the 0.7340 support level, it may fall to the low of July 20 at 0.7300. Resistance levels are high of July 29 at 0.7400 and the next round number of 0.7450.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold, USDX: Did Powell Spoil the Party?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.07.2021 16:05
The party was just gathering steam, and then… Powell entered, the ultimate spoilsport, making the Fed dovish again. How long till he gets kicked off?The War on DebtWith Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED), struggling to adequately define “transitory” during his press conference on Jul. 28, the market narrative has shifted from ‘hawkish FED’ to ‘dovish FED.’ And with the U.S. dollar bearing the brunt of investors’ wrath, the ‘all-clear’ sign flashed in front of the PMs. However, with post-FED rallies mainstays in the PMs’ historical record, the recent euphoria is much more semblance than substance. Thus, while Powell’s persistent patience elicits fears of financial repression, today’s economic environment lacks many of the qualities that made the gambit viable in the past.To explain, financial repression includes measures such as direct government financing (the FED prints money and lends it directly to the U.S. Treasury), interest rate caps (yield curve control) and extensive oversight of commercial banks (reserve requirements, controlling the flow of credit). In a nutshell: governments use the strategy to keep interest rates low and ensure that they can finance their debt. And with the U.S. federal debt as a percentage of GDP currently at 128% (updated on Jul. 29), some argue that’s exactly what’s happening. Moreover, with the U.S. 10-Year real yield hitting an all-time low of -1.15% on Jul. 28, is the FED simply turning back the clock to the 1940s?To explain, during World War Two, surging inflation helped the U.S. government ‘inflate away’ its debt. Think of it like this: if an individual borrows $100 at a 2% interest rate and repays the balance in full after one year, the total outlay is $102. However, if inflation is running at 4% (negative real yield), putting that money to work should result in an asset that’s worth $104 by the end of the year. As a result, the individual nets $2 (104 – 102) due to the inflation rate exceeding the nominal interest rate. And as it relates to the present situation, if the FED keeps real yields negative, then asset price inflation and economic growth should outpace nominal interest rates and allow the U.S. government to ‘inflate away’ its debt.However, the strategy is not without fault. For one, financial repression occurs at the expense of bondholders. And with pension funds still required to meet the guaranteed outlays for retirees, suppressing bond yields hampers their ability to match assets and liabilities without incurring more risk.More importantly, though, the FED doesn’t control the long end of the U.S. yield curve. For one, the FED owns roughly 23% of the U.S. Treasury market, and it has a monopoly on confidence, not long-term interest rates. Second, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has dropped because investors fear that the Delta variant and/or the FED’s forthcoming taper will depress the U.S. economy. And eager to front-run the potential outcome, bond investors have positioned for slower growth, lower inflation, and, eventually, a reenactment of the FED cutting interest rates.For context, even Powell himself admitted on Jul. 28 that the decline has caught him off-guard:Source: BloombergLikewise, following WW2, the U.S. government implemented structural reforms that are not present today. For example, prudent fiscal policy emerged in the late 1940s, with the government reducing spending and prioritizing debt reduction. In stark contrast, today’s U.S. government is already finalizing an infrastructure package and the federal deficit as a percentage of GDP is still growing. For context, a deficit occurs when the governments’ outlays (expenditures) exceed its tax receipts (revenues).Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the U.S. federal surplus/deficit as a percentage of GDP. If you focus on the period from 1943 to 1950, you can see that after the deficit peaked in 1943, reduced spending and strong GDP growth allowed the green line to move sharply higher. Conversely, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that current spending still outpaces GDP growth (green line moving lower), and stoking inflation is unlikely to solve the problem.U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield Decouples… By a LotCircling back to the bond market, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield currently trades at an all-time low relative to realized inflation.Please see below:To explain, the scatterplot above depicts the relationship between the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield (available data dates back to 1967). For context, the headline CPI is plotted on the horizontal axis, while the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is plotted on the vertical axis. If you analyze the dot labeled “Current Reading,” you can see that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has never been lower when the headline CPI has risen by 5% or more year-over-year (YoY). In fact, even if the headline CPI declined to the FED’s 2% YoY target, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield at 1.27% would still be the lowest relative reading of all time.However, it’s important to remember that different paths can still lead to the same destination. For example, if inflation turns out to be a paper tiger, a profound decline in inflation expectations will have the same negative impact on the PMs as a sharp rise in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield, while the red line above tracks the U.S. 10-Year breakeven inflation rate. If you analyze the gap on the right side of the chart, it’s a decoupling of the ages. However, while the two lines are destined to reconnect at some point, if the red line falls off a cliff, the impact on the PMs will likely mirror the 2013 taper tantrum. For context, gold fell by more than $500 in less than six months during the event.Finally, and most importantly, U.S. Treasury yields are only one piece of the PMs’ bearish puzzle. Knowing that one shouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket, betting the farm on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield would be investing malpractice. That’s why self-similar patterns, ratios, technical indicators, the relative behavior of the gold miners, the USD Index and the FED’s taper timeline are all prudently considered when forming our investment thesis.As an example, if gold had a perfect correlation with the U.S. 10-Year real yield, the yellow metal would be trading at roughly $1,940. However, with many other factors worthy of our attention, gold’s material underperformance indicates that a mosaic of headwinds undermines its medium-term outlook.In conclusion, Powell’s party was in full swing on Jul. 29, as the PMs and the USD Index headed in opposite directions. However, with the yellow metal still confronted with a tough road ahead, the fundamental outlook remains dicey over the next few months. For example, with the all-time imbalance in the U.S. Treasury market eliciting little optimism, it took Powell’s dovish remarks to ignite the recent fervor. And with both developments likely to reverse in the coming months, the PMs’ upside catalysts may fade with the summer sun.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Silver, the race is on

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 30.07.2021 16:35
Official records show the US owns some 8,133 tonnes of Gold. While the official number of China’s holding is lower, a fair guesstimate is that China holds roughly 14,500 tonnes.Fintech and IT Benchmarks 2021 research found that nine in ten central banks are feverishly working on digital currencies. Who will have immediate trust to exchange all their currency nest eggs in a brand-new technology? Even Bitcoin, which has proven itself in its ‘sector,’ is allocated not more than one to fifteen percent in the most progressive funds.It can also be assumed that China, which has been working on digital currencies since at least 2014, has the most advanced development in its projects. Meaning, we could expect a possible shift in world power.These and many more facts point towards a physical acquisition of Silver at recently reduced prices in the Silver market to be a good insurance play for wealth preservation.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, What has happened since last week?Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of July 30th, 2021.We posted the grey section of the daily chart above in last weeks chart book publication with the following text: “We have strong resistance above us (red horizontal box). In addition, the yellow line represents the simple 200-moving average. Probably the most observed moving average, and as such significant in technical analysis. Consequently, we expect prices to decline from there and providing a low-risk double bottom entry near the US$25 level. This would allow the reader ample time to compare their findings. Compare your charts and trading system with our approach to plan a possible trade setup. We are fully transparent and as such, feel free to ask questions in our free Telegram channel.”Prices followed precisely our anticipated moves and allowed us to post real-time in our Telegram channel a daily trading signal at US$24.53 on July 27th and a weekly trading signal on July 28th at US$25.175 to go long the Silver market. Fear not; this doesn’t mean you missed the boat if you weren’t able to enter the Silver market just yet.Let us have a look at the weekly setup and possible entry points: Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Low-risk entry:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of July 30th, 2021.If you look at the weekly chart above, you will find a trade entry near US$25, offering a long setup with enough room towards US$26 to get the trade financed (risk-free, see our quad exit strategy). Though the price struggles at US$26 (see the fractal volume analysis histogram showing a distribution zone near that price zone), we are confident this entry is worth a shot.What can also be found is a very similar oscillator divergence (b) like last time price touched the up-sloping green trend-line (a). While price moved down, the turbo (yellow line on Commodity Channel Index) went up. In addition, the stochastic (with setting five) also shows similarly an oversold setup slightly below the 20 mark (green circles).Evidence supports that price might retest the price zone near US$25 with the next weekly candle opening. This allows again for a low-risk weekly entry, should you not be positioned yet. Hence, it’s prudent to watch the early days next week for a possible low-risk entry spot.  Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, The big picture, Silver, The race is on:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of July 30th, 2021.A closer inspection of the monthly chart provides compounding evidence of the long-term bullish trend in Silver. Recent price development for a possible turning point is supported through multiple technical analysis facts:Price bounced from a harmonic Fibonacci level.Price bounced from the 15-simple moving average, which is a significant average for this time frame (bright green line).Bears are struggling to force prices lower after a significant double top near US$30.A sequence of higher price lows along the mid-line of the Linear Regression channel (blue line) warrants a bullish tone after the significant up-leg from US$11.64 March 2020 to US$30.09 this year.With this much evidence of a possible second leg up being underway for much higher price levels than smaller time frames illustrate, we are aggressively buying into lower time frame low-risk entry opportunities.Silver, the race is on:We have no clue how governments will try to hold on to monetary control and power. History shows that they always had a trick up their sleeves like confiscation (this is why we prefer Silver over Gold since Silver is less likely to become an illegal commodity to be owned).We rather avoid the risk based on “the early bird catches the worm.” Bitcoin carries the risk of becoming unlawful since it is relatively new in the mix. Gold is so highly priced that soon even small denominations will become less accessible for everybody. Silver, as of now, seems to fit the bill the best, both in wealth preservation and wealth creation.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|July 30th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, FED balance, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Intraday Market Analysis – Euro Gains Momentum

Intraday Market Analysis – Euro Gains Momentum

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 02.08.2021 09:10
EURUSD breaks resistanceThe euro inched higher after the eurozone’s Q2 GDP growth topped estimates.The pair has crossed above the 30-day moving average on the daily chart, a sign of unwavering interest from the demand zone at 1.1750. Strong momentum above 1.1880 could be a short squeeze.With sellers out of the picture, for now, buyers will need to consolidate their gains before they could stage a reversal beyond 1.1910. An overbought RSI has led to a limited pullback as intraday bulls take profit. 1.1840 would be the immediate support.USDCAD tumbles through supportThe Canadian dollar rallies as Canada’s GDP showed a smaller contraction in May. The US dollar’s break below 1.2430, a key support from the daily time frame, indicates that sentiment still favors its northern neighbor.The RSI has risen back to the neutrality area, which may give the bears enough room to sell the next rebound. The support-turned-resistance at 1.2550 could be the key hurdle.On the downside, renewed momentum below 1.2420 may push the greenback to the base of July’s rally at 1.2300.XAGUSD attempts bullish reversalSilver extends the rally as the US dollar weakens across the board.An RSI divergence has previously revealed a slowdown in the bearish momentum. The price bounced sharply after the sellers’ last tentative push. The surge above 25.40 suggests broad profit-taking.Once the dust settles and the RSI drops back from its overbought situation, buyers could be looking to initiate a reversal from the psychological level of 25.00 which sits in a former supply zone. 26.20 would be the target if they can gather enough impetus.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Best Assets to Profit Now On

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.08.2021 16:10
S&P 500 is in consolidation mode, underpinned by the Fed liquidity inflows. The mid-July dip has been readily bought, and the ascent‘s steepness bodes well for the bulls. No need to be spooked by the tech weakness or valuations just yet – with the Fed having the markets‘ back e.g. via the newly introduced $500bn backstop or repo market interventions, the buy-the-dip crowd will wake up to any discounts like Pavlovian dogs to a bell.As market breadth is on the mend, the VIX is still making lower highs and lower lows – the July winds though have changed that dynamic a little. Summer doldrums are about volatility, which is justifiably keeping the stock bulls on edge in the last few days. While the Fed‘s bluff has been called and the inflation / reopening trades haven‘t gone the way of the dodo bird, some caution is in place if you‘re also focused on portfolio performance (see the upper third of my homepage) – my Jul 06 words are valid also today:(…) Little wonder when all the central bank did, was influence inflation expectations, and precisely nothing about current inflation – let alone pressures in the pipeline. I‘ve discussed the cost-push pressures building up, leading to inflation becoming unanchored. Add job market pressures beyond the difficulties in hiring, and the issue grows more persistent. While it‘s not biting overly noticeably for the financial markets to take notice the way they did in Mar and early May, left unattended, inflation would come to bite in the not so distant future. The takeaway is that with the constant redefinitions of what transitory should mean now, the concept of Fed as inflation fighter is subject to well deserved mockery.Look for the lull in Treasury market to continue, it‘s almost goldilocks economy as the monetary and fiscal support rivals wartime footing circumstances. Makes you wonder what would be on the table if we were faced with a recession. Thankfully, that‘s not on the horizon – we‘re in a multi-year economic expansion that won‘t end with the tapering or tightening games this year or next, not in the least.The economic expansion is set to continue, and Treasury yields aren‘t signalling an impending recession. The Fed is ill-positioned to withdraw liquidity the way it attempted to in 2018, which means that asset price inflation is here to stay – both in the paper and real assets. I‘m still looking for more gains in stocks, precious metals and commodities in general as the tapering / tightening June drama has worked as much (cheap) magic as it could have already. Inflation expectations are tame at the moment, but look for inflation to be way stickier that the pundits see it to – apart from all the arguments I have made in the weeks and months before, there is the real estate market and owners' equivalent that‘s making up roughly a third of CPI. The dollar though looks range bound – I‘m not looking for it to break to new lows any time soon.Gold is well suported by retreating real rates, and the miners‘ underperformance is slowly getting better. I‘m not too worried by the underperforming silver at the moment – the white metal is notorious for its fake shows of weakness, on time frames higher and lower. The commodities bull train (star performer copper – I hope you‘re also enjoying sizable long profits in the red metal that I‘m covering in newly introduced Copper Trading Signals).Oil is a mixed bag with the oil sector and energy underperformance, but that‘s no obstacle to riding enormous open long profits from my Jul 19 call. Triple digit oil looks set to have to wait till next year – I‘m looking for $80 to be reliably capping the upside for now as OPEC+ is (should be) also aware of demand destruction should prices rise too high.Cryptos have sprung to life over July, and the continued Ethereum outperformance bodes well. Considerable patience is still needed though before we can talk of bull trend resumption – but the worst certainly appears to be over.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 isn‘t offering conclusive short-term clues either way, which is why I prefer waiting for an opportune entry point (remember my portfolio focus) – the bears would try their luck this month definitely, but I‘m not looking for their lasting success. Credit MarketsCredit markets performance remains generally supportive – in spite of HYG lagging behind, and Friday‘s whiff of risk-off trading. Encouragingly, TLT is starting to lag behind in the medium run, and that carries implications for growth and interest rate sensitive sectors.Technology and ValueTech heavyweights are taking a noticeable breather, but the rest of the crowd is stepping in – and that equals rotation, still more juice in the reflation trades.Gold, Silver and MinersGold hasn‘t rolled over, far from it – I look for the slow and steady march higher to continue in the medium term. Miners are improving, and Friday‘s show of strength would deserve a companion one of these days too. I‘m still looking for miners to confirm the upcoming gold advance.Silver and copper are diverging, and I look for it to be resolved with the white metal‘s upswing eventually, just as various Treasury or real assets to Treasury ratios point to.Crude OilBlack gold is perched a bit too high after the strong rebound, and upcoming energy sector performance would help the commodity tremendously. Keep the price appreciation expectations tame though – crude oil will do better next year.SummaryS&P 500 remains in a bull market, with no signs of having topped out. As volatility looks to be picking up, expect quite a few buying opportunities in the days and weeks ahead.Gold and silver bulls‘ patience is getting tested, but the underlying dynamics behind the bull run are unbroken. Silver would join the yellow metal in rising, and miners‘ springing back to life on a more consistent basis, would be a key sign to watch for.Crude oil lacks the strength to take on $80 at the moment, let alone $75, and sideways trading looks likely to rule the coming days and probably weeks. Bitcoin and Ethereum bulls have done a great job thus far, and the accumulation hypothesis has been almost fully confirmed by now – taking out 44,000 in Bitcoin is what would provide the final confirmation.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Jumps for Joy Only to Hit the Ceiling… Hard

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.08.2021 16:19
Powell’s recent dovish remarks started a sugar high among investors. However, it seems like the hangover has already begun.The Gold MinersWhile gold, silver and mining stocks jumped for joy following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s dovish remarks on Jul. 28, their sugar high ended on Jul. 30. And while I warned that FOMC press conferences often elicit short-term bursts of optimism, it was likely another case of ‘been there, done that.’I wrote prior to the announcement:While the PMs may record a short-term bounce – which often occurs following Powell’s pressers – lower lows are still likely to materialize in the coming months.In the meantime, though, did you notice the tiny buy signal from the HUI Index’s stochastic indicator? And taking that into consideration, is it time to shift to the long side of the trade? Well, for one, it seems very likely that gold miners are declining similarly to how they declined in 2008 and 2012-2013. In both cases, there were local corrections within the decline. As a result, the recent strength does not justify adjusting our short positions in the junior mining stocks, and I continue to view them as prudent from the risk to reward point of view.Second, after the HUI Index recorded an identical short-term buy signal in late 2012 – when the index’s stochastic indicator was already below the 20 level (around 10) and the index was in the process of forming the right shoulder of a huge, medium-term head-and-shoulders pattern – the HUI Index moved slightly higher, consolidated, and then fell off a cliff.Please see below:Can you see the HUI’s rally at the end of 2012 that followed a small buy signal from the stochastic indicator? I marked it with a purple, dashed line.No? That’s because it’s been practically nonexistent. The HUI Index moved higher by so little that it’s impossible to see it from the long-term point of view.With the shape of gold’s recent price action, its RSI, and its MACD indicators all mirroring the bearish signals that we witnessed back in December 2012, the current setup signals that we’re likely headed for a similar swoon. Thus, with both gold and the HUI Index sounding the alarm, if the bullish momentum continues, it’s likely to be very limited in terms of size and duration. Conversely, the following slide is likely to be truly profound.For context, I warned previously that the miners’ drastic underperformance of gold was an extremely bearish sign. I wrote the following about the week beginning on May 24:(…) gold rallied by almost $30 ($28.60) and at the same time, the HUI – a flagship proxy for the gold stocks… Declined by 1.37. In other words, gold stocks completely ignored gold’s gains. That shows exceptional weakness on the weekly basis and is a very bearish sign for the following weeks.If it wasn’t extreme enough, we saw this one more time. Precisely, something similar happened during the week beginning on July 6. The gold price rallied by $27.40, and the HUI Index declined by 1.39.Likewise, with the HUI Index’s ominous signals still present, if history rhymes (as it tends to), medium-term support will likely materialize in the 100-to-150 range. For context, high-end 2020 support implies a move back to 150, while low-end 2015 support implies a move back to 100. And yes, it could really happen, even though such predictions seem unthinkable.In addition, the drastic underperformance of the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline back then so profoundly, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, bearish head & shoulders patterns have often been precursors to monumental collapses. For example, when the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the gold mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here) all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.Furthermore, when the HUI Index peaked on Sep. 21, 2012, that was just the initial high in gold. At that time, the S&P 500 was moving back and forth with lower highs. And what was the eventual climax? Well, gold made a new high before peaking on Oct. 5. In conjunction, the S&P 500 almost (!) moved to new highs, and despite bullish tailwinds from both parties, the HUI Index didn’t reach new heights. The bottom line? The similarity to how the final counter-trend rally ended in 2012 (and to a smaller extent in 2008) remains uncanny.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.In both cases, the forecast for silver, gold, and mining stocks is extremely bearish for the next several months.As further evidence, let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the senior miners’ (GDX) RSI rose above 50 last week. However, the milestone preceded several corrective tops in 2020 and 2021. Thus, last week’s Fed-induced strength has only broadened the right shoulder of its bearish H&S pattern, and if completed, the size of the head implies a drawdown to roughly $28.Please see below:Meanwhile, the GDXJ ETF invalidated the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern last week. However, with the milestone likely a speed bump along the junior miners’ bearish journey, a mosaic of indications signal that their medium-term outlook remains quite somber. For context, with the junior miners’ RSI at 48.35, several flirtations with 50 coincided with the short-term peaks in 2021 and were followed by material declines. I marked these cases with red ellipses. And yes, it was also the case during the final corrective pre-slide upswing in March 2020.The bottom line?If gold repeats its June slide, it will decline by about $150. Taking the entire decline into account (since August 2020), for every $1 that gold fell, on average, the GDX was down by about 4 cents (3.945 cents) and GDXJ was down by about 6.5 cents (6.504 cents).This means that if gold was to fall by about $150 and miners declined just as they did in the past year (no special out- or underperformance), they would be likely to fall by $5.92 (GDX) and $9.76 (GDXJ). This would imply price moves to $27.76 (GDX) and $35.78 (GDXJ).In conclusion, gold, silver, and mining stocks received a helping hand from the Fed last week, as the charitable contribution uplifted the precious metals. However, while the central bank achieved its objective and talked down the U.S. dollar, prior bouts of short-term optimism faded once reality reemerged. As a result, with the USD Index now in season and the 2012 analogue looking more prescient by the day, gold, silver, and mining stocks will likely suffer profound declines in the coming months. However, with their long-term fundamentals still extremely bullish, new highs will likely dominate the headlines in the coming years.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Breaks Lower

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.08.2021 08:26
USDJPY struggles for supportThe Japanese yen strengthened on better-than-expected Tokyo CPI in July. The bearish MA cross from the daily timeframe may have put the bulls on the defensive.The dollar’s struggle to keep its head above 109.60 suggests a lack of commitment from the long side. 109.90 has established itself as a fresh resistance.The RSI has risen back into the neutrality area, giving sellers room to push lower. 109.00 is the closest support and its breach could deepen the correction for the days to come.USDCHF falls towards daily supportThe US dollar inches lower as July’s ISM Manufacturing PMI fell short of expectations.The pair dipped further in the bearish territory after 0.9070 failed to keep the price afloat. An oversold RSI has helped the greenback to claw back some lost ground.However, the rebound may be short-lived as sentiment favors selling into strength. 0.9090 is the hurdle where sellers could be waiting to jump in at a better price0.8980 at the origin of the June rebound is a critical demand zone on the daily chart.NAS 100 extends consolidationUS stock markets remain supported thanks to strength among corporate earnings.The Nasdaq 100 has slowly ground its way up from the 20-day moving average. The price action has once again bounced off the demand zone above 14800.As the index recoups its previous losses, there is high hope that the rally could resume to new all-time highs. For this, the bulls will need to lift offers around the peak at 15140. Failing that, a pullback towards 14550, a key level on the daily chart would be the path of least resistance.
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Bitcoin, World Reserve Currency

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 03.08.2021 12:26
World Reserve CurrenciesThink of it this way. The most crucial factor for any investment is its risk. The second most vital factor is potential. We can extrapolate a risk/reward-ratio from these two factors that most traders seek to evaluate if a trade is worth taking. With technical analysis as a supportive tool, risk can be assessed relatively easy, but where guessing gets more challenging is the actual potential of Bitcoin and its target price.Using basic principles of total possible market evaluation, Bitcoin would address the absolute largest possible store of value market a world reserve currency. We are talking hundreds of trillions of dollars.How realistic and probable is the likelihood of Bitcoin dominating the store of value market, competing with Gold and fiat currencies, real estate, and bonds?Well, ten years ago, Bitcoin was geeky and held in a community of idealists. Now it is worth one trillion dollars in the store of value concept. That leaves room for a factor of 100 or more multiplied by today’s Bitcoin price as a potential target. So far, Bitcoin was able to rise from a few bucks to nearly US$65,000.Recently, institutions have started buying into these investment vehicles. Consequently, confirming that after more than ten years, Bitcoin’s geek times are over. Now imagine the possibility that governments would begin backing their currencies not just by Gold, but also by Bitcoin. Then, we could easily see a Bitcoin expansion on a much larger scale. Institutions just wet their beaks, and with a final wave of individual investors likely, we see quite a potential to a bet on Bitcoin that is supported both from a fundamental perspective and from the technical side.BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, The tide has turned:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 3rd, 2021.A look at the dominant monthly chart clarifies that Bitcoin is possibly on its way to initiate its second leg up from a large time frame perspective.Bitcoin had a stunning first leg up from March last year. In April this year, the advance slowed, followed by a steep decline in May. Nevertheless, prices closed above the 50% retracement Fibonacci level. June was a month of uncertainty and resulted in a small sideways bar. In July, bulls gained dominance again and formed a bullish engulfing pattern. Anybody who sold Bitcoin short in June is now holding a losing position! Prices as a whole, when trying to push below the 50% retracement level, got rejected, as seen by the extended candle wicks to the downside. So far, prices got halted at the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level. Probabilities speak slightly in favor of a continued up-move versus a bear dominance for August.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Neutral to up:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 3rd, 2021.The view of the weekly Bitcoin chart is a bit more neutral. While bears certainly were stunned that in less than two weeks, Bitcoin impressed with a forty-five percent advance from US$29,296 to US$42,614, their typical push of price below US$40,000 was successful again (see white circles).  Price is now trading at the upper rim of the core range (yellow box).What seems to attract the price like a magnet is the price level of US$35,623 (see open and closing prices near this white horizontal line). Fractal volume supply support zones for low-risk entries are US$37,300 and US$34,340. With the next distribution zone resistance near US$47,000, these short-term plays have good risk/reward-ratios.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Low-risk continuation opportunities:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 3rd, 2021.The daily chart confirms that we are in an entry zone worth devouring for possible low-risk entries for reloads. After a triple bottom, prices reversed in V-formation strongly followed by a breakout through a directional trend resistance line.What proves a non-typical move through the entire range is the speed of only 12 days and the overshoot through the range top resistance line. Now, fractal volume support provides for good support below the price. We anticipate another push to the upside, starting between approx. US$37,000 and US$39,000.The key here is psychology and size, which means if you had some entries near the low of the range, with profits taken and runners remaining (see our previous Bitcoin chart book), then reloading here with a small size is just fine. After all, you are already playing with the market’s money. If you missed the first 45% move and are struggling with “fear of missing out” emotions, these higher-risk trades are not for you, since Bitcoin is known to retrace much more before a second significant move. We often receive questions on how high Bitcoin might go. E.g., “what’s your target”? Here are a few principle-based answers. No one knows the future. Each individual trade is meaningless since it is random.Bitcoin has a history of successful, great risk/reward-ratio plays.Bitcoin speculation inherently holds the largest total addressable market potential there is.By now, Bitcoin is an established store of a value asset class.Bitcoin, World Reserve Currency:In short, Bitcoin looks to us like an iceberg. Little is obvious above sea level, and immense potential submerged below. With risks calculable and potentially enormous, we find ourselves in a win-win situation. With the use of our quad exit strategy, one can minimize risk and possibly eliminate it shortly after entry (exiting with 50% position size for small profits). Half of the remaining position size we target near six-figure numbers. If today’s headline should become true, one doesn’t need to worry about where to exit the rest. Why? The original investment most likely has grown by a factor of a hundred and is your new currency to purchase things.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|August 3rd, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Allocation to Gold Is Set to Rise. How Will Prices Respond?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.08.2021 15:17
The latest WGC reports show that institutional allocation to gold will increase. What if there is more to it than just “higher demand, higher price”?In July the WGC published three interesting reports. The first one, Rethink, Rebalance, Reset: Institutional Portfolio Strategies for the Post-Pandemic Period, is an interesting survey of 500 institutional investors around the world ran by Greenwich Associates between October 2020 and January 2021. The study investigated investors about portfolios, allocations and views on various markets, gold, and other individual asset classes.The main result of the survey is that institutional allocations to gold are expected to increase over the next three years. To be more specific, the study finds that, currently, only 20% of institutions have an allocation to gold in their portfolios, which amounts to 4% of their portfolios, on average. However:Almost 40% of current gold investors expect to increase their allocations in the next three years, and about 40% of institutional investors who do not have gold exposure but have a target or have considered it, plan to make an investment in that time frame.The growing allocation to gold partially reflects rising concern about inflation and a search for inflation-protection assets. According to the WGC, gold performs well in periods of high inflation: in the years when the US CPI annual rates were higher than 3%, gold prices rose 15%, on average. My own research shows that gold doesn’t protect against low inflation readings; it hedges only against high and accelerating inflation.However, the study suggests that institutional investors have a broader view of gold than just as an inflation hedge. Actually, portfolio diversification tops inflation-hedging as the major role gold plays in the portfolios. After all, market downturns often boost demand for gold, as the yellow metal has a negative correlation to risk assets, which often increases when these assets sell off. Also, institutions use gold for long-term risk-adjusted return enhancement, especially in the environment of negative interest rates.Importantly, gold may be useful not only for commercial financial institutions but also for the central banks. The second recent WGC report, Monetary gold and central bank capital, discusses the vulnerabilities specific to central bank balance sheets and discusses how gold holdings can mitigate the risks posed. The publication points out that gold provides central banks with extra protection, as it mitigates the risk of asset losses. In particular, gold offsets gains and losses in the US dollar held as a reserve by central banks all around the world:Gold can play a role as a counter-cyclical hedge to USD exposure because, as the dollar weakens, gold strengthens. Hence, revaluation gains on a central bank’s gold portfolio should offset losses suffered on its USD portfolio and help to maintain its core equity.The last report is Gold mid-year outlook 2021: Creating opportunities from risks. The main thesis is that the negative impact of higher bond yields would likely be offset by inflation and stronger demand for gold as a portfolio-diversification in an environment of ultra-low real interest rates and strong risk-taking.The WGC’s thesis corresponds with my observation that gold is at a crossroads of a more hawkish Fed and higher inflation (I will elaborate on this in the upcoming edition of the Gold Market Overview). The report rightly states that gold’s performance in H1 2021 was driven primarily by higher interest rates, which could continue to create headwinds for the yellow metal in the second half of the year.However, the WGC believes that the Fed will be cautious with its tightening cycle. Although that may be true, gold is likely to struggle during the period of strengthening expectations of quantitative tightening and rising interest rates.Implications for GoldWhat can we learn from the recent WGC reports? Well, I believe that the most important information is that the institutional allocation to gold is going to increase in the upcoming years. Given that investment demand for gold is the most important driver of its price, this is positive news for gold bulls.The survey results should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but the recent ETF flows confirm that there is still significant interest in gold. In June, the inflows to gold ETFs slowed down, as the chart below shows, but remained positive (+2.9 tons) despite the plunge in gold prices.According to the WGC, this adjustment suggests that “investors may have taken advantage of the lower price level to gain long gold exposure”. In other words, gold could decline even more, but inflation concerns provided some support. What’s important, the recent dynamics of the ETFs flows don’t look as bad as in 2013 (at least not yet) when gold definitely sank into the bear market. So, although ETFs flows don’t necessarily drive the gold prices, there is a hope that the upcoming Fed’s tightening cycle will be less harmful to gold than the infamous 2013 taper tantrum.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Oil – the Odd One Out?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.08.2021 16:24
In line with the pressing circumstances I told you about on Jul 29 at my site, today's report will have to be way shorter than usual, and focus only on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 keeps going sideways, but the indicator view suggests increasing vulnerability to a bear raid – just as much as in the tech sector, which wasn‘t outrageously helped by the risk-off start to this week.Credit MarketsCredit markets turned ugly yesterday as the HYG dive shows. Quality instruments outperformed in what could be prelude to selling pressure in stocks emerging.Gold, Silver and MinersGold holding ground is a testament to the risk-off sentiment in the markets – through these lens, miners‘ underperformance better be viewed. The whole PMs sector tiptoes at the moment, remaining stabilized.Crude OilYesterday‘s downswing without a noticeable rebound attempt, highlights the downside risks for oil. Energy sector didn‘t convince either, and the bulls are likely to remain under pressure. Good call to have taken profits off the table today.CopperCopper keeps being relatively resilient in face of steep downswing in commodities overall. At the same time though, it had been underperforming woefully since early Jun, and therefore remains vulnerable to another dip should broader selling in real assets reemerge. And indeed, the profitable stop-loss has been triggered, resulting in further gains. Check out the portfolio chart on my homepage.Bitcoin and EthereumEthereum outperformance is encouraging, but Bitcoin has to find a floor in the recent flag-approximating pattern, which would mark the positive turn‘s continuation in cryptos.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Slope Dope? S&P 500 Monthly Candles Aim for Asteroids

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.08.2021 21:58
It’s no secret that the S&P 500 has been leaving all bears in the dust. How does the recent rate of change measure up to previous bull runs?After seeing many bull and bear markets over the years, I have never quite seen a slope of this magnitude. Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so:Figure 1 - S&P 500 Index June 1988 - August 2021, Monthly Candles Linear Chart Source stooq.comThe angle of the ascent has dwarfed previous bull markets by far. Of course, there is more than one way to skin a cat. The above chart is a linear chart (most traders, especially short-term traders use linear charts).However, looking at the recent rally in a logarithmic chart, the ascent does not seem quite as steep.Figure 2 - S&P 500 Index June 1988 - August 2021 Monthly Candles Logarithmic Chart Source stooq.comOn a regular (or linear) price chart, each value change is expressed in the same way. This means that a change of $2 to $4 looks identical to a change of $28 to $30.On a logarithmic chart, the amount of percentage change is what is treated identically.Knowing the difference between the two chart types can be beneficial for traders, and keep price moves in perspective. As we can see in the first chart, the upward move in the S&P 500 looks extreme, while shown in the logarithmic price chart, its angle doesn’t look as sharp.Expressing the runup as a percentage of the S&P 500 since the pandemic lows, we are higher by approximately 103% in eighteen months.In comparison, I would like to take a look at the runup from the tech bubble selloff in 2002 to the highs that were made in 2007.Figure 3 - S&P 500 Index January 1995 - April 2010 Monthly Candles Linear Chart Source stooq.comFrom trough to peak (October 2002 - October 2007), it took the S&P 500 five years to move 105%. Let’s keep in mind that the sell-off from the March 2000 peak to the October 2002 lows was over a 2 year and 7-month period.This is more reminiscent of how bear markets used to be in US equities; there were lower prices over longer time periods.In comparison, the coronavirus meltdown in 2020 was a two-month affair, and we have now been moving higher for 17 months since the lows. Was the coronavirus meltdown a flash crash or indeed a bear market?The meltdown was so short-lived and was obviously nothing that we have ever experienced before.What Do I Emphasize Long Term Charts?Markets do have memories. In fact, I find that longer-term charts are more valuable than short-term charts in almost all timeframe comparisons. Since we are in uncharted territory in the US stock indices, we could gain some kind of insight into the previous trough to peak bull runs.In Summary:From pandemic low to current highs in the S&P 500: 103% in eighteen monthsFrom dotcom low to highs before US Financial Crisis: 105% in five yearsIt can be challenging to get a read on where the US equity markets are trading as a whole these days, given that there is no more chart resistance. In addition, market participants are now accustomed to higher highs, and every dip seems like it is bought more quickly than the last. Although using comparisons like this will not provide insight into exact entry and exit levels, such analysis can provide some long-term comparisons in an otherwise incomparable market. I do hope you find value in this perspective.Now, for our premium subscribers, let's review the markets that we are covering (IYT, UDN, ERTH, & TAN). Not a Premium subscriber yet? Go Premium and receive my Stock Trading Alerts that include the full analysis and key price levels.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Rafael ZorabedianStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *This content is for informational and analytical purposes only. All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Rafael Zorabedian, and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. You should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a recommendation, endorsement to buy or sell any security or futures contract. Any references to any particular securities or futures contracts are for example and informational purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Information is from sources believed to be reliable; but its accuracy, completeness, and interpretation are not guaranteed. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Rafael Zorabedian, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Mr. Zorabedian is not a Registered Investment Advisor. By reading Rafael Zorabedian’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Trading, including technical trading, is speculative and high-risk. There is a substantial risk of loss involved in trading, and it is not suitable for everyone. Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment when trading futures, foreign currencies, margined securities, shorting securities, and trading options. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Rafael Zorabedian, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates, as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, futures contracts, options or other financial instruments including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a risk of loss in trading.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Attempts Rebound

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 04.08.2021 09:59
AUDUSD builds supportThe Australian dollar jumped after the RBA kept its tapering course despite dovish guidance. The Aussie is making an attempt to reverse the gears.The RSI divergence was an indication that the bearish momentum had died down. The break above 0.7360 may have prompted sellers to cover, allowing buyers to build a support base.0.7360 is fresh post-RBA support. Then 0.7320 is a major level if a pullback goes deeper.On the upside, a close above the support-turned-resistance at 0.7410 may extend the rebound to 0.7480.NZDUSD breaks resistanceThe New Zealand dollar surged as Q2’s unemployment rate dropped to 4%.The Kiwi has met strong buying interest at 0.6900 and the sideways action suggests that the sell-off has faded. Though the bulls will need to lift several levels of resistance before they could break the market’s indecision.A higher low at 0.6980 is a sign that buyers are willing to commit, narrowing down the trading range in the process. 0.7105 would be a tough nut to crack but a breach could trigger a runaway rally as the short side seeks to unwind.GER 30 tests peakThe Dax 30 treads water as mixed technology stocks drag on investor sentiment.The V-shaped recovery has hit a speed bump as the index extends its consolidation. A tentative breakout above the last leg of the previous sell-off at 15700 suggests that the buying power still outweighs the selling one.A bullish breakout of the peak at 15800 would be the confirmation and stir up momentum. 15440 has become key support after its second test. A deeper retracement would lead to 15280.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold: What's Going To Happen After the Dust Settles?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.08.2021 15:59
When the market wants to move down and gets short-term bullish signals, it often ignores them or reacts weakly – and that’s exactly what gold is doing.This week’s back-and-forth movement in gold, silver, and mining stocks is neither particularly exciting nor interesting. There is, however, some fundamental news that I would like to cover today.Nonetheless, let’s start with the charts. The single notable technical thing is today’s pre-market performance of gold vs. the performance of silver.Here’s what gold did so far today:It moved slightly higher in a relatively boring manner; it moved a bit higher after having moved a bit lower. Nothing to write home about.And here’s what silver did so far today:Silver moved higher as well, and while this move was relatively insignificant in nominal and percentage terms (+0.78%), it was much bigger than what we saw in gold (+0.22%); the difference is crystal-clear when we compare today’s pre-market moves to the most recent short-term highs in both precious metals.Silver moved to its recent short-term high while gold is not even close to being halfway back up. This means that on a very short-term basis, silver is clearly outperforming gold.This is also what tends to happen shortly before significant declines across the precious metals sector.Now, the sizes of both moves were not that significant, so this performance could also be more or less random, and, if that was the case, the outperformance would be just accidental. Consequently, it’s not a game-changing signal in terms of its importance. It is something that’s on top of multiple other indications that we have, and the most important ones are not of a short-term nature at all. The long-term self-similarities in gold and the HUI Index (gold stocks) are the true key to understanding where the precious metals sector is likely to head next, and you already know about those, as I described them thoroughly on Monday.Should We Fear Countertrends?Having said that, let’s move to the less technical details and more fundamental ones. Before I proceed, though, I would like to reply to a question that I just received that will serve as a good segue from the world of the technicals into the world of the fundamentals. Here’s the question (the bold formatting was added by me):You have made a compelling case and a very thorough one for the decline in the precious metals market, and yet the US treasury Bond yields decline and the USD-DXY continue to decline. The analysis needs to include the countertrend that exists and how this countertrend occurred. You refer to this in one-sentence statements which are not very clear. There have been many short-term moves in Gold that have been fairly substantial, and the current trend in the USD and US 10yrT yield is significant. Explaining how the countertrends could and would move within your analysis and projections would help everyone... The daily analyses are much appreciated and I would like to have better understanding of the countertrend moves within your analyses, as well as the US Fed and the ECB influence.And here’s my reply.As far as the USD Index (USD-DXY) is concerned, then I wouldn’t say that it “continues to decline”, as it’s been on the rise since the beginning of this year. But let’s say that we’re talking about the last 2 weeks or so. In this case, the USD Index is indeed declining. The highest recent closing price was 92.98 (July 20). Yesterday’s closing price for the USD Index was 92.09, so the USDX is down by 0.89 – almost a full index point.What did the 10-year yield do between those dates? The $TNX (10-year US Treasury Index) declined from 12.09 to 11.76. But if we took July 13 as the starting date (the recent short-term high in the $TNX), we would see that it moved from 14.15 to 11.76 – a substantial decline.Ok, what did gold do during these times? Almost nothing. Gold moved from $1,811.40 (July 20) to $1,814.10 (August 3). So, while the USD Index declined by almost a full index point, gold moved higher by a mere $2.70.And in the case of the TNX, between July 13 and yesterday, gold moved from $1,809.90 to $1,814.10 (it moved higher by a mere $4.20).Based on this comparison, the reply is already quite evident. What if these trends continue? If these trends continue, gold is likely to do… Nothing.Based on how gold tends to perform (based on the 2008 and 2011-2013 analogies), it’s time for gold to fall, and to fall hard. If it was just gold that was performing just as it did in all those years, it might not have been as critical. But gold stocks (the HUI Index) are doing the same thing! They are also repeating what happened in all those years. And based on these analogies, the markets are about to slide.Now, what does the market do if it wants to move in a given direction (here: down) and it gets bullish signals from other markets or the from news? It ignores them. This could take the form of reacting in a weak manner and then, after the dust settles, moving slowly back down. That’s exactly what gold has been doing.The bullish indications from the USD Index (reminder: they are of a very short-term nature only; the USDX tends to rally after bottoming in the middle of the year) and bond yields are simply delaying the PMs’ slide. At the same time, gold, silver, and mining stocks act like a spring that’s being coiled with bigger force. It doesn’t move, but when something finally changes (yields and the USDX move higher), something big (here: decline in the PMs) is likely to happen.Having said that, let’s move to the more fundamental part of the analysis. I will also discuss the situation in bond yields more thoroughly in the upcoming analyses.Work in ProgressWith the USD Index patiently waiting for the release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Aug. 6, the greenback has recorded a muted start to the month. However, if payrolls outperform and investors accelerate the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) taper timeline, a U.S. dollar surge could happen sooner rather than later.In the interim, though, the U.S. labor market is trending in the right direction. Case in point: while Gusto – a software company that provides cloud-based payroll, benefits and human resource management solutions for U.S. businesses – largely downplayed the end of enhanced unemployment benefits in many states, an excerpt from the Jul. 27 report read:“Looking at employment trends by employee age, we observe that around the time of governors’ announcements in the first week of May, hiring rates for workers 25 and older rose in states ending these benefits early, which indicates that UI did play a role in the labor supply decisions of a group of adult workers.”Please see below:To explain, the black line above tracks the cumulative headcount of adults 25 and older in the states where enhanced unemployment benefits ended early, while the brown line above tracks the same cohort in states where enhanced unemployment benefits are still in play. If you analyze the acceleration of the black line, it’s clear that fiscal benefits have impacted U.S. citizens’ desire to find employment.Also noteworthy, Indeed revealed on Aug. 3 that U.S. job openings fell by “two points from last week” and that “job postings increased in May, June, and July at a slower pace than in March and April.”Please see below:At first glance, the results may seem disappointing. However, it’s important to remember that if job postings are declining, businesses have likely filled the vacancies. Think about it: when a person is hired, the job posting is no longer necessary. And with the latter declining at a time when enhanced unemployment benefits have ended for roughly 30% of Americans, the ‘coincidence’ signals that a restocking of the U.S. labor force is already underway.Allocation to the Dollar RisesCircling back to the USD Index, as indicated in the CoT reports, the non-commercial (speculative) futures traders, asset managers and leveraged funds’ allocation to the U.S. dollar are now at 2021 highs.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue, gray and light blue lines above represent net-long positions of non-commercial (speculative) futures traders, asset managers and leveraged funds. When the lines are falling, it means that the trio have reduced their net-long positions and are expecting a weaker U.S. dollar. Conversely, when the lines are rising, it means that the trio have increased their net-long positions and are expecting a stronger U.S. dollar. And if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the trio have upped their bullish bets in recent weeks (with leveraged funds moving notably higher last week).On the flip side, euro sentiment is moving in the opposite direction. And because the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, the performance of the currency pair is extremely important.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue, gray and light blue lines above track the trio’s allocation to the euro. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that speculative euro bulls are throwing in the towel.Furthermore, the relative fundamentals also favor the greenback. With U.S. GDP growth poised to outperform the Eurozone, growth differentials still signal a stronger U.S. dollar. For example, Stellantis NV – a European automaker that was created following the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler in 2021 – increased its full-year 2021 earnings guidance on Aug. 3. The main reason? Higher output in North America.Please see below:Source: Stellantis NVHouseholds in the US Are… Wealthier?On top of that, with U.S. fiscal benefits plumping consumers’ balance sheets, household savings in the U.S. far outweighs the Eurozone. For context, the construction of the European Union makes it difficult for the bloc to find common ground on fiscal policy. And while the lack of spending decreases the supply of euros relative to U.S. dollars, the growth outperformance should result in capital flowing into the U.S. and investors buying the U.S. dollar.Please see below:To explain, the stacked bars above depict various regions’ household savings over the last six quarters. If you analyze the column on the right side of the chart labeled “Q2,” you can see that the U.S. (the dark blue section) has much more household savings built up than the Eurozone (the light blue section). As a result, when U.S. citizens’ willingness to spend matches their ability to spend, the prospective economic outperformance is bullish for the greenback.To that point, while the U.S. is about to recoup its pre-pandemic GDP growth trajectory, the Eurozone isn’t expected to reach the milestone until late 2022.Please see below:To explain, the chart on the left compares the Eurozone’s current growth trajectory (the blue line) with its pre-pandemic trend (the pink line). If you analyze the gap, you can see that the Eurozone is still a ways away from recapturing its past glory. Conversely, if you turn your attention to the chart on the right, you can see that the U.S. has already recouped its pre-pandemic GDP level (100) and the region is expected to exceed its pre-pandemic trend in the third or fourth quarter of 2021.Finally, with the momentum shifting across emerging markets, foreign portfolio flows have stalled once again.Please see below:To explain, the stacked bars above categorize non-resident portfolio flows into emerging markets, while the black line above tracks the consolidated total. If you analyze the sharp fall in early 2020 and the sharp rise in late 2020, the former coincided with a sharp rise in the USD Index, while the latter coincided with a sharp fall in the USD Index. More importantly, though, if you focus your attention on the right side of the chart, you can see that non-resident portfolio flows into emerging markets continue to lose momentum. And if the dynamic persists, it will likely add even more fuel to the USD Index’s fire.In conclusion, the precious metals’ performance was mixed on Aug. 3, as payrolls uncertainty has many assets stuck in consolidation mode. However, whether reality resurfaces on Aug. 6 or the PMs bask in what’s left of the summer sun, the bearish medium-term implications remain intact. With the U.S. labor market moving closer to the FED’s taper threshold, the PMs have become increasingly anxious. And after the U.S. 10-Year real yield hit another all-time low on Aug. 2, the metals’ inability to muster a relief rally is a sign of extreme weakness. The bottom line? While short-term bursts of strength are definitely possible and expected along the way, the PMs’ medium-term trend still remains down. And it seems that the current short-term corrective upswing in gold, silver, and mining stocks is over or about to be over.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

More Chop Before NFPs, Or Not?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.08.2021 16:09
Again, today's report will be way shorter than usual, and focus only on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookTuesday‘s intraday reversal looks to mark the meek bearish push I talked about on Monday – I‘m looking for the bulls to be today on the initiative. Today, that‘s a key word here, especially given the (a bit too one-way extended but still) risk-off credit markets, and tomorrows non-farm payrolls of course.Credit MarketsThe plunge in high yield corporate bonds is going a bit too far in my view – and unless the 500-strong index joins, I don‘t see HYG as leading to the downside to usher in a sizable correction. HYG deceleration followed by stabilization and upswing would be the best the stock bulls can hope for.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners‘ strong showing was relegated to history yesterday, but we haven‘t seen a reversal to the downside – upswing rejection is all that happened. Silver weakness had more to do with yesterday‘s commodity (namely copper and oil) woes than anything else.Crude OilThe oil downside wasn‘t indeed over, and resulted in fresh oil short profits yesterday, taking my portfolio results to new highs. The rising volume shows that we‘re potentially approaching a reversal, but so far there isn‘t any proof thereof.Natural GasSteady uptrend in the other key energy asset, natural gas. The break above the prior sideways to slightly lower flag / triangle approximating structure, happened on higher volume, and is thus more credible. Good that the fundamentals support the upcoming appreciation higher, too.Bitcoin and EthereumYesterday‘s crypto gains haven‘t been entirely defended, but it would be premature to talk about downside reversal. Consolidation playing out with Ethereum‘s continued outperformance of Bitcoin, is the kind of surefire conclusion here.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Silver holds its value

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 06.08.2021 10:54
With a stagnation of Silver’s supply through mining and recycling over the last twenty years, prices are forced higher by any expansion in new applications of Silver. We see expandable markets for silver use in water treatment, flexible displays, the pharmaceutical industry, 5G communication, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Devices), nanotechnology, silver oxide batteries, high-performance engines, functional clothing, and solar technology.The most decisive influencing factors of the future regarding innovation are:Development speed.Reduction of size in electronics.The increased need for data transfer speed in the communication sector.Obviously, 5G has nearly scratched the surface in its possibility of offering new markets to hip-pocket to this wireless edge.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, A prosper future:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 6th, 2021.These long-term stabilizing factors are already seen in price development for the longer-term investors. A look at the monthly chart reveals a clear direction to the upside. And in our humble opinion, we are only in the infancy of this trend establishment.In addition to solid fundamentals, we bet on high probabilities, and one aspect is historical pattern repetition. The chart reveals the actual possibilities from the larger picture where we have a small bullish pattern over the last two years within the larger view framed that supports continuous growth. While wealth preservation is our primary focus, we see quite some potential also for wealth creation in this specific case. Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Treading water but not for long:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 6th, 2021.As much as smartphones, TVs, LED Chips, and consumer electronics as a whole will push the demand for Silver forward, in the short term, patience is needed. Market manipulation in the silver and gold market and daily allocation rotation between the precious metal sector and Bitcoin, are hedge mechanisms for the larger players. They adjust their bets and time their entries. Consequently, making it cumbersome for the smaller retail players to position themselves. You find support in our free Telegram channel from professional traders who maneuver their different time frame allocations through those rough waters with success.The weekly chart provides some clarity for this volatile sideways market. We can make out that Silver made a massive first leg up-move (from US$11.64 to US$29.86, a 157% advancement). In the second part of last year, Silver traded in a range from roughly US$22.75 to US$28.25. This year that range got tightened from US$24.50 to US$28.25. While we established supply zones, we still are within a sideways trading range for over a year now.Fundamentals and regular trading analysis elude this price behavior. Clearly reflected in an exuberant difference between spot price trading and physical purchase prices for Silver. Markets aren’t clean or scientific, and with prices attacking the US$25 level and still a possibility of a retracement towards the US$23 to US$22 level again, investor sentiment could dwindle.Nevertheless, we are far from discouraged but are aware that we live in extraordinary times and that patience isn’t just a virtue but, in this case, needed to be part of a wealth preservation strategy that has solid, rooted legs within physical silver ownership. As such, should prices decline, we would find that a buying opportunity once more.  Gold in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Timing, watch for Gold:Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 6th, 2021.What has become more evident within the last three months is that Gold’s leadership role has a dramatic effect on Silver. Money flow between the two metals and various hedge strategies have had a strong impact. Almost a blockage by Gold stopping Silver’s efforts to run dead in its track. We advise closely watch Gold’s development for entry timing of silver positions and only when all elements fall into place to pull the trigger. Even the nicest silver setups seem to dry out quickly if Gold isn’t willing to lead the move.Some of the most durable minds get weak if you are sitting duck for over a year with a buy and hold/hodl perspective. It is that psychological reason that we have seen too often traders give up and exit a long-term position right before they take off that motivates us to rather position build. We use a quad exit strategy where the last part of a position possibly survives retracements, and throughout a year, many of these runners pile up and build a long-term position that’s risk-free and has the potential to be part of the second leg up.Silver holds its value:The research consultants from Metals Focus make a reasonable claim. They expect nothing less but a multiplication of silver demand over the next ten years. Reasons are not just an increase in demand for existing applications of Silver but an expanding growth rate of new fields of application. We see this in alignment with the principle fact of Silver’s unique specific properties. Consequently, there are no alternatives of substitution. These unique facts of Silver’s provide the additional fundamental stability that we, as wealth preservers, welcome in our long-term speculation to use Silver as a wealth preservation and wealth creation tool.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|August 6th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, FED balance, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Will the Fed Bring Gold to the Bottom?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.08.2021 13:05
The Fed’s reverse repos reached almost $1 trillion in June. Brace yourselves gold bulls – tightening is coming!Something interesting is happening in the financial markets. As you probably know, the Fed’s reverse repurchase operations have been increasing recently. At the very end of June, their volume almost reached one trillion dollars ($991.9 billion)! It’s a record high, as the chart below shows.Oh boy, what a spike! What does it mean? Well, when the Fed purchases assets, it injects liquidity into the markets. On the contrary, when the US central bank engages in reverse repurchase operations, it drains liquidity from the markets. This is because reverse repurchase agreements are purchases of securities with the agreement to sell them at a higher price at a specific future date – of course, we refer here to buying and selling from the point of view of financial institutions. They are purchasing assets from the Fed to resell them later, so they basically lend some money to the US central bank.In other words, the record high volume of repos means that financial institutions pour cash into the Fed like mad. We could say that there is an excessive liquidity problem in the financial markets, so commercial banks and other institutions deposit abundant cash at the Fed (you can think of reverse repos as short-term loans).So, we have a somewhat paradoxical situation. The Fed is still purchasing assets under its quantitative easing program, injecting liquidity into the financial sphere. However, market participants don’t need this liquidity, so they buy back some assets from the Fed in the form of reverse repo operations. Given that the Fed buys about $120 billion per month in Treasuries and MBS, the reverse repos have already undone more than eight months of QE!Part of the problem here is the crazy world of negative real interest rates. In such an environment, commercial banks prefer safe, close-to-zero interest rates from the Fed to risking anything in the market. In other words, the bond yields are so low that banks don’t want to deploy funds productively but prefer to hold them safely at the Fed. Such behavior is completely understandable in the world of negative yields, but it will lead to sluggish investment and economic growth. Well, abundant liquidity that becomes a hot potato, as well as slow real growth, sound like positive factors for gold, which likes stagflation-like conditions.However, the reverse repos are strictly linked to the Fed’s plan to normalize its monetary policy at some point in the future. But hiking the federal funds rate is not simple with such a mammoth balance sheet. You see, the Fed’s balance sheet is simply too big. As the chart below shows, the US central bank’s assets amount to above $8 trillion.Such a giant balance sheet creates downward pressure on the interest rates. If left alone, they could even drop below zero. This is why the Fed started the overnight repurchase operations – to drain some excessive liquidity from the markets in order to regain control over the interest rates. So, the current developments in the repo market are a strong signal that the Fed is preparing for raising the interest rates. Actually, the Fed has already lifted its repo rate from 0% to 0.05%, allegedly as a technical adjustment. This is a fundamentally negative factor for the gold market.Nonetheless, gold bulls may find comfort in the fact that it’s not easy to return to normalcy. Remember the Fed’s previous attempt to normalize its monetary policy? The US central bank had to reverse its course in 2019, just two years after starting the balance sheet’s reduction. It turned out that quantitative tightening was too harsh for fragile financial markets, and the Fed had to pump liquidity again (in the form of repo operations), as well as cut the interest rates – even before the pandemic and the following economic crisis started. Similarly, by paying trillions in reverse repos at 0.05% now, the Fed makes them more attractive, planting the seeds of the next liquidity crisis.In other words, the Fed’s tightening cycle practically always ended up in a recession. Moreover, there were many indicators that the recession would take place in 2020 or 2021 anyway, even without the coronavirus and the Great Lockdown. So, this time won’t be different. Well, actually, it could be different –in such a way that the next recession will be accompanied by higher inflation. If stagflation really occurs, gold will shine as it did in the 1970s.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get a 7-day no-obligation trial for all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Risk-on Friday and NFPs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.08.2021 15:10
Again, today’s report will be way shorter than usual, and focus only on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookNasdaq did better than the S&P 500 yesterday, and the bulls look primed to extend gains today. The lower volume in a sluggish day before today‘s non-farm payrolls isn‘t an issue – the key question for the coming week is digestion of the anticipated not too bad numbers, which would bring taper closer in the marker‘s mind.Credit MarketsThe plunge in high yield corporate bonds was more than decisively reversed yesterday, and the quality instruments suffered. Risk-on going into Friday, that‘s a good sign.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners‘ renewed weakness isn‘t a good signal going into today‘s session as precious metals were hit by the yield moves and faltering TIPS. Once again, inflation expectations are sending mixed signals with RINF being more resilient than TIP:TLT, and I continue to lean in favor of inflation turning out more stubborn than too many think. The notion of approaching taper is biting too.Crude OilOil was indeed very close to reversing, and the strong showing in the energy sector bodes well for the nearest days. Local bottom looks to have formed, accompanied by greater resilience in the oil sector than was the case in mid-Jul.CopperCopper has turned, modestly thus far – the commodity index increase is more pronounced. Lower volume is a watchout, but the unfolding upswing should overpower it, letting open copper profits grow.Bitcoin and EthereumResolute downswing rejection in both Ethereum and Bitcoin – what more could the bulls wish for? It wasn‘t evidently sell the news day for ETH – the accumulation in cryptos can continue.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold Slides Massively – Be Ready For More!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.08.2021 14:01
What a week! Gold has dropped almost $60 since Friday, and silver came along reaching new yearly lows! Are you prepared for a wild ride downwards?The USD Index (USDX)While many investors forecasted a sharp decline in the USD Index, I warned on Aug. 2 that the stars were aligning for the greenback. And with gold, silver and mining stocks exhibiting strong negative correlations with the U.S. dollar, the latter’s rise could result in the former’s demise.I wrote:With the USD Index demonstrating late-week strength and bouncing off of the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level, the greenback may have recorded a short-term bottom. In both 2008 and 2014, small moves lower solidified the USD Index’s short-term bottoms and remarkable rallies followed. In fact, the rapid reversals in both cases occurred with RSIs near 50 (close to the current reading of 53.32) and it’s likely a matter of when, not if, the greenback records a significant upward re-rating. The bottom line? The PMs will likely bear the brunt of the USD Index’s forthcoming strength.And after the USD Index soared back above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern last week – and caused gold, silver and mining stocks to plunge in the process – the USDX remains poised to recapture ~98 over the medium term.Please see below:To explain, the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. For example, summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018, a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights.What’s more, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. And with the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration.Please see below (quick reminder: you can click on the chart to enlarge it):Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices here is likely not a good idea.As further evidence, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the smart money is already backing the greenback.Please see below:The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, the USD Index’s comeback dropped the guillotine on gold, silver and mining stocks, and with the GDXJ ETF (profits on our short position here increased further) also plunging by more than 5% last week, the greenback is having a profound impact on the precious metals. Moreover, with the latter also pressured by rising interest rates and the Fed’s increasingly hawkish rhetoric, lower lows are likely to materialize over the medium term. However, with robust fundamentals signaling a significant comeback over the long term, we eagerly await the opportunity to go long the precious metals once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold and Silver Massacre to Continue?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.08.2021 15:59
Again, today’s report will be way shorter than usual, and focus only on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe tightly tracking each other indices – S&P 500 and Nasdaq – are likely to part ways to a degree soon. As Treasury yields made a double bottom, look for more tech to give way to cyclicals as they come back. Inflation, reopening trades and interest-rate sensitive spreads (e.g. financials over utilities) should start doing better.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds resilience is a good sign, and credit spreads likely to start widening again would confirm the continued albeit questioned economic expansion. Not hiccup-free but still continuing – unless the Fed tightens prematurely and too much. The market isn‘t worried about that though at the moment.Gold, Silver and MinersGrim price action in the metals, and more be yet to come (looking at overnight price action, in all likehood we‘re done with shakeouts) – gold and silver usually do better once the waiting for taper is over. The Bernanke experience is the right one to compare taper prospects to, but the Fed will have a much harder time mopping up the excess liquidity than it did in 2018 – commercial bank credit creation isn‘t still there to make up for lost central bank purchases. Gold is getting inordinarily scared even as inflation isn‘t showing signs of retreating and real rates remain deeply negative – only inflation expectations have been jawboned. As neither miners to gold ratio nor TIPS signal panic, the only question is when the metals would stabilize and whether a fresh washout would occur or not. My view is that we‘re way closer to the pain‘s end than to its June beginning.Crude OilOil staged another reversal, and it was intraday to the downside. How credible is that? Again trading within the $60-$80 range, I‘m of the opinion that prices are interesting to the buyers here, as black gold got caught in the taper fears selloff just as gold with silver or copper did. Oil demand may be also coming under pressure through all the restrictions even though APT doesn‘t signal its sharply rising odds (yet).CopperCopper retreated from promising upswing, but its indicators are slowly turning positive. While it has mirrored the yields compression (signs of weakening growth / growth worries), it looks ready to gradually come back to life and play catch up with the commodity index.Bitcoin and EthereumResolute downswing rejection of Sunday‘s retracement in both Ethereum and Bitcoin – the bulls are on the march still. Cryptos have turned the corner very evidently indeed. With so much bearish sentiment out there, the dips might be short-lasting and shallow.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

The Newest Nonfarm Payrolls Crushed Gold Like a Sandcastle

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.08.2021 11:52
The US economy added almost 1 million jobs in July, building solid ground for tapering. Meanwhile, the PMs’ sandy foundations crumbled spectacularly.Another blow to gold! July’s nonfarm payrolls came in strong. As the chart below shows, the US labor market added 943,000 jobs last month, following 938,000 additions in June (after an upward revision). More than one-third of all gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, reflecting the economy’s reopening after the Great Lockdown.What’s more, the nonfarm payrolls surprised the markets on the positive side. The economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecasted “only” 845,000 gains. Additionally, the employment in May and June combined was 119,000 higher than previously predicted. Another positive revelation was the decline in the unemployment rate from 5.9% to 5.4% – a much lower level than it was expected (5.7%), as the chart above shows.Although the number of employed people is still down by 5.7 million from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, it’s much higher than in April 2020 (by 16.7 million) – a clear sign that the US labor market is recovering from the last year’s recession and heading into full employment.Importantly, the July nonfarm payrolls came in one week after the strong advance estimate of the US GDP in Q2 2021. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real GDP increased 12.2% year-over-year (or 1.59% quarter-to-quarter or 6.5% at an annual rate). As the chart below shows, it was the quickest pace of economic growth since the fourth quarter of 1950. Of course, the number results from a very low base last year, but it doesn’t change the fact that the economy has strengthened recently.Implications for GoldWhat does the recent employment report imply for the gold market? Well, in the last Fundamental Gold Report, I pointed out that the Fed started the countdown to the tapering of its quantitative easing and would announce it later this year:The tapering clock is ticking. In June, the Fed started talking about tapering, while last month it noted that some progress has been made towards its goals. It’s likely that within a few months mere progress will transform into substantial progress, especially given that the job gains in July were strong and above the forecasts. With further improvements in the labor market, the expectations of a more hawkish Fed should strengthen, exerting downward pressure on the gold prices.The latest surprisingly strong nonfarm payrolls bring us closer to the beginning of the Fed’s tightening cycle. You see, the thing the Fed lacked to recognize “substantial progress” towards its goal of maximum employment was a few strong employment reports. Last month, the US economy added almost 1 million jobs, which significantly reduced the slack in the labor market.If August turns out to be similarly strong, the FOMC could announce the start of the tapering of its asset purchases in September. Actually, some analysts believe that Powell could signal it in his speech in Jackson Hole at the end of August.So, in line with my previous commentary, the strong nonfarm payrolls lifted the expected path of the federal funds rate, sending gold prices much lower. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the odds of an interest rate hike in December 2022 increased after the publication of the employment report from 58.8% to 66.2%. As a result, the price of gold plunged from around $1,800 to $1,760, as the chart below shows.Unfortunately, gold has further room to continue its slide. Each positive economic news or any hawkish signal from the Fed (e.g., Richard Clarida, Fed Vice Chair, expressed his belief last week that “necessary conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate will have been met by year-end 2022”) could add to the expectations of higher interest rates and to the downward pressure on the yellow metal.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Intraday Market Analysis – USD To Test Key Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – USD To Test Key Resistance

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 10.08.2021 15:32
USDCHF approaches key hurdleThe US dollar continues to make up lost ground thanks to post-NFP momentum.The break above 0.9150, the last leg of the previous sell-off, suggests solid commitment from the bulls. The rebound has originated from the demand zone around 0.9030 on the daily chart, and it is heading towards the major resistance at 0.9230.A bullish breakout may help the dollar break free of a narrowing consolidation range and resume the rally from the start of the year.0.9140 is the first support in case of a pullback to let the RSI cool down.EURGBP tumbles through floorThe sterling rises as traders bet that the BOE would start to tighten its policy sooner than most of its peers.The daily support at 0.8470 has failed to contain the firesale. The bearish breakout has invalidated April’s rebound as sellers became more aggressive.The downward momentum is pushing the price towards 0.8400.An oversold RSI may have caused a limited bounce as intraday traders take some chips off the table. Sentiment remains downbeat though, as long as the euro is under 0.8520.GER 30 struggles to break higherThe Dax 30 hits a speed bump as investors fret about tapering in the wake of strong US jobs data. The rebound has come to a halt right at the peak at 15800.Buyers’ struggle to push past the all-time high indicates stiff pressure from both profit-taking and fresh selling.The RSI divergence in this kind of major supply area is a warning sign as buying has lost its impetus.The break below 15660 could prompt the bulls to bail out. 15440 would be the next support as the index goes into a correction.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Inflation Trades – Rebounding or Sinking

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.08.2021 15:43
Again, today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookYesterday‘s S&P 500 downswing was driven by tech, and it wasn‘t the heavyweights that pulled it down. Yes, Nasdaq is in as precarious short-term position as the 500-strong index – about to fall steeply just as gold did? Probably not, but vulnerable to a corrective move that could easily reach a few percent. The infrastructure bill is rather factored into the expectations, and similarly to Fed taper looming, any surprise could serve as a selling catalyst. The drying up volume may not be a sign of no more sellers here, but rather of combination of timid sellers and drying up pool of buyers. With the strong CPI data likely to be announced tomorrow, the bears would likely try their luck.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds are only relatively resilient – they are under the same kind of pressure as quality debt instruments. Credit spreads are likely to start widening again in confirmation of the continued albeit doubted economic expansion – as yields start their (slow) march higher again, look for the ride in equities to get rockier, and for tech to start diverging. Last but not least, the market breadth indicators aren‘t exactly at their strongest – signs of weakening (warranting caution in stocks) are impossible to miss.Gold, Silver and MinersWeekly gold chart shows just how overdone the plunge has been – and that it went at odds with both TIPS and (understandably once again) rising inflation expectations. The chart also reveals the success of Fed‘s June actions in i.a. driving gold down. Does the market seriously believe that the Fed would turn into an inflation fighter? That they wouldn‘t lag behind both the incoming forward looking and lagging inflation metrics? Make no mistake, the June ISM services PMIs were the highest ever – there is plenty of inflation in the pipeline, and you‘re in essence making a bet whether the central bank will duly mop up the excesses, or not. I‘m in the latter camp, and that means the current gold and silver values are highly interesting to the medium-term investor and trader.Crude OilOil has rebounded off the premarket lows, and is likely to turn higher from here. Note the oil sector resilience vs. what would likely turn out as overdone selling before yesterday‘s regular session kicked in.CopperCopper has likewise stabilized in the PMs induced selloff hitting commodities as well. On one hand the volume doesn‘t indicate local low being reached already, on the other the 4.20s zone is likely to hold unless a game changer strikes. That‘s unlikely at the moment – the inflation data this week are more than likely to support real assets, even if they give the Fed an excuse / justification to indicate improving economy conditions in Jackson Hole, and announce taper in September. Look for commodities to recover then fast, faster than precious metals.Bitcoin and EthereumThe crypto upswing goes on, without respite, with every dip promptly bought. As the $48-50K resistance in Bitcoin approaches, look for air to become a little thinner – it would take time to overcome it, and Ethereum can be relied upon in showing the direction. It‘s also positive to see both leading cryptos rebound almost as strongly off the capitulation July lows.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – US Stocks Continue To Soar

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 11.08.2021 09:18
US 30 shoots to new highThe Dow Jones 30 rose to a record high after the US Senate passed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The initial surge above 35100 was a sign of strong buying interest.The index has then found support at 35030 near the top of the previous consolidation range.A series of higher highs indicates that the bullish bias is still intact.The RSI has popped up into the overbought area once again, and a temporary pullback may allow the bulls to raise their stakes. 35500 would be the next stop as the rally picks up steam.EURUSD lacks supportDownbeat economic sentiment in the eurozone further depresses the euro against a roaring US dollar.The break below 1.1760 from the daily chart has put buyers on the defensive. Strong inertia in favor of the greenback fuels the bearish ride as momentum traders pile in.The former support has turned into resistance (1.1770). The euro is testing the next support at 1.1710, where a bearish breakout may extend the sell-off to last November’s low at 1.1600.Then a reversal could be in the making in the medium term.XAGUSD sinks to major supportBullions struggle as US bond yields rise amid hawkish Fed comments about a taper in the fourth quarter.Silver’s latest rally may turn out to be a dead cat bounce as sentiment remains extremely cautious. Price action is grinding down along the moving averages.24.35 is now the new resistance. Sellers would be eager to dump at a better price before the RSI goes oversold again.The psychological level of 22.00 from last November would be a critical test of the rally from March 2020.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold Miners: Celebration Time

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.08.2021 12:48
Another day, another decline in junior miners – and another increase in profits from short positions in them. Shouldn’t we expect a rebound though?Well, no. The rebound already happened in late July and early August, and what we see now is the trend being resumed. Consequently, even if it wasn’t for all the long-term analogies to the 2012-2013 declines in gold and gold stocks (HUI Index), one should expect the current short-term decline to be significantly bigger than the counter-trend upswing which ended earlier this month. At this time, the move lower is just somewhat bigger than the preceding rally. Thus, it’s not excessive and can easily continue.However, let’s keep in mind that periods of very high volatility usually need to be followed by periods of relatively low volatility. That’s when investors verify if the “new reality” – the price levels after the decline – are justified or not. If the market votes “no”, we get huge rebounds and breakdowns’ invalidations. So far this week, the markets have been voting “yes”.Consequently, the current back-and-forth trading is perfectly normal, and it’s in tune with what I wrote in the previous days – even in the case of the details. While the precious metals are taking a breather, the gold mining stocks continue to decline, but in a steadier manner. That’s what happened earlier this year (in February and in late-June / early-July 2021) and during the 2013 slide.While a steady decline might not get as many heads turning as big daily slides, it also serves a very important purpose. You see, the mining stocks (GDX includes both: gold stocks and silver stocks) are now verifying the breakdown below the neck level of the head and shoulders pattern. Once this breakdown is verified (just one more daily close is needed), miners will be likely to fall much lower, as the target resulting from this formation is based on the size of its head. In this case, it implies a move to about $28.In the case of the junior gold miners, the situation is even more bearish, as they just moved below the previous yearly lows, and they are confirming the breakdown.Please note how the junior miners lost their momentum right after declining on relatively big volume. In yesterday’s analysis (Aug. 10), I commented on junior miners’ breakdown in the following way:This move was not yet confirmed, but with the significant volume on which it took place, it looks quite believable. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few days of consolidation before senior miners move much lower.As I wrote earlier today, gold and silver were not doing much yesterday (and in today’s pre-market trading at the moment of writing these words), but it’s a perfectly normal phenomenon.In fact, if gold moves back to the previously broken lows at about $1,750, it won’t invalidate the bearish narrative.The Most Powerful Tool – Self-SimilarityGold has a triangle-vertex-based reversal close to the end of the next week, which means that it could continue to consolidate or move a bit higher in the next several days, and then slide once again. Please note that this would make the current decline very similar in terms of its pace to the decline that we saw in June. While the moves don’t have to be identical, the gold price quite often moves in similar patterns – I’ve seen this many times in the past decade (and beyond). For example, please note how similar the short-term declines that we saw between August 2020 and December 2020 were.And while gold is consolidating after breaking below its June lows, the GDX is doing so after breaking below the neck level of the head-and-shoulders pattern and the GDXJ is trading sideways after breaking to new yearly lows, silver is also consolidating after a breakdown to new yearly lows.Unless silver manages to soar back above the March lows shortly (and it seems unlikely that it does), it will be likely to fall profoundly once again soon.The inverse of the above is likely the USD Index, which is verifying its second attempt to break above its inverse head-and-shoulders pattern.The August 2020 highs are the next short-term resistance for the USD Index, but I don’t expect it to decline significantly from there. Instead, it seems to me that the USDX will rally to almost 98 based on the inverse H&S pattern, and then it might consolidate.So, while the USD Index and the precious metals market might consolidate for a few days (or even up to two weeks), they are likely to continue their most recent sizable moves shortly thereafter. Consequently, while I can’t make any promises with regard to the performance of any asset, it seems that the profits on the short positions in junior miners are going to increase substantially in the coming weeks.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

CPI Fuel and the Smoldering Inflation Fire

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.08.2021 16:04
For all the CPI hoopla, remember that this is a monthly figure – all data tend to fluctuate, especially those heavily massaged ones (substitution, hedonistic adjustments, owners‘equivalent rent coupled with exclusion of certain essentials for their prices are deemed too volatile).The Fed keeps walking a very fine line, and it‘s a success that the market isn‘t revolting – given the infrastructure bill passing Senate, calls on OPEC+ to increase production, it‘s clear to me that whatever today‘s figure, inflation will keep being a thorn in its side for a long time – as simple as putting 2 + 2 together. Again, today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 keeps holding up but Nasdaq not very much so – quoting from yesterday‘s analysis:(…) Yes, Nasdaq is in as precarious short-term position as the 500-strong index – about to fall steeply just as gold did? Probably not, but vulnerable to a corrective move that could easily reach a few percent. The infrastructure bill is rather factored into the expectations, and similarly to Fed taper looming, any surprise could serve as a selling catalyst. The drying up volume may not be a sign of no more sellers here, but rather of combination of timid sellers and drying up pool of buyers. With the strong CPI data likely to be announced tomorrow, the bears would likely try their luck.Credit MarketsCredit market weakness is catching up ever more with high yield corporate bonds as they are getting under the same kind of pressure as quality debt instruments. Credit spreads are likely to start widening again as we‘re still in an economic expansion, and that would lift stock market spreads such as financials to utilities. Anyway, with rising yields look for the ride in equities to get rockier, and for tech to be diverging – yesterday was a preview of things to come. Gold, Silver and MinersYesterday, I made a case for why we‘re at an interesting valuation point in gold and silver. The daily chart view though still looks as bleak as ever – merely price stabilization while miners continue leading lower. The dust hasn‘t indeed settled and the success of Fed‘s June actions is still with us as inflation expectations and TIPS are being ignored:(...) Does the market seriously believe that the Fed would turn into an inflation fighter? That they wouldn‘t lag behind both the incoming forward looking and lagging inflation metrics? Make no mistake, the June ISM services PMIs were the highest ever – there is plenty of inflation in the pipeline, and you‘re in essence making a bet whether the central bank will duly mop up the excesses, or not. I‘m in the latter camp, and that means the current gold and silver values are highly interesting to the medium-term investor and trader.Crude OilOil has rebounded off Monday‘s premarket lows, but has met selling pressure even before today‘s message to OPEC+ was announced. I‘m counting on the oil sector continued resilience, but am not looking for similarly smooth sailing in black gold all that fast. Not at all.CopperCopper paints a brighter picture by quite a few hues, and the commodity index has likewise sprang to life vigorously. The 4.20s support zone is likely to hold unless a game changer strikes, which has gotten a little more unlikely compared to yesterday (watching the news tape). The inflation data are more than likely to support real assets, even if they enable the Fed to declare improving economy conditions in Jackson Hole, and announce (watered down) taper (with strings attached) in September. Look for commodities to recover then fast, faster than precious metals.Bitcoin and EthereumThe slow motion crypto upswing goes on, without respite – consolidating and likely to continue. More fighting is expected around $48-50K in Bitcoin, but shouldn‘t affect Ethereum all that much. SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

August Starts Illy for Gold. Could September Change Anything?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.08.2021 15:14
The WGC believes that gold will shine in September. Given the whole context, I’m not so sure – in fact, not sure at all.Following three previous reports, the WGC revealed two more interesting publications at the turn of July and August. The first one is the report about gold demand trends in Q2 2021. As we can read, the demand for gold was virtually flat in Q2 (y-o-y), but in the first half of the year it decreased 10.4%. Importantly, there were modest inflows into gold ETFs in Q2 and also in July, but they only partially offset the huge outflows of the previous quarter. Hence, investors’ sentiment turned more positive in the second quarter, which helped gold prices rebound somewhat after Q1.Indeed, as the chart below shows, the price of gold plunged 10% in Q1 2021. Then, it rebounded 4.3% in the second quarter, but it was not enough to offset the blow from the first three months of the year. In July, the price of gold jumped 3.6%, although it retraced most of that increase in August (it decreased 2.1% in a single day – Aug. 6). So, gold prices declined more than 6% year-to-date.Unfortunately, there is potential for further declines. After strong July’s nonfarm payrolls, the Fed has no excuses not to start tapering of its quantitative easing. What’s more, the current levels of the real interest rates are very low, so they are likely to normalize somewhat later this year.The second WGC publication is the newest edition of the Gold Market Commentary entitled Equity yields support gold as investors position for historical September strength. The main thesis of the article is that “August could be the opportune time to position for the historically strong September gold performance”. Well, given last week’s plunge in gold prices, this suggestion looks rather amusing, but who knows? There is plenty of time until September, which is historically quite positive for gold.The justification for this thesis is two-fold. First, central banks focus now more on employment than inflation, which could prolong tapering activity. It’s true that the upcoming Fed’s tightening cycle will be very gradual, and the Fed’s balance sheet (as well as the federal funds rate) won’t probably return to the pre-pandemic levels. However, it’s also true that the Fed has already started the tapering clock and will likely tighten its monetary policy somewhat this year. This is what the markets are pricing in, and such expectations boost the real interest rates and create downward pressure on gold prices.Second, the S&P 500’s real yield (i.e., companies’ earnings yield plus the dividend yield minus inflation) has turned negative, which reduces the opportunity costs of holding gold. Well, the equity market looks overbought, but with low interest rates, high inflation and the Fed always ready to reach out a helping hand, investors may continue to flow into this market.Implications for GoldWhat can we learn from the recent World Gold Council reports? Well, just like the WGC, I’m bullish on gold in the long run, but I’m more bearish in the shorter timeframe. In other words, I believe that gold may go down first before it rallies again. September is a historically good month for gold, but this year it might also be the month when the Fed announces the start of the tapering of its asset purchases. The hawkish Fed would push bond yields higher and strengthen the dollar, sending the price of the yellow metal down in the short-to-medium term.Luckily, an abrupt taper tantrum similar to the one from 2013 is not likely to happen again. Moreover, a bit later either the post-tightening recession or inflation running out of control could make gold shine again. After all, inflation is well above the Fed’s target, while the real yields will likely remain negative for a long period. These factors should provide support for gold over a longer horizon, but investors shouldn’t downplay the upcoming tightening cycle and rising interest rates.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

As Pressure on the Fed to Act Grows..

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.08.2021 16:13
CPI banished the specter of rising inflation to the markets, coming in not too hot, not too cold. Still, the signs pointing to broadening the base of price increases are hard to miss, which today‘s PPI would likely and did illustrate. The other key headline event was the Dallas Fed calling for taper announcement in September, and its actual start in October – and given how the overnight rally in commodities fizzled out, the decision to tighten many open trades‘ parameters earlier today, was a good one in lightening overall risk.Again, today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe infrastructure bill achieved only so much in driving value and risk appetite within S&P 500 yesterday – the Monday announced upcoming divergence of the two leading indices clearly shows in the Nasdaq underperformance driven by tech behemoths yesterday.Credit MarketsCredit markets made a modest turn, but the white candle‘s credibility is taken down a notch by the weak volume. It isn‘t fully balanced by the relative strength in LQD vs. TLT – Treasury yields are indeed about to start widening again as I‘ve written yesterday and before. We‘re still in an economic expansion that got a fresh boost, and financials to utilities are likely to keep doing well.Gold, Silver and MinersNice rebound in gold, but coupled with poor miners performance, it remains suspect. Look for any hawkish Fed utterances to hit here in the metals harder than in commodities. Funny, taper is hawkish in today‘s environment, I know, but still. The dust hasn‘t yet settled in spite of repeated inflation expectations upticks and strong TIPS performance. The market is obviously giving the Fed the benefit of the (inflation fighter) doubt, which though looks like a losing proposition medium-term.Crude OilOil has staged another intraday rebound, and in spite of the oil sector resilience, isn‘t out of the woods just yet. While the daily indicators are improving, I would like to see a bit more price resilience first.CopperCopper has likewise turned higher, trailing behind the sharply recovering commodity index. More back and forth movement is to be expected at least today, which mirrors the prior oil very short-term outlook.Bitcoin and EthereumThe slow motion crypto upswing has paused, and I would prefer to see signs of the bullish strength returning first. SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Struggles For Support

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 13.08.2021 09:46
GBPUSD fails to break higherThe sterling inched lower after the NIESR GDP estimate for the past three months fell short of expectations.The rally above the daily resistance at 1.3890 may have saved the pound’s 17-month long rally. Though the combination of overextension and lack of support in the short-term may prolong the retracement.The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area may lead to a limited rebound.The bulls will need to lift 1.3890 in order to reverse gears. Otherwise, a breach below 1.3770 may send the pair to 1.3600.NZDUSD tests key supportThe New Zealand dollar finds support after a rise in RBNZ inflation expectations in Q3.The kiwi has built several layers of support above the key level of 0.6900 with the latest one at 0.6990. This is an indication that buyers are willing to bid up the price.After a hiatus at the resistance at 0.7060, the RSI has dropped back to the neutral area to give the bulls a chance to make another push. The narrowing range would culminate in a breakout-raising momentum in the process.SPX 500 surges to new highThe S&P 500 continues to climb as weekly jobless claims meet estimates.A series of higher highs suggests that the bullish sentiment is still intact. 4480 would be the next stop as momentum traders jump in. The RSI has broken into the overbought territory, which could temper buyers’ fever to raise their stakes.The index may look to consolidate its gains after a new all-time high. 4440 is fresh support in case of retracement. 4425 near the upper band of the previous consolidation range would be the second line of defense.
Silver, the value price spread

Silver, the value price spread

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 13.08.2021 13:39
The value regarding a concerning future is more represented in prices for gold and silver stocks, which weren’t as dramatically affected as they are in more meaningful selloffs. We also encourage the reader to google 1-ounce coins or 100 oz bars of Silver on eBay to find physical acquisition prices not to be reduced as they should be. For 17 months, the spread between physical and spot price in Silver is now present. This means buyers are willing to purchase at an exuberantly higher premium than the paper price.With no indications of fundamental reasoning that justifies paper prices going down, we find risk reduction to our physical holdings. Risk being our most dominant concern is as such more to the side this being a spread between value and price, and as such, we have added to our exposure on a physical level finding this to be a buying opportunity.Looking at trading “paper precious metals prices”, either exuberant emotions of traders and/or price manipulation I present. Hence, we still see a pretty risky environment. While we see a possibility of even lower price levels, such trading behavior is temporary. Typically, extreme states are short-lived.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Don’t get rattled:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 13th, 2021.The debate about the possibility of market manipulation in the precious metal sector is exhausting, to say the least. While we understand a possible frustration of market participants this to be the cause for losses, it is yet another reason for emotional behavior in market participation which we extremely discourage no matter the reason for triggering. Emotional behavior does principle-based find no place in market play. It clouds the mind and limits the ability for proper trade execution.Gold is the big brother to Silver and is used as a barometer for the health of a nation. It makes Gold political and should be reason enough to find possible strong forces to influence such a barometer. But this should still be irrelevant to the principles on how one allocates money in speculative spot price plays.Keeping one’s emotions in check is one of the best ways to ensure a chance of a positive outcome on a series of one’s bets.The daily chart shows that last Friday’s price action was the precursor setup for the exuberant move when Asian markets opened for the week. Friday’s close (see 1) at the day’s lows, after a strong down trending day near a significant supply zone (see2), weakened this support. It took little pressure to open the flood gates for a self-perpetuating motion. A chain of stops got triggered when markets opened for the week. Once the rubber band was stretched, we had a quick V-shaped bounce for most of the previous down move.This down move was followed by the typical small range indecision sideways day. Prices advanced modestly on Wednesday and again sold on Thursday. It is now the focal point to follow price behavior for a possible retest near the week’s lows zone.We are looking for a possible aggressive entry on a half-size position size. But we will only expose capital if a supply zone is hit with speed to take advantage of an action/reaction principle. Should the price steadily but slowly decline, we will not engage in the markets from a long perspective. Daily Chart, Gold in US-Dollar, Silver relatively weak:Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 13th, 2021.Another reason why we are relatively conservative in taking a long position right now in Silver is its relative weakness towards Gold.A look at the daily chart of Gold above reveals that the price bounce within this week was nearly double as strong as the one of Silver (see 1/2). Gold’s price decline on Thursday was also a lot more modest. As such, we are not in a hurry to expose capital. We rather trade a possible turning point reactionary after price confirmation.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Silver, the value price spread:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 13th, 2021.But it isn’t our concern at this point, where speculative short-term entries on spot price trading in Silver are to be determined. What we want to point out is the value stretch. An extreme example would be the fact, that one ounce of silver is enough to feed a family of five for 38 days in Venezuela right now (equaling 3.8 million Bolivars). It is foolish and extreme to argue, “oh well, this is in Venezuela, and something like this could never happen where I live.” Moderate, which in our opinion is the way to go, is thinking in insurance terms and low-risk opportunities to purchase such an insurance, Silver.The larger weekly time frame already indicates that we might be at an entry opportunity for just such a positioning of physical Silver for a long-term wealth preservation perspective.Prices have held a bit above the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level. Recent price low extremes are within the last thirteen months’ sideways range extremes from US$21.66 to US$30.14. With the relative weakness divergence to Gold, a decline towards a 50% retracement level would spell “opportunity” to us. In general, from a large time frame perspective of a multi-year hold, physical silver acquisitions at spot price levels here, irrespective of the premium to be paid, seem decent to us in the entry range between US$20.70 to $23.75.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, The big picture counts:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 13th, 2021.Where clarity cements itself is on the monthly timeframe. One can make out how substantial the move up from last year’s lows at US$11.64 was. On top, the price retracement from this year’s highs is proportionally harmonious. Most likely it’s nothing, but just taking a breath before the possibility of a trend continuation.Supportive to this bullish picture are two significant fractal volume analysis support zones (1,2), right below current price levels (see histogram to the right of the chart).Silver, the value price spread:It is essential to differentiate market speculation and wealth preservation regarding engagement into the silver markets.We do not claim to have a crystal ball to see clearly into the future. Still, when joggling with numbers, it is hard to believe a statement that all is honky dory. That the economy is sound, and that Federal Reserve policy and money printing aren’t having any adverse effect.We have seen irrational trader behavior over and over again. With the ego’s domain on insisting on being right and a lack of accepting responsibility for losing trades, emotions get out of hand pretty quickly. Minds cannot find reasons for prices declining. Promptly a dam can break, and a self-fulfilling prophecy is in motion. We urge you not to participate in further confusing, more emotion triggering mental debates. Avoid letting rage run rapidly. Value price spread opportunities cease to exist for those individuals tied in emotional frictions and frustrations. Take a step back and examine sound fundamental reasoning for your longer-term holdings and extended multiple-decade wealth preservation opportunities.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|August 13th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, FED balance, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Connection: When Gold Rises, Will Bitcoin Fall?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.08.2021 15:41
What do the portents say? Well, we’ve been looking for connections between gold and bitcoin, and we see a chance to fatten the coffers. Read on.But first, let’s talk about gold and the miners. Yesterday’s session provided us with a perfect confirmation of the bearish case in the precious metals sector for the short term.The reason is that what happened was bearish in two ways:Nothing happened in goldDaily declines in mining stocksShort Term: Miners Still Looking WeakFirst, the decline in mining stocks. A price action following a confirmed breakdown was exactly what I expected to happen to both junior miners and senior miners.Senior miners – the GDX ETF – declined after verifying the breakdown below the neck level of the head and shoulders pattern.Junior miners – the GDXJ ETF – declined after verifying the breakdown to new yearly lows.Both are very bearish on their own as the confirmed breakdowns imply that another – bigger – short-term slide is about to start.But they are even more bearish when compared to what happened in gold.Nothing happened in the case of the gold price, which means that miners had no good reason to decline yesterday. Well, except for the reason that they have been in a medium-term downtrend and due to myriads of technical reasons that I discussed previously. However, on a day-to-day basis, since gold didn’t move, miners shouldn’t have moved either, if their outlook was at least neutral.Their outlook, however, is not neutral. It’s clearly bearish as they showed weakness relative to gold. What just happened is the exact opposite of what one should see at or after an important bottom – at that time gold stocks should outperform gold.Consequently, the precious metals sector is likely to slide shortly, and profits from our short positions in the junior miners are likely to increase sooner rather than later.That’s as far as the short-term implications are concerned.Gold and Bitcoin: What’s in It for Me?There is something else that I’d like to share with you today, though. I previously wrote that there’s a tendency for gold and bitcoin to move in the opposite directions in the short run, despite that they both moved higher in the long term – since 2014. I wrote that I’ll get back to this topic at some later date – and that day is today.The upper part of the above chart features gold (regular colors) and bitcoin (blue), and the lower part of the chart features the USD Index.At first glance, the performance of gold and bitcoin doesn’t seem to be that connected, besides the fact that they both moved higher in recent years. However, taking a closer look reveals that the link between them is not only present, but it’s actually quite strong.I used the vertical, dashed lines to mark the moments when gold formed short-term bottoms and when bitcoin responded with declines. There were multiple cases like that! What’s remarkable is that even if bitcoin was soaring, it managed to correct a bit when gold was regaining strength. There were also some cases when bitcoin did nothing after gold’s bottom, but the moments when bitcoin ignored gold’s bottom and just continued to rally were rare.I marked the first two (2014) cases with bold lines as that’s when the USD Index had been rallying particularly strongly. Since it seems that the USDX is starting a sizable upswing, these analogies might be most important.Bitcoin declined in 2014 and the decline took the form of two smaller declines. One of them started close to the middle of the year (practically right at the vertical line) and the second started in the final few months of the year. What is most interesting, is that both bitcoin declines started when gold was forming short-term bottoms.Bitcoin has been on the rise in the last several days, and given what we saw in gold – and in light of the above-discussed link – it’s perfectly normal, since gold has been declining (the recent pause seems too small to trigger any price moves). But most importantly, it tells us that when gold rebounds, it could be bitcoin’s chance to slide.The 2014 decline might not seem like a big deal on the above chart, but that is only due to the perspective. When you look at the prices (the axis on the left side of the chart), you’ll see that bitcoin actually declined from about $600 to about $150. In other words, its price was reduced fourfold. That’s a huge decline. And a huge opportunity for those who are able to see it in advance.This might or might not provide us with a great shorting opportunity in case of bitcoin, when gold rebounds (likely close to the previous 2021 lows), increasing this year’s profits, but it’s too early to say so with certainty at this time. I’ll keep looking for confirmations and I’ll report accordingly.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Fresh Highs to Meet Fresh Volatility

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.08.2021 16:13
Inflationary pressures building up aren‘t spooking the markets, there is no forcing the Fed‘s hand through rising yields. The bond vigilantes seem a distant memory as yields are trading well below their historical band, stunningly low given the hot inflation data. I‘m not saying red hot because the monthly CPI figure came in line with expectations, providing relief to the transitory camp. But last week‘s ISM services PMI and yesterday‘s PPI paint a very different story (to come).My call about summer lull in bonds before these slowly but surely make their way higher (the 10-year to 1.80%), is turning out just as well as the inflation expectations‘ continued rebound. The cheap magic of Fed‘s June jawboning is losing its luster. Stocks steady and making marginally higher ATHs practically daily, uneven credit markets, gold holding up well following Monday‘s hit job, oil and copper trading in narrow ranges while the crypto uptrend goes on – fresh profits harvested across the markets yesterday, and new ones growing today.The countdown to the Jackson Hole is on though, with the Fed practically having to do something – something in all likelihood face saving only as the record deficit spending gives it little to no maneuvering room.Again, today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookBroader base advance across the S&P 500 has lifted the 500-strong index, but the credit markets show short-term confirmation only. The air is getting thinner but bulls don‘t mind yet.Credit MarketsCredit markets‘ modest turn continues, and on even lower volume than was the case on Wednesday, which is a little suspicious but at least quality corporate debt is joining in this fragile rally.Gold, Silver and MinersDaily pause in gold, with the miners‘ weakness looking a bit too deceptive to me. The recovery from Friday and Monday‘s smackdowns is likely to go on as the inflation expectations and real yields provide fresh support again. Or does anyone expect high yields with such budget deficits? The market will wake up from giving the Fed the misguided benefit of the (inflation fighter) doubt.Crude OilOil has repelled intraday selling while the oil sector was more or less stable. The only question it seems is whether we would have to face another dip before the upswing slowly but surely resumes.CopperCopper was rejected, but only temporarily in my view – the commodity index is merely stalling, and that‘s a bullish sign given the PPI data increasing pressure on the Fed to act.Bitcoin and EthereumThe crypto pause is over, and bulls can go on extending gains – the signs of the bullish strength returning are materializing as we speak.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – Dax Sees Bullish Acceleration

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 16.08.2021 10:27
GER 30 rises along trendlineThe Dax 30 soared to a new all-time high backed by a strong earnings season.The rally is in full swing after a break above the previous peak at 15810. The index is climbing along a rising trendline since late July. The price has gone vertical and suggests an acceleration in the bullish momentum.A repeatedly overbought RSI indicates an overextension. A limited pullback would help the bulls catch their breath.15850 on the trendline is a key support should this happen. Then a rebound would lift the index to 16100.USDJPY seeks supportThe Japanese yen strengthens on upbeat GDP growth in Q2.The pair is looking for support after a close above the daily resistance at 110.60. This is an indication that the medium-term rally may resume.A pullback is necessary however after the RSI showed exhaustion. Analysts can expect buying interest at the psychological level of 109.00. An oversold RSI would make this a congestion area and prompt the bulls to buy the dip.109.70 is a fresh resistance ahead. A bullish breakout would lead to 110.50.XAGUSD bounces above resistanceSilver claws back losses as US Treasury yields remain flat on mixed US data.Price action has so far found support above the psychological level of 23.00.The RSI has risen back to the neutral area as traders bought the dip in an attempt to reverse course. However, the bearish mood would prevail as long as the metal stays under 24.35, the last leg of sell-off.A rebound may meet strong selling interest from trend followers. A fall below the said support would send the price to November’s low at 22.00.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold: The General Left Alone

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.08.2021 15:15
Gold commanded its unit to make another raid only to find itself stranded. The gold miners had already fled as fugitives, retreating without orders.The Gold MinersWhile gold shrugged off the Aug. 8 ‘flash crash’ and bounced back above its June lows, the yellow metal’s renewed sense of swagger hasn’t been mimicked by its precious metals peers. For example, while gold ended the week up by 0.86%, the GDXJ ETF (our short position) ended the week down by 1.72%.Please see below:Furthermore, while gold jumped by roughly $15 last week, the HUI Index declined by five index points. And with the bearish underperformance often a precursor to profound medium-term drawdowns, the precious metals are behaving like its 2012-2013. Last week is yet another confirmation of the analogy.Case in point: after the HUI Index recorded a short-term buy signal in late 2012 – when the index’s stochastic indicator was already below the 20 level (around 10) and the index was in the process of forming the right shoulder of a huge, medium-term head-and-shoulders pattern – the index moved slightly higher, consolidated, and then fell off a cliff.Please see below:To explain, can you see the HUI’s rally at the end of 2012 that followed a small buy signal from the stochastic indicator? I marked it with a purple, dashed line. No? That’s because it’s been practically nonexistent. The HUI Index moved higher by so little that it’s impossible to see it from the long-term point of view. On top of that, with the shape of gold’s recent price action, its RSI, and its MACD indicators all mirroring the bearish signals that we witnessed back in December 2012, the current setup signals that we’re likely headed for a similar swoon.For context, I warned previously that the miners’ drastic underperformance of gold was an extremely bearish sign. I wrote the following about the week beginning on May 24:(…) gold rallied by almost $30 ($28.60) and at the same time, the HUI – a flagship proxy for the gold stocks… Declined by 1.37. In other words, gold stocks completely ignored gold’s gains. That shows exceptional weakness on the weekly basis and is a very bearish sign for the following weeks.And why is this quote so important? Well, because the bearish phenomenon still remains intact. As mentioned, with gold rising by roughly $15 and the HUI Index declining by about five index points, the bearish underperformance is accelerating. Precisely, something similar happened during the week beginning on July 6. The gold price rallied by $27.40, and the HUI Index declined by 1.39. As a result, with the HUI Index’s ominous signals still present, if history rhymes (as it tends to), medium-term support will likely materialize in the 100-to-150 range. For context, high-end 2020 support implies a move back to 150, while low-end 2015 support implies a move back to 100. And yes, it could really happen, even though such predictions seem unthinkable.In addition, the drastic underperformance of the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline back then so profoundly, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, bearish head & shoulders patterns have often been precursors to monumental collapses. For example, when the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the gold mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here) all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern.Furthermore, when the HUI Index peaked on Sep. 21, 2012, that was just the initial high in gold. At that time, the S&P 500 was moving back and forth with lower highs. And what was the eventual climax? Well, gold made a new high before peaking on Oct. 5. In conjunction, the S&P 500 almost (!) moved to new highs, and despite bullish tailwinds from both parties, the HUI Index didn’t reach new heights. The bottom line? The similarity to how the final counter-trend rally ended in 2012 (and to a smaller extent in 2008) remains uncanny.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.In both cases, the forecast for silver, gold, and mining stocks is extremely bearish for the next several months.As further evidence, let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the senior miners (GDX) are in the midst of forming an ominous bear flag and the volume that accompanied Friday’s (Aug. 13) corrective upswing was relatively weak and it declined while the flag pattern was formed – just as it should if the formation was valid.Conversely, the GDX ETF did invalidate the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern (which is a bullish sign). However, the GDXJ ETF did not. And with the junior miners’ initial plunge (the pole) implying a continuation of the downtrend (following a consolidation that forms the flag), there are more indicators weighing down the gold miners than lifting them up.Please see below:Wave the Flag! The Bear Flag!Speaking of the GDXJ ETF, not only are the junior miners lagging behind their senior counterparts, but the four-hour chart provides a clear visual of the initial breakdown and the formation of the current bear flag.Please see below:The flag is perfect, and it took place on relatively declining volume, suggesting that another move will also be to the downside. After all, the moves that follow flags tend to be similar to the ones that preceded them.The price levels at which the flag was formed are also very important, and it’s clearer on the daily chart.Junior miners broke below the previous 2021 lows, and they held this breakdown, even though gold rallied quite visibly last week. This serves as a great confirmation that the move lower is about to take place.And how should we expect the climax to unfold? Last week, I wrote the following:Well, the GDXJ ETF may consolidate in the short term, but lower lows are still likely, and initial support should materialize at roughly $37 (the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level). Thereafter, a short-term corrective upswing should follow before the GDXJ ETF reverses course once again and records its final bottom near the end of the year – at much, much lower price levels. All in all, it seems that our profits on the GDXJ (short position in it) are going to become MUCH bigger before this decline is over.The above remains up-to-date. In fact, we already saw the short-term consolidation last week, so the decline could resume any day now.In conclusion, the gold miners’ continued underperformance of the yellow metal is akin to a fire alarm signaling an impending blaze. And while many investors have forged through the smoke in 2021 and suffered a loss of breath in the process, our medium-term forecast does not change our outlook for gold, silver and mining stocks over the long term. With the trio underpinned by robust long-term fundamentals and their medium-term drawdowns likely to elicit secular buying opportunities, we’re confident that the precious metals will remain atop investors’ wish lists for years to come.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The Long Shadow Over Reflation Trades

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.08.2021 16:13
Consumer confidence undershoot didn‘t bring down stocks as the retreat in yields (away from the reflation trades) didn‘t spook value stocks, and only lifted tech. It‘s true that XLK isn‘t firing on all cylinders, and the semiconductors‘ lag is just as concerning as Russell 2000 underperformance – so much for explaining the risks in stocks. But as I wrote on Friday:(…) Inflationary pressures building up aren‘t spooking the markets, there is no forcing the Fed‘s hand through rising yields. The bond vigilantes seem a distant memory as yields are trading well below their historical band, stunningly low given the hot inflation data. I‘m not saying red hot because the monthly CPI figure came in line with expectations, providing relief to the transitory camp. But last week‘s ISM services PMI and yesterday‘s PPI paint a very different story (to come).My call about summer lull in bonds before these slowly but surely make their way higher (the 10-year to 1.80%), is turning out just as well as the inflation expectations‘ continued rebound. The cheap magic of Fed‘s June jawboning is losing its luster. Stocks steady and making marginally higher ATHs practically daily, uneven credit markets, gold holding up well following Monday‘s hit job, oil and copper trading in narrow ranges while the crypto uptrend goes on – fresh profits harvested across the markets yesterday, and growing today.Regarding the taper noises many Fed speakers made during the week (it isn‘t just about Dallas), some form of taper looks indeed coming, even though they would have a hard time pulling it off against decelerating economy and massive fresh spending. Mission impossible if you will. Still, they make the appearance of wanting to try – wouldn‘t tanking markets and fresh calls to do something be a perfect excuse to expanding balance sheet solidly again? But they must at least internally in the Eccles building understand that a move against inflation is long overdue, and perhaps a repetition of June FOMC wouldn‘t do the trick this time.Again, today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookTech continues catching up with value overall holding ground, and that means S&P 500 is ever so slightly ahead over Nasdaq these days. But once another phase of rising yields returns, look for the divergence between the two to reappear.Credit MarketsCredit markets upturn continues, and on lowest volume in recent months – suspicious, but not enough given the lackluster moves elsewhere. Bond performance was still positive for stocks‘ fragile rally.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners‘ weakness that I wrote about on Friday, was indeed deceptive. The yellow metal surged higher, surpassed only by silver (the white metal was the odd one out with its Thursday‘s fake weakness). What a welcome bullish turn of events driven by retreating dollar and nominal yields, with the weakening consumer confidence casting a shadow over the economy too.Crude OilOn one hand, crude oil decline on lower volume is less credible, on the other hand, the oil sector fell even more. Sideways trading in black gold looks set to continue (closer to $60 than $80 within the range I mentioned lately), but I look for it to be eventually resolved with an upswing.CopperCopper upswing was again rejected, and the commodity index went nowhere. Still, the red metal managed to rise on the week – no small feat given the creeping doubts about where the real economy‘s growth path is headed.Bitcoin and EthereumSome more base building in cryptos, and encouragingly it‘s above the 200-day moving average in Bitcoin while Ethereum isn‘t weak. The benefit of the doubt is still with the bulls.SummaryIn place of summary today, please see the above chart descriptions for my take.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Your low-risk option is Bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 17.08.2021 11:42
Bitcoins low risk from a trading perspective:Short-term traders appreciate volatility. Bitcoin is liquid and not choppy. A long-term trader’s biggest fear is six sigma events. Consequently, any time the market is closed, more significant holdings are at risk of surprising news resulting in gap openings. Professionals go as far as to close out positions that are not in the green yet on a Friday after a trend-down day. The statistical fact is that on Mondays, market reopening, the downtrend is likely to continue. We have just recently witnessed that phenomenon in the flash crash of the gold market. They cannot take such weekend risks easily. With bitcoin trading 24/7, it is a much risk-reduced investment tool.Bitcoins low risk from a fundamental perspective:Any centralized instrument is attack-able. May it be by technology or legislative. We had times of gold being confiscated, even illegal to own.In the recent trading behavior of the precious metal sector, we can see that it might not be wise to put all your eggs in the golden basket alone.Bitcoin/Gold comparison, Weekly Chart, Bitcoins relative strength towards Gold:Bitcoin/Gold comparison, weekly chart as of August 17th, 2021.Like with everything else, it is wise nevertheless to keep an eye out for a few pitfalls. One of them being a misrepresentation of bitcoin measuring against a fiat currency. With fiat currency losing value, it is more accurate to compare against gold. The chart above shows how bitcoin gained strength towards gold and, as such, notoriety in its value.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Adapting to hurdles:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 17th, 2021.Another essential part of keeping bitcoin your low-risk wealth preservation of choice is adapting to its unique trading features. Bitcoin is deceiving with its significant retracements-grabbing stops for those too greedy, and once it turned it is hard to get in as bitcoin speedily advances steeply. What is essential here for the trader is not to be insisting on a time frame, but rather be on the lookout for a variety of time frames to find low-risk entry spots and profit-taking target zones.It typically remedies what we call the emotional yo-yo effect. Market participants feel at ease when the bitcoin market declines to say to themselves: “I knew bitcoin isn’t worth a thing.” Days/weeks later, when bitcoin turned sharply and advances steeply, they find themselves in a state of a feeling of “missing out” in disbelief of the significant move they just missed.The daily chart above illustrates bitcoins behavior in this aspect—quick steep advances represented in Heikin-Ashi charting format (color green). In addition, we can see on the standard deviation cloud indicator how bitcoin is compared to most other instruments, able to be suspended to extreme deviation for extended periods. The last turning point up produced a sixty-four percent move up in less than a month.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Prepping the trade:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 17th, 2021.In our last chart book published, we posted a chart with various likely future price movement scenarios. Now, we are expecting a high likelihood of the second scenario of A (white line) to unfold. The daily chart above describes this scenario from last week now in more detail.We enter a low-risk entry, at the supply zone of US$39,450 to US$41,240. The fractal volume support zone is only of interest to us, with prices declining from tops between US$50,875 to US$47,230. Your low-risk option is Bitcoin:Bitcoin, which by the way, is not that young of a market anymore, gets a low rap also because it caused a whole movement of other seemingly decentralized altcoins. At the mass internet adoption, we have seen a similar effect with penny stocks that went to zero, giving fuel to critics. Thirty years later, we do not have to ask you if the internet itself is of value. We see the first steps in motion of a mass adoption of bitcoin as well. Your risk is now listening to critics’ unfounded doubts over facts that point clearly to a future with a very high probability of bitcoin taking a central role in the financial market worldwide.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|August 17th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.08.2021 15:45
No, it‘s not about stocks, however well they hang on to recent gains. ATHs hit again amid recovering corporate credit markets, with both tech and value contributing. Value though was looking more vulnerable going into yesterday‘s session, and just one look at financials or energy confirms that – in the world of question marks over high pace of economic growth, it‘s the Fed that‘s between a rock and hard place.On one hand, they have stubborn and quickening inflation to deal with (or pretend to deal with through the FOMC, the federal open mouth committee) – getting ahead of the curve means serious tightening (okay, first getting less loose monetarily, which is what taper is about). Given China‘s slowdown and corresponding U.S. figures projected, it would be a tall order to turn off the spigot into a weakening (but still growing) economy – that has potential to trigger quite a correction in stocks and risk-on assets. Note copper and oil paring recent gains, and going largely sideways for weeks – not rolling over, but the light is amber, irrespective of the infrastructure bill.On the other hand, if the central bank does nothing, inflation would grow even more entrenched, sinking the stock market and economy over time, anyway. Don‘t forget about the massive spending – the Fed turning restrictive isn‘t the math favored outcome here.Bond yields aren‘t squeezing the Fed‘s hand – the market is paying more attention to growth than inflation at the moment. And that means headwinds for the reflation and commodity trades as these would find rising rates more conducive. Copper to gold ratio is seeing every spike sold since June, underlining the tug of war between the prospects of economy roaring ahead vs. hunkering down.In such an environment of uncertainty, gold is the winner – just as I summarized it yesterday:(…) Regarding the taper noises many Fed speakers made during the week (it isn‘t just about Dallas), some form of taper looks indeed coming, even though they would have a hard time pulling it off against decelerating economy and massive fresh spending. Mission impossible if you will. Still, they make the appearance of wanting to try – wouldn‘t tanking markets and fresh calls to do something be a perfect excuse to expanding balance sheet solidly again? But they must at least internally in the Eccles building understand that a move against inflation is long overdue, and perhaps a repetition of June FOMC wouldn‘t do the trick this time.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookAgainst all odds euphemistically said, the slow grind higher in stocks continues, with tech getting momentarily a little stronger than value. Volume is so far still behind the upswing – regardless of what the VIX and put/call ratio look like, the bulls aren‘t yet challenged.Credit MarketsCredit markets upturn continues, but not before having to repel heavy selling at the open. The chart offers no warning signs for the bulls at the moment, with the exception of risk-on optimism being vulnerable to a suddent souring that would hit many advancing stocks hard. Financials weakness yesterday is a watchout reflective of Treasury yields path.Gold, Silver and MinersGiven the growth fears sentiment of the moment, miners‘ underperformance is more understandable – the yellow metal is set to do well in such circumstances. Silver weakness reflects select commodities such as copper getting under pressure, which equals risk-off undercurrents.Crude OilEnergy stocks do a little worse in such an environment, making the daily oil resilience a temporarily good sign – one that I wouldn‘t read too much into for now as the volume isn‘t consistent with a budding reversal.CopperLikewise in copper, the modest rebound off the lows isn‘t convincing – there are no signs of heavy buying thus far, making the local bottom still elusive.Bitcoin and EthereumCrypto base building goes on, and the recent price action remains positive for the bulls.SummaryWhile the risk of a correction in stocks grows, in many commodities it‘s already here. The decelerating economy as evidenced by today‘s retail sales, is lifting primarily gold, and isn‘t any obstacle to cryptos just yet – the dollar isn‘t biting and yields remain range bound, therefore I look for inflation trades to eventually return to strength.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Rallies on Softening Inflation. What’s Going On?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 17.08.2021 17:17
Inflation softened slightly in July and gold prices rose, but the bullish joy may be premature. How should we respond?Inflation eased a bit in July, but it remained disturbingly high. According to the latest BLS report on inflation, the CPI increased 0.5% in July after rising 0.9% in June. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also softened, as it rose 0.3% in July after increasing 0.9% in June. The deceleration was mainly caused by a much smaller advance in the index for used cars, which increased only 0.2% (it was 10.5% in June).However, on an annual basis, inflation practically stayed unchanged since June, as the chart below shows. The overall index surged 5.4% for the second month in a row (on a seasonally unadjusted basis), while the core CPI soared 4.3%, following a 4.5% jump in the previous month.So, at first glance, it seems that inflation has peaked. This might be true, but please notice that it remained disturbingly high despite the deceleration in several subindexes, including the index for used cars. I dread to think what would be if these categories didn’t moderate!What’s more, the producer price index for final demand rose 1% in July (MoM) and 7.8% over the past 12 months, as one can see in the chart below. It was the largest advance since the 12-month data was first calculated in November 2010. Part of this increase could be passed on to consumers later, as companies have recently gained more ability to lift prices seeing weak resistance to price increases.Additionally, the index for shelter – the biggest component of the CPI, not hit by the pandemic as strongly as restaurants and hotels industries – has been rising gradually since February 2021, and it has accelerated to 2.8% in July. Last but not least, the US Senate passed Biden’s infrastructure plan, which could also add something to the inflationary pressure by an increase in the money supply. All these developments suggest that inflation isn’t going away just yet.Implications for GoldWhat does the recent inflation report imply for the gold market? Well, theoretically, softer inflation should be negative for gold, which is seen as an inflation hedge and which historically shined during periods of high and accelerating inflation.However, as the chart below shows, the price of gold has rebounded somewhat from last week’s low, gaining about $50 from Tuesday to Friday. It seems that steady (and partially below expectations) inflation gives the Fed room to maintain its ultra-dovish monetary policy. Indeed, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, the expectations for the Fed’s tightening cycle have diminished slightly from the previous week, which supported gold prices.However, a bullish hurray might be premature. Inflation is still high and significantly above the Fed’s target. Inflation expectations remain elevated, and some measures even increased slightly in July. Unfortunately, markets seem not to worry significantly about inflation any longer, and the stock market continues its rally.Even if inflation really softens later this year, which is likely given that some supply disruptions will probably resolve, it shouldn’t suddenly dive below 2%. So, the July report shouldn’t materially change the Fed’s stance, especially that the US central bank focuses more on the labor market now. Hence, gold investors should brace themselves for the upcoming tapering of quantitative easing.However, just as day comes after night, upward waves come after bearish trends. The most likely macroeconomic scenario is that inflation will remain high, while the economic growth will slow down, which means stagflation. Indeed, the downward trend in the bond yields – despite high inflation – could signal weak growth, requiring dovish monetary policies. If history is any guide, gold will shine during stagflation.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – NZD Sees Bearish Whipsaws

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 18.08.2021 09:49
NZDUSD tests major supportThe New Zealand dollar struggles as the RBNZ postpones its rate hike against expectations.The pair had failed to push above the supply area near 0.7100 from the daily chart. The RSI’s double top was a sign of overextension.The sell-off below the psychological level of 0.7000 and then 0.6960 indicates that sentiment has turned sour. A recovering RSI could be an opportunity to sell into strength.A break below 0.6890 may extend the sell-off towards 0.6700. 0.7030 is the first resistance in case of a rebound.AUDUSD falls through supportThe Australian dollar fell after the RBA minutes tempered the taper optimism amid COVID-19 restrictions.The pair has been under pressure at the 20-day moving average. The drop below 0.7290 may have resumed the downtrend after a four-week-long consolidation.Strong bearish momentum is an indication of high turnover between buyers bailing out and sellers piling in. 0.7170 would be the next target. The key resistance at 0.7340 will likely cap a limited rebound, while the RSI climbs from the oversold area.XAUUSD rises to key resistanceGold extended its recovery supported by a retreat in US Treasury yields.The price has recouped most losses from the previous sharp liquidation. A break above the intermediary resistance at 1762 has confirmed strong buying interest.Buyers will need to close above the origin of the firesale and the psychological level of 1800 to seal the deal in their favor. Then 1830 would be the last hurdle before a full-blown reversal.A repeatedly overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback with 1755 as key support.
Ignorance Always Backfires. Pay Attention to Gold Miners!

Ignorance Always Backfires. Pay Attention to Gold Miners!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.08.2021 14:33
The junior mining stocks’ extreme underperformance is the “new normal” that barely anyone talks about. Ignorance is pleasant, but it comes at a cost.To be clear: it’s something very important right now. Juniors, as well as senior mining stocks, are very weak compared to gold, which means that they are not reacting to gold’s gains but multiplying gold’s declines instead. This doesn’t just mean that the profits on our short positions in juniors are increasing almost constantly – it also means that the entire precious metals sector is about to fall much further. This kind of underperformance preceded the 2013 slide, and we haven’t seen it – to this extent – in years. This is huge.Junior gold miners – the GDXJ ETF – just moved to new 2021 lows after completing a flag pattern. This is bearish not only on its own but especially when compared to what gold did.And gold….Gold moved just $2 lower yesterday. This near-nothing was enough to trigger a breakdown to new lows in the related sector – junior mining stocks. Gold junior miners’ current performance is truly one of the weakest that I’ve ever seen.And just imagine what horrors await the prices of the mining stocks if a mere $2 decline in gold was enough to trigger a breakdown to new lows. And gold seems to be about to slide once again!Now, based on the triangle-vertex-based reversal that’s due on Monday, it could be the case that gold waits a bit before sliding. However, given the similarity to how it declined in the first quarter of the year, it seems that the top in gold is either in or at hand.I explained the similarity to Q1 before, but here’s a quick recap.After declining sharply (January and June) and forming a double bottom with the second bottom slightly lower, it then corrected half of the decline forming more than one top close to the 50% retracement and then declined sharply once again.Back in February 2021, gold corrected about 76.4% of the decline (which is a less popular but still a Fibonacci retracement level – marked with blue). Right now, this retracement is just below the $1,800 mark. So, if history rhymes once again, gold will be likely to move close to $1,800 and then decline once again.I’ve recently been asked to compare the performance of the 10-year yields and gold on one chart and to comment on them.There are a couple of interesting things that the 10-year-yield chart and gold can tell us.One of them is that when the ROC (rate of change) indicator based on the yields rallies above 50, it tends to correspond to medium-term bottoms in gold. This happened 3 times in the past 40+ years, and it worked in each case. This is likely to be important in a couple of months, but it's not that relevant today.Another interesting feature is that, overall, gold has not been performing well relative to the long-term yields. Between 2001 and 2011, gold was performing very well relative to yields – soaring when the yields were declining. However, that has not been the case since late 2012. Sure, gold managed to briefly move above its 2011 highs before invalidating the breakout and declining, but please compare how huge a decline in yields it took to trigger this move.The decline in rates that made gold more than double its price from the 2008 bottom was relatively small (from ~2% to about ~1.5%). And the decline in yields from 1.5% in mid-2019 to about 0.5% in mid-2020 made gold increase its value by “only” 1/3. Again – a decade ago it took half a percentage point to make gold double, and now it took a full percentage point to make gold increase its value by only 1/3. Sure, 1/3 of gold’s price is a lot on a nominal level, but when compared to doubling its value, it’s much smaller. And when compared with the size of the moves in rates, it turns out that gold was now about 6 times less inclined to rally when the rates declined.This seems bearish for gold at first glance, and it is such in reality.The final observation is the most concrete and the most actionable. As I described in my previous gold trading analyses, what we are seeing now in gold is very similar to what we saw in 2012-2013, and the above-mentioned super-weak performance of gold stocks confirms it.What’s very interesting is that after gold’s final top and yield’s final bottom (mid-2012), the yields rallied, and then they corrected to more or less their 50-week moving average. And when that was taking place, gold moved close to their previous lows (that was before the biggest part of the plunge).Why would the above be very interesting? Because gold is also after a corrective upswing and the yields are after a corrective downswing that took them to more or less their 50-week moving average. If history rhymes, it seems that we’re about to see another big move higher in the rates and another big move lower in the price of gold.The Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole and the news coming from it could trigger the above-mentioned moves. The September FOMC is another candidate. Then again, since markets are forward-looking, any piece of news that could hint at the upcoming tapering could trigger the moves. That’s what the weak performance of gold juniors vs. gold tells us – the market is ready to slide, and when the trigger comes is not that important. In fact, the precious metals market is likely to decline even without a specific news-based trigger.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Taper Tantrum a Week Before Jackson Hole

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.08.2021 17:16
Stocks have recovered off the intraday lows yesterday, in what is one of the less severe battles of the unfolding taper tantrum – commodities such as copper and oil bear the brunt thereof, which is perfectly understandable given the slowdown in economic expansion. My yesterday‘s analysis coupled with Monday‘s one has all the details of the fundamental backdrop and Fed positioning (little changed with yesterday‘s Powell virtual townhall meeting).Markets are simply being nervous here, and it‘s my view that the economic recovery hasn‘t yet peaked, for when I look at various yield spreads, we haven‘t reached levels consistent with the peak (e.g. in the 10-year over 2-year Treasury, by far not). I continue to think we‘re approximately midway into the expansion, and only yield curve inversion would herald an approaching recession to me.Again, today’s report will be a little shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe bears made their appearance, finally – and the increasing volume tells that they‘re probably not done yet. Sideways trading is the best the bulls can hope for, and looking at the credit markets, I‘m not looking for a swift bullish resolution before a thorough test first. Yes, the odds of a serious correction in the S&P 500 have increased again.Credit MarketsNoticeable hiccup in the credit markets appeared yesterday, making the short-term outlook definitely not bullish. Sideways to down seems to be the most likely scenario.Gold, Silver and MinersIn spite of continued miners‘ underperformance, gold resilience is understandable in the current risk-off environment with safe haven assets such as Treasuries being sought in order to take cover from the reflation trades getting under fire (and that affects silver too, for it trades as both a precious metal and a commodity).Crude OilEnergy stocks paint a grim picture, and crude oil‘s downside doesn‘t appear to be over in spite of momentary and relative resilience.CopperThe local bottom has been indeed elusive, as yesterday‘s price action shows. No signs it‘s in either today – the volume is slowly rising, and the bulls haven‘t made their presence known much. When the taper bets get reversed though, look for a swift reversal to the upside – probably not as steep as in gold lately, but still clearly noticeable.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos gave up solid intraday gains yesterday, and haven‘t quite come back today – the outlook is a bit unclear at the moment, with the decisive break of either $48,000 or $44,000 in Bitcoin serving as a litmus test of where next we‘re going.SummaryWhile the risk of a correction in stocks grows, in many commodities it‘s already here – and getting more pronounced. The decelerating economy and margin debt retreat are taking their toll as much as taper fears, making the dollar rise in what can be described as a (mini) taper tantrum already here.Does it change the reflation and economic expansion story? I don‘t think so as this has farther to go before rolling over, therefore I look for inflation trades to eventually return to strength, and for gold to take advantage of continued monetary accommodation.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Keeps Bullish Bias

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 19.08.2021 09:59
EURUSD breaks critical supportThe US dollar rose after the Fed minutes suggested tapering later this year.The euro’s previous rebound had met stiff selling pressure at 1.1800. The slide below 1.1710 (a critical support from last March) is an indication that sellers still have control of the direction.A temporary bounce while the RSI recovers to the neutrality area can be an opportunity to sell into strength.The former support at 1.1740 has turned into a supply zone. Below 1.1700 renewed momentum may drive the pair to October’s low at 1.1600.GBPUSD sees limited reboundThe sterling remains under pressure after the UK’s lower-than-expected core CPI in July. The break below the intermediate support at 1.3800 has accelerated the downward impetus.An oversold RSI has helped lift the price but this could be a dead cat bounce with sellers eager to double down at a better fill.1.3780 is a fresh resistance and likely to check the pound’s advance. 1.3700 is the closest support which coincides with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the July rally.Further down, 1.3600 is a demand zone on the daily chart.USDCAD resumes rallyUpbeat BOC CPI failed to outweigh the US Fed’s hawkish July minutes. The US dollar’s rally has gained traction after it cleared the supply area at 1.2600.A combination of short-covering and fresh buying suggests that the uptrend may have resumed after a month-long consolidation. An overbought RSI may cause a limited pullback.The resistance-turned-support at 1.2580 would see buying interest in that case. On the upside, a break above 1.2700 could open the door to the peak at 1.2800.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Taper Squeeze Is On!

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.08.2021 15:44
Fed minutes as the straw to break the camel‘s back? This time, they weren‘t as uneventful as so often before, making the markets look for taper to indeed come – and sooner than expected. Quite a courageous proposition given that commercial bank credit creation isn‘t ready to take up the slack, and then some. The markets thus reassessed the short-term prospects, reacting with a modest degree of panic not only in select commodities, but finally also in stocks. Seems like the few percent correction I warned about on Tuesday as approaching, is finally here and unfolding:(…) in the world of question marks over high pace of economic growth, it‘s the Fed that‘s between a rock and hard place.On one hand, they have stubborn and quickening inflation to deal with (or pretend to deal with through the FOMC, the federal open mouth committee) – getting ahead of the curve means serious tightening (okay, first getting less loose monetarily, which is what taper is about). Given China‘s slowdown and corresponding U.S. figures projected, it would be a tall order to turn off the spigot into a weakening (but still growing) economy – that has potential to trigger quite a correction in stocks and risk-on assets. Note copper and oil paring recent gains, and going largely sideways for weeks – not rolling over, but the light is amber, irrespective of the infrastructure bill.On the other hand, if the central bank does nothing, inflation would grow even more entrenched, sinking the stock market and economy over time, anyway. Don‘t forget about the massive spending – the Fed turning restrictive isn‘t the math favored outcome here.Bond yields aren‘t squeezing the Fed‘s hand – the market is paying more attention to growth than inflation at the moment. And that means headwinds for the reflation and commodity trades as these would find rising rates more conducive. Copper to gold ratio is seeing every spike sold since June, underlining the tug of war between the prospects of economy roaring ahead vs. hunkering down.Looking at market reaction to the approaching taper (no mention of tightening – Powell learned his 2018 lesson though I still say that the Fed would have a much harder time withdrawing liquidity now), quite universal selling followed next – with the exception of the dollar, gold and to a degree Treasuries.Taking on inflation through the dollar doesn‘t come without its own risks, though – while taking down commodities a notch or two, global growth would face headwinds too. Treasury yield spreads aren‘t yet thankfully signalling more slowdown ahead – yields look ready to keep chopping, and only very gradually to start rising again. Rising greenback though isn‘t a silver bullet in extinguishing inflation given still stubborn rent prospects (it‘s one third of CPI) and wage pressures, let alone mounting supply chain issues when it comes to smooth international shipping (yes, China terminals restrictions etc). And I‘m not even raising corona anymore but look for the official start of flu season (Sep 15) to get interesting, if you know what I mean.This is the time to be picky about where to be exposed to risks, which asset classes are likely to ride the taper and growth storms best. I think it would be copper over oil, and gold over silver. The stock market correction appears in its opening stages indeed, and cryptos still chopping around would be a great result. It‘ll take a while for the dollar to roll over to the downside, but look for it to do so over the medium to longer term, and keep an eye on Treasuries – would be great if they confirmed my midpoint economic cycle hypothesis and didn‘t spike. Finally, I expect the Fed to come to its senses as not enough of what‘s left of the free market, would step up to the plate and finance growing „building back better“ deficits. So far, so good.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookVolume hasn‘t increased all that much, but look for it to change as we approach a fresh buying opportunity. For now, look for the downside risks to continue.Credit MarketsPowerful reversal in credit markets, spelling more trouble for the riskier parts of the spectrum. Indeed as I wrote yesterday, the risk-on optimism was vulnerable to a suddent souring that would hit many advancing stocks hard. Gold, Silver and MinersGold resilience in the face of weakening miners, is a good sign – look for the yellow metal to lead precious metals sector higher. Miners‘ weakness reminds me of the setup before 2016, and we know what happened over the coming months back then. Silver together with copper would improve, and the same is true about nickel – all three are a must for green economy.Crude OilEnergy stocks keep doing worse in such an environment, and while a solid support in oil is approaching, we aren‘t there yet – the selling pressure hasn‘t really decreased.CopperCopper is closer to its support than oil, but the knife didn‘t stop falling yet. The volume examination is though more encouraging than in the case of black gold.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos have pared gains, and are treading water at the moment – look for vulnerabilities to likely manifest here over the coming days too. It would be very premature and unreasonable to talk about shift to bearish outlook, though.SummaryThe Fed looks decided to try walking the fine line and taper, but that wouldn‘t come without its own set of consequences as described in the opening part of today‘s extensive report. Continuing with the paragraph right before the chart section…Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

S&P 500 Back Below 4,400. Dip to Buy or a New Downtrend?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.08.2021 16:35
Stocks sold off yesterday as the fear of Fed tapering grew. Monday’s run-up was definitely a bull trap, and our short position is profitable now.The S&P 500 index lost 1.1% on Wednesday and the futures contract continued selling off overnight. The index will most likely break below its late July consolidation and the support level of 4,370 this morning. However, it may get near a short-term bottom, as it gets closer to the 4,350 level. It’s the nearest important support level, marked by the three-month-long upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):Profitable short positionLet’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. We opened our short position on Thursday a week ago at the level of 4,435. The position is profitable, but we will wait for more downside movement, as there have been no confirmed short-term positive signals so far. If the market extends the short-term decline, we will move the stop-loss level lower (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com):ConclusionThe S&P 500 index got back to the 4,400 level yesterday following the Fed minutes release, among others factors. The market is expected to extend the decline this morning but it’s also likely that it will reach a short-term bottom. Thus, we may see an intraday upward correction.Here’s the breakdown:The market reversed its short-term uptrend on Tuesday.Our last Thursday’s speculative short position is now profitable.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the current levels.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Intraday Market Analysis – NASDAQ In Consolidation

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 20.08.2021 11:04
NAS 100 tests new resistanceThe Nasdaq 100 slipped after the Fed meeting minutes raised odds for tapering. The fall below 14880 has triggered strong bearish momentum as leveraged buyers were forced to close their positions.The market remains cautious while the RSI rises back from an oversold situation. A rebound could be short-lived unless it lifts offers near 15040.A lack of support may send the index to the critical support at 14600 on the daily chart. A breakout could trigger a bearish reversal in the medium term.AUDJPY sees limited bounceThe Australian dollar struggles as jobs data suggest fewer people looking for work amid lockdowns.The pair is heading towards 77.50 as momentum traders took over control of price action.The divergence between the 20 and 30-hour moving averages suggests an increase in the sell-off. Sentiment would stay downbeat as long as the Aussie is below the averages.Though a limited bounce is likely to let the RSI return to the neutrality area. The bears would be eager to add stakes near the resistance at 79.50.USOIL drops to daily supportOil prices plunge amid concerns over weaker demand and higher US inventories.The downtrend picked up steam after WTI fell below the double bottom at 65.20. Last May’s low at 61.70 is major support from the daily time frame.As the RSI recovers from an oversold situation, traders could be waiting to buy the dip in the demand zone. However, its breach could threaten the 16-month long rally.On the upside, buyers will need to clear 67.50 before they could expect a meaningful rebound.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold Stocks Break to New Yearly Lows!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.08.2021 15:20
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a breakdown! Gold stocks underperformed the yellow metal so much that they reached the lowest levels seen this year…The HUI Index (gold stocks) broke to new 2021 lows while the USD Index broke to new 2021 highs. Just as I’ve been warning you.Mining stocks’ extreme weakness relative to gold continued yesterday, and while it may seem like the weakness has to have a limit, this limit is likely still quite far from the markets right now.Let’s take a look at the long-term HUI Index chart for details.Remember when I told you that the tiny buy signal from the stochastic indicator was unlikely to trigger anything more than a brief pause? That was based on the analogy to what happened in late 2012 when miners paused, and then the decline simply continued. Well, gold stocks did exactly that and gold stocks declined once again. Right now, they are right after the breakdown to new yearly lows, and this has profound implications in light of the analogy to the 2012 – 2013 decline.You see, when the HUI Index declined below the previous lows back in 2013, it meant that the biggest part of the slide was underway. The profit potential was still there, as it was still the first half of the biggest decline, but it meant that waiting for another big rebound in order to add to one’s short positions was not a good idea.To clarify, there were two short-term consolidations soon after the breakdown in 2013. One of them took the HUI about 4% higher (in February 2013) and then we saw a decline. Afterwards, about 7%-8% correction (in March 2013) followed and then the biggest part of the decline took place.Consequently, we might see a consolidation in gold stocks quite soon, but I wouldn’t expect it to be anything to write home about. At the current price levels, 4% – 8% means a decline of about 9 – 19 index. In the case of the GDXJ (if it moved in tune with the HUI), it would imply a move up by $1.5 - $3.Of course, this is a hypothetical discussion of what might happen when gold stocks correct, but it doesn’t imply that they are likely to correct now. Actually, the opposite seems likely because of the HUI’s breakdown and the USD’s breakout. Again, forecasting gold stocks at higher levels in the near term might be a dangerous thing to do.So, to clarify, the above-mentioned corrective upswing is likely to take place after another short-term move lower. If the GDXJ bottoms at about $35, then seeing it correct to about $36.5 - $38 will be quite normal.As far as the short-term price moves in the mining stocks are concerned, my previous comments remain up-to-date. Yesterday, I wrote the following about the GDX ETF:What happened? Senior gold miners finally broke decisively below the neck level of their head-and-shoulders formation, while juniors’ freefall continued.Yesterday, senior miners closed below the neck level of the pattern for the second day, which means that the breakdown is almost confirmed.The GDX has encountered strong support provided by the previous 2021 lows, but it doesn’t mean that we have to see a rebound here. Why? Because other proxies for mining stocks are already after the breakdown. This is the case with the GDXJ ETF, the HUI Index, and also the XAU Index. Even silver stocks – the SIL ETF –closed below the previous 2021 lows for the second day in a row.So, did mining stocks encounter strong support here? Not really, only one of the proxies did – the GDX ETF. The remaining ones are already after a breakdown to new 2021 lows, and if we get a weekly close below them as well, the breakdown will be confirmed.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Making the Fed Blink

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.08.2021 15:51
Sea of red in stocks, reversed shortly after the open – is the worst behind? Remembering my Tuesday‘s words bringing up again downside risk (these have been growing for quite a few days before already), I don‘t think so – I consider yesterday‘s volatility as likely not to have yet peaked, and the VIX close above 21 could be overcome perhaps as early as Tuesday.It‘s that the shift in sentiment to risk off is everywhere to be seen – surging dollar, declining yields, value doing way worse than tech, gold outperforming silver, gold holding up very well, copper and oil striving to bottom, inflation expectations approaching the lower end of its recent range, and quite a few more signs including from select currency pairs – pretty consistent with the takeaways from yesterday‘s extensive analysis. If you hadn‘t read this taper navigation game plan already, have a look, as the feedback was very positive:(…) This is the time to be picky about where to be exposed to risks, which asset classes are likely to ride the taper and growth storms best. I think it would be copper over oil, and gold over silver. The stock market correction appears in its opening stages indeed, and cryptos still chopping around would be a great result. It‘ll take a while for the dollar to roll over to the downside, but look for it to do so over the medium to longer term, and keep an eye on Treasuries – would be great if they confirmed my midpoint economic cycle hypothesis and didn‘t spike. Finally, I expect the Fed to come to its senses as not enough of what‘s left of the free market, would step up to the plate and finance growing „building back better“ deficits. So far, so good.Today’s report will be shorter than usual, and focus on select charts so as to drive position details of all the five publications.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookRising volume isn‘t yet strong enough, and the rally‘s internals spell caution still. The overhead resistance above 4,425 would likely stop any advance on first encounter, and the bulls better think about convincingly defending (equals not letting price action anywhere near) 4,370s already today, and especially on Monday.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds haven‘t reversed powerfully, not nearly enough. The selling pressure isn‘t likely over even as Treasury yields are reaching for thin air again. The next two sessions will be particularly enlightening.Gold, Silver and MinersAs said yesterday, gold resilience in the face of weakening miners, is a good sign – look for the yellow metal to lead precious metals sector higher. The parallels to early 2016 are hard to miss. Given that we‘re near Mar lows in the miners, capitulation is approaching – perhaps as soon as it becomes apparent what would come out of Jackson Hole.Crude OilEnergy stocks keep plunging, and attracted high volume yesterday, which means an oil bottom could be approaching. That‘s not yet my leading scenario as I look for price declines to slow down a little first – and it‘s an open question whether that happens above or below $60.CopperCopper erasing half of the intraday slide, is a good intial sign, but the road to flip the very short-term outlook bullish is more than a few days away still. The steadily rising volume spells accumulation, but FCX also says we aren‘t out of the woods in the red metal yet.Bitcoin and EthereumCrypto bulls replied solidly yesterday, but prices are still rangebound for now, and are likely to chop a little more before another upleg develops.SummaryFed taper prospects are being reassessed, and the decreasing liquidity is putting pressure on quite a few markets. With margin debt standing first in the line, the risks are skewed mostly to the downside as safe haven assets don‘t look to have topped just yet – I mean the deepest ones such as USD and Treasuries. We‘re getting there, and all it takes is for the Fed to blink.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Important patterns for silver

Important patterns for silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 20.08.2021 22:43
It might be different this time around because the housing market isn’t your best bet as the earliest warning signal. With possible hyperinflation on the horizon, the housing market as a “money to commodity” transfer might be lagging.Consequently, we must look at the Russel 2000 first:Russell 2000 in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Early warning signals already present:Russell 2000 Index in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 20th, 2021.What also might be different is that typically, greed changes to uncertainty and uncertainty changes to fear. It means that markets trade up, then sideways, then down. Be alerted this time that human nerves are already frail. People struggle to make ends meet, and the limitations due to Covid have strained personal lives. It could mean that we might not see a typical roll-over, but rather an exuberant top and a sharp reversal from greed to fear without the usual sideways reaction time.The monthly chart above shows what’s typically called a blow-off top from a very steep, sharp move up (from US$966 in March last year to US$2,360 in less than twelve months, a 144% move), that could collapse anytime. The double top formation right now could very well develop in a down move. Weekly Chart, Gold to S&P 500 comparison, Quick recoveries in troubled times:Gold to S&P 500 index comparison, weekly chart 2008-2009If we see a sharp market decline, precious metals are typically drawn down due to margin calls needing to be covered by freeing liquidity from this sector. However, once gold and silver find their bottom, they tend to rally early out of which a more robust and longer-term uptrend can emerge.The weekly chart above shows that in the last market crash in 2008/2009, S&P500 prices fell dramatically and dragged gold (blue line) down as well. But then gold turned up from its double low in late October and early November 2008, way earlier than the S&P500, where prices continued to decline for another five months.  Gold to Silver comparison in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Gold, a leading indicator to silver:Gold to Silver comparison in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 20th, 2021.Another unique pattern is the delay between the gold to the silver move. When gold breaks out, it takes a while till silver follows, a great way to time ones’ positioning into the silver market. With silver providing more bang for the buck (=percentage moves), it is an ideal trading instrument to, besides holding it physical long term, trade it as a “booster” within one’s wealth preservation portfolio.The chart above shows how gold breakouts are followed by silver breakouts with quite some time delay. Consequently, gold on the longer-term time frames is a leading indicator for timing silver entries.Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, waiting for the signal:Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 20th, 2021.Regarding timing, we see gold as the leader within this next turning point, and as such, silver is timed alongside once gold has shown solid confirmation of a larger time frame cycle long entry.That being said, we would want a gold price trading above US$1,815 in September and then prices of silver building a low-risk entry pattern on a weekly chart with prices above US$23.23 for long entry considerations.You will find more detailed silver entry setups for September coming up in our future weekly chart book publications.Important patterns for silver:We wish market play would be as simple as providing support and a resistance line, simply stating “enter here at…, and get out here at…”. Many try to make you believe just that, but this chess game is more complex and requires market observation. With your family’s future at stake in exceptional times, we find each minute given to market education time not wasted. We try to support you in demystifying the markets and hope you find your profitable patterns to identify low-risk opportunities.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|August 20th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Russell 2000, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Attempts Rebound

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 23.08.2021 09:39
GBPUSD tests critical supportThe pound drifted lower after Britain’s retail sales figures fell in July. The pair has given up all its gains from late July and is testing the critical support at 1.3600 from the daily chart.A diverging RSI suggests a slowdown in the downward impetus. Its oversold situation may have attracted buying interest in the demand zone. 1.3770 would be the first target in case of a rebound.Otherwise, a bearish breakout would trigger a new round of sell-off towards 1.3460 as those who bought the dip reverse gears.USDCAD clears previous peakThe Canadian dollar tanked after last month’s retail sales failed to impress. The greenback saw increased momentum after it rallied above July’s peak at 1.2800.The breakout can be a confirmation of a bullish reversal for the weeks to come. A pullback is necessary to let the bulls catch their breath.An overbought RSI has swung towards the oversold territory. 1.2750 near the previous high is now the immediate support. A rebound would challenge the psychological level of 1.3000.GER 30 breaks bullish trendlineThe Dax 30 retreats as investors grow wary of the recovery’s momentum.The index had only briefly held onto the 16000 milestone. The break below the rising trendline has put a halt to a month-long rally.The current consolidation is a sign of indecision after a round of liquidation. An oversold RSI has prompted traders to buy the dip near 15600.The rally may only resume if the bulls succeed in lifting offers around 15970. Failing that, price action could be vulnerable below 15600.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

U-Turn and Quite for Real

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.08.2021 13:38
What doesn‘t go down, must go up? With a little Kaplan help, sideways S&P 500 trading well above 4,370 – 4,375 area spurted higher as the taper prospects rebalancing worked its magic. As I had been writing thoughout the week and well before, mathematics of growing deficits doesn‘t favor decreasing asset purchases. On top, the economy appears a little slowing down – while no recession this year or next is likely – we‘re midpoint in the expansion cycle as per my credit spread indicators – the slowdown looks inevitable, and the only question is the extent and seriousness of any Fed tapering.The talking has thus far lifted the dollar, enabling the central bank to take on inflation through the back door. Combined with the decreasing margin debt (first sign that something with the M2 rate of growth is amiss), the reflation and commodity trades have suffered, and all it took was a mere 2.5% from S&P 500 ATHs to make the Fed blink as per the title of my prescient Friday article.Treasuries though aren‘t yet convinced, having merely wavered – they‘re overestimating the odds of economic growth turning negative. The same trading action describes the dollar, and inflation expectations dipped on the day as well. As a result, expect the turn to risk on beyond stocks, to continue in fits and starts – Friday was but a first swallow revealing that the Fed is ready to step in when things start to look bleak for the „generally accepted metric of economic success“, the stock market.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookReversal continuation on not outstanding but still good volume – it‘s the high beta internals that bode well for the coming week, as it‘s about the degree of value and tech outside $NYFANG performance.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have led the reversal in credit markets, while the quality debt instruments remain elevated, with especially Treasuries still doubting the stock market rebound. That‘s but one of the signs of caution for the S&P 500 bulls.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners finally stopped falling, but much more needs to happen so as to brighten the PMs outlook considerably. Thus far, just gold can be counted on to be resilient while silver is being challenged alongside commodities during any selloffs.Crude OilEnergy stocks stopped their daily decline, and the sellers might be getting exhausted here – anyway, the local bottom appears approaching, and today‘s premarket trading taking black gold over $64, highlights that.CopperCopper rebounded, and very strongly. The volume didn‘t disappoint either – some trading between the two moving averages appears likely next. I‘m not counting on a steep and immediate rebound above the 50-day moving average in spite of the positive fundamentals behind copper and other base metals just yet.Bitcoin and EthereumMore base building over the weekend gave way to upswing continuation – the path of least resistance is still up.SummaryMonday‘s trading shows the markets are taking the dialing back of Fed‘s taper seriously, and risk-on assets are surging, accompanied by the dollar retreating. And that bodes well for value stocks today as opposed to tech behemoths. Thus far, it‘s only precious metals where the upswings are much tamer, compared to copper or oil.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

USDX Resurgence: Don’t Let It Catch You Flat-Footed!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.08.2021 15:45
With its negative correlation to the metals, the USDX rally weighed heavily on gold, silver and stocks. Stop and think: what would be if it continued?While the overwhelming majority of investors entered 2021 with a bearish outlook for the U.S. dollar, our optimism has proved quite prescient. The USDX bottomed at the beginning of the year. With the USD Index hitting a new 2021 high last week – combined with the EUR/USD, the GDX ETF, the GDXJ ETF, and the price of silver (in terms of the closing prices) hitting new 2021 lows – the ‘pain trade’ has caught many market participants flat-footed. Even silver stocks (the SIL ETF) closed at new yearly lows.Moreover, after the USD Index surged above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern and confirmed the breakout above its cup and handle pattern, the combination of new daily and weekly highs is quite a bullish cocktail. Given all that, even if a short-term pullback materializes, the USDX remains poised to challenge ~97.5 - 98 over the medium term — perhaps even over the short term (next several weeks).Please see below:Furthermore, as the USD Index seeks higher ground, the euro has fallen off a cliff. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and that’s why the currency pair’s performance is so important. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the Euro Index has confirmed the breakdown below its bearish head & shoulders pattern, and the ominous event was further validated after the back-test of the breakdown failed and the Euro Index hit a new 2021 low.Please see below:Eye In the Sky Doesn’t LieWhat is signaling trouble for dollar bears as well, the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around).What’s more, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration.Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices here is likely not a good idea.Ok, but didn’t we just see strength in gold – the one that you just wrote about? The USD Index soared last week by a full index point, and yet gold didn’t decline…That’s a good question, but the context is very important when analyzing specific price moves and their relative strengths. As I wrote earlier, we saw new yearly lows in practically every other important asset used for determining next moves in the precious metals sector: the EUR/USD, silver, and mining stocks (including practically all noteworthy ETFs and indices). So, did gold really show strength by not declining despite the USD’s strength, or was gold’s performance just a small, local deviation from the ongoing trend? Since practically everything else points to lower PM prices in the next weeks, the latter is more probable.Besides, there are both: technical and fundamental reasons for gold to behave in this way right now.The technical reason comes from the looming triangle-vertex-based turning point in gold, which is due today.The rising black support line starts at the 2020 low, which is not visible on the chart.Since these points work on a near-to basis, we might see a turnaround today or within the next few days.Seen Anything on the News Recently?Fundamentally, did anything important from the geopolitical point of view happen recently? Like, for example, the U.S. withdrawing from Afghanistan? Exactly…Geopolitical events tend to impact gold much more than they impact other parts of the precious metals sector, which serves as a perfect explanation of why gold didn’t decline along with the rest of the PMs. As a reminder, geopolitical events usually have a visible but temporary impact on the gold price. They change its short-term price moves, but they don’t change the forecast for gold in general.Consequently, it was not really the strength in gold vs. the USD Index that took place last week. It was a mix of the above and gold’s weakness relative to what happened in a geopolitical arena sprinkled with technicals. All in all, it’s not bullish for the PMs.On top of that, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the smart money is already backing the greenback.Please see below:Finally, while short covering helped propel the USD Index higher last week, speculators’ positioning still has room to run. For example, while the latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report shows that net-positioning (long 19,211 contracts) by non-commercial (speculative) futures traders is near its 2021 highs, enthusiasm for the U.S. dollar is still well below the highs witnessed in previous years.Source: COTThe bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, the U.S. dollar’s resurgence has weighed heavily on gold, silver and mining stocks. And with the technicals, fundamentals and shifting sentiment supporting a higher USD Index over the medium term, the metals’ strong negative correlation with the U.S. dollar should give investors a cause for pause. To that point, while we’re bullish on gold, silver and mining stocks’ long-term prospects, sharp declines will likely materialize over the medium term before they continue their secular uptrends.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

How to Trade Oil and Gas (Part 1)

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.08.2021 17:31
Oil, gas, and other energy news is everywhere, but “how do I get in on the action? What type of trading instruments do I use?” Read on and find out.You might be thinking “should I use stocks, ETFs, CFDs, or futures to trade oil and gas? What about solar energy?” Picking the right instrument depends on many factors such as types of businesses, regions, risk profiles, and psychology.In today’s article, I’ll provide you with some ideas about the various products that you can use to trade oil and gas, but also more generally the energy markets. A thank you goes out to Mark, one of our readers, who asked this question – one that some of you may be wondering about. By the way, please feel free to send me questions. That’s what you come here for – the extra context.First, let’s focus mainly on non-leveraged securities (stocks and ETFs), while showing some stable and/or fast-growing stocks and indexes. Major leveraged products, such as futures contracts, will be emphasised in a second part this week, so bear with me, as I provide you with some ideas as to their usefulness.StocksCommon shares in stocks is one of the most popular types of security and widely used by portfolio managers, whether they are hedge funds, investment funds, pension funds or retail investors.Shares in stocks are easy to trade. Since they are non-leveraged instruments, they present some attractive characteristics to get one foot into investing such as the fact that they do not necessarily require a large amount of capital to get started. Furthermore, these days there is a growing number of brokers offering to invest into a fraction of shares, so it helps mitigate the risk and optimise a portfolio return with better diversification and more accuracy in exposure.Here are some interesting companies that you can use to diversify your portfolio (click on link below each chart to see more information, data, holdings, etc.)::ALB, a chemical manufacturing company, large provider of lithium for EV batteries;DCP, a natural gas company dedicated to midstream petroleum services;ENB, a multinational pipeline company, focusing on the transportation of oil and gas;ENPH, a tech company providing residential/commercial solar plus storage solutions;SPWR, a company specialising in solar power generation and energy storage.Figure 1 – Albemarle Corp (ALB) stock (monthly, logarithmic scale)Figure 2 – DCP Midstream Partners LP (DCP) stock (monthly, logarithmic scale)Figure 3 – Enbridge Inc. (ENB) stock (monthly, logarithmic scale)Figure 4 – Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH) stock (weekly, logarithmic scale)Figure 5 – SunPower Corp. (SPWR) stock (monthly, logarithmic scale)Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)On the ETF market, you can invest directly in a basket of stocks directly or indirectly linked to the energy sector. For example, investing in a portfolio of natural gas, oil and alternative or renewable energy companies will be seen as directly linked to the energy industry. On the other hand, investing in some other sectors such as the maritime/shipping and transportation sectors, the construction/utility sectors, or even – to another extent – the crypto/mining sector, could be seen as indirect assets (the latter having a relative impact on energy demand and supply.)The following are some ETFs worth checking out (click on link below each chart to see more information, data, holdings, etc.):FCG, index with exposure to the exploration and production of natural gas;QCLN, index designed to gauge the performance of U.S. clean energy companies;TAN, index comprised of companies focusing on the solar energy industry.Figure 1 – First Trust Natural Gas (FCG) ETF (monthly, logarithmic scale)Figure 2 – First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN) ETF (weekly, logarithmic scale)Figure 3 – Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) ETF (weekly, logarithmic scale)In conclusion, if your trading perspective is rather short-term, pick the most volatile assets and you may want to associate your trading strategy with the use of stops and targets. If your goal is longer-term, then you may prefer investing in stocks and ETFs with progressive entry.Since those are non-leveraged assets, you may get better control on your exposure and leave more room to let the market breathe and take the opportunity of lower dips to average down.The companies I listed are definitely worth looking at, but it’d be too easy if I just listed them – anyone can do that. I do the hard work and give you signals and ideas on entry and exit points. That’s my job, that’s what I do best, and it’s that knowledge that makes the difference. It’s all found in the premium version. Benefit today and sign up to get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Best Real Assets to Catch Fire Now

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.08.2021 16:37
Friday‘s optimism carried over to Monday, and far from only in stocks. Pendulum swinging the taper tough talk being just talk, worked powerfully to lift the beaten commodities – and unlike on Friday, oil joined in. The celebrations were a little too powerful, and I‘m looking for at least a modest daily consolidation in yesterday‘s star performers today.What was most powerful though, was the daily reversal in the dollar while yields remained pretty much unchanged. The dialing back of taper didn‘t lift the dollar exactly – the repo market being fixed through meager 5 basis points rate, served it better. Anyway:(…) As I had been writing thoughout the week and well before, mathematics of growing deficits doesn‘t favor decreasing asset purchases. On top, the economy appears a little slowing down – while no recession this year or next is likely – we‘re midpoint in the expansion cycle as per my credit spread indicators – the slowdown looks inevitable, and the only question is the extent and seriousness of any Fed tapering.And with much of the tapering done through the repo market in a way already, the focus will shift to the balooning deficits and debt ceiling so as to confront the disappointment creeping in through Monday‘s PMIs and more. I‘m not looking though for a deterioration strong enough to derail the stock market and commodities bull runs. Let alone the precious metals one. A good signal thereof would be widening credit spreads on the long end as the short end has been flattened already.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookReversal continuation on still strong volume – the 500-strong index is likely to consolidate the sharp 2-day gains, and so is Nasdaq, the more so if a slight risk-off whiff appears again. All it takes is one less than dovish Fed pronouncement.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds gapped higher, and closed on a strong note – daily consolidation wouldn‘t be out of the question. Overall positive turn in credit markets – one that is able to carry the stock indices during the coming days.Gold, Silver and MinersMiners joined in the gold upswing, in what reflects more than a daily weakness in the dollar. Silver is catching fire too, and yesterday‘s summary about the PMs upswing being the tamest thus far, might need revisiting once the fiscal and monetary realities sink in.Crude OilEnergy stocks stabilization facilitated the oil rebound, and black gold mustered strength seen last in mid Jul. The local bottom is in, and too much of a retracement would be a gift to the bulls.CopperCopper rebound continues, and stabilization at around 4.25 would be very constructive for the bulls so as to take on the 50-day moving average next. The copper chart retains strongly bullish flavor even if we might go a little sideways first still.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are still short-term undecided – backing and filling before another upswing wouldn‘t be at all surprising.SummaryFollowing Monday‘s gains, consolidation in the risk-on sentiment is likely for today, except for the most beaten down commodities and precious metals (these can continue extending gains). Thereafter, look for more short-term trigger happiness as the markets strive to decipher the upcoming Jackson Hole statements, and preposition themselves accordingly.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Inflation Is Prone To Delta. The Same With Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.08.2021 16:47
Delta variant caused fresh supply-chain disruptions. Effects? Slower growth and higher inflation. Sounds like a perfect mix for gold!The Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading all around the world. Although it won’t affect the world economy as much as the first wave of the pandemic, it will add to the already existing problems. Namely, the rising number of new cases will prolong the supply disruptions, hampering the GDP growth and strengthening the already high inflation (see the chart below).In particular, last week, the Ningbo-Zhousan port in eastern China was partially closed until further notice after its worker was infected with the Delta strain. The problem is that it’s the world’s third-busiest cargo port, so its closure will cause fresh pressure to the already disrupted shipping industry.The spread of the Delta variant and related disturbances in global trade have already caused Goldman Sachs to cut its forecasts for the US economy from 6.4% to 6% this year. “The impact of the delta variant on growth and inflation is proving to be somewhat larger than we expected”, the bank’s analysts explained in a note to the clients. The supply chain’s hurdles are expected to curb production and further raise prices, which would lower the purchasing power of consumers and limit their spending.It implies that high inflation will likely stay with us for longer than the Fed thinks, just as I’ve been saying for a long time. The current situation shows a disturbing resemblance to the 1970s. As you know, inflation was surging then, but the US central bank was downplaying it, blaming the temporary effects of the first oil shock. The result of such a careless stance was the Great Stagflation and the need to aggressively hike federal funds rate by Paul Volcker. Inflation was defeated, but a double-dip recession emerged.We also have a negative supply shock now (or, I should say, a series of shocks). It’s not an oil shock, but it’s also significant, as the issue broad-based — namely, the semiconductor shock and container shock, which hit all kinds of products. Semiconductors are key for the modern economy. They are used in various industries from consumer electronics to vehicles, and you practically cannot transport goods without containers. And as in the 1970s, the Fed believes that inflation is transitory and will go away on its own.Yeah. Maybe it would happen if we had to deal with the supply shocks only. But the economy has also been hit by demand shocks – i.e., by the surge in the broad money supply and fiscal deficits used to finance cash transfers to the citizens and generous unemployment benefits. All this adds to inflationary pressures.Implications for GoldWhat does all this mean for the gold market? Well, slower economic growth and higher inflation due to the spread of the Delta variant are good news for gold. It brings us closer to a stagflationary environment, which should be welcomed by the yellow metal. Although gold doesn’t always protect against inflation, it served as a good inflation hedge during the 1970s, so we could reasonably expect similar performance during the potential 2020s stagflation.Unfortunately, there is one big scratch in this picture: the Fed’s tapering of quantitative easing. More persistent inflation could mobilize inflation hawks to tighten monetary policy in a more rushed manner. As a result, the bond yields could increase, especially given that they are at very low levels, creating downward pressure on gold prices.Luckily, history teaches us that bond yields can increase in tandem with gold prices. As the chart below shows, this is what happened in the 1970s. After all, what really counts for the gold market is real interest rates, and they could stay at an ultra-low level or even decline further if inflation surges.Last but not least, the Delta variant is also likely to hamper economic growth. So, the Fed could actually become more dovish and postpone the end of its asset purchases, especially given that it has already expressed some concerns about the Delta spread. So, although the price of gold could decline further amid potential normalization in interest rates, inflation risk should provide some support or even materialize, pushing inflation itself higher.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Gold-GameStop Connection? It's an Emotions Game

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.08.2021 15:54
There are many factors affecting gold prices on a daily basis, but… how can GameStop stock be one of them?Given today’s pre-market slide in gold, it seems that the triangle-vertex-based turning point worked once again. Declines are likely next.In yesterday’s analysis, I explained why the situation remains very similar to what happened in 2013, and that remains up-to-date. On top of that, two interesting things happened yesterday: one quite obvious and one less obvious.White Metal OutperformanceThe more obvious one was that silver outperformed gold on a short-term basis.While miners and gold were almost flat yesterday, silver’s daily upswing was notable. Nothing to write home about, but it was visibly bigger than what we saw in gold and miners. These moments – when silver outperforms on a very short-term basis – tend to take place right before the prices of the precious metals and mining stocks decline.Remember the early-August breakout in silver that turned out to be a fakeout? Silver broke above new highs while gold didn’t, so it outperformed on a very short-term basis. And just as lower prices followed then, lower prices are likely to follow soon (not necessarily immediately, though).Have You Heard About GameStop?The less obvious indication of a turnaround in gold came from the… GameStop stock price.Yesterday’s sizable price spike is something that we saw several times this year. I’m not taking into account the January rally, as it was a specific forum-activity-based upswing that seems to be of one-of-a-kind nature. Except for yesterday’s price spike, there were also four other similar spikes. Let’s check if there was any kind of regularity on the gold market at the same time.It turns out that in all four cases when the GameStop stock price spiked, gold was topping. Does it make any sense, and can one, therefore, count on this being repeated?Actually, it does make sense. The assets are not really directly related, but they are related in terms of people’s emotions. The GameStop trade was quite an emotional one, people were jumping on board based on fear of missing out regardless of anything else. And nothing really changed since that time. The current valuations of the stock seem to be based on the same emotional aspect along with people’s ability to finance the purchases, perhaps based on leveraged stimulus-based funds. Consequently, the price spikes in GameStop might be a barometer for a specific type of emotionally driven purchases. And if the market is emotional in one specific way, it could impact more (all?) assets in one way or another. In the case of gold, it seems that when emotions (as indicated by GameStop stock) spiked, gold was topping.Actually, it could be the case that the reason why silver outperforms gold on a short-term basis is related to the above. Silver is a smaller market, and it’s much more popular among individual investors than among institutions. No wonder that emotions play a part here, as the former are generally more emotional than the latter.Having said that, let’s take a look at gold.The yellow metal moved lower today, close to its triangle-vertex-based reversal. Consequently, the top might be in based on just that indication, and there are plenty more coming from other markets.The USD Index, for example.The Dollar’s BehaviorYesterday, I commented on the above chart in the following way:The USD Index invalidated the breakout to new 2021 highs, but it didn't invalidate the previous inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, so the downside seems very limited.There’s a rising short-term support line based on the June and July lows that currently “says” that the USD Index is unlikely to fall below ~92.75. At the moment of writing these words, the USD Index is trading at about 93.07, so it’s very close to above-mentioned level.And even if the USDX declines below it, there’s support at about 92.5 provided by the neck level of the previously confirmed inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. This means that the USDX is unlikely to decline below this level, and this in turn means that the downside seems to be limited to about 0.6 index point. That’s not a lot.Remember when the USD Index previously invalidated the breakout above the inverse H&S pattern? I wrote then that it could decline to the nearest support level provided – then – by the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement. Now the nearest support is provided by the rising support line at about 92.75.This doesn’t mean that gold will necessarily rally from here or that the rally will be substantial. On the lower part of the above chart, you can see that gold moved to its declining resistance line, which means that it could decline right away.The USD Index didn’t move to the above-mentioned rising support line, but it was very close to it. The USD Index has been relatively flat so far today, but gold is already down, so it seems that even if the USD Index bottoms slightly lower, it might not take gold to new short-term highs.All in all, it seems that the precious metals sector is ready for another sizable decline.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Jackson Hole Positioning

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.08.2021 16:04
More optimistic follow through yesterday brought additional gains to commodities while stocks and gold treaded water. Just as I wrote yesterday, the celebrations of the taper tough talk being just talk, were a little too powerful, and at least a modest daily consolidation arrived.Credit markets point to the risk-on moves to continue, favoring the reflation trades as yields and inflation expectations would slowly but surely pick up. The dollar has gone on the defensive again but look for it to recover some ground as metals and cryptos are gently hinting at today. Are the commodities and precious metals bull runs in jeopardy though? Not in the least as the conditions haven‘t and won‘t change with the Fed taper plays that have rocked the boat last week quite well.As stated yesterday:(…) And with much of the tapering done through the repo market in a way already, the focus will shift to the balooning deficits and debt ceiling so as to confront the disappointment creeping in through Monday‘s PMIs and more. I‘m not looking though for a deterioration strong enough to derail the stock market and commodities bull runs. Let alone the precious metals one. A good signal thereof would be widening credit spreads on the long end as the short end has been flattened already.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookDaily pause is all we‘ve seen in stocks yesterday, with Nasdaq hit a little on account of the rising nominal yields. As even value found it hard to sustain gains, we‘re likely to see the consolidation to continue next as big moves before the Jackson Hole is over, are unlikely.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds continued the march higher, closing on a strong note again – the daily consolidation hasn‘t thus far arrived there. Overall positive turn in credit markets that‘s however leaving it a little extended for today and tomorrow unless the quality instruments rise modestly.Gold, Silver and MinersNot too much interesting has happened in the gold sector – only silver joined in the copper and oil upswings. Look for the sensitivity to the dollar moves to continue to a modest, yet decreasing degree as the taper suspense gets resolved – I say temporarily resolved as I don‘t believe in crystal clarity after Jackson Hole.Crude OilCrude oil rebound continues, and a little breather next wouldn‘t be unexpected. Reasonable prices have been reached, and the local bottom is in.CopperCopper rebound continues, and stabilization at around 4.25 is very constructive for the bulls – bullish chart and fundamentals even if we might go a little sideways first still (the red metal is slowing down a little vs. the CRB).Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are bidding their time – haven‘t breached any important support just yet. As stated yesterday, backing and filling before another upswing wouldn‘t be at all surprising.SummaryBefore the Jackson Hole, I‘m not looking for extensive and sustainable moves one or the other way. Return of the risk-on trades should be the lens to watch the markets through even though a discreet liquidity tightening is going on under the surface as e.g. margin debt data show. And don‘t look for M2 movements to put a stop to inflation.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Time to Get Selective

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.08.2021 16:29
Decreasing volatility gives way to rising one, but don‘t look for it to happen just today. More paring the risk-on bets seems the order of the day as even the dollar and nominal yields went down together. Gentle signs of deterioration were visible in copper wavering intraday and oil getting a bit too optimistic. Stocks though continue running, or should I better say crawling, ahead as value repelled a downswing attempt.Margin debt is contracting, M2 not exactly at the prior rates of growth, but celebrations in the paper and real asset markets largely go on. Gold and silver are understandably lagging in the drummed up taper expectations, but I‘m not looking for any kind of dramatic statement from the Fed. The two steps forward, one step backwards melodrama is likely to continue into the September FOMC, and even that may very well leave the markets guessing. The Fed is in no position to tighten, the economic recovery is likely to continue, and the central bank won‘t kill it – which means continuous noises, and data dependecy as they like to call it.Seeing through the bluff and long journey ahead towards anything even remotely resembling normalized monetary policy, markets would return to the risk-on stance while being more selective in the stock and commodity bull runs. Gold would also benefit from the returning inflation pressures, and the dollar will resume its bear market.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookMarket participants are reluctant to move one way or the other too much next. A little paring back of recent optimism looks most probable to me before the Jackson Hole.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds are getting way too stretched here, and that increases the odds of a downswing surprise reaching well beyond stocks, into commodities too.Gold, Silver and MinersGold took the nominal yields cue, ignoring the dollar – the yellow metal‘s downswings prior to key events are almost a ritual. Watch for the miners, yields and USD to tip their hand before – my bet is on not too much downside followed by shaking off the little clarity to be introduced by the Fed. Purposely, they won‘t release anything market moving, and that could very much disappoint the taper crowd.Crude OilCrude oil rebound is getting short-term extended, but is unlikely to roll over hard and fast.CopperCopper ran into resistance, and I‘m not looking for it to be overcome very fast. The commodity index though keeps sending positive signals mid-term.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are momentarily undecided but the upswing is very far from rolling over. Some more consolidation followed by a new upleg, appears most likely.SummaryBefore the Jackson Hole, I‘m not looking for extensive and sustainable moves one way or the other – that‘s still true. With enough appetite in the risk-on trades reaching short-term saturation point, look for renewed upleg to modestly continue once the Fed meeting gets out of the way.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Awaits Catalyst-Breakout

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 27.08.2021 09:34
USDJPY about to test resistanceThe Japanese yen weakened after a lower-than-expected Tokyo CPI in August. The US dollar is grinding its way back up after the mid-month correction.A double test at 109.50 suggests strong buying interest. Layers of support indicate buyers’ willingness to pay up, the freshest one is at 109.90.Momentum has slowed down as the price approaches the major supply area around 110.40. A bullish breakout would tip the balance to the long side again and open up the path to the psychological price tag of 111.00.AUDUSD rebound cools offThe Australian dollar fell back after a drop in July’s retail sales numbers.A close above 0.7270 has forced sellers to cover their bets. The pair is recovering towards the 30-day moving average on the daily chart which coincides with the support-turned-resistance at 0.7320.However, the rebound is likely to be choppy. After a double top in the overbought area, the RSI’s divergence indicates a loss in the rebound momentum.A drop below 0.7235 would lead to a deeper correction to 0.7150.US 30 recoups previous lossesThe Dow Jones index pulls back as traders await updates from the Fed’s Jackson Hole meeting.Price action’s V-shaped rebound is typical of buying-the-dips from the demand zone near 34600. By lifting offers around 35450 the bulls have signaled their commitment to maintaining the uptrend in the medium-term.The index is seeking support after it erased losses from last week. 35200 is the first support as the RSI dips into the oversold territory.A break above the peak at 35600 would extend the rally to new all-time highs.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

S&P 500 On a Win Streak – More Guns Aim to Take it Down

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.08.2021 14:58
The best gamer always emerges victorious from a duel, racking up his win streak. However, being this conspicuous – who doesn’t want to take him down?The same is the case with the S&P 500, which hasn’t recorded a two-month decline in nearly 10 months. It’s the fourth-longest streak on record! What’s more, the general stock market suffered another bout of volatility recently — with everyone teamed up to take the index lower, the only remaining question is: when?Fuel to the FireWith Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), scheduled to speak at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Aug. 27, the Delta variant has clearly paved a dovish pathway. However, could the magician actually reveal his secret? Well, as a not-so-subtle hint of what’s to come (whether today or over the next few months), Fed hawks were out in full force on Aug. 26. Speaking with CNBC, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said that “what we’re seeing in these [lower-income] communities is inflation affects them disproportionately. I think at the Fed we have to take that very seriously.”And what does this mean for his taper timeline?Source: CNBCLikewise, Kansas City Fed President Esther George also told CNBC on Aug. 26 that “I would be ready to talk about taper sooner rather than later.”“When you look at the job gains we saw last month, the month before, you look at the level of inflation right now, I think it would suggest that the level of accommodation we’re providing right now is probably not needed in this scenario.”Even more hawkish, she actually downplayed the economic impact of the Delta variant:“Both the anecdotes I hear from our contacts in the region and the data so far do not show a material change in the outlook.”Upping the ante, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard led the hawkish brigade on Aug. 26. Also, speaking with CNBC, Bullard said that “we do have a new framework we did say that we would allow inflation to run above target for some time, but not this much above target.”“I think that there is worry that we’re doing more damage than helping with the asset purchases because there is an incipient housing bubble in the U.S. The median house price, at least the number I saw, was approaching $400,000,” he said. “We got into a lot of trouble in the mid-2000s by being too complacent about housing prices, so I think we want to be very careful on that this time around.”And not only does Bullard want the taper to begin immediately, but he’s advocating for net-zero asset purchases by the end of Q1 2022.Please see below:Source: CNBCS&P 500 – A Correction Coming?Furthermore, as the taper drama unfolded on Aug. 26, equity investors responded with expected disdain and the negativity ushered the USD Index back above 93. More importantly, though, with the gold price exhibiting strong negative correlations with the U.S. dollar, a profound correction of the S&P 500 could capsize the PMs. To explain, while the general stock market suffered another bout of volatility, the S&P 500 hasn’t recorded a two-month decline in nearly 10 months. For context, it’s the fourth-longest streak on record.Please see below:Moreover, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing PMI is highly correlated with the S&P 500. And with the former falling from its recent high and poised to turn lower in the coming months, the S&P 500 may find itself running out of upside catalysts.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue line above tracks the year-over-year (YoY) percentage change in the ISM’s manufacturing PMI, while the light blue line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the S&P 500. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the former’s decline has already outpaced the latter’s. And with Bank of America predicting that the ISM’s manufacturing PMI (in YoY terms) will turn negative by October, the S&P 500 may follow in its footsteps.Adding to Wall Street’s trepidation, Morgan Stanley also expects a profound correction. Chief equity strategist Michael Wilson told clients on Aug. 20 that unprecedented fiscal spending fueled “a hotter but shorter cycle” and that a reversion to the mean could hammer the S&P 500 in the coming months.He wrote:“With Congress expeditiously providing record amounts of fiscal stimulus last year, the table was set for a major consumer stand against the downturn. Fast forward 16 months and it's fair to say the US consumer has not disappointed. But, after a year of remarkable resilience from the US consumer, it begs the question: ‘Is it sustainable?’ While there is little doubt about the US consumers' willingness to spend, the other key variable to consider is their ability to spend.”Please see below:To explain, the dark blue line above tracks the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI), while the light blue line above tracks the S&P 500’s consumer discretionary/consumer staples ratio. When the light blue line is rising, it means that consumer discretionary companies (cyclicals) are outperforming staples (risk on). Conversely, when the light blue line is falling, it means that consumer staples companies (defensives) are outperforming consumer discretionary (risk off). If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the light blue line has already rolled over. And with the dark blue line now at a 2021 low, the ratio has plenty of catching up to do. Moreover, with the cyclical basket home to some of the S&P 500’s most expensive stocks outside of the technology sector, an unwinding of the excess could have a profound impact on the USD Index, and therefore, the performance of the PMs.As further evidence, with investors throwing caution to the wind, the S&P 500 is running low on capital.Please see below:Source: Bank of AmericaTo explain, the dark blue line above tracks the S&P 500, while the gold line above tracks the net free credit balances held in investors’ cash and margin accounts (data from FINRA). In a nutshell: it’s the amount of purchasing power (cash and debt) that investors can use to buy more stocks. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that historical lows in investors’ net free credit balances often coincide with historical peaks in the S&P 500. More importantly, though, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that investors’ net free credit balances are easily at an all-time low. As a result, with the bulls all in and little dry powder available to accelerate the momentum, the S&P 500’s pain could turn into the USD Index’s gain.Volatile Times AheadFinally, with the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) – which measures the expected volatility in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days – surging by more than 12% on Aug. 26, seasonal signals imply that uncertainty could reign supreme over the next few months.Please see below:To explain, the blue bars above track the average value for the VIX during each month of the year. If you analyze the arrow in the middle, you can see that VIX spikes often occur in August, September and October. And with this year’s edition coinciding with the Fed’s taper timeline and investors’ all-time high exposure to stocks, the U.S. dollar could be in high demand if (when) volatility erupts.In conclusion, the PMs suffered another pullback on Aug. 26 and their medium-term downtrends remain intact. And while Powell’s presser may result in ‘PMs up, USD Index down’, the short-term sugars highs often have very short shelf lives. Moreover, with the Fed’s taper timeline poised to reach its climax in the coming months and the uproar likely to upend the S&P 500, the USD Index’s medium-term fundamentals remain robust. As a result, the PMs are unlikely to find a true bottom until these developments subside.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Taper Shock That Never Was

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 27.08.2021 16:42
Yes, more paring the risk-on bets came yesterday, indiscriminately taking down stocks (tech and value alike), oil and copper. The overall shape of the consolidation in real assets (commodities and precious metals) remains bullish though – it‘s mainly in the S&P 500 that the hanging man candle is giving me a pause – temporarily lower stock prices would be favored by the VIX too.Regardless of that:(…) Margin debt is contracting, M2 not exactly at the prior rates of growth, but celebrations in the paper and real asset markets largely go on. Gold and silver are understandably lagging in the drummed up taper expectations, but I‘m not looking for any kind of dramatic statement from the Fed. The two steps forward, one step backwards melodrama is likely to continue into the September FOMC, and even that may very well leave the markets guessing. The Fed is in no position to tighten, the economic recovery is likely to continue, and the central bank won‘t kill it – which means continuous noises, and data dependecy as they like to call it.What we have seen thus far, and are likely to see next, are stealth real attempts to test the markets‘ tolerance to the continuing monetary largesse to the extent permitted by actual fiscal realities (nice qualifier to say „don‘t expect too much“), verbal interventions projecting the (sooner than anticipated, and most importantly, actually viable in the marketplace) taper (and later tightening) images while seeing the dollar hovering in a position of relative strength (useful tool to take on cost inflation). Make no mistake, Powell is keen to cement his legacy, and that doesn‘t involve succumbing to the hawkish (ehm, considered as hawkish in our loose monetary era) calls during a slowdown in the real economy growth.As I wrote in the extensive daily analysis a week ago:(…) Taking on inflation through the dollar doesn‘t come without its own risks, though – while taking down commodities a notch or two, global growth would face headwinds too. Treasury yield spreads aren‘t yet thankfully signalling more slowdown ahead – yields look ready to keep chopping, and only very gradually to start rising again. Rising greenback though isn‘t a silver bullet in extinguishing inflation given still stubborn rent prospects (it‘s one third of CPI) and wage pressures, let alone mounting supply chain issues when it comes to smooth international shipping (yes, China terminals restrictions etc). And I‘m not even raising corona anymore but look for the official start of flu season (Sep 15) to get interesting, if you know what I mean.As you can see, there are plenty of potential headwinds, and Monday‘s slowdown in PMIs illustrates that perfectly. The Fed will continue walking a fine line, not willing to rock the (stock market namely) boat too much. They‘ve done a good job in preparing the markets for the taper, and should they decide to actually start it in Sep or Oct, it wouldn‘t make for a smooth market experience.The risks of a policy mistake are still with us, and that‘s why I‘m not looking for overly courageous and ambitious taper path taken. Whenever taper comes, it‘s going to momentarily shock, but a keen eye would be cast so that it doesn‘t derail the status quo.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookStocks aren‘t willing to move too much, but their current position is perilous. Short-term perilous as the willingness to rebound off last week‘s lows shows.Credit MarketsCredit markets are sending conflicting signals, highlighting risk-on trades‘ vulnerability, but an actual downswing in these hasn‘t happened yet. A taper surprise would do the job, and close the shears wide open between HYG and the rest of the crowd.Gold, Silver and MinersQuite some bullish consolidations going on in gold and silver – their bullish flag approximations are ready to spring higher once the taper uncertainty gets removed to a degree. As I wrote yesterday, my bet was still on not too much downside followed by shaking off whatever little clarity is introduced by the Fed. Crude OilSo far so good for the bulls – the brief time for a short in oil came and went. The rebound is unlikely to roll over to the downside hard and fast.CopperCopper consolidates even more bullishly than oil does – the 50-day moving average resistance will be challenged soon again.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos keep on consolidating, and just as precious metals, aren‘t rolling over to the downside in the least. Fresh upleg looks approaching.SummaryI‘m looking for the risk-on trades to continue performing well, in spite of any Jackson Hole curveballs introduced. The thinning monetary fuel air at markets‘ disposal would power different assets more selectively than was the case in first half of 2021, though.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Silver is a real purchasing power

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.08.2021 17:24
You get bombarded with financial terms and economic and historical theories that make the mysteries of the market even harder to decipher. In effect, market workings aren’t as difficult to understand. They are psychological in nature and, when left alone, regulate themselves quite efficiently. We mean to say that without outside interference, the market is like a breath, and prices go up, sideways, down, sideways, and up again. It is a pendulum from averages to extremes and again returns to the mean. Once interfered, things get out of whack. One such interference was the abandonment of the gold standard. It served as a limitation to the discretionary monetary policy. It prevented extremes, prevented the economy from running out of breath. Now, silver is a real purchasing power.What do we mean by that? When fiat currency gets a regulating hand not by a free market but the meddling of politics trying to micromanage a market mainly through narrative, manipulation of the psyche of market participants, restraints are out the door. Human greed is taking over and worse, the ego suggesting that we can control an entity like the market with a degree of variables so high that any intervention is speculation at best. Such failing efforts typically turn markets sour..What this means for you is that unnatural extremes are at work, affecting your portfolio disproportional.Easily, an illusion is created to be fooled that one’s monetary gains in the market are plentiful. However, the reality is that when comparing your percentage gains to the actual purchasing power of what this money buys you, a rude awakening is guaranteed.When looking at your monthly expenditures for basic needs like living costs and food, it is astounding why that narrative has not found its way into the news yet. What is real is what precious metals like gold and silver are buying you now and in the future. A change of thinking is necessary to think in real purchasing power and not in percentage gains on fiat currency advancements.S&P 500 in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Too clean:S&P 500 Index in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 28th, 2021.The weekly chart of the S&P 500 above shows how unnatural the growth of the stock market is. Typically, in a self-regulating market, you will find no such clean up-drift. Why would all these companies have doubled in value in a time of economic crisis? Printed money flowing directly into the market has more than doubled the index value in less than 18 months? We would call this rather an upward market crash, where your purchasing power loses value. We are watching the lower green line of the linear regression channel for a price violation. It would indicate a confirmation that exuberance has come to an end and an early indication for watching larger time frame silver entries after a brief steep decline.Monthly Chart, Gold/Silver-Ratio, Ready for an extra boost:Gold/Silver-Ratio, monthly chart as of August 28th, 2021.Another indicator we have an eye on is the gold/silver ratio. We entered the early stages (orange line) of a ratio level where silver might be turning. Consequently, silver could be gaining momentum towards gold. Should prices reach the red box, we aggressively look for a smaller time frame, low-risk silver entry spots.  Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Bullish between the lines:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 28th, 2021.A monthly look at silver shows a decisive breakout from a multiyear sideways range. Exhausted after a 159% advance, silver is trading within a range again for more than a year. We first had a double bottom, followed by a double top to define the range, and right now, a triple bottom showed strength. This strength could prove to be very significant if held through this month. We identified two essential details as well. For one, the white dotted line shows higher lows on the range lows, indicating strength. And secondly, prices did not return towards the mean(blue line), indicating directional strength as well.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, A bullish tone:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 28th, 2021.Zooming into the daily time frame, we can see that we have entered into a short-term, low-risk advancement window after Friday’s strong close. For one between US$24 and US$24.50, the price finds itself not obstructed by a support/ resistance zone. Secondly, from a fractal volume analysis point (green histogram to the right of the chart), prices can also advance easier between the prices of US$23.90 and US$ 25.15. There are two edges derived from this data. A significant fending off the low range from US$23 to US$24 will make a strong point for higher timeframes if this month closes above US$24.25 and a bullish tone for the upcoming week.Silver is a real purchasing power:Precisely 50 years ago, Richard Nixon gave up the gold standard. And greed got yet again hold on to the market. We find these extremes in the stock market unsustainable and investments into the precious metal sector to be a prudent hedge for balancing your REAL purchasing power. Probabilities speak against a long-term outcome that human nature finds its way naturally back to the mean. More likely, we crash as we have in the past. A scenario that can result in a rude awakening for the many who trusted in narratives well-orchestrated. Most follow their intuitions to hold on to outdated paradigms at a time when buying insurance in the form of physical precious metal investments is one’s safest bet.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.By Korbinian Koller|August 29th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Russell 2000, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Profiting From Financial Stress Abating

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.08.2021 14:57
Powell didn‘t disappoint… Wall Street, that is. The hazy taper silhouette remains just that, and his speech brought more implicit assurances that any dreaded hawkish turn, which was what the markets were clearly fearing given the jubilee thereafter. Practically everything caught a spark – tech, value, amazingly smallcaps, silver, gold, copper, a little lagging oil. It‘ll take a while for the currently undervalued emerging markets to catch up – look for that to happen once the dollar bids farewell to its trading range (it looks getting ready to test its lower border, in due time).Credit market spreads haven‘t yet decidedly turned, but it‘s my view they‘re in the process of doing so, in confirmation of the medium-term risk-on turn. The 10-year to 2-year, or to 3-month, all signal that the financial stress of recent weeks is abating. While stocks went sideways, commodities took it on the chin while precious metals and cryptos stood kind of in between. September taper surpise appears banished, so look for more of Friday‘s dynamic to have the upper hand.The leading indicators‘ slowdown, strained supply chains and need for replenishment of investories almost across the board, is though set to carry the bull markets ahead – as stated in Friday‘s extensive analysis, Fed isn‘t interested in pulling the rug from beneath. It‘s still more about sweet sugar than bitter medicine, so look for the reasonably loose monetary conditions to continue. Reasonably – what‘s that, is always in the eye of the beholder.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookStocks welcomed the pleasantly dovish tone with open arms – path of least resistance remains sideways to up no matter the distance from the 50-day moving average.Credit MarketsCredit markets got back behind the stock market upswing, and while the quality debt instruments are underperforming, the benefit of the doubt remains with the bulls.Gold, Silver and MinersGold, silver and miners are catching up in the risk-on moves, as immediate monetary policy uncertainty is removed, and remain primed for more gains.Crude OilCrude oil bulls dutifully stepped in, but the upswing wavered a little. Neither the volume was stellar, but prices are likely to trade up over the next few days. I‘m a bit on guard though as consolidation around $68 may continue beforehand.CopperCopper participated in the risk-on moves more vigorously than oil, and looks likely to leave the 50-day moving average in the dust before the week is over.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos keep on consolidating, base building, making mostly higher highs and higher lows. It appears only a question of time before the fresh upleg comes. SummaryRisk-on traders had a field day on Friday, and are well positioned to extend gains over this week. Jackson Hole didn‘t bring any curveballs, and Powell made sure that smooth sailing ahead is in our immediate future.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bittersweet Truth for Gold Stocks: What You Need to Know

Bittersweet Truth for Gold Stocks: What You Need to Know

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.08.2021 15:42
When the Fed entices grown up kids with sweet words, they hit the candy store and stock up on gold, silver, and stocks. A sugar hangover follows.Beware of the candyman!With Fed Chairman Jerome Powell performing his usual dovish dance on Aug. 27, gold, silver, and mining stocks were like kids in a candy store. However, with the short-term sugar highs often leaving investors with nasty stomach aches, the sweet-and-sour nature of the precious metals’ performances may lead to pre-Halloween hangovers.HUI Index: Harbinger of Things to ComeTo explain, while the HUI Index invalidated the breakdown below its previous lows, the bullish reversal may seem quite sanguine. However, an identical development occurred in 2013 right before the index continued its sharp decline. Moreover, I warned previously that the HUI Index could record a corrective upswing of 4% to 8% (that’s what happened after the breakdown in 2013) and that it would not change the medium-term implications. And after the index rallied by more than 6% last week, the bounce is nothing to write home about.Furthermore, after recording a similar breakdown below the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern in 2000, a short-term corrective upswing followed before the HUI Index resumed its swift decline. As a result, gold, silver, and mining stocks may not behave like Jolly Ranchers for much longer.Please see below:What’s more, the vertical, dashed lines above demonstrate how the HUI Index is mirroring its decline from 2012-2013. After a slight buy signal from the stochastic indicator in 2012, the short-term pause was followed by another sharp drawdown. For context, after the HUI Index recorded a short-term buy signal in late 2012 – when the index’s stochastic indicator was already below the 20 level (around 10) and the index was in the process of forming the right shoulder of a huge, medium-term head-and-shoulders pattern – the index moved slightly higher, consolidated, and then fell off a cliff. Thus, the HUI Index is quite likely to decline to its 200-week moving average (or so) before pausing and recording a corrective upswing. That’s close to the 220 level. Thereafter, the index will likely continue its bearish journey and record a final medium-term low some time in December.Furthermore, I warned previously that the miners’ drastic underperformance of gold was an extremely bearish sign. There were several weeks when gold rallied visibly and the HUI Index actually declined modestly. Last week, we finally saw gold miners moving back up along with gold. But just like one swallow doesn’t make a summer, this move up doesn’t change the fact, that in general, performance of gold stocks has been truly terrible.After all, gold stocks are trading close to their previous 2021 lows, while gold is almost right in the middle between its yearly high and its yearly low.And why is this quote so important? Well, because the bearish implications of gold stocks’ extreme underperformance still remain intact.Let’s keep in mind that the drastic underperformance of the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008 as well as in 2012 and 2013. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October 2008, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline so profoundly back then, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, broad head & shoulders patterns have often been precursors to monumental collapses. For example, when the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the gold mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here) all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern. As a reminder, the HUI Index recently completed the same formation.Yes, the HUI Index moved back below the previous lows and the neck level of the formation, which – at face value – means that the formation was invalidated, but we saw a similar “invalidation” in 2000 and in 2013. And then, the decline followed anyway. Consequently, I don’t think that taking the recent move higher at its face value is appropriate. It seems to me that the analogies to the very similar situation from the past are more important.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.In both cases, the forecast for silver, gold, and mining stocks is extremely bearish for the next several months.GDX and GDXJ ComparisonFor even more confirmation, let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the senior miners (GDX) also rallied above the neckline of their bearish H&S pattern. And while Friday’s (Aug. 27) euphoria occurred on high volume, prior volume spikes in buying sentiment actually marked four peaks (or close to) within the last 12 months. Thus, while the bullish bids may push the GDX ETF slightly higher in the near term, history implies that investors’ excitement often does more harm than good.Please see below:In all 4 out of previous 4 cases, the spike-high volume during GDX’s upswing meant a great shorting opportunity.Meanwhile, the junior miners (GDXJ) didn’t invalidate the breakdown below the neckline of their bearish H&S pattern; and Friday’s close still left the GDXJ ETF below its previous lows. Moreover, while the juniors’ future direction following volume spikes isn’t quite as clear as it is with the GDX ETF, more often than not, euphoric spikes are followed by medium-term declines.Please see below:As further evidence, if you analyze the GDXJ ETF’s four-hour chart below, you can see that historical volume spikes (marked by the red vertical dashed lines) nearly always coincide with short-term peaks. As a result, Friday’s rally was more of an event driven surge – courtesy of Powell – and it’s unlikely to disrupt the GDXJ ETF’s medium-term downtrend.Finally, while the GDXJ/GDX ratio moved slightly higher last week, its downtrend also remains intact. For one, when the ratio’s RSI jumped above 50 three times in 2021, it coincided with short-term peaks in gold. Second, the trend in the ratio this year has been clearly down, and there’s no sign of a reversal, especially when you consider that the ratio broke below its 2019 support (which served as resistance in mid-2020). When the same thing happened in 2020, the ratio then spiked even below 1.Please see below:The Bottom Line?If the ratio is likely to continue its decline, then on a short-term basis we can expect it to decline to 1.27 or so. If the general stock market plunges, the ratio could move even lower, but let’s assume that stocks decline moderately (just as they did in the last couple of days) or that they do nothing or rally slightly. They’ve done all the above recently, so it’s natural to expect that this will be the case. Consequently, the trend in the GDXJ to GDX ratio would also be likely to continue, and thus expecting a move to about 1.26 - 1.27 seems rational.If the GDX is about to decline to approximately $28 before correcting, then we might expect the GDXJ to decline to about $28 x 1.27 = $35.56 or $28 x 1.26 = $35.28. In other words, $28 in the GDX is likely to correspond to about $35 in the GDXJ.Is there any technical support around $35 that would be likely to stop the decline? Yes. It’s provided by the late-Feb. 2020 low ($34.70) and the late-March high ($34.84). There’s also the late-April low at $35.63. Conservatively, I’m going to place the profit-take level just above the latter.Consequently, it seems that expecting the GDXJ to decline to about $35 is justified from the technical point of view as well.In conclusion, investors showcased their sweet tooth for gold, silver, and mining stocks on Aug. 27. However, with the USD Index hovering near two key support levels and the yellow metal confronting its second triangle-vertex-based reversal point, the taste may turn bitter over the medium term. Moreover, with prior upswings underwritten by the Fed resulting in lower lows soon after, the precious metals’ bullish behavior is nothing new. As a result, their prior weakness will likely persist before reliable bottoms emerge later this year.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – Dow Jones Tests All-Time High

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 31.08.2021 09:46
US 30 challenges peakThe Dow Jones 30 index holds near its historic high on upbeat investor sentiment.The break above 35330 has signaled the bulls’ commitment to maintain the upward bias, while 35200 is fresh support.An oversold RSI has attracted the buying-the-dips mentality.Price action has recouped the most recent losses and is now testing the peak at 35630. A bullish breakout may extend the rally towards the milestone at 36000. A deeper pullback would lead to the critical floor at 34700.USDJPY awaits breakoutThe Japanese yen inched higher after a drop in July’s unemployment rate. The pair is in a narrowing trading range following its bounce off the demand zone at 109.10.Sentiment remains optimistic as long as price action stays above this critical level.However, the bulls may encounter selling pressure at 110.50 from the August sell-off. A bullish breakout would attract momentum buyers and extend the rally to above 111.00.On the downside, a break below 109.50 would lead to a retest of buyers’ resolve.NZDUSD tests major resistanceThe US dollar continues to weaken across the board from the post-Jackson Hole hangover. The Kiwi is at a crossroads as it climbs back to the daily resistance at 0.7050, the origin of the previous sell-off.A bullish breakout would prompt sellers to cover their bets and lay the groundwork for a reversal.0.7100 would be the next target. However, the RSI’s multiple ventures into the overbought territory may temper the bullish fever.The base of the momentum at 0.6940 is the key to keeping the recovery valid.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Moves Above $1,800 After Jackson Hole

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 31.08.2021 13:03
The Jackson Hole is over — we left it in the rearview mirror. Gold moved higher in an immediate reaction, but bullish joy may be premature.The 2021 Jackson Hole Economic Symposium “Macroeconomic Policy in an Uneven Economy” is already a thing of the past. It was a stimulating conference with a few interesting presentations. But the key appearance for the financial markets was Powell’s speech. Let’s dig into it!So, the Fed Chair started his remarks with the observation that even though the pandemic recession was the briefest yet deepest on record, the pace of the recovery has exceeded expectations. That being said, the economic expansion has been uneven, and its continuation is threatened by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, high inflation and the remaining slack in the labor market. However, Powell was generally optimistic about the future, saying that the prospects were good for continued progress toward maximum employment, while the elevated inflation would likely be temporary:The baseline outlook is for continued progress toward maximum employment, with inflation returning to levels consistent with our goal of inflation averaging 2 percent over time.Actually, Powell was so optimistic about the US economy that he stated that the criteria for tapering of the quantitative easing had been met. The key passage from his speech is as follows:We have said that we would continue our asset purchases at the current pace until we see substantial further progress toward our maximum employment and price stability goals, measured since last December, when we first articulated this guidance. My view is that the "substantial further progress" test has been met for inflation. There has also been clear progress toward maximum employment. At the FOMC's recent July meeting, I was of the view, as were most participants, that if the economy evolved broadly as anticipated, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year. The intervening month has brought more progress in the form of a strong employment report for July, but also the further spread of the Delta variant. We will be carefully assessing incoming data and the evolving risks. Even after our asset purchases end, our elevated holdings of longer-term securities will continue to support accommodative financial conditions.This passage is clearly hawkish, as it implies that the Fed will probably end its asset purchases this year if nothing bad happens.However, the price of gold futures increased on Friday (after Powell’s remarks) from around $1,790 to almost $1,820, as the chart below shows. Why? Well, it seems that the markets read between the lines and interpreted the Fed Chair’s speech as actually quite dovish, or less hawkish than expected.After all, Powell didn’t present any clear timeline of the Fed’s tightening cycle. Although the Fed Chair mentioned that it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year, he also noted some uncertainty about the spread of Delta and its economic aspect.What’s more, Powell reminded the public that the tapering doesn’t automatically imply hiking the federal funds rate, as raising interest rates would require much more progress towards the Fed’s goals:The timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of interest rate liftoff, for which we have articulated a different and substantially more stringent test. We have said that we will continue to hold the target range for the federal funds rate at its current level until the economy reaches conditions consistent with maximum employment, and inflation has reached 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time. We have much ground to cover to reach maximum employment, and time will tell whether we have reached 2 percent inflation on a sustainable basis.So, we will not see higher interest rates anytime soon, despite higher inflation. This is clearly a dovish signal, and it supports gold prices. After all, the Fed’s monetary policy will remain accommodative, even after the start of tapering. The Fed will still be purchasing assets — the only difference is that it will do so at a slower pace, which means that its balance sheet will remain enormous (see the chart below), implying still large reinvestments of principal repayments.Implications for GoldWhat does it all mean for the gold market? Well, although Powell stated that the Fed’s test of “substantial further progress” had been met for inflation and suggested that it would soon be met for employment as well, his speech didn’t include any revolutionary insights. And, more importantly, it didn’t include any tapering statement. As a result, gold caught its breath.However, the bullish joy may be premature. The Fed is likely to taper this year, especially if August nonfarm payrolls prove to be strong. Also, the FOMC may issue a tapering statement after its September meeting, announcing the start of reducing the pace of asset purchases in the last quarter of the year. So, the downward pressure on gold prices could stay with us in 2021. On the other hand, the Fed clearly pointed out that the timeline for tapering is not the timeline for interest rates, which could stay at ultra-low levels for months, if not years, working in favor of gold.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Dialing Back the Euphoria

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 31.08.2021 15:49
Fireworks largely continued yesterday. In stocks, it must be said – but the picture isn‘t one of universal strength as tech and value diverged again. As VIX is trading near the lower end of its recent spectrum, the bulls better wait for when Friday‘s Powell euphoria gets questioned in the markets. The most important turn of last week had been the removal of immediate and hard hitting taper (together with misplaced tightening notions) – now, we‘re enjoying the kiss of life this breathed into quality assets. Quality, that means those in strong, established bull uptrends, and those beaten down a bit too much in the prior whiff of fear.We‘ll have to be selective as the fuel supply powering the „practically everything“ statement below, is getting tighter:(…) The hazy taper silhouette remains just that, and his speech brough more implicit assurances that any dreaded hawkish turn, which was what the markets were clearly fearing given the jubilee thereafter. Practically everything caught a spark – tech, value, amazingly smallcaps, silver, gold, copper, a little lagging oil. It‘ll take a while for the currently undervalued emerging markets to catch up – look for that to happen once the dollar bids farewell to its trading range (it looks getting ready to test its lower border, in due time).Credit markets confirm the risk-on moves to continue – there is no immediate warning to the contrary. But as you‘ll read further on, daily gyrations are likely to come back, and that has implications for the daily rotations between tech and value. Crucially, the dollar isn‘t protesting, and remains subdued. Given the crosscurrent of real economy slowdown in incoming economic data, and inventories replenishment needs amid challenged supply chains, the USD price action hints at the world reserve currency getting ready to welcome lower values. Understandably, that has positive implications for emerging markets as these saw their valuations decline a bit too much.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookStrong upswing on the surface, but stocks look likely to consolidate the move next. By consolidate, I mean I am not looking for any kind of overly sharp a drop.Credit MarketsCredit markets are supporting the stock market upswing, but getting a little tired – a brief pause wouldn‘t be unimaginable.Gold, Silver and MinersGold, silver and miners got under modest pressure yesterday, but the silver downswing points to its temporary nature. Precious metals look primed to do better in the coming days.Crude OilCrude oil bulls barely closed the day unchanged, and a modest setback looks likely before higher prices reestablish themselves.CopperCopper is sending even more bullish signals than silver does – don‘t look at the red metal to escape the brief consolidation coming first though.Bitcoin and EthereumAs stated yesterday, cryptos keep on consolidating, base building, making mostly higher highs and higher lows. It appears only a question of time before the fresh upleg comes. SummaryRisk-on trades look to be questioned a little next – what else to expect followintg the Powell dovish speech. Look for it to be a temporary move only though as there isn‘t enought reasons or catalysts to derail the bull market runs.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Sees Limited Rebound

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 01.09.2021 10:44
EURUSD continues to recoverThe US dollar continues to soften from weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment in August.The euro bulls gained confidence after the single currency rallied above 1.1800, an important supply zone from the mid-August sell-off. Now, this has turned into an area of congestion along a rising trendline. Furthermore, it is a clear indication of a bullish bias in the short term.However, an overbought RSI may lead to a limited pullback. A bounce off 1.1795 would propel the pair to the daily resistance at 1.1900.USDCAD struggles for supportThe Canadian dollar stalled after the Q2 GDP fell short of expectations. The US counterpart is testing the 30-day moving average and last week’s rebound failed to make an impression.The fall below 1.2580 suggests a lack of buying interest. 1.2500 on the daily chart is a critical floor. A deeper retracement would put buyers on the defense with 1.2300 as a potential target.On the upside, buyers will need to rack up offers at 1.2700 before they could hope for a second chance. Then 1.2900 would be within reach.AUDUSD rises to major resistanceThe Australian dollar edges higher on upbeat Q2 GDP. The pair continues to recover along a rising trendline after it bounced back from the daily demand area near 0.7100.The bullish pace accelerated after the first resistance at 0.7170 was lifted. Buyers are pushing towards the major hurdle at 0.7400 from the daily time frame.A bullish breakout may trigger a runaway rally as medium-term sellers cover their positions. That in turn could end a three-month correction. 0.7290 is fresh support to let the RSI return to neutrality.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

The Bitcoin train left the station

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 01.09.2021 13:31
Some of these sub-trends are:El Salvador is about to integrate bitcoin as a legal tender.The Cuban Central Bank is working on rule implementation for the use of bitcoin.Venezuela is for a while now using crypto to fight hyperinflation.Iran has dabbled with bitcoin usage.Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, BNY Mellon, and Goldman Sachs have been moving aggressively into the crypto space, both in acquiring actual exposure to Bitcoin like purchasing Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust shares and investing in solutions for their firms.Hotels around the world start implementing bitcoin payments as an option for their guests.So, governments, banks, and corporate businesses are in. Who does that leave out?BTC-USD, Daily Chart, What is the holdup?Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 31st, 2021.In charts as well, it can be observed that participation has changed trading behavior. After three legs up and a 72% up move, bitcoin, as seen in the daily chart above, is not getting rejected from the big 50k mark. With an eye on the yellow box, one can see that despite the extended move, multiple tests of the highs, and a resistance zone based on transactional volume, bitcoin clings to the top of the range for a mere eleven sessions. Any bear attempt so far has been met by a counterattack of the bulls. It is a far cry from typical bitcoin trading behavior.BTC-USD, Weekly Chart, Slowly churning:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of August 31st, 2021.Stepping up a time frame, we see a different picture. After five consecutive steep green bars up, a Doji formed that typically is a breather and a sign of uncertainty. Consequently, it invites bears to step in aggressively for a low-risk entry to push prices quickly lower. Especially noteworthy is that a fractal volume analysis (green histogram to the right of the chart) provides for a strong distribution zone at US$ 49,250, typically an edge bears to lean on as a support for their efforts to push prices lower. All in all, typical behavior of bitcoin in a situation like this, but much slower than usual. BTC-USD, Monthly Chart, A healthy trend:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of August 31st, 2021.Again zooming out to a larger time frame, the monthly one, we can see that bitcoins latest up-move over the last year and a half has merely produced a single initial leg. After a minor retracement, we are starting to form out the early stages of the second leg right now. Consequently, the underlying bullish tone in lower time frames is natural.We have chosen a logarithmic chart presentation for a better representation of the actual percentage moves. Consequently, we can make out that, measured by past performance (orange directional lines), a projection for a much higher price level is to be likely.The Bitcoin train left the station:Speculators bought at US$3, professionals at US$3,000, and big business at $30,000. This train is in motion now, and it would take a powerful force to stop it. More likely, it will stop at fewer and fewer train stations and become harder to board from both a psychological and trading perspective. Do not wait for this to turn into a bullet train with fewer low-risk opportunities.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|September 1st, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

We‘re Not Done Yet

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.09.2021 15:54
Creeping deterioration gave way to early selling that took S&P 500 to 4,515, but no further. The bears fumbled again, and credit markets don‘t look like giving them another opportunity (judging by yesterday‘s close). VIX barely moved higher, and the shape of daily sectoral rotations doesn‘t favor a larger decline. Some meandering sideways to up as I wrote yesterday, for sure though.Today‘s ADP employment change isn‘t likely to be favorable to the roaring economy story, but the deceleration of economic growth should still prove temporary – the credit spreads point to a revival that‘s coinciding with financial stress abating. As the Fed isn‘t likely to pull the rug from underneath, the slow grind higher in paper and real assets, is about to continue as financial markets remain the destination for the fresh money created. And no shaddow tapering of M2 or debt ceiling is likely to change that. Moreover, look for inflation woes to keep gaining steam and prominence going into the year end – an ever bigger problem for 2022 and the years ahead. The dollar isn‘t in a position to take too much of the cost pressures off, and the job market isn‘t either:(…) Crucially, the dollar isn‘t protesting, and remains subdued. Given the crosscurrent of real economy slowdown in incoming economic data, and inventories replenishment needs amid challenged supply chains, the USD price action hints at the world reserve currency getting ready to welcome lower values. Understandably, that has positive implications for emerging markets as these saw their valuations decline a bit too much.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookYesterday‘s consolidation looks to have done the job thus far, and the bulls are likely to embrace even a poor jobs figure as that indicates the Fed wouldn‘t likely even think about taking the punchbowl away a little.Credit MarketsCredit markets are facing daily crossroads – either HYG consolidates without meaningful downside breaking below yesterday‘s lows while quality debt instruments rebound, or the high yield corporate bonds would show daily weakness and join LQD and TLT. An outcome closer to the first scenario is more likely in my view.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and gold miners scored an upswing yesterday, and the price recovery is likely to go on. The headline risk is certainly to the upside these weeks.Crude OilCrude oil keeps consolidating without rolling to the downside. There isn‘t too much conviction behind yesterday‘s downswing, making the market positioned for an upside surprise.CopperCRB Index is pointing lower, but copper stubbornly held ground. That‘s not likely to stay that way, but I‘m looking for any dip to be reversed relatively soon, and not to take the red metal below the 50-day moving average for too long.Bitcoin and EthereumIf there is one thing that Ethereum performance shows, it‘s that there‘s a lot of life in cryptos, but Bitcoin isn‘t reaping the rewards at the moment. Look for the upswing to continue, and for Bitcoin to join in eventually.SummaryRisk-on trades still appear to be questioned some more – yesterday‘s move didn‘t convince one way or the other. After the taper uncertainty got tapered, look for attention to shift to the real economy growth. Underneath the surface, the potential for precious metals to take cue from any hiccup and rebound, is increasing.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Awaits Breakout

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 02.09.2021 08:41
XAUUSD tests daily resistanceGold consolidates recent gains ahead of the US jobs reports.Traders are looking for direction after the metal recouped most losses from the August sell-off. 1832 is major resistance on the daily chart.A bullish breakout may trigger an extended rally as the short side bails out. We can expect volatility with 1860 as a potential target. A fall below 1790 however would tip the balance to the downside.1755 would be the first support in a retracement. In the meantime, an overbought RSI has led intraday buyers to take profit.EURGBP consolidates supportThe euro inched higher after a drop in the unemployment rate across the eurozone in July.The recovery has gained momentum after the pair cleared the daily resistance at 0.8555. The 20-day MA crossing the 30-day one suggests that sentiment may have turned around.Following a short consolidation, the single currency has met buying interest along 0.8550 and then 0.8570. 0.8610 is the next resistance and its breach could clear the path for a rally to the recent peak at 0.8660.USOIL hits key resistanceWTI crude found support from the EIA’s report of a large reduction in US stockpiles. The V-shaped rebound is now testing the key hurdle on the daily timeframe (69.50).An RSI divergence indicates a loss in the upward momentum. Short-term buyers have taken some chips off the table and caused a pullback. 67.00 is the immediate support.A deeper retracement may send the price to 65.30. On the upside, a close above 69.50 may open the door to 73.00 and reverse an eight-week long correction.
What‘s Not to Love About Crypto Fireworks

What‘s Not to Love About Crypto Fireworks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.09.2021 16:04
Another weak selling attempt in stocks – are these setting up for tomorrow‘s NFPs volatility? It sure appears so, but buy the dip mentality looks likely to emerge victorious. The current period of low VIX will probably give way to a brief spike, which within bull markets is usually resolved with another upswing.No matter the momentary hesitation in the credit markets, where we‘re moving two steps forward, one step backwards. Or rather two steps backwards, as can be seen this week. Risk off is still with us as key commodities aren‘t surging, leaving yesterday‘s silver upswing a little suspect on a daily basis. Copper and oil are struggling somewhat at the moment as well, taking (a bit too much) time as the dollar is only modestly declining and yields aren‘t rising.The current trading environment favors still risk off, sectoral rotations are tame, and inflation expectations continue basing before money printing becomes an ever bigger problem for 2022 and the years ahead. Ethereum keeps doing wonders, and Bitcoin is joining in – finally, as expected. Hope you‘re riding open profitable positions too!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookTwo recent upswing rejections, that‘s the only thing standing out this week. The sideways to up grind goes on, and as tomorrow‘s NFPs aren‘t likely to throw a serious spanner in the works, it‘s set to continue.Credit MarketsCredit markets are still facing crossroads – either HYG consolidates without meaningful downside breaking below yesterday‘s lows while quality debt instruments rebound, or the high yield corporate bonds would show daily weakness and join LQD and TLT. An outcome closer to the first scenario was more likely in my view yesterday, and did materialize. The issue is that it‘ll likely have to play out once again today. So, expect the risk-on parts of the market to do worse than tech.Gold, Silver and MinersNot a picture of daily strength in the precious metals – the bulls will have to wait for the real move tomorrow. Ìn spite of silver outperformance, the headline risk is still to the upside these weeks.Crude OilCrude oil rose from the dead yesterday, and would better clear the $69 fast to the upside. The daily volume is indicative of accumulation, so the bulls still have a good chance.CopperCRB Index was little changed while copper dived. Steep downswing continuation is unlikely – the inflation trades aren‘t rolling over, and neither is the real economy. The current soft patch is likely to be resolved with another upswing in the red metal, bringing it back above the 50-day moving average.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are waking up again, and it‘s about the prolonged Bitcoin consolidation giving way to an upswing too. More gains were indeed ahead.SummaryRisk-on trades continue facing headwinds, but look for them to gain the upper hand. Tomorrow‘s NFPs aren‘t likely to really disappoint, or to invite fresh Fed speculations. Solid close to the week seems at hand.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Natural Gas: How Are Futures And ETFs Correlated?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.09.2021 16:50
Buckle up, time for a ride to the energy ETFs’ world. If you've ever wondered how to trade the energy markets – read on, you are in the right place!Correlation AnalysisFor the sake of this study, we will take the Henry Hub Natural Gas (NG) futures contract as a parameter and draw the correlations on each ETF chart to better visualize their relationship.United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG):“This fund offers exposure to one of the America’s most important commodities, natural gas, and potentially has appeal as an inflation hedge. While natural gas may be appealing, UNG often suffers from severe contango making the product more appropriate for short-term traders.” (ETFdb.com)As you can see on the chart below, the correlation coefficient remains 1 all the time, which is an indication of a perfectly correlated asset to the Henry Hub Natural Gas futures.To read more about Contango versus Backwardation, I suggest checking these out:o   “Trading the Curve in Energies” (CME Group);o   “What is Contango and Backwardation” (CME Group).ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD):“This ETF offers 2x daily inverse leveraged exposure to natural gas, an asset class that is capable of delivering big swings in price over a relatively short period of time. Combining this volatility with explicit leverage results in a fund that has the potential to churn out big gains or losses, meaning that KOLD is really only appropriate for sophisticated, active investors.” (ETFdb.com)This instrument is particularly useful when you want to short-sell natural gas with leverage of 2:1. So, buying it (w/ a long position) is equivalent to short/selling the underlying asset. As you can see on the chart below, the correlation this time is perfectly inverted (or negative).ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL):“This ETF offers 2x daily leveraged exposure to natural gas, an asset class that is capable of delivering big swings in price over a relatively short period of time. Combining this volatility with explicit leverage results in a fund that has the potential to churn out big gains or losses, meaning that BOIL is really only appropriate for sophisticated, active investors.” (ETFdb.com)This instrument is very similar to the first one — the only difference is, you can buy natural gas with leverage of 2:1.United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP (UNL):“This fund offers exposure to one of the America’s most important commodities, natural gas, and potentially has appeal as an inflation hedge. Unlike many commodity products UNL diversifies across multiple maturities, potentially mitigating the adverse impact of contango.” (ETFdb.com)This fund is similar to the first one (UNG), but more adapted to longer-term traders.iPath Series B Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN (GAZ):“This ETN is one of the options available to investors looking to establish exposure to natural gas prices through futures contracts. As such, this product isn’t very useful for those building a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio; its appeal will be to those looking to express an outlook on movements in natural gas prices over the short term. There are several noteworthy elements of this product. First, GAZ is an ETN, meaning that investors are exposed to the credit risk of the issuer. Second, this ETN won’t generally correspond to changes in spot natural gas prices, as the underlying index is comprised of futures contracts (in many cases, the difference over extended periods of time can be significant). GAZ is really only appropriate for those with a short holding period; investors seeking longer-term exposure to natural gas may want to consider NAGS or UNL. Finally, this ETN has often traded at a significant premium to NAV historically as a result of limitations on the number of shares outstanding; before establishing a position, take careful note of the relationship of price to NAV.” (ETFdb.com)This instrument is actually an exchange-traded note (ETN) for short-term traders.To better understand the difference between ETFs & ETNs, I suggest that you read:o   “Exchange-Traded Notes (ETN) Definition” (Investopedia);o   “ETF vs. ETN: What's the Difference?” (Investopedia).In summary, you can trade natural gas with high leverage (NG futures), little leverage (BOIL/KOLD), no leverage at all (UNG/UNL) or via an ETN (GAZ). You have various options to adopt depending on your personality, risk appetite, and trading strategy. So, let’s get rolling!The ETFs I listed are definitely worth looking at, but it’d be too easy if I just listed them – anyone can do that. I do the hard work and give you signals and ideas on entry and exit points, as well as assets to use. That’s my job, that’s what I do best, and it’s that knowledge that makes the difference. It’s all found in the premium version. Benefit today and sign up to get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – USD To Break Out Of Range

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 03.09.2021 09:05
USDCHF awaits catalystThe US dollar consolidates as traders reposition themselves ahead of nonfarm payrolls.The pair has been changing hands in a narrow range between 0.9100 and 0.9200. Multiple attempts at both ends suggest a lack of commitment.A catalyst-driven breakout would dictate the direction for the days to come. A rally would test the recent peak at 0.9240, a prerequisite for a reversal above 0.9300.On the downside, a sell-off may dampen optimism and lead to a retest of the demand zone at 0.9050.XAGUSD tests major resistanceBullions await a breakout as Treasury yields stabilize going into today’s high-impact jobs report.Silver’s recovery above the psychological level of 24.00 has attracted more buying interest. However, the price has met resistance at the supply zone near 24.35, which coincides with the 30-day moving average.A bullish breakout would trigger an extended rally as sellers rush to cover. Then 25.00 would be the next target.However, a plunge below 23.80 may cause a correction towards the daily support at 23.00.NAS 100 shows exhaustionThe Nasdaq 100 holds onto the high ground as investors ponder how the labor data may affect the QE.The index is looking to extend gains from the all-time high of 15700. Nonetheless, sentiment remains bullish with signs of overextension.An RSI bearish divergence is a heads-up that a correction might be due. A break below 15520 may pull the trigger and 15300 on the 20-day moving average would be an important support.On the upside, 15800 would be the immediate target if the bulls can keep up with the momentum.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Bond Conundrum - Boom or Bust for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.09.2021 16:12
Inflation has risen, but bond yields have declined. Such a divergence is strange — beware gold bulls!Would you like to see something mysterious? If yes, please look at the chart below. It shows the yields on 10-year US Treasuries (red line) and CPI annual inflation rates (blue line) in recent years. As you can see, a huge divergence emerged this year: while inflation surged above 5%, nominal bond yields declined from 1.6% to 1.3%.Why is it so strange? Well, economic theory says that when inflation goes up, it erodes the purchasing power of bonds’ coupon payments. Thus, the price of bonds declines, and yields increase. In other words, when inflation accelerates, investors demand higher inflation premium to protect their real returns.But now we can observe rising inflation and declining bond yields at the same time. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is 1.3%, which is 4 percentage points below the inflation rate, so investors who buy bonds lose a lot of money in real terms. Something is clearly wrong here. Let’s solve this bond conundrum!The first potential explanation is that bond investors trust the Fed and believe that high inflation is mainly transitory. If so, the bond yields are more or less accurate and could stay around current low levels, and the inflation rates will adjust. The supply disruptions caused by the pandemic will eventually resolve, while the Fed is going to tighten its monetary policy, adding to disinflationary forces.At first glance, the scenario in which inflation is declining seems to be negative for the yellow metal, as it implies lower demand for gold as an inflation hedge. However, in this case, interest rates could stay at very low levels for a long time. And gold likes the environment of low yields.The second possible reason for the decline in interest rates is that bond investors expect slower economic growth than previously thought. Indeed, recent data suggests that the pace of GDP growth could be peaking. The spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, smaller infrastructure plan than initially outlined, a slowdown in China’s economic growth and the Fed’s tightening cycle – all these factors could soften the US growth prospects, translating into lower yields.It goes without saying that this scenario would be very positive for gold prices. High inflation plus a slowdown in economic growth equals stagflation, a dream environment for gold. However, the stock market didn’t weaken, as one could expect after a downward revision of investors’ growth prospects. On the other hand, the spread between yields on 10-year and 2-year Treasuries has narrowed substantially since March, as the chart below shows. The flattening of the yield curve often indicates a slowdown in economic growth.But it’s also possible that technical factors or the central bank’s interventions trumped the fundamentals. Strong demand for the US Treasuries that pushed yields down despite rising inflation could be the case here. After all, the Fed has been purchasing $80 billion a month in Treasuries (and $40 billion in mortgage-backed bonds) since June 2020. In other words, quantitative easing could disrupt the functioning of the bond market.Indeed, the unprecedentedly easy monetary policy conditions with ultra-low interest rates and abundant liquidity could explain why both stock and bond prices are so high right now (and bond yields so low). In an environment of negative real interest rates created by Powell and his colleagues, asset managers search for yield in every possible asset, even if it is not economically viable — including cryptocurrencies that are just memes (like Dogecoin) or bonds with yields lower than inflation rates.What does it all imply for the gold market? Well, I have good and bad news. So, the bad news is that the real interest rates seem to be excessively low (see the chart below) and they are likely to move up over the economic expansion (especially when the Fed tightens its monetary stance), whereas inflation expectations could ease somewhat later this year. Unfortunately for gold bulls, the increase in the real interest rates would likely push gold prices lower.The good news is that that an increase in interest rates would put the governments and other debtors in a very difficult position, potentially leading to a debt crisis. Asset valuations could decline and financial crisis could follow suit. In other words, the Fed’s tightening cycle could sow the seeds of another recession and rally in gold.Having said that, we have just recovered from one economic crisis, and it will take some time for another to unfold. Until that happens, real interest rates may normalize somewhat without entailing substantial perturbations, which would be negative for gold prices.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Feeling the Heat of Slowing Economy

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.09.2021 16:17
S&P 500 got ahead of itself early in the session, and corrected somewhat. Credit markets though didn‘t paint a picture of caution – it‘s risk on there. VIX didn‘t make much progress rising or falling, but today‘s NFPs day would bring a more eventful trajectory. I‘m not looking for any meaningful derailment of the reflation trades – yesterday‘s outperformance of value vs. tech, was encouraging just as much as CRB getting back within spitting distance of prior highs. The market sentiment appears to be up, and yesterday‘s moves telegraph no disappointment expected, just as I tweeted prior to the data release. The real economy recovery still has reasonable traction, and while slowing down, the financial stress is abating – and the steady return of risk appetite in smallcaps, emerging markets, oil or copper, highlight that just as much as the dollar getting under pressure again.But the figure came at 235k vs. 720k expectated – that‘s a serious undershoot. Off the bat, gold and silver would benefit tremendously, while the dollar not so much. Let‘s see how well the corresponding rise in Treasury yields would help to underpin the world reserve currency and value stocks…In short, forget about tapering into a weakening economy that doesn‘t see labor participation or hours worked rising. The Fed won‘t take that gamble soon, and we know what that means for real assets (and stocks too as inflation and yields aren‘t yet breaking the bull) – fresh money finding its way into financial markets, lifting prices. Time to reap the rewards as I did overnight in the oil arena, or keep doing in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookYesterday brought higher prices and tight range in S&P 500 while Nasdaq declined on the risk-on moves returning to the stock and bond markets.Credit MarketsCredit markets strongly turned up. And the HYG-LQD-TLT dynamics is conducive to further gains in value stocks especially. Simply put, the quality instruments upturn has been encouraging.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are approaching decision time, and I‘ve been for many days looking for an upside surprise – the bulls are likely to attend to it really soon.Crude OilCrude oil bulls took the opportunity, and ran with it – the oil sector reasonably confirms the upswing.CopperCRB Index continues its strong recovery, and copper won‘t remain below the 50-day moving average for too long – look for the red metal to shake off the August blues.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are springing higher again, and Bitcoin is joining in while I look for Ethereum to lead.SummaryEven though NFPs disappointed, risk-on trades should welcome the Fed‘s inability to taper, which would help Treasury yields rise. Precious metals, cryptos and real assets will likely be today‘s clear winners while stocks consolidate. As I wrote yesterday, no fresh Fed speculations were invited by today‘s data.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Feeling the Heat of Slowing Economy - 03.09.2021

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.09.2021 16:22
S&P 500 got ahead of itself early in the session, and corrected somewhat. Credit markets though didn‘t paint a picture of caution – it‘s risk on there. VIX didn‘t make much progress rising or falling, but today‘s NFPs day would bring a more eventful trajectory. I‘m not looking for any meaningful derailment of the reflation trades – yesterday‘s outperformance of value vs. tech, was encouraging just as much as CRB getting back within spitting distance of prior highs. The market sentiment appears to be up, and yesterday‘s moves telegraph no disappointment expected, just as I tweeted prior to the data release. The real economy recovery still has reasonable traction, and while slowing down, the financial stress is abating – and the steady return of risk appetite in smallcaps, emerging markets, oil or copper, highlight that just as much as the dollar getting under pressure again.But the figure came at 235k vs. 720k expectated – that‘s a serious undershoot. Off the bat, gold and silver would benefit tremendously, while the dollar not so much. Let‘s see how well the corresponding rise in Treasury yields would help to underpin the world reserve currency and value stocks…In short, forget about tapering into a weakening economy that doesn‘t see labor participation or hours worked rising. The Fed won‘t take that gamble soon, and we know what that means for real assets (and stocks too as inflation and yields aren‘t yet breaking the bull) – fresh money finding its way into financial markets, lifting prices. Time to reap the rewards as I did overnight in the oil arena, or keep doing in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookYesterday brought higher prices and tight range in S&P 500 while Nasdaq declined on the risk-on moves returning to the stock and bond markets.Credit MarketsCredit markets strongly turned up. And the HYG-LQD-TLT dynamics is conducive to further gains in value stocks especially. Simply put, the quality instruments upturn has been encouraging.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are approaching decision time, and I‘ve been for many days looking for an upside surprise – the bulls are likely to attend to it really soon.Crude OilCrude oil bulls took the opportunity, and ran with it – the oil sector reasonably confirms the upswing.CopperCRB Index continues its strong recovery, and copper won‘t remain below the 50-day moving average for too long – look for the red metal to shake off the August blues.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are springing higher again, and Bitcoin is joining in while I look for Ethereum to lead.SummaryEven though NFPs disappointed, risk-on trades should welcome the Fed‘s inability to taper, which would help Treasury yields rise. Precious metals, cryptos and real assets will likely be today‘s clear winners while stocks consolidate. As I wrote yesterday, no fresh Fed speculations were invited by today‘s data.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver, the big picture

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 04.09.2021 09:47
We have all heard it, and we have all done it—the typical mistakes of trading. We ran stops, over traded, shadow traded, ignored probabilities, traded too large, and revenge traded. In addition, we ignored even the bluntest signals the market sent, like ill-liquidity, volatility, and chop. What is a lot less spoken about is the lack of a big picture. Yet, ignoring the larger time frame players who rule and steam over small-time frame setups is one of the most detrimental influences on your trading if ignored. Silver, the big picture.The problem stems from the difficulty of prediction. The further an event is in the future, the harder it is to predict. This fact lures amateurs to the smaller time frames in the desire to be correct. In addition, trade frequency is higher the smaller the time frame regarding signal generation. That makes smaller time frames more alluring since there is more action. Nevertheless, the long-term plays provide for the big profits and regarding silver physical acquisition right now is favorable.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Silver, the big picture:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of September 3rd, 2021.We find traditional value in a fundamentally large time frame analysis first. A story, if you will, that supports what charts are showing us. Regarding the monthly view above, we nearly had a decade where metals weren’t favored, which ended with last year’s lockdown. The lesser talked about underlying current for a bullish narrative is that many raw materials are needed for the decarbonization process. Consequently, in addition to inflation and a supply to demand disbalance, we have another reason for continuing this first burst to new highs. With news shining a light on the neglected commodity sector as a whole and silver especially, we will also see at these lower levels after the new highs to be attractive to investors woken up by news and trying to step in here for cheap.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, great risk-reward ratios:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of September 3rd, 2021.Another aspect we find significant from a more broad view is that due to new Covid variants, another lockdown is a possibility. Consequently, this is a probability for another trigger point. Precious metals might shoot out of their last 13 months range to reach new all-time highs.The chart above shows projections that allow for guesstimated risk/reward-ratios on entries into the silver market. It does so from a perspective of a hedge against inflation, and a general wealth preservation option for the long term.You can make out that both scenarios of trading anticipatory below US$24, or confirmed above US$24 have a risk/reward-ratio toward the first financing point of about 1:1. at the moderate and aggressive highs of the last thirteen months range (see our quad exit strategy). The second target would be at just below US$38 and US$43.50. As always, we would let our runners (the last 25% of the initial position)  run without a trailing stop methodology. Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Anticipate, execute, take profits:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of September 3rd, 2021.An important factor in market speculation and, possibly, one of the top three aspects supporting the principle why the larger picture is so essential for a speculator is that the market tries to preempt the future. While we typically follow suit with action in a reactionary way in market play, it is essential to anticipate versus fact proof. This timing from a psychological factor needs this story from the removed larger perspective to support a trader’s action. Proper trade execution is near futile without the conviction on why to nourish a trend with one’s money.The daily chart above shows a chart we posted last week when we anticipated a long move under the following premises at the time: “We can see that we have entered into a short-term, low-risk advancement window after Friday’s strong close. For one between US$24 and US$24.50, the price finds itself not obstructed by a support/ resistance zone. Secondly, from a fractal volume analysis point (green histogram to the right of the chart), prices can also advance easier between the prices of US$23.90 and US$ 25.15. There are two edges derived from this data. A significant fending off the low range from US$23 to US$24 will make a strong point for higher timeframes if this month closes above US$24.25 and a bullish tone for the upcoming week.”We placed a trade (green arrow up), sharing that data in real-time in our free Telegram channel, and our predictions came true. Consequently, we took partial profits on Friday at US$24.80, based on our quad exit strategy.Silver, the big picture:Silver is more than fifty percent below its all-time highs. In relationship to gold, it is the most undervalued precious metal with an excellent risk/reward-ratio. As a safe haven wealth preservation tool, it is also the most undervalued investment opportunity compared to bitcoin, which trades at US$50,000, slightly below its all-time highs. In the price zone right now, we find below US$25 silver to be in a low-risk entry zone with a desirable risk/reward ratio.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|September 4th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Russell 2000, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles For Momentum

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 07.09.2021 09:50
USDCHF awaits breakoutThe US dollar recovers thanks to firm US Treasury yields at the start of the week.The pair is still stuck in a horizontal consolidation between 0.9100 and 0.9190. Sentiment has leaned to the upside after a break above the resistance at 0.9230.A near oversold RSI around the lower band may trigger some buying interests. A close above 0.9190 may lead to a test of July’s high at 0.9270. A drop below the lower band would send the price to the daily support at 0.9020, putting the rebound at risk in the process.NZDUSD shows overextensionThe New Zealand dollar consolidates recent gains as the country lifts its lockdown this week.The rally has accelerated after it cleared another resistance at 0.7150. 0.7210 is the next hurdle and a bullish breakout would push the kiwi to the major resistance at 0.7300 on the daily chart.But before that, the RSI’s bearish divergence may cast a doubt on the sustainability of the vertical ascent. 0.7100 would be the first support in case of a pullback. Further down, the former resistance at 0.7030 is a key demand zone.UK 100 tests major hurdleThe FTSE 100 rises as moderate global growth boosts hopes of continued monetary stimulus.The index has bounced off the demand area around 7125 which lies on the 30-day moving average. This is an indication that the bulls are still in control.7210 is the main hurdle from the August sell-off and its breach could put the rally back on track. Then 7300 would be the next target. Though an overbought RSI may temporarily hold the bullish bias back.On the downside, 7075 would be another support if the sideways action lingers on.
Dovish Assassins of the USD Index

Dovish Assassins of the USD Index

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 07.09.2021 14:54
“I’ve got you in my sights” – the USDX heard that a lot over the last two weeks. While it was bullish for gold, the dollar might take revenge soon.With Fed Chairman Jerome Powell doubling down on his dovish dialogue on Aug. 27 and the Delta variant depressing U.S. nonfarm payrolls on Sep. 3, the stars aligned for a profound decline in the USD Index. However, while the greenback came under fire from all angles, the USD Index demonstrated immense resiliency in the face of adversity. Moreover, the bullish determination helped reinforce our expectation for another move higher over the medium term.To explain, the USD Index suffered a breakdown below the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern on Sep. 3 (following the release of the payrolls). However, once cooler heads prevailed, the dollar basket recouped the key level during futures trading on Sep. 5/6/7. As a result, U.S. dollar sentiment still remains quite elevated, and at the moment of writing these words, the USD Index is trading back (not much but still) above the neck level of the pattern (dashed, thick line) that’s based on the closing prices.Please see below:No Pain, No GainFurthermore, with the USD Index’s pain the Euro Index’s gain, the latter invalidated the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish H&S pattern. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index. And while the uprising is bad news for the greenback, could the Euro Index actually prolong gold, silver, and mining stocks’ party?Well, for one, if I was trading the EUR/USD pair, I would be concerned about any short position that I might possibly have in this currency pair, and I could even close it based on this invalidation alone.However, I’m not concerned about our short position in the junior miners at all because of the invalidation in the Euro Index. Why? Because of the situation in the USD Index and – most importantly – because of the way the mining stocks refuse to react to the USDX’s weakness right now. Thus, while the situation is worth monitoring, it’s unlikely to move the needle over the medium term.Please see below:What a Scorching Heat!Adding to our confidence, the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around).Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration.Moreover, as the journey unfolds, the bullish signals from 2014 have resurfaced once again. For example, the USD Index’s RSI is hovering near a similar level (marked with red ellipses), and back then, a corrective downswing also occurred at the previous highs. More importantly, though, the short-term weakness was followed by a profound rally in 2014, and many technical and fundamental indicators signal that another reenactment could be forthcoming.Please see below:Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver)here is likely not a good idea.Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind still remains at the greenback’s back.Please see below:The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, the USD Index was a marked man over the last two weeks, and the dovish assassins had the dollar basket right in their crosshairs. And while the barrage of bullets fired at the greenback was bullish for gold, silver and mining stocks, the former’s ability to escape the infirmary highlights the shift in sentiment surrounding the USD Index. As a result, with technicals, fundamentals and sentiment supporting a stronger U.S. dollar over the medium term, the precious metals won the recent very short-term battle, but they’re still unlikely to win the medium-term war. Of course, I continue to think that gold is going to soar in the following years, but not before declining profoundly first. At the moment of writing these words, gold futures are already down over $15 from their Friday’s close and about $20 below their last week’s high – it could be the case that the news-based rally is already over.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Partying On Meets USD Upswing

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.09.2021 16:28
S&P 500 didn‘t get hammered on the NFPs miss – stocks did reasonably well, saved by the daily rush into tech. Volatility didn‘t spike throughout the week at all, and credit markets maintain their risk-on posture. Still, the real economy deceleration made itself heard, pushing back Fed taper speculations even further from September. Jerome Powell wanted to see more jobs data, and would want even more so now. I wouldn‘t be really surprised if no taper was announced in November.Markets are thus far unconcerned about a policy mistake in letting inflation get entrenched even more – Treasury yields moved up, but don‘t expect to see them gallop just yet. Slow and steady, orderly grind higher is the most likely trajectory ahead, and even that won‘t propel the dollar higher, or keep it really afloat. Greenback‘s support is at 91.70, and I‘m looking for it to give in over the nearest weeks, which carries tremendous implications for commodity and precious metals trades. And for risk assets in general.Precious metals thus far remain tame, and should continue chugging along just fine. Commodities such as copper and oil won‘t be derailed, but might panic temporarily in case of really bad incoming data. Copper‘s continued underperformance of the commodity index highlights the growth woes of the day, and even if the red metal might look to some as ready to roll over, the positive stockpile situation should cushion potential downside. In short, I‘m not looking for a meaningful disturbance to the commodities bull, as the inventory replenishment cycle has far from run its course, and inflation is bound to get hotter this year still.As written on Friday:(…) In short, forget about tapering into a weakening economy that doesn‘t see labor participation or hours worked rising. The Fed won‘t take that gamble soon, and we know what that means for real assets (and stocks too as inflation and yields aren‘t yet breaking the bull) – fresh money finding its way into financial markets, lifting prices.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookFriday‘s result could have been worse, way worse – and shows stocks still remain focused on money printing more than anything else.Credit MarketsCredit markets posture remains risk-on, and the inflation worries are reflected in the quality instruments. High yield corporate bonds remain in an uptrend, supportive of risk taking.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals benefited strongly on the assumption of Fed erring on the side of tardiness in announcing taper – inflation expectations are remaining tame thus far. Gold and silver ascent is though getting increasingly more confirmed by the miners turning higher too.Crude OilCrude oil ran into a setback, but didn‘t roll over decisively – some more sideways trading before higher prices emerge, is likely. Look to the dollar for direction.CopperCRB Index continues its strong recovery, and copper is taking a brief rest at the 50-day moving average. While weakening real economy would hurt it, the red metal‘s supply/demand situation would cushion temporarily lower prices. Technically, the bulls better step in fast and take prices solidly above 4.40 in order to steer clear of the danger zone.Bitcoin and EthereumFollowing long weekend gains, cryptos are under pressure today – it looks like a daily setback and not a reversal. Golden cross is approaching.SummaryNFPs disappointment isn‘t likely to derail the risk-on trades, and would actually work in pushing the taper timing further into the future, which would likely result in further stock market and other asset gains. The alternative to taper earlier would force a correction, for which I am afraid there‘s no appetite.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

September Smackdown Coming Next?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.09.2021 15:47
S&P 500 declined, with tech holding up best – the volatility spike is here as real economy deceleration is joined by Evergrande fears. Both paper and real assets took it on the chin, and yields together with the dollar rose. As for greenback and Treasuries upcoming price path:(…) Treasury yields moved up, but don‘t expect to see them gallop just yet. Slow and steady, orderly grind higher is the most likely trajectory ahead, and even that won‘t propel the dollar higher, or keep it really afloat. Greenback‘s support is at 91.70, and I‘m looking for it to give in over the nearest weeks, which carries tremendous implications for commodity and precious metals trades. And for risk assets in general.Precious metals, copper and oil bore the brunt of souring sentiment, with cryptocurrencies joining in the slide later through the day. But have the material facts changed, or all we got was a whiff of risk-off? September is likely to be volatile, it seasonally is, and August had been a surprisingly calm month. You know what they say about periods of lower volatility giving way to those of higher readings… Time to buckle up.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe S&P 500 downswing was a value driven one. Risk-on has to wait for now.Credit MarketsCredit market slide would have to stop before the stock market bulls can think about recovery – yesterday‘s picture gives a daily scare impression.Gold, Silver and MinersHigher yields and rush into the dollar did hurt precious metals, but I‘m not looking for a fresh and steep downleg to be starting here. When the momentary sense of panic calms down (it can happen relatively fast), precious metals would have an easier time rising on the monetary policy and inflation projections.Crude OilCrude oil ran into another setback, but the buying interest bodes well – I‘m looking for a gradual price recovery to continue.CopperWhile copper is hurt by the weakening real economy and underperforming the CRB Index, commodities haven‘t rolled over to the downside – the commodities superbull remains intact. Copper bulls are bidding their time, and would likely step in on the heels of positive news out of China.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin looks to have found a temporary floor, but it would be very premature to declare a fresh upswing to be about to start – medium-term chart damage has been done.SummaryYesterday‘s risk-off day is likely to get at least partially reversed today, and I‘m not looking for it to break the stock market and commodity bull runs. As for precious metals and cryptos, I‘m looking for their recovery to start in earnest once the dollar and yields once again paint a favorable picture.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

S&P 500: More Short-Term Weakness Despite Tech Rally?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.09.2021 16:03
Stocks backed off from last week’s high yesterday, as investor sentiment worsened following Friday’s jobs data. But more downside may be coming.The broad stock market index lost 0.34% on Tuesday (Sep. 7), as it bounced from the resistance level of around 4,550. Last Thursday (Sept. 2) saw the index reach a new record high of 4,545.85. This morning the market is expected to open virtually flat. However, it retraced the overnight decline.The index remains elevated after the recent run-up, so we may see some more profound profit-taking action at some point.The nearest important support level of the broad stock market index remains at 4,500, and the next support level is at 4,465-4,470, marked by the previous Thursday’s low. On the other hand, the nearest important resistance level is at 4,550. The S&P 500 bounced from its four-month-long upward trend line recently, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):S&P 500 Continues to Climb Along the Trend LineThe S&P 500 index remains close to its almost year-long upward trend line. The nearest important medium-term support level remains at 4,300, as we can see on the weekly chart:Dow Jones Broke DownLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index broke below a potential two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern yesterday. It remains relatively weaker, as it didn’t reach a new record high like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The support level remains at around 35,000, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple Reached Yet Another Record HighApple stock weighs around 6.3% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. Yesterday it reached a new record high of $157.26. We can still see negative technical divergences between the price and indicators and a potential topping pattern. The two-month-long upward trend line remains at around $145, and the nearest important support level is now at $150-152.Is Short Position Still Justified?Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. We opened a short position on August 12 at the level of 4,435. The position was profitable before the recent run-up. We still think that a speculative short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective. (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com):ConclusionThe S&P 500 index remains relatively close to its last week’s record high of 4,545.85. However, we can see some short-term profit-taking action, although yesterday’s decline has been stopped by the relatively strong tech sector. Today we will most likely see a neutral opening of the trading session followed by another profit-taking action.The market seems short-term overbought, and we may see some profit-taking action soon. Therefore, we think that the short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective.Here’s the breakdown:The market extended its advance last week, as the S&P 500 index broke above the 4,500 level.Our speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the new record high.As always, we’ll keep you, our subscribers, well-informed.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and CareLike what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Intraday Market Analysis – CAD Struggles For Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.09.2021 09:39
USDCAD grinds higherThe Canadian dollar weakened after the BOC left the current QE unchanged.Following the pair’s bounce off the daily support at 1.2500, the break above the congestion area near 1.2640 suggests strong commitment from the buy-side.Lifting offers at 1.2705 may have opened the door to the recent peak at 1.2950. However, the RSI’s overbought situation may temper the bullish fever in the meantime.The former resistance at 1.2620 has turned into support to test buyers’ resolve.NAS 100 breaks supportThe Nasdaq 100 slumps as investors worry about moderating growth. The index is holding onto recent gains in the hope of reaching the next all-time high at 15800.On the daily chart, the price’s divergence with moving averages combined with an overbought RSI could trigger mean reversion trades. The hourly chart is also painting an overextension.The RSI’s bearish divergence indicates a loss in upward momentum.A fall below 15520 would prompt traders to take profit. 15300 is key support on the 30-day moving average.GBPJPY tests supportThe sterling underperformed after the British government announced its plan to raise taxes.The pair has broken below the rising trendline from the support at 149.20. This is an indication that the recovery momentum has slowed down.An oversold RSI may attract buying interest at 151.30. Then a rebound will need to clear 152.50 to keep the bullish bias intact.Failing that a fall below would trigger a sell-off as short-term buyers scramble for the exit. Further down, 150.50 would be the next target.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Top 3 stocks to buy in September

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 09.09.2021 11:25
Do you want to know what companies can rocket in September? Here you go! Top 3 most promising stocks!Walt DisneyThe House of Mouse has been moving gradually up for the last three months. This month should be the most successful one as this week, Disney starts selling new annual passes to Disney World for the first time in over a year. The company raised its price and has more premium-priced options than before. Do you remember how Disney encouraged investors with a fast return to profitability for its theme park segment in the second quarter? This quarter is going to be even better!If we look at the chart, you’ll notice that the stock price of Disney has broken above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of $185.00. If it manages to stay above this strong resistance level, it has all chances to jump to the next Fibo level near $190.00. Support levels are $180.00 and $178.00.NVIDIANVIDIA keeps showing strength across all the company’s products: from AI to data analytics and gaming, and even cryptocurrencies! Nvidia’s second-quarter earnings results were encouraging. The revenue grew by 68% year-over-year. In late August, NVIDIA has launched NVIDIA AI Enterprise, a software that offers even more powerful AI tools than before. NVIDIA’s AI leadership in the booming cloud market can double its current stock price.Don’t be confused when you look at the chart. NVIDIA has recently made a stock split. Great opportunities for investors to buy the company at a lower price. If NVIDIA breaks above the recent high of $230.00, it will jump to the next round number of $250.00. Support levels are $210.00 and $190.00.* A stock split is when a company divides the existing shares of its stock into multiple new shares to make the price of one share lower.AppleSeptember can be important for Apple as it usually releases its latest iPhone version at this time. This event will result in another wave of sales growth for the company. The iPhone ecosystem includes apps, extra devices, and other services that also add to overall Apple’s growth. Wider availability of high-speed 5G networks continues to increase demand for new iPhones. Let’s look at the chart! Apple is currently at its all-time highs. The way up to the psychological mark of $160.00 is open now. If the price jumps above it, it may rally up to the next round number of $165.00. Support levels are $155.00 and $150.00.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Gold Back Below $1,800!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.09.2021 16:35
Easy come, easy go. The yellow metal rallied on Friday just to plunge on Tuesday. What’s your next move, Mr. Gold?Ugh, the recent rally in gold prices was really short-lived. As the chart below shows, the price of gold increased after the publication of disappointing nonfarm payrolls on Friday. However, it declined as soon as on Tuesday, and on Wednesday it slid below $1,800.I have to admit that I expected a more bullish performance. To be clear: I was far from opening champagne. For instance, I pointed out that the tapering of quantitative easing remained on the horizon, and I expressed some worries that gold’s rally was rather moderate despite the big disappointment of job gains:Another caveat is that gold failed to rally above $1,835 despite softened expectations of the future path of the federal funds rateHowever, I thought that the likely postponement of the Fed’s tightening cycle in the face of weak employment data would allow gold to catch its breath for a while. Well, it did, but only for a few days.The quick reversal is clearly bearish for gold. Sure, without disappointing job numbers, the yellow metal could perform even worse. However, the inability to maintain gains indicates gold’s inherent weakness in the current environment.Of course, the recent decline in gold prices was at least partially caused by new developments in the financial markets, namely: the strengthening in the US dollar and the rise in the bond yields. So, one could say that earlier bullish news was simply outweighed by later bearish factors.However, please note that the US dollar strengthened and the interest rates rose amid an increase in risk aversion. The fact that gold, which is considered to be a safe-haven asset, drops when investors become more risk-averse, is really frustrating.What’s more, some analysts pointed out that the dollar strength and higher yields were not enough to account for the plunge in gold prices – so, it seems that the momentum is simply negative and gold wants trade lower, no matter the fundamentals.Indeed, neither the negative real interest rates, nor curbed dollar, nor high inflation were able to get gold to rise decisively this year. Nor the recent weak nonfarm payrolls that lifted the expectations of a more dovish Fed and the postponement of normalization of the monetary policy.Implications for GoldWhat does it all mean for the yellow metal? Well, the recent volatility in the gold market reminds us that in fundamental analyses it’s smart not to draw too far-reaching conclusions from the immediate price reactions and to look beyond the hustle and bustle of the trading pits. It also confirms that I was right, writing in the recent Fundamental Gold Report that “a long quiet summer has ended, and a more windy fall has started”.Now, I have to point out that fundamental factors turned out in recent days to be more positive for the gold market than a few weeks ago. The announcement of the Fed’s tapering will be likely postponed from September to November 2021. Indeed, yesterday’s remarks of the New York Fed President John Williams at St. Lawrence University suggest that the FOMC may continue its wait-and-see approach this month and taper later in 2021:There has also been very good progress toward maximum employment, but I will want to see more improvement before I am ready to declare the test of substantial further progress being met. Assuming the economy continues to improve as I anticipate, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year.Meanwhile, the economic activity has slowed down, partially because of the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. For example, the recent edition of the Beige Book says that:Economic growth downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August (…) The deceleration in economic activity was largely attributable to a pullback in dining out, travel, and tourism in most Districts, reflecting safety concerns due to the rise of the Delta variant, and, in a few cases, international travel restrictions.Given that inflation remains high, the slowdown in economic growth will push the economy into stagflation, which should be a positive macroeconomic environment for gold.Having said that, more bullish fundamentals without positive momentum could not be enough. As I’ve written earlier, gold has recently shrugged all the bullish factors off – it’s focused now on the economic normalization after the pandemic recession and the upcoming Fed’s tightening cycle. So, it seems to me that gold needs more than the postponement of tapering (think about next economic crises, the decline in economic confidence, or the abandonment of monetary policy normalization) to rally decisively. Until this happens, it is likely to continue its struggle.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Intraday Market Analysis – The Euro Attempts To Bounce

Intraday Market Analysis – The Euro Attempts To Bounce

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.09.2021 10:33
EURUSD tests supportThe euro steadied after the ECB signaled it would reduce its bond-buying under PEPP.The pair is looking for support after it met strong selling pressure at the daily resistance near 1.1900. An oversold RSI has attracted buying interest as the price tests the support at 1.1800.A rebound above the double top (1.1900) would put the single currency back on track and extend the rally to 1.1970.A close below said support would deepen the correction to 1.1740 at the origin of the late August breakout.US 30 struggles to reboundThe Dow Jones 30 recoups losses over new low jobless claims. Price action’s struggle near the top at 35630 suggests a lack of commitment for a new high.The subsequent drop below the consolidation range (35200) has prompted short-term buyers to take the exit. However, an oversold RSI has drawn a buy-the-dips crowd.After a bounce above 35150, the index will need to clear 35400 before the rally could resume. 34600 is critical support on the daily chart to keep the bullish bias valid.USOIL consolidates gainsWTI crude tumbled after the EIA reported only a slight decrease in stockpiles.Sentiment has shifted to the bullish side after a recovery above the daily resistance at 69.50. The sideways action has allowed buyers to hold onto recent gains.The RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area has soaked up bids with 67.20 as fresh support.If the bulls succeed in lifting the hurdle at 70.50, 74.10 could be the next target when momentum makes its return. 65.40 would be the second line of defense in case of a pullback.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Intraday Market Analysis – The Euro Attempts To Bounce - 10.09.2021

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 10.09.2021 11:02
EURUSD tests supportThe euro steadied after the ECB signaled it would reduce its bond-buying under PEPP.The pair is looking for support after it met strong selling pressure at the daily resistance near 1.1900. An oversold RSI has attracted buying interest as the price tests the support at 1.1800.A rebound above the double top (1.1900) would put the single currency back on track and extend the rally to 1.1970.A close below said support would deepen the correction to 1.1740 at the origin of the late August breakout.US 30 struggles to reboundThe Dow Jones 30 recoups losses over new low jobless claims. Price action’s struggle near the top at 35630 suggests a lack of commitment for a new high.The subsequent drop below the consolidation range (35200) has prompted short-term buyers to take the exit. However, an oversold RSI has drawn a buy-the-dips crowd.After a bounce above 35150, the index will need to clear 35400 before the rally could resume. 34600 is critical support on the daily chart to keep the bullish bias valid.USOIL consolidates gainsWTI crude tumbled after the EIA reported only a slight decrease in stockpiles.Sentiment has shifted to the bullish side after a recovery above the daily resistance at 69.50. The sideways action has allowed buyers to hold onto recent gains.The RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area has soaked up bids with 67.20 as fresh support.If the bulls succeed in lifting the hurdle at 70.50, 74.10 could be the next target when momentum makes its return. 65.40 would be the second line of defense in case of a pullback.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Stagflation: A Stagnation Breaker?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.09.2021 16:07
One word shakes the markets, causing a lot of fear: stagflation. Is it coming? Will it push gold out from stagnation? Let’s find out.One of the greatest risks cited currently by the markets is stagflation. The term means a situation in which there is high inflation and stagnation at the same time. So far, we have only had high inflation (CPI annual rate has soared 5.4%, and almost 5% if we take the quarterly average), but some analysts believe that inflation has already peaked. However, the economic growth is fast (the GDP surged 12% in Q2 2021 year-over-year), as the chart below shows. So, why bother?Well, although a recession is rather not lurking around the corner, slowing economic momentum quite clearly is. The GDP growth for the second quarter (although impressive) came below expectations, the consumer confidence declined, and, more generally, the index of US data surprises has recently turned negative.Among negative surprises, we should point out the decline in retail sales by 1.1% in July, which was worse than expected (0.3%) and the drop in the New York Fed’s Empire Manufacturing Index from 43.0 in July to 18.3 in August, much below the expected 29.0. So, the recent decline in the bond yields may not be as nonsensical as it may seem.I warned my readers a long time ago that the recovery from the pandemic would be spectacular but short-lived and caused mainly by the low last year’s base. If you lock the economy, it plunges; when you open it, it soars, simple as that. Now the harsh reality steps in, and it’s yet to be seen how the US economy will perform in a post-pandemic reality with the spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus, a slowdown in China’s economy, and without government stimulus.When it comes to the price front, it’s also highly uncertain. Inflation has softened a bit in July, but it remains high, and I’m afraid that it could prove to be more persistent than it’s believed by the Fed and some analysts. The latest Empire Index, mentioned above, tells us: although the index of manufacturing activity fell more than expected, the inflationary pressure strengthened. As the report says, “input prices continued to rise sharply, and the pace of selling price increases set another record”.What’s disturbing in all this – and this is why inflation may stay with us for longer – is that the Fed is downplaying the inflation risk. And even the monetary policy 101 says that the best way of preventing inflation is acting early as inflation pressure builds up. Friedrich Hayek, a great economist and a Nobel Laureate, once compared taming inflation to catching a tiger by the tail – it’s not an easy task when the cat has already escaped the cage. The problem is that when central bankers wait to see the whites of inflationary tiger’s eyes before acting, it’s already too late. If you stare at the tiger in the eyeballs, you are probably to be eaten soon – unless you hike interest rates abruptly, choking economic growth off.Going into specifics, the Fed’s view that inflation is transitory mainly rests on the belief that price increases are caused by supply disruptions related to the epidemic. However, inflation is not limited to just a few feverish components — it’s broad-based. In particular, the cost for shelter, the largest component of the CPI, has also been gradually rising, even though the owner’s equivalent rent component doesn’t reflect properly the recent record surge in U.S. home prices (see the chart below). If this is not inflation, I don’t know what is!The increase in house prices is important here, as Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist and Director of the Research Department, IMF, admitted at the end of July: “More persistent supply disruptions and sharply rising housing prices are some of the factors that could lead to persistently high inflation”.What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, stagflation should be negative for almost all assets. When we have a stagnant economy coupled with high inflation, stocks and bonds are selling off together. In such an environment gold shines, as it is a safe haven uncorrelated with other assets.Stagflation is so terrifying because the Fed won’t be able to rescue Wall Street simply by cutting interest rates, as it could only add fuel to the inflation fire. The only viable solution would be to engineer another ‘Volcker moment’ and tighten monetary policy decisively to combat inflation. Given that debts are much higher than in the 1970s and some analysts even point to a debt trap, it could put the economy into a severe economic crisis. So far, investors seem not to worry about high inflation, but just as things go well until they don’t, investors are relaxed until they don’t. For all these reasons, it seems smart to own such portfolio diversifiers as gold.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Will China Tolerate Higher Inflation on Energy Prices?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.09.2021 17:23
How does inflation impact energy markets? Is it of any importance to them? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, I’m here to answer them all.Inflation in BriefConsumer Price Index (CPI), Producer Price Index (PPI), etc.To measure US inflation rates, we currently use the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks a basket of consumer goods and services that involves food prices & energy prices.Is underlying inflation really high or has it peaked? Well, it’s difficult to say, as some indicators may contradict each other on that matter…Tuesday’s CPI report showed the traditional core Consumer Price Index staying at an elevated level of +4.3% year-on-year, according to the Bloomberg survey.In the case of China’s consumer inflation, it remained generally stable in August, while factory-gate prices registered expansion largely due to the increasing commodity prices: the Chinese CPI rose 0.8% year-on-year in August, a bit lower than 1% in July. The Producer Price Index (PPI) went up 9.5% over the same period in August, so a little faster than 9% in July.On the U.S. side, the PPI rose +8.3% year-on-year in August (versus estimates at +8.2%) while the Core PPI progressed +6.7% over the same period. It’s higher than the expected +6.6%, but it rose at a slower pace compared to the last month’s increase. Actually, this slowdown in progression might be seen as inflationary pressures being moderated at the moment.What Impact Does It Have From the Energy Perspective?Yesterday, we saw that oil prices had fallen due to the announcement that China was using its strategic oil reserves. The Chinese announcement mentioned that millions of barrels were put up for sale in July, according to Bloomberg, which quoted an anonymous government source. In fact, China, as the leading importer of crude, seeks to fight against rising energy prices, signaling that the economic giant will not tolerate too high inflation. However, oil prices rebounded quickly into the same support zone ($67.53-67.94) that we had projected (Fig.1) with the prospect of dwindling reserves in the US, which is the world's largest consumer.Moreover, even if we know that China has decided to sell a part of its strategic reserves to limit the pressure of rising raw material prices on industrial production, there is still no information on the amount of oil that is going to be put on the market.Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLV21) Futures (October contract, daily)Today, oil prices rose again – back to yesterday morning’s levels – and the market is turning more optimistic on China-US relations after a phone call between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Indeed, that phone call had the same effect on the oil market as it had on other assets because any signal that Sino-US relations are improving is seen as positive for global trade and therefore for global financial markets.On the geopolitical scene, we also noticed that Libya aspires to produce two million barrels of oil per day from 2022, which may indeed sustain the supply.In summary, we can highlight that China has limited tolerance for the impact of higher inflation on the energy prices - and this is perfectly understandable from the perspective of the leading importer of crude oil. Inflation is certainly an important indicator to keep an eye on in the forthcoming weeks, particularly for anyone interested in energy prices.Have a nice weekend!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver is your best strategy

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 12.09.2021 09:11
There are two software development strategies. “Waterfall,” which produces a product sequential, sending stages of development through various departments until it is finished. And “Agile strategy,” which, on the other hand, is all focused on “time to market.” It identified that product placement is doomed to fail if the rate of change outside a company is faster than the rate of change inside the company. It focuses on a parallel effort of teams to produce an MVP (minimum viable product). Investing isn’t much different. If you follow sequentially through news and buy an investment when the media finally shouts it off the rooftop, you most likely are the one holding the bag and are beyond late to low-risk entry timing. Right now, Silver is your best strategy. A contrarian and more “agile strategy” is not following a stream of data but individually make an overall independent assessment of a sum of data and purchase a product like physical silver when it is out of favor, hence cheap.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Accuracy through principles and experience:Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of September 11th, 2021.A subset of agile software development is “Scrum”. In “Scrum” meetings, various departments meet to reach a common goal quickly. We have emulated this outcome-oriented parallel effort in our daily call. It gets posted daily for free in our free telegram channel. It is a 24-hour outlook that comprises market analysis in a principle-based fashion, from variables like risk, market psychology, statistical edges, inter-market relationships, time of the week, seasonal relations, relative strength/weakness, and money management, to name a few. We have, throughout the decades, stacked odds in a way for these daily forecasts to be highly accurate.The daily chart above shows how bears dominated this week’s price action. It doesn’t show that traders who followed our daily calls avoided many losing trades. Even though there might have been areas of interest and seemingly valuable entry points, inter-market relationships and choppy trading made it sensible to keep market exposure to a minimum regarding new entries. It is especially true for Friday’s silver price movement. We warned to stay sidelined, expecting that the bounce wouldn’t hold up based on the time of the week. Our indications showed there would rather be a likelihood of further price declines in the upcoming week.It is fool’s gold trading from a support/ resistance perspective only, assuming certain price levels will work as borders. While this might be true for a brief period, it is not proof of a turning point. Even worse, getting stopped out in an overall environment that is not conducive for low-risk entries only to see the turning point work out eventually is damaging to a trader’s psyche. Our focus is magnified on a low-risk approach.Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, purchase physical silver now for cheap:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of September 11th, 2021.While in the microanalysis, bears still are at even keel with the bulls, a monthly chart analysis shows that low prices like right now for physical silver acquisitions favor the long-term investor who aims to hedge bets for wealth preservation purposes. We would even go as far as speculating that the micro-environment price behavior is purposefully trying to discourage and distract the longer-term speculators for various reasons. Again, this shows that a contrarian investment approach might be the most profitable and low-risk one. Gathering fundamental data outside the trading noise and distraction commentary of media is the most prudent way to the long-term success of your objectives.With another look at the chart above, we can see that “the mean” (blue line) plays a significant role in silver’s price support. Moreover, we have additional support (green rectangle) from a transactional volume analysis. On the commodity channel index oscillator, we can also make out a possible pattern repeat (orange circles)  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Already within entry zone:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of September 11th, 2021.Trading a monthly chart for a multi-year long-term hold position, we fine-tune our entries on the lower weekly chart. We can make out on the weekly chart the significant rejection of the US$22.00 price level (long yellow wick to the downside, forming a “hammer” candlestick formation five weeks ago). With many other edges examined, we see a high likelihood for prices to stabilize above that zone. Consequently, we consider the entire yellow square as a range to add to our physical silver holdings. With a triple-digit target projection, an ultra-precise entry timing for a physical silver position is less important. Realizing that owning physical silver in this political and economic climate is an essential risk hedge is much more important.Silver is your best strategy:The principle of today’s topic between sequential actions and parallel efforts becomes even more illuminated in the learning curve to market participation itself. It is speculated that most market players give up shortly before a breakthrough after years of effort. They are either running out of funds or find themselves psychologically drained. It is based on our tendency as humans to focus on a complex problem by trying to master one aspect after another of the challenge sequentially. Technical analysis typically has the biggest allure, and successively market entries come first.Consequently, after years of mastering low-risk entry points, finding out that exits are much more important can be frustrating, to say the least. It is imperative to focus on all aspects of system development at the same time. Psychology, money management, technical analysis, execution skills, and so forth need to have an equal place within one’s development curve. Otherwise, the rate of change of the market itself will catch up with your efforts. You will not get a foot in the door.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author´s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|September 11th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Russell 2000, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Dax Extends Consolidation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.09.2021 08:56
GER 30 tests key supportThe stock markets recover as a discussion between Biden and Xi raises hopes of a thaw in US-China relations.The Dax 30 has found buying interest on the daily support (15450).A bullish RSI divergence suggests a loss in the sell-off momentum. Traders were eager to buy the dip in this area of congestion when the RSI showed an oversold situation.A rally above 15740 would confirm the rebound. 16000 would be the target when buyers regain confidence. Otherwise, a slide below 15450 may trigger an extended correction.CADJPY hits key resistanceThe loonie stalled after Canada’s mixed employment data in August. The pair has previously broken below the demand zone at 86.60, putting buyers on the defensive.The latest rebound has turned out to be a dead cat bounce after the price saw strong selling pressure at 87.35. An overbought RSI was an opportunity for sellers to step in.Sentiment remains bearish in line with the downtrend initiated in early June. 86.40 is the last line of defense for the bulls and a fall below may trigger a sell-off to 85.50.XAGUSD sees bearish breakoutBullions weakened after the US dollar advanced on better-than-expected producer prices.The break below the rising trendline has put silver’s recovery at risk. Then the bears’ push below the critical support at 23.80 was an indication that they have gained the upper hand.An oversold RSI may cause a limited bounce.The bulls have the daunting task of lifting offers around 24.40 to turn the downbeat bias around. If momentum traders join in, a cascade of sell-offs may target 23.40 and then the psychological tag at 23.00.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Friday’s Decline May Be Retraced, but Will S&P 500 Get Back Above 4,500?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.09.2021 15:36
On Friday stocks were the lowest since the end of August. We may see a rebound today, but is the market poised to go even lower then?The broad stock market index lost 0.77% on Friday after falling almost 0.5% on Thursday. It went much below the 4,500 level. On September 2 the index reached a new record high of 4,545.85. Since then it has lost almost 90 points (around 2%). This morning stocks are expected to open higher and retrace some of the recent decline.The index remains elevated after the recent run-up, so we may see some more profound profit-taking action at some point.The nearest important support level of the broad stock market index is at 4,465-4,470, marked by the previous local low. The next support level is at 4,445-4,450. On the other hand, the nearest important resistance level is at 4,490-4,500, marked by the previous support level. The S&P 500 got back close to its over four-month-long upward trend line on Friday, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):S&P 500 Remains Below Medium-Term Trend LineThe S&P 500 index broke below its medium-term upward trend line. However, it is still relatively close to that trend line. The nearest important support level is at 4,300, as we can see on the weekly chart:Dow Jones Went Lower – As ExpectedLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index broke below a potential two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern last week. It remained relatively weaker, as it didn’t reach a new record high like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The support level is now at around 34,500 and the near resistance level is at 34,750, marked by the recent support level, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple’s Bull TrapApple stock weighs around 6.3% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. Almost a week ago on Tuesday it reached a new record high of $157.26. Since then it has been declining. So it looks like a bull trap trading action. On Friday the stock accelerated its downtrend following an unfavorable federal judge's ruling. We can still see negative technical divergences between the price and indicators and a potential topping pattern. The two-month-long upward trend line remains at around $145.0-147.5.Our Short Position – Closer to Break-Even PointLet’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. We opened a short position on August 12 at the level of 4,435. The position was profitable before the recent run-up. We still think that a speculative short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective. (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com):ConclusionOn Friday, the S&P 500 index accelerated its short-term downtrend after breaking below 4,500 level again. For now, it still looks like a correction within an uptrend. Today we will most likely see a higher opening of the trading session – we may see another profit-taking action later in the day though.The market seems short-term overbought, and we may see some downward correction soon. Therefore, we think that the short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective.Here’s the breakdown:The market retraced more of its recent advances on Friday, as the S&P 500 index extended its decline below 4,500 level.Our speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the record high.Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care
Gold Miners: Last of the Summer Wine

Gold Miners: Last of the Summer Wine

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.09.2021 16:00
Autumn is just around the corner, and while the precious metals tasted some success most recently, the medium-term is still set for a downtrend.With Fed Chairman Jerome Powell sticking to his dovish guns and U.S. nonfarm payrolls elongating the central bank’s perceived taper timeline, gold, silver, and mining stocks were extremely happy campers. However, with event-driven rallies much more semblance than substance, I warned on Sep. 7 that the rollercoaster of emotions would likely end in tears.I wrote:With the 2013 analogue leading the gold miners down an ominous path, the HUI Index and the GDX ETF have rallied by roughly 8% off their recent lows. However, identical developments occurred in 2013, and neither bout of optimism invalided their bearish medium-term outlooks.And after the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF (our profitable short position) plunged by 5.35% and 6.98% respectively last week, summertime sadness confronted the precious metals. Likewise, with more melancholy moves likely to materialize over the medium term, gold, silver, and mining stocks should hit lower lows during the autumn months.To explain, the HUI Index also plunged by nearly 6% last week, and the reversal of the previous corrective upswing mirrors its behavior from 2013. In addition, with its stochastic oscillator and its RSI (Relative Strength Index) also a spitting image, an ominous re-enactment of 2013 implies significantly lower prices over the medium term.Please see below:What’s more, the vertical, dashed lines above demonstrate how the HUI Index is following its 2012-2013 playbook. For example, after a slight buy signal from the stochastic indicator in 2012, the short-term pause was followed by another sharp drawdown. For context, after the HUI Index recorded a short-term buy signal in late 2012 – when the index’s stochastic indicator was already below the 20 level (around 10) and the index was in the process of forming the right shoulder of a huge, medium-term head-and-shoulders pattern – the index moved slightly higher, consolidated, and then fell off a cliff. Thus, the HUI Index is quite likely to decline to its 200-week moving average (or so) before pausing and recording a corrective upswing. That’s close to the 220 level. Thereafter, the index will likely continue its bearish journey and record a final medium-term low some time in December.Furthermore, I warned previously that the miners’ drastic underperformance of gold was an extremely bearish sign. There were several weeks when gold rallied visibly and the HUI Index actually declined modestly. And now, gold stocks are trading close to their previous 2021 lows, while gold is almost right in the middle between its yearly high and its yearly low.And why is this so important? Well, because the bearish implications of gold stocks’ extreme underperformance still remain intact.Let’s keep in mind that the drastic underperformance of the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008 as well as in 2012 and 2013. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October 2008, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline so profoundly back then, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, broad head & shoulders patterns have often been precursors to monumental collapses. For example, when the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the gold mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here) all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern. As a reminder, the HUI Index recently completed the same formation.Yes, the HUI Index moved back below the previous lows and the neck level of the formation, which – at face value – means that the formation was invalidated, but we saw a similar “invalidation” in 2000 and in 2013. And then, the decline followed anyway. Consequently, I don’t think that taking the recent move higher at its face value is appropriate. It seems to me that the analogies to the very similar situation from the past are more important.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.In both cases, the forecast for silver, gold, and mining stocks is extremely bearish for the next several months.For even more confirmation, let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, investors rejected the senior miners (GDX) attempt to recapture their 50-day moving average and the failure was perfectly in tune with what I wrote on Sep. 7:Large spikes in daily volume are often bearish, not bullish. To explain, three of the last four volume outliers preceded an immediate top (or near) for the GDX ETF, while the one that preceded the late July rally was soon followed by the GDX ETF’s 2020 peak. Thus, when investors go ‘all in,’ material declines often follow. And with that, spike-high volume during the GDX ETF’s upswings often presents us with great shorting opportunities.Please see below:Even more bearish, not only did last week’s plunge usher the GDX ETF back below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern (the horizontal red line on the right side of the chart above), but the sell signal from the stochastic oscillator remains firmly intact. As a result, ominous clouds continue to form.And with the GDXJ ETF stuck in a similar rut, I wrote on Sep. 7 that overzealous investors would likely end the week disappointed:With the current move quite similar to the corrective upswing recorded in mid-May, the springtime bounce was also followed by a sharp drawdown. As a result, the GDXJ ETF could be near its precipice, as its 50-day moving average is right ahead. And with the key level now acting as resistance, investors’ rejection on Sep. 3 could indicate that the top is already here.Moreover, while the junior miners followed the roadmap to perfection, the GDXJ ETF still remains ripe for lower lows over the medium term.Please see below:Finally, while I’ve been warning for months that the GDXJ/GDX ratio was destined for devaluation, after another sharp move lower last week, the downtrend remains intact. For example, when the ratio’s RSI jumped above 50 three times in 2021, it coincided with short-term peaks in gold. Second, the trend in the ratio this year has been clearly down, and there’s no sign of a reversal, especially when you consider that the ratio broke below its 2019 support (which served as resistance in mid-2020). When the same thing happened in 2020, the ratio then spiked even below 1.More importantly, though, with the relative weakness likely to persist, the profits from our short position in the GDXJ ETF should accelerate during the autumn months.The bottom line?If the ratio is likely to continue its decline, then on a short-term basis we can expect it to decline to 1.27 or so. If the general stock market plunges, the ratio could move even lower, but let’s assume that stocks decline moderately (just as they did in the last couple of days) or that they do nothing or rally slightly. They’ve done all the above recently, so it’s natural to expect that this will be the case. Consequently, the trend in the GDXJ to GDX ratio would also be likely to continue, and thus expecting a move to about 1.26 - 1.27 seems rational.If the GDX is about to decline to approximately $28 before correcting, then we might expect the GDXJ to decline to about $28 x 1.27 = $35.56 or $28 x 1.26 = $35.28. In other words, $28 in the GDX is likely to correspond to about $35 in the GDXJ.Is there any technical support around $35 that would be likely to stop the decline? Yes. It’s provided by the late-Feb. 2020 low ($34.70) and the late-March high ($34.84). There’s also the late-April low at $35.63. Conservatively, I’m going to place the profit-take level just above the latter.Consequently, it seems that expecting the GDXJ to decline to about $35 is justified from the technical point of view as well.In conclusion, gold, silver, and mining stocks went from delighted to despondent, as the technical downpour continues to rain on their parade. And while a major buying opportunity may present itself in December, the next few months will likely elicit more tears than cheers. As a result, while we eagerly await the opportunity to go long the precious metals and participate in their secular uptrends, bearish breakdowns, stock market struggles, and the Fed’s taper timeline will likely dampen their moods over the medium term.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Where Are the Fireworks?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.09.2021 16:18
Stocks and credit markets gave up promising opening gains, and it was only commodities that had a really good day. Seems like the beneficiary of inflation would be indeed real assets as I had been harping about so often, and that the S&P 500 is starting to run into headwinds. Not on account of taper expectations, which appear to have been indeed pushed to the Nov-Dec time window, but thanks to inflation. Whenever you start seeing heavyweights roll over to the downside, it‘s time to pay attention.Yes, enter tech behemoths – worthwhile to watch. Stagflation would be a powerful environment to facilitate stock market declines – who could forget the 1974-5 slump? Real assets stand positioned to reap the rewards as the cost push inflation that I‘ve been discussing since early this year, is very much intact. Throw in some serious supply chain disruptions that won‘t be resolved this year, and all you end up with, is waiting for precious metals to catch up in the commodities appreciation – bringing in very nice profits in oil and copper… My total portfolio performance chart is at a fresh high!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookBears took the opportunity, and managed to close quite a few opening gaps on Friday. Would the 50-day moving average again cushion the downswing?Credit MarketsCredit market turned sharply lower, and the only encouraging sign, is the lack of volume when compared to the prior upswing.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are stable in the very short run, and can stillsurprise on the upside. However bleak the miners to gold ratio looks like, precious metals are approaching Sep FOMC disappointment as the Fed won‘t taper then – and that equals celebrations in the metals. Meanwhile, inflation keeps biting, and real rates are going ever more negative.Crude OilCrude oil predictably rose, erasing the poor U.S. inventories‘ effect. Oil stocks performance is actually reasonably strong given the broad stock market slide – black gold can keep on surprising on the upside.CopperCopper played strong catch up to the CRB Index, and on heavy volume. This is as bullish short-term as it gets.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum downswing is approaching juncture – will it break below the Sep lows? The 44,000 level is once again key, but I‘m looking for any bearish move to be invalidated, and for the golden cross to happen.SummaryRisk-on was in the end selective on Friday, with real assets outperforming paper ones strongly. Such a dynamic is likely is likely to carry over to the week just starting as a crucial test awaits S&P 500 – and it appears the stock market dip would be bought once again.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Lacks Rebound Strength

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.09.2021 08:21
EURUSD seeks supportThe US dollar advanced after the Philadelphia Fed President commented in favor of tapering this year.The single currency has not looked back after it turned away from the daily resistance at 1.1920. The bulls’ effort to bid at 1.1800 has been futile.An oversold RSI has attracted some buying interest, but they will need to clear the fresh hurdle at 1.1840. Then 1.1900 would be the next stop.Failing that, the rebound could be an opportunity to sell into strength. 1.1740 is a key support in case of an extended pullback.USDNOK tests supply areaThe Norwegian krone held onto its gains thanks to a recovery in oil prices.The drop below the daily support at 8.7200 suggests that sentiment has turned sour in the short term. The US dollar’s failure to rally back above the supply zone at 8.7300 adds more pressure to the long side.An oversold RSI has led to a limited rebound. If buyers can clear said resistance, they may gain confidence to claim back 8.8400.Otherwise, a new round of sell-off would push the price to another support (8.5200) on the daily chart.UK 100 bounces off daily supportThe FTSE 100 recoups losses supported by strong performance in cyclical stocks. The index has bounced off the critical support (6970) from the daily chart.An oversold RSI near the psychological level of 7000 has attracted bargain hunters. A bullish MA cross confirms the upward bias. 7100 from the latest sell-off is key resistance and its breach could raise bids to the triple top at 7210.In the meantime, the RSI’s overbought situation may temporarily limit the buying power and the bulls would have to wait to buy the dip.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Bitcoin and the beauty principle

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.09.2021 10:51
Expansions of the “golden mean” in the form of the Fibonacci ratio have found their stronghold in technical analysis as a long used edge for predicting retracement levels and future distribution zones as exit targets. We have extracted edges in the often-underestimated trading aspect, time.If you want to learn more about “The Beauty Principle”, we recommend taking a look at some our past chart-books:May 17th, 2021, Crypto Chartbook – Bitcoin, the beauty principleFebruary 22nd, 2021, Crypto Chartbook – Bitcoin, supreme beauty in motionJuly 2nd, 2018, Crypto Chartbook – The Beauty PrincipleBTC-USD, Daily Chart, Time as support:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of August 25th, 2021.We posted the above chart on August 25th in our weekly chart book publication at that time. If you compare to the recent chart below, you will find a progression of price stunningly adhering to the predictive value of the white time arcs.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Stacking edges for low-risk entries:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of September 14th, 2021.You can make out that price made a double bottom (yellow horizontal line) precisely at the time when arc two was reached from a time perspective. The time element served as an extra edge for low-risk entry points. Price adhered to the rising arc and again found support when arc three was reached. Using lesser-known edges like these helps for low-risk entry timing. BTC-USD, Daily Chart, Time and price:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of September 14th, 2021.Another edge tailored to bitcoin is a combination of both, price and time. You will find in the chart above that bitcoin, when trading near the statistical mean (red line), has substantial advances after building a double bottom. This fact is advantageous, since many mathematical edges cease when the price is near the mean. If prices originated from a previous up-leg, we find these times to be sensible looking for additional edges to low-risk entry points.BTC-USD, Daily Chart, early warning signals:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of September 14th, 2021.On July sixth, we posted another chart that involved time analysis under our beauty principle edge structure, and projections came true. If you followed us at the time with the entries we posted live in our free Telegram channel, you were able to nearly double your money. Now we have taken substantial profits off the table. Should the monthly candle to the very right, representing September, close as a bearish red candle, a second down leg could be in store for bitcoin.From a fundamental beauty perspective, bitcoin has found itself transcended from a practical philosophical idea and inspired bodies collecting it at the time. Now it is already a store of value of over a trillion-dollar value. While not yet a unit of account, we see more and more significant cases where bitcoin is used as a medium of exchange. There is still a lack of understanding of bitcoin and its beauty at present. But nature shows that beauty typically persists, and mass adoption is undoubtedly a highly likely possibility.Bitcoin and the beauty principle:Due to the high degree of variables in the market present, it provides a vast field of possibilities of interpretation. Consequently, it allows generous room for new edges to be extracted. Critics of technical analysis often claim that technical analysis is nothing but a self-fulfilling prophecy, which is only partially true. By definition of a principle being a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or a chain of reasoning, it is an ultimate truth with inherent high value. We find the laborious effort to search for new ways to define market behavior as essential. After all, a significant edge is only the one known by a few.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|September 14th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Eurozone Impact on Gold: The ECB and the Phantom Taper

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.09.2021 14:13
The ECB tapered its asset purchases. Only that it didn’t taper at all. Are you confused? Gold isn’t – it simply doesn’t care.Tapering has begun. For now, in the Eurozone. This is at least what headlines suggest, as last week, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank held its monetary policy meeting. The European central bankers decided to slow down the pace of their asset purchases:Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council judges that favourable financing conditions can be maintained with a moderately lower pace of net asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) than in the previous two quarters.The financial markets were only slightly moved by the ECB’s action. The price of gold also barely changed, as the chart below shows. One reason is that such a step was widely expected. Another one is that this “tapering” is actually “pseudo-tapering”, or not tapering at all. Why?The answer is: the ECB will continue to conduct net asset purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme with an unchanged total envelope of €1,850 billion. So, the total number of assets bought under this program won’t necessarily change, as the ECB could still spend all of the envelope. Only the pace will slow down, but please remember that it was boosted earlier this year. Hence, even Christine Lagarde admitted during her press conference that the ECB’s move was rather a “re-calibration of PEPP for next three months” than tapering.What’s more, the net purchases under the Asset Purchase Programme, the original quantitative easing program, will continue at an unchanged pace of €20 billion per month. Last but not least, the ECB left its interest rates unchanged. And it reiterated that it was not going to normalize interest rates anytime soon, even in the face of strong price pressure. In other words, the ECB signaled once again that it would tolerate higher inflation:In support of its symmetric two percent inflation target and in line with its monetary policy strategy, the Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it sees inflation reaching two percent well ahead of the end of its projection horizon and durably for the rest of the projection horizon, and it judges that realized progress in underlying inflation is sufficiently advanced to be consistent with inflation stabilizing at two percent over the medium term. This may also imply a transitory period in which inflation is moderately above target.Implications for GoldWhat does the ECB’s last meeting imply for gold? Well, although Lagarde and her colleagues didn’t signal any further reduction of monetary accommodation, the slowdown in asset purchases under PEPP is a small step toward normalizing the monetary policy after the pandemic. Additionally, please note that the ECB’s September economic projections boosted both the expected pace of the GDP growth and inflation in the coming years, which should provide the bank more room for hawkish actions. In this context, the ECB could be seen as a shy harbinger of the withdrawal of emergency measures introduced during the epidemic. This is probably why the euro has strengthened slightly after the ECB meeting.However, the ECB remained very dovish in fact. It will just reduce the pace of asset purchases under PEPP, which was boosted earlier this year. And the European central bankers didn’t provide any timeline, nor any clues about the possible end of its quantitative easing programs. The Fed will also likely maintain its very accommodative stance, especially given the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and the disappointing August nonfarm payrolls.Having said that, the recent comments from the Fed officials suggest that they are determined to start or at least announce tapering by the end of the year. For instance, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview that “The big picture is that the taper will get going this year and will end sometime by the first half of next year”.Hence, the big picture for gold remains rather negative, as the prospects of the Fed’s tightening cycle could still exert downward pressure on gold. However, the actual beginning of the process, especially if accompanied by more dovish signals from the Fed than expected, could provide some relief for the yellow metal, in line with “sell the rumor, buy the fact”. My intuition is that 2022 may actually be better for gold than this year, but a lot will depend on the future economic developments, as well as the US central banks’ actions and communication. This week we will get fresh CPI data, and the FOMC will gather next week. Stay tuned!If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Tame Inflation and the Risk-On Fuse

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.09.2021 16:01
Stocks and credit markets sent conflicting messages – weakness in the S&P 500 wasn‘t matched by bonds losing ground. Though elevated by recent standards, VIX doesn‘t look to be in the appetite for further sustained gains, which would speak for gradual stabilization in stocks before these decide to move again.CPI coming in neither too hot, nor too cold, would be in line with my recent expectations of inflation becoming entrenched and elevated. Still, the figures support the transitory notion to a degree – the markets are obviously afraid of high inflation forcing Fed‘s mistake, and any reading that won‘t light the immediate inflation fires, would be considered good for the risk-on assets. More so probably for real ones as opposed to stocks. Finally, more time for the Fed to act implies better possibilities for precious metals bulls.As stated yesterday:(…) tech behemoths – worthwhile to watch. Stagflation would be a powerful environment to facilitate stock market declines – who could forget the 1974-5 slump? Real assets stand positioned to reap the rewards as the cost push inflation that I‘ve been discussing since early this year, is very much intact. Throw in some serious supply chain disruptions that won‘t be resolved this year, and all you end up with, is waiting for precious metals to catch up in the commodities appreciation – bringing in very nice profits in oil and copper…Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookWhile the bears fumbled, the bulls didn‘t take the opportunity convincingly. The 50-day moving average looks to be holding for now still, especially when credit markets are considered.Credit MarketsCredit markets turned noticeably higher, and that‘s positive for the stock market bulls.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are rather stable in the very short run, and can still surprise on the upside – the miners to gold ratio is already turning up in preparation for the Sep FOMC disappointment as the Fed won‘t announce taper then. Meanwhile, inflation isn‘t disappearing, and real rates are going increasingly more negative.Crude OilCrude oil rise was associated with energy sector moving up as well, and the upswing outlook is slowly but surely improving. Black gold stands to benefit from the return of risk appetite and the dollar stalling – just as copper would.CopperCopper reversal has the power to reach a bit further still, but I‘m not looking for the 50-day moving average to fold like a cheap suit.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin keeps up the odds of golden cross happening, and Ethereum isn‘t at its weakest either. The crypto bulls can gather strength over the coming sessions.SummaryPerceptions of cooling down inflation stand ready to support risk taking, and both real assets (including precious metals of course) and stocks, stand to benefit. The dollar would get under renewed pressure, and not even yields moving up, would help reverse its slow but steady decline.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Attempts Rebound

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.09.2021 08:57
USDCHF seeks supportThe US dollar initially tumbled after a minor drop in August’s core CPI. However, the pair can capitalize on strong buying interest from the trough near 0.9150.A tentative break of August’s high at 0.9240 suggests that buyers are in control of price action. Though an overbought RSI has tempered the bullish drive, the latest pullback to 0.9180 can be an accumulation phase.A rebound may lift bids to July’s high at 0.9275. A breach of that ceiling would attract momentum buying and resume the greenback’s rally.XAUUSD bounces off demand zoneGold surged thanks to a decline in Treasury yields. The precious metal had met stiff selling pressure at the triple top (1830) from the daily chart.Short-term sentiment has turned positive after a week-long consolidation above the demand area of 1780. The break above 1803 would prompt the bears to cover their bets. An overbought RSI may trigger a temporary pullback.A rebound would challenge the critical level of 1830 once again, where a bullish breakout may resume the five-week-long rally.US 30 breaks supportThe Dow Jones 30 retreated as last month’s US inflation remained above the Fed’s target. The index was bought out of the dip over the daily support at 34580.The rebound turned out to be short-lived after a breakout invalidated this key floor. A bearish MA cross indicates that sentiment has become increasingly downbeat.The psychological level (34000) from last July would be the next target. On the upside, 34950 is a fresh resistance where sellers would be eager to erase any rebound.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

S&P 500: Striking Similarity to the September Last Year

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.09.2021 15:06
Stocks extended their short-term downtrend as the S&P 500 index fell slightly below its Monday’s daily low. Is more downside trading action coming?The broad stock market index fell to the daily low of 4,435.46 on Tuesday and it was the lowest since August 20. On September 2 the index reached a new record high of 4,545.85. Since then it has lost over 110 points. This morning stocks are expected to open virtually flat.The index remains elevated after the recent run-up, so we may see some more profound profit-taking action at some point.The nearest important support level of the broad stock market index is at 4,435 and the next support level is at 4,400-4,410. On the other hand, the nearest important resistance level is now at 4,465-4.475, marked by the recent support level. The S&P 500 got back close to its over four-month-long upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):Dow Jones – Short-term ConsolidationLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index broke below a potential two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern last week. It remained relatively weaker, as it didn’t reach a new record high like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The support level is now at around 34,500 and the near resistance level is at 34,750, marked by the recent support level, as we can see on the daily chart:September Last Year – S&P 500 Fell Almost 11%In 2020, the S&P 500 index reached a local high of 3,588.11 on September 2 and in just three weeks it fell 10.6% to local low of 3,209.45 on September 24. This year, September’s downward correction has started at the new record high of 4,545.85 on September 3, so there is a striking similarity between those two trading actions. However, the index is just 2.4% down this time.Apple Stock at Trend LineApple stock weighs around 6.3% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. Last week it reached a new record high of $157.26. Since then it has been declining. So it looks like a bull trap trading action. On Friday the stock accelerated its downtrend following an unfavorable federal judge's ruling. We can still see negative technical divergences between the price and indicators and a potential topping pattern. The two-month-long upward trend line remains at around $147.ConclusionYesterday, the S&P 500 index extended its short-term downtrend following breaking below 4,500 level on Friday. For now, it still looks like a correction within an uptrend. Today we will most likely see a flat opening of the trading session – we may see some more short-term consolidation.The market seems overbought, and we may see some more profound downward correction soon. Therefore, we think that the short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective.Here’s the breakdown:The market retraced more of its recent advances this week, as the S&P 500 index extended its decline below 4,450 level.Our speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the record high.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Fabled September Storms

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.09.2021 16:03
S&P 500 faded the opening upswing, breaking below Monday‘s lows. High yield corporate bonds didn‘t surprise by at least closing unchanged, and neither did the quality debt instrument facilitate an upswing within tech or interest rate sensitive sectors such as utilities. In spite of the solid potential for an intraday rally attempt that could take stocks closer to 4500 again, none materialized.The bears are taking a breather as evidenced by the VIX rejecting the upside move – but the volatility metric doesn‘t appear yet ready to roll over to the downside either. While the (mistaken) notion of cooling down CPI could have pushed stocks a little higher, markets appear more focused on the decelerating real economy, on the almost stagflationary atmosphere that‘s going to have stocks in its grip for the remainder of 2021: (…) CPI coming in neither too hot, nor too cold, would be in line with my recent expectations of inflation becoming entrenched and elevated. Still, the figures support the transitory notion to a degree – the markets are obviously afraid of high inflation forcing Fed‘s mistake, and any reading that won‘t light the immediate inflation fires, would be considered good for the risk-on assets. More so probably for real ones as opposed to stocks. Finally, more time for the Fed to act implies better possibilities for precious metals bulls.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe bears retook initiative, making quite a progress when sectoral view is engaged. It doesn‘t mean though the sentiment can‘t flip bullish at short notice, except that there is none at the moment.Credit MarketsCredit markets turned risk-off, and unless HYG kicks in again, the stock market bulls can‘t think about crossing back above 4,500.Gold, Silver and MinersGold embraced the retreating yields and wavering dollar, followed by miners and silver. The heavier than usual volume shows accumulation, but the bulls better arm themselves with patience.Crude OilCrude oil hesitated yesterday, and oil stocks likely declined merely in sympathy with the stock market. Black gold‘s daily resilience can very well mean a broader commodity upswing is at hand.CopperCopper had been trading a bit too much at odds with the CRB, and remains prone to an upside reversal. I‘m not looking for the 50-day moving average to give in.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin golden cross is here, and cryptos are likely to continue their measured rise. Crucially, Ethereum outperformance is still with us.SummaryRisk taking – or should it be properly called „hedging“ – lit the fuse behind real assets as paper ones lag. While the dollar hasn‘t experienced much selling pressure yet in spite of retreating Treasury yields, its any modest decline is likely to be more than mirrored by the rising commodities, fitting well what one would look for in a slowing down economy with still rampant money printing.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

On the Race to the Bottom, Miners Beat Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.09.2021 17:08
The medium-term outlook for precious metals is a bearish one, and as gold moves lower, the miners will move lower faster. Small price jumps don’t count.Let’s get this straight, we’re not day traders, and getting excited about an occasional bounce is much ado about nothing.Remember when I told you yesterday that the “strength” of gold stocks was likely more or less random and not a true sign of strength? Yesterday’s lack thereof confirmed it. Gold moved higher, but gold stocks almost didn’t. Implications? That was just a tiny, inconsequential, counter-trend upswing within a bigger decline.Let’s take a look at what senior miners and junior mining stocks did yesterday.The GDX ETF was up by a mere $0.16 and it closed the day very close to where it had closed on Aug. 23 – just a day after it rallied from its recent lows. In other words, the current GDX ETF price is practically just a single-day rally above the yearly lows. At the same time, gold is trading over $130 above its yearly lows. Are senior gold stocks really showing strength? Absolutely not.As far as junior miners are concerned, the situation is similar, but even more bearish. In GDXJ, we have another sell signal coming from volume. It spiked, and the last time we saw the volume this high, was in mid-May. And what happened in mid-May? It was not the exact top, but it was very close to it, and shortly before a $15+ decline started. It was a perfect time to enter a short position in the junior miners, or one could use this indication as reassurance that this position is justified from the risk to reward point of view. (Of course, there are many more factors that point to this direction, not just the volume spike in the GDXJ ETF.)Overall, juniors are verifying their previous breakdown to new yearly lows, and they are successful in this verification. This opens the door to huge declines wide open.Just like I wrote earlier today, gold moved higher yesterday (it’s down in today’s pre-market trading, though), but it didn’t break any important resistance level, so this move was rather inconsequential. The outlook for gold and gold stocks remains bearish.By the way, do you recall when I wrote that gold was likely to reverse in the second half of September or in the middle thereof, but that we’ll know more when we get closer to this date? Well, it’s the middle of the month today, and it’s obvious that we didn’t see a major decline in the recent days, just a relatively small one.Consequently, it seems that the reversal that I mentioned previously will not be an important bottom, but an important top. This makes sense in light of the upcoming FOMC (in one week), which is likely to trigger some short-term volatility. Will the PMs and miners rally until the Fed speaks? It’s unclear, and not that likely. They could decline beforehand, or they could do nothing. The very near term is unclear, but that doesn’t matter that much, as the medium-term is very clear – the gold, silver, and mining stocks are going down.One of the reasons is the more-than-confirmed breakout above the neck level in the USD Index’s inverse head and shoulders pattern.It took about a year for this bullish pattern to form, so it’s likely that its consequences will also be of medium-term nature. So far, the USDX has been moving back and forth, but when it finally moves, it’s likely to rally above 97, as the targets based on this formation are based on the size of its “head” (marked with green, dashed lines).As the USD Index rallies, gold is likely to move lower. And as gold moves lower, gold stocks are likely to move lower faster, as they’ve been underperforming gold for months. And as senior gold miners move lower faster, junior miners are likely to move lower even faster.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – CAD Claws Back Losses

Intraday Market Analysis – CAD Claws Back Losses

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.09.2021 08:45
USDCAD capped by key resistanceThe Canadian dollar recovered after a rise in the August CPI.The previous attempt to break below 1.2500 has put the bulls under pressure. The rebound met offers at 1.2760 when the RSI was in an overbought situation. A bullish breakout would send the price to the peak around 1.2900.On the downside, 1.2600 is fresh support as buyers try to hold onto recent gains. Its breach could force them to abandon ship and trigger a sell-off to 1.2500, which would be the ultimate test of the bulls’ commitment.NZDUSD seeks supportThe New Zealand dollar inched higher after the Q2 GDP beat expectations.The bulls are looking to consolidate their gains after they cleared the daily resistance at 0.7100. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart indicates a bullish bias. However, the kiwi’s struggle to stay above 0.7100 is a sign of overextension in the short term.A controlled pullback is necessary to gather momentum after a rebound stalled at 0.7150. 0.7055 is the immediate support. Then the psychological level of 0.7000 is a crucial floor.USOIL rally gains momentumWTI crude shot higher after the EIA reported a large drop in US inventories.A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that sentiment has turned positive. After a brief consolidation, price action has lifted the psychological level of 70.00, turning it into fresh support.As the upward momentum picks up speed, the oil price is heading to 74.10. The quick recovery would put the August sell-off behind and resume the 17-month long rally. A limited retracement may occur as the RSI inches into the overbought area.
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Oil Surged Amid Falling US Inventories, Hitting Our Target!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.09.2021 14:45
Oil prices rose to their highest level in two months as U.S. inventories fell more than twice what was expected. Where will it lead us?Trading position We took the position in the forecasted $67.53-67.94 key support zone, and some partial profits were saved by our suggested stop-win at $68.82 last week. However, what’s the most important: the main target that we expected in our previous editions of Oil Trading Alerts at $72.30 was finally reached yesterday!Market AnalysisU.S. crude inventories for the past week fell 6.4 million barrels (Mb), more than double what analysts had expected (2.7). Gasoline reserves have fallen by 1.9 million barrels, against 3.3 million expected. Notably, strategic crude oil reserves have also declined, by 500,000 barrels.This phenomenon could be explained by the maintenance of a high level of exports despite the impact on production of the passage of Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico.Exports have indeed increased compared to the previous week and are now higher than those of the same period last year.As a consequence of Hurricane Ida, many companies had to suspend the activity of their rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as of several refineries in Louisiana, also hit by the extreme climatic episode.As a result, gasoline deliveries remain below their level of last year, even taking into account the drop in demand linked to the end of the summer period, with cooler temperatures.Our view now is that we could see a pullback to previous supports, either $70.61 (which wouldn’t be the best entry from the risk-to-reward point of view) or $69.39 (which would be preferable). This retracement could either happen (Fig.1):sraightaway, which would confirm a long-term bearish trend configuration by failing to break higher, above the $73.52 and $74.77 highs (the next resistance levels). Therefore, the market would be topping at a lower high (as defined by the Dow Theory) [scenario A].once the auctioneers push the prices higher (at least above $73.52) – this scenario would redefine a new long-term bullish trend (with higher highs) [scenario B].Given the recent market developments, the weekly chart (Fig.2) shows a bullish engulfing candle that could eventually confirm the continuation of a bullish trend.Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLV21) Futures (October contract, daily)Figure 2 – WTI Crude Oil (CLV21) Futures (October contract, weeky)In summary, our trading plan on crude oil relies on various scenarios that we have described. For now, in order to see a clearer market picture, we will wait for confirmation. However, as always, we provide you with a pre-defined position that will (or not) be executed, depending on the next price action and oil supply/demand.As always, we’ll keep you, our subscribers, well-informed.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Softening Inflation: Gold Jumps Again

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.09.2021 14:55
Inflation softened further in August, and gold reacted positively. Look closely at what the Fed’s doing, as that’s where the clues for the future are.Consumer inflation eased further in August. According to the latest BLS report on inflation, the CPI increased 0.3% last month after rising 0.5% in July. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also softened — it rose 0.1% after increasing 0.3% in the preceding month. It was the smallest increase since February 2021. The deceleration was mainly caused by declines in the index for used cars and trucks, which fell 1.5%, and in the index for transportation services, which decreased 2.3% (driven by a sharp fall of 9.1% in airline fares).However, on an annual basis, the overall inflation stayed practically unchanged, rising again at a disturbingly high pace, as the chart below shows. The overall index surged 5.3% in August, following 5.4% in the previous month. Meanwhile, the core CPI soared 4%, following a 4.3% jump in July.So, as one can see in the chart above, inflation peaked in June and decelerated for the second month in a row. However, what I wrote last month remains valid: “[inflation] remained disturbingly high, despite the deceleration in several subindexes, including the index for used cars. I dread to think what inflation would be if these categories weren’t moderate!”Inflation did soften, but it remains elevated and above 5% on an annual basis. Moreover, it doesn’t have to go away anytime soon. Why? The first reason is that the supply-chain crisis hasn’t ended yet. The supply-side problems are keeping the producer prices hot. In August, the PPI for final demand rose 0.7%, following 1% in July. Although the monthly pace decreased, it was still above expectations. But over the past 12 months, the producer price inflation soared 8.3%, significantly faster than 7.8% in July. It was the biggest jump since November 2010, when the series started, as the chart below shows.The unresolved supply-chain crisis and stubbornly high producer price inflation imply that inflationary pressures are likely to persist and to be translated into higher consumer prices in the future. Because inventories are tight and because the mindset has changed, producers are relatively easily passing on higher costs to consumers.Secondly, the index for shelter – the biggest component of the CPI – has been rising gradually since February 2021, and it accelerated from 2.79% in July to 2.82% in August, as the chart above shows. As a reminder, home prices – which are not covered by the CPI – have been surging recently, which should translate into further increases in the index for shelter.Last but not least, the annual growth of the M2 money supply has stabilized at about 12%, as the chart below shows. It’s of course much lower than the 27% recorded in February 2021, but it’s still almost twice as fast as the 6.8% seen just before the pandemic started. And the easy fiscal policy could also add something to the inflationary pressures if the fiscal deficits are monetized. All these developments suggest that inflation isn’t disappearing just yet.Implications for GoldWhat does the August report on the CPI imply for the gold market? Well, theoretically, softer inflation should be negative for assets sensitive to inflation such as gold. The yellow metal is seen as an inflation hedge, but the data says that it shines when inflation is high and accelerating. So, the deceleration should be bad news for gold.However, as the chart below shows, the price of gold has increased after the publication of the inflation report, jumping again above $1,800. Just as one month ago, slightly softer inflation has offered some hopes that inflation would prove to be transitory, in line with Powell’s narrative, and provide the Fed with an excuse to continue its ultra-dovish monetary policy. Indeed, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, the expectations for the Fed’s tightening cycle have diminished slightly from the previous week. For instance, the odds for the interest rate hike in December 2022 have declined from 54% to 50%, so it’s a coin toss. The softening of these expectations has supported gold prices.However, the dark clouds are still present on the horizon. Although the August CPI eases somewhat the need for the Fed to begin to taper its quantitative easing, the inflation report shouldn’t materially change the Fed’s stance. After all, inflation is still significantly above the target and partial normalization of the monetary policy is coming anyway.What’s more, this month the FOMC statement will be accompanied by a fresh dot-plot. As a reminder, the latest Fed’s projections plunged gold prices, as they revealed that the US central bankers were eager to hike the federal funds rate earlier than previously thought. Given the increase in inflation since June and all the employment progress the economy made, the upcoming dot-plots could be hawkish and send gold prices lower. You have been warned.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
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Intraday Market Analysis – Dax Extends Consolidation

Jing Ren Jing Ren 13.09.2021 10:49
GER 30 tests key support The stock markets recover as a discussion between Biden and Xi raises hopes of a thaw in US-China relations. The Dax 30 has found buying interest on the daily support (15450). A bullish RSI divergence suggests a loss in the sell-off momentum. Traders were eager to buy the dip in this area of congestion when the RSI showed an oversold situation. A rally above 15740 would confirm the rebound. 16000 would be the target when buyers regain confidence. Otherwise, a slide below 15450 may trigger an extended correction. CADJPY hits key resistance The loonie stalled after Canada’s mixed employment data in August. The pair has previously broken below the demand zone at 86.60, putting buyers on the defensive. The latest rebound has turned out to be a dead cat bounce after the price saw strong selling pressure at 87.35. An overbought RSI was an opportunity for sellers to step in. Sentiment remains bearish in line with the downtrend initiated in early June. 86.40 is the last line of defense for the bulls and a fall below may trigger a sell-off to 85.50. XAGUSD sees bearish breakout Bullions weakened after the US dollar advanced on better-than-expected producer prices. The break below the rising trendline has put silver’s recovery at risk. Then the bears’ push below the critical support at 23.80 was an indication that they have gained the upper hand. An oversold RSI may cause a limited bounce. The bulls have the daunting task of lifting offers around 24.40 to turn the downbeat bias around. If momentum traders join in, a cascade of sell-offs may target 23.40 and then the psychological tag at 23.00.
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Meets Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Meets Resistance

Jing Ren Jing Ren 26.08.2021 09:05
XAUUSD tests key resistance The US dollar’s weakness continues to fuel the gold rush. The precious metal has recouped most losses from the crash earlier this month. The rapid recovery indicates traders’ strong willingness to buy the dips. The price is about to test the major supply zone between 1810 and 1830 from the daily chart. Analysts can expect stiff selling pressure as short-term buyers take profit. A bullish breakout may jump-start the uptrend once again. As the RSI goes muted, 1785 is the first level to gauge the strength of the rebound. USDNOK retreats to critical support The commodity-linked Norwegian krone strengthened as oil prices recovered. The greenback had met stiff selling pressure at the double top (9.1000). The subsequent break below 8.8800 suggests that hands are weak on the long side. Profit-taking and fresh selling have sent the price to 8.7800, which is critical support from the daily timeframe. Its breach could signal a bearish reversal. An oversold RSI may attract some buying interest, but the bulls will need to lift offers around 8.9200 before they could push for a rebound. USOIL heads towards daily resistance WTI crude rallied after the EIA showed a drop in the US inventories. Price action continues on its upward journey after it bounced off May’s low at 62.00. A bullish RSI divergence at that major support suggested that the selling pressure was fading. The rally above 67.40 is a confirmation that buyers have taken over. 69.50 is the hurdle ahead and a breakout may end a seven-week long consolidation and resume the uptrend. An overbought RSI may trigger a limited pullback. 65.70 would be the first support in that case.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support

Jing Ren Jing Ren 26.08.2021 09:04
USDCHF retests Fibonacci level The US dollar takes a backseat as traders await the Fed’s update at the Jackson Hole symposium tomorrow. The pair is trading within a narrowing range between 0.9020 and 0.9240. This is a sign of momentary hesitation amid mixed data signals. The greenback is testing again the 61.8% (0.9100) Fibonacci retracement level from the August rally. A rebound will need to clear 0.9170 to attract more patient players. A bearish breakout towards 0.9020 on the other hand may invalidate the recent rally. CADJPY grinds resistance The Canadian dollar bounces back supported thanks to a recovery in oil price. The break below the daily support at 85.50 suggests that sentiment may have turned downbeat in the medium-term. However, there is still room for an intraday rebound after the RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area. The indicator’s divergence also showed a slowdown in the sell-off. A close above 87.10 would lead to the supply zone at 88.40 where we can expect stronger selling pressure. 86.20 is fresh support on the downside. NZDCHF bounces off key support The New Zealand dollar climbed after the RBNZ’s chief economist said that the outbreak has limited effect on monetary policy. The pair saw buying interest at December’s low at 0.6250. The RSI’s bullish divergence in this demand zone was an important signal that sellers had become less aggressive. The subsequent rally above 0.6330 is a confirmation that a rebound is underway. 0.6415 would be an intermediate resistance. 0.6300 is fresh support in case of a pullback as the RSI inches towards an overbought situation.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles To Find Bids

Jing Ren Jing Ren 29.07.2021 09:52
EURUSD attempts reversal The US dollar tumbled after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said it is nowhere near a rate hike. The RSI divergence was a giveaway that the sellers may have taken their feet off the pedals. The break above 1.1820 suggests that buyers were trying to get back into the game. As the pair grinds its way up, a close above 1.1850 may foreshadow a U-turn in the coming days, prompting sellers to cover. 1.1880 could be the last hurdle and its clearance may trigger a runaway rally. 1.1770 is a fresh support in case of a pullback. CADJPY tests psychological level The Canadian dollar inched higher after a better-than-expected CPI in June. The bulls are looking to extend the rebound from 85.50, a major support on the daily chart, in order to resume the fifteen-month long uptrend. The break above the support-turned-resistance of 87.60 has put the bears under pressure. The psychological level of 88.00 has so far capped the loonie’s advance. However, an oversold RSI may help gather more buying interest. 86.60 is the immediate support if the consolidation drags on. NAS 100 recoups losses The Nasdaq 100 recovers from profit-takings as investors continue to digest Q2 earnings. The technical pullback has found bids on the 20-day moving average (14800). Buyers were quick to see the oversold RSI as a bargain indicator. The bullish mood remains intact as long as the price is above the previous demand zone near 14550 from the daily chart. Consolidation may run its course for a few more hours as short-term bulls rebuild their stakes. Those armed with patience may wait for a clean break above the peak at 15140.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD In Overbought Conditions

Jing Ren Jing Ren 18.06.2021 09:23
USDCHF tests daily resistance The US dollar carries on its rally as the SNB sticks with ultra-loose policy. Strong momentum above 0.9090 indicates that the directional bias has shifted to the upside as sellers rush to bail out. The rebound is now testing the resistance at 0.9200 on the daily chart. The RSI shows overextension and could lead to a temporary pullback. The former supply zone near 0.9070 and the 30-hour moving average is the first support. 0.9270 is the nearest resistance when buyers renew their pressure. AUDUSD tanks to critical demand area A drop in Australia’s unemployment rate barely lifted its currency as traders’ prices in the US taper. The breakout below the demand area at 0.7600 is a sign of mounting bearish pressure. 0.7530 is a critical support to safeguard the uptrend from a medium-term perspective. Its breach could trigger an extended sell-off leading to a reversal. An oversold RSI is rising back to the neutral area. A combination of profit-taking and fresh buying may lift the price to the immediate resistance at 0.7640. UK 100 retreats to key support The FTSE index consolidates as traders ponder inflation threat post-FOMC. The rally above May’s high at 7160 is a bullish sign though short-term data-driven volatility is unlikely to die down. 7200 has capped buyers’ attempts to push higher and is now a key hurdle. A dip below 7135 may force leveraged buyers to abandon ship, especially when a divergent RSI points to a loss in the upward momentum. 7100, a resistance-turned-support is an area of congestion as it lies on the 20-day moving average.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Lifts Key Resistance

Jing Ren Jing Ren 17.06.2021 08:57
EURUSD plunges in search of support The US dollar surges as the Fed signals interest rate hikes in 2023. The pair has been in a steady retracement after it broke above the daily resistance at 1.2240. Though the breach of the major support at 1.2070 may have dented the bullish fever. The RSI is deep in the oversold zone. The demand area between 1.1990 and the psychological level of 1.2000 could see a limited rebound as a result of profit-taking and dip-buying. 1.1940 could be the next target while 1.2130 has become the new resistance. USDCAD cuts through critical resistance The Canadian dollar slumped against its buoyant US counterpart despite Canada’s upbeat CPI. The greenback has pierced through the key resistance at 1.2200. The bullish breakout could initiate a reversal as sellers scramble to cover. The pair is looking to consolidate its gains above the 30-day moving average. 1.2300 is the next resistance. The RSI has ventured again in the overbought area and could face a pullback as momentum players take chips off the table. 1.2155 is the immediate support in case of a retreat. EURGBP tests lower band of consolidation range Sterling rallied after the UK’s core CPI jumped to 2% yoy in May. The euro’s last rebound has once again failed to clear the supply zone near 0.8630. Stiff selling pressure has pushed the pair below 0.8580, the origin of the latest rally. This suggests that sellers still have the upper hand in the general direction. An oversold RSI may prompt intraday traders to take profit. The demand zone between 0.8560 and 0.8570 at the lower range of consolidation is critical. Its breach could trigger a sell-off towards 0.8500.
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Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Needs Rebound Catalyst

Jing Ren Jing Ren 16.06.2021 09:39
GBPUSD bounces off key support The pound consolidates as the unemployment rate falls to 4.7% in the three months to April. The pair has found support at the lower range of its horizontal consolidation (1.4040). This demand zone from the daily chart is critical in keeping the bullish trend intact. An oversold RSI at this level may have prompted the bulls to buy the dip. 1.4125 from the latest sell-off is the immediate resistance. Its clearance could pave the way to the peak at 1.4250. On the downside, a breakout could trigger a sell-off towards 1.3900. NAS 100 retreats towards support The Nasdaq 100 pulls back ahead of the Federal Reserve’s June monetary policy meeting. The breakout above the previous high at 14070 is a confirmation of bullish continuation. The bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests an acceleration in the rally. Short-term retracement could meet buying interest from trend followers. 14170 is the immediate resistance and the psychological level of 14000 is the closest support. Further down, 13800 on the 20-day moving average would be a test for the bulls’ commitment. XAGUSD consolidates ahead of breakout Silver holds on to recent gains as the US dollar softens on lackluster retail numbers. Sentiment has recovered after the price rallied above the daily resistance at 28.30. The precious metal is grinding along the 30-day moving average in search of bids. 27.00 is a major support while the sideways action goes on. A bearish breakout could extend the correction towards 26.10. On the upside, a close above 28.00 may lead the price to challenge the upper band of the range at 28.70 for the third time.
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Intraday Market Analysis - NASDAQ Rises Above Major Resistance

Jing Ren Jing Ren 09.06.2021 09:42
NAS 100 climbs back towards peak Equity markets hold high as investors weigh stronger economic rebound against reflation concerns. The Nasdaq’s surge above the daily resistance at 13800, suggests that buyers have regained control of the direction. The bull market may resume when trend followers jump in again. 13960 is the resistance up ahead. Its breach could trigger an extended rally to the peak at 14070. The RSI has retreated into the neutral zone. 13700 has turned into a demand zone in case the index needs to consolidate its gains. EURGBP forms head and shoulder The euro rallying after the eurozone’s Q1 GDP showed a smaller contraction than expected. The major support at 0.8560 has held well against sellers’ multiple attempts to break out. The rally above 0.8605 could shift the balance in favor of the demand side. The formation of a head and shoulder may suggest a reversal in the coming hours. A break above the neckline which coincides with the resistance level of 0.8618, acts as a confirmation. 0.8645 would be the next hurdle, while 0.8590 acts as the immediate support. NZDUSD bounces off demand zone The New Zealand dollar is recovering on improved risk appetite across the board. The pair has found solid bids in the demand area (0.7120) on the daily chart. The subsequent breakout above 0.7230 indicates strong buying interest. 0.7140 is the key support to keep the bullish momentum going. The RSI has returned to the neutrality area, leaving room for another round of rally. On the upside, 0.7285, a critical resistance, would be the next target. Its breach could open up the highway towards 0.7400.
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Intraday Market Analysis – CAD Claws Back Losses - 16.09.2021

Jing Ren Jing Ren 16.09.2021 15:07
USDCAD capped by key resistance The Canadian dollar recovered after a rise in the August CPI. The previous attempt to break below 1.2500 has put the bulls under pressure. The rebound met offers at 1.2760 when the RSI was in an overbought situation. A bullish breakout would send the price to the peak around 1.2900. On the downside, 1.2600 is fresh support as buyers try to hold onto recent gains. Its breach could force them to abandon ship and trigger a sell-off to 1.2500, which would be the ultimate test of the bulls’ commitment. NZDUSD seeks support The New Zealand dollar inched higher after the Q2 GDP beat expectations. The bulls are looking to consolidate their gains after they cleared the daily resistance at 0.7100. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart indicates a bullish bias. However, the kiwi’s struggle to stay above 0.7100 is a sign of overextension in the short term. A controlled pullback is necessary to gather momentum after a rebound stalled at 0.7150. 0.7055 is the immediate support. Then the psychological level of 0.7000 is a crucial floor. USOIL rally gains momentum WTI crude shot higher after the EIA reported a large drop in US inventories. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that sentiment has turned positive. After a brief consolidation, price action has lifted the psychological level of 70.00, turning it into fresh support. As the upward momentum picks up speed, the oil price is heading to 74.10. The quick recovery would put the August sell-off behind and resume the 17-month long rally. A limited retracement may occur as the RSI inches into the overbought area.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Finds Bullish Impetus

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.09.2021 09:22
AUDUSD struggles for supportThe Australian dollar softens as lockdowns led to sharp job losses in August.The pair has struggled to hold on to gains after 0.7400. Traders are testing supports as the initial surge fades.A break below 0.7310 is a sign of weak buying interest. Then a breach below 0.7290 would lead to a test of 0.7245 which happens to be the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level from the daily chart.The resistance could cap a rebound at 0.7345 and rather be an opportunity to sell into strength.USDJPY bounces off daily supportThe US dollar surged after August’s upbeat retail sales took the market by surprise.The greenback was bid up by a buying-the-dips crowd on the daily support (109.10) when the RSI showed an oversold situation. The indicator’s bullish divergence pointed to a loss in the sell-off momentum.The break above the immediate resistance at 109.75 would prompt sellers to cover their positions. 110.15 is a key hurdle ahead and a bullish breakout may raise volatility and jump-start a new round of rally in the dollar.GBPUSD falls through trendlineThe US dollar’s rally across the board puts the sterling on the defense.The pair has been climbing along a rising trendline. Then it met stiff selling pressure in the daily supply zone near 1.3900. An initial fall below 1.3800 indicated a lack of conviction in the rebound after a repeatedly overbought RSI.The invalidation of the trendline would turn sentiment upside down with buyers cashing in.1.3730 is the next support as the firesale gains traction. On the upside, the bulls will need to lift 1.3840 before they could hope for a bounce.
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Intraday Market Analysis – USD Finds Bullish Impetus - 17.09.2021

Jing Ren Jing Ren 17.09.2021 09:31
AUDUSD struggles for support The Australian dollar softens as lockdowns led to sharp job losses in August. The pair has struggled to hold on to gains after 0.7400. Traders are testing supports as the initial surge fades. A break below 0.7310 is a sign of weak buying interest. Then a breach below 0.7290 would lead to a test of 0.7245 which happens to be the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level from the daily chart. The resistance could cap a rebound at 0.7345 and rather be an opportunity to sell into strength. USDJPY bounces off daily support The US dollar surged after August’s upbeat retail sales took the market by surprise. The greenback was bid up by a buying-the-dips crowd on the daily support (109.10) when the RSI showed an oversold situation. The indicator’s bullish divergence pointed to a loss in the sell-off momentum. The break above the immediate resistance at 109.75 would prompt sellers to cover their positions. 110.15 is a key hurdle ahead and a bullish breakout may raise volatility and jump-start a new round of rally in the dollar. GBPUSD falls through trendline The US dollar’s rally across the board puts the sterling on the defense. The pair has been climbing along a rising trendline. Then it met stiff selling pressure in the daily supply zone near 1.3900. An initial fall below 1.3800 indicated a lack of conviction in the rebound after a repeatedly overbought RSI. The invalidation of the trendline would turn sentiment upside down with buyers cashing in. 1.3730 is the next support as the firesale gains traction. On the upside, the bulls will need to lift 1.3840 before they could hope for a bounce.
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Shaking Off the Taper Blues

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.09.2021 15:50
S&P 500 recovered from the selling at open, but the picture is hardly one of universal strength. Tech rose while value erased half of the intraday decline, and high yield corporate bonds closed little changed. Risk-on seems as slowly returning unless you look at the retail sales surprise boosting the odds of Sep taper. Is it though really going to happen?I continue to think the Fed won‘t move too far, too fast, and that no real action would follow later this month. The job creation isn‘t at its strongest, and yesterday brought us a daily overreaction to positive data, which coupled with the preceding manufacturing ones reveals that the moderation in economic growth would be indeed shallow and temporary. This daily panic was nowhere better seen than in gold and silver – neither USD nor yields moved much.Unless the 4,440 level in S&P 500 is broken to the downside, stocks appear on the verge of yet another accumulation while commodities are best positioned to rise strongly (the Fed isn‘t mopping up excess liquidity, no). Crude oil hasn‘t spoken the last word, and looks ready to continue upwards following a little consolidation around $72. Copper‘s wild ride continues, and I‘m not looking for the red metal‘s 50-day moving average to start declining.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe overall shape is one of cautious accumulation, with the final questions apparently being whether the bears mount some more strength and attempt breaking below the 50-day moving average, which had held since mid Mar.Credit MarketsCredit markets though look like hanging in the danger zone still – return to daily strength in both HYG and quality debt could invalidate it. The overall message is unclear still.Gold, Silver and MinersInstead of the yesterday mentioned slow grind a little lower in a fake show of weakness, the yellow metal declined more profoundly. Miners and silver got spooked too, but the HUI:GOLD ratio hasn‘t broken below late Aug lows. The bears have a short-term technical advantage, and the $64K question is when the bulls step in.Crude OilOil stocks are supporting a little breather in oil now – the coming correction is likely going to be a buying opportunity.CopperCopper once again outperformed other commodities on the downside, but its corrections are likely to be bought.Bitcoin and EthereumBrief consolidation after the Bitcoin golden cross is here, and it could still be a bull flag even if a dip below the 200-day moving average is likelier.SummaryStealth accumulation or one more bear raid in stocks? Commodities seem unfazed, with only the precious metals (and copper) under pressure from the taper nearby fears. Even cryptos are retreating a little, but dollar‘s inability to stage a strong rebound tells us not to overestimate the Fed‘s willingness to act and throw the markets off kilter.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Will Quadruple Witch Send Stock Prices Lower?

Will Quadruple Witch Send Stock Prices Lower?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 17.09.2021 15:57
Stocks are going sideways since last Friday. Will they break higher and go back to the record high? Or the opposite? It still doesn’t look bullish.The broad stock market index lost 0.16% on Thursday as it fluctuated within a short-term consolidation following last week’s declines. On September 2 the index reached a new record high of 4,545.85. Since then it has lost over 110 points. This morning stocks are expected to open virtually flat again following a pre-session rebound from overnight lows.The index remains elevated after the recent run-up, so we may see more profound profit-taking action at some point.The nearest important support level of the broad stock market index is now at 4,435-4,450 and the next support level is at 4,400-4,410. On the other hand, the nearest important resistance level is now at 4,490-4,500, marked by the previous support level. The S&P 500 bounced off its over four-month-long upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):S&P 500’s Medium-Term Downward Reversal?The S&P 500 index broke below its medium-term upward trend line a few weeks ago. However, it is still relatively close to the record high. The nearest important support level is at 4,300, as we can see on the weekly chart:Dow Jones Trades Within a ConsolidationLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index broke below a potential two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern recently. It remained relatively weaker in August - September, as it didn’t reach a new record high like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The support level is now at around 34,500 and the near resistance level is at 35,000, marked by the recent support level, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple at Support LevelApple stock weighs around 6.3% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. Last week it reached a new record high of $157.26. And since then it has been declining. So it looked like a bull trap trading action. On Friday the stock accelerated its downtrend following an unfavorable federal judge's ruling. We can still see negative technical divergences between the price and indicators and a potential topping pattern. The stock is at an over two-month-long upward trend line – it’s a ‘make or break’ situation.ConclusionThe S&P 500 index continued to trade within a short-term consolidation yesterday. It’s been a week since the market reached the current price levels. So is this a flat correction within a downtrend or some bottoming pattern? Today we will most likely see another flat opening of the trading session – later in the day we may see some more volatility because of a quarterly derivatives expiration known as ‘quadruple witching Friday’.The market seems overbought, and we may see some more profound downward correction soon. Therefore, we think that the short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective.Here’s the breakdown:The market retraced more of its recent advances this week, as the S&P 500 index extended its decline below 4,450 level.Our speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the record high.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

S&P 500 Is Poised to Open Much Lower, Is This a Dip-buying Opportunity?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.09.2021 15:09
Stocks are breaking down! The S&P 500 index fell almost 1% on Friday and today it is poised to open 1.8% lower. Are we getting close to a local low?The broad stock market index broke below its short-term consolidation on Friday, as the S&P 500 index fell below its recent local lows along 4,450 price level. On September 2 the index reached a new record high of 4,545.85. Since then it has lost almost 120 points. This morning stocks are expected to open much lower following big declines in Asia and Europe after news about Evergrande Real Estate Group crisis in China.The nearest important support level of the broad stock market index is now at 4,300-4,350 and the next support level is at 4,200. On the other hand, the nearest important resistance level is now at 4,400-4,450, marked by the previous support level. The S&P 500 broke below its over four-month-long upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):Dow Jones Is Leading LowerLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index broke below a potential two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern recently. It remained relatively weaker in August - September, as it didn’t reach a new record high like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Today it may sell off to 34,000 level or lower. The next support level is at around 33,250-33,500 and the resistance level is at 34,500, marked by the recent support level, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple Breaks Below Upward Trend LineApple stock weighs around 6.3% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. In early September it reached a new record high of $157.26. And since then it has been declining. So it looked like a bull trap trading action. We can still see negative technical divergences between the price and indicators and a potential topping pattern. The stock is breaking below an over two-month-long upward trend line.September Last Year – S&P 500 Fell Almost 11%In 2020, the S&P 500 index reached a local high of 3,588.11 on September 2 and in just three weeks it fell 10.6% to local low of 3,209.45 on September 24. This year, September’s downward correction has started from the new record high of 4,545.85 on September 3, so there is a striking similarity between those two trading actions.ConclusionThe S&P 500 index broke below its short-term consolidation on Friday and today it will most likely accelerate the downtrend from the early September record high. However, later in the day we may see some short-term/ intraday bottoming trading action.The market seems overbought, and we may see some more profound downward correction soon. Therefore, we think that the short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective.Here’s the breakdown:The market is extending its downtrend today, as the S&P 500 index is likely to open much below 4,400 level.Our speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective.We are expecting a 5% or bigger correction from the record high.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Lights Flashing Red

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.09.2021 15:56
S&P 500 gave in to weakness, shifting the balance of power to the bears – this close at the 50-day moving average doesn‘t look to be as appealing as the prior ones, buy the dip isn‘t likely to work this time around. Yes, I‘m saying that after the prior week‘s long hesitation / consolidation above this key support looked as if it would work, but I became not conviced on Wednesday‘s strength lacking believable follow through on Thursday. And Friday‘s quad witching dispelled the remaining question marks – the long overdue 5%+ correction is on the doorstep. The earlier today opened short S&P 500 position is already solidly in the black.As I wrote on Friday:(…) Unless the 4,440 level in S&P 500 is broken to the downside, stocks appear on the verge of yet another accumulation while commodities are best positioned to rise strongly (the Fed isn‘t mopping up excess liquidity, no). Crude oil hasn‘t spoken the last word, and looks ready to continue upwards following a little consolidation around $72. Copper‘s wild ride continues, and I‘m not looking for the red metal‘s 50-day moving average to start declining.The stock accumulation hypothesis fans are in for a reality check, and the tandem of rising USD and yields is likely to translate into commodity headwinds (including for copper, and to a somewhat lesser degree for oil), and especially (initial) precious metals headwinds. Gold will for now remain the more resilient metal while silver is being taken for a ride as wild as copper – these are debt contagion fears, after all.As Q3 and Q4 GDP growth would be underwhelming in spite of recent strong retail and manufacturing data, that‘s going to affect the red metal. Though contained to China (for now but watch for USD-denominated bond yields of Chinese financial companies), the Evergrande situation won‘t help the commodity. The recession callers would be disappointed though, and the Fed will eventually taper (no, I‘m not looking at Sep). Still, commodities are likely to remain medium-term resilient.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookBears have the upper hand now, and the selloff wasn‘t isolated to tech or value. If you look at market breadth, the 500-strong index is internally weaker than prices show.Credit MarketsCredit markets declined across the board, and the HYG on Thursday got follow through that doesn‘t appear as over just yet.Gold, Silver and MinersGold held up better than silver but it might very well be just a daily breather – the bears have an advantage, and miners are leading lower.Crude OilOil stocks are supporting a little breather in oil now – the coming correction is likely going to be a buying opportunity (after the dust settles).CopperCopper wants to lead to the downside, but is more or less range bound. Unless commodities give in (that would require a genuine taper surprise), the red metal is likely to recover from any selloff, however steep, yet remain underperforming the broader commodity index.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are joining the selloff, and the golden cross is in danger of being invalidated fast. SummaryThe short-term outlook has shifted to bearish in stocks and cyclically sensitive commodities, and continues being challenged in precious metals. Not until the dollar stalls and yields stabilize can we look for price increases in the mentioned asset classes, affecting the crypto bull markets too.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

USD Bears Are Fresh Out of Honey Pots

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.09.2021 16:06
The declining medium-term outlook for gold, silver, and mining stocks will eat away at the honey pot of US dollar bears. Get ready for bee stings.With headline after headline attempting to knock the USD Index off of its lofty perch, I warned on Sep. 13 that dollar bears will likely run out of honey sooner rather than later.I wrote:While the USD Index was under fundamental fire in recent weeks, buyers eagerly hit the bid near the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level. And after positive sentiment lifted the greenback back above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern last week, the USDX’s medium-term outlook remains profoundly bullish.More importantly, though, after the USD Index rallied by 0.63% last week and further validated its bullish breakout, gold, silver, and mining stocks ran in the opposite direction. And with the divergence likely to accelerate over the medium term, the swarm should sting the precious metals during the autumn months.Please see below:Conversely, if the USD Index encounters resistance as it attempts to make a new 2021 high, gold, silver, and mining stocks could enjoy an immaterial corrective upswing. However, the optimism will likely be short lived, and it’s likely a matter of when, not if, the USD Index reaches the illustrious milestone.Equally bullish for the greenback, with the USD Index’s technical strength signaling an ominous ending for the Euro Index, I warned on Sep. 13 that the latter faced a tough road ahead.I wrote:While I have less conviction in the Euro Index’s next move relative to the USD Index, more likely than not, the Euro Index should break down once again and the bearish momentum should resume over the medium term.And after the Euro Index sunk below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern last week, lower lows remains the most likely outcome over the medium term.Please see below:Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around).Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration.Moreover, as the journey unfolds, the bullish signals from 2014 have resurfaced once again. For example, the USD Index’s RSI is hovering near a similar level (marked with red ellipses), and back then, a corrective downswing also occurred at the previous highs. More importantly, though, the short-term weakness was followed by a profound rally in 2014, and many technical and fundamental indicators signal that another reenactment could be forthcoming.Please see below:Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea.Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind still remains at the greenback’s back.Please see below:The bottom line?Once the momentum unfolds, ~94.5 is likely the USD Index’s first stop, ~98 is likely the next stop after that, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters.In conclusion, the USD Index’s sweet performance left sour tastes in the precious metals’ mouths. And with the former’s bullish breakout signaling an ominous future for the latter, gold, silver, and mining stocks will likely confront new lows over the medium term. However, once the autumn months fade and the winter weather approaches, buying opportunities may present themselves. And with unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy likely to underwrite new highs in the coming years, the long-term outlook for gold, silver, and mining stocks remains extremely bright.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Breaks Higher

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.09.2021 09:13
AUDUSD seeks supportThe Australian dollar struggles after cautious RBA meeting minutes.The pair had failed to bounce back from the demand zone around 0.7250 which lies on the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of the August rally. Those who bought the dip may reverse their positions, exacerbating the bearish mood in the process.0.7200 would be the next target. Its breach could send the Aussie to the daily support at 0.7105. On the upside, buyers will need to take out the resistance at 0.7315 before they could attract more followers.USDNOK breaks resistanceThe Norwegian krone weakens as oil prices make a retreat.The pair saw strong buying interest in the daily demand area near 8.5600. A breakout above 8.6500 has prompted sellers to cover their positions. A bullish MA cross indicates an acceleration in the rally.8.8700 is a key resistance ahead and its breach may confirm a reversal above the psychological level of 9.0000. An overbought RSI may cause a limited pullback. 8.6500 is the immediate support. Further down, 8.5860 is critical in keeping the rebound valid.NAS 100 tests key demand areaThe Nasdaq 100 sees heavy profit-taking ahead of the Fed meeting this week.The fall below the short-term floor at 15300 has triggered a fire sale on leveraged positions. Momentum traders have pushed the index towards the daily support around 14750.A bearish breakout could jeopardize the bull run in the medium term. Buyers would then wait cautiously for price action to stabilize before stepping in.An oversold RSI has caused a temporary rebound with 15280 as the closest resistance.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

September 20-25 Trade Ideas

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 21.09.2021 11:55
US stock market corrects, gold recovers and the crypto market drops hard! Best trade opportunities during this week in the article! Let’s check the charts and set some goals!NASDAQ (US100)The US100 index plunges as the US dollar strengthens. The US stock market will face a big correction at the end of September!Daily chartNASDAQ faces the correction everybody has been waiting several months. US stock index gained by more than 120% since March 2020 drop. Targets are 14600 (2,7%) and 14000 (7,1%).GOLD (XAU/USD)Gold has always been the best safe-haven asset. This market turbulence period will not be an exception. XAU/USD already shows strength against the whole market, and we suppose this trend to continue. Targets are $1777 and $1783.Bitcoin (BTC/USD)Bitcoin price demonstrates that the community does not recognize crypto as a safe haven. Bitcoin plunges by 8% on Monday. Despite this, we expect the pullback to happen during this week if Bitcoin steaks above $44 200 by the end of Monday's trading session. Target is $47 000. If it breaks, $42 850 support level and holds below it, we will see a drop with the target at $40 500.Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Time to Buy the Dip?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.09.2021 16:06
S&P 500 dived, yet the slide was bought before the closing bell. Does the long lower knot mean the selling is over? It‘s too early to say as following similar momentuous days, it takes 1-3 days for the dust to clear usually. The selling pressure might not be over, and the question is how far will it reach on a fresh attempt – 4,350s look attainable.There, the fate of this correction would be decided, but we‘re on the verge of the historically more volatile part of Sep, and tomorrow‘s FOMC would up the ante. The dollar though was unable to rally, to keep intraday gains – on one hand a certain show of strength given the retreat in Treasury yields, on the other hand, proof of stiff headwinds as the world reserve currency isn‘t in a bull market. I‘m leaning towards the latter explanation.As stocks rebound in what may still turn out to be a dead cat bounce, commodities got clobbered too – just as cryptos did. Gold attracted safe haven demand as money flew to Treasuries as well. Miners with silver holding ground, are a good sign for the sector – the overwhelmingly negative sentiment looks getting long in the tooth.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookHalf full body, half lower knot – such are the trickiest of candles. The fate of the downswing is being decided, and the bears need to break below 4,350s to regain initiative. I wouldn‘t be surprised to see stocks diverge from credit markets as buy the dip mentality hasn‘t spoken its last word.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds haven‘t made a strong enough comeback – their behavior through Wednesday, is of key importance now.Gold, Silver and MinersGold has a chance to prove its local bottom is in, even if miners aren‘t yet confirming. Should the rebound in stocks hold, silver alongside commodities stands to benefit the most.Crude OilOil stocks and oil dived in sympathy, but black gold looks quite resilient to wild price swings. The bounce appears to have paused for the day.CopperCopper doesn‘t look as stabilized as oil does at the moment – prices haven‘t yet meaningfully decelerated, and the buying power isn‘t convincing.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are joining the selloff, and the golden cross is in danger of being invalidated fast. Breaking below the early Aug lows would mean a fresh downleg is here. Let‘s see first the degree of liquidity returning to cryptos.SummaryIs the selling over, is it not? Still inconclusive, but time for the bears is running short. The selling doesn‘t appear to be over, but I‘m not calling for a break of yesterday‘s lows before tomorrow is over. The degree of commodities outperformance today will be insightful as to the overall rebound strength.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Trading Energy ETFs in Foreign Currencies: What to Focus On

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.09.2021 17:37
Trading energy ETFs outside of US exchanges can be tricky, as it often means lower liquidity and some latency, but is it worth trying? Definitely!Let’s do a comparative study between the WTI Crude Oil (CL) and an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) tracking this energy commodity as the underlying asset.PreludeIn the previous two-part series (see Part I & Part II), we presented different ways to trade energies such as stocks, ETFs, CFDs and futures. We saw that picking the right instrument or vehicle depended on businesses, regions, risk profiles, psychology, etc. So, today, as an example, we will compare the well-known WTI Crude Oil (CL) futures contract (quoted in US dollars) with a 2:1 (2x) leveraged ETF traded in Toronto, in Canadian dollars.Crude Oil (CL) Futures Vs. Horizons BetaPro Crude Oil Leveraged Daily Bull ETFHere is a comparison table between the two products:CME/NYMEX WTI Crude Oil FuturesCodes: CL (Standard), MCL (Micro)Currency: USDSpecs: CME (standard), CME (micro)Horizons Crude Oil 2x Daily Bull ETFCode: HOUCurrency: CADSpecifications: Horizons ETFsWTI Crude Oil Futures:CL (Exchange: CME Group)Higher liquidityNo management feesHigher leverage24-hour accessCross-marginingTighter correlation to physical marketOther Crude Oil ETFs (quoted in USD):USO/UCO/DBO/USL/SCO/OILK/OILLower liquidityLow management feeLower leverage (2:1) and less riskEasy access to the marketLess maintenance for position rollingRead more: CME Group – ETF DatabaseBrent Crude Oil Futures:B (Exchange: ICE)Brent Crude Oil ETF:BNO (ETF Database)And here are the latest charts:CL:HOU:As an example, we take our last oil trading alert about CL Futures that we somehow “translate” into HOU (ETF). It is noticeable that the prices on the HOU ETF are completely different from the Futures, even though the correlation coefficient is 1 since they are perfectly correlated. Therefore, if both assets move similarly together (as the ETF by definition tracks the WTI Crude Oil futures), it is quite simple to draw the same levels that we give for CL to HOU (or any other ETF trackers).However, some pricing discrepancies may appear on the ETF chart sometimes. Those are due to a delay in tracking the underlying asset, notably due to the fact that the ETF tracker has to catch-up with the Futures prices at the open (because there is no complete market close for the futures the latter benefits from extended market hours). Some other slight discrepancies in the ETF pricing are also present due to the fact that the fund offering the product automatically processes to contract-rolling on the underlying futures. In short, we could equate the ETF to a hypothetical lagging (delayed) indicator of the WTI CL futures.Volume Profile AccuracyBy comparing the volume profiles respectively for both products, we can also notice some differences. For example, the Volume Point of Control (VPOC) is not always located at the same place, since there are much fewer trade prices (and obviously much less traded volume) for ETFs than Futures. So, the accuracy of Volume Areas and their respective VPOCs (red horizontal lines) could be discussed. However, would that make them less reliable levels for ETFs? Not sure.Actually, it may sometimes give another view of the market by removing some noise - therefore, they could potentially be used to confirm levels in a clearer way while ignoring/excluding the Asian-Pacific trading session as well as the first half (morning and early afternoon) of the European one, since the HOU prices will be based solely on the Canadian trading session that overlaps most of the Western region, including the U.S. trading session.Dichotomy MethodA good way to spot the same levels on such a chart (of a product quoted in a different price scale or in another currency) could be to use some sort of “dichotomy” method: drawing the supports and resistance levels from extremities to the center to mark the swing lows/highs and then recentre the scope by taking some mid-point levels. For example, by drawing each support and resistance levels in the same manner as we provide them on futures charts to “translate” them into the desired correlated instrument such as an ETF. This method could help spot the equivalent entry/exit levels, stop loss, targets, etc.An alternative would consist of using the same indicators on both charts to show similar data at similar levels, like, for example, Fibonacci levels, Ichimoku Kinko Hyo, Pivot Points, etc.And finally, setting price alerts on the underlying chart in order to enter the trade through a market order in the ETF is possible as well, however it’s not very convenient…In conclusion, we explored in this article the different ways to trade our Oil and Gas Trading Alerts using a broader range of products: instruments with more or less leverage, in your local currency, different time zones and other price scales. However, the abovementioned methods are practicable as long as the main condition is respected: it requires at least a very high correlation between the main instrument(s) for which we provide alerts and your favourite product(s).Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Rally Slows Down

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.09.2021 08:53
EURUSD tests demand areaThe US dollar treads water ahead of the Fed meeting. After a limited rebound, the euro’s fall below 1.1750 has put the bulls on the defensive.The pair is testing the demand zone around 1.1700 with the lower boundary being the critical daily support at 1.1660. A bullish RSI divergence suggests that the sell-off might be losing steam.We can expect buying interest in this congestion area as the indicator climbs back into the neutrality area. 1.1790 is a key hurdle to clear before a meaningful bounce would happen.GER 40 rebounds from daily supportThe Dax 40 whipsaws due to the risk of contagion from Chinese real estate developer Evergrande defaulting.The tentative break of the daily support at 15050 has put leveraged buyers under stress. A combination of short-term profit-taking and buying-the-dips mentality has triggered a sharp rebound.15520 is the first resistance ahead, then the bulls will need to lift 15800 to make a turnaround. In the meantime, an overbought RSI may limit the V-shaped rally. 15020 is fresh support in case of a relapse.SPX 500 attempts reboundThe S&P 500 surges back as investors bet on the Fed’s patience for tapering.The index has found support above the psychological level of 4300. The close above the immediate resistance at 4405 may prompt sellers to cover, though the plunge below the daily support at 4360 has dented the bullish sentiment.As a deeply oversold RSI makes its way back up, patient buyers may wait for price action to stabilize first before staking in. 4310 is fresh support. On the upside, selling interests may gather around 4475.
Rescued by the Fed Again?

Rescued by the Fed Again?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.09.2021 15:55
S&P 500 recovered only to dive again – carving out a base? The bulls are attempting to, but neither value, nor tech, nor the credit markets are convincing. The dust is settling though, and the bears are equally in need of a fresh reason to sell – the intraday tug of war is entirely reasonable as Evergrande failed to spook the markets more. Just wait for what happens when the markets come face to face with another unacknowledged event of this magnitude. In our era, it‘s about the contagion effect, manic-depressive market psychology, and uncertainty of the impact. It‘s not only about China real estate cooling down, spilling over to Hong Kong. Wtll the House approval on the bill to suspend fresh borrowing obstacles and avoid a partial shutdown do? What would the Senate say – and then everyone as the tax tsunami keeps approaching? Global liquidity isn‘t rising after all either.Fed taper is a side show, but still one that too many are glued to. The dollar would suffer if it doesn‘t materialize later today – and it won‘t be announced, which would make precious metals rejoice.Back to stocks, these are also likely to welcome no taper. The Fed has been already tightening (which means these days it was decreasing the pace of expansion) through the back door, bringing down inflation expectations in spite of the real world input costs, shipping rates and frail supply chains challenges on top of the job market issues. Transitory inflation is still the mainstream thesis – the shift to real assets will become more accentuated once the realization of a higher and entrenched inflation arrives. And it‘s not about real estate and owners‘ equivalent rent either.Commodities did welcome yesterday‘s reprieve, and Treasury yields are unlikely to clobber them the way perceived systemic risks could (did). In a decelerating real economy faced with numerous deflationary pressures, the slow and steady rising yields phase, is deferred for now. And when these do rise again, it may or may not be about returning economic growth, but forced by the systemic realities. Remember that rates are very low by historic comparisons, and the resilence to absorb a modest rise (think 10-year more than a bit above 2%) won‘t be there without consequences.Cashing in on the S&P 500 short profits yesterday, was reasonable from the total portfolio risk point of view (did I say a fresh high was reached?).Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookDaily hesitation followed by more downside, but volume is decreasing – stocks look readying an upswing attempt.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds merely kept opening gains – there is still hesitation, and the window of opportunity for the bulls is narrow.Gold, Silver and MinersPositive price action of gold, joined by silver – the waiting miners reveal that a little consolidation is likely before the Fed speaks.Crude OilOil stocks show that the appetite for oil might be returning, and that‘s confirmed by the volume examination. Commodities such as oil and copper stand to benefit from calming the Evergrande and central bank jitters.CopperCopper gave up opening losses only to rebound before the closing bell. Volume could have been larger, but the beaten down red metal can keep rebounding at its own pace – the smaller volume is an indication it won‘t be a one-way path.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum haven‘t really recovered from the selloff, and the bears are holding the upper hand now.SummaryMy yesterday‘s question „Is the selling over, is it not?“ has the same answer „Still inconclusive, but time for the bears is running short.“ It looks like the markets are positioning for a return to risk-on based on today‘s FOMC, which is what quite a few would like to take as an opportunity to sell into strength. The point is the Fed won‘t surprise today, and the price gyrations are likely to continue, albeit at a lesser magnitude.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

How Do You Get Inflation Under Control?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.09.2021 16:20
Raise the dollar, drop the metals. Under most possible scenarios, things don’t look good for gold, silver, and mining stocks – for the medium-term.With the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields the main fundamental drivers of the PMs’ performance, some confusion has arisen due to their parallel and divergent moves. For example, sometimes the USD Index rises while U.S. Treasury yields fall, or vice-versa, and sometimes the pair move higher/lower in unison. However, it’s important to remember that different economic environments have different impacts on the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields.To explain, the USD Index benefits from both the safe-haven bid (stock market volatility) and economic outperformance relative to its FX peers. Conversely, U.S. Treasury yields only benefit from the latter. Thus, when economic risks intensify (like what we witnessed with Evergrande on Sep. 20), the USD Index often rallies while U.S. Treasury yields often fall. Thus, the economic climate is often the fundamental determinant of the pairs’ future paths.For context, I wrote on Apr.16:The PMs suffer during three of four possible scenarios:When the bond market and the stock market price in risk, it’s bearish for the PMsWhen the bond market and the stock market don’t price in risk, it’s bearish for the PMsWhen the bond market doesn’t price in risk, but the stock market does, it’s bearish for the PMsWhen the bond market prices in risk and the stock market doesn’t, it’s bullish for the PMsRegarding scenario #1, when the bond market and the stock market price in risk (economic stress), the USD Index often rallies and its strong negative correlation with the PMs upends their performance. Regarding scenario #2, when the bond market and the stock market don’t price in risk, U.S. economic strength supports a stronger U.S. dollar and rising U.S, Treasury yields reduce the fundamental attractiveness of gold. For context, the PMs are non-yielding assets, and when interest rates rise, bonds become more attractive relative to gold (for some investors). Regarding scenario #3, when the stock market suffers and U.S. Treasury yields are indifferent, the usual uptick in the USD Index is a bearish development for the PMs (for the same reasons outlined in scenario #1). Regarding scenario #4, when the bond market prices in risk (lower yields) and the stock market doesn’t, inflation-adjusted (real) interest rates often decline, and risk-on sentiment can hurt the USD Index. As a result, the cocktail often uplifts the PMs due to lower real interest rates and a weaker U.S. dollar.The bottom line? The USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields can move in the same direction or forge different paths. However, while a stock market crash is likely the most bearish fundamental outcome that could confront the PMs, scenario #2 is next in line. While it may (or may not) seem counterintuitive, a strong U.S. economy is bearish for the PMs. When U.S. economic strength provides a fundamental thesis for both the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields to rise (along with real interest rates), the double-edged sword often leaves gold and silver with deep lacerations.In the meantime, though, with investors eagerly awaiting the Fed’s monetary policy decision today, QE is already dying a slow death. Case in point: not only has the USD Index recaptured 93 and surged above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern, but the greenback’s fundamentals remain robust. With 78 counterparties draining more than $1.240 trillion out of the U.S. financial system on Sep. 21, the Fed’s daily reverse repurchase agreements hit another all-time high.Please see below:Source: New York FedTo explain, a reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the Fed in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the Fed at an alarming rate. And while I’ve been warning for months that the activity is the fundamental equivalent of a taper – due to the lower supply of U.S. dollars (which is bullish for the USD Index) – the psychological effect is not the same. However, as we await a formal taper announcement from the Fed, the U.S. dollar’s fundamental foundation remains quite strong.Furthermore, with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) publishing a rather cryptic article on Sep. 10 titled “Fed Officials Prepare for November Reduction in Bond Buying,” messaging from the central bank’s unofficial mouthpiece implies that something is brewing. And while the Delta variant and Evergrande provide the Fed with an excuse to elongate its taper timeline, surging inflation has the Fed increasingly handcuffed.As a result, Goldman Sachs Chief U.S. Economist David Mericle expects the Fed to provide “advance notice” today and set the stage for an official taper announcement in November. He wrote:“While the start date now appears set, the pace of tapering is an open question. Our standing forecast is that the FOMC will taper at a pace of $15bn per meeting, split between $10bn in UST and $5bn in MBS, ending in September 2022. But a number of FOMC participants have called instead for a faster pace that would end by mid-2022, and we now see $15bn per meeting vs. $15bn per month as a close call.”On top of that, with stagflation bubbling beneath the surface, another hawkish shift could materialize.To explain, I wrote on Jun. 17:On Apr. 30, I warned that Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), was materially behind the inflation curve.I wrote:With Powell changing his tune from not seeing any “unwelcome” inflation on Jan. 14 to “we are likely to see upward pressure on prices, but [it] will be temporary” on Apr. 28, can you guess where this story is headed next?And with the Fed Chair revealing on Jun. 16 what many of us already knew, he conceded:Source: CNBCMoreover, while Powell added that “our expectation is these high inflation readings now will abate,” he also conceded that “you can think of this meeting that we had as the ‘talking about talking about’ [tapering] meeting, if you’d like.”However, because actions speak louder than words, notice the monumental shift below?Source: U.S. FedTo explain, if you analyze the red box, you can see that the Fed increased its 2021 Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index projection from a 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) rise to a 3.4% YoY rise. But even more revealing, the original projection was made only three months ago. Thus, the about face screams of inflationary anxiety.What’s more, I highlighted on Aug. 5 that the hawkish upward revision increased investors’ fears of a faster rate-hike cycle and contributed to the rise in the USD Index and the fall in the GDXJ ETF (our short position).Please see below:And why is all of this so important? Well, with Mericle expecting the Fed to increase its 2021 PCE Index projection from 3.4% to 4.3% today (the red box below), if the Fed’s message shifts from we’re adamant that inflation is “transitory” to “suddenly, we’re not so sure,” a re-enactment of the June FOMC meeting could uplift the USD Index and upend the PMs once again. For context, the FOMC’s July meeting did not include a summary of its economic projections and today’s ‘dot plot’ will provide the most important clues.Please see below:Finally, with CNBC proclaiming on Sep. 21 that the Fed is “widely expected to indicate it is getting ready to announce it will start paring back its $120 billion in monthly purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities,” even the financial media expects some form of “advance notice.”Source: CNBCThe bottom line? While the Delta variant and Evergrande have provided the Fed with dovish cover, neither addresses the underlying problem. With inflation surging and the Fed’s 2% annual target looking more and more like wishful thinking, reducing its bond-buying program, increasing the value of the U.S. dollar, and decreasing commodity prices is the only way to get inflation under control. In absence, the Producer Price Index (PPI) will likely continue its upward momentum and the cost-push inflationary spiral will likely continue as well.In conclusion, the gold miners underperformed gold once again on Sep. 21 and the relative weakness is profoundly bearish. Moreover, while the USD Index was roughly flat, Treasury yields rallied across the curve. And while Powell will do his best to thread the dovish needle today, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place: if he talks down the U.S. dollar (like he normally does), commodity prices will likely rise, and inflation will likely remain elevated. If he acknowledges reality and prioritizes controlling inflation, the U.S. dollar will likely surge, and the general stock market should suffer. As a result, with the conundrum poised to come to a head over the next few months (maybe even today), the PMs are caught in the crossfire and lower lows will likely materialize over the medium term.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Regains Bullish Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.09.2021 08:51
USDJPY bounces off triple bottomThe US dollar recovered after the Fed signaled an interest rate hike next year.The fall below 109.60 had made buyers cautious in an extended consolidation with the market marred by indecision as the pair swung between 109.10 and 110.40. A triple bottom at 109.10 is a sign of strong buying interest when the RSI showed an oversold situation.The bulls need to push above the psychological level of 110.00 to trigger a rally. Otherwise, a break below 109.10 may force them to bail out and send the pair to 108.70.XAUUSD meets tough resistanceGold tumbles as the US dollar’s rally gains traction. The precious metal has met solid bids in the demand zone around 1742.A bullish RSI divergence has indicated that selling pressure may have waned. A close above the immediate resistance at 1767 has attracted some buying interests, though an overbought RSI has checked the upward impetus.1796 from the previous consolidation remains a key hurdle. Its breach would open the door to the daily resistance at 1830. On the downside 1760 is fresh support.USOIL to test major resistanceWTI crude holds onto its gains after a larger-than-expected decrease in US inventories. The price had met stiff selling pressure at 73.00 where the August sell-off started.A bullish RSI divergence in the demand zone of 69.50 indicates a loss of momentum in the retracement. A rebound above 71.30 is a confirmation that buyers are still in the game and a bullish MA cross may suggest an acceleration in the rally.A break above 73.00 would lead to the next daily resistance at 74.00. 70.60 is the first support in case of a pullback.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Regains Bullish Momentum - 23.09.2021

Jing Ren Jing Ren 23.09.2021 08:55
USDJPY bounces off triple bottom The US dollar recovered after the Fed signaled an interest rate hike next year. The fall below 109.60 had made buyers cautious in an extended consolidation with the market marred by indecision as the pair swung between 109.10 and 110.40. A triple bottom at 109.10 is a sign of strong buying interest when the RSI showed an oversold situation. The bulls need to push above the psychological level of 110.00 to trigger a rally. Otherwise, a break below 109.10 may force them to bail out and send the pair to 108.70. XAUUSD meets tough resistance Gold tumbles as the US dollar’s rally gains traction. The precious metal has met solid bids in the demand zone around 1742. A bullish RSI divergence has indicated that selling pressure may have waned. A close above the immediate resistance at 1767 has attracted some buying interests, though an overbought RSI has checked the upward impetus. 1796 from the previous consolidation remains a key hurdle. Its breach would open the door to the daily resistance at 1830. On the downside 1760 is fresh support. USOIL to test major resistance WTI crude holds onto its gains after a larger-than-expected decrease in US inventories. The price had met stiff selling pressure at 73.00 where the August sell-off started. A bullish RSI divergence in the demand zone of 69.50 indicates a loss of momentum in the retracement. A rebound above 71.30 is a confirmation that buyers are still in the game and a bullish MA cross may suggest an acceleration in the rally. A break above 73.00 would lead to the next daily resistance at 74.00. 70.60 is the first support in case of a pullback.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

So Much for Hawkish Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.09.2021 15:54
So long – better said (as if it did apply in the first place). If June FOMC showed us anything, it was the power of (cheap) talk. We‘ve gone a long way since inflation‘s (getting out of hand) existence was acknowledged – yesterday, we were treated to very aggressive $10-15bn a month taper plans, cushioned with the „may be appropriate“ and Nov time designations. Coupled with the few and far away rate hikes on the dot plot, something fishy appears going on.While the real economy recovery progress has been acknowledged (how does that tie in with GDP downgrades and other macroeconomic realities I raised in yesterday‘s extensive analysis?), I think that the bar is being set a bit too high. Almost as if to give a (valid) reason for why not to taper right next. And the theater of taper on-off could go on, otherwise called jawboning, as markets reaction to this fragile phase of the economic recovery (marked by increasing deflationary undercurrents as shown by declining Treasury yields and contagion risks – make no mistake, Evergrande is the tip of the iceberg, real estate has been heating up over the last 1+ year around the world, and in the U.S. we have BlackRock mopping up residential real estate supply, underpinning high real estate prices especially when measured against income). Don‘t forget the weak non-farm payrolls either when it comes to the list of excuses to choose from.At the same time, we have not been entertained by the debt ceiling drama nearly enough yet. Right, the Fed is projecting the aura of independence, which made a Sep decision all the more unlikely. And who says we‘re short of drama these days?So, S&P 500 looks seeing through the Fed fog, but don‘t forget about the historical tendency to fade the first day (FOMC day) move during the next 1-2 days. So, I‘m looking for a certain paring off of yesterday‘s upswing in both paper and real assets. And that includes backing and filling in both commodities, precious metals and cryptos.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe bulls are on the move, running into headwinds though – more intraday hesitation (inan overall up day with a notable upper knot) is expected.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds again merely kept opening gains – there is still hesitation, but the bullish spirits are ever so slowly returning.Gold, Silver and MinersGold was still stunned by the taper plans presented, and miners are bidding their time. We haven‘t turned the corner yet.Crude OilOil stocks confirmed the oil upswing, and black gold‘s chart still maintains bullish posture.CopperCopper didn‘t really hesitate – the red metal produced another wild upswing, but the volume and base is lacking, and might take a moment to establish itself.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum rebounded, but the volume could have been larger – what was amiss there, could be compensated by prices hanging above at least the midpoint of yesterday‘s white candle.SummaryThe balance of power is shifting to the bulls, who are about to face a retracement attempt of yesterday‘s upswing, however. The degree of its mildness would hint at what to expect next – crucially, the dollar is getting the Fed (not a hawk) message, which would serve to cushion any hiccups taking markets lower over the nearest days.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

So Much for Hawkish Fed - 23.09.2021

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.09.2021 15:55
So long – better said (as if it did apply in the first place). If June FOMC showed us anything, it was the power of (cheap) talk. We‘ve gone a long way since inflation‘s (getting out of hand) existence was acknowledged – yesterday, we were treated to very aggressive $10-15bn a month taper plans, cushioned with the „may be appropriate“ and Nov time designations. Coupled with the few and far away rate hikes on the dot plot, something fishy appears going on.While the real economy recovery progress has been acknowledged (how does that tie in with GDP downgrades and other macroeconomic realities I raised in yesterday‘s extensive analysis?), I think that the bar is being set a bit too high. Almost as if to give a (valid) reason for why not to taper right next. And the theater of taper on-off could go on, otherwise called jawboning, as markets reaction to this fragile phase of the economic recovery (marked by increasing deflationary undercurrents as shown by declining Treasury yields and contagion risks – make no mistake, Evergrande is the tip of the iceberg, real estate has been heating up over the last 1+ year around the world, and in the U.S. we have BlackRock mopping up residential real estate supply, underpinning high real estate prices especially when measured against income). Don‘t forget the weak non-farm payrolls either when it comes to the list of excuses to choose from.At the same time, we have not been entertained by the debt ceiling drama nearly enough yet. Right, the Fed is projecting the aura of independence, which made a Sep decision all the more unlikely. And who says we‘re short of drama these days?So, S&P 500 looks seeing through the Fed fog, but don‘t forget about the historical tendency to fade the first day (FOMC day) move during the next 1-2 days. So, I‘m looking for a certain paring off of yesterday‘s upswing in both paper and real assets. And that includes backing and filling in both commodities, precious metals and cryptos.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe bulls are on the move, running into headwinds though – more intraday hesitation (inan overall up day with a notable upper knot) is expected.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds again merely kept opening gains – there is still hesitation, but the bullish spirits are ever so slowly returning.Gold, Silver and MinersGold was still stunned by the taper plans presented, and miners are bidding their time. We haven‘t turned the corner yet.Crude OilOil stocks confirmed the oil upswing, and black gold‘s chart still maintains bullish posture.CopperCopper didn‘t really hesitate – the red metal produced another wild upswing, but the volume and base is lacking, and might take a moment to establish itself.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum rebounded, but the volume could have been larger – what was amiss there, could be compensated by prices hanging above at least the midpoint of yesterday‘s white candle.SummaryThe balance of power is shifting to the bulls, who are about to face a retracement attempt of yesterday‘s upswing, however. The degree of its mildness would hint at what to expect next – crucially, the dollar is getting the Fed (not a hawk) message, which would serve to cushion any hiccups taking markets lower over the nearest days.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Attempts Reversal

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.09.2021 08:49
GBPUSD bounces off triple bottomThe pound surged after the Bank of England raised its inflation forecast.The pair has met strong buying interest at the triple bottom (1.3600) on the daily chart. A bullish RSI divergence was an indication that the sellers have taken their feet off the pedal.A subsequent rally above 1.3690 would prompt more bears to cover. An overbought RSI may temporarily limit the initial impulse.Patient buyers would be waiting for a pullback before jumping in. A rebound above 1.3800 would challenge the September high at 1.3900.USDCHF tests Fibonacci levelThe Swiss franc softened after the Swiss National Bank pledged to keep its policy loose.The US dollar saw an acceleration in its momentum after it cleared the daily resistance at 0.9260. The RSI’s double top has triggered a pullback to let the bulls catch their breath.The pair has found bids at the 61.8% (0.9220) Fibonacci retracement level. A break above 0.9280 would resume the rally towards April’s peak at 0.9460.A bearish breakout could send the greenback to 0.9160, a key floor to keep the uptrend afloat.USDCAD tests key supportThe Canadian dollar halts its advance as July’s retail sales unexpectedly show a contraction.The pair has met stiff selling pressure near the August high (1.2950). The pullback is testing the key support at 1.2635. An oversold RSI may attract some bids. Then the bulls need to lift 1.2795 for continuation.Failing that, a bearish breakout would dent the optimism and those who previously bought in this demand area would have to get out. Then 1.2500, a is major support on the daily chart, would be the second line of defense.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Attempts Reversal - 24.09.2021

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 24.09.2021 08:49
GBPUSD bounces off triple bottomThe pound surged after the Bank of England raised its inflation forecast.The pair has met strong buying interest at the triple bottom (1.3600) on the daily chart. A bullish RSI divergence was an indication that the sellers have taken their feet off the pedal.A subsequent rally above 1.3690 would prompt more bears to cover. An overbought RSI may temporarily limit the initial impulse.Patient buyers would be waiting for a pullback before jumping in. A rebound above 1.3800 would challenge the September high at 1.3900.USDCHF tests Fibonacci levelThe Swiss franc softened after the Swiss National Bank pledged to keep its policy loose.The US dollar saw an acceleration in its momentum after it cleared the daily resistance at 0.9260. The RSI’s double top has triggered a pullback to let the bulls catch their breath.The pair has found bids at the 61.8% (0.9220) Fibonacci retracement level. A break above 0.9280 would resume the rally towards April’s peak at 0.9460.A bearish breakout could send the greenback to 0.9160, a key floor to keep the uptrend afloat.USDCAD tests key supportThe Canadian dollar halts its advance as July’s retail sales unexpectedly show a contraction.The pair has met stiff selling pressure near the August high (1.2950). The pullback is testing the key support at 1.2635. An oversold RSI may attract some bids. Then the bulls need to lift 1.2795 for continuation.Failing that, a bearish breakout would dent the optimism and those who previously bought in this demand area would have to get out. Then 1.2500, a is major support on the daily chart, would be the second line of defense.
Deflationary Winds Howling

Deflationary Winds Howling

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.09.2021 15:54
Without looking back, S&P 500 rallied in what feels as a short squeeze in ongoing risk-off environment. Daily rise in yields was not only unable to propel the dollar, but resulted in a much higher upswing in tech than value stocks – and that‘s a little fishy, especially when the long upper knot in VTV is considered.The post-Fed relief simply took the bears for a little ride, and the Evergrande yuan bond repayment calmed the nerves. As if though the real estate sector was universally healthy – I think copper prices and the BHP stock price tell a different story. Things will still get interested in spite of PBOC moving in. The current macroeconomic environment will be very hard (economically and politically) to tighten into – have you noticed that the Turkish central bank unexpectedly cut rates?As I have written yesterday:(…) If June FOMC showed us anything, it was the power of (cheap) talk. We‘ve gone a long way since inflation‘s (getting out of hand) existence was acknowledged – yesterday, we were treated to very aggressive $10-15bn a month taper plans, cushioned with the „may be appropriate“ and Nov time designations. Coupled with the few and far away rate hikes on the dot plot, something fishy appears going on.While the real economy recovery progress has been acknowledged (how does that tie in with GDP downgrades and other macroeconomic realities I raised in yesterday‘s extensive analysis?), I think that the bar is being set a bit too high. Almost as if to give a (valid) reason for why not to taper right next. And the theater of taper on-off could go on, otherwise called jawboning, as markets reaction to this fragile phase of the economic recovery (marked by increasing deflationary undercurrents as shown by declining Treasury yields and contagion risks – make no mistake, Evergrande is the tip of the iceberg, real estate has been heating up over the last 1+ year around the world, and in the U.S. we have BlackRock mopping up residential real estate supply, underpinning high real estate prices especially when measured against income). Don‘t forget the weak non-farm payrolls either when it comes to the list of excuses to choose from.At the same time, we have not been entertained by the debt ceiling drama nearly enough yet. Right, the Fed is projecting the aura of independence, which made a Sep decision all the more unlikely. And who says we‘re short of drama these days?Given the S&P 500 sectoral performance and not exactly stellar market breadth, this is the time to be cautious, if you‘re a bull. Precious metals haven‘t yet caught the safe haven bid, but aren‘t decisively declining either. Dialing back the risk in stocks makes select commodities more vulnerable – copper more so than oil or natural gas, and cryptos are a chapter in its own right.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe bulls closed yesterday on a strong note, but the upswing was arguably a bit too steep on a very short-term basis.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds giving up their intraday gains coupled with rising yields in quality debt instruments, that‘s not entirely a picture of strength in the credit markets.Gold, Silver and MinersGold declined on the no Fed taper celebrations, and the sectoral weakness is concentrated in the miners. When it comes to silver, the white metal would be influenced by the copper woes – look for good news on the red metal front before expecting the same for silver, that‘s the short-term assessment.Crude OilOil stocks performance lends credibility to the oil upswing, and black gold‘s chart is still bullish – energies are likely to do well even if any CRB hiccups occur.CopperCopper hesitation is back, and both the bulls and bears are waiting as shown by the low volume. The bears have the advantage here.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are suffering on renewed China headlines about cracking on crypto trading. The bears haven‘t gained full traction, though.SummaryYesterday‘s risk-on turn is likely to get questioned, with one day delay – revealing that it‘s not about the Fed setting a tad unrealistic taper pace and conditions. With no fresh stimulus coming, financial assets are facing a fiscal cliff in their own right, that‘s the big picture conclusion, which should temper the bullish appetite across many an asset class.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Piercing the Sky: Where Will We See the Black Gold by Xmas?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.09.2021 15:57
Knock, knock? Is it already the sky, or just a ceiling? Either way, oil has risen substantially — how high can it go?Fundamental UpdatesThe crude closed on highs on Thursday thanks to optimism about demand as well as the remaining tight supply. In fact, this increase is driven by a general market sentiment that is relatively favorable to the macroeconomic situation and the conviction that supply should remain tight until the end of 2021.The WTI crude oil futures rose 1.5% - more than $1 compared to Wednesday's close. Like Wall Street, the oil market has also been sensitive to more and more reassuring tone of messages from China about the situation of real estate developer Evergrande, which is on the verge of default. In addition, the acceleration of air travel caused by Washington lifting restrictions on entry into the United States could also boost demand for kerosene. And finally, while natural gas prices are hanging from the ceiling, we could see a shift in demand from gas to oil happening, which would obviously boost the barrel rally in Q4!Geopolitical SceneThursday evening, Lebanese Hezbollah announced the arrival of a new shipment of oil from Iran to the Syrian port of Banians — the party’s television channel Al Mana reported on its Telegram account this morning. Hezbollah argues that the shipments are intended to help the Lebanese people, who are suffering severe fuel shortages due to the financial crisis the country has been experiencing for the last couple of years.On the other hand, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mimait, expected at the Elysée Palace (Paris) on Friday, said that the shipments from Iran violated Lebanon's sovereignty, as both Syria and Iran are subject to US sanctions.Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart)Figure 2 – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGV21) Futures (October contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale)With the black gold now attempting to pierce through its all-time highs, it will be interesting to see how oil demand will progress at those levels, as well as whether OPEC+ will face some new pressures to intervene on the supply side in the forthcoming weeks.And… what do you think? We would like to hear from you! What’s your opinion on how high the WTI Crude could go before the end of the year? Do not hesitate to let us know!Have a nice weekend!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Biden’s Neo-Populist Economic Doctrine Support Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.09.2021 16:18
Biden scaled back on his infrastructure bill. However, with all the remaining cards still in play, his economic agenda should be positive for gold.Inflation, bond yields, monetary policy… that’s all interesting and crucial to understand trends in the gold markets – but, hey, what’s up in politics? A lot has happened recently on this front. In particular, last month, the world was shocked by the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The messy pullover and the quick takeover of the country by the Taliban is not only the end of Biden’s honeymoon but also America’s great failure. Some analysts even say that the fall of Kabul is another Saigon time for the US. Indeed, it goes without saying that the collapse in Afghanistan is a huge blow to America’s reputation. So, it could weaken the faith in Uncle Sam and its currency, which could be positive for gold in the long run.However, the end of the US mission in Afghanistan doesn’t pose any direct threats to America (although terrorism could thrive under the Taliban regime) or to the greenback. So, I don’t expect any substantial, long-lasting moves in gold prices (always remember that geopolitical events cause only short-lived fluctuations, if any).Another recent important development in the US policy was that the Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is a big step in pushing Biden’s economic agenda through Congress. The economic effect will probably be smaller than expected, as public stimulus rarely works as intended. So, I don’t expect any material impact on gold prices, especially given that this additional government spending has already been priced in.However, I would like to point out that Biden has scaled back his infrastructure plans from $2.2 trillion and agreed to spend these funds over a longer period. It means that the US fiscal policy, although still unprecedentedly easy, is normalizing somewhat (see the chart below), at least compared to Democrats’ initial huge plans (however, they are still working on a budget resolution that would allow them to approve a complementary $3.5 trillion spending plan). A normalization of the fiscal policy is bad for gold prices, especially when coupled with the Fed’s tightening cycle.Let’s step back — it turns out that it’s quite fruitful to look at Biden’s economic agenda from a bit broader perspective. It becomes clear that Biden – despite his hatred for Trump – actually continues Trumponomics. Nouriel Roubini calls Biden’s doctrine “neo-populist” and sees the paradox in the fact that it “has more in common with Trump’s policies than with those of Barack Obama’s administration, in which the current president previously served”.Indeed, every president from Bill Clinton to Obama favored trade liberalization and a strong dollar while respecting the Fed’s independence. They were also understanding the importance of the moderate fiscal policy (although the practice differed, especially after the financial crisis of 2007-9). They were far from being laissez-faire advocates, but at least they didn’t question the economic orthodoxy.Then Trump stepped in, inaugurating a trade war with China, and imposing tariffs on goods from other countries as well. He also questioned the Fed’s actions, which supported a weak greenback and ballooned fiscal deficits even before the epidemic started.Biden’s rhetoric is softer and his actions less erratic, but he has maintained Trump’s tariffs, pursuing similar nationalist and protectionist trade policy. He even widened the already large budget deficit, continuing the spending spree financed by public debt. Although Biden doesn’t openly favor a weak dollar, the current administration is far from pursuing a strong-dollar policy. He also supported large direct cash transfers to citizens that Trump started in response to the pandemic. Last but not least, Biden fights with Big Business, introducing some anti-monopoly policies.What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, the continuation of neo-populist economic doctrine and shifting away from sound economics (I wrote about this earlier this year) implies generally looser monetary and fiscal policies. Larger debts create a risk of a debt crisis, while downplaying the inflationary pressures (as for populists, price stability is less important than employment gains, rising wages, or reducing inequalities) increases the odds of inflation crisis or even stagflation (big government and huge indebtedness could hamper the pace of GDP growth).As we know from Latin America, the rules of populists and MMT-like policies never end well. And, as we know from the 1970s, constant stimulation of the economy (because there is still some slack) and neglecting the dangers of inflation could be disastrous. So, Bidenomics should be generally supportive of gold.Having said that, investors should remember that many more factors influence gold prices than just the President’s actions. A part of Biden’s presidency will coincide with the economic expansion from the pandemic recession and normalization of the interest rates that will likely create downward pressure on the yellow metal.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – DAX 40 Struggles To Rally

John Benjamin John Benjamin 27.09.2021 08:58
GER 40 hits tough resistanceEuropean markets struggle as embattled property giant Evergrande faces more coupon payments this week.The Dax 40’s tentative break below the major support at 15050 weighs on traders’ risk appetite. Unless the bulls can push back and absorb offers at 15780, the index could be vulnerable to a deeper correction.An overbought RSI has caused a stall in the recovery. A bearish MA cross may attract selling interest. 15400 is an important gatekeeper and a breach could trigger a sharp sell-off to 14900.NZDUSD retraces to major supportThe US dollar continues to creep up after the Fed’s hawkish tilt. The RSI’s overbought situation suggests that the kiwi’s initial breakout has over-stretched itself.Buying interest could lie between 0.6980 and the psychological level of 0.7000. The bulls will need to clear the origin of the September sell-off (0.7110), and then they could seal the continuation of the rally towards 0.7210.However, if this turns out to be a false rebound, a bearish breakout would dent the hope of recovery and send the pair to 0.6880.XAGUSD tests critical supportThe rising Treasury yields and US dollar weigh on precious metals. Some bargain hunters were eager to buy silver at the psychological level of 22.00, which is also critical support from the daily timeframe.However, the rebound has seen strong selling interest at 23.10. Should buyers gather enough momentum to break free, 23.80 would be the next target.On the downside, a bearish breakout would shake the last buyers out and conclude an eleven-month-long consolidation with a bearish reversal.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Reflation vs. Stagflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 27.09.2021 13:17
S&P 500 didn‘t give in to the opening weakness, and eked out minor gains. There was no selling into the close either – the table looks set for the muddle through to continue on Monday. Tech and value – uninspiring on the day, and the same could be said of the credit markets. Rising yields (the market believes in taper, it appears) across the board, with high yield corporate bonds holding up much better than quality debt instruments – I have seen stronger risk-on constellations really.Importantly, the huge weekly jump in Treasury yields (the 10-year yield jumped over 20 basis points to 1.47%) failed to lift the dollar, which says a lot given the risk-off entry to the week. Meanwhile, the Fed jawboning continues, and the bigger picture leaves the ambitious Nov tapering suspect.At the same time, the Fed‘s foot is to a large degree off the gas pedal, and even global liquidity is shrinking. New taxes are kicking in, job market woes are persisting, inflation isn‘t going away any time soon, challenged supply chains are forcing globalization into reverse, workforce is shrinking, GDP growth is decelerating, and no fresh fiscal initiatives are on the horizon – sounds like a recipe for stagflation.As I wrote on Friday:(…) The post-Fed relief simply took the bears for a little ride, and the Evergrande yuan bond repayment calmed the nerves. As if though the real estate sector was universally healthy – I think copper prices and the BHP stock price tell a different story. Things will still get interested in spite of PBOC moving in. The current macroeconomic environment will be very hard (economically and politically) to tighten into – have you noticed that the Turkish central bank unexpectedly cut rates?Precious metals should love the ever more negative real rates, and the financial repression that does accompany them. Commodities and real assets are bound to do great long-term, and stocks would enjoy the most the reflationary stage, the early stage of inflation where everyone benefits and no one pays. In spite of all the real world inflation, we‘ve not yet entered its nasty, late phase.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookFriday brought a daily pause in the upswing – the bulls however didn‘t yield to the sellers through the day.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds gave up less ground than quality debt instruments, whose downswing was arguably a bit too steep. The non-confirmation of the stock market advance though is barely visible.Gold, Silver and MinersGold managed to hold ground in spite of the steep rise in yields, but miners keep on being more and more undervalued – if you‘re a long-term investor, these are very interesting prices throughout the PMs sector. Silver keeps trading at odds with copper, and both metals (including a couple more), are required for the green economy shift.Crude OilOil stocks paused on Friday, and so will the oil upswing likely too next. Energies though remain bullish, and dips are to be bought.CopperCopper closed at weekly highs, but hesitated still when compared to the CRB Index. All isn‘t well if you look at BHP (or FCX), which is a proxy for both copper and China.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum have recovered from the China crypto trading crackdown notice, and keep repelling the bears successfully.SummaryRisk-on wasn‘t dethroned on Friday, but didn‘t convince either. Apart from select commodities, strong gains were absent. Wait and see on low volume day – one that is likely to carry over into Monday. Risk-on assets still haven‘t cut the corner (no recapturing of the 50-day moving average), and the VIX below 19 is slowly approaching the lower border of its recent range, meaning that volatility can surprise us shortly again.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gas and Oil Are at Record Highs

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 27.09.2021 13:22
What is happening with gas?Analysts of HSBC revealed their outlook on energy prices. They expected the gas price to be “exceptionally high” this winter because a global shortage pushed some energy firms to close. Supply is going to be weak, while demand will rise sharply in the winter season, pushing gas prices even higher. According to Bloomberg, ‘European gas prices surged by almost 500% in the past year and are trading near record’. The high energy prices in turn forced producers in Europe to decrease production, which can lead to higher costs for farmers and potentially add to global food inflation. Source: Bloomberg What is happening with oil?A combo of strong demand and poor supply have sent oil prices to the high unseen since 2018. This winter is going to be good for oil suppliers but not for its consumers, who are switching from gas to cheaper oil. Vitol Group, the world’s largest oil trader, anticipates oil demand to rise by half a million barrels a day this winter. It will support oil prices. Why is it important for traders?There are oil and gas trading instruments that are becoming more popular among traders: XBR/USD (Brent oil), XTI/USD (WTI oil), and XNG/USD (gas). Tech outlookJust look at the XBR/USD. It has opened today with a gap up, getting closer to the psychological level of $80.00 a barrel. The jump above this mark will open the doors towards the three-year high of $84.00. Support levels are $75.00 and $70.00.XTI/USD tends to move together with XBR/USD, but it has outrun its peer. It has already approached the three-year high, which is at $75.00. WE might expect a short pullback before oil prices will continue rallying up. When oil closes above $75.00, it may surge to $80.00. Support levels are $70.00 and $65.00. A cup and handle pattern has almost occurred on the XNG/USD chart. If gas breaks out the mid-September high of $5.50, it may rocket to 5.70! Support levels are at the 50 and 100-period moving averages: $5.15 and $5.00. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Medium-Term Downtrend: Gold Miners in the Lead

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.09.2021 16:08
Gold, silver, and mining stocks don’t need any help from the USDX or the stock market; they can decline all on their own – the miners in particular.Last week, mining stocks declined quite visibly, and it happened without significant help from the USD Index and from the general stock market. Silver and gold were practically flat week-over-week, so was the USD Index, and the general stock market (S&P 500) was up by 0.51%. This means that gold stocks and silver stocks should have closed the week relatively unchanged (as gold and silver did), or move somewhat higher (similarly to other stocks, as sometimes miners take their lead).Instead, all important proxies for the mining stocks moved lower and closed the week at new daily and weekly 2021 lows. The HUI Index and the GDX ETF were down by about 3%, the silver stocks (SIL ETF) were down by 3.6%, and the GDXJ ETF (proxy for junior miners) was down by 3.83%, which means that our short position in the latter just became even more profitable.Most importantly, it means that mining stocks continue to show weakness relative to gold, which tells us that the medium-term downtrend remains well intact. It also tells us that what I wrote previously about the medium-term link between the general stock market and mining stocks was most likely correct. Namely, that miners can decline without a decline in other stocks. A decline in the latter, will (as I still expect to see it sooner or later) simply exacerbate the decline’s volatility.Let’s take a look at the charts, starting with the long-term HUI Index chart – the flagship proxy for gold stocks.The clearest and most important thing that you can see on this chart is that gold miners continued their decline after completing – and verifying – the breakdown below the broad head and shoulders pattern (marked in green). Just like in the case of the previous similar patterns (also marked in green), mining stocks are likely to now decline profoundly. The 3% decline that we saw last week is likely just a small beginning of the entire slide.Yes, the Stochastic indicator is very oversold, but please note that it was the same in 2013 during the powerful post-head-and-shoulders-breakdown slide. And it didn’t cause the decline to end or reverse.The breakdown to yearly lows is also crystal-clear in case of the GDX ETF. The weekly close below the previous 2021 lows is critical, but it’s worth noting that it was also a close below the psychologically important (as its round) $30 level.The next target for the GDX ETF is based mainly on the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the entire 2020 rally. The previous retracements worked quite well, so it seems that this technique shouldn’t be ignored.The 38.2% retracement served as support in November 2020. The decline below this level triggered a short-term rebound.The 50% retracement served as support in March and August 2021. This level was particularly strong as it corresponded to the previous – May and June 2020 – lows. Reaching this level triggered rebounds. The first one was quite significant, and the second one was of only short-term importance.When the GDX ETF moves to its 61.8% it’s likely to rebound in the short term (and probably in the short term only), not only because of the retracement itself, but also because two additional techniques confirm this level as a short-term target. One is the support provided by the late-March 2020 high, and the other is the previous head and shoulders pattern that formed between April and early August 2021. Based on the size of the head (red, dashed lines), GDX is likely to decline to about $28.And while the GDX is likely to decline, so is its counterpart focused on junior mining stocks – the GDXJ ETF.In the case of the GDXJ, the downside target is broader, as the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement, the late-March 2020 high, and the head-and-shoulders-based target are not so aligned.A decline to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement here would more or less correspond to the analogous move in the GDX in percentage terms. However, if the junior miners underperform (as they’ve been underperforming seniors for months), they could move even lower before rebounding.On a different note, let’s take a look at what’s happening in a less popular part of the precious metals sector – palladium.On Sep. 7, I wrote the following:Also adding credibility to the conclusions drawn from the volume spikes in the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF, last week, the Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares (PALL) ETF recorded a new 2021 high for weekly volume. And with abnormal volume offering a window into investor sentiment, historical euphoria preceded minor-to-massive declines in gold and silver (the red vertical dashed lines below). As a result, several areas of the precious metals market are sounding the alarm.Last week’s volume spike was an anomaly, and whenever we see one on a given market, it’s useful to check what happened when we saw it previously. At times, you can notice some regularities – a pattern. And such a pattern could have important trading implications. That’s the case with palladium volume spikes, which – while rather inconsequential for palladium itself – were practically always followed by lower gold, silver, and mining stock prices. The implications for the said markets for the following weeks are thus bearish.And indeed, the precious metals sector declined right after that volume spike. So far, the decline was only modest from the long-term point of view. Since some of the declines that followed the previous huge-volume signals from palladium were much bigger (especially the one following the 2020 top), we might see even lower prices of PMs and miners in the next weeks and months as well.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

As Brent Moves Towards $80, Should You Enter a Trade?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.09.2021 17:13
While oil rebounds, $80 is the key price level to watch for.Time for Some Fundamental AnalysisWith supply slipping and solid prospects for demand, the black gold continues to rise, notably dragged by natural gas along with it, as we may see a shift in demand from natural gas to oil. A barrel of North Sea Brent for November delivery peaked at $79.50, up 1.4% from Friday's close. After four consecutive sessions in the green, buyers are not weakening. According to Goldman Sachs, the recovery in global demand is indeed faster than expected.On the supply side, U.S. production in the Gulf of Mexico is still cut by some 300,000 barrels per day, a month after Hurricane Ida hit, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). In this environment, the OPEC+ meeting next Monday should raise more attention, even though an immediate change in the cartel’s policy seems unlikely for now.On the UK side, BP said 30% of its gas stations ran out of fuel on Sunday as a rush of panicked consumers to pumps forced the British government to suspend competition rules. According to major oil groups, a shortage of truck drivers makes it difficult to get fuel from refineries. Some operators had to implement rationing while others have closed stations.Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart)Figure 2 – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart)In brief, crude oil is surging. Natural gas rebounded to get back to its previous highs. I’ll assess the current moves and be waiting to see how the $80 level will act both as a psychological and technical resistance level on the Brent prior to drawing new projections. Detailed positions can be found in my premium Oil Trading Alerts. For the time being, given the increasing volatility, my conclusion is that there is too much risk to enter any trade right now.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Tests Supply Area

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.09.2021 08:45
EURUSD tests major supportThe US dollar found support from better-than-expected durable goods orders.The pair gave up all its gains from the rally in late August. This indicates an erosion in the bullish sentiment.The euro’s latest rebound has been capped by 1.1750. Sellers are pushing towards the critical floor at 1.1665. And its breach would lead to the last line of defense at 1.1600 from November last year.An oversold RSI may bring in some buying interest, though buyers will need to lift 1.1820 before they could hope for a bullish reversal.EURJPY seeks supportThe Japanese yen weakened after the BOJ warned of a recovery delay in its meeting minutes. The euro has capitalized on its rebound from the daily demand zone around 128.00.A close above 129.65 may have tipped the balance to the upside. A break above 130.10 would pave the way to the key resistance of 130.70 on the daily chart.However, a descending RSI from the overbought zone is in contrast with the price’s higher highs. There is a risk of a pullback as the momentum slows down. 129.40 is the immediate support.SPX 500 struggles to reboundThe S&P 500 halted its advance as the Fed’s taper is closing in.The V-shaped recovery has met selling interest at 4482, the origin of a recent sell-off. A diverging RSI suggests a loss of momentum in the rebound.The long side may regain confidence in case of a bullish breakout and 4540 would be the next target. Failing that, a drop below 4425 would prompt buyers to bail out, leaving the index vulnerable to a sharp fall.4340 would be the last support before a deeper correction drives the index to July’s lows near 4240.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gauntlet to the Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.09.2021 15:49
S&P 500 was unable to sustain intraday gains, and both VIX and volume show the bears want to move. Arguably, the key market to watch, are the Treasuries – the 10-year yield continues rising, knocking on the 1.50% door again. On the day of Powell‘s testimony, that‘s quite a message to the central bank.As I wrote yesterday:(…) Rising yields (the market believes in taper, it appears) across the board, with high yield corporate bonds holding up much better than quality debt instruments – I have seen stronger risk-on constellations really.Importantly, the huge weekly jump in Treasury yields (the 10-year yield jumped over 20 basis points to 1.47%) failed to lift the dollar, which says a lot given the risk-off entry to the week. Meanwhile, the Fed jawboning continues, and the bigger picture leaves the ambitious Nov tapering suspect.At the same time, the Fed‘s foot is to a large degree off the gas pedal, and even global liquidity is shrinking. New taxes are kicking in, job market woes are persisting, inflation isn‘t going away any time soon, challenged supply chains are forcing globalization into reverse, workforce is shrinking, GDP growth is decelerating, and no fresh fiscal initiatives are on the horizon – sounds like a recipe for stagflation.The Fed can adjust (and even reverse) the tapering projections any time it pleases – it has played the job market card already. The dollar failing to gain traction though, is telling. Not even commodities as such are rolling over to the downside – actually, energies (oil, natural gas) have been the star performers (even within the S&P 500 sectors), and agrifoods are well positioned to do great as well. Copper and precious metals are feeling the short-term heat (still, the red metal offered a great entry point earlier today, making the open position profitable from the get-go), but the metals would stop reacting to the bad news while ignoring negative real rates (yes, transitory inflation is another myth the market place believes in) at some point. All roads lead to gold – inflationary and deflationary ones alike.What can the Fed do? Underestimate inflation, be behind the curve, carefully play expectations while real world inflation coupled with shattered supply chains wreck the stock market bull over the quarters ahead? Or throughtfully slam on the brakes (which is what the markets think it‘s doing now), which would force a long overdue S&P 500 correction that could reach even 10-15% from the ATHs? Remember that the debt ceiling hasn‘t been resolved yet, so an interesting entry to the month of October awaits.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThe real question mark is where the bulls step in next, and whether they could carry prices over Monday‘s highs (4,470s) – this question is a bit too early to ask.Credit MarketsCredit markets haven‘t moderated their pace of decline, but the yield spreads show we have higher to go once the current dust settles.Gold, Silver and MinersGold managed to hold ground yesterday, but further yields pressure is likely to affect it, whether or not it translates to (marginally) higher USD Index.The bears have the short-term initiative till bonds turn.Crude OilCrude oil didn‘t treat us to much of an intraday dip, and the oil sector shows the rush into energies is on – no matter how short-term extended and approaching the late Jun highs black gold is.CopperCopper hesitation goes on, with the red metal failing to gain traction the CRB Index way. Still, it‘s range bound, and FCX (which is important for gold too) is showing signs of life.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum bears have reasserted themselves, and would confirm the initiative with a break below $44K in BTC. For now, it‘s too early to declare the end of the trading range.SummarySeptember storms aren‘t over yet, and declining bonds are a warning sign. Commodities are the most resilient, and will likely remain so, until precious metals sniff out the room for Fed‘s hawkishness as radically decreasing. The question marks over the timing and actual pace of taper, are persisting.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Breaks Lower

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.09.2021 09:13
XAUUSD lacks supportGold slumps due to rising US Treasury yields. The demand zone around 1745 has failed to contain the market’s pessimism.The latest bounce has been an opportunity to sell into strength, reinforcing the bearish bias. A combination of loss-cutting and fresh selling would raise the downward momentum.The precious metal is heading towards 1720. A breakout would trigger an extended sell-off to the August low at 1680. The bulls have the daunting task of lifting 1760 before they could expect a meaningful rebound.AUDUSD hits resistanceThe Australian dollar inched higher after a smaller contraction in August’s retail sales.The pair has found strong support at 0.7220. Three consecutive tests are an indication of solid interest in keeping the Aussie afloat.0.7320 is the first resistance ahead. Its breach may shake the sellers out and trigger a rebound to 0.7410.Otherwise, a fall below the said support would cause a deeper correction to the critical level of 0.7105.  Erasing all of the gains from late August would seriously dent buyers’ optimism for a rally.USDCAD bounces off supportThe Canadian dollar is under pressure as oil prices retreat. The pair saw buying interest at 1.2600, which is major support for a four-month-long rally on the daily timeframe.The RSI’s bullish divergence indicates that the selling pressure may have waned.A break above the immediate resistance (1.2670) would prompt sellers to cover. 1.2800 near September’s peak could be the target should a rebound gain traction.On the downside, a bearish breakout may send the price to the psychological level of 1.2500.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Wishing Away Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.09.2021 15:44
S&P 500 bears did indeed move, and the dip wasn‘t much bought. VIX with its prominent upper knot may not have said the last word yet, but a brief consolidation of the key volatility metrics is favored next. Even the overnight rebound (dead cat bounce, better said), is losing traction, prompting me to issue a stock market update to subscribers hours ago – fresh short profits can keep growing:(…) Following yesterday’s slide, the S&P 500 upswing appears running into headwinds as credit markets keep putting pressure on the Fed. Rising dollar is thus far having little effect on commodities, and precious metals have retraced a sizable part of the intraday downswing. Tech remains more vulnerable than value, and this correction appears as not (at all) yet over.While the dollar upswing hasn‘t been strongest over the prior week, higher yields are causing it to rise somewhat still. The commodity complex is remarkably resilient – the open long positions are likely to keep doing well – and I don‘t mean only energies. Copper is holding up in the mid 4.20s while precious metals are giving the bears a break – a tentative one, but nonetheless encouraging – as I have written yesterday:(…) the metals would stop reacting to the bad news while ignoring negative real rates (yes, transitory inflation is another myth the market place believes in) at some point. All roads lead to gold – inflationary and deflationary ones alike.What can the Fed do? Underestimate inflation, be behind the curve, carefully play expectations while real world inflation coupled with shattered supply chains wreck the stock market bull over the quarters ahead? Or throughtfully slam on the brakes (which is what the markets think it‘s doing now), which would force a long overdue S&P 500 correction that could reach even 10-15% from the ATHs? Remember that the debt ceiling hasn‘t been resolved yet, so an interesting entry to the month of October awaits.Bonds are signalling that the Fed‘s image of inflation fighter (right or wrong, have your pick) is losing the benefit of the doubt it was given with the Jun FOMC – bond yields have abruptly ended their descent and subsequent trading range. This spells not only inflation (the risk of Fed‘s policy mistake – warnings it would take longer with us than originally anticipated coupled with the professed faith it would just naturally subside all by itself), but smacks of stagflation.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookRising volume and some lower knot hint at the possibility of overnight rebound, but the real question is whether that would stick. So far, it doesn‘t seem so.Credit MarketsCredit markets haven‘t moderated their pace of decline, but TLT attempted to find bottom intraday, which would coincide with tech temporarily pausing as well. The dust hasn‘t yet settled.Gold, Silver and MinersGold is having harder and harder time declining, and the miners pause makes yesterday‘s modest downswing suspect. When silver joins in showing some relative strength, we would know the focus is shifting to inflation again, in precious metals as much as in Treasuries – this hasn‘t happened thus far.Crude OilCrude oil finally paused, and its candlestick favors consolidation – oil stocks have remained well performing, pointing out still more upside in the current black gold upleg.CopperCopper hesitation goes on, with the red metal once again trading at odds with the CRB Index, which makes further downside rather limited. Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum bears haven‘t confirmed the initiative with a break below $40K in BTC (sorry for yesterday‘s typo stating $44K – corrected on my site). It‘s too early to declare the end of the trading range – similarly to gold, cryptos have a hard time falling, and that means something.SummaryStocks aren‘t out of the woods yet, and monetary policy has turned into a headwind. Damned if you do, damned if you don‘t – the Fed is having a hard time walking the fine taper line. Rising Treasury yields are a warning sign – commodities are likely to remain the most resilient, and precious metals would join just like cryptos. The question marks over the debt ceiling, the timing and actual pace of taper, keep persisting.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Dovish to Hawkish Fed: Sounds Bearish for Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.09.2021 16:31
With a more hawkish Fed disposition, non-commercial traders remaining dollar-strong, and the EUR/USD sinking, it doesn’t bode well for the metals.With U.S. Treasury yields continuing their ascent on Sep. 28, the mini taper tantrum pushed the NASDAQ 100 over a cliff. And with the USD Index loving the surge in volatility, the greenback further cemented its breakout above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern. And looking ahead, the momentum should continue. Case in point: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Sep. 28. In his prepared remarks, he said:“Inflation is elevated and will likely remain so in coming months before moderating. As the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds, we are seeing upward pressure on prices, particularly due to supply bottlenecks in some sectors. These effects have been larger and longer lasting than anticipated, but they will abate, and as they do, inflation is expected to drop back toward our longer-run 2 percent goal.”Furthermore, while I’ve been warning for months that Powell remains materially behind the inflation curve, his prepared remarks didn’t have a single mention of “base effects” or “transitory.” Instead, the Fed chief’s new favorite buzz word is “moderating.”In any event, while I warned on several occasions that the composite container rate has gone from $6.5K to $8.1K to $8.4K to 9.4K, Powell finally admitted that the supply chain disruptions have “gotten worse:”“Look at the car companies, look at the ships with the anchors down outside of Los Angeles,” he said. “This is really a mismatch between demand and supply, we need those supply blockages to alleviate, to abate, before inflation can come down.”For context, the composite container rate is now at $10.4K (the blue line below):To that point, with inflation surging and the Fed materially behind the eight ball, even the doves have turned hawkish since Powell unveiled his accelerated taper timeline on Sep. 22.New York Fed President John Williams told the Economic Club of New York on Sep. 27:“I think it’s clear that we have made substantial further progress on achieving our inflation goal. There has also been very good progress toward maximum employment. Assuming the economy continues to improve as I anticipate, a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon be warranted.”Likewise, Fed Governor Lael Brainard added that labor-market conditions may “soon” warrant a reduction in the Fed’s bond-buying program:“The forward guidance on maximum employment and average inflation sets a much higher bar for the liftoff of the policy rate than for slowing the pace of asset purchases,” Brainard told the National Association for Business Economics on Sep. 27. “I would emphasize that no signal about the timing of liftoff should be taken from any decision to announce a slowing of asset purchases.”For context, she tried to calm investors’ nerves by separating rate hikes from tapering. However, with “a much higher bar” for “liftoff” implying a much lower bar for tapering, QE is likely on its deathbed.Rounding out the hawkish rhetoric, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans also told the National Association for Business Economics on Sep. 27 that “I see the economy as being close to meeting the 'substantial further progress' standard we laid out last December. If the flow of employment improvements continues, it seems likely that those conditions will be met soon and tapering can commence.”And why are these three voices so important?Well, with Powell ramping up the hawkish rhetoric on Sep. 22 and his dovish minions following suit, their messaging is much different than the hawk talk that we normally hear from Bullard, Kaplan and Rosengren. For context, the latter two actually resigned for ethical reasons after their questionable day trading activity became public.Please see below:To explain, the graphic above depicts Bank of America’s FOMC dove-hawk spectrum. From left to right, the blue areas categorize the doves, while the red areas categorize the hawks. If you analyze the third, fourth and fifth columns from the left, you can see that Evans, Powell, Brainard and Williams are known for their dovish dispositions. However, with all four materially shifting their stances in the last week, the hawkish realignments are bullish for U.S. Treasury yields, bullish for the USD Index and bearish for the PMs.For example, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has risen by 19% over the last five trading days. What’s more, the U.S. 5-Year Treasury yield has risen by 24% over the last seven trading days and ended the Sep. 28 session at a new 2021 high. For context, the last time the U.S. 5-Year Treasury yield closed above 1% was Feb. 27, 2020.Please see below:Source: Investing.comOn the opposite end of the double-edged sword slashing the gold price, the USD index is also reasserting its dominance. And with the greenback’s fundamentals also uplifted by higher U.S. Treasury yields, the current (and future) liquidity drains support a stronger U.S. dollar. For one, after 83 counterparties drained more than $1.365 trillion out of the U.S. financial system on Sep. 28, the Fed’s daily reverse repurchase agreements hit another all-time high.Please see below:Source: New York FedTo explain, a reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the Fed in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the Fed at an alarming rate. And while I’ve been warning for months that the activity is the fundamental equivalent of a taper – due to the lower supply of U.S. dollars (which is bullish for the USD Index) – as we await a formal announcement from the Fed, the U.S. dollar’s fundamental foundation remains robust.Second, non-commercial (speculative) futures traders, asset managers and leveraged funds’ allocations to the U.S. dollar remain strong.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue, gray, and light blue lines above represent net-long positions of non-commercial (speculative) futures traders, asset managers and leveraged funds. When the lines are falling, it means that the trio have reduced their net-long positions and are expecting a weaker U.S. dollar. Conversely, when the lines are rising, it means that the trio have increased their net-long positions and are expecting a stronger U.S. dollar. And while asset managers and leveraged funds’ allocations (the gray and light blue lines) remain slightly below their 2021 highs, non-commercial (speculative) futures traders’ allocation to the U.S. dollar has now hit a new 2021 high. As a result, a continuation of the theme should uplift the U.S. dollar and negatively impact the performance of the gold and silver prices.Finally, with the EUR/USD accounting for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, the currency pair has sunk below 1.1700 once again. And with the Fed’s inflationary conundrum dwarfing Europe’s predicament, I warned on Jul. 20 that the dichotomy is bullish for the U.S. dollar.I wrote:Not only is the U.S. economy outperforming the Eurozone, but the Fed and the ECB are worlds apart.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the year-over-year (YoY) percentage change in the Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the U.S. HICP. If you analyze the right side of the chart, it’s not even close. And with the U.S. HICP rising by 6.41% YoY in June and the Eurozone HICP rising by 1.90%, the Fed is likely to taper well in advance of the ECB.To that point, with the rhetoric above guiding the Fed down a hawkish path, the ECB is heading in the opposite direction. For example, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Sep. 28 that there are “no signs that this increase in [Eurozone] inflation is becoming broad-based. The key challenge is to ensure that we do not overreact to transitory supply shocks that have no bearing on the medium term…. Monetary policy should normally ‘look through’ temporary supply-driven inflation, so long as inflation expectations remain anchored.”As a result:Source: the Financial TimesThe bottom line? With U.S. Treasury yields and the USD Index firing on all cylinders, the PMs remain caught in the crossfire. And with both variables still having the fundamental wind at their backs, the Fed’s hawkish shift should help underwrite further gains over the medium term.In conclusion, the PMs declined on Sep. 28 and the gold miners continued their underperformance. And with the Fed’s inflationary anxiety sparking a mini taper tantrum, the PMs remain stuck in no man’s land. Furthermore, with the general stock market also feeling the heat, a sharp correction could accelerate the ferocity of the PMs’ current downtrend. As a result, their medium-term outlooks remain quite bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP In Bearish Reversal

John Benjamin John Benjamin 30.09.2021 09:04
GBPUSD turns bearishThe sterling struggles to stabilize as the UK braces for a fuel supply shock.After three months of sideways action, the break below the daily support at 1.3600 could be the confirmation that the pound has sunk into a downtrend.Strong momentum suggests that those who bought the dips had to bail out. 1.3300 is the next target.A deeply oversold RSI would cause a limited rebound when short-term sellers take profit. 1.3550 is likely to cap the bounce with bears waiting to sell into strength.NAS 100 tests crucial supportThe Nasdaq 100 tumbles as surging bond yields weigh on growth stocks.The retest of the demand zone around 14750 from the daily chart has put the bulls under pressure. The break below 14850 has invalidated last week’s rebound, raising the odds for another round of sell-off.The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area has offered some temporary respite. However, unless buyers can lift 15220, a rebound would be an opportunity to sell. Below the said critical floor, the index could be vulnerable to a plunge towards 14500.USOIL seeks supportWTI crude dipped after the EIA reported an increase in US inventories.The rally has met stiff selling pressure near July’s high (77.00). The RSI’s bearish divergence signaled a halt in the upward momentum.Then a combination of profit-taking and fresh selling has pushed the price below the first support at 75.20. A bearish MA cross also points to a U-turn.A pullback is necessary to let the bulls catch their breath. The resistance-turned-support at 73.00 would be a key level to keep the sentiment unscathed.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Inflation Waking Up Bonds

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.09.2021 15:52
S&P 500 bulls didn‘t make much progress even though the credit markets initially favored the daily rebound to stick. Bouncing between the daily highs and lows, the 500-strong index gave up a few moderately good opportunities to take on 4,390 again. VIX understandably calmed down on the day, but doesn‘t give impression of yielding too much to the downside – on the contrary, it seems to be on a general uptrend since early Jul. Volatility is returning, and that‘s characteristic of the unfolding correction.How far lower would it reach? The 4,340 followed by 4,300 and lower to mid 4,250 are the key supports. The bulls haven‘t (and face quite many headwinds from related markets, including the dollar) stepped in to close Tuesday‘s gap, which would be a game changer. For now, we‘re in a trading range where the bears have the advantage. The stock market bull hasn‘t topped, we‘re merely in an unpleasant correction, of which the daily upswing in utilities or consumer staples is a testament.Yields and the dollar are taking turns at pressuring inflation plays, and precious metals are feeling the heat especially, ignoring the debt ceiling being still unresolved. Treasury yields are returning to more reasonable levels in order to reflect the Fed‘s dillydallying:(…) Bonds are signalling that the Fed‘s image of inflation fighter (right or wrong, have your pick) is losing the benefit of the doubt it was given with the Jun FOMC – bond yields have abruptly ended their descent and subsequent trading range. This spells not only inflation (the risk of Fed‘s policy mistake – warnings it would take longer with us than originally anticipated coupled with the professed faith it would just naturally subside all by itself), but smacks of stagflation.The slowly but surely acknowledged inflation surprise will come back to bite the central bank as inflation expectations are finally surging again, reflecting the cost-push inflation (hello commodities superbull), job market challenges and increasingly strained supply chains characterized by order cuts, delays, shortages and general issues in getting merchandise where it‘s awaited (hello port congestion, docking plus trucking staff shortages and full container ships anchored and awaiting unloading). And I‘m not even talking record drought through the West Coast stretching into Rockies and Midwest, or China electricity rationing. Precious metals seem to be the most undervalued asset class these weeks really.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 paused for a day, and the bulls wasted a few chances to move higher.Credit MarketsCredit markets opened on a strong note (HYG did), but gave up the advantage – lower values still seem a question of (relatively short) time.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals remain under pressure, and silver was hammered by the daily upswing in the dollar. Gold volume didn‘t correspondingly jump higher, indicating that the selling pressure taking gold to silver ratio to 80, is a tad overdone. As stated days ago, look to copper to show signs of life first – outperformance of CRB Index would be a first welcome sign.Crude OilCrude oil consolidation continues, and the volume behind last two days, shows healthy accumulation.CopperCopper couldn‘t keep the unfolding flag intact – the hesitation goes on, and the red metal is increasingly trading in the rather undervalued end of its spectrum. Overall, it remains range bound for now.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum bulls are on the move, and the $40K in BTC held up – the daily indicator posture is improving, and we can look for the upswing to continue – remarkable in the face of rising dollar, which is in my view closer to a top than generally appreciated.SummaryStocks aren‘t out of the woods yet, and the yields are putting pressure on tech. Commodities are largely ignoring the taper timing and pace speculation, which can‘t be said about precious metals reacting once to the dollar, then to yields – but not to rising inflation, inflation expectations, or deeply negative real rates.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Powell: Inflation Might Not Be Transitory, After All

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.09.2021 15:59
At a panel discussion, Fed Chair finally admitted that inflation could be more (!) long-lasting than expected. What does it mean? Hawks. Lots of them.CapitulationWith Fed Chairman Jerome Powell finally having his ‘come-to-Jesus’ moment on Sep. 29, the central bank chief’s skittish words helped light a fire under the USD Index. For context, I’ve been warning for months that Powell remains materially behind the inflation curve. And with his indecisive speech upending the Fed’s confidence game, the gambit is showing signs of unraveling.Speaking at an ECB panel discussion on Sep. 29, he said:“The current inflation spike is really a consequence of supply constraints meeting very strong demand. And that is all associated with the reopening of the economy, which is a process that will have a beginning, middle and an end. It’s very difficult to say how big the effects will be in the meantime or how long they last.”For context, first it was “base effects,” then it was “transitory” and now “it’s very difficult to say.”He continued:“It’s also frustrating to see the bottlenecks and supply chain problems not getting better – in fact, at the margins apparently getting a little bit worse. We see that continuing into next year probably, and holding up inflation longer than we had thought.”What’s more, Powell actually admitted that the Fed is facing a conundrum that it hasn’t dealt with “for a very long time.”“Managing through that process over the next couple of years is… going to be very challenging because we have this hypothesis that inflation is going to be transitory. We think that’s right. But we are concerned about underlying inflation expectations remaining stable, as they have so far.”Wow. If that’s not capitulation, I don’t know what is.For context, I wrote on Sep. 24:I’ve warned on several occasions that the only way for the Fed to control inflation is to increase the value of the U.S. dollar and decrease the value of commodities. However, with commodities’ fervor accelerating on Sep. 23 – a day when the USD Index declined – the price action should concern Chairman Jerome Powell. As a result, FOMC participants’ 2022 inflation forecast is likely wishful thinking and they may find that a faster liquidity drain (which is bullish for the U.S. dollar) is their only option to control the pricing pressures.Speaking of which, the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) has rallied by ~5% for the month of September. For context, the S&P GSCI contains 24 commodities from all sectors: six energy products, five industrial metals, eight agricultural products, three livestock products and two precious metals. However, energy accounts for roughly 54% of the index’s movement.Please see below:Source: S&P GlobalAs well, if you analyze the graphic below, you can see the impact that rising energy prices had on the S&P GSCI’s performance in September (MTD returns as of Sep. 27).To that point, with Brent and WTI surging recently and the latter on track for six straight weeks of weekly gains, Goldman Sachs has upped its year-end Brent target to $90 a barrel. Calling it the “revenge” of the old economy, Jeff Currie, Goldman Sachs global head of commodities research, said that “poor returns saw capital redirected away from the old economy to the new economy. It’s not unique to Europe, it’s not unique to energy, it’s a broad-based old-economy problem.”Thus, in his view, commodity prices need to be “much higher to get returns sufficient to start attracting capital. People wanted a quick return, and now you’re paying the price for it.”Please see below:Supporting the thesis, Bank of America commodities strategist Francisco Blanch told Bloomberg on Sep. 28 that Brent could hit $100 a barrel in 2022 and that a “cold winter” could actually pull forward the forecast.He said:“First, there is plenty of pent up mobility demand after an 18 month lockdown. Second, mass transit will lag, boosting private car usage for a prolonged period of time. Third, pre-pandemic studies show more remote work could result in more miles driven, as work-from-home turns into work-from-car. On the supply side, we expect government policy pressure in the U.S. and around the world to curb cap-ex over coming quarters to meet Paris goals. Secondly, investors have become more vocal against energy sector spending for both financial and ESG reasons. Third, judicial pressures are rising to limit carbon dioxide emissions. In short, demand is poised to bounce back and supply may not fully keep up, placing OPEC in control of the oil market in 2022.”Now, the important point isn’t whether or not Currie and Blanch are correct. The important point is that higher oil prices are mutually exclusive to Powell’s 2% inflation goal. For example, the Commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) – which is a reliable indicator of the next month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) – recorded its highest monthly year-over-year (YoY) percentage increase in August since 1974. What’s more, the sky-high reading occurred with the S&P GSCI declining by ~2% in August (that’s why monitoring surging container rates is so important). However, as mentioned, the S&P GSCI has already risen by ~5% in September and container rates have also made new highs. As a result, Powell’s hawkish shift isn’t nearly hawkish enough to solve his inflationary dilemma.Inflation Isn’t Going AnywhereAs further evidence, the Richmond Fed released its Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity on Sep. 28. And while the headline index turned negative as output slumped, pricing pressures remained materially elevated.Please see below:Source: Richmond FedLikewise, the Dallas Fed released its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey on Sep. 27. The report revealed:“Prices and wages continued to increase strongly in September. The price indexes climbed further, with the raw materials prices index at 80.4 and the finished goods prices index at 44.0, an all-time high. The wages and benefits index held steady at a highly elevated reading of 42.7.”For a visual of the overall index, please see below:Furthermore, the Dallas Fed also released its Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey and its Texas Retail Outlook Survey on Sep. 28. And though the U.S. service sector has suffered the brunt of the Delta variant’s wrath, pricing pressures remained. The report revealed:“Wage pressures eased in September, though remained at historically high levels, while price pressures remained highly elevated. The wages and benefits index declined from 32.6 to 26.9. The selling prices index was largely unchanged at 20.2, with nearly a quarter of firms reporting increased prices compared with August, while the input prices index inched up one point to 42.9.”More importantly, though, the Texas Retail Outlook Survey revealed:“Retail price pressures surged once again in September after some signs of moderation in August, while wage pressures held steady. The selling prices index surged nearly 11 points to 50.4 – with 58 percent of retailers increasing prices compared with August – while the input prices index increased from 41.3 to 50.1. The wages and benefits index was flat at 24.6.”For a visual of the overall index, please see below:And as the drama unfolds and Powell’s inflationary conundrum intensifies, his hawkish rhetoric on Sep. 29 helped sink the EUR/USD. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index. And with the currency pair collapsing below 1.1600 on Sep. 29 and closing below key 2020 support, the European dam could be about to break.Please see below:Reverse Repos Hit Another All-Time High!Also bullish for the U.S. dollar, with Powell’s liquidity circus still on full display, there is too much money floating around with too little use. And upping the ante on what I’ve been highlighting for months, after 80 counterparties drained nearly $1.416 trillion out of the U.S. financial system on Sep. 29, the Fed’s daily reverse repurchase agreements hit another all-time high.Please see below:Source: New York FedTo explain, a reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the Fed in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the Fed at an alarming rate. I’ve been warning for months that the activity is the fundamental equivalent of a taper due to the lower supply of U.S. dollars (which is bullish for the USD Index). Thus, while we await a formal announcement from the Fed, the U.S. dollar’s fundamental foundation remains robust.The bottom line? Powell’s only hope to curb inflation is to strengthen the U.S. dollar and weaken commodity (including gold and silver) prices. For context, major futures contracts are priced in U.S. dollars. And when the dollar rallies, it’s more expensive for foreign buyers (in their currency) to purchase the underlying commodities. As a result, a stronger U.S. dollar often stifles demand. And with the current supply/demand dynamics favoring higher commodity prices, Powell will have to work his magic — strengthen the dollar and reduce demand — if he wants his inflation problem to subside.In conclusion, gold, silver (ouch) and mining stocks sunk like stones on Sep. 29. And with the USD Index cutting through 94 like a knife through butter, new 2021 lows in the EUR/USD were accompanied by new 2021 highs in the USD Index. Moreover, with the momentum poised to continue, the PMs’ medium-term outlooks remain quite somber. As a result, further weakness will likely materialize before brighter days emerge (probably) near the end of the year.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
We’re Close to Hitting the Debt Ceiling: Gold Doesn’t Care

We’re Close to Hitting the Debt Ceiling: Gold Doesn’t Care

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.09.2021 16:07
Another fiscal year, another governmental fight to raise the debt limit. A failure spells a crisis, but gold turns a blind eye and continues its fall.So, America has a new tradition! The government shutdown is coming. A new fiscal year starts tomorrow, and if Congress fails to agree on a budget by the end of today, the government will shut down.What does it mean for the US economy? According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the failure to lift the debt ceiling could be a catastrophe:If the debt ceiling is not raised, there would be a financial crisis, a calamity. It would undermine confidence in the dollar as a reserve currency (…) It would be a wound of enormous proportions (…) It is imperative that Congress swiftly addresses the debt limit. If it does not, America would default for the first time in history. The full faith and credit of the United States would be impaired, and our country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession.She also clarified in a separate letter sent to Congress that the Treasury could run out of money by October 18, 2021:We now estimate that Treasury is likely to exhaust its extraordinary measures if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by October 18.  At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with very limited resources that would be depleted quickly.  It is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date.Her rhetoric was rather gloomy. As a result, the risk aversion softened, while stock prices dropped. So, gold prices had to increase, right? Well, not exactly. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal continued its downward trend that accelerated in September, partially caused by more hawkish expectations for the tapering timeline and future path of the federal funds rate.So, what is happening in the gold market? I would point out three crucial factors right now. First, the US dollar has appreciated recently. Yes, despite worries about the debt ceiling, the greenback has strengthened. It shows that there is simply no alternative. Another issue is that people have seen this movie before, and they know how it ends. At some point, Congress will pass a new debt limit and return to its spending spree.Second, the bond yields have increased. For example, the nominal yields on 10-year Treasuries jumped from about 1.3% last week to almost 1.5% on Monday (September 27, 2021), as the chart below shows. The recent dot-plot revealed that the FOMC members want to raise the federal funds rate earlier than previously thought, which has been transmitted into the yield curve, creating downward pressure on gold. Higher interest rates imply higher opportunity costs of holding bullion.Third, the market sentiment still seems to be negative toward gold. It’s partially justified by the macroeconomic environment ⁠— namely, the rapid recovery from the pandemic recession. As the global economy is improving, the central banks are about to tighten their monetary policy.Implications for GoldWhat does it all imply for the gold market? Well, the environment of strengthening dollar and rising bond yields is negative for the yellow metal. Higher interests make bonds more attractive relative to gold. The worries about the debt ceiling will likely be short-lived and won’t provide gold with a needed lifeline. The current downward trend in gold shows that the market simply doesn’t care about the government shutdown. The only hope is an inflationary crisis, but (so far) worries about inflation have been entailing higher interest rates rather than strong demand for gold as an inflation hedge.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Now That US Stocks Pushed Oil Higher, Is It Correction Time?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.09.2021 22:55
Oil prices had a choppy day on Wednesday, rebounding after the U.S. crude stocks report before retreating late in the session. Will we see a new dip?Fundamental AnalysisWith US stocks increasing – whereas a decrease was expected – exchanges were marked by a continuation of profit-taking, which started the day before, prior to the publication of the weekly report of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Crude Oil Inventories: (Source: Investing.com)During the week ending on Sep. 24, crude inventories rose 4.6 million barrels (Mb), even though analysts had forecast another decline. However, while this surprising rise could have been likely to put pressure on prices, the price of black gold rose after this publication.It was the first increase after a streak of seven straight declines. Nevertheless, it was not until the end of the session for the oil market to integrate this increase in stocks.Is the Petroleum Crisis Over in the UK?The British government has just said that the crisis caused by fears of fuel shortages is now over, even though many fuel stations remain closed in major cities across the United Kingdom.https://twitter.com/NoContextHumour/status/1443468835554725889?s=19New Deal of Washington and TehranOn the UN Security Council agenda, we might see some progress happening towards the end of the year, as Joe Biden’s administration – weakened by the Afghanistan debacle and the Maricopa County (Arizona) Election Audit presented before the Senate last Friday, which lets new suspicions of irregularities in the US election to re-emerge – will now probably focus on making successful negotiations for the return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale)In brief, after a surge in crude oil prices at the beginning of the week, we could see some pullback happening. In the future, such retracements could be driven by new supplies if, for example, the operations in the Gulf of Mexico were returning to their full capacity, crude oil inventories kept building up, or even the negotiations with Iran were improving.Imagine a point where new talks lead to presenting a realistic plan aiming at lifting sanctions on Tehran, which would have an effect on reopening the Iranian oil tap... So many elements to keep an eye on in the forthcoming months! However, nobody said it’s impossible to navigate through such a complex market. That’s what I do, and that’s what I do best – I keep an eye on everything energy-related happening in the world. Detailed positions for oil/natural gas trading can be found in my premium Oil Trading Alerts.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stock Market Correction: One More Spark to Light the Fire?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.10.2021 15:55
With earnings season beginning in October, a profound correction of the S&P 500 could add fuel to the fire of the already well-supported U.S. dollar.While the USD Index was largely flat on Sep. 30, the EUR/USD closed at a new 2021 low. And because the currency pair accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, its performance is material. Moreover, while I’ve been warning for months that the Fed and the ECB are worlds apart, the EUR/USD still hasn’t priced in the magnitude of the divergence.Please see below:To explain, the chart on the right is where you should focus your attention: the purple bars above depict the change in investors’ hawkish central bank bets since Sep. 20, while the pink diamonds above depict the performance of various currencies during that same timeframe. If you analyze the column labeled “USD,” you can see that the Fed’s hawkish rhetoric has ramped up bets on further tightening. However, if you analyze the pink diamond near the bottom of the purple bar, you can see that the U.S. dollar’s performance hasn’t matched the fervor. Conversely, if you analyze the column labeled “EUR,” you can see that investors’ expectations of lower-for-longer Eurozone interest rates haven’t budged, and the euro has held up quite well. For context, the GBP (11.9% of the USD Index’s movement) and the CAD (9.1% of the USD Index’s movement) have largely offset one another. With the former not pricing in any of investors’ hawkish bets and the latter pricing in nearly all of investors’ hawkish bets, the divergence is largely a wash. However, with the U.S. dollar still underpriced and few upside catalysts available for the euro, more EUR/USD downside should commence over the medium term.Supporting that argument, Jeremy Stretch, Head of G10 FX Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets, told clients that “the ECB is intent upon maintaining favorable financing conditions to perpetuate the recovery narrative. As a consequence, we expect the central bank to consider PEPP transitioning into the Asset Purchase Programme [APP].” And with that, “slower growth into 2023 will help limit medium-term price gains. Although headline HICP risks testing 13-year highs, the ECB’s adjusted inflation remit will allow the bank to look through short-term price spikes, especially as core prices are expected to remain relatively well-contained. Alongside fiscal policy developments, that will promote a lower-for-longer trajectory for interest rates, and as a result, a weaker EUR in 2022.”And advocating for just that, ECB Governing Council Member Mario Centeno told CNBC on Sep. 27 that “we were fooled by some news on inflation in the past, which prompted us to act in the wrong way, so we don’t want, definitely, to commit the same sort of errors this time.... We need to guarantee favorable financing conditions to all sectors in our economy as we go out of [the] crisis, and we are not yet there, we are not yet out of the woods.”And how does all of this impact Centeno’s taper timeline?Source: CNBCIn addition, while the ECB’s PEPP program should conclude at the end of March 2022, its APP program isn’t going anywhere. And when the central bank announced its PEPP “recalibration” on Sep. 9, I warned that the ECB’s liquidity spigot should remain on full blast much longer than the Fed’s.I wrote:While the deceleration may seem like a monumental shift, the move is much more semblance than substance: net APP purchases will still be reinvested “for an extended period of time past the date when [the ECB] starts raising the key ECB interest rates, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favorable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation.”Likewise, with many ECB officials aiming to avoid a “cliff effect” when the PEPP program unwinds, Reuters reported that the central bank could expand its APP program to offset the damage. The bottom line? Tapering in Europe is nothing like tapering in the U.S.Please see below: Source: ReutersReverse Repos Strike AgainAlso supporting a stronger U.S. dollar, the Fed’s waterfall of QE is running out of reservoirs. And after 92 counterparties drained nearly $1.605 trillion out of the U.S. financial system on Sep. 30, the Fed’s daily reverse repurchase agreements hit another all-time high.Please see below:Source: New York FedTo explain, a reverse repurchase agreement (repo) occurs when an institution offloads cash to the Fed in exchange for a Treasury security (on an overnight or short-term basis). And with U.S. financial institutions currently flooded with excess liquidity, they’re shipping cash to the Fed at an alarming rate. And while I’ve been warning for months that the activity is the fundamental equivalent of a taper – due to the lower supply of U.S. dollars (which is bullish for the USD Index) – as we await a formal announcement from the Fed, the U.S. dollar’s fundamental foundation remains robust.Furthermore, with the Fed’s daily reverse repos averaging $642 billion in June, $848 billion in July, $1.053 trillion in August, and $1.211 trillion in September, the accelerated liquidity drain further supports a stronger U.S. dollar.Stock Market On Its Last Legs?What’s more, with the safe-haven bid also an important piece of the USD Index’s puzzle, the stock market’s recent struggles still haven’t manifested into a full-blown correction. However, with seasonal factors signaling more weakness ahead, a profound drawdown of the S&P 500 could accelerate the pace of the USD Index’s uprising.Please see below:To explain, the blue and green bars above track the average monthly performance of the S&P 500 after a new U.S. President takes office. If you analyze the columns labeled “Sep” and “Oct,” you can see that the end of summer often elicits the worst monthly performances. And while the S&P 500 capped off September with a 1.19% decline, the weakness should continue in October.As evidence, Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock plunged by more than 22% on Sep. 30. And with supply chain disruptions and weak demand clashing with U.S. policy uncertainty, optimism is on shaky ground. For example, the retailer’s second-quarter adjusted EPS came in at $0.04 vs. $0.52 expected, while revenue came in at $1.99 billion vs. $2.06 billion expected. Moreover, the company slashed its third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance to between flat and $0.05, with revenue ranging from $1.96 billion to $2 billion. Analysts were expecting figures of $0.28 and $2.02 billion respectively.And while I’ve highlighted the issue on several occasions, CFO Gustavo Arnal lamented the fervor of surging freight costs. He said during the company’s Q2 earnings call:“What we're seeing now in the second quarter is, look, significant freight cost increases well above what we had anticipated. We had anticipated 240 basis points. We got 360 basis points. We're still projecting some sequential increase in freight costs as we go from Q2 to Q3.”Furthermore, CEO Mark Tritton said that the Delta variant has also “created a challenging and volatile environment:”“In August, the final and largest sales month of Q2, traffic unexpectedly slowed, and, therefore, sales did not materialize as we had anticipated. External disruptive forces such as the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and growing Delta fears created a challenging and volatile environment. This is particularly evident in large southern states, such as Florida and Texas, as well as California, which, in aggregate, represent approximately 30% of our total sales. From July to August, traffic trends evolved in this state and worsened by double-digit percentages.”As a result:“As the quarter progressed, particularly in August, conditions worsened relative to our thoughtful preparations. The speed of industry inflation and lead time pressures outpaced our plans to offset these headwinds, and as a result, we did not pivot fast enough, especially on price and margin recovery.”The bottom line? With the U.S. dollar already supported by a strong technical and fundamental foundation, a profound correction of the S&P 500 could be the next spark that lights the bullish fire. And with earnings season beginning in early/mid-October, more disappointments like what we witnessed with Bed Bath & Beyond could encourage the next correction. More importantly, though, given the PMs’ strong negative correlations with the U.S. dollar, a sharp move higher in the greenback could coincide with a sharp move lower in the PMs.In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Sep. 30, but the bearish thesis remains unchanged: the USD Index is poised for an upward re-rating and U.S. Treasury yields still have the medium-term wind at their backs. Moreover, with the general stock market showing signs of stress, a real bout of panic could also uplift the USD Index and upend the PMs. As a result, lower precious metals prices should materialize over the next few months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Sharp Market Turns Not To Miss

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.10.2021 15:58
S&P 500 steeply declined, yet the credit markets offered a glimmer of hope to suck in the bulls – and thus far, the premarket bounce is sticking. The fact that buying the dip didn‘t work in the 4,350s area, needs some digesting today – the overnight stampede didn‘t develop. The sectoral view though doesn‘t allow to declare the bottom to be in just yet. The technical bounce would be probably led by value, with tech lagging behind regardless of the anticipated daily stabilization / retreat in yields.Neither the VIX has calmed down considerably yet. The bulls must be perplexed why buying the dip hasn‘t worked this time around (and before). The sizable open short profits can keep growing. As stated yesterday:(…) VIX understandably calmed down [Wednesday], but doesn‘t give impression of yielding too much to the downside – on the contrary, it seems to be on a general uptrend since early Jul. Volatility is returning, and that‘s characteristic of the unfolding correction.How far lower would it reach? The 4,340 followed by 4,300 and lower to mid 4,250 are the key supports. The bulls haven‘t (and face quite many headwinds from related markets, including the dollar) stepped in to close Tuesday‘s gap, which would be a game changer. For now, we‘re in a trading range where the bears have the advantage. The stock market bull hasn‘t topped, we‘re merely in an unpleasant correction, of which the daily upswing in utilities or consumer staples is a testament.The key fundamental events Thursday were Powell acknowledging that pesky inflation and China ordering its state-owned enterprises to secure oil supplies for the coming winter at any cost. The former finally lit the fuse behind precious metals (did you see how profoundly silver recovered from that $8bn futures contract drop representing 40% of worldwide mining output before Powell spoke on Wednesday?), the latter keeps crude oil prices underpinned.That‘s why I wasn‘t spooked by the copper plunge yesterday (really out of tune with the commodities sentiment and CRB Index performance) – the commodities superbull is merely getting started. Bringing up the key inflation thoughts of yesterday:(…) The slowly but surely acknowledged inflation surprise will come back to bite the central bank as inflation expectations are finally surging again, reflecting the cost-push inflation (hello commodities superbull), job market challenges and increasingly strained supply chains characterized by order cuts, delays, shortages and general issues in getting merchandise where it‘s awaited (hello port congestion, docking plus trucking staff shortages and full container ships anchored and awaiting unloading). And I‘m not even talking record drought through the West Coast stretching into Rockies and Midwest, or China electricity rationing. Precious metals seem to be the most undervalued asset class these weeks really.Once we look back at autumn 2021 a few short years down the road, we would all say that precious metals have been outrageously undervalued indeed. And have you seen the great crypto breakout that‘s making bulls such as myself very happy... Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 pause is very clearly over, and the bears keep having the upper hand.Credit MarketsCredit markets let the bulls have second thoughts, and the high HYG volume indicates a brief pause in the stock market selling.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals sprang to life – first swallow of a turnaround. The bottom looks to be in, and would be confirmed by silver increasing in price faster than gold in order to bring the gold to silver ratio back down from its 80 local top. Reinforcing that move would be copper catching up and outperforming the CRB Index too.Crude OilCrude oil consolidation continues, and every dip is being bought. Upswing continuation appears a question of time only.CopperCopper downswing could have attracted higher volume but that doesn‘t detract from a vigorous response of the bulls coming most likely next. The pattern of lower highs is likely to be broken to the upside the cryptos way (discussed next), in due time.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum bulls confirmed they were on the move, and the early Sep highs are next in their sights. The chart is very bullish, and the daily indicators have plenty of room to go before reaching overbought levels.SummaryStocks aren‘t out of the woods yet, but the bears are likely to take a daily pause today. Inflation is coming back into focus, today‘s core PCE price index confirms it isn‘t going away any time soon, and Treasury yield spreads (10-year over 2-year) are coming back from the false breakdown earlier in Sep, which would feed into the hunger for commodities.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Natural Gas News: Europe Lacks Supply, So It Turns to Asia

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.10.2021 17:00
What’s happening in the natural gas markets? Prices are surging like crazy. The answer may be complex, but I’m here to provide it.Market AnalysisToday, we expect the market to be accumulating since the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 88 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas into storage for the week ending on Sept. 24. This could indeed be explained by warmer temperatures and entering the month of October.New Futures Market in TurkeyFor those interested in watching foreign energy markets, please note that today marks the start of the Turkish Natural Gas Futures Market (NFM), a new milestone in the Nat-Gas trade.(Source: Turkey Energy Outlook)European GasGas prices are still fuelled by supply concerns in Europe, where inventories are recording multi-year lows. FYI, we also talked about this in a previous edition of Oil Trading Alerts.(Source: EnergyScan)The sudden spike in Asia JKM November 2021 prices could be explained by the fact that European buyers are forced to keep competing aggressively with their Asian counterparts to attract LNG cargoes (Liquefied Natural Gas Transportation).Figure 1 – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGX21) Futures (November contract, daily, logarithmic scale)Figure 2 – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGV21) Futures (October contract, weekly chart, logarithmic scale)In brief, today we provided you with some recent updates regarding the market developments for various natural gas markets in order to get a wider view of what’s happening in them. Nobody said it’s impossible to navigate through them. That’s what I do best – I keep an eye on everything energy-related happening in the world. Detailed positions for oil/natural gas trading can be found in my premium Oil Trading Alerts.Have a nice weekend!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Rally Slows Down - 04.10.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.10.2021 08:52
USDCAD awaits breakoutThe Canadian dollar recovered after July’s GDP growth beat expectations.The daily chart still favors the greenback even though the hourly price action is stuck in a narrowing range between 1.2600 and 1.2800. The indecision would end with a breakout that will dictate the direction for the next few days.Multiple tests of the demand zone around 1.2600 suggest solid interest in keeping the uptrend intact. A bullish breakout would cause another attempt at August’s peak (1.2950), whereas a bearish one would lead to a revisit of 1.2500.EURGBP tests demand zoneThe pound swings higher likely due to profit-taking, following a sharp sell-off. The euro’s surge has hit a speed bump at July’s high (0.8660).An overbought RSI and its bearish divergence have prompted short-term buyers to take chips off the table. The support-turned-resistance at 0.8620 capped a rebound.The upside bias is still valid as long as the pair is above 0.8525, the base of the latest rally. The bulls may trigger an extended rally if they can lift 0.8625. Failing that, the price may drop to 0.8485.SPX 500 faces key hurdleThe S&P 500 struggles as concerns over economic slowdown spread. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart indicates that sentiment has turned sour.The fall below 4340 has shattered the hope of a quick rebound. The index is testing last July’s low at 4270. A repeatedly oversold RSI has triggered a buying-the-dips mentality.The early bulls will need to close above 4400 before they could attract momentum buyers’ attention. Otherwise, the bears would be eager to sell into strength.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Waiting For Inflation to Hit

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.10.2021 15:48
S&P 500 didn‘t make it to the overnight lows during the regular session, and almost fully reversed Thursday‘s slide. After an intraday tug of war, the credit markets leaned the bullish way, and VIX looks like it would try to move a little lower next. Coupled with the put/call ratio, that means a slight advantage for the bulls.The daily retreat in yields spurred a strong tech upswing – stronger one than in value. Given that yields are likely to keep rising due to the red hot inflation and in order to force Fed‘s hand on taper, that‘s a watchout for the bulls not to get carried away with Friday‘s upswing.Forget for a moment about the debt ceiling drama or the postponed vote on the $3.5T infrastructure bill. As I wrote on Thursday regarding inflation, commodities and supply chains, add in the question marks over economic growth and job market strength, and you‘ll get the stagflationary picture. Should this theme gather steam, it would lit the fuse under precious metals and commodities – just as it did in the 1970s,, and that‘s why rising interest rates needn‘t be gold‘s death knell, and why silver would rise in price and popularity. Such a time would correspond with a certain malaise in the stock market, to put it mildly. Real assets stand to gain much – and this time, cryptos as a then non-existent asset class, would benefit too. Earliest, I‘m looking for profits in energy, base metals, agrifoods and the other real assets – indeed, the open long oil and copper positions are solidly profitable again.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 rebound holds more than one day‘s promise, but a fair observation is that the bullish – bearish forces are roughly even early this week.Credit MarketsCredit markets lack the strength of stock market conviction, and look to need a bit more time to confirm. If they don‘t, erasure of Friday‘s bullish uptick comes next – and as the bond guys usually get it right...Gold, Silver and MinersGold consolidated while silver dealt with that daily slide. Gold volume could have been higher really, to lend more credibility to the nascent upswing. Once silver starts outperforming gold, we would know the focus is turning back to inflation consistently – we aren‘t there yet.Crude OilThere is no stopping crude oil, and oil stocks confirm – in spite of the lower volume on Friday, the path of least resistance is higher.CopperCopper recovered from that odd Thursday weakness, yet still continues woefully underperforming the CRB Index. I remain optimistic the red metal would rise next into the mid 4.20s at least.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum confirmed the upswing by not retreating, and the early Sep highs are next in sight. The daily indicators have reached consolidation levels, which means the upswing may take a while to develop.SummaryStock market bears have taken a daily pause, and credit markets point to a tight range entry to the week. Rising yields is no fluke – inflation is coming back into focus, which would be a boon to precious metals and commodities well beyond energy. Cryptos stand to do great, too.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Miners: What the HUI Index Says About the Medium-Term

Miners: What the HUI Index Says About the Medium-Term

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.10.2021 16:34
Ignoring cycles, trends, and technical patterns is a potential recipe for disaster. The HUI index can tell us a lot about the near future.After the HUI Index sunk to a new 2021 low last week, the index further validated the breakdown below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern. For context, H&S’ breakdowns have coincided with the largest declines in the HUI Index in recent decades. And while gold’s triangle-vertex-based reversal point may stop the bleeding in the very short-term, the HUI Index’s wounds are far from healed. To explain, I’ve been sounding the alarm on the HUI Index since the New Year (the index has declined by more than 29% YTD) and I wrote the following on Sep. 13:The HUI Index plunged by nearly 6% last week, and the reversal of the previous corrective upswing mirrors its behavior from 2013. In addition, with its stochastic oscillator and its RSI (Relative Strength Index) also a spitting image, an ominous re-enactment of 2013 implies significantly lower prices over the medium term.Please see below:Furthermore, while I’ve also been warning about the ominous similarity to 2012-2013, the HUI Index continues to hop into the time machine. To explain, the vertical, dashed lines above demonstrate how the HUI Index is following its 2012-2013 playbook. For example, after a slight buy signal from the stochastic indicator in 2012, the short-term pause was followed by another sharp drawdown. For context, after the HUI Index recorded a short-term buy signal in late 2012 – when the index’s stochastic indicator was already below the 20 level (around 10) and the index was in the process of forming the right shoulder of a huge, medium-term head-and-shoulders pattern – the index moved slightly higher, consolidated, and then fell off a cliff. Thus, the HUI Index is quite likely to decline to its 200-week moving average (or so) before pausing and recording a corrective upswing. That’s close to the 220 level. Thereafter, the index will likely continue its bearish journey and record a final medium-term low some time in December.Furthermore, I warned previously that the miners’ drastic underperformance of gold was an extremely bearish sign. There were several weeks when gold rallied visibly, and the HUI Index actually declined modestly. And now, gold stocks are trading close to their previous 2021 lows, while gold is almost right in the middle between its yearly high and its yearly low.And why is this so important? Well, because the bearish implications of gold stocks’ extreme underperformance still remain intact.Let’s keep in mind that the drastic underperformance of the HUI Index also preceded the bloodbath in 2008 as well as in 2012 and 2013. To explain, right before the huge slide in late September and early October 2008, gold was still moving to new intraday highs; the HUI Index was ignoring that, and then it declined despite gold’s rally. However, it was also the case that the general stock market suffered materially. If stocks didn’t decline so profoundly back then, gold stocks’ underperformance relative to gold would have likely been present but more moderate.Nonetheless, broad head & shoulders patterns have often been precursors to monumental collapses. For example, when the HUI Index retraced a bit more than 61.8% of its downswing in 2008 and in between 50% and 61.8% of its downswing in 2012 before eventually rolling over, in both (2008 and 2012) cases, the final top – the right shoulder – formed close to the price where the left shoulder topped. And in early 2020, the left shoulder topped at 303.02. Thus, three of the biggest declines in the gold mining stocks (I’m using the HUI Index as a proxy here) all started with broad, multi-month head-and-shoulders patterns. And in all three cases, the size of the declines exceeded the size of the head of the pattern. As a reminder, the HUI Index recently completed the same formation.Yes, the HUI Index moved back below the previous lows and the neck level of the formation, which – at face value – means that the formation was invalidated, but we saw a similar “invalidation” in 2000 and in 2013. Afterwards, the decline followed anyway. Consequently, I don’t think that taking the recent move higher at its face value is appropriate. It seems to me that the analogies to the very similar situation from the past are more important.As a result, we’re confronted with two bearish scenarios:If things develop as they did in 2000 and 2012-2013, gold stocks are likely to bottom close to their early-2020 low.If things develop like in 2008 (which might be the case, given the extremely high participation of the investment public in the stock market and other markets), gold stocks could re-test (or break slightly below) their 2016 low.In both cases, the forecast for silver, gold, and mining stocks is extremely bearish for the next several months.For even more confirmation, let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the GDX ETF closed at a new 2021 low last week and sunk below $30 for the first time since April 2020. For context, I warned of a forthcoming calamity on Sep. 7:I wrote:Large spikes in daily volume are often bearish, not bullish. To explain, three of the last four volume outliers preceded an immediate top (or near) for the GDX ETF, while the one that preceded the late July rally was soon followed by the GDX ETF’s 2020 peak. Thus, when investors go ‘all in,’ material declines often follow. And with that, spike-high volume during the GDX ETF’s upswings often presents us with great shorting opportunities.Moreover, even after the forecast became reality, the GDX ETF’s medium-term outlook remains quite bearish. For example, while gold bounced late last week and recouped its losses, the GDX ETF’s tepid rise further validated the senior miners’ underperformance.As a result, the relative weakness implies lower lows over the next few months.Please see below:As for the GDXJ ETF, I wrote on Sep. 7 that overzealous investors would likely end the week disappointed:With the current move quite similar to the corrective upswing recorded in mid-May, the springtime bounce was also followed by a sharp drawdown. As a result, the GDXJ ETF could be near its precipice, as its 50-day moving average is right ahead. And with the key level now acting as resistance, investors’ rejection on Sep. 3 could indicate that the top is already here.And while the junior miners followed the roadmap to perfection, the GDXJ ETF still elicits material weakness. As a result, the GDXJ ETF remains poised to reach the ~$35 level over the medium term.Please see below:Finally, while I’ve been warning for months that the GDXJ/GDX ratio was destined for devaluation, the downtrend remains intact. And with the ratio reversing lower after reaching its declining resistance line, the medium-term implications remain unchanged. On top of that, if a stock-market swoon enters the equation, the ratio’s drawdown could be fast and furious (like what happened during the March 2020 crash).To explain, when the ratio’s RSI jumped above 50 three times in 2021, it coincided with short-term peaks in gold. Second, the trend in the ratio this year has been clearly down, and there’s no sign of a reversal, especially when you consider that the ratio broke below its 2019 support (which served as resistance in mid-2020). When the same thing happened in 2020, the ratio then spiked even below 1.The bottom line?If the ratio is likely to continue its decline, then on a short-term basis we can expect it to decline to 1.27 or so. If the general stock market plunges, the ratio could move even lower, but let’s assume that stocks decline moderately (just as they did in the last couple of days) or that they do nothing or rally slightly. They’ve done all the above recently, so it’s natural to expect that this will be the case. Consequently, the trend in the GDXJ to GDX ratio would also be likely to continue, and thus expecting a move to about 1.26 - 1.27 seems rational.If the GDX is about to decline to approximately $28 before correcting, then we might expect the GDXJ to decline to about $28 x 1.27 = $35.56 or $28 x 1.26 = $35.28. In other words, ~$28 in the GDX is likely to correspond to about $35 in the GDXJ.Is there any technical support around $35 that would be likely to stop the decline? Yes. It’s provided by the late-Feb. 2020 low ($34.70) and the late-March high ($34.84). There’s also the late-April low at $35.63. Conservatively, I’m going to place the profit-take level just above the latter.Consequently, it seems that expecting the GDXJ to decline to about $35 is justified from the technical point of view as well.Speaking of ratios, there was also a major breakdown in the gold to gold stocks ratio which most likely heralds severe declines in the following weeks/months, and if you’re interested in it, I recorded a (or search for “Sunshine Profits” on YouTube – it’s the Oct. 2 video).In conclusion, gold, silver, and mining stocks have all broken down technically, and their fundamental outlooks also remain quite treacherous over the next few months. With the USD Index hitting a new 2021 high last week and U.S. Treasury yields also rallying, the pairs’ upward momentum should continue over the medium term. Moreover, with the general stock market also showing signs of stress, a profound decline could add to the precious metals’ ills. As a result, gold, silver, and mining stocks’ weakness should continue before lasting bottoms likely form near the end of the year.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

How the Recent Natural Gas Surge Boosts Crude Prices

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.10.2021 18:00
This could be an interesting week for both energy commodity markets!Market AnalysisWhile most of the UK fuel crisis is resolved, the British government suggested that the military truck drivers will be helping out to facilitate the arrival of fuel to the South-East region, including London, where shortages still remain to be fixed around the capital.(Source: Matt Cartoons)As I already mentioned in a number of previous editions of our Oil Trading Alerts, we are still witnessing a very particular phenomenon of gas demand shifting to oil demand, as crude is nowadays relatively more competitive. Thus, this switch in energy demand could come in the following forms:From a slowdown in electricity production in Asia.From a hedging effect in the anticipation of a colder than normal winter in the northern hemisphere.OPEC+ members are meeting today and, therefore, might increase their production a little more than expected to rebalance supply. So, would it help the black gold to make a new dip?Check out my premium analysis for full trading positions.Figure 1 – WTI Crude Oil (CLX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale)Figure 2 – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGX21) Futures (November contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale)Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Bitcoin is an equal wealth preserver to gold

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 05.10.2021 09:04
At a closer look:Bitcoin is divisible to a much higher degree than gold. This means even small purchases can be made in dire times.It is also scarcer than gold since a maximum of twenty-one million coins defines it, while gold supply is speculative and continuously mined.Where bitcoin truly shines is in its portability. A long-distance payment in gold can provide quite some hurdles, while a bitcoin transaction is verified typically within less than an hour anywhere in the world.Verifiability is an easy one for bitcoin on a computer, and not so easy for gold. From a security perspective, a tiny “USB-like” stick can hold all your wealth when it comes to bitcoin, while a Fort Knocks is necessary for a more extensive gold amount for protection.Now that we have established bitcoins validity to measure up to the big boys, let us look at its desirability from a chart perspective regarding acquisition timing.Housing Sector Index in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Clouds on the horizon:Housing Sector Index in US-Dollar, daily chart as of October 4th, 2021.With China’s real estate bubble in bloom and markets intertwined throughout the globe, early warning signals also start to show in the US. The daily chart above of the HGX (Housing Sector Index) gives such an indication clearly. We see a similar picture of a previous swift decline (-50%) setting up at the 200 moving average (orange line) right now. The index, composed of companies whose primary lines of business are directly associated with the U.S. housing construction market, already lost more than 18% from its recent top last May.Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Everything is possible:Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of October 4th, 2021.Most of the time, real estate is the first turning point for the market to come undone. Closely followed by the Russel 2000, then the S&P500, Dow, and Nasdaq 100. Precious metals are not spared since money is needed to pay for margin calls. All asset classes get in motion, and so will Bitcoin; rather sooner than later, since “exotics” typically are cannon fodder. No worries, though; it will be in turn also in the early recovery field alongside precious metals.A look at a monthly gold chart shows a ten-year bullish uptrend followed by a ten-year wide sideways range. Consequently, we are left with two likely scenarios. A trend continuation initiated by a breakout to new highs. And equally a possibility after the wide double top built in August last year that prices decline further down. This especially if Gold comes under pressure of an altogether market crash. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Bitcoin is an equal wealth preserver to gold:Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of October 5th, 2021.China isn’t just the forefront threat regarding real estate but also an insight into how strong regulation of a market, in this case, bitcoin, can have detrimental effects on a market already in a retracement. It is likely that the crypto space and bitcoin will see a second wave of regulatory attacks in the US.The weekly bitcoin chart illustrates that price is stuck in a distribution zone, with a second resistance zone right above (red squares). We find these price levels less attractive from a market low-risk entry perspective. Consequently, we see a more attractive entry point once the market has shown its hand. Now is the time to keep the powder dry and act sensibly after the possible storm shows first signs of clearing skies.Bitcoin is an equal wealth preserver to gold:Evolution churns slowly, and gold outperforms bitcoin by far when it comes to established history. But as much as change might come slowly to human behavior, it is yet a fact that once fuel injection was outperforming carburetors, that sooner or later, everyone wants the better performing car. What we did not mention yet is bitcoins advantage over gold in the aspect of decentralization—a new element to money that could come to the forefront of importance faster than assumed just yet.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|October 5th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Lacks Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 05.10.2021 09:26
USDJPY retreats below resistanceThe dollar bounced back against the yen after a weak Tokyo CPI in September.As the pair rose to the peak from February 2020 (112.20), a bearish RSI divergence revealed weakness in the momentum. A break below 111.20 and a bearish MA cross may have dented optimism.The US dollar has seen bids at 110.90 when the RSI neared the oversold area. However, the bounce has been capped by 111.50 as trapped buyers were waiting to get out. A new round of sell-off would send the price to the psychological level of 110.00.USDNOK tests critical supportRally in oil prices helped lift the Norwegian krone against the greenback.The pair had met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone around 8.8000. A sharp drop below 8.6500, which has turned into resistance, suggests that sellers have regained control of the action.A close below 8.5500 (a major support from the daily chart) would invalidate the latest rebound and put the dollar on a bearish trajectory. An oversold RSI may cause a temporary bounce. 8.4500 would be the next stop when momentum traders stake in.GER 40 hovers over major supportStock markets still jitter over ongoing supply chain disruptions.The Dax 40 has been treading water over the psychological level of 15000. A bullish RSI divergence in this important demand zone indicates that selling has become less aggressive.However, it may be too soon to call for a U-turn. The bulls must take out 15330 before they could convince trend-followers of a turnaround. Then, 15700 would be the next hurdle.On the downside, a bearish breakout would trigger a wave of stop-losses, sending the index towards 14500.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - 05.10.2021

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.10.2021 15:43
S&P 500 stopped consolidating in the 4,340s shortly after the open, and went largely one way since – except for the run up to the closing bell, which I used to grab short profits off the table. The overnight pump is at work today – not vigorously, but still. Given the credit market posture (yields not rising much on the day), a brief retracement in tech can be expected – especially since yesterday‘s outage news were what powered it in the first place.VIX has gone nowhere yesterday, and looks unwilling to spend much time below 21 really. We‘re at crossroads where the supports I mentioned on Thursday, are giving way one after another. 4,260s are next in line, followed by 4200s – it would take time to get there, and Friday‘s non-farm payrolls could be the catalyst. Unless they come in outrageously weak, the Fed is likely to announce taper in Nov – monetary policy deceleration into a weakening economy while inflation expectations are rising, supply chains increasingly strained to the point that the International Chamber of Shipping has issued a red alert warning of a global transport systems collapse – make you go hmm. Something tells me the Fed won‘t be as successful jawboning inflation as in June – its favorite metric, the PCE deflator, isn‘t yielding, and the realization that inflation is here to stay, is creeping in. I don't know how so much of the financial universe could have been duped by the transitory narrative... for so long.The energy squeeze is on – I cashed in sizable oil profits yesterday (check at my site the portfolio performance at fresh highs!) – the dollar is stalling, cryptos are rising and adding to open profits too, while precious metals are waking up. I‘m looking for silver to lead and be more resilient – the gold to silver ratio falling first below 73 would be a welcome confirmation of the budding broad recognition of inflation across the markets.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 volume doesn‘t show the buyers are serious here. This downswing isn‘t over.Credit MarketsHYG was really weak yesterday, but the quality debt instruments positioning hints at a reprieve, at a risk-off led S&P 500 pause next.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver upswing was finally joined by the miners – the sentiment is warming up to further gains.Crude OilThe crude oil elevator hasn‘t stopped yet, but I wouldn‘t be surprised by a consolidation of gained ground next.CopperCopper upswing was a bit too readily sold into, and the volume wasn‘t stellar. This long sideways trend isn‘t over yet.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are approaching the early Sep highs – and look likely to overcome them.SummaryStock market bears still have the upper hand, and credit markets are signalling caution. None of the intraday reversals to the upside have stuck, and we haven‘t reached a local bottom yet. Coupled with the stagflationary undertones, the cyclically sensitive commodities have a harder time than oil. The dollar is likely to come under increasing pressure, which would underpin precious metals and commodities alike.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Will Q4 2021 Be Better for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.10.2021 16:57
The third quarter of 2021 was bad for gold, with a particularly awful September. Could the remainder of the year be any better for the yellow metal?September is believed to be, from the historical point of view, one of the best months for gold. Well, September 2021 definitely wasn’t very good for the yellow metal. As the chart below shows, the price of gold declined almost 4% in that month (from $1,814.85 at the end of August to $1,742.80 at the end of September).Actually, the whole third quarter was rather disappointing for the yellow metal, which lost 1.15% over the last three months. However, it was still much better than the disastrous first quarter of the year in which gold plunged more than 10%. So far, the yellow metal is 7.67% down year-to-date.But why did gold perform so poorly last month despite elevated inflation and all the risks present to the US economy? Long story short, rising bond yields and the stronger greenback were the main headwinds for gold in September and, more generally, in the whole Q3 2021, as one can see in the chart below.In the first half of the year, the US dollar performed rather poorly, but a more hawkish Fed helped to revive the greenback and push interest rates higher. In such an environment, any safe-haven bets – amid the uncertainty about the debt ceiling, debt problems in China, etc. – were channeled into the US dollar alone. In other words, because of the expectations of the Fed’s tapering, the recent risk-off sentiment has benefited only the greenback, not gold. So, gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset has diminished recently. The same applies, actually, to gold’s status as an inflation hedge.To be clear, the whole issue is more nuanced. I believe that gold still has anti-inflationary features, especially when inflation is very high and accelerating. I also think that gold will retain its purchasing power over the long run. It might simply be the case that rising interest rates counterweighed the reasons for investing in gold during inflation, especially given that it seems that the Fed convinced the markets that inflation would only be temporary.However, if inflation turns out to be more persistent, the Fed could find itself behind the curve, while the real interest rates could stay at very low levels. In such a scenario, the demand for gold as a hedge against inflation could rise again. As a reminder, there are many arguments for high inflation staying with us for longer. Even Powell admitted last week that inflationary pressure would run into next year:It’s also frustrating to see the bottlenecks and supply chain problems not getting better — in fact at the margins apparently getting a little bit worse (…) We see that continuing into next year probably, and holding up inflation longer than we had thought.Implications for GoldWhat does it all imply for the gold market? Well, the recent jump in gold prices is quite welcoming. However, it doesn’t change gold’s bearish outlook for the fourth quarter of 2021. Gold has been unable to surpass $1,800, and it looks like it wants to keep falling. In particular, any new hawkish comments from the Fed could push gold prices down even further.Having said that, I’m more optimistic about gold in 2022. One reason is that, over time, the narrative about transitory inflation will look less and less convincing. Meanwhile, the odds of some inflationary crisis, or stagflation, should be higher and higher.Second, the Fed’s tightening cycle seems to already be priced in to a large extent. So, the actual moves could start supporting gold at some point, in line with the logic of “sell the rumor, buy the fact”, especially if the moves are accompanied by dovish rhetoric, as it was partially the case during the last tightening cycle of 2015-2019.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Sell-Off Fades

John Benjamin John Benjamin 06.10.2021 09:30
XAUUSD tests resistanceGold hit a speed bump after an upbeat ISM Services PMI boosted the dollar’s appeal.The metal saw buying interest in the major demand zone around 1720. A bullish RSI divergence indicates a slowdown in the pace of the sell-off. The initial surge above 1745 could be due to profit-taking from the short side, a prerequisite for a reversal.1775 is the main hurdle and its breach may lead to the psychological level of 1800. On the downside, the area between 1720 and 1740 is the floor to keep price action afloat.AUDUSD attempts to reboundThe Australian dollar consolidated its gains after the RBA played down the rate-hike pressure.The rally above 0.7250 has prompted short-term traders to take some chips off the table. However, the bulls will need to clear the main hurdle at 0.7310 before they could extend upward. The RSI’s double top in this congestion area may momentarily restrain their optimism.In case of a pullback, 0.7190 is a key support to keep the rebound relevant. Failing that, the pair could tumble towards the daily support at 0.7120.NAS 100 breaks key supportThe Nasdaq 100 struggles as investors rotate out of growth stocks amid an uncertain outlook.The break below last July’s low (14450) has pushed the index into a deeper correction. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart points to a downgrade in market sentiment.An oversold RSI has caused a temporary rebound, which would be an opportunity for trend followers to sell into strength. 14330 is the next support. Short-term traders who are brave enough to buy the dips must push through 14850 to secure a foothold.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Getting Cornered

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.10.2021 15:38
S&P 500 rally fizzled out overnight as stagflation worries are gaining firmer ground. The focus shifted to more Chinese property developers, and German factory orders drop was larger than expected – and at the same time, both inflation and inflation expectations keep rising.VIX indeed hasn‘t declined below 21, and today‘s session has bearish understones again. The cynics could ask how long before the Fed rides to Treasuries rescue, breaking the dollar upswing (not that signs of its weakening wouldn‘t be there), which would help stocks crawl back somewhat? Tech already defied rising yields yesterday, but can its upswing stick? Not too likely, for there is a shift happening, and that merits attention of commodities, PMs and crypto investors. The paper asset bears have the advantage while inflation is getting increasingly a recognized issue, underpinning real assets and cryptocurrencies.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 volume doesn‘t confirm the upswing‘s strength.Credit MarketsHYG holding up better could be interpreted as mildly risk-on, but given the bond market sentiment, it remains suspect.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are feeling the heat of rising rates / underpinned dollar, but notice that the bears have a harder and harder time to drive down these paper prices.Crude OilCrude oil ascent is approaching $80 resistance, and will likely back and fill before taking up on this level. Given the celebrations in oil stocks, this time is approaching.CopperCopper keeps struggling in spite of broader commodities strength – the red metal is bidding its time.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum keep consolidating gained ground, and the bears are likely to make a very temporary appearance.SummaryStock market bears continue having the upper hand, and credit markets are thinking twice about every upswing. As the stagflationary atmosphere intensifies, look for the commodities to do much better than stocks or bonds, and for precious metals to join once the Fed wobbles again, or sees its bluff called.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Extend Their Consolidation Ahead of Friday’s NFP Data

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.10.2021 15:55
Stocks extended their consolidation yesterday as the index gained over 1%. But today it is expected to open lower again. Is this a bottoming pattern?The S&P 500 index gained 1.05% on Tuesday, as it bounced from the 4,300 level again. For now, it looks like a consolidation following a month-long decline. The market will be waiting for Friday’s Nonfarm Payrolls number release and the coming quarterly corporate earnings season. Today’s ADP Non-Farm Employment Change release has been better than expected at +568,000, but it only brought more uncertainty ahead of the Friday’s data. And we will likely see some further short-term fluctuations. The main indices are expected to open around 0.8% lower this morning.The support level remains at 4,290-4,300. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,375-4,400, marked by the recent local highs. The S&P 500 continues to trade below its month-long downward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):Dow Jones Is Also Going SidewaysLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. In early September the blue-chip index broke below a two-month-long rising wedge downward reversal pattern. Last week it got back closer to the mid-September local low. However, unlike the broad stock market’s gauge, it managed to stay above that support level. The nearest important resistance level remains at around 34,500, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple Broke Below Its Support LevelApple stock weighs around 6.1% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. Since early September it has been declining from the record high. Recently the stock broke below the support level of around $142, marked by the previous local lows. The $142 price level is acting as a resistance level right now.ConclusionThe S&P 500 index has been trading within a short-term consolidation since last Thursday. On Monday the broad stock market retraced its Friday’s advance and the S&P 500 index fell to the 4,300 level again but yesterday it came back higher. There have been no confirmed positive signals so far. However, the risk/reward perspective seems less favorable right now and no positions are currently justified.Here’s the breakdown:The S&P 500 trades within a short-term consolidation that looks like a flat correction within a month-long downtrend.Our speculative short position has been closed right before the opening of Friday’s cash market’s trading session.However, we are still expecting more downward pressure and a correction to 4,200-4,250 level.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Fed: Singing the Inflation Blues

Fed: Singing the Inflation Blues

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.10.2021 16:49
With inflation surging and Powell praying for a “transitory” miracle, the troubles confronting the Fed are accelerating, not decelerating.“I got the blues, Got those inflation blues”-- B.B. KingTo explain, I wrote on Sep. 24:I’ve warned on several occasions that the only way for the Fed to control inflation is to increase the value of the U.S. dollar and decrease the value of commodities. However, with commodities’ fervor accelerating on Sep. 23 – a day when the USD Index declined – the price action should concern Chairman Jerome Powell. As a result, FOMC participants’ 2022 inflation forecast is likely wishful thinking and they may find that a faster liquidity drain (which is bullish for the U.S. dollar) is their only option to control the pricing pressures.To that point, with energy prices increasingly unhinged and WTI on pace for its seventh-straight week of weekly gains, the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) has been on fire recently. For context, the S&P GSCI contains 24 commodities from all sectors: six energy products, five industrial metals, eight agricultural products, three livestock products and two precious metals. However, energy accounts for roughly 54% of the index’s movement.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the S&P GSCI’s current rally off of the bottom, while the red line above tracks the S&P GSCI’s rally off of the bottom in 2009-2010 (following the global financial crisis). If you analyze the middle of the chart, you can see that the S&P GSCI has completely run away from the 2009-2010 analogue. For context, at this point in 2009-2010, the S&P GSCI had rallied by 77% off of the bottom. However, as of the Oct. 5 close, the S&P GSCI has now rallied by 154% off of the April 2020 bottom.Furthermore, with higher energy and materials prices exacerbating the cost-push inflationary spiral, signs of stress remain abundant. For example, IHS Markit released its U.S. Manufacturing PMI on Oct. 1. And while the headline index declined from 61.1 in August to 60.7 in September, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, said that “prices charged for those goods leaving the factory gate also surged higher again in September, rising at a rate exceeding anything seen in nearly 15 years of survey history.”Please see below:Source: IHS MarkitSinging a similar tune, the Institute for Supply Management (ISI) released its Services PMI on Oct. 5. For context, the U.S. service sector has suffered the brunt of the Delta variant’s wrath. And though pricing pressures aren’t as feverish as they are in the U.S. manufacturing sector, the report revealed that inflation increased at a “faster” pace and that “all 18 services industries reported an increase in prices paid during the month of September.”In addition, PepsiCo released its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 5. And after beating analysts’ estimates on both the top and bottom lines, the beverage giant raised its full-year guidance. However, while demand remains resilient, 11.6% year-over-year (YoY) consolidated net revenue growth coincided with a 3% decline in diluted earnings per share (EPS).Despite that though, CEO Ramon Laguarta told analysts during the company’s Q3 earnings call that “what we're seeing across the world is much lower elasticity on the pricing that we've seen historically,” and as a result, price hikes are scheduled to commence in the coming months. For context, ‘elasticity’ attempts to quantify the change in demand that results from a change in price. And with CFO Hugh Johnston expecting charge inflation to outpace cost inflation going forward, “lower elasticity” is materially problematic for the Fed.Please see below:Source: PepsiCo/The Motley FoolIf that wasn’t enough, BMO Harris Bank announced on Oct. 5 that it will increase its minimum hourly wage for all branch and call-center employees by a “20 Percent Minimum” to $18 an hour. For context, BMO Harris Bank has more than 500 branches and more than 12,000 employees in the U.S.Please see below:Source: BMO Harris BankMore importantly, though, with Powell’s inflationary conundrum helping swing the double-edged sword that’s been fundamentally slashing the PMs, the USD Index rallied by 0.20% on Oct. 5 and U.S. Treasury yields strengthened across the board.Please see below:Source: Investing.comAs it relates to the dollar story, the USD Index’s fundamental strength is underwritten by the ‘dollar smile.’ To explain, when the U.S. economy is trudging along, the U.S. dollar tends to underperform. However, when the U.S. economy craters and a safe-haven bid emerges, the U.S. dollar often outperforms. Conversely (and similarly), when the U.S. economy is booming and higher interest rates materialize, the U.S. dollar also outperforms.By the way, I’ve discussed the situation in the USD Index at length in today’s video.For context, I indicated on Sep. 22:The USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields can move in the same direction or forge different paths. However, while a stock market crash is likely the most bearish fundamental outcome that could confront the PMs, scenario #2 is next in line. When U.S. economic strength provides a fundamental thesis for both the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields to rise (along with real interest rates), the double-edged sword often leaves the PMs with deep lacerations.To that point, with a mix of both playing out in the present, Sebastien Galy, senior macro strategist at Nordea, signalled clients that the dollar smile remains alive and well:“The dollar should continue to be supported by expectations of an eventual series of Fed rate hikes and the value of the dollar as a safe haven against a potential equity correction…. The downward trend in EUR/USD is likely to return in the coming weeks and months, suggesting EUR/USD around the 1.10 handle and potentially below that before moving higher.”As for the yield story, Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Financial, told clients that “markets appear increasingly jittery as the realization of a higher sustained level of inflation eventually resulting in a higher level of rates appears to be finally sinking in.... Against the backdrop of elevated inflation and rapidly rising energy costs, many market participants are skeptical the FOMC will be able to maintain these low rates for another year, let alone two.”The bottom line? With inflation running away from the Fed, suppressing commodity prices (by strengthening the U.S. dollar and/or raising interest rates) is the only way to calm the inflationary pressures. If not, surging commodity prices will likely further suppress consumer confidence, upend corporate profit margins, culminate with demand destruction and the stock market should suffer mightily (which is also bullish for the U.S. dollar). As a result, with Powell creating an even larger inflationary wildfire the longer he waits, the PMs could confront immense volatility over the medium term.In conclusion, the PMs were mixed on Oct. 5, though trouble looms large in the months ahead. With the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields ripe for upward re-ratings, the Fed’s “transitory” narrative hasn’t aged well. And with the PMs’ main villains doing a lot of their fundamental damage since Powell turned hawkish, more upside catalysts should emerge over the medium term. As a result, the PMs’ outlook remains profoundly bearish over the next few months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold Outlook: The Inflation Chasm Between Europe and the US

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 07.10.2021 15:45
With inflation more than two times lower in Europe than in the US, the divergence between the economic zones deepens day by day. How might it impact gold?QE InfinityWhile I’ve warned on several occasions that the Fed and the ECB are worlds apart, the latter now wants to provide more QE once it concludes QE. To explain, with the ECB’s PEPP program set to expire at the end of March 2022, the central bank is increasingly worried about a bond market sell-off. And with sluggish Eurozone growth, exorbitant sovereign debt and a lack of fiscal impulse increasing the ECB’s anxiety, officials are studying “alternatives” to suppress interest rates in the Eurozone’s most debt-ridden countries.Please see below:Source: BloombergFor context, I’ve been warning for months that the ECB would disappoint euro bulls.I wrote on Apr. 27:Recent whispers of the ECB tapering its bond-buying program are extremely premature. With the European economy still drastically underperforming the U.S., it’s actually more likely that the ECB increases the pace of its bond-buying program. Case in point: while the EUR/USD ignores the reality, last week’s PEPP purchases (€22.2 billion) by the ECB were the highest since June 2020. Moreover, since its March meeting, the ECB has increased its average daily PEPP purchases per week from €2.90 billion to €3.60 billion.To that point, with reality in fashion once again, the EUR/USD closed at a new 2021 low on Oct. 6 and sunk to its lowest level since July 2020. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the performance of the currency pair is material.Please see below:Furthermore, with the Fed closing in on a taper announcement and the ECB searching for new ways to extend QE, the divergence is profoundly bullish for the U.S. dollar. To explain, rising Eurozone inflation (which pales in comparison to the U.S.) underwrote misguided optimism for a hawkish shift. However, ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated her dovish stance on Oct. 5, saying that “we should not overreact to supply shortages or rising energy prices, as our monetary policy cannot directly affect those phenomena.”The Inflation Divergence Is ProfoundMoreover, while the Eurozone headline Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased by 3.4% year-over-year (YoY) in September (released on Oct. 1), the U.S. headline HICP surged by 6.77% in its latest print (released on Aug. 18). Even more revealing, if you exclude the inflationary impacts of food and energy prices, the Eurozone core HICP only increased by 1.9% YoY in September.Please see below:Source: EurostatIn stark contrast, the U.S. core Consumer Price Index (CPI) – which also excludes the inflationary impacts of food and energy prices and the latest release is more current than the U.S. HICP – increased by 4% YoY in August (released on Sep. 14).Please see below:In addition, while the Eurozone headline HICP at 3.4% YoY is still higher than the ECB’s 2% annual inflation target, it’s important to keep things in perspective. For example, since Lagarde has been leading the ECB, the Eurozone headline and core HICP have trended 0.8% and 1.7% below her annual targets. What’s more, when indexed from the beginning of 2012, Eurozone headline HICP is still 8% below the ECB’s 2% annual inflation trend.Please see below:Source: Frederik DucrozetTo explain, the red and blue lines above track the index levels of the Eurozone headline and core HICP, while the gray line above tracks the index level assuming the ECB has been meeting its 2% annual inflation target since the beginning of 2012. If you analyze the material gap on the right side of the chart, you can see that the ECB is far from achieving its objectives.Likewise, if we zoom in on the roughly two-year chart, both the Eurozone headline and core HICP are still tracking materially below the ECB’s annual inflation targets.Please see below: Source: Frederik DucrozetCyclical Slowdown Ahead?Furthermore, while the ECB studies “alternatives” to prevent interest rates from spiking in high-debt countries like Greece, Italy and Portugal, Germany – Europe’s largest economy – has suffered a significant economic setback. To explain, Germany is a manufacturing-heavy economy and exports are an important component of German GDP. However, with German factory orders plunging by 7.7% on Oct. 6 – with foreign demand down by 9.5% and domestic demand down by 5.2% – it was the sharpest month-over-month (MoM) decline since April 2020. For context, the consensus estimate was for a 2.1% decline.Please see below:Piecing it all together, with interest rate anxiety merging with a cyclical slowdown in Europe, Danske Bank expects lower-for-longer ECB policy to contribute to a lower-for-longer EUR/USD. The Danish bank’s strategists told clients:“There has been no shortage of calls for EUR/USD to 1.30, of pieces written on a regime shift having happened in fiscal policy, oversubscription to social bonds and much more. However, narratives change…. Stagflation, rapid cyclical slowdown, rising interest rates and a correction in valuations may prove to be a very negative capital shock to the euro area and its asset prices. We target 1.13 in spot EUR/USD in the next year but if stagflation, cyclical slowdown and rising rates become dominant themes, then there seem to be clear downside to such estimate.”Adding to the bearish euro thesis, with U.S. nonfarm payrolls scheduled for release on Oct. 8, a strong print could usher the EUR/USD even lower. For example, ADP’s private payrolls came in at 568,000 vs. 428,000 expected on Oct. 6. And though ADP’s data is an extremely poor predictor of U.S. nonfarm payrolls, Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, provided the following context:“The labor market recovery continues to make progress despite a marked slowdown from the 748,000 job pace in the second quarter. Leisure and hospitality remains one of the biggest beneficiaries to the recovery, yet hiring is still heavily impacted by the trajectory of the pandemic, especially for small firms. Current bottlenecks in hiring should fade as the health conditions tied to the COVID-19 variant continue to improve, setting the stage for solid job gains in the coming months.”And expecting those “solid job gains” to materialize sooner rather than later, J.P. Morgan strategists told clients that “we are looking for a 575,000 gain in jobs [on Oct. 8]. The driver for an above-consensus forecast is the expected rebound in the leisure and hospitality sectors.” For context, the consensus estimate is for 500,000 jobs added.The bottom line? While the EUR/USD is finally starting to reflect fundamental reality, more downside should materialize in the coming months. With the Fed accelerating its hawkish rhetoric (and Chairman Jerome Powell’s shift the most noteworthy), the ECB is headed in the opposite direction. And while I’ve been warning for months that the Eurozone’s economic recovery is much more fragile than the U.S.’, the seeds are now sown for a profound divergence in central bank policy.Moreover, while U.S. nonfarm payrolls may or may not accelerate the timeline on Oct. 8, it’s important to remember that the medium-term implications remain intact: the Fed should taper at a much faster pace than the ECB and the liquidity drain should pressure the FED/ECB ratio and the EUR/USD in the coming months. More importantly, though, with the EUR/USD’s pain the USD Index’s gain, the latter’s strong negative correlation with gold, silver and mining stocks should result in further downside for the PMs over the medium term.In conclusion, the PMs were mixed once again on Oct. 6, though silver, was the worst performer of the bunch. Moreover, with the USD Index recapturing 94, and the front-end of the U.S. yield curve rallying as well, a recovering U.S. labor market should add more upward momentum to the PMs’ fundamental villains. As a result, the precious metals’ current consolidations will likely give way to sharp drawdowns in the coming months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and silver that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Risk-On Turnaround

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.10.2021 15:48
S&P 500 – done declining, not spooked by bearish credit market open, stocks reversed and rallied into the finishing line. HYG almost managed to close the opening, exhaustion gap. On such days, it‘s extremely important to be subscribed, and catch the benefits of fresh trading decisions – here, going long stocks, as early as possible. So, I hope you were served by the intraday stock market update, which I issued right away after that long white candle on 5min TF, 50min into the regular session. The open long positions is going great, thank you very much.Today‘s rally is powered by debt ceiling relief, postponing the drama. Declining oil and natural gas prices are also taken (correctly) as risk-on confirmations as crude oil tends to serve as a kind of shaddow Fed funds rate in regulating economic activity. Make no mistake, this respite is temporary as we‘ll have to live with triple digit oil next year. Bottom line, risk-on is back, and the dollar is likely to get under pressure here, and Treasuy yields should continue their rise. Powerful implication for the antidollar plays, including precious metals turning around, and cryptos dealing further profits.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 rose on respectable volume and improving market breadth – looking for follow through buying.Credit MarketsHYG was the key mover yesterday, bought on solid volume – the exhaustion gap would soon be history.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are getting ready for an upswing, led by silver. The upper knots and failed silver‘s breakdown are the clues as much as the daily miners revival.Crude OilCrude oil fever calmed down yesterday, but the volume says correction, not a reversal. Let‘s see when the bulls can jump back in.CopperCopper seems done declining for now, yet solid buying interest isn‘t there yet. Still looking range bound to me.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum keep consolidating yesterday‘s sharp gains, and the bears look to have made the yesterday discussed very temporary appearance already.SummaryStocks have turned, and the oil prices respite and debt ceiling relief are helping to extend the rally. The bottom is in as the bears couldn‘t push S&P 500 down anymore. It‘s back to risk-on again, even though the macro picture of increasing stagflationary risks hasn‘t changed – that would be an environment where commodities do much better than stocks or bonds, and precious metals are ready to join once the Fed wobbles again, sees its bluff called, or confronted with reality.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Inflation Finally Meets Wall Street’s Ears! Is Gold Next?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 07.10.2021 15:50
At last, something is happening! Rising oil and gas prices sparked inflation worries among investors. However, gold hasn’t benefited so far…It took Wall Street a while to find out about inflation above 5%, but it seems that investors have finally noticed that we live now in a world of elevated inflation. I have always known that only the smartest minds work on Wall Street! So, right after they finally learned how to operate a computer and found the BLS website, they got scared and started selling equities. As a consequence, the U.S. stock index futures declined yesterday morning.All right, I was a bit mean to the Wall Street traders. They panicked not because of the CPI rates but because of soaring oil prices. As the chart below shows, the WTI crude oil has recently approached $80 per barrel, while the price of natural gas has more than doubled in recent weeks (left axis). A propos, if you want to know more about oil, gas and the energy sector, as well as keep track of all price moves happening there (and possibly profit from them!), I can recommend a great place to do so - Oil Trading Alerts.The rising oil prices triggered inflation worries, as higher energy prices could translate into higher consumer inflation, and higher consumer inflation could trigger a more hawkish Fed’s action than previously anticipated. In particular, the US central bank could taper its quantitative easing faster than expected, especially if September nonfarm payrolls turn out to be decent. After all, good news is right now bad news for stocks, not to mention gold.I’ve been warning for a long time now that inflation could be more lasting than the pundits claim. And here we are, the high inflation readings couldn’t be downplayed any longer, so the IMF admitted yesterday in its flagship report World Economic Outlook that elevated inflation could last by mid-2022:Headline inflation is projected to peak in the final months of 2021, with inflation expected back to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022 for both advanced economies and emerging markets country groups, and with risks tilted to the upside.However, the baseline scenario assumes that inflation expectations remain anchored. And although the IMF is right that market-based measures of long-term inflation expectations have stayed relatively anchored so far, the measures based on surveys of consumers have clearly de-anchored recently, as the chart below shows.I don’t know on which planet IMF economists live, but in my world such a graph shows anything but well-anchored inflation expectations. So, I would say that upside risks to the IMF’s baseline scenario are more probable than the authors are willing to admit. In fact, even they acknowledge that risks remain tilted slightly to the upside over the medium term:Sharply rising housing prices and prolonged input supply shortages in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and continued food price pressures and currency depreciations in the latter group could keep inflation elevated for longer.Implications for GoldWhat does it all imply for the gold market? Well, as usual, I’m obliged to say that, theoretically, higher inflation should be positive for gold, which is considered to be an inflation hedge. However, theoretical links, which we can analyze in isolation, in reality work together with other forces, as economy is a complex system. In our case, gold is not getting much benefit from strengthening inflation worries as bond yields are rising in tandem, supporting the real interest rates. Gold’s disappointing performance in the inflationary environment (see the chart below) is also caused by the prospects of the Fed’s tightening cycle.So, it seems that gold could remain in the downward trend in the near future, especially if the Employment Situation Report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, doesn’t disappoint. However, the Fed will have to reverse its course at some point –they will not hesitate whether they should fight with the overheating or stimulate the economy during a crisis. And this will allow gold to shine again.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Wall of Worry Meets NFPs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.10.2021 15:28
S&P 500 reached my target, and then folded like a cheap suit – into an overnight correction, without attempting to overcome 4,420. As much as the prior advance was broad based, so was the retreat. Tech, value, credit markets – but the decline wasn‘t sold into heavily, and that means the bulls can recover. Still, sizable long profits had been taken overnight automatically, as neither the buyers nor the sellers got anywhere.The non-farm payrolls thesis goes like this – unless the figure is truly disappointing, the Fed would have to execute on the practically promised Nov taper announcement. Treasury yields aren‘t though buying it, and have ventured higher on their own already, just as inflation expectations did. The debt ceiling has turned into a drama that wasn‘t as the can was kicked down the road into early Dec. The dollar didn‘t react much to the wrangling, but the selling will soon revisit the world reserve currency that is taking its time.Commodities aren‘t budging, and cryptos continue appreciating while precious metals see encouraging, yet intermittent signs of life that would be delivered through monetary stance reevaluation (that equals no taking the foot off the gas pedal). More follow through is needed in gold and silver, and the white metal should lead the upswing. Copper did confirm it on a daily basis yesterday, but the red metal remains still internally weak – unlike oil that didn‘t even properly pierce the $75 level.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 formed more of a consolidation than a true reversal candle – the volume wasn‘t there, but the bears can attempt to take on yesterday‘s gap.Credit MarketsHYG signalled the retreat, and moved practically in a straight line lower after reaching the daily top. Closing at daily lows on significant volume isn‘t a bullish sign.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are directionless, but attempts to move to the downside, are being rejected, and miners keep improving. Much more needs to happen, and be confirmed by the turn in copper, too. Stagflationary data would be the catalyst.Crude OilCrude oil downswing was immediately bought – the bulls aren‘t yielding yet, and energy remains the key commodity upswing driver. Whether the bulls keep most of the high ground and consolidate there, is the key question. My answer is that they likely will.CopperCopper continues oscillating in a narrowing range, and the volume is declining – it‘s slowly getting ready for a sizable move, which would help precious metals too.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum arte pushing higher after a daily pause, and the open profits are rising. Similarly to oil, the reprieve is being immediately bought – little wonder given the macro environment of stagflationary worries and Fed doubts.SummaryStocks are pausing, and have to broadly turn into risk-on mode so as to extend gains above 4,420. We aren‘t yet there, but the bulls will keep climbing the wall of worry once NFPs disappointment wears off. The most beneficial effect would be on real assets – in line with my latest tweet.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Silver is your inflation protector

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 09.10.2021 07:05
Gold in US-Dollar, weekly Chart, Gold trending down:Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of October 8th, 2021.At first, glance, looking at price percentage declines of the gold chart, one could assume silver to be the weaker of the two precious metals in the race to make it into your wealth preservation portfolio.Silver in US-Dollar, weekly Chart, Silver trading sideways:Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of October 8th, 2021.Once comparing the gold chart with the above silver chart, one can see that gold traded in a trending fashion lower since its October 2020 highs, while silver traded sideways. It can be speculated that once inflationary fears spread further, silver will outperform gold by a generous margin.Gold/Silver-Ratio, Monthly Chart, a need to catch up:Gold/Silver-Ratio, monthly chart as of October 8th, 2021.In addition, once the upward direction for the larger time frames is reestablished after a likely crash scenario looming over the markets, silver also needs to catch up. We find a real relationship between the two shiny metals somewhere in the teens and not at excessive levels of 78 right now.  Silver in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, timing is everything:Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of October 8th, 2021.Now that we have found the preferred speculative vehicle, it is essential to point out that the physical acquisition is the most desirable exposure to this market. We are still in a corrective phase of the precious metal sector. Consequently, patience is key to time one’s purchases. One advantage, the silver investor has is that silver typically follows gold with a slight delay from the larger long-term time frame perspective.A look at the monthly chart above reveals silvers strength. After a stunning move up from March last year from US$ 11.64 to US$ 29.85, prices retraced modestly. Price in relationship to Ichimoku cloud analysis also suggests a bullish continuation. Most significantly, we can see that a volume price analysis over the last fifteen years shows a strong supply zone at US$ 19.80. Where bears get, a breath of air is at the slow stochastic readings near 80 (red line on bottom indicator).Silver is your inflation protector:It is timing that is elusive here. Crash scenarios fall out of the norm. This typically affects charts and clouds a neutral stand and interpretation towards the market. Here, silver shines in its typically lagging behavior regarding entries compared to its brother gold. Most often followed by its explosive follow-through and, as such, bang for the buck. As such, we are keeping a keen eye on the gold prices to lead us to find low-risk entry zones. Noteworthy is also the lower risk of regulative interference from the government of physical ownership in comparison to gold.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Korbinian Koller|October 8th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Plunges Below Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.10.2021 09:00
USDCAD falls through critical floor The US dollar tumbled after weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls in September. The pair has struggled to bounce back over the past few weeks. The break below 1.2500, a major demand zone on the daily chart, is the straw that broke the camel’s back. 1.2430 is the next support. And its breach could trigger an extended sell-off towards July’s low at 1.2300. As buyers bail out, high volatility has pushed the RSI into the oversold territory. A bounce is likely to be capped by 1.2600, and it could be an opportunity to sell into strength. XAUUSD attempts bullish reversal Gold surges as a slowdown in the US job market weighs on the US dollar. A bullish candle above the first resistance on the daily chart (1775) has forced the bears to cover their positions, exacerbating the momentum in the process. Now that the selling pressure is out of the way, the bulls may consolidate their gains and build strength for a reversal. The psychological level of 1800 would be the next target. However, an overbought RSI has caused a temporary pullback towards the demand area between 1740 and 1755. GER 40 bounces off major support The Dax 40 rallies as risk sentiment returns. The index has bounced off last May’s lows around 14820. A depressed RSI in this major demand area has attracted solid buying interest. A close above 15200 may have prompted short-term sellers to cover. The bulls will have the challenging task of clearing several resistance levels, the first being 15470 on the 30-day moving average. A pullback may test the psychological level of 15000. Further down, 14820 is a critical floor to keep the uptrend intact in the medium term.
All Is Good for Canadian Dollar

All Is Good for Canadian Dollar

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 11.10.2021 12:48
What is happening?Just look at the charts above – the Canadian dollar has skyrocketed! Such strong growth has been caused by several reasons. First, oil prices have gained from the global energy crunch. Crude oil has hit the highest level since 2014 as the demand is growing ahead of winter, while OPEC+ doesn’t rush to increase output significantly. Canada is one of the world’s largest oil producers and its currency has historically positively correlated with oil prices. Second, Canadian employment figures came out better than analysts forecasted on Friday. It can signal another taper from the Bank of Canada later this month, which may push the CAD up. Just to remind you, the BOC was the first bank that tightened the policy after the Covid-19 crisis. Thus, it’s quite reasonable for the bank to continue tapering after a strong job report. Meanwhile, the US has revealed the worse-than-expected NFP numbers. Canadian Dollar strength and US Dollar weakness pressed USD/CAD to its lowest level since July. Tech outlookUSD/CAD has broken through all the moving averages and the support line while moving down. It has stopped ahead of the support level of 1.2445 – the July lows which the pair has failed to cross and reversed up. Let’s wait for a breakout. If it occurs, the pair is likely to drop to the psychological level of 1.2400. However, before the breakout happens, we might see a pullback to the 200-day moving average of 1.2500. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Flirting with Fed Policy Mistake

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.10.2021 15:58
S&P 500 didn‘t like the underwhelming NFPs, but didn‘t collapse either. Orderly reaction to a bad number powerful enough to postpone Fed‘s Nov taper, to be followed by celebration of continued monetary support, or creeping worries about Fed policy mistake in letting inflation become an even bigger problem than it is already? Not that it‘s not set to become one – even the lazy and slow PCE deflator has scored a jump not seen in decades.The doubts are starting to be seen in the pressure on USD – the dollar looks set to swing lower next. Not breaking down, but gradually trending lower. It‘s telling that not even higher yields could power it up over the past week. Tech was relatively resilient, and value didn‘t react much to TLT moves, making me think we‘re in for a brief retracement of the prior downswing in the credit markets. And that includes the soundly beaten HYG – a bit too much, and the corrective move would take VIX even lower to the border of its most recent (and worryingly slowly rising) border.Precious metals should like the inflation spurt, and rising inflation expectations outpacing the nominal yields increase. Real rates (short duration maturities are virtually flat) look to be getting more negative, miners to gold ratio turning, silver to gold ratio rising – good news for the precious metals sector as oil continues its run, and copper presents just one question mark: when it would catch up with other base metals. Cryptos are also set to be doing good when everyone and their brother talks inflation.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 formed more of a consolidation than a true reversal candle – the volume wasn‘t there, and prices haven‘t moved much. No need to be outrageously bearish unless prices close Thursday‘s gap.Credit MarketsHYG moved down alongside quality debt instruments, but a reprieve wouldn‘t be too surprising here.Gold, Silver and MinersSome life is returning to precious metals, even though it‘s not apparent when looking at gold only. The yellow metal‘s upper knot isn‘t though necessarily bearish, and can be reversed over the nearest week – the key thing is that silver and miners are waking up.Crude OilCrude oil hesitation didn‘t reappear on Friday, and oil stocks continue moving up – the chart remains bullish as there is no hint of follow through selling to heavy volume days with a slight upper knot.CopperCopper continues underperforming both the CRB Index and other base metals, and its upswing appears a question of shortening time. Is silver sniffing out copper awakening soon?Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum arte pushing higher after calm weekend trading, look set to be rising and lifting the open profits up! SummaryStocks are likely to pause and recover from Friday‘s inconclusive downswing, and precious metals together with cryptos remain positioned for an upswing as stagflation growingly permeates everyday vocabulary. Fed response, and whether it would be willy nilly made to taper by rising inflation, or whether it misses the boat even more.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – JPY Breaks Key Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.10.2021 09:01
USDJPY climbs to 3-year highsThe yen plunges as low Japanese bond rates reflect the divergence in monetary policies. A close above the pre-pandemic peak around 112.10 has triggered a runaway rally.A bullish MA cross indicates an acceleration to the upside. Strong momentum and a lack of resistance are lifting the greenback towards November 2018’s high at 113.70.The RSI’s repeated overbought situation may lead to profit-taking, causing a limited pullback. Patient buyers may be waiting to stake in near the round number of 112.00.NZDUSD struggles to riseThe New Zealand dollar bounces back as risk appetite makes a timid return after a mixed NFP.The pair is in a narrow consolidation range between 0.6880 and the psychological level of 0.7000. However, the short-term mood remains downbeat after the kiwi almost gave up all its gains from late August.The RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area has attracted some buying interest. But the bulls will need to lift the major resistance before they could jump-start a reversal. Failing that, the kiwi would be testing the daily support at 0.6810.US 30 hits resistanceThe Dow Jones climbs back as investors rotate into blue-chip values amid economic recovery.Multiple tests of the demand zone around 33500 reveal the bulls’ commitment to keeping the index afloat. A close above 34660, the last leg of the previous sell-off, is an encouraging sign.A push above 35050 would open the door to 35000 near the all-time high. An overbought RSI has temporarily held the bullish fever back.34200 is the immediate support for buyers to build momentum. Further down, 33850 is their second line of defense.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

S&P 500 Uphill Battle

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.10.2021 15:46
S&P 500 bulls missed a good opportunity, and credit markets close doesn‘t add to bullish sentiment. High yield corporate bonds led the selling in what turned out a strong risk-off day in debt. Light volume, holiday days often don‘t end up on a weak note, which highlights the challenges the bulls are faced with. Yes, today‘s overnight upswing will likely get tested.Sure, credit market could take the reprieve I was looking for instead of yesterday, today. Would stocks enthusiastically follow through? Value had great trouble yesterday even when faced with rising yields. All that‘s necessary is a spark, and tomorrow‘s CPI is likely to deliver that. I‘m looking for a reasonably hot number that wouldn‘t show the massaged figure‘s further deceleration. Talking numbers powerful enough to make the Fed move – and more importantly to make the markets force the Fed to move – I asked yesterday whether there are:(…) creeping worries about Fed policy mistake in letting inflation become an even bigger problem than it is already? Not that it‘s not set to become one – even the lazy and slow PCE deflator has scored a jump not seen in decades.For perspective, wholesale prices in Germany just jumped over 13% year on year. The increasing doubts would be seen in the pressure on USD – the dollar looks set to swing lower next. Not breaking down, but gradually trending lower. It‘s telling that not even higher yields could power it up over the past week. Whatever the chart pattern it‘s in, the inflation expectations dynamics is likely to catch up with it as real rates will have trouble keeping up. And that‘s a boon in this war of attrition, in this waiting game in precious metals.Meanwhile, commodities aren‘t hesitating, and the shallow intraday oil declines are promptly being bought up. Faced with slowing real economy, even copper is waking up after a long slumber. Bitcoin is around 15% off its all time high. What else to add?Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 reversed on solid volume – not outstanding one, but good enough to leave the medium-term advantage with the bears.Credit MarketsHYG kept plummeting as the session drew to its close, and the credit markets assessment for this week, isn‘t a positive one.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals didn‘t send bullish signals yesterday, but the fireworks can be expected tomorrow. All it takes is a few Fed speakers underplaying the evolution of inflation.Crude OilCrude oil retreated from $82, yet remains perched above $80. Its trading range is likely to remain quite narrow, and a sideways consolidation (consolidation in time) shouldn‘t be surprising.CopperCopper finally having come alive, is a good sign for precious metals as well. It‘s an encouraging sign of daily outperformance.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin is rising while Ethereum pauses – the daily indicators are vulnerable to a consolidation, but overall, the path of least resistance is still up. SummaryStock market rebound will likely run out of steam, and consolidate before the next major move. Odds are that the bears aren‘t done yet – as I often say, it‘s the bond markets that usually have it right, and stocks are more often than not catching up with being on the wrong side. Despite seasonal tendencies to appreciate now, the focus is rightfully on Fed‘s inflation brinkmanship. I view this as Treasuries making the move without waiting for the Fed‘s blessing. Real assets and cryptos stand to benefit as inflation expectations keep trending up.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
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Dollar Remains Strong and Rushes Further. Gold in Pain?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.10.2021 15:55
The old saying goes: in the case of gold and the dollar, the latter’s uprising is the former’s downsizing. Will we see this materializing once again?With the USD Index shrugging off the weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls print on Oct. 8 and demonstrating more and more resiliency as the months progress, the dollar basket has not only verified the breakout above the neckline of its inverse (bullish) head & shoulders pattern, but it’s also finding higher levels of support.To explain, after bursting through its rising resistance line (which is now support), the recent consolidation is perfectly normal within a medium-term uptrend. Moreover, mirroring the behavior that we witnessed in June, the USD Index’s small correction after its RSI (Relative Strength Index) hit 70 was followed by another sharp move higher. As a result, the greenback’s technical foundation remains robust.For context, I wrote on Oct. 4:While a short-term consolidation could ensue following the USD Index’s ferocious rally, a similar development occurred in late June. After a short-term corrective downswing proceeded the USD Index’s sharp rally, the USD Index continued its medium-term ascent soon after. And while gold demonstrated the opposite price action in late June – recording a short-term rally and following that up with a medium-term drop to lower lows – the 2021 theme of ‘USD Index up, PMs down’ should continue to play out over the next few months.To that point, with gold, silver and mining stocks often moving inversely to the U.S. dollar, the greenback’s likely uprising could sink the precious metals over the medium term.Please see below:Equally bullish for the greenback, with the USD Index’s technical strength signaling an ominous ending for the Euro Index, the latter has struggled immensely in recent weeks.And while the Euro Index bounced on Oct. 8 following the weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls print, the European currency closed at another 2021 low on Oct. 7 and has continued its freefall below the neckline of its bearish head & shoulders pattern. As a result, the next stop could be ~1.1500 (the March 2020 highs, then likely lower). For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and that’s why the euro’s behavior is so important.Please see below:Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around).Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration.Moreover, as the journey unfolds, the bullish signals from 2014 have resurfaced once again. For example, the USD Index’s RSI is hovering near a similar level (marked with red ellipses), and back then, a corrective downswing also occurred at the previous highs. More importantly, though, the short-term weakness was followed by a profound rally in 2014, and many technical and fundamental indicators signal that another reenactment could be forthcoming.Please see below:Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea.Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind still remains at the dollar’s back.Please see below:The bottom line?As the drama unfolds, the ~98 target is likely to be reached over the medium term, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, the USD Index remains ripe for an upward re-rating and the greenback’s ability to shrug off bad fundamental news has cemented its bullish foundation. Moreover, with the EUR/USD holding on by a thread, the currency pair’s pain is the USD Index’s gain. In addition, with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield closing the Oct. 8 session at its highest level since Jun. 3 and the Fed poised to announce its taper timeline in the coming months, plenty of reinforcements support a stronger U.S. dollar over the medium term. And since gold, silver and mining stocks have strong negative correlations with the U.S. dollar, the latter’s uprising could lead to the former’s downsizing.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Awaits FOMC Catalyst

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.10.2021 09:04
GBPUSD tests supply areaThe pound climbs as solid payrolls support the Bank of England’s first post-pandemic interest rate hike.A series of higher highs have prompted sellers to cover their bets. The pair is now testing the supply zone around 1.3650, this was previously major support on the daily chart.Sentiment remains bearish judging by falling moving averages. Strong selling interest could be below 1.3750 as sellers wait to fade the rebound. 1.3550 is the immediate support and its breach would send the sterling back to 1.3420.EURUSD lacks supportThe US dollar consolidates gains as traders await the FOMC Minutes to confirm the tapering in November.The pair has sunk into bearish territory after it broke the daily support at 1.1620. The latest rebound has been capped by the fresh supply area around 1.1585. As the RSI recovered into the neutral zone, short-term trend followers may continue to sell into strength.The psychological level of 1.1500 would be the next target when the current consolidation ends. A deeper correction would drive price action to 1.1400.The UK 100 recovers to major resistanceThe FTSE 100 inched higher after Britain’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5%.The index has met strong buying interest over the key support (6830) on the daily chart. The triple bottom is an indication of the bulls’ commitment to maintaining the uptrend.A surge above 7085 has attracted more attention as the price swiftly recovered above the psychological tag of 7000 once again.A breakout above 7170 would signal a bullish continuation, triggering a runaway rally as those who are patiently waiting on the sidelines bid up.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Punch Bowl Removal

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.10.2021 15:49
S&P 500 intraday upswing fizzled out in spite of credit markets remaining mildly conducive. But tech just couldn‘t and couldn‘t rise, and value remained weak throughout as well. VIX is having trouble declining some more as seen through the last three days‘ lower knots. In short, the TLT upswing standing out in bonds, reveals that risk-off hasn‘t thrown in the towel – fresh S&P 500 downswing looks to be a question of time only. Could it be thanks to a hot CPI print, or will a lower inflation reading bring instead joy that Fed‘s Nov taper might not be coming after all? That‘s the key calculation moving the markets these weeks. Apart from the debt ceiling and $3.5T infrastructe bill, that is.Precious metals look to have an answer, and the pressure to go higher without hesitation, is building up. As said yesterday:(…) All that‘s necessary is a spark, and tomorrow‘s CPI is likely to deliver that. I‘m looking for a reasonably hot number that wouldn‘t show the massaged figure‘s further deceleration. Talking numbers powerful enough to make the Fed move – and more importantly to make the markets force the Fed to move – I asked [Monday] whether there are:(…) creeping worries about Fed policy mistake in letting inflation become an even bigger problem than it is already? Not that it‘s not set to become one – even the lazy and slow PCE deflator has scored a jump not seen in decades.Crude oil is consolidating, and so are cryptos – both in line with my yesterday‘s expectations. What bears significance, is the copper drive lining up with other base metals – the momentum appears returning, and that also bodes well for precious metals.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 weakened yesterday, thanks to heavier selling before the close. More (intraday) chop appears likely before the bears step in again – and they better did so relatively soon so that the daily indicators don‘t carve out bullish divergencies.Credit MarketsHYG turned around, but visibly lagged behind quality debt instruments, leaving a mixed impression. The high volume spells reversal, but there isn‘t enough power to force it higher.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are showing very encouraging signs of life, and follow through higher across the board looks a question of time. Just as I wrote yesterday - the fireworks can be expected Wednesday.Crude OilCrude oil consolidation is here, and the bears can make a move – but don‘t look for miracles and way too low prices any time soon.CopperCopper endured a daily consolidation, and the red metal‘s short-term fate would tell a lot about the unfolding precious metals upswing. The bulls who looked for one more trip to the low 4.20s, can keep a close eye on when the momentum stalls.Bitcoin and EthereumThe expected crypto pause is here, but the bull run continues!SummaryStock market rebound will likely run out of steam, and the elevated CPI reading would add to the bulls‘ woes. No upswing is sticking, credit markets aren‘t raging risk-on, and yields keep forcing Fed‘s hand by preempting the taper announcement – with tech increasingly suffering. Precious metals love the inflation prospects and real rates going more negative. Real assets stand to benefit greatly, and so do cryptos.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Are Going Sideways, Is This a Month-Long Bear Flag Pattern?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.10.2021 15:55
The S&P 500 index extended its short-term decline yesterday. Is this a new downtrend or still just a correction following last week’s breakout?Stocks went slightly lower yesterday, as the S&P 500 index lost 0.24%. The broad stock market index got back to the 4,350 level. Investors were taking short-term profits off the table following last Thursday’s rally. It looks like a downward correction so far, as the index remains above the late Sep. - early Oct. consolidation. This morning the main indices are expected to open between -0.1% and +0.2% vs. their yesterday’s closing prices. So we may see a consolidation along the mentioned support level of 4,350 following today’s mixed Consumer Price Index number release.The support level is now at around 4,350 and the next support level is at 4,300-4,320, marked by the recent local lows. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,400-4,420. The S&P 500 remains slightly above its month-long downward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com):Dow Jones Remains Relatively WeakerLet’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average chart. The blue-chip index remains below its month-long downward trend line. So it is relatively weaker than the broad stock market. The nearest important resistance level is at 35,000 and the support level is at 33,800, among others, as we can see on the daily chart:Apple Is Still At the Crucial $142 Price LevelApple stock weighs around 6.1% in the S&P 500 index, so it is important for the whole broad stock market picture. The stock continues to trade along the $142 price level. And on Monday it bounced from the resistance level of $144.Is It Better to Stay Out Of the Market Right Now?Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. The market bounced back from the 4,400 level on Monday and now it is trading within a consolidation along the 4,350 level. The support level is at 4,260-4,300, and the downward trend line is at 4,400. In our opinion no positions are currently justified from the risk/reward point of view. (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com):ConclusionThe S&P 500 index slightly extended its short-term downtrend on Tuesday, as investors awaited today’s CPI number release, among other factors. It came back to the 4,350 level after bouncing from the 4,400 level once again on Monday. We may see some more short-term uncertainty and the market will most likely extend its almost a month-long consolidation here.The risk/reward perspective seems less favorable right now and no positions are currently justified.Here’s the breakdown:The S&P 500 broke above its consolidation last week, but for now it looks like an upward correction within an over month-long downtrend.We are still expecting more downward pressure and a correction to 4,200-4,250 level.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Folks, Inflation Ain’t Transitory

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.10.2021 16:30
With inflation getting worse, has the Fed woken up? And with the USD looking bright, gold, silver, and mining stocks continue to feel the pinch.By the way, I most recently discussed the short and medium-term outlook for silver in both charts and a Please check them out.With U.S. nonfarm payrolls coming in weaker than expected on Oct. 8, the Fed’s taper timeline was once again in the spotlight. However, with the U.S. unemployment rate falling to 4.8% (versus 5.1% expected) and the weakness mainly driven by a decline in government payrolls (private payrolls increased by 317,000), the lukewarm print should still meet Chairman Jerome Powell’s taper threshold.To explain, July’s data was revised upward by 38,000 (increased for the second time), while August’s data was revised upward by 131,000. As a result, 169,000 more jobs were added than previously reported.Please see below:Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)What’s more, with inflation surging and the “transitory” narrative suffering a slow and painful death, the Fed is having its ‘come-to-Jesus’ moment. For context, I’ve been warning for months that the central bank remains materially behind the inflation curve.I wrote on Apr. 30:With Powell changing his tune from not seeing any “unwelcome” inflation on Jan. 14 to “we are likely to see upward pressure on prices, but [it] will be temporary” on Apr. 28, can you guess where this story is headed next?To that point, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Oct. 12:“I believe evidence is mounting that price pressures have broadened beyond the handful of items most directly connected to supply chain issues or the reopening of the services sector.... Up to now, indicators do not suggest that long-run inflation expectations are dangerously untethered. But the episodic pressures could grind on long enough to unanchor expectations.”More importantly, though, he admitted:“Transitory is a dirty word…. It is becoming increasingly clear that the feature of this episode that has animated price pressures – mainly the intense and widespread supply chain disruptions – will not be brief. By this definition, then, the forces are not transitory.”And how does this impact his taper timeline?Source: the Financial TimesAlso making the rounds, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida supported the hawkish rhetoric on Oct. 12. Speaking at the Institute of International Finance’s virtual annual meeting, he said that “the risks to inflation are to the upside.” And after conceding that “the big unknown right now is how long it will take for these bottleneck effects to work their way through,” he admitted:Source: ReutersFor context, if the Fed concludes the taper by the “middle of next year,” the timeline is extremely hawkish. To explain why, I wrote on Sep. 23:With ~$120 billion worth of bond purchases poised to hit zero in roughly nine months, the accelerated liquidity drain is extremely bullish for the USD Index.Please see below:To explain, the dark blue line above tracks the pace of the Fed’s taper following its announcement in December 2013, while the orange line above tracks the consensus estimate this time around. However, if you focus your attention on the light blue line, you can see that Powell’s taper timeline pushes QE to zero in advance of both the precedent set in 2014 and the current consensus estimate.On top of that, while the Fed has finally opened its eyes to persistent inflation, the central bank is still operating in the rearview. To explain, while Fed officials seem to agree that tapering is necessary to calm inflation (which we also agree on), at the current rate, the hawkish shift isn’t nearly hawkish enough.For example, while I’ve been sounding the alarm on the cost-push inflationary spiral for months, Brent and WTI prices are now trading north of $80 per barrel and Citigroup said that winter weather could uplift the former to $90 per barrel in the fourth quarter. For context, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are all forecasting $90+ per barrel Brent this year. And while The White House called on OPEC (for the second time) to “do more” (increase supply to reduce oil prices), the cartel has ignored the pleas. As a result, if oil’s upward momentum persists, the Fed is materially underestimating the inflationary impact.Second, while commodity prices remain the most important driver of inflation, even “transitory” factors have leaped to new highs. For context, I wrote on Apr. 16:The Manheim Used Vehicle Index – compiled from a database of more than five million annual used vehicle transactions – increased by 5.87% month-over-month to a record high 179.2 in March. What’s more, the pace of the surge is unlike anything that we’ve ever witnessed before.And after a brief pause – which even we conceded given that abnormally high used car prices should be “transitory” – Manheim revealed that wholesale used vehicle prices “increased 5.3% month-over-month in September” and “brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Index to [a record high] 204.8.”Please see below:In addition, Oshkosh Corporation – an American manufacturer of specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus and access equipment – reduced its full-year revenue and earnings guidance on Oct. 8. The company cited “significant supply chain and logistics disruptions as well as material and freight cost inflation similar to other companies that are beyond the company’s prior expectations.”CEO John C. Pfeifer added:“We implemented multiple price increases in our non-defense segments over the past six to nine months to combat unprecedented raw material inflation and freight cost escalation. Based on current conditions, we expect that our pricing actions will cover our higher input costs. However, due to our backlogs, we do not believe this price catch-up will occur until the end of the second quarter of Calendar 2022. If cost escalation persists, we will take additional pricing actions.”On the other side of the inflationary coin, the NFIB released its Small Business Optimism Index on Oct. 12. And while the headline index declined from 100.1 in August to 99.1 in September, wage inflation rose to levels unseen since the 1970s.Please see below:Source: NFIBFurthermore, while “the net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased 3 points to a net 46 percent,” output inflation still remains at a more than 30-year high.Please see below:Source: NFIBFinally, I’ve mentioned on several occasions that the commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) will likely determine when/if the inflationary momentum subsides. For context, its relationship with the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) remains right on trend (follow the black arrow below):And with the headline CPI the most important fundamental data point released today, I wrote on Sep. 15 that “another headline CPI print of roughly 5.25% to 5.75% should hit the wire when the data is released on Oct. 13.Please see below:To explain, the green line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the commodity PPI, while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the pair have a close connection.The bottom line? While the headline CPI remains pinned in the 5%+ range (expected) for now, the metric is still well above the Fed’s 2% annual target. What’s more, with the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) making new highs alongside Brent and WTI, the future impact on the commodity PPI should be material. And if the Fed doesn’t accelerate the liquidity drain and calm commodities’ fervor, we may see a 6% headline CPI print before we see 4%. Conversely, if companies can’t pass through the higher input inflation, the impact on corporate profit margins could upend the general stock market and leave the Fed handcuffed.As a result, whether the Fed accelerates its taper timeline or margin pressures lead to a stock market correction, both outcomes are profoundly bullish for the U.S. dollar. And with the PMs exhibiting strong negative correlations with the greenback, they could suffer materially as the events unfold.In conclusion, the PMs were mixed on Oct. 12. However, with the EUR/USD hitting a new 2021 low and the USD Index hitting a new 2021 high, the dollar’s medium-term outlook remains quite bright. Moreover, with the Fed upping the hawkish ante and an accelerated liquidity drain poised to chip away at the PMs, new lows should materialize over the next few months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 14.10.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.10.2021 08:46
USDCHF tests short-term supportThe US dollar eased after the FOMC minutes failed to pinpoint the first rate hike next year. The drop below 0.9280 was a sign of profit-taking after the RSI showed that the rally had overextended.The pair has then found support along the 20-day moving average (0.9220). This is a major level for the bulls to keep the uptrend intact after a short-lived bounce revealed weakness.A bearish breakout would send the pair to 0.9150. A rebound could propel the pair to 0.9400 if it succeeds in absorbing offers around 0.9330.AUDUSD tests key resistanceThe Australian dollar rallied after the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in September. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near 0.7480, a supply zone from the sell-off in early September.The RSI’s double top in the overbought area and its bearish divergence are signs of exhaustion. This has led cautious buyers’ to take some chips off the table with a drop below 0.7335.0.7290 would be the support to monitor in case of a pullback. On the upside, a greater high would pave the way for September’s peak at 0.7460.EURGBP hovers above major supportThe pound inched higher after Britain’s GDP returned to positive territory in August. The euro, on the other hand, has fallen victim to the selling pressure after it broke below 0.8530.Price action is heading to 0.8450, a daily support from the August rally. To the bulls’ relief, the RSI’s divergence shows a slowdown in the bearish impetus.They will need to lift 0.8520 before they could attempt a reversal. Failing that, a breakout below the said floor would trigger an extended sell-off towards 0.8360.
Economic Calendar by FXMAG.COM - Week 21/02-25/02 - Beginning With Holiday...

Intraday Market Analysis – WTI Rally Gains Traction

Jing Ren Jing Ren 18.10.2021 08:21
Oil prices jumped after the IEA raised its global oil demand growth forecast. WTI crude continues to grind its way up after it reached a seven-year high. The RSI has returned to the neutrality area and a short-lived retracement met strong buying interest above 78.70. The bulls may raise volatility once again if they succeed in pushing back above the psychological tag of 82.00. A newly overbought RSI may temporarily restrain the momentum. On the downside, a breakout could trigger a correction to 75.50. XAGUSD rises towards key resistance Silver advanced higher as the US dollar index licks wounds after a heavy decline. The precious metal broke above the supply zone around the 30-day moving average (23.10). This is a sign of a bullish U-turn with 23.95 from the daily timeframe as the next target. As the RSI flirts with the overbought territory, we can expect strong selling pressure at that level of interest. 22.90 is the immediate support in case of retracement. Further down, 22.20 is the bulls’ second line of defense. US 100 attempts a bullish reversal The Nasdaq 100 rose as investors anticipate strong profit growth in the third quarter. The break above 14930 has prompted sellers to cover their positions, alleviating the bearish pressure in the process. The tech index has then secured support around 14600. A bullish close above the psychological level of 15000 would bring some much-needed confidence to the long side. Then the daily resistance at 15415 would be in the crosshair. Meanwhile, the RSI’s overbought situation may cause a limited pullback to 14900.
New Year starts with strong Tesla results, OPEC decision | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles For Support

Jing Ren Jing Ren 18.10.2021 12:08
EURUSD attempts a bullish breakout The US dollar retreated after retail sales fell below 1% in September. The euro’s rally above 1.1570 has led some short interests to close their positions. The pair is testing the key resistance at 1.1640, which coincides with the 20-day moving average and the first resistance on the daily chart. A bullish breakout could pave the way for recovery to 1.1750. However, buyers could be hesitant to commit after an overbought RSI caused profit-taking. In case of a pullback, 1.1540 is fresh support to keep the current rebound relevant. NZDUSD tests key resistance The New Zealand dollar rallies as Q3 inflation beats estimates. After a few days of sideways action, the indecision ended with a break above 0.7020, the origin of the last sell-off. In turn, this set the kiwi on a bullish course. Sellers would scramble to get out after their failed attempts to push lower. An overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback. 0.7040 is the immediate support, then 0.6980 is the second line of defense in case of a deeper correction. A close above 0.7110 would lift the pair towards the previous peak at 0.7170. GER 40 heads towards major hurdle The Dax 40 bounces higher as the market bets on a prolonged low-interest environment. The major floor at 14800 has seen strong buying interest as traders bought the dip. A bullish close above 15200 has put the short side under pressure. Then a rally above the 30-day moving average indicates further commitment from the buy-side. The momentum could slow down momentarily as the RSI shows an overbought situation. 15300 would be the first support. A break above the daily resistance at 15700 may resume the uptrend.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 19.10.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 19.10.2021

Jing Ren Jing Ren 19.10.2021 12:07
The Australian dollar rallied after the RBA expected a return to growth in October’s meeting minutes. The pair has met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone (0.7460) from the September sell-off. And the RSI is once again in the overbought area. Short-term buyers would be eager to take profit, driving the price lower in the process. 0.7380 is the first support and will test the bulls’ resolve. A bounce above the said resistance would trigger an extended rally. On the downside, a bearish breakout may cause a correction to 0.7320. USDCHF sees limited rebound The US dollar recoups some losses supported by recovering Treasury yields. The drop below the demand zone around 0.9230 has put the bulls under pressure. An oversold RSI has triggered the buy-the-dips mentality at the fresh support at 0.9200. The buy-side will need to clear the hurdle at 0.9310 to reclaim control of the direction. Otherwise, the latest rebound may be an opportunity for the bears to sell into strength. A new round of sell-off would send the pair towards the daily support at 0.9100. NAS 100 tests resistance The Nasdaq 100 rallies as investors seem to be feeling confident about the upcoming earnings. A rebound above the psychological level of 15000 suggests strong buying interest in keeping the rally intact in the medium-term. The RSI’s overbought situation has temporarily held the impetus back. A retracement is likely to attract bids in the vicinity of 15050. 15400 is a major resistance from the daily timeframe and its breach may resume the uptrend above 15700. Failing that, 14800 is a key floor on the downside.  
Ever More Risk-On

Ever More Risk-On

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.10.2021 16:12
S&P 500 keeps grinding higher, beyond 4,520 towards fresh ATHs. The VIX is approaching 15, and that means some volatility is likely to return as the current lull won‘t last indefinitely. Yields are steadily rising again, in line with my prior thesis of a summer lull followed by renewed march higher – the 10-year is at 1.65% already, but inflation expectations aren‘t as raging yet as in May when a similar rate was hit (this is part of the explanation why gold is lagging behind currently – it‘s not about hot present inflation figures only). Tech stocks couldn‘t care less – long gone seem the Mar and late Apr woes accompanied by similar Treasury moves. Value is similarly catching fire, and the improving market breadth bodes well for the stock market bulls. Credit markets have turned more constructive since these yesterday‘s words: (…) So far so good, and the stock market run continues without marked credit markets confirmation as the risk-on turn there isn‘t complete (yet). Treasury yields aren‘t retreating, yet tech is the driver of the S&P 500 upswing while value keeps treading water. Encouragingly, financials do well – it‘s cyclicals‘ time, and the open S&P 500 long position is very solidly profitable already. Not only that stock market profits are growing, I‘ve cashed some nice long copper profits before the overnight dive well below 4.70. Both crude oil and natural gas look like taking a breather – shallow one in case of black gold, and one probably more protracted around the 5.00 level (50-day moving average essentially) in case of its more volatile cousin. Cryptos open profits also keep doing great – there is no correction attempt to speak of really. Coming full circle to precious metals, all that‘s needed is one serious Fed policy misstep. Just imagine if they didn‘t deliver on Nov taper, or if the rate raising speculation was promptly snuffed while inflation fires just kept burning (no, this can‘t be blamed on supply chains really). The Fed is though well aware of market expectations that they themselves had been feeding since Jun. Still, they‘ll in my view easily make the Monday discussed intentional „mistake“: (…) we have moved from 1H 2021 Fed saying that inflation was transitory to the current phrase that inflation is transitory, but would last longer than we though. The next stage (arriving latest in Q1 2022) will likely be that inflation is sticky but we have tools to deal with it, followed by putting up a happy face that it‘s a good thing we have inflation after all. Reflation is slowly giving way to stagflation – GDP growth is slowing down while inflation isn‘t disappearing, to put it mildly. The copper upswing isn‘t so much a function of improving economy prospects but of record low stockpiles. Anyway, much more to look for in the commodities and precious metals bull markets that are likely to appreciate much more than stocks this decade. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 gapped again higher, and the steady move upwards continues – still without obstacles. Credit Markets Debt instruments have turned to risk-on, confirming the stock market advance. Rising yields don‘t look to be a problem for now. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold upswing hasn‘t been dashed, but merely delayed – the rest of the precious metals sector isn‘t as weak, and that‘s to be expected. Crude Oil Crude oil again didn‘t correct, and oil stocks didn‘t even pause yesterday – but as the pace of price increases is slowing down, the shallow downswing looks very much approaching (if not here already). Copper Copper is ready to consolidate prior steep gains, and its correction would likely be a sideways one not reaching overly far. Then, even higher prices await. Bitcoin and Ethereum Crypto gains consolidation with an upward bias continues today, and further gains are ahead – just like I wrote yesterday. Summary Stock market rebound goes on, practically nibbling at 4,520. Fresh ATHs are approaching, but given the ascent‘s pace and VIX, aren‘t probably a matter of a few short days. Still, the overall momentum is on the bulls‘ side as credit markets have also turned risk-on yesterday. Commodities aren‘t selling off in the least, but a brief oil and copper consolidation is likely now. Gold seems waiting for a dual confirmation of declining dollar and nominal yields, while silver isn‘t waiting – and it shouldn‘t as the white metal would be leading this unfolding upswing. Cryptos aren‘t hesitating either. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals. Thank you, Monica Kingsley Stock Trading Signals Gold Trading Signals Oil Trading Signals Copper Trading Signals Bitcoin Trading Signals www.monicakingsley.co mk@monicakingsley.co   * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
USDX, Gold, Silver: A Confluence of Signs This Week

USDX, Gold, Silver: A Confluence of Signs This Week

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 20.10.2021 16:23
With silver outperforming and key supports for the USDX holding, what’s in store for the precious metals in the upcoming months? Yesterday’s session was informative. Very. I already indicated some of the specific developments during yesterday’s (pre-market) trading (and I talked about silver and bitcoin recently as well), but having the closing prices, and knowing what happened on a day-to-day basis adds a new dimension to the signals that we saw. Let’s jump into charts. What Was So Important About Yesterday? The key thing that happened yesterday was that silver rallied profoundly while gold stocks didn’t. The latter moved just a little higher, just like gold. This tells us that the rally has most likely either run its course completely or that its end is just around the corner. I’ve been emphasizing this many times before, but it’s so important (and so ignored) that I’m going to repeat it once again – silver tends to outperform in the final part of a rally in the precious metals market. This – by itself – is one of key indications that a top is just around the corner or that we have already seen one. Yesterday’s daily reversal in gold only adds to the bearish implications of the session. Despite the attempt to move much higher, gold ended the day a mere $4.80 higher. The key development, though, happened not in the precious metals market, but in the USD Index. Namely, the USD Index managed not to close back below the previous 2021 highs in terms of the closing prices. The U.S. currency did end the day lower, but it was after a recovery from a much bigger intraday decline. The August top in terms of the daily closing prices is 93.59, and while yesterday’s intraday lows was 93.49, the USDX closed the day at 93.73. The key support held and – obviously – that’s a bullish development for the USDX. Since the latter tends to move in the opposite way to the gold price and silver price, we can say that the above is bearish for the precious metals sector. The lower part of the above charts shows the correlation between the USDX and gold (based on the previous 30 trading days) and as you can see, the correlation is almost always negative, and usually strongly negative – below -0.5. As you can see in the above Correlation Matrix (second row from the top), gold is negatively correlated with the USD Index also in the medium term and in the long term, so this link is quite stable, even though there are exceptions (for example, at times gold shows strength despite the USD’s rallies and it indicates great buying opportunities for gold). The correlation now moved higher, but please note that we saw something similar (to an even bigger extent) in late July, and that was when gold and the USDX itself were performing similarly to what we saw recently. Even the RSI indicator (upper part of the chart) was close to 50 in both cases. Gold and silver are slightly up in today’s pre-market trading, but it doesn’t change any of the above. The USD Index is still above the highest daily close that we saw in August. Consequently, while yesterday’s session might have appeared to be something major, it turned out to be just a combination of factors that we saw at the final days of short-term rallies many times before. It seems that the medium-term downtrend will resume any day now. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chief Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Facebook Reported Q3 Earnings

China Slows Down Due to Energy, Shipping, and Real Estate Crisis

SimpleFX SimpleFX 20.10.2021 22:44
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the Chinese economic growth slowed to 4.9% in the third quarter of this year. Hurt by power outages, severe outbreaks of COVID-19, supply bottlenecks, and the increasing pressure on policymakers on the rising concerns on the health of the property sector; the growth was considered the slowest since the third quarter of the year 2020.  The power shortage affected the average production; however, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui added that the economic impact is manageable. Several factories had to cease production in late September as a shortage of electricity, and a surge in the price of coal led local authorities to cut off power drastically. As a whole, the industrial output only rose to 3.1% in September, which marks the slowest pace since March of last year, during the pandemic’s first wave.  Rising energy prices hinder global trade and manufacturing Meanwhile, NBS’s data also revealed that fixed assets investments during the first three quarters of 2021 were weaker than expected. J.P Morgan Asset and Management global market strategist Chaoping Zhu emphasized that investment activities were decreased due to tight credit conditions.  Real estate and other related industries account for approximately a quarter of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). During the past eighteen months, Beijing made its efforts to reduce the reliance on debt by most developers. Fu added that there was a decrease in contribution from the real estate sector to China’s economy during the third quarter. Chinese currency is still doing well against USD During a briefing in Beijing on Monday, Fu explained that the uncertainties in the current international environment continue to rise, and the domestic economy is still uneven and unstable. However, Fu believes that the economy is qualified and capable of achieving year-end goals. The spokesperson added that its economic progress still shows vitality and resilience, despite various factors affecting its growth.  Is the Chinese equity market already in long-term downturn? China has the world’s second-largest economy. Its growth expanded to 7.9% during the second quarter and 18.3% in the first quarter, which benefited from comparing the pandemic-induced slump early last year. China’s GDP was expected to rise to 5.2% during the quarter based on a Reuters poll. The weak numbers lead to most Asian stock markets being lower than broader investors’ concerns about global economic recovery.  When it comes to the country’s growth outlook in the coming years, Bruce Pang from the China Renaissance said that the country, which was once led in growth recovery, is losing its momentum heading into the fourth quarter. Pang emphasized several reasons, such as the pandemic and China’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, which drags down economic growth. However, he believes that authorities will have better management on the intensity and pace of the regulatory campaign for the country to achieve significant social and economic development goals for 2021 and the succeeding 5-10 years.  Premier Li Keqiang expressed confidence in achieving full-year development goals and assured that the country has enough tools to cope with economic hurdles despite the slow-paced growth.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains

Jing Ren Jing Ren 22.10.2021 11:29
The US dollar steadies over lower-than-expected initial jobless claims. Sentiment remains upbeat, however, the pair is struggling to climb past the psychological level of 115.00, probably due to overextension. The RSI’s double top in the overbought area and bearish divergence suggests that the rally could be losing steam. A breach below 113.90 would prompt weaker hands to exit, leading to a pullback towards 113.00. A rebound past the said resistance would send the price to March 2017’s high of 115.40. XAGUSD to test critical ceiling Silver stalls as the greenback reclaims some lost ground. The break above the round number of 24.00 indicates strong commitment from the buy-side. The bulls are looking at the major resistance at 24.80 from the daily timeframe, as a breakout would end a five-month-long correction and pave the way for a bullish reversal. However, an overbought RSI coupled with a bearish divergence suggests possible exhaustion in the run-up. 23.60 would be the first level to watch for if the price pulls lower in search of support. SPX 500 tests all-time high The S&P 500 flies high supported by better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The index has reached the previous all-time high at 4550. A breakout may trigger a runaway rally. Nonetheless, a repeatedly overbought RSI may cause a limited pullback as buyers take profit. A drop below the immediate support at 4515 would pull the trigger. 4445 would be next as it coincides with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the October rally. The bulls are likely to buy the dips though after sentiment turns optimistic.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 19.10.2021

Silver, the loaded spring

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 22.10.2021 11:43
The supply crunch might stretch as much as a seven-year event from now, but the spring is loaded already. It isn’t only a supply, demand scenario when talking about silver. Little accounted for is any surprise, and in our opinion, the slightest cough could set this spring off. The sum of fundamental facts is overwhelming on how the next large turning point could set silver  into stellar motion. With this many accelerators, it makes this an incredible risk/reward-ratio play. Silver, the loaded spring. Here are a few facts that we do not see accounted for in price and as that find to be accelerators for the next monthly time frame leg up: increase in demand for physical silver purchase during the previous eighteen months eleven trillion dollars pumped into the economy over the last eighteen months (inflation) electricity prices rising = demand for solar panels increasing (which contain silver) supply logistic constraints all over the world make large shipments of raw materials stuck in various ports (including silver) Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart, signs of life: Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of October 22nd, 2021. With the already present shortages of blanks for minting coins and a driver shortage for armored cars, why is silver trading at these low numbers? There is plenty of evidence that once demand for silver increases further, a short squeeze might be triggered. Consequently, silver prices might soar beyond typical trend steepness. On the daily chart above, signs of life are already evident. The trend-down channel since June this year has recently been broken to the upside. The first indication of a reversal. We have a keen eye on the price levels near the green dotted horizontal lines for possible low-risk long entries. Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, on the verge: We have warned numerous times that the two most detrimental factors to market losses are intuition and emotions. Intuition, while one of the most resourceful problem solvers, is worthless in the counterintuitive market environment. Emotions provide for a clouded perception of actual market behavior and a tendency to overwrite one’s rules and cause sabotage to disciplined behavior necessary for execution within one’s market play. Emotions aren’t only fear and greed, or chasing trades and running stops. Over the last forty years, we were less worried about inflation. As a result, we might be a bit  complacent now to validate early warning signals. Procrastination might be a consequence. Be advised that acquisition of physical purchase requires availability and even more knowledge. What to buy? Where to buy it? The spring is loaded. There is no room for research once it’s sprung. Prepare your actions in detail. Make a sample purchase for confidence and experience if you haven’t done so already. It is education that supports all subsequent steps and possible surprises to endure. Knowledge will give you the edge over the average citizen. Spot price analysis is helpful as well to keep calm and prepared. The weekly chart above shows a pat situation. Bulls celebrated above the mean (blue line). Fourteen weeks ago, the directional green trend line was violated by price. Bears pushed since then prices to lower levels. Right now, we are right on the verge of price trading near the red resistance downtrend line. This makes not for a low-risk entry zone on this time frame but should price close above this line, it would indicate a possible long trend continuation. Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, bullish engulfing pattern: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of October 22nd, 2021. It seems the crowd is complacent about all monthly bills and especially food prices going through the roof. Many billionaires, including Stanley Druckenmiller, Paul Tudor-Jones, Bill Ackman and Warren Buffett, have stated that Americans aren’t paying enough attention to the fact that we will face consequences of the eleven trillion dollars pumped into the economy over the last eighteen months. The monthly chart reflects these market uncertainties to a certain degree. Silver prices have seen a substantial move up. Even though trading within a sideways range for over a year now, October is exceptionally strong so far. Representing a bullish engulfing pattern from a Japanese candlestick perspective, the majority of sellers in September got stopped out or are underwater. Should prices close above US$ 24 for this month, we would be very bullish on silver. We have already taken nine trades on small timeframes this month, of which seven were successful winning trades. Our quad exit strategy allows the remaining partial positions (the last 25% which we call “runner”) to be exposed at no risk within the markets. All these trades are posted in real-time in our free Telegram channel. Silver, the loaded spring: There seems to be much confusion regarding the math on silver demand in the news. Boiling it down to a simple equation, we are mining an average of about 800 to 850 million ounces a year. In opposition to this mine supply, industrial demand is about 600 million ounces. With a speculated growth to about a billion ounces of industrial demand, it isn’t so challenging to feel safe on a long-term bet holding physical silver. And we are only talking about one sector of silver demand here… The real kicker will be the investment demand. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
We Will Probably Review All Of Inflation Indicators Around The World This Weekend

Daily Currency Forecast - 26.10.2021

Jason Sen Jason Sen 26.10.2021 13:08
AUDUSD longs at good support at 7475/55 worked again on Monday with a low for the day at 7456 & a bounce to our target of 7490/7500, as we establish a sideways trend after Thursday's bearish engulfing candle remains a sell signal for this week. NZDUSD longs at 7140/30 worked on Friday & again on Monday as we look for a target of 7180/90 for profit taking. AUDJPY saw a high for the rally at Thursday's high of 8624 as predicted leaving a bearish engulfing candle for a sell signal. The pair was expected to test first support at 8460/40 ut missed it by only 12 pips. Today's Analysis. AUDUSD longs at good support at 7475/55 work again on the bounce to 7500/05 for profit taking. Gains are likely to be limited but a break above 7515 allows a recovery to 7530/35. Strong resistance at 7555/65 should be a big challenge. It is unlikely we will reach this far but if we do, try shorts with stops above 7580. Longs at 7475/55 again today stop below 7445 (so the risk is very small). A break lower is a sell signal targeting 7410/7390, perhaps as far as 7360/50. NZDUSD longs at first support at 7140/30 could work again targeting 7180/90 for profit taking. Gains are likely to be limited now. If we retest 7200/7220, try shorts with stops above 7240. BUT be ready to sell again at very strong resistance at 7255/75. Stop above 7300. Longs at first support at 7140/30 must stops below 7120 so the risk is very small. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 7090/80 probably as far as 7040/30. AUDJPY meets first support at 8460/40. A bounce targets 8500 perhaps as far as 8540/50. I would sell at 8620/40 with stops above 8660. A break below 8420 is the next sell signal targeting 8370 & 8345/35. USDJPY found support at 113.40/30. EURJPY meets a selling opportunity at 132.20/30 with stops above 132.40. CADJPY formed bearish engulfing candle for a sell signal on Thursday with a high for the day at first resistance at 9240/60 on Friday. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY first resistance at 113.80/95. Shorts need stops above 114.05. A break higher can retest last week's high at 114.50/70. Shorts need stops above 114.80. First support at 113.40/30. Longs need stops below 113.20. A break lower target 113.00/112.90 & 112.60/50. EURJPY sell at 132.20/30 with stops above 132.40. An unexpected break higher meets resistance at 132.70/80. Shorts at 132.20/30 target 131.90 then minor support at 131.60/50 which could see a low for the day. Further losses however target 131.00. CADJPY shorts at first resistance at 9240/60 worked perfectly as we broke 9200 for a sell signal targeting 9175 (hit on Friday for a potential 70 pip profit). We are expected to hit our buying opportunity at 9120/00 eventually with stops below 9090. Gains are likely to be limited with first resistance at 9240/60. Sell at 9280/9300 with stops above 9320. EURUSD retests support at 1.1620/00 but it is difficult to trade the pair as the daily ranges are small & we are mostly trading sideways. USDCAD trying a break above minor resistance at 1.2370/80 but we are mostly trading sideways for the last few days. GBPCAD shorts at first resistance at 1.7050/70 worked all last week for scalping opportunities so we keep trying this trade until we are stopped. A break higher is a good buy signal. Update daily at 06:30  GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD longs at the buying opportunity at 1.1620/00 target first resistance at 1.1665/75.  Next we look for a test of minor resistance at 1.1690/99. Exit longs & try shorts with stops above 1.1720. Be ready to sell a break below 1.1580 targeting 1.1540/30. A break below 1.1520 is an important medium term sell signal. USDCAD starting to build a recovery as hoped, but it is a slow process as we look for a test of first resistance at 1.2420/40. If you try shorts here stop above 1.2450 but look for a target of 1.2370 for profit taking. Be ready to buy a break above 1.2450 targeting 1.2510/30. Support at 1.2300/1.2280. Longs need stops below 1.2270 for a sell signal. GBPCAD shorts at first resistance at 1.7050/70 must stop above 1.7090. A break higher is an important buy signal targeting 1.7155/75 & 1.7195, perhaps as far as 1.7240/50. Minor support at 1.6950/40. Further losses are likely eventually to 1.6910/1.6890. Ultimately we are looking for the target of 1.6870/60, perhaps as far as support at 1.6800/1.6780. GBPUSD high for the week exactly at resistance at 1.3835/55 with longs at first support at 1.3740/30 working so we trade this range & wait for a breakout. EURGBP remains very much in a sideways trend ranging from 8420 up to 8460/70. GBPNZD bounces around from important support at 1.9180/70 to resistance at 1.9295/1.9305 for a 100 pip scalping profit. A high for the day in fact so shorts also worked perfectly on the slide to 1.9180/70. An easy 200 pips on 2 trades. Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis. GBPUSD held support at 1.3740/30 on Thursday & Friday & again on Monday. Be ready to sell a break below 1.3720 targeting minor support at 1.3670/60, perhaps as far as strong support at 1.3600/1.3580. Any longs at support at 1.3740/30 targets 1.3790. Strong resistance at 1.3835/55 remains key to direction in severely overbought conditions. Try shorts with stops above 1.3875. A break above here is a medium term buy signal. EURGBP meets strong resistance at 8475/85, stop above 8495. On the downside we have the 2 week low at 8420 holding then important 200 week moving average support at 8405/8395 in severely oversold conditions. Longs need stops below 8380. GBPNZD longs at important support at 1.9180/70 certainly worked last week as we retest this level again this morning. First target for longs here again today is 1.9240/60 then resistance at 1.9295/05 for profit taking on any remaining longs. Shorts here today need stops above 1.9315. A break higher meets a selling opportunity at 1.9370/90 with stops above 1.9410. A break below support at 1.9180/70 is more likely on the next test, targeting 1.9110/00. Bitcoin trying a recovery but failure to beat 64000 keeps the outlook negative & risks the formation of a head & shoulders sell signal. A break below the neckline at 60000 will confirm. Ripple remains in a sideways trend holding support at 10700/750 & longs working on the bounce to 11250. Ethereum made a high for the day exactly at the all time high at 4355/85. The resistance was clearly rejected with prices unchanged on the day as we collapsed to 4010. THIS LEAVES IMPORTANT DOUBLE TOP RISK. Some video analysis: https://youtu.be/ZGDSbDzQEtc Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis Bitcoin shorts at  62500/63000 must stop above 64000. Only above here do I see bulls back in the game. Prices are likely then to push higher towards 65000/500 & then retest the all time high at 66500/67000. A break higher is a buy signal initially targeting 69500/70000. First support at 60700/500. Longs need stops below 60000. A break below here is a very important sell signal initially targeting 58000. I do not see this as a strong support. A break below here over the weekend is a longer term sell signal initially targeting 57000/56500. I am talking crash conditions because we will be building a huge bull trap. A break below 54000 is the next sell signal. Ripple longs at first support at 10700/750 re-target 11000, 11400 & 11600. Expect strong resistance at 12020/12100. A break higher can target 11300/11400. First support at 10700/750. Most important support of the week at 10250/10200. Holding here keeps bulls in control. A break below here is an important sell signal initially targeting less important 9700/9600. On a break below I would expected significant losses. Initially we should target 8600. This may hold on the first test & we could even see a decent bounce. However I would be a seller at resistance on this bounce, expecting the support to break eventually for another significant sell signal. Ethereum we have a double top sell signal. However we have unexpectedly recovered back above 4000/3980 & can perhaps retest the all time high at 4355/85. A break above here is required to eliminate the double top sell signal risk now & will initially target 4500. First support at 4000/3980 but longs need stops below 3900. A break lower meets better support at 3770/30. A decent bounce from here is expected, perhaps as far as 3950. Longs need stops below 3670. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 3570/50 the strong support at 3380/40. Longs need stops below 3300. Emini S&P December beat the all important all time high at 4545/50 for a buy signal triggering further slow gains this week. Nasdaq December bounced from just 3 ticks above first support at 15300/280 & made a high for the day exactly at the next target of 15470/490 at the end of the week. This level was beaten yesterday as we target the very important all time high at 15650/700. Emini Dow Jones December making a clear break above the all time high at 35540/550 for a buy signal. Update daily at 07:00 GMT. Today's Analysis. Emini S&P beats the all important all time high at 4545/50 to kill the double top sell signal & trigger a buy signal. We are looking for 4580/85 today. Above 4590 targets 4625/35 but a high for the week is likely here. First support at 4550/40. Longs need stops below 4530. Nasdaq December now targets the very important all time high at 15650/700. Rejection here forms a potential double top sell signal. First support at 15490/460. Longs need stops below 15400. Emini Dow Jones December breaking higher for a buy signal targeting 35800/850 & 36000/100, eventually as far as 36250/280. First support at 35550/500. Longs need stops below 35450.
Intraday Market Analysis - USD Sees Limited Rebound

Intraday Market Analysis - USD Sees Limited Rebound

Jing Ren Jing Ren 26.10.2021 13:18
The US dollar inched higher after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell commented that it was time to taper. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart weighs on overall sentiment. Nonetheless, the pair has found some buying interest in the short-term over the daily support at 0.9150. A bullish RSI divergence was the first sign that the downward pressure might have eased for now. A break above 0.9200 would prompt sellers to cover, opening up the path to the key resistance at 0.9250. A bearish breakout would send the price to 0.9100. NZDUSD seeks support The US dollar recovers across the board thanks to rising Treasury yields. The Kiwi’s breakout above the daily resistance at 0.7150 may have put it back on a bullish trajectory. However, a repeatedly overbought RSI and its bearish divergence indicate that the bulls have struggled to follow up. Buyers are likely to be waiting on the sidelines and a pullback towards 0.7080 could be an opportunity. 0.7020 would be the second line of defense in case of a deeper correction. A rebound above 0.7185 may resume the rally. NAS 100 aims at an all-time high The Nasdaq 100 bounced higher as investors hope to see solid earnings from the Big Tech companies. The index has consolidated its recent gains after it broke above the daily resistance at 15400. The bulls have pushed above the major step at 15550 which was the origin of the September sell-off. This would take out the selling interest and put the uptrend back on track. The all-time high at 15700 is the next resistance. An overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback to 15280 where the bulls may look to accumulate.  
Gold Bearish Outlook: Everything Goes According to Plan

Gold Bearish Outlook: Everything Goes According to Plan

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 27.10.2021 14:35
We might see a plunge in gold prices quite soon. History repeats itself to a huge degree at the moment – let’s see what it has to offer. Today’s technical analysis will be very similar to what I provided to you yesterday because the markets pretty much moved exactly as I had expected. As you may recall, I wrote about the analogy between now and early August in the following way (I’m putting the key part in bold): The situation now appears to be the same as it was at the beginning of August, where the bottom also took several days to form, but when the USD Index finally moved higher once again, gold plunged. To be precise, back then, the bottom formed over 5 trading days, and yesterday was the fifth trading day of the current bottom. On the sixth day – back then – the USDX did very little and gold declined modestly, and it was the seventh day when the action really started. And… the short-term decline was over on the very next day. It was not easy to catch this decline if one wanted to wait for a big confirmation that it was indeed taking place. It seems that the same – patient – approach is justified in the current situation. The RSI indicator (upper part of the chart) continues to confirm this similarity. Yesterday, the USD Index ended the session 0.13 higher, so – just as in early August – it moved very little. Gold declined modestly back then, and, well, it moved lower by $13.40 yesterday, so it seems that it fits well. Gold is down by $6 in today’s pre-market trading (at the moment of writing these words), so it seems that history might repeat itself to a very big degree. If it repeated itself to the letter, we would have a $100+ decline in gold this week. But since history rhymes more than it repeats, I think it’s more realistic to simply expect gold to fall substantially soon, without giving the decline just 2 days to materialize. The situation now appears to be the same as it was at the beginning of August, where the bottom also took several days to form, but when the USD Index finally moved higher once again, gold plunged. To be precise, back then, the bottom formed over 5 trading days, and yesterday was the fifth trading day of the current bottom. On the sixth day – back then – the USDX did very little and gold declined modestly, and it was the seventh day when the action really started. And… the short-term decline was over on the very next day. It was not easy to catch this decline if one wanted to wait for a big confirmation that it was indeed taking place. It seems that the same – patient – approach is justified in the current situation. The RSI indicator (upper part of the chart) continues to confirm this similarity. Yesterday, the USD Index ended the session 0.13 higher, so – just as in early August – it moved very little. Gold declined modestly back then, and, well, it moved lower by $13.40 yesterday, so it seems that it fits well. Gold is down by $6 in today’s pre-market trading (at the moment of writing these words), so it seems that history might repeat itself to a very big degree. If it repeated itself to the letter, we would have a $100+ decline in gold this week. But since history rhymes more than it repeats, I think it’s more realistic to simply expect gold to fall substantially soon, without giving the decline just 2 days to materialize. To explain, the green line above tracks the GDXJ ETF from the beginning of 2013 to the end of 2015. If you analyze the left side of the chart, you can see that when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at tapering on May 22, 2013, the GDXJ ETF declined by 32% from May 22 until the taper began on Dec. 18. Moreover, the onslaught didn’t end there. Once the taper officially began, the GDXJ ETF enjoyed a relief rally (similar to what we’re witnessing now) as long-term interest rates declined, and the PMs assumed that the worst was in the rearview. All in all, the technical picture for the precious metals sector looks bearish, even though the recent short-term corrective upswing might make one think otherwise. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chief Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Sideways drifts and targets hit

Sideways drifts and targets hit

Jason Sen Jason Sen 28.10.2021 12:21
AUDUSD trades sideways after we warned last week that the rally has ended with Thursday's bearish engulfing candle. We keep holding good support at 7465/55 & held just below strong resistance at 7555/65. We can trade the range while we wait for a breakout. NZDUSD longs at 7140/30 work perfectly again yesterday hitting the target of 7180/90 for profit taking as we remain in the sideways trend. This could be the case for an extended period after Thursday's bearish engulfing candle. AUDJPY also likely to trade sideways for a while after Thursday's bearish engulfing candle for a sell signal. Today's Analysis. AUDUSD longs at good support at 7465/55 work again on the bounce to 7500/05 for profit taking before a high for the day yesterday exactly at the next target of 7530/35. Strong resistance at 7555/65 should be a big challenge. Try shorts with stops above 7580, looking for a double top sell signal. Longs at 7465/55 again today stop below 7445 (so the risk is very small). A break lower is a sell signal targeting 7410/7390, perhaps as far as 7360/50. NZDUSD longs at first support at 7140/30 could work again re-targeting 7180/90 for profit taking & as expected this was a high for the day. If we retest 7200/7220, try shorts with stops above 7240, looking for a double top sell signal. BUT be ready to sell again at very strong resistance at 7255/75. Stop above 7300. Longs at first support at 7140/30 must stop below 7120 so the risk is very small. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 7090/80 probably as far as 7040/30. AUDJPY I would sell at 8620/40 (unfortunately yesterday's high was 8605) with stops above 8660 looking for a double top sell signal. A break higher kills the bearish engulfing candle for a buy signal. First support at 8460/40 in the sideways trend. A bounce targets 8500 perhaps as far as 8540/50. A break below 8420 however is the next sell signal targeting 8370 & 8345/35. To subscribe to this daily report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk USDJPY longs at support at 113.40/30 were offered 50 pips yesterday. as we topped exactly at first resistance at 113.80/95. EURJPY buying opportunity at at 131.60/40, stop below 131.30. CADJPY shorts at first resistance at 9240/60 keep working this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wASlHvMEN6g Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY meets minor resistance at 113.85/95. Strong resistance at last week's high at 114.50/70. Shorts need stops above 114.80. A break higher is a medium term buy signal. Good support again at 113.40/30. Longs need stops below 113.20 so the risk is very small. A break lower target 113.00/112.90 & 112.60/50. EURJPY buy at 131.60/40, stop below 131.30. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 130.90 then an important buying opportunity at 130.40/20 with stops below 130.00 Longs at 131.60/40 target 131.90 & 132.10 for profit taking. Strong resistance at 132.20/40. Shorts need stops above 132.60. CADJPY shorts at first resistance at 9240/60 work again as we target 9200 & 9175, hit as I write this morning. A buying opportunity at 9120/00 with stops below 9090. Gains are likely to be limited with first resistance at 9240/60. However on a break higher sell at 9280/9300 with stops above 9320. To subscribe to this daily report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk EURUSD breaks support at 1.1620/00 so this is now working as resistance. It is difficult to trade the pair as the daily ranges are small & we are mostly trading sideways. USDCAD shorts at first resistance at 1.2420/40 this trade worked perfectly on the collapse to 1.2370  & as far as first support at 1.2300/1.2280. Longs here also this trade worked perfectly on the bounce to 1.2370 for an easy 120 pip profit on the day. GBPCAD shorts at first resistance at 1.7050/70 handed a quick & easy 150 pip profit yesterday. Update daily at 06:30  GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD holding below first resistance at 1.1610/20 targets 1.1580 & 1.1540/30. A break below 1.1520 is an important medium term sell signal. A break above 1.1620 however can target resistance at 1.1665/75.  Next we look for a test of minor resistance at 1.1690/99. Exit longs & try shorts with stops above 1.1720. USDCAD same levels apply for today with first resistance at 1.2420/40. Shorts here stop above 1.2450. Be ready to buy a break above 1.2450 targeting 1.2510/30. Shorts at 1.2420/40 target 1.2370 then support at 1.2300/1.2280. Longs here need stops below 1.2270 for a sell signal. GBPCAD shorts at first resistance at 1.7050/70 worked perfectly on the collapsed to our targets of 1.6950/40 & 1.6910/1.6890 for an easy 150 pip profit yesterday. Ultimately we are looking for the target of 1.6870/60, perhaps as far as support at 1.6800/1.6780. We can try shorts again at first resistance at 1.7050/70 but must stop above 1.7090. A break higher is a buy signal targeting a selling opportunity at 1.7155/75 with stops above 1.7195. To subscribe to this daily report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk GBPUSD high for the day exactly at resistance at 1.3835/55 so far this week followed by a test of support at 1.3740/30, but we over ran to 1.3707. EURGBP longs at important 200 week moving average support at 8405/8395 worked perfectly on the bounce to first resistance at 8455/65 for profit taking. Shorts here are also working as I write. GBPNZD breaks important support at 1.9180/70 for a sell signal. Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis. GBPUSD first support at 1.3740/20 but be ready to sell a break below 1.3700 targeting 1.3670/60, perhaps as far as strong support at 1.3600/1.3580. Any longs at support at 1.3740/20 target 1.3770/80, perhaps as far as strong resistance at 1.3835/55. This remains key to direction in severely overbought conditions. Try shorts again with stops above 1.3875. A break above here is a medium term buy signal. EURGBP longs at important 200 week moving average support at 8405/8395 work on the bounce to first resistance at 8455/65 for profit taking. Shorts need stops above 8475. A break higher targets 8500. Shorts at first resistance at 8455/65 are working as we target 8440 before a retest of important 200 week moving average support at 8405/8395. Longs need stops below 8380. A break lower is a medium term sell signal. GBPNZD break below support at 1.9180/70 is a sell signal targeting 1.9110/00. First resistance at 1.9170/90. Shorts need stops above 1.9210.
Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Builds Up Bullish Reveal

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Builds Up Bullish Reveal

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.10.2021 08:55
EURUSD cuts through resistanceThe euro surges as the market prices in inflation pressure despite the ECB’s dovish message.Bullish candles have pushed the single currency above the triple top (1.1665) which sits on the 30-day moving average, paving the way for a reversal. Strong momentum is a sign of short-covering from those caught on the wrong side of the market.An overbought RSI could temporarily limit the range of the rally. However, renewed optimism may send the pair to the daily resistance at 1.1750. 1.1620 is the support in case of a pullback.USDJPY tests demand zoneThe Japanese yen recouped losses after the BOJ sees a weak yen as positive for Japan’s economy. And the US dollar has come under pressure near a four-year high.An overbought RSI on the daily chart points to an overextension. On the hourly level, the pair has found bids around 113.30 near a previous consolidation range.A bearish breakout would test the round number at 113.00, which lies on the 20-day moving average and is critical in safeguarding the uptrend. The bulls need to lift 114.30 before they may resume the rally.US 30 pulls backs for supportThe Dow Jones consolidates as investors digest earnings near the all-time high.A breakout above the August peak at 35600 and a bullish MA cross from the daily timeframe indicate an acceleration on the upside as the rally continues.Pullbacks could be an opportunity to buy low. An overbought RSI has triggered a minor sell-off below 35600, shaking out weaker hands in the process. A drop below 35450 would lead to the psychological level of 35000. 35830 is now a fresh resistance.
Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Builds Up Bullish Reveal - 29.10.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Builds Up Bullish Reveal - 29.10.2021

Jing Ren Jing Ren 29.10.2021 09:04
The euro surges as the market prices in inflation pressure despite the ECB’s dovish message. Bullish candles have pushed the single currency above the triple top (1.1665) which sits on the 30-day moving average, paving the way for a reversal. Strong momentum is a sign of short-covering from those caught on the wrong side of the market. An overbought RSI could temporarily limit the range of the rally. However, renewed optimism may send the pair to the daily resistance at 1.1750. 1.1620 is the support in case of a pullback. USDJPY tests demand zone The Japanese yen recouped losses after the BOJ sees a weak yen as positive for Japan’s economy. And the US dollar has come under pressure near a four-year high. An overbought RSI on the daily chart points to an overextension. On the hourly level, the pair has found bids around 113.30 near a previous consolidation range. A bearish breakout would test the round number at 113.00, which lies on the 20-day moving average and is critical in safeguarding the uptrend. The bulls need to lift 114.30 before they may resume the rally. US 30 pulls backs for support The Dow Jones consolidates as investors digest earnings near the all-time high. A breakout above the August peak at 35600 and a bullish MA cross from the daily timeframe indicate an acceleration on the upside as the rally continues. Pullbacks could be an opportunity to buy low. An overbought RSI has triggered a minor sell-off below 35600, shaking out weaker hands in the process. A drop below 35450 would lead to the psychological level of 35000. 35830 is now a fresh resistance.
Wild Choppy Moves

Wild Choppy Moves

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.10.2021 15:27
One-sided S&P 500 session, perhaps a bit too much – the bulls are likely to face issues extending gains when VIX is examined. The stock market sentiment remains mixed, and one could easily be pardoned for expecting larger gains on yesterday‘s magnitute of the dollar slump. And long-dated Treasuries barely moved – their daily candle approximates nicely the volatility one as both give the impression of wanting to move a bit higher while their Thursday‘s move was a countertrend one.Not even value was able to surge past its Wednesday‘s setback, which makes me think the bears can return easily. At the same time, tech stepped into the void, and had a positive day, balancing the dowwnside S&P 500 risks significantly. The very short-term outlook in stocks is unclear, and choppy trading between yesterday‘s highs and 4,550 shouldn‘t be surprising today.At the same time, precious metals could have had a much stronger day – but the sentiment was risk-off in spite of the tanking dollar and doubted yields as the rising tech and gold at the expense of silver illustrate. Miners recent outperformance was absent just as much as commodities vigor with the exception of copper. And it‘s more celebrations in the red metal following its steep and far reaching correction, that‘s the part of missing ingredients as much as fresh inflation fears (yes, adding to risk-off mood, inflation expectations declined yesterday).All in all, it looks like a case of abundance of caution prior to next week‘s Fed, compounded by sluggish incoming data, where just cryptos are ready to move first.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 decisively reversed upwards, but the daily indicators barely moved – the consolidation doesn‘t look to be over.Credit MarketsHYG entirely reversed Wednesday‘s plunge but the low volume flashes amber light at least – the bulls are likely to stop for a moment.Gold, Silver and MinersGold upper knot doesn‘t bode as well as it did the prior Friday, and the same goes for miners. The yellow metal‘s strength was sold into, making it short-term problematic for the bulls.Crude OilCrude oil held $81 on not too shabby volume but the bulls are still on the defensive until $84 is overcome. When XLE starts outperforming VTV again, the outlook for black oil would improve considerably. Natgas falling this steeply yesterday isn‘t inspiring confidence either.CopperCopper finally reversed, and the upswing is a promising sign even though I would like to have seen higher volume. Again, the red metal remains well positioned to join in the commodities upswing once the taper announcement is absorbed.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin bulls are pausing while Ethereum ones keep running – cryptos are providing an encouraging sign (to be taken up by real assets) going into the Fed next week.SummaryChoppy trading in stocks is likely to continue even though 4,610s are closer than a break below 4,550s at the moment. Much nervousness in the markets before the coming Wednesday – cash is being raised while the dollar suffered in spite of daily move up in yields. Risk-off hasn‘t clearly retreated as seen in sectoral performance and VIX – time to be cautious while waiting out this soft patch in commodities that are most likely to return to scoring gains, accompanied by the retreating dollar.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Grinds Key Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Grinds Key Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 01.11.2021 09:31
USDCHF bounces off demand zoneThe US dollar inched higher after a solid core PCE reading in September. The pair is testing the major demand area from last August’s lows (0.9100).A bearish MA cross on the daily chart has dented buyers’ optimism. An oversold RSI may attract a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd while short-term sellers take some chips off the table.However, 0.9190 could be a challenging hurdle to lift as the bears would be eager to fade the rebound. A new round of sell-off would send the greenback to the daily support at 0.9020.EURGBP attempts to reboundThe euro found support from better-than-expected growth and inflation data. A bullish RSI divergence suggests that the downtrend may have lost its momentum.A break above 0.8470 has prompted sellers to cover some of their bets. But the RSI’s overbought situation has so far tempered the optimism.The bulls will need to lift offers around 0.8485 which sits on the 30-day moving average before they could turn the tables. Failing that, a drop below the demand zone between 0.8400 and 0.8420 would deepen the correction.GER 40 finds supportThe Dax 40 bounces back thanks to upbeat European stock earnings.A bullish MA cross on the daily chart is a sign of recovery. Though the index has hit a speed bump at 15775 which is a major resistance from last September’s sell-off.The drop below 15630 has led intraday buyers to bail out, driving short-term price action downward. As the RSI ventured into the oversold zone, the pullback attracted dip-buying interest at the lower range of the previous consolidation (15400). This is a congestion area along the MA cross.
Don‘t Fear Risk-Off

Don‘t Fear Risk-Off

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.11.2021 13:50
Not confirmed by bonds, the S&P 500 advances regardless – the daily yields retreat is powering tech while value goes nowhere. Higher beta sectors such as financials are sputtering, revealing the defensive nature of the stock market advance – at least to this degree, stocks and bonds are in tune. Yes, risk-off is winning these days, and it would be only up to VIX to join the fray, but the key volatility measure is likely to keep complacently trading around the 17 level. In other words, not too far from the bottom of its recent range, and not indicating imminent change of the bull market character.While we have seen much better market breadth readings in the years gone by (the narrow leadership is reminiscent perhaps of the late 1990s), there‘s no chart proof of the behemoths being in kind of getting really serious trouble (with the possible exception of Facebook). True, smallcaps have largely gone sideways over the many months, but midcaps are already breaking higher, and that won‘t be unnoticed by the Russell 2000 (soon to follow).The bears haven‘t thus far made any serious appearance, and 4,550s held with ease in spite of the dollar reversing Thursday‘s losses. All the more encouraging is the relative strength of both gold and silver when faced with one more daily decline in inflation expectations – as if balancing before the Fed act changes anything.I ask, how serious can they be about delivering on taper promises when prices increase relentlessly (look at Europe too), these are being blamed on supply chain bottlenecks without acknowledging their persistent and not transitory nature, and the real economy is markedly slowing down (not in a recession territory, but still)?Looking at commodities, we‘re reliving the 1970s, and cryptos are still the key beneficiary of monetary largesse – precious metals aren‘t a dead asset class in the least, they just frontrunned it all and peaked in August 2020 as I alerted you to back then. Fresh upswing is in the making.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 once again decisively reversed upwards, and even though the daily indicators are weakening, the rally can easily go on. Dips are to be bought.Credit MarketsHYG keeps acting weak, but this is being overlooked by stocks as tech remains driven by NYFANG.Gold, Silver and MinersGold‘s lower knot indicates accumulation, and miners reversing higher would be a great confirmation. Regardless, such a result when dollar rose steeply and yields with inflation expectations retreated, is encouraging.Crude OilCrude oil again held $81, looks set to return above $84 again. XOI and XLE weakness has to be understood in terms of the challenged VTV, and isn‘t here to stay.CopperCopper is providing a buying opportunity, and looks likely to join other base metals (especially alluminum) and broader commodity index strength as agrifoods wake up too.Bitcoin and EthereumThe Bitcoin and Ethereum upswings can go on – it looks to be a question of a relatively short time when cryptos are done with the sideways correction.SummaryS&P 500 indeed got at 4,610s instead of suffering setbacks, and the same holds true for real assets next. Across the board, these have performed well in spite of the USD upswing and decreasing inflation expectations, which I chalk down to pre-Wednesday positioning. Therefore, I‘m taking the high beta weakness with a pinch of salt, and the same goes for precious metals or the economic cycle sensitive copper. As for oil, the U.S. economy can (and will have to) withstand prices higher than $90 as 2022 arrives.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Hits Resistance - 02.11.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Hits Resistance - 02.11.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.11.2021 08:42
USDCAD consolidates at 4-month lowThe US dollar retreats ahead of this week’s FOMC as traders await further catalysts. Price action has stabilized above 1.2300, a major demand zone from last summer.1.2430 from the latest sell-off is a key resistance as it coincides with the 20-day moving average. The current consolidation suggests the market’s indecision, though overall sentiment remains bearish.A deeper correction would send the greenback to 1.2150. A bullish breakout on the other hand may challenge the supply area around 1.2550.EURJPY tests key supportThe euro struggles to bounce higher after Germany’s lackluster retail sales in September.The pair has come under pressure at 133.45 near June’s peak. The subsequent retracement has met some bids at 131.60 when the RSI dipped into the oversold territory.The triple test of the support level indicates solid buying interest. However, the bulls will need to push above 132.80 before the uptrend could resume.On the downside, a bearish breakout would extend the sideways action towards 130.80 which sits on the 30-day moving average.US 100 falls back for supportThe Nasdaq 100 surges to a new all-time high as investors expect the strong growth trend to continue. The break above the previous peak at 15700 has put the index back on an upward trajectory.A bullish MA cross on the daily chart is a confirmation of the market’s optimism. However, a brief pullback is necessary to let the bulls catch their breath.15620 is the immediate support. Further down, 15280 is key daily support on the 20-day moving average. The psychological level of 16000 would be the next target rebound.
What Does November Hold for the Miners?

What Does November Hold for the Miners?

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 01.11.2021 16:20
  As a new month begins, the downtrend in the GDX and GDXJ should resume. When will a new buying opportunity finally present itself? Let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the GDX ETF reversed sharply after reaching its 200-day moving average and a confluence of bearish indicators signaled a similar outcome. For context, I wrote on Oct. 25: Small breakout mirrors what we witnessed during the senior miners’ downtrend in late 2020/early 2021. Moreover, when the GDX ETF’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) approached 70 (overbought conditions) back then, the highs were in (or near) and sharp reversals followed. Furthermore, after a sharp intraday reversal materialized on Oct. 22, the about-face is similar to the major reversal that we witnessed in early August. On top of that, with the GDX ETF’s stochastic indicator also screaming overbought conditions, the senior miners are likely to move lower sooner rather than later. Also, please note that the GDX ETF reversed right after moving close to its 200-day moving average, which is exactly what stopped it in early August. Yes – that’s another link between now and early August. And after declining sharply on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, the senior miners further cemented their underperformance of gold. Moreover, with relative underperformance often a precursor to much larger declines, the outlook for the GDX ETF remains quite bearish. Please see below: As further evidence, the GDX ETF’s four-hour chart offers some important insights. To explain, the senior miners failed to hold their early September highs and last week’s plunge removed any and all doubt. Likewise, the GLD ETF suffered a sharp drawdown and its recent breakout was also invalidated. Furthermore, my three-day rule for confirming breakouts/breakdowns proved prescient once again. Conversely, investors that piled into mining stocks are likely regretting their decision to act on unconfirmed signals. And as we look ahead, the technicals imply that caution is warranted and more downside is likely for the GDX ETF. As for the GDXJ ETF, the gold junior miners suffered a similar swoon last week. For context, I warned of the prospective reversal on Oct. 25. I wrote: The junior miners’ RSI also signals overbought conditions and history has been unkind when similar developments have occurred. Moreover, the GDXJ ETF’s recent rally follows the bearish patterns that we witnessed in late May and in early 2021. Likewise, the intraday reversal on Oct. 22 mirrors the bearish reversal from early August and a confluence of indicators support a continuation of the downtrend over the coming weeks. And as we begin a new month, the GDXJ ETF’s downtrend should resume and a retracement to the ~35 level will likely materialize in the coming months. Please see below: Finally, while I’ve been warning for months that the GDXJ/GDX ratio was destined for devaluation, the ratio has fallen precipitously in 2021. And after the recent short-term rally, the ratio’s RSI has reached extremely elevated levels (nearly 73) and similar periods of euphoria have preceded major drawdowns (marked with the black vertical dashed lines below). To that point, the ratio showcased a similar overbought reading in early 2020 – right before the S&P 500 plunged. On top of that, the ratio is still below its mid-to-late 2020 lows and its mid-2021 lows. As a result, the GDXJ ETF will likely underperform the GDX ETF over the next few months. It’s likely to underperform silver in the near term as well. The bottom line? If the ratio is likely to continue its decline, then on a short-term basis we can expect it to trade at 1.27 or so. If the general stock market plunges, the ratio could move much lower, but let’s assume that stocks decline moderately or that they do nothing or rally slightly. They’ve done all the above recently, so it’s natural to expect that this will be the case. Consequently, the trend in the GDXJ to GDX ratio would also be likely to continue, and thus expecting a move to about 1.26 - 1.27 seems rational. If the GDX is about to decline to approximately $28 before correcting, then we might expect the GDXJ to decline to about $28 x 1.27 = $35.56 or $28 x 1.26 = $35.28. In other words, ~$28 in the GDX is likely to correspond to about $35 in the GDXJ. Is there any technical support around $35 that would be likely to stop the decline? Yes. It’s provided by the late-Feb. 2020 low ($34.70) and the late-March high ($34.84). There’s also the late-April low at $35.63. Consequently, it seems that expecting the GDXJ to decline to about $35 is justified from the technical point of view as well. In conclusion, mining stocks reprised their role as ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’ And after overzealous investors rushed to their defense last week, another false alarm led to another bout of disappointment. Moreover, with the technical and fundamental backdrops for gold, silver and mining stocks continuing to deteriorate, lower lows should materialize over the medium term. As a result, we may have to wait until 2022 before reliable buying opportunities emerge once again. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
The US dollar retreats ahead of this week’s FOMC as traders await further catalysts

The US dollar retreats ahead of this week’s FOMC as traders await further catalysts

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 02.11.2021 10:19
EURJPY tests key support. USDCAD consolidates at 4-month low 1.2430 from the latest sell-off is a key resistance as it coincides with the 20-day moving average. The current consolidation suggests the market’s indecision, though overall sentiment remains bearish. A deeper correction would send the greenback to 1.2150. A bullish breakout on the other hand may challenge the supply area around 1.2550. EURJPY tests key support The euro struggles to bounce higher after Germany’s lackluster retail sales in September. The pair has come under pressure at 133.45 near June’s peak. The subsequent retracement has met some bids at 131.60 when the RSI dipped into the oversold territory. The triple test of the support level indicates solid buying interest. However, the bulls will need to push above 132.80 before the uptrend could resume. On the downside, a bearish breakout would extend the sideways action towards 130.80 which sits on the 30-day moving average. US 100 falls back for support The Nasdaq 100 surges to a new all-time high as investors expect the strong growth trend to continue. The break above the previous peak at 15700 has put the index back on an upward trajectory. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart is a confirmation of the market’s optimism. However, a brief pullback is necessary to let the bulls catch their breath. 15620 is the immediate support. Further down, 15280 is key daily support on the 20-day moving average. The psychological level of 16000 would be the next target rebound.
Silver’s fuse is about to be lit

Silver’s fuse is about to be lit

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 30.10.2021 16:45
The average investor is news-driven. As much as the Federals Reserve  (the Fed) might be criticized, this large investor group is not commonly doubting news. In other words, it has generally believed the Fed’s narrative that inflation is transitory. The bad news is rarely released shortly before Christmas. However, it would not surprise if tapering started in early 2022. And maybe not just begin but be more aggressive throughout the year as expected. With this, the narrative will change from a “we are not worried, it is transitory” to a “we need to deal with” regarding inflation. Therefore, this could easily be the fire to the fuse of the Silver rocket. We now see early signs of such a lift-off in price in recent silver price movements. Silver’s fuse is about to be lit. Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart, low-risk entry points: Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of October 30th, 2021. It isn’t only that the overall narrative on transitory inflation is starting to get holes. We like the silver play, for instance because gold is somewhat in the limelight in battle with bitcoin. Consequently, allowing for silver to shine while it is typically in the shadow. On top of it all, we find clear evidence that commodities with industrial use are likely in a long term bull market. This is a play where everything is coming together. A multi stream both in fundamental and technical edges stack upon each other. As of right now, we have identified four low-risk entry points on the daily silver chart, which are marked in bright green horizontal lines. We would take off 50% of the position near the US$26 mark to mitigate risk (see our quad exit strategy). Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, good risk reward ratio: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of October 30th, 2021. The weekly chart offers a low-risk opportunity as well. We illustrated above a play that assumes an entry point in the lower third quadrant of the yellow marked sideways zone. It would provide for a risk/reward-ratio between 1:1 and 1:2 towards the financing point. As well we assume an exit of half of the position at the top near US$28 of the yellow sideways channel (see our quad exit strategy). With two more exits of each 25% of total trade equity at targets US$34.83 and US$48.72, we find the weekly play to be conducive to our low-risk policy.  Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, favorable probabilities: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of October 30th, 2021. With its most considerable weight, the monthly chart provides the necessary overview. It shows how likely a success rate to a long-term play outcome is. We find three dominant aspects supporting our aim for a bullish long-term play. Trend: The linear regression channel is marked in diagonal lines (red, blue, green). It shows a clearly bullish trend with a high likelihood of continuation. Support: The Ichimoku cloud analysis provides solid evidence of support to the recently established bullish tone in silver. Probabilities: Price highs from 1980 to 2011 built a double top price formation. As a result, it prevented prices from getting higher than the price zone marked with a white box. The third attempt of price reaching this price zone nevertheless has a much higher statistical probability of penetrating this distribution zone and allowing the price to go higher. Silver’s fuse is about to be lit: We find ourselves in challenging times. Certainly, not only in market play. One of the essential pillars to come out ahead is bending in the wind and staying flexible. Should the FED indeed raise interest rates to a degree non-reflected in the anticipated market price of speculators and come as a surprise, we might see a stock market decline next year of a substantial percentage. Consequently, this would temporarily drag silver prices down as well. We share methods in our free Telegram channel to build low-risk positions within the market that reduce risk through partial profit-taking. Our quad exit strategy allows us to hedge physical acquisitions by trading around these positions on smaller time frames in the silver paper market. Our approach provides a way to maneuver through a delicate environment to hedge against inflation and preserve wealth. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
Fed Game Plan

Fed Game Plan

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.11.2021 14:54
S&P 500 hesitation against weakening bonds – what gives? The yield curve keeps flattening, but long-dated Treasury yields seem again on the verge of another upswing, which hasn‘t propped up the dollar yesterday much. The only fly in the ointment of a risk-off atmosphere, was value outperforming tech. Overall, stocks haven‘t made much progress, and are vulnerable to a quick downswing attempt, which probably though wouldn‘t come today as the VIX doesn‘t look to favor it. Wednesday, that could be another matter entirely. Still, there is no imminent change to the stock bull run on the horizon – the focus remains on ongoing Fed accomodations, which s why: (…) The bears haven‘t thus far made any serious appearance, and 4,550s held with ease in spite of the dollar reversing Thursday‘s losses. All the more encouraging is the relative strength of both gold and silver when faced with one more daily decline in inflation expectations – as if balancing before the Fed act changes anything. I ask, how serious can they be about delivering on taper promises when prices increase relentlessly (look at Europe too), these are being blamed on supply chain bottlenecks without acknowledging their persistent and not transitory nature, and the real economy is markedly slowing down (not in a recession territory, but still)? Tomorrow‘s Fed taper announcement wouldn‘t change a lot – so much can (and will) happen in the meantime, allowing them to backpedal on the projections, making rate hikes even more of a pipe dream. The Fed isn‘t taking inflation seriously, hiding behind the transitory sophistry, and that‘s one of the key drivers of rates marching up, rising commodities, and surging cryptos. Look for more oil and natgas appreciation while copper goes up again too. Precious metals are still waiting for a catalyst (think dollar weakening when even rising rates won‘t provide much support, and inflation expectations trending up faster than yields) – a paradigm shift in broader recognition of Fed obfuscation and monetary policy being behind the curve. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is entering a brief consolidation, with 4,590s being first support, followed by the high 4,550s (if the bears can make it there). Given though yesterday‘s sectoral rotation, that‘s not likely happening today. Credit Markets HYG keeps acting really weak, volume is picking up, and buyers aren‘t able to force at least a lower knot. Rising yields aren‘t reflecting confidence in the economic recovery, but arrival of stagflation bets. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold indeed swung higher, but needs more follow through including volume, otherwise we‘re still waiting for the catalysts mentioned at the opening part of today‘s analysis, which would also help the silver to gold ratio move higher. Crude Oil Crude oil keeps going up again,and is likely to extend gains above $84 even as this level presents a short-term resistance. Copper Copper buying opportunity is still here, and the red metal is primed to play catch up to the CRB Index again. Probably not so vigorous as before, and taking more time to unfold, but still. Bitcoin and Ethereum The Bitcoin and Ethereum upswings can and do go on – as stated yesterday, it was a question of a relatively short time when cryptos are done with the sideways correction. Summary S&P 500 is likely to pause today, and the bond market performance would be illuminating. Ideally for the bulls, some semblance of stabilization would occur, tipping the (bullish) hand for tomorrow. That‘s the big picture view - the very initial reaction to taper announcement would likely be disappointing, and eventually reversed. Cryptos, commodities (first oil, then copper) would react best, with precious metals figuring it out only later. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
What Might it Take for the Fed to Deliver a Hawkish Tapering Announcement?

What Might it Take for the Fed to Deliver a Hawkish Tapering Announcement?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 03.11.2021 14:43
Overview: With the FOMC's decision several hours away, the dollar is trading lower against nearly all the major currencies.  The Antipodeans and Norwegian krone are leading.  The euro, yen, and sterling are posting minor gains (less than 0.1%).  Most of the freely liquid and accessible emerging market currencies are also firmer.  The Turkish lira is a notable exception.  The decline in the core inflation and a smaller than expected rise in the headline pace embolden officials for another rate cut when the central bank meets on November 18.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is rising for the second consecutive session after falling in the previous four sessions.  Equities are lower.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for the fifth session in the past six.  Among the large markets, Taiwan and Australia bucked the trend.  The four-day advance of the Stoxx 600 in Europe is at risk, and US futures are weaker.   Benchmark 10 year yields are mostly two-four basis points lower across most high-income countries today.  That puts the US 10-year Treasury yield near 1.52%.  Australia's two-year yield fell almost 10 bp to 0.55%.  It had peaked above 0.71% last week.   The three-year yield is off nearly 30 bp in recent days.  Gold continues to chop within the range set last Friday (~$1772-$1801).  Ahead of the OPEC+ meeting tomorrow amid talk that the US may seek to coordinate sales for a coalition of strategic reserves and a build of US inventories reported by API weigh on oil prices.  December WTI has approached the 20-day moving average (~$82), which has not closed below since late August. Base metals are higher as iron ore snapped a five-day slide during which it lost over 20%.  Copper is also recovering after forging a base in the $432-$433 area.  It is up around 1.5% today.  If sustained, it would be the largest gain in three weeks.   Asia Pacific China's Caixin services unexpectedly rose to 53.8 from 53.4 in September.  Recall that the manufacturing reading had improved to 50.6 from 50.0.  The net effect was that the composite edged up to 51.5 from 51.4.  The composite has converged with the "official" PMI, which stands at 50.8.  Separately, note that China is experiencing a broad spread of the virus into a dozen provinces, and the number of new cases is the highest in a couple of months. Inter-provincial travel has been restricted, and new social protocols are being introduced.  According to reports, the government advised households to stock up in necessities and ensure adequate food supplies for local authorities.  Australia's service and composite PMI shows the recovery was not quite as strong as the preliminary data suggested.  The service PMI rose to 51.8, not 52.0  from 45.5.  The composite stands at 52.1 rather than 52.2.  It was at 46 in September.   Tomorrow Australia reports Q3 real retail sales, but it will still be picking up the weakness of the lockdown.  September trade figures will also be reported.  Weaker exports and stronger imports are expected to have narrowed the trade surplus by almost 20% to A$12.4 bln. Ahead of the weekend, the central bank will make its Monetary Policy Statement.  The swaps market is pricing in 70 bp, down from 80 bp, of tightening over the next 12 months.  The dollar has been confined to a narrow quarter yen range through the Asian session and most of the European morning.  Softer yields and equities would be expected to give the yen a bit of support.  The 20-day moving average is near JPY113.65, and the greenback has not closed below it since the September FOMC meeting.  In the bigger picture, we have suggested the dollar-yen rally from mid-September through mid-October puts the dollar in a new range.  We suspected JPY114.50-JPY115.00 marks the upper end and JPY113.00 may be the lower end.  The Australian dollar fell almost 1.4% yesterday, its largest decline since May.  It reached $0.7420 yesterday, just above the $0.7410 (38.2% retracement objective of last month's rally).  It has stabilized today and has (so far) been capped near $0.7450.  Resistance is seen in the $0.7460-$0.7470 area.   For two weeks, the Chinese yuan has been alternating between advances and declines, and net-net little changed over the period.  Yesterday, the yuan slipped (0.04%), and today it is firmer (0.06%).  The PBOC has consistently set the dollar's reference rate above model projections, and today's fix was at CNY6.4079 compared with median expectations (Bloomberg) for CNY6.4068.  The PBOC was unexpectedly generous in its open market operations, injecting CNY50 bln. As a result, the overnight repo rate fell 12 bp to 1.99%.   Europe Norway's central bank meets tomorrow.  It was the first of the high-income countries to raise rates this year, so far, followed only by New Zealand.  We overstated the case for Norway to hike rates at the meeting, but don't be mistaken. The case for a rate hike exists, but the pattern is not to move at these "off-meetings" (without updated formal policy path guidance).  Instead, officials will likely confirm their intentions to raise rates in December. The swaps market is pricing in almost three hikes next year.   The dollar trended lower against the Nokkie since August 20. The downward momentum stalled in late October.  Yesterday it rose above NOK8.50 for the first time since mid-October.  The momentum indicators have turned up.  The 200-day moving average is slightly below NOK8.55 and near NOK8.60 is the (38.2%) retracement of the down move.  The UK is emerging from the economic soft patch in the June-August period.  The final service and composite PMI report today showed stronger activity than the preliminary estimates.  The service PMI rose to 59.1 from 55.4 in September.  The flash estimate had put it at 58.0.  The composite stands at 57.8, up from the preliminary projection of 56.8 and September 54.9.    The Bank of England meets tomorrow.  There does not seem to be much conviction, and the market appears divided. In the Bloomberg survey, 22 out of 45 economists expect a hike that seems to have been largely discounted by the markets (15 bp).  Three of the largest UK banks do not expect a hike.  Some observers argue that what is the point of stopping now when it would end next month. We often think the signaling channel of QE is under-appreciated.  Stopping the bond-buying now adds to the seriousness of the moment if it does not lift rates. Sterling has retreated by 2.3 cents since last week's high to approach $1.36 yesterday in the US. The euro reached its lowest level against sterling since March 2020 in late October near GBP0.8400, and yesterday rose to above GBP0.8500 for the first time since October 12.   Poland's central bank is expected to hike the base rate 25 bp today to 0.75%.  Recall that it hiked 40 bp last month to begin the cycle.  It started later than Czech and Hungary.  Preliminary October CPI rose 1% on the month, accelerating the year-over-year pace to 6.8% (from 5.9% in September.  It was at 5% as recently as July.  The Czech central bank meets Friday and is expected to hike the repo rate 75 bp to 2.25%.  After two quarter-point hikes (June and August), it hiked by 75 bp in September. Inflation (CPI) rose to 4.9% in September from 4.1% in August.  It is the highest since 2008.  Turkey's CPI rose by 2.39% last month to bring the year-over-year rate to 19.89% (19.58% in September), slightly lower than expected.  The core rate slipped slightly to 16.82% from 16.98%.   The euro has been confined to about a quarter of a cent range above $1.1575 so far.  It stalled yesterday near $1.1615, the (50%) retracement of the pre-weekend slide from almost $1.1700 to $1.1535.  It is making session highs in the European morning, but we look for a less friendly North American session.  There are options for about 530 mln euros at $1.16 that expire today.  A hawkish Fed (see below) could bring option expirations tomorrow at $1.1525 (~825 mln euros ) and $1.1550 (~900 mln euros) into play.  Sterling tested $1.36 yesterday, the lowest level since October 13.  It has hardly managed to distance itself from the lows.  It found new offers near $1.3635.   There is a GBP675 mln option expiring today at $1.3650.  A larger one (~GBP820) is at $1.3615 also expires but has liked been neutralized.   America It seems well appreciated that the Federal Reserve will announce it will begin slowing the bond purchases. Most expect a reduction of $10 bln of Treasuries and $5 bln of Agency MBS.  Investors appear to be anticipating the monthly reduction of these amounts through June 2022.  Even with yesterday's upticks, the June Fed funds futures contract continues to discount a rate hike then.  If the effective Fed funds rate is steady in the first half of June at eight basis points and then rises to 33 bp for the second half of the month (25 bp rate hike on June 15), the average effective rate is about 20.5 bp.  The contract settled at an implied rate of 20 bp yesterday.   Since this is already in the market, the tapering announcement itself may not be hawkish.  There are two steps the Fed could take if it wanted to drive home the point.  First, the FOMC statement has been referring to inflation as largely "transitory."  It could simply drop this qualifier or modify it.  The Chair has already acknowledged that it will likely persist longer than initially anticipated.  Indeed, next week's CPI report is expected (Bloomberg survey median) is expected to have risen by 0.5%, which, given the 0.1% increase in October 2020, means the 12-month rate will accelerate to around 5.8%.   Second, after the last press conference, Powell was asked about needing to reduce monetary stimulus while the Fed was still engaged in QE.  The Bank of England said it would hike if necessary while it was still buying bonds.  Powell said in that situation, the Fed would not send contradictory signals but accelerate the tapering process.  Quicker tapering would be a hawkish signal, and reaction by the market would likely bring forward the first hike.   The Democratic Party lost the Virginia gubernatorial context.  Biden had carried the state by 10 percentage points last year, and the preliminary results suggest a loss of suburban voters, a key part of the new Democratic coalition.  New Jersey's governor contest is very close, and the Democratic incumbent is trailing. The results play on ideas that the Democrats are likely to lose both houses of Congress in next year's mid-term election, in which it is common for the party in the White House to lose seats.  Some in the press have been critical that Xi and Putin are not attending COP-26, but their leadership was always in doubt.  The election results may undermine US leadership because Biden's commitments may not get legislative support, and executive decisions could be reversed in 2024.   Today could be the first day since October 13 that the US dollar does not trade below CAD1.2400.  Still, note that the greenback remains in the CAD1.2300-CAD1.2435 range set last Wednesday when the Bank of Canada turned more hawkish.  Yesterday, the US dollar closed above its 20-day moving average for the first time since late September.  We suspect corrective forces could lift the exchange rate toward CAD1.2475, where the (38.2%) retracement of last month's decline is found, and the 200-day moving average (~CAD1.2485).  However, in its way stands the $920 mln option at CAD1.2450 that expires today.  The greenback reached almost MXN20.92120 yesterday, a new eight-month high. Sellers emerged, and the dollar closed lower to snap a five-day advance.  It is softer today but holding above yesterday's low (~MXN20.71).  Ahead of the FOMC outcome, the market may be cautious about taking the dollar below the MXN20.66-MXN20.70 area.   Disclaimer
Lip Service to Inflation, Again

Lip Service to Inflation, Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.11.2021 14:54
S&P 500 quick downswing attempt indeed didn‘t come – fresh highs were confirmed by bonds. Even if just on a daily basis, that‘s where the bias is – long stocks still, but with a wary eye as Treasuries and corporate bonds need to kick in on a more than daily basis. I‘m taking it as that the bullish expectations for today are really high – so much so that better than expected non-farm employment change resulted in a sell the news reaction. So, how does that line up with today‘s FOMC? Dovish undertones are obviously expected – at least in attempting to sweep the hot inflation under the rug, spinning it somehow else than with the tired transitory horse. Discredited one too. So, how would the taper message be delivered, and could it go as far as $15bn a month asset purchase reduction while avoiding rate hike mentions as much as possible? Even if $15bn is indeed the announced figure, I‘m looking for the Fed to soften it before it can run its course, i.e. before 2H 2022 arrives – the economy isn‘t in such a great shape to take it, and the fresh spending bill (whatever the price tag), needs central bank‘s support too. Let‘s recall my yesterday‘s words about how that‘s likely to translate into market moves: (…) Overall, stocks haven‘t made much progress, and are vulnerable to a quick downswing attempt, which probably though wouldn‘t come today as the VIX doesn‘t look to favor it. Wednesday, that could be another matter entirely. Still, there is no imminent change to the stock bull run on the horizon – the focus remains on ongoing Fed accomodations. Tomorrow‘s Fed taper announcement wouldn‘t change a lot – so much can (and will) happen in the meantime, allowing them to backpedal on the projections, making rate hikes even more of a pipe dream. The Fed isn‘t taking inflation seriously, hiding behind the transitory sophistry, and that‘s one of the key drivers of rates marching up, rising commodities, and surging cryptos. Look for more oil and natgas appreciation while copper goes up again too. Precious metals are still waiting for a catalyst (think dollar weakening when even rising rates won‘t provide much support, and inflation expectations trending up faster than yields) – a paradigm shift in broader recognition of Fed obfuscation and monetary policy being behind the curve. The Fed turning even more dovish than expected, would light the fireworks – they‘re likely to pay lip service to inflation similarly to Jun, but it won‘t pack the same punch. Inflation expectations haven‘t peaked, and the yield curve is about to steepen again as rates would mostly be moving higher. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 keeps rising, and is setting itself up for a brief disappointment. We aren‘t though making a top with capital t. Credit Markets Universal risk-on move in the credit market, on volume that didn‘t disappoint, which just confirms the bulls‘ overall technical advantage. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold downswing left a lot to be desired – we aren‘t likely staring at a true slide next. I actually look for silver (and the cyclically sensitive commodities such as copper, and also oil) to outperform gold in the wake of the Fed move. Crude Oil Crude oil didn‘t move much on a closing basis, but the bulls need more time to retake the reins. Copper Copper really doesn‘t want to decline, and remains slated to play catch up to the CRB Index again. The improving bullish outlook requires just time now – selling volume is drying up, tellingly... Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bulls haven‘t yielded, and keep the overall technical advantage. Should prices dip below $58K in BTC without solid buying materializing, now that would make me wary. But the Fed won‘t be hawkish., no. Summary Potential S&P 500 bear raid is approaching, and the more dovish the Fed would be, the shallower dip in stocks can be expected. Yes, the bulls keep having the upper hand – credit markets have behaved. As mentioned yesterday, that‘s the big picture view - the very initial reaction to taper announcement would likely be reversed higher. Cryptos, oil, copper would react best, with precious metals figuring it out only later – unless the Fed negatively surprises, in which case cryptos would be prone to wilder swings (but not downside reversal in earnest). Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles To Bounce Back

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Struggles To Bounce Back

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.11.2021 08:38
EURUSD claws back lossesThe US dollar fell after the Federal Reserve called for patience on raising interest rates.The pair has met strong resistance at 1.1690, a previous demand zone on the daily chart that has turned into a supply one. The latest sell-off has been contained by 1.1535, near the base of the recent rebound as an oversold RSI attracted some bargain hunters.A surge above the intermediate resistance of 1.1620 would bring in more momentum traders. Then a break above 1.1690 could kickstart a bullish reversal in favor of the euro.XAUUSD tests resistanceGold recovers as the US dollar softens across the board following a neutral FOMC.Price action had previously struggled to clear the supply area around 1810, the origin of the September correction. The subsequent fall below the support at 1785 has prompted buyers to take profit.However, the RSI’s repeated oversold situation has caught buyers’ attention at the daily support at 1760. 1785 is the hurdle ahead and a bullish breakout would resume the recovery. Failing that, the bears may push towards 1740.USOIL falls back for supportWTI crude slipped after the EIA reported a larger increase in US inventories. The psychological level of 85.00 has been an effective hurdle so far.The previous fall below 81.00 has put the bulls on the defensive, especially after their failure to achieve a new high above 84.70. This is a confirmation that sentiment has grown cautious after the price’s recent vertical ascent.The RSI’s overbought situation on the daily chart could call for a pullback. 79.50 is the closest support. Its breach may send the price to 76.50.
Leading the Taper Run

Leading the Taper Run

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.11.2021 15:02
No S&P 500 pause to speak of – bonds support the buying pressure. The broad turn to risk-on has value holding up relatively well while tech remains in the driver‘s seat. The daily weakness in financials looks misleading, and as a function of retreat in yields – I‘m looking for stabilization followed by higher prices. Real estate though is starting to smell a rat – I mean rates, rising rates. Slowly as the Fed didn‘t give the green light, but they would acommodate the unyielding inflation.There was something in the taper announcement for everyone – the hawks are grasping at the possibility to increase taper pace should the Fed start to deem inflation as unpleasantly hot. I wrote about the dovish side I take already on Wednesday when recapping my expectations into the meeting.Coupled with non-farm payrolls coming in above expectations, the table is set to reassure the stock bulls that further gains are possible while the lagging commodities move up. Precious metals would continue recovering from the pre-taper anxiety, and miners with copper kicking back in, would be the confirmation. The dollar should welcome the figure corresponding to yields increase, buying a little more time.One more note on oil – its downswing is positive for the stock bulls as its retreat works to increase disposable income, and in the zero rates environment, kind of acts as a shadow Fed funds rate. Regardless, I‘m standing by the call for triple digit oil prices in 2022.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 fireworks are continuing with improving participation, and the path of least resistance remains higher.Credit MarketsUniversal risk-on move in the credit market still continues, and the long HYG knot isn‘t a sign of a reversal – the bulls merely got ahead of themselves, that‘s all.Gold, Silver and MinersGold easily reversed the pre-taper weakness, and so did silver. I‘m now looking for the miners to catch up, and a good signal thereof would be a fresh commodities upswing. No, CRB Index hasn‘t peaked.Crude OilCrude oil hasn‘t peaked either, and appears attracting buying interest already. While $80 were breached, the commodity is getting ahead of itself on the downside – the oil sector doesn‘t confirm such weakness.CopperCopper has stabilized in the low 4.30s, and an upswing attempt is readying – its underperformance of CRB Index would get reversed.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum consolidation goes on, and nothing has changed since yesterday – stabilization followed by slow grind higher is what‘s most likely next.SummaryS&P 500 stands to benefit from real economy revival, earnings projections and taper being conducted in the least disruptive way, apparently. Credit markets have made up their mind, and aren‘t protesting the risk-on sentiment, which has come from a temporary commodities retreat (hello, China). Inflation worries should though still return to the fore as the rising rates aren‘t as much a result of improving economy and yield spreads, which the precious metals are sensing already.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold FINALLY Breaks Free Amidst S&P INSANITY

Gold FINALLY Breaks Free Amidst S&P INSANITY

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 08.11.2021 08:13
Gold, after 18 weeks of being stuck in a maniacal Short trend without price really going anywhere, FINALLY broke the bonds of the M word crowd by flipping to Long -- but not without a mid-week scare: more later on that affair. But we begin by assessing the stark INSANITY besetting the parabolic performance of the S&P 500, +25% year-to-date. It settled yesterday (Friday) at 4698 (reaching 4718 intra-day), a record closing high for the seventh consecutive session. Such phenomenon has occurred but five other times in the past 41 years! So here's a multiple choice question for you: Ready? Across all those years (i.e. from 1980-to-date), what is the longest stretch of time between all-time highs for the S&P 500? â–  a) eight monthsâ–  b) just over three yearsâ–  c) slightly less than six yearsâ–  d) all of the above (for you WestPalmBeachers down there)â–  e) none of the above If having answered "e)", you are correct: the longest stint was almost seven-and-one-quarter years from 24 March 2000 through the DotComBomb up to 13 Jul 2007. 'Twas the complete antithesis of the current paradigm of an all-time high every single trading day. But wait, there's more: those of you who were with us way back in the days at AvidTrader may recall our technically having "mild", "moderate" and "extreme" readings of both oversold and overbought conditions for the S&P. Well, get a load of this: yesterday was the S&P's 12th consecutive day with an "extremely overbought" reading. During these 41 years, that has only happened once before, 36 years ago in 1985. And the price/earnings ratio then was a respectable 10.5x: today 'tis five times that much at 54.4x (!!!) easily more than double the S&P's lifetime median P/E (since 1957) of 20.4x. And still more: Every time the S&P moves from one 100-point milestone to the next, 'tis a FinMedia "big headline deal", albeit the percentage increase comparably narrows. Nonetheless, trading gains and losses are measured by the point, not the percentage. And from 1980-to-date, the S&P has gone from 100 to now 4700, (i.e. through 46 milestones. Upon having just achieved the 4600 level on 29 October, the average number of trading days over these past 41 years to reach each 100-point milestone is 236 (just about a year's worth). But now from 4600-4700 took just five days! Cue John McEnroe: "You canNOT be SERious!!" 'Course, every trend reaches a bend, if not its end. And whilst the market is never wrong, something will the S&P upend. You regular readers already know the "earnings are not there" to support even one-half the S&P's current level. Moreover, 'tis said when the Federal Open Market Committee does nudge up its Bank's Funds rate, 'twill be "Game Over" for the S&P, (something of which the Fed is very fearful). "But mmb, even a rise from just 0.25% to only 0.50% maintains a really low rate..." Nominally still low, yes Squire: but upon it occurring, the Fed shall have doubled the cost for every bank that comes to the borrowing window, from which one can then ask banking clientele: "How's that variable rate loan workin' out for ya?" And thus falleth the first domino. And the S&P. Have a great day. Gold had a great day yesterday in settling out the week at 1820. But as noted, 'twas not before a mid-week scare. With Gold wallowing on "The Taper of Paper" Wednesday -- down at 1758 (a three-week low) -- the tried-and-true, widely followed daily moving average convergence divergence (MACD) crossed to negative. Such previous 11 negative crossings had averaged downside follow-through of 86 points. Thus within that technical vacuum, another run sub-1700 was placed on Gold's table. What instead followed was a one-day whipsaw, Gold's MACD finishing the week with a positive cross, and even better, the weekly parabolic Short trend FINALLY being bust per the first Gold-encircled dot in our weekly bars graphic: FINALLY too Gold had its first Friday in five of not being flogged ostensibly by the M word crowd. Should they thus have left the building, in concert with both the daily MACD back on the positive side and the weekly parabolic again Long, the door is open for Gold to glide up into the 1900s toward concluding 2021. As for the five primary BEGOS Markets, here are their respective percentage tracks from one month ago (21 trading days)-to-date, the S&P having swiftly replaced Oil as the leader of the pack. Of more import, note the rightmost bounce for Gold and the Bond. Why are those two stalwart safe havens suddenly getting the bid? (See our opening commentary on S&P INSANITY): Meanwhile as we waltz into the waning two weeks of Q3 Earnings Season, of the S&P's 505 constituents, 426 have reported (450 is typically the total within the seasonal calendar), of which 340 (80%) have bettered their bottom lines from Q3 of a year ago when much of the world purportedly was "shut down". Thus such significant improvement was expected: "They better have bettered!" Yet as noted, our "live" P/E is at present 54.4x. Thus to bring earnings up to snuff such as to reduce the P/E to its lifetime median of 20.4x, bottom lines need increase by 167%: but the median year-over-year increase (for those 396 constituents with positive earnings from both a year ago and now) is only 19%. Thus for those of you scoring at home, a 19% increase is nowhere near the "requisite" 167%. "Look Ma! Still no earnings!" (Crash). Still earning to grasp good grace is the track of the Economic Barometer, which bopped up a bit on the week's headline numbers. To be sure, October's Payrolls improved with a decline in the Unemployment Rate and a jump in the Institute for Supply Management's Services Index. But with a return of folks to the workplace (excluding those who've post-COVID decided they don't need to work) came a plunge in Q3's Productivity combined with a spike in Unit Labor Costs. As well, October's growth in Hourly Earnings slowed and the Average Workweek shortened, such combination suggesting temporary jobs materially lifted the overall Payrolls number. Also less highlighted was September's slowing in Factory Orders, shrinkage in Construction Spending, and the largest Trade Deficit recorded in the Baro's 24-year history. Here's the whole picture from one year ago-to-date with the S&P standing up straight: To our proprietary Gold technicals we go, the two-panel graphic featuring price's daily bars from three months ago-to-date on the left with the 10-day Market Profile on the right. And note the "Baby Blues" of linear regression trend consistency being abruptly stopped in their downward path thanks to Friday's "super-bar" -- Gold's best intra-day low-to-high run in nearly four weeks -- and the highest closing price since 04 September. As well in the Profile, price sits atop the entire stack, which you'll recall for the prior two weeks was at best a congestive mess. But to quote Inspecteur Clouseau, "Not any moooure...": As for Silver, she's not as yet generating as much comparable excitement. At left, her "Baby Blues" continue to slip even as price gained ground into week's end. At right, the price of 24 clearly is her near-term "line in the sand". Still, our concern a week ago of her falling into the low 22s has somewhat abated, albeit the daily parabolic trend remains Short; however a quick move to 24.700 ought nix that condition. "C'mon, Sister Silver!": So there it all is. We see Gold as poised to FINALLY move higher toward year-end, (barring a resurgence of the M word crowd). And we see the S&P as poised for its off-the-edge-of-the-Bell-curve INSANITY to cease, (barring an economic erosion that instead furthers the flow of free dough). After all, bad is good, just as Gold is always good. In that spirit to conclude for this week, here are three good bits from a few of the smartest (so we're told) people in the world: Betsey "With an e" Stevenson says with respect to folks not returning to the workforce post-COVID that "...It’s like the whole country is in some kind of union renegotiation..." That is True Blue Michigan-speak right there. But think about it: when you've got a) the upper labor hand, and b) the aforementioned free dough that you popped into the stock market to thus gain some 38% since the economy first shutdown, why work, eh? Besides, the feeling of marked-to-market wealth is a beautiful thing. Elon "Spacey" Musk now notes that Tesla has not contracted with Hertz to sell 100,000 four-wheel batteries. Recall when that deal first was announced, the price of TSLA went up many times more than the additional incremental return of the transaction. But hardly has it since retracted. 'Course, the company's Q3 earnings were "fantastic", in turn nicely bringing down the stock's P/E to just now 345.8x. And comparably as you already know, the only other two S&P 500 constituents classified as being in the sub-industry category of "Automobile Manufacturers" are Ford (P/E now 26.1x) and General Motors (P/E now 7.7x). But a shiny object that rolls, too, is a beautiful thing. Peter "Techie" Thiel has just opined that the soaring price of bits**t is indicative of inflation being at a "crisis moment" for the economy. 'Tis not ours to question this notion; rather 'tis beyond our pay grade to understand it. What we do understand is that THE time-tested (understatement) indicator and mitigator of inflation -- i.e. Gold -- is priced at such an attractively low level versus where it "ought" be (i.e. 3981 per our opening graphic's decree), that never again such a beautiful opportunity shall we see! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.TheGoldUpdate.com
Target Hit! Another Successful Call on Natural Gas

Target Hit! Another Successful Call on Natural Gas

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 05.11.2021 15:10
  Have you ever tracked your progress during your oil and gas trading journey and seen such trades? Read on… and come aboard! In the previous edition published last week and updated on Monday, I projected the likelihood of a sturdy support level on the gas market – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGZ21) Futures – for going long around the $5.268-5.361 zone (yellow band), with a relatively tight stop just below $5.070 and targets at $5.750 and $5.890. So, the market indeed sank just below that band to trigger an entry on Monday, and then it was suddenly pushed back up by the bulls waiting to take over the price to the upward direction. This long trade was also supported by the fundamentals, as the heating needs for the month of November were gradually increasing. The weather forecasts appeared to orientate the demand upwards backed by an uninterrupted demand for Liquefied Natural gas (LNG) US exports. Then, Nat-Gas hit the first target at $5.750 on Wednesday, and stopped at the $5.876 mark – located just $0.014 below the second projected target at $5.890 – on Thursday! Regarding Crude Oil, a new entry, provided to our premium subscribers on Wednesday has just being triggered. The black gold is now attempting to rebound onto that support, which acts as a new floor. Trading Charts Chart – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGZ21) Futures (December contract, daily chart) Now, let’s zoom into the 4H chart to observe the recent price action all around the abovementioned levels of our trade plan: Chart – Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGZ21) Futures (December contract, 4H chart) In conclusion, my trading approach has led me to suggest some long trades around potential key supports - natural gas recently offered multiple opportunities to take advantage of dips onto those projected levels. If you don’t want to miss any future trading alerts, make sure to look at our Premium Section. Have a nice weekend! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Silver, patience pays

Silver, patience pays

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 08.11.2021 08:13
Here is what you should consider when asking why it isn’t trading even higher. First, after an initial up-leg like this, a trend is set in motion, but it is just the beginning of a trend. It needs time to develop. Most of the reasons debated this year when silver stepped into the limelight were the reasons the traders anticipated fueling the first leg. A big part is that it takes time until the public digests the market, which is ahead of reality, a speculative prognosis on how the future might look. There is a trickle-down effect until silver can build up its second leg. From an active market speculator perspective, inflation is real, but years can pass until the crowd realizes what is going on. Then gold needs to move, which in turn awakens silver with a delay. Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart, bull as bull can be: Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 5th, 2021. The monthly gold chart above shows the strong bullish trend in gold over the last twenty years. Telltales are a higher high in 2020 versus 2011, and the price strength since. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart, getting ready: Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 5th, 2021. The weekly chart has just come alive to an exciting inflection point. A closer look reveals that price has successfully built a second leg from the US$1,680 double bottom price zone (yellow lines). The upcoming weeks should show if a double triangle formation (red lines) was severed now that the price is trading above POC support of a fractal volume study (white line). Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, looking good: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 5th, 2021. The weekly silver chart is bullish as well. Bulls have successfully defended the yearly range lows zone (slim white box). They mutually are attacking an overhead resistance with quite some might, and upcoming weeks might find price successful in that attempt. Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, history as a guide: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 5th, 2021. The above monthly chart shows an excellent example of how much patience is needed to earn significant profits from a silver investment. In this case, silver initiated a range break in 1973, where prices tripled within a year. Much like silver’s recent move from March last year to the current top in February this year. It showed a similar percentage move. This first leg of a bullish trend required more than three years of investor’s patience before the second leg was initiated. Those patient enough to hold on were rewarded with a near thousand percent price increase.   Silver, patience pays: “It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting.”Nothing has changed in the last hundred years about the principle value of this quote by Edwin Lefèvre (Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, published in 1923). We are used to active participation in a process to earn one’s wages. In this aspect however, the market is counterintuitive. “The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses in Wall Street even among the professionals, who feel that they must take home some money every day, as though they were working for regular wages.” Lefèvre again points towards patience and a state of inactivity being just right in market play. We find the last phase of silver in a sideways range if anything is encouraging to a substantial second leg up in the making, It will therefore reward the patient owner of his physical holdings. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
The Moonshot Fizzled Out, Inviting Sellers Again

The Moonshot Fizzled Out, Inviting Sellers Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.01.2021 16:13
The reflexive rebound slowly but surely lost steam, rolling over into the close. The decline continued in the overnight session before a 3720-ish floor was established, indicating that the stock bulls are not yet out of the woods. It was indeed a good idea to take open long profits off the table yesterday for a quick 22-point gain in the S&P 500. Earlier, I called for a reflexive bounce post the Wednesday selloff, followed by some sideways trading. Let‘s look at the charts, and update the unfolding game plan – would the charts still support stabilization as the most probable outcome over the next few sessions? In short, the probability of more downside rather than selling having stopped, has increased (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook The sellers stepped in as the session approached the closing bell, and the daily volume was still lower than Wednesday‘s one. Not too shabby, but lower. My takeaway is that the selling hasn‘t ended yet as it‘s the bears‘ turn now. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) retreated even more on a daily basis, almost revisiting the opening gap. That makes it impossible for me to present a short-term bullish case to you. Especially given that investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) weakened – that would be expected if long-term Treasuries weakened as well (they did), but its the interplay of the three that warrants caution to me. High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) are still faring much better than stocks, highlighting that we‘re in a risk-off environment right now, where even utilities (XLU ETF) or consumer staples (XLP ETF) have a hard time keeping up their daily gains. Here they are, long-dated Treasuries (TLT ETF). They have declined, right – but this move lower is a bit too moderate for my taste, and instead favors them to trade sideways to higher over the next few sessions. Such a move would be supported by the daily indicators as well, and stocks would have it tougher to score gains simultaneously. Market Breadth, Volatility & Tech I am not dazzled by the advance-decline line, and rather pay attention to the tame advance-decline volume, and the warning inability of new highs new lows to recover at all. A bit more time and substance is needed for the price recovery to play out. Volatility retreated but such a prior spike means that we aren‘t going to 25-26 range just right away. While the gyrations both ways aren‘t over yet, they are calming down. Technology (XLK ETF) retreated to where it opened, and wasn‘t among the best performing sectors. Financials (XLF ETF) and healthcare (XLV ETF) did better, and the same goes to a large degree for the emerging bull market trio of materials (XLB ETF), industrials (XLI ETF) and energy (XLE). Gold in the Spotlight Daily reversal on rising volume that has a coiled spring feel to it. The daily indicators are relatively undecided though, and don‘t rule out another push to the downside. Still, the overwhelming character of this market is sideways for now, and should a bear raid come, it would have to prove its staying power first. The medium-term picture naturally remains bullish just as I laid the case for it both on Monday and Wednesday. Summary Having approached Wednesday‘s gap, the S&P 500 rally fizzled out yesterday. Pointing lower in the premarket, today‘s session is shaping up to be one of bottom searching and attempts to gain the upper hand by both the buyers and the sellers. It‘s that the market internals aren‘t at their strongest exactly, while volatility hasn‘t died down sufficiently, and Treasuries appear ready for a short-term upside surprise too. Make no mistake though, the stock bull market isn‘t over and this is not the start of a significant correction. Just remember my Monday‘s article, and brace yourself for a weak February. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and the upcoming Gold Trading Signals.   * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Gold Selling Is a Bit Extreme, Compared to Dollar and Stocks

Gold Selling Is a Bit Extreme, Compared to Dollar and Stocks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.02.2021 16:30
Wednesday brought us daily consolidation of prior S&P 500 gains, and that‘s a positive outcome for the bulls. Base building at a higher level, if you will, is looking set to continue also today. The credit market performance reveals that it‘s a reasonable expectation, and the internals examination would reveal the details of a coming run higher. Gold paused yesterday, and of course still doesn‘t look ready to rebound. But does it mean it‘s acting consistently weak? No, and today‘s analysis will show that its better days will come – and we won‘t have to wait for all that long. Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Yesterday‘s daily candle was one of hesitation, not marked by any kind of volatile move. The volume also shows that the price moves didn‘t invite much interest to jump in or out. The Force index nicely illustrates the directionless nature of very short-term trading. After the steep correction, it‘s back to neutral, and the muddle through February ahead can really start. Credit Markets and Smallcaps High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) continue trading with an upward bias, and the upper knots don‘t frighten me as the swing structure is positive, and there is no retreat to speak of. I see the credit market strength as conducive to further stock gains. The Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) is doing better than the S&P 500, and this is to be expected in a maturing bull market run. I certainly look for smallcaps to outperform the 500-strong index in the first half of 2021. S&P 500 Sectoral Peek Similarly to the S&P 500, technology has been consolidating its gains, yet with a bit more of a bearish flavor. Also the volume overcame Tuesday‘s levels, unlike the declining S&P 500 one. Technology being among the stronger sectors, that‘s what the above chart shows. The rotation into value stocks (as the tech took it on the chin) has failed, and this heavyweight sector (led by $NYFANG) is again leading stocks higher. As we‘re seeing absolutely no signs of broad based sectoral outperformance (which would be followed by less and less advancing issues), the stock bull market is far from making a top. The copper to gold ratio is repeating its December consolidation pattern before launching higher yet again. That‘s a testament to the strength of the economic recovery, which will keep lifting commodities including oil, and also ignite the love trade in precious metals discussed on Tuesday. Gold in the Spotlight Today‘s premarket price action isn‘t a nice sight to the precious metals bulls, as gold is largely mirroring silver‘s losses. But how far can this short squeeze reversal trade run? Can it usher a new downtrend? I don‘t think so. The protracted gold basing pattern I described last Monday, is holding up. What we‘re seeing, is a kneejerk reaction to a 33K drop in new unemployment claims (supportive for risk on assets). Does it mean that we‘re on the doorstep of a strong job market recovery? Given last 6 month payroll developments, it would take us … 5 years to get back to pre-corona levels. This gold chart will get a fresh facelift and a new red candle today. I look for the volume at the close, and the size of the lower knot first before drawing conclusions. Now that prices sunk below $1800, the lower Bollinger Band is getting pushed. Is a new trend starting here? That‘s the key question and I still say no as this (isolated) kind of a strong move meets corrective forces next. The dollar and gold chart shows that the strongly negative correlation is slowly giving way to more indepedent trading between the two assets. Now that the dollar is in a short-term run higher, it‘ll exert less pressure upon the precious metals. Is gold‘s slide today announcing much higher dollar values ahead? The dollar is less than half a percent higher while gold plunged by over two and half percent, which doesn‘t look like a move that can last, based on the fiat currency vs the metal of kings intermediate-term dynamic. Rising yields accelerating their decline in 2021, are another factor of gold‘s short-term headwinds. While I don‘t see yields as falling from a medium- or long-term perspective any time soon, they are set to stop dragging gold to the downside – and the Dec 2020 and also 2021 performance shows that gold buyers are happy to step in and buy the plunge. Gold to corporate bonds ($GOLD:$DJCB) ratio reveals the yellow metal as keeping gained ground. The rising Treasury yields are a manifestation of a large spending bill coming, and deteriorating public finances, which will catch up with the greenback. Summary The stock market recovery got an unemployment claims catalyst, and powers higher instead of more short-term digestion of recent gains. With a few points away from the highs, the talk about a correction will die down now hopefully as the value stocks have quite some catching up to do still. Gold is under short-term pressure, and the comming sessions would show just how much the market thinks the current fall has been overdone. The basing pattern remains unbroken, with technicals and fundamentals in place for the upcoming bull run. Patience is still the name of the game in precious metals currently still. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
Trading Oil & Gas: Some Spicy MLPs to Choose From!

Trading Oil & Gas: Some Spicy MLPs to Choose From!

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 12.10.2021 16:00
 Let’s focus on less-popular securities to trade energies today: Master Limited Partnership (MLP). How do they work and how can they be profitable? By the way, a big “thank you!” goes to Simon, one of our readers, who asked us about this last Friday. Feel free to send us your questions or any topics that you would like us to write about in the forthcoming editions, and we’ll try our best to answer them! Note: Trading positions are available to our premium subscribers. A good way to diversify the construction of your oil and gas investment portfolio is to use a variety of assets for balanced exposure to the energy sector and its industrial components. What Is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP)? To learn in detail what a MLP is, we invite you to read the following articles that already contain the necessary basic information you need to know before starting investing in them. Master Limited Partnership (MLP), Investopedia.com The Benefits of Master Limited Partnerships, Investopedia.com Key Reason for Going Into Those Alternative Investments The most important advantage is the high-income potential. Indeed, Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) typically pay high yields to investors, mainly due to the fact that they do not pay corporate income taxes. Stock Watchlist (Continued) In the first article about alternative investments, we started a watchlist with some major energy stocks. Today, let’s update it! As usual, our stock-picks will be shared through this link to our dynamic watchlist (which will be included in the position from now on). It will be updated from time to time as we progress through our portfolio construction process. Take a look below at a few examples of some indicative metrics: Today we picked five oil and gas Master Limited Partnership (MLP) companies that are quoted on the US exchange. Their revenues are as stated below: Revenue (in billion US dollars): Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) $26.67B Energy Transfer LP (ET) $38.95B Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) $2.37B MPLX LP (MPLX) $8.51B Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) $23.59B In summary, those alternative investments may present stable benefits and diversify your energy portfolio… So, what MLPs do you guys trade? I’ve already selected mine, as well as the exact positions associated with them. All of this (and much more!) can be found in my premium Oil Trading Alerts. As always, we’ll keep you, our subscribers, well-informed. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Seeks Support

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Seeks Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.11.2021 08:48
AUDUSD breaks lower The Australian dollar softened after a dovish RBA stressed that inflation was still too low to hike soon. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near last July’s high of 0.7550. While sentiment has turned positive from the daily chart’s perspective, an overbought RSI has made buyers cautious. The drop below 0.7490 then 0.7450 has forced out leveraged positions, exacerbating the downward pressure. 0.7380 on the 30-day moving average would be the next support. An oversold RSI may attract bids in this congestion area. NZDUSD retreats from double top The New Zealand dollar bounced back after the Q3 unemployment rate fell to 3.4%. A double top at 0.7220 suggests exhaustion in the kiwi’s ascent after the RSI repeatedly pointed to an overbought situation. A break below 0.7130 indicates that the bears have gained the upper hand, pushing the opposing side to close their bets. The previous supply zone around 0.7070 has turned into a demand zone. This coincides with the 30-day moving average, and along with an oversold RSI, it may gain support from a buy-the-dips crowd. UK 100 tests demand zone The FTSE 100 consolidates gains as investors turn their attention to the US Federal Reserve meeting. The bulls are looking to get a foothold after a close above the August peak at 7240. The RSI’s double top in the overbought zone is a sign of overextension in the short term. Trend followers may look to stake in at the psychological level of 7200, a key demand zone on the 20-day moving average. A bearish breakout would deepen the pullback to 7140. On the upside, a rebound above 7310 would resume the rally.
Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Struggles For Support - 05.11.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Struggles For Support - 05.11.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 05.11.2021 08:51
GBPUSD tests key floor The pound plummeted after the Bank of England held interest rates against expectations. The plunge below the daily support at 1.3570 has caught buyers off guard. Those who bet on a rebound around 1.3600 have rushed to the exit, raising volatility in the process. The September low at 1.3430 would be the next target. An oversold RSI may attract some buying interest, though buyers might be cautious to avoid catching a falling knife. The supply zone between 1.3640 and 1.3700 could keep the sterling under pressure. USDJPY consolidates gains The US dollar consolidates recent gains as traders digest the start of the Fed’s taper. The pair is seeking support around the 20-day moving average after a parabolic rise sent it to a four-year high. An overbought RSI from the daily chart is a sign of exhaustion and traders may be reluctant to push higher. The greenback has found bids along the demand zone over 113.30. The bulls need to clear the fresh hurdle at 114.45 before they could resume the uptrend. A bearish breakout would trigger a sell-off towards 112.50. US 500 grinds to new highs The S&P 500 continues to climb as the Fed deliberately leaves rate hikes off the table. The rally has gained momentum after the index cleared the previous peak at 4550. Sentiment remains bullish, but an overbought RSI in the daily timeframe may call for a pause. Overextension is also on the hourly chart as the RSI repeatedly ventures above 70. The bulls are pushing towards the psychological level of 4700. 4620 on the 30-hour moving averages may attract trend followers’ bids in case of a pullback.
USDJPY best at support at 113.40/30 again today

USDJPY best at support at 113.40/30 again today

Jason Sen Jason Sen 02.11.2021 10:50
USDJPY best at support at 113.40/30 again today. EURJPY up one day, down the next day in the sideways trend for over a week. Becoming more erratic & therefore difficult to trade. CADJPY also more random & more erratic last week, although shorts at first resistance at 9240/60 work again yesterday with a 70 pip profit offered this morning. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY first support again at 113.40/30. Longs need stops below 113.20 so the risk is very small. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 113.00/112.90 & 112.60/50 for profit taking on shorts. Longs at 113.40/30 target 113.80/90. We should pause here but further gains meet minor resistance at last week's high of 114.25/30. Strong resistance at the October high of 114.50/70. Shorts need stops above 114.80. A break higher is a medium term buy signal. EURJPY first support at 131.60/40, stop below 131.35. A break lower is a sell signal initially targeting 130.90 & we could hold here initially, maybe even bounce to 131.40/50. Further losses meet an important buying opportunity at 130.40/20 with stops below 130.00 First resistance at 132.20/30 . Above 132.40 can target 132.90, perhaps as far as strong resistance at October's high of 133.30/50. CADJPY shorts at first resistance at 9240/60 worth a try again targeting 9200 & 9175 (hit as I write). A buying opportunity at 9120/00 with stops below 9090. Gains are likely to be limited with first resistance at 9240/60. However a break higher retests October's high at 9295/9305. Emini S&P December on the way to the next target of 4625/35 this week. Longs at first support at 4590/85 starting to work. Nasdaq December closed at the new all time high at 159864 keeping the outlook positive for this week as we hit the next target of 15900/950. Emini Dow Jones December making a clear break above the all time high at 35540/550 for a buy signal as we hit the next target of 35800/850 & now look for 36000/100. Update daily at 07:00 GMT. Today's Analysis. Emini S&P longs at first support at 4590/85 are expected to target 4625/35 but a high for the day is likely if tested today. Shorts are very risky of course in the bull trend. A break above 4645 is the next buy signal. First support at 4590/85. Longs need stops below 4575. Strong support at 4545/35. Longs need stops below 4525. Nasdaq December now expected to target 15900/950 (hit yesterday) & now 16050/080. Downside is expected to be limited ion the bull trend with first support at 15780/750. Stop below 15720. A break lower targets 15670 with strong support at 15580/540. Longs need stops below 15500. Emini Dow Jones December now targeting 35800/850 & 36000/100, even as far as 36250/280. Downside is expected to be limited with minor support at 35670/650 & 35525/500. A buying opportunity at 35320/280 with stops below 35250. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
A New Profitable Call on Crude Oil: “The Yoyo-Trade”

A New Profitable Call on Crude Oil: “The Yoyo-Trade”

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 08.11.2021 16:54
Was the adage "buy the rumor, sell the news" also verified with that new trading position? It was Thursday (Nov. 4) that the following rumor had flourished: a possible coordinated action which was supposed to consist of drawing on the strategic reserves of several countries, including the United States, which were leading the dance. Meanwhile, our subscribers were just getting ready to go long around the $76.57-79.65 support zone (yellow band), with a stop placed on lower $76.48 level (red dotted line) and targets at $81.80 and $83.40 (green dotted lines). As a result, oil prices had contracted in stride (trading just into our entry area), just before the rumor effect faded shortly on Friday (Nov. 5), to push them back up. In fact, with oil prices picking up momentum on Friday, once again settling firmly above $80 per barrel, and with a market still showing doubts on the possible use of strategic crude reserves, the proposed trade entry on the black gold, triggered on Thursday – following my last post – was thus profitable since it already turned into a partial profit-taking at the end of the week. Then, on Saturday, Joe Biden said that his administration had the means to cope with the rise in energy prices, in particular after the OPEC+'s decision not to raise their production to more than 400,000 barrels per day. in a context of global imbalance between supply and demand. In addition, Joe Biden also insinuated that the organization (and its allies) might actually not do its best to pump enough volume of crude oil. Trading Charts Chart – WTI Crude Oil (CLZ21) Futures (December contract, daily chart) Now, let’s zoom into the 4H chart to observe the recent price action all around the above-mentioned levels of our trade plan: Chart – WTI Crude Oil (CLZ21) Futures (December contract, 4H chart) In summary, my trading approach has led me to suggest some long trades around potential key supports, as this dip on crude oil offered a great opportunity for the bulls to enter long whilst aiming towards specific projected targets. If you don’t want to miss any future trading alerts, make sure to look at here. . Moreover, for those interested in Forex trading, please note that I am currently preparing some new series about the co-existing links and relationships between commodities and currencies. Stay tuned – happy trading! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Getting Back To Risky Assets As A Result Of Russian Move?

Calling the Precious Metals Bull

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.11.2021 16:54
S&P 500 paused to a degree, but bonds didn‘t – we‘re far from a peak. That though doesn‘t mean a brief correction (having a proper look at the chart, sideways consolidation not reaching more than a precious couple of percentage points down) won‘t arrive still this month. It‘s a question of time, and I think it would be driven by tech weakness as the sector has reached lofty levels. It‘ll go higher still, but this is the time for value and smallcaps. And when the dollar starts rolling over to the downside (I‘m looking at the early Dec debt ceiling drama to trigger it off), emerging markets would love that. And commodities with precious metals too, of course – sensing the upcoming greenback weakness has been part and parcel of the gold and silver resilience of late. Precious metals are only getting started, but the greatest fireworks would come early spring 2022 when the Fed‘s failure to act on inflation becomes broadly acknowledged. For now, they‘re still getting away with the transitory talking points, and chalking it down to supply chain issues. As if these could solve the balance sheet expansion or fresh (most probably again short-dated) Treasuries issuance (come Dec) – the Fed is also way behind other central banks in raising rates. Canada, Mexico and many others have already moved while UK and Australia are signalling readiness – the U.S. central bank is joined by ECB in hesitating. Don‘t look for the oil breather to last too long – black gold is well bid above $78, and hasn‘t made its peak in 2021, let alone 2022. As I wrote on Friday, its downswing that works to increase disposable income (serving as a shadow Fed funds rate in the zero rates environment), would prove short-lived. The real economy would have to come to terms with stubbornly high oil prices – and it will manage. The yield curve is starting to steepen modestly again, and fresh spending initiatives would breathe some life into the stalling GDP growth. Next year though, don‘t be surprised by a particularly weak (even negative) quarterly reading, but we aren‘t there by a long shot, I‘m telling you. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 looks getting ripe for taking a pause – the rising volume isn‘t able to push it much higher intraday. Credit Markets HYG strength indeed continues, and it‘s a good sign that quality debt instruments are joining – the reprieve won‘t last long though (think a few brief weeks before rates start rising again). Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver continue reversing the pre-taper weakness, and miners are indeed joining in. I‘m looking for more gains with every dip being bought. Crude Oil Crude oil hasn‘t peaked, and looks getting ready to consolidate with a bullish bias again. $85 hasn‘t been the top, and the energy sector remains primed to do well. Copper Copper is deceptively weak, and actually internally strong when other base metals are examined. As more money flows into commodities, look for the red metal to start doing better – commodities haven‘t topped yet. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum consolidation has come to an end, and the pre-positioned bulls have a reason to celebrate as my prior scenario– stabilization followed by slow grind higher is what‘s most likely next – came to fruition. Summary S&P 500 breather is a question of time, but shouldn‘t reach far on the downside – the credit markets don‘t support it. Commodities are catching up in the (dovish as assessed by the markets too) taper aftermath, and precious metals are sniffing the dollar‘s weakness a few short weeks ahead. With fresh money not needed to repair commercial banks‘ balance sheets, it flows into the financial markets, and the taper effects would be negated by the repo operations – yes, I‘m not looking for a liquidity crunch. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
USD Index: Are New Milestones in the Cards?

USD Index: Are New Milestones in the Cards?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 08.11.2021 16:54
While the greenback's failed breakout on Nov. 4th may seem bearish, it faced a similar situation in August and October, only to recover and achieve new highs. After the USD Index’s negative response to the ECB’s monetary policy meeting on Oct. 28, I warned on Oct. 29 that dollar bears were unlikely to celebrate for much longer. I wrote: Based on the rather random comment during the conference, the traders panicked and bought the EUR/USD, which triggered declines in the USD Index (after all, the EUR/USD is the largest component of the USDX). Was the breakout to new 2021 lows invalidated? No. The true breakout was above the late-March highs (the August highs also served as a support level, but the March high is more important here) and it wasn’t invalidated. What was the follow-up action? At the moment of writing these words, the USDX is up and trading at about 93.52, which is just 0.07 below the August high in terms of the closing prices. Consequently, it could easily be the case that the USD Index ends today’s session (and the week) back above this level. You’ve probably heard the saying that time is more important than price. It’s the end of the month, so let’s check what happened in the case of previous turns of the month; that’s where we usually see major price turnarounds. I marked the short-term turnarounds close to the turns of the month with horizontal dashed blue lines, and it appears that, in the recent past, there was practically always some sort of a turnaround close to the end of the month. Consequently, seeing a turnaround (and a bottom) in the USD index now would be perfectly normal. And after the forecast turned into reality, the USD Index surged above 94 and remains poised to resume its uptrend over the medium term. To explain, if we zoom in on the four-hour chart, it highlights the importance of the price action on Nov. 5. During the session, the USD Index hit a new 2021 intraday high before a small reversal occurred. This might seem bearish at the first sight (it’s a failed breakout, after all)… However, similar developments were also present in August and October. After the dollar basket attempted to make new highs and failed, the greenback eventually regained its composure and achieved the milestones. As a result, another 2021 high should occur sooner rather than later. Please see below: The first failed attempt to break above the previous highs triggered sizable short-term declines. This happened in August (marked with red). The second – September – attempt triggered only a small correction (marked with green) that was then followed by a bigger rally. Similarly, the – marked with red – October invalidation was followed by a sizable decline, and the current one (marked with green), is relatively small. And it’s likely to be followed by a short-term rally, just like the September correction was. On top of that, as you can see on the below chart, the current setup for the USD Index and gold mirrors what we witnessed in early August. Following its sharp summertime rally, the USD Index moved close to its 50-day moving average without reaching it. And after buyers stepped in, the USD Index resumed its uptrend and made a new 2021 high. Moreover, with a similar pattern and a similar reading on the USD Index’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) present today, the greenback’s outlook remains robust. I marked both cases with red, vertical, dashed lines below. More importantly, though gold, silver, and mining stocks’ upswings concluded once the USD Index bottomed close to its 50-day moving average in August and sharp drawdowns followed. Moreover, while gold, silver, and mining stocks’ recent rallies were likely underwritten by expectations of a weaker USD Index (it did fail to move to new highs, right?) , technical (as described above and below) and fundamental realities contrast this thesis. As a result, the 2021 theme of ‘USD Index up, PMs down’ will likely resume over the medium term. Please see below: Equally bullish for the greenback, the Euro Index remains overvalued and should suffer a material drawdown over the medium term. For example, the index’s previous lows, its 50-day moving average, and its declining resistance line combined to create major resistance and the Euro Index is now retesting its 2021 lows. As a result, the next temporary stop could be ~1.1500 (the March 2020 highs, then likely lower). For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and that’s why the euro’s behavior is so important. Please see below: Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around). Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration. Moreover, as the journey unfolds, the bullish signals from 2014 have resurfaced once again. For example, the USD Index’s RSI is hovering near a similar level (marked with red ellipses), and back then, a corrective downswing also occurred at the previous highs. More importantly, though, the short-term weakness was followed by a profound rally in 2014, and many technical and fundamental indicators signal that another reenactment could be forthcoming. Please see below: Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind still remains at the dollar’s back. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98 target is likely to be reached over the medium term, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, the USD Index remains in the driver’s seat and new highs should materialize over the medium term. And while gold, silver and mining stocks have rode the S&P 500 higher recently, history has been unkind when the precious metals ignore technical and fundamental realities. Moreover, with gold, silver, and mining stocks’ strong negative correlations with the U.S. dollar standing the test of time, it’s likely only a matter of time before investors realize this as well. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
The uncertain certainty of bitcoin

The uncertain certainty of bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 09.11.2021 10:24
Some might argue that it is best to sit on one’s hands and wait for a time when bitcoin prices are suppressed, and they have a point with the possibility of a market crash. And then again, they might have said that already when bitcoin was still trading at US$3,000 (we do not find it likely that bitcoin will ever retrace to those levels again.). Where are the uncertainties in bitcoins certainty? When you dissect a complex mechanism, you will always find a problem. It is like going to the bakery. It would be foolish to expect to get anything else but bread. Maybe it is better to look at a glass half full, meaning why not look at why bitcoin could be a certainty? BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, every buyer is a winner if he didn’t sell: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 9th, 2021. The monthly chart above certainly shows that whoever bought in the past has made a profit by now. Yet, we know “hodling” isn’t an easy thing. Personal risk appetite determines the number of bitcoin that can be held throughout these boom and bust cycles. We solved this dilemma through our quad exit strategy. And we teach low-risk position size building in our free telegram channel. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, new all-time highs: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Weekly chart as of November 9th, 2021. Now, moving forward to real-time, we can make out a similar bullish picture on the weekly chart after our glimpse in the past. Recent events provide data that substantiates bitcoin’s long-term certainty. A look at the last two weeks of October (marked in white) reveals a very brief battle with a minimal retracement level at the double top of all-time highs. Bears barely get a foot in the door, where typically bitcoin experiences significant retracements. To us, a clear sign that the rush is on. Big player money is now rushing to accumulate the necessary size they aim to hold on their books for the long term. Consequently, reducing volatility, one of the most feared aspects of bitcoin, which in times to come will attract more market players to this trading vehicle.   BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, six figures in 2022: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 9th, 2021. A look into the future from a monthly chart perspective is confidence building as well. With new all-time high prices printing at the time of publication of this chart book, our bet is still on bitcoin with a 63% over 47% chance that prices will advance from here rather than retracing to a substantially lower price level. So far, bitcoin has done nothing else but eradicate the uncertainties placed in its way. The most stubborn doubter would likely be happy if they had picked up a few coins when they traded at a dollar. What provides confidence for our forecast is the confirmation that bitcoin price retracements are now more modest. This lets us assume that the number of professional traders participating in this market has increased. In the monthly chart above, you can make out that closing prices of the month’s May, June, and July this year closed above the 50% Fibonacci retracement levels. A conservative retracement for bitcoins historical standards. We project for the near term that bitcoin will reach six-figure prices in mid-February next year. The uncertain certainty of bitcoin: From the anticipatory perspective, it seems evident that holding bitcoin is a prudent move with a look into the future. A hedge is needed once the risk is apparent to all, and the house of cards will tumble.  From a real-time perspective, we also find bitcoin to be a “must-own.” The charts above showed the strength with which bitcoin is aching to claim its turf, and it is never good to wait till “fear of missing out” kicks in, and low-risk entry opportunities become scarce.  And from a reactionary perspective, a look in the past, it is evident that anybody would like a piece of the action where bitcoin has nothing but a stunning history of unheard percentage moves and made it from eight cents to US$ 67,000 in just a dozen years.  There are always uncertainties in speculative ventures, but bitcoin itself is a certainty, not to be rationalized away for the years to come. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|November 9th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin mining, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, crypto mining, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Seeks Support

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP Seeks Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.11.2021 09:01
EURGBP sees a temporary pullback The sterling inched higher as traders took profit after the BOE’s dovish shift last week. The rally above the supply area of 0.8570 is a sign of commitment from the buy-side. Strong momentum has forced the bears to rush for the exit door. 0.8620 is now the next resistance. Its break would bring the euro to September’s high at 0.8660, where a breakout may lead to a bullish reversal in the medium-term. In the meantime, an overbought RSI is causing a pullback. The base of the latest surge at 0.8465 is an important support. NZDUSD tests key resistance The New Zealand dollar recoups losses as risk appetite recovers. The pair has met buying interest at 0.7070 along the 20-day moving average. A bullish RSI divergence is a sign that the bearish momentum has waned. When this happens in a demand zone, it makes a rebound of greater significance. 0.7180 is a major hurdle ahead following a previously botched bounce. Its breach may resume the kiwi’s uptrend above 0.7220. The RSI’s double top in the overbought area may briefly limit the bullish impetus. GER 40 consolidates gains The Dax 40 continues to rally in hopes of a prolonged low-rate environment. The bulls are pushing towards 16200 after the index reached the milestone at 16000. However, the RSI’s multiple ventures into the overbought area and a bearish divergence indicate that the rally may have overextended. A temporary pullback would be necessary to let the bulls catch their breath. 15920 is the immediate support. Further down, 15730 on the 20-day moving average would be an area of interest.
Bitcoin is climbing undeterred higher

Bitcoin is climbing undeterred higher

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 02.11.2021 11:02
Bitcoin is volatile and nosedives in some of these attacks. A historical look back illustrates how bitcoin each time is climbing higher right after: 2009 traded for free (zero value) between enthusiasts 2010 worth US$0.08 2011 from US$1 up to US$32 back down to US$2 2012 from US$4.80 up to US$13.20 2013 from US$13.40 up to US$1,156 and down to US$760 2014 – 2016 down to US$315 2017 up to US$20,089 2018 down to US$3,122 2019 up to US$13,880 2020 up to US$34,800 2021 up to US$67,016 And these last three years, bitcoin has been climbing higher, undeterred. BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, bitcoin, a true winner: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 2nd, 2021. The monthly chart above illustrates bitcoin’s winning characteristics. We can see harmonious swings. Retracements are substantial, but bitcoin shows a persistent tendency to outperform previous all-time highs. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, explosive recent history: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Weekly chart as of November 2nd, 2021. The weekly chart points towards more explosive moves recently. After a breakout of a multi-year range, we can see that bitcoin has started to move substantially due to more widespread adoption. Swing behavior is getting more harmonious. At the moment, we are in the midst of a battle between bears and bulls at a double top formation. Consequently, the following days to weeks will show who will come out ahead. The fact that bulls cling to their winnings for this long gives price in this pat situation a slight edge for the bullish corner.   BTC in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, stepping away from the noise: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Daily chart as of November 2nd, 2021. The daily chart can be pretty volatile. These smaller time frames are advised only to be traded if you are a professional. This applies particularly to struggle zones like the one we are currently in, for instance. Intraday swings can get substantial. In addition, once these battles between bears and bulls resolve, daily percentage moves can be staggering. Luckily, one doesn’t need to fear such challenging trading environments. To clarify, step up to larger time frames and reduce trade frequency and position size. Accept the risk based on adequate position size to your individual psychology and risk appetite. Consequently, buying for the long term will become much easier. It is essential as such to be familiar with a trading object’s typical behavior and, in bitcoins case, not to forget its ability to shine after a major setback. Bitcoin is climbing undeterred higher: Overall, bitcoins’ technical personality makes it an easy choice for one’s wealth preservation portfolio. Especially when options for wealth preservation investments are limited! This year’s strength towards gold and silver price performance had us increase bitcoins percentage allocation within the long-term portfolio. It fulfills two valuable functions to firmly find its place under historically much longer established counterparts. Scarcity for stability, and a more considerable performance potential necessary to protect against inflation. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
Gold, Silver, and Miners Just Can’t Jump

Gold, Silver, and Miners Just Can’t Jump

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 03.11.2021 15:17
Let’s face it, the metals are not having an easy time breaking out. Short-term rallies end up going nowhere and bearish signs are still in abundance. Yesterday’s session was once again quite informative, and so is today’s pre-market trading. In yesterday’s analysis, I emphasized the importance of the relative weakness that we just saw in mining stocks, so let’s start with taking a look at what mining stocks did yesterday. At first glance, yesterday’s performance might look like a bullish reversal, but zooming in clarifies that something else was actually in the works. Let’s take a look at the GDXJ 1-hour candlestick chart for details. Yesterday’s “reversal” was actually a breakdown below the previous (mid-October) intraday lows along with the verification thereof. The GDXJ moved below the above-mentioned lows and – while it moved back up – it ended the session below them. This is a bearish type of session. Also, if you were wondering about the high volume in the final hour of trading – that’s relatively normal as that’s when bigger trades tend to take place. And while mining stocks were busy verifying the breakdown, gold tried to break above its declining, red resistance line, and verify that breakout. While yesterday’s session didn’t bring much lower gold prices (and the invalidation), today’s pre-market trading makes it clear that the attempt to break higher failed. Just like I had indicated yesterday. This time the rising short-term support line is not there to prevent further declines as the breakdown below it was also confirmed. What does it mean? It means that gold is likely to fall, and quite likely it’s going to fall hard. Besides, silver price is after a major short-term breakdown, too. After a powerful short-term rally, silver had reversed, and now it broke below its rising support line. That’s yet another bearish indication. Please note that at first silver was reluctant to decline while mining stocks moved decisively lower, which was normal during the early part of a given decline. Silver did some catching-up action yesterday, but since miners are not showing strength, I’d say that we’re getting to the regular part of a short-term move, not close to its end. And the move lower is likely to continue, just as the move higher is likely to continue in case of the USD Index. The USDX is after a verification of the breakout to new 2021 highs and after an about monthly consolidation above them. This is a perfect starting point for a major upswing, and we’re likely to see one soon. All in all, while the outlook for the precious metals sector is very bullish for the following years, it’s very bearish for the following weeks. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Great Profitable Runs

Great Profitable Runs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.11.2021 15:04
S&P 500 pause goes on, and bonds support more of it to come. Tech keeps thus far the high ground gained, but value is showing signs of very short-term weakness – and yields haven‘t retreated yesterday really. The correct view of the stock market action is one of microrotations unfolding in a weakening environment – one increasingly fraught with downside risks. To be clear, I‘m not looking for a sizable correction, but a very modest one both in time and price. It‘s a question of time, and I think it would be driven by tech weakness as the sector has reached lofty levels. It‘ll go higher over time still, but this is the time for value and smallcaps in the medium term.The dollar though isn‘t putting much pressure on stock, commodity or precious metals prices at the moment – such were my yesterday‘s words:(…) when the dollar starts rolling over to the downside (I‘m looking at the early Dec debt ceiling drama to trigger it off), emerging markets would love that. And commodities with precious metals too, of course – sensing the upcoming greenback weakness has been part and parcel of the gold and silver resilience of late. Precious metals are only getting started, but the greatest fireworks would come early spring 2022 when the Fed‘s failure to act on inflation becomes broadly acknowledged.For now, they‘re still getting away with the transitory talking points, and chalking it down to supply chain issues. As if these could solve the balance sheet expansion or fresh (most probably again short-dated) Treasuries issuance (come Dec) – the Fed is also way behind other central banks in raising rates. Canada, Mexico and many others have already moved while UK and Australia are signalling readiness – the U.S. central bank is joined by ECB in hesitating.And that‘s what precious metals would be increasingly sniffing out. Commodities are joining in the post-taper celebrations, and my prior Tuesday‘s market assessments are coming to fruition one by one. Oil is swinging higher and hasn‘t topped, copper is coming back to life, and cryptos aren‘t in a waiting mood either.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 pause is here, and all that‘s missing, is emboldened bears. They may or may not arrive given that VIX keeps looking lazy these days – either way, the risks to the downside are persisting for a couple of days at least still.Credit MarketsHYG strength evaporated, but it‘s on a short-term basis only. The broader credit market weakness would get reversed, but it‘s my view that quality debt instruments would be lagging.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver continue reversing the pre-taper weakness – the upswing goes on, but is likely to temporarily pause as the miners‘ daily weakness foretells. Still, I‘m looking for more gains with every dip being bought.Crude OilCrude oil bulls continue having the upper hand, no matter the relative momentary stumble in maintaining gains – the energy sector hasn‘t peaked by a long shot.CopperCopper is participating in the commodities upswing – not too hot, not too cold. Just right, and it‘s a question of time when the red metal would start visibly outperforming the CRB Index again.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum consolidation has indeed come to an end, and both leading (by volume traded) cryptos are primed for further gains. SummaryS&P 500 breather remains a question of time, but shouldn‘t reach far on the downside – the bears are having an opportunity to strike as credit markets have weakened, and there isn‘t enough short-term will in tech to go higher still. The very short-term picture in stocks is mixed, but downside risks are growing. The dollar is already weakening, much to the liking of commodities and precious metals – there is still enough liquidity in the markets as any taper can be easily offset by withdrawing repo money sitting on the Fed‘s balance sheet.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – Euro Attempts To Bounce

Intraday Market Analysis – Euro Attempts To Bounce

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.11.2021 08:58
EURUSD meets resistance The euro finds support from an upbeat economic sentiment from across the block. The pair has met buying interest in the demand zone around 1.1520. A bullish RSI divergence suggests that sellers may have taken their feet off the pedal. Subsequently, a break above 1.1560 prompted the short side to cover. 1.1615 is a key supply zone from last week’s sell-off, after which the bulls need to lift offers near 1.1690 before a reversal could gain traction. On the downside, a fall below 1.1550 may call the rebound into question. XAGUSD awaits breakout Bullions rise as the US dollar retreats ahead of the release of inflation data. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart is a sign that sentiment could be turning around. Silver is testing the September high of 24.80. A bullish breakout would trigger an extended rally towards 26.00. However, the RSI’s double top in the overbought area has held buyers back as the market awaits new catalysts. A combination of profit-taking and fresh selling could drive the price lower. The base of a previous breakout at 23.70 would be a support. US 500 seeks support The S&P 500 consolidates gains over strong corporate earnings and improved economic outlook. The divergence between the 20 and 30-day moving averages indicates an acceleration in the rally. Though there is a chance of a pullback after the RSI shot into the overbought area. The bullish bias means that buyers may be eager to jump in during a correction. The index is hovering above 4660. 4625 on the 20-day moving average would be the second line of defense. On the upside, a rebound would lead to 4750.
How Strange! Gold Rises on Strong Payrolls!

How Strange! Gold Rises on Strong Payrolls!

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 09.11.2021 15:20
US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, surpassing expectations. Gold reacted… in a bullish way, and jumped above $1,800! The October nonfarm payrolls came surprisingly strong. As the chart below shows, the US labor market added 531,000 jobs last month, much above the expectations (MarketWatch’s analysts forecasted 450,000 added jobs). So, it’s a nice change from the last two disappointing reports. What’s more, the August and September numbers were significantly revised up – by 235,000 combined. Let’s keep in mind that we also have the additions of 1,091,000 in July and 366,000 in August (after an upward revision). Additionally, the unemployment rate declined from 4.8% to 4.6%, as the chart above shows. It’s a positive surprise, as economists expected a drop to 4.7%. In absolute terms, the number of unemployed people fell by 255,000 - to 7.4 million. It’s a much lower level compared to the recessionary peak (23.1 million), however, it’s still significantly higher than before the pandemic (5.7 million and the unemployment rate of 3.5%). Implications for Gold What does the recent employment report imply for the precious market? Well, gold surprised observers and rallied on Friday despite strong nonfarm payrolls. As the chart below shows, the London P.M. Fix surpassed the key level of $1,800. To show gold’s reaction more clearly, let’s take a look at the chart below, which shows that the price of gold futures initially declined after the October Employment Situation Report release. Only after a while, it rebounded and rallied to about $1,820. It’s a surprising behavior, as gold usually reacted negatively to strong economic data. Until now, gold liked weak employment reports as they increased the chances of a dovish Fed that would continue its easy monetary policy. Now, something has changed. But what? Well, some analysts would say that nothing has changed at all. Instead, they would tell us that the latest employment report is not as strong as it seems. In particular, the labor force participation rate was unmoved at 61.6% in October and has remained within a narrow range of 61.4% to 61.7% since June 2020, as the chart below shows. The lack of any improvement in the labor force participation rate could be interpreted as a lack of full employment and used by the Fed as an excuse to leave interest rates unchanged for a long time. I’m not convinced by this explanation. “Full employment” does not mean that all people are working, but all people who want to work are working. And, as the chart above shows, the fact that after the Great Recession the labor participation rate didn’t move back to the pre-crisis level didn’t prevent the Fed from hiking interest rates in 2015-2019. There is also another possibility. It might be the case that investors are now focusing on inflation. The employment report showed that the average hourly earnings have increased by 4.9% over the past twelve months, raising some concerns about wage inflation and general price pressure in the economy. Remember: context is crucial. If the new narrative is more about high inflation, good news may be positive for gold if they also indicate strong inflationary pressure. Although I like this explanation, it’s not free from shortcomings. You see, stronger inflation concerns should increase inflation premium and bond yields. However, the opposite is true: the real interest rates declined last week (see the chart below), enabling gold to catch its breath. After all, the markets are expecting a more dovish Fed than before the announcement of tapering. This is a fundamentally positive development for the gold market. Having said that, it’s too early to declare the start of the breakout. If inflation stays high, the US central bank could have no choice but to hike interest rates next year. Also, although the recent jump despite strong payrolls is encouraging, gold has yet to prove that it can stay above $1,800. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
EURUSD well established so we keep trading them until prices breakout of the range.

EURUSD well established so we keep trading them until prices breakout of the range.

Jason Sen Jason Sen 10.11.2021 14:24
EURUSD levels are well established so we keep trading them until prices breakout of the range. We have shorts at first resistance at 1.1600/10 from yesterday USDCAD we have longs at 1.2440/20 targeting strong resistance at 1.2510/30. GBPCAD beat strong resistance at 1.6860/70 but meets a selling opportunity at 1.6930/50 with stops above 1.6970. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD strong resistance at 1.1600/10. Shorts need stops above 1.1630. A break higher can target strong resistance at 1.1695/1.1705. Exit longs & try shorts with stops above 1.1720. A break higher is a buy signal targeting 1.1765/70 & 1.1800/10. Shorts at 1.1600/10 target 1.1570/60 (hit), perhaps as far as first support at the October low at 1.1530/20. A break below 1.1510 is a sell signal initially targeting 1.1490 & although this could hold initially (a low for the day certainly possible but longs are risky) we eventually expected to target 1.1430/20. USDCAD longs at 1.2440/20 target strong resistance at 1.2510/30. Shorts need stops above 1.2550. First support at 1.2440/20 but longs need stops below 1.2410. A break below here targets 1.2370/65 perhaps as far as support at 1.2300/1.2280. Longs here need stops below 1.2270. A break lower is a sell signal. GBPCAD selling opportunity at 1.6930/50 with stops above 1.6970. A break higher however targets 1.7050/70. Shorts at 1.6930/50 target 1.6860, perhaps as far as 1.6810. A low for the day is possible here but further losses are likely to retest last week's low at 1.6735/25. GBPUSD beat 1.3510/30 to target 1.3570/80 & my selling opportunity at 1.3600/20. Shorts here worked perfectly with a high for the day at 1.3607 & a collapse to my target of 1.3525/15. In fact this was also the low for the day. EURGBP shorts at the 200 day moving average at 8585 work on the slide to second support at 8520/10 for profit taking on any remaining shorts. A low for the day exactly here so longs also worked on the bounce to 8550. GBPNZD shot higher to strong resistance at 1.9050/70 but shorts need stops above 1.9090 (which looks likely today's high as I write). Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis. GBPUSD try shorts again at 1.3600/20 targeting 1.3560, perhaps as far as minor support at 1.3525/15. Below here look for 1.3470/60. A selling opportunity at 1.3600/20. Try shorts with stops above 1.3635. A break higher targets 1.3570/75. EURGBP holding below 8550 retests support at 8520/10. Try longs again with stops below 8500. A break lower targets 8475. Longs at 520/10 target 8550 before first resistance at the 200 day moving average at 8585/95. A break above 8600 is a buy signal for this week. GBPNZD shorts at strong resistance at 1.9050/70 target 1.9895, perhaps as far as 1.8950. A break above 1.9090 targets 1.9170/80. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Profiting on Hot Inflation

Profiting on Hot Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.11.2021 16:08
S&P 500 pause finally went from sideways to down, and might not be over yet. Credit markets aren‘t nearly totally weak – tech simply had to pause, so did semiconductors, and the Tesla downswing took its toll. Value though recovered the intraday downside, and VIX retreated from its daily highs – that may be all it can muster. I‘m looking primarily at bond markets for clues, and these reacted to the PPI figures with further decline in yields.At the same, inflation expectations are moving higher – the more you shorten the maturity, the higher they go, let alone RINF, their key ETF. Markets will be proven very wrong about the transitory inflation complacency – inflation rates aren‘t going to decline if you just leave them alone. And taper coupled with rate hikes hesitancy won‘t do the trick either.S&P 500 is still primed to go higher – the only question is the shape of the current consolidation. Liquidity is still ample, the banking sector is strong, and the Russell 2000 isn‘t really retreating. As stated yesterday:(…) The correct view of the stock market action is one of microrotations unfolding in a weakening environment – one increasingly fraught with downside risks. To be clear, I‘m not looking for a sizable correction, but a very modest one both in time and price. It‘s a question of time, and I think it would be driven by tech weakness as the sector has reached lofty levels. It‘ll go higher over time still, but this is the time for value and smallcaps in the medium term.Precious metals are consolidating – it‘s almost a pre-CPI ritual, but under the surface, the pressure to go higher keeps building. I‘m looking for a strong Dec in gold and silver, with unyielding oil and copper gradually waking up. Cryptos aren‘t taking prisoners either.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 finally declined, and the very short-term picture is unclear – is the dip about to continue, or more sideways trading before taking on prior highs? It‘s a coin toss.Credit MarketsHYG recouped some of the prior downside, but the LQD and TLT upswings give an impression of risk-off environment. Sharply declining yields aren‘t necessarily positive for stocks, and such is the case today.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver look like briefly pausing before the upswing continues – miners are pulling ahead, and the ever more negative real rates are powering it all.Crude OilCrude oil bulls continue having the upper hand, and oil sector is also pointing at higher black gold prices to come. Energy hasn‘t peaked by a long shot.CopperCopper went at odds with the CRB Index, but that‘s not a cause for concern. It‘ll take a while, but the red metal would swing upwards again.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are briefly consolidating, and a fresh upswing is a question of shortening time. SummaryS&P 500 remains momentarily undecided, but the pullback shouldn‘t reach far on the downside – the bears are having an opportunity to strike on yet another hot inflation numbers. This isn‘t transitory really as I‘ve been telling you for almost 3 quarters already. Needless to say, the fire under real assets is being increasingly lit – more gains in commodities, precious metals and cryptos are ahead as inflations runs rampant on the Fed‘s watch.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Cuts Through Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Cuts Through Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.11.2021 09:26
USDJPY attempts a bullish reversalThe US dollar broke higher after October’s CPI exceeded expectations.On the daily chart, the RSI has dropped back into the neutrality area. The greenback has secured bids around the 30-day moving average. An oversold RSI on the hourly chart attracted a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd at 112.70.The latest surge above the psychological level of 114.00 has prompted sellers to cover their bets, paving the way for a bullish reversal above 114.25. Before that, an overbought RSI may lead to a pullback towards 113.05.XAUUSD breaks resistanceRising US CPI boosts the demand for gold as an inflation hedge.After being unable to clear the daily chart’s triple top at 1833 over the course of the summer, the precious metal has cut through the resistance like a hot knife through butter. High volatility suggests that sellers were quick to bail out.As momentum traders jump in, the bullish breakout would lead to an extended rally towards 1900. An overbought RSI may cause a limited pullback. In that case, 1823 at the base of the rally may see strong buying interest.USOIL retreats from resistanceWTI crude edged lower after the EIA reported a slight rise in US inventories. The price’s swift recovery above the sell-off point at 83.00 is an indication that sentiment remains overall optimistic.However, the previous peak and psychological level of 85.00 seems like a tough hurdle to overcome for now. An overbought RSI has triggered a temporary pullback with a break below 81.90. In turn, this is deepening the correction towards 79.30.Trend followers may see the limited retracement as an opportunity to stake in.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 19.10.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Keeps Bullish Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.11.2021 09:33
GBPUSD buried in bearish territory The pound continues to retreat after Britain’s growth fell short of expectations in Q3. A break below September’s low at 1.3420 has invalidated the latest rebound, putting buyers on the defensive once again. The RSI’s double bottom in the oversold area may ease the bearish push momentarily. A bounce could be an opportunity to sell into strength. 1.3500 is the immediate resistance. On the downside, renewed momentum would drive price action towards last December’s lows around 1.3200. AUDUSD struggles for support The Australian dollar came under pressure after the unemployment rate returned above 5% last month. The sell-off continued after a brief pause over the 30-day moving average near 0.7390, turning the latter into a fresh resistance. The lack of support suggests increasingly downbeat sentiment. The base of October’s bullish breakout at 0.7240 is the next support. The RSI’s oversold situation may cause a limited rebound from the round number at 0.7300, though it is likely to turn out to be a dead cat bounce. US100 tests demand zone The Nasdaq 100 suffers losses as high inflation dents risk appetite. An RSI divergence showed a deceleration in the uptrend, a sign that the rally has overheated. Subsequently, a drop below 16200 has prompted leveraged buyers to exit for fear of a correction. As the RSI inched into the oversold territory, the index saw bids near the breakout zone (15900) from earlier this month. The support-turned-resistance at 16200 is the first hurdle. Then the bulls will need to clear 16400 before the rally can resume.
Weekly Macro Themes - 12 November 2021

Weekly Macro Themes - 12 November 2021

Callum Thomas Callum Thomas 12.11.2021 15:36
Here's a brief overview of the topics and charts covered in the latest edition of the Weekly Macro Themes report. I send this report out late Friday NZ time and aim to cover a good mix of macro/ideas/risk topics, across a global macro/multi-asset universe. This week I covered the following topics/ideas:   1. US Credit Spreads: Continuing to monitor risk indicators for credit as valuations reach extreme expensive/complacent; focused on a specific set of macro indicators (which look good at the moment) as a trigger to shift bearish. 2. Gold Price Outlook: Slight change to the view given where technicals, sentiment, positioning, monetary signals and valuations sit. 3. Gold & USD: Conventional wisdom says a stronger dollar would be a headwind to gold, we dig into this conventional wisdom to see if it is actually wise and also review the outlook for the US dollar. 4. Gold Miners: Reviewing the outlook for gold miners given valuations, positioning, market breadth, technicals, and intermarkets. 5. Silver: We also review the suite of indicators for silver and lay out the near term outlook and parameters for the next steps.     Request a trial of our institutional research service for your firm, simply fill in the form here. (n.b. the full service is aimed at fund managers and institutional investors)       About the Weekly Macro Themes report The "Weekly Macro Themes" is part of our institutional offering aimed at multi-asset and macro-driven portfolio managers and strategists. The report takes a chart-driven macro, fundamental and multi-factor approach; a powerful combination of cross-asset idea generation for portfolio managers, charts on key global macro trends, analysis on portfolio risks, asset allocation research, and innovative indicators, in a format that delivers a balance of brevity and depth so that you can efficiently assimilate the insights. Also part of the service is the monthly market cycle guidebook, global cross asset market monitor, and quarterly strategy pack. (or just follow us for now): LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
Red Hot and Running

Red Hot and Running

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.11.2021 15:44
S&P 500 really went through the brief pause in selling, but credit markets haven‘t stopped really. Their weakness continues, but is hitting value a tad harder than tech. Together with VIX turning south, that‘s one more sign why the bulls are slowly becoming the increasingly more favored side. Hold your horses though, I‘m talking about a very short-term outlook – this correction doesn‘t appear to be over just yet (the second half of Nov is usually weakner seasonally): (…) some treading the water before stocks make up their mind, is most likely next. The downswing doesn‘t appear to be totally over, but we have arguably seen the greater part of it already. … I‘m still looking for clues to the bond markets. There, it had been a one-way ride. TLT though is having trouble declining further, and that means a brief upswing carrying over into stocks, is likely. Primarily tech would benefit, and the ever more negative real rates would put a floor beneath the feverish precious metals run. Make no mistake though, the tide in gold and silver has turned, and inflation expectations aren‘t as tame anymore. In this light, there‘s no point in sweating the commodities retracement of late. True, the rising dollar is taking some steam out of the CRB superbull, but that‘s only temporary – I‘m looking for the greenback to reverse to the downside once the debt ceiling drama reappears in the beginning of Dec. Then, the Treasury would also have to start issuing more (short-term) debt, which would put a damper on any upswing attempts. Meanwhile, inflation would keep at least as hot as it‘sx been recently, and the Fed policy mistake in letting the fire burn unattended, would be more broadly acknowledged. What a profitable constellation for precious metals, real and crypto assets! Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is bidding its time – the shallow very short-term consolidation continues, with the bears slowly running out of time (for today). Credit Markets HYG, LQD and TLT – weakness anywhere you look continues, but LQD is hinting at a possible stabilization next. Unless that‘s more broadly followed in bonds, any S&P 500 upswing would remain a doubtful proposition. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver were indeed just getting started – a relatively brief pause shouldn‘t be surprising. Any dips though remain to be bought. All in all, PMs are firing on all cylinders currently. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls keep defending the $80 level, with $78 serving as the next stop if need be. The consolidation starting late Oct would though resolve to the upside in my view – it‘s just a question of shortening time. Copper Copper participated in the commodities upswing – not too enthusiastically, not too weakly. The volume seems just right for base building before another red metal‘s move higher. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are still consolidating, and the relatively tight price range keeps favoring the bulls. Summary S&P 500 is looking at a mildly positive day today, but the correction isn‘t probably over just yet. With most of the downside already in, I‘m looking for bullish spirits to very gradually return. Precious metals will be the star performers for the many days to come, followed by copper and then oil. Crypto better days are also lyiing ahead. All in all, inflation trades will keep doing better and better. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold: Don’t Fret the Small Stuff

Gold: Don’t Fret the Small Stuff

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 10.11.2021 14:38
  Do small upswings really matter if one has medium-term goals in mind? Have the bulls come home?  The medium-term back and forth movement in gold continues. If I could make the markets move in a certain direction sooner, and end the prolonged consolidation, I would. However, I can’t, and the only thing that I can do is to report to you what I see on the markets and describe what my course of action will be. During yesterday’s session we saw more of what we’ve been seeing in the previous days. Gold moved higher, and gold stocks moved higher (but in a weak manner), and even though gold moved to new monthly highs, the HUI Index is not even back to its late-October highs. It’s boring, discouraging, and demotivating. But the only thing that we can do is to react to what the market is willing to provide us with. What do yesterday’s and today’s pre-market price moves tell us? First of all, the market tells us that the breakout to new highs in the USD Index is not being invalidated. I know that I’ve written this tens of times, but this factor remains intact and it continues to have very important implications going forward. These are bullish for the USD Index and bearish for the precious metals sector. Second, as I had already written earlier today, gold stocks are not showing strength relative to gold. The gold price just made new monthly highs and is now visibly above its October highs, but the silver price and – most importantly - gold stocks are not. In fact, they are just a little above their mid-October highs. Consequently, the thing that one tends to see in the final parts of a short-term rally remains in place. So, when will the decline in PMs finally continue? Based on what I wrote on Monday – in particular about gold’s reversal points, it’s likely to start soon – perhaps as early as this week. As a quick reminder, you can see gold’s triangle-vertex-based reversal on the chart below: And you can see gold’s long-term cyclical turning point on the chart below: The fact that gold moved to its recent medium-term highs is also a factor here. Resistance provided by those highs is quite likely to trigger a reversal in gold, and based on today’s pre-market action, it’s what we might already be seeing right now. The move lower is small so far, but all bigger moves have small beginnings, and given the reversal points and the resistance that gold just encountered, this could be “it”. Also, speaking of resistance levels, on today’s second chart I placed a red resistance line based on the previous highs. It might be tempting to view the price action below it as an inverse head and shoulders pattern, which could have bullish implications. However, let’s keep in mind that without a breakout above the neck level (approximately the previous highs), the formation is not yet complete, and as such it has NO bullish implications whatsoever, as it simply doesn’t exist yet. All in all, the outlook for the precious metals market is not bullish, even though the last several days / weeks might make one feel otherwise. Before viewing the recent move higher as something significant and/or bullish, please consider how tiny this upswing is compared to the decline in gold stocks between May and October. No market moves in a straight line, and periodic corrections are inevitable. It doesn’t make them a start of a new powerful upswing in each case, though. And if the part of the precious metals market that is supposed to rally the most at the start of a major upswing is so weak right now, then why should one expect the current upswing to be anything more than a corrective upswing within a bigger downtrend? Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
S&P 500: Inflation Fears May Push Stock Prices Lower

S&P 500: Inflation Fears May Push Stock Prices Lower

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 10.11.2021 15:55
  Stocks’ short-term rally came to an end this week and the S&P 500 index entered a consolidation along the 4,700 level. Is this a topping pattern? The S&P 500 index lost 0.35% yesterday, as it fell below the 4,700 price mark following two-day-long consolidation along the Friday’s record high of 4,718.50. The recent rally was not broad-based and it was driven by a handful of tech stocks like MSFT, NVDA, TSLA. The market seems overbought in the short-term and most likely it’s trading within a topping pattern. Today we may see another consolidation or a profit taking action following worse than expected inflation data release (the CPI monthly number came at +0.9% vs. the expected +0.6%). The nearest important support level is at 4,650-4,675 and the next support level is at 4,600. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,700-4,720. The S&P 500 broke below its steep short-term upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq Lost 0.7% on Tuesday Let’s take a look at the Nasdaq 100 chart. The technology index broke above the 16,000 level recently and it was trading at the new record high. The market accelerated parabolically above its short-term upward trend line. But yesterday it lost 0.7% and closed below that trend line. The resistance level remains at 16,400, and the short-term support level is at 16,000, among others, as we can see on the daily chart: Apple’s Further Consolidation and Microsoft’s Potential Topping Pattern Let’s take a look at the two biggest stocks in the S&P 500 index, AAPL and MSFT. Apple continues to trade within a consolidation along the $150 level and it is still well below the record highs, and the Microsoft is close to breaking below its over month-long upward trend line. So the tech “megacaps” may be turning lower, as we can see on their daily charts: Conclusion The broad stock market went slightly lower on Tuesday and we may see a downward continuation this morning. The main indices are expected to open 0.2-0.5% lower following worse (higher) than expected consumer inflation number release. It looks like a topping pattern and we may see a downward correction at some point. There may be a profit-taking action following quarterly earnings releases. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 extended its uptrend last week, but since Friday it is trading within a short-term downtrend. But still no positions are justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Consolidation

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Consolidation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.11.2021 08:53
USDJPY hits temporary resistance The Japanese yen pulled back after a larger-than-expected GDP contraction in Q3. The US dollar is looking to hold onto its gains after a rally above 114.00. Sentiment has recovered and a surge above 114.45 around the October peak would resume the uptrend. However, the current rebound may lack the strength to clear the supply zone right away. An overbought RSI has held the bullish fever back. A breach below 113.70 would lead to a deeper correction towards 112.80, which is a key level to keep the rebound relevant. EURCHF struggles for support The euro bounced higher after the bloc’s industrial production beat expectations in September. The RSI’s oversold situation on the daily chart has attracted bargain hunters’ attention around 1.0530, a demand area from May 2020. Price action had three failed attempts to lift offers at 1.0600, a sign of strong selling pressure to keep the downtrend going. A bullish breakout may trigger a runaway rally as sellers seek to exit a crowded short bet. A bearish one would send the single currency to 1.0490. UK 100 tests support The FTSE 100 edged lower after active job postings in the UK hit a record high. The index came under pressure at the psychological level of 7400. A combination of an overbought RSI and its bearish divergence suggests that the rally was losing momentum. Sentiment remains upbeat and a pullback could be an opportunity to get filled at a better price. Trend followers may be waiting to buy the dip near the first support at 7315. A deeper correction would send the price to 7255 along the 30-day moving average.
Silver, the waiting game

Silver, the waiting game

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 13.11.2021 19:25
Luckily, it is not necessary to time market entry and exit precisely. What is essential is calculating risk itself and that risk to expected returns. In addition, strict management of the trade itself is required. Gold versus Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, risk versus reward: Gold versus Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 12th, 2021. That being said, instead of getting distracted by a narrative of policymakers who might prolong the inevitable even for years possibly, we focus on the technical aspects that cannot be “rationalized” away and will be unaffected by market influencers. One such fact is the market relationship between silver’s more giant brother gold. The chart above tries to illustrate that gold is trading 10% below its all-time high. On the other hand, silver is trading 50% below its all-time high. This discrepancy makes silver the more desirable play (better risk/reward-ratio). The difference will work like a loaded spring, and once released, silver will outperform gold by a multiple. Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart, gold leading strongly: Gold in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 13th, 2021. Now that we have found the right vehicle for a wealth preservation insurance play, we are looking for additional factors. Physical acquisition is a clear prosperous choice. It protects against inflation and the risk possibilities inherent to fiat currency, with much historical evidence. That leaves us the question of entry timing. Especially since the physical purchase has a broader spread and a reactionary lag over spot price trading, which is pretty much instant. The chart above clarifies why we see there to be leeway regarding being “right.” It is less critical to pinpoint the absolute lows versus overall participation. Especially since a lack of physical silver availability, which is a possibility, would erase the whole play. The monthly gold chart above is a strong indication that precious metals might be breaking to the upside. With this month’s strength, price pushing against the upper resistance line (white line) of a bullish triangle, silver prices mutually trailing higher is likely. Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, closely following gold: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 13th, 2021. With these necessary positive edges in play, we can now look at silver itself and look for possible low-risk entry points.The monthly chart shows mutual strength over the previous gold chart. Silver has pushed successfully through the problematic distribution zone around the US$24 price level. It still faces POC (point of control), the highest volume node of our fractal analysis, looming above US$26.03. With this many edges in our favor, we find this an excellent spot to add to physical silver holdings from a long-term holding perspective. Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, spot price play: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 13th, 2021. For a spot price play in the midterm time horizon, we are instead waiting for a possible price bounce of POC. A low-risk entry would be granted once the price retraces back into the US$24 to US$24.50 zone. Reyna Silver encounters multiple high-grade sulphide zones within 54.9 metres of near-source style skarn at Guigui: Silver, the waiting game: In market movement, we see expansion and compression, much like an oscillator. At certain times though, may it be a natural or man-made disaster, we can find ourselves in a stretched or amplified move. These times of abnormality from a time perspective require being well-prepared. Swift, disciplined actions following a clear planned roadmap are advised. An anticipated roadmap strictly followed. It is first a waiting game followed by quick action, both psychologically challenging environments. With physical acquisitions of metals, perfectionism in timing is paralysis. Not necessary to come out ahead. We find silver accumulation at this time to be a prudent measure to protect your wealth. Like buying insurance against an anticipated market turn. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
XAUUSD (Gold) And XAGUSD (Silver) - A Technical Look

Gold 'n Silver 'n CPI Oh My!

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 15.11.2021 09:26
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 626th Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 13 November 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com  Let's start with October's Consumer Price Index (CPI) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: its excitedly-disseminated reading was +0.9% (which annualized is a whopping +10.8%). "Oh, 'tis the worst in 30 years!", they say. "Oh, 'tis the worst in 40 years!", some say. We say: "C'est très exagéré." Why? Because Labor has established this level -- or higher -- three times prior during the 24 years of our maintaining the Economic Barometer: for September 2005 'twas +1.2%; for June 2008 'twas +1.1%; and recently for this past June 'twas (as is now) a like +0.9%. Here's that history: Such exaggerative reporting of this October's +0.9% CPI growth arguably does have merit, for 'tis a very concerning rate of inflation. However as Grandpa Hugh would encourage today's news desks : "Get it first, but FIRST, get it RIGHT!" as opposed to the current-day media mantra of "Fake it FIRST, but fake it as FACT!" 'Course there are other sources that find far greater inflation; however in sticking with Labor's "official" measure, glaringly missing from the subsequent reportage is that -- following those three prior inflationary pops -- came cooling over at least the few ensuing months. 'Tis per the rightmost column of "next" three-month CPI average growth in the below table: Again, ours is not to belittle the seriousness of October's +0.9% CPI rise; rather 'tis to simply show it in the context of historical fact. Please notify a media outlet near you. Seriousness, indeed. For of further practical import (on the assumption that neither do you eat, nor use petroleum-based products), October's Core-CPI growth of +0.6% has already been realized four times just in the prior 15 months. Critical concern there, and justifiably so given the price of Oil has risen from 39.82 at mid-year 2020 to 83.22 at October 2021's settle (+109%). For from the "That's Scary Dept." the cumulative rise in the full CPI across that same 16-month-to-date stint is only +7.3% ... solely by that metric, folks have been gettin' off easy despite higher petrol prices! Fortunately, Gold and Silver may be FINALLY gettin' off their respective butts via their inflation mitigative role. Which obviously points to their having so much farther up to go. Per our opening Gold Scoreboard, price settled out the week yesterday (Friday) at 1868, its second-best single-week performance thus far this year on both a points (+47.7) and percentage (+2.6%) basis. Thus comparatively, 'tis a fine leap forward for Gold. However as you ad nausea already know, even in accounting for its supply increase, Gold by StateSide M2 currency debasement "ought" today be 3986. As well is the ever-annoying fact of Gold first hitting the present 1868 level a decade ago on 19 August 2011 when the money supply was just 44% of what 'tis today, ($9.457 trillion vs. $21.343 trillion). "Got Gold?" And as for Sweet Sister Silver, 'twas her third best weekly performance year-to-date, albeit settling yesterday at 25.41 is a price first achieved 11 years ago on 04 November 2010. "Got Silver?" (Oh and from the "Gold Plays No Currency Favourites Dept." the Dollar recorded its fifth best up week of the year. "Got Bucks?" We'd rather Swiss Francs). Moreover, from our always revered "The Trend is Your Friend Dept." as we saw a week ago, Gold's weekly parabolic trend -- after an intolerably lengthy stint as Short with little net price decline -- did flip to Long. And as is the rule rather than the exception, price this past week continued higher. Which begs your question: "How much does price rise when this happens, mmb?" Bang on cue there, Squire. And the answer is: across the 43 prior Long weekly parabolic trends since 2001, the median increase in the price of Gold is +8.3%. Thus by that number, from Gold's trend flip price back at 1820, an +8.3% increase this time 'round would bring us to 1971. Modest perhaps by valuation expectations, but a start. Too, some of you may recall this sentence from our 02 October missive wherein we nixed our year's forecast high of 2401: "...The more likely scenario shall well be Gold just sloshing around into year-end, trading during Q4 between 1668-1849..." Fab to already be wrong there! For here are the weekly bars and parabolic trends from this time a year ago-to-date: Now in the midst of all this inflation trepidation came Dow Jones Newswires this past week with "The Economic Rebound From Covid-19 Was Easy. Now Comes the Hard Part." Makes sense given everything having been shutdown last year. But: how bona fide actually is "Rebound"? Let's look at corporate earnings, (now yer not gonna get this anywhere else, so pay attention): with but a week to run in Q3 Earnings Season, most of the S&P 500 constituents that report within this calendar timeframe have so done, and with fairly admirable results: 80% bettered their bottom lines, (or as we said a week ago "better have bettered" given the economic shutdown of last year). Yet here's the dirty little secret: many mid-tier and smaller companies have also reported, by our count 1,368 of 'em. And of that bunch, we found just 56% of them did better. That is a Big Red Flag given mid-to-small businesses drive the American economy. We doubt your money manager knows that number. In addition to the past week's inflation reports, lost in the shuffle were the Econ Baro metrics showing September's Wholesale Inventories as backing up, whilst November's University of Michigan Sentiment Survey fell to a 10-year low, the 66.8 level not seen since November 2011. 'Course the S&P loving bad news, its Index roared upward to finish the week at 4683, a mere 36 points below its all-time high. Together with the Baro, here's the year-over year picture: Now to some impressive precious metals' technicals via our two-panel graphic of Gold's daily bars from three months ago-to-date on the left and those for Silver on the right. "Impressive" as when the falling baby blue dots of trend consistency reverse course back up without having dropped to mid-chart, the buyers are clearly in charge: As for the 10-day Market Profiles for Gold (below left) and Silver (below right), life is good at the top: Good as well is Gold's buoyant positioning within its stack: The Gold StackGold's Value per Dollar Debasement, (from our opening "Scoreboard"): 3986Gold’s All-Time Intra-Day High: 2089 (07 August 2020)Gold’s All-Time Closing High: 2075 (06 August 2020)2021's High: 1963 (06 January)The Gateway to 2000: 1900+10-Session directional range: up to 1871 (from 1759) = +112 points or +6.4%Trading Resistance: none per the ProfileGold Currently: 1868, (expected daily trading range ["EDTR"]: 25 points)Trading Support: Profile notables are 1864 / 1827 / 1793The 300-Day Moving Average: 1822 and falling10-Session “volume-weighted” average price magnet: 1816The Final Frontier: 1800-1900The Northern Front: 1800-1750On Maneuvers: 1750-1579The Weekly Parabolic Price to flip Short: 16862021's Low: 1673 (08 March) The Floor: 1579-1466Le Sous-sol: Sub-1466The Support Shelf: 1454-1434Base Camp: 1377The 1360s Double-Top: 1369 in Apr '18 preceded by 1362 in Sep '17Neverland: The Whiny 1290sThe Box: 1280-1240 Next week brings 14 metrics into the Econ Baro; consensus expectations look for it to turn higher. To be sure, turning higher have been Gold and Silver as inflation their prices stir; and yet their levels now 10 years on are the same as they were; thus their doubling from here can well be a blur! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.TheGoldUpdate.com
EURUSD shorts at first resistance at 1.1610/20 are working today

EURUSD shorts at first resistance at 1.1610/20 are working today

Jason Sen Jason Sen 03.11.2021 14:18
EURUSD shorts at first resistance at 1.1610/20 are working today USDCAD remains in a sideways range, good for scalping opportunities only as we hold first resistance again at 1.2420/40. Shorts stop above 1.2450. GBPCAD did not break lower but is holding around the low. Today's Analysis. EURUSD first resistance again at 1.1610/20. Shorts need stops above 1.1630. A break higher can target strong resistance at 1.1695/1.1705. Exit longs & try shorts with stops above 1.1720. A break higher is a buy signal targeting 1.1765/70 & 1.1800/10. Shorts at 1.1610/20 target 1.1580/75 (hit) perhaps as far as first support at the October low at 1.1530/20 today for profit taking. A break below 1.1510 is a sell signal initially targeting 1.1490 & although this could hold initially (a low for the day certainly possible but longs are risky) we eventually expected to target 1.1430/20. USDCAD first resistance again at 1.2420/40. Shorts stop above 1.2450. Be ready to buy a break above 1.2450 targeting 1.2510/30. Shorts at 1.2420/40 target 1.2370/65 (likely to pause here) then support at 1.2300/1.2280. Longs here need stops below 1.2270. A break lower is a sell signal. GBPCAD hits targets of 1.6950/40 & 1.6910/1.6890 for profit taking on shorts as finally we head for the target of 1.6870/60, perhaps as far as support at 1.6800/1.6780. First resistance at 1.680/90. Shorts need stops above 1.7010. We can try shorts again at 1.7050/70 but must stop above 1.7090. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
The Long and Short of Commodities

The Long and Short of Commodities

Topdown Charts Topdown Charts 03.11.2021 09:45
Commodities are up sharply this year, but several short-term indicators flash caution The medium-longer term bull case remains compelling The chart of commodities ex-gold versus gold offers clues to near-term price action Commodities are on pace for their best annual performance of the century. 2021 has not been a straight line higher, however. There was a period of consolidation during late Q2 through much of Q3. August through mid-October featured another explosive move higher, bringing the GSCI Light Energy index to its highest level in more than seven years. While we are long-term positive on the commodities space, there are mixed signals in the near-term. Breadth has deteriorated while the chart of commodities ex-gold versus gold has gotten extended after dropping to extremely cheap readings last year. It might be time for a pause. Featured Chart: Commodities Ex-Gold vs. Gold Comes Full Circle Sentiment & Positioning Have Soured Another feature that takes away from a positive near-term stance is a drop in bullish sentiment and traders’ positioning. The GSCI Light Energy Index’s consensus bulls reading was nearly two standard deviations above the long-term average at its Q2 peak. Today, the market is less frothy with consensus bulls sporting a Z-score under one. So, while prices have gone up, there is a negative sentiment divergence. Futures positioning shows a similar decoupling. There are fewer speculative net longs in commodities today versus the middle of the year. Excitement has dropped. Perhaps traders are losing interest in commodities as the supply disruption narrative (short-term spike) overshadows the supercycle narrative (longer term bull market). Long-term Upside Remains Likely So, while the near-term picture has turned less encouraging, we are still bullish long-term. Technically, the big breakout that took place a year ago remains alive. A similar breakout occurred in the early 2000s which led to a massive bull run, eventually taking the GSCI Light Energy Index from under 200 to 650. For perspective, the index finished October at 520 as it ventures back into the range from 2010 to mid-2014. Valuations remain compelling, too. Our Commodities Composite Valuation Indicator dropped nearly two standard deviations below its long-term average last year and has now recovered back to neutral. That suggests no barrier to higher prices based on a valuation argument despite the 46% year-on-year rally. The Supercycle May Be Just Beginning We assert the supercycle thesis is intact. The 10-year moving average of year-on-year returns (using the Refinitiv Equal-Weight Commodities Index) dipped negative in 2020—a dismal feat rarely seen in the EW commodities index’s 120-year history. While the 10-year moving average has crept higher in 2021, projections based on our Capital Market Assumptions dataset suggest further upside in the coming decade. Fundamental Factors Finally, a significant macro theme we’ve detailed this year is the dearth in commodities capex which endured a double-dip recession in 2020. While there are one-off supply disruptions in play, the bigger picture theme of extended underinvestment in commodity supply persists. A capex boom—driven by energy firms themselves, the green & EV movements, and increased public infrastructure investment—is likely, which is a source of demand for commodities. Bottom line: We took a bullish stance on commodities in March 2020 with a timeframe of 3-5 years. Our latest Weekly Macro Themes report reiterates the stance but reduces the conviction level based on some near-term mixed signals. The long-run bullish drivers are still there: underinvestment in supply, a robust capex outlook, and continued improvement in global demand for commodities. Follow us on: Substack https://topdowncharts.substack.com/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
The Greenback Slips at the Start the New Week

The Greenback Slips at the Start the New Week

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 15.11.2021 12:19
Overview:  While the Belarus-Poland border remains an intense standoff, there have been a couple other diplomatic developments that may be exciting risk appetites today.  First, Biden and Xi will talk by phone later today.  Second, reports suggest the UK has toned down its rhetoric making progress on talks on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.  Equities in the Asia Pacific region were mostly firmer, with China a notable exception among the large markets, even though the October data was generally stronger than expected.  Europe's Stoxx 600, which has fallen only once this month, is edging higher to new records, while US futures are enjoying a firmer bias.  Benchmark 10-year yields are 1-2 bp lower, which puts the Treasury yield near 1.55%.  The European periphery is outperforming the core.  The dollar is soft.  The Scandis and Antipodeans lead the move, while the euro, yen, and British pound are little changed.  Emerging market currencies are also mostly stronger.  Here the Philippine peso is notable as it falls the most in seven weeks as corporates bought dollars.  After falling by 0.65% last week, the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is edging higher today.  Gold is snapping a seven-day rally, stalling near $1868.  Support is seen in the $1842-$1845 area.  January WTI  was sold again as it poked above $80.  It is pinned near last week's lows (~$78.65) as the US response is awaited.  European natural gas futures are firm as the capacity auction results are awaited, and Europe faces its first cold snap of the season.  Iron ore and copper prices are posting small losses.   Asia Pacific Japan's Q3 GDP disappointed, but it is old news and will likely spur Prime Minister Kishida to support a large supplemental budget, which could be unveiled by the end of the week.  Economic growth in the world's third-largest economy contracted for the fifth quarter in the past eight.  The 0.8% loss of output in Q3 was more than the 0.2% expected by the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey.  Consumption (-1.1%), business spending (-3.8%), and public investment (-1.5%) did the most damage.  The GDP deflator was unchanged from Q2 at -1.1%.  The Japanese economy is recovering here in Q4.  Talk of the size of the supplemental budget has increased to around JPY40 trillion (~$350 bln) from JPY30 trillion.  It is expected to include a cash payment for 18-year olds and younger, a tax break for companies that boost wages, a new subsidy for domestic travel, snd pay hikes for caregivers. China's October data was stronger than expected but does not shake off concern that the world's second-largest economy is struggling.  The year-over-year pace of retail sales rose for the second consecutive month in the face of expectations for a decline.  The 4.9% increase follows the 4.4% gain in September and 2.5% in August. In October 2020, it rose 4.3% year-over-year.  Industrial output rose 3.5% from a year ago. It was the first increase since March. Last October, it had increased by 6.9%. The surveyed joblessness was steady at 4.9%.  Fixed asset investment and property investment slowed.  Chinese officials have not addressed the economic slowdown with large-scale fiscal or monetary initiatives.   We have suggested that the dollar-yen exchange rate has entered a new range after trending higher from mid-September through mid-October.  That new range is likely JPY113-JPY115, and to find the floor, the dollar briefly traded below JPY112.80 last week. After spiking back to JPY114.00 on the US CPI surprise, the greenback continues to hover around there, the middle of the range.  Tomorrow's expiring options ($830 mln at JPY113.40 and $1.6 bln at JPY114.30) may mark the near-term range.  The Australian dollar is building on its pre-weekend recovery.  It saw a low slightly above $0.7275 on Friday and settled on its highs (a little above $0.7330).  It has risen to $0.7365, and the intraday momentum is getting stretched.  Look for resistance near $0.7375.  The greenback edged slightly lower against the Chinese yuan to record a new six-month low (~CNY6.3785) before recovering within a narrow range.  It is trading slightly above CNY6.3830 in late dealings. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3896, a little below the median forecast of CNY6.3896 (Bloomberg survey).  The PBOC rolled over in full the policy loans (CNY1 trillion) coming due this month, and the overnight repo rate fell by seven basis points to 1.78%, the lowest in three weeks.   Europe Tensions between the UK and EU appear to have taken a step away from the brink.  A deal on medicine supplies from other parts of Great Britain to Northern Ireland may have been the critical catalyst.  Reports suggest a de-escalation of UK rhetoric threatening to invoke Article 16, which allows for unilateral over-riding of the Northern Ireland Protocol under certain circumstances of serious economic, environmental, or societal risks.  Separately, two polls have begun showing Labour is edging ahead of the Tories. The Opinium poll (published in the Guardian) gave Labour a one percentage point lead, the first since January.  The Savanta Com Res poll (for the Daily Mail) put Labour ahead by six percentage points at 40%.  The main issue appears to be Prime Minister Johnson's handling of several ethics issues.  His personal support has also waned.    The US was warning at the end of last week that Russian may be preparing to invade Ukraine. Moscow seems to be acting out of fear, fear of the US and Europe creeping presence in Ukraine.  If Ukraine is going to remain independent, Russia insists it can only be a (weak) buffer state.  US rhetoric seemed aggressive in Moscow.  Last month US Defense Secretary Austin argued that no third country [i.e., Russia] has a veto over NATO membership decision[i.e., Ukraine].    Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia are considering formally requesting NATO consultations, while the EU is expected to announce new sanctions on Belarus later today.  Separately, we note reports that India has begun taking delivery of the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia (part of a $5.5 bln deal), which is the same that earned Turkey American sanctions.   The euro edged above the pre-weekend high, but the tone remains fragile, and for the third consecutive session has been unable to resurface above old support at $1.1500.  Since the US CPI report in the middle of last week, it has fallen, and the sideways movement could alleviate the overextended technical condition.  Sterling extended its pre-weekend recovery to reach $1.3440 before sellers reemerged to knock it to the session low of almost $1.3400.  We suspect it can move higher in North America today and target the $1.3480 area.   America The US seems more eager for the Biden-Xi call than Beijing  Expectations should be low, and with no actionable outcome likely (not even a statement), there appears to be little reason to spin it as a virtual summit. The top officials and the senior staff of the two largest economies should talk.  Previously, there were high-level meetings regularly.  Since their last call, a new US-UK-Australian alliance was announced that will result in Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, and it was confirmed that the US has had military personnel in Taiwan since last November.  China continues with its intimidation campaign of repeatedly entering Taiwan's air-identification zone. China's assessment of the US is unlikely to have changed.  Beijing sees the same thing many others do.  Biden's approval rating has fallen to near 41%, and less than that has a favorable view of his handling of the economy.  At the end of last week, the Univerity of Michigan's consumer sentiment measure (preliminary November) fell to its lowest in a decade.  Surveys continue to point to the likelihood that the Democratic Party will lose both houses of Congress in next year's mid-term.  And to underscore the pressure on Biden, the US Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) sustained a block on OSHA's ordered vaccine mandate (or weekly test).  With the sixth plenum over,  Xi has, by all accounts, confirmed his ascendancy and domination of Chinese politics for years to come.   The week's economic calendar for the US begins off slowly.  The November Empire State manufacturing survey is on tap.  It has been in a sawtooth pattern, alternating between gains and losses for the past five months.  It fell sharply (19.8 from 34.3) in October and is expected to have turned up in November.  The US reports October retail sales and industrial production figures tomorrow. Fed officials begin taking to the public stage starting tomorrow.  Over the course of the week, around 11 officials are scheduled to speak.  In addition to US bills, the Treasury Dept sells 20-year bonds, whose auctions have been among the most challenging for coupons, and 10-year TIPS at the end of the week.   Canada reports September manufacturing and wholesale sales today, but the October existing home sales may be more important.  Tomorrow Canada reports housing starts, but the highlight of the week is Wednesday's October CPI.  Price pressures are accelerating in Canada, and the headline CPI is likely to move toward 5% (4.4% in September).  The swaps market is pricing in about 65 bp of tightening in six months.  This week, Mexico has a light economic diary after last week's higher than expected CPI (6.24%) and Banxcio's 25 bp rate hike (to 5%).  Brazil also has a light economic calendar this week.  Last week featured a further rise in (IPCA) CPI (10.67% vs. 10.25%) and weak September retail sales (-1.3% vs. -0.6% median forecast in Bloomberg's survey after a revised -4.3% fall in August). Last week's US CPI shocker saw the greenback jump from around CAD1.24 to slightly above CAD1.26, roughly the 50% retracement of the slump from CAD1.2900 on September 20.  It settled last week on a soft note, and some follow-through selling has seen the US dollar eased to about CAD1.2525.  A break here sees CAD1.2500 and then possibly CAD1.2470.  Since last September, the greenback has moved into a new and higher range against the Mexican peso.  It has not traded much below MN20.12.  Nor has it spent much time above MXN20.90.  It is in the pre-weekend range (~MXN20.45-MXN20.72).  Look for the consolidative day to continue through the local session.  The Brazil real was the strongest emerging market currency last week, rising almost 1.6% against the US dollar.  The US dollar found support around BRK5.40. Trendline support (from June, August, and September lows) and the 200-day moving average are near BRL5.36.   Disclaimer
Getting Real on PMs and Inflation

Getting Real on PMs and Inflation

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.11.2021 15:47
S&P 500 indeed rose but bond markets couldn‘t keep the encouraging opening gains. Can stocks still continue rallying? They look to be setting up for one more downleg of maximum the immediately predecing magnitude, which means not a huge setback. The medium-term path of least resistance remains up – the Fed is still printing a huge amount of money on a monthly basis, and it remains questionable how far in tapering plans execution they would actually get – I see the risks to the real economy coupled with persistently high inflation as rising since the 2Q 2022 (if not since Mar already, but most pronounced in 2H 2022).Stocks are still set for a good Dec and beyond performance – just look at VIX calming down again. It‘s that the debt ceiling drama resolution would allow the Treasury to start issuing fresh debt, and that would weigh heavily on the dollar. That‘s a good part of what gold and silver are sniffing out, and if you look at the great white metal‘s performance, it‘s the result of inflation coming back to the fore as the Fed itself is now admitting to high inflation rates through the mid-2022, putting blame on supply chain bottlenecks. Oh, sure. The real trouble is that inflation expectations are starting to get anchored – people are expecting these rates to be not going away any time soon.Precious metals are going to do great, and keep scoring excellent gains. Surpassing $1,950 isn‘t out of the realm of possibilities, but I prefer to be possitioned aggressively while having more conservative expectations. Not missing a dime this way. Copper is awakening too, and commodities including oil would be doing marvels. If in doubt, look at cryptos, how shallow the corrections there are.A few more words on yields – as more fresh Treasury issued debt enters the markets, look for yields to rise. Coming full circle to stocks and my Friday‘s expectations:(…) TLT though is having trouble declining further, and that means a brief upswing carrying over into stocks, is likely.TLT downswings would be less and less conducive to growth, so if you‘re still heavily in tech, I would start eyeing more value.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls are on the move, and let‘s see how far they make it before running into another (mild, again I say) setback.Credit MarketsCredit markets opening strength fizzled out, but the weakness is getting long in the tooth kind of. I view it as a short-term non-confirmation of the S&P 500 upswing only.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are on a tear, and rightfully so – I am looking for further gains as both gold and silver miners confirm, and the macroeconomic environment is superb for PMs.Crude OilCrude oil bulls keep defending the $80 level, with $78 serving as the next stop if need be – after Friday, its test is looking as an increasingly remote possibility – the two lower knots in a series say. Anyway, black gold will overcome $85 before too long.CopperCopper ran while commodities paused – that‘s a very bullish sign, for both base and precious metals. The lower volume isn‘t necessarily a warning sign.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are still consolidating, and the relatively tight price range keeps favoring the bulls – and they‘re peeking higher already.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are holding the short-term upper hand, but the rally may run into headwinds shortly. Still, we‘re looking at a trading range followed by fresh highs as a worst case scenario. Yes, I remain a stock market bull, not expecting a serious setback till probably the third month of 2022. Precious metals are my top pick, followed by copper – and I am definitely not writing off oil, let alone cryptos. Inflation trades are simply back!Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Approaches Supply Zone

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Approaches Supply Zone

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.11.2021 09:28
XAUUSD tests trendlineGold continues on its way up as investors seek to hedge against inflationary pressures. The rally picked up steam after a break above the triple top at 1833. Price action is grinding up along a rising trendline.The bulls are pushing towards 1884, a major resistance where last June’s sell-off started. Strong selling pressure is possible in that supply zone as short-term buyers may take profit and reassess the directional bias.1855 on the trendline is the first support. A bearish breakout may trigger a correction to 1823.AUDUSD breaks above bearish channelThe Australian dollar softened after the RBA minutes reiterated that there will be no rate hike until 2024.The pair has found buying interest at the base of October’s bullish breakout (0.7280). A break above the falling channel indicates that sentiment could be turning around.0.7390 is a key resistance and its breach could prompt sellers to bail out. In turn, this would raise volatility in the process. Traders may then switch sides in anticipation of a reversal. An overbought RSI has so far limited the upside impetus.GER 40 rally gains tractionThe Dax 40 climbed after upbeat retail sales and industrial production in China lifted market sentiment.The index is seeking to consolidate its recent gains after it cleared the previous peak at 15990 which has now turned into support. Sentiment remains optimistic and 16300 would be the next step.An overbought RSI on the daily chart may temporarily put the brakes on the bullish fever. But a pullback may once again attract a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd above 15990. A deeper correction may send the price towards 15770.
Technical Analysis - Support And Resistance - Terms You Should Know

Key event risk and front of mind this week...

Chris Weston Chris Weston 16.11.2021 12:15
UK jobless claims (Tuesday 18:00 AEDT) and Oct CPI (Wed 18:00 AEDT) New home prices (today at 12:30 AEDT), Retail sales, industrial production, fixed-asset investment, property investment (all today 13:00 aedt) Aussie Q3 wage data (Wed 11:30 AEDT) RBA gov Lowe speaks (Tues 13:30 AEDT) US retail sales (Wed 00:30 AEDT), Fed speeches all week with the highlight vice-chair Clarida (Sat 04:15 AEDT) The inflation debate is still the hottest ticket in town – it is promoting higher volatility (vol) in rates markets and bonds, with a small pick-up seen in FX volatility (vol). Equity markets are still, however, calm, with the VIX at 16.3% with falling demand to hedge potential drawdown. This divergence in implied vol across asset class remains a key talking point, but there is no doubt that the boat is not yet tipping with correlations among stocks almost at zero, and cyclical sectors (of the S&P500) still holding up well vs defensives. If the US high yield credit spread accelerated above 273bp above the US 10yr Treasury (currently 267bp), then again, I think equities would be a better sell.  Now this dynamic may change, especially if the debt ceiling comes into play in mid-Dec…but what are the signs to look for over a medium-term?  A higher vol regime will make conditions far more prosperous for equity short-sellers and change the dynamics in FX markets, with renewed downside demand for high beta FX (AUD, NZD, CAD, and MXN). The USD will turn from one being driven by pro-cyclical forces – i.e. relative economics and rate settings - to one sought for safe-haven demand, with the JPY also benefiting.  (Implied volatility benchmarks across asset class) Firstly, I would start with the rates markets – we can see a bit over 2 hikes priced into US fed funds future by the end-2022, with rates ‘lift off’ starting in July. I think if we priced in over 3 hikes in 2022 it could become more problematic for risk assets. Looking out the Eurodollar rates curve, we see a reasonably aggressive pace of hikes in 2022 and 2023, but then the pace markedly declines with barely anything priced for 2024 and 2025. In essence, the market sees hikes as front-loaded suggesting the Fed are in fact not dramatically behind the curve – a factor that is one of the core debates in macro.  We see an 89bp differential between the Eurodollar Dec 2025 and Dec 2022 futures contracts – if this moves back to say 140bp then this could be the market feeling that inflation is going to be a far greater problem and rate hikes are being more aggressively priced throughout the next four years. (Orange – US 5y5y forward rate, white – Fed’s long-term dot plot projection) Also, if the US 5y5y forward rate (the markets view on the ‘terminal’ fed funds rate – now 1.94%) pushed above 2.50% (the Fed’s long-term dot plot projection), again, I think this would be a trigger for far higher volatility and risk aversion.  A move to 2.50% won't play out overnight, if at all, and we’ll need to see real evidence that the US labour force participation rate is not going above 62%, while unit labour costs stay elevated and supply chains heal at a glacial pace. However, if the forward rate was eyeing 2.5% I think this could be a factor many strategists will point to for the VIX to sustain a move above 20%. The gold market is perhaps one of the more classic signs of inflationary concerns – this is a play on US ‘real’ (adjusted for inflation expectations) rates though, where the combination of a better economy in Q4, record negative US real rates and rising inflation is one the gold bulls will seek out precious metals. The Fed may need to promote a move higher in real rates, but the knock-on effect is they risk the stock market finding sellers – notably in growth stocks. A downside break of -2% in 5yr US real Treasury’s could be the trigger for gold to push into and above $1900.  Many debate the linkage between inflation expectations and the real economy. I’m not sure it matters when people are feeling the effects for themselves, and much has been made of the recent NFIB small business survey and Friday’s University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, which hit the lowest levels since August 2011.  Clearly inflation is not popular and is increasingly the key political issue – I’d argue if real rates break to new lows this could accelerate inflation hedges, while a move through 2.7% in US 5y5y inflation swaps (currently 2.55%) would also play into the idea that perhaps the Fed, at the very least, need to radically reduce the pace of QE in the December FOMC meeting.  Clearly, the US Nov CPI (released 11 Dec) is going to be a big event for markets to digest and the signs are price pressures will continue to build from the current 6.2% YoY pace.  Crude and gasoline also play a key role in shaping sentiment – Senate Majority Leader Schumer has called on President Biden to release an element of the US’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). This is a factor that has been talked up since OPEC rejected the US’s calls to increase output by more than 400k barrels. However, the introduction of Schumer into the mix just adds fuel to the fire and this may weigh on crude. So, a few indictors I am watching that could spur the market into a belief the Fed are genuinely behind the curve – I’d argue the market isn’t there yet, but if the factors I mention don’t show evidence of dissipating then we could see forward rates move to levels that could highlight the Fed need to act far more intently – that is where risk dynamics could markedly change.
Stocks to Open Higher but Another Profit-taking Action is Likely

Stocks to Open Higher but Another Profit-taking Action is Likely

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 15.11.2021 15:51
  Stocks retraced some of their recent declines on Friday and the S&P 500 index is expected to open higher this morning. So is the downward correction over? The S&P 500 index gained 0.72% on Friday, Nov. 12, as investor sentiment turned bullish and the market bounced from the support level of around 4,650. On Wednesday it fell to the local low of 4,630.86 and it was almost 88 points or 1.86% below the previous week’s Friday’s record high of 4,718.50. The recent rally was not broad-based and it was driven by a handful of tech stocks like MSFT, NVDA, TSLA. The market seemed overbought in the short-term and traded within a topping pattern. But today the index may get back to the 4,700 level. The nearest important support level remains at 4,630-4,650 and the next support level is at 4,600. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,700-4,720. The S&P 500 broke below its steep short-term upward trend line recently, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq Bounced From the 16,000 Level Let’s take a look at the Nasdaq 100 chart. In the previous week the technology index broke above the 16,000 level and it was trading at the new record high. The market accelerated higher above its short-term upward trend line. But since then it has been retracing the rally. On Friday the index retraced some of the recent declines, however it remained below its short-term local lows, as we can see on the daily chart: Apple Is Still Close to $150, Microsoft Remains Relatively Strong Let’s take a look at the two biggest stocks in the S&P 500 index, AAPL and MSFT. Apple continues to fluctuate along the $150 price level. It is still well below the early September record high. Microsoft stock was reaching new record highs recently but last week it broke below its upward trend line. So those two big cap tech stocks remain mixed, as we can see on their daily charts: Conclusion The S&P 500 index retraced some of its recent declines on Friday and today it is expected to open 0.4% higher. So it looks like a downward correction is over and the market may reach new highs or at least extend a short-term consolidation along the 4,700 level. Investors will wait for tomorrow’s Retail Sales number release and some Fed-talk later in the week. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 is expected to extend its Friday’s advance this morning and it may get to the 4,700 level. Still no positions are justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Biden-Xi "Summit" Leaves Markets Unmolested, While Bailey Continues to Blame Investors for Misunderstanding Him

Biden-Xi "Summit" Leaves Markets Unmolested, While Bailey Continues to Blame Investors for Misunderstanding Him

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 16.11.2021 14:03
Overview: The much-heralded Biden-Xi meeting left little impression on the capital markets.  Equities in the region were mixed, and China's main markets fell, alongside Australia, South Korea, and India.  European equities continue their upward market, with the Stoxx 600 gaining for a fifth consecutive session. US futures are softer.  The bond market is quiet, with the US 10-year yield softer slightly below 1.60%.  European benchmark yields are 1-2 bp lower and the periphery is outperforming the core.  Encouraged by a strong employment report, sterling is the strongest of the majors, gaining about a third of one percent.  Most major currencies are trading with a heavier bias, and the euro is pinned near 19-month lows.  The dollar is gaining against most emerging market currencies.  The Turkish lira is off more than 1.5% as the market prices in a 100 bp cut on Thursday.   Hungary's disappointing Q3 GDP (0.7% vs. 1.0% forecasts) may limit the aggressiveness of the central bank today.  A 30 bp hike after two 15 bp moves was expected.  Gold is extending its rally and has taken out the downtrend drawn off the January and June highs (found ~$1872 today).  The next target is around $1900.  Oil is firm, and the January WTI contract is straddling the $80-level.  European natural gas is rising as new supplies are low, and there is a further delay in the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.   Yesterday's 9% advance has been extended by another 8% today.  Iron ore has steadied, while copper is struggling after falling 1% yesterday.   Asia Pacific There is not much to say about the Xi-Biden "virtual summit."  The call reportedly lasted three hours.  The one concrete thing to emerge is that US business executives will have an easier/quicker time entering China.  Separately, Hong Kong's Chief Executive used her regular briefing to justify the decision to allow JP Morgan's CEO to skip the city's 21-day hotel quarantine because of the size of the bank's operations.  This speaks to the difference between the rule of law and the rule by law that some observers make.  Returning to regular meetings between the senior officials from both countries seems to be the logical way forward, but both sides appear to draw domestic benefits from demonizing the other.  In the US, the Biden administration uses the threat of China to justify building a 21st-century infrastructure. At the same time, Beijing plays the nationalistic chords to strengthen the loyalty to the Communist Party even as its delivery of improved living standards slows or stalls.   The minutes from the recent Reserve Bank of Australia meeting contained no surprises.  The exit from the yield curve control policy seems clumsy, but the RBA seems adamant that a rate hike next year is unwarranted.  The market remains convinced officials are wrong.  The swaps market has about 75 bp discounted over the next 12 months, with the hikes and risks increasing beginning in late H1 22. In a speech after the minutes were released, Governor Lowe referred to a hike in 2024 as "still plausible," but this seemed like a slight climb down from it being the "central case."  On the other hand, elevated price pressures and border controls have driven the unemployment rate to 3.4%, its lowest level since 2008, and lifted the participating rate to match record highs. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will likely hike rates again next week.  The swaps market is pricing in nearly 50 bp of tightening by the RBNZ over the next three months and almost 140 bp in the following nine months.  It is difficult to see a more hawkish outlook.  The five basis point jump in the US 10-year yield helped lift the greenback to JPY114.30, matching its best level since November 1 (JPY114.45).  There is an option for $1.6 bln at JPY114.30 that expires today.   The four-year high was set on October 20 near JPY114.70.  The Japanese economy is recovering after a larger than expected contraction in Q3.  A large supplemental budget is expected as early as the end of the week but before month-end in any event.  As if confirming the lack of new insight from the RBA minutes, the Australian dollar is trading within yesterday's range (~$0.7320-$0.7370).  A break of the $0.7300 area would weaken the technical tone, while a move above $0.7380 signals a stronger recovery after finishing last month near $0.7550.  The Chinese yuan rose to new five-month highs today before pulling back.  The dollar fell to CNY6.3670 and rebounded to a new session high slightly above yesterday's high near CNY6.3850.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3924, a little above the (Bloomberg survey) median projection of CNY6.3920. Ironically, the yuan's high was recorded as the Biden-Xi call got underway.  It trended lower through the rest of the session.   Separately, the PBOC boosted its liquidity injection via seven-day repos to CNY50 bln from CNY10 bln on Monday and rolled off its full medium-term lending yesterday, easing technical pressure in the money market.   Europe The UK's employment data is especially important in light of the BOE concerns about the labor market now that the furlough program has ended.  Around one million workers were on the program when it ended. The BOE surprised the market by not raising rates at the meeting earlier this month. Governor Bailey continues to blame the market for misconstruing his remarks and expressing his unease with the "inflation situation."  He said he wanted to see what happens now that the furlough program ended before hiking, but it is not clear that today's data is sufficient.  However, the preliminary indications suggest the UK labor market is normalizing quickly.  October payrolls rose by 160k. Jobless claims fell by nearly 15k after a revised decline of almost 86k in September (initially estimated at -51.1k).  In the three months through September, the UK employment rose by 247k, and the ILO measure of unemployment fell to 4.3% from 4.5%.  Of note, the next employment report will be issued two days before the next MPC meeting (December 16).     Governor Bailey acknowledged that his decision not to hike rates earlier this month was close.  The swaps market has a little more than a 55% chance of a hike in December and has it fully priced it in for the first meeting next year (February 3). The central bank's chief economist, Pill, said there was no evidence yet that higher inflation was seeping into general pay levels.  Starting salaries appear to be increasing, but it may not be lifting the pay for existing workers.  Separately, a technical glitch with an internet-based order system caused the BOE to postpone a bond purchases operation until Thursday.  The QE operations take place three times a week at a pace of slightly more than GBP3 bln a week, with an eye toward finishing them by year-end.   There is another twist to the saga of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.  Hopes that the completed pipeline could become operational soon were dealt a fresh blow by the German regulator, who suspended the certification process.  The technical issue was a change in the legal form of the operating company.  Nord Stream 2 AG established a subsidiary that would own and operator the German section of the pipeline.  There is some thought that after this delay, the corporate reorganization could expedite the eventual approval.   Coronavirus deaths spiked in Germany to the six-month highs, and the government is debating how to control the fourth pandemic wave. Ironically, Japan now has the highest inoculation rates among the G7. It reported the lowest number of new infections in 18 months. The euro was sold below $1.1400 yesterday and has been unable to resurface above there.  Since the $1.15 level broke, we have suggested the next target is near $1.1290-$1.1300. The ECB's dovish rhetoric contrasts with the prospect of a more hawkish posture by the Federal Reserve.   We continue to see an acceleration of the Fed's tapering as the most likely outcome of the December FOMC meeting, while next month's ECB meeting is more about extending the bond-buying after the Pandemic Emergency Purchases Program ends next March.  The prospects of a rate hike next month lifted sterling to four-day highs near $1.3475, but there does not look like there is the interest to test the $1.35 area, which holds a GBP407 mln option that expires today.  Initial support is now seen in the $1.3400-$1.3420 area. The euro is sliding for the third consecutive session against steering and looks poised to test the year's low near GBP0.8400 in the coming days. The UK reports October CPI figures tomorrow, and they are expected to have accelerated.    America The US economic growth is improving this quarter after the disappointing 2% annualized pace in Q3.  It will be reflected in the consumption and production data.  Today sees October retail sales, a little more than 40% of overall consumption, and industrial production, including factories and utilities, mining, and drilling.  Headline retail sales will likely be lifted by the first increase in auto sales in six months.  The core components, which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services, are forecast (Bloomberg, median) to rise a solid 0.9%.  It would be the third consecutive monthly gain, the first since Q3 20.  Consumer spending rose 2% at an annualized rate in Q3 and is expected to grow closer to 5% this year, having peaked in Q2 at 6.7%.  Industrial production fell in August and September but is expected to have snapped back in October as the recovery from Hurricane Ida took hold.  The median forecast (Bloomberg survey) is for a 0.8% gain.  The rig count rose by 23, matching the most since January.  According to the recent jobs report, manufacturing employment rose by 60k in October.  Few have noted it, but if confirmed, it would be the largest monthly increase since August 1998.  That said, the Markit manufacturing PMI and ISM manufacturing index fell.   The Biden administration's $1.75 trillion "Build Back Better" bill is in the balance.  Some argue that the surge in inflation has been spurred by the government's spending and transfer payments and are opposed to new large-scale spending.  However, the bill's defenders argue that it has been scaled back, and much of the expenditures will be covered by new revenue.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the arbiter of such scoring, will publish its full cost estimate on Friday.  Meanwhile, expectations that an announcement will be made shortly on the Fed's leadership were fanned by comments from the Senate Banking Chairman (Brown), who said he was told a decision was "imminent."  It was widely expected before the end of next week.  Reports suggest that Treasury Secretary Yellen has opined that Brainard would be a credible pick, but she is recommending Powell, emphasizing continuity and avoiding the politicization of the post.   Meanwhile, the Fed's Bullard, Barkin, and Daly speak today.  Note that Daly was interviewed for a Board of Governor slot but appears to have turned it down. Canada reports October housing starts today ahead of the October CPI figures tomorrow.  The headline rate is expected to approach 5% though the underlying measures are lower.  The market is positioned for a hike in the March-April period next year.  Recall that the jump in US CPI sent the greenback up from just below CAD1.2400 to slightly above CAD1.2600 at the end of last week.  It reversed lower before the weekend and slipped briefly below CAD1.2500 today, roughly the (50%) retracement of the CPI-inspired gains, before rebounding. Initial resistance is seen in the CAD1.2535-CAD1.2560 area.  Mexico's economic diary is light, and the movement of the peso may reflect broader forces.  For the past three sessions, the dollar has been consolidating in a broad range against the peso (~MXN20.45-MXN20.72). Within that range, initial support may be in the MXN20.55 area.   Disclaimer
Biden Signs a Bill to Revive Infrastructure… and Gold!

Biden Signs a Bill to Revive Infrastructure… and Gold!

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 16.11.2021 14:13
Gold rallied thanks to the changed narrative on inflation, and Biden’s infrastructure plan can only add to the inflationary pressure. Huge price moves ahead? I have a short quiz for you! What the government should do to decrease inflation that reached the highest level in 30 years? A) Decrease its expenditure to make room for the Fed to hike the federal funds rate. B) Press the US central bank to tighten its monetary policy. C) Deregulate the markets and lower taxes to boost the supply side of the economy. D) Introduce a huge infrastructure plan that will multiply spending on energy, raw materials, and inputs in general. Please guess which option the US government chose. Yes, the worst possible. Exam failed! At the beginning of November, Congress passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill. And President Biden signed it on Monday (November 15, 2021). To be clear, I’m not claiming that America doesn’t need any investment in infrastructure. Perhaps it needs it, and perhaps it’s a better idea than social spending on unemployment benefits that discourage work. I don’t want to argue about the adequacy of large government infrastructure projects, although government spending generally fails to stimulate genuine economic growth and governments rarely outperform the private sector in effectiveness. My point is that $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending is coming at the worst possible moment. The US economy is facing supply shortages and high inflation caused by surging demand, which choked the ports and factories. In short, too much money is chasing too few goods, and policymakers decided to add additional money into the already blocked supply chains! I have no words of admiration for the intellectual abilities of the members of Congress and the White House! Indeed, the spending plan does not have to be inflationary if financed purely by taxes and borrowing. However, the Fed will likely monetize at least part of the newly issued federal debt, and you know, to build or repair infrastructure, workers are needed, and steel, and concrete, and energy. The infrastructure spending, thus, will add pressure to the ongoing energy crisis and high producer price inflation, not to mention the shortage of workers. Implications for Gold What does the passing of the infrastructure bill imply for the gold market? Well, it should be supportive of the yellow metal. First, it will increase the fiscal deficits by additional billions of dollars (the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will enlarge the deficits by $256 billion). Second, government spending will add to the inflationary pressure, which gold should also welcome. After all, gold recalled last week that it is a hedge against high and accelerating inflation. As the chart below shows, gold not only jumped above the key level of $1,800, but it even managed to cross $1,850 on renewed inflation worries. The infrastructure bill was probably discounted by the traders, so its impact on the precious metals market should be limited. However, generally, all news that could intensify inflationary fears should be supportive of the yellow metal. You see, the narrative has changed. So far, the thinking was that higher inflation implies faster tapering and interest rates hikes and, thus, lower gold prices. This is why gold was waiting on the sidelines for the past several months despite high inflation. Investors also believed that inflation would be transitory. However, the recent CPI report forced the markets to embrace the fact that inflation could be more persistent. What’s more, tapering of quantitative easing started, which erased some downward pressure on gold. Moreover, despite the slowdown in the pace of asset purchases, the Fed will maintain its accommodative stance and stay behind the curve. So, at the moment, the reasoning is that high inflation implies elevated fears, which is good for gold. I have always believed that gold’s more bullish reaction to accelerating inflation was a matter of time. It’s possible that this time has just come. Having said that, investors should remember that market narratives can change quickly. At some point, the Fed will probably step in and send some hawkish signals, which could calm investors and pull some of them out of the gold market. My second concern is that gold could have reacted not to accelerating inflation, but rather to the plunge in the real interest rates. As the chart below shows, the yields on 10-year TIPS have dropped to -1.17, a level very close to the August bottom. When something reaches the bottom, it should rebound later. And if real interest rates start to rally, then gold could struggle again. However, I’ll stop complaining now and allow the bulls to celebrate the long-awaited breakout. It’s an interesting development compared to the last months, that’s for sure! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
The Elephant in the Room

The Elephant in the Room

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.11.2021 15:42
S&P 500 is starting to run into a setback even if VIX doesn‘t reveal that fully. Credit markets going from weakness to weakness spells more short-term woes for stocks – a shallow downswing that feels (and is) a trading range before the surge to new ATHs continues, is likely to materialize in the second half of Nov. We may be in its opening stages – as written yesterday: (…) Can stocks still continue rallying? They look to be setting up for one more downleg of the immediately predecing magnitude, which means not a huge setback. The medium-term path of least resistance remains up – the Fed is still printing a huge amount of money on a monthly basis, and it remains questionable how far in tapering plans execution they would actually get – I see the risks to the real economy coupled with persistently high inflation as rising since the 2Q 2022 (if not since Mar already, but most pronounced in 2H 2022). Stocks are still set for a good Dec and beyond performance. The elephant in the room is (the absence of) fresh debt issuance lifting up the dollar, making it like rising yields more. Not only that these are failing to push value higher, but the tech resilience highlights the defensive nature of S&P 500 performance. Crucially though, precious metals are seeing through the (misleading dollar strength) fog, and are sharply rising regardless. Make no mistake, with the taper reaction, we have seen what I had been expecting (or even better given that I prefer reasonably conservative stance without drumming up expectations either way) – I had been telling you that the hardest times for the metals are before taper. And the magnitude and pace of their upswing casts a verdict on the Fed‘s (likely in)ability to follow through with the taper execution, let alone initiate the rate raising cycle without being laughed off the stage as markets force these regardless of the central planners. The galloping inflation expectations are sending a very clear message: (…) if you look at the great white metal‘s performance, it‘s the result of inflation coming back to the fore as the Fed itself is now admitting to high inflation rates through the mid-2022, putting blame on supply chain bottlenecks. Oh, sure. The real trouble is that inflation expectations are starting to get anchored – people are expecting these rates to be not going away any time soon. Precious metals are going to do great… Copper is awakening too, and commodities including oil would be doing marvels. TLT downswings would be less and less conducive to growth, so if you‘re still heavily in tech, I would start eyeing more value. Let me add the Russell 2000 and emerging markets to the well performing medium-term mix. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls didn‘t make it too far before running into another (mild, again I say) setback – so far, a sideways one. Credit Markets Credit markets renewed their march lower, and unless they turn, the S&P 500 upswings would remain on shaky ground (if and when they materialize). Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver remain on a tear, and even for the breather to unfold, it takes quite an effort. The bears clearly can‘t hope for a trend change. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls keep defending the $80 level, with $78 serving as the next stop if need be – these consecutive lower knots keep favoring the bulls, just when the right catalyst arrives. Whether that takes one or two days or more, is irrelevant – it will happen. Copper Copper ran into an unexpected setback, which however doesn‘t change the outlook thanks to its relatively low volume. I‘m still looking for much higher red metal‘s prices. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are seeing an emerging crack in the dam that doesn‘t tie too well to developments elsewhere. The bulls should step in, otherwise this yellow flag risks turning into a red one. Summary S&P 500 bulls are now holding only the medium-term upper hand as the rally is entering a consolidation phase. Anyway, this trading range would be followed by fresh ATHs, which would power stocks even higher in early 2022. Precious metals have quite some catching up to do, and the long post Aug 2020 consolidation is over. Copper, base metals, oil and agrifoods are likely to keep doing great as inflation expectations show that inflation truly hasn‘t been tamed in the least. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Strategy sessions - How to trade EURUSD and the EUR crosses

Strategy sessions - How to trade EURUSD and the EUR crosses

Chris Weston Chris Weston 16.11.2021 16:30
The recent EURUSD move could be considered a classic case study for traders, across strategies, and notably for those who cut their craft on timeframes larger than 30 minutes. On one hand, the attraction to own USDs is almost too obvious and that worries me as a USD bull – we have inflation far higher than where the Fed has been forecasting only back in September and unemployment is also trending towards what the Fed considers ‘full employment’. We get the November CPI print on 11 December and that promises to be even hotter than the October print of 6.2% YoY. The Fed meet on 16 December, and in response we should get some punchy upward revisions to their forecasts on labour and inflation. Given the potential revisions on economic projections, it feels incredibly likely that the pace of QE tapering should subsequently accelerate - this sets up an earlier finish for asset purchases and ultimately opens the door to potentially start hiking from as early as May 2022. The Fed’s median projection for the fed funds rate (the dots) in 2022 is for one hike – it’s feasible to believe this lifts to two hikes next year. So, it's straightforward to take a constructive view on the USD, especially when you hear from former Fed officials Bill Dudley and Jeffery Lacker that they think the fed funds rate may need to move to 3% to control inflation. That would get the USD bulls excited, although 3% would probably be seen as a potential policy mistake by many. Year-to-date moves vs the USD Preview (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) The market has some key event risks in its sight and are clearly running a progressively greater short EURUSD position into the Nov CPI print and FOMC meeting – and that has started now. We also have an important ECB meeting (also on the 16 December) and that too could be a volatility event – it promises to be a huge 24 hours for EURUSD and the EUR crosses! We can talk up the USD but looking across the FX universe this appears to be a EUR move, with our EUR spot basket (EURX on MT4/5) at the lowest levels since May 2020. Aside from the JPY, the EUR is the weakest G10 currency in 2021 – and is at the bottom of the pack on a 1-, 3- or 6- month basis – a true momentum play. EURUSD has been at the heart of the falls in our EUR basket and has been predictably well traded by clients. Maybe this is as simple as a central bank divergence play – with the ECB aggressively pushing back on expected rate hikes in 2022, hell-bent on the view that inflation is in fact ‘transitory’. While the Fed, on the other hand, are open-minded to hiking, if it's required, and the market certainly is adamant it will be in 2022 - and could soon be pricing 3 hikes in 2022. Trading diverging monetary policy paths is perhaps the most simplistic form of tactical trading, in essence, it's FX trading 101, and it's working and we’re all witnessing the trend lower. We’re seeing a similar theme play out in EURCAD and EURNZD, and EURCAD is especially interesting as the cross has broken its consolidation range and if we see a hot Canadian CPI print (Thursday 00:00 AEDT) then the market will expect a rate hike in January by the BoC. Diverging monetary policy expectation’s part explains the move in EURCHF, but it clearly doesn’t explain the one-way move in EURJPY from 133.50 to sub-130. As we explain here EURCHF should be on all FX traders’ radars. So the market is clearly happy to sell EURs and the order books at banks would have become quite one-sided. Trend-followers and momentum-based funds, many of them systematic, would have been all over this move lower adding to shorts as price broke level after level. And, while EURUSD implied or realised volatility hasn’t picked up markedly, the rallies from 1.2260 (in May) have been corrective in nature and short-lived Preview (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) The question I'm asking now and noting that US non-farm payrolls, CPI and FOMC meetings are still some way off, is how to best trade the EURUSD in the near term. That's of course determined by strategy – in this case, mean reversion or momentum. To buy EURUSD as a mean reversion play – personally, I feel the counter rallies should be limited so would change to an ultra-short-term moving average (such as the 5-day EMA) over a traditional 20-day MA Leave limit orders to sell into the former downtrend at 1.1415, or take the timeframe in and see the reaction, price action and behaviour into the former trend before initiating shorts Or, just to stay short as a pure momentum trade and have a stop above 1.1464. One way moves and mature trends eventually come to an end, notably when positioning becomes too extreme – over loved consensus trades rarely end well if you’re the last one in. However, while the street is clearly short of EURs, the fundamentals justify this and if heat come out of the move, then it should offer a renewed chance to short as we head into a huge December for FX traders.  That’s how I see it as we head towards a wild December of major event risk.
Bitcoin, a battle for freedom

Bitcoin, a battle for freedom

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 17.11.2021 08:01
We find ourselves ensued in various battles. Environmentally, economically, and from a human perspective. As much as it is questionable if coal and oil, centralized money, and wars (attacks on ourselves) hold a prosperous future, change is typically avoided. There have been moments in history where rapid change happened. Most often introduced by a charismatic human being with a compelling principle at a defining moment when a change was needed. S&P 500 Index versus BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, bitcoin an answer to crisis? S&P 500 Index versus Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 16th, 2021. The bitcoin idea was born as a response to the crash of 2008. In its principles, diametrical to fiat currencies. Bitcoin is decentralized, limited, deflationary and digital. There is no historical event where increased money printing has resolved economic turmoil. And yet, we have not come up with a better solution, or at least we have not implemented it yet. The chart above shows how shortly after the crash of 2008, the first transaction ever sent on the bitcoin blockchain was completed in January 2009.Coincidence? It took some time until the cryptocurrency’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto found traction with his idea reflected in bitcoin’s price rise. Still, it has not just caught up but outperformed the market by a stunning margin. BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, don’t underestimate powerful ideas: Bitcoin versus gold and silver in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 16th, 2021. Covid provided like a steroid a means to illustrate many shortcomings in a magnified way. The chart above shows that bitcoin speculation was an answer to where many find a more prosperous future compared to precious metals. In addition to fundamentals and technical, the underlying idea and hope for a transitory future got traction when people were most afraid.   BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, sitting through turmoil with ease: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 16th, 2021. Dissecting markets like this in all their shades and facets is necessary for discovering underlying currents, motivation, and sustainability of trends. In bitcoins case, the found strength of application, beliefs, and principles inherent in bitcoin itself and its traders allows for sitting more easily through its volatility swings. Once the mind grasps reason, it tolerates easier, otherwise hardships to trade a volatile vehicle like bitcoin. With a battle ensured on this magnitude and for an expected long duration, one can accept deep retracements in a more tranquil fashion. The monthly chart above shows that bitcoin might face one of those quick dips that hodlers accept, knowing that the battle isn’t over yet. Bitcoin, a battle for freedom: Mills are grinding slowly. Change typically takes time, and those holding the reign over financial power will certainly not surrender such summoned energies lightly. While this world certainly needs a more adaptive behavior of humanity both for its wellbeing and the planet itself, it is unlikely that a shift, if at all, will be swift. This means that bitcoin is a continued struggle to establish itself. And this will result in continued high volatility for the years to come. As such, it will remain an excellent opportunity for the individual investor. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
Finally Shining: Gold & Silver Rally Amid USD Strength

Finally Shining: Gold & Silver Rally Amid USD Strength

Topdown Charts Topdown Charts 17.11.2021 08:39
We are upgrading our view on gold given a positive turn in several technical indicators A bearish macro backdrop persists, however, and gold’s long-term valuation is still not very compelling Our Weekly Macro Themes report investigates interesting moves such as a rising US Dollar as precious metals rally Investors were ready to write off precious metals in September and October. After all, what should have been the perfect environment for a rally in gold and silver (immense monetary and fiscal stimulus, rising inflation fears, and negative real interest rates) turned out to be a period of significant losses. Moreover, the opportunity cost of owning precious metals (and related mining stocks) was extreme from Q3 2020 through much of 2021. Prices Turn Higher Things changed at the end of last quarter. The silver ETF and gold miners staged impressive rallies while the S&P 500 surged in October. And now gold is perking up. These bullish moves went under the radar given the massive equity market climb. The Weekly Macro Themes report dives into the many intriguing moves taking place in gold, silver, gold miners, and the US Dollar. We Turn Neutral from Bearish For a variety of reasons, we have turned neutral on gold from a bearish view. There has been significant improvement in gold’s technical picture, and sentiment & positioning trends lean bullish. The major headwind is, of course, a tightening cycle from the Federal Reserve. Other central banks are charging ahead with rate hikes. Investors Remain Underweight Relative to History It’s possible that the bearish macro/policy backdrop was discounted into the price of gold. Investors were also lightly positioned to the yellow metal. Our featured chart illustrates just how bearish market participants were (and still are) to gold. Implied ETF allocations peaked a decade ago near 8%, but then collapsed to the 1-2.5% range for the better part of the past seven years. Featured Chart: Implied ETF Allocations to Gold Are Skidding on All-Time Lows Better Flows and Momentum Gold’s recent jump is buttressed by a higher low in our ETF flow indicator. Moreover, the FX breadth indicator (which tracks the performance of gold versus a basket of currencies) says there is some momentum behind this past several weeks’ price action. Gold’s chart appears more bullish when priced in currencies other than the Greenback. Still, we await a more decided breakout before turning outright bullish. Long-Term Valuations Still Lean Expensive Another piece of evidence that makes us cautious is our gold valuation indicator which still reads as “expensive” despite a significant reset from 2020’s extreme level; gold’s composite long-term valuation Z-score is about 0.5 to the expensive side. Higher Gold with A Higher Dollar? What’s fascinating about the recent jump in precious metal prices is that it has transpired with a rising US Dollar Index. The DXY made an initial breakout last week. Conventional wisdom says a higher dollar is a negative for precious metals, but we find many examples where both gold and the USD have rallied in the past. The move often catches traders off-guard. Gold Miners and Silver Also in Focus Concerning gold miners, the Weekly Macro Themes report details an updated stance on the seemingly left-for-dead group of stocks. We also dig into what has been developing in the silver market. Bottom line: Our view on gold has shifted from bearish to neutral given a plethora of macro factors, but mixed monetary signals and somewhat elevated gold valuations still suggest caution. At the same time, our bullish stance on gold miners initiated two months ago is reiterated. Follow us on: Substack https://topdowncharts.substack.com/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Pushes Higher

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Pushes Higher

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.11.2021 09:08
EURUSD lacks support The US dollar inched higher after October’s retail sales beat expectations. There has been a lack of interest in the single currency following its fall below the daily support at 1.1530. The divergence between the 20 and 30-hour moving averages indicates an acceleration in the sell-off. The bears are targeting the demand zone around 1.1200 from last July. The RSI’s oversold situation may prompt momentum traders to cover. Though a rebound is likely to be capped by 1.1370 and sellers would be eager to sell into strength. GBPJPY attempts to rebound The sterling recouped losses after Britain’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3%. On the daily chart, the pair saw support near the 61.8% (152.60) Fibonacci retracement of the October rally. A bullish RSI divergence was a sign that the bearish pressure was fading. A break above 153.60 could be an attempt to turn the mood around. The initial surge may need more support after the RSI shot into the overbought area. Should the pound stay above 152.35-152.60, a rebound would lift it towards 155.20. NAS 100 tests peak The Nasdaq 100 bounces back supported by robust tech earnings. The index showed exhaustion after a four-week-long bull run. A combination of an overbought RSI and its bearish divergence made traders cautious in buying into high valuations. A break below the psychological level of 16000 has triggered a wave of profit-taking. A deeper retreat below 16020 would send the index to the previous peak at 15700 which coincides with the 30-day moving average. On the upside, A rally above 16400 would resume the uptrend.
Gold Spot shorts at strong resistance at 1868/72 worked again as we held below 1877.

Gold Spot shorts at strong resistance at 1868/72 worked again as we held below 1877.

Jason Sen Jason Sen 17.11.2021 10:14
Gold Spot shorts at strong resistance at 1868/72 worked again as we held below 1877. Yesterday's bearish engulfing candle is a sell signal. Silver shorts at resistance at the 200 day moving average at 2535/40 also worked perfectly offering up to 55 pips profit so far. Yesterday's bearish engulfing candle is a sell signal. WTI Crude December longs at first support at 7990/60 work on the bounce to first resistance at 8150/80 for some profit taking. A high for the day exactly here which worked for anyone trying shorts. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. Gold holding strong resistance at 1868/72 re-targets 1857/55 before a retest of first support at 1842/39, which could be seen this morning. Try longs with stops below 1836. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 1832/30 & 1824/22 then a buying opportunity at 1819/16. Try longs with stops below 1812. Strong resistance at 1868/72. Shorts need stops above 1877. A break above here would be a buy signal for this week targeting 1885, 1895, 1900/03 & probably as far as 1914/16. Silver shorts at resistance at the 200 day moving average at 2535 hit minor support again at 2485/80 for profit taking. Be ready to sell a break below 2475 today targeting strong support at 2450/40, which could see a low for the day. Longs need stops below 2430. Sell again at resistance at the 200 day moving average at 2535/40. A break above 2540 however is a buy signal this week targeting 2570/80 then 2600, perhaps as far as 2640/50. WTI Crude December shorts at first resistance at 8150/80 work on the retest of first support at 7990/60. Longs need stops below 7930 for a retest of last week's low at 7835/25. A break lower targets 7760/50, perhaps as far as 7650/30. Shorts at first resistance at 8150/80 need stops above 8210 today. A break higher should target 8280/90, perhaps as far as 8340/50. Above here this week look for strong resistance at 8480/8500. https://youtu.be/wLHeL94ic3Y To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
OVERVIEW OF COVESTING

OVERVIEW OF COVESTING

Prime XBT Prime XBT 17.11.2021 09:37
Nearly everyone familiar with the world of cryptocurrency knows about the successful platform called ChainLink. Also called LINK, ChainLink is the fifth global cryptocurrency platform in terms of market capitalization.  The mission of this decentralized union is to enhance real-world data in connecting smart contacts. This platform has grown its worth by 100% since January 2020. If you are wondering what cryptocurrency platform to invest in gain as much as 100% returns, this article holds the answer. In this article, we will introduce you to Covesting, provide vital information about the platform, and guide you as to whether or not you should get involved in Covesting. What you need to know about Covesting Covesting is a financial technology (fintech company) operating globally and registered in Gibraltar.  The company handles a vast range of software needs and offers solutions to individual customers and institutions globally. Covesting is one of the international firms that received the Distributed Ledger Technology License by the Gibraltar regulatory authorities, which gives it a boost and assurance of great achievements in 2020. Traders and new users can connect on Covesting through the Copy trading or social trading feature. The copy trading or social trading feature allows users to identify expert traders on the platform. After selecting experienced traders, they can automatically copy their trading patterns. Copy-trading or social trading is a smart tactic for both traders and their followers to earn a profit. In practice, when a trade is profitable, the expert trader receives a share of the profit from their followers. Likewise, the followers can trade with fewer fees and greater ease even if they are a novice in trading crypto. Covesting also has a unique token called COV that traders on the platform can use for their activities. Read on to learn more about COV and other features in Covesting. PrimeXBT's partnership with Covesting Covesting is in partnership with a renowned and award-winning trading platform PrimeXBT. The firm won the 2020 ADVFN International Financial Awards as the Best Bitcoin Margin Trading Platform.  PrimeXBT offers Bitcoin trade, forex, indices, stocks, commodities, etc. on a global scale and has over 1 billion USD trading volumes. Other features on PrimeXBT 1: 100 cryptocurrency leverage Accumulated assets from different asset providers. A safe and secure platform for trade. Vast range of trading tools. How to use Covesting through PrimeXBT Users and traders can assess Covesting through PrimeXBT and create strategies for funding and trading in a transparent environment. Tracking records will be made visible to potential traders who can monitor the trade records of expert traders. The followers will see their capital investment and returns, and then decide whether or not to copy the trade. You can search traders through the Covesting area. From the search results, you can decide on a successful trader to follow and copy. Following a trade and copying the trading pattern helps you to earn passive income with little or no knowledge. The traders-followers pattern is also an avenue for the traders to build their reputation. It will earn them more profit if they know what to do. Is COV Likely to Skyrocket? Investors can use the Covesting token (COV) to invest in the platform. Investing with the token is very profitable when the value appreciates.  Those interested in serious investment and profits can avail themselves of the supply of token available on the platform. 18,000,000 tokens are in circulation out of a total of 20,000,000 tokens. Top investors referred to as 'strong hands' control 50% of the total token in circulation. Covesting differentiates its utilities into core and secondary token utilities. With an ambitious business goal and direction, Covesting is out to expand its frontiers in business and fintech. The firm aspires to obtain more partnership deals with other third-party trading platforms asides from PrimeXBT through the white-label licensing agreements. With its current partnership with PrimeXBT, the two companies want to integrate the COV token into PrimeXBT. The purpose of this integration is to reduce the trading fee, expand the success fee, and increase followers' limits. Reduced Trading Fee A reduced trading fee is achievable for strategy managers who hold COV. The deduction in trading fees will cover about 10%-100% of the COV token, although, the particular COV discount level has not been ascertained. Higher Success Fee Percentage Followers can earn a higher percentage of profits on their success fee when they stake with COV tokens. Presently, profits from closed trades on Covesting are shared between the platform, traders, and followers. The percentage distribution of profit is calculated depending on the current rates and market conditions, of which traders and followers will receive a greater percentage profit than the platform. Limits on Follower Numbers Covesting plans to enforce a limit on followers to keep their utility high. However, a trader can increase follower numbers when they start staking COV tokens. Token Burns Covesting will calculate and burn a specific amount from its monthly or quarterly generated fees. The token burn will exclude affiliate earnings, fee discounts, and other costs.  Covesting has an admirable customer base, and the COV has a strong medium-term potential. Traders can also trade COV on other platforms, including onKuCoin. Benefits of Covesting and its COV-token In summary, these are what you can benefit from trading on Covesting and using the COV token. Team of trustworthy holders. Higher token value. Reliable partnerships with other renowned platforms. Possibilities of utility and token burns. Recommended by analysts on TradingView. A community of dedicated followers. Legitimate, registered, and regulated platform Token is still under the radar Our Verdict Our review has shown that investing and trading on Covesting has many benefits. However, this should not be your final research before investing your funds in this platform.  Find out more about Covesting and COV before you invest and trade. To learn more about the COV token and trading, you can visit their website. Also, follow traders to learn about their trading strategy.  In all, our verdict is that Covesting is a very promising platform for investment and trading, but make sure you do not invest until you are convinced that it is the best platform for you.
Covesting

Covesting

Prime XBT Prime XBT 15.11.2021 09:47
The decentralised oracle network ChainLink works by connecting contracts with data from around the world. Now one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, it can make you wonder where the next big cryptocurrency will be coming from and, more importantly, how to get on board before it explodes in popularity. It is time to introduce you to Coversting. What Is Covesting? Covesting is an international fintech corporation which offers an array of software solutions for customers across the world. Recognising the importance of being based in a country where the government fully supports what the company is about, Covesting is based in Gibraltar. Quickly becoming one of the first companies in the world to receive a Distributed Ledger Technology License, also referred to as DLT, from the authorities in the British Overseas Territory, Covesting has its own token; COV. Developing their own platform, Covesting connects traders with a variety of followers, a little similar to social media, allowing for both the follower and the trader to make profitable gains. Traders earn a small fee from the equity of their followers, while the followers benefit from hassle free trading by following the trader’s most successful strategies. This process is known as ‘copy trading’. Partnership with PrimeXBT Now available to everyone via PrimeXBT, the Covesting platform allows traders to make profit from each other as well as their own followers. To make capital, transparency is key. Traders create funds with their best strategies which users can then easily verify, along with the track record of the trader and how much money has been invested into each fund. If traders are able to build and maintain a good reputation, they will be able to generate a second income by attracting new followers. Users can view traders objectively, looking at their results and only invest when they are comfortable they have selected the right trader for them. This way, capital can be generated passively without knowledge of the market or any trading skills. PrimeXBT Offering services such as foreign exchange and stock indices, PrimeXBT is a Bitcoin based trading platform. With trading volumes over $1 billion (USD), in 2020 the company won ‘Best Bitcoin Margin Trading Platform’ at the International Financial Awards. As a platform, PrimeXBT can provide up to one hundred times leverage for cryptocurrencies, a wide range of technical analysis tools and extra security for efficient and safe trading. Why Will COV Be Popular? With a limited supply of tokens, only 18 million COV tokens are in circulation and half of these are held in ‘strong hands’. Holders of the tokens gain access to benefits and COV utilities will be divided up between Secondary and Core token utilities. Moving forward, Covesting plans to partner with other third parties to increase the utilities offered to token holders. So what will a COV token be used for? Well, it will be integrated into PrimeXBT and will be used for a number of functions. These include: Trading Fee Reduction Fee reduction tiers will range from between 10% and 100%, and the level of reduction permitted will depend on the amount of COV tokens held. The number of tokens required for each level reduction will be announced at a later date though there are a variety of options and benefits available. Improving Success Fee Percentage Followers can favourably increase the percentage of success fees by staking tokens and taking advantage of its utility. At the moment, Covesting takes a percentage of success fees on closed profitable trades. Determined by the corresponding offer, Covesting then distributes the remaining percentage between the follower, the strategy manager and the platform. Offers are subject to change depending on the current market conditions. By staking a certain amount of COV tokens, Covesting has a smaller percentage, with a larger share going to the follower on profits made by the strategy manager. Increasing Following Limits In order to keep token utility levels high, Covesting implements limitations on the maximum number of unique followers permitted, in addition to imposing limitations on capital. Staking COV tokens unlocks followers and raises capital limits. Token Burns Covesting will burn a portion of fees generated at regular intervals throughout the year. Calculated fees will exclude affiliate earnings, fee discounts and various other revenue impacts. COV tokens have a lot of potential in a relatively short time frame, being traded on KuCoin and Inter Alia. Covesting is surrounded by a very supportive community with the price reaction to Covesting’s module launch on PrimeXBT being extremely positive. In Summary The best piece of advice you can get is to visit the Covesting website and carry out your own research about the token before deciding whether or not to invest. You may also wish to try your hand at trading cryptocurrency on PrimeXBT. If you follow this link, you will receive a welcome bonus of $50 when you sign up. When you start to follow traders, it is important to remember that their past results are not a guarantee of any future results. You should also look at how long a certain strategy has been live on the platform. For example, the newer the strategy the more risk it involves and following some strategies can result in financial losses. This said, if you cannot afford to lose capital, do not invest until you are prepared to accept the risk of loss. Reasons for Holding COV Main reasons for holding COV tokens include: Trusted, licensed company Limited token supply Under the radar at the moment Future utility plans Top TradingView analyst recommendations Token burns Strong sense of community
A Guide To PrimeXBT V2.0

A Guide To PrimeXBT V2.0

Prime XBT Prime XBT 15.11.2021 09:43
PrimeXBT, your award-winning trading platform, has been upgraded to deliver even more value to the trading community. This upgrade includes several improvements to the platform's appearance and interface. But the biggest reason for the upgrade is the addition of Ethereum and stablecoin based margin accounts. In this guide, you will find all you need to know about the introduction of ETH, USDT, and USDC margin accounts, as well as other features of PrimeXBT's upgrade to version 2.0. Welcome To Version 2.0 When you first log into your account (since the upgrade), you’ll be greeted with a message introducing the updates. There are a few slides that also inform you of all the new features that have been added. You’ll notice that the dashboard has been reorganized and now includes a Main account section. This section provides you with the information you need regarding your margin accounts, wallet, followings or Covesting accounts, and more. The New Main Page Shows You All You Need In One Glance You can execute several operations from the Main page because it provides you everything you need at a glance. Some of these tasks include initiating withdrawals, making deposits, viewing your balances, creating margin accounts, and more. No matter the cryptocurrency (BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT), you can create a separate margin account for each. You can also deposit COV tokens, but these are not for your margin accounts. Their use will be explained further in this guide. To fund any account from your PrimeXBT’s Main page, you have to deposit funds into the secure cryptocurrency address for that account. You can find the address within your PrimeXBT account dashboard. Once funded, you will need to move the crypto into the margin account from your wallet. New Accounts In ETH, USDC, and USDT With the Bitcoin-based margin trading, PrimeXBT earned many awards. Now there’s more! PrimeXBT has added Ethereum, Tether, and USD Coin. This is one of the Version 2.0 upgrade's most significant features and has been merged into the same account system and internal trading engine. You can use these currencies beyond Bitcoin-based margin trading. Get a free account with PrimeXBT and start trading with a small minimum deposit. You can sign up in less than 59 seconds, so do so now if you haven't registered with PrimeXBT. There are more than 50 CFDs for you to trade on PrimeXBT, and they cut across stock indices, commodities, crypto, Forex, and more. You can trade all of these within each individual currency type. You will find isolated account details within each dedicated margin account. Your All-New Reports Section PrimeXBT has also added a Reports section which contains detailed vital account information. You can find information such as a log of all your transactions in this section. This makes tax reporting and bookkeeping very easy. The Updated Referral Section As a result of the inclusion of these new currencies, the referral section has also been upgraded. This section of the website now lists commissions in whichever currencies new users trade in. In order words, if a user trades in Ethereum, commissions are generated and paid out in Ethereum. So, when you refer anyone to PrimeXBT, you will get your commissions in the currencies the user trades in. The referral system includes simple referral links you can use on different media, including forums and social media. You can share it with friends and loved ones too. Depending on where you are on PrimeXBT’s four-level referral system, you can get as much as 20% commissions per referral. Enhancements To The Covesting Copy Trading The Covesting Trading Module has been an innovative copy trading system connecting followers to strategy managers. The system makes it possible for both parties to earn and profit. With the addition of ETH, USDC, and USDT, this module has also been upgraded to support these cryptos and given a facelift. How Covesting Copy Trading Works Strategy managers post their trades for followers to copy. When they close their positions, both parties earn. These more skilled traders earn a commission (success fees) off of followers’ capital commissions. These commissions can add up quickly, and the top Covesting traders have already earned millions in commissions, as well as generated millions for their followers. Traders are reviewed by a five-star system that spurs everyone to be at their best. They are then ranked accordingly and displayed on global leaderboards, with different success factors, including their wins, total profits, and even losses, highlighted. With the inclusion of other currencies in version 2.0 of PrimeXBT, followers can only follow strategy managers in like-currencies, thus encouraging a diversified Covesting community. Followers with ETH-based margin accounts can now only follow strategy managers with the same currency accounts. We mentioned the COV utility token earlier. It is at the heart of the Covesting copy trading module and can be used to unlock many other benefits within the module. More PrimeXBT Features PrimeXBT has so many incredible features for traders. Some of these include responsive customer service, Turbo, an official blog containing lots of trading tips, educational guides, and more. Turbo With Turbo, you (all traders) have access to unique ways to position yourself in the market. It also includes an analysis section that that seamlessly integrates with TradingView for an incredible technical analysis and risk management experience, and more. Blog & News The company's blog and news tabs keep you updated with news and market information and content to help you become your better version of the trader you are and make the most of your trades. Security PrimeXBT prioritizes security. The platform is highly secure and built on bank-grade security infrastructure. With the help of a distinctive wallet structure that involves cold storage, the platform has never been hack. Each account is secured with address white-listing and two-factor authentication. PrimeXBT also boasts a 99.9% uptime. 24/7 Responsive Customer Support Besides all the fantastic features of PrimeXBT, one of its best is its 24/7 live customer support staff. They are trained and ever-ready to assist you with whatever issues you might have. There’s also a help center containing tutorials to help you with anything. Advanced Trading Tools PrimeXBT’s upgrade to version 2.0 offers traders an all-in-one platform for the complete trading experience. It contains all the advanced trading tools necessary to become the successful trader you always dreamed of while also minimizing risks. It has the best slippage in the industry with stop-loss orders to ensure capital preservation. It also offers you excellent opportunities with its leverages and diverse ways to access the markets. Stable Coins For Added Risk Protection Bitcoin and Ethereum are known to be subject to base currency account volatility. This type of volatility spurred many users to request the addition of stablecoins. With the inclusion of USDT and USDC, traders can now eliminate all risks associated with such volatility. This is one of the fundamental reasons for the upgrade to version 2.0. Today Is Your Best Time To Trade CFDs On An Award-Winning Platform With PrimeXBT's upgrade to version 2.0, you can now use BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC for margin accounts. You can trade any combination of the most popular markets, including the S&P 500, Bitcoin, Forex, oil, and gold. And you can do this anywhere you are, digitally. All you need is our award-winning platform that has all the basic and advanced tools to help you reach your trading and financial dreams. Use PrimeXBT’s V2.0 Today!
Inflation Is Not The Only Consequence Of The Russian Invasion

Gold holds steady ahead of FED speeches

Walid Koudmani Walid Koudmani 17.11.2021 14:31
Gold holds steady ahead of FED speeches Precious metals have experienced some significant volatility in recent times with the price of gold hovering in a $30 range over the last week and after gaining around 5% since the start of November. This comes despite the significant gains made by the US Dollar which traditionally tends to have an inverse correlation with the price of gold and which has recently reached the highest level since July 2020 as the USD index hovers around 95.946 after reaching a high of 96.255. On the other hand, rising inflation expectations, which have been downplayed extensively by the Federal reserve, continue to drive demand for gold as investors attempt to find covers against it and as markets remain uncertain about upcoming monetary policy decisions. Furthermore, the recent pullback seen in cryptocurrencies has also boosted demand for the precious metals as some seek more traditionally stable opportunities to invest, especially given the fact that gold has had a tendency to perform well heading into the end of the year. Today's Fed speeches could shed some light on what the US central bank is likely to do in the upcoming meeting and what it's outlook for the economy is as inflation continues to reach record levels and as investors seek refuge from rising inflation and excess volatility. Oil deepens decline despite lower than expected API report Whil oil prices have been the topic of discussion for weeks, we are now beginning to see a reversal as both Brent and WTI started the day with a downard gap and with the latter trading at the lowest level since the beginning of November. Traders await today's EIA inventory report for confirmation of yesterday's API report which showed a lower than expected increase in US crude inventories, as demand rises and supply issues remain a topic of discussion. Furthermore, several OPEC representatives and members have reiterated their view to not increase production levels as they foresee a potential market surplus heading into the end of the year due to a projected drop in demand. On the other hand, fuel prices have continued to rise which has led to many businesses transferring those costs onto consumers and ultimately impacting the post pandemic economic recovery. Download our Mobile Trading App:   Google Play   App Store
Gold – USD Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

Gold – USD Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 17.11.2021 13:27
  If the dollar goes through a corrective downswing, it’s more bullish for gold? Not if a decline in the euro caused gold to rise in the first place. Another day, another new yearly high for the USD Index. The U.S. currency soars just like it has since the beginning of the year, in tune with what I said at that time, (and against what almost everyone else said about its outlook). The rally accelerated recently, with the USD Index soaring by 0.78 this week – and it’s only Wednesday today. So, surely that’s bullish for the USD Index? - one might ask. No. “Bullish” or “bearish” relates to the future, not to the past. In fact, the rally in the USD Index might need a breather as all markets – no matter how bullish or bearish the situation is in them – can’t rally or decline in a straight line, without periodic corrections. The USD Index, gold, silver, mining stocks, and practically all the other markets are no exception from this rule. Even the real estate prices don’t increase over the long run without periodic downturns. As you can see on the above chart, the U.S currency index soared to almost 96 yesterday and it’s after an almost straight-up rally. This rally caused the RSI indicator to move above 70, and this has been a quite precise short-term sell signal this year. In fact, in all cases when we saw it, some kind of short-term correction followed. Based on the size of the current rally, it seems that the current situation is most similar to what we saw in early March and in late June. That’s when we saw short-term declines that took the USDX approximately a full index point lower. In the current case, it could mean a decline back to 95. This would be a perfectly natural thing for the USD Index to do right now, given that the previous resistance (which now serves as support) is located slightly below 95. The support is provided by the late-2020 high and the March 2020 low (not visible on the above chart). So, surely this corrective downswing in the USD Index would cause an even bigger rally in the precious metals sector, right? That’s where things get complicated. You see, the biggest (over 50%) part of the USD Index (which is a weighted average) is the EUR/USD currency pair. Let’s take a look at it. The Euro Index moved sharply lower last week and just like the RSI based on the USD Index flashed a sell signal, the RSI based on the Euro Index flashed a buy signal. Also, the Euro Index just moved to the lower border of its declining trade channel, which is likely to indicate some kind of rebound. Why am I discussing the euro here? Because that’s what’s complicated about the current USD-gold link. The euro recently declined and the prices of silver and gold recently rallied shortly after dovish comments from the eurozone. Namely, while the expansionary nature of fiscal and monetary decisions in the U.S. might be after its peak (with the infrastructure bill signed even despite high inflation numbers), the eurozone is far from limiting its expansionary (i.e., inflationary) policies, and it was just made clear recently. That was bearish for the euro and bullish for the gold price – as more money (euros in this case) would be chasing the same amount of physical gold bars. The point here is that it might have been the decline in the value of the European currency that caused gold to rally, and it had little to do with what happened in the USD Index. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, the gold-USD link is stable and negative. In some cases, gold shows strength or weakness by refusing to move in tune (and precisely: again) with the U.S. dollar’s movement. But in this case, it seems that it’s not about the U.S. dollar at all (or mostly), but rather about what happened in the Eurozone and euro recently. I marked the recent decline in the euro and the rally in gold with a golden rectangle. The usual link between gold-USD would have one assume that lower USD Index values (due to higher EUR/USD values) would trigger a rally in gold. However, given how things worked and the fact that we saw/heard the news coming from the Eurozone, it seems like this “temporary” and “bearish for the PMs” interpretation would actually prevail. It could also be the case that we see some kind of mixed reply from the precious metals sector when the USD Index and the Euro Index correct. The PMs could for example fall only after the situation regarding the gold-USD link gets back to normal – that is perhaps after both currencies correct. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Gas Jumps, while the Euro and Yen Slump

European Gas Jumps, while the Euro and Yen Slump

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 17.11.2021 15:31
Overview: The prospects that the 6.2% CPI will prompt the Fed to move quicker continue to underpin the dollar.  The euro fell to about $1.1265, its lowest level since last September, and the Japanese yen slumped to a fresh four-year low.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index tumbled 1% yesterday, the largest decline since February.  A more stable tone is evident in Europe, as the euro has recovered above $1.13, and the JP Morgan Index is paring yesterday's losses.  The dollar is holding just below JPY115.00.  Asia Pacific equities did not fare well.  Only China and Taiwan markets, among the large regional markets, managed to rise.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is edging higher for the sixth consecutive session.  Recall it has fallen only once since October 27.  US futures are narrowly mixed. The bond market is quiet, with the US 10-year hovering around 1.62%.  European yields are a little softer.  Gold slid below $1850 yesterday but has snapped back today to test the $1860 area.  Crude oil is heavy, with the January WTI contract around $78.80, unable to resurface above $80 amid talk that the US and China may coordinate the release of strategic holdings.  Gas prices are up another 7% in Europe today after surging 16% yesterday and 9% on Monday. Due to "unplanned maintenance," a Belarus pipeline to Poland has been shut down, which may last three days.  Iron ore prices are giving back around half of yesterday's 1.2% gain, for the third loss in four sessions.  Copper is off for a third session, losing after dropping 2.2% in the past two sessions.   Asia Pacific Japan's October trade data disappointed.  Exports and imports were weaker than expected, and this resulted in a smaller deficit. Exports slowed to 9.4% year-over-year, down from 13% in September, defying expectations for a small double-digit increase.  Imports were up 26.7% from a year ago, off the heady 38.2% pace seen in September and below the 31.8% projected.  The resulting trade deficit of JPY67.4 bln was about a fifth of what economists anticipated (Bloomberg survey).  It is the third consecutive monthly deficit.  In the first seven months of the year, Japan recorded two deficits.  A year ago, Japan recorded a JPY840 bln surplus.   Reports suggesting that the possibility that the US and China coordinate the drawdown of strategic oil reserves are light on details, but the suggestion itself is enough to weigh on prices.  Still, the International Energy Agency yesterday echoed the broad assessment of America's EIA in anticipating that the tightness of the oil market could ease shortly.   Increased output in the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia may account for half of the 1.5 mln barrel a day anticipated increase in supply. Nevertheless, the acting head of the EIA warned tapping the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve would have a short-term impact, for which other dynamics would quickly overshadow it.  Separately, note that the API estimated a slight build of 655k barrels in US stocks this past week, while gasoline inventories fell.   In other regional developments, Australia's wage price index rose a modest 0.6% in Q3 for a year-over-year pace of 2.2%.  This was in line with expectations.  It would seem to support the RBA's argument that it need not be in a hurry to raise rates.  The June 2022 T-bill yield settled last month at 69 bp and is now near 40 bp.  Separately, China appears to be allowing "high quality" property developments to return to the asset-backed securities market to raise capital after a three-month hiatus. Lastly, reports suggest Beijing is moving ahead with its import substitution plans to reduce dependency on foreign technology.    The dollar approached JPY115.00, where an option for almost $610 mln expires today.  The dollar has not traded above there since March 2017.  Since the dollar broke above JPY112.00, we have suggested that JPY114.50-JPY115.00 may mark the top of the new range.  While this has worked for the past month, the risk is on the upside.  A convincing break of around JPY115.50 would target the JPY118.00 area.  Initial support is now seen near JPY114.70.  Note that the upper Bollinger Band is slightly below JPY114.80.  The Australian dollar is trading near its lowest level since October 6, near $0.7265.  It is holding above a trendline connecting the August and September lows, which is found near $0.7250 today, but little stands in the way of a test on the $0.7200 in the coming days.  An option for a little more than A$800 mln at $0.7300 is set to expire today.  After posting a key upside reversal yesterday, the US dollar consolidated against the Chinese yuan today, and no follow-through buying materialized.  Instead, it seemed that the local market took advantage of the pop above CNY6.39 to sell the greenback, which is straddling CNY6.38 in late dealings.  The reference rate was set at CNY6.3935, just below the bank projections (CNY6.3936, according to the median in the Bloomberg survey).  We note that the yuan is also at its best level since 2015 against the trade-weighted CFETS basket the PBOC uses.   Europe On the heels of a strong employment report, the UK reported a larger than expected increase in the October CPI.  The preferred measure, which includes owner-equivalent housing costs, jumped to 3.8% from 2.9%.  The older measure rose to 4.2% from 3.1%.  On the month, consumer prices rose 1.1% rather than the 0.8% economists forecast (Bloomberg median). Flattered by increasing gas and electricity prices.  Core prices rose 3.4% year-over-year, accelerating from 2.9% in September and defying forecasts for a 3.1% pace.  Separately, producer prices, both input and output, also rose more than expected.  Lastly, UK house prices rose 11.8% year-over-year in September, up from a revised 10.2% in August.  The recent peak was 12.6% in June, which was the highest since 2004.    European gas prices are at one-month highs.  Belarus has stopped its pipeline to Poland, claiming unplanned maintenance issues, while the border tensions and earlier threats raise suspicions of a political move.  Separately, the German regulator suspended the certification process of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline as corporate assets are rearranged.  Separately, a German court yesterday dismissed an environmental challenge to the pipeline.  Lastly, we note that the virus flare-up continues in Europe, and Germany and the Czech Republic reported a record number of cases. The euro surpassed our $1.1290 Fibonacci target and did not find bids until the $1.1265 area in Asian turnover.  The single currency has been in a tight range in Europe, holding above $1.1300.  Initial resistance is seen around $1.1330 now.  A move above yesterday's high, near $1.1385, is needed to lift the tone. We suspect the near big target is closer to $1.10.  Sterling slipped to a three-day low, slightly below $1.34, but shot up to the session high near $1.3375 on the inflation news. However, the momentum was not sustained, and sterling is little changed in late morning European turnover near $1.3430. The euro briefly traded below GBP0.8400 for the first time since March 2020 but snapped back.  An 840 mln euro option at GBP0.8445 expires today and another for about 620 mln euros at GBP0.8450 expires tomorrow.   America US retail sales surged last month, and the 1.7% rise was the best since March.  After slowing in Q3, consumption is off to a strong start in Q4.  Industrial production was also much stronger than expected, rising 1.6% compared with the 0.9% gain anticipated by economists (median, Bloomberg survey).  The US reports October housing starts today, and they are expected to have recovered from the 1.6% decline seen in September. Housing starts fell in Q3 but are seen rising in Q4, encouraged by an easing of some supply chain issues.   In fact, on several fronts, there are preliminary signs that the disruptions are dissipating.  Some reports suggest that the shortage of semiconductor chips may be passed, and US auto sales rose in October for the first time in six months.  Both the EIA and IEA have forecast a more balanced oil market, and some measures of shipping costs have moderated. The Los Angeles port has reportedly reduced the number of empty containers by around a quarter this month as six new sweeper ships have been brought into operation.  In addition, we note that the re-opening of US borders means immigrant workers may begin returning.  There is still much debate, of course, on the extent that the elevated price pressures are the result of supply chain disruptions.  A report by the Bank for International Settlements estimates that without the supply problems, US inflation would be closer to 2.5% and eurozone inflation near 1.5%. President Biden is expected to make his Fed announcements in the next few days, according to reports, but it could slip into early next week.  Powell is still the favorite, and he has Treasury Secretary Yellen's in support.  Yellen warns that action is needed soon on the debt ceiling.  Her efforts may be exhausted early next month.  Lastly, San Francisco Fed President Daly opined she was more bullish on the economy than a year ago.  This seems backward to us.  A year ago, the vaccine was announced, and fiscal stimulus was anticipated after the US election. Going forward, there will be less monetary and fiscal stimulus.  The pent-up demand ("excess savings") is projected to be exhausted by early next year, and, as we have noted, the doubling of the price of oil has preceded the last three recessions in the US. We suspect that there is sufficient stimulus and need to rebuild inventories to sustain reasonably strong growth for the next few quarters, but by the second half of next year, sub-3% growth will return as the norm.  Canada reports October CPI figures today.  The headline is likely to rise to 4.7% from 4.4% in September (Bloomberg median).  However, the base effect points to a further rise this month and December, when in 2020, the CPI rose 0.1% and fell 0.2%, respectively.   The underlying core rates are also increasing.  The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada cautioned about the high degree of uncertainty around potential structural shifts in the labor market that make it challenging to gauge full employment with any degree of confidence.  He pointed to economic areas that still show slack.  The market is expecting the first hike next March/April.  Note that tomorrow, the "Three Amigos" (Biden, Trudeau, and AMLO) meet in the US amid concern that the US "Build Back Better" has strong nationalistic elements, including for electric vehicles.     The US dollar posted an outside up day against the Canadian dollar yesterday, and follow-through buying has lifted it to around CAD1.2585.  At the end of last week, the high set was slightly above CAD1.2600, which close approximates the (50%) retracement of the greenback's decline since the September 20 high near CAD1.29.  The next retracement (61.8%) is found by CAD1.2665.  Still, we expect that a firm CPI report will lend the Loonie some support.  The session low, set in late Asia, near CAD1.2540, may be protected a CAD1.2545 option for $600 mln that expires today.  The greenback is consolidating against the Mexican peso today after rallying yesterday from about MXN20.56 to nearly MXN20.85.  The high from earlier this month was near MXN20.98.  It has not been above MXN21.00 since March.  Initial support is seen around MXN20.60.   Disclaimer
COT Currency Speculator Sentiment rising for Euro & British Pound Sterling

Forex: US dollar takes the lead after the jump in inflation

Capital Capital 17.11.2021 16:01
Forex: US dollar takes the lead after the jump in inflation The US dollar rallied against all other currencies on Thursday, after US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose more than expected in October, reviving speculations about faster interest rate hikes next year.  The US Dollar index (DXY) hovers around new 52-week highs at 95.00 level, gaining 0.8% since the CPI release. US Treasury yields also rose after the inflation surprise, with a 7 basis points (bps) increase in the 2-year yield and 9 bps on the 10-year benchmark.   EUR/USD and GBP/USD both slipped by nearly 0.7% from yesterday’s midday London trading, while they edged down around 0.1% from previous close.   The Swiss franc (CHF) and the Japanese yen (JPY) have lost 0.7% of their value against the greenback since the CPI was out, while the Aussie (AUD) and the Kiwi (NZD) weakened 1.2% and 1.9% respectively.  Elsewhere, emerging market currencies sold-off after the inflation print, with the South African rand (ZAR) and the Mexican peso (MXN) both down 1.4% against the dollar, while the Turkish lira (TRY)  hit new all-time lows by weakening 1% versus the greenback.  US dollar As of writing, the US Dollar index (DXY) was last at 94.98 level, up 0.21% on the day. In October, US inflation was substantially higher than market forecasts and not only confined to COVID-related items but broad based across the main items in the index, as the cost of services is also rising. Core CPI inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 0.6% points to 4.6% on the year, well above consensus (4.3%). Core inflation in the US reached the highest level since 1991. Headline inflation rose by 0.8% points to 6.2% on the year, hitting the highest level since 1990 and again above expectations of a 5.8% year-on-year rise. Markets are now pricing in a 71% probability, up from 56.5% yesterday, Fed starts hiking interest rate in June next year. DXY technical levels: 52-week high: 95.03 52-week low: 89.212 50-day moving average: 93.59 200-day moving average: 92.08 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI): 64.83 Euro As of writing, the euro is down 0.15% from previous close versus the US dollar (EUR/USD) and flat against the British pound (EUR/GBP). Yesterday, ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said that asset purchases (QE) could end next in September or December next year, depending on the inflation dynamics. Today, ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane will speak at the 2nd joint ECB-FED New York conference, while ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel will take part at a Q&A organized by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. EUR/USD technical levels: 52-week high: 1.2349 52-week low: 1.1455 50-day moving average: 1.1662 200-day moving average: 1.1882 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI): 35.72 British pound GBP/USD is down 0.15% to 1.3532 as of writing. On the data front, UK gross domestic product (GDP) preliminary figure came in at 6.6% year-on-year in Q3 (1.3% quarter-over-quarter), disappointing market expectations by 0.2%. Manufacturing production increased 2.8% year-on-year in September, missing market forecast of 3.1%, while business investment was up 0.8% quarter-over-market in Q3, disappointing market expectations of a 2.6% increase. GBP/USD technical levels. 52-week high: 1.4248 52-week low: 1.3091 50-day moving average: 1.3684 200-day moving average: 1.3845 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI): 33.39
2 Tools Every Trader Needs: FBS Trader app & MetaTrader

2 Tools Every Trader Needs: FBS Trader app & MetaTrader

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.11.2021 10:37
MetaTrader & FBS Trader app are two essential tools that every trader should use. Don’t rely only on one, use the power of both as they suit different trader needs. In short, MetaTrader is for trading on a laptop/PC, while the FBS Trader app is perfect for mobile trading. Let’s look at how you can use them! MetaTrader When you want to use a personal computer or laptop for trading, you can choose MetaTrader 4 or 5. They are the two versions of one software program that traders use for opening orders and making an advanced technical analysis. MetaTrader offers different technical tools and allows using trading robots (expert advisors). Besides, you can use the FBS Forex broker app to manage your MetaTrader accounts and control finances. FBS Trader app If you want to trade with your mobile phone or just don’t have an opportunity to trade with a PC at the moment, the FBS Trader app is the best choice. Indeed, we can’t sit in front of our personal computers and monitor trades all day long. What to do? The solution is to have the FBS Trader app on your mobile phone and be able to open/close a trade in just one click wherever you are. It’s handy that all your active orders are gathered in a separate section. Besides, imagine that some economic news comes out that can impact your opened trades but you are not nearby your PC. It wouldn’t be a problem if you have the FBS Trader app on your phone. In addition, this app has a built-in economic calendar that allows traders to follow impactful news and analyze the charts without leaving the app. For example, the Bank of England left the rates unchanged during its meeting on November 4, while it was expected to raise them. As a result, the British pound weakened, and GBP/USD dropped. As you may notice in the chart below, you can add technical indicators in the FBS Trader app. In that case, Bollinger Bands could help a trader to confirm the bearish momentum as bands were moving in a narrow range and the price broke through the lower band. Finally, the FBS Trader app allows you to manage your funds freely without leaving the app. You can deposit and withdraw them easily in a few clicks. All in all, MetaTrader and the FBS Trader app are the perfect combination for trading. Enjoy using them!
Intraday Market Analysis – GBP To Test Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – GBP To Test Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.11.2021 10:37
GBPUSD bounces higher The pound inched higher after the UK’s inflation soared to 4.2% in October. Sentiment remains pessimistic after a botched rebound from the demand zone at 1.3420. However, an oversold RSI has attracted some buying interest. Its bullish divergence suggests a slowdown in the sell-off, prompting momentum traders to take profit and look for the next breakout. The sterling may bounce back if the bulls succeed in keeping it above 1.3380. 1.3530 would be the first hurdle. Otherwise, a bearish breakout would send the pair to 1.3200. USDCAD reaches new high The Canadian dollar fell back after the annual inflation rate matched the consensus. Following the greenback’s rally from the demand zone at 1.2300, a bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that the current rebound is picking up steam. As a sign of strong commitment, buyers were eager to keep price action above 1.2480 when the RSI flirted with the oversold area. A break above 1.2600 may trigger an extended rally towards the daily resistance at 1.2760. 1.2540 is fresh support in case of a pullback. USOIL falls through key support WTI crude tumbled after OPEC warned of supply surplus. The rally has stalled after the bulls struggled to lift offers at 85.00. On the daily timeframe, the RSI’s double top in the overbought area indicates an overextension. A break below 79.00 has led to profit-taking and put the long side under pressure. 81.60 is now a fresh resistance from the latest sell-off. The buy-side will need to achieve new highs before they could bring in momentum interest. Failing that, 75.00 is a key floor to keep price action afloat.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Copper & Bonds telegraphed the 2020 COVID collapse

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 10.12.2020 16:18
A very interesting setup in both Copper and Bonds seemed to have telegraphed the collapse in the US stock market in early 2020.  T-Bonds, which had been consolidating into a downward price channel prior to the COVID outbreak, suddenly broke through the downward price channel and started to accelerate higher. Copper, which is a fairly common commodity for building, infrastructure, and other uses, had been moving higher above a clear upward price channel, then suddenly broke lower in early 2020.  Both Bond and Copper seemed to break these price channels nearly 20+ days before the US stock markets initiated their price decline on February 24, 2020. My research team and I believe this setup is not inconsequential for technical traders. The breakdown in Copper represents a core “demand” failure, while the breakout in Bonds suggests risks are elevating. This is something we should continue to watch for in the future as Copper and Bond prices typically move before the US stock market begins to react. THE 2020 COPPER/BONDS DIVERGENCE SETUP The following Daily chart showing the setups and breakdowns/breakouts of the DOW, Copper and Bonds clearly show the early breakout in Bonds and the subsequent breakdown in Copper – nearly 20+ days before the INDU (Dow Jones Industrial Average) began to breakdown and accelerate lower. It makes sense that Bonds and a highly utilized commodity like Copper would reflect a change in demand or elevated fear just before a contagion event takes place.  Consumers, manufacturers, and builders, as well as traders and investors, were all able to see the writing on the wall in this case.  Will any future contagion event be similar?  Will Copper and Bonds react to fears and demand concerns 10 to 20+ days before the next downside price event? THE CURRENT COPPER/BONDS SETUP (STILL BULLISH) Currently, the US markets are in a bullish price phase.  We've written extensively about how the markets are experiencing an unprecedented bullish/rally phase which we believe to be a euphoric/speculative phase of the broader trend.  Still, one can't ignore the strength and momentum behind this current bullish trend and take a pessimistic view of the markets. Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report! The Current INDU, Copper, and Bonds chart, below, highlights the strength and momentum of the current bullish INDU price trend. Even though Bonds appears to be very close to the downward sloping price channel, we have yet to see a real upside price trend in Bonds which would indicate fear has started to reengage in the markets.  Additionally, Copper is trading solidly above the upward sloping price trend which suggests demand for copper is still quite strong. As long as the bullish trend continues, we would expect Bonds to continue to consolidate below the downward sloping price trend and continue to drift lower while Copper continues to stay above the upward sloping trend line suggesting demand is strong and future expectations have not changed. When and IF Bonds move above the downward sloping trend line, then we have to watch Copper very closely for a breakdown event.  If we see this take place quickly (within a 5 to 7 day window), then we need to start to prepare for a broad market decline that may happen within 10 to 15+ days of the Bonds/Copper trigger date. The arrows on the Current Chart above show you what would happen IF a new contagion event were to happen and IF the Copper/Bonds set up replicates itself.  Bonds would begin to rally, Copper would begin to decline, and about 15+ days later, the US stock market would begin to decline. Again, we believe this setup may be a good way to determine a change in expectations related to the demand for an industrial commodity (Copper) and risk levels related to debt/credit (Bonds) that may trigger a warning before the major markets change trends.  If our research is correct, and the Copper/Bonds markets react to changing expectations before the broader US stock market reacts to the change in sentiment, then this may be a very valid setup for skilled technical traders to stay ahead of the major market trends. To be clear, the markets are currently in a strongly bullish price phase.  We are not calling for a top or any type of major downside rotation based on this setup today.  We are showing you what happened prior to the 2020 breakdown and suggesting something similar may happen in the future – which may allow you to have an early warning of a major US stock market reversal in trend. Either way, a skilled technical trader will be able to find success in an uptrend or a downtrend.  Our proprietary BAN (Best Asset Now) strategy allows us to know which assets are potentially the best performers in any type of market trend.  If you want to learn more about how we can help you with our proprietary tools, strategy, and daily analysis then visit our website. Stay healthy!  
PRIMEXBT: A REVIEW

PRIMEXBT: A REVIEW

Prime XBT Prime XBT 18.11.2021 14:45
Cryptocurrency traders are always seeking to top the trading list despite the competition. Most of these crypto traders have features that place them above others. One of such is PrimeXBT. The goal of the cryptocurrency marketers is to maximize sales, assets, and profits. Some exclusive features make PrimeXBT outstanding among other cryptocurrency platforms. These features also set the trading platform as an unequaled competition. The purpose of this article is to clarify, review, and educate readers on some of the significant characteristics of PrimeXBT that are distinct to others. After reading this article, you will be able to decide whether or not to sign up on PrimeXBT. WHY PRIMEXBT PrimeXBT is a bitcoin-based trading platform. It is also an award-winning platform for excellent service and creating the best crypto trading margin. The platform offers exchanges in stock indices, commodities, forex, and cryptocurrencies with up to 1000 times leverage. Below are some of the unique qualities and benefits that PrimeXBT offers. · Registration is easy and speedy on the platform. · Hassle-free withdrawals are based on bank-grade and address whitelisting. · Reliable, technical software · Leverage up to 100 times on commodities, crypto, and stock indices. · Gold, Forex, Silver has about 1000 times leverage. · Secured and fantastic trading engine · PrimeXBT has the option to stop loss and take profit. · A demo account is available for free. · Customer service is open for all live chats 24 hours, 7 days a week. · Learning materials are also available. · The trading platform has updated and new tools for crypto trade. The above-mentioned characteristics and factors make PrimeXBT a highly recommendable trading platform for new crypto traders. All these benefits also make the PrimeXBT attractive, satisfactory, reliable, and remarkable for experienced crypto traders. HOW TO GET STARTED PrimeXBT has the simplest registration process. Registration on PrimeXBT is easy and fast. You will be required only to give a valid email address and your country of residence. From there, you would be asked to proceed to confirm your email address. You will need to have a username and a secret code to enable you to log in another time. Once you have completed the registration process, you can proceed to make your initial deposit. HOW TO MAKE DEPOSITS PrimeXBT only allows payments to a BTC address. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency for all registered accounts. The minimum deposit fee is 0.01 Bitcoin. Another means of the deposit is through a third-party channel called Changelly. All BTC deposits are immediately confirmed and converted to funds. You must transfer funds to your trading account upon deposit. Funds in the trading account will help you to save some capital separately for trading purposes. This is different from what you have in the trading account for margin. HOW TO MAKE WITHDRAWALS All withdrawals on PrimeXBT are processed once daily. Making withdrawal on PrimeXBT is also a simple process like the deposit. The system converts the Bitcoins to funds before you cash out. After that, the funds go to another BTC address. You may lose funds if you send them to other cryptocurrency exchange different from Bitcoin. The withdrawal window processes all withdrawals at once in a day on PrimeXBT. So, all pending withdrawals will wait until the rollover period. They will join the queue until the next rollover. All the payments from the platform are also officially addressed to the BTC addresses. TRADING ON PRIMEXBT Trading on PrimeXBT is subject to customers' preferences. The trading terminals are developed with excellent built-in software. They have a good number of trading indicators that include SAR, RSI, Ichimoku, and Parabolic, among others. All trading terminals are customized to suit the traders' satisfaction. The trading terminal has a good number of widgets like watch lists and charts. The reliability of the trading engine accounts to about 99.9%, which is known to be fast and error-free. Traders are positioned to enjoy maximum profit irrespective of market turnout. Traders can increase their profits and reduce all risks with the stop loss and take profit orders available on the platform. ASSETS There are about 50 distinctive traditional and digital assets that PrimeXBT offers. These assets create several means of making a profit on PrimeXBT, unlike other rival trading platforms. They include: · Different cryptocurrencies. For example, Bitcoin, Ripple, and Etherum. · Valuable metals. Gold and Silver. · Commodities. WTI Crude Oil, Natural gas, Brent. · Stock Indices and CFDs. Examples are ASX 200, S&P 500, and DAX 30. · Forex currencies. Like AUD, USD, JPY, etc. Considering the cryptocurrency trading market, PrimeXBT has the most attractive and exceptional value assets. REFERRAL Referrals on the platform also generate commissions for traders. Traders who refer customers to the site can generate up to 50 BTC. Traders who are on the leaderboard of the referral chain can even generate over 50 BTC. As the referral increases, the commission increases as well. The referral level and commission grow as each referred trader refer to other traders the platform. The trader who makes the first referral can benefit up to four levels of commission based on the growth of the chain. PrimeXBT also uses CPA offers for its traders. A trader can also enjoy ambassador relationships and personal customer agents as they continue to refer more clients to the platform. CUSTOMER CARE Through an online chat on a daily and weekly basis, customer service agents are available on PrimeXBT. They also give other help center guides, regular updates, and information through their blog. PrimeXBT also has social media platforms that are open to receiving customers' complaints and requests. The customer care representatives are trained and prepared to give any assistance needed to use the platform. SECURITY A secured transaction is one priority of PrimeXBT, which is why they take extensive measures to prevent the security threat of any trading account. PrimeXBT uses Cloudflare technology to ensure the security of all trading on its platforms. All withdrawal accounts are whitelisted and encrypted. The accounts are protected with two-step authentication. One way to test the security level of PrimeXBT is that no personal information is required. The simple step to register is to supply a valid email address, country of residence, create a username, and create a password. TURBO The company recently introduced a new and fantastic trading tool called Turbo. It is also a BTC trading platform with a slight difference from Prime XBT. Turbo works for short-term and synthetic Bitcoin transactions. Traders can select and book for any contract from 30 seconds, a minute or five minutes UP, and DOWN contract. They also order either a profit or loss contract with the new Turbo tool. This new tool is an innovative and exciting trend that makes PrimeXBT unrivaled. CONCLUSION PrimeXBT has won several awards like the ADVFN as the Best Bitcoin Margin Trading Platform. The platform also provides highly competitive features for its traders.  All these are summed in the extremely-fast registration process, rewarding tools, and a wide selection of modern and conventional assets.  If you are keen and concerned about secured and reliable cryptocurrency trade, PrimeXBT is a recommendation for you. PrimeXBT has the best, fast, and profitable assets and cryptocurrency trading. Study all the training tools available and register a free trading account on PrimeXBT to get started.
Agriculture rally resumes led by coffee, wheat and sugar

Agriculture rally resumes led by coffee, wheat and sugar

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 18.11.2021 16:35
Summary:  The cost of your breakfast and food in general continues to rise, and following a few months of sideways trading, the Bloomberg Agriculture index, which tracks a basket of major food commodity futures, reached a fresh five-year high this week. Apart from troubled weather reducing available supply there are several other reasons playing a their part and in this update we take a look at some of those, including the reasons why coffee and wheat are two of the hottest food commodities this year. The cost of your breakfast and food in general continues to rise, and following a few months of sideways trading, the Bloomberg Agriculture index, which tracks a basket of major food commodity futures, reached a fresh five-year high this week. The table below shows the commodities with the biggest impact this year has been led by coffee, edible oils, wheat and sugar. There are individual reasons behind the strong gains, but what they all have in common has been a troubled weather year, a post pandemic jump in demand leading to widespread supply chains disruptions and more recently rising production costs via surging fertilizer prices and rising cost of fuels, such as diesel. The La Ninã weather pattern which can lead to floods, drought and cooler temperatures around the world returned to haunt producers this year, and recent forecasts say it will prevail through the coming northern hemisphere winter. In large swathes of South America and parts of North America a La Ninã is normally accompanied by drought, whereas in Australia and parts of Southeast Asia it is often resulting in heavy rainfall. Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed during the past few months as a result of soaring natural gas prices which have forced some European production plants to halt or reduce production. Fertilizer indices tracking prices in North America and Western Europe both trades more than 200% above their five-year averages. The surge has raised concerns farmers may reduce their usage of fertilizers or shift more acres into crops that require less nutrients. A drop in yields could drive prices even higher, thereby worsening already strong food inflation. Supply chain problems/disruptions: We are all familiar with stories about port congestion, lack of containers and surging prices on all the major routes around the world, especially from the production hub in Asia to major ports in Europe and the U.S. These problems began as a result of the pandemic which initially drove a major amount of order cancellations before the world a few months later went on a massive spending spree for consumer goods as the service sector grinded to a halt. These developments together with port disruptions due to continued Covid outbreaks helped trigger disruptions that to this day continue to cause problems for shippers of goods, including many of the food commodities that are transported in special containers. Arabica coffee trades at a nine-year high at $2.38 per pound with the supply outlook looking increasingly tight following an annus horribilis in Brazil where frost and drought dealt a blow to the 2021 crop. In addition to weather, the market also had to deal with lack of shipments and high container rates, surging fertilizer prices and roasters in Europe struggling to source supplies from alternative producers in Columbia and Vietnam. If that wasn’t enough, there is now also a growing risk of civil war in Ethiopia, the world’s third biggest grower of the Arabica bean. What may prove to be even worse over the coming months is that the flowering, or lack of, for the 2022 on-season crop is pointing to another low production year. The break above $2.25, the 2014 high may signal a market running towards $3, a record level that was last seen in 2011. Wheat: From a global food security perspective, the ongoing rally in global wheat prices is an even bigger concern. This week we have seen Chicago wheat futures climb to their highest level in nine years, while here in Europe, the benchmark Paris Milling Wheat contract trades just below €300 per tons, its highest price ever. Just like coffee, weather worries are the main driver, following a poor harvest in North America together with a year-on-year decline in exports from Russia, the world’s largest shipper. These developments have triggered increased demand for European sourced wheat, and with the prospect of another potentially challenging crop year in 2022 caused by weather and high fertilizer costs, some of the major importers have recently been stepping up their pace of purchase in order to cool local food prices, and to secure supplies ahead of winter. With buyers increasingly competing for supplies the market will look for some relief from the upcoming and promise-looking harvests in Argentina and Australia, taking place from now until January. One of the most actively traded ETF tracking the agriculture sector, the Invesco DB Agriculture Fund, broke higher last week to reach a four-year high. The index tracks the performance of 11 major futures markets spread across grains, softs and livestock. Source: Saxo Group
Like Clockwork

Like Clockwork

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.11.2021 15:44
S&P 500 took a little breather, and sideways trading with a bullish slant goes on unchecked. Credit markets have partially turned, and I‘m looking for some risk appetite returning to HYG and VTV. Any modest improvement in market breadth would thus underpin stocks, and not even my narrow overnight downswing target of yesterday may be triggered. The banking sector is internally strong and resilient, which makes the bulls the more favored party than if judged by looking at the index price action only. Consumer discretionaries outperformance of staples confirms that too. When it comes to gold and silver: (…) Faced with the dog and pony debt ceiling show, precious metals dips are being bought – and relatively swiftly. What I‘m still looking for to kick in to a greater degree than resilience to selling attempts, is the commodities upswing that would help base metals and energy higher. These bull runs are far from over – it ain‘t frothy at the moment as the comparison of several oil stocks reveals. Precious metals dip has been swiftly reversed, and it‘s just oil and copper that can cause short-term wrinkles. Both downswings look as seriously overdone, and more of a reaction to resilient dollar than anything else. In this light, gold and silver surge is presaging renewed commodities run, which is waiting for the greenback to roll over (first). And that looks tied to fresh debt issuance and debt ceiling resolution – Dec is almost knocking on the door while inflation expectations are about to remain very elevated. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls continue holding the upper hand, and yesterday‘s rising volume isn‘t a problem in the least. Dips remain to be bought, and it‘s all a question of entry point and holding period. Credit Markets Credit markets stabilization is approaching, and yields don‘t look to be holding S&P 500, Russell 2000 or emerging markets down for too long. Especially the EEM performance highlights upcoming dollar woes. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver decline was promptly reversed, and the lower volume isn‘t an immediate problem – it merely warns of a little more, mostly sideways consolidation before another push higher. PMs bull run is on! Crude Oil Crude oil bulls could very well be capitulating here – yesterday‘s downswing was exaggerated any way examined. Better days in oil are closer than generally appreciated. Copper The copper setback got likewise extended, and the underperformance of both CRB Index and other base metals is a warning sign. One that I‘m not taking as seriously – the red metal is likely to reverse higher, and start performing along the lines of other commodities. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bears may be slowing down here, but I wouldn‘t be surprised if the selling wasn‘t yet over. We‘re pausing at the moment, and in no way topping out. Summary S&P 500 bulls keep banishing the shallow correction risks, leveling the very short-term playing field. The credit markets non-confirmation is probably in its latter stages, and stock market internals favor the slow grind higher to continue. Precious metals remain my top pick over the coming weeks, and these would be followed by commodities once the dollar truly stalls. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Euro Bounces Back, but The Turkish Lira Remains Unloved

Euro Bounces Back, but The Turkish Lira Remains Unloved

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 18.11.2021 15:17
Overview:  The US dollar's sharp upside momentum stalled yesterday near JPY115 and after the euro met (and surpassed) a key retracement level slightly below $1.1300.  Led by the Antipodean currencies today, the greenback is mostly trading with a heavier bias.  Among the majors, helped by a steadying of US yields, the yen is soft.  In the emerging market space, the Turkish lira continues its headlong plunge while the yuan softened and the Mexican peso is off.  Hungary's central bank surprised with a 70 bp hike in the one-week deposit rate.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is posting a small gain through the European morning.  Disappointing tech results in China (Baidu and Bilibili) weighed on Chinese shares, but most markets in the region fell but Australia and Taiwan.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is struggling to extend the six-day advance.  US futures are also a little firmer.  After yesterday's four basis point pullback, the US 10-year yield is little changed near 1.58%.  European yields are 1-2 bp lower.  Gold remains within Tuesday's range (~$1850-$1877), but the moment seen earlier last week has faded, and the yellow metal is trading choppily in a consolidative phase.  The prospect of a coordinated sale of oil after China's announced it would tap its reserves for the second time saw the January WTI contract fall to $76.45, its lowest level since early October. Still, the price has stabilized in the European morning around $77 a barrel.  The benchmark European natural gas contract (Netherlands) has extended yesterday's pullback.  It settled a little below 75 euros last week, and after two days of declines, it is above 92 euros.  Iron ore is also falling for a second session and is now lower on the week.  Note that it settled October a little above $104 and is now around $86.40. Copper is lower for the fourth consecutive session.  It is trading around $424, off $20.5 this week.   Asia Pacific  Japan is expected to unveil the much-awaited supplemental budget tomorrow.  Prime Minister Kishida will get one bite of the proverbial apple, and he is expected to go big.  Talk of the size of the overall package has risen in recent days.  The Nikkei seemed to suggest a JPY79 trillion (~$690 bln) effort, while others report something on the magnitude of JPY56 trillion.  Still, it is recognized that part of the budget will include funds that were earmarked under previous budgets, which have not been spent.  The clear water is seen around JPY32 trillion.  Japan is one of the few countries that will provide new fiscal support.   New Zealand's central bank meets next week.  It is widely expected to hike rates for the second time in the cycle.   The swaps market has 200 bp of tightening priced in for the next 12 months.  The cash rate stands at 50 bp.  Earlier today, the central bank reported that the two-year inflation expectations (business survey)  rose to 2.96% in Q4 from 2.27% in Q3.  It is the highest in a decade.  The one-year expectation rose to 3.7% from 3.02%.  Still, with other countries slower to raise rates, a 50 bp move may not be necessary.  The Kiwi rose almost 4% last month and has given back nearly half so far in November.  Separately, the Philippines and Indonesia central banks met and left rates steady as expected.   The dollar posted a key reversal against the yen yesterday.  It made a new high for the move, a few pips below JPY115.00, and proceeded to sell-off and close (slightly) below Tuesday's low.  However, follow-through selling has been limited, and the greenback is trading firmly but may be absorbing sales related to the $1.34 bln in options in the JPY114.20-JPY114.25 area that expire today.  The Australian dollar initially extended its losses to almost $0.7250, where a A$575 mln option expires today. However, since early in the Asian session, it has posted corrective upticks and looks set to challenge yesterday's high and five-day moving average a little above $0.7300.   The Chinese yuan appears to have begun consolidating.  It remains in the range set on Tuesday that saw the dollar trade roughly between CNY6.3670 and CNY6.3965.  The small gain is the third this week.  The PBOC fix was at CNY6.3803, a bit firmer compared with expectations (CNY6.3786 in the Bloomberg survey) than seen recently.  Note that there is a $1 bln option at CNY6.3830 that expires today.   Europe The auto industry in Europe remained under pressure last month, though the US reported its first increase in sales in six months.  New car registration in Europe, including the UK, is a proxy for sales.  They tumbled by slightly more than 30% year-over-year in October.  This is considerably weaker than expected and is the poorest since May 2020.  The shortage of semiconductors is the likely culprit, and there are some signs of improvement.  The EC will propose modest tweaks in rules about how funds outside of its borders (UK) can be managed while avoiding more dramatic changes.   Draft proposals call for at least two full-time senior managers in the EU and for regulators to be notified when most of their assets are managed outside the EU.  These seem quite minor and unlikely to disrupt the UK fund business.  Earlier this month, the EU Commissioner for Financial Services indicated that temporary waivers would be granted to allow EU banks and money managers to clear trades in the UK. Meanwhile, the dispute over fishing appears to be worsening (Denmark complaining, not just France), and the UK continues to threaten to invoke Article 16.  Former Prime Minister Blair says he will propose a solution to the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol in the coming days.  Hungary delivered a 30 bp hike in the base rate earlier this week, which now stands at 2.10%.  It warned that it could make a separate decision on its one-week deposit rate.  It did so today, hiking it 70 bp to 2.50%.  It is a hawkish move that sent the forint higher.  Separately, as widely expected, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey cut the one-week repo rate 100 bps to 15%. As a result, the lira is weaker for the eighth consecutive session.  The lira's weakness not only fuels inflation but also will challenge companies and banks with foreign exchange exposure.  The dollar finished last month near TRY9.60 and after the rate hike, pushed above TRY10.97 before stabilizing.   The euro overshot the (61.8%) retracement target of the rally that took it from near $1.0640 in March 2020 to high on January 6, around $1.2350.  That retracement target was about $1.1290, and the euro fell to around $1.1265 yesterday. It recovered to new session highs early in North America yesterday (~$1.1330), leaving bullish hammer candlestick, and follow-through buying lifted it to $1.1345 today.  The combination of higher inflation and stronger retail sales this week have helped sterling to recover.  It had traded near $1.3350 at the end of last week and has barely traded below $1.34 this week.  Indeed, sterling is rising today for the fifth consecutive session, the longest advance in nearly seven months.  It poked above $1.35, where an option for about GBP345 mln will expire today.  A convincing move above $1.3515 could signal another cent advance.  The euro slipped to below GBP0.8385 today before recovering.  It is testing the GBP0.8400, which holds options for 1.1 bln euros that also expires today.   America Leave aside the gaffes by President Biden over Taiwan.  Bloomberg counts four such verbal blunders that have required official walk back or explanation or clarification.  Reports indicate that Biden probed Xi about oil sales.  China has intervened in the commodities (industrial metals) and crude oil market recently.  Today it indicated it will provide more oil from its strategic reserves.  The September is action 7.1 mln barrels, according to reports, and privately sold more.  It is unclear whether today's sales were planned or grew out of the "virtual summit."  Still, it puts the ball back into the US court.  If the US does not sell or lend oil from its strategic reserves, it will look bad after China's move.  On the other hand, its own agency (EIA) projects that it may not be needed as oil will be in oversupply shortly.  Moreover, the pain for consumers is coming from gasoline prices, not oil per se.  Drawing down strategic reserves may not help the gasoline market.  Apparently, Japan has been approached by the US about coordinating the release of oil, though Europe was not.  The US reports weekly initial jobless claims today.  They have fallen for six consecutive weeks, and at 267k, it is the lowest since the pandemic struck.   That said, at the end of 2019, there were below 220k.  The Philadelphia and Kansas City Feds publish their November survey results.  Both surprised last month, with the former on the downside and the latter on the upside.  This time it may be the other way around, with the Philly survey showing strength and the KC survey softer.  Canada reports its monthly portfolio flow data ahead of tomorrow's retail sales report.  Mexico and Brazil have light economic calendars.   Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau and Mexico's President AMLO visit Washington today for the North America's Leaders Summit.  There is tension among the "three amigos."  The Build Back Better US initiative contains several elements that favor American producers. A key one is that substantial tax break for Americans buying electric vehicles if they are made in the US.  This would seem to put Canada and Mexico at a disadvantage, given the integration of the auto sector on a continental basis. Mexico and Canada are also concerned that the Biden Administration's interpretation of the domestic content requirement in the USMCA treaty is also narrow and puts them at a disadvantage.   Canada is also concerned about the pipelines after Biden nixed the Keystone Pipeline in one of his first acts in office, and the Line 5 pipeline is being challenged by Michigan.  The US, and to a less extent, Canada, is worried about the efforts by AMLO to increase the power of the state sector energy companies (oil and electricity), deterring private sector efforts.  The US may try pressing against this on environmental grounds.  Climate and immigration are reportedly on the top of today's agenda.  The US dollar reversed higher against the Canadian dollar on Tuesday, posting an outside up day.  Follow-through buying yesterday lifted the greenback a little above CAD1.2620.  It ticked ever so slightly higher today but has come back offered.  Support is seen in the CAD1.2555-CAD1.2575 area.  The $1.04 bln option at CAD1.25 that expires today is too far away to be impactful. Meanwhile, the US dollar remains within Tuesday's range against the Mexican peso (~MXN20.56-MXN20.85).  This range looks set to hold today.   Disclaimer
A GUIDE TO PRIMEXBT VERSION 2.0

A GUIDE TO PRIMEXBT VERSION 2.0

Prime XBT Prime XBT 18.11.2021 17:27
 Just recently, PrimeXBT released an upgraded version, called the V2.0. This version brought about nothing short of a revolution to the trading platform, including greater access to the platform, improved interface, and enhanced visuals. V2.0 also supports Ethereum (ETH) and digital currency-based margin accounts. This is a guide to everything you should know about PrimeXBT V2.0, and all the upgrades you find on this trading platform, including the USDT, USDC, and ETH margin accounts. INTRODUCTION TO PRIMEXBT V2.0 When you visit PrimeXBT's website, you will get a welcome message if it is your first visit since the upgrade. Do a quick read of the new additions and features noted in the text. The dashboard, which has been upgraded and reorganized, consists of the main account from where you can view your margin accounts, Covesting details, available wallets, account followings, and other relevant details. VERSION 2.O MAIN PAGE AT A GLANCE You have all relevant information immediately you hit the main page, including how to make a withdrawal, deposit, or check your balance.  From the main page, you can deposit funds, make withdrawals, monitor your balance, and do so much more. You can also set up a different account for ETH, USDT, and BTC right from the main page. Funding your account is swift and easy; it starts by depositing funds to all your crypto addresses connected to your dashboard. The next step is to move your crypto deposit from your wallet to all the margin accounts you want to send it. INTRODUCING NEW FEATURES: USDT, USDC, AND ETH ACCOUNTS AND CURRENCIES Do you know what's hot? It is a fact that users now have more options apart from the Bitcoin margin trading that makes PrimeXBT famous. Once you're logged in, you can trade using new currencies like USD Coin, Ethereum, or Tether. PrimeXBT has everything in place for smooth operations as the upgrades and additions are well integrated into the accounts, site infrastructure, and trading engine. New Signings to PrimeXBT can enjoy all these features when they set up a free account and begin trading with little deposit. A GUIDE TO TRADING WITHIN MARGIN ACCOUNTS ON PRIMEXBT V2.0 With V2.0, you can trade with separate account details for each of your margin accounts. You can also trade with any CFD available on PrimeXBT V2.0., including stock indices, forex, commodities, crypto, and about 46 others.   BREEZE THROUGH ACCOUNTING AND TAX REPORTING WITH THE NEWLY-ADDED REPORTS SECTION A visit to the report section newly added to the V2.0 PrimeXBT website holds in-depth account information, including transaction history, basic account details, and movement of funds. All these features will make it easier to keep up with tax and other accounting activities. GET NEW USERS TO PRIMEXBT AND GET REFERRAL BONUSES WITH NEW CURRENCIES  If you have been referring users to PrimeXBT or you have plans of starting, there's a currency tweak you should know. The referral site has undergone some updates, particularly the addition of those new currencies. When you refer a person to PrimeXBT, you will receive your commission in the trading currency that the new user chooses to use in their trade. You can share PrimeXBT referral links on social media groups and amongst friends and family. If you leverage these links, you can get more revenue apart from your trading profit. You can get as much as 20% on commission when you leverage PrimeXBT's referral system. V 2.0 COVESTING COPY TRADING GOT REALLY SMOOTH If any section was left out of the upgrade, it wasn't the covesting module, which got upgraded to support USDT, ETH, and USDC, alongside the exiting Bitcoin trading currencies. PrimeXBT's copy trading system brings strategy managers and followers together for a profitable trading operation and mutual profitability. Followers can copy the trades of strategy managers, helping them to earn more. In return, followers will give a percentage of their earnings to the strategy managers that helped them trade successfully. This interaction has helped both followers and top traders to earn millions trading on PrimeXBT. The platform's ranking system showcases every trader and their rankings on the global leaderboard, alongside their trade profits, losses, wins, and other relevant information. You will also find a 5-star rating system for trades. With the introduction of PrimeXBT V2.0, followers and strategy managers can carry out their interactions with any of the new and existing currencies (USDC, ETH, USDT, and BTC).  Finally, on Covesting copy trading, we find the COV utility token that traders can explore to get more benefits from the copy trading module. BLOG, TURBO, CUSTOMER SUPPORT, AND MORE FROM PRIMEXBT  On PrimeXBT you can leverage Turbo for better positioning in the trade market, and access market information, news, and the company offers on the official blog. Many guides and articles exist on the company blog to guide traders, offer trading tips, and answer relevant questions. TradingView integration offers an analysis of trading strategies, risk assessment, and management, etc. PrimeXBT has 24-hour live customer support with helpful staff available to answer your questions and offer their help. The help center also has a lot of tutorials and helpful materials. PrimeXBT is solid and secure; with bank-level security and infrastructure, accounts have address whitelisting and two-factor verification. Since its creation, the platform has not been a victim of hacking, thanks to the secure wall structure. With a near 100% uptime, there's little wonder why PrimeXBT keeps receiving excellence awards. V2.0: MINIMUM RISK, HIGHER SUCCESS WITH STABLECOINS AND ADVANCED TOOLS PrimeXBT V2.0's advanced trading tools contain everything traders need to minimize risk and trade successfully. Capitals are protected by top industry slippage and stop-loss orders. Opportunities don't get any higher than this with leverage and diverse market access. With the new USDC and USDT, traders are safe from the possibility of base currency account volatility that is common with Ethereum and Bitcoin. Many users requested this upgrade, and PrimeXBT V2.0 provided it, with many more features. Traders are set for a complete trading experience within one platform with all these tools. PRIMEXBT IS THE BEST PLATFORM TO TRADE CFDs  If the awards and user reviews have not won you over yet, the PrimeXBT V2.0 should do it.  What do you say to trade on a renowned platform and leveraging the most advanced tools to trade with USDT, BTC, ETH, and USDC for margin accounts? 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It’s the most important job in finance...

It’s the most important job in finance...

Chris Weston Chris Weston 19.11.2021 08:03
It’s the most important job in finance, but the focus falls on whether Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed Chair expires in Feb 2022, is reappointed or whether he is replaced by Lael Brainard, or perhaps even Raphael Bostic. The earlier talk was this decision was slated before Thanksgiving (25 Nov), but the WSJ reported this week that the nomination could be announced over this weekend. The question then of gapping risk for the Monday open is one traders should consider. As the well-used term goes, markets hate uncertainty – and a Brainard appointment, at a time of impending monetary policy change, represents a small rise in uncertainty that many in the market could do without – well, except for those who like volatility which is most short-term traders. A wild December Still, my base case is we are headed into a period of higher volatility regardless, with a wild December ahead of us. Where we see the US Treasury exhausting measures by mid-December and the US debt ceiling potentially becoming problematic, just as the FOMC meeting (16 Dec) sees the central bank likely announce they are accelerating the pace of tapering from $15b to $20-$25b. Expectations of volatility from the Fed meeting should increase after the Nov non-farm payrolls (4 Dec) and then the Nov CPI print (11 Dec) – the latter a genuinely market-moving event. With the Fed due to ramp up the pace of tapering and potentially closing out its QE program far earlier than prior calls for mid-2022, it sets us up for the Fed to start hiking in July or August. The markets currently price just over two hikes over the coming 12 months. Is this the time to change captain? The concern the market naturally holds then is whether this is really the time to be changing the captain of the ship when we’re charging towards choppy waters? And, if the public have such great disdain for inflation - and US inflation is only getting hotter - why replace Powell with someone who most know is slightly more dovish? Brainard, in some market participants minds, could further slow the reaction function of the Fed and rising talk of the Fed being “behind the curve” could see volatility rise. OK, we know Brainard is a Democrat, and we know she is genuine Fed chair material, but when inflation is probably the number one point of contention and the Mid-term elections is in our sights, surely it makes little sense to allow inflation to run even hotter. A Brainard appointment may change the focus to one where the employment mandate is aimed at a greater inclusion – so, despite the headline employment rate headed to 4% in Q1 22, there could be a shift towards more targeted groups and at a simplistic level that could mean keeping rates lower for longer. In some eyes, when inflation is running hot, not just through supply-side issues, but through demand and wages, then rates simply need to go higher, and Powell is more likely to address this sooner. I am not so sure I share the market’s concerns, and I feel Brainard would be no less dovish than Powell, but this is a widely held view in certain circles. Betting sites have Powell as the firm favourite We can see the odds of Brainard getting the gig have beefed up after what was seen as a very positive meeting with the President recently. And we know there have been calls for change at the helm given the recent spate of controversial trading cases at the Fed. While progressives want tougher financial regulation and a Fed that can use policy to address climate change. Despite Brainard’s odds increasing, the market is clearly leaning that Powell gets a second term, and for what it’s worth, I think he should get the gig. The betting markets have Powell as chair at 76% (69% on Predicit) and that is fair, but there is a non-immaterial chance that we do see Biden nominate Brainard, so it certainly needs monitoring. If Lael Brainard does get nominated then the first place to look is short-term US Treasuries, and I’d expect 2-year yields to fall 3-4bp. If yields drop then the USD should follow, especially vs higher beta plays (AUD, NZD, MXN), while we may see some selling in US500 and US2000, with outperformance seen in the NAS100. Gold would probably find buyers and may even take out the recent highs of $1870. Given recent moves in rates and the bull move in USD, I’d argue the market is strongly leaning on a Powell reappointment, so news of him getting the gig may cause limited moves on open – if we do indeed see it announced this weekend. Still, it’s a risk to monitor – but the real issue remains to navigate the event risk in December in what is typically a period of lower participation.
Monthly Macro Outlook: The transitory narrative continues to fall apart

Monthly Macro Outlook: The transitory narrative continues to fall apart

Christopher Dembik Christopher Dembik 19.11.2021 09:25
Summary:  The economist consensus anticipates inflation will start falling from early next year. We disagree. We consider the market to be too complacent regarding upside risks to the inflation outlook. The great awakening of workers and the steady rent increase (for the United States) are two of the factors which are likely to maintain inflation uncomfortably high into 2022, in our view. October CPI figures released earlier this week confirm that inflationary pressures may last longer than initially expected. Inflation reached levels which have not been seen for decades in the United Kingdom (+4.2% YoY), in the eurozone (+4.1% YoY) and in Canada (+4.7% YoY). In Canada, the jump in inflation is the strongest recorded in 18 years. For now, investors are confident. They believe the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank’s narrative that inflation will start to fall from early next year. This is far from certain, in our view. From supply chain bottlenecks to energy prices, everything suggests that inflationary pressures are far from over. Expect energy prices to continue increasing as temperatures will drop in Europe from next week onwards. This will weigh on November CPI data which will be released next month. The peak in inflation has not been reached. We fear investors are too complacent regarding upside risks to the inflation outlook. Every economic theory says inflation will be above 2% next year : ·         The Phillips curve is alive and well : workers are demanding higher salaries, amongst other advantages and their expectations are rising. ·         Monetarism : the global economy is characterized by large deposits, desire to spend and to convert cash into real assets. ·         Commitment approach : the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central bank (ECB) have a dovish bias. This is confirmed by their new inflation strategy (symmetric 2% inflation target over the medium term for the ECB and inflation of 2% over the longer run for the Fed). ·         Fiscal approach : high public debt and fiscal dominance (central banks need to remain dominant market players in the bond market to avoid a sharp increase in interest rates). ·         Supply-side approach : supply bottlenecks due to the zero Covid policy in China and central banks’ trade off higher inflation for a speedier economic recovery (the ECB especially). ·         Green transition : this is basically a tax on consumers. What has changed ? The wage-price spiral has started. In countries where the labor market is tight, workers are asking for higher salaries. In the United States, the manufacturer John Deere increased salaries significantly : +10% this year and +5% in 2023 and in 2025. It also agreed to a 3% bonus on even years to all employees, for instance. But this is happening in countries where the unemployment rate is high too. In France, the unemployment rate is falling. But it remains comparatively elevated at 7.6% in the third quarter. Earlier this week, the French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, called for higher salaries in the hospitality industry. A survey by the public investment bank BPI and the pro-business institute Rexecode show that 26% of small and medium companies are forced to propose higher salaries to find employees. Those which are reluctant choose to reduce business activity. The pandemic has fueled a great awakening of workers, in our view. They are demanding more : better job conditions, higher wages, more flexibility and purpose from work. This is more noticeable in countries facing labor shortage. But it is also visible in all the other developed economies to a variable extent.   U.S. steady rent increase is a game-changer. Until now, supply bottlenecks were the main driver behind the jump in prices. Now, housing costs (which represent about a third of living cost) and prices in the service sector are accelerating too. The rental market is tight, with low vacancy rates and a limited stock of available rentals. Expect rents to move upward in the coming months. According to official figures, owner’s equivalent rent, a measure of what homeowners believe their properties would rent for, rose 3.1% YoY in October. This certainly underestimates the real evolution of rents. Based on data reported by real estate agents at national level, the increase is between 7% and 15% YoY. All in all, this reinforces the view that inflationary pressures are proving more persistent than expected. The moment of truth : Expect investors not to question much the official narrative that inflation is transitory, for now. But if inflation does not decrease from 2022 onwards, investors will have to adjust their portfolio to an environment of more persistent inflation than initially anticipated. This may lead to market turmoil. In the interim, enjoy the Santa Claus rally which has started very early this year. The new inflation regime in the United States
Intraday Market Analysis – USD In Pullback Mode

Intraday Market Analysis – USD In Pullback Mode

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.11.2021 09:15
USDCHF seeks support The US dollar stalled after weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected. The pair’s attempt above the daily resistance at 0.9310 suggests that the bulls may have gained the upper hand. Intraday buyers’ profit-taking led by the RSI’s overbought situation has caused a limited pullback. Buyers may see dips as an opportunity to get in at a discount. Bids could be around the resistance-turned-support at 0.9235. 0.9330 is a fresh resistance. And its breach may trigger an extended rally towards last April’s peak at 0.9450. NZDUSD bounces off demand area The New Zealand dollar inches higher as traders are positioning for an RBNZ rate hike next week. From the daily chart’s perspective, the pair has bounced off the demand zone near the psychological level of 0.7000. A bullish RSI divergence indicates a slowdown in the bearish momentum, a sign that sentiment could be turning around. An oversold RSI has attracted buying interest. A rally above 0.7060 would prompt sellers to cover, paving the way for a recovery towards 0.7175. A break below 0.6980 may drive the kiwi to 0.6900. US30 struggles to rally back The Dow Jones is under pressure as investors fear that inflation could choke off economic recovery. The index has been struggling to reclaim the landmark 36000, which coincides with the 20-day moving average. The faded rebound suggests exhaustion after a month-long breakneck rally. The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area has attracted buying interest. Though buyers may stay cautious unless the first resistance at 36180 is lifted. On the downside, the previous peak at 35500 has turned into the next support.
Covid Wave Knocks Euro Down and to new 6-year Lows Against the Swiss Franc

Covid Wave Knocks Euro Down and to new 6-year Lows Against the Swiss Franc

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 19.11.2021 13:58
Overview:  Concerns about the virus surge in Europe cut short the euro's bounce and sent it back below $1.1300 and are also weighing on central European currencies, including the Hungarian forint, despite yesterday's aggressive hike of the one-week deposit rate.  Austria has reintroduced a hard 20-day lockdown.  Germany's health minister warned that the situation deteriorated and vaccines were not enough to break the wave.  He was explicit that a lockdown cannot be ruled out.  The US dollar is trading broadly higher.  Only the yen is resilient on the day, but sterling is the only major currency that has edged higher this week.  The Scandis and euro are off more than 1%.  Speculation that Turkey may announce measures over the weekend to stabilize the lira may be helping to deter new sales today after yesterday's rout.  In the nine-day drop through today, it is depreciated by almost 15%.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is off for the fourth consecutive session to bring this week's loss to more than 2%, the most in five months.  Equities do not know of the consternation in the foreign exchange market.  Disappointing Alibaba results weighed on the Hang Seng (~-1%), while most other large regional bourses but Taiwan and India closed the week on an up note.   Europe's Stoxx 600 snapped a six-day advance yesterday. It was only the second loss since October.  It began firmer today but has reversed lower, putting at risk the six-week rally.   US futures are mixed, with the NASDAQ outperforming.  Bond markets are in rally mode as well.   The US 10-year yield is off three basis points to approach the week's low near 1.53%.  European bonds are off mostly 3-5 basis points, even in the UK, where retail sales surprised on the upside.  Gold is steady, finding support near $1850.  Oil initially extended yesterday's recovery but is reversing lower, leaving the January WTI contract set to test yesterday's low near $76.45.  This is the fourth consecutive weekly fall in crude oil.  European natural gas (Netherlands benchmark) is off 4.4% today, the third drop in a row, and pares the week's gain to almost 19%.  In Singapore, iron ore prices jumped 5.7% to break a five-week slide that saw prices tumble by about 28%.   Copper is firmer and paring this week's loss to around 2%.   Asia Pacific There were two developments in Japan to note.  First, October CPI was largely in line with expectations.  Surging gasoline prices (seven-year highs) helped keep the headline rate positive for the second month (0.1% year-over-year).  Excluding fresh food, the core rate was steady at 0.1%.  However, the deflationary forces are evident when fresh food and energy are removed.  The measure deteriorated to -0.7% from -0.5%, the most since June (-0.9%).    Second, Prime Minister Kishida unveiled an overall package of JPY78.9 trillion (~$690 bln). It is larger than the previous two pandemic packages. "Fiscal measures" refer to spending, investment, and loans, and this is seen worth about JPY55.7 trillion.  It is not clear yet, how much represents new spending as opposed to the reallocation of funds from earlier budgets that were not used. However, it appears to be about JPY32 trillion of new spending.   The Chinese yuan, up a modest 2.1% for the year, is the strongest currency.   Against a trade-weighted basket (CFETS), the yuan is pulling back from a six-year high set earlier this week as the euro recovers a cent.  Consider that the yuan has appreciated by more than 9% against the euro and 11.5% against the yen this year.  That means that investment in China has the same tailwind as the dollar and is compensated a bit for the relative lack of transparency and liquidity.  The Financial Times estimates that foreign holdings of Chinese bonds and stocks rose to around $1.1 trillion at the end of September, about a 13% increase this year.  China's stock market has underperformed this year, and the CSI 300 is off around 7% this year.  On the other hand, China's bonds have fared well.  It is the only 10-year bond that has not weakened this year.  China's figures show foreign direct investment has risen by almost 18% this year through October to nearly $142 bln.   The dollar is posting an outside down day against the Japanese yen by first rising above yesterday's high before reversing and taking out yesterday's low. It is approaching the week's low near JPY113.75 in the European morning.  Below there, support is seen around JPY113.60.  A break would warn of a return to JPY113.00.  The Australian dollar has been sold to its lowest level since October 6, when it recorded a low of almost $0.7225.   It has broken the trendline that connected the August and September lows (~$0.7250).  The September low was around $0.7170 and maybe the next important technical target.  The dollar is trading with a firmer bias against the Chinese yuan, but the greenback remains in the range set on Tuesday (~CNY6.3670-CNY6.3965).  The dollar gained on the yuan four sessions this week, the most since July, but the net gain of less than 0.2% still shows an extraordinarily steady exchange rate.   With the yuan near six-year highs against its trade-weighted basket (CFETS), the PBOC warned against one-way moves and encouraged financial institutions to bolster fx risk management.  It set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3825, slightly above expectations (Bloomberg survey) for CNY6.3822.   Europe The stronger than expected October retail sales capped the week's data that points to a rebounding economy and boosts the chances of a rate hike next month.  A strong jobs report was followed by a larger than expected rise in CPI and PPI.  Retail sales jumped 0.8% in October, and the September series was revised to flat from -0.2%. It was the first increase since April.  Pre-Xmas sales were reported.  Separately, the UK government reported that the cost of servicing the national debt has risen more than three-fold over the past year, leaving the budget deficit higher than anticipated.  It appears that the swaps market is pricing in a 15 bp hike at the December 16 BOE meeting, though some are talking about a bigger move.    Several ECB officials, including President Lagarde, have successfully pushed back against expectations of a 20 bp rate hike next year that had appeared discounted by the swaps market earlier this month. The market has pushed it into early 2023.  The implied yield of the December 2022 Euribor futures contract has fallen 20 bp this month.  The December 2022 Eurodollar futures contract is moving in the opposite direction.  The implied yield has risen by about 4.5 bp this month.  The net result is the US premium has increased to over 125 bp, the highest since last March.  In late 2019, the premium was around 180 bp.  This is recognized as a factor helping lift the dollar against the euro, and it appears to have become more salient recently.   The euro's bounce yesterday, its first gain in seven sessions (since the US CPI shocker), stalled near $1.1375, where a 780 mln euro option expires today.   The euro traded quietly in Asia before being sold aggressively as news of the virus hit the wires.  The euro traded through $1.1285 before catching a bid.  Resistance now will likely be encountered around $1.1320.  The euro is posting its first back-to-back weekly of more than 1% since March 2020.  Sterling is also sliding back toward the week's lows, just above $1.3400.  A break could signal a test on the $1.3350 area, but it appears stretched on an intraday basis.  While the euro-sterling cross is practically flat, the euro has punched below CHF1.05 for the first time in six years.  It would not be surprising to learn that the SNB has been intervening.  There appears to be little chart support until closer to CHF1.0250. America The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office offered its evaluation of the Biden administration's Build Back Better initiative.  It sees $1.636 trillion in spending over the next decade and almost $1.27 trillion in revenue.  That leaves a deficit of $367 bln.  A notable difference between it and the administration is how much more revenue will be generated by increasing the number of IRS agents.  Even if it passes the House of Representatives, it will likely be marked up in the Senate.  The jockeying for position and spin around it will likely dominate the session, which sees no US economic reports outside of the rig count later today.  The Fed's Clarida and Waller speaker today.  It seems that most market participants still see the Fed behind the curve and disagree with our idea that to secure the ability to respond to a wide range of possible outcomes, the Federal Reserve may accelerate its tapering starting in January.   It is not clear exactly when the debt ceiling will be reached, but it is being played.  The Democrats do not want to lift it through the reconciliation process, though they have forced the Republicans to do so in the past.  The Republicans appear to have the discipline and will to oppose.  No one seems to think the US will really default, and getting even this close seems undignified.  Yet, the desire to avoid being caught out encouraged investors to demand a high yield on the four-week bill sold.  Yesterday's auction saw the yield more than double to 11 bp (annualized).  It is the highest yield since July 2020.  In contrast, the eight-week bill, which is thought to be beyond the shenanigans, yield slipped to 4.5 bp from six previously and a higher bid-cover ratio.   Canada reports September retail sales figures today.  After a 2.1% rise in August, some weakness is expected.  Ahead of it, the Canadian dollar is trading at new lows for the week, though it is faring better than the other dollar-bloc currencies.  The US dollar is approaching the (61.8%) retracement objective of the decline since the CAD1.29 level was tested on September 20.  The retracement level is near CAD1.2665, and a break would target CAD1.2700-CAD1.2750.  The upper  Bollinger Band is found near CAD1.2655 today.   The Mexican peso is also under pressure.  It, too, has fallen to a new low for the week today.  The greenback looks set to test the eight-month high set earlier this month near MXN20.98.  Note that the central bank's Deputy Governor warned that inflation was accelerating, and it could rise to 7% this month and 7.1%-7.3% next month.  In October, the CPI stood at 6.24% year-over-year.  Banxico meets next on December 16, the day after the FOMC meeting.  Lastly, we note that the Brazilian real is off for four consecutive sessions coming into today.  The dollar closed above its 20-day moving average against it yesterday and looks poised to probe above BRL5.60 today. The high for the month was closer to BRL5.70.   Disclaimer
The Wild Card Is Back

The Wild Card Is Back

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.11.2021 15:58
S&P 500 rose, once again driven by tech and not value. That‘s still defensive, mirroring the weak credit markets posture. While waiting for bonds to turn – not that there wouldn‘t be an optimistic HYG open yesterday – the Austria lockdown news sent markets into a tailspin, the fear being good part of Europe would follow suit rather sooner than later. Oil has taken the crown of panicked selling, stocks held up better, and precious metals weren‘t changed much. Sure, any crippling of European economic activity would take a toll at the most sensitive commodities, but in light of energy policies across much of the Western world, it‘s my view that oil prices would be affected only in the short-term. This isn‘t a repeat of the Apr 2020 liquidation sending black gold negative. Rest of the world would be happy to step in, U.S. included, as we‘re entering winter with comparatively very low stockpiles from oil to copper – and don‘t get me started on silver. If you want green economy, these metals are essential, and oil is still in huge demand in the interim. Fed money printing hasn‘t vanished, debt ceiling awaits, and dollar is so far still solidly underpinned. Banking sector and emerging markets performance isn‘t panicky, but some time for stocks to come back at ATHs, is needed. Precious metals resilience is encouraging for commodities, which need the most time to recover (eyes on energy). Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls have the upper hand, but short-term volatility and uncertainty is creeping in. Still, there is no sinking the bull right here, right now. Credit Markets Tentative signs of credit markets stabilization are here, and HYG turnaround to last, is the missing sign. I‘m though not looking for risk-off slant to disappear, which would slow down the coming rise in yields. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are still consolidating, and the more time passes at current levels, the less opportunity the bears have. The chart remains very bullish as precious metals are anticipating inflation to come. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls are facing spanner in the works today, and it‘s my view the sellers wouldn‘t get too far. I‘m looking at oil sector to presage that. Copper The copper setback was soundly bought, and commodities hardly sold off, the same for other base metals. I still like the chart posture – favors the bulls. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bears took the gauntlet, and another opportunity to pause might be here. I‘m not yet optimistic prices would hold out before the upleg resumes. Summary S&P 500 bulls keep hanging in there, as if waiting for bonds to come to their senses. The credit markets non-confirmation being probably in its latter stages, was my yesterday‘s point – but with corona panic returning, all short-term bets are off. Looking at the big picture, energy hasn‘t been fixed, precious metals are set to rise sharply, and inflation hasn‘t yet knocked off stocks or the real economy. Look for VIX to keep rising from the current 17.50 level. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Market Quick Take - November 19, 2021

Market Quick Take - November 19, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 19.11.2021 10:43
Summary:  Equity markets charged higher in the US session to close at new record highs, and the upside extended further in the futures market overnight. In FX, the recent USD strength eased slightly, while oil prices are creeping back higher despite the recent fears of strategic reserve releases. Markets are nervously awaiting the announcement of who US President Biden will nominate to head the Fed after the current Powell term ends in February. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities pushed to new all-time highs yesterday led by technology stocks and strong macro figures across manufacturing surveys and job market data such as jobless claims. Nasdaq 100 futures are trading around the 16,560 level in early European trading with the 16,500 being the intraday day support level. A recent survey among institutional investors shows that a majority is believing in the transitory inflation narrative which can help explain why investors in equities are looking through the latest inflation pressures. EURUSD and EURGBP – the beleaguered euro finally bounced back a bit after its recent remarkable slide, although it is tough to see what could engineer a reversal of the move below the 1.1500 level, which is the key chart resistance now, although Biden announcing Brainard as his pick to head the Fed next February could drive considerable short-term volatility. To stop the euro from a persistent slide, we would need a very different tone from the ECB than it has delivered recently, with no real opportunity to do so until the December 16 ECB meeting. With power prices and a new Covid wave weighing on the outlook, the ECB will very likely be happy to stay firmly dovish. USDJPY – the highs for the cycle near the psychologically important 115.00 look safe as long as US treasury yields at the longer end of the curve remain rangebound, but trading above that level could get volatile if it is broken, as some options structures may be linked to its breaking or not breaking. The next test for the price action is clearly the Fed Chair nomination that appears imminent – possibly today or over the weekend (more below in What are we watching next?). Gold (XAUUSD) has spent the week trading within a relatively narrow range between $1850 and $1870 as it awaits a fresh catalyst following last week’s breakout. The impressive rally that occurred despite headwind from a stronger dollar has stalled with bond yields picking up and the market wondering how the US Federal Reserve will manage the current inflation spike. Silver and especially platinum have both struggled to keep up with gold while ETF investors have yet to show any interest in accumulating exposure. All developments raising the risk of a retracement towards the $1830-35 key area of support. Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSDEC21) managed to recover yesterday after the market brushed aside the potential negative price impact of a US SPR release. US attempts to attract wider support from other major importing countries seems to have fallen flat, except for China who is “working” on a release. Having dropped more than five dollars since speculation began, the market has concluded for now that the price impact of a release could be limited. The market, however, may still have to deal with the recent updates from EIA and IEA, in which they both forecast current tight market conditions could start to ease early next year as well as renewed Covid-related reductions in mobility. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). Yesterday’s 10-year US TIPS auction stopped through, pricing at a record low yield at -1.145%. It is a signal that investors are ever more concerned about inflation risk.  The Treasury also sold 4-week and 8-week T-Bills. While the latter was priced in line with the Reverse Repurchase facility, 4-week T-Bills priced with a yield of 0.11%, more than double the RRP rate. As we approach the day in which the Treasury will run out of cash, we expect volatility in the money market to increase, while long-term yields will remain compressed as they will serve as a safe haven. In the meantime, the move index continues to rise indicating that the bond market remains on the hedge. What is going on? Central Bank of Turkey cut another 100 basis points from the policy rate, lira plunge extends. The Turkish lira has lost more than 10% versus the US dollar this week and trades well over 11.00 after Turkish President Erdogan earlier this week declared himself once again against high interest rates, which he believes cause inflation. Central bank chief Kavcioglu, who is seen as doing Erdogan’s bidding, cut rates for a third time by 1.0% to take the policy rate to 15%, but with the Turkish lira losing over 10% this week alone and more than 30% since Erdogan fired the prior more hawkish central bank head in favour of Kavcioglu, inflation will run far beyond the rate. Not even some guidance that the easing cycle may conclude in December was enough to halt the lira’s slide. US Nov. Philly Fed survey hits 39.0, a very hot reading and fourth highest ever - with Prices Paid at 80 and just missing the 42-year high of 80.7 in June, although the Prices Received was at 62.9, the highest since 1974. Special survey questions in the Novemer  survey included one on inflation expectations, with firms expecting a median 5.3% increase in their own prices, and an increase in wages of 4.8%. The median forecast for 10-year inflation was 3.5%, up from the 3.0% the last time the question was asked in August. The Bloomberg Agriculture Index hit a fresh five-year high this week with food prices likely to stay high in 2022 with labor shortages, La Ninã weather impacts, surging cost of fertilizers being the common denominator across the sector. Recent gains being led by coffee, which we highlighted earlier in the week as a commodity currently seeing multiple price supportive developments. Wheat is heading for a nine-year high in Chicago while hitting record highs in Europe with inventories tumbling amid strong demand from importers and now also a rain threat to the soon-to-be harvested Australian crop. Soybeans have seen a strong bounce after the latest WASDE report showed a tighter than expected outlook for the coming year, and following a recent rush of Chinese buying from the US and South America. Apple doubles down on self-driving cars. The company is aiming to develop fully autonomous driving capabilities for cars by 2025 under the project name Titan. Apple has developed its own chip and is aiming to soon have a car on the roads for testing. However, delivering self-driving cars is a difficult endeavor with Uber Technologies having sold its unit and Waymo (Google’s unit) has been struck by fatigue and key people leaving the project. Tesla is also still struggling to deliver self-driving cars. What are we watching next? Who will US President Biden nominate to head the Fed next February? Powell is still seen as more likely to get the nod that Brainard by roughly two to one, and this Fed Chair nomination issue is hanging over the markets, as the current Fed chair term ends in early February and from comments made earlier this week, an announcement could be made any day now. One uncertainty that would come with a Brainard nomination is the potential difficulty of having her nomination approved by the Senate. The nomination news could generate significant short-term volatility on the choice of the nominally more dovish Lael Brainard over current Fed Chair Powell, though we see little difference in the medium-longer term implications for monetary policy, and the Fed is likely to get a prominent new regulatory role either way (under Brainard or someone else if she is nominated to replace Powell). Vote on $1.7 trillion US fiscal bill today in the House of Representatives after the Congressional Budget office said the bill, which focuses on social spending and climate initiatives, would add some $367 billion to the US Federal deficit (around 1.5% of current US nominal GDP) over the next 10 years. Earnings Watch – there are no important earnings today and this earnings week has been good in the US and Europe, while a bit more mixed among Chinese companies. The list below shows earnings releases next week. Monday: Sino Pharmaceutical, Prosus, Zoom Video, Agilent TechnologiesTuesday: Xiaomi, Kuaishou Technology, Compass Group, Medtronic, Analog Devices, Autodesk, VMWare, Dell Technologies, XPeng, HP, Best Buy, Dollar TreeWednesday: DeereThursday: AdevintaFriday: Meituan, Pinduoduo Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0830 – ECB President Lagarde to speak1200 – UK Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill to speak1330 – Canada Sep. Retail Sales1715 – US Fed Vice Chair Clarida to speak on global monetary policy coordination Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Weekly S&P500 ChartStorm - 21 November 2021

Weekly S&P500 ChartStorm - 21 November 2021

Callum Thomas Callum Thomas 22.11.2021 09:40
The S&P500 ChartStorm is a selection of 10 charts which I hand pick from around the web and post on Twitter. The purpose of this post is to add extra color and commentary around the charts. The charts focus on the S&P500 (US equities); and the various forces and factors that influence the outlook - with the aim of bringing insight and perspective. Hope you enjoy! p.s. if you haven’t already, subscribe (free) to receive the ChartStorm direct to your inbox, so you don’t miss out on any charts (you never know which one could change the whole perspective!) Subscribe Now 1. S&P 500 Seasonality Chart: It’s everyone’s favorite chart updated again (maybe for the last time this year?). The S&P500 has been sticking to the seasonality script through most of this year… makes me think about Murphy’s Law tho - maybe the market will start to improvise and go off-script? Either way, the next few weeks seasonally look like sideways action. Source: @topdowncharts 2. Volatility Seasonality: A twist on the previous chart — same concept, but this time with implied volatility. I find it interesting to note that the VIX has actually been a bit lower than usual for this time of the year (and trending up short-term…). One last VIX spike before year-end? Source: @topdowncharts 3. Stockmarket Statistics: What happens after the market goes up a “crazy overheated” 20%+ over the course of a year? More Gains. Historically most of the time if the market closed up 20%+ for the year, the next year was also positive (84% of the time). As of writing, the market is up some 27% YTD (albeit, this year ain't over yet!). Source: @RyanDetrick 4. Bad Breadth? Fully 1/3rd of stocks are in a downtrend. (defined as trading below their respective 200dma) Will this bearish divergence be a problem? Source: Index Indicators 5. GAARP vs GAAAP: On this metric, growth stocks are the most expensive ever vs value stocks. So it begs the question… Growth at a reasonable price? or Growth at *any* price? (but then again, who defines what "reasonable" is in a market like this!) Source: @TheOneDave 6. Low Energy: Energy stocks are attempting to turn the corner vs the rest of the market, but face high hurdles from the raging tech bull market, rise of ESG investing and regulatory/political hurdles, not to mention commodity market volatility. What comes down must go up? (or something else?) Source: @dissectmarkets 7. Buybacks Back: New all-time high for buybacks in Q3 (with 95% reported). Always makes me wonder these trends — you see the majority of buybacks occurring near market peaks… i.e. when valuations are extreme expensive. The opposite of value investing: buy more when its expensive, buy less when it’s cheap — seems like upside-down logic to me, but then again I am a simple man. Source: @hsilverb 8. Payout Ratio: As an interesting follow-on to the ATH in buybacks/dividends, it’s interesting to note that the dividend payout ratio is actually below average... Scope to return more cash to investors? Source: @ChrisDagnes 9. Buffett Indicator: Looks like this indicator has reached a permanently higher plateau! (kidding of course - echoing the famous last words of Irving Fisher back in 1929) Interesting stat to note: to make this indicator as cheap as where it got to during the financial crisis lows the market would need to fall over 70%. Definitely not a prediction, but interesting nonetheless. I would say I have multiple quibbles with this indicator, I think CAPE and ERP are better valuation metrics, but that’s a topic for another day. Source: @KailashConcepts 10. Buffett the Compounder: Speaking of Buffett, a lesson in compounding. Source: @DividendGrowth Thanks for following, I appreciate your interest! !! BONUS CHART: total stockmarket leverage >> Click through to the ChartStorm Substack to see the bonus chart section https://chartstorm.substack.com/p/weekly-s-and-p500-chartstorm-21-november                   Follow us on: Substack https://topdowncharts.substack.com/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
Global Markets In Times Of Affection Of Situation In Eastern Europe

On the radar this week...

Chris Weston Chris Weston 22.11.2021 08:18
Powell vs Brainard Fed chair nomination  Covid trends and restrictions in Europe US core PCE inflation (Thursday at 2 am AEDT) RBNZ and Riksbank central bank meeting US cash markets shut Thursday for Thanksgiving (Pepperstone US equity indices still open)  Eurozone PMI (Tuesday 20:00aedt) – ECB speakers in play BoE speakers to drive the GBP – will they cast doubt on a December hike? With Covid risks on the rise in Europe and ultimately restrictions being implemented we’ve seen renewed selling interest in the EUR, and the oil-exporting currencies (NOK, CAD, MXN). Certainly, the NOK was the weakest G10 currency last week, and GBPNOK has been a great long position – a pair to trade this week, but consider it is up for 9 straight days and has appreciated 5.2% since late October.  I questioned last week if the divergence in EURCHF plays out, and the break of 1.05 negates that, suggesting staying short this cross for now as the CHF is still a preferred safe-haven.  EURUSD has been in free-fall EURUSD has been in free-fall and will likely get the lion’s share of attention from clients looking for a play on growing restrictions and tensions across Europe. The pair has lost 3.5% since rejecting the 50-day MA on 28 Oct and has consistently been printing lower lows since May – predominantly driven by central bank divergence and a growing premium of 2-year US Treasuries over German 2yr - with the spread blowing out from 78bp to 128bp, in favour of USD. For momentum, trend followers and tactical traders, short EUR remains attractive here.  It will be interesting to see if we see any pickup in shorting activity in EU equities – notably the GER40, with the German govt warning of lockdowns ahead. A market at all-time highs (like the GER40) is a tough one to short, but if this starts to roll over then I’d go along for a day trade. There is a raft of ECB speakers also to focus on, notably with President Lagarde due to speak on Friday.  Playing restrictions through crude While we can play crude moves in the FX, equity and ETF space, outright shorts in crude have been looking compelling. Although we see SpotCrude now sitting on huge horizontal support and a break here brings in the 50-day MA. Of course, as oil and gasoline fall, the prospect of a release of the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserves) diminishes, however, the Biden administration could use this move lower move to their advantage and capitalize to keep the pressure on.  (SpotCrude daily) A rise in restrictions also means market neutral strategies (long/short) should continue to work, and long tech/short energy has been popular. We can express this in our ETF complex, with the XOP ETF (oil and gas explorers) -8.1% last week and that works as a high beta short leg. Long IUSG (growth) or the QQQ ETF against this would be a good proxy on the opposing leg. In fact, looking at the moves in Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon, and we can see these ‘safe haven’ stocks are working well again, as is Tesla although for different reasons.  Stocks for the trend-followers For the ‘buy strong’ crowd, I have scanned our equity universe for names above both their 5- and 20-day MA AND at 52-week highs. Pull up a daily chart of any of these names - they should nearly always start at the bottom left, and end top right. Playing the RBNZ meeting tactically By way of event risks, the RBNZ meeting (Wed 12:00 AEDT) is one of the more interesting events to focus on. Will the RBNZ raise by 25bp or 50bp? That is the question, and of 19 calls from economists (surveyed by Bloomberg) we see 17 calling for a 25bp hike – yet the markets are fully pricing not just a 25bp hike but a 43% chance of 50bp – from a very simplistic perceptive if the RBNZ hike by ‘just’ 25bp, choosing a path of least regret, then we could see a quick 25- to 30-pip move lower in the NZD. The focus then turns to the outlook and whether the 8 further hikes priced over the coming 12 months seems to be one shared by the RBNZ.  Traders have been keen to play NZD strength via AUD, as it is more a relative play and doesn’t carry the risk on/off vibe, which you get with the USD and JPY. I’d be using strength in AUDNZD as an opportunity to initiate shorts, especially with views that RBNZ Gov Orr could talk up the possibility of inter-meeting rate hikes.  GBP to be guided by the BoE Chief The GBP is always a play clients gravitate to, with GBPUSD and EURGBP always two of the most actively traded instruments in our universe. A 15bp hike is priced for the 16 Dec BoE meeting after last week’s UK employment and inflation data, but consider we also get UK PMI data (Tuesday 20:30 AEDT), and arguably, more importantly, speeches from BoE Governor Bailey and chief economist Huw Pill – perhaps this time around expectations of hikes can be better guided – although, a bit of uncertainty into central bank meetings is very pre-2008 and makes things a little spicy/interesting.  (BoE speakers this week) GBPUSD 1-week implied volatility is hardly screaming movement, and at 6.5% sits at the 10th percentile of its 12-month range. The implied move is close to 130pips, so the range at this juncture (with a 68.2% level of confidence), although I multiple this by 0.8 to get closer to the options breakeven rate. So at this stage, 100 pips (higher or lower) is the sort of move the street is looking for over the coming five days, putting a range of 1.3557 to 1.3349 in play – one for the mean reversion players. Personally, I would let it run a bit as that volatility seems a little low, and a break of 1.3400 could see volatility pick up. I’d certainly be looking for downside if that gave way.  Happy trading.
We Might Say Next FED Moves Are Not Obvious As Some Factors Differentiate Circumstances

Silver, shrugging off attacks

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 20.11.2021 13:32
Weekly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, strong along gold: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 20th, 2021. The weekly chart illustrates price behavior over the last 15 months. Silver prices are trading near the center of the sideways range. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart, rumors shrugged off: Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 20th, 2021. The weekly chart of gold isn’t much different from where prices stand. In short, there is no evidence that gold has lost its luster. Otherwise, we would see silver trading in a relationship much lower. Rumors are just that – rumors! Silver is shrugging them off. Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart, room to go: Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of November 20th, 2021. A historical review with a quarterly chart over the last eighteen years reveals that silver prices can sustain extreme extensions from the mean (yellow line) for extended periods. Using the extreme of the second quarter in 2011 as a projective measurement (orange vertical line) for an upcoming target would provide for a price target more than 10% above all-time highs at US$56. In addition, the chart shows that we find ourselves in a strong quarter so far, which is in alignment with cyclical probabilities. Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, prepping the play: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 20th, 2021. Trade setup Let us return to the weekly time frame for a possible low-risk entry scenario with this target in mind.We find a supply zone based on fractal transactional volume analysis near the price of US$24.11 and US$22.65. Both attractive entry zones for excellent risk/reward-ratio plays.   Phase 1 drilling program at Guigui discovered not only the largest intrusive ever found in the district, but it’s the first mineralized skarn ever seen in Guigui! Silver, shrugging off attacks: It will not be rumors, doubts, and speculations that will be the catalyst for silvers’ success or failure. It isn’t a question of “if,” but just a question of “when” we will see the next massive price advance in this precious metal. The odds are stacked too much in favor of a continued price movement up that the long-term investor should let doubts allow for diverging from a splendid opportunity to partake in wealth preservation and a very profitable way to participate in a chance rarely presented this prominent. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|November 20th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold, Gold bullish, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
COT: Solid gold buying raising short term concerns

COT: Solid gold buying raising short term concerns

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 22.11.2021 11:35
Summary:  This summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 16. The report shows the reaction to the US inflation shock on November 11 which among others drove strong demand for gold and more surprisingly a reduction in the dollar long. Also another strong week for most agriculture commodities with positions in coffee and KCB wheat hitting fresh multi-year highs Saxo Bank publishes weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial. Link to latest report This summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 16. A week where the market responded to the US inflation shock on November 11 by sending  the dollar up by 2% to fresh high for the cycle while 10-year breakeven yields jumped 20 basis point a decade high. While bond market volatility jumped, stocks held steady with the VIX showing a small decline. The commodity sector was mixed with gains in precious metals and not least grains and soft commodities helping offset weakness across the energy sector.  Commodities Hedge funds raised their total commodity exposure, measured in lots, across 24 major futures contracts by the most since July. Driven by continued strong price action across the agriculture sector and more recently also precious metals in response to surging inflation. These sectors saw all but one market being bought while the energy sector were mixed with continued selling of crude oil only being partly offset by demand for gasoline and natural gas. Energy: Crude oil’s four week slide resulted in the biggest weekly reduction since July, and this time, as opposed to recent weeks, it was WTI that led the reduction with a 10% cut to 307k apart from a deteriorating short-term technical outlook also being driven the prospect of a US stockpile release to dampen domestic gasoline prices. Brent meanwhile saw its net long slump to a one-year low at 221.5k lots, and during the past six weeks the net length has now slumped by one-third, a reduction which gathered momentum after the late October failure to break the 2018 high at $86.75, now a double top. Crude oil comment from our daily Market Quick Take: Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSDEC21) opened softer in Asia after Friday’s big drop but has so far managed to find support at $77.85, the previous top from July. The market focus has during the past few weeks shifted from the current tight supply to the risk of a coordinated reserve release, fears about a renewed Covid-driven slowdown in demand and recent oil market reports from the EIA and IEA pointing to a balanced market in early 2022. Having dropped by around 10% from the recent peak, the market may have started to conclude that a SPR release has mostly been price in by now. Metals: Another week of strong gold buying has now raised the alarm bells given the risk of long liquidation should the yellow metal fail to hold onto its US CPI price boost above $1830. Last week the net long in gold reached a 14-month high at 164k lots and the speed of the accumulation, especially the 70% jump during the past two weeks alone carries, will be raising a red flag for tactical trading strategies looking for pay day on short positions should support give way.  Gold extended Friday’s drop below $1850 overnight, before bouncing ahead of key support in the mentioned $1830-35 area. The risk of a quicker withdrawal of Fed stimulus supporting real yields and the dollar has for now reduced gold's ability to build on the technical breakout. However, the price softness on Friday helped attract ETF buying with Bloomberg reporting a 10 tons increase, the biggest one-day jump since January 15. A second week of silver buying lifted the net to a four-week high at 35.9k lots, but still below the May peak at 47.8k lots. Copper’s rangebound trading behavior kept the price and the net long unchanged. The latter due to an even size addition of both new long and short positions. Agriculture: Broad gains across the grains market lifted the combined long across the six most traded contracts to a six-month high at 560k lots. Buyers returned to soybeans after the net long recently hit a 17-month low, the corn long was the biggest since May while the KCB wheat long at 60.6k lots was the highest since August 2018. Supported by an increasingly worrying supply outlook, coffee speculators lifted their net long by 16% to a five-year high at 55k lots. Cotton and sugar longs also rose while short-covering helped halve the cocoa net short. More on the reasons behind the current strength in wheat and coffee, and agriculture in general can be found in may recent update: Agriculture rally resumes led by coffee, wheat and sugar ForexIn a surprise response to the US inflation shock on November 11 speculators ended up making a small reduction in their overall dollar long against ten IMM futures and the Dollar index. Selling of euro in response to the 2.4% drop and a 161% increase in the sterling short to a 17 month high ended up being more than off-set by the buying of all other major currencies, most notably JPY and CHF. The result being a fifth weekly reduction in the dollar long to $21.3 billion, now down by 17% reduction from the near 30-month high reached during October. What is the Commitments of Traders report? The COT reports are issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the ICE Exchange Europe for Brent crude oil and gas oil. They are released every Friday after the U.S. close with data from the week ending the previous Tuesday. They break down the open interest in futures markets into different groups of users depending on the asset class. Commodities: Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap dealers, Managed Money and otherFinancials: Dealer/Intermediary; Asset Manager/Institutional; Leveraged Funds and otherForex: A broad breakdown between commercial and non-commercial (speculators) The reasons why we focus primarily on the behavior of the highlighted groups are: They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming
COT Speculators drop British pound sterling bets to lowest level in 76-weeks

COT Speculators drop British pound sterling bets to lowest level in 76-weeks

Invest Macro Invest Macro 22.11.2021 11:46
November 20, 2021 By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday November 16th 2021 and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT Currency data this week is the second straight decline in British pound sterling speculative positions. The pound sterling speculator contracts dropped sharply for the second consecutive week this week and have now fallen by a total of -46,646 contracts over just this two-week time period. These declines have pushed the overall speculative position into a bearish sentiment level of -31,599 contracts which marks the lowest standing of the past seventy-six weeks, dating back to June 2nd of 2020. The GBPUSD currency pair has been under pressure since the middle of October and fallen from around 1.3800 exchange rate to just above the 1.3435 level currently, a drop of almost 400 pips. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Nov-16-2021 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index EUR 705,698 86 -3,826 34 -26,985 68 30,811 25 JPY 252,897 91 -93,126 10 115,758 94 -22,632 1 GBP 207,099 43 -31,599 51 41,182 54 -9,583 36 MXN 170,102 33 -47,655 2 46,127 99 1,528 50 AUD 166,688 57 -61,153 27 69,858 71 -8,705 31 CAD 148,955 30 8,709 62 -26,717 35 18,008 74 USD Index 59,387 88 34,908 86 -40,455 7 5,547 77 RUB 52,624 58 22,625 67 -23,936 31 1,311 70 CHF 49,320 27 -8,889 54 18,767 52 -9,878 34 NZD 42,945 30 13,965 95 -15,521 6 1,556 70 BRL 31,767 32 -15,698 48 15,743 54 -45 66 Bitcoin 13,648 78 -1,478 69 357 0 1,121 23   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week was a net position of 34,908 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -540 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 35,448 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 77.2 percent. Free Reports: Top 5 Companies Added to Our Stock Watch List this Quarter - Here are the Stock Symbols that stood out so far in the fourth quarter of 2021. Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.   US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.8 3.4 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.0 71.5 3.5 – Net Position: 34,908 -40,455 5,547 – Gross Longs: 47,959 2,000 7,621 – Gross Shorts: 13,051 42,455 2,074 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.7 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 86.0 7.4 77.2 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.0 -2.7 -13.6   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week was a net position of -3,826 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -7,599 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 3,773 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 68.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 28.1 57.3 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.6 61.1 8.4 – Net Position: -3,826 -26,985 30,811 – Gross Longs: 198,181 404,266 90,261 – Gross Shorts: 202,007 431,251 59,450 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.8 68.1 25.4 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.7 -5.2 -0.0   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week was a net position of -31,599 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -19,506 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,093 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.8 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 24.4 61.4 11.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 39.6 41.5 15.9 – Net Position: -31,599 41,182 -9,583 – Gross Longs: 50,443 127,197 23,322 – Gross Shorts: 82,042 86,015 32,905 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.2 54.0 35.8 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.3 9.2 -8.1   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week was a net position of -93,126 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 12,225 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -105,351 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.8 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.7 80.5 8.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.6 34.7 17.6 – Net Position: -93,126 115,758 -22,632 – Gross Longs: 24,635 203,468 21,790 – Gross Shorts: 117,761 87,710 44,422 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 10.4 93.7 0.8 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.4 15.5 -4.1   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week was a net position of -8,889 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 8,154 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -17,043 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 54.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 34.3 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 11.2 64.2 24.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.2 26.1 44.5 – Net Position: -8,889 18,767 -9,878 – Gross Longs: 5,502 31,663 12,048 – Gross Shorts: 14,391 12,896 21,926 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 54.4 52.0 34.3 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.9 -12.2 11.8   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of 8,709 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 3,605 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 5,104 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 62.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 34.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 74.0 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.6 42.1 27.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.8 60.0 15.0 – Net Position: 8,709 -26,717 18,008 – Gross Longs: 44,147 62,689 40,389 – Gross Shorts: 35,438 89,406 22,381 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 62.3 34.9 74.0 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 29.6 -26.4 10.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -61,153 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 2,271 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -63,424 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 18.5 67.2 11.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 55.1 25.3 17.1 – Net Position: -61,153 69,858 -8,705 – Gross Longs: 30,760 112,044 19,744 – Gross Shorts: 91,913 42,186 28,449 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.1 71.0 31.2 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 27.1 -29.0 24.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of 13,965 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 1,083 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 12,882 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 69.7 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 61.4 24.1 11.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.9 60.2 7.8 – Net Position: 13,965 -15,521 1,556 – Gross Longs: 26,388 10,349 4,923 – Gross Shorts: 12,423 25,870 3,367 – Long to Short Ratio: 2.1 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 94.7 6.5 69.7 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.9 -11.8 19.8   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week was a net position of -47,655 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 752 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -48,407 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 1.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 49.5 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 41.1 55.3 3.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 69.2 28.2 2.2 – Net Position: -47,655 46,127 1,528 – Gross Longs: 69,984 94,074 5,245 – Gross Shorts: 117,639 47,947 3,717 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 2.0 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 1.5 98.8 49.5 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.5 5.6 -1.5   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week was a net position of -15,698 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -240 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -15,458 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 66.3 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 26.7 64.6 8.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 76.1 15.0 8.2 – Net Position: -15,698 15,743 -45 – Gross Longs: 8,468 20,507 2,545 – Gross Shorts: 24,166 4,764 2,590 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 4.3 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.6 54.4 66.3 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -17.9 19.3 -12.9   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week was a net position of 22,625 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 1,922 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,703 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 66.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 30.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 70.2 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 57.7 37.7 4.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 14.7 83.2 2.1 – Net Position: 22,625 -23,936 1,311 – Gross Longs: 30,357 19,849 2,418 – Gross Shorts: 7,732 43,785 1,107 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.9 to 1 0.5 to 1 2.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 66.9 30.7 70.2 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.2 -3.3 -20.9   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week was a net position of -1,478 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -11 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,467 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 68.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 63.4 5.0 14.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 74.2 2.4 6.5 – Net Position: -1,478 357 1,121 – Gross Longs: 8,649 678 2,008 – Gross Shorts: 10,127 321 887 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 2.1 to 1 2.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – COT Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 68.7 71.4 22.9 – COT Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.9 -20.8 4.5 Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
The Telegraph Publishes Misleading Story about Omicron

Covid Surge Compounds Monetary Divergence to give the Euro its Biggest Weekly Loss in Five Months

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 22.11.2021 09:39
Strong US consumption and production figures kept the greenback well supported last week on the heels of the jump in CPI to 6.2%.  Meanwhile, the surge of Covid cases in Europe underscores the divergences with the US, sending the euro to new lows for the year.   At the same time, oil prices headed south for the fourth consecutive week, matching the longest decline in more than two years.  It did not favor the Norwegian krone, the weakest of the majors, with a 2.15% drop.  It brought this year's loss to almost 3.5%, despite it being the first G10 central bank to hike rate, with another likely next month.   The prospects of a Bank of England rate hike next month were lifted by the strong inflation and retail sales figures.  Sterling was the best performing major currency, rising a little more than 0.25% against the dollar.  It also traded at its best level against the euro since March 2020.  At the end of the week, the euro also broke down against the Swiss franc, trading below CHF1.05 for the first time since July 2015.   Japan's October CPI showed that excluding fresh food and energy, the world's third-largest economy has still not broken free of deflation's grip (-0.7% year-over-year).  A weaker yen is not a problem for Japanese policymakers or corporates.  Japan has averaged a monthly trade surplus this year through October of about JPY7.8 bln a month, hardly the stuff that should excite protectionists.  The BIS estimates that eurozone inflation would be closer to 1.5% than the 4.1% reported in October without the supply chain disruptions. The weakness of the euro does not appear problematic for the ECB either.  With the Fed already slowing the pace of its monetary accommodation, a stronger dollar reinforces the policy thrust. Even though net exports shaved Q3 growth by about 1.1 percentage points, it has yet to spur criticism, and September was a record shortfall.   Dollar Index:  The Dollar Index rose for the fourth consecutive week.  It met the (50%) retracement objective of its slide from March 2020 (~103.00) to the January 6 low (~89.20), which is found near 96.10.  DXY stalled ahead of the weekend, just shy of the high set in the middle of the week near 96.25. A move above there targets the next retracement (61.8%), which is close to 97.75.    The MACD is over-extended but still headed higher, while the Slow Stochastic appears to be turning lower.  Support is seen around 95.50.  The market seems to have discounted much of the good news for the dollar and Fed policy.  We note that the US 2-year yield fell almost six basis points last week.  That leaves it off about 4.5 bp this month, despite the strong CPI reading, robust retail sales, and industrial output figures. Euro: The divergence of monetary policy has been the critical weight on the euro, but at the end of last week, it seemed that surge in Covid cases in Europe helped drive the single currency to new lows. It fell to $1.1250 ahead of the weekend to take out the mid-week low near $1.1265.  The weekly loss of about 1.3% is the biggest in five months.  Recall that the $1.1290 area represented the (61.8%) retracement of the rally that began in March 2020.  The momentum indicators are stretched, but a possible bullish divergence is appearing in the Slow Stochastic. A cap seems to be forming around $1.1375.  After repeated tests, and much to the chagrin of the Swiss National Bank, the euro was sold through CHF1.05 ahead of the weekend for the first time since July 2015.  Given its modus operandi, the SNB is likely resisting.  There is little on the charts ahead of CHF1.0250.  In the second half of last week, the euro found support near GBP0.8385, its lowest level since March 2020.  Support is seen close to GBP0.8275-GBP0.8300.  Lastly,  the euro found support near JPY128.00, which has more or less withstood several tests since moving above there in February.   Japanese Yen:  The greenback recorded a new four-year high against the yen, less than a handful of pipis from JPY115 in the middle of last week.  It reversed lower and settled ever so slightly below the previous session's low to leave a key reversal in its wake.  It recorded the week's low ahead of the weekend near JPY113.60.  Since the dollar pushed above JPY112 early last month, we have suggested a JPY113-JPY115 trading range.  It did trade to about JPY112.75 on November 10 and 11 but snapped back into the range.  The US 10-year note futures (December contract) posted a key reversal in the middle of last week, too, and also ended the week at eight-session highs, which, of course, means lower yields.  The dollar-yen exchange rate still seems to be a range-bound creature, more the most part, and heavily influenced by external factors, like US 10-year yield and broader risk appetites.  British Pound:  Sterling outperformed the other major currencies last week, but the 0.3% gain is nothing to write home about.  It remained within the previous week's range. It was unable to sustain the upside momentum after approaching the (50%) retracement objective of the decline since the month's high and outside down day on November 4 (BOE meeting).  That retracement stands at $1.3525.  The strong CPI report on November 17 helped lift sterling to the week's high near $1.3515.  However, the underlying strength of the dollar proved too much, and ahead of the weekend, sterling traded a little below $1.3410.  The momentum indicators have turned higher, and as long as $1.3400 holds, sterling looks attractive.  However, the market appears to have a 15 bp hike at next month's meeting fully discounted.  While it remains a distinct possibility, if not a likelihood, but 100% confidence may leave sterling vulnerable to a reassessment.  Canadian Dollar:  The US dollar rose for the fourth consecutive week against the Canadian dollar, matching the longest advance since early last year.  With the pre-weekend gain, the greenback met the  (61.8%) retracement objective of decline since CAD1.29 was approached on September 20, found near CAD1.2665. The US dollar's broad strength, coupled with the stock market wobble (a proxy for risk), and the drop in crude prices by around 4.25%, the fourth consecutive weekly decline shaved about 0.75% off the Canadian dollar.  The implied yield of the June 2022 Banker Acceptances fell last week and is now about 10 bp lower than at the end of last month.  The MACD is headed up though over-extended, while the Slow Stochastic has flatlined at extreme levels and has not yet confirmed the new highs.  The US dollar continues to hug the upper Bollinger Band, which will begin the new week near CAD1.2650. Australian Dollar:   The Aussie fell for the third straight week, and ahead of the weekend, approached $0.7225, last seen in early October.  As seen with some of the other currency pairs, the MACD is still warning of currency weakness, while the Slow Stochastic is flatlining but over-extended.  The trendline connecting the August and September lows initially held last week. It (~$0.7240) yielded ahead of the weekend, but the Aussie managed to close back above it.   It needs to resurface above $0.7300 to be anything meaningful.  Softer than expected, wage growth may have reinforced the RBA's message to the markets, and the yield of the June 2022 T-bill futures fell seven basis points last week and is now down 31 bp on the month.   Mexican Peso:  Emerging markets currencies remain out of favor in a strong dollar environment.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index slumped by more than 2% last week, the most since June.  The Turkish lira collapsed by nearly 11%.  The Indian rupee rose by 0.3%, the strongest in the EM space.  The greenback made a new marginal high in two-and-a-half weeks before the weekend, slightly below MXN20.89.  The momentum indicators are constructive for the dollar, but it is at the upper end of its recent range (~MXN20.12-MXN21.00).  The high for the year was set in March near MXN21.64, and it will come into view when the greenback rises above MXN21.15.   Chinese Yuan:   By shadowing the dollar so tightly, the yuan is dragged higher on a trade-weighted basis in the stronger greenback environment. The yuan is at six-year highs on the basket the PBOC tracks (CFETS).  The PBOC reportedly stressed the importance of exchange risk management ahead of the weekend, and it may be a warning that its willingness to tolerate a stronger yuan is limited.  The yuan slipped an inconsequential 0.12% against the dollar last week.  For nearly the past five weeks, the exchange rate has been mostly confined to a CNY6.38-CNY6.40 range.  It is a fuzzy range and allows for around a big figure in both directions. The index of Chinese companies listed in the US (NASDAQ Golden Dragon Index) fell about 5.7% last week.  The major benchmarks in China, including the CSI 300, posted small gains.  The Hang Seng fell 1.1% last week, and most of that was before the weekend on disappointing earnings from Alibaba (-10.3% in HK).     Disclaimer
Special Podcast: Happy 30th Birthday To Saxo, An Overview Of The Market In Recent Decades And Reflection On Its Future

ChiNext: The growth market that has defied Chinese equity trouble

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 22.11.2021 14:26
Summary:  ChiNext is up 19% this year while the rest of the Chinese equity market is down highlighting that there is a high quality pocket in China that investors should have on the radar. The ChiNext Index comprises of leading technology companies within battery and medical technology including biotechnology. It is a closed market for most investors but luckily a Hong Kong based asset management is offering a Hong Kong listed ETF providing exposure to this interesting market in China. China has a growth pocket nobody talks about This year has been a rollercoaster ride for Chinese equities. It all started with blistering growth and strong momentum in Chinese equities before rising US interest rates and inflation talks temporarily ended the trade in technology stocks. While technology stocks came back in the developed equity market Chinese equities went from crisis to crisis, first in housing during the summer months and which is still ongoing, to that of an energy crunch like in Europe as energy prices have galloped higher. But there is one pocket in the Chinese equity market that has defied the negative forces of higher energy prices and housing woes, and that is the ChiNext board on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. ChiNext is up 19% this year highlighting a stunning comeback following a 29% drawdown during the technology correction during February and March. CSI 300, the leading benchmark index of Chinese mainland equities, is down 4% this year, and Hang Seng in Hong Kong is down 6% this year. While ChiNext is the crown jewel in terms of innovation and growth companies within key technology, it has struggled to deliver against Nasdaq 100 which is up 29% this year, and since June 2010, Nasdaq 100 is up 23.2% annualized compared to 13.1% annualized for ChiNext. ChiNext is closed market for foreign investors In recent years China has opened up its capital markets making it easier for foreign investors to invest directly in mainland China equities listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, but the ChiNext board is still closed land for most investors due to prohibitive rules. In effect it is only accessible for few foreign institutional investors. Luckily the ETF market is providing an opportunity for retail investors to get access to this market through the CSOP SZSE ChiNext ETF (Saxo ticker is 03147:xhkg) managed by CSOP Asset Management which is a Chinese regulated asset management firm based in Hong Kong with $10bn in asset under management as of December 2020. The ETF consists of 160 securities with $110mn in assets and tracking the ChiNext Index and a total expense ratio of 1.16%. The ETF uses a combination of a physical representative sampling and a synthetic representative sampling strategy (swaps), which means that the fund is not holding the underlying index 1:1, but tries minimize the tracking error through sampling. This enables the fund to minimize tracking error while getting better liquidity conditions for investors. The 10 largest positions in the fund constitute 49.3% of the funds market value with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) being the largest position with 19.1% weight and also the biggest company in our battery equity basket. CATL is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries and is becoming China’s crown jewel within the fast-growing and emerging battery industry which will be transformational and essential to the green transformation including electric vehicles. The ETF also provides exposure to China’s largest financial and stock information provider East Money Information with $1.8bn in revenue and growing 82% over the past year. The ETF also gives exposure to some of the most interesting medical technology and biotechnology companies in China. The 10 largest holdings in the CSOP SZSE ChiNext ETF The history of ChiNext and why it will play a major role ChiNext was first discussed in August 1999 in the CPC Central Committee and the State Council during the height of the dot-com bubble. China was looking at the technological change in the US and especially what was going on with the Nasdaq exchange. In August 2000, China decided that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange should prepare to create a second board which should include innovative companies with key technologies in order to support growth industries. The ChiNext board was inaugurated on 23 October 2009. In 2020, more than 800 companies were listed on the ChiNext Market with the combined market capitalization approaching $1trn.
Like the Latest Bond Flick, the US Dollar Has No Time to Die

Like the Latest Bond Flick, the US Dollar Has No Time to Die

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 22.11.2021 15:11
While the dollar is on a tear, precious metal stocks have gotten away with it lately. But how long will their resistance last? The USD Index (USDX) After the USD Index’s negative response to the ECB’s monetary policy meeting on Oct. 28, I warned on Oct. 29 that dollar bears were unlikely to celebrate for much longer. I wrote: Based on the rather random comment during the conference, the traders panicked and bought the EUR/USD, which triggered declines in the USD Index (after all, the EUR/USD is the largest component of the USDX). Was the breakout to new 2021 lows invalidated? No. The true breakout was above the late-March highs (the August highs also served as a support level, but the March high is more important here) and it wasn’t invalidated. What was the follow-up action? At the moment of writing these words, the USDX is up and trading at about 93.52, which is just 0.07 below the August high in terms of the closing prices. Consequently, it could easily be the case that the USD Index ends today’s session (and the week) back above this level. You’ve probably heard the saying that time is more important than price. It’s the end of the month, so let’s check what happened in the case of previous turns of the month; that’s where we usually see major price turnarounds. I marked the short-term turnarounds close to the turns of the month with horizontal dashed blue lines, and it appears that, in the recent past, there was practically always some sort of a turnaround close to the end of the month. Consequently, seeing a turnaround (and a bottom) in the USD index now would be perfectly normal. And with the USD Index making quick work of 94, 95, and now 96, the greenback’s rally continues to gain steam. What’s more, the USD Index also surged above its late 2020 resistance and 98 should be the next bullish milestone. More importantly, however, gold, silver, and mining stocks are sensing that something is amiss. For example, while they largely ignored the USD Index’s recent ascent, their negative correlations resurfaced last week (on a very short-term basis, so far, but still). Moreover, while the precious metals’ recent rallies were likely euro-weakness-driven and not USD Index-strength-driven, the dollar basket’s uprising should elicit more pain for gold, silver, and mining stocks over the medium term. To explain, I wrote on Nov. 17: The euro recently declined and the prices of silver and gold recently rallied shortly after dovish comments from the eurozone. Namely, while the expansionary nature of fiscal and monetary decisions in the U.S. might be after its peak (with the infrastructure bill signed even despite high inflation numbers), the eurozone is far from limiting its expansionary (i.e., inflationary) policies, and it was just made clear recently. That was bearish for the euro and bullish for the gold price – as more money (euros in this case) would be chasing the same amount of physical gold. The point here is that it might have been the decline in the value of the European currency that caused gold to rally, and it had little to do with what happened in the USD Index. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, the gold-USD link is stable and negative. In some cases, gold shows strength or weakness by refusing to move in tune (and precisely: again) with U.S. dollar’s movement. But in this case, it seems that it’s not about the U.S. dollar at all (or mostly), but rather about what happened in the Eurozone and euro recently. As a result, with the USD Index likely to take the lead in the coming months, the precious metals should suffer along the way. For context, the USD Index is approaching overbought territory and a short-term decline to ~95 isn’t out of the question. However, it’s more of a possibility than a given. Moreover, the greenback’s medium-term outlook remains robust, and any short-term pullback is likely a corrective downswing within a medium-term uptrend. Circling back to the euro, I’ve been warning for months that the Euro Index was materially overvalued and that a sharp re-rating would likely unfold. I wrote previously: The next temporary stop could be ~1.1500 (the March 2020 highs, then likely lower). For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and that’s why the euro’s behavior is so important. And after the Euro Index sunk to a new 2021 low last week, the European currency has officially fallen off a cliff. To that point, after breaking below the declining support line of its monthly channel, a drawdown to ~111 is likely next in line (which is signaled by the breakdown below its bearish head & shoulders pattern). The Euro Index is near oversold territory and a short-term bounce may ensue, but the bearish medium-term implications remain intact. Please see below: Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around). Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration. Again, the recent move higher in the USD Index doesn’t necessarily apply in the case of the above rule, as it was not the strength of the USD but weakness in the euro that has driven it. Likewise, with the USD Index now approaching its long-term rising support line (which is now resistance), a rally above the upward sloping black line below would invalidate the prior breakdown and support a move back above 100. However, with the dollar basket’s weekly RSI (Relative Strength Index) now above 70, a short-term consolidation may ensue. Conversely, please note that the recent medium-term rally has been calmer than any major upswing witnessed over the last 20 years where the USD Index’s RSI has hit 70. I marked the recent rally in the RSI with an orange rectangle and I did the same with the second-least and third-least volatile of the medium-term upswings. The sharp rallies in 2008 and 2014 were of much larger magnitudes. And in those historical analogies, the USD Index continued its surge for some time without suffering any material corrections. As a result, the short-term outlook is more of a coin flip. However, the medium-term outlook remains profoundly bullish, and gold, silver, and mining stocks may resent the USD Index’s forthcoming uprising. Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind still remains at the dollar’s back. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98 target is likely to be reached over the medium term, and the USDX will likely exceed 100 at some point over the medium or long term. Keep in mind, though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, while the USD Index’s 2021 surge caught the consensus by surprise, I’ve been sounding the bullish alarm for many months. And with more strength likely to materialize over the medium term, the ‘death of the dollar’ narrative has been grossly over-exaggerated. Moreover, while gold, silver, and mining stocks recently ignored the greenback’s fervor, history implies that their relative strength won’t last. As a result, more downside will likely confront the precious metals over the next few months. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
More And More Universities Are Including Metavers In Their Education Program

Fixed income market: the week ahead

Althea Spinozzi Althea Spinozzi 22.11.2021 14:23
Summary:  This week it's all about a surge of Covid-19 cases and inflation. The debt ceiling issue will keep long-term yields in check in the United States while spurring volatility in money markets. Lack of collateral and new lockdown measures are also compressing spreads in the Euro area. Yet, policymakers' engagement to the idea of less accommodative monetary policies on both sides of the Atlantic indicates that yields will not remain rangebound for long. Once the lid is lifted, inflationary pressures will push yields higher. Therefore, it's safe to assume a continuous bear flattening of yield curves. US Treasuries: volatility in money markets will keep long-term yields in check. Yet, inflation concerns continue to grow, pointing to higher rates once the debt ceiling issue is resolved. This week, investors will need to focus on the Fed Minutes released on Wednesday, inflation numbers, and the White House's announcement concerning the Federal Reserve Chair nomination. The Fed’s minutes might unveil details regarding the decision that led to tapering this month and whether FOMC members begin to fret about inflationary pressures. Last week, several Fed’s speakers opened up about accelerating tapering and hiking interest rates in 2022. Among them, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida called for a discussion to expedite tapering to enable the central bank to hike interest rates sooner. At the same time, if Biden nominates Leal Brainard as Fed Chair, it could advance inflation worries. Brainard is known to be more dovish than Powell. In the case of her nomination, the market could anticipate interest rates to remain low for longer, implying stickier inflation, provoking a selloff in bonds. The Personal Consumption Expenditure Index, one of the inflation data most looked at after the Federal Reserve, will be released on Wednesday. The PCE core deflator index YoY is expected to rise to 4.1%, the highest in more than 31 years. As we mentioned in earlier editions of “Fixed income market: the week ahead”, we expect inflationary pressures to continue to rise and higher rents, housing and wages to make inflation stickier, putting at odds policymakers’ transitory narrative. Therefore, although the US yield curve has already flattened substantially, we cannot expect anything else than more flattening. The only difference is that once the debt ceiling issue is resolved, long term yields will need to rise together with short term yields, putting at risk weaker credits. The debt ceiling will be a crucial topic for December. Janet Yellen has said that the US Treasury will run out of cash soon after the 3rd of December if an agreement over the debt ceiling is not found. However, money markets have started to price a default during the second half of December. Indeed, last week's 4-week T-Bills auction was priced with a yield of 0.11%, more than double the Reverse Repurchase facility rate. We expect volatility in money markets to continue to remain elevated until the debt ceiling is lifted or suspended. Until then, the long part of the yield curve will serve as a safe haven causing yields to remain compressed. Yet, once the debt ceiling hurdle has cleared, long-term rates will resume their rise. European sovereigns: lack of collateral and a surge in Covid-19 cases will keep yields compressed. Yet, something is changing among policymakers. In Europe, governments are imposing new lockdown measures due to increasing Covid-19 cases, causing yields to drop significantly. Yet, inflationary forces have already been set into motion. Another lockdown might exacerbate inflation further as consumption will switch from services to goods, putting more pressure on prices. Meanwhile, policymakers have started to open to the possibility that upside inflation risk might remain throughout winter. Therefore, near-term hikes expectations are unlikely to reverse despite new lockdown measures. Yet, lack of collateral in the euro area contributes to keeping short-term yields compressed across the euro area, including the periphery. At the same time, swaps with the same maturity have widened as the market prices earlier interest rate hikes. Demand for collateral will remain strong until the end of the year. However, 2022 opens up to widening risk, as demand for bonds will start to wane, and the front part of the yield curve will shift higher according to interest rate hikes expectations. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group. However, it looks too early to call for higher yields in the Euro area, as a lot still depends on yields in the US and December's ECB meeting. Suppose more governments across the euro area impose lockdown measures. In that case, the central bank might look to extend the PEPP bond-buying program after March, compressing yields further. The next few weeks preceding Christmas are going to be critical to set direction in European sovereigns. Economic calendar: Monday, the 22nd of November  Spain:  Balance of Trade United States: Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Existing Home Sales (Oct),  2-year Note Auction, 5-year Note Auction Eurozone: Consumer Confidence Flash (Nov) Tuesday, the 23rd of November Germany: Markit Composite, Manufacturing and Services PMI Flash (Nov) Eurozone: Markit Composite and manufacturing PMI Flash (Nov) United Kingdom: market/CIPS Composite, Manufacturing and Services PMI Flash (Nov) United States: Markit Manufacturing PMI flash (Nov), NY Fed Treasury Purchases TIPS 7.5 to 30 years, 2-year FRN Auction, 7-year Note Auction Wednesday, the 24th of November New Zealand: Interest Rate Decision, RBNZ Press Confidence France: Business Confidence Germany: Ifo Business Climate (Nov), 15-year Bund Auction United States: Durable Goods Orders (Oct), GDP Growth Rate QoQ 2nd Est (Q3),  Continuing Jobless Claims, Corporate Profits QoQ Prel (Q3), Durable Goods Orders (Oct),  Goods Trade Balance (Oct), Initial Jobless Claims, Jobless Claims 4-week Average, retail Inventories Ex Autos (Oct), Core PCE Price Index (Oct), Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final (Nov), PCE Price Index (Oct), Personal Income (Oct), Personal Spending (Oct), FOMC Minutes, 4-week and 8- week bill auction Thursday, the 25th of November New Zealand: Balance of Trade Japan: Foreign bond Investment, Coincident Index Final, Leading Economic Index Final (Sep) Germany: GDP Growth Rate YoY Final (Q3), GfK Consumer Confidence (Dec) Sweden: Monetary Policy Report, Riskbank Rate Decision France: Unemployment Benefit Claims Canada Average weekly earnings YoY Friday, the 26th of November Australia: Retail Sales MoM Prel (Oct) South Korea: Interest Rate Decision France: Consumer Confidence Switzerland: GDP Growth Rate YoY (Q3) Italy: Business Confidence (Nov)
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Bounces Back

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Bounces Back

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.11.2021 08:40
GBPUSD hits resistance The pound pulled back after Britain’s retail sales registered a steeper drop to -1.3% in October. The pair has met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone around 1.3510, a support that has turned into resistance after a failed rebound. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound. However, a bearish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that sentiment is still pessimistic. 1.3380 is a key support to keep the sterling afloat. A bearish breakout may trigger an extended sell-off to last December’s lows around 1.3200. USDCAD breaks higher The Canadian dollar struggles after a contraction in September’s retail numbers. The US dollar bounced off the resistance-turned-support at 1.2580. This is a sign that the bulls are still in control. A bullish MA cross on the daily timeframe confirms the directional bias for the next few days. The daily resistance at 1.2770 would be the next target. Its break would lead to a test of the double top at 1.2900. In the meantime, the RSI’s overextension has temporarily held the bulls back. We can also expect buying interest during dips. GER 40 struggles for support The Dax 40 tumbles as lockdowns across Europe hurt sentiment. The RSI’s overbought situation on the daily chart has made buyers cautious in pursuing high valuations. On the hourly chart, a bearish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the upward momentum. Then a dip below 16200 confirms weakness in the rally, prompting leverage positions to liquidate. The psychological level of 16000 is a congestion area as it coincides with last August’s peak and the 20-day moving average. 16300 is now a fresh hurdle.
Electrification and urbanisation will drive growth in copper

Electrification and urbanisation will drive growth in copper

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 22.11.2021 08:26
Summary:  Copper is an essential metal in our green transformation driven by electric vehicles and upgrades to our electric grid infrastructure. The ongoing urbanisation in the world is also driving construction which is one of the key demand drivers for copper. The demand outlook looks strong, but how can investors get exposure to copper. We explore the different options and highlights specifically six miners with high exposure to copper. The long-term growth drivers of copper The green transformation will electrify the global economy as cars go electric and more homes in colder areas will switch from natural gas as heating source to that of air to water heat pumps. In warmer parts of the world we will continue to see an acceleration in air conditioners to cool homes. The main usage of refined copper is for electrical applications, but it is also used in housing (pipes and fittings), cars, telecommunication and industrial machines. Copper has the second highest thermal conductivity at room temperature among pure metals and is thus the preferred metal used in electrical applications. As the world electrifies in the name of the green transformation and rapid urbanization continues in Asia, Africa, and South America, copper will continue to enjoy strong annual growth rates. How to get exposure to copper? Copper has been rebranded as a green metal because of its importance for the green transformation and investors are increasingly asking us how to invest in copper. The most direct way is of course to invest in high grade copper futures on COMEX (part of CME Group) with the current active contract being the Mar 2022 contract (Saxo ticker: HGH2), but the contract has a contract value of around $106,537 at current level making it inaccessible to most retail investors. One could also invest through CFD on futures (Saxo ticker on the Mar 2022 is COPPERUSMAR22) where the investor could buy 100 pounds of copper instead of 25,000 pounds in the futures reducing the contract size to $425. However, getting exposure through CFDs and futures the investor must regularly roll the contract to the next active contract, and the investor could also incur financing cost increasing the drag on performance. The chart below shows the continuous futures contract on high grade copper since 2002. Source: Saxo Group Few miners offer pure exposure to copper Another way to get exposure to copper that removes the difficulties of rolling futures or CFD contracts is to invest in mining companies that extract or refine copper. The table below shows 16 mining companies with exposure to copper with Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, absent from the list as the Chilean miner is only listed in Chile and thus not investable for our clients. The copper mining industry has delivered a median total return in USD of 132.6% over the past five years beating the global equity up 105% in the same period. The rising copper prices the past year driven by investors positioning themselves in green metals (defined as metals that will play a key role in the green transformation) which in turn has pushed up revenue in the industry by almost 40%. Sell-side analysts are generally bullish on copper miners with a median upside of 16% from current levels. In our view investors should select one or two copper miners to get exposure and avoid the ETFs on the industry as they are too broad-based and lack the pure exposure profile needed to play the copper market. Name Market cap (USD mn) F12M EV/EBITDA Revenue growth (%) Price-to-target (%) 5Y return (USD) Revenue from copper (%) Antofagasta PLC 18,871 5.1 43.8 3.4 166.6 84.8 First Quantum Minerals Ltd 14,962 5.1 41.9 20.9 111.3 84.2 Southern Copper Corp 45,944 8.6 39.7 3.1 128.9 81.6 KGHM Polska Miedz SA 7,026 3.8 28.3 26.4 80.0 73.8 Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd 9,843 7.2 44.6 37.8 27.3 71.0 OZ Minerals Ltd 6,397 7.6 38.7 -6.1 288.4 60.0 Glencore PLC * 65,890 4.5 -7.5 13.9 78.2 39.0 Boliden AB 9,291 5.1 26.2 3.7 68.1 35.0 Freeport-McMoRan Inc 57,080 5.7 55.5 13.2 193.3 33.7 Teck Resources Ltd 14,468 3.9 28.7 19.9 22.0 27.0 BHP Group Ltd 131,046 4.0 41.7 18.6 136.4 26.0 Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd 39,925 8.8 27.4 52.1 396.4 22.7 Anglo American PLC 47,342 3.5 59.0 15.7 262.8 22.3 MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC 47,479 5.1 27.1 13.5 191.1 20.6 Rio Tinto PLC 98,497 3.6 39.5 15.8 149.2 11.5 Vale SA 60,329 2.5 77.2 87.6 111.4 5.5 Aggregate / median 674,389 5.1 39.6 15.7 132.6 34.4 Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group* EBITDA contribution as Glencore does not breakdown revenue split on metals As the table also show, there is no such thing as pure exposure to copper except for futures, options and CFDs on the underlying copper. The miner with the highest revenue exposure to copper is Antofagasta with 84.8% revenue share from copper extraction and refining. Most copper miners also extract gold and silver as part of their copper operations. Out of the 16 copper miners in our list, only 6 of these miners have more than 50% of revenue coming from copper extraction and refining. Outlook and risks High grade copper futures have been range trading for more than half a year as slowing demand out of China due to a slowdown in housing construction has weighed on the demand side. On the positive side inventories have been tight in copper which has helped support the copper price and the global pipeline of new copper mines, but also potential tax charges in Chile and Peru (roughly around 40% of global supply) could negative impact supply and keep copper prices high. The annualized growth rate in global refined copper demand has been around 3% in the period 2009-2020. China has for many years been the key driver of demand growth for copper, but going forward electrification (electric vehicles and air-to-water heat pumps and urbanization in India will begin to play a bigger marginal role on demand creating a more steady and diversified demand picture. In 2022, demand outside China will be driven by construction, grid infrastructure, and transport. Another risk to copper demand is significantly higher interest rates next year as that would curtail growth in construction which is interest rate sensitive.
Ever Thought About Biofuels to Diversify Your Portfolio?

Ever Thought About Biofuels to Diversify Your Portfolio?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 19.11.2021 16:49
How do you feel about adding a broader range of stocks to our energy investment portfolio watchlist? Let’s see what we can do! By the way, feel free to send us your questions or topics that you would like us to write about in the forthcoming editions, so we’ll try our best to answer them! Trading positions are available to our premium subscribers. First, let’s quickly define what biofuels are: A biofuel is a liquid or gaseous fuel derived from the transformation of non-fossil organic matter from biomass, for example, plant materials produced by agriculture (beets, wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflowers, potatoes, etc.). So, it is considered a source of renewable energy. The combustion of biofuels produces only carbon dioxide (CO2) and steam (H2O) and little or no nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Therefore, biofuels – as being at the crossroads between energy and agricultural commodities – respond to economic drivers (crops/supply, demand, dollar strength, reserves, etc.) and geopolitics of both industrial sectors. Furthermore, they allow their producing countries to reduce their energy dependence on fossil fuels. Key reasons to invest in these alternative energy sources: Given the recent surge of oil and gas prices, biofuels have become somehow more attractive, and consequently one could witness a slight shift in demand from fossil to non-fossil fuels. This was also a central topic of talks during the recent United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26), which recently took place in Glasgow (Scotland), and where world leaders finally agreed to preliminary rules for trading carbon emissions credits. In addition, as we all know, the combustion of fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Regarding biofuels - the carbon emitted to the atmosphere during their combustion has been previously fixed by plants during photosynthesis. Thus, the carbon footprint seems to be a priori neutral. Stock Watchlist (Continued) In the first article, we started a watchlist with some major energy stocks. In the second article, we added some more spicy assets (MLPs). Today, let’s update it with some biofuel-based stocks! As usual, our stock picks will be shared through that link to our dynamic watchlist which will be updated from time to time, as we progress through this portfolio construction process... Below is an example of some indicative metrics: Daily Technical Charts Figure 1 – Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE) Stock (daily chart) Figure 2 – Aemetis, Inc. (AMTX) Stock (daily chart) Figure 3 – Tantech Holdings Ltd. (TANH) Stock (daily chart) In summary, those biofuel-related stocks may present some benefits to diversifying your energy portfolio while covering some alternative fuels as well. As always, we’ll keep you, our subscribers well informed. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve a high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Inflation Risk: Milton Friedman Would Buy Gold Right Now

Inflation Risk: Milton Friedman Would Buy Gold Right Now

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 19.11.2021 16:50
Powell maintains that inflation is transitory, but the monetary theory of inflation suggests otherwise. So, elevated inflation could stay with us!, Some economists downplay the risk stemming from elevated inflation, saying that comparisons to the 1970s style stagflation appear unfounded. They say that labor unions are weaker and economies are less dependent on energy than in the past, which makes inflationary risks less likely to materialize. Isabel Schnabel, Board Member of the European Central Bank, even compared the current inflationary spike to a sneeze, i.e., “the economy’s reaction to dust being kicked up in the wake of the pandemic and the ensuing recovery”. Are those analysts right? Well, in a sense, they are. The economy is not in stagnation with little or no growth and a rising unemployment rate. On the contrary, the US labor market is continuously improving. It’s also true that both the bargaining power of workers and energy’s share in overall expenditure have diminished over the last fifty years. However, general inflation is neither caused by wages nor energy prices. Higher wages simply mean lower profits, so although employees can consume more, employers can spend less. If wages are set above the potential market rates, then unemployment emerges - not inflation. Similarly, higher energy prices affect the composition of spending, but not the overall monetary demand spent on goods and services. It works as follows: when the price of oil increases, people have to spend more money on oil (assuming the amount of consumed oil remains unchanged), which leaves less money available for other goods and services. So, the overall money spent on goods won’t change. As a consequence, the structure of relative prices will change, but widespread prices increases won’t happen. In other words, Milton Friedman’s dictum remains valid: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output”. It’s quite a simple mechanism, even central bankers should be able to understand it: if the stock of goods remains unaltered while the stock of money increases, this, as Frank Shostak put it, “must lead to more money being spent on the unchanged stock of goods – an increase in the average price of goods” Let’s look at the chart below, which displays the annual growth rates in the broad money supply (M2, red line) and in the CPI (green line). We can notice two important things. First, in the 1970s, the pace of broad money supply growth was relatively high, as it reached double-digit values at some point. As a consequence, inflation accelerated, jumping above 10% for a while. In other words, stagflation was born. Since then, the rate of growth in the money supply never reached double-digit numbers on a prolonged basis, including the Great Recession, so high inflation never materialized. And then the pandemic came. In March 2020, the money supply growth rate crossed the 10% threshold and never came back. In February 2021, it reached its record height of 27.1%. The pace of growth in the M2 money aggregate has slowed down since then, dropping to a still relatively high rate of 13%. This is a rate that is almost double the pre-pandemic level (6.8% in February 2020) and the long-term average (7.1% for the 1960-2021 period ). So, actually, given the surge in the broad money supply and the monetary theory of inflation, rapidly rising prices shouldn’t be surprising at all. Second, there is a lag between the money supply growth and the increase in inflation rates. That’s why some analysts don’t believe in the quantity theory of money – there is no clear positive correlation between the two variables. This is indeed true – but only when you take both variables from the same periods. The correlation coefficient becomes significant and positive when you take inflation rates with a lag of 18-24 months behind the money supply. As John Greenwood and Steve Hanke explain in opinion for Wall Street Journal, According to monetarism, asset-price inflation should have occurred with a lag of one to nine months. Then, with a lag of six to 18 months, economic activity should have started to pick up. Lastly, after a lag of 12 to 24 months, generalized inflation should have set in. If this relationship is true, then inflation won’t go away anytime soon. After all, the money supply accelerated in March 2020 and peaked in February 2021, growing at more than four times the “optimal” rate that would keep inflation at the 2-percent target, according to Greenwood and Hanke. In line with the monetarist description, the CPI rates accelerated in March 2021, exactly one year after the surge in the money supply. So, if this lag is stable, the peak in inflation rates should happen in Q1 2022, and inflation should remain elevated until mid-2022 at least. What does it mean for the gold market? Well, if the theory of inflation outlined above is correct, elevated inflation will stay with us for several more months. Therefore, it’s not transitory, as the central bank tells us. Instead, inflation should remain high for a while, i.e., as long as the money supply growth won’t slow down and go back below 10% on a sustained basis. What’s more, the velocity of money, which plunged when the epidemic started, is likely to rise in the coming months, additionally boosting inflation. So, I would say that Milton Friedman would probably forecast more persistent inflation than Jerome Powell, allocating some of his funds into the yellow metal. Gold is, after all, considered to be an inflation hedge, and it should appreciate during the period of high and rising inflation. Although so far gold hasn’t benefited from higher inflation, this may change at some point. Actually, investors’ worries about inflation intensified in October, and gold started to show some reaction to the inflationary pressure. My bet is that the next year will be better for gold than 2021: the Fed’s tightening cycle will already be inaugurated, and thus traders will be able to focus on inflation, possibly shifting the allocation of some of their funds into gold as a safe-haven asset. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Intraday Market Analysis – Nasdaq Hits Resistance

Intraday Market Analysis – Nasdaq Hits Resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.11.2021 09:20
NAS 100 pulls back Investors took profit after Jerome Powell’s renomination as US Federal Reserve Chairman. The tech index saw an acceleration in its rally after a break above the previous peak (16450). Strong momentum suggests that buyers are committed to keeping the uptrend intact after a brief pause. However, the RSI’s triple top in the overbought area indicates exhaustion, and a fall below 16550 has triggered a correction. 16300 is the next support from a previous supply zone. A rebound needs to clear 16750 before the rally could resume. AUDUSD struggles for support China’s property slowdown and lower commodity prices weigh on the Australian dollar. The pair has given up most of its gains from the October rally, a sign that support is hard to come by. Nonetheless, a series of lower lows has attracted trend followers’ interest in maintaining the status quo. 0.7220 is an intermediate support. An oversold RSI may prompt the short side to cover, raising bids in the process. However, the bulls will need to lift offers around the former support at 0.7300 before they could expect to turn the tables. NZDJPY seeks support The New Zealand dollar remains under pressure after disappointing retail sales in Q3. The kiwi is seeking support after a surge above last May’s peak at 81.20 led the daily RSI into an overbought situation. Short-term sentiment remains bearish as the pair struggles to achieve a new high. 80.55 is a major resistance after the bulls’ multiple failed attempts. A bullish breakout may pave the way for a reversal towards 82.00. Otherwise, a drop below 79.50 would send the pair towards September’s high at 78.50.
All alone with bitcoin

All alone with bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 23.11.2021 11:06
With this psychological burden, you want to stack your odds as good as possible to gain an edge for balance. Bitcoin provides such advantages. The inherent volatility allows for follow-through after an entry. In other words, one gets good risk/reward-ratios in midterm plays on bitcoin. Also, necessary for the long-term time frame player since hodling has another psychological hurdle that piled on top can be devastating. You won’t find many traders who bought a bundle of bitcoin when it traded at a dollar and are still holding it without ever having sold or rebought some. BTC in US-Dollar, Quarterly Chart, the Doji explosion: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Quarterly chart as of November 23rd, 2021. The quarterly chart of bitcoin shows how explosive moves to the upside can be. If you look at the yellow lines, you will see that a small Doji builds after a retracement, and then prices explode within the next quarter like rockets. This trading behavior provides for sensational risk/reward-ratios. The quarterly chart shows a bullish quarter. Even though all-time highs have been rejected, we see the year ending on a bullish note. The great thing about this self-directed profession, on the other hand, is that you get all the credit. Work directly translates into money, without the typical step in between, selling a product or a service. If you are good at what you are doing in the trading/investing arena, rewards can be more than plentiful. No gift baskets need to be sent to a boss or coworker. True rewards for arduous work to yourself. A very self-fulfilling profession indeed. BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, most often trending: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 23rd, 2021. The monthly chart illustrates the steepness of the trend, and yellow lines provide a possible long reload opportunity, which will take all-time highs out next year. Another benefit for individual traders choosing to trade bitcoin is its unique personality of trending much more than most trading instruments. This unique feature adds a massive edge to a trader’s trading arsenal. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, freeing investment capital fast: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 23rd, 2021. But this isn’t all. From a trading perspective, bitcoin supports the unsupported individual in comparison to gold or silver as alternate wealth preservation tools due to its speed. Risk is the most defining aspect for a trader, and consequently, capital exposure time is the most crucial aspect. After all, the longer money is in the market, the more exposed it is, let’s say, to unexpected news and six sigma events. Market money parked cannot produce elsewhere and is also emotionally draining. No such thing in bitcoin.A look at the weekly time frame illustrates what we mean by this. It took less than eight weeks for bitcoin to gain staggering percentage moves within the first and second leg in this steep regression channel up. We also just entered a low-risk entry zone again for a third leg to mature. In short, you are all alone with bitcoin, but at least you picked the most ideal alliance with this trading vehicle to stack the odds in your favor. All alone with bitcoin: The business of market play is unique. You’re not learning this skill in school, mentors are hard to come by, and it isn’t a group sport. It is advisable to seek out a community of like-minded traders like our free telegram channel, since spouses rarely can comprehend the steepness of the learning curve and the challenges of constant self-reflection and pain until the consistency is mastered.  While one typically can team up and is supported within a group at the mastery level required, it’s a solo sport in trading.  Statistics support that the likeliest reason for failure in this business is underestimating the time required to acquire all the important skills necessary for success. New traders run either out of money or patience.  The press makes it look so easy, and the fact that all one needs to do is press a button doesn’t help towards a more respectful attitude. Yet, the mere truth is that it is one of the most demanding businesses to find oneself into. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|November 23rd, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Betting on Hawkish Fed

Betting on Hawkish Fed

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.11.2021 15:46
S&P 500 reversed from fresh ATHs as spiking yields sent tech packing. Value didn‘t soar, but held up considerably better – still, stock bulls are getting on the defensive. Markets have interpreted the Powell nomination as a hawkish choice. I‘ve written the prior Monday:(…) the Fed is still printing a huge amount of money on a monthly basis, and it remains questionable how far in tapering plans execution they would actually get – I see the risks to the real economy coupled with persistently high inflation as rising since the 2Q 2022 (if not since Mar already, but most pronounced in 2H 2022.Inflation hasn‘t moved to the Fed‘s sights, and yesterday‘s rection in yields and precious metals is a bit too harsh. While rates are on a rising path as I‘ve written yesterday, precious metals overreacted. True, the bullish argument for the dollar stepped to the fore as yields differential between the U.S. and the rest of the world got more positive, and at the same time, various yield spreads keep compressing. That‘s a reflection of less favorable incoming economic data. Just as much as Friday‘s reaction was about corona economic impact projections, yesterday‘s one was about monetary policy anticipation.Inflation expectations though barely budged – the decline doesn‘t count as trend reversal. CPI isn‘t done rising, and the more forward looking incoming data (e.g. producer prices) would confirm there is more to come. All in all, it looks like precious metals (and to a smaller degree commodities), are giving Powell benefit of the doubt, which I view to be leading to disappointment over the coming months. Should Powell heed the markets‘ will, the real economy would weaken dramatically, forcing him to make a sharp dovish turn – and he would, faster than he flipped since getting challenged in Dec 2018.We‘re experiencing an overreaction in real assets – as stated yesterday:(…) the Fed would have to reverse course once the tapering effects start biting some more – not now, with still more than $100bn monthly addition. Cyclicals and commodities that had massively appreciated vs. year ago (oil doubled), are feeling the pinch of fresh economic activity curbs speculation in spite of the polar shift of U.S. strength in energy of 2019 and before. Begging the OPEC+ to increase production might not do the trick, and with so much inflation already in (and still to come), the key investment theme is of real assets strength.Precious metals have broken out, are no longer an underdog, and the inflation data will not decelerate for quite a few months still. And even as they would, it would come at a palpable cost to the real economy, and the resolute fresh stimulus action wouldn‘t be then far off. As I wrote in Apr 2020, it‘s about the continuous stimulus that‘s the go-to response anytime the horizon darkens, for whatever reason. Wash, rinse, repeat.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls lost the momentary upper hand, and value recovery isn‘t yet strong enough to carry it forward. A less heavy move in bonds – temporary yields stabilization – would be needed to calm down stock market nerves.Credit MarketsTreasuries held up best, and that‘s characteristic of a very risk-off sentiment. The low volume in HYG isn‘t a promise of much strength soon returning.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals turned sharply lower, and haven‘t stabilized yet. Bond market pressures are keenly felt even though inflation expectations didn‘t follow with the same veracity. The next few days will be really telling.Crude OilCrude oil bulls have made a good move, and more strength needs to follow. The fact that it would be happening when the dollar is strengthening, and many countries are tapping their strategic reserves, bodes well for black gold‘s recovery.CopperCopper springboard bulding goes on, and the CRB Index isn‘t tellingly yielding – the hawkish Fed bets better be taken with a (at least short-term) pinch of salt.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are still going sideways, and today‘s resilience is a good omen – across the board for risk assets.SummaryS&P 500 bulls need tech to come alive again, and odds are it would with a reprieve in spiking yields. While bond markets are getting it right, yesterday‘s fear in corporate bonds was a bit too much – the Fed isn‘t yet in a position to choke off the real economy through slamming on the breaks. Markets are prematurely speculating on that outcome, which would be a question of second or third quarter next year. Treasuries have though clearly topped, and stocks do top with quite a few months‘ lag – we aren‘t there yet. Enjoy the commodities ride, and confidence gradually returning to precious metals.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
S&P 500: Rallying Tech Stocks vs. Plummeting Oil Stocks

S&P 500: Rallying Tech Stocks vs. Plummeting Oil Stocks

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 22.11.2021 16:46
The S&P 500 index nearly topped its record high on Friday, but it closed lower following an intraday decline. Is this a topping pattern? For in-depth technical analysis of various stocks and a recap of today's Stock Trading Alert we encourage you to watch . The S&P 500 index lost 0.14% on Friday, Nov. 19, as it extended its short-term consolidation along the 4,700 level. The broad stock market went sideways despite record-breaking rallies in large tech stocks like AAPL, MSFT and NVDA. It still looks like a short-term topping pattern, as the S&P 500 index keeps bouncing from the Nov. 5 record high of 4,718.50. The nearest important support level remains at 4,630-4,650 and the next support level is at 4,600. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,700-4,720. The S&P 500 continues to trade along the 4,700 level, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq Reached the New Record High Let’s take a look at the Nasdaq 100 chart. The technology index reached the new record high of 16,625.86 on Friday, led by megacap tech stock rallies. It accelerated above its short-term upward trend line after breaking above the resistance level of 16,400 on Thursday. There have been no confirmed negative signals so far. However, we can see some short-term overbought conditions. Apple and Microsoft at New Record Highs Let’s take a look at the two biggest stocks in the S&P 500 index, AAPL and MSFT. Apple accelerated its uptrend after breaking above the resistance level of around $152-154. It reached the new record high on Friday at $161.02. Microsoft slightly extended its recent advance, as it reached the new record high of $345.10. The two biggest megacap tech stocks reached new record highs, as we can see on their daily charts: Conclusion The S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.4% higher this morning. We will likely see some more short-term fluctuations along the record high level. For now, it looks like a short-term consolidation and a flat correction within an uptrend. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 is fluctuating along the 4,700 level. For now, it looks like a short-term consolidation following the October-November rally. Still no positions are justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak, Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Article by Decrypt Media

More Public Debt Is Coming. Another Gold’s Rally Ahead?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 23.11.2021 15:13
  Democrats are not slowing down - the social spending bill follows the infrastructure package. Will gold benefit, or will it get into deep water? Will the American spending spree ever end? On Monday last week (November 15, 2021), President Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure package, and just a few days later, Biden’s social spending bill worth another $1.75 trillion passed the US House of Representatives. Apparently, $1 trillion was not enough! Apparently, we don’t already have too much money chasing too few goods. No, the economy needs even more money! Yes, I can almost hear the lament of American families: “we need more money, we already bought everything possible, we already own three cars and a lot of other useless crap, but we need more! Please, the almighty government, give us some bucks, let your funds revive our land”. Luckily, the gracious Uncle Sam listened to the prayers of its poor citizens. Given the above, one could think that the US economy is not already heavily indebted. Well, it’s the exact opposite. As the chart below shows, the American public debt is more than $27 trillion and 125% of GDP, but who cares except for a few boring economists? Of course, neither infrastructure nor spending bill will increase the fiscal deficits and overall indebtedness to a similar extent as the pandemic spending packages. These funds will be spread over years. Additionally, the fiscal deficit should narrow in FY 2022 as pandemic relief spending phases out (this is already happening, as the chart below shows), while the economic recovery combined with inflation tax bracket creep increases tax revenues. However, both of Biden’s bills will increase indebtedness, lowering the financial resilience of the US economy. What’s more, the overall debt is much larger than the public debt I focused on here. Other categories of debt are also rising. For instance, total household debt has jumped 6.2% in the third quarter of 2021 year-over-year, to a new record of $15.2 trillion.   Implications for Gold What does the fiscal offensive imply for the precious metal market? In the short run, not much. Fiscal hawks like me will complain, but gold is a tough metal that does not cry. Both of Biden’s pieces of legislation have been widely accepted, so their impact has already been incorporated into prices. Actually, the actual bills could be even seen as conservative – compared to Biden’s initial radical proposals. In the long run, fiscal exuberance should be supportive of gold prices. The ever-rising public debt should zombify the economy and erode the confidence in the US dollar, which could benefit the yellow metal. However, the empire collapses slowly, and there is still a long way before people cease to choose the greenback as their most beloved currency (there is simply no alternative!). So, it seems that, in the foreseeable future, gold’s path will still be dependent mainly on inflation worries and expectations of the Fed’s action. Most recently, gold prices have stabilized somewhat after the recent rally, as the chart below shows. Normal profit-taking took place, but gold found itself under pressure also because of the hawkish speech by Fed Governor Christopher Waller. He described inflation as a heavy snowfall that would stay on the ground for a while, rather than a one-inch dusting: Consider a snowfall, which we know will eventually melt. Snow is a transitory shock. If the snowfall is one inch and is expected to melt away the next day, it may be optimal to do nothing and wait for it to melt. But if the snowfall is 6 to 12 inches and expected to be on the ground for a week, you may want to act sooner and shovel the sidewalks and plow the streets. To me, the inflation data are starting to look a lot more like a big snowfall that will stay on the ground for a while, and that development is affecting my expectations of the level of monetary accommodation that is needed going forward. So, brace yourselves, a janitor is coming with a big shovel to clean the snow! Just imagine Powell with a long-eared cap, gloves, and galoshes giving a press conference! At least the central bankers would finally do something productive! Or… maybe shoveling is not coming! Although the Fed may turn a bit more hawkish if inflation stays with us for longer than expected previously, it should remain behind the curve, while the real interest rates should stay ultra-low. The December FOMC meeting will provide us with more clues, so stay tuned! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Dax 40 December hit the buying opportunity at 16080/060. Try longs with stops below 16040.

Dax 40 December hit the buying opportunity at 16080/060. Try longs with stops below 16040.

Jason Sen Jason Sen 23.11.2021 13:31
EuroStoxx 50 December just completed a head & shoulders reversal pattern for a sell signal initially targeting minor support at 4310/00. FTSE 100 December a high for the day exactly at first resistance at 7240/60. Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis. Dax holding minor resistance at 16140/160 to retest strong support at 16090/060. Try longs with stops below 16040. A break lower however is a sell signal with 16060/090 working as resistance targeting 16000 & a buying opportunity at 15960/930. Try longs with stops below 15900. A break above 16180 keeps bulls in control for today targeting 16260/280. A break above 16290 should target 16350/390. EuroStoxx holding the head & shoulders neckline resistance at 4330/40 targets 4310/00 then 4270/60, perhaps as far as strong support at 4240/30. Resistance at 4330/40 but above here allows a recovery to 4375/80 before a retest of 4400/10. Anyone want to bet on a double top sell signal here? A break above 4410 however targets 4418/20 but eventually we can reach as far as 4450/55. FTSE we have a buying opportunity at 7170/50 with stops below 7135. A break lower targets 7100/7090, perhaps as far as 7040/30. Longs at 7170/50 target 7200 then first resistance at 7240/60 for some profit taking. If we continue higher look for 7300/10 this week. Emini S&P December new all time high exactly at the 4735/40 target in the bull trend, but severely overbought conditions finally kicked in with a sudden collapse to the 4670/68 target. This leaves a bearish engulfing candle, which is a very short term negative signal. We do have severely negative divergence on the daily chart so there is a risk of a further correction but I think there are too many retail traders betting on a crash for it to happen just yet. Nasdaq December hit the next target of 16640/660 next target then a new all time high at 16767. However prices then crashed leaving a huge bearish engulfing candle, which is a very short term negative signal. Emini Dow Jones December shorts at first resistance at 35850/950 worked perfectly with a high for the day here, followed by a retest of last week's low at 35490. Update daily at 07:00 GMT. Today's Analysis. Emini S&P first support at 4670/68 but a break below 4660 targets 4640 then the best support at 4630/20. Try longs with stops below 4610. Very minor resistance at 4700/10 but above here retargets 4720/23 & 4735/40 then 4750. Nasdaq December collapsed through first support at 16450/400 to target 16300/270 then best support for today at 16230/200. Try longs with stops below 16150. A break lower however sees 16200/230 working as resistance to target 16100 & 16030/010 before a buying opportunity at 15900/850. Try longs with stops below 15800. First resistance at 16400/450. Shorts need stops above 16500. A break higher targets 16550/600 before a retest of the all time high at 16630/767. Emini Dow Jones December strong support at 35450/350. A break lower however targets 35100/35000. Watch for a bounce from here on the first test. However a break lower meets a buying opportunity at 34800/750, with stops below 34650. First resistance at 35850/950. A break above 36000 should be a buy signal targeting 36230/250. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Qatar's Leniency Towards Crypto Violators Under Scrutiny: Global Watchdog Calls for Stronger Action

Bitcoin: the dark side of institutional love

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 23.11.2021 13:40
Bitcoin has suffered from the former institutional love affair with it. On Monday, a significant sell-off in the stock and bond market prevented the first cryptocurrency from returning to the upside. The recent sell-off confirmed a bearish scenario for bitcoin for now. And one should watch closely to see if this situation becomes toxic for the entire cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin fluctuated widely on Monday, and at some point, it managed to recover an initially weak start. But pressure on equities in the US trading session and the ongoing strengthening of the dollar dragged crypto down. From intraday highs, bitcoin lost 6.3% by the end of the day, at one point falling to $55.6K. The bears showed who is in control now, clearly demonstrating that bounce attempts are stumbling into aggressive selling. In such an environment, it should come as no surprise that the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index moved into "fear" territory, losing 17 points to 33 - its lowest level since October 1st. Perhaps the following line of defence for the bulls could be the $52.0-53.5K area, where the previous extremes and the 61.8% retracement from the September-November rally are concentrated. One can only wonder how ETHUSD continues to hold its critical $4000 level amid such aggressive pressure on BTCUSD. The first cryptocurrency appears to be under pressure from institutional sell-offs, of which there are drastically less in Ether.
Tech Sell-Off Continues

Tech Sell-Off Continues

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 23.11.2021 22:41
November 23, 2021  $USD, EMU, Federal Reserve, Oil, OPEC+, SPR, UK, US Overview:  The markets are unsettled.  Bond yields have jumped, tech stocks are leading an equity slump, and yesterday's crude oil bounce reversed.  Gold, which peaked last week near $1877, has been dumped to around $1793.  The tech sell-off in the US carried into the Asia Pacific session, and Hong Kong led most markets lower.  The local holiday let Japanese markets off unscathed, though the Nikkei futures are off about 0.4%.  Australia and India managed to post minor gains as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for the fourth time in five sessions.  Europe's Stoxx 600 has slid around 1.5% today, its fourth consecutive decline, but has clawed back nearly half the gains.  It is the longest retreat in two months.  US futures are lower, with the NASDAQ leading the move.   Near 1.64%, the US 10-year yield is at the upper end of this month's range.  Last month it reached 1.70%.  European bond yields are mostly 4-6 bp higher, and peripheral spreads have widened a little.  The dollar is sitting in the middle of the major currencies.  The dollar bloc, sterling, and the Norwegian krone, which are the risk-on, levered to growth currencies, are weaker.  The euro, yen, and Swiss franc are little changed but firmer.  The dollar briefly traded above JPY115.00 in Asia, without Tokyo,  before being pushed back. The steady euro has taken some pressure off most of the regional currencies.  The Turkish lira has been in a virtual freefall following President Erdogan's spirited defense of his efforts to drive down rates.    There was around 10 lira to the dollar in the middle of November.  Today, at its peak, there is about 12.48 lira to the dollar.   Asia Pacific Over the weekend, Japan expressed willingness to cap its strategic reserves.  Press reports indicated yesterday that India is amenable to coordinating a release of some of its oil stocks.  South Korea may also participate.  It has been under consideration for a couple of weeks, at least, in the US, and China appears willing to repeat September's release of crude from its reserves.  However,  it seems naive to have expected OPEC+ to simply standby.  January WTI posted a bearish outside down day ahead of the weekend by trading on both sides of the previous day's range and settling below the previous session's low.  Follow-through selling yesterday took it down about $1.20 from the close, but when OPEC+ announced that a coordinated release of the oil could prompt it to reconsider its own plans.  It is to meet next week to review its strategy. Through yesterday's low, January WTI had retreated by nearly 11% from the October 25 higher near $83.85.   A band of resistance is seen between $78 and $80.   OPEC+ had previously agreed to boost output by 400k barrels a day per month to restore pre-pandemic output levels.  That said, not all the members can produce their quota, leading to a shortfall.  OPEC+, the IEA, and EIA all seem to agree that supply-demand considerations shift in next year, and the market will once again be in oversupply.  Moreover, OPEC+ argues that the real dislocation is not with oil as its with gas.   The US imports about 2.9 mln barrels a day, India, about 4.2 mln, and Japan, about 3.1 mln barrels a day.  South Korea imports around 2.5 mln barrels a day.  Together it is around 12.7 mln barrels a day of imports.   If together, 100 mln barrels are released, about eight days of imports would be covered.  This is a high estimate.  India, for example, has indicated it may release 5 mln barrels.   Australia's flash November PMI was better than expected.  Manufacturing edged up to 58.5 from 58.2, while services rose to 55.0 from 51.8.  This produced a 55.0 composite reading, a gain from 52.1 in October.  Recall, the pandemic and lockdown led to weakness in the economy in the May-August period.  The composite PMI bottomed in August at 43.3.  It has risen for three months but remains well off the peak in April of 58.9.  Separately, New Zealand real retail sales were hit in Q3 by the social restrictions, but the drop was not quite as bad as feared.  Reall retail sales fell 8.1% after a 3.3% increase in Q2.  Economists (Bloomberg median) had anticipated a 10.5% pullback.  The RBNZ meets the first thing tomorrow and is widely expected to hike 25 bp, to lift the cash rate to 0.75%. There is still a slight bias toward a larger move in the swaps market.   The dollar briefly traded above JPY115.00 for the first time since March 2017.  We note that Japanese dealers were on holiday and did not participate in the move.  As risk-off sentiment took over, the dollar was sold back to JPY114.50.  Resistance in Europe has been found near JPY114.80.  Note that there is an option for about $980 mln at JPY115.50 that expires tomorrow.  The Australian dollar initially edged lower to almost $0.7210, its lowest levels since October 1 before steadying. A break of $0.7200 signals a retest of the late September low near $0.7170.  Initial resistance is seen in the $0.7230-$0.7250 area.  The PBOC is sending plenty of verbal signals that it does not want to see strong yuan gains, and today's fixing underscores that point.  The dollar's reference rate was set at CNY6.3929, wider than usual above the market expectation (Bloomberg) for CNY6.3904.  The greenback is firm inside yesterday's range.  Caution is advised here as the PBOC could escalate its disapproval.   Europe The flash EMU November PMI was better than expected.  The aggregate manufacturing PMI rose to 58.6 from 58.3.  The market anticipated a decline.  The service PMI rose to 56.6 from 54.6, also defying expectations for a sequentially weaker report.  The composite snapped a three-month slide and rose to 55.8 from 54.2.   The cyclical peak was in July at 60.2.    A flash release is made for Germany and France.    German manufacturing slowed slightly (57.6 from 57.8) and held up better than expected (Bloomberg median 56.9).  Services actually improved (53.4 from 52.4).  The composite rose to 52.8 from 52.0 to end a three-month downdraft after peaking in July at 62.4.  French numbers were even better.  The manufacturing PMI rose to 54.6 from 53.6.  The service PMI rose to 58.2 from 56.6.   The composite improved to 56.3 from 54.7 to snap a four-month fall.  Recall that yesterday the Bundesbank warned that the German economy may practically stagnate this quarter and that inflation may approach 6% this month.   The UK's flash PMI was more mixed.  The manufacturing PMI had been expected to have slowed but instead improved for the second consecutive month (58.2 from 57.8).  Services were nearly as weak as anticipated slipping to 58.6 from 59.1.  The composite eased slightly to 57.7 from 57.8, ending a two-month recovery from the June-August soft patch.  Meanwhile, Prime Minister Johnson's rambling speech yesterday hurt people's ears, and in terms of substance,  the changes to social care funding that may result in lower-income people having to sell homes to pay for support did not go over well.  It is spurring talk of a possible cabinet reshuffle.  The euro has edged to a new low for the third session today, slipping to almost $1.1225 before catching a bid that lifted it back to $1.1275.  There is an option for around 765 mln euros at $1.1220 that expires today.  The nearby cap is seen in the $1.1290-$1.1310 area.   The euro may struggle to sustain upticks ahead of tomorrow's US PCE deflator report (inflation to accelerate).    Sterling met new sellers when it poked above $1.3400. It has ground lower in the European session, and sterling fell to almost $1.3355.  Note that the low for the year and month was set on November 12, slightly above $1.3350.  We see little chart support below there until closer to $1.3165.   America We suspect many pundits exaggerated the link between the renomination of Powell for a second term and the sell-off in US debt and technology shares.  First, it was not a surprise.  Second, it assumes a substantive difference in the conduct of monetary policy between Powell and Brainard.  There isn't.  The difference was on regulatory issues and on the role of climate change.  Third, the idea that the Fed may accelerate its bond purchases next month was sparked by the high CPI reading on November 10.  Yesterday, Bostic joined fellow Fed President Bullard.  Two governors (Clarida and Waller) also seem to be moving in that direction (Waller may be faster than Clarida). The fact or the matter, nearly all of the high-frequency data for October, including employment, auto sales,  retail sales, industrial production, and inflation, came in higher than expected.  The US sees the preliminary November PMI today.  It is expected to have risen for the second consecutive month after fall June-September.   The reception to yesterday's US two- and five-year note auctions was relatively poor.  The higher yields (compared with the previous auctions) did not produce better bid-cover ratios.  Today the Treasury comes back with $55 bln seven-year notes and re-opens the two-year floater.  Many observers see the debt ceiling constraint being likely an early 2022 problem rather than this year.  Still, tomorrow's sale of the four-week bill may be the test.  Recall that at last week's auction, the 4-week bill yield doubled to 11 bp.   Europe's virus surge and social restrictions became a market factor last week.  Many think that the US is a few weeks behind Europe.  The seven-day infliction rate in the US rose 18% week-over-week.  Several states, including Colorado, Minnesota, and Michigan, are being particularly hard hit.  Nationwide 59% of Americans are reportedly fully vaccinated. However, it leaves about 47 mln adults and 12 mln teens unvaccinated.  The risk-off mood and the drop in oil prices are helping the US dollar extend its gains against the Canadian dollar.  The greenback, which started the month below CAD1.24, is now pushing close to CAD1.2750 to take out last month's high.  A move above here would target CAD1.28 and then the September high near CAD1.2900.  Still, the market is getting stretched, and the upper Bollinger Band is slightly below CAD1.2730.  The risk-off mood does not sit right with the Mexican peso either.  The dollar settled above MXN21.00 yesterday, its highest close in eight months.  The same forces have lifted it to MXN21.1250 today. However, the anticipated gain in September retail sales (0.8% Bloomberg median after a flat report in August) may not give the peso much support if the risk-off continues. The high for the year was set on March 8 near MXN21.6360.   Disclaimer
FX Update: USD kneejerks higher as Powell gets nod for second term

FX Update: USD kneejerks higher as Powell gets nod for second term

John Hardy John Hardy 23.11.2021 17:08
Summary:  US President Biden will tap Jay Powell for a second term as Fed Chair and will nominate Lael Brainard to be promoted to Vice Chair of the Fed, a move that sent the USD modestly higher and US yields sharply higher, though some of the reaction may have been on pent-up reaction to prior developments. Elsewhere, the descent in the Turkish lira is turning dire, while the kiwi is weaker ahead of an RBNZ meeting tonight. FX Trading focus: USD follows US yields higher in the wake of Powell getting nod for 2nd term Surprising a sizable minority and perhaps myself to a degree, US President Biden will tap Jay Powell for a second term as Fed Chair, while seeking to promote Lael Brainard from her current position to Vice Chair. The most prominent reason given for not going with Brainard is that her confirmation process may have proven contentious, something Biden wanted to avoid, and given extensive Democratic party support for Powell, the progressive wing aside, it was always the “easy option”. Brainard will still have to go through a confirmation process with the Senate. More interesting is the Brainard was not nominated to Vice Chair in the banking supervision and regulation role that the soon-gone Quarles occupied, a role that many envisioned for her. Biden has more nominees to consider for Quarles’ replacement and other empty spots, but continuity appears assured, though a Vice Chair Brainard will carry more weight when she dissents on non-monetary policy issues in the future (she never dissented on FOMC votes but has dissented more than 20 times on board votes linked to loosening regulation on US financial institutions). Other positions at the Fed will need filling as well, including the replacement of Quarles as banking supervisor. The market reaction to the news was fairly straightforward and “as expected” algorithmically, i.e., Brainard was supposed to be the more dovish pick, so Biden going with Powell saw the USD stronger as the market priced in about 10 basis points more in the way of Fed hikes through the end of next year. It’s tough to tell whether some of the reaction was the market simply adjusting to have this important issue “out of the way” allowing traders to price in other recent developments, like hot US data and Fed Vice Chair Clarida’s comments on possibly speeding up the pace of the Fed’s taper of asset purchases at the December FOMC meeting. The next test for whether this USD move can extend will be with tomorrow’s October PCE Inflation print and the FOMC minutes. For USDJPY, as I argue below, an extension higher  likely needs more upside from longer US yields. US President Biden will speak today on the economy and “lowering prices for the American people” which many believe will include a release of crude oil from US strategic reserves. That’s a risky move if it fails. Chart: USDJPYUSDJPY spilled over the 115.00 barrier in the wake of Powell getting the nod for a second term, with  the move now trying to decide whether it can stick. Arguably, the rise in Fed policy expectations don’t mean much if the longer end of the US yield curve remains anchored as it has lately, which continues to suggest that the market sees inflation as transitory and/or that Fed potential on rates will max out around 2.0% and crush the growth and inflation outlook. While 10-year US yields were sharply higher yesterday, they’re still bogged down in the range since the pivot high of 1.70% in October and the cycle high near 1.75% all the way back at the end of March. The logjam needs to break there and send US long yields higher for better fundamental support for a significant break above the 115.00 level in USDJPY. European politics in the spotlight – with Germany dealing with a new Covid ave and the ongoing natural gas and power crunch, it is time for the government coalition to announce itself and begin ruling. An announcement of the “stoplight” coalition could be imminent and we’ll have to watch the awkward combination closely, particularly the LDP Lindner’s attitude toward spending as the traditionally liberal party’s supply side principles are at odds with its Social Democratic and Green coalition partners inclinations, although energy emergencies are not political, but must be dealt with.  Elsewhere, Italian president Mattarella announced he will be stepping down. If, as some believe, an effort is made to replace his mostly ceremonial role with Mario Draghi, elections would have to be held. And the French election season will only heat up from here, where we watch whether Macron can keep the populists Zemmour and Le Pen at bay.  The Euro is getting very cheap – bigger fiscal, an ECB reverse repo facility, and a non-Covid constrained outlook by spring could have EURUSD in a very different place by then. Antipodean action- the Aussie has risen sharply versus the kiwi (NZD) over the last couple of sessions as the news flow for the  Aussie has improved notably, with China’s central bank possibly signaling it is ready to bring stimulus, some of the news flow in the property sector improving, and especially as iron ore prices have jumped sharply, particularly overnight, on all of the above plus anticipation that China will have to increase steel output soon. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand was one of the quickest central banks to turn hawkish over the summer and abandon QE and was only delayed slightly in hiking rates by New Zealand’s first Covid outbreak in many months over the summer. The central bank chief Adrian Orr has made it clear that the bank is on the path or many more rate hikes to come and the market has priced in a policy rate of 1.50% by the April meeting of next year versus the current 0.50%. Most believe that the central bank will only hike 25 bps tonight but a significant minority believe that the bank will hike 50 bps. As important will be the market mood (if risk sentiment is weak on further US yield rises, for example, the impact of any RBNZ move may be muted) and whether guidance is able to meet lofty expectations for further tightening. The NZ 2-year yield has traded flat at elevated levels since late October, while NZDUSD has declined, arguably on the fresh momentum in Fed expectations, so moving the needle may require that the RBNZ deliver a 50 basis point hike and even more hawkish guidance. Turkish lira move getting downright disorderly – Turkish President was out yesterday complimenting the recent Turkish Central Bank chief’s decision to cut rates another 100 basis points and declaring that the Turkish government would concentrate on policies that encourage economic growth. In rather dire language, he drew parallels between the current situation and the struggle to form the modern Turkish state in 1923 in the wake of World War I. As of this writing, USDTRY traded near 12.50 after starting last week near 10.00, a breathtaking move. Much more of this kind of price action, and the risk of hyperinflation will swing into view. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthThe most important trend shift was yesterday’s huge dump in precious metals – look at the momentum scores for the last 2- and 5 days. Otherwise, most trends of late are extending with the exception of the badly fading NZD. Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairsThe precious metals in for a rough ride on the USD- and US yield move in the wake of the Fed Chair nomination move yesterday. Elsewhere, getting some hefty trend readings in USD/SEK and UDS/NOK, which remain high beta to Euro weakness. Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1445 – US Nov. Flash Markit Manufacturing and Services PMI 1500 – UK BoE Governor Bailey at House of Lords 1500 – US Nov. Richmond Fed Manufacturing 1730 – ECB's Makhlouf to speak 1800 – Canada Bank of Canada’s Beaudry to speak 2130 – API’s Weekly Petroleum Stock Report 0030 – Japan Nov. Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI 0100 – New Zealand RBNZ Official Cash Rate Announcement
Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Stays Under Pressure

Intraday Market Analysis – EUR Stays Under Pressure

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.11.2021 09:15
EURUSD struggles to rebound The euro bounced back after PMI readings in the eurozone exceeded expectations. The pair is testing July 2020’s lows around 1.1200. The RSI’s oversold situation on the daily chart may limit the downward pressure for now. We can expect a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd as price action stabilizes. Sentiment remains fragile though and sellers may fade the next rebound. The bulls will need to lift 1.1360 before a reversal could take shape. Failing that, a bearish breakout would trigger a new round of sell-off towards 1.1100. NZDUSD lacks support The New Zealand dollar softened after the RBNZ met market expectations and raised its cash rate by 25bps. The downward pressure has increased after 0.6980 failed to contain the sell-off. The pair has given up all gains from the October rally, suggesting a lack of interest in bidding up the kiwi. An oversold RSI caused a rebound as short-term traders took profit and the bears were swift in selling into strength. The directional bias remains bearish unless 0.7010 is cleared. The September low at 0.6860 is the next support. UKOIL bounces back Brent crude recovers on speculation that OPEC+ may lower production to counter a release of strategic reserves. A break below 79.30 has shaken out the weak hands. The price has met buying interest over the daily demand zone around 77.70, which coincides with last July’s peak. A surge above 82.00 puts the bears on the defensive. Short-covering would exacerbate short-term volatility. An overbought RSI may cause a brief pullback. Then 85.50 is a key hurdle before the uptrend could resume.
Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Cardano, and More Crypto in FBS Trader

Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Cardano, and More Crypto in FBS Trader

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.11.2021 08:39
Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Cardano, and More Crypto in FBS Trader The international trading broker FBS keeps up with the latest trends and adds new crypto assets to its product. Now Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Cardano, and ten more crypto assets are available for traders in the FBS Trader app. The crypto market hits new heights Crypto trading has gained popularity all over the world and seems to be even more widespread. Thus, being among the financial market leaders, FBS Trader provides its clients a Crypto account to trade crypto efficiently. By opening this account, traders open the door to unlimited trading any day and any time. Also, for convenience and ease of use, the deposits are converted into USD. A Crypto account gives traders access to more than a hundred crypto assets, from top currencies, like Bitcoin, to the rare crypto to metal pairs. And now, the list of crypto in FBS Trader has become even bigger to unleash the full crypto potential. Hyped-up crypto assets FBS dares to give the best trading opportunities to its clients. That is why the broker is constantly growing the functionality and variety of its products. This time, the most trendy and promising crypto assets were added for trading via FBS Trader: Shiba Inu Cardano Dogecoin Solana Polkadot Chainlink Polygon Uniswap Algorand Filecoin Maker Avalanche VeChain Currently, most of these crypto assets are under the traders’ community discussion. And now everyone can trade these and more instruments safely with a credible FBS Trader app. Reliable and safe choice More than 18 million traders already trust FBS. The broker’s reliability is proven by 12 years of experience and multiple awards. Also, the solid partnership with FC Barcelona and Leicester City is another evidence of FBS services’ security and high-quality products. FBS is always by the side of clients and thinks about novices in crypto trading. Specially for those confused about crypto trading, FBS Trader offers a Demo Crypto account to taste digital currencies with no risk. A Demo Crypto account replicates the real market and all crypto assets, including thirteen new ones. Thus, everyone can use a virtual $10K to practice skills and feel more confident in crypto trading. New crypto assets are already waiting for traders in the app. This time, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and other coins were added to the crypto list. Stay tuned for more popular instruments in FBS Trader since this is not over. More about FBS FBS is an international Forex broker that has been on the market since 2009. Millions of clients from over 150 countries choose FBS broker for its strong reputation and constantly developed products. The company provides financial services for currencies, stocks, metals, energies, indices, and crypto trading. FBS is a licensed broker regulated by CySEC, IFSC, and ASIC, winning over 60 international awards and taking care of those in need.
Market Quick Take - November 22, 2021

Market Quick Take - November 22, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 22.11.2021 10:04
Summary:  Equity markets closed last week somewhat mixed, but the Asian session was mostly strong on indications that the Chinese PBOC is shifting its attitude on monetary policy toward easing. Elsewhere, the difficult wait for the Fed Chair nomination news continues this week ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Crude oil bounced after finding support overnight, but the risk of SPR release and Covid demand worries still linger. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - a new week following a new all-time high in US equities on the close on Friday, which is starting with Nasdaq 100 futures opening up higher trading around the 16,610 level in early European trading. Last week showed that investors and traders are utilizing the Covid-19 lockdown playbook selling off physical companies while buying online companies that are better equipped to navigate new lockdowns in Europe. With the US 10-year yield remaining in a range around the 1.55% there is nothing from preventing equities from extending recent gains. EURUSD and EURGBP – new Covid restrictions across Europe, which has become the center of the latest Covid wave, have crimped sentiment for the euro, as has the still very elevated power and natural gas prices. EURUSD has traded back down toward the lows of the cycle near 1.1265 overnight, with the next psychological magnet lower likely the 1.1000 area as long as the big 1.1500 break level continues to provide resistance. In EURGBP, last week saw the break of the prior major pivot low near 0.8400, with the next objective the post-Brexit vote low near 0.8275. USDJPY – threatened support on Friday on a spike lower in long US treasury, but a reversal of much of that action by this morning in late Asian trading is likewise seeing USDJPY trying to recover back into the higher range, with a focus on the recent top just short of 115.00. We likely need for long US treasury yields to sustain a move higher to support a major foray above this huge 114.5-115.00 chart area, which has topped the market action since early 2017. Meanwhile, if risk sentiment worsens further in EM and darkens the outlook for JPY carry trades there, while US treasuries remains rangebound or head lower, the JPY could squeeze higher as the speculative interest is tilted heavily short. Gold (XAUUSD) extended Friday’s drop below $1850 overnight, before bouncing ahead of key support in the $1830-35 area. The risk of a quicker withdrawal of Fed stimulus supporting real yields and the dollar has for now reduced gold's ability to build on the technical breakout. However, the price softness on Friday helped attract ETF buying with Bloomberg reporting a 10 tons increase, the biggest one-day jump since January 15. Gold’s biggest short-term threat remains the tripling of futures long held by funds during the past seven weeks to a 14-month. Most of that buying being technical driven with the risk of long liquidation now looming on a break below the mentioned support level.   Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSDEC21) opened softer in Asia after Friday’s big drop but has so far managed to find support at $77.85, the previous top from July. The market focus has during the past few weeks shifted from the current tight supply to the risk of a coordinated reserve release, a renewed Covid-driven slowdown in demand and recent oil market reports from the EIA and IEA pointing to a balanced market in early 2022. Speculators who for the last six weeks have been net sellers of crude oil futures cut their combined WTI and Brent long to a three-month low in the week to November 16. Focus on SPR and Covid risks this week US treasuries (SHY, IEF, TLT). Government bond yields worldwide dropped as new lockdown measures were imposed in Austria on Friday. Ten-year yields tumbled to 1.55%, and they are likely to continue to trade range-bound as the debt ceiling issue will continue to compress long-term yields as volatility peaks in money markets. Investors will focus on this week’s PCE index, FOMC minutes and any news regarding a change of leadership of the Federal Reserve. If Brainard is appointed as Fed chair, the market will expect low rates for longer, thus inflation expectations will advance putting upward pressure on yields. Thus, it is unavoidable to continue to see the 5s30s continue to flatten. German Bunds (IS0L). We expect European sovereigns, in general, to continue to benefit from news related to a surge of Covid cases and lack of collateral as the year ends. Yet, the perception of inflation is changing among ECB members with Isabel Schnabel last week saying that the central bank will need to be ready to act if inflation proves more durable. Therefore, as we enter in the new year, and collateral shortages will be eased, we anticipate spreads to resume their widening. What is going on? Fed Vice Chair Clarida suggests faster Fed taper - in comments on Friday, suggesting that the December FOMC meeting could speed the pace at which the Fed will reduce its asset purchases. “I’ll be looking closely at the data that we get between now and the December meeting...It may well be appropriate at that meeting to have a discussion about increasing the pace at which we are reducing our asset purchases.” China’s central bank signals that it may ease policy. In a monetary policy report from Friday, the PBOC dropped language from prior reports, including phrase suggesting that the bank will maintain “normal monetary policy” and a promise not to “flood the economy with stimulus”. This comes in the wake of considerable disruption in the property sector as the government cracks down on an overleveraged property sector. Asian equities were mostly higher on the news, especially in Korea, although the Hang Seng index was slightly in the red as of this writing. Ericsson to acquire cloud provider Vonage in $6.2bn deal. This pushes the Swedish telecommunication company into the cloud communication industry seeking to add more growth to the overall business. Vonage has delivered 11% revenue growth in the past 12 months hitting $1.4bn with an operating margin of 10.4%. Global proceeds from IPOs hit $600bn in record year. This is the biggest amount since 2007 and almost 200% above the level in 2019 highlighting the excessive risk sentiment in equities. More confusing signals from Bank of England. Governor Bailey said in an interview for the Sunday Times that risks to the country are “two-sided” at the moment as growth slows and inflation rises, and that the cause of inflation problems is supply side constraints and that “monetary policy isn’t going to solve those directly.” Similarly, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday that the Bank of England said that the weight of evidence was shifting in favour of rate hikes but that he has not yet made a decision, encouraging observers to focus on the longer term rather than meeting-to-meeting decision. US shared intelligence with allies suggesting potential for Russia to invade Ukraine - according to Bloomberg sources. The intelligence noted up to 100,000 soldiers could be deployed in such a scenario, and that some half of that number are already in position.  Russian president Vladimir Putin denied Russia intends to invade, but seemed to pat himself on the back for “having gotten the attention of the US and is allies, which he accused of failing to take Russia’s ‘red lines’ over Ukraine seriously”, as the article puts it. What are we watching next? Who will US President Biden nominate to head the Fed next February? Powell is still seen as more likely to get the nod that Brainard by roughly two to one, and this Fed Chair nomination issue is hanging over the markets, as the current Fed chair term ends in early February and from comments made last week by President Biden, an announcement could come any day. One uncertainty that would come with a Brainard nomination is the potential difficulty of having her nomination approved by the Senate. The nomination news could generate significant short-term volatility on the choice of the nominally more dovish Lael Brainard over current Fed Chair Powell, though we see little difference in the medium-longer term implications for monetary policy, and the Fed is likely to get a prominent new regulatory role either way (under Brainard or someone else if she is nominated to replace Powell). Will Germany announce a Covid lockdown? - Friday saw some volatility on Austria’s announcement of a full Covid lockdown, with Germany’s health minister saying that a similar move in Germany could not be ruled out. Later that day, that was contradicted by comments from another minister. Meanwhile, resistance against Covid restrictions has turned violent in Netherlands. Earnings Watch – the number of important earnings is falling rapidly, but this week Tuesday is the most important day with key earnings from Xiaomi, XPeng and Kuaishou, both important Chinese technology companies. Also on Tuesday, US companies such as Medtronic, Autodesk and Dell Technologies are worth watching. Monday: Sino Pharmaceutical, Prosus, Zoom Video, Agilent Technologies Tuesday: Xiaomi, Kuaishou Technology, Compass Group, Medtronic, Analog Devices, Autodesk, VMWare, Dell Technologies, XPeng, HP, Best Buy, Dollar Tree Wednesday: Deere, Thursday: Adevinta Friday: Meituan, Pinduoduo Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0900 - Switzerland SNB weekly sight deposit data1330 – US Chicago Fed Oct. National Activity Index1500 – US Oct. Existing Home Sales1730 – ECB's Guindos to speak2145 – New Zealand Q3 Retail Sales2200 – Australia Nov. Flash Services & Manufacturing PMI0105 – Australia RBA’s Kohler to speak Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
COT Speculator Extremes: Brent Oil, Coffee, Mexican Peso & Palladium lead Bullish & Bearish Positions

COT Speculator Extremes: Brent Oil, Coffee, Mexican Peso & Palladium lead Bullish & Bearish Positions

Invest Macro Invest Macro 24.11.2021 08:11
November 23, 2021 By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter The latest update for the weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report was released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday for data ending on November 16th 2021. This weekly Extreme Positions report highlights the Top 5 Most Bullish and Top 5 Most Bearish Positions for the speculator category. Extreme positioning in these markets can foreshadow strong moves in the underlying market. To signify an extreme position, we use the Strength Index (also known as the COT Index) of each instrument, a common method of measuring COT data. The Strength Index is simply a comparison of current trader positions against the range of positions over the previous 3 years. We use over 80 percent as extremely bullish and under 20 percent as extremely bearish. (Compare Strength Index scores across all markets in the data table or cot leaders table) Speculators or Non-Commercials Notes: Speculators, classified as non-commercial traders by the CFTC, are made up of large commodity funds, hedge funds and other significant for-profit participants. The Specs are generally regarded as trend-followers in their behavior towards price action – net speculator bets and prices tend to go in the same directions. These traders often look to buy when prices are rising and sell when prices are falling. To illustrate this point, many times speculator contracts can be found at their most extremes (bullish or bearish) when prices are also close to their highest or lowest levels. These extreme levels can be dangerous for the large speculators as the trade is most crowded, there is less trading ammunition still sitting on the sidelines to push the trend further and prices have moved a significant distance. When the trend becomes exhausted, some speculators take profits while others look to also exit positions when prices fail to continue in the same direction. This process usually plays out over many months to years and can ultimately create a reverse effect where prices start to fall and speculators start a process of selling when prices are falling.   Here Are This Week’s Most Bullish Speculator Positions: Brent Oil The Brent Oil speculator trader’s futures position comes in as the most bullish extreme standing this week. The Brent speculator level is currently at a 98 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position totaled -12,900 net contracts this week which was a change by -1,049 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 45,201 contracts compared to the total spec short position of 58,101 contracts. Free Reports: Top 5 Companies Added to Our Stock Watch List this Quarter - Here are the Stock Symbols that stood out so far in the fourth quarter of 2021. Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.   Coffee Futures The Coffee Futures speculator trader’s futures position comes next in the extreme standings this week. The Coffee speculator level is now at a 97 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was 66,081 net contracts this week, a change by 5,261 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 79,550 contracts versus the total speculator short position of 13,469 contracts. New Zealand Dollar The New Zealand Dollar speculator trader’s futures position comes in third this week in the extreme standings. The NZD speculator level resides at a 95 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was 13,965 net contracts this week which marked a change by 1,083 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 26,388 contracts versus the total speculator short position of 12,423 contracts. 2-Year Bond The 2-Year Bond speculator trader’s futures position comes up number four in the extreme standings this week. The 2-Year speculator level is at a 91 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -5,445 net contracts this week and changed by 11,292 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 345,245 contracts against the total spec short position of 350,690 contracts. US Treasury Bond The US Treasury Bond speculator trader’s futures position rounds out the top five in this week’s bullish extreme standings. The Long T-Bond speculator level sits at a 88 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -16,368 net contracts this week which was a move of 11,704 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 144,973 contracts in comparison to the total speculator short position of 161,341 contracts. This Week’s Most Bearish Speculator Positions: Mexican Peso The Mexican Peso speculator trader’s futures position comes in as the most bearish extreme standing this week. The MXN speculator level is at a 2 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -47,655 net contracts this week, a weekly change of 752 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 69,984 contracts versus the total spec short position of 117,639 contracts. Palladium The Palladium speculator trader’s futures position comes in next for the most bearish extreme standing on the week. The Palladium speculator level is at a 7 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -2,038 net contracts this week which was a change by 916 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 3,108 contracts compared to the total speculator short position of 5,146 contracts. Japanese Yen The Japanese Yen speculator trader’s futures position comes in as third most bearish extreme standing of the week. The JPY speculator level resides at a 10 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -93,126 net contracts this week saw movement by 12,225 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 24,635 contracts against the total spec short position of 117,761 contracts. Nikkei 225 Yen The Nikkei 225 Yen (Japanese stock market) speculator trader’s futures position comes in as this week’s fourth most bearish extreme standing. The Nikkei 225 Yen speculator level is at a 11 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -4,195 net contracts this week which was a change by -3,892 contracts on the week. The speculator long position was a total of 9,075 contracts versus the total speculator short position of 13,270 contracts. 5-Year Bond Finally, the 5-Year Bond speculator trader’s futures position comes in as the fifth most bearish extreme standing for this week. The 5-Year speculator level is at a 20 percent score of its 3-year range. The speculator position was -344,595 net contracts this week and changed by 62,890 contracts from last week. The speculator long position was a total of 300,750 contracts compared to the total spec short position of 645,345 contracts. Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
FX Update: USD remains firm, RBNZ taps brakes on expectations

FX Update: USD remains firm, RBNZ taps brakes on expectations

John Hardy John Hardy 24.11.2021 13:44
Summary:  The US dollar remains firm after the news of Fed Chair Powell getting the nod for a second term on Monday, but a more aggressive extension of its recent strength is avoided as US yield rises were tempered yesterday. Elsewhere, a less hawkish than expected RBNZ saw the kiwi sharply weaker as the market removed a chunky bit of forward rate hike expectation on the latest guidance. FX Trading focus: USD follows US yields higher in the wake of Powell getting nod for 2nd term The US dollar strengthening in the wake of President Biden’s announcement that he would tap Jay Powell for a second term as Fed Chair extended modestly yesterday and into this morning, somewhat tempered by a strong US 7-year treasury auction taking the steam out rises in yields yesterday – with the 7-year benchmark actually notching new highs for the cycle before retreating in the wake of the auction. The more widely tracked 10-year US treasury yield benchmark is still rangebound below the October pivot high of 1.7% and the post-pandemic outbreak high of 1.75%  from the end of March. This has kept USDJPY from extending notably above the sticky 115.00 area of the moment. Elsewhere, the euro remains relatively weak despite ECB Vice President de Guindos out speaking and hinting some concern on inflation rises: “the ECB is continuously pointingout that the inflation rebound is of a transitory nature....However, we have also seen how in recent months these supply factors are becoming more structural, more permanent.” But just this morning we also have the ECB’s Holzmann out saying that inflation is likely to slow from next year. Later today we will get the expected German government coalition deal (SPD’s Scholz as Chancellor with Green’s Baerbock reportedly set for the foreign minister post and importantly, the liberal LDP’s Lindner set to lead the finance ministry), with a press conference set for 3 p.m. EURJPY and EURUSD are heavy this morning and note that  the 128.00 level in EURJPY is a well-defined range low, while EURUSD doesn’t have notable  support until well below 1.1200 and arguably not until psychological levels like 1.10. With covid spiking and a galloping energy crisis, I don’t envy the new German leadership. Overnight, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand waxed a bit more cautious than was expected by the market, and not only by raising the rates 25 basis points rather than the 50 basis points that a minority were expecting to see. In the central bank’s new statement, the bank strikes a more cautious tone: yes, clearly further rate hikes are set for coming meetings, but the bank is clearly in a wait and see mode, given the tightening of financial conditions already in the bag and that which the market has already priced in: “the Committee expressed uncertainty about the resilience of consumer spending and business investment....(and) also noted that increases in interest rates to householdsandbusinesses had already tightened monetary conditions. High levels of household debt, and a large share of fixed-rate mortgages re-pricing in coming months, could increase the sensitivity of consumer spending to these interest rate increases.” Later today, we have a stack of US data releases crammed into today because of the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow (and for most, Friday as well). The most important of these is the October PCE Infation data print. Not expecting much from the FOMC minutes later as all eyes are on whether we are set for an acceleration of the QE taper at the December FOMC meeting, with some arguing that Powell and company have more room to move and administer a bit more hawkish message, if they so desire, as the nomination news is out of the way and this reduces hyper-sensitivity to bringing any message that could risk cratering market sentiment. Chart: AUDNZDThe 2-year yield spread between Australia and New Zealand has risen sharply in recent days and especially overnight, where the more cautious than expected tones from the RBNZ inspired a 14 basis point drop in 2-year NZ yields. The price action in AUDNZD was sympathetic with the rally back toward local resistance near 1.0450, though the rally needs to find legs for a move up to 1.0600 at least to indicate we may have put a structural low in with a double bottom here. A brighter relative outlook for  Australia could be in the cards if China is set to stimulate and raise steel output, the anticipation of which has already sharply lifted iron ore prices this week, a key indicator for the Aussie. No notable expectations for the Riksbank tomorrow – as the central bank is expected to wind down its balance sheet expansion next year, while the policy forecast is thought to be in play (perhaps a late 2024 lift-off built into expectations, though the market is ahead of that as 2-year Swedish swap rates have risen close to 30 basis in recent weeks. This is the area where the Riksbank can surprise in either direction relative to expectations). The EURSEK rally has now reversed the entirety of the prior sell-off leg and double underlines the very weak sentiment on Europe, which remains “non-existential” in nature, i.e., so far the market is keeping this about policy divergence and dark clouds over the economic outlook, not about the longer term viability of the EMU, etc…, which in the past 2010-12 crisis inspired SEK upside as a safe haven. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthA bit of a relative pick-up in petro-currencies in the wake of yesterday’s oil rally, as the market bought the fact of US President Biden announcing a release of barrels from strategic reserves. Elsewhere, the NZD is losing relative altitude and the USD and especially CNH reign supreme. Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Here, note AUDNZD flipping back to positive - a move that would be “confirmed” by a close solidly above 1.0450. Also note NOKSEK trying to flip positive on the latest oil rally, although beware the Riksbank meeting up tomorrow there. .Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1330 – US Weekly Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims 1330 – US Oct. Advance Goods Trade Balance 1330 – US Q3 GDP Revision 1330 – US Oct. Durable Goods Orders 1430 – UK BoE’s Tenreyro to speak 1500 – US Oct. PCE Inflation 1500 – US Final University of Michigan Sentiment Survey 1500 – US Oct. New Home Sales 1900 – US FOMC Meeting Minutes
Waking Up the Giants

Waking Up the Giants

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.11.2021 16:03
S&P 500 recovered from session lows, and is likely to keep chopping around in a tight range today. Tech found solid footing in spite of sharply rising yields, which value (finally) embraced with open arms. The riskier end of credit markets doesn‘t yet reflect the stabilization in stocks, which is a first swallow. Make no mistake though, the fresh Fed hawkish talking games are a formidable headwind, and animal spirits aren‘t there no matter how well financials or energy perform. These are though clearly positive signs, which I would like to see confirmed by quite an upswing in smallcaps. All in all, this is still the time to be cautiously optimistic, and not yet heading for the bunker – that time would probably come after the winter Olympics (isn‘t it nice how that rhymes with the post 2008 summer ones‘ price action too?). Market reaction to today‘s preliminary GDP data will likely be a non-event, and we‘ll still probably make fresh ATHs before stocks enter more turbulent times. In spite of the cheap Fed talk still packing quite some punch, let‘s keep focused on the big picture and my doubts as to the Fed‘s ability to carry out the taper, let alone (proactive? No, very much behind the curve) rate raising plans – as said the prior Monday or yesterday: (…) the Fed is still printing a huge amount of money on a monthly basis, and it remains questionable how far in tapering plans execution they would actually get – I see the risks to the real economy coupled with persistently high inflation as rising since the 2Q 2022 (if not since Mar already, but most pronounced in 2H 2022. (…) True, the bullish argument for the dollar stepped to the fore as yields differential between the U.S. and the rest of the world got more positive, and at the same time, various yield spreads keep compressing. That‘s a reflection of less favorable incoming economic data. Just as much as Friday‘s reaction was about corona economic impact projections, yesterday‘s one was about monetary policy anticipation. Inflation expectations though barely budged – the decline doesn‘t count as trend reversal. CPI isn‘t done rising, and the more forward looking incoming data (e.g. producer prices) would confirm there is more to come. All in all, it looks like precious metals (and to a smaller degree commodities), are giving Powell benefit of the doubt, which I view to be leading to disappointment over the coming months. Should Powell heed the markets‘ will, the real economy would weaken dramatically, forcing him to make a sharp dovish turn – and he would, faster than he flipped since getting challenged in Dec 2018. Inflation expectation indeed held up during the day, marking modest, lingering doubts about Fed‘s ability to execute. Its credibility isn‘t lost, but would be put to a fresh test over the nearest weeks and months. The real economy can still take it, and not roll over – we are in the very early tapering stage so far still. Commodities are pointing the way ahead, and it‘s time for precious metals to shake off the inordinately high levels of fear, which mark capitulation more than anything else. Just when I was writing that it‘s as if the PMs bulls didn‘t trust the latest rally... Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls stepped in, the volume is semicredible. I like the lower knot, and would look for increasing market breadth to confirm the short-term reversal. It‘s my view we haven‘t made a major top on Monday. Credit Markets It‘s too early to call a budding reversal in credit markets – HYG needs to pull its weight better. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals haven‘t yet regained footing, but that moment is quickly approaching – in spite of the above bleak chart. Compare to the Jun period – Fed‘s talk was more powerful then. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls have made a good move, and more strength did indeed follow. The bottom is in, and many countries tapping their strategic reserves, proved an infallible signal. I look for consolidation followed by further strength next. Copper Copper springboard is getting almost complete, and I think the drying up volume would be resolved with an upswing. The daily indicators are positioned as favorably as the CRB Index is. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are still correcting, and the upcoming Bitcoin move would decide the direction over the next few weeks. The takeaway from cryptos hesitation is that real assets can‘t expect overly smooth sailing yet. Summary S&P 500 bulls would ideally look to value outperforming tech on the upside, confirmed by HYG at least stopping plunging. A brief yields reprieve would come once the Fed steps away from the spotlight, which is another part of the bullish sentiment returning precondition set. Overall, the very modest S&P 500 moves keep favoring the bulls within the larger topping process. Keep in mind that the Fed isn‘t yet in a position to choke off the real economy through slamming on the breaks, it‘s just the forward guidance mind games for now. We are waiting for the bit more seriously than last time meant, but still a bluff, getting questioned again, as inflation expectations haven‘t broken down, and are facilitating the coming PMs and commodities runs. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Turkish Lira Is at Record Lows. How to Trade It?

Turkish Lira Is at Record Lows. How to Trade It?

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 24.11.2021 14:20
USD/TRY belongs to the exotic group of Forex currency pairs, that’s why traders don’t trade it regularly. However, these days this pair is in the focus of all the trading community! What happened? The Turkish lira dropped to the all-time low of just over 13.00 as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to defend the huge interest rate cuts by the central bank: three times since September. That drove up inflation to 20%. The Turkish lira has lost almost half of its value this year, making it the world's worst-performing currency. What’s next? Credit Suisse forecasts USD/TRY to reach 14.00 soon. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) needs to make a sizable rate increase to reverse the downtrend in USD/TRY. However, it is unlikely to happen soon. What else? Turkey is not the only country that will face an economic crisis. Indeed, the prospect for higher interest rates in the US is a negative factor for all these countries that have debt in US dollars. The Federal Reserve is expected to start slowing down the pace of its asset purchases already this month. Besides, the central bank plans to raise rates as soon as June 2022. It’s a bullish factor for the USD. Tech analysis USD/TRY has reversed down after rallying for so long and dropped. However, it has stopped ahead of the significant support level of 12.00. The pair won’t cross it on the first try. The most likely scenario is that it bounces off and turns to the upside. The move above 12.50 will clear the way to the resistance zone of 13.00 and 13.15. Support levels are 12.00 and 11.50. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For a personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Danish equities are feeling the heat from interest rates

Danish equities are feeling the heat from interest rates

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 24.11.2021 14:14
Equities 2021-11-24 13:00 6 minutes to read Summary:  The last two trading days US technology stocks have been impacted by rising interest rates and rising market expectations of Fed rate hikes next year. US technology stocks have interest rate sensitivity due to their high equity valuation, but several other key equity markets such as Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and Denmark are also having high equity valuation and thus high duration. These equity markets would likely underperform next year if the interest rates move considerably higher. In yesterday’s equity note, we showed how Nasdaq 100 and STOXX 600 are the yin and yang of interest rate sensitivity based on equity market reaction this year with Nasdaq 100 underperforming significantly when the US 10-year yield has a large increase. But outside these two major equity indices, investors felt what higher interest rates can do to sentiment. Danish equities were down 3% in its worst day since March 2020 during the panic days of the pandemic and Dutch equities were down 3.1%. What do these two markets have in common? They both have equity valuations that are well above many other markets, which simplistically can be translated into higher duration which means that these equity markets are more sensitive to big changes in interest rates. Why is that? Because high equity valuation implies that a larger part of the present value comes from the terminal value on cash flows (meaning way into the future) and this value is more sensitive to the discount rate. Dutch equities are the most expensive of 26 equity markets in the developed and emerging markets with a 12-month forward EV/EBITDA of 23.3x with Denmark and Switzerland less frothy at 14.3x and 14.7x respectively. If we exclude Australia, India, New Zealand and Singapore from yesterday’s market reaction because of the time delay to the US session then we do observe that equity markets with high equity valuations were hit harder yesterday confirming that we did observe a repricing related to a larger move in interest rates. It is all related to the value vs growth trade which is essentially STOXX 600 vs Nasdaq 100, but which can also be expressed between individual equity indices such as Norway vs Denmark. The main point of yesterday’s equity note and today’s observations is that we have a group of equity markets such as Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, USA, Switzerland, and Denmark that are in the high equity valuation group. These markets have higher interest rate sensitivity and would likely underperform in a rising interest rate environment and exacerbated if flows also favour value over growth. In our view the equity market is telling investors that tail risks are rising for high duration equities and in order to mitigate this investors should begin balancing their portfolios better between high valued growth stocks and value stocks such as energy, financials, and mining companies. Appendix: 5-year charts of OMXC25 (Danish equities) and AEX (Dutch equities)
Turkey gets a Reprieve before US Thanksgiving, but Capital Strike may not be Over

Turkey gets a Reprieve before US Thanksgiving, but Capital Strike may not be Over

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 24.11.2021 14:28
November 24, 2021  $USD, Currency Movement, Germany, Japan, Mexico, RBNZ, Turkey Overview:  The dramatic collapse of the Turkish lira was like an accident one could not help look at, but it was not an accident, but the result of a disregard for the exchange rate and compromised institutions.  The lira was off around 15% at its worst yesterday, before settling 11.2% lower.  After falling for 11 sessions, it has steadied today (~2.7%)  but the capital strike may not be over.  On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivered the 25 bp rate hike and seemed to give hawkish guidance, and yet the New Zealand dollar was sold and the worst-performing of the major currencies, off 0.65% through the European morning.  The tech losses on Wall Street yesterday weighed on Asia Pacific equities today, where the large markets fell but in China.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is less tech sensitive and is trying to snap a four-day air pocket, but early gains have been reversed. The US futures point to around a 0.5% lower opening.  The greenback has a firmer bias ahead of the full economic calendar ahead of tomorrow's holiday.  The yen is the notable exception.  The greenback rose to a new multi-year high near JPY115.25 but has come back offered and is straddling the JPY115 level in late morning turnover in Europe.  Emerging market currencies are mixed, though the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is firmer after six consecutive down sessions.  Gold is steadying after a four-day drop that took it from around $1870 to about $1782. Oil extended yesterday's recovery after the concerted agreement to release strategic reserves from six countries but is struggling to sustain the upside momentum.  The market was unimpressed with the new supply and had it (and more?) discounted.  European (Dutch) gas rose 8% yesterday and remains firm today.  Iron ore prices are higher for the fourth session, during which time it has risen by around 20%.  Copper is also firmer for the second session.  It is up about 4.5% from the middle of last week's low.   Asia Pacific The Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiked its cash rate 25 bp to 0.75%.  It was widely expected, and many had leaned to a 50 bp move.  The forward guidance saw the cash rate at 2.0% at the end of next year.  The swaps market had this nearly priced in as well.  This might help explain the profit-taking on the New Zealand dollar.  The 2-year yield fell 14 bp, and the 10-year yield eased by 5.5 bp.  New Zealand stocks defied the regional pressure and rose by about 0.6%.   Japan's economy is recovering. The economy contracted by 0.8% in Q3, but after a slow start, the vaccination program has been successful.  It has allowed a re-opening of the economy.  This is evident in the flash PMI report.  The manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2 from 53.2, and the services PMI improved to 52.1 from 50.7.  The composite new stands at 52.5 (from 50.7) and represents a new cyclical high.  Recall that it bottomed in August at 45.5.  The fiscal support being offered by the supplemental budget is pro-cyclical; it will accelerate the recovery.   The break of JPY115.00 has seen limited follow-through dollar buying.  It peaked near JPY115.25 in Asia and fell to around JPY114.80, where it has found a bid in European dealing.  The nearly $950 mln option that expires today at JPY115 has likely been neutralized (hedged/offset), and the one at JPY115.50 for $1.2 bln may be too far away to be impactful.  Our idea of a JPY113.-JPY115 range is being tested, but recall that earlier this month, the dollar has slipped to almost JPY112.70.  The range is not carved in stone, and some fraying is inevitable.  Still, a move above JPY115.50 would suggest that this consolidation since mid-October is over, and a new and higher range is likely.  Next:  JPY118-JPY120, maybe.  The Australian dollar leaked lower and briefly dipped below $0.7200 for the first time since October 1.  There is an option that is expiring today there for about A$355 mln.  It steadied after early Asia Pacific trading and approached the nearby cap near $0.7230.  A move above here would help the technical tone.  Officials appear to have broken the one-way trading in the yuan.  It has been alternating between gains and losses this week, but the movement has been small, and the yuan is virtually unchanged this week.  The reference rate was set at CNY6.3903, slightly more than the market expected (Bloomberg) of CNY6.3898.   Lastly, we note that South Korea is widely expected to hike the seven-day repo by 25 bp tomorrow, following a similar hike in August.   Europe It has taken the better part of the two months, but the new German coalition appears to have been agreed upon.  However, what the soon-to-be Chancellor Scholz is inheriting is a mess.  The Bundesbank warned recently that the economy may be stagnating this quarter (though the flash PMI yesterday did not confirm this), and inflation may be approaching 6%.  Moreover, the covid infection rate has reportedly doubled in the past two days.  The US CDC put Germany (and Denmark) on a heightened travel advisory.   As one would expect, this is taking a toll on sentiment.  The IFO investor survey showed this.  The current assessment fell to 99.0 from 100.2.  The expectations component eased to 94.2 from 95.4.  The assessment of the overall business climate stands now at 96.5, down from 97.7. After falling for the fifth consecutive month,  it is at the lowest level since April.   The euro's losses were extended to almost $1.12.  The weakness seems most pronounced in Europe, which lends credence to ideas that European financial firms are key sellers, which some related to year-end adjustments.  However, the three-month cross-currency basis swap has steadied since Monday, and pressure on the euro remains.   We note that the two-year US-German interest rate differential rose for the fourth consecutive session yesterday to reach 135 bp, the most since last March, but is steadying today.  Since the convincing break of $1.13, we do not see strong chart support until closer to $1.10.  Sterling made a margin new low for the year yesterday near $1.3345.  It remains stuck near there in quiet turnover.  The $1.3400 area offers nearby resistance.  Here we see little technical support until around $1.3165.  America The US holiday tomorrow is forcing a heavy data release schedule today.  Not all the data is of equal importance.  Of the first set of reports, the weekly jobless claims will command attention.  They have fallen for the past seven weeks and are at their lowest level since the pandemic (268k).  The November national employment report is due at the end of next week, and another 500k jobs were thought to have been filled.  The October trade balance and durable goods orders are notable.  Nearly all the October data has been reported better than expected.  Growth differentials warn of the risk of a wider trade shortfall.  The revisions to Q3 GDP (likely higher) are unlikely to capture much attention as it is too backward-looking.   The second batch of data may see a bigger market reaction, especially in the debt market.  The US is expected to report a jump in personal spending (consumption needs to accelerate if the economy strengthens this quarter).  Income is likely to recover a bit from the 1.0% drop reported in September.  The market may be most sensitive to the deflators.  Here inflation is set to accelerate.  The headline is projected to rise above 5%, while the core should peak above 4%.   Lastly, new homes sales surged 14% in September and maybe lucky to sustain those higher levels in October.  Late in the session, when many in the US may be winding down ahead of the holiday, the FOMC minutes from this month's meeting will be released.  The current focus is on the possibility that the Fed accelerates its tapering next month, and anything that sheds light on this could shape the market's reaction.    The US dollar reversed lower yesterday after reaching CAD1.2745.  It settled near its lows (~CAD1.2670), but there has been no follow-through selling, and the five-day moving average, which it has not closed below since November 15, held (~CAD1.2660). Initial resistance is seen now around CAD1.2700-CAD1.2720.  We note that Canadian bonds are under some pressure, and the 10-year yield is above 1.80%, the highest level since April 2019.  The dollar rose to MXN21.30 yesterday and remains firm, even if off the high today.  News that Mexico's President pulled the nomination of Herrera, the former finance minister, as the next central bank governor, injected some volatility into the peso.  Reports suggest that Herrera's nomination was retracted a few months ago but was kept confidential.  It is not clear what happens next.  Some suspect Herrera may still get the nomination.  It does not appear that any official statement or clarification has been provided.  The median seems to be playing up the likelihood of some announcement in the coming days.  Meanwhile, Mexico reports its bi-weekly CPI figures, and inflation is still accelerating.  Tomorrow's final Q3 GDP is expected to confirm that the economy contracted.  The dollar recorded the high for the year against the peso in March near MXN21.6360.   Disclaimer
Black Friday can squeeze supply chains and challenge Christmas

Black Friday can squeeze supply chains and challenge Christmas

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 25.11.2021 08:31
Thought Starters 2021-11-24 14:00 Summary:  Black Friday is upon us and with the current pressure on supply chains the shopping frenzy may make it difficult for Christmas presents to reach stores in time for the Holidays. ‘Tis the season for shopping. While Thanksgiving still is primarily a tradition for Americans and people who are into American football, the Friday after, Black Friday, has become a global phenomenon, where shops across the globe make offers that can’t be refused.But, on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, the act of getting goods from factories to shops, which is a task that’s previously been taken for granted, has become increasingly difficult.“Containers are generally shipped from the big ports in China to the big ports in Europe and on the US East and West Coast. The frequency with which this has happened has been challenged by a strong global economic recovery creating a strong demand for goods around the world. Simultaneously, we’ve all become accustomed to the fact that when we order something online, we get it delivered within a few days. That has broken down and we have to be much more patient now,“ says Ole Hansen, Head of Commodities at Saxo.In the picture below it can be seen that the amount of cargo being off-loaded and loaded in a port like Hong-Kong has fallen roughly 25 pct. on average from 2020 to 2021. This serves as an example of what Hansen describes above, i.e., that there are bottlenecks in the global supply chains, which make it harder for goods to go from one place to another and thus delivery takes longer. The picture also shows the massive price increase on shipping containers, which has almost tripled from 2020 to 2021. This indicates the imbalance between the “supply of logistics” relative to the demand of it. In other words, as a company it’s harder to get your goods in a container and on a containership and therefore get it to where it’s being sold. Therefore, you are willing to pay more for those containers. So where does that leave all the Black Friday shoppers?“Black Friday is going to happen even though I'm sure there's still a lot of stuff at harbours around the world, which is not going to reach the shops in time. But we have noticed something interesting; last month, the retail sales in the US surprised positively and it could potentially be consumers worrying that there won't be enough goods available when we get close to Christmas, so they're already stocking up on some of the goods they need to already now. Based on that it’s fair to assume we will have enough goods for Black Friday but Christmas is another matter,” says Hansen.What does this mean for investors?From an investor point of view, this is something to take note of, as it can have an impact on equities in both the logistics sector, as well as the e-commerce and consumer goods sectors. However, Head of Equity Strategy at Saxo, Peter Garnry, notes that with the right investment strategy, it shouldn’t be seen as a fundamental crisis: “There's always something we can worry about in the equity markets, but, as I tell the young people here at Saxo, who wants to listen to me: it pays off to be an optimist. I think you have to be an optimist about the world and these things will solve themselves. And if you stay true to being long-term in your investments and you remember to diversify your portfolio, then I think you’re off to a good start,” he says. If you want to have a look at some of the global logistics stocks and read more about the sector and its risks, you can invest in and get exposure towards these challenges, have a look at Garnry’s Logistics theme basket here (will open in a new window and require log-in to Saxo). If you instead want to have a look at his E-commerce basket, which is also affected by the supply chain issues, and read about its construction and risks, then take a look here (will open in a new window and require log-in to Saxo).
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - November 24, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 24.11.2021 09:53
Macro 2021-11-24 08:40 6 minutes to read Summary:  US equity markets bounced back from an extension of the sell-off from the highs of Monday, perhaps in part as a firm US 7-year treasury auction saw yields settling back lower, just after that particular benchmark had notched a new high yield for the cycle. Today sees a flurry of US data and the FOMC Minutes all crammed into the last day before the long Thanksgiving weekend in the US, where markets are closed tomorrow and only open for short session on Friday. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - Nasdaq 100 recovered from steep losses late in yesterday’s session which has extended this morning on a positive session in Asia driven by improved sentiment in Chinese equities on good earnings releases. Nasdaq 100 futures are trading 1.4% higher than yesterday’s lows. The key thing to monitor is still the US 10-year yield and the USD for clues of where US equities are going. If Nasdaq 100 futures can extend their momentum today the 16,443 level is the natural gravitational point in this market sitting at the 50% retracement level over the past three trading sessions. USDJPY – The  USDJPY outlook is predominantly a question of “will it or won’t it sustain a break above 115.00?” And the answer to that question is likely coincident with whether long US treasury yields will rise above the 1.75% highs established earlier this year. After a strong 7-year US treasury auction yesterday, US longer yields dipped from session highs, drawing out the suspense on USDJPY direction here. AUDNZD – after the RBNZ meeting proved far less hawkish than the market has priced, it feels as if it will be difficult for the momentum in higher RBNZ rate expectations to return as the bank likely waxed a bit cautious overnight (more below) to give itself more time to assess how quickly the tightening in the bag and a few more planned hikes already priced in are affecting the NZ economy. In Australia, meanwhile, the economy is emerging from lockdowns and rate expectations could close the gap, with an additional possible source of support from China, where stimulus may be on the way, and where the anticipation of a rise in steel output has sharply boosted iron ore prices (Australia’s largest export). AUDNZD may have bottomed out now and we watch for whether this sharply rally off the bottom could have legs for at least 1.0600 as AU vs. NZ yield spreads mean revert. Gold (XAUUSD) trades higher after finding support ahead of $1781. The slump this week below  $1835 area was triggered by rising Treasury yields following the renomination of Jerome Powell as Fed chair. The oversized downside reaction, however, was caused by long liquidation from hedge funds who had been rushing into gold before and after the recent CPI shock. Gold’s short-term ability to bounce will mostly depend on whether the washout has triggered a big enough reduction of recently established and now loss-making positions. A sharp drop in open interest in COMEX gold futures and two days with double the normal trading volume could indicate most of the adjustments have now been executed. Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSJAN21) jumped the most in two weeks yesterday after a US initiated release of strategic reserves underwhelmed in its size and details. Most of the oil being offered to refineries will have to be returned at a later date while international contributions were smaller than expected. Refineries are already processing crude near the seasonal pace so the market doubt how much extra oil they may need. Also, and more important, the OPEC+ alliance called the move unjustified given current conditions and as a result they may opt to reduce future production hikes, currently running near 12 million barrels per month. Ahead of today’s EIA stock report, the API last night reported a 2.3 million barrel increase with stockpiles at Cushing also rising US treasuries (SHY, IEF, TLT). At the beginning of the day, the yield curve bear flattened with 7-year yields breaking above 1.55% before the 7-year auction. It led many to believe that it could be a catastrophic bond sale as demand for Monday’s 2-year and 5-year Treasuries was weak. Surprisingly, bidding metrics were strong with the bid-to-cover ratio being the highest since September 2020, and the yield stopping through by 1bps at 1.588%. Following the auction, the yield curve steepened slightly amid lower breakeven rates and less aggressive rate hikes for 2022. We expect the bond market to continue to be volatile as the market adjusts expectations for rate hikes next year. Yet, the long part of the yield curve is likely to remain in check until a resolution to the debt ceiling is not found. Todays’ Personal Consumption Expenditures might revive inflation fears reversing gains in the Asia trading session. Italian BTPS (BTP10). Italian government bonds sold off for the second day in a row as German and French PMI beat expectations, hinting at the inevitable end of the PEPP program. To weaken sentiment in BTPS was also news that President Mattarella is going to vacate his position in January leaving a political vacuum. Parties are pushing Draghi to get that position to get rid of him and go to early elections. If that were to happen, the stability that Italian BTPS enjoyed since Draghi is leading the government will vanish provoking a fast widening of the BTPS-Bund spread. What is going on? EU gas prices surged back above $30/MMBtu (€90/GWh) yesterday in response to rising winter demand, low power production from wind farms and increased competition from Asia which is ramping up its LNG imports. The US imposing additional sanctions aimed at Russia’s Nord Strem 2 pipeline also received some unwelcome attention. Sky-high day ahead prices for power adding to the pain with some countries approaching record highs. Power plants are burning more coal which is cheaper and more profitable and it has helped drive the emissions future (CFIZ1) to a new all-time high this week above €70 per tons. RBNZ hikes only 25 basis points, statement somewhat cautious. The majority of market participants were looking for a 25-basis point hike from the RNBZ overnight, but enough were looking for 50 bps that the 0.25% hike to take the official cash rate to 0.75%  rate triggered a sell-off in the kiwi. But it was the guidance that was a bit more of a surprise than the rate move, as the RBNZ noted that, while further rate rises would be needed, “the Committee expressed uncertainty about the resilience of consumer spending and business investment....(and) also noted that increases in interest rates to households and businesses had already tightened monetary conditions.” The 2-year NZGB yield dropped 14 basis points overnight to 1.94% as the market lowered rate hike expectations out the curve. Turkish lira descent accelerates – yesterday was a wild day for the TRY, which fell almost 20% in a single day yesterday before stabilizing slightly, on fresh rhetoric from Turkish president Erdogan, who complimented the recent Turkish Central Bank decision to cut rates again and who continues to use belligerent rhetoric against the standard EM playbook for dealing with a devaluing currency (vicious belt tightening via rate hikes, etc.). Chinese equities are rebounding on good earnings releases. Yesterday’s earnings releases from Xiaomi, Kuaishou Technology, and XPeng  have lifted sentiment in Chinese equities. Kuaishou was a positive surprise given the technology crackdown in China and XPeng overtook NIO in Q3 on EV deliveries showing that the company can ramp up production. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos says inflation drivers are becoming more structural. In a speech yesterday in Madrid, the central banker said that “the ECB is continuously pointing out that the inflation rebound is of a transitory nature....However, we have also seen how in recent months these supply factors are becoming more structural, more permanent.” Euribor futures far out into 2024 and 2025 are several ticks lower from recent highs, but also up a few ticks from yesterday’s lows, as the market is only pricing for the ECB to move back to 0% rates by around the beginning of 2025. What are we watching next? Busy US Economic Calendar ahead of long holiday weekend - the majority of US office workers take a long weekend that includes Thanksgiving Day tomorrow and the Friday as well, with a lot of the data that normally would have been spread out over the rest of the week all piled up into a heap in early US hours today. The key number to watch today is the October PCE Inflation numbers, where the headline “PCE Deflator” and “PCE Core Deflator” are expected to show year-on-year readings of 5.1%/4.1% respectively vs. 4.4%/3.6% in September, which would mean the hottest pace of inflation since the early 1990’s. Much later in the day we have the FOMC minutes from the November 3 meeting, which should be interesting for whether the debate on whether the Fed needs to tighten policy more quickly is becoming more heated. Earnings Watch – the rest of the week in terms of earnings will be quite light with today’s focus on Deere which sells equipment to the agricultural sector and thus is a good indicator on this sector. Wednesday: Deere Thursday: Adevinta Friday: Meituan, Pinduoduo Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0900 – Germany Nov. IFO Survey 1330 – US Weekly Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims 1330 – US Oct. Advance Goods Trade Balance 1330 – US Q3 GDP Revision 1330 – US Oct. Durable Goods Orders 1430 – UK BoE’s Tenreyro to speak 1500 – US Oct. PCE Inflation 1500 – US Final University of Michigan Sentiment Survey 1500 – US Oct. New Home Sales 1530 – EIA's Weekly Crude and Product Inventory Report 1700 – EIA’s Natural Gas Storage Change 1900 – US FOMC Meeting Minutes   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Cryptocurrencies to be tested this holiday season

Cryptocurrencies to be tested this holiday season

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.11.2021 09:13
The bitcoin price changed slightly over Wednesday and is moving Thursday morning without a clear direction, around $57.3K. In the past 24 hours, the rate has added 1.6%, slightly better than the dynamics of the entire crypto market, whose capitalisation is up 1%. The observed strengthening of bitcoin right now is nothing more than a sign of the pull into a more liquid instrument from several other major altcoins. Cardano, for example, came under pressure yesterday, losing more than 10% intraday, but managed to bounce back somewhat by the close of the session. Solana is digging 4.5% in 24 hours, and Polkadot is under pressure. Due to pressure on top altcoins, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index remains in the fear territory, at 32, where it was last in early October. BTCUSD, remaining below its 50-day moving average, is in the clutches of the bears, threatening to ramp up its fall. Many bulls seem to have moved into Ether, which, time after time, manages to fend off sellers, staying above its 50-day moving average and building up positions above $4000. The upcoming US holiday season promises to be an important test of crypto-enthusiasts strength. Four years ago, Bitcoin collapsed sharply around Christmas: probably due to the eagerness of investors at the time to lock in multiple price increases for that year. Advances in cryptocurrencies not only make them easier to buy but also easier to sell. The top coins are easy to pay for, and many can be easily, cheaply, and quickly exchanged for fiat currencies. As the crypto market stalls and inflation eats away at physical commodity prices, conditions begin to form where retail and casual investors who are not long-term crypto-enthusiasts may want to lock in profits and exit the market for the coming months ushering in a sell-off season for altcoins.
The Euro's oversold is a sign for more volatility to come

The Euro's oversold is a sign for more volatility to come

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.11.2021 08:32
The Euro fell against the dollar to 1.1200, a new 16-month low, having lost more than 4% in the last four weeks. The downward trend in the single currency accelerated in November on the divergence between Fed and ECB policies. And the latest news on business activity from Europe reinforces this divergence by feeding the bears in a single currency. The recovery in Europe appears to have peaked in May and June, after which business sentiment indicators are methodically falling. The latest data from Germany's Ifo marked the fifth consecutive month of deteriorating business conditions, driven by logistical problems, the energy crisis in Europe and a rise in coronavirus cases, followed by stricter lockdown measures. Technically, on the weekly candlestick charts, the EURUSD is oversold as last seen in 2015. Often this is a precursor for some recovery. However, historically for EURUSD, this oversold signal means we may see a further acceleration of the downside and increased volatility ahead. In 2014, 2010, 2008 and 1996, the dip of the RSI below 30 on the weekly charts followed the acceleration collapse, sometimes taking almost a free fall form. In those cases, the signal for a reversal was a rebound of the indicator above the oversold level (i.e. higher than 30), signalling the end of the sell-off in the Euro. It can take a long time between these points, e.g., in 2014-2015, it took more than half a year for the EURUSD exchange rate to collapse by 18%. The multi-year and repeatedly tested EURUSD support level is located around 1.07, and that is where the Euro could end up in the next six months. This will be especially true if economic growth in the Eurozone slows down while bond yields rise. These are conditions we are currently experiencing.
Crude Oil: Anticipating Dips in the Near-Term

Crude Oil: Anticipating Dips in the Near-Term

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 24.11.2021 16:49
The market is struggling with further downward pressure, triggered by a stronger US dollar, and threats that the US and others will start using their strategic oil reserves. Trade Plan Review Indeed, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday (Nov 20th) that his government was considering drawing on oil reserves in response to rising crude prices. Since Japan sources most of its oil from the Middle East, the recent surge in prices and the decline of the yen have pushed up import cost for the Japanese archipelago. As a reminder, last week I anticipated a lower dip that would take place onto the $75.25-76.22 yellow band. The recommended objective would be the $79.37 and 82.24 levels. My suggested stop would be located on the $74.42 level (below both the previous swing low from 7-October and the previous high-volume node and volume point of control (VPOC) from September). Alternatively, you could also eventually use an Average True Range (ATR) ratio to determine a different level that may suit you better. For now, that dip did happen Friday around that support area (likely to become a demand zone) where we might see some ongoing accumulation for the forthcoming hours. Now, we can observe a doji formation (candlestick figure), and more precisely a long-legged doji appearing on the daily chart, which is generally synonymous with indecision. WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart) To visualize how the price action is currently developing, let’s zoom into the 4H chart, which illustrates a much clearer downtrend: WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, 4H chart) So, as you can see, even on that lower timeframe we have a doji pattern, where the bulls are trying to take over the bears to push the market towards higher levels. Will the current 4H downtrend extend lower, or will the longer-term (daily) uptrend resume its rally? Let’s see where this is going to end up. Here is the latest chart from today (Nov 24th): Figure 1 - WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, monthly chart) By the way, my trade target for WTI Crude Oil positions has almost been reached. Please check out more details on my latest oil targets in Monday’s article. That’s all for today, folks. Happy trading! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
November: Is a Bigger Drop in Gold Just Around the Corner?

November: Is a Bigger Drop in Gold Just Around the Corner?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 24.11.2021 15:18
  As expected, after the applauded increase, gold fell. But will it manage to bounce off the bottom or rather slide lower? Today’s analysis is going to be all about gold, and for a good reason. Based on yesterday’s and Monday’s sessions, November is now a down month for gold. Please let that sink in. Gold ended last week above $1,850, with almost everyone in the market cheering and making bets, on how soon gold will move above $1,900 and then rally to new yearly highs. It was after the completion of the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, after all! Well, I warned you that there were more long-term-based factors in place than the above-mentioned inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, and since longer-term patterns are more important than the shorter-term-based ones, the outlook was bearish, not bullish. In fact, it was the very short-term rally that made the outlook bearish, because of three separate time-based indications for a reversal. And I don’t even mean other bearish indications like gold’s invalidation of the small breakout above the declining red resistance line. Two of the indications that I described previously were the triangle-vertex-based reversals based on the below chart. When resistance and support lines cross, markets tend to reverse their previous course. There’s no good logical explanation for why it should work, but it does. Not in every case, and I’m not promising that it will work in all cases, but I’ve seen it work so many times in the precious metals market so that I can say that ignoring these indications is a very costly endeavor. Another indication came from gold’s long-term chart – its cyclical turning point was pointing to a major reversal, and the preceding move was up. Consequently, gold was likely to top. And that’s exactly what it did. Gold moved lower this week and taking into account the weekly high to yesterday’s closing price, it declined by over $100. Not bad for just two days. But perhaps the most interesting things are now visible on gold’s monthly chart (based on monthly candlesticks). The above chart is loaded with clues. Let’s start with the similarity between now and 2013 that we see from this perspective. The consolidation is similar not only in terms of the shape of the price move but also in terms of the decline in long-term volatility. The upper part of the above chart represents the width of the Bollinger Bands – a tool that is based on the volatility of the market. In short, greater volatility means broader Bands, meaning the above indicator would move higher. So, it’s essentially a proxy for volatility. Since we’re using monthly candlesticks here, it’s a proxy for long-term volatility. Please note that the BB width not only moved from similar levels in 2011 and 2020 to similar levels in late-2012 and now, but it took approximately the same time to get there (if we start both moves with the final monthly high). Like a Decade Ago? The interesting thing about long-term volatility is that periods of low volatility tend to be followed by periods of high volatility – in either way. I marked four previous cases when we saw very low volatility after gold’s several-year-long rally, and it was indeed very close to the start of big moves. One of those cases was the late-2012 case, which appears similar to what we see right now. Consequently, gold is likely to move quite significantly in the following months. If the similarity to 2013 continues, gold would be likely to decline just as the blue dashed line suggests. This implies a move below $1,300. Will gold indeed decline to that low? I doubt it, as there’s very strong support a bit below $1,400. It’s based on the previous highs and the rising support line based on the 2015 and 2018 lows. The decline to those levels would have been enough of a reaction that was likely to follow the failed 2020 breakout above the 2011 highs. Invalidations of breakouts are strong “sell” signals, and invalidation of a breakout that was extremely important (as well as a breakout to a new all-time high), is likely to have very dire consequences. Summing up, gold declined in tune with my long-term-based indications and the medium-term downtrend appears to have resumed. Based on the analogy to 2013 and other factors, a bigger decline in gold appears to be just around the corner (regardless of what happens in the very near term). Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Is the S&P 500 Topping or Just Consolidating?

Is the S&P 500 Topping or Just Consolidating?

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 24.11.2021 15:44
The S&P 500 continues to fluctuate along the 4,700 level. So is this a topping pattern or just a flat correction before another leg up? The S&P 500 index extended its Monday’s decline yesterday, as it fell to the daily low of 4,652.66. But it closed 0.17% higher following an intraday rebound. The market rebounded to the 4,700 level again. The broad stock market keeps trading within an over two-week-long consolidation. For now, it looks like a flat correction within an uptrend. However, it may also be a topping pattern before some more meaningful downward reversal. The nearest important support level remains at 4,630-4,650 and the next support level is at 4,600. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,700-4,750. The S&P 500 continues to trade along the 4,700 level, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq Broke Below the Trend Line Let’s take a look at the Nasdaq 100 chart. The technology index reached the new record high on Monday, led by the megacap tech stock rallies, but it reversed its intraday course and yesterday it fell below the 16,200 level. The index broke below its short-term upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart: Apple and Microsoft – a Potential Reversal Let’s take a look at the two biggest stocks in the S&P 500 index, AAPL and MSFT. Apple accelerated its uptrend on Monday and Microsoft slightly extended its recent advance. Both reached the record highs before reversing lower. Yesterday they were mixed, and today we may see some more short-term uncertainty. Conclusion The S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.4% lower this morning following a series of economic data releases. The market will wait for some more economic data releases - the Core PCE Price Index, Personal Income/ Personal Spending at 10:00 a.m., and the FOMC Meeting Minutes at 2:00 p.m. We may see a short-term consolidation ahead of tomorrow’s holiday break and the long holiday weekend. So overall, the broad stock market may be trading within a topping pattern. However there have been no confirmed negative signals so far. Nevertheless, we decided to open a speculative short position yesterday, and we are expecting a 5% correction from the current levels. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 backed from the new record high on Monday and it looked like a short-term or medium-term topping pattern. A speculative short position is justified from the risk/reward perspective. We are expecting a 5% correction from the current levels. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Dax 40 December longs at very strong support at 15750/700 worked perfectly

Dax 40 December longs at very strong support at 15750/700 worked perfectly

Jason Sen Jason Sen 25.11.2021 10:49
Dax 40 December longs at very strong support at 15750/700 worked perfectly. EuroStoxx 50 December we wrote: just completed a head & shoulders reversal pattern for a sell signal initially targeting 4310/00 then 4270/60 (a low for the day here), perhaps as far as strong support at 4240/30. That call could not have been more accurate with a low for the day at 4240/30. A potential profit of up to 100 ticks. FTSE 100 December broke minor support at 7260/40 but held 18 ticks above the buying opportunity at 7170/50 Update daily at 07:00 GMT Today's Analysis. Dax longs at strong support at 15750/700 worked perfectly on the bounce with resistance at 15950/16000 for some profit taking. Strong resistance at 16050/100. Shorts need stops above 16150. A break higher keeps bulls in control for today targeting 16260/280. A break above 16290 should target 16350/390. Minor support at 15880/860. Very strong support at 15750/700. Longs need stops below 15650. A break lower meets the best support for this week at 15575/525. EuroStoxx shorts work on the slide to strong support at 4240/30 with a low for the day here so longs also worked perfectly on the bounce to 4300/10. This is the only resistance of the day. Shorts need stops above 4320. A break higher targets 4340/50. Holding resistance at 4300/10 targets 4280/70 before a retest of strong support at 4240/30. Longs need stops below 4220. A break lower is a sell signal. FTSE shot higher to the 7300/10 target as I write this morning, perhaps as far as 7335/40 later on today, before a retest of 7380/90. Minor support again at 7260/40 before a buying opportunity at 7170/50 with stops below 7135. A break lower targets 7100/7090, perhaps as far as 7040/30. Emini S&P December bearish engulfing candle is likely to signal sideways trend so ease severely overbought conditions, although my first support at 4670/68 was not accurate because we over ran again to 4656. Nasdaq December longs at best support for the day at 16230/180 worked as we held above 16100 for a bounce to first resistance again at 16400/450. Emini Dow Jones December shorts at first resistance at 35850/950 worked perfectly with a high for the day here, followed by buying in to longs at strong support at 35450/350 & a low for the day here. Perfect calls!! Update daily at 07:00 GMT. Today's Analysis. Emini S&P seeing a recovery as expected reaching very minor resistance at 4700/10 but above here retargets 4720/23 & 4735/40 then 4750. I am still expecting the downside to be limited with first support at 4670/60 . Longs need stops below 4650. Next target & better support at 4630/20. Try longs with stops below 4615. The best support at 4600/4395 this week - stop below 4385. Nasdaq December up to 200 ticks profit on our longs as we hit first resistance again at 16400/450. Shorts need stops above 16500. A break higher targets 16550/600 before a retest of the all time high at 16630/767. Best support for today at 16200/160. Try longs with stops below 16100! Hopefully that gives us enough room. A break lower however sees 16180/230 working as resistance to target 16030/010 before a buying opportunity at 15900/850. Try longs with stops below 15750. Emini Dow Jones December longs at at 35450/350 worked perfectly on the bounce to first resistance at 35850/950 for an easy 400 tick profit. A break above 36000 should be a buy signal targeting 36230/250. Minor support at 35750/700 but below here targets 35600. Strong support again at 35450/350. A break lower however targets 35100/35000. Watch for a bounce from here on the first test. However a break lower meets a buying opportunity at 34800/750, with stops below 34650. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
The Turkish Lira rebound, but hardly for long

The Turkish Lira rebound, but hardly for long

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.11.2021 13:55
The Turkish Lira added 10% against the dollar and Euro from lows at the start of Wednesday. At the beginning of trading on Thursday, there was also a relative calm in the exchange rate performance. However, an important question to be answered in the coming days is how temporary this calm will be. The fundamentals for the Turkish currency are unchanged: The Turkish central bank and the President continue to argue about the benefits of low-interest rates for the economy and benefits of competitiveness through a weaker currency. But it should not be forgotten that these factors only have a positive effect when the currency has stabilised, and the financial markets have a point of reference. Right now, the economy is suffering a severe shock from a 40% devaluation of the Lira against the USD so far this month to yesterday low. Even worse, such rate hikes are shaping expectations for further depreciation and further spurring sales of the Lira. Retailers and manufacturers in such circumstances prefer to fix prices of goods in harder currencies, which causes a shock freeze in economic activity. The example of Apple’s retail shops being closed because of the Lira’s devaluation is striking but hardly the only one. What we are likely seeing today, and perhaps for the next couple of days, is just a brief moment of stabilisation before a new wave of pressure on the Lira, which could continue right up to the policy changes. Whether it will be capital controls or rate hikes is an open question, but for sure, the answer won’t be easy.
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - November 26, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 26.11.2021 09:25
Macro 2021-11-26 08:30 6 minutes to read Summary:  Fears linked to a new and different covid variant discovered in South Africa helped send a wave of caution over global markets overnight. Stocks in Asia and the US slumped, Treasuries rallied while the dollar traded near a 16-month high. Crude oil shed 3% and gold rose with the detection of the new covid strain. US markets will have a shortened session today as many are still away for the holiday, aggravating liquidity concerns ahead of the weekend. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equity futures shot lower from the moment they opened overnight on the new Covid variant news, a jolting development after Wednesday’s pre-Thanksgiving holiday closed seemed to show risk sentiment trying to make a stand after some early last week, and perhaps in part in anticipation of the traditionally strong seasonal run into the winter holidays in late December. Given poor liquidity today in the US as many are away from their desks for a long holiday weekend and the market is only for a half session, any significant flows by traders looking to reduce risk could mean significant volatility. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) - the main European equity futures contract is down 3.2% on the news of a new more infectious Covid strain as it increases the probability of new lockdowns to safeguard hospitals. We observe the pandemic playbook in equities with technology and online companies falling less than physical companies such as miners, energy, and retailers. Stoxx 50 futures have broken below the 50% retracement level measured on the recent runup since early October. The next critical support levels are at 4,125 and 4,058. As this is a Friday, the liquidity situation could be significantly worsened and exacerbate intraday moves. USDJPY and JPY crosses – The huge shift in market mood overnight saw risk aversion sweeping across global markets driving US treasuries back higher and US yields lower, and triggering a huge jolt of JPY buying, as the JPY trading up against all of its G10 peers. USDJPY is well back below the 115.00 level that was broken overnight and the classic “risk proxy” AUDJPY was blasted for steep losses, with GPJPY also in particularly steep retreat. Another pair worth watching is EURJPY, where there is a well-defined range low near 128.00. Further risk aversion and falling yields could support a significant extension of the JPY rally if we are seeing a sustained change of mood here. Gold (XAUUSD) traded higher overnight as renewed Covid fears spread to financial markets with US Treasuries trading sharply higher, thereby reducing the threat that earlier in the week helped send gold crashing below $1835. A combination of high inflation and the economic risks associated with the new virus strain could provide renewed demand following the recent washout. US ten-year real yields slumped to –1.09% while the nominal yield dropped to 1.54% just days after threatening to break above 1.7%. From a technical perspective, a break above $1816 would signal renewed strength and a possible fresh challenge towards the $1830-35 resistance area. Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSJAN21) slumped on renewed Covid concerns ahead of next week’s OPEC+ meeting. The market got caught up in a wave of caution overnight with Brent falling 3% as the new and fast mutating virus variant drives worries about renewed restrictions on mobility at the time when the existing delta is already triggering renewed lockdowns in Europe. Next week’s OPEC+ decision on production levels for January has suddenly been made extra hard with the risk of weaker Covid-related demand coming on top of the SPR release announcement earlier this week. US treasuries (SHY, IEF, TLT). A new Covid wave is leading investors to fly to safety provoking yields to drop roughly 10bps across the whole US yield curve. However, we expect the bond rally to be short-lived for several reasons. First, the market has learnt through earlier new strains that Covid is temporary. Secondly, a renewal of lockdown measures would make supply chain bottlenecks worse, introducing even more inflationary pressures to the economy. Therefore, it’s necessary for central banks to stop stimulating demand, keeping intact the recent Fed’s hawkish tilt. We expect more aggressive monetary policies beginning with an acceleration of the pace of tapering in December, followed by earlier interest rate hikes expectations. It will be inevitable for yields to resume their rise and the yield curve to bear flatten. Today investors will find poor liquidity in markets due to the Thanksgiving holiday, cautious will be needed. German Bunds (IS0L). The new German government unveiled a governing coalition deal. Among the extensive list of policies, bond investors should focus on the accommodative fiscal policies for 2022 and 2023, the beginning of a “decade of investment” and the rejection of a new lockdown amid a record rise of Covid cases. More spending translates to higher Bund yields. However, yields remain muted as Europe becomes the new epicenter of Covid-19 infections. With news of the new South Africa strain, yields might fall until we’ll have a full picture of what is happening. Italian BTPS (BTP10). Italian government bonds remained in check as governments in Europe move forward to impose new restrictions due to a rise Covid-19 infections. Yet, investors should remain vigilant as the PEPP program will still end in March. To weaken sentiment in BTP’s further is also the news that President Mattarella is going to vacate his position in January leaving a political vacuum. Parties are pushing Draghi to il Quirinale to get rid of him and go to early elections. If that were to happen, the stability that Italian BTPS enjoyed since Draghi entered in Italian politics will vanish provoking a fast widening of the BTPS-Bund spread. What is going on? What we know about the new Covid virus variant that’s hurting markets. The new Covid virus variant, with a scientific description of B.1.1.529 but with no Greek letter yet designated, has been identified in South Africa and observers fear that its significant mutations could mean that current vaccines may not prove effective, leading to new strains on healthcare systems and complicating efforts to reopen economies and borders. Researchers have yet to determine whether it is more transmissible or more lethal than already known variants. As of Thursday, 90% of 100 positive PCR tests in a specific area of South Africa were of the new variant. The South Korean central bank raised its policy rate 25 bps to 1.00% as expected and signaled further rate hikes to come, saying that rates are still accommodative after now having hiked twice for this cycle. The Swedish Riksbank kept rates at 0%, sees lift-off by the end of 2024. This is the first time the bank has indicated a positive rate potential in their policy forecast horizon. SEK tried to rally yesterday, but is stumbling badly overnight, with EURSEK is soaring this morning in correlation with the decline in global market sentiment, as the Swedish krona is very sensitive to the EU economic outlook and a weaker euro and to risk sentiment more generally. The 2021 EURSEK high near 10.33 is suddenly coming into view after the pair traded south of 10.00 less than two weeks ago. Australia Retail Sales leap 4.9% month-on-month versus 2.2% expected, as lockdowns ended across the country, but with the market is not in the right place to celebrate the news as new Covid strain fears elsewhere dominate the news flow and the Aussie traditionally trades weaker when risk sentiment tanks as it has done since last night. What are we watching next? This is a remarkable and violent shift in mood at an awkward time for markets - as the most liquid global market, the US, was out yesterday for a holiday and the Friday after Thanksgiving (today) usually sees the vast majority of traders and investors still on holiday, with the US equity market only open for a half session. Ahead of the weekend and with the new virus news afoot, markets may have a hard time absorbing new trading flows and the risk of gap-like moves rises. Black Friday consumer spending – retail sales during Black Friday today and over the weekend is often a good barometer on consumer confidence and causes big moves in retailers the following week as their weekend sales are announced. Earnings Watch – the new Covid-19 virus strain observed in South Africa is obviously overshadowing the two important earnings releases from Meituan and Pinduoduo, but they are important for investors investing in Chinese technology companies. Despite Chinese companies at the margin have fared better than expected on earnings in Q3, estimates for Q4 and beyond are still coming down. Friday: Meituan, Pinduoduo Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – ECB President Lagarde to speak0830 – Sweden Oct. Retail Sales1300 – UK Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill to speak1330 – ECB Chief Economist Lane to speak   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Santa preparing to take back the reins of the market! | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Silver on Christmas gift list

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 26.11.2021 11:06
Monthly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, favorable timing: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 26th, 2021. Timing for a physical acquisition is in alignment as well. The monthly chart shows a high likelihood for November’s candle closing as an inverted hammer. Consequently, it provides for silver prices approaching the low end of the last 17-month sideways range near US$22. The white line assumes a potential price projection for 2022. Even if we are wrong with our assessment, a gift of silver for a long-term horizon is highly likely to appreciate from momentary levels to a much higher price target. Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, silver on Christmas gift list: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 26th, 2021. The value of a gift like this doesn’t stop there. Numismatics provides for children and teenagers a way to study history. Beautiful coins and bars inspire us to hold on to value for future times and encourage saving. The weekly silver chart shows in a bit more detail possible price expansion from a time perspective. This would be our most conservative picture of the future. The green bordered box is an entry zone for a potential reversal to the upside. With a high likelihood of an interest rate change by the Federal Reserve Bank in the second quarter of 2022, the inner yellow curve supersedes in probability for the expected time frame for a price increase. Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart, physical only, spot to risky: Silver in US-Dollar, daily chart as of November 26th, 2021. If you look at the daily chart above, you will find that we have seen a swift downward move in the past. Under our beauty principle, there is a good likelihood that this might occur again. If so, reaction times are much longer with a physical purchase than with spot price trading. Meaning there is no need to precision trade (precision purchase) physical silver, but be not spooked if a swift, extended decline might happen. Consequently, we are pointing this purchase out for physical acquisition only but do not advise taking a spot price position based on the risk.   Phase 1 drilling program at Guigui discovered not only the largest intrusive ever found in the district, but it’s the first mineralized skarn ever seen in Guigui! Silver on Christmas gift list: In this bargain hunting season around Black Friday, we find it is especially sensible to refocus and ask different questions. The human psyche is prone to give in to instant gratification, especially after the hard time the last two years provided. But with this much at stake for 2022, possibly being a year that sets a mark in history, it might be more prudent to look for wealth preservation in a longer time horizon to invest one’s fiat currencies rather than short-lived pleasures. After all, a careful look for generations to come, your children, is a view most valuable in general. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|November 26th, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
New virus strain pulls back online vs offline bets in equities

New virus strain pulls back online vs offline bets in equities

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 26.11.2021 11:52
Equities 2021-11-26 11:20 7 minutes to read Summary:  Equities markets are selling off due to new virus strain due to this strain being much more infectious than the current dominant variants, but more importantly uncertainty over how effective the vaccines will be on this new strain. This uncertainty lifts the probability of more lockdowns and travel restrictions and as a result traders selling off physical companies in energy, mining, financials and consumer discretionary against health care, utilities, and technology stocks. While overshadowed of today's risk-off event there have been several key news out on Chinese equities related to Didi Global, Evergrande, and Meituan which we cover in today's equity update. Equities react to increased likelihood of new lockdowns Financials markets are in upheaval over a new Covid virus strain (called the Nu variant) has been identified in South Africa, which seems to be more infectious than the current dominant strains. With Europe and some northern parts of the US in a stretched situation to an already high number of new cases and hospitalizations, this new virus strain comes at the worst possible time. The good thing is that the more infectious the virus get the less likely it is to also get more virulent, but it can still put pressure on hospitals. Equities are reacting negatively because it is unknown at this point to what degree the vaccines will be effective against the new strain, and thus it increases risk of new lockdowns which leads to an economic hit. Another good thing is that South Africa has been open and transparent about the virus strain which means that countries can react faster and because societies are better prepared the impact overall on the economy such be less than initially during the pandemic. The online vs offline companies trade is expressed today Due to the rising probability of lockdowns, which was already in play before the news of the new virus strain, traders and investors are again pulling out the pandemic playbook on equities. The chart below shows Nasdaq 100 futures vs Stoxx 50 futures over the past 10 trading days which expresses the online/technology vs offline/physical companies. The idea is that online companies can better weather new lockdowns where as companies operating in the physical world obviously are more impacted by travel restrictions and potential lockdowns. Smaller companies are also more vulnerable which is why Russell 2000 futures and the global index on small cap companies are under pressure today. Liquidity is thin today going into the weekend and being on the backside of Thanksgiving in the US (trading in US equities ends today at 1300 EST) and thus the initial reaction in equities was aggressive, whereas a couple of hours into trading European equity futures have bounced back somewhat. Not surprisingly the worst performing sectors today in Europe are energy (lower demand for oil), financials (potential hit to loan books), industrials (more supply constraints and lower demand), consumer discretionary (lower demand for cars and other large consumer items), where as health care, utilities, and technology companies are less off as these sectors are necessities and can weather lockdowns better. China equities continue to weighed down by bad stories Besides the risk-off trade in equities several key stories have hit Chinese equities over the past 24 hours. The Chinese government has asked Didi Global to delist from NYSE emphasizing once again the hidden volatility in Chinese listed stocks in the US. Our view remains that investors that want exposure to China should do that through mainland and Hong Kong listings. Stocks related to the housing market was impacted negatively today from news that Evergrande’s founder Hui Ka Yan has sold shares worth $344mn which is seen as a negative for the company and the industry’s outlook, as the Chinese government is urging Hui to use his own wealth to bolster the company’s finances. Finally, Meituan has reported Q3 earnings showing revenue growth of 38% as expected but operating margins under pressure leading to widening losses as the technology crackdown and “Common Prosperity” are forcing Meituan to increase operating expenses on social security for its gig workers. Appendix: 5-year chart on Nasdaq 100 and Stoxx 50 futures
Covid Strikes Back

Covid Strikes Back

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 26.11.2021 12:44
November 26, 2021  $USD, Covid, Currency Movement, Hungary, Mexico, South Korea Overview: Concerns that a new mutation of the Covid virus has shaken the capital markets.  Equities are off hard, and bonds have rallied.  In the foreign exchange market, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc have rallied.  While there may be a safe haven bid, there also appears to be an unwinding of positions that require the buying back of the funding currencies, which is also lifting the euro.  The currencies levered from growth, the dollar-bloc and Scandis are weaker.   Oil has been knocked back by around  6.7%, with January WTI trading near $73. Led by 2%+ losses in Japan, Hong Kong, and India, and 1%+ losses in South Korea, and Taiwan, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has slumped to its lowest level since July.   Europe's Stoxx 600 gapped lower and is off around 2.4% near midday.  US futures are sharply lower (1.25%-2.5%).  The US 10-year yield has dropped around 12 bp to nearly 1.50%.  While UK Gilts have kept pace with US Treasuries, continental benchmark yields are off 6-8 bp.  The US 2-year yield is about 15 bp lower (~0.49%), while European 2-year yields are mostly 2-5 bp lower.  The 2-year Gilts yield has shed about 12 bp, as the market unwinds some of the chances of a rate hike next month.   Key Development: A new variant of the Covid virus was found.  It is thought to have the most mutations to date.  The EU, UK, Israel, and Singapore have quickly banned travel from South Africa and five neighboring countries.  This is coming on top of and is separate from the outbreak in Europe, where Germany has reported a record number of new cases and several other countries have introduced new restrictions.  Almost a third of Shanghai flights were canceled as three local cases were found.  US infections are also on the rise.  Asia Pacific  As widely expected, South Korea hiked its key 7-day repo rate by 25 bp to 1.0% yesterday.   It follows a 25 bp hike in August.  Consumer inflation rose 3.2% year-over-year in October, while the core rate rose 2.8%.  Growth in Q3 was 4.0%.  With today's roughly 0.3% decline, it brings this year's loss to almost 9%.  Only the yen (~-9.4%) and the Thai baht (~-11%) have performed worse in the region.   Australia reported stronger than expected October retail sales.  The 4.9% month-over-month surge was more than twice the Bloomberg median forecast (2.2%) and follows September's 1.3% gain.  It underscores the recovery that is taking place. The preliminary PMI showed the recovery continuing into November.  The composite rose to 55.0, its highest reading since June.   The dollar was fraying the upper end of the range we anticipated against the yen, pushing against JPY115.50.  The momentum looked to have been at risk of stalling when the news struck.  The dollar was sold to almost JPY113.65.  An option for $710 mln at JPY113.70 expires today.  The price action appears to be stabilizing a bit in the European morning, and the greenback is hovering around JPY114.00.    The trendline connecting the September and the previous two November lows comes in today near there today.  The JPY114.50 area looks to offer initial resistance.  The Australian dollar had been leaking through $0.7200, and the risk-off move sent it slightly through $0.7115, just above the low for the year set on August 20, closer to $0.7105.  A break could spur a move toward $0.7050, which is the (38.2%) retracement of the Australian dollar's recovery since March 2020, when it hit a low near $0.5500.  The $0.7140 area may provide the initial cap for the bounce.   The Chinese yuan is a rock.  It has hardly moved despite the broader developments.  The greenback is slightly (less than 0.05%) firmer and still a little below CNY6.39.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3936, a touch above the CNY6.3934 median projection (Bloomberg survey).   Europe Part of the limited reaction short-end of the European debt market derives from the fact that investors had not expected a change in ECB's monetary policy until the very end of next year, at the earliest.  The surge in the delta strain had already emerged as a weight on the euro.  We had put emphasis on the divergence with the US and saw it captured in the two-year interest rate differential between the US and Germany.  The US premium had risen from around 90 bp in mid-September to 140 bp in the middle of this week.  It has fallen back to about 128 bp today.  Some observers had focused on the year-end adjustments of European banks and the shifting of liquidity through the cross-currency swap basis.   The new German coalition has been announced, and it will have its work cut out.  A record number of new cases have been reported in Germany, and many countries are introducing new social restrictions.  Portugal will try something a bit different.  It is set to require people to work from home in early January for a week to avoid a spike in the virus after the holidays.   Hungary was more aggressive than expected yesterday.  It raised its one-week deposit rate by 40 bp to 2.90%.  Recall that on November 18, it had hiked the one-week deposit rate 70 bp to 2.50%.  Two days earlier, it lifted the base rate 30 bp to 2.10%.  The forint had fallen to a record low against the euro on November 23.   The euro's high was just shy of HUF372, and it fell back to about HUF364.80 yesterday before jumping back to almost HUF369.50 today.  It has steadied around HUF368 in the European morning.   The euro's downside momentum had begun easing as bids below $1.12 were being filled.  The virus developments have spurred what appears to a be short-covering rally that has lifted the single currency thought $1.1280, where a 460 mln euro option expires today.  Nearby resistance is seen near $1.1300 and then last week's high near $1.1375.  Sterling recorded a new low for the year near $1.3280 in late Asian turnover before finding support.  It recovered to about $1.3335 so far.  A move above yesterday's high (~$1.3355) could spur a move to $1.3400-$1.3425.    America The dollar's rally has been fueled by the prospect of a divergence of monetary policy that favored the Fed over the ECB and BOJ.  Indeed, since the November 10 surprise jump in the October CPI to above 6%, we had emphasized the likelihood that the Fed would have to taper quicker to give it the flexibility to lift rates earlier if needed.  Since then, 4-5 Fed officials and several large banks have also underscored this possibility. However, this scenario is being called into question today, which is evident in the swaps markets and the Fed funds futures.  The implied yield of the June 2022 Fed funds futures contract is 7.5 basis points lower, and the December 2022 contract implied yield is down 14.5 bp.  The US dollar rallied to CAD1.2775, its highest level since late September.  It tests a downtrend line connecting the August (~CAD1.2950) and September (~CAD1.2900) highs. A convincing break of the trendline would signal a test on those earlier highs.   We are inclined to see it hold but cannot be confident until CAD1.2720 yields.   The Mexican peso was trampled before today amid concerns about the implications of President AMLO pulling Herrera's nomination for central bank head.  Herrera is a seasoned hand, and although he worked closely with AMLO from the finance ministry, his appointment did not seem to jeopardize the independence of the central bank.  Perhaps the market has been influenced by developments in Turkey, but the nomination of a less experienced and less known candidate has weighed on sentiment.  The dollar, already bid, jumped to MXN22.1550, at its best level since September 2020.   It has pulled back to around MXN21.83, which leaves it up around 1.2%.  This would be the seventh consecutive decline in the peso.  Support is seen around MXN21.60.  Disclaimer
AUDUSD broke strong support at 7210/00 for a sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10...

AUDUSD broke strong support at 7210/00 for a sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10...

Jason Sen Jason Sen 26.11.2021 10:58
AUDUSD broke strong support at 7210/00 for a sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10...we are just 14 pips away as I write. NZDUSD we wrote: hit the next target of 6855 as we look for 6810. Further losses meet strong support at 6780/60. Only 8 pips from 6810 as I write this morning. AUDJPY we had a short at 8300/10 targeting 8200/8180...hit this morning as I write for an easy 100 pip profit, but it looks like we can continue lower today. Today's Analysis. AUDUSD saw a high for the day at 7210/00 with shorts working after the sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10 Close this morning), perhaps as far as 7070/50 for profit taking on all shorts this week. Strong resistance at 7180/7200. Shorts need stops above 7220. NZDUSD hit the next target of 6855 as we look for 6810 & a test of strong support at 6780/60 for profit taking on shorts before the weekend.. Gains are likely to be limited with minor resistance at 6860/70 & strong resistance at 6925/35. Shorts need stops above 6955. AUDJPY shorts at 8310/20 already have a 100 pip profit & a break below 8170 is an important sell signal initially targeting 8130 & 8110/00. Gains are likely to be limited with first resistance at 8220/30 & strong resistance at 8275/85. Shorts need stops above 8300. EURUSD shorts at first resistance at 1.1255/65 worked on the slide to 1.1225 & 1.1200, although we held 14 pips above the next target of 1.1170/60. USDCAD we wrote: first support at 1.2650/40 could see a low for the day...Longs at first support at 1.2650/40 expected to target 1.2690/1.2700 & 1.2740... 1.2720 reached as I write this morning but outlook remains positive. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD holding first resistance at 1.1255/65 offering us 70 pips profit so far as we look for 1.1170/60. No sign of a low yet, so further losses can target 1.1120/10. Gains are likely to be limited with minor resistance at 1.1230 & 1.1255/60. Strong resistance at 1.1300/10. Shorts need stops above 1.1325. USDCAD our longs at first support at 1.2650/40 expected to target 1.2740 today, perhaps as far as 1.2760/70. If we continue higher look for 1.2800. First support at 1.2650/40 could see a low for the day again today. Second support at 1.2580/70. Stop below 1.2555. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Crude Oil Didn’t Like Thanksgiving Turkey This Year

Crude Oil Didn’t Like Thanksgiving Turkey This Year

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 26.11.2021 15:46
  It appears that the US markets didn’t find the Thanksgiving turkey very tasty this year. CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index (VIX) Futures (daily chart) With the “indicator of fear” (also known as the VIX or Volatility Index) spiking over 13.5 % in the European session, propelling some precious metals (gold and platinum) and natural gas to the roof, while sending the crude and petroleum products to the lower ground, the volatility has just clearly reached a higher level. (Source: FINVIZ) Most of our premium subscribers enjoyed a last ride on the long side for WTI crude oil this month while following our trade projections. For more details of the last oil trading position provided last week, I have just released that trade as it got very close to reach its projected target on Wednesday (Nov. 24). WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart) The main fears on the oil market come from the possibility of a demand slowdown starting from Q1 2022. Additionally, that timing happens when the United States, along with a larger group of countries (including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the UK) have made the decision to release some of their strategic oil reserves on the market, aiming at artificially increasing the supply, and thus lowering oil prices. Well, this may represent one driver of prices indeed, although a more general economic slowdown associated with a non-sustained demand as we are getting into the winter, may be the main concern now. On the other hand, the winter – expected to be colder in certain regions – is also supporting the gas prices, hence the recent surge on the Henry Hub futures, along with sustained US exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that are also supporting natural gas prices. Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart) In conclusion, we could be entering a new volatile period on the global markets, associated with various fears maintained through headlines by media (Covid variants, restrictions, etc.). For now, I would suggest staying away from the noisy headlines and just relax and enjoy some new pieces of turkey leftovers, or whatever else if you don’t eat meat. Ignore the noise and trade what you see (not what you think). Stay tuned and enjoy your weekend! As always, we’ll keep you, our subscribers well informed. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve a high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
FX Update: Position squaring in FX as new covid strain roils markets

FX Update: Position squaring in FX as new covid strain roils markets

John Hardy John Hardy 26.11.2021 14:30
Forex 2021-11-26 14:05 5 minutes to read Summary:  The contagion across asset markets triggered by new covid strain concerns has hit FX in the form of classic deleveraging, as euro and yen shorts are squeezed on a reversal of recent US yield rises and safe haven seeking, while the US dollar gets a pass elsewhere because it is still safer than smaller, less liquid currencies, particularly in EM. The timing is terrible for this wave of risk aversion as we have thin trading conditions over the US Thanksgiving holiday.   FX Trading focus: Position squaring hits heavy euro- and yen shorts Risk contagion across the board overnight on the news of a new covid strain in South Africa with significant mutations and signs of overtaking as a percentage of cases in regional outbreaks. There may a sudden “straw that broke the camel’s back” angle to this, given the covid concerns elsewhere, particularly in Europe. The timing is worse than unfortunate, as the liquidity backdrop of particular concern as the news has hit with the US out on holiday yesterday and only open for half a session today, with few likely anticipating until last night or this morning that they would even need to bother showing up for work today. The sense of whiplash has been particularly acute as we have just had a look at US President Biden nominating Powell for a second term and many highlighting the focus on inflation in his acceptance speech for the nomination, with Brainard’s acceptance speech also highlighting inflation as a major concern. This had jolted Fed expectations for next year to new highs for the cycle at the outset of this week, and now just a few days later we get covid mutation concerns that have sent a deleveraging wave across markets. In US treasuries, this has mean a sharp drop along the entire US yield curve, giving the euro and the yen a strong boost, as the euro in particular was headed south and fast on the policy divergence theme of the ECB seen likely to maintain zero rates and even some level of QE out over the horizon while the market had priced in three full Fed rate hikes by the end of next year before this sudden reversal. On the weak side, while the US dollar has fallen within the G3 and is approximately flat against sterling, the smaller currencies are sharply lower against all of the above, and EM generally doubly so. Meanwhile, a chunky new drop in oil prices on the anticipation of widening international travel restrictions and even domestic lockdowns in places is adding to the NOK woes just after that currency was trying to recover versus the single currency last week, sending EURNOK up through its 200-day moving average and above 10.20 at one point today after trading below 9.70 barely over a month ago. Chart: AUDJPYAUDJPY is doing its usual job of capturing a wave of risk aversion as the lurch lower in risk sentiment was reflected here, and the clearly important 200-day moving average gave way with a bang. This is beginning to demolish the longer-term bullish hopes as it is a hold below the 200-day moving average here is a kind of confirmation of the rejection of the next cycle highs above 85.00 that were attempted last month. Theoretically, if the last gasp support of the 61.8% retracement of the local rally wave can avoid falling, there is shred of hope, but that would likely depend on a full reversal of everything we have just seen overnight. As we emphasized in this morning’s Saxo Market Call podcast, it is impossible to know how the virus situation shapes up here until further details emerge, but the market appears poorly positioned here for a more difficult global growth outlook at a time was just on how much the Fed is going to have to course correct and end QE and hike rates because US Q4 GDP is running incredibly hot. And that was in turn driving the predominant focus on relative policy divergences, with especially Europe being singled out for its particularly weak outlook, given the energy crunch and it being at the epicenter of the latest covid wave. If I am to poke around at places where moves are getting a bit overdone here in the short term, the EURSEK squeeze move looks a bit excessive, but that isn’t to say that poor liquidity and the usual market correlations can’t send it squeezing higher still. Yesterday, the Riksbank brought a rate hike into its forward guidance (late 2024) for the first time for the cycle at a time as the market is front running that and even pricing the ECB to achieve lift-off next year. Trading a market move like the one has developed overnight is tricky business as anything can happen and either direction. Concern may deepen and dramatically so that nations will scramble to limit the spread of this new variant until more is known, and we still know little about its virulence. And in the very short-term, a self-propelling position squaring can extend aggressively ahead of the weekend as risk managers force adjustments linked to the blow-up in volatility. Then the gap risk can move in the other direction over the weekend. Impossible to know, only to limit risk and exercise patience and a couple of weeks or more of headline risks before we know the lay of the land better. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthAs noted above, the big direction change here is in the euro and the JPY, which have pulled sharply higher in most crosses, with the Swiss franc happy to continue higher as well (suggesting that the USDCHF pair was increasingly important positioning-wise recently?). Elsewhere, SEK downside is beginning to look extreme, and CNH upside likewise if commodity prices continue to crater. Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Far too early to talk trends when what we have here is a sudden positioning wipeout – but we will have to see how the next few days develop. Most “flips” as of this update are linked to the oil move (NOKSEK, CAD crosses etc.) although note the euro ripping higher against AUD and NZD.
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - November 25, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 25.11.2021 09:49
Macro 2021-11-25 08:45 6 minutes to read Summary:  Asian stocks and US equity futures traded higher overnight as traders weighed Chinese efforts to support its economy, and after solid US economic data combined with persistent price pressures added to market concerns, the Fed may speed up its removal of policy support to curb inflation. In Treasuries, shorter maturity advanced while longer dated retreated after failing to break key resistance. The dollar trades close to a 16-month high while the crude oil market held steady with focus on next week's OPEC+ meeting. US cash markets are closed for Thanksgiving today with limited price activity expected. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - yesterday’s less bad than feared PCE inflation for October reversed momentum in US interest rates and pulled equities and especially US technology stocks higher. With the recent Powell and Brainard statements it is clear, that the Fed will put more weight on inflation than employment as we go into 2022, and thus the pressure will remain on interest rates and high duration assets such as technology stocks. Nasdaq 100 futures sit at 16,414 in early European trading and will have to overcome the 50% retracement level at 16,435 in order to continue the upward momentum. USDJPY – while US equities and US interest rates turned around yesterday, the reaction in USDJPY was less muted ending the sessions higher underscoring the strong USD momentum. The outlook is still predominantly a question of “will it or won’t it sustain a break above 115.00” which depends on whether the US 10-year yield can push into new highs for the year above the 1.75% level. Gold (XAUUSD) trades higher after once again managing to find support in the $1780 area. Another strong read on US inflation, this time the Fed’s favored PCE Deflator, helped flatten the US yield curve with the yield on short dated maturities rising while US ten-year notes ended lower after failing to break key resistance in the 1.7% area. The big price slump below $1830 this week was primarily caused by long liquidation from funds who had been rushing into gold before and after the recent CPI shock. Gold’s short-term ability to bounce will mostly depend on whether the washout has triggered a big enough reduction of recently established and now loss-making positions. From a technical perspective, a break above $1816 is the minimum requirement for calm to emerge. Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSJAN21) has settled into a nervous wait-and-see mode with focus on the Dec 2 OPEC+ meeting after its advisory board said the US-led coordinated release of reserves may drive a crude oil surplus early next year. This comes after the alliance called the move unjustified given current conditions and as a result, they may opt to reduce future production hikes when they meet on Tuesday. Yesterday’s EIA report was price supportive with crude oil stocks only seeing a small 1 million barrels increase despite a sharp drop in exports and another injection from strategic reserves. US treasuries (SHY, IEF, TLT). Yesterday, we received a thorough list of data, which might have just given more reasons to the Fed to accelerate the pace of tapering during the next FOMC meeting. The PCE index rose to 5%, the highest since 1981 while inflation expectations for the next 5 years stuck to 3%. Jobless claims fell to the lowest since 1969, indicating that jobs are recovering fast. Lastly, the FOMC minutes showed that members are beginning to worry about less transitory inflation, provoking rate hikes expectations to accelerate by the end of the day. However, due to the looming holiday, US Treasuries remained muted. 5-year UST futures this morning are down during the Asian session despite low liquidity, indicating that sentiment is bearish. Friday’s trading session will also be affected by low liquidity due to the Thanksgiving schedule. We will have a better picture on Monday, but it looks likely yields will continue their rise and the yield curve flattening. German Bunds (IS0L). The new German government unveiled a governing coalition deal. Among the extensive list of policies, bond investors should focus on an accommodative fiscal policy for 2022 and 2023, the beginning of a “decade of investment” and the rejection of a new lockdown amid a record rise of Covid cases. More spending translates to higher Bund yields. However, yields remained mutes as Europe becomes the new epicenter of Covid-19 infections. Yet, Bunds remain vulnerable, and rates might move higher as US Treasury yields resume their rise. Italian BTPS (BTP10). Italian government bonds remained in check as governments in Europe move forward to impose new restrictions due to a rise Covid-19 infections. Yet, investors should remain vigilant as the PEPP program will still end in March. To weaken sentiment in BTPS further is also the news that President Mattarella is going to vacate his position in January leaving a political vacuum. Parties are pushing Draghi to il Quirinale to get rid of him and go to early elections. If that were to happen, the stability that Italian BTPS enjoyed since Draghi entered in Italian politics will vanish provoking a fast widening of the BTPS-Bund spread. What is going on? Europe’s Covid problem is deteriorating, and with the region now accounting for almost 60% of global Covid deaths, the risk of more lockdowns and restrictions continue to rise. German business climate in November slumped slightly more than expected to its lowest in five months as local companies grapple with supply bottlenecks and the mentioned fourth wave of COVID-19. Fed officials at their last meeting were open to removing policy support at a faster pace to rein in inflation. Since then, data have shown accelerating price pressure, not least after the Fed’s favorite gauge, the PCE Deflator rose 5% YoY, the fastest pace in three decades. "Various participants" noted the FOMC should be ready to tweak the tapering pace and raise the target range for the Fed funds rate sooner than currently expected if inflation continues to run higher, minutes showed. By now, the market has priced in a total of three rate hikes for 2022. EU gas trades higher again today, reaching $30.7/MMBtu (€93.5/GWh) today in response to rising winter demand, low power production from wind farms and increased competition from Asia which is ramping up its LNG imports. Sky-high day ahead prices for power adding to the pain with some countries approaching record highs. Power plants are burning more coal which is cheaper and more profitable and it has helped drive the emissions future (CFIZ1) to a new all-time high this week above €72.5 per tons. What are we watching next? The USD and US interest rates will make or break equities - it is clear that interest rate sensitivity is picking up as a theme as US interest rates are trading just below the two recent local highs in March and October. The USD is strong which puts pressure on emerging markets and any indications that the USD is losing momentum will improve flows into emerging market equities and bonds. Black Friday consumer spending – retail sales during Black Friday tomorrow and over the weekend is often a good barometer on consumer confidence and causes big moves in retailers the following week as their weekend sales are announced. Earnings Watch – with Thanksgiving today in the US market activity will be significantly lower than normal. Only earnings release today is from Norwegian Adevinta, which has already reported with operating income in Q3 coming in a bit lower than consensus. Thursday: Adevinta Friday: Meituan, Pinduoduo Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0700 – German Q3 GDP 0700 – German GfK Consumer Confidence   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Focusing On US CPI, Fed, Commodities and Bank Of Japan - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - November 29, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 29.11.2021 09:48
Macro 2021-11-29 08:40 6 minutes to read Summary:  The market is trying to brush off fears that the new omicron covid variant may significantly disrupt the global economy, with only partial success as cases of the variant have been discovered in multiple countries outside of the original outbreak area. Equities and crude oil markets have erased a portion of the enormous losses from Friday, but the Japanese yen strength actually accelerated at times overnight as Japan will move to halt entry by all foreign visitors. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equity futures with especially Nasdaq 100 futures are charging ahead trading above the 50% retracement level based on Friday’s price action. The new Covid variant has for now made the market put monetary tightening on pause for a while until we get a better picture of the new variant and its impact. This is supporting US technology stocks as it puts less upward pressure on interest rates. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) - European equities were down the most on Friday logically bouncing back the most in today’s session with Stoxx 50 futures trading at the 50% retracement level of Friday’s selloff at the 4,151 level. The next big resistance level on the upside is 4,189. If the new Covid variant ends up restricting mobility and travelling we expect Europe and emerging markets to perform worse than US equities. USDJPY and JPY crosses – The Friday meltdown in risk sentiment saw the Japanese yen rallying strongly, with a classic risk proxy pairing like the AUDJPY suffering its worst single day draw-down since the pandemic outbreak in March of 2020. While other markets tried to put on a hopeful face at the start of the week in Asia today, it is notable that the JPY strength has actually accelerated, perhaps in part as Japan is taking the remarkable step of banning all inbound travel from foreign destinations starting tomorrow. In USDJPY, we watch the important pivot low of 112.73, a fall through which could set up a challenge of the 111.50-111.00 zone that supports the trend from the lows of early 2021. Speculative positioning is quite short the JPY, so there is considerable potential fuel for an extension of this JPY rally. EURJPY has broken down through the important 128.00 area support overnight. EURUSD – the squeeze higher in EURUSD on Friday appears linked with the market moving quickly to remove expectations of Fed rate hikes in the wake of the news of the new omicron covid variant, which improves the equation for the euro from a “yield spread” perspective. For EURUSD to trade to new cycle lows from here, we would likely either need to see a return to new highs for the cycle in Fed expectations or some new meltdown in sentiment that would reward the US dollar more as a safe haven. Resistance is perhaps 1.1350-1.1385. Gold (XAUUSD) failed to attract a strong safe haven bid on Friday to push it through resistance at $1816. This despite multiple tailwinds emerging from the omicron-driven carnage after bond yields slumped while the dollar and the VIX jumped. Instead, a slump across industrial metals spread to silver and platinum, thereby curtailing golds potential upside. Gold trades lower today with other markets making a tentative recovery in the belief Friday’s selloff was overdone. However, until we have more details about the virus (see below) the markets will remain nervous as can be seen in fresh yen strength this Monday (see above). Four failed attempts to break below $1781, a key Fibonacci level, may also offer returning bulls some comfort. Crude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSJAN21) suffered one of its largest one-day crashes on Black Friday in response to worries the new omicron virus variant could drive renewed demand weakness caused by widespread lockdowns and travel bans. Equally importantly was probably the very bad timing with the news hitting the markets on a low liquidity day after the Thanksgiving holiday. The market traded higher in Asia as buyers concluded the selloff was overdone while also speculating OPEC+ may act to support prices when they meet on Thursday. The group may decide to postpone the January production increase or if necessary, temporary cut production into a period that was already expected to see the return of a balanced market. Ahead of the meeting and until we know more about the new strain and its associated risks, the market will remain very volatile. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). The omicron strain will be in the spotlight this week as well as monetary policies expectations and the non-farm payrolls on Friday. Jerome Powell’s speech tomorrow and on Wednesday will be key as the Coronavirus and CARES act will be discussed. It’s likely that rates will remain compressed across the yield curve as there continue to be uncertainties surrounding the omicron strain. Yet, we expect the Federal Reserve to stick to their hawkish agenda and accelerate the pace of tapering in December as inflation will continue to be a concern. It implies, the yield curve will continue to bear flatten, and could even invert as economic expectations dive, pinning down long-term yields. If the White House looks to add more stimulus, that would imply more bond issuance, putting further pressure in the front part of the yield curve. German Bunds (IS0L) and Italian BTPS (BTP10). This week’s focus will be the Eurozone CPI flash numbers and news concerning Covid lockdowns and restrictions. Friday’s flight to safety provoked yields to drop across the euro area, including among sovereigns with a high beta such as Italy. The reason behind it is that German Bunds are tightly correlated to US Treasuries and that the market was anticipating more accommodative monetary policies from the ECB, which have been benefitting mostly the periphery. Investors should remain cautious. Indeed, inflation remains a big focus and could drive towards less accommodative policies rather than more. What is going on? Market is grappling with what to do about the omicron covid variant. The worst impact so far is from the speed with which countries are moving to halt inbound foreign travel, with many countries stopping all flights from South Africa and other countries in the region, while Japan has taken the dramatic step of halting all inbound foreign travel from tomorrow. More hopeful indications from virologists in the virus origin area are anecdotally that this variant is not particularly virulent, although others point out that too little is known about the virus’ effects on more vulnerable patients. Weak Black Friday spending in the US, particular in-store sales. While up strongly from last year’s virus impacted activity at physical stores, US Black Friday spending in-store was down some 28% from 2019 levels and the online shopping on Friday was at $8.9 billion vs. $9.0 billion in 2019, rather disappointing totals, although some suggest that Americans have brought forward their holiday shopping this year because of widespread fears of shortages of popular products. What are we watching next? Whether market can quickly recover from fresh wave of virus concerns. The virus concerns triggered by the new variant were a jarring development, given the prior focus recently on inflation and central banks having to bring forward tightening plans to stave off inflationary risks. US stocks have been the quickest to try to put a brave face on the situation and there is some support for equities as rate hike expectations from the Fed have dropped sharply and long US treasury yields are also sharply lower, but it will take time to learn how transmissible and virulent this new omicron virus strain is, as well as how much damage will be done to growth and sentiment by new limitations on travel and other restrictions. We also have to recall that prior to this news, Europe was the epicenter of the latest wave of the delta variant and was already trading somewhat defensively. US President Biden is set to speak this evening on the new virus variant. The UN FAO will publish its monthly World Food Price Index on Thursday, and another strong read is expected, although the year-on-year increase look set to ease from 31.3%. November has been another strong month for the grains sector led by wheat due to strong demand and worries about the Australian harvest. Elsewhere Arabica coffee trades near a ten-year high on increased concerns about production in Brazil. Before Friday’s carnage across markets the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot index had reached a 5 ½-year high after rallying by 40% during the past year. Earnings Watch – earnings this week are light with the key ones to watch being Li Auto, Snowflake, Crowdstrike, Elastic, and DocuSign. Monday: Sino Biopharmaceutical, China Gas, Acciona, Li Auto Tuesday: Bank of Nova Scotia, Salesforce, Zscaler, NetApp, HP Enterprise Wednesday: Trip.com, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Snowflake, Synopsys, Crowdstrike, Veeva Systems, Okta, Splunk, Elastic, Five Below Thursday: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Cooper Cos, Marvell Technology, DocuSign, Ulta Beauty, Asana, Dollar General, Kroger Friday: Bank of Montreal Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0830 – Sweden Q3 GDP 0830 – ECB's Guindos to speak 0930 – UK Oct. Mortgage Approvals 1000 – Euro Zone Nov. Confidence Surveys 1130 – ECB's Schnabel to speak 1300 – Germany Nov. Flash CPI 1330 – Canada Oct. Industrial Product Prices 1530 – US Nov. Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey 1715 – ECB President Lagarde to speak 2000 – US Fed’s Williams (voter) to speak 2005 – US Fed Chair Powell gives opening remarks at conference 2350 – Japan Oct. Industrial Production 0030 – Australia Oct. Building Approvals 0100 – China Nov. Manufacturing and Non-manufacturing PMI 0200 – Australia RBA’s Debelle to speak  Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
The Dollar Moves Back to the Fulcrum between the Funding and Higher Beta Currencies

The Dollar Moves Back to the Fulcrum between the Funding and Higher Beta Currencies

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 29.11.2021 10:46
November 28, 2021  $USD The new covid variant injected a new dynamic into the foreign exchange market.  The World Health Organization cautioned against the need to impose travel restrictions, but policymakers, by and large, do not want to be bitten by the same dog twice.  To err on the side of caution is to minimize one's biggest regret.  The risk is that the uncertainty is not lifted quickly but lingers, which would likely unpin volatility.   US and European benchmark 10-year yields fell sharply ahead of the weekend.  In the US, the market unwound some of its aggressive pricing in of Fed policy.  This is reflected in the commensurate drop at the short-end.  In Europe, the decline in 10-year yield reflected a slowing of growth/inflation as its short-end was largely unchanged.   There are three areas in which market participants cannot be as confident as they were in the middle of last week.  First, the odds of a Bank of England hike next month were diminishing and fell further at the end of last week.  Second, an acceleration in the Fed's tapering seemed increasingly likely given the strength of recent data and the jump in price pressures.  However, the emergence of this new strain makes an aggressive rate hiking campaign less likely.  Third, the prospects for stronger world growth diminished on the margins.  This undermines risk appetites and weakens those currencies that often appear to do better in robust growth phases (e.g., dollar bloc, Scandis, and most emerging market currencies).   Dollar Index:  The Dollar Index put in a new high for the year on November 24, slightly below 97.00. It was confined to a narrow range when the US markets were closed on November 25 and sold off on news of the new variant and imposition of travel controls by several countries.  The setback was sufficient to turn the MACD lower from over-extended territory, though the Slow Stochastic hasn't and remains stretched.  If we assume a correction has begun, a key question is what move is being retraced.  A conservative but logical assumption is that the last leg up, since the November 10 CPI, is in play.  The first (38.2%) target is near 95.75, and then the (50%) retracement is around 95.40.  A break of 95.00 could signal another cent decline.  Euro:  Interest rate differentials and the surge in delta variant cases had sent the euro to almost $1.1185 in the middle of the last week, the lowest since July 2020.  When news of the new variant broke, what appears to be a short-covering rally lifted the euro to almost $1.1325.  The (38.2%) retracement of the leg down since November 10 is near $1.1340.  A more formidable resistance area is in the $1.1375-$1.1400 band.  As was the case with the Dollar Index, the MACD is turning, but the Slow Stochastic is lagging.  Initial support now is seen near $1.1260. With the old and now new variant, the surge accelerated inflation expected to be reported next week may not be the fodder for the ECB has that some anticipated.   Japanese Yen:  We have suggested that the dollar was in a JPY113-JPY115 range.  Earlier this month, it had dipped briefly below JPY112.75 and snapped back.  Indeed, in the first part of last week, it was fraying the upper end of the range and traded slightly through JPY115.50.  However, the pre-weekend turmoil saw the greenback drop back to the lower end of the range (~JPY113.05).  The trendline connecting the August low and the two November lows, found near JPY114.10 ahead of the weekend, was taken out with determination. The MACD is turning down but never recovered from the mid-October-mid-November decline.  The Slow Stochastic is edging back into over-extended territory. British Pound:   As the December short-sterling futures contract rallied, implying a less likely chance of a BOE hike before year-end, the pound fell.  The interest rate futures contract will begin next week with a seven-day rally intact.  Sterling, itself has fallen for six sessions, and a new low for the year was set near  $1.3320 before the weekend.  Here, both the MACD and Slow Stochastic are falling while being over-extended on the downside.   A move above $1.3350 would help stabilize the tone,  but it requires a push above $1.3400 to be notable.  On the downside, we continue to see a risk of a test on the  $1.3165, the first retracement (31.8%) of sterling's rally since Mach 2020.     Canadian Dollar:  Talk about trending currencies; the Canadian dollar fell for the fifth consecutive week following a five-week rally.  Net-net,  it is little changed.  The US dollar settled near CAD1.2765 on September 17, which was between the Bank of Canada meeting and the FOMC.  The greenback reached CAD1.28 ahead of the weekend before settling back near CAD1.2760.  There is little chart resistance until closer to CAD1.29.  As one would expect, the momentum indicators are stretched and frayed the upper Bollinger Band (~CAD1.2770).  It requires a break of the CAD1.2630-CAD1.2640 area to be meaningful.   Australian Dollar:  In the pre-weekend carnage, the Australian dollar came within a whisker of the year's low set in August near $0.7100.  The Aussie, like the Canadian dollar, has been streaking.  Its four-week decline comes are a four-week rally.  The move was underway before the new variant was announced.  The next target is around $0.7050, the (38.2%) retracement of the rally from the March 2020 low (~$0.5500).  Below there is the $0.7000 area, which caught the lows in September and October 2020.   The MACD continues to fall, while the Slow Stochastic has begun to flatline in the trough.  The 25 bp hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which was fully expected, and disappointed those that looked for a larger move, did little to support the New Zealand dollar.  Indeed, it was the worst-performing major currency last week, losing about 2.5%, more than twice as much as the Canadian dollar and two-thirds more than the Australian dollar.  It also tested the year's low set in August (~0.6800). A break would open the door to steeper losses, but the next area of support may be found in the $0.6760-$0.6780 area.   Mexican Peso:  The peso was the second weakest currency in the world last week (after the Turkish lira), falling around 4.3% to a new low for the year.  It had three strikes against it last week.  First, emerging market currencies broadly are out of favor.   The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index has fallen for 10 of the past 12 weeks.  Second, the new variant and the dramatic risk-off saw the peso's losses accelerate.  Third are domestic considerations.  AMLO's nomination to head the central bank starting next year did not bolster the market's confidence, which was on the heels of the Turkish debacle.  Also, domestic economic conditions have worsened.  The data have been softer than expected, including a downward revision in Q3 GDP showing a contraction of 0.4% rather than 0.2%. At the same time, the bi-weekly CPI rose above 7%.   Ahead of the weekend, the dollar rose to MXN22.1550, and although it pulled back, it found support above the previous session's high (~MXN21.60).  Nearly all the emerging market currencies fell against the dollar (The Brazilian real was a notable exception.  It eked out ~0.5% gain).  However, Mexico seems particularly vulnerable.  The credibility of the central bank may be called into question.  The economic challenge of surging inflation and weak economic activity would seem to require fiscal support, for which AMLO shows little interest.  In April 2020, the greenback reached nearly MXN25.7850, and the MXN22.47 area corresponds to the halfway mark of its subsequent decline.   Chinese Yuan:  Chinese officials appear to have expressed mild displeasure with the foreign exchange market, cautioning against a one-way market and checking prop positions.  Officials would seem to think that the banks are short dollars, while many outside observers, trying to reconcile the large current account surplus with little currency movement and stable reserves, think the large banks are accumulating dollars ostensibly on behalf of officials (hence the talk of stealth intervention). In fact, the one-way market has been broken.  On November 16, the dollar traded between CNY.3670 and CNY6.3965 and has not moved out of that range.  We suspect the risk is for an upside break for the dollar and initially see a move toward CNY6.42.   Disclaimer
AUDUSD shorts at 7210/00 worked perfectly after the sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10...

AUDUSD shorts at 7210/00 worked perfectly after the sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10...

Jason Sen Jason Sen 29.11.2021 11:45
AUDUSD shorts at 7210/00 worked perfectly after the sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10 for a potential 90 pips profit, with a low for the day exactly here. NZDUSD we wrote: hit the next target of 6855 as we look for 6810. This target was hit after a 57 pip drop. AUDJPY shorts at 8310/20 offered up to 200 pips profit on the slide to 8110/00. Longs were stopped below 8075 before we hit the next target of 8055/50, with a low for the day. Today's Analysis. AUDUSD shorts at 7210/00 working after the sell signal targeting 7170/65 & 7120/10. Further losses look likely when we open to first support at 7070/50 in oversold conditions. A break lower targets 7000. Gains are likely to be limited with minor resistance at 7150/55. Strong resistance at 7175/85. Shorts need stops above 7195 but try shorts again at 7215/25, with stops above 7235. NZDUSD hit the next targets of 6855 & 6810. Expect strong support at 6780/60. Longs need stops below 6730. Gains are likely to be limited with minor resistance at 6835 & strong resistance at 6855/65. Shorts need stops above 6875. Try shorts at 6890/6900, with stops above 6915. AUDJPY hit all the downside targets as far as 8055/50. Further losses meet very strong support at 8010/7990. Longs need stops below 7960. Gains are likely to be limited at this stage, with first resistance at 8110/30. Strong resistance at 8180/8200. Shorts need stops above 8220. USDJPY broke strong support at 114.20/10 for the next target of 113.40/30, before a bounce from 113.03. EURJPY collapsed to the only support for the week at 127.95/90. CADJPY shorts at 9100/9110 worked perfectly on the slide to 8900/8890 but we continued lower look to the next target of 8875/50. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY gains are likely to be limited with first resistance at 113.55/65. A better selling opportunity at 113.95/114.05, with stops above 114.20. Minor support at 113.10/00. A break below 112.90 targets the November low at 112.70 then strong support at 112.45/35. Try longs with stops below 112.20. EURJPY collapsed to the only support for the week at the August/September low at 127.95/90, with a good bounce from just 12 pips below. A break lower is obviously an important sell signal this week, with another 100 pip drop likely. Resistance at 128.60/70 but above 128.80 meets a selling opportunity at 129.10/20 with stops above 129.40. CADJPY strong support at 8850/30. Longs need stops below 8810. A break lower targets 8770/60 then 8710/00. Longs at 8850/30 target 8900/10, perhaps as far as first resistance at 8950/60. Try shorts with stops above 8975. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Gold's Gains Get Marred as Biden Bonks Brainard

Gold's Gains Get Marred as Biden Bonks Brainard

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 29.11.2021 08:32
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 628th Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 27 November 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com  Five key points right off the top: â–  Indeed literally at the top: the above Gold Scoreboard displays valuation having crossed above the $4,000/oz. threshold; and yet you can own Gold for a fraction of that at $1,792/oz given yesterday's (Friday's) settle; "Got Gold?" â–  Both wrong -- and moreover shocked -- we were over Biden's handlers writing "Jerome Powell" rather than "Lael Brainard" on the FedHead index card for the President to read aloud this past Monday; a selection 180° anti-correlative with the Administration's endless money 'n climate change modus operandi; â–  The emphasis of last week's piece was for a near-term technical pullback in Gold's price, wherein 'twas stated "...the 1800s ... appear safe..."; rather, this past week's low was 1777, the "Powell" selection being the fundamental impetus justifying that technical condition; â–  Prior to The WHO's (not the band, but the U.N. organization) effort to maintain its raison d'être with Friday's "Oh my! Omicron!" scare, we were prepared to state that "Powell" would push for a FedFunds rate hike in the 26 January Policy Statement; but if this instead is "The Beginning of the End, Part Deux", shall they ever raise again? â–  And "Oh my! Omicron!" in turn is credited as the catalytical scapegoat for the S&P 500's -2.3% loss on Friday, (recall the single-day COVID losses in 2020 were several times that amount); yet still not a FinMedia peep about the S&P's earnings levels simply not being supportive of the Index: our "live" P/E = 49.3x; its lifetime median = 20.4x; (ready for the next means reversion?) Now: but for two trading day's remaining in November's balance, let's go with the following usual month-end graphic, albeit both Monday and Tuesday can well blow us far from Kansas, Toto. Thus with that in mind and seat belts fastened, here are the BEGOS Markets Standings year-to-date. The economically-driven markets dominate the top three podium spots whilst the safe havens remain the also-rans. "Everything's great!" right? Specific to Gold, as above shown -5.7% to this point in 2021, here below we've the weekly bars and parabolic trends, the ongoing blue-dotted Long stance now four weeks in duration. As measured from a year ago, this past week was Gold's third worst performance on both a points and percentage loss basis. A bit of a heartbreaker, that. Even as "Oh my! Omicron!" is wild-card bullish for Gold; yet "Powell" is the more hawkish-to-be FedHead selection (bearish, but not really) for Gold: "You're saying that because rising rates have actually found Gold to rise too, right, mmb?" Spot on there, Squire. Lest we forget, from 2004-2006 the FedFunds rate rose from 1% to 5% and Gold from 380 to 710. Further, to reiterate, Gold by U.S. monetary debasement (wildly bullish) is today worth the Scoreboard-noted 4001. Either way, Gold's year-over-year percentage track has been, on balance, sideways. Which in turn really emphasizes the "Live by the miners, Die by the miners" nature of precious metals-based equities as is starkly made obvious here: For the record from this time a year ago, as positive we've only Franco-Nevada (FNV) +5%, followed in decline by Gold itself -1%, Newmont (NEM) -3%, the Global X Silver Miners exchange-traded fund (SIL) -5%, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners exchange-traded fund (GDX) -6%, Pan American Silver (PAAS) -12%, and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) -19%. (Note to those of you fortunate enough to be scoring at home: the U.S. Money Supply for the same period is +12% versus the supply of Gold just +1% ... Pssst: again, "Got Gold?"). As for our Economic Barometer, the past week's slate of incoming metrics found but one which was negative: October's Durable Orders (itself a volatile series). The balance of the bunch had improvements including Home Sales (both New and Existing), plus Personal Income and Spending. But the "turn a blind eye to it" Q3 Chain Deflator was revised upward: that's the party pooper, further highlighted by the Fed's favourite gauge of inflation -- Core Personal Consumption Expenditures -- doubling its October growth over that for September. "Hey Jay! Raise 'em 26 January anyway?" Here's the Baro along with the wee pullback in the S&P: Next as we go 'round the horn with the BEGOS Markets, their respective rightmost daily bars are indicative of Friday's "Oh my! Omicron!" effect. And note from the safe haven standpoint the net comparable under-performance of the precious metals vis-à-vis the leaps by the Bond, Euro and Swiss Franc. As well, the three year-to-late leaders in the aforeshown BEGOS Markets Standings turned tail toward butt ugly, namely Oil, Copper and the S&P 500. And with all those baby-blue dots of trend consistency on the skids, a Santa Claus rally doesn't at present appear in the bids: As for the 10-day Market Profiles for the precious metals, be it for Gold on the left or Silver on the right, from each one's height, they now hardly look right. Indeed, the pick of "Powell" thus far trumps any Gold-positive fear of "Oh my! Omicron!": And thus Gold for November has gone from stud to dud, the rightmost monthly bar below barely green by a nub. Gold's trying to re-secure The Northern Front remains a Battle Royale: So there it all is. Gold was on a November roll -- up some 95 points (+5.3%) -- just over a week ago, albeit with momentum already perceptively slowing, our last missive showing. Then Monday came Biden's shocking bonking of "Brainard" toward maintaining "Powell" as FedHead, and from the month's high of 1880, Gold post-bonk was swiftly down over 100 points. Even as a safe-haven following Friday's WHO surprise "Oh my! Omicron!" cry, Gold bounced a bit, but failed to hold grip, the question now being: "Does Gold further slip?" Regardless, we answer: "Just buy Gold's dip!" Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.deMeadville.com
Sentiment Remains Fragile

Sentiment Remains Fragile

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 29.11.2021 14:08
November 29, 2021  $USD, Covid, Currency Movement, Federal Reserve, Inflation, Japan Overview: The fire that burnt through the capital markets before the weekend, triggered by the new Covid mutation, burned itself out in the Asian Pacific equity trading earlier today. A semblance of stability, albeit fragile and tentative, has emerged. Europe's Stoxx 600 is up about 1%, led by real estate, information technology, and energy.  US index futures are trading higher, with the NASDAQ leading.  Benchmark 10-year yields are firmer.  The US 10-year Treasury yield has risen about six basis points to 1.53%.  European yields are mostly 1-2 basis points higher, while the UK Gilt yield is up four basis points. The dollar remains, as we say, at the fulcrum of the major currencies, but in an opposite way, with the funding currencies that rallied strongly before the weekend seeing their gains pared today, while the dollar bloc and Scandis trade firmer.  Among the emerging market currencies, the liquid and freely accessible currencies, such as the South African rand, Russian rouble, and Mexican peso are leading the recovery.  The Turkish lira and central European currencies, perhaps dragged down by the softer euro, underperform.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is slightly firmer after falling around 0.4% before the weekend.  Gold held support near $1780 but has been unable to resurface above $1800.  January WTI jumped by about 5% after the 13% drop at the end of last week.  Iron ore surged 6.5%, recouping in full the 5.6% decline in the last session to approach its recent highs.  Winter weather is beginning to be experienced in Europe, and natural gas (Netherlands) is up 7.75% after falling 4.8% ahead of the weekend.  Copper is recouping a little less than half of last Friday's nearly 4% fall.   Asia Pacific Faced with much unknown about the new mutation, several Asia Pacific countries are opting to close their borders to foreign travelers.  Initially, countries limited the travel ban to a handful or so of countries from Southern Africa.  It does appear that the omicron variant has been around before being sequenced in South Africa, and it is has been found in several countries. However, the origin is still not clear.  While some reports from South Africa suggest mild symptoms, there is good reason for the World Health Organization's caution.  If a new vaccine is needed for the variant, reports suggest it could take around 100 days.  Recall that Japan has lifted its formal emergency in late September, and the economy is rebounding as anticipated.  Today's data showed retail sales rose for a second month in October.  The 1.1% increase lifted the year-over-year rate to 0.9%.   Purchases of clothing and food surged by 9.2%.  Auto sales, still hampered by supply chain disruptions, was the only category that fell.  After a frustratingly slow start, Japan's inoculation efforts have been successful, and the vaccination rate is above 75%.   Before news of the new variant broke, the dollar was around JPY115.50.  It fell to nearly JPY113.00 before the weekend.  It recovered in early dealing to almost JPY113.90 before the weakness of the regional equities contributed to its push lower.  Bloomberg pricing data showed it recorded a JPY112.99 low near midday in Tokyo.  It bounced to almost JPY113.65 in late dealings and has been consolidating in the European morning.  The option for $350 mln at JPY113.40 that expires today has likely been neutralized.  The market appears to be waiting for a new development to push it out of the JPY113-JPY114 range.  The Australian dollar held the pre-weekend low slightly below $0.7115 and is making session highs late in the European morning near last Friday's high (~$0.7155).  Nearby resistance is seen in the $0.7180-$0.7200 area. Recall that last week's 1.55% decline was the fourth consecutive weekly loss and the largest in three months.  The greenback gave up its pre-weekend gain against the Chinese yuan and a bit more today.  It did not even trade above CNY6.39 today, settling above it at the end of last week.  As we have noted, it remains within the range set on November 16 of roughly CNY6.3670-CNY6.3965. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3872 and continued to set it above expectations (CNY6.3858, via Bloomberg).   Two issues seem to be receiving attention today.  First are the prospects of easing by the PBOC in the face of continuing weakening of the economy. The November PMI will be released starting first thing tomorrow.  Second, China's property developers have an estimated $1.3 bln in debt servicing next month, following $2 bln this month.   Europe Outside of the virus, two issues dominate investors' attention in Europe today.  First are the November inflation reports from Spain and Germany ahead of the preliminary aggregate figures tomorrow.  The other is the increasingly bellicose rhetoric between the UK and France over the channel crossings and fishing.   Spain's harmonized November CPI rose by 0.3% to lift the year-over-year rate to 5.6%.  It is the fastest pace since 1992.  It follows October's 1.6% increase and 5.4% 12-month rate.  Food and energy were the main drivers.  The increase was in line with forecasts.  In September, the central bank's chief economist had anticipated that November could be the peak in inflation and anticipated it falling back below the 2% target in 2022.  German states are reporting their November CPI figures, and the country's measure will be reported late today.  The states' measures are consistent with forecasts calling for the nation's harmonized measure to fall around 0.2%.  However, the year-over-year pace is projected to accelerate to 5.5% from 4.6% due to the base effect.  The EMU aggregate preliminary CPI is forecast (Bloomberg median) to be flat on the month for a 4.5% year-over-year pace (up from 4.1% in October).  The core rate is projected to climb to 2.3% from 2.0%.  The euro poked slightly above $1.1330 at the end of last week and settled just above $1.1315.  It traded near $1.1260 in late Asia/early Europe and caught a bid that brought it back to about $1.1290.  There is a 1.7 bln euro option at $1.13 that expires today.  The intraday momentum indicators are getting stretched, warning of the downside risk in early North American activity.  Sterling recorded a new low for the year ahead of the weekend, near $1.3280. It is trading in about a quarter-cent range today, around $1.3335, and staying within last Friday's range.  The pre-weekend high was closer to $1.3365.   After an eight-day rally, the December short-sterling interest rate futures contract is trading slightly heavier today.  The market expectations have shifted from a good chance of a hike next month to a bit more than a third of a chance.   America The US auto sales and jobs highlight this week, but Fed officials are out in force too.  Today Powell, Williams, and Hasson speak at an innovation conference, and Bowman discusses the central bank and indigenous economies. Tomorrow, Powell and Yellen testify before a Senate committee on the CARES Act.  Their prepared remarks are expected to be released later today that may also work for the testimony on Wednesday on the same topic before a House committee.    Tuesday, Clarida discusses the Fed's independence, while Williams will speak on food security.  The Beige Book, in preparation for next month's FOMC meeting, is due Wednesday too.  No fewer than five Fed officials speak in the second half of the week.  Our initial bias continues to be for faster tapering at the December FOMC meeting. It still seems to be the prudent course to maximize the Fed's ability to respond to a broad range of probable economic outcomes.  The US pending home sales and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey, due today, are not typically market movers.  And today is unlikely to be an exception.  Canada reports its Q3 current account surplus (expected to be around C$5.7 bln, up from C$3.6 bln in Q2.  It also reports raw material and industrial prices for October.  The week's highlight is tomorrow's September and Q3 GDP, followed by Friday's employment report.  Mexico reports October unemployment figures (median forecast in Bloomberg's survey calls for a 4.07% rate, down from 4.18% in September). Concerns about President AMLO's appointment to the central bank lingers even though the peso may benefit from the correction to the 1.6% pre-weekend drop.   The US dollar spiked to almost CAD1.28 before the weekend.  It fell to nearly CAD1.2720 today.  The pullback was seen in Asia, and it has been consolidating since then.  Still, the greenback looks vulnerable to a further retracement of the pre-weekend gains. Initial potential extends toward CAD.2680-CAD1.2700.   The broader risk appetites may be the key today for both the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso.  The greenback jumped to MXN22.1550 amid the pre-weekend turmoil.  This now marks the high for the year.  It pulled back initially to MXN21.6850 in Asia, but the selling pressure eased, and it traded in an MXN21.7630-MXN21.9000 range in Europe.  We suspect the combination of the trajectory of US monetary policy plus the concerns about the central bank of Mexico boosts the chances that the peso underperforms generally.  Moreover, rising price pressures and a weak economy put officials in a difficult position, especially given AMLO's reluctance to deploy fiscal measures to support the economy.   Disclaimer
Day That Changed the World?

Day That Changed the World?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.11.2021 15:48
S&P 500 and pretty much everything apart from Treasuries and safe haven plays down precipitously, with panic hitting oil the hardest. The post Thanksgiving session turned out not so light volume one, but the fear wasn‘t sending every risk-on asset cratering by a comparable amount. What we have seen, is an overreaction to uncertainty (again, we‘re hearing contagion and fatality rate speculations – this time coupled with question mark over vaccine efficiency for this alleged variant), and the real question is the real world effect of this announcement, also as seen in the authorities‘ reactions. Lockdowns or semi-equivalent curbs to economic activity are clearly feared, and the focus remains on the demand side for now, but supply would inevitably suffer as well. Do you believe the Fed would sit idly as the economic data deteriorate? Only if they don‘t extend a helping hand, we are looking at a sharp selloff. Given the political realities, that‘s unlikely to happen – the inflation fighting effect of this fear-based contraction would be balanced out before it gets into a self-reinforcing loop. With the fresh stimulus checks lining up the pocket books, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit etc., we‘re almost imperceptibly moving closer to some form of universal basic income. Again, unless the governments go the hard lockdown route over scary medical prognostications (doesn‘t seem to be the case now), such initiatives would cushion financial markets‘ selloffs. Looking at Friday‘s price action, PMs retreat shows that all won‘t be immediately well in commodities, where oil looks the most vulnerable to fresh bad news in the short run (while stocks would remain volatile, they would find footing earliest). Demand destruction fears are though overblown, but the dust looks to need more time to settle than it appeared on Friday above $72-$73: (…) New corona variant fears hit the airwaves, and markets are selling off hard. We can look forward for a light volume and volatile session today – S&P 500 downswing will likely be cushioned by the tech, but high beta plays will be very subdued. Commodities are suffering, and especially oil is spooked by looming (how far down the road and in what form, that’s anyone’s guess) economic activity curbs / reopening hits. Precious metals are acting as safe havens today (mainly gold) while the dollar is retreating – and so will yields, at least for the moment. Time for readjustment as the wide stop-loss in oil was hit overnight – it’s my view that the anticipated demand destruction taken against the supply outlook, is overrated. When the (rational / irrational) fears start getting ignored by the markets, we‘re on good track. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is still far out of the woods, and a good sign of better days approaching would be tech and healthcare sound performance joined by financials and energy clearly on the mend. Earliest though, HYG should turn. Credit Markets It‘s too early to call a budding reversal in credit markets – HYG needs to not merely retrace half of its daily trading decline. Money coming out of hiding in Treasuries, would be a precondition of prior trends returning. They will – they had been merely punctured. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals gave up opening gains, and with the hit to inflation expectations, lost the developing tailwind. It would though come back in an instant once calm minds prevail or fresh stimulus gets sniffed out. Crude Oil Crude oil had a catastrophic day – how far are we along capitulation, remains to be seen. The oil sector didn‘t decline by nearly as much, highlighting the overdone and panicky liquidation in black gold. Copper Copper decline didn‘t happen on nearly as high volume as in oil, making the red metal the likelier candidate for a rebound as the sky isn‘t falling. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum marching up on the weekend, were a positive omen for the above mentioned asset classes. In spite of cryptos still being subdued, the overall mood is one of catious optimism and risk very slowly returning. Summary Friday‘s rout isn‘t a one-off event probably, and S&P 500 would turn higher probably earlier than quite a few commodities. Cynically said, the variant fears let inflation to cool off temporarily, even as CPI clearly hasn‘t topped yet. As demand destruction was all the rage on Friday, supply curbs would get into focus next, helping the CRB Index higher – and that‘s the worst case scenario. Precious metals certainly don‘t look to be on the brink of a massive liquidation – the current selloff can‘t be compared to spring 2020. For now, the price recovery across the board remains the question of policy, of policy errors. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Decentraland price to provide a buy opportunity before MANA sets new highs at $7.5

Decentraland price to provide a buy opportunity before MANA sets new highs at $7.5

FXStreet News FXStreet News 30.11.2021 14:58
Decentraland price is seeing a minor pullback after a 10% upswing. The correction could extend, allowing MANA to retest $4 before rallying to a new all-time high at $7.5. A breakdown of the range low at $2.73 will invalidate the bullish thesis. Decentraland price is currently undergoing a minor retracement. This downswing is likely to continue until it retests a crucial reversal zone. But the move will provide sidelined buyers with an opportunity to accumulate before starting a new upswing to potentially fresh all-time highs. Decentraland price prepares for a blastoff Decentraland price has been teetering around the 50% retracement level at $4.32 for quite some time. Even the COVID-induced crash did not push it below the level. Instead, MANA rallied roughly 10% to $5.23, but it is now experiencing a short-term pullback. Investors can expect Decentraland price to head lower and pierce through the trading range’s midpoint at $4.32. This move will put it closer to a reversal zone, extending from $3.40 to $3.94. A dip into this area will allow sidelined buyers to accumulate and get on the Metaverse bandwagon, propelling Decentraland price to rally. The first hurdle that MANA will face is $4.32, followed by the range high at $5.9. Clearing these ceilings will open the path to new highs. The 100% Fibonacci extension level at $6.31 is close to the range high and is likely to be tagged quickly. However, it could go further – market participants could expect MANA to retest the 161.8% Fibonacci extension level at $7.53. This run-up will indicate a 91% ascent from $3.93 and set a new high for the Metaverse token. The downswing into the buy zone might sound alluring, but investors should note that it will only arrive if the midpoint of the trading range at $4.32 is breached. Failing to do so might trigger a premature uptrend for MANA. MANA/USDT 4-hour chart While things are looking up for Decentraland price, a breakdown through the base of this high probability reversal zone, ranging from $3.93 to $3.40, will be indicative of weak bullish momentum. A daily close below $3.40 is likely to trigger a retest of the range low at $2.74. If Decentraland price produces a swing low beneath this barrier, it will invalidate the bullish thesis.
Feeling the Quickly Changing Pulse

Feeling the Quickly Changing Pulse

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.11.2021 16:15
S&P 500 rebound still ran into selling pressure before the close – the bulls lost momentum however well the government and Fed‘s words were received. Credit markets hold the key – specifically, how corporate bonds and Treasuries perform compared to each other. This would be also reflected in the yield spreads, dollar moves, or cylicals vs. stay-at-home stocks.Today‘s analysis will be shorter than usually, so let‘s dive into the charts to fulfill my title‘s objective (all charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is still far out of the woods, and the bulls have to decidedly repel any selling pressure - a good sign of which would be a close in the 4,670s.Credit MarketsAs encouraging as the HYG upswing is, it‘s too early to call a budding reversal a done deal. LQD to TLT performance is a good start, which however needs to continue. The worst for the bulls would be renewed rush into Treasuries, sending other parts of the bond market relatively down.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals retreated again, but the bullish case is very far from lost. As discussed in the caption, the upswing appears a question of time – gold and silver are ready to turn on soothing language of fresh accomodation.Crude OilCrude oil upswing left a lot to be desired and as I tweeted yesterday, remains the most vulnerable within commodities. The dust clearly hasn‘t settled yet within energy broadly speaking.CopperCopper held up considerably better than many other commodities, and gives the impression of sideways trading followed by a fresh upswing as having the highest probability to happen next.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum marching up today, is a positive omen for gradual and picky return of risk-on trades. The overall mood is still one of catious optimism.SummaryFriday‘s rout hasn‘t been reversed entirely, and markets remain vulnerable to fresh negative headlines. The degree to which current ones (relatively positive ones, it must be said) helped, is a testament of volatility being apt to return at a moment‘s notice. I‘m certainly not looking for the developments to break inflation‘s back – CPI clearly hasn‘t peaked. Precious metals are well positioned to appreciate when faced with any grim news necessitating fresh monetary or fiscal activism.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
COT: Speculative positioning ahead of Fridays omicron dump

COT: Speculative positioning ahead of Fridays omicron dump

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 30.11.2021 18:42
Commodities 2021-11-30 10:30 Summary:  Futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 23. While a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since last Tuesday, it is nevertheless interesting, not least considering the report encapsulated the market reaction to last weeks renomination of Fed chair Powell which helped send both treasury yields and the dollar sharply higher, as well as the oil market reaction to the coordinated SPR release announcement. Finally, it also gives us an idea about the level of positioning ahead of Friday's omicron related sell off Saxo Bank publishes weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial. Link to latest report The below summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 23. The report normally released on Friday's was delayed due to last weeks Federal holidays, and while a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, its nevertheless interesting. Not least considering the report encapsulated the market reaction to last weeks renomination of Fed chair Powell which helped send both treasury yields and the dollar sharply higher, as well as the oil market reaction to the coordinated SPR release announcement. Also it gives a good idea about how funds and speculators were positioned ahead of the sharp risk off to the new omicron virus variant. Commodities The commodity sector saw sizable shift out of energy and metals into the agriculture sector where all 13 futures contracts covered in this update saw net buying. During the week the energy sector lost 2.1% while precious metals dropped 4.3% after gold broke below key support at $1830. A 1.5% rise in copper was not enough to convince speculators who cut their net long by 20%. Most noticeable however was the strong buying seen across the agriculture sector, with strong demand and weather worries more than offsetting the headwind caused by the stronger dollar. Energy: Crude oil, both Brent and WTI, were sold ahead of the coordinated SPR release announcement last Tuesday. The combined net long dropped by 14k lots to a one-year low at 514.6k lots. The loss of price momentum during the past few months has, despite an overriding bullish sentiment in the market, been driving the reduction, and following Friday's 10% price collapse these traders have been rewarded for sticking to the signals the market was sending instead of listening to bullish price forecasts. Hedge funds are not "married" to their positions hence their better ability to respond to changes in the technical and/or fundamental outlook.Metals: Having increase bullish gold bets by 65k lots during the previous two weeks, funds were forced to make 45k lots reduction last week in response to the Powell renomination sending gold sharply lower and below support in the $1830-35 area. Speculators have been whipsawed by the price action in recent weeks and it helps to explain why they are in no mood to reenter in size despite renewed support from Covid19 angst. Silver's 6% sell off during the week helped trigger a 17% reduction in the net long to 30k lots while in copper a small price increase was not enough to stem the slide in net length. Following seven weeks of selling, the net length has dropped by 64% to 19.5k lots, a 13-week low. Months of rangebound behaviour has reduced investor focus, and until we see High Grade Copper make an attempt to break its current $4.2 to $4.5 range, the level of positioning is likely to remain muted. Agriculture:  More concerned with other drivers such as weather, strong demand and supply chain disruptions helped trigger across the board buying of all 13 futures contracts split into grains, softs and livestock. The combined long held across these contracts reached a six-month high at 1.13 million lots, representing a nominal value of $43.5 billion. Buying was broad with the top three being corn, sugar and soybeans. Elsewhere the net long in Arabica coffee reached a fresh five-year high at 58k lots and KCB wheat a four-year high at 65.6k lots. UPDATES from today's Market Quick TakeCrude oil (OILUKJAN22 & OILUSJAN21) turned sharply lower in early European trading as the mood across markets soured on renewed concerns about the omicron virus strain. This after Moderna’s head told the Financial Times that existing vaccines will be less effective at tackling omicron and it may take months before variant-specific jabs are available at scale. The news come days before the OPEC+ group of producers meet to discuss production levels for January. Brent crude oil already heading for its biggest monthly loss since March 2020 trades below its 200-day moving average for the first time in a year, a sign that more weakness may lie ahead, thereby raising the prospect for OPEC+ deciding to pause or perhaps even make a temporary production cut. Gold (XAUUSD) received a muted bid overnight in response to the omicron virus comments from the head of Moderna (see oil section above). In addition, comments from Fed chair Powell helped reduced 2022 rate expectations from three to two after he said the omicron virus posed risks to both sides of the central bank’s mandate for stable prices and maximum employment. Despite this development together with softer Treasury yields and a weaker dollar, gold continues to struggle attracting a safe-haven bid. Silver (XAGUSD) looks even worse having dropped to a six-week low on weakness spilling over from industrial metals. Forex:Broad dollar buying following Fed chair Powell's renomination helped drive a 20% increase in the greenback long against ten IMM currency futures and the Dollar index to $25.4 billion and near a two-year high. All the currencies tracked in this saw net selling with the biggest contributors being euro (12.6k lots), CAD (11.8k) and JPY (4.1). The net short on the latter reached 97.2k lots or the equivalent of $10.6 billion, a short of this magnitude helps explain the strength of the sell off in USDJPY since last Thursday when safe haven demand picked up as the omicron news began to spread. Despite hitting a 16-month low last week the euro short only reached 12.6k lots, a far cry from the -114k lots reached during the panic month of February last year when the pair briefly traded below €1.08. What is the Commitments of Traders report? The COT reports are issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the ICE Exchange Europe for Brent crude oil and gas oil. They are released every Friday after the U.S. close with data from the week ending the previous Tuesday. They break down the open interest in futures markets into different groups of users depending on the asset class. Commodities: Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap dealers, Managed Money and otherFinancials: Dealer/Intermediary; Asset Manager/Institutional; Leveraged Funds and otherForex: A broad breakdown between commercial and non-commercial (speculators) The reasons why we focus primarily on the behavior of the highlighted groups are: They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - December 1, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 01.12.2021 09:27
Macro 2021-12-01 08:45 6 minutes to read Summary:  Even more whiplash for global markets yesterday as Fed Chair Powell has clearly set an entirely different tone ahead of his new term as Fed Chair, saying that it was time to retire the word transitory when discussing inflation and pointing to accelerating the slowing of Fed asset purchases, among other comments. This led to a sharp repricing of Fed expectations higher just after they had been taken sharply lower by the news of the omicron covid variant. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - the initial reaction to Powell’s statement about retiring “transitory” inflation was lower equities and higher interest rates, but the subsequent price action has not followed through. Nasdaq 100 futures, which are the most interest rate sensitive, are trading at the high end of the recent trading range around the 16,380 level with the obvious resistance level at 16,438. Short-term the price action way be confusing with low signal-to-noise ratio, but our view has been clear for over a year, and that is, that inflation is coming and in size not seen in many decades. This will have a negative effect on the most richly valued equities such as our bubble basket on stocks. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) - one would think that Powell’s comments on inflation would lift value stocks and interest rates, and thereby creating a bigger rebound in European equities, but that is not what we are observing this morning. Stoxx 50 futures are trading around the 4,100 level with an important resistance level at 4,125; if this level can be overcome then our view is that Stoxx 50 futures could go to 4,200 and test the 200-day moving average. USDJPY and JPY crosses – whiplash for JPY cross traders yesterday, as the hawkish comments from Fed Chair Powell on inflation took Fed expectations for next year sharply back higher. Longer US yields, to which USDJPY is normally more sensitive, were less impacted, somewhat muting the impact on USDJPY, but the development came at a critical time, just after USDJPY had dipped below 112.73 range support yesterday. The reversal is a tentative sign that the pair will avoid pushing lower, but we would likely need to see the entire US yield curve lifting to have support for a renewed rally focusing on the 115.00+ recent top. EURUSD - will the ECB be forced to change its tune? Christine Lagarde’s insistence that inflation is a temporary phenomenon is under severe strain, even as she has been out this week defending this viewpoint, as was the ECB’s Schnabel, who boldly claimed that the November CPI data (more below) would prove the peak of the cycle. EURUSD churned sharply yesterday from a high of 1.1383 to a low of 1.1236 on the Fed Powell comments (below) before rebounding to 1.1336. The resilience later in the day despite a sharp repricing of Fed expectations is an interesting development, but the price action would need to threaten above 1.1500 to point to a technical reversal of the recent large sell-off. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN21) trades sharply higher after hitting a three-month low on Tuesday in response to omicron related demand worries and general weak risk sentiment following Fed chair Powell’s comments on inflation. The market attention now turns to tomorrow’s OPEC+ meeting where the group may decide to pause production hikes while signaling a willingness to cut production should the demand suffer from fresh initiatives to curb mobility, especially for overseas travel. As a sideshow, the EIA will release its weekly inventory report later with the API reporting a 0.7m barrels draw in crude oil stock while fuel stocks rose. Gold (XAUUSD) trades higher after once again recovering from a Powell statement. Yesterday the Fed chair confirmed his recent change in focus away from creating jobs towards increasing efforts to curb elevated inflation. Risk appetite took another setback on the news but has recovered overnight as traders weighed positive regional economic data and divided views from drugmakers over how effective existing vaccines are against omicron. Overall, gold chart looks increasingly messy with no clear signal to be found at present. A break above the 21-DMA at $1820 is needed to spark fresh momentum interest while support continues to be found below $1780. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). Powell’s testimony in front of the senate put things in perspective: inflation is not transitory, and the Federal Reserve will use its tools to stop it. These words provoked a fast bear-flattening of the yield curve where short term yields rose faster than log-term yields were dropping. We expect this trend to continue throughout winter as a new wave of covid will pin down the long part of the yield curve, but the Fed is likely to accelerate the pace of tapering. An inversion risk cannot be excluded. The 20s30s part of the yield curve is already inverted, while the 7s10s is just 7bps to get inverted. Although the 2s10s and 5s30s spreads are much wider, any flattening can pose a threat to next year’s Fed’s interest rate hike agenda. Powell and Yellen will testify again in front of the Senate today. Job numbers remain a big focus for Friday. US junk bonds (HYG, JNK). According to Bloomberg Barclays indexes, junk bonds’ OAS widened by 30bps to 330bps amid Friday’s selloff reflecting the lack of liquidity in markets. Despite negative real rates continuing to support corporate bond valuations, it’s safe to expect junk bond spreads to widen throughout the end of the year amid poor liquidity. If the volatility in rates remains sustained, the widening of spreads could accelerate, posing a threat also for stocks. German Bunds (IS0L) and Italian BTPS (BTP10). Inflation accelerated more than expected in the Eurozone during the month of November setting the yearly figure to 4.9%. Inflation figures together with the new German government adds to the catalysts of higher Bund yields. However, covid distortions are keeping yield in check. We exclude Bund yield to rise to test 0% until the new wave of covid eases. However, as soon as the worries concerning covid ease, they will resume their rise. What is going on? Fed Chair Powell confirms that Fed emphasis has shifted to inflationary risks. In testimony before a Senate committee yesterday, Fed Chair Powell waxed far more hawkish than the market anticipated on inflation concerns, saying outright that it is time to retire the word “transitory” regarding the description of inflation, that “the risk of higher inflation has increased” and that “the risk of persistent high inflation is also a major risk to getting back to such a labor market.“ (referring to the pre-pandemic labor market). Powell also pointed to the likelihood that the Fed would wind down Fed balance sheet expansion more quickly than previously anticipated: “perhaps a few months sooner”. In response, expectations for Fed rate hikes next year were jolted back higher, just after they had been jolted lower by the omicron covid variant news. Hot EU CPI numbers for November. Preliminary headline November EU CPI was out at 4.9% year-on-year, far above the 4.5% expected and the 4.1% in October and by far the highest inflation print since the launch of the euro. Core CPI rose to 2.6% year-on-year, above the 2.3% expected and the October level of 2.0%. This is also the highest level since the launch of the euro in 1999. Germany’s incoming chancellor Scholz speaks on inflation, compulsory covid vaccination. The political pressure on the ECB to act is ratcheting higher after incoming German chancellor Scholz said that action must be taken if inflation fails to drop, though he seemed now to accept the notion that inflation is linked to covid measures and the spike in energy prices. He also spoke yesterday in favor of mandatory covid shots. Salesforce shares down 6% on Q4 guidance. Investors are used to being spoiled by Salesforce with consistently beating analyst expectations, but last night the cloud application software company disappointed on Q4 guidance with revenue in line and adj EPS at $0.72-0.73 vs est. $0.82. The company also announced that Bret Taylor will become co-CEO next to founder Marc Benioff in a sign that the founder may soon step down like so many other technology founders in recent years. What are we watching next? Markets adjusting to new reality of a more hawkish Fed. In particular if the omicron variant of the covid virus proves a temporary distraction, global markets will need to adjust the major adjustment in the Federal Reserve’s focus and what that could mean for the US dollar and asset valuations ahead. Fed Chair Powell’s rhetoric yesterday likely mean a heightened reactivity to incoming data from here on out, all modulated in the very near term by headline risks in either direction on the omicron variant. The first major data points are the ISM Service index and November jobs report up on Friday. The Average Hourly Earnings could take over in importance from the payrolls change number if it shows more aggressive rises, as it seems clear that labor supply is the chief problem US companies face, as seen in record job availability and “quits” as workers leave jobs for greener pastures. ADP employment figures for November. With the US economy operating at full capacity according to estimates from CBO, continued strong job gains will add fuel to the “inflation fire”, so today’s ADP figures could more interest rates and equities. Economists are looking at 525K vs 571K in October which would be a significant two-month change for an economy that has closed the output gap, but on the other hand, the US economy is still short around 8.5mn jobs from current levels to where employment would have been if we did not have the pandemic. Earnings Watch – growth investors will have their eyes on Snowflake set to report after the market close with analysts expecting FY22 Q3 (ending 31 Oct) revenue growth of 92% y/y. Crowdstrike, being one of the fastest growing cyber security companies in the world, will also be key to watch today. Wednesday: Trip.com, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Snowflake, Synopsys, Crowdstrike, Veeva Systems, Okta, Splunk, Elastic, Five Below Thursday: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Cooper Cos, Marvell Technology, DocuSign, Ulta Beauty, Asana, Dollar General, Kroger Friday: Bank of Montreal Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0730 – Switzerland Nov. CPI 0815-0900 – Euro Zone Final Nov. Manufacturing PMI 1315 – US Nov. ADP Employment Change 1330 – Canada Oct. Building Permits 1445 – US Nov. Final Markit Manufacturing PMI 1500 – US Fed Chair Powell, Treasury Secretary Yellen to testify before House panel 1500 – US Nov. ISM Manufacturing 1530 – DOE’s Weekly Crude Oil and Fuel Inventories 1900 - Fed Beige Book 0030 – Australia Oct. Trade Balance   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Treads Water

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Treads Water

John Benjamin John Benjamin 01.12.2021 08:17
USDCAD seeks support The Canadian dollar edged higher after Q3’s GDP beat expectations. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart indicates a bullish bias in the US dollar’s favor. The break above the resistance at 1.2770 suggests that the bulls retain control of the direction. An overbought RSI has tempered the bullish fever temporarily, which may be an opportunity for buyers to accumulate. September’s high at 1.2900 is the next target. A bullish breakout could trigger an extended rally towards 1.3100. 1.2730 is now fresh support. AUDUSD falls towards 11-month low The Australian dollar bounced back on upbeat GDP in Q3. The break below 0.7170 has negated October’s rally. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart confirms that sentiment has turned sour. The Aussie is heading to October 2020’s low and the psychological level of 0.7000. An oversold RSI has prompted sellers to start to cover in that congestion area. 0.7190 is a resistance from the previous demand zone and trend followers are likely to sell a rebound. Buyers will need to take out those offers to ease the pressure. UK 100 to test daily support The FTSE 100 struggles with doubts about vaccine efficacy against the omicron variant. A drop below the daily support at 7190 triggered a sharp liquidation. Then a short-lived rebound has met stiff selling pressure at 7170. The index is hovering above the origin of the October rally at 6945. The bulls will need to clear the resistance before they could hope for a recovery. Otherwise, a bearish breakout would send the price to test the triple bottom (6830) from the daily timeframe. And that is the key to the uptrend’s integrity in the medium term.
Apple Stock Price and Forecast: AAPL still could reach $200 by year end

Apple Stock Price and Forecast: AAPL still could reach $200 by year end

FXStreet News FXStreet News 30.11.2021 17:39
Apple stock recovers ground on Monday as it rises 2%. AAPL shares close above $160 and just below all-time highs. Apple and equity indices see increased volatility as Omicron data awaited. After a freaky Friday, it was back to business as usual on Monday with equity markets putting in a solid start to the week. All those rookie traders who panicked on Friday were likely given a stern rebuke from returning senior traders who know that this market in 2021 is a one-way bet. That is thanks to the flow of money from the Fed juicing markets, a huge earnings potential from mega tech names and now a large buyback season as companies are past earnings blackouts. That is certainly what happened on Monday as volumes returned from Friday's reduced levels and markets got back to rallying. Goldman Sachs had said it does not see Omicron as a risk, and the South Africans appear to see this as an overreaction, with cases being reported as mild so far. Hopefully, this plays out to be true, but while it is hard to derail this 2021 bull, we could be in for some volatile weeks ahead. Apple (AAPL) stock news We await more concrete evidence on how sales look for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, but initial reports were not positive with overall online sales down on previous years. Wedbush though sees Apple selling 10 million iPhones over the Thanksgiving weekend and predicts 40 million iPhone sales between now and Christmas. It should be noted Wedbush is strongly bullish on Apple. They have been largely correct with that stance. Apple did receive some good news yesterday in the form of a price target raise from HSBC. Apart from that, it was relatively calm on the news front. Apple (AAPL) stock forecast AAPL stock really needs to break above $162 to hold Monday's gains and push on. Above there, volume thins out, so a move to all-time highs should be achievable. Failure though will likely see a move lower to $150. Volume is light until then apart from a slight spike with support at $157. AAPL 30-minute chart The daily chart shows the strong trend intact and the $157 support. Large volume support sits at $148. AAPL 1-day chart
Twitter steps out of Dorsey’s shadow

Twitter steps out of Dorsey’s shadow

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 30.11.2021 17:54
Equities 2021-11-30 14:30 6 minutes to read Summary:  Twitter's founder Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO leaving the reign to CTO Parag Agrawal. This is hopefully the beginning of a new trajectory for Twitter that has underperformed relative to its potential for way too long. The company has two main objectives. Lift revenue growth to around 30% which would put Twitter well above Facebook and Alphabet in terms of growth, and then drastically improve the operating margin to around 35% which would be almost double of the current level. Is this Twitter’s Nadella moment? Another technology founder in Silicon Valley is leaving the stage, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta is one of the few left, with Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO after presumed a lot of pressure from shareholders such as the activist hedge fund Elliott Management. His successor is the CTO Parag Agrawal and Dorsey will stay on the board for 2022. The main question is whether this is Twitter’s Nadella moment (Nadella is the current CEO of Microsoft and took over in 2014) meaning whether the new CEO with less strings attached and not being a founder can drastically change the growth and product profile of the company. Too much fat Our main issue with Twitter has always been the lack of consistency in operating margins. Given how consistent Google and Facebook are running their business it has always been a mystery why Twitter has not been more consistent in its operating performance. The company’s operating margin has come down for three straight quarters despite a healthy backdrop for online advertising spending in terms of demand and pricing. Free cash flow generation has been very disappointing over the past year and ultimately that has been driving the share price lower. Twitter has to fundamentally improve the EBITDA margin from its current 18.5% to somewhere closer to 35%; it will be a stretch to demand Facebook-like margin of 50%. If Twitter’s new CEO can deliver that then shareholders are in for some great returns. But more importantly there are no excuses for not delivering high revenue growth while improving the operating margin when you are generating $5bn in annual revenue. Facebook and many other technology companies have been able to grow revenue and operating margin at the same time. Twitter must do the same. Source: Bloomberg So there are two operating yardsticks for shareholders: revenue growth and operating margin. The latter should easily be done by either reducing headcount or at least stop hiring more people at the same pace as before. On revenue growth the key yardstick is to grow faster than the duopoly (Meta and Alphabet) which is expected to grow revenue around 20-25%. Twitter needs to take market share and get closer to Snap revenue growth in order not to lose the narrative and sentiment from investors. In our book, Twitter should be able to grow 30-35% on improved engagement, product features, more brand spending from large brands etc. and with analysts currently estimating 21% revenue growth in 2022, there is a heavy and urgent task ahead for the new CEO. Source: Bloomberg Twitter is an acquisition target With Dorsey gone as CEO and eventually leaving the board by late 2022, it clears the way for an acquisition of the company should the right buyer with the right price come by. Twitter could be an interesting bolt-on acquisition for a traditional media company that wants to enter the social media industry. Investors were initially trading the shares higher on the news of Dorsey stepping down, but the shares ended lower for the session now down 43% from the peak in late February. Given the expectations from earlier this year it is clear that the company has not performed as expected and the new CEO Agrawal will have to quickly earn the trust of investors. For Twitter we really hope this is the company’s Nadella moment. Analysts remain positive on the stock with a 12-month price target of $68 which 49% above yesterday’s close.
Dogecoin price could see 400% gains if DOGE holders band together

Dogecoin price could see 400% gains if DOGE holders band together

FXStreet News FXStreet News 30.11.2021 17:39
Dogecoin price is moving sideways after a breakout from a descending triangle pattern. A potential 400% move to $1.08 will face obstacles up to $0.35, beyond which, DOGE should rally swiftly. On-chain metrics are hinting at an increase in large transactions and a paradigm shift in the nature of holders. Dogecoin price is at a crucial tipping point in its evolution with the potential for it to trigger a massive volatile move. Hurdles exist, however, that will make it difficult to reach its intended target, of a new all-time high. Dogecoin price at make or break levels Dogecoin price has set up three lower highs and two higher lows, which when connected using trend lines reveals a descending triangle. This technical formation forecasts a 361% upswing to $1.09, obtained by adding the distance between the first swing high and low to the breakout point at $0.24. DOGE breached the triangle’s hypotenuse on October 18 at $0.24. Since this point, the meme coin has struggled to move higher but failed. Interestingly, Dogecoin price has been moving sideways and has retested the $0.193 support level thrice since August 3 with the latest revisit on November 26. This created a triple-tap setup, a bullish technical formation that forecasts a reversal in the trend. Since Shiba Inu has stolen DOGE’s spotlight, things have been calm and consolidative for the original meme coin. If the buying pressure increases, however, pushing Dogecoin price to pierce through the $0.29 level to $0.35, and it produces a daily close above it, it will trigger an uptrend. In this scenario, it will allow market makers to collect the sell-stop liquidity resting above $0.35. This development will allow DOGE to create a platform for the next leg-up at $0.44. Clearing this hurdle will open the path to retest the current all-time high for Dogecoin price at $0.74. According to this prediction, DOGE could extend its bull rally to tag $1.09, its intended target. Due to the recent downswing, this upswing will represent a 400% gain from the current position at $0.22. DOGE/USDT 1-day chart As mentioned earlier, Shiba Inu seems to have siphoned off the hype, investors, and capital from Dogecoin, affecting its price, but things seem to be reverting, with some on-chain metrics suggesting a flip of the narrative is possible. On-chain metrics predict a bright future Looking at the transaction data tells a story about the nature of investors. Large transactions track transfers that are $100,000 or more. An increase in this metric serves as a proxy for institutions and their investment thesis. Over the past six months, the number of such transactions has increased by 70.7% from 1,570 to 2,680. This uptick in the metric suggests that high networth investors are starting to take interest in DOGE at the current price levels. DOGE large transaction chart While the above metric provides an insight into the potential investments, IntoTheBlock’s Global In/Out of the Money (GIOM) model shows where significant blockades are present. This fundamental index reveals that the DOGE will face formidable challenges ranging from $0.30 to $0.34. Here roughly 500,000 addresses that purchased 47 billion DOGE are “Out of the Money” and are likely to sell to breakeven, increasing the selling pressure. If buyers overcome this uptick in sell-side momentum and produce a daily close above $0.35, however, it will clear the daily demand mentioned above. This move will also open the path up for market makers to collect liquidity. All in all, this on-chain metric also promotes a bullish idea for DOGE with a contingency that the bullish momentum pushes the meme coin above $0.35. DOGE GIOM chart While the on-chain metrics described above serve as a tailwind for the bullish thesis, the new addresses joining the network add a dent to it. This metric shows that new users joining the Dogecoin network over the past six months have declined by 34.7% from 34,320 to 22,380. This reduction indicates that despite the capital inflows observed in the large transaction metric, a majority of investors are not yet interested in DOGE. Hence, this divergence between the new addresses and the large transaction chart paints indecision. DOGE new addresses chart The discrepancy noticed above can be explained in the holders’ chart which shows a paradigm shift. In November 2020, the composition of DOGE investors was 74.2% holders (1+ years), 18.6% Cruisers (1 month to 1 year) and 7.2% traders (less than a month). As of November 2021, this composition has changed and shows that cruisers are currently dominating with a 50.7% stake, while holders have dropped to 42.1%. This drastic decrease in the long-term holders suggests that these investors have been distributing their holdings over the past year ie., indicating increased sell-side pressure, which adds credence to DOGE’s lackluster performance over the period. In summary, if long-term holders stop offloading their DOGE holdings, investors can expect Dogecoin price to start inflating. DOGE Ownership chart On the other hand, if the selling pressure increases, knocking Dogecoin price below the $0.193 support level, it will lead to a retest of the descending triangle’s base at $0.16. If the bears produce a daily candlestick below this crucial barrier, it will open up DOGE to a massive 45% crash to $0.09, with a potential pitstop at $0.12.  
EUR/USD: Sellers aligning around the 1.1300 level

EUR/USD: Sellers aligning around the 1.1300 level

FXStreet News FXStreet News 30.11.2021 14:58
Concerns about the Omicron covid variant weigh on the market’s sentiment. German inflation peaked at 6% YoY in November, according to preliminary estimates. EUR/USD has lost bullish strength and may soon resume its decline. The EUR/USD pair trades marginally lower on Monday around the 1.1280 price level after hitting an intraday high of 1.1313. The American dollar is slowly recovering some of the ground shed on Friday as the market’s mood improves. Asian stocks plummeted, although European indexes trade with modest gains, leading to an uptick in US futures. US Treasury yields are also recovering ground, with the yield on the 10-year note currently at 1.54%. Concerns about a new coronavirus variant firstly detected in South Africa spurred risk aversion on Friday and triggered some measures such as borders closures. Still, the variant, named Omicron, has already been detected in different European countries. So far, the WHO has called it a variant of concern, although there’s not much information about it. Pfizer is developing a study to understand whether their vaccine works against this new strain, while Moderna announced a new shot to combat it could be developed by early 2022. Meanwhile, European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Pablo Hernandez de Cos said this Monday that European policymakers aim to avoid the premature tightening of the monetary policy, repeating that high inflation could be expected to be transitory, despite being stronger and more persistent than anticipated a few months ago. On the data front, the EU published the November Economic Sentiment, which came as expected at 117.5, down from the previous 118.6. Germany published the preliminary estimate of its November Consumer Price Index, which came in higher than anticipated, up by 0.3% in the month and 6% YoY. The US will publish October Pending Home Sales and the November Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index after Wall Street’s close. EUR/USD short-term technical outlook The EUR/USD pair was unable to advance beyond the 23.6% retracement of its November decline at 1.1305, the immediate resistance level. According to the daily chart, the latest advance seems corrective, as technical indicators bounced from extreme readings, now resuming their declines and hinting at a bearish continuation. The 20 SMA maintains its firmly bearish slope above the 38.2% retracement of the same decline, reflecting sellers’ strength. The 4-hour chart shows that the pair remains above a mildly bullish 20 SMA, while technical indicators retreat from oversold readings but remain within positive levels. The bearish case will be firmer on a break below 1.1245, the immediate support level. Support levels: 1.1245 1.1200 1.1165 Resistance levels: 1.1305 1.1340 1.1395
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 30.11.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Seeks Support - 30.11.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 30.11.2021 09:27
USDJPY tests daily support The yen consolidates gains after a drop in Japan’s unemployment rate. The pair has met stiff selling pressure at March 2017’s high (115.50). The drop below 114.80 then 114.00 has forced short-term positions to bail out, exacerbating the sell-off. The US dollar is hovering above the key daily support at 112.70. An oversold RSI has brought in some buying interest. 114.20 is a fresh resistance. On the downside, a breakout could dent the optimism in the medium-term and pave the way for a bearish reversal. NZDUSD breaks major support The New Zealand dollar remains under pressure as risk assets suffer from the omicron variant scare. A break below the daily support at 0.6860 has put the buy-side on the defense. Sentiment has become increasingly downbeat after the pair fell past last August’s low at 0.6805, which is a second line of defense on the daily chart. 0.6700 would be the next support. The RSI’s repeatedly oversold situation has caused a temporary rebound. But buyers will need to clear 0.6890 before they could turn the tables. US 30 sees limited rebound The Dow Jones 30 struggled to bounce as investors grew cautious. A break below the demand zone near 35500 has prompted the bulls to exit and reassess the short-term sentiment. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound as traders take profit. 35700 is now a resistance and the bears may see a rally as an opportunity to sell into strength. The demand zone between 34150 and 34400 from mid-October is a major floor to keep the uptrend intact. A deeper correction may send the index towards 33000.
Bitcoin, overcoming adversity

Bitcoin, overcoming adversity

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 30.11.2021 10:47
Nevertheless, this might be over soon. Regulation might kill the majority of the expanded crypto world. Bitcoin might be banned, as it has been in the past in various countries. And yet, once fiat currency value implodes, bitcoin will be the last man standing. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, last weeks call on the nose: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of November 23rd, 2021. We posted the above weekly chart of bitcoin in last week’s chart book release. We anticipated a low-risk entry. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, as planned: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Weekly chart as of November 29th, 2021. Since then, prices have swiftly penetrated our entry zone. We caught two trades, a daily and a weekly time frame position. We posted these trades (entries and the partial exits), as usual, in real-time in our free Telegram channel.Furthermore, we employ a quad exit strategy that ensures instant risk elimination by quickly taking half of the position off. With entries of US$ 53,877 (daily timeframe trade) and US$ 54,000 (weekly timeframe trade), we were able, with first exits at US$ 54,591 and US$ 55,797, to not only eliminate risk but ensure profits on half of the positions of 1.33% and 3.33%. As well our next following targets have been reached! We took another 25% of position size out at US$ 55,811.6 and US$ 57,317.7, which booked us another 3.59% return on the daily position and 6.14% on the weekly position. The remaining 25% of position sizes on each trade we call runners. With stops set now at break-even entry levels, we can only produce additional winnings for each trade. Each trade had tight stops, assuring less than half a percent of risk per trade.   BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, modest odds for follow through: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, Monthly chart as of November 30th, 2021. The possible contrarian short signal on the monthly chart makes the weekly trades success probabilities for the runner smaller. Nevertheless, this quad exit approach allows for low-risk positioning versus endless mind chatter and debate since it is typical that different time frames show different long, short and sideways plays. Here, bitcoin again overcomes adversity. Typically, tight ranged instruments erase many trade opportunities for profit margins relating to commissions and risk to small. The earlier mentioned profit percent numbers are typical for bitcoins volatility and, as such, allow for risk reduction and short- to midterm profitability being more extensive than the average S&P500 annual return. Bitcoin, overcoming adversity: Bitcoin will be the cure to inflation damage for those you invested in it in a timely manner. Inflation is a creeping disease to money. Humans seem to have in history always procrastinated towards dangers of inflation, mostly since inflation treads slowly. Inflation also holds illusions supporting hope, hope that also fuels procrastination. While most who suffer under inflationary times think prices for goods went up, the reality is that monetary value went down. With this illusion, we hold on to stock portfolios seemingly rising, bonds, 401ks, and Roth IRAs trusting governments for the status quo to be protected or at least trouble to be temporary. Much more likely, most citizens are drained of their savings and cheated out of their retirements. At the end of such a monetary devaluation cycle, it will be the last time bitcoin will defend its place.  Doubt will finally vanish. Unfortunately, too late for those who did not educate themselves early enough to find a haven in this principled way to protect one’s wealth. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|November 29th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Stocks Will Rebound After Friday’s Rout, but Is the Correction Over?

Stocks Will Rebound After Friday’s Rout, but Is the Correction Over?

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 29.11.2021 15:50
  The S&P 500 sold off on Friday after news about the new Covid variant. Today we will likely see a rebound but the short-term picture remains bearish. For in-depth technical analysis of various stocks and a recap of today's Stock Trading Alert we encourage you to watch   The S&P 500 index lost 2.27% on Friday, Nov. 26, as investors reacted to the news about new Covid variant detected in South Africa. The market broke below its recent local lows and it got away from the 4,700 level. The Friday’s trading action looked like a meaningful downward reversal. The nearest important support level is now at 4,550-4,580. On the other hand, the resistance level is at 4,650, marked by the recent local lows. The S&P 500 retraced most of its early November advance, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq 100 Fell Closer to 16,000 Let’s take a look at the Nasdaq 100 chart. The technology index remained relatively stronger than the broad stock market on Friday, as it didn’t break below the early November local low. However, it got close to the 16,000 level and it retraced almost 800 points from its last Monday’s new record high of 16,764.85. The index closed above the 16,000 mark on Friday, as we can see on the daily chart: Apple Is At the Previous High Let’s take a look at biggest stock in the S&P 500 index: AAPL. Apple accelerated its uptrend a week ago on Monday and it reached the new record high of $165.70. However, it retraced almost all of its intraday advance that day. On Friday it got back to a potential support level of around $157. For now, it looks like a downward correction. Conclusion The S&P 500 index is expected to open 1.0% higher this morning, as global markets are shrugging off the new Covid fears. We will likely see an intraday consolidation following higher opening. The broad stock market index may enter a flat correction within a short-term downtrend. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 traded within a short-term topping pattern last week and on Friday it suffered an over 2% sell-off. A speculative short position is still justified from the risk/reward perspective. We are expecting a 5% correction. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Omicron-driven oil slump raises risk of OPEC+ action

Omicron-driven oil slump raises risk of OPEC+ action

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 29.11.2021 13:35
Commodities 2021-11-29 12:45 Summary:  Crude oil suffered its largest one-day crash since April 2020 on Friday in response to worries the new omicron virus variant could drive renewed demand weakness at a time where the US is about to release millions of barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves. While many have already concluded Friday's slump was an overreaction caused by thin market liquidity, the focus is once again squarely on the response from OPEC+ who will meet on Thursday to set production levels for January and potentially beyond. Crude oil suffered its largest one-day crash since April 2020 on Black Friday in response to worries the new omicron virus variant could drive renewed demand weakness at a time where the US and other major oil importing nations are about to unleash millions of barrels of crude oil into the market from strategic reserves. Equally importantly was probably the very bad timing with the news hitting the markets on a low liquidity day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Long held bullish conviction trades got stopped out as the sudden elevated level of risk aversion drove major position adjustments across most asset classes. As volatility spiked, the options market also kicked into gear with hedging of short puts adding an additional layer of pressure with sell orders being executed at whatever price available. On Friday the 30-day historical volatility jumped from below 25% to 44% and it has ticked higher today, an indication of some unfinished business from Friday, but also a market which is struggling to settle down with Thursday’s OPEC+ decision adding an additional layer uncertainty. So far today, the market is trading higher, but already off their overnight highs, but the reduction in hedge selling has allowed buyers to take a fresh look with some concluding the move on Friday was most likely an overreaction. Not least considering the prospect for support being provided by OPEC+ who may attempt to prop up prices when they meet this Thursday. The group may decide to postpone the January production increase or if necessary, temporary cut production into a period that was already expected to see the return of a balanced market. Brent crude oil’s 11.6% top to bottom slump on Friday was only arrested when the price reached its 200-day moving average at $72.70 and after the price retraced 61.8% of the August to October surge. A key reason behind that run up in prices was driven by increased switching demand from record priced gas to cheaper oil-based fuels such as diesel, heating oil and propane. Following the drop in crude oil and continued strength in gas and power prices, the prospect for continued and rising switching activity will remain a key source of extra demand that did not exist during the 2020 slump. Source: Saxo Group Adding to crude oil’s current bid are forecasts from the world’s top commodity traders, all speaking at the FT’s Global Commodity Summit, that oil prices could return to $100 over the coming years as investment in new supplies slows down with oil majors diverting capex towards renewables instead of continued oil and gas production. It highlights a potential rising dilemma where politicians and investors want to move towards renewables at a much faster pace than actual changes can be made. Thereby creating the risk of a supply shortfall before demand eventually begins to slow towards the second half of this decade. Brent crude oil has set its sight on the 2019 peak at $75.6 ahead of the downtrend (red line) from the 2008 peak. Some focus on today’s FOMC meeting which may yield a change in the interest rate outlook while the market seeks further clues about the Fed’s view on inflation, and with that the need for inflation hedges through long commodity exposure.
Intraday Market Analysis – Yen’s Rally Gains Traction

Intraday Market Analysis – Yen’s Rally Gains Traction

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.11.2021 10:01
EURJPY breaks double bottom The safe-haven Japanese yen soars on news of a vaccine-resistant covid variant. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart indicates weakness in the euro’s previous rebound. The pair has closed below last September’s low at 127.90, a major floor to keep price action afloat in the medium term. This is a bearish signal that the sell-off is yet to end with 127.00 as the next support. The RSI’s double bottom in the oversold area may attract some buying interest. However, the bulls will need to lift 129.50 before a reversal could take shape. GBPUSD struggles to bounce back The pound continues on its way down against the US dollar over divergent monetary policy. The pair is hovering near a 12-month low around 1.3280. Sentiment remains bearish after a failed rebound above 1.3420. A bullish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the downward momentum. 1.3390 is the first hurdle ahead. Its breach would prompt the short side to cover and open the door to the daily resistance at 1.3510. Otherwise, a bearish breakout would send the price to 1.3200. GER 40 to test major floor The Dax 40 plunged as investors fret that new lockdowns could wreck the recovery. The gap below 15760 has forced leveraged buyers to bail out, stirring up volatility in the process. The momentum is typical of a catalyst-driven sell-off. Below 15150 the index is testing the psychological level of 15000. The RSI’s oversold situation has attracted a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd in the demand zone. Further down, 14820 is a key floor to maintain the uptrend. 15530 has become the closest resistance in case of a rebound.
The cryptocurrency market holds key levels

The cryptocurrency market holds key levels

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 29.11.2021 09:18
The cryptocurrency market rumbled loudly on Friday but generally kept key support levels from which purchases resumed over the weekend and early Monday. BTCUSD has added 5.6% in the last 24 hours to $57.6K, almost at the same levels as seven days ago. The cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index remains in the fear territory, at 33, up from 27 on Sunday and 21 on Saturday morning. Today's low values are nothing more than a tail of Friday's sell-off, and sentiment has improved significantly since then. From the side of this indicator, the situation looks like another moment to buy on downturns, as it was in early October. On Friday, bitcoin fell into the $54K area, pulling back to the 61.8% level of the July-November rally. If indeed it is over, such a pullback could clear the way for growth to new highs, as bulls were allowed to lock in profits and shortly after to buy the dip. On the other hand, BTCUSD remains below its 50-day average, which has acted as resistance for the past ten days. It is now passing through levels near the circular $60K level, which increases the significance. In the event of a sharp breakout of this level, bitcoin could fly to new highs on inertia. If that breakout fails, we could say the crypto market's bullish trend is broken, as there are too many sellers. Ether has successfully withstood the pressure and actively rallied on declines below 4000. The primary altcoin looks more popular among buyers, managing to stay above its critical circular level and above the 50-day moving average, continuing the short-term bullish trend. Thus, it can be stated that sentiment in the crypto market has quickly returned to normal after a slight shake-up. However, it is worth keeping a close eye on bitcoin dynamics. If it does not return to a solid growth path, it could upset the entire crypto market by turning it downwards.
Fragile Calm Returns and Powell's Anti-Inflation Rhetoric Ratchets Up

Fragile Calm Returns and Powell's Anti-Inflation Rhetoric Ratchets Up

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 01.12.2021 14:08
December 01, 2021  $USD, China, Currency Movement, EMU, Federal Reserve, Japan, PMI, South Korea, UK Overview:  Into the uncertainty over the implications of Omicron, the Federal Reserve Chairman injected a particularly hawkish signal into the mix in his testimony before the Senate.  These are the two forces that are shaping market developments.  Travel restrictions are being tightened, though the new variant is being found in more countries, and it appears to be like closing the proverbial barn door after the horses have bolted. Equities are higher.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, led by South Korea, and India, rose for the first time in four sessions, and Europe's Stoxx 600 is recouping more of yesterday's loss.  US futures are trading more than 1% higher.  Benchmark yields are higher.  The 10-year US Treasury yield is up four basis points though is still below 1.50%.  European yields are mostly 3-5 bp higher, though Italy's benchmark is 8 bp higher near 1.05%.  The dollar remains the fulcrum of the see-saw, but the funding currencies (yen, Swiss franc, and euro) are lower, and the dollar bloc is higher.  The dollar is pulling back against the Turkish lira after approaching TRY14 yesterday, even though President Erdogan's rhetoric about pushing for even lower rates seemed to have ratcheted up.  Emerging market currencies are more broadly mixed, but the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is up for the third consecutive session to match the longest advance in nearly three months.  Gold posted an outside down day yesterday, but there has been no follow-through selling today, and the yellow metal is consolidating inside yesterday's range.  January WTI slipped below $65 yesterday and is pushing above $69 today ahead of the OPEC meeting.   Dutch natural gas prices are firm, recouping most of yesterday's loss.  Iron ore and copper prices are also retracing yesterday's weakness.   Asia Pacific China's Caixin manufacturing PMI unexpectedly slipped below the 50 boom/bust level, albeit barely (49.9).  It was expected to be unchanged at 50.6.  It had eased below 50 in August (49.2).  Recall that the world's second-largest economy nearly stagnated in Q3 (0.2% quarter-over-quarter), and it appears to be accelerating here in Q4. Still, many look for the PBOC to provide more stimulus, perhaps in the form of a cut in reserve requirements, as it did this past July.  Separately,  officials seem to be cracking down harder on the "variable interest entity" structure that characterizes offshore listings, especially in the US.   Japan's November manufacturing PMI was revised to 54.5 from 54.2.  It stood at 53.2 in October.  The world's third-largest economy is recovering.  Australia reported Q3 GDP contracted by 1.9%, less than the 2.7% contraction economists had projected (Bloomberg median).  Its economy also is recovering.  The November manufacturing PMI was confirmed at 59.2, up from 58.2 previously.  House prices in Australia and New Zealand rose last month but sequentially at a slower pace.  To round out this regional overview, note that South Korea's exports in November were stronger than expected, pointing to robust foreign demand.  Exports rose 32.1% year-over-year.  Economists (Bloomberg median) expected a 27.2% pace after 24.1% in October.   It is the strongest pace since August.  Imports jumped 43.6% year-over-year, which was also more than expected, and follows a 37.7% increase previously.   The dollar is firm after being sold to its lowest level against the yen yesterday since October 11 (~JPY112.55).  It stalled near JPY113.60 in late Asia, which is slightly lower than the high seen in the US yesterday in response to the Fed's Powell hawkish pivot. However, barring fresh negative impulses, the JPY113 area may offer support again.  The Australian dollar is firm near yesterday's highs after falling to a new low for the year yesterday.  That low (~$0.7065) approached the (38.2%) retracement objective of the Aussie's rally from the March 2020 low near $0.5500.  A move now above $0.7080 would lift the technical tone and target the $0.7120-$0.7150 area.  The greenback initially fell to nearly CNY6.36, just ahead of the year's low recorded in May near CNY6.3570, before recovering to around CNY6.3720.  Resistance may be seen in the CNY6.3750-CNY6.3800 area.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate CNY6.3693.  The market (Bloomberg survey) had anticipated CNY6.3682.   Europe Covid was surging in several parts in Europe, including Germany, before the sequencing of the Omicron variant, and things have gotten worse.  The economic impact is beginning to be evident.  Germany's October retail sales, which economists had expected to recover after falling by 1.9% in September, disappointed with a 0.3% decline. The final November manufacturing PMI was revised to 57.4 from the flash 57.6 (and 57.8 in October).  It is the fourth consecutive decline.  The French manufacturing PMI was revised to 55.9 from the preliminary estimate of 54.6 (53.6 in October).  It is the first gain since May.  Economists hoped that Spain's manufacturing PMI was going to rise after falling for two months through October.  Instead, it fell again (51.1 vs. 57.4) to stand at its lowest level since March.  Italy is the standout.  Its manufacturing PMI was stronger than expected, jumping to 62.8 from 59.7, representing a new cyclical peak.  The aggregate for the eurozone as a whole edged up to 58.4 from 58.3 in October, but slower than the 58.6 flash estimate.  Still, it managed to eke out its first gain since June.  The UK's November manufacturing PMI stands at 58.1, down slightly from the preliminary estimate (58.2).  It was at 57.8 in October.  It is the second consecutive monthly gain after falling from June through September.  The UK economy grew by 1.3% in Q3 and is expected to slow to 1.1% this quarter.  The implied yield of the December 2021 short-sterling interest rate futures fell for eight sessions coming into this week.  It has been choppy so far this week, and net-net, the yield is about 1.5 bp higher than at the end of last week.  The overnight index swaps imply about a 40% chance of a hike next month.   The euro traded on both sides of Monday's range yesterday and closed above Monday's high.  However, there has been no follow-through buying today, and a consolidative tone has emerged.  A move above $1.1400 is needed to lift the tone, and it most likely won't happen today.  A 1.2 bln euro option is struck there that expires today.  The focus is on the downside. So far, it has held above $1.13, and support is seen around $1.1290.  Sterling recorded the low for the year yesterday, a little below $1.3200.  It stopped shy of our $1.3165 target, the (38.2%) retracement of cable's recovery from the March 2020 low. Its bounce off yesterday's lows fizzled out near $1.3330. Note that there is a GBP600 mln option at $1.33 that expires tomorrow.   America We have argued that the US October CPI surprise (6.1%) was a pivot point for Fed officials, even a reputed dove like San Francisco's Daly.  We also detected a change in rhetoric, and this point was driven home by Fed Chair Powell yesterday.  He clearly brandished his anti-inflaton credentials. Powell declared that the Fed would use its tools to step inflation from becoming entrenched.  At the same time, he recognized that it cannot assess Omicron now, though it clearly poses a risk.  Still, the next FOMC meeting is two weeks away, and by then, more information will be known.  Powell confirmed that the Fed would discuss the pace of tapering.  While the Fed will stop referring to inflation as transitory, Powell echoed Yellen's recent assessment that price pressures are projected to ease in H2 22.  Of note, the short end of the coupon curve sold off, but the long end remained firm.  The 30-year bond yield slipped to its lowest level since January, and the 2-10 year curve flattened 13 bp to below 90 bp, the flattest in 10 months.   The North American economic calendar is jammed today.  The US sees ADP's private-sector jobs estimate. Around 525k jobs are expected to have been filled, down from 571 in October.  In the last three months, the ADP estimate has undershot the official measures by an average of 23k.  Year-to-date, the average under-estimate is a little more than 50k.  November auto sales are expected to have risen for the second consecutive month after falling from May through September.  The final manufacturing PMI will also be reported.  The flash reading was the first increase since July.  The ISM manufacturing survey will also be published.  It has been a bit more resilient than the PMI.  Late in the session, the Beige Book will be released.  Canada reports October building permits (expected softer after the 4.3% gain in September) and the manufacturing PMI (57.7 in October).  Mexico reports its manufacturing PMI and IMEF surveys.  The central bank's inflation report is also due.  Mexico reports October worker remittances today.  They have averaged $4.15 bln a month this year through September.  The average for the same period in 2020 was $3.33 bln, and in 2019 $3.03 bln.  Note that the average trade deficit this year (through October) is almost $1.2 bln.   After reaching almost CAD1.2840 yesterday, its highest level since the September FOMC meeting, the greenback has come back offered today. It briefly and marginally traded below yesterday's CAD1.2730 low.  It needs to convincingly break below CAD1.2720 to be of any technical significance.  Initial resistance now may be seen near CAD1.2780.  The dollar peaked against the Mexican peso at the end of last week near MXN22.1550.  It is moving lower for the third consecutive session, and found initial support around MXN21.27 today.  The MXN21.20 area is the halfway mark of last month's range.  A move above  MXN21.40 may signal the dollar's downside correction is over.   Disclaimer
Ether is once again a step away from historic highs

Ether is once again a step away from historic highs

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 01.12.2021 11:50
The cryptocurrency market is developing its growth, which is now also supported by Bitcoin. In the last 24 hours, the capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies has risen by 2.7% to 2.66 trillion, while the first cryptocurrency has risen by 0.8%. At the same time, it is important to note the continued pressure on BTCUSD, which is being kept off the ground by financial market worries. On Tuesday, Powell acknowledged the inflation problem in the US and suggested abandoning the term "transitory", which he coined at the start of the year. For the markets, this means that the world's top central bank has stepped up the inflation warpath and become more hawkish, promising a higher degree of volatility for traditional markets. Among cryptocurrencies, this promises to have the greatest impact on bitcoin as it is the most populated by financial institutions. Likely due to volatility and Bitcoin's inability to move to sustained growth, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index has once again been pushed down 6 points to 34. However, note that ETHUSD is up almost 12% in the last seven days, continuing to climb the ladder again step by step. Its current level of $4720 is an arm's length away from the historical highs set in November at $4840 and has been gaining steadily for the fourth day in a row. Here we see a classic market pattern: consolidation at an important level in September, a breakout and subsequent steady and methodical buying throughout October and the first half of November, and finally a period of correction and cooling off in November while maintaining significant levels. Now, the correction and consolidation look complete, and the ether looks set to rewrite historical highs. Among the fundamental global drivers behind this sentiment are improvements in the network itself and its applicability to working projects, as well as the balance between supply and demand for coins. In choosing between the leading currencies, the cryptocurrency world is betting on Ether as the future of cryptocurrency as a business, with bitcoin still being a good savings vehicle, but now becoming vulnerable to the turmoil of the traditional financial.
EUR/USD: How To Trade The Pair This Week

EUR/USD: How To Trade The Pair This Week

Kseniya Medik Kseniya Medik 01.12.2021 14:57
Fundamental factors EUR/USD ended last week with a steamrolling. This week, the pair keeps edging up. Why? First, the uncertainty over the new Covid-19 variant, omicron, led to a surge in demand in safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss. Since the US dollar lost its safe-haven role, traders preferred the EUR to the greenback. Second, the USD was rising as the markets were pricing in the rate hike by the Federal Reserve. However, omicron raised concerns that the US central bank can delay a rate increase – the bearish factor for the USD. Overall, a recovery in the US dollar depends on the vaccine progress against the omicron variant. Today, on Wednesday, we see the US dollar climbing up. It is the result of Powell’s comments. Jerome Powell is the Federal Reserve Chair. He signaled his intention to taper faster, and it supported the USD. Both omicron and Powell’s comments increased volatility in EUR/USD. What to expect further? The US will reveal essential economic data in the upcoming weeks. If it is strong, the Fed can turn more hawkish at the FOMC meeting on December 16. Technical factors The overall trend is bearish. EUR/USD has been moving down since May. However, the short-term trend is bullish as EUR/USD surged and recovered some losses thanks to the weak dollar. It has failed to cross the resistance level of 1.1370 – the high of November 19. The pair can reverse down to the recent low of 1.1260. If it crosses it from the top down, there are more chances the pair will fall further to the psychological mark of 1.1200. Resistance levels are 1.1370 and 1.1460. Download the FBS Trader app to trade anytime anywhere! For a personal computer or laptop, use MetaTrader 5!
Don’t Get Yourself Into a Bull Trap With Gold

Don’t Get Yourself Into a Bull Trap With Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.12.2021 15:40
You see a commodity going down, then it reverses and starts teasing you with an upward move… only to end up declining further. Is this the case now?I started yesterday’s analysis with a question that I then replied to, explaining why I thought that it wasn’t necessarily a good idea take profits from one’s short positions at this time, as the corrective upswings could be nothing to write home about, and that it might not be that easy to get back in the short positions at better (higher) prices.Well, yesterday’s session showed exactly what I meant, and the 4-hour chart found below provides the details.The upper part of the chart features the GDX ETF (proxy for gold mining stocks), and the lower part thereof features the GLD ETF (proxy for gold price itself.)First of all, gold stocks were first to break below their rising support line – that happened a couple of days ago. Gold moved decisively below its rising support line only yesterday. This emphasizes that gold stocks are leading gold lower. This, in turn, is a bearish confirmation in itself, as that’s what tends to happen at the beginning of a bigger move lower.The way both markets performed yesterday was also quite interesting.In case of mining stocks, the intraday rally took GDX just slightly above its rising support line and then miners moved back down in a flash. In other words, if anyone had exited their short positions in order to re-enter them at higher prices, they had very little time to do so, and the most realistic version of this scenario is that they ended the session while missing the 1% decline in the GDX. The silver price was down by just 4 cents, but still, it was a move lower despite an intraday rally.In the case of GLD, one might have thought that gold was bound to rally since it stopped at its rising support line (based on the Sep. and Nov. lows). And gold even rallied by about $20 intraday… Only to decline more and end yesterday’s session lower.That was not a reversal. That was a bull trap.And the most bearish thing about yesterday’s decline – and weakness? It happened while the USD Index moved lower during the day. The USDX ended the day 0.33 lower, which “should have” triggered gold’s rally. Instead, gold declined, proving that it really wants to move lower. And suggesting that profits from one’s short positions in mining stocks are likely to become bigger.Don’t get me wrong – I do think that we’ll see a counter-trend upswing, but it’s just not that likely that we’ll see it right now. For quite some time, I’ve been repeating that it’s likely that we’ll see some kind of corrective upswing once gold moves back to its yearly lows, and this remains to be the case.Then, after the rebound, gold is likely to decline once again, perhaps to its final lows (for many years to come).Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
It‘s the Fed, Not Omicron

It‘s the Fed, Not Omicron

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.12.2021 15:51
S&P 500 plunged on accelerated tapering intentions, and much of the risk-on sectors and commodities followed – even precious metals declined a little in sympathy. But where is the larger reasoning? If the Fed truly intends to taper faster in its belated fight against inflation, it‘s a question of not only markets throwing a tantrum, but of the real economy keeling over. Inflation is a serious problem, including a political one, and here come the Omicron demand-choking effects if the fear card gets played too hard. Thankfully, reports indicate that the alleged variant is merely more contagious and having comparatively milder effects. That‘s how it is usually turns out with mutations by the way – remember that before the number 30 frequently thrown around, shuts off thinking including in the markets. The world‘s economic activity didn‘t come to a standstill with Delta, and it appears such a policy route won‘t be taken with Omicron either. That‘s why I was telling you on Monday that any inflation reprieve the scary news buys, would likely turn out only temporary. Unless the Fed decides to make it permanent, which is what I am doubting based on its track record and the more rocky landscape ahead that I talked in mid Nov extensive article. For now, the Fed‘s pressure is real, and premarket rallies that are sold into during regular sessions, must be viewed with suspicion. It‘s not that we‘ve flipped into a (secular) bear market, but the correction is palpable and real – I‘m not looking for the habitual Santa Claus rally this year. Big picture, the precious metals resilience is a good sign, and return of cyclicals with commodities is the all-clear signal that I‘m however not expecting this or next week. Cryptos resilience is encouraging as much as various stock market ratios (XLY:XLP offers a more bullish view than XLF:XLU – I‘ve been covering these helpful metrics quite often through 2020), which makes me think we‘re in mostly sideways markets for now. At least as I told you on Monday, the (rational / irrational) fears started getting ignored by the markets, meaning we‘re on a gradually improving track. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 isn‘t out of the hot water, and it‘s still just a close in the 4670s that would mark the end of peril to me. The financial sector has to turn, strength has to come to smallcaps simultaneously – the 500-strong index is still performing in a too risk-off way. Credit Markets Positive HYG divergence isn‘t enough – the broad underperformance of S&P 500 must be reversed to establish stronger stock market foundations. Powell just added to the risk-off posture in bonds, and I‘m looking keenly at the expected, ensuing (in)ability to absorb less loose monetary conditions. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are acting weak, but not overly weak. When the markets get fed up with having to bear the tapering / tightening (real and verbal) interventions, it would be gold and silver that rise first. Crude Oil Crude oil turned out indeed weakest of the weak when fear overruled everything. Capitulation is a process, and it‘s quite underway already in my view. The way black gold crashed, the way it would rise once the sky meaningfully clears. Copper Copper weakness is what I don‘t trust here as other base metals did quite better. But again, yesterday was an overreaction to the Fed news that it would discuss speeding up taper. Just discuss. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum holding relatively high ground, is a reason to think the risk-on scales would tip positive. While BTC is still correcting, I‘m looking for it to join Ethereum. Summary S&P 500, risk-on and commodities aren‘t yet on solid footing as Powell pronouncements outweighed the dissipating corona uncertainty. Either way, the effects on inflation would be rather temporary – inflation indicators clearly haven‘t topped yet as the implicit Fed admission of dropping the word temporary confirms. Once the tightening mirage gets a reality check in the economy and markets, look for precious metals to truly shine. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Copper upside remains despite months of inaction

Copper upside remains despite months of inaction

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 01.12.2021 16:26
Commodities 2021-12-01 15:00 Summary:  Industrial metals spent most of November trading sideways with concerns about demand being offset by tight market conditions, especially in aluminum and copper. In fact, the price has during these past few months, when worries about Chinese demand took centerstage, been trading relatively close to the average price seen since April. A behavior which in our view highlights a strong underlying demand for copper, not least considering the prospect for inelastic supply struggling to meet green transformation demand towards electrification. Industrial metals spent most of November trading sideways with concerns about demand being offset by tight market conditions, especially in aluminum and copper. Apart from two failed upside attempts in May and October, copper has since April stayed mostly rangebound not swaying too far away from its average price, at $9550 per tons in London and $4.35 per pound in New York. During the past few months copper has performed relatively well considering heightened worries about the economic outlook for China, and more specifically its property sector which has seen near defaults as well as a slump in home sales. Additional headwinds have been created by the stronger dollar and central banks beginning to focus more on inflation than stimulus. In order to counter Chinese economic growth concerns, Vice Premier Liu He has been out saying growth this year should exceed targets, and the government plans more support for business. High Grade Copper has been averaging $4.35 since April with the current action confined to a range between $4.2 and $4.5 while major support can be found in the $4 area. The lack of momentum in recent months has driven a sharp reduction in the speculative long held by hedge funds, a development that could trigger a significant amount of activity once the technical and/or fundamental picture becomes clearer. Against these mostly demand focused macroeconomic headwinds, we have at the same time been witnessing an unusual synchronised tightness in stock levels monitored by the major futures exchanges in London and Shanghai. Unusual in the sense that price arbitrage between the two exchanges often drive changes in stock levels from one exchange to the other. Recently however we have been witnessing levels fall at both exchanges, with aluminum and copper stockpiles at the LME falling to their lowest levels since 2007 and 2005 respectively. In fact, the six industrial metals traded on the LME are currently all trading in backwardation for the first time since 2007. A condition where spot prices trade higher than futures, and driven by the mentioned drop in inventories in response to a post-pandemic surge in demand as well as supply-chain disruptions. On the subject of supply, especially during the coming years when the green transformation will account for an increased proportion of global copper demand, planned mining taxes in Chile, the worlds biggest producers have raised the alarm bells. Politicians are looking for a bigger share of mining profits to help resolve inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic, and with a potential approval moving closer BHP Group has warned it could derail investments thereby making it harder to meet future demand, especially considering the mentioned need for copper towards electrification. Source: Bloomberg An example of increased copper demand driven by the green transformation are the number of finished and planned subsea interconnectors which are paramount for cutting emissions and boosting the effectiveness of renewable energy production. Increased volatility in the production of power from renewable sources such as wind and solar as opposed to traditional sources like coal and gas will continue to increase the need for large scale transmission capabilities of power between countries and regions. The cable below has been used in the now finished 720 kilometer North Sea Link between Norway and the UK, as well in the under-construction Viking link between Denmark and the UK. It carries as much as 1.45 Gigawatt (about the capacity of a nuclear reactor) with most of the 50 kg/meter weight coming from copper. Several other subsea links are planned over the coming years, and together with the need for increased capacity on the electrical grid to support the roll out of EV’s, demand for copper, the king of green metals, look set to increase over the coming years. Electrification and urbanisation will drive growth in copper wrote my colleague Peter Garnry in this update from November 19. In it he also offered a table of mining companies providing exposure to copper. The table below shows 16 mining companies with exposure to copper with Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, absent from the list as the Chilean miner is only listed in Chile and thus not investable for our clients. The copper mining industry has delivered a median total return in USD of 132.6% over the past five years beating the global equity up 105% in the same period. The rising copper prices the past year driven by investors positioning themselves in green metals (defined as metals that will play a key role in the green transformation) which in turn has pushed up revenue in the industry by almost 40%. Sell-side analysts are generally bullish on copper miners with a median upside of 16% from current levels. In our view investors should select one or two copper miners to get exposure and avoid the ETFs on the industry as they are too broad-based and lack the pure exposure profile needed to play the copper market. As the table also show, there is no such thing as pure exposure to copper except for futures, options and CFDs on the underlying copper. The miner with the highest revenue exposure to copper is Antofagasta with 84.8% revenue share from copper extraction and refining. Most copper miners also extract gold and silver as part of their copper operations, and out of the 16 copper miners in our list, only 6 of these miners have more than 50% of revenue coming from copper extraction and refining.
FX Update: Powell is now an inflation fighter, not a punchbowl spiker

FX Update: Powell is now an inflation fighter, not a punchbowl spiker

John Hardy John Hardy 01.12.2021 16:30
Forex 2021-12-01 15:25 4 minutes to read Summary:  Fed Chair Powell cemented recent evidence that the Fed has changed its stripes from a punch bowl refiller for the economy and the labor market to an inflation fighter at large. The market is finding it tough to absorb this message, given the recent market choppiness and virus distractions, but interesting that the US dollar has not found more strength on this momentous pivot. FX Trading focus: Hawkish broadside from Powell Fed Chair Powell cemented the impression that the Fed has shifted firmly into inflation fighting mode with an appearance yesterday before a Fed panel. The rhetoric was direct and of a make-no-mistake variety. Powell said that the end of balance sheet expansion would likely wind down a few  months sooner than originally foreseen, even with the current omicron variant of covid concerns. He also spelled out that it is probably time to retire the word “transitory” when discussing inflation, ad said that the risk of higher inflation has increased. Perhaps most interesting was a comment that persistent higher inflation brought a risk to getting the labor market back to where it was pre-covid. It is crystal clear at this point that the Fed has pivoted to inflation-fighting and tightening and will move in that direction as quickly as it can until the inflation numbers improve markedly. Of course, the market was already adjusting to clear signs that the Fed is moving into a far more hawkish stance early last week, only to be sidelined viciously by the omicron variant worries in recent days. Were it not for that interlude, Fed expectations would likely be at new cycle highs as yesterday’s signals from Powell make the Fed shift as clear as day. As it is, we have only clawed back a majority of the 2022 hikes priced in pricing of Fed rate hikes, still some 8 basis points to go for end of year Fed pricing (the “omicron discount” being perhaps 15 basis points or more?). The two curious things are that the US yield curve continues to viciously flatten and the market continues to price the terminal Fed rate for the coming hiking cycle at 2.00%. The inability for the longer yields to lift higher recently may be reining in the USD upside for. The other indicator besides yield-curve shifts that is making waves here on my radar screen of financial conditions is the measure of corporate credit, where spreads have blown wider, as discussed over the last couple of episodes of the Saxo Market Call podcast. The bluntness from the Fed yesterday may have driven the particularly bad day for junk bonds as the new style from the Fed could lead investors in the riskiest debt to conclude that they may be allowed to twist in the breeze down the road if inflation levels stay high, rather than receiving endless bailouts that keep zombie companies in business and able to forever roll forward their debts. We are set up for an interesting 2022 that will likely look very different from 2021. The shift in Fed rhetoric will make the market extra-sensitive to US data and developments that impact inflation, from energy prices, to the CPI/PCE data itself and the average hourly earnings data perhaps even more than the usual nonfarm payrolls change focus. Today’s Beige Book could be interesting for anecdotal evidence from interviews with companies on their impression of supply constraints, wage adjustments and issues finding qualified workers, etc. Today’s November ADP Payrolls was another strong 500k+ as expected. Chart: USDJPYUSDJPY was handcuffed by developments yesterday – on the one hand with the USD supported by a rise in Fed expectations, but on the other hand, JPY traders finding no fresh reason to bid up the JPY as the long end of the US yield curve remains pinned at quite low yields and there has been no shift in the Fed’s “terminal rate” – where the market sees the Fed rate hike cycle peeking out. So the price action bobbed well back above the 112.73 range pivot level that was broken yesterday, but has a steep wall to climb to threaten the 115.00+ cycle highs again, something that would likely require the entire Fed yield curve to lift, and more aggressively than expectations for policy normalization elsewhere. Source: Saxo Group Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthAgain, the market is finding the reaction function increasingly difficult to the recent jolts in inputs. Note the huge momentum shift in SEK, where the market overdid the recent squeeze, but the strength there will likely only improve once the euro bottoms and the outlook for EU yields and fiscal improves. Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Well entrenched trends are few and far between, but the EURCNH and EURCHF downtrends stand out, with the latter’s lack of volatility after recent direction changes remarkable. The Swiss franc does well as a safe haven and does well because the SNB can’t be seen weakening the currency when inflation pressures are rising. Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1500 – US Fed Chair Powell, Treasury Secretary Yellen to testify before House panel 1500 – US Nov. ISM Manufacturing 1530 – DOE’s Weekly Crude Oil and Fuel Inventories 1900 - Fed Beige Book 0030 – Australia Oct. Trade Balance
Saxo Bank 2022 Outrageous Predictions: Here comes a revolution!

Saxo Bank 2022 Outrageous Predictions: Here comes a revolution!

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 02.12.2021 14:35
Saxo Bank has today released its 10 Outrageous Predictions for 2022. The predictions focus on a series of unlikely but underappreciated events which, if they were to occur, could send shockwaves across financial markets: The plan to end fossil fuels gets a rain check Facebook faceplants on youth exodus The US mid-term election brings constitutional crisis US inflation reaches above 15% on wage-price spiral EU Superfund for climate, energy and defence announced, to be funded by private pensions Women’s Reddit Army takes on the corporate patriarchy India joins the Gulf Cooperation Council as a non-voting member Spotify disrupted due to NFT-based digital rights platform New hypersonic tech drives space race and new cold war Medical breakthrough extends average life expectancy 25 years While these predictions do not constitute Saxo’s official market forecasts for 2022, they represent a warning against the potential misallocation of risk among investors who might typically assign just a one percent chance of these events materialising.  It’s an exercise in considering the full extent of what is possible, even if not necessarily probable, and particularly relevant in the context of this year’s unexpected Covid-19 crisis. Inevitably the outcomes that prove the most disruptive (and therefore outrageous) are those that are a surprise to consensus. Commenting on this year’s Outrageous Predictions, Chief Investment Officer at Saxo Bank, Steen Jakobsen said:   “The theme for 2022 Outrageous Predictions is Revolution. There is so much energy building up in our inequality-plagued society and economy. Add to that the inability of the current system to address the issue and we need to look into the future with a fundamental view that it’s not a question of whether we get a revolution but a more a question of when and how. With every revolution, some win and some lose, but that’s not the point—if the current system can’t change but must, a revolution is the only path forward. A culture war is raging across the globe and the divide is no longer simply between the rich and the poor. It’s also the young versus the old, the educated class versus the less educated working class, real markets with price discovery versus government intervention, stock market buy-backs versus R&D spending, inflation versus deflation, women versus men, the progressive left versus the centrist left, virtual signalling on social media versus real changes to society, the rentier class versus labour, fossil fuels versus green energy, ESG initiatives versus the need to supply the world with reliable energy—the list go on. We collaborated globally on Covid vaccines in 2020 and 2021. Now we need a new Manhattan Project–-type endeavour to set the marginal cost of energy, adjusted for productivity, on the path to much lower levels while eliminating the impact of our energy generation on the environment. Such a move would unleash the most significant productivity cycle in history: we could desalinate water, make vertical farms feasible almost anywhere, increase computer powers to quantum states, and continue to explore new boundaries in biology and physics.” Remember that the world is forever evolving if at varying speeds, while business and political cycles are always finite.” The Outrageous Predictions 2022 publication is available here with headline summaries below: 1. The plan to end fossil fuels gets a rain check Summary: Policymakers kick climate targets down the road and support fossil fuel investment to fight inflation and the risk of social unrest while rethinking the path to a low-carbon future. Realising the inflationary threat from surging commodities prices and the risk of an economic train wreck due to the unrealistic timeline for the green energy transition, policymakers kick climate targets down the road. They relax investment red tape for five years for oil production and ten years for natural gas production, to encourage producers to ensure adequate and reasonably priced supplies that bridge the gap from the energy present to the low-carbon energy future. This development has already jacked up prices and price volatility, not only for energy, but also for industrial metals, most of which are needed in greater quantities for the green transformation push. On top of this, surging energy prices have spiked prices for diesel and especially fertiliser, important farming costs that raise concerns about the production of key food crops. Market impact: The iShares Stoxx EU 600 Oil & Gas ETF (Ticker: EXH1:xetr) surges 50 percent as the whole energy sector gets a new lease on life 2. Facebook faceplants on youth exodus Summary: The young abandon Facebook’s platforms in protest at the mining of personal information for profit; the attempt by Facebook parent Meta to reel them back in with the Metaverse stumbles. Facebook has gone from being a vibrant hub of young people, to a platform for older “boomers” as young people would say. Young people are increasingly turned off by Facebook’s algorithms turning their social media experiences into that of homogenous feedback loops of identical content, or even worse, hateful and disinforming content. Facebook’s own research suggests that teens spend 2 to 3 times longer on TikTok than on Instagram (which is Facebook’s youngest social media asset), and that Snapchat is the preferred way to communicate with friends. A new company name (Facebook is now called Meta) and brand identity to separate and shield Instagram (its most valuable current asset), together with creating a new product tailored towards young people, is the exact same playbook tobacco companies have used for years. But in 2022, investors will realise that Meta is rapidly losing the young generation and thus the future potential and profitability of the company. In a desperate move, Meta tries to acquire Snapchat or TikTok while throwing billions of dollars into building the creepy Metaverse, which is aimed at surveilling users more directly than ever before and getting young people back into Meta’s universe of social media platforms, in the perceived wisdom that being a first mover is always best in technology. The plan struggles to take off as the young generation fails to sign up. Market impact: Facebook parent company Meta struggles, down 30 percent versus the broader market and is urged to spin off its components as separate entities, shattering Zuckerberg’s monopolistic dreams. 3. The US mid-term election brings constitutional crisis Summary: The US mid-term election sees a stand-off over the certification of close Senate and/or House election results, leading to a scenario where the 118th Congress is unable to sit on schedule in early 2023. The chaotic 2020 US Presidential Election was a scary moment for many US institutions. The sitting president Donald J. Trump initially refused to conceded defeat in the election and complained that the election was stolen, a claim that was never seriously challenged in a court of law but one which had widespread sympathy among the Trump base. A crowd of hard-core believers in the stolen election conspiracy was encouraged by the President’s rhetoric to a sufficient degree to storm Capitol Hill and “stop the steal”, i.e., to prevent the election result from being made official on January 6, 2021, in a scene unprecedented in US history. Prior to this, and then again later in the hotly contested Senate run-off elections in Georgia, dedicated election officials—many of them Republican—were doing their duty to tally the real results while risking their life amidst threats—even death threats—from extremists. In 2022, the Republicans ensure that no such traditional duty-bound officials are in the “wrong” place, with all election-related positions filled by toe-the-line partisans ready to do anything to tilt the results to suppressing voter turnout. In the wake of the 2022 election, a handful of key Senate and House races come down to the wire and one or both sides move against certifying the vote, making it impossible for the new Congress to form and sit on its scheduled first day of January 3, 2023. Joe Biden rules by decree and US democracy is suspended as even Democrats also dig in against the Supreme Court that was tilted heavily by Trump. A full-blown constitutional crisis stretches over the horizon over the stand-off as 2023 gets under way. Market impact: extreme volatility in US assets, as US treasury yields rise and the USD drops on hedging against the existential crisis in the world’s largest economy and issuer of the world’s reserve currency of choice. 4. US inflation reaches above 15% on wage-price spiral Summary: By the fourth quarter of 2022, the wages for the lower half of US incomes are rising at an annualised 15% clip as companies scramble to find willing and qualified workers who are increasingly selective due to a rising sense of entitlement as jobs are plentiful relative to the meagre availability of workers at all skill levels. The official US CPI reached a peak at 11.8% in February 1975. It wasn’t until the recession of 1980-82 and brutal policy rate increases to levels as high as 20% that inflation was finally killed. In 2022, the Federal Reserve and Fed chair Jerome Powell repeats the same mistake all over again as the post-Covid outbreak economy and especially the labour market are severely supply constrained, making a mockery of the Fed’s traditional models. Powell believes millions of Americans will return to work and fill some of the 10.4 million open job positions as Covid-19 fades. But this is plain wrong. Some have retired early due to the crisis and thus have permanently left the US workforce. The big difference between today and yesterday is that the pandemic has fuelled a great awakening of workers. Across sectors and income classes they realise they are now more empowered than ever. They demand a better experience: better job conditions, higher wages, more flexibility and a sense of purpose from work. Coupled with persistent inflationary pressures coming from the production side, the energy crisis and labour shortage, this results in unprecedented broad-based double-digit annualised wage increases by Q4. As a consequence, US inflation reaches an annualised pace above 15% before the start of 2023, for the first time since WWII. This prompts the Federal Reserve into a too-little, too-late move to tighten monetary policy faster in a desperate effort to tame inflation. But the central bank has lost credibility; it will take time to regain it. Market impact: extreme volatility in US equity and credit markets. The JNK high-yield ETF falls as much as 20% and the VIXM mid-curve volatility ETF soars as much as 70%. 5. EU Superfund for climate, energy and defence announced, to be funded by private pensions Summary: To defend against the rise of populism, deepen the commitment to slowing climate change, and defend its borders as the US security umbrella recedes, the EU launches a bold $3 trillion Superfund to be funded by pension allocations rather than new taxes. The security umbrella provided by the US during the Cold War and afterwards over much of Eastern Europe is rapidly fading and threatens to fail entirely in the years ahead as the US looks east at far more serious economic and military rivals. French President Macron, backed by a Draghi moving to stave off Italy’s own rise of the populists, rolls out a vision for an “EU Superfund” that will address the three-fold priorities of defence, climate and the related clean energy transition. Given the EU’s aging population and heavy tax burdens, policymakers know that it will be impossible to finance the Superfund with higher taxes on incomes or other traditional tax revenues. Instead, France has a light-bulb moment as it seeks to overhaul its pension system and looks at Europe’s enormous pensions. It decides that all pensions for all workers above the age of 40 must allocate a progressively larger portion of their pension assets into Superfund bonds as they age. This allows new levels of fiscal stimulus in the EU even with the sleight-of-hand trick of hiding the spending in inflation and negative real returns on low-yielding Superfund bonds that are actually EU bonds in disguise. At the same the younger generation enjoys a stronger job market and less unfair tax burdens as the system proves such a success that income taxes are lowered progressively. Market impact: Bond yields harmonise across Europe, leading to German Bunds underperforming. EU defence, construction and new energy companies are some of the best performers. 6. Women’s Reddit Army takes on the corporate patriarchy Summary: Mimicking the meme stock Reddit Army tactics of 2020-21, a group of women traders launch a coordinated assault on companies with weak records on gender equality, leading to huge swings in equity prices for targeted companies. Women are not willing to wait any longer. Tired of the lack of progress, 2022 sees a massive grass-roots effort based on social media platforms to force companies that break civil rights laws to address unfair and sexist, racist, ageist and ableist practices. Although women have been struggling with lower salaries, they have higher saving rates than men. Those savings will now come in handy as they decide to take the situation into their own hands and throw their considerable influence around in a #metoo movement in financial markets. In contrast to the often-nihilistic original Reddit Army, the Women’s Reddit Army will be more sophisticated, with women traders coordinating a long squeeze by shorting stocks of selected patriarch companies. At the same time, they will direct funds to companies with the best metrics on female representation in middle management and among executives. Instead of condemning the development, politicians worldwide welcome and support their cause, putting even more pressure on companies with outdated patriarchal attitudes, poor gender equality in pay, and under-representation of women on boards and in management to address the errors of their ways. Market impact: The movement gets real results as the broader market catches on to the theme and joins in, forcing targeted company prices sharply lower, which sees companies scrambling to change their ways. It marks the beginning of a gender parity renaissance in markets. 7. India joins the Gulf Cooperation Council as a non-voting member Summary: The world’s geopolitical alliances will lurch into a phase of drastic realignment as we have an ugly cocktail of new deglobalising geopolitics and much higher energy prices. Countries reliant on imports for the majority of their energy inputs in a rapidly deglobalising world will need to move fast to strategically reorientate strategic alliances and secure long-term energy supplies. One such alliance could involve India, with its mighty technology sector, joining the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as non-voting member, or in some sort of free trade zone. This alliance would see a reduction in India’s energy insecurity as it secures long-term import commitments. Interregional trading zones will secure “closer to home” production and investment, combined with the security of reliable supplies from India’s point of view, and a reliable destination market from the GCC’s point of view. The alliance helps lay the groundwork for the GCC countries to plan for their future beyond oil and gas and for India to accelerate its development via huge new investments in infrastructure and improvements in agricultural productivity together with fossil fuel imports, bridging the way to a post-carbon longer-term future. Market impact: The Indian rupee proves far more resilient than its EM peers in a volatile year for markets. The bubbly Indian stock market corrects with other equity markets in early 2022 but proves a strong relative performer from the intra-year lows. 8. Spotify disrupted due to NFT-based digital rights platform Summary: Musicians are ready for change as the current music streaming paradigm means that labels and streaming platforms capture 75-95 percent of revenue paid for listening to streamed music. In 2022, new blockchain-based technology will help them grab back their fair share of industry revenues. While the early days of NFTs have looked chaotic and dangerous for asset buyers, the outlook is bright for NFT technology. Not only does an NFT-based platform offer a new way to verify the ownership of rights, but also a way to distribute rights without intermediaries, i.e., a completely decentralised system obviating the need for a centralised platform. The use case for NFTs could prove particularly compelling in the next step for the technology for content generators in the music industry as musicians feel unfairly treated by the revenue sharing models of the current streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. These models don’t guide individual subscribers’ fees to the actual music an individual subscriber listens to. Rather, all subscription fee revenues are aggregated and distributed based on every artist’s share of total streams. In addition, the platforms take a substantial cut, which together with the cut paid to labels is some 75 percent or more of the total revenue. In 2022, an NFT-based service takes hold and begins offering music from notable stars – perhaps the likes of Katy Perry, The Chainsmokers and Jason Derulo, all of whom have recently backed an effort to create a new blockchain-powered streaming platform. Other well-known artists begin pulling their music from the now “traditional” streaming platforms, which suddenly find themselves terminally disrupted. Investors see the eventual writing on the wall for podcasts, movies and other forms of digitisable contents as well. Market impact: Investors recognise that Spotify’s future is bleak, sending its shares down 33 percent in 2022. 9. New hypersonic tech drives space race and new cold war Summary: The latest hypersonic missile tests are driving a widening sense of insecurity as this tech renders legacy conventional and even nuclear military hardware obsolete. In 2022 a massive hypersonic arms race develops among major militaries as no country wants to feel left behind. In 2022, it is clear from funding priorities that hypersonics and space are the heart of a new phase of the deepening rivalry between the US and China on all fronts—economic and military. Other major powers with advanced military tech join in as well, likely including Russia, India, Israel and the EU. Hypersonic capabilities represent a game-changing threat to the long-standing military strategic status quo, as the technology brings asymmetric new defensive and offensive capabilities that upset the two massive pillars of military strategy of recent decades. The first is the potential for devastating hypersonic tech defence against the conventional attack capabilities of long-range bombing aircraft, as well as the so-called “deep water” navy of ships that can bring the fight to any corner of the globe without refuelling. The second pillar of the old Cold War era was the principle of mutually assured destruction (MAD) in the event of nuclear war, under which it was pointless to launch a nuclear war as long as there was still time for the opponent to launch an equally destructive ICBM counterattack from land- and submarine-based ballistic missiles. But the speed and agility of hypersonic tech introduces the belief that superior defence could thwart an attack entirely and even allow for new first-strike capabilities. Market impact: massive funding for companies like Raytheon that build hypersonic tech with space delivery capabilities and underperformance of “expensive conventional hardware” companies in the aircraft and ship-building side of the military hardware equation. 10. Medical breakthrough extends average life expectancy 25 years Summary: Young forever, or for at least a lot longer. In 2022, a key breakthrough in biomedicine brings the prospect of extending productive adulthood and the average life expectancy by up to 25 years, prompting projected ethical, environmental and fiscal crises of epic proportions. The year 2022 sees a breakthrough from a multi-factor approach, as a cocktail of treatments is put together that tweaks cell-level processes in order to extend their life and thus the life of the organism composed of those cells. It’s not cheap, but it’s effective and has already been demonstrated on laboratory mice containing human DNA, extending their lives some 30% and more. The prospect of a massive leap in human quality of life and life expectancy are huge wins for mankind but bring an enormous ethical and financial quandary. Imagine that almost everyone can look forward to living to an average age of 115 and more healthily. What would this mean for private and government pensions, or even the ability or desire to retire? And what about the cost to the planet if it is set to support billions more people, not to mention whether or not there is enough food to go around? And then there is the ethical question of whether it is humane to not make the cocktail available to everyone. In short, how would our value systems, political systems and planet cope?
December Monthly

December Monthly

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 02.12.2021 15:00
December 01, 2021  $USD, Macro The pandemic is still with us as the year winds down and has not yet become endemic, like the seasonal flu.  Even before the new Omicron variant was sequenced, Europe was being particularly hard hit, and social restrictions, especially among the unvaccinated, were spurring social strife.  US cases, notably in the Midwest, were rising, and there is fear that it is 4-6 weeks behind Europe in experiencing the surge.  Whatever herd immunity is, it has not been achieved.  Moreover, despite plenty of vaccines in high-income countries, inoculation efforts in many low-income countries won't begin in earnest until next year.   That said, the new variant has injected a new element into the mix, and it is with a heightened degree of uncertainty that we share our December outlook.  Given the unknowns, policymakers can choose the kind of error they are willing to make. They are trying to minimize their maximum regret.  The utmost regret is that the mutation is dangerous and renders the existing vaccines and treatment significantly less effective.  This will leave them vulnerable to accusations of over-reacting if the Omicron turns out to be a contagious but less deadly variation.   Meanwhile, there has been some relief to the supply chain disruptions.  Covid-related factory closures in Asia, the energy shortage, and port congestion are easing. Large US retailers have stocked up for the holiday shopping season, some of which chartered their own ships to ensure delivery. There are also preliminary signs that the semiconductor chip shortage may be past its worst.  Indeed, the recovery of the auto sector and rebuilding of inventories will help extend the economic expansion well into next year, even though fiscal and monetary policy are less supportive for most high-income countries.  The flash November US manufacturing PMI saw supplier delivery delays fall to six-month lows.   We assume that the US macabre debt ceiling ritual will not lead to a default, and even though it distorted some bill auctions, some resolution is highly probable.  The debate over the Build Back Better initiative, approved by the House of Representatives, will likely be scaled back by moderate Democratic Senators and Republicans.  Besides assessing the risks posed by the new variant, the focus in December is back on monetary policy.  Four large central banks stand out.  The Chinese economy has slowed the People's Bank of China quarterly monetary report modified language that signals more monetary support may be forthcoming.  Many observers see another reduction in reserve requirements as a reasonable step.  Unlike in the US and Europe, which saw bank lending dry-up in the housing market crisis (2008-2009), Beijing is pressing state-owned banks to maintain lending, including the property sector.   The Federal Reserve meets on December 15.  There are two key issues.  First, we expect the FOMC to accelerate the pace of tapering to allow it to have the option to raise rates in Q2 22.  The Fed's commitment to the sequence (tapering, hikes, letting balance sheet run-off) and the current pace of tapering deny the central bank the needed flexibility.  The November CPI will be reported on December 10.  The headline will likely rise to around 6.7%, while the core rate may approach 5%.  Second, the new "Summary of Economic Projections" will probably show more Fed officials seeing the need to hike rates in 2022.  In September, only half did.  The rhetoric of the Fed's leadership has changed.  It will not refer to inflation as transitory and is signaling its intention to act.  The European Central Bank and the Bank of England meet the day after the FOMC.  The ECB staff will update its forecasts, and the key here is where it sees inflation at the end of the forecasting period.  In September, it anticipated that CPI would be at 1.5% at the end of 2023.  Some ECB members argued it was too low.   It may be revised higher, but the key for the policy outlook is whether it is above the 2% target.  We doubt that this will be the case.  While the ECB will likely announce that it intends on respecting the current end of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program next March, its QE will persist. The pre-crisis Asset Purchase Program is expected to continue and perhaps even expand in Q2 22.  The "modalities" of the post-emergency bond-buying program, size, duration, and flexibility (self-imposed limits) will be debated between the hawks and doves.  With eurozone inflation approaching 5% and Germany CPI at 6%, the hard-money camp will have a new ally at the German Finance Ministry as the FDP leader Linder takes the post.  On the other hand, the Social Democrats will name a Weidmann's replacement at the head of the Bundesbank, and nearly anyone will be less hawkish.   While we correctly anticipated that the Bank of England would defy market expectations and stand pat in November, the December meeting is trickier.  The decision could ultimately turn on the next employment and CPI reports due 1-2 days before the BOE meeting.  The risk is that inflation will continue to accelerate into early next year and that the labor market is healing after the furlough program ended in September.  On balance, we suspect it will wait until next year to hike rates and finish its bonds purchases next month as planned.   Having been caught wrong-footed in November, many market participants are reluctant to be bitten by the same dog twice. As a result, the swaps market appears to be rising in about a 35% chance of a 15 bp move that would bring the base rate up to 25 bp.  Sterling dropped almost 1.4% (or nearly two cents) on November 4, the most since September 2020 when the BOE failed to deliver the hike that the market thought the BOE had signaled.   The combination of a strong dollar and the Fed tapering weighed emerging market currencies as a whole.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index fell by about 4.5% in November, its third consecutive monthly decline, bringing the year-to-date loss to almost 10%.  It fell roughly 5.7% in 2020.  Turkey took the cake, though, with the lira falling nearly 30% on the month.  It had depreciated by 15% in the first ten months of the year.  This follows a 20% depreciation last year.  Ten years ago, a dollar would buy about 1.9 lira.  Now it can buy more than 13 lira.  The euro's weakness was a drag, and the geopolitical developments (e.g., Ukraine, Belarus) weighed on central European currencies. The central bank of Hungary turned more aggressive by hiking the one-week deposit rate by 110 bp (in two steps) after the 30 bp hike in the base rate failed to have much impact.  The forint's 3.1% loss was the most among EU members.   Colombian peso was the weakest currency in Latam, depreciating by almost 5%. It was not rewarded for delivering a larger than expected 50 bp rate hike in late October.  Bannockburn's GDP-weighted global currency index (BWCI) fell by nearly 1% in November, the largest monthly decline since June.  It reflected the decline of the world's largest currencies against the dollar.  Three currencies in the index proved resilient  On the GDP-weighted basis, China has immense gravity, with a 21.8% weighting (the six largest EM economies, including China, account for a 32.5% of the BWCI). It appreciated by about two-thirds of a percent. The Brazilian real managed to rise (~0.25%) too.  Since the day before the Omicron variant was sequenced, the Japanese yen gained a little more than 2%, reversing the earlier decline that had brought it to four-year lows.  It rose by  0.7% in November, making it the strongest currency in the index.  Among the major currencies, the Australian dollar fell the most, declining about 5.2%.  The Canadian dollar was next, with around a 3% loss.   As it turns out, the dollar (Dollar Index) recorded its low for the year as shocking events were unfolding in Washington on January 6.  The bottomed against the yen and euro the same day.   The greenback did not bottom against the Australian dollar until February, but it took it until early June to put in a low against sterling and the Canadian dollar.  The BWCI peaked in early June and, by the end of last month, had retreated by about 2.7%.  We suspect it may decline by another 2%, which would return it the levels of late 2019.  That, in turn, implies the risk of a stronger dollar into the first part of next year.     Dollar:  The jump in US CPI to above 6%, and a strong sense that it is not the peak, spurred speculation that the Federal Reserve would likely accelerate the pace of tapering at the December meeting. Several Fed officials seemed sympathetic, including San Francisco President Daly, who is perceived to be a dove. The minutes of the November meeting underscored the central bank's flexibility over the pace of tapering.  At the same time, most of the high-frequency data for October came in stronger than expected, lending credence to ideas that after a disappointing Q3, the world's largest economy is accelerating again in Q4.  The divergence of monetary policy and the subsequent widening interest rate differentials is the primary driver of expectations for dollar appreciation against the euro and yen.  The market had been leaning toward three rates hikes in 2022 before news of the new Covid mutation emerged and trimmed the odds.  Powell was renominated for a second term at the helm of the Federal Reserve, Brainard was nominated to be Vice-Chairman.  There is still the Vice-Chair for supervision and an empty governor seat for President to Biden to fill.  In addition to the changes in leadership, the rotation of the voting members of the FOMC brings in a somewhat more hawkish bias next year.   Euro:  In contrast with the US, eurozone growth is set to slow in Q4. After two quarters that growth exceeded 2% quarter-over-quarter, growth is likely to moderate to below 1% in Q4 21 and Q1 22.  Food and energy are driving inflation higher.  The EC continues to negotiate with the UK over changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.  The dispute over fishing licenses and migrant crossing of the channel are also unresolved sources of tension with the UK. Tensions between the EC and Poland/Hungary over the rule of law, judicial independence, and civil liberties have also not been settled.  As was the case in the spring, Russia's troop and artillery movement threatened Ukraine, though the tension on the Poland/Belarus border has eased.  The ECB's leadership continues to maintain the price pressures are related to the unusual set of circumstances but are ultimately temporary.  Its December 16 meeting, the last one before Bundesbank President Weidmann steps down, is critical. In addition to confirming the end of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program in March 2022, and the expansion of the Asset Purchase Program, the ECB staff will update its inflation forecasts.  The focus here is on the 2023 CPI projection of 1.5%.  There was a push back against it in September, and a slight upward revision is likely. Nevertheless, it will probably remain below the 2% target.  The swaps market is pricing in a 25 bp hike in 2023.   (November indicative closing prices, previous in parentheses)   Spot: $1.1335 ($1.1560) Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast $1.1375 ($1.1579)  One-month forward  $1.1350 ($1.1568)    One-month implied vol  7.1%  (5.1%)         Japanese Yen:  Japan has a new prime minister who has put together a large fiscal stimulus package that will help fuel the economic recovery that had begun getting traction since the formal state of emergency was lifted at the end of September.  After a frustratingly slow start, the inoculation efforts have started bearing fruit, with vaccination rates surpassing the US and many European countries.  Unlike most other high-income countries, Japan continues to experience deflationary pressures.  Food and energy prices may be concealing it in the CPI measure, but the GDP deflator in Q2 and Q3 was  -1.1%. However, the BOJ does not seem inclined to take additional measures and has reduced its equity and bond-buying efforts.  The exchange rate remains sensitive to the movement of the US 10-year note yield, which has chopped mostly between 1.50% and 1.70%. With a couple of exceptions in both directions, the greenback has traded in a JPY113-JPY115 range.  The emergence of the new Covid mutation turned the dollar back after threatening to break higher.  A convincing move above the JPY115.50 area would likely coincide with higher US rates and initially target the JPY118 area.    Spot: JPY113.10 (JPY113.95)       Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast JPY113.30 (JPY112.98)      One-month forward JPY113.00 (JPY113.90)    One-month implied vol  8.2% (6.4%)   British Pound:  Sterling never fully recovered from disappointment that the Bank of England did not hike rates in early November.  Market participants had understood the hawkish rhetoric, including by Governor Bailey, to signal a hike.  The implied yield of the December 2021 short-sterling interest rate futures plummeted by 30 bp by the end of the month, and sterling has not seen $1.36, let alone $1.37, since then.  Indeed, sterling chopped lower and recorded new lows for the year in late November near $1.3200.  Growth in the UK peaked in Q2 at 5.5% as it recovered from the Q1 contraction.  It slowed to a 1.3% pace in Q3 and looks to be slowing a bit more here in Q4.  The petty corruption scandals and ill-conceived speeches by Prime Minister Johnson have seen Labour move ahead in some recent polls.  An election does not need to be called until May 2024, but the flagging support may spur a cabinet reshuffle.  The next important chart point is not until around $1.3165 and then the $1.30 area, which holds primarily psychological significance.       Spot: $1.3300 ($1.3682)    Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast $1.3375 ($1.3691)  One-month forward $1.3315 ($1.3680)   One-month implied vol 7.5% (6.8%)      Canadian Dollar:  The Canadian dollar appreciated by almost 2.4% in October and gave it all back, plus some in November.  Indeed, the loss was sufficient to push it fractionally lower for the year (-0.4%), though it remains the best performing major currency against the US dollar.   The three major drivers of the exchange rate moved against the Canadian dollar last month.  First, its two-year premium over the US narrowed by 17 bp, the most in four years.  Second, the price of January WTI tumbled by around 18.2%.  Commodity prices fell more broadly, and the CRB Index snapped a seven-month rally with a 7.8% decline.  Third, the risk appetites faltered is reflected in the equity markets. The Delta Wave coupled with the new variant may disrupt growth.  Still, the swaps market has a little more than two hikes discounted over the next six months.   The government is winding down its emergency fiscal measures, but the spring budget and election promises mean that the fiscal consolidation next year will be soft.     Spot: CAD1.2775 (CAD 1.2388)  Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast CAD1.2685 (CAD1.2395) One-month forward CAD1.2770 (CAD1.2389)    One-month implied vol 7.2% (6.2%)      Australian Dollar:  The Australian dollar fell by more than 5% last month, slightly less than it did in March 2020.  It did not have an advancing week in November after rallying every week in October.  Australia's two-year premium over the US was chopped to less than 10 bp in November from nearly 28 bp at the end of October.  The Reserve Bank of Australia pushed back against aggressive rate hike speculation.   The unexpected loss of jobs in October for the third consecutive month took a toll on the Australian dollar, which proceeded to trend lower and recorded the low for the year on November 30, slightly below $0.7065.  A break of $0.7050 would initially target $0.7000, but convincing penetration could spur another 2-2.5-cent drop.  The 60-day rolling correlation between- changes in the Australian dollar and the CRB commodity index weakened from over 0.6% in October to below 0.4% in November. The correlation had begun recovering as the month drew to a close.       Spot:  $0.7125 ($0.7518)        Median Bloomberg One-Month Forecast $0.7195 ($0.7409)      One-month forward  $0.7135 ($0.7525)     One-month implied vol 9.7%  (9.1%)        Mexican Peso:  The broadly stronger US dollar and the prospects of more accelerated tapering weighed on emerging market currencies in November, but domestic considerations also weighed on the peso.   The Mexican peso fell by around 4.1%, the most since March 2020.  The economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.4% in Q3.  There is little fiscal support to speak of, while monetary policy is becoming less accommodative too slowly compared with some other emerging markets, such as Brazil.  Price pressures are still accelerating, and the bi-weekly CPI rose above 7% in mid-November. The swaps market discounts nearly a 25 bp hike a month for the next six months.  The government's policies, especially in the energy and service sectors, are not attractive to investors.  President AMLO dealt another blow to investor confidence by retracting the appointment of former Finance Minister Herrera for his deputy to head up the central bank starting in January.  This is seen potentially undermining one of the most credible institutions in Mexico.  Lastly, Mexico's trade balance has deteriorated sharply in recent months and through October has recorded an average monthly trade deficit of nearly $1.2 bln this year.  In the same period, in 2020, it enjoyed an average monthly surplus of almost $2.5 bln, and in the first ten months of 2019, the average monthly trade surplus was a little more than $150 mln.     Spot: MXN21.46 (MXN20.56)   Median Bloomberg One-Month Forecast  MXN21.23 (MXN20.42)   One-month forward  MXN21.60 (MXN20.65)     One-month implied vol 14.9% (9.6%)      Chinese Yuan:  The Chinese yuan has been remarkably stable against the US dollar, and given the greenback's strength, it means the yuan has appreciated sharply on a trade-weighted basis.  Going into the last month of the year, the yuan's 2.6% gain this year is the best in the world.  Chinese officials have signaled their displeasure with what it sees as a one-way market.  At best, it has orchestrated a broadly sideways exchange rate against the dollar, mainly between CNY6.37 and CNY6.40. The lower end of the dollar's range was under pressure as November drew to a close.   Even though the Chinese economy is likely to accelerate from the near-stagnation in Q3 (0.2% quarter-over-quarter GDP), it remains sufficiently weak that the PBOC is expected to consider new stimulative measures.  It last reduced reserves requirements in July, and this seems to be the preferred avenue rather than rate cuts.  Yet, given the interest rate premium (the 10-year yield is around 2.85%), record trade surpluses ($84.5 bln in October), portfolio inflows, and limited outflows, one would normally expect a stronger upward pressure on the exchange rate.    Spot: CNY6.3645 (CNY6.4055) Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast  CNY6.38 (CNY6.4430)  One-month forward CNY6.3860 (CNY6.4230)    One-month implied vol  3.5% (3.5%)    Disclaimer
Sundial Growers News and Forecast: SNDL back up in premarket after devastating 9% drop

Sundial Growers News and Forecast: SNDL back up in premarket after devastating 9% drop

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.12.2021 17:11
SNDL shares fell 9% on Wednesday as the entire sector becomes less attractive. Sundial is still up 19% YTD but down 41% since November 12 high. Indiana and Germany mull further legalization. Sundial Growers (SNDL) stock dropped another 9% to $0.5655 on Wednesday. This arrives after the 2.1% fall in Tuesday's session. SNDL stock has dropped 41% since mid-November's range high, which was a product of better than expected Q3 earnings. The cannabis grower and distributor saw its stock rebound 2.7% to $0.5810 in Thursday's premarket. Sundial Growers (SNDL) Stock News: Indiana, Germany next on the list for possible legalization The Indiana Democratic Party has announced its intent to push for the legalization of cannabis on both the medical and recreational front. As such, it is holding the first of several community meetings in the Midwest state next week to receive public input. Germany's new coalitional government has signalled in recent days that it intends to legalize cannabis for recreational use. The central European country is already the world's largest medical marijuana market. Kentucky State Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D) has filed bills that would work to legalize cannabis in her state. The first bill would decriminalize the growing and sale of small amounts of marijuana. The second bill would allow those over 21 years of age to possess, buy or sell up to one ounce of marijuana and grow as many as five plants for personal use. There is no word yet on whether or not the newfound takeover king of Canada's cannabis industry will announce yet another acquisition. Since the beginning of the year, Sundial has used its own shares to buy up multiple assets. It began the year by acquiring cannabis retailer Inner Spirit for C$131 million. It bought Canadian liquor distributor Alcanna for C$346 million. Alcanna owns two-thirds of Nova Cannabis, a retail operation that should drive future revenue growth. Nova Cannabis owns more than 60 cannabis retail shops in Canada. With more than C$500 million still on its balance sheet, many observers think the shopping spree is not yet over as Sundial seeks to grow itself via acquisition. If Sundial again issued new shares to pay for another acquisition instead of its cash, then-current investors would be even further diluted. This concern may be driving the current sell-off in the share price. SNDL key statistics Market Cap $1.2 billion Price/Earnings 5 Price/Sales 25 Price/Book 1 Enterprise Value $737 million Operating Margin -142% Profit Margin 0% 52-week high $3.96 52-week low $0.42 Short Interest 15% Average Wall Street Rating and Price Target Hold, $1.01   Sundial Growers (SNDL) Stock Forecast: Stock price headed to $0.50 On Wednesday, SNDL shares broke through long-term support from October 6 just above $0.61. This means the stock has little if any support until $0.50. From Wednesday's story: "If SNDL breaks this level to close below $0.60, then $0.50 is the next support. The stock danced around this level from December 2019 through January 2020. Tuesday saw a brief low below October 6, so expect the break lower to happen again." Though the stock is up about 2.7% in the premarket on Thursday, FXStreet expects it to keep tumbling. The 20-day moving average crossed over the 9-day moving average at $0.71 on Monday, meaning that level is the price to beat in order for bulls to ride to the rescue. Above here is only the mid-November swing high at $0.95 where the stock faced resistance two sessions in a row. XCAN, the S&P/TSX Cannabis Index, is down 34% year to date, while SNDL is up 17%. SNDL 1-day chart
Hawks Triumph, Doves Lose, Gold Bulls Cry!

Hawks Triumph, Doves Lose, Gold Bulls Cry!

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 02.12.2021 17:20
The hawkish revolution continues. Powell, among the screams of monetary doves, suggested this week that tapering could be accelerated in December! People live unaware that an epic battle between good and evil, the light and dark side of the Force, hard-working entrepreneurs and tax officials is waged every day. What’s more, hawks and doves constantly fight as well, and this week brought a victory for the hawks among the FOMC. The triumph came on Tuesday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified before Congress. He admitted that inflation wasn’t “transitory”, as it is only expected to ease in the second half of 2022. Inflation is therefore more persistent and broad-based than the Fed stubbornly maintained earlier this year, contrary to evidence and common sense: Generally, the higher prices we’re seeing are related to the supply and demand imbalances that can be traced directly back to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy. But it’s also the case that price increases have spread much more broadly and I think the risk of higher inflation has increased. Importantly, Powell also agreed that “it’s probably a good time to retire that word.” You don’t say! Hence, the Fed was wrong, and I was right. Hurray! However, it’s a Pyrrhic victory for gold bulls. This is because the recognition of the persistence of inflation pushes the Fed toward a more hawkish position. Indeed, Powell suggested that the FOMC participants could discuss speeding up the taper of quantitative easing in December: At this point the economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high and it is therefore appropriate, in my view, to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner, and I expect that we will discuss that at our upcoming meeting in a couple of weeks. What’s more, Powell seemed to be unaffected by the Omicron coronavirus strain news. He was a bit concerned, but not about its disturbing impact on the demand side of the economy; he found supply-chain disruptions that could intensify inflation way more important. That’s yet another manifestation of Powell’s hawkish stance.   Implications for Gold What does the Fed’s hawkish tilt imply for the gold market? Well, gold bulls get along with doves, not hawks. A more aggressive tightening cycle, including faster tapering of asset purchases, could boost expectations of more decisive interest rates hikes. In turn, the prospects of a more hawkish Fed could increase the bond yields and strengthen the US dollar. All this sounds bearish for gold. Indeed, the London price of gold dropped on Wednesday below $1,800… again, as the chart above shows. Hence, gold’s inability to stay above $1,800 is disappointing, especially in the face of high inflation and market uncertainty. Investors seem to have once again believed that the Fed will be curbing inflation. Well, that’s possible, but my claim is that despite a likely acceleration in the pace of the taper, inflation will remain high for a while. I bet that despite the recent hawkish tilt, the Fed will stay behind the curve. This means that the real interest rates should stay negative, providing support for gold prices. The previous tightening cycle brought the federal funds rate to 2.25-2.5%, and we know that after an economic crisis, interest rates never return to the pre-crisis level. This is also what the euro-dollar futures suggests: that the upcoming rate hike cycle will end below 2%. The level of indebtedness and financial markets’ addiction to easy money simply do not allow the Fed to undertake more aggressive actions. Will gold struggle in the upcoming months then? Yes. Gold bulls could cry. But remember: tears cleanse and create more room for joy in the future. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Bitcoin's downtrend is a sign of market maturity

Bitcoin's downtrend is a sign of market maturity

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 02.12.2021 10:19
Over the past 24 hours, cryptocurrency market capitalisation has fallen by 1.8% to $2.59 trillion, with bitcoin losing only 0.5% to $56.7K. On bitcoin's daily charts, the RSI index remains in the lower half of the scale, at 45. The 50-day moving average is now at $60.7K and the 200-day at $48.2K, both moving horizontally. On balance, this means that Bitcoin is in a medium-term decline phase but is still on a long-term bull phase. Locally, a steady sequence of lower highs and lower lows has been forming in Bitcoin since the 17th of November. The intraday charts clearly show BTCUSD bouncing back from increasingly lower levels. And this is a serious reason to think about selling by the big players. The cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index lost one point, declining to 32. The market failed to pick up the pace of the recovery and use fear as a reason to buy because of the negative stock market dynamics. Players rushed to lock in some of the profits in those coins that had been rising ahead of the recent gains. As a result, ETHUSD lost 4% over 24 hours, Binance Coin -1.4% and Polkadot -5.6%. Despite the latest downtick, the cryptocurrency market continues to distance itself from the situation in traditional financials without going into a deeper profit correction mode. The local downtrend in BTCUSD, if not accelerated in the coming days, promises to be a sign of a healthy maturity of the market without hurting it. Cryptocurrency investors are becoming more sophisticated, viewing the sector as a business rather than a capital-savings vehicle or casino, where a bet played can multiply an investment.
Technical Breakdown of the Stock Market by PR

Markets ignore upbeat NFP as pressure increases on FED

Walid Koudmani Walid Koudmani 05.11.2021 13:40
The highly anticipated US NFP report came in slightly above expectations at 531K vs 455K and showed Average Hourly Earnings m/m change of 0,4% confirming the ADP report which indicated an increase of over 500K earlier this week. Stock indices in Europe and US futures were trading higher ahead of the US jobs data release and have managed to maintain their gains as they hover around all time highs. Furthermore, the US dollar continues to be one of the best performing currencies with GPBUSD pair reaching the lowest level in over a month after the BoE decided to leave rates unchanged in its most recent meeting. The report comes after the FED's announcement of QE tapering which also did not have a significant impact on stocks, as it was mostly priced in. On the other hand, today's NFP could highlight the importance of macro data for the central bank and may lead to discussions related to rate hikes in the near future, as Powell stressed the significance of wage data on potential future changes in policy. In either case, the FED will be under increasing pressure to reassure markets against the risks of what it has maintained is "transitory" inflation as other central banks begin to take steps to adjust fiscal and monetary policy. Download our Mobile Trading App:   Google Play   App Store
RBA Jettisons Yield Curve Control but Continues to Resist Market Pressure

RBA Jettisons Yield Curve Control but Continues to Resist Market Pressure

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 03.11.2021 10:54
Overview: The third record close of the S&P 500 failed to lift Asia Pacific and European shares today.  In Asia, the large bourses fell, except South Korea, which rallied a little more than 1%.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is threatening to snap a three-day advance, while US index futures are soft.  The US 10-year yield is firm, around 1.56%.  European bonds are rallying.  Peripheral yields are off 8-9 bp, while core rates are 3-5 lower.  The Reserve Bank of Australia formally abandoned its yield-curve control, and the local debt market was quiet, but the Australian dollar is selling off and dragging the other dollar-bloc currencies lower.  Only the yen, among the majors, is gaining on the greenback.  Emerging market currencies are faring better, led by Asian currencies and most central and eastern European currencies.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is rising for the first time in five sessions.  Gold continues to consolidate within the range set before the weekend (~$1771-$1801) but is a bit softer on the day.  Oil prices are firm, and the December WTI contract is at the upper end of the $80-$85 range that has prevailed since mid-October.  Copper initially moved higher but reversed lower, and a break of $432 could signal another two percent decline.   Asia Pacific The Reserve Bank of Australia formally jettisoned its yield-curve control of targeting the April 2024 bond yield at 10 bp.  The market expected this after the RBA had been missing in action as the yield soared.  Today, the on-the-run 3-year yield fell six basis points after falling 21 yesterday.  It has now returned below 1%.  Governor Lowe did not fully capitulate but is trying to hold on to a middle ground.  He said the central bank will be patient on rates, and it is still plausible not to raise rates until 2024. However, he acknowledged rates could be lifted in 2023.  The swaps market is pricing in almost 80 bp of tightening over the next 12 months, with a 10 bp hike seen in six months.   European and American equities have recovered from the wobble in mid-September that sparked fear that Evergrande's losses would trigger a Lehman-like event.  Yet, the problem with Chinese property developers continues, even though Evergrande took advantage of its 30-day grace period, it serviced its debt.  China's high yield bond market is dominated by the property development sector.  The yields rose for eight consecutive sessions through yesterday and briefly rose above 20% last week.  Estimate debt servicing costs amount to around $2 bln this month.  House sales and prices are falling, a separate challenge to the economy than the energy crunch and high commodity prices.  It is still unclear whether Chinese officials are prepared to take more decisive action to support the economy, like a cut in reserve requirements.  New economic initiatives may emerge from the Communist Party's Central Committee meeting (November 8-11).  Officially it will focus on the achievements in preparation for the 20th Congress next year that will likely confirm another term for President Xi but possibly shuffle other senior posts.   The dollar rose to almost JPY114.45 yesterday and has come back offered today.  It has slipped below the 20-day moving average (~JPY113.55) for the first time since September 23.  Last week's low was closer to JPY113.25.  A break of JPY113.00 could signal losses toward JPY112.60 initially.  The price action is lending credence to the JPY114.50-JPY115.00 being the top of the new range. The lower end of the range is less clear.  The Australian dollar's 4% rally led the majors last month, but it stalled near the 200-day moving average (~$0.7555) and is breaking down today.  It has taken out last week's lows (~$0.7465) marginally, but the downside momentum has continued in the European morning.  There is near-term scope toward $0.7435 and maybe $0.7410.   The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.4009, firmer than the median (Bloomberg) forecast of CNY6.3986. The gap was slightly wider than it has been.  The last time the gap was more than 20 pips was October 20. So if it is a protest, it is still faint. Meanwhile, stricter virus curbs took a toll on Chinese equities. The greenback has risen above CNY6.40 on an intraday basis but continues to struggle to sustain it on a closing basis.   Europe The EMU final manufacturing PMI was slightly lower than the preliminary estimate, owing to a softer than expected Spain reading and a downward revision in Germany.  The aggregate stands at 58.3, down from 58.5 initially and 58.6.  It is the fourth consecutive decline, but it can hardly be considered weak.  Germany's manufacturing PMI was lowered to 57.8 from the 58.2 preliminary projection and 58.4 in September.  The French reading was tweaked up to 53.6 from 53.5.  It is still down from 55.0 and is the fifth straight loss.  Spain disappointed with a 57.4 report.  It was projected to be unchanged at 58.1, which seemed optimistic from the get-go.  Italy offered an upside surprise.  Its manufacturing PMI rose to 61.1 from 59.7.  Economists had expected some slippage.   Some pressure on the euro appeared to be coming from the cross against the Swiss franc.  Since the Fed met in September through the end of last week, the euro fell about 3.35% against the franc. Sight deposits rose steadily in October after falling in the first half of September.  Last week's increase was the most in two months as the euro broke below CHF1.08 for the first time since  May 2020. The rise in sight deposits is consistent with stepped-up intervention by the Swiss National Bank.  Yesterday, the euro fell against the Swiss franc, even as it rose against the dollar.  Clearly, the intervention is not arresting the euro's weakness. SNB is more likely moderating the decline.   Moreover, if the SNB also seeks to maintain a certain currency allocation of its reserves, it needs to acquire dollars after acquiring euros.  And if it does not want to grow reserves like Japan or China, it will sell some of the euros for dollars, minimizing the intervention effect on reserve accumulation.  The value of the SNB's reserves declined slightly in the year through September.    The pace of the euro's decline against the franc has accelerated in the past two sessions and closed below the lower Bollinger Band (two standard deviations below the 20-day moving average) for the second consecutive session.  Last year's low was set near CHF1.05 and yesterday, the euro pushed briefly through CHF1.0550.  It is now near CHF1.0570. The next technical support may be around CHF1.0250. However, speculators in the futures market see it differently.   They have the largest net short franc position (~19.3k contracts) since December 2019 and the smallest gross longs (~1245 contacts) since 2003.   French President Macron is holding back from imposing retaliatory measures against the UK over the fishing license dispute.  Reports suggest that Jersey is considering granting temporary licenses to French trawlers.  Separately, despite some confusing gas flows yesterday (from Germany to Poland), Russia says Putin's promise to boost gas shipment to Europe starting next week, after Gazprom completely rebuilding its domestic inventories, remains intact.  Look for results shortly of the auctions for pipeline capacity.   After falling a little more than 1% before the weekend, the euro bounced back yesterday and managed to close above $1.16. Follow-through buying was limited to about $1.1615, but it has struggled to sustain the positive momentum.  There is an option for 1.8 bln euros at $1.1585 that expires today.  A break signals a test on nearby support seen in the $1.1540-$1.1560 area.  Last week's low was about $1.1535, and the year's low is closer to $1.1525.  Sterling is off for the third consecutive session.  It reached $1.3630, the lowest level since October 14, which is about the (50%) retracement objective of last month's rally.  Some sales may have been related to the GBP316 mln option at $1.3650 that expires today.  The next (61.8%) retracement is by $1.3575.  America Today is the quietest day of the week for North American economic data. However, there is one feature, monthly autos sales.  Due to the supply chain disruptions, especially semiconductor chips, auto production has been crushed, and by extension, auto sales.  This is not limited to the US by any means.   Yesterday, Japan reported that October auto sales are off slightly more than 30% year-over-year in October. European auto registrations, a proxy for sales, were down 23.1% year-over-year in September.  Last week's Q3 GDP showed that growth was halved to 4% but the problems in the auto sector.  In September, US auto sales were about 25.5% below September 2020 sales.  Bloomberg's survey found a median forecast for October sales of 12.5 mln vehicles (seasonally adjusted annual basis), which would be the first increase since April.  Cox Automotive warns of another decline to 11.8 mln vehicles. The US Treasury unexpectedly boosted its Q4 borrowing needs to about $1.02 trillion, or around $312 bln more than it anticipated in August.  It appears to be largely a function of adjusting its cash balances and the calculations around the debt ceiling.  It is projecting Q1 22 borrowing needs at less than half of the Q4 sum.  Of course, it is assuming that the debt ceiling will be raised or suspended. Still, tomorrow's quarterly refunding announcement is expected to reduce its coupon offerings for the first time since 2016.  Separately, but not totally unrelated, the Democratic Party is still struggling to agree on the infrastructure initiative.   The US dollar continues to consolidate against the Canadian dollar but is enjoying a firmer tone today.  The Bank of Canada met on October 27, and it surprised the market by ending its bond-buying program and acknowledging the risk of an earlier hike.  The US dollar covered a range of roughly CAD1.2300 to CAD1.2435.  It has remained in that range since then. We note that speculators in the futures market switched to a net long position for the first time since early September in the week through last Tuesday.  The greenback is knocking on initial resistance in the CAD1.2400-CAD1.2410 area, and a break could signal a move toward CAD1.2430-CAD1.2450.  An option for about $900 mln expires tomorrow at CAD1.2450.  The greenback has a five-day rally in tow against the Mexican peso.  Earlier today, it pushed above last month's high (~MXN20.90), but it has stalled.  It is trading little changed on the session around MXN20.8500 as the North American session is about to start.   Still, unless it can break below MXN20.80, we look for higher levels.  That said, the pace of the dollar's rally is threatening the upper Bollinger Band (~MXN20.95)
Considering Portfolios In Times Of, Among Others, Inflation...

Profit-Taking on Dollar Longs after Better than Expected Jobs Report Sets Stage Until CPI

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 08.11.2021 09:57
The US dollar turned in a solid week's performance, rising against most currencies and recording a marginal new high for the year against the euro.  Sterling and the Australian dollar competed for the worst performer.  Both central banks pushed against market expectations for aggressive near-term tightening.  The central banks triggered a short squeeze in the bond market, where 10-year benchmark yields from 10 bp in the US to 34 bp in Italy.  UK 10-year Gilts and French Oats yields fell nearly 22 bp.  Germany lagged with an almost 18 bp decline.  The speculative market had its largest net short Treasury note futures position since March 2020.  It has swung from its largest net long position in four years (~181k contracts) in early October to a net short position of almost 270k as of November 2.  The macro focus shifts back to inflation next week with American and Chinese reports.  Rising inflation in the world's two largest economies may arrest the rally in the bond markets. We anticipated the dollar to move broadly higher this month, and the move we envision does not appear over.  However, important support has been approached in a sharp thrust that has penetrated Bollinger Bands, suggesting some patience may be needed.  The dollar did close relatively softly, especially given the stronger than expected employment report.   Dollar Index: A new high for the year was recorded after the employment report was slightly above 94.60.  The momentum indicators are trending higher, and the five-day moving average crossed back above the 20-day moving average.  Recall that the 94.50 area is (38.2%) retracement of the sell-off since the March 2020 peak (~103).  The high from last September was closer to 94.75, but above there, nothing stands out until the 95.70-96.10 band. Yet ahead of the weekend, it finished poorly and formed a potential bearish shooting star candlestick.  Initial support is seen around 93.80.   Euro:   The single currency was virtually flat last week, but it does not hide the fact that a new low for the year (~$1.1515) was recorded.  The MACD and Slow Stochastic are moving lower, and the price action has been poor.  The $1.1490 area corresponds to the (50%) retracement objective of the rally from the March 2020 low (~$1.0635).  The next retracement (61.8%) is found a little below $1.13.  The euro finished on a firm note near session highs, suggesting scope for some corrective gains at the start of the new week. The new momentum shorts are frustrated with the lack of follow-through and maybe in weak hands.  A close above $1.1620 would lift the technical tone.  Japanese Yen:  The Japanese yen was the strongest of the major currencies, gaining an inconsequential 0.25% against the dollar.  The decline in US rates helped drag the dollar lower against the yen.  In terms of market positioning, short-yen carry trades had become momentum trades, too and the unwind was also supportive of the yen.   The dollar-yen exchange rate continues to track US 10-year yields.  The 10-year yield fell below 1.50% for the first time in a month ahead of the weekend, and the dollar made a new low for the week near JPY113.30.  Recall that in the big picture, we have suggested a range-trading affair between around JPY113.00 and JPY114.50-JPY115.00.  That still seems reasonable.  However, we note the dollar's momentum is flagging, and the five-day moving average slipped below the 20-day for the first time since late September.   The Slow Stochastic and MACD are trending lower.  A break of JPY113.00 signals the next leg down into the JPY112.00-JPY112.50 band.  British Pound: After the Bank of England confounded market expectations, sterling was spanked, falling more than 1% for only the second time this year (the other was on September 28, which arguably was more of a dollar move).  Expectations, partly facilitated by official comments, for tighter monetary policy spurred a roughly 4.3-cent rally in sterling last month.  If the BOE is saying, "sorrow about the mate, you misunderstood the conditionality and our job," it seems only fitting that sterling return to the late-September low near $1.3400.  It did so ahead of the weekend to $1.3425.  Ahead of the weekend, it settled below the lower Bollinger Band for the second consecutive session.  The momentum indicators are still falling. However, it managed to close near session highs, and a potential hammer candlestick may have been formed.  However, if $1.34 does not hold, it is difficult to find much chart support ahead of the $1.3165-$1.3200 area should $1.3400 be convincingly broken.  Canadian Dollar:  The Canadian dollar fared better than the other dollar-bloc currencies but still lost about 0.5% against the US dollar.  Since meeting the head and shoulders objective near CAD1.23, the US dollar has been consolidating and forming a rounded bottom.  The five-day moving average crossed back above the 20-day for the first time in a month.  The greenback finished the week bumping against the 200-day moving average (CAD1.2480), while the momentum indicators suggest there is more to come.  A retracement (38.2%) of the greenback's slide since September 20 high (~CAD1.29) is found near CAD1.2520, and the next retracement (50%) is slightly below the neckline of the head and shoulders pattern (~CAD1.2600).     Australian Dollar:  The Australian dollar's pullback has been more profound than the other majors.  It dropped almost 2.6% from the late October higher (~$0.7555), which was its best level since early July, and retraced half of last month's rally at the pre-weekend low (~$0.7360).  The momentum indicators are still falling, and the five and 20-day moving averages have crossed for the first time in nearly a month.  The next (61.8%) retracement target is closer to $0.7315.  Still, it closed firmly and with a possible bullish hammer candlestick, suggesting a bounce early next week is likely. The $0.7430-$0.7450 area may be the first important hurdle.  The Reserve Bank of Australia, like many other central banks, is emphasizing labor market developments in their forward guidance. Given the gap between what the RBA is saying (no hike likely until 2024) and what the market is saying (the swaps market implies nearly 70 bp of tightening over the next 12 months), next week's October jobs data may have greater impact.  Australia lost almost 285k jobs in August and September amid the lockdown.  A modest recovery is expected. In fact, the worst was probably in August. Full-time positions increased by almost 27k in September.   Mexican Peso:   The peso staged a brilliant recovery last week, but only after first falling to its lowest level since March.  The fall in US rates helped take pressure off the peso and emerging markets more broadly.  The strong US employment report bolstered risk appetites and lifted the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index, which had been lower on the week, ahead of the data.  The dovish FOMC tapering announcement saw the dollar record a key downside reversal against the peso by reversing lower after making new highs and closing below the previous session's low.  Modest follow-through selling pushed the dollar through the (61.8%) retracement objective (~MXN20.46) of the rally that had begun in late October (from ~MXN20.21), ahead of the FOMC meeting and jobs report.  Before the weekend, it settled at the lows for the week (~MXN20.30).  Initial support is seen near MXN20.20.  The central bank meets next week (November 11).  Most expect a 25 bp hike, but an acceleration in CPI last month ( to be reported on November 9) may boost the risk of a 50 bp move.   Chinese Yuan:  The yuan's 2% gain this year puts it in third place globally, behind the Russian ruble (4.5%) and the Canadian dollar (2.3%).  The yuan has drifted higher in recent weeks.  It has risen for the past three months for a cumulative gain of a little less than 1%.  For the past several weeks, the PBOC consistently set the dollar's reference rate above market expectations (median projection in Bloomberg's survey) but did not do so ahead of the weekend.  Last week the dollar traded quietly within the range seen in the past two weeks.  The dollar recorded four-month lows in October in front of CNY6.38.  Given the official penchant for stability, the issue now is the upper end of the range, and it seems to be CNY6.40-CNY6.41.  Since late September, the dollar has not settled above the 20-day moving average (~CNY6.4075), the middle of the Bollinger Bands.  China's 10-year bond yields peaked in mid-October near 3.05% and last week finished below 2.90% for the first time in several weeks. It is the only country whose 10-year yield has fallen this year (~25 bp).  The October inflation gauges are the market's focus, but trade and lending figures may generate more insight into the economic drivers.   Disclaimer
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Awaits Breakout - 03.12.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Awaits Breakout - 03.12.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.12.2021 09:42
XAUUSD tests key support Gold treads water as markets await US jobs data release. The metal remains under pressure after it failed to maintain bids above 1780. Sellers are testing the daily support at 1760. A bearish breakout would shatter hopes of a swift rebound and send the price to last September’s low at 1725. That move could then threaten the integrity of the uptrend on a longer timeframe. 1806 is a fresh resistance and sellers could be waiting to double down at a better price. On the upside, a bullish breakout may propel the metal to 1845. EURUSD attempts bullish reversal The euro recoups losses as traders reposition ahead of today’s nonfarm payrolls. A bullish RSI divergence indicates a slowdown in the bearish push. The pair has found support near June 2020’s lows around 1.1190. Then successive breaks above 1.1270 and 1.1370 have prompted short interests to bail, paving the way for a potential reversal. 1.1460 next to the 30-day moving average would be the target and its breach may turn sentiment around. 1.1240 is a key support to keep the rebound relevant. US 500 heads towards daily support The S&P 500 continues on its way down as investors jump ship amid the omicron scare. The latest rebound has been capped by 4650, a sign that the bears are in control of short-term price action. A combination of pessimism and lack of buying interest means that the index is stuck in a bearish spiral. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound as intraday sellers cover their positions. 4450 at the origin of a previous bullish breakout would be the next target. 4360 is a second line of defense that sits in a daily demand zone.
Bridge Too Far

Bridge Too Far

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.12.2021 16:36
S&P 500 gave up sharp intraday gains on the first Omicron patient in CA. Corona packing punch still, and sending TLT far above yesterday‘s highs while the dollar remained unchanged. That‘s as risk-off as can be on a little surprising headline – the key difference is though that the Fed doesn‘t have the back of buy the dippers this time. The accelerated taper noises coupled with demand destruction thanks to Omicron, is delivering an inflation repreive. Make no mistake though, should demand be choked off too hard, fresh stimulus would have to come – for now in the heat increasingly being turned on, practically all asset classes suffer to varying degrees. The market isn‘t yet at a stage of sniffing out fresh stimulus countering the destructive policy effects which are being felt currently. Economic activity around the world hasn‘t been hampered, but markets are willing to err on the pessimistic side. For now and still – only when the riskier debt instruments such as HYG turn up to deal with the prior downswing, would be a reason to cheer for animal spirits returning. That idea sounds though hollow at this time. The bears have the upper hand unless proven otherwise – that is, by a close in the 4670s. Which is what the title says... Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 breaking below the 50-day moving average, and taking time consolidating below, isn‘t bullish at all. The reversal was broad based, arguably hitting value more. Yes, market breadth is dismal. Credit Markets Positive HYG divergence is gone – the broad underperformance of S&P 500 must be reversed first to make stock market upswings trustworthy. It remains unclear how much would HYG be able to rebound when quality debt instruments cool off. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals weakness remains, but isn‘t convincing enough to short the market, no. The coming reversal to the upside would be ferocious, but we aren‘t there yet. Crude Oil Crude oil plunge is slowing down, and it‘s more than black gold that‘s looking for direction here – this concerns the commodities complex as such. I‘m looking for copper to show the way, and oil to follow. Copper Copper is sitting at a rising support line, undecided yet whether to take the Fed and Omicron threats seriously or not. It‘s wait and see for now, but the bullish side has the medium-term upper hand. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are cautious as well, but the bears are looking for an ambush – let‘s see how far they can get. Summary The ugly S&P 500 close concerns both value and tech – and there was no premarket upswing to speak of. The bears have the upper hand for today as markets look to be in the phase of sell first, ask questions later. Any reversal (in stocks or commodities) has to be accompanied by a credible upswing in riskier bonds, ideally with money coming out of the dollar as well. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
FX Update: Omicron whiplash for USDJPY

FX Update: Omicron whiplash for USDJPY

John Hardy John Hardy 29.11.2021 13:42
Forex 2021-11-29 13:00 4 minutes to read Summary:  The Friday meltdown in USDJPY and JPY crosses was all about position squaring as we had just come from a place of anticipating a more hawkish shift from central banks, particularly the US Fed. The sense of whiplash was most acute in USDJPY, which had just been up testing multi-year highs before the deleveraging across markets on the new omicron covid variant clouding the outlook. FX Trading focus: Narrative whiplash for JPY traders on omicron variant concerns The news of the new omicron variant of covid could not have come at a more difficult time for the market to absorb for at least two reasons. First, of course, was the poor liquidity when US markets were closed Thursday and only open part of Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Second was that we had just earlier the same week seen Fed Chair Powell and Brainard elevating the relative focus and position of grappling with inflation in their acceptance speeches, which had sent Fed rate hike expectations to new highs for the cycle early last week before the news hit. That ratcheting up of Fed rate anticipation had helped take USDJPY to new highs since early 2017 above 115.00 and EURUSD to new lows below 1.1200. But the positioning build-up in USDJPY has been far more extreme and the reaction in JPY crosses on Friday was fully in fitting with the JPY’s old status as a safe haven. Note that AUDJPY had its worst single-day drop since the heart of the pandemic outbreak panic in March of last year, while EURJPY has poked below the important 128.00 area that would suggest a break-down if the move holds. EURUSD rose sharply, as the sudden repricing of the Fed saw the EU-US yield spread tightening sharply, but the move would have to extend as far as 1.1500 to start having more profound technical implications. Has the market taken the news too far? That is not for me to judge, as it will take some time to assess the status of the reach of the current outbreak transmissibility, virulence and vaccine-evading characteristics of this new variant, all while real damage is being done as some countries are limiting travel, some merely from the areas where the new variant was discovered in southern Africa, while Japan has announced a full ban on inbound travel starting tomorrow. US President Biden will speak on the new variant later today. What does the best outcome look like? The omicron variant proves very transmissible, but is considerably milder and/or not particularly good at getting around the existing vaccines. Worst case involves some combination of significant vaccine evading characteristics and virulence that is anywhere similar to prior variants. I suspect that without immediate good news (real news surely requires at least a week from here?), the uncertainty could see risk-correlated trades dragged lower before things can improve, but a significant further deterioration in risk assets would likely require actual bad news emerging rather than merely an extension of the uncertainty. Regarding a timeline for learning more about the risks from the omicron variant, it’s best perhaps to admit that I have no clue, but a Reuters article suggests the major vaccine makers may be able to determine efficacy of existing vaccines in about two weeks. Chart: USDJPYWhile other JPY crosses were bigger movers on Friday, the technical development in USDJPY was the most remarkable, as it came off new cycle- and multi-year highs. The damage is significant locally, but would turn more severe if the 112.73 pivot low from October is broken and then goes on to challenge the more structurally significant 111.50-111.00 area. Source: Saxo Group Looking at the week ahead, we would normally be touting the importance of the next set of US survey numbers (November Consumer Confidence and November ISM Manufacturing on Wednesday and ISM Services on Friday) and November jobs and earnings numbers on Friday, but instead, we’ll have to juggle the ongoing news flow and headlines from the new virus variant and may have to file these data away for a later “pent-up” reaction if the omicron variant impact dissipates. Besides the US dollar and the JPY, I will watch all points on the US yield curve and risk sentiment measures closely for how the market is reading the situation. Powell is out today with opening remarks at some event - more interesting is testimony tomorrow, together with Treasury Secretary Yellen, on the policy response to the pandemic, which could see interesting exchanges on inflation, etc.  Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthThe JPY is in a very different place from where it was a week ago or even two trading sessions ago and looks to remain the high-beta currency to whether the virus news drags market sentiment. The SEK reading looks extreme, but difficult to fade in terms of picking levels – downside put spreads in EURSEK the cautious way to proceed for those interested in fading this move now rather than waiting for a reversal pattern to develop. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Talking trends is treacherous business when the market goes into headline reactivity mode, but note that USDJPY and CNHJPY turning negative (if they close lower today) would make it a clean sweep for the JPY across the board. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1300 – Germany Nov. Flash CPI 1330 – Canada Oct. Industrial Product Prices 1530 – US Nov. Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey 1715 – ECB President Lagarde to speak 2000 – US Fed’s Williams (voter) to speak 2005 – US Fed Chair Powell gives opening remarks at conference 2350 – Japan Oct. Industrial Production US President Biden to speak about omicron variant 0030 – Australia Oct. Building Approvals 0100 – China Nov. Manufacturing and Non-manufacturing PMI 0200 – Australia RBA’s Debelle to speak
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Accumulates Support

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Accumulates Support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.12.2021 08:58
USDCHF to test key support The US dollar stabilized after Jerome Powell hinted at speeding up the taper pace. The break below 0.9270 has put the rally on hold. The support has turned into resistance with the latest rebound fading. But a bullish divergence suggests a loss of momentum in the retracement as the price approaches 0.9140. Buying could be expected in this demand zone around November’s low 0.9100. Sentiment remains upbeat as long as the greenback is above this level. A bounce above 0.9270 may resume the uptrend. XAGUSD remains under pressure Silver struggled after US Treasury yields jumped on Fed’s hawkish tilt. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart indicates a deterioration in the market mood after a drop below the floor at 23.00. An oversold RSI caused a limited rebound which was then capped by 23.30. This was a sign that the bears were still in control of the direction. The psychological level of 22.00 is the next support. Its breach would lead to September’s lows at 21.50, an important level to keep the metal afloat in the medium term. USOIL tests major demand zone WTI crude inches higher as OPEC+ discuss whether to let additional output flow as previously planned. The price is hovering above a major demand zone between 62.00 and 64.00. A bullish RSI divergence indicates that the selling pressure might have eased. A rally above 71.20 could force the short side to cover and bring in more buying momentum. Then 76.00 would be the next hurdle before a full-blown recovery. On the downside, a bearish breakout could trigger a broader sell-off and potentially derail a 19-month long rally.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: ETH outperforming its peers, BTC struggles and XRP bearish

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: ETH outperforming its peers, BTC struggles and XRP bearish

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.12.2021 17:11
Bitcoin refrains from making new highs as Tuesday’s gap-fill kills uptrend continuation. Ethereum outpaces its peers by barely hitting new all-time highs. XRP price again looking for direction as investors interest wanes. The Bitcoin bull rally got stopped in its tracks this week after BTC price came under more pressure from the Omicron story, and the resulting market turmoil. Ethereum price, however, came just $16 away from making a new record high, making gains in contrast to the other two majors. XRP saw investors buying the dip, but the uptrend hit a wall and got stopped in its tracks. Bitcoin price on the backfoot after a slowdown that made it lose bullish momentum Bitcoin (BTC) price popped higher at the beginning of the week, shrugging off investors' concerns about the new Covid variant. On Monday, BTC price opened up much higher than where it closed on Sunday, forming a gap in the chart. As a general rule, gaps get filled sooner rather than later, and this was the case on Monday, when bulls saw their early gains lost as BTC price retraced to fill the gap. Bears have seized the opportunity to defend the new monthly pivot for December at $59,586, which coincides with the start of a Fibonacci retracement.. Evidence of this weakening can be found in the Relative Strength Index (RSI), dipping back below 50, showing that bullish demand is starting to wane. BTC/USD daily chart As a result of current market uncertainty, expect potential investors to stay on the sidelines. Although the red descending trend line has been broken a little, it still holds importance and investors will probably only step in following a break back above it, helped, perhaps, by breaking news about vaccine effectiveness against the new strain. Either that or investors will sit on their hands and wait for another bounce off $53.350. Should that level fail to hold, however, and there is more bad news, expect a quick 6% drop towards the $50,000 psychological level and previous historical support. At that level bulls will likely mount a defence against a further downturn. Ethereum price outpaces its peers and could make new highs by the end of this week Ethereum (ETH) price, unlike Bitcoin and XRP, saw bulls run a tight and steep rally from $4,000 towards $4,936 in just five days. That was in a troubled market-facing considerable headwinds. That said, bulls now need to keep a tight stop on current ETH price action in order for a bull trap not to form, after the pull-back on profit-taking that occurred in the wake of price barely hitting an all-time high. ETH quickly reversed from its highs on Wednesday and tested the December pivot at $4,481. That is just $16 above the historical technical level marked up on the chart from November 12. This is a level of great importance and it will be very interesting to see if bulls can maintain price action above it, perhaps, helped by a possible bounce off the red top line that has so far been successfully capping price action to the upside. ETH/USD daily chart That red descending trend line, on the other hand, should support a break below $4,465, but if bulls flee the scene, expect a bull trap to form and price to run down lower. The first support tested in that decline is the historical double top at $4,060, with the monthly S1 support level at $4,000 just below there. The correction could already hold 18% of accrued losses from the highs of Wednesday, which would attract investors interested in the buying opportunity at those levels. Ethereum prices breaks all resistance barriers, with $5,000 within sight XRP price sees bulls rejected at $1.05, pushing price back towards $0.88 Ripple (XRP) price saw sparks fly in a nice uptrend on Wednesday, but then hit a bump in the road after the $1.05 level held firmly, following two failed tests to the upside. The rejection that squeezed prices to the downside on Tuesday, probably washed out quite a lot of investors and technical traders, and caused the lack of momentum and drive in XRP price action to tackle that $1.05 resistance. As the price fades further to the downside today, expect current market uncertainty to weigh further on XRP and see a possible retest of the short-term double bottom at $0.88. XRP/USD daily chart On a retest of that double bottom, a break looks more than likely, as the level holds no historical or other significance. That would hand bears the opportunity to push XRP price down towards either $0.84, for the third test of support at that level, or breakthrough and run down to $0.80, which is a prominent figure and the level of the monthly S1 pivot support level, combined with a historical significant support level at $0.78, originating from June 8. This would provide the perfect zone for a fade-in trade for XRP traders. XRP price appears to develop nasty bear trap
The Greenback Finds Traction ahead of the Jobs Report

The Greenback Finds Traction ahead of the Jobs Report

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 03.12.2021 12:19
December 03, 2021  $USD, Australia, Canada, China, Currency Movement, EMU, FOMC, Inflation, Japan, jobs, UK Overview:  The Omicron variant has been detected in more countries, but the capital markets are taking it in stride.  Risk appetites appear to be stabilizing.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the third consecutive session, though Hong Kong and Taiwan markets did not participate in the advance today.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is struggling to hold on to early gains, while US futures are narrowly mixed.  The US 10-year yield is a little near 1.43%, down around six basis points this week.  European yields are slightly softer. Core yields are off 5-6 bp this week.  The dollar is firm ahead of the jobs data.  The Antipodeans and Swedish krona are the heaviest, falling around 0.6% through the European morning.  The Swiss franc and euro are up about 0.1% and are the most resilient so far today.   The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is trading lower for the third session and is set to extend its losing streak for the fourth consecutive week.  Accelerating inflation is the latest drag on the Turkish lira.  The 0.6% decline today brings the week's drop to around 10.5%.  Gold is little changed within yesterday's range.  Last week, it settled a little above $1802.  Now it is below $1775  Oil is extending yesterday's recovery. Although OPEC+  unexpectedly stuck with plans to boost output by 400,000 barrels a day next month, it warned it could change its collective mind at any point.  January WTI recovered from around $62.40 yesterday to close at $66.50.  It is trading close to $68.20 before US markets open.  US natural gas fell nearly 25.5% over the past four sessions but is bouncing by around 3.7% today. European gas (Dutch) is stabilizing after yesterday's 5.6% decline.  Still, it is posting gains for the fifth consecutive week and is up more than 35% over the run.  Iron ore and copper prices are little changed.   Asia Pacific At the same time that Chinese officials are cracking down on the "variable interest entity" form of offshore listings for domestic companies, the US SEC is moving to enforce the 2002 laws that require foreign companies to allow greater scrutiny by US regulators.  Didi, the ride-hailing service, which listed in the US over local official objections, is now in the process of reversing itself.  The press reports that China and Hong Kong companies are the only ones to refuse to acquiesce to US demands.  This seems to be another facet of the decoupling meme.  Note that the NASDAQ Golden Dragon Index that tracks 98 Chinese companies listed in the US has fallen for five consecutive sessions coming into today, for a cumulative loss of about 10%.  China's Caixin service PMI was weaker than anticipated at 52.1, down from 53.8.  This, coupled with the softer manufacturing reading, shaved the composite to 51.2 from 51.5.   In contrast, Japan and Australia's flash service and composite PMIs were revised higher.  In Japan, the service PMI was revised to 53.0 from 52.1 and 50.7 in October.  The composite was revised to 53.3 from 52.5, to rise for its third consecutive month.  Australia's service PMI stands at 55.7, up from the flash reading of 55.0 and 51.8 in October.  The composite PMI is at 55.7, its third consecutive monthly rise as well.  Japan and Australia's PMI contrasts with the disappointment in China and Europe, and the US. This is because they are recovering from the long emergency (Japan) and lockdowns (Australia).   Trading remains choppy, and market confidence is fragile.  The dollar remains in the range set against the yen on Tuesday((~JPY112.55-JPY113.90).  Today's high has been just below JPY113.50, where options for $520 mln expire today.   Options for around $1.3 bln at JPY113.00 also will be cut today.  The greenback settled last week slightly below JPY113.40.  The Australian dollar has been sold to new lows for the year a little lower than $0.7050.  We have noted that this area corresponds to the (38.2%) retracement of the Aussie's rally from the March 2020 low near $0.5500.  The next area of support is seen around $0.7000.  It is the fifth consecutive weekly decline that began in late October above $0.7500.  The US dollar's two-day rise against the Chinese yuan is ending with a minor loss today. Similarly, the greenback posted gains for the past two weeks and has given it all back this week.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3738, just below the median (Bloomberg survey) projection of CNY6.3740.   Offshore investors appear to have bought the most Chinese stocks today via the connect-link in a couple of weeks.  Also, note that China extended the tax exemption for foreign institutional investors from the interest tax through the end of 2025.    Europe German and French PMIs were revised lower, while Spain and Italy surprised on the upside.  The revisions shaved the gains initially reported for the service and composite PMIs.  Still, the German composite rose for the first time in four months to stand at 52.2 from 52.0.  The French composite PMI stands at 56.1, up from 54.7.  It is the first increase since June.  Separately, France reported a 0.9% rise in October industrial output, which is better than expected, but the September contraction was revised to -1.5% from -1.3%.   Spain's service PMI rose to \59.8 from 56.6 and was well above expectations.  The composite reading is 58.3, up from 56.2.  It is the first gain in five months and is the highest since August.  Italy's service PMI rose to 55.9 from 52.4.  Economists had expected something closer to 54.5.  The composite rose to 57.6 from 54.2.  It has softened in September and October, and the November reading is the best since August.   The UK's service and composite PMI were revised to show a slightly larger decline than initially seen in the flash report.  The service PMI slipped to 58.5, from 58.6 preliminary estimate and 59.1 in October.  The composite PMI was shaved to 57.6 from the 57.7 initial estimate and 57.8 in October.  The November weakness was disappointing after rising in September and October to snap a three-month decline.  The December short-sterling interest rate futures consolidated in a choppy activity this week after the implied yield fell for eight consecutive sessions previously.  The market is discounting about a 1 in 3 chance of a hike at the BOE meeting on December 16.  The euro slipped to a three-day low slightly above $1.1280 in late Asian turnover before resurfacing the $1.1300 area in the European morning.  Still, we suspect the upside is limited.  The 20-day moving average is near $1.1350, and the single currency has not traded above it since November 9.  The euro remains within the range set on Tuesday (~$1.1235-$1.1385).  Given the divergence of monetary policy, resistance looks stronger than support.  For its part, steering is holding barely above its three-day low near $1.3260.  It, too, remains within Tuesday's range (~$1.3195-$1.3370).  Recall that the $1.3165 area corresponds to the (38.2%) retracement objective of the rally from the March 2020 low near $1.14.  Meanwhile, the euro is pressing below CHF1.04.  It has not closed below there in six years.   America Fully cognizant of the irony here, but barring a shockingly poor report, today's US employment data may have little last impact on the market.  If there was any doubt about it before, since Federal Reserve Chair Powell spoke, there isn't.  The Fed has shifted from helping to facilitate recovery to preventing inflation expectations from getting entrenched.  That means that even a mediocre report today will be overshadowed by next week's CPI, which will likely show that inflation is still accelerating.  Conventional wisdom holds that the White House prefers doves at the Fed, but that does not hold now.  President Biden's public approval rating is low, and the Vice President's is lower still. Polls suggest that inflation is a knock against the administration.  When Biden announced the re-nomination of Powell and Brainard's nomination to Vice-Chair, both candidates reaffirmed their commitment to combat inflation.  What is true of the employment data also holds for the final services and composite PMI, factory orders, and the service ISM.  There may be headline risk but little implication for policy.  The Senate passed the stop-gap measures to keep the federal government funded through February 18.  Meanwhile, the debt ceiling is expected to hit between December 21 and late January.   Canada's labor market has recovered quicker than the US.  Today's another constructive report will likely solidify expectations that the Bank of Canada may hike rates in the March-April period.  The Bank of Canada meets next week.  Of course, it may be cautious with the unknowns surrounding the Omicron variant, but the economic recovery is solid after the weakness in Q2.  Trade tensions with the US are rising.  The US doubled its anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs on Canadian softwood imports (almost 18%).  US January lumber prices were limit up ($45) Wednesday and yesterday and have risen by more than 19% so far this week to reach five-month highs. There is a dispute over Canadian potato exports as well.  There are also disputes over some US initiatives' "Buy American" thrust, including electric vehicles.   The US dollar is at its best level against the Canadian dollar since late September.  It is pushing near CAD1.2840. The September high was closer to CAD1.29, and the late August high, which is also the high for the year, was near CAD1.2950. Barring a reversal, this will be the sixth consecutive week of the greenback's gains.  The swaps market has the first hike discounted for March 2022.  The US dollar began the week with a seven-day advance against the Mexican peso in tow.  It ended with a 1%+ pullback on Monday and again on Tuesday.  It consolidated Wednesday and fell another 1%+ yesterday.  It is little changed today near MXN21.29.  Next week, the November CPI will be reported.  It looks set to accelerate from about 6.25% to around 7.25%.  The central bank meets on December 16, after the FOMC meeting.  A 25 bp rate hike is the consensus, but an argument can be made for a 50 bp increase from the current 5.0% target.   Disclaimer
Ready, set, silver, go

Ready, set, silver, go

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 03.12.2021 12:56
The most obvious first step is: “How much?” Depending on your time horizon and if your approach is purely diversification for your overall portfolio, a percentage of total investment capital needs to be set. This percentage should be higher on a more aggressive wealth preservation strategy and higher expected returns on beating inflation. Another aspect is if silver is traded as the only hedge or alongside other precious metals. Silver already has a leverage factor in relationship to gold. For example, gold’s response to covid was a 37% up move, while silver moved up 80%. This volatility leverage works both ways, increasing the risk for silver if not purchased on low-risk entry points and traded with appropriate money management. We have pointed out various reasons why we find silver an extremely attractive play long term in this year’s chart book releases. Monthly chart (a week ago), Silver in US-Dollar, ready: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of November 26th, 2021. The above chart was posted in our last week’s publication. We wrote:” The monthly chart shows a high likelihood for November’s candle closing as an inverted hammer. Consequently, it provides for silver prices approaching the low end of the last 17-month sideways range near US$22.” Monthly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, set: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of December 3rd, 2021. We were spot on. The anticipated entry zone has been reached. We added to our physical holdings and shared the trade live in our free Telegram channel. Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart, silver: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of December 3rd, 2021. We asked, “how much?” and in what diversification, which leaves us with the question of what denomination. The rule of thumb is that the smaller the weight amount is and the more recognizable the brand, the higher the cost. In addition, valuable numismatic collector’s coins have premiums as well. Generally, we find the added cost of brand items (Canadian maple leaf, American eagles, Austrian Philharmonic, and alike) to be of value since it adds to liquidity at a time of sale. While we would stay away from the added cost of numismatic collectible coins, we find there to be value to have a mix of coins and larger bars to arrive at a reasonably low-cost basis with a high degree of liquidity at the time of sale (larger bars are harder to sell than one-ounce coins). The weekly chart above illustrates that as much as we have entered the “shopping zone” for silver, there is a probability that we might see a quick spike down as we have seen at the end of September. As pointed out in the previous chart book, the goal of physical acquisition should not be the ultimate lowest price but availability and execution itself. We make a point of this, especially since we noticed that physical acquisition prices have in percentage retraced much less than the spot price right here, and once the turn is complete, could proportionally faster jolt up. Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart, go: Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of December 3rd, 2021. It is essential to have an exit strategy in place before entry. These exit projections are necessary to measure risk/reward-ratios. Moreover, with the entire plan clear, there will be no debate while in the trade. This part of exit psychology is often overlooked, but a low-risk entry point alone does not provide a good strategy. We expect a price advance on silver within the next six to eight quarters to a price target of US$74.40! Significant profits allowing for an outstanding risk/reward-ratio. Ready, set, silver, go: Last week, we anticipated the market’s direction correctly and find ourselves now at the desired low-risk entry zone. With possible additional questions about physical acquisition answered today, we might have reduced doubt. The devil is in the details, and due to the various countries, their taxation law, and the wide variety of official precious metal dealers, we did not dive into the details on where to take possession of your possibly desired purchase.  Nevertheless, our multinational membership in our free Telegram channel might provide helpful information to your specific situation. We hope we have provided enough knowledge to erase doubt. We encourage participation since we see procrastination towards a wealth preservation strategy as the poorest choice in this challenging time for your hard-earned money. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|December 3rd, 2021|Tags: Crack-Up-Boom, Gold, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Brazilian Bovespa looks bottomed out

Brazilian Bovespa looks bottomed out

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 03.12.2021 13:34
Brazilian market index Bovespa earlier this week came close to the psychologically crucial round level 100,000, having lost around 23% from its peak six months ago. Despite this backdrop, the Brazilian market looks too depressed and is already showing some signs of recovery. Wednesday and Thursday's intraday dips met increasing demand with a noticeable 3.7% gain on Thursday. In addition, the Brazilian index outperforming its EM peers in recent days. The technical picture supports the idea of an imminent reversal to the upside or that it may have even already started yesterday. The RSI on the weekly charts has returned from the oversold territory - a signal of a potential rebound or reversal to growth. The divergence between the RSI and the index confirms the bullish sentiment, reflecting the reduced pressure on the Brazilian stocks. The positive dynamics of foreign indices are also on the buyers' side. Chinese indices have stopped falling since the beginning of the month, bouncing back from multi-month lows. US benchmarks gained support on Thursday, surfacing after briefly dipping below critical levels. Brazilian and many other markets look very attractive for downside buying without a principal reversal in US equities.
FX Update: EURCHF lower has been the Teflon trade

FX Update: EURCHF lower has been the Teflon trade

John Hardy John Hardy 03.12.2021 13:50
Forex 2021-12-03 13:28 4 minutes to read Summary:  A look across FX shows many of the usual suspects weakening with the recent bout of risk aversion, with commodity currencies near important levels versus the US dollar. While the JPY has traded erratically of late on conflicting themes and has not shown its safe haven status of yore, the Swiss franc has, managing to thrive when the focus is on inflation and when it is on weak risk sentiment as the SNB seems to have quietly stepped away from reining in franc strength. FX Trading focus: EURCHF lower has been the Teflon trade The most consistent trending pair in G10 FX of late has been the slide in EURCHF, which has even slipped below the prior six-plus-year low near 1.0500 over the last week. Remarkably, the pair has maintained its consistent ride lower through some remarkable jolts in the background, including the more hawkish shift from the Fed and the omicron news. This may suggest that the move is not being driven by strong speculative flows – which might have shown significant volatility in line with other currency pairs recently, but rather by consistent flows as the Swiss National Bank has apparently stepped away from the assumed stout defense of the 1.0500 level. The last two weeks of sight deposit data have shown no growth, i.e., no signs that the SNB is leaning against this move after doing so the prior four weeks. Also, when inflation fears dominate as they have at times recently, CHF strength is an easy way to avoid importing inflation without rocking the boat with monetary policy signals, while CHF strength is also a natural safe haven play when volatility spikes as it has in recent weeks. The consistent trend may be set to extend here, with parity in EURCHF a natural target. Elsewhere in FX, most of the smaller currencies are lining up on the usual risk-on, risk-off fault-lines, with commodities currencies and Scandies all weak as sentiment has softened again today, although it will be interesting to see if oil prices can make a stand after the reversal of the sharp sell-off yesterday despite nominally bearish news. Big next levels coming into view include 1.3000 in USDCAD and 0.7000 in AUDUSD. On the strong side, the EUR, USD and JPY are jockeying for the upper hand in addition to the strong CHF noted. The reaction function around today’s US jobs report (can a strong average hourly earnings add further energy to Fed upside expectations on top of an already momentous shift, and how much will residual omicron uncertainty hold back that pricing for now?). Chart: EURCHFEURCHF has weakened steadily since mid September in line with the weakening in EURUSD, but far more steadily than the latter, as this trend has managed to sustain through recent volatility elsewhere and shifting focus. The technical situation is without remarkable variation and there are no signs that the SNB is leaning against the move of late. Could the move extend all the way to within reach of parity? Source: Saxo Group Elsewhere, notable BoE hawk Michael Saunders was cautious sounding in comments today on the omicron variant uncertainty, prompting the sharp slide in sterling today. He said that the omicron development is a key consideration for whether to hike in December and sees some advantages in the BoE waiting for omicron data, which may sideline any hike potential at the December 16 meeting, with the market currently putting low odds on a move (difficult to measure – the idea has developed that the BoE will hike 15 bps to 0.25%, with about a 5-7 bps of hiking priced). Saunders still favors policy tightening soon and said today that the rate rise would be limited if the BoE gets going soon. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthThe impressive CHF rising nearly all the way to the top of the table here, as the left/right split of the G10 currencies is nearly perfect, with all of the five “smalls” in the red, most of them deeply so. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Plenty of bright orange readings in the daily ATR shadings – these indicate very significant volatility relative to the last 1000 trading days (top 10% ranking), , while it is interesting to note something like the EURUSD supermajor still trading with still quite low intraday volatility. AUDNZD is trying to flip back to negative, while USDCHF and USDJPY have yet to follow through lower after their recent flips to the negative in the “trend” reading. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1300 – ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane to speak 1330 – US Nov. Change in Nonfarm Payrolls 1330 – US Nov. Average Hourly Earnings 1330 – US Nov. Unemployment Rate 1330 – Canada Nov. Net Change in Employment 1330 – Canada Nov. Unemployment Rate 1415 – US Fed’s Bullard (voter in 2022) to speak 1500 – US Nov. ISM Services  1500 – US Nov. Factory Orders
Bubble stocks destruction continues with 30% plunge in DocuSign

Bubble stocks destruction continues with 30% plunge in DocuSign

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.12.2021 14:35
Equities 2021-12-03 14:15 7 minutes to readSummary:  As we have written about in several equity notes, the bubble stocks segment has been under enormous pressure this year and in recent weeks the destruction in market value has intensified at a blistering pace. The tailwind from the pandemic that has benefitted many technology companies is easing faster than expected and the worsening inflation outlook is making many growth investors wary of the future direction for interest rates which play an important role in equity valuations of growth stocks. We touch on DocuSign and its Q4 revenue miss last night which caused a 30% plunge in its shares underscoring the fragility in growth stocks with high expectations.The fallout in bubble stocks show importance of balanceIn yesterday’s equity note, we discussed bubble stocks and how this group of stocks have been under pressure since February as the pandemic tailwind on growth has eased and the inflation outlook has worsened causing markets to readjust their interest rate outlook. Low interest rates have been the key driver of excessive valuations in this bubble segment and now as the tide is turning investors are readjusting their exposure. As we move into 2022, we will reiterate our view on equities that we like semiconductors, commodity sector, logistics, cyber security, mega caps, financial trading companies (a play on interest rates and volatility), and battery, which most of them are plays on the physical world making a comeback against the digital world. In a rising inflationary environment our preferred themes can make growth portfolio with exposure to bubble stocks more balanced in terms of risk.Momentum crash and Danish equities under pressureLike our bubble basket, Morgan Stanley has their own most crowded stocks basket which has just dropped more than 10% relative to the S&P 500, the most on record since 2013 underscoring the massive destruction that is currently taking place. While Tracy Alloway from Bloomberg calls it a new “quant crisis”, our view is that it is more a classic momentum crash as momentum strategies sitting on fat gains over the past 18 months are drastically reducing positions. When we reach the bottom is very uncertain but if we are in a momentum crash then it is the illiquidity that drives the explosive price action.Source: TwitterIn our recent string of equity notes on interest rate sensitivity and bubble stocks we also mentioned Danish equities as being interest rate sensitive together with other equity markets such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, United States, and India. But given the recent weeks price action it seems there is an overlap to the bubble stocks selloff suggesting the readjustments in equities are more profound. Source: Saxo GroupDocuSign shares plunging 30% show fragility for growth stocksAnother sign of the stress in the bubble stocks segment of the equity market is the 30% plunge in DocuSign, the leader in electronic signature, following a Q4 (ending 31 January 2022) revenue guidance missing estimates; the revenue guidance was $557-563mn vs est. $574mn. The price reaction shows how fragile these stocks are to a small change in revenue expectations and clearly the risks associated with bubble stocks. We should point out, that DocuSign does not fit all criteria for being added to our bubble stocks basket because the 12-month forward earnings expectations are positive whereas we require those to be negative to be called a bubble stock. The revenue miss has caused sell-side analysts to drastically cut the median price target to $275 from around previously $330 against a close of $164 in extended trading yesterday.Source: BloombergSource: Saxo Group
Polkadot price ready to breakout after DOT forms double bottom

Polkadot price ready to breakout after DOT forms double bottom

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.12.2021 17:39
Polkadot price is hovering above a support level at $35.47, hinting at the start of a new uptrend. A bounce off this barrier is likely to trigger a 20% ascent to $42.77. If DOT fails to hold above $32.23, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. Polkadot price began turning around and moving higher on November 28. It is currently resting on support after a brief pull-back, with the potential for using this floor as a launchpad higher. A resumption of the bullish impulse will provide fresh confirmation for the new uptrend. Polkadot price eyes higher highs Polkadot price rallied 72% after bottoming at $32.18 on October 12. This upswing soon began stalling, however, due to profit-taking, knocking DOT back down by roughly 41% in about three weeks, creating the second swing low at $32.18. This development has led to the formation of a double bottom reversal pattern, hinting at the potential for more upside. So far, Polkadot price has rallied only 22% and is likely to provide another ‘buy’ opportunity before it enters an ‘up only’ bullish mode. In fact, DOT is currently in a buy zone as it retests the $35.47 support floor. A bounce off this level will likely trigger a 20% surge to $42.77. Polkadot price needs to pierce through the $37.55 hurdle to confirm the start of this new uptrend, however. DOT/USDT 12-hour chart Regardless of the bullish outlook, if Polkadot price fails to hold above the $35.47 support level, it will suggest that investors are not done booking profits. In such a situation, DOT is likely to revisit the $32.23 demand barrier. While there is a chance Polkadot price might sweep below this level to collect liquidity, a daily close below it will invalidate the bullish thesis. In such a situation, market participants can expect DOT to continue its descent to the next platform at $29.74.
Bonds Didn‘t Disappoint

Bonds Didn‘t Disappoint

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.12.2021 15:57
S&P 500 sharply rebounded, and signs are it has legs. My key risk-on indicator to watch yesterday, HYG, turned up really strongly. No problem that the dollar didn‘t decline, it‘s enough that financials and energy caught some breath. We‘re turning to risk-on as Omicron didn‘t cause the sky to fall. What a relief! Seriously, it doesn‘t look that hard lockdowns would be employed, which means the market bulls can probe to go higher again. What I told you on Wednesday already in the title It‘s the Fed, Not Omicron, today‘s non-farm payrolls illustrate. Such was the game plan before the data release, and this refrain of bad is the new good, is what followed. The Fed is desperately behind the curve in taming inflation, and its late acknowledgment thereof, doesn‘t change the bleak prospects of tapering (let alone accelerated one) into a sputtering economy. What we‘re experiencing currently in the stock market, is a mere preview of trouble to strike in 2022. We‘re in the topping process, and HYG holds the key as stated yesterday. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 returned above the 50-day moving average, the volume wasn‘t suspicious – the bulls have regained the benefit of the doubt, and need to extend gains convincingly and sectorally broadly next. Credit Markets HYG successfully defending gained ground, would be a key signal of strength returning to risk-on assets and lifting up S&P 500. There is still much to go – remember that the sharpest rallies happen in bear markets, so all eyes on HYG proving us either way. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals weakness looks deceptive and prone to reversal to me – the real fireworks though still have to wait till the Fed gets doubted with bets placed against its narratives. Crude Oil Crude oil plunge is getting slowly reversed, about to. Beaten down the most lately, black gold is readying an upside surprise. Copper Copper is turning higher, taking time, but turning up – it‘s positive, but still more of paring back recent setback than leading higher. I‘m reasonably optimistic, and acknowledge much time is needed to reach fresh highs. Bitcoin and Ethereum The bearish ambush of Bitcoin and Ethereum didn‘t get too far – crypto consolidation goes on, no need to panic or get excited yet. Summary S&P 500 is in a recovery mode, and the bulls look ready to prove themselves. The keenly watched HYG close presaged the odds broadly tipping the risk-on way, just as much as cyclicals did. It‘s a good omen that commodities are reacting – not too hot, not too cold – with precious metals in tow. In tow, as the Fed isn‘t yet being doubted – the NFPs are a first swallow of its inability to carry out tapering plans till the (accelerated or not) end. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
The Trade Entry Has Been Triggered – How to Secure Profits?

The Trade Entry Has Been Triggered – How to Secure Profits?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 03.12.2021 15:34
  Entry… triggered! The price rallies to the Moon, but you don’t want to cash out “just yet” - am I right? So, let’s see how to prevent hard landing. There are obviously several methods to assess risk and thus to manage it, depending on one’s risk appetite or what is also more commonly known as risk profile. One method I use on swing (longer-term) trades is to manually lift my stop once – at least – 50% of the first target has been reached on a swing trade. I provide such trades on Sunshine Profits based on the projections I draw. Let’s take a practical case: in my last trade position on WTI crude oil provided on Nov-30, the market found a floor around $66. Then after being pushed up by the bulls, it rebounded onto that support level ($65.70-66.21), and rallied up to $69.49. So, if we take our reference entry in the middle of the yellow band at $66, the market moved up exactly 70% of the total distance to the target 1. At this point, to avoid giving profits away, an option would be to lift the stop to net breakeven ($66 + commissions/fees) so that the risk for that trade could get offset once 50% of the distance to the target 1 is passed. Following that, if, for example, the market pursues its rally further – let’s say up to 60% – then the stop will be lifted to net breakeven + 10% of the distance to the target 1. In our case the market rallied up to 70% of the distance to the target 1, so the stop should be lifted to net breakeven + 20% of the distance to the target 1. From my experience, this may represent a good way to manually trail your stop. Of course, there are many different methods to do so, but I haven’t heard of many investors or traders mentioning that one, therefore I wanted to present it here. The following chart is the one I posted in my trade review published on Wednesday, the 1st of December: WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart from Dec-1) To better visualize the price action that occurred, we zoomed into the 4-hour chart: WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, 4H chart from Dec-1) As you can see, the level provided was optimum given its function to act as a floor for rebounding prices. Then, the market was up to 70% of the total distance to reach the target 1, and finally reverted back down to the stop level. Now, this is today’s chart: WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart) Again, a zoom into the 4H chart lets us see more details of the price action that occurred: WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, 4H chart) In summary, using such a method of risk management to keep intermediate profits before the trade reverts strongly to the downside might be a good idea, particularly during high volatility periods. Are you interested in seeing this strategy in action? Make sure to check my Oil Trading Alerts! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Weekly Close Out

Weekly Close Out

Luke Suddards Luke Suddards 04.12.2021 17:45
Omicron: In today’s weekly I’ll be dedicating some digital ink for the latest information on the new variant omicron. Ok so what are the major points of importance. New admissions to hospitals in Gauteng increased by 144% last week (hospitalisations lag cases by around 1-3 weeks). So far the early data shows the majority of these hospitalisations are from the unvaccinated (if that trend remains that’s positive). However, a recent study released from South Africa indicates reinfection risk is 3 times higher than previous variants. In terms of the deadliness of this variant, the early data looks good with Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly stating that of the 300 cases recorded worldwide all were very mild or had no symptoms at all. However, the sample size is too small so we can’t draw solid conclusions at this stage. The major vaccine makers have offered timelines of two to six weeks for assessing the vaccine escape properties of omicron via in-vitro lab tests. Interestingly, Moderna is less optimistic than Pfizer about expecting current vaccines needing to be tweaked to fend off the omicron variant. Volatility will remain high as the market remains on tenterhooks as new information drips through. Dollar Index (DXY): The greenback is flat on the week, with many quite perplexed by the lack of gains (particularly against the euro) given the hawkish Fed pivot and risk sentiment remaining on edge. The dollar coming in flat is a combination of gains against high-beta cyclical companies offset by losses against traditional safe haven currencies. Just take a look at the charts of USDJPY and AUDUSD. In terms of the euro, I’ll chat more about that below in the EURUSD paragraph. The big domestic news for the dollar this week was Jerome Powell’s hawkish rhetoric. The word transitory is to be retired as he admits the threat of persistently higher inflation has grown. On the QE purchases side of things, he remains open to it being wrapped up earlier than originally expected with a discussion on a faster pace taking place in 2 weeks at their December meeting. He elucidated his thoughts on the employment side of their mandate, stating that a great labour market requires a protracted expansion and in order to achieve this price stability has to occur. I see this as inflation now taking primacy over employment goals, indicating a shift in the Fed’s thinking with regards to inflationary pressures. The hawkish commentary from FOMC members this week such as Daly, Quarles, Barkin and Bostic would certainly suggest this is the case. STIRs are showing rate lift-off for practically June 2022 (96%) and over 2.5 hikes through December 2022. All attention now falls to the Non-Farm Payrolls number out today. The preliminary indicator such as ISM manufacturing index, ADP and jobless claims all pointing towards decent numbers from the jobs report today disappointed as NFP numbers missed expectations by a significant amount. Price moves have been muted as traders may be reluctant to place any fresh positions on and chase with the risk of adverse news over the weekend regarding omicron. Bottom line - traders should expect cross-asset volatility to remain higher over December. Next week we’ll receive November US inflation data, which is expected to remain elevated. DXY has regained the upper trend line of its ascending channel, putting some distance between price and its moving averages. The 21-day EMA continues to provide some dynamic support to price dips. The RSI has held above the key 55 level of support. Targets wise keep an eye out on the 96.5 on the upside and to the downside the 21-day EMA and former support around 95.5. EURUSD: So why did EURUSD strengthen on the market sell-off due to omicron on Friday and has remained fairly defensive throughout this week? It’s certainly not because the euro is a safe-haven currency in times of risk aversion. This price action has more to do with its use as a funding currency. Traders borrow euros to search for higher yield globally which is a decent strategy when risk conditions are favourable, however, when that risk dial flips in other direction we see the typical carry trade unwind, leading to flows back into the euro. Additionally, because expectations for rate hikes with regards to the eurozone are already significantly low, it’s at much less risk of a dovish repricing working favourably in terms of spread differentials with the dollar. Political pressure is rising on the ECB to act, particularly from Germany. A Reuters article out mid-week pointed towards some members wanting to rather hold off declaring their asset purchase intentions at this December meeting due to uncertainty caused by omicron. However, the ECB's Muller stated that he doesn’t think omicron is a reason to shift the scheduled end date for PEPP. Following this line of thought just today Madame Lagarde expressed that she feels certain that PEPP will cease in March as planned, saying markets require clarity in December. On the data front we had better than expected inflation prints from Germany (5.2% YoY) and the eurozone (4.9% YoY). It’s quiet in terms of economic data next week with the ZEW survey out as we lead up to a crucial ECB meeting in two weeks. EURUSD is drifting lower from its 21-day EMA. The RSI has stalled around the 40 level. Looking at the technicals clearly EURUSD is in a downtrend. Rallies in my opinion should be short lived with sellers coming in. Key levels to monitor in both directions are 1.135 (21-day EMA) and on the downside 1.12. GBPUSD: With a vacuum of economic data for the UK, the words of central bankers took centre stage. Bailey didn’t provide much meat at his speech this Wednesday. However, Saunders (leans hawkish) who spoke today has caused a repricing lower in the probability of a 15bps rate hike come December (only an additional 4bps now from around 8bps pre-speech). He expressed the need for potentially taking a patient approach with the uncertainty from omicron. Cable is lower as a result. On the virus front, the UK regulator has given the green light for booster doses to be offered to all adults. Additionally, the government has signed a contract for 114 million vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna, including access to modified vaccines if they're needed to tackle omicron and other future variants of concern. On the political front, domestically the Tories held the seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup, however, with a reduced majority. On Brexit, it’s been quiet of late with some optimism around the granting of additional fish licences to French fisherman in Guernsey, Jersey is the more important zone though prone to flare ups in tension. However, temperatures remain high between France and the UK on issues related to immigration. Next week sees UK October GDP data released. EURGBP has been moving higher on the back of dovish commentary (given he’s a hawk) from Saunders as well as benefiting from any souring in risk-sentiment. The 200-day SMA isn’t far aware, which has previously capped price gains. Cable continues to -plumb fresh YTD lows and is now nearing 1.32. The RSI is near to oversold territory but with some room remaining to eke out further losses. Moving averages are all pointing downwards. Targets wise, on the upside the 1.335 and above there former support around 1.34 (21-day EMA too). USDJPY: This pair continues to trade on US 10-year yield moves and now it’s status as a safe-haven currency has kicked back in. Early Friday morning has seen a bid coming in, which could be some pre NFP positioning on expectations of a move higher in the back end of the US yield curve. Put EURJPY on your radar, price is at a key support level around 128. USDJPY is finding support around its 50-day SMA, 113 round number and the 38.2% Fibonacci level. Price is trying to overcome resistance from the 50-day SMA. The former range support is providing some resistance around 113.5. The RSI is trying to get back into its range support around 46. Targets wise on the upside, 114 will be important and on the downside 112.5 (this week's lows). Gold: Gold has slipped below the $1775 support level as the hawkish fed leads to higher short term rates, kryptonite for the shiny yellow metal. Fears over inflation have failed to help gold stay propped up as well as risk-off fears from omicron. Inflation data out from the US next week will be a risk event for gold traders as well as the Fed meeting the following week. Today’s NFP hasn’t ignited much excitement in gold markets. Gold is trying to reclaim the $1775 support level. The 50-day SMA has made a very minor cross above the 200-day SMA. The 21-day EMA has been capping further gains. The RSI is in no man's land around 38. Targets wise, if $1775 is cleared then $1800 opens up (moving averages just below there). On the downside, $1750 comes into view. Oil: Crude fell sharply into a bear market this week as risk-off, Fed tightening, fears over further lockdowns and travel bans from the new omicron variant led to a repricing on the demand side of the equation. OPEC+ the main event for crude traders this week, decided to stick to their scheduled 400k bpd for January, but caveated this with the meeting remaining in “session”, meaning changes to the supply side could be made before their 4 January meeting if omicron causes a further deterioration. This led to yo-yo style price behaviour. Until there is more clarity regarding omicron, I expect oil’s price to remain choppy without a solid price trend. Backwardation spreads have narrowed, indicating a more balanced supply and demand equation. Iranian Nuclear Negotiations began the week positively, but sentiment turned pessimistic towards the end of this week, providing further short-term bullish tailwinds to crude’s price. JPM has some very bullish forecasts with the bank expecting crude to hit $150 by 2023. Oil is having a run at its 200-day SMA. The RSI has moved out of overbought territory and is a fair distance below its 50-day SMA (some mean reversion). Right now price will remain choppy within a range as omicron news flow prevents a trend from forming. Targets wise, on the upside the 200-day SMA and $73.50 dollar mark will be key. On the downside $68 support is important.
Gold's 1780s Are Driving Us Crazy!

Gold's 1780s Are Driving Us Crazy!

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 06.12.2021 08:31
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 629th Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 04 December 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com In completing its 48th trading week of 2021, Gold settled yesterday (Friday) at 1784. 'Twas the eighth week this year that Gold has settled in the 1780s (the first occurrence being on 19 February). Indeed, Gold's median weekly settle price year-to-date is 1788. Yet as anybody engaged in the Gold Story knows, Gold first traded in the 1780s a decade ago on 09 August 2011, the U.S "M2" money supply that day at $9.5 trillion; (today 'tis $21.5 trillion). So to reprise that from the "You Cannot Be Wrong Dept.": should anyone ask you "off the cuff" what is the price of Gold, your instantaneous response of "1780" shall (so 'twould seem for the foreseeable future) not only be correct, but enhance your dazzling intellectual image. To reprise as well "The M Word" crowd, clearly their parking place of preference is Gold's 1780s. Of the 233 trading days year to date, 27 of Gold's closures exceeding 1800 have -- within the five ensuing trading days -- found price settle in the 1780s, or lower. "1800? SELL!" Sheesh... Gold's 1780s are driving us crazy! Regardless, Gold -- and moreover Silver -- are doing what markets do when their technicals turn negative: price goes down. Per our Market Magnets page, Gold from 1861 on 18 November found price then pierce down through its Magnet: "SELL!" From our Market Trends page, Gold from 1847 on 19 November found the "Baby Blues" of trend consistency begin to plummet: "SELL!" From our Market Values page, Gold from 1805 on 22 November crossed below its smooth valuation line: "SELL!" More mainstream technical signals have since followed to "SELL!" And recall -- just prior to it all in our anticipating near-term selling -- we nonetheless deemed the 1800s as "safe": "WRONG!" Having thus now driven you crazy, we obviously deem holding and buying Gold as "RIGHT!" especially as the stock market -- be this another false signal or otherwise -- finds the S&P 500 doing its dance of a snake in death throes. To be sure we've seen such before, only to see the Index magically survive, indeed thrive. You veteran readers of The Gold Update may recall some six years ago (on 23 January 2016) our characterizing the S&P as being in such "death throes", the ensuing three weeks then finding the Index fall 5% from a "live" price/earnings ratio of 43x; (today 'tis 47x). "But don't forget it's now time for the Santa Claus Rally, mmb..." Yet another conventional wisdom notion there, Squire, via your appreciated "leading comment". Irrespective of what "everybody says" and expects, Santa Claus doesn't always come to Wall Street. Since 1980, as measured yearly from 01-to-24 December, Santa has skipped gifting the stock market 11 times. "WHAT?" 'Tis true. For those of you scoring at home, the S&P recorded net losses across that festive stint in '80, '81, '83, '86, '96, '97, '00, '02, '08, '15 and '18, the latter being a 409-point (-14.8%) loss. (Advice to the stocking stuffer: buy coal ... nudge-nudge, wink-wink, elbow-elbow). Moreover, have you been monitoring the major market dislocations of late? Talk about the maligning of conventional wisdom! In yesterday's session, the €uro, Swiss Franc, ¥en -- and yes the Dollar Index too -- all closed higher. "WHAT?" 'Tis true. Still, even as there is Dollar demand given the prospect of it paying a positive interest rate, the yield on the U.S. Treasury Bond continues to fall: 'twas 2.177% on 08 October, but is down now to 1.678%. In fact across our BEGOS Markets (Bond, Euro/Swiss, Gold/Silver/Copper, Oil, S&P 500), the price of the Bond is the only component with a positive 21-day linear regression trend. "WHAT?" 'Tis true. And then there's Oil: by our Market Values page, Black Gold settled yesterday 15 points below its smooth valuation line (66.22 vs. 81.51), even as Oil Inventories fell. "WHAT?" 'Tis true, (albeit OPEC is gonna keep a-pumpin'). Still, by that measure, Oil's price is massively, -- indeed deflationarily -- dislocated near-term from value. Too as noted, the Price of the S&P continues to be ridicously dislocated from the support of its Earnings; but if you get your dumbed-down P/E of 28.1x from the media, when 'tis honestly 47.4x, go ahead and say it: "WHAT?" 'Tis true. 'Course, the ongoing and most overwhelming dislocation is the price of Gold vis-à-vis our Scoreboard Dollar-debasement valuation (1784 vs. 4008). Say no more, Igor. A December to remember? Early on, 'tis the season to be dislocated. To which naturally (as subtly stated) we find Gold located in the 1780s. Why expect it to be anywhere else? So spot-on is Gold in the 1780s that per the following graphic of weekly price, the rightmost close is right on the dashed regression trendline. So are the 1780s driving you crazy, too? At least Gold's parabolic trend still is Long, although the aforementioned negative technicals have kept on the lid, (to say nothing of "The M Word" crowd?). Note as well the 79.1x reading of the Gold/Silver, ratio, essentially at a two-month high, the white metal having been terribly on the skids of late: Anything but skidding these last couple of months has been our Economic Barometer, it now having reached its highest oscillative level in better than three years. Whilst nominally last week's 13 incoming metrics were quite mixed, their overall effect net of prior period revisions and consensus expectations was to launch the Baro higher still as we here see: Amongst the improvers were November's Unemployment Rate and Average Workweek, plus both the Manufacturing and Services readings from the Institute for Supply Management, along with October's Construction Spending, Factory Orders and Pending Home Sales. However: November's ADP Employment data, Labor's Non-farm Payrolls and Hourly Earnings, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index and the Conference Board's read on Consumer Confidence were all weaker. Therein, too, is the red line of the S&P 500, its aforementioned snaky death throes throwing the Index all over the place this past week. The S&P's intra-day runs were as follows: Mon +48, Tue -86, Wed -143, Thu +91, Fri -113. Want some perspective for that? The entire trading range of the S&P 500 for the year 2004 was less than this past Wednesday's session alone. "WHAT?" 'Tis true. 'Course, back in 2004, 'twas a greater percentage range, but at least the average P/E for that year was a "reasonable" (vs. today) 26.4x. Thus again is begged the question: "Has the S&P crashed yet?" Obviously not, but we're feelin' very leery 'bout January. "As goes January..."(although you regular readers know we've demonstrably debunked that conventional notion as well). BUT... As for the Federal Reserve's removing of the punch bowl, Atlanta FedPrez Raphael "Ready to Raise" Bostic again says its time to step up the Taper of Paper Caper, whilst FedGov Randal "Have No" Quarles says 'tis time for The Bank to prepare to raise. And as noted in last week's missive: were it not for the "Oh my! Omicron!" scare, we could well see a FedFunds rate hike in the FOMC's 26 January Policy Statement. So just keep wearing your masque such that everything's great, and in turn let the Fed increase its rate! Here's another positive from the "Good Is Bad Dept.": the StateSide government shan't run out of money this time 'round until 18 February. Low on dough? To Congress you go! Just ask TreaSec Yellen, for she's in the know! Ho-ho-ho... Either way, west of The Pond "inflation" remains the watchword -- or if you prefer the real word -- as the word "transitory" is being transited away. East of The Pond, the EuroZone (just 23 years young) sees its inflation level hitting record high levels; but should it be peaking, 'tis thought any European Central Bank rate rise shan't next year materialize. And lacking any upside mobility of late (duh) are our precious metals, the following two-panel graphic bearing along as butt ugly. On the left we've Gold's daily bars from three months ago-to-date, their cascading "Baby Blues" reinforcing price's downtrend, (although price never really departs the 1780s, right?). On the right similarly is the same story for Sister Silver, who clearly is suffering the ravages of DDS ("Dangerfield Disrespect Syndrome"), by which she's none too happy. For from the precious metals' respective highs of just three weeks back, Gold has dropped as much as -5.8% ... but Silver more than double that at -12.6%! "WHAT?" 'Tis true: Meanwhile, still dwellers in their Profile cellars are Gold (below left) and Silver (below right). Here is the entirety of their trading across the last two weeks, the high volume price apices as labeled. And that is a lot of overhead work to do: So after all of that, are you ready to tune out? You can't be so blamed. Gold's 1780s have got us all crazy! Puts us in mind of that iconic glamour rock hit by Sparks from back in '83 -- supportive of the film by the same name -- "Get Crazy"Tune it in on your radio dial: sure to bring a you a Golden Smile! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - December 6, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 06.12.2021 09:31
Macro 2021-12-06 08:45 6 minutes to read Summary:  Friday saw global markets weakening again in another violent direction change from the action of the prior day. With futures for the broader US indices up this morning, the damage is somewhat contained, even if nerves are ragged. At the weekend, cryptocurrencies suffered a major setback in what looked like a run on leveraged positions that erased 20 percent or more of the market cap of many coins before a bit more than half of the plunge was erased with a subsequent bounce. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - despite the US 10-year yield pushed lower on Friday on the string of strong macro numbers, Nasdaq 100 futures are oddly weak in early European trading hours sitting around the 15,700 price level. The 100-day moving average down at 15,400 is the key price level to watch should the weakness in US technology and bubble stocks continue today. We see clear exposure overlap between cryptocurrencies and growth stocks, and with the steep plunge in Bitcoin over the weekend the risk-off might not be over. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) - Stoxx 50 futures continue to be in a tight trading range sitting just above the 4,100 level this morning with little direction as traders are still digesting the US labour market report and Omicron news which at the margin seems to be improving somewhat, although expectations are still that jet fuel demand will be impacted. The weaker EUR is also short-term helping some of the exporters in Europe and generally leading to positive sentiment in early trading with European equities up 1%. USDJPY and JPY crosses – USDJPY closed the week near 112.50-75 support that was tested multiple times last week, but is once again rebounding overnight, while JPY crosses elsewhere continue to trade heavily, with the likes of AUDJPY, a traditional risk proxy, cementing the reversal back lower and GBPJPY closing the week near a significant zone of support into 148.50-149.00. Safe haven seeking in US treasuries at the long end of the curve are the key coincident indicator driving the JPY higher, with Friday’s weak risk sentiment driving fresh local lows in US long yields, with the 30-year T-bond yield at its lowest since January, below 1.75%. AUDUSD – the AUDUSD slide accelerated Friday in what looks like a capitulation ahead of tonight’s RBA meeting, where the feeling may be that there is a high bar for a surprise, given that the RBA has declared it would like to wait for the February meeting before providing guidance on its ongoing QE. Weak risk sentiment and uninspiring price action in commodities (with the partial exception of the very important iron ore price for the Aussie recently) are weighing and the price action has taken the AUDUSD pair to the pivotal 0.7000 level, an important zone of support and resistance both before and after the pandemic outbreak early last year. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN21) trades higher following its longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018. Today’s rise apart from a general positive risk sentiment in Asia has been supported by Saudi Arabia’s decision to hike their official selling prices (OSP) to Asia and US next month. Thereby signaling confidence demand will be strong enough to absorb last week's OPEC+ production increase at a time when mobility is challenged by the omicron virus. For now, both WTI and Brent continue to find resistance at their 200-day moving averages, currently at $69.50 and $72.88 respectively. Speculators cut bullish oil bets to a one-year low in the week to November 30, potentially setting the market up for a speculative-driven recovery once the technical outlook turns more friendly. US natural gas (NATGASUSJAN22) extended a dramatic collapse on Monday with the price down by 7% to a three-month low at $3.84 per MMBtu, a loss of 31% in just six trading day. Forecasts for warmer weather across the country have reduced the outlook for demand at a time where production is up 6.3% on the year. A far cry from the tight situation witnessed in Europe where the equivalent Dutch TTF one-month benchmark on Friday closed at $29.50 while in Asia the Japan Korea LNG benchmark closed at $34. Gold (XAUUSD) received a small bid on Friday following the mixed US labor market report, but overall, it continues to lack the momentum needed to challenge an area of resistance just above $1790 where both the 50- and 200-day moving averages meet. Focus on Friday’s US CPI data with the gold market struggling to respond to rising inflation as it could speed up rate hike expectations, leading to rising real yields. A full 25 basis point rate hike has now been priced in for July and the short-term direction will likely be determined by the ebb and flow of future rate hike expectations. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). This week traders’ focus is going to be on the US CPI numbers coming out on Friday, which could put pressure on the Federal Reserve to accelerate tapering as the YoY inflation is expected to rise to 6.7%. Yet, breakeven rates started to fall amid a drop in commodity prices, indicating that the market believes that inflation is near peaking despite we are just entering winter. It is likely we will continue to see the yield curve bear flattening, as the short part for the yield curve is adjusting to the expectations of more aggressive monetary policies, and long-term yields are dropping as economic growth is expected to slow down amid a decrease in monetary stimulus and the omicron variant. Last week, the 2s10s spread suffered the largest drop since 2012 falling to 74bps. The 5s30s spread dropped to 53bps. What is going on? COT on commodities in week to November 30. Hedge funds responded to heightened growth and demand concerns related to the omicron virus, and the potential faster pace of US tapering, by cutting their net long across 24 major commodity futures by 17% to a 15-month low. This the biggest one-week reduction since the first round of Covid-19 panic in February last year helped send the Bloomberg Commodity index down by 7%. The hardest hit was the energy sector with the net long in WTI and Brent crude oil falling to a one year low. Following weeks of strong buying, the agriculture sector also ended up in the firing line with broad selling being led by corn, soybeans, sugar and cocoa. Evergrande plunges 16% to new low for the cycle. The situation among Chinese real estate developers is getting more tense with Evergrande’s chairman being summoned by Guangdong government on Friday as the company is planning a larger restructuring with its offshore creditors. The PBOC has said that they are working with the local government to defuse risk from a restructuring and the regulator CSRC said over the weekend that risks into capital markets are manageable. This week another real estate developer Kaisa Group is facing a deadline on debt which will be critical for the Chinese credit market. US Friday data recap: Services sector on fire, November jobs report stronger than headlines suggest. The November ISM Services report showed the strongest reading in the history of the survey (dating back to 1997) at 69.1, suggesting a red-hot US services sector, with the Business Activity at a record 74.6, while the employment sub-index improved to 56.5, the highest since April. The November employment data, on the other hand, was somewhat confusing. Payrolls only grew 235k vs. >500k expected, but the “household survey” used to calculate the unemployment rate saw a huge growth in estimated employment, taking the overall employment rate down to 4.2% vs 4.5% expected and 4.6% in October. The Average Hourly Earnings figure rose only 0.3% month-on-month and 4.8% year-on-year, lower than the 0.4%/5.0% expected, though the Average Weekly Hours data point ticked up to 34.8 from 34.7, increasing the denominator. Twitter sees exodus of leaders. Part of Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO at Twitter is a restructuring of the leadership group which has seen two significant technology leaders at engineering and design & research steeping down. The new CEO Agrawal is setting up his own team for Twitter which if done right could make a big positive impact on the product going forward. What are we watching next? Study of omicron variant and its virulence, new covid treatment options. Discovery of omicron cases is rising rapidly, with some anecdotal hopes that the virulence of the new variant is not high, but with significant more data needed for a clearer picture to emerge. Meanwhile, a new covid treatment pill from Merck (molnupiravir) may be available in coming weeks in some countries as it nears full approval. Next week’s earnings: The earnings season is running on fumes now few fewer important earnings left to watch. The Q3 earnings season has shown that US equities remain the strongest part of the market driven by its high growth technology sector. Today’s focus is on MongoDB which is expected to deliver 36% y/y revenue growth in Q3 (ending 31 October). Monday: Sino Pharmaceutical, Acciona Energias, MongoDB, Coupa Software, Gitlab Tuesday: SentinelOne, AutoZone, Ashtead Group Wednesday: Huali Industrial Group, GalaxyCore, Kabel Deutschland, Dollarama, Brown-Forman, UiPath, GameStop, RH, Campbell Soup Thursday: Sekisui House, Hormel Foods, Costco Wholesale, Oracle, Broadcom, Lululemon Athletica, Chewy, Vail Resorts Friday: Carl Zeiss Meditec Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0830 – Sweden Riksbank Meeting Minutes 0900 – Switzerland Weekly Sight Deposits 1130 – UK Bank of England’s Broadbent to speak 0330 – Australia RBA Cash Rate Target   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Shows Weakness

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Shows Weakness

John Benjamin John Benjamin 06.12.2021 10:44
USDCHF struggles to bounce The US dollar softened after November’s nonfarm payrolls missed the mark. The pair has met stiff selling pressure at 0.9270, a former support that had turned into a resistance. The bullish RSI divergence suggests a slowdown in the sell-off though there is no confirmation yet for a sustainable bounce. 0.9120 is a key demand area on the daily timeframe and a bearish breakout would invalidate the November rebound. Buyers may switch sides as sentiment further deteriorates, exacerbating volatility to the downside. CADJPY breaks higher The Canadian dollar surged after November’s unemployment rate fell to 6%. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart still indicates a pessimistic mood. An oversold RSI on the hourly chart caused a limited bounce as short-term traders took profit. Sellers are eager to fade rebounds with the latest being at 89.20. 87.20 at the base of the October rally would be the next support. A deeper correction may send the loonie to 85.90. The bulls will need to lift said resistance before they could initiate a reversal. UK 100 attempts to rebound The FTSE 100 recouped some losses bolstered by a weaker US jobs report. The index saw buying interest over the psychological level of 7000 which sits in the daily demand zone. The RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area has attracted a ‘buying-the-dips’ crowd in this congestion area. A close above the immediate resistance at 7150 is an encouraging sign of a bullish attempt. 7310 is a major hurdle ahead, its breach could short circuit the correction. 7060 is the closest support in case of weakness in the rebound.
Cryptocurrency survived key levels after Saturday's shake-up

Cryptocurrency survived key levels after Saturday's shake-up

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 06.12.2021 10:54
The cryptocurrency market experienced a shock shakeout on Saturday morning. Low trading activity and the relatively narrow previous trading range created a situation where stop orders were placed close to the market price. Outside forces, such as the stock market pressure on Friday, triggered a snowball. On Saturday morning, the fall below the previous day's low at $52K triggered a sharp liquidation of positions, with the price falling to $42K at one point. Other altcoins also fell 10-25% as investors could not stay away from such a drop. By the end of the day, buyers brought BTCUSD back to $48K, but they still lacked the strength to push it above $50K. Over the weekend, news came in that MicroStrategy and El Salvador were again using this drawdown to build up their bitcoin holdings. We wonder if these big buyers are ready for a change of trend from bullish to bearish, which happens quite regularly. Will corporate and government finances be able to withstand the new crypto winter? If not, it will only increase the blow to the market when it runs the risk of being flooded with forced sell orders, a kind of margin call and subsequent depression. From the tech analysis perspective, Bitcoin is experiencing a crucial moment. The bulls managed to get the quotes back neatly above the 200-day moving average, and the RSI index touched level 20, an oversold territory. A stabilisation and even a slight pullback would form a positive picture of how the bulls defended the global upside trend. If the rate is below $48K by the end of Monday, it will signal that the bears didn't finish their play, and we should expect a further decline, potentially to the $40K area. ETHUSD, which at one point on Saturday was losing more than 17% to $3500, also managed to defend its significant $4000 level. But still, on Sunday and Monday morning, there is evident caution. A mutual ability for Ether to stay above $4000 and for Bitcoin to stay above its 200-day average (now $48K) would be a serious sign of staying within the bullish trend. A failure of these levels promises to escalate very quickly into a new liquidation of long positions. It will move the timing and levels of the local bottom in cryptocurrencies further down. Overall, the market remains under pressure, and its total capitalisation has lost 2.8% to 2.26 trillion in the last 24 hours, down 14% from Friday morning's levels. The cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index has fallen to 16, its lowest level since July. These levels can safely be called attractive buying on a downturn, but cautious traders should still wait first for solid indications that the Greed and Fear Index has formed a bottom and is headed for growth.
Semblance of Stability Returns though Geopolitical Tensions Rise

Semblance of Stability Returns though Geopolitical Tensions Rise

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 06.12.2021 12:39
December 06, 2021  $USD, China, Currency Movement, EU, Hungary, Italy, Russia Overview:  The absence of negative developments surrounding Omicron over the weekend appears to be helping markets stabilize today after the dramatic moves at the end of last week.  Asia Pacific equities traded heavily, and among the large markets, only South Korea and Australia escaped unscathed today.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is trading higher, led by energy, financials, and materials.  US futures are narrowly mixed.  Similarly, Asia Pacific bonds played a little catch-up with the large Treasury rally ahead of the weekend.  The US 10-year had approached 1.30% but is now up almost four basis points to almost 1.39%.  European yields are also a little firmer, though Italian bonds are outperforming after the pre-weekend credit upgrade by Fitch. The dollar is mixed.  The yen and Swiss franc are the heaviest, while the Scandis lead the advancers.  Among the emerging market currencies, most liquid and freely accessible currencies are higher, while India, Indonesia, and Turkey are trading lower.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index has a four-week drop in tow and is starting the new week with a small gain.  Gold initially moved higher but is now little changed.  Iron ore and copper remain firm.  January WTI is trading firmly within the pre-weekend range, while natural gas, which collapsed by 24% in the US last week, extended its sell-off today.  European natural gas (Dutch benchmark) is trading lower after rising for the past five weeks.   Asia Pacific As tipped by Chinese Premier Li last week, the PBOC cut reserve requirement by 0.5%.  This frees up an estimated CNY1.2 trillion.  Many market participants had anticipated the timing to help banks pay back borrowing from the Medium-Term Lending Facility.  Banks owe about CNY950 bln on December 15 and another CNY500 bln on January 15.   Separately, several property developers have debt serving payments due and Evergrande is at the end of a grace period today.  Lastly, the US and a few other countries are expected to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics.  This is seen as largely symbolic as few diplomats were going to attend due to the severe quarantine imposed by Chinese officials.   China needs bargaining leverage if it is going to influence US policy.  It might come from an unexpected source.   While recent press reports focused on China's attempt to project its power into Africa, they have missed a potentially more impactful development.  Consider the Caribbean, which the US often acts as if it is theirs.  Barbados became a constitutional republic last week, though it is still a member of the UK Commonwealth.  The left-of-center government is friendly toward Beijing.  Under the Belt Road Initiative, Barbados and Jamaica have received several billion dollars from China.  Moreover, a recent US State Department report found that the two countries have voted against the US around 75% of the time at the UN last year.   This week, the regional highlights include the Reserve Bank of Australia (outcome first thing tomorrow in Wellington) and the Reserve Bank of India (December 8).  The RBA may revise up its economic outlook, yet, it is likely to continue to push against market expectations for an early hike.  The derivatives market appears to have the first hike priced in for late next summer.    India is expected to be on hold until early next year but could surprise with a hike.  China is expected to report trade figures tomorrow and the November CPI and PPI on Wednesday.  Lending figures may be released before the weekend.  Japan's highlights include October labor earnings and household spending tomorrow, the current account, and the final Q3 GDP on Wednesday.   The dollar's range against the yen on November 30 (~JPY112.55-JPY113.90) remains dominant.  It has not traded outside of that range since then.  The rise in US yields and equities has helped the dollar regain a toehold above JPY113.00.  The pre-weekend high was near JPY113.60, which might be too far today.  The Australian dollar traded below $0.7000 before the weekend and again today, but the selling pressure abated, and the Aussie has traded to about $0.7040. A band of resistance from $0.7040 to $0.7060 may be sufficient to cap it today.   The dollar has been in essentially the same range against the Chinese yuan for three sessions (~CNY6.3670-CNY6.3770).  If the dollar cannot get back above CNY6.38, a new and lower range will appear to be established.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3702.  The market (Bloomberg median) had projected CNY6.3690.   Europe Germany's new government will take office in the middle of the week.  It has three pressing challenges.  First is the surge in Covid, even before the Omicron variant was detected.  Second, the economy is weak.  Last week's final PMI reading picked up some deterioration since the flash report and the 0.2 gain in the composite PMI more than 10.0 point fall in the previous three months. Third, today Germany reported dreadful factory orders.  The market had expected a slight pullback after the 1.3% gain in September.  The good news is that the September series was revised to a 1.8% gain.  However, this is more than offset by the 6.9% plummet in October orders.  If there is a silver lining here, it is that domestic orders rose 3.4% after falling in August and September.  Foreign orders plunged 13.1%, and orders from the eurozone fell by 3.2% (after falling 6.6% in September).  Orders outside the euro area collapsed by 18.1%.  The sharp drop in factory orders warns of downside risk to tomorrow's industrial production report.  Industrial output fell by 3.5% in August and 1.1% in September. Before today's report, economists were looking for a 1% gain.  Germany also reports the December ZEW survey tomorrow. Again, sentiment is expected to have deteriorated.  The third issue is Russia.  Reports suggest the US has persuaded Europe that Russia is positioned to invade Ukraine early next year.  US intelligence assessment sees Russia planning a multifront offensive.  Putin and Biden are to talk tomorrow.  Meanwhile, Putin makes his first foreign visit today in six months.  He is in India.  India is buying an estimated $5 bln of Russian weapons, including the S-400 anti-aircraft system that Turkey purchased to the dismay of Washington, which banned it from the F-35 fighter jet program.  India is a member of the Quad (with the US, Japan, and Australia), a bulwark against China.  A Russian official was quoted in the press claiming India sent a strong message to the US that it would not tolerate sanctions against it.  The regional alliances are blurry, to say the least. The US maintains ties with Pakistan.  India has had border skirmishes with China.  Russia and China have joint military exercises.   Before the weekend, Fitch upgraded Itay's credit rating one notch to BBB.  It cited the high vaccination rate, increased public and private spending, and confidence in the Draghi-led government's ability to spend the 200 bln euro funds from the EC prudently.  Recall that last week's composite PMI rose to 57.6 to snap a two-month decline.  The market (Bloomberg median) sees the Italian economy as one of the strongest in Europe this year, expanding around 6.3%.  The IMF sees it at 5.8%. The euro has been confined to about a quarter-cent range on both sides of $1.1300.  It is within the pre-weekend range (~$1.1265-$1.1335).  It was offered in Asia and turned better bid in the European morning.  Still, the consolidative tone is likely to continue through the North American session.  A move above the 20-day moving average (~$1.1335), which has not occurred for over a month, would help lift the technical tone.  Sterling tested $1.3200 before the weekend, and it held.  The steadier tone today saw it test the $1.3265 area.  It will likely remain in its trough today, though a move above the $1.3280-$1.3300 area would be constructive.   America Today's US data includes the "final" look at Q3 productivity and unit labor costs.  These are derived from the GDP and are typically not market-movers.  The US also reported that the October trade balance and improvement have been tipped by the advance merchandise trade report.  October consumer credit is due late in the session, and another hefty rise is expected ($25 bln after nearly $30 bln in September.  Consumer credit has risen by an average of $20.3 bln this year.  It fell last year and averaged $15.3 bln in the first nine months of 2019.  No Fed officials speak this week, and the economic highlight is the November CPI report at the end of the week.   Canada reports October trade figures and IVEY survey tomorrow.  The highlight of the week is the Bank of Canada decision on Wednesday.  It is not expected to do anything, but officials will likely be more confident in the economic recovery, especially after the very strong jobs report before the weekend.  The Canadian dollar's challenge is that the market has five hikes already discounted for the next 12 months.  Mexico reports November vehicle production and exports today.  The economic highlights come in the second half of the week.  November CPI on Thursday is expected to see the headline rate rise above 7%.  Last month alone, consumer prices are projected to have risen by 1%.  On Friday, Mexico is expected to report that industrial output rose by 0.9% in October after falling 1.4% in September.  Brazil reports its vehicle production and exports today and October retail sales on Thursday before the central bank meeting.  A 150 bp increase in the Selic rate, the second such move in a row, has been tipped and will put the key rate at 9.25%.  Ahead of the weekend, the IPCA measure of inflation is due.  It is expected to have ticked up closer to 11% (from 10.67%).  Lastly, we note that Peru is expected to deliver another 50 bp increase to its reference rate on Thursday, which would lift it to 2.5%.   The US dollar posted an outside up day against the Canadian dollar ahead of the weekend.  The risk-off mood overwhelmed the positive implications of the strong jobs data.  There has been no follow-through selling of the Canadian dollar today.  The pre-weekend US dollar low near CAD1.2745 is key.  Last Wednesday's range remains intact for the greenback against the Mexican peso (~MXN21.1180-MXN21.5150).  So far today, it has been confined to the pre-weekend range.   Initial support is seen near MXN21.16.  The cap around MXN21.50 looks solid.  Meanwhile, the US dollar closed above BRL5.60 for six consecutive sessions coming into today.   Disclaimer
Awaiting US CPI And Speaking Of Disney and Uber. SEK And PLN As Central Banks Moves

COT: Specs exit commodities on Omicron and Fed worries

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 06.12.2021 12:33
Commodities 2021-12-06 10:50 Summary:  Futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 30. A week that encapsulated the markets very nervous reaction to the Omicron virus news as well as Jerome Powell's increased focus on combatting inflation. While global stocks and US long end yields dropped, a 7% correction in the Bloomberg commodity index helped trigger the biggest and most widespread hedge fund exodus since February 2020. Saxo Bank publishes weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial. Link to latest report This summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities, forex and financials up until last Tuesday, November 30. The reporting week encapsulated the markets very nervous reaction to the Omicron virus news as well as Jerome Powell confirming inflation is no longer being transitory. His comments to the Senate banking committee raised expectations for faster tapering with the first full 0.25% rate hike now priced in for July next year. The US yield curve flattened considerably with virus related safe-haven demand driving down the yield on 10-year US treasury notes by 22 basis point. Global stocks slumped with the VIX jumping 8%. Hardest hit, however was the commodity sector after the Bloomberg commodity index slumped by 7%, thereby triggering the biggest and most widespread hedge fund exodus since February 2020. Commodities Hedge funds responded to heightened growth and demand concerns related to the omicron virus, and the potential faster pace of US tapering, by cutting their net long across 24 major commodity futures by 17% to a 15-month low at 1.8 million lots. This the biggest one-week reduction since the first round of Covid-19 panic in February last year was triggered by net selling of all but three livestock contracts. Energy: Hardest hit was the energy sector where renewed demand concerns sent the prices of WTI and Brent down by more than 15%. In response to this, hedge funds accelerated their pace of futures selling with the combined net long slumping by 90k lots to a one-year low at 425k lots. The loss of momentum following the late October peak has driven an eight-week exodus out of oil contracts, culminating last week, and during this time the net length has seen a 35% or 224k lots reduction. Potentially setting the market up for a strong speculative driven recovery once the technical and fundamental outlook turns more friendly.Latest: Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN21) trades higher following its longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018. Today’s rise apart from a general positive risk sentiment in Asia has been supported by Saudi Arabia’s decision to hike their official selling prices (OSP) to Asia and US next month. Thereby signaling confidence demand will be strong enough to absorb last week's OPEC+ production increase at a time when mobility is challenged by the omicron virus. For now, both WTI and Brent continue to find resistance at their 200-day moving averages, currently at $69.50 and$72.88 respectively.  Metals: Gold was net sold for a second week as speculators continued to reduce exposure following the failed breakout attempt above $1830. With Fed chair Powell signaling a change in focus from job creation to fighting inflation, sentiment took another knock, thereby driving a 13.7k lots reduction to a four-week low at 105k lots. Industrial metals also suffered with the net long in HG copper slumping by one-third to a three-month low at 13.4k lots. Copper’s rangebound trading behavior since July has sapped hedge funds involvement with the current net length a far cry from the 92k record peak seen this time last year.Latest: Gold (XAUUSD) received a small bid on Friday following mixed US data, but overall, it continues to lack the momentum needed to challenge an area of resistance just above $1790 where both the 50- and 200-day moving averages meet. Focus on Friday’s US CPI data with the gold market struggling to respond to rising inflation as it could speed up rate hike expectations thereby putting upward pressure on real yields which are inverse correlated to gold's performance.  A full 25 basis point rate hike has now been priced in for July and the short-term direction will likely be determined by the ebb and flow of future rate hike expectations. Agriculture: The whole sector with the exception of livestock took a major hit, just one week after funds had increased bullish bets on grains and softs by the most in 15 months. Both sectors suffered setbacks of more than 5% with recent highflyers like wheat and cotton taking big hits. As mentioned, selling was broad and led by corn, soybeans, sugar and cocoa, with the latter together with palladium being the only two contracts where speculators hold an outright short position.This week the grain market will be focusing on weather developments in Australia and its potential impact on the wheat harvest, as well as the monthly World Agriculture Supply & Demand report (WASDE) from the USDA.  Forex In forex, speculators reacted to renewed virus concerns by increasing bullish dollar bets against ten IMM currency futures and the Dollar Index to an 18-month high at $27.9 billion. Speculators were buyers of JPY (18.4k lots or $2 billion equivalent) but sellers of everything else, including euros (6.8k) and the two commodity currencies of AUD (16.9k) and CAD (10.9k). These changes resulting in the aggregate dollar long rising by $2.3 billion. In terms of extended positioning, a euro short at 23k lots was last seen in March 2020, the GBP short at 39k lots was a two-year high while the 60k lots MXN short was the highest since March 2017. What is the Commitments of Traders report? The COT reports are issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the ICE Exchange Europe for Brent crude oil and gas oil. They are released every Friday after the U.S. close with data from the week ending the previous Tuesday. They break down the open interest in futures markets into different groups of users depending on the asset class. Commodities: Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap dealers, Managed Money and otherFinancials: Dealer/Intermediary; Asset Manager/Institutional; Leveraged Funds and otherForex: A broad breakdown between commercial and non-commercial (speculators) The reasons why we focus primarily on the behavior of the highlighted groups are: They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming
The risk vortex of crypto and bubble baskets

The risk vortex of crypto and bubble baskets

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 06.12.2021 14:04
Equities 2021-12-06 13:30 5 minutes to read Summary:  Our Bubble Stocks and Crypto & Blockchain baskets are the two worst performing baskets this month as these pockets of the market are currently going through a big realignment in terms of expectations. The Fed's new objective of getting inflation under control will accelerate tapering and led to several rate hikes next year. Combined with a significant fiscal drag next year, US growth stocks will be hit by both lower growth and higher discount rate on cash flows, the worst of all combinations. This means that growth stocks that can show a credible upward sloping path on operating margin will fare much better whereas growth stocks that will fail in delivering higher operating margin will experience more trouble. Friday’s price action was not pretty. Despite strong economic figures from the US the 10-year yield declined and normally that would have been a positive for technology stocks, but instead Nasdaq 100 continued lower with our Bubble Stocks and Crypto & Blockchain baskets leading the declines. On Saturday, Bitcoin was down as much as 21.2% at the lows adding to the woes of these pockets of the market. We know from surveys that there is a large overlap in exposure between investors in growth/bubble stocks and cryptocurrencies and that it is people under the age of 35 that dominates the exposure. Source: Saxo GroupThe Crypto & Blockchain basket (see composition below) is down 12.7% in December making it the worst performer and if we see the Fed getting ahead of the curve hiking rates three times next year then it could take more steam out of the crypto industry. The recent high profiled listing of Bakkt through a SPAC is a crypto related company that we will soon release a more thorough analysis of. As the table below also show analysts remain bullish on the industry with a median price target 77% above current prices. The key risk for bubble stocks and crypto related assets this week is the US inflation report on Friday which could accelerate the market’s expectations of tapering and rate hikes if inflationary pressures remain stubbornly high. Name Segment Market Cap (USD mn.) Sales growth (%) Diff to PT (%) YTD return (%) 5yr return Coinbase Global Inc Crypto exchange 57,169 139.3 44.1 NA NA Signature Bank/New York NY Bank 18,487 9.7 22.2 128.2 110.5 MicroStrategy Inc Investment firm 6,896 5.1 38.5 62.4 218.0 Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd Crypto services 6,245 NA 83.5 128.3 1,213.0 Silvergate Capital Corp Bank 4,364 61.3 32.1 121.0 NA Marathon Digital Holdings Inc Crypto mining 4,274 4,562.5 64.1 298.9 57.7 Bakkt Holdings Inc (*) Digital assets platform 3,354 NA 114.9 29.3 NA Riot Blockchain Inc Crypto mining 3,339 1,497.4 90.3 68.6 659.6 Northern Data AG Infrastructure 2,523 62.7 20.7 26.8 NA Voyager Digital Ltd Crypto broker 2,105 8,169.3 83.1 234.0 NA Monex Group Inc Financial institution 1,827 75.3 50.4 111.2 182.7 Hut 8 Mining Corp Crypto mining 1,553 203.9 102.8 241.8 352.1 Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd Crypto mining 1,216 395.3 NA 67.4 3,900.0 Bitfarms Ltd/Canada Crypto mining 1,194 7.0 57.0 220.0 NA Canaan Inc Infrastructure 1,040 225.5 NA 2.2 NA Stronghold Digital Mining Inc (*) Crypto mining 872 NA 132.3 NA NA Argo Blockchain PLC Crypto mining 690 131.5 127.5 236.4 NA Coinshares International Ltd (*) Digital asset management 586 NA -7.3 NA NA Bit Digital Inc Crypto mining 571 NA 69.9 -62.4 NA Bitcoin Group SE Crypto broker 236 138.7 187.4 -41.8 626.8 DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc Investment firm 128 2.7 104.1 58.1 1,533.3 Digihost Technology Inc Crypto mining 118 NA NA 100.7 NA Taal Distributed Information Technologies Inc Blockchain platform 105 NA 139.5 49.0 NA Future FinTech Group Inc Blockchain e-commerce 85 2,555.0 NA -35.1 -83.6 Quickbit EU AB Crypto payment services 59 -27.2 NA -18.1 NA Safello Group AB Crypto broker 17 NA NA NA NA Aggregate / median   119,055 135.1 76.5 68.0 352.1 Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group* Added to theme basket on 29 October 2021** Infrastructure segment means physical computing applications for crypto mining Growth stocks have a profitability problem more than a growth problem The selloff in growth stocks have many liquidity and technical characteristics, and the recent shift by the Fed to focus on getting inflation down is beacon of what to come. The Fed will accelerate its tapering of bond purchases and move more quickly on interest rates which means that the discount rate will go up while growth might face headwinds from higher interest rates and a fiscal drag (the fiscal deficit will shrink in 2022). This is a double whammy for growth stocks. DocuSign’s Q3 earnings release was portrayed as a problem of revenue growth but if you model the company’s shareholder value then you will see that the more sensitive parameter to its implied expectations is its future operating margin. While DocuSign lifted its operating margin to 3.1% for the quarter up from 0.5% in Q2 and -5.2% a year ago, it was still below expectations and that extends the trajectory for improving the operating margin and thus lowers the value of the company. Many growth companies will not have growth trajectories that will differ much from what is implied in current market values, and a downside miss is definitely not the biggest downside trigger on market value. The reality is that growth stocks are priced for high growth and then a hockey stick on operating margin, but if that hockey stick is pushed further out then it has a big impact on market value. The next year will separate growth stocks into two camp. Those that can deliver on expanding their operating margin and those that will fail to do that. 
Topping Process Roadmap

Topping Process Roadmap

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.12.2021 15:43
S&P 500 bulls missed a good opportunity to take prices higher in spite of the sharp medim-term deterioration essentially since the taper announcement. It‘s the Fed and not Omicron as I told you on Wednesday, but the corona uncertainty is reflected in more downgrades of real economy growth. There are however conflicting indicators that make me think we‘re still midway in the S&P 500 topping process and in for a rough Dec (no Santa Claus rally) at the same time, and these indicators feature still robust manufacturing and APT (hazmat manufacturer) turning noticeably down.Still, it‘s all eyes on the Fed, and its accelerated tapering intentions (to be discussed at their next meeting) as they finally admitted to seeing the light of inflation not being transitory. The ever more compressing yield curve is arguably the biggest watchout and danger to inflation and commodity trades – one that would put question mark to the point of answering in the negative whether we are really midway in the topping process. Another indicator I would prefer turning up, would be the advance-decline line of broader indices such as Russell 3000. And of course, HYG erasing a good deal of its prior sharp decline, which I had been talking often last week – until that happens, we‘re in danger of things turning ugly and fast, and not only for stocks should 4530s decisively give.In spite of decreasing yields, the dollar continues acting on the bullish argument introduced 2 weeks ago. Seeing antidollar plays struggle (part of which is the function of inflation expectations drifting lower on the Fed‘s turn – let‘s see when the central bank breaks something, which is a story for another day), is truly a warning of downside risks having sharply increased since Thanksgiving. Not only for stocks, where we might not be making THE correction‘s low, but also for commodities, cryptos and precious metals. In a series of two tweets yesterday, the warning is in regardless of a smooth Monday ahead.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bears are looking a bit tired here, and the room for an upswing is getting evident. The surge late on Friday concerned both tech and value, thankfully – overall, the market breadth isn‘t though much encouraging.Credit MarketsHYG did successfully defend gained ground, and strength appears very slowly returning – the gains have to continue to sound the all clear, for considerably longer. As said on Friday, the sharpest rallies happen in bear markets, so all eyes on HYG proving us either way.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are looking fairly stable at the moment – not ready to decline, and still taking time to rebound. The accelerated taper idea didn‘t take them to the cleaners – the real fireworks though still have to wait till the Fed gets really close to choking off growth.Crude OilCrude oil could keep the intraday gains, but appears base building here – similarly to natgas, this is a medium-term buying opportunity as prices would inevitably recover.CopperCopper prices reflect the combined Fed and (to a lesser degree) Omicron uncertainty – it‘s casting a verdict about upcoming real economy growth, and the red metal is still looking undecided, and merely gently leaning towards the bulls.Bitcoin and EthereumThe bearish ambush of Bitcoin and Ethereum was reserved for the weekend, and the bleeding hasn‘t stopped so far.SummaryS&P 500 looks to have reached the low, but the jury remains out as to whether that‘s THE low. I highly recommend reading today‘s analysis for it lays out the key metrics to watch in its opening part. The nearest days and weeks will be of crucial importance in determining whether the worst in the stock market and commodities correction is behind us, or whether we still have some more to go.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Dollar Still Has the Green Light

US Dollar Still Has the Green Light

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 06.12.2021 16:13
  The dollar looks poised for another rally, to gold’s dismay. So, what’s the price target for the greenback over the winter months? While the consensus across the financial markets (especially at the beginning of the year) was that the U.S. dollar was destined for devaluation, I warned that the greenback would rise from the ashes. And with gold, silver, and mining stocks often moving inversely to the U.S. dollar, the latter’s ascent helped make the precious metals one of the worst-performing asset classes in 2021. Moreover, after more dollar doubters emerged in October – and the precious metals rallied hard – the USD Index eventually cut through 94, 95, and then 96 like a knife through butter. And with the precious metals reversing sharply once again, I expect another rally to push the USD Index to ~98 over the medium term. Perhaps quite soon. And the implications for the precious metals sector, are bearish. On top of that, while overbought conditions elicited a short-term pullback, end-of-month turnarounds and / or rallies are commonplace for the greenback. For context, I warned that a consolidation was likely overdue by highlighting the USD Index’s overbought RSI (Relative Strength Index) readings with the red arrows above. Conversely, the blue vertical dashed lines above demonstrate how the USD Index often bottoms near the end of each month, and rallies often follow. And while the current consolidation may need some more time to run its course, higher highs should materialize over the medium term. To explain, after the USD Index recorded sharp rallies in June and July, consolidation phases unfolded before the uptrends continued. And while the secondary uprisings occurred at more moderate paces, the USD Index still managed to make new highs. As a result, ~98 should materialize during the winter months. Furthermore, if the forecast proves prescient, the USD Index’s strength will likely usher gold back to its previous 2021 lows. Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around). Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration. Again, the recent move higher in the USD Index doesn’t necessarily apply in the case of the above rule, as it was not the strength of the USD but weakness in the euro that has driven it. Likewise, with the USD Index now approaching its long-term rising support line (which is now resistance), a rally above the upward sloping black line below would invalidate the prior breakdown and support a move back above 100. Also, please note that the recent medium-term rally has been calmer than any major upswing witnessed over the last 20 years, where the USD Index’s RSI has hit 70. I marked the recent rally in the RSI with an orange rectangle and I did the same with the second-least and third-least volatile of the medium-term upswings. The sharp rallies in 2008 and 2014 were of much larger magnitudes. And in those historical analogies, the USD Index continued its surge for some time without suffering any material corrections. As a result, the short-term outlook is more of a coin flip. However, the medium-term outlook remains profoundly bullish, and gold, silver, and mining stocks may resent the USD Index’s forthcoming uprising. Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind remains at the dollar’s back. Furthermore, dollar bears often miss the forest through the trees: with the USD Index’s long-term breakout gaining steam, the implications of the chart below are profound. And while very few analysts cite the material impact (when was the last time you saw the USDX chart starting in 1985 anywhere else?), the USD Index has been sending bullish signals for years. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98 target is likely to be reached over the medium term (and perhaps quite soon), mind, though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, gold, silver, and mining stocks have reversed sharply in recent weeks. And though the trio tried to ignore the USD Index’s recent uprising, I wrote on Jul. 23 that the time-tested relationship of ‘U.S. dollar up, PMs down’ will likely be a major storyline during the Autumn months. To that point, with the theme likely to continue over the medium term, lower lows should confront gold, silver, and mining stocks over the next few months. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Treads Water - 07.12.2021

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Treads Water - 07.12.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.12.2021 09:00
GBPUSD attempts to rebound The sterling consolidates as BOE officials stress due to inflationary pressure from a tight labor market. So far, rebounds have been an opportunity for trend followers to sell into strength. The pound is testing last December’s demand zone around 1.3200. An oversold RSI may help lift bids momentarily as sellers take profit. 1.3300 is the immediate resistance. Then the bulls will need to clear the origin of the latest sell-off at 1.3370 to attract more buying interest. On the downside, a breakout would send the price to 1.3100. NZDUSD sticks to downtrend The US dollar edged higher thanks to a rally in Treasury yields. Increasing divergence between the 20 and 30-day moving averages suggests a deterioration in market sentiment. On the hourly chart, a short-lived rebound has struggled to stay above 0.6780. And that is a sign that the bears are still in control of the direction. 0.6700 is the next support. Its breach would extend the sell-off to November 2020’s lows near 0.6600. The RSI’s oversold situation may cause a limited rebound with 0.6810 as the closest resistance. US 30 breaks higher The Dow Jones recoups losses as the omicron variant may have less impact than feared. The index bounced off last October’s lows around 34000. An oversold RSI in this demand zone has attracted a crowd to buy the dips. A break above 34950 and then 35300 would prompt short-term sellers to cover, paving the way for a sustainable rally. 35950 would be a key hurdle and its breach may turn the cautious mood around and resume the bullish trend. 34700 is the first support when the bulls try to catch their breath.
Bitcoin, going from strength to strength

Bitcoin, going from strength to strength

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 07.12.2021 14:07
Like a whale diving deep to gorge on krill to emerge even more empowered shortly after. When catching these cycles right, bitcoin is ever rewarding. BTC in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, up and up and up: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of December 7th, 2021. Typically, fortunes are slowly acquired and quickly destroyed, not so with bitcoin. Bitcoin’s up moves can be as dramatic as their declines. In addition, bitcoin seems bulletproof to fundamental attacks. With China’s ban on mining, its share of the global hash rate sank from 75% held in September 2019 to zero by now. Miners migrated to the US and had its 2019 4% hash rate rise to 35%. It is essential to remind oneself of facts like these, when emotions overcome one with doubt and confidence falters at these steep declines in bitcoin. At times when opportunity knocks and self-confidence is critical for accurate trade execution. The monthly chart above shows the roller coaster moves that can make even the stern trader doubtful, yet bitcoin rose closer to the sun after each cloud. We find six figure bitcoin prices to be likely within the next few months, as indicated in the very right green up arrow in the chart. Gold in Bitcoin, Daily Chart, measuring true value: Gold in Bitcoin, daily chart as of December 7th, 2021. Where we see bitcoin going from strength to strength, as well, is the relatively rare occurrence of fiat currencies being endangered by inflation to the level that we are right now. Fortunes can change hands quickly. Typically, procrastination is fueled by the belief of a rise in the cost of things. In reality, currency is less valuable. We, as such, encourage you not to measure everything in your country’s currency. We find measurements towards a gold price or a bitcoin price a more realistic view of price/value changes. The chart above shows how the relationship between gold and the bitcoin price changed over the short term, with bitcoins’ recent sharp decline.   BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, in the not to distant future: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of December 7th, 2021. A six-sigma event risk in the overall market environment is always present. Such a market crash would temporarily drag bitcoin to lower prices and needs to be reflected in your money management. Other than that, we see prices right here as a good starting zone for the next push-up which should exceed all-time highs in the not-too-distant future, as portrayed in the above chart. Bitcoin, going from strength to strength: No matter what we tell ourselves, when prices decline, we feel fearful. It is always hard to step into such selling pressure for a low-risk entry spot based on the action/ reaction principle to be part of the next cycle up.  Moreover, practice and planning are required to be part of these upswings and to ride the wave. Our quad strategy aims to reduce initial risk quickly after an entry has been made. Last Friday’s entries near the lows of the day allowed for a more than ten percent profit-taking on half of the position size, a target we call “financing.” Unheard of in any other liquid, low-risk market. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|December 7th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
The worst-case scenario for Bitcoin

The worst-case scenario for Bitcoin

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 07.12.2021 08:42
On Monday, along with rising risk appetite in global markets, buying interest in cryptocurrencies returned. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index added 9 points to 25 overnight. This is still an area of extreme fear, but recent dynamics of the largest coins indicate that this is now the moment for investors with increased risk appetite to enter. BTCUSD has added 4.9% in the last 24 hours, trading just above the $51K level. The RSI on the daily candlestick charts has retreated from below 30 (oversold area). The price has found support from buyers at the important 200-day moving average. This is a strong signal for many participants that the whole market stays in a long-term bullish phase. But so far, we see very cautious buying, which is creating doubts. A better signal would be a sharp move up, crossing this line, as in July and October this year and before that in April 2020. This is quite an optimistic scenario for bitcoin, where it gets sustained bullish support, preventing it from descending into an uncontrollable fall. The pessimistic scenario for bitcoin, and the entire cryptocurrency market, assume a bullish/bearish sentiment tied to 4-year halving cycles. The previous two bear markets came in 2014 and 2018, giving speculators a good shake out of that train and leaving only the most resilient crypto enthusiasts. A sharp reversal to the downside after a dizzying rise came in late 2013 and 2017 and lasted about a year. This suggests a high risk of reversal at the end of 2021. From peak to bottom in 2013-2014, BTC lost more than 70%, and in 2017-2018 – 85%. A repetition of these scales sets BTCUSD up for a pullback in the 10-20k range. In our view, even a decline to 20k - the highs of the previous cycle - looks like a very pessimistic scenario for now. But it may well materialise under a negative set of circumstances, though it is bound to attract the interest of long-term buyers. Bitcoin needs to pass several checkpoints before we seriously consider such a scenario. The first one is the 200-day moving average (currently at 48k). Confirmation we will get on the decline under $40K, the level of previous local lows.
Animal Spirits Roar Back

Animal Spirits Roar Back

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 07.12.2021 16:47
December 07, 2021  $USD, Canada, China, Currency Movement, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, RBA, Russia, US Overview:  A return of risk appetites can be seen through the capital markets today, arguably encouraged by ideas that Omicron is manageable and China's stimulus.  Led by Hong Kong and Japan, the MSCI Asia Pacific rose by the most in three months, while Europe's Stoxx 600 gapped higher, leaving a potentially bullish island bottom in its wake.  US futures point to a gap higher opening when the local session begins.  The bond market is taking it in stride.  The US 10-year Treasury is slightly firmer at 1.44%, while European yields are 1-3 bp higher.  The dollar-bloc currencies and Norway are leading the move higher among most major currencies.  The yen and euro are softer.  Sterling struggles to sustain upticks. Among emerging markets currencies, the Turkish lira is bouncing, while most central European currencies are being dragged lower by the weaker euros.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is slightly higher after four consecutive losses.  Gold is trading within yesterday's narrow range.  Oil continues to recover, and the January WTI contract is up around 2.5% (after yesterday's 4.9% advance) and is above $71.50 a barrel.  US natgas prices dropped 11.5% yesterday and have come back firmer today, while the European benchmark (Dutch) is up 7% today (~+0.5% yesterday) to near last week's highs.  Iron ore prices jumped 7.7% today after 2.5% yesterday, perhaps encouraged by strong Chinese import figures.  Copper prices are also firm.    Asia Pacific The Reserve Bank of Australia stuck to its stance. It may take two years to reach the 2-3% inflation target, and the uncertainties surrounding the Omicron variant also favor a cautious approach. This was in line with expectations.  The swaps market still has about 75 bp of higher rates discounted next year.   The Australian dollar's gains reflect the risk-on mood.   Japan's economy is on the mend.  Household spending rose 3.4% month-over-month in October.  Paradoxically, outlays on medical care actually fell (-5.7%) year-over-year in October.  Meanwhile, Labor cash earnings rose by 0.2% year-over-year, the same as in September, but less than expected.  Households headed by a worker rose 0.5% year-over-year.   China's trade surplus fell to $71.7 bln in November from $84.5 bln in October.  The US accounted for a little more than 50% of the surplus (~$37 bln).  Exports rose by 22% year-over-year, less than the 27.1% increase in October.  But, what really stood out were China's imports.  They surged, jumping 31.7% from a year ago after a 20.6% increase in October.  Commodity imports were robust.  The 35 mln tons of coal imported was the most this year. Oil imports were at three-month highs.  Iron ore imports reached a 13-month high,  Gas purchases were the highest since January.  Copper imports appear to be a record.  Separately, China reported that the value of its foreign exchange reserves rose by a minor $4.7 bln to $3.222 trillion.  Economists (Bloomberg survey median) had expected around an $11 bln decline.   The dollar has forged what appears to be a solid base now around JPY112.55.  So far, today is the first session since November 26 that the greenback has held above JPY113.00.  It has been confined to a narrow range between JPY113.40 and JPY113.75.  The dollar looks poised to move higher but may stall around JPY114.00, where an option for around $865 mln expires today.  The Australian dollar rose about half of a cent yesterday and is up around another half-cent today to test $0.7100.  An option for A$1.04 bln expires today there ($0.7100).  It is also the (61.8%) retracement objective of last week's drop.  A move above there would target the $0.7130 area and possibly $0.7200.  The reduction in Chinese banks' reserve requirements and the divergence with the direction the Fed appears headed did not deter the yuan from strengthening.  The dollar held CNY6.38 yesterday and is near CNY6.3660 now.  The low for the year was set at the end of May near CNY6.3570.  The dollar's reference rate was set at CNY6.3738, a touch higher than the models (Bloomberg survey) projected of CNY6.3734.   Europe According to the proverb, for want of a nail, a kingdom was lost.  US intelligence warns that Russia is poised to invade Ukraine.  Beijing continues to act as a bully in the South China Sea.  US President Biden is hosting a "Summit for Democracy" December 9-10.   Reportedly 110 countries will be represented, even Taiwan, which the US officially does not recognize as a country.  All of the EU members have been invited but Hungary.  Hungary, like Poland, is in a serious fight with the EC over the rule of law.  It is being fined for failing to comply with the European Court of Justice over its harsh treatment of asylum seekers.  Poland, which is invited to the summit, is also being fined a record 1 mln euros a day for deviations from the EU standards of the rule of law.   Yet Hungary's exclusion is needlessly antagonistic.  Hungary will hold parliamentary elections in April (though possibly May), and the opposition is united behind the center-right Marki-Zay.  Most polls show him ahead of Orban.   It is an insult to the EU, and Orban used his veto to block the EU from formally participating and prevented it from submitting a position paper.  It is a vulnerable position for the US to be the judge and jury about democracy and the rule of law.   Laura Thorton, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, expressed shock and dismay in a recent Washington Post op-ed over developments in Wisconsin. She wrote, "If this [where the GOP is seeking to replace the bipartisan oversight of elections with just its party's control] occurred in any of the countries where the US provides aid, it would immediately be called out as a threat to democracy.  US diplomats would be writing furious cables, and decision-makers would be threatening to cut off the flow of assistance."  Separately, the US embassy in Tokyo warned Japan about "racially profiling incidents" following the closure of its borders to new foreign entries into the country.   The US response to the Russian aggression in Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 was soft.  Despite bringing NATO to Russia's door in the Baltics, the US recognized by its actions that it is difficult to defend what Russia calls its near-abroad. Ukraine is different.  When Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, the Budapest Memorandum  (1994), Russia, the US, and the UK committed to respecting its independence and territorial integrity.  Russia clearly violated the agreement, but the US says it is not legally binding.  Nevertheless, reports indicate that the Biden administration is contemplating new sanctions against Russia and Putin's inner circle.  Reportedly under consideration is removing Russia from the SWIFT payment system and new sanctions of Russia's energy companies, banks, and sovereign debt.  In late April, the European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution to exclude Russia from the SWIFT if it attacked Ukraine.  Russia is a heavy user of SWIFT, as few foreign banks, including the Chinese, are willing to use Russia's own payment system.  After a dismal factory orders report, the market had been prepared for a poor industrial output report today.  Instead, Germany surprised with its strongest gain for the year.  Industrial output surged 2.8% in October.   It is only the third monthly gain this year.  Moreover, September's decline of 1.1% was halved to 0.5%.  It appears auto production (capital goods) may be behind the improvement in activity.  Separately, the ZEW survey was mixed.  The expectations component was stronger than expected, but still, at 29.9, lower than November's 31.7 reading.  The assessment of the current situation deteriorated sharply to -7.4 from 12.5.  It has been declining since September, but this is the lowest since June.  On November 30, the euro spiked higher and has subsequently worked its way lower.  Today, it reached almost $1.1250, its lowest level since November 30, low near $1.1235. The 20-day moving average (~$1.1320) continues to block the upside.  It has not closed above it for a little more than a month.  The low for the year so far was recorded on November 24 near $1.1185.  For its part, sterling remains in its trough. The low for the year was set on November 30, slightly below $1.32.  Before the weekend, it was in a roughly $1.3210-$1.3310 range and remains well within that range yesterday and today.  It has been blocked ahead of $1.3300.  There is an option for about GBP450 mln at $1.3250 that expires today.   America The US is expected to report that productivity fell in Q3 by 4.9% rather than the 5% that was initially reported.  Productivity increased by 2.4% in Q2 and 4.3% in Q1.  It averaged 2.6% last year and 2.3% in 2019.  Unit labor costs are the most holistic measure, including wages, benefits, and output.  Looking at a four-quarter moving average, unit labor costs rose 1.6% in 2018 and 1.45% in 2019.  They jumped to 6.25% last year and fell by an average of 0.85% in H1 21.  The initial estimate for Q3 was an 8.3% surge.   The US also reports the October trade balance.  The preliminary goods balance signaled a likely improvement from the $80.9 bln deficit in September.  The median forecast (Bloomberg) sees a deficit of slightly less than $67 bln.  Through September, the monthly average was nearly $71 bln, up from $53.3 bln in the same period last year and less than a $50 bln average in the first nine months of 2019. Late in the session, the US reports October consumer credit, and another substantial increase is expected.  It jumped almost $30 bln in September.  It has averaged $20.275 bln a month through September.  Last year was too distorted, but in the first three quarters of 2019, consumer credit rose by an average of $15.3 bln a month.    Canada reports its October merchandise trade figures today, ahead of the Bank of Canada meeting tomorrow  The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey call for a C$2.08 bln surplus, which, if accurate, would the be third largest surplus since 2008.  The June surplus was larger at C$2.26, as was the December 2011 surplus of C$2.12 bln.   Canada's goods trade balance through September swung into surplus with an average of C$703 mln.  In the same period in 2020, the monthly deficit averaged C$3.1 bln and  C$1.4 bln in 2019.  The merchandise surplus may be sufficient to lift the current account too.  Canada has been running a current account deficit since 2009.   The OECD forecasts a surplus this year of 0.3% of GDP and projects it to be in balance next year.  Canada and Mexico have expressed concerns about the credits for electric vehicles in the Build Back Better US initiative.  They claim it violates the USMCA.  Europe has expressed similar problems, and the EU Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis has reportedly sent a formal letter warning that the Biden administration's efforts may also violate WTO rules.  Meanwhile, there is talk that the initiative may be blocked this year.  If this is the case, the odds of passage next year seem even slimmer.  On a different front, Mexico's controversial energy reforms, which expand the state sector, over some objections by US energy companies, look to be delayed due to lack of support.  The US dollar posted an outside up day against the Canadian dollar before the weekend, despite Canada's strong employment report.  There was no follow-through yesterday, and the greenback recorded an inside day and settled on its lows.  The US dollar has been sold to around CAD1.2700 today.  Initial support is around CAD1.2675, but the more significant test is near CAD1.2640.  A break would strengthen the conviction that a high is in place.  Meanwhile, the greenback continues to consolidate against the Mexican peso.  It remains within the range set last Wednesday (~MXN21.1180-MXN21.5150).  Thus far today, it is holding above yesterday's low (~MXN21.1720), which was- above the pre-weekend low (~MXN21.1625).            Disclaimer
Alibaba Stock Price and Forecast: Why is BABA stock going up?

Alibaba Stock Price and Forecast: Why is BABA stock going up?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.12.2021 15:59
BABA stock rallies over 10% on Monday in broad rally. Chinese names have suffered as DIDI delisting hits sentiment. BABA and others rally on Monday as China cuts commercial bank reserve requirements. Chinese stocks are nothing if not volatile, and this continued on Monday with huge rallies in most names. The reason was that China cut the reserve requirement for commercial banks in an effort to try and pump liquidity into the system. This can be taken two ways, and investors chose to see the positives. China is struggling to contain problems in the banking and property sectors from spreading, and the travails of Evergrande Group have been well documented. Evergrande was due to pay $82.5 million on Monday, but we are still in the dark on whether it met this latest payment or not. Bloomberg is reporting that another Chinese developer, Kaisa Group Holdings, received a forbearance proposal from bondholders on Tuesday. A forbearance proposal would be a form of an agreed delay or reduction in repayments. If agreed by both bondholders and the company, it averts a formal debt default. BABA chart, 15-minute Alibaba (BABA) stock news BABA stock has been under pressure throughout 2021 as a wave of negative sentiment hit Chinese equities and in particular Chinese tech names. This was kickstarted by BABA itself as it had to shelve the proposed spin-off IPO of ANT Group late in 2020. China then began taking a more cautious approach to its tech sector as worries over the huge amounts of data generated by them escalated. Didi Group (DIDI) did manage to get its IPO off the ground in New York but now plans to delist to Hong Kong. Alibaba stock is down 47% so far in 2021 and 22% over the last month as the sell-off has accelerated. Alibaba (BABA) stock forecast Investors may rejoice at the current bounce in Chinese tech stocks, but this has all the makings of yet another dead cat bounce. Take a look at the monthly chart below. BABA has broken the huge $130 level, which was really the last hope of support. Now it is lookout below until $100. The longer-term view is strongly negative until $169 is broken to the upside. Alibaba chart, monthly Shorter-term traders will be aware of the 9-day moving average offering resistance at $127.56. The MACD, stochastics and RSI all remain in bearish territory. The 15-minute chart does show short-term support at $112 with a large amount of volume at that level on Friday that provided a base for Monday's rally. This may carry on for Tuesday as risk assets are due to bounce, but $130 will likely cap any further gains. Alibaba daily chart above and the 15-minute chart below. The 15-minute shows the large support volume at $112.  
Turning the Corner in Style

Turning the Corner in Style

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.12.2021 16:05
S&P 500 bulls delivered, and the revival in risk-on is increasingly getting legs as HYG rebounded sharply. The sharply increasing participation is counterbalanced by still compressing yield curve, but yields finally rose yesterday. Finally, we saw a truly risk-on positioning in the credit markets – and that won‘t be without (positive) consequences. Still, it pays to be ready for the adverse scenario that I‘ve described in yesterday‘s key analysis, in connection with which I have received an interesting question. It‘s essentially a request to dig in some more so that my thinking can‘t be interpreted as being on the verge of immediately flipping bearish: Q: Your analysis of today: "Downside risks having sharply increased since Thanksgiving. Not only for stocks, where we might not be making THE correction's low, but also for commodities, cryptos and precious metals". I am not sure if I am interpreting this right (English is not my native language). Are you saying that the market might turn down spectacular, even for precious metals? A: it's specifically the market breadth for larger than 500 stock indices that tells me we possibly aren't out of the woods yet - no matter the technical improvements that I looked for us to get yesterday, and that are likely to continue thanks not only to solid HYG performance. What I'm saying is that unless there is broader participation in the unfolding S&P 500 rally (and in the rally of other indices), we're in danger of a more significant move to the downside than we saw already (those few percents down). You can also watch for the sensitivity to Fed pronouncements - on one hand, we have the taper, even accelerated one on the table, yet through Nov, total assets grew by practically $100bn, and it was only the 7-day period preceding Dec 01 that marked balance sheet contraction. This sensitivity to hawkish statements would show in downside hits to risk-on assets (cyclicals), and also in VIX spikes. There, my mid-session Friday call made on Twitter for VIX to better reverse from its highs for Friday's close, came true. So, should a sharper decline happen (as said, the risks thereof haven't disappeared), it would (at least initially) influence precious metals too, and not remain limited to stocks and commodities. Having answered, let‘s move on. I like the strength returning to energy – both oil and natural gas as I tweeted yesterday. While financials are taking their time, and consumer discretionaries lagged hugely on a daily basis behind staples, I look for more strength to return to cyclicals at expense of interest rate sensitive sectors (that includes utilities also). Rising yields (however slowly) would underpin commodities, and it‘s showing already. Precious metals continue needing the newfound Fed hawkishness image to start fracturing, or causing inordinate level of trouble in the real economy. The latter would take time as manufacturing is pretty much firing on all cylinders, which is why I‘m not looking for overly sharp gold and silver gains very soon. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bears were more than a bit tired, and Friday‘s candle being unable to break below preceding day‘s lows while not too much stood in the way, was telling. What can‘t go down, would sooner or later go up. Credit Markets HYG upswing is a pleasant sight for the bulls – half of the prior decline has already been erased. Quite some more still needs to happen, and the lack of volume yesterday is a sign that patience could very well be required (let‘s temper our expectations while still being positioned bullishly). Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are still looking stable, and are waiting for the Fed perceptions to fade a little. CPI inflation hasn‘t peaked neither in the U.S. nor around the world (hello, Europe), neither have energy prices or yields – so, get ready for the upswing to continue at its own pace. Crude Oil Crude oil confirmed the bullish turn, and the modest volume isn‘t an issue for it indicates lack of sellers willing to step in. Plenty of positioning anticipating the upswing happened in the days before, I think. Copper Copper prices are taking the turn alongside the CRB Index – it‘s starting to lean as much as APT in the direction of no economy choking response to Omicron that would necessitate further GDP downgrades. I‘m looking for the red metal to continue gradually favoring the bulls even more. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum attempt base building, but both cryptos (Bitcoin somewhat more) remain vulnerable. There are a few good explanations for that, and the most credible ones in my view revolve around stablecoins backing. Summary S&P 500 reversal higher is looking increasingly promising, and the signs range from sharply broadening market breadth to encouraging HYG performance. Commodities aren‘t being left in the cold, and I‘m looking for their own reversal to gradually spill over into precious metals – depending upon the evolving Fed perceptions, of course. The odds of us having seen the worst in this correction have considerably improved, and while positioned appropriately, I‘m not yet sounding the analytical all clear of blue skies ahead. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Oil and more...

Oil and more...

Luke Suddards Luke Suddards 07.12.2021 17:07
Oil: Crude has been rocketing higher after positive news flow with regards to omicron. Early evidence from South Africa indicates that ICU and oxygen usage are lower than previous waves at similar points on the timeline as well as those in hospital being largely unvaccinated. Based on this small sample size of evidence (which makes me still cautious) this leads one to believe omicron seems more transmissible, but less severe. Fauci (Biden’s Chief Medical Adviser) also shared optimism over the weekend stating that early signals show not a whole lot of severity. GlaxoSmithKline Plc also announced from their recent research that their Covid-19 antibody treatment is effective against mutations in omicron. Risk assets, which oil is falls into got a boost from this and current price action indicates some hot money has flowed back into the black liquid. Adding fuel to the bullish fire we had news that Iran-US Nuclear talks have stumbled a bit. Looking at the daily chart, technicals are strong with an oversold bounce having taken place with $68 support holding. Price is now above its 200-day SMA. Targets wise, on the upside the 21-day EMA around $76 and $78 will be important. On the downside $73.5 (just above the 200-day SMA) will be key. AUDUSD: The RBA left their policy settings unchanged as expected by the market. On the technicals, looking at the 1-hour chart here we can see price is facing some resistance in the form of the intersection of the 200 period SMA, downtrend line and 61.8% Fibonacci level. The RSI is in overbought territory. Could we see a dip lower towards the 0.705 area between the 21 period EMA and the 50 period SMA. On the upside 0.715 would be important. EURJPY: EURJPY on the 1 hour chart has been fluctuating between the 128.5 and 127.5 range bounds. Keep this one on your radar if you like playing the range.
Market Quick Take - December 8, 2021

Market Quick Take - December 8, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 08.12.2021 09:06
Macro 2021-12-08 08:30 6 minutes to read Summary:  Equity markets blasted sharply higher yesterday as the market rushed to erase the concerns triggered by the omicron virus outbreak, as well, perhaps as due to the recent clear shift into a more hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve. Overnight, the Chinese renminbi strengthened to match its strongest level this year versus the US dollar as China has been sending stronger signals that it is set to stimulate growth next year. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - global equities were significantly lifted yesterday due to more positive evidence over the Covid-19 variant Omicron with Nasdaq 100 futures up 3.1% and extending the momentum today in early European trading hours. This was the biggest single day rally in US technology stocks in nine months. The key resistance level is at the 16,435 level which was the local resistance level a couple of times back in late November. USDCNH – The USDCNH rate has plunged to match the lows of the year just above 6.35 after yesterday saw the USD weakening sharply on a resurgence of risk sentiment. A break of the lows would shift the focus to the post-2015 foreign exchange regime shift lows of 2018. It is notable that China has maintained a strong renminbi policy even as the USD has strengthened recently amidst the more hawkish Fed shift and despite weak EM currencies elsewhere. The stronger price action since yesterday may be on hopes that China’s growth is set to pick up on its new apparent shift toward more stimulus and as omicron covid news has eased some of the initial uncertainties. USDCAD – the USD has turned lower on the resurgence of risk appetite after initial blows from the omicron variant news, that particularly hit oil prices hard, taking CAD and other oil-sensitive currencies down with it. The last two sessions have seen a sharp repricing of USDCAD from above 1.2800 to well below 1.2700 yesterday, ahead of today’s Bank of Canada meeting (previewed below). Whether USDCAD can continue to erase the rally off the sub-1.2300 lows will likely depend on the degree to which global markets can get back on track with pricing a stronger economic outlook and a full return of the commodities bull market, led by oil prices. The Bank of Canada will likely fulfill market expectations of hawkish guidance as it is likely warming up for a January hike. Gold (XAUUSD) trades higher for a second day but has so far found resistance at the 200-day moving average, currently at $1792.50. A general improvement in risk appetite has supported a steady but so far unimpressive recovery from last week’s slump. Focus on silver (XAGUSD) which is also trying to establish support at $22 following its recent 13% drop. Focus on omicron developments through its indirect impact on bonds and the dollar. Copper (COPPERUSMAR22) meanwhile remains stuck in a relatively tight range, but supported by Chinese trade data which showed a strong pickup last month. The metal’s loss of momentum during 2H-21 has seen the speculative long being cut to near an 18-month low. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN22) trades lower after an industry report pointed to the biggest gain in US stockpiles of oil and products since February. Overall, the market has put in a strong performance since last week's slump in the belief the omicron variant is unlikely to derail the global recovery. Flare-ups around the world resulting in temporary lockdowns is however likely to prevent the market from returning to pre-omicron levels at this point. The API last night reported a 3.1-million-barrel build in oil stocks with a 2.4 million rise at Cushing helping send the WTI prompt spread down to just $0.2/b after trading close to $2 in early November. The EIA in its Short-term energy outlook lowered its 2022 Brent average price to $70 as the agency still sees a surplus emerging next year. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). The front part of the US yield curve rose yesterday, with 3-year yields breaking above 1% ahead of the US treasury auction. The move helped to attract high demand from investors. The 3-year note sale was priced at 1%, the highest auction yield since February 2020. Following the auction, yields fell slightly with news concerning the debt ceiling contributing to this trend. The house passed a bill that makes the debt ceiling faster to raise, it will be necessary to have a simple majority vote at the senate. It decreases the chances of default in mid-December easing the compressing forces on long-term yields. However, the expectations of tighter monetary policies continue to put upward pressure on short-term yields, while long-term yields remain compressed by Covid distortions. Therefore, we continue to see scope for a bear flattening of the yield curve. Today, the focus is going to be on the 10-year US Treasury auction. What is going on? Pfizer covid vaccine offers partial protection from omicron variant, according to early study. Researchers in South Africa saw a very large reduction in the production of antibodies for patients who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine who were infected with the omicron variant of covid, suggesting that immune protection is far lower, but not completely lost. US President Biden warns Russian President Putin on Ukraine attack – in a video conference call lasting some two hours yesterday, Biden said that the US and its allies would support Ukraine with “strong” measures if attacked, both in the form of “defensive material” and economic measures while Putin blames NATO and its overtures to Ukraine for the tense situation. Sources indicate that the US could push to have the Nord Stream 2 pipeline shut off if Russia invades Ukraine. US House Approves Bill that would allow Senate to raise debt ceiling with a simple majority vote. This avoids the prospect of brinksmanship over the debt ceiling issue, as the Democrats can pass the vote in the Senate without Republican help. The debt ceiling issue was set to hit crunch time as early as next week and could theoretically have raised the specter of a US default. How high the Democrats could raise the debt ceiling via this process is not yet known. HelloFresh warns of lower operating profit in 2022. The fresh meal-kit company says that it sees FY22 adjusted EBITDA of €500-580mn vs est. €630mn expected by analysts driven by rising input costs. What are we watching next? Today’s Bank of Canada meeting, which is likely to tilt hawkish. With the US Fed having made a clear switch to focusing on inflation fighting, and after Bank of Canada governor Macklem penned an op-ed in the Financial Times on the need for a being ready to respond with the appropriate tools if inflation proves more sustained, the market is leaning for more hawkish Bank of Canada guidance at today’s meeting at minimum, with a minority of observers actually looking for a rate hike at today’s meeting, though most expect a “set-up” meeting for a rate hike in January. This week’s earnings: Today’s focus is UiPath which is part of the bubble stocks segment and the meme stock GameStop as both stocks are a good barometer on risk sentiment. Analysts expect UiPath to deliver 42% revenue growth in Q3 (ending 31 October). Wednesday: Huali Industrial Group, GalaxyCore, Kabel Deutschland, Dollarama, Brown-Forman, UiPath, GameStop, RH, Campbell Soup Thursday: Sekisui House, Hormel Foods, Costco Wholesale, Oracle, Broadcom, Lululemon Athletica, Chewy, Vail Resorts Friday: Carl Zeiss Meditec Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0815 – ECB President Lagarde to speak0830 – ECB’s Guindos to Speak1310 – ECB's Schnabel to speak1500 – Canada Bank of Canada Rate Decision1500 – US JOLTS Job Openings survey1530 – US Weekly DoE Crude Oil and Product Inventories2130 – Brazil Selic Rate Announcement2205 – Australia RBA Governor Lowe to speak0001 – UK Nov. RICS House Price Balance0130 – China Nov. CPI / PPI   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Edges Lower

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Edges Lower

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.12.2021 09:07
EURUSD seeks support The euro bounced higher after the bloc’s Q3 GDP beat expectations. A previous rebound was capped by the 20-day moving average, suggesting that the bearish sentiment still prevails. The RSI’s double top in the overbought area has prompted short-term buyers to take profit. The pair has met support above 1.1240. The bulls will need to lift offers around 1.1330 before they could attract momentum buyers. A bearish breakout would send the price to the floor at 1.1190. Its breach would trigger a new round of sell-off. AUDUSD breaks higher The Australian dollar soared after the RBA remained optimistic about the economic recovery. The pair saw strong buying interest at the psychological level of 0.7000, which also sits near November 2020’s lows. An oversold RSI on the daily chart compounds the ‘buying-the-dips’ behavior. An initial pop above 0.7070 forced bearish trend followers to cover their latest bets. 0.7170 would be the next target though the RSI’s overbought situation may limit the surge. 0.7040 is the first support for buyers to regroup and accumulate. USDJPY attempts to rebound The yen stalled after Japan’s GDP showed an unexpected contraction in Q3. A break below the daily support at 112.70 has put the bulls on the defensive. The latest consolidation is a sign of indecision as to whether the correction would continue. The greenback found support over 112.50 and a close above 113.95 could help the bulls regain the upper hand. Then the psychological level of 115.00 would be the next step before the uptrend could resume. On the downside, a fall below 113.10 would retest the key support at 112.50.
Who Wants to Buy Bitcoin Now?

Who Wants to Buy Bitcoin Now?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 08.12.2021 08:40
Since yesterday, Bitcoin has gone from almost $52K to $50.7K. On Tuesday, the crypto market was green on nearly all fronts, including ETH, ADA, XRP, etc. And although the Fear Index continued to remain in the horror zone with 26 points, everyone was buying altcoins. However, BTC did not gain a foothold above the resistance at $51,800, so it is premature to talk about conquering the heights and completing the correction. Perhaps this is not even a correction now, but a search for the actual price without rose-coloured glasses and excessive optimism. Whether there are still those who want to ride up at their own expense on the market, we will only find out when Bitcoin rises above $56K. A Grayscale poll found that 26% of American investors have already bought BTC. So, apparently, we just need the remaining 74% to join in. But do they have any motivation? Moreover, the United States has introduced cryptocurrencies into its anti-corruption strategy, although exactly how this will affect the market is unclear. Aside from the local downward trend in Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency market remains bullish, rapidly changing sentiment and moving from correction to growth. Based on the posts on Twitter, the popularity of cryptocurrencies is only growing. Thus, in partnership with the Gemini crypto exchange, the largest bank in Colombia, Bancolombia, added transaction services with BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH to its list. Video game developer Ubisoft has launched an NFT platform, and blockchain project Spiral, a division of Jack Dorsey's Block, will improve Bitcoin's Lightning Network. Among the small altcoins, the hot class of projects related to the metauniverses remains. This topic is so popular that almost any new project considers it its duty to point out the potential for the development of this topic. It seems that investors are recruiting all newcomers to their portfolio, hoping to get an impressive profit if at least one project hits. However, you should be extremely careful. At the end of November, it seemed that the Covalent coin, issued six months ago, recovered relatively quickly from the traditional drawdown in the first months of its life. However, since the beginning of December, its value has been rapidly decreasing, colouring the first eight days of the month in red and confidently remaining below the offering price. At the same time, this cryptocurrency suits well for intraday trading: for yesterday's session, for example, it grew by 3.62%, although this did not affect the overall “red” result.
Weak November Payrolls Won’t Help Gold

Weak November Payrolls Won’t Help Gold

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 07.12.2021 17:14
  November employment report was mixed. Unfortunately for gold, however, it won’t stop the Fed’s hawkish agenda. Nonfarm payrolls disappointed in November. As the chart below shows, the US labor market added only 210,000 jobs last month. This number is much lower than both October’s figure (546,000 gains) and the market expectations (MarketWatch’s analysts forecasted 573,000 added jobs). So, it’s a huge blow to those optimistic about the US economy. However, this is a huge blow that nobody will care about because the disappointing payrolls were accompanied by a big decline in unemployment. As the chart above shows, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points, from 4.6% in October to 4.2% in November. What’s more, the unemployment rate declined simultaneously with the increases in both the labor-force participation rate (from 61.6% to 61.8%) and the employment-to-population ratio (from 58.8% to 59.2%). This means that the reduction in unemployment was genuine and rather not a result of dropping out from the labor market. Additionally, wage inflation has slowed down from 4.84% in October to 4.8% in November, remaining below expectations, which could slightly ease inflationary concerns. Last but not least, after revisions, employment in September and October combined was reported to be 82,000 higher than previously indicated, and the monthly job growth has averaged 555,000 so far this year. Therefore, even a weak November doesn’t change the fact that 2021 marked a great improvement in the US labor market.   Implications for Gold What does the November employment report imply for the gold market? The nonfarm payrolls disappointed, but it’s not enough to stop the Fed from accelerating the pace of tapering its quantitative easing, especially given the significant reduction in the unemployment rate. So, the hawkish revolution won’t be stopped. It may even be strengthened, as a big decline in unemployment brings us closer to “full employment” and meeting the criteria for hiking interest rates. This is, of course, not good news for the gold bulls. After hearing worries about inflation a few weeks ago, the Fed managed to calm investors. They’ve believed that Powell and his colleagues would take the inflationary threat seriously. Markets now expect a speed-up in the pace of tapering in December and as much as three interest rates hikes in 2022 (there are even investors who bet on seven hikes by the end of the next year!). However, there is a silver lining here. With the unemployment rate at 4.2%, the potential for further improvement is rather limited. And when a new upward trend begins, we will have rising unemployment rate and high inflation at the same time. Such conditions create stagflation, which would take gold higher. This is still a song of the future, though. Let’s focus on the recent past: gold prices increased slightly on Friday (December 3, 2021). Although the London P.M. Fix hardly changed (see the chart below), the New York price rebounded to about $1,783 on Friday from $1,769 the day before. However, it doesn’t change the fact that gold remains stuck in a sideways trend below $1,800, as concerns about inflation exist along with expectations of a more aggressive Fed tightening cycle. Luckily for gold, despite its hawkish rhetoric, the US central bank will remain behind the inflation curve. The cautious, dovish policy is simply too tempting, as hitting the brakes too hard could trigger a financial crisis and a recession. With the CPI annual rate above 6%, the Fed should have already hiked the federal funds rate instead of waiting until Q2 2022. And even with three 25-basis point hikes, real interest rates will remain deeply in negative territory, which should be supportive of gold prices. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
The stock market switches to a new idea

The stock market switches to a new idea

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 07.12.2021 16:20
About 13 months ago, in early November 2020, we saw a shift in the previous months’ investment idea thanks to Biden’s presidential election victory and the emergence of effective and affordable vaccines. Then we saw a investors’ shift from so-called “work from home” companies to the broader market and a strong recovery in energy and financial sector stocks. But the technology sector, which had initially stalled, did not find itself on the margins of the markets either. The trade wore off early this November, and the leading sectors retreated from their peaks. Initially, news of the new omicron strain scared the markets. Still, in recent days some of the fear has dissipated, and there are hopes that the new variant is acting as a light at the end of the tunnel, offering hope that the mutation of the virus has made it less deadly, though many times more infectious. Most importantly, existing vaccines mainly protect people, if not from the disease, then from the severe course of the disease. If the first observations are confirmed, this could prove to be a welcome sigh of relief for the tourism industry, as it dramatically reduces fears of stricter lockdowns. As early as next spring, the coronavirus will not restrict people’s travel and leisure activities in the most optimistic scenario. If so, the following investment idea for the markets could be airline and tourism stocks, which have been at annual lows recently, as the surge of optimism from November last year to March this year quickly deflated. In addition, the markets could finally switch from outperforming growth stocks to value stocks due to the monetary policy reversal in response to inflation. Growth equities have been pulling the market up in all recent years when the Fed has been in a position to stimulate inflation rather than suppress it. Investors favour stocks of companies with a sustainable business model and regular dividends during such periods. These could be the Consumer Staples and Utilities. These sectors lagged last year, adding 2% and 7%, respectively. Possibly, the ‘switch’ we suggest will not be harmful to the Financial sector, which is benefiting from increased lending and rising interest rates. In terms of indices, we see an increased chance that the Nasdaq/Dow ratio, which repeated the highs of the 2000 peak at 0.47, will correct in the coming months. We are not saying that the ratio will return to 0.11, meaning it will lose ¾ of its current values. More sensible at the moment is to expect this ratio to correct to 0.30 in 2022-2023, assuming a 35% fall in the Nasdaq with the Dow Jones unchanged.
Ahead Of The US CPI, Speaking Of Crude Oil And Metals - Saxo Market Call

Market Quick Take - December 3, 2021

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 03.12.2021 09:02
Macro 2021-12-03 08:45 6 minutes to read Summary:  Risk sentiment rebounded yesterday in the US session, erasing the rather steep losses of the prior day. Sentiment in Asia is also on the mend, while oil prices recovered all of the lost ground from an intraday plunge in the wake of the OPEC+ meeting yesterday. Today, focus swings to the US November jobs report, with extra focus likely on average hourly earnings data as investors watch for signs of a wage-price spiral developing. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities bounced back yesterday after finding a new low for the current short-term cycle lower with Nasdaq 100 futures trading around the 15,975 level this morning in European trading. Long-term US interest rates are not moving much so we expect a quiet session unless the Nonfarm Payrolls for November throws a curveball at the market. In the medium-term risk in equities will be determined by pricing of interest rates hikes next year and updated information on the new Omicron variant of Covid. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) - Stoxx 50 futures are stuck in a stabilisation zone between 4,100 and 4,160 with the 100-day moving average at 4,157 which is obviously the key resistance level to watch today should we get risk-on. European equities remain pulled by two opposite forces with the first being that higher expected interest rates are positive for this value market, while the continent has the most to lose short-term from the Omicron variant. If the latter fades over the coming weeks, we expect investors to move back into European equities. USDJPY and JPY crosses – With every day that passes and no follow-through lower unfolds after the recent omicron-variant inspired tumble from the 115.00+ level, the odds of a reversal back higher grow, though as we have mentioned often in this space, this would likely require that US yields lift all along the curve, not just near the front of the curve where Fed expectations operate the most forcefully. A fresh wave of weak global risk sentiment, on the other hand, could bring another wave of JPY strength, particularly in the crosses like AUDJPY and CADJPY, some of which saw their largest single-day moves since the pandemic outbreak early last year. For USDJPY, the downside pivot is now near 112.50. USDCAD – USDCAD has rallied as the market has been adjusting to the more hawkish shift from the Fed, especially after this week’s testimony from Fed Chair Powell. As well, uncertainties and the real threat of a reduction in travel due to the new omicron variant of covid have taken down crude oil prices nearly twenty dollars from their late October peak, around the time USDCAD was bottoming out near 1.2300. Now it trades near 1.2800 and the top of the range (only intraday price spikes from August and September rose above this level) as oil has staged a significant rebound yesterday. If risk sentiment can stabilize and oil prices recover, this important 1.2800+ area resistance could hold. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN21) trades up 8% from yesterday’s low point after the OPEC+ group of producers adopted a flexible approach on supply while at the same time agreeing to maintain the current rate of production increases. The market gripped with omicron angst this past week rallied on the news due to several reasons 1) the market had already priced in a significant and not yet realised reduction in demand, and 2) it the meeting was left “in session” meaning changes can be made before January 4. 3) the move eased political tensions with large consumers, 4) some of the SPR barrels on offer may not leave storage due to lack of demand from refineries, and 5) members with spare capacity wanted to increase production, as the group has not delivered the promised increases due to some struggling to reach their quotas. The next upside level to watch being the 200-day moving average at $72.85. Gold (XAUUSD) slumped to a one-month low at $1762 yesterday, as the dollar strengthened in response to robust economic data, before finding a small bid from recovering crude oil prices. Otherwise, it has been another troubled week, the third in a row, with the yellow metal struggling to put up a defense against the Fed’s changed focus from employment to combatting inflation. In addition, the spreading of the omicron variant and its potential threat to the economic recovery has so far failed to support prices despite driving bond yields sharply lower and the VIX higher. Silver (XAGUSD) has struggled even more given its industrious link with XAUXAG ratio trading near a two-month high. Focus today being the US job report with the first major upside level of interest in gold being $1792 with support at $1760. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). Today the focus is on the nonfarm payrolls numbers, as a better-than-expected report would confirm the intention of the Federal Reserve to taper at this month's FOMC meeting. The US yield curve continued to bear-flatten yesterday as Fed’s speakers including Bostic, Daly, Quarles, and Barkin commented on the possibility of a faster tapering to open for rate hikes next year. Two-year yields rose by 8 bps, while five-year yields cheapened by 5bps. Long-term yields dropped contributing to an increased flattening of the yield curve in the 2s10s and 5s30s areas. In the meanwhile, Eurodollar futures have started to price rates cut in 2025. We expect the flattening of the yield curve to continue until Covid distortions are eased. Afterward, the long part of the yield curve will need to shift much higher adjusting to interest rate hikes expectations. US junk bonds (HYG, JNK). According to Bloomberg Barclays indexes, junk bonds’ OAS widened by 30bps to 330bps amid last Friday’s selloff reflecting the lack of liquidity in markets. Despite negative real rates continuing to support corporate bond valuations, it’s safe to expect junk bond spreads to widen throughout the end of the year amid poor liquidity. If the volatility in rates remains sustained, the widening of spreads could accelerate, posing a threat also for stocks. German Bunds (IS0L). Rate hikes expectations for the eurozone were pushed to 2023 yesterday amid a slump in tech stocks. German and Italian government bonds more than reversed Wednesday’s losses. In Europe, Covid distortions are keeping bond yields in check. However, when Covid fears ease we can expect yields in the euro area to adjust higher given the inflationary backdrop and the new German government. What is going on? Omicron covid variant cases rise, reinfection risk judged high in one study. South African officials note that the omicron variant of covid is spreading faster than the delta- or any other variant of the virus despite estimates by some that a majority of the South African population was infected with covid in prior waves. National cases were at 11.5k yesterday versus 8.6k on Wednesday and 4.4k on Tuesday. A study there of the reinfection risk suggests that it is some three times higher than prior variants. Omicron variant cases have now been discovered worldwide, including Italy, the US and South Korea. DocuSign shares plunge 30% in extended trading. The company guided Q4 revenue of $557-563mn vs est. $574mn which is a small revenue miss, but enough to spark a massive selloff in extended trading. Investors took clearly little comfort in the fact that the company is consistently improving operating margin hitting 3.1% in Q3 and expected to climb significantly in the coming quarters. China moves to delist Didi from US exchanges. US SEC set to move against Chinese listing. The Chinese ride-sharing and transportation platform company will delist in the US and move to a Hong Kong listing, perhaps in the March time frame. Meanwhile, the US SEC is set to move against a number of Chinese companies listed on US exchanges on charges that their accounting disclosures are not in compliance with US regulations. Another strong US weekly jobless claims number was out yesterday at 222k, lower than expected and near the levels during the strong labor market before the early 2020 pandemic outbreak. The prior week’s number was one of the lowest ever and was revised even lower to 194k, suggesting a very tight labor market. What are we watching next? Study of omicron variant and its virulence. Scientists will work with the provincial government of Gauteng in South Africa, which has the most measured cases of the new omicron variant, to complete a study of the new variant’s virulence as soon as next Tuesday, though results will be released to the public later. A local official there said that hospitalizations and mortality are lower than expected thus far. US November Nonfarm Payrolls Change and Average Hourly Earnings today. With the US economy operating at full capacity according to estimates from CBO, continued strong job gains will add fuel to the “inflation fire”. Wednesday's 534k increase in the November ADP private payroll number suggests that the job market growth remains healthy in the US as we await the official nonfarm payrolls numbers today (expected to show 500k+ jobs added), where strong upward revisions to prior months’ data has been a notable trend this year due to data collection issues. As well, Average Hourly earnings numbers will be closely watched for any budding signs of a wage-price spiral, as a constrained supply of labor could see companies bidding up wages and October showed a strong rise in earnings at a faster pace than at any time from the start of the survey in 2007 to the outbreak of the covid pandemic. The October Average Hourly Earnings number rose to 4.9% year-on-year, and 5.0% is expected for today’s November number. Earnings Watch – today is a quiet day on earnings with only Bank of Montreal reporting earnings. We have also put in next week’s earnings releases. Friday: Bank of Montreal Next week’s earnings: Monday: Sino Pharmaceutical, Acciona Energias, MongoDB, Coupa Software, Gitlab Tuesday: SentinelOne, AutoZone, Ashtead Group Wednesday: Huali Industrial Group, GalaxyCore, Kabel Deutschland, Dollarama, Brown-Forman, UiPath, GameStop, RH, Campbell Soup Thursday: Sekisui House, Hormel Foods, Costco Wholesale, Oracle, Broadcom, Lululemon Athletica, Chewy, Vail Resorts Friday: Carl Zeiss Meditec Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0815-0900 – Euro Zone final Nov. Services PMI 0900 – Norway Nov. Unemployment Rate 0930 – UK Nov. Final Services PMI 1100 – UK Bank of England’s Saunders to speak 1300 – ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane to speak 1330 – US Nov. Change in Nonfarm Payrolls 1330 – US Nov. Average Hourly Earnings 1330 – US Nov. Unemployment Rate 1330 – Canada Nov. Net Change in Employment 1330 – Canada Nov. Unemployment Rate 1415 – US Fed’s Bullard (voter in 2022) to speak 1500 – US Nov. ISM Services 1500 – US Nov. Factory Orders   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Markets Calmer, Awaiting Fresh Incentives

Markets Calmer, Awaiting Fresh Incentives

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 08.12.2021 13:51
December 08, 2021  $USD, Bank of Canada, Currency Movement, Germany, India, Japan, Poland, Russia Overview:  The capital markets are calmer today, and the fear that was evident at the end of last week remains mostly scar tissue. Led by gains in Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and India, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index extended yesterday's gains.  Europe's Stoxx and US futures are firm.  The US 10-year yield is softer, around 1.43%, while European yields are mostly 1-2 bp lower.  The Norwegian krone and euro lead major currencies higher against the greenback, but the New Zealand dollar and sterling are underperforming. Most of the emerging market currencies are enjoying an upside bias. The Turkish lira is giving back a little more than half of yesterday's 2.25% bounce.  Gold is edging higher and is near the 200-day moving average (~$1792).  January WTI is off $1 around  $71 after rallying around 8% in the past two sessions.  API reported a three million barrel drawdown in inventories but a big jump in Cushing.   US natural gas is consolidating and paring Monday's 11.5% drop.  Europe (Dutch) natural gas prices are rising for the third consecutive session and around 10% this week.  Iron ore has extended this week's rally and is at the highs since October.  Copper is flat.   Asia Pacific Australia has joined the US in the diplomat boycott of the winter Olympics in Beijing.  South Korea and Japan have not formally decided yet.  China's quarantine policies made it difficult for many diplomats to attend in any event, and many apparently will not attend.  Beijing threatens unspecified retaliation.   Japan reported an increase in its October current account, rising to JPY1.18 trillion from JPY1.03 trillion in September.  The swing in the trade balance from a JPY230 bln deficit to a JPY167 bln surplus more than accounted for it.  Japan also revised Q3 GDP to a 0.9% contraction (from -0.8%).  The composition changed.  Consumption was a greater drag (-1.3% quarter-over-quarter rather than -1.1%), and inventories contributed less (0.1% vs. 0.3%) and net exports were flat (rather than contribute 0.1 percentage points).  Business investment was less a drag (-2.3% vs. -3.8%).  Still, there is reason to be more optimistic about the outlook for the world's third-largest economy.  Social restrictions have eased, the vaccination rate is among the best, and the government is providing fresh stimulus.  The Kishida government is expected to finalize its fiscal efforts toward the end of the week. A key issue is the tax incentive (subsidy) for companies that boost wages by 3%, which has not happened since 1997.   India left its key rate corridor on hold today.  The repo rate is 4%, and the reverse repo rate is 3.35%.  Some observers saw the possibility of a hike in the reverse repo rate.  The monetary policy committee voted unanimously to keep the repo rate steady.  The reverse repo rate is a broader issue decided by the central bank, not the MPC.  The emergence of Omicron may have encouraged the central bank to maintain a steady hand, while the cut in the excise duty and VAT for petrol and diesel may help ease price pressures.  It made some technical changes in its liquidity management, which some see as a prelude to a hike in February 2022, when the central bank meets again.   The dollar is consolidating in a narrow 30-point range above JPY113.35 against the Japanese yen.  Yesterday's high was just below JPY113.80.  An option for about $550 mln will roll off today at JPY114.25, while there is a nearly $1.5 bln option at JPY114.00 that expires tomorrow.  The JPY114 area also holds the 20-day moving average, which the dollar has not closed above since November 25. The Australian dollar began the week flirting with the $0.7000 area.  It is rising for its third consecutive session and has reached almost $0.7145 today.  Last week's highs were set a little above $0.7170.  Despite words of caution by Chinese officials and the cut in reserve requirements, the yuan continues to march higher.  It is at new three-year highs today.  The dollar has been sold down to almost CNY6.3455.  Local dollar bonds and bonds below investment grade have rallied as officials signal a focus on supporting the economy.  Today the rate for re-lending to rural and small businesses was cut by 25 bp.  The PBOC has also been generous with its liquidity provisions.  The reference rate for the dollar was set at CNY6.3677, a little firmer than expected (CNY6.3665, Bloomberg survey).    Europe An era is formally over today as Germany's new government takes office.  The challenges it faces are profound.  The virus was surging even before the Omicron variant was detected.  The economy has been hobbled.  Inflation is high (6% on the harmonized measure in November) and without the fiscal stimulus seen in the US, where CPI is up 6.2% from a year ago (October).  This year, the German deficit is estimated to be about 5.8% and seen falling to 2.5% next year.  The US deficit is around 12.5% this year and is expected to fall to around 6.5% in 2022. Russia is amassing troops, and fears that it will invade Ukraine early next year are running high.  Germany reportedly will nix the controversial Nord Stream II pipeline if Russia carries through with its threat as part of the economic sanctions being considered.  Italy's Draghi has had a bit of a honeymoon, but that will change.  Two of the three largest unions will strike on December 16 to protest Draghi's budget, which must be passed by the end of the month.   Moreover, the selection of a new Italian president in January may mark the beginning of the political process that will lead to a new parliamentary election by the middle of 2023.  The president of Itlay is chosen by the Italian Parliament and regional representatives.  The current president, Mattarella, has declined to run for a second term.  Draghi does lead any political party, but the latest surveys show the center-left Democratic Party is in first place, polling a couple percentage points higher than it got in the last election at 21.4% support.  The Brothers of Italy on the right are in second place with slightly less than 20% support.  The Five Star Movement has seen its fortunes slip to about 15%.  Poland's central bank is set to hike its base rate today.  It will be the third consecutive increase.  The base rate was slashed from 1.50% last year to 10 bp.  It was hiked by 40 bp in October and 75 bp last month to stand at 1.25%. The headline CPI surged from 2.4% at the end of last year to 7.7% in November. Czech and Hungary have been more aggressive in raising rates.  Last month, Czech's central bank delivered a 125 bp increase to lift its key two-week repo rate to 2.75%.   It was at 25 bp to start the year.  Its CPI is near 6%.  Hungary has raised its base rate every month since June and taken it from 60 bp to 2.10%.  It has also taken its one-week deposit rate from 75 bp to 3.10%, with 130 bp delivered in the past three weeks. Earlier today, it reported that CPI rose to 7.4% last month from 6.5%.  Most look for a 50 bp increase from Poland's central bank today.   The euro briefly dipped below $1.1230 yesterday but recovered in the North American afternoon.  It is extending the recovery today and traded $1.1300 in the European morning.  The $1.1310-$1.1320 offers nearby resistance.  The UK government is being embarrassed by reports about its holiday party a year ago in violation of the social restrictions in place at the time.  It adds to the sleaze factor that has weakened it.  The latest polls show that the Labour Party is extending its lead.  Also, ideas that the BOE could raise rates next week have diminished and been pushed into next February.  Sterling is heavy, near $1.3200.  We have warned of near-term risk toward $1.3165, the (38.2%) retracement objective of the rally from the March 2020 low near $1.14.   America A deal appears in the works to lift the US debt ceiling.  The maneuver requires 60 votes to allow the debt ceiling to pass with a simple majority.  The Republican leadership appears willing to go along with this.  It will likely set a new precedent that will be used and possibly expanded when control of Congress changes.  PredictIt.Org shows that the Republicans are favored to win control of both houses in next year's mid-term election.   The US calendar today features the JOLTS report on job openings.  The week's highlight, the November CPI, is out on Friday, and both the headline and core rates are expected to accelerate.  Fed officials are in the blackout period ahead of next week's FOMC meeting.  Today's North American feature is the Bank of Canada meeting.  No one expects a change in rates.  It is more about the rhetoric.  Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, Bank of Canada officials are likely to be more confident about the strength of the recovery.  Last week's jobs data adds to the positive impulses.  Moreover, the government is providing more fiscal support.  The biggest challenge is that the market has discounted five hikes over the next 12 months.  This is aggressive and difficult for the central bank to get ahead of market expectations. Even after the strong Canadian jobs data at the end of last week, the US dollar closed firmly above CAD1.28, showing the Loonie's vulnerability to the risk-off wave.  However, as cooler heads have prevailed, the Canadian dollar has bounced back.  The US dollar closed below the 20-day moving average yesterday (~CAD1.2670) for the first time in a month and was sold to about CAD1.2620 today. The (38.2%) retracement of the greenback's rally since the October 21 low (below CAD1.23) is found near CAD1.2640. The next retracement (50%) is around CAD1.2570.  Initial resistance now is likely by CAD1.2680.  The greenback also closed below its 20-day moving average against the Mexican peso yesterday for the first time since November 9.  It has slipped below MN21.00 today for the first time in about two-and-a-half weeks.  With today's loss, the US dollar has retraced (61.8%) of its rally from November 9 low (~MXN20.2750). The move seems exaggerated, and consolidation is likely.  Nearby resistance is seen in the MXN20.05-MXN20.10 area.  Disclaimer
FX Update: Risk sentiment comeback with a few twists

FX Update: Risk sentiment comeback with a few twists

John Hardy John Hardy 08.12.2021 15:14
Forex 2021-12-08 14:45 4 minutes to read Summary:  Risk sentiment is well on its way to erasing the reaction to the news of the omicron variant of covid, with most reactions across FX adjusting as one would expect on an improved outlook, with commodity currencies performing best, while safe haven JPY and CHF trade weaker and the euro is unable to figure out what it wants to do. Adding to a more hopeful stance and a weaker US dollar overnight was China allowing its currency to push to new highs for the year, beyond the highs established back in May. FX Trading focus: CNY new highs for the year, strong resurgence in risk sentiment The US dollar has pushed lower this week on a resurgence in risk sentiment, led by fading omicron fears – particularly yesterday – but also on hopes that China is set to support the global growth outlook and signaling confidence by allowing the renminbi to push to new highs for the year versus the US dollar. The weaker US dollar elsewhere this week explains the timing of the large move to new lows in USDCNH, as the CNH has actually underperformed resurgent commodity FX and some EM FX this week even while it outperformed the strong US dollar this year on balance. If the USD is to weaken further from here, it would be no surprise to see CNH continuing higher versus the US dollar – perhaps even beyond the 2018 lows in USDCNH – while keeping it somewhat weaker versus other currencies against which it has appreciated so aggressively this year. China is clearly interested in defending the stability and purchasing power of the CNH versus the USD and its basket, but the extent of the revaluation is getting stretched if we look at the official CNY basket. In G10 FX, the resurgence in risk sentiment has boosted the usual suspects and weighed against the other usual suspects, although a couple of unusual situations stick out: GBP and SEK: Sterling is in danger of breaking down versus the euro here after testing new lows for the year this morning in GBPUSD despite sterling’s former correlation with risk appetite, perhaps as a lot of air has been taken out of Bank of England expectations as the market has shifted the expected lift-off meeting to February of next year after pricing as early as November a couple of months ago. Late last week, the BoE’s normally hawkish Saunders sounded cautious on lifting off next week, while the day before yesterday Deputy Governor Broadbent advised looking “a couple of years ahead” in predicting that “these pressures on traded goods prices are more likely to subside than intensify”, although he did say wages could be an inflation driver. Chart: EURGBPEURGBP is poking at the 200-day moving average from the downside for the third time in recent months, and the less hawkish BoE may help trigger a further squeeze higher, especially if the 0.8600 prior pivot high falls. Next focus higher still comes in at the range highs from April-May near 0.8720. Source: Saxo Group SEK has traded sideways today rather than rallying, as one would expect, on the strong comeback in risk sentiment. The krona is historically one of the most highly risk sensitive currencies. Sure, the euro is largely stuck in the water here and the EU growth outlook has plenty of clouds over it with covid shut-downs etc, but EURSEK looks “wrong” relative to other reaction to the improved mood across markets, and should be lower. A statement today by Riksbank dove Jansson that it is hard to justify rate hikes and that a more active fiscal policy is the way forward likely held back SEK, as perhaps NOKSEK buying, judging from the last couple of session in that cross. In other developments, AUDNZD has cleared the important 1.0500 level, EURCHF is trying to pull higher but is still some way from challenging the important 1.0500 level. The CHF has not behaved anything like the JPY in recent months, failing to show sensitive in EURCHF, at least, to large shifts in safe haven years. Likely, to get EURCHF off the mat, we’ll need to see a broader EUR rally that includes EURUSD on a brightening outlook for EU growth. Hard to see how it gets much worse, on a relative basis, at present (covid shutdowns, energy crunch, etc…) The Bank of Canada is out just after pixel time for this article. The market is leaning for hawkish guidance for a sure rate hike at the January meeting, which is very likely what it will get. The degree to which CAD can continue to rally will also depend on whether the now suddenly very CAD-supportive backdrop extends. USDCAD needs to bash back below 1.2500 to suggest a full reversal of the rally move off the sub-1.2300 lows in October is in the cards. Looking ahead, the next critical event risks are the Friday US November CPI print, and then the exercise next week in seeing how the market reacts to the crystallization of the now hawkish Fed’s adjustments to its new monetary policy statement and to the “dot plot” of its policy forecasts. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strengthStill mean reverting from the prior trends in most currencies, but far more upside needed from commodity currencies to fully reverse the prior trends. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.A strong move higher in EU yields taking EURJPY back well above the important 128.00 level of contention lately – watching whether the trend can flip positive in the week ahead. Elsewhere, note again that AUDNZD has pulled above the important 1.0500, that USDCHF flipped positive (even if it is mid-range after surviving another test of the 200-day moving average), and that NOKSEK is trying flipping positive after a very sharp rebound from recent lows. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1500 – Canada Bank of Canada Rate Decision 1500 – US JOLTS Job Openings survey 2130 – Brazil Selic Rate Announcement 2205 – Australia RBA Governor Lowe to speak 0001 – UK Nov. RICS House Price Balance 0130 – China Nov. CPI / PPI
Gold, USDJPY and video analysis…

Gold, USDJPY and video analysis…

Jason Sen Jason Sen 08.12.2021 09:11
Gold tests strong resistance at 1786/89 with stops above 1792. A break higher however targets 1798/1800 then very strong resistance at 1805/07. USDJPY  shorts at strong resistance at 113.60/70 target 113.30/20. Below 113.10 risks a slide to 112.845 before a test of strong support at 112.45/35.CADJPY we have shorts at selling opportunity at 8975/90, with stops above 9000. A break higher targets 9035/45.    USDCAD broke 1.2735/15 targeting 1.2680 & strong support at1.2645/35...longs need stops below 1.2610. A break lower however targets 1.2575/65.   Video analysis:
New Year Resolutions: what to watch in 2022? | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Fireworks to Go On?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.12.2021 16:01
S&P 500 sharply extended gains, and credit markets indicate some continuation even if by pure inertia. A trend in place, stays in place until reversed – and yesterday‘s upswing was sufficiently supported by the credit markets. The late day retreat in HYG is an obvious warning of a pause possibly coming next, but not of a reversal – the improvements in market breadth speak for themselves. So, I‘m looking for a lean day today, and I‘m keenly watching bonds and cyclicals such as financials for further short-term direction clues. While yesterday‘s upswing was driven by tech, the daily rise in yields and inflation expectations (however modest) was balanced out by still more yield curve compression. The risk-on turn in credit markets isn‘t over, and the key question is whether HYG can extend gains or at least go only sideways for a while. Today‘s key premarket news propelling risk assets up, was about Pfizer extolling its three-dose alleged efficiency against Omicron – even though the news was sold into shortly thereafter, it has the power to buy more time and provide fuel for stocks and commodities. The copper weakness remains the only watchout in the short term, and silver sluggishness reflects lack of imminent inflation fears. As if the current prices accurately reflected above ground stockpiles and yearly mining output minus consumption. It‘s the same story in the red metal, by the way. Patience in the precious metals – it‘s about Fed either relenting, or placing inordinate amount of stress on the real economy, which would take time. Spring 2022 most probably would bring greater PMs gains than 2021 with its fits and starts – aka when inflation starts to bite the mainstream narratives and stocks, some more. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 gapped higher, and is once again approaching ATHs. Hold your horses though for it would take some time to get there. I would prefer to see broader participation within value, which isn‘t totally there at the moment. It‘s improving, but still. Credit Markets HYG upswing was considerably sold into, and that spells some consolidation ahead. The degree to which it spills over into stocks, remains to be seen. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are still looking stable, and ever so slowly improving after the Fed hawkish turn hit. The central bank and real yields projections hold the key, but the countdown to higher prices is firmly on. Crude Oil Crude oil upswing indeed continued, and black gold looks set to consolidate gains unless value stocks spring some more to life later today. Anyway, the medium-term chart remains bullish. Copper Copper is another reason why I‘m not overly bullish for today – the red metal‘s base building looks to need a bit more time to play out. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are still base building, and looking vulnerable. While a downswing isn‘t guaranteed, it can come and turn out to be sharp. Summary S&P 500 is likely to consolidate recent strong gain, not accelerating the surge today. The bulls within risk-on assets look to be slowly gaining the upper hand, and the opening part of today‘s analysis describes it‘s not a one-way street to fresh highs as the Fed has turned from a tailwind to a headwind. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bitcoin’s dominance went below 40%: crypto winter or maturity?

Bitcoin’s dominance went below 40%: crypto winter or maturity?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 09.12.2021 08:46
The cryptocurrency market capitalisation rose slightly, by 0.4%, to 2.36 trillion in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index added another 1 point overnight to 29, a significant retreat from the December 6 lows of 16 points, but still in the fear zone. Binance Coin, XRP and Luna have added between 4% and 10% over the past 24 hours, leading the gains among the top altcoins. Growth has been held back by the negative dynamics of the first cryptocurrency, which is losing more than any other of the top-20 coins. The pressure intensified on exceeding the $50K level, pushing it down 1.7% in a day and 12% in seven days. As another result, bitcoin’s overall crypto market share fell below 40%. Approaching this mark in May was a manifestation of sharp profit-taking in Bitcoin after a dizzying rally. Any sustained period when the share of the first cryptocurrency fell below 40% was in January -March and April-June periods in 2018. After that, the BTC domination has recovered with altcoins’ deeper crash, called later the crypto winter. But there is another crucial point: Bitcoin’s peak share declines from cycle to cycle as more new players emerge. At the beginning of 2017, it was 87%, then in 2019, it is already less than 70%. Many other projects have appeared in place of XRP, which has lost its former strength, like a hydra with several new ones growing in an area of its severed head. That said, neither the mechanics (BTCUSD above its 200-day average and retreating from an oversold area on the daily charts) nor the sentiment in the stock markets are pessimistic, indicating that we see purely local momentum in Bitcoin. Ether continues to pivot around its 50-day moving average, sticking to local bullish momentum. As always, it should be stated that a sustained negative on Bitcoin has the power to affect the entire crypto market, but the smooth slide in price suggests that enthusiasts are looking for other ideas in the sector, but not a general flight out of it. Perhaps capital flowing from one cryptocurrency to another is the best scenario for the entire market. However, as Saturday showed, it is easy to scare the whole market with solid moves in BTCUSD.
Market Quick Take - December 9, 2021

Market Quick Take - December 9, 2021

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 09.12.2021 09:48
Macro 2021-12-09 08:40 6 minutes to read Summary:  Global markets tried to gin up additional enthusiasm yesterday on the announcement yesterday from Pfizer that three shots of vaccine may offer far more protection from the omicron variant, but the market traded largely sideways as the sharp rally from the prior day was consolidated. The US dollar is showing signs of consolidating lower ahead of arguably the last two major event risks for the year for the currency, the Friday US November CPI data and the FOMC meeting next Wednesday. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities momentum waned a bit yesterday and trading flat in early European trading hours. In Nasdaq 100 futures the 16,420 is the key resistance level to watch in today’s session. While Nasdaq 100 futures are flat this morning, Bitcoin is trading 2% lower which if it continues could spill over into US technology stocks as these pockets of the market are connected in terms of risk-off. Bubble stocks were the biggest gainers yesterday and provide another opportunity for retail investors to reduce exposure in bubble stocks ahead of the new year. EURUSD – The EURUSD rallied sharply yesterday as the US dollar was generally on its back foot, but a solid jump higher in EU sovereign bond yields and the official handover of power to the new German government coalition yesterday may have been elements supporting the rally. The move rose as high as 1.1350, just ahead of tactical resistance near 1.1375, the last hurdle ahead of more major trend resistance near 1.1500. In many past cycles, the calendar roll has proven a major inflection point for EURUSD. The December 15 FOMC meeting and December 16 ECB meeting both look important for the provision of new guidance, with the FOMC already having made a clear hawkish shift, while the ECB will have to deliver revised inflation forecasts and guidance on balance sheet policy after its emergency “PEPP” form of QE is set to end in March. AUDUSD – The Aussie has undergone a significant sentiment shift from one of the weakest G10 currencies to one of the strongest in recent sessions, in part on the reversal in risk sentiment, but also aided by China signaling a willingness to ease policy. Speculative positioning in the US futures market suggest a very heavy short position that, if similar to positioning in the OTC market, could provide significant fuel for a squeeze higher in the currency if the backdrop of improving risk sentiment and a focus on inflation risks further boosts the price action in key commodities like iron ore, coking coal and other metals. At any rate, AUDUSD has reversed up through the first resistance near 0.7100 and is now staring down the next pivotal area into 0.720-7250, needing to blast through this and then some to suggest an attempt to put in a bottom after touching the huge 0.7000 level within the last week. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN22) trades higher for a fourth day as omicron demand concerns continue to ease and speculators accumulate length following last week’s washout. Flare-ups around the world resulting in temporary lockdowns is however likely to prevent the market from returning to pre-omicron levels at this point. The EIA reported a small 240k barrels weekly decline in crude stocks while inventories of fuel rose by a combined 6.6 million barrels. Next level of resistance in Brent being the 21-day moving average at $77.20 followed by $77.60. Gold (XAUUSD) remains stuck below the 200-day moving average, currently at $1793 with the market struggling for direction ahead of Friday’s key US inflation data. Support from a softer dollar continues to be offset by worries that a succession of expected US rate hikes in 2022 will drive up US real yields, thereby reducing a key source of support for gold. Ahead of Friday’s CPI data, the market has priced in three rate hikes next year with the first potentially coming as soon as May. Focus on silver (XAGUSD) which following its recent 13% slump is trying to establish support at $22, thereby supporting a lower XAUXAG ratio has stopped rising after finding resistance above 80 ounces of silver to one ounce of gold. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT). Haven bid for bonds faded as news hit the market that a third vaccine dose gives coverage for the omicron strain. Ten-year US Treasury yields rose above 1.50%, and yesterday’s 10-year US Treasury auction wasn’t as good as the 3-year auction the previous day. It tailed 0.4bps pricing at 1.518%. The bid-to-cover rose to 2.43x, a little lower than the past six auctions average. The yield curve bear steepened. Yet, we expect long-term yields to remain compressed if Covid infections still are an issue and lead to more restrictions. Today, the Treasury is selling 30-year bonds. If the selloff in the long part of the yield curve continues, we might witness a weak auction. What is going on? China PPI falls less than expected in November as it rises 12.9% year-on-year. The PPI number is widely considered a global inflation barometer as China is “the world’s factory”. The rise was higher than the 12.1% year-on-year expected, but lower than October’s 13.5%. The November China CPI number came in slightly cooler than expected at 2.3% year-on-year versus 2.5% expected and 1.5% in October. Pfizer says three shots of its vaccine offer more significant protection against the omicron covid variant. This news from yesterday sounded more promising than the news from just yesterday from a preliminary South African study that patients vaccinated with two shots showed some, but heavily reduced, production of antibodies in patients with the omicron variant. Pfizer found the same, but says that a third shot can bring the antibody response to similar levels as for the prior covid variants. Pfizer also said an omicron-targeted version of its vaccine could be ready in March. Buffett-backed digital lender Nubank to start trading today. The Brazilian-based digital bank Nubank is raising $2.6bn in its IPO becoming of the biggest IPOs this year with shares priced at $9 and first day of trading today on NYSE. This will mark one of the biggest publicly listed fintech companies in the world and provide a glimpse into the feasibility of running a large digital only bank. Bank of Canada upgrades language on inflation, likely set for January rate hike. The new Bank of Canada policy statement dropped a reference from the prior statement on “temporary” inflation forces, though it still maintained the expectation that inflation would drop toward 2 percent in the second half of next year. The strength in the jobs market was noted. Overall, the hawkish language changes were clear, if relatively small relative to rather aggressive market shift in expectations, and Canadian yields eased a few basis points lower at the front part of the yield curve, though a January rate hike from the bank remains likely, according to market expectations. Brazil hikes policy rate 150 basis points, BRL sees sharp gains. The rate hike to 9.25% was in line with expectations, but the central bank delivered hawkish guidance for another hike of the same size at the February meeting as the bank has clearly gone into aggressive inflation fighting mode. The Brazilian real responded strongly, gaining some 1.4% versus the US dollar yesterday. The EU gas and power market went from bad to worse yesterday after an unplanned outage temporarily cut supplies from Norway’s giant Troll field. Coming on top of geopolitical risks related to Ukraine, low winter supplies from Russia, freezing cold weather and rapidly declining stocks, these developments have driven Dutch TTF one month benchmark gas back above €100 per MWh or $34 per MMBtu. With rising demand for coal driving the cost of EU emissions to a fresh record above €90 per tons, the cost of power has surged as well. In Germany the one-year baseload contract reached a record €189 per MWh, or 5 times the long-term average. What are we watching next? WASDE on tap - Ahead of today’s monthly update on world supply and demand, the grains sector has seen a slight drift lower during the past week as the market tried to gauge the impact of the omicron variant. Today’s World Agriculture Supply and Demand report (WASDE) will primarily focus on ending stocks with expectations pointing to a relatively quiet update. US corn stockpiles are expected to have fallen slightly from November while wheat and soybean stocks are both expected to be higher, both in the US and globally. The EU is set to decide by December 22 whether investments in gas and nuclear energy should be labelled climate friendly. The design of the EU green investment classification system is closely watched by investors worldwide and could potentially attract billions of euros in private finance to help the green transition, especially given the need to reduce the usage of coal, the biggest polluter. This week’s earnings: Today’s focus is Oracle which is still struggling to find an attractive growth trajectory in the age of cloud applications, SaaS business models, and more open-source software on databases with flat revenue over the past four fiscal years. Lululemon has been one of the big winners during the pandemic gaining tailwind from home exercising, but generally the company taps into a longer-term trend of personal health. Analysts expect Lululemon to report 29% y/y revenue growth in Q3 (ending 31 October). Thursday: Sekisui House, Hormel Foods, Costco Wholesale, Oracle, Broadcom, Lululemon Athletica, Chewy, Vail Resorts Friday: Carl Zeiss Meditec Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0830 – Hungary Rate Announcement 1200 – Mexico Nov. CPI 1330 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Claims 1530 – EIA Natural Gas Storage Change 1700 – USDA World Agriculture Supply and Demand Report (WASDE) 1800 – US Treasury 30-year T-Bond auction   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets recover, but BTC could ruin the party

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets recover, but BTC could ruin the party

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.12.2021 09:24
Akash Girimath Bitcoin price continues to stride with $53,687 and $56,276 as its short-term targets. Ethereum price pauses before retesting the $4,659, followed by the $4,777 hurdles. Ripple price to face a declining resistance level before it retests $0.956. Bitcoin price has been on a steady recovery phase after the recent flash crash. Ethereum and Ripple follow big crypto and are on their trajectories of retracement. The upswing for BTC is likely to continue, but investors need to note that a downswing might emerge such that a range forms. Bitcoin price eyes higher highs Bitcoin price is recovery from its December 4 crash and is currently hovering around $50,000 psychological level. This ascent comes as BTC tries to flip the inefficiency left by the bears during the recent sell-off. While $53,687 is still the short-term resistance barrier BTC wants to tag, investors need to know that BTC might sweep the swing low at $46,698 and set a trading range. Although this might result in a brief correction, it can serve as an opportunity to accumulate for sidelined buyers. Clearing $53,687 will open the path for Bitcoin price to tag the next level at $56,276. In total, this run-up would constitute an 11% ascent from the current position. BTC/USD 4-hour chart On the other hand, if Bitcoin price retraces to the extent that it produces a lower low below the December 4 swing low at $40,867, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. Ethereum price promptly follows BTC Ethereum price has rallied roughly 30% from its December 4 swing low at $3,370 and shows signs that it wants to go higher. The $4,493 resistance barrier is the first level ETH will encounter. Clearing this level will place $4,659 and $4,777 hurdles in its path. Ethereum will easily tag these levels, but the holders should keep a close eye on the all-time high at $4,878, as ETH might revisit. In a highly bullish case, Ethereum price could extend beyond its record level and set up a new one at $5,000. ETH/USD 4-hour chart While things are looking up for Ethereum price, a failure to breach through the $4,493 hurdle could indicate a weakness among buyers. If ETH retraces lower and produces a lower low below $3,890, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. Ripple price faces two hurdles Ripple price has seen a considerable recovery, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum. As it stands, the XRP price looks ready to tackle the bear trend line extending from November. Any uptick in buying pressure pushes the remittance token toward this barrier. A decisive 4-hour candlestick close above this trend line at roughly $0.87 will set a higher high and confirm an uptrend. This move could attract sidelined buyers and propel XRP price to retest the $0.956 barrier. In total, this climb would represent a 15% gain from the current position. XRP/USD 4-hour chart On the contrary, if Ripple price fails to slice through the declining trend line, it will suggest that the sellers are not done offloading. In this situation, the XRP price will knock on the $0.764 support level. A breakdown of this barrier that produces a lower low will invalidate the bullish thesis for XRP.  
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

EUR/USD Forecast: Further near term gains in the docket

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.12.2021 09:24
EUR/USD Current price: 1.1300 Valeria Bednarik Stocks markets are giving mixed hints on sentiment heading into Wall Street’s opening. US Treasury yields recovered from an early dip, challenging weekly highs. EUR/USD is mildly bullish in the near term, needs to clear the 1.1310 resistance. The EUR/USD pair recaptured the 1.1300 level heading into the US opening, although so far, there has been no follow-through. The market´s mood is unstable, as investors are still struggling to price in the latest coronavirus developments and the latest from central banks after the Fed announced it might speed up tapering in their next meeting. The American currency managed to advance during European trading hours, following softer US government bond yields and as stocks traded with a sour tone. Equities bounced, putting mild pressure on the greenback, but as government bond yields remain strong, the dollar’s decline is modest. The EU did not release relevant macroeconomic figures, while the US published MBA Mortgage Applications for the week ended December 3, up 2% from -7% in the previous month. The US will publish October JOLTS Job Openings. EUR/USD short-term technical outlook The EUR/USD pair trades near a daily high of 1.1307, mildly bullish in the near term. The 4-hour chart shows that the price is currently extending above its 20 and 100 SMAs, both converging flat a few pips below the current level. At the same time, technical indicators crossed their midlines into positive territory, maintaining their bullish slope. The pair needs to break through the 1.1310 resistance to have further chances of advancing. Support levels: 1.1265 1.1220 1.1185 Resistance levels: 1.1310 1.1345 1.1380
What Happens After a Bullish Stampede?

What Happens After a Bullish Stampede?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 08.12.2021 15:14
  The bulls pumped up the market, but with fundamentals deteriorating and corporations largely responsible for the spike, regular investors will be left holding the bag. With investors betting on a Santa Clause rally despite the deteriorating fundamentals, the S&P 500 helped the GDXJ ETF (proxy for junior mining stocks) outperform on Dec. 7. However, with short-covering and corporate buybacks primarily responsible for the daily spike, another ‘Minsky Moment’ could be on the horizon. To explain, I wrote on Nov. 19: While European markets have largely ignored the recent coronavirus spikes, a sharp sell-off could be the spark that lights the S&P 500’s correction. To explain, the DAX 30 Index (Germany) and the CAC 40 Index (France) both closed slightly lower on Nov. 18. However, prior to Nov. 18, the DAX 30 had closed in the green for 13 of the last 15 trading days, and one-upping its European counterpart, the CAC 40 had closed in the green for 15 of the last 16 trading days. On top of that, the CAC 40 had an RSI (Relative Strength Index) north of 80, while the DAX 30 had an RSI north of 75. As a result, both indices are materially overbought at a time when Germany is implementing new restrictions. Thus, if a Minsky Moment strikes in Europe, don’t be surprised if the negativity cascades across the Atlantic. To that point, after volatility erupted on cue, the DAX 30 suffered an intraday peak-to-trough decline of 7.8%, the CAC 40 dropped by 7.3%, and the S&P 500 dropped by 5.2%. Please see below: However, with overzealous equity bulls back at it again on Dec. 7, the PMs benefited from the risk-on sentiment. However, with the fundamental problems still present, investors may have set themselves up for more disappointment. To explain, with hedge funds increasing their short bets a little too late, Goldman Sachs Prime Brokerage reported that last week, “US equities on the GS Prime book made up more than 85% of the global $ net selling (-1.4 SDs), driven by short sales and to a lesser extent long sales (9 to 1).”  In a nutshell: hedge funds increased their short bets at the worst possible time. Please see below: Thus, with the Dec. 7 rally driven mainly by a reversal of these positions, the profound short squeeze helped uplift the PMs. For example, Bank of America data shows that last week’s corporate buybacks were the highest weekly total since March. And by repurchasing nearly $3.4 billion of their own stock (focus on the first blue column from the left), their bids helped calm the S&P 500’s selling pressure. Please see below: What’s more, while Bank of America said that hedge funds and retail investors somewhat bought the dip last week (though, they’re still net-sellers over the last four weeks), corporations did much of the heavy lifting.  As a result, with retail investors running out of gas and hedge funds mainly closing out their shorts on Dec. 7, the S&P 500 should resume its correction. More importantly, though, mining stocks’ recent strength should wilt away as the drama unfolds.  Please see below: And now for the grand reveal: corporations' buyback blackout period begins on Dec. 10. And since they can't repurchase more shares until the New Year, the elephant in the room won't be able to support the S&P 500. Likewise, after hedge funds covered their shorts on Dec. 7, short-covering won't be able to support the S&P 500 either. As a result, mining stocks should suffer if the negativity resurfaces over the next few weeks. Please see below: To explain, the red line above tracks the hourly movement of the S&P 500, while the gold line above tracks the hourly movement of the GDXJ ETF. As you can see, the junior miners often follow in the S&P 500’s footsteps. And with the S&P 500 setting itself up for another drop, the GDXJ ETF likely won’t be far behind. To that point, with the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) scheduled for release on Dec. 10 and the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting scheduled for Dec. 14/15, sources of volatility will arrive at a time when corporations are stuck on the sidelines.  For context, I wrote on Nov. 12: I’ve highlighted on several occasions how the Commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) often leads the following month’s headline CPI. And after the former increased by 2% month-over-month (MoM) on Nov. 9 – which is a material MoM increase – and by 22.2% YoY (a new 2021 high), it implies a headline CPI print of roughly 5.75% to 6.25% when the data is released on Dec. 10. Please see below: To explain, the green line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the commodity PPI, while the red line above tracks the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI. If you analyze the relationship, you can see that the pair have a close connection. In addition, after expectations for September were pulled forward to July, and then expectations for July were pulled forward to June, now, the probability of a Fed rate hike in May 2022 has reached ~69%. Please see below: Also noteworthy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Dec. 3 that “the danger now is that we get too much inflation.... It's time for the [Fed] to react at upcoming meetings.” He added: “the inflation numbers are high enough that I think [ending the taper by March] would really help us to create the optionality to do more if we had to, if inflation doesn't dissipate as expected in the next couple of months.” For context, Bullard reiterated that he expects two Fed rate hikes in 2022. The bottom line? While the bulls stampeded through Wall Street on Dec. 7, things aren’t as rosy as they appear. And while the PMs benefited from the renewed optimism, their tepid rallies are even more fragile. Moreover, with another inflation print on the horizon and the FOMC’s Dec. 15 decision including its Summary of Economic Projections, the hawkish revelations could rattle the financial markets. And with corporate buybacks starting their holiday vacation on Dec. 10, stock market investors are on their own to navigate what comes next. In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Dec. 7, as risk-on sentiment reigned supreme. However, with the S&P 500 rallying by more than 2% and WTI rallying by nearly 4%, the PMs’ daily upswings were relatively muted. As a result, precious metals investors sense that caution is warranted. And with their trepidation a sign of heightened anxiety, they likely realize that going long the PMs involves much more risk than reward. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US yields repositioning for eventual lift-off?

US yields repositioning for eventual lift-off?

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 09.12.2021 11:35
Podcast 2021-12-09 10:00 20 minutes to read Summary:  Today we look at the US treasury yields in the wake of yesterday's action as omicron variant concerns fade further, especially whether the longer end of the yield curve is set to set considerably higher as the Fed moves into a hiking regime next year, as has been the case in cycles past. Thoughts on credit, key equity stories, whether EURUSD can make a turn here, the remarkable dispersion in equity market and energy market forecasts for next year, Europe's ongoing energy crunch and more. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Althea Spinozzi on fixed income, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting an on FX. Listen to today’s podcast and have a look at today’s slide deck. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Continues To Soften

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Continues To Soften

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.12.2021 10:14
USDCAD tests key support The Canadian dollar inched lower after the BOC left its interest rate unchanged as expected. The pair has met stiff selling pressure at the supply zone around 1.2850, a triple top on the daily chart. A drop below 1.2720 has forced out short-term buyers. 1.2580 is the next support and it sits on the 30-day moving average. A bearish breakout would deepen the correction to the psychological level of 1.2500. On the upside, the bulls will need to clear 1.2770 before they could have another attempt at the supply zone. USOIL rebounds from demand zone WTI crude bounces back on signs that the new virus strain has a limited impact on demand. Price action met strong buying interest near last August’s lows at 62.00, a major support from the daily chart to keep the uptrend intact. A bullish RSI divergence in this congestion area indicates a loss of momentum in the bearish drive. Then a rally above 69.30 forced the sellers to exit, opening the door for an extension towards 79.00. The initial surge has pushed the RSI into the overbought territory. 68.00 is an immediate support. GER 40 to test major resistance The Dax 40 recoups losses as fears of the omicron variant start to subside. Last October’s lows near 14900 have proven to be a solid support. The rally above 15520 stirred up volatility as the last sellers rushed to the exit. The bulls are pushing towards 15920, where the index took a nosedive in late November. A bullish breakout could attract more buying interest and turn market sentiment around. Meanwhile, an overbought RSI has caused a pullback, giving time for the bulls to accumulate. 15300 is the closest support.
Markets Turn Cautious Ahead of Tomorrow's US CPI

Markets Turn Cautious Ahead of Tomorrow's US CPI

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 09.12.2021 12:34
December 09, 2021  $USD, Brazil, Canada, China, Currency Movement, Germany, Japan, Portfolio flows, UK Overview: The euro has come back offered after its seemingly inexplicable advance yesterday.  The dollar is firmer against most major currencies today, with the yen an exception after JPY114.00 held on yesterday's advance.  Most emerging market currencies are also softer, with a handful of smaller Asian currencies proving a bit resilient.  Most large bourses advance in the Asia Pacific region, except Japan and Australia.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is steady after retreating late yesterday while US futures are pointing to a softer opening.  After rising for the past three sessions (~18 bp), the yield of the 10-year US Treasury is consolidating by hovering a little below 1.5%.  European yields are 3-5 bp softer.   Gold is little change.  This week's quiet tone contrasts with the sharp moves in Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Oil is consolidating after the three-day advance that lifted January WTI by around 8.5%.  US and European natural gas is also softer after the rally over the last few days.  Iron ore, which rallied over 10% in the first two sessions this week, edged lower yesterday and is off 3% today.  Copper's three-day rally is in jeopardy.   Asia Pacific The number of countries participating in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics is growing.  In addition to the US, Lithuania, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK have joined.  While it may annoy Chinese officials, it is symbolic.  Given Chinese quarantine protocols, many diplomats were not going to attend in the first place.  Also, the impact on China's human rights will likely be negligible.  The moral righteousness is signaling to domestic constituencies.  Yet, treatment of the Peng Shuai and the jailing of reporters needless antagonized the already precarious situation.  China's consumer inflation rose less than expected while producer prices rose more.  Owing to a jump in vegetable prices (30.6%), November CPI rose 2.3% from a year ago. The median forecast (Bloomberg survey) was for a 2.5% increase.  It is the fastest pace since August 2020. The decline in pork prices (-32.7% year-over-year) is slowing.  Excluding pork, the CPI would have risen by 3%.  Service prices remain soft.  Excluding food and energy, the core CPI is up 1.2% over the past year (1.3% previously).  Producer price inflation slowed from 13.5% in October to 12.9% in November.  Economists had forecast a 12.1% pace.  Recall officials moved to boost supplies, including coal, helping to ease the strong upside pressures.   Officials have moved to a more pro-growth stance, which means that inflation will not stand in the way of further easing monetary policy (via reserve requirements even if not interest rates) next year. Meanwhile, Evergrande and the Kaisa Group have formally missed debt-servicing payments on dollar obligations. Still, unlike the end of the property bubble in the US and Europe, China is forcing banks to continue to lend. This keeps the proverbial treadmill going.   The lending figures for November, released today, illustrate it.  New yuan loans, which track bank lending, rose by 50%+ to CNY1.27 trillion from CNY826 bln in October.  Aggregate financing, which adds shadow banking activity to bank lending, rose to CNY2.61 trillion from CNY1.59 trillion.  Note that just before publishing this report, the PBOC announced a two percentage point hike in the reserve requirement for foreign currency deposits.  This will likely weigh on the yuan, initially.    Japanese weekly portfolio flows were unusually large last week.  Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that Japanese investors were large sellers of foreign bonds for the second consecutive week.  The JPY1.18 trillion in sales followed the divestment of JPY1.34 trillion the previous week. It was the most selling in a two-week period since February.  From a high level, most of the selling last week did not require net yen buying as Japanese investors essentially shifted into foreign equities, snapping up JPY1.2 trillion.  This is the most since the time series began in 2005.  Separately, foreign investors bought JPY2.0 trillion of Japanese bonds, which appears to be the second-highest on record (after the JPY2.57 trillion bought in early July).   For the third consecutive week, foreign investors were small sellers of Japanese shares.  The dollar approached JPY114.00 yesterday and was turned back, falling to JPY113.35 today.  The JPY114 area is "defended" by a $2.2 bln option at JPY114.10 that expires today and a $1.15 bln option at JPY114.25 that expires tomorrow.  A break of JPY113.25-JPY113.35 could signal a test on JPY113.00, but the market will likely be cautious ahead of tomorrow's US CPI report.  The Australian dollar's recovery faltered earlier today slightly above $0.7185, the 20-day moving average, which it has not traded above since November 4.  The first retracement (38.2%) of this week's bounce is near $0.7115, but initial support is seen in the $0.7140 area.  The greenback edged slightly lower against the Chinese yuan (~CNY6.3430) before steadying and turning marginally higher.  It is caught between two large options expiring today.  One set is for around $2.5 bln at CNY6.34, and another set is for about $950 mln at CNY6.35.  The PBOC's reference rate for the dollar today (CNY6.3498) was the largest gap with the median projection (Bloomberg, CNY6.3467) since the middle of October.   Europe Germany's October trade figures are maybe too dated to have much market impact, but the growth of imports and exports is a constructive development.  The 4.1% rise in exports, the most since July 2020, were well above expectations, as was the 5% jump in imports (most since August 2020).  For Germany, it translates into a smaller than expected trade surplus (12.8 bln euros).  The monthly average surplus this year through October is 15.5 bln euros, which is a little above the average for the same period last year (14.4 bln euros), but off average in 2019 (through October) of 19 bln euros.   On the heels of "party-gate," UK Prime Minister Johnson has announced Plan B in the face of the new infection surge that calls for people to work from home again.  It has created much furor. Businesses have called for more government support, and unions want the furlough program to be re-instituted.  Any lingering ideas of a rate hike next week by the Bank of England have faded.  The short-sterling interest rate futures contract expiring shortly is implying the lowest yield (11 bp) in three months.   Short-covering appeared to lift the euro to $1.1355 yesterday, and it settled above its 20-day moving average for the first time since November 3.  However, this was not a harbinger of a breakout, and the euro's gains are being pared today. Initial support is seen around $1.13 and then $1.1275 area.  Sterling recorded new lows for the year yesterday slightly below $1.3165, the (38.2%) retracement of the rally since March 2020 low.  Today, it is in less than a quarter-cent range capped near $1.3215.  It is consolidating weakly.  There are options at $1.32 that expire today (~GBP370 mln) and tomorrow (GBP600 mln) that are likely neutralized.   America The US reports weekly initial jobless claims, wholesale trade and inventories, and Q3 household net worth. These are not market movers, especially today. Instead, investors' focus will likely be on equities as it waits for tomorrow's CPI.  US inflation is still accelerating, and the headline CPI is likely to move closer to 7%, setting the stage for a hawkish FOMC meeting next week.  An acceleration in tapering and more officials will likely see the need for more hikes.  Recall that in September, the last time officials updated their forecasts, half did not see a need to hike rates next year.  The market has done much of the heavy lifting for the Federal Reserve.  The implied yield of the December 2022 Fed funds futures contract has risen around 50 bp since the September FOMC meeting.  The Bank of Canada left policy on hold yesterday, as widely expected.  However, the market was disappointed that it did not upgrade its forward guidance to reflect the strong data.  The swaps market is pricing in five hikes over the next 12 months, and the central bank said nothing to encourage such an aggressive stance.  This leaves the Canadian dollar somewhat vulnerable, we think.   Brazil did not disappoint.  The central bank hiked the Selic rate by 150 bp for the second consecutive month and signaled another hike of the same magnitude in February when it meets again.  It has lifted the Selic rate by 750 bp this year.  It is being driven by rising inflation, and the economy contracted in Q2 and Q3.  The Selic rate stands at 9.25%.  The IPCA inflation measure is due tomorrow, and it is expected to have risen to 10.9% (Bloomberg survey) from 10.67% in October.   Peru is expected to hike its reference rate by 50 bp to 2.5%. It would be the third 50 bp in a row.   Its November CPI, reported at the start of the month, is slightly above 5.6%.   Mexico reports its November CPI figures today.  It is expected to rise from about 6.25% to 7.25% and set the stage for another 25 bp rate hike next week in the overnight rate to 5.25%.   The US dollar is trading firmly against the Canadian dollar, and the heavier equities may be helping it.  While initial resistance is seen near CAD1.2700, we suspect there is scope toward CAD1.2730-CAD1.2750.  The greenback fell to almost MXN20.8860 yesterday, its lowest level since November 23, and the five-day moving average crossed below the 20-day moving average for the first time since early last month.  The move appears to have exhausted itself, but the dollar needs to resurface above the MXN21.05 area to boost confidence that a low is in place.  Disclaimer
Frontrunning CPI

Frontrunning CPI

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.12.2021 15:50
S&P 500 rose as VIX retraced over half of its recent spike, but tech and value have a short-term tired look. Cyclicals turning down while utilities with staples barely budge in spite of a surge in yields? That looks really risk-off to me, and together with commodities and precious metals going nowhere, represents your usual setup before tomorrow‘s CPI announcement. So, count on some headwinds today.A reasonably hot inflation figure is expected tomorrow – inflation expectations have risen already yesterday. The fears are that a higher than what used to be called transitory figure, would cut into profit margins and send value lower. Even if inflation (which certainly hasn‘t peaked yet as I‘m on the record for having said already) isn‘t yet strong enough to sink stocks, the Fed‘s reaction to it is. The dynamic of tapering response messing up with the economy would take months to play out – so, the bumpy ride ahead can continue. If only the yield curve stopped from getting ever more inverted...Markets keep chugging along for the time being, and the warning signs to watch for talked in Monday‘s extensive analysis, aren‘t flashing red. While I would prefer to see more copper strength for confirmation (almost as much as no question marks creeping into the crypto land), this is what we have – and it indicates that the path higher won‘t be steep. Neither in stocks, commodities or precious metals – as I wrote yesterday:(…) The copper weakness remains the only watchout in the short term, and silver sluggishness reflects lack of imminent inflation fears. As if the current prices accurately reflected above ground stockpiles and yearly mining output minus consumption. It‘s the same story in the red metal, by the way.Patience in the precious metals – it‘s about Fed either relenting, or placing inordinate amount of stress on the real economy, which would take time. Spring 2022 most probably would bring greater PMs gains than 2021 with its fits and starts – aka when inflation starts to bite the mainstream narratives and stocks, some more.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 upswing looks ripe for a brief breather – the volume is drying up, and consolidation in the vicinity of ATHs shouldn‘t be unexpected.Credit MarketsHYG held up quite well on the day, but the stock market mood it translated into, was risk-off one as rising yields couldn‘t help cyclicals.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are still basing, positioned for the coming brief decline that has pretty good chances of being reversed right next. The countdown to higher prices and Fed mistake is firmly on, and the risks of being out of the market outweigh the patience now required.Crude OilCrude oil upswing is running into predictable headwinds, which I look to be resolved to the upside perhaps as early as tomorrow‘s regular session (I‘m not looking for CPI to send real assets down).CopperCopper is still quite lukewarm, and doesn‘t indicate a commodities surge right ahead. Some consolidation wouldn‘t be surprising now that half of the CRB Index downswing has been erased. Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum keep looking vulnerable – the yesterday discussed downswing possibility looks to be progressing, unfortunately for the bulls.SummaryS&P 500 is still likely to consolidate recent strong gain, and at the same time not to tank on tomorrow‘s inflation data. The (almost classical, cynics might say) anticipation is playing out in commodities and precious metals today, but I‘m looking for the downside to be reversed tomorrow as the yields vs. inflation expectations duo hint at. Fed fears this early in the tapering cycle will likely look to be a blip on the screen in the topping process hindsight.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
VeChain price nears crucial support as VET prepares for 35% breakout

VeChain price nears crucial support as VET prepares for 35% breakout

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.12.2021 15:54
VeChain price is close to retesting the $0.086 support level after failing to set higher highs. A potential increase in buying pressure around this area will likely propel VET by 35% to retest the $0.118 resistance barrier. A breakdown of the $0.079 support floor will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. VeChain price has remained in a lull despite many altcoins’ remarkable recovery. The altcoin’s attempt to push through and produce a higher high was foiled, resulting in a retracement to an immediate support level. This correction to support will likely provide the platform for a recovery that will propel VET to pre-crash levels. VeChain price vies for an uptrend VeChain price set up a swing high at $0.099 on December 5 and retraced below the immediate support level at $0.0086. While this dip was brief, the recovery that followed set up a lower high at $0.097. Since that point, VET has consolidated but is slowly trending lower, approaching the $0.086 support level. A retest of this barrier will create a triple tap setup. Sidelined buyers can enter long around this level and wait for the reversal of the downtrend and the start of a new uptrend. Investors should expect VeChain price to rally past the $0.099 swing high and reach for the $0.118 resistance level. This move will constitute a 35% move and help VET recover to pre-crash levels. Despite the bullish outlook for VET, market participants should, nevertheless, exercise caution around these levels. VET/USDT 4-hour chart If VET penetrates below the immediate support level at $0.086, however, it will indicate that the selling pressure is overwhelming the bullish momentum. If bears knock VeChain price back down to produce a lower low below the $0.079 platform, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. In this situation, VeChain price could retrace to or sweep below the $0.070 support barrier, where buyers could then still, nevertheless, come in and give the uptrend another shot.
Bitcoin’s fall under $48K will open the way to $41K or $30K

Bitcoin’s fall under $48K will open the way to $41K or $30K

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 10.12.2021 08:47
The crypto market has lost 4.2% of its capitalisation in the past 24 hours and now stands at $2.27 trillion. From the peak levels reached a month ago, capitalisation has dropped by 23%, allowing us to speak of the start of a bear market for the sector, at least like the one we saw in April-July. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index dropped from 29 to 24, slipping into the extreme fear territory. Alarmingly, the overall capitalisation this time was pulled down by altcoins. The first cryptocurrency lost around 3% over the day, returning to $48.3, where the 200-day moving average runs and touched the oversold area again. A significant short-term indicator for the market promises to be the 200-day average for Bitcoin. An ability to bounce back above that line would indicate bullish sentiment prevails and promises new attempts to climb above $50K or $60K this month. A sharp fall would formally clear the way for a deeper correction to $41K or even $30K. ETHUSD has been losing 6% over the last 24 hours and is dangerously close to the psychologically significant $4000 level. The latest momentum of the decline pushed the first altcoin away from the 50-day moving average, and a deeper correction may follow. Ether fell out of the bullish uptrend from the end of September and went into a prolonged consolidation. The declines yesterday and this morning brought the coin back to the lower end of the consolidation range, and a dip under $4000 would open a straight road down with a potential target at $3300 or further to $2700. Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market has started to rise again, reaching 40.3%. We see this growth in a falling market as an additional sign of fear of the crypto market.
Market Digest Friday 10 Dec; hold your breath, big elements to watch inflation, volatility and iron ore

Market Digest Friday 10 Dec; hold your breath, big elements to watch inflation, volatility and iron ore

Jessica Amir Jessica Amir 10.12.2021 10:34
Equities 2021-12-10 00:00 4 minutes to read Summary:  Markets are facing speed bumps again as investors await key inflationary numbers and the Feds meeting outcome, key catalyst that will ultimately change market dynamics, with fiscal stimulus being taking away. The US benchmark the top 500 stocks fell from record high territory, falling for the first time in 4 days, while the ASX200 fell for the second day, dipping below its 50 day moving average. Growth names are being sold down and safe haven assets, bonds, the USD, the JPY, are gaining appeal. It is for three important reasons. Here is what you need to know and consider, plus the five elements to watch today. Firstly, investors are holding their breath ahead of key events: Friday’s US inflation data (tipped to show inflation rose 6.8% YOY in November), plus we are also seeing investors pre-empt that the Federal Reserve next week, will map out tapering and interest rate hikes for 2022. A poll by Reuters showed that 30 of the 36 economists expect the Fed to hike rates sooner than thought, rising rates four times from the third quarter of the year 2022 to the second quarter of 2023 (expecting rates to be 1.25-1.50%). This explains why investors took profits from nine of the major 11 US sectors overnight. So growth stocks and sectors that thrive in low interest rates; consumer discretionary, real estate and information technology, saw the most selling as a result. From a stock perspective Tesla fell 6%, Semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices, and Etsy-the e-commerce vintage store, both fell 5%, and chip maker Nvidia fell 4%. If you look at Saxo Markets themes that we track, you can also see the most money on a month-on-month basis, has come out of semiconductors, while the other themes we track are posting monthly gains. Secondly, it’s critical to be aware, the UK Prime Minister announced restrictions to curb Omicron’s spread -  so the UK entered new work-from-home guidance, that could cost the UK economy $2.6 billion a month (according to Bloomberg). Meanwhile, a study by a Japanese scientist found the new variant to be 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than delta. As such some companies are responding like Lyft saying their workforce can work remotely in 2022, while Jefferies asked staffers to WFH. This means, travel and tourism stocks could see short term pressure, Australian and US stocks that are exposed to the UK could also see pressure, while oil could see demand weakness here. Plus, it could be time to again rethink exposure to the office property sector, as it’s a likely to remain squeezed, while industrial and logistics real estate remain supported given the likely new shift to WFH. Thirdly – be aware of volatility. A measure of this, VIX CBOE Volatility Index rose for the first time in four days, rising back above the 50 day average. Volatility has fallen from its 12-month high and remains contained right now as Pfizer said its vaccine can neutralize the new COVID strain Omicron after three doses (two doses offer protection again severe disease). However, keep your ears to the ground. If tomorrow’s inflation data from the US is worse than expected, expect volatility to spike, and growth stocks to see further selling and expect safe haven assets (USD, bonds, USDJPY) to gain more attraction. Aside from the above – here’s 5 things to watch today; Firstly - let's go over Fortescue Metals (FMG) 1.FMG’s CEO, Elizabeth Gains just announced she is standing down, right in the thick of iron ore having a murky outlook. It’s not been an easy 12 month for FMG holders. FMG trades 7% lower this year, but it’s a far cry from its all-time high, down 30% from its peak as iron ore price remains in a bear market (down 40% from May). 2. FMG’s trading range has been restricted for two weeks as the world holds its breath to learn more about China’s property sector. FMG shares have broken out above their 50 day moving average but its trading has been even more so restricted over the last three days as its stock hit a key resistance level awaiting news from China. If good news comes, FMG could break out higher. But it looks murky. Majority of FMG revenue (94%) comes from iron ore, and its majority sold to China (90%) (unlike BHP that now diversifies its sales to other countries). And now… we are getting mixed signals from China, making iron ore’s outlook look hazy. 3. On the positive side; week-on-week Australian iron ore exports are up. China has increased its monthly imports of Australian iron ore in November, more than expected. This has supported the iron ore price rising 8.9% this week. 3. But on the negative side - Evergrande, one of China’s biggest property developers was just officially downgraded -labelled a defaulter by Fitch Ratings after failing to meet two coupon payments after a grace period expired Monday. This may now trigger cross defaults on Evergrande’s $19.2 billion of dollar debt. Also at the same time JP Morgan downgraded its outlook for iron ore expecting the iron ore to fall 7% to $92, while Citi expects seaborne iron ore prices to fall 60-$80/t in 2022 on Chinese policy changes. 4. However, Fortescue has been in the news this week, for its shift to a green future. Was this a tactic? A smoke Bomb? Yesterday FMG announced its Future Industries department signed a pact with the Indonesia to explore hydrogen projects. The day before Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and AGL Energy (AGL) teamed up to explore repurposing NSW coal-fired power plants and turning them into green hydrogen production facilities – to hopefully create renewable electricity production, 250 megawatts (which will generate 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year). AGL and FMG will undertake a feasibility study to repurpose AGL’s Liddell and Bayswater power stations, that both accounted for 40% of NSW’s carbon dioxide emissions. Sheesh. Secondly  – Australian analyst rating changes to consider ANZ AU: Reiterated as a Bell Potter BUY, PT $30.00, RRL AU: Regis Resources Raised to Outperform at RBC; PT A$2.50 EBO NZ: EBOS Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse; PT NZ$43.14 FMG AU: JPMorgan downgrades FMG from Overweight to Neutral, dropping its PT from $22 to $20. RIO AU: JPMorgan downgrades RIO from Overweight to Neutral, dropping its PT from 113.00 to 102. MIN AU:  Reiterated as JPMorgan hold/neutral, dropping its PT from $47 to $40 Thirdly  - what else to watch today Annual General Meetings: HMC AU, PDL AU, PH2 AU, SOL AU Other Shareholder Events: AOF AU, HMC AU THL NZ: Tourism Holdings Halted in NZ Pending Proposed Transaction ADPZ NA: APG Buys 16.8% Stake in Ausgrid from AustralianSuper EBO NZ: Ebos Successfully Raises A$642m From Share Placement Fourthly - Economic news out 8:30am: (NZ) Nov. Business NZ Manufacturing PMI, prior 54.3 8:45am: (NZ) Nov. Card Spending Total MoM, prior 9.5% 8:45am: (NZ) Nov. Card Spending Retail MoM, prior 10.1% Fifthly - Other news to keep in mind: Australia Seen Facing Steeper Borrowing Costs If Slow on Climate RBA Likely to Stick With QE Until Election Over, BofA Says      ---   Markets - the numbersUS Major indices fell: S&P 500 -0.7% Nasdaq -1.7% Europe indices closed lower: Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.6%,London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.2% flat, Germany’s DAX fell 0.3%Asian markets closed mixed: Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1%, China’s CSI 300 rose 1.7%. Yesterday Australia’s ASX200 fell 0.3% Futures: ASX200 hints of a 0.14% fall today Commodities: Iron ore rose 1.3% to $110.50. Gold fell 0.4%, WTI crude fell 2% to  $70.94 per barrel. Copper fell 1.4% Currencies: Aussie dollar trades 0.4% lower at 0.7146 US. Kiwi down 0.3% to 0.6788 per US$ Bonds: U.S. 10-year yield fell 3.5bps to 1.4871%,Australia 3-year bond yield fell 0.8bps to 0.95%, Australia 10-year bond yield rose 6bps to 1.68%
Bitcoin investors seem keen to capitalise on a very successful year

Bitcoin investors seem keen to capitalise on a very successful year

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 03.12.2021 09:40
For the third day in a row, bitcoin is hovering around $56.7K with a slight downward bias. The pressure from traditional financial markets is already hard to speak of as there has been some rebound. This time around, the stability of bitcoin dynamics is not a balance between a furious tug-of-war and a tight spring. Instead, we see neat selling on growth attempts, with bitcoin sellers turning the price around each time from ever-lower levels. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index lost another point, dropping to 31. However, its reading seems somewhat outdated, as the top coins have been trending in green so far today. Over the past 24 hours, the total capitalisation of the crypto market has risen by 0.85% to 2.62. During the week, a whole cycle of market sentiment shifted with a sharp dip, followed by recovery and a local renewal of highs. Still, already on Thursday, it was noticeable how enthusiastic buying was met with selling pressure. It seems that retail and short-term investors in cryptocurrencies are keen to capitalise on a very successful year. That said, it is hardly fair to speak of any fundamental break in the bullish trend. The market's optimism is also supported by ETHUSD. It picked up on Thursday on a drawdown below 4500. We have yet to find out whether this was a sign of the end of a mini-correction. This Friday promises to be very turbulent for the financial markets, which are near key levels ahead of the publication of the labour market data. It used to be the most unpredictable and meaningful market news, although now the Fed's interpretation of the published data sets the tone.
Apple (AAPL) Stock Price and Forecast: Can Apple take a bite out of $200 before year end?

Apple (AAPL) Stock Price and Forecast: Can Apple take a bite out of $200 before year end?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.12.2021 15:54
Apple stock powers on to more all-time highs on Wednesday. AAPL shares breach and close above $175. Is $200 a conceivable year-end target for Apple stock? Apple (AAPL) stock just continues to power on like a juggernaut. A powerful combination of momentum and fundamentals is pushing this one higher. Despite the market sell-off last week and earlier this week due to Omicron, Apple still found buyers. The stock has both defensive and offensive qualities. "Defensive" in terms of the huge cash pile it sits on and "offensive" in its entire business. The stock added another 2% on Wednesday, closing at $175.08. Apple is now up over 7% in just over a week, impressive when you consider the market background. Apple (AAPL) chart, 15-minute Apple (AAPL) stock news Apple was granted a motion to delay App Store changes that had been in the offing after the Epic Games ruling. Apple is appealing the so-called "Fortnite" issue as Epic Games is the creator of Fortnite. The ruling meant Apple would have to change some rules in order to allow links to outside payment systems. Because Apple is appealing the "Fortnite" ruling, it does not now have to make any App Store changes until that appeal decision. This likely means a multi-year-long reprieve for the App Store as the appeal will take time. A definite positive in our view. "Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court’s determination," the 9th Circuit Court wrote on Wednesday-Reuters. Separately, Apple has lost more engineers from its car project to startup companies in the space, according to a report from Bloomberg. Apple (AAPL) stock forecast No resistance is in sight, obviously, when AAPL at record highs. The pivot level for short-term support is $167. Here we have some volume from last week, and also it is a breakout level for the move this week. The 9-day moving average will also likely track to this level today. Below the medium-term pivot is at $157, so Apple remains bullish above there. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and Relative Strength Index (RSI) remain bullish, and volume has been strong behind this recent rally, indicating its health. AAPL 1-day chart
Tesla (TSLA) Stock Price and Forecast: Will Tesla fall to $900?

Tesla (TSLA) Stock Price and Forecast: Will Tesla fall to $900?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 06.12.2021 19:29
Tesla (TSLA) stock continues to slide as Friday sees 6% loss. Tesla (TSLA) now nearing key $1,000 support and pivot. Tesla (TSLA) is likely to move quickly to $910 if the stock breaches $1,000. Tesla stock continues to remain under increased selling pressure as markets take a risk-off approach in the current environment. The emergence of the omicron covid variant appears to have put the brakes on the latest rally but the move had become overdone anyway and some correction was necessary. While 2021 has been the year to buy dips, is this one different? We think not and reckon now is the time to wade back in but we take a differing approach here with Tesla (TSLA). The stock has had a standout 2021 and is likely to suffer from now into year-end. The temptation of profit taking is just too strong here. Technically $1,000 is key. Holding will put in place a bullish double bottom and make us change our call but we, for now, remain bearish and see $1,000 breaking, leading to a sharp acceleration to $910. Our daily chart for Tesla (TSLA) above shows just how much pain the stock has taken this past couple of weeks. Tesla was nearing gains of 80% for 2021 in early November but now is back to a gain of 45% for the year so far. Still a strong outperformance against the benchmarks. Tesla (TSLA) stock news The most anticipated of product launches, that of the cybertruck, has been delayed to the end of 2022 according to a Twitter post from CEO Elon Musk. He gave more details about the proposed cybertruck saying it will have four motors, one for each wheel, and will be able to crab sideways. Elon Musk will give more details on Tesla's next earnings call. China sees a recall for some Tesla cars with a report in Electrek stating "According to a statement from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), Tesla Shanghai filed a recall plan for 21,599 Model Y EVs manufactured in the country. The automaker cited issues pertaining to the strength of front and rear steering knuckles, stating they may not meet the automaker’s design requirements". Also of note is Elon Musk selling another $1 billion worth of stock, while Cathie Wood of ARK also is still trimming her funds holding in the name. Tesla (TSLA) stock forecast $1,000 is huge, break and it is likely straight to $910. Hold and we would expect more all-time highs before year-end. It is that simple in our view. This one is big. $910 closes the gap from the whole Hertz parabolic move and markets love to fill gaps. Holding on the other hand confirms a double bottom which is a powerful bullish reversal signal. We would need some confirmation with either a stochastic or MACD crossover or a bullish divergence from the RSI. So far we have none of these, making a break lower more likely in our view.
TSLA Stock Price and Forecast: Why Tesla will break $1,200 on Wednesday

TSLA Stock Price and Forecast: Why Tesla will break $1,200 on Wednesday

FXStreet News FXStreet News 01.12.2021 16:20
Tesla emerges unscathed from another equity sell-off on Tuesday. TSLA is likely to break higher on Wednesday as buyers return. Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes a bite out of Apple. Tesla (TSLA) stock can do no wrong in 2021, and it avoided another market meltdown on Tuesday. While panic ensued following Powell's remarks about the taper and inflation, TSLA held firmly in the green. Equity indices finished nearly 2% lower on Tuesday, but Tesla shares closed at $1,144.76 for a gain of 0.7%. This was another strong outperformance for a stock that is up 62% year to date. Contrast that with the Nasdaq, up 25 % for 2021, and the S&P 500, up a similar amount. 2021 has been the year of the electric vehicle, and Tesla paved the way for others to follow, notably Rivian (RIVN) and Lucid (LCID). Our chart above shows the strong correlation between Tesla and Lucid with both stocks putting in a stellar second half for 2021. Tesla (TSLA) stock news Elon Musk is nothing if not entertaining, and on a slow news day for Tesla he livened things up by taking a pop on Twitter toward Apple. Don’t waste your money on that silly Apple Cloth, buy our whistle instead! — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 1, 2021 The Apple cloth he is referring to is a polishing cloth available from Apple for $19. Tesla recently launched a Cyberwhistle for what reason? Who knows, but it is currently sold out. At $50 for a whistle, it is not exactly cheap. It seems people just love a Tesla product. Apple was no slouch either on Tuesday as the stock set all-time highs. Tesla (TSLA) stock forecast The triangle formation still holds and a breakout is awaited. A triangle pattern is usually a continuation pattern, and Wednesday could provide the catalyst to break higher. The stock has consolidated well despite some strong headwinds: notably, Elon Musk selling a Cybertruck load of stock, and Tesla not performing well in a recent reliability test. It did however score highly on customer satisfaction, and investor satisfaction is also high given the strong performance. We expect more all-time highs this week even with the surrounding Omicron volatility. Our view will change if Tesla cracked below key support at $1,063. TSLA 1-day chart
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

USDCAD, EURJPY, CADJPY, AUDJPY and other pairs highlighted in today's analysis by Jason Sen

Jason Sen Jason Sen 10.12.2021 11:29
Video analysis: AUDJPY shorts at 8155/75 worked perfectly with a high for the day here & a dip to 8090 EURJPY shorts at strong resistance at 128.80/129.00 worked perfectly with a high for the day here & a 100 pip profit on the slide to 128.00/127.90 for profit taking. In fact we saw a low for the day here. CADJPY reversed to strong support at 8910/8890 with a low here as I write this morning. Try longs with stop below 8870. USDCAD longs at 1.2645/35 worked on the bounce to targets of 1.2665 & 1.2690/1.2700. Now we have shorts at 1.2715/25. EURUSD we were short again at resistance at 1.1350/70 yesterday with a potential 70 pp profit on the slide to 1.1280. GBPUSD second chance to buy in to longs at 1.3170/50 yesterday, stop below 1.3120. GBPNZD broke first support at 1.9500/1.9480 targeting 1.9425/15 & second support at 1.9380/60. A low for the day here with longs already offered up to 100 pips profit. AUDUSD level of 7140/20 now acting as support to hit the next target of 7170/80. NZDUSD shorts at 6800/10 work on the slide to 6780 for only a small potential profit yesterday. USDJPY tested strong resistance at 113.60/70 this week but over ran to 113.90 before reversing. GBPCAD beat strong resistance at 1.6745/55 to hit the next target of 1.6815/20. EURGBP first support at 8500/95, second support at 8478/74. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Catching More Than a Decent Bid

Catching More Than a Decent Bid

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.12.2021 15:48
S&P 500 predictably relented, but the resilience of value provides a glimmer of hope. Quite a solid one as the HYG spurt to the downside didn‘t inspire a broader selloff, including in tech. Yesterday was your regular wait-and-see session of prepositioning to today‘s CPI data. This not exactly a leading indicator of inflation clearly hasn‘t peaked, and inflation around the world either. The difference between the U.S. with eurozone, and the rest of the world, is that many other central banks are already on a tightening path.I count on such a CPI reading that wouldn‘t cause a rush to the exit door and liquidation in fears of Fed going even more hawkish (in rhetoric, it must be said). My series of pre-CPI release tweets have worked out to the letter – and now, it‘s back to the inflation trades.I already told you in yesterday‘s report:(…) A reasonably hot inflation figure is expected tomorrow – inflation expectations have risen already yesterday. The fears are that a higher than what used to be called transitory figure, would cut into profit margins and send value lower. Even if inflation (which certainly hasn‘t peaked yet as I‘m on the record for having said already) isn‘t yet strong enough to sink stocks, the Fed‘s reaction to it is. The dynamic of tapering response messing up with the economy would take months to play out – so, the bumpy ride ahead can continue. If only the yield curve stopped from getting ever more inverted...Markets keep chugging along for the time being, and the warning signs to watch for talked in Monday‘s extensive analysis, aren‘t flashing red.The pieces of the stock market and commodities rally continuation are in place, and the same goes for precious metals reversing the prior cautious stance. Even cryptos are warming up to the data release.Looking further ahead in time to 2022, I can‘t understate the bright prospects of agrifoods (DBA) – and it‘s in no way just about the turmoil in fertilizer land.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 downswing looks ready to be reversed soon – in spite of the drying up volume which often accompanies bull markets. The daily indicators remain positioned favorably to the bulls.Credit MarketsHYG weakness looks somewhat overdone to me – the prior upswing is still getting the benefit of my doubt. The coming sessions just shouldn‘t bring a steep HYG decline in my view.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are still basing, and I‘m looking for the hesitation to be reversed to the upside. Just see the tough headwinds in comparing silver being almost at its Sep lows while gold is trading much higher. Once the inflation narratives get a renewed boost, silver would play catch up.Crude OilCrude oil upswing is running into predictable headwinds, but I‘m looking at the next attempt at $72 to succeed, and for $74 to be broken to the upside later on.CopperCopper is still lukewarm, and waiting for the broader commodity fires to reignite. The red metal isn‘t in an anticipatory, frontrunning mood – its prolonged consolidation means though it‘s prefectly prepared to rise decisively again.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are finding buying interest, but the Ethereum underperformance has me still cautious after taking sizable ETH profits off the table yesterday.SummaryS&P 500 rally is likely to continue today, and the same goes for risk-on and real assets. The Fed evidently won‘t be forced into a more hawkish position in Dec, and the markets are starting to celebrate. Silently celebrate as it‘s not about fireworks, but a reasonable and well bid advance across the board. I hope you‘re likewise positioned!Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Another 4 Years of Gold’s Tricky Romance With Jay

Another 4 Years of Gold’s Tricky Romance With Jay

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 10.12.2021 16:45
  “Do you love me?”, asked gold. “Of course, my dear”, replied Jay, but his thoughts were with others: asset purchases tapering and interest rate hikes. “It’s complicated” – this is how many people answer questions about their romantic lives. The relationship between gold and Jerome Powell is also not a clear one. As you know, in November, President Biden announced that he would reappoint Powell for the second term as the Fed Chair. It means that gold will have to live with Jerome under the same roof for another four years. To say that gold didn’t like it is to say nothing. The yellow metal snapped and left the cozy living room of $1,850, slamming the door loudly. In less literary expressions, its price plunged from above $1,860 on November 19 to $1,782 on November 24, 2021, as the chart below shows. The impulsive gold’s reaction to Powell’s renomination resulted from its failed dream about a love affair with Lael Brainard. She was considered a leading contender to replace Powell. The contender that would be more dovish and, thus, more supportive of gold prices. However, is a hawkish dove a hawk? Is Powell really a hawk? Even if more hawkish than Brainard, he still orchestrated an unprecedentedly accommodative monetary policy in response to the pandemic-related economic crisis. It was none other than Powell who started to cut interest rates in 2019, a year before the epidemic outbreak. It was he who implemented an inflation-averaging regime that allowed inflation to run above the target. Right now, it’s also Powell who claims that the current high inflation is transitory, although it’s clear for almost everyone else that it’s more persistent. I wouldn’t call Powell a hawk then. He is rather a dove in a hawk’s clothing. So, gold doesn’t have to suffer under Powell’s second term as the Fed Chair. Please take a look at the chart below, which shows gold’s performance in the period of 2017-2021. As you can see, the yellow metal gained about 34% during Powell’s first term as the chair of the Federal Reserve that started in February 2018 (or 40% since Trump’s November 2017 nomination of the Fed). Not bad! Actually, gold performed much better back then than under Yellen’s term as the Fed Chair. During her tenure, which took place in 2014-2018, the yellow metal was traded sideways, remaining generally in a corridor between $1,100-$1,300. I’m not saying that Yellen despised gold, while Powell loves it. My point is that gold’s performance during the tenures of Fed Chairs varies along with changes in the macroeconomic environment in which they act and the monetary stance they adopt. Gold suffered strongly until December 2015, when Yellen finally started hiking the federal funds rate. It then rebounded, only to struggle again in 2018 amid an aggressive tightening cycle. However, at the end of that year it started to rally due to a dovish shift within the Fed, and, of course, in a lagged response to unprecedented fiscal and monetary actions later in 2020. I have bad and good news here. The former is that the macroeconomic environment during Powell’s second term could be more inflationary, demanding more hawkish actions. The Fed has already started tapering of its quantitative easing, and bets are accumulating that it could start hiking interest rates somewhere around mid-2022. What’s more, the continuation of Powell’s leadership ensures more stability and provides markets with more certainty about what to expect from the Fed in the coming years. This is bad news for safe-haven assets such as gold. Last but not least, the composition of the FOMC is going to shift toward the hawkish side. This is because some strong doves, such as Daly and Evans, are out, while some notable hawks, such as George, Mester (and also Bullard), are among the voting members in 2022. Gold may, therefore, find itself under downward pressure next year, especially in its first half. On the other hand, the current FOMC expresses clearly dovish bias. With mammoth public debt and elevated asset prices, aggressive tightening would simply be very risky from a financial and political point of view. So, the Fed is likely to generally remain behind the curve. By the way, Biden not only reappointed Powell for the second term as Fed Chair, but he also appointed Brainard as Vice-Chair. We also can’t exclude that Biden agreed to Powell’s second term only if he conducts “appropriate” monetary policy. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren once called Powell “a dangerous man.” Well, in a way, it’s true, as powerful people can be dangerous. However, history shows that Powell doesn’t have to be a threat to gold. After all, he is not a hawk in the mold of Paul Volcker, but merely a hawkish dove, or a dove that will have to normalize the crisis monetary policy and curb inflation. In the upcoming months, gold may struggle amid prospects of more interest rates hikes and likely strengthened hawkish rhetoric from the Fed. However, precious metals investors often sell the rumor and buy the fact. So, when the US central bank finally delivers them, better times may come for the yellow metal, and gold and Jay could live happily ever after. The End. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Silver is moving up

Silver is moving up

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 11.12.2021 10:45
So, what are the facts: Monthly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, probabilities: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of December 10th, 2021. In 2020, silver broke a multiyear sideways range and moved strongly up. It has now consolidated for over a year in a sideways range again. This is a bullish setup! As much as emotions might be weary, from a probability perspective, a general rule is that the longer a congestion is from a time perspective, the more significant will be the subsequent breakout from that range. Statistical probabilities are also clearly pointing to the upside rather than returning into the prior range. Not to forget, buying near the lows of such a range box guarantees the lowest entry risk and highest risk/reward-ratio play to be taken for the long side, even if emotions might tell you otherwise. 2021 silver trades performance: 2021 silver trades performance. Another fact is that one does not need to know when and if a breakout is happening to extract money from the markets consistently. The above chart is this year’s silver trades that we posted in real-time in our free Telegram channel. The systematic approach focuses on low-risk entry points with a risk reduction method through our quad exit strategy. Sideways markets provide an income-producing aspect of one’s trading, and a possible breakout of a range would give a significant bonus. An approach like this keeps emotions in check since one’s labor gets rewarded and allows for significantly higher rewards once ranges do break. Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart, silver is moving up: Silver in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of December 10th, 2021. In short, while waiting is strenuous, and one might feel doubtful, from a probability perspective, silver is an even likelier success story now than it has been six months or a year ago. What should also not be underestimated is the fundamental situation of this wealth preservation play. The extensions of governments playing the inflation game to such length are like adding fuel to the silver play. Widespread problems that are the pillars to this insurance play have, if anything, increased. Consequently, supporting a good likelihood that silver prices go up. When? Well, that is hard to say since no one knows the future, but maybe this question gets proportionally in weight too much attention since insurance isn’t just bought for the next storm to come but in principle acquired to make one feel good and to protect one’s wealth long term. The quarterly chart above shows how silvers inherent volatility can sustain, in times of market turmoil, extended phases of extreme standard deviation levels. Price moves far away from the mean (red line). We are trading near the mean as of now, and the very right green line is a projection of a possible price move up.   S&P 500 in US-Dollar, quarterly chart, Quod erat demonstrandum: S&P 500 in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of December 10th, 2021. Still, some doubt left? Have a look at the above S&P500 chart, representing the broad market. Does that look like a healthy chart? Baby boomers and general stock-market participants might be in for a rude awakening once they realize how little their fiat currency is still worth when they cash in those stock portfolio investments. Just compare your total living cost from 2020 with 2021. All positions from food to health insurance, from car gas to electricity bills. Calculate the percentage difference from those two numbers and add this percentage to the average acquisition cost of your physical silver, and you have the real value of your silver already now. How does homelessness double to a half million people per day sleeping roofless factor in? Does this chart represent great times when we face supply chain disruptions? Or is it all smoke and mirrors, and once the music stops, there will be countless chairs missing for everyone to sit down? Silver is moving up: The essential principle in play is that markets are counterintuitive. Meaning your feelings might have switched from enthusiasm to uncertainty, even frustration, but probability facts are in direct opposition to one’s feelings. This principle is the underlying reason why moves out of extended congestion zones can result in substantial moves. Once emotionally weak hands are washed out, these breakouts come from an emotional perspective surprising. Bears step aside and bulls chase prices. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC might dive below $40,000

Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC might dive below $40,000

FXStreet News FXStreet News 10.12.2021 16:09
Bitcoin price has penetrated below the $53,000 support level and is currently exploring the $48,000 to $50,000 foothold. BTC needs to rise above $57,845 to flip bullish, failing could leave it open to retest $40,000. On-chain metrics are indicating a wide array of emotions, painting the indecisiveness of the crypto markets. Bitcoin price is currently hovering around a crucial barrier as bulls and bears hash it out. This fight for control shows indecision among the participants and is often formed before a volatile move. Short-term investors need to be cautious about the next move, therefore, so as not to be caught off guard. Bitcoin price at crossroads Bitcoin price has slipped below the $50,000 psychological level five times over the last six days. Although the first four times BTC recovered back above it, the December 9 crash produced a daily close below it. Price action for the next few days is crucial as it will determine or establish a directions bias. In some cases, Bitcoin price could consolidate before it violently explodes. While it is difficult to say in which direction BTC might head, let’s assume, it is a bullish move. In that case, Bitcoin price needs to produce a daily close above $57,845 to indicate that the bulls are back in control. Doing this will establish a higher high and eventually, a higher low, which will confirm the start of an uptrend. Even after flipping the $57,845 level, BTC needs to wade through a thick consolidation area up to $61,000. Beyond this level, the big crypto will then have to tackle the $65,509 hurdle and eventually the all-time high at $69,000. To trigger this scenario, BTC needs to consolidate or reverse the downtrend and produce a higher high above $57,845. BTC/USD 1-day chart Supporting this scenario is the daily active addresses chart, which shows that DAA is above the 30-day average of 944,000 and is currently at 1.11 million. This data reveals that despite the recent flash crashes, investors are still interacting with the bitcoin blockchain, suggesting that they are optimistic about BTC’s performance. BTC DAA chart Further implying that an uptrend is likely is the 365-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) model, which has reset and is currently at 1%. This on-chain metric is used to determine the average profit/loss of investors that purchased BTC over the past year. There is a chance this index might dip into the negative territory, but there is also the possibility that long-term holders might start accumulating, kick-starting the uptrend. BTC 365-day MVRV chart Lastly, the stable coin supply reserve on all exchanges has hit a new all-time high of $21.3 billion as of December 9. This uptick seems to have picked up pace around November 25, indicating that investors could be preparing to buy the dip if we ever get one or using the stablecoins as collateral for their existing positions. BTC stablecoin supply reserve chart BTC bears are not far behind While the bullish scenario does not seem out of the realm of possibility, the breakdown of the $50,000 psychological level and $48,326 support level suggests that bears are in control. If buyers fail to rescue the pioneer crypto at these levels, there is a high chance the downtrend could deepen, knocking BTC down to $40,596, the next support floor. If this were to happen, the market makers will likely collect the liquidity resting below this area, allowing BTC to revisit the $30,000 levels again. In an extremely dire case, Bitcoin price could head below the July 20 swing low at $29,763 to collect the sell-stop liquidity. Supporting the bearish side of arguments is IntoTheBlock’s Global In/Out of the Money (GIOM) model, which shows that the next stable support level extends from $45,615 to $23,046. Here roughly 5 million addresses purchased 3.35 million BTC at an average price of $36,730. Even if BTC might head to $30,000 or lower, there is a high chance it might revisit $36,000. BTC GIOM Moreover, the large transaction volume worth $100,000 or more has also dried up from 12 million on November 16 to 5.4 million on December 6. This 55% reduction indicates large institutions or whales are uninterested in BTC at the current levels. BTC large transactions volume chart Investors need to be cautious, therefore, and observe how Bitcoin price reacts around the $50,000 psychological level. A consolidation followed by a pump to $57,845 will suggest that the bulls are trying to make a comeback. In which case, market participants need to wait for confirmation. If Bitcoin price continues to sell-off, then a revisit of $40,000 or lower seems plausible.
Gold Stays Sedentary Whilst Silver (a Steal!) Skids Senselessly

Gold Stays Sedentary Whilst Silver (a Steal!) Skids Senselessly

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 13.12.2021 09:18
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 630th Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 11 December 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com Without looking... Think quick! What is the price of Gold right now? (HINT: If you read last week's missive, you already know the answer). "Uhh gee, mmb... in the 1780s?" Spot-on there, Squire, for the simplest reason that the price of Gold is always in the 1780s. Don't believe it? Feel free to verify the following, (you cannot make this stuff up): 'Twas in the 1780s ten years ago; 'twas in the 1780s ten months ago; 'twas in the 1780s ten weeks ago; 'twas in the 1780s ten days ago; and 'tis today in the 1780s -- 1783 to be precise -- as portrayed in the above Gold Scoreboard. That is just 44% of Gold's Dollar-debased value of 4015, even as honestly-adjusted for the increase in the supply of Gold itself. No kiddin'. Indeed should Gold have just died, an epitaph of solely "1780" is perfectly apt. "Charles, is this Gold's gravestone?" ... "That, my dear Dysphasia, is a rhetorical question." For just as the price of Gold was relatively "fixed" post-Issac Newton in the $18-to-$20 range, then again relatively "fixed" post-Bretton Woods in the $34-to-$35 range -- until 1971 upon Richard Nixon nixing such Gold Standard -- today we might say Gold is relatively "fixed" in the 1780s by "The M Word" crowd. Indeed, the "manipulation" motif is gaining more and more mainstream mention of late, the market depth of bids and offers rotating marvelously around 1780 as a centerpiece price. And it never being wrong, the market is what 'tis today: 1780. But broad buying sway can this allay: for Gold remains extraordinarily under-owned, an understatement at that. 'Course, the day to sell your Gold is the day everybody wants it, even at a five-figure price. But for now, why own a dense, ductile lump of rather incongruous rock when with a mere tap of the mouse one benefits many times over from an increasing array of shiny objects permeating the markets, be they earningless stocks or cryptocrap or even non-fungible tokens? Certainly they make one and all cocksure and feeling fine! (Until suddenly the objects vanish, but we're not supposed to say that). And how about Sister Silver of late? Hardly does she feel very great. Whilst Gold has been ad nausea sedentary in forever wallowing 'round the 1780s, and more accurately being -3.0% month-over-month, Silver senselessly has skidded -10.9%! Quite obviously, Silver has not been adorned in her precious metals pinstripes. So it must instead be that she is sporting her industrial metal jacket, right? For Cousin Copper clearly must be going over the cliff. But no, 'tisn't. Rather for the same stint, Copper is off but a mere -0.5%. What To Figure, eh? Last week we wrote of market dislocation: Silver has become so dislocated as to have been left naked! Here are the percentage tracks of our BEGOS Markets' metals triumvirate from one month ago-to-date (21 trading days): Further, guess what just crossed above 80x for its first occurrence since 29 September? Exactly right: the Gold/Silver ratio, which now is 80.3x. Its millennium-to-date average is 66.4x. Thus were Silver today (22.215) priced at the average, she'd in fact be +24.6% higher at 27.690. (Think means regression). Either way, by our math, Silver right now is a steal (!!!) So as Silver sinks even as Copper remains buoyant -- which makes no sense -- Gold sedentarily sits. In settling out the week yesterday at the aforementioned 1783, price on a points basis traced its narrowest week (since that ending on Valentine's Day 2020) in the last 22 months, and the narrowest week on a percentage basis since that ending nearly two years ago on 22 December 2019. So narrow was last week's trading range that it barely shows as the rightmost nub on the graphic of Gold's weekly bars from one year ago-to-date: Economically, the past week of incoming metrics were inflation-persistent. There was an upward revision to Q3's Unit Labor Costs along with a downward revision for the quarter's Productivity: that's Classic Stagflation, right there! Too, November's CPI remained stubbornly high with an +0.8% reading, (which for those of you scoring at home is an annualized pace of +9.6% ... are ya gettin' that with all the dough you've got sitting in the bank? Oh right, you put it all in the stock market). October's Trade Deficit backed off from that for September, whilst Consumer Credit eroded and Wholesale Inventories somewhat bloated. December's University of Michigan Sentiment Survey regained the 70 level, but remains below the COVID-era average of 77. Put it all together and the Economic Barometer lost of bit of tether: With further respect to rising everything ('cept the metals), Dow Jones Newswires during the week ran with "This Inflation Defies the Old Models. Neither supply or demand by itself is increasing prices; it’s an unusual combination of both." True enough: we've tons of money chasing not enough stuff, the cost of which to produce and supply is ever-increasing. This is what happens when the system is flooded with money. Everybody's loaded, so why the heck seek work? Especially given your shiny object investments see you retiring at 35. (Or as a French friend oft texts to us: "So gréat!") Meanwhile come 21 December (that's Tuesday a week), some 40% of StateSide obligations shan't be payable (per analysis from the Bipartisan Policy Center) given the debt ceiling then being reached. "Hey Shinzō, that you? Joe here. Hey listen: we may have to skip that next interest payment. My Janet who? Hello Shinzō? Hey! Are you still there, buddy?" Or something like that. Which leads us to three critical, succinct questions: â–  "Got Gold?" â–  "Got Silver?" â–  "Has the S&P crashed yet?" Just askin'. In fact speaking of the latter, our "live" S&P 500 price/earnings ratio is now 48.6x, (another of our honest calculations that the FinWorld elects not to perform). In fact, the "in" thing these days is to value a company -- should they not have earnings -- by revenues. (This is referred to as "Dumbing-down beyond stoopid"). For example, we read this past week that such valuation method is apparently touted for a shiny object called "Snowflake". Last year this object's top line was +$592M and its bottom line -$539M, a truly symmetrical snowflake swing of -$1.1B. Moreover, we read (courtesy of NASDAQ) that negative swings are to be again seen in '22, '23 and '24. And snowflakes do melt. (See 2000-2002). Just sayin'. 'Course to be fair, Gold's price as a function of valuation continues to melt. The U.S. money supply continues to rise, yet Gold's price remains hardly wise, (except in the guise to load up on this prize). To wit, our two-panel graphic featuring on the left Gold's daily bars from three months ago-to-date and on the right price's 10-Market Profile. The good news per the "Baby Blues" having just ceased their fall right at the -80% axis is that price's recent freeze in the 1780s may be the consolidative haunch from which to launch. And obviously, those incessant 1780s clearly dominate the Profile: Silver's like graphic shows both price and the "Baby Blues" (below left) clearly more skittish than Gold, whilst her Profile (below right) sees her singin' the blues. (But grab some Silver whilst you've nuthin' to lose!) Grab a glimpse too at The Gold Stack: The Gold StackGold's Value per Dollar Debasement, (from our opening "Scoreboard"): 4015Gold’s All-Time Intra-Day High: 2089 (07 August 2020)Gold’s All-Time Closing High: 2075 (06 August 2020)2021's High: 1963 (06 January)The Gateway to 2000: 1900+The 300-Day Moving Average: 1815 and fallingThe Final Frontier: 1800-1900The Northern Front: 1800-1750Trading Resistance: 1785 / 179510-Session “volume-weighted” average price magnet: 1783Gold Currently: 1783, (expected daily trading range ["EDTR"]: 22 points)Trading Support: 1777 / 177310-Session directional range: down to 1762 (from 1811) = -49 points or -2.7%On Maneuvers: 1750-1579The Weekly Parabolic Price to flip Short: 17282021's Low: 1673 (08 March) The Floor: 1579-1466Le Sous-sol: Sub-1466The Support Shelf: 1454-1434Base Camp: 1377The 1360s Double-Top: 1369 in Apr '18 preceded by 1362 in Sep '17Neverland: The Whiny 1290sThe Box: 1280-1240 And then there's next week. 15 metrics are scheduled for the Econ Baro. And the mid-week cherry? A policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. "Oh no, not again!" Kinda like those radio hits: good or bad, they just keep on comin'! So c'mon and get yourself some Gold, and don't forget the Silver too! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.TheGoldUpdate.com
FOMC meeting and Christmas will take crypto off pause

FOMC meeting and Christmas will take crypto off pause

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 13.12.2021 09:36
Cryptocurrencies avoided strong moves over the weekend. Bitcoin failed to significantly move away from its 200-day moving average and Ether from the $4000, leaving short-term traders in limbo. The capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies has barely changed in the past 24 hours, remaining at 2.26 trillion. The cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is gradually recovering, rising to 28 (fear) against a low of 16 on Saturday morning. But as we can see, the state of extreme fear has not pushed key coins over the red lines. Bitcoin saw demand last week on intraday declines below $48K. Buyers support prevented it from getting below a critical technical level. But we are alarmed that the bulls managed to push the rate only slightly higher. If the bulls surrender this defensive line, a mighty avalanche of liquidation of marginal long positions is likely. If that happens, we expect volatility to spike to a magnitude similar to what we saw on the first Saturday in December and earlier in September and May. ETHUSD is hovering around $4000, and bounces from that level are getting lower in December. So far, Ether has withstood the sellers' onslaught, defending the round level and the September highs area. However, a fifth consecutive week of declines is lousy publicity for cryptocurrencies. The key demand drivers are still speculative expectations of price growth rather than company performance as in shares. Investors in the two major cryptocurrency coins have paused to assess the situation. They are waiting for meaningful signals for a continued bullish trend or the start of a bear market. The markets seem to be lacking new drivers for a strong bullish rally in the major cryptos. This week, financial market attention will be focus on the Fed meeting, and cryptocurrencies could come off pause if the Central Bank's comments elicit an unequivocal market reaction. Investors should also note that Bitcoin often makes strong moves around Christmas.
Omicron, USDJPY, Gold, DXY highlighted in this Luke Suddards' piece

Omicron, USDJPY, Gold, DXY highlighted in this Luke Suddards' piece

Luke Suddards Luke Suddards 10.12.2021 15:15
Pfizer and BioNTech released the results of their recent laboratory study which found that their vaccine’s antibody response is capable of neutralizing omicron (levels similar to 2 doses against previous strains) after three doses. There was a more than 25-fold reduction in the efficacy of the vaccine however, showing the 32 mutations in omicron does certainly have an impact. The vaccine induced T cells are not affected by omicron and should therefore still provide protection from severe symptoms. To finish off a Japanese study showed that omicron was 4.2 times more transmissible than delta in its early stage. We know that omicron was far more transmissible already so this isn’t a major shock, however, the issue with higher transmissibility is the opportunity for further new variants to arise which (hopefully) will not increase in lethality. Dollar Index (DXY): The greenback is basically flat from where it started the week as traders remain hesitant to push price in a new direction until today’s CPI result is out the way. Omicron news as mentioned above has been on the positive side so risk-off flows derived from that side of things has been non-existent. However, where we could see more safe haven bids for the dollar is from any escalation in the Russia Ukraine tensions, with an invasion very likely seeing risk-off ensconcing markets. This would clearly benefit the dollar on the lhs of the smile (risk-off). Data wise, job numbers filled the rather quiet calendar throughout the week with vacancies reaching new records as well as jobless claims breaching the 200k mark, coming in at 184k. We also had bond auctions coming to the fore, beginning with the front end of the curve, 3-year auctions showed strong demand despite today’s inflation numbers; moving to the back end of the curve the 10-year also showed relatively robust demand. It was the 30-year bond which was very weak with yields spiking higher leading to fears over today’s inflation numbers being the main driver. Inflation numbers were smack bang in line with consensus at 6.8% YoY (highest since 1982) and 4.9% YoY for core. The initial market reaction saw the dollar softer as short term rates fell (clearly the market was positioned for 7%), but that initial dollar weakness is now being retraced as it's still a solid number (Fed won't change path) with prices increases broad based.  Next week the focus will be on the Fed meeting where the risks are definitely tilted towards the hawkish side for the dollar. (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) The dollar is ever so slightly above its upper trend line and the 21-day EMA has provided good dynamic support. The RSI has bounced off the 55 support level too keeping the uptrend momentum in tact. There is some resistance at 96.5 to monitor and on the downside the 21-day EMA would be important to watch if price slides. EURUSD: The euro continues to tread water as it faces headwinds on multiple fronts. The week began with fairly positive ZEW sentiment reading with current conditions missing (expected with covid restrictions), but the main index reading more positive than expected. Olaf Scholz has now been inducted as Chancellor of Germany with the end of Merkel’s reign officially coming to an end. European gas has been soaring again as tensions between Russia and US led to reports than Biden could implement sanctions on Russia. Europe is highly exposed to the price of natural gas so this could be one to watch for sure. Next week sees a very important ECB meeting with a fresh set of economic projections out (I’ll be watching their inflation forecasts particularly) as well as insights into how they’ll navigate the completion of their PEPP programme and transition. I’ll be providing a preview next week.  (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) EURUSD moves sideways with a slight tilt towards the downside capped by the overhead 21-day EMA. 1.135 resistance has formed as the one to watch. The price support at 1.125 should be on your radar too. The RSI has rolled over a touch and pointing lower. The former low around the lower trend line at 1.12 could be very important over the next week. GBPUSD: Sterling has been under pressure as multiple factors line up against it. The week began with centrist Ben Broadbent’s speech which didn’t drop any hints on what the BoE may do at their December meeting. UK GDP data was disappointing with missed expectations on a monthly time frame as well as YoY and 3-month average. Plan B restrictions have now been implemented - guidance to work from home from Monday, and an extension of face masks to most public indoor venues (public transport etc). Mandatory Covid-19 passes will now be needed for entry to places such as nightclubs and venues with large crowds. With Plan B restrictions and softer GDP data, markets are all but certain a BoE hike will not happen at next week’s meeting, opting to rather wait until February for a move. I’ll be providing a preview for this event, but we shouldn’t be getting any curve balls as expectations are widely baked in for no hike, leading to very muted reactions in GBP crosses if any. UK opinion polls have moved against Boris Johnson after the uproar caused by allegations of his rule breaking Christmas party. Labour is now ahead in a variety of polls, which hasn’t occurred for a long time. If the fallout continues the Conservative MPs may decide to trigger a vote of no confidence in him which may inject some political instability. Article 16 could be used as a deflection and distraction tactic to turn the spotlight away from himself. (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) GBPUSD looks technically weak as it trades below the lower trend line of its descending channel. The RSI hovers just above oversold. 1.315 on the downside would be key for a move lower while 1.32.5 - 1.33 on the upside just below the 21-day EMA would be key. USDJPY: The yen continues to come under pressure as the US 10-year yield moves higher and risk sentiment leans on the positive side, reducing the need for risk-off hedges. Tensions over Russian invading Ukraine will need to be monitored though as this could see flows directed towards the yen. (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) USDJPY continues to be bid around its 38.2% Fibonacci level and mini range support around 113.5. The 50-day SMA and 21-day EMA are bunched up right together on the price candles. The RSI edges above the 46 level of support. Targets wise, on the upside 114-114.5 will remain key while on the downside 112.5 will be important to watch. Gold: Omicron variant positive news flow is taking the allure away from gold for safe haven flows, however, rising tensions between the US and Russia is helping to offset that. Real yields have also been rising higher of late which will pressure gold as well as a stronger dollar. Gold is a tad stronger on the inflation release as traders had most likely positioned for a 7% print and this not being the case has led to some bids flowing through.  (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) Gold remains trapped in a tight range with today's inflation data a potential catalyst for a more directional move. Price is now just above the $1775 support level. The RSI has turned back upwards, but remains in no-man's land. The important level on the upside will be $1800 just above all the key moving averages. Oil: Oil certainly saw some new hot money coming back in to drive the recent recovery up from the $68 support area. Beginning the week we saw Saudi Arabia decided to hike their selling price to Asia and the US, indicating that they believe demand will remain robust despite omicron restriction fears. So far omicron news has been positive enough not to lead to expectations of serious demand destruction. Plan B work from home guidance has probably led to some slight weakness in crude, but we’ll need to watch what airlines decided to do in the next few weeks for jet fuel demand. Official US inventory data showed a modest reduction in inventory levels, but nothing to get excited about. Iranian talks are continuing ahead with nothing of anything major to report back on (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) Oil now between its 200-day SMA and the 21-day EMA, is looking for its next direction. Support comes in around $73.50 with the 200-dauy SMA just below there. On the upside $76 provides resistance aided by the 21-day EMA. The RSI, has turned upwards and will need to continue in that direction for bulls to be satisfied.
Can Dollar Bears Resist the Fed? Can Yuan Bulls Shrug-Off the PBOC?

Can Dollar Bears Resist the Fed? Can Yuan Bulls Shrug-Off the PBOC?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 13.12.2021 10:56
December 12, 2021  $USD US yields and the dollar softened after the release of the November CPI figures before the weekend.  The data were in line with expectations showing the headline rate accelerated to 6.8% and the core rate to 4.9%.  The price action likely reflected positioning rather than a reassessment of the outlook for next week's FOMC meeting.  Nearly everyone recognizes the likelihood that the pace of tapering is quickened, and the individual forecasts reflect a more aggressive tightening path than anticipated in September.  With the diverging monetary policy impulses are evident in the shifting two-year interest rate differentials in the US favor, it is increasingly expensive to resist a stronger greenback.  A critical part of the backdrop is that market participants feel more comfortable that the Omicron variant may not be as disruptive as feared in Europe and the US (where the current surge is notable in its own right). As a result, those major currencies that tend to do well when risk appetites are strong, namely the dollar bloc and Scandis, are outperforming.  At the same time, the traditional funding currencies, the yen, and Swiss franc, were out of favor.  The euro falls in the latter camp.  A return to working from home, the evaporation of speculation that the BOE would raise rates in the week ahead, and a disappointing October GDP report pinned sterling in its trough.   It is difficult to see the market getting significantly more aggressive about the next year's outlook for the Fed.  The futures market is pricing in two hikes entirely and around two-thirds of a third hike.  A similar logic has turned us more cautious about the Canadian dollar.  There the market has discounted 125 bp of hikes over the next 12-months, which seems too aggressive.   Dollar Index:  The Dollar Index has been moving broadly sideways, though it rose for the seventh consecutive week.  For the first eight sessions of December, it has traded within the range set on November 30 (~95.50-96.65).   The momentum indicators have trended lower but appear to be stabilizing near mid-range.  The next big target is slightly below 97.75, which is the high from June-July 2020, and the (61.8%) retracement target of the decline since the March 2020 high near 103.00.   Euro:  The single currency briefly traded below the November 30 low (~$1.1235) last Tuesday before short-covering lifted it to the week's high ($1.1355) the following day.  It finished the week on a firm note after wobbling initially after the US CPI report.  With a brief exception, the euro has chopped between $1.12 and $1.14 since mid-November.   The broad sideways movement has seen the momentum indicators correct from over-extended territory.  Since November 10, when the US reported the jump in CPI to 6.2%, the US 2-year premium over Germany rose by roughly 18 bp to 1.40%,  to set the year's high.  It stalled.  The consolidative phase may continue ahead of the FOMC meeting.  Given what the market is pricing in, it may be difficult for the Fed to get ahead of market expectations for next year when it meets on December 15.   Japanese Yen: After testing support near JPY112.55 to start last week, the dollar recovered to almost JPY114.00 in the middle of the week before moving sideways.  It continued to track the movement of US 10-year yields.  As yields rose in the first part of the week, the dollar traded higher against the yen, and when yields slipped min the second half of the week, so did the greenback.  The MACD has flatlined, while the Slow Stochastic is trending higher.  A break of JPY113.00 retargets the lows.  On the topside, the JPY114.00-JPY114.30 area offers nearby resistance. British Pound:  Little is going sterling way.  Support for the Prime Minister has fallen, and polls show Labour opening its largest lead in years.  It has opted for "Plan B," with people returning to working from home, though no new government support was offered.  The economic growth slowed more than expected in October, which was before the Covid wave intensified and the Omicron variant was detected.  The rate hike that looked so likely in November now seems off the table until at least February.  Meanwhile, the fishing row and the attempt to change the Northern Ireland Agreement remain unresolved but causing enough consternation to deter the US from lifting the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump imposed, let alone discussing a free-trade agreement.  Sterling made a marginal new low for the year last week (slightly below $1.3165, which met the (38.2%) retracement objective of the rally from the March 2020 low.  The next retracement (50%) is around $1.2830.  The momentum indicators are not generating a strong signal presently.  It finished last week on a firm note but a move above $1.3300-$1.13350 is needed to signal anything important.   Canadian Dollar:  The Canadian dollar's recovery fizzled after the central bank failed to provide fresh encouragement to the market, with 125 bp of hikes priced into the swaps market over the next 12 months.  The US dollar, which had rallied and closed above CAD1.28 on December 3 despite the diverging jobs reports, fell nearly CAD1.26 before catching a good bid.  Ahead of the weekend, it had recovered to the middle of the week's range (~CAD1.2730).  A move above the CAD1.2760 area could signal another run at the highs. The MACD pulled back, but it looks like it may try turning higher, while the Slow Stochastic is still falling.  The five-day moving average is set to slip below the 20-day moving average for the first time in a month.  Canada reports November CPI figures on December 15, and the year-over-year pace is set to accelerate from the 4.7% 12-month clip seen in October.  Inflation is also likely rising even faster this month.   Australian Dollar: The Australian dollar rose almost 2.5% last week to end a five-week slide that shook a nickel from it.  The Aussie recovered from the year's low slightly below $0.7000 (December 3), the measuring objective of the potential head and shoulder pattern traced out in H1 21. However, the recovery stalled shy of $0.7190.  The initial retracement of the leg lower that began in late October was closer to $0.7210. Still, the anticipation of a strong employment report (December 15) could help underpin the Aussie.  Provided it holds above the $0.7120 area, the Australian dollar can work its way higher.  The MACD and Slow Stochastic are trending higher.   Mexican Peso: While the Australian dollar was the strongest of the major currencies, the Mexican peso led the emerging market currencies a nearly 2% gain.  Last week, Latam provided three of the four strongest emerging market currencies (Colombian peso +1.25%) and the Brazilian real (0.95%).  The Thai baht was in third place with a 1.25% gain.  Banixco meets on December 16.  It is widely expected to hike by another 25 bp.  The central bank of Chile meets on December 14 and is expected to hike 125 bp to 4.0%.  The last move in October was also for 125 bp.    The Colombian central bank meets on December 17.  Most anticipate a 50 bp hike to 3.0% after initiating the tightening cycle with a 75 bp move in October.  Mexico's central bank appears to be a laggard in this cycle, but the peso's 4.5% loss this year makes it the top performer in the region.  The US dollar fell to a new three-week low slightly below MXN20.85 before the weekend.  The momentum indicators are trending lower, and the five-day moving average crossed below the 20-day for the first time since mid-November.  Initial support is seen in the MXBN20.70-MXN20.75 band. Chinese Yuan:  Chinese officials have delivered verbal warnings and cautioned banks and businesses to adopt good foreign exchange hedging practices and avoid a one-way market.  It signaled displeasure as the yuan rose to new three-year highs against the dollar by setting the daily reference rate.  It cut reserve requirements ahead of the expected FOMC decision next week to accelerate its tapering and bring forward its first rate hike.  The PBOC also raised the reserve requirement for foreign currency deposits.  Yet, the yuan rose in all but one session last week and eked a small gain on the week.  This month, the dollar's high was set ahead of the weekend near CNY6.3835,  but the positive greenback momentum was not sustained.  The dollar finished around CNY6.3700.  In the grand scheme of things, these are small moves, yet this is where the lines are being drawn.  Some observers have argued that state-owned banks in China have operated on behalf of the central bank (stealth intervention).  If this is true,  one must ask what happened to them now or why is that channel not working?  Still, with policy divergence on the PBOC's side, the risk-reward does not seem to favor fighting it now.  If the PBOC wants to drive home its message, the dollar needs to rise above CNY6.40.  Portfolio inflows and the large trade surplus need to be offset by increased capital outflows if officials want to remove the upside pressure on the currency.  That said, if there is an escalation ladder here, officials dominate nearly every rung.  In the long game, officials cannot be seen as losing, and if the carrots do not work, the will appears to be there to use the stick.   Disclaimer
Dollar Starts the Week Bid ahead of the FOMC

Dollar Starts the Week Bid ahead of the FOMC

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 13.12.2021 13:44
December 13, 2021  $USD, Australia, Canada, China, Currency Movement, FOMC, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, UK   Overview: Equities, bonds, and the dollar begin the new week on a firm note.  Japanese, Chinese, Australian, and New Zealand equities advanced in the Asia Pacific region.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is snapping a three-day decline, and US futures are 0.25%-0.35% higher.  The US 10-year yield is a little softer at 1.48%. European benchmark yields are mostly 1-2 bp lower, and near 0.71%, the UK Gilt's yield is at a three-month low.  The dollar is rising against all the major currencies and is 0.3%-0.45% higher against most.  The Canadian dollar and sterling are the most resilient.  Among emerging market currencies, the Chinese yuan continues to defy official signals to eke out a small gain.  The Turkish lira is off more than 2%, after having dropped 4% initially. Intervention at the end of last week failed to have a lasting impact, and the central bank is expected to cut rates again later this week.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is giving back last week's 0.2% gain plus more today.  It was the first weekly gain in five weeks.  Gold is quiet in the upper end of the pre-weekend range, holding above $1780.  January WTI is firm but capped near the 20-day moving average (~$72.80).  US natgas is firm after falling 5% last week.  Dutch gas is up 8% to new two-month highs.  It has a six-week rally in tow, during which time it has gained a little more than 60%.  Industrial metals are higher too.  Iron ore snapped a three-day air pocket and gained it all back and more with its 6.5% rally today.  Copper has steadied after falling almost 2.5% in the last two sessions.   Asia Pacific The results of Japan's Tankan survey were in line with the talk we have picked up that while the new government, vaccination efforts, and fiscal stimulus are helping fuel the economic recovery, businesses are not yet convinced that significant change is taking place.  Sentiment among large manufacturers was steady at 18, and the outlook ticked lower.  The improvement in sentiment among the large non-manufacturers was more pronounced (9 vs. 2). However, the outlook was subdued at 8 (from 3).  Capex plans from the large businesses were softer than expected at 9.3% (from 10.1%).  Sentiment among the small companies improved, but the diffusion index and the outlook remained negative.  South Korea reported strong traded numbers for the first ten days of December (exports 20.4% and imports 42.3% year-over-year).  Seoul was busy.  Its foreign minister met with high Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of the G7 meeting and struck a cooperative tone. South Korea's President Moon met with Australia's Prime Minister Morrison and struck a A$1 bln weapon deal for self-propelled howitzers (which have already been purchased by other countries, including India and Turkey).  South Korea, however, will not be participating in the diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics, citing the need for Beijing's cooperation to denuclearize the peninsula.   The US dollar remains within its recent range against the Japanese yen (~JPY113.20-JPY113.95).  The 20-day moving average is at the top of the range, and it has not traded above it this month yet.  An option for almost $400 mln at JPY114.00 expires today.  It is the fifth session that the dollar has not traded below JPY113.20.  The Australian dollar's rally stalled near $0.7185 last week and is testing the lower end of its three-day range (~$0.7130) in the European morning.  Support is seen in the $0.7090-$0.7115 area.  The highlight of the week is the November jobs report, which is expected to show a strong bounce after three months of Covid-related declines.  More problems among China's property developers and activity in the manufacturing hub in Zhejiang were suspended due to an outbreak of the virus that failed to trigger a retreat in the yuan.  The dollar spent most of the local session below the pre-weekend low (~CNY6.3615).  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3669.  The market (Bloomberg survey) expected CNY6.3649.   Europe The UK appeared to make two concessions over the weekend.  First, it signaled that it was no longer seeking to exclude a role for the European Court of Justice in enforcing the Northern Ireland protocol.  Second, new fishing licenses were made available to the EU and French fishers. Jersey and the UK issued another 23 licenses, and although Paris was seeking more, it seemed sufficient to de-escalate the situation.   The UK government is under pressure from many sides.  The "partygate" scandal is a culmination of miscues by the Prime Minister, who has struggled with a Peppa Pig speech and a Kermit the Frog speech at the UN.  Several petty sleaze scandals have also marred the government.  Recent polls put Labour ahead of the Conservatives. This Thursday, the special election could see the Tories defeated in a traditional stronghold (ie Lib-Dems a protest vote for disenchanted Tories?).  The UK's stance toward the EU and the risk to the Good Friday Agreement have estranged the US government to some extent, which has not lifted Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs and put much energy into a free-trade agreement between the two special allies.   Turkey reported a large than expected October current account surplus ($3.16 bln) current account surplus.  While the currency's sharp depreciation would be expected to help the trade account, it also scares international investors.  It reported a net outflow of $2.2 bln portfolio capital in October.  Industrial output surprised on the upside in October, rising by 0.6%.  Economists (Bloomberg survey) expected a 0.1% decline after a 1.5% fall in September.  Turkey appeared to intervene in the foreign exchange market at the end of last week.  The dollar held below TRY14 but jumped to almost TRY14.76 today before pulling back.  The Swiss National Bank also looks like it intervened last week.  The euro held above CHF1.04 after having been sold to about CHF1.0375 earlier this month, its lowest level since July 2015.  Swiss domestic sight deposits rose by CHF1.12 bln, the biggest increase in three weeks.  Note that after buying euros against the franc, the SNB is believed to sell euros for dollars to maintain the allocation of its reserves.  The euro peaked last week near $1.1355.  It has been sold to a four-day low of $1.1260 today.    There is an option for 1.44 bln euros at $1.1250 that expires today.  The low for the year was set on November 24 near $1.1185, while last week's low was slightly below $1.1230.  With diverging impulses expected from the Fed and ECB this week, the euro looks vulnerable.  Sterling closed on its highs before the weekend and is on the defensive today.  The market appears to be absorbing bids that might be related to the expiration of a couple of options today (~GBP500 mln at $1.3235 and ~GBP560 mln at $1.3200).  The low for the year was set last week (December 8) near $1.3165, but initial support today is around $1.3220.  The odds of a BOE rate hike later this week have fallen to less than a 1 in 5 chance.   America The highlight of the week is the FOMC meeting.  Nearly everyone expects the Fed to accelerate its tapering and for individual forecasts to shift, matching the more hawkish rhetoric seen since the October CPI print jumped above 6% (November 10).  November's CPI, reported at the end of last week, accelerated to 6.8%.  Before we get to the FOMC meeting, though, this US reports PPI (the heading is expected to accelerate above 9% and the core above 7%) and November retail sales (a solid gain is anticipated of around 0.8% but off the heady 1.7% pace seen in October).  After the mid-week FOMC meeting conclusion, the US reports November housing starts, industrial production, and the Philly Fed's December survey.  The preliminary December PMI estimates are also due Thursday.  The week's data highlight for Canada is the mid-week estimate of November CPI.  Prices may have edged up by 0.2% on the month, but the year-over-year rate is expected to be little changed from the 4.7% pace seen in October.  The underlying measures may have edged up a little.  Price pressures are elevated but do not appear to be accelerating, as seen in the US.  Tomorrow, the new central bank mandate will be announced.  The mandate is reviewed every five years.  The press reports that the 2% inflation target will be retained, but the mandate may include a component of the labor market as it takes what is expected to be a small step toward a dual mandate like the Fed's.   Mexico's central bank meets on Thursday.  It is widely expected to lift the overnight rate target by 25 bp to 5.25%. In Bloomberg's survey of  17 economists, three forecast a 50 bp hike.  It would be the fourth hike in the cycle that began in August.  Chile and Colombia's central banks also are expected to hike rates this week.  Chile, which hiked by 125 bp in October after a 75 bp increase in August, is expected to make another 125 bp adjustment tomorrow.  It would lift the policy rate to 4%. It holds the second round of its presidential election on December 19.  Colombia's central bank meets on December 17.  A 50 bp increase would lift the repo rate to 3.0%.  The first increase in the cycle was 75 bp in October (to 2.5%).  November's CPI was a little above 5.25%.   The US dollar is rising against the Canadian dollar for the fourth consecutive session.  It is poking above CAD1.2750 in the European morning, where an option for almost $450 mln expires today (and another for $515 mln expires tomorrow).  A convincing move above CAD1.2760 could retarget the month's high (~CAD1.2855).  The market has 125 bp of hikes discounted over the next 12 months, but little new encouragement from the central bank.  The greenback fell against the peso in four of last week's five sessions.  It is little changed today, trading above the pre-weekend low (~MXN20.8430).  The next support area is seen closer to MXN20.70.  Still, the market is likely to be cautious extending short US dollar positions ahead of the Fed.   Disclaimer
On a Knife-Edge

On a Knife-Edge

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.12.2021 15:04
S&P 500 recaptured 4,700s on little change in market breadth and ever so slowly coming back to life HYG. Credit markets made a risk-on move, but HYG isn‘t leading the charge on a medium-term basis in the least – it‘s improving, but the stiff headwinds in bonds are being felt. Given the CPI discussed at length on Friday, it‘s still a relative success. Make no mistake though, time is running short in this topping process, and trouble is going to strike earliest after the winter Olympics. Global economic activity might be peaking here, and liquidity around the world is shrinking already – copper isn‘t too fond of that. The Fed might attempt to double the monthly pace of tapering to $30bn next, but I doubt how far they would be able to get at such a pace. Inflation and contraction in economic growth are going to be midterms‘ hot potatoes, and monetary policy change might be attempted. Tough choices for the Fed missed the boat in tapering by more than a few months. 2022 is going to be tough as we‘ll see more tapering, market-forced rate hikes (perhaps as many as 2-3 – how much closer would yield curve control get then?), higher taxes and higher oil prices. Stocks are still likely to deliver more gains in spite of all the negative divergences to bonds or other indices (hello, Russell 2000). Copper would be my indicator as to how far further we have to go before GDP growth around the world peaks. Oil is ready for strong medium-term gains, and I‘m not looking for precious metals to yield much ground. Silver though is more vulnerable unless inflation returns to the spotlight. Cryptos do likewise have issues extending gains sharply. All in all, volatility is making a return, and it isn‘t a good news for the bulls. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 advance continues, and I‘m looking for ATHs to give in. It will take a while, but the balancing on a tightrope act continues. Credit Markets HYG strength didn‘t convince, but it didn‘t disappoint either – the constellation remains conducive to further stock market gains. So far and still conducive. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are stronger than miners, and the lackluster, sideways performance is likely to continue for now – fresh Fed policy mistake is awaited, and it‘s actually bullish that gold and silver aren‘t facing more trouble when the consensus expectation is faster taper. Crude Oil Crude oil upswing is still struggligh at $72, and remains favored to go higher with passage of time as excess production capacity keeps shrinking while demand isn‘t being hit (no, the world isn‘t going the lockdowns route this time). Copper High time copper stopped hesitating, for its sideways trading is sending a signal about future GDP growth. The jury is still out in the red metal‘s long basing pattern – a battle of positive fundamentals against shrinking liquidity and possibly slowing growth. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bottom searching goes on, and I suspect at least a test of Friday‘s lows is coming. I don‘t see too many signs of exuberance returning right away as Ethereum hasn‘t yet started to outperform. Summary S&P 500 bulls continue climbing a wall of worry even if credit markets don‘t confirm entirely. Risk-on and real assets rally is likely to continue, and the road would be getting bumpier over time. The Fed won‘t overcome market expectations, and the last week of Nov (first week of balance sheet contraction) pace wouldn‘t be consistently beaten without consequences down the road. Select commodities and precious metals are already feeling the pinch, but there is no sending them to bear markets. Get ready for the twin scourge of persistent inflation and slowdown in growth to start biting increasingly more. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Cardano Price Prediction: ADA eyes 40% rise with on-chain metrics backing the claim

Cardano Price Prediction: ADA eyes 40% rise with on-chain metrics backing the claim

FXStreet News FXStreet News 13.12.2021 16:09
Cardano price is undergoing a retracement that will likely set the stage for a 38% run-up to $1.75. ADA needs to flip the $1.60 resistance barrier into support to reach its destination at $1.75. The transaction data and the recent uptick in average transaction size support the bullish thesis for the so-called “Ethereum killer. Cardano price has set up liquidity pools that are likely to be taken advantage of going forward. The most probable direction for ADA seems to be bullish, with on-chain metrics providing a tailwind to the claim. Cardano price to collect buy-stop liquidity Cardano price set up a double top at $1.75 on December 2 and retraced 32% to $1.13. A few days later, ADA created a double bottom at $1.13 and surged 18%. However, the recent upward correction will likely set the stage for the incoming bullishness to be sustained. A bounce off the $1.26 support level that sets up a new swing high above $1.47 will confirm the start of an uptrend. In this scenario, Cardano price will encounter the $1.60 resistance level. Flipping this barrier into a support floor will suggest that the buyers are taking control. This move will open the path for collecting the buy-stop liquidity resting above the $1.75 hurdle. In total, the climb would constitute a 38% gain. ADA/USDT 4-hour chart Supporting the bullish outlook for Cardano price is the recent uptick in the average transaction size from $23,877 to $83,704. This 250% spike in transfer size indicates that investors are interested in the price of ADA at the current levels and are actively pouring money into it. ADA average transaction size Moreover, IntoTheBlock’s Global In/Out of the Money (GIOM) model is another contributing factor to Cardano’s bullishness, and it shows that ADA will face little-to-no imminent resistance. Two significant clusters of underwater investors appear at $1.42 and $1.60. Here, roughly 381,000 and 441,000 addresses purchased nearly 4.32 billion and 5.25 billion ADA tokens, respectively. Therefore, an uptick in buying pressure that propels Cardano price into these clusters is likely to be met with selling momentum from holders trying to break even. Hence, ADA bulls need to clear these two levels to reach their destination at $1.75. ADA GIOM While things are looking good for Cardano price, there is a high chance ADA might retrace below $1.19 to collect liquidity. Investors can scoop the so-called “Ethereum killer” for a discount in this situation. However, if Cardano price produces a lower low below $1.12, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. In this case, ADA could slip down to retest the 1.02 support floor.
We Might Say Next FED Moves Are Not Obvious As Some Factors Differentiate Circumstances

Will Inflation Look Different in 2022?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 13.12.2021 17:04
One swallow doesn't make a summer, but when it comes to slower inflation pressure, there have been several. Will the narrative change soon? While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had been preaching his “transitory” doctrine for months, the thesis was obliterated once again after the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged by 6.8% year-over-year (YoY) on Dec. 10. Additionally, while the Commodity Producer Price Index (PPI) – which will be released on Dec. 14 – is likely provide a roadmap for inflation’s next move, signs of deceleration are already upon us.  For example, supply bottlenecks, port congestion, and rapidly rising commodity prices helped underwrite inflation’s ascent. However, with those factors now stagnant or reversing, inflationary pressures should decelerate in 2022. To explain, Deutsche Bank presented several charts that highlight 2021’s inflationary problems. However, whether it’s suppliers’ delivery times, backlogs of work, port congestion, bottleneck indices, or the cost of shipping and trucking, several inflationary indicators (excluding air cargo rates) have already peaked and rolled over.  Please see below: To that point, global manufacturing PMIs also signal a deceleration in input price pressures. With input prices leading output prices (like the headline CPI), the latter will likely showcase a similar slowdown if the former’s downtrend holds. Please see below: Source: IIF/Robin Brooks To explain, the colored lines above track the z-scores for prices paid within global manufacturing PMI reports. In a nutshell: regions were experiencing input inflation that was ~2 and ~4 standard deviations above their historical averages. However, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that all of them have consolidated or come down (the U.S. is in light blue). As a result, it’s another sign that peak input inflation could elicit peak output inflation. As mentioned, though, the commodity PPI is the most important indicator and if the data comes in hot on Dec. 14, all bets are off. However, the monthly weakness should be present since the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) declined by 11.2% in November.   Also noteworthy, Morgan Stanley’s Chief U.S. Economist, Ellen Zentner, also sees signs of a deceleration. She wrote: “We are seeing nascent signs that pipeline inflation pressures are easing – based on evidence from company earnings transcripts, ISM comments, Korea trade data, China's inflation data, the Fed's Beige Book, a department huddle with our equity analysts, and our own survey.” To explain, the green, gold, and blue lines above track Morgan Stanley’s core inflation estimates for emerging markets, developed markets, and global markets. If the predictions prove prescient, the 2022 inflation narrative could look a lot different than in 2021. However, please remember that inflation doesn’t abate without direct action from the Fed, and with a hawkish Fed known to upend the PMs (at least in the short- or medium run), the fundamental environment has turned against them. For example, when the Fed turns hawkish, commodities retreat, and with U.S. President Joe Biden showcasing heightened anxiety over inflation, more of the same should materialize over the medium term. To explain, Morgan Stanley initially projected no rate hikes in 2022. Now, Zentner expects “2 hikes in 2022, followed by 3 hikes plus a halt in reinvestments in 2023.” She wrote: “Before investors close out the year, we need to get past the FOMC's final meeting next week, and it comes with every opportunity for surprise. On Wednesday, we expect the Fed to move to a hawkish stance by announcing that it is doubling the pace of taper, highlighting continued inflation risks and no longer labeling high inflation as transitory, and showing a hawkish shift in the dot plot. We think this shift will shake out in a 2-hike median in 2022, followed by 3.5 hikes in 2023 and 3 hikes in 2024.” Furthermore, upping the hawkish ante, Goldman Sachs initially projected no rate hikes in 2022. Then, the team moved to three rate hikes in 2022 (June, September, and December 2022). Now, Goldman Sachs expects the FOMC to hike rates in May, July, and November 2022 – with another four hikes per year in 2023 and 2024.   The Fed’s Time to Shine “The FOMC is very likely to double the pace of tapering to $30bn per month at its December meeting next week, putting it on track to announce the last two tapers at the January FOMC meeting and to implement the last taper in March,” wrote Chief Economist Jan Hatzius. “We expect the Summary of Economic Projections to show somewhat higher inflation and lower unemployment. Our best guess is that the dots will show 2 hikes in 2022, 3 in 2023, and 4 in 2024, for a total of 9 (vs. 0.5 / 3 / 3 and a total of 6.5 in September). We think the leadership will prefer to show only 2 hikes in 2022 for now to avoid making a more dramatic change in one step, especially at a meeting when the FOMC is already doubling the taper pace. But if Powell is comfortable showing 3 hikes next year, then we would expect others to join him in a decisive shift in the dots in that direction.” Speaking of three hikes, the market-implied probability of three FOMC rate hikes in 2022 has risen to 96%. Please see below: For context, I’ve been warning for months that surging inflation would force the Fed’s hand. I wrote on Oct. 26: Originally, the Fed forecasted that it wouldn’t have to taper its asset purchases until well into 2022. However, surging inflation pulled that forecast forward. Now, the Fed forecasts that it won’t have to raise interest rates until well into 2023. However, surging inflation will likely pull that forecast forward as well. More importantly, though, while the PMs have remained upbeat in recent weeks, the forthcoming liquidity drain will likely shift the narrative over the medium term. The bottom line? While inflation shows signs of peaking, there is a vast difference between peak inflation and the Fed’s 2% annual target. As a result, even if a 6.8% YoY headline CPI was the precipice, it’s nothing to celebrate. Thus, the Fed needs to tighten monetary policy to control inflation, and anything less will likely re-accelerate the cost-push inflationary spiral.  To that point, with the precious metals extremely allergic to a hawkish Fed, I’ve highlighted on numerous occasions how the GDXJ ETF suffered following the 2013 taper. With 2022 Fed policy looking even more hawkish than in mid-2014, the latter’s downtrend should have plenty of room to run. In conclusion, the PMs were mixed on Nov. 10, and the scorching inflation print was largely ignored by investors. However, with the Fed poised to provide another dose of reality on Dec. 15, the recent volatility should persist. To that point, it’s important to remember that the S&P 500’s volatility increased materially after the Fed tapered in 2013. With stock market drawdowns bullish for the USD Index and bearish for the PMs, there are plenty of technical, fundamental, and sentiment factors brewing that favor the theme of ‘USD Index up, PMs down’ over the medium term. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD In Brief Consolidation

Intraday Market Analysis – USD In Brief Consolidation

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.12.2021 09:42
USDCHF looks for breakout The US dollar consolidates ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. The pair is grinding for support above 0.9160 after it gave up most gains from the November rally. Overall sentiment remains positive as long as price action stays above the daily support at 0.9100. The current consolidation is a sign of accumulation from the long side. A close above the immediate resistance at 0.9270 would propel the greenback to the previous peak at 0.9360. On the downside, between 0.9160 and 0.9195 lies an important demand zone. US 30 to test previous peak The Dow Jones 30 inches lower as investors look ahead to Fed’s aggressive tapering. By lifting offers around the psychological level of 36000, a major resistance on the daily chart, the bulls may have turned sentiment around. As the index falls back in search of support, the RSI’s oversold situation may catch buyers’ attention. A break above 36350 may resume the uptrend. Otherwise, 35620 is the closest support where buyers could jump in for fear of missing out. Further down, 34800 would be a second line of defense. GER 40 seeks support The Dax 40 treads water as major central banks are set to update their policies. An initial surge above 15500 has prompted the bears to cover. Then the index found support at the 38.2% (15550) Fibonacci retracement level while an oversold RSI attracted buying interest. And that is a sign of underlying strength in the rebound. A bullish MA cross indicates an acceleration on the upside. A break above 15840 may send the price to the all-time high at 16300. In case of a deeper pullback, 15300 is a critical level to keep the rebound relevant.
Market Quick Take - December 14, 2021

Market Quick Take - December 14, 2021

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 14.12.2021 11:57
Macro 2021-12-14 08:35 6 minutes to read Summary:  Risk sentiment soured yesterday, with some attributing the market nervousness to uncertainty on how hawkish a pivot the Fed is set to make at the FOMC tomorrow, although Fed rate expectations for next year as expressed in the most liquid futures have eased from recent highs. That meeting is the most significant major macro event risk for the 2021 calendar year, although important ECB and BoE meetings are set for Thursday. What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - yesterday was a very disappointing session for US technology stocks with Nasdaq 100 futures looking to push higher early during the session but ended on the lowest close in four trading sessions. Nasdaq 100 futures are trading around the 16,110 level this morning with the 50-day average around the 15,810 level as the key support level to watch on the downside should risk-off continue. EURUSD – the EURUSD supermajor continues to coil in a tight range ahead of the FOMC meeting tomorrow and ECB meeting on Thursday, both of which are set to bring refreshed forecasts for the economy and policy. The FOMC meeting is likely to carry more weight in terms of the market reaction, especially if the Fed waxes more hawkish than expected (more below) and takes Fed rate expectations for next year to new highs for the cycle. The lines in the sand on the chart include the 1.1186 lows of November, while the recent pivot highs of 1.1355 and 1.1384 bar the upside, with 1.1500 a more structural resistance/pivot zone. AUDUSD – watching the US dollar closely over the next couple of sessions, particularly in the wake of tomorrow’s FOMC meeting and what it brings in the way of a crystallization of the Fed’s hawkish shift (more below) and in the market reaction. If the meeting brings a spike in market volatility, traditionally risk-correlated currencies like the Aussie could show high beta to swings in the US dollar in either direction (I.e., if the Fed waxes more hawkish than expected and this triggers risk-off and a stronger USD). AUDUSD recently broke down through the prior 2021 lows near 0.7100 and tested the huge 0.7000 level before staging a sharp bounce. That 0.7000 level could serve as a kind of “bull-bear” line from here. Crude oil (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN22) has settled into a relatively narrow range with Brent finding resistance at $76, the 21-day moving average while support remains the 200-day moving average at $73.15. OPEC in its monthly oil market report maintained their 4.2 million barrels per day demand growth outlook for 2022 with current omicron-related weakness being offset by a strong recovery during Q1. The Saudi energy minister said the energy transition will cause an oil-price spike later this decade while also warning traders against shorting the market at a time where large speculators have reduced their Brent crude oil long to a 13-month low. On tap today we have IEA’s Monthly Oil Market Report. Gold (XAUUSD) remains stuck just below its 200-day moving average at $1794 with focus on what 20 central bank meetings this week will deliver in terms of inflation fighting measures at a time where the omicron variant continues to cloud the economic outlook. With US inflation rising at the fastest pace since the 1980’s, Wednesday’s FOMC meeting remains the top event. The market is currently pricing in three rate hikes next year with the first one due around June. The other semi-investment metals of silver (XAGUSD) and platinum (XPTUSD) both struggling with the latter’s 850-dollar discount to gold, near a one year high, potentially deserving some attention. US Treasuries (TLH, TLT). The US yield curve bulled flatten yesterday with 10-year yields falling by 7bps to test support at 1.41%. To contribute to this move was news of the first omicron death in the UK, and the winding done of short US Treasury positions before the end of the year. Price action will remain volatile ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, where Powell is expected to announce an acceleration of the pace of tapering. The focus is going to be also on the Dot plot, where longer term projections might be moved higher, pushing up the long part of the yield curve. However, long-term yields can move higher only that much, as omicron distortions will continue to keep them compressed. It looks likely that 10-year yields will continue to trade rangebound between 1.40% and 1.70% until the end of the year. European sovereign bonds (IS0L, BTP10). The Bund yield curve bull flattened yesterday led by safe-haven buying amid concerns over omicron. Italian BTPS gained the most as the market pushes back on interest rate hikes in 2022. The focus, however, continues to be on the ECB meeting on Thursday. An announcement of the end of the PEPP program in March 2022 is widely anticipated. What’s not clear is whether it will be announced that bond purchases will be compensated by another scheme, such as the APP. It is likely that the ECB will stall as members are torn between inflation and a new wave of Covid infections. If investors feel the support of the central bank is fading, European yields might resume their rise with the periphery and Italian BTPS leading the way. Yet, the move will be contained as yields will remain compressed by covid concerns. UK Gilts (IGLT, IGLS). The BOE might not deliver on a 10bps interest rate hike this week as members are divided concerning Covid restrictions. Michael Saunders, one of the most hawkish MPC members, said that he will need to think about it twice before voting for a rate hike. As expectations for interest rate hikes in the UK are the most aggressive among developed economies. It is possible that if the central bank does not hike, the Gilt yield curve will be steeping with short-term Gilts gaining the most as the market pushes back on next year’s rate expectations. What is going on? China reports first omicron variant case of covid - bringing fears of supply chain disruptions due to the country’s zero tolerance policy on virus cases that can mean profound shutdowns in response to outbreaks. Chinese property developers under new pressure, with the focus this time on Shimao Group Holdings, whose Hong-Kong listing is down over 75% this year and down over 30% over the last week on concerns that a deal between the company’s business units is a sign of financial stress for the company. The company’s 2030 USD-denominated bonds lost almost 13% overnight as the yield rose above 10%. Other Chinese property developer shares were also under pressure overnight. Tesla shares down 5% as growth stocks are under pressure. Tesla shares pushed below $1,000 yesterday adding further pressure to related assets in the Ark Innovation ETF and Bitcoin is also seen lower this morning. Elon Musk sold $907mn worth of shares yesterday according to a filing overnight in order to pay taxes on another round stock options that were exercised. Toyota finally pushes into EV. Japan’s largest carmaker wants to compete with Tesla and Volkswagen announcing $35bn of investments into battery electric vehicles showing the first sign that Toyota is acknowledging that this is the future of the industry. Toyota has so far pursued hybrids on the ground of being more economical, but this push into BEV with 30 new models validates BEVs once and for all, even though Toyota is still saying that it does not know which technology will win. US Harley-Davidson set to spin-off EV motorcycle unit – the plan to spin off Harley’s EV business via a SPAC saw Harley-Davidson shares spike 19% before surrendering most of the gains. Harley’s LiveWire EV business unit will combine with SPAC AEA-Bridges Impact to form a new publicly traded company. The move is meant to take advantage of the premium the market is willing to pay for pure-play EV companies. EU diplomats suggest time running out on Iran nuclear deal - as Iran is progressing rapidly toward enriching uranium for potential use in nuclear weapons. The diplomats worry that without a breakthrough soon, the original 2015 agreement “will very soon become an empty shell.” What are we watching next? The Wednesday FOMC as the year’s final major macro event risk. The FOMC meeting tomorrow is set to bring a very different monetary policy statement from the prior statement after the Fed’s clear pivot to inflation fighting mode. As well, the meeting will see an update of economic forecasts and interest rate policy forecasts (the “dot plot” in which 19 Fed members forecast where the Fed funds rate will likely be in 2022-24 and in the longer term). Most interesting will be the degree to which Fed members have raised their policy rate forecasts relative to what the market is predicting, which is for just under three rate hikes through the end of next year. Prior forecasts have generally come in lower than market expectations. The baseline expectation for the pace of QE “tapering”, or slowing of purchases, is that the Fed will double the pace of tapering, which would mean the Fed’s balance sheet is set to stop growing by the end of March. Anything that suggests a faster pace of tapering than this doubling (for example, a promise to wind down before March) and that hints that a hike at the March FOMC meeting is possible would be a hawkish surprise. The European Council meets on Thursday, and apart from having to deal with Covid-19 and the Russian threat on its eastern borders, the council is also set to decide whether investments in gas and nuclear energy should be labelled climate friendly. The design of the EU green investment classification system is closely watched by investors worldwide and could potentially attract billions of euros in private finance to help the green transition, especially given the need to reduce the usage of coal, the biggest polluter. Earnings Watch – the earnings calendar is getting very thin this week and no major earnings expected today. Wednesday: Inditex, Toro, Lennar, Heico, Trip.com, Nordson Thursday: FedEx, Adobe, Accenture Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0830 – Sweden Nov. CPI 1000 – Euro Zone Oct. Industrial Production 1100 – US Nov. NFIB Small Business Optimism 1300 – Hungary Central Bank Rate Decision 1330 – US Nov. PPI 1900 – New Zealand RBNZ Governor Orr before parliament committee 2130 – API Weekly Report on US Oil and Fuel Inventories 2330 – Australia Dec. Westpac Consumer Confidence 0200 – China Nov. Retail Sales 0200 – China Nov. Industrial Production During the day: IEA’s Monthly Oil Market Report   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Market Quick Take - December 10, 2021

Market Quick Take - December 10, 2021

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 10.12.2021 12:10
Macro 2021-12-10 08:30 6 minutes to read Summary:  Risk sentiment has consolidated after sharp gains earlier this week as the market nervously eyes the US November CPI release today from the US and whether this will trigger a more hawkish FOMC meeting next week. The US White House has already been out attempting damage control from the inflation headlines today, saying that the data will not reflect recent declines in gasoline and other prices.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities and particularly tech stocks consolidated a significant chunk of the sharp gains from earlier this week, with speculative sectors getting the worst of it on the day, although most stocks were down on the day. A high US November CPI release today could spook investors as it would raise the anticipation of an even more hawkish FOMC meeting next week. EURUSD – The EURUSD rally attempt from Wednesday faltered in what now looks a mere tactical squeeze ahead of today’s US November CPI report (more below). Given that the slide in EURUSD has largely tracked with the rise in Fed expectations, the degree to which those expectations are adjusted higher or lower in the wake of today’s US CPI data and then next week in the wake of the FOMC meeting Wednesday and ECB meeting Thursday will likely correlate with EURUSD direction, where the focus is on the cycle lows just below 1.1200 for a possible run at 1.1000 on a break lower and the tactical pivot high near 1.1380. USDJPY and JPY crosses – the omicron variant news of some two weeks ago triggered a huge slide in USDJPY just after it was trying to engineer a break above multi-year highs near 114-50. Similar to developments in crude oil and longer US yields, USDJPY has failed to get back to the upper reaches of the recent range since that sell-off, which bottomed out near the 112.50 area – the current trigger zone for a possible further sell-off wave (most like in a scenario of cratering risk sentiment and US treasuries serving as a safe-haven) that could poke at the important 111.00-50 downside pivot zone. Elsewhere, JPY crosses backed up very sharply this week on hopes that the omicron variant will prove mild and won’t impact the growth outlook, but the scale of the rally or squeeze has been modest relative to the prior sell-off. Watching areas like 127.50-128.00 in EURJPY and 79.00 in AUDJPY in coming sessions for whether another wave of JPY strength is in the cards. Crude oil’s (OILUKFEB22 & OILUSJAN22) week-long rally hit the buffers yesterday with Brent and WTI retracing back towards support at their 200-day moving averages at $73 and $69.80 respectively. A study finding the omicron variant is 4.2 times more transmissible than the delta combined with new restrictions among several nations helped weaken the sentiment, and with end of year approaching many traders are increasingly becoming more risk adverse, potentially leading to more fluctuations. Focus today on omicron news, US inflation data and whether the mentioned support level can be maintained. Wheat (WHEATMAR22 & ZWH2) trades near five-week low following three days of losses which accelerated yesterday after the USDA raised its outlook for global stocks. The 3% drop in Chicago also helped drag down the recent highflyers futures for Kansas and Paris milling wheat. Global stock levels at the end of the 2022-23 season received a boost from production upgrades in Russian (1mt) and Australian (2.5mt) while US export slowed with high prices curbing demand. US Treasuries (TLH, TLT).  Yesterday’s 30-year auction showed that the market is not willing to buy long-term US Treasuries at current low yields. The 30-year auction was priced with a high yield of 1.895%, tailing by 3.2bps. Although the tail was smaller than last month’s 5.2bps, it would have been enough to cause a selloff in long-term Treasuries. However, covid distortions kept yields compressed, hence volatility in rates was avoided. Today’s CPI numbers are in focus as a high number is likely to contribute to more upward pressure in the yield curve. What is going on? The US White House was already out attempting damage control on inflation before today’s CPI release. A White House official, economic adviser Brian Deese, was out late yesterday saying that today’s US November CPI release won’t reflect recent drops in the price of key commodities, especially gasoline and natural gas as it is “backward looking”. China property developers formally declared to have defaulted - as Fitch Ratings noted missed interest payments on Evergrande and Kaisa Group Holdings USD bonds as it downgraded these issues to restricted default. USDCNY and USDCNH bounce sharply a day after posting new low for the year - China fixed the USDCNY level at a far weaker level than expected and announced an FX reserve ratio increase to 9%, forcing domestic banks to maintain higher reserves of foreign currencies.  These are rather obvious signals that China would like to avoid a further rise in its currency after a powerful and broad rally that saw both the offshore and onshore yuan posting new highs for the US dollar for the year just this Wednesday. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies close sharply lower – with Bitcoin closing at its lowest levels on a weekday since September. Technically, the 40-45k zone looks important for avoiding a more significant capitulation lower after the recent weekend meltdown that took the price some 20% lower to below 43k before support was found. According to coinmarketcap.com, the market cap of the nearly 15.5k cryptocurrencies is currently near $2.26 trillion after peaking near $2.93 trillion in November, a drawdown of over 22%. What are we watching next? US November CPI data release today, expected at 6.8% year-on-year for the headline number and 4.9% at the core, both of which would be the highest readings in decades. Given that expectations are so high, would a slightly hotter than expected number move the needle on a Friday ahead of next week’s important FOMC meeting? A significant beat to the upside just might make a difference, given that the Fed has clearly made a shift toward fighting inflation and would probably need to bring a March 2022 rate hike possibility into its forward guidance. Fed rate expectations for next year are poised near the high for the cycle, suggesting a 0.8% Fed Funds rate (vs. currently 0-0.25%) is priced in through the December 2022 Fed meeting. The EU is set to decide by December 22 whether investments in gas and nuclear energy should be labelled climate friendly. The design of the EU green investment classification system is closely watched by investors worldwide and could potentially attract billions of euros in private finance to help the green transition, especially given the need to reduce the usage of coal, the biggest polluter. Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0905 – ECB President Lagarde, others speaking at panel discussion1300 - Poland National Bank of Poland meeting minutes1330 – US Nov. CPI1500 – US Dec. Preliminary University of Michigan Sentiment Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple Spotify Soundcloud Sticher
Gold – Recovery ahead

Gold – Recovery ahead

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 14.12.2021 13:26
https://www.midastouch-consulting.com/13122021-gold-recovery-ahead December 13th, 2021: The gold market is nearing the end of a difficult and very challenging year. Most precious metal investors must have been severely disappointed. Gold – Recovery ahead. Review 2021 started quite bullish, as the gold price climbed rapidly towards US$1,960 at the beginning of the year. In retrospect, however, this peak on January 6th also represented the high for the year! In the following 11.5 months, gold did not even come close to reaching these prices again. Instead, prices came under considerable pressure and only bottomed out at the beginning and then again at the end of March around US$1,680 with a double low. Interestingly, the low on March 8th at US$1,676 did hold until today. The subsequent recovery brought gold prices back above the round mark of US$1,900 within two months. But already on June 1st, another violent wave of selling started, which pushed gold prices down by US$150 within just four weeks. Subsequently, gold bulls attempted a major recovery in the seasonally favorable early summer phase. However, they failed three times in this endeavor at the strong resistance zone around US$1,830 to US$1,835. As a result, sufficient bearish pressure had built up again, which was then unleashed in the flash crash on August 9th with a brutal sell-off within a few minutes and a renewed test of the US$1,677 mark. Despite this complete washout, gold bulls were only able to recover from this shock with difficulty. Hence, gold traded sideways mainly between US$1,760 and US$1,815 for the following three months. It was not until the beginning of November that prices quickly broke out of this tenacious sideways phase and thus also broke above the 15-month downtrend-line. This was quickly followed by another rise towards US$1,877. However, and this is quite indicative of the ongoing corrective cycle since the all-time high in August 2020, gold prices made another hard U-turn within a few days and sold off even faster than they had risen before. Since this last sell-off from US$1,877 down to US$1,762, gold has been stuck and kind of paralyzed for three weeks, primarily trading in a narrow range between US$1,775 and US$1,785. Obviously, the market seems to be waiting for the upcoming FOMC meeting. Overall, gold has not been able to do much in 2021. Most of the time it has gone sideways and did everything to confuse participants. These treacherous market phases are the very most dangerous ones. Physical investors can easily sit through such a sideways shuffling. But leveraged traders had nothing to laugh about. Either the movements in gold changed quickly and abruptly or almost nothing happened for days and sometimes even weeks while the trading ranges were shrinking. Technical Analysis: Gold in US-Dollar Weekly Chart – Bottoming out around US$1,780? Gold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of December 13th, 2021. Source: Tradingview Despite the 15-month correction, gold has been able to easily hold above the uptrend channel, which goes back to December 2015. The steeper uptrend channel that began in the summer of 2018 is also still intact and would only be broken if prices would fall below US$1,700. Support between US$1,760 and US$1,780 has held over the last three weeks too. The weekly stochastic oscillator is currently neutral but has been slowly tightening for months. Overall, gold is currently trading right in the middle of its two Bollinger bands on the weekly chart. Thus, the setup is neutral. However, bottoming out around US$1,780 has a slightly increased probability. Daily Chart – New buying signal Gold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of December 13th, 2021. Source: Tradingview On the daily chart, gold has been searching for support around its slightly rising 200-day moving average (US$1,793) over the last three weeks. However, eye contact has been maintained, hence a recapturing of this important moving average is still quite possible. Despite the failed breakout in November, the current price action has not moved away from the downtrend-line. A further attack on this resistance thus appears likely. Encouragingly, the daily stochastic has turned up from its oversold zone and provides a new buy signal. In summary, the chances of a renewed recovery starting in the near future predominate on the daily chart. In the first step, such a bounce could run to around US$1,815. Secondly, the bulls would then have to clear the downtrend-line, which would release further upward potential towards US$1,830 and US$1,870. The very best case scenario might see gold being able to rise to the psychological number of US$1,900 in the next two to four months. On the downside however, the support between US$1,760 and US$1,780 must be held at all costs. Otherwise, the threat of further downward pressure towards US$1,720 and US$1,680 intensifies. Commitments of Traders for Gold – Recovery ahead Commitments of Traders for Gold as of December 12th, 2021. Source: Sentimentrader The commercial net short position in the gold futures market was last reported at 245,623 contracts sold short. Although the setup has somewhat improved due to the significant price decline in recent weeks, the overall constellation continues to move in neutral waters. There is still no clear contrarian bottleneck in the futures market, where professional traders should have reduced their net short positions to below 100,000 contracts at least. Until then, it would still be a long way from current levels, which could probably only happen with a price drop towards US$1,625. As long as this does not happen, any larger move up will probably have a hard time. In summary, the CoT report provides a neutral signal and thus stands in the way of a sustainable new uptrend. However, given the current futures market data, temporary recoveries over a period of about one to three months are currently possible. Sentiment for Gold – Recovery ahead Sentiment Optix for Gold as of December 12th, 2021. Source: Sentimentrader Sentiment for gold has been meandering in the neutral and not very meaningful middle zone for more than a year. Furthermore, a complete capitulation or at least very high pessimism levels are still missing to end the ongoing correction. Such a high pessimism was last seen in spring of 2019, whereupon gold was able to rise more than US$800 from the lows at US$1,265 to US$2,075 within 15 months. This means that in the big picture, sentiment analysis continues to lack total capitulation. This can only be achieved with deeply fallen prices. In the short term, however, the Optix for gold has almost reached its lows for the year. At the same time, german mainstream press is currently asking, appropriately enough, “Why doesn’t gold protect against inflation? This gives us a short-term contrarian buy signal, which should enable a recovery rally over coming one to three months. Seasonality for Gold – Recovery ahead Seasonality for Gold over the last 53-years as of December 12th, 2021. Source: Sentimentrader As so often in recent years, precious metal investors are being put to the test in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the past, however, there was almost always a final sell-off around the last FOMC meeting between mid-November and mid-December. And this was always followed by an important low and a trend reversal. This year, everything points to December 15th or 16th. Following the FOMC interest rate decision and the FOMC press conference, the start of a recovery would be extremely typical. Statistically, gold prices usually finish the last two weeks of the year with higher prices, because trading volume in the west world is very low over the holidays, while in Asia, and especially in China and India, trading is more or less normal. Also, the “tax loss selling” in mining stocks should be over by now. Overall, the seasonal component turns “very bullish” in a few days, supporting precious metal prices from mid-December onwards. Typically, January in particular is a very positive month for gold, but the favorable seasonal period lasts until the end of February. Macro update and Crack-up-Boom: US-Inflation as of November 30th, 2021. ©Holger Zschaepitz Last Friday, inflation in the U.S. was reported to have risen to 6.8% for the month of November. This is the fastest price increase since 1982, when Ronald Reagan was US president, and the US stock markets had started a new bull market after a 16-year consolidation phase. Today, by contrast, the financial markets have been on the central banks’ drip for more than a decade, if not more than two. The dependence is enormous and a turn away from the money glut is unthinkable. Nevertheless, the vast majority of market participants still allow themselves to be bluffed by the Fed and the other central banks and blindly believe the fairy tales of these clowns. The Global US-Dollar Short Squeeze However, while inflation figures worldwide are going through the roof due to the gigantic expansion of the money supply and the supply bottlenecks, the US-Dollar continues to rise at the same time. A nasty US-Dollar short squeeze has been building up since early summer. The mechanism behind this is not easy to understand and gold bugs in particular often have a hard time with it. From a global perspective, the US-Dollar is still the most important reserve currency and thus also the most important international medium of exchange as well as the most important store of value for almost all major countries. Completely independently of this, many of these countries still use their own currency domestically. International oil trade and numerous other commodities are also invoiced and settled in US-Dollar. For example, when France buys oil from Saudi Arabia, it does not pay in its own currency, EUR, but in USD. Through this mechanism, there has been a solid demand for US-Dollar practically non-stop for decades. The US-Dollar system The big risk of this “US-Dollar system”, however, is that many foreign governments and companies borrow in US-Dollar, even though most of their revenue is generated in the respective national currency. The lenders of these US-Dollar are often not even US institutions. Foreign lenders also often lend to foreign borrowers in dollars. This creates a currency risk for the borrower, a mismatch between the currency of their income and the currency of their debt. Borrowers do this because they have to pay lower interest rates for a loan in US-Dollar than in their own national currency. Sometimes dollar-denominated bonds and loans are also the only way to get liquidity at all. Thus, it is not the lender who bears the currency risk, but the borrower. In this way, the borrower is basically taking a short position against the US-Dollar, whether he wants to or not. Now, if the dollar strengthens, this becomes a disadvantage for him, because his debt increases in relation to his income in the local currency. If, on the other hand, the US-Dollar weakens, the borrower is partially relieved of debt because his debt falls in relation to his income in the local currency. Turkish lira since December 2020 as of December 13th, 2021.©Holger Zschaepitz Looking, for example, at the dramatic fall of the Turkish lira, one can well imagine the escalating flight from emerging market currencies into the US-Dollar. Since the beginning of the year, Turks have lost almost 50% of their purchasing power against the US-Dollar. A true nightmare. Other emerging market currencies such as the Argentine peso, the Thai baht or even the Hungarian forint have also come under significant pressure this year. On top, the Evergrande bankruptcy and the collapse of the real estate bubble in China may also have contributed significantly to this smoldering wildfire. All in all, the “US-Dollar short squeeze” may well continue despite a technically heavily overbought situation. Sooner or later, however, the Federal Reserve will have to react and row back again. Otherwise, the strength of the US-Dollar will suddenly threaten a deflationary implosion in worldwide stock markets and in the entire financial system. The global house of cards would not survive such shock waves. The tapering is “nearish” It is therefore highly likely that the Fed will soon postpone the so-called “tapering” and the “interest rate hikes” until further notice. To explain this, they will surely come up with some gibberish with complicated-sounding words. All in all, an end to loose monetary policy is completely unthinkable. Likewise, the supply bottlenecks will remain for the time being. This means that inflation will continue to be fueled by both monetary and scarcity factors and, on top of that, by the psychological inflationary spiral. In these crazy times, investors in all sectors will have to patiently endure temporary volatility and the accompanying sharp pullbacks. Conclusion: Gold – Recovery ahead With gold and silver, you can protect yourself well against any scenario. In the medium and long term, however, this does not necessarily mean that precious metal prices will always track inflation one-to-one and go through the roof in the coming years. Most likely, the exponential expansion of the money supply will continue and accelerate. Hence, significantly higher gold and silver prices can then be expected. If, on the other hand, the system should implode, gold and silver will be able to play out their monetary function to the fullest and one will be glad to own them when almost everything else must be written down to zero. In the bigger picture, however, gold and silver fans will have to remain patient for the time being, because the clear end of the months-long correction has not yet been sealed. Rather, the most important cycle in the gold market should deliver an important low approximately every 8 years. The last time this happened was in December 2015 at US$1,045. This means that the correction in the gold market could continue over the next one or even two years until the trend reverses and the secular bull market finally continues. In the short term, however, the chances of a recovery in the coming weeks into the new year and possibly even into spring are quite good. But it should only gradually become clearer after the Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday what will happen next. A rally towards US$1,815 and US$1,830 has a clearly increased probability. Beyond that, US$1,870 and in the best case even US$1,910 could possibly be reached in February or March. For this to happen, however, the bulls would have to do a lot of work. Analysis initially written and published on on December 13th, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Translated into English and partially updated on December 13th, 2021. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. By Florian Grummes|December 13th, 2021|Tags: Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, Gold Cot-Report, gold fundamentals, gold mining, Gold neutral, Silver, The bottom is in|0 Comments About the Author: Florian Grummes Florian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets.
Chart of the Week - Global vs US Corporate Earnings

Chart of the Week - Global vs US Corporate Earnings

Callum Thomas Callum Thomas 14.12.2021 14:51
Global vs US Corporate Earnings: On the topic of US vs global equities, a key reason for the extended trend of US beating global equities has been the long-term cycles in relative strength of *earnings*.   The chart below shows that US earnings have outgrown global peers substantially over the past decade. Interestingly enough it follows a previous decade of global earnings outgrowing US earnings.   Basically this lens presents a glimpse of the fundamental trends underpinning the price trends that have been fairly extensively documented.   Thus one takeaway is that this long-term cycle in fundamentals will need to turn in order to reinforce any turn in price. But also of significance is value: I would argue that the superior profitability and earnings growth of US companies is already in the price - and then some. So there is some nuance to this puzzle…Key point: US corporate earnings have outgrown global peers over the past decade.       NOTE: this post first appeared on our NEW Substack: https://topdowncharts.substack.com/       Best regards, Callum Thomas Head of Research and Founder of Topdown Charts   Follow us on: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
Three ways to buy bitcoin

Three ways to buy bitcoin

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.12.2021 13:15
With more than a trillion-dollar market cap, bitcoin is now in an echelon where regulation would be fearful to intervene harshly, since a bitcoin crash would affect other markets. In a way, the last pillar is cemented for there to be little risk to think of a world without bitcoin. That being said, even if only minor, some bitcoin exposure is now widely accepted as a wise decision of portfolio management. We share three ways of purchase that we find conservative. We aim to demystify the saga of bitcoins acquisition risk due to its volatility. BTC in US-Dollar, Quarterly Chart, zooming out, away from the noise: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of December 14th, 2021. Risk is related to size. Suppose you buy a small enough amount alongside your overall market exposure, small enough that you can afford assets even to go to zero, then the risk is minimized. Would it be nice to have picked up a few thousand bitcoins when it was available at five dollars or a few hundred at fifty, certainly! Nevertheless, thinking long term and with volatility now being much less, the more bitcoin had settled in and is more widely accepted, even buying here now at US$47,000 is just fine. What we find less attractive is not owning any. And after that initial purchase, to add at price dips in bitcoin to grow a position size over time would be a possible extension of such a strategy. The quarterly chart above shows how bitcoin has always reached new all-time highs again, and there is no fundamental or technical evidence that this behavior should change. BTC in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, buy low and hold: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of December 14th, 2021. Another way to participate in the bitcoin market if you already have some exposure is buying in tiny increments when markets seem low. This means buying after one of bitcoin’s steep declines and add this way to your long-term exposure. The weekly chart above shows with a green box an approximated entry zone. We used ABC pattern recognition, volume profile, Fibonacci retracements, action-reaction models, and inter-market relationships along with other tools to zoom into such a low-risk and high success probability zone. Once such a zone is established, we go a time frame lower. In this case, the daily time frame, to fine-tune entries. Therefore, it increases probabilities and reduce entry risk even further. BTC in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, low-risk entries with quad exit: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of December 14th, 2021. Our third option presented is a more active way in market participation. It is refined in its form to suit more experienced traders to soothe trading psychology. In addition, it keeps entry risk to a minimum and maximizes profits. We openly share the underlying principles in our free Telegram channel. Alongside, we post real-time entries and exits for educational purposes. This approach has a sophisticated exit strategy (quad exits). It allows for partial profit-taking and expansive position size building over time to maximize one’s bitcoin exposure without added risks. The daily chart above focuses on two supply zones (yellow horizontal lines). The zones got identified by volume profile analysis (green histogram to the right side of the chart). We want the price to build a double bottom price pattern at one of these levels to enter a long position. We have already retraced from recent all-time highs in a typical percentage fashion for bitcoins trading behavior. Consequently, a turning point here is highly likely. Three ways to buy bitcoin: Overwhelm often stems from a lack of choices. After reading this chart book, we hope that those readers who feel intimidated experience a sigh of relief. Like gold, bitcoin is a store of value. We find a good likelihood that bitcoin might surpass the ten trillion gold market cap. Consequently, your investment right now has a fair chance to grow by a factor of ten or more.  After acquiring bitcoin, you can store your purchase in a small cold wallet, the size of a USB stick. Tuck it away, just like you do your precious metal coins. Buying now for the long term is still stepping in front of most market players which have succumbed to their doubts and procrastination. Consequently, it allows for this investment to be early, anticipating a likely change of the future regarding payment methods and store of value vehicles. Therefore, an asset with significant growth potential (=attractive risk/reward-ratio). Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|December 14th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|
Another Inflation Twist

Another Inflation Twist

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.12.2021 15:45
S&P 500 gave up premarket gains, and closed on a weak note – driven by tech while value pared the intraday downswing somewhat. Market breadth still deteriorated, though – but credit markets didn‘t crater. Stocks look more cautious than bonds awaiting tomorrow‘s Fed, which is a good sign for the bulls across the paper and real assets. Sure, the ride is increasingly getting bumpy (and will get so even more over the coming weeks), but we haven‘t topped in spite of the negative shifts mentioned yesterday. The signs appear to be in place, pointing to a limited downside in the pre-FOMC positioning, but when the dust settles, more than a few markets are likely to shake off the Fed blues. I continue doubting the Fed would be able to keep delivering on its own hyped inflation fighting projections – be it in faster taper or rate raising. Crude oil is likewise just hanging in there and ready – the Fed must be aware of real economy‘s fragility, which is what Treasuries are in my view signalling with their relative serenity. We‘ve travelled a long journey from the Fed risk of letting inflation run unattented, to the Fed making a policy mistake in tightening the screws too much. For now, there‘s no evidence of the latter, of serious intentions to force that outcome. Lip service (intention to act and keep reassessing along the way) would paid to the inflation threat tomorrow, harsh words delivered, and the question is when would the markets see through that, and through the necessity to bring the punch bowl back a few short months down the road. As stated yesterday: (…) Global economic activity might be peaking here, and liquidity around the world is shrinking already – copper isn‘t too fond of that. The Fed might attempt to double the monthly pace of tapering to $30bn next, but I doubt how far they would be able to get at such a pace. Inflation and contraction in economic growth are going to be midterms‘ hot potatoes, and monetary policy change might be attempted. Tough choices for the Fed missed the boat in tapering by more than a few months. 2022 is going to be tough as we‘ll see more tapering, market-forced rate hikes (perhaps as many as 2-3 – how much closer would yield curve control get then?), higher taxes and higher oil prices. Stocks are still likely to deliver more gains in spite of all the negative divergences to bonds or other indices (hello, Russell 2000). Copper would be my indicator as to how far further we have to go before GDP growth around the world peaks. Oil is ready for strong medium-term gains, and I‘m not looking for precious metals to yield much ground. Silver though is more vulnerable unless inflation returns to the spotlight. Cryptos do likewise have issues extending gains sharply. All in all, volatility is making a return, and it isn‘t a good news for the bulls. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 ran into headwinds, and fresh ATHs will really take a while to happen, but we‘re likely to get there still. Credit Markets HYG didn‘t have a really bad day – just a cautious one. Interestingly, lower yields didn‘t help tech, and that means a sectoral rebalancing in favor of value is coming, and that the current bond market strength will be sold into. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals held up fine yesterday, but some weakness into tomorrow shouldn‘t be surprising. I look for it to turn out only temporary, and not as a start of a serious downswing. Crude Oil Crude oil continues struggling at $72, but the downside looks limited – I‘m not looking for a flush into the low or mid $60s. Copper In spite of the red candle(s), copper looks to be stopping hesitating, and is readying an upswing. I look for broader participation in it, and that includes commodities and silver. The run up to tomorrow‘s announcement would be telling. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bottom searching goes on, yesterday‘s downside target was hit, and the bulls are meekly responding today. I don‘t think the bottom is in at $46K BTC or $3700s ETH. Summary Risk-off mood is prevailing in going for tomorrow‘s FOMC – the expectations seem leaning towards making a tapering / tightening mistake. While headwinds are stiffening, we haven‘t topped yet in stocks or commodities, but the road would be getting bumpier as stated yesterday. Select commodities and precious metals are already feeling the pinch late in today‘s premarket trading, but there is no sending them to bear markets. Get ready for the twin scourge of persistent inflation and slowdown in growth to start biting increasingly more – just-in producer price index (9.6% YoY, largest ever) confirms much more inflation is in the pipeline, and the Fed would still remain behind the curve in its actions. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
No Turnaround Tuesday for Equities?

No Turnaround Tuesday for Equities?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 14.12.2021 15:01
December 14, 2021  $USD, Canada, Chile, Currency Movement, EMU, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, UK Overview:  Activity in the capital markets is subdued today, ahead of tomorrow's FOMC meeting conclusion and the ECB meeting on Thursday.  The MSCI Asia Pacific equity index fell for the third consecutive session.  European bourses are heavy after the Stoxx 600 posted an outside down day yesterday. Today would be the fifth consecutive decline. Selling pressure on the US futures indices continues after yesterday's losses.  Australia and New Zealand bonds played catch-up to the large drop in US Treasury yields yesterday, while European benchmark yields are edging higher.  The 10-year US Treasury yield is around 1.43%.  The dollar is mixed against the major currencies.  The Canadian and Australian dollars and Norway are softer, while the Swiss franc and euro lead with around a 0.25%-0.35% gain.  Most emerging market currencies are little changed, though the Turkish lira is paring yesterday's intervention-fueled gains.  Led by the Hungarian forint ahead of the outcome of the central meeting, and helped by a firm euro, central European currencies lead the emerging markets.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is off for a second session after breaking a four-week slide last week.  Gold continues to consolidate and is within yesterday's range ($1782-$1791).  Oil is also trading quietly, with the January WTI contract in a $70.50-$72.00 range.  European (Dutch) natural gas is rising for the sixth session of the past seven, during which time it has increased by nearly a third.  US natgas has fallen by almost 30% in the past two weeks and is off for about 4.4% this week already.  Iron ore is paring yesterday's 6.5% gain, while copper is drifting lower and is extending its loss into the fourth consecutive session.   Asia Pacific Year-end pressures are evident in Japan's money markets, and the BOJ responded by arranging an unscheduled repo operation for the second consecutive session.  Yesterday's overnight operation was for JPY2 trillion (~$17.5 bln) after the repo rate rose to two-year highs.  The repo appeared to have been lifted by dealers securing funding for bill purchases.  Today the BOJ offered to buy JPY9 trillion of bonds under the repo agreement.   The US has offered to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs on Japan on similar terms as the deal struck with the EU.   A certain amount, based on some historical market share, can be shipped to the US duty-free, but over that threshold, a levy will be imposed.  Unlike the EU, Tokyo did not impose retaliatory tariffs.  Estimates suggest that Japan shipped around 5% of its steel to the US, though some might have made its way through Mexico.   The regional highlights for the week still lie ahead.  Tomorrow, China reports November retail sales, industrial production, new home prices, investment, and the surveyed jobless rate.  Retail sales are expected to have slowed, while industrial output may have firmed.  Investment in property and fixed assets may have stalled.  Japan has its tertiary index (October) tomorrow, a November trade balance on Thursday (it nearly always deteriorates from October), and the Friday BOJ meeting.  The BOJ is expected to extend some of its emergency facilities.  Australia reports its November jobs data first thing Thursday morning in Canberra.  After three months of job losses, a strong report is expected as social restrictions were lifted.   Today, the dollar is confined to about a quarter of a yen range above JPY113.50.  It has not traded above JPY114.00 this month so far.  Nor has it traded below JPY113.20 since last Monday.  An option for $760 mln at JPY1113.85 rolls off today.  The Australian dollar tested the session high near $0.7135 in the European morning but met a wall of sellers, perhaps, related to the nearly A$600 mln option at $0.7130 that expires today. It has traded down to a five-day low around $0.7090, which is the halfway point of last week's rally.  The next retracement (61.8%) is near $0.7065. The dollar continues to struggle to sustain upticks against the Chinese yuan. It is trading heavily today, its seventh loss in the past eight sessions.   Still, the greenback held above yesterday's low (~CNY6.3580).  It was unable to poke above CNY6.37.   The PBOC's dollar fixing was set at CNY6.3675, while the market (Bloomberg survey) anticipated CNY6.3666.   Europe The UK reported solid employment data.  The November claimant count rate eased to 4.9% from a revised 5.0% (initially 5.1%), representing a nearly 50k decline after the October decline was revised to 58.5k from -14.9k.  The pace of earnings growth slowed to 4.9% from 5.9% (three-month, year-over-year).  Employment rose by nearly 150k (three months) after a 247k increase previously.  Tomorrow, the UK sees November CPI and PPI.  Both are expected to have quickened from October.  Nevertheless, the BOE is now seen on hold until February.   Hungary's central bank is set to hike the base rate today.  A 40 bp increase would follow last month's 30 bp hike.  Today's move would be the sixth in a row.  The base rate began the year at 60 bp, and today's hike would lift it to 2.50%.  On Thursday, Hungary likely hiked the one-week deposit rate.  It has been hiked for the last four weeks.  It had been at 75 bp until June, when it was hiked by 15 bp.  It was lifted by 30 bp in July and again in August.  It reverted to 15 bp increases in September and October.  The one-week deposit rate was raised several times last month to 2.90%.  It is up another 40 bp so far this month, and it is expected to be lifted by another 20 bp this week.   In October, industrial output in the euro area rose 1.1% after a 0.2% decline in September.  The preliminary PMI will be reported on Thursday, ahead of the ECB meeting.  Activity likely slowed. The focus of the ECB meeting is on the guidance about bond-buying next year.  The emergency facility is expected to wind down at the end of Q1, but given that it will still be buying bonds, tapering may not be as necessary or pronounced as, say, with the Federal Reserve.  The ECB staff will also update forecasts, including a sharp upward revision to next year's while extending the projections to 2024.  There is also interest in what the ECB will do about its long-term loans (TLTRO).    The euro has firmed in the European morning but remains mired in a narrow range.  Indeed, the range over the past five sessions is a little less than a cent (~$1.1260-$1.1355). There is an option for nearly 500 mln euros at $1.1330 that expires today.  For the past month, the euro has been in a $1.12-$1.14 trading range, with the notable exception on November 24, when the low for the year was recorded (~$1.1185).   Sterling slipped below $1.32 in late Asian turnover but found bids lurking there, and Europe has extended its recovery toward $1.3235.  Resistance is seen in the $1.3260-$1.3275 area. Sterling has not traded above $1.33 since December 3, yet a move above there is necessary to lift the technical tone.   America The US reports November producer prices today.  The headline rate is expected to push above 9%, while the core rate pokes through 7%.  The market is understandably more sensitive to consumer prices than producer prices.  Tomorrow, ahead of the FOMC statement, the November retail sales (softer than the 1.7% headline increase in October) and the December Empire manufacturing survey will be released.   Although the Senate is expected to maneuver to lift the debt ceiling today, the Treasury is planning a large bill pay down (~$175 bln) to ensure it would have the space to settle the coupon auctions.  That said, the supply of bills is likely to improve through Q1 22, according to estimates.  By most accounts, the Treasury has overfunded itself, and this will allow it to cut back further on new supply, just as the Federal Reserve is expected to accelerate its tapering.   The Bank of Canada was told its inflation target remains 2% but that it can overshoot to support "maximum sustainable employment."  The central bank's language is important.  It said it would "continue" to support the labor market objective, suggesting that yesterday's adjustment to the mandate will have a minor operational impact.  In fact, with inflation (October CPI 4.7%, an 18-year high), Governor Macklem quickly indicated that this was not the situation when it could probe for the maximum sustainable employment.  Still, the new mandate requires that the central bank explain when it is using its new flexibility and how labor market outcomes are incorporated into monetary decisions.  Separately, Canada is proposing alternatives to the US proposed tax incentives for electric vehicles in the Build Back Better initiative.  Canada and Mexico claim that it violated the USMCA and throws a wrench in the 30-year auto integration.  The EU trade commissioner has also expressed concerns about whether the legislation would break the WTO rules too.   Late today, Chile's central bank is expected to deliver a 125 bp rate hike, the same as in October.  The overnight target rate began the year at 50 bp.  It was hiked by 25 bp in July and 75 bp in August.  With today's hike, it will stand at 4%.  More work is needed as November CPI was at 6.7%.  Chile holds the run-off presidential election this weekend.  In the first round last month, the conservative Kast drew 28% support while the left candidate Boris garnered 26%.  Chile's innovation during Covid was to allow people to withdraw funds from their pensions (yes, like a farmer eating their corn seed).  Three withdrawals were granted, but a fourth effort was rebuffed earlier this month.  The World Bank and the IMF expressed concern about the pension fund industry, which had been among the best in the region.  The Chilean peso is among the worst-performing emerging market currencies this year.  It has fallen nearly 15.5% and has only been "bested" by the Argentine peso (~17.3%) and the Turkish lira (-48%).   The Canadian dollar's retreat is being extended for the fifth consecutive session.  The greenback has largely held above CAD1.2800 and is drawing near the high seen after the employment reports on December 3 (~CAD1.2855).  We usually see the exchange rate is driven by 1) general risk appetite, 2) commodity prices, and 3) rate differential.  Here we note that Canada's 2-year premium has fallen from about 60 basis points at the start of last month to around 27 bp now.  Over the same time, the 10-year premium has wholly disappeared.  It was almost 20 bp on November 1 and currently is trading at a four basis point discount.  Meanwhile, the greenback is consolidating against the Mexican peso. For the fifth consecutive session, it has been mainly chopping in a MXN20.85-MXN21.08 range.   On Thursday, Banxico is expected to hike its overnight rate by 25 bp.  We continue to think it is more likely to hike by 50 bp than standpat.  Since June, it has lifted the target rate by 100 bp to 5%.   November CPI stood at 7.37%.     Disclaimer
GameStop Stock News and Forecast: Why did GME stock fall so much on Monday?

GameStop Stock News and Forecast: Why did GME stock fall so much on Monday?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.12.2021 16:01
GameStop stock fell nearly 14% on Monday to $136.88. Retail and meme stocks suffered quite sharp falls on Monday. AMC followed GME by falling to $23.24 for a 15% loss. The rise of the meme stock has been a unique feature of this investing year over any others with a special set of once-in-a-generation circumstances elevating many ordinary joes into stock trading stars. The first was GameStop (GME), which made possibly more headlines than any other stock in history. I confess to not doing a lot of research on this, but when you overhear numerous discussions in the local pub about the phenomenon, you know it must be serious. AMC then joined the party, and together the pair became the poster child stocks for the meme stock revolution. We even had the perfect pantomime villain in the Robinhood saga. Regardless, the retail investor is now a powerful force in the stock market, but that power has begun to wane as we approach the final finishing straight of the year. Now retail investors who got in early and held their nerve are being rewarded with yearly gains of 626% for GameStop (GME) and 996% for AMC. So any discussion of a collapse needs to be put into context. The fact does remain though that both stocks are actually well off their 2021 peaks. GameStop shed nearly 14% on Monday, closing at $136.88. There is a slight contradiction to the underlying trend with in-store attendance surely surging, definitely in my local store ahead of the holidays. GameStop (GME) chart, 15 minute GameStop (GME) stock news There was no underlying fundamental news. Rather a catalyst of market weakness and general risk aversion hurt this one. GME and AMC are both momentum names, and when that slows the results can be shocking. GameStop (GME) stock forecast The big catalyst was more technical in our view. In the absence of fundamental news flow, GameStop has been going through support levels like a knife through butter. $167 was a big level, marking the lows going back to September. Cracking below that level was the direct result of breaking the 200-day moving average. Monday saw a move to break $146, marking new six-month lows. GameStop now sits on the last key support before $118. GME shares closed at $136.88, though the volume-weighted average price for the year is $138. Below, the volume begins to strongly lighten, meaning less price discovery, meaning a likely move to $118. This amounts to a low volume fall. I know most readers do not like to hear bearish arguments, especially in some favourite name like GameStop and AMC, but we can only comment on the price action and trends we see. For now, bears are definitely in control. A break of $167 resistance would change the picture. GME 1-day chart
When will the last Bitcoin be mined and where could BTC price be headed?

When will the last Bitcoin be mined and where could BTC price be headed?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.12.2021 16:01
There are less than 2.1 million BTC left to be mined. The last Bitcoin is expected to be mined in 2140. Analysts believe that the scarcity could propel BTC price to reach six figures. Bitcoin has recently reached a massive milestone, as miners have minted over 18.9 million BTC into supply, accounting for 90% of the 21 million maximum supply in the network. 90% of all Bitcoin have been created Less than 10% of the entire Bitcoin maximum supply now remains, and analysts are expecting the leading cryptocurrency’s scarcity to influence a supply shock which could propel BTC price higher. As the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are on the rise, analysts are predicting that the long-term price outlook for BTC will reach over six figures. As miners continue to mint new coins, the number of new Bitcoins entering into supply have steadily increased, reaching past the 18.9 million mark, resulting in 90% of all BTC to have been created and released into supply. After reaching this threshold, only 2.1 million BTC, or roughly 10% of the total 21 million Bitcoin remains to be mined. Additionally, there are estimates of three to five million Bitcoin that have not moved in the past decade, and a large portion could be permanently lost. The current block reward for miners is 6.25 BTC per block, and the rewards will decrease to half of the amount per block post-halving. Given the current rate of 900 BTC mined per day and 210,000 blocks are needed for every halving, the next reward halving is expected to be in May 2024. The current Bitcoin inflation rate fluctuates between 1.75% to 1.88% and after the halving event, the inflation rate is estimated to be around 1.10%. Until 2030, there will be two sizeable Bitcoin block reward halvings, after then, the rewards will be fractions of BTC. The inflation rate is expected to be around 0.50% by 2030, and 98.02% of all Bitcoin supply will be expected to be mined. The last BTC is expected to be mined in the year 2140. Given that Bitcoin hashrate surging to all-time highs, the network has accelerated the timeframe between halvings, as the daily issuance rate has rapidly increased than previously estimated. Bitcoin halvings occur every four years, allowing fewer coins to enter into supply, making the leading cryptocurrency scarce which increases demand. Marcus Soitiriou, analyst at GlobalBlock suggested that Bitcoin’s scarcity will lead to supply shock for BTC to overtake gold’s market capitalization over the next ten years, which stands at around $10 trillion. He estimates the bellwether cryptocurrency’s price to rise to $500,000 in the future. Bitcoin price awaits 12% ascent Bitcoin price has formed a falling wedge pattern on the 4-hour chart, indicating hope for the bulls. BTC has bounced off of the descending support trend line that forms the lower boundary of the governing technical pattern at $45,654. The leading cryptocurrency is now ready for a recovery. The first line of resistance may appear at the 21 four-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA), coinciding with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $48,501. Additional headwind may appear at the 50 four-hour SMA at $49,057. A break above the upper boundary of the falling wedge could put a 12% climb on the radar toward $55,435. BTC/USDT 4-hour chart If selling pressure increases, Bitcoin price will discover immediate support at the December 4 low at $46,131, before dropping toward the lower boundary of the prevailing chart pattern at $45,654.
How Supply Constraints Stole Christmas

How Supply Constraints Stole Christmas

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 15.12.2021 13:00
Equities 2021-12-15 10:30 Summary:  If you have tried to buy, well, basically anything, you've probably noticed that the shelves in the stores aren't as full as they used to be. With the Christmas shopping season approaching fast, there is a very real chance that Santa will have a hard time getting everyone what they want. In this article, we will look at how supply constraints will be this year's Grinch, how they will steal Christmas and how you can counteract them. It’s not news that the global supply chains are challenged, but how did it get here and what will it mean for your Christmas presents? In this article, we will look into how supply constraints came about and how they will impact Christmas shopping. “We’ve all become accustomed to the fact that when you order something online, you get it delivered within a few days. That system is broken down and we have to be much more patient now,” says Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategies at Saxo Group. Exceptional demand challenges the physical limits of the worldOne of the main drivers behind the supply constraints is a sudden imbalance between supply and demand, which is an effect of the COVID-19 breakout in the early 2020s. On one hand, a collapse of the global economy was expected, and on the other, governments across the globe started supporting both businesses and people by handing out money. The global economic collapse in large part didn’t happen and the world went into a lockdown, which meant that people suddenly had money on their hands but couldn’t travel or go to restaurants, so instead they started buying goods and commodities.“I normally tend to tell the Danish media that it all began when we got our holiday check paid out from the government, because then we all went on a spending spree. Restaurants and cinemas were closed, so we went online and went shopping for consumer goods. So, from having cancelled lots of orders, expecting a sharp decline in economic activity due to the pandemic, companies suddenly had to put in massive new amounts of orders and the system couldn't cope,” says Hansen.In a world where global activity was already historically high, an increase in demand like this puts a lot of strain on the physical parts of being able to supply people with what they want. “When you have such a big shift on the demand side, then when we talk about supply, it's about the physical world - ports, container ships, available containers - and its generally about infrastructure, which takes time to build out and thus can’t make as big a leap as the demand side, because we are talking about building big physical things,” says Peter Garnry, Head of Equity Strategies at Saxo Group. The system, which Hansen is referring to is the logistics sector, where the physical limits of the world are challenged by rapid technological development. “I think what this whole supply chain issue has shown is that everything we're talking about is basically constraints we observe in the physical world, and if there's something we have seen during this pandemic, it’s a phenomenal rally in technology stocks and companies that operate in the online world. When I travel around and talk to clients, I show this chart where you can see that since the great financial crisis, technology companies’ revenue and profits have just taken off like a rocket relative to the physical world, the normal world, the one we are in, and these supply constraints are once again teaching us that a lot of the investment opportunities will be in the online world,” says Garnry. In essence, this means that because governments feared an economic collapse, they handed out money to people and companies who then used the money to buy more goods than usual, like e.g. technological devices and gadgets, which pushed the limits of the physical ships, ports, trucks and roads. In such a situation, the last thing you would want is to clog up the system, so the pressure on the physical limits will be even tougher. Enter Ever Given.The bottleneckWinding the clock back to March this year, one of the largest container ships in the world, Ever Given, was passing through the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important supply routes. Here it was hit by strong winds that forced the ship to turn, which resulted in the ship getting stuck across the canal. Some 400 container ships were queued up for six days, creating not only shipping delays but also further bottlenecks when the ships arrived at ports at the same time, increasing the pressure on the physical world. So now you had governments handing out money, a global population eager to buy goods, ports that are already overworked and a global trading route which is closed down, halting the usual flow of goods from East to West. A shortage of peopleIt’s probably fair to think that such bottlenecks shouldn’t take long to fix as long as everything is operating as it should. But here it’s necessary to understand two things. The first thing is that on the sea, transportation of cargo is constantly becoming bigger, but on land, this isn’t the case. “Containers ships are getting bigger and bigger, but you still need one truck to move the container to and from the harbour. So, it’s an increasing challenge that these ships roll in and need to be offloaded and loaded in a relatively short time. This has become a major obstacle, like we have seen in Felixstowe in the UK, in Los Angeles and even in Rotterdam,” Hansen says.At the same time, there’s a historic shortage of truck drivers around the globe. In the US alone, it’s estimated that 80,000 additional truck drivers are needed to handle the number of containers that could be delivered at the country’s ports. The reasons for this are many, but it’s an important factor in the supply constraints, and one that isn’t easily fixed.Generally, truck drivers have been in short supply since the mid-2000s. In addition, many economies around the world work at close to full capacity, which usually allows people with lower-paying jobs – like truckers – to move up to higher-paying and more attractive jobs, due to increased demand for workers. Also, governmental support during COVID may have provided some drivers with money they’ve been able to use to get better jobs. “You need a lot of truck drivers, which has been another issue, as there’s a shortage of truck drivers. This is mainly because some of them have found other jobs during the lockdown, where wages are rising in other industries as well, so it's difficult to find all the truck drivers needed to move all these containers. That means that you suddenly end up with a harbour full of empty containers stacking up, which takes space away from the filled ones that need to come in,” says Hansen. So, along with increased demand putting the physical world under pressure, and the blockage of an important trading route, there are also not enough people and trucks to handle the containers when ships do roll in, all adding to the delays and difficulties of moving things around the world.COVID closuresWhen trying to explain how we ended up with supply constraints, it’s impossible not to mention the COVID-19 virus, because it has had a significant impact. As previously mentioned, one reaction to the pandemic has been governmental stimulus, which has created a number of ripple effects. More concretely, COVID-19 has affected operations at ports around the globe – especially in China, one of the world’s key production hubs. “The Chinese zero-case policy on COVID-19 is making it difficult to keep supply chains efficient, because when there’s a new series of cases in China, they tend to close down pretty large parts of the particular region where the cases are happening,” says Garnry.The shortage to rule them allStruggling to ship goods around the world is a major challenge. But struggling to supply the most crucial component in today’s technology goods is arguably a much bigger issue. Semiconductors – also called integrated circuits or microchips – are used in a wide range of goods and products, including electronics. The semiconductor shortage – like the others we’ve described – has been caused by a variety of snowball effects, including bad weather in Texas, trade disputes between China and the US, and especially the COVID-19 pandemic. But this shortage is more significant, constraining sales of some of our most in-demand goods. In that sense, the semiconductor shortage is the real Grinch, which will steal the most popular Christmas presents even before they’re produced. “The semiconductor shortage is impacting everything from Nintendo to car production and PlayStations. iPhone production has also been cut by as many as 10 million units due to these constraints. So, even if you wish for it, and you want it and it's cool, you can't get it,” says Garnry.And if you’re wishing for a new car, semiconductors can also spoil the day. Car manufacturers, who buy lower margin semiconductors, were late in ordering chips after the economy didn’t collapse due to the pandemic. The semiconductor industry had already found willing buyers thanks to high demand for graphics cards for gaming and crypto, as well as chips used in data centres and computers. Car manufacturers were therefore put at the back of the line and have ever since scrambled to get priority, causing car production to be reduced due to lack of semiconductors, meaning that there are a lot of cars that are almost ready to be shipped, but can’t be because they are missing this one component,” says Garnry. Product centralisationLooking at the different reasons why supply chains have ended up in the pickle they’re in, one of them also points to a potential solution, which would be a massive shift in the production strategy that companies have pursued for a number of years. “If you're a large consumer goods company today and your main markets are the US and Europe, you must be contemplating whether you should have production closer to your end markets,” says Garnry. He adds:“Not too long ago, we had a very engaging conversation with Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO of DSV, and we talked about this situation. In the financial industry, we always suggest that investors should make sure to  diversify their portfolio. But for whatever reason, this concept seems to have escaped the manufacturing industry when you look at their portfolio of production. Said in another way – production companies have sent huge amounts of their global production to China and that really hurts when you have disruptions like these. This could lead us to see more fragmented production and that manufacturing companies begin to diversify their supply chains. My bet is that in the future, we will see some production come back to main consumer markets in the western world.” How to un-steal Christmas from the supply GrinchWhile Garnry’s point about production closer to main markets is relevant, it’s a long-term solution that won’t help this year’s Christmas shopping. For now, we’ll just have to get used to it being more difficult to get what we want.“We need to get the balance back in terms of supply and demand. Until then, we're going to have to live with some disruptions for a number of years and that will create these temporary obstructions in various places in the world,” says Hansen. Garnry adds that the bottlenecks will solve themselves: “We will get there, but it will take some time,” he says.So, what do we do this Christmas? While the Grinch may steal your car, iPhone and PlayStation, Hansen thinks we should look at our wish list and wish for something the Grinch can’t steal – and where we can do good. “Regarding Christmas, think a bit alternatively. The global economy came back very strongly, but there was a whole area which was left in the dark and that was the service sector. So, spare a thought for them if you can't get the goods you are looking for. Wish for a gift card to the cinema or to a restaurant or to some local experience. They're not going to run out of supplies and could use it,” he says.If you want to read more about how to invest in the logistics sector during these challenges, take a look at this article. If you want to get inspiration for more investments in the logistics sector, take a look at Garnry’s theme basket here.
The 10 Public Companies With the Biggest Bitcoin Portfolios

FOMC helped Cryptos to hold important levels

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 16.12.2021 08:33
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market capitalisation rose by 2.1% to $2.24 trillion, recovering to the levels at the start of the week. Yesterday, the figure was close to the $2.0 trillion mark, but demand for risk assets recovery supported cryptos, providing around a 12% rise from the bottom to peak in the following four hours. On balance, the cryptocurrency fear and greed index reclaimed another point, rising to 29. The bulls seem to be putting in the necessary minimum effort to keep the positive picture on the charts of the major cryptocurrencies. But there isn’t much more to do now. Bitcoin is up 1.2% in the last 24 hours, trading at $48.7K. The bulls managed to push BTCUSD into the area above the 200-day moving average but are not getting away from it. Etherereum is adding 3.5%, clinging to the $4K. The strong market reaction after the FOMC pushed ETHUSD above this round level, but we saw some selling pressure in the morning. Short-term traders should closely watch whether the former support has turned into resistance. The pair of major cryptocurrencies appear to have been supported by a general increase in risk appetite in the markets following the FOMC announcements. However, investors should keep in mind that this upward move in traditional financial markets was more of a “buy the rumours, sell the facts” style reaction. Fundamentally, news about the faster QE tapering and greater willingness to raise rates has already been priced in during previous weeks. But at the same time, long-term investors should not lose sight of the natural tightening of financial conditions because of these moves, which will slowly but persistently reduce demand for risky assets. The main risk for the crypto market is that we have seen a monetary regime switch in the last couple of months, which promises to take some of the demand for crypto away..
Tough Choices Ahead

Tough Choices Ahead

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.12.2021 15:51
S&P 500 declined on poor PPI data, with financials virtually the only sector closing in the black. Rising yields and risk-off credit markets, that‘s the answer – markets are afraid of a more hawkish Fed than what they expect already. While the central bank will strive to project a decisive image, I‘m looking for enough leeway to be left in, and packaged in incoming data flexibility and overall uncertainty. Good for them that the fresh spending initiative hasn‘t yet passed. Still, I‘m looking for the Fed to be forced during 2022 to abruptly reverse course, and bring back the punch bowl. Treasuries look serene, and aren‘t anticipating sharply higher rates in the near term – not even inflation expectations interpreted higher PPI as a sign that inflation probably hasn‘t peaked yet. This isn‘t the first time inflation is being underestimated – and beaten down commodities (with copper bearing the brunt in today‘s premarket) reflect that likewise. Only cryptos are bucking the cautious entry to the Fed policy decision, and decreasing liquidity, in what can still turn out as a lull before another selling attempt. I think that the overly hawkish Fed expectations are misplaced, and that the risk-on assets would reverse the prior weakness – both today and in the days immediately following, which is when the real post-Fed move emerges. Odds are that it would still be up across the board. Yes, I‘m looking for the Fed speak to be interpreted as soothing – as one that would still result in market perceptions that the real bite isn‘t here yet, or doesn‘t look too real yet. Big picture is that public finances need inflation to make the debt load manageable, and that ample room to flex hawkish muscles isn‘t there (as retail data illustrate). As I wrote in yesterday‘s summary: (…) Risk-off mood is prevailing in going for tomorrow‘s FOMC – the expectations seem leaning towards making a tapering / tightening mistake. While headwinds are stiffening, we haven‘t topped yet in stocks or commodities, but the road would be getting bumpier as stated yesterday. Select commodities and precious metals are already feeling the pinch late in today‘s premarket trading, but there is no sending them to bear markets. Get ready for the twin scourge of persistent inflation and slowdown in growth to start biting increasingly more – just-in producer price index (9.6% YoY, largest ever) confirms much more inflation is in the pipeline, and the Fed would still remain behind the curve in its actions. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 had a weak day, but the dip was being bought – there is fledgling accumulation regardless of deteriorating internals, and tech selloff continuing. Credit Markets HYG even staged a late day rally – bonds are in a less panicky mood, not anticipating overly hawkish Fed message. And that‘s good for the markets that sold off a bit too much. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals downside appears limited here, and today‘s premarket downswing has been largely erased already. Much catching up to do on the upside, just waiting for the catalyst. Crude Oil Crude oil is on the defensive now – the weak session yesterday didn‘t convince me. I‘m though still looking for higher prices even as today‘s premarket took black gold below $70. Still not looking for a flush into the low or mid $60s. Copper Copper upswing didn‘t materialize, and worries about the economic outlook keep growing. The sideways trend keeps holding for now though, still. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum bottom searching goes on, yesterday‘s downside target was hit, but the bottom (at $46K BTC or $3700s ETH) might not be in just yet. Cryptos remain in wait and see mode. Summary Bears aren‘t piling in before today‘s FOMC – the Fed‘s moves will though likely be interpreted as not overly hawkish. Given more incoming signs of slowing economy, the window of opportunity to tighten, is pretty narrow anyway. Why take too serious a chance? Yes, I‘m looking for the weakness in real assets to turn out temporary, and for stocks not to be broken by inflation just yet – as argued for in the opening part of today‘s analysis. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
MSFT Stock News and Forecast: Why Microsoft is on target for $300

MSFT Stock News and Forecast: Why Microsoft is on target for $300

FXStreet News FXStreet News 15.12.2021 16:08
Microsoft stock falls over 3% on Tuesday ahead of Fed. Tech stocks suffer as rate hikes hit high growth names. MSFT is close to all-time highs, volume remains elevated. Microsoft (MSFT) is pausing for breath near all-time highs as the market awaits Fed taper talk Wednesday. While high growth stocks may wait in trepidation, more established names such as Microsoft and Apple (AAPL) have continued to attract fresh investors. High growth usually means low profits, but this is certainly not the case for Microsoft or Apple. Indeed, recent research from Goldman Sachs demonstrated the divergence between mega tech names this year versus unprofitable tech names. Unprofitable tech names are down circa 20% for the year, while mega tech is up nearly 30%. The logic is sound – higher rates disproportionally hit high growth rates. By comparison, established mega tech are cash cows that offer huge profits, huge leverage, huge purchasing power and operate in a quasi-monopolistic stance whereby inflationary pressures can be passed on to consumers. GOOGL, AAPL, MSFT outperformance versus Nasdaq since the start of the year Microsoft stock news It used to be the case that consumer staples were the de facto defensive stocks that investors retreated to in times of stress. After all, we all need food for survival. Utility stocks also were well-used defensive mechanisms for much the same logic, basic necessity. However, with the advent of mobile technology, essentials are now seen as communication and news stocks. Big tech fulfills all these roles. Our smartphone is a means of communication, a means of news service, television, shopping, etc. We now view many big tech services as essential and ones we cannot live without. Combine this with huge revenue, in many cases monopolistic qualities, and piles of cash, and you have the perfect defensive stocks for the 21st century. This is why Apple actually appreciated during last week's Omicron sell-off. What we are currently seeing is high growth meme names taking a disproportionate hit ahead of the Fed. Think Tesla down again, and AMC and GME collapsing. The Nasdaq index was the underperformer on Tuesday. Microsoft stock forecast $318 is our key short-term pivot. Already MSFT has put in a lower high, albeit just below all-time highs. A break of $318 sets a lower low and puts a short-term trend in motion. We specify short term here. This is what most of you likely are interested in. The longer-term trend remains bullish, fundamentals are strong, earnings power is consistent and defensive qualities mentioned above can shield it from inflationary pressures. However, there are some bearish points to note for short-term swing traders. We have a decling MACD and RSI. We also have bearish divergences from both indicators, significantly so in the case of the RSI. Based on this we feel $318 is likely to break, and below we see support at $300. We base this not only on the round number theory but on the volume profile. Volume means price acceptance and support. MSFT 1-day chart
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Attempts Rebound - 08.11.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.11.2021 09:09
USDCHF struggles for bids The US dollar bounced higher on solid jobs performance in October. A bullish RSI divergence indicates a deceleration in the sell-off. Sellers have started to cover after a close above the immediate support at 0.9170. However, the initial momentum was held back after the RSI shot into the overbought territory. The bulls will need to lift offers around 0.9225, which sits on the 30-day moving average to attract more followers. On the downside, a break below 0.9100 may trigger a fall towards 0.9020. USDCAD tests supply area The Canadian dollar claws back some losses after Canada’s unemployment rate shrank to 6.7% in October. The US dollar’s break above 1.2430 has put the bears under pressure. An overbought RSI has put a limit on the upside as intraday buyers take profit. The bulls are making an attempt at 1.2500. This level was a key support on the daily chart and has now turned into a resistance. A bullish breakout may pave the way for a bullish reversal. A fall below 1.2375 would put the demand zone over 1.2300 at the test once again. US 30 rises as risk appetite grows The Dow Jones 30 finds support from the passage of the $1 trillion US infrastructure bill. The index saw an acceleration to the upside after it rallied above the previous peak at 35600. Sentiment remains bullish with short-term price action grinding up along a rising trendline. 36600 would be the next target. The RSI’s overbought situation has led to a temporary retracement which could be an opportunity for trend followers to stake in. 36070 on the trendline is the first level where we can expect a rebound.
Why Isn’t Gold Rallying Along With Inflation?

Why Isn’t Gold Rallying Along With Inflation?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 05.11.2021 16:20
  Inflation is high and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. However, gold is not rising. The question is – what does the Fed have to do with it? Inflation is not merely transitory, and that’s a fact. Why then isn’t gold rallying? Isn’t it an inflation-hedge? Well, it is - but gold is a lazy employee. It shows up at work only when inflation is high and accelerating; otherwise, it refuses to get its golden butt up and do its job. All right, fine, but inflation is relatively high! So, there have to be other reasons why gold remains stuck around $1,800. First of all, central banks are shifting their monetary policy. Global easing has ended, global tightening is coming! Actually, several central banks have already tightened their stance. For example, among developed countries, New Zealand, Norway, and South Korea have raised interest rates. Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Romania, and Russia are in the club of monetary policy hawks as well. Even the bank of England could hike its policy rate this year, while the Fed has only announced tapering of its asset purchases. So, although central banks will likely maintain their dovish bias and real interest rates will stay negative, the era of epidemic ultra-loose monetary policy is coming to an end. We all know that neither the interest rates nor the central banks’ balance sheets will return to the pre-pandemic level, but the direction is clear: central banks are starting tightening cycles, no matter how gentle and gradual they will be. This means that monetary policy is no longer supportive of gold. The same applies to fiscal policy. It remains historically lax despite fiscal stimulus being pulled back. Even though Uncle Sam ran a fiscal deficit of $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021 - almost three times that of fiscal year 2019 ($0.98 trillion) - it was 12% lower than in fiscal year 2020 ($3.1 trillion). This implies that the fiscal policy is also tightening (despite the fact that it remains extravagantly accommodative), which is quite a headwind for gold. Investors should always look at directional changes, not at absolute levels. What’s more, we are still far from stagflation. We still experience both high inflation and fast GDP growth, as well as an improving labor market. As a reminder, the unemployment rate declined from 5.2% in August to 4.8% in September. The fact that the labor market continues to hold up relatively well is the reason why the so-called Misery Index, i.e., the sum of inflation and unemployment rates, remains moderate despite high inflation. It amounted to 10.19 in September, much below the range of 12.5-20 seen during the Great Inflation of the 1970s (see the chart below). So, the dominant narrative is about both inflation and growth. When people got vaccines, markets ceased to worry about coronavirus and started to expect a strong recovery. Commodity and equity prices are rising, as well as real interest rates. These market trends reflect expectations of more growth than inflation – expectations that hurt gold and made it get stuck around $1,800. Having said that, the case for gold is not lost. Gold bulls should be patient. The growth is going to slow down, and when inflation persists for several months, the pace of real growth will decline even further, shifting the market narrative to worrying about inflation’s negative effects and stagflation. Gold should shine then. Wait, when? Soon. The Fed’s tightening cycle could be a turning point. The US central bank has already announced tapering of quantitative easing, which could erase some downward pressure on gold resulting from the anticipation of this event. Additionally, please remember that every notable market correction coincided with the end of QE, and every recession coincided with the Fed’s tightening cycle. Moreover, don’t forget that gold bottomed in December 2015, just when the Fed started hiking the federal funds rate for the first time since the Great Recession, as the chart below shows. However, when it comes to tapering, the situation is more complicated. The previous tapering was announced in December 2013, started in January 2014, and ended in October 2014. As one can see in the chart above, the price of gold initially increased, but it remained in its downward trend until December 2015 when the Fed started hiking interest rates. Hence, if history is any guide, there are high odds that gold may struggle further for a while before starting to rally next year, which could happen even as soon as June 2022, when the markets expect the first hike in interest rates. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Needs Catalyst

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Needs Catalyst

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.12.2021 08:38
XAUUSD awaits breakout Gold consolidates as traders await the Fed’s monetary policy update. The metal came under pressure after it erased all gains from the November rally. Price action is stuck in a narrowing range between the daily support at 1760 and 1806. This indicates the market’s indecision. A bearish breakout would confirm the bearish MA cross on the daily chart and trigger an extended sell-off towards the floor at 1680. On the upside, a rally would send the price to retest the previous peak at 1870. GBPCAD rises towards key resistance The pound bounced back after Britain showed strong wage growth in the three months to October. A bullish RSI divergence indicated a loss of momentum in the latest sell-off. A break above 1.6770 and then a bullish MA cross were the confirmation for a reversal. The pair is heading towards the daily resistance level at 1.7100. Its breach may lead to a broader rally in the medium term. In the meantime, an overbought RSI could temporarily limit the extension. 1.6900 is the closest support in case of a pullback. USOIL seeks support Oil prices struggled after the International Energy Agency said that the omicron strain may threaten global demand. WTI crude is hovering under the 20-day moving average after the RSI briefly shot into the overbought territory. 74.10 near the 30-day moving average seems to be a tough nut to crack for now. A bullish breakout would attract momentum buyers and send the price to the daily resistance at 79.00. Otherwise, 68.00 from the latest rally is the support to keep the rebound valid.
US retail sales worse than expected, but still off the charts

US retail sales worse than expected, but still off the charts

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 15.12.2021 16:30
US retail sales showed unexpectedly weak growth, adding only 0.3% for November against expectations of 0.8% and 1.8% a month earlier. This release triggered a strengthening momentum in the dollar, with the DXY rising 0.2% immediately after the release. EURUSD is making a new weekly low at 1.1240. While the latest data is noticeably lower than expected, one cannot ignore the sharp rise of previous months. US sales are measured in money and are not inflation-adjusted. A price increase of 0.8% for November indicates a real decline in retail sales. However, it is still worth considering that by the same month a year earlier, sales were up 17.9% against a 6.5% increase in prices. The chart clearly shows how the current sales level has broken away from its multi-year trend line. And this gap is partly due to logistical problems and is feeding inflationary pressures. What if the Fed aims to deflate this bubble? It seems, however, politicians are unlikely to announce such intentions.
WTI & Brent Crude Oil – How Will Inflation Impact Prices?

WTI & Brent Crude Oil – How Will Inflation Impact Prices?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 15.12.2021 16:37
  Once inflation is set free, it never returns to the previous state. The fight requires fast thinking, but major banks still sit on the fence. On the global economic scene, major central banks still don’t really know which pedal to use - either the one to fight inflation (tapering) or the other one to keep taking their shoot of quantitative easing (money-printing) policies. Inflation, however, is like toothpaste: once you got it out, you can’t get it back in again. So, instead of squeezing the tube too strongly, both the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) are likely to maintain an accommodating tone this week, which could eventually benefit the price of black gold. Crude oil prices were looking for a direction to take on Tuesday, after mixed reports emerged, one rather pessimistic on global demand (published by EIA) and the other, more optimistic over sustained demand, from the OPEC group. Indeed, the first report came from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday morning. It slightly lowered its forecast of world oil demand for 2021 and 2022, by 100,000 barrels per day on average, mainly to consider the lower use of air fuels due to new restrictions on international travel. The second one, from OPEC, stated on Monday in a more optimistic bias that the cartel has indeed maintained its forecasts for global oil demand in 2021 and 2022. It estimated that the impact of Omicron should be moderate and short-term since the world is becoming better equipped to face new variants and difficulties they may cause. Therefore, while the prospect of possible travel restrictions and new lockdowns worries investors, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a drop in commercial crude reserves of 800,000 barrels last week. On the geopolitical scene, growing tensions between Russia and the West over the conflict in Ukraine are contributing to escalating gas prices, given that a third of European gas comes from Russia. WTI Crude Oil (CLF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale) Brent Crude Oil (UKOIL) CFD (daily chart, logarithmic scale) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale) In summary, we can witness more volatile markets than usual for the month of December. Even though this could be accentuated by the end-of-year adjustment operations among traders, some uncertainties with central banks’ monetary policies remain and are certainly weighing on the financial markets, especially in the inflationary context. Thus, the week ahead could be an interesting one for both the black gold and the greenback. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Bear - A Second Symbol Of Markets? What Does Bear Market Mean?

The Bear’s crypto market

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 14.12.2021 09:20
The cryptocurrency market came under impressive pressure on Monday afternoon, taking 6% off its total capitalisation to 2.12 trillion. The Fear and Greed Index for the sector returned to the extreme fear territory, dropping from 28 to 21. It is not easy to pinpoint the new wave of pressure trigger, but it intensified and widened after the two largest cryptocurrencies gave up their key positions. Bitcoin has fallen below its 200-day average, trading below $47K at the time of writing. Excluding the intraday drop on the 6th of December, these are the lowest values since early October, and bitcoin has lost a third of its value from its peak levels just over a month ago. By and large, the highs at 69k were the starting point for pressure on the BTCUSD. Should the decline develop, it is worth paying increased attention to the 40k and 30k levels, significant round levels where Bitcoin had previously turned to the upside. The ETHUSD decline below 4,000 has intensified the sell-off. The pullback now exceeds 23% of the peak, signalling the start of a bear market. ETHUSD’s previous deep correction earlier this year only halted after a 60% loss, taking the price back from $4400 to the $1700 area. Should upward pressure develop, the intensity of the tug-of-war between bulls and bears could increase near the $3300, $2700, and $1800 levels, which acted as turning points earlier this year. The whole crypto sphere is in a Bear market. Their total capitalisation is already more than 30% lower from their peaks, and attempts to consolidate beyond critical levels have failed. Last summer, cryptocurrency investor interest returned after capitalisation fell by more than half. This suggests the potential for a further 30% decline from current levels.
Considering Portfolios In Times Of, Among Others, Inflation...

Till the Dollar Yields

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.11.2021 15:53
S&P 500 staged a very risk-off rally, not entirely supported by bonds. Value declined, not reflecting rising yields. Paring back recent gains on a very modest basis was palpable in financials and real estate, while (encouragingly for the bulls) consumer discretionaries outperformed staples. That‘s a testament to the stock bull run being alive and well, with all the decision making for the medium-term oriented buyers being a choice of an entry point. The brief short-term correction, the odds of which I saw as rising, is being postponed as the divergence between stocks and bonds grows wider on a short-term basis. Even the yield spreads on my watch keep being relatively compressed, expressing the Treasury markets doubts over the almost jubilant resilience in stocks. Make no mistake though, the path of least resistance for S&P 500 remains higher, and those trading only stocks can look forward for a great Dec return. Faced with the dog and pony debt ceiling show, precious metals dips are being bought – and relatively swiftly. What I‘m still looking for to kick in to a greater degree than resilience to selling attempts, is the commodities upswing that would help base metals and energy higher. These bull runs are far from over – it ain‘t frothy at the moment as the comparison of several oil stocks reveals. It‘s still about the dollar mainly: (…) The elephant in the room is (the absence of) fresh debt issuance lifting up the dollar, making it like rising yields more. Not only that these are failing to push value higher, but the tech resilience highlights the defensive nature of S&P 500 performance. Crucially though, precious metals are seeing through the (misleading dollar strength) fog, and are sharply rising regardless. Make no mistake, with the taper reaction, we have seen what I had been expecting (or even better given that I prefer reasonably conservative stance without drumming up expectations either way) – I had been telling you that the hardest times for the metals are before taper. Commodities and cryptos are feeling the greenback‘s heat most at the moment. It remains my view though that we aren‘t transitioning into a deflationary environment – stubborn inflation expectations speak otherwise, and the Fed‘s readiness to face inflation is being generally overrated, and that‘s before any fresh stimulus is considered. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls recaptured the reins in the very short-run, but it‘s the upswing sectoral internals that‘s preventing me from sounding the all clear. Credit Markets Credit markets look to be potentially stabilizing in the very short run – it‘s too early to draw conclusions. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver declined, but the volume doesn‘t lend it more credibility than what‘s reasonable to expect from a correction within an uptrend. Forthcoming miners performance is key to assessing the setback as already over, or not yet. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls didn‘t got anywhere, and the oil sector resilience is the most bullish development till now. The absence of solid volume still means amber light, though. Copper The copper setback is getting extended, possibly requiring more short-term consolidation. Unless commodities swing below the early Nov lows, the red metal won‘t be a source of disappointment. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum crack in the dam is still apparent and open – the bulls haven‘t yet returned prices to the recent (bullish) range. I‘m though looking for a positive Dec in cryptos too, and chalk current weakness to the momentary dollar strength. Summary S&P 500 bulls leveled the short-term playing field, but the credit markets non-confirmation remains. Even though this trading range might not be over yet, it would be followed by fresh ATHs. Precious metals still have a lot of catching up to do, and will lead commodities into the debt ceiling showdown, after which I‘m looking for practically universally brighter real asset days - inflation expectations aren‘t declining any time soon. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
BoE Preview: No rate hike to keep Santa happy?

BoE Preview: No rate hike to keep Santa happy?

Luke Suddards Luke Suddards 16.12.2021 12:57
GBP USD EUR 15 Dec 2021 Take a read below of all the essential details to know for this event. The Bank of England are back to deliver their interest rate policy decision tomorrow at 12pm GMT. No surprises like which unfolded at the November meeting are expected to be thrown the market’s way as the consensus clearly now expects a delay to the 15bps hike. The BoE have gone from one uncertainty to the next – labour data to now omicron. The announcement of Plan B restrictions was the nail in the coffin for any moves by the BoE come Thursday. If even one of the most hawkish members of the MPC (Saunders) stated there could be advantages to waiting for more data on how the omicron variant will impact the U.K. economy before raising rates then we can expect the more dovish/neutral members to be hesitant on the rate hike front. This is quite clearly a patient committee which sees “value in waiting for additional information”. It costs them less to wait and fall temporarily behind the curve as opposed to jumping the gun too early (remember monetary policy has a lag between implementation and visible effects). At the last meeting the interest rate vote was 7-2, with Saunders and Ramsden leading the hawkish charge, however, with the latest commentary by Saunders could we see this meeting’s vote at 8-1 instead? This combined with any softening in the policy statement tone could have dovish implications for money market expectations around February’s meeting, potentially applying some pressure on GBP. Some other historical precedents provide further support for a hold at this meeting – since gaining independence the BoE has never hiked at a December meeting with Christmas round the corner as well as preferring to take policy action at meetings that coincide with monetary policy reports and press conferences. Traders focus will be shifting to February’s meeting as they try to assess whether the BoE will hike by 15bps vs 25bps or hold again. This really does depend on the damage caused by omicron over the next 2 months. The UK with their higher natural immunity and the rapid ramp up in booster jabs (41% of population 12+ and 86% of over 60 population triple jabbed) should be able to avoid harsher lockdowns like we’ve seen previously, limiting the economic impact. This is very much dependent on the number of hospitalizations and deaths (busiest time of year for the NHS in Winter as it is). Case data should have peaked by the time of the next meeting (if it follows previous trends), with the BoE having more information at their fingertips to evaluate whether economic risks (how does the labour market hold up) from omicron will be on a downward trajectory. Continuing with the medium-term outlook, the SONIA curve indicates a bank rate of around 1% by end 2022. This is quite aggressive and creates the risk of a dovish repricing in those expectations if there are any speedbumps throughout next year. This would be a headwind for sterling. Labour, Inflation & GDP data: We received the first official employment report with the distortionary effects of furlough removed. It went fairly smoothly and I think bar omicron this would have been enough for the BoE to move. Average earnings (excluding bonuses) which feeds through to wage pressures was above consensus at 4.3% vs 4% exp, the employment gains of 149k was below the 225k anticipated, however, the claimant count showed a good decrease and the unemployment rate was lower than the 4.3% expected as well as tracking below the BoE’s forecast of 4.5%. Taking into account record vacancies and these figures the labour market looks healthy and is heading in the right direction. Moving onto the price stability side of the equation. Headline and core inflation both substantially beat the market’s expectations and with core (strips out volatile items) at 4% it is now the highest reading since 1992. The surge above 5% at a headline level has arrived earlier than many economist and the Bank themselves expected. Upon closer inspection, services inflation remains weak and price pressures are still largely being driven on the energy and goods components. The concern for the BoE of higher inflation is an unanchoring of expectations and second round effects such as wages rising – this would create more persistent inflation and could prove difficult lowering it back to the 2% target within the Bank’s ideal timeframe. Looking at OIS pricing post this inflation drop it seems rate markets have got a tad ahead of themselves with pricing for a hike tomorrow now at 74%. This could actually see sterling weaken if a hold is announced. GDP data out Friday almost was flat from a MoM perspective as it creeped up by a paltry 0.1%, this is quite significantly down from the 0.6% seen in September as well as the consensus of 0.4%. This leaves the UK economy 0.5% smaller than pre-covid levels. It remains to be seen how the economy will fare going forward as restrictions could be increased as key personnel involved in these decisions produce ominous warnings - CMO Whitty warned that UK hospitals could be overwhelmed in four weeks. Given the UK’s economy is heavily skewed towards services, tighter restrictions are a definite risk to the recovery. GBPUSD: GBPUSD found a pre-meeting bid after the inflation numbers and saw price move above both the mini descending channel and back into the main descending channel. I think a good upside target is the round number 1.33 around the 21-day EMA. Above that 1.335 (white horizontal line) would be the next go to. On the downside, a break of 1.32 would be key bringing the 8 December lows of 1.316 into play. The RSI flirted with oversold and has risen 10 points to around 40. Preview (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.) EURGBP: EURGBP has failed again to show proper follow through as it breached its upper trend line and the 200-day SMA. The RSI resistance line at 65 proved again to be a useful tool in guiding the sustainability of the move. Price is now hovering just above its 50-day SMA and right on top of its 21-day EMA. Targets wise on the upside again moves into the 200-day SMA and trend line would be important (around 0.855) and then on the downside the 50-day SMA will prove important with moves below there bringing 0.845 into play. Preview (Source: TradingView - Past performance is not indicative of future performance.)
(WETH) Wrapped Ether Explained. What Is It?

This hedge fund poured over $456 million into Ethereum in a week as ETH price dipped

FXStreet News FXStreet News 15.12.2021 16:08
A hedge fund has reaped the opportunity to buy the recent Ethereum price dip. Ether has recently dropped to a swing low of $3,675. Speculators believe the fund’s CEO caused fear, uncertainty and doubt to drive ETH price lower. While Ethereum price has risen significantly this year, the token has recently suffered several periods of volatility lately, reaching a swing low at $3,675. Ethereum fear and greed index is displaying a reading of 34, indicating fear which suggests that the token may be slightly oversold. A hedge fund has taken the opportunity to buy the ETH dip, pouring over $456 million into the cryptocurrency in less than two weeks. Hedge fund buys the Ethereum dip Cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has purchased $56 million worth of Ether earlier on December 14. Etherscan shows that the firm, founded by Su Zhu, has transferred 14,833 ETH from Binance and Coinbase to its wallet. This is not the first time the hedge fund has purchased a large amount of Ethereum. Last week, Three Arrows Capital transferred $400 million in ETH from crypto exchanges FTX, Binance and Coinbase to its wallet. Crypto reporter Colin Wu first spotted the transactions and Zhu stated that he will continue to “bid hard on any panic dump,” and that purchasing 100,000 ETH is “dust,” suggesting that more purchases in Ether are yet to be made. However, the founder of the crypto hedge fund has been involved in controversy in the crypto community, as he revealed in November that he “abandoned Ethereum despite supporting it in the past.” His statement attracted attention from the crypto industry, and he has since softened his stance and even turned it around and said, “I love Ethereum and what it stands for.” Speculators in the crypto market suggested that Zhu tried to create fear, uncertainty and doubt to drive Ethereum price down to buy more ETH at a lower price. Ethereum price struggles with major headwind at $3,900 Ethereum price has rebounded slightly after a major drop toward the swing low at $3,675 on December 13. ETH continues to be sealed within a symmetrical triangle but is struggling to battle with resistance at the 200 twelve-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $3,900 as buyers are slowly entering the market. An additional obstacle may appear at the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $3,989, then at the 21 twelve-hour SMA at $4,112. A spike in buy orders may see Ethereum price tag the 50% retracement level at $4,139 then head toward the upper boundary of the prevailing chart pattern, coinciding with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $4,289. ETH/USDT 12-hour chart If Ethereum price slices above the aforementioned line of resistance, a 26% bounce toward $5,404 is on the radar. If selling pressure increases, Ethereum price may discover immediate support at the lower boundary of the governing technical pattern at $3,712 before sliding toward the swing low at $3,675.
A quick story before we start

A quick story before we start

Brent Donnelly Brent Donnelly 16.12.2021 15:18
FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT May 6, 2010 4:55AM The Connecticut air is cold and damp. The trader moves in silence. He steps quietly through the pitch-black darkness of his Victorian McMansion and toward the door. As he disarms the home security system, the BEEP BEEP BEEP of the keypad code he enters is impossibly loud in the quiet of the pre-dawn morning. He steps out of the house, closes and locks the door, and hops into his car. As he rolls down the driveway and into the foggy morning, he inserts a Deadmau5 CD and blasts it at high volume in an effort to wake up and get pumped for another day of trading. But this will not just be another day of trading. This will be one of the most insane trading days of his career. It has been a frustrating year so far. The Eurozone Crisis has been smoldering for months but the trader’s attempts to sell the euro have been met with massive countertrend rallies as the Fed embarks on another round of USD-negative quantitative easing (QE). They call EURUSD a collision of two garbage trucks. The trader struggles to steer clear of the wreckage. His strongest view recently has been lower USDJPY. There is risk aversion popping up all over the place as markets worry about a domino effect where Greece crashes out of the Eurozone, followed by Spain, Portugal, Ireland and then finally Italy. Everyone is bearish stocks as the S&P 500 rally from 666 in March 2009 to 1050 now is seen as a mirage; the side effect of a money printing magic trick performed by central bankers. Totally unsustainable. EURUSD opened the year at 1.4500 and now trades sub-1.25 so the short trade is hard to stomach. Even when you know it’s the right thing to do, it takes a lot of courage to sell something down >15%. So the trader has shifted his attention to USDJPY and he expects it to go substantially lower as global risk aversion remains elevated and safe haven currencies like the yen should find demand. USDJPY has been inexplicably well-bid given recent risk aversion and the Fed “money printing”. It just rallied from 90 to 94 on air over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the best leading indicator for USDJPY is always US bond yields and they have been plummeting for a month. USDJPY looks completely wrong. The trader stares at the following chart, which shows US 10-year bond yields and USDJPY. The black bars are USDJPY and the dotted line shows US bond yields. Note they usually follow in lockstep. The divergence is a strong signal to the trader that he should be short USDJPY. USDJPY vs. US 10-year rates November 2009 to May 5, 2010 The chart covers the period up to May 5. This story takes place May 6. Chart courtesy of Refinitiv. If you look in the top right corner, you can see that USDJPY is a bit off the highs, but not much. Two days in a row, the high has been 94.99 and USDJPY is now bouncing aimlessly around 93.80 as he rolls into the hedge fund parking lot. It is still early so there are only three Porsche 911s in the lot right now. More will arrive later. This USDJPY trade has been tiring and painful as the trader got short at 94.00 with a stop loss at 95.05 and those two daily highs mean he has come within a hair (6 pips, or 0.064%) of getting stopped out, two days in a row. Holding on to a trade like this is exhausting as his fight-or-flight stress system remains activated for long stretches. Cortisol overload. Now, he can relax a bit and let things play out. His target is 91.00. Average daily range has been about 1 yen (100 pips) lately so he figures we might get there in the next week or so. 10:45 AM It has been a boring morning with USDJPY in a tight range. The sun comes out and it’s almost shorts weather outside so the trader decides to go for a run before lunch. Less than a mile into his run, he gets his first indication that this is not a random, ordinary day. His Blackberry rings. Bank sales on the line to tell him that USDJPY has just dumped 100 points in 15 minutes. Trading 92.80 now… Odd. He turns around and sprints back to the office, Spidey-sense tingling. By the time he grabs a quick shower and returns to the desk, USDJPY is 91.50. He is short $100 million USDJPY so that puts his profit (aka P&L or profit and loss) around +$2.8 million on the day. That’s more P&L than this trader typically makes in an excellent month. A huge haul. He scans the headlines and Bloomberg chats and finds no good explanation for what is going on. The stock market is down, but not enough to explain the move in USDJPY. This makes no sense. When a trade shows a big profit that makes no sense, he likes to cover it and move on. The trader buys 100 million USDJPY at 91.50. He is back to flat with no position and nearly 3 bucks of P&L in the bank. He sits there calmly and processes what has happened. He allows himself to feel happy, just for a second. He stuck to his plan and had the patience to sit with a decent-sized position for three days. He relaxes and basks in the satisfaction of a job well done. Then… Some dumb voice in his brain says: 2.8 million dollars is an amazing day. But... Maybe I can make 5 million today? And his hands, as if possessed by some mischievous or evil force, move slowly toward the BUY and SELL buttons. For no reason. And like a moron… He goes long USDJPY. First, he buys $50 million at 91.50 and then another $50 million at 91.25. These are impulsive trades with no rationale. His planned stop loss is 90.85 but before he has time to input a stop loss order, he notices S&Ps lurch lower on a huge volume surge. He puts on his headset and fires up the S&P squawk to see what’s going on. [If you want to hear the soundtrack to what happens next, Google “Flash crash stock market 2010 squawk” and select one of the YouTube replay videos] The announcer’s voice is strained as he narrates an unexplained fall in stocks from 1150 to 1120. USDJPY skips through 91.00 and the trader’s P&L shrinks to $2.0 million. He tries to sell at 90.80 and whiffs. USDJPY is suddenly in freefall. 90.10 trades. 90.00 breaks. USDJPY has just dropped more than four percent in a few hours. A monster move. The trader’s eyes flick over to his P&L which has now shrunk back to six digits. Two-thirds of three days’ work, gone in 60 seconds. And then… Stocks sell off hard out of nowhere. Like… REALLY HARD. The S&P squawk guy is losing it. Screaming. 1100 breaks in the S&P. 1080, 1070, 1060. USDJPY is a waterfall. The squawk loses his mind as he yells: “We have some BIG paper sellers here… 7 evens are trading. 6 evens are trading! 5 EVENS ARE TRADING!!! New lows here…” USDJPY breaks 89.00 and the trader has still sold only 23 million USD, leaving him stuck with a position of 77 million USD. It is a fast market, nearly impossible to transact. He picks up a phone to two different banks and neither one answers. He tries to hit the 88.60 and gets a reject notice from the aggregator. The price feed is stale and crossed now; it shows 89.00 / 88.10, which is not possible. The trader is now down on the day. In the red. His face is hot and feels red like his P&L. Urge to slam fist on desk is rising. The trader feels like he is falling, falling::::::::::::::::::::in cinematic slow-mo. USDJPY stabilizes a bit even as the S&P squawk continues to go nuts. “65 even offered! 60 trades… 60 even bid, this is the widest we have seen in years,” his voice cracks, he’s yelling like the announcer at Churchill Downs as the horses turn for the stretch. “60s trading! 50s trading! 50 at 70 now! We are twenty wide!” 1060 trades in S&Ps now, down just about 10% today, on zero news. Nobody knows what the hell is going on and there is panic in the air. The squawk dude continues to scream. He is pouring gasoline on the trader’s agitation. The trader’s P&L is now six figures in the red. Sadness. Anger. He is furious with himself because he had the right trade, waited patiently for almost three days for it to work, caught the move perfectly according to plan … And then flipped the other way on a whim, for no reason and gave everything and more back in half an hour. $2.8 million is a good month for this trader. He just made and lost that much in less than two hours. I am an idiot. How did I get into this mess? He needs to make a decision here and quick but he realizes that he is flooded. It is impossible to make a good trading decision when you’re flooded. He needs a second to clear his mind. He tears off the headphones, drops them on his desk, and stands up. He walks over to the window and tries to find a moment of lucid calm. He has been through these emotional storms before and knows how to get back to shore. He stares over the waters of the Long Island Sound. Gradually, his heart rate lowers. Clarity slowly, slowwwwly returns. His lizard brain retreats and his rational mind takes over. He talks to himself: It doesn’t matter how you got here. What are you going to do about it? 88.00 was the low in March. It’s a massive level. The panic is fading. USDJPY is down 700 points in two days and now bonds are reversing lower. This is the place to buy USDJPY, not sell. He returns to his keyboard, puts his headphones back on. The squawk guy has stopped screaming. He is noticeably more composed. S&P futures have bottomed within a whisker of limit down. They are stable but have not rebounded significantly. The bid/offer is super wide so it’s hard to tell whether they are moving higher or just bouncing along the bottom. The trader looks around the room and sees the panic and electricity levels have dropped. Not as many phones are ringing. Voices in the room are no longer frantic. He buys 50 million USDJPY at 88.85. And another 73 million at 88.95. Max long now, long $200 million USDJPY. But this time it’s thought out, not random, and he feels good about what he is doing. He feels confident but fully in control. He calmly thinks forward: USDJPY could easily rally to 92.50 from here. When you catch a turn like this, you can be greedy. He leaves a stop loss for half his position (sell 100 million USDJPY at 87.94) and then sits back to let things play out. He has his plan and now he knows all he can do is watch and see if it works. There is one more frenetic whipsaw and USDJPY briefly prints to a low of 87.95. One pip from his 100 million USD stop loss. Amazing luck. Seconds later, stocks stabilize, and then it’s like everyone realizes all at once that whatever the heck just happened… It’s over. USDJPY is paid at 88.70, then up through 89.50. It breaks 90.00 and as it hits 90.40, the trader flicks his eyes to the P&L. It is almost exactly back to the level where it peaked earlier: $2.8 million. He praises the trading gods and squares up. NICE! Too bad he didn’t stick with his plan on the way back up, either. A few hours later, USDJPY hit the trader’s original target of 92.50. Here’s the chart of USDJPY that day: USDJPY May 3-7, 2010 (US stock market Flash Crash was May 6) The trader made a multitude of both good and bad decisions in the three hours around the 2010 Flash Crash. The trading described in this story is a microcosm of everything that can go right and wrong in trading. Traders make good, careful decisions and get rewarded, they make bad decisions and get punished … but then sometimes a good decision leads to a bad outcome … or a bad decision is rescued by good luck. Every trader is a steaming hot bowl of bias stew and must maintain self-awareness and lucidity behind the screens as the trading day oscillates between boredom and terror. That story of the 2010 Flash Crash, just like this book, is all about the razor thin line that separates success and failure in trading. Alpha Trader is written to help you understand markets but also, more importantly, to help you better understand yourself as a trader. It is about great decisions and dumb mistakes. It is about how to be rational and why smart people do stupid things. All the time. The book is written for traders at every skill level. I wrote it to be understood by noobs, but I also aimed to write something that will resonate with experienced trading professionals. Alpha Traders are smart, rational, disciplined, flexible, patient, and aggressive… They have the endurance to handle unending ups, downs, hills, and valleys. They come in fired up each day to solve the ultimate puzzle and they get paid incredibly well if they succeed. Alpha Traders work hard (even when they don’t feel like it), seek to continuously improve, and love markets more than they love money. Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I hope you find it entertaining and useful. I hope it helps you unlock your maximum trading potential. By the way, I plan to publish future updates, fresh trading stories and new lessons, tactics and strategies, exclusively for readers of Alpha Trader. If you are interested, please sign up at brentdonnelly.com. Enjoy. /Brent
Fed Accelerates Tapering, but Gold Shows Resilience

Fed Accelerates Tapering, but Gold Shows Resilience

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2021 15:33
The Fed begins to get up steam and has finally turned its hawkish mode on. Was it something the gold bulls wanted to hear?The Fed’s full capitulation and unconditional surrender of the doves! Yesterday (December 15, 2021), the FOMC issued) the newest statement on monetary policy in which it erased any description of inflation as “transitory.” It took them only half a year to figure it out, but better late than never. Additionally, the Fed practically rejected its new monetary framework called “Flexible Average Inflation Targeting”, which allowed inflation to run hot for some time. In November, we could read:The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. With inflation having run persistently below this longer-run goal, the Committee will aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2 percent for some time so that inflation averages 2 percent over time and longer‑term inflation expectations remain well anchored at 2 percent. The Committee expects to maintain an accommodative stance of monetary policy until these outcomes are achieved. The Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.In the last statement, however, this mammoth paragraph was substantially altered.The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent. With inflation having exceeded 2 percent for some time, the Committee expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment.What is missing is the reference to the Fed’s tolerance of inflation above its target. This means that the US central bank has turned the hawkish mode on. Indeed, in line with expectations, the Fed has accelerated the pace of tapering of its quantitative easing. The Committee announced a doubling of the monthly reduction in the purchased assets from $10 billion for Treasuries and $5 billion for MBS to, respectively, $20 and $10 billion. It means that the Fed will end its asset purchase program by March rather than by mid-year.In light of inflation developments and the further improvement in the labor market, the Committee decided to reduce the monthly pace of its net asset purchases by $20 billion for Treasury securities and $10 billion for agency mortgage-backed securities.Dot-Plot and GoldThese are not all December monetary fireworks we got, though. The statement was accompanied by fresh economic projections conducted by FOMC members. How do they look at the economy right now? As the table below shows, central bankers expect faster economic growth and a lower unemployment rate next year compared to the September projections. This is not something the gold bulls would like to hear.More importantly, however, FOMC participants see inflation as more persistent at the moment because they expect 2.6% PCE inflation at the end of 2022 instead of 2.2%. In other words: inflation is currently believed to reach this level only a year from now! Interestingly (at least for economic nerds like me), Committee members expect that core PCE inflation will be higher than the overall index in 2022, and will amount to 2.7%. It is an indication that the Fed considers inflation more broad-based now than just driven by rising energy prices.Last but definitely not least, more interest rate hikes are coming. According to the latest dot plot, FOMC members see three increases in the federal funds rate next year as appropriate. That’s a huge hawkish turn compared to September, when they perceived only one interest rate hike as desired. Central bankers expect another three hikes in 2023 (the same as in September) and additional two in 2024 (one less than in September). Hence, the whole forecasted path of the interest rates becomes steeper and the Fed is now anticipating eight 25-basis point rate hikes from 2022 to 2024, one more than they saw in September.Implications for GoldGiven the hawkish FOMC statement and economic projections, gold is doomed, right? Well, in theory, a more aggressive Fed’s tightening cycle should boost bond yields and strengthen the greenback, pushing gold prices down. However, what does gold say to the God of Bears? Not today!Indeed, the chart below shows that theory and practice are not the same. Initially, the price of gold declined from around $1,765 to around $1,755, but it quickly rebounded and even increased to $1,780.So, what happened and what does it imply for gold’s future? Well, gold didn’t panic, as hawkish statements and dot-plot were widely anticipated. They were probably a little more hawkish than expected, but, on the other hand, Powell’s press conference was deemed as more dovish than predicted. Since Powell’s earlier transparency and dovish heart rescued gold from falling down, gold bulls may breathe a sigh of relief.However, we believe that this wasn’t the Fed’s last word. Inflation is likely to increase further next year; so, the US central bank, which is terribly behind the curve, could be forced to tighten its monetary policy even more. Thus, although my worries about this FOMC meeting turned out to be unnecessary, they could materialize later.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Great Santa Rally

Great Santa Rally

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.12.2021 15:40
S&P 500 with pretty much everything else surged as the Fed didn‘t turn too hawkish. Predictably. The day of reckoning is again postponed as the central bank effectively kicked the can down the road by not getting ahead of inflation. Taper done by Mar 2022, and three rate hikes then, doesn‘t cut it. This illustrates my doubts about serious inflation figures to still keep hitting (hello latest PPI), and above all, their ability to execute this 1-year plan. If you look under the hood, they don‘t even expect GDP to materially slow down – 4.0% growth in 2022 with three hikes against 3.8% actual in Q3 2021 on no hikes. Something doesn‘t add up, and just as the Bank of England raising rates to 0.25% now, the Fed would be forced to hastily retreat from the just projected course.Yesterday‘s expectations panned out to the letter:(…) Still, I‘m looking for the Fed to be forced during 2022 to abruptly reverse course, and bring back the punch bowl. Treasuries look serene, and aren‘t anticipating sharply higher rates in the near term – not even inflation expectations interpreted higher PPI as a sign that inflation probably hasn‘t peaked yet. This isn‘t the first time inflation is being underestimated – and beaten down commodities (with copper bearing the brunt in today‘s premarket) reflect that likewise. Only cryptos are bucking the cautious entry to the Fed policy decision, and decreasing liquidity, in what can still turn out as a lull before another selling attempt.I think that the overly hawkish Fed expectations are misplaced, and that the risk-on assets would reverse the prior weakness – both today and in the days immediately following, which is when the real post-Fed move emerges. Odds are that it would still be up across the board. Yes, I‘m looking for the Fed speak to be interpreted as soothing – as one that would still result in market perceptions that the real bite isn‘t here yet, or doesn‘t look too real yet. Big picture is that public finances need inflation to make the debt load manageable, and that ample room to flex hawkish muscles isn‘t there (as retail data illustrate).Markets are interpreting yesterday as the punch bowl effectively remaining in place, and crucially, copper is participating after the preceding weakness. The metal with PhD in economics has been hesitating due to the darkening real economy prospects even though manufacturing data aren‘t a disaster. Consumer sentiment isn‘t though positive, and inflation expectations among the people aren‘t retreating as much as bond spreads would show. The red metals is balancing out the economic prospects in favor of participating in the renewed rush into commodities – the super (let alone secular) bull run isn‘t over by a long shot. Stockpiles are tight, and whatever the odds of the infrastructure bill being passed any time soon, copper isn‘t budging. That‘s great for real assets across the board.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 reversal is to be trusted, and the advance was very solidly taken part in. With not too much willing sellers, the advance will likely moderate today, but still continue. The bull hasn‘t topped, has been my thesis for weeks.Credit MarketsHYG celebrations are ushering in the next risk-on phase – credit markets are confirming. The too hawkish Fed worry is in the rear view mirror, and many assets can run once again, the time is still right.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals downside was indeed limited, and the solid upswing I called for, materialized. Now, let‘s wait for the reaction of this catalyst with more inflation, for the juiciest results...Crude OilCrude oil is once again readying the upswing – the conditions are in place for $72 to give in shortly. Similarly, oil stocks haven‘t peaked, and are merely consolidating.CopperKey vote of confidence is coming today from copper – the red metal would very willingly participate in a fresh commodities upswing. It‘s been ushered in already, actually.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum look to have found the bottom as well – what kind of corrective pullback would we get? I‘m not looking for one overly deep and testing yesterday‘s lows.SummaryBears have thrown in the towel, and rightfully so – another instance of the Fed crushing the puts. Being between a rock and a hard place, with midterms approaching, infrastructure bill birthing troubles, the central bank‘s room to act isn‘t really too large. FOMC has met market expectations, and still remained behind the curve on inflation. On top, I‘m looking for them to have to reverse course during 2022 – I‘ve argued the case macroeconomically in the opening part of today‘s report. Back to the inflation trades – long live real assets and the not yet having topped S&P 500 (don‘t look at me, Russell 2000)!Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos ready for Christmas rally

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos ready for Christmas rally

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.12.2021 16:06
Bitcoin bulls consolidate above $48.760 and will be looking to test and break $50,020 to the upside. Ethereum has bulls banging on the door at $4,060, ready for a breakout towards $4,465. XRP sees buying volume picking up, as a return to $1.0 is in the making. Bitcoin price is seeing a lift in price action as supportive tailwinds emerge following a dovishly perceived US central bank decision, with investors buying cryptocurrencies across the board. Ethereum is seeing the same interest this morning, with buying volume picking up as the RSI nudges higher. Ripple is undergoing a tight squeeze against $0.84, with bulls pushing to break the downtrend and rally up to $1.0. Bitcoin price sees investors buying any offer insight as buying volume picks up Bitcoin (BTC) price is seeing a positive lift in sentiment as a backdraught emerges after a perceived dovish central bank decision from Jerome Powell and the US Federal Reserve. This morning, investors are taking a stake in risky assets with equities and cryptocurrencies on the front foot. With that, expect Bitcoin to rally on this sentiment throughout the trading day. BTC price will quickly face a critical hurdle at $50,020 with the psychological $50,000 level included and the S1 monthly support level. This trifecta will weigh on any possible upside potential. But as markets are rallying with risk-on across the board, expect this level to break sooner rather than later, with an intraday target towards $53,350. BTC/USD daily chart Investors should expect positive sentiment to be a major theme throughout the day. Two further major central banks are scheduled to announce their decisions today, however, the Bank of England and the ECB, and there is a risk these could cast a shadow on the current Christmas rally.. If one of these delivers a message that would break current sentiment, expect a quick nosedive correction in BTC back towards $44,088 or $43,030 in a quick rewind of the rally. Ethereum price sees bulls fighting bears at $4,060, ready for a landslide victory Ethereum (ETH) price made a perfect bounce off $3,687 on Wednesday, with investors pushing ETH price towards $4,060 around the monthly S1 support level and a pivotal historical chart level. As price opens again around the same level this morning, elevated buying from investors is putting bears under pressure to close their shorts, switch sides and join the buying camp. When this happens, expect a significant spike in buying volume with a quick break above $4,060 and a continuation towards the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $4,332. ETH price is just around $130 away from the monthly pivot level and a second technical element in the same area. Expect the rally to halt around that level as some short-term profit-taking will happen, and the price could fade a little back towards the 55-day SMA. Should current sentiment persist, with tailwinds in equities and cryptocurrencies, expect ETH price action to hit $4,646 by the end of the week, with new all-time highs in sight by next week. ETH/USD daily chart With the end of the year approaching rapidly, expect the volume to die down a bit, which could cause some sharp corrections as sellers will not always be there to match the profit-taking from investors. This could result in possible knee-jerk reactions with ETH price tanking in a matter of minutes. Expect with that, the $3,687 and $3,391 levels to be there as safeguards. Ethereum price must reclaim $4,000 to reignite ETH bull market XRP price sees investors coming in with breakout towards $1.05 Ripple (XRP) price sees investors returning as favorable tailwinds in cryptocurrencies are filtering through into XRP price action. Bulls opened the price this morning close to $0.84, and an initial resistance level is just above at $0.88. Expect a bit of a hesitant start because of this double belt of resistance. Once punched through, expect hesitant investors to pull the trigger and join the rally to move higher towards $0.95 at the 200-day SMA. XRP/USD daily chart Assuming a break above the 200-day SMA, expect a quick pop towards $1.05, but once hit, a quick fade will likely happen, with price action falling back towards $0.99. Should, however, these tailwinds start to fade as quickly as they come, expect a quick return to the downside with a push down on $0.78 and a break lower towards $0.62, with the blue descending trend line and the S2 at $0.58 as supporting factors. XRP price shows signs of incoming breakout
ECB Quick Analysis: Tapering still leaves Lagarde as the laggard, EUR/USD could turn down

ECB Quick Analysis: Tapering still leaves Lagarde as the laggard, EUR/USD could turn down

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.12.2021 16:06
The ECB has announced the end of its special PEPP bond-buying scheme in March. Raising the volume of the APP scheme is limited and set to be reduced. Other central banks remain well ahead of the ECB, potentially limiting the euro's rise. A wise owl – that is what European Central Bank Christine Lagarde aspires to be. Her latest move seems to have met that desire, as the ECB all but tapers its bond-buying schemes, following others' footsteps. The Frankfurt-based institution will wind down its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) in March 2022, two years after its launch. On the other hand, it will expand its regular Asset Purchase Program to €40 billion in the second quarter – but already pre-announced it would squeeze to €30 billion in the third quarter. In other words: tapering. Buying fewer bonds and creating more fewer euros is positive for the common currency, and that explains the 30-pip jump. However, the ECB has stiff competition. The move comes just the Federal Reserve's decision to double its tapering pace to $30 billion/month and projection of three hikes in 2022. The Bank of England surprised markets by announcing a 15bp rate hike – just 45 minutes ahead of the ECB. In the second quarter of 2022, the ECB would still be buying bonds while the Fed would already move toward raising rates and the BOE could be after its second or third move. Investors are unlikely to wait for that to happen before acting. The euro's relative disadvantage does not solely stem from central banks' intentions but from the underlying economic situation. The ECB continues labeling inflation as transitory, and for good reasons. Core inflation is roughly half that in the US, and skewed to the upside by German VAT changes. Europe is more economically sensitive to covid than the US. These gaps, which brought EUR/USD down in recent months, could return to push EUR/USD lower. This current advance could turn into a selling opportunity.
Intraday Market Analysis: USD Weakens Across The Board

Intraday Market Analysis: USD Weakens Across The Board

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.12.2021 08:56
EURUSD tests key supply zone The euro jumped after the ECB announced it will cut its bond-buying program. The pair’s latest retreat seems to have been an accumulation phase for the bulls. Strong buying interest lies in the demand zone around 1.1230. A break above 1.1320 has put buyers back in the control room. 1.1380 from a previously botched reversal attempt is a major hurdle ahead. Its breach may trigger an extended rally towards 1.1460. The RSI’s overextended situation has caused a brief pullback with 1.1270 as a key support. GBPUSD attempts bullish reversal Sterling surged after the Bank of England raised its interest rates to 0.25%. The pound has been treading water above 1.3170. The sellers’ struggle to push lower and the buyers’ attempts above 1.3260 suggest that the mood could be improving. A break above 1.3300 has prompted the bears to cover, attracting momentum traders in the process with 1.3440 as the next target. That said, an overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback as intraday traders take profit. 1.3260 has become the closest support. NZDUSD breaks resistance The New Zealand dollar rallied as risk sentiment made its return post-FOMC. A bullish RSI divergence indicates a deceleration in the sell-off momentum. The long candle wick from 0.6700 suggests solid buying interest. Then a break above 0.6800 has put the last sellers under pressure. An overbought RSI has limited the initial surge. A pullback may test 0.6755, previously a resistance that has turned into a support. 0.6860 near the 30-day moving average is the next hurdle, and its breach could trigger a bullish reversal.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Metaverse Tokens Sink After Holiday Crypto Rally

How deep can the crypto market fall?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 17.12.2021 08:59
The cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell 1.2% over the past 24 hours to $2.21 trillion. The cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index reacted rather sharply, losing 6 points to 23 and slipping back into extreme fear territory, remaining in the lower half of the scale for over a month.Among the top coins, Solana (+3%) and Tera (+6%) fared best, while Polkadot (-3.8%) Cardano (-3%) fared worst. Bitcoin, which is sensitive to demand from US tech stocks, has lost more than 2% in the past 24 hours to $47.5K. Its rate continues to walk around the 200-day average, reflecting either indecision or a balance of power between buyers and sellers. At the same time, this line itself has reversed downwards, and the RSI on the daily charts remains near the oversold area. Both of these indicators point to a possible failure of the price shortly. A bearish scenario could bring bitcoin back to 40K or even 30K fairly quickly if we see another episode of margin liquidation. Large long-term buyers are unlikely to return before the price drops to $20K. Further evidence that the bears own the initiative in cryptocurrencies - ETHUSD is holding below $4000, confirming the shift from a rising to a downtrend in the last month. Should the sell-off intensify, potential buyers of Ether should look to $3350. The rally started from this level in early October, and now the 200-day moving average is near this mark. A break below it runs the risk of a buyers’ capitulation and would quickly land the rate at $2700. A longer-term bearish target is seen in the $1300-1700 area, where long-term buyers are expected. The realisation of such a bearish scenario would return capitalisation to the $1 trillion area for the entire crypto market. This would be a slightly lesser failure than the top two currencies, as we believe that long-term investors are still looking for other projects outside of the two oldest currencies.Market Analyst live on the youtube channel.
Natural Gas: to the Moon and back

Natural Gas: to the Moon and back

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 17.12.2021 10:41
The energy crisis is in no hurry to leave Europe. The first wave of astronomical increases in gas prices this autumn has been followed by a second one, with even higher prices, in Europe exceeding $1500 yesterday. As is often the case, several factors combined in an unfortunate coincidence led to the crisis. It seems that China and Europe were over-zealous at the start of the year in encouraging economic recovery and moving away from coal consumption. The first substitute for coal was gas. But Russia, which had not yet got a certification for North Stream 2, diverted gas to China. The situation was exacerbated by the failure of wind generation, on top of a hot summer and a rather chilly start to winter, requiring more energy. All this is multiplied by a policy that Gazprom is failing to deliver via Nord Stream-2 and that the Russian giant prefers to use other ways to supply gas to Europe as little as possible. So the policies of all concerned have only exacerbated the price hike. Now, the officials’ mood and rhetoric do not promise a rapid improvement soon. However, it is worth realising that it is also in the political will to drastically alleviate the pressure on gas prices. It is unlikely that Europe will survive the whole of 2022 in such a situation, but there could be a rather nasty rise in electricity prices in the next couple of months, pushing inflation further upwards. The latest round of gas price rises came when Germany announced that it would not rush to certify NS2. Almost immediately after that, we saw Gazprom continue to reroute gas to China, exceeding the agreed contractual norms as much as possible, while supplies to Europe dropped to a 6-year low. Europe’s logical response to the current energy crisis with its supply problems is promoting alternative sources of energy. High gas and coal prices are a natural catalyst for the switch to alternatives, and politicians can help by announcing stimulus to speed things up even further. It is also worth looking at companies associated with LNG, which is more flexible than pipeline gas in changing supply in response to demand fluctuations. Gazprom itself rarely benefits from sharp price spikes. It is more likely to benefit from long-term trends, supply growth, and Brent Crude price. The roller-coaster ride we see in European gas prices is not a good investment idea as it creates a lot of uncertainty and adds volatility. Looking ahead to the year, I think the power generation and alternative energy suppliers sectors (beyond coal, oil and gas) are attractive. Shares in companies in the traditional energy sector have risen impressively since last November, and this rally, in our view, is coming to an end. The trend for ESG - took off too fast at the start of 2021 and will run out of steam somewhat over the coming months. It’s not a hundred-metre race but a multi-year marathon, so a smooth transition would be logical. As we see at the end of the year, disruptive moves cause severe supply chain disruption and are costly to the world, including a new surge of interest in coal earlier in November. As long as it looks like a speculative hype idea, we expect companies to outperform this trend when the initial noise subsides and the distortions are balanced. ESG now resembles Big Tech a few years ago: a lot of hype and periodic “deflating”, but there is more potential here than in other trends in the long run.
Article by Decrypt Media

Dollar’s 2021 Rally – Over or Just Resting?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 17.12.2021 11:21
With the USD Index suffering a ‘sell the news’ event on Dec. 15, the FOMC’s hawkish Summary of Economic Projections wasn’t enough to uplift investors’ optimism. However, while the dollar day traders performed their usual disappearing act, the greenback’s fundamentals were bolstered by the FOMC’s median projection of three rate hikes in 2022. What’s more, while the USD Index initially dipped below 96 and fell below its rising resistance line (which is now support) on Dec. 16, buyers stepped in, and the USD Index bounced. For context, a short-term correction is possible. However, the important point is that the USD Index is likely on a medium-term path to ~98. And with gold, silver and mining stocks often moving inversely to the U.S. dollar, their optimism may disappear over the next few months. Please see below: For context, I warned that a consolidation was likely overdue by highlighting the USD Index’s overbought RSI (Relative Strength Index) readings with the red arrows above. Conversely, the blue vertical dashed lines above demonstrate how the USD Index often bottoms near the end of each month, and rallies often follow. And while the current consolidation may need some more time to run its course, higher highs should materialize over the medium term. To explain, after the USD Index recorded sharp rallies in June and July, consolidation phases unfolded before the uptrends continued. And while the secondary uprisings occurred at more moderate paces, the USD Index still managed to make new highs. As a result, ~98 should materialize during the winter months. Furthermore, if the forecast proves prescient, the USD Index’s strength will likely usher gold back to its previous 2021 lows. Adding to our confidence (don’t get me wrong, there are no certainties in any market; it’s just that the bullish narrative for the USDX is even more bullish in my view), the USD Index often sizzles in the summer sun and major USDX rallies often start during the middle of the year. Summertime spikes have been mainstays on the USD Index’s historical record and in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018 a retest of the lows (or close to them) occurred before the USD Index began its upward flights (which is exactly what’s happened this time around). Furthermore, profound rallies (marked by the red vertical dashed lines below) followed in 2008, 2011 and 2014. With the current situation mirroring the latter, a small consolidation on the long-term chart is exactly what occurred before the USD Index surged in 2014. Likewise, the USD Index recently bottomed near its 50-week moving average; an identical development occurred in 2014. More importantly, though, with bottoms in the precious metals market often occurring when gold trades in unison with the USD Index (after ceasing to respond to the USD’s rallies with declines), we’re still far away from that milestone in terms of both price and duration. Again, the recent move higher in the USD Index doesn’t necessarily apply in the case of the above rule, as it was not the strength of the USD but the weakness in the euro that has driven it. Likewise, with the USD Index now approaching its long-term rising support line (which is now resistance), a rally above the upward sloping black line above would invalidate the prior breakdown and support a move back above 100. Also, please note that the recent medium-term rally has been calmer than any major upswing witnessed over the last 20 years, where the USD Index’s RSI has hit 70. I marked the recent rally in the RSI with an orange rectangle, and I did the same with the second-least and third-least volatile of the medium-term upswings. The sharp rallies in 2008 and 2014 were of much larger magnitudes. And in those historical analogies, the USD Index continued its surge for some time without suffering any material corrections. As a result, the short-term outlook is more of a coin flip. However, the medium-term outlook remains profoundly bullish, and gold, silver, and mining stocks may resent the USD Index’s forthcoming uprising. Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or the ones of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. And with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind remains at the dollar’s back. Furthermore, dollar bears often miss the forest through the trees: with the USD Index’s long-term breakout gaining steam, the implications of the chart below are profound. And while very few analysts cite the material impact (when was the last time you saw the USDX chart starting in 1985 anywhere else?), the USD Index has been sending bullish signals for years. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98 target is likely to be reached over the medium term (and perhaps quite soon), mind, though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’ absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, gold, silver and mining stocks pulled rabbits out of their hats on Dec. 16. However, as 2021 has demonstrated, their daily tricks often lose their allure fairly quickly. Moreover, while it’s uncommon for magicians to reveal their secrets, the precious metals tip their hands time and time again. As a result, the USD Index’s daily weakness was likely a corrective downswing, while the precious metals daily strength was likely a corrective upswing. And with a reversal of fortunes likely to occur over the medium term, gold, silver and mining stocks may lose their magic touch. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Fading the Rally

Fading the Rally

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.12.2021 15:44
S&P 500 made intraday ATHs, but the upswing was sold into heavily – pre-FOMC positioning raising its head? Bonds didn‘t crater, and the risk-off move wasn‘t all too pronounced. Tech weakness was the key culprit, with value barely hanging onto opening gains. Russell 2000 breaking below its Wednesday‘s open nicely illustrates how late in the topping process we are. What is needed for the upswing to go on, is tech leading the daily charge once again – and it remains to be seen for how long and to what degree would value be able to participate. I‘m taking today‘s S&P 500 weakness as squaring the prior quick long gains, which felt practically as a short squeeze. Now, we‘re working through the faster taper impact, not having shaken the news off yet. We‘re though getting there, if precious metals seeing through the fresh policy move inadequacy, and commodities likewise, are any clue. As I wrote yesterday: (…) pretty much everything else surged as the Fed didn‘t turn too hawkish. Predictably. The day of reckoning is again postponed as the central bank effectively kicked the can down the road by not getting ahead of inflation. Taper done by Mar 2022, and three rate hikes then, doesn‘t cut it. This illustrates my doubts about serious inflation figures to still keep hitting (hello latest PPI), and above all, their ability to execute this 1-year plan. If you look under the hood, they don‘t even expect GDP to materially slow down – 4.0% growth in 2022 with three hikes against 3.8% actual in Q3 2021 on no hikes. Something doesn‘t add up, and just as the Bank of England raising rates to 0.25% now, the Fed would be forced to hastily retreat from the just projected course. Markets are interpreting yesterday as the punch bowl effectively remaining in place, and crucially, copper is participating after the preceding weakness. The metal with PhD in economics has been hesitating due to the darkening real economy prospects even though manufacturing data aren‘t a disaster. Consumer sentiment isn‘t though positive, and inflation expectations among the people aren‘t retreating as much as bond spreads would show. The red metals is balancing out the economic prospects in favor of participating in the renewed rush into commodities – the super (let alone secular) bull run isn‘t over by a long shot. Stockpiles are tight, and whatever the odds of the infrastructure bill being passed any time soon, copper isn‘t budging. That‘s great for real assets across the board. The reason I quoted the above copper part, is the importance of its yesterday‘s move – not too hot, not too cold in pursuing the broader commodities. Keeping above $4.28 with ease today, would be an important signal that the bears aren‘t able to step in convincingly, including in stocks. Oil would sort itself out above $71 while gold and silver would extend their preceding gains today. All in all, stocks would join early next week, and apart from bonds not going more risk-off, Ethereum outperformance would be another confirmation of a broader risk-on upswing to happen. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 downside reversal isn‘t to be trusted on a medium-term basis – but the downswing hasn‘t run its course, looking at volume. Good Nasdaq showing is sorely missing. Credit Markets HYG retreat while the quality debt instruments stayed more or less flat, is concerning for today – and for Monday, should we get follow through in bonds later on. Given the volume comparison, it‘s not certain in the least, which would set up conditions for a broader rally early next week. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals downside is clearly over, and a fresh upswing well underway. Correction in equities is marginally helping, and the reaction of Fed‘s underwhelming move with more inflation news, would be the juiciest catalyst. Crude Oil Crude oil is building up the springboard once again – the current consolidation including in oil stocks, would be resolved to the upside next week. We haven‘t seen a genuine trend change in Nov. Copper Key vote of confidence has come from copper – more willing participation from the red metal is called for next (as a minimum, not losing momentum vs. CRB Index). Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum haven‘t kept Wednesday‘s gains, and could very well provide an early sign of buying appetite more broadly returning. Summary Bonds remain in wait and see mode, and aren‘t as bearishly positioned as stocks at the moment. Neither are precious metals or commodities, raising the odds of a bullish resolution to the S&P 500 rally that‘s been faded. The usual constellation is what‘s required – recovering bonds taking the pressure off tech, mainly. Ideally accompanied by solid HYG outperformance, value rising, copper extending gains, and Ethereum doing better than Bitcoin. Tall order, especially for today – but nothing unsurmountable for say Monday-Tuesday as argued for in detail in today‘s report. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
DXY remain in 96.00 – 97.00 ranges. Here are the pairs to look closely for the week ahead

DXY remain in 96.00 – 97.00 ranges. Here are the pairs to look closely for the week ahead

Surya Teja Surya Teja 20.12.2021 08:44
EURUSD re-tested 1.12 level. EURUSD was last traded at 1.12 level in 24th Nov 2021, before buyers quickly pushed the price back to above 1.13 within just 2 trading days, and since then the price remained consolidating between 1.1250 – 1.1350 for the past 15 trading days. In this weekly chart perspective the divergence is too obvious to ignore as RSI signaling oversold since EURUSD broke below 1.13 level in early November 2021. Despite the uncertainty from a macro-economic point of view, there are chances for 1.14 level to be the next bulls target, as long as sellers do not break below 1.12 level. AUDUSD re-tested 0.71 weekly engulf. Following the rise of Iron Ore in mid-November 2021, it has become a huge favor for the Aussie dollar to make a significant upside push just right after sellers reached 0.70 level, which then becomes the Q4 new low. Now buyers that has clear the 0.71 level which will expose 0.72 - 0.73 as the next bull target. However, this will be a tough job for buyers as both 100-200 weekly moving averages act as a strong resistance level, even though last week buyers managed to reach 0.72. After that the price quickly lowered toward weekly engulf neckline before the US session closed. Weekly engulf can be a good area to watch for buyers to look for upside continuation for the week ahead.
Creating silver wealth without fear

Creating silver wealth without fear

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 20.12.2021 09:32
Two weeks ago, we posted the following chart in our weekly silver chart book release, after representing a strong case for a bullish silver play: Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly chart from December 3rd, 2021: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of December 3rd, 2021. We wrote at the time: “The weekly chart above illustrates that as much as we have entered the “shopping zone” for silver. There is a probability that we might see a quick spike down as we have seen at the end of September.” Weekly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, creating silver wealth without fear: Silver in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of December 18th, 2021. We were spot on anticipating how the market would unfold in the future. Furthermore, we followed the principles of consistent analysis of our surroundings, the market, and ourselves. We advanced confidently in the direction of likely probabilities and tried to keep doubt to a minimum. Hourly chart, Silver in US-Dollar, well positioned: Silver in US-Dollar, hourly chart as of December 18th, 2021. This sequence allowed for a low-risk entry on December 15th, 2021 right at the lows. The entry-level of US$21.47 already allowed for a 2.75% partial profit-taking on half of our position size at US$22.06. As always, we use our low-risk quad exit strategy to reduce risk and, as such, fear of losing profits. Now we are well-positioned with the remainder of the position, and a stop raised to break even entry levels. Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart, worth the effort: Silver in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of December 18th, 2021. The monthly chart above shows our planned following two targets for this trade. With an entry at US$21.47 and an initial tight stop at US$21.22, our risk/reward-ratio towards our first profit-taking target was about 1:2.37. Now for the next target at US$27.35, it is 1:23, and for the final target at US$47.20, it is 1:103. In other words, with extensive planning and stacking of odds, we were able to identify a trade that had about a percent of risk at entry time. In addition, we quickly mitigated risk by early partial profit-taking. And yet, we still have a profit potential of the final 25% of position size, possibly maturing to a 120% profit. Taking only highly likely and highly profitable trades like these is also confidence-building and a fear eliminator. Creating silver wealth without fear: Michael Jordan’s achievement of playing in the present moment only is nothing short of the accomplishment of monks and so-called enlightened beings. It takes a long stretch of a career to achieve such a skill set. It illustrates that trading is more than just pushing a button or extracting a mathematical edge system. Trading is psychology and requires many skill sets combined to produce the necessary consistency to overcome the dilemma that you are only as good as your last action. Luck alone will get you nowhere in this game. It is not our intention to discourage you. Instead, it is quite the opposite. Often trading can be overwhelming and at times one can be down thinking: „Why can’t I do this, why did I betray my own rules again?” Trading is hard, it takes screen time and skill. Do not let fear and doubt dictate your actions. You can do this! Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|December 19th, 2021|Tags: bottoming pattern, Crack-Up-Boom, Gold, Gold/Silver-Ratio, inflation, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, silversqueeze, technical analysis, The bottom is in, time frame, trading principles|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
SEC Rejects Valkyrie, Kryptoin Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

The crypto market is melting before our eyes

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 20.12.2021 08:53
The crypto market's capitalisation has fallen 2.8% in the last 24 hours to $2.166 trillion. Methodical pressure on the significant coins persists along with wary trading in traditional equity markets. The bitcoin price has been losing 2.5% in the last 24 hours and is 5.6% lower than it was exactly a week ago. Ether is down 3.4% and 4%, respectively. Some other top coins are also under severe pressure, but we cannot say that the dynamics are unambiguous. For example, XRP is up 5.5%, AVAX is up 22%, and Luna is up 30.7% in the last seven days. At the beginning of the year, institutional and investment bank interest provided cryptocurrencies with overperformance but now lowered demand for safety is becoming their Achilles' heel. The most methodical, albeit relatively measured, pressure has been seen in Bitcoin and Ether, which have been under bearish control for the past month and a half. According to equity and commodity market definitions, BTCUSD and ETHUSD have crossed the bear market threshold, having lost more than 20% of their peaks in early November. Bitcoin, meanwhile, is not gaining meaningful support on the decline towards the 200-day average. These are all signs that the bear market is entering its rights, as enthusiasts can no longer buy out any drawdowns. Generally speaking, a modest downside amplitude is not typical of cryptocurrencies, so short-term traders should be prepared for an explosion of volatility on a decline below meaningful levels. We assume that crucial support is concentrated near $40K for Bitcoin, a resistance level in January and a support level in October. Falling below this level could dramatically increase the coin's volatility and affect the entire market. For Ether, relatively measured volatility could continue up to the level of the 200-day moving average (just above 3300), which coincides with the area of extended consolidation in August and September and the start of the latest rally in October. Suppose Ether and Bitcoin fail to find strong buying below these levels as well. In that case, we risk seeing a true capitulation of the entire cryptocurrency market and a revision of the outlook to a more bearish one.
Gold and Silver Takeoffff... uh, No..

Gold and Silver Takeoffff... uh, No..

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 20.12.2021 08:40
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 631st Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 18 December 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com 'Twas a week of hope for the precious metals, Gold therein rising low-to-high from 1753 to 1816 (+3.6%) and Silver per same from 21.41 to 22.69 (+6.0%). But given Gold is never really supposed to stray too far from the 1780s, let alone Silver be allowed to do anything material but decline, both precious metals eked out immaterial weekly gains. Gold settled yesterday (Friday) at 1799, +0.9% net for the week, and Silver at 22.36, +0.7% net. Indeed a net snoozer of a week: â–  Even as the Swiss Franc saw its linear regression trend (21-day basis) rotate further to positive... â–  Even as the Bond's price moved to a two-week high... â–  Even as the S&P's MoneyFlow for the week values the Index 120 points lower than 'tis... â–  Even (more broadly) as the U.S. money supply since March 2020 has averaged an increase of $1 trillion every 93 trading days... â–  Even as the Federal Reserve again alerted the world that 'tis preparing to raise rates; (they can't be outdone by the Bank of England having just so done, even as the European Central Bank remains hand-wringing): we're actually thinking the Fed terminates the tapering and pulls the trigger in its 26 January Policy Statement... "Sorry folks, but we had to do it, else your stick of butter is gonna cost ten bucks." BOOM! And with respect to the latter, as you regular readers well know, the increasing of FedFunds rates was very precious metals-positive during 2004-to-2006 and on balance Gold-positive from 2015-to-2018. Yes even as we've all these historically very Gold-positive events in play, 'tis low that the precious metals continue to lay. "Well mmb, the dollar refuses to die..." Duly noted there, Squire. As we've been saying, market dislocations are the "in thing" these days. Fundamentals have been flushed down the loo, but at least we've quantitative and technical analysis to see us through. For again we quip -- even as goofball-wacko as market correlations have become -- prices are never wrong, their ebbing and flowing still in play, which for the trader we hope leads the correct way: "Don't dare think, else you'll sink!" (That of course courtesy of "The Trend is Your Friend Dept."). Either way, these are extraordinarily challenging trading days! Did you know that the EDTR ("expected daily trading range") of the S&P 500 right now is 67 points? The average annual trading range of the S&P from 1993-1995 was 47 points per year with an average annual percentage tracing of 11%: this year the S&P is tracing a range that averages better than 5% per month! Again analogous to a snake in its death throes. And yet the precious metals remain a disappointment, (save to "The M Word" crowd). Recall "Gold Forecast High Goes Bye-Bye" penned back on 02 October per nixing our 2401 price forecast high for this year: "...The more likely scenario shall well be Gold just sloshing around into year-end, trading during Q4 between 1668-1849..." We'd hoped to have been wrong about that, but with just two weeks to run in 2021, 'tis exactly what's happened. Indeed you can see it "happening" (or better stated "not happening") here across Gold's weekly bars from a year ago-to-date. A snoozer indeed, be it this past week or past year, the current parabolic Long trend (blue dots) completely bereft of price actually rising: And as an added holiday treat (hardly), here is our like (rarely posted) graphic for Silver, unable to maintain her short-lived parabolic Long trend, indeed now Short (red dots). Rather, a truly tarnished treat, one has to say, her appearing none too festive: But as crooned Neil Young back in '70 "Don't let it bring you down..."as we've a ray of technical hope for Gold into year-end; ('course, fundamental hope for Gold springs eternal). This next chart displays Gold by the day from mid-year-to-date. In the graphic's lower panel is a favoured technical study of the trading community, the mouthful MACD ("moving average convergence divergence"). Of interest is the MACD having just confirmed a crossing to positive. And whilst hindsight isn't future-perfect, it is a useful predictor in forming a reasonable near-term target for Gold, as follows. This is Gold's 13th positive MACD crossover since 26 March 2020. The "average maximum" price follow-through of the prior 12 positive crossovers is +87 points within an average signal duration of 27 trading days, (essentially within five weeks). Thus from the confirmation price of 1799, an average 87-point rise would put Gold at 1886; (more conservatively, the "median maximum" price follow-through across those 12 prior occurrences is +57 points, which if met on this run would find Gold at 1856). So with no formidably recent structural overhead resistance -- plus Gold's penchant to have put in positive Decembers in four of the past five years -- a run up to test the denoted 16 November high of 1880 makes some sense, prudent cash management, as always, taking precedence: 'Course, the biggest "positive" (if you will) of the week was the aforementioned Old Lady of Threadneedle Street raising her benchmark interest rate by 150% from 0.10% to 0.25%. (Dare the 1st Earl of Halifax -- one Charles Montagu, who in 1694 devised establishing William Paterson's 1691 proposal for creating the BOE -- flip his wig). Meanwhile across the channel, the ECB looks to curtail its "emergency" asset purchases, but nonetheless is assessing other stimulus measures. No rate hike there. Certainly neither in China as economic consumption and the property market continue to weaken. "Got Dollars?" For indeed as you already well know lest you've been in a hole, the StateSide FedFolks look to bring their Bank's Funds rate up into the 0.75%-to-1.00% target range by the end of next year. And as noted, we think they'll initially move on 26 January, barring an excessive bout of "Oh my! Omicron!" Oh, and from the "Oh By The Way Dept." President "Jumpin' Joe" Biden just signed the $2.5 Trillion Dollar Debasement Declaration so that TreaSec Janet "Old Yeller" Yellen can keep paying the nation's debt obligations and bills through most of next year. For some perspective: the U.S. money supply from 02 January 1998 to 09 September 2005 grew by $2.5 trillion, (a pace of $1 trillion per 802 trading days) during which time the price of Gold increased by 55%. Today (as previously noted), the money supply is increasing at a an average rate of $1 trillion per just 93 trading days, but terrifically under-owned Gold basically "ain't done squat" (technical term). Just in case yer scorin' at home. Speaking of scoring, the Economic Barometer's strength through November has run out of puff thus far in December as we see here: Notable Baro improvements from last week's set of 15 incoming metrics include November's Capacity Utilization and Building Permits amongst other higher housing measures; but the month's growth in Industrial Production slowed significantly, as did Retail Sales. And whilst December's New York State Empire Index marginally gained ground, the Philly Fed Index more than halved what November's had found. And oh yes, there was also wholesale inflation for November, the Producer Price Index recording an annualized pace of +9.6%: which makes the old riddle about "How many zeros can fit on a Zimbabwean banknote?" not as funny as once 'twas. But 'tis not to worry, the FOMC having just stated that "...Progress on vaccinations and an easing of supply constraints are expected to support continued gains in economic activity and employment as well as a reduction in inflation..." As to how many rising Baby Blue dots does a consistent trend make, let's turn to our two-panel graphic for Gold's daily bars from three months ago-to-date on the left and those for Silver on the right. The respective rightmost up turns from the -80% axes are generally harbingers of higher prices, (and to wit the MACD study for Gold earlier shown). But Friday's rejective price action does initially breed some cause for concern: "The M Word" crowd? The quadruple-witch? Both? We display, you assay: Next we've the 10-day Market Profiles for Gold (below left) and Silver (below right). To be sure, by this view Gold's infinite 1780s appear supportive, whereas poor ole Sister Silver's array is a congested display: Let's close with three mentions of inflation: â–  Dow Jones Newswires "reported" this past week that a factor in determining the duration of inflation is how we feel about it, which in turn shall guide the Fed's interest rate decisions; (folks are well-paid to write this stuff). Here's what we feel: be it cost-push or demand-pull or both, when the money supply increases 33% in less than two years, 'tis game over; â–  From the same creative bunch also came the notion that because increasing inflation effectively makes for negative real rates of interest, the FOMC by not (yet) voting to raise rates is therefore actually stimulating the economy. Yeah, we get that, but such rationale may be the biggest infatuative policy-wonk hot-air crush ever; â–  Speaking of which, here's an inflation-induced blast: we read that the rather wealthy Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is not supportive of a proposed ban on Congressional members from owning individual equities, her stating that "We’re a free-market economy": how's that for a 180° turn? (Maggie Thatcher, you don't know what you're missing). But don't you miss out in getting some Gold and Silver on the cheap before inevitably they leap. True, they had a rather feeble takeoff attempt this past week. But once they really get airborne, that'll be our kind of inflation, right there! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.TheGoldUpdate.com
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC to provide the biggest buying opportunity before $100,000

Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC to provide the biggest buying opportunity before $100,000

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.12.2021 14:41
Bitcoin price is in a massive accumulation phase before it explodes to $100,000 or more. The bull run is likely to begin after a deep correction to MicroStrategy’s average buy price at $29,860. On-chain metrics suggest that long-term holders are booking profit, adding a tailwind to the bearish thesis. Bitcoin price has been hanging around the $50,000 psychological level for quite some time. A breakdown of one crucial support barrier is likely to trigger a steep crash for BTC. On-chain metrics are also suggesting that long-term holders are booking profits, anticipating a nosedive. Bitcoin price and MicroStrategy’s accumulation Bitcoin price has been stuck between the 21-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $51,782 and the 50-week SMA at $44,730 for roughly two weeks. Although BTC pierced through the 50-week SMA on December 4 crash, it recovered quickly. As the sell-off continues, the big crypto is slowly slithering its way to retest the vital support level. A weekly close below the 50-week SMA at $44,730 will indicate a major shift in trend from bullish to bearish. This development would also signal that Bitcoin price is due to collect liquidity resting below the $40,596 support level. While this liquidity run might knock BTC below $40,000, it is a temporary move. In the long run, investors can expect the pioneer crypto to consolidate here before heading to $30,000 or the liquidity resting below it. Interestingly this downswing is necessary to trigger the stop-losses resting below a critical $29,860 level, which is the average buy-in price of MicroStrategy. To date, the business intelligence software company has purchased 122,477 BTC, which is 0.53% of the total BTC in existence. The total value of Bitcoins held by MicroStrategy is worth $5.76 billion, which indicates a profit of roughly 56%. It is fair to assume that many whales or long-term holders that are betting on BTC have an average price at roughly the same level as MicroStrategy or a bit lower. Therefore, a dip below the average price of MicroStrategy at $29,860 will indicate a ‘max pain’ scenario and is likely to be where many investors may panic and sell to prevent losses. Market makers are likely to drive Bitcoin price to retest this barrier, therefore, or just below it. While this outlook is speculative, it would make sense for BTC, especially from a market makers’ perspective due to the supply resting below the multiple wicks present around the $30,000 psychological level. In total, this move would represent a 36% crash from the current position. Although unlikely, a worst-case scenario would be for BTC to fall by 48%, allowing it to retest the 200-week SMA at $23,935. BTC/USD 1-week chart IntoTheBlock’s Global In/Out of the Money (GIOM) model reflects the levels mentioned above. This on-chain index shows that the immediate cluster of investors that are “In the Money,” extends from $28,350 to $46,636. Roughly 5.23 million addresses purchased 3.13 million BTC at an average price of $38,283. Therefore, a weekly close below this level will cause panic selling among investors that could drag the big crypto down to sub-$30,000 levels. Moreover, any short-term buying pressure is likely to face massive headwinds as a massive cluster of underwater investors are present from $55,302 to $67,413. In this range, roughly 6.65 million addresses that purchased 3.37 million BTC are “Out of the Money.” Only a massive spike in buying pressure will be able to overcome the selling pressure from investors in this cluster trying to break even. Hence, the logical conclusion is that the outlook for BTC favors the bears. BTC GIOM The supply shock chart supports the bearish outlook for Bitcoin. It shows that the long-term holders are booking profits. Willy Woo, a popular analyst stated, long term holders have been selling down and taking profits, but as a cohort they continue to be in a region of peak accumulation. Bear markets coincide when these holders have divested of their coins, despite the fear in the market, structurally we are not setup for a bear market. BTC supply shock chart Further supporting a sell-off is the 0.83% decline in the number of whales holding between 100 to 100,000 BTC. Roughly 136 whales have offloaded their positions as seen in the supply shock chart above. BTC whale distribution chart The only chart that shows hope and presents the possibility of a short-term bullish outlook is the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) model, hovering around -1.8%. This on-chain metric is used to determine the average profit/loss of investors that purchased BTC over the past year. A negative value represents that short-term holders are selling and is often referred to as the “opportunity zone.” This is where mid-to-long-term holders accumulate. So, there is a chance that BTC might see a potential buying spree that pushes it to retest the 21-week SMA at $51,776 or reach for the $57,845 resistance barrier, in a highly bullish case. BTC 365-day MVRV While the scenario outlined above is undoubtedly bearish for short-term holders, it will provide long-term investors with a perfect buying opportunity. A retest of MicroStrategy’s average buy price at $29,860 will be where investors can expect a reversal of the downswing. The resulting uptrend will likely propel Bitcoin price to a new all-time high at $100,000. However, if Bitcoin price decides to skip the crash and produces a weekly close above the current all-time high at $69,000, then it will invalidate the bullish thesis. In such a case, investors can expect BTC to head to other psychological barriers like $70,000 or $80,000.
Hong Kong Siblings Arrested Over $50 Million Crypto Money Laundering Scheme

Alibaba Stock News and Forecast: Why BABA stock keeps falling

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.12.2021 14:41
BABA shares have fallen sharply on fears over delisting. Alibaba stock is now down at 5-year lows. $100 is the next major support as $110 is held for now. Alibaba (BABA) continues to suffer from repeated selling pressure as the original Chinese tech stock suffers backlash effects. Alibaba can be said to have set off the whole Chinese regulatory crackdown. Alibaba was due to spin off its payment subsidiary ANT Group about 14 months ago. The deal fell through, however, after Alibaba CEO Jack Ma appeared to question the Chinese hierarchy. This was the catalyst for a reexamination by China of its burgeoning tech space. Most notably, intense regulatory scrutiny focused on the huge amounts of data generated and stored by Chinese tech names. China saw this as a matter of concern over national security. DIDI was next in the crosshairs. It had IPO'd successfully in New York in early 2021. The stock had listed in New York in apparent defiance of Chinese officials. Once China set its sights on DIDI, panic soon ensued among Chinese tech investors, and BABA and others suffered contagion effects. The trend has been powerful with momentum completely vanishing. BABA shares are down 25% in the last three months, taking total losses for 2021 to 48%. Alibaba (BABA) chart, daily Alibaba (BABA) stock news Alibaba was once known as the Chinese Amazon, and for good reason. The company is still highly profitable. Revenues have grown from $158 billion in 2017 to $717 billion in 2021. This represents a growth rate of nearly 50% from 2020. Despite this, the share price is down a similar amount as mentioned. Gross profit grew 30% to March 2021. Revenue continued to grow as the Chinese tech bubble burst. Revenue is forecast to remain strong, growing by 22% in 2022 and 17% for 2023 and 2024. Revenue will, if those targets are met, have grown to $1.2 trillion by 2024. This represents a near doubling from current levels. Alibaba was hit with a heavy fine by the Chinese authorities after the ANT Group debacle. Investors had hoped the matter was finally settled, but the power of investor fear resurfaced once China restarted its scrutiny of US-listed names, this time with DIDI being the poster child. This fear is likely to remain elevated as Chinese and US tensions are unlikely to subside anytime soon. China is also not likely done with its crackdown and delisting plans for some of its tech names. This presents opportunities and challenges. BABA may be overvalued fundamentally with strong revenue growth, but momentum and fear are powerful factors. More important is uncertainty. Markets hate uncertainty, and that is currently the main headwind for Alibaba and other Chinese tech names. Alibaba (BABA) stock forecast Breaking support at $130 has led to an obvious fascination with $100. Before that, there is a last chance saloon support at $110. This is the September 2016 high. The daily chart has registered an oversold Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has also crossed into bullish territory. A close above the 9-day moving average is needed to get short-term traders interested. Long-term players will need to see a move above $170. The short-term trend is bearish until the 9-day moving average is broken. The stock remains bullish in the short term on a break of $130 in our view. This is high risk, so please use stops. BABA 1-day chart
Dollar‘s Warning Signal

Dollar‘s Warning Signal

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.12.2021 15:57
S&P 500 fading the FOMC rally went a bit too far – credit markets aren‘t panicking, so I doubt a fresh lasting downtrend is starting here. Chop, yes – the 4,720 area is proving a tough nut to crack, but it would be overcome. If there are two arguments in favor, it‘s the financials and HYG – the likely rebound in the former, and Friday‘s resilience in the latter. Given that Thursday‘s spurt to 4,750 evaporated so fast, I‘m not looking for a stellar year end. Positive given where we‘re trading currently, sure. Markets are now grappling with faster Fed tapering (which has opened the way to a rate hike in Q2 2022), getting slowly more afraid of fresh corona restrictions, and dealing with inflation that‘s not going anywhere. Outpacing wage growth, with real yields being deeply negative (no, 10-year Treasury yield at even 2% doesn‘t cut it – that‘s my 2022 target, by the way), the administration would be hard pressed in the year of midterms to counter the corrosive inflation effects on poll numbers. And the Fed expects to keep tightening when the real economy is already suffering from contracting liquidity as seen also in strengthening dollar? The central bank will have a hard time taming inflation, and in my view won‘t succeed – the persistently high inflation rates are going to be with us for years to come, and outpacing wages. Corona response is another uncertainty, and given the APT performance, the odds of seeing economic activity (just at a time when supply chains would need to keep working off prior setbacks) restricted, have increased. Similar to the recent high PPI reading, this is one more argument for why inflation isn‘t receding in the short run – not when demand isn‘t likewise being destroyed. As if consumer sentiment weren‘t struggling already... Still, equities are poised to extend gains in 2022, and I‘m looking for a volatile but positive year. 5,200 in Dec 2022 isn‘t out of the question – with large cap tech, financials and energy doing particularly fine. Real rates would remain negative, and precious metals would love the Fed slamming on the tightening breaks, and bringing back the punch bowl somewhat. If you look at the flattening yield curve, it‘s clear evidence of market fears (I call that certainty as that‘s what they excel at – the 1995 soft landing was a notable exception) of the Fed overdoing the tapering & rate hikes. Given all the inflation still ahead, and the expected fiscal-monetary policies working against each other (yes, more handouts), commodities would have another great year. So much for the big picture 2022 predictions. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 on the defensive, but the bullish case isn‘t lost. Some sideways trading of today‘s volatility is likely to preceed the upswing – we aren‘t rolling over to a 5-10% correction now. Credit Markets HYG retreat could have been a lot worse, and it‘s a good sign bonds aren‘t panicking. Just the junk ones would need to outperform the quality ones to drive a good stock market day. For now, bonds remains on guard. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals decided to make a measured upswing – this isn‘t a real reversal. Pressure to go higher is building up, and rates rising a little before the Fed moves, won‘t cut it. When liquidity conditions and corona fears ease a little, look for a much steeper upswing. Crude Oil Crude oil is trapped in the omicron uncertainty – quite resilient, which is a testament to the overwhelming pressure for prices to keep rising. Waiting for some fears to be removed before the fundamentals sink in again. Copper Copper is leaning to the bullish side of the spectrum – it certainly isn‘t disappointing. The low volume hints at little willingness to sell – an attempt to spike shouldn‘t be surprising next. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum weakness today is there, mirroring commodities – but the decline isn‘t in the disastrous category. Wait and see with a whiff of preliminary caution – that‘s all. Summary S&P 500 and oil are feeling the omicron response pinch – the worries boosted by Netherlands lockdown Sunday. Corona remains the wildcard, and markets are ignoring its relatively mild symptoms while focusing on case count. Tech is likely to do better than most of value while yields aren‘t pressured to rise fast. For a moment, inflation is receding from the spotlight, but I‘m looking for it to come back. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Moderna Inc Stock Price and Forecast: MRNA says its booster dose appears to protect against omicron

Moderna Inc Stock Price and Forecast: MRNA says its booster dose appears to protect against omicron

FXStreet News FXStreet News 20.12.2021 16:10
Moderna (MRNA) says a booster dose of its vaccine appears to protect against omicron. Moderna (MRNA) shares boosted themselves, up 7% premarket. Moderna (MRNA) stock has reversed the post-earnings slide. Moderna (MRNA) is back to pre-earnings levels as the emergence of the omicron variant and its effect flows through to multiple vaccine makers. Booster rollouts are ongoing globally and the spread of the new variant is causing new restrictions to be put in place in many European countries. Moderna shares have now retraced back to where they were on November 4, just before a disappointing earnings release. Now, this next phase will be crucial. Can traders push Moderna (MRNA) higher or will longer-term investors hold sway and take a second opportunity for more selling. Moderna (MRNA) stock news The White House has chimed in on the latest covid news as it struggles to cope with the omicron variant. It released an unusually strong statement on Friday urging continued vaccination. "Our vaccines work against Omicron, especially for people who get booster shots when they are eligible. If you are vaccinated, you could test positive. But if you do get COVID, your case will likely be asymptomatic or mild. We are intent on not letting Omicron disrupt work and school for the vaccinated. You’ve done the right thing, and we will get through this. For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm. So, our message to every American is clear: There is action you can take to protect yourself and your family. Wear a mask in public indoor settings. Get vaccinated, get your kids vaccinated, and get a booster shot when you’re eligible". Here is the link for you to verify the statement. Moderna (MRNA) this morning announced that its authorized booster shot increases omicron neutralizing antibodies approximately 37 fold. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) had on Friday backed mRNA vaccines over JNJ. Also on Friday Bloomberg reported that researchers from the University of Washington and Humbas Biomed produced results from a study showing limited antibody response against omicron from Sinopharm, Sputnik and JNJ covid vaccines. The study is pre-print and not peer-reviewed. Moderna (MRNA) stock forecast The emergence of omicron had already stabilized losses in Moderna (MRNA) stock and resulted in a higher high on November 29 and a lower low on December 10. The news of this booster effectiveness will see more gains for MRNA shares. November 29 resistance at $376 will be the first target. But in reality, this zone from $320 to $350 (highlighted below) is a resistance zone with decent volume. The spike high in late November was just when news of omicron began to surface and investors rushed back to covid vaccine stocks. Equity markets then began to discount its effect and MRNA slid back. But crucially it set a higher low. We expect further gains here. The RSI has plenty of room to run and yet to signal a significant move. The MACD had already crossed bullishly so more is expected. Breaking above $376 will see a test of $420 to $450. Key supports are the 200-day moving average t $268 and the Dec 10 low at $233. Moderna (MRNA) chart, daily
Awaiting US CPI And Speaking Of Disney and Uber. SEK And PLN As Central Banks Moves

USD/CAD & WTI Price Analysis: Bears stepping in at 1.30 major level while WTI steady above $65/b in the Asian Session

Surya Teja Surya Teja 21.12.2021 08:17
USDCAD, when sellers finally managed to break below 1.30 major level in November 2020 and eventually continued to lower towards 1.20 level which that marked the low of 2021, and kept the USDCAD ranging between 1.20 – 1.30 throughout 2021. In the Asian Session, buyers failed to push the price above R1 level which checked another confluences of short sellers stepping in. Another confluence that needs to be paid close attention is the RSI divergence that is a signal of potential downward movement to take place soon. WTI, Price aimed for recovery after a sharp decline from October 2021 High at $85/b. In the Asian session $65 level remained solid to hold the price for not moving lower. Only if buyers managed to break above 100-200 moving average, then we might see a true potential upside movement.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto market in shambles as BTC consolidates

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto market in shambles as BTC consolidates

FXStreet News FXStreet News 20.12.2021 16:10
Bitcoin price slides lower, hinting at a retest of the 50 weekly SMA at $44,778. Ethereum price prepares for a 16% breakout from the falling wedge pattern. Ripple price could see an 11% ascent to $0.96 as it prepares for a second leg-up. Bitcoin price is moving sideways, trapped between crucial weekly moving averages. This consolidation has had a positive knock-on effect on Ethereum price which is setting up a bullish pattern ready for a breakout. Ripple, on the other hand, has already embarked on a climb and is preparing for its second leg-up. Bitcoin price anticipates short-term losses Bitcoin price is in a slow downtrend and looking to retest the 50-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $44,778. While this development will see BTC shed roughly 3%, it could result in a bounce, triggering a bullish outlook. A successful bounce off the said SMA will open the path to retest the 21-week SMA at $51,256 and, in a highly bullish case, the $53,709 resistance level. If the bid orders continue to pour in, the pioneer crypto is likely to continue its ascent and tag the $57,845 barrier. Regardless, investors need to note that this bullish outlook is contingent on a successful bounce off the 50-week SMA at $44,778. BTC/USD 1-day chart If Bitcoin price slices through the SMA at $44,778, there is a good chance it will continue its descent to $40,596 to collect the liquidity resting below it. A daily close below $44,778 will invalidate the bullish thesis detailed above. Ethereum price eyes higher highs Ethereum price has been outlining a falling wedge pattern since November 28. This technical formation is obtained by connecting the three lower lows and four lower highs formed during this period using trend lines. The setup forecasts a 16% upswing, obtained by adding the distance between the first swing high and swing low to the breakout point at $3,912, which puts ETH at $4,533. Assuming Ethereum price can bounce off the 70.5% retracement level at $3,780, this run-up would constitute a 20% ascent. Therefore, investors need to keep a close eye on the reversal of the retracement. ETH/USD 4-hour chart On the other hand, if Ethereum price shatters the $3,780 and $3,740 barriers, it is likely to head lower to retest the range low at $3,669. A four-hour candlestick close below this level will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. Ethereum price must reclaim $4,200 as support to resume bull run Ripple price vies to keep going higher Ripple price consolidated around the $0.837 resistance barrier for more than a week. The increased buying pressure resulted in an 11% spike in XRP price, pushing it to set up a potential swing high at $0.917. While the initial surge was noticeable, investors can expect XRP price to retrace before triggering another rally. The 0.837 support level will likely be tagged again soon. Assuming this occurs, market participants can expect Ripple price to climb 12% to retest the $0.936 hurdle. In some cases, XRP price might extend this advance to collect the liquidity resting above $0.980 or $1.018 hurdles. XRP/USD 4-hour chart While things are looking up for Ripple price, a breakdown of the $0.837 support level will indicate weakness among buyers. In this case, XRP price will probably dip below the $0.749 demand barrier to collect the liquidity resting there. A daily close below this level will indicate buyers are unwilling to push the price higher and invalidate the bullish thesis for the remittance token. XRP price looks primed for a break out to $1.75
The buy-the-dip pattern has temporarily supported stocks and crypto

The buy-the-dip pattern has temporarily supported stocks and crypto

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 21.12.2021 08:33
Cryptocurrency market capitalisation rose 3.7% in the last 24 hours, again reaching $2.24 trillion, with almost the entire top 100 coins in green over the past 24 hours. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index has added 2 points to 27. This is still a ‘fear level’, but the general dynamic over the past few hours suggests that investors are opting to buy with the expectation of a further bounce from these levels. Bitcoin and Ether have added around 4% in the past 24 hours, managing to move back above the signal levels. BTCUSD is trading above the 200-day average again, while ETHUSD has surpassed $4000. If we went deeper into the reasons, the rise of the two largest cryptocurrencies was helped by the performance of stock indices, which received support from buyers yesterday, indicating continued demand for risky assets and a desire to buy on downturns. Despite this morning’s positivity, it is worth noting that the optimism looks somewhat fragile and has little explanation for the fundamentals. Under such conditions, the situation could turn abruptly in a matter of hours, so a fix above $4000 for Ether and $48000 for bitcoin today should be considered a more reliable signal.
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

Intraday Market Analysis – AUD Struggles To Bounce - 21.12.2021

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.12.2021 07:56
AUDUSD sees limited rebound The Australian dollar softens over dovish RBA meeting minutes. The pair has met stiff selling pressure near the 30-day moving average (0.7220). On the hourly chart, a bearish MA cross and a break below 0.7100 indicate weakness in the latest rebound. An oversold RSI may cause a brief rally, but the bears may sell into strength around 0.7160. 0.7050 at the base of the initial breakout is an important support. A lack of bids could send the Aussie to 0.6990 with the reversal attempt at stake. XAGUSD to test demand area Silver drops as the US dollar inched higher across the board. A bullish RSI divergence suggests a loss of momentum in the sell-off. Then the recent surge has broken above multiple levels of resistance, prompting the short side to cover some of their bets. However, the bulls may need to defend their gains after the initial push overextended. The demand zone between last September’s low (21.40) and 21.80 is critical in keeping the rebound valid. 22.65 is now a fresh resistance before a full-blown recovery could materialize. US 30 struggles for support The Dow Jones retreated as major countries imposed curfews ahead of the holiday season. Following a double top under 36200, a drop below 35450 has broken buyers’ attempt to resume the rally. The index is struggling to hold above the base of the December recovery (34800) which coincides with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of the rally from 34000. Buyers will need to lift 35620 before they could attract followers’ attention. 34000 is the daily support to safeguard the bullish bias in the medium-term.
Lira’s fall reached Erdogan’s pain point

Lira’s fall reached Erdogan’s pain point

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 21.12.2021 09:07
The Turkish lira gained 40% in the past 13 hours, sending USDTRY from 18.3 to 11. Despite the impressive amplitude, the exchange rate is only back to levels of a month ago. There is no doubt that behind such a sharp strengthening were interventions by the central bank, which decided to spend a significant portion of its already meagre reserves to stem the chaos in the financial market. Interventions alone won’t solve the situation, so to make a move looking bold, the Turkish president has announced compensating lira deposit holders if the currency’s fall exceeds the return on dollar deposits. Exporting companies will get the lira forward rate directly from the central bank as lira buyers have disappeared on the open market. There is a lack of important details, but it most likely means that more national currency will be printed, increasing the pressure on its value. In our view, this is a sure step towards hyperinflation. Since the end of last week, the currency crisis has taken on more and more signs of a financial crisis, as the fall in the lira began to pull the stock markets, bringing trading to a halt. The surge in the lira promises to hurt the market even more in the short term today and in the next few days. It seems that the lira’s fall has reached the pain point of the Turkish president and government. Although we and the markets, in general, have doubts about the correctness of the announced measures, still, the very appearance of these steps should signal an exit for speculators who have been betting on a collapse of the lira in recent months.
Santa Rally Time

Santa Rally Time

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.12.2021 16:05
S&P 500 made a first step towards the turnaround higher in the opening part of this week. Fading the rally is being countered, and yesterday‘s omicron policy response fears are being duly reversed. For the time being, Fed‘s liquidity is still being added – the real wildcard moving the markets, is corona these days. Credit markets are in the early stages of heralding risk-on appetite as returning. As stated yesterday when mentioning my 2022 outlook: (…) Fading the FOMC rally went a bit too far – credit markets aren‘t panicking, so I doubt a fresh lasting downtrend is starting here. Chop, yes – the 4,720 area is proving a tough nut to crack, but it would be overcome. If there are two arguments in favor, it‘s the financials and HYG – the likely rebound in the former, and Friday‘s resilience in the latter. Given that Thursday‘s spurt to 4,750 evaporated so fast, I‘m not looking for a stellar year end. Positive given where we‘re trading currently, sure. Markets are now grappling with faster Fed tapering (which has opened the way to a rate hike in Q2 2022), getting slowly more afraid of fresh corona restrictions, and dealing with inflation that‘s not going anywhere. Outpacing wage growth, with real yields being deeply negative (no, 10-year Treasury yield at even 2% doesn‘t cut it – that‘s my 2022 target, by the way), the administration would be hard pressed in the year of midterms to counter the corrosive inflation effects on poll numbers. And the Fed expects to keep tightening when the real economy is already suffering from contracting liquidity as seen also in strengthening dollar? The central bank will have a hard time taming inflation, and in my view won‘t succeed – the persistently high inflation rates are going to be with us for years to come, and outpacing wages. … Similar to the recent high PPI reading, this is one more argument for why inflation isn‘t receding in the short run – not when demand isn‘t likewise being destroyed. As if consumer sentiment weren‘t struggling already... For now, the year end squaring the books trading can go on, and positive Santa Claus seasonality can make itself heard still. The crypto turn that I had been looking for on the weekend, is happening with strength today. Likewise the oil and copper recovery spilling over into silver, and the reasonably good performance returning to many value stocks too. Very constructive action. In short, the bulls have a good rebound opportunity into Christmas. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is waking up, and odds are the move would bring it back above the 50-day moving average. Looking at the volume, it‘s as if fresh sellers were nowhere to be found. Credit Markets HYG made an attempt to come back, and comparing it to the quality end of the bond spectrum results in a good impression – one of risk-on return approaching. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals downswing isn‘t to be taken too seriously – odds are strong that gold and silver would ride the risk-on return with gains added. It‘s about liquidity not being withdrawn by the market players. Crude Oil Crude oil recoved from the omicron uncertainty – to a good degree, which is a testament to the overwhelming pressure for prices to keep rising. The $72 area setback could be coming back into play still this week, if nothing too surprising happens. Copper Copper is leaning to the bullish side of the spectrum, driven not only by positive fundamentals and Chile elections. The low volume indeed hinted at little willingness to sell – so, let‘s look for a good attempt to rise next. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum weakness is being decisively rejected, mirroring commodities – the decline indeed hasn‘t been in the disastrous category. The bulls clearly want to move. Summary S&P 500 and oil are rebounding from the omicron response pinch – and it‘s good we see cryptos doing the same. Corona wildcard has calmed down a little, and market breadth is making baby steps to improve. In this environment, high beta assets look poised to erase prior setbacks a little faster today, and can keep those gains unless a fresh bad headline strikes. One more tailwind – at least when it comes to real assets, for sure – is inflation coming back to the spotlight, which is what we‘ll have to wait for some more time still. But it‘ll happen. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Silver: Strong and Weak at Once. How Is That Even Possible?

Silver: Strong and Weak at Once. How Is That Even Possible?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 21.12.2021 16:01
  Gold is barely crawling up, while silver is boldly climbing the market ladder. When will its rungs turn slippery, causing the precious metal to fall?  Yesterday’s session was particularly uneventful in the case of the precious metals market, as crude oil and the general stock market stole the spotlight. Consequently, today’s analysis will focus on what’s happening in pre-market trading, as that’s what appears to be more important. At the moment of writing these words, gold is up very modestly – less than 0.2%. Consequently, after rallying to about $1,815 (in tune with my Thursday’s analysis) and invalidating the breakout above the rising resistance line, gold appears to be making another attempt to rally, but the strength of the move is very limited. Predicting higher gold prices might not be the best idea here, as the yellow metal was not able to even get to the red line, let alone to its previous monthly high. Silver, on the other hand, has moved quite visibly higher so far today. While gold moved higher by less than 0.2%, silver rallied by about 1.5% and is now trading very close to its previous monthly highs. This is very interesting, because silver is showing strength and weakness at once. How is that possible – one might ask. It’s the same as with trends or forecasts for silver. They can be bearish and bullish simultaneously, depending on the time frame that one focuses on. For example, I think that the very long-term outlook for silver is extremely bullish, but I also think that the medium-term trend is bearish. The short-term trend is also bearish, but the immediate-term trend is bullish. So, am I bullish or bearish on silver? Answering this without specifying the time frame is bound to create misunderstandings. Getting back to silver’s relative performance, it’s been weak when taking into account the last couple of weeks – please note how little of the recent monthly decline silver has corrected compared to gold. Gold recently moved to its October highs, but silver topped a few dollars below its October high. What does it tell us? Silver is likely to fall hard, also compared to gold, probably in tune with the general stock market – similarly to what happened in 2008 and 2020. That’s the same kind of performance that we saw in the very early parts of the huge declines. At the same time, silver is strong compared to gold on an immediate-term basis. This means that we’re likely at or close to a short-term top. Why? Because that’s what the precious metals market tends to do when it’s topping, and it’s one of the great gold trading tips to monitor the PM market for these situations. One could debate why this is really the case, and there are quite a few theories (the silver market is smaller, so more prone to sudden moves, etc.), but the point is that it simply works. Please note that some things – like the Pareto principle (a.k.a. the 20:80 rule) – can work and be very useful, even if it’s not clear why they work. Consequently, it seems that the days of this short-term corrective upswing are either over or about to be over, and that the precious metals sector will return to its medium-term decline any day now. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold In Limited Pullback

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold In Limited Pullback

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.12.2021 08:40
XAUUSD seeks support Gold softens as the US dollar edged higher. A surge above 1788 and then 1808 has prompted the bears to cover. The precious metal is looking for support after the breakout stalled with an overextended RSI. A bearish MA cross may weigh on short-term sentiment. The base of the initial breakout around 1770 is a key support. A deeper correction would lead to the daily support at 1753, a critical level to keep the rebound relevant. Gold may climb towards 1850 if the bulls succeed in pushing above 1814. USDCAD consolidates gains The Canadian dollar recouped some losses after better-than-expected retail sales. A break above the major daily resistance at 1.2930 has put the bulls back in control of the direction. The RSI’s repeated overbought situation may cause a temporary pullback. Trend followers would be looking to jump in at a better price. 1.2880 is the closest support. Sentiment would remain upbeat as long as price action is above 1.2770. A rally above the intermediate resistance at 1.2960 may trigger an extended rally towards 1.3200. UK 100 makes a bullish attempt The FTSE 100 recovered some ground after the Omicron sell-off. The index has found solid buying at 7110. An oversold RSI has attracted a buying-the-dips crowd. A tentative break above 7300 suggests strong interest in keeping the market afloat. A bullish MA cross could lead to an acceleration on the upside. 7385 is a major hurdle on the daily chart. Its breach could cause a runaway rally and resume the uptrend. On the downside, 7250 is the first support, and 7110 is the second line of defense in case of weakness.
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

EURUSD consolidates before further decline

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 22.12.2021 15:06
The main currency market pair, EURUSD, is trading in a sideways pattern of around 100 pips, rarely breaking out of it for long. The observed balance is very fragile. The news backdrop from Europe and the US has been very mixed regarding monetary policy and overall demand for risky assets. When we look at the situation from a short-term perspective, the fundamental analysis is clearly against the Euro for now. Officially, the ECB has not backed down from its position that inflation is temporary, in stark contrast to the reversal of rhetoric and the acceleration of tapering from the Fed. From this perspective, the Eurozone’s lag in the rate hike cycle has so far only increased, which should reduce interest in the region’s bonds and put pressure on the Euro. It seems that on the Euro’s side now is profit-taking from short sells after it has weakened by 8% and 6.5% against the Dollar and the Pound so far this year. Also supporting the single currency could be the expectation that monetary tightening in the US, Britain, and a host of emerging economies will keep inflationary pressures in check, allowing the ECB to do its bit. However, it is more likely that the current lull in EURUSD is only a temporary balance of power, which will be broken at the start of the new year as big players return to the market with ideas for new trades. The pause in the EURUSD decline observed in recent weeks is not a sign of ironclad support in the Euro at current levels. Instead, it is a local retracement of positions. And, after a pause, EURUSD will head further down to the multi-year lows at 1.05-1.07.
When All Is Said and Done

When All Is Said and Done

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.12.2021 15:56
S&P 500 duly rallied on broad strength, and credit markets performance bodes well for all risk-on assets. Now a little consolidation after yesterday‘s steep gains is ahead, but I don‘t see it as derailing future gains. The stock bull run isn‘t over, and doesn‘t need the infrastructure bill for its further advance, price action shows. The VIX is calming down, now around 21 with further room to decline still – at least as far as the remainder of 2021 is concerned. Commodities remain in rally mode after the recent correction, and crude oil sending a bullish message (and not one of fear) is a welcome sign. The same goes for copper moving in sync with the rest of the commodities – and that has positive implications for silver too. Precious metals though still remain a patience trade, where the risks of being out of the markets outweight those of being in – it‘s a bet on the Fed making a wrong tapering / tightening move – with the market figuring out so beforehand. It sure would come as the compressing yield spreads reveal that is the greatest fear, but we aren‘t there yet. Finally, cryptos cautious mood today illustrates the certainly less exciting session just ahead than was the case yesterday. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 has woken up, and indeed surpassed the 50-day moving average. The lower volume isn‘t an issue, but a little consolidation is ahead today – not a steep rally continuation. Credit Markets HYG jumped higher in a giant risk-on nod that is further confirmed by the quality bonds performance. Again, I‘m looking for a little consolidation here today as well. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold downswing isn‘t to be taken at all seriously – I‘m looking for more gains in both the yellow and white metals, at their own and relatively slow pace. The countdown to Fed policy mistake and inflation returning to the limelight, is on. Crude Oil Crude oil scored a nice upswing, oil stocks confirmed as well the return of strength into the stock market, and both black gold and S&P 500 can keep rising together over the next days. Chances are the $72 area setback could be coming back into play still this week. Copper Copper keeps agreeing with the risk-on turn, and is certainly primed to go much higher over the nearest weeks and months. Similarly to uranium, I remain bullish on the sector, especially since copper, silver, nickel and lithium are all green economy preconditions. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum time to consolidate yesterday‘s gains, is here – and I‘m not looking for a bullish picture based on Ethereum performance. Sideways to a little down, that‘s the most likely outcome before the bulls move again. Summary Consolidation of yesterday‘s steep S&P 500 and commodity gains is ahead for today, but the Santa Claus rally is by no means over. Even if oil and cryptos hesitate a little, the constructive message from bonds and copper is overpowering that in my view. As explained in detail within the opening part of today‘s analysis, the bulls have to odds to keep moving – and will likely take advantage thereof before the year is over. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD struggles at $1795 amid a mixed-market mood

Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD struggles at $1795 amid a mixed-market mood

FXStreet News FXStreet News 22.12.2021 16:07
Gold advances during the New York session, some 0.19%. A mixed market mood and broad US dollar weakness keep investors using gold to hedge higher inflation as US PCE data looms. XAU/USD Technical Outlook: Neutral-bearish, unless gold bulls reclaim $1,793. Gold (XAU/USD) edged higher during the New York session, trading at $1,791.63 at the time of writing. The market sentiment is upbeat, though US equity indices fluctuate between gainers and losers. Additionally, the US dollar weakened across the board, while US T-bond yields, with the 10-year benchmark note, retreats after testing the 1.50% threshold in the overnight session. Factors like investors assessing the economic impact of the Omicron variant and the delay of the US President Joe Biden Build Back Better agenda dented market participants’ mood. That said, the US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of six currencies, edges lower 0.27%, down to 96.25. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the 10-year Treasury yield is down some three basis points, at 1.457%, from 1.487% reached on Tuesday’s session. Before Wall Street opened, the US economic docket featured one of the last waves of data of 2021. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the US economy in the third-quarters grew at an annualized pace of 2.3%, higher than the 2.1% estimated. Moreover, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Prices rose by 5.3%, according to expectations. In the overnight session, gold remained subdued in a narrow range, between $1,785-$1,795. In the mid-European session, the non-yielding metal trended up, though faced strong resistance at the 100-hour simple moving average (SMA), retreating at press time to current levels. That said, unless XAU/USD decisively breaks above $1,793, the precious metal would remain bearish biased. XAU/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook The XAU/USD daily chart depicts indecision, as shown by the daily moving averages (DMAs) almost “horizontally” contained in the $1,787-$1,800 range. From a market structure perspective, unless gold bulls reclaim $1,792.95, the bias is bearish, though to resume the trend, USD bulls would need a daily close below the December 16 pivot low at $1,775.40. On the way south, the first support would be the December 16 low at $1,775.40. A break beneath that level would exert downward pressure on the precious metal, exposing crucial support areas. The next one would be the December 2 low at $1,761.72, followed by the December 15 cycle low at $1,752.44 To the upside, the first resistance would be the December 8 cycle high at $1,792.95. A clear break of that level would immediately expose $1,800, followed by the September 3 swing high at $1,834.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets might pause before the uptrend catches traction

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets might pause before the uptrend catches traction

FXStreet News FXStreet News 22.12.2021 16:07
Bitcoin price swept the liquidity resting above $49,527 and edged closer to retesting the $50,000 psychological level. Ethereum price could see a brief correction to solidify its breakout from the falling wedge pattern. Ripple price remains strong as it sets up a higher high, indicating a retest of $1 is likely. Bitcoin price is hovering around a crucial level after collecting liquidity above it. This development over the past 48 hours indicates that BTC will consolidate here before continuing its ascent. Ethereum and Ripple follow the pioneer crypto closely and show promise of gains soon. Bitcoin price faces a decisive moment Bitcoin price sliced through Monday’s high at $47,565 and collected the liquidity resting above $49,527. While BTC might head higher and retest the $50,000 psychological level, investors need to pay attention to the possibility that the big crypto might slide lower and sweep Monday’s low at $45,550. If buyers resist booking profits, there is a high chance BTC will retest $50,00 and make a run for last week’s high at $50,0835. In some cases, Bitcoin price might extend to the $53,618 resistance level. In total, this run-up would constitute an 8.6% ascent. BTC/USD 3-hour chart Increased profit-taking from holders could undo the gains seen over the past 48 hours. This development could knock BTC down to Monday’s lows at $45,550 or sweep last week’s lows at $45,438. Ethereum price needs to solidify its stance Ethereum price action since November 28 set up a falling wedge pattern. This setup is obtained by connecting the three lower lows and four lower highs formed during this period using trend lines. The technical formation forecasts a 16% upswing, obtained by adding the distance between the first swing high and swing low to the breakout point at $3,912, which puts ETH at $4,533. So far, ETH has broken out of this pattern and crawled closer to retest the $4,155 resistance barrier. Initially, however, investors can expect a retracement to $3,912 or the 62% retracement level at $3,823. A bounce from these barriers will solidify the breakout and indicate that a 16% ascent to $4,535 is likely. ETH/USD 4-hour chart Regardless of the bullish pattern, if Ethereum price produces a lower low below $3,669, coinciding with the low of the trading range, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. In this case, ETH could revisit the $3,415 support floor. Ethereum price must reclaim $4,200 as support to resume bull run Ripple price remains strong Ripple price pierced through the declining trend line on December 18 and has rallied 19% to set up a swing high at $0.971. This run-up, while impressive, could extend to retest the $1.015 resistance level. In a bullish case, the XRP price could tag the $1.102 hurdle and collect the liquidity resting above it. However, it is unlikely that the remittance token will continue this ascent, especially since BTC might undergo a minor retracement. XRP/USD 4-hour chart Due to the correlation between the two, XRP price might follow the big crypto and undergo a correction. Moreover, the 19% ascent seen so far has collected the liquidity in its immediate vicinity and is likely to undergo a minor retracement. If this downswing pushes Ripple price below $0.688, it will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. XRP price looks primed for a break out to $1.75
Harmony (ONE) Reclaims Previous All-Time High Level

Harmony (ONE) Reclaims Previous All-Time High Level

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 22.12.2021 06:35
Harmony (ONE) could confirm its bullish reversal with a breakout from the current descending resistance line and the $0.287 resistance area. ONE has been decreasing since reaching an all-time high price of $0.38 on Oct 26. The downward move led to a local low of $0.233 on Dec 4.  A significant bounce followed and ONE reclaimed both the ascending support line and the $0.225 horizontal area. Such reclamations are considered bullish developments and often precede further significant upward moves. The fact that the $0.225 area previously acted as the all-time high resistance further supports this possibility. Technical indicators have also turned bullish.  The MACD, which is created by short and long-term moving averages (MA), is moving upwards and is nearly positive. This means that the short-term MA is moving at a faster rate than the long-term average.  The RSI, which is a momentum indicator, has just crossed above 50. Movements above the 50-line are often considered to be a sign of a bullish trend. ONE Chart By TradingView Short-term movement The six-hour chart shows that ONE has been following a descending resistance line since the aforementioned all-time high price.  The line currently coincides with the $0.287 resistance area, which is created by the 0.618 Fib retracement resistance level. A breakout above this resistance it is required in order for a bullish reversal to be confirmed. ONE Chart By TradingView ONE wave count Due to the overlap between the Nov 18 low and Dec 19 highs (red line), it seems likely that the decrease was part of an A-B-C corrective structure. This means that the correction is complete and ONE will continue moving upwards. The closest resistance area is found at $0.328, just below the current all-time high price. If ONE is successful in moving above it, the next resistance would be found at $0.527. This target is the 1.61 external Fib retracement resistance level. ONE Chart By TradingView ONE/BTC Cryptocurrency trader @CryptoNTez tweeted a ONE/BTC chart, stating that the pair could increase towards 520 satoshis. Source: Twitter/TradingView ONE/BTC is also following a descending resistance line that’s been in place since the all-time high.  Similar to the USD pair, the MACD and RSI are both bullish. Therefore, a breakout from the line and an eventual new all-time high is likely. ONE/BTC Chart By TradingView For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here The post Harmony (ONE) Reclaims Previous All-Time High Level appeared first on BeInCrypto.
GBPUSD arouses interest, EURUSD is consolidating near June 2020's lows

GBPUSD arouses interest, EURUSD is consolidating near June 2020's lows

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.12.2021 08:53
EURUSD tests resistance The US dollar stalled over improved risk appetite. The pair is consolidating near June 2020’s lows. A bearish breakout would further extend the downtrend. The euro so far has found buyers at 1.1235. The bulls need to lift offers around 1.1360, the upper band of the recent consolidation range, before they could hope for a reversal. An extended rally may send the price to 1.1460. In the meantime, the RSI’s overbought situation could briefly limit the bullish push as intraday traders take profit near the resistance. GBPUSD makes a bullish attempt The sterling surged after Britain’s economy showed solid growth in Q3. A previous rebound to the supply zone near 1.3370 has put pressure on the short side. Then the pound found bids at 1.3170. Four attempts at this key support suggest a strong interest in keeping the price steady. 1.3370 is a major hurdle as it coincides with the 30-day moving average. A breakout could initiate a bullish reversal and propel the pound to 1.3500. An overbought RSI may cause a short pullback with 1.3240 as the closest support. USOIL awaits breakout WTI crude found support from a larger-than-expected decline in US inventories. Price action saw active buying above 66.00, keeping the early December rally valid in the process. The latest rebound is testing the supply zone around 73.30, which sits along the 30-day moving average. A close above this area of interest would force the bears to cover, paving the way for a rally towards 78.00. On the downside, 71.00 is the immediate support. And 68.50 is a second line of defense in case of a deeper correction.
Hot Pound can jump to 1.36 before the year ends, with a long-term target at 1.60

Hot Pound can jump to 1.36 before the year ends, with a long-term target at 1.60

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 23.12.2021 14:24
The British Pound is gaining support from several drivers at a time, managing to add more than 1.5% since Tuesday to levels above 1.3400 in the GBPUSD pair, which we last saw a month ago. The British currency’s ability to show buyer support on dips below 1.32 earlier in December has attracted the attention of speculators, who come into play as financial market liquidity declines in the run-up to the Christmas holidays. Very often, there are more decisive moves in the thin market during pre-Christmas and between Christmas and New Year period, much of which the market recovers back in the first days after the holidays.The Pound also looks attractive for short-term buyers because it positively correlates with risky assets. Strengthening demand for equities as part of the Santa Rally has determined the direction in which GBPUSD will move in the short term.GBPUSD is also interesting from a tech analysis perspective. The British currency has gained support after a 50% pullback from May 2020 lows at 1.2070 to this year peaks near 1.42, and a 61.8% rally from the March 2020 lows. Globally, this reversal from support could be the end of a correction and the start of a new GBPUSD upside wave with a long-term target at 1.60. However, a move towards levels we last saw only in 2014 is only looking plausible if the Bank of England will repeatedly raise rates faster than the Fed and well above inflation, copying the policy of the early 2000s.A much closer target for speculators at the end of the year is 1.3600, around which the resistance area of the descending trading range of the second half-year passes. A sure exit above this would signal that not only speculators but also more structural forces are in play.
Bitcoin (BTC) On-Chain Analysis: NVTS and SSR Signal Bullish Reversal

Bitcoin (BTC) On-Chain Analysis: NVTS and SSR Signal Bullish Reversal

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 23.12.2021 12:13
Today’s on-chain analysis for Bitcoin looks at two independent indicators that seem to be generating the same bullish reversal signal. Their confluence could soon lead to a macro bottom for the BTC price. The first is the NVT Signal, which is an equally old and effective on-chain indicator. It has proven particularly effective when it has reached the “oversold” territory that has historically correlated with Bitcoin macro lows. The second is SSR, which measures the purchasing power of stablecoins against BTC. It has reached an all-time low during this correction, and the purchasing power of stablecoins is approaching record highs. Bitcoin NVTS reaches oversold level NVT Signal (NVTS) is a modified version of the original NVT Ratio indicator. The latter is calculated by dividing market capitalization by transferred on-chain volume measured in USD. In contrast, NVTS uses a 90-day moving average of daily transaction volume in the denominator instead of raw daily transaction volume. This improves the reading to better function as a leading indicator. The long-term NVTS chart shows the importance of the area near the 17.5 value (red line) from which the indicator has just bounced. This area provided support during the 2021 summer correction. It had previously reached exactly the same level during the COVID-19 crash in March 2020 and at the very bottom of the bear market in December 2018. NVTS chart by Glassnode Interestingly, the same area around 17.5 acted as resistance multiple times in 2015. Even before that, just before the second phase of the violent bull market of 2013, NVTS also found support. One of the most popular on-chain analysts, @woonomic, calls NVTS the “granddaddy” of on-chain indicators, but insists that it “still works.” In a recent tweet, he pointed out that historically it hasn’t given a very frequent reading of being “oversold” on a chart he designed himself. All the periods when NVTS fell to support (light pink) coincided with BTC price lows (green area). Source: Twitter Stablecoin buying power is increasing If NVTS is indeed currently giving a bullish signal and the Bitcoin price correction were to end soon, the price of BTC should be expected to rise. For this to happen, funds must flow into the market with which potential purchases could be made. Last week, BeInCrypto’s on-chain analysis highlighted a Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR) that was approaching the all-time low (ATL). Today, in fact, the SSR is at a record low (green area). This means that the purchasing power of stablecoins (USDT, TUSD, USDC, USDP, GUSD, DAI, SAI, and BUSD) is increasing relative to BTC. SSR chart by Glassnode Furthermore, we notice two (non-ideal) trend lines on the chart. The green uptrend line relates to the BTC price, which has been rising since the March 2020 bottom. The red downtrend line relates to the SSR and has been in place since July 2019. Note that its decline indicates an increase in stablecoin purchasing power. If the positive correlation between the increasing purchasing power of stablecoin and the price of BTC is maintained, we can expect the two trends to continue. The importance of the green area in the chart above is also highlighted by the analogous stablecoin buying power chart prepared by two on-chain analysts @_checkmatey_ and @permabullnino. In the long-term chart, we see green bars that indicate areas where stablecoin purchasing power has been increasing. We have highlighted periods of strong growth in this trend in purple to show the correlation with the BTC price. This turns out to be negative. Periods of a strong rise in stablecoin purchasing power have historically coincided with clear corrections in the Bitcoin price. Source: CheckOnChain This is no different during the current correction, which points to the second-largest increase in the purchasing power of stablecoins. The current trend is second only to the deeper correction of May-July this year. The juxtaposition of the two indicators of today’s on-chain analysis gives a strong indication in favor of the thesis that bitcoin is in the process of reaching a macro bottom. Historically, both indicators at their current values have been bullish signals, after which the Bitcoin price rose dynamically. For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. The post Bitcoin (BTC) On-Chain Analysis: NVTS and SSR Signal Bullish Reversal appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Near Protocol (NEAR) Regains Value After 43% Wick Decrease

Near Protocol (NEAR) Regains Value After 43% Wick Decrease

BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. BeInCrypto (BeIn News Academy Ltd), we're writing about crypto. 23.12.2021 15:16
Near Protocol (NEAR) has increased by 25% so far on Dec 23 and is approaching its all-time high price of $17.50. On Dec 15, NEAR reached a new all-time high price of $17.50. However, it dropped sharply the same day, creating a long upper wick of 43.5%. Despite the drop, the token regained its footing shortly afterwards and initiated another upward movement on Dec 21. Two days later, it broke out from a descending resistance line, which had been in place since the previous all-time high. This confirmed that the correction had ended. Technical indicators are also bullish.  The MACD, which is created by a short and a long-term moving average (MA), has moved into positive territory for the first time in Dec. This means that the short-term MA is faster than the long-term one, and further confirms that the trend is bullish.  In addition to this, the RSI has moved above 50, another sign of a bullish trend. Chart By TradingView Short-term movement The six-hour chart shows that NEAR has broken out from the $12.40 horizontal resistance area.  If a short-term drop were to occur, this area would now be expected to act as support.  Similarly to the daily time-frame, both the RSI and MACD are moving upwards, supporting the continuation of the upward movement. Chart By TradingView NEAR wave count Cryptocurrency trader @KRMA_0 tweeted a NEAR chart, stating that the token could soon go ballistic. Source: Twitter The wave count indicates that NEAR is in wave three of a bullish impulse.  The deviation and reclaim of the $7 horizontal area (green circle) suggests that the token completed wave two, which is corrective.  The first potential target for the top of wave three is at $23.1. The target is found by giving waves 1:3 a 1:1.61 ratio (white) Afterwards, a potential target for the top of the entire movement would be at 30.5, created by the 4.2 external Fib retracement (black) of the most recent drop. Chart By TradingView For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here The post Near Protocol (NEAR) Regains Value After 43% Wick Decrease appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Still More to Come

Still More to Come

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.12.2021 15:34
S&P 500 Santa rally goes on, and risk-on markets rejoice. What a nice sight of market breadth improvement, and confirmation from bonds. Financials and industrials are lagging, but real estate, healthcare and tech are humming smoothly. As I told you yesterday about volatility: (…) The VIX is calming down, now around 21 with further room to decline still – at least as far as the remainder of 2021 is concerned. We got the lower values, and today is shaping up to look likewise constructively for the bulls across both paper and real assets. Yesterday‘s dollar decline has helped as much as well bid bonds. Inflation expectations aren‘t yet doubting the Fed, there is no more compressing the yield curve at the moment, so it‘s all quiet on the central bank front. That‘s good, the Santa rally can go on unimpeded. Precious metals are peeking higher in what looks to be adjustment to the lower yields and dollar, and commodities upswing remains driven by energy, base metals and agrifoods. Cryptos hesitation may hint at slimmer gains today than was the case yesterday when instead of a brief consolidation, we were treated to improving returns. Merry Christmas if you‘re celebrating – and if not, happy holidays spent with your closest ones. Let the festive season and message of the Prince of Peace permeate our hearts and inspire the best in mankind. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 rally goes on, and the 4,720s are again approaching. Market breadth isn‘t miserable in the least, and the riskier end of the bond spectrum looks positive even if larger time frame worries haven‘t gone away. Classic Santa Claus rally. Credit Markets HYG keeps jumping higher – the risk-on sentiment is winning this week. A bit more strength from LQD would be welcome, but isn‘t an obstacle to further stock market gains. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold downswing indeed weren‘t to be taken at all seriously – solid gains across precious metals followed. I‘m expecting a not too rickety ride ahead as the metals keep appreciating at relatively slow pace. Crude Oil Crude oil extended gains, and even if oil stocks paused, downswing in black gold isn‘t looming. Importantly, the $72 area has been overcome – the bulls should be able to hold ground gained. Copper Copper keeps tracking the broader commodities rally, and isn‘t outperforming yet. The red metal‘s long consolidation goes on, and a breakout attempt on par with early Oct seems to be a question of quite a few weeks (not days) ahead. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are still consolidating Tuesday‘s gains – the performance is neither disappointing nor stellar. Both cryptos don‘t look to be in the mood for a break below Dec lows. Summary If not yesterday, then probably today we‘ll get a little consolidation of prior two day‘s steep S&P 500 and commodity gains (copper says) – the positive seasonality hasn‘t spoken its last word. HYG posture has significantly improved, and that bodes well for short-term gains still ahead before we dive into market circumstances turning increasingly volatile towards the end of Q1 2022. For now, let‘s keep celebrating – Merry Christmas once again – and enjoying the relatively smooth ride. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold along the year

Gold along the year

Mark Mead Baillie Mark Mead Baillie 27.12.2021 09:49
The Gold Update by Mark Mead Baillie --- 632nd Edition --- Monte-Carlo --- 25 December 2021 (published each Saturday) --- www.deMeadville.com Christmas Greetings to Everyone Everywhere. With but five trading days remaining in 2021, Gold -- as we'll show -- traditionally is the gift that keeps on giving into year-end. But first, we've this: The last time 25 December arrived on a Saturday was 11 years ago in 2010: â–  'Twas the date of Gold Update No. 58; today we're penning No. 632; â–  The price of Gold then was 1379; today 'tis 1810, (+31%) â–  The U.S. money supply ("M2" basis) then was $8.9 trillion; today 'tis $21.6 trillion, (+2.4x) â–  The supply of Gold then was 173.7 tonnes; today 'tis 202.8 tonnes, (+17%). Query, (courtesy of the "Fun With Numbers Dept."): Given across these past 11 years the +2.4x increase in the U.S. money supply, even as tempered for the duly noted +17% increase in the supply of Gold itself, ought its price nonetheless now be 2747? After all, currency debasement is the ultimate, primary driver of price, lagging as 'tis been. Further by the above opening Gold Scoreboard which comprehensively accounts for 41 years of currency debasement, more than double present price is Gold's valuation today of 4030! Thus analogous in reprising the infamous query of immortal football coach Vince Lombardi: "What da hell's goin' on out dere??" 'Course, you regular readers of The Gold Update know exactly what's goin' on out dere. 'Tis "The Age of the Shiny Object". Why purchase Gold -- as stated just +31% from this day of days 11 years ago -- when by merely owning the S&P 500 itself you've recorded a gain over same of +276%? Better still, how about your cryptocrap with its gains of +∞%? But wait, there's more: How are those NFTs workin' out for ya? (We think of them ultimately as "non-fundable tokens"). Then, too, is "The M Word" crowd: "Churn it and burn it, baby!" Or as Carly Simon might have sung it from back in '71: "Manipulation..." Regardless, with the S&P now at an all-time "Santa Claus Rally" closing high of 4726 (thank you record level of stock buybacks), Stoopid is sleeping securely because should the market dip from here, it always comes back, right? Arithmetically that's been undeniably true. Undeniably true as well by its historical track is the S&P's price/earnings ratio (our "live" read now 49.5x) having always returned to its median (at present 20.4x since the Index's inception nearly 65 years ago on 04 March 1957). So here's the crux: we've already accounted that year-over-year earnings' increases from a "shutdown 2020" to an "open 2021" were not sufficient enough to materially boost the "E" of the P/E such as to mitigate the ever-rocket-boosted "P". Therefore: the next reversion of the P/E to its 20.4x median essentially requires a move of the S&P from today's 4726 level down to 1948, (i.e. a -58.8% "dip"). But Stoopid worries not: "Been there, done that, it always comes back." Even as this time 'round rates rise, in turn ramping up that variably-priced interest on Stoopid's fully drawn credit cards. "Got Gold?" For which there is some good news, both aft and ahead. â–  Aft - Whilst during each of this past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Gold dealt with dilly-dallying 'round as usual in the 1780s, price finally saw its way clear to close on Thursday above 1800, its first weekly settle north of said number since that ending 19 November. â–  Ahead - Per this missive's title, 'tis time for Gold's annual finale rally, (our now pointing that out meaning it shan't occur). But it being a festive day, let's stay positive as traditionally is Gold's wont through the final five trading days of the year. For as the following table displays, Gold during this stint has risen in 17 of the 20 completed years thus far this millennium. We thus anticipate that for this 21st year of the 21st century, Gold shall be higher in a week's time than today's 1810 level: That is a statistical gift. Now here's one that is technical: The above graphic depicts Gold's daily "price oscillator" (a mainstay of the website's Market Rhythms page) during 2021's fourth quarter-to-date. The rightmost wee blue nub just crossed to positive, the trader's signal thus being to get Long Gold. The prior 12 such Long signals (dating back to 27 March 2020) saw upside price follow-throughs averaging as much as +77 points which in that vacuum from 1810 would be to 1887, the more conservative median being +31 points to 1841. No guarantees 'natch, but nicely on time to synch with Gold's annual finale rally should it come to pass. Meanwhile, unsurpassed for better than three years until just now is the current level of the Economic Barometer, which with but a week to run in 2021 saw this past week's set of 13 incoming metrics move the Baro to its highest oscillative level since 31 July 2018. Yes, there were a few weak links in the data: Q3's Current Account Deficit sagged to its worst level since Q3 2006; and although the quarter's final read on Gross Domestic Product increased to an annualized "growth" rate of +2.3%, that was more than double-mitigated by the party-pooper Chain Deflator being finalized at a +6.0% "growth" rate. (For you WestPalmBeachers down there, that basically means there is no real GDP "growth", but rather "stagflation"; look it up). Too, increases slowed in November's Personal Income and Spending. But highlighted were improvements in November's New and Existing Home Sales, Durable Orders and (not surprising should you follow the Baro) the Conference Board's Leading (i.e. lagging) Indicators. 'Course the real stinker was the Fed's favoured inflation read of Core Personal Consumption Expenditures coming in at an annualized pace of +6.0%. But, perhaps folks "just don't get it yet" given the level of Consumer Confidence (also per the Conference Board) rising in December to a five-month high. Here's the whole view: With respect to the Baro's having re-attained the noted 2018 level, 'twas after that the S&P 500 then declined into the year's Christmas Eve by -16.5%. Not that history shall repeat same going into next year: we anticipate worse -- far worse -- either by our "Look Ma, No Earnings!" crash (per the aforementioned P/E assessment), and/or by Federal Reserve Vice Chair Nominee Lael "The Brain" Brainard's "Climate Change!" crash. Also there's now ever-increasing amount of "Oh My! Omicron!" Still, upward economic gains along with increasing inflation strains both serve justice for the Fed to commence raising its Bank's Funds rate as early as 26 Jan. Which in turn means you'll have somewhere else to park your dough when the stock market doth over the cliff go. Get ready for "The Return of the Savings Account!" In theatres next Spring. 'Course far better than that, again: "Got Gold?" And don't forget Silver too! All so stated, New York FedPrez John "It's All Good" Williams looks to the Fed's rate rises as an economic positive -- which to his credit -- has historically synched with the beginning of higher interest rates. And perhaps more costly money can be withstood, Dow Jones Newswires this past week having referred to U.S. household wealth as "vast". Indeed per a year-old survey from the Fed, the median StateSide household wealth level is $122,000. (Admittedly, we did not dig sufficiently deep into the data to divulge if that includes proceeds from the aforementioned fully-drawn credit cards). Next let's fully draw our two-panel graphic of Gold's daily bars from three months ago-to-date on the left and the 10-day Market Profile on the right. Especially encouraging therein are Gold's "Baby Blues" penetrating up through their 0% axis in confirming the regression trend having rotated to positive. And the Profile shows the most dominant trading level of the past two weeks as (no surprise) 1787: With the same drill for Silver, we see her "Baby Blues" (below left) in accelerating ascent, albeit the low 23s may be a sticky wicket there. Still, her Profile (below right) appears supportive for the mid-to-lower 22s, (and happy winkies to you too there, Sister Silver): Time to wrap it up from here with this note: it again appears The World Elites' Economic Forum in Davos is being "deferred", the great convening over The Great Reset to instead take place toward early summer. Bit of an economic inflow delay there for little ole Switzerland, but we have it on well-vetted authority they'll manage. The small alpine nation may rank just 135th by size and 101st by population. But it ranks seventh in total Gold holdings and far and away first in per capita Gold wealth: there is one tonne of Gold for every 8,322 people which (in sparing you the math) is $7,672 per Swiss resident. (Italy is a distant second at $2,589). "And Season's Greetings to you, mmb!" Thank you, Squire, and our very best to you 'n yours, all the little Squires down the line, and absolutely as well to our star readers right 'round the world! Everyone take care, and don't forget the real star: Gold! Cheers! ...m... www.deMeadville.com www.TheGoldUpdate.com
Is the End of Transitory Inflation the End of Gold Bulls?

Is the End of Transitory Inflation the End of Gold Bulls?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 24.12.2021 11:18
The debate about the nature of inflation is over. Now the question is what the end of transitory inflation implies for gold. I offer two perspectives. Welcome, my son. Welcome to the inflationary machine. Welcome to the new economic regime of elevated inflation. That’s official because even central bankers have finally admitted what I’ve been saying for a long time: the current high inflation is not merely a transitory one-off price shock. In a testimony before Congress, Jerome Powell agreed that “it’s probably a good time to retire” the word “transitory” in relation to inflation. Bravo, Jay! It took you only several months longer than my freshmen students to figure it out, but better late than never. Actually, even a moderately intelligent chimpanzee would notice that inflation is not merely temporary just by looking at the graph below. To be clear, I’m not predicting hyperinflation or even galloping inflation. Nor do I claim that at least some of the current inflationary pressures won’t subside next year. No, some supply-side factors behind recent price surges are likely to abate in 2022. However, other drivers will persist, or even intensify (think about housing inflation or energy crisis). Let’s be honest: we are facing a global inflation shock right now. In many countries, inflation has reached its highest rate in decades. In the United States, the annual CPI rate is 6.2%, while it reached 5.2% in Germany, 4.9% in the Eurozone, and 3.8% in the United Kingdom. The shameful secret is that central banks and governments played a key role in fueling this inflation. As the famous Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises noticed once, The most important thing to remember is that inflation is not an act of God; inflation is not a catastrophe of the elements or a disease that comes like the plague. Inflation is a policy — a deliberate policy of people who resort to inflation because they consider it to be a lesser evil than unemployment. But the fact is that, in the not very long run, inflation does not cure unemployment. Indeed, the Fed and the banking system injected a lot of money into the economy and also created room for the government to boost its spending and send checks to Americans. The resulting consumer spending boom clogged the supply chains and caused a jump in inflation. Obviously, the policymakers don’t want to admit their guilt and that they have anything to do with inflation. At the beginning, they claim that there is no inflation at all. Next, they say that inflation may exist after all, but is only caused by the “base effect”, so it will be a short-lived phenomenon that results solely from the nature of the yearly comparison. Lastly, they admit that there is something beyond the “base effect” but inflation will be transitory because it’s caused only by a few exceptional components of the overall index, the outliers like used cars this year. Nothing to worry about, then. Higher prices are a result of bottlenecks that will abate very soon on their own. Later, inflation is admitted to be more broad-based and persistent, but it is said to be caused by greedy businesses and speculators who raise prices maliciously. Finally, the policymakers present themselves as the salvation from the inflation problem(that was caused by them in the first place). Such brilliant “solutions” as subsidies to consumers and price controls are introduced and further disrupt the economy. The Fed has recently admitted that inflation is not merely transitory, so if the abovementioned scheme is adequate, we should expect to look for scapegoats and possibly also interventions in the economy to heroically fight inflation. Gold could benefit from such rhetoric, as it could increase demand for safe-haven assets and inflation hedges. However, the Fed’s capitulation also implies a hawkish shift. If inflation is more persistent, the US central bank will have to act in a more decisive way, as inflation won’t subside on its own. The faster pace of quantitative easing tapering and the sooner interest rate hikes imply higher bond yields and a stronger greenback, so they are clearly negative for gold prices. Having said that, the Fed stays and is likely to stay woefully behind the curve. The real federal funds rate (i.e., adjusted by the CPI annual rate) is currently at -6.1%, which is the deepest level in history, as the chart below shows. It is much deeper than it was at the lows of stagflation in the 1970s, which may create certain problems in the future. What is important here is that even when the Fed raises the federal funds rate by one percentage point next year, and even when inflation declines by another two percentage points, the real federal funds rate will increase to only -3%, so it will stay deeply in negative territory. Surely, the upward direction should be negative for gold prices, and the bottom in real interest rates would be a strong bearish signal for gold. However, rates remaining well below zero should provide some support or at least a decent floor for gold prices (i.e., higher than the levels touched by gold in the mid-2010s). Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Will Santa Give Us Interest Rate Hikes for 2022?

Will Santa Give Us Interest Rate Hikes for 2022?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 23.12.2021 17:28
If the Fed normalizes its balance sheet and markets freak-out, it will be a bridge too far. But interest rate hikes won’t crash a strong US economy. With Fed officials increasingly hawked up, the narrative shifted from a tapering of asset purchases to potential interest rate hikes. And now, with whispers of the Fed plotting to normalize its balance sheet, questions have arisen over the potential impact on the PMs. To explain, I wrote on Dec. 20: After admitting that inflation “is alarmingly high, persistent, and has broadened to affect more categories of goods and services,” Waller implored the Fed to sell some of its bond holdings. For context, tapering means that bonds are purchased at a slower pace or not at all. However, even zero purchases result in the Fed’s nearly $8.76 trillion in bond holdings remaining constant. Conversely, if the Fed reduces its balance sheet by selling bonds to private investors, it’s akin to a taper on steroids. Waller said: “If we start doing some balance sheet runoff by summer, that’ll take some pressure off, you don’t have to raise rates quite as much. My view is we should start doing that by summer.” Source: Bloomberg However, is this a plausible path for the Fed over the medium term? In a word: no. While the prospect is profoundly bullish for the USD Index and profoundly bearish for the PMs, Chairman Jerome Powell will likely avoid quantitative tightening.   For one, if the Fed tries to reduce its balance sheet from 35% to 20% of GDP, the financial markets will freak out. Currently, the Fed has such a large stockpile of bonds that private investors can’t absorb that kind of supply. Thus, another taper tantrum will likely unfold if the Fed tries to ‘normalize’ its balance sheet through the open market. Second, the Fed’s only hawkish goal is to calm inflation. To explain, when inflation was running hot and most Americans bought into the “transitory” narrative, Fed officials exuded confidence. However, when consumer confidence sunk to a 10-year low and inflation became political, the Fed changed its tune. As a result, Powell wants to reduce inflation while tightening as little as possible (3% to 4% inflation may be considered acceptable in 2022). Thus, normalizing the balance sheet is likely a bridge too far.  However, please remember that if quantitative tightening is a ten on the hawkish scale, hitting a seven or an eight is still profoundly bearish for the PMs. To explain, I highlighted on Dec. 20 how San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly had a come-to-Jesus moment. I wrote: Daly – a major dove that urged patience in November – admitted on Dec. 17 that “I have adjusted my stance.” And conducting another interview with The New York Times on Dec. 21, Daly said: “My community members are telling me they’re worried about inflation. What influenced me quite a lot was recognizing that the very communities we’re trying to serve when we talk about people sidelined” from the labor market “are the very communities that are paying the largest toll of rising food prices, transportation prices and housing prices…. “I’m comfortable with saying that I expect us to need to raise rates next year. But exactly how many will it be – two or three – and when will that be – March, June, or in the fall? For me it’s just too early to know, and I don’t see the advantage of a declaration.” However, with her slip of “two or three” rate hikes offering a window into her thought process, it’s clear that more hawkish policy will materialize over the medium term. Please see below: Source: The New York Times To that point, many short and medium-term gold bulls support the narrative that “the Fed is trapped.” For context, we’re bullish on the PMs over the long term. However, we expect sharp medium-term corrections before their uptrends resume.  Moreover, the narrative implies that the Fed can’t tighten monetary policy without crashing the U.S. economy. Thus, Fed officials are “trapped,” and the PMs should soar as inflation runs wild. However, this hyper-inflationist theory is much more semblance than substance.    To explain, adopters assumed that the Fed couldn’t taper its asset purchases without crashing the U.S. economy. However, the Fed tapered, then accelerated the taper, and the U.S. economy remained resilient. Now, the new narrative is that the Fed can’t raise interest rates without crashing the U.S. economy. However, it’s simply misleading.  As evidence, anxiety has increased with U.S. monetary and fiscal spending stuck in reverse/neutral. For example, the Fed is tightening monetary policy and Americans are no longer receiving stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits. Moreover, U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion stimulus package was torpedoed by Senator Joe Manchin. As a result, who knows if it will pass in 2022?  However, while “the Fed is trapped” crew cites these issues as reasons for an economic calamity, they often miss the forest through the trees. For example, while the fiscal spending spree may end, U.S. households are still flush with cash. Please see below: To explain, the green line above tracks U.S. households’ checkable deposits (data released on Dec. 9). In a nutshell: it’s the amount of money that U.S. households have in their checking accounts and/or demand deposit accounts. If you analyze the vertical ascent on the right side of the chart, you can see that U.S. households have nearly $3.54 trillion in their checking accounts. For context, this is 253% more than Q4 2019 (pre-COVID-19). Likewise, even though U.S. stimulus has disproportionately flowed to the top, the bottom 50% of American households (based on wealth percentiles) still have plenty of money to spend. Please see below: To explain, the green line above tracks the checkable deposits held by the bottom 50% of U.S. households (again, data released on Dec. 9). And with these individuals sitting on nearly $243 billion in cash, it's 142% more than Q4 2019. Finally, it's important to remember that more than 75% of Canada's exports are sent to the United States. And with the former's exports to the latter hitting an all-time high in October (data released on Dec. 7), it's another indicator that U.S. consumer demand remains resilient. Source: Statistics Canada The bottom line? While some investors expect a dovish 180 from the Fed, they shouldn’t hold their breath. With U.S. economic growth still resilient and the U.S. consumer in much better shape than some portray, the Fed can raise interest rates without crashing the U.S. economy. As a result, Powell will likely stick to his hawkish script and forge ahead with rate hikes in 2022. Conversely, the only wild card is the Omicron variant. If the latest strain severely disrupts economic activity, the Fed could slow its roll. However, this is extremely unlikely. For one, the strain’s spread has been violent, but so far, the data shows it’s much milder than Delta. Second, the Fed needs to solve its inflation problem. And with the FOMC’s dot plot and officials’ rhetoric nodding in agreement, they likely realize that a continuation of 6%+ inflation will do more harm to the U.S. economy than raising interest rates. Also, please note that when the Fed called inflation “transitory,” I wrote for months that officials were misreading the data. As a result, I don’t have a horse in this race. However, now they likely have it right. Thus, if investors assume that the Fed won’t tighten, their bets will likely go bust in 2022.   In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Dec. 22, as an FDA approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus treatment pill helped uplift sentiment. However, the next several months will likely test their mettle. With the Fed hawked up and little stopping interest rate hikes in 2022, the pace of the current liquidity drain should surpass the precedent set in 2013/2014. As a result, more downside likely confronts the PMs over the medium term. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
USDJPY - an interesting pair, a few words about US 100

USDJPY - an interesting pair, a few words about US 100

John Benjamin John Benjamin 27.12.2021 10:59
USDJPY breaks higher The US dollar inched higher after November’s core PCE jumped to 4.7%. A break above the supply area near 114.20 indicates that the bulls have gained the upper hand. As sellers rush to the exit, the pair may enjoy solid support above the former resistance at 114.05. An overbought RSI has temporarily limited the initial breakout range. After a short accumulation phase, the bulls may have an unobstructed path towards the psychological level of 115.00. That is a major hurdle right under the previous peak. USDCAD retreats to daily support The Canadian dollar bounces back as GDP growth gained traction in October. The US dollar is struggling for support after its tentative break above the August high at 1.2950. A retreat below 1.2900 has led traders to dump leveraged positions. The pair is testing the daily support at 1.2760 which lies along the 30-day moving average. And this makes it an area of interest for the bulls to attempt a rebound. 1.2920 is a fresh resistance ahead. A deeper correction may send the greenback to 1.2650 near December’s lows. US 100 completes V-shaped recovery The Nasdaq 100 continues to recover as improved economic data outweigh covid concerns. The index has met solid buying interest near 15600. This used to be a supply zone from last September. Since then it has recouped losses from the recent liquidation. The RSI’s overbought situation may cause a brief pullback while short-term traders take profit. 16170 is the closest support and 15850 is another layer of defense. On the upside, a break above 16460 could extend the rally to the all-time high at 16770 and beyond.
S&P 500, Nasdaq and more...

S&P 500, Nasdaq and more...

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 27.12.2021 15:56
S&P 500 and risk-on assets continued rallying, pausing only before the close. Santa Claus delivered, and the final trading week of 2021 is here. With the dollar pausing and VIX at 18 again, we‘re certainly enjoying better days while clouds gather on the horizon – Thursday‘s inability of financials to keep intraday gains while yields rose, is but one albeit short-term sign. The Fed is still accomodative (just see the balance sheet expansion for Dec – this is really tapering), didn‘t get into the headlines with fresh hawkish statements, and inflation expectations keep rising from subdued levels. Importantly, bonds prices aren‘t taking it on the chin, and the dollar hasn‘t made much progress since late Nov. Both tech and value are challenging their recent highs, and the ratio of stocks trading above their 200-day moving average, is improving. The same for new highs new lows – the market breadth indicators are picking up. We haven‘t seen the stock market top yet – the rickety ride higher isn‘t over, Santa Claus rally goes on, and my 2022 outlook with targets discussed that a week ago. Precious metals are extending gains, and aren‘t yet raging ahead – the picture is one of welcome strength returning across the board. The same goes for crude oil finally rising solidly above $72 as the omicron fears are receding in light of fresh incoming data including South African policies. It‘s only copper that‘s now reflecting the prospects of real economy slowdown. At the same time, the crypto rebound last week served as a confirmation of broad risk-on advance. Still more to come, as per Thursday‘s article title. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is within spitting distance of ATHs, and the bulls haven‘t said the last word in spite of the approaching need to take a rest. It‘s rally on, for now. Credit Markets HYG has finally overcome the Sep highs, but its vulnerability at current levels is best viewed from the point of view of LQD underperformance. Investment grade corporate bonds could have been trading higher compared to the progress made by TLT. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are looking up, and so are miners – the upswing isn‘t overheated one bit, and can go on as we keep consolidating with an increasingly bullish bias. Crude Oil Crude oil once again extended gains, and even if oil stocks are a little lagging, the medium-term bullish bias in black gold remains. The path of least resistance is once again up. Copper Copper at least closed unchanged – the fresh steep rally indeed seems more than quite a few weeks ahead. But the table for further gains is set. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are entering the final trading week of 2021 in good shape. The rising tide of liquidity is still lifting all boats in a rather orderly way. Summary Thursday brought a proper finish to the Christmas week, and we‘re not staring at a disastrous finish to 2021 across the board. Short-term extended, but overall very positive bond market performance is aligned, and we can look for positive entry to 2022 in stocks, precious metals, oil, copper and cryptos alike. Shrinking global liquidity, no infrastructure bill, and consolidating dollar complete the backdrop of challenges that would make themselves heard well before Q2 2022 arrives. I hope you had Merry Christmas once again, and will also enjoy the relatively smooth ride while it lasts – 2022 will be still a good year, but with its fair share of corrections. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
AUDUSD, USDCHF and EURJPY status explained

AUDUSD, USDCHF and EURJPY status explained

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.12.2021 08:43
AUDUSD falls back for support The Australian dollar pulls back as risk assets tread water amid low liquidity. A break above the previous high at 0.7220 reveals a strong bullish bias. However, the RSI’s repeatedly overbought situation may have prompted short-term buyers to take some chips off the table. In turn, this left price action vulnerable to retracement. 0.7200 is the closest support. Its breach would trigger a deeper correction towards 0.7120. A close above 0.7250 may resume the reversal and carry the Aussie to the daily resistance at 0.7360. USDCHF tests consolidation range The US dollar softens over weaker Treasury yields. The pair’s latest rebound has met aggressive selling at the upper bound of the consolidation range near 0.9250. That is a sign of lingering bearish pressure. The greenback is testing the lower bound near 0.9160. Range traders were eager to buy the dip as the RSI ventured into the oversold zone. 0.9210 is an intermediate hurdle leading to the upper limit where a breakout could trigger a bullish reversal towards 0.9350. Otherwise, a drop below 0.9160 may send the pair to 0.9100. EURJPY breaks higher The Japanese yen weakened after Japan’s jobless rate rose to 2.8% in November. The long side has gained the upper hand after they pushed above 129.60. A bullish MA cross following a brief consolidation indicates an acceleration in the upward momentum. A break above the psychological level of 130.00 would set 130.60 as the next target, clearing the path for a rally to 131.30. An overbought RSI may cause a temporary pullback. 129.20 from the previous supply zone has become a fresh support.
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

EUR/USD Forecast: Near-term bullish bias stays intact above 1.1310

FXStreet News FXStreet News 24.12.2021 14:54
EUR/USD seems to have settled above key technical level. Hot inflation data from the US helped the dollar limit its losses. Trading conditions in financial markets thin out on Christmas Eve. EUR/USD seems to have steadied around mid-1.1300s on Friday as the trading action turns subdued on Christmas Eve. The near-term bullish outlook remains intact for the pair but thin trading conditions are likely to limit the movements in the remainder of the day. The data published by the US Burau of Economic Analysis revealed on Thursday that the annual Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, jumped to 4.7% in November from 4.2% in October. This print surpassed the market expectation of 4.2% and helped the dollar stay resilient against its rivals in the second half of the day. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield edged higher toward 1.5% after the inflation report and according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing a 53.8% probability of a 25 basis points Fed rate hike in March. Bond and stock markets in the US will be closed on Friday and investors will keep an eye on technical levels when they return on Monday. EUR/USD Technical Analysis On the four-hour chart, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator is moving sideways around 60, suggesting that sellers are showing no interest in the pair for the time being. Additionally, the last four candles on the same chart closed above the 200-period SMA; confirming the bullish bias in the near term. Static resistance seems to have formed at 1.1340 ahead of 1.1360 (post-ECB high on December 16) and 1.1380 (November 30 high). On the downside, support is located at 1.1310 (200-period SMA) and 1.1290 (50-period SMA).
XAUUSD seeks support, NZDUSD consolidates recent gains, EURUSD tests important resistance

XAUUSD seeks support, NZDUSD consolidates recent gains, EURUSD tests important resistance

John Benjamin John Benjamin 29.12.2021 08:42
EURUSD tests important resistance The US dollar struggles as the Omicron scare subsides. The pair has been stuck in a narrow range between 1.1230 and 1.1360, because of a lack of liquidity and a catalyst. Following a bounce from 1.1260 price action is testing the upper band of the horizontal consolidation. A bullish breakout would pop up volatility as sellers rush for the exit. An extended rally would set 1.1450 as the next target. On the downside, a fall below 1.1260 may prolong the sideways action for a few more days. NZDUSD consolidates recent gains The New Zealand dollar softens over a limited year-end risk appetite. The latest surge above 0.6830 has put the bears on the defensive. Intraday traders took profit after the RSI showed overextension. The current flag-shaped consolidation could be an opportunity for the bulls to regroup and catch their breath. The demand zone around 0.6760 is a major level to support the rebound. On the upside, 0.6840 on the 30-day moving average is the closest resistance. And its breach may trigger a broader rally towards 0.6920. XAUUSD seeks support Gold edged higher as the US dollar slipped across the board. A close above the supply zone around 1815 is a short-term confirmation that sentiment favors the upside. A bullish MA cross on the hourly chart indicates that the recovery could be picking up steam. Above 1820, 1840 would be the target when momentum makes its way back into the market. In the meantime, buyers may see a retracement to 1803 as an opportunity to buy the dip after the RSI returned to the neutrality area. 1790 is a second level of support.
Article by Decrypt Media

S&P 500 rally, comodities and precious metals

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.12.2021 15:49
Broad S&P 500 rally is spilling over to precious metals and commodities – Santa Claus leaves no stone unturned, apparently. Not that yields or the dollar would move much yesterday – it‘s the omicron response relief (thus far. yet APT has risen sharply to counter the bullish and wildly profitable oil message) coupled with the yesterday mentioned market friendly Fed: (…) The Fed is still accomodative (just see the balance sheet expansion for Dec – this is really tapering), didn‘t get into the headlines with fresh hawkish statements, and inflation expectations keep rising from subdued levels. Even though junk bonds retreated from intraday highs, the rally isn‘t over yet – VIX remaining around 18 is the best that the stock bulls can hope for today (i.e. a sluggish day still retaining bullish bias). Financials and industrials had a good day, but consumer discretionaries to staples ratio leaves more than a bit to be desired. The same goes for the financials to utilities ratio. Yes, the horizon is darkening, but further gains for weeks to months to come, still lie ahead. Remember, the topping process is about fewer and fewer sectors pulling their weight, about the market generals not being followed by the troops in the coming advance. We‘re not quite there yet. The Fed didn‘t really taper much in Dec, thus the jubilant close to 2021 across the board. The compressed yield curve would eventually invert – regardless of the current levels of inflation, the GDP growth can still support higher stock prices. Precious metals and commodities would though become an increasingly appealing proposition as I‘m not looking for the Fed to be able to break inflation. The tightening risks are clearly seen in market bets via compressed yields, so they‘ll attempt to not only talk a good game – they will act, and the risks of breaking something (real economy) would grow. That‘s the message from Treasuries – hawkish monetary policy mistake is feared and increasingly expected. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 market breadth again improved – the increasing participation shows that the bull run isn‘t clearly over. And it also reveals that this isn‘t yet the time to expect a new correction. Credit Markets HYG stalled a little, but doesn‘t look to have definitely peaked. One look at LQD reveals the nuanced risk-off turn yesterday, which might not interfere with further stock market gains today though). Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver paused, but I‘m treating it as a daily pause in an otherwise developing uptrend. Once the inflation expectations stop being as steady as they had been yesterday, the metals will like that. Crude Oil Crude oil is strongly up, and oil stocks confirm. The $78 zone comes next, and could take a few days to be reached. Copper Copper still hasn‘t arrived at true fireworks – but the long consolidation is being resolved in a bullish way (of course). Broader commodities are showing that the path of least resistance is higher in the red metal as well. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are foretelling stiffer headwinds than had been the case recently. I don‘t think this is a start of a genuine downtrend. Summary Santa Claus rally naturally goes on, and yesterday‘s steep gains are likely to be followed with deceleration today – at least in stocks. Precious metals and commodities are catching up, and we‘re looking at a very positive close to 2021 across the board. The same goes for optimistic entry to 2022 in stocks, precious metals, oil, copper and cryptos alike – in Bitcoin though, I would like to see today‘s lows hold, and Ethereum to spring higher faster than Bitcoin. On a very short-term basis, S&P 500 and oil are extended today, and some trepidation shouldn‘t be surprising. The medium-term trends remain unchanged, and lead higher. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Negative balance - how much you can actually lose while trading

Negative balance - how much you can actually lose while trading

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.12.2021 10:16
If traders do not properly set stop losses (as some do), their forex trading accounts may wind up with negative balances. Using Stop Loss and Margin Call levels, a forex trader may often avoid a negative balance. Stop losses may be triggered fast during periods of high volatility, resulting in a negative balance. Making a new deposit may help you recover your overdraft.   Negative balance FX protection is a safeguard that brokers use to protect their customers. Negative balance protection is provided when a trader's account balance becomes negative as a result of their trading activity, preventing them from losing more money than they deposited.   On January 15, 2015, the USDCHF plummeted 2780 pips in 30 minutes, putting my account in the red. When the Swiss National Bank removed the euro limit, the franc increased by 30%. Because my broker was unable to alter currency pairings, I used stop losses on all of my transactions. My trading account was losing money.   Foreign currency trading (Forex) is a risky endeavor since the value of various currencies fluctuates drastically owing to a number of factors. Despite the fact that most forex traders only trade with what they have, a negative balance in one's Forex account is not uncommon. On January 15, 2015, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) made an unexpected decision to remove the floor from the EUR/CHF currency pair. When the floor was raised, hundreds of live forex account balances turned negative, much to their amazement.   Many forex accounts had negative balances as a result of the SNB's decision to remove the floor. Changes in the volatility of a certain currency pair may have an impact on some trading systems. As long as there is a significant difference in the values of various currencies, the balance may go below zero. As a consequence, the phrase "negative balance" has become synonymous with currency trading. Despite the use of stop-out levels and margin calls, it is a difficulty that many forex traders face. Negative Balance Protection In Forex Is it possible to lose money while trading currencies? Because traders utilizing leverage may owe more than they have access to in their accounts, the likelihood of a negative balance grows. It's easy to be concerned about a currency account's negative balance from this vantage point.   If you want to avoid your forex trading account from sliding into the red, you must use a stop-loss order. Stop-Loss (SL) and Margin Call (MC) stops may be employed. Furthermore, certain brokerages, such as XM broker, give their clients accounts with negative balance protection. One example is the XM ultra low account, which does not charge traders commission costs. Aside from that, traders are permitted to employ the previously stated stop-loss order, which is often used by investors, to prevent negative balances on their accounts. In certain situations, brokers imposed a Margin Call limit, which meant that floating positions would be terminated at a loss if their expected losses exceeded a predefined limit.   Many forex traders ignore the MC limit for fear of losing their whole account. Even if you have Margin Call activated in your account settings, your account balance might still fall negative or be totally wiped out. Traders tend to ignore Stop Loss orders, despite the fact that they are a crucial risk-reduction instrument.   Traders may be certain that they will not go bankrupt if their forex trading account has a negative balance. If a margin call is made, a trader who is fast losing money may be able to avoid bankruptcy. When you get a margin call, you immediately close all of your open investments that are fast losing value. How To Prevent Negative Balance? A negative balance may be prevented in the first place, and it is possible to avoid it. You will not be asked to pay the negative amount if you have Negative Amount Protection, but your account will be reset to $0. To put it another way, you'll lose all you invested. In other words, why wait for the NBP to kick in when you can halt the loss immediately?   Consider the number of your holdings as well as the number of orders you make when making transactions. Because not all transactions are successful, the more you trade, the more likely you are to lose money. What's the harm in doing so if it allows you to better regulate your transaction and reduce your risk? In this instance, forex brokers' micro accounts, which often contain smaller bets, might be a viable option.   To keep your money in your account, you must create a reasonable stop loss barrier. As a result, the danger of market and price volatility is reduced.   The more leverage you have, the more money you will be able to get. You are, however, put at greater danger as a consequence of it. There are various techniques to reduce your stock market risk.   When the market is volatile, stop losses, margin calls, and stop-outs all fail. This tendency is typically triggered when news or events with a big influence on the market cause fear. Keep an eye on the economic calendar and avoid trading at particular times of the year.   Most forex brokers will announce and change leverage and margin requirements for certain instruments when a major event or news release is near. You should either stay out of the market or adjust your position as a consequence of this warning.
Fear May Drive Silver More Than 60% Higher In 2022

Fear May Drive Silver More Than 60% Higher In 2022

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 22.12.2021 23:17
As the US and global markets rattle around over the past 60+ days, many traders have failed to identify an incredible opportunity setting up in both Gold and Silver. Historically, Silver is extremely undervalued compared to Gold right now. In fact, Gold has continued to stay above $1675 over the past 12+ months while Silver has collapsed from highs near $30 to a current price low near $22 – a -26% decline. Many traders use the Gold/Silver Ratio as a measure of price comparison between these two metals. Both Gold and Silver act as a hedge at times when market fear rises. But Gold is typically a better long-term store of value compared to Silver. Silver often reacts more aggressively at times of great fear or uncertainty in the global markets and often rises much faster than Gold in percentage terms when fear peaks. Understanding the Gold/Silver ratio The Gold/Silver ratio is simply the price of Gold divided by the price of Silver. This creates a ratio of the price action (like a spread) that allows us to measure if Gold is holding its value better than Silver or not. If the ratio falls, then the price of Silver is advancing faster than the price of Gold. If the ratio rises, then the price of Gold is advancing faster than the price of Silver. Right now, the Gold/Silver ratio is above 0.80 – well above a historically normal level, which is usually closer to 0.64. I believe the current ratio level suggests both Gold and Silver are poised for a fairly big upward price trend in 2022 and beyond. This may become an exaggerated upward price trend if the global market deleveraging and revaluation events rattle the markets in early 2022. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don't miss the next opportunity! I expect to see the Gold/Silver ratio fall to levels below 0.75 before July/August 2022 as both Gold and Silver begin to move higher in Q1:2022. Some event will likely shake investor confidence in early 2022, causing precious metals to move 15% to 25% higher initially. After that initial move is complete, further fallout related to the deleveraging throughout the globe, post-COVID, may prompt an even bigger move in metals later on in 2022 and into 2023. COVID Disrupted The 8~9 Year Appreciation/Depreciation Cycle Trends In May 2021, I published an article suggesting the US Dollar may slip below 90 while the US and global markets shift into a Deflationary cycle that lasts until 2028~29 (Source: The Technical Traders). I still believe the markets will enter this longer-term cycle and shift away from the broad reflation trade that has taken place over the past 24+ months – it is just a matter of time. If my research is correct, the disruption created by the COVID virus may result in a violent reversion event that could alter how the global markets react to the deleveraging and revaluation process that is likely to take place. I suggest the COVID virus event may have disrupted global market trends because the excess capital poured into the global markets prompted a very strong rise in price levels throughout the world in real estate, commodities, food, technology, and many other everyday products. The opposite type of trend would have likely happened if the COVID event had taken place without the excessive capital deployed into the global markets. Demand would have diminished. Price levels would have fallen. Demand for commodities and other technology would have fallen too. That didn't happen. The opposite type of global market trend took place, and prices rose faster than anyone expected. Markets Tend To Revert After Extreme Events As much as we may want to see these trends continue forever, any trader knows that markets tend to revert after extreme market trends or events. In fact, there are a whole set of traders that focus on these “reversion events.” They wait for extreme events to occur, then attempt to trade the “reversion to a mean” event in price action. My research suggests the COVID virus event may have created a hyper-cycle event between early 2020 and December 2021 (roughly 24 months). My research also suggests a global market deleveraging/revaluation event may be starting in early 2022. If my research is correct, the recent lows in Gold and Silver will continue to be tested in early 2022, but Gold and Silver will start to move much higher as fear and concern start to rattle the markets. As asset prices revert and continue to search for proper valuation levels, Gold and Silver may continue to rally in various phases through 2028~2030. Initially, I expect a 50% to 60% rally in Silver, targeting the $33.50 to $36.00 price level. For SILJ, Junior Silver Miners, I expect an initial move above $20 (representing a 60%+ rally), followed by a follow-through rally targeting the $25.00 level (more than 215% from recent lows). I believe the lack of focus on precious metals over the past 12+ months may have created a very unusual and efficient dislocation in the price for Silver compared to Gold. This setup may present very real opportunities for Silver to rally much faster than Gold over the next 24+ months – possibly longer. If my research is correct, the Junior Silver Miners ETF, SILJ, presents a very good opportunity for profits. Want to learn more about the movements of Gold, Silver, and their Miners? Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals. If you need technically proven trading and investing strategies using ETFs to profit during market rallies and to avoid/profit from market declines, be sure to join me at TEP – Total ETF Portfolio. Pay particular attention to what is quickly becoming my favorite strategy for income, growth, and retirement - The Technical Index & Bond Trader. Have a great day!
The battle for commerce with express deliveries

The battle for commerce with express deliveries

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2021 09:58
Warsaw, 15.12.2021 Several companies on our market are already developing their dark store networks, which allow for the delivery of food products within a dozen or so minutes from the order, and new shopping platforms announce their entry onto the Polish market. Things are getting very competitive in the quick commerce segment Quick commerce, which is a segment of express deliveries of basic food products, beverages, sweets, household chemicals and cosmetics, is a format that is now enjoying popularity, both in our country and around the world. Dark stores, distribution microcenters used only to handle orders placed on-line, already operate in the seven largest cities in our country. Due to the limited selection, covering from 1000 to 2000 products, they can’t compete with large retail chains and standard on-line shops offering a huge range of goods. However, they constitute direct competition to small local stores intended for quick, spontaneous shopping to meet the immediate needs. Even so, competition is difficult here due to the narrow range of products. - The development of this form of retail, which guarantees instant deliveries to the customer, favors the strong trend of convenience, related to the expectation of comfortable and easy access to goods. This trend became even more popular during the lockdown. The formula for deliveries within 10-15 minutes, however, requires the creation of a network of properly profiled distribution facilities scattered throughout the city. Dark stores resemble supermarkets measuring several hundred meters, usually from 200 sq m. up to 400 sq m, which are arranged in such a way that the individuals completing the order can efficiently move between the shelves and collect the products in the shortest possible time. They resemble shops, but act as warehouses for storing goods - explains Piotr Szymonski, Director Office Agency at Walter Herz. Free delivery up to 2:00 am Q-commerce on a larger scale began to develop in Poland only this year. The service is popular with a large group of customers. Dark stores offer goods at prices similar to traditional retail outlets. Orders are delivered 7 days a week, also on non-trading Sundays. Lisek, operating in Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Katowice, ensures delivery up to 10 minutes. Completely free delivery is available at JOKR. At Jush, orders over PLN 35 get delivery free of charge. Recent months have brought not only a rapid development of this format in Poland, but also announcements of new large players entering our market. From week to week, companies operating in this segment are expanding their range of activities, providing their service to further city districts. Meanwhile, the express delivery market is already getting crowded. Dark store chains of the first platforms that appeared in Poland, such as Lisek, Jokr, and GetnowX, are growing. The number of Biedronka's distribution points for the Biedronka Express BIEK service, which from this October is being offered in collaboration with Glovo, is growing at a fast pace. This is the second platform that, just like the Lisek App, also functions outside the capital. Deliveries from dark stores scattered in Warsaw, Lodz, Cracow, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw are made within a 2 km radius in a quarter of an hour. Distribution microcenters work throughout the week from 8am to 11pm, and in Warsaw on Fridays and Saturdays even until 2 am. Zabka Future Group chose the Lite E-Commerce start-up, which aims to create new modern convenience solutions. The company has recently decided to launch dark stores and fast food deliveries via the Jush app. This October, Zabka Jush launched in Warsaw. They also plan expansion into the other cities. New purchasing platforms are getting ready to take off in Poland Although the Swyft platform has temporarily suspended its operations after six months, the companies present on our market will soon gain considerable competition. Such companies as Gorillas and Grovy have announced their debuts in Poland. Gorillas, a German start-up specializing in instant deliveries from its own stores-warehouses, forms a project management team in our country. The company, with value that exceeding USD 1 billion just a few months after its establishment, is expanding in Europe. It operates in 15 cities in Germany, as well as in the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. It also made its debut in New York, which will become a hub for the development of the network in the United States. Grovy is also getting ready to enter the Polish market. The platform has already been offering services in the largest cities in Germany and Romania. Now the start-up plans to enter the Polish, Czech and Hungarian markets. Glovo and Wolt specialize in deliveries from various stores. On our market, Glovo cooperates with Biedronka, and in its native Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Ukraine, it operates on the basis of its own distribution facilities. Wolt, on the other hand, wants to launch its Wolt Market, a network of independent virtual supermarkets, in Poland, as it has in the Czech Republic, Denmark and Hungary. Wolt Market is intended to operate only as a dark store and fulfill online orders placed via the Wolt app. The company has launched their first virtual stores in Finland and Greece. One of the first Wolt Market stores also operates in the center of Warsaw. The market is open from 8 am to 11 pm, 7 days a week, and orders over PLN 150 are delivered free of charge within a 1.5 km radius. Soon, Bolt's dark stores are to open in Warsaw. Bolt is another company to offer delivery of goods purchased online within 15 minutes of placing the order. So far, the premiere Bolt Market has been launched only in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pyszne.pl, belonging to the Dutch group Just Eat Takeaway, is also considering extending its services to delivering groceries. However, they do not plan to create their own network of dark stores, but to cooperate with the other stores. Dark stores not in every location - Creating a network of distribution microcenters is a big challenge. The facilities must meet the appropriate location conditions that allow for the rapid shipping of goods. They have to enable express completion of the order from its submission to delivery to the customer's door. Developers of dark stores are looking for space located next to large residential areas in most districts of Warsaw, also in those more distant from the center and in other large cities. They are located not only in commercial buildings, but also on the ground floors of office buildings. The format's potential is best demonstrated by the interest shown by many companies that plan to implement projects on our market - says Piotr SzymoÅ„ski. - The selection of location for dark stores should be based on an analysis of the range and availability of the location, as well as the demographic and transportation aspect. Prospective regions for distribution networks are also those city areas where the implementation of a large number of residential projects is scheduled in the near future. Of course, the technical aspects of the premises should also be taken into account, such as the load-bearing capacity of the ceiling or the ability to charge electric vehicles, which are often used by couriers - adds Piotr SzymoÅ„ski. Market analysis concludes that the constantly growing popularity of online purchases will mean that by 2026, in just 6 years, the value of online sales in Poland will double. Forecasts indicate that the e-commerce sector is facing a period of regular growth. There is still a lot of space for the development of e-commerce in our country. The segment will increase its market share, not only by disseminating new sales formats, but also by increasing the number of online stores operating in our country. In Poland, there are even several times less of them per 1000 inhabitants, compared to some EU countries. About Walter Herz Walter Herz company is a leading Polish entity which has been operating in the commercial real estate sector across the country. For nine years, the company has been providing comprehensive and strategic investment consulting services for tenants, investors and real estate owners. It provides extensive support for both public and private sector. Walter Herz experts assist clients in finding and leasing space, and give advice when it comes to investment and hotel projects. In addition to its headquarters in Warsaw, the company operates in Cracow and the Tri-City. Walter Herz has created Tenant Academy, first project in the country, supporting and educating commercial real estate tenants across Poland, with on-site courses held in the largest cities in the country. In order to ensure the highest ethical level of services provided, the agency introduced the Code of Good Practice.
Financial Sector May Rally 11% - 15% Higher Before End Of January 2022

Financial Sector May Rally 11% - 15% Higher Before End Of January 2022

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 11.12.2021 10:25
The financial sector is poised for a very strong rally into the end of 2021, and early 2022 as revenues and earnings for Q4:2021 should continue to drive an upward price trend. The US Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low. At the same time, the US consumer continues to drive home purchases and holiday shopping. Strong economic data should drive Q4 results for the financial sector close to levels we saw in Q3:2021. If that happens, we may see a robust rally in the US Financial sector over the next 45 to 60+ days. The strength of the recent rally in the US major indexes shows just how powerful the bullish trend bias is right now. Some traders focus on the downside risks associated with the US Federal Reserve actions and/or the concerns related to inflation and global markets. I, however, continue to focus on the strength in the US major indexes and various sector trends that show real opportunities for profits. Comparing Sector Strength The following two US market sector charts highlight the performance over the last 12 vs. 24 months. I want readers to pay attention to how flat the Financial Sector has stayed since just before the 2020 COVID event and how the Financial Sector has started to trend higher over the past 12 months. This is because the shock of COVID briefly disrupted consumer activity. Yet, consumers are coming back strong, driving retail sales, home sales, and the continued strong US economic data. Therefore, it makes sense that the Financial sector should continue to show firm revenue and earnings growth while the US consumer is active and spending. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! Over the past two years, Discretionary, Technology, and Materials drove market growth compared to other sectors. Remember, the initial COVID virus event disrupted market sector trends over the last 24+ months. (Source: StockChart.com) Taking a look at this 1 Year US Market Sector chart shows how various sectors have rebounded and how the Discretionary and Materials sectors have flattened/weakened. Pay attention to how the Energy and Real Estate sectors have been over the past 12 months. Also, pay attention to how the Financial sector is strengthening. I believe that the continued deflation/deleveraging that is taking place throughout most of the world will continue to drive global central banks to stay relatively neutral regarding rising interest rates. This will likely prompt an easy money policy throughout most of 2022 and drive continued revenues/earnings for sectors associated with consumers' engagement with the economy. If inflation weakens into 2022 while wage and jobs data stays strong, we may see more moderate strength in the Financial, Healthcare, Discretionary, and Technology sectors over the next 6 to 12+ months. Read more about Global Deleveraging Here: Delivering Covid Bubble Possible Volatility Risks In Foreign Markets (Source: StockChart.com) Financials May Pop 11% Or More Over The Next 6+ Months This Weekly IYG, IShares US Financial Service ETF, highlights the recent sideways price trend in the Financial sector and the potential for a 9% to 13% rally that may take place as the markets shift into focus for the Q4:2021 earnings. Yes, inflation is still a concern, but as long as the US consumer continues spending and engaging in the economy, the Financial Services and US Banks should show strong returns. If the US markets rally into the end of 2021, possibly reaching new all-time highs again, this trend may carry well into 2022 and drive Q4:2021 and Q1:2022 revenues and earnings for the Financial sector even higher. This Weekly XLF chart shows a very similar setup to IYG. I firmly believe the recent fear in the markets related to the US Federal Reserve, the new COVID variants, and the global markets deleveraging process is missing one critical component – the strength of the US markets and the strength of the US Dollar. As the rest of the world struggles to find support and economic strength, the US markets continue to rebound on the strength of the US consumer, the recovering economy, and the growth of these sectors. As long as the US Federal Reserve does not disrupt this trend, I believe Q1:2022 could be much more robust than many people consider. I also think the deflation/deleveraging process will work to take the pressures away from recent inflation trends. What could this mean for 2022? Early 2022 may well work as a "rebalancing" process for the global markets – possibly taking the pressures away from the strength in energy, commodities, and staple products/materials. This means pricing pressures will decrease while consumers are still earning and spending. The Financial sector should benefit from these trends over the next 6+ months. Watch for the Financials to start to increase throughout the end of 2021 and into early 2022. There are many ways to consider trading this move, but ideally, I think the rally will take place before the end of February 2022. Q1 is usually relatively strong, so that this trend may last well into April/May 2022. It all depends on what happens that could disrupt the current market sector trends. If nothing happens to disrupt the strength of the US Dollar and the strength of the US markets, then I believe the Financial Sector has a very strong opportunity for at least 10% to 11% growth. Want to learn more about the potential for a financial sector rally? Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals. If you need technically proven trading and investing strategies using ETFs to profit during market rallies and to avoid/profit from market declines, be sure to join me at TEP - Total ETF Portfolio. Have a great day! Chris VermeulenChief Market Strategist
GBPUSD consolidates gains, GER 40 breaks above daily resistance, USOIL seeks support

GBPUSD consolidates gains, GER 40 breaks above daily resistance, USOIL seeks support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 30.12.2021 08:24
GBPUSD consolidates gains Growing risk appetite weighs on a safer US dollar. The rally above 1.3360 confirms that short-term sentiment has turned around. However, the push might have run out of steam as the RSI shows a bearish divergence. The deceleration indicates limited buying interest after the price went parabolic. 1.3400 is an immediate support. Its breach could trigger a correction and force the latest buyers out. Then 1.3300 would be the next support. 1.3500 is a major resistance from the daily chart. GER 40 breaks above daily resistance The Dax 40 climbed higher as investors favor value stocks in telecoms, transportation, and utilities. A break above December’s high at 15840 is a strong signal that the bulls may have had the last word. Trend followers would jump in, in anticipation of continuing above the psychological level of 16000. The RSI’s overbought situation could prompt intraday buyers to take profit. The previous resistance 15700 (now turned support) is the first level to evaluate buying interest. 15500 is the second support in case of a deeper pullback. USOIL seeks support WTI crude rallied after the EIA report showed a larger-than-expected fall in US inventories. The bulls are looking to hold onto their recent gains after they cleared the 30-day moving average and daily resistance at 73.20. 79.00 from November’s sharp sell-off is a major hurdle ahead. A bullish breakout could put the rally back on track. The RSI’s overextension may cause a brief pullback. The 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level is an area of interest as it coincides with the previous low at 72.60.
Rallying, singing "Jingle Bells", S&P 500 feels like hanging by the fingernails

Rallying, singing "Jingle Bells", S&P 500 feels like hanging by the fingernails

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 29.12.2021 16:25
S&P 500 feels like hanging by the fingernails – tech down and value retreating intraday. Correction of prior steep upswing is here – the bears will try some more, but I‘m not looking for them to get too far. The signs are there to knock the bulls somewhat down, and fresh ATHs look to really have to wait till next week. Checking up on the VIX, financials and consumer discretionaries confirms the odds of the bears stepping in today, and perhaps also tomorrow (depending upon today‘s close). The repelled HYG downswing likewise doesn‘t represent a significant risk-off turn (yet) – instead, we appear to be on the doorstep of another rotation, and its depth would be determined by how well tech is able to hold near current levels. Looking at precious metals, commodities and cryptos, the sellers of this risk-on rally have good odds of closing in the black for today. Earliest signs of stabilization would come from bonds, tech and cryptos – that‘s where I‘m mostly looking today. Keeping in mind the big picture – all eyes on upcoming Fed balance sheet data: (…) The Fed didn‘t really taper much in Dec, thus the jubilant close to 2021 across the board. The compressed yield curve would eventually invert – regardless of the current levels of inflation, the GDP growth can still support higher stock prices. Precious metals and commodities would though become an increasingly appealing proposition as I‘m not looking for the Fed to be able to break inflation. The tightening risks are clearly seen in market bets via compressed yields, so they‘ll attempt to not only talk a good game – they will act, and the risks of breaking something (real economy) would grow. That‘s the message from Treasuries – hawkish monetary policy mistake is feared and increasingly expected. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 saw a shot across the bow, and it remains to be seen whether the bears take advantage of a promising position to strike later today. Odds are they would at least try. Credit Markets HYG‘s hammer-style candle on rising volume doesn‘t bode well for today. Stabilization in junk bonds would be a most welcome sign once it arrives. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver aren‘t at all well positioned in the short-term – higher yields perhaps accompanied by consolidating inflation expectations, provide the bears with an opportunity. Crude Oil Crude oil is likewise stalling, but not too vulnerable unless fresh omicron fears return to the headlines. The $78 zone indeed looks to take a few days to be reached – I‘m still not looking at this week really. Copper Copper is taking a cautious stance – cautious, not panicky. Building a base not too far from yesterday‘s lows, would be most constructive now. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are feeling the pinch, and the Ethereum underperformance has foretold stiffer headwinds than had been the case recently. Genuine downtrend hasn‘t yet developed – the bulls are being tested as we speak. Summary Santa Claus rally is getting the announced reprieve – the day of decision how far it reaches, is today. Unless bonds (I‘m looking at the junk spectrum mainly), tech and cryptos weaken inordinately much, today‘s move would come in the sideways consolidation category. Odds for that are slightly better than a coin toss, but regardless, I‘m looking for a positive first day of 2022 trading to help make up for end of this week‘s headwinds. It‘s also positive that oil remains well bid above $75.50, and copper above $4.40. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
2022 and Gold

2022 and Gold

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 30.12.2021 17:54
  2021 was bad for gold. Unfortunately, 2022 doesn’t look any better, especially at the beginning. The end, however, gives the yellow metal some hope… Bye, bye 2021! It definitely wasn’t a year of gold. As the chart below shows, the yellow metal lost 5% of its value over the last twelve months, declining from $1,887.60 on December 30, 2020, to $1,794.25 on December 29, 2021. Thus, the gold bulls won’t miss 2021, I guess. What about me? Well, I correctly predicted in January that “gold’s performance in 2021 could be worse than last year”. However, I expected more bullish behavior. I thought that rising inflation would be more supportive of gold prices. I’m fully aware that gold is not a perfect inflation hedge, but historical analysis suggests that high and accelerating inflation should be positive for gold prices. After all, inflation lowers the real interest rates, the key fundamental factor in the gold market. However, rising inflation has prompted the Fed to tighten its monetary policy and speed up the tapering of its quantitative easing. Expectations of hikes in the federal funds rate in 2022 also strengthened. In consequence, as the chart below shows, bond yields rose, especially those short- and medium-term, creating downward pressure on gold prices. Thus, we’ve learned two important lessons in 2021: don’t just count on inflation, and don’t fight with the (hawkish) Fed. As you can see, bond yields haven’t returned to their pre-pandemic level yet. Although they don’t have to fully recover, they do have room for further increases. The issue here is that when inflation peaks and disinflation starts, inflation expectations could decline, boosting the real interest rates. Actually, market-based inflation expectations already peaked in November, as shown in the chart below. This indicates that worries about inflation had calmed and investors had regained some confidence in the US central bank’s ability to contain upward price pressure.   Implications for Gold Will 2022 be better for gold than 2021? It’s possible, but I’m not an optimist. I mean here: macroeconomic conditions will turn more bearish for gold. Despite the spreading of Omicron variant of coronavirus, 2022 could mark the end of the global Covid-19 epidemic with a full economic recovery and a return to normal conditions. Fiscal policy will tighten, while the Fed will adopt a more hawkish monetary policy than in 2021. Supply shocks are easing, so inflation may peak, while real interest rates go up further. Moreover, the US dollar may strengthen against the euro, as the ECB is slower with its monetary policy tightening. On the other hand, there are also some factors that could support gold prices. In 2021, GDP rebounded greatly after the economic crisis of 2020, and financial markets also recovered robustly. 2022 may be more challenging for economic growth and the financial sector, though. One thing is the base effect, while another is central banks’ policy normalization and rising interest rates. With massive public and private debts, the Fed’s tightening cycle could deflate asset and credit bubbles and even trigger a recession, or at least a market correction. However, there are no signs of market stress yet, so a financial crisis is not in my baseline scenario for the next year. 2023 (or even later) is a more probable timeframe. Hence, I believe that the end of 2022 may be better for gold than the beginning of the year, as mere expectations of the Fed’s tightening cycle could be replaced by worries about the consequences of interest rate hikes. Anyway, 2021 is (almost) dead. Long live 2022! I wish you a return to normalcy, shining profits and all the golden next year! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Crude Oil ahead of 2022

Crude Oil ahead of 2022

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 30.12.2021 17:54
  Omicron did a bit of a mess at the end of 2021, with oil too. Will crude oil break new price records in the New Year 2022? What do you guys reckon? Market Updates Yesterday, crude oil prices ended modestly higher after a volatile session with amplitudes increased by closing trades, as US crude inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels – more than expected – which is a positive sign for demand. Commercial crude oil reserves in the United States fell more than expected last week, recording the third consecutive significant decline on the back of strong demand, according to figures released yesterday by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA). On the other hand, the overall volatility is mainly due to the possible impact of the Omicron variant on demand; projects, commutations, as well as trips are cancelled, and more severe restrictions are put in place in Europe and China. (Source: Investing.com) The oil market continues to be tight due to the increased demand for heating oil to replace natural gas, which has become very expensive, especially in Europe; the Dutch TTF (Title Transfer Facility) benchmark dropped almost 8% to €89 there. As you may know, one third of European gas supplies come from Russia. This explains why the energy market is also keeping an eye on the Russo-Western crisis around Ukraine. Russian gas exports could be affected if tensions rise, as Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to speak on the phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden later today. I bet they won’t talk about Russian caviar (which might also be considered Russia’s original black gold). RBOB Gasoline (RBF22) Futures (Continuous contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGF22) Futures (January contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale) WTI Crude Oil (CLG22) Futures (February contract, daily chart, logarithmic scale) Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
S&P 500 - ATH?

S&P 500 - ATH?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 30.12.2021 22:59
A very late Santa Rally appears to have been set up in the US markets as we close in on the end of 2021. The US markets have already started a melt-up trend – which is what I expected to happen prior to the bout of volatility over the past 30+ days. A Very Late Santa Rally Could Prompt A Powerful Move Upward A very late positive shift in the US major indexes may prompt a powerful upward price trend in early 2022. I expect that Q4:2021 earnings and revenues will continue to impress traders while the US Dollar strengthens above 95. This combination of a strong US economy with a stronger US Dollar will continue to attract foreign capital investment in US equities in early 2022. Traders won't want to miss the potential for a Q1 and Q2 rally phase in the US markets IF the US Fed stays moderately inactive throughout the first half of 2022. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! Traders were concerned that the US Fed and Inflation would prompt a sudden shift by the US Fed. Still, I believe the new Omicron COVID virus and the shift away from hyper-inflationary trends may alter how the Fed sees the global economy in 2022. The US markets may be strengthening simply because of the additional stimulus and strong US consumer activity from the recovery/reflation trade momentum (late 2020 and almost all o 2021). The early 2022 trends may carry momentum into the first two Quarters of 2022 with slowly diminishing strength overall. Please take a minute to review our ADL Price Predictions for 2022 in this research article: The Technical Traders S&P 500 Rallying To New All-Time Highs To Close Out 2021 The S&P 500 recently rallied to new all-time highs just days before the end of 2021. This move suggests traders are shifting away from broader market concerns and starting to pay attention to the pending Q4:2021 earnings and revenue data and the 2021 Annual Data that will hit over the next 30 to 60+ days. Even though the markets are looking for any reason to spike the VIX (volatility), I believe the momentum behind this rally phase is going to continue to drive the S&P 500 up towards 5000 – or higher. My expectations are that we will see a fairly strong 5% to 8% rally in early 2022 from the 2021 end-of-year price levels. I believe the US market is attracting lots of foreign market capital as long as the US Fed does not do anything to topple the current market dynamics. NASDAQ Is Struggling To Reach New All-Time Highs, But Could Explode Higher In Early 2022 Even though the NASDAQ appears to be more volatile than the S&P500 and Dow Jones, it stands a very good chance of exploding higher in early 2022 as Q4:2021 earnings are announced, and end-of-year revenues and US economic data are presented in January/February. I expect that technology will continue to dominate trends related to how US consumers spend their time/money in 2022 – especially if we continue to go through more COVID virus waves. The sectors I'm watching in 2022 are Housing, Technology, Healthcare, Consumer Staples/Discretionary, Metals/Mining, and Retail. If there are any signs of concern in the US/Global markets, I expect to see these concerns appear in the strongest sectors right now (Consumer, Retail, Metals, Housing, and Technology). The US Fed will probably not take any severe actions in Q1:2022 and maybe talk about raising rates in Q2:2022. This means the US markets will continue to attract foreign capital, and traders need to prepare for a potentially explosive upside price trend in the NASDAQ before March 2022.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are staging a daily comeback

Bitcoin and Ethereum are staging a daily comeback

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 30.12.2021 15:49
S&P 500 bulls stood their ground nicely, and the key sectors confirmed little willingness to turn the very short-term outlook more bearish than fits the little flag we‘re trading in currently – it‘s a bullish flag. Given the continued risk-off turn in bonds, the stock market setback could have been more than a tad deeper – that would be the conclusion at first glance. However, high yield corporate bonds held up much better than quality debt instruments, and that means the superficial look would have been misleading. Likewise as regards my other 2 signs out of the 3 yesterday presented ones – tech held up fine, and cryptos have practically erased yesterday‘s hesitation during today‘s premarket. The Santa Claus rally indeed hasn‘t yet run its course, and the slighly better than a coin toss odds of us not facing more than a very shallow correction, look to be materializing. As I wrote 2 days ago – What‘s Not to Love Here – we‘re entering 2022 with great open profits in both S&P 500 (entered aggressively at 4,672) and crude oil (entered with full force at $67.60). Both rides aren‘t yet over, copper is primed to catch up in the short run to the other commodities, gold is well bid at current levels, and together with silver waiting for a Fed misstep (market risk reappreciation) and inflation to start biting still some more while the real economy undergoes a soft patch (note however the very solid manufacturing data) with global liquidity remaining constrained even though the Fed didn‘t exactly taper much in Dec, and nominal yields taking a cautious and slow path towards my 2022 year end target of 1.80-2.00% on the 10-year Treasury. As I wrote prior Monday, we‘re looking at still positive 2022 returns in stocks – of course joined by commodities and precious metals. The path would be though probably a more turbulent one than was the case in 2021. We had a good year of strong gains, and I hope you have benefited. Thank you for all your appreciation and best wishes sent my way throughout all of 2021 and now by email or via Twitter – I would love to wish you a very Happy New Year – may 2022 keep bringing you happiness, success and good health. Enjoy the New Year‘s Eve celebrations, and see you again on Jan 03, 2022! Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 consolidation is still shaping up finely – and does so on solid internals. Particularly the tech resilience is a good omen. Credit Markets HYG could have indeed declined some more, but didn‘t. While I‘m not reading all too much into this signal individually, it fits the (still bullish) mozaic completed by other markets on my watch. That‘s the strength of intermarket analysis. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver got on the defensive, but the bears didn‘t get too far – and the chance they could have, wasn‘t too bad. Rising yields were though countered by the declining dollar. Crude Oil Crude oil is likely to pause today, and will rally again once risk-on returns broadly, including into credit markets. For now, backing and filling above $76 is my leading very short-term scenario – Monday though will be a fresh day. Copper Copper is pausing, but the downswing didn‘t reach far, and was bought relatively fast. More consolidation above $4.40 looks likely, and it would come with a generally bullish bias that‘s apt to surprise on the upside. Similarly to precious metals though, patience. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are staging a daily comeback, and as long as mid-Dec lows don‘t come in sight again, crypto prices can muddle through with a gently bullish bias. Summary Santa Claus isn‘t willing to give much ground, and the table is set for this nice rally to modestly continue today – somewhere more pronouncedly (S&P 500, cryptos) than elsewhere (commodities and precious metals). I‘m still looking for a positive first day of 2022 trading to help make up for end of this week‘s headwinds – it has been great that the bears couldn‘t find more strength yesterday. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
USDCHF tests daily support, AUDUSD consolidates gains, EURGBP falls below daily support

USDCHF tests daily support, AUDUSD consolidates gains, EURGBP falls below daily support

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.01.2022 09:59
USDCHF tests daily support The US dollar softens over increased risk appetite. A drop below the lower band of the consolidation range at 0.9160 confirms a lack of interest in the greenback. The pair is testing the major demand zone around 0.9100 from the daily chart. A bearish breakout could jeopardize the pair’s rebound over the past quarter. It could also trigger a sell-off towards the psychological level of 0.9000. The bulls may be tempted to buy the dip. 0.9180 would be the first resistance to lift before they could turn the downbeat inertia around. AUDUSD consolidates gains The Australian dollar finds support from rising commodity prices. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart indicates improvement in underlying sentiment. The former supply zone between 0.7210 and 0.7220 has turned into a demand zone. Buyers may be eager to join the rally after the RSI returned to the neutrality area. 0.7290 is a fresh resistance, and a combination of profit-taking and fresh selling could temporarily weigh on the Aussie. 0.7120 is a second line of defense in case of a deeper retracement. EURGBP falls below daily support The pound outperforms the euro over diverging monetary policies. The break below the daily support at 0.8380 is an invalidation of the rebound in late November. The RSI’s repeatedly oversold situation has attracted some buying interest, but not enough to sustain a meaningful bounce. 0.8420 is now a fresh resistance. And only its breach could prompt sellers to cover. On the downside, 0.8365 is a fragile support. A breakout would further deteriorate sentiment and send the euro to February 2020’s lows near 0.8280.
"Gold is in the 1960s"

"Gold is in the 1960s"

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 31.12.2021 14:05
  Although your calendar may say otherwise, gold is in the 1960s. The question is whether we will move into the 1970s or speed-run to the mid-2010s. Did you go overboard with your time travel and lose track of time? Probably not, but just in case, I assure you that the current year is 2021. To be 100% sure, I fact-checked it on a dedicated webpage for time-travelers. However, the authority of science is being questioned, and there are people who say that, from a macroeconomic point of view, we are approaching the 1970s, or at least the 1960s. There are also voices saying that the gold market is replaying 2012-2013. Although appearances point to 2021, let’s investigate what year we really live in. The similarities with the 1970s are obvious. Just like then, we have high inflation, large fiscal deficits (see the chart below), and easy, erroneous monetary policy. Fifty years ago, the Fed blamed inflation on exogenous shocks and considered inflation to be transitory too. The new monetary regime adopted by the US central bank in 2020 also takes us back to the 70s and the mistaken belief that the economy cannot overheat, so the Fed can let inflation run above the target for a while in order to boost employment. The parallels extend beyond price pressure. The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan reminded many of the fall of Saigon. The world is facing an energy crisis right now, another feature of the 1970s. If we really repeat those years, gold bulls should be happy, as the yellow metal rallied from $35 to $850, surging more than 2300% back in that decade (see the chart below). However, there is one problem with this narrative. In the 1970s, we experienced stagflation, i.e., a simultaneous occurrence of high inflation and economic stagnation with a rising unemployment rate. Currently, although we face strong upward price pressure, we enjoy economic expansion and declining unemployment, as the chart below shows. Indeed, the monthly unemployment rate decreased from 14.8% in April 2020 to 4.2% in November 2021. The current macroeconomic situation, characterized by inflation without stagnation part, is reminiscent of the 1960s, a decade marked by rising inflation and rapid GDP growth. As the chart below shows, the CPI annual rate reached a local maximum of 6.4% in February 1970, similar to the current inflation level. Apparently, we are replaying the 1960s right now rather than the 1970s. So far, growth is slowing down, but we are far from stagnation territory. There is no discussion on this. My point was always that the Fed’s actions could bring us to the 1970s, or that complacency about inflation is increasing the risk of de-anchoring inflation expectations and the materialization of a stagflationary scenario. In the 1960s, the price of gold was still fixed, so historical analysis is impossible. However, it seems that gold won’t start to rally until we see some signs of stagnation or an economic crisis, and markets begin to worry about recession. Given that the current economic expansion looks intact, the yellow metal is likely to struggle at least by mid-2022 (unless supply disruptions and energy crisis intensify significantly, wreaking havoc). Do we have to go back that far in time, though? Maybe the 2020 peak in gold prices was like the 2011 peak and we are now somewhere in 2012-2013, on the eve of a great downward move in the gold market? Some similarities cannot be denied: the economy is recovering from a recession, while the Fed is tightening its monetary policy, and gold shows weakness with its inability to surpass $1,800. So, some concerns are warranted. I pointed out a long time ago the threat of an upward move in the real interest rates (as they are at record low levels), which could sink the precious metals market. However, there are two key differences compared to the 2012-2013 period. First, inflation is much higher and it’s still accelerating, while ten years ago there was disinflation. This distinction should support gold prices. The peak in the inflation rate could be a dangerous time for gold, as the disinflationary era would raise interest rates, putting downward pressure on the yellow metal. Second, the prospects of the Fed’s tightening cycle are probably already priced in. In other words, the next “taper tantrum” is not likely to happen. It implies that a sudden spike in the interest rates similar to that of 2013 (see the chart below) shouldn’t repeat now. Hence, the answer to the question “what year is it?” should be that we are somewhere in the 1960s and we can move later into the 1970s if high inflation stays with us and stagnation sets in or if the next crisis hits. However, we can leap right into the 2010s if inflation peaks soon and the hawkish Fed triggers a jump in bond yields. It’s also possible that we will see a temporary disinflation before the second wave of elevated inflation. So, gold could continue its struggle for a while before we see another rally. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Quiet Start to New Year

Quiet Start to New Year

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 03.01.2022 14:10
January 03, 2022  $USD, autos, Canada, China, Currency Movement, Inflation, jobs, Mexico, PMI, Trade Overview:  The New Year begins slowly.  Japan, mainland China, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK markets remain closed.  While Hong Kong shares traded heavily, Taiwan, South Korea, and India moved higher.  Led by consumer discretionary and staple sectors, Europe's Stoxx 600 is up about 0.6%.  US futures are 0.4%-0.6% higher.  European yields have drifted lower, with the periphery doing bettter than the core.   The US 10-year yield will begin the local session at 1.51%.  The dollar is mostly firmer, after weakening broadly at the end of last year.   The Norwegian krone and New Zealand dollar are the most resilient,  while the Canadian dollar is off nearly 0.3% to pare the year-end gains, followed by the euro, which is in the middle of its $1.1335-$1.1380 range.  The greenback is holding above JPY115.00.  Emerging market currencies are mixed but mostly softer.  Higher than expected inflation is weighing on the Turkish lira. The South Korean won leads the other softer EM currencies. It is off about 0.25%.  The South African rand (~0.7%) and Russian ruble (0.5%) lead the advancers.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index rose by about 2.5% in the last two weeks of 2021 and is slightly firmer today (~0.2%).  Iron ore is higher for the third consecutive session and rallied more than 45% from the middle of November through Xmas, before falling 5.3% last week.  Copper has a four-week 4.6% rally in tow but is slightly softer today.  Gold is stalling near $1830, the (61.8%) retracement of its sell-off from $1880 mid-November high.  Oil rallied for the last two weeks, with February WTI gaining about 6.2%.  OPEC+ meets tomorrow and WTI is up a nearly 1.5% to push above $76.  US natural gas gained slightly more than 1% in the past two weeks and is hovering around little changed level.  Recall that diverted shipments from the US and Asia to Europe saw natural gas prices collapse from above 180 euros on December 21 to 65.5 euros at the end of last week.   Asia Pacific China's property developers remain in the spotlight. Bloomberg estimates that the sector's debt servicing costs, including deferred wages, and maturing obligations are at $197 bln this month.  Evergrande shares were suspended in Hong Kong.  When the problems, bubbling below the surface for some time, emerged last September, global risk appetites were shaken, and many observers made comparisons to the Great Financial Crisis.  However, so far, the problems seem localized and unlike the US and Europe, new lending has not frozen.   The macro data highlights include China's Caixin PMI after the official one surprised on the upside. The preliminary PMIs for Australia and Japan steal the thunder from the final report. Japan's weekly MOF report on portfolio flows may be noteworthy. Foreign investors have been on a buying spree, buying the most Japanese bonds over the first three weeks of December in at least 20 years.   The dollar has risen for the past four weeks against the Japanese yen.  It closed the last two sessions slightly above JPY115.00 and remains above it today.  Recall, last year's high, set in late November, was near JPY115.50.  Today's high thus far is about JPY115.35.  The market may be reluctant to push the dollar much higher before Tokyo returns.  The Australian dollar advanced almost 2% in the second half of December.  It is stalling near the (50%) retracement of its decline from around $0.7555 in late October, found close to $0.7275.  Support is ahead of $0.7200.  Thin trading on New Year's Eve saw the dollar plunge to its low for the year near CNY6.34 before settling slightly above CNY6.3560.  Chinese officials have signaled their desire to avoid further yuan appreciation. If the divergence of monetary policy and higher fx reserve requirements are not sufficient, investors must be wary that other tools can be deployed.   Europe The uptick in Germany's December manufacturing PMI was revised away, leaving it unchanged from November at 57.4.  The flash estimate put it at 57.9.  In contrast, the French reading was revised up to 55.6 from 54.9.  This pared the decline from 55.9 in November.   Italy's manufacturing PMI held in better than expected, slipping to 62.0 from 62.8, the post-Covid high.  Spain, on the other hand, disappointed, with its manufacturing PMI falling to 56.2 from 57.1, its lowest since last February.  The net result was the flash aggregate estimate of 58.0 was sustained (58.4 in November).   The final Eurozone aggregate PMI is of passing interest. The main takeaway from the preliminary estimate continues to resonate:  the economic activity was slowing. The flash estimate put the composite at 53.4 (down from 55.4), the lowest since March. It has risen once in the last five months. More notable for the market will be the preliminary estimate of December inflation. Consumer prices are expected to have stabilized after reaching 4.9% year-over-year in November (2.6% core).   The Turkish government has tried to absorb the currency-risk that it has unleashed by forcing the central bank to cut key interest rates by 500 bp since mid-September.  It managed to spur a powerful short-covering squeeze in the lira, which saw the dollar fall from around TRY18.36 on December 20 to nearly TRY10.25 on December 23.  The greenback recovered to nearly TRY14.00 today, its sixth consecutive advance.  Today's CPI report blew away expectations.  Just in the month of December, Turkish consumer prices jumped nearly 13.6%.  This sent the year-over-year rate to almost 36.1%.  The core rate rose about 31.9% year-over-year.  Short covering helped lifted the euro a little more than 1.1% over the past two weeks.  It reached about $1.1385 on New Year's Eve.  It has not traded above $1.14 since mid-February.  Ahead of this week's two key economic reports (EMU CPI and US employment), the market may not have the conviction necessary to extend its year-end gains.  Sterling gained about 2.1% in the last two weeks.  It reached $1.3550 at the end of last week, its best level since mid-November.  It is little changed today.  The $1.3575 area corresponds to the (50%) retracement of its sell-off from $1.3835 area in late October.  Initial support is seen in the $1.3455-$1.3465 area.   America The US economic diary is jammed packed to begin the New Year. The highlight is the jobs report at the end of the week. The median forecast (Bloomberg survey) calls for a 400k increase after being disappointed with the 210k increase in November. The unemployment rate is expected to ease to 4.1% from 4.2%, and average earnings growth likely moderated. At the end of last year, an article in the Financial Times made two important observations. First, the uniqueness of the covid-impact renders seasonal adjustments suspect. The response rate was less than two-thirds, the lowest for the month of November in more than a decade. In November, the raw establishment survey showed a 778k gain in nonfarm payrolls, but the BLS adjustment cut a record 568k. Second, also complicating the data is the participation by businesses. The response rate was less than two-thirds, the lowest for the month of November in more than a decade.   The monthly auto sales report seems under-appreciated as a broad economic indicator. The supply chain disruptions depressed auto production and, in turn, auto consumption (not just in the US). However, late in the year, there seemed to be some improvement. The median forecast (Bloomberg survey) December US auto sales (seasonally adjusted annual rate) at 13.1 mln, which would then be the most since July. Elsewhere, the preliminary goods trade balance, like the flash PMI, is the real new news. The final reading tends not to be very meaningful. In any event, the trade deficit will widen considerably. The goods deficit widened to a record $97.8 bln from $83.2 bln.   Lastly, the FOMC minutes will be looked at especially for clues about the timing of the first hike. March? It is unreasonable to expect Canada to match the nearly 154k job increase reported for November. The median forecast is 25k. Canada also reports November trade figures. Canada's trade balance has steadily improved since March 2020, and the 12-month moving average through October was the highest in around six years. The swaps market has a little more than half of the first hike (25 bp) priced in at the January 26 Bank of Canada meeting.   Mexico's data highlights include worker remittances, which could be the most important source of private capital inflows. Without meaningful fiscal support and in the face of tightening monetary policy, the economy lacks much momentum. The December CPI is expected to have edged higher toward 7.5%. Monetary policy is where the drama will be as the new central bank governor takes the reins (Rodriguez). The 50 bp hike in December lifted the overnight target to 5.5%. If the market is concerned about a policy mistake or possible erosion of its independence, you would not know it from looking at the peso. It was the strongest currency in the world in December, rising almost 4.5% against the dollar.   The Canadian dollar rallied about 2% over the past two weeks.  This saw the US dollar retrace half of its rally from the mid-October low below CAD1.23 that peaked on December 20 by CAD1.2965.  That retracement came it near CAD1.2625.  The momentum indicators are still headed down, but the greenback is recovering today.  Initial resistance is seen around CAD1.2700.  A move above CAD1.2750 warns that a low may be in place.  The Mexican peso has rallied for the past five weeks, and despite the poor close at the end of the year, it is bid today.  The US dollar was sold from near MXN20.55 to MXN20.45 in the European morning but has found a bid near midday.  The low from New Year's Eve was set around MXN20.3070 and the 200-day moving average is closer to MXN20.27.    Disclaimer
A Look At Markets Around The World: US CPI, Sweden Riksbank EU Yields And More

Taxes, UK Equities, Global Shipping and Pandemic in "Charts of 2021: Honorable Mentions" by Callum Thomas

Callum Thomas Callum Thomas 03.01.2022 14:13
Last week I shared with you some of my Best Charts of 2021 (as well as my Worst Charts of 2021 and then also my favorites!) -- so this week I wanted to follow up with what I would say are the "honorable mention" charts of 2021...       These charts were worthy of mention but didn’t quite fit into any of the previous categories -- but were definitely worth including and highlighting both due to how they proved useful in the past year or so, but also in terms of the outlook into 2022.       These charts were featured in my just-released 2021 End of Year Special Report -- check it out (free download as a holiday treat!).       Enjoy, feel free to share, and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments...           1. Expect Higher Taxes: This chart arguably points to higher tax rates ahead given that government debt as a % of GDP has doubled over the past decade while effectively economy-wide tax-take has gone sideways.       chart of developed economy fiscal outlook - higher taxes forecast           2. Global Food Crisis? Stagnant capex by food producers contributed to a perfect storm for food prices (along with actual storms, pandemic disruption, rising costs).                 3. UK Equities: In the wake of Brexit & pandemic woes, UK equities moved to decade-low valuations vs their European peers. From crisis to opportunity?                     >>> These charts were featured in our 2021 End of Year Special Report.               4. Global Shipping Capex: Shipping sector investment stagnated for a decade – contributing to the global supply chain chaos. Ironically it likely rebounds after banking windfall profits from the surge in freight rates.                 5. Global vs US Earnings Cycles: A key driver of the long-term cycles of relative price performance of global vs US equities has been the cycles in relative earnings. That cycle will need to change for the price cycle to change.                 6. Pandemic Progress: the global rollout of vaccines, rising immunity, societal adaptations, and therapeutics have helped result in a series of lower highs in deaths – I like the look of that trend. The light at the end of the tunnel, though flickering at times, does seem a little brighter now…                     Thanks for reading!           This is an excerpt from my 2021 End of Year Special report - click through to download a free copy of the report.       Best regards       Callum Thomas   Head of Research and Founder of Topdown Charts           Follow us on:   Substack https://topdowncharts.substack.com/   LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/topdown-charts   Twitter http://www.twitter.com/topdowncharts
SEC Rejects Valkyrie, Kryptoin Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

Bitcoin price eyes higher high, Ethereum price to revisit crucial barriers

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.01.2022 16:07
Bitcoin price bounces off the $45,678 support level, suggesting a higher high is likely. Ethereum price looks primed for a sweep of the $4,133 resistance level to collect the liquidity resting above it. Ripple price might head lower to retest the 3-day demand zone, ranging from $0.704 to $0.778 before it triggers a run-up. Bitcoin price has been stuck, ranging between two crucial levels since the December 3 flash crash. This consolidation is setting up the base for a long-term volatile move, but for now, BTC is likely to retest the range high of this sideways move. Ethereum and Ripple will promptly follow the big crypto and see short-term gains. Bitcoin price eyes higher high Bitcoin price bounced off the $45,678 support floor for the fourth time and is currently hovering at $46,921, just below the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). A surge in bullish momentum that overcomes this hurdle is likely to propel the pioneer crypto to tag the $51,993 resistance barrier, coinciding with the 50-day SMA. A sweep of this level will collect the buy-stop liquidity resting above it. This 13% upswing is likely to face profit-taking at this level, leading to a reversal. However, in some cases, the buyers could flip this level to a support floor, suggesting that Bitcoin price might head higher and retest the $57,030. BTC/USD 4-hour chart While things are looking up for Bitcoin price, a breakdown of the $45,678 support floor will reveal a weakness among buyers. This move will crash BTC by 9% to retest the December 3, 2021 swing low at $41,672. Here, Bitcoin price has another chance to make a comeback and will likely restart the upswing. Ethereum price to revisit crucial barriers Ethereum price revisited the $3,640 support floor for the third time on December 31, 2021, triggering a 5% ascent to where it currently trades - $3,800. Unlike the big crypto, ETH is comfortably trading above the 200-day SMA. A potential spike in buying pressure is likely to propel Ethereum price to retest the $4,113 resistance barrier, coinciding with the 50-day SMA. This run-up would constitute an 8.4% ascent and is likely to see the short-term upswing capped. If the buyers continue to pile on the bid orders, ETH might slice through the said hurdles and make a run for the $4,435 ceiling, representing a 16% gain. ETH/USD 6-hour chart In some cases, Ethereum price might revisit the $3,640 barrier before heading to the immediate resistance barrier. A breakdown of this level, however, will lead to a retest of the December 3, 2021 swing low at $3,456, where buyers have another chance to restart the uptrend. Ethereum primed for 50% breakout to $6,300 Ripple price could head lower Ripple price is hovering above the 3-day demand zone, ranging from $0.704 to $0.778 and is likely to retest it before it decides to head higher. A dip into this area will replenish the bullish momentum, allowing the XRP price to climb higher. The $0.892 resistance barrier will be the first hurdle the remittance token will tag, beyond which it is likely to collect the liquidity resting above the $0.939 ceiling. In some cases, Ripple price could extend its run-up to $1, where it will face immense selling pressure. XRP/USD 4-hour chart Regardless of the recent run-up, if Ripple price slices through the 3-day demand zone, extending from $0.704 to $0.778, and produces a decisive close below it, the bullish thesis will face invalidation. In which case, the XRP price could slide lower to revisit the $0.656 support floor. XRP price to present long opportunity for Ripple bulls at $0.87
Let's have a look at S&P 500, Crude Oil, Nasdaq and Credit Markets. Cryptos are still bullish above mid-Dec lows.

Let's have a look at S&P 500, Crude Oil, Nasdaq and Credit Markets. Cryptos are still bullish above mid-Dec lows.

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.01.2022 15:57
S&P 500 pared prior steep gains, but thanks to the credit markets message, I‘m not reading into Friday‘s weakness much. There is still more in this rally – value held better than tech, and high yield corporate bonds didn‘t really slide. The year end rebalancing will likely give way to solid Monday‘s performance. While VIX appears to want to move up from the 17 level, it would probably take more than one day to play out. As the Santa Claus rally draws to its close, the nearest data point worth looking forward for, is Tuesday‘s ISM Manufacturing PMI. It‘ll likely show still expanding manufacturing (however challenged GDP growth is on a quarterly basis), and that would help commodities deal with the preceding downswing driven by energy and agrifoods. Both of these sectors are likely to return to gains, and especially oil is. As stated on Thursday, the open profits would still keep rising. Precious metals were the key winners Friday, paying attention to the dollar and nominal yields retreat the most. The red metal‘s upswing certainly helped – such were my latest words: (…) copper is primed to catch up in the short run to the other commodities, gold is well bid at current levels, and together with silver waiting for a Fed misstep (market risk reappreciation) and inflation to start biting still some more while the real economy undergoes a soft patch (note however the very solid manufacturing data) with global liquidity remaining constrained even though the Fed didn‘t exactly taper much in Dec, and nominal yields taking a cautious and slow path towards my 2022 year end target of 1.80-2.00% on the 10-year Treasury. As I wrote prior Monday, we‘re looking at still positive 2022 returns in stocks – of course joined by commodities and precious metals. The path would be though probably a more turbulent one than was the case in 2021. Finally, cryptos look to be in agreement with not reading too much to Friday‘s downswings – both Bitcoin and Ethereum are turning up as $46K in BTC held up once again. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Nasdaq got a little oversold relative to S&P 500 – this is not the start of a fresh downtrend. Once financials and consumer discretionaries turn up, the rally will be on better footing again. Credit Markets HYG could have declined some more, but tellingly didn‘t. Bonds aren‘t ready to turn to risk-off just yet. Upswing attempt next shouldn‘t be surprising in the least. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are looking at a much better year than was 2021. Stock market volatility, GDP growth challenges and persistent inflation would help the metals and commodities rise. Crude Oil Crude oil is about to move up again as gains were taken off the table on Friday. With the omicron response and related pronouncements coming in lately from the U.S., what else to expect – a great deal of destroyed demand doesn‘t look to be ahead. Copper Copper undid the prior pause, and looks ready to keep defending the $4.43 area. The long consolidation that started in May, would be eventually broken to the upside. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum may be short-term undecided, but don‘t look willing to decline. Cryptos are still bullish above mid-Dec lows. Summary First trading day of 2022 is likely to extend prior gains, resolving the prior sideways move. As risk-on faltered on Friday, S&P 500 and cryptos are likely to catch up, and oil would probably outperform copper today while precious metals digest very solid New Year‘s Eve gains. We‘re nowhere near the good days ending just yet – turbulence would come once Fed tapering gets really noticeable (post Olympics), with VIX trending higher well before that already. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
NZDUSD can be ahead of consolidation, XAGUSD - silver declines as dollar strengthens, GER 40 goes up, "wishing" Omicron won't hit that much

NZDUSD can be ahead of consolidation, XAGUSD - silver declines as dollar strengthens, GER 40 goes up, "wishing" Omicron won't hit that much

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.01.2022 09:14
NZDUSD breaks support The New Zealand dollar tumbles against its US counterpart amid soaring Treasury yields. The pair is looking to consolidate its recent gains after it rallied above the 30-day moving average (0.6820). The December high at 0.6860 is a major resistance. A bullish close may propel the kiwi to 0.6950. In the meantime, the pullback below 0.6800 suggests a lack of further commitment from the buy-side as short-term traders took profit. 0.6740 is the next support and its breach may lead to a correction to 0.6700. XAGUSD seeks support Silver falls back as the US dollar strengthens across the board. Price action saw a strong recovery from the daily support at 21.50. A rally above 23.15 indicates interest in keeping the rebound valid, following a brief end of the year sell-off. The double top at 23.40 is an important resistance on the way to 23.70. This point lies in a supply zone from the late November sell-off. A break below the psychological level of 23.00 has prompted intraday buyers to bail out. 22.60 is the closest support and its breach could drive the metal to 21.80. GER 40 rises towards an all-time high The Dax 40 rallies in hopes that Omicron lockdowns can be avoided. A bullish MA cross on the daily charts indicates improved sentiment. The rally accelerated after it cleared the supply area around 15750. The bulls are pushing towards the all-time high at 16300. A breakout could resume the uptrend, attracting trend followers in the process. The RSI surged again into the overbought territory and may temper the bullish fever. 15840 is fresh support. 15680 from the previous resistance area would be a test for buyers’ resolve.
Does gold in the beginning of 2022 remind us year 2021? What about inflation this year?

Does gold in the beginning of 2022 remind us year 2021? What about inflation this year?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 04.01.2022 13:14
The start of 2021 wasn’t successful for gold: after a few days of rally, the yellow metal entered a bearish trend. 2022 looks uncomfortably similar. So far, so good – the first three days of 2022 didn’t bring a new catastrophe. It’s probably just the calm before the storm, but the new year started well. Even the price of gold has risen! As the chart below shows, the yellow metal managed to jump above the key level of $1,800 at the very end of 2021, but it still maintains its position (at least as of early January 3, 2022). It reminds me of the beginning of 2021. Gold also started last year with a bang, only to plunge later. Its price increased 3.5% during the first week of the year, reaching $1,957, and then began its big downward move. As the chart below shows, the yellow metal plunged below $1,700 at the very end of March. Hence, although January is historically a good month for gold, it might be too early to celebrate, and investors should exercise caution. However, luckily for gold bulls, there is one significant difference between 2021 and 2022. Last year, there were Georgia runoffs and Democrats took over both the White House and the full Congress (the House and the Senate). That was when the blue wave plunged the yellow metal. This year should be politically calmer for the US (so, we don’t count the odds of Russia invading Ukraine and China attacking Taiwan), but the major threat to the gold market remains the same: a rise in the real interest rates. In January 2021, it was the blue wave that triggered a rebound in rates, but it may be induced by many more factors in the future. It could be the development of a new cure against coronavirus and the end of the pandemic, a more hawkish Fed, or a decline in inflation. The spread of the Omicron variant keeps worries alive. After all, as the chart below shows, the 7-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases in the United States has hit a record high of about 405,000. When we are completely back to normalcy, risk appetite and bond yields may increase. Another risk for gold is the stabilization of inflation and even subsequent disinflation. As the chart below shows, we got a one-off boost in the money supply, so inflation is likely to peak this year. Inflation expectations should ease then, and real interest rates may rebound in such a scenario. What gives me some comfort here is that the pace of money supply growth hasn’t returned to the pre-pandemic level yet, but it stays at an elevated level (although much below the peak). It should support high inflation this year. Moreover, the Fed is likely to remain behind the curve and the peak in inflation may only strengthen the dovish camp within the FOMC (although investors should remember that the composition of the voting members of the Committee has become more hawkish in 2022).   Implications for Gold What does it all imply for the gold market? Will the yellow metal resume its long-term bullish trend in 2022? Well, this is what a majority of investors that took part in Kitco News’ annual outlook survey believe. Of nearly 3,000 retail investors, 54% said they see gold prices above $2,000 by the end of the year. This is also in line with Goldman Sachs’ call for gold in 2022. Other forecasters see gold prices trading in a range between $1,800 and $2,000. It’s certainly a possible scenario. After all, much of the Fed’s tightening cycle has already been priced in; and the last time gold bottomed was in December 2015, just around the first hike in the federal funds rate after the Great Recession. However, I expect more volatile trading with strong downside potential. As a reminder, my educated guess is that gold may plunge at some point amid a rebound in bond yields, but will rise later as worries about the next economic crisis accumulate. Indeed, it’s quite funny, but I haven’t even finished this article, and the price of gold has already started to slide amid rising US dollar index and Treasury yields, in line with my warnings from the beginning of this text. This is how I became a prophet. Now I can see that as soon as you finish reading this article you will continue surfing the internet! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Can't skip S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq

Can't skip S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.01.2022 15:53
Very good S&P 500 entry to 2022, and the HYG intraday reversal is the sight to rejoice. In the sea of rising yields, both tech and value managed to do well – the market breadth keeps improving as not only the ratio of stocks trading above their 200-day moving averages shows. Likewise VIX refused to reach even 19, and instead is attacking 16.50. This is not complacency – the bulls were thoroughly shaken at the entry to the session yesterday – but a buying interest that convincingly turned the tide during the day. As I wrote yesterday: (…) thanks to the credit markets message, I‘m not reading into Friday‘s weakness much. There is still more in this rally – value held better than tech, and high yield corporate bonds didn‘t really slide. The year end rebalancing will likely give way to solid Monday‘s performance. While VIX appears to want to move up from the 17 level, it would probably take more than one day to play out. As the Santa Claus rally draws to its close, the nearest data point worth looking forward for, is Tuesday‘s ISM Manufacturing PMI. It‘ll likely show still expanding manufacturing (however challenged GDP growth is on a quarterly basis), and that would help commodities deal with the preceding downswing driven by energy and agrifoods. Both of these sectors are likely to return to gains, and especially oil is. The only sector taking a beating yesterday, were precious metals. While inflation expectations were little changed (don‘t look for inflation to go away any time soon as I‘ve been making the case repeatedly), the daily rise in yields propelled the dollar to reverse Friday‘s decline, and that knocked both gold and silver off the high perch they closed at last week. Still, none of the fundamental or monetary with fiscal policy originating reasoning has been invalidated – not even the charts were damaged badly by Monday‘s weakness. As economic growth gets questioned while fiscal policy remains expansive unlike the monetary one, volatily in the stock market together with persistent inflation would be putting a nice floor beneath the metals. Even cryptos are refusing to yield much ground, the Ethereum to Bitcoin ratio keeps trading positively, and I‘m not even talking the rubber band that commodities (crude oil and copper) are. Very good for our open positions there, as much as in the S&P 500 – let them keep bringing profits. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Really bullish price action in both S&P 500 and Nasdaq – that was the entry to 2022 I was looking for. Embellished with prior downswing that lends more credibility to the intraday reversal. Credit Markets HYG refusing to decline more, is the most bullish sign for today imaginable – let it hold, for junk bonds now hold the key, especially if quality debt instruments keep declining steeply. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver look to have reversed, but reaching such a conclusion would be premature. The long basing pattern goes on, and breakout higher would follow once the Fed‘s attempting to take the punch bowl away inflicts damage on the real economy (and markets), which is what the yield curve compression depicts. Crude Oil Crude oil is about to launch higher – and it‘s not a matter of solid oil stocks performance only. Just look at the volume – it didn‘t disappoint, and in the risk-on revival that I expect for today, black gold would benefit. Copper Copper swooned, but regained composure – the stop run is over, and we‘re back to base building for the coming upswing. Broader commodities certainly agree. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are very gently leaning bullish, but I‘m not sounding the all clear there yet thanks to how long Bitcoin is dillydallying. Cryptos aren‘t yet out of the woods, but their posture has improved thus far noticeably. Summary First trading day of 2022 extended prior S&P 500 gains, and the risk-on appetite is improving as we speak. Commodities are reaping the rewards, and we‘re looking at another good day ahead, including in precious metals taking a bite at yesterday‘s inordinately large downswing. Nothing of the big factors ahead for Q1 2022 as described in today‘s analysis (I wholeheartedly recommend reading it in full for the greatest benefits – there is only so much / little that I can fit into a one paragraph summary), and that means we‘re looking at further stock market gains as the bull runs (including in commodities and precious metals, yes precious metals), aren‘t over in the least. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bitcoin (BTC), Fed, US Jobs Data, OPEC and EURUSD. What they all have in common? They’re mentioned in Swissquote’s video!

Bitcoin (BTC), Fed, US Jobs Data, OPEC and EURUSD. What they all have in common? They’re mentioned in Swissquote’s video!

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 05.01.2022 14:25
Market mood turned sour in the US trading yesterday, and the latest data showed that 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November. 4.5 million is a lot of job departures, but there is nothing the Federal Reserve (Fed) could do about it, as the root cause of the problem is not the lack of job openings. Today’s ADP data is expected to reveal that the US economy added 400’000 private jobs in December. That would be less than a tenth of what has been lost in November. So the question is, does the jobs data even matter anymore? US equity indices retreated yesterday, and yesterday’s price action is mostly driven by higher interest rate expectations. In the forex, the US dollar remains strong, and that strength is pushing the EURUSD below the 1.13 mark. The sterling bulls, however, defend well their territory against a broadly stronger US dollar and a push above the 100-DMA, near the 1.3560 mark, should throw a basis to a medium term bullish reversal in Cable. In cryptocurrencies, appetite in Bitcoin remains contained near the 200-dma and the coin is testing the low end of the December horizontal channel base, which is near $45K level. One explanation for the lack of appetite is the rising US yields, which are applying a visible downside pressure on the pricing of cryptocurrencies. And gold is now trading above both its 50, 100 and 200-DMA, but the positive attempt to the $1830 level remained short-lived. It will be interesting to see how the rising US yields, which increases the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-bearing gold, will play out in the coming months for gold investors. Watch the full episode to find out more!
Considering Portfolios In Times Of, Among Others, Inflation...

Dollar Eases

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 05.01.2022 13:19
January 05, 2022  $USD, auto sales, Currency Movement, Omicron, PMI, technology Overview:  The tech sell-off in the US yesterday, ostensibly driven by higher rates, carried over into trading today.  South Korea, China, and Hong Kong led the regional sell-off.  News that China's zero Covid tolerance led to a lockdown of the city of Xian with a population of around 13 mln played on fears of more supply chain disruptions.  A second city, Yuzhou, considerably smaller, has also been lockdown.  Japan, India, and several smaller markets gain.  European bourses, where tech is less prominent have edged higher and the Stoxx 600 is extending its gain for the third consecutive session.  US futures are softer.  Asia and most European bonds yields have risen today, while the US 10-year is steady around 1.64%.  Of note, with Italian politics rising as an issue ahead of the presidential contest later this month, maybe helping lift the 10-year BTP to new six-month highs near 1.22%.  The US dollar is seeing its recent gains trimmed against the major currencies.  The Japanese yen is recovering a little after falling to five-year lows yesterday.  The Canadian dollar is the laggard today, amid a sell-off in its bonds.   The emerging market currency complex is mixed, and the JP Morgan EM FX index is recouping about half of yesterday's 0.35% loss.  Gold is firm but remains within Monday's range (~$1798.50-$1832). Among the industrial metals we monitor, iron ore bounced back after yesterday's minor loss and is at its best level since Xmas eve.  Copper is being turned back after yesterday's rally stalled near the $448 cap.  Crude oil is consolidating yesterday's gain and February WTI is near $77.00.  US LNG firm but within the $3.50-$4.00 range, while European (Dutch) is extending yesterday's dramatic gain (31.6%). Asia Pacific While China has moved quickly to impose lockdowns where cases of the virus appear, the tech sector is off to a poor start.  The Heng Seng Tech Index fell 4.6% today, the most since July, and the third consecutive drop.  Tencent is reducing its investments, and this took a toll on companies it backed.  Some link Tencent decision to Beijing's push against anti-competitive practices.  The NASDAQ Golden Dragon Index, which tracks Chinese lists companies fell 4.3% yesterday.  The tech sell-off was also clear in the US where the NASDAQ shed 1.3%.   Japan's "Mothers" gauge weighted toward small and medium-sized software and technology companies fell 5% to its lowest level since May 2020.  In the last hours of trading, after HK tightened social restrictions, the equity loss intensified.   Japan reported that December auto sales were 10.2% lower than a year ago.  Yesterday, the US reported disappointing December auto sales.  Auto sales were expected to have risen to their best level since August but instead fell to a 12.44 mln unit annual pace.  It was the lowest since September and reflects a 23.6% decline from December 2020.  Last year, US auto sales averaged 14.93 mln a month compared with 14.41 mln in 2020 and 16.91 mln in 2019.  Although supply is argued to be a bigger problem than demand, some producers, like GM, have reported a substantial rebuilding of inventories.   The dollar closed above JPY116.00 yesterday but has failed to sustain the upside momentum.  It peaked near JPY116.35 and is approaching support at the previous resistance around JPY115.50.  A break of JPY115.00, which seems unlikely ahead of the US jobs data on Friday, would lend credence to the idea that it was a false breakout.  The Australian dollar is firm near $0.7250 after recovering from the dip below $0.7200.  Still, it needs to resurface above $0.7275-$0.7280 to be notable.  We suspect the Aussie will pullback in North America and see initial support around $0.7220.  Outside of the dramatic year-end session, the Chinese yuan continues to trade quietly in a well-worn range.  The dollar continues to trade mostly between CNY6.3660 and CNY6.3830.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3779.  The (Bloomberg) survey found a median expectation for CNY6.3773.  Note that offshore yuan (CNH) swaps/forward points are at their lowest level since April 2020 amid reports that overseas branches of state-owned banks are continuing to lend out CNH.  Lastly, we note that the China Securities Journal plays up the possibility that the PBOC eases policy ahead of the Spring Festival holiday (January 31).   Europe The main economic news from the eurozone today is the final reading of the December service and composite PMI.  The takeaway is that it is a little softer than the preliminary estimate.  On the aggregate level, the service PMI eased to 53.1 from 53.3 flash estimate and 55.9 in November.  The composite eased from 55.4 in November to 53.4 preliminary estimate and 53.3 final.  It is the lowest since March and is the fourth decline in five months.  While the German services PMI was revised higher, it remains below 50 boom/bust (48.7) and this coupled with the weakness in manufacturing saw the composite revised to 49.9 from 50.0 initially and 52.2 in November.  It is the weakest composite reading since June 2020.   France's service PMI slipped to 57.0 from the 57.1 flash reading and 57.4 in November.  The composite was revised higher to 55.8 from 55.6.  It stood at 56.1 previously.  Italy and Spain disappointed with readings of both the service and composite below expectations.  The Italian composite stands at 54.7 down from 57.6.  Spain's composite is at 55.4 from 57.6 in November.   Intervention by the Swiss National Bank draws attention as the euro traded at six-year lows at the end of last year.  Sight deposits rose by CHF3.37 bln in December after CHF2.27 bln and CHF2.57 bln in November and October, respectively.  Overall, sight deposits rose by CHF18.85 bln in 2021 after surging CHF119.3 bln in 2020.  Denmark also anchors its monetary policy in the exchange rate peg to the euro.  Its central bank sold DKK47 bln (~$7.1 bln) in December to defend the peg.  It was the largest intervention in seven years.  Although inflation is running a little below 4%, there is some speculation that the Danish central bank may have to cut rates as its next defense of the peg.   The euro is trading inside yesterday's (~$1.1270-$1.1320) range.  It is difficult for bulls or bears to find much to like with it hovering around the middle of the two-cent range that has confined it for nearly two months.  The 480 mln euro option at $1.1290 that expires today has likely been neutralized, but there are options at $1.1275 for 1.3 bln euros that expires tomorrow that may be in play still.  Sterling is steady at the upper end of yesterday's range when it briefly poked above $1.3555.  It is the highest it has been since November 10.  An option for GBP375 mln at $1.3505 expires tomorrow.  Initial support is seen near $1.3520, and a break could test support in the $1.3480-$1.3500 area.   America ADP 's private sector jobs estimate is the early feature in the US today.  The median estimate (Bloomberg survey) is for an increase of 410k after 534k in November.  The final PMI will likely draw little attention.  The FOMC minutes from last month's meeting, at which officials announced the acceleration of tapering will be looked upon for insight into the Fed's balance sheet and any signal that it may allow maturing issues to roll-off soon.  Besides the rate hikes, for which the market has priced in three this year, the balance sheet is quickly emerging as the new focus.   Also, on tap today is the EIA inventory data.  The API reportedly showed a large rise in gasoline inventories but another drop (6.4 mln barrels) in crude stocks.   Canada's build permits are not typically a market mover.  Tomorrow it reports the November trade balance, and the highlight is Friday's jobs data.  It is difficult to envision a report as strong as November’s nearly 154k increase.  Proportionately, it would be as if the US nonfarm payrolls rose by around 1.7 mln.  Mexico reports December domestic auto sales.  In November, its auto sales were off about 13.5% year-over-year.  The highlight of the week is Friday's CPI figures.  The year-over-year pace is expected to have edged up from 7.37% in November.   The US dollar is trading inside yesterday's range against the Canadian dollar (~CAD1.2665-CAD1.2765), which was inside Monday's range (~CAD1.2630-CAD1.2780).  It is trading around CAD1.2720 near midday in London.  The intraday technical indicators seem to favor a retest of the greenback's highs.  The US dollar's performance against the Mexican peso is similar.  It is inside yesterday's range, which was inside Monday's range (~MXN20.41-MXN20.65).  The US dollar looks soft and could test the December 31 low near MXN20.33.   The 200-day moving average is near MXN20.27 and the greenback has not traded below it in a little more than two months.    Disclaimer
Gold and silver - The beginning of the year 2022 may not satisfy

Gold and silver - The beginning of the year 2022 may not satisfy

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 04.01.2022 16:10
  Gold, silver, and mining stocks started 2022 with a bang. However, this wasn’t the kind of fireworks investors were hoping for. While gold, silver, and mining stocks partied hard into year-end, the trio woke up to massive hangovers on Jan. 3. Although I’ve been warning for some time that mining stocks would stumble in 2021, the New Year is still filled with old problems. For example, the GDX ETF has been making lower lows and lower highs for months, and when its RSI (Relative Strength Index) approaches 70, the senior miners often run out of gas. For context, I highlighted the events with the blue vertical dashed lines below. Moreover, with the senior miners’ current price action following the ominous paths of 2000, 2008, and 2013, and their stochastic indicator still signaling overbought conditions, Monday’s weakness may be a sign of things to come. Please see below: Please also consider the implications of year-end tax-loss harvesting. With the general stock market rallying to start the New Year, losing positions that were sold to offset capital gains near the end of 2021 were likely repurchased on Jan. 3. However, gold, silver, and mining stocks didn’t benefit from the phenomenon. As a result, while the GDX ETF may have outperformed gold, the relative strength was immaterial within the overall picture. Turning to the HUI Index’s long-term chart, the same bearish forecast is present. For example, I marked the specific tops with red and black arrows. In the current situation, we saw yet another small move up, but that’s most likely because price moves are now less volatile. The areas marked with red ellipses remain similar and show back-and-forth movement before the big decline. As a result, we’ve entered a consolidation phase, and the implications are not bullish, but bearish. Making three of a kind, the GDXJ ETF’s corrective upswing has likely run its course. Interestingly, the junior miners’ current rally mirrors the small correction that materialized in mid-2021. Back then, the GDXJ ETF rallied on low volume and didn’t recapture its 50-day moving average. With the same tepid strength present today, the drawdown that followed in mid-2021 will likely commence once again. On top of that, the behavior of the GDXJ ETF’s RSI is also similar – with the indicator moving from roughly 30 to 50. For context, I highlighted the similarities with green and purple ellipses below. Also noteworthy, similar developments occurred in February/March 2020, before the profound plunge unfolded. As a result, the GDXJ ETF looks set for another sharp drawdown over the medium term and predicting higher prices might be misleading. Finally, while my short position in the GDXJ ETF proved quite prescient in 2021, the junior miners continue to underperform the senior miners. With the GDX/GDXJ ratio likely to confront new lows in the coming months, the GDXJ ETF should remain a material laggard in 2022. In conclusion, gold, silver, and mining stocks started off 2022 with a bang. However, it wasn’t the kind of fireworks that investors were hoping for. With each new celebration shorter in magnitude, it’s likely only a matter of time before their parties are canceled. As a result, the precious metals still confront the same bearish technical outlooks that plagued them in 2021. While mean reversion remains undefeated over the long term, the wait may prove longer than many expect. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is definitely worth watching as a rally may happen

Dogecoin (DOGE) is definitely worth watching as a rally may happen

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.01.2022 15:55
Dogecoin price is setting up a triple bottom setup on a 4-hour time frame, suggesting a reversal is likely. Investors can expect DOGE to rally 13% and retest the $0.191 resistance level. A breakdown of the $0.20 support floor will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis. Dogecoin price has been stuck trading below a vital resistance level and hovering around a crucial support floor. While a breakdown of this foothold could result in a massive downswing, DOGE has not done it yet. As of this writing, the meme coin eyes a minor upswing. Dogecoin price looks to contest significant hurdles Dogecoin price has set up a triple bottom pattern after tagging the $0.168 support level thrice over the past week. This price action could result in a short-term increase in buying pressure, leading to a 13% ascent to $0.191. Due to consolidative price action between December 24 and December 27, 2021, there is now pent-up buy-stop liquidity resting above $0.191, and market makers are likely to push DOGE higher in the short term. Traders can open a long position from the current level at $0.169 and take profits at $0.191. Interestingly, the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) coincides with $0.191 lending credence to the target for Dogecoin Price. DOGE/USDT 4-hour chart On the other hand, if the Dogecoin price fails to bounce off the $0.169 support floor due to increased selling pressure, DOGE will likely revisit the $0.159 demand barrier. A breakdown of this foothold will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis. In this case, Dogecoin price could crash 5% to tag the subsequent support level at $0.151.
Tesla (TSLA) amazes (as always), this time - with a fantastic session

Tesla (TSLA) amazes (as always), this time - with a fantastic session

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.01.2022 15:55
TSLA shares spiked 13.5% on January 3. Tesla announced 308,000 deliveries in the fourth quarter. Tesla stock almost closed a gap from early November, closing just shy of $1,200. Tesla's (TSLA) first trading session of the year was spectacular. A 13.5% gap up on the heels of a massive vehicle delivery beat seemed to even surpise the bulls. The close at $1,199.78 nearly filled the gap created by the gap down on November 8, and now TSLA shares are set to attempt the all-time high during the first week of 2022. Tesla Stock News: massive delivery beat Sunday's announcement that Tesla had delivered approximately 308,000 vehicles during the fourth quarter (a figure that may be revised higher once official Q4 earnings arrive during the final week of January) was well ahead of even Tesla's most bullish analyst and caused the massive upswing. The amateur analyst who uses the Twitter handle @TroyTeslike had forecast 289,000 deliveries, while Wall Street consensus had bet on 266,000. This positive news has all but left the market forgetting that Tesla is still dealing with a massive recall that came in right before the new year. Chinese regulators ordered Tesla to recall 19,697 Model S vehicles, 35,836 imported Model 3s and 144,208 Chinese-made Model 3 vehicles. This is part of a wide-scale recall with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that found the rearview camera can be damaged when the trunk is shut. Tesla is expected to recall a total of 475,000 Model 3 and Model S cars as a result. The recall amount is nearly equivalent to last year's delivery numbers. There is a bit of a kerfuffle continuing on Tuesday after it was reported on Monday that Tesla is opening a showroom in China's Xinjiang region, where the controversial detentions and reeducation of the Uighur minority carried out by the federal government has made it a focus of foreign human rights criticism. TSLA key statistics Market Cap $1.2 trillion Price/Earnings 330 Price/Sales 25 Price/Book 38 Enterprise Value $1.02 trillion Operating Margin 10% Profit Margin 7% 52-week high $1,243.49 52-week low $539.49 Short Interest 3% Average Wall Street Rating and Price Target Hold, $851.98   Tesla Stock Forecast: $1,243 is the focus TSLA shares are nearing the all-time high from November 4 of $1,243.49. With the premarket showing a small price rise to $1,205, the likelihood of achieving a new all-time high this week is high. The stock would only need to gain 3.7% to get there. To close the gap between November 5 and 8, TSLA stock needs to hit $1,208, which it likely will on Tuesday. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 66, nowhere near overbought, especially for Tesla. Tesla price has a tendency to hinge on big psychological prices like $1,300. That is where Tesla is headed next. Mark my words. Support is at $1,117, $1,072 and $893. TSLA 1-day chart
Will 2022~23 Require A Different Strategy For TradersInvestors?

Will 2022~23 Require A Different Strategy For TradersInvestors?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 05.01.2022 16:33
Is The Lazy-Bull Strategy Worth Considering? - Part IMany traders struggled in 2021 with the extended price volatility and sideways price trends. Recently, news that Bridgewater's 2021 results were saved by December's +7.8% gain (Source: Yahoo! Finance) leads me to believe a number of independent funds and investors are going to have a tough end-of-year return for 2021.Average Hedge Fund Returns Less Than 25% Of The 2021 S&P500 GainsThe volatility in the US and global markets throughout most of 2021 took a toll on traditional trading strategies. With the VIX trading above 12 on average throughout almost all of 2021, traditional trading strategies may not have been able to adjust to this increased volatility in the US markets – getting chewed up along the way. I wrote an article series about how computerized trading strategies can fail when volatility levels increase beyond traditional boundaries a few weeks ago. You can read the first of the three part series, US Federal Reserve Actions 1999 to Present - What's Next?, and then link to the other two.(source: Aurum.com)Many of the best Hedge Funds could barely squeeze out a profit in 2021. While the S&P500 rallied more than 27% in 2021, you can see from the graphic above that the average returns for Hedge Funds in 2021 were a paltry +6.24%.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! I expect that the US and global markets will continue to stay in extended price volatility ranges throughout all of 2022 and into 2023 as broad global market transitioning continues to take place. This expectation leads me to conclude that the “Lazy-Bull” strategy may be better suited for traders/investors over the next 24+ months than more active trading strategies.What Is The “Lazy-Bull” Strategy?The Lazy-Bull strategy is a term I use for my proprietary strategies – The Technical Investor and the Technical Index & Bond Trader. I call it the Lazy-Bull strategy because it is straightforward and only generates about 3 to 10 trades per year (on average). Many traders dislike this type of strategy because it it does not require many trades and does not provide the rush/roller coaster ride that many think they should feel while trading, which is not how it should be. Having said that, overall, this strategy has consistently produced positive annual results (CGAR average ROI 15% - 51% depending on ETF leverage, and only 7 - 21% drawdown) – beating the SPY almost every year. If you traded with the 1x, 2x, or 3x ETFs then you would have crushed the S&P 500 every year, and experienced that positive rush feeling that leverage/volatility provides.My trading style is a bit different than most other traders. My objectives consist of three very important concepts:Protect Capital At All TimesTrade Only When Strategically Opportunistic (probabilities are favorable)Trade Efficiently Using Bonds As Trade When Fear Rises among traders and investors.Through the Technical Investor and Technical Index and Bond Trading strategies, I help individuals and advisors learn how trading more efficiently using the Lazy-Bull strategies is for generating large compounded returns as shown in the SP500 chart below.I'll go further into detail regarding my strategies as we continue this multi-part article.Reading Into Q1:2022 – What To Expect?Right now, the world is waiting on Q4:2021 earnings and economic data. The first Quarter of 2022 should be very exciting for US traders as the year-end momentum of 2021 may carry forward into Q1:2022 with solid revenues and earnings. After that, we move into Q2:2022, which may be much more volatile overall.Let's look at our proprietary data mining utility to see what we might expect from the markets in the first Quarter of 2022.January 2022 has more than a 1.41:1 probability ratio of staying positive based on the past 29 years of historical data. Ideally, the average positive and negative monthly ranges are about equal – nearly $5.00. The accumulated monthly data shows that January is usually overall positive by at least $2.50 to $5.00.February 2022 has a much higher chance of extreme volatility. February 2022 shows a much greater positive to negative ratio while the possibility of a bullish February drops to a 1.33:1 probability ratio. Overall, I would suspect larger price volatility in mid to late February 2022 as the markets attempt to transition into late Q1 expectations.March 2022 has the same 1.41:1 probability ratio as January, yet the overall likelihood of extended downside price trends is about 20% greater than January.My analysis of this data suggests January and March of 2022 may surprise traders with a potential for a significant upward price move headed into Q2:2022. I believe Q4:2021 will also surprise traders as US consumers continue to engage and spend. This will lead to higher expectations for Q1:2022, which may set up a bit of a rally ahead of April/May 2022.Q1 and Q2, historically, seem to be strong in terms of traditional market growth and expectations. Yes, there have been instances when unexpected volatility disrupts the more customary types of trends – and 2022 may be one of those years. Our research shows the US Fed may make early efforts to move away from extreme easy money policies – which may shock the markets.Our research suggests the possibility of a 7% to 10% rally in the SPY in the First Quarter of 2022. If our extended research is accurate, our predictive modeling suggests more extreme price volatility may also play a significant role in how price trends/moves in 2022. Is The Lazy-Bull Strategy Worth Considering?In Part II of this article, we'll review the entire year of 2022 Quarterly Data Mining results and present more evidence that 2022 and 2023 may be years where a shift in strategy plays an important role for traders/investors. With the VIX trading above 15 more consistently, many strategies will get chewed up and spit out as the markets roll 9% - 15% up and down while attempting to transition away from the post-COVID stimulus.Get ready; 2022 will be an excellent year for traders with significant trends and bigger volatility. We just have to stay ahead of these trends to protect our capital and allow it to grow more efficiently. The risks of more traditionally moderate volatility systems getting chewed up in this extreme environment will continue. So be prepared to move towards a more protective trading style to survive the next 12 to 24 months.Want To Learn More About The Technical Investor and The Technical Index & Bond Trading Strategies?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to take a few minutes to visit the Technical Traders website to learn about our Technical Investor and Technical Index and Bond Trading strategies and how they can help you protect and grow your wealth. Have a great day!
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Crude Oil are ones you're likely to watch

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Crude Oil are ones you're likely to watch

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.01.2022 15:55
Another daily rise in yields forced S&P 500 down through tech weakness – the excessive selloff in growth didn‘t lead buyers to step in strongly. More base building in tech looks likely, but its top isn‘t in, and similarly to the late session HYG rebound, spells a day of stabization and rebalancing just ahead. I‘m not looking for an overly sharp move, even if the very good non-farm employment change of 807K vs. 405K expected could have facilitated one. Friday though is the day of the key figure release – till then a continued bullish positioning where every S&P 500 dip is being bought, would be most welcome. The same goes for high yield corporate bonds not standing in the way, and for credit markets to reverse yesterday‘s risk-off slant. Likewise the compressed yield curve could provide more relief by building on last few days‘ upswings in the 10- to 2-year Treasury ratio. VIX has been repelled above 17 again, and keeps looking ready to meander near its recent values‘ lower end. That‘s all constructive for stock market bulls, and coupled with the fresh surge in commodities (and precious metals), bodes well for the S&P 500 not to crater soon again. Another positive sign comes from the dollar, which wasn‘t really able to keep intraday gains in spite of the rising Treasury yields. Cryptos though remain cautious (unlike precious metals which moved nicely off Monday‘s oversold levels – on a daily basis oversold), so we‘re in for a muddle through with a generally and gently bullish bias this week… until non-farrm payrolls surprise on Friday (and markets would probably interpret it as a reason to rise). Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 keeps respectably treading water, waiting for Nasdaq to kick in – odds are we won‘t have to wait for a modest upswing in both for too long. Credit Markets HYG is the key next – holding above yesterday‘s lows would give stocks enough breathing room, and so would however modest quality debt instruments upswing. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are leading miners, but the respectable daily volume makes up for this non-confirmation. The table is set for the floor below gold and silver to hold, while a very convincing miners move has to still wait. Crude Oil Everything is ready for the crude oil upswing – even if oil stocks pause next, which can be expected if tech stages a good rally. Until then, it‘s bullish for both $WTIC and $XOI. Copper Copper is keeping the upswing alive, and any pullbacks don‘t have good odds of taking the red metal below 4.39 lastingly. Still, copper remains range bound for now, and the pressure to go higher, is building up. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum lost the bullish slant, but didn‘t turn bearish yet – this hesitation is disconcerting, but it would be premature to jump the gun. It‘s still more likely that cryptos would defy the shrinking global liquidity, and try to stage a modest rally. Summary S&P 500 internals reveal tech getting hurt yesterday, and at the same time getting ready for a brief upswing of the dead cat bounce flavor. And if HYG kicks back in, odds increase dramatically that the tech (and by extension S&P 500) upswing won‘t be a dead cat bounce (please note that I‘m not implying vulnerability to a large downswing) – that‘s my leading scenario, which should materialize by Friday‘s market open. Yes, I‘m looking for non-farm payrolls to be well received once the dust settles. Till then, commodities are paving the way for further stock market gains, with precious metals turning out not too shabby either. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Will 2022~23 Require Different Strategies For TradersInvestors Part II

Will 2022~23 Require Different Strategies For TradersInvestors Part II

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 06.01.2022 00:19
Is The Lazy-Bull Strategy Worth Considering? Part III started this article by highlighting how difficult some 2021 strategies seemed for many Hedge Funds and Professional Traders. It appears the extreme market volatility throughout 2021 took a toll on many systems and strategies. I wouldn't be surprised to see various sector ETFs and Sector Mutual Funds up 15% to 20% or more for 2021 while various Hedge Funds struggle with annual returns between 7% and -5% for 2021.After many years in this industry and having built many of my own strategies over the past decade, I've learned one very important facet of trading strategy development – expect the unexpected. A friend always told me to "focus on failure" when we developed strategies together. His approach to strategy design was "you develop it do too well in certain types of market trends and volatility. By focusing on where it fails, you'll learn more about the potential draw-downs and risks of a strategy than ignoring these points of failure". I tend to agree with him.In the first part of this research article, the other concept I started discussing was how traders/investors might consider moving away from strategies that struggled in 2022. What if the markets continue trending with extreme volatility throughout 2022 and into 2023? Suppose your system or strategy has taken some losses in 2022, and you have not stopped to consider volatility or other system boundaries as a potential issue. In that case, you may be looking forward to a very difficult 12 to 14+ months of trading in 2022 and 2023.Volatility Explodes After 2017Current market volatility/ATR levels are 300% to 500% above those of 2014/2015. These are the highest volatility levels the US markets have ever experienced in the past 20+ years. The current ATR level is above 23.20 – more than 35% higher than the DOT COM Peak volatility of 17.15.As long as the Volatility/ATR levels stay near these elevated levels, traders and investors will likely find the markets very difficult to trade with strategies that cannot properly adapt to the increased risks and price rotations in trends. Simply put, these huge increases in price volatility may chew up profits by getting stopped out on pullbacks or by risking too much in terms of price range/volatility.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!The increased volatility over the past 5+ years directly reflects global monetary policies and the COVID-19 global response to the crisis. Not only have we attempted to keep easy money policies for far too long in the US and foreign markets, but we've also been pushed into a hyperbolic price trend that started after 2017/18, which has increased global debt consumption/levels to the extreme.2022 and 2023 will likely reflect a very strong revaluation trend which I continue to call a longer-term "transition" within the global markets. This transition will probably take many forms over the next 24+ months – but mostly, it will be about deleveraging debt levels and the destruction of excess risk in the markets. In my opinion, that means the strongest global economies may see some strength over the next 24+ months – but may also see extreme price volatility and extreme price rotation as this transition takes place.Expect The Unexpected in 2022 & 2023The US major indexes had an incredible 2021 – rallying across all fears and COVID variants. The NASDAQ and S&P500 saw the biggest gains in 2021 – which may continue into early 2022. Yet I feel the US markets will continue to transition as the global markets continue to navigate the process of unwinding excess debt levels and potentially deleveraging at a more severe rate than many people expect.Because of this, I feel the US markets may continue to strengthen as global traders pile into the US Dollar based assets in early 2022. Until global pressures of deleveraging and transitioning away from excesses put enough pressure on the US stock market, the perceived safety of US assets and the US Dollar will continue as it is now.(Source: www.StockCharts.com)Watch For Sector Strength In Early 2022 As Price-Pressure & Supply-Side Issues Create A Unique Opportunity For Extended Revenues/ProfitsI believe the US markets will see a continued rally phase in early 2022 as Q4:2021 revenues, earnings, and economic data pour in. I can't see how any global economic concerns will disrupt the US markets if Q4:2021 data stays stronger than expected for US stocks and the US economy.That being said, I do believe certain sectors will be high-fliers in Q1:2022 and Q2:2022 – at least until the supply-side issues across the globe settle down and return to more normal delivery expectations. This means sectors like Automakers, Healthcare, Real Estate, Consumer Staples & Discretionary, Technology, Chip manufacturers, and some Retail segments (Construction, Raw Materials, certain consumer products sellers, and specialty sellers) will drive a new bullish trend in 2022.The US major indexes may continue to move higher in 2022. They may also be hampered by sectors struggling to find support or over-weighted in symbols that were over-hyped through the end of 2020 and in early 2021.I have been concerned about this type of transition throughout most of 2021 (particularly after the MEME/Reddit rally phase in early 2021). That type of extreme trending usually leads to an unwinding process. I still don't believe the US and global markets have completed the unwinding process after the post-COVID extreme rally phase.(Source: www.StockCharts.com)Will The Lazy-Bull Strategy Continue To Outperform In 2022 & 2023?This is a tricky question to answer simply because I can't predict the future any better than you can. But I do believe moving towards a higher-level analysis of global market trends when the proposed "transitioning" is starting to take place allows traders to move away from "chasing price spikes." It also allows them to position for momentum strength in various broader market sectors and indexes.I suspect we'll start to see annual reports from some of the biggest institutional trading firms on the planet that show feeble performance in 2021. This recent article caught my attention related to Quant Funds in China.I believe we will see 2022 and 2023 stay equally distressing for certain styles of trading strategies while price volatility and an extreme deleveraging/transitioning trend occur. Trying to navigate this type of choppy global market trending on a short-term basis can be very dangerous. I believe it is better to move above all this global market chop and trade the bigger momentum trends in various sectors and indexes.Part III of this research article will focus on Q1 through Q4 expectations for 2022 and 2023. I will highlight broader sector/index trends that may play out well for investors and traders who can move above the low-level choppiness in the US and global markets.WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TECHNICAL INVESTOR AND THE TECHNICAL INDEX & BOND TRADING STRATEGIES?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may begin a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to take a few minutes to visit the Technical Traders website to learn about our Technical Investor and Technical Index and Bond Trading strategies and how they can help you protect and grow your wealth.Have a great day!
Game of Chicken

Game of Chicken

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 06.01.2022 16:18
FOMC minutes didn‘t reveal fresh hawkish tunes, but markets were caught off guard – unlike 3 weeks ago during the statement and press conference. It‘s as if S&P 500 and pretty much everything else woke up to the hawkish reality only now. In spite of the new liquidity powered Santa Claus rally, the sudden realization that the March Fed meeting might very well bring in a first rate hike, forced a sharp downturn across the board.The dollar wasn‘t too affected by the daily rise in yields that hit junk bonds particularly hard. The yield curve keeps being compressed, and is getting closer to the point of inversion. The likely good employment data on Friday would provide the Fed with a convenient cover to embark on and keep pursuing the tightening route. Not that it would have the power to break inflation (even at the professed very accelerated tapering pace – let alone the relatively measly hikes when CPI, PPI or PCE deflator are considered) – this game of chicken with the markets risks a tantrum that could bring up the „fond memories“ of Dec 2018.Yes, the risks of crashing the airplane would grow up over the coming weeks and months – the Fed is walking a very tight rope indeed. Markets are spooked, and the coming days would show whether this is already the start of something worse, or whether we can still shake it off and continue upwards till the Olympics. I‘m still leaning towards the latter.Anyway, good to have closed the profitable S&P 500 and crude oil positions in time.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookTech understandably declined more than value – thanks to yields. S&P 500 bottom might not yet be in really. Bonds and tech need to stabilize first.Credit MarketsHYG is still holding the key, and would provide an early turnaround sign. The plunge in LQD isn‘t looking short-term encouraging in the least – the dust hasn‘t yet settled.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver still haven‘t left the sideways consolidation pattern – the white metal would be more affected through the inflation taming fears. That‘s though a premature calculation as inflation might turn out less amenable to be put down fast.Crude OilUnlike practically everything else, crude oil recovered strongly from the FOMC-induced setback – and certainly looks like the strongest of the pack at the moment.CopperCopper gave up advantageous position, and isn‘t really following (energy-led) commodities up yet. The long sideways consolidation is testing the bulls‘ resolve even as the pressure to go higher is building up. The same for silver, by the way.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum clearly lost the remainder of the bullish posture – it‘s turning out they aren‘t ready to defy the shrinking global liquidity.SummaryS&P 500 bulls look to get under some more pressure before the repeated hawkish message gets absorbed. The bond markets coupled with the dollar would reveal just how serious the bulls are about buying this dip and now. My bet is that they would remain shaken, and looking hesitantly for a floor. If there is one overarching message from yesterday, it‘s that the hawkish Fed appreciation has been woefully misapprehanded, and if followed through on in its entirety, would lead to a dangerous game of chicken with the markets (we aren‘t there quite yet).Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Why Successful Traders Make More By Trading Less

Why Successful Traders Make More By Trading Less

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 06.01.2022 18:20
During my 25 years of trading and mentoring others, I have been dragged through the coals a few times. And by that, I mean I have; blown up a few trading accounts; had some massive gains only to watch them turn into worthless penny stocks, and; I even had one trade based around the volatility index blow up and become worthless the day after I bought it. I've had many other painful and costly trading experiences between those as well, and I know there will be more in the future. This leads me to the first topic I would like to talk about – learning through experience.#1 - Learned Through Expensive ExperiencesI help a lot of traders each year from all walks of life. They range from 18 to 85+ years of age. Some are total newbies, financial advisors, money managers, all the way up to billionaires. What is apparent is that the most successful traders (those who make money year after year) have the same things in common with how they trade. They all: walk a straight and somewhat unemotional line outside of learning from losses and trading mistakes.  focus on managing their capital because they understand just how quick and easy it is to lose money, which is why they focus and follow strict rules. follow very specific trading strategies/rules and do not trade on emotions. protect their capital ALWAYS with stops and position management only trade specific trade setups that put the probabilities in their favor focus heavily on index and bond positions say their trading feels slow/boring most of the time trade multiple strategies#2 - Ignore High Flying, News, Manipulated, and Hype Based MovesIt's hard not to participate in some of these wild rallies and stock crashes we have seen over the last couple of years. It's a natural tendency to want to take part in what everyone else is doing, and the lure of instant oversized gains is powerful. But, unfortunately, most individuals who get involved in these trades lose money for a good reason. They are trading based on greed/emotions with no real measured trading plan.Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying, "don't trade these stocks." In fact, many of these are incredible opportunities for experienced traders. These types of stocks generally become ideal for day traders and even momentum and aggressive swing traders. They can provide some quick extra cash. But that's what these types of trades are - small, fast, higher risk trades that only a seasoned trader should trade.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!For some reason, traders come into this business thinking it's a game and believes these are the types of trades that should always be traded. They take oversized positions only to experience significant damaging losses to their account.I conducted a survey a little while back, and the survey results blew my mind. Most people want to trade the volatile media-driven hype stocks and commodities. People fall in love with specific assets and want to trade only those, even if there are better assets and more efficient ways to pull money out of the market.The results below frustrate the heck out of me because, to me, it makes no logical sense if you are in the market to make money.Trader Survey Results Confirm Why it is Hard To Make MoneyThe above results make sense as studies have proven that humans react seven times more based on emotions versus logic. This is why the stock market has such wild price swings with Euphoric blowoff tops and Panic washout lows.People are highly addicted to riding their emotions (adrenaline/dopamine), and they love the rush of fast-moving stocks and gambling, which is why the markets are regulated, along with casinos, for that matter. Simply put, people lose control of common sense and logic when they are on tilt with emotion.Fast-moving assets with extreme volatility act as a bug-zapper light, which attracts bugs, only to kill anything that gets too close. In this case, new traders think they can make quick and easy money from hot stock in the news.Trading is a numbers game, and it requires logic, rules,and a proven strategy to win long-term.Based on the survey we did with thousands of traders, you can see that making the same amount of money with fewer trades and lower risk is not that exciting. Instead, traders prefer high volatility assets like metals, and natural gas, which are manipulated and have large wild price swings.Also, from a trading statics point of view, those two are among the most difficult to trade.As a pilot, I know the importance of keeping calm, having checklists/rules, and systems in place. Without them, you will eventually crash and burn; it is just a matter of time. The same holds true for trading and investing in that you need to trade what makes the most money, trade only the best setups, and have the lowest risk.Hottest Symbols vs Biggest TrendsBottom line, I don't care about trading every day or trying to catch the hottest symbols everyone is talking about. Instead, I care about catching and riding the biggest trends in the US stock index and the Treasury Bond ETFs. These are highly liquid sentiment trends that produce oversized gains each year. This is also the reason ETFs have taken over the mutual fund market and why financial advisors and hedge funds primarily trade/own stock index funds and bonds.Through the Technical Index and Bond ETF Trading strategy, I help individuals and advisors trade more efficiently. This strategy trades SPY, SSO, SPXL, QQQ, QLD, TQQQ and TLT, TBT, TMF, which generate large, compounded returns as shown in the chart below:This proprietary ETF trading strategy is straightforward and only generates about 3 to 10 trades per year. Most traders dislike this type of strategy because it lacks lots of action and volatility. If you noticed, you won't find many professional advisors telling you to jump into the fast-moving hype stocks, and for a good reason - they know better and want to protect your hard-earned capital. #3 - The Power Of Slow & Steady Gains Are Mind-Bending!As I learned a long time ago (and this holds true for almost everything across the board), learning something new, like mastering how to trade slower, consistent strategies, can take some getting used to. Everything new will always be a challenge, but once you master something, it becomes simple, low stress, and you will experience more consistent results.Take a look at this data from an Atalanta Sosnoff report. This should get my point across about how powerful slow, boring, consistent returns pack a powerful punch and why thousands of traders from 82 countries follow my index and bond trading signals.Source: Eagle Asset Management.The Technical Index & Bond ETF trading strategy has consistently produced positive annual results (CGAR average ROI 15% - 51% depending on ETF leverage, only 7 - 21% max drawdown). If you traded with the 2x or 3x ETFs, you would have crushed the S&P 500 every year and experienced that rush feeling that leverage/volatility provides but within a safer/smarter way.Passive trading styles like this are a bit different from those you may have traded in the past. My objectives consist of four very important concepts:Protect Capital At All Times.Trade Only When Strategically Opportunistic (probabilities are favorable).Trade Efficiently Using Bonds As Trade When Fear Rises among traders and investors.Move to cash or money market fund when the index and bonds are both out of favor.Concluding Thoughts:In short, I hope this has helped confirm your thinking of trading less and focusing on more solid trade setups. Or maybe it has opened your eyes to the world of slow and steady gains wins the race, with much less stress and effort.If you are interested in learning more about TIBT – Technical Index & Bond Trader, I invite you to visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com/twa 
Santa comes on a roller coaster this year! | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Taking XAU/USD and NFP into consideration...

FXStreet News FXStreet News 05.01.2022 15:57
Nonfarm Payrolls in US is forecast to increase by 400,000 in December. Gold is likely to react more significantly to a disappointing jobs report than an upbeat one. Gold's movement has no apparent connection with NFP deviation four hours after the release. Historically, how impactful has the US jobs report been on gold’s valuation? In this article we present results from a study in which we analyzed the XAU/USD’s pair reaction to the previous 18 NFP prints*. We present our findings as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gets ready to release the December jobs report on Friday, January 7. Expectations are for a 400,000 rise in Nonfarm Payrolls following the 210,000 increase in November. *We omitted the NFP data for March 2021, which was published on the first Friday of April, due to lack of volatility amid Easter Friday. Methodology We plotted gold price’s reaction to the NFP release at 15 minutes, one hour and four hours intervals after the release. Then we compared the gold price reaction to the deviation between the actual NFP release result and the expected result. We used the FXStreet Economic Calendar for data on deviation as it assigns a deviation point to each macroeconomic data release to show how big the divergence was between the actual print and the market consensus. For instance, the August NFP data missed the market expectation of 750,000 by a wide margin and the deviation was -1.49. On the other hand, February’s NFP print of 536,000 against the market expectation of 182,000 was a positive surprise with the deviation posting 1.76 for that particular release. A better-than-expected NFP print is seen as a USD-positive development and vice versa. Finally, we calculated the correlation coefficient (r) to figure out at which time frame gold had the strongest correlation with an NFP surprise. When r approaches -1, it suggests there is a significant negative correlation, while a significant positive correlation is identified when r moves toward 1. Since gold is defined as XAU/USD, an upbeat NFP reading should cause it to edge lower and point to a negative correlation. Results There were ten negative and seven positive NFP surprises in the previous 17 releases, excluding data for March 2021. On average, the deviation was -0.93 on disappointing prints and 0.47 on strong figures. 15 minutes after the release, gold moved up by $3.87 on average if the NFP reading fell short of market consensus. On the flip side, gold gained $0.03 on average on positive surprises. This finding suggests that investors’ immediate reaction is likely to be more significant to a disappointing print. However, the correlation coefficients we calculated for the different time frames mentioned above don’t even come close to being significant. The strongest negative correlation is seen 15 minutes after the releases with the r standing at -0.4. One hour after the release, the correlation weakens with the r rising to -0.23 and there is virtually no correlation to speak of four hours after the release with the r approaching 0. Several factors could be coming into play to weaken gold’s correlation with NFP surprises. Several hours after the NFP release on Friday, investors could look to book their profits toward the London fix, causing gold to reverse its direction after the initial reaction. Additionally, US Treasury bond yields’ movements have been impacting gold’s action lately and a decline in the benchmark 10-year T-bond yield on an upbeat jobs report could make it difficult for the USD to gather strength against its rivals, limiting XAU/USD’s downside.    
Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD spikes and retreats, drops to fresh multi-week low post-NFP

Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD spikes and retreats, drops to fresh multi-week low post-NFP

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.01.2022 15:56
Gold languished near a two-week low amid a goodish rebound in the equity markets.Subdued USD price action extended some support to the dollar-denominated metal.Investors also seemed reluctant to place aggressive bets ahead of the US NFP report.Update: Gold faded an early North American bullish spike and dropped to a fresh three-week low, around the $1.785 region in reaction to mixed US jobs report. The headline NFP showed that the economy added 199K new jobs in December, missing estimates for a reading of 400K. The disappointment, however, was offset by an upward revision of the previous month’s reading to 249K from 210K. Adding to this, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, beating expectations for a modest downtick to 4.1% from 4.2% previous, reaffirming expectations for an eventual Fed lift-off in March.This was evident from elevated US Treasury bond yields, which, in turn, continued acting as a headwind for the non-yielding yellow metal. That said, modest US dollar weakness continued lending some support to the dollar-denominated gold. This, along with the cautious mood around the equity markets, helped limit the downside for the safe-haven XAU/USD. Nevertheless, spot prices remain on track to post the biggest weekly decline since late November.Previous update: Gold remained depressed for the third successive day on Friday and was last seen hovering near a two-week low, just below the $1,790 level during the early European session. A slight improvement in global risk sentiment – as depicted by a generally positive tone around the equity markets – acted as a headwind for the safe-haven XAU/USD. Apart from this, the Fed's hawkish outlook was seen as another factor that undermined the non-yielding yellow metal. It is worth recalling that the minutes of the December FOMC meeting released on Wednesday showed that some policymakers want to tighten monetary policy faster to combat stubbornly high inflation.The markets were quick to react and are now anticipating a roughly 80% chance for an eventual lift-off in March, which was further reinforced by the overnight comments by Fed officials. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that the Fed could raise rates as soon as March and is now in a good position to take more aggressive steps to control inflation. Separately, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly too supported the prospects for an early rate hike. This comes on the back of a shift from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, expecting two rate hikes this year as against his long-held view that the Fed should hold off on rate hikes until 2024.This, in turn, pushed the US 2-year notes, which are sensitive to rate hike expectations along with 5-year notes, to a near two-year high. Moreover, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US government bond shot to levels not seen since March 2021. Investors, however, preferred to wait and see if the US jobs data (NFP), due later during the early North American session, would reinforce the need for higher interest rates. This, in turn, kept US dollar bulls on the defensive and extended some support to the dollar-denominated gold. Nevertheless, the commodity, at current levels, remains on track to post the biggest weekly decline since late November.Technical outlookFrom a technical perspective, this week’s rejection near the $1,830-32 supply zone and the subsequent downfall might have already shifted the bias in favour of bearish traders. Some follow-through selling below the $1,785 horizontal support will reaffirm the negative outlook and set the stage for a further near-term depreciating move. Gold might then accelerate the downward trajectory towards the $1,770-69 intermediate support en-route to the December 2021 swing low, around the $1,753 region.On the flip side, the $1,800 mark, coinciding with a technically significant 200-day SMA, now seems to act as immediate strong resistance. Sustained strength beyond might trigger a short-covering move and push gold prices towards the $1,815 hurdle. Some follow-through buying should allow bulls to aim back to challenge a strong barrier near the $1,830-32 region.Gold daily chartTechnical levels to watchXAU/USDOVERVIEWToday last price1787.89Today Daily Change-0.29Today Daily Change %-0.02Today daily open1788.18 TRENDSDaily SMA201799.96Daily SMA501804.8Daily SMA1001792.88Daily SMA2001800.52 LEVELSPrevious Daily High1811.62Previous Daily Low1786.47Previous Weekly High1830.39Previous Weekly Low1789.51Previous Monthly High1830.39Previous Monthly Low1753.01Daily Fibonacci 38.2%1796.08Daily Fibonacci 61.8%1802.01Daily Pivot Point S11779.23Daily Pivot Point S21770.27Daily Pivot Point S31754.08Daily Pivot Point R11804.38Daily Pivot Point R21820.57Daily Pivot Point R31829.53
Shiba Inu price could surge 30% if SHIB can overcome this hurdle [Video]

Shiba Inu price could surge 30% if SHIB can overcome this hurdle [Video]

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.01.2022 15:56
Shiba Inu price bounces off the daily demand zone, extending from $0.0000269 to $0.0000293.Increased buying pressure could propel SHIB by 31% to sweep the range high at $0.0000399.A four-hour candlestick close below $0.0000269 will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis.Shiba Inu price is at an interesting point in its journey since it has produced two areas of liquidity in the opposite direction. Adding to this exciting development is one hurdle that blocks the path for SHIB and might hinder the bullish outlook.Shiba Inu price prepares for a rallyShiba Inu price set up two swing lows at $0.0000283 on December 20, 2021, and January 5, creating the double bottom setup. Interestingly, this setup took place inside the daily demand zone, extending from $0.0000269 to $0.0000293.While SHIB has recovered above this area, it needs to rally 12% before it faces the trading range’s midpoint at $0.0000341. Clearing this barrier will lead the meme coin to face $0.0000349, which harbors the buy-stop liquidity resting above it. Shiba Inu price needs to clear $0.0000349 before it can reach the range high at $0.0000399, completing its 31% ascent.SHIB/USDT 4-hour chartDepicting the importance of the hurdle at $0.0000349 is IntoTheBlock’s Global In/Out of the Money (GIOM) model. This on-chain metric shows that roughly 110,570 addresses that purchased 82,785 billion SHIB tokens at an average price of $0.0000350 are underwater.Therefore, Shiba Inu price needs to flip this barrier to reduce the selling pressure from holders trying to break even.Beyond this area, the resistance barriers thin out until $0.0000680, supporting the bullish outlook detailed above.SHIB GIOMFurther indicating the oversold nature of Shiba Inu price is the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) model. This on-chain metric is used to determine the average profit/loss of investors that purchased SHIB over the past month.Currently, 30-day MVRV is hovering at -11.53%, an opportunity zone, suggesting that SHIB holders are at a loss and are less likely to sell their tokens. Moreover, long-term holders tend to accumulate in this area, which could serve as a significant source of buying pressure and could be the reason to kick-start an uptrend.SHIB MVRVWhile things are looking up for Shiba Inu price, a four-hour candlestick close below the daily demand zone’s lower limit at $0.0000269 will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. This development could trigger a crash, knocking Shiba Inu price to retest the $0.0000237 support level.
Honeymoon Is Over?

Honeymoon Is Over?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.01.2022 16:03
S&P 500 didn‘t shake off the post-FOMC minutes selloff in the least – and credit markets don‘t offer much short-term clarity either. Probably the brightest sign comes from the intraday reversal in financials higher – but tech still isn‘t catching breadth, which is key to the 500-strong index recovery. Bonds remained in the count down mode, as in not yet having regained composure and risk-on posture.The bottom might not be in, taking more time to play out – if we see a really strong non-farm payrolls figure, the odds of Fed tapering and rate hiking seriously drawing nearer, would be bolstered – to the detriment of most assets. So, we could be looking at a weak entry to today‘s S&P 500 session. But as the data came in at measly 199K, more uncertainty is introduced – will they or won‘t they (taper this fast and hike) – which works to drive chop and volatility.We‘re looking at another risk-off day today – and a reflexive but relatively tame rally in quality debt instruments. Crude oil is likely to be least affected, followed by copper as the red metals takes a second look at its recent weakness going at odds with broader commodities strength. Precious metals look to be a better bet in weathering the tightening into a weak economy storm than cryptos.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookNeither tech nor value offered clues for today‘s session – the downswing overall feels as having some more to go still, and that‘s based on the charts only. Add in the fundamentals, and it could get tougher still.Credit MarketsHYG upswing solidly rejected, and not even high volume helped the bulls – the dust doesn‘t look to be settled here either.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver feel the heat, and it might not be yet over in the short run, miners say. Still, note the big picture – we‘re still in a long sideways consolidation where the bears are unable to make lasting progress.Crude OilCrude oil bulls are enjoying the advantage here – firmly in the driver‘s seat. Pullback are being bought, and will likely continue being bought – the upcoming maximum downside will be very indicative of bulls‘ strength to overcome $80 lastingly.CopperCopper‘s misleading weakness continues, and similarly to precious metals, it‘s bidding its time as no heavy chart damage is being inflicted through this dillydallying.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are in a weaker spot, and the bearish pressure may easily increase here even more. This doesn‘t look to be the time to buy yet.SummaryS&P 500 still remains on edge and under pressure until convincing signs of turnaround develop – yesterday‘s session didn‘t qualify. With further proof of challenged real economy, a fresh uncertainty (how‘s that going to weather the hawkish Fed, and are they to listen and attenuate, or not?) is being introduced – short-term chop would give way to an increase in volatility. In the non-farm payrolls aftermath, markets haven‘t yet made up their minds – it‘s the riskier end of the asset classes to take the heat the most here (starting with cryptos). Don‘t look though for a tremendous rush into Treasuries – tech decoupling from the rising yields would be a first welcome sign of a local bottom.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Will 2022~23 Require A Different Strategy For Traders/Investors? Part III

Will 2022~23 Require A Different Strategy For Traders/Investors? Part III

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 08.01.2022 13:50
Is The Lazy-Bull Strategy Worth Considering? - Part IIIThis last part of our multi-part article compares trading styles amidst the increasing price volatility and extended hyperbolic trending. We'll explore what we've witnessed in the US markets over the past 5+ years and highlight what to expect throughout 2022. Additionally, we'll highlight and feature the strategic advantages of our advanced Lazy-Bull strategies.Lazy-Bull Rides Big Trends & Avoids Excessive RisksMany people are inherently opposed to the Lazy-Bull strategy because they've been conditioned to think trading requires actively seeking various opportunities every week. We don't quite see it that way. Instead, we see the opportunity for growth and consistency existing in taking 4 to 12+ strategic trades per year while the markets set up broad momentum moves/trends. Our objective is not to trade excessively just for the sake of trading. Instead, we want to take advantage of when the markets enter opportunistic periods of trending and ride those trends as far as they go.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!This example Weekly SPY chart showing our TTI trading strategy highlights the growth phases in various trend stages. Notice the GREEN and RED sections on this chart where our system has identified directional changes in the major price trends. Over the past 11+ years, there have been numerous bullish price trend phases resulting in 12 months to 36+ months bullish price trend trends. These major price cycles make up part of the advantage of the Lazy-Bull strategy.We are not actively seeking the strongest stock symbols throughout these trends. Instead, we are simply relying on the strength of the US major indexes to carry our trades further into profits as the market's trend. The TTI strategy is a "set it – and forget it" type of strategy until the strategy generates a new entry or exit trigger.Volatility & Price Rotation Make 2022 More Dangerous Than 2021 – What Next?Our research shows 2022 will likely continue to exhibit increased price volatility and bigger price rotation. Meaning 2022 could be very dangerous for shorter-term strategy traders as volatility levels may disrupt traditional stop boundaries or other aspects of their defined strategies.It is important to understand how and when these issues creep into a strategy and attempt to move above these issues.Looking at the Q1 through Q4 data using our proprietary Data mining utility, I'll give you my insight related to the data and what I believe is likely to happen in 2022. Remember, this data consolidated the past 28-29 years of trends in the SPY to present these results – going back to 1993. That means that this data is compiled through several various price trends, major market peaks, major market bottoms, and various volatility levels along the way.Q:2022 AnalysisQ1 data suggests an overall positive/upward price trend is likely in 2022, with the Total Monthly Sum across 29 years totaling 37.94. Broken into annual gains, that translates into an expected $1.30 gain in the SPY in Q1:2022.The Total Monthly NEG (negative) range appears to be more than double the Total Monthly POS (positive) range. However, we may see some price volatility in Q1:2022 that surprises the markets. For example, maybe the US Fed makes surprise rate increases? Perhaps it relates to some other foreign market event disrupting the US markets? I don't know what it will be, but I feel some market event in Q1 is likely, and this event may prompt a fairly large downward price rotation in the SPY.Overall, I believe Q1:2022 will end slightly higher than the end of Q4:2021 levels and may see the SPY attempt to break above $490~500 on stronger earnings and continue the market's bullish price phase.Q2:2022 AnalysisThe second quarter seems a bit more stable in overall price appreciation trends. The data shows a shallow NEG value compared to a moderately strong POS value for Q2. Because of this, I believe the second quarter of 2022 will slide into a relatively strong upward Melt-Up type of trend after a potentially volatile Q1:2022.The Total Monthly Sum value is higher in Q2 than in Q1, suggesting Q2 may exhibit a stronger upward momentum as a more apparent trend direction sets up after the Q1 volatility.The US Fed will likely attempt to aggressively reduce its balance sheet throughout Q2 and into Q3:2022 if my expectations are accurate. This may create some additional market volatility in Q2 and Q3:2022 – but I suspect the US Fed will attempt to conduct a lot of this activity relatively quietly – almost behind the market strength/trends.Q3:2022 AnalysisQ3 shows data that is somewhat similar to Q1 overall. I interpret this data as showing moderate bullish trend strength within the typical mid-Summer US market stagnation in trend. Mid-Summer trends tend to be a bit more sideways in nature. Many traders are vacationing, enjoying the Summer weather, and/or not paying attention to market trends and dynamics. Because of this, I expect the July through September months of 2022 to be relatively quiet and mundane.Additionally, we have the mid-term US elections set up in November 2022. The July through September months will be packed with political posturing, campaigning, and various events filled with antics to distract the markets from focusing on real issues. As a result, election years tend to be somewhat quiet – especially in the 2 to 5 months leading up to the actual election date.The end of Q3:2022 and the start of Q4:2022 could see some bigger, more aggressive price trending. The elections, ramping up of the early holiday/Christmas seasons, and the end of Summer may prompt traders to move into undervalued assets or other opportunist trades seeking to ride out an end-of-year trend. Right now may be a great time to identify strong swing/position trades to close out 2022 with some nice profits.Q4:2022 AnalysisQ4:2022 shows a very strong bullish trend potential, with the POS results greatly surpassing the NEG results. Historically, this is because of the traditional Santa Rally phase of the US markets and may play a big role in 2022 if the US economy stays strong throughout 2022.Overall, I expect the US Fed to act in a manner that supports the "transitioning" of the global markets away from excessive risks while attempting to nudge inflationary trends lower. There is talk that the US Fed may take aggressive action to combat inflation, but I see the Fed's actions are more subtle than brutal at this stage.I believe the US Federal Reserve is keenly aware of the fragility of the global markets after many years of excessive easy-money policies. In my opinion, the current market environment is more similar to the late 1960s and 1970s than the 1990s and early 2000 time frame. We've seen a massive influx of capital in the global markets – push all traditional economic metrics "off the charts" after the COVID event. That capital will work itself throughout the global economy, disrupting more at-risk companies and nations' capabilities, but still prompt a moderate growth component for many years to come.Volatility, Trading, And Profiting From Bigger TrendsThe entire point was to discuss the opportunities of moving above the current excessive price volatility and adopting a trading strategy that is more suited to bigger, broader market price trends. In 2019, I warned that 2020 was likely to be very volatile.In February 2021, I warned that 2021 was likely to be very volatile for certain market sectors: WILL 2021 PROMPT A BIG ROTATION IN SECTOR TRENDS? – PART IIIn early January 2020, I warned the US markets may be set up for a "Waterfall Selloff": ARE WE SETTING UP FOR A WATERFALL SELLOFF?Today, I'm suggesting that price volatility will likely peak sometime in 2022 or 2023 and begin to subside as the excesses of the past 8+ years continue to process through what I'm calling the "transitioning phase" of the markets. This market phase is more of a deleveraging and revaluation phase which started in February 2020 – in various sectors. It has now extended into many global economies where excess risk factors are being addressed and revalued (think China, Asia, and other areas).This transitioning process will likely continue in 2022 and 2023, meaning traders need to be prepared for the increased price volatility and adopt a style of trading that will allow them to profit from these bigger trends. This is why I'm suggesting taking a higher-level approach to trade over the next 24 to 36+ months.Certain market trends will still allow traders to pick up some fantastic profits as sectors and various undervalued symbols gain momentum. Overall, though, I feel that 2022 and 2023 will be moderately difficult for shorter-term trading strategies and that a higher-level, longer-term approach may be a much more beneficial approach.Want To Learn More About My Long-Term Investing Strategy?My Technical Investor strategy is uniquely suited toward this type of trading style. It is simple, longer-term, and rises above the moderate price volatility that disrupts many shorter-term trading strategies.Get ready; 2022 will be an excellent year for traders with big trends and bigger volatility. We have to stay ahead of these trends to protect our capital and allow it to grow more efficiently. The risks of more traditionally moderate volatility systems getting chewed up in this extreme environment will continue. So be prepared to move towards a more protective trading style to survive the next 12 to 24 months.If you are interested in learning more about how my Technical Investor (and other trading strategies) can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition, I invite you to visit  www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
S&P 500: Consolidation and a Mild Reaction to the Jobs Data

S&P 500: Consolidation and a Mild Reaction to the Jobs Data

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 07.01.2022 15:54
  Stocks extended their downtrend yesterday, but the index closed virtually flat. So was it a short-term bottom? The S&P 500 index lost 0.1% on Thursday, Jan. 6, as it fluctuated following the Wednesday’s sell-off of almost 2%. The market reached new local low at 4,671.26 before bouncing back closer to the 4,700 level. So it traded almost 150 points below the Tuesday’s record high of 4,818.62. The recent consolidation along the 4,800 level was a topping pattern. And the market got back to its November-December trading range. On Dec. 3 the index fell to the local low of 4,495.12 and it was 5.24% below the previous record high. So it was a pretty mild downward correction or just a consolidation following last year’s advances. The nearest important resistance level is now at 4,700-4,720, and the next resistance level remains at around 4,750. On the other hand, the support level is now at 4,650, marked by some previous local highs. The S&P 500 remains close to the November’s-December’s consolidation local highs, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Apple Price Broke Below the Trend Line Apple stock broke below its two-month long upward trend line on Wednesday after reaching the new record high of $182.94 on Tuesday. So far, it looks like a downward correction and the nearest important support level is at $165-170, marked by the previous highs and lows. Is this a medium-term topping pattern? It’s getting very hard to fundamentally justify the Apple’s current market capitalization of around $3 trillion. Conclusion The S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.2% lower today. So the volatility is on the light side after the mixed monthly jobs data release from this morning. We may see some more short-term fluctuations and possibly an intraday upward correction. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 fluctuated following its Wednesday’s sell-off. Jobs data release was mixed and rather neutral for the markets. In our opinion no positions are currently justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Gold: No Cheer in the New Year

Gold: No Cheer in the New Year

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 06.01.2022 12:22
  What a way to start a year! Gold just faked its comeback before moving to new yearly lows. That’s a very bearish way for a market to start the year. Given that miners underperformed gold and silver briefly outperformed it, we have a very bearish storm brewing for the next couple of weeks / months. On Jan 3, I wrote the following: The year 2021 is over, 2022 has finally arrived. However, why does the current price action look “sooo last year”? Because the patterns appear to be repeating and the clearest similarity is present in the key precious metal – gold itself. Gold prices moved higher in late December, and it happened on low volume. The rally caused the stochastic indicator to move above 80 and the RSI above 50. That’s exactly what happened in both: late 2021 and late 2020. What does it mean? Well, it means that we shouldn’t trust this rally, as it could end abruptly, just like the one that we saw a year ago. Besides, gold corrected 61.8% of the preceding decline (so it moved to its most classic Fibonacci retracement), which means that – technically – what we saw in the past two weeks was just a correction, not the beginning of a new rally. And what happened next? Gold declined, faked its comeback, and then declined again to new yearly lows. 2022 continues to be a down year for gold, and this is particularly revealing, because early January is the time when the buy-backs should – theoretically – happen. I’m referring to the tendency for investors to exit losing positions (and – in tune with my expectations and against expectations of almost everyone else – 2021 was a down year for gold, silver, and mining stocks, after all) close to the end of the year, in order to harvest the tax loss, and then to get back into the market in early January. Despite the above tendency, gold is down, silver is down, and mining stocks are down as well. This shows that the precious metals market is weak (which has been clear since gold invalidated its breakout above the 2011 high in 2020) and is unlikely to soar significantly (in terms of hundreds of dollars) unless it slides first. Besides, at the beginning of major rallies, gold stocks tend to lead the way up. And right now, it’s exactly the opposite. The upper part of the above chart features the GDXJ ETF – proxy for junior mining stocks, the middle part features the GLD ETF – proxy for gold, and the bottom part features the S&P 500 Index. The red lines compare the previous stock market highs to what happened in junior miners, and the dotted lines show what juniors did when gold formed its recent highs and lows. In short, junior gold mining stocks are underperforming both: gold, and other stocks. This is as bearish as it can get, given the current situation regarding the USD Index (which is in a medium-term uptrend) and the situation in the interest rates, which are not only about to go up, but the expectations of them going up are becoming more and more hawkish. And that’s no accident either, as it’s in tune with the current political narrative in the U.S. – inflation is currently presented as the major enemy that needs to be dealt with. In other words, as the situation in interest rates is likely to become even more hawkish and the USD Index is likely to move higher, gold is likely to go down, and so – eventually – will the general stock market. And since junior mining stocks have already proven over and over again that they magnify declines on both markets, they are likely to fall particularly hard, when the above markets decline. We gained quite a lot based on the decline in the juniors in 2021, but it seems that the gains that could be reaped in 2022 (of course, I can’t and I’m not promising any kind of specific performance for any market) based on junior miners’ decline (and then their revival) could be breathtaking – but as always, only if one is positioned correctly for both major moves. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
It's gripping, how Decentraland and MANA develops

It's gripping, how Decentraland and MANA develops

FXStreet News FXStreet News 05.01.2022 15:57
Decentraland price is hovering around the $3.16 support level and has tagged it for the third time. A bounce off this barrier could be the key to triggering a 22% rally to $3.96 for MANA. If the $3.16 support level breaches, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. Decentraland price is at an inflection point and will likely catalyze a massive run-up. This outlook, however, depends on how MANA bounces off the support level it is hovering around. Decentraland price looks ready for a move Decentraland price has been hovering around the $3.16 support level for roughly a week. So far, MANA has touched this support level thrice, giving rise to a triple bottom setup. This bottom reversal pattern combined with the consolidation suggests that the Decentraland price is ready for an explosive move. The $3.43 resistance barrier is the first hurdle Decentraland price will face on its journey north. Clearing this blockade will allow buyers to step on the pedal, propelling Decentraland to $3.65. If Decentraland manages to push past $3.65 and the buying pressure continues to hold up, MANA is likely to make a run for the $4 psychological level. Traders can take advantage of this opportunity by entering long at the current position and taking profit at $3.65. MANA/USDT 4-hour chart On the other hand, Decentraland price could fail to bounce off the $3.16 support level. If the selling pressure increases, pushing MANA to produce a four-hour candlestick close below $3.16 will create a lower low. If this barrier is shattered, it will invalidate the triple bottom’s bullish outlook and likely trigger a 4% crash to $3.01.
USD to CAD chart is (probably as expected) linked with jobs stats

USD to CAD chart is (probably as expected) linked with jobs stats

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.01.2022 10:30
EURUSD tests key resistance The US dollar retreated after December’s nonfarm payrolls came in far below expectations. The pair has been in a narrowing range between 1.1270 and 1.1365. The previous fall below 1.1280 added pressure on the buy side, though it turned out to be an opportunity for the bulls to accumulate at a bargain. A break above the resistance could end the sideways action and trigger a runaway rally towards 1.1460. The RSI surged into the overbought area and may cause a brief pullback above 1.1295. USDCAD tests daily support The loonie rallied after Canada added twice as many jobs as expected in December. The year-end sell-off met strong bids near the daily support at 1.2620. But the rebound came to halt at the supply zone around 1.2810, which used to be a support from the previous consolidation. The RSI’s double top in the overbought zone has restrained the upward momentum. 1.2730 is a fresh resistance as price action is about to retest the critical level at 1.2620. A bearish breakout could trigger a plunge to 1.2540. GER 40 seeks support The Dax 40 edged lower as rising CPI in the eurozone argues in favor of tightening. The index saw stiff selling pressure right under the all-time high at 16300. A bearish RSI divergence in this major supply area indicates a lack of commitment from the bulls as buying slows down. A combination of profit-taking and fresh selling has led to a drop below 16100, a warning sign for a steeper correction. 15800 is the next key support. A breakout could send the index to 15500 at the base of the latest rally.
Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto in general became even more appealing recently

Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto in general became even more appealing recently

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 10.01.2022 10:37
The cryptocurrency market received moderate support from retail buyers over the weekend. Over the past 24 hours, the capitalisation of all coins rose 0.22%, according to CoinMarketCap, approaching $1.97 trillion. The top altcoins lost 11-19% over 7 days but found buyers over the weekend. The $2 trillion mark in total crypto valuation turned into local resistance last week, from where pressure has intensified. However, a strong buy-the-deep mood has kept the market from forming a downward spiral. The cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index was stuck at 23 over the weekend, indicating extreme fear. The index has been hovering at the lower half of the scale since November 18th. Optimists, however, may note that the indicator has bounced back from the 10 level. The dip here in May and July coincided with the lows within the impulse, hinting at the potential for some technical rebound. Technical analysis also suggests a rebound in BTCUSD, with the RSI on daily charts showing attempts to move up from the oversold area below 30 and the price hovering near the reversal area in September. A longer-term view of the cryptocurrency market makes one more cautious about its prospects. Bitcoin has been in a downward corridor since November last year, having fallen to its lower boundary by the end of last week. Local overselling is a chance for a rebound, but the overall trend is still downwards. Cryptocurrency investors should not dismiss the idea of 4-year cycles in Bitcoin affecting the entire sector just yet. According to this hypothesis, 2022 could turn out to be a repeat of 2018 and 2014 - bear market years after a surge in the previous two years. Thus, it is worth paying increased attention to whether the crypto market manages to return to growth in the coming days and weeks. A strong start to the year will put these fears to rest.
S&P 500 probably doesn't attract investors, gold and silver recovering?

S&P 500 probably doesn't attract investors, gold and silver recovering?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.01.2022 12:33
S&P 500 indecisiveness Thursday gave way to another down day, and it doesn‘t look to be over in the least. Tech still isn‘t catching breadth enough – and that was my key condition of declaring a reprieve in the selling, if not a turnaround. Likewise credit markets don‘t offer optimistic signs – it‘s still risk-off there, and the sharp rise in yields is putting inordinate pressure on many a tech stock. True, the behemoths aren‘t that much affected, but even a glance at semiconductors tells you that the rot is running deeper than apparent from $NYFANG. This is part of the flight from growth into value, which we will see more of in 2022. The same for still unpleasantly high inflation which won‘t be tamed by the hawkish Fed – not even if they really allow notes and bonds to mature without reinvesting the proceeds already in Mar. The train has left the station more than 6 or 9 months ago when they were pushing the transitory thesis I had been disputing. We have truly moved into the persistently high inflation paradigm, and it would be accompanied by wage inflation and strong precious metals and commodities runs. We‘re looking at very good year in gold and silver while the turbulence in stocks is just starting, and we have quite a few percent more to go on the downside. Oil and copper are set up for great gains too. This will be a year when monetary and fiscal policy work at odds, when they contradict each other. Inflation would catch up with the economic growth in that inflation-induced economic slowdown would be a 2022 surprise. Signs of real estate softening would also appear – it‘s all about housing starts. While rates would rise (2.00% in 10-year Treasury is perfectly achievable), it won‘t catch up with inflation in the least – hello some more negative rates, and financial repression driving real assets. Rhymes perfectly with the 1970s. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook No real floor has materialized in either S&P 500 or tech. Volume didn‘t rise, the buyers aren‘t yet interested – we have to get at more oversold levels. Credit Markets HYG didn‘t build on Thursday‘s advance one iota, and still looks to me melting down. While the 10-year closed at 1.76%, we aren‘t looking at such sharp bond ETF downswings – and the degree in which tech reacts next, would be telling. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver staged an orderly recovery, still tiptoeing around the hawkish Fed, whose tightening cycle would turn out shorter than they think. And sniffing that out, would be the turning point in the metals. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls took a daily pause, but expect it to be short-lived. We‘re looking at triple digit oil not too many months away. Copper Copper pared back Thursday‘s setback, and definitely isn‘t overheated. The sideways consolidation that would be resolved to the upside, continues – the bears are fighting a losing battle. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum continue trading on a weak note, and the sellers are likely to return soon. This certainly doesn‘t look like a good time to buy. Summary S&P 500 still hasn‘t turned, and I‘m looking for more weakness – tech continues leading to the downside, and bond reprieve hasn‘t yet arrived. Anyway, it‘s questionable how fast tech would react – value can‘t keep S&P 500 afloat by itself. The realization of the hawkish Fed is here as much as the jobs data not standing in their tightening plans (wage pressures are here as quite a lot of vacancies remains unfilled – hello, full employment) – and assets are reacting. As I have stated in the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of today‘s big picture analysis (investors would appreciate thoroughly), we‘re in for a challenging year in stocks, a great one in precious metals and most commodities – and definitely in for turbulence arriving, pulled over into 1H 2022 courtesy of the Fed. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.01.2022 08:57
AUDUSD attempts reboundThe Australian dollar bounces back over strong retail sales in November. The pair saw bids near a previous trough (0.7130).The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area attracted some traders in taking up the bargain. A bullish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the downward momentum. And a jump above 0.7180 could be the first step towards a bounce.The Aussie may surge to the daily resistance at 0.7360 if buyers succeed in lifting offers around 0.7270. Otherwise, the price could test the critical floor at 0.7080.USDJPY tests supportThe Japanese yen rose as risk appetite fades across markets.A bullish MA cross on the daily chart indicates that the dollar’s rally gained traction. However, an overbought RSI means that a pullback could be an opportunity for the bulls to buy dips.The dollar is testing the psychological level of 115.00, the origin of the rally above the November peak (115.50). An oversold RSI has brought in some buying interest. A bearish breakout could trigger a correction to 114.30. Then, the bulls will need to reclaim 115.90 in order to resume the uptrend.US 30 continues to retreatThe Dow Jones tumbled as US Treasury yields hit a two-year high on hike bets.A bearish RSI divergence foreshadowed the current sell-off. A drop below 36300 prompted leveraged positions to close out, driving up volatility as short-term sentiment deteriorated. Rebounds could be opportunities for the bears to sell into strength.35700 is an area of interest, as it lies in a former supply zone and along the 30-day moving average. 35200 would be a second layer of support, while 36400 is the immediate resistance.
BTC (Bitcoin) price moves beetween 40 and 50k levels

BTC (Bitcoin) price moves beetween 40 and 50k levels

FXStreet News FXStreet News 11.01.2022 16:04
Bitcoin briefly slipped below $40,000 in Monday's trading. BTC price sees a sharp recovery and a break above Monday’s high. As a broad recovery looks to be underway, expect bulls to target $50,000 in the first phase. Bitcoin (BTC) saw sellers squeeze out their final drop of gains on Monday after demand briefly dipped below $40,000. This level is in line with the low of the September 21 decline last year and BTC price bounced off the monthly S1 support level and a longer-term red descending trend line. Expect a turnaround from here, with demand switching to the buy-side with risk-on back on the front foot. BTC price set for a 180-turn back towards $50,000 Bitcoin price has given market participants quite a lot of pain at the start of 2022. Investors that came on strong out of the gate saw their investments devalue by 17%. On the horizon, however, the clouds start to evaporate, and during the European session, a global risk-on tone across assets is set to soothe and possibly erase the negative headwinds that were dictating price action these past ten days of the new year. Technically, BTC is set for recovery with an entry at around $39,800 and a bounce off the September 21 low, the monthly S1 support level and a rejection by the red descending trend line that formed since November 10. With the turnaround currently in global markets, cryptocurrencies are seeing a tailwind emerge that is set to break the high of Monday and could see it hit $44,088 later today. If markets can hold on to this momentum, expect that by Thursday bulls will attack the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the historical $48,760 level, which is then just inches away from $50,000, potentially within sight by the end of the week. BTC/USD daily chart With this turnaround, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) will likely see a bounce off the oversold border and start to drift towards the mid-50 area. This could open the door for short sellers to try and enter with sizeable short positions once $44,088 has been hit, and to seek to push BTC price further below $40,000, with $38,073 as the first price target. This will, at the same time, firmly disappoint investors who hoped to reach $50,000. Such a move, however, would most probably go hand in hand with global market sentiment returning to a depressive move.
Would they sell S&P 500 (SPX)?

Would they sell S&P 500 (SPX)?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.01.2022 15:41
S&P 500 reversed sharp intraday losses, and credit markets moved in a decisive daily risk-on fashion. Turnarounds anywhere you look – HYG, TLT, XLK… but will that last? VIX having closed where it opened, points to still some unfinished job on the upside, meaning the bears would return shortly – but given how fast they gave up the great run yesterday, I‘m not looking for them to make too much progress too soon. Good to have taken yesterday‘s short profits off the table. Assessing the charts, it‘s great (for the bulls) that tech liked the long-dated Treasuries reversal to such a degree – and that value closed little changed on the day (its candle is certainly ominously looking). As a result, we‘re looking at a budding reversal that can still go both ways, and revisit 4,650s in the bearish case at least. Remember that tech apart from $NYFANG lagged, and financials aren‘t yet broken either, meaning that the credit market upswing better be taken with a pinch of salt. True, rates have risen fast since the New Year, and the pace of yield increases has to moderate. I‘m of the opinion that yesterday‘s good Nasdaq showing hasn‘t yet turned tech bullish, and that we still face a move lower ahead. As written yesterday: (…) This is part of the flight from growth into value, which we will see more of in 2022. The same for still unpleasantly high inflation which won‘t be tamed by the hawkish Fed – not even if they really allow notes and bonds to mature without reinvesting the proceeds already in Mar. The train has left the station more than 6 or 9 months ago when they were pushing the transitory thesis I had been disputing. We have truly moved into the persistently high inflation paradigm, and it would be accompanied by wage inflation and strong precious metals and commodities runs. We‘re looking at very good year in gold and silver while the turbulence in stocks is just starting, and we have quite a few percent more to go on the downside. Oil and copper are set up for great gains too. This will be a year when monetary and fiscal policy work at odds, when they contradict each other. Inflation would catch up with the economic growth in that inflation-induced economic slowdown would be a 2022 surprise. Signs of real estate softening would also appear – it‘s all about housing starts. While rates would rise (2.00% in 10-year Treasury is perfectly achievable), it won‘t catch up with inflation in the least – hello some more negative rates, and financial repression driving real assets. Rhymes perfectly with the 1970s. Stocks aren‘t yet out of the woods, the yesterday opened oil position is already profitable, cryptos likewise maintain a gainful slant to the Sunday-opened short – meanwhile, precious metals are once again catching breadth to rise, and the same goes for copper. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook The bid arrived, and the bottom may or may not be in – in spite of the beautiful lower knot, I‘m leaning towards the hypothesis that there would be another selling wave. Credit Markets HYG reversal looks certainly more credible than the S&P 500 one. LQD though didn‘t rise, which is a little surprising – on the other hand though, that‘s part of the risk-on posture, which would have been made clearer by LQD upswing. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver position is improving, and I like the miners coming alive. The stage is set for upswing continuation till we break out of the very long consolidation. Crude Oil Crude oil looks to have declined as much as it could in the short run – I‘m looking for another run to take out $80 – see how little ground oil stocks lost? Copper Copper didn‘t outshine, didn‘t disappoint – its long sideways move continues, the red metal remains well bid, and would play catch up to the other commodities – the bears aren‘t likely to enjoy much success over the coming months. Bitcoin and Ethereum Just as I wrote yesterday, Bitcoin and Ethereum continue trading on a weak note, and the sellers are likely to return soon. This certainly doesn‘t look like a good time to buy. Summary S&P 500 turnaround has a question mark on it – one that I‘m more inclined to think would lead to further selling than a run above 4,720. The tech and bonds progress would be challenged again – we‘re still way too early in the Fed tightening cycle when the headwinds are only becoming to be appreciated. The room for negative surprises and kneejerk reactions is still there (the job market isn‘t standing really in the Fed‘s way), and it would likely take stocks (and cryptos) down while being less of an issue for real assets – be it commodities or precious metals. Wage pressures and unfilled vacancies are likely to last, meaning the inflation would be persistent – the staglationary era coupled with inflation-induced economic slowdown surprise I mentioned yesterday, awaits. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold - Fed moves are likely to reveal the shape of the future

Gold - Fed moves are likely to reveal the shape of the future

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 11.01.2022 15:10
  Job creation disappointed in December. However, it could not be enough to counterweight rising real interest rates and save gold. On Thursday (January 6, 2022), I wrote that “the metal may find itself under hawk fire in the upcoming weeks”. Indeed, gold dropped sharply in the aftermath of the publication of the FOMC minutes. As the chart below shows, the hawkish Fed’s signal sent the price of the yellow metal from $1,826 to $1,789. This is because the minutes revealed that the Fed would be ready to cut its mammoth holdings of assets later this year. Previously, the US central bank was talking only about interest rate hikes and the ending of new asset purchases, i.e., quantitative easing. Now, the reverse process, i.e., quantitative tightening, is also on the table. What is surprising here is not the mere idea of shrinking the Fed’s assets – after all, they have risen to $8.7 trillion (see the chart above) – but its timing. Last time, the central bank started the normalization of its balance sheet only in 2018, nine years after the end of the Great Recession and four years after the completion of tapering. This time, QT may start within a few months after the end of tapering and the first interest rate hikes. It looks like 2022 will be a hot year for US monetary policy – and the gold market. Consequently, markets have been increasingly pricing in a more decisive Fed, which boosted bond yields. As the chart below shows, the long-term real interest rates (10-year TIPS) jumped from -1.06% at the end of 2021 to -0.73 at the end of last week. The upward move in the interest rates is fundamentally negative for gold prices.   Implications for Gold Luckily for the yellow metal, nonfarm payrolls disappointed in December. Last month, the US labor market rose, adding just 199,000 jobs (see the chart below), well short of consensus estimates of 400,000. This negative surprise lifted gold prices slightly on Friday (January 7, 2021). The latest employment report suggests that labor shortages and the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus are holding back job creation and the overall economy. However, gold bulls shouldn’t count on weak job gains to trigger a sustainable rally in the precious metals. This is because the American economy is still approaching full employment. The unemployment rate declined further to 3.9% from 4.2% in November, as the chart below shows. The drop confirms that the US labor market is very tight, so weak job creation won’t discourage the Fed from hiking the federal funds rate. As a reminder, in December, FOMC members forecasted the unemployment rate to be 4.3% at the end of 2021. What is crucial here is that disappointing job gains reflect labor shortages rather than weak demand. Additionally, wage growth remains pretty fast, despite the decline in the annual rate from 5.1% in November to 4.7% in December. The key takeaway is that, despite disappointing job creation, the US economy is moving quickly towards full employment. The unemployment rate is at 3.9%, very close to the pre-pandemic low of 3.7%. Hence, the latest employment situation report may only reinforce arguments for the Fed’s tightening cycle. This is fundamentally bad news for gold, as strengthened expectations of the interest rate hikes may boost real interest rates further and put the yellow metal under downward pressure. Some analysts believe that hawkish sentiment might be at its peak. I’m not so sure about that. I believe that monetary hawks haven’t said the last word yet, and that the normalization of the interest rates is still ahead of us. Anyway, Powell will appear in the Senate today, so we should get more clues about the prospects for monetary policy and gold this year. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
We might say interest rates became Topic #1

We might say interest rates became Topic #1

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 11.01.2022 14:10
  The imminent interest rate hike by the Fed is almost certain. Are investors' concerns justified and will it mean trouble for the precious metals?  While the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite recovered from sharp intraday losses on Jan. 10, investors’ mood swings signaled heightened anxiety. With the PMs whipsawing alongside the general stock market, more volatility should materialize in the weeks and months to come. To explain, with the Fed on a hawkish warpath to fight rampant inflation, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC on Jan. 10 that a resilient U.S. economy could prove problematic for the financial markets in 2022. “The consumer balance sheet has never been in better shape; they’re spending 25% more today than pre-COVID,” said Dimon. “Their debt-service ratio is better than it’s been since we’ve been keeping records for 50 years.” As for inflation and the Fed: “It’s possible that inflation is worse than they think and they raise rates more than people think. I personally would be surprised if it’s just four [interest rate] increases [in 2022],” he added. How would the financial markets react? Source: CNBC Singing a similar tune, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Jan. 10 that the Fed’s rate hike cycle could slaughter emerging markets. Its report revealed: “For most of last year, investors priced in a temporary rise in inflation in the United States given the unsteady economic recovery and a slow unravelling of supply bottlenecks. Now sentiment has shifted. Prices are rising at the fastest pace in almost four decades and the tight labor market has started to feed into wage increases.”   Volatile Days Ahead While I warned for all of 2021 that inflationary pressures were bullish for the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury yields and bearish for the PMs, the IMF stated: “Faster Fed rate increases in response could rattle financial markets and tighten financial conditions globally. These developments could come with a slowing of US demand and trade and may lead to capital outflows and currency depreciation in emerging markets.” As a result, even the IMF is anxiously bullish on the USD Index: For a good reason. With September, July, June, and May all gone by the wayside, now, the market-implied probability of a Fed rate hike in March has risen to nearly 83%. For context, the probability of a March liftoff was less than 10% in early November. Please see below: Likewise, the market-implied probability of four rate hikes by the Fed in 2022 has risen to nearly 87%. Again, the probability was less than 50% in early November. Please see below: Why the material shift? Well, while I’ve been warning for months that rampant inflation would elicit a hawkish about-face from the Fed, investors are finally coming around to this reality. With inflation still running hot, market participants understand that pricing pressures won’t subside without policy responses from the Fed. As a result, the “transitory” narrative is dead, and investors have lost one of their staunchest allies. This means that predicting silver and gold at higher levels in the medium term might not be the best idea. To that point, Bank of America’s dove-hawk spectrum shows that the dovish brigade has lost several soldiers. With the hawks now on the offensive, the officials preaching monetary patience are few and far between.  Please see below: For context, Bank of America still places San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly in the dovish bucket. However, I noted on Dec. 23 that she has materially shifted her stance in recent weeks: Source: The New York Times Furthermore, with inflationary pressures still bubbling, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index hit another all-time high of 236.2 in December, as “wholesale used vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.6% month-over-month.” Please see below: On top of that, the cost of shipping from Shanghai, China, is still increasing. With the U.S. importing more goods from China than any other nation, the inflationary impact on the U.S. economy is material. Please see below: Finally, while the GDXJ ETF benefited from the NASDAQ Composite’s intraday reversal on Jan. 10, I warned on Oct. 26 that monetary policy tightening would eventually upend the junior miners. I wrote: To explain, the green line above tracks the GDXJ ETF from the beginning of 2013 to the end of 2015. If you analyze the left side of the chart, you can see that when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at tapering on May 22, 2013, the GDXJ ETF declined by 32% from May 22 until the taper began on Dec. 18. Moreover, the onslaught didn’t end there. Once the taper officially began, the GDXJ ETF enjoyed a relief rally (similar to what we’re witnessing now), as long-term interest rates declined and the PMs assumed that the worst was in the rearview. However, as the liquidity drain caught up to the junior miners over the medium term, the GDXJ ETF declined by another 36% from when the taper was announced on Dec. 18, 2013 until the end of 2015. To that point, with part one already on the books, the second act will likely unfold once the Fed formally begins its taper in “either mid-November or mid-December.” Thus, history implies that the GDXJ ETF still has plenty of downside left. While the junior miners' ETF has declined by more than 11% since Oct. 26, Goldman Sachs has come around to our way of thinking. Please see below: To explain, Goldman Sachs told its clients last week that the yellow metal has been following its ominous path since 2013/2014 (as you may recall, I’ve been writing about the 2013-now analogy for months). For context, the red line above tracks gold’s price action from July 2010 until December 2014, while the blue line above tracks gold’s price action from July 2019 until now. If you analyze the symmetrical overlay, you can see that the pair have been in sync for some time. Moreover, if you focus your attention on the red line’s plight as time passes, it’s clear why Goldman Sachs is warning its clients about “further downside risk”. To that point, with the investment bank forecasting a real (inflation-adjusted) interest rate regime change in 2022, gold is poised to suffer along the way. To explain, the various bars above track gold’s monthly returns when the real U.S. Federal Funds Rate (dark blue), the real U.S. 5-Year Treasury yield (green), and the real U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield (light blue) begin with positive/negative values and then increase/decrease. If you focus your attention on the bars furthest to the right, you can see that when the real U.S. 5-Year Treasury yield and the real U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield are negative and then rise, gold suffers its worst monthly performances. Moreover, with the current fundamental environment presenting us with precisely that, similar results will likely materialize over the medium term. The bottom line? While investors desperately bought the dip on Jan. 10, the more than 2% intraday swing in the NASDAQ Composite screamed of monetary policy anxiety. With another hot inflation print poised to hit the wire on Jan. 12, the reprieve will likely be short-lived. Furthermore, with the PMs suffering from a similar fundamental affliction – as both the PMs and technology stocks are extremely allergic to rising interest rates – volatility is likely here to stay. As a result, the Fed should continue to break investors’ hearts over the medium term. In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Jan. 10, though their fundamental outlooks remain profoundly bearish. With interest rates poised to rise and the USD Index still undervalued, more headwinds should confront gold, silver, and mining stocks in the coming months. As a result, long-term buying opportunities are likely still a ways away. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
XRP went down a bit, but forecast is probably quite optimistic

XRP went down a bit, but forecast is probably quite optimistic

FXStreet News FXStreet News 10.01.2022 15:59
XRP price has been massing losses since Christmas, already accounting for 33%. Price action sees a pick-up in buying volume as a floor is created around $0.31. As bulls start to reclimb from the lows, a squeeze looks to unfold with a possible break of the downturn in the coming days. Ripple (XRP) has been in a downtrend since Christmas and has investors worried at the beginning of 2022. The sell-off, sparked by worries about rising interest rates in the U.S., has formed a solid downtrend, highlighted by the red descending trend line, and supported by the cross of the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) below the 200-day (SMA).. Bulls could turn the tables in coming days, however, as they push higher (green trendline) and press up against the red ascending trend line. A change in market risk sentiment towards risk-on could then see a breakout and return towards $0.78. XRP will start recovery once market sentiments shift back to risk on XRP price has been hammered by a broad sell-off that has pushed the stars out of favor of any bullish reaction. The most significant weight comes from the downtrend since Christmas, marked by the red descending trend line. The crossing of the 55-day SMA below the 200-day SMA is called a death cross that will keep big investors out of the trade given how bearish it is.. A floor appears to be forming, however, as the lows slowly grind higher forming a floor from January 5 and brave bulls do have some incentives to now start entering at an extended position. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near the oversold area but starting to flatline, which indicates bulls have a good window of opportunity to enter as more short-sellers will refrain from entering the market right now, as any possible profits will be expected to be minimal. Once global markets start to shake off their current turmoil, expect XRP to quickly see a bullish pick-up of buying volume that could help it break above the red ascending trend line, and move towards the first target at $0.78. XRP/USD daily chart XPR price is likely to further increase buying volume once it reaches $0.78 and push higher up to the monthly pivot at $0.84. A further continuation could be on the cards if markets rally and have a few consecutive days of gains. As all this depends on global market sentiment, expect a break of the green ascending trend line to push price further to the downside in search of any support, which could not be seen until $0.62 or even $0.58 with the green longer-term supporting level and the S1 monthly support level.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Under Pressure

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Under Pressure

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.01.2022 09:05
GBPUSD rally gains tractionThe US dollar fell after the Fed Chair’s remark that no decision has been made on quantitative tightening. The pair showed some weakness near the daily resistance at 1.3600.The RSI’s double top in the overbought area led some buyers to take chips off the table. However, a follow-up close above the resistance indicates that the bulls are still in control of the direction.Sentiment remains upbeat and 1.3700 from the start of the November sell-off would be the next target. 1.3570 is a fresh support in case of a pullback.NZDUSD bounces off major supportThe New Zealand dollar recovers as risk appetite returns following Jerome Powell’s testimony.The previous rebound towards 0.6830 met strong selling pressure. Its failure to achieve a new high suggests that the bearish bias lingers. The drop below 0.6740 further weighs on the kiwi. A bounce could still be an opportunity to sell into strength.The bulls need to clear 0.6835 in order to turn the tide, and 0.6730 is a fresh support. A bearish breakout may test the base of December’s bounce at 0.6700.EURJPY maintains uptrendThe euro recoups losses as traders dump safe-haven currencies. The fall below 130.80 has shaken out some weak hands.Nonetheless, the upward bias remains intact after the single currency saw solid demand over the psychological level of 130.00. The RSI’s oversold situation compounded the attractiveness of the discount.A rise above 131.60 would bring in momentum traders and clear the path for an extended rally to 132.55 near last October’s peak. 129.10 is the second line of defence in case of a deeper retracement.
Gold Market in 2022: Fall and Revival?

Gold Market in 2022: Fall and Revival?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 07.01.2022 16:46
  2021 will be remembered as the year of inflation’s comeback and gold’s dissatisfying reaction to it. Will gold improve its behavior in 2022? You thought that 2020 was a terrible year, but we would be back to normal in 2021? Well, we haven’t quite returned to normal. After all, the epidemic is not over, as new strains of coronavirus emerged and spread last year. Actually, in some aspects, 2021 was even worse than 2020. Two years ago, the pandemic was wreaking havoc. Last year, both the pandemic and inflation were raging. To the great surprise of mainstream economists fixated on aggregate demand, 2021 would be recorded in chronicles as the year of the supply factors revenge and the great return of inflation. For years, the pundits have talked about the death of inflation and mocked anyone who pointed to its risk. Well, he who laughs last, laughs best. However, it’s laughter through inflationary tears. Given the highest inflation rate since the Great Stagflation, gold prices must have grown a lot, right? Well, not exactly. As the chart below shows, 2021 wasn’t the best year for the yellow metal. Gold lost almost 5% over the last twelve months. Although I correctly predicted that “gold’s performance in 2021 could be worse than last year”, I expected less bearish behavior. What exactly happened? From a macroeconomic perspective, the economy recovered last year. As vaccination progressed, sanitary restrictions were lifted, and risk appetite returned to the market, which hit safe-haven assets such as gold. What’s more, a rebound in economic activity and rising inflation prompted the Fed to taper its quantitative easing and introduce more hawkish rhetoric, which pushed gold prices down. As always, there were both ups and downs in the gold market last year. Gold started 2021 with a bang, but began plunging quickly amid Democrats’ success in elections, the Fed more optimistic about the economy, and rising interest rates. The slide lasted until late March, when gold found its bottom of $1,684. This is because inflation started to accelerate at that point, while the Fed was downplaying rising price pressures, gibbering about “transitory inflation”. The rising worries about high inflation and the perspective of the US central bank staying behind the curve helped gold reach $1,900 once again in early June. However, the hawkish FOMC meeting and dot-plot that came later that month created another powerful bearish wave in the gold market that lasted until the end of September. Renewed inflationary worries and rising inflation expectations pushed gold to $1,865 in mid-November. However, the Fed announced a tapering of its asset purchases, calming markets once again and regaining investors’ trust in its ability to control inflation. As consequence, gold declined below $1,800 once again and stayed there by the end of the year. What can we learn from gold’s performance in 2021? First of all, gold is not a perfect inflation hedge, as the chart below shows. I mean here that, yes, gold is sensitive to rising inflation, but a hawkish Fed beats inflation in the gold market. Thus, inflation is positive for gold only if the US central bank stays behind the curve. However, when investors believe that either inflation is temporary or that the Fed will turn more hawkish in response to upward price pressure, gold runs away into the corner. Royal metal, huh? Second, never underestimate the power of the dark… I mean, the hawkish side of the Fed – or simply, don’t fight the Fed. It turned out that the prospects of a very gradual asset tapering and tightening cycle were enough to intimidate gold. Third, real interest rates remain the key driver for gold prices. As one can see in the chart below, gold plunged each time bond yields rallied, in particular in February 2021, but also in June or November. Hence, gold positively reacts to inflation as long as inflation translates into lower real interest rates. However, if other factors – such as expectations of a more hawkish Fed – come into play and outweigh inflation, gold suffers. Great, we already know that 2021 sucked and why. However, will 2022 be better for the gold market? Although I have great sympathy for the gold bulls, I don’t have good news for them. It seems that gold’s struggle will continue this year, at least in the first months of 2022, as the Fed’s hiking cycle and rising bond yields would create downward pressure on gold. However, when the US central bank starts raising the federal funds rate, gold may find its bottom, as it did in December 2015, and begin to rally again. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
The 10 Public Companies With the Biggest Bitcoin Portfolios

At the moment, contrary to ETHUSD and other altcoins, BTCUSD isn't increasing that much

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 12.01.2022 09:02
The crypto market has again surpassed $2 trillion, adding almost 2.7% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has not kept pace with the rise in altcoin prices: BTC strengthened by 1.45% against a 4% rise in ETH, while other leading coins added between 3% and 7%. The purchase of altcoins has intensified after the first cryptocurrency defended the $40K mark. This was like a sign of faith in the sector's short-term prospects, which again allowed enthusiasts to invest in potentially more undervalued coins and projects. The crypto Fear and Greed Index added 1 point to 22 overnight, but we can see that investors took the recent plunge as a buying opportunity. On the chart, bitcoin rebounded from a psychologically important support level for the second time since September. In addition, the RSI indicator on the daily charts came out of the oversold area, signalling a pause in the bearish momentum. However, it is too early to say that we are seeing the beginning of a new growth wave. There are several reasons for that. In this wave of decline, the RSI indicator reached lower lows than earlier in December and markedly lower levels in September and July, marking more persistent and prolonged selling than in previous episodes. Bitcoin's consolidation attempts this week is only a wobble near the bottom. A bullish reversal will be indicated by solid upward momentum in July or September. The mini rebound in December was quickly eaten away by the bears. BTCUSD is consolidating near the lower boundary of the descending channel. To say that we see more than just a bounce within this trend is only possible if it grew above 45k - where the previous local lows and the downside resistance line are concentrated. If bitcoin fails to develop an uptrend, it will seriously spoil sentiment for cryptocurrency traders, creating a toxic environment in the sector and putting selling back on the agenda, despite the prospects of individual projects.
US dollar under pressure on inflation data

US dollar under pressure on inflation data

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 12.01.2022 16:21
US consumer prices rose 0.5% in December, accelerating to 7.0% y/y. The core index added 0.6% on the month and 5.5% y/y. Prices excluding food and energy added more than 1.7% in the last three months, noting that inflation is creeping into the core of the economy.However, fears of this trend may be exaggerated. Inflation data published earlier today in China showed a faster-than-expected slowdown. China could start exporting deflation again or at least stop pushing up prices around the world.Noteworthy is the market reaction where the release put pressure on the dollar and spurred demand for risky assets: EURUSD is up 0.5% after the release, above 1.1400, Nasdaq100 is again testing the 16000 level (+0.9% so far today).The dollar has been consolidating for a long time without much direction, so a breakout of the 1.1250-1.1350 range could start a strong momentum or even set a trend for a few months.
Riding Out Inflation in Style

Riding Out Inflation in Style

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.01.2022 16:24
S&P 500 refused further downside, tech caught fire, and credit markets staged a risk-on reversal. The bond upswing is the most important element – Powell‘s testimony wasn‘t able to ignite further rise in yields at the moment.Couple that with continued energy surge, and we‘re looking at real assets being very favorably positioned here (relatively easiest gains ahead), and that has profitable consequences for oil, copper and precious metals bulls. Even cryptos like the fact that CPI didn‘t come above expectations.Stock market fate is though tied to the Treasuries and corporate bonds – keeping an eye on the tech sensitivity to both advancing and retreating yields is of paramount importance, with financials not sticking higher as a sore thumb among other S&P 500 sectors being the other.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookFresh attempt at the lows was repelled, and the bulls aren‘t looking too spooked. Market breadth hasn‘t plunged to new lows, and is being slowly improved. It looks like we‘re about to keep moving up before the bears return.Credit MarketsHYG reversal looks credible, even if the volume was lower. It‘s risk on as HYG outperformed – the next question is how would it fare when yields rise again.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver position is improving, and I like it that miners keep coming alive. As written yesterday, the stage is set for upswing continuation till we break out of the very long consolidation.Crude OilCrude oil is performing just right – breaking higher from the prior flag-like structure, and simultaneously being inspired by the oil stocks example – $80 resistance has been decisively taken out.CopperLooking at today‘s price action, the time of copper playing catch up to the other commodities has arrived already – the bears indeed aren‘t likely to enjoy much success over the coming months.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum are turning a corner, but animal spirits aren‘t there now – are cryptos more aware of the coming liquidity challenges? The rebound is lacking fervor still.SummaryS&P 500 turnaround succeeded, and markets are choosing to ignore the hawkish Fed and high inflation data. That‘s all good for commodities and then precious metals, but would catch up with stocks over time – in the sense that paper assets would underperform. For now, the S&P 500 bears have been repelled, and it would take a fresh round of higher yields forcing tech down, to knock the 500-strong index lower, which isn‘t likely to happen today. Overall, we‘re looking at still a good year in stocks (check the Latest Highlights for big picture picks), but 2H 2022 would be calmer than the prior 180 days.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Fed Playing With Fire - Bubbles May Burst While Bond Yields & Metals Rally

US Fed Playing With Fire - Bubbles May Burst While Bond Yields & Metals Rally

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 12.01.2022 16:59
The US Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy from a historically low-interest rate has slowed the US stock markets. As a result, traders quickly attempt to adjust their capital allocation levels as risk assets, technology, and US major indexes roll lower because of expected Fed Rate Hikes and other Hawkish activities.We will explore how the US Fed's comments and potential future actions may prompt significant market trends in 2022 and beyond. We'll also attempt to identify how and when the US Fed may disrupt the US markets. We know the actions of the US Fed will prompt some significant trends over the next 12 to 24 months. We know certain assets will likely rise in value as fear settles into the markets because of rising interest rates and deflating asset bubbles. It is just a matter of understanding how the speculative asset bubble of the past 8+ years and how the US Fed may move to pop these speculative bubbles soon.Asset Bubbles Everywhere, The Global Markets Continue To FrothAsset bubbles, such as those created in Cryptos, the US stock market, US Real Estate, and the art/collectible market over the past 5+ years, have visualized the US Fed's easy money results in terms of bubbles.Take a look at this chart showing the growth in certain asset classes since the start of 2019. It is incredible to think that these asset classes have rallied so far and so fast in just over 35 months: The Grayscale Bitcoin ETF rallied more than 1200%. The Technology sector rallied more than 200%. Real Estate rallied more than 85%. The S&P 500 rallied more than 94%. The US Federal Reserve's move to lower interest rates after the 2018 market collapse, which resulted in a December 24, 2018, Christmas Bottom, prompted an incredible rally phase where traders followed the US Fed in piling into assets. As long as the US Fed continued buying assets and kept interest rates near zero, global traders had no reason to fight the US Fed.(Source: StockCharts.com)Is The US Fed About To Pop The Bubble From The Stratosphere?Our research suggests the US Federal Reserve is changing its policy a little late into the game. However, it appears the US and global markets have already "rolled over" in terms of growth trends and expectations. This SPY to QQQ ratio chart highlights that the US markets entered a peaking phase in late July/August 2020 and reached an ultimate peak in February 2021.(Source: TradingView.com)S&P 500 PE Ratio Suggests Investors Are ALL-IN For The Next 90+ YearsIn other words, it appears traders have reached their ceiling in terms of what they believe the US Fed is capable of doing at this stage in the rally. For example, the PE Ratio of the US Stock market ending in 2021 ended just below 30, with a historical high for 2021 near 37. The historical mean is 15.96 – which is still relatively high for the US stock market.Remember, a PE level of 15.96 means any investor buying in at those levels would need a minimum of 15.96 years of a company handing over "every penny of revenue" to the investor (excluding all costs, payrolls, taxes, fees, and other operating expenses) to cover the PE multiple of the investment. So a PE level of 30, as we see at the end of 2021, suggests that stock price valuation levels are at least 60 to 90+ years ahead of real returns.The only thing that can change this historic level of speculation in the markets is a deleveraging/revaluation event.(Source: multpl.com)From the US Fed's Actions To How Traders Should Prepare For Shifting MarketsThis first part of our ongoing research into the US Fed's actions and where they are telegraphing their intents will continue. Part II of this article will investigate how traders should read into these shifting markets and where we're attempting to highlight what has taken place over the past 3 to 5+ years.We've managed to live through an incredible event in history. I can only think of one other time when a global superpower extended this type of credit and support for the worldwide economy. That was the Roman Empire many thousands of years ago.What we experience over the next 20 to 40+ years could be the biggest and most incredible opportunity of your lifetime. The process of deleveraging all this debt and working all this capital through the global markets over the next few decades may present one of the most incredible investment/trading opportunities anyone has ever seen in over 1500 years.Look for my Part II to this article, and we'll continue exploring the current shifts in the US and global stock and asset markets.Finding The Right Strategies That Will Help You Navigate Through Bulls & BearsIf you have struggled with finding opportunities over the past year or so and want to know which are the hottest sectors, or how to protect and grow your capital, then please take a minute to review my Total ETF Portfolio - Triple-Strategy Trading Plan to help you profit from these big market transitions.Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
If USD increases, will crypto go down?

If USD increases, will crypto go down?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 13.01.2022 08:49
The value of the cryptocurrency market rose almost 3% over the past 24 hours to 2.07 trillion. Exceeding the psychologically important circular mark pulled demand for coins outside the top 10. Separately, bitcoin enjoyed demand from the pull into risky assets in traditional financial markets and the weakening dollar. Bitcoin has fallen slightly short of the entire crypto market since the beginning of the week, pushing its share down to 40%. However, it is too early to say that a new rally in crypto has begun. The crypto market remains 30% below its peaks in early November, and capitalisation growth is uneven. Interestingly, the cryptocurrency fear and greed index lost 1 point to 21 overnight, despite increasing market cap. Yesterday's rise did not gain traction at the start of the day on Thursday. Fixing above $45K against $43.5K now would confirm the strength of the bulls. It is reasonable to talk about a rebound within the descending channel until that time. If the dollar goes back to growth in the nearest future, it will pressure stock markets. The cryptocurrency market, in these circumstances, risks reversing back to the downside, stopping the rebound and remaining in a prolonged downtrend channel. We should be wary of a smooth decline like this, as it drains optimists. We saw a similar descent in 2018 when the fall became uniformly smooth in the second half of the year, and a wide range of crypto-enthusiasts switched to standby mode until mid-2020.
USDCHF a bit down, XAUUSD not changing much and we might say USOIL steadily goes up

USDCHF a bit down, XAUUSD not changing much and we might say USOIL steadily goes up

John Benjamin John Benjamin 13.01.2022 08:54
USDCHF tests daily support The US dollar plunged after December’s CPI slowed down to 0.5% from 0.8% in November. Despite a swift recovery from the daily support at 0.9100, price action came under pressure once again at December’s supply area (0.9280). The dive below 0.9180 then 0.9140 is a sign of liquidation as buyers rush to the exit. As the greenback revisits the critical support at 0.9100, an oversold RSI may attract some buying interest. The former demand area around 0.9200 is now the first resistance level. XAUUSD looks to break out Gold edged higher as the US dollar softened across the board. The precious metal has met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone around 1830. This level used to be a support from last November’s sell-off. The recovery above the psychological level of 1800 shows the bulls’ commitment to keeping the price afloat. A break above the supply zone would force the sell-side to cover and trigger an extended rally towards the previous peak at 1870. On the downside, 1800 has turned into a fresh support. USOIL continues upward WTI crude climbed higher after a larger-than-expected fall in US inventories. A close above the daily resistance at 79.00 was a strong bullish sign. Following a brief pause, the rally accelerated above 80.40. Sentiment remains upbeat and the bulls are keen to buy the dip during a pullback. A breach above 82.20 would clear the path to the peak at 85.00. An overbought RSI may cause a temporary retreat. In that case, trend-followers could be looking to jump in near the closest support at 81.20.
Moderna (MRNA) Stock Price and Forecast: Why do dead cats bounce?

Moderna (MRNA) Stock Price and Forecast: Why do dead cats bounce?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 12.01.2022 15:58
MRNA shares slump on Tuesday after a strong bounce on Monday. FXStreet had called the Monday bounce as likely to fail. Moderna needs to find a new revenue source as covid likely to fade. Moderna (MRNA) shares failed to rally on Tuesday despite Fed Chair Powell talking calmly to Capitol Hill and soothing most equities in the process. Risk was back on and rate hikes are also likely on, this time in March. Powell has carefully mapped out the strategy so as not to surprise markets, and despite yields rising slightly, tech continued to bounce on Tuesday. However, Moderna shares slumped. Moderna (MRNA) stock news Shares in Moderna closed over 5% lower at $221.39 on Tuesday. Many traders are asking why, when all major indices closed higher. Mainstream media have been trotting out the rotation line, which is a neat excuse for, "We don't really know why that happened, so let us just compare it to something else." The fact as always is to do with momentum and trends. Moderna has been falling, and this latest fall is symptomatic of waning investor interest as covid looks to fade. Moderna is hugely over-reliant on its covid vaccine for income. Yes, it has a decent pipeline, but nothing else can come close to matching the revenue generation of its covid vaccine. This is the big problem. Pfizer is much more diversified and a larger company with multiple revenue streams. Moderna (MRNA) is not in this league. It may get there one day, but in the meantime it will face revenue generation challenges. Take a look at the Moderna development pipeline here. It is impressive but nothing that looks either imminent or significant in terms of replacing covid vaccine revenue. Covid is/was a once-in-a-century event (fingers crossed). Moderna (MRNA) stock forecast There is nothing significant in Monday's move despite MRNA shares closing 9% higher. We outlined this in our article earlier in the week and remain bearish on Moderna. The trend is in place as Monday failed to break above $259, so we remain with lower lows and lower highs. $259 is the pivot for the short term. $188.41 is the first target with $200 a big psychological level along the way. There is a pattern here: declining Relative Strength Index (RSI), declining Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and declining stock price. We have a volume gap from $200 until $180. There is more downside in our view unless MRNA shares close above $259. Moderna (MRNA) chart, daily
All Eyes on Copper

All Eyes on Copper

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 13.01.2022 15:36
S&P 500 sold off only a little in the wake of CPI data – probably celebrating that the figure wasn‘t 8% but only 7%. As if that weren‘t uncomfortable already – and the Fed wants to field accelerated taper, and perhaps even four quarter-point rate hikes to tame it? Oh, and perhaps also balance sheet reduction through not reinvesting proceeds from matured bonds and notes as talked on Monday – sure, that will do the trick. Looking at Treasuries over the prior two days shows that the Fed isn‘t being questioned. Value defends the high ground while tech rallies – Monday‘s fear with its brief return Tuesday, is in the rear-view mirror, compacency returning, and VIX again below 18. Prior upswing consolidation right next, is the most likely action for S&P 500. The real gains though are being made elsewhere – in crude oil and copper. With commodities back on fire, these two have certainly greater appreciation potential next than stocks or cryptos – so, long live our open longs there! The red metal has defied base metals intraday consolidation yesterday, and that has consequences for inflation trades – silver is waiting in the wings. To give you an idea how mispriced the risk of persistently unpleasant inflation is, yesterday‘s CPI coming only in line with expectations, caused inflation expectations to decline… At least the dollar took a rightful breather – its prior sideways consolidation has been broken to the downside. Currencies are starting to figure out inflation, and just how far and inadequate Fed‘s promise to take on it, has been... Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Daily consolidation of prior strong gains that‘s likely to go on today – stocks are making up their mind as to where next in the very short run now that the bears had been repelled. Credit Markets HYG is likewise looking to need some time to move higher next – volume is declining, and a brief sideways move is most likely now. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are still sideways to up – not down. The pressure to go higher is building up, waiting for the Fed miscalculation, or perception of the consequencies of its upcoming action. The faith in the central bank isn‘t yet really shaken. Crude Oil Crude oil finds it easiest to keep rising – the technical and fundamental conditions are in place, and oil stocks will continue to be the leading S&P 500 performers. Copper Copper is starting to play catch up to the other commodities finally – it‘ll be a rocky ride, but the red metal has waken up, and cast a clear verdict on inflation that has to seep into other markets next. Will take time, but we‘ll get there. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum didn‘t convince on the upside, and with no dovish surprise on the horizon, the path of least resistance probably remains down for now. Summary S&P 500 turnaround is getting cemented, and worries about the hawkish Fed or inflation look to be momentarily receding. Not even the PPI is waking up the markets – the focus seems to be on measly 0.1% undershoot. Ironic, pathetic. While stocks keep on moving in a tight range, and still want to keep on appreciating modestly, the real action is happening in the commodities, to be followed by precious metals. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
We Will Probably Review All Of Inflation Indicators Around The World This Weekend

The USD Had a Slip-Up, but Gold Turned a Blind Eye to It

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 13.01.2022 15:22
  “It’s my party and I’ll fall if I want to”, sang gold and kept its word. Although the dollar weakened, gold seemed reluctant to take advantage of it. Now that was a big decline in the USD Index! What made gold yawn and why is it declining today? Because it doesn’t want to rally. I’ve been writing this over and over again, and yet I’ll write it once more. Markets don’t move in a straight line up or down, and periodic corrections are natural. However, the way markets interact during those corrections tells us a lot about what’s likely to take place next, at least in the case of some markets. The USD Index declined quite visibly yesterday and in today’s overnight trading. The key questions are: so what, and if that was completely unexpected. Starting with the latter, it wasn’t unexpected. It’s something in tune with gold’s long-term chart. When the weekly RSI (based on the weekly price changes) for the USD Index hit 70, I wrote the following: Also, please note that the recent medium-term rally has been calmer than any major upswing witnessed over the last 20 years, where the USD Index’s RSI has hit 70. I marked the recent rally in the RSI with an orange rectangle, and I did the same with the second-least and third-least volatile of the medium-term upswings. The sharp rallies in 2008 and 2014 were of much larger magnitudes. And in those historical analogies, the USD Index continued its surge for some time without suffering any material corrections. As a result, the short-term outlook is more of a coin flip. Consequently, the current decline is not unexpected, it’s rather normal. I marked additional situations on the above chart with orange rectangles – these were the recent cases when the RSI based on the USD Index moved from very low levels to or above 70. In all three previous cases, there was some corrective downswing after the initial part of the decline, but once it was over – and the RSI declined somewhat – the big rally returned and the USD Index moved to new highs. I marked those declines in the RSI with blue rectangles, and I did the same thing for the current decline. As you can see, the size of the move lower is currently analogous to previous short-term corrections that were then followed by higher prices. This means that it’s quite likely over or very close to being over, and the medium-term rally can return any day now. Moving back to USD’s short-term chart, we see that the USD Index just (in overnight trading, so the move is not even close to being confirmed) moved a little below USDX’s rising support line based on the previous June and October 2021 lows. At the same time, the USDX is slightly below its late-2020 top and slightly above its November 2021 top. In light of the situation on the long-term USDX chart (as discussed above), this combination of support levels is likely to trigger a rebound and the continuation of the medium-term rally. At the beginning of 2021, I wrote that the year was likely to be bullish for the USD Index, and my forecast for gold (and the rest of the precious metals sector) was bullish – against that of almost every one of my colleagues. The USD Index ended 2021 about 6% higher, gold was down about 3.5%, silver was down almost 12%, the GDX ETF was down by about 9.5%, and the GDXJ ETF (proxy for junior mining stocks, my primary tool for shorting the precious metals sector in 2021 – I wasn’t shorting gold at any point in 2021) was down by about 21%. What about this year? It’s a tough call to say how the entire year will go, but it seems to me that the USD Index will move higher, and we’ll see both in the PMs: a massive decline, and then a huge rally. It’s very likely to be a year to remember for anyone interested in trading gold, silver, and/or mining stocks and/or investing in them. Let’s get back to the current situation. The USD Index declined to fresh 2022 lows – well below the previous January lows, and also below the December and late-November lows. How did gold respond? Gold rallied – but just by a mere $8.80. While gold got close to its early-January high, it didn’t manage to move above it. 2022 is still a down year for gold. Also, gold is clearly below its November 2021 highs, when it was trading close to $1,900. Is gold showing strength here? Absolutely not. Gold is showing the opposite of strength. It’s weak and unwilling to react to the USD’s weakness. That’s exactly what I want to see as a bearish indication if I plan on entering a short position in the precious metals sector or when I’m timing an exit of a long position, or as a confirmation of a bearish narrative in general. So, yes, of course I want to say that yesterday’s rally in gold was a bearish development. That’s the case, because gold should have rallied so much more, given what happened in the USD Index. Today’s overnight action makes the bearish case even clearer. The USDX is down a bit, but gold is down too, anyway. It simply doesn’t want to rally. Gold wants to decline instead. Mining stocks and silver behaved similarly to gold yesterday – they didn’t move to, let alone above, their previous 2022 highs. Consequently, they confirm the indications for the gold vs. USD dynamic – they don’t point to something else. Summing up, the outlook for silver, gold, and mining remains bearish for the medium term, and this week’s rally seems to be nothing more than a counter-trend breather. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Uniswap Price Prediction: UNI prepares for a 22% run-up

Uniswap Price Prediction: UNI prepares for a 22% run-up

FXStreet News FXStreet News 13.01.2022 15:56
Uniswap price has bounced off the weekly support at $14.97, signaling the start of an uptrend. Investors can expect UNI to revisit $18.67 after a minor retracement. A four-hour candlestick close below $14.97 will invalidate the bullish thesis. Uniswap price has created a double bottom around a crucial weekly support level, resulting in a new uptrend. Although there might be a minor retracement, investors can expect the recent bullish outlook to persist. Uniswap price to kick-start a new leg-up Uniswap price set a higher high at $16.64 after bouncing off the $14.97 weekly support level twice in the last four days. This development resulted in a quick run-up which seems to have hit a temporary ceiling. Market participants can expect Uniswap price to undergo a minor retracement as preparations for the next leg-up. Assuming UNI retraces to $15.33, investors can open a long position there, expecting the next rally to propel the token to retest the weekly resistance level at $18.67. Investors can take profit at the level mentioned above or wait for a sweep of the $19.61 hurdle to collect the buy-stop liquidity resting above it. Either way, Uniswap price looks primed for another leg-up. UNI/USDT 4-hour chart While things are looking up for Uniswap price, a failure to hold above the weekly support level at $14.97 will indicate weakness among buyers. If sellers take over, UNI could crash to the immediate support level at $13.88, where buyers will have another chance at a comeback. If Uniswap price produces a four-hour candlestick close below the aforementioned support, however, it will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis.
Dandelion's Journey Is Now Live In GWENT! Love Event Starting Soon!

GameStop Stock Price and Forecast: Is this game over for GME stock?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 13.01.2022 15:56
GameStop stock continues to edge lower with little momentum. GME shares slide to $128, nearly 2% lower on Wednesday. GME stock is down 30% over the last three months and 13% this year. GameStop (GME) is reaching a key juncture. Now that the Fed has seemingly performed its magic act of raising rates and keeping markets happy, it is time to see if meme stocks can benefit from a more risk-on tone in equities. Meme stocks are all about momentum, not valuation, and there have been worrying signs for the last quarter. Small lot trades have been decreasing, and these are often used as an indicator of retail activity. Call option volumes have also decreased, another meme stock feature used widely by retail traders. Finally, the economy is nearly fully open, and the Omicron variant is milder. Will meme stocks ever recapture their preeminence of this time last year when they ruled the airwaves? GameStop (GME) was the number one topic on CNBC, and every other major financial news outlet. This year, so far, it barely warrants a mention. Momentum is worrying, and that is all meme stocks have to support them. GameStop (GME) stock news Today, January 13, marks the exact one-year anniversary of the first huge pop in the GME stock price. On January 13, 2021, GME stock spiked 57%, having been near 100% intraday, and set in motion the saga as we know it. That took GME shares from $20 to nearly $40 before closing back at $31.40. Many of us, myself included, thought this was madness when we took a close look at the company. Now if you got the chance to buy stock in GME at $40, you would jump at it. This is an example of how price alters the perception of value and why retailers have constant sales. Technically, the double top has been the problem here. GME put in a double top on November and December last year that has played out perfectly. The slide though has continued past the target. $118 is now key, and breaking below sees volume dry up and a likely move to $70. Breaking $160 to $167 is needed to change the view to a more bullish stance in our opinion. GameStop (GME) chart, daily
Next Rate Hikes In The USA Ahead. Update on Dollar Index (DXY)

Next Rate Hikes In The USA Ahead. Update on Dollar Index (DXY)

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 13.01.2022 09:55
Fundamental and technical factors on the dollar locally give opposite signals. However, after a long period of strengthening the American currency, a corrective DXY pullback looks like a logical short-term prospect. On Wednesday, the US dollar came under pressure, the sharpest loss since last May and coming out of a prolonged consolidation. The dollar index retreated below 95 for the first time in two months. EURUSD surpassed 1.1400, trading at 1.1440 at the time of writing, having consolidated beyond the narrow range where the pair had spent the previous almost two months. Often such a decisive move out of the range is followed by a further breakout move, which we may well see in the coming days. The Dollar Index closed below the 50-day moving average on Tuesday and made a further move lower on Wednesday. The fall out of the range gave an informal start to the correction after the rally from May through most of November and the sideways movement in December. A potential target for such a pullback is seen in the 93.50-94.00 area. Near 94 is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the dollar's move amplitude in 2021 and the starting point of the last rally in November. Near 93.50, the peak area of the index last year could be equally strong support. It hardly makes sense to say now that we are seeing the start of a big wave of dollar decline, as solid fundamentals support its growth. It looks like Fed members started a competition on whose expectations and comments are the most hawkish, and consumer inflation has given little reason to change the rhetoric. Among the latest comments is Powell's reassurance that the economy can cope with rate hikes. Fighting inflation is a top priority for the US central bank. Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, predicts a first rate hike as early as March. This practically rules out a pause between the end of balance buying and the first policy tightening. Furthermore, there are increasing signs that rate increases can continue to occur more frequently than once a quarter, as was the case in the previous tightening cycle. Many other central banks in developed countries are not yet prepared to tighten their policies as vigorously, which generally creates a sustained pull towards the USD on the interest rate differential in its favour.
Dogecoin (DOGE) allowed by Tesla (TSLA) in some way. BTC and ETH with decreases

Dogecoin (DOGE) allowed by Tesla (TSLA) in some way. BTC and ETH with decreases

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 14.01.2022 10:05
Pressure on US tech stocks was a significant theme in US trading yesterday, dragging cryptocurrencies down. The Crypto market capitalisation adjusted 1.1% overnight to $2.05 trillion. Bitcoin is losing 2% overnight, down to $42.8K, and ether is losing about 1.5% to $3.3K. Other top coins are declining with much less amplitude, as investment fund darlings rather than crypto enthusiasts have been hit the hardest. The Doge, which has become accepted as a means of payment for some (inexpensive) Tesla goods, deserves a separate story. Some have noted that goods for Doge are selling out even faster than for dollars. On this news, the coin is adding 18% today at $0.20, near the highs for the month. This news is a good illustration of crypto's continued penetration of corporate culture. On the other hand, Tesla won't necessarily hold these coins forever. People will be more active in spending their investments in DOGE. The technical view of the ETHUSD is disappointing because the selling intensified earlier in the week while it tried to break the 200 SMA again. The dip and consolidation below suggest a break of the bullish trend formed in May 2020, when the pair consolidated above this line. In a worst-case scenario, it could be a road to $1300-1700, about half of the current levels. It is doubtful that in this bear market cycle, the price of ether will lose 95% of its peak, as it did in 2018, which could completely nullify the rise from 2020. Bitcoin's disposition is no less worrisome. A death cross forms in it as the 50-day dips below the 200-day. At the same time, the price is below these averages, which reinforces the bearish signal. Attempts earlier in the week to form a rebound are encountering more substantial selling, further indicating seller pressure. The bearish picture in Ether and Bitcoin makes the entire cryptocurrency sector appear cautious in the near term. Individual growth stories, like DOGE, run the risk of quickly losing strength today when the overall backdrop turns negative.
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

US 100 doesn't go really high, XAGUSD seems to feel quite good

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.01.2022 08:38
US 100 revisits major support The Nasdaq 100 faltered after an unexpected rise in US initial jobless claims. The tech index bounced off the demand zone around 15200 which used to be a resistance on the daily chart. A bullish divergence revealed a slowdown in the sell-off momentum. The latest break above 15820 prompted some sellers to cover but came under pressure at 15980. After intraday traders took profit, 15200 is a critical support to keep the rebound relevant. A deeper correction would send the price to 14900. EURGBP stuck in bearish trend The euro rose after ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said the inflation spike may last longer than projected. Nonetheless, the bearish sentiment still prevails after the pair failed to hold on to 0.8370. The former support has now turned into a resistance. The current consolidation could be a distribution phase and a drop below 0.8325 could send the price to February 2020’s lows near 0.8290. On the upside, the bulls have the challenging task of lifting offers around 0.8370 and then 0.8415 before they could attract more followers. XAGUSD tests major resistance Silver extends its recovery on the back of a weak US dollar. The metal saw support at the psychological level of 22.00. A break above the resistance at 22.80 and then an acceleration to the upside indicates strong buying interest. An overbought RSI has temporarily held the rally back. The bulls are testing the daily resistance at 23.40. A breakout could shake sellers out and trigger a reversal above 24.00. On the downside, buyers could be lurking around 22.60 in case of a pullback.
US Federal Reserve - Playing With Fire Part II

US Federal Reserve - Playing With Fire Part II

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 14.01.2022 22:49
The US Federal Reserve has recently taken steps to communicate a change in future policy – suggesting raising interest rates and acting more aggressively to combat inflation. Throughout the last few weeks of 2021 and early 2022, these comments and posturing by the US Fed have created some very big downside price moves in the US major indexes. As a result, the US markets' volatility levels (VIX) have moved to a recent average between 17~21 – nearly 3x historical normal levels.US Fed Likely To Move Very Slowly On RatesOne thing that I believe has become evident to many people is that we have moved past the COVID stimulus conversations of the past 24+ months. Inflation, rising prices, constricted supply-chains, and an excess of capital throughout many global markets appear to have shifted how the US Fed interprets future risks. The Fed is telegraphing these concerns to investors very clearly right now, which means traders/investors are shifting their focus away from high-flying Growth stocks.Even though traders are attempting to shift capital away from certain risky sectors in the US and global markets, I still believe we have about 60 to 120+ days before the bigger market shift takes place.The US Federal Reserve will likely start addressing inflationary concerns by reducing their balance sheet assets – not by aggressively raising interest rates. I feel the US Fed will navigate Q1:2022 and Q2:2022 by reducing balance sheet assets while allowing the global supply-chain issues to attempt to resolve themselves. By June/July 2022, or later, I believe the Fed may start to consider rate increases as a means to slow inflation.Fed Comments Shift Investor Sentiment – Metals In Focus For Later 2022This move away from Dovish/easy-money policies will push traders to consider more traditional hedge investments – like Gold and Silver. I'm sure you've read some comments over the past 24+ months about Gold being an extremely undervalued asset as the US Fed poured trillions of stimulus dollars into the economy? These comments were made concerning the fact that Gold rallied from $1450 in 2019 to almost $2100 in 2020 – over 12 months (over +43%). Could a big move in Gold/Silver happen again in 2022 or 2023?My research suggests a Double Pennant/Flag formation in Gold suggests the $1675 support level becomes critical soon. It also indicates a Breakout/Breakdown move may start to happen before March or April 2022 – near the APEX of the current Pennant/Flag formation.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! The key APEX range is currently between $1785 and $1830. This represents a very tight price range where Gold may attempt to consolidate as we move towards the March/April Apex. My research suggests a move to levels near $1740 to $1750 may happen just before the Apex Breakout/Breakdown initiates. So, watch for a bit of downside price volatility in Gold before the end of February 2022.Junior Gold Miners May Rally +45%, Or More, On A Gold Price RallyThe Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ) Weekly Chart shows a firm support level near $37.35 that should act as a floor for price. My research suggests the next 45+ days will see GDXJ prices stay below $44 to $45 – trading in a reasonably tight range before starting to rally higher near the end of February 2022.I believe Metals and Miners are aligning for a late February 2022 or Q2:2022 rally. The reason is that I believe the positioning by the US Fed, and expectations related to later 2022 (a mid-term election year), may prompt quite a bit of concern for the US and global equities. This will likely push investors and traders into “old-school” hedge instruments – like Gold and Silver.That means Junior Gold and Silver Miners maybe about 55+ days away from an explosive upside price trend.SILJ May Rally +70% to +100%, Or More, On Fed ActionsNear the end of 2022, I published a research article highlighting the incredible opportunity in Silver – focusing on how the Gold/Silver ratio had recently reached another peak level and had started to decline: Fear May Drive Silver More Than 60% Higher In 2022. This move suggests the disparity between the price of Gold to the price of Silver shows Gold is appreciated (and holding greater value) than Silver over the past few years.The COVID virus event, and the subsequent Fed/Government stimulus, shifted investors/traders focus away from precious metals and into the equities market speculative rally. Now that the US Fed is starting to warn of more aggressive rate increases and other actions, precious metals are suddenly much more important as a hedge against future risks.This SILJ Weekly Chart highlights the incredible base level, near $12, that continues to offer traders a fantastic hedge against a sudden Fed move. Using a simple Fibonacci Price Extension, we can see a $20 target level (+61%) and a $25.64 target level (100%). If the $12 level holds as a base/support, SILJ may be one of the easiest and best hedges against a sudden Fed move right now.The US Federal Reserve is, in my opinion, playing with fireThe COVID Virus Event pushed global debt levels higher by more than $19.5 Trillion Dollars (Source: Bloomberg ). The rush to attempt to save the global economy has created a massive surge in global debt levels – pushing the global debt to GDP level to well above 356% (Source: Axios).Why is this so important right now? Because the US Federal Reserve is talking about an attempt to move interest rates and Fed decision-making back to near-normal levels. In my opinion, this was the one fault of Alan Greenspan in 2006-07. The thought that we can raise rates to “near normal level” at any time when we have grown debt levels excessively throughout the world is failed thinking and ignorant, in my opinion.The US Federal Reserve is trapped and almost backed into a corner. I believe the US Fed will find any rate increases above 1.00 before the end of 2023 will significantly disrupt the global speculative bubble. Any attempt to move rates to levels near or above 2.00 would represent a nearly +2000% rate increase in less than 12 to 24 months. If you want to see a shock to the global markets where global debt to GDP is closing in on 400%, try raising the FFR by more than 2000% over a short period of time. That is what I call “playing with FIRE.”.(Source: Axios)2022 and 2023 will be filled with significant market trends and increased volatility. Right now, traders and investors need to understand the global markets are attempting to quickly transition away from a speculative/growth phase as the US Federal Reserve attempts to telegraph future rate increases. So it's time to start thinking about how to prepare for unknowns and how to protect your capital more efficiently.Growth sectors and US major indexes may continue to move higher for the next 30 to 60+ days, but my research suggests Q2:2022 may represent a "change in thinking" related to a late-2022 Fed shift. We are starting to see the markets move away from the speculative bubble-type trending we saw in 2020 and early 2021. Keep your eyes open and learn how to prepare for the big trends over the next 3+ years. The Fed is playing with fire right now. One wrong move and the markets could start a drastic price correction/reversion.Finding The Right Trading StrategiesIf you have struggled with finding opportunities over the past year or so and want to know which are the hottest sectors, or how to protect and grow your capital, then please take a minute to review my Total ETF Portfolio – Triple-Strategy Trading Plan to help you profit from these big market transitions.Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
Powell Sends a Smile to Gold

Powell Sends a Smile to Gold

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 14.01.2022 16:27
  Powell testified before the Senate. He didn’t say anything new, but gold rallied a bit. “We have totally screwed up inflation and now we are in deep trouble,” admitted Jerome Powell during his appearance before the Senate. OK, he didn’t formulate it exactly that way, but it was the message of his testimony. Powell admitted that the Fed wrongly expected a faster easing of supply disruptions and thought that price pressures would be much lower by now. As a consequence, inflation was believed to be only ‘transitory’. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. “The supply-side constraints have been very durable. We are not seeing the kind of progress that all forecasters thought we’d be seeing by now. We did foresee a strong spike in demand. We didn’t know it would be so focused on goods,” saidPowell. As a result of the Fed’s inaction, inflation has risen 7% in 2021, the fastest pace since February 1982, as the chart below shows. After conducting very complicated calculations, Powell admitted that “inflation is running very far above target.” Bold deduction, Sherlock! Such high inflation is indeed a troublesome and even central bankers realize that. This is why Powell stated that “the economy no longer needs or wants the very accommodative policies we have had in place,” and that “we will use our tools to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.” However, there is a problem here. The main tool the Fed has to fight inflation is raising the federal funds rate, but hiking interest rates may hamper economic expansion and even trigger the next financial crisis. As Powell admitted, “if inflation does become too persistent, that will lead to much tighter monetary policy and that could lead to a recession.” Thus, the central bank is between a rock and a hard place, between high inflation and the risk of slowing economic expansion or even of an economic crisis.   Implications for Gold What does Powell’s testimony imply for the gold market? Well, theoretically not much, as it didn’t include any major surprises. However, Powell sounded quite hawkish. For example, he downplayed the economic consequences of the current surge in coronavirus cases, and said that it’s likely not changing the Fed’s plans to tighten its monetary policy this year. These plans are relatively bold for this year: “We are going to end asset purchases in March. We will raise rates. And at some point this year will let the balance sheet runoff,” Powell said. However, it seems that Powell sounded less hawkish than investors were afraid of. Given such worries, the lack of any surprises could be dovish. This is at least what gold’s performance suggests. As the chart below shows, Powell’s testimony triggered a small rally and revived optimism in the gold market. That’s for sure encouraging. After all, gold jumped above a key level of $1,800, catching some breath, but it’s too early to call a major reversal in the gold market. The yellow metal would have to sustain itself above $1,820 and then surpass $1,850, or even higher levels, to trumpet a bullish breakout. There are still several headwinds for gold. First of all, the monetary hawks haven’t struck yet. They are growing in strength, as several regional bank presidents have recently called for a rate hike as soon as in March. Such calls may strengthen the expectations of rate increases, boosting bond yields, and creating downward pressure for gold prices. We’ll find out soon whether it will happen or not, as the January FOMC meeting is in two weeks, and it could be a groundbreaking event in the gold market. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
BTCUSD Moving Down In General, ETHUSD Not So Far From November Tops

BTCUSD Moving Down In General, ETHUSD Not So Far From November Tops

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 17.01.2022 08:33
The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index has been cruising between 21-23 for the past seven days - in the extreme fear territory, finding itself in the middle of that range on Monday. Meanwhile, the value of all coins tracked by CoinMarketCap fell 0.5% in the last 24 hours to $2.05 trillion. By and large, a sideways range, $2.0-$2.1 trillion, has also been prevalent here for the past seven days, marking a lull in bull and bear fighting. It remains to be seen whether this signifies fatigue from the past months' turbulent moves or preparations for a new strong momentum. The local victory is on the bears' side, dominating the top coins now, where losses range from -0.8% for Bitcoin to -5.7% for Polkadot over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin failed to build on last week's upside momentum and is back in the $41-42K consolidation area, approaching it from above. A decline from these levels in the coming days will be a development of the downtrend since November, reversing the BTCUSD from the upper boundary of the downtrend channel. A bearish scenario suggests a dip towards $31K by the end of this week to close the July gap. But the door for such a decline will only open after the bulls surrender the $40K level they managed to hold in September and earlier in January. Ether has also encountered a sell-off in its attempts to rise above $3.3K. The 200-day moving average level is now acting as significant resistance. Bitcoin and Ether, which have a combined capitalisation of almost 60% of all cryptocurrencies, show worryingly negative dynamics. At the same time, their share has been declining since late last year. We are seeing either a shift in investor attitudes towards the sector leaders or certain inertia of altcoins compared to the flagships. Right now, it seems that crypto enthusiasts are not at all opposed to the changing landscape. However, as is often the case in nature, such changes rarely go smoothly.      
SAND not sure where to go?

SAND not sure where to go?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.01.2022 15:58
Sandbox investors are not returning to the scene as bulls refrain from erasing Thursday’s fade SAND price action enters a squeeze with bulls being pushed against the $4.72 level and stopped out on a break below. Expect a possible dip further to the downside if no help comes from global markets. The Sandbox (SAND) looked to be starting an uptrend after the perfect technical bounce off the monthly S1 support level at $4.19. Instead, the rally was short-lived and underwent a fade yesterday with investors reluctant to pick price up off the floor of the $4.72 historical level. If global markets don’t rally today, expect a dip to the downside with bulls getting stopped out and a nosedive back towards $4.19. Pressure is mounting with bulls cut short and pushed back at the entry This week, the Sandbox was on the same page as most other cryptocurrencies, having found support and delivered promising signs of a new rally that could set the tone for 2022. But instead, markets and participants are having issues reading between the lines on central bank tightening from the FED – and what that means for equity investments and portfolio rebalancing. With that, cryptocurrencies took a step back yesterday, and SAND failed to pare back yesterday’s incurred losses. SAND bulls look to have fled the scene as bears push price-action back down against the $4.72 level that holds some historical importance in SAND’s brief existence. A break below would trigger another sharp sell-off as stops run, and sell volume gets enlarged. A test or break below the monthly S1 at $4.19 could then follow.. SAND/USD daily chart Although European equities are red, US futures are mildly green, so sentiment could quickly shift once the US cash trading session starts. This will see a bounce off the historical level and a swing to the upside, touching the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $5.60 or the monthly pivot just above. That would preposition SAND bulls for an attack on the red descending trend line in the week to come.
YUAN feels good even after not so optimistic stats

YUAN feels good even after not so optimistic stats

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 17.01.2022 12:33
China published mixed economic data noting a slowdown in a year-over-year comparison, but some of the data exceeded expectations. The Chinese renminbi has been on the offensive against the US dollar for the past week, bringing USDCNH back to test the lows of the past six months. The economy grew by 1.6% last quarter after 0.2% previously. However, the GDP growth was 4.0% y/y - the lowest since the second quarter of 2020. Industrial production added 4.3%, markedly better than the expected 3.7%. December retail sales data disappointed with growth slowing to just 1.7% y/y, the lowest since August 2020. Weakness in domestic demand data has not stopped the demand for the Chinese renminbi, which is testing the 6.35 mark for the second month. Since the beginning of December, the pair has bounced out of this area. Earlier in May 2021, we also witnessed a prolonged reversal near this level. The USDCNH traded steadily lower from January to May 2018 but turned to the upside at the start of the trade wars. The yuan has settled well, consolidating in a narrow range since late October, which has created the potential for a resumption of the trend. A firm consolidation below 6.35 at the end of the week or the month would be an essential signal for starting a new downward wave. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of another bounce from these levels for the time being.
S&P 500 (SPX) Chart Looks Like An Interesting Mountain Trip. Oil keeps moving up

S&P 500 (SPX) Chart Looks Like An Interesting Mountain Trip. Oil keeps moving up

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.01.2022 15:18
S&P 500 didn‘t like latest weak data releases, but finished well off intraday lows. This reversal though leaves quite something to be desired – and it‘s sectoral composition doesn‘t pass the smell test entirely either. Yields continued to rise while HYG barely closed where it opened – that‘s not really risk-on. Cyclicals, and riskier parts of tech weren‘t visibly outperforming – the S&P 500 rally felt like a defensive bounce off some oversold levels. That‘s why it won‘t likely hold for long – I don‘t think we have seen the end of selling – more downside awaits. It‘s still correction time, even if 2022 is likely to end up around 5,150 – we‘re still in a bull market, and Big Tech would do well. For now though, rising yields are putting pressure – and they would continue to rise. As liquidity would no longer be added by the Fed by Mar, the question remains how much would funds coming out of the repo facilities and the overnight account at the Fed (think $2t basically) offset the intended tightening. Commodities aren‘t at all shaken, and Wednesday‘s positive copper move doesn‘t look to be an outlier – unlike Friday‘s decline that didn‘t correspond with other base metals. Even though it might be soothing to the pension funds, inflation rates aren‘t likely to come down to the usual massaged 2% during the next 2-3 years, no matter whether the Fed hikes by 0.25% 6 or 8 times. The persistently and unpleasantly 4-5% high CPI is likely to break the mainstream narrative, and stay with us for much longer than generally anticipated, which is only part of the reason why I am looking for gold to leave $1,870s very convincingly in the dust this year. Both yellow and black gold would rise in tandem, and the rising open crude oil profits (heavy long positions opened at $78) are part of the reason behind permanently elevated inflation ahead. The commodities upswing is also no longer tempered by the rising dollar. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook The tech reversal could carry the daily weight of S&P 500 upswing – the daily weight only. I‘m not looking for this modest show of strength to hold. Credit Markets HYG didn‘t close strongly either – rising yields are taking their toll, and will continue doing so. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver downswing needn‘t be feared – while the metals are still sideways, the pressure to go up is building, and the dollar woes would be but the first catalyst (challenged faith in the Fed taming inflation would be next). Crude Oil Crude oil still finds it easiest to keep rising, and black gold could pause a little on the approach to $90 – the technical and fundamental upswing conditions are in place, and oil stocks will continue to be among the best S&P 500 performers. Copper Copper catch up was postponed a little – that‘s all. The decline wasn‘t a true reversal, and the red metal would take on $4.60 before too long again. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum still can‘t convince on the upside, and with no dovish surprise on the horizon, the path of least resistance probably remains down for now – today‘s session definitely confirms that. Summary S&P 500 upswing isn‘t to be trusted, and its defensive nature out of tune with bonds, is part of the reason why. The stock market correction has further to go, and while tech overall would do well in 2022, it has to decline first – that would set the stage for a good 2H advance. The early phase of the Fed tightening cycle belongs to the bears, and it would continue to be commodities and precious metals to weather the storms best. Long live the inflation trades. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
FTSE 100 and USDCHF slowly goes up?

FTSE 100 and USDCHF slowly goes up?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 17.01.2022 10:49
USDCHF attempts to rebound The US dollar came under pressure after a contraction in December’s US retail sales. Strong selling pressure from the supply area around 0.9280 has pushed the pair all the way below the daily support at 0.9100. An oversold RSI triggered a buying-the-dips behavior but the rebound could be limited as sentiment tilted to the bearish side. The bulls will need to reclaim the support-turned-resistance at 0.9190 first. Otherwise, a new round of sell-off below 0.9090 could send the greenback to last August lows near 0.9020. NZDUSD seeks post-rally support The New Zealand dollar fell as risk sentiment subsided going into the weekend. The surge above the supply zone around 0.6850 has triggered a reversal fever after a month-long sideways action. As the RSI drops back into the neutrality area, buyers could be waiting to jump in at a discount. A pullback below 0.6840 has led to some profit-taking but as long as the price stays above 0.6780 the rebound is valid, or the kiwi could revisit the critical floor at 0.6700. A break above the recent high at 0.6890 would extend the rally to 0.6960. UK 100 consolidates gains The FTSE 100 finds support from the UK’s stronger-than-expected GDP. A break above the top of the previous consolidation range (7545) means a continuation of the current uptrend. Trend-followers may consider a pullback as an opportunity to stake in. Short-term sentiment remains bullish as long as the index is above 7470. A break above the immediate resistance at 7580 would extend the rally upward. A deeper retracement would test 7370 which used to be a major resistance from the double top on the daily chart.
(TSLA) Tesla Stock with +1.75% There are many factors which can influence its price.

(TSLA) Tesla Stock with +1.75% There are many factors which can influence its price.

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.01.2022 15:56
Tesla gains on Friday as Nasdaq finished in the green. TSLA stock closes at $1049.61 for a gain of 1.75%. Tesla shares are still in a downtrend but holding above the key pivot. Tesla (TSLA) returned to the green on Friday as the NASDAQ took the crown for best performing index, while the Dow suffered a bank burnout. Bank stocks reported on Friday in the form of Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC), and the results were decidedly mixed. Citigroup and JPMorgan fell heavily and dragged the Dow down with them. Yields though remained under control, allowing the Nasdaq to breathe lighter and make some headway after recent losses. This helped Tesla back into the green, but the stock remains choppy and sideways in motion. Tesla Stock News The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that a Tesla lawyer asked Cooley LLP, an international law firm, to fire one of its lawyers who had previously worked at the US SEC. The lawyer in question had supposedly interviewed Elon Musk in the SEC investigation in 2018 into Musk after he claimed on Twitter that he had gotten funding in place to take Tesla private. The SEC investigation led to Elon Musk and Tesla each paying $20 million fines. According to the WSJ article, a Tesla lawyer asked Cooley LLP to fire the attorney late last year, but Cooley did not follow through on the request. Tesla has used alternative law firms on several cases since December. Tesla and Cooley LLP have not yet responded to CNBC requests for comment. This may add to pressure on the stock despite Friday's rebound. Earlier in the week, investors and Cybertruck fans were left disappointed with a further delay to the truck's production timeline release, which has now been pushed to 2023. Tesla Stock Forecast Irrespective of the news, we have an indecisive chart here. TSLA stock's most recent high was a lower one than the previous and has put in a series of lower lows. This means it is currently in a short-term downtrend. $980 is the key pivot that will signify more losses. Breaking $980 makes the target $886. Holding above $980, and the target is $1,200. However, we have a declining Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). The MACD has also crossed into negative territory. Tesla chart, daily
(BTC) Bitcoin with a rise, (ETH) Ether gains as well, (XRP) Ripple probably doesn't feel that well today

(BTC) Bitcoin with a rise, (ETH) Ether gains as well, (XRP) Ripple probably doesn't feel that well today

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.01.2022 15:56
Bitcoin price rejuvenates its uptrend as it bounces off a 4-hour demand zone, extending from $41,843 to $42,707. Ethereum price produces a higher high, signaling a continuation of its uptrend. Ripple price revisits the demand zone, ranging from $0.694 to $0.753, as bulls fail to kick-start a rally. Bitcoin price reveals a bullish outlook albeit a slow one, providing altcoins with an opportunity to run free. The past week is a testament to the recent gains witnessed among many altcoins. While Ethereum continues to remain bullish, Ripple struggles to hold on. Bitcoin price pushes forward Bitcoin price produced a lower low after the January 13 swing high at $44,439 but managed to set a higher low, keeping the uptrend somewhat intact. As BTC bounces off a 4-hour demand zone, extending from $41,843 to $42,707, investors can expect the pioneer crypto to make a run for the previous week’s high at $47,609. This hurdle is present below the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) At $48,590. BTC’s upside potential, though, at least in the short-term, seems to be capped at the aforementioned level. BTC/USD 4-hour chart If Bitcoin price fails to see a bullish reaction off of the $41,843 to $42,707 demand zone, it will indicate weakness among buyers. This lack of interest could allow bears to take control and push BTC down to $41,762 – a four-hour candlestick close below there will then invalidate the bullish thesis. This development could lead Bitcoin price lower, to retest the $39,87 support level. Ethereum price shows strength Ethereum price is in a similar situation to Bitcoin as it produced a higher low but failed to set up a higher high. As long as BTC remains bullish, ETH will follow suit. Market participants can, therefore, expect the smart contract token to make a run for the 200-day SMA at $3,475. Clearing this hurdle will open the path for Ethereum price to revisit the daily supply zone, extending from $3,675 to $3,846. The upper limit of this hurdle coincides with the 50-day SMA, indicating that a further uptrend is unlikely. ETH/USD 4-hour chart Regardless of the optimistic scenario, Ethereum price needs to hold above the weekly support level at $3,061 to see a meaningful uptrend. A breakdown of this foothold will remove confidence and instill doubt among buyers. A four-hour candlestick close below the demand zone’s lower limit at $2,927, however, will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. Ethereum price finds stable support as ETH targets $4,000 Ripple price lacks motivation Ripple price has been teetering on a daily demand zone, stretching from $0.693 to $0.753 since the December 4, 2021 crash. One can assume that this barrier has been weakening. Due to its correlation with BTC, however, XRP price is likely to rally 12% to retest the 50-day SMA at $0.844. The weakened demand zone could face destruction by a short-term bearish momentum, however, so investors should exercise caution with the remittance token. In some cases, Ripple price could overcome the immediate hurdle and make a run for the 200-day SMA at $0.954. XRP/USD 1-day chart On the other hand, if Ripple price produces a daily candlestick close below $0.693, it will create a lower low, invalidating the bullish thesis. This development could trigger a crash, where XRP price could revisit the $0.604 support level. XRP price looks bullish, targets $1
USDJPY Chart Looks Alike A Stable One, GBPUSD Resembles A Hillock

USDJPY Chart Looks Alike A Stable One, GBPUSD Resembles A Hillock

John Benjamin John Benjamin 19.01.2022 09:01
GBPUSD falls into correction The sterling fell back after a slowdown in Britain’s wage growth in November. Sentiment favors the pound after it rallied above the daily resistance at 1.3700. However, an overbought RSI has cut back buyers’ appetite. A break below 1.3630 has prompted some traders to take profit, driving down the price. As the RSI dips into the oversold zone, 1.3570 is the next support. A bearish breakout would send the pair to 1.3480 which sits on the 30-day moving average. 1.3660 is the immediate resistance when a rebound takes shape. USDJPY struggles to bounce The yen softened after the Bank of Japan signaled no shift in its ultra-loose monetary policy. The US dollar bounced off the critical floor at 113.50 from the daily chart. A bullish RSI divergence revealed a deceleration in the downward impetus. The indicator’s oversold situation also attracted a number of bargain hunters. A break above 114.70 suggests a strong interest in keeping the correction in check. 115.50 from the latest sell-off is a major hurdle and its breach could extend the rally to the recent peak at 116.30. SPX 500 to test daily support The S&P 500 extended losses over rising rate worries. The fall below 4640 invalidates the latest rebound and indicates that sentiment is still downbeat. Below the psychological level of 4600, 4540 is a key support near last December’s lows on the daily chart. A bearish breakout would trigger a deeper correction towards 4400, the origin of the October rally. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound. Nonetheless, the bulls need to clear offers around 4675 and then 4745 to gain momentum.
Holiday Jubilations Take Over GWENT!

Holiday Jubilations Take Over GWENT!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.12.2021 12:28
CD PROJEKT RED announces that the annual Winter Event has started in GWENT: The Witcher Card Game, with festive rewards and offers up for grabs for all players. GWENT's Winter Event is live right now and will end on January 11th at noon, CET. During this time players will be earning a special in-game resource called Pine Cones, acquired for logging in every day, completing daily quests, as well as winning matches in Standard, Seasonal, and Draft game modes. Once obtained, Pine Cones can then be exchanged for a swathe of themed vanities, including cardbacks, avatars and borders, titles — as well as both a leader and a coin skin! — via a dedicated page in the in-game Reward Book. Watch the Winter Event Trailer Additionally, owners of the Geralt leader skin will be able to take on two special contracts during the event, awarding those who complete them with the equippable Red Hat and Candy Sword trinkets for Geralt. Furthermore, for a limited time players can claim a Geralt-leader-skin-exclusive sword inspired by Netflix's The Witcher series — available for free to all until January 13th, in celebration of the second season's release.The holiday spirit has also spilled into the in-game store, where Shupe the Troll is currently hosting a special sale featuring the Midwinter Bundle and Frozen Bundle, both filled with merry items, as well as the Yule Board. Those who would also like to deck out Geralt with the Winter-Event-only trinkets, but don't yet have him in their collection, can purchase the witcher's legendary neutral leader skin, as it is up for grabs right now in the shop, too. Learn more about the Winter Event GWENT: The Witcher Card Game is available for free on PC via GOG.COM and Steam, Apple M1 Macs running macOS, as well as on Android and iOS. For more information on GWENT, visit playgwent.com. Source: CD Projekt
GWENT Masters Season 3 Concludes! New GWENT Update Coming Tomorrow!

GWENT Masters Season 3 Concludes! New GWENT Update Coming Tomorrow!

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.12.2021 14:27
CD PROJEKT RED announces that Alexander "TLG_Cyberz" Schmidt has claimed the ultimate victory in the Season 3 GWENT World Masters tournament this past weekend, earning the title of GWENT World Champion in the official Witcher Card Game esports series. The season's grand finale tournament played out over the course of Saturday and Sunday, December 4th-5th. Streamed live on Twitch in its entirety, it saw 8 of the best GWENT players from around the world competing in high-stakes battles for a share of the $71,000 prize pool and the title of GWENT World Champion. Relive GWENT World Masters on the official CD PROJEKT RED Twitch channel. The final tournament prize pool distribution and standings are as follows: WINNERAlexander "TLG_Cyberz" Schmidt (Germany)FINALISTSAlexander "TLG_Cyberz" Schmidt (Germany) — $36,140Ilya "BigKuKuRUzina35" Lyapin (Russia) — $9,230SEMIFINALISTSZhang "lord-triss" Yusheng (China) — $8,305Oleg "Akela114" Nikolaev (Russia) — $7,455QUARTERFINALISTSAleksander "TLG_Pajabol" Owczarek (Poland) — $3,480PaweÅ‚ "kams134" Skoroda (Poland) — $2,840Damian "TailBot" Kaźmierczak (Poland) — $1,775Elias "theshaggynuts" Sagmeister (Austria) — $1,775 During the event, before the final match, CD PROJEKT RED also revealed that a new content update for GWENT is coming Tuesday, December 7th. The update will add 12 new cards (2 per each faction), while also introducing a number of regular balance changes. The video overview for the update is available on Twitch, via the GWENT World Masters tournament recording, as well as on GWENT's official YouTube channel. CD PROJEKT RED would like to thank all participants and everyone who watched live to help make GWENT World Masters such a fantastic event.For a complete overview of GWENT Masters — the official esports series for GWENT: The Witcher Card Game — including the ruleset, format, and tournament dates, visit masters.playgwent.com.GWENT: The Witcher Card Game is available for free on PC via GOG.COM and Steam, Apple M1 Macs running macOS, as well as on Android and iOS. For more information on GWENT, visit playgwent.com.   Source: CD Projekt
Another One Bites the Dust

Another One Bites the Dust

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 20.01.2022 16:36
S&P 500 gave up opening gains that could have lasted longer – but the bear is still strong, and didn‘t pause even for a day or two. Defeated during the first hour, the sellers couldn‘t make much progress, and credit markets confirm the grim picture. There is a but, though – quality debt instruments turned higher, and maintained much of their intraday gains.And that could be a sign – in spite of the bearish onslaught driving the buyers back to the basement before the closing bell – that more buying would materialize to close this week, with consequences for S&P 500 as well. I would simply have preferred to see rising yields once again, that would be a great catalyst of further stock market selling. Now, the wisest course of action looks to be waiting for the upcoming upswing (one that didn‘t develop during the Asian session really), to get exhausted.Remember my yesterday‘s words:(…) The rising yields are all about betting on a really, really hawkish Fed – just how far are the calls for not 25, but 50bp hike this Mar? Inflation is still resilient (of course) but all it takes is some more hawkish statements that wouldn‘t venture out of the latest narrative line.Anyway, the markets aren‘t drinking the kool-aid – the yield curve continues flattening, which means the bets on Fed‘s misstep are on. True, the tightening moves have been quite finely telegraphed, but the markets didn‘t buy it, and were focused on the Santa Claus (liquidity-facilitated) rally instead – therefore, my Dec 20 warning is on. The clock to adding zero fresh liquidity, and potentially even not rolling over maturing securities (as early as Mar?) is ticking.And the run to commodities goes on, with $85 crude oil not even needing fresh conflict in Eastern Europe – the demand almost at pre-corona levels leaving supply and stockpiles in the dust, is fit for the job.With SPX short profits off the table, crude oil consolidating, and cryptos having second thoughts about the decline continuation, it‘s been precious metals that stole the spotlight yesterday – really great moves across the board to enjoy!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 buyers are nowhere to be seen – what kind of reflexive rebound would we get next? The odds aren‘t arrayed for it to be reaching very high – yields are catching up even with financials...Credit MarketsHYG is likely to pause a little next, and the degree of its move relative to the quality debt instruments, would be telling. Rates are though going to keep rising, so keep looking for a temporary HYG stabilization only.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver keep catching fire, and are slowly breaking out of the unpleasantly long consolidation. The strongly bullish undertones are playing out nicely – these aren‘t yet the true celebrations.Crude OilCrude oil looks like it could pause a little here – the stellar run (by no means over yet) is attracting selling interest. The buyers are likely to pause for a moment over the next few days.CopperCopper is paring back on the missed opportunity to catch up – the red metal will be dragged higher alongside the other commodities, and isn‘t yet offering signs of true, outperforming strength.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum really are setting up a little breather, but I‘m not looking for bullish miracles to happen. Still, the buying interest was there yesterday, and that would influence the entry to the coming week (bullishly).SummaryS&P 500 upswing turned into a dead cat bounce pretty fast, and while we may see another attempt by the bulls, I think it would be rather short-lived. Think lasting a couple of days only. Not until there is a change in the credit markets, have the stock market bulls snowball‘s chance in hell. Commodities and especially precious metals, are well placed to keep reaping the rewards – just as I had written a week ago. For now, it‘s fun to be riding the short side in S&P 500 judiciously, and the time for another position opening, looks slowly but surely approaching. Let the great profits grow elsewhere in the meantime.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold: Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis, Macro Influences - The Latest "As Good As Gold" Is Here!

Russian Bear and Inflationary Hydra Sent Gold to $1,840

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 20.01.2022 17:24
  Gold soared as investors got scared by reports of an allegedly impending military conflict. Was it worth reacting sharply to geopolitical factors? Gold has been performing quite nicely in January. As the chart below shows, its price increased from $1,806 at the end of December to around $1,820 this week, strengthening its position above $1,800. Yesterday (January 19, 2022), gold prices went sharply higher, jumping above $1,840, as one can see in the chart below. What happened? Investors got scared of the Russian bear and inflationary hydra. President Biden predicted that Russia would move into Ukraine. The threat of invasion and renewal of a conflict weakened risk appetite among investors. To complete the geopolitical picture, this week, North Korea fired missiles again (on Monday, the country conducted its fourth missile test of the year), while terrorists attacked the United Arab Emirates with drones. The heightened risk aversion could spur some demand for safe-haven assets such as gold. The yellow metal tends to benefit from greater uncertainty. However, investors should remember that geopolitical risks usually cause only a short-lived reaction. Investors also recalled the ongoing global inflationary crisis. Some news helped them wake up. In the U.K., inflation surged 5.4% in December, the highest since March 1992. Meanwhile, in Canada, inflation jumped 4.8%, also the fastest pace in 30 years. Additionally, crude oil prices have jumped to around $86.5 per barrel, the highest value since 2014, as the chart below shows. The timing couldn’t be worse, as inflation is already elevated, while higher oil implies higher CPI in the future. Gold should, therefore, welcome the rise in oil prices. On the other hand, it could prompt the Fed to react more forcefully and aggressively to tighten its monetary policy.   Implications for Gold What does the recent mini-rally imply for the gold market? Well, it’s never a good idea to draw far-reaching conclusions from short-term moves, especially those caused by geopolitical factors. Risk-offs and risk-on sentiments come and go. However, let’s do justice to gold. It hit a two-months high, more and more boldly settling in above $1,800. All this happened despite rising bond yields. As the chart below shows, the long-term real interest rates have increased from about -1.0% at the end of 2021 to about -0.6%. Gold’s resilience in the face of rising interest rates is praiseworthy. Having said that, investors shouldn’t forget that 2022 will be a year of the Fed’s tightening cycle, rising interest rates, and also a certain moderation in inflation. All these factors could be important headwinds for gold this year. However, investors may underestimate how the Fed’s monetary policy will impact market conditions. After all, the Fed’s hawkish stance also entails some risks for the financial markets and the overall economy. Practically, each tightening cycle in the past has led to an economic crisis. As a reminder, after four hikes in 2018, the Fed had to reverse its stance and cut them in 2019. The Fed signaled not only a few hikes this year, but also a reduction of its balance sheet. Given the enormous indebtedness of the economy and Wall Street’s addiction to easy money, it might be too much to swallow. Importantly, when the Fed is focused on fighting inflation, its ability to help the markets will be limited. I thought that such worries would arise later this year, supporting gold, but maybe the gold market has already started to price in the possibility of economic turbulence triggered by the Fed’s tightening cycle. Anyway, next week, the FOMC will gather for the first time in 2022, and it could be an important, insightful event for the gold market. Stay tuned! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

EUR/USD Forecast: Poor US employment-related data undermines dollar’s demand

FXStreet News FXStreet News 20.01.2022 15:58
EUR/USD Current Price: 1.1351 The EU December Consumer Price Index was confirmed at 5% YoY, as previously estimated. US Initial Jobless Claims unexpectedly jumped to 286K in the week ended January 7. EUR/USD bounces from its intraday low but maintains a neutral stance in the near term. The EUR/USD pair eased from an intraday peak of 1.1368, trading in the 1.1350 area heading into the US opening. The greenback trades mixed across the FX board, weaker against commodity-linked currencies but grinding higher vs its European rivals. Financial markets are quieter on Thursday, with European stocks struggling for direction but stuck around their opening levels. The EU published the December Consumer Price Index, which was confirmed at 5% YoY, while the core reading met the preliminary estimate posting 2.6%. Also, the European Central Bank posted the Accounts of its latest meeting, which showed that policymakers are aware of a possible "higher for longer" inflation scenario. The US published Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended January 7, which unexpectedly jumped to 286K, much worse than the 220K expected. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey surged from 15.4 to 23.2 in January, beating expectations. The news put some pressure on the greenback, now recovering from its daily low at 1.1330. EUR/USD short-term technical outlook The EUR/USD pair could resume its decline in the upcoming sessions, as there are no technical signs of buying interest. The daily chart shows that the pair is incapable of advancing beyond a flat 20 SMA for a second consecutive day, while the Momentum indicator heads lower within negative levels. Additionally, the RSI is stable, although around 49. Meanwhile, the pair keeps trading between Fibonacci levels, with immediate support at 1.1305, the 23.6% retracement of the 1.1691/1.1185 slide. The 38.2% retracement is located at 1.1385, providing strong resistance since mid-November. In the near term, and according to the 4-hour chart, the pair maintains a neutral-to-bearish stance, trading below a firmly bearish 20 SMA but between directionless 100 and 200 SMA. Technical indicators, in the meantime, remain within negative levels, the Momentum advancing but the RSI flat at around 44. Support levels: 1.1305 1.1260 1.1220 Resistance levels: 1.1385 1.1440 1.1485
Technical Analysis: Moving Averages - Did You Know This Tool?

Gold Price Chart Might Make Some Investors Happy, US 30 With Reds

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.01.2022 08:59
XAUUSD breaks resistance Gold surged over geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine. Following a three-week-long sideways grind, the break above the triple top at 1830 indicates strong commitment from the buy-side. 1850 is the next level to clear, which would lead to November’s peak at 1877. The RSI has shot into the overbought area, and some profit-taking could briefly drive the price lower. Buyers may see a pullback as an opportunity to join in. 1820 near the base of the recent rally is a key support in this case. AUDUSD seeks support The Australian dollar climbed back after the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in December. A surge above 0.7270 was the bulls’ attempt to initiate a reversal. As sellers covered their bets, the way might be open for a meaningful rebound. The follow-up correction met solid buying interest at 0.7170. Sentiment would remain upbeat as long as price action stays above this key support. 0.7290 is an important hurdle and its breach could trigger a runaway rally towards 0.7420. US 30 tests major support The Dow Jones 30 retreats as traders take profit ahead of next week’s Fed meeting. The index has given up all its gains from the late December rally and fell through the daily support at 34700. This bearish breakout could extend losses to the psychological level of 34000, a critical floor to prevent a deeper correction in the medium-term. The RSI’s oversold situation may attract some buying interest. Nonetheless, the bulls will need to lift offers around 35500 in a show of force, in order to turn sentiment around.
Gamestop (GME) Stock Price and Forecast: Any pop from Activision (ATVI), Microsoft (MSFT) deal?

Gamestop (GME) Stock Price and Forecast: Any pop from Activision (ATVI), Microsoft (MSFT) deal?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 20.01.2022 15:58
GameStop stock fails to ignite despite the gaming sector being in play. GameStop is a bystander retailer, while the big activity is game makers. GME stock remains bearish in our view despite a mid-week short squeeze attempt. GameStop (GME) stock surged in early January but has since slumped consistently. At least some volatility returned to the name. GameStop was the original meme stock but has been suffering of late as investors turn their backs on high growth and high-risk names. GameStop Stock News A pop of 7% on January 7 has been about as good as it gets so far this year for GameStop (GME) holders as the stock exhibits more signs of dwindling interest in the meme stock space. The Wall Street Journal did report on January 7 that GameStop was entering the NFT and cryptocurrency market. This has echoes of another meme stock, AMC. It may smack of desperation or even bad timing given the crypto and NFT craze has also retreated in line with meme stocks. Or it may be a shrewd move. Time will tell, but so far the shares have not given the news much traction. Interest did spike in GME on the back of the mega-deal from Microsoft (MSFT) offering up $69 billion in cash to buy Activision (ATVI), but GameStop is merely a powerless bystander in the acquisition fervor sweeping the gaming sector. GameStop (GME) jumped to the top of WallStreetBets mentions, but this has not seen the correlated share price uptick. In fact, GME shares are down 17% in a week. That takes losses so far for 2022 to nearly 30%. One year on and it does not look like history is going to repeat itself. Video game sales data out yesterday was not exactly comforting with the figure in December down 1% following November's 10% fall. GameStop Stock Forecast The chart is still highly bearish, which was triggered after the double-top formation. This played out and reached our $150 target and then some. Now GME has broken the $118 level, which brings $86 firmly into focus as the next major target. Obviously, $100 along the way will generate headlines, but this is purely psychological. We also note the volume gap from $110 to $70 that could accelerate the move. Bearish unless $160 is broken. GameStop (GME) chart, daily
Can We Call It A Crypto Crash? Bitcoin Below $40k And Ether Below $3k

Can We Call It A Crypto Crash? Bitcoin Below $40k And Ether Below $3k

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 21.01.2022 09:44
The crypto market capitalisation fell to 1.83 trillion, losing 7.3% in the past 24 hours. As we had feared, the selloff was triggered by sharply negative sentiment in US equity markets and intensified by the breakdown of critical support levels. Bitcoin retreated to the $38.8K area. The amplitude of the decline from the peak at the start of the regular session in New York to the bottom at the opening of Asia exceeds 12%. Sellers have proven unbreakable (so far) the upper boundary of the downward price channel that has dominated bitcoin since mid-November. Another worrying fact is that Bitcoin's share has risen to 40.2% of the crypto's total cap. The implication is that investors are breaking out of altcoins even more sharply, as they are less confident in the ability of smaller coins to withstand the titans' fall. Without a sharp intraday reversal (chances for this are minimal), we can confidently expect an acceleration of long position liquidation in Bitcoin and further drawdowns. There is nowhere to look for support until the $30-33K area on the chart. Ether has given up support at $3K, quickly pulling back into the consolidation area of late September, ending up near $2.85K. The intensification of the selloff makes $2K the target of the initial downside wave. Earlier in 2021, the area of 30K for Bitcoin and near 2K for Ether was the bottom of a deep correction. This then attracted buyers, and the total market managed to rewrite highs. In that drawdown, the total capitalisation of cryptocurrencies was down to $1.2 trillion. If the first two cryptocurrencies were targeting lows last summer, it is logical to expect the entire market to return to the lows of that time. But then the external backdrop was highly favourable, as the US market was returning to growth with drawdowns in the 5% range, having already crossed that barrier earlier last year. The continued negative backdrop in equities sets up a deeper pullback in crypto. The crypto market's capitalisation could potentially shrink by half to the $830-900bn area before we see a new wave of long-term buyer inflows. For Bitcoin, this suggests the potential for a drop to 20k.
Still Pushing for More

Still Pushing for More

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.01.2022 16:23
S&P 500 gave up yet again the opening gains – the bear didn‘t pause even for a day or two. Buyers defeated during the first hours, and credit markets are once again leaning the bearish way. Risk-off rules even if long-dated Treasuries rose for a day. Tech investors are selling first, and asking questions later, with consumer discretionaries, financials, and also energy hit. The washout S&P 500 bottom is approaching, and our fresh short profits are growing...Talking profits, after a one-day consolidation in precious metals, time has come to cash in on crude oil gains before the decline questioning $86 – that‘s second outsized gains trade in a row there. Black gold won‘t likely be held down for too long, and the same goes for copper knocking on $4.60 for the third time shortly. Excellent for the bottom line.This is the season of real assets (commodities and precious metals), and of the stock market correction still playing out, and driving open crypto short profits alike. Much to enjoy across the board as my fresh portfolio performance chart (check out my homesite) reached a solid new high yesterday – it‘s one year today since I launched my site. Tremendous journey building on prior own strength – thank you very much!Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 buyers still can‘t get their act together – the momentum remains to the downside until credit markets turn and tech bleeding stops. This can happen as early as Monday or Tuesday – I remain watching closely for signs of a high-confidence setup to perhaps take.Credit MarketsHYG pause didn‘t last long, and the volume keeps being elevated without credible signs of buying interest. What‘s more, the credit market posture is decidedly risk-off.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver are likely to pause a little, the miners say – but the propensity to rise is there, even this early in the tightening cycle. I‘m looking for dips to be eagerly bought.Crude OilCrude oil looks like seeing the bullish resolve tested soon, and odds are the dip would be relatively quickly bought. Still, the pace of steep upswings is likely to slow down next, I say so even as I continue being medium-term bullish ($90 is doable).CopperCopper is paring back on the missed opportunity to catch up, and it‘s good the red metal managed to rise even if quite a few other commodities stalled. Waking up alongside silver, finally?Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum little breather is over, the bears did strike again – and it may not be over yet, really not.SummaryThe opening sentence of yesterday‘s summary proved very true, and even faster that I thought possible - „S&P 500 upswing turned into a dead cat bounce pretty fast, and while we may see another attempt by the bulls, I think it would be rather short-lived. Think lasting a couple of days only.“ With the bears in the driving seat overnight – on the heels of a risk-off turn in the credit markets – we‘re likely to witness today another selling attempt.Another yesterday mentioned conclusion remains true as well - „Commodities and especially precious metals, are well placed to keep reaping the rewards – just as I had written a week ago. For now, it‘s fun to be riding the short side in S&P 500 judiciously... Let the great profits grow elsewhere in the meantime.“ Let‘s just add that cryptos are making us smile today, too.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Tesla Stock Price and Forecast: Despite market sell-off, TSLA finished Thursday in the green

Tesla Stock Price and Forecast: Despite market sell-off, TSLA finished Thursday in the green

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.01.2022 16:06
TSLA finished Thursday in the green, gaining 0.06% to $996.27. Equities had gyrated sharply but fell as the close approached. Tesla stock outperforms as Nasdaq and S&P 500 both fall sharply. Tesla (TSLA) managed to hold onto intraday gains but only just barely on Thursday. Stocks (https://www.fxstreet.com/markets/equities) had opened well and were up some 1% for the main indices at the halfway stage of Thursday, but jitters resurfaced as the finish line approached. Investors began dumping positions, and the main indices closed in the red. The S&P 500 shed 1.1%, the Dow closed 0.89% lower and the Nasdaq closed down the most at 1.34% in the red. Tesla however just held onto a green day, up 0.06%. Given that it is a volatile name and a high beta one, this was a strong outperformance. Tesla Stock News: bearish Bank of America forecast a worrying sign Tesla (TSLA) stock may have held its ground in anticipation of its Q4 earnings, which are due out next week. Bank of America and Piper Sandler fought it out with conflicting analyst reports. Bank of America took a dim view of Tesla's market share forecasts, saying it would drop from 69% to 19% of the EV market due to legacy automakers ramping up EV production. However, Piper Sandler noted that it sees Tesla beating delivery estimates for the year due to factories in Texas and Berlin ramping up production. For now, it appears investors are putting more focus on those delivery numbers and anticipating a strong earnings report. The Bank of America report is more alarming, but it does have a longer term outlook with the market share fall predicted for 2024. Tesla Stock Forecast: $886 is a futher downside target Yesterday's move has kept Tesla above the key short-term pivot at $980, but note that yesterday's high price was stuck at the 9-day moving average and Tesla failed to break through. This gives us more belief in an imminent break of $980. If this level does go, then the move to $886 will likely be quick due to a lack of volume. Tesla (TSLA) chart, daily
Shiba Inu price set to crash by 70% as critical support weakens

Shiba Inu price set to crash by 70% as critical support weakens

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.01.2022 16:06
Shiba Inu price sees bears drilling down on an important area of support. SHIB price could see a nose dive reaction later today should the US session see accelerated selloffs. A break below the 200-day SMA could hold 70% of losses before plenty of support is found. Shiba Inu (SHIB) price continues to be controlled by bears after the dead-cat bounce in stock markets yesterday evening. With the Nasdaq closing sharply lower, giving up earlier gains, cryptocurrencies are being dragged into a selloff on its coattails, and bearish headwinds persist. Expect a further continuation of downside tests, with $0.00002576, up next, and a break below that opening up the possibility of SHIB price being decimated towards $0.00000655 – a 70% devaluation. Shiba Inu hanging by a thread before price action could collapse Shiba Inu price is in a vortex along with other financial market assets, after the US session saw a180 degree U-turn to the downside. The ASIA PAC and European sessions are also sharply lower and with risk assets being slashed across the board. This is being reflected in cryptocurrencies where a selloff is also taking place. At the moment, SHIB price is drilling down to $0.00002482, a level where the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the monthly S1 support level intersect.This should offer plenty of support, but with current market sentiment so negative, it is not a given that investors will want to step in and support the trade. A break lower would see price next pause at $0.00001623, the S2 monthly support. The level of the S2 does not hold any historical relevance, however, making it relatively weak, and the only key level further down looks to be $0.00000607, just above the S3 monthly support, and the starting point of a Fibonacci retracement. Depending on how the US session will unfold, expect this to be on the cards in the days to come if markets enter into correction territory or even into a recession. The result would be SHIB shedding 70% of its market value from where it is currently trading. SHIB/USD daily chart Often enough, markets see an uptick after a gloomy negative day like yesterday. Investors start to come in and pick up interesting assets at a discount, and markets finally get to a point where a revaluation trade is made. This could be the same for Shiba Inu, with the 200-day SMA holding its ground, supporting price action, and a bullish candle starting to form with a test at the 55-day SMA around $0.00003395.
USD To RUB And EUR To RUB Charts With Some Green Candles

USD To RUB And EUR To RUB Charts With Some Green Candles

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 24.01.2022 10:28
The ruble remains under pressure on Monday after four weeks of decline. The USDRUB is above 77.7 and approaching the area of last year's highs. Technically, the situation looks like a moment of truth for the ruble. An easing of geopolitical tensions has the potential to turn it around on the way to 78, as it did several times last year. And we can see that Russian politicians the previous week were ready for more constructive negotiations and compromises. However, it has not yet come to de-escalation, and pressure on the rouble persists. Reports that the US and the UK are set to expel diplomats from Kyiv have created a new local momentum of pressure on the ruble. Fixing the dollar above 78 rubles today could be the starting point for a jump of USD/RUB to 80 and EUR/RUB to 90 this week. At the same time, we believe that the overheating is close to the peak. Further chances for stabilising the situation at the current level or even compromising are higher than stricter rhetoric. In this case, the ruble would have the opportunity for another turn down from 78-80 for the dollar and 88-90 for the euro. In a partial geopolitical agreement, the Russian currency would remain tied to global risk demand, which is contracting in January. Therefore, even with a favourable geopolitical scenario, one should not expect the rouble to quickly return to levels of the start of the year.
USDCHF, CADJPY And UK 100 - All Of Them Got Some Gains

USDCHF, CADJPY And UK 100 - All Of Them Got Some Gains

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.01.2022 09:51
USDCHF tests daily support The Swiss franc rallied as traders poured into safe-haven currencies. The pair previously bounced off the critical floor (0.9090) on the daily chart. An oversold RSI in this demand zone brought in some buying interest. However, sentiment remains downbeat with the greenback struggling to clear offers around 0.9180. A fall below said support would trigger a new round of sell-off towards 0.9020 as late buyers rush to the exit. On the upside, a bullish breakout would open the door to the recent peak at 0.9275. CADJPY breaks key support The Canadian dollar slipped after disappointing retail sales in November. A bearish RSI divergence at the recent high (91.15) indicates a loss of momentum in the rally. The first drop below 90.60 prompted some buyers to bail out. Then the rebound met stiff selling pressure at 91.90. And this is a sign of exhaustion after a four-week-long uptrend. The loonie now has fallen through the major support at 90.60, with 89.80 as the target. As the RSI goes oversold, traders may look to sell the next bounce near 91.05. UK 100 tumbles through supports The FTSE 100 stalls as appetite subsides across risk assets. An overbought RSI on the daily chart suggests over-extension after a month-long rally. A pullback is necessary for the bulls to catch their breath. A drop below 7530 and then 7470 further weighs on short-term sentiment as profit-taking intensifies. The index is about to test 7380, a fresh demand zone from the November-December double top on the daily timeframe. The bulls need to reclaim 7540 before a rebound could gain traction.
Price of Gold Hasn't Increased a Lot Since the Beginning of the Year

Price of Gold Hasn't Increased a Lot Since the Beginning of the Year

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 24.01.2022 14:47
  You don't have to be a fortune teller to predict some of the precious metals’ behavior in the market. Any incoming signs take the shape of a bear. What a signal-rich week that was! At least if you’re interested in forecasting gold and predicting silver prices. The USD Index rallied, but that was the least interesting of the important developments, as it had already reversed during the preceding week. So, the fact that the USD Index continued its medium-term uptrend last week is not that noteworthy. It needs to be said, though, as that continues to be an important factor for the future of the precious metals market. To be clear – the implications for the PM sector are bearish. What about gold, the key precious metal? Gold is so far almost unchanged this year, despite the initial decline and the subsequent rally. Overall, gold is up by $3.20 so far in 2022, which is next to nothing. Gold rallied on a supposedly dangerous situation regarding Ukraine, but it failed to rally above the combination of resistance lines and very little changed technically. On a side note, I would like to remind you that, based on our own reliable source in Ukraine (one of our team members is located there), the risk of military conflict (in particular, a severe one) is low, and it seems that the market’s reaction was greatly exaggerated. Anyway, moving back to technicals, let’s keep this $3.20-up-this-year statistic in mind while we take a look at what’s going on in silver and mining stocks. Silver declined on Friday, but it’s still up by $0.97 so far in 2022. This means that on a short-term basis, silver greatly outperformed gold. What’s up with mining stocks? The GDX ETF – a proxy for generally senior mining stocks – is down this year by $0.38, which is 1.19%. At the same time, the GDXJ ETF is down by $0.87, which is 2.07%. In other words: While silver is outperforming gold on a short-term basis, gold mining stocks are underperforming it. Junior mining stocks (our short position) are declining more than senior miners, and in fact, they are declining the most out of the entire precious metals sector. Silver’s outperformance, accompanied by gold miners weakness, is a powerful bearish combination in the case of the entire precious metals sector. If the general stock market is going to slide, silver and mining stocks (in particular, junior mining stocks) are likely to decline in a rather extreme manner. The thing is… We just saw something in the general stock market that we haven’t seen since early 2020 – right before the massive decline that triggered the huge declines in the precious metals sector. The RSI Index just moved below 30 for the first time since pre-slide moments. Just like what we saw back then, the S&P 500 is now declining on increasing volume. Yes, RSI below 30 is generally considered oversold territory, but the direct analogies take precedence over the “usual” way in which things work in markets in general. In this case, the situation could get from oversold to extremely oversold. Let’s keep in mind that stocks declined very sharply in 2020. One could say that times were different, but were they really? The key difference is that the monetary authorities are now already after the bullish money-printing cycle and are handling inflation by aiming to increase interest rates, while they had been preparing to cut them in 2020. The situation regarding the pandemic is not that different either. Sure, back in 2020, it was all new, we had massive lockdowns and there was great uncertainty regarding… pretty much everything. Now, the situation is not entirely unexpected, but given the explosive nature of new COVID-19 cases (likely due to the Omicron variant), it’s still quite new and uncertain. The uncertainty is not as great as it was back in 2020, but then again, now we’re facing monetary tightening, not dramatic dovish actions. Thus, I wouldn’t exclude a situation in which we really see a repeat of the early-2020 performance, where the declines are sharp and huge. The technicals in the precious metals market have been pointing to that outcome for months anyway, especially the long-term HUI Index chart that I’ve been discussing previously. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Crypto Market News Sound "Less Negatively" This Time

Crypto Market News Sound "Less Negatively" This Time

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.01.2022 09:05
The cryptocurrency market is adding 0.2% in the last 24 hours to $1.63 trillion, experiencing some pause or rebound after a prolonged drawdown. Buyer interest in cryptocurrencies came at the expense of a rebound in US equities, where selloff hunters thought their time had come. The cryptocurrency market capitalisation without Bitcoin became less than 1 trillion last Saturday, and this round level now acts as near-term resistance. At one point on Monday, Bitcoin was down to $33K, but at the late US session, and now trades near $36.4K. Yesterday's drawdown almost closed the gap in July and also came from the lower boundary of the downward channel. The latter indicates that despite the prevalence of bears, the market is not yet ready to accelerate the decline. Bitcoin is gaining 2.8% in 24 hours, but most altcoins are losing ground. So, yesterday's rebound in bitcoin and the positive dynamics of the crypto market are more correctly attributed to technical factors: crypto investors are exiting altcoins to more liquid BTC, forming temporary bounces, but nothing more. The nearest target for BTC downside is $32.3K to close the gap entirely. However, it is worth being prepared to retest the July lows of $29.5-30K. Without support from the stock markets, these levels may not hold for long either. Ether also saw a bounce yesterday towards the end of the day, making it clear that the market is far from surrendering. After seven days of collapse, the primary altcoin managed to close Monday with a tiny gain. Nevertheless, there are no signs of breaking the downtrend yet. Moreover, a death cross is also forming over the ether, as the 50-day moving average is now only a couple of days away from crossing the 200-day from the top down. This signal is often followed by a new bearish attack.
(ADA) Cardano Price - ADA To USD Chart Shows It's a Little Above $1

(ADA) Cardano Price - ADA To USD Chart Shows It's a Little Above $1

FXStreet News FXStreet News 24.01.2022 16:12
Cardano's price action is slipping below the monthly S1 and crucial historical support. Once broken below this vital support, an area of 30% losses could be triggered. Expect bulls to await the FED meeting later this week before engaging in the market. Cardano (ADA) price action is not seeing the turn in sentiment that was expected with the start of a new trading week. Geopolitical talks are ramping up again this Monday regarding Russia, and investors are awaiting details of monetary tightening by the FED later this week, making investors an absent party in the cryptocurrency market for the first few days of the week. As $1.01 is under fire, expect a break below to open the next leg lower towards $0.69, shedding another 30% of the price value for the altcoin. Cardano price sees investors absent in the build up to the FED rate decision Cardano participants seem to be split in half, with only sellers and bears present in the market, while bulls and investors remain on the sideline. The biggest reasons for this are the political rhetoric on Russia that is ramping up again this morning after statements that NATO and the US would send in more military material and troops. Financial markets, meanwhile, are awaiting the outcome of the FED monetary policy meeting Wednesday. These two tail risks keep price action muted or further to the downside, with investors sidelined. ADA this morning is drilling down on the monthly S1 support level and the historical $1.01 level that goes back to March 05. Once this breaks, expect not much support to be present until $0.69 where the monthly S2 support level kicks in at around $0.75, but the most significant historical level is at $0.69 from February 06. Expect buyers to come in there as that would mean that ADA price action is back at 0% on a Year-To-Date (YTD) performance. ADA/USD daily chart As the FED holds the keys for a turn in sentiment short-term, expect a pop higher to unfold very quickly. A knee jerk reaction would wash out many short positions and bring price action quickly back towards $1.40, at the level of the monthly pivot and the green ascending trend line. Should the message from the FED by Wednesday be very dovish and in favour of risk-on sentiment, expect a possible test of $1.68 further to the upside for this week.
GME Is Plunging Recently, GameStop Stock Price Is Currently ca. $94

GME Is Plunging Recently, GameStop Stock Price Is Currently ca. $94

FXStreet News FXStreet News 24.01.2022 16:27
GameStop stock stages a dead cat bounce on Friday. GME stock closes up nearly 4% on Friday as market freefalls. More losses are likely on Monday as momentum fades and meme is massacred. GameStop (GME) managed to outperform the market significantly on Friday. The meme stock king closed nearly 4% higher at $106.36 despite the main indices closing sharply in the red. However, this was merely a dead cat bounce, and we will outline our reasoning below. GameStop Stock News Nothing too significant behind Friday's outperformance. GameStop (GME) shares had suffered eight consecutive days of losses. Statistically, an up day was becoming more and more likely. GameStop passed a few milestones without much fanfare or reaction from the stock price. Social media traders attempted to play up the one-year anniversary of the GameStop pop, and CEO Ryan Cohen joined in. However, the stock slid. An announcement of a pivot into the NFT space was also met by indifference after a quick surge from the share price. Despite GME spending much of last week near the top of social media mentions, it failed to hook any buyers. The market has little time for risk at present, and speculative meme stocks are getting hit hard so far this year. As we have mentioned, this may be a good thing and avert a full-blown bubble bursting, akin to 2000. The NFT announcement did see a brief pop, but that merely presented a fresh selling opportunity. Year to date, GME is now down nearly 30% and is likely to get worse. The main trading lesson of momentum trading is to get out quickly when momentum stops or stalls. This is not investing or buy-and-hold. This is the realm of quick scalping and risk control. Momentum has collapsed in retail names. Witness falling volumes, falling single share volumes, lower retail sentiment, and drastically lower call option volume: all signs of falling momentum. GameStop Stock Forecast $100 will be broken soon, possibly today or Tuesday. That will lead to some stop-loss triggering as people are herd animals and love round numbers. There will be plenty of stops sitting just below $100. $86 is the target thereafter. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) still has more room to run before being overbought. Breaking $86 is big. That was the retest following the power surge higher back in February pf last year. Below $86 volume thins out, and there is a volume gap until $50. GameStop (GME) chart, daily
The 10 Public Companies With the Biggest Bitcoin Portfolios

Crypto Prices Reviewed - 25.01.2022 - by Korbinian Koller

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 25.01.2022 11:02
Bitcoin will create, not destroy BTC in US-Dollar, monthly chart, no rush: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of January 25th, 2022. All the typical fears came forward after last week’s price decline in the crypto space. Fears on why to get out of one’s bitcoin hodls. Even to walk away from the idea of bitcoin being a good store of value. But the emotional decision in market participation is often the wrong choice to come out ahead. Bitcoin will not be regulated away. With a near 100 billion tax revenue, bitcoin is unlikely to be banned in the USA. It has established itself in size as an income stream that no one could afford to give up. The monthly chart above shows that after the recent double top bitcoin´s two year strong up move has seen three months of a price decline to the 50% Fibonacci retracement line. To the right of the chart, we portray two fictitious candles as we see a likelihood of the future to unfold over the next two months.   BTC in US-Dollar, weekly chart, sideways to up: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of January 25th, 2022. On January 20th, the Federal Reserve Board released a discussion paper that examines the pros and cons of a potential U.S. central bank digital currency. News like this shakes up investor’s minds, fearing possible conversions where fiat currency savings might lose some of their value. On top, massive fear ruled the market over the last few days and weeks, a time when professionals know that opportunities are just around the corner. A look at the weekly chart reveals that the right top of the monthly double top had a substructure of a head and shoulders formation. Last week, the shoulder line broke and sent prices plummeting for a near 22% loss. Prices find themselves now in a value zone. In the histogram to the right of the chart, we see a fractal volume analysis. This analysis suggests supply in the price zone between US$36,000 and US$31,000. BTC in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, Bitcoin will create, not destroy: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of January 25th, 2022. As much as we expect a sideways zone for four to eight weeks before bitcoin prices head significantly higher, we already attempted three long trades on a daily time frame after prices entered into the value zone pointed out on the previous chart. Our approach of position building thanks to a quad exit strategy exploit low-risk entry points. Consequently, we were able in the past to catch bitcoin long-term trades near their price lows. News has more than once in the past accelerated price up moves for bitcoin in an unexpected fashion. As a result, we are actively scanning for low-risk opportunities already now. The price moves marked in white show how prices decline quickly in bitcoin, while typically trading sideways most of the time. Fortunately, rising prices act just the same way. The volume profile to the right of the chart shows four significant supply zones. (marked in orange dotted horizontal lines.) Bitcoin will create, not destroy: The good news is that government’s conversion of fiat money to digital might scare people into fleeing with their savings into bitcoin. Henceforth, they further stabilize this payment method. We mention this possible future for bitcoin since changes could be rapid, significant, and surprising. Consequently, bitcoin might find itself in a fast uptrend with high price targets to be expected. We also want to point out the nature of your participation in long-term bitcoin acquisitions. You are not only a speculator on a perfect investment, but also a holder of a positive value. A principle value that protects your freedom of purchasing power. A purchasing power that isn’t transparent allows you to conduct business as you please. Transactions without a controlling force casting a shadow over your choices. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|January 25th, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Crude Oil is Rapidly Climbing, the Rest Is Moving Down or Not At All

Crude Oil is Rapidly Climbing, the Rest Is Moving Down or Not At All

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.01.2022 16:05
S&P 500 closed below the 200-day moving average – unheard of. But similarly to the turn in credit markets on Wednesday, the bulls can surprise shortly as the differential between HYG and TLT with LQD is more pronounced now. The field is getting clear, the bulls can move – and shortly would whether or not we see the autumn lows tested next. Now that my target of 4,400 has been reached (the journey to this support has been a more one-sided event than anticipated), 4,300 are next in the bears sight. The bearish voice and appetite is growing, which may call for a little caution in celebrating the downswings next. Relief rally is approaching, even if not immediately and visibly here yet. All I am waiting for, is a convincing turn in the credit markets, which we haven‘t seen yet. The dollar is likely to waver in the medium-term, and that‘s what‘s helping the great and profitable moves in commodities, and reviving precious metals. Crypto short profits are likewise growing – the real question is when the tech slide would stop (getting closer), and how much would financials rebound as well. Not worried about energy – the oil dip would turn out a mere blip. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 buyers are nowhere to be seen, volume isn‘t yet at capitulation levels – rebound off increasingly oversold levels is approaching. Tech melting down faster than value is to be expected – look for consumer staples to do fine too, not just the sectors mentioned above. As written on Friday, the turn in bleeding in credit markets and tech may stop as early as Monday or Tuesday – I remain watching closely for signs of a high-confidence setup to perhaps take. Credit Markets HYG paused for a day while quality debt instruments rose – that‘s still risk-off, but symptomatic of the larger battle and buying interest at these levels already. Could presage a respite in stocks during the regular session next. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver indeed paused a little – in spite of the miners weakness, that‘s no reversal. Most likely only a temporary correction within a developing uptrend. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls are finally getting tested, and by the look of oil stocks, it‘s not going to be a test reaching too far. Not even volume rose on the day – look for price stabilization followed by another upswing. Copper Copper had actually a hidden bullish day – a good consolidation of prior gains. While the volume isn‘t pointing the clearly bearish way, the amplitude of the move can be repeated next. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum Sunday rally fizzled out, and the downswing doesn‘t look to be yet over as another day of panic across the board is ahead. No signs from cryptos that the slide is stopping now. Summary S&P 500 bulls are readying a surprise – the long string of red days is coming to a pause. Credit markets turning a bit risk-on coupled with a tech pause and financials revival (not to mention consumer staples and energy) would be the recipe to turn the tide. We‘re in a large S&P 500 range, and got quite near its lower band at around 4,300. The short rides are to be wound down shortly, and that will coincide with another commodities run higher. Look to precious metals likewise not to disappoint while cryptos continue struggling at the moment. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBPUSD To Visit 1.3440? AUD Recovered, GER 40 Went a Few Steps Up To Slightly Decrease a Moment Later

GBPUSD To Visit 1.3440? AUD Recovered, GER 40 Went a Few Steps Up To Slightly Decrease a Moment Later

John Benjamin John Benjamin 25.01.2022 08:47
GBPUSD remains under pressure The sterling struggles as global markets remain risk-off. A limited rebound has fought to hold above 1.3570 and the sell-off accelerated after a bearish breakout. The pair is testing a previous low at 1.3440 which sits along the 30-day moving average. There could be buying interest in this congestion area after the RSI plunged into the oversold band. 1.3570 is now a fresh resistance, then the bulls will need to lift 1.3660 before they could turn sentiment around. On the other hand, a deeper correction may send the price to 1.3400. AUDUSD in bearish reversal The Australian dollar recovered after the Q4 CPI beat expectations. However, the latest rally took a bearish turn after the price slipped below 0.7170. The lack of commitment to hold onto recent gains suggests a weak risk appetite. A fall below the daily support at 0.7130 further weighs on the Aussie and prompts buyers to bail out. The RSI’s oversold situation helped lift the pair temporarily. Nonetheless, the bears might be eager to sell into strength near 0.7210. 0.7080 would be the next stop as the trend turns south. GER 40 tests critical support The Dax 40 plunges amid rising tensions in Ukraine. The index has given up all gains from the rebound in late December and cut through the major demand zone around 15070. The RSI’s repeatedly oversold situation attracted a buying-the-dips crowd. Nevertheless, there is no sign of improvement in the market mood. And price action has not stabilized yet. A grind of last October’s low at 14820 would test the bulls’ resolve in the medium-term. On the upside, 15600 is the first hurdle to lift.
Everybody Talks About Stocks, In Fact, There's Much To Watch, As MSFT and Others Release Their Reports

Everybody Talks About Stocks, In Fact, There's Much To Watch, As MSFT and Others Release Their Reports

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 25.01.2022 15:51
  The S&P 500 index was trading 4% lower yesterday before closing 0.3% higher. So was it an upward reversal or just another temporary bottom? The broad stock market index accelerated its sell-off on Monday, as it reached the new local low of 4,222.62. The market was 596 points or 12.4% below the Jan. 4 record high of 4,818.62. Investors reacted to further Russia-Ukraine tensions. We are also waiting for series of quarterly earnings releases, tomorrow’s FOMC Statement release and Thursday’s important U.S. Advance GDP release. Overall, we had a big increase in volatility yesterday. Late December – early January consolidation along the 4,800 level was a topping pattern and the index retraced all of its December’s record-breaking advance. This morning it is expected to open 1.6% lower and we may see more short-term volatility. Will it reach yesterday’s low again? Probably not – we’ll likely see a consolidation. The nearest important resistance level is now at 4,420-4,450, marked by yesterday’s daily high, among others. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,300-4,350. The support level is also at 4,220-4,250. The S&P 500 remains below a steep short-term downward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Microsoft Stocks Ahead of the Earnings Release Microsoft (MSFT) will release its quarterly earnings today after the session’s close. It’s an important stock, as it weighs 6.0%, just after the Apple’s 6.7%. So, the S&P 500 traders will be watching that release very closely. Microsoft accelerated its sell-off yesterday and it fell to the local low of $276.05. It was 21% below the Nov. 22 record high of $349.67. The stock remains below the downward trend line, but we can see some clear short-term oversold conditions. Let’s take a look at the Microsoft’s monthly chart. The stock broke below its multi-year hyperbolic run marked by the thick blue curve. The chart is logarithmic, and we can see an enormous rally that took place since 2013. The breakdown may lead to a change in trend or some medium- or long-term consolidation. It looks like a multi-year bull run is over. Futures Contract Got Close to the 4,200 Level Yesterday The S&P 500 futures contract accelerated its downtrend yesterday, as it fell close to the 4,200 level. There have been no confirmed positive signals so far, however there are some downtrend exhaustion signals. (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com): Conclusion The S&P 500 index accelerated its sell-off yesterday and at some point it was 4% lower! But the market rebounded sharply following a “V” pattern reversal and it closed 0.3% higher. This morning it is expected to open 1.6% lower and we may see some further volatility. The coming quarterly earnings releases (MSFT on Tuesday, TSLA on Wednesday and AAPL on Thursday, among others) remain a bullish factor for stocks, but there is still a lot of uncertainty concerning Russia-Ukraine tensions. Investors are also waiting for tomorrow’s Fed release and Thursday’s U.S. Advance GPD number release. If you want to be in the loop about any future market changes (with instant mail notifications!) sign up for the newsletter here. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 is expected to open lower again; we may see a consolidation. Opening a speculative long position is justified from the risk/reward perspective. We are expecting a 5% upward correction from the current levels. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
S&P 500 Declined, Gold Price (XAU/USD) Isn't Far From November's Levels

S&P 500 Declined, Gold Price (XAU/USD) Isn't Far From November's Levels

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.01.2022 15:55
Tough call as select S&P 500 sectors came back to life, but credit markets are a bit inconclusive. Some more selling today before seeing a rebound on Wednesday‘s FOMC (I‘m leaning towards its message being positively received, and no rate hike now as that‘s apart from the Eastern Europe situation the other fear around). VIX looks to have topped yesterday, and coupled with the commodities and precious metals relative resilience (don‘t look at cryptos where I took sizable short profits in both Bitcoin and Ethereum yesterday), sends a signal of upcoming good couple of dozen points rebound in the S&P 500. Taking a correct view at the hightened, emotional market slide yesterday, is through the portfolio performance – as you can see via clicking the link, yesterday‘s setup needn‘t and shouldn‘t be anyone‘s make or break situation. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 buyers stepped in, and carving out a nice lower knot today is the minimum expectation that the bulls can have. The reversal is still very young and vulnerable. Credit Markets HYG reversed, but isn‘t in an uptrend yet – there is just a marginal daily outperformance of quality debt instruments. More is needed. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver are only pausing – in spite of the miners move to the downside at the moment. HUI and GDX will catch up – they‘re practically primed to do so over the medium-term. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls are still getting tested, and oil stocks stabilized on a daily basis. Some downside still remains, but nothing dramatic – the volume didn‘t even rise yesterday. Copper Copper declined, but didn‘t meaningfully lead lower – the downswing was actually bought, and low 4.40s look to be well defended at the moment. More fear striking, would change the picture, but we aren‘t there yet. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum reversed, but in spire of the volume, look to need more time to bottom out – and I wouldn‘t be surprised if that included another decline. Summary S&P 500 bulls would get tested today again, and at least a draw would be a positive result, as yesterday‘s tech upswing is more likely to be continued tomorrow than today – that‘s how it usually goes after sizable (think 5%) range days. The table is set for an upside surprise on FOMC tomorrow – the tantrum coupled with war fears bidding up the dollar, is impossible to miss. Best places to be in remain commodities and precious metals, and the coming S&P 500 upswing looks to be a worthwhile opportunity in the making, too – on a short-term and nimble basis. So, I‘m more in the glass half full camp going into tomorrow. Anyway, let‘s take the portfolio view discussed in the opening part of today‘s article. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GME Stock Chart - We Might Believe $86 is the Current Support

GME Stock Chart - We Might Believe $86 is the Current Support

FXStreet News FXStreet News 25.01.2022 15:55
GameStop stock crashes but recovers in the afternoon. GameStop shares close nearly 6% lower on Monday. GME shares remain top of WallStreetBets interest list. GameStop (GME) stock likes volatility, and meme traders should certainly be used to it by now, but perhaps not the type that was evident yesterday. GameStop shares crashed below $100 and kept on going before a broad-based afternoon rally helped GME stock recover to close just above the psychological $100 level. GameStop Stock News Again we find ourselves writing about a stock with significant movement based solely on price action. There is little in the way of actual hard news flow. GameStop stock has not had a good start to the year, but despite this it remains one of the top trending stocks across most social media platforms. This has partly to do with loyalty and partly to do with the one-year anniversary of the GameStop saga. However, for the most part traders are fixated on the big picture theme of us versus them that captured the whole argument. GameStop is now down over 30% so far in 2022. GameStop Stock Forecast We remain bearish on this one, which I know many loyal holders may not want to hear. We have to focus on the chart and what we can take from that. Loyalty, if not profitable, is pointless to a trader. Emotion should always be controlled. Breaking $100 was psychological and led to some stops likely triggering. We had identified $86 as strong support for the last few weeks, and GME shares more or less bounced perfectly from it yesterday. GME stock bottomed out at $86.29, so we can take some kudos for that. But now where? Holding $86 was actually pretty important as below is a big volume gap that would likely see an acceleration toward $70. Holding gives some hope of a rebound, but $118.59 remains the short-term pivot for us. Below here bears are in charge. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) are both still following price lower, so there is no sign of any divergence or oversold conditions just yet. GameStop (GME) chart, daily
BTCUSD Chart Don't Show Us Any More Than $36.7k As Fed is About to Meet

BTCUSD Chart Don't Show Us Any More Than $36.7k As Fed is About to Meet

FXStreet News FXStreet News 25.01.2022 15:55
Bitcoin price is not yet ready for an uptrend as bulls cannot keep price above $36,709. Although BTC price posted a bullish candle yesterday, investors are still concerned and cannot look beyond the FED meeting tomorrow. BTC could shed another 10% towards $32,649 before investors go in massively for the long. Bitcoin (BTC) price is still not yet set for a rebound as bears can trip bulls and push the price back below the pivotal level at $36,709. As markets are trying to catch a breather, it does not look like bears will be going away that easily and could pressure BTC price action to the downside. Expect a nervous session to unfold with price swinging back and forth at that pivotal level, but ultimately likely to break to the downside towards $32,649, with a loss of 10% on the day. Bitcoin price is set for a nervous session Bitcoin saw bulls coming in strong once price action slipped briefly below the monthly S2 at $33,742. Bulls bought everything in sight and pushed price action back up above $36,709 but failed to safely position the trade for a further uptick in the coming trading session. As BTC price is already undergoing some profit-taking, it looks as if investors are still awaiting confirmation that the pain trade is over. BTC price will probably trade a nervous session today, as markets will want to wait for the FED meeting later tomorrow and will not want to preposition for the possibility the FED disappoints or delivers an even more hawkish message. Expect choppy price action around $36,709, and possibly another leg lower towards the monthly S2 at $33,742. A test and break below yesterday's low at $32,649 is not an impossibility if Nasdaq sheds multiple percentages points off its value again. BTC/USD daily chart If global sentiment changes and pushes US equities in the green later this afternoon, expect a bullish flood to come into cryptocurrencies. That would see BTC price testing $39,780 to the upside with the monthly S1 support as resistance from any upside. If the rally is large and broad, expect even $44,088 to be on the cards, and for that to erase a large part of the downturn since the beginning of this year.
Will FOMC Moves Let Us Prepare Kind of Gold Price Prediction?

Will FOMC Moves Let Us Prepare Kind of Gold Price Prediction?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 25.01.2022 16:28
  The World Gold Council believes that gold may face similar dynamics in 2022 to those of last year. Well, I’m not so sure about it. Have you ever had the feeling that all of this has already happened and you are in a time loop, repeating Groundhog Day? I have. For instance, I’m pretty sure that I have already written the Fundamental Gold Report with a reference to pop-culture before… Anyway, I’m asking you this, because the World Gold Council warns us against the whole groundhog year for the gold market. In its “Gold Outlook 2022,” the gold industry organization writes that “gold may face similar dynamics in 2022 to those of last year.” The reason is that in 2021, gold was under the influence of two competing forces. These factors were the increasing interest rates and rising inflation, especially strong in operation in the second half of the year, which resulted in the sideways trend in the gold market, as the chart below shows. The WGC sees a similar tug of war in 2022: the hikes in the federal funds rate could create downward pressure for gold, but at the same time, elevated inflation will likely create a tailwind for gold. The WGC acknowledges that the ongoing tightening of monetary policy can be an important headwind for gold. However, it notes two important caveats. First, the Fed has a clear dovish bias and often overpromises when it comes to hawkish actions. For example, in the previous tightening cycle, “the Fed has tended not to tighten monetary policy as aggressively as members of the committee had initially expected.” Second, financial market expectations are more important for gold prices than actual events. As a result, “gold has historically underperformed in the months leading up to a Fed tightening cycle, only to significantly outperform in the months following the first rate hike.” I totally agree. I emphasized many times the Fed’s dovish bias and that the actual interest rate hikes could be actually better for gold than their prospects. After all, gold bottomed out in December 2015, when the Fed raised interest rates for the first time since the Great Recession. I also concur with the WGC that inflation may linger this year. Expectations that inflation will quickly dissipate are clearly too optimistic. As China is trying right now to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, supply chain disruptions may worsen, contributing to elevated inflation. However, although I expect inflation to remain high, I believe that it will cool down in 2022. If so, the real interest rates are likely to increase, creating a downward pressure on gold prices. I also believe that the WGC is too optimistic when it comes to the real interest rates and their impact on the yellow metal. According to the report, despite the rate hikes, the real interest rates will stay low from a historical perspective, supporting gold prices. Although true, investors should remember that changes in economic variables are usually more important than their levels. Hence, the rebound in interest rates may still be harmful for the precious metals.   Implications for Gold What should be expected for gold in 2022? Will this year be similar to 2021? Well, just like last year, gold will find itself caught between a hawkish Fed and high inflation. Hence, some similarities are possible. However, in reality, we are not in a time loop and don’t have to report on Groundhog Day (phew, what a relief!). The arrow of time continues its inexorable movement into the future. Thus, market conditions evolve and history never repeats itself, but only rhymes. Thus, I bet that 2022 will be different than 2021 for gold, and we will see more volatility this year. In our particular situation, the mere expectations of a more hawkish Fed are evolving into actual actions. This is good news for the gold market, although the likely peak in inflation and normalization of real interest rates could be an important headwind for gold this year. Tomorrow, we will get to know the FOMC’s first decision on monetary policy this year, which could shake the gold market but also provide more clues for the future. Stay tuned! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
EURUSD, EURCHF and US 30 Chart Don't Show Spectacular Fluctations

EURUSD, EURCHF and US 30 Chart Don't Show Spectacular Fluctations

John Benjamin John Benjamin 26.01.2022 08:44
EURUSD grinds daily support The US dollar inches lower as traders take profit ahead of the Fed meeting. The euro’s struggle to stay above 1.1360 indicates buyers’ weak interest in holding onto previous gains. The latest rebounds have failed to clear the former support that has turned into a resistance. A break below the previous consolidation range and daily support (1.1280) could send the pair to 1.1235. The RSI’s oversold situation attracted some buying interest. But the bulls will need to lift 1.1360 first before a reversal could become a reality. EURCHF attempts reversal The safe-haven Swiss franc retreats as global panic selling takes a breather. A bullish RSI divergence shows a slowdown in the sell-off momentum. Then a rally above 1.0355 has prompted some sellers to cover, taking the heat off the single currency. A bullish MA cross is an encouraging sign for a reversal. 1.0400 is the next hurdle and its breach could be a turning point for traders’ sentiment and a launchpad towards 1.0480. On the downside, 1.0340 is fresh support and then 1.0300 a critical floor to safeguard the rebound. US 30 hits last major support The Dow Jones 30 recoups losses as traders await details on the Fed’s monetary tightening. Breaks below daily supports at 34700 and 34000 have forced buyers to liquidate in bulk. The index saw bids at last June’s low (33200) while the RSI sank into the oversold area on the daily chart. As the quote stabilizes, traders may be looking to buy the dips. A close above 34500 may lead to 35500 which is a key supply zone from a previous breakout. A break below the daily support could trigger a broader correction in the weeks to come.
Considering Portfolios In Times Of, Among Others, Inflation...

EUR To GBP and EURUSD Will Go Down If Dollar Strengthens?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 26.01.2022 09:39
The US dollar has been gaining steadily against the developed countries' currencies since the beginning of the year. By the way, the yen was an exception: it has been adding 1.8% over the past 11 days after the stock market entered the turbulence zone due to a reassessment of the monetary policy outlook. According to historical data, the Fed often finds itself at the forefront of the monetary policy cycle. That is used to be translating into a stronger USD in the months before and after the first tightening. So the question is in what currency pairs it is most profitable to buy the dollar now. Among the developed and liquid currencies, three scenarios can be considered. The first way is to sell EURUSD. The euro is weaker than the dollar due to the ECB being on several steps behind the Fed. That means that the EU rates will remain lower for a longer period of time, and the balance of bond yields will be shifted towards the dollar. Given the pace the Fed intends to take in tightening monetary policy, this yield gap promises to widen further. Another way is to bet that monetary tightening is stressing the declining markets drag the pound down. We should keep in mind that the Bank of England has already approved its first tightening policy step, and in this case it's not far behind the Fed. At the same time, it's closely correlated with falling market indices. Need to mention that GBPUSD is still far from being oversold with a wide room for further decline. The third way is often more obvious. Traders may consider selling the currencies of developing countries, which are much more sensitive to the Fed monetary policy changes. However, EMs have been raising rates for almost a year, so selling them now is a bet on market volatility in the near term. For the longer perspective, higher interest rates promise to level out short-term gains. In this case, the dollar's down turn may be faster than in the euro.
Apple Stock Price and Forecast: AAPL earnings preview

Apple Stock Price and Forecast: AAPL earnings preview

FXStreet News FXStreet News 26.01.2022 16:22
Apple reports earnings after the close on Thursday.With the Fed out of the way, the road is cleared for the stock superpower.AAPL could help turn the entire market sentiment after Microsoft beat. Apple is due to report earnings after the close on Thursday. With the Fed meeting ending today, investors will then focus on the tech sector to hopefully end the bearish mood currently hitting markets. Tech names along with a not-too-surprising Fed (https://www.fxstreet.com/macroeconomics/central-banks/fed) could turn things around. Sentiment is beginning to look overdone, but it is imperative to get solid earnings from the tech sector. So far the bank sector has disappointed, while the energy sector looks like it should outperform. This week as we mentioned in our preview note is key with 104 of the S&P 500 companies reporting. Apple Stock NewsApple reports after the close on Thursday, January 27. Earnings per share (EPS) is expected to come in at $1.89 on revenue of $118.28 billion. Wall Street analysts also expect Apple to have sold 80 million iPhones in the last quarter. Bank of America certainly is looking to the upside as it outlines in a note out this morning. The bank sees iPhone sales coming in at 81 million and sees a strong revenue number of $121 million, well ahead of forecasts. Analysts have been active this week on the name ahead of earnings. Earlier we reported on Goldman Sachs maintaining their $142 price target ahead of earnings, while Morgan Stanley expects strong iPhone deliveries to maintain bullish earnings.As ever the commentary around earnings will be as important as the earnings themselves. Last time out the dreaded supply chain and chip issues came to light, so we will look for more clarity around these areas.Apple Stock Forecast$157 is big, very big. A break and it likely heads to $148, which is a huge volume profile support and the point of control. But breaking $157 does put in a new lower low and so continue the downtrend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) both look quite stretched, but the RSI is not yet oversold. The MACD, meanwhile, is at its lowest since March of last year, and the histogram is also at its widest in a year. Earnings then could be the catalyst to turn this trend around. Apple (AAPL) chart, daily
Rushing Headlong

Rushing Headlong

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.01.2022 16:34
Glass half full call on S&P 500 yesterday was vindicated – this yet another reversal has the power to go on, and credit markets appear sniffing out the upcoming reprieve. While rates have justifiably risen, they have done so quite fast in Jan – time to calm down and reprice the excessively hawkish Fed fears. Even if it was just energy and financials that rose yesterday, the table is set for gains across many assets – just check the progress from yesterday‘s already optimistic upturn, or the already fine early view of yesterday‘s market internals.VIX is calming down, Fed is unlikely to rock the boat too much – such were my yesterday‘s thoughts about:(…) seeing a rebound on Wednesday‘s FOMC (I‘m leaning towards its message being positively received, and no rate hike now as that‘s apart from the Eastern Europe situation the other fear around).The sizable open profits – whether in S&P 500 or crude oil – can keep on growing while gold slowly approaches $1,870 again (look for a good day today), and copper stabilizes above $4.50 to keep pushing higher even if not yet outperforming other commodities. More dry firepowder and fresh profits ahead anywhere I look – even cryptos are to enjoy the unfolding risk-on upswing.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThis is what a tradable S&P 500 bottom looks like – just as it was most likely to turn out. After the 200-day moving average, 4,500 point of control is the next target.Credit MarketsHYG reversed, but isn‘t in an uptrend yet – this is how a budding reversal looks like, especially since the selling hasn‘t picked up ahead of the Fed. Turning already.Gold, Silver and MinersGold and silver pause was barely noticeable – it‘s a great sight of upcoming strength in the metals while miners unfortunately would continue underperforming to a degree, i.e. not leading decisively.Crude OilCrude oil bulls are back, how did you like the pause? The ride higher isn‘t over by a long shot, and I like the volume of late being this much aligned.CopperCopper looks to be catching breath before another (modest but still) upswing. The buyers aren‘t yet rushing headlong.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin and Ethereum reversed, and are participating in the risk-on upturn, with Ethereum sending out quite nice short-term signs. From the overall portfolio view and upcoming volatility though, I would prefer to wait before making any move here.SummaryS&P 500 bulls withstood yesterday‘s test, and are well positioned to extend gains, especially on the upcoming well received FOMC statement and soothing press conference. It had also turned out that a tech upswing is more likely to be continued today than yesterday – the Fed‘s words would calm down bonds, and that would enable a better Nasdaq upswing.As I wrote yesterday, the table is set for an upside FOMC surprise – the tantrum coupled with war fears bidding up the dollar, is impossible to miss. Best places to be in remain commodities and precious metals – and I would add today once again in a while that real assets upswing would coincide with the dollar moving lower later today (check those upper knots of late). So far so good in risk-on, inflation trades – and things will get even better as my regular readers know (I can‘t underline how much you can benefit from regularly reading the full analyses as these are about how I arrive at the profitable conclusions presented & how you can twist them to your own purposes).Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Binance Coin price bound for 15% upswing as bulls make a comeback

Binance Coin price bound for 15% upswing as bulls make a comeback

FXStreet News FXStreet News 26.01.2022 16:40
Binance Coin has been range trading for the past four days between $335 and $389. BNB price shows bulls pushing bears against the high of this week, ready for a breakout. Expect bears to be stopped out and open momentum for bulls to run the price up to $452. Binance Coin (BNB) price was able to find a floor at $335 with the monthly S2 monthly support level as an area where bulls were interested in getting involved in the price action. BNB price is now quickly ramping up and squeezing bears out of their entries at $389, which is acting as the weekly high. With the squeeze, a pop is set to unfold towards $452, the first significant level of resistance that could halt the rally near-term. BNB price set for a bullish breakout Binance Coin sees bulls trading away from the monthly S2 support level at $335 tested twice and bulls jumping on the buying volume to get involved in the price action. Backed by the green ascending trendline, a bullish entry makes sense as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has just exited oversold territory. As such, sellers do not have much incentive to stay further in their short positions as further gains look limited for now. BNB price thus offers a solid entry point, and bulls are now ready to break above $389, the weekly high and short-term cap that has kept BNB price limited to the upside this week. As bears are being pushed against that level, expect their stops to be run once bulls break above it, which will trigger a massive demand for buying volume and squeeze price action even higher. The monthly S1 does not hold much historical reference, so $452 makes the most sense with the 200-day Simple Moving Average just above as a cap, that needs to be broken to start speaking of an uptrend. BNB/USD daily chart In the wake of the Fed meeting later today, most investors will be holding their breath further into the afternoon. If the Fed delivers a hawkish tone or even hike today, that will set a negative tone for global markets and see a sharp decline in risk assets led by equities and cryptocurrencies. Expect BNB price action to result in bulls being pushed against the monthly S2 support and the green ascending trend line around $320-$335.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Gains Bullish Momentum

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Gains Bullish Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 27.01.2022 08:26
USDCAD breaks higherThe Canadian dollar slipped after the BOC kept interest rates unchanged. Its US counterpart found support at 1.2560 after a brief pullback.An oversold RSI attracted some bargain hunters. The current rebound is a sign that there is a strong interest in pushing for a bullish reversal. 1.2700 is a key supply zone as it coincides with the 30-day moving average.A breakout would definitely turn sentiment around and trigger a runaway rally. In turn, this sets the daily resistance at 1.2810 as the next target.NZDUSD continues lowerThe New Zealand dollar steadied after the Q4 CPI beat expectations.However, the pair is still in bearish territory after it broke below the lower end (0.6750) of the flag consolidation from the daily time frame. The RSI’s oversold situation brought in a buying-the-dips crowd around 0.6660 but its breach indicates a lack of buying interest.The kiwi is now testing November 2020’s low at 0.6600. The bears could be waiting to fade the next bounce with 0.6700 as a fresh resistance.XAUUSD pulls back for supportGold tumbled after the US Fed signaled it may raise interest rates in March. The rally stalled at 1853 and a break below the resistance-turned-support at 1830 flushed some buyers out.1810 at the base of the previous bullish breakout is a second line of defense. The short-term uptrend may still be intact as long as the metal stays above this key support.A deeper correction would drive the price down to the daily support at 1785. The bulls need a rebound above 1838 to regain control of price action.
Flucation of EUR To RUB and USD To RUB

Flucation of EUR To RUB and USD To RUB

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 27.01.2022 09:59
The rate of the Russian currency reached 80.40 per dollar and 90.70 per euro yesterday after the close of the regular session. However, from these levels, the ruble seemed attractive for purchases. This brought the price back down from the psychologically significant round marks. The dollar was temporarily near peak levels, from where it has been unfolding since the end of 2014. Of course, the fact that the ruble previously went up from 80 does not allow one to blindly hope that the same will happen this time. However, it is a good reason to closely monitor the dynamics of the Russian currency, as well as the rhetoric of officials and the central bank when approaching these levels. Now it seems that geopolitics is more than embedded in premiums, which reduces the prices of Russian assets, including the ruble. However, there are other factors playing a part. In recent weeks, there has been increased attention to the Fed, which has entered the warpath against inflation, although for most of the past year, it was simply denied. If the tough tone of the American regulator causes pressure on the markets, this will be a new reason for the ruble to fall, even if not as sharp as under the influence of geopolitics. The best tactic for investors now is to watch the dynamics of the Russian currency near significant round levels. A sharp turn down in the EURRUB and USDRUB pairs will indicate strong purchases and will be another confirmation of how unbreakable these levels are. If we see a further slide of the ruble, we can say that the lowest point for it has not yet been reached. In general, it is worth being aware that the bottom may come very soon.
Markets react to hawkish FED

Markets react to hawkish FED

Walid Koudmani Walid Koudmani 27.01.2022 13:13
While yesterday's FED decision to leave rates unchanged was mostly expected, the following press conference by chairman Powell left investors worried for the potential of more rate increases than previously anticipated. The head of the US central bank said the FED will adapt to changing economic conditions appropriately and still expects inflation to decrease this year, despite a variety of factors driving prices higher such as supply chain shortages and an unexpected increase in demand. Stock markets started Thursday trading lower after the brief recovery seen before the decision and are currently attempting to rebound as key earning reports continue to be released. Meanwhile, precious metals dropped significantly while a strengthening USD and rising yields continued to add pressure with gold falling to the lowest level in around 10 days while the USD index is testing 17-month highs. Despite this uncertainty across markets, investors could see yesterday’s decision as a sign the FED is willing to compromise and still continues to prioritize overall market performance despite record levels of inflation. Oil prices once again test multi year highsWhile much of recent attention has been on yesterday's FOMC decision where the US central bank decided to leave rates unchanged, oil prices have managed to recover from the recent pullback and have returned to test recently reached multi year highs. Brent is trading around $89,50 while WTI hovers at $88,25 as tensions relating to the Russia-Ukraine situation rise and as demand prospects continue to improve thanks to the strong pace of economic growth across the world. On the other hand, this price area has managed to act as a resistance in the past and unless we see a significant catalyst, prices might struggle to remain at these levels for an extended period as governments attempt to contain rising energy prices.
Gold Plunged but Didn’t Knuckle Under to the Hawkish Fed

Gold Plunged but Didn’t Knuckle Under to the Hawkish Fed

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2022 14:17
The FOMC set the stage for a March interest rate hike, which was an aggressive signal. Gold got it and fell – but hasn't capitulated yet.The Battlecruiser Hawk is moving full steam ahead! The FOMC issued yesterday (January 26, 2022) its newest statement on monetary policy in which it strengthened its hawkish stance. First of all, the Fed admitted that it would start hiking interest rates “soon”:With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate.Previously, the US central bank conditioned its tightening cycle on the situation in the labor market. The relevant part of the statement was as follows in December:With inflation having exceeded 2 percent for some time, the Committee expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment.The alteration implies that, in the Fed’s view, the US economy has reached maximum employment and is ready to lift the federal funds rate. Indeed, Powell reaffirmed it, saying:There’s quite a bit of room to raise interests without threatening the labor market. This is by so many measures a historically tight labor market — record levels of job openings, quits, wages are moving up at the highest pace they have in decades.Powell also clarified the timing, stating that “the Committee is of the mind to raise the federal funds rate at the March meeting.” This is not completely unexpected, but does mark a significant hawkish change in the Fed’s communication, which is negative for gold.Second, the FOMC reaffirmed its plan, announced in December, to end quantitative easing in early March. It means that in February, the Fed will buy only $20 billion of Treasuries and $10 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities, instead of the $40 and $20 purchased in January:The Committee decided to continue to reduce the monthly pace of its net asset purchases, bringing them to an end in early March. Beginning in February, the Committee will increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $20 billion per month and of agency mortgage‑backed securities by at least $10 billion per month.Third, the FOMC is preparing for quantitative tightening. Together with the statement on monetary policy, it published “Principles for Reducing the Size of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet”. The Fed hasn’t yet determined the timing and pace of reducing the size of its mammoth balance sheet. However, we know that it will happen after the first hike in interest rates, so probably as soon as May or June. After all, as Powell admitted during his press conference, “the balance sheet is substantially larger than it needs to be (...). There’s a substantial amount of shrinkage in the balance sheet to be done.”Implications for GoldWhat does the recent FOMC statement imply for the gold market? The end of QE, the start of the hiking cycle, and then of QT – all packed within just a few months – is a big hawkish wave that could sink the gold bulls. The Fed hasn’t been so aggressive for years.Of course, maybe it’s just a great bluff, and the Fed will retreat to its traditional dovish stance soon when tightening monetary and financial conditions hit Wall Street and the real economy. However, with CPI inflation above 7%, mounting political pressure, and public outrage at costs of living, the US central bank has no choice but to tighten monetary policy, at least for the time being.It seems that gold got the message. The price of the yellow metal plunged more than $30 yesterday, as the chart below shows. Interestingly, gold started its decline before the statement was published, which may indicate more structural weakness. What is also disturbing is that gold was hit even though the FOMC statement came largely as expected.On the other hand, gold didn’t collapse, but it dropped only by thirty-some dollars, or about 1.6%. Given the importance and hawkishness of the FOMC meeting, it could have been worse. Yes, the hawkish message was expected, and some analysts even forecasted more aggressive actions, but gold clearly didn’t capitulate. Thus, there is hope (and turbulence in the stock market can also help here), although the upcoming weeks may be challenging for gold, which would have to deal with rising bond yields.If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Gold Is Bruised but Can Show Strength – By Doing Nothing

Gold Is Bruised but Can Show Strength – By Doing Nothing

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 27.01.2022 17:59
  The Fed finally said it: the rates are going up. The USD Index and gold heard it and reacted. The former is at new yearly highs, while gold slides. The medium-term outlook for gold is now extremely bearish. The above might sound like a gloom and doom scenario for precious metals investors, but I view it as particularly favorable. Why? Because: This situation allows us to profit on the upcoming decline in the precious metals sector through trading capital. This situation allows us to detect a great buying entry point in the future. When gold has everything against it and then it manages to remain strong – it will be exactly the moment to buy it. To be more precise: to buy into the precious metals sector (I plan to focus on purchasing mining stocks first as they tend to be strongest during initial parts of major rallies). At that moment PMs will be strong and the situation will be so bad that it can only improve from there – thus contributing to higher PM prices in the following months. Most market participants have not realized the above. “Gold and (especially) silver can only go higher!” is still a common narrative on various forums. Having said that, let’s take a look at the short-term charts. In short, gold declined significantly, and it’s now trading once again below the rising support / resistance line, the declining red resistance line, and back below 2021 closing price (taking also today’s pre-market decline into account). In other words: All important short-term breakouts were just invalidated. The 2022 is once again a down year for gold. Is this as bearish as it gets for gold? Well, there could be some extra bearish things that could happen, but it’s already very, very bearish right now. For example, gold market could catch-up with its reactions to USD Index’s strength. The U.S. currency just moved above its previous 2022 and 2021 highs, while gold is not at its 2021 lows. Yet. I wouldn’t view gold’s performance as true strength against the USD Index at this time just yet. Why? Because of the huge consolidation that gold has been trading in. The strength that I want to see in gold is its ability not to fall or soar back up despite everything thrown against it, not because it’s stuck in a trading range. In analogy, you’ve probably seen someone, who’s able to hold their ground, and not give up despite the world throwing every harm and obstacle at them. They show their character. They show their strength. Inaction could represent greater wisdom and/or love and focus on one’s goal that was associated with the lack of action. You probably know someone like that. You might be someone like that. The above “inaction” is very different from “inaction” resulting from someone not knowing what to do, not having enough energy, or willpower. Since markets are ultimately created by people (or algorithms that were… ultimately still created by people) is it any surprise that markets tend to work in the same way? One inaction doesn’t equal another inaction, and – as always – context matters. However, wasn’t gold strong against the USD Index’s strength in 2021? It was, but it was very weak compared to the ridiculous amounts of money that were printed in 2020 and 2021 and given the global pandemic. These are the circumstances, where gold “should be” soaring well above its 2011 highs, not invalidating the breakout above it. The latter, not the former, happened. Besides, the “strength” was present practically only in gold. Silver and miners remain well below their 2011 highs – they are not even close to them and didn’t move close to them at any point in 2020 or 2021. Gold has been consolidating for many months now, just like it’s been the case between 2011 and 2013. The upper part of the above chart features the width of the Bollinger Bands – I didn’t mark them on the chart to keep it clear, but the important detail is that whenever their width gets very low, it means that the volatility has been very low in the previous months, and that it’s about to change. I marked those cases with vertical dashed lines when the big declines in the indicator took it to or close to the horizontal, red, dashed line. In particular, the 2011-2013 decline is similar to the current situation. What does it mean? It means that gold wasn’t really showing strength – it was stuck. Just like 2012 wasn’t a pause before a bigger rally, the 2021 performance of gold shouldn’t be viewed as such. What happened yesterday showed that gold can and will likely react to hawkish comments from the Fed, that the USD Index is likely to rally and so are the interest rates. The outlook for gold in the medium term is not bullish, but very bearish. The above is a positive for practically everyone interested in the precious metals market (except for those who sell at the bottom that is), as it will allow one to add to their positions (or start building them) at much lower prices. And some will likely (I can’t guarantee any performance, of course) gain small (or not so small) fortunes by being positioned to take advantage of the upcoming slide. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
USD To JPY Chart - What an Upswing! SPX Doesn't Go Really High

USD To JPY Chart - What an Upswing! SPX Doesn't Go Really High

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.01.2022 08:39
USDJPY tests major resistance The Japanese yen inched higher after January’s Tokyo CPI beat expectations. The US dollar found support in the daily demand zone around 113.50. And that is a sign that upbeat sentiment in the medium-term remains intact. A close above the psychological level of 115.00 attracted momentum traders and sped up the rebound. 115.60 at the origin of the January liquidation is key resistance. In fact, its breach could put the uptrend back on track. The RSI’s overextension may cause a limited pullback with 114.50 as the closest support. USOIL breaks to new high Oil climbed amid fears of disruption as tensions between Russia and the West grew. After a short-lived pause, WTI crude saw bids near a previous low at 82.00 which lies on the 20-day moving average. A break above the January peak at 87.80 indicates solid interest in keeping the rally in shape. As the bulls’ run continued, more trend-followers would push the price to 89.00. An overbought RSI temporarily restrained the fever, and buyers could see a pullback towards 85.00 as an opportunity. SPX 500 struggles for support Upcoming US rate hike still weighs on equity markets. A tentative break below last October’s low (4300) has put the S&P 500 on the defense. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart shows that sentiment could be deteriorating as price action struggles to stabilize. An oversold RSI led to a limited rebound as intraday sellers took profit. Nonetheless, buyers should be wary of catching a falling knife, leaving the index vulnerable to another sell-off if it drops below 4230. 4490 is the first resistance to clear to initiate a recovery.
NASDAQ, Non-Farm Payrolls, GBPAUD, Gold and More in The Next Episode of "The Trade Off"

Stock Market in 2022: Momentum on the Stocks in the Market Are In a Solid Footing

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.01.2022 10:51
The year 2022 is seemingly a mixed bag, even as markets start reopening. The year looks promising, though, with issues like inflation and COVID to contemplate. Historic rallies in 2021 after lockdowns are looking to inspire trading in various industries, with some assets to look out for by investors. Growth will surely return at some point, but so will disappointing instances where tumbles will dominate trading desks. The S & P's historic gains of 30 percent dominated the press at the close of 2021, making investors using Naga and other optimistic platforms. The ended year had one of the longest bull markets. However, the Fed rate tightening and the direction the pandemic will take are some things to expect, notwithstanding that the stock market might grow by a whopping 10 percent in 2022. Trading Movements In Week One 2022 European markets have opened with a lot of optimism in 2022, the pan-European STOXX 600 closed at 489.99 points; this is 0.5 percent higher than the opening figure. The European benchmark was some percentage lower than the overall S&P 2021 performance, though with a surge of 22.4 percent. Record gains in the stock markets have relied on the positions taken by the governments during the pandemic. In the USA and Europe, increasing vaccination rates and economic stimulus measures have improved investor confidence. However, there are indications for more volatility in 2022, a situation investors must watch keenly. There has been little activity in London markets in the first week of 2022, while in Italy, France, and Spain gains of between 0.5-1.4 percent made notable highlights. European markets had diverse industries drive up the closing gains witnessed; the airline sector, in particular, has had a significant influence. Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) had an impressive 8.8 percent jump while Air France KLM (AIRF.PA), a 4.9 percent gain. Factory activity is another factor to thank for the first week's gains all over Europe. Noteworthy, the Omicron variant influenced trading in the entirety of December, but the reports that it is milder than Delta has energized market activities coming into January. S&P and DOW Jones 2022 First Week Highs Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 (SPX) closed at a record high, highlighting a similar aggressiveness as the European markets. While the jump was industrial-wide, Tech stocks continued to dominate, as Apple finally touched the $3 trillion valuation, though for a short time. Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) posted a 13.5 percent jump thanks to increased production in China and an unprecedented goal to surpass its target. The US market, like the European market, is also in a fix; the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to cause concern with the wait-and-see approach, the only notable strategy. Currently, every country is reporting a jump in the number of Covid cases, with the UK going above 100K cases for the first time and the US recording some new records as well. School delays and increased isolation by key workers will surely debilitate the markets, with the global chip shortage another point to contemplate. However, markets can still ride on the increased development of therapies to help fight Covid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (CDC) has been quick, as now children can have their third doses as well. Industries to Look Out For In 2022 European automakers have seen early peaks, while the airline sector has also picked up fast. In the US, tech shares continue to dominate, and 2022 might witness new records never seen before. However, the energy sectors have also dominated the news in 2021, and in 2022; the confidence in them will continue to rise because of an anticipation of stabilization in energy prices. The same goes for crude oil prices. Regardless, shareholders will continue watching the decisions by the Federal Reserve, a review in the current interest rates will surely tame inflation. Conclusion 2022 will see its highs and lows in investments. Some assets will make the news and investors will be keen to use any information to make key decisions. Tech will continue to shine, but it is important to anticipate the direction of the pandemic, as it will be an important factor in investor decisions.
DXY Hits Level of July, 2020 and Affects EURUSD

DXY Hits Level of July, 2020 and Affects EURUSD

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 28.01.2022 10:26
The US dollar rewrote its 1.5-year highs on Thursday, sending EURUSD under 1.1150. After the FOMC meeting, the pair fell in total by 1.5%, leaving a two-month consolidation with a sharp movement. Friday's small rollback from extremes is likely a local profit fixation by the end of the week and month. History suggests that the US currency begins to add about 2-3 quarters before the first rate hike and continues to be in positive territory for about the same time after. We believe that this long story should be adjusted to the new reality in which interest rates are the starting point. Namely, the first point of tightening monetary conditions is now the beginning of the curtailment of purchases on the balance sheet and not the first increase. The start of the dollar's growth last year was the beginning of a public discussion of curtailment. And now, seven months later, the dollar is halfway up with an 8.5% increase from the area of last year's lows. The second half of this wave is unlikely to be as powerful. We only assume that the dollar has a 3-4% growth potential in the area of 100.3-101 due to monetary policy changes. This will return the US currency to the area of steady highs in 2020, excluding two weeks of the most violent market crash. The EURUSD rate in this scenario may fall to 1.07-1.08 before finding a more substantial base of buyers. However, investors and traders should also remember that monetary policy is far from the only driver for currencies. The markets' attention can quickly switch to the debt sustainability of the Eurozone countries and the pace of economic recovery in the world.
Many Factors to Affect XAU This Year. What About The Past?

Many Factors to Affect XAU This Year. What About The Past?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 28.01.2022 10:38
  Gold’s fate in 2021 will be determined mainly by inflation and the Fed’s reaction to it. In the epic struggle between chaos and order, chaos has an easier task, as there is usually only one proper method to do a job – the job that you can screw up in many ways. Thus, although economists see a strong economic expansion with cooling prices and normalization in monetary policies in 2022, many things could go wrong. The Omicron strain of coronavirus or its new variants could become more contagious and deadly, pushing the world into the Great Lockdown again. The real estate crisis in China could lead the country into recession, with serious economic consequences for the global economy. Oh, by the way, we could see an escalation between China and Taiwan, or between China and the US, especially after the recent test of hypersonic missiles by the former country. Having said that, I believe that the major forces affecting the gold market in 2022 will be – similarly to last year’s – inflation and the Fed’s response to it. Considering things in isolation, high inflation should be supportive of gold prices. The problem here is that gold prefers high and rising inflation. Although the inflation rate should continue its upward move for a while, it’s likely to peak this year. Indeed, based on very simple monetarist reasoning, I expect the peak to be somewhere in the first quarter of 2022. This is because the lag between the acceleration in money supply growth (March 2020) and CPI growth (March 2021) was a year. The peak in the former occurred in February 2021, as the chart below shows. You can do the math (by the way, this is the exercise that turned out to be too difficult for Jerome Powell and his “smart” colleagues from the Fed). This is – as I’ve said – very uncomplicated thinking that assumes the stability of the lag between monetary impulses and price reactions. However, given the Fed’s passive reaction to inflation and the fact that the pace of money supply growth didn’t return to the pre-pandemic level, but stayed at twice as high, the peak in inflation may occur later. In other words, more persistent inflation is the major risk for the economy that many economists still downplay. The consensus expectation is that inflation returns to a level close to the Fed’s target by the end of the year. For 2021, the forecasts were similar. Instead, inflation has risen to about 7%. Thus, never underestimate the power of the inflation dragon, especially if the beast is left unchecked! As everyone knows, dragons love gold – and this feeling is mutual. The Saxo Bank, in its annual “Outrageous Predictions”, sees the potential for US consumer prices to rise 15% in 2022, as “companies bid up wages in an effort to find willing and qualified workers, triggering a wage-price spiral unlike anything seen since the 1970’s”. Actually, given the fact that millions of Americans left the labor market – which the Fed doesn’t understand and still expects that they will come back – this prediction is not as extreme as one could expect. I still hope that inflationary pressure will moderate this year, but I’m afraid that the fall may not be substantial. On the other hand, we have the Fed with its hawkish rhetoric and tapering of quantitative easing. The US central bank is expected to start a tightening cycle, hiking the federal funds rate at least twice this year. It doesn’t sound good for gold, does it? A hawkish Fed implies a stronger greenback and rising real interest rates, which is negative for the yellow metal. As the chart below shows, the normalization of monetary policy after the Great Recession, with the infamous “taper tantrum”, was very supportive of the US dollar but lethal for gold. However, the price of gold bottomed in December 2015, exactly when the Fed hiked the interest rates for the first time after the global financial crisis. Markets are always future-oriented, so they often react more to expected rather than actual events. Another thing is that the Fed’s tightening cycle of 2015-2018 was dovish and the federal funds rate (and the Fed’s balance sheet) never returned to pre-crisis levels. The same applies to the current situation: despite all the hawkish reactions, the Fed is terribly behind the curve. Last but not least, history teaches us that a tightening Fed spells trouble for markets. As a reminder, the last tightening cycle led to the reversal of the yield curve in 2019 and the repo crisis, which forced the US central bank to cut interest rates, even before anyone has heard of covid-19. Hence, the Fed is in a very difficult situation. It either stays behind the curve, which risks letting inflation get out of control, or tightens its monetary policy in a decisive manner, just like Paul Volcker did in the 1980s, which risks a correction of already-elevated asset prices and the next economic crisis. Such expectations have boosted gold prices since December 2015, and they could support the yellow metal today as well. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Tesla Stock Price and Forecast: Why did TSLA fall despite beating earnings estimates?

Tesla Stock Price and Forecast: Why did TSLA fall despite beating earnings estimates?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 27.01.2022 15:59
Tesla stock swung around violently post the earnings release. TSLA shares quickly dropped 6% despite beating earnings estimates. Tesla then recovered to trade down 2% as buyers stepped in. Tesla (TSLA) swung around pretty wildly in the after-hours market on Wednesday following its earnings release. The stock dropped 6% fairly rapidly despite beating on the top and bottom lines. Buyers then went bargain hunting as the market struggled to grasp what metric to focus on. By the time things settled down, we were nearly back to where things started. At the time of writing, Tesla is back to $930 in the premarket on Thursday, so only $7 or less than 1% lower from where Tesla stock was trading at the close of the regular session and before the earnings drop. Tesla Stock News Tesla beat on earnings per share (EPS), coming in at $2.54 versus the $2.26 average estimate. Revenue also beat forecasts, coming in at $17.72 billion versus the $16.35 billion estimate. This was a pretty strong performance beat on both top and bottom lines. Margins also held up well, coming in at 30.8% versus estimates for 30%. So far so good. However, Tesla then mentioned that its factories were not at full capacity and it saw this continuing into 2022. Supply chain issues were to blame, and investors took a dim view of this and sold the stock sharply lower. However, buyers then stepped in as arguments over demand versus supply issues surfaced. The demand profile remains strong and Tesla stuck to its strong outlook for demand going forward. If it can address supply issues and with new factories in Texas and Berlin coming on line, it may be in a position to drive more supply to meet demand. It is certainly better to have a problem meeting demand than it is to have a lack of demand. This is a case of "if you build it, they will come" for Tesla going forward. Tesla Stock Forecast TSLA bottomed out at $879 after the release, but in reality it spent very little time down there. This is interesting to us on a technical view as it prints a higher low than Monday's sell-off and puts in place the potential for a bottoming formation. From the 4-hour chart below we can see this price action in play. The lows from Monday at $855 are our short-term pivot. Above there things have a chance to turn bullish in a more medium-term view. Below and it is on to $813 to test the 200-day moving average. Tesla chart, 4 hourly
USD To RUB Went Up As Many Factors Influences The Rouble

USD To RUB Went Up As Many Factors Influences The Rouble

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 28.01.2022 13:14
The Russian ruble rolled back yesterday with a sharp movement from the iconic round levels. Such a reversal often signifies the end of the previous trend and the beginning of a new movement. If you look at USDRUB only as a course chart, then the corrective momentum has the potential to return the pair to 75 from the current 78 over the next couple of weeks. Seasonality, or rather the macroeconomic environment, is also turning towards the ruble. Exporters will have to convert last year's record earnings to pay taxes, some of which are paid once a year. The weakening of the ruble since the beginning of the year is a good opportunity to add interest to profits due to exchange rate differences. This is all in addition to record oil prices for 8 years and the suspension of foreign currency purchases for the Finance Ministry. We should also not forget about the high interest rates that the Bank of Russia has been aggressively raising since March last year. And the markets are waiting for another 100-point increase in two weeks to 9.5%, which further increases the profitability of the ruble money market. But, unfortunately, fundamental and macroeconomic factors are far from being the only components of the complex exchange rate equation. Geopolitics also play an important role. A clear improvement in relations between countries and the issue around Ukraine has not yet developed. Worse still, investors remain alert that the rhetoric of US and EU officials on the one hand and Russia on the other can quickly fall out of the constructive rut. At the same time, experienced market participants know that when the level of uncertainty rolls over, market dynamics (up or down at the end of the day) is the best filter for the news noise around us.
Fed Comments Help To Settle Global Market Expectations

Fed Comments Help To Settle Global Market Expectations

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.01.2022 14:59
The recent Fed comments should have helped settle the global market expectations related to if and when the Fed will start raising rates and/or taking further steps to curb inflation trends. Additionally, the Fed has been telegraphing its intentions very clearly over the past few months, providing ample time for traders and investors to alter their approach to pending monetary tightening actions. Read the full Fed Statement here.In my opinion, foreign markets are more likely to see increased risks and declining price trends for two reasons. First, at-risk nations/borrowers struggle to reduce debt levels. Second, foreign market traders/investors struggle to adapt to the transition away from speculative “growth” trends. I think the US Dollar may continue to show strength over the next 4+ months as the foreign traders pile into US economic strength while the Fed initiates their tightening actions. So it makes sense to me that global markets would recoil from Fed tightening while debt-heavy corporations/nations seek relief from rising debt obligations.Foreign Markets Struggle For Support Before US Fed Monetary TighteningIn a continuing downward slide, global market equity indexes continue to move lower after the US Fed comments this week. In this article, I wrote about this dynamic on August 3, 2021: US Markets Stall Near End Of July As Global Markets Retreat - Are We Ready For An August Surprise? At that time, I suggested the US markets were stalling while the global markets continued to decline.Now, nearly five months later, we've seen the US market trend moderately higher, attempting to struggle to new highs and exhibit deep downward price trends, while the global markets have continued to trend lower. As we move closer to the US Fed pushing interest rates higher, I expect these trends to become even more volatile and pronounced.US Equities May Find Support After The Fed Raises RatesThe current dynamic in the global markets is that capital is seeking investments where safety and profitable returns dominate over risks. As the global markets transition ahead of the Fed rate increases, I believe the US markets will continue to dominate global assets in opportunities, safety, and returns. Once the Fed starts to raise interest rates, a brief period of volatility throughout the global markets may occur. Still, that volatility should quickly settle as traders chase a stronger US Dollar, US Dollar-based Dividends, and a potential “melt-up” of the US Equity market (particularly the Dow Jones, S&P500, and possibly the Russell 2000).Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!Unless the US Fed takes very aggressive action in raising rates too quickly, I believe, at least initially, the US equity markets will continue to benefit from perceived strengths compared to many global equities/indexes.This means there will be many opportunities for traders and investors in 2022 and 2023 – we have to be patient in waiting for the chance to profit from these big trends. Jumping ahead of this volatility could be dangerous if you are on the wrong side of the price trend. Instead, wait for the right opportunities while you protect your capital from extreme risks. Let the markets tell you when opportunities are perfect – don't try to force a trade to happen.On December 28, 2021, I published this research article showing how my Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) Predictive Modeling system expects price to trend in 2022 and early 2023: Predictive Modeling Suggests 710 Rally In SPY And QQQ Before April 2022. I strongly suggest taking a look at the recent downside price trends in relation to the lower range of the ADL Predictive Modeling expectations. If my ADL Predictive Modeling system is accurate, we may see a relatively strong recovery in the US stock market throughout the rest of 2022 and beyond.Strategies To Help You Protect And Grow Your WealthLearn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
As Fed Is Acting, Is The DXY The Most Interesting Chart For Now?

As Fed Is Acting, Is The DXY The Most Interesting Chart For Now?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 28.01.2022 15:42
  Despite death wishes from the doubters, the dollar took to the skies on the Fed’s hawkish wings. Gold and silver can wave from the ground for now. While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell threw fuel on the fire on Jan. 26, it’s no surprise that the USD Index has rallied to new highs. For example, while dollar bears feasted on false narratives in 2021, I was a lonely bull forecasting higher index values. Likewise, after more doubts emerged in 2022, the death of the dollar narrative resurfaced once again. However, with the charts signaling a bullish outcome for some time, my initial target of 94.5 was surpassed and my next target of 98 is near. As such, it’s crucial to avoid speculation and wait for confirmation of breakdowns and breakouts. In its absence, the price action often pulls you in the wrong direction. Remember the supposedly bearish move below 95 when the USD Index moved even below its rising support line? It’s been just 2 weeks since that development. On Jan. 14, I wrote the following: In conclusion, 2022 looks a lot like 2021: dollar bears are out in full force and the ‘death of the dollar’ narrative has resurfaced once again. However, with the greenback’s 2021 ascent catching many investors by surprise, another re-enactment will likely materialize in 2022. Moreover, since gold, silver, and mining stocks often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, their 2022 performances may surprise for all of the wrong reasons. As such, while the dollar’s despondence is bullish for the precious metals, a reversal of fortunes will likely occur over the medium term. Given yesterday’s reversal in the USD Index, it’s likely also from the short-term point of view – we could see the reversal and the return of the USD’s rally and PMs’ decline any day or hour now. Fortunately, if you’ve been following my analyses, the recent price moves didn’t catch you by surprise. What’s next? While the USD Index still needs to confirm the recent breakout and some consolidation may ensue, the bullish medium-term thesis remains intact. More importantly, though, the USD Index’s gain has resulted in gold, silver, and mining stocks’ pain. For example, the dollar’s surge helped push gold below its short-and-medium-term rising support lines (the upward sloping red lines on the bottom half of the above chart). However, since the USD Index hit a new high and gold didn’t hit a new low, is the development bullish for the yellow metal? To answer, I wrote on Jan. 27: The U.S. currency just moved above its previous 2022 and 2021 highs, while gold is not at its 2021 lows. Yet. I wouldn’t view gold’s performance as true strength against the USD Index at this time just yet. Why? Because of the huge consolidation that gold has been trading in. The strength that I want to see in gold is its ability not to fall or soar back up despite everything thrown against it, not because it’s stuck in a trading range. In analogy, you’ve probably seen someone, who’s able to hold their ground, and not give up despite the world throwing every harm and obstacle at them. They show their character. They show their strength. Inaction could represent greater wisdom and/or love and focus on one’s goal that was associated with the lack of action. You probably know someone like that. You might be someone like that. The above “inaction” is very different from “inaction” resulting from someone not knowing what to do, not having enough energy, or willpower. Since markets are ultimately created by people (or algorithms that were… ultimately still created by people) is it any surprise that markets tend to work in the same way? One inaction doesn’t equal another inaction, and – as always – context matters. However, wasn’t gold strong against the USD Index’s strength in 2021? It was, but it was very weak compared to the ridiculous amounts of money that were printed in 2020 and 2021 and given the global pandemic. These are the circumstances, where gold “should be” soaring well above its 2011 highs, not invalidating the breakout above it. The latter, not the former, happened. Besides, the “strength” was present practically only in gold. Silver and miners remain well below their 2011 highs – they are not even close to them and didn’t move close to them at any point in 2020 or 2021. The Eye in the Sky Doesn’t Lie Moreover, if we zoom out and focus our attention on the USD Index’s weekly chart, the price action has unfolded exactly as I expected. For example, while overbought conditions resulted in a short-term breather, the USD Index consolidated for a few weeks. However, history shows that the greenback eventually catches its second wind. To explain, I previously wrote: I marked additional situations on the chart below with orange rectangles – these were the recent cases when the RSI based on the USD Index moved from very low levels to or above 70. In all three previous cases, there was some corrective downswing after the initial part of the decline, but once it was over – and the RSI declined somewhat – the big rally returned and the USD Index moved to new highs. Please see below: Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or those of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie, and with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind remains at the dollar’s back. Furthermore, dollar bears often miss the forest through the trees: with the USD Index’s long-term breakout gaining steam, the implications of the chart below are profound. While very few analysts cite the material impact (when was the last time you saw the USDX chart starting in 1985 anywhere else?), the USD Index has been sending bullish signals for years. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98-101 target is likely to be reached over the medium term (and perhaps quite soon) Mind, though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’s absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone. The EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, the USD Index’s ascent has surprised investors. However, if you’ve been following my analysis, you know that I’ve been expecting these moves for over a year. Moreover, with the rally poised to persist, gold, silver, and mining stocks may struggle before they reach lasting bottoms. However, with long-term buying opportunities likely to materialize later in 2022, the precious metals should soar to new heights in the coming years. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
If It Had Been Basketball, We Might Say S&P 500 Had Been Blocked!

If It Had Been Basketball, We Might Say S&P 500 Had Been Blocked!

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.01.2022 16:01
S&P 500 upswing attempt rejected, again – and credit markets didn‘t pause, with the dollar rush being truly ominous. Sign of both the Fed being taken seriously, and of being afraid (positioned for) the adverse tightening consequences. Bonds are bleeding, the yield curve flattening, and VIX having trouble declining. As stated yesterday: (...) It‘s nice to start counting with 5 rate hikes this year when taper hasn‘t truly progressed much since it was announced last year. The accelerated taper would though happen, and the following questions are as to hikes‘ number and frequency. I‘m not looking the current perceived hawkishness to be able to go all the way, and I question Mar 50bp rate hike fears. Not that it would even make a dent in inflation. Not even the shock and awe 50bp hike in Mar would make a dent as crude oil prices virtually guarantee inflation persistence beyond 2022. The red hot Treasury and dollar markets are major headwinds as the S&P 500 is cooling off (in a very volatile way) for a major move. As we keep chopping between 4,330s and 4,270s, the bulls haven‘t been yet overpowered. I keep looking to bonds and USD for direction across all markets. I also wrote yesterday: (...) All that‘s needed, is for bonds to turn up, acknowledging a too hawkish interpretation of yesterday‘s FOMC – key factor that sent metals down and dollar up. While rates would continue rising, as the Fed overplays its tightening hand, we would see them retreat again – now with 1.85% in the 10-year Treasury, we would overshoot very well above 2% only to close the year in its (2%) vicinity. That just illustrates how much tolerance for rate hikes both the real economy and the markets have, and the degree to which the Fed can accomplish its overly ambitious yet behind the curve plans. Still time to be betting on commodities and precious metals in the coming stagflation. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Another setback with reversal of prior gains - S&P 500 is chopping in preparation for the upcoming move. Concerningly, the bears are overpowering the bulls on a daily basis increasingly more while Bollinger Bands cool down to accommodate the next move. Direction will be decided in bonds. Credit Markets HYG keeps collapsing but the volume is drying up, which means we could see a reprieve – happening though at lower levels than earlier this week. Quality debt instruments are pausing already, indicatively. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver declined as yields moved sharply up and so did the dollar – but inflation or inflation expectations didn‘t really budge, and TLT looks ready to pause. The metals keep chopping sideways in the early tightening phase, which is actually quite a feat. Crude Oil Crude oil isn‘t broken by the Fed, and its upswing looks ready to go on unimpeded, and that has implications for inflation ahead. Persistent breed, let me tell you. Copper Copper is in danger of losing some breath – the GDP growth downgrades aren‘t helping. The red metal though remains range bound, patiently waiting to break out. Will take time. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin and Ethereum are pointing lower again, losing altitude – not yet a buying proposition. Summary S&P 500 bulls wasted another opportunity to come back – the FOMC consequences keep biting as fears of a hawkish Fed are growing. Tech still can‘t get its act together, and neither can bonds – these are the decisive factors for equities. As liquidity is getting scarce while the Fed hadn‘t really moved yet, risk-on assets are under pressure thanks to frontrunning the Fed. The room for a surprising rebound in stocks is however still there, given how well the 4,270s are holding in spite of the HYG plunge. And given the recent quality debt instruments pause, it looks approaching. Look for a dollar decline next to confirm the upcoming risk-on upswing. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
COT Euro Currency Speculators boosted their bullish bets to 23-week high

COT Euro Currency Speculators boosted their bullish bets to 23-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 29.01.2022 18:55
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday January 25th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the further gains of bullish bets in the Euro currency futures contracts. Euro speculators raised their bullish bets for a sixth consecutive week this week and for the seventh time in the past eight weeks. Over the last six-week time-frame, Euro bets have improved by a total of +43,439 contracts, going from -11,879 net positions on December 14th to +31,560 net positions this week. This week’s net speculator standing marks the highest level for Euro bets since August 17th, a span of twenty-three weeks. Joining the Euro (6,976 contracts) with positive changes this week were the yen (12,606 contracts), US Dollar Index (427 contracts), Australian dollar (5,181 contracts), Swiss franc (2,014 contracts), Canadian dollar (4,825 contracts) and Bitcoin (515 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the British pound sterling (-7,516 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-2,442 contracts), Brazil real (-1,247 contracts), Russian ruble (-2,478 contracts) and the Mexican peso (-5,710 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jan-25-2022OIOI-IndexSpec-NetSpec-IndexCom-NetCOM-IndexSmalls-NetSmalls-Index USD Index 52,328 72 36,861 89 -42,505 4 5,644 78 EUR 682,952 77 31,560 45 -56,258 60 24,698 15 GBP 182,040 27 -7,763 68 16,842 40 -9,079 37 JPY 197,830 53 -68,273 25 82,863 77 -14,590 18 CHF 39,742 14 -8,796 55 13,479 46 -4,683 50 CAD 146,448 28 12,317 60 -19,581 44 7,264 44 AUD 190,020 75 -83,273 8 97,749 92 -14,476 17 NZD 53,316 50 -10,773 53 13,281 51 -2,508 23 MXN 150,142 26 -790 27 -1,478 72 2,268 53 RUB 46,883 48 3,944 23 -4,288 76 344 44 BRL 46,657 54 -12,616 52 11,258 48 1,358 83 Bitcoin 11,756 64 -34 100 -478 0 512 25   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 36,861 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 427 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 36,434 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 89.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 78.3 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 79.8 3.4 14.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 9.4 84.6 3.8 – Net Position: 36,861 -42,505 5,644 – Gross Longs: 41,772 1,777 7,658 – Gross Shorts: 4,911 44,282 2,014 – Long to Short Ratio: 8.5 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 89.4 4.0 78.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.7 -9.8 3.0   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 31,560 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 6,976 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 24,584 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.3 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.2 55.5 11.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.6 63.8 8.0 – Net Position: 31,560 -56,258 24,698 – Gross Longs: 213,408 379,154 79,273 – Gross Shorts: 181,848 435,412 54,575 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.7 59.8 15.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.3 -11.2 -6.2   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -7,763 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -7,516 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -247 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 68.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 39.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.8 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.1 64.7 13.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.4 55.5 18.7 – Net Position: -7,763 16,842 -9,079 – Gross Longs: 36,666 117,812 24,909 – Gross Shorts: 44,429 100,970 33,988 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.2 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 68.4 39.6 36.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 31.0 -31.7 22.0   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -68,273 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 12,606 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -80,879 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 24.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.0 81.0 9.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 42.5 39.1 16.4 – Net Position: -68,273 82,863 -14,590 – Gross Longs: 15,866 160,178 17,950 – Gross Shorts: 84,139 77,315 32,540 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 24.9 77.3 18.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.3 5.9 6.4   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -8,796 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 2,014 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,810 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 54.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 49.5 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.0 69.4 25.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.2 35.5 36.9 – Net Position: -8,796 13,479 -4,683 – Gross Longs: 1,999 27,591 9,996 – Gross Shorts: 10,795 14,112 14,679 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 54.6 46.0 49.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.8 -1.5 5.2   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 12,317 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 4,825 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,492 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 59.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 43.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.2 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.3 39.3 21.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.9 52.6 16.6 – Net Position: 12,317 -19,581 7,264 – Gross Longs: 53,129 57,492 31,539 – Gross Shorts: 40,812 77,073 24,275 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 59.6 43.5 44.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 24.7 -12.1 -15.8   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -83,273 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 5,181 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -88,454 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 17.1 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.0 80.7 8.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.8 29.3 16.2 – Net Position: -83,273 97,749 -14,476 – Gross Longs: 15,121 153,386 16,371 – Gross Shorts: 98,394 55,637 30,847 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.8 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 7.6 91.8 17.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.1 -0.5 12.3   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -10,773 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -2,442 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,331 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 50.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.1 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.9 63.2 5.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.1 38.3 9.9 – Net Position: -10,773 13,281 -2,508 – Gross Longs: 15,948 33,712 2,784 – Gross Shorts: 26,721 20,431 5,292 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.2 50.9 23.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.2 7.9 -2.2   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -790 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -5,710 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 4,920 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.6 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 44.3 51.6 3.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 44.8 52.6 2.4 – Net Position: -790 -1,478 2,268 – Gross Longs: 66,449 77,473 5,892 – Gross Shorts: 67,239 78,951 3,624 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.0 72.2 52.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 4.2 -5.8 17.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -12,616 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -1,247 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -11,369 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 48.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 83.2 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 45.9 45.6 7.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 73.0 21.5 4.7 – Net Position: -12,616 11,258 1,358 – Gross Longs: 21,434 21,274 3,541 – Gross Shorts: 34,050 10,016 2,183 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 2.1 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.7 48.4 83.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.7 8.4 21.0   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 3,944 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,478 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 6,422 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 22.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 43.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.4 63.3 4.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.0 72.4 3.6 – Net Position: 3,944 -4,288 344 – Gross Longs: 15,179 29,669 2,015 – Gross Shorts: 11,235 33,957 1,671 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 22.7 75.7 43.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -29.8 30.5 -20.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -34 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 515 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -549 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.6 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 73.8 2.4 12.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 74.1 6.5 8.1 – Net Position: -34 -478 512 – Gross Longs: 8,678 285 1,469 – Gross Shorts: 8,712 763 957 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 24.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.9 -60.9 -0.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
What Are Next Steps of MANA (Decentraland) Price?

What Are Next Steps of MANA (Decentraland) Price?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.01.2022 16:11
Decentraland price looks to be set to close the week in profit. MANA price action went against the tide, with global markets nervous and still jitters after the Fed tightening announcement. A weekly close above the S1 and Fibonacci low should trigger a return to the upside. Decentraland (MANA) price has been on the front foot in a challenging market environment. MANA bulls look ready to eke out 28% of gains for this week after the price lifted from the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and is now set to pop and stay above the monthly S1 support level. Expect more investors to join the rally once the MANA price can consolidate above the S1 and set $2.57 later today as the price target. MANA price set for 15% price hike Decentraland was forming a falling knife last week but got picked up after the bounce off the $1.67 handle and went against the tide this week as the 200-day SMA around $2.0 offered a window of opportunity for more bulls to extend the recovery. In a slow grind, price action again space and lifted MANA 28% until Decentraland price is hovering. As bulls are now trying to consolidate above the monthly S1 at $2.24, and with that as well reentered the Fibonacci retracement to all-time highs. MANA price is yet still far away from any all-time highs. Global markets still look very much on edge, but that does not mean that Decentraland price action will disappoint to the upside. Expect more investors to come in during the US session if MANA price can stay above $2.24. That trigger and inflow will see price action propel further upwards to tick $2.57, the low from December 04 and set as an easy profit target to be reached. MANA/USD daily chart The monthly S1 can be proven slippery when wet, and price action could easily slide back below, triggering bulls to take their money and run. MANA price would be plie back against the 200-day SMA, break it and fulfill the swing trade towards $1.67. Would the swing lower trigger an even more aggressive selloff from bulls and investors, expect a short overshoot towards $1.28, just above the monthly S2.
S&P 500 (SPX) A Very Tight Sequence of The Latest Candles In The Chart

S&P 500 (SPX) A Very Tight Sequence of The Latest Candles In The Chart

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 31.01.2022 15:53
S&P 500 left the 4,270s - 4,330s range with an upside breakout – after bonds finally caught some bid. While in risk-on posture, divergencies to stocks abound – any stock market advance would leave S&P 500 in a more precarious position than when the break above 4,800 ATHs fizzled out. But a stock market advance we would have, targeting 4,500 followed by possibly 4,600. The sizable open long profits can keep growing. Only the market internals would be poor, so better don‘t look at the percentage of stocks trading above their 200-day moving averages, and similar metrics. Enough to say that Friday‘s advance was sparked by the Apple news. When it‘s only the generals that are advancing while much of the rest remains in shambles, Houston has a problem – we aren‘t there yet. Fed‘s Kashkari also helped mightily on Friday – that implicit rates backpedalling was more than helpful. Pity that precious metals haven‘t noticed (I would say yet) – but remember the big picture and don‘t despair, we‘re just going sideways before the inevitable breakout higher. Back to rates and the Fed, there is a key difference between the tightening of 2018 and now – the economy was quite robust with blood freely flowing, crucially without raging inflation. With the Fed sorely behind the curve by at least a year, it‘ll have to move faster and have lower sensibility to market selloffs caused. Stiff headwinds ahead as liquidity gets tighter. Couple that with resilient oil – more profits taken off the table Friday at $88.30 – and you‘ve got a pretty resilient inflation. Not that inflation expectations would be shaking in their boots, not that commodities would be cratering. It‘s only copper (influencing silver) that has to figure out just how overdone its Friday‘s move had been. Not that other base metals would be that pessimistic. Similarly to precious metals and the early tightening phase, commodities would be under temporary pressure as well, but outperforming as we officially enter stagflation. Not too tough to imagine given the GDP growth downgrades. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Great finish to the week, but S&P 500 bulls have quite a job ahead – it continues being choppy out there. I‘m still looking at bonds with tech for direction. Credit Markets HYG finally turned around, and Friday was a risk-on day. The question remains how far can the retracement (yes, it‘s retracement only) reach – can the pre-FOMC highs be approached? Could be, could be. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver retreated, but no chart damage was done – things are still going sideways as the countdown is on for the Fed to either tighten too much and send markets crashing, or reverse course (again). Crude Oil Crude oil isn‘t broken by the Fed, and why should it be given that it can‘t be printed. Some backing and filling is ahead before the uptrend reasserts itself. Copper Copper is the only red flag, and seeing it rebound would call off the amber light. This is the greatest non-confirmation of the commodities direction in quite a while, and that‘s why I‘m taking it with more than a pinch of salt. Bitcoin and Ethereum Crypto bulls are putting up a little fight as the narrow range trading continues – I‘m not looking at the Bitcoin and Ethereum buyers to succeed convincingly. Summary S&P 500 bulls finally moved in an otherwise volatile and choppy week. For the days ahead, volatility is likely to calm down somewhat, but chop is likely to be with us still – only that I expect it to be of the bullish flavor. 10-year Treasury yield has calmed down, and that would be constructive for stocks – watch next for the 2-year to take notice likewise. The 2-year Treasury is quite sensitive to the anticipated Fed moves, and illustrates well the rate hike fears – coupled with the compressed 10-year to 2-year ratio, we‘re looking at rising expectation of the Fed policy mistake (in tightening too much, too fast). For now though, stocks can recover somewhat, and most of the commodities can keep on appreciating. Precious metals keep being in the waiting game, very resilient, and will turn out one of the great bullish surprises of 2022. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bitcoin, Fed, Stocks and Bonds

Bitcoin, Fed, Stocks and Bonds

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 01.02.2022 13:18
Bitcoin, the plan, and its execution The Plan: It is an election year when Democrats will project political pressure upon the Federal Reserve to not risk through aggressive policy changes a stock market collapse to keep their votes. As a result, more money printing expands inflation, which supports the interest for bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Should we see in opposition for whatever reason a rapid stock market decline, the investor would unlikely be interested in owning stock or bonds. While initially, bitcoin prices would likely fall alongside the markets, money will likely flow into bitcoin shortly afterward. The execution: With bitcoins prices suppressed from their recent decline (down 52% from its last all-time high at around US$69,000), we have another edge for minimizing exposure risk. BTC in US-Dollar, monthly chart, high likely turning points: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of January 31st, 2022. The chart above depicts five supply zones we have our eye on. We will try identifying low-risk entry points on smaller time frames at or near these points and reduce risk further with our quad exit strategy. We already had entries near zone 1 and 2 and posted those live in our free Telegram channel. BTC in US-Dollar, weekly chart, bitcoin, the plan, and its execution, reload trading: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 1st, 2022. Once the more significant time frame turning point is identified (white arrow), we will add what we call ‘reload’ trades (see chart above) on the smaller weekly time frame. We do so by identifying low-risk entries in congestion zones (yellow boxes) on the way up. We aim to arrive near the elections in November with a sizable position that is due to our exit strategy being risk-free. Playing with the market’s money will allow for positive execution psychology and ease us to observe our position through an expected volatility period, with further profit-taking into possible volatile upswings that are only temporary in nature. BTC in US-Dollar, Quarterly Chart, long-term profit potential: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, quarterly chart as of February 1st, 2022. While this year’s midterm trading on the long side of the bitcoin market could provide for substantial income from the 50% profit-taking of each individual trade and reload based on our quad exit strategy, the real goal is to have a remaining position size that could potentially go to unfathomable heights, since we see in the long term the inflation problem not going away but rather culminating in a bitcoin rise that could be substantially much larger in percentage than alternative inflation hedges like real estate, gold, silver and alike. Not to say that we find it also essential to hold these asset classes for wealth preservation. The quarterly chart above illustrates the potential of such a position. We illustrated both in time (six years) and price (US$ 134,000) our most conservative model in this chart. Bitcoin, the plan, and its execution: We see no scenario where inflation is just going away. The above narrative shows that a short-term fueling of inflation is likely. Furthermore, a high-risk scenario is fueling inflation even more. Should markets decline rapidly, it can be expected that money printing and buying up the market is the most predominant solution applied. Consequently, the average investor would wake up relieved that prices wouldn’t decline any further but liquidating their holdings in a further inflated fiat currency will have massively decreased purchasing power. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|February 1st, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Tesla (TSLA) Price Also Has Its Ups and Downs. It's Below $920 Currently

Tesla (TSLA) Price Also Has Its Ups and Downs. It's Below $920 Currently

FXStreet News FXStreet News 31.01.2022 15:49
Tesla stock tumbles after beating earnings estimates TSLA shares hit by concerns over supply chain issues. Apple and big tech could turn the market next week. Tesla (TSLA) staged a modest recovery on Friday, but the real damage was done on Thursday when the stock shed nearly 12%. Friday's move was not even that impressive given Tesla's high beta, a fact that would usually see it bounce significantly more than the major indices. As we know well by now high, growth is not the sector of choice this year, and Tesla does straddle this space. Investors are moving back to more traditional sectors and metrics for their portfolios, and the era of high flying growth is coming to an end, for now at least. We view this as a positive event, stretching too far would have resulted in an ugly snapback or bubble popping most likely. This stabilisation should continue for the year with one or two speculative dead cat bounces along the way. We may just get one of those next week as the remainder of big tech gets a chance to continue on from where Apple led. Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) are all reporting earnings this week. Positive earnings should steady sentiment, and this would then also likely spread to some high growth names. However, in the longer term, we expect balance sheets rather than growth to outperform this year. Tesla Stock News Tesla is not just pure growth, although it is managing to do that rather impressively if the latest results are anything to go by. It will stay with the pace, while other start-up EV manufacturers are more likely to fade away. Tesla created the EV space and remains the brand leader. This will likely not change since it has positioned itself as a premium brand. It will likely face more competition, but we do not see it losing quite as much market share as that forecast by Bank of America. Forecasting a drop from 69% to 19% market share in the space of two years does seem a bit headline-grabbing. The problem for Tesla is its valuation got too ahead of itself, so it is likely to underperform in this new environment despite continued strong earnings and revenue growth. Tesla Stock Forecast The bearish trend is now well-established. Thursday's losses only followed on from what we identified back in early January. The spike higher failed, and then it created a lower low, which confirmed the mid-December low. Even Friday's price action set a lower low than Thursday before the bounce set in. Resistance at $987 is last week's high and is first up. A close above that is significant and a new bar above that will signify a small short-term uptrend. Otherwise, the medium-term downtrend remains in control with support at the 200-day moving average, which sits at $814 currently. Tesla (TSLA) chart, daily
SolScan - Many Of Investors Probably Don't Know This Term

(SOL) Solana Price Is Quite Far From End of 2021 Tops

FXStreet News FXStreet News 31.01.2022 15:49
Solana price keeps hovering above the monthly S2 support. SOL price sees RSI slowly climbing out of the oversold area on the RSI. Expect a pickup in bullish sentiment once Nasdaq confirms risk-on will be the central theme for this week. Solana (SOL) price saw its bullish reversal stop short on Sunday and is now nearing the monthly S2 support level again at $89.28. Although ASIA PAC equity and European indices are firmly in the green, the sentiment has not spilled over to US futures and cryptocurrencies yet. Expect a bounce off the monthly S2 support level and look for a first test at $100 to the upside before continuation this week towards $130.70. Solana bulls are pushing the RSI away from the oversold area Solana price action saw bulls in good shape on Friday and Saturday, erasing a part of the games and trying to reach $100 to the upside. Instead, the sharp uptick stopped on Sunday as cryptocurrencies again looked heavy, with trading starting on Monday. Strangely enough, the most critical Asian indices and European indices are firmly in the green, where US futures are somewhat mixed and relatively flat during the European trading session. Expect for SOL price to stay hovering around this S2 level as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still at or in an oversold area, limiting any potential downside for bears. This should help bulls to use this window of opportunity to go long and make a bounce off the S2 level at $89.28. Once US futures kick into gear and take over the sentiment from Europe, expect some bullish uptick again, targeting $100 intraday and $130.70 for this week. SOL/USD daily chart On the downside, a break below the S2 support level would see a dip towards the low from last week, around $82. If European indices give up their gains and turn red, together with US futures firmly in the red, expect to see another wave of selling, with a possible nosedive threat towards $58.84. With that move, the RSI would overshoot firmly into being oversold.
Technical Analysis: Moving Averages - Did You Know This Tool?

(PLTR) Palantir Stock Went Down And Isn't Even Close To November's Levels

FXStreet News FXStreet News 01.02.2022 15:49
Palantir stock rises by nearly 8% on Monday. PLTR shares have suffered from the hawkish Fed and risk aversion. Palantir could see a rally as risk assets see inflows. Palantir (PLTR) is back on the minds of traders as retail interest stocks finally catch a bid in this new environment. Meme and retail interest stocks have been hammered so far in 2022. Most, if not all, of these stocks are high growth, unprofitable and highly speculative names, and the momentum has dried up in this sector in 2022. The Fed has pivoted to a strongly hawkish stance, and markets are pricing in five rate hikes this year. Palantir has fallen 25% so far this year and nearly 50%over the last three months. Palantir Stock News The meme and retail space staged a recovery yesterday as some end-of-month position covering saw some positive flows. Added to this was a more risk-on tone following from Apple's strong earnings late last week and in anticipation of more big tech earnings this week. AMC then whetted risk appetites further this morning when it released revenue numbers that were ahead of analysts' forecasts. AMC shares popped 14% and dragged many retail and meme stocks along with them. All this should contribute to more gains for Palantir on Tuesday as momentum is key for these names. Adding to this and more stock-specific is that Palantir and Satellogic (SATL) announced a strategic partnership. "Combining the forces of Palantir’s Edge AI technology with Satellogic’s frequent high-resolution imagery will give users actionable insight faster than ever, accelerating their operations from space to mud," said Shyam Sankar, COO of Palantir. "The holistic capabilities of Palantir's Foundry will be instrumental in helping Satellogic realize our mission to improve life on Earth through geospatial data,” said Matthew Tirman, President of Satellogic North America. “ Satellogic will provide Palantir’s US government customers with ready access to Satellogic’s high-resolution satellite imagery to drive analytical insights across a range of mission-oriented use cases.” Satellogic only recently went public via a SPAC deal, listing on the NASDAQ on January 26. We do not have details of the financial side of the partnership or the impact on Palantir's revenue streams. The partnership is for five years, and the companies already have an existing collaboration. All this makes it less significant in our view as it is merely an add-on to an existing relationship between the two companies. Investors are pushing the news aggressively on social media. Palantir Stock Forecast We do note the oversold Relative Strength Index (RSI) on January 27 with it dipping below 20. Oversold readings are usually below 30 for the RSI, but 20 eliminates false signals. This then worked well, and today's move is likely to see more gains. Breaking $13.61 gets PLTR shares above the 9-day moving average, and the next resistance is at $15 from both the yearly VWAP and 21-day moving average. The VWAP is the volume-weighted average price. Palantir (PLTR) chart, daily
Crude Oil Consquently Goes Higher, S&P 500 Gains and Bitcoin Slowly Recovers

Crude Oil Consquently Goes Higher, S&P 500 Gains and Bitcoin Slowly Recovers

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.02.2022 16:01
S&P 500 pushed sharply higher, squeezing not only tech bears even if yields didn‘t move much – bonds actually ran into headwinds before the closing bell. With my 4,500 target reached, the door has opened to consolidation of prior steep gains, and that would be accompanied by lower volatility days till before the positioning for Friday‘s non-farm payrolls is complete as talked on Sunday. So, we have an S&P 500 rally boosting our open profits while the credit market‘s risk-on posture is getting challenged, and divergencies to stocks abound – as I wrote yesterday: (…) any stock market advance would leave S&P 500 in a more precarious position than when the break above 4,800 ATHs fizzled out. But a stock market advance we would have, targeting 4,500 followed by possibly 4,600. We‘re getting there, the bulls haven‘t yet run out of steam, but it‘s time to move closer to the exit door while still dancing. But the key focus remains the Fed dynamic: (…) Fed‘s Kashkari ... helped mightily on Friday – that implicit rates backpedalling was more than helpful. Pity that precious metals haven‘t noticed (I would say yet) – but remember the big picture and don‘t despair, we‘re just going sideways before the inevitable breakout higher. Back to rates and the Fed, there is a key difference between the tightening of 2018 and now – the economy was quite robust with blood freely flowing, crucially without raging inflation. With the Fed sorely behind the curve by at least a year, it‘ll have to move faster and have lower sensibility to market selloffs caused. Stiff headwinds ahead as liquidity gets tighter. Suffice to say that precious metals did notice yesterday, and copper looks ready to work off its prior odd downswing. Remember that commodities keep rising (hello the much lauded agrifoods) while oil enteredd temporary sideways consolidation. Look for other base metals to help the red one higher – the outlook isn‘t pessimistic in the least as the recognition we have entered stagflation, would grow while the still compressing yield curve highlights growing conviction of Fed policy mistake. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls proved their upper hand yesterday, and the question is where would the upswing stall – or at least pause. Ahead soon, still this week. Credit Markets HYG caught a bid yesterday too, but the sellers have awakened – it appears the risk-on trades would be tested soon again. Bonds are certainly less optimistic than stocks at this point, but the S&P 500 rickety ride can still continue, and diverge from bonds. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver retreat was indeed shallow, did you back up the truck? The chart hasn‘t flipped bearish, and I stand by the earlier call that PMs would be one of the great bullish surprises of 2022. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls rejected more downside, but I‘m not looking for that to last – however shallow the upcoming pullback, it would present a buying opportunity, and more profits on top of those taken recently. Copper Expect copper‘s recent red flag to be dealt with decisively, and for higher prices to prevail. Other base metals have likewise room to join in as $4.60 would be taken on once again. At the same time, the silver to copper ratio would move in the white metal‘s favor after having based since the Aug 2020 PMs top called. Bitcoin and Ethereum As stated yesterday, crypto bulls are putting up a little fight as the narrow range trading continues – I‘m not looking at the Bitcoin and Ethereum buyers to succeed convincingly. Time for a downside reversal is approaching. Summary S&P 500 bulls made a great run yesterday, and short covering was to a good deal responsible. Given the credit market action, I‘m looking for the pace of gains to definitely decelerate, and for the 500-strong index to consolidate briefly. VIX is likely to keep calming down before rising again on Friday. Should credit markets agree, the upcoming chop would be of the bullish flavor, especially if oil prices keep trading guardedly. And that looks to be the case, and the rotation into tech can go on – $NYFANG doing well is one of the themes for the environment of slowing GDP growth rates, alongside precious metals and commodities embracing inflation with both arms. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
XAU Stays Strong, But Went Below The "Iconic" Value

XAU Stays Strong, But Went Below The "Iconic" Value

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 01.02.2022 16:30
  Gold fought valiantly, gold fought nobly, gold fought honorably. Despite all this sacrifice, it lost the battle. How will it handle the next clashes? Have you ever felt trapped in the tyranny of the status quo? Have you ever felt constrained by some invisible yet powerful forces trying to thwart the fullest realization of your potential? I guess this is what gold would feel like right now – if metals could feel anything, of course. Please take a look at the chart below. As you can see, January looked to be quite good for the yellow metal. Its price surpassed the key level of $1,800 at the end of 2021, rallying from $1,793 to $1,847 on January 25, 2022. Then the evil FOMC published its hawkish statement on monetary policy. In its initial response, gold slid. That’s true, but it bravely defended its positions above $1,800 during both Wednesday and Thursday. There was still hope. However, on Friday, the metal capitulated and plunged to $1,788. Here we are again – below the level of $1,800 that gold hasn’t been able to exceed for more than several days since mid-2021, as the chart below shows. Am I disappointed? A bit. Naughty goldie! Am I surprised? Not at all. Although I cheered the recent rally, I was unconvinced about its sustainability in the current macroeconomic context, i.e., economic recovery with tightening of monetary policy (the surprisingly positive report on GDP in the fourth quarter of 2021 didn’t probably help gold), rising interest rates, and possibly a not-distant peak in inflation. In the previous edition of the Fundamental Gold Report, I described the Fed’s actions as “a big hawkish wave that could sink the gold bulls” and pointed out that “gold started its decline before the statement was published, which may indicate more structural weakness.” I added that it was also disturbing that “gold was hit even though the FOMC statement came largely as expected.” Last but not least, I concluded my report with a warning that “the upcoming weeks may be challenging for gold, which would have to deal with rising bond yields.” My warning came true very quickly. Of course, we cannot exclude a relatively swift rebound. After all, gold can be quite volatile in the short-term, and this year could be particularly turbulent for the yellow metal. However, I’m afraid that the balance of risks for gold is the downside. Next month (oh boy, it’s February already!), we will see the end of quantitative easing and the first hike in the federal funds rate, followed soon by the beginning of quantitative tightening and further rate hikes. Using its secret magic, the Fed has convinced the markets that it has become a congregation of hawks, or even a cult of the Great Hawk. According to the CME Fed Tool, future traders have started to price in five 25-basis-point raises this year, while some investors believe that the Fed will lift interest rates by 50 basis points in March. All these clearly hawkish expectations led to the rise in bond yields (see the chart below), creating downward pressure on gold.   Implications for Gold What does the recent plunge in gold prices imply for investors? Well, in a sense, nothing, as short-term price movements shouldn’t affect long-term investments. Trading and investing should be kept separate. However, gold’s return below $1,800 can disappoint even the biggest optimists. The yellow metal failed again. Not the first and not the last time, though. In my view, gold may struggle by March, as all these hawkish expectations will exert downward pressure on the yellow metal. In 2015, the first hike in the tightening cycle coincided with the bottom of the gold market. It may be similar this time, as the actual hike could ease some of the worst expectations and also push markets to think beyond their tightening horizon. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Has the Santa Rally arrived late this year? Are traders trying to position for a Q4 earnings blowout before the end of 2021?

Has the Santa Rally arrived late this year? Are traders trying to position for a Q4 earnings blowout before the end of 2021?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.12.2021 21:50
Predictive Modeling Suggests 7~10% Rally In SPY/QQQ Before April 2022 Has the Santa Rally arrived late this year? Are traders trying to position for a Q4:2021 earnings blowout before the end of 2021? Let’s take a look at what predictive modeling can help us understand. The recent rotation in the SPY/QQQ has shaken some traders’ confidence in the ability of any potential rally – blowing up expectations of a Santa Rally. Yet, here we are with only five trading days before the end of 2021, and the US major indexes are nearing all-time highs again. PREDICTIVE MODELING SHOWS A CONTINUED MELT-UP TREND THROUGH JAN/FEB 2022 Our Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) Predictive Modeling system may hold the answers you are looking for. Let’s look at a few charts to prepare for what may unfold over the next 60+ days. First, this SPY Weekly ADL chart highlights the range of potential outcomes going forward into March/April 2022. The further out we attempt to predict using this technique, the more opportunity exists for outlier events (unusual price trends/activity). Yet, the SPY ADL predictive modeling system suggests a very strong upward price trend in January/February 2022, with a possible narrowing of price in late February – just before another big move higher in March/April 2022. There is an outlier trend that appears below the current price trend. So far, this outlier trend has not aligned with price action over the past 5+ weeks and shows an alternate support level near $430. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! The ADL predictive modeling system suggests a broad market uptrend is likely in the SPY, with an initial target near $490 possibly being reached by early February. If Q4:2021 earnings come in strong and revenues continue to impress the markets, we may see a rally above the $490 level before the end of February 2022. After the tightening of price near the end of February 2022, it appears the SPY will consolidate near $480, then enter another rally phase and attempt to rally above $500. This type of price action aligns with solid Q4:2021 expectations and continued Q1:2022 economic growth. ADL PREDICTS QQQ WILL RALLY ABOVE $430 BY MARCH/APRIL 2022 This Weekly QQQ ADL Chart highlights a similar type of price trend compared to the SPY. The QQQ appears to have a more consistent upward trend bias with a fairly solid upward price channel trending through the first four months of 2022. It appears the QQQ will rally to levels above $420 by mid-February 2022, then stall for a few weeks, then resume a rally trend through most of March 2022 and into early April 2022. After mid-April 2022, it appears the QQQ will consolidate, again, near the $420~$425 level. This ADL prediction suggests Technology, Healthcare, Consumer stables/discretionary, Real Estate, and other sectors will continue to do well in Q1:2022 and beyond. A rally of 7% to 10% in the first few months of 2022 may send the US markets dramatically higher throughout the rest of 2022 if economic growth stays strong. The ADL predictive modeling system has proven to be a valuable tool in understanding what lies ahead for the markets. Not only does it show a range of potential outcomes and price targets, but it also helps us understand if and when price breaks beyond these ADL predictive ranges (which translates into a unique price anomaly). Price anomalies happen. The COVID-19 price collapse represented a unique price anomaly in 2020. This event, somewhat like a Black Swan event, hit the markets hard and quickly sent prices tumbling. It is important to understand that these events can still happen in the future and can dramatically disrupt expected price trends. Still, if the ADL predictive price trends continue to be accurate, it looks like Q1:2022 and Q2:2022 may continue to see moderate upward price trends with bouts of sideways volatility taking place. The range of the ADL predictive levels (the MAGENTA LINES) shows the type or expected volatility in the markets for Q1 and Q2. It appears volatility will stay elevated over the next 6+ months – so get ready for some big, explosive price trends. Watch for the markets to continue to melt higher over the next few weeks as traders prepare for Q4:2021 earnings to start hitting in early January 2022. We may see the US markets start another big upside price trend – possibly breaking to new all-time highs soon enough. WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PREDICTIVE MODELING? Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals. Please take a minute to visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn about our Total ETF Portfolio (TEP) technology and how it can help you identify and trade better sector setups. We’ve built this technology to help us identify the strongest and best trade setups in any market sector. Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the TEP system trades. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results. Have a great day!
Jason Sen's FX trades for today & outlook for stock markets - with video

Jason Sen's FX trades for today & outlook for stock markets - with video

Jason Sen Jason Sen 14.01.2022 11:22
EURUSD - We waited a long time for the breakout & as predicted we did see decent move. The skill was getting on board in time & we certainly did that with a 70 pip rally so far. USDCAD tested the 200 day moving average at 1.2500 & over as far as 1.2449 which was certainly not a surprise, but seeing a bounce now. GBPCAD breaks the first support at 1.7160/50 to target support at 1.7060/50. We held 12 pips above here - same levels apply for today. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD beat 1.1350/70 as expected for a buy signal targeting 1.1400 & strong resistance at 1.1455/65. This has been holding exactly as predicted, but shorts could be risky & we certainly have not headed lower yet. Further gains are likely eventually towards 1.1500/10 & 1.1560/70 Downside today should be limited - a buying opportunity at 1.1400/1.1380 - stop below 1.1365. USDCAD seeing a bounce which could reach as far as first resistance at 1.2560/80. A high for the day certainly possible. Stop above 1.2590. A break higher can target a sell opportunity at 1.2625/45 - stop above 1.2665. Failure to hold above the 200 day moving average at 1.2500 sees a retest of minor support at this week's low of 1.2460/50. Although this is also an 8 month trend line I do not see it holding too many times. Eventually we could fall as far as 1.2420/10. GBPCAD breaks strong support at 1.7160/50 to target strong support at 1.7060/50. Longs need stops below 1.7030 Minor resistance at 1.7150/60 (tested again this morning as I write after it held yesterday) but above here can target can target 1.7220/30, perhaps as far as resistance at recent highs of 1.7290/1.7310. Further gains meet resistance at 1.7360/70. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
5 Interesting Energy Stocks added to our Watchlist this Quarter

5 Interesting Energy Stocks added to our Watchlist this Quarter

Invest Macro Invest Macro 02.12.2021 10:12
December 1, 2021 The fourth quarter of 2021 is approximately two-thirds over and we wanted to highlight some of the Top Energy Companies that have been analyzed by our QuantStock system so far. Our QuantStock system is a proprietary algorithm that takes into account key company fundamentals, earnings trends and other strength components to find quality companies. We use it as a stock market ideas generator and to update our stock watchlist every quarter. The QuantStock system does not take into consideration the stock price or technical price trends so one must compare each company idea against the current stock prices. There are a plethora of professional studies that continue to show stock markets are overvalued and this is always a key component to consider when researching any stock market idea. As with all investment ideas, past performance does not guarantee future results. Suncor Energy Energy Stock | Medium Cap | 5.42 percent dividend | 15.22 P/E | Our Grade = C+ Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) is one of Canada’s biggest energy stocks. It is an integrated energy company engaged in producing synthetic crude from oil sands. Suncor last announced its financial results for the third quarter on October 27. It came up with earnings of 56 cents per share and revenue of $8.11 billion for the three months ended September 30. The results showed significant improvement from the comparable quarter of 2020 but missed the consensus forecast of 58 cents per share for profit and $8.5 billion for revenue. Despite missing expectations, Suncor Energy stock climbed to a new high of $26.97 earlier this month. Matador Resources Co. Energy Stock | Small Cap | 0.51 percent dividend | 16.78 P/E | Our Grade = C- Matador Resources Co. (NYSE: MTDR) is an energy company based in Texas, United States. The company last month announced impressive financial results for the third quarter. Matador earned $1.25 per share during the three months ended September 30, beating the consensus forecast of 96 cents per share. Moreover, it generated revenue of $472.351 million during the quarter, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $387.950 million. In addition, Matador stock has also performed exceptionally well so far in 2021. The company’s share price has skyrocketed more than 200 percent on a year-to-date basis. The 52-week range of the stock is $10.16 – $47.23, while its total market value stands close to $4.5 billion. Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. Energy Stock | Small Cap | 0.84 percent dividend | 11.29 P/E | Our Grade = C- Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: MGY) is another Texas-based oil producer. The company posted solid financial results for the third quarter earlier this month. Magnolia reported adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $283.58 million. The results easily surpassed analysts’ average estimate of 61 cents per share for earnings and $274 million for revenue. If we quickly look at its key financial metrics, Magnolia stock is currently trading around $18.82, against its 52-week range of $18.38 – $19.07. Moreover, the company’s market value is just over $3.4 billion, while its P/E ratio stands at 11.03. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. Energy Stock | Medium Cap | 10.26 percent dividend | 3.71 P/E | Our Grade = C China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (NYSE: SNP), commonly known as Sinopec, is a leading oil and gas company based in China. Besides its listing in the New York Stock Exchange, it also trades in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Sinopec last month announced mixed results for the third quarter. Its reported earnings of $2.64 per share, representing a sharp decline from $5.54 per share in the comparable period of 2020. On the positive side, its revenue for the third quarter grew over 52 percent to $114.58 million. If we look at its share price, Sinopec stock has struggled to gain value so far in 2021. The stock has only increased nearly one percent on a year-to-date basis. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. Energy Stock | Medium Cap | 19.49 percent dividend | 2.71 P/E | Our Grade = C Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR) is one of the leading energy stocks based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company, also called Petrobras, is engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Petrobras last released its quarterly financial results on October 28. The company reported earnings of $5.9 billion for the third quarter, down 26.9 percent from Q2 but significantly higher than the comparable period of 2020. In addition, its quarterly revenue of $23.3 billion was also well above $13.15 billion in the year-ago period. If we talk about its share price movement, Petrobras stock hasn’t performed well this year. The stock is still down nearly six percent on a year-to-date basis. Article by InvestMacro – Be sure to join our stock market newsletter to get our updates and to see more top companies we add to our stock watch list.
Challenges in the Philippines: Rising Rice and Energy Costs Threaten Inflation Stability

Market Shrugs Off Chinese Signals and Keeps the Yuan Bid

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 22.11.2021 13:35
November 22, 2021  $CHF, $USD, BOE, China, Currency Movement, FOMC, Japan, Philippines, Russia Overview:  The US dollar has come back bid from the weekend against most currencies following the talk by a couple of Fed governors about the possibility of accelerating the tapering at next month's FOMC meeting.  The weekend also saw protests against the social restrictions being imposed by several European countries in the face of a surge in Covid cases.  The Swedish krona, yen, and sterling are the weakest, while the dollar-bloc currencies are resisting the greenback's tug. Most of the freely accessible and liquid currencies among emerging market currencies, including Russia, Hungary, South Africa, and Mexico, are heavy. At the same time, the Turkish lira recoups a little of the ground lost last week, and the Chinese yuan shrugged off apparently warnings from the PBOC to post its first gain in three sessions.  Equity markets in the Asia Pacific area mostly fell, though China and South Korea were notable exceptions.  Europe's Stoxx 600 snapped a six-week advance last week but has begun the news week with a small gain through the European morning.  US futures are trading higher.  The bond market is heavy, with the 10-year US Treasury up about three basis points to around 1.58%.  European benchmark yields are 2-3 bp higher.  Gold finished last week on a softer note and edged lower today to trade below $1840 for the first time since November 10.  Resistance is around $1850.  News that Japan may join the US to release oil from reserves saw January WTI slip below $75 but recover back above $76.  It met the (38.2%) retracement of the rally from the late August low near $60.75.  European natural gas (Netherlands) is lower for the fourth consecutive session, during which time it has fallen around 11%.   Iron ore extended the 5.6% gains before the weekend with another 4% gain today.  On the other hand, copper rose 3.3% in the past two sessions and has come back offered today.  Lastly, the CRB Index eased less than 1% last week and is off two of the past three weeks.  Its seven-month rally is at risk.   Asia Pacific Despite China's economic success, it remains clumsy and heavy-handed.   As the US and some other countries were considering a symbolic diplomatic boycott of the winter Olympics in Beijing, the tennis star Peng Shuai is being censored or worse for allegations against a former Politburo member.  Meanwhile, at the end of last week, three Chinese coast guard vessels launched water cannons against two Filipino boats sent to resupply a garrison on the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal), which is within the Philippines' Kalayanan Island Group.  The aggressive harassment brought a rebuke by the US, which reminded Beijing of its mutual defense agreement with Manila.   The Philippines will attempt to bring provision again this week.  Separately, note that after being notified by the US of the military nature of the Chinese construction project in the UAE, the project has been halted.   With the yuan at six-year highs against a trade-weighted basket, Chinese officials have begun expressing more concern about the one-way market.  The FX Committee, composed of industry participants, wants members to do a better job monitoring prop trading, and it follows the PBOC works of caution about risk management at the end of last week.  In its quarterly monetary review, the PBOC made a few tweaks that suggest it could ease policy.   Japan's Prime Minister Kishida acknowledged that releasing oil from its strategic reserve was under discussion.  China indicated it would tap its reserves last week for the second time since September, while it is still under review in the US.  Currently, Japan keeps reserves that are intended to last 90 days, while the private sector must hold reserves to last 70 days, according to reports.  Japan is considering selling oil and using the funds to subsidize the rising gasoline prices.  It may also reduce the duration of the reserves.   The dollar is straddling the JPY114.00 level as its hugs the pre-weekend range (~JPY113.60-JPY114.55).  The JPY114.30 area offers initial resistance, while the focus in early North America may be on the downside.  Still, it appears to be going nowhere quickly.   The Australian dollar finished last week at its lowest level since early October.  That low, just below $0.7230, held, and momentum traders covered shorts, helping lift the Aussie back to session highs near $0.7260.  A move above here allows gains into the $0.7270-$0.7290 area.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3952 today.  The market (Bloomberg survey median) had projected a CNY6.3931 fix.  Although the dollar is softer today, it held above last week's lows as consolidation is evident.  It remains within the range set last Tuesday (~CNY6.3670-CNY6.3965).   Europe With the Swiss franc appreciating to six-year highs against the euro, it would not be surprising to see the SNB intervene.  The first place to look for it is in the weekly domestic sight deposits.  They rose by CHF2.58 bln, the second-most in the past three months.  Recall the mechanics.  The SNB buys euros but just sitting on them distorts the allocation strategy.  So it needs to either sell some euros for dollars or Swiss francs for dollars.  If it does the latter, its overall level of reserve growth accelerates.  Many suspect it will do the former, i.e., sell some euros for dollars.   The US continues to warn that Russia's troop and equipment movement is consistent with a rapid large-scale push into Ukraine from multiple spots simultaneously.  The suggestion, according to reports, is that the operation could take place early next year.  Both Ukraine and Georgia are seeking more US assistance.  Recall Russia invaded Crimea in February 2014.   Bank of England Governor Bailey has toned down his rhetoric, though he blames the market for misconstruing his remarks last month.  He warns now that next month's decision is finely balanced and that the price pressures are emanating primarily from supply-side disruptions for which monetary policy is less directly effective.   The implied yield of the December 2021 short-sterling interest rate futures contract is slipping for the fourth consecutive session.  Today's yield of about 21 bp is the lowest since early October.  The yield peaked in mid-October near 62 bp.  Lastly, while progress on the UK-EU talks has been reported, the two sides are still far apart.  Talks between Frost and Sefcovic will resume at the end of this week.   The prospect that a new German government could be announced this week has not helped the euro very much.  The single currency, which was sold through $1.14 and $1.13 last week, is struggling to find a base.  It has held above the pre-weekend low near $1.12560 but only barely (~$1.1260), and the attempt to resurface above $1.1300 was rebuffed. A move above $1.1320 may suggest some near-term consolidation, perhaps ahead of Wednesday's US PCE deflator report.  That said, tomorrow's flash PMI composite reading for the eurozone is expected to have weakened for the fourth consecutive month.  Sterling could not rise 15 ticks from its pre-weekend close (~$1.3450).  The downside was also limited (~$1.3420).  It caught a bid in the European morning that could extend into the US morning.  Still, the $1.3460-$1.3480 band may be a sufficient cap.  The market does not appear inclined to see trigger the $1.3395 option that expires today for about GBP425 mln.   America President Biden's announcement on the Fed's leadership could come as early as tomorrow, as he is set to deliver a speech on the economy tomorrow.  But it probably would be a separate announcement.  Given the expiration of the terms of the two vice-chairs, changes among a few of the regional presidents, and the challenging situation, President Biden is likely to follow Treasury Secretary Yellen's recommendation to re-appoint Powell.  Moreover, a tradition goes back to Volcker of one party making the initial nomination and the other party approving of another term.  This helped "depoliticize" monetary policy.  Trump broke with that tradition, and as Biden has done in a number of other areas, is restoring some traditions.  Lastly, we suspect that if Bernanke or Yellen, or Brainard were at the helm of the Fed, there would not be substantive monetary policy differences.   Vice-Chair Clarida and Governor Waller joined regional Fed President Bullard to suggest that Fed may consider accelerating the pace of tapering at next month's FOMC meeting.  We suspect others will be sympathetic after this week's October PCE and deflator news.  The economy is rebounding in Q4 from the disappointing 2% annualized pace in Q3 (which is likely to be revised higher on Wednesday), and a critical part is consumption.  Personal consumption expenditures are expected to rise by 1% after a 0.6% increase in September.  The headline PCE deflator, which the Fed targets 2% on average, which Governor Brainard reportedly helped devise, is expected to jump above 5% from 4.4% in September.  The core rate is expected to exceed 4%.  No Fed officials are slated to speak this week, but the minutes from the November 3 FOMC meeting will be released on November 24.   El Salvador caught the crypto world's attention again.  It is the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender.  It announced plans to issue a $1 bln bond, and half the proceeds will be used to buy Bitcoin (~2000 coins).  The other half will be used to fund infrastructure projects to build the infrastructure of more Bitcoins.  It will offer a 6.5% coupon, which is lower than current dollar issues.  It looks like one pays a lot for BTC exposures.  El Salvador is rated BB+ of the equivalent by the top three rating agencies.  This makes El Salvador bonds risky, to begin with, and adding Bitcoin on top of that would seem to preclude most retail and institutional investors.  It seems like a desperate act that only an impoverished country can try.  The idea that other countries will quickly follow seems to be a stretch.  There is a good reason why Tesla had few corporate followers to buy Bitcoins with reserve funds.  The same principle would seem to apply to countries.   The economic calendar for North America begins off slowly this week.  Today's main feature is the US existing home sales report.  A pullback after September's heady 7% gain is expected, the strongest in a year.  After a weak start to the year, existing home sales have recovered.  They averaged 5.66 mln (seasonally adjusted annual rate) last year and have averaged more than 6.0 mln for the past three months.  The Canadian dollar has weakened for the past four weeks.  It briefly poked above CAD1.2660 ahead of the weekend to reach its best level since early October.  The greenback is in about a 15-tick range on either side of CAD1.2645 today.  Support is seen in the CAD1.2600-CAD1.2620 area, but it may take a break of CAD1.2585 to boost confidence that a high is in place.  The US dollar rose 1.5% against the Mexican peso last week.  It was the third weekly gain in the past four weeks.  The greenback is trading above last week's high (~MXN20.89) and looks set to test the high set earlier this month near MXN20.98.  Lastly, the Chilean presidential election will go to a run-off next month, as widely expected between the far-right and far-left candidates.   The dollar snapped a five-week pullback against the Chilean peso last week, rising 3.6%, the most in three months.  Year-to-date, the peso is off nearly 14.25%.   Disclaimer
Crypto as a trading vehicle

Crypto as a trading vehicle

Chris Weston Chris Weston 17.11.2021 09:40
Traders continue to be drawn to crypto as a trading vehicle. Not just because of its ability to trend for a prolonged period, or due to the nature of impulsive momentum that traders can identify and jump on. But also, as we’re seeing now with increased two-way opportunities, and for those that will trade the flow long or short.  For those who see crypto as a vehicle to trade and not just for the long-term adoption story that investors tend to want to be involved with, then from a spread/movement (or volatility) basis crypto is one of the best vehicles out there. We’ve seen that case-in-point over the past 24 hours - A rapid flush out of longs in the market has seen $866m liquidated across exchanges - 31% of that in Bitcoin alone. Again, we look to China where authorities are warning SOEs about cryptocurrency mining, broadly detailing they would increase electricity rates and levies for companies still involved here. While China going after the crypto market is obviously not new, it reminds us that increasing the costs associated with crypto is one of the key influence’s governments can utilise to impact the crypto market, as they can with potentially influencing the fiat-to-stable coin transfer.  There has been some focus on the passing of the US infrastructure bill where a provision has been set for the exchange (or “Broker”) to report customer intel to the IRS – clearly not a popular move for those in the US participating in the crypto market, although it won’t kick in until 2024. This becomes somewhat political, given 1 in 10 Americans have bought and sold crypto in the past 12 months. It perhaps doesn’t shock then that a group of US senators are looking at exempting participants who are involved in the development and innovation of the crypto ecosystem. Either way, crypto will react just like any other asset class to news around regulation, and just as investors are inspired by news of innovation, adoption, or efficiencies - regulation will promote short sharp moves lower, as we have seen periodically.  As a trader, these headlines need to be incorporated fully into one’s risk management. Price moves are the immediate red flag, and a sudden move needs to put us on notice. Personally, when I see a move of 3% in Bitcoin or Ethereum within a 30-minute window, I will assess the headlines and the severity of the issue, as we often see a far slower burn to fully discount news than say spot FX. First movers’ advantage in crypto can therefore be genuinely beneficial and while hedge fund algorithmic activity has dramatically increased in this space over the years, with the technology to react to news far quicker than retail traders, it is still as not as efficient as other asset classes.  This can help level the playing field. The cost to movement trade-off  Our flow is predominantly always seen in Bitcoin and Ethereum – and, while we offer 16 coins in total, these two have the best liquidity, and for an average spread of $33 (on Bitcoin), $5.4 (Ethereum) we see the 12-month average high-to-low percentage range at 6.8% and 8.6% respectively over the past 12 months.  Another popular way to see this is the 5-day Average True Range (ATR). In pips, the 5-day ATR in Bitcoin is 3453 – so this is a spread as a percentage of the daily trading range of 0.96%. On our standard account (comm is incorporated into the spread) this same dynamic in EURUSD sits at 0.97%.  So, in essence, on a spread-per-movement basis Bitcoin is comparable to EURUSD and even gold.  The current set-up Bitcoin daily After a move into 58,621 in Bitcoin, we’ve seen the 50-day MA act as support and buyers stepping in. The 28 Oct swing low of 57,762 is also one to consider, and if we were to see a breakdown through the 50 day and the 28 Oct low and Bitcoin could stage a rapid move into 54,000. As it is, this has the feel that we could see some messy two-way action, and it wouldn’t surprise to see 68,000 capping the upside, 57,000 the downside.  Ethereum daily Ethereum has found support into the lower Bollinger band (20-day MA, 2.5 standard deviations) but has broken the channel support it held since late Sept. That doesn’t mean it will collapse, but the markets propensity to follow the trend is over given price is no longer making higher highs. Another where the near-term price action could get messy and chop around with better two-way price moves.  DOT is one that has seen some good volatility of late and another that is holding the 50-day MA for dear life. A close below 39.66 and this could open a deeper move – a factor which could be appealing as we pay 7.5% on shorts.  As always in trading keeping an open mind is key and for those who want to trade crypto rather than HODL, it feels like the stage is set for two-way opportunity.
Will Oil Go Down In Following Weeks?

Will Oil Go Down In Following Weeks?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 01.02.2022 16:23
  While last week's geopolitical tensions have eased a bit, the OPEC+ members’ meeting knocks at the door. How will it affect crude inventories? Crude oil prices paused this morning in the European trading session, the day after a new technical increase linked to the expiration of futures contracts. OPEC+ members, including Russia, are due to hold a meeting tomorrow in which speculative talks suggest that OPEC+ could announce a quicker increase in supply. On the other hand, US crude inventories should be scrutinized this week, with the first figure to be released later today by the American Petroleum Institute (API) at 2130 GMT / 1530 Chicago Time. Therefore, we could see a new rise in crude stockpiles of 2 million barrels. As a result, the oil market could be set to start a pullback down to previous support – $ 85.80 could represent a level that would attract more bulls, eventually. Regarding OPEC+ output, Saudi Arabia could decide to add barrels on top of its quota, as the kingdom is one of the only members of the cartel able to ramp up production, if necessary. On the US dollar side, the recent rally of the greenback has propelled the dollar index (DXY) towards higher levels, even though it has not had a huge impact on crude oil. The overall inverted/negative correlation between the USD and black gold could catch up now as we have a greenback sliding after less hawkish comments from the Fed than expected and a barrel located in overbought territory. On the geopolitical scene, the slight ease of tensions from the past week – or, at least, the diminution of anxiety inducing news in the mainstream media headlines – is characterized by decreasing volatility. The latter is thus marked by a volatility index (VIX) – aka “Fear Index” sliding just below 25 today. WTI Crude Oil (CLH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Brent Crude Oil (BRNJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) RBOB Gasoline (RBH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) In summary, after such a rally in January 2022 on crude oil prices, we may start to see a weakening of the momentum, which could result in correcting oil prices, if such a scenario of supply and demand dynamics is followed on both sides (input rise / stockpiles accumulation) of the market. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Markets Situation, Federal Reserve, Crude, EURJPY, Gazprom And More - "The Trade Off" Is Here!

It Won't Be A Surprise, If We Say S&P 500 Is Moving Like APPL (Apple) According To These Charts...

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 01.02.2022 15:38
  Stocks extended their Friday’s rally yesterday, as the S&P 500 index broke above the 4,500 level. Is this still just an upward correction? The S&P 500 index gained 1.89% on Monday, as it extended its Friday’s gains and broke above the 4,500 level. It retraced more of its recent declines after breaking above the last week’s consolidation along the 4,300-4,400. On last Monday’s low of 4,222.62 the market was 596 points or 12.4% below the Jan. 4 record high of 4,818.62. And yesterday it reached the new local high of 4,516.89. It still looks like an upward correction within a downtrend, however, the market may be also trading within a new uptrend. Late December – early January consolidation along the 4,800 level was a topping pattern and the index retraced all of its December’s record-breaking advance. On Friday it broke above a steep short-term downward trend line. This morning the S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.3% higher following an overnight consolidation. The nearest important resistance level is now at 4,500-4,550, marked by the previous local lows. The resistance level is also at 4,600. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,400-4,450, marked by the recent resistance level. The S&P 500 is now back above its early December local low, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Apple Rallies Again Recently, Apple stock fluctuated along the support level of $155.0-157.5 following mid-January downtrend ahead of its quarterly earnings release. The stock reversed the downtrend after breaking above a short-term consolidation and since the earnings release it gained more than 10%. The resistance level is at around $180.0-183.0, marked by the Jan. 4 record high of $182.94. Conclusion The S&P 500 index extended its Friday’s advance yesterday and it broke slightly above the 4,500 level. It still looks like an upward correction following mid-January declines and a rebound within a new medium-term downtrend. Stocks may further extend their uptrend, but there’s a risk of a short-term downward reversal. Today the index is expected to open 0.3% higher, and we may see some uncertainty and a consolidation along the 4,500 level. The market will be waiting for the quarterly earnings releases (AMD, Alphabet today after the session’s close, Meta tomorrow and Amazon on Thursday, among others) and Friday’s monthly jobs data announcement. There is still an uncertainty concerning Russia-Ukraine tensions. We decided to close our profitable long position that was opened on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at the 4,335 level - S&P 500 continuous futures contract. The details of that position (stop-loss and profit target levels) were available for our subscribers in the premium Stock Trading Alerts. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 broke above the 4,500 level again; it still looks like an upward correction. We decided to close our speculative long position from last Tuesday (4,335 level) at the opening of today’s cash market’s trading session – a gain of around 175 index points. In our opinion, no positions are currently justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Pairs With American Dollar: AUDUSD, USDCAD, NZDUSD - Update

Pairs With American Dollar: AUDUSD, USDCAD, NZDUSD - Update

John Benjamin John Benjamin 02.02.2022 08:31
AUDUSD recoups losses The Australian dollar recovered after the RBA signaled an end to its bond-buying program. The recent sell-off below the daily support and psychological level of 0.7000 further weighed on market sentiment. As the RSI dipped again into the oversold territory, short-term sellers’ profit-taking has driven the price higher. The bears could be looking to fade the current rebound unless the bulls succeed in pushing past 0.7180. 0.7030 is a fresh support and 0.6970 a major floor before June 2020’s lows near 0.6800. USDCAD tests support The Canadian dollar advanced after November’s GDP exceeded expectations. A break above the supply zone at 1.2730 has put the US counterpart back on track. Nonetheless, the rally came to a halt at the daily resistance at 1.2790. The greenback needed a breather as the surge prevented buyers from chasing after volatility. 1.2580 is a key support and an oversold RSI may raise buyers’ interest again. A close above the said resistance could propel the pair to December’s high at 1.2950. NZDUSD sees limited rebound The New Zealand dollar bounced back after the Q4 jobless rate dropped to 3.2%. The pair saw bids over September 2020’s lows around 0.6530. The RSI’s repeated oversold situation has caught bargain hunters’ attention. However, the directional bias remains bearish. The kiwi could find resistance at 0.6700 near the 20-day moving average as trend-followers look to sell into strength. 0.6400 would be the next target if the US dollar makes a comeback across the board.
Speaking Of S&P 500, NAS 100, GER40, UK100, USDJPY And More - DayTradeIdeas Shared A New Video!

Speaking Of S&P 500, NAS 100, GER40, UK100, USDJPY And More - DayTradeIdeas Shared A New Video!

Jason Sen Jason Sen 02.02.2022 11:31
USDJPY hit the next target of 115.65/75 with a high for the day exactly here & a minor negative candle on the daily chart which increases the chances of a right shoulder forming here. Prices have headed lower as expected to the 114.60/55 target. EURJPY shorts at strong resistance at 129.50/60 worked with a high for the day here & a potential 60 pip profit on the side to minor support at 129.00/128.90 - a low for the day exactly here. CADJPY remains very volatile, making it difficult to hold a trade for a more than a few hours. Up one day, down the next day in the 7 day sideways trend. The key level today does appear to be 9040/30 as stated yesterday. Holding above here is positive, holding below is negative for the outlook. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY reversed from the next target of 115.65/75 as we watch for a right shoulder to form. If you sold the bounce to first resistance at 115.60/70 you are doing well already as we hit targets of 114.85/80 & 114.60/55, perhaps as far as 114.35/30 today. First resistance at 115.15/20, with further resistance at 115.60/70 of course. EURJPY meets strong resistance again at 129.50/60. Shorts need stops above 129.70. A break higher is a buy signal targeting 129.90/95 then 130.25/35. Minor support again at 129.00/128.90. A break lower targets 128.65/60 before a retest of 128.30/20. CADJPY beat first resistance at 9030/40 to hit the next target of 9080/90 with a high for the day here again yesterday but the pair are difficult to read. Above here look for 9110/15. A break higher targets 9140/50. Minor support at 9040/30. Further losses can retest 8970/60. A break lower can target the 200 day moving average at 8915/10.   EURUSD beat strong resistance at 1.1205/10 & was expected to target strong resistance at 1.1255/65 - this target was hit & is holding as I write. However a break above 1.1280 today is a buy signal. USDCAD we wrote: should meet very strong support at 1.2665/55. Longs need stops below 1.2645. A low for the day exactly at 1.2665/55 yesterday & a potential 60 pip profit on the bounce to minor resistance at 1.2710/20 with a high for the day exactly here. These 2 levels marked the low & the high for the day. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD hit the next target & strong resistance at 1.1255/65 which is still holding today. Shorts need stops above 1.1275. A break above 1.1280 is a buy signal targeting 1.1300/10, perhaps as far as 1.1340/50. Shorts at strong resistance at 1.1255/65 target 1.1210/00. If we continue lower look for minor support at 1.1180/70. USDCAD held very strong support at 1.2665/55. Longs need stops below 1.2645. A break lower however targets 1.2615/05. Minor resistance at 1.2710/20 held the bounce yesterday but above here can target 1.2750/60, perhaps as far as 1.2780/90. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
GBP To USD Chart - A Small Step For GBP As It Strenghtens And Reaches Ca. 1.3500

GBP To USD Chart - A Small Step For GBP As It Strenghtens And Reaches Ca. 1.3500

FXStreet News FXStreet News 01.02.2022 15:49
The British pound climbs in the North American session, 0.34%. The market sentiment is mixed as European stocks rise while US futures point towards a lower open. BoE’s 25 basis points rate hike is fully priced in by investors. The GBP/USD remains downward biased, as it failed to breach above the 100-DMA. After ending January with losses of 0.65%, the British pound snaps three-day losses, climbing 0.31%. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD is trading at 1.3495, though retreating from the 100-day moving average (DMA) lying at 1.3514. As depicted by European stock indices rising, the market sentiment is mixed, but US equity futures underpins the cash market towards a lower open. Bank of England (BoE) expected to post back-to-back rate hikes In the meantime, money market futures, as shown per the CME Group BOEWATCH tool, 100% of market participants expect an increase of 25 basis points, from 0.25% to 0.50%. Sources cited by CNBC said that “With the Bank Rate reaching 0.5%, we expect the MPC to confirm that all APF (asset purchase facility) reinvestments will cease following the February decision.” Source: CME Group Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed President Harker crossed the wires. He commented that the Fed is not behind the curve, and he expects a rate hike of 25 basis points, four in the year. Concerning the balance sheet reduction, he said that the US central bank could begin the Quantitative Tightening (QT) once the Federal Funds Rates (FFR) hit 1% to 1.25%. The UK economic docket featured the BoE Consumer Credit, Mortgage Approvals for December. The former came at £0.8B in line with expectations, while the latter rose to 71.051K, higher than the 66K foreseen. Concerning the Market Manufacturing PMI Final for January, increased to 57.3, a tick more elevated than the 56.9 estimated, though trailed the previous month 57.9, showing some slowing, due to the Omicron hit. Across the pond, Manufacturing PMI released by IHS Markit and the ISM for January will be closely watched by GBP/USD traders. That alongside the JOLTs Job Opening for December could shed some light, in anticipation of Thursday’s Jobless Claims and Friday’s Nonfarm Payrolls report. GBP/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook The GBP/USD is downward biased. During the European session, the pair retreated at the 100-day moving average (DMA) at 1.3514, but any downward moves might be capped by the 50-DMA lying at 1.3418. To the upside, the GBP/USD will face resistance at 1.3500, followed by the 100-DMA at 1.3514 and an eight-month-old downslope trendline around the 1.3530-40 region. On the flip side, the 50-DMA at 1.3418 is the first support level, followed by the 1.3400 figure, and then the YTD low at 1.3357.
Shiba Inu price consolidation set for a bullish breakout with 28% appreciation

Shiba Inu price consolidation set for a bullish breakout with 28% appreciation

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.02.2022 15:56
Shiba Inu is seeing lower highs and lower lows compressing price action around $0.00002179. SHIB price is next set for a bullish breakout with several tailwinds present in equities. Expect for SHIB bulls to lift price action back above the 200-day SMA, potentially gaining 24%. Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been stuck in consolidation since January 22 with lower highs and higher lows, punching in both buyers and sellers towards each other with the scene set for a breakout. From the looks of it, that will be a bullish breakout, supported by tailwinds from global equities being on the front foot, with the Nasdaq leading the charge. Expect bulls to break above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) in the process, and try to reach $0.00002782, the 78.6% Fibonacci level. SHIB bullish breakout holding 28% gains Shiba Inu price may have had its low for the year after hitting $0.00001730 on January 22. Since then, the price has shifted a bit sideways around $0.00002170, with lower highs and higher lows going for consolidation between buyers and sellers. The price in SHIB is so condensed now that a breakout is due. As global markets are on the front foot and risk assets are leading the charge, these tailwinds will spin-off towards cryptocurrencies and set the stage for a bullish breakout towards $0.00002782 as target. SHIB price will, in that process, take out the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $0.00002562, which does not hold much importance seeing it only got breached on one occasion. Bulls will instead want to look out for $0.00002782, which is the 78.6% Fibonacci level and is an essential indicator that there might be an uptrend in the making. More upside will depend on how the tailwinds behave as the 55-day SMA looks quite heavy around $0.00003000. SHIB/USD daily chart Alternatively, the consolidation could still see a bearish breakout, with bears trapping bulls and running price action back to $0.00001730, or possibly even $0.00001500 back down onto the monthly S1 support level. The reason for the bearish breakout could come from very choppy economic data that could start to point to a global recession with elevated prices and job numbers worsening again. That would trigger a global risk-off wave that could put cryptocurrencies on the backfoot.
A Look At Markets Around The World: US CPI, Sweden Riksbank EU Yields And More

Getting Long in the Tooth

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.02.2022 15:56
S&P 500 recoverd the opening setback at 4,500, and the low volume behind the upswing coupled with credit market reversal shows that the push towards 4,600 is next – but it would be fraught with internal vulnerability. It‘s that value has welcomed the risk-on turn while tech barely prevented lower values – the bond reprieve won‘t last, and is providing more fuel behind the commodities push higher, and precious metals recovery. The Kashkari effect and good ISM Manufacturing PMIs have worked fine, but the services data awaits. And I‘m looking at it to throw a spanner in the works, a modest one. For now, controlling the overall risk is key – fresh portfolio highs were achieved yesterday as new S&P 500 long profits were taken off the table – and commodities with precious metals are likely to do well in this extended (sticking out like a sore thumb) rally off oversold levels (in tech). The other key thought expressed in the linked tweet is that S&P 500 hasn‘t entered a bear market, that it hasn‘t rolled over to the downside for good. It‘s that I expect the return of the bears in the not too distant future, and a smoother sailing in 2H 2022. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls prevailed, but the question still remains – where would the upswing stall, or at least pause? Still the same answer as yesterday - ahead soon, still this week. Credit Markets HYG reversed higher, and the pace of its coming gains, would be valuable information. Volume tells a story of a modest setback only thus far – greater battles await. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold and silver staircase recovery goes on, showing that further retreat was indeed unlikely. The long consolidation would be resolved in a bullish way, it‘s only a question of time. Great performance this early in the tightening cycle – look for PMs upswings once the rate hikes get going. Crude Oil Crude oil bulls aren‘t wavering as the whole energy sector attests to. Black gold hasn‘t dipped yet below $86, and keeps marching and leading the other commodities $100 is approaching. Copper Copper‘s recent red flag was indeed dealt with decisively, and higher prices prevailed. Still great room to catch up with the rest after the preceding reprieve across other base metals as well. Bitcoin and Ethereum The narrow crypto trading range continues – I‘m still not looking at the Bitcoin and Ethereum buyers to succeed convincingly. Time for a downside reversal is approaching – will happen just when Ethereum loses the bid. Summary S&P 500 bulls again scored gains yesterday, but the sectoral rotation and credit market turn would build a vulnerability going into Friday when value would suffer. Before that, I look for the bears to gradually start appearing again, taking probing bites, but not yet being decisive. VIX has some more room to decline indeed, confirming my earlier thoughts – the volatility return would happen on non-farm payrolls inducing a fresh guessing game as to the Mar rate hikes – 25 or 50bp? Inflation, precious metals and commodities would though still emerge victorious. For now, overall risk management is key – fresh portfolio high was reached yesterday. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

ECB February Preview: Euro bulls hope for a hawkish ECB on hot EU inflation

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.02.2022 15:56
EUR/USD has been rising steadily since the beginning of the week. Annual HICP in the euro area came in much higher than expected in January. Euro could lose its bullish momentum if ECB downplays inflation concerns. The shared currency suffered heavy losses against the dollar last week after FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed the Fed’s hawkish stance in the face of high inflation. Following a sharp decline to its lowest level since June 2020, however, EUR/USD managed to stage a decisive rebound during the first half of the week and advanced beyond 1.1300. In addition to renewed dollar weakness, hot inflation data from the euro area helped the pair push higher mid-week. Eurostat reported that annual inflation in the euro area, as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), rose to 5.1% in January from 5% in December. This print came in higher than the market expectation of 4.4%. The Core HICP, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, edged lower to 2.3% from 2.6% but surpassed analysts’ estimate of 1.9%. With the first FOMC meeting out of the way, markets now await the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policy announcements and the euro could find it difficult to extend its rebound if investors are reminded of the policy divergence between the Fed and the ECB. ECB on hold The ECB is widely expected to leave its policy settings unchanged following the February policy meeting. In December, the ECB confirmed that it will end the Pandemic Purchase Emergency Programme (PEPP) in March. To soften the policy transition, the ECB announced that it will increase the monthly purchases under the Asset Purchase Programme (APP) to €40 billion in Q2 and €30 billion in Q3 from the current level of €20 billion. The bank intends to maintain the APP purchases at a pace of €20 billion for “as long as necessary” from the last quarter of the year. While speaking at the press conference in December, ECB President Christine Lagarde refrained from dismissing the possibility of a rate increase before the end of 2022 and helped the common currency stay resilient against its rivals for the remainder of the year. Commenting on the inflation outlook earlier in the month, several ECB members sounded relatively optimistic and EUR/USD struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. ECB policymaker Peter Kazimir noted that inflation in the eurozone was expected to peak in the “nearest months” before starting to decline. Moreover, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said that they are not yet seeing a big response from wages to inflation. Similarly, Lagarde explained that energy costs were rising due to temporary factors and added that there were no signs of wages being “bid up.” Hawkish scenario: In case Lagarde hints at the possibility of a rate hike before the end of the year after the latest inflation report, that could be assessed as a hawkish tilt in the ECB’s policy outlook and provide a boost to the euro. Currently, eurozone money markets are pricing in 30 basis points of rate hikes by the end of the year. Dovish scenario: Lagarde might opt to communicate that inflation is close to peaking in the eurozone and outright reject a rate hike in 2022 while pushing back against market rate-hike bets. Lagarde might also mention that they don’t need to normalize the policy as fast as the Fed by highlighting the differences in economic conditions in the US and the EU. Neutral scenario: Given the fact that the ECB will not release its revised economic projections until March, it would be surprising to see an obvious shift in the ECB’s tone. The accounts of the ECB’s December meeting revealed that policymakers are divided over the inflation outlook and February's policy statement is unlikely to touch on that. The ECB should reiterate that it stands ready to act if inflation becomes persistent in the euro area and that it remains committed to ensuring price stability. EUR/USD Technical Analysis Unless the ECB delivers a hawkish surprise, the policy divergence between the Fed and the ECB should continue to favour the dollar over the euro and limit EUR/USD’s upside. At the time of press, the pair was trading near 1.1300, where the 20-day and the 50-day SMAs are located. In case EUR/USD starts using these levels as support, it could target the next static resistance at 1.1375 ahead of 1.1430 (100-day SMA). Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the daily chart stays near 50, suggesting that the pair needs to push higher to convince investors that the latest advance is the beginning of an uptrend rather than a correction. On the flip side, a dovish ECB statement could attract bears and cause the pair to slide toward 1.1200 (psychological level, static level). If this support fails, EUR/USD (https://www.fxstreet.com/currencies/eurusd) could touch a fresh 19-month low at 1.1100.
Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) About To Make Decisions...

Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) About To Make Decisions...

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 03.02.2022 08:36
The Bank of England and the ECB will announce their monetary policy decisions today. They could reinforce the contrast in policy between these central banks and trigger a significant reassessment in the FX market. The ECB is expected to confirm its plans to halt its emergency balance sheet buying programme in March. But it will keep the refinancing rate at zero and continue with 'regular' balance sheet purchases. The ECB is likely to try to save face after yesterday's new inflation record and show more hawkish rhetoric than we are used to. Even so, the eurozone will fall seriously behind the US and UK in its fight against inflation, which can dent the euro. The Bank of England is expected to raise its rate for the second time in this cycle from 0.25% to 0.5%. And we would not be surprised if there are hints in the official comments of a willingness to raise the rate at every subsequent meeting in the coming quarters. The overall situation could resemble the early 2000s when the Bank of England acted more aggressively than its Fed and ECB counterparts to suppress inflation. Tight monetary policy will provide the pound with a chance to get out of extreme lows where it found itself due to Brexit and the pandemic, consolidating this year in the 1.42-1.60 area in GBPUSD and a move into the 0.70-0.80 range for EURGBP.
Price Of Gold Update By GoldViewFX

S&P 500 Tops The Chart, Gold Finds His Way (?), USOIL On A Straight Way?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 03.02.2022 09:01
XAUUSD attempts to bounce The bullions bounce higher as the US dollar softens across the board. Gold is looking to claw back losses from the liquidation in late January. A close above the psychological level of 1800 would be the first step, pushing short-term sellers into covering their bets. The previous support at 1817 coincides with the 30-day moving average, making it an area of interest and important resistance. A bullish breakout may send the metal to the previous high at 1847. On the downside, 1780 is a fresh support. SPX 500 tests resistance The S&P 500 rallies over better-than-expected corporate earnings. A break above 4490 has eased the selling pressure on the index. The former daily support at 4600 is now a key resistance that lies over the 30-day moving average. A close above this congestion area could turn sentiment around, paving the way for a recovery towards 4750. The RSI’s overbought situation may keep the momentum in check temporarily. A pullback may see buying interest in the demand zone between 4410 and 4490. USOIL consolidates gains WTI crude continues to climb as OPEC+ refuses to raise its output limit. The RSI inched into the overbought territory on the daily chart after a new high above 85.00. The bulls could be wary of chasing after the extended rally. 85.00 has turned into a support and a pullback could be an opportunity to accumulate again. Further down, 82.00 on the 30-day moving average is a major floor for the current rally. The milestone at 90.00 would be the next target when momentum makes its return.
Deer in the Headlights

Deer in the Headlights

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.02.2022 15:56
S&P 500 is slowly getting under pressure, which is likely to culminate on weak non-farm payrolls tomorrow if Wednesday was any guide. Credit markets are pushing for higher yields as inflation data keep surprising those policy makers who had been already surprised throughout 2021. Commodities though aren‘t freezing as a proverbial deer in the headlights, and once the scare of the Fed‘s short tightening cycle gets done away with, precious metals would join. In the meantime, look for silver to act on copper‘s cue, and for gold to do relatively better in risk-off settings.As for stocks, my gentle selling bias while on the lookout to enter short towards the session‘s end, hasn‘t changed since yesterday, and the new position is already profitable:(…) the low volume behind the upswing coupled with credit market reversal shows that the push towards 4,600 is next – but it would be fraught with internal vulnerability. It‘s that value has welcomed the risk-on turn while tech barely prevented lower values – the bond reprieve won‘t last, and is providing more fuel behind the commodities push higher, and precious metals recovery.The Kashkari effect and good ISM Manufacturing PMIs have worked fine, but the services data awaits. And I‘m looking at it to throw a spanner in the works, a modest one. For now, controlling the overall risk is key – fresh portfolio highs were achieved yesterday as new S&P 500 long profits were taken off the table – and commodities with precious metals are likely to do well in this extended (sticking out like a sore thumb) rally off oversold levels (in tech). The other key thought expressed in the linked tweet is that S&P 500 hasn‘t entered a bear market, that it hasn‘t rolled over to the downside for good. It‘s that I expect the return of the bears in the not too distant future, and a smoother sailing in 2H 2022.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls prevailed yesterday, but would get under pressure relatively soon. The ominous lower knots say a consolidation is knocking on the door.Credit MarketsHYG repelled selling pressure, but that won‘t last – I‘m looking for lower values across the bond spectrum, coinciding with (temporary) dollar upswing. Risk-off.Gold, Silver and MinersAll this risk-off already in and still to come, is failing to press gold and silver really down – and that tells you the true direction is up, just waiting for a (Fed, inflation, stagflation) catalyst.Crude OilCrude oil bulls aren‘t yet wavering, but remain perched pretty high – I‘m looking for sideways to down consolidation as the bears get emboldened by the rising volume. Trying their luck soon.CopperCopper is back to the middle of its recent range, still positioned for an upside breakout. Commodities are pointing in the right direction – note the absence of sellers yesterday. How far would the USD upswing compress the red metal today? Not much, not lastingly.Bitcoin and EthereumThe narrow crypto trading range is over, and the bears are on the move – look for them to take some time before they get going towards BTC $35K.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are about to meet the bears again, and higher yields won‘t save value stocks, let alone spawn a rush to tech safety. The pressure in stocks to probe lower values, is building up, and 4,450 may not be enough to stop it. For all the pause in Fed hawkish jawboning, the tightening cycle is merely getting started, and stocks will feel it. Unlike precious metals, which would reverse prior hesitation once the rate raising starts in earnest, and start going up. And commodities? These aren‘t waiting for anyone‘s greenlight. And neither should you in life – what I would like to bring to your attention, is that volatility is rising, and it thus makes sense to pare back the overall portfolio exposure and position sizing while taking only the strongest of opportunities.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Seasonality favors another wave up

Seasonality favors another wave up

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 03.02.2022 21:05
However, these gains attracted some profit-taking at prices around US$1,850. And in the aftermath of last week’s FOMC meeting, gold sold off for three days in a row. This merciless sell-off only ended at US$1,780 wiping out nearly all gains since mid of December. It was some form of the classic “the bull walks up the stairs and the bear jumps out the window” pattern, which is a typical behavior within an uptrend.Hence and exactly for this reason, the deep pullback did not necessarily end the recovery in the gold market. Of course, in the bigger picture, the entire precious metals sector is still stuck in this tenacious correction which has been ongoing since August 2020. In the short-term, however, the pullback has created an oversold setup and once again proved that there is buying interest at prices below US$1,800.US-Dollar index, daily chart as of February 3rd, 2022. False breakout?US-Dollar index, daily chart as of February 3rd, 2022.It also seems that the US-Dollar might have hit an important top last Thursday and is now moving lower, which would be very supportive for gold, of course. Everyone is expecting the US-Dollar to go up as the FED is expected to raise interest rates. But the US-Dollar has been discounting this “hike and taper scenario” for several months already. Actually, the US-Dollar index has been rallying +8.8% since May 2021! During the recent FOMC meeting, however, big money might have used the seeming breakout to sell their dollar longs into a favorable high-volume setup. At the same time, stock market sentiment was extremely bearish. Hence, last week likely triggered a top in the US-Dollar and a violent back and forth bottoming pattern for the stock-market.US-Dollar index, monthly chart as of February 3rd, 2022. A series of lower highs!US-Dollar index, monthly chart as of February 3rd, 2022.In the big picture, a top in the US-Dollar would continue the series of lower highs for the dollar. As well, the US-Dollar is moving within a huge triangle since 2001. After a series of three lower highs since December 2016, a test of the lower boundary of the triangle would give gold prices an extreme tailwind in the coming years. Hence, even if it´s hard to come up with any bearish arguments for the dollar at the moment, technically it looks like the dollar could roll over.Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart from February 3rd, 2020. Gold’s behavior is changing.Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 3rd, 2022.For gold, a weaker US-Dollar would be very helpful. In fact, since the beginning of this week, we perceive an ongoing change in gold’s behavior. We are getting impressed by its intraday strength! Every small pullback around and below US$1,800 was rather quickly bought again. So far, gold has only recovered 38.2% of last week’s nasty sell-off and currently sits pretty much exactly at its 200-day moving average (US$1,805).But the fresh buy signal from the slow stochastic oscillator on the daily chart promises more upside. Hence, we see gold fuming its way higher in the coming weeks. In the next step, gold will have to overcome the 38.2% resistance around US$1,808.50 and then continue its recovery towards US$1,830. In any case, the seasonal component is at least very favorable until the end of February. Therefore, even higher price targets are conceivable too. But gold needs to breakout above the triangle and clear US$1,850. Only then a more sustainable bullish momentum would emerge which could last further into spring.If, on the other hand, gold takes out US$1,780, the recovery since mid of December might be over already and the medium-term correction might likely pick up again.Conclusion: Seasonality favors another wave upOverall, we assume that seasonality favors another wave up in the gold market. Thus, another rally towards at least US$1,830 is realistic. We are short-term bullish, mid-term neutral to skeptic and long-term very bullish for gold.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.Disclosure: Midas Touch Consulting and members of our team are invested in Reyna Gold Corp. These statements are intended to disclose any conflict of interest. They should not be misconstrued as a recommendation to purchase any share. This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Florian Grummes|February 3rd, 2022|Tags: EUR/USD, Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold chartbook, Gold neutral, precious metals, Reyna Gold, US-Dollar|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running his own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Stock News and Forecast: AMC nearly doubles debt raise

AMC Entertainment Holdings Stock News and Forecast: AMC nearly doubles debt raise

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.02.2022 16:35
AMC stock slumped yesterday as debt raise news was digested. AMC now nearly doubles the raise from $500 million to $950 million. AMC is down over 40% in the last month and 43% for 2022. AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) stock is back on the news wires the last few days, but unfortunately for holders it has not been well received. AMC stock put in three consecutive green days before slumping over 8% on Wednesday. Risk aversion returned, but AMC also announced it was raising more debt to refinance its existing debt. The stock closed at $15.42 for an 8.5% loss on the day. AMC Stock News This morning AMC has nearly doubled its debt offering from $500 million to $950 million. There is also see a bit more detail on the offering. It is to carry a 7.5% interest rate and expires in 2029. The funds will be used to retire existing debt at 10.5% expiring in 2025. The extra $450 million sees AMC also redeeming some notes at 15-17% due in 2026. So AMC is basically remortgaging at a lower rate. This will reduce its interest payments. AMC needs to do this, however, as it carries too much debt. The company has $5.4 billion in long-term debt. AMC has about $1.6 billion in cash, but it spends nearly $100 million per quarter on debt repayments. So remortgaging makes sense, but it is not exactly comforting. CEO Adam Aron has been looking for ways to improve the financial position of the company, and investors baulked at more share issuances. This was the obvious next step but comes a bit later than optimal. Junk bond yields had reached a record low during the summer. The rate of 7.5% is more or less in line with the sector. CCC high yield corporate bonds are currently yielding on average 8.3%. This is up from 6% during the summer. Moody's reacted positively and changed its outlook to positive. AMC Stock Forecast For now, AMC shares are holding the support at $14.54, but risk aversion is growing after FB earnings last night and a suprisngly hawkish Bank of England this morning. Equity markets will suffer with high risk names getting hit the most. Expect $14.54 to break with the next support at $12.22. A break here and the lure of $10 will be obvious. Only beaking $21.04 ends this curent bearish trend. AMC daily chart
Decentralized Autonomous Organisation - Another Addition To Our Personal Dictionaries

MATIC Price Prediction: Polygon hints at a retest of $1.95

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.02.2022 16:35
MATIC price is hovering above the weekly support level at $1.44, hinting at a move higher. Investors can expect Polygon to rally at least 15% before encountering a tough hurdle. A breakdown of the $1.41 support level will invalidate the bullish thesis. MATIC price recovery after the January flash crash was good but is slowing down. The ongoing consolidation will likely result in an uptrend (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/matic-price-consolidates-before-jumping-to-190-202202022123) that propels Polygon to revisit crucial levels. MATIC price sets the stage MATIC price has been teetering above the $1.44 support level and will likely retest it soon. A bounce off this barrier could be the key to triggering an uptrend. In some cases, the rally could even begin before the initial pullback. Regardless, investors can expect a minimum 15% ascent from MATIC price that tags the supply zone’s lower limit at $1.75. In a highly bullish scenario, Polygon could pierce this hurdle and make a run for the weekly resistance barrier at $1.95. This move would bring total gains from 15% to 27%, from the current level at $1.53. Investors willing to go long could enter a pilot position at the current level and wait for a retest of the $1.44 barrier. If the latter does not arrive, market participants can book profits following a retest of $1.75 and $1.95. MATIC/USDT 4-hour chart While things seem straightforward for MATIC price, a breakdown of the $1.44 support level could dent their optimism. A four-hour candlestick close below $1.41, however, will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis, making an ideal place to enter a stop-loss. A bearish turn could see MATIC price crashing 13% before retesting the $1.23 weekly support level.
Crypto Airdrop - Explanation - How Does It Work?

Cryptomarket Seems Not To Lose That Much as Bitcoin decreases by 0.7%, ETH by 1.8% and Luna Gains 4.3%

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 04.02.2022 08:28
Bitcoin fell 0.7% on Thursday, ending the day around $36,800. Ethereum lost 1.8%, while other leading altcoins in the top 10 showed mixed dynamics from a 1.5% decline (Solana and Polkadot) to a 4.3% rise (Terra). Total crypto market capitalisation, according to CoinGecko, added 0.2% to $1.79 trillion overnight. Bitcoin’s dominance index remained unchanged at 39.2%. Most cryptocurrencies were under pressure from declines in US tech stocks on Thursday. A weak report from Meta (Facebook) was published the day before, and the company’s shares lost more than 26% on the day, with the high-tech Nasdaq down almost 4%. The correlation between bitcoin and the Nasdaq stock index has recently reached a new high. The first cryptocurrency was also hit by a shutdown of mining farms in Texas, caused by bad weather and a snowstorm. The state leads bitcoin mining in the US, accounting for about half of all BTC hash rates. Bitcoin volatility has fallen to 15-month lows in recent days. With the comparative performance of traditional financial markets, bitcoin has managed to add around 2.9% since the start of the day on Friday, reaching 38,000 and again testing the upper limit of the downward channel. However, the first cryptocurrency will need to break the key $40,000 level to confirm bullish sentiment. Otherwise, the pressure on BTC will continue and may even intensify. The developers of the 14th cryptocurrency, Shiba Inu, have partnered with fast-food restaurant Wellu’s of Naples, Italy. The restaurant will use SHIB as a means of payment and has also fully rebranded its outlet in token style.
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

EURUSD - Heading To 1.1480? GBPUSD After BoE Decision, CADJPY - A Quite Wide Rang?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.02.2022 09:38
EURUSD breaks higher The euro soared as traders bet that persistent inflation could force the ECB to act sooner than later. A break below the daily support at 1.1300 had put the single currency under pressure. However, a swift rebound above this support-turned-resistance indicates strong commitment from the buy-side. The pair is rising towards the January peak at 1.1480. The RSI’s triple top in the overbought area may slow the momentum down as intraday buyers take a break. 1.1270 is a key support to keep the rebound relevant. GBPUSD tests resistance The pound popped higher after the BOE raised interest rates to 0.5%. The latest rebound above the resistance at 1.3520 has prompted sellers to cover. Then the rally is accelerating towards 1.3660 which is a major hurdle from the sell-off in late January. A bullish breakout could turn sentiment in the sterling’s favor and send the price to the previous peak at 1.3740. On the downside, 1.3500 is an important support and its breach could invalidate the recovery despite the bullish catalyst. CADJPY awaits breakout The Canadian dollar recovers over growing risk appetite. A fall below the demand zone around 90.60 weighed on sentiment as the loonie struggled to make a higher high. The pair found support at 89.70 in what used to be a former supply area on the daily chart. The current consolidation is a sign of indecision. 91.10 proves to be a tough resistance to crack. A bullish breakout could bring the price to the recent peak at 92.00. Failing that, the pair may suffer from another round of sell-off below 89.10.
Gold Ended January Glued to $1,800. Will It Ever Detach?

Gold Ended January Glued to $1,800. Will It Ever Detach?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.02.2022 16:57
  Gold didn’t shine in January. The struggle could continue, although the more distant future looks more optimistic for the yellow metal. That was quick! January has already ended. Welcome to February! I hope that this year has started well for you. For gold, the first month of 2022 wasn’t particularly good. As the chart below shows, the yellow metal lost about $11 of its value, or less than 1%, during January. This is the bad side of the story. The ugly side is that gold wasn’t able to maintain its position above $1,800, even though geopolitical risks intensified, while inflation soared to the highest level in 40 years! The yellow metal surpassed the key level in early January and stayed above this level for most of the time, even rallying above $1,840 in the second half of the month. But gold couldn’t hold out and plunged at the end of January, triggered by a hawkish FOMC meeting. However, there is also a good side. Gold is still hovering around $1,800 despite the upcoming Fed’s tightening cycle and all the hawkish expectations about the US monetary policy in 2022. The Fed signaled the end of tapering of quantitative easing by March, the first hike in the federal funds rate in the same month, and the start of quantitative tightening later this year. Meanwhile, in the last few weeks, the markets went from predicting two interest rate hikes to five. Even more intriguing, and perhaps encouraging as well, is that the real interest rates have increased last month, rising from -1% to -0.6%. Gold is usually negatively correlated with the TIPS yields, but this time it stayed afloat amid rising rates.   Implications for Gold What does gold’s behavior in January imply for its 2022 outlook? Well, I must admit that I expected gold’s performance to be worse. Last month showed that gold simply don’t want to either go down (or up), but it still prefers to go sideways, glued to the $1,800 level. The fact that strengthening expectations of the Fed’s tightening cycle and rising real interest rates didn’t plunge gold prices makes me somewhat more optimistic about gold’s future. However, I still see some important threats to gold. First of all, some investors are still underpricing how hawkish the Fed could become to combat inflation. Hence, the day of reckoning could still be ahead of us. You see, just today, the Bank of England hiked its policy rate by 25 basis points, although almost half of the policymakers wanted to raise interest rates by half a percentage point. Second, the market seems to be biased downward, with lower and lower peaks since August 2020. Having said that, investors should remember that what the Fed says it will do and what it ends up doing are often very different. When the Fed says it will be dovish, it will be dovish. But when the Fed says it will be hawkish, it says so. This is because a monetary tightening could be painful for asset valuations and all the debtors, including Uncle Sam. The US stock market already saw significant losses in January. As the chart below shows, the S&P 500 Index lost a few hundred points last month, marking the worst decline since the beginning of the pandemic. Thus, the Fed won’t risk recession in its fight with inflation, especially if it peaks this year, and would try to engineer a soft-landing. Hence, the Fed could reverse its stance relatively soon, especially that it’s terribly late with its tightening. However, as long as the focus is on monetary policy tightening, gold is likely to struggle within its tight range. Some policymakers and economists have argued that the emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic is more like a postwar demobilization and conversion to a civilian industry than a normal business cycle. White House economists have compared the current picture to the rapid increases in 1947, caused by the end of price controls in conjunction with supply chain problems and pent-up demand after the war (“Historical Parallels to Today’s Inflationary Episode”, Council of Economic Advisers, July 6, 2021). The problem with this analogy is that it is only one instance from more than 70 years ago. More recent and more frequent inflation episodes have generally been ended by a recession or a mid-cycle slowdown. Price pressures have an internal momentum of their own and tend to intensify rather than lessen as the business cycle becomes more mature and the margin of spare capacity shrinks in all markets. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Altcoins are climbing out of the pit

Altcoins are climbing out of the pit

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 04.02.2022 10:54
Down the chain, US stock market dynamics now determine corporate investor sentiment towards Bitcoin and Ether. From the top-down, this sentiment then spreads down to altcoins. But since late last year, there has been a continuing trend that even bitcoin's calming is enough for altcoins to return to growth and outperform the first cryptocurrency. In the last 24 hours, the entire crypto market has added 3.3%, while Ether has gained 4.7% versus Bitcoin's 2.4%. Ether has strengthened by 15% in the last seven days, returning to this month's highs and trying to climb above the bottom levels at the end of September 2021. The cryptocurrency market capitalisation excluding Bitcoin has been hovering around the $1 trillion mark for over a week and approached the upper end of that range on Friday morning. The reduction in volatility in Bitcoin allows for an optimistic outlook on altcoins. At least in the short term. An essential boundary for Ether will be the $3K mark. A return in the price above this level could further encourage buyers and reject the idea of a crypto-winter following the example of 2018. Solana is showing signs of coming out of the hole it fell into at the end of January. The $90 mark has attracted sufficient buyer demand. However, it will be premature to discuss a sustained recovery to the upside, only a stabilisation after the collapse. A BTCUSD consolidation above $40k and Ethereum above $3k would shift the altcoin recovery to a new speed and restart the process of BTC share contraction in the entire market.
Price Of Gold Update By GoldViewFX

How the Fed Will Affect Gold? Let's Take A Look Back...

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 04.02.2022 14:47
  Beware, the Fed’s tightening of monetary policy could lift real interest rates! For gold, this poses a risk of prices wildly rolling down. The first FOMC meeting in 2022 is behind us. What can we expect from the US central bank this year and how will it affect the price of gold? Well, this year’s episode of Fed Street will be sponsored by the letter “T”, which stands for “tightening”. It will consist of three elements. First, quantitative easing tapering. The asset purchases are going to end by early March. To be clear, during tapering, the Fed is still buying securities, so it remains accommodative, but less and less. Tapering has been very gradual and well-telegraphed to the markets, so it’s probably already priced in gold. Thus, the infamous taper tantrum shouldn’t replay. Second, quantitative tightening. Soon after the end of asset purchases, the Fed will begin shrinking its mammoth balance sheet. As the chart below shows, it has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic, reaching about $9 trillion, or about 36% of the country’s GDP. It’s so gigantic that even Powell admitted during his January press conference that “the balance sheet is substantially larger than it needs to be.” Captain Obvious attacked again! In contrast to tapering, which just reduces additions to the Fed’s holdings, quantitative tightening will shrink the balance sheet. How much? It’s hard to say. Last time, during QT from 2017 to 2019, the Fed started unloading $10 billion in assets per month, gradually lifting the cap to $50 billion. Given that inflation is now much higher, and the Fed has greater confidence in the economic recovery, the scale of reduction would probably be higher. The QT will create upward pressure on interest rates, which could be negative for the gold market. However, QT will be a very gradual and orderly process. Instead of selling assets directly, the US central bank will stop reinvestment of proceeds as securities run off. As we can read in “Principles for Reducing the Size of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet”, The Committee intends to reduce the Federal Reserve's securities holdings over time in a predictable manner primarily by adjusting the amounts reinvested of principal payments received from securities held in the System Open Market Account. What’s more, the previous case of QT wasn’t detrimental to gold, as the chart below shows. The price of gold started to rally in late 2018 and especially later in mid-2019. Third, the hiking cycle. In March, the Fed is going to start increasing the federal funds rate. According to the financial markets, the US central bank will enact five interest rate hikes this year, raising the federal funds rate to the range of 1.25-1.50%. Now, there are two narratives about American monetary policy in 2022. According to the first, we are witnessing a hawkish revolution within the Fed, as it would shift its monetary stance in a relatively short time. The central bank will “double tighten” (i.e., it will shrink its balance sheet at the same time as hiking rates), and it will do it in a much more aggressive way than after the Great Recession. Such decisive moves will significantly raise the bond yields, which will hit gold prices. However, in this scenario, the Fed’s aggressive actions will eventually lead to the inversion of the yield curve and later to recession, which should support the precious metals market. On the other hand, some analysts point out that central bankers are all talk and – given their dovish bias – act less aggressively than they promise, chickening out in the face of the first stock market turbulence. They also claim that all the Fed’s actions won’t be enough to combat inflation and that monetary conditions will remain relatively loose. For example, Stephen Roach argues that “the Fed is so far behind [the curve] that it can’t even see the curve.” Indeed, the real federal funds rate is deeply negative (around -7%), as the chart below shows; and even if inflation moderates to 3.5% while the Fed conducts four hikes, it will remain well below zero (about -2%), providing some support for gold prices. Which narrative is correct? Well, there are grains of truth in both of them. However, I would like to remind you that what really matters for the markets is the change or direction, not the level of a variable. Hence, the fact that real interest rates are to stay extremely low doesn’t guarantee that gold prices won’t decline in a response to the hiking cycle. Actually, as the chart above shows, the upward reversal in the real interest rates usually plunges gold prices. Given that real rates are at a record low, a normalization is still ahead of us. Hence, unless inflation continues to rise, bond yields are likely to move up, while gold – to move down. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Smelling Blood

Smelling Blood

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.02.2022 15:58
S&P 500 is grinding lower, and bonds concur. Risk-off posture and rising yields aren‘t tech‘s friend really, and the VIX is back to moving up. The odd thing is that the dollar wasn‘t well bid yesterday as could have been expected on rising rates – the sentiment called for a bad non-farm payrolls number today. Understandably so given Wednesday‘s preview, and the figure would just highlight how desperately behind the inflation curve the Fed is, what kind of economy it would be tightening into, and shine more light on its manouevering room for Mar FOMC.Fun times ahead for the bears, and the S&P 500 short profits can go on growing – the ride isn‘t over: If tech – in spite of the great earnings Amazon move – gets clobbered this way again on the rising yields, then we could very well see even energy stocks feel the initial selling wave. Not that value stocks would be unaffected, to put it more than mildly – just check yesterday‘s poor showing of financials. Something is going to give, and soon.Precious metals are holding up relatively well, regardless of the miners‘ weakness. Commodities can go on enjoying their time in the limelight – crude oil is not even momentarily dipping, and copper stands ready to keep probing higher values within its still sideways range. Even cryptos are benefiting from what could almost be described as a daily flight to safety.As I wrote in extensive Monday‘s analysis and repeated since, stiff winds are still ahead in spite of the soothing verbal pause in tightening. As the 467K figure just in beats expectations, the Fed gets its justification to withdraw liquidity any way it pleases.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls are getting slaughtered, and the downhill path is likely to continue, thanks to tech. Brace for a volatile day today.Credit MarketsHYG selling pressure made a strong return, predictably. Credit markets are leading stocks to the downside, certainly.Gold, Silver and MinersAs written yesterday, all this risk-off already in and still to come, is failing to press gold and silver really down – and that tells you the true direction is up. The downswings are being bought.Crude OilCrude oil bulls in the end didn‘t waver, and are pushing higher already – the upside breakout can really stick.CopperCopper is back to the middle of its recent range, still positioned for an upside breakout. It would take time, and precede the precious metals one. Rising commodities are sending a clear message as to which way the wind is blowing.Bitcoin and EthereumThe crypto bears didn‘t get far, and it looks like we‘re back to some chop ahead. SummaryS&P 500 bulls are getting rightfully challenged again – the Fed hikes are approaching. See though how little are commodities and precious metals affected. Meanwhile the S&P 500 internals keep deteriorating. Today‘s analytical introduction is special in talking the non-farm payrolls and Fed tightening dynamic, and explains why the pressure in stocks to probe lower values, is still building up, and that 4,450 may not be enough to stop it. For all the pause in Fed hawkish jawboning, the tightening cycle is merely getting started, and today‘s surprisingly strong data gives the Fed as much justification as the quickening wage inflation. I hope you enjoyed today‘s extensive analysis and yesterday‘s risk exposure observations. Have a great day ahead!Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH targets $3,000

Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH targets $3,000

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.02.2022 16:06
Ethereum price made a false break below a short-term trend line yesterday.ETH price breaks above $2,695 and is set for a run towards $3,018.This would mean 13% gains for ETH and a more favourable outlook for next week.Ethereum (ETH) price is set to book the best gains it has made for the whole of 2022, as a bullish candle has now formed on the back of a significant support level. With that move, many bears are getting hurt as they probably fell in the bear trap with the false break below the supportive short-term trend line. Expect more upside to come with global markets enjoying the rally in Amazon shares, which is spilling over into cryptocurrencies and lifting sentiment in ETH towards $3,018.ETH bulls are stabbing bears in the back with a trapEthereum price was dangling below a short-term trend line and looked quite heavy after the slippage (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/top-3-price-prediction-bitcoin-ethereum-ripple-crypto-sentiments-rolls-over-as-meta-shakes-nasdaq-202202031412) from META earnings. But that markets can change their minds overnight is proven yet again, after Amazon’s earnings fueled a booster rally which we are seeing today. This has spilled over into cryptocurrencies and is lifting sentiment in ETH prices with a firm break above $2,695, squeezing out bears in the process, who went short on the false break of the trend line, and it is now just a matter of time before they close out and take their losses.ETH price is thus set for a second rally today as those bears will need to revert to the buy-side volume (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/ethereum-price-pushes-higher-eth-targeting-3-500-202202021800) to close and cut their losses. This will add a boost to ETH prices and could see Ethereum bulls hitting the price target at $3,018, taking out the $3,000 level, and setting the stage for next week. With that move, the red descending trend line could be broken, and with that, the downturn since December, finally (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/ethereum-price-pushes-higher-eth-targeting-3-500-202202021800) breaking the chances for bears and setting the stage for a possible longer-term uptrend.ETH/USD daily chartNevertheless, there are still some earnings on the docket for today that could surprise to the downside and see those tailwinds (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/top-3-price-prediction-bitcoin-ethereum-ripple-crypto-markets-to-favor-bears-soon-202202020838) as quickly fade as they came. Expect that with that lack of support, ETH price will collapse back to $2,695 and start to weigh further on the bulls. Should that spiral into equities, pushing them firmly in the red, and impacting safe haven flow – expect a dip back towards $2,600.
Ukrainian Tensions and Oil - Is Russia Really the Bad Guy?

Ukrainian Tensions and Oil - Is Russia Really the Bad Guy?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.02.2022 18:04
While everyone is criticizing Russia, it’s easy to follow the US ‘savior’ narrative. However, what if we looked at what’s happening with oil in mind?Disclaimer to today’s article: I’m providing this analysis from a pure energy-focused perspective. I do not claim it represents THE right view, but rather one of those that won’t be as visible in the mainstream. It is interesting to add different views as pieces of the same puzzle. I am looking forward to reading yours in the comments!Picture Source: MemedroidSeveral port facilities in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have been the target of cyberattacks, prompting the judicial authorities to investigate the suspicions of extortion of funds at the expense of German operators in the oil sector. Indeed, it would appear that this series of computer hackings that began several days ago primarily concerns oil terminals. This is disrupting deliveries in several major European ports against a backdrop of soaring energy prices.After jumping the day before, thanks to the strengthening of the euro against the US dollar induced by ECB President Lagarde, oil prices continued to rise during the European session on Friday. Consequently, the fall in the greenback came on top of the recovery in demand, the fall in US crude inventories and the disruptions in supply to boost the price of black gold on the climb, the two crude benchmarks evolving above the psychological mark of 90 dollars a barrel, galvanized by solid demand and tensions on the offer coming from (geo-)political risks.Who is Provoking Who?The situation is rather complex on the geopolitical scene, with the US claiming that Russia is planning an invasion in Ukraine, whereas the US under NATO cover sent additional troops to Eastern Europe. The question that may arise here is: who is provoking who? So far, we haven’t seen Russia placing troops in Mexico, on the border with the United States. On the other hand, the Biden administration may encounter difficulties in accepting that the Kremlin can agree to various partnerships with its European neighbors, especially regarding more favorable energy supplies. Instead, it’s in the US interest to weaken those diplomatic relations, potentially leading to additional partnerships that may arise between the EU and Putin.And as we see the US-led narrative getting through the Western mainstream media with more aggressive, suspicious, and tense tones towards Russia, this obviously has the effect of pouring some oil on the Russian-Ukrainian fire. Furthermore, the US needs reasons to demonstrate that NATO is still alive and relevant while a number of countries are now questioning their own participation in the US-led military organisation created in 1949, even going so far as to show some doubts regarding its current motivations.Isolating the Russian BearBy maintaining a hostile tone towards Russia’s intentions, the US is consequently trying to isolate the Russian bear and push their European partners to blindly follow the “official narrative” (as the EU being part of NATO), which could possibly lead to new sanctions on Russia, the latter being able to retaliate by using its energy assets and capacities to deprive the EU of the Russian supplies, which currently on the gas side represent between 30% and 40% of total gas imports for Europe. Then, as a result, the Americans could start exporting more gas into Europe via Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipping – which again could benefit their energy-led commercial balance – the Europeans thus becoming the losing players in this game.As an example, we saw this week that a tanker loaded with LNG from the US will arrive at the LNG terminal in Świnoujście (Poland) at the end of this month, since Poland has LNG import capabilities which could be used to deliver US gas to Ukraine. Apparently, this is the second time (after the first one took place two years ago) that such gas deliveries are made by PGNiG, the Polish state-controlled oil and gas company, in cooperation with ERU (their strategic trading partner on the Ukrainian market).Actually, Ukraine suspended imports of Russian gas at the end of 2015. After relying on Russian gas imports for decades, they currently increasingly depend on imports from Europe. Since Ukraine has no LNG import capabilities, such US gas deliveries have been organized via a pipeline from the Polish terminal (through re-gasified LNG).WTI Crude Oil (CLH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart)Brent Crude Oil (BRJH22) Futures (April contract, daily chart)RBOB Gasoline (RBH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart)Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGG22) Futures (February contract, daily chart)In summary, geopolitics is always complex because it relies on individual economic and strategic interests of countries. The readings also depend on different views, and since there is always a lot of noise, it often helps to take some steps back in order to analyze the global situation from a different angle.Have a nice weekend! And remember to chime in on the conversation.Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
COT Forex Speculators reduce their US Dollar bullish bets to 7-week low

COT Forex Speculators reduce their US Dollar bullish bets to 7-week low

Invest Macro Invest Macro 05.02.2022 20:24
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday February 1st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the decline for the US Dollar Index in the currency futures contracts. Dollar Index speculators cut back on their bullish bets this week for the third time in the past four weeks after previously pushing their bullish bets to a 117-week high on January 4th. Since that high-point, bullish bets have fallen by a total of -4,507 contracts and have now dropped the overall standing to a seven-week low. Despite the recent slide, the US Dollar Index bullish bets are still near the top of their range over the past three years with a speculator strength index score of 85.4 percent which is considered extremely bullish (strength index is the current speculator standing compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme). The Dollar Index price has had a volatile couple of weeks with a sharp rise to 97.22 on January 28th and then a sharp drop to 95.23 on February 3rd and closed the week at approximately 95.48. The currencies with positive changes this week were the Japanese yen (7,633 contracts), Swiss franc (557 contracts), Canadian dollar (5,947 contracts), Russian ruble (10,207 contracts), Bitcoin (175 contracts), Australian dollar (3,444 contracts) and the Mexican peso (1,520 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-2,290 contracts), Euro (-1,844 contracts), British pound sterling (-15,842 contracts), Brazil real (-737 contracts) and the New Zealand dollar (-925 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Feb-01-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 56,477 81 34,571 85 -41,884 5 7,313 97 EUR 685,431 78 29,716 44 -57,467 59 27,751 20 GBP 184,007 28 -23,605 57 28,891 47 -5,286 45 JPY 194,435 51 -60,640 30 79,353 76 -18,713 9 CHF 41,054 16 -8,239 56 16,541 49 -8,302 39 CAD 145,082 27 18,264 65 -25,622 39 7,358 44 AUD 196,913 80 -79,829 11 96,098 91 -16,269 13 NZD 58,467 60 -11,698 52 14,019 52 -2,321 25 MXN 141,352 22 730 28 -3,848 71 3,118 56 RUB 46,358 47 14,151 47 -14,451 52 300 43 BRL 76,175 100 -13,353 51 10,467 47 2,886 100 Bitcoin 9,948 51 141 100 -491 0 350 21   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 34,571 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,290 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 36,861 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.5 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.7 3.8 16.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.5 78.0 3.3 – Net Position: 34,571 -41,884 7,313 – Gross Longs: 43,897 2,141 9,203 – Gross Shorts: 9,326 44,025 1,890 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.7 to 1 0.0 to 1 4.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 85.4 5.0 96.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.9 -2.6 22.9   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 29,716 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,844 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 31,560 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.2 55.0 12.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.8 63.4 8.2 – Net Position: 29,716 -57,467 27,751 – Gross Longs: 213,563 376,805 83,675 – Gross Shorts: 183,847 434,272 55,924 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.1 59.5 20.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 12.2 -11.8 3.2   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -23,605 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -15,842 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -7,763 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 57.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.7 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.1 68.8 13.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.9 53.1 16.4 – Net Position: -23,605 28,891 -5,286 – Gross Longs: 29,597 126,536 24,845 – Gross Shorts: 53,202 97,645 30,131 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 57.0 46.8 44.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 24.6 -25.0 16.9   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -60,640 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 7,633 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -68,273 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 29.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.5 82.5 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.7 41.7 17.8 – Net Position: -60,640 79,353 -18,713 – Gross Longs: 14,510 160,358 15,958 – Gross Shorts: 75,150 81,005 34,671 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 29.7 75.6 9.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.3 4.1 0.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -8,239 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 557 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,796 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 49.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.9 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 1.7 73.5 24.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 21.8 33.2 44.8 – Net Position: -8,239 16,541 -8,302 – Gross Longs: 698 30,161 10,103 – Gross Shorts: 8,937 13,620 18,405 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.6 49.4 38.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.7 0.7 -4.6   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 18,264 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 5,947 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 12,317 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 65.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 39.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.1 39.6 21.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.5 57.3 16.5 – Net Position: 18,264 -25,622 7,358 – Gross Longs: 52,386 57,524 31,356 – Gross Shorts: 34,122 83,146 23,998 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 65.4 39.4 44.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 27.3 -22.9 9.8   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -79,829 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 3,444 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -83,273 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.8 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.6 78.8 9.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.1 30.0 17.5 – Net Position: -79,829 96,098 -16,269 – Gross Longs: 18,835 155,124 18,128 – Gross Shorts: 98,664 59,026 34,397 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 10.8 90.6 12.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.5 -1.4 3.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -11,698 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -925 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,773 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.3 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.8 61.0 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.9 37.0 8.7 – Net Position: -11,698 14,019 -2,321 – Gross Longs: 19,205 35,644 2,783 – Gross Shorts: 30,903 21,625 5,104 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.6 52.0 25.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.3 7.9 4.7   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 730 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 1,520 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -790 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 56.2 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 38.0 57.2 4.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.5 59.9 2.3 – Net Position: 730 -3,848 3,118 – Gross Longs: 53,767 80,885 6,378 – Gross Shorts: 53,037 84,733 3,260 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 2.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.7 71.2 56.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.4 -4.3 20.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -13,353 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -737 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,616 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 47.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 47.6 46.3 6.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 65.2 32.6 2.2 – Net Position: -13,353 10,467 2,886 – Gross Longs: 36,293 35,263 4,562 – Gross Shorts: 49,646 24,796 1,676 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.4 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.8 47.4 100.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.1 4.3 42.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 14,151 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 10,207 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 3,944 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 42.7 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 54.0 41.5 4.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.5 72.7 3.7 – Net Position: 14,151 -14,451 300 – Gross Longs: 25,048 19,255 2,024 – Gross Shorts: 10,897 33,706 1,724 – Long to Short Ratio: 2.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.9 52.4 42.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.1 -10.5 -26.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 141 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 175 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -34 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.3 3.1 12.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 78.8 8.0 8.9 – Net Position: 141 -491 350 – Gross Longs: 7,984 304 1,232 – Gross Shorts: 7,843 795 882 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 20.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 22.4 -43.4 -11.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
COT Forex Speculators reduce their US Dollar bullish bets to 7-week low - 06.02.2022

COT Forex Speculators reduce their US Dollar bullish bets to 7-week low - 06.02.2022

Invest Macro Invest Macro 05.02.2022 20:24
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday February 1st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the decline for the US Dollar Index in the currency futures contracts. Dollar Index speculators cut back on their bullish bets this week for the third time in the past four weeks after previously pushing their bullish bets to a 117-week high on January 4th. Since that high-point, bullish bets have fallen by a total of -4,507 contracts and have now dropped the overall standing to a seven-week low. Despite the recent slide, the US Dollar Index bullish bets are still near the top of their range over the past three years with a speculator strength index score of 85.4 percent which is considered extremely bullish (strength index is the current speculator standing compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme). The Dollar Index price has had a volatile couple of weeks with a sharp rise to 97.22 on January 28th and then a sharp drop to 95.23 on February 3rd and closed the week at approximately 95.48. The currencies with positive changes this week were the Japanese yen (7,633 contracts), Swiss franc (557 contracts), Canadian dollar (5,947 contracts), Russian ruble (10,207 contracts), Bitcoin (175 contracts), Australian dollar (3,444 contracts) and the Mexican peso (1,520 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-2,290 contracts), Euro (-1,844 contracts), British pound sterling (-15,842 contracts), Brazil real (-737 contracts) and the New Zealand dollar (-925 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Feb-01-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 56,477 81 34,571 85 -41,884 5 7,313 97 EUR 685,431 78 29,716 44 -57,467 59 27,751 20 GBP 184,007 28 -23,605 57 28,891 47 -5,286 45 JPY 194,435 51 -60,640 30 79,353 76 -18,713 9 CHF 41,054 16 -8,239 56 16,541 49 -8,302 39 CAD 145,082 27 18,264 65 -25,622 39 7,358 44 AUD 196,913 80 -79,829 11 96,098 91 -16,269 13 NZD 58,467 60 -11,698 52 14,019 52 -2,321 25 MXN 141,352 22 730 28 -3,848 71 3,118 56 RUB 46,358 47 14,151 47 -14,451 52 300 43 BRL 76,175 100 -13,353 51 10,467 47 2,886 100 Bitcoin 9,948 51 141 100 -491 0 350 21   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 34,571 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,290 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 36,861 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.5 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.7 3.8 16.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.5 78.0 3.3 – Net Position: 34,571 -41,884 7,313 – Gross Longs: 43,897 2,141 9,203 – Gross Shorts: 9,326 44,025 1,890 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.7 to 1 0.0 to 1 4.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 85.4 5.0 96.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.9 -2.6 22.9   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 29,716 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,844 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 31,560 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.2 55.0 12.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.8 63.4 8.2 – Net Position: 29,716 -57,467 27,751 – Gross Longs: 213,563 376,805 83,675 – Gross Shorts: 183,847 434,272 55,924 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.1 59.5 20.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 12.2 -11.8 3.2   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -23,605 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -15,842 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -7,763 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 57.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.7 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.1 68.8 13.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.9 53.1 16.4 – Net Position: -23,605 28,891 -5,286 – Gross Longs: 29,597 126,536 24,845 – Gross Shorts: 53,202 97,645 30,131 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 57.0 46.8 44.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 24.6 -25.0 16.9   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -60,640 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 7,633 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -68,273 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 29.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.5 82.5 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.7 41.7 17.8 – Net Position: -60,640 79,353 -18,713 – Gross Longs: 14,510 160,358 15,958 – Gross Shorts: 75,150 81,005 34,671 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 29.7 75.6 9.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.3 4.1 0.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -8,239 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 557 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,796 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 49.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.9 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 1.7 73.5 24.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 21.8 33.2 44.8 – Net Position: -8,239 16,541 -8,302 – Gross Longs: 698 30,161 10,103 – Gross Shorts: 8,937 13,620 18,405 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.6 49.4 38.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.7 0.7 -4.6   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 18,264 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 5,947 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 12,317 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 65.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 39.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.1 39.6 21.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.5 57.3 16.5 – Net Position: 18,264 -25,622 7,358 – Gross Longs: 52,386 57,524 31,356 – Gross Shorts: 34,122 83,146 23,998 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 65.4 39.4 44.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 27.3 -22.9 9.8   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -79,829 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 3,444 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -83,273 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.8 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.6 78.8 9.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.1 30.0 17.5 – Net Position: -79,829 96,098 -16,269 – Gross Longs: 18,835 155,124 18,128 – Gross Shorts: 98,664 59,026 34,397 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 10.8 90.6 12.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.5 -1.4 3.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -11,698 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -925 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,773 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.3 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.8 61.0 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.9 37.0 8.7 – Net Position: -11,698 14,019 -2,321 – Gross Longs: 19,205 35,644 2,783 – Gross Shorts: 30,903 21,625 5,104 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.6 52.0 25.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.3 7.9 4.7   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 730 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 1,520 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -790 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 56.2 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 38.0 57.2 4.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.5 59.9 2.3 – Net Position: 730 -3,848 3,118 – Gross Longs: 53,767 80,885 6,378 – Gross Shorts: 53,037 84,733 3,260 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 2.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.7 71.2 56.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.4 -4.3 20.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -13,353 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -737 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,616 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 47.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 47.6 46.3 6.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 65.2 32.6 2.2 – Net Position: -13,353 10,467 2,886 – Gross Longs: 36,293 35,263 4,562 – Gross Shorts: 49,646 24,796 1,676 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.4 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.8 47.4 100.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.1 4.3 42.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 14,151 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 10,207 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 3,944 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 42.7 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 54.0 41.5 4.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.5 72.7 3.7 – Net Position: 14,151 -14,451 300 – Gross Longs: 25,048 19,255 2,024 – Gross Shorts: 10,897 33,706 1,724 – Long to Short Ratio: 2.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.9 52.4 42.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.1 -10.5 -26.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 141 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 175 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -34 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.3 3.1 12.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 78.8 8.0 8.9 – Net Position: 141 -491 350 – Gross Longs: 7,984 304 1,232 – Gross Shorts: 7,843 795 882 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 20.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 22.4 -43.4 -11.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Regains Momentum

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Regains Momentum

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.02.2022 09:10
USDCHF bounces higherThe US dollar rallied after January’s nonfarm payrolls exceeded expectations. The latest pullback found support near the previous low at 0.9180.A bullish RSI divergence suggests a loss of momentum in the sell-off. A close above 0.9275 would force short-term sellers to cover and pave the way for a broader rebound.Then the double top (0.9360) on the daily chart would be the next target. On the downside, a bearish breakout may send the pair to 0.9110.USDCAD awaits breakoutThe loonie weakened after a rise in Canada’s unemployment rate in January. The greenback has previously come to a halt at the daily resistance (1.2800).The retracement then found bids at the resistance-turned-support at 1.2650, suggesting traders’ strong interest in keeping the two-week-long rally intact. The RSI has inched into the overbought territory and may drive the price lower with short-term profit-taking.A bullish breakout may extend the uptrend to December’s peak at 1.2950.GER 40 lacks supportThe Dax 40 drifts lower after the ECB’s hawkish turn. The recent rebound met stiff selling pressure at 15740. Then a fall below 15350 indicates a lack of commitment from the buy-side.A bearish MA cross suggests an acceleration to the downside and may attract more bears. The demand area around 14850 is a critical floor on the daily chart. Its breach could trigger a bearish reversal in the medium term.An oversold RSI may cause a limited bounce. The bulls need to reclaim 15500 in order to turn sentiment around.
The Fed gave the dollar a head start

The Fed gave the dollar a head start

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 07.02.2022 09:27
Friday's US labour market report raised the chances of a sharper Fed rate hike, placing USD on a solid footing.Employment growth of 467K in January was well above forecasts. In addition, there was a noticeable upward revision to the job gains of the previous couple of months. Furthermore, wage growth accelerated to 5.7% y/y, marking the unwinding of the inflationary spiral.The markets are applying a 33% chance of a 50-point key rate hike by the Fed in March, leaving a 67% chance of a standard move of 25 points. This is a dramatic reassessment of the outlook, as just a month ago, rate futures were leaving a 24% chance that there would be no rate hike in March.Hawkish comments from Europe and England has added fuel to the fire. Last week, the Bank of England minutes 4 out of 9 MPC members voted for a 50 point rate hike. The ECB is warming to a rate hike this year and potentially twice, although they rejected the idea back in December.In our view, Friday's labour market report showed that the US still has a head start on the pace of economic recovery, which will allow for more monetary policy tightening.This is potentially positive news for the dollar, which found ground late last week after correcting by 2.3% from its peak in late January. If the Fed strengthens its signals of willingness to hike the rate by 50 points in mid-March in the coming weeks, it will be grounds for stronger dollar buying.History suggests that the momentum of the appreciation of the US currency against major competitors is exhausted a few months after a rate hike. Usually, it becomes clear that other central banks have already moved on to the pace of Fed rate hikes and are often even prepared to act more decisively.But we are not yet in this phase, and the Fed's policy, as well as the US economic indicators, provide the dollar with a head start for the foreseeable future. As early as February, the dollar index could rewrite the January highs near 97.5 against the current 95.56 and take the DXY into the 100-103 area by mid-year.
Rally Time

Rally Time

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.02.2022 15:59
S&P 500 refused to break below 4,450s, and junk bonds took off the lows as well. The bottom isn‘t in, but I‘m looking for a little reprieve next. The degree to which bonds were sold off vs. stocks, hints that we would have lower to go still, ultimately bottoming around late Feb, perhaps even early Mar. Increasingly more Fed hikes are being priced in, and Friday‘s good non-farm payrolls figure is reinforcing these expectations.Treasuries are telling the story as well – the 10-year yield has been surging lately while the 30-year bond didn‘t move nearly as much. It means a lot of focus on Fed tightening, which is making the recent Amazon and Meta earnings ability to move stocks this much, all the better for the S&P 500 in the short run. The 10-year yield is likely to retrace a part of its prior increase, and that would give stocks some breathing room. At the same time though, I don‘t think that the tech selling is done, that tech is out of the woods now – the current rally is likely to run out of steam over the next 5-10 days, then go sideways to down.As for the immediate plan for Monday‘s session, I think the 4460s would hold on any retest, should we get there at all. The bulls have a very short-term advantage, then as mentioned above, selling would resume, and around May or June we could get the answer as to whether we‘ve been just consolidating or topping out. Before that, we‘re in a quite wide range where current stock market values aren‘t truly reflecting bond market sluggishness.Keeping in mind the key Friday‘s conclusion:(…) Precious metals are holding up relatively well, regardless of the miners‘ weakness. Commodities can go on enjoying their time in the limelight – crude oil is not even momentarily dipping, and copper stands ready to keep probing higher values within its still sideways range. Even cryptos are benefiting from what could almost be described as a daily flight to safety.As I wrote in extensive Monday‘s analysis and repeated since, stiff winds are still ahead in spite of the soothing verbal pause in tightening. As the 467K figure just in beats expectations, the Fed gets its justification to withdraw liquidity any way it pleases.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls aren‘t yet winning, but have a good chance to suck in those who believe the tech bottom is in – tech bears would get another opportunity in the not too distant future.Credit MarketsHYG paused, and the heavy selling is catching a bid – reprieve is approaching even if Friday‘s highs didn‘t last.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals aren‘t getting anywhere, and are likely to warmly embrace the upcoming pause in higher yields. But that‘s not yet the true fireworks we would get later in 2022, which would come on the Fed‘s abrupt U-turn.Crude OilCrude oil bulls aren‘t even remotely pausing – I wouldn‘t count on pullback towards $88 or lower really. There is still much strength in black gold regardless of the Iran sanctions waiver – triple digit oil I called for months ago, is getting near.CopperCopper is back to the middle of its recent range, and the downside looks fairly well defended. The upside breakout would take time, and precede the precious metals one. Rising commodities are still sending a clear message as to which way the wind is blowing.Bitcoin and EthereumThe crypto break higher attests to the return of strength underway, and it‘s supported by the volume. The buyers have the short-term upper hand.SummaryS&P 500 bulls withstood the prospect of hawkish Fed getting more job market leeway on Friday, and look to be entering the week with a slight advantage. Also the bond markets look nearning the moment of calming down as the longer durations are painting a different picture than the 10-year Treasury. S&P 500 would like that, but the tech rebound would get tested as we likely move lower to welcome Mar. Till then, stocks are likely to drift somewhat higher before the rally runs out of steam over the next 5-10 days. Full game plan with reasoning is introduced in the opening part of today‘s extensive analysis. Cryptos good performance on Friday is as promising as the commodities surge – enjoy the days ahead.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Metaverse Tokens Sink After Holiday Crypto Rally

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: BTC bears to go extinct beyond $53,000

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.02.2022 16:06
Bitcoin price looks overextended as it grapples with the 50-day SMA and the weekly resistance barrier at $42,816. Ethereum price pierces through the bearish breaker and approaches the 50-day SMA at $3,242. Ripple price approaches the $0.757 to $0.807 supply zone that could cut the uptrend short. Bitcoin price has seen tremendous gains over the past three days as it attempts to overcome a massive hurdle. While altcoins like Ethereum and Ripple have corresponded to this bullishness, investors need to exercise caution with fresh investments as a retracement could be around the corner. Bitcoin price faces a decisive moment Bitcoin price has risen 18% over the past four days and is currently hovering below the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the weekly resistance barrier confluence at $42,816. If this uptrend is a bull trap, BTC is likely to see rejection followed by a retracement to the immediate support level at $8,481. A breakdown of the said barrier will knock the big crypto down to $34,752. In an extremely bearish case, Bitcoin price could revisit the $30,000 psychological barrier and collect the liquidity resting below it. BTC/USD 1-day chart If BTC produces a daily candlestick close above the breaker’s upper limit at $44,387, however, it will invalidate the bearish thesis. While this development will alleviate the sell-side pressure, it does not mean that Bitcoin price has flipped bullish. A daily candlestick close above $52,000 will produce a higher high and suggest the possible start of an uptrend. Ethereum price slithers close to bearish thesis invalidation Ethereum price has followed the big crypto and pierced the bearish breaker, ranging from $2,789 to $3,167. Any further bullish momentum will push ETH to climb higher and retest the 50-day SMA at $3,242. Assuming BTC retraces, investors can expect Ethereum price to face rejection at $3,242, leading to a 25% pullback to the weekly support level at $2,324. In a highly bearish case, Ethereum price could revisit the $1,730 weekly support level and collect the sell-side liquidity resting below it. ETH/USD 1-day chart Regardless of the bearish outlook, the Ethereum price can invalidate the short-term bearish outlook if it produces a daily candlestick close above the $3,167 resistance zone. A bullish scenario could be kick-started, however, if buyers push ETH to produce a swing high at $3,413. Ethereum price gains momentum to breakout to $3,300 Ripple price faces a blockade Ripple price broke out of its consolidation and rallied 25% from $0.604 to $0.754. This impressive move is currently retesting the weekly resistance barrier at $0.740, which rests below another hurdle that extends from $0.757 to $0.807. Rejection at this multi-resistance zone seems likely considering the situation in which Bitcoin is in, and investors can expect the Ripple price to retrace 16%, returning to the consolidation zone at $0.628. XRP/USD 1-day chart A daily candlestick close above the supply zone’s upper limit at $0.807 will signal a resurgence of buyers and indicate their willingness to move higher. In this case, Ripple price could set up a higher high by rallying 12% to $0.911.    
SEC Rejects Valkyrie, Kryptoin Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

Bitcoin Hovered Around Ca. $44k Yesterday, Ether (ETH) Gains 5%, Solana Increases by 4%, Ripple by 18.5%

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 08.02.2022 08:31
On Monday, Bitcoin rose 5.5%, ending the day around $44,100. Ethereum added 5%, and other leading altcoins from the top ten also showed growing dynamics: from 4% (Solana) to 18.5% (XRP). The total capitalization of the crypto market increased by 5.5% over the day to $2.10 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index has not changed, remaining at 39.2%. The Bitcoin chart continues to paint a bullish picture. With the price at $45K on Tuesday morning, BTCUSD is trading above the 50-day moving average just above the mid-January pivot area and above the down channel resistance level. At the same time, the RSI on the daily charts has not yet entered the overbought area, leaving room for further growth.  The same can be said about the entire cryptocurrency market, where the fear and greed index has reached a neutral point of 48 and is still far from the greed area. The next target for the bulls looks to be $48K, the December support area in December. Further targets are $49-50K, where the 200-day moving average and significant round level are concentrated. The XRP token soared amid reports of a significant approach to the resolution of Ripple's legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Cryptocurrencies briefly stopped responding to movements in US stock indices, which started the week with a decline. The purchases probably included retail investors, who were driven by the desire not to miss the beginning of the market growth (FOMO). However, their buying potential is unlikely to be enough if stock indicators intensify their decline and large institutional investors come into play, wishing to resume profit-taking. KPMG, one of the world's largest auditors, has added Bitcoin and Ethereum to its Canadian division's corporate reserves. This is the firm's first direct investment in cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, at the end of 2021, Tesla received a loss of $ 101 million from a decrease in the cost of previously purchased bitcoins, which it spent $ 1.5 billion on. Previously, Elon Musk called the decision to acquire BTC as a reserve asset quite risky. 
Are You Thinking the Dollar Will Collapse? That’s False Hope

Are You Thinking the Dollar Will Collapse? That’s False Hope

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 07.02.2022 15:49
  Gold’s latest feats increased investors’ appetite. The outlook for the dollar, however, remains healthy. That can only mean one thing. As volatility erupts across the financial markets, gold and silver prices are being pulled in conflicting directions. For example, with the USD Index suffering a short-term decline, the outcome is fundamentally bullish for the precious metals. However, with U.S. Treasury yields rallying, the outcome is fundamentally bearish for gold and silver prices. Then, with panic selling and panic buying confronting the general stock market, the PMs are dealing with those crosscurrents. However, with QE on its deathbed and the Fed poised to raise the Federal Funds Rate in the coming months, the common denominator is rising real interest rates. To explain, the euro’s recent popularity has impacted the USD Index. For context, the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the dollar basket’s movement. Thus, if real interest rates rise and the U.S. dollar falls, what will happen to the PMs? Well, the reality is that rising real interest rates are bullish for the USD Index, and the euro’s recent ECB-induced rally is far from a surprise. With investors often buying the EUR/USD in anticipation of a hawkish shift from the ECB, another ‘hopeful’ upswing occurred. However, the central bank disappointed investors time and time again in 2021, and the currency pair continued to make new lows. As a result, we expect the downtrend to resume over the medium term.  Supporting our expectations, I wrote the following about financial conditions and the USD Index on Feb. 2: To explain, the blue line above tracks Goldman Sachs' Financial Conditions Index (FCI). For context, the index is calculated as a "weighted average of riskless interest rates, the exchange rate, equity valuations, and credit spreads, with weights that correspond to the direct impact of each variable on GDP." In a nutshell: when interest rates increase alongside credit spreads, it's more expensive to borrow money and financial conditions tighten. To that point, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the FCI has surpassed its pre-COVID-19 high (January 2020). Moreover, the FCI bottomed in January 2021 and has been seeking higher ground ever since. In the process, it's no coincidence that the PMs have suffered mightily since January 2021. To that point, with the Fed poised to raise interest rates at its March monetary policy meeting, the FCI should continue its ascent. As a result, the PMs' relief rallies should fall flat like in 2021.  Likewise, while the USD Index has come down from its recent high, it's no coincidence that the dollar basket bottomed with the FCI in January 2021 and hit a new high with the FCI in January 2022. Thus, while the recent consolidation may seem troubling, the medium-term fundamentals supporting the greenback remain robust. Furthermore, tighter financial conditions are often a function of rising real interest rates. As mentioned, the USD Index bottomed with the FCI and surged to new highs with the FCI. As a result, the fundamentals support a stronger, not weaker USD Index. As evidence, the U.S. 10-Year real yield, the FCI, and the USD Index have traveled similar paths since January 2020. Please see below: To explain, the green line above tracks the USD Index since January 2020, while the red line above tracks the U.S. 10-Year real yield. While the latter didn’t bottom in January 2021 like the USD Index and the FCI (though it was close), all three surged in late 2021 and hit new highs in 2022. Moreover, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury nominal and real yields hit new 2022 highs on Feb. 4.  In addition, if you compare the two charts, you can see that all three metrics spiked higher when the coronavirus crisis struck in March 2020. As such, the trio often follows in each other’s footsteps. Furthermore, with the Fed likely to raise interest rates at its March monetary policy meeting, this realization supports a higher U.S. 10-Year real yield, and a higher FCI. As a result, the fundamentals underpinning the USD Index remain robust, and short-term sentiment is likely to be responsible for the recent weakness.  Likewise, as the Omicron variant slows U.S. economic activity, the ‘bad news is good news’ camp has renewed hopes for a dovish Fed. However, the latest strain is unlikely to affect the Fed’s reaction function. A case in point: after ADP’s private payrolls declined by 301,000 in January (data released on Feb. 2), concern spread across Wall Street. However, after U.S. nonfarm payrolls (government data) came in at 467,000 versus 150,000 expected on Feb. 4, the U.S. labor market remains extremely healthy.  Please see below: Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) On top of that, the BLS revealed that “the over-the-month employment change for November and December 2021 combined is 709,000 higher than previously reported, while the over-the-month employment change for June and July 2021 combined is 807,000 lower. Overall, the 2021 over-the-year change is 217,000 higher than previously reported.”  Thus, the U.S. added more than 700,000 combined jobs in November and December than previously reported, and the net gain in 2021 was more than 200,000. Please see below: Source: BLS As for wage inflation, the BLS also revealed: “In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 23 cents to $31.63. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.7 percent.” As a reminder, while investors speculate on the prospect of a hawkish ECB, the latest release out of Europe shows that wage inflation is much weaker than in the U.S. To explain, I wrote on Feb. 1: Eurozone hourly labor costs rose by 2.5% YoY on Dec. 16 (the latest release). Moreover, the report revealed that “the costs of wages & salaries per hour worked increased by 2.3%, while the non-wage component rose by 3.0% in the third quarter of 2021, compared with the same quarter of the previous year.”  As a result, non-wage labor costs – like insurance, healthcare, unemployment premiums, etc. – did the bulk of the heavy lifting. In contrast, wage and salary inflation are nowhere near the ECB’s danger zone. Please see below: And why is wage inflation so critical? Well, ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Jan. 25: Source: ECB As a result, when the ECB’s Chief Economist tells you that wage inflation needs to hit 3% YoY to be “consistent” with the ECB’s 2% overall annual inflation target, a wage print of 2.3% YoY is far from troublesome. Thus, while euro bulls hope that the ECB will mirror the Fed and perform a hawkish 180, the data suggests otherwise.  In addition, while U.S. nonfarm payrolls materially outperformed on Feb. 4, I noted on Feb. 2 that there are now 4.606 million more job openings in the U.S. than citizens unemployed. Please see below: To explain, the green line above subtracts the number of unemployed U.S. citizens from the number of U.S. job openings. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the epic collapse has completely reversed and the green line is now at an all-time high. Thus, with more jobs available than people looking for work, the economic environment supports normalization by the Fed. Thus, if we piece the puzzle together, the U.S. labor market remains healthy and U.S. inflation is materially outperforming the Eurozone. As a result, the Fed should stay ahead of the ECB, and the hawkish outperformance supports a weaker EUR/USD and a stronger USD Index. Moreover, the dynamic also supports a higher FCI and a higher U.S. 10-Year real yield. As we’ve seen since January 2021, these fundamental outcomes are extremely unkind to the PMs. Finally, while the Omicron variant has depressed economic sentiment, I noted previously that the disruptions should be short-lived. For example, with Americans’ anxiety about COVID-19 decelerating, renewed economic strength should keep the pressure on the Fed. Please see below: To explain, the light brown line above tracks the net percentage of Americans concerned about COVID-19, while the dark brown line above tracks the change in flight search trends on Kayak. In a nutshell: the more concern over COVID-19 (a high light brown line), the more Americans hunker down and avoid travel (a low dark brown line). However, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the light brown line has rolled over and the dark brown line has materially risen. Moreover, with the trend poised to persist as the warmer weather arrives, increased mobility should uplift sentiment, support economic growth, and keep the Fed’s rate hike cycle on schedule. The bottom line? The USD Index’s fundamentals remain extremely healthy, and while short-term sentiment has been unkind, rising real yields and a hawkish Fed should remain supportive over the medium term. Moreover, with the PMs often moving inversely to the U.S. dollar, more downside should confront gold, silver, and mining stocks over the next few months. In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Feb. 4, despite the spike in U.S. Treasury yields. However, with so much volatility confronting the general stock market recently, sentiment has pulled the PMs in many directions. However, the important point is that the medium-term thesis remains intact: the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields should seek higher ground, and the realization is profoundly bearish for the precious metals sector. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Bubble stocks...

Recovery Of Gold (XAUUSD), Will NZDUSD Meet The Sell-off? UK 100 Keeps Quite High Values

John Benjamin John Benjamin 08.02.2022 08:48
XAUUSD breaks resistance Gold continues to recover as the US dollar treads water. The previous fall below the daily support at 1785 had put the bulls on the defensive. The RSI’s oversold signal attracted some buying interest and prompted sellers to cover, driving up the price. The rebound has since gained traction after the metal rallied above the support-turned-resistance at 1817. In fact, the bullish breakout may raise momentum and open the door to the recent peak at 1850. On the downside, 1795 is a major support to keep buyers committed. NZDUSD remains under pressure The New Zealand dollar edges lower amid cautious market sentiment at the start of the week. The pair previously bounced off September 2020’s low around 0.6530. However, 0.6700 on the 20-day moving average so far has proven to be a tough hurdle. A drop below the fresh support (0.6630) indicates that the directional bias remains bearish. And sellers would be eager to fade another rebound. 0.6590 is the closest support. A break below 0.6530 could trigger a new round of sell-off towards 0.6400. UK 100 awaits breakout The FTSE 100 rallies supported by solid performance in the commodity sector. The recent rebound hit resistance near the January peak at 7640. Narrowing consolidation and higher highs suggest increased buying pressure. A bullish breakout would flush sellers out and attract momentum traders, firing up volatility in the process. This would be a strong bullish continuation signal. 7460 is a fresh support if the market remains indecisive. Its breach could extend the correction back to 7250.
Bears Are Watching Crude Oil (WTIC) Carefully As It's Very Close To $91

Bears Are Watching Crude Oil (WTIC) Carefully As It's Very Close To $91

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.02.2022 15:34
S&P 500 bulls missed the opportunity, but credit markets didn‘t turn down. Yesterday‘s pause is indicative of more chop ahead – the risk-on rally can‘t be declared yet as having run out of steam, no matter the crypto reversal of today. Bonds are in the driver‘s seat, and the dollar is also cautious – unless these move profoundly either way, the yesterday described S&P 500 reprieve can still play out even if: (…) The bottom isn‘t in, but I‘m looking for a little reprieve next. The degree to which bonds were sold off vs. stocks, hints that we would have lower to go still, ultimately bottoming around late Feb, perhaps even early Mar. Increasingly more Fed hikes are being priced in, and Friday‘s good non-farm payrolls figure is reinforcing these expectations. As for the immediate plan for Monday‘s session, I think the 4460s would hold on any retest, should we get there at all. The bulls have a very short-term advantage, then as mentioned above, selling would resume, and around May or June we could get the answer as to whether we‘ve been just consolidating or topping out. The 4,460s are still holding while commodities look to be consolidating today. As the dollar is up somewhat, bonds would have to face opening headwinds – the effect upon tech would be telling. I‘m still looking for downswing rejection in stocks while precious metals would hold up better than commodities today. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook As stated yesterday, S&P 500 bulls aren‘t yet winning, but have a good chance to suck in those who believe the tech bottom is in – tech bears would get another opportunity in the not too distant future. Credit Markets HYG gave up the opening strength, and the bulls are likely to get under pressure soon – it‘s that yesterday‘s session lacked volume, thus interest of the buyers. The clock is ticking. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals keep refusing to make lower lows – that‘s the most important aspect of their tempered ascent. And price gains would accelerate later in 2022, which would come on the Fed‘s abrupt U-turn. Crude Oil Now, crude oil bulls did pause, but the dip isn‘t likely to reach too far – I still wouldn‘t count on pullback towards $88 or lower really – oil stocks would have to turn decidedly down first. Copper Copper is getting cautious, and would probably decline should the commodities pause continue – no matter what other base metals would do at the same time. Still, that‘s internal strength in the waiting, similarly to the precious metals strength. Bitcoin and Ethereum The crypto break higher ran out of steam, warning of a rickety ride ahead – not just in cryptos. Things can still get volatile. Summary S&P 500 bulls haven‘t lost the opportunity to force higher prices, but need to repel the upcoming intraday flush that can come today, and possibly even continue tomorrow. Yes, instead of seizing upon the chance, bonds have merely paused, creating a perfect environment for whipsawish trading today – I‘m still expecting Friday‘s lows to hold on a closing basis, but I‘m not ruling out a fake breakdown first. The very short-term outlook is simply choppy until the bond market upswing kicks in in earnest. And that would provide more fuel to precious metals and commodities while pressuring the dollar – seems though we would have to wait for a while to see that happen. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Payrolls Release: Gold Reacted Quickly And Decreased... And Got Back In The Game A Moment Later!

Payrolls Release: Gold Reacted Quickly And Decreased... And Got Back In The Game A Moment Later!

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 08.02.2022 16:42
  The latest employment report strongly supports the Fed’s hawkish narrative. Surprisingly, gold has shown remarkable resilience against it so far. What a surprise! The US labor market added 467,000 jobs last month. As the chart below shows, the number is below December’s figure (+510,000) but much above market expectations – MarketWatch’s analysts forecasted only 150,000 added jobs. Thus, the report reinforces the optimistic view of the US economy’s strength, especially given that the surprisingly good nonfarm payrolls came despite the disruption to consumer-facing businesses from the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The unemployment rate increased slightly from 3.9% in December to 4% in January, as the chart above shows. However, it was accompanied by a rise in both the labor force participation rate (from 61.9% to 62.2%) and the employment-population ratio (from 59.5% to 59.7%). Last but not least, average hourly earnings have jumped 5.7% over the last 12 months, as you can see in the next chart. It indicates that wage inflation has intensified recently, despite the surge in COVID-19 cases that was expected by some analysts to dent demand for workers. Hence, the January employment report will cement the hawkish case for the Fed. Rising wages will add to the argument for decisive hiking of interest rates, while the surprisingly strong payrolls will strengthen the Fed’s confidence in the US economy.   Implications for Gold What does the latest employment report imply for the gold market? The unexpectedly high payrolls should be negative for the yellow metal. However, while gold prices initially plunged below $1,800, they rebounded quickly, returning above its key level, as the chart below shows. Gold’s resilience in the face of a strong jobs report is noteworthy and quite encouraging. After all, the report strengthened the US dollar and boosted market expectations of a 50-basis point hike in the federal funds rate in March (from 2.6% one month ago to more than 14% now). Such a big move is unlikely, but the point is that financial conditions are tightening without waiting for the Fed’s actual actions. In the past, gold disliked strong economic reports and rising bond yields and showed a negative correlation with nonfarm payrolls, but not this time. More generally, although long-term fundamentals have turned more bearish in recent months, gold has remained stuck at $1,800. However, last week, two factors could have supported gold prices. The first was rising volatility in the equity market. The S&P 500 Index dropped almost 500 points, or 10%, in January, as the chart below shows. Although it has recovered somewhat, it still remains substantially below the top, with the tech sector experiencing weakness. On Thursday, the shares of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, plunged more than 20%. The second potentially bullish driver was last Thursday’s meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council. The central bank of the Eurozone was more hawkish than expected. Christine Lagarde acknowledged inflationary risks and said that she had become more concerned with the recent surge in inflation. According to initial estimates, the annual inflation rate in the euro area amounted to 5.1% in January 2022, the highest since the common currency was created. Lagarde also backed off her previous guidance that the interest rate hike was “very unlikely” in 2022. The ECB’s pivot – the central bank opening the door for the first rate increase since 2011 – boosted the euro against the greenback. The bottom line is that gold has made itself comfortable around $1,800 and simply doesn’t want – or is not ready – to go away in either direction, at least not yet. The battle between bulls and bears is still on. I’m afraid that, given the relatively aggressive monetary and financial tightening, the sellers will win this clash and gold will drop before the bulls can regain control over the market. However, recent gold’s resilience indicates that there is an underlying bid in the markets and bulls are not giving up. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Crypto Airdrop - Explanation - How Does It Work?

February 8th, 2022, Crypto Chartbook

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 08.02.2022 20:48
Stacking bitcoins winning edges It is not the number of edges that get it low risk. And again, there are no hidden magic formulas. What works well is covering multiple aspects in stacking one’s edges: Market behavior Time of day Oscillators for ranging markets Indicators for trending markets Supply/demand zone identification (VWAP=volume weighted average price, in addition to support and resistance lines) Inter-market relationships Leading/lagging (relative strength within a sector or group) Candlestick pattern Volume Time frame relationships Action-reaction principle News Day of the week Swing leg count MAE (=maximum adverse excursion) Mathematical/statistical edges like standard deviation Your list might look vastly different but should include tools that cover the principal variants of market behavior (ranging, trending, slow/fast price action, liquidity, time, volume, transactions). Investopedia is a good research tool for finding definitions and explanations of the various available technical tools. BTC in US-Dollar, daily chart, how we stack odds in our favor: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 8th, 2022. Our previous chart book release described fundamental reasons for being bullish on bitcoin, which we stack in a similar principled fashion. We pointed out that we were looking for low-risk entry points to build up a long-term position for bitcoin. Such a low-risk opportunity arose on February 3rd, last week. We had the following edges stacked at the time of entry (green arrow): General price strength (directional yellow line channel) Previous day retracement (action-reaction principle) Small range Doji for tight stop and possible reversal indication VWAP (blue histogram to the right of the chart) indicating a supply zone Scheduled ECB news item out of the way Time of week Time of day (we entered near the close of the daily candle) Extended from the mean (blue line, standard deviation) Commodity Channel Index (CCI). A momentum-based oscillator useful in congested sideways channels, gave the prior day to execution indication of a long entry (yellow arrow) We posted our entry in real-time in our free Telegram channel. Within a 24-hour period, we could profit on half of the position size for a gain of 8.73%. We also posted this first profit-taking target in real-time in our free Telegram channel. Our quad exit strategy provides income-producing revenues like this but, even more, eliminates risk. Consequently, this approach supports trading the remaining position with psychological ease for the intended long-term holding period. Hence, even starting out as a a short-term trade, the last 25% of the initial position can become a long-term invest. BTC in US-Dollar, weekly chart, well-positioned: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 8th, 2022. With previous entries at recent lows established in much the same manner, we are now exposed to the market with seven remaining rest positions at zero risk. Such an approach can afford to negate whether this will be the long-term turning point or not. Profits have been made. Should our plan pan out, then the remaining exposed capital will lead to further profits. Otherwise, this remaining position size will stop out at breakeven entry level. The weekly chart shows now a confirmed situation of a weekly bar takeout. For most traders this is an entry signal while we were already well established. We are playing with the market’s money and profits banked. With this time frame alignment more money is expected to join the long side. The chart also illustrates the favorable risk/reward-ratio to the right of the chart.   BTC in US-Dollar, monthly chart, early bird: Bitcoin in US-Dollar, monthly chart as of February 8th, 2022. A glance at the monthly chart shows we are positioned very early and aggressively for this time frame. Nevertheless, as soon as prices might reach US$48,000, we will find ourselves here as well time frame aligned with a bar takeout. Green numbers show our entry prices for January with two entries and February with five entries. Should prices move upwards in our favor, we would take again partial profits near the red horizontal trend line slightly below all-time highs. The remaining positions stays in place for a possible breakout to all-time new highs. Too late if you are not positioned yet? No! This continuous flow of adding low-risk entry trades followed by partial profit-taking allows participating at all stages of market swings. Stacking bitcoins winning edges: In short, you want to have a clear instruction sheet on what to do in whatever market condition bitcoin throws at you. With a set of tools broadly covering all these variants and measuring them, you will be able to act without hesitancy. Then you can hope for the best, since you planned for the worst. Risk control is the core of each advanced trading approach! We aim to keep it simple, like a card counter, which supports executing high probability winning trades. At the same time, the crowd is confronted by surprising news or fast-moving markets. They use reactionary, inappropriate execution, which in turn creates losing trades. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|February 6th, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, bitcoin consolidation, crypto analysis, Crypto Bull, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Will Sandbox (SAND) Reach $5 In The Near Future?

Will Sandbox (SAND) Reach $5 In The Near Future?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 08.02.2022 16:08
Sandbox price action has broken above $4.72 but fades in early trading today. SAND price action is at the intersection of a red descending trend line and the historical pivot level. Expect current favourable tailwinds to boost confidence for bulls leading to a break to the upside and new all-time highs. Sandbox (SAND) price action broke above $4.72 yesterday and saw bulls trying to test $5.0. But the intersection of the descending trend line and a pivot level proved to be too heavy and pushed price action back below the $4.72 historical level. Expect bulls to keep supporting as more tailwinds coming from geopolitics support the case for more upside potential towards $6.0. Sandbox price targets $6 for this week Sandbox price looked set to finally end the downtrend since November 25. The intersection of the red descending trend line dictating the downtrend and the historical $4.72 pivotal historic level from November 23, proved too big of a hurdle for price action to close above yesterday. Instead, bulls decided to take profit with price fading as we speak. SAND does not need to one-directionally tank further but will probably see bulls keeping price close to the pivotal $4.72 level. With several favorable tailwinds, such as positive news from talks between Putin and Macron, investors look to be back on the scene and putting some money on the table to invest in risk assets like cryptocurrencies. This will filter through in the demand side volume and will provide the needed impetus to punch through $4.72 again and close above, putting an end to the downtrend and targeting $6.0 this week. SAND/USD daily chart The resistance double whammy at the aforementioned intersection could prove too big of a temptation for profit-taking, and result in the Relative Strength Index dipping further, below 50, and translate into further downside for the altcoin towards $4.28, making it even harder to try for a daily close above $4.72. That could lead to yet more liquidation and see a return to a base level around $3.50.
Stocks: Is $4,500 The Current S&P 500's "Target"

Stocks: Is $4,500 The Current S&P 500's "Target"

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 08.02.2022 15:33
  The S&P 500 index remains close to the 4,500 level following last week’s retreat. Was this just a downward correction? The broad stock market index lost 0.37% on Monday, as it continued to fluctuate within a short-term consolidation. The broad stock market’s gauge retraced some of its recent rally, as it fell to the local low of 4,451.50 on Friday. The market found a short-term bottom after reversing from last Wednesday’s local high of 4,595.31. This morning the S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.2% lower. We will likely see more consolidation along the 4,500 level. The nearest important resistance level remains at 4,540, market by the recent local highs. The resistance level is also at 4,600. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,400-4,450. The S&P 500 continues to trade below the November-January consolidation, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Nasdaq 100 Remains Relatively Weaker The technology Nasdaq 100 index followed a similar path last week, as it retraced some of the rally. It remains relatively weaker than the broad stock market. The support level is at 13,800-14,000, and the resistance level is at 15,000-15,200. Futures Contract – Short-Term Consolidation Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. It broke above the short-term downward trend line a week ago before rallying up to around the 4,600 level. It’s trading along the 4,500 level after backing from the Wednesday’s high of 4,586. The market remains close to the resistance level of its previous local lows, but there have been no confirmed negative signals so far. So in our opinion, no positions are currently justified from the risk/reward point of view. (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com): Conclusion The S&P 500 index trades within a short-term consolidation following the decline from last week’s Wednesday’s local high. The market will likely extend its consolidation, as investors will be waiting for the Thursday’s Consumer price index release. The quarterly earnings season is mostly over now, and there is still an uncertainty concerning Russia-Ukraine tensions. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 index will likely trade within a consolidation ahead of the important Thursday’s consumer inflation number release. In our opinion, no positions are currently justified from the risk/reward point of view. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

EURUSD Keeps Plain Line, US 30 With A Bounce, GBPUSD Gains A Bit

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.02.2022 08:51
EURUSD hits resistance The euro fell back after ECB President Lagarde tried to cool rate hike expectations. The rally came under pressure at the January peak of 1.1480. The RSI’s overextension at this daily resistance prompted momentum buyers to cash in. A combination of profit-taking and fresh selling may drive the exchange rate lower. Short-term sentiment remains upbeat though unless the single currency drops below the origin of its bullish push at 1.1270. A recovery above 1.1480 could pave the way to last October’s high at 1.1690. GBPUSD consolidates gains The sterling turns higher as traders price in an increasingly hawkish Bank of England. A break above 1.3520 forced sellers to cover some of their positions. However, the pound’s rally came to a halt in the supply zone around 1.3620. The RSI’s overbought situation and bearish divergence suggest softness in the underlying momentum. The pair found bids on the 50% Fibonacci retracement level (1.3490), which sits in the aforementioned supply area. A new rally may propel the pair to the daily resistance at 1.3750. US 30 bounces higher The Dow Jones 30 inches higher supported by better-than-expected earnings. The index steadied after successive breaks above 34800 and 35450. Nonetheless, the recent recovery slowed down on the 30-day moving average, a sign of a lingering cautious mood. 34500 is a key support to keep the rebound relevant. A bearish breakout could extend the correction to 33800. On the upside, a rally above 35700 could attract momentum traders and initiate a bullish reversal to 36500.
NIO - Will It Support The Rise Of Chinese Tech Stocks?

NIO - Will It Support The Rise Of Chinese Tech Stocks?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 08.02.2022 16:08
NIO stock gets a strong rating from latest Barclays research. NIO remains bearish and is down 25% year to date. NIO and other Chinese EV names remain in growth mode as the latest delivery data showed. NIO stock remains mired as it ended Monday virtually flat. The stock is down over 40% from three months ago as Chinese names see international investors flee on regulatory concerns. NIO Stock News It has been a turbulent time for holders of Chinese tech stocks. Alibaba's ANT Group spin-off set things off. Then the DIDI delisting not long after its IPO added to woes. Then a host of regulatory crackdowns was the final straw for international investors who bailed out of the names en masse. This is despite the EV names in particular remaining on track from a growth perspective as all have posted strong delivery data. While January deliveries slowed from December, the yearly growth rates still are impressive. January is traditionally the slowest month of the year in China though due to the lunar new year. NIO for example delivered 7.9% fewer vehicles in January versus December. On a yearly basis, January deliveries were 33.6% higher. This was replicated across many other Chinese EV names. Now Barclays has picked up the theme as it issues a bullish note this morning. "We believe that the rapid adoption of EVs around the world and booming EV sales have presented China’s EV makers a rare opportunity to not only take a sizable market share of the domestic auto market – the largest in the world with about 25-30% global share by units sold per annum – but also build a dominant position on the world stage." Barclays put a $34 price target on the shares. This does highlight the potential growth potential of Chinese tech stocks and the EV space in particular. We question whether investors will reenter, however, having been let down previously. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice... Ok, let's not have another George W. Bush moment! The point is a valid one. It will likely take more than analyst upgrades to tempt investors back to the space. Goldman, the king of investment banks, has previously been strongly bullish on NIO and to no avail. It will take a series of strong earnings and relative calm in terms of regulatory concerns to eventually tempt investors back. NIO Stock Forecast The recent spike lower did fill the gap from back in October 2020. The market just loves to fill gaps. We also note this spike lower created a shooting star candle, a possible reversal signal. There is already a bullish divergence from the Relative Strength Index (RSI) as shown. The area around $27.34 is the first resistance. Getting back above indicates the bearish trend may finally be slowing. That would then bring NIO into a range-bound zone from $27 to $32. Only breaking $33.80 from January 3 ends the downtrend. Support is at $14 from the strong volume profile. Look for an RSI breakout as that could signal more gains. The RSI has been shrinking in range and may test an upside breakout. NIO 1-day chart
EURGBP And GBPUSD Chart Linked With Indices And Obviously BoE

EURGBP And GBPUSD Chart Linked With Indices And Obviously BoE

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 09.02.2022 12:02
GBPUSD is gaining 0.35% on Wednesday, surpassing 1.3585, not far from the month's highs of 1.3620. The British pound is closely correlated with equity market dynamics, and the latest upward momentum in major global indices supports GBP buyers. Also noteworthy is that the Bank of England switched to the next gear in its monetary policy tightening as last week's rate hike was 25 b. p. rather than 50 b. p. by only a slight margin. The euro is also losing ground against the pound after a sharp spike at the ECB meeting. In our view, the EURGBP surge was caused by a technical bounce on touching the 6-year low area. Meanwhile, the Bank of England's stance suggests a much more decisive rate hike, which should provide a carry trade inflow into the pound and further push up the British currency. With the continued upward trajectory of equity indices, a renewal of the 6-year highs of the pound to the euro and a test of the 1.3750 area should come in just a matter of weeks.
Crypto Airdrop - Explanation - How Does It Work?

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos to retrace before the bull run

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.02.2022 16:19
Bitcoin price slows down its ascent after flipping the $42,748 hurdle into a foothold. Ethereum price contemplates a retracement after facing the 50-day SMA at $3,208. Ripple price looks ready for consolidation after a 51% ascent over the past four days. Bitcoin price rally is slowing, allowing bulls to take a breather before the next leg-up. While some might argue the short-term outlook looks bearish – due to the flash crash in January, the bigger picture reveals cryptocurrency (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies) markets still have the potential to go higher. A Wells Fargo report published in February reveals that cryptocurrency adoption is growing exponentially and, in many cases, resembles the growth curve of internet adoption. The American financial corporation even goes on to state the crypto sector could soon exit the initial phases of adoption and enter “an inflection point of hyper-adoption.” Wells Fargo Report: Internet usage history vs crypto users Bitcoin price at a decisive moment Bitcoin price rallied 25% in the last four days and set up a swing high at $45,539.(https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/bitcoin-begins-correction-after-45k-rejection-where-can-btc-price-bounce-next-202202081914) The rally rippled out, triggering copycat moves in other altcoins and the cryptocurrency market in general. Yet BTC failed to produce a daily candlestick close above the breaker’s upper limit at $44,387. So, as a result, the bearish outlook is still in play. Investors should be prepared for anything between a minor retracement and a full-blow bear trap. An optimistic scenario will likely see BTC retest the weekly support level at $39,481 before triggering the next leg-up. A more pessimistic scenario, however, would speculate that Bitcoin price could crash to $34,752. A breakdown of this support floor could be the key to triggering a crash to $30,000 or lower. BTC/USD 1-day chart While things look on the fence for Bitcoin price, (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/bitcoin) a daily candlestick close above $44,387 will invalidate the bearish thesis. A bullish regime, however, will only kick-start if BTC produces a daily candlestick (https://www.fxstreet.com/rates-charts/chart/candlestick-patterns) close above $52,000.   Ethereum price takes a breather Ethereum (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/ethereum) price seems to be undergoing a pullback (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/ethereum-price-holds-above-3k-but-network-data-suggests-bulls-may-get-trapped-202202090153) as it faces off with the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $3,208 while still hovering inside a bearish breaker, extending from $2,789 to $3,167. A rejection here could lead to a retracement to $2,812, where buyers have a chance at restarting the uptrend. Assuming the bullish momentum picks up, there is a good chance ETH could slice through the $3,208 and make a run for the $3,413 hurdle. The local top for Ethereum price could be capped around the convergence of the 50-day and 100-day SMAs at roughly $3,600. ETH/USD 1-day chart On the other hand, if Ethereum price fails to stay above $2,812, it will indicate that buyers are taking a backseat. This development will invalidate the bullish scenario and trigger a crash to the weekly support level at $2,324. Ethereum price could liquidate bulls if ETH falls below $3,000 Ripple price to reestablish directional bias Ripple price broke out of its ten-day consolidation (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/xrp-price-could-easily-return-to-1-under-one-condition-202202081437) and rallied 51% in just four days. This run-up sliced through the $0.740 and $0.817 hurdles, flipping them into support levels. While this climb was impressive, XRP price is likely to retrace as investors begin to book profits. The resulting selling pressure could push Ripple price down to the $0.740 support level where buyers can band together for a comeback. In some cases, the U-turn might not arrive until a retest of the $0.595 to $0.632 demand zone. Regardless, investors can expect XRP price to run up to $1 and collect the liquidity resting above it. XRP/USD 1-day chart On the contrary, if the Ripple price fails to stay above the $0.595 to $0.632 demand zone, it will reveal the lack of bullish momentum and hint that a further descent is likely. In this case, XRP price will sweep below the $0.518 support level to collect the sell-side liquidity resting beneath. XRP price could easily return to $1 under one condition
Peloton Interactive (PTON) Stock News and Forecast: And just like that, it's back

Peloton Interactive (PTON) Stock News and Forecast: And just like that, it's back

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.02.2022 16:19
Peloton shares continue to be the most discussed stock on mainstream and social media. Two straight days of 20%-plus gains for PTON stock. The new CEO gets just the start he would have wanted. It is not exactly reassuring to your confidence when you step down as CEO of a company and the stock immediately explodes higher. Investors clearly had enough of Peloton's (PTON) former CEO John Foley. New man Barry McCarthy hits the ground running despite some mixed commentary from the analyst community this morning. Peloton Stock News Peloton reported earnings on Tuesday. The stock had already surged on news (https://www.fxstreet.com/news) of a new CEO and continued reports that the company may be in the sights of big tech eyeing a potential takeover for the beleaguered fitness company. Revenue came in at $1.13 billion below the $1.15 billion estimate. Earnings per share (EPS) came in below estimates at $-1.39 versus the $-1.20 estimate. The outlook was also weak with Peloton seeing full-year 2022 revenue at $3.8 billion, while analysts had forecast $4 billion. Following the results, Stifel maintained its buy rating on PTON with a $45 price target. Macquarie maintained its outperform rating with a lowered $60 price target, while Barclays also lowered its price target to $60 as well. Bank of America said, "Our estimates that assumed price cuts would drive new demand were too optimistic." BofA has a $42 price target for the stock. Peloton shares had already been strongly ahead in Tuesday's premarket before the earnings release. This was due to the new CEO and a cost-cutting plan including laying off 2,800 employees. The list of potential buyers for Peloton continued to grow as speculation mounted. Potential acquirers include virtually every major fitness company, numerous big tech firms, Berkshire Hathaway and SoftBank. We do question whether in particular big tech would get much benefit out of the acquisition. Fitness has been a big part of the wearable market, and Peloton's subscribers are its value, but do Apple, Amazon and Google really struggle that much for users? Sports companies mentioned include Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADDYY). These may make more sense as the subscribers could generate more value, add-ons and ancillary sales. Peloton Stock Forecast The weekly chart (https://www.fxstreet.com/rates-charts/chart) gives us all the information we need going back to the launch in September 2019. Peloton (PTON) rallied all the way up to $171 this time last year before steadily falling back. The stock has now totally retraced all of the pandemic gains and then some. In that respect, investors may be tempted to buy into the name as subscribers in 2019 totaled just over 500,000, whereas currently Peloton has 2.77 million subscribers. From the weekly chart, we can see the power of volume gaps we often talk about. Peloton broke sharply once it entered the light volume zone from $81 to $37. Now it has stabilized at a high volume zone and the point of control. This does set a potential base for the stock. (https://www.fxstreet.com/markets/equities) Peloton (PTON) chart, weekly The daily chart below shows we have had a bullish divergence on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) since the last earnings despite the share price continuing to slide. $23 remains support with first resistance at $46. This latest move is likely to calm down unless more takeover talk surfaces. If the price move does calm, then holding above $30 is key to keeping the bottom in place. Peloton (PTON) chart, daily  
EURUSD reversed perfectly from strong resistance at the January high & 200 week moving average at 1.1480/1.1500...

EURUSD reversed perfectly from strong resistance at the January high & 200 week moving average at 1.1480/1.1500...

Jason Sen Jason Sen 10.02.2022 10:54
EURUSD reversed perfectly from strong resistance at the January high & 200 week moving average at 1.1480/1.1500 to hit strong support at 1.1410/00 with a low for the again yesterday. USDCAD loving very strong support at 1.2665/55 as we hold all last week & this week so far. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD longs at strong support at 1.1410/00 are working again today but need stops below 1.1385. Next target & support at 1.1350/40. Longs need stops below 1.1330. Our longs target 1.1435 before a retest of strong resistance at the January high & 200 week moving average at 1.1480/1.1500. Shorts need stops above 1.1515. A break higher this week is a buy signal of course, initially targeting 1.1555/60, perhaps as far as 1.1580/90. USDCAD retests strong support at 1.2670/60. Longs here re-target 1.2710/20. If we continue higher look for a retest of 1.2780/90. Further gains this week test the January high at 1.2810/15. If we continue higher look for 1.2840/50. Support at 1.2670/60. A break below 1.2650 however targets 1.2630/20, perhaps as far as 1.2690/80. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
AUDUSD Gets Rid Of The Recent Resistance, EURGBP Flows Calmly And USOIL Hovers Around $90

AUDUSD Gets Rid Of The Recent Resistance, EURGBP Flows Calmly And USOIL Hovers Around $90

John Benjamin John Benjamin 10.02.2022 08:47
AUDUSD breaks higher The Australian dollar climbs as traders wager on a hawkish shift from the Reserve Bank of Australia. On the daily chart, a break above the 30-day moving average suggests improved sentiment in the short term. The pair extended its gains after it broke the supply area around 0.7170. As sellers scramble to cover their bets, driving up bids, the rally is heading to the next resistance at 0.7210. The RSI’s overbought situation may cause a temporary pullback with 0.7110 as the first support. EURGBP seeks support The euro consolidates gains amid mixed messages from the ECB. The pair found support at February 2020’s low at 0.8290, and a bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests a potential turnaround. A break above the daily resistance at 0.8405 has put the single currency back on track. An overbought RSI led momentum traders to take profit. The current pullback is testing the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level (0.8405) which used to be a resistance. 0.8475 is the main hurdle for the reversal to gain traction. USOIL tests support WTI crude bounces higher after the EIA reported a sharp drop in US inventories. Price action is looking to consolidate its gains above the psychological level of 90.00. Sentiment remains upbeat though the bulls need to take a breather after the latest vertical ascent. 88.00 on the 20-day moving average is the immediate support. An oversold RSI may attract buying interest. A deeper retracement would test 85.00. A recovery above 92.30 could trigger momentum buying once again and resume the rally towards 95.00.
Fed Acted, Now It's Markets' Turn. What's The Next Step Of Crude Oil?

Fed Acted, Now It's Markets' Turn. What's The Next Step Of Crude Oil?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.02.2022 15:58
S&P 500 upswing continued amid increasing credit market support. Risk-on, finally – and commodities are on fire again, with precious metals awaiting their time in the spotlight. That‘s the big picture view as markets keep digesting the recently upgraded hawkish talk of the Fed. Or more precisely in my view, they‘re sniffing out the inevitability of the Fed having to make a U-turn later this year. Meanwhile, any temporary hint of lower Treasury yields – the reprieve is arriving – is eagerly embraced by the tech while value is disregarding that. As a result, S&P 500 market breadth is improving, and as stated yesterday, the positive seasonality of 2nd to 3rd week of Feb, is working. Today‘s CPI data would show inflation isn‘t relenting – even White House warned about hot year on year figure coming. Coupled with the tightening job market, the question is now what remains of the budding S&P 500 upswing and bond market reprieve. It‘s becoming increasingly clear that the Fed would have to really move, and that inflation is biting and not exactly sinking input costs. That‘s where we have the cost-push inflation I talked relentlessly over many quarters last year, and wage pressures joining at the hip. It‘s really about letting copper and oil profits keep growing now, while taking off S&P 500 long ones off the table. Done, and PMs are to join next. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bulls had a great day, and need a solid close today against the poor inflation data. This isn‘t though likely to happen unless bonds hold up well during the regular session. Mission impossible, almost. Credit Markets HYG extended gains yesterday, and would need to defend them today. What remains of the risk-on posture, is key to determining the stock market rally longevity vs. waning power. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are firmly on another upleg – I‘m not looking for setbacks during the opening selling pressure to last. The direction is firmly up. Crude Oil Crude oil is still pausing, but at the same time the bulls are readying a response. I‘m looking for continued trading in the recent range, followed by a break higher. Copper Copper is finally on the move, and the high volume speaks plenty about the buying pressure. I‘m looking for dips to be bought – I‘m not expecting a stampede of the bears taking advantage of a „shorting opportunity“. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos aren‘t plunging, but the test of the bullish resolve is arriving today – let‘s see what kind of reversal it turns into. The volume looks solid, so I count on more than a daily setback as a minimum. Summary S&P 500 meets unpleasantly high inflation, which is forcing the hand of the Fed. Stocks are going to have a hard time recovering, and the bullish window of opportunity may be drastically shortened. Good to have taken profits off the table automatically through the trailing stop-loss – commodities would be more resilient. That‘s where real gains are – in real assets, as inflation is returning to the spotlight. Rightfully so as the Fed is desperately behind the curve, and precious metals need to fully get that. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bear Came And Drove Out Gold Enthusiasts, Will Silver Decrease As Well?

Bear Came And Drove Out Gold Enthusiasts, Will Silver Decrease As Well?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 10.02.2022 15:14
  The market was up, but mining stocks chose to reverse. Meanwhile, gold sent a clear signal to investors. So, when everyone buys, what happens? The gold mining stocks and silver mining stocks have reversed, even though gold didn’t. The top for the former is likely in. Most developments regarding the precious metals and their immediate surroundings were a continuation of what we had seen in the previous days, but one thing was different. That one thing is particularly informative. It has trading implications, too. Without further ado, let’s jump into mining stocks. Gold miners fell. Even though they declined by just $0.06, it was profound. The miners were following gold higher during the early part of yesterday’s (Feb. 9) session, but they lost strength close to the middle thereof and were back down before the closing bell. If the gold price reversed and then declined during the day, that would have been normal. However, gold stayed up. It’s fairer to compare GDX to GLD than to compare GDX to gold continuous futures contracts, as the former have the same closing hours, so let’s take a look at what GLD did yesterday. There was no reversal. GLD simply stopped at its declining medium-term resistance line. Also, the general stock market was up yesterday. Consequently, gold mining stocks had no good reason to decline. In fact, they “should have” rallied. They didn’t – they reversed instead. This tells us that the buying power has either dried up or is drying up. When everyone who wanted to get into the market is already in it, the price can do only one thing (regardless of bullish factors) – fall. Those who are already in can then sell. Monitoring the markets for this kind of cross-sector performance is one of the more important gold trading tips. Look, I’m not saying that declines now are “guaranteed”. There are no guarantees in the markets. There might be buyers that haven’t considered mining stocks that would now enter the market, but history tells us that this is unlikely. Instead, declines are very likely to follow. Let’s focus on the GLD ETF chart one more time. As I wrote earlier, it approached its declining medium-term resistance line. Any small breakout here is likely to be invalidated just like what we saw previously in November 2021 and January 2022. This time, however, the volume is low, so gold might not have enough strength for a breakout, and it could decline right away. Junior mining stocks provide us with a perfect confirmation of the bearish narrative. I emphasized before that juniors hadn’t moved above their 50-day moving average, and that they stayed below their rising blue resistance line. Consequently – I wrote – the downtrend in them remained clearly intact. Yesterday’s reversal served as a perfect confirmation of the above. The previous breakdowns were verified in one of the most classic ways. The silver price has been quite strong recently, which is also something that we see close to the local tops. The reversals in mining stocks, the situation in gold, AND the situation in the USD Index together paint a very bearish picture for the precious metals market in the short and medium term. By “the situation in the USD Index”, I’m referring to the fact that it’s after its early-month reversal and right above its rising medium-term support line that was not successfully broken. Since the USD Index remains above its rising medium-term support line, the trend remains up. Therefore, higher – not lower – USD Index values are to be expected. All in all, it seems that gold, silver, and mining stocks are going to decline in the coming weeks (quite possibly days) and that we won’t have to wait too long for the next big decline to start. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Next Rate Increases In UK? Economy With A Small Up In Q4

Next Rate Increases In UK? Economy With A Small Up In Q4

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 11.02.2022 09:48
The UK economy added 1% in the fourth quarter last year and is 6.5% higher than a year ago. The annual growth rate is declining as the low base effect fades away. In December, industrial production added 0.3% and moved into growth territory compared to the same month a year earlier. These are signs that the Bank of England's interest rate hike cycle has met the UK economy in pretty good shape. The British pound has been gaining support in the last two days on the declines in the area of 1.35 GBPUSD despite the impressive upward thrust of the dollar. This dynamic is explained by the fact that the Bank of England has as much potential to tighten policy. Locally the pound looks like a decent competitor to the dollar. The markets are pricing in that the Bank of England may raise the rate by 50 points at one of the following meetings, keeping the policy tightening gap with the Fed. And this is good news for the pound, which could also help reduce inflationary pressures.
We Will Probably Review All Of Inflation Indicators Around The World This Weekend

We Will Probably Review All Of Inflation Indicators Around The World This Weekend

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 11.02.2022 13:43
February 11, 2022  $USD, Canada, Currency Movement, ECB, Federal Reserve, Inflation, Mexico, RBA, UK Overview: The higher-than-expected US CPI coupled with strong comments from the Federal Reserve's leading hawk saw a surge in interest rates, knocking stocks and lifting the dollar.  Japanese markets were closed today for a national holiday, but nearly all the other equity markets in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell to pare this week's gains.   Europe's Stoxx 600's 0.8% loss is shaving this week's gain to about 1.35%. US futures are modestly lower.  Australian and New Zealand benchmark yields rose 10 bp and 8 bp respectively to play catch-up.  The ECB's Lagarde and Lane argued against "hasty" action, helping to take some pressure off European bonds.  However, the widening of the core-periphery spreads warns that it may be temporary.  The US 10-year yield is a little softer, hovering around 2%. The two-year soared by 21 bp and is firm today slightly below 1.60%.  The US dollar is trading higher against most currencies.  The Australian dollar is the weakest of the majors, off about 0.5%, as the central bank governor continues to push against market expectations for the beginning of the tightening cycle.  On the week, however, the Aussie, along with the New Zealand and Canadian dollars are holding on to modest gains. The South African rand and Mexican peso are resisting the pressure that is weighing on emerging market currencies.  This week five of the eight strongest emerging market currencies are in Latam. JP Morgan's Emerging Market Currency Index is posting a gain of around 0.8% this week, its fifth gain in the past eight weeks.  As widely expected, the central bank of Russia delivered a 100 bp hike (bringing the key rate to 9.5%).  Gold is recovering from a test on $1820 and is up about 1% on the week.  Crude oil is firm for a third session, but not enough to prevent March WTI from posting its first weekly loss in nearly two months.  US natural gas prices are flat a little below $4 and is holding on to its biggest weekly losses since mid-December.  European natgas is consolidating the week's 10.6% decline after falling nearly 12% the previous week.  Iron ore fell 2% today and is up about 5% on the week. Copper is off around 2.5% to leave the red metal up 1.3% for the week after a 4.1% rise last week.    Asia Pacific Governor Lowe of the Reserve Bank of Australia continues to resist market pressure that sees an early start to the tightening cycle.  He argued that it is too early to conclude that inflation is sustainably in the 2%-3% target.  Without formally accepting the average inflation target like the Federal Reserve did, Lowe argued that after a sustained undershoot, he is willing to tolerate the near-term overshoot.  The risk, he says, of hiking too early would deal a blow to the labor market.  On February 17, Australia reports January employment figures and economists look for a flattish report. Next week, Japan reports Q4 GDP and the January CPI figures.  The world's third-largest economy likely bounced back strongly after the Q3 Covid-induced contraction.  However, new quasi-emergency measures that went into effect last month risks another contraction in Q1.  The GDP deflator is expected to have fallen by about 1.3%, the third consecutive quarter of a more than 1% deflation.  Similarly, the CPI report should show less price pressures, and more deflation when fresh food and energy prices are excluded.  China reports January CPI and PPI.  Both are expected to have softened.   Yesterday, the dollar tested last month's multiyear high against the Japanese yen near JPY116.35.  It backed off to find support near JPY115.75, where a $750 option expires today.  The greenback met resistance in Asia, where Tokyo markets were closed, around JPY116.20.   The Australian dollar reversed lower after approaching $0.7250 yesterday and the retreat has continued today.  The Aussie tested $0.7100 today, and support below there is seen around $0.7075. The greenback continues to trade quietly against the Chinese yuan.  It is a little firmer but below CNY6.36 after reaching CNY6.3660 earlier.  It is virtually flat on the week.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.3681, slightly above the market projection (Bloomberg survey) for CNY6.3674.  Europe ECB President Lagarde and Chief Economist Lane pushed back against calls for more imminent action to combat price pressures.  Some press reports have been playing up the "loss of confidence" in the ECB's forecasts.  Leave aside that the EC's updated forecasts also see inflation falling back below 2%.  The issue is who takes their case to the press?  Those that are coming on top of the internal debate have no need.  The hawks that go to the media lap it up as if it were gospel instead of part of the internecine struggle.  That said, Lagarde and Lane have not been particularly persuasive and the swaps market now prices in about 65 bp in tightening over the next 12 months.  The UK economy grew by 1.0% quarter-over-quarter in Q4, the same as Q3 after the revision (from 1.1%).  Consumption slowed from 2.9% in Q3 to 1.2% in Q4.  Government spending, which was flat in Q3, increased by 1.9% in Q4.  Fixed capital formation rose by 2.2%, well above expectations after falling by a revised 0.2% (from -0.9%) in Q3.  The UK also reported that the expected contraction in December was less than feared, hobbled by the Omicron variant.  Output fell by 0.2% not the 0.5% of the median forecast in the Bloomberg survey, helped by stronger than expected industrial production, construction, and a smaller than expected decline in services.  A week ago, the market had about a 45% chance of a 50 bp hike in March and now it is about 80%. The euro stopped 5/100 of a cent below the $1.15 level yesterday, where about 3.25 bln euros in options expire today.  The single currency made a new low for the week near $1.1370. Nearby support is seen closer to $1.1350, and a break could spur a test on the $1.13 area early next week.   The US 2-year premium is widening for the sixth consecutive session, and at 190 bp, it is the most since February 2020.  At the end of 2019, it was near 225 bp.  Sterling made a new high for the month yesterday near $1.3645 before surrendering the gains in the face of the broader greenback recovery.  It found support today near the lower end of its recent range around $1.35.  Nearby resistance is seen in front of $1.3580.  Sterling settled at $1.3530 last week.   America The higher-than-expected US CPI panicked market participants and drove the 2-year yield up a whopping 21 bp and the implied yield of December up 26.5 bp.  One inflation report that was 0.2% above the median in the Bloomberg poll is worth another 25 bp rate hike this year?  The Fed's leading hawk, St. Louis Fed's Bullard talked about a 100 bp increase in rates here in H1, which implies a 50 bp move.  However, it seemed like professional courtesy more than conviction deterred him from calling for a 50 bp at next month's meeting.  Two other Fed officials that spoke, Barkin and Daly, seemed more measured in their remarks.  That said, there is a perception that if the market has 50 bp priced in (~86%), it makes it more likely in and of itself for the Fed to deliver it.  It offers the Fed a free option, as it were.  Yet, it makes it more difficult for the Fed to get ahead of expectations.  At the same time, it may reinforce perceptions that the Fed is often a slave to the markets.  The vaccine-mandate protest continues to roil Canada.  The disruption is estimated to be costing Canada around CAD350 mln a day.  There is some fear that a similar protest may be coming to Washington DC in time for President Biden's State of the Union speech on March 1, even though the judiciary has circumscribed the vaccine mandate on the federal level.  However, the vaccine mandate may spur demonstrations in France as early as this weekend.   The new governor of Banxico led the central bank in delivering the second 50 bp hike in a row.  It was widely expected, especially after the firm CPI reading above 7%.  The swaps market has another 100 bp discounted over the next three months and 260 bp over the next 12 months.  The next meeting is March 24th.  Peru also delivered a 50 bp hike yesterday.  It has raised its target rate by 50 bp for six consecutive meetings now and it stands at 3.5%.  Lima's CPI rose by almost 5.7% last month after 6.4% in December.   The US dollar recorded an outside up day against the Canadian dollar by trading on both sides of Wednesday's range and closing above Wednesday’s high.  The greenback briefly took out the shelf in the CAD1.2650-CAD1.2660 area where about $4.9 bln in options expire today, before rallying to about CAD1.2730.  Follow-through buying lifted the US dollar to almost CAD1.2755 earlier today.  The CAD1.28 area has held back the greenback a couple of times in the past few weeks.  The risk off move yesterday saw the US dollar bounce from the 200-day moving average against the Mexican peso (~MXN20.35) to almost MXN20.59.  Some follow-through buying lifted it to around MXN20.64 today before backing off and it looks set to fall back below MXN20.50 today.  Initial support is seen around MXN20.44.     Disclaimer
XAGUSD And US100 Slides Down, USDJPY Near 116.00

XAGUSD And US100 Slides Down, USDJPY Near 116.00

John Benjamin John Benjamin 11.02.2022 10:06
USDJPY to test major resistance The US dollar surged after consumer prices hit a 40-year high. Higher lows and then a close above the recent peak at 115.65 is an indication of strong bullish pressure. This breakout has propelled the greenback to January’s high at 116.35. Its breach could trigger a runaway rally and resume the uptrend in the medium term. An overbought RSI on the hourly chart may briefly restrain the bullish fever. 115.30 is the closest support and the bulls may see a pullback as an opportunity to stake in. XAGUSD seeks support Bullions fell back after US Treasury yields soared over hot US inflation data. The psychological level of 22.00 has proven to be a solid demand area. A break above 23.00 has forced sellers to cover, paving the way for an upward extension. 24.00 from a previous rectangle consolidation is the next resistance. A bullish breakout would bring silver back to this year’s high at 24.70. On the downside, the resistance-turned-support at 22.80 could see buying interest in case of a retracement. US 100 hits resistance The Nasdaq 100 struggles as record-high US inflation exacerbates rate hike concerns. The previous rebound has eased selling pressure but hit resistance under 15350. The subsequent pullback bounced off the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (14400), which suggests buyers’ strong interest in keeping the index afloat. Sentiment is still a tad cautious unless the bulls clear the said hurdle. Then the psychological level of 16000 could be within reach. 14500 is a key support in case of an extended consolidation.
Fed And BoE Ahead Of Interest Rates Decisions. Having A Look At Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Charts

Many Would Want To Know The Near Future Of S&P 500

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.02.2022 15:57
S&P 500 upswing was rejected – the intraday comeback didn‘t succeed. Risk-off posture won the day, and the dust is settling. Day 4-5 of the rally‘s window of opportunity that I talked on Monday, is proving as a milestone. Hot CPI data has increased the bets on Mar 50bp rate hike to a virtual certainty, and asset prices didn‘t like that. Not just stocks across the board, but commodities likewise (to a modest degree only) gave up intraday gains, turning a little red. Cryptos too ended down – it had been a good decision to cash in solid open long profits in S&P 500, oil and copper. Fresh portfolio highs reached over this 12+ months period (details on my homepage): What‘s the game plan for today? As the dollar closed flat while yields rose, I‘m not ruling out a reflexive intraday rebound attempt – after all, the bears should rule in the 2nd half of Feb most clearly. As time passes, the rips would be sold into unless bonds and tech can catch a solid bid. With focus on inflation, that‘s unlikely. Medium-term S&P 500 bias continues being short while commodity dips are to be cautiously bought. Crude oil looks to need to spend a bit more time around $90 while copper defending the low $4.50 is equally important. While silver didn‘t rise by nearly as much as the red metal did, it is down approximately as much in today‘s premarket – the white metal would recover on a less headline heavy day. Remember that PMs are trading sideways to up, with decreasing sensitivity to rising 10-year yield, and have done historically well when rate hikes finally start. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 momentum has sharply shifted to the downside, and today‘s recovery attempts are likely to be sold into. I‘m keeping a keen eye on bonds, tech and risk-on in general – not expecting miracles. Credit Markets HYG keeps showing the way, resolutely down as of yesterday. With rising yields not propelling even financials, the bears have returned a few days earlier than they could – in a show of strength. Gold, Silver and Miners Miners issued a warning to gold and silver – yesterday brought a classic short-term top sign. I‘m though not ascribing great significance to it, for it isnt‘a turning point. Gold would be relatively unmoved while silver recovers however deep setback it suffers today. Crude Oil Crude oil appears to need more time to base – while the upside is being rejected for now, the selling attempts aren‘t materializing at all. Higher volume adds to short-term indecision, but strong (long) hands are to win. Copper Copper is running into selling pressure, and looks in need of consolidation in order to overcome $4.60. The red metal remains true to its reputation for volatility. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are taking their time, and the bulls need to act. Given that volume isn‘t disappearing, the bears have a short-term advantage. Summary S&P 500 looks to be getting under pressure soon again, today. There is no support from bonds, unless these stage an intraday risk-on reversal. The momentum is with the sellers, and rips are likely to be sold as markets digest yet more hawkish Fed action slated for March. Digest and slated are the key words – the Fed‘s hand is being forced here. Commodities and precious metals are likely to do best in what‘s coming – the 5-10 day window of bullish S&P 500 price action, is slowly closing down. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Mining Stocks Don't Stay As Strong As Gold

Mining Stocks Don't Stay As Strong As Gold

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 11.02.2022 15:41
  In line with bearish bets, miners have thrown a match. Gold, however, doesn’t want to leave the ring without a fight. How long will it stay high? While gold remains relatively firm despite stock market turbulence, rising real yields, and bearish technical indicators, even a confluence of headwinds hasn’t been able to knock the yellow metal off its lofty perch. However, mining stocks haven’t been so lucky. With my short position in the GDXJ ETF offering a great risk-reward proposition, the junior gold miners’ underperformance has played out exactly as I expected. Moreover, with major spikes in volume preceding predictable sell-offs (follow the vertical dashed lines below), I’ve warned on several occasions that the GDX ETF is prone to tipping its hand – we saw this volume spike in January, which was the 2022 top (as of today). In addition, with mining investors’ power drying up by the day, the medium-term looks equally unkind. Please see below: On Wednesday, gold miners fell. Even though they declined by just $0.06, it was profound. The miners were following gold higher during the early part of Wednesday’s (Feb. 9) session, but they lost strength close to the middle thereof and were back down before the closing bell. If the gold price reversed and then declined during the day, that would have been normal. However, gold stayed up. This tells us that the buying power has either dried up or is drying up. When everyone who wanted to get into the market is already in it, the price can do only one thing (regardless of bullish factors) – fall. Those who are already in can then sell. Monitoring the markets for this kind of cross-sector performance is one of the more important gold trading tips. Look, I’m not saying that declines now are “guaranteed”. There are no guarantees in the markets. There might be buyers that haven’t considered mining stocks that would now enter the market, but history tells us that this is unlikely. Instead, declines are very likely to follow. Yesterday’s big daily decline confirmed my above comments. Gold miners declined much more than gold did, and they did so at above-average volume. The latter indicates that “down” is the true direction in which the precious metals market is heading. To that point, the HUI Index provides clues from a longer-term perspective. When we analyze the weekly chart, it highlights investors’ anxiety. For example, after hitting an intraweek high of roughly 260, the HUI Index ended the Feb. 10 session at roughly 250 – just 3.99 up from last Friday – that’s an intraweek reversal. Furthermore, with the index still in a medium-term downtrend, shades of 2013 still profoundly bearish, and sharp declines often preceded by broad head and shoulders patterns (marked with green), there are several negatives confronting the HUI Index. As such, a sharp drawdown will likely materialize sooner rather than later. Please see below: Finally, the GDXJ ETF is the gift that keeps on giving. For example, with lower highs and lower lows being part of the junior miners’ roughly one-and-a-half-year journey, false breakouts have confused many investors. However, while I’ve been warning about the weakness for some time, more downside is likely on the horizon. To explain, I wrote on Feb. 10: I emphasized before that juniors hadn’t moved above their 50-day moving average, and that they stayed below their rising blue resistance line. Consequently – I wrote – the downtrend in them remained clearly intact. Yesterday’s reversal served as a perfect confirmation of the above. The previous breakdowns were verified in one of the most classic ways. The silver price has been quite strong recently, which is also something that we see close to the local tops. The reversals in mining stocks, the situation in gold, outperformance of silver, AND the situation in the USD Index (the medium-term support held) together paint a very bearish picture for the precious metals market in the short and medium term. All in all, if the weakness continues, I expect the GDXJ ETF to challenge the $32 to $34 range. However, please note that this is my expectation for a short-term bottom. While the GDXJ ETF may record a corrective upswing at this level, the downtrend should continue thereafter, and the junior miners should fall further over the medium term. In conclusion, gold showcased its steady hand throughout the recent volatility. However, mining stocks have cracked under the pressure. With the latter’s underperformance often a bearish omen for the former, the yellow metal’s mettle may be tested over the medium term. As such, while the long-term outlooks for gold, silver, and mining stocks remain profoundly bullish, a final climax will likely unfold before their secular uptrends continue. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
COT Currency Speculator’s bullish bets for Brazilian Real jump by most on record - 12.02.2022

COT Currency Speculator’s bullish bets for Brazilian Real jump by most on record - 12.02.2022

Invest Macro Invest Macro 12.02.2022 18:28
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday February 8th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the strong gains in bullish bets for the Brazilian Real currency futures contracts. Real speculators boosted their bullish bets this week by the largest one-week amount (+33,599 contracts) on record, according the CFTC data going back to 1995. This surge in bullish sentiment pushed the overall net speculator standing for Brazilian Reals into bullish territory for the first time in nineteen weeks, dating back to September 28th. There has been a surge of trading going on in this market over the past couple of weeks with open interest increasing dramatically. Open interest (OI) for the Brazilian currency jumped on February 2nd to a total of 76,175 contracts which marked the highest OI level of the previous 381 weeks, dating all the way back to September of 2014. The previous ten weeks had seen an average open interest of less than half (ten week average of 33,492 contracts) of the February 2nd total. This week’s open interest fell a bit to 64,283 contracts but still was the second highest open interest of the past thirty-six weeks and with all this activity going on, this is a currency to watch. Joining the Brazil real (33,599 contracts) with positive changes this week were the Euro (9,126 contracts), Japanese yen (1,492 contracts), British pound sterling (15,060 contracts), New Zealand dollar (1,332 contracts), Mexican peso (514 contracts) and the Russian ruble (1,292 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-806 contracts), Australian dollar (-5,912 contracts), Canadian dollar (-3,378 contracts), Swiss franc (-1,160 contracts) and the Bitcoin futures (-460 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Feb-08-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 53,603 75 33,765 84 -40,826 7 7,061 94 EUR 700,098 83 38,842 47 -73,252 55 34,410 31 GBP 197,948 37 -8,545 68 9,323 35 -778 54 JPY 196,478 53 -59,148 31 75,957 74 -16,809 13 CHF 41,481 16 -9,399 54 16,918 50 -7,519 41 CAD 145,208 27 14,886 62 -16,958 45 2,072 34 AUD 196,403 80 -85,741 5 98,357 92 -12,616 22 NZD 54,877 53 -10,366 54 12,733 50 -2,367 25 MXN 134,257 19 1,244 28 -4,073 71 2,829 55 RUB 39,233 35 15,443 50 -16,839 47 1,396 72 BRL 64,283 81 20,246 96 -22,432 4 2,186 92 Bitcoin 9,886 50 -319 90 -189 0 508 24   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week was a net position of 33,765 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -806 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 34,571 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.8 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 75.3 5.9 16.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 12.3 82.0 3.3 – Net Position: 33,765 -40,826 7,061 – Gross Longs: 40,370 3,150 8,841 – Gross Shorts: 6,605 43,976 1,780 – Long to Short Ratio: 6.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 5.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 84.0 6.8 93.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.2 2.7 15.2   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week was a net position of 38,842 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 9,126 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 29,716 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 31.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.3 54.6 12.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.7 65.1 7.6 – Net Position: 38,842 -73,252 34,410 – Gross Longs: 218,973 382,426 87,725 – Gross Shorts: 180,131 455,678 53,315 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.9 55.0 31.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 14.0 -15.5 15.3   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week was a net position of -8,545 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 15,060 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -23,605 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 67.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 35.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 54.0 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.6 60.7 13.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.9 56.0 14.0 – Net Position: -8,545 9,323 -778 – Gross Longs: 44,709 120,220 26,951 – Gross Shorts: 53,254 110,897 27,729 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 67.8 35.2 54.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 30.4 -30.0 17.8   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week was a net position of -59,148 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 1,492 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -60,640 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 73.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.5 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.0 81.2 9.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.1 42.6 17.5 – Net Position: -59,148 75,957 -16,809 – Gross Longs: 15,692 159,601 17,609 – Gross Shorts: 74,840 83,644 34,418 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.7 73.9 13.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.8 1.8 5.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week was a net position of -9,399 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,160 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,239 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 49.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.2 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 3.0 72.8 23.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.6 32.1 41.8 – Net Position: -9,399 16,918 -7,519 – Gross Longs: 1,234 30,215 9,838 – Gross Shorts: 10,633 13,297 17,357 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.5 49.9 41.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.3 1.9 -8.8   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of 14,886 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -3,378 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 18,264 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 62.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 45.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 33.9 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 37.7 40.2 18.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.5 51.9 17.5 – Net Position: 14,886 -16,958 2,072 – Gross Longs: 54,762 58,404 27,480 – Gross Shorts: 39,876 75,362 25,408 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 62.1 45.4 33.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 24.4 -16.7 -2.2   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -85,741 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -5,912 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -79,829 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.7 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.8 79.0 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.5 28.9 16.3 – Net Position: -85,741 98,357 -12,616 – Gross Longs: 17,323 155,203 19,485 – Gross Shorts: 103,064 56,846 32,101 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.7 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 5.3 92.3 21.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.7 -0.8 12.5   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -10,366 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 1,332 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -11,698 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 50.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.7 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.3 61.2 5.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.2 38.0 10.0 – Net Position: -10,366 12,733 -2,367 – Gross Longs: 17,168 33,591 3,097 – Gross Shorts: 27,534 20,858 5,464 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.9 50.0 24.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.3 4.1 -7.9   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week was a net position of 1,244 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 514 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 730 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 55.0 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 33.6 61.3 4.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.7 64.3 2.4 – Net Position: 1,244 -4,073 2,829 – Gross Longs: 45,097 82,287 6,067 – Gross Shorts: 43,853 86,360 3,238 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.9 71.1 55.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 4.4 -5.2 9.1   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week was a net position of 20,246 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 33,599 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -13,353 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 95.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.7 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 76.5 17.6 5.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.0 52.5 2.3 – Net Position: 20,246 -22,432 2,186 – Gross Longs: 49,170 11,336 3,666 – Gross Shorts: 28,924 33,768 1,480 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.7 to 1 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 95.7 3.5 91.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 34.2 -37.2 28.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week was a net position of 15,443 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 1,292 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,151 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 49.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 72.5 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 50.1 43.4 6.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 10.7 86.3 3.0 – Net Position: 15,443 -16,839 1,396 – Gross Longs: 19,657 17,021 2,555 – Gross Shorts: 4,214 33,860 1,159 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.7 to 1 0.5 to 1 2.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 49.9 46.9 72.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.5 -15.9 -0.7   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week was a net position of -319 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -460 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 141 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 89.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 24.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.5 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 78.4 3.8 14.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 81.6 5.7 9.8 – Net Position: -319 -189 508 – Gross Longs: 7,751 376 1,474 – Gross Shorts: 8,070 565 966 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 89.9 24.8 24.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 4.9 2.9 -5.9   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Price Of Gold Update By GoldViewFX

Price Of Gold Hitting $2.000? Metal Seems To Feel Good

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 14.02.2022 07:34
Given last week’s strong price action and gold’s intraday resilience, it is now very likely that gold indeed is breaking out of the multi-month consolidation triangle. Actually, this large and symmetrical triangle had been building for more than a year, at least. However, the correction in gold began on August 7th, 2020. Now it looks like the breakout is in process. Typically, traders tend to aggressively buy into such a breakout. And given Friday’s sharp spike higher, it actually looks exactly like this. Hence, expect more volatility and a sharp move higher as the direction of gold’s next move has become more obvious. Please note, that it is rather challenging to draw and determine the correct triangle, because gold has been in a tricky sideways market for such a long time and many trend-lines have been invalidated during this messy period. But at the latest, a weekly close above US$1,875 should confirm the breakout. This should unleash enough energy to push gold prices quickly towards US$1,900 and even US$1,950 within a few weeks. Obviously, that would fit very well with gold’s seasonal cycle, which is bullish until the end of February at least, but often saw gold rallying into mid of march, too. Consumer sentiment at 10-year low but Fed wants to hike and taper From a fundamental perspective, it leaves us speechless how the Fed can go on a hiking rampage while consumer sentiment is at a 10-year low. While the confidence in governments worldwide is collapsing and inflation is spiking higher, raising rates will have zero impact upon supply shortages. Instead, it will make these shortages only worse and bankrupt more companies in the supply chain. Also, it will bankrupt emerging markets, as the strong dollar has already been putting so much pressure on dollar indebted nations and creditors. It’s all a big mess, and we believe there is no way out. That’s why the warmongering industrial and military complex of the US is desperately trying to push Russia into an attack on Ukraine! Without showing any proof, the Biden administration and their mouthpiece “the mainstream media” have been pushing people’s focus on fears that Russia will soon invade Ukraine. Another noteworthy fundamental observation: Gold’s correction began in earnest when Pfizer & Biontech announced their vaccine on November 9th, 2020. In a first reaction, gold immediately sold off $150 on that same day. Many more similar large red daily candles followed over the last 16 months, destroying the confidence of the gold bugs and shifting millions of dollars to the short sellers. Now that more and more very serious questions about the vaccines are debated in the news, it would make sense for gold to run back to US$1,950. This was the level where gold was trading back on November 9th, 2020. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 13th, 2022. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 13th, 2022. On the weekly chart, gold has been slowly but surely progressing into the apex of the triangle over the last few months. It now looks like Gold is breaking out with vengeance. Theoretically, the resistance zone between US$1,850 and US$1,875 could still stop the bullish train. The weekly Bollinger Bands (US$1,864) sits right in this zone and should at least challenge the bulls for some days. However, the weekly stochastic has just given a new buy signal. On top, the oscillator has been making higher lows since March 2021. A measured move out of this triangle could take gold to around US$1,950 to US$1.975 until spring. The monthly Bollinger Band ($1,975) could become the logical target! Overall, the weekly chart is becoming more and more bullish, suggesting that gold can at least move around US$80 to US$100 higher. Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 13th, 2022. Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 13th, 2022. On the daily chart, gold has been struggling with the upper triangle resistance in November and January. Each time, the bears managed to push back. Now it looks like the bulls are finally successful. The fierce and sharp pullback two and half weeks ago had created a nice oversold setup which became the launching pad for the ongoing attack. Since then, the slow stochastic has been nicely turning around. This buy signal is still active and has not yet reached the overbought zone. Thanks to Friday’s big green candle, the bulls are now bending the upper Bollinger Band (US$1,858) to the upside. To conclude, the daily chart is bullish, and gold should have more upside. If the bulls continue their attack, we could see prices directly exploding for four to seven days. More likely would be a consolidation. Only with prices below US$1,835 the breakout would have failed. In that rather unlikely case, the picture could quickly turn ugly again. Conclusion: Gold is breaking out! In mid of December, gold made an important low around US$1,752. Back then, most gold bugs had enough and did throw in the towel after a very difficult and messy 16-month correction. Gold, silver and the mining stock had become the most hated asset. But actually, all that gold might have been doing was building an epic base and a launch pad to start the next leg higher within its bull market. Overall, we expect that Gold is breaking out after a short consolidation! The successful breakout above resistance between US$1,850 and US$1,875 should happen within the next few days or weeks. This should then lead to higher prices and gold will likely run towards US$1,950, at least. However, we are not sure yet whether this will also bring an attack towards the round number resistance at US$2,000. Given the fact, that gold usually starts to struggle somewhere in spring, the ongoing rally could still be just a counter-trend move within the larger ongoing consolidation/correction. Hence, we are short-term very bullish, mid-term neutral and long-term very bullish for gold. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: Midas Touch Consulting and members of our team are invested in Reyna Gold Corp. These statements are intended to disclose any conflict of interest. They should not be misconstrued as a recommendation to purchase any share. This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Florian Grummes|February 13th, 2022|Tags: Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold chartbook, gold fundamentals, precious metals, Reyna Gold, US-Dollar About the Author: Florian Grummes Florian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running his own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.
US 30 Is On A Slightly Low Level, Which Way Will GBPJPY Choose?

US 30 Is On A Slightly Low Level, Which Way Will GBPJPY Choose?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 14.02.2022 08:48
USDCHF to test resistance The US dollar rises as traders seek safe haven amid tensions in Ukraine. The pair is grinding up along a rising trendline from support at 0.9180. A series of higher lows suggests strong buying interest. A break above the intermediate resistance at 0.9275 may boost buyers’ confidence further. 0.9310 is the next hurdle and its breach would bring the greenback to the double top (0.9370) on the daily chart. On the downside, the trendline is the closest support, and then 0.9180 is a critical level to keep the short-term rally intact. GBPJPY tests demand zone The pound may find support from Britain’s upbeat GDP in Q4. A break above January’s high at 157.70 suggests that the bulls have reclaimed control of price action. The next challenging task is to push above last October’s peak at 158.20. This would resume the uptrend in the medium term. In the meantime, a combination of profit-taking and fresh selling is driving the price towards 155.20. Sentiment would remain steady as long as the sterling met bidders in this demand area. US 30 seeks support The Dow Jones 30 struggled as white-hot US inflation fanned fears of aggressive rate hikes. Nonetheless, a break above the 30-day moving average on the daily chart indicates improved market sentiment. An overbought RSI prompted momentum traders to exit. A fall below 34820 would suggest lingering hesitation among market participants and shake out weak hands. The bulls may see a pullback towards 34500 as a buying opportunity. The rebound may only resume if the price lifts offers around 35400.
The Swing Overview - Week 6 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 6 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 13.02.2022 23:00
The Swing Overview - Week 6 The record inflation rate in the US over the past 40 years sparked another wave of volatility in the markets on fears of more aggressive Fed action against an overheated economy. Unexpectedly strong US labour market data also came as a shock to markets. As a consequence, yields in the US 10-year bonds rose and broke the 2% mark. Equity indices, on the other hand, weakened towards the end of the week and we will see whether strong supports will be tested again under the influence of these fundamentals. Rising bond yields are not good news for gold either, which has so far responded to the strengthening dollar and rising yields by weakening. The macroeconomic data from the US Inflation and labour market data were clearly among the most anticipated macroeconomic events last week. Year-on-year inflation in the US rose to 7.5% in January 2022. This is the highest reading since February 1982 and is also higher than analysts' estimates, that had expected inflation to be around 7.3%. The reasons for the higher inflation are rising energy costs, a tight labor market and disruptions in supply chains, which are multiplied by strong demand in a recovering economy. The biggest contributors to rising inflation were energy prices, which rose by 27%, and fuel prices, which rose by 40%. Figure 1: The inflation in the US In terms of the labour market, the US economy created 467,000 new jobs in January. This was much more than the analysts' forecast, who estimated that, given the spread of the Omicron variant, only 150 thousand new jobs would be created in the US in January. Figure 2: The US jobs growth (NFP) This very strong data means one thing. The Fed will tighten the economy and probably at a much faster pace than the market expects. And this is also the reason for the further rise in the US 10-year bond yields, which have surpassed the 2% mark and reached their highest level since August 2019. Along with this, the dollar index, which had made a correction last week, has also started to strengthen.   Figure 3: 10-year government bond yield on the 4H chart and the USD index on the daily chart A strong dollar, rising yields and the economy tightening at a faster pace than the market expects are clearly negative news for equity indices and also gold.   The NASDAQ and the SP500 Earnings season continues in the US. Of the well-known companies, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) reported results last week. While the company's earnings were higher than expectations, the pharmaceutical giant also reported that it expects revenue for 2022 to be USD 32 billion, below analysts' expectations, who were hoping for growth of around USD 33.8 billion.  Facebook continues to lose ground after last week's washout, causing the share price to drop from USD 320 to USD 220 in one week.   Figure 4: The NASDAQ index on H4 and D1 chart The NASDAQ started last week with a rise and the price approached the resistance according to the H4 chart. The information about record inflation had a strong negative impact on technology stocks and the price was moving near the support at the end of the week, which is in the range near 14,392 - 14,530 according to the H4 chart. Significant support is in the area at 13,750-13,950 according to the daily chart. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 15,050 - 15,080.   Figure 5: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   There has been a very similar pattern on the SP 500 index to the NASDAQ. The price got to the resistance which is defined by the horizontal resistance area at 4,580 - 4,600. At the same time, there is a confluence with the broken trend line of the rising channel below which the index is moving. Support according to the H4 chart is at 4440 - 4454. According to the daily chart, significant support is at 4,225 - 4,300.   German DAX index Figure 6: The DAX on H4 and daily chart There is no clear direction on this index recently. We can probably say that the index is moving in a sideways trend which according to the daily chart is defined by the strong resistance at 16,300 (all-time high) and the support which has already been tested several times in the area between 14,850 - 15,000. The current move shows that the rising channel has been broken to the downside and also that the moving averages on the H4 chart EMA 50 and SMA 100 are in a bearish constellation. This together with the higher inflation data and also the recently announced hawkish ECB policy would suggest more of a move down to the aforementioned support. The nearest horizontal resistance according to the H4 chart is at 15,532 - 15,620. The next resistance according to the H4 chart is at 15,727 - 15,757.   The EUR/USD near strong resistance The EURUSD approached the strong 1.15 level but after the US inflation data was announced, the pair started to fall strongly. Thus, according to the H4 chart, a false break of the resistance arose, which is in the band around 1.1480 which tends to be a strong signal for further weakening. Figure 7: EURUSD on H4 and daily chart The possibility of a weakening is also indicated by the development of the interest rate differential that is present in the yields between the 10-year bonds of Germany and the US. This has recently been very strongly correlated with developments on the EURUSD. Figure 8: Correlation of the interest rate differential between German and US 10-year bonds with the EURUSD currency pair on H4   The interest rate differential is starting to decline and this should suggest that the EURUSD might weaken. The nearest resistance is at the 1.1460 - 1.1480 band. The nearest support according to the H4 chart is at 1.1360 - 1.1370. The next one is at 1.1270 - 1.1280.   Gold Gold is taken by many investors as a hedge against inflation. But lately, gold seems to be losing in the battle for inflation protection to US Treasuries, which carry some yield, while gold does not deliver any yield. Gold is most responsive to the value of the US dollar. If the dollar rises, gold tends to depreciate and vice versa. Recent developments in the USD index suggest that the dollar could strengthen again this week, which should mean a test of support for gold. Figure 9: Gold on H4 and D1 charts   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the area of 1,835 - 1,841. Then the next resistance according to the daily chart is at 1,847 - 1,852. The nearest support is at 1 788 - 1 795 and then 1 780 - 1 784 USD per troy ounce of gold.  
In The Beginning Of This Week, The Eastern Tensions Is The #1 Topic

In The Beginning Of This Week, The Eastern Tensions Is The #1 Topic

Walid Koudmani Walid Koudmani 14.02.2022 14:09
The news from US intelligence that the Russian aggression on Ukraine was a done deal spooked markets on Friday. While Russia denied it, the situation doesn't seem to be getting any better. How will markets react to further developments? Prepare for various options Markets are reacting and investors should prepare for potentially turbulent times. This is why we present 3 potential scenarios of the Ukrainian conflict and highlight key markets that may be affected. Watch these markets: Stocks – Russian banks, RTS and… Nasdaq VTB and Sberbank – the names of these institutions are nearly synonymous with sanctions on Russia. Little wonder these stocks are among top choices on the equity side. Investors may also focus on the diversified RTS Index where Sberbank has 14% share – the index has plenty of energy stocks as well and is down 30% from late 2021 highs. A less obvious choice is Nasdaq (US100). Why would US tech stocks react to the conflict in Europe? Well, since this market has its own share of problems (mainly Fed tightening), other bad news could impact investor sentiment even further. Commodities – Oil, Gold, Platinum, Palladium and Wheat Russia is the second largest exporter of Oil and the commodity is also a substitute for natural gas which has already been in tight supply in Europe. Gold has traditionally been a "top pick”for times of geopolitical uncertainty but we'd like to turn your attention to Palladium and Platinum – these are also precious metals but Russia is way more important here being the number 1 and 2 exporter respectively. Finally, both Russia and Ukraine are important producers of Wheat. FX – focus on USDRUB FX is fairly obvious – any conflict is detrimental for the Russian ruble even despite high oil prices and significant interest rate increases in Russia. On the other hand, USD attracts liquidity in times of distress so USDRUB could be the choice for investors here. 3 scenarios – invasion, tension and compromise The worst case scenario is the one of invasion – the one already hinted at by the US intelligence. Invasion means sanctions but actually the lack of sanctions is the key to reactions here (as the largest guns – like cutting off Russia from SWIFT – are supposedly off the table). Markets know that if Russia invades, forcing it to withdraw will be costly and that will feed uncertainty and fear. Critically negative for Russian stocks, negative for global stocks, positive for oil and precious metals and USDRUB. The most likely scenario could be the one of prolonged tension – Moscow can pose threats for as long as it achieves certain results (there’s a talk of autonomy or even referendums in Eastern parts of Ukraine). While politically complicated, this scenario can actually be a relief for the markets. For as long as invasion risk declines, this scenario is positive for stocks while being negative for oil, precious metals and USDRUB. Finally a scenario most would prefer – there's a sound compromise and Russian troops are ordered away from the Ukrainian border. This would be extremely positive for stocks (especially Russian banks and the Russian index) while negative for oil, precious metals and USDRUB. Unfortunately, this scenario also seems to be the least likely. XTB Research
Dogecoin price prediction: DOGE to first tank 7%, before rallying 40%

Dogecoin price prediction: DOGE to first tank 7%, before rallying 40%

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.02.2022 15:59
Dogecoin price action is under pressure as global markets are nervous about a possible escalation between Ukraine and Russia. DOGE looks set to break the low from the previous week and dip towards $0.1357 Expect once DOGE price reaches that level to see a rally into the weekend that could hold 40% gains. Dogecoin (DOGE) is set for a solid rally but first needs to face the most vital forces with global markets pressing on all assets with a mood of risk-off, as today and tomorrow could be the tipping point in the escalation towards a war between Russia and Ukraine. As tailwinds are just too big a force to face, DOGE will dip further towards solid support at $0.1357. Once bulls enter, expect a big rally that could swing up to 40% towards $0.19. Time for the bulls to stake a step back and look at the bigger picture Dogecoin is under pressure as the overall cryptocurrency space joins global markets rattled by a crucial moment in the Russia-Ukraine development. As Russian army exercises near the Ukrainian border are set to end tomorrow, the crucial moment for a possible invasion to take place before then. This is putting markets on edge with risk-off across the board and EU equities down more than 3%. This risk sentiment is weighing on DOGE price action with the low of last week being tested, and bears using the entry-level from Sunday at $0.1594 where the 55-day Simple Moving Average and the pivotal historical level delivered a firm rejection to the upside. With that, expect this downtrend to continue today and dip towards $0.1357, which already proved its support at the end of January. Once there, expect bulls to jump on the opportunity and lead a rally that could jump as much as 40% towards $0.19 once the geopolitical rhetoric dies down and cools off. DOGE/USD daily chart Should Russia engage in war with Ukraine and invade, expect this to pull the trigger for investors to flee the markets and cause a fire sale across the board. For DOGE this would mean that it could tank another 24% on top of the 7% forecasted for today. That would bring DOGE price action down to around $0.1030, where the monthly S1 support level is situated, the red descending trendline and the $0.1000 psychological level – providing three elements that could catch the falling price action.
Technical Analysis: Moving Averages - Did You Know This Tool?

S&P 500 Chart - There's A Big Red Candle On The Right Hand Side

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.02.2022 16:24
S&P 500 opening range gave way to heavy selling as 4,470s didn‘t hold. Risk-on was overpowered, and the flight to Treasuries didn‘t support tech. And that‘s most medium-term worrying – stocks don‘t look to have found a floor, and gave up the opportunity for a tight range trading on Friday all too easily. The prospects of war were that formidable opponent, against which the S&P 500 didn‘t really stand a chance. So, the downtrend has reasserted itself, and HYG doesn‘t look to have found a floor – junk bonds are leading to the downside, with energy, materials and financials standing out, which isn‘t exactly a bullish constellation. The other key beneficiaries of the safe haven bid were gold, miners and oil. Silver lagged as copper retreated all too easily, but I‘m looking for that to change. As for Monday‘s session in stocks, the odds of a countertrend move to the upside, at least intraday, are good. Just a quick glance at the dollar, gold, oil and Bitcoin would reveal the extent of possible stabilization. Stabilization, not a reversal, because HYG is unlikely to turn up, and I‘m not looking for stocks to start moving up again. Thursday marked a high point in the countertrend rally, which was cut short after some 5 days only. Sideways to a little up is the best the bulls can hope for on Monday. Funny though how with all eyes on Eastern Europe, the inflation and steep rate hike bets receded? What a Super Bowl! Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Whatever backing and filling there could have been, the S&P 500 didn‘t hesitate, and is pointing to the downside. The bears are back, and aren‘t yielding. Credit Markets Credit markets went decidedly risk-off, and a little sideways reprieve wouldn‘t be surprising. But it would change nothing as the bets on rising rates, are on, and the 2-year Treasury is forcing the Fed‘s hand. Gold, Silver and Miners Miners and gold came alive on the tensions escalation news – the uptrend is alive and well indeed, even without these geopolitical developments. The upswing wasn‘t really sold into. Crude Oil Crude oil correction came to an abrupt close, and it‘s unlikely black gold would dip in the current environment. The upcoming corrections would be bought as much as the previous one, and given the oil stocks performance, wouldn‘t likely reach far to the downside. Copper Copper is under pressure, and not holding up as well as other commodities. Base metals though are breaking higher, which is why I‘m looking at Friday‘s red metal trading as a temporary setback only. Bitcoin and Ethereum The floor in cryptos is heralding a tight range day – it‘s good for risk-on that Friday‘s downswing isn‘t immediately continuing, it‘s buying some time. Summary S&P 500 bears are back in the driver‘s seat, and the rush to Treasuries took the spotlight off rate hikes – to a small degree. Not that the Fed would be changing course on geopolitics, we aren‘t there yet. To the contrary, credit markets are pressuring the central bank to move – as decisively as possible in the overleveraged system – and Powell would find it hard not to deliver. Come autumn latest, the strain on the real economy would be hard to ignore – real estate is feeling the pinch already. Stock bulls can‘t expect higher prices unless tech recovers, and we look to be still far from that moment. Real assets with safe haven appeal are likely to do best, and the same goes for the dollar temporarily too. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Will USDJPY Find Its Stability? XAUUSD Is Trades Higher And Higher

Will USDJPY Find Its Stability? XAUUSD Is Trades Higher And Higher

John Benjamin John Benjamin 15.02.2022 09:04
USDJPY hits double top The US dollar recovers as hot CPI fuels bets of a 50 basis points hike in March. The rally came to a halt at January’s high (116.35). Profit-taking compounded by new selling triggered a liquidation below 115.50. The medium-term trajectory remains upward and the bulls may be eager to buy the dips. 114.90 is the next support and an oversold RSI may attract bargain hunters. Further down, the daily support at 114.20 is a major demand zone in case of a deeper correction. A close above the double top could resume the uptrend. XAGUSD tests resistance Bullion rallies over investors’ flight to safety. Silver continues to climb from the daily support at 22.00. Following a brief pullback, a break above the recent high at 23.70 indicates strong buying interest. A bullish MA cross is a sign of acceleration to the upside. The psychological level of 24.00 is the next hurdle and a breakout would bring the price to January’s peak at 24.70. The RSI’s overbought situation may cause a limited fallback; if so the previous low at 22.90 would be the closest support. GER 40 tests critical floor The Dax 40 remains under pressure over Russia-Ukraine tensions. The last rebound’s failure to achieve a new high showed that the bears were still in charge. Trend followers are likely to sell into strength as sentiment remains wary. The index saw bids in the critical demand zone around 14900 which has been tested several times in the last four months. A bearish breakout would trigger a broader sell-off and put a serious dent in the medium-term rally. The bulls will need to reclaim 15500 before they could turn things around.
Decentralized Autonomous Organisation - Another Addition To Our Personal Dictionaries

BTC Wants To Let Us Forget About January's Lows. On Monday: BTC Decreased By 0.2%, ETH And LUNA Gained

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 15.02.2022 09:28
The first cryptocurrency returned to growth on Tuesday morning, adding 3.3% and rising to 43,500. Technically, BTCUSD held above the 50-day moving average and received support from buyers after another touch of this level. At the same time, however, this average is directed downwards, emphasizing the general downward trend. Cryptocurrencies seem to be once again trying on the role of a safe-haven asset, becoming a little more like gold and a little less like stocks. Although US stock indices were under pressure on Monday, they decided to stop the sharp decline at the end of last week. However, the high-tech Nasdaq ended the day unchanged. European stock indicators showed a noticeable drop under the influence of tensions around Ukraine. On the same background, gold shot up 3% to highs since June last year. It should be understood that in the event of a massive sale of shares, only short-term government bonds will be the protective asset of last resort. Institutions invested $75 million in crypto funds last week, according to CoinShares. Over the past four weeks, net inflows to crypto funds amounted to $209 million. The head of Uber said that the company would definitely start accepting cryptocurrencies in the future. A British crypto investor has announced the creation of a city for crypto investors in the Pacific and expects thousands of supporters from around the world to join soon. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation proposed to limit the investments of unqualified Russian investors in cryptocurrencies to 50 thousand rubles. The agency estimates tax revenues to the budget from the legalization of the cryptocurrency market at 10-15 billion rubles, and the main amount of payments will fall on the miners. Overall, Bitcoin was down 0.2% on Monday, ending the day at around $42,200. Ethereum added 0.1%, while other leading altcoins from the top ten showed mixed dynamics: from a decrease of 1.6% (XRP) to a rise of 2 .2% (Terra). The total capitalization of the crypto market, according to CoinGecko, grew by 0.5% per day, to $1.97 trillion. The BTC dominance index did not change during the day, remaining at the level of 40.7%. The Fear and Greed Index is up 2 points to 46 and is in a state of fear.
Swissquote MarketTalk: A Look At XAUUSD, Swiss Secrets, Tesla And More

Reviewing Effects Of Easing The Conflict And Awaiting US PPI

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 15.02.2022 13:24
There is a certain relief in the Ukraine-Russia crisis as the two sides seem willing to continue their diplomatic efforts to avoid a military action. The latter could help reversing a part of yesterday’s aggressive selloff in the European markets, and the FTSE 100 could outperform its peers on the back of firm energy and oil prices. Base case: no war Ukrainian president criticized news giving a date for a potential Russian invasion and said that it could eventually drop its dream to become part of NATO, as a powerful sign of its commitment to de-escalate the tensions at its Russian border. US producer prices: The S&P500 slid 0.38% and closed just near the 4400 mark, the Dow dropped near 0.50%, as Nasdaq closed Monday’s session flat. Today, the inflation talk continues with the US producer prices due later in the session. Analysts expect a certain easing in the PPI index to 9.1% from last month’s surprise to 9.7%. Given the rise in oil and commodity prices, there is a higher chance of seeing a positive than a negative surprise. Any positive surprise could send the PPI index above the 10% psychological mark and keep the bears in charge of the market, regardless of a more hopeful mood due to the diplomatic efforts between Russia and Ukraine. Watch the full episode to find out more! 0:00 Intro 0:24 Market update 2:48 FTSE led higher by energy, mining stocks 4:54 S&P500, Nasdaq futures rebound, but PPI data is a risk 7:23 Super Bowl advertisements pointed at cryptocurrencies! 8:21 EURUSD: opportunity for ECB hawks? Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.
Sandbox price set for breakout as bulls target some low-hanging fruit

Sandbox price set for breakout as bulls target some low-hanging fruit

FXStreet News FXStreet News 15.02.2022 16:09
Since December, sandbox has been trying to break the downtrend. As bulls attempt to break through, expect some profits to be booked as some targets lie nearby. Once above $4.72, expect $5.00 and $6.00 to be the following targets in the relief rally. Sandbox (SAND) price action is surfing on a wave of relief this morning as tensions between Russia, and the West start to ease on positive news. With that, investors have been falling over each other to get back into cryptocurrencies, and Sandbox price is set to break the longer-term red descending trendline, and downtrend since December last year. Some low-hanging fruit will be targeted in the breakthrough and could provide enough incentive for bulls to book partial profits and go for the ultimate goal of $6.00, holding 47% of gains. Sandbox bulls are in for 47% gains in the relief rally Sandbox price action is again hammering on the red descending trend line that originates from December last year and has been dictating the downtrend ever since. The renewed push comes from tailwinds that emerged overnight on some positive news around de-escalation in the situation between Russia and Ukraine. As the scene is set for a solid relief rally, expect to see some excellent (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/sandbox-tests-support-at-425-before-sand-test-prior-all-time-highs-202202112001) returns, beginning with some nice profits nearby as a good start. SAND bulls will have their eyes on $4.72 with the 55-day Simple Moving Average and an overall (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/cryptocurrencies-price-prediction-dogecoin-sandbox-and-cardano-european-wrap-10-february-video-202202101133) pivotal level falling in line around the same area. Although this level is not far from the red descending trendline, it will still return around 16% of gains intraday. Bulls will have a good incentive to book profits midway but stay in the trade with more considerable profits gained when the price rises towards $5.00 and $6.00 – the next targets in this week’s relief rally. The trade has an excellent risk-return ratio and is the most viable (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/sandbox-price-bound-for-another-30-gains-as-sand-finds-support-202202101005) as we advance. SAND/USD daily chart Should German chancellor Scholz come out with some negative comments and ramp up the rhetoric of full-scale escalation of the tensions, expect (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/shiba-inu-to-enter-the-metaverse-and-challenge-axie-infinity-sandbox-and-decentraland-202202091718) a knee jerk reaction with a firm rejection or false break of the red descending trend line, trapping bulls and pushing them out of their positions as SAND price action collapses back towards $3.50. From there, another leg lower could follow towards $3.00, with the 200-day SMA coming in at around $2.85 and playing its part as a supportive element in the belief that a recovery is still possible. If the 200-day SMA is no match for the downward pressure, expect a break and further push towards $2.50 or $2.00.
Should Someone Tell The Price Of Gold It's Time To Review Its Incoming "Oponents"?

Should Someone Tell The Price Of Gold It's Time To Review Its Incoming "Oponents"?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 15.02.2022 16:00
  Gold continues to benefit from the market turmoil and has apparently forgotten about medium-term problems. Meanwhile, the rising USD and a hawkish Fed await confrontation. With financial markets whipsawing after every Russia-Ukraine headline, volatility has risen materially in recent days. With whispers of a Russian invasion on Feb. 16 (which I doubt will be realized), the game of hot potato has uplifted the precious metals market. However, as I noted on Feb. 14, while the developments are short-term bullish, the PMs’ medium-term fundamentals continue to decelerate. For example, while the general stock market remains concerned about a Russian invasion, U.S. Treasury yields rallied on Feb. 14. With risk-off sentiment often born in the bond market, the safety trade benefiting the PMs didn’t materialize in U.S. Treasuries. As a result, bond traders aren’t demonstrating the same level of fear. Please see below: Source: Investing.com Furthermore, while the potential conflict garners all of the attention, the fundamental issues that upended the PMs in 2021 remain unresolved. For example, with inflation surging, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Feb. 14 that “the last four [Consumer Price Index] reports taken in tandem have indicated that inflation is broadening and possibly accelerating in the U.S. economy.” “The inflation that we’re seeing is very bad for low- and moderate-income households,” he said. “People are unhappy, consumer confidence is declining. This is not a good situation. We have to reassure people that we’re going to defend our inflation target and we’re going to get back to 2%.” As a result, Bullard wants a 50 basis point rate hike in March, and four rate hikes by July. Please see below: Source: CNBC Likewise, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly is much less hawkish than Bullard, she also supports a rate hike in March. Source: CNBC As a result, while the PMs can hide behind the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the short term, their medium-term fundamental outlooks are profoundly bearish. As mentioned, Bullard highlighted inflation’s impact on consumer confidence, and for a good reason. With the University of Michigan releasing its Consumer Sentiment Index on Feb. 11, the report revealed that Americans’ optimism sank to “its worst level in a decade, falling a stunning 8.2% from last month and 19.7% from last February.” Chief Economist, Richard Curtin said: “The recent declines have been driven by weakening personal financial prospects, largely due to rising inflation, less confidence in the government's economic policies, and the least favorable long term economic outlook in a decade.” “The impact of higher inflation on personal finances was spontaneously cited by one-third of all consumers, with nearly half of all consumers expecting declines in their inflation adjusted incomes during the year ahead.” Please see below: To that point, I’ve highlighted on numerous occasions that U.S. President Joe Biden’s re-election prospects often move inversely to inflation. With the dynamic still on full display, immediate action is needed to maintain his political survival. Please see below: To explain, the light blue line above tracks the year-over-year (YoY) percentage change in inflation, while the dark blue line above tracks Biden’s approval rating. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the U.S. President remains in a highly perilous position. Moreover, with U.S. midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 8, the Democrats can’t wait nine to 12 months for inflation to calm down. As a result, there is a lot at stake politically in the coming months. As further evidence, as inflation reduces real incomes and depresses consumer confidence, the Misery Index also hovers near crisis levels. Please see below: To explain, the blue line above tracks the Misery Index. For context, the index is calculated by subtracting the unemployment rate from the YoY percentage change in the headline CPI. In a nutshell, when inflation outperforms the unemployment rate (the blue line rises), it creates a stagflationary environment in America. To that point, if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the Misery Index is approaching a level that coincided with the global financial crisis (GFC). As a result, reversing the trend is essential to avoid a U.S. recession. As such, with inflation still problematic and the writing largely on the wall, the market-implied probability of seven rate hikes by the Fed in 2022 is nearly 93% (as of Feb. 10). Please see below: Ironically, while consumers and the bond market fret over inflation, U.S. economic growth remains resilient. While I’ve been warning for months that a bullish U.S. economy is bearish for the PMs, continued strength should turn hawkish expectations into hawkish realities. To that point, the chart above shows that futures traders expect the U.S. Federal Funds Rate to hit 1.75% in 2022 (versus 0.08% now). However, Michael Darda, Chief Economist at MKM Partners, expects the Fed’s overnight lending rate to hit 3.5% before it’s all said and done. “We have this booming economy with high inflation and a rapid recovery in the labor market – much different relative to the last cycle,” he said. “The Fed is behind the curve this time. They are going to have to do more.”  Singing a similar tune, John Thorndike, co-head of asset allocation at GMO, told clients that “inflation is now here, [but] the narrative is that inflation goes away and markets tend to struggle with change. It is more likely than not that real yields and policy rates need to move above inflation during this cycle.” The bottom line? While the Russia-Ukraine drama distracts the PMs from the fundamental realities that confront them over the medium term, their outlooks remain profoundly bearish. Moreover, while I’ve noted on numerous occasions that the algorithms will enhance momentum in either direction, their influence wanes materially as time passes. As such, while headline risk is material in the short-term, history shows that technicals and fundamentals reign supreme over longer time horizons. Thus, while the recent flare-up is an unfortunate event that hurts our short position, the medium-term developments that led to our bearish outlook continue to strengthen. In conclusion, the PMs rallied on Feb. 14, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the primary driver moving the financial markets. However, while the PMs will ride the wave as far as it takes them, they ignored that the USD Index and U.S. Treasury yields also rallied. Moreover, with Fed officials ramping up the hawkish rhetoric, the PMs' fundamental outlook is more bearish now than it was in 2021 (if we exclude the Russia-Ukraine implications). As a result, while the timeline may have been delayed, lower lows should confront gold, silver, and mining stocks in the coming months. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Y/Y UK Inflation Indicator Value Equals 5.5% - What's Incoming?

Y/Y UK Inflation Indicator Value Equals 5.5% - What's Incoming?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 16.02.2022 10:03
Britain's consumer price index fell 0.1% in January, not as sharply as analysts had expected; they were expecting an average fall of 0.2%. Year over year inflation reached 5.5%, a new record since March 1992. There are plenty of signs that peak inflation is near, but the big question is how quickly price growth will return to its 2% target and what effort it will take from the Bank of England. Among signs of a cooling inflation outlook we highlight the second month of slowing producer prices to 13.6% yoy in January against 13.9% and 15.2% in the previous two months. This is an early indicator which allows us to expect less pressure from commodity prices on producers further down the line, which will cool consumer inflation in the coming months. Among the early indicators of inflation around the world is also the Chinese producer price index, which noted a slowdown in January to 9.1% from 10.3% a month earlier and a peak of 13.5% in October. The publication of the UK inflation accelerated the rise in the pound, sending GBPUSD above 1.3570.
Speaking Of nVidia Stock, S&P500 (SPX), The Conflict In Eastern Europe And GBP State

Look At This XAUUSD Slide. Did GBPUSD Find Its Straight Line?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 16.02.2022 08:43
EURUSD bounces off support The US dollar retreats as the Fed’s half-point hike in March remains uncertain. The euro’s break above the daily resistance at 1.1480 boosted buyers’ confidence after a sell-off in January. It bounced off 1.1280 at the base of the recent bullish breakout. The support also is right next to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (1.1265) making it an area of congestion. A close above the intermediate resistance (1.1370) would attract more buying interest. Then an extension above 1.1490 may fuel a rally towards 1.1600. GBPUSD awaits breakout The sterling holds well as Britain’s wage growth beats expectations in December. The current rebound came under pressure in the supply zone around 1.3660 which was the origin of a sharp drop in late January. An overbought RSI led to some profit-taking but the pound has found support above 1.3480. The bears’ failed attempts to push lower indicates strong demand. A bullish close above 1.3640 would lift offers towards last month’s high at 1.3750. The daily support at 1.3370 is a key floor in keeping the rally intact. XAUUSD seeks support Gold drifts lower on signs of de-escalation in Ukraine. A break above last November’s high at 1875 may have put the precious metal back on track. However, the rally ran out of steam in the short term with the RSI shooting into the overbought territory. The price is taking a breather and buyers may see a pullback as an opportunity to stake in. A drop below 1852 may wash out weak hands and deepen the correction towards 1830. 1880 is now a fresh resistance and its breach could propel bullion to last June’s high at 1910.
(TRY) Turkish Lira Seems To Keep Stable, Plain Line

(TRY) Turkish Lira Seems To Keep Stable, Plain Line

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 16.02.2022 12:20
The Turkish lira has stabilised after the wild ride of December. Since the start of the year, the fluctuation of the lira formed a converging range with a centre of gravity at 13.50 in USDTRY and 15.40 in EURTRY. However, this lull is hardly a victory for the unorthodox monetary policy ideas being pursued by Turkey. Instead, market participants have turned their attention to developments in Russia and Ukraine, which has made Turkey, if not a haven, comparatively less dangerous for investors. Nevertheless, we see this lull as temporary, expecting the rate to move out of consolidation upwards, as Turkey's fight against inflation is weaker than necessary. Excessive monetary policy softness is further highlighted by monetary tightening worldwide, including in Europe, where central banks are moving to raise rates or roll back stimulus. The latest inflation estimates for January show consumer prices adding 50% and manufacturing prices almost doubling from the same month a year earlier. PPI is being pushed up by 70% devaluation of the national currency, plus a general rise in producer prices close to 10% in countries from China to the USA. Consumer prices have not yet fully absorbed the effects of the fall devaluation of the lira and promise to gain momentum in the coming months, continuing to undermine confidence in the national currency. An assessment of how inadequately soft Turkey's monetary policy is can be made by comparing the differential of inflation and the key rate. In Turkey, it is 35%, in Russia minus 1%, in Ukraine around 0% and in the UK 5%. Even in the US, where it is believed that the Fed has overlooked inflation and will now have to catch up with it through 7 0.25 point hikes this year, this differential is 7.25%, almost five times less than in Turkey. From all of this, there is a conclusion that the Turkish lira is heading upwards out of the consolidation range, i.e. a new round of currency decline is to be expected. However, this wave will likely not be as disastrous as it was in the final quarter of last year.
Stumbling Again

Stumbling Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.02.2022 15:53
S&P 500 rebound goes on reflexively, but stormy clouds are gathering – I‘m looking for the bears to reassert themselves over the next couple of days latest. The credit markets posture is far from raging risk-on even though select commodities are recovering (what else to expect in a secular commodities bull) and precious metals suffered a modest setback (not a reversal though). Crypto recovery is nodding towards the risk-on upturn that is though likely to get checked soon.It‘s great that tech was the driver of yesterday‘s S&P 500 upswing, but for how long would it keep leadership now that attention is shifting back towards inflation. Yesterday I wrote that: (...) rebound looks approaching as stocks might lead bonds in the risk appetite. When the East European tensions get dialed down, S&P 500 can be counted on to lead, probably more so when it comes to value than tech. That‘s why the tech participation is key as it would make up for the evaporating risk premium in energy. Or precious metals – these are likely to rise once again when the spotlight shifts to the inadequacy of Fed‘s tightening in the inflation fight.So far the stock market advance hasn‘t met a brick wall, but value upswing has been sold into (unlike tech‘s). Energy stocks lost, but are likely to come back – and the next microrotation might not be powerful enough to carry S&P 500 higher. Anyway without a HYG upswing, stock bulls are facing stiff headwinds.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 rebounded on low volume but that wouldn‘t be an issue in a healthy bull market – the trouble is that this 2022 price action isn‘t very healthy.Credit MarketsHYG didn‘t trade on a strong note, and the rise in yields continues almost unabated. This is what I meant yesterday by saying that we may be though nearing the point of credit market reprieve – as much as that‘s compatible with rate raising cycle.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals suffered a temporary setback – they easily gave up some of the safe haven gains, which isn‘t surprising. The bulls though haven‘t lost control, and that‘s key.Crude OilCrude oil dip was bought, and there wasn‘t much bearish conviction to start with. The general uptrend is likely to continue, and $90 appears likely to hold over the next few days definitely.CopperCopper is now in for some backing and filling, but managed to catch up with other commodities a little yesterday. The red metal remains range bound, but making good bullish progress.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are paring back yesterday‘s advance, and unless the mid Feb lows give, they‘re likely to muddle through with a modest bullish bias till the attention shifts to the Fed again.SummaryS&P 500 bulls‘ opportunity seems slipping away with each 1D or 4H candle, and I‘m not counting on the credit markets to ride to stocks‘ rescue. The commodities bull though is likely to carry on with little interference – and so does the precious metals bull as the yield curve keeps compressing. Slowdown in economic growth with rampant inflation and the realization that the Fed tightening hasn‘t had the effect, is awaiting, and would usher in strong gold and silver gains.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Binance Coin set for pop above significant resistance as relief rally takes a short halt

Binance Coin set for pop above significant resistance as relief rally takes a short halt

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.02.2022 16:18
Binance Coin takes a small step back this morning due to some profit-taking.BNB bulls hold all the cards as the relief rally is not over yet.Expect a pop above $444-$452 with a profit target set at $480 for the moment.Binance Coin (BNB) price action shot back above the red descending trend line yesterday with a massive relief rally that lifted market sentiment. With that, the downtrend looks to be broken, and an uptrend could be on the cards if bulls can take out the $444-$452 resistance barrier with a triple top formation, the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the longer-term pivotal level all coincide in this region. Once through there, expect the next stage to be set for a move towards $480 with the 200-day SMA coming in, returning another 10%.Binance Coin set for the second phase in the recovery rallyBinance Coin is undergoing some profit-taking this morning after the solid relief rally from yesterday (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/cryptocurrencies-price-prediction-decentraland-binance-dogecoin-asian-wrap-16-feb-video-202202160214) that has lifted market sentiment and saw some decent inflows into markets. On the way up, bulls hit some resistance from the double top from February 08 and January 21 and, in the process, made it a triple top resistance. This, together with the already known $452 and the 55-day SMA coming in at $445, makes it a substantial (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/binance-coin-must-break-out-above-this-level-before-bnb-can-retest-660-202202152150) barrier that will need to be broken to prove that the relief rally still has plenty of juice to go.Expect thus some profit-taking today, a little bit on the back foot with $419 as support to bounce off back to $445. Some more positive signals coming from the Russia-Ukraine developments could be the needed additional catalyst to push through this difficult barrier. The next target is set at $480, with the 200-day SMA falling in line with that considerable number, resulting in probably the same profit-taking pattern (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/dogecoin-and-shiba-inu-price-climbs-as-binance-smart-chain-whales-accumulate-meme-coins-202202151719) as BNB price action shows today.BNB/USD daily chartOverall, the US keeps claiming that the situation in Central-Europe remains precarious and could see an escalation (https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/cryptocurrencies-price-prediction-bitcoin-binance-coin-and-decentraland-european-wrap-11-february-202202111055) any time now. Once those headlines hit the wires, expect the whole cryptocurrency space to collapse and for there to be a massive pullback from investors, with BNB price falling back initially to $389. Depending on the severity of the attacks, another push lower towards $340 would be the logical outcome and result in BNB price shedding 22% of its value.
After A Large Amplitude GBPUSD Seems To Be Stable, But Maybe It Will Start Rising Again?

After A Large Amplitude GBPUSD Seems To Be Stable, But Maybe It Will Start Rising Again?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 17.02.2022 03:09
Today we’re looking at the GBPUSD as buyers continue to hold firm and now only face one level of resistance both they can get the new uptrend back on track. Fundamentally a few things remain on the radar. Russian/Ukrainian Situation, we’ve seen recently that fair ups are supporting the USD and any new escalations could drive the USD higher which would hurt the GBPUSD. T-note yields are another ongoing factor but yields have settled for now but new highs could once again hurt risk pairs including the GBPUSD. US inflation and UK inflation. US inflation and rate rises could be starting to be factored in unless we see a new spike. The minutes didn’t do much to drive the USD this week, while a new rise in UK inflation definitely supported the GBP yesterday giving the GBPUSD a nice boost in Wednesday’s session. With that in mind let’s look at some of the technicals we’re watching on the GBPUSD chart. For now, we see price stuck in consolidation with support and resistance currently holding price. Overall we can see two new uptrends in play, on the short and medium times. Price also sits above all three moving averages and the short term MAs are trading above the 86 MA. While support remains firm we will continue to look for buyers to push at a new continuation. The key to this is a break above the two resistance points. This could confirm a new breakout and start suggesting that the medium-term trend could continue. A break below support and a move back to the new Med-trend would be a small warning sign and further evidence would be required before thinking that the trend is going to continue. GBPUSD D1 Chart The post Forex News: GBPUSD setting up for a continuation? appeared first on Eightcap.
Tesla Stock News and Forecast: TSLA, RIVN or LCID stock, which is the best buy?

Tesla Stock News and Forecast: TSLA, RIVN or LCID stock, which is the best buy?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.02.2022 16:18
Tesla bounces strongly on Tuesday as risk assets surge. TSLA stock gains just over 5% on Tuesday. Geopolitical tensions falling help risk appetites return. Tesla (TSLA) shares bounced strongly on Tuesday, eventually closing up over 5% in a strong day for equities. The stock market was buoyed by news of some Russian deployments returning to their bases. Russia then appeared to confirm this as hopes grew for a diplomatic solution. This saw an obvious bounce in equities (https://www.fxstreet.com/markets/equities) with the strongest names being those that were previously the weakest. Understandable, but is this gain sustainable? NATO this morning has said it sees no sign of Russian troops pulling back from the Ukraine border. NATO has said it sees Russian troop numbers still growing along the Russian-Ukraine border. This news (https://www.fxstreet.com/news) still has legs. Volatility has been high as a result and will likely continue that way. Tesla Stock News The latest quarterly SEC filings have provided much information to pore over. In particular, Tesla, they do note some hedge fund selling. This is not too surprising given the record highs TSLA stock pushed on to before Elon Musk sold a stake. Benzinga reports that the latest filing shows Ray D'Alio's Bridgewater cutting its stake in Tesla. Cathie Wood of ARK Invest was regularly top-slicing her firm's stake in Tesla recently. CNBC also reported yesterday that hedge fund Greenlight Capital had made a bearish bet on Tesla shares. Greenlight, according to the report, has been a long time Tesla bear. Apart from those snippets though, macroeconomic factors are the main driver of the Tesla stock price currently. Electric vehicle stocks have not been a strong sector so far in 2022 as growth, in general, is out of favor with investors. This has led to steep falls in other names such as Rivian (RIVN) and Lucid (LCID). Both are at a much earlier stage of development than Tesla (TSLA) and on that basis, we would favor Tesla (TSLA) over them. But we must stress we would ideally avoid the sector entirely until perhaps the second quarter. Once markets have adjusted to the prospect of higher rates, some high-growth stocks may benefit. historical in a Fed (https://www.fxstreet.com/macroeconomics/central-banks/fed) hiking cycle the main indices do advance but growth sectors struggle. Rivian so far is down 36% year to date, Lucid is down 24% while Tesla is the outperformer, down 12% for 2022. Tesla Stock Forecast We remain in the chop zone between the two key levels of $945 and $886. Breaking $945 should lead to a move toward $1,063. That would still be consistent with the longer-term bearish trend. Nothing goes down or up in a straight line. TSLA is unlikely to be able to fight the current overpowering macroeconomic backdrop of rising rates (https://www.fxstreet.com/rates-charts/rates) hitting high growth stocks. But breaking $945 is still significant in the short term and should see some fresh momentum. While $886 is significant, the 200-day moving average at $826 should have our real attention on the downside. Tesla has not closed below this level in over 6 months, so that would be significant and again lead to a fresh influx of momentum. Just this time though, it would be selling momentum. Tesla (TSLA) chart, daily Short-term swing traders should note the volume momentum behind moves. Once volume dries up, Tesla tends to fall off intraday. From the 15-minute chart below, we have an opening gap from Tuesday down to $880. This is short-term support, but a break will see the bottom of Monday's range at $840 tested. Tesla (TSLA) 15-minute chart
NYMEX Gas Prices Catapulted Like Fighter Jets from an Aircraft Carrier

NYMEX Gas Prices Catapulted Like Fighter Jets from an Aircraft Carrier

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 16.02.2022 16:56
  The Natural Gas flight has passed its first goal and is on its way to the second target. Here is a map showing the route to Natgas’ new destination. In today’s edition, I will provide some updates on recent market developments for Natural Gas futures (NGF22) following my last projections published on Friday, Feb. 11, for which the stop was also updated on Wednesday. Trade Plan We all love it when a trade plan comes together! The market has to cope with stronger demand to fuel increasing industrial activity after being surprised by the warming mid-February weather forecast. Therefore, you can see that the rebounding floor (support) provided was ideal for the Henry Hub, which is also supported by unyielding global demand for US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to turn its momentum back up. The recommended objective of $4.442 was almost hit yesterday. However, it was achieved this morning (during the European session) and the $4.818 level is now the next goal. As I explained in more detail in my last risk-management-related article to secure profits, my recommended stop, which was located just below the $ 3.629 level (below one-month previous swing low), was recently lifted up around the $3.886 level (around breakeven). Now it could be lifted one more time up to 4.180, which corresponds to the 50% distance between the initial entry and target 1. By doing so, the second half of the trade would become optimally managed. Alternatively, you can also use an Average True Range (ATR) multiple to determine a different level (above breakeven) that may better suit your trading style. Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Now, let’s zoom into the 4H chart to observe the recent price action all around the abovementioned levels of our trade plan: DHenry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, 4H chart) That’s all folks for today. Happy trading! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
What Will Happen On Crypto Market In The Following Week?

What Will Happen On Crypto Market In The Following Week?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 18.02.2022 08:22
Well, so far, we’ve seen another choppy week with rallies and sell-offs. The week started on a positive note as buyers regained control after a weak end to the previous week. Buying jumped on Tuesday and peaked on Wednesday. At this point, you would have been justified in thinking, could we be set to start testing last week’s highs? Out of the top 10, AVAX and BNB did manage to test or break last week’s highs, but most failed to reach those levels before momentum swung hard back to the seller camp on Thursday. For now, Crypto looks to be locked into the risk response to the current crisis seen in Eastern Europe between Ukraine and Russia. As tensions increased, sellers hammered into crypto coins, knocking most of the week’s gains. Bitcoin and Ethereum lost just over 8% yesterday, and AVAX traded as much as 9% lower before closing off lows. At this stage, the crypto top 10 and 25 indexes sit just in the red after giving back just over 8% in gains. For us, the picture looks quite clear moving forward. Tensions in Europe, but we think markets should recover. If we see tensions continue or sadly if the situation escalates into all-out conflict, we would think that coins could see heavy seller pressure. Our focus is on Ethereum weekly chart this week as we look at this week’s fade, lining up with the current LH under bearish MAs. For now, supply looks firm from 3080 and if we see a lower close this week, that set up a new move back to the 2430 area that also lines up with previous support at the 86MA? We do think that for this to happen, there might need to be further fundamental influence to maintain the selling. The daily shows support at 2860, so if geopolitical tensions remain the same or ease, a hold at that area could set up a new move to retest this week’s highs and start putting pressure on the weekly bearish picture. The post Your Crypto Focus: 19th – 25th February appeared first on Eightcap.
Bearish Turn Coming

Bearish Turn Coming

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.02.2022 15:57
Thanks to Fed minutes, the S&P 500 closed modestly up, but could have taken the stronger credit markets cue. Instead, the upswing was sold into – the selling pressure is there, and neither value nor tech took the opportunity to rise, even against the backdrop of a weakening dollar. That‘s quite telling – the stock market correction hasn‘t run its course yet, and whatever progress the bulls make, is being countered convincingly. Precious metals adored the combo of yields and dollar turning down – and reacted with the miners‘ outperformance. The silver to copper ratio is basing, and the white metal looks to have better short-term prospects than the red one. Still in the headline sensitive environment we‘re in, gold would be stronger than silver until inflation is recognized for what it is. If there‘s one thing that the aftermath of Fed minutes showed, it‘s that the commodities superbull is alive and well, and that precious metals likewise are acting very positively in this tightening cycle. Suffice to say that gold has a track record of turning up once the rate hikes finally start… Excellent, the portfolio is positioned accordingly. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 rebound is getting suspect, and should stocks close on a weak note today, it‘s clear that today‘s wobbling Philly Fed Manufacturing Index won‘t be balanced out by the succession of Fed speakers – the signs of real economy headwinds are here. Credit Markets HYG upswing could have had broader repercussions, and it‘s quite telling it didn‘t. The risk-on turn would likely be sold into, with consequences. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals suffered a temporary setback only indeed – I‘m looking for the gains to continue as the miners outperformance just can‘t be overlooked. Crude Oil Crude oil dipped some more, and the dip was again bought. Given the late session wavering, I‘m looking for some more sideways and volatile trading ahead before the upswing reasserts itself. Copper Copper continues trading sideways, but with bullish undertones. More consolidation before another upswing attempt is probable. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are turning down, but still haven‘t broken either way out of the current range. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are sending a message of caution. Summary S&P 500 bulls‘ opportunity seems increasingly slipping away given that the buyers couldn‘t defend gains after Fed minutes release. The upturn in credit markets is likely to prove of fleeting shelf life, and would exert downward pressure upon stocks. As I wrote yesterday (and talked extensively within today‘s article chart captions), the commodities bull is likely to carry on with little interference – and so would the precious metals bull as the yield curve keeps compressing, and the beginning of rate hikes would mark further headwinds for the real economy at a time of persistent inflation that could be perhaps brought down to 4-5% official rate late this year (which would leave the mainstream wondering why it just isn‘t transitory somewhat more – what an irony). The Fed‘s tools to be employed are simply insufficient to break the inflation‘s back, that‘s it. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
AUDUSD And NZDUSD Charts Looks Quite Similar... SPX Trades A Bit Lower Than A Few Days Ago

AUDUSD And NZDUSD Charts Looks Quite Similar... SPX Trades A Bit Lower Than A Few Days Ago

John Benjamin John Benjamin 18.02.2022 08:51
AUDUSD attempts to break out The Australian dollar finds support from a low jobless rate in January. The pair has previously hit resistance in the supply zone around 0.7250. This is a daily resistance from the sell-off in late January. Then a recovery above 0.7180 suggests solid buying pressure before a bearish mood could take hold again. A break above the key hurdle could initiate a bullish reversal above this year’s peak (0.7310). Otherwise, a prolonged consolidation may test the demand area between 0.7100 and 0.7150. NZDUSD tests resistance The New Zealand dollar climbed higher as the RBNZ can lift its cash rates next week. Price action came under pressure on the 30-day moving average (0.6730). However, strong support at 0.6590 builds a case for a potential reversal. A break above 0.6690 is an encouraging sign leaving 0.6730 as the last obstacle before a bullish extension. A broader rally would bring the kiwi back to January’s high at 0.6890. In the meantime, an overbought RSI caused a brief pullback towards 0.6660. SPX 500 consolidates The S&P 500 struggles as the Russia-Ukraine crisis persists. The previous rebound has met stiff selling pressure over the 30-day moving average (4590). A pullback has sent the RSI into the oversold territory, triggering some buyers’ interest in racking up the bargain. The rebound is still valid as long as the index stays above the critical area of 4280. A break above 4480 may extend gains to the double top at 4590 which is an important resistance. 4360 is the immediate support if the sideways action lingers.
Is It Worth Adding Gold to Your Portfolio in 2022?

Is It Worth Adding Gold to Your Portfolio in 2022?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 17.02.2022 16:29
  Gold prices declined in 2021 and the prospects for 2022 are not impressive as well. However, the yellow metal’s strategic relevance remains high. Last month, the World Gold Council published two interesting reports about gold. The first one is the latest edition of Gold Demand Trends, which summarizes the entire last year. Gold supply decreased 1%, while gold demand rose 10% in 2021. Despite these trends, the price of gold declined by around 4%, which – for me – undermines the validity of the data presented by the WGC. I mean here that the relevance of some categories of gold demand (jewelry demand, technological demand, the central bank’s purchases) for the price formation is somewhat limited. The most important driver for gold prices is investment demand. Unsurprisingly, this category plunged 43% in 2021, driven by large ETF outlfows. According to the report, “gold drew direction chiefly from inflation and interest rate expectations in 2021,” although it seems that rising rates outweighed inflationary concerns. As the chart below shows, the interest rates increased significantly last year. For example, 10-year Treasury yields rose 60 basis points. As a result, the opportunity costs for holding gold moved up, triggering an outflow of gold holdings from the ETF. As the rise in interest rates is likely to continue in 2022 because of the hawkish stance of the Fed, gold investment may struggle this year as well. The end of quantitative easing and the start of quantitative tightening may add to the downward pressure on gold prices. However, there are some bullish caveats here. First, gold has remained resilient in January, despite the hawkish FOMC meeting. Second, the Fed’s tightening cycle could be detrimental to the US stock market and the overall, highly indebted economy, which could be supportive of gold prices. Third, as the report points out, “gold has historically outperformed in the months following the onset of a US Fed tightening cycle”. The second publication released by the WGC last month was “The Relevance of Gold as a Strategic Asset 2022”. The main thesis of the report is that gold is a strategic asset, complementary to equities and bonds, that enhances investment portfolios’ performance. This is because gold is “a store of wealth and a hedge against systemic risk, currency depreciation, and inflation.” It is also “highly liquid, no one’s liability, carries no credit risk, and is scarce, historically preserving its value over time.” Gold is believed to be a great source of return, as its price has increased by an average of nearly 11% per year since 1971, according to the WGC. Gold can also provide liquidity, as the gold market is highly liquid. As the report points out, “physical gold holdings by investors and central banks are worth approximately $4.9 trillion, with an additional $1.2 trillion in open interest through derivatives traded on exchanges or the over-the-counter (OTC) market.” Last but not least, gold is an excellent portfolio diversifier, as it is negatively correlated with risk assets, and – importantly – this negative correlation increases as these assets sell off. Hence, adding gold to a portfolio could diversify it, improving its risk-adjusted return, and also provide liquidity to meet liabilities in times of market stress. The WGC’s analysis suggests that investors should consider adding between 4% and 15% of gold to the portfolio, but personally, I would cap this share at 10%.   Implications for Gold What do the recent WGC reports imply for the gold market? Well, one thing is that adding some gold to the investment portfolio would probably be a smart move. After all, gold serves the role of both a safe-haven asset and an insurance against tail risks. It’s nice to be insured. However, investing in gold is something different, as gold may be either in a bullish or bearish trend. You should never confuse these two motives behind owning gold! Sometimes it’s good to own gold for both insurance and investment reasons, but not always. When it comes to 2022, investment demand for gold may continue to be under downward pressure amid rising interest rates. However, there are also some bullish forces at work, which could intensify later this year. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decentralized Autonomous Organisation - Another Addition To Our Personal Dictionaries

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Investors spooked by renewed geopolitical tensions

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.02.2022 16:10
Bitcoin price gets caught in a bearish triangle as tensions in Ukraine flare up again. Ethereum price returns to pivotal support, money repatriation goes into the second day. XRP price in pennant ready for a bearish breakout under the current sentiment. Cryptocurrencies are on the back foot as investors are getting worried about the escalating situation between Ukraine and Russia, as more reports come in from shots in the Donbas region near Luhansk. As the situation does not seem to de-escalate, investors are pulling their money out of what was believed to be the start of a solid and longer-term relief rally that is stalling at the moment. With more downside pressure to come, expect all significant cryptocurrencies to fall back to supportive pivotal levels. Bitcoin price falls into a bearish triangle, set to dip back below $40,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price is getting battered on Thursday after a fade on Wednesday that could still be attributed to some short-term profit-taking. The extension of the falls seems to confirm that sentiment is yet again dipping below zero towards risk-off. Investors pulling out their funds preemptively is reflected with the sharp decline in the Relative Strength Index, where the sell-side demand is outpacing the buy-side demand. In this context, Bitcoin price will remain under pressure for the rest of the week and could be set to slip below $40,000 in the coming days as the situation in Ukraine is set to deteriorate again, potentially inflicting further damage to the market mood. BTC price sees bulls unable to hold price action above $44,088 and in the process is forming a descending trend line that, together with the base at $41,756, is forming a bearish triangle. Expect Bitcoin valuation to decline further as the tensions around Luhansk increase by the hour. Once the $41,756 support is broken, the road is open for a nosedive towards $39,780 with the $40,000 psychological level broken yet again to the downside. BTC/USD daily chart A hail mary could be provided by the 55-day Simple Moving Average at $42,340, which already provided support on February 9 and February 15. With that move, a sudden breakthrough in the peace talks could become the needed catalyst to improve the situation and dislocate Bitcoin price action from the drag of the geopolitical news that is weighing. Bitcoin would see the demand on the buy-side blow up and see a big pop above $44,088. Ethereum bulls are breaking their jaws on the 55-day SMA as the price fades further Ethereum (ETH) price is getting crushed against the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) around $3,143, with bulls unfit to push and try to close price action above it. After three failed attempts in a row, it is becoming clear that the bullish support is wearing thin as, on Tuesday, the daily candle closed above there, and even if the next day ETH price opened above again, it closed below the 55-day SMA. On Wednesday, finally, both the open and the closing price were below the 55-day SMA. This proves that sentiment has shifted in just three trading days and looks set to fade further away from the 55-day SMA on Friday. Expect going forward in the next coming hours that bulls will get squeezed against the wall at $3,018 with both a pivotal level and the $3,000 marker a few dollars below there. As tensions mount, expect some more negative headlines, a breach in defense of the bulls with even the monthly pivot at $2,929 getting involved in the crosshairs. Depending on the severity and the further deterioration of the political situation in Ukraine and the correction in the stock markets, it is possible to see a nosedive towards $2,695. ETH/USD daily chart Global market sentiment is hanging on the lips of Ukraine and the geopolitical situation. With that, it is clear that once the situation gets resolved or de-escalates, markets can shift 180 degrees in a matter of seconds. That same rule applies to cryptocurrencies where Ethereum could pop back above the 55-day SMA and even set sail for $3,391, breaking the high of February and flirting with new highs for 2022. Bulls joining the rally will want to keep a close eye and be mindful of the RSI, as that would start to flirt with being overbought and, from there on, limiting any further big moves in the hours or next trading days to come. Ethereum short squeeze could trigger a spike to $4,000 XRP price set to lose 10% of market value as headline news breaks down relief rally Ripple (XRP) price is stuck in a pennant and is close to a breakout that looks set to be a bearish one. As global markets are continuing the fade from Wednesday, XRP price is breaking below the recent low and sees bears hammering down on the ascending side of the pennant. As more negative headlines cross the wires, expect this to add ammunition for bears to continue and start breaking the pennant to the downside. XRP price will look for support on the next support at hand, which comes in at $0.78, and depending on the severity of the news flow, that level should hold again as it did on February 14. If that is not the caseany further downside will be cut short by the double bottom around $0.75 from February 12 and 13 and the 55-day SMA coming in at or around that area. With that move, the RSI will be triggering some "oversold" red flags and see bears booking profit. XRP/USD daily chart A false bearish breakout could easily see bears trapped on entering on the break to the downside out of the pennant as bulls go in for the squeeze. That would mean that price shoots up towards $0.88 and takes out this week's high. Bears would be forced to change sides and join the buy-side demand to close their losing positions, adding to even more demand and possibly hitting $0.90 in the process. XRP set to explode towards $1.00, bulls hopeful over SEC vs Ripple case
Thaw Incoming? GBP Could Be Ahead Of An Uptrend As Retails Sales Indicator Hits Fine Value

Thaw Incoming? GBP Could Be Ahead Of An Uptrend As Retails Sales Indicator Hits Fine Value

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 18.02.2022 09:30
UK retail sales added 1.9% in January, following a dip of 4.0% a month earlier. By the same month a year earlier, the increase was 9.1%, as January 2021 saw a sharp tightening of the lockdown and the vaccination campaign had only just started. The data came out slightly better than expected, supporting purchases of British currency against the dollar, but remains very volatile due to restrictions in previous months. Sales generally remained above multi-year trend levels, which is a good signal of the economy’s health. After the financial crisis from 2009 to 2016, there was a long period when sales were below the long-term trend line and were one of the obstacles why the Bank of England could not go ahead with a rate hike. These days, the need to suppress inflation is combined with the ability to do so thanks to strong consumer demand and the labour market. Sales were also boosted by pent-up demand for services and goods that were in restricted supply during the pandemic. This process may gain momentum in the coming months, painting a more colourful picture of consumer activity, but could lead to disappointment in the second half of the year. The Bank of England should keep a close eye on the coming economic releases to avoid repeating the mistakes of the ECB, which rushed through a rate hike in May 2009, undermining the economic recovery. On Friday morning, the British pound is testing the highs of February, rising to 1.3630. A rise to 1.3680 may be a development in the current momentum. However, a jump even higher would reflect a break of the downtrend since last June, anchoring GBPUSD above the 200-day average and setting the pair up to test previous highs.
Commodity Currencies Explained (Part I)

Commodity Currencies Explained (Part I)

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 15.11.2021 16:26
Ever think of commodities when trading currencies? Or vice-versa? What do Brazilian reals have to do with soybeans, or Indian rupees with diamonds? Let’s start by defining what could be called a commodity currency (or commodity pair). Generally, a commodity currency represents a currency from a country or geographical zone that produces specific commodities which will account for most of its exports. Some examples of currencies which could be considered as commodity currencies are presented in the following table: Currencies Top Material Exports Argentine peso (ARS) Soybean meal ($8.81B), corn ($6.19B), delivery trucks ($3.83B), soybeans ($3.47B), soybean oil ($3.38B), bran ($292M), other vegetable residues and waste ($232M), and ground nut oil ($131M) Australian dollar (AUD) Iron ore ($67.5B), coal briquettes ($51.5B), petroleum gas ($34.1B), gold ($25.4B), aluminium oxide ($5.6B), sheep and goat meat ($3.07B), and wool ($2.26B) Brazilian real (BRL) Soybeans ($26.1B), crude petroleum ($24.3B), iron ore ($23B), corn ($7.39B), sulfate chemical wood pulp ($7.35B), poultry meat ($6.55B), frozen bovine meat ($5.67B) and raw sugar ($5.33B) Canadian dollar (CAD) Crude petroleum ($67.8B), cars ($40.9B), gold ($14.6B), refined Petroleum ($12.3B), vehicle parts ($10.8B), sawn wood ($6.35B), raw aluminium ($5.45B), potassic fertilizers ($5.27B), rapeseed ($3.23B), and rapeseed oil ($2.6B) Indian rupee (INR) Refined petroleum ($39.2B), diamonds ($22.5B), packaged medicaments ($15.8B), jewellery ($14.1B), cars ($7.15B), Rice ($6.9B), Crustaceans ($4.67B), and Non-Retail Pure Cotton Yarn ($2.86B) Indonesian rupiah (IDR) Coal briquettes ($20.3B), palm oil ($15.3B), petroleum gas ($8.32B), cars ($4.52B), gold ($4.01B), lignite ($2.91B), stearic acid ($2.76B), uncoated paper ($2.37B), and coconut oil ($1.9B) Malaysian ringgit (MYR) Integrated circuits ($63B), refined petroleum ($17.8B), petroleum gas ($11.5B), semiconductor devices ($9.65B), palm oil ($8.91B), rubber apparel ($4.37B), other vegetable oils ($1B), copper powder ($873M), asphalt mixtures ($417M), and platinum clad metals ($127M) Mexican peso (MXN) Cars ($53.1B), computers ($32.4B), vehicle parts ($31.2B), delivery trucks ($26.9B), crude petroleum ($26.6B), tractors ($10.7B), beer ($5.07B), tropical fruits ($3.6B), and railway freight cars ($3.57B) New Zealand dollar (NZD) Concentrated milk ($5.73B), sheep and goat meat ($2.62B), rough wood ($2.31B), butter ($2.29B), frozen bovine meat ($2.09B), casein ($613M), and honey ($237M) Nigerian naira (NGN) Crude Petroleum ($46B), petroleum gas ($7.78B), scrap vessels ($2.26B), flexible metal tubing ($2.1B), and cocoa beans ($715M) Peruvian nuevo sol (PEN) Copper ore ($12.2B), gold ($6.76B), refined petroleum ($2.21B), zinc ore ($1.65B), and refined copper ($1.62B), animal meal and pellets ($1.54B), lead ore ($1.01B), fish oil ($434M), and buckwheat ($139M) Russian ruble (RUB) Crude petroleum ($123B), refined petroleum ($66.2B), petroleum gas ($26.3B), coal briquettes ($17.6B), wheat ($8.14B), semi-finished iron ($6.99B), coal tar oil ($4.49B), raw nickel ($4.03B), and nitrogenous fertilizers ($3.05B) South African rand (ZAR) Gold ($16.8B), platinum ($9.62B), cars ($7.61B), iron ore ($6.73B), and coal briquettes ($5.05B), manganese ore ($3.16B), chromium ore ($1.92B), titanium ore ($583M), and niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and zirconium ore ($480M) Swiss franc (CHF) Gold ($59B), packaged medicaments ($46.2B), blood, antisera, vaccines, toxins, and cultures ($32.9B), base metal watches ($13.6B), jewellery ($10.9B), precious metal watches ($7.32B), and hydrazine or hydroxylamine derivatives ($501M) US dollar (USD) Refined petroleum ($84.9B), crude petroleum ($61.9B), cars ($56.9B), integrated circuits ($41.4B), vehicle parts ($41.2B), medical instruments ($29.5B), gas turbines ($28.1B), aircraft parts ($16.3B), and orthopedic appliances ($12.1B) Vietnamese dong (VND) Broadcasting equipment ($42.3B), telephones ($18.2B), integrated circuits ($15.5B), textile footwear ($10.6B), and leather footwear ($6.43B), coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews ($3.16B), fuel wood ($2.05B), cement ($1.39B), metal-clad products ($1.37B), and cinnamon ($175M) West African CFA franc (XOF) Gold ($11.66B), cocoa beans ($3.84B), refined petroleum ($2.64B), rubber ($1.08B), raw cotton ($1.04B), and crude petroleum ($941M), cocoa paste ($795M), other oily seeds ($407M), Phosphoric Acid ($346M), coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews ($280M), ground nuts ($192M), zinc ore ($173M), raw zinc ($155M), electricity ($141M), cocoa shells ($115M), calcium phosphates ($95.7M), radioactive chemicals ($59.6M), rough wood ($59.5M), raw copper ($49.4M), Petroleum Gas ($42.5M), non-fillet frozen fish ($356.1M), other vegetable residues ($25.4M), and aluminium ore ($3.17M) Data: The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) (Bold: products which the country/economic area was the world’s biggest exporter in 2019) For active trading purposes, the ones highlighted in yellow would be characterised as freely floating and more liquid currencies. Thus, they would also be more accessible and less costly (with lower fees) to trade. For hedging purposes, the others would present some advantages to the commercialisation of their associated natural resources, even though they would rather be considered more exotic currencies. Charts: Here is a representation of some key commodity currencies presented in the above table on a weekly timeframe against the US dollar (reference currency): Each chart was represented within 2-standard deviation Bollinger Bands based on a 20-period simple moving average (in orange), a 50-period simple moving average (blue curve), a 200-period simple moving average (the black curve) and in the pane below is a 14-period relative strength index (in blue) to which was applied a 9-period simple moving average (red curve). All those charts are displayed over a 2-year historical period. In the next article I’ll focus on highlighting some correlations which may exist between key natural resources and the currencies in which they are usually traded. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Oh, Someone Has Stopped Brent Oil Price From Going "Out Of Range"

Oh, Someone Has Stopped Brent Oil Price From Going "Out Of Range"

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 18.02.2022 13:20
Gold and oil, former beneficiaries of geopolitical tensions late last week, have gone their separate ways, with the former rising 2.4% and the latter losing 5% since the start of this week. Brent crude rolled back below $90 and, at one point on Friday, was losing 2.3% to $89, despite still worrying reports of tensions around Ukraine and Russia. It has fallen below the local support of the past ten days and is now just one step away from a decline since the start of the month. While geopolitics remains a joker capable of playing, either way, the macroeconomic picture is working to cool the oil price. US commercial oil inventories rose last week against a seasonally typical decline. As a result, inventories are now 10.9% lower than a year earlier, although it was -15% in mid-January. Production stagnated at 11.6m b/d, but at the end of last week, there was an increase in the number of operating oil rigs from 497 to 516. New data will be released later this evening. Probably, we will see more evidence that producers have stepped up production, convinced of the strength of demand and record profits in many years at their disposal. Locally, the activation of extractive companies is playing into the price pullback from current levels. However, it is a factor in slowing price growth in the longer term, but not a failure. The vector of monetary policy is also worth paying attention to. Rising rates often derail speculative growth in oil. We saw the last two examples on this theme in 2014-2015 when oil collapsed by 75%, and in 2018, it fell by 45%. After those hard lessons, OPEC+ has worked much more closely to meet quotas, so we are talking about a correction rather than a new bear market for oil. Speaking of a local correction, we assume a pullback in the Brent price to the $85 area. That is the peak area in October last year and September 2018 and close to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the rally from December to mid-February. Deeper drawdowns are also possible if monetary tightening coincides with geopolitical détente and slowing demand. In that case, Brent might briefly correct towards $80. Positive signals on the Iran deal are also factors holding oil back. An agreement with Iran would signal an easing of some of the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and add around 1% to the global energy system, allowing the resulting shortfall to be digested and a smooth return to restocking for the world.
Our Attention Should Be Drawn To Fed As Well, An Increase Of Interest Rate Is Likely To Come

Our Attention Should Be Drawn To Fed As Well, An Increase Of Interest Rate Is Likely To Come

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 15.02.2022 15:31
The FED has made it very clear that it will raise its benchmark interest rate, the federal funds rate. This could have severe consequences and even lead to a financial crisis. They are too far behind the curve and will be labeled a major policy error in the future, most likely. They have put themselves in a situation where they are now their own hostage. They need more leadership to describe what a soft landing is going to look like. They have been too slow to act, and now they are going too fast. The “Powell Put” has now been put out to pasture. We believe that the FED will make more rate hikes than they have announced. Goldman Sachs thinks there will be four 25-basis-point increases in the federal funds rate in 2022. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said, “he wouldn’t be surprised if there were even more interest rate hikes than that in 2022. There’s a pretty good chance there will be more than four. There could be six or seven. I grew up in a world where Paul Volcker raised his rates 200 basis points on a Saturday night.” Mr. James Bullard of the St. Louis FED spoke out in an arrogant tone that aggressive action is now required. The markets translated this to mean that the FED was going to call an emergency meeting as soon as this coming week to hike interest rates by no less than 50 basis points. This sent interest rates soaring and stock prices plummeting. WARNING: More Downside To Come Uncertainty abounds regarding the path of inflation and new FED policy. This has created a landscape of continued strong periods of distribution in the equity markets. If there are any bounces, they should be used to sell ‘risk assets’. This has been one of the worst starts to a calendar year in the history of the stock and bond markets. Chart Source: Zero Hedge Last Thursday, the reported inflation rate increased by 7.7 percent, the highest in forty years. Stocks tumble as red-hot inflation print pressures technology shares. Markets didn’t like this, which immediately moved them down. Bears are in control of the market, which can be observed from Friday’s trading session. The U.S. 10-year yield rose above 2% for the first time since August 2019 amid a broad Treasury-market selloff. It was driven by expectations for quicker FED interest-rate hikes to contain faster than predicted inflation. It takes at least two to three years to have any material impact on the economy. One sector is currently doing well, which is the oil sector. Cycle's analysis is applied to find the best stocks to invest in and the best sectors. The next sector we are monitoring is Gold/Silver. Crude oil prices are staying strong. There are a lot of geopolitical factors in play here. I think there's a risk premium on oil right now because of Russia. What The Heck is CPI? The Consumer Price Index, CPI, is the measure of changes in the price level of a basket of consumer goods and services. This is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation in households. Consumer Price Index Summary. Last Thursday, the inflation figures were released, confirming that everything is getting more expensive. It is up 7.5 percent versus last year. Mortgage rates are starting to rise. If you plan to buy a new home, this is the time to do it. These historically low interest rates will not last long. Should I Invest In Gold Today? Owning gold acts as a hedge against inflation as well as a good portfolio diversifier as it is a great store of value. Gold also provides financial cover during geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Gold has historically been an excellent hedge against inflation because its price tends to rise when the cost-of-living increases. Conclusion: It seems the stock market may be on its last leg here. Big money flow has been coming out of the large-cap stocks while commodities have been rising. Commodities are typically one of the last assets to rally before the stock market top and start a bear market. I see all the signs, but we must wait for the price to confirm before taking action. We have seen this setup before in 2015/2016, also in 2018, and the market recovered and rallied dramatically from those levels.  What Trading Strategies Will Help You To Navigate Current Market Trends? Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals. I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
Bonds Not Reflecting Risks Like They Usually Do – Where's The Beef?

Bonds Not Reflecting Risks Like They Usually Do – Where's The Beef?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 11.02.2022 21:46
I've been paying close attention to Bonds as the global markets react to rising inflation and global central bank moves recently. The US Federal Reserve has yet to take any actions to raise rates, but we all know it will come at some point. Longer-term bonds are acting as if these risks are much more subdued than many traders/investors believe – which has me questioning if global central banks have overplayed the stimulus game? Why would traditional safe-haven assets fail to act in a manner that reflects current market risks like they would typically do? Why have precious metals failed to reflect these risks also properly? Is there something brewing in traders' minds that are muting or mitigating these traditional safe-haven assets? Bonds Continue To Slide After COVID Rally This table, reflecting the recent downward trend in Bonds, highlights the weakened safe-haven tendencies. These assets would generally present with rampant inflation and the possibility of multiple Fed rate increases. (Source: SeekingAlpha.com) Increasing uncertainty throughout the globe, and as inflation climbs to the highest levels since the mid-1970s and 1980s, – “where's the beef?” (to reference a 1980s Wendy's commercial phrase). This TLT Weekly chart shows how risks climbed when COVID hit in February 2020. Yet, take a look at how price has consolidated below $156 and has continued to trend lower over the past six months. After a brief move higher, to levels near the $147 to $155 level, TLT has moved decidedly lower over the past 6+ months. This downward price trend illustrates the diminishing fear levels as traders piled into the post-COVID rally phase. This move suggests traders believe inflation may be temporary or that the US Federal Reserve has room to raise rates without disrupting the global economy. I think the current premise and price trend in TLT vastly underestimates the amount of disruption a series of Fed rate hikes would cause the international markets. The US Federal Reserve will likely consider all options before taking an aggressive move to raise rates. Additionally, the US Fed may decide to allow foreign central banks to move more aggressively to raise rates while it decides to take a more measured approach to inflation. The key to future rate increases is how supply chains open up and how consumers continue to engage in economic activities. Any sudden shift by consumers, or further disruptions in supply for manufacturing and consumer staples/discretionary items, could prompt the Fed into taking aggressive actions. From where the Fed Funds Rates currently are, a move above 0.50% would reflect a +500% rate increase. This may prompt some type of “pop” in certain asset bubbles. (Source: St. Louis Fed) Traders should stay keenly focused on market risks and Bond levels throughout 2022 into 2023 as any sudden shift away from current trends could spell trouble. Right now, Bonds are pricing in minimal risks – which may be a mistake. The market dynamics and trends are changing from what we have experienced over the past 40 years for stocks and bonds. The 60/40 portfolio is costing you money now, and bonds can’t keep up with inflation and are more or less yield-less. The only way to navigate the financial markets safely, no matter the direction, is through technical analysis. By following assets and money flows, we identify trend changes and move our capital into whatever index, sector, industry, bond, commodity, country, and even currency ETF. By following the money, you become part of new emerging trends and can profit during weak stock or bond conditions. What Trading Strategies Will Help You To Navigate Current Market Trends? Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase. This may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals. I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
In Contrary To Others, DXY Is Likely To Feel Stable

In Contrary To Others, DXY Is Likely To Feel Stable

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 18.02.2022 16:25
  Gold and the USDX reacted vigorously to the worrisome news concerning Eastern Europe. However, only the latter can be calm about its medium-term future. As geopolitical tensions uplift gold, silver, and mining stocks, they’re in rally mode each time a doom-and-gloom headline surfaces. However, while the ‘will they or won’t they’ saga commands investors’ attention, the USD Index continues to behave rationally. For example, while volatility has increased recently, the dollar basket has held firm. To explain, I wrote on Feb. 17: The USD Index is at its medium-term support line. All previous moves to / slightly below it were then followed by rallies, sometimes really big rallies, so we’re likely to see something like that once again. Such a rally would be the prefect trigger for the triangle-vertex-based reversal in gold and the following slide. Please see below: Furthermore, the USD Index’s recent pullback was far from a surprise. For example, I highlighted on numerous occasions that the greenback is nearing its weekly rising resistance line, and the price action has unfolded as I expected. Moreover, while overbought conditions resulted in a short-term breather, history shows that the USD Index eventually catches its second wind. To explain, I previously wrote: I marked additional situations on the chart below with orange rectangles – these were the recent cases when the RSI based on the USD Index moved from very low levels to or above 70. In all three previous cases, there was some corrective downswing after the initial part of the decline, but once it was over – and the RSI declined somewhat – the big rally returned and the USD Index moved to new highs. As a result, with the USD Index showcasing a reliable history of profound comebacks, higher highs should materialize over the medium term. Please see below: Just as the USD Index took a breather before its massive rally in 2014, it seems that we saw the same recently. This means that predicting higher gold prices (or those of silver) here is likely not a good idea. Continuing the theme, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie, and with the USDX’s long-term breakout clearly visible, the wind remains at the dollar’s back. Furthermore, dollar bears often miss the forest through the trees: with the USD Index’s long-term breakout gaining steam, the implications of the chart below are profound. While very few analysts cite the material impact (when was the last time you saw the USDX chart starting in 1985 anywhere else?), the USD Index has been sending bullish signals for years. Please see below: The bottom line? With my initial 2021 target of 94.5 already hit, the ~98-101 target is likely to be reached over the medium term (and perhaps quite soon). Mind, though: we’re not bullish on the greenback because of the U.S.’s absolute outperformance. It’s because the region is fundamentally outperforming the Eurozone. The EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement of the USD Index, and the relative performance is what really matters. In conclusion, the financial markets remain on Russia-Ukraine watch. While gold, silver, mining stocks, and the USD Index whipsaw on the news, the technical and fundamental backdrops support higher prices for the latter, not the former. Thus, while geopolitical tensions are always short-term bullish for the precious metals, the rush is often short-lived. As a result, the trios’ downtrends that began in late 2020 will likely resurface once the headline-driven market returns to normal. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Wondering How Inflation And Fed Reaction Will Affect Gold

Wondering How Inflation And Fed Reaction Will Affect Gold

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 18.02.2022 16:05
  Not only won’t inflation end soon, it’s likely to remain high. Whether gold will be able to take advantage of it will depend, among others, on the Fed. Do you sometimes ask yourself when this will all end? I don’t mean the universe, nor our lives, nor even this year (c’mon, guys, it has just started!). I mean, of course, inflation. If only you weren’t in a coma last year, you would have probably noticed that prices had been surging recently. For instance, America finished the year with a shocking CPI annual rate of 7.1%, the highest since June 1982, as the chart below shows. Now, the key question is how much higher inflation could rise, or how persistent it could be. The consensus is that we will see a peak this year and subsequent cooling down, but to still elevated levels. This is the view I also hold. However, would I bet my collection of precious metals on it? I don’t know, as inflation could surprise us again, just as it did to most of the economists (but not me) last year. The risk is clearly to the upside. As always in economics, it’s a matter of supply and demand. There is even a joke that all you need to turn a parrot into an economist is to teach it to say ‘supply’ and ‘demand’. Funny, huh? When it comes to the demand side, both the money supply growth and the evolution of personal saving rate implies some cooling down of inflation rate. Please take a look at the chart below. As you can see, the broad money supply peaked in February 2021. Assuming a one-year lag between the money supply and price level, inflation rate should reach its peak somewhere in the first quarter of this year. There is one important caveat here: the pace of money supply growth has not returned to the pre-pandemic level, but it stabilized at about 13%, double the rate seen at the end of 2019. Inflation was then more or less at the Fed’s target of 2%, so without constraining money supply growth, the US central bank couldn’t beat inflation. As the chart above also shows, the personal saving rate has returned to the pre-pandemic level of 7-8%. It means that the bulk of pent-up demand has already materialized, which should also help to ease inflation in the future. However, not all of the ‘forced savings’ have already entered the market. Thus, personal consumption expenditures are likely to be elevated for some time, contributing to boosted inflation. Regarding supply factors, although some bottlenecks have eased, the disruptions have not been fully resolved. The spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and regional lockdowns in China could prolong the imbalances between booming demand and constrained supply. Other contributors to high inflation are rising producer prices, increasing house prices and rents, strong inflation expectations (see the chart below), and labor shortages combined with fast wage growth. The bottom line is that, all things considered – in particular high level of demand, continued supply issues, and de-anchored inflation expectations – I forecast another year of elevated inflation, but probably not as high as in 2021. After reaching a peak in a few months, the inflation rate could ease to, let’s say, around 4% in December, if we are lucky. Importantly, the moderate bond yields also suggest that inflation will ease somewhat later in 2022. What does it mean for the gold market? Well, I don’t have good news for the gold bulls. Gold loves high and accelerating inflation the most. Indeed, as the chart below shows, gold peaks coincided historically with inflation heights. The most famous example is the inflation peak in early 1980, when gold ended its impressive rally and entered into a long bearish trend. The 2011 top also happened around the local inflationary peak. The only exception was the 2005 peak in inflation, when gold didn’t care and continued its bullish trend. However, this was partially possible thanks to the decline in the US dollar, which seems unlikely to repeat in the current macroeconomic environment, in which the Fed is clearly more hawkish than the ECB or other major central banks. The relatively strong greenback won’t help gold shine. Surely, disinflation may turn out to be transitory and inflation may increase again several months later. Lower inflation implies a less aggressive Fed, which should be supportive of gold prices. However, investors should remember that the US central bank will normalize its monetary policy no matter the inflation rate. Since the Great Recession, inflation has been moderate, but the Fed has tightened its stance eventually, nevertheless. Hence, gold may experience a harsh moment when inflation peaks. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
COT Currency Speculators raise their Euro Futures bullish bets to 26-week high

COT Currency Speculators raise their Euro Futures bullish bets to 26-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 19.02.2022 18:38
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday February 15th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data is the gains in the Euro currency futures contracts. Euro speculators boosted their bullish bets for a second straight week this week and for the eighth time out of the past nine weeks. Over this nine-week time-frame, Euro bets have jumped by a total of +59,460 contracts, going from -10,162 net positions on December 21st to +47,581 net positions this week. These gains in the Euro sentiment have now brought the speculator positioning to the highest level in the past twenty-six weeks, dating back to August 17th. Joining the Euro (8,739 contracts) with positive changes this week were the US Dollar Index (1,621 contracts), Brazil real (3,514 contracts), Mexican peso (7,730 contracts),  British pound sterling (10,782 contracts), New Zealand dollar (1,033 contracts), Russian ruble (721 contracts) and the Bitcoin futures (104 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Japanese yen (-7,014 contracts), Canadian dollar (-2,716 contracts), Australian dollar (-953 contracts) and the Swiss franc (-316 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Feb-15-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 54,283 77 35,386 87 -41,548 6 6,162 84 EUR 702,047 84 47,581 50 -85,057 52 37,476 36 GBP 195,302 36 2,237 76 2,874 31 -5,111 45 JPY 199,425 55 -66,162 26 86,256 79 -20,094 6 CHF 45,522 22 -9,715 53 18,888 52 -9,173 36 CAD 144,815 27 12,170 59 -15,116 47 2,946 36 AUD 192,578 77 -86,694 4 97,684 92 -10,990 26 NZD 64,105 71 -9,333 56 12,020 49 -2,687 21 MXN 151,098 26 8,974 31 -12,054 68 3,080 56 RUB 38,960 35 16,164 52 -17,239 46 1,075 64 BRL 67,288 85 23,760 100 -26,225 0 2,465 95 Bitcoin 10,646 56 -215 92 -213 0 428 23   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week was a net position of 35,386 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,621 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 33,765 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 83.9 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 78.0 5.0 14.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 12.8 81.5 3.2 – Net Position: 35,386 -41,548 6,162 – Gross Longs: 42,349 2,717 7,897 – Gross Shorts: 6,963 44,265 1,735 – Long to Short Ratio: 6.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 4.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 86.8 5.6 83.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -6.4 5.3 5.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week was a net position of 47,581 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 8,739 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 38,842 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 49.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.5 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.0 54.7 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.3 66.8 7.4 – Net Position: 47,581 -85,057 37,476 – Gross Longs: 217,899 383,827 89,120 – Gross Shorts: 170,318 468,884 51,644 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 49.6 51.7 36.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 15.1 -16.6 15.7   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week was a net position of 2,237 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 10,782 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,545 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 75.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 31.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 45.1 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 25.7 58.8 12.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.5 57.4 15.0 – Net Position: 2,237 2,874 -5,111 – Gross Longs: 50,151 114,901 24,257 – Gross Shorts: 47,914 112,027 29,368 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 75.6 31.4 45.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 29.8 -27.6 10.8   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week was a net position of -66,162 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -7,014 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -59,148 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 26.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 79.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.2 83.6 9.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.4 40.3 19.6 – Net Position: -66,162 86,256 -20,094 – Gross Longs: 10,425 166,645 18,973 – Gross Shorts: 76,587 80,389 39,067 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 26.2 79.0 6.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.5 0.7 5.2   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week was a net position of -9,715 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -316 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -9,399 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.4 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.0 72.6 19.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.4 31.2 39.2 – Net Position: -9,715 18,888 -9,173 – Gross Longs: 3,652 33,069 8,654 – Gross Shorts: 13,367 14,181 17,827 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.0 52.1 36.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.3 4.8 -11.9   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of 12,170 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -2,716 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,886 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.7 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 37.6 40.4 19.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.2 50.9 17.5 – Net Position: 12,170 -15,116 2,946 – Gross Longs: 54,424 58,524 28,287 – Gross Shorts: 42,254 73,640 25,341 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 59.5 46.6 35.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 22.5 -16.4 0.9   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -86,694 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -953 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -85,741 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.6 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.1 81.0 10.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.1 30.2 15.9 – Net Position: -86,694 97,684 -10,990 – Gross Longs: 11,692 155,928 19,706 – Gross Shorts: 98,386 58,244 30,696 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.7 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 4.4 91.8 25.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.5 -2.3 1.1   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -9,333 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 1,033 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,366 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 48.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.1 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 38.9 55.3 4.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 53.4 36.5 8.6 – Net Position: -9,333 12,020 -2,687 – Gross Longs: 24,923 35,432 2,838 – Gross Shorts: 34,256 23,412 5,525 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.6 48.9 21.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.8 2.6 -13.7   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week was a net position of 8,974 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 7,730 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 1,244 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 67.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 56.1 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 39.4 56.0 4.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 33.4 64.0 2.1 – Net Position: 8,974 -12,054 3,080 – Gross Longs: 59,485 84,673 6,250 – Gross Shorts: 50,511 96,727 3,170 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 2.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 67.8 56.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.9 -8.0 3.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week was a net position of 23,760 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 3,514 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,246 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 95.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.1 16.5 6.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.8 55.5 2.4 – Net Position: 23,760 -26,225 2,465 – Gross Longs: 51,868 11,101 4,095 – Gross Shorts: 28,108 37,326 1,630 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.8 to 1 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 95.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 33.1 -36.1 31.8   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week was a net position of 16,164 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 721 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 15,443 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.8 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 50.8 42.2 6.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 9.4 86.4 4.2 – Net Position: 16,164 -17,239 1,075 – Gross Longs: 19,808 16,440 2,700 – Gross Shorts: 3,644 33,679 1,625 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.4 to 1 0.5 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.6 46.0 63.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.9 -19.2 -12.7   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week was a net position of -215 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 104 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -319 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 22.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.7 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 78.0 3.5 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 80.0 5.5 8.8 – Net Position: -215 -213 428 – Gross Longs: 8,307 369 1,364 – Gross Shorts: 8,522 582 936 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 92.2 22.8 22.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 8.5 -9.8 -6.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February

Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 20.02.2022 08:36
David Floyd is the Founder of Aspen Trading Group. He started his career in the trading industry in 1993. His focus eventually shifted to equities and spent the next years trading on a proprietary equities desk. In 2002, Floyd started Aspen Trading and has grown from a pure prop trading firm into becoming the leading provider of expert FX research and analytics worldwide. With over two decades of expertise in global fundamentals and technical analysis, Floyd has been profiled in RealVision TV, CNBC, and Bloomberg. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Tuesday EUR ECB President Lagarde Speaks JPY GDP AUD RBA Meeting Minutes Wednesday USD PPI GBP CPI Thursday USD Core Retail Sales, Retail Sales CAD Core CPI OIL Crude Oil Inventories USD FOMC Meeting Minutes CAD Employment Change Friday USD Initial Jobless Claims GBP Retail Sales Saturday CAD Core Retail Sales (Times adapted to AEDT timezone) The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February appeared first on Eightcap.
Bullish momentum remains strong

Bullish momentum remains strong

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 20.02.2022 17:36
Even at the last important low (US$$1,750) on December 15th, 2021, the sentiment was still awful as the sector had become the most hated asset class. Now fast-forward, gold has been successfully breaking out of its multi month triangle and keeps sprinting higher. The bulls currently are bending the daily and weekly Bollinger Bands to the upside, and seasonality is still supportive.Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 20th, 2022.Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 20th, 2022.Looking at the weekly chart, it appears that gold not only broke out of a triangle consolidation pattern, but also out of a large inverse head and shoulder pattern. It’s not a textbook head and shoulder, but worthwhile noting. A measured move projection could theoretically take gold towards US$2,125! However, the monthly Bollinger Band, sitting at around US$ 1,975, might be a much more realistic target for the ongoing move. As you might remember, the zone between US$1,950 to US$1,975 is very strong resistance. We would not rule out a short-lived overshoot towards US$,2000, though.Overall, the weekly chart is not yet overbought and looks bullish. Hence, the rally has very good chances to continue for a few more weeks.Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 20th, 2022.Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 20th, 2022.As expected, the breakout above US$1,840 to US$1,850 has unleashed enough energy to quickly push gold prices towards the round psychological number of US$1,900. Fortunately, the daily stochastic has transformed its overboughtness into the rare “embedded status”, where both signal lines are sitting above 80 for more than three days in a row. Hence, the uptrend is locked-in and shorting this market would be fighting the uptrend.Of course, given the uncertain and complex geopolitical situation, events can and likely will strongly influence gold over the coming days and weeks. Speaking from a technical point of you, any pullback towards the breakout zone around US$1,845 would be a buying opportunity. However, prices below US$1,875 would already be a surprise in the short-term. On the contrary, it’s much more likely that gold will continue its run to at least US$1,930 over the coming days.In summary, the daily chart is bullish. Especially the bullish embedded stochastic oscillator likely will not allow any larger pullback, but rather a consolidation around US$1,900. Watch those two signal lines. Only if one of them would be dropping below 80on a daily close, the bull run might be over!GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF) in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 20th, 2022.GDX, daily chart as of February 20th, 2022.Gold & gold related mining stocks often stabilize your portfolio during uncertain times and do act as a hedge. While the stock market continued its dive due to the crisis in Ukraine and the potential interest rate turnaround in the US, the GDX VanEck Gold Miners ETF is up more than 21.5% since its low in mid of December. Over the last two weeks, the leading gold mining stocks recorded some of their best days in the last 12 months. Last week, Barrick Gold ($GOLD) jumped up more than 7% due to good earnings, a dividend increase, and a new share repurchase program. Some smaller gold stocks like Sabina Gold & Silver ($SGSVF) went up even more (+15% Friday, 11th).Now that gold is on the rise, it’s time for the beaten down and undervalued mining stocks to catch up. Usually, it starts with the big senior produces like Barrick Gold, Agnico Eagle Mines ($AEM) and Newmont Corporation ($NEM), then the juniors like for example Victoria Gold Corp. ($VITFF) join and finally, the explorer and developers literally explode higher.However, the GDX has nearly reached its downtrend line as well as the 38.2% retracement of the whole corrective wave since August 2020. Hence, the big miners are running into string resistance and might need to consolidate soon.At the same time, note, that silver has been lagging. Silver always lags most of the time, but in the final stage of sector wide rally it suddenly passes all the other metals and shots up nearly vertically. That also typically is the sign that the rally in the sector is coming to an end. Obviously, we have not yet seen any strong silver days. Therefore, silver actually confirms that the sector has more room and time to run higher!Conclusion: Bullish momentum remains strongOverall, gold continues to look promising here as the bullish momentum remains strong. Hence, Gold is probably on the way towards US$1,950 and US$1,975, with a slight chance for an overshot to US$2,000. But of course, given the rather overbought daily chart, the risk/reward is not that good anymore. Silver and many of the smaller mining stocks, however, might still offer a chance to play the ongoing rally over the next few weeks. Once gold tops out in spring, expect a big pullback. Maybe even back towards the higher trending 200-day moving average (currently at US$1,808) at some point in midsummer. But that is all somewhere in the future. For now, the bullish momentum remains strong.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.Disclosure: Midas Touch Consulting and members of our team are invested in Reyna Gold Corp. These statements are intended to disclose any conflict of interest. They should not be misconstrued as a recommendation to purchase any share. This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Florian Grummes|February 20th, 2022|Tags: $GDXJ, Barrick Gold, GDX, Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold chartbook, gold fundamentals, Newmont Corporation, precious metals, Reyna Gold, Sabina Gold & Silver, Silver, silver bull, US-Dollar, Victoria Gold|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running his own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.
Decentralized Autonomous Organisation - Another Addition To Our Personal Dictionaries

Summing Up The Previous Week: Cardano (ADA), Ether And The First Cryptocurrency Decreased By Ca. 10%

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 21.02.2022 08:24
Last week, BTC repeated the dynamics of the first ten days of February. The rate strengthened on Monday-Tuesday, and on Wednesday, it exceeded the level of $44,800. Then on Thursday, the price began to fall sharply in unison with stock indices. The decrease in risky assets was caused by the growing tension around Ukraine, where the situation is becoming tenser. On Friday, Bitcoin continued to fall, briefly dropping below the round level of $40,000. This mark was broken on Sunday, and BTC tested the next support level at $38,000. The situation is aggravated by the increase in cryptocurrency sales by miners. As a result, the bears may try to push the price to $36,000 and even $33,000. Today, on hopes of a political de-escalation, BTCUSD is up 2.5%, trying to cling to levels above $39,000. I must say that bitcoin has lost all the growth of February over the past week. In addition to the upcoming Fed rate hike, BTC has been hit by growing geopolitical risks. In addition to this, the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, noted that he sees early signs of the onset of crypto winter. This spurred crypto sales among retail investors over the weekend. However, ETHUSD is up 5.3% on Monday, recouping Sunday's decline and continuing to struggle to close the third month in the red. Overall, Bitcoin was down 9.2% over the past week, ending it at around $38,300. Ethereum lost 9.7%, other leading altcoins from the top ten also sank: from 3.3% (Avalanche) to 11% (Cardano). The total capitalization of the crypto market fell by 7% in a week, to $1.82 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index fell 0.7% to 40%, due to less weakening of altcoins. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index lost another 2 points to 25 on Monday, returning to the extreme fear territory.
GBPUSD Chart - Green Candles On The Right Hand Side, USDCAD Moved Down A Little

GBPUSD Chart - Green Candles On The Right Hand Side, USDCAD Moved Down A Little

John Benjamin John Benjamin 21.02.2022 08:53
GBPUSD tests resistance The sterling edged higher after January’s retail sales beat expectations. The recent pause has been an opportunity for the bulls to accumulate. A break above 1.3640 would signal solid buying after previous failed attempts. The daily resistance at 1.3750 would be the next hurdle. Its breach could trigger a broader reversal in the weeks to come. 1.3560 is the immediate support. And 1.3490 at the lower end of the horizontal consolidation is the second line of defense in case the pair needs to attract more support. USDCAD awaits breakout The Canadian dollar tanked after disappointing retail sales in December. The US counterpart is still struggling below the supply zone around 1.2800. A close above this daily resistance could propel the pair to last December’s high at 1.2950, a prerequisite for a bullish continuation in the medium-term. The current sideways action is a sign of indecision. 1.2640 is the lower boundary of the recent consolidation range. A bearish breakout would bring the greenback to a previous low at 1.2560. EURJPY struggles for support The Japanese yen rallies amid growing risk aversion across the board. The euro continues to shed gains from the surge earlier this month. A fall below 131.90 triggered profit-taking, and the latest rally came out to be a dead cat bounce after it was capped by this support-turned-resistance. A break below 130.40 (which sits over the 30-day moving average) shows fragility in market sentiment and would cause another round of sell-off. 129.20 at the base of the bullish impetus would be the next support.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February - 21.02.2022

Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February - 21.02.2022

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 21.02.2022 08:36
We begin to wrap up David Floyd’s coverage of the Eightcap Trade Zone this February, as he tackles this week’s trading week ahead and notes the levels we should be taking note of as markets open today. If you trade the S&P500, or have an interest in Forex pairs you won’t want to miss his latest insight! David Floyd is the Founder of Aspen Trading Group. He started his career in the trading industry in 1993. His focus eventually shifted to equities and spent the next years trading on a proprietary equities desk. In 2002, Floyd started Aspen Trading and has grown from a pure prop trading firm into becoming the leading provider of expert FX research and analytics worldwide. With over two decades of expertise in global fundamentals and technical analysis, Floyd has been profiled in RealVision TV, CNBC, and Bloomberg. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Monday EUR Manufacturing PMIs from Germany, France and Eurozone USD Bank holiday in observance of US Presidents’ Day GBP Manufacturing and Services PMI from UK Tuesday EUR German Ifo Business USD Consumer Confidence (CB), Flash Services and Manufacturing PMIs and S&P/CS House Price Index Wednesday NZD RBNZ Interest Rate Decision, Rate Statement and Press Conference Friday USD Preliminary GDP, unemployment claims and new home sales GBP BOE Gov Bailey speaks EUR ECB President Lagarde speaks Saturday USD Fed Monetary Policy Report The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with David Floyd (Aspen Trading): 21st – 25th February appeared first on Eightcap.
Technical Analysis: Moving Averages - Did You Know This Tool?

S&P 500 Chart And Credit Markets Candles Nears Quite Low Levels

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.02.2022 13:33
S&P 500 opening upswing gave way to more selling, but credit markets didn‘t lead to the downside on a daily basis. This tells me the plunge would likely be challenged shortly. As in facing a reversal attempt – it‘s that junk bonds for all the recent (and still to come) deterioration, will probably rebound a little next. Value already retraced part of Friday‘s decline – it‘s just tech that didn‘t yet react to the Treasuries reprieve. Good to have taken short profits off the table. The table is set for S&P 500 to rise, and for bonds to rally somewhat. And that wouldn‘t be the result of war tensions lifting up Treasuries, gold and oil. Red hot inflation, decelerating growth and compressing yield curve are a challenging environment, and the odds of a 50bp Mar rate hike are overwhelming, but the Fed‘s balance sheet is still rising – now within spitting distance of $9T. Sure they will take on inflation, but I continue to think that by autumn they would be forced to reverse course, and start easing. Fresh stimulus after markets protest during 1H 2022? Would be helpful for the midterms... The consumer isn‘t in a great shape as the confidence data reveal – and that‘s also reflected in the direction of discretionaries vs. staples. Inflation is pinching, and the pressure on the Fed to act, is on – its credibility is being challenged. Food inflation is high, and seeing food at home prices rising this much, is as surefire marker of coming recession as yield curve inversion is. And yield differentials are flattening around the world – quite a few central banks are more ahead in the tightening path than the Fed. Economy slowing down, stock market correction far from over (yes, in spite of the coming rebound, I‘m looking for lower lows still), and precious metals upleg underway – yes, underway, and especially our gold profits can keep rising - as I wrote on Friday: (…) With gold at $1,900 again and silver approaching $24, copper‘s fate is also brightening – the miners‘ continued outperformance is a very good sign. With crude oil taking a breather, the inflationary pressures aren‘t at least increasing, but don‘t look for the Bullard or other statements to defeat inflation – I‘m standing by the 4-5% official rate CPI data for 2022 (discussed in yesterday‘s summary). CPI might turn out even a full percentage point higher – depends upon the hedonics and substitution massaging. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 caught a little buying interest going into the long weekend – better days though look to be coming. Not a monstrous rally, but still an upswing. Credit Markets HYG is indeed basing, and will help stocks move higher next. LQD and TLT are already rising, and there is still somewhat more to come. Bonds have simply deteriorated too fast in 2022, and need a breather. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals fireworks continue – we‘re getting started, and $1,920 is the next stop. Kiss of life from the bond market reprieve comes next, on top of all the other factors I‘ve talked about recently. Crude Oil Crude oil is fairly well bid, but the war jitters are helping it out (as in staving off a bit deeper correction). As both oil and base metals are rising, inflation isn‘t likely to slow down (perhaps later in summer?) - black gold‘s uptrend isn‘t over really. Copper Copper keeps going sideways in a volatile fashion, and can be counted on to break higher – inflationary pressures aren‘t abating, and outweigh the slowing economy. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos did break down over the weekend, but the anticipated risk-on rebound fizzled out a bit too fast – as said on Friday, the bears have the upper hand now. Summary S&P 500 appears on the verge of trying to swing higher, and credit markets would be leading the charge as tech finally turns. Value had trouble declining some more on Friday already. Stock market upswing though wouldn‘t throw the precious metals bulls off balance – not too many weeks have passed since I was at the turn of the year predicting that gold (and silver with miners implied) would be the bullish surprise of 2022 – and for all the talk and preemtive tightening in the credit markets, we haven‘t yet seen the Fed move. Anyway, such a lag in moving the Fed funds rate higher, is normal these decades – we are a long way from the early 1980s when the delay between say 2-year Treasury and Fed funds rate move was some 2 months. Crude oil is likewise going to keep rising, and the same goes naturally for copper following in the footsteps. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Gold, Crude Oil And Forex Pairs - EURUSD, CADJPY, EURJPY - Jason Sen's Analysis Has Them All

Gold, Crude Oil And Forex Pairs - EURUSD, CADJPY, EURJPY - Jason Sen's Analysis Has Them All

Jason Sen Jason Sen 14.02.2022 11:21
USDJPY double top risk increases with a mildly negative candle on the weekly chart. Yen benefitting from safe haven status as war concerns increase. EURJPY had collapsed almost 300 pips at one stage on Friday from Thursday's high, in the flight to the safe haven Yen. The pair remains in a 1 year sideways trend with no other pattern to rely on. CADJPY remains very volatile in the 5 month sideways trend, making it difficult to hold a trade for a more than a few hours. Certainly cannot hold a trade over night. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY now has huge double top risk with a high for the day at the January high. If you did try a short, we broke first support at 115.70/60 to target 115.30/20 with losses as far as 115.00. On the open, holding support at 115.28/25 allows a recovery to resistance at 115.65/70. A break above 115.75 can target 116.00/10 before a retest of 116.20/30. For scalpers we have support at 115.30/20 & 114.93/88. Risking 20 pips to try to scalp a 30-40 pip profit is probably the best strategy I can suggest in these volatile conditions. Further losses however target 114.58/53 with strong support at 114.30/20. EURJPY levels for scalpers in the large, longer term sideways trend are: 131.20/30 & 131.95/132.05, 132.55/65 & 133.05/15. On the downside look out for some support at 130.70/60 & what should be strong support at 130.15/05. Longs need stops below 129.90. CADJPY should have support at 9040/30 & resistance at 9100/9110. In the middle we have a minor level at 9065/70 so I would scalp these levels if the opportunity arises. A break above 9120 can retest last week's high at 9160/70. A break below 9020 targets 8990/80, perhaps as far as 8930/20. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Pinterest (PINS) Stock News and Forecast: Earnings see shares rise, but can it continue?

Pinterest (PINS) Stock News and Forecast: Earnings see shares rise, but can it continue?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.02.2022 16:06
Pinterest shares rise over 12% in the premarket on Friday. PINS stock surges down to an earnings beat on the top and bottom lines. Pinterest shares remain in a long-term downtrend. Pinterest (PINS) reported strong earnings after the close Thursday night that saw the stock move up over 18% in afterhours trading. So far, most of those gains are holding early on Friday with PINS at $27.70. This represents a gain of 13% from Thursday's close. Pinterest Stock News Earnings per share came in at $0.49 versus consensus estimates for $0.45. Revenue hit $846.7 million versus consensus estimates of $827.2 million. The shares immediately jumped on the news. (https://www.fxstreet.com/news) "We took important steps in 2021 with the launch of our foundational technology to deliver a video-first publishing platform. And, I'm proud to say that for the first time, we surpassed $2 billion in revenue for the year — growing 52% over the previous year — and reached our first full-year of GAAP profitability," said Ben Silbermann, CEO and co-founder of Pinterest. PINS was set up for outperformance and the risk-reward was clearly to the upside. PINS stock had closed the regular session on Thursday down over 10% as the read-across from Facebook saw investors dump the stock. (https://www.fxstreet.com/markets/equities) Just like Amazon, a surprise to the upside offered a better risk-reward profile, and so it proved with investors rushing to cover positions. Pinterest Stock Forecast Pinterest remains mired in a long-term downtrend. Paypal (PYPL) had been rumoured to be in discussion to acquire PINS back in October of last year. PINS shares had spiked to $65 on the rumour, but supposedly Paypal shareholders resisted and nothing ever happened. This led PINS shares on a steady downweard path ever since. The shares are down nearly 70% in the last year and 26% already this year. This move does not really do much to turn that trend around in our view. The big damage was done in the break of $32.34. That remains the bullish pivot. The first support is at $24.08. Pinterest (PINS) chart, (https://www.fxstreet.com/rates-charts/chart) 20 hourly
Markets News: Crude Oil, Gold, EuroStoxx 600, Copper

Analysing Macro, The Conflict In Eastern Europe, Standard And Poor 500 And US100

Purple Trading Purple Trading 21.02.2022 12:53
The Swing Overview – Week 7 Macroeconomic events last week had a secondary impact on market volatility. The "big story" that is currently moving the markets is the situation in Ukraine. Equity indices weakened and retested their strong supports. Last week's winner, on the other hand, is the gold, which, due to these geopolitical uncertainties, surprisingly strengthened to USD 1,900 per ounce, where it last traded in June 2021.   Macroeconomic data from the US  US industrial inflation on an annual basis came in at 9.7%, up from 9.8% in the previous month. This is the first decline in industrial inflation since April 2020. Retail sales reported very strong data, rising 3.8% in January (previous month was down 2.5%).  In the labor market, there was an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims of 248k (expectations were for a 219k increase). FOMC meeting minutes released on Wednesday did not indicate that the Fed was seriously considering a 0.50% rate hike in March. This gave the markets and risk currencies a temporary boost, but the main driver of the markets last week was the situation in Ukraine. Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine Last week Friday, when Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, warned that Russia could attack Ukraine "any day now", sent stock indices into the red and investors focused on so-called "save havens" such as the US bonds and the gold, which rallied strongly. In contrast, commodity currencies, stock indices and cryptocurrencies, which are seen as risky assets, weakened. This suggests what might happen if an invasion actually took place. At the moment, however, both sides seem to be open to diplomatic solution of the crisis. This brings some relief and cautious optimism even though further developments are unclear.  Let’s have a look at how the US bond yields are reacting to the situation: Figure 1: 10 year government bond yield on the 4H chart and the USD index on the daily chart Demand for these bonds has been rising as investors view the US government bonds as a "save haven" in times of uncertainty. This increases the price of these bonds. Since there is an inverse relationship between the price of bonds and their interest yield, a rise in the price of bonds then pushes down their yields. This explains why the yield on these bonds fell on Friday last week as a result of the news of a possible Russian attack.   Overall, however, yields on these bonds continue to rise as investors anticipate a rise in the US interest rates. This in turn has had a negative effect on the technology stocks in the NASDAQ index in particular.   NASDAQ a SP500 Figure 2: The US NASDAQ index on H4 and D1 chart The NASDAQ started last week on Friday with a significant decline as the other indices.  Then there was a correction of this decline as news emerged that Russia was withdrawing some of its troops from the Ukrainian border and that military exercises were over. However, the next report was that the US was not seeing any change at the border with Ukraine and the NASDAQ index fell again. The current situation is that both sides have agreed to further negotiations.  It can be seen from this how sensitive the indices are to such news. We therefore recommend that our clients keep an eye on any breaking news that emerges in relation to the situation in Ukraine.  The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 14,606 - 14,673. The next resistance is then 15050 - 15100.  Support according to the H4 chart is at 14,050 - 14,100.  Significant support according to the daily chart is at 13,750-13,950.  As for the US SP 500 index, the situation is similar here.   Figure 3: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart The nearest resistance is at 4,471 – 4,491. The next strong resistance is in the area at 4,580 - 4,600.  Support according to the H4 chart is at 4,357 – 4,367. According to the daily chart, significant support is at 4,225 - 4,300.   German DAX index Germany reported ZEW economic sentiment, which came in at 54.3 (previous month 51.7). This indicates an improving outlook for the German economy over the next six months. However, this index was under pressure last week as were the US indices.  Figure 4: The DAX on H4 and daily chart  On February 14, the index fell to 14,841, where the previous support is. The zone of this strong support according to the daily chart is quite wide: 14,800 - 15,000. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is 15,440 - 15,530. The next resistance then immediately follows this zone and is in the 15 534 - 15 617 range.   The EUR/USD under pressure The EURUSD has shown that in times of political uncertainty, this pair tends to weaken. The decline was justified in terms of technical analysis by the false break of the resistance, which is in the area of 1.1465 - 1.1480. Figure 5: EURUSD on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the area of 1.1380 - 1.1400. Support according to the H4 chart is at 1.1280 - 1.1300. Very strong support according to the daily chart is then at 1.1120 - 1.1140.   The Gold The gold surprised last week with unexpected strength based on the situation around Ukraine. News that Russia may attack Ukraine any day has caused the gold price to rise. It eventually reached $1,900 per troy ounce, where it last traded in June 2021.  Figure 6: The gold on the H4 and D1 chart The nearest resistance according to the daily chart is USD 1,900 - 1,916 per troy ounce of gold.  The nearest support is 1,872 - 1,878. The most significant support is then at 1 845 - 1 852 USD per troy ounce. Once geopolitical tensions calm down and US government bond yields continue to rise, this should be negative news for gold. 
Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD falls back under $1,900 after setting fresh multi-month highs near-$1,910

Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD falls back under $1,900 after setting fresh multi-month highs near-$1,910

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.02.2022 16:08
Gold hit fresh multi-month highs near the $1,910 on Monday but has since dropped back under the $1,900 handle. Geopolitics remains the wildcard that could stoke surprise volatility in either a bullish or bearish direction. Spot gold (XAU/USD) prices hit fresh multi-month highs near $1,910 on Monday during Asia Pacific session, but have again failed to hold north of the $1,900 handle. In recent trade, the precious metal has been caught going sideways in the mid-$1,890s, with the prospect for a fresh push higher again on Monday limited by the lack of market volume stateside. US markets are shut on Monday for Presidents Day so it is likely to be a very quiet US session. Geopolitics remains the wildcard that could stoke surprise volatility in either a bullish or bearish direction. The Russian rouble has been coming under significant pressure on Monday, indicative of rising fears of a Russian invasion/military incursion into Ukraine that would trigger a round of sanctions from Western countries against Moscow. Violence between pro-Russia separatists and Ukraine’s military in the contested Donbass region continued on Monday, the former group upping the inflammatory rhetoric by accusing Ukraine’s military of shelling and planning a full-scale assault. This is keeping gold underpinned close to recent highs. At current levels in the mid-$1,890s, the precious metal trades close to flat on the day and only about 0.75% below earlier session highs. One bearish risk to note for gold is whether a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden goes ahead this week following recent chatter. The meeting could be a good opportunity to ease tensions somewhat. Otherwise, US data and Fed speak will be worth watching, but will, for the most part, still play second fiddle to the Ukraine crisis.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Altcoins unpause rally as BTC bounces

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Altcoins unpause rally as BTC bounces

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.02.2022 16:08
Bitcoin price is likely to retest $42,748 after bouncing off the $36,398 to $38,895 demand zone. Ethereum price follows BTC and eyes the retest of $3,200. Ripple price kick-starts another consolidation, foreshadowing an explosive breakout to $1. Bitcoin price has retraced after failing to make it over a crucial hurdle. The downtrend was cut short, though, due to the presence of a demand zone. A bounce off this zone is likely to provide Ethereum, Ripple and other altcoin traders a brief opportunity to go long. Bitcoin price to attempt a relief rally Bitcoin price faced intense rejection as it approached the weekly supply zone extending from $45,550 to $51,860. This encounter resulted in a 17% drop to a daily demand zone, extending from $36,398 to $38,895. A retest of this support area is crucial as it will allow Bitcoin price a chance to retry, invalidating the weekly hurdle. From a conservative standpoint, this relief rally is capped at $45,550. In some cases, the uptrend could preemptively stop at $42,748. BTC/USD 1-day chart If Bitcoin price produces a daily candlestick close below $34,752, it will invalidate the bullish thesis and suggest the possibility of further descent. In this case, BTC could slide lower and retest $29,100, collecting the liquidity resting below it. Ethereum price barely survives Ethereum price is in the same boat as BTC as it was rejected by a daily supply zone, extending from $3,188 to $3,393. The resulting correction pushed ETH to an immediate support area, ranging from $2,608 to $2,812. Ethereum price came close to breaching this barrier but managed not to invalidate it. Going forward, ETH will continue to follow BTC’s footsteps and attempt a relief rally. The upside for the smart contract token is capped at the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $2,973 or the lower limit of the supply zone at $3,188. A daily close above $3,393 will forecast a possible retest for Ethereum price at the $3,600 level. ETH/USD 1-day chart The breaking point for Ethereum would come with a daily close below the $2,324; this development could crash ETH price to $1,730 to collect liquidity resting below. Ethereum continues to face massive resistance cluster near $3,300, ETH consolidation likely Ripple price coils up again Ripple price has been consolidating since February 12 and is primed for another explosive breakout. An upside move seems likely considering the recent bullish outlook for bellwether influencer BTC. Market makers are likely to push the XRP price to retest the $1 and collect the liquidity resting above it. However, if the bullish momentum flags, the remittance token could produce a local top below at $0.855. XRP/USD 12-hour chart A twelve-hour candlestick close beneath the $0.746 support level will indicate a bearish breakout is underway. This will invalidate the bullish thesis and likely see Ripple price knocked down to $0.679, thereby filling the fair value gap. XRP develops bullish continuation pattern before breakout to $1
UK100 Price Trades Below Levels Of The Week Before, Silver Price Raised Noticeably

UK100 Price Trades Below Levels Of The Week Before, Silver Price Raised Noticeably

John Benjamin John Benjamin 22.02.2022 08:59
USDCHF tests daily support The Swiss franc surges as the US-Russia stalemate boosts demand for safe haven assets. Consecutive drops below 0.9220 and then 0.9180 suggest that sellers have taken control. The greenback is heading towards January’s double bottom around 0.9110. A break below this key floor would trigger a deeper correction towards the psychological level of 0.9000. The RSI’s oversold situation may cause a temporary rebound. The support-turned-resistance at 0.9220 is the level to break to give the bulls any hope of recovery. XAGUSD bounces higher Bullion rallies over ongoing geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe. Silver gained momentum after a break above the supply zone at 23.90. A brief fallback found support over 23.10 which indicates solid buying interest. The price is grinding up along a rising trendline and sentiment remains upbeat as long as it stays above the congestion area near the trendline and 23.60. January’s peak at 24.70 is the target when volatility picks up again. A bullish breakout could trigger a broader reversal in the weeks to come. UK 100 struggles for support The FTSE 100 tumbles as risk appetite slips across the board. The bulls’ latest effort to push beyond 7630 turned out to be futile. A break below 7500 suggests a lack of commitment and weighs on short-term sentiment. Intraday traders have switched sides and look to fade the next bounce towards the former support. A dip below 7430 has opened the door to 7330 as the next target. Further down, the daily support at 7240 would be a major level to keep the uptrend intact in the medium term.
Crypto Charts - BTC Monthly, Weekly, Daily Chart

Crypto Charts - BTC Monthly, Weekly, Daily Chart

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 22.02.2022 09:33
Bitcoin, best in play   The Covid environment brought an additional variant risk factor to the table, especially when it comes to investor psychology. Our last weekly chart book publication made a case for positioning one’s risk hedge plays this year when equity markets most likely trade in a volatile sideways range. We also spoke of a proper wealth preservation strategy, holding both bitcoin and gold within a hedged risk reduction approach for your monies. With our primary focus on risk, the next question is allocation size between bitcoin and gold. As mentioned in the intro, it feels intuitively natural to have significant exposure to the gold side from a cycle history. Yet, insurance seems essential at this time, and as such, we tend to be a bit more aggressive towards bitcoin allocations. Bitcoin, daily chart, not just yet: Bitcoin, daily chart as of February 22nd, 2022. The daily chart reflects the common notion of bitcoin trading alongside PMI numbers and the market as a whole. With the recent break of the modest bounce from the US$33,500 level up leg (yellow up-channel), no immediate low-risk entries for longer-term exposure seems in play.   Bitcoin, weekly chart, great setup, bitcoin, best in play: Bitcoin, weekly chart as of February 22nd, 2022. Nevertheless, we find now zooming out to the weekly time frame a quite interesting entry zone (white box) between the levels US$30,000 to US$34,000. We identified by stacking multiple edges that an entry near US$31,800 would provide the most low-risk entry profile. However, it will depend on how prices will arrive at these levels. As such, we encourage you to check back in our free Telegram channel.  There we post-entries, and exits for educational purposes in real-time. Bitcoin, monthly chart, amazing potential: Bitcoin, monthly chart as of February 22nd, 2022. Where matters become more transparent, and our headlines supported, is at a view of the monthly chart. The first leg up was nothing short of a 1,600% advancement. Now we have been trading for a year in a bullish up sloping sideways channel. With a possible entry at the lows of this channel, a long-term investment provides for a stellar risk/reward-ratio. The second legs are typically longer than the first legs! But that is not all; bitcoin has a higher probability of four-leg moves versus three-leg moves. Consequently, this trade could turn out to be highly profitable after some time. One aspect of risk is the relationship between the size of a potential down move of price and the size of a likely up move. We find bitcoins’ upward potential much more significant than gold for its fundamental characteristics and stellar outperforming history percentagewise. Bitcoin, best in play: Summing it up, bitcoin might not be at its lowest retracement levels yet. Still, its powerful potential in risk/reward-ratio and as an overall risk hedge makes it best in play. We share a low-risk cost averaging in strategy in our free Telegram channel. We find that allocation of funds should be more dominant towards bitcoin. In addition, holding some cash as much as money is deflating can still be a good strategy. Cash is king to purchase desired goods and vehicles, especially when those are even more depressed.    Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|February 22nd, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, bitcoin consolidation, Bitcoin correction, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, Gold, Gold bullish, low risk, NASDAQ, quad exit, S&P 500, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/2/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/2/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 22.02.2022 11:48
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/2/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index rose by 1,621 contracts last week. This change is the result of an increase in long positions by 1,979 contracts and an increase in short positions by 358 contracts. Growth in total net speculator positions occurred last week in the euro, the British pound and the New Zealand dollar. Decrease in total net positions occurred in the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen, the Canadian dollar, and the Swiss franc. In the event of a Russian invasion to Ukraine, markets would move into risk-off sentiment. This means that investors would sell risk assets, which include stock indices, and shift their resources into assets that are considered as safe havens in such situations, which include US government bonds and gold. In currency terms, this means that the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc in particular could then appreciate in such a situation. Commodity currencies (especially AUD, NZD) might weaken. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators Date USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715 Feb 08, 2022 33765 38842 -8545 -85741 -10366 -59148 14886 -9399 Feb 01, 2022 34571 29716 -23605 -79829 -11698 -60640 18264 -8239 Jan 25, 2022 36861 31560 -7763 -83273 -10773 -68273 12317 -8796 Jan 18, 2022 36434 24584 -247 -88454 -8331 -80879 7492 -10810 Jan 11, 2022 37892 6005 -29166 -91486 -8604 -87525 -7376 -7660 Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the end of this report. Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 700098 218973 180131 38842 14667 5410 -3716 9126 Bullish Feb 01, 2022 685431 213563 183847 29716 2479 155 1999 -1844 Weak bullish Jan 25, 2022 682952 213408 181848 31560 -8930 1507 -5469 6976 Bullish Jan 18, 2022 691882 211901 187317 24584 9589 7540 -11039 18579 Bullish Jan 11, 2022 682293 204361 198356 6005 4075 5288 -2271 7559 Bullish         Total change 23829 18826 -30309 49135     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached 47,581 contracts last week, up by 8,739 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 1,074 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 9,813 contracts. Total net speculators positions have increased by 49,135 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators closing 30,309 short positions and adding 18,826 long positions. This data suggests continued bullish sentiment for the euro. However, the rising open interest, which increased by 1,949 contracts in the last week, shows the opposite, as the euro fell down last week and this decline is supported by the rising number of open interest contracts. So more bearish traders were in the market. So we have conflicting information here. The euro weakened slightly last week on fears of an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Long-term resistance: 1.1461 – 1.15 Support: 1.1280 - 1.1300. Next support is near 1.1220 - 1.1240. A strong support is in 1.1120-1.1140. The British Pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 197948 44709 53254 -8545 13941 15112 52 15060 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 184007 29597 53202 -23605 1967 -7069 8773 -15842 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 182040 36666 44429 -7763 -1194 -3094 4422 -7516 Bearish Jan 18, 2022 183234 39760 40007 -247 -17259 9254 -19665 28919 Weak bearish Jan 11, 2022 200493 30506 59672 -29166 486 4526 -5479 10005 Weak bearish         Total change -4705 24171 -17237 41408     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached 2,237 contracts last week, up by 10,782 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions of 5,442 contracts and a decrease in short positions of 5,340 contracts. Total net positions have increased by 41,408 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators exiting 17,237 short positions and adding 24,171 long positions. This data suggests bullish sentiment for the pound. Open interest, which fell by 2,646 contracts last week, is indicating that the bullish price action that occurred in the pound last week was not supported by volume and therefore it is weak. Risk off sentiment in US equities could have a negative effect on the Pound as well as the Euro, which could then send the Pound towards support which is at 1.3380. Long-term resistance: 1.3620-1.3640. Next resistance is near 1.3680 – 1.3750. Support: 1.3490 – 1.3520. A next support is near 1.3320 – 1.3380 and then mainly in the zone near 1.3200. The Australian dollar   Date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish Feb 08, 2022 196403 17323 103064 -85741 -510 -1512 4400 -5912 Bearish Feb 01, 2022 196913 18835 98664 -79829 6893 3714 270 3444 Weak bearish Jan 25, 2022 190020 15121 98394 -83273 8884 6070 889 5181 Weak bearish Jan 18, 2022 181136 9051 97505 -88454 -4317 -3332 -6364 3032 Weak bearish Jan 11, 2022 185453 12383 103869 -91486 5346 -249 1871 -2120 Bearish         Total change 12471 -940 -3612 2672     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1 Total net speculator positions last week reached -86,694 contracts, down 953 contracts from the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions of 5,631 contracts and a decrease in short positions of 4,678 contracts. This data suggests continued bearish sentiment on the Australian dollar, which is confirmed by the downtrend. Total net positions have increased by 2,672 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators exit of 3,612 short contracts while exiting 940 long contracts at the same time. However, last week saw a decrease in open interest of 3,825 contracts. This means that the upward price action that occurred last week was weak in terms of volume because new money did not flow into the market. The Australian dollar is very sensitive to the international geopolitical situation. If the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalates, we can expect it to weaken especially on the AUDUSD pair and also the AUDJPY. Long-term resistance: 0.7200-0.7250 and especially near 0.7270-0.7310. Long-term support: 0.7085-0.7120. A strong support is near 0.6960 – 0.6990. The New Zealand dollar   Date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions Change Open Interest Change Long Change Short Change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish Feb 08, 2022 54877 17168 27534 -10366 -3590 -2037 -3369 1332 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 58467 19205 30903 -11698 5151 3257 4182 -925 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 53316 15948 26721 -10773 8589 4336 6778 -2442 Bearish Jan 18, 2022 44727 11612 19943 -8331 2661 652 379 273 Weak bearish Jan 11, 2022 42066 10960 19564 -8604 1764 1543 1302 241 Weak bearish         Celková změna 23803 15506 15994 -488     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached a negative value last week - 9,333 contracts, having increased by 1,033 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 7,755 contracts and an increase in short positions by 6,722 contracts. This data suggests that the bearish sentiment for the New Zealand Dollar continues, but has started to weaken over the past week. Total net positions have declined by 488 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators adding 15,994 short positions and adding 15,506 long positions. Open interest rose significantly last week, increasing by 9,228 contracts. The rise in the NZDUSD price action that occurred last week is therefore supported by volume and therefore the move was strong. The reason for the NZD strengthening last week is that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is likely to raise interest rates to 1% on Feb 23, 2022. However, if the conflict in Ukraine escalates further, the NZDUSD could more likely weaken. The reason for the NZDUSD's decline from a technical analysis perspective could also be that the NZDUSD price has reached horizontal resistance and also the upper downtrend line from the daily chart. Long-term resistance: 0.6700 – 0.6740 and then 0.6850 – 0.6890. Long-term support: 0.6590-0.6600 and the next support is at 0.6500 – 0.6530. Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD underpinned above $1900 as Russia/Ukraine crisis escalates

Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD underpinned above $1900 as Russia/Ukraine crisis escalates

FXStreet News FXStreet News 22.02.2022 15:58
After hitting fresh multi-month highs at $1914, spot gold is consolidating above $1900 as the Russia/Ukraine crisis escalates.As traders worry about the rising risk of a full-scale Russian military incursion into Ukraine, gold will likely remain supported.As the Russia/Ukraine crisis continues to escalate, most recently with Russia recognising the independence of and moving troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, prompting NATO nations to announce/prepare new sanctions on Russia, gold has moved back above $1900. Spot prices (XAU/USD) hit fresh multi-month highs at $1914 on Tuesday and, though pulling back from these highs printed during Asia pacific trade as dip-buying facilitating an intra-day rebound in global equities markets, has remained above the key $1900 level.With market participants nervous that Russia/pro-Russia separatists in Eastern Ukraine could initiate further hostilities against Ukraine, thus further escalating the risk of an all-out Ukraine/Russia conflict, gold is likely to remain well underpinned this week. Brent oil spiked to close to $100 per barrel on Tuesday and EU natural gas prices were up sharply as Germany pledged not to approve the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas directly to Germany from Russia. The upside risks posed to global inflation from any continued spike in energy prices as a result of further Russia/Ukraine crisis escalation is likely boosting demand for gold as an inflation hedge.Recent Fed speak and US data releases have not had much of an impact on gold in recent days as price action takes its cue from geopolitics. Hawkish commentary from Fed’s Michelle Bowman on Monday, who essentially said she was still undecided as the whether the Fed should hike rates by 25 or 50bps in March, was roundly shrugged off. That suggests that other Fed speak this week is also likely to be ignored, or, at least, play second fiddle, with this also likely the case for Friday’s January US Core PCE inflation data. Ahead of that, traders should keep an eye on upcoming US PMI and CB Consumer Confidence surveys, both the flash readings for February.
Credit Markets Trades Really Low, Oil Price Reaches High Levels At The Same Time

Credit Markets Trades Really Low, Oil Price Reaches High Levels At The Same Time

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.02.2022 15:36
S&P 500 is waking up to fresh European news, and holds up well. There is no panic upswing in gold and silver, but crude oil and natural gas are up the most. As the U.S. markets are to open following yesterday‘s Washington‘s Birthday holiday, let‘s bring up the key details of yesterday‘s analysis: (…) S&P 500 opening upswing gave way to more selling, but credit markets didn‘t lead to the downside on a daily basis. This tells me the plunge would likely be challenged shortly. As in facing a reversal attempt – it‘s that junk bonds for all the recent (and still to come) deterioration, will probably rebound a little next. Value already retraced part of Friday‘s decline – it‘s just tech that didn‘t yet react to the Treasuries reprieve. Good to have taken short profits off the table. The table is set for S&P 500 to rise, and for bonds to rally somewhat. And that wouldn‘t be the result of war tensions lifting up Treasuries, gold and oil. Red hot inflation, decelerating growth and compressing yield curve are a challenging environment, and the odds of a 50bp Mar rate hike are overwhelming, but the Fed‘s balance sheet is still rising – now within spitting distance of $9T. Sure they will take on inflation, but I continue to think that by autumn they would be forced to reverse course, and start easing. Fresh stimulus after markets protest during 1H 2022? Would be helpful for the midterms... The consumer isn‘t in a great shape as the confidence data reveal – and that‘s also reflected in the direction of discretionaries vs. staples. Inflation is pinching, and the pressure on the Fed to act, is on – its credibility is being challenged. Food inflation is high, and seeing food at home prices rising this much, is as surefire marker of coming recession as yield curve inversion is. And yield differentials are flattening around the world – quite a few central banks are more ahead in the tightening path than the Fed. Economy slowing down, stock market correction far from over (yes, in spite of the coming rebound, I‘m looking for lower lows still), and precious metals upleg underway – yes, underway, and especially our gold profits can keep rising - as I wrote on Friday: (…) With gold at $1,900 again and silver approaching $24, copper‘s fate is also brightening – the miners‘ continued outperformance is a very good sign. With crude oil taking a breather, the inflationary pressures aren‘t at least increasing, but don‘t look for the Bullard or other statements to defeat inflation – I‘m standing by the 4-5% official rate CPI data for 2022 (discussed in yesterday‘s summary). CPI might turn out even a full percentage point higher – depends upon the hedonics and substitution massaging. What a long quote – let‘s update it with the premarket action. S&P 500 is still waiting with its potential upsing, dollar has gone nowhere really, and precious metals look like having a bright day today. The crude oil upswing shows that markets don‘t like the geopolitical news, and are likely to behave in a risk-off way of late (Treasuries, gold and oil up benefiting most). The internals of today‘s stock market action would be telling – I recently got an interesting question touching also upon rates and real estate: Q: I read your most recent newsletter with great interest: 1. You think the Fed would start to ease this fall? In your opinion, how long would that last?  Midterm would be done soon there after so would it be a quick few months then revert back to higher rates? 2. I’m asking question #1 as it would impact real estate. 3. You anticipate a “temporary” rise in the S&P this week? Are you thinking just a few days? I noticed 10 yr is going down. A: Thank you for asking. I'll take 1 & 2 in one go - I think they would change course latest autumn. So, now hawkish and raising, then turning to easing before midterms. Let's see first the damage this tightening does, and the degree to which they then turn dovish. As regards real estate, it's slowing down, homebuilders, XLRE... Headwinds would be stiffening, rates are eating into mortgages, but those ZIP codes where immigration into is high, would do best - but the overall, total real estate isn't an appealing proposition. When markets open, there is likely to be a little SPX rally off oversold readings. Sure, they can get more oversold - that's the way it goes during bearish episodes, which is why I'm not long. The trend for now is to the downside, so I would keep predominantly looking and taking opportunities to short. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 caught a little buying interest going into the long weekend – better days though look to be coming. Not a monstrous rally, but still an upswing. Credit Markets HYG is indeed basing, and will help stocks move higher next. LQD and TLT are already rising, and there is still somewhat more to come. Bonds have simply deteriorated too fast in 2022, and need a breather. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals fireworks continue – we‘re getting started, and $1,920 is the next stop. Kiss of life from the bond market reprieve comes next, on top of all the other factors I‘ve talked about recently. Crude Oil Crude oil is fairly well bid, but the war jitters are helping it out (as in staving off a bit deeper correction). As both oil and base metals are rising, inflation isn‘t likely to slow down (perhaps later in summer?) - black gold‘s uptrend isn‘t over really. Copper Copper keeps going sideways in a volatile fashion, and can be counted on to break higher – inflationary pressures aren‘t abating, and outweigh the slowing economy. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos stopped breaking down today, and the price action smacks of joining in the modest risk-on upswing, as unbelievable as it sounds. Summary Yesterday‘s summary is valid also today – S&P 500 appears on the verge of trying to swing higher, and credit markets would be leading the charge as tech finally turns. Value had trouble declining some more on Friday already. Stock market upswing though wouldn‘t throw the precious metals bulls off balance – not too many weeks have passed since I was at the turn of the year predicting that gold (and silver with miners implied) would be the bullish surprise of 2022 – and for all the talk and preemtive tightening in the credit markets, we haven‘t yet seen the Fed move. Anyway, such a lag in moving the Fed funds rate higher, is normal these decades – we are a long way from the early 1980s when the delay between say 2-year Treasury and Fed funds rate move was some 2 months. Crude oil is likewise going to keep rising, and the same goes naturally for copper following in the footsteps. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Tension Beetween Ukraine And Russia Definetely Shaped News In Recent Days

EURGBP - Does The Single Currency Strengthen? Bearish GER 40 Ahead?

John Benjamin John Benjamin 23.02.2022 08:52
EURUSD bounces off support The euro surged over signs that Moscow may remain open to diplomacy. The pair found support at the base of the previous rally (1.1290), indicating the bulls’ commitment to keeping the rebound intact. The RSI’s oversold situation attracted a slew of bargain hunters betting on a lengthy rebound. A break above 1.1390 would prompt sellers to cover and pave the way for a sustained recovery. The recent peak and daily resistance at 1.1490 is a major hurdle. Its breach could extend the rally to 1.1600. EURGBP attempts reversal The sterling whipsawed after BOE officials’ comment about a “modest” rate hike over the coming months. The euro saw strong bids at the base of the February breakout rally (0.8310). A break above 0.8370 wiped out some selling interest, a prerequisite for a meaningful recovery. 0.8400 is the next resistance and its breach would further boost buyers’ confidence and propel the single currency to the recent high at 0.8475. On the downside, a bearish breakout would invalidate the rebound pattern and cause a sell-off below 0.8280. GER 40 breaks floor Trepid sentiment continues to weigh on the Dax. The plunge below the 9-month long consolidation area (14850) may foreshadow a bear market. As traders grew wary, trapped bulls would look to get out of their positions while the bears saw any rebound as an opportunity to sell into strength. An oversold RSI brought in some bids and 14850 is the immediate resistance. However, the index would remain under unless it lifts offers around 15200. Otherwise, the psychological level of 14000 would be the next stop.
Swaps: FX Swap vs. Cross-Currency Swaps

Swaps: FX Swap vs. Cross-Currency Swaps

Purple Trading Purple Trading 23.02.2022 11:09
~/getmedia/fbdf02b1-4fa2-42af-bbad-7f789e463bc0/P-swapy.png Swaps: FX Swap vs. Cross-Currency Swaps Swaps are derivative contracts serving for the purpose of exchanging financial instruments. through which two parties exchange financial instruments. Such instruments can comprise of different values, however, the mostly popular is the exchange of cash when both parties agree on certain notional principal. In practice, banks do not change the principal. Each of the cash flows has a so-called swap leg. Often, one leg comprises of a fixed cash flows, while the other leg is somehow variable, therefore it’s moving according to some interest rate, fx rate or any other indices, etc. Interest rate swaps (IRS) This is the most frequently used swap type on the interbank market. It’s not a business of any retail traders, nor they can’t be found on any exchanges. This is a derivative for an over-the-counter market (OTC), where banks (or any other financial institutions) exchange currencies.   Calculation of an IRS: Bank A has issued a 5-yr bond with a variable annual interest rate according to the LIBOR rate + 1.3% (130 basis points). Bank A makes an agreement with the Bank B, expressing its will to pay LIBOR + 1.3% for $1 million for 5 years to the Bank A. In exchange, Bank A pays the fixed annual rate of 5% on a notional value of $1 million for the same 5 years. Let’s imagine the LIBOR stays at 1.5%. In the event the rate rises over the next 5 years, Bank A benefits from such deal. In the event LIBOR rises 0.75% p.a., Bank A pays $215,000 to bond holders Year 2 = 1.5% + 0.75% = 2.25% Year 3 = 2.25% + 0.75% = 3.0% Year 4 = 3.0% + 0.75% = 3.75% Year 5 = 3.75% + 0.75% = 4.5% $215,000 = $1,000,000 x [(5 x 0.013) + 0.015 + 0.0225 + 0.03 + 0.0375 + 0.045] This means that the Bank A pays $75,000 more to its bond holders as if the rate stayed the same (so it would pay only $140,000 if LIBOR had remained unchanged at 1.5%: 140 000 $ = 1 000 000 $ x 5 x (0,013 + 0,015) Bank A pays Bank B $250,000: 250 000 $ = 1 000 000 $ x 5 x 0,05 Bank A receives $215,000 from the Bank B. Therefore, its net loss on the swap comes to $250,000 - $215,000 = $35,000. FX swaps An FX swap is another kind of agreement between two banks, exchanging one currency for another (so the EU-based Bank A lends EUR to the Bank B, while the U.S.-based Bank B lends U.S. dollars to the Bank A). In this case, the collateral for meeting its obligation is the amount to be repaid by one party to another. Such repayment depends on the exchange rate, so the development is clear since the beginning. According to the most frequent situation for FX swaps, the picture from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) depicts the exchange of EUR for USD through swap. The Bank A borrows USD (X·S USD) from the Bank B while lending the EUR (X EUR) to the Bank B (S means the FX spot rate). After the expiration (if not prolonged), the Bank A is obliged to return USD (X·F USD) to the Bank B, while the Bank B must return EUR (X EUR) to the Bank A (F means the FX forward rate since the start).   FX swaps are popular on the interbank market as they allow the banks to reach to foreign currencies easily (could apply to exporting/importing companies as well). Thanks to its popularity on the OTC market, their maturities have been often prolonged for more than 1 year, however the banks are always looking for further possibilities and derivatives as they need foreign cash flows as well. Good example is the swaption (option giving the right to the user to open a swap at certain time for the underlying asset). Fig. 1: System of FX swaps – source: BIS Cross-Currency Swaps Cross-currency swaps are used less frequently, however, they play an important role on the interbank OTC market. Here, the banks borrow on currency, while lending another currency at the same time to the bank they borrowed from. The system is little upgraded from the FX swaps, albeit many traders tend to mix these two swap types. Here, the EU-based Bank A borrows USD (X·S USD) from the Bank B, while providing it EUR (X EUR) as in case of FX swaps. Nevertheless, here the Bank A receives EUR 3M Libor+ α from the Bank B, while the Bank A pays USD 3M Libor to the Bank B every quarter (3M or Q). The α is the price of the basis swap, agreed between the parties at the beginning. After the expiry date, the Bank A is obliged to return USD (X·S USD) to the Bank B, where S is the spot rate at the conclusion of this agreement. At the same time, the Bank B must return EUR (X EUR) to the Bank A. Cross-currency swaps serve for the same purpose on the interbank market, however, the banks/institutions tend to take the rates (their change) into account, mainly during the volatile periods of time. Here, due to their nature or rate change taken into account, the maturity is much longer as in case of the FX swaps as the change of rates comes much slower as in case of the exchange rate. They are often concluded from 1 to 30 years in maturity. Fig. 2: System of cross-currency swaps – source: BIS
How the Russia-Ukraine crisis has reflected on the financial market so far

How the Russia-Ukraine crisis has reflected on the financial market so far

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 23.02.2022 12:11
Over the last several weeks, traders would have heard of and watched the unfolding Ukraine crisis. Russia built up a mass of troops and military hardware on the border, which started sending shockwaves through the markets that an invasion and new European conflict could be developing. This is not the first time we have seen Russian aggression towards Ukraine. In 2014 we all watched as Russia annexed Crimea after Moscow said it supported the liberty and backing the people’s free will as they wanted to rejoin Russia and break away from Ukraine. During this round, the situation felt and looked different due to the sheer build-up of the Russian military. Ukraine requesting to join NATO and the possibility of U.S./NАТО bases being built in Ukraine look like a flashpoint for the Russian side. Despite talks and negotiations, Russia continued to amass military close to the border, feeding invasion fears. Reasons continued to put out by the Kremlin, scheduled military exercises with Belarus. These failed to settle nerves as Western leaders continued to put forward prosed crippling sanctions that would be imposed if Russia invaded. The worst seemed possible late last week, and reports emerged of explosions and fighting in the two eastern parts of Ukraine. Russian tank numbers also increased, and we all thought it was just a matter of when we would see a Russian invasion. Biden offered Putin a summit only if he hadn’t invaded at the final hour. This is off the table now that Russia has once again pulled off another Crimea to a degree. Yesterday we heard that the two Eastern areas of Ukraine had voiced their right to become independent. The Kremlin supported them immediately and advised it had crossed the border to support a peaceful transition with a peacekeeping mission. In other words, a proxy invasion. President Biden has called this an invasion of Ukraine and announced sweeping sanctions on the Russian bank VEB and its military bank and cuts them out of any USD transactions. Individual sanctions, Biden said the adult children and members of Putin’s inner circle “share the corrupt gains of the Kremlin’s policies, and so they ought to share in the pain as well.” The sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt expand upon Biden’s existing restrictions set in 2021 and prohibit American banks from trading shares in and or lending to several significant Russian sovereign debt funds. Prime Minister Johnson also made good on his threat of sanctions. The first tranche of sanctions would target Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank. The new sanctions also include three “very high net worth” individuals: Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg. Germany has halted approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline due to Russia’s actions, and the EU has agreed on sanctions to hurt Russia. The crisis had a significant impact on the markets. As you would expect, we have seen plenty of movement away from risk markets, but it hasn’t been totally black and white. Energy, oil has been driven higher during the crisis, and we’ve watched USOUSD (WTI) jump by 28% in the last three months. Price trading at $96 this week. Spot gas surged this week, hitting 6.70 but has pulled back to 4.31. Russia is a major energy supplier to Europe. This is a major card they hold. Traders will be watching oil and gas as any new aggression could cause oil to spike. We could even see $100 or higher reached again. The markets are a funny beast, and if they see the situation as calm, don’t be surprised if we continue to see price pullback. Sky-high oil prices could impact the FED. Crude prices can drive up inflation and slow down the global economy. A surge in oil could cause the Fed to rethink its pace of hiking due to growth concerns. FX, the USD and JPY have seen phases of demand during the crisis, but they have been far from dominant. Looking at this month’s trade so far, we can see that mainly the EUR has been most affected with falls to the two safe-havens. The GBP has been flat, and the AUD has been stronger. The AUD rallied yesterday as the situation developed and so far looks to be ignoring the situation. If we had seen an all-out invasion and this could still be a possibility, we would expect a traditional reaction on FX with the USD and JPY rallying on safe-haven demand. Gold has seen strong demand during the crisis. Traders jumping back into the metal as it moves back to a safe haven. This is not strange. Gold has always had multiple functions in the market, and in times of war or crisis, traders can look to it over fiat. Looking at the current month on the monthly chart, we can see this clearly in action as price has jumped by over 5%. The weekly shows a triangle breakout, but we will need to watch ongoing developments to see if buyer momentum remains. The Ukrainian crisis has hit stock indexes that could have been seen as overvalued. The Dax, in particular, has been hit hard. U.S. and Asian indexes haven’t been spared with heavy selling over the last two weeks. Markets fought back yesterday after the SP500 touched correction territory, and as mentioned above, traders will be focusing on the escalation of the crisis. If the situation intensifies, we would be looking for further lows, and if things continue to calm down, we could see counter-rallies and ranges set up. Cryptocurrencies have traded mainly lower during the crisis. Clearly, we can see at this point that they’re viewed as risk assets and are acting accordingly. It hasn’t been all one-way traffic, Kyber has added 38% YTD and so far has resisted the falls we have seen on the top 10 and top 25 indexes. Coins have been firmer since Tuesday’s updates, following other risk markets higher. Polkadot, Cardando were two top ten coins that hit new lows for 2022 before value buying returned this week. Again, we see the fortunes of most coins tied to risk demand. If things escalate, we will be looking for further declines across the top 10 and 25. The post How the Russia-Ukraine crisis has reflected on the financial market so far appeared first on Eightcap.
NZDUSD: Kiwi bird learns to fly

NZDUSD: Kiwi bird learns to fly

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 23.02.2022 15:09
The New Zealand dollar has been adding around 1% since the start of the day following the third key rate hike of 0.25 percentage points to 1.0% and comments from the RBNZ on the need for further policy tightening.Wednesday also saw the announcement of the start of a balance sheet reduction, including via active selling.The central bank points to employment above the maximum sustained level and the overall economic performance above its potential, all with elevated inflation.The RBNZ also says further tightening is needed, pointing to upside risks to inflation.NZDUSD is testing 0.6800, as it did just over a month ago. The Kiwi came under pressure in the previous month due to a general risk bias in global markets. However, the paths of the NZDUSD and international markets diverged in February. The steady demand of the New Zealand currency, which gained nearly 4% from the lows of late January, contrasts with the S&P500, which lost its rising momentum about a fortnight ago and is again near the lows of the year.The main reason for that divergence is monetary policy - current and expected. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has maintained the momentum of tightening for the third time in the last six months and promises further rises later in the year.New Zealand has also found itself far removed from the worst geopolitical tensions in Europe of recent decades, continuing to benefit from record-breaking commodity prices.In this environment, it would not be surprising to see the NZDUSD rise as far as 0.7000 by the end of next month, in a break from last year's downward trend. Although, it would be too naive to expect an easy up ride for the Aussie, as the US Fed is also signalling a very hawkish stance.
Let‘s Try Again

Let‘s Try Again

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.02.2022 15:53
S&P 500 had a wild swings day, and didn‘t rise convincingly – credit markets didn‘t move correspondingly either. The upswing looks postponed unless fresh signs of broad weakness arrive. Yesterday‘s session didn‘t tell much either way – the countdown to the upswing materializing, is on even though tech didn‘t take advantage of higher bond prices. That can still come.VIX though reversed to the downside, and the relatively calmer session we‘re likely going to experience today, would be consistent with a modest attempt for stocks to move higher. I‘m though not looking for a monstrous rally, even though we‘re trading closer to the lower end of the wide S&P 500 range for this year than to its upper border. The 4,280s are so far holding but as the Mar FOMC approaches, we‘re likely to see a fresh turn south in the 500-strong index. For now, the talk of raising rates is on the back burner – Europe is in the spotlight.Note that the flight to safety on rising tensions (Treasuries, gold and oil up) didn‘t benefit the dollar. Coupled with the yields reprieve, that makes for further precious metals gains – the bull run won‘t be toppled if soothing news arrives. Likewise crude oil isn‘t going to tank below $90, and remain there. Commodities can be counted on to keep running – led by energy and agrifoods, with base metals (offering a helping hand to silver) in tow. As I wrote weeks ago, this is where the real gains are to be found.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 volume moved a little up, meaning the buying interest is still there – convincing signs of a trend change are though yet not apparent. Should prices prove to have trouble breaking lower over the next 1-2 days, this could still turn out a good place for a little long positon.Credit MarketsHYG continues basing, and keeps trading in a risk-off fashion, which is why I can‘t be wildly bullish stocks for now. Stock market gains are likely to remain subdued, noticeably subdued – as a bare minimum for today.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals fireworks continue, but a little reprieve is developing – nothing though that would break the bull. The run is only starting, and would continue through the rate raising cycle.Crude OilCrude oil is fairly well bid, and doesn‘t appear to be really dipping any time soon. Oil stocks are preparing for an upswing, and would remain one of the best performing S&P 500 sectors. Tripple digit oil is a question of time.CopperCopper‘s moment in the spotlight is approaching as commodities keeps pushing higher, and base metals are breaking up. All of these factors are inflationary.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are attempting to move up today, and further gains are likely. I‘m though looking for the 50-day moving average in Bitcoin (corresponding roughly to the mid Feb lows in Ethereum) to prove an obstacle.SummaryS&P 500 didn‘t break to new lows overnight, and appears to be picking up somewhat today. The anticipated rebound might materialize later today, and would require bond participation to be credible. I‘m not looking for sharp gains within this upswing though – the correction looks very much to have further to run. It‘s commodities and precious metals where the largest gains are to be made, with the European tensions taking the focus off inflation (momentarily). The pressure on the Fed to act decisively, is though still on as various credit spreads tell – and the same goes for the compressed yield curve speaking volumes about the (precarious) state of the real economy.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Stocks Fell Again – a Dip Buying Opportunity?

Stocks Fell Again – a Dip Buying Opportunity?

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 23.02.2022 15:35
  Stocks were volatile yesterday and the broad stock market fell by another 1%. Was it a final decline or just another leg within a downtrend? The S&P 500 index lost 1.01% on Tuesday, Feb. 22, as it extended its last week’s Thursday’s-Friday’s sell-off. The daily low was at 4,267.11, and the market closed slightly above the 4,300 mark. We’ve seen a lot of volatility following the U.S. President Biden’s speech on Russia-Ukraine conflict. This morning the S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.7% higher. We may see more volatility, however it looks like a short-term bottoming pattern. The nearest important resistance level is at 4,350-4,400, marked by the recent local low and some previous support levels. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,250-4,300, among others. The S&P 500 index trades within its late January consolidation, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Futures Contract – Short-Term Consolidation Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. It extended the downtrend on Monday, but it managed to stay slightly above its late January local lows. For now, it looks like a short-term consolidation. It may be a bottoming pattern before an upward correction. Yesterday, we decided to open a speculative long position before the opening of the cash market. We are expecting an upward correction from the current levels (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com): Conclusion The S&P 500 index went below the 4,300 level yesterday, as investors reacted to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis news. The market may be trading within a short-term consolidation and we may see an attempt at reversing the downtrend. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 index will likely bounce or fluctuate following its late last week’s sell-off We are maintaining our yesterday’s long position. We are expecting an upward correction from the current levels. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Miners for Breakfast, Gold for Dessert: Bearish Fundamentals Will Hurt

Miners for Breakfast, Gold for Dessert: Bearish Fundamentals Will Hurt

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 23.02.2022 15:59
  To the disappointment of gold bulls, the yellow metal’s upward trend will not last long. Fundamentals have already taken their toll on gold miners.  While gold remains uplifted due to the Russia-Ukraine drama, the GDXJ ETF declined for the second-straight day on Feb. 22. Moreover, I warned on numerous occasions that the junior miners are more correlated with the general stock market than their precious metals peers. As a result, when the S&P 500 slides, the GDXJ ETF often follows suit. To that point, with shades of 2018 unfolding beneath the surface, the Russia-Ukraine headlines have covered up the implications of the current correction. However, the similarities should gain more traction in the coming weeks. For context, I wrote on Feb. 22: When the Fed’s rate hike cycle roiled the NASDAQ 100 in 2017-2018, the GDXJ ETF suffered too. Thus, while the Russia-Ukraine drama has provided a distraction, the fundamentals that impacted both asset classes back then are present now. Please see below: To explain, the green line above tracks the GDXJ ETF in 2018, while the black line above tracks the NASDAQ 100. If you analyze the performance, you can see that the Fed’s rate hike cycle initially rattled the former and the latter rolled over soon after. However, the negativity persisted until Fed Chairman Jerome Powell performed a dovish pivot and both assets rallied. As a result, with the Fed Chair unlikely to perform a dovish pivot this time around, the junior miners have some catching up to do. Furthermore, while the S&P 500 also reacts to the geopolitical risks, the Fed’s looming rate hike cycle is a much bigger story. With the U.S. equity benchmark also following its price path from 2018, a drawdown to new 2022 lows should help sink the GDXJ ETF. Please see below: Source: Morgan Stanley To explain, the yellow line above tracks the S&P 500 from March 2018 until February 2019, while the blue line above tracks the index's current movement. If you analyze the performance, it's a near-splitting image. Moreover, while Morgan Stanley Chief Equity Strategist Michael Wilson thinks a relief rally to ~4,600 is plausible, he told clients that "this correction looks incomplete." "Rarely have we witnessed such weak breadth and havoc under the surface when the S&P 500 is down less than 10%. In our experience, when such a divergence like this happens, it typically ends with the primary index catching down to the average stock," he added. As a result, while a short-term bounce off of oversold conditions may materialize, the S&P 500's downtrend should resume with accelerated fervor. In the process, the GDXJ ETF should suffer materially as the medium-term drama unfolds.  To that point, the Fed released the minutes from its discount rate meetings on Jan. 18 and Jan. 26. While the committee left interest rates unchanged, the report revealed: “Given ongoing inflation pressures and strong labor market conditions, a number of directors noted that it might soon become appropriate to begin a process of removing policy accommodation. The directors of three Reserve Banks favored increasing the primary credit rate to 0.50 percent, in response to elevated inflation or to help manage economic and financial stability risks over the longer term.” For context, the hawkish pleas came from the Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City Feds. Moreover, the last time Fed officials couldn’t reach a unanimous decision was October 2019. As a result, the lack of agreement highlights the monetary policy uncertainty that should help upend financial assets in the coming months. As evidence, the report also revealed: Source: U.S. Fed Thus, while I’ve highlighted on numerous occasions that a bullish U.S. economy is bearish for the PMs, the Russia-Ukraine drama has been a short-term distraction. However, with Fed officials highlighting that growth and inflation meet their thresholds for tightening monetary policy, higher real interest rates and a stronger USD Index will have much more influence over the medium term. To that point, IHS Markit released its U.S. Composite PMI on Feb. 22. With the headline index increasing from 51.1 in January to 56.0 in February, an excerpt from the report read: “February data highlighted a sharp and accelerated increase in new business among private sector companies that was the fastest in seven months. Firms mentioned that sales were boosted by the retreat of the pandemic, improved underlying demand, expanded client bases, aggressive marketing campaigns and new partnerships. Customers reportedly made additional purchases to avoid future price hikes. Quicker increases in sales (trades) were evident among both manufacturers and service providers.” More importantly, though: Source: IHS Markit In addition, since the Fed’s dual mandate includes inflation and employment, the report revealed: Source: IHS Markit Likewise, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, added: “With demand rebounding and firms seeing a relatively modest impact on order books from the Omicron wave, future output expectations improved to the highest for 15 months, and jobs growth accelerated to the highest since last May, adding to the upbeat picture.” If that wasn't enough, the Richmond Fed released its Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity on Feb. 22. While the headline index wasn't so optimistic, the report revealed that "the third component in the composite index, employment, increased to 20 from 4 in January" and that "firms continued to report increasing wages." For context, the dashed light blue line below tracks the month-over-month (MoM) change, while the dark blue line below tracks the three-month moving average. If you analyze the former's material increase, it's another data point supporting the Fed's hawkish crusade. Source: Richmond Fed Finally, the Richmond Fed also released its Fifth District Survey of Service Sector Activity on Feb. 22. For context, the U.S. service sector suffers the brunt of COVID-19 waves. However, the recent decline in cases has increased consumers’ appetite for in-person activities. The report revealed: “Fifth District service sector activity showed improvement in February, according to the most recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The revenues index increased from 4 in January to 11 in February. The demand index remained in expansionary territory at 23. Firms also reported increases in spending, as the index for capital expenditures, services expenditures, and equipment and software spending all increased.” Furthermore, with the employment index increasing from 12 to 14, the wages index increasing from 41 to 46, and the average workweek index increasing from 9 to 10, the labor market strengthened in February. Likewise, the index that tracks businesses’ ability to find skilled workers increased from -21 to -19. As a result, inflation, employment and economic growth create the perfect cocktail for the Fed to materially tighten monetary policy in the coming months.  Source: Richmond Fed The bottom line? While the Russia-Ukraine saga may dominate the headlines for some time, the bearish fundamentals that hurt gold and silver in 2021 remain intact: the U.S. economy is on solid footing, and demand is still fueling inflation. Moreover, with information technology and communication services’ stocks – which account for roughly 39% of the S&P 500 – highly allergic to higher interest rates, the volatility should continue to weigh on the GDXJ ETF. As such, while gold may have extended its shelf life, mining stocks may not be so lucky. In conclusion, the PMs were mixed on Feb. 22, as the news cycle continues to swing financial assets in either direction. However, while headlines may have a short-term impact, technicals and fundamentals often reign supreme over the medium term. As a result, lower lows should confront gold, silver, and mining stocks in the coming months. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Final Target Hit on NYMEX Natural Gas!

Final Target Hit on NYMEX Natural Gas!

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 23.02.2022 16:59
  The Natural Gas flight just landed after hitting its second and last target yesterday. The perfect trade does not exist, but this one has been developing pretty well following our flying map. In today’s edition, I will provide a trade review for Natural Gas futures (NGH22) following my last projections published on Friday Feb-11, for which the stop was also updated last Wednesday and trailed again last Thursday. Trade Plan Just to remember, our initial plan was relying on a gas market having to cope with stronger demand to fuel and increasing industrial activity after being surprised by the warming mid-February weather forecast. Hence, the projected rebounding floor (or support level) provided, which was ideal for the Henry Hub given the unyielding global demand for US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), providing a catapulting upward momentum. Then, it took a few days for the first suggested objective at $4.442 to be passed, and a few extra days for the second target located at the $4.818 level to be hit (as it was yesterday). Meanwhile, as I explained in more detail in my last risk-management-related article to secure profits, our subscribers were kindly and promptly invited to place their initial stop just below the $3.629 level (below one-month previous swing low), before receiving a couple of trading alerts suggesting they manually trail it up around the $3.886 level (around breakeven), then one more time up towards 4.180 (which corresponds to the 50% distance between initial entry and target 1), and finally to be lifted up to 4.368 optimally. Consequently, after a reconnaissance mission got close enough to target number 2, the Nat-Gas flight started running out of kerosene after passing through the first target like a fighter jet would break the sound barrier. Therefore, after getting refueled at a lower altitude (just above our highest elevation trailing stop) by a refuelling aircraft, the jet was finally ready to point and lock its last target before striking it. Here is a picture-by-picture record of that trade. First step: flight preparation on carrier ship Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Second step: prices catapulted and stop lifted at breakeven once the mid-point target was reached Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Third step: target one hit and stop dragged up Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Zoom to target one (4H chart): Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, 4H chart) Fourth step: mission reconnaissance to target two and refueling aircraft en route to refill the jet tank (stop trailing again) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Zoom to lock final target (4H chart): Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, 4H chart) Fifth step: final strike to target two Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, daily chart) Now, let’s zoom one more time into the 4H chart to observe the recent price action all around the abovementioned steps of our flying map: Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGH22) Futures (March contract, 4H chart) As you may observe, target one is now serving as a new landing space (support) for a new ranging market cycle. That’s all, folks, for today. I hope that you enjoyed the flight with our company! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Price Of Gold Chart (XAUUSD) Reaches Levels Of January 2021

Price Of Gold Chart (XAUUSD) Reaches Levels Of January 2021

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 24.02.2022 11:41
  The war has begun: after a few weeks of tense situation, Russia has taken a radical step and started an invasion of Ukraine. How will this affect gold? Boy, ! The Russia-Ukraine conflict is intensifying swiftly. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk regions). The decree also included an order to send Russian troops there as “peacekeeping forces”. In response, Ukraine declared a state of emergency, while the EU banned purchases of Russian government bonds and imposed sanctions on most members of the Russian parliament. Germany froze approvals for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. American President Joe Biden also released the first tranche of sanctions against Russia, targeted mainly at banks and sovereign debt, and promised further moves: Today, I am announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose a cost on Russia in response to their actions yesterday. We’ll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates. We are implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions VEB and military bank. We are implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt. That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western financing. Starting tomorrow, we’ll also impose sanctions on Russia’s elites and family members. Putin wasn’t apparently impressed by these sanctions, as he authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine early Thursday. The invasion has started. Indeed, there are reports of Russian troops crossing the Ukrainian border in multiple locations, and of explosions in many of the country’s cities, including the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that: Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.   Implications for Gold What does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine imply for the gold market? Well, risk aversion has soared amid the conflict. Equities are plunging while safe-haven assets are soaring. This, of course, applies also to gold, which rallied to $1,905 on Wednesday, the highest level since January 2021, as the chart below shows. In response to the invasion, the price of the yellow metal continued its upward trend, soaring to $1,945 on early Thursday, as one can see in the chart below. The move was perfectly in line with what I wrote on Tuesday: “if Russia invades Ukraine, the yellow metal should gain further.” Now, the question is: what next? I’m not a military expert, so I have no idea how the conflict will end. However, I know three things. The first is that the conflict will last some time. During the escalation period, gold prices will be driven up by risk aversion and safe-haven demand. Second, the conflict will start to de-escalate and end at some point. Then, we could see a correction in the gold market. Having said that, the yellow metal doesn’t have to immediately return to the pre-conflict level, as it could be supported by other factors, such as worries about inflation, and generally a rather bullish momentum. My point is that geopolitical events usually exert only a short-lived impact on gold, as they don’t affect the true fundamentals of the gold market. These will be shaped by the inflation path and the Fed’s reaction to it. Third, the upcoming weeks could be hot for the gold market. Don’t let emotions affect your investments. Remember the initial stage of the coronavirus pandemic? We all felt fear then – but it wasn’t the best investment advisor. War is also terrifying, but so far the conflict is limited to Ukraine and Russia and we don’t know yet whether the invasion will really escalate into a full-blown, bloody war. Be calm and stay tuned! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Russia Invades Ukraine. RTS Loses Almost 40 pp, Cryptomarket (Bitcoin, Ether) Not Significantly (Yet) Affected

Russia Invades Ukraine. RTS Loses Almost 40 pp, Cryptomarket (Bitcoin, Ether) Not Significantly (Yet) Affected

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 24.02.2022 09:22
Ukraine had been bombarded this morning and as expected markets are affected by this military events. Indices: RUS50 (RTS) lost ca. 36 pp, what sent it to near the level of 740.00. DAX (GER 40) went down as well, but not that much and quickly bounced - trades Ca. 14050. Commodities:Natural Gas increases and nears level of 4.900 and what’s naturally not surprising, USOIL (WTI) Trades Near 97.20 per barrel what’s a 4 pp added after Russian invasion. Forex pairs: EURUSD noted a noticeable slide down to 1.24500, RUBUSD decreased by 10 pp and trades near 0.11300. Cryptomarket: BTCUSD price chart shows not many fluctuations – Bitcoin hasn’t lost a lot (yet) and trades near 35371.00. Ether decreased by ca. $100 but is currently regaining the losses and heading to 2425.00 level
USDRUB Went Up To A Really High Level. Will USD To RUB It Reach $90?

USDRUB Went Up To A Really High Level. Will USD To RUB It Reach $90?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 24.02.2022 08:57
The end of trading on Wednesday indicated growing concern as the ruble went into a sharp dive and the early start of trading marked increased sales. We saw 95.2425 for the euro and 84.075 for the dollar. After that, trading was halted as stock prices hit the lower limits set by the exchange, and there were no buyers in the stock order books - only sellers. The Moscow Exchange has suspended trading on all markets, including the currency and stock sections. SPB Exchange has suspended trading from 08:10 Moscow time for all types of securities and all trading modes. The ruble in indicative trading lost more than 10% against the dollar and the euro, the rate of which exceeds 90 and 101 rubles, respectively. Practically all financial instruments traded at the morning session are resting on the lower bars set by the exchange. Everything happened after the special operation announced by President Putin in the Donbass and reports of the shelling of military airports throughout Ukraine. The Bank of Russia announced the start of interventions in the foreign exchange market in order to slightly restrain the panicky unilateral fall of the ruble, which at the moment allowed the exchange rate to retreat from extremes. However, in such situations, it is pointless to wait for a reversal. The actions of central banks always only soften the blow but do not reverse the market. Despite the interventions and suspension of trading, extreme pressure on the Russian market promises to persist in the coming days. This is truly a new reality that we have not seen throughout our lives. The situation with Ukraine is developing according to the most dramatic scenario and will inevitably entail the most severe consequences that Russia has threatened in recent days. It is difficult to talk about some levels where the Russian currency or the market as a whole can stabilize. Recent events have pushed the ruble into uncharted territory. The latest quotes of the ruble on the Moscow Exchange show a price of 84 per dollar, and in indicative trading, it is already reaching 90. It looks like the ruble will slide very quickly down to 110 per dollar in the coming days and weeks. And near these levels, it will be necessary to look at the situation. In general, the fall of the ruble promises to carry on in the near future, while the shelling continues and the most severe sanctions are imposed on Russia. Hopes for stabilization now we can get only from politicians. The Ukrainian hryvnia, like the ruble, is trading below the levels from which it has repeatedly turned to growth since 2014. Here, too, the market has crossed the line of the conventional norm of the last eight years. From the current levels near 30 hryvnias per dollar, the outcome of this fall should be looked for, perhaps, at about 40.
USOIL (WTI) Increased As Expected. NZDUSD And AUDUSD Went Down

USOIL (WTI) Increased As Expected. NZDUSD And AUDUSD Went Down

John Benjamin John Benjamin 24.02.2022 09:02
USOIL continues to climb WTI crude surged after Russia launched a military operation in eastern Ukraine. The latest market jitters met support over 90.70 which sits next to the 20-day moving average. Sentiment would stay optimistic as long as price action is above this demand zone. A previous horizontal consolidation allowed the bulls to catch their breath and accumulate for the current push. A close above 95.50 would send the price towards the landmark 100.00. An overbought RSI may cause a brief pause if momentum traders take profit. NZDUSD hits resistance The New Zealand dollar jumped after the RBNZ raised rates for the third time in a row. The pair met selling pressure in the supply zone (0.6810) from the sell-off in late January. An overextended RSI led short-term bulls to take profit in that congestion area. However, the rebound trajectory may attract buying interest with the current pullback seen as an opportunity. 0.6680 is the next support after a drop below 0.6730. A deeper correction may test 0.6600, which is important support from the daily chart. AUDUSD seeks support The Australian dollar retreats amid cautious market sentiment. A break above the recent peak at 0.7245 suggests a strong bullish commitment. The pair is heading towards January’s high at 0.7310. A bullish breakout could turn things around in the medium term. After the RSI ventured into the overbought area, the bullish impetus stalled as intraday buyers took profit. 0.7165 is the next support as the RSI swings into the oversold area. Further down, 0.7100 is a key floor to keep the rebound intact.
(WETH) Wrapped Ether Explained. What Is It?

Crypto Update: Ethereum returns to support after a horror day

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 24.02.2022 11:34
Today the worst-case scenario happened, Russia invaded Ukraine. This set off another round of heavy selling on the Crypto markets. The top 10 suffered badly with just over 11% taken off their value at the day’s low. Ethereum was one of the worst-hit in the top 10, price plunged just over 12% to its new low. Currently, we’re watching the 2,350 support as this level did show plenty of demand back in January on the last key low set by sellers. Price so far, for now, has continued to see some demand at this point but let’s be honest these are not normal times. Crypto at this point is far from an alternative store of wealth. Coins are not in a safe-haven class at the moment, they’re flat out risk assets and are being treated that way. Gold on the other hand has resumed its safe-haven status. This is not a knock or attack on Crypto just the reality of the situation. Back to the Ethereum d1 chart. While I’d love to back in the current support level it’s hard under the current circumstances. Escalations could send prices lower and a break of support could set up a move back to the Jan low and a move through that point could suggest 2,000. If support can hold and things in Europe start to stabilize a little we could see a recovery rally. We will be looking for long tails showing exhaustion and fresh demand emerging. But we stress any longs will need to be quick-thinking if sellers return en masse. Ethereum D1 (ETHUSD) The post Crypto Update: Ethereum returns to support after a horror day appeared first on Eightcap.
It Begins

It Begins

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.02.2022 16:00
S&P 500 reprieve that wasn‘t – the buyers didn‘t arrive, and the overnight military action sparking serious asset moves, shows that buying the dip would have been a bad idea. And it still is. Risk-on assets are likely to suffer, and I‘m not looking for a sharp, V-shaped rebound. The partial retracement seen in cryptos wouldn‘t translate to much upside in paper assets – it will likely be sold into as the bottom would take time to form. The safe haven premium seen in precious metals, crude oil and other real assets would ebb and flow, but a higher base has been established. The world has changed overnight, and recognition thereof is still pending.I think it‘s clear why I had been derisking as much as possible, wary of volatility both ways in paper assets, and betting instead on a mix of real assets. This has been hugely paying off to subscribers and readers likewise favoring gold and crude oil with some copper added for good measure.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookThis isn‘t how an S&P 500 bottom looks like – downswing continues with more volatility ahead.Credit MarketsHYG is going down again, and credit markets are turning risk-off – look for Treasuries to do relatively better next, with little impact upon stocks.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals fireworks continue, and the upswing got a poweful ally. Whatever retracement seen next, would be marginal in light of the developments.Crude OilCrude oil upswing can be counted on to continue, and oil stocks would remain among the best performing S&P 500 pockets. Black gold is though notorious for its wild volatility, and the coming days won‘t be an exception.CopperCopper upswing would take time to develop, especially now – but the breakout in base metals is on, the inflationary messaging is still there and thriving.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos aren‘t in a rally mode, but are attempting to put in a low. I don‘t think it would hold, the dust hasn‘t settled yet.SummaryS&P 500 is plunging, and attempting to base, but more selling would inevitably hit. The overnight dust hasn‘t settled yet, but the panic lows would not happen today. Even if it weren‘t for geopolitics, stocks were in rough waters for weeks already, in a serious, yields and liquidity driven correction, with a slowing real economy on top. For all the short-term focus, the buying opportunity would materialize only once the Fed turns – by autumn 2022. The best places to be in right now, are those presented below – precious metals and commodities – as inflation fires continue to rage on.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Will War Change How We Spend Or Invest Our Money?

Will War Change How We Spend Or Invest Our Money?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 24.02.2022 22:23
I discussed the potential for the invasion into Ukraine with a friend over the past few days and how this new war may change the global economy. We ended up discussing the Invasion of Kuwait that took place in August 1990. At that time, as soon as the Invasion of Kuwait started, consumers almost immediately changed their spending and financial habits.Suddenly, people stopped going out to dinner after work. They stopped going out for drinks. They also stopped playing computer games and spending money on most outside entertainment (movies and movie rentals – back in the Blockbuster days). In short, consumers became fascinated by the televised war and lost focus on almost everything else.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! As the conversation progressed, we started talking about how the US Federal Reserve may suddenly find that consumers have begun pulling away from traditional spending habits and how quickly these consumer trends can alter the economic landscape. For example, nearly 60 days into the Invasion of Kuwait, my friend remembered the US economy shifted into a much slower gear, and consumers continued to stay away from more normal spending habits.If this happens in today's super-inflated world, we may see a sudden shift in inflation, retail, housing, and general consumer demand very quickly. Recently, I started receiving messages from friends and clients worldwide who are focused on the Invasion of Ukraine – a whole new generation of people who may become entranced in the televised war (again).Consumer Retail May Suffer A -60% CollapseThis XRT Weekly Chart highlights the pre-COVID support levels that may become future targets if consumer spending habits suddenly shift. XRT has already fallen nearly -32% from the recent highs. If consumers continue to move away from outside economic activities, or more common post-COVID economic activities, we may see the Retail sector continue to move lower.Housing May Contract Faster Than ExpectedReal Estate may contract to near the COVID lows if consumers shy away from chasing speculative price trends in housing. Flipping houses has become a very hot industry over the past 5+ years. Yet, suddenly larger firms like Zillow and OpenDoor started offloading their Real Estate inventory because consumer demand shifted ahead of the US Fed's proposed rate hikes in 2022. The double-whammy of rising rates and war may be similar to what happened in the US between 1993 and 1994 – a very stagnant housing market.IYR has already fallen -16.5% from the highs and may decline to levels closer to -30% (or more) before finding a bottom. Wars tend to shift economies and spending habits very quickly.What To Stay Focused On Amid All The NoiseTraders should stay keenly focused on market risks and weaknesses. I expected the conflict in Ukraine to have been priced into the US markets over the past 7+ days. However, I believe the markets were unprepared for this scale or invasion and will attempt to settle fair stock price valuation levels as the conflict continues. This is not the same US/Global market Bullish trend we've become used to trading over the past 5+ years. The market dynamics and trends are changing from what we have experienced over the past 40 years for stocks and bonds. The 60/40 portfolio is costing you money now. Traders need an edge to stay ahead of these markets trends and to protect and profit from big trends.The only way to navigate the financial markets safely, no matter the direction, is through technical analysis. By following assets and money flows, we identify trend changes and move our capital into whatever index, sector, industry, bond, commodity, country, and even currency ETF. By following the money, you become part of new emerging trends and can profit during weak stock or bond conditions.What Trading Strategies Will Help You To Navigate Current Market Trends?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Investors fleeing cryptocurrencies as residents flee Kyiv

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Investors fleeing cryptocurrencies as residents flee Kyiv

FXStreet News FXStreet News 24.02.2022 16:16
Bitcoin price drops 7% on geopolitical news but is close to offering a nice entry-level. Ethereum price deteriorates 10% for the day and still has 7% to go before some solid support is present. XRP price sees early price bounce-off but might be too soon as better entry levels are present further down the line. Cryptocurrencies are waking up to a shocker this morning as the whole Eastern border of Ukraine is under siege of missile attacks by Russia and Belarus. This afternoon, NATO and the EU are scrambling for emergency meetings to further retaliate with sanctions cutting off Russia entirely from the financial system. In the meantime, investors are hoarding cash and pulling out their money into safe havens, but in the process, offering some lovely entry levels for the longer term. Bitcoin price breaks below $36,709 and looks to test support at $32,650, below $33,000 The Bitcoin (BTC) price got slaughtered this morning as the Russian offensive started in early trading hours, shedding 7% of its market value. As it is looking for support, it will be vital for market participants to await the right time to execute any trades. It is too late now for both bears and bulls to get in as markets will or could go either way, and both parties are better off waiting for the right entry-level. BTC price will favour bulls with an entry below the $34,000 key-level as above, for now, no actual entry points are offered. At $32,650, a solid entry-level is offered, going back to June 25. With this, BTC price would need to shed another 5% on top of the 7% it has already lost in early morning trading. Expect this to unfold once the US sessions kicks in and further deterioration of asset prices happens across the board. BTC/USD daily chart Should Putin step up military action, expect to see further deterioration of price action in several asset classes, certainly when civilian casualties are reported. Expect $32,650 to be breached and see BTC further deepen its losses towards $31,322. Following that, the famous distribution zone will have been entered, and short-term bulls and long-term investors will be buying up bits and pieces of the price action for a rebound once the situation stabilises. Ethereum bulls should open up their wallets as price action is set to offer some great entry points Ethereum (ETH) price is nearing some interesting levels as price action dips to the downside in an accelerated move as Russian troops are attacking several important cities in Ukraine. Whilst Europe tries to deal with the situation, more reports have come in of several critical Ukrainian military installations being fired upon by missiles and mortars. Putin proclaimed conducting a military surgical operation to demilitarise the country and succeed. ETH price gets under pressure as investors hoard cash and kick out any risky asset in the process, as Ethereum already lost 10% in early morning trading. Expect more downside to come towards $2,148, losing 18% of its value in the process. At the same time, this is an excellent window of opportunity for investors to buy ETH coins at a very lucrative discount once the situation stabilises. ETH/USD daily chart As this story develops further into the trading day, expect to see a deterioration of ETH price action towards $1,928 or even $1,688 – breaching $2,000, should more reports come in from Russian troops entering mainland Ukraine and taking over control of key cities. That would mean that ETH is set to lose another 17% to 25% in the process as the US session will be expected to deepen the loss intraday. In the meantime, Ethereum price action has entered a distribution zone, offering an excellent opportunity for investors to start building a stake in for any upside potential to come. XRP price is at risk of losing another 25% as first support is being tested Ripple's (XRP) price sees an initial bounce off the $0.6264 level this morning as Europe awakes to some severe military threats spilling over into global markets with risk assets being slashed across the board. XRP price action already shredded 10% at the time of writing and is seen bouncing off technically and recovering back to more moderate levels – but still holding heavy losses. As the situation further develops, expect cryptocurrencies to react instantly in both directions as more headlines and news hit the wires today. Expect $0.6264 not to withstand further selling pressure since the situation remains fragile. As possible combat headlines start to accelerate, expect to see another dip lower in XRP to $0.5852 or even $0.5231, adding another 6% to 16% of losses to the price action. With this, the Relative Strength Index will be diving deeply into oversold territory, making this area an excellent entry level for investors going long once the situation dies down and the market falls back to a more normal level. XRP/USD daily chart In the worst case, XRP could dip below $0.50 and tick $0.48 in the process, the lowest level since June 2021. Depending on the situation expect to see bulls either waiting and holding, or taking the bounce off the historic $0.48 level and the monthly S1 support level, which they may use as a point of entry for going long if the situation calms down in the near future.
USDJPY, XAUUSD And Standard And Poor 500 Recovering After Noticeable Fluctuations

USDJPY, XAUUSD And Standard And Poor 500 Recovering After Noticeable Fluctuations

John Benjamin John Benjamin 25.02.2022 09:04
USDJPY bounces off daily support The US dollar jumps as traders seek safe haven assets over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The pair struggled for bids after it turned away from the double top (116.20) and has been grinding down a falling trend line. However, the daily support at 114.40 has proved to be a solid demand area by keeping February’s rebound intact. Strong momentum above the trend line and 115.20 forced sellers out of the game and would attract more purchasing power. A close above 116.20 would extend the rally towards 117.00 XAUUSD seeks support Gold whipsawed as markets await the Western response to the invasion of Ukraine. The rally accelerated after it broke above last June’s high at 1912. Momentum trading pushed the price to September 2020’s highs (1975) before reversing its course. 1880 is a fresh support after intraday buyers took profit. As sentiment shifts to the bullish side, the current pullback combined with a depressed RSI could trigger a bargain-hunting behavior. Renewed buying frenzy may send the metal to the psychological level of 2000. US 500 lacks support The S&P 500 weakens as investors fear spillover from the conflict in Ukraine. A break below the daily support at 4280 further put the bulls on the defensive. Last May’s lows, near 4040, are the next target as liquidation continues. The index may have entered the bear market as the sell-off could speed up in the coming weeks. On the daily chart, the RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area may offer a temporary relief. 4350 is the first hurdle ahead and the bears may look to fade any rebound amid soured sentiment.
Analysing Precious Metals - Price Of Gold And Gold Mining Stocks

Analysing Precious Metals - Price Of Gold And Gold Mining Stocks

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 25.02.2022 14:10
  As history shows, gold and silver rallies based on geopolitical tensions are often short-lived. Yesterday, a hint of a trend reversal appeared. Don’t stop reading this mining stock analysis until you get to the part about junior mining stocks’ analogy. Something might interest you there. While the unfortunate conflict confronting Russia and Ukraine has intensified in recent days, gold, silver, and mining stocks have benefited from the crisis. However, since history shows that geopolitical-tension-based rallies often reverse, Feb. 24 was likely a small indication of what should unfold over the next few months. For example, gold’s sharp rally turned into a sharp intraday reversal on Feb. 24. While the S&P 500, the NASDAQ Composite, the S&P 500, and gold managed to end the session in the green, the GDX ETF declined by 1.93%. Furthermore, after the gold and silver senior miners rallied above their medium-term declining resistance line (the downward sloping black line in the middle of the chart below), the intraday reversal invalidated the breakout and it occurred on significant volume. At the same time, senior mining stocks invalidated their attempt to break above their 38.2% Fibonacci retracement. That’s yet another bearish sign. This means that the GDX ETF’s medium-term downtrend remains intact, and that the short-term concern-based rally may have just ended. To that point, the HUI Index provides clues from a longer-term perspective. When we analyze the weekly chart, the current short-term move higher is in tune with the previous patterns, but history is not repeating itself to the letter. The three previous cases that I marked with green were not identical, but quite similar in terms as they were all some sort of a broad head-and-shoulders pattern. Now, this pattern can have more than two “shoulders”. It’s not that common, but it happens. It seems that what we saw recently (I mean the late-2021 – Feb. 2022 rally) could be viewed as either a part of a big post-pattern consolidation, or another right shoulder of the pattern. Based on how broad the pattern is and self-similarity present in gold, it seems that the analogy to what happened in 2012 is most important right now. Looking at the moving averages, we see that the 50-week moving average (blue) and 200-week moving average (red) performed quite specifically in late 2012, and we see the same thing this year. The distance between 50- and 200-week moving averages currently narrows, while the former declines. Back in 2012, the top formed when the HUI rallied above its 50-week moving average, which just happened once again. Still, if the general stock market slides, and that appears likely for the following weeks and months, then we might have a decline that’s actually similar to what happened in 2008. Back then, gold stocks declined profoundly, and they have done so very quickly. The dashed lines that start from the recent prices are copy-paste versions of the previous declines that started from the final medium-term tops. If the decline is as sharp and as big as what we saw in 2008, gold stocks would be likely to decline sharply, slightly below their 2016 low. If the decline is more moderate, then they could decline “only” to 120 - 140 or so. Either way, the implications are very, very, very bearish for the following weeks. Turning to the junior miners, the GDXJ ETF tried to break out above a lower declining resistance line (the downward-sloping blue line drawn from the mid-2021 and late-2021 highs below). However, the attempt was rejected and culminated with a sharp intraday reversal. Moreover, the junior miners’ relative weakness was on full display, as despite the green lights flashing for the general stock market, gold, and silver, the GDXJ ETF ended the Feb. 24 session down by 2.28%. In addition, please note that the bearish about-face occurred on strong volume, and the move mirrored the sharp spike that preceded the March 2020 plunge. Please note that while junior miners invalidated their breakout above the declining resistance line, similarly to GDX, it was not the analogous line. The line that’s analogous to the one on the previous GDX chart is the blue, dashed line. GDXJ was not even close to it. In other words, junior miners are underperforming seniors, just like what I’ve been expecting to see for months. The trend in the ratio between them is clear too. Once again (just like in 2020), junior miners are likely to decline more than seniors, providing a greater shorting opportunity for truly epic profits. Let’s get back to the previous chart for a moment, and let’s expand on the “just like in 2020” analogy. Buckle-up, Alice, because the ride down the similarity rabbit hole is going to be a wild one. Here it goes: The early-2020 top in the GDXJ formed after a sharp short-term rally. The early-2020 top in the GDXJ formed when GDXJ opened much higher, declined on an intraday basis, and ended the day lower. The early-2020 top in the GDXJ formed at $44.85, on significant volume. When the GDXJ topped in early-2020, its 50-day moving average was at about $40, and the MACD indicator was at about 1. Now, let’s consider what happened yesterday. This week’s top in the GDXJ formed after a sharp short-term rally. This week’s top in the GDXJ formed when GDXJ opened much higher, but declined on the intraday basis, and ended the day lower. This week’s top in the GDXJ formed at $45.16 (just 0.7% higher than in early-2020), on significant volume. When the GDXJ topped this week, its 50-day moving average was at about $40 ($40.50), the MACD indicator was at about 1 (0.747). If you think that’s extremely similar, you’re right. However, I saved the best for last: The early-2020 top formed on February 24. Yesterday WAS February 24. Does this guarantee a slide like in 2020 in the junior miners? Of course not, there are no guarantees in any market, but does that make it even more likely? Yes, it does. Is it an epic opportunity for those who position themselves correctly? Again, I can’t make any promises or guarantees, but that’s what seems likely to me. All in all, a crash below $20 is not out of the question. In the meantime, though, I expect the GDXJ ETF to challenge the $32 to $34 range. However, this is my expectation for a short-term bottom only. While the GDXJ ETF may record a corrective upswing at this level, the downtrend should continue thereafter, and the junior miners should fall further over the medium term. In conclusion, the unfortunate situation unfolding in Ukraine is important, from a humanitarian perspective, and I hope that a peaceful resolution materializes. Also, it is my responsibility to analyze the situation and report it to you how it’s likely to impact the markets and what it implies for one’s trading positions. What’s justified from the risk-to-reward point of view and what’s not. While gold, silver, and mining stocks benefited from geopolitical tensions, history shows that such gains are short-lived. As a result, I still expect the trio to hit lower lows over the medium term, and I think that the decline will not be subtle. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Food prices are breaking multi-year highs, and the CBs are helpless

Food prices are breaking multi-year highs, and the CBs are helpless

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.02.2022 10:40
Wheat futures on the CBOE are up 16% since the start of the week, the biggest rally since the poor harvest in 2012. At one point yesterday, the weekly rise was close to 20%. The price level was the highest since April 2008, as traders anxiously assessed the impact of the conflict between two of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat, corn, and other agricultural products. The FAO’s Food Price Index in January was near its 2011 peak (in nominal terms) and one step below its 1974 peak - a time of stagflation and the aftermath of the oil crisis. And the latest spike in grains prices suggests that these highs will already be surpassed in February. It means that people will spend more on food and less on durable goods and services, worsening living standards. Such price hikes are an additional headache for central banks around the world. They may find themselves forced to turn a blind eye to inflation so as not to put the economy and consumer demand under additional stress. But this is terrible news for currencies. Forced inflation tolerance by the Central Bank will depreciate the value of money and suppress the exchange rate. This promises to be a problem for the euro and the British pound. High inflation may no longer be a reason to buy the euro and the pound against the dollar on the forex market, as it would not increase the chances of a tightening of the central bank policy in the coming months. There could also be a reverse reaction when currencies come under pressure as investors sell off local bonds amid falling real yields.
We Might Say PAX Price (PAXUSD) Wasn't Negatively Affected By The Thursday's Events

We Might Say PAX Price (PAXUSD) Wasn't Negatively Affected By The Thursday's Events

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 25.02.2022 13:30
What a week, from crashing lows that started to point towards extensions in current medium-term downtrends to a late-week save that really came out of nowhere and looks to be telling us that price may have hit exhaustion lows? The week started OK for most of the top 10 and 25 as prices tested higher but failed to get real traction happening. Then this week’s crisis hit. First, we saw Russia pledge support to the two breakaway parts of Ukraine that claimed independence from the Ukrainian government. Russia was quick to recognise and send in peacekeeping troops that many saw as a proxy invasion. Crypto fell on these developments, but worse was yet to come. Wednesday buying was cut short as cyber attacks hit Ukraine and Europe, but Thursday lunchtime AEDT, the unthinkable had happened, Russia had launched a ground and air assault on Ukraine. As you would expect, coins were savaged, and at one stage, it looked like Armageddon had hit the crypto world. While we saw multiple coins plunge by over 10% in stages of the day, (ETH -12%, AVAX -15%, SHIB -18%), some bucked the sell-off and actually soared off the uncertainty. We suggest anyone interested by this may want to take a look at PAX. On the day of the invasion, PAXUSD jumped by 6%, hitting 2029. In a week, which showed us that while most cryptos remain in the risk basket, PAX could be a safe-haven coin of the group. Thursday’s drama didn’t end there marketwise either. Late into the NY session, buyers charged back into the market. Price not only pulled back losses, but many coins also finished the day higher. This capped off one of the most volatile sessions we have seen this year. For example, ETH finished the day with a 15% range, and SOL was close to 20% in its daily range. This week we want to focus on another stronger coin. LUNA so far has seen a great week despite the geopolitical crisis that continues in Europe. Price has added over 20%, trading back above 65. Technically there’s a bit to like about LUNA, we can see resistance becoming support with a new higher low and this week, buyers have broken out of the range and beaten the medium to a long-term downtrend. Definitely, one to keep an eye on as we head into a new week and fresh opportunities of increased volatility. The post Your Crypto Focus: 26th February – 4th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Crude Oil (WTI) Doesn't Hit THAT High Levels, SPX And Credit Markets Trade Quite Low

Crude Oil (WTI) Doesn't Hit THAT High Levels, SPX And Credit Markets Trade Quite Low

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.02.2022 15:56
S&P 500 recovered the steep losses as the shock was replaced with relief over the international response. Safe haven bids largely disappeared, and can be counted on remaining pressured – this concerns precious metals and crude oil. Credit markets – for all their downswing and forcing the Fed‘s hand through higher yields – have turned risk-on yesterday, but that got reflected just in the tech upswing as value didn‘t close the opening gap. But that would happen today as money flows out of the dollar hiding, and VIX can be counted on to stay much calmer than it was yesterday, in the days to come – that‘s what I tweeted late yesterday. Today‘s inflation data (core PCE) is going to take a backseat to geopolitics as uncertainty about where these tensions could lead, is getting removed in the markets‘ mind – especially as regards the international ramifications. Good to have taken sizable gold and oil profits off the table yesterday, well before the risk premiums were gone – fresh portfolio high has been reached. Remember that in times of high volatility, dialing back your exposure, your risk, is essential to proper risk management. Please have a good look at my style of open trade and money management if you haven‘t already so as to make the most of what I‘m doing. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Now, this looks a lot more as an S&P 500 bottom – volatility appears to be staying elevated but headed down next. Neutral to bullish outlook for today but downswings are likely to be repelled. Credit Markets HYG is marking the risk-on turn clearly, and volume was also solid. Credit markets won‘t be standing in the way of stock market upswing today, I think. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals ominous lower knot would have consequences for the days to come – but we have seen upswing rejection only, not a downside reversal. When miners catch their breath again, the move higher can continue. Crude Oil Crude oil upswing has been rejected, but the long base building goes on, and black gold can be counted on to extend gains even when the dust settles down. Copper Copper upswing would take time to develop, especially now – but the breakout in base metals is on, the inflationary messaging is still there and thriving – yesterday‘s words are still true today, but I am looking for a longer base building here than in crude oil. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are turning the corner, and the worst looks to be in here as well – yesterday‘s attempt to put in a low was successful. Summary S&P 500 turned around, and the bottom appears to be in. Unless a fresh and entangling escalation materializes (not likely), the markets are willing to shake it off, and erase yesterday‘s downswing. As chips (and international response) fall where they may, the tense air is being removed as markets abhor uncertainty the most. Risk premiums are evaporating, and until the Fed and yields come back into the spotlight, the odds favor risk-on muddying through ahead in the days to follow. The inflation chickens haven‘t though come home to roost, and that has continued bullish implications for real assets. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Polkadot (DOT) Explained - A Pinch Of Origins And History

Polkadot price to revisit $22 as DOT establishes a launchpad

FXStreet News FXStreet News 25.02.2022 16:18
Polkadot price retests the three-day demand zone, extending from $10.37 to $15.66, anticipating a bounce. A quick run-up would allow DOT to retest two hurdles - $15.97 and $22.23. A decisive close below $10.37 will invalidate the bullish thesis. Polkadot price has arrived at a stable support level after crashing violently and falling since November 2021. A retest of this level is likely to result in a swift bounce that triggers a quick uptrend. Polkadot price contemplates reversal Polkadot price has crashed 73% from its all-time high at $53.50 on November 9, 2021. This downswing has now arrived at the three-day demand zone, extending from $10.37 to $15.66. Investors can expect a quick relief rally to emerge as DOT bounces off this barrier. The altcoin will face the $18.01 hurdle after rallying roughly 12% from its opening price. Clearing this blockade is crucial to making a run for the $20 psychological level. There may be an outcome where DOT could set a local top here. However, if bulls band together, there could be an extension of the uptrend to $22.23. This move would constitute a 40% ascent from the current position - $16 and is likely where the local top will form for Polkadot price. DOT/USDT 3-day chart On the other hand, if Polkadot price fails to bounce off the $10.37 to $15.66 demand zone, it will explore lower levels. As long as DOT stays inside this area, the bullish outlook will not face any threats. A daily or a three-day candlestick close below $10.37, however, will invalidate the possibility of a bullish outlook and indicate that Polkadot price is likely to retest $10.09 or the subsequent barrier at $8.31.
COT Forex Speculators pushed their Euro Currency bullish bets to 32-week high

COT Forex Speculators pushed their Euro Currency bullish bets to 32-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 26.02.2022 20:04
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday February 22nd and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the further rise in bullish bets in the Euro currency futures contracts. Euro speculators raised their bullish bets for a third straight week this week and for the ninth time in the past ten weeks. Over this ten-week time-frame, Euro bets have gained by a total of +71,185 contracts, going from -10,162 net positions on December 12th to a total of +59,306 net positions through this Tuesday the 22nd of February (please note that this is a couple days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine). Overall, the current Euro standing is at the most bullish level of the past thirty-two weeks, dating back to July 13th when the net position was at +59,713 contracts. Joining the Euro (11,725 contracts) with positive speculator changes this week were the yen (2,975 contracts), Brazil real (685 contracts), US Dollar Index (698 contracts), Australian dollar (2,614 contracts), Russian ruble (3,353 contracts) and the Mexican peso (7,851 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Swiss franc (-1,272 contracts), British pound sterling (-8,046 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-2,218 contracts), Canadian dollar (-2,917 contracts) and Bitcoin (-68 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Feb-22-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 54,922 78 36,084 88 -41,368 6 5,284 74 EUR 696,682 82 59,306 53 -98,050 48 38,744 39 GBP 188,443 31 -5,809 70 10,070 36 -4,261 47 JPY 194,169 51 -63,187 28 82,480 77 -19,293 8 CHF 47,339 24 -10,987 51 19,110 52 -8,123 39 CAD 140,305 24 9,253 57 -14,143 47 4,890 40 AUD 192,579 77 -84,080 7 96,072 91 -11,992 23 NZD 56,636 56 -11,551 52 13,908 52 -2,357 25 MXN 171,299 36 16,825 35 -21,038 64 4,213 61 RUB 38,673 34 19,517 60 -20,053 40 536 49 BRL 94,577 100 24,445 100 -27,081 0 2,636 97 Bitcoin 11,007 59 -283 91 -256 0 539 25   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 36,084 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 698 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 35,386 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 74.3 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 79.6 5.0 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.9 80.3 3.1 – Net Position: 36,084 -41,368 5,284 – Gross Longs: 43,726 2,742 6,969 – Gross Shorts: 7,642 44,110 1,685 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.7 to 1 0.1 to 1 4.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.0 5.9 74.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.1 4.6 -10.6   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 59,306 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 11,725 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 47,581 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 48.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.6 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.7 54.5 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.2 68.6 7.3 – Net Position: 59,306 -98,050 38,744 – Gross Longs: 214,195 379,583 89,334 – Gross Shorts: 154,889 477,633 50,590 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.2 48.0 38.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.4 -18.3 18.8   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -5,809 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -8,046 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 2,237 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 69.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 35.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 46.8 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.4 61.8 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.5 56.4 15.1 – Net Position: -5,809 10,070 -4,261 – Gross Longs: 42,249 116,372 24,154 – Gross Shorts: 48,058 106,302 28,415 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 69.8 35.6 46.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.8 -16.5 9.5   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -63,187 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 2,975 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -66,162 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 28.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 8.1 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.7 83.5 9.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.2 41.0 19.1 – Net Position: -63,187 82,480 -19,293 – Gross Longs: 10,976 162,044 17,881 – Gross Shorts: 74,163 79,564 37,174 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 28.1 77.2 8.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 15.4 -12.8 3.4   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -10,987 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,272 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -9,715 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 39.4 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.0 71.2 20.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.2 30.9 37.6 – Net Position: -10,987 19,110 -8,123 – Gross Longs: 3,785 33,718 9,691 – Gross Shorts: 14,772 14,608 17,814 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.8 52.3 39.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.8 4.0 -0.5   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 9,253 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -2,917 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 12,170 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 56.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 47.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 39.5 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 34.0 41.6 21.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.4 51.7 18.1 – Net Position: 9,253 -14,143 4,890 – Gross Longs: 47,661 58,345 30,327 – Gross Shorts: 38,408 72,488 25,437 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 56.6 47.3 39.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.1 -11.2 -1.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -84,080 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 2,614 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -86,694 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.2 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.0 81.7 9.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.7 31.9 15.8 – Net Position: -84,080 96,072 -11,992 – Gross Longs: 11,553 157,416 18,459 – Gross Shorts: 95,633 61,344 30,451 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 6.9 90.6 23.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.9 -5.6 0.3   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -11,551 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -2,218 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -9,333 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.8 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.6 62.6 4.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.0 38.1 8.8 – Net Position: -11,551 13,908 -2,357 – Gross Longs: 17,343 35,481 2,608 – Gross Shorts: 28,894 21,573 4,965 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.9 51.8 24.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.9 5.6 -7.5   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 16,825 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 7,851 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 8,974 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 34.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.9 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 42.5 53.0 4.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.7 65.3 1.7 – Net Position: 16,825 -21,038 4,213 – Gross Longs: 72,846 90,784 7,091 – Gross Shorts: 56,021 111,822 2,878 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 34.5 64.0 60.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.1 -9.3 4.2   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 24,445 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 685 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 23,760 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 55.0 40.2 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.1 68.9 2.0 – Net Position: 24,445 -27,081 2,636 – Gross Longs: 51,990 38,039 4,541 – Gross Shorts: 27,545 65,120 1,905 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 97.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 46.6 -49.2 31.8   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 19,517 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 3,353 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 16,164 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 59.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 39.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 49.1 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 58.5 35.9 5.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 8.0 87.8 4.2 – Net Position: 19,517 -20,053 536 – Gross Longs: 22,625 13,895 2,152 – Gross Shorts: 3,108 33,948 1,616 – Long to Short Ratio: 7.3 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 59.6 39.6 49.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 23.4 -20.6 -25.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -283 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -68 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -215 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.2 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.2 2.9 12.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 79.8 5.3 7.3 – Net Position: -283 -256 539 – Gross Longs: 8,501 322 1,338 – Gross Shorts: 8,784 578 799 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 90.7 19.3 25.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.1 -6.1 -0.5   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March

Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 26.02.2022 19:00
As we head into a new month, Boris Schlossberg of BKForex takes over the reins for our Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead for the month of March. Amidst an increasingly volatile background driven by geopolitical tensions, Boris gives his take on the assets that matter this week, looking at current short-term positions for Gold and Oil, as well as potential setups for indices and forex from both a technical and fundamental perspective. Watch the video below to get all the insight ahead of market open today. Boris Schlossberg is Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management, Co-Founder of BKForex.com, and Managing Editor of 60secondinvestor.com. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than three decades of financial market experience. In 2007, while still at FXCM, Boris started BKForex with Ms. Kathy Lien. A year later, Boris joined Global Futures & Forex Ltd as director of currency research where he provided research and analysis to clients and managed a global foreign exchange analysis team with Kathy Lien. Since 2012 Boris has focused exclusively on running BKForex.com where he generates trade ideas and designs algorithms for the FX market in partnership with Ms. Lien. He is the author of “Technical Analysis of the Currency Market” and “Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Beat Wall Street at its Own Game”, both of which are published by Wiley. In 2020 Mr. Schlossberg started www.60secondinvestor.com a free website that distils the best of institutional investment research for retail investors. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Tuesday CNY Manufacturing PMI AUD RBA Interest Rate Decison Wednesday EUR German Inflation Rate, Unemployment Rate EUR Eurozone CPI CAD GDP USD Markit Manufacturing PMI AUD GDP Thursday CAD BoC Interest Rate Decision EUR ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Friday USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Saturday USD Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March - 27.02.2022

Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March - 27.02.2022

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 27.02.2022 19:00
As we head into a new month, Boris Schlossberg of BKForex takes over the reins for our Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead for the month of March. Amidst an increasingly volatile background driven by geopolitical tensions, Boris gives his take on the assets that matter this week, looking at current short-term positions for Gold and Oil, as well as potential setups for indices and forex from both a technical and fundamental perspective. Watch the video below to get all the insight ahead of market open today. Boris Schlossberg is Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management, Co-Founder of BKForex.com, and Managing Editor of 60secondinvestor.com. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than three decades of financial market experience. In 2007, while still at FXCM, Boris started BKForex with Ms. Kathy Lien. A year later, Boris joined Global Futures & Forex Ltd as director of currency research where he provided research and analysis to clients and managed a global foreign exchange analysis team with Kathy Lien. Since 2012 Boris has focused exclusively on running BKForex.com where he generates trade ideas and designs algorithms for the FX market in partnership with Ms. Lien. He is the author of “Technical Analysis of the Currency Market” and “Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Beat Wall Street at its Own Game”, both of which are published by Wiley. In 2020 Mr. Schlossberg started www.60secondinvestor.com a free website that distils the best of institutional investment research for retail investors. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Tuesday CNY Manufacturing PMI AUD RBA Interest Rate Decison Wednesday EUR German Inflation Rate, Unemployment Rate EUR Eurozone CPI CAD GDP USD Markit Manufacturing PMI AUD GDP Thursday CAD BoC Interest Rate Decision EUR ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Friday USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Saturday USD Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 28th February – 4th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Strong reversal should lead to another leg up

Strong reversal should lead to another leg up

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 27.02.2022 20:32
Looking back, gold has been rising nearly US$225 since December 15th, 2021, and US$195 since 28th of January 2022. Especially the strong rally over the last four weeks caught many by surprise. But our price target of US$1,975 was hit exactly last Thursday, when all other markets plunged in anticipation of strong sanctions against Russia. Markets then strongly recovered on Friday on hopes of weak sanctions and a potential postponement of the rate hikes by the FED. Over the weekend, however, NATO and its partners announced SWIFT sanctions against Russia. Monday will therefore likely be another wild and volatile day in the markets. But “peak fear” has probably been reached last Thursday (at least for now). Give peace a chance ðŸ•Šï¸ÂðŸ‡·ðŸ‡ºðŸ•Šï¸ÂðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¦ðŸ•Šï¸Â Fundamentally, banning Russian banks from SWIFT payments will lead to Russia stop selling oil & natural gas. Russian oil represents about 9% of global output and there’s an energy shortage already. The result will be a global depression and more inflation at the same time. And that would be the best-case scenario, cause as quickly as things unfold, WWIII is no longer an unthinkable horror scenario. We can only hope that successful peace negotiations will take place as soon as possible. In these uncertain times, gold should remain supported. As geopolitical events unfold, another sharp spike higher is always possible. A direct transition back into the correction, which began in August 2020, is unlikely. It would rather take much more time (at least a few months), before gold could drift back towards significantly lower grounds. Our maximum downside remains at US$1,625 for the potential 8-year cycle low, due in 2023 or 2024. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 27th, 2022. Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of February 27th, 2022. On its weekly chart, gold continues to be in an uptrend. The breakout above the downtrend line led to a sharp advance over the last two weeks. The stochastic oscillator still has a buy signal in place. And with the sharp reversal/pullback since reaching $1,975, gold did close the week right at its upper Bollinger Band (US$1,889). Since the upper Bollinger Band has been bent upwards, gold will now have more room to continue its rally to the upside over the coming two to four weeks. However, the stochastic oscillator is about to reach its overbought zone. Comparing its behavior to the last 16 months, we have to assume that gold will have a hard time nesting up in the overbought zone for long. Hence, corrective price action is on the horizon. Overall, the weekly chart is still bullish and points to another attack towards US$1,950 to US$1,975. Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 27th, 2022. Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of February 27th, 2022. The daily chart captures the sharp rally as well as the reversal and bloodbath in the gold market over last two days. So far, gold has given back nearly 50% of the rally since January 28th (from US$1,780 up to US$1,975 and then down to US$1,878). The stochastic oscillator has lost its embedded status and momentum is bearish now. Should gold want to correct further towards the 61.8%-retracement ($1,854), it will likely also test the former resistance and breakout level around US$1,840 to US$1,845. Such a pullback towards US$1,840 to US$1,855 has certain probability, but would also offer a very interesting long entry again. Since the short-term timeframes like the 1- and 4-hour charts are getting oversold, gold alternatively might find support between US$1,870 and US$1,880 over the next few days already. To summarize, the daily chart is currently bearish and patience is needed. But Gold I swell supported and should find support either between US$1,840 to US$1,855 or US$1,870 and US$1,880. Afterwards it should start another leg up. Conclusion: Strong reversal should lead to another leg up Last week’s price action was certainly not for the faint of heart. A daily gain of over +4% is extremely rare in the gold market and was immediately undone upon COMEX opening. The sharp reversal does not look too good, but it does not yet mean the end of the rally. Expect some more downside or at least sideways consolidation. Usually, such a sharp rally does not collapse immediately. Hence, once the bulls have sorted themselves, we expect another rise above US$1,900 with a minimum price target of US$1,950. An overshot towards US$2,000 is still possible, but now a bit less likely. Once this next attack will have failed, we assume the start of a corrective wave down somewhere in spring, which could last well into early to midsummer. Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: Midas Touch Consulting and members of our team are invested in Reyna Gold Corp. These statements are intended to disclose any conflict of interest. They should not be misconstrued as a recommendation to purchase any share. This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Florian Grummes|February 27th, 2022|Tags: Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold chartbook, Gold consolidation, gold fundamentals, Natural Gas, Oil, precious metals, Reyna Gold, US-Dollar|0 Comments About the Author: Florian Grummes Florian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running his own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.
USDNOK Nears 9.000 Level, GBPUSD Trades Ca. 1.335, GER 40 (DAX) Opened Quite Lower

USDNOK Nears 9.000 Level, GBPUSD Trades Ca. 1.335, GER 40 (DAX) Opened Quite Lower

John Benjamin John Benjamin 28.02.2022 10:32
GBPUSD looks to steady The sterling recoups some losses as sentiment stabilizes after the initial fear-driven sell-off. A clean cut through the daily support at 1.3360 has triggered a wave of liquidation. Sentiment remains downbeat despite the recent rebound. A deeply oversold RSI attracted some bargain hunters. However, the pound is vulnerable to another sell-off as buyers could be wary of catching a falling knife. 1.3500 from the previous consolidation range is the closest resistance. Further down, 1.3200 (near last December’s lows) might be the next target. USDNOK breaks rising trendline The US dollar consolidates as the Ukraine conflict makes a too aggressive move by the Fed unlikely. A short-lived surge above the supply area (9.0300) indicates strong selling pressure around 9.0900. Then a fall below the rising trendline calls the recent rebound into question. 8.7900 is the next support and buyers will need to lift offers around 9.0900 before they could hope for a meaningful comeback. Further down, this month’s low at 8.6800 is a key floor to keep the greenback afloat. GER 40 attempts to rebound The Dax 40 rebounds as traders bet that sanctions against Russia may not reach their full extent. The index saw solid bids near its 12-month lows (13800). The RSI’s repeated oversold indication has led short-term sellers to take profit in this key demand zone. 14850 from the tip of a previous bounce is the immediate resistance where the bears could be awaiting to sell into strength. A bullish breakout could soothe a battered mood. Otherwise, another round of sell-off may push the index below 13500.
It's Not Surprising That Gold (XAU) Is Topping The Headlines Again

It's Not Surprising That Gold (XAU) Is Topping The Headlines Again

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 25.02.2022 14:49
  As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, it is worth being better prepared for a possible crisis. Does that mean it pays to have some gold up your sleeve? I have to confess something. I always laughed at preppers (aka survivalists) – people who spend their entire lives stockpiling beans and ammo in preparation for the highly unlikely doomsday scenarios. C’mon, who would take these freaks seriously? Well, as the pandemic and supply crisis showed us, we all should. When most people scrambled for masks and hand sanitizers, preppers laughed. When most people fought epic battles for toilet paper and something to eat to survive the Great Lockdown, preppers laughed. When most people were confronted with surging inflation and supply shortages of different products, preppers laughed. When most people panicked upon hearing about energy blackouts, preppers laughed. It seems that mocked preppers got the last laugh, after all. Hence, the COVID-19 epidemic made it clear that the world is not a paradise flowing with milk and honey and that bad things do really happen, so we should be more prepared for possible calamities, even if they look like remote possibilities. For example, experts now point out the threat of cyberattacks, and just last month, Kazakhstan’s government turned off the internet nationwide, depriving its citizens of access to their bank accounts. The problem is, of course, that crises always seem highly unlikely until they occur. Meanwhile, historical cases are too distant and abstract for us, and we tend to think that “this time is different”, or that “we’ll make it through somehow.” Perhaps you will, but it’s much easier when you are prepared. When other people panic, you don’t, because you have made your preparation and have a clear plan of action. You see, the issue is not if the crisis hits, but when. It’s just a matter of time, even the government suggests storing at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food. However, the problem is that when things are going well, people don’t think about preparing. Why should we worry and spoil the fun? Let’s drink like tomorrow never comes! Maybe the problem will somehow disappear by itself, and if it doesn’t, we’ll deal with it later. I got it, but how does it all relate to gold? Well, quite simply. Owning gold is a part of preparing for the worst. This is because gold is the store of value that appreciates when confidence in fiat money declines. It’s also a safe-haven asset, which shines during financial crises when asset prices generally decline. The best example may be the Great Recession or 2020 economic crisis when gold performed much better than the S&P 500 Index, as the chart below shows. You can also think of gold as a portfolio insurance policy or a hedge against tail risks. A house fire is not very likely, but it’s generally smart to have insurance, you know, just in case. Similarly, the collapse of the financial markets and the great plunge of asset prices are not of great probability (although the Great Depression, late 2008, and early 2020 show that they are clearly possible), but it’s nice to have a portfolio diversifier that is not afraid of black swans. In a sense, the whole issue boils down to individual responsibility. Do you take responsibility for your life and for being prepared for different scenarios, or do you count on other people, the government, or simply luck, magically thinking that everything always goes well? To be clear, being prepared doesn’t equal being pessimistic – it’s rather about being realistic and hoping for the best, but planning for the worst. However, there are two important caveats to consider before exchanging all of your paper currency for gold coins. First, you shouldn’t conflate holding gold as insurance with gold as an investment asset. When you want protection, you’re not interested in price trends. There might be a bear market, but gold would still fulfill its hedging role. This is also why you shouldn’t own more than about 5-10% of your whole portfolio in precious metals (as insurance, you can invest more in gold as an investment or as a part of your trading strategy). Second, don’t treat gold as a panacea for all possible disasters. It all depends on what you are preparing for. If you expect power outages, buy batteries, power banks, and think about alternate sources of energy. Precious metals won’t power your home. If you fear a zombie apocalypse (who doesn’t?), flamethrowers and rifles seem to be better weapons than gold bars (although large ones can serve quite well). If you can’t wait for a nuclear explosion (who can?), you will need a proper shelter with uncontaminated food rather than shiny metal (pun intended). It’s possible that in such a post-apocalyptic world, people would initially return to a commodity-based standard rather than the gold standard. It all depends on the particular conditions and how deeply the civilization would devolve. Hence, don’t be scared by dodgy people and false advertising into buying gold because of imminent hyperinflation, the total collapse of the financial system, nuclear greetings from Kim Jong-Un, or another calamity. The role of gold is not to rescue you from all kinds of troubles, but to be insurance that pays off during economic crises. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
XAUUSD Is Quite Far From $2000 Level. How Will Price Of Gold React To Next Events?

XAUUSD Is Quite Far From $2000 Level. How Will Price Of Gold React To Next Events?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 28.02.2022 09:19
Looking at gold we can see price starting to form a range after a wild few days of trade. Since last Thursday when Russia invaded Ukraine we have seen some amazing moves on gold as traders looked to the metal as a hedge. Last Thursday’s surge up to 1974.48 capped off a well-developed rally that started back in January. As the crisis developed and then unfolded buyers piled into gold. But Thursday was a mixed bag as risk recovered and this shock sent gold back down to 1903, setting off a rather solid bull trap. Over the weekend tensions continued to develop on the Russian side and the word nuclear was mentioned. This set a strong gap to start the week as spot gold starting trading at 1916 today. Trade from the open hasn’t been confident and we’re still watching price slowly decline. This leads us to today’s chart. After today’s gap, we can see two clear areas of support and resistance after the dust of last week and this morning’s open. Tensions between Russia and the west and their invasion of Ukraine are going to continue as the key factor. Break and close above resistance we will look for further higher prices. Break below support, we could see a new move back to the second slower trendline. GOLD 4H The post CFD Update: Gold starting to lock up after a wild three days of trade appeared first on Eightcap.
BRENT Nears $95, SWIFT Had Been Blocked, XAU And USD Are Likely To Stand Strong Amid Tensions

BRENT Nears $95, SWIFT Had Been Blocked, XAU And USD Are Likely To Stand Strong Amid Tensions

Walid Koudmani Walid Koudmani 28.02.2022 13:53
While stocks saw some signs of recovery towards the end of last week with Asian, European and US markets recovering some of their losses following the invasion of Ukraine from Russia, stock prices could have a very difficult week ahead as tensions escalate and more sanctions continue to be announced. Over the weekend, the European union announced a variety of sanctions on Russia including limiting it’s access to EU airspace and prohibiting certain banks from utilizing the SWIFT banking system, a move which could have catastrophic effects on the russian economy and was by some considered to be on the most potentially effective deterrents. Investors are taking that into consideration and while the war for Ukraine rages on, this week is set to be one of the most volatile across markets with the prices of stocks and commodities being extremely susceptible to any kind of sanction and geopolitical instability. If the situation continues to escalate, risky assets like stocks and crypto currencies could be seeing another week of losses while investors continue to rush to safe havens like gold and the USD which benefited greatly last week from the shocking turn of events. Oil prices remain under pressure after Brent retreats from $100 While oil prices managed to decline as recent news emerged of potential talks between Russia and Ukraine to deescalate the situation after markets panicked following the invasion, the situation remains extremely uncertain. Brent is trading around the $95 area after pulling back from the multi-year high reached as supply concerns reached critical levels following the invasion of Ukraine which sparked a series of sanctions from western countries. Due to the fact that the Russian economy is so heavily reliant on its energy exports, much of which goes to Europe, those fears could persist throughout the week as a lack of resolution could only serve to further destabilize the situation. While there are potential alternatives available to European economies, many of them are costly and impractical for the time being and as it appears that at this point almost nothing is off the table, it could lead oil prices to retest those highs from 2014 and potentially even break past them.  
Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

Having A Look At The Markets Considering Tensions, COVID-19 And National Banks Decisions

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 28.02.2022 15:36
February 28, 2022  Macro March will be a pivotal month. Three key elements shape the investment climate: geopolitics, easing of Covid pressures in Europe and North America, and the continued monetary policy response.  Russia's threat to Ukraine had been simmering for several weeks before the February 11 warning by the US that an attack was imminent.  It became a significant risk-off factor and added to the pressure on equities, while helping support the bond markets.   While several concessions were offered, there has been no common ground on the key issue of NATO enlargement. Whatever military victory Putin may enjoy, Russia will see more NATO rather than less.  Not only will NATO boost its presence, but it is possible that Sweden (and maybe Finland) joins the military pact.  The risk is that the economic fallout from Russia's military action spurs more inflation and weaker growth.  Most immediately, it has seen the market downgrade the chances of a large rate hike (50 bp) by the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England at their mid-March meetings.     The virus appears to be receding and social restrictions are being lifted in Europe and North America. Economies are re-opening.  Delivery times are improving, suggesting supply chain disruptions are easing. After a slow start, the G7 economies appear to be strengthening, with the exception of Japan. Japan imposed new social restrictions in late January that ran through mid-February.  The February composite PMI was below the 50 boom/bust level for the second consecutive month. In the UK and France, the service PMI has risen above the manufacturing PMI, another sign of a post-Covid recovery.   The normalization of monetary policy takes a big step forward in the coming weeks with the first rate hikes by the US and Canada, and the first balance sheet reduction by the Bank of England.  The European Central Bank will update is forward guidance for its asset purchases and is expected to allow for a hike toward the end of the year.  The Bank of Japan's Yield-Curve Control cap on the 10-year bond at 0.25% may be challenged if global yields drag higher in their wake.   The Reserve Bank of Australia continues to push back against expectations of an early hike, which the swaps market says likely happens in July.   Commodity prices continue to rise.  The CRB Index rose by about 3.5% in February after a 9.8% gain in January.  It has not had a losing week since mid-December.  Adverse weather conditions in South America are helping boost corn and soy prices, which also translates into higher livestock prices.  Oil prices remain near multiyear highs and the April WTI contract has risen by around a quarter this year. The high does not seem to be in place yet, but a nuclear accord with Iran would boost supply.  US natural gas prices are up about 20% this year, but partly it is a function of the weak finish last year. Still, it is above the 200-day moving average by around 4%.  Europe's benchmark (Netherlands) has risen by almost 40%.  Higher oil and natural gas prices have knock-on effects on food production via fertilizer and pesticides, let alone transportation. We note that the last three recessions in the US were preceded by a doubling of oil prices.  The price of WTI has doubled since the start of last year.  Emerging markets have been resilient to start the year.  Brazil and Russia raised rate particularly aggressively 2021 and early this year.  Others, including Hungary, Czech, and Chile have done much of their heavy lifting.  The MSCI Emerging Market Equity Index has held in better than the MSCI World Index of developed countries in the first two months of the year (-4.9% vs. -7.8%).  Year-to-date the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index has risen by almost 1%.  Carry and valuation were often cited as the main considerations.   Bannockburn's GDP-weighted currency index rose about 0.3% in February as the currencies tended to have appreciated against the dollar.  The Chinese yuan (21.8%) and euro (19.1%) have the most weighting after the US dollar (31%) in the index.  They rose by 0.7% and 0.3% respectively. The strongest performer in the index was the Brazilian real (2.1% weighting) with a 3.0% gain, followed by the Australian dollar's (2.0% weighting) 2.25% increase. The weakest by far was the Russian rouble (2.2% weighting), which tumbled 6.75%.     Dollar:   There is no doubt that the Federal Reserve will launch a new monetary cycle at the mid-March meeting.  At one point, the market had priced in a little more than an 80% chance of a 50 bp move out of the gate. The pushback was mild, but the market understood, and the odds now are near 28%, which may still be high.  The focus is on the updated economic projections and any fresh guidance on the balance sheet.  At issue is terminal target rate in the cycle.  In December, five officials projected the Fed funds target rate in 2024 would be above the long-term rate of 2.5% (all but two Fed officials saw it above 2.0%-2.5%).   The Federal Reserve is getting closer to deciding the parameters of its balance sheet strategy.  It may be a bit early for details, but Chair Powell could confirm a start around midyear.  Meanwhile, the US economy is slowing sharply after the historic inventory contribution that lifted Q4 22 growth to about 7fx%.  The Atlanta Fed's GDP tracker sees Q1 growth at 1.3% while the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey is for 1.6% GDP at an annualized pace. Still, a strong rebound is likely to play out before the more sustained slowdown, we expected, starting in H2.     Euro:  First it was the divergence of monetary policy that drove the euro to $1.1120 in January.  The euro recovered to almost $1.15 on February 10, the day before the US warned that Russia could invade Ukraine. Then it was actual invasion took the euro to almost $1.1100.  The European Central Bank's leadership opened the door to a rate hike later this year, before the US warning about Russia's deadly intentions, the market began pricing in a hike in June.  This seemed exaggerated at the time.  The ECB has been very clear on the sequence.  Bond buying, under the Asset Purchase Program will end shortly before the first rate hike. To prepare for a possible hike, the ECB needs to adjust its forward guidance on its asset purchases at the March 10 meeting. It will likely reaffirm purchases in Q2, but it may look for an exit shortly thereafter.  The market has pushed the first rate hike back to the end of Q3. Meanwhile, the US-German two-year interest rate differential continues to trend in the US favor.  Consider that at the end of last September, the US premium was a little less than 100 bp. Now it is near 200 bp.  On the eve of the pandemic, it was almost 220 bp, although there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the exchange rate and the interest rate differential, the euro was in a range between $1.10 and nearly $1.1250 in December 2020.    (February 25 indicative closing prices, previous in parentheses) Spot: $1.1270 ($1.1150) Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast $1.1300 ($1.1175)  One-month forward $1.1280 ($1.1160)    One-month implied vol 7.0% (6.0%)         Japanese Yen:  Unlike most other large economies, Japan continues to experience deflationary pressures as seen by the GDP deflator (-1.3% year-over-year Q4 2021) or the January CPI (excluding fresh food and energy, -0.5% year-over-year).  This, coupled with signs of a weak Q1 has persuaded the market that BOJ is on hold until after Governor Kuroda's term ends in April 2023.  Given the monetary policy divergence and the deterioration of the balance of payments (with rising oil and commodity prices), the yen appears vulnerable.  However, the exchange rate's correlation with the change in the US 10-year yield has slackened, while improving with equities. In other words, its "safe haven" status is outweighing carry considerations.  Still, on balance, we look for the dollar to challenge the January and February high near JPY116.35.  Above those highs, there appears to be little chart-based resistance ahead of the late 2016/early 2017 high around JPY118.60.     Spot: JPY115.55 (JPY115.25)       Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast JPY115.00 (JPY115.15)      One-month forward JPY115.50 (JPY115.20)    One-month implied vol 6.3% (6.1%)     British Pound: Sterling was stuck in a $1.35-$1.36 range for most of February.  Intraday violations common but there was only one close outside the range until Russia invaded Ukraine.  It briefly crashed through $1.32 before rebounding.  The UK gets only 5%-6% of its oil and gas from Russia, but foreign direct investment exposure can be substantial for some companies in some sectors.  Consider that BP has a 20% stake in Rosneft.  The Bank of England meets on March 17.  The market has dramatically downgraded the risk of a 50 bp move, which had been rejected in favor a 25 bp move by a 5-4 vote in February.  Before the US warning about a full-scale Russian attack, the swaps market had more than a 60% chance the BOE would deliver a 50 bp hike in March.  Two weeks later the odds have fallen to less than 20%, the lowest since mid-December.  With the base rate at 50 bp, the BOE will stop reinvesting maturing proceeds of its holdings, and GBP28 bln of bond maturing in March that will not be recycled.  The outright selling of assets from its balance sheet can begin when the base rate reaches 1.0% but it is not a trigger as much as a pre-condition.      Spot: $1.3410 ($1.3400)    Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast $1.3500 ($1.3450)  One-month forward $1.3405 ($1.3395)   One-month implied vol 7.0% (6.5%)     Canadian Dollar:  Like sterling, the Canadian dollar spent most of February in a clear range.  It broke down on the dramatic wave of risk-aversion on the Russian invasion, but, unlike sterling, it was back into the old range within 24 hours.  The US dollar's range was CAD1.2650-CAD1.2660 on the downside and CAD1.28 on the upside.  It shot up to CAD1.2860 but returned to CAD1.27 the following day.   The Bank of Canada meets on March 2.  The swaps market sees a 75% chance that the Bank of Canada delivers a 50 bp to initiate its tightening cycle.  The market is discounting almost 180 bp of hikes over the next 12 months and peaking between 2.25%-2.50% next year from 25 bp now.  It is the most among the G7 countries.  It is also where the central bank sees the neutral rate.  The Bank of Canada is also expected to signal that it plans on letting the balance sheet shrink passively, not replacing maturing securities shortly.     Spot: CAD1.2715 (CAD 1.2770)  Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast CAD1.2600 (CAD1.2690) One-month forward CAD1.2710 (CAD1.2765)    One-month implied vol 6.7% (7.1%)      Australian Dollar: After falling 2.7% in January, the Australian dollar rebounded by 2.25% in February.  Of the major currencies, only the New Zealand dollar outperformed it and its central bank hiked rates for the third consecutive meeting and announced its balance sheet reduction strategy.  Australia's economy appeared to recover quickly from the Covid-related disruption that pushed the January composite PMI below the 50 boom/bust level (46.7).  It bounced back in February to 55.9, the highest since last June.  Higher commodity prices are delivering a positive terms of trade shock.  The average monthly trade surplus was A$10.2 bln last year compared with an average of nearly A$5.7 bln in 2019. While the Reserve Bank of Australia acknowledges the possibility of rate hike later this year, the market is considerably more aggressive.  The swaps market has discounted around 145 bp in tightening over the next 12 months.  However, in recent weeks, the market has pushed the first hike in Q3 from Q2.  For the last four months, the Australian dollar has mostly traded between $0.7000 and $0.7300.  This range may continue to dominate.      Spot:  $0.7220 ($0.6990)        Median Bloomberg One-Month Forecast $0.7200 ($0.7090)      One-month forward $0.7230 ($0.6995)     One-month implied vol 10.0% (10.4%)        Mexican Peso:  The peso appreciated by 1.4% in February.  Latam currencies shined. and accounted for four of the top six EM performers, led by the 3% gain in the Brazilian real.  At her first meeting as Governor of the Bank of Mexico, Rodriguez delivered a 50 bp hike. With price pressures still accelerating, she is poised to repeat it at her second meeting on March 24.   It would bring the target rate to 6.5%.  Recall that in the last cycle, Banxico had raised its target to 8.25% before cutting by in August 2019.  It was at 7.25% in January 2020.  The swaps market expects it to peak in early near year in the 8.00%-8.25% area.  The key is inflation, which has been above 7% for three months through January.  The bi-weekly inflation report had it accelerating in mid-February.  Mexican asset markets are underperforming.  Consider, the yield on its 10-year dollar bond is up 100 bp this year.  Brazil's is up half as much. Mexico's equity benchmark is off almost 1.4% this year while the MSCI Latam equity index is up 11.5%.  The dollar set five-month lows in late February slightly below MXN20.16. It peaked in late January near MXN20.9150.  The bulk of the move is probably behind it and the MXN20.00-MXN20.10 area may offer a nearby floor.      Spot: MXN20.35 (MXN20.80)   Median Bloomberg One-Month Forecast MXN20.50 (MXN20.78)   One-month forward MXN20.46 (MXN20.90)     One-month implied vol 11.0% (10.6%)      Chinese Yuan:  Few observers seem to place any importance on Chinese officials claim that it is making the currency move flexible.  The yuan still can only move in a 2% band around the reference rate that the central bank sets daily ostensibly submissions by its banks.  Although it does not appear to intervene directly, it can still have various levers of influence.   The yuan has risen against the dollar for six of the past seven months.  The currency moves are small but have a cumulative effect. In February, the yuan rose by about 0.7% against the dollar.  It was sufficient to lift it to a new four-year high and what appears to be a new record-high against its trade-weighted basket (CFETS).  After cautioning the market against driving the yuan higher and raising the reserve requirement for foreign currency deposits (earned in part from selling the yuan to offshore buyers), the PBOC shifted in February.  It began setting the dollar's reference rate below expectations.  While a couple of large asset managers have reduced their weightings of Chinese bonds as the premium over Treasuries narrows considerably, foreign investors have been buying Chinese stocks outside of the technology and property sectors.  It is difficult to know the extent of the official tolerance of a stronger yuan when monetary and fiscal policy is more stimulative.  The dollar's low from 2017 was around CNY6.24-CNY6.25.     Spot: CNY6.3175 (CNY6.3615) Median Bloomberg One-month Forecast CNY6.3800 (CNY6.3895)  One-month forward CNY6.3300 (CNY6.3820)    One-month implied vol 3.1% (3.1%)         Disclaimer
What's The Future Of Bitcoin (BTC) Price In Times Of Sanctions?

What's The Future Of Bitcoin (BTC) Price In Times Of Sanctions?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.02.2022 16:02
Bitcoin price is behaving very well this stormy Monday morning as global markets are under pressure from sanctions against Russia. BTC sees elevated interest as people in Russia dive into Bitcoin as an alternative method of payment. Expect this interest to add to more popularity for Bitcoin as long as the current sanctions are imposed on Russia and its ruble. Bitcoin (BTC) is holding it together all-in-all quite well as price action dipped lower over the weekend but is back up for the day as Bitcoin sees an uptick in demand at the start of the week. That demand comes from Russian people using Bitcoin as an alternative method of payment as the local currency has devalued considerably, and several sanctions are making it impossible to use FX alternatives. With this renewed interest, expect to see BTC price action rise towards $39,780, holding a 10% profit potential. Bitcoin regains the needed attention it deserves Over the weekend, price action got rejected to the downside and saw a 7% devaluation. Yet with the introduction of several sanctions onRussia, significant demand is being seen for Bitcoin as Russians seek alternative payment methods as their own currency has devalued sharply by 20% on Monday morning, and foreign currencies are forbidden as a form of payment. This is the perfect background for Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies to get renewed positive attention. Several Russians will be opening a crypto wallet and buying into Bitcoin price action, which could propel price action towards $39,780 in the first phase.once Bitcoin becomes the standard form of payment in Russia, and as the Relative Strength Index still has plenty of room to go, expect to see a further move to the upside, hitting $41,756 in the near term. BTC/USD daily chart Depending on the current peace talks underway this afternoon between Russia and Ukraine, expect to see a possible dip back towards $38,073 or even $36,709 as the supportive baseline in these past few days. Should the situation deteriorate again and see renewed attacks – and even the use of Russian nuclear weapons – expect to see a sharp nosedive move towards $32,650, nearing the distribution zone from a few months ago. With that move, the Relative Strength Index will have entered the oversold area, however, suggesting an increased likelihood of an eventual recovery.
NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) Stock News and Forecast: Worries over Ukraine-Russia war dim index prospects

NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) Stock News and Forecast: Worries over Ukraine-Russia war dim index prospects

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.02.2022 16:02
NASDAQ 100 is set to open sharply lower on Monday. Russia placing nuclear forces on high alert spooked markets. European gas prices continue to surge as stagflation beckons. Global financial markets remain on edge this morning as the Russia-Ukraine conflict looks to be in danger of spilling into a global threat. Over the weekend Russia placed its nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, while Germany pledged increased defense spending. Now further developments include Russia talking of placing nuclear missiles in Belarus and an apparent escalation of the rhetoric between global superpowers. Western governments have gone for tougher sanctions than many observers anticipated with the Russian Central Bank reserves being targetted as well as the global banking payment system SWIFT being closed to Russian banks. Russian ally Belarus held a referendum this morning that ditched its non-nuclear stance, paving the way for Russian nuclear missiles to be deployed there. NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) Stock News All this has naturally seen risk assets collapse. European equity markets fell sharply this morning. At one stage the German Dax was down nearly 3% but has staged a slight recovery to lose 2.4% currently. However the European benchmark, the Eurostoxx 50, is down over 3.5% at the time of writing. Yields continue to fall as money flows into safe-haven assets. Gold and the dollar have naturally profited. The odds on rate hikes from the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve have diminished as the threat of recession grows. Europe has the most to lose due to its dependence on Russian gas supplies. European natural gas futures (TTF) rose over 50% on Friday and have followed that up with a 12% gain on Monday. There is likely more to come here. NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) Stock Forecast We do have a bearish divergence on the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The RSI has not made matching new lows despite the NASDAQ 100 doing so. Usually, this is significant, but the RSI does remain in a strong downtrend in line with the NASDAQ. Thursday and Friday's rally was impressive, but even that failed to break the 9 and 21-day moving averages. Demonstrating this downtrend is powerful. The obvious target is a break of 4,300 and a test of the significant lows from March 2021 at $299.51. Nasdaq (QQQ) chart, daily For short-term traders, opening below $348 indicates we are on a bearish track and preparing for further declines. Last support at $338 could see a sharp decline to $328 based on the volume gap. Nasdaq (QQQ) chart, 15-minute
S&P 500 (SPX) And Credit Markets With Moves Up Finally, Bitcoin (BTC) Seems To Be Vigilant

S&P 500 (SPX) And Credit Markets With Moves Up Finally, Bitcoin (BTC) Seems To Be Vigilant

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.02.2022 16:00
S&P 500 didn‘t correct much intraday, and the risk-on turn has continued unabated with value pulling ahead sharply – unlike the day before when the revesal came about because of tech. The dust is settling in the market‘s mind, VIX has indeed moved and the dollar weakened noticeably. That was the subject of Friday‘s analysis – the disappearing safe haven premium over many assets such as gold, crude oil and Treasuries (Treasuries though kept their cool the most, not losing the focus on Fed‘s tightening). Risk-on appetite returned to stocks with a vengeance, and market breadth has significantly improved – within the context of the ongoing correction, must be said. While we made local lows on Thursday after all, the upside momentum is likely to slow down next – this week would bring a consolidation within a very headline sensitive environment. It‘s looking good for the bulls at the moment – till the dynamic of events beyond markets changes. Inflation isn‘t wavering, and I‘m not looking for its meaningful deceleration given the events since Thursday, no. Friday is likely to mark a buying opportunity beyond oil and copper – these longs have very good prospects. Another part of the S&P 500 upswing explanation were the still fine fresh orders data – while the real economy has noticeably decelerated (and Q1 GDP growth would be underwhelming), solid figures would return in the latter quarters of 2022. That‘s also behind the gold downswing on Friday, which hadn‘t been confirmed by the miners – the very bright future ahead for precious metals is undisputable. And the same goes for crude oil as oil stocks foretell – the fresh long crude trade together with long S&P 500 one, are both solidly in the black already.. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook Sharp S&P 500 upswing on solid volume – the gains can continue but their pace would slow down. Negative sentiment is departing stocks as the existing bad news has been priced in. The pendulum is swinging the other way now. Credit Markets HYG is confirming the stock market upswing, but bonds are remaining more cautious overall – it‘s that the focus would shift over the coming 2 weeks again to the Fed. The yield spread keeps compressing and the 2-year bond didn‘t stop pressuring the Fed. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals have corrected a little but the upswing goes on – GDX performance is a good omen. The decline in prices wasn‘t sold heavily into anyway – we‘re still moving higher next as the rate raising cycle start is soon here. Crude Oil Crude oil bears are totally unconvincing, proving that the prior price upswing was about way more than geopolitical uncertainty – the chart remains strongly bullish, and we have higher to run still. Copper Copper upswing is indeed taking time to develop, but commodities strength remains in spite of the daily setback, which just illustrates the risk-on euphoria in stocks. The commodities upleg hasn‘t run its course, and the red metal would join in. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are refusing to extend Sunday‘s decline – while the worst appears to be over, the short-term direction can turn out in both directions. I‘m though slightlly favoring the bulls. Summary S&P 500 turnaround continues, and price gains are frontrunning the events on the ground. The upswing is vulnerable – to a consolidation at most as a full reversal would require fresh setbacks, including in Asia. Risk-on trades have the momentum, and credit markets agree. It certainly looks like a good time to take advantage of the precious metals and commodities discounts as momentary optimism in the markets that has nothing to do with the progress on inflation. Further, we‘re still in the real economy slowdown phase, and the Fed hasn‘t even started hiking yet. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
USDCHF Trades Lower, EURGBP - EUR Weakened A Bit, US 100 Looks To Hold Its Normal Level

USDCHF Trades Lower, EURGBP - EUR Weakened A Bit, US 100 Looks To Hold Its Normal Level

Jing Ren Jing Ren 01.03.2022 10:07
USDCHF struggles for support The Swiss franc rallies as new sanctions against Russia trigger a flight to safety. The pair has met stiff resistance in the supply area (0.9290). Then a drop below 0.9220 and 0.9170 suggests that sentiment remains cautious and buyers are hesitant. 0.9150 is a key level to safeguard the greenback’s latest bounce. A bearish breakout could send the pair to the daily support at 0.9110. An oversold RSI may attract some buying interest. The bulls need to reclaim 0.9230 before they could hope for a turnaround. EURGBP attempts to rebound The euro struggles amid escalation in Western sanctions. A bullish attempt above 0.8400 indicates an upward bias as sellers cover their positions. 0.8310 has been solid support. And the market mood may become increasingly upbeat if buyers succeed in holding above this level. An extended rally may send the single currency to the daily resistance at 0.8475, where a breakout may cause a bullish reversal in the weeks to come. On the downside, a fall below the said demand zone may send the euro to 0.8260. US 100 to test key resistance The Nasdaq 100 bounces as Russia and Ukraine meet for peace talks. The index saw bids near last May’s lows (13050), an important floor to prevent further bleeding. A rebound above 14050 has prompted some sellers to take profit, easing the downward pressure for the moment. Price action is heading to the next resistance at 14500 which sits on the 30-day moving average, and high volume could be expected in this area of interest. A bullish breakout could boost sentiment in the short term and extend gains to 15280.
Bitcoin (BTC) To US Dollar (USD) And BTCUSD/XAUUSD Shown In The Charts

Bitcoin (BTC) To US Dollar (USD) And BTCUSD/XAUUSD Shown In The Charts

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 01.03.2022 12:27
Bitcoin, buy the news   With news, volatility is typically increasing, and a larger volume of transactions is at play. For amateurs, data evaluation in a turmoiled market environment generally results in procrastination of execution, meaning no trading or chasing trades. Professionals find necessary liquidity to exit a trade or use volatility to fade moves on less risk for entries. Last week’s invasion of Ukraine was no different. Only those prepared with a plan were able to position themselves in bitcoin. Bitcoin, daily chart, the giveaway: Crypto markets, daily charts as of February 28th, 2022. A giveaway was a widespread larger supply zone throughout the crypto sector (green horizontal lines on the daily charts above), and preset buy entries in the crypto space were getting triggered. Inter-market relationships stack the odds of placing a successful trade.   Bitcoin, weekly chart, entry target zone within reach: Bitcoin, weekly chart as of February 28th, 2022. With our entry target range nearly reached (see our previous chart book release), we were ready to act, knowing a possible larger time frame tuning point was a possibility. You might argue that the price has not penetrated the entry zone. Still, at a closer look, you will identify that due to exuberant volume on the surprise news day, the supply zone values had changed to provide significant support right at the rim of our initially planned zone. Charts need to be consistently updated to stay accurate! Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, weekly chart, another edge stacked: Bitcoin versus Gold in USD, weekly chart as of March 1st, 2022. Precisely on the day in question, we also got a hedge rotational “buy signal” for bitcoin versus gold on the weekly chart. Consequently, this signal provided another inter-market relationship edge that supported our decision-making for aggressive entry. What we can see on the chart above that compares bitcoin with gold is that since institutional money has become a massive part of bitcoin holdings, these more significant funds rotate their money in and out between gold and bitcoin. Following the yellow line, one can see prices being high to buy bitcoin with gold at double top and acquiring bitcoin at a double bottom is a way to take advantage of cheaper bitcoin prices in relationship to gold. For us, a good reason to assume that gold holders might switch to bitcoin for the next foreseeable timeframe, to hedge their wealth preservation portfolios. Bitcoin, daily chart, profits booked and room to go: Bitcoin, weekly chart as of March 1st, 2022. The weekly chart above shows four more reloads within the last five days. All trades have been risk mitigated with our quad exit strategy. Consequently, the remaining position was market money at no risk to us. We posted daily calls to prepare interested parties for possible reentries. Prices have already advanced by nearly 30% from the lows. This preparedness and merely following rules allow ending up being positioned and not dependent on whether a turning point matures. Even in a negative outcome, profits have been made. With a bit of luck, these remainder positions can go a long way and provide substantial additional profits. In addition, one is positioned early before a trend is even established. Bitcoin, buy the news: We must confront opinion-forming debates led by ego (the need to be right). We use reconditioning behavior to achieve best results. The goal in mind is to “erase” intuitive responses and an execution time delay leading to sub-par entry timing. Consequently, consistent extracting of profits from the market is possible. At Midas Touch, we have made it our business to share our entry and exit timing and their underlying principles in our free Telegram channel to empower our clients and followers to become successful self-directed investors.   Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|March 1st, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, Bitcoin consolidation, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, Gold, Gold bullish, low risk, quad exit, S&P 500, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Told You, Risk On

Told You, Risk On

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.03.2022 15:45
S&P 500 erased opening downside, not unexpectedly. Markets say we‘ve turned the corner, and while the medium-term correction isn‘t over, we‘re going higher for now. The tired performance in credit markets suggests that the pace of the upswing would indeed likely slow, but the dips are being bought – even the 4,300 overnight level held unchallenged.VIX is slowly calming down, and it wouldn‘t be a one-way ride. I hate to say it, but we‘re trading closer to the more complacent end of the volatility spectrum – that‘s though in line with my assumption of toned down price appreciation expectations that I discussed on Sunday and yesterday:(…) While we made local lows on Thursday after all, the upside momentum is likely to slow down next – this week would bring a consolidation within a very headline sensitive environment. It‘s looking good for the bulls at the moment – till the dynamic of events beyond markets changes.Inflation isn‘t wavering, and I‘m not looking for its meaningful deceleration given the events since Thursday, no. Friday is likely to mark a buying opportunity beyond oil and copper – these longs have very good prospects. Another part of the S&P 500 upswing explanation were the still fine fresh orders data – while the real economy has noticeably decelerated (and Q1 GDP growth would be underwhelming), solid figures would return in the latter quarters of 2022. That‘s also behind the gold downswing on Friday, which hadn‘t been confirmed by the miners – the very bright future ahead for precious metals is undisputable. And the same goes for crude oil as oil stocks foretell – the fresh long crude trade together with long S&P 500 one, are both solidly in the black already.Precious metals have found a floor, and aren‘t selling off either. In fact, they are looking at a great week ahead, and the same goes for crude oil followed to a lesser degree by copper. Weekend developments on the financial front triggered a rush into cryptos, and the bullish prospects I presented yesterday, are coming to fruition.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookDaily S&P 500 consolidation as the bulls did shake off the opening setback rather easily – and the same goes for the late session trip approaching 4,310s. Expecting more volatility of the current flavor, and higher prices then.Credit MarketsHYG managed to close above Friday‘s values, and the overall bond market strength bodes well for risk appetite ahead. Let‘s consolidate first, and march higher later.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are consolidating the high ground gained, miners aren‘t yielding, and silver weakness yesterday actually bodes well for the very short term. Launching pad before the next upleg.Crude OilCrude oil bears have a hard time from keeping black gold below $100. The table is clearly set for further gains – the chart can be hardly more bullish.CopperCopper is a laggard, but will still participate in the upswing. Its current underperformance as highlighten by yesterday‘s downswing, is a bit too odd, i.e. bound to be reversed.Bitcoin and EthereumCrypto bulls were indeed the stronger party, and similarly to gold, it‘s hard to imagine a deep dive coming to frution. I‘m looking for the safety trade to be be ebbing and flowing, now with some crypto participation sprinkled on top.SummaryS&P 500 turnaround goes on, and we‘re undergoing a consolidation that‘s as calm as can be given the recent volatility. Credit markets and the dollar though continue favoring the paper asset bulls now, but their gains would pale in comparison with select commodities such as oil and gold‘s newfound floor. Even agrifoods look to be sold down a bit too hard, and I‘m not looking for them to be languishing next as much as they have been over the last two trading days. Cryptos upswing highlights the present global uncertainties faced – as I have written on Thursday that the world has changed, the same applies for weekend banking events being reflected in the markets yesterday.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) Will Be Supported, But Probable Massive Sale Of Russian Gold Can Hinder The Rise

Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) Will Be Supported, But Probable Massive Sale Of Russian Gold Can Hinder The Rise

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 01.03.2022 16:01
  Russia underestimated Ukraine’s fierce defense. Instead of quick conquest, the war is still going on. The same applies to pulling the rope between gold bulls and bears. It was supposed to be a blitzkrieg. The plan was simple: within 72 hours Russian troops were to take control of Kyiv, stage a coup, overthrow the democratically elected Ukrainian authorities, and install a pro-Russian puppet government. Well, the blitzkrieg clearly failed. The war has been going on for five days already, and Kyiv (and other major cities) remains in Ukrainian hands, while the Russians suffer great losses. Indeed, the Ukrainians are fighting valiantly. The Kremlin apparently did not expect such high morale among the troops and civilians, as well as such excellent organization and preparation. Meanwhile, the morale among Russian soldiers is reported to be pathetically low, as they have no motivation to fight with culturally close Ukrainians (many of whom speak perfect Russian). The invaders are also poorly equipped, and the whole operation was logistically unprepared (as the assumption was a quick capitulation by Ukrainian forces and a speedy collapse of the government in Kyiv). Well, pride comes before a fall. What’s more, the West is united as never before (Germany did a historic U-turn in its foreign and energy policies) and has already imposed relatively heavy economic sanctions on Russia (including cutting off some of the country’s banks from SWIFT), and donated weapons to Ukraine. However – and unfortunately – the war is far from being ended. Military analysts expect a second wave of Russian troops that can break the resistance of the Ukrainians, who have fewer forces and cannot relieve the soldiers just like the other side. Indeed, satellite pictures show a large convoy of Russian forces near Kyiv. Russia is also gathering troops in Belarus and – sadly – started shelling residential quarters in Ukrainian cities. According to US intelligence, Belarusian soldiers could join Russian forces. The coming days will be crucial for the fate of the conflict.   Implications for Gold What does the war between Russia and Ukraine imply for the gold market? Well, initially, the conflict was supportive of gold prices. As the chart below shows, the price of gold (London Fix) soared to $1,936 on Thursday. However, the rally was very short-lived, as the very next day, gold prices fell to $1,885. Thus, gold’s performance looked like “buy the rumor, sell the news.” However, yesterday, the price of the yellow metal returned above $1,900, so some geopolitical risk premium may still be present in the gold market. Anyway, it seems that I was right in urging investors to focus on fundamentals and to not make long-term investments merely based on geopolitical risks, the impact of which is often only temporary. Having said that, gold may continue its bullish trend, at least for a while. After all, the war not only increases risk aversion, but it also improves gold’s fundamental outlook. First of all, the Fed is now less likely to raise the federal funds rate in March. It will probably still tighten its monetary policy, but in a less aggressive way. For example, the market odds of a 50-basis point hike decreased from 41.4% one week ago to 12.4% now. What’s more, we are observing increasing energy prices, which could increase inflation further. The combination of higher inflation and a less hawkish Fed should be fundamentally positive for gold prices, as it implies low real interest rates. On the other hand, gold may find itself under downward pressure from selling reserves to raise liquidity. I'm referring to the fact that the West has cut Russia off from the SWIFT system in part. In such a situation, Russia would have to sell part of its massive gold reserves, which could exert downward pressure on prices. Hence, the upcoming days may be quite volatile for the gold market. At the end of my article, I would like to point out that although the war in Ukraine entails implications for the precious metals market, it is mostly a humanitarian tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with all the casualties of the conflict and their families. I hope that Ukraine will withstand the invasion and peace will return soon! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Will Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) Be Affected By Russian Economics?

Will Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) Be Affected By Russian Economics?

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 01.03.2022 15:52
  Sanctions, terminated contracts, and a plummeting currency – Russia is facing the financial crisis specter. Can gold also be affected? In the medium term, even painfully.  While gold continues to ride the bullish wave of geopolitical tensions, confusion has arisen over whether Russia’s financial woes will support or hurt the yellow metal. For context, I wrote on Feb. 28: Even if the recent escalation uplifts gold in the short term, the fundamental implications of Russia’s financial plight support lower gold prices over the medium term.  Please see below: To explain, with Russia essentially blacklisted from many influential FX counterparties, the Russian ruble relative to the U.S. dollar was exchanged for a roughly 50% discount on Feb. 27. As a result, Russian's purchasing power is nearly half of what it was before Sunday's developments. Furthermore, if you analyze the chart above, you can see that euros and U.S. dollars made up a large portion of Russia's monetary base in 2013 (the green bars on the left). Conversely, those holdings dropped dramatically in 2021 (the blue bars on the left).  In addition, if you focus your attention on the column labeled "Gold," you can see that FX has been swapped for gold, and the yellow metal accounts for roughly 23% of Russia's monetary base. Now, with the impaired state of the ruble offering little financial reprieve, Russia may have to sell its gold reserves to alleviate the pressure from NATO's economic sanctions.  As a result, while war is often bullish for gold, the fundamental implications of currency devaluation mean that gold is Russia's only worthwhile asset outside of oil. Thus, with bank runs already unfolding in the region, the yellow metal could be collateral damage. To that point, the USD/RUB closed at roughly 105 on Feb. 28. As a result, it costs 105 Russian rubles to obtain one U.S. dollar. With the spot gold price at around $1,900 per ounce, it costs roughly 199,500 Russian rubles to purchase an ounce of gold. In stark contrast, the USD/RUB closed at approximately 75 on Feb. 16, which means that less than two weeks ago, it cost 142,500 Russian rubles to purchase an ounce of gold at the current price. As such, in currency-adjusted terms, the cost of an ounce of gold in Russia has increased by roughly 40% in recent days. However, after Bloomberg posted an article on Feb. 27 titled “Bank of Russia Resumes Gold Buying After Two-Year Pause,” the revelation may have caused some anxiety about our short position (as a reminder, it’s not in gold, but in junior mining stocks). For context, an excerpt from the article read: “The central bank will begin buying gold again on the domestic precious metals market, it said in a statement. The move comes after the monetary authority and several of the country’s commercial banks were sanctioned in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” As a result, if Russia goes on a shopping spree for bullion, could the price skyrocket? Well, the reality is that the fundamentals don’t support the sentiment. As mentioned, the USD/RUB has surged in recent days, and the sharp decline in the value of the Russian currency is extremely bearish for the Russian economy. Please see below: Furthermore, while Russia may want to increase its gold reserves, it’s essential to focus on what Russia does and not what it says. For example, the Russian central bank increased its overnight lending rate from 9.5% to 20% on Feb. 28. While U.S. investors fret over a 25 basis point hike from the Fed (which, as mentioned previously, should occur in March), Russia had to increase interest rates by 10.5% to help stop the ruble’s bleeding.  Please see below: Source: Reuters For context, higher interest rates encourage capital flows, and with the ruble in free-fall, Russia is hoping that investors will buy the currency, invest in Russian bonds, and potentially earn a 20% return. Moreover, if the currency rallies during the holding period, the carry trade would be highly lucrative for an institution willing to incur the risk. However, the story is only sanguine in theory. In reality, though, crippling sanctions from NATO and private companies divesting their Russian assets mean that buying the ruble and other Russian securities requires a gambler’s mentality. For example, Viraj Patel, FX and Macro Strategist at Vanda Research, summed up the dynamic in a few simple words on Feb. 28: Source: Viraj Patel Twitter Thus, while Russia may claim it's buying gold, and who knows, maybe it will, the financial destruction plaguing the region will likely make Russia a net-seller over the medium term. To that point, if we circle back to the Bloomberg article referenced above, Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA, said in the same piece that investors would interpret the actions as short-term bullish.  However, aligning with our expectations, she noted that investors have misjudged the medium-term impact of Russia's currency crisis.  Please see below: Source: Bloomberg As a result, that’s why I wrote on Feb. 28 that while volatility may be the name of the game this week as investors struggle to digest the implications, the geopolitical risk premium that often supports gold may prove counterintuitive this time around. Furthermore, we shouldn't ignore the potential impact on the USD Index. For example, while the dollar basket defied expectations and rose materially in 2021, the momentum continued in 2022. However, after a sharp rally in January, investors repositioned their bets, and euro longs were in style once again. However, with the risk-on trade now disrupted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, more downside for the euro implies more upside for the USD Index. Please see below: Source: Institute of International Finance (IIF)/Robin Brooks To explain, the color blocks above track the non-commercial (speculative) futures positioning for various currencies versus the U.S. dollar, while the black line above tracks the consolidated total. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the black line has moved higher recently, which signals fewer U.S. dollar long positions.   More importantly, though, if you focus your attention on the light blue blocks on the right side of the chart, you can see that speculative euro longs have increased and remain in positive territory. However, with the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict much more troublesome for the Eurozone than the U.S., speculative EUR/USD positioning still has plenty of room to move lower. To that point, Mark Sobel, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), wrote on Feb. 28 that “the overall impact of Russia’s actions on the U.S. economy may not be significant, assuming oil prices don’t soar, though that remains a significant risk.” “The challenges for the ECB will be much greater in its debates over balancing the stagflationary consequences of the Russian invasion. Europe is a large net energy importer and remains dependent on Russia for oil and natural gas.” As a result: “European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will feel the strain more than Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Higher oil prices will boost inflation, weaken growth prospects and stoke stagflation fears.” Furthermore, if you analyze the right side of the chart below, you can see that Russia’s monetary base includes more euros (the light blue line) than U.S. dollars (the dark blue line). As a result, if Russia swaps its other FX holdings for rubles (to help stop the decline), the euro has more downside risk than the greenback. The bottom line? While Russia may put on a brave face and claim that gold purchases are on the horizon, the reality is that its materially weak financial position requires more attention to more pressing matters. With bank runs and a currency crisis already unfolding, combined with NATO sanctions and private companies divesting their Russian assets, the country’s leaders need to stem the tide before a depression unfolds. As a result, Russia’s oil revenues and the securities it can monetize are more likely to be used to support the Russian economy, rather than to buy gold. Thus, while the yellow metal has enjoyed short-term sentiment high (and so did the silver price), the fundamentals imply a much different outcome over the medium term. In conclusion, the PMs were mixed on Feb. 28, as the GDX ETF ended the session roughly flat. However, the recent rallies are far from troublesome. For example, I noted previously how gold rallied following the 2001 terrorist attacks and after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. However, those gains were short-lived, and the latter resulted in lower lows in the months that followed. As a result, while the recent volatility will likely continue, it doesn’t change the bearish medium-term thesis. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Will S&P 500 (SPX) Go Up? On Monday It Decreased By 0.24%

Will S&P 500 (SPX) Go Up? On Monday It Decreased By 0.24%

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 01.03.2022 15:31
  The S&P 500 went sideways yesterday, as investors hesitated following the recent rally. Will the short-term uptrend resume? The broad stock market index lost 0.24% on Monday, after gaining 2.2% on Friday and 1.5% on Thursday. The sentiment improved following the Thursday’s rebound, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty following the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict news. On Thursday, the broad stock market reached the low of 4,114.65 and it was 704 points or 14.6% below the January 4 record high of 4,818.62. And yesterday it went closer to the 4,400 level. For now, it looks like an upward correction. However, it may also be a more meaningful reversal following a deep 15% correction from the early January record high. The market sharply reversed its short-term downtrend, but will it continue the advance? This morning the S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.2% lower and we may see some more volatility. The nearest important resistance level remains at 4,400 and the next resistance level is at 4,450-4,500. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,300-4,350, among others. The S&P 500 index broke slightly above the downward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Futures Contract Remains Above the 4,300 Level Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. On Thursday it sold off after breaking below the 4,200 level. Since Friday it is trading along the 4,300 mark. We are still expecting an upward correction from the current levels (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com): Conclusion The S&P 500 index fluctuated following the recent rally yesterday. This morning it is expected to open 0.2% lower and we may see some further volatility. Obviously, the markets will continue to react to the Russia-Ukraine conflict news. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 index bounced from the new low on Thursday after falling almost 15% from the early January record high. We are maintaining our speculative long position. We are expecting an upward correction from the current levels. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decentralized Autonomous Organisation - Another Addition To Our Personal Dictionaries

Crypto Prices: On Tuesday Bitcoin (BTC) Added 1.9%, Ether (ETH) Gained 2.5%, Solana (SOL) Increased By 6.7%

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 02.03.2022 08:44
In the middle of Tuesday, the first cryptocurrency was approaching $45K, but then fell slightly during the American session along with stock indices. BTC showed resilience despite the decline in other risky assets and the growth of the dollar. World markets were declining following the banking sector, which felt the severity of Russia's partial disconnection from Swift (by 80%). However, this situation does little harm to the demand for cryptocurrencies. On the Binance exchange, the volume of trading in ruble pairs with BTC and USDT has increased significantly. Crypto funds recorded $36 million in net asset inflows during the week, up from $239 million over the past five weeks, according to CoinShares. Institutions are also looking for alternative vehicles amid mounting military tensions and government capital controls. According to Glassnode, crypto whales have been aggressively buying bitcoin over the past few weeks, which could signal a local bottom has been reached. The last time such a situation was observed was in May last year, when, after a two-month consolidation, the market resumed growth at the end of July. Technically, Bitcoin started March with growth. Thus, BTC has risen in price by 1.9% over the day to $44,100. Ethereum has grown by 2.5%, approaching $3,000. Other leading altcoins from the top ten add with maximum momentum such as Solana (+6.7%) and Terra (+5.2%) The total capitalization of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, grew by 2% over the day, to $1.94 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index is hovering around 43%. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index added another point to 52 moving into neutral territory.
Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Recovers Slowly

Intraday Market Analysis – Gold Recovers Slowly

Jing Ren Jing Ren 02.03.2022 09:06
XAUUSD grinds rising trendline Gold recovered after the first round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended without a resolution. The precious metal found support over 1885. The rising trendline from early February indicates that the general direction is still up despite a choppy path. The previous peak at 1974 is now a fresh resistance and its breach could send the price to the psychological level of 2000. The downside risk is a fall below the said support. Then 1852, near the 30-day moving average, would be the bulls’ second line of defense. AUDUSD attempts reversal The Australian dollar steadied after the RBA warned that energy prices could flare up inflation. A break above the previous high (0.7285) shows buyers’ strong commitment despite sharp liquidation. Sentiment swiftly recovered and may attract more buying interest. An overbought RSI may temporarily limit the upside. And the bulls could be waiting for a pullback to accumulate. 0.7220 is the closest support. A bullish close above the January peak at 0.7310 could initiate a reversal in the medium-term and extend gains towards 0.7400. CADJPY bounces back The Canadian dollar clawed back losses after the Q4 GDP beat expectations. A jump above 90.70 has prompted sellers to cover their bets, opening the door for a potential reversal. 91.10 is the next resistance and its breach could propel the loonie to this year’s high at 92.00. On the downside, the psychological level of 90.00 is a key support to keep the rebound relevant. Otherwise, a drop to 89.30 would suggest that sentiment remains fragile. In turn, this would place the pair under pressure once again.
Speaking Of Rallying Chinese Stocks, Quite Unchanged Bitcoin Price, BoE, Fed And Central Bank Of Turkey Interest Rates Decisions

Getting Rid Of Russian Commodities Affects And Will Affect Markets

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 02.03.2022 10:04
Brent crude prices have jumped 13% since the start of the week, trading above $110 a barrel at the time of writing. These are the highest levels since July 2014. Meanwhile, the ruble continues to retreat against the dollar and euro.  USDRUB is now trading at 106.40 (+5.5%) on the Moscow Exchange, and EURRUB is above 118 (+5%). In both cases, rates are approaching the highs set at the start of trading on Monday. As would be expected, the announced support measures from the Central Bank are softening the fall but not reversing it. The one-way movement in oil prices is since buyers in Europe are increasingly refusing to buy Russian oil, trying to find a replacement for it.  This shift in priorities is visible in the sharp widening of the spread between Urals and Brent. Historically, and without various restrictions, the spread between these grades is $2-3 in favour of the lighter Brent. Now it is more than $17 as buyers are not chartering new shipments. Canada is refusing to buy Russian oil, and the UK (which is much more dependent on energy imports) is considering options for sanctions against the industry.  The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for EU oil and gas imports restrictions. Thus, Russia has failed to fully benefit from higher prices, losing both in sales volumes and facing an actual fall in selling prices.  The potential for already announced measures destabilises the market, setting Russia up to start using energy or agricultural products as a retaliatory measure. While it is hard to imagine the world without Russian energy in the coming months - it will be as chaotic as the oil crisis in 1973, with the oil price soaring fourfold in six months of the embargo. We may see a smaller price jump but with much wider economic consequences. It is ironic that Europe and Western countries, in general, were helped by the Soviet Union. Now consumers are left to rely on the Middle East and its reserves.  Yesterday, Biden announced an agreed sale of 60m barrels to 30 countries. Still, the market reaction to these announcements indicates that the market was expecting more, and the announced volumes are not enough. It is hard to say the theoretical limit to oil's rise. The Brent price could surpass the 2012 highs of $128 in a matter of days or aim for a historical record of $147.
Crude Oil (WTI) - USOIL Price Is Close 11-Year-High

Crude Oil (WTI) - USOIL Price Is Close 11-Year-High

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 02.03.2022 11:03
Today we’re taking a look at oil from a longer-term view after price briefly tested $111. We all know the driver for this month’s surge in the price of oil. Our question as price has started to move back to levels not seen since 2011 is how much further does it have to go? We have to start looking at the conflict in Europe and think has it started to be factored into price? Obviously today that answer could be no as we’ve seen over 11% added to USOUSD (WTI) this week. The reasons for this rally are not exactly like what we saw drive price in 2008. Yes, supply disruptions drove price and supply disruptions are a factor here, but this time it’s centred around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What happens if the two nations form a peace agreement or on a darker note what happens if Russia escalates the situation? De-escalation we would be looking for price to fall but on escalation, you would think that the rally would continue. Price-wise oil has reached heavy resistance formed back in 2011-2013. The ending diagonal that formed in this resistance actually sunk the last rally above $100. Price looks overextended at this point but the drivers of the rally can’t be discounted. We are looking to see if buyers can break and hold above $112 – $115. A hold above these points could start to set up a new shift in pricing. It could also set off further inflation worries and start to develop global growth worries which could alter current central bank plans. In the levels discussed we see solid supply. It will be a firm statement if buyers can get comfortable back above those levels. From there if dynamics stay supportive, anything could be possible. Traders will need to keep a close eye on geopolitical tensions to see if the drivers continue to feed demand. If things change and price fails to break $112-$115 we could see a fast pullback. The $80 area could be the first port of support. Oil Monthly Chart Chart source, Net Dania Finance chart Uncertainty presents volatility Currently, our margin levels remain unchanged across all instruments and we offer one of the best swap conditions on key instruments such as Gold. Make the most out of market movements right now with Eightcap. For more information on market updates and our swap rates, please contact our award-winning customer service team. The post CFD Update: Oil set to retest 2011 highs? appeared first on Eightcap.
Although Russia Vs Ukraine Is Still Topping The Headlines, We Have To Focus On Powell (FED) Testimony And ECB’s Monetary Policy Account As Well

Although Russia Vs Ukraine Is Still Topping The Headlines, We Have To Focus On Powell (FED) Testimony And ECB’s Monetary Policy Account As Well

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 02.03.2022 15:14
Everybody tries to follow all the news coming from Eastern Europe and some wonders it’s interactions with the economics. Having that in mind, let’s follow to a brief highlights of tomorrow events. Economic Calendar by FXMAG.COM - 03/03/2022 Great Britain As many use to work from 9 to 5 they’ll probably miss the GBP Composite PMI (prev. 60.2) and Services PMI (60.8) release which are presented at 9:30 a.m. Europe At 12:30 p.m. it’s good to keep an eye on ECB which publishes Account of Monetary Policy Meeting. There’s no doubt it’s surely crucial to follow this one in times of fluctuations of the single currency. USA After this worthwhile visit in Old Continent we propose a travel to the USA, where Initial Jobless Claims are presented at 1:30 p.m. However it’s not the most important event tomorrow, as Jerome Powell (FED) speaks at 3 p.m. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (59.9) is released the same time. Data: Investing.com Time: GMT
Shiba Inu price provides opportunity to accumulate before SHIB rallies 20%

Shiba Inu price provides opportunity to accumulate before SHIB rallies 20%

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.03.2022 16:19
Shiba Inu price faced rejection around the weekly resistance level at $0.0000283 and is undergoing retracement. The ongoing pullback will likely lead to a triple bottom setup at $0.0000233, with a potential to trigger a 20% rally to $0.0000283. A four-hour candlestick close below $0.0000233 will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis for SHIB. Shiba Inu price has struggled to maintain the bullishness witnessed between February 6 and 8. This lack of commitment has led SHIB to go astray and revisit lower levels. Despite the recent bullishness in the crypto market, the meme coin has rallied conservatively. Shiba Inu price shows promise Shiba Inu price briefly consolidated below the $0.0000233 barrier before exploding 56%. The resulting downswing knocked the meme coin below $0.0000233, which recovered quickly. Since then, SHIB has rallied 24% and faced rejection at the hands of a weekly resistance barrier at $0.0000283. The rejection here has the potential to undo recent gains and drag the Dogecoin-killer back to the $0.0000233 support level. If this outlook plays out, it will create a triple bottom setup, which forecasts a trend reversal; in this case, an uptrend. The said technical formation could trigger a 20% ascent to $0.0000283. In a highly bullish case, Shiba Inu price could make a move to $0.0000323, bringing the total gain to 40%. SHIB/USDT 4-hour chart While things are looking favorable for a quick bullish trade, Shiba Inu price needs to hold above the $0.0000233 support floor. A four-hour candlestick close below the said barrier will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis for SHIB. In this case, Shiba Inu price could slide lower and collect liquidity resting below the $0.0000202 support level. This development will be another catalyzing event for a bullish outlook.
The Put / Call Ratio - A Technique Used To Gauge Market Extremes

The Put / Call Ratio - A Technique Used To Gauge Market Extremes

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 02.03.2022 21:32
Perhaps you’ve heard of the “Put / Call Ratio” (PCR) and been unsure of exactly what it is or when and how to use it.First, a quick review of what Calls and Puts are. Calls are option contracts that increase in value from a RISE in the price of the underlying stock or index. Puts are option contracts that increase in value from a DROP in the price of the underlying stock or index.Let’s jump in and see what’s “under the hood” and how we might use that to better inform our decision-making as traders and investors.What Is the Put / Call Ratio?The PCR is a contrarian indicator based on the idea that market participants tend to get too bearish or bullish shortly before a reversal is about to materialize. When the market is at a point of extreme bearishness, participants tend to buy more Puts than usual. Conversely, when the market is at a point of extreme bullishness, participants tend to buy more Calls than normal. Contrarian logic suggests that most participants tend to be wrong when the market is near inflection points.Mathematically the Put / Call Ratio is simply the number of Puts divided by the number of Calls. A value of 1 would indicate that the same number of Calls and Puts are being purchased. A value greater than 1 indicates more Puts than Calls purchased. It follows that a value below 1 means that more Calls than Puts are purchased.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!The PCR can be calculated using either open interest or volume of contracts. It can be calculated for individual stocks and for indexes. Most trading and charting platforms have several versions of the PCR available for the major indexes. Indexes generally have charts available, while individual stocks may only have daily numerical value readily available. The PCR is generally more useful as an overall market sentiment indicator for the major indexes like the S&P 500. For most underlying, including major indexes like the S&P 500, the PCR tends to be below 1 much of the time. That makes some sense, as major indexes tend to have a long-term bullish bias. But in times of elevated fear, Put buying tends to be elevated in a rush to buy portfolio “insurance”. Outright bets on a market decline can add to that volume.How Do I Use the pcr?It helps to understand what “normal” behavior is for the number of Calls and Puts purchased for the particular index or stock. For an index like the S&P 500, a PCR of 0.9 or above suggests heavy Put buying and is typically seen as bullish from the contrarian view. For reference, at the height of the dot-com bubble in March 2000, the PCR dropped to as low as 0.39. Lots of calls were being purchased as the market was peaking.Let’s look at some recent examples where we see the Put / Call Ratio at extreme levels. Below we see a chart of the S&P 500 displayed with Heikin Ashi candles overlayed with the PCR (magenta line).In the first instance (circled in magenta), we see a low in the PCR where significantly more Calls than Puts were purchased. When interpreted as a contrarian indicator, that suggests bearishness to come. And indeed, we do see five days of bearishness to follow.We then see a sharp reversal to a relatively high PCR (blue circle), and we do see a bullish reversal that lasted for six days.At the yellow circle, we see a spike up in the PCR accompanied by a sharp increase in the underlying volume. However, we see a few days delay before the bullish reversal materializes in this instance. And the market was rather volatile on those days, as evidenced by the tall candles with long tails.At the green circle, we have a somewhat elevated PCR and another delayed reversal.ConclusionThe PCR is not particularly useful in sideways markets. But it can be useful at market extremes, albeit at times with some delay.Like many indicators, the PCR is far from 100% reliable unto itself. Used in conjunction with volume, volatility (VIX), support/resistance levels, trendlines, moving averages, and other technical indicators, the PCR can give us valuable clues about market sentiment and when a reversal may be in the making.Now That You Know more About the put / call ration, Read On To Learn More About Options TradingEvery day on Options Trading Signals, we do defined risk trades that protect us from black swan events 24/7. Many may think that is what stop losses are for. Well, remember the markets are only open about 1/3 of the hours in a day. Therefore, a stop loss only protects you for 1/3 of each day. Stocks can gap up or down. With options, you are always protected because we do defined risk in a spread. We cover with multiple legs, which are always on once you own.   If you are new to trading or have been trading stock but are interested in options, you can find more information at The Technical Traders – Options Trading Signals Service. The head Options Trading Specialist Brian Benson, who has been trading options for almost 20 years, sends out real live trade alerts on actual trades, such as TSLA and NVDA, with real money. Ready to subscribe, click here:  TheTechnicalTraders.com.Enjoy your day!
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/2/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/2/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 02.03.2022 21:33
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/2/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index rose by 698 contracts last week. This change is the result of an increase in long positions by 1,377 contracts and an increase in short positions by 679 contracts. The increase in total net speculator positions occurred last week in the euro, the Australian dollar and the Japanese yen. The decline in total net positions occurred in the British pound, the New Zealand dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.  Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, markets shifted into risk-off sentiment. From a currency perspective, this means that the euro, pound, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar could weaken. However, the situation is changing very quickly depending on various political statements. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators Date USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987 Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715 Feb 08, 2022 33765 38842 -8545 -85741 -10366 -59148 14886 -9399 Feb 01, 2022 34571 29716 -23605 -79829 -11698 -60640 18264 -8239 Jan 25, 2022 36861 31560 -7763 -83273 -10773 -68273 12317 -8796 Jan 18, 2022 36434 24584 -247 -88454 -8331 -80879 7492 -10810 Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the end of this report. Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 700098 218973 180131 38842 14667 5410 -3716 9126 Bullish Feb 01, 2022 685431 213563 183847 29716 2479 155 1999 -1844 Weak bullish Jan 25, 2022 682952 213408 181848 31560 -8930 1507 -5469 6976 Bullish Jan 18, 2022 691882 211901 187317 24584 9589 7540 -11039 18579 Bullish         Total change 14389 9834 -43467 53301     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 59 306 contracts last week, up by 11 725 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 3,704 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 15,429 contracts. Total net positions have increased by 53,301 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to the fact that large speculators ended 43,467 short positions and addded 9,834 long positions.  This data suggests continued bullish sentiment for the euro. Open interest, which fell by 5,465 contracts in the past week, shows that the downward movement that occurred in the euro last week was not supported by the volume and therefore it was a weak decline as there were fewer bearish traders in the market.  The euro weakened strongly last week under the influence of the war in Ukraine and reached strong support at 1.1120. Long-term resistance: 1.1280 – 1.1300. Next resistance is near 1.1370 – 1.1400. Support: 1.1100-1.1140   The British pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 197948 44709 53254 -8545 13941 15112 52 15060 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 184007 29597 53202 -23605 1967 -7069 8773 -15842 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 182040 36666 44429 -7763 -1194 -3094 4422 -7516 Bearish Jan 18, 2022 183234 39760 40007 -247 -17259 9254 -19665 28919 Weak bearish         Total Change -12050 11743 -11614 23357     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to - 5,809 contracts, down by 8,046 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 7,902 contracts and an increase in short positions by 144 contracts. Total net positions have increased by 23,357 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators exiting 11,614 short positions and adding 11,743 long positions. The decline in total net positions of large speculators into negative territory indicates bearish sentiment for the pound. Open interest, which fell by 6,859 contracts last week, indicates that the decline in the pound that occurred last week was not supported by volume and was therefore weak. The pound, just as the euro, might be negatively impacted by risk-off sentiment which could then send the pound towards support which is at 1.3300 or possibly 1.3200. Long-term resistance: 1.3620-1.3640.  Next resistance is near 1.3680 – 1.3750. The resistance is also in the zone 1.3490 – 1.3520. Support is near 1.3270 – 1.3300 and then mainly in the zone 1.3200.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish Feb 08, 2022 196403 17323 103064 -85741 -510 -1512 4400 -5912 Bearish Feb 01, 2022 196913 18835 98664 -79829 6893 3714 270 3444 Weak bearish Jan 25, 2022 190020 15121 98394 -83273 8884 6070 889 5181 Weak bearish Jan 18, 2022 181136 9051 97505 -88454 -4317 -3332 -6364 3032 Weak bearish         Total Change 7126 -830 -8236 7406     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1 Total net speculator positions last week reached -84,080 contracts, up 2,614 contracts from the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 139 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 2,753 contracts. This data suggests a weakening of the bearish sentiment for the Australian dollar, which is confirmed by the downtrend. Total net positions have increased by 7,406 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators exiting 8,236 short contracts while exiting 830 long contracts. However, there was an increase in open interest of 1 contract last week. This means that the upward movement that occurred last week was weak in terms of volume because new money did not flow into the market. The Australian dollar is very sensitive to the international geopolitical situation. In the event of geopolitical instability, it can usually be expected to weaken especially in the AUDUSD pair and also the AUDJPY. However, last week the Australian dollar surprisingly strengthened and approached the resistance band. Long-term resistance: 0.7270-0.7310                                                                                                            Long-term support: 0.7085-0.7120.  A strong support is near 0.6960 – 0.6990.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish Feb 08, 2022 54877 17168 27534 -10366 -3590 -2037 -3369 1332 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 58467 19205 30903 -11698 5151 3257 4182 -925 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 53316 15948 26721 -10773 8589 4336 6778 -2442 Bearish Jan 18, 2022 44727 11612 19943 -8331 2661 652 379 273 Weak bearish         Total Change 14570 6383 9330 -2947     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached a negative value last week - 11,551 contracts, having fallen by 2,218 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 7,580 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 7,580 contracts. This data suggests that the bearish sentiment on the NZ dollar continues. Total net positions have declined by 2,947 contracts over the past 6 weeks. This change is due to speculators adding 9,330 short positions and adding 6,383 long positions. Last week, open interest fell significantly by 7,469 contracts. Therefore, the upward movement in NZDUSD that occurred last week is not supported by volume and therefore the move was weak. The strengthening of the NZDUSD that occurred last week is somewhat surprising given the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine. This upward movement is forming a channel pattern, which may be a correction in the current downtrend trend that we can see on the daily or weekly chart. Long-term resistance: 0.6850 – 0.6890 Long-term support: 0.6590-0.6600 and the next support is at 0.6500 – 0.6530.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
USOIL Became A Rocketship, EURUSD Trades Ca. 1.110 And USDCAD Hits 7-Day-Low

USOIL Became A Rocketship, EURUSD Trades Ca. 1.110 And USDCAD Hits 7-Day-Low

Jing Ren Jing Ren 03.03.2022 08:54
EURUSD sees limited bounce The euro retreats as the ECB may dial back normalization amid the Ukraine crisis. A fall below the daily support at 1.1130 was an invalidation of the February rebound and forced buyers to bail out. The lack of support means that short-term sentiment has turned bearish once again. An oversold RSI may lift the pair temporarily due to profit-taking, but trend followers could be looking to sell into strength. 1.1230 is the closest resistance. A new round of sell-off may push the euro beyond 1.1050. USDCAD breaks support The Canadian dollar jumped after the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate to 0.5%. A break below the demand zone, around 1.2680, has put buyers on the defensive. The daily support at 1.2640 was a major level. And its breach could trigger a sell-off towards 1.2560, threatening the rally from late January. Further south, January’s low at 1.2450 is a key floor to keep the greenback afloat. An oversold RSI may lead short-term sellers to exit, driving up the price briefly, but a rebound may be capped by 1.2700. USOIL bounces higher WTI crude skyrocketed as the war in Ukraine could drag on pushing up energy prices. The rally accelerated after it broke above the psychological tag of 100.00. The RSI’s overbought situation in both hourly and daily charts indicates overextension. Profit-taking may drive the price back down and let the bulls take a breather. 104.00 is the immediate support in this case. Sentiment is overwhelmingly bullish and pullbacks could be limited. 120.00 would be the next stop when volatility comes around again.
Technical Analysis: Moving Averages - Did You Know This Tool?

Apple Stock News and Forecast: AAPL remains subject to geopolitical whims

FXStreet News FXStreet News 02.03.2022 16:19
Apple stock remains above its 200-day moving average as geopolitical turmoil remains. AAPL stock is unlikely to break higher until the Russia-Ukraine conflict ends. Apple is likely to fall further as no catalyst in sight and sanctions hurt all global businesses. Apple (AAPL) stock remains in recovery mode along with most US indices as last week's shock and awe sell-off remain the low mark for now. Stocks have entered a changed landscape for 2022, and the situation is worsening from both a macroeconomic and geopolitical viewpoint. Investors were just about coming to accept the inflation and interest rate environment for 2022 and had adjusted portfolios accordingly. High-risk growth stocks were avoided, and the focus returned to those stocks with strong balance sheets and low valuations. Value versus growth had already seen strong outperformance for value. Now things are worse. Sanctions will hit global growth and Europe especially hard. Energy costs are out of control, European gas prices are nearly ten times higher than a year ago. Oil prices we know all about. What we are left with then is higher inflation and now for longer likely reaching into 2024. Interest rates will have to rise, despite slowing growth, leading to stagflation. High-risk assets will struggle. Equities are viewed as a high-risk asset so expect bond inflows to outweigh equity fund inflows for the remainder of this crisis and beyond. Likely sector winners in the short term are defense stocks and oil stocks should have earnings well underpinned now for the remainder of the year. Apple (AAPL) stock is a harder one to quantify in this new environment. The stock certainly has defensive qualities, it has piles of cash which it can use for dividends, buybacks, or acquisitions. It has some pricing power that it can pass on to customers. However, rising commodity prices lead to higher semiconductor prices. Higher energy costs lead to higher shipping costs for inputs and outputs. Rising inflation and possible slowing growth will lead customers to scale back on purchases of luxury goods. Sanctions will hit globalized businesses. Apple Stock News With perfect timing, the EU has just come out and said EU countries must turn off the stimulus tap sharply and take a neutral fiscal stance. This means less free money and a focus on debt reduction, as well as echoes of the dreaded tight monetary policy that prevailed after the Great Financial Crash. This will mean less consumer spending. Apple Stock Forecast We cannot avoid the overall bearish macro and geopolitical background. We would rate Apple as outperforming, but that is an outperform in a bearish market. We note the potential and hope for a swift end to the conflict as Russia and Ukraine meet again for talks. This will lead to a sharp relief rally, so short-term traders take note. The risk-reward is probably skewed to the upside. Wednesday is likely to see a slow gradual move lower or a swift rally on positive developments. Longer-term though the situation is clouded. Unless the conflict ends soon and sanctions are lifted quickly, we fail to see how equities can return to any form of bullishness. The situation from one month ago has not changed apart from lower economic growth. For now, Apple has found support at the 200-day moving average, which is set at $152 today. This is massive support. Break that and it is likely onto $138. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergernce (MACD) remain bearish, confirming the price move. Apple stock chart, daily
Gold Miners – Biggest Losers? That’s What Oil Says

Gold Miners – Biggest Losers? That’s What Oil Says

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.03.2022 15:44
After the war-driven gold rally, oil is starting to outperform. History between these two has already shown that someone may suffer. Many suggest: gold miners.The precious metals corrected some of their gains yesterday, but overall, not much changed in them. However, quite a lot happened in crude oil, and in today’s analysis we’ll focus on what it implies for the precious metals market and, in particular – for mining stocks.As you may have noticed, crude oil shot up recently in a spectacular manner. This seems normal, as it’s a market with rather inflexible supply and demand, so disruptions in supply or threats thereof can impact the price in a substantial way. With Russia as one of the biggest crude oil producers, its invasion of Ukraine, and a number of sanctions imposed on the attacking country (some of them involving oil directly), it’s natural that crude oil reacts in a certain manner. The concern-based rally in gold is also understandable.However, the relationship between wars, concerns, and prices of assets is not as straightforward as “there’s a war, so gold and crude oil will go up.” In order to learn more about this relationship, let’s examine the most similar situation in recent history to the current one, when oil supplies were at stake.The war that I’m mentioning is the one between Iraq and the U.S. that started almost 20 years ago. Let’s see what happened in gold, oil, and gold stocks at that time.The most interesting thing is that when the war officially started, the above-mentioned markets were already after a decline. However, that’s not that odd, when one considers the fact that back then, the tensions were building for a long time, and it was relatively clear in advance that the U.S. attack was going to happen. This time, Russia claimed that it wouldn’t attack until the very last minute before the invasion.The point here, however, is that the markets rallied while the uncertainty and concerns were building up, and then declined when the situation was known and “stable.” I don’t mean that “war” was seen as stable, but rather that the outcome and how it affected the markets was rather obvious.The other point is the specific way in which all three markets reacted to the war and the timing thereof.Gold stocks rallied initially, but then were not that eager to follow gold higher, but that’s something that’s universal in the final stages of most rallies in the precious metals market. What’s most interesting here is that there was a time when crude oil rallied substantially, while gold was already declining.Let me emphasize that once again: gold topped first, and then it underperformed while crude oil continued to soar substantially.Fast forward to the current situation. What has happened recently?Gold moved above $1,970 (crude oil peaked at $100.54 at that time), and then it declined heavily. It’s now trying to move back to this intraday high, but it was not able to do so. At the moment of writing these words, gold is trading at about $1,930, while crude oil is trading at about $114.In other words, while gold declined by $30, crude oil rallied by about $14. That’s a repeat of what we saw in 2003!What happened next in 2003? Gold declined, and the moment when crude oil started to visibly outperform gold was also the beginning of a big decline in gold stocks.That makes perfect sense on the fundamental level too. Gold miners’ share prices depend on their profits (just like it’s the case with any other company). Crude oil at higher levels means higher costs for the miners (the machinery has to be fueled, the equipment has to be transported, etc.). When costs (crude oil could be viewed as a proxy for them) are rising faster than revenues (gold could be viewed as a proxy for them), miners’ profits appear to be in danger; and investors don’t like this kind of danger, so they sell shares. Of course, there are many more factors that need to be taken into account, but I just wanted to emphasize one way in which the above-mentioned technical phenomenon is justified. The above doesn’t apply to silver as it’s a commodity, but it does apply to silver stocks.Back in 2004, gold stocks wiped out their entire war-concern-based rally, and the biggest part of the decline took just a bit more than a month. Let’s remember that back then, gold stocks were in a very strong medium- and long-term uptrend. Right now, mining stocks remain in a medium-term downtrend, so their decline could be bigger – they could give away their war-concern-based gains and then decline much more.Mining stocks are not declining profoundly yet, but let’s keep in mind that history rhymes – it doesn’t repeat to the letter. As I emphasized previously today, back in 2003 and 2002, the tensions were building for a longer time and it was relatively clear in advance that the U.S. attack was going to happen. This time, Russia claimed that it wouldn’t attack until the very last minute before the invasion. Consequently, the “we have to act now” is still likely to be present, and the dust hasn’t settled yet – everything appears to be unclear, and thus the markets are not returning to their previous trends. Yet.However, as history shows, that is likely to happen. Either immediately, or shortly, as crude oil is already outperforming gold.Investing and trading are difficult. If it was easy, most people would be making money – and they’re not. Right now, it’s most difficult to ignore the urge to “run for cover” if you physically don’t have to. The markets move on “buy the rumor and sell the fact.” This repeats over and over again in many (all?) markets, and we have direct analogies to similar situations in gold itself. Junior miners are likely to decline the most, also based on the massive declines that are likely to take place (in fact, they have already started) in the stock markets.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Surging Commodities

Surging Commodities

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.03.2022 15:55
S&P 500 returned above 4,350s as credit markets indeed weren‘t leading to the downside. Consolidation now followed by more upside, that‘s the most likely scenario next. Yesterday‘s risk-on turn was reflected also in value rising more than tech. Anyway, the Nasdaq upswing is a good omen for the bulls in light of the TLT downswing – Treasuries are bucking the Powell newfound rate raising hesitation – inflation ambiguity is back. The yield curve is still compressing, and the pressure on the Fed to act, goes on – looking at where real asset prices are now, it had been indeed unreasonable to expect inflation to slow down meaningfully. Told you so – as I have written yesterday:(…) What‘s most interesting about bonds now, is the relenting pressure on the Fed to raise rates – the 2-year yield is moving down noticeably, and that means much practical progress on fighting inflation can‘t be expected. Not that there was much to start with, but the expectations of the hawkish Fed talk turning into action, are being dialed back. The current geopolitical events provide a scene to which attention is fixated while inflation fires keep raging on with renewed vigor (beyond energies) – just as I was calling for a little deceleration in CPI towards the year end bringing it to probably 5-6%, this figure is starting to look too optimistic on the price stability front.Predictable consequence are strong appreciation days across the board in commodities and precious metals. – let‘s enjoy the sizable open profits especially in oil and copper. I told you weeks ago that real assets are where to look for in portfolio gains – and even the modest S&P 500 long profits taken off the table yesterday, are taking my portfolio performance chart to fresh highs. Crude oil keeps rising as if there‘s no tomorrow, copper is joining in, agrifoods are on fire – and precious metals continue being very well bid. Cryptos aren‘t selling off either. Anyway, this is the time of real assets...Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 bulls are back, and I‘m looking for consolidation around these levels. The very short-term direction isn‘t totally clear, but appears favoring the bulls unless corporate junk bonds crater. Not too likely.Credit MarketsHYG performance shows rising risk appetite, but the waning volume is a sign of caution for today. Unless LQD and TLT rise as well, HYG looks short-term stretched, therefore I‘m looking for consolidation today.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are doing great, and they merely corrected yesterday – both gold and silver can be counted on to extend gains if you look at the miners‘ message. As the prospects of vigorous Fed action gets dialed back, they stand to benefit even more.Crude OilCrude oil surge is both justified and unprecedented – and oil stocks aren‘t weakening. It looks like we would consolidate in the volatile range around $110 next.CopperCopper is joining in the upswing increasingly more, and the buyer‘s return before the close looks sufficient to maintain upside momentum that had been questioned earlier in the day. The break higher out of the long consolidation, is approaching.Bitcoin and EthereumCrypto buyers are consolidating well deserved gains, and the bullish flag is being formed. The sellers are nowhere to be seen at the moment – I‘m still looking for the current tight range to be resolved to the upside next.SummaryS&P 500 has reached a short-term resistance, which would be overcome only should bonds give their blessing. It‘s likely these would confirm the risk-on turn, but HYG looks a bit too extended – its consolidation of high ground gained, could slow the stock bulls somewhat. The risk appetite and „rush to safety“ in commodities and precious metals goes on, more or less squeezing select assets such as crude oil. The CRB Index upswing is though of the orderly and broad advance flavor, and does reflect the prospects of inflation remaining elevated for longer than foreseen by the mainstream.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
S&P 500 At Tipping Point To Start A Bear Market And What You Need To See

S&P 500 At Tipping Point To Start A Bear Market And What You Need To See

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 03.03.2022 21:38
Is a bear market on the way? My research suggests the downward sloping trend line (LIGHT ORANGE in the Daily/Weekly SPY chart below) may continue to act as solid resistance – possibly prompting a further breakdown in the markets for US major indexes.As we've seen recently, news and other unexpected events prompt very large price volatility events in the US major indexes. For example, the VIX recently rose above 30 again, which shows volatility levels are currently 3x higher than normal levels.Increased Volatility & The Start Of An Excess Phase Peak Should Be A Clear WarningThis increased volatility in the markets, coupled with the increased fear of the US Fed and the global unknowns (Ukraine, China, Debt Levels, and others), may be just enough pressure to crush any upside price trends over the next few months. Technically, my research suggests the $445 to $450 level is critical resistance. The SPY must climb above these levels to have any chance of moving higher.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! Unless the US markets find some new support and attempt to rally back towards recent highs, an “Excess Phase Peak” pattern will likely continue to unfold throughout 2022. This unique price pattern appears to have already reached a Phase 2 or Phase 3 setup. Please take a look at this Weekly GE example of an Excess Phase Peak pattern and how it transitions through Phase 1 through Phase 4 before entering an extended Bearish price trend.Read this research article about Excess Phase Peaks: HOW TO SPOT THEN END OF AN EXCESS PHASE - PART 2SPY May Already Be In A Phase 4 Excess Peak PhaseThis Daily SPY chart highlights my analysis, showing the major downward sloping trend line, the Middle Resistance Zone, and the lower Support Zone. Combined, these are acting as a “Wedge” for price over the past few weeks – tightening into an Apex near $435~440.If the US major indexes attempt to break this downward price trend, then the price must attempt to move solidly above this downward sloping price channel and try to rally back into the Resistance Zone (near $445~$450). Unless that happens, the price will likely transition into a deeper downward price move, attempting to break below recent lows, near $410, and possibly quickly moving down to the $360 level.SPY Weekly Chart Shows Consolidation Near $435 – Possibly Starting A Phase 4 Excess PeakTraders should stay keenly aware of the risks associated with the broad US and global market decline as the Ukraine war, and other unknowns continue to elevate fear and concerns related to the global economy. In my opinion, with the current excess global debt levels, extended speculative market bubbles, and the continued commodity price rally, we may be starting to transition away from an extended growth phase and into a deeper depreciation cycle phase.My research suggests we entered a new Depreciation cycle phase in late 2019 and are already more than 25 months into a potential 9.5-year global Depreciation cycle. What comes next should not surprise anyone.Read this article about Depreciation Cycle Phases: HOW TO INTERPRET & PROFIT FROM THE RISKS OF A DEPRECIATION CYCLE Traders should stay keenly focused on market risks and weaknesses. I expected the conflict in Ukraine to have been priced into the US markets over the past 7+ days. However, I believe the markets were unprepared for this scale or invasion and will attempt to settle fair stock price valuation levels as the conflict continues. This is not the same US/Global market Bullish trend we've become used to trading over the past 5+ years. Looking Forward - preparing for a possible Bear marketMarket dynamics and trends are changing from what we have experienced over the past 40 years for stocks and bonds. The 60/40 portfolio is costing you money now. Traders need an edge to stay ahead of these markets trends and to protect and profit from big trends.The only way to navigate the financial markets safely, no matter the direction, is through technical analysis. By following assets and money flows, we identify trend changes and move our capital into whatever index, sector, industry, bond, commodity, country, and even currency ETF. By following the money, you become part of new emerging trends and can profit during weak stock or bond conditions.Want Trading Strategies that Will Help You To Navigate Current Market Trends?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking the following link:   www.TheTechnicalTraders.com 
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains - 04.03.2022

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains - 04.03.2022

John Benjamin John Benjamin 04.03.2022 09:19
USDJPY tests supply areaThe Japanese yen stalled after an increase in January’s unemployment rate.The pair’s rally above the supply zone around 115.80 has put the US dollar back on track. The general direction remains up despite its choppiness. 114.40 has proved to be solid support and kept the bulls in the game.A close above 115.80 would extend the rally to the double top (116.30), a major resistance on the daily chart. Meanwhile, an overbought RSI caused a limited pullback, with 115.10 as fresh support.NZDUSD breaks resistanceThe New Zealand dollar recovers amid commodity price rallies.After the pair found support near last September’s lows (0.6530), a bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that sentiment could be turning around. A bullish breakout above the recent high (0.6810) would further boost buyers’ confidence and lift offers to January’s high at 0.6890.On the downside, 0.6730 is the first support if buyers struggle to gather more interest. 0.6675 would be a second layer to keep the current rebound intact.UK 100 lacks supportThe FTSE 100 slipped after the second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without much result.The index met stiff selling pressure at 7560 then fell below the critical floor at 7170. Increasingly bearish sentiment triggered a new round of sell-off to the psychological level of 7000 from last November.A deeper correction would lead to a retest of 6850, dampening the market mood in the medium-term. On the upside, the bulls must clear 7300 and 7450 to reclaim control of the direction.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Sentiment turns as the U.S. looks to regulate cryptos

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Sentiment turns as the U.S. looks to regulate cryptos

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.03.2022 16:07
Bitcoin price sees its gains being pared back a bit after more talks on regulatory crackdown out of U.S. on cryptocurrencies. Ethereum price slips further away from $3,018 after Powell's speech before Congress talked about regulating cryptocurrencies. XRP price sideways, awaiting a catalyst to go either way. Cryptocurrencies are facing some headwinds – whilst they have enjoyed more inflows of late as both Ukrainian and Russian inhabitants reverted to cryptocurrencies as an alternative means of payment to avoid sanctions – there are signs this loophole will soon be closed. During Biden's State of the Union speech the president asked for a crackdown on cryptocurrencies to close the escape route for wealthy Russians. FED chair Powell added fuel to the fire by saying that he would welcome further regulation to monitor and control cryptocurrencies better. The result is that these comments have triggered some nervousness in all significant cryptocurrency pairs. Bitcoin bulls are rejected at $44,088 with the risk of sliding back to $42,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price saw a full paring back of the losses accumulated during the Russian invasion as cryptocurrencies saw renewed cash inflow from both Russians and Ukrainians looking for alternative means of payment after both central banks had put in cash withdrawal restrictions. As Bitcoin looked to be poised for another leg higher, both Biden and Powell created some headwinds by urging for more regulatory crackdown, as it is emerging that cryptocurrencies are undermining sanctions on Russia. With this renewed negative attention towards cryptocurrencies, investors are being quick to book profits and, in the process, are pushing BTC price action to the downside. BTC price saw an initial rejection at $45,261, a level which coincides with the low of December 17, and as such triggered some profit-taking. As profit-taking continues bulls are faced with another rejection at $44,088, a level that goes back to August 06. Below that, the search for support finds nothing until $41,756 or the psychological $42,000 level near the baseline of a bearish triangle we had marked up earlier. BTC/USD daily chart As more talks are underway, a breakthrough could still happen at any moment. If that happened, it would mean that bears would fail in their attempt to squeeze out bulls and get stopped out themselves once the price pierced through $44,088 to the upside. That move would even accelerate after shooting through $45,261, with a quick rally to $48,760 and, from there, positioning Bitcoin to pop back above $50,000 next week. Ethereum bulls are defending the 55-day SMA, but support is wearing thin Ethereum (ETH) price takes another step back today after more negative connotations from FED Chair Powell in the house hearing before Congress. Next to committing to more rate hikes, Powell also drilled down on cryptocurrencies and called them a risk that needs to be prioritised with regulations. That puts greater regulation for cryptocurrencies at the top of the congressional agenda – after Ukraine, and inland inflation had pushed that bullet point further down the list. For the moment, ETH sees bulls defending the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $2,880. Although it looks good to hold for now, in the past, the 55-day SMA has not built a solid reputation of being well respected. So expect a possible breach once the US session kicks in and Powell makes more negative comments on cryptocurrencies in his second day of congressional hearings, which will likely push ETH price below the 55-day SMA at $2,880, through the monthly pivot at $2,835, and down to a possible endpoint at around $2,695. ETH/USD daily chart As the situation in Russia further deteriorates with more sanctions on the shelf, residents will be forced even more to flee into cryptocurrencies to avoid any repercussions from the financial sanctions imposed. That would mean broad flux inflow throughout the coming days, with ETH price action popping above $3,018, and in the process breaking the double top of rejection from Tuesday and Wednesday. To the upside, that could see $3,391 for a test as the inflow will outweigh any bearish attempts from short sellers. XRP price testing monthly pivot to the downside as dollar strength weighs Ripple's (XRP) price is under pressure to the downside as bears are putting in their effort to break the new monthly pivot at $0.76. Bears are getting help from the other side of the asset pair by the dollar’s strength weighing on price action for a second consecutive day. With Ukraine's current tension and possible retaliation from Russia against the West, safe havens are broadly bid with the Greenback on the front foot and thus outpacing XRP’s valuation, resulting in a move lower. Expect XRP price to see an accelerated move once the monthly pivot at $0.76 gives way. With not much in the way, the road is open to drop to $0.62, with $0.70 and $0.68 as possible breaking off points where bears could see some profit-taking and attempts by bulls to halt the downturn. But the trifecta of the negative comments from both Biden and Powell joined with the safe-haven bid is too big of a force to withstand, making $0.62 almost inevitable in the coming hours or trading days. XRP/USD daily chart The only event that could turn this around is if a catalyst were to remove the safe-haven bid. That could come with a resolution of the current tension in Ukraine or surrender of the Russian army of some sort. In such an outcome, the safe-haven bid would evaporate, followed by a massive risk-on flow which would see XRP pop above $0.78 and rally to $0.88, taking out $0.84 along the way to the upside.
Silver Price Analysis: XAG/USD consolidates just below $25.50 eyeing breakout to fresh multi-month highs

Silver Price Analysis: XAG/USD consolidates just below $25.50 eyeing breakout to fresh multi-month highs

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.03.2022 16:07
Silver is consolidating close to multi-month highs not far below $25.50 as markets remain intensely focused on the Ukraine conflict. Technicians have noted that spot silver prices have over the last few days formed an ascending triangle. Upcoming tier one US data releases (ISM Services on Thursday, NFP on Friday) will play second fiddle for geopolitics. Spot silver (XAG/USD) prices are consolidating close to multi-month highs with the $25.50 per troy ounce mark for now acting as resistance, but ongoing nervousness about the ongoing Ukraine conflict and its economic impact underpinning the safe-haven metal for now. At current levels in the $25.30s, spot silver trades broadly flat on the day, with focus for now on talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in the hopes that some sort of ceasefire might be in the offing. Given maximalist demands still being made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, demands which the Ukrainian government is very unlikely to accept, hopes that a broad ceasefire agreement can be reached are slim. That suggests no end in sight for the rally in the prices of commodities exported by Russia (oil, gas, various agricultural products and base metals), which will likely keep assets deemed as offering inflation protection in demand (like silver). Technicians have noted that spot silver prices have over the last few days formed an ascending triangle, a pattern that is more often than not indicative of a bullish breakout. Technical buying on a break above the $25.50 could dovetail nicely with the fundamentals if the Ukraine conflict continues to intensify and Western nations are expected to continue tightening the sanctions noose around Russia’s neck. Silver can move aggressively and some bulls likely have their sights set on mid-2021 highs in the $28.00 area. With focus so heavily on geopolitics, upcoming tier one US data releases (ISM Services PMI on Thursday and the official jobs report on Friday) and the second day of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the US Congress will take something of a back seat. Powell explained on Wednesday that current uncertainties regarding the impact of the Ukraine war would not deter the Fed from getting moving regarding removing policy stimulus. An expected strong jobs report on Friday should support this stance and probably won’t dent silver’s near-term appeal much.
Strong jobs growth refreshed Dollar's boost 

Strong jobs growth refreshed Dollar's boost 

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 04.03.2022 15:20
The US labour market added 678K jobs outside the agricultural sector in February. This is higher than the expected 400K. In addition, last month's estimates were improved, which also adds strength to the fresh data.Hourly earnings were virtually flat over the month, with year-on-year growth slowing to 5.1% vs. +0.6% and 5.5%, respectively.The slowdown in wages while hiring accelerates seems due to the economy re-opening on the easing of coronavirus restrictions, which is bringing more low-paid workers back into the market.The FxPro analyst team, mentioned, that the publication of the employment data accelerated the dollar's gains, bringing it to 1.15% today and 2.4% so far this week. The EURUSD, which started the day near 1.1060, has slipped below 1.0900 at the time of writing, hitting lows since May 2020 and almost erasing the gains from the sharp pandemic phase.Next, Europe, as after the global financial crisis, could face a severe recession, which would increase the interest rate differential in the eurozone and the USA and encourage a flow of investors to the US dollar in addition to capital flows on the back of military action. 
Back to Risk-Off

Back to Risk-Off

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.03.2022 15:50
S&P 500 consolidation isn‘t turning out well for the bulls as 4,300 can be easily broken again if I look at credit markets‘ posture. Treasuries just aren‘t sliding no matter the Fed‘s ambiguity on inflation, let alone markets sniffing out rate hike ideas getting revisited. Still, tech gave up opening gains, and closed on a weak note while commodities and precious metals maintained high ground, and the dollar continued rising.The odds are stacked against paper market bulls, and as I had been telling you weeks ago already, this is the time of real assets outperformance. In this sense, miners‘ leadership is a great confirmation of more strength to come, of inflation to continue… Everyone‘s free to make their own opinion after the State of the Union address.On the bright side, the flood of recently closed series of trades spanning stocks, precious metals, oil and copper, has resulted in sharp equity curve gains – and more good calls are in the making, naturally:Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is facing a setback, which could turn a lot worse if the sentiment turn continues. Odds are it would, and we would see some selling going into the weekend.Credit MarketsHYG refused to extend opening gains, and the message is clear, and also a reaction to the Fed‘s pronouncements. Treasuries though are more careful in the tightening prospects assessment – risk-off in bonds and the dollar continues.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are doing great, and are likely to continue rising no matter what the dollar does. There is no good reason for a selloff if you look around objectively. Miners are confirming, the upleg is underway.Crude OilCrude oil upswing isn‘t yet done, it would be premature to say so. It seems though that the time of volatile chop and new base building can continue – oil stocks are the barometer.CopperCopper outperformance leaves me a bit cautious – the advance is likely to slow down and get challenged next. It was a good run, and the red metal isn‘t at all done in the medium-term.Bitcoin and EthereumCrypto downswing is reaching a bit farther than I would have been comfortable with. The buyers are welcome to step in on good volume, but I‘m not expecting miracles today or through the weekend.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are losing the initiative, and neither credit markets nor the dollar favor a turnaround today. Treasuries rising in spite of the Fed‘s messaging are also casting a clear verdict, and the yield curve compression continues. The risk-off sentiment that is getting an intermezzo here and there, is likely to rule unless the Fed makes a profound turn before the Mar FOMC. And given the inflation dynamics with all the consequences beyond economics, that‘s unlikely to happen. Markets are thus likely to continue fearing the confluence of events till...Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Your Crypto Focus: 5th-11th March

Your Crypto Focus: 5th-11th March

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 04.03.2022 14:13
It was another week of trade that, in many ways, continues to be governed by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The week started with a sharp decline but buyers soon came back to life after new lows were hit since the Russian invasion began. Monday and Tuesday saw a follow-up to the buyback with solid gains that have not been seen for a while, hitting a lot of the top ten. For instance, Bitcoin added over 17% in two sessions. This type of buyer momentum got people excited and started to remind us of years just gone by. Sadly, the momentum didn’t last, and we have seen three to two days of declines leading into the weekend session. But the declines have not been market-wide, and we have seen exceptions on the boards, with several coins continuing to fly higher. LUNA, ROOK, ATOM and RUNE have been standouts, but Waves has stolen the show, hitting +67% with a weekly high of $20.87. The top ten and most of the top 25 followed tensions in Europe. As the fighting intensified, markets declined. Today, selling continued to pick up as fighting turned critical as news hit of a major nuclear power station being shelled. As of Friday, many of the top ten and 25 remained in the blue but well off earlier highs. Traders will continue to monitor the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, looking for signs of anything escalating and forcing risk markets lower. US authorities also said they would target Russian funds moving into Crypto. However, proving and stopping it may not impact the currencies. This week we want to look at Bitcoin in more detail. $44,600 has been reconfirmed as resistance and, for now, has stopped the rally. This level is our roof, and a move through would suggest that buyers are still in control. On the downside, we received 36,800 support. If the price returns to this level and breaks through it, we will be looking for sellers to try and resume the downtrend. Otherwise, a hold in-between these two levels suggests we have a consolidation range on our hands. The post Your Crypto Focus: 5th-11th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Shiba Inu price is back in a downtrend holding a potential 17% correction

Shiba Inu price is back in a downtrend holding a potential 17% correction

FXStreet News FXStreet News 04.03.2022 16:07
Red flags for Shiba Inu as three bearish strikes are putting SHIB on track for a 17% loss. Markets, in general, are moving into hibernation mode to overcome the rising tensions in Ukraine.Expect the downtrend to continue until the floor is reached at around $0.00002100.Shiba Inu (SHIB) price action is under the scrutiny of bears as bulls have given away their upper hand and are falling over each other to get out of SHIB price action as it tanks for a third consecutive day. With three bearish signals on the technical front and failed peace talks again between Russia and Ukraine, the background looks set for more downturns to come. From the opening price today, SHIB price action is set to correct another 17% before the current intermediary floor is reached for a test of $0.00002100.SHIB price action is going along with global markets and sees safe-haven bids outweigh the upside potentialShiba Inu price action is under siege by bears after a series of bearish coups overtook price action. On Wednesday, the first negative signal came from a false break and bull trap, at $0.00002707 and the monthly pivot. Bulls broke above but got washed out of their positions by bears, pushing price action below the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $0.00002600. The SMA in its turn again triggered a rejection at the top side on Thursday with bulls being squeezed out of their positions.The pain for SHIB bulls looks far from over as in early morning trading during the ASIA PAC session, strike three was delivered with a break below the low of yesterday, leading to price action dangling above an abyss of around 17%. The first and only real solid support to the downside is at around $0.00002100, with the green ascending trendline holding five solid tests proving that it is a line in the sand where bulls will engage in full force to uphold price action from falling further. The psychological $0.00002000 should add to the strength of the level, but an eventful weekend could see a further crackdown towards $0.00001883 at the monthly S1 support level.SHIB/USD daily chartAs said in the introductory statement, all this results from the Ukraine situation and global markets further going into safe-haven mode. All it would take are just some flairs of positive news alluding to a solution in Ukraine that would trigger a quick and smooth turnaround back towards $0.00002800. With that move, not only would the red descending trend line at the top side be broken, but as well the 78.6% Fibonacci level would come into play, opening the door for more upside to come.
Fed’s Tightening Cycle: Bullish or Bearish for Gold?

Fed’s Tightening Cycle: Bullish or Bearish for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.03.2022 16:14
This month, the Fed is expected to hike interest rates. Contrary to popular belief, the tightening doesn't have to be adverse for gold. What does history show?March 2022 – the Fed is supposed to end its quantitative easing and hike the federal funds rate for the first time during recovery from a pandemic crisis . After the liftoff, the Fed will probably also start reducing the size of its mammoth balance sheet and raise interest rates a few more times. Thus, the tightening of monetary policy is slowly becoming a reality. The golden question is: how will the yellow metal behave under these conditions?Let’s look into the past. The last tightening cycle of 2015-2019 was rather positive for gold prices. The yellow metal rallied in this period from $1,068 to $1,320 (I refer here to monthly averages), gaining about 24%, as the chart below shows.What’s really important is that gold bottomed out in December 2015, the month of the liftoff. Hence, if we see a replay of this episode, gold should detach from $1,800 and go north, into the heavenly land of bulls. However, in December 2015, real interest rates peaked, while in January 2016, the US dollar found its local top. These factors helped to catapult gold prices a few years ago, but they don’t have to reappear this time.Let’s dig a bit deeper. The earlier tightening cycle occurred between 2004 and 2006, and it was also a great time for gold, despite the fact that the Fed raised interest rates by more than 400 basis points, something unthinkable today. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal (monthly average) soared from $392 to $634, or more than 60%. Just as today, inflation was rising back then, but it was also a time of great weakness in the greenback, a factor that is currently absent.Let’s move even further back into the past. The Fed also raised the federal funds rate in the 1994-1995 and 1999-2000 periods. The chart below shows that these cases were rather neutral for gold prices. In the former, gold was traded sideways, while in the latter, it plunged, rallied, and returned to a decline. Importantly, just as in 2015, the yellow metal bottomed out soon after the liftoff in early 1999.In the 1980s, there were two major tightening cycles – both clearly negative for the yellow metal. In 1983-1984, the price of gold plunged 29% from $491 to $348, despite rising inflation, while in 1988-1989, it dropped another 12%, as you can see in the chart below.Finally, we have traveled back in time to the Great Stagflation period! In the 1970s, the Fed’s tightening cycles were generally positive for gold, as the chart below shows. In the period from 1972 to 1974, the average monthly price of the yellow metal soared from $48 to $172, or 257%. The tightening of 1977-1980 was an even better episode for gold. Its price skyrocketed from $132 to $675, or 411%. However, monetary tightening in 1980-1981 proved not very favorable , with the yellow metal plunging then to $409.What are the implications of our historical analysis for the gold market in 2022? First, the Fed’s tightening cycle doesn’t have to be bad for gold. In this report, I’ve examined nine tightening cycles – of which four were bullish, two were neutral, and three were bearish for the gold market. Second, all the negative cases occurred in the 1980s, while the two most recent cycles from the 21st century were positive for gold prices. It bodes well for the 2022 tightening cycle.Third, the key is, as always, the broader macroeconomic context – namely, what is happening with the US dollar, inflation, and real interest rates. For example, in the 1970s, the Fed was hiking rates amid soaring inflation. However, in March 1980, the CPI annul rate peaked, and a long era of disinflation started. This is why tightening cycles were generally positive in the 1970s, and negative in the 1980s.Hence, it seems on the surface that the current tightening should be bullish for gold, as it is accompanied by high inflation. However, inflation is expected to peak this year. If this happens, real interest rates could increase even further, creating downward pressure on gold prices. Please remember that the real federal funds rate is at a record low level. If inflation peaks, gold bulls’ only hope will be either a bearish trend in the US dollar (amid global recovery and ECB’s monetary policy tightening) or a dovish shift in market expectations about the path of the interest rates, given that the Fed’s tightening cycle has historically been followed by an economic slowdown or recession.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Gold Price Chart - Knights of Gold Report: 06/03/22

Gold Price Chart - Knights of Gold Report: 06/03/22

Knights of Gold Knights of Gold 07.03.2022 08:37
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/XAUUSD/rAk6jFd4-XAUUSD-KOG-REPORT/ In last weeks KOG Report we suggested we were expecting some bearish movement on Gold as there was a lot of supply below that we thought would need a visit. We did say due to the news we would need to keep the bullish momentum in mind and if the price and if price found support around the 1885 level we would be looking to long the market into the 1914 and above that 1930-35 levels. We expected a reaction at the 1935 level where we wanted to test the short, however, based on the market structure and the daily KOG updates we decided to sit out with shorting the market to let the bullish move play out. We then identified our target area on the NFP report where the first target has been hit, but we still have a target slightly higher that we would like to see achieved. So what can we expect in the week ahead? We’re going to keep it short this week and stick with the NFP chart we shared on Friday. What we’re looking during the course of this week is for our 1980-85 target that we mentioned a few weeks ago to be completed at some point and then for the price to attempt some form of bearish retracement into the first target of 1950, 1935 and below that 1920 initially. A break of 1920 and its likely we will see our lower target of 1885 completed. All charts are extremely bullish with the 3 month chart showing a trend that can complete around the 2085 level which we have to keep in mind. There is a lot of news still driving the market aggressively into these levels which is making if difficult for position traders to hold long term unless they’re using huge stop losses. So we’re going to play the defence again this week and take it level to level with the bias for this week being the short trade! So we’ll trade this with two scenarios: Scenario 1: The price comes down during the early sessions and finds support around the 1960-55 level, we feel this price point would represent a good opportunity to take the long trade into that 1980-85 level and potentially above! At that 1980-85 level we would like to see a reaction on price and based on strong resistance we may test that short we are looking for. Scenario 2: Price opens as it did last week with bullish volume from the get go. We will look for resistance at the 1980-85 level or there abouts and we feel that price point would represent an opportunity to short the market back down into the 1960, 1950 and below that 1930 levels. If we get this right again this week there are a lot of pips to be captured but your lots sizes are really important. Allocate a lot size that allows you to remain flexible with the choppy price action and the volatile swings that the markets are creating. Always have a risk strategy in place and you will make money in these markets. We’ll update you during the week as we usually do. As always, trade safe. KOG
Bitcoin (BTC) To Hit $100k In A Few Years' Time?

Bitcoin (BTC) To Hit $100k In A Few Years' Time?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 07.03.2022 09:05
With a sharp decline over the weekend, Bitcoin wiped out the initial gains, gave away the positions to bears after the third straight week of gains. On Saturday and Sunday, there were drawdowns to $34K on the low-liquid market. So the rate of the first cryptocurrency fell to $38K with a 3.8% loss. However, over the past 24 hours, BTC has reached $39,000 while Ethereum has lost 4.5%. Other leading altcoins from the top ten decline from 2% (XRP) to 6.8% (LUNA). According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market decreased by 3.8%, to $1.71 trillion. The bitcoin dominance index sank from 42.9% on Friday to 42.3% due to the sale of bitcoin over the weekend. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index is at 23 now, remaining in a state of "extreme fear". Looking back, in the middle of the week, the index had a moment in the neutral position. The FxPro Analyst team mentioned that the sales were triggered by reports that the BTC.com pool banned the registration of Russian users. Cryptocurrencies do not remain aloof from politics, and they are weakly confirming the role of an alternative to the banking system now, supporting EU and US sanctions against Russia, and showing their own initiative. The news appeared that Switzerland would freeze the crypto assets of the Russians who fall under the sanctions. In the second half of the week, bitcoin lost almost all the growth against the backdrop of a decline in stock indices. Although, last week started on a positive wave: BTC added almost $8,000 (21%) since previous Monday, but couldn't overcome the strong resistance of mid-February highs at around $45,000 and the 100-day moving average. Speaking about the prospects, pressure on all risky assets will continue to be exerted by the situation around Ukraine, where hostilities have been taking place for two weeks. Worth mentioning that the world-famous investor and writer Robert Kiyosaki said that the US is “destroying the dollar” and called for investing in gold and bitcoin. At the same time, the founder of the investment company SkyBridge Capital (Anthony Scaramucci) is confident that bitcoin will reach $100,000 by 2024. At the moment, he has invested about $1 billion in BTC. Plis, a group of American senators is developing a bill that opens access to the crypto market for institutional investors. And one more news to consider: the city of Lugano in Switzerland has recognized bitcoin and the leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) as legal tender.
Crude Oil Price (BRENT And USOIL) Hit 14-Year-High. Ca. +9% On Opening

Crude Oil Price (BRENT And USOIL) Hit 14-Year-High. Ca. +9% On Opening

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 07.03.2022 10:02
Russia-Ukraine tensions keeps affecting markets, especially commodities, which are the most vulnerable to such conflicts. As we know international sanctions are being introduced so global inflation gains momentum. Crude Oil Price – Implications: UKOIL gained Ca. 8% on today’s opening, however, as the chart (courtesy of TradingView.com) shows, a small downtrend appeared sometime late. BRENT’s west brother WTI (USOIL) increased even more – almost 10% As Patrick De Haan claims: Patrick De Haan's Twitt
We Will Probably Review All Of Inflation Indicators Around The World This Weekend

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates - 07.03.2022

John Benjamin John Benjamin 07.03.2022 09:21
USDCHF struggles for support USDCHF The US dollar softens as the Fed may settle for a less aggressive rate hike agenda. The recent sideways action is a sign of the market’s indecision. Sellers’ previous attempts to push below 0.9150 have met some buying interest in this demand zone. A definitive breakout may send the pair to January’s lows around 0.9100. Then the path of least resistance could be down, ending a three-month-long consolidation. 0.9230 is the immediate resistance and 0.9290 is a major hurdle before the greenback could bounce back. XAUUSD breaks higher XAUUSD Gold rallies as investors’ flight to safety continues. The bulls have tempered their aggressiveness after the initial surge. The latest pullback has been an opportunity to accumulate against a bullish backdrop. Price action continues to climb along the rising trendline which suggests that the direction is still up. A break above the psychological level of 2000 would bring in more momentum traders. In fact, that would send the price to August 2020’s high at 2075. Between the trendline and 1930 there is a key demand zone. GER 40 drops to a fresh low GER 40 The Dax 40 plunges for fears of stagflation in the eurozone. The index has ventured further into the bearish territory after it broke below March 2021’s lows around 14000. The liquidation is yet to end as sentiment remains downbeat. A break below the psychological level of 13000 would trigger a new round of sell-off to 12000. The RSI’s oversold situation from both daily and hourly charts may cause a limited bounce if short-term traders take profit. 13500 is the first resistance ahead and could attract more trend followers.  
Indonesia Energy Stock News and Forecast: INDO stock pumps, so wait for the dump

Indonesia Energy Stock News and Forecast: INDO stock pumps, so wait for the dump

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.03.2022 15:42
INDO stock surges over 100% on Friday as oil prices rise. INDO shares up another 27% in premarket trading on Monday. INDO is an early-stage explorer with limited production so will not benefit much from surging oil prices. It is good to see the retail frenzy is alive and well, and it has just moved from targeting short squeeze companies to targetting low market cap and low free float energy companies. Given the obsession markets currently have with surging oil prices, there is a certain logic to this. Indonesia Energy Corporation (INDO) appears to be one of the more favored stocks by the retail set who managed to double it on Friday alone. In fact for March, INDO stock is up over 400% already, an impressive performance even with oil itself surging. Indonesia Energy Corporation is an oil and gas explorer focusing on Indonesia, hence the name. Indonesia Energy Corporation Stock News INDO stock appears to have caught the attention of retail investors due to its very low share free float. This makes it more volatile, and with oil prices surging this suits some traders who like to jump on surging momentum. INDO stock has been one of the top trending stocks on the usual social media message boards for the last few days due mostly to its surging price. As ever in such a scenario, we would urge caution. This is momentum trading not investing, so wild swings and heavy losses are a distinct possibility. INDO is a tiny company with a market cap of $300 million now despite revenue never being more than $6 million over the last five years. "IEC's average daily production rate over the first 10 months of 2021 was approximately 160 barrels of oil per day. Since completion of the Kruh 26 well, IEC has been averaging production of approximately 245 barrels of oil per day," it says on the company website. At full-scale production for a year that barely gets over $10 million in revenue. Yet traders have seen fit to quadruple its share price in about a week. This should be ringing alarm bells for most of you. For those that like to trade volatility, go ahead. Just know that this is a pure momentum trade and could fall back just as quickly as it rose. Indonesia Energy Corporation Stock Forecast INDO has a tiny free float of about 2 million shares. That means with volumes surpassing 30 million shares on Friday, it is pretty easy to get it moving. This is way overdone and likely to come tumbling back down to earth. If you want to have fun, go ahead, but know your risk and trade what you can afford to lose. The nature of these types of moves, which we are getting more and more used to knowing, is that momentum is very powerful in the initial stages. Once reality sets in, the first down day is the sign that momentum is over and the crowd moves on to the next opportunity. So try not to be late for the party. INDO stock chart, daily
Can Price Of Avalanche (AVAX) Hit $76? AVAX Interaction With USD

Can Price Of Avalanche (AVAX) Hit $76? AVAX Interaction With USD

FXStreet News FXStreet News 07.03.2022 15:42
Avalanche price action sees bulls dipping toes in to buy stakes. AVAX price is up for today, but a bull trap and longer-term downtrend are set to be triggered by an extensive technical event. Should more dollar strength come into the equation, expect to see AVAX drop below $50. Avalanche (AVAX) is set to shed around 36% of its market cap as, although being on the front foot at the moment, a broader technical bearish signal is set to be triggered. A death cross is when the 55-day Simple Moving Average crosses below the 200-day SMA – as is currently happening on AVAX. Expect Avalanche price to hit $76 sometime today and then eventually drop to the downside as dollar strength will outweigh the current uptick. Greenback is no match for AVAX bulls and sets the stage for a further pullback Avalanche price action is under pressure after another weekend of losses, with the price dropping below $70 intermediary support at the open. Although AVAXis bouncing a bit at the moment, a very bearish signal is just ahead as the 55-day SMA is on the cusp of dropping below the 200-day SMA, triggering a massive inflow of bears that will look to short-sell AVAX across the board, possible resulting in price action being slashed by 36%. Add to that the dollar strength, and expect bulls to be outmatched each time by the weight of the dollar, overpowering investors that look to enter too soon so as to preposition for the relief rally. AVAX/USD compared with DXY daily chart Levels mean AVAX price action could range between $76 to the upside and $70 to the downside. Expect with the dollar on the front foot, more dollar strength to be poured into the AVAX/USD cross and see AVAX dip towards either the monthly S1 at $66.47 or $61.62, a pivotal historical level. Should there be more dollar strength with EUR/USD going to 1.05 or even parity, expect AVAX price to dip towards $46, breaking below $50. AVAX/USD daily chart In the event of some relief headlines AVAX price could shift in direction, squeezing some short-term bears out of their positions and triggering a pullback to $81. The 200-day SMA and the 55-day SMA are in the way, so expect some early profit-taking when price hits those two, before reaching the actual $81-marker. Following that, the rally will probably have slowed down to such an extent that a break of the longer-term red descending trend line looks highly unlikely.
S&P 500 Is Likely Recovering, Gold (XAUUSD), Copper And Crude Oil (WTI) Close To Out Of The Park Play

S&P 500 Is Likely Recovering, Gold (XAUUSD), Copper And Crude Oil (WTI) Close To Out Of The Park Play

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 07.03.2022 15:47
S&P 500 recovered most of the intraday downside, and in spite of value driving the upswing, there is something odd about it. Tech barely moved higher during the day, and the heavyweights continue being beaten similarly to biotech compared to the rest of healthcare. The key oddity though was in the risk-off posture in bonds, and the Treasuries upswing that Nasdaq failed to get inspired with. If TLT has a message to drive home after the latest Powell pronouncements, it‘s that the odds of a 50bp rate hike in Mar (virtual certainty less than two weeks ago, went down considerably) – it‘s almost a coin toss now, and as the FOMC time approaches, the Fed would probably grow more cautious (read dovish and not hawkish) in its assessments, no matter the commodities appreciation or supply chains status. Yes, neither of these, nor inflation is going away before the year‘s end – they are here to stay for a long time to come. Looking at the events of late, I have to dial back the stock market outlook when it comes to the degree of appreciation till 2022 is over – I wouldn‘t be surprised to see the S&P 500 to retreat slightly vs. the Jan 2022 open. Yes, not even the better 2H 2022 prospects would erase the preceding setback. Which stocks would do best then? Here are my key 4 tips – energy, materials, in general value, and smallcaps. But the true winners of the stagflationary period is of course going to be commodities and precious metals. And that‘s where the bulk of recent gains that I brought you, were concentrated in. More is to come, and it‘s gold and silver that are catching real fire here. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 setback was repelled on Friday, but I‘m looking for the subsequent upswing to fizzle out – we still have to go down in Mar, and that would be the low. Credit Markets HYG is clearly on the defensive, and TLT reassessing rate hike prospects. This doesn‘t bode well for the S&P 500 bulls. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals are doing great, and will likely continue rising no matter what the dollar does – my Friday‘s sentence is still fitting today. I‘m looking for further price gains – the upleg has been measured and orderly so far. Crude Oil Crude oil upswing still hasn‘t lost steam, and still can surprise on the upside. Slowdown in the pace of gains, or a sideways consolidation, would be the healthy move next. Jittery nerves can calm down a little today. Copper Copper isn‘t rising as fast as other base metals, which are one of the key engines of commodities appreciation. The run is respectable, and happening on quite healthy volume – if we don‘t see its meaningful consolidation soon, the red metal would be finally breaking out of its long range here. Bitcoin and Ethereum While I wasn‘t expecting miracles Friday or through the weekend, cryptos are stabilizing, and can extend very modest gains today and tomorrow. Summary S&P 500 is likely to rise next, only to crater lower still this month. It may even undershoot prior Thursday‘s lows, but I‘m not looking for that to happen. The sentiment is very negative already, the yield curve keeps compressing, commodities are rising relentlessly, and all we got is a great inflation excuse / smoke screen. Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon, and supply chain disruptions and other geopolitical events can and do exacerbate that. Just having a look at the rising dollar when rate hike prospects are getting dialed back, tells the full risk-off story of the moment, further highlighted by the powder keg that precious metals are. And silver isn‘t yet outperforming copper, which is something I am looking for to change as we go by. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBPUSD – Potential Bullish Reversal! GBPUSD is approaching a strong support in blue so we will be looking for buy setups on lower timeframes

GBPUSD – Potential Bullish Reversal! GBPUSD is approaching a strong support in blue so we will be looking for buy setups on lower timeframes

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 07.03.2022 16:12
on H1: GBPUSD is forming a channel in red but the upper trendline is not valid yet, so we are waiting for a new swing high to form around it to consider it our trigger swing. (Projection in purple) Trigger => Waiting for that swing to form and then buy after a momentum candle close above it (gray zone) Meanwhile, until the buy is activated, GBPUSD would be overall bearish can still trade lower inside the blue support zone. Good luck! All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly! ~Rich
The Swing Overview - Week 9

The Swing Overview - Week 9

Purple Trading Purple Trading 07.03.2022 20:22
The Swing Overview - Week 9 The war in Ukraine continues, and although we all want this tragic event to be ended immediately, but unfortunately, according to last statements of Russian officials, it looks like the war will drag on for a longer period of time. Investors have reacted to this development by selling risk assets, including the Czech koruna. Stock indices are losing ground and the DAX in particular has been under heavy pressure. On the other hand, commodities such as oil, gold, and coal are strengthening strongly. Somewhat surprising is the development in the Australian dollar, which usually weakens in the events of geopolitical uncertainties. However, there is a reason for its current rise. More on this in our article. Conflict in Ukraine   Vladimir Putin probably did not expect to encounter such a brave resistance from Ukraine and that  almost the whole world would send Russia into isolation through significant sanctions. The list of companies and actions that have cut ties with Russia is growing day by the day and Western companies are leaving Russia. Thus, for Russians, foreign goods (food, clothing, furniture, electronics, cars) will gradually become very rare. Probably the strongest sanction that Russia has felt so far, was the freeze of the Russian Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves. In response, the Russian ruble began to depreciate significantly on February 28, 2022, and has already lost more than 30% of its pre-invasion value. In response, the Russian Central Bank intervened by raising the interest rate to 20%, which temporarily halted the ruble's fall.    Figure 1: The Russian ruble paired with the USD and the euro Meanwhile, Western countries have not exhausted all options to stop Russia in this war through economic sanctions in case of further escalation of the conflict yet. The fact that European countries might stop taking Russian gas is also at stake. This would, of course, have a very significant impact on the entire European economy. However, these are still just some economic losses, which can not be   compared at all with the losses of lives experienced by the unprecedentedly attacked Ukraine. In any case, this crisis seems to have the potential to surpass in its consequences the crisis that occurred in Russia in 1998, which led to inflation exceeding 80% and central bank interest rates reaching 150%.   Data from the US economy The ISM manufacturing sentiment indicator for February came in at 58.6 which is better than expected and points to an optimistic development of the US economy. In the labour market sector, the ADP (non-farm job change) indicator was reported, which showed that 475 thousand jobs were created in America in February (compared to 509 thousand in January). The number of unemployment claims reached 215 thousand last week, which was less than expected 226 thousand. Thus, the data show that the US economy is doing well so far and the US Fed is going to raise interest rates at its next meeting on March 16, 2022. Jerome Powell said that he would support a 0.25% rate hike. Powell also said that the war in Ukraine means significant uncertainty for monetary policy.   The US dollar and bond yields The US dollar continues to strengthen, as the USD index shows. In addition to the expected US interest rate hike, the US dollar bullishness is explained by demand for US government bonds in times of uncertainty. Demand for these bonds then pushes down their yields, which continue to fall. Figure 2: 10-year government bond yield on the 4H chart and USD index on the daily chart Index SP500 The US SP 500 index moved in a consolidation range last week. This shows that investors have so far viewed the conflict in Ukraine as an event that is more or less a regional event and therefore saw cheap stocks as a buying opportunity.  However, the sanctions adopted by Western countries will of course also have an impact on the global economy, especially if the conflict deepens further. This concern was then reflected at the end of the week when the index started to weaken. Figure 3: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   Resistance according to the H4 chart is in the region of around 4,410 - 4,420. The nearest support according to the H4 chart is at 4255 - 4284. Significant support is at 4,100 - 4,113. German DAX index In contrast to the SP 500 index, there was a big sell-off in the DAX, showing that investors are worried, among other things, that a further escalation of the conflict could lead to a disruption in the supply of Russian gas, on which Germany is heavily dependent.  According to the daily chart, it looks like the DAX index is now in free fall and is breaking through support barriers as if they did not exist. It looks like the market is starting to show signs of panic selling by inexperienced investors.  If you are speculating in the short term, then bear in mind that short term speculation against such a strong downtrend is very disadvantageous and risky.   Figure 4: DAX on H4 and daily chart     Current resistance is in the area of 13,655 - 13,756. The price is now at support at 13,400, which is already slightly broken, but the closing of the whole session will be crucial. The next support is then at 13 000 - 13 100.   The Czech koruna is losing significantly The Czech koruna has long benefited from the interest rate differential, which has been very favourable for the koruna against the euro and has been the reason why the koruna has appreciated strongly since November 2021. But the Czech koruna, along with other Central European currencies, is a currency that is losing ground heavily in the current conflict.   Figure 5: The EURCZK on the daily chart   Firstly, there is the concern that the Czech Republic is geographically quite close to Ukraine, even though the Czech Republic does not have very significant exports directly with Ukraine nor Russia (in total, around 3% of total Czech exports). At the same time, there is concern about the Czech Republic's dependence on Russian gas. If the taps are closed, then the koruna could shoot above  CZK 27 per euro. Currently, the EURCZK pair is trading at the resistance level of 25. 80 - 25.90.   The Australian dollar The Australian dollar is a currency that tends to weaken during major global crises. In particular, the AUDJPY pair is correlated with the SP 500 index in the short term. Currently, however, the Australian dollar is strengthening.  This is because the Australian economy is export-oriented and exports commodities such as gold, iron ore, coal and gas.  All these commodities are now in high demand. Europe, for example, is realising that dependence on Russian gas is not paying off and is looking for alternatives. A temporary solution will be to rebuild coal-fired power stations. Germany and Italy have already started to buy coal stocks, which are therefore appreciating strongly. As a result, the price of coal has sky-rocketed, with one tonne reaching a record price of the USD 400. Figure 6: The coal price   The gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, is also strengthening. The gold has also been helped by a fall in US bond yields.   Figure 7: The gold on H4 and D1 charts   In terms of technical analysis, the gold stopped at the resistance of $1,973 per ounce. The nearest support according to the daily chart is  $1,870 - 1,878 per ounce. The rise in commodity prices then resulted in the strengthening of the Australian dollar.     Figure 8: The AUDJPY currency pair on D1 chart   The AUDJPY broke the resistance in the range of 0.8400 - 0.8420, which became the new support. The next resistance is then at the level of 85.90 - 86.20.  
CFD Update: Three Markets to Watch as Markets Open Today

CFD Update: Three Markets to Watch as Markets Open Today

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 07.03.2022 12:08
Markets have started the week with further heavy selling as the conflict in Ukraine continued to intensify. From Friday’s crazy reports of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant being shelled to broken ceasefires and trapped residents unable to evacuate. Today’s reports suggested Russia had agreed to stop fighting on their side to finally allow trapped residents to evacuate to safe zones.  Oil and Gold have been headline movers, but it hasn’t been all about them. We have continued to watch stock drops on stock indexes. European indexes and Asian indexes have been particularly hard hit, with several losing over 15% in the last two monthly bars, including this month. Oil has not only been a flyer as the world watches Russia and Ukraine, but the energy shock has sent oil prices flying. WTI has seen over 40% added in the last two months, and the rally has been running for the last four months straight. Oil jumped to 13-year highs today as reports mentioned the U.S and Europe could look at banning Russian crude imports.  Getting back to stock indexes, the oil rally has also contributed to the decline. Oil at these highs ramps up inflation fears, that are already running hot and start to put growth pressure back on economies that are just beginning to come out of the pandemic. Business requires energy. High energy costs make business more expensive and can be passed onto the consumer, increasing the cost of goods.  Surging inflation has mainly been a US and European issue, but if it ramped up all over the world, many economies might not be ready to start raising rates to combat it. For instance, Australia’s building industry has been kept alive by a super-hot housing market. Rising rates could cool off the housing market and put pressure on the building and trade industries. One major building group just failed. Higher rates and reduced business could show cracks in more companies.  We’ve picked a few markets out to take a closer look.  Euro Stoxx 50 The Euro Stoxx 50 lost 20% to its low. Europen shares, especially German shares, have been hit hard by the conflict in Ukraine. Sellers have cut close half of the rally seen from 2020. Today sellers retraced all gains made in 2021 after hitting 3381.  Hang Seng Index This one went a little under the radar, but I saw the damage that has been done to this index and was quite surprised. 14% has been wiped off the index in the last two months and the price today slipped below the 2020 low. When you compare it to the JPN225 that’s where the shock comes from, as it has dropped 8%. Gold Gold has been a significant talking point during the crisis. Good old Gold went straight back to safe mode as traders looked for a safe bet in a time of crisis. The rally in the last two months has been rather explosive. Buyers have added over 11% to the value, and we saw $2000USD touched today. Price now sits 3.72% away from retesting highs set back in 2020 in the heart of the pandemic. Another factor that might be adding to the appreciation. Reposts suggest that Gold could be being used to pay for oil. This is interesting as oil has always been paid for in USD. But with Russia partially locked out of SWIFT and the Fed blocking their USD transactions, Gold could be a new payment option moving forward.  Uncertainty presents Volatility Currently, our margin levels remain unchanged across all instruments and we offer one of the best swap conditions on key instruments such as Gold. Make the most out of market movements right now with Eightcap. For more information on market updates and our swap rates, please contact our award-winning customer service team. The post CFD Update: Three Markets to Watch as Markets Open Today appeared first on Eightcap.
Large Currency Speculators raise their Brazilian Real bullish bets to Record High

Large Currency Speculators raise their Brazilian Real bullish bets to Record High

Invest Macro Invest Macro 05.03.2022 20:47
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday March 1st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data is the jump in bullish bets in the Brazilian Real currency futures contracts. Real speculators increased their bullish bets for a fourth straight week this week and by a total of +63,801 contracts over this four-week time-frame. This bullishness has taken the Real speculator level from -13,353 net positions on February 1st to +50,448 net positions this week. The current overall speculator standing has now climbed to the most bullish level on record, according to the CFTC data that goes back to the mid-1990’s and eclipsing the previous high set in 2017. The BRLUSD currency pair price has been in an uptrend since the beginning of the year and has reached the highest levels since June just below the 0.2000 exchange rate. The currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the Brazil real (26,003 contracts), Mexican peso (25,553 contracts), Euro (5,633 contracts), British pound sterling (5,472 contracts), Canadian dollar (4,887 contracts), Australian dollar (5,744 contracts) and Bitcoin (363 contracts). The currencies with lower speculator bets were the US Dollar Index (-1,310 contracts), Japanese yen (-5,545 contracts), Swiss franc (-4,261 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-2,621 contracts) and the Russian ruble (-9,843 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Mar-01-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 56,651 82 34,774 86 -39,391 9 4,617 67 EUR 719,975 91 64,939 55 -95,105 49 30,166 24 GBP 211,869 46 -337 74 14,129 38 -13,792 27 JPY 208,629 61 -68,732 25 79,535 76 -10,803 27 CHF 47,273 24 -15,248 43 20,862 54 -5,614 47 CAD 143,507 26 14,140 61 -21,586 42 7,446 45 AUD 189,667 75 -78,336 12 87,737 84 -9,401 30 NZD 50,389 44 -14,172 47 16,090 55 -1,918 30 MXN 154,664 28 42,378 45 -45,811 54 3,433 58 RUB 24,753 11 9,674 36 -9,068 65 -606 18 BRL 94,577 100 24,445 74 -27,081 25 2,636 97 Bitcoin 9,980 51 80 99 -517 0 437 23   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 34,774 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,310 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 36,084 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 67.0 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.2 8.5 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 15.9 78.1 2.3 – Net Position: 34,774 -39,391 4,617 – Gross Longs: 43,761 4,831 5,942 – Gross Shorts: 8,987 44,222 1,325 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.9 to 1 0.1 to 1 4.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 85.8 9.1 67.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.9 5.0 -14.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 64,939 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,633 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 59,306 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 54.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 48.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.7 54.2 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.7 67.4 7.5 – Net Position: 64,939 -95,105 30,166 – Gross Longs: 228,385 390,260 84,321 – Gross Shorts: 163,446 485,365 54,155 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 54.9 48.8 24.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 12.4 -12.6 7.1   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of -337 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 5,472 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -5,809 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 73.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 38.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.1 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.5 62.1 10.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.7 55.4 17.2 – Net Position: -337 14,129 -13,792 – Gross Longs: 47,679 131,583 22,551 – Gross Shorts: 48,016 117,454 36,343 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.1 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 73.8 38.0 27.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.1 6.7 -23.2   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of -68,732 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -5,545 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -63,187 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 24.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 26.5 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.0 80.3 10.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.0 42.2 15.9 – Net Position: -68,732 79,535 -10,803 – Gross Longs: 14,665 167,605 22,407 – Gross Shorts: 83,397 88,070 33,210 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 24.6 75.7 26.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.7 -10.0 17.5   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of -15,248 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -4,261 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,987 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 46.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 3.5 74.1 21.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 35.7 30.0 33.3 – Net Position: -15,248 20,862 -5,614 – Gross Longs: 1,651 35,045 10,127 – Gross Shorts: 16,899 14,183 15,741 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.3 54.3 46.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.8 8.0 -7.7   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 14,140 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 4,887 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 9,253 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 61.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 42.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 35.5 40.1 21.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.6 55.2 16.3 – Net Position: 14,140 -21,586 7,446 – Gross Longs: 50,881 57,576 30,817 – Gross Shorts: 36,741 79,162 23,371 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 61.4 42.2 44.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.4 -5.4 2.4   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of -78,336 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 5,744 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -84,080 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.7 80.1 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.0 33.8 15.4 – Net Position: -78,336 87,737 -9,401 – Gross Longs: 12,720 151,922 19,865 – Gross Shorts: 91,056 64,185 29,266 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 12.2 84.4 29.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.4 -8.0 1.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of -14,172 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -2,621 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -11,551 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.9 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.8 72.1 5.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.9 40.2 9.1 – Net Position: -14,172 16,090 -1,918 – Gross Longs: 10,485 36,326 2,665 – Gross Shorts: 24,657 20,236 4,583 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.5 55.2 29.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.8 8.4 4.3   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 42,378 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 25,553 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 16,825 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 45.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 53.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 57.6 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 48.5 46.9 4.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 21.1 76.5 1.9 – Net Position: 42,378 -45,811 3,433 – Gross Longs: 74,971 72,497 6,306 – Gross Shorts: 32,593 118,308 2,873 – Long to Short Ratio: 2.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 2.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 45.4 53.7 57.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.0 -16.0 3.7   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 24,445 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 685 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 23,760 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 74.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 24.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 55.0 40.2 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.1 68.9 2.0 – Net Position: 24,445 -27,081 2,636 – Gross Longs: 51,990 38,039 4,541 – Gross Shorts: 27,545 65,120 1,905 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 74.4 24.7 97.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 34.7 -37.1 31.8   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 9,674 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -9,843 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 19,517 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 36.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.1 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 44.6 51.9 3.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 5.6 88.5 5.9 – Net Position: 9,674 -9,068 -606 – Gross Longs: 11,050 12,848 855 – Gross Shorts: 1,376 21,916 1,461 – Long to Short Ratio: 8.0 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 36.3 64.8 18.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.7 -4.2 -39.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week equaled a net position of 80 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 363 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -283 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.0 3.2 12.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 79.2 8.4 7.6 – Net Position: 80 -517 437 – Gross Longs: 7,981 321 1,198 – Gross Shorts: 7,901 838 761 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 98.7 0.0 22.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.8 -39.7 -3.0   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Is It Too Late To Begin Adapting To Higher Volatility In The Market?

Is It Too Late To Begin Adapting To Higher Volatility In The Market?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 07.03.2022 22:18
Now is the time for traders to adapt to higher volatility and rapidly changing market conditions. One of the best ways to do this is to monitor different asset classes and track which investments are gaining and losing money flow. Knowing what the Best Asset Now is (BAN) is critical for consistent growth no matter the market condition.With that said, buyers (countries, investors, and traders) are panicking as the commodity Wheat, for example, gained more than 40% last week.‘Panic Commodity Buying’ in Wheat – Weekly ChartAccording to the US Dept. of Agriculture, China will hold 69% of the world’s corn reserves, 60% of rice and 51% of wheat by mid-2022.Commodity markets surged to their largest gains in years as Ukrainian ports were closed and sanctions against Russia sent buyers scrambling for replacement supplies. Global commodities, commodity funds, and commodity ETFs are attracting huge capital inflows as investors seek to cash in on the rally in oil, metals, and grains.How does the Russia – Ukraine war affect global food supplies?The conflict between major commodity producers Russia and Ukraine is causing countries that rely heavily on commodity imports to feed their citizens to enter into panic buying. The breadbaskets of Ukraine and Russia account for more than 25% of the global wheat trade and nearly 20% of the global corn trade.Last week, it was reported that many countries have dangerously low grain supplies. Nader Saad, an Egypt Cabinet spokesman, has raised the alarm that currently, Egypt has only nine months’ worth of wheat in silos. The supply includes five months of strategic reserves and four months of domestic production to cover the bread needs of 102 million Egyptians. Additionally, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s economic minister, said on Thursday (3/3/22) that his country should keep “a low profile” regarding the conflict in eastern Europe, given that Israel imports 50 percent of its wheat from Russia and 30 percent from Ukraine.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!The longer-term potential for much higher grain prices exists, but it’s worth noting that Friday’s close of nearly $12.00 a bushel for wheat is not that far away from the all-time record high of $13.30, recorded 14-years ago. According to Trading Economics, wheat has gone up 75.08% year-to-date while other commodity markets like Oats are up a whopping 85.13%, Coffee 74.68%, and Corn 34.07%.How are other markets reacting to these global events?Year-to-date comparison returns as of 3/4/2022:-9.18% S&P 500 (index), -7.49% DJI (index), -15.21% Nasdaq (index), +37.44% Exxon Mobile (oil), +20.08% Freeport McMoran (copper & gold), -20.68% Tesla (alternative energy), -24.49% Microstrategy (bitcoin play), -40.51% Meta-Facebook (social media)As stock holdings and 401k’s are shrinking it may be time to re-evaluate your portfolio. There are ETFs available that can give you exposure to commodities, energy, and metals.Here is an example of a few of these ETFs:+53.81% WEAT Teucrium Wheat Fund+41.79% GSG iShares S&P TSCI Commodity -Indexed Trust+104.40 UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil+59.32% PALL Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium SharesHow is the global investor reacting to rocketing commodity prices and increasing market volatility?We can track global money flow by monitoring the following 1-month currency graph (www.finviz.com). The Australian Dollar is up +4.25%, the New Zealand Dollar +3.72%, and the Canadian Dollar +0.30% vs. the US Dollar due to the rising commodity prices like metals and energy. These country currencies are known as commodity currencies.The Switzerland Franc +0.96%, the Japanese Yen +0.35%, and the US Dollar +0.00% are all benefiting from global capital seeking a safe haven. As volatility continues to spike, these country currencies will experience more inflows as capital comes out of depreciating assets and seeks stability.We also notice that capital outflow is occurring from the European Union-Eurodollar -4.55% and the British Pound -2.22% due to their close proximity (risk) to the Russia - Ukraine war.www.finviz.comGlobal central banks will need to begin raising their interest rates to combat high inflation!Due to the rapid acceleration of inflation, the US Federal Reserve may have been looking to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its policy meeting two weeks from now. However, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the FED may become more cautious and consider raising interest rates by only 25 basis points on March 15-16.What strategies can help you navigate current market trends?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets have begun to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals are starting to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals and other safe-havens.Now is the time to keep your eye on the ball!I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 1/3/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 1/3/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 07.03.2022 21:35
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 1/3/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index fell 1,310 contracts last week. This change is the result of 35 contracts increase in long positions and a 1,345 contracts increase in short positions. Growth in total net speculator positions occurred last week in the euro, the British pound, the Australian dollar, and the Canadian dollar. Decreases in total net positions occurred in the New Zealand dollar, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc.   Following Russia's invasion to Ukraine, markets shifted into risk-off sentiment. This means that especially the euro and the pound are weakening. The Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar are strengthening due to rising prices of commodities that these countries export. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248 Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987 Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715 Feb 08, 2022 33765 38842 -8545 -85741 -10366 -59148 14886 -9399 Feb 01, 2022 34571 29716 -23605 -79829 -11698 -60640 18264 -8239 Jan 25, 2022 36861 31560 -7763 -83273 -10773 -68273 12317 -8796 Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 700098 218973 180131 38842 14667 5410 -3716 9126 Bullish Feb 01, 2022 685431 213563 183847 29716 2479 155 1999 -1844 Weak bullish Jan 25, 2022 682952 213408 181848 31560 -8930 1507 -5469 6976 Bullish         Total change 28093 16484 -23871 40355     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 64,939 contracts last week, which is an increase by 5,633 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 14,190 contracts and an increase in short positions by 8,557 contracts. These data suggest continued bullish sentiment in the euro. Open interest, which has increased by 23,293 contracts in the last week, shows that the downward movement that occurred in the euro last week was supported by volume and is therefore strong. The euro is weakening sharply under the influence of the war in Ukraine and we can see that support levels have not been respected in such a strong trend. In a strong downtrend it is very risky to try to catch the bottom and open bullish long positions.  Long-term resistance: 1.0980 – 1.1010. Next resistance is near 1.1120 – 1.1150. Support: 1.0640-1.0700 The British pound date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 197948 44709 53254 -8545 13941 15112 52 15060 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 184007 29597 53202 -23605 1967 -7069 8773 -15842 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 182040 36666 44429 -7763 -1194 -3094 4422 -7516 Bearish         Total change 28635 7919 8009 -90     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached to -337 contracts, having increased by 5,472 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 5,430 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 42 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment, but it is weak as the total net positions of large speculators increased. Open interest, which rose by 23,426 contracts last week, means that the fall in the pound that occurred last week was supported by volume and is therefore strong. Risk off sentiment due to the war in Ukraine continues to weigh on the pound as well as the euro and therefore the pound is weakening strongly. Long-term resistance: 1.3270-1.3300.  Next resistance is near 1.3420 – 1.3440. The resistance is also in the zone 1.3490 – 1.3520. Support is near 1.3150 – 1.3200.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Weak bearish Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish Feb 08, 2022 196403 17323 103064 -85741 -510 -1512 4400 -5912 Bearish Feb 01, 2022 196913 18835 98664 -79829 6893 3714 270 3444 Weak bearish Jan 25, 2022 190020 15121 98394 -83273 8884 6070 889 5181 Weak bearish         Total change 8531 3669 -6449 10118     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached to - 78,336 contracts, up by 5,744 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 1,167 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 4,577 contracts. This data suggests a weakening of bearish sentiment in the Australian dollar. However, last week we saw a decline in open interest by 2,912 contracts. This means that the upward movement that occurred last week in the AUDUSD was weak because new money did not flow into the market. The Australian dollar has been strengthening strongly recently, which is explained by the rise in the prices of commodities that Australia exports. These commodities include coal, gas and gold.  Long-term resistance: 0.7520-0.7560                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.7085-0.7120.  A strong support is near 0.6960 – 0.6990.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish Feb 08, 2022 54877 17168 27534 -10366 -3590 -2037 -3369 1332 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 58467 19205 30903 -11698 5151 3257 4182 -925 Bearish Jan 25, 2022 53316 15948 26721 -10773 8589 4336 6778 -2442 Bearish         Total change 5662 -1127 4714 -5841     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1     The total net positions of speculators last week reached a value of - 14,172 contracts, having fallen by 2,621 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 6,858 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 4,237 contracts. This data suggests that the bearish sentiment for the NZD continues. Last week, open interest fell significantly by 6,247 contracts. Therefore, the upward movement in the NZDUSD that occurred last week is not supported by volume and therefore the price action was weak. The strengthening of the NZDUSD that occurred last week is somewhat surprising given the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and risk off sentiment. What helped the NZD rise are rising prices of commodities  such as milk, which New Zealand produces. Long-term resistance: 0.6850 – 0.6890 Long-term support: 0.6590-0.6600 and the next support is at 0.6500 – 0.6530.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
Crude Oil Climbs High. Is It Enough to Enjoy a Better View?

Crude Oil Climbs High. Is It Enough to Enjoy a Better View?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 07.03.2022 16:45
  The threat of sanctions caused a stir in the markets: WTI spiked above $130 and Brent is nearing the $140 mark. Where is crude oil going next? A possible Western embargo on Russian oil caused oil prices to soar again on Monday, as stock markets feared persistent inflation and a consequent economic slowdown. On the US dollar side, the continued rally of the greenback has propelled the dollar index (DXY) towards higher levels, as it is now approaching the three-figure mark ($100), even though it has not had a huge impact on crude oil, other petroleum products, or any other commodities in general. What we rather witness here is the greenback’s safe haven effect attracting investors, much like gold would tend to act in a “store of value” role. US Dollar Index (DXY) CFD (daily chart) On the geopolitical scene, Russia-Ukraine peace talks will be resumed today in Brest (Belarus) at 14:00 GMT, while another meeting is already scheduled at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Thursday in Turkey. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba will talk there in the presence of the Turkish foreign minister. We might therefore expect some de-escalation in the Black Sea basin this week if the two parties involved were able to reach an agreement after further negotiations. WTI Crude Oil (CLJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Brent Crude Oil (BRNK22) Futures (May contract, daily chart) RBOB Gasoline (RBJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Regarding natural gas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) 2022 report, suggesting that even with non-hydro renewable sources set to rapidly grow through 2050, oil and gas-derived sources should still remain the top energy sources to fuel most of the United States. The agency is forecasting a rise in the production of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – which mainly comes from shale gas – by at least 35%! In summary, the threat of sanctions has already wiped out almost all Russian oil – at least 7% of global supply – from the world oil market. In the weeks or months to come, we can see sanctions on Russian oil exports create a boomerang effect on European economies, decreasing world market supply, increasing prices for industry, as well as even more rising expenses, and thus cost of living through a ripple effect. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
USDCAD Trades Higher, EURGBP Nears 0.83, S&P 500 (SPX) Fell A Little

USDCAD Trades Higher, EURGBP Nears 0.83, S&P 500 (SPX) Fell A Little

Jing Ren Jing Ren 08.03.2022 09:29
USDCAD breaks higher The US dollar bounces back as traders pile into safer currencies at the expense of commodity assets. The previous rally above the supply zone at 1.2800 has prompted sellers to cover. Then a follow-up pullback saw support over 1.2600, a sign of accumulation and traders’ strong interest in keeping the greenback afloat. A breakout above 1.2810 could pave the way for an extended rise to last December’s high at 1.2950, even though the RSI’s situation may briefly hold the bulls back. 1.2680 is a fresh support in case of a pullback. EURGBP bounces back The euro recoups losses as shorts cover ahead of the ECB meeting. The pair’s fall below the major floor (0.8280) on the daily chart further weighs on sentiment. The lack of support suggests that traders’ are wary of catching a falling knife. The RSI’s double-dip into the oversold area has led to profit-taking, driving the price up. However, the rally could turn out to be a dead cat bounce if the bears fade the rebound in the supply zone around 0.8360. 0.8200 is a fresh support when momentum comes back again. SPX 500 struggles to rebound The S&P 500 extended losses as investors are wary of a global economic downturn. On the daily chart, a brief rebound has met stiff selling pressure on the 30-day moving average (4410). In fact, this indicates that the bearish mood still dominates after the index fell through 4250. Buyers have failed to hold above 4230, leaving the market vulnerable to another round of sell-off. 4110 is the next stop and a bearish breakout could lead to the psychological level of 4000. 4320 is now the closest resistance ahead.
XAUUSD Chart And Bitcoin Charts - BTC/USDT And Bitcoin Vs Gold Chart

XAUUSD Chart And Bitcoin Charts - BTC/USDT And Bitcoin Vs Gold Chart

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 08.03.2022 10:21
Bitcoins image boost   In times of war, unfortunately, other news is quickly overshadowed temporarily. Gold, monthly chart, cup and handle: Gold in US Dollar, monthly chart as of March 7th, 2022. One significant factor is the gold bullish monthly chart with its cup and handle price formation. The larger time frame of the related market plays a substantial role in inter-market analysis. Gold, leading wealth preservation “insurance” for your money in inflationary times, should be on a bitcoin trader/investor’s radar. We find a bullish tone in gold to support possible bitcoin price increases.     Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, monthly chart, bitcoin is cheap: Bitcoin versus Gold in USD, monthly chart as of March 8th, 2022. An additional welcoming factor can be found in the monthly chart of the bitcoin relationship towards gold. Presently, around 20 ounces buy you one bitcoin, while in the last quarter of last year, the same bitcoin cost you instead 37 ounces of gold. Consequently, those who have exited a fiat currency system or those who constructively hedge their wealth preservation portfolio might have a greater focus on bitcoin currently as on gold; it is cheaper. Bitcoin, weekly chart, still a couple weeks: Bitcoin in USD, weekly chart as of March 8th, 2022. A look at a weekly bitcoin chart shows temporary weakness in a general up slope near an entry zone. The last two weeks provided for substantial income-producing trading through partial profit-taking. Bitcoin had delivered a 32% range from US$34,322 to US$45,400. Unfortunately, there was no directional follow-through beyond this point, and bitcoin has yet again retraced substantially. Currently, Bitcoin is hovering right above a low-risk entry zone again, and we are hawkishly looking out for low-risk entries. A look into the past shows that it took bitcoin ten weeks to turn around in scenario A. Our timing prognosis is another two weeks now before we see possibly fast advancements. Bitcoins image boost: Some think of chocolate when thinking of Switzerland, and indeed this news is sweet to the bitcoin community. Bitcoins’ last step to gain momentum is widespread adoption. News, like the 10% increase in GDP since El Salvador’s declaration of bitcoin being accepted legal tender, is impressive. Yet, it is still met with doubt due to either political or economic situations of countries that have adopted bitcoin so far. With a central money mecca now representing progressive bitcoin use and old history of a conservative, strong financial stability image backing such behavior, widespread mass doubt can be swayed towards more bitcoin adaptation.   Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|March 8th, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, Bitcoin consolidation, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, Gold, Gold bullish, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
(BTC) Bitcoin Price Chart Shows It Keeps $38k Level

(BTC) Bitcoin Price Chart Shows It Keeps $38k Level

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 08.03.2022 08:38
BTC is holding at $38K for the second day in a row, remaining 12% below the levels it reached a week earlier. Ethereum lost 1.3% over the past day, other leading altcoins from the top ten are moving in the range between +1% (BNB) to -4% (XRP). According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market decreased by 0.2% over the day, to $1.71 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index added 0.1% to 42.4%. The Fear and Greed Cryptocurrency Index lost 2 points to 21 in a day and remains in a state of “extreme fear”. Bitcoin has started this week with a drawdown along with a decline in all risky assets on reports of intensified hostilities in Ukraine. In the middle of the day, BTC managed to turn against the tide, winning back the initial failure, despite the decline in stock indices. FxPro’s analyst team mentioned that over the weekend, the US discussed the possibility of a ban on Russian oil imports, which could lead to a jump in energy prices and slow economic growth. Big players are piling up USDT during the decline of bitcoin in order to probably buy the first cryptocurrency at a lower price, according to Santiment. Including, according to Whale Alert, a wallet with 407 BTC “woke up”, which has not been active since 2013. It may well expect big deals from him in the near future. One of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak, said that most crypto assets are robbery and fraud. However, he has always admired bitcoin and called it in 2020 a “unique mathematical marvel”, but specified that he wasn't planning to invest in BTC.
Summarised Fluctuations Of Gold, Crude Oil, Bitcoin And Rouble Since The Russia-Ukraine War Started (with chart)

Summarised Fluctuations Of Gold, Crude Oil, Bitcoin And Rouble Since The Russia-Ukraine War Started (with chart)

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 08.03.2022 12:27
It’s been almost two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine. Even if the first day weren’t affected by huge rises, recent days show a major lift across markets. Source: TradingView.com Nickel There are some sensational rises beginning with Nickel price which increased by over 150% what can significantly affect many branches as Nickel is used, among others, in automotive and medical industries. Gold Gold raised by ‘only’ 4%, but it trades over magic $2000 level which nears ATH of Ca. $2100 (2020). XAU is believed to be a safe-haven as tensions rise and other assets’ fluctuations scare off investors. Crude Oil – BRENT and WTI Crude Oil prices have been rising since the first sights of invasion, but hitting Ca. $130 per barrel (to put it mildly) confused both investors and drivers around the world. Generally speaking, Crude Oil price has increased by Ca. 30% since the beginning of the war. Bitcoin BTC hasn’t fluctuated much and sticks to the levels near $40k, increasing by Ca. 5% since the invasion. Russian Rouble Currency of the invader has weakened significantly – by ca. 40% as RUBUSD chart shows. It will be really hard to get the Russian currency back to the game after such decrease. MOEX Some say Russian Index (RTSI – RU50) ‘surrendered’ shortly after the invasion has started as it remains closed since 1/03. At that time RTSI had been ca. 26% higher than on the first day of the warfare. DAX (GER 40) One of the greatest European index has lost almost 10%, what shows how broad is the influence of Russia-Ukraine War. Wheat Last but (definitely) not least… Wheat price increased by over 40% as conflicted countries – Russia and Ukraine are the major suppliers of such commodities. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Data: TradingView.com
S&P 500 (SPX) Plunges, Metals And Crude Oil Prices Go Up

S&P 500 (SPX) Plunges, Metals And Crude Oil Prices Go Up

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.03.2022 15:41
S&P 500 indeed didn‘t reverse on Friday in earnest, and both tech and value sold off hard. Not much reason to be bullish thanks to credit markets performance either – the posture is very risk-off, and the rush to commodities goes on. With a little check yesterday on the high opening prices in crude oil and copper, but still. My favorite agrifoods picks of late, wheat and corn, are doing great, and the pressure within select base metals, is building up – such as (for understandable reasons) in nickel and aluminum. Look for more to come, especially there where supply is getting messed with (this doesn‘t concern copper to such a degree, explaining its tepid price gains). And I‘m not talking even the brightest spot, where I at the onset of 2022 announced that precious metals would be the great bullish surprise this year. Those who listened, are rocking and rolling – we‘re nowhere near the end of the profitable run! Crude oil is likely to consolidate prior steep gains, and could definitely continue spiking higher. Should it stay comfortably above $125 for months, that would lead to quite some demand destruction. Given that black gold acts as a „shadow Fed funds rate“, let‘s bring up yesterday‘s rate raising thoughts and other relevant snippets: (,,,) If TLT has a message to drive home after the latest Powell pronouncements, it‘s that the odds of a 50bp rate hike in Mar (virtual certainty less than two weeks ago, went down considerably) – it‘s almost a coin toss now, and as the FOMC time approaches, the Fed would probably grow more cautious (read dovish and not hawkish) in its assessments, no matter the commodities appreciation or supply chains status. Yes, neither of these, nor inflation is going away before the year‘s end – they are here to stay for a long time to come. Looking at the events of late, I have to dial back the stock market outlook when it comes to the degree of appreciation till 2022 is over – I wouldn‘t be surprised to see the S&P 500 to retreat slightly vs. the Jan 2022 open. Yes, not even the better 2H 2022 prospects would erase the preceding setback. Which stocks would do best then? Here are my key 4 tips – energy, materials, in general value, and smallcaps. But the true winners of the stagflationary period is of course going to be commodities and precious metals. And that‘s where the bulk of recent gains that I brought you, were concentrated in. More is to come, and it‘s gold and silver that are catching real fire here. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 didn‘t do at all well yesterday, and signs of a short-term bottom are absent. It‘s entirely possible that the brief upswing that I was looking to be selling into to start the week, has been not merely postponed. Credit Markets HYG is clearly on the defensive, and TLT reassessing rate hike prospects – yet, long-dated Treasuries still declined. There is no appetite to buy bonds, and that confirms my thesis of lower lows to be made still in Mar. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals keep doing great, and will likely continue rising no matter what the dollar does – last three days‘ experience confirms that. This is more than mere flight to safety - I‘m looking for further price gains as the upleg has been measured and orderly so far. Crude Oil Crude oil‘s opening gap had been sold into, but we haven‘t seen a reversal yesterday. The upswing can continue, and it would happen on high volatility. I don‘t think we have seen the real spike just yet. Copper For all the above reasons, copper isn‘t rising as fast as other base metals (one of the key engines of commodities appreciation). The run is respectable, and not overheated. $5.00 would remain quite a tough nut to crack – for the time being. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos haven‘t made up their mind yet, but one thing is sure – they aren‘t acting as a safe haven. Given the extent of retreat from Mar highs, it means I‘m looking for not too spectacular performance in the days ahead. Summary S&P 500 missed an opportunity to rise (even if just to open the week on a positive note), and its prospects for today aren‘t way too much brighter. It‘s that practically nothing is giving bullish signals for paper assets, and the market breadth has understandably deteriorated. The rush into precious metals, dollar and commodities remains on – these are the pockets of strength, lifting to a very modest and hidden degree Treasuries as well (these are however reassessing the hawkish Fed prospects) at a time when global growth downgrades are starting to arrive. Pretty serious figures, let me tell you. As I wrote yesterday, stocks may even undershoot prior Thursday‘s lows, but I‘m not looking for that to happen. The sentiment is very negative already, the yield curve keeps compressing, commodities are rising relentlessly, and all we got is a great inflation excuse / smoke screen. Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon, and supply chain disruptions and other geopolitical events can and do exacerbate that. Just having a look at the rising dollar when rate hike prospects are getting dialed back, tells the full risk-off story of the moment, further highlighted by the powder keg that precious metals are. And silver isn‘t yet outperforming copper, which is something I am looking for to change as we go by. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Positive News From Europe Supports (BTC) Bitcoin Price - Is $40.000 Coming?

Positive News From Europe Supports (BTC) Bitcoin Price - Is $40.000 Coming?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 08.03.2022 16:05
Bitcoin price action sees bulls storming out of the gate, with BTC bouncing off a $38,073 historical pivot. BTC price set to tick $39,780 intraday in a range-trading profile. Expect to see more upside, should BTC continue its rally from positive signals out of Ukraine, and punch through the 55-day SMA. Bitcoin price action is back on the front foot today as global markets surf positive news of a ceasefire and fresh round of talks between Russia and Ukraine. The lift in positive sentiment spilled over into cryptocurrencies and saw positive prints across the board. Bitcoin was no different, with the price up 2.30% for the day at the time of writing and a possible tick of over 4% profit going into the U.S. session this evening. Bitcoin sees bulls taking over in ceasefire setback for bears Bitcoin price action is whipsawing between $45,000 to the upside and $34,000 to the downside, in a bandwidth that has been drawn since January. With global markets remaining stressed and on edge, today is set to give a sigh of relief and blow off some steam out of the pressure cooker that is Ukraine. Expect to see further decompression going into the U.S. session as this positive news gets picked up and translated into another round of bullish uplift for the cryptocurrency. BTC price is set to tick $39,780 and will try to break the high of last weekend. But bulls will immediately face another level of resistance, with the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) around $40,250, and the $40,000 level in the way. Add to that the monthly pivot at $41,000 – so within a $1,000 – and there are three bearish elements capable of cutting short any attempts for further upside if no additional relief catalysts are added to the current headlines. BTC/USD daily chart Over the weekend, a ceasefire was already tried but failed after just a few minutes. Should that be the case again, expect this to break the fragile trust that has been in place now since recent talks yesterday. Expect BTC price action to be pushed back to $38,073 a drop of around 4%.
USDCAD – Potential Bearish Reversal!USDCAD is approaching a strong resistance in green so we will be looking for sell setups on lower timeframes

USDCAD – Potential Bearish Reversal!USDCAD is approaching a strong resistance in green so we will be looking for sell setups on lower timeframes

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 08.03.2022 19:53
on H1: USDCAD is forming a channel in red but the lower trendline is not valid yet, so we are waiting for a new swing low to form around it to consider it our trigger swing. (Projection in purple)Trigger => Waiting for that swing to form and then sell after a momentum candle close below it (gray zone)Meanwhile, until the buy is activated, USDCAD would be overall bullish can still trade lower inside the green resistance zone.Good luck!All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly!~Rich
Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains - 09.03.2022

Intraday Market Analysis – USD Consolidates Gains - 09.03.2022

John Benjamin John Benjamin 09.03.2022 08:47
USDJPY breaks higherThe Japanese yen softened after weaker-than-expected GDP in Q4. Despite choppiness in recent price action, confidence in the greenback remains high.A failed attempt at the supply zone (115.80) suggests a lack of momentum, but a swift bounce off 114.65 reveals strong enough buying interest.A bullish breakout would lead to the double top at 116.35. Its breach could end the two-month-long consolidation and trigger an extended rally towards January 2017’s highs around 118.00. 115.40 is fresh support.AUDUSD seeks supportThe Australian dollar stalls as commodity prices consolidate. The rally above 0.7310, a major supply area, has weakened selling pressure and put the pair on a bullish reversal course.The Aussie’s parabolic ascent and an overbought RSI prompted short-term buyers to take profit. As the RSI swings back into the oversold zone, the bulls may see the current fallback as an opportunity to stake in.0.7380 is a fresh resistance and 0.7250 is the immediate support. Further below 0.7170 is a critical level to keep the rebound valid.UK 100 sees limited bounceThe FTSE 100 struggles as the UK plans to ban Russian energy imports.On the daily chart, a break below the demand zone (6850) wiped out 11-months worth of gains and signaled a strong bearish bias. The RSI’s oversold situation may cause a temporary rebound, but a bearish MA cross could attract more selling interest.The liquidation is yet to end as medium-term buyers scramble for the exit. 7200 is a fresh resistance and 7450 is a major supply zone. A drop below 6800 may lead to 6500.
Crypto Update: Buyers Return, Solana Avalanche focus

Crypto Update: Buyers Return, Solana Avalanche focus

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 09.03.2022 07:08
Today, Crypto markets continue to see plenty of fresh demand, taking this week’s fightback to two days. Strong buying is a good turn for holders and buyers as price has been beaten down in recent weeks due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For many coins, yesterday’s finish was far from confident, but that’s a memory at this point today with quite a modest double-digit percentage gains at the moment. The top 10 and 25 are all in the mix, and the indexes of those coins are a healthy +6% higher. One might have been a little worried about external factors like Bidens crypto executive order and the ongoing conflict in Europe. Biden is set to release the order this week, and traders will be watching with interest in the details and how it could change the way the U.S. treats digital assets. Today we are looking at two of the top 20. These two coins are favourites of the market but not in the top five. Solana SOLUSD – currently price is trading 8% higher back above $88. For now, buyer momentum looks firm, and we need to see price hold above 80.60 support. This is the base of our expectations on the buy-side, and a break below that level writes off the other patterns we are watching. Overall, we can see that price is in a descending triangle pattern and an ending diagonal pattern. Both of these can be seen as breakout patterns if confirmed by a new move out of them. But we have to see support hold. Avalanche AVAXUSD is one of my favourite coins just due to how much it can move. It reminds me of some of the wilder FX and index markets. AVAX has traded as much as 9.88% higher, retaking $79. AVAX, like SOL has key support to defend, but we can see a break of the downtrend with a range in play and a new uptrend continuing to set up. We want to see 71.10 remain in play as support. A break below changes the picture, but while this level remains held, we will look for further upside. 85.55 looks like the next level of resistance if reached. The post Crypto Update: Buyers Return, Solana Avalanche focus appeared first on Eightcap.
Bitcoin Price In Pounds Has Risen By Ca. 8%, Crude Oil Price Today (In Dollar Per Barrel) Nears $124, Forex Pairs – USDCHF, GBPUSD And EURUSD Chart

Bitcoin Price In Pounds Has Risen By Ca. 8%, Crude Oil Price Today (In Dollar Per Barrel) Nears $124, Forex Pairs – USDCHF, GBPUSD And EURUSD Chart

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 09.03.2022 13:03
Markets have been quite calmer over last 24 hours. Yesterday’s summary of fluctuations looked worse than today’s charts as we… show only daily ones. Let’s have a look at Bitcoin Price, Crude Oil (WTI/BRENT), Gold and Forex pairs. All charts are courtesy of TradingView.com Bitcoin Bitcoin is the asset which has gained the most, but we might say the reason is not commonly known. Crude Oil USOIL has plunged but only a little (-0.2%), keeping the levels from yesterday’s afternoon. BRENT price line looks like a carbon reflection as the price has went ca. 0.2% higher. Gold Price of gold has slightly decreased losing ca. 1%. The precious metal, a safe-haven for many is trading near $2020. Forex pairs Forex market shares the calm atmosphere and major pairs don’t show significant fluctuations. EUR/USD EUR/USD has risen by less than 0.5%. GBP To USD GBP/USD has been on negative levels, but increased again gaining about 0.2% USD/CHF US Dollar to Swiss Franc Chart follows other mentioned forex pairs. We might say the exchange rate hasn’t changed at all over last 24 hours. Data: TradingView.com
Forex Pairs Analysis: EURJPY, EURUSD And GBPUSD

Forex Pairs Analysis: EURJPY, EURUSD And GBPUSD

Jason Sen Jason Sen 09.03.2022 14:56
EURJPY holding the longer term 50% Fibonacci at 124.30/25 so I was wrong not to buy here! The pair beat minor resistance at 125.60/70 for the next target & strong resistance at 126.40/50. However the strongest resistance today is at 126.90/127.10. Shorts need stops above 127.50. Holding strong resistance at 126.40/50 this morning targets 15.70/60. If we continue lower look for 125.00 before a retest of the longer term 50% Fibonacci at 124.30/25. EURUSD meets strong resistance at 1.0975/95. Shorts need stops above 1.1015. A break higher meets very strong resistance at 1.1070/90. Shorts need stops above 1.1110. Holding below 1.0910 keeps the pressure on for 1.0860/50 before a retest of important 5 year trend line support at 1.0820/00. HOWEVER WE ALSO HAVE 37 YEAR TREND LINE SUPPORT AT 107.50/00. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT - 37 YEARS, DATING BACK TO 1985!!! MOST OF YOU WERE PROBABLY NOT EVEN BORN. (2 YEARS LATER I STARTED TRADING!!) IF THIS LEVEL WERE TO BREAK IT WOULD ONLY BE THE START OF THE EURUSD COLLAPSE. INITIALLY WE TARGET 104.000/103.50 THEN 102.00/101.70. IF THIS LEVEL BREAKS WE ARE LIKELY TO FALL EVEN FASTER THAN WE HAVE OVER THE PAST MONTH. GBPUSD best support revised a little lower to 1.3150/20 (from the weekly chart). Longs need stops below 1.3090. A sustained break lower is a very significant longer term sell signal. Initially we target 1.300 then 1.3010/00 & 1.2980/60. Longs at 1.3150/20 target 1.3175/85 then first resistance at 1.3220/30. We should struggle to beat this level here initially, but shorts may be too risky. If we continue higher look for strong resistance at 1.3300/20. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Ringing the Bell

Ringing the Bell

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.03.2022 16:03
S&P 500 once again gave up intraday gains, and credit markets confirmed the decline. Value down significantly more than tech, risk-off anywhere you look. For days without end, but the reprieve can come on seemingly little to no positive news, just when the sellers exhaust themselves and need to regroup temporarily. We‘re already seeing signs of such a respite in precious metals and commodities – be it the copper downswing, oil unable to break $130, or miners not following gold much higher yesterday. Corn and wheat also consolidated – right or wrong, the market seeks to anticipate some relief from Eastern Europe.The big picture though hasn‘t changed:(…) credit markets … posture is very risk-off, and the rush to commodities goes on. With a little check yesterday on the high opening prices in crude oil and copper, but still. My favorite agrifoods picks of late, wheat and corn, are doing great, and the pressure within select base metals, is building up – such as (for understandable reasons) in nickel and aluminum. Look for more to come, especially there where supply is getting messed with (this doesn‘t concern copper to such a degree, explaining its tepid price gains).And I‘m not talking even the brightest spot, where I at the onset of 2022 announced that precious metals would be the great bullish surprise this year. Those who listened, are rocking and rolling – we‘re nowhere near the end of the profitable run! Crude oil is likely to consolidate prior steep gains, and could definitely continue spiking higher. Should it stay comfortably above $125 for months, that would lead to quite some demand destruction. Given that black gold acts as a „shadow Fed funds rate“, ......its downswing would contribute to providing the Fed with an excuse not to hike in Mar by 50bp. After the prior run up in the price of black gold that however renders such an excuse a verbal exercise only, the Fed remains between a rock and hard place, and the inflationary fires keep raging on.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is reaching for the Feb 24 lows, and may find respite at this level. The upper knot though would need a solid close today (above 4,250) to be of short-term significance. Remember, the market remains very much headline sensitive.Credit MarketsHYG clearly remains on the defensive, but the sellers may need a pause here, if volume is any guide. Bonds are getting beaten, and the outlook remains negative to neutral for the weeks ahead. Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals keep doing great, but a pause is knocking on the door. Not a reversal, a pause. Gold and silver are indeed the go-to assets in the current situation, and miners agree wholeheartedly.Crude OilCrude oil is having trouble extending gains, and the consolidation I mentioned yesterday, approaches. I do not think however that this is the end of the run higher.CopperCopper is pausing already, and this underperformer looks very well bid above $4.60. Let the red metal build a base, and continue rising next, alongside the rest of the crowd.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos upswing equals more risk appetite? It could be so, looking at the dollar‘s chart (I‘m talking that in the summary of today‘s analysis).SummaryEvery dog has its day, and the S&P 500‘s one might be coming today or tomorrow. It‘s that the safe havens of late (precious metals, commodities and the dollar) are having trouble extending prior steep gains further. These look to be in for a brief respite that would be amplified on any possible news of deescalation. In such an environment, risk taking would flourish at expense of gold, silver and oil especially. I don‘t think so we have seen the tops – precious metals are likely to do great on the continued inflation turning into stagflation (GDP growth figures being downgraded), and commodities are set to further benefit from geopolitics (among much else).Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
How Will The Next Events Around Russia-Ukraine Conflict Affect Markets?

How Will The Next Events Around Russia-Ukraine Conflict Affect Markets?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 09.03.2022 16:19
Russia's denial of wanting to overthrow Ukraine's government has boosted the market mood. Ongoing bombing, accusations of using biological weapons may come to haunt markets. The safe-haven dollar and gold have room to recover after the recent slide. All markets are saying, is give peace a chance – paraphrasing John Lennon's song, that is what is going on, with stocks and risk currencies rising while safe-haven assets are tumbling down. However, it may become worse before it becomes better. The latest bout of optimism stems from Russia's statement that it does not seek to overthrow Ukraine's government and its preference to resolve differences via discussions. The Kremlin added that it has never threatened and does not threaten NATO. These olive branches join Tuesday's news that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled he is willing to give up NATO membership and the upcoming meeting of the two countries foreign ministers planned for Thursday in Turkey. On the ground, a humanitarian ceasefire is in effect in several Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, and civilians are begin evacuated, so far safely. Markets have reacted positively to these developments, with S&P futures jumping by 2%, EUR/USD jumping by some 80 pips, and safe havens such as gold and the dollar suffering significant falls. Is the war nearing its end? Not so fast. Reasons to worry First, Russia continues bombing Kyiv and is likely using this day of relative calm to regroup and resupply its troops, which have suffered massive logistical failures. Several of the previous ceasefires were not respected and this may happen again. Secondly, Russia's statements are also one that the US has declared economic war on it. Such comments contradict the better vibes that have previously boosted the market mood. Russia also accuses its enemy of developing biological weapons, in what seems like an excuse to intensify attacks. Third, Ukrainian President Zelensky called on Russian troops to "surrender while you still can" and that "we will answer in full for all our killed people" – militant statements are not exclusive to one side. The war will eventually end, hopefully, sooner rather than later. However, it seems overoptimistic to circle Wednesday as the beginning of the end, and that everything improves from here. Another escalation may come shortly, souring the market mood and boosting the safe-haven gold and dollar. Moreover, with every day that passes, the damage to the global economy increases. While shortages of energy have yet to be seen – prices are rising without any stop in the flow of oil or gas – food issues may become a burden for the global economy. Russia and Ukraine produce a vast amount of wheat and barley, which are now blocked. That is already raising food prices. And while the war continues, so do new Western sanctions. The EU has approved a new list of restrictions on Russian leaders and oligarchs, and also disconnect several Belarusian banks from the SWIFT payments system. All in all, it will likely get worse before it becomes better and that means another rush to the dollar and gold.
EURUSD Rallies, GBPUSD Moves Up A Little, USOIL Goes Back To "Normal" (?) Levels

EURUSD Rallies, GBPUSD Moves Up A Little, USOIL Goes Back To "Normal" (?) Levels

Jing Ren Jing Ren 10.03.2022 08:43
EURUSD bounces back The euro rallies on news that the EU may issue a joint bond to fund energy and defense. The pair found bids near May 2020’s lows (1.0810). An oversold RSI on the daily chart prompted sellers to take profit, easing the downward pressure. A rally above the immediate resistance at 1.0940 and a bullish MA cross may improve sentiment in the short term. However, buyers will need to clear the support-turned-resistance at 1.1160 before they could hope for a meaningful rebound. 1.0910 is the support in case of a pullback. GBPUSD inches higher The sterling claws back losses as risk appetite makes a timid return across the board. Following a three-month-long rebound on the daily chart, a lack of support at 1.3200 and a bearish MA cross shows strong selling pressure. A bounce-back above 1.3200 may only offer temporary relief as sellers potentially look to fade the rebound. 1.3350 is a key hurdle that sits along the 20-day moving average. 1.3080 is fresh support and its breach could trigger a new round of sell-off below the next daily support at 1.2880. USOIL breaks support WTI crude tumbled after the UAE said consider boosting production. The parabolic climb came to a halt at 129.00 and pushed the RSI into an extremely overbought condition on the daily chart. A bearish RSI divergence suggested a loss of momentum and foreshadowed a correction as traders would be wary of chasing the rally. A fall below 115.00 led buyers to bail out, triggering a wave of liquidation. 105.00 is the next support and a breakout could bring the price back to 95.00 near the 30-day moving average.
DAX (GER 40) Has Lost About 3% Over last 24 hours. Mercedes (MBG), Delivery Hero (DHER) And BMW Have Decreased.

DAX (GER 40) Has Lost About 3% Over last 24 hours. Mercedes (MBG), Delivery Hero (DHER) And BMW Have Decreased.

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 10.03.2022 14:39
Five-day DAX Price Chart shows it went up after a significant decline few days ago. However, today’s daily chart shows there’s a small downtrend and many companies have decreased since yesterday. Significantly affected - two major automotive industries and Delivery Hero. All of presented charts are courtesy of TradingView.com GER 40 has caught the ‘ground level’, but still trades Ca. 8% lower than before warfare in the Eastern Europe as chart shows: But what about last 24 hours what triggers us mostly? A decline amounts to ca. 3%. Many of stocks have decreased by these three – BMW, MBG And DHER have done it significantly. Mercedes-Benz AG has declined by almost 6% BMW has neared the -7% level. Delivery Hero (DHER) has plunged by almost 6.5%, have a look at the chart below: Source: TradingView.com, Investing.com, Capital.com
Not Passing Smell Test

Not Passing Smell Test

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.03.2022 16:01
S&P 500 tech driven upswing makes the advance a bit suspect, and prone to consolidation. I would have expected value to kick in to a much greater degree given the risk-on posture in the credit markets. The steep downswing in commodities and precious metals doesn‘t pass the smell test for me – just as there were little cracks in the dam warning of short-term vulnerability at the onset of yesterday, the same way there are signs of the resulting downswing being overdone now.And that has consequences for the multitude of open positions – the PMs and commodities super bull runs are on, and the geopolitics still support the notion of the next spike.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 turned around, and the volume isn‘t raising too many eyebrows. However, the bulls should have tempered price appreciation expectations, to put it politely...Credit MarketsHYG turned around, but isn‘t entirely convincing yet. We saw an encouraging first step towards risk-on turn that requires that the moves continue, which is unlikely today – CPI is here, and unlikely to disappoint the inflationistas.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals downswing looks clearly overdone, and I continue calling for a shallow, $1,980 - $2,000 range consolidation next. This gives you an idea not to expect steep silver discounts either. Miner are clear, and holding up nicely.Crude OilCrude oil downswing came, arguably way too steep one. Even oil stocks turned down in spite of the S&P 500 upswing, which is odd. I‘m looking for gradual reversal of yesterday‘s weakness in both.CopperCopper has made one of its odd moves on par with the late Jan long red candle one – I‘m looking for the weakness to be reversed, and not only in the red metal but within commodities as such.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos are giving up yesterday‘s upswing – they are dialing back the risk-on turn and rush out of the safe havens of late.SummaryThe S&P 500 dog indeed just had its day, but the price appreciation prospects are not looking too bright for today. With attention turning to CPI, and yesterday‘s „hail mary decline aka I don‘t need you anymore“ in the safe havens of late (precious metals, crude oil, wheat, and the dollar to name just a few) getting proper scrutiny, I‘m looking for gradual return to strength in all things real (real assets) – it‘s my reasonable assumption that the markets won‘t get surprised by an overwhelmingly positive headline from Eastern Europe at this point. Focusing on the underlying fundamentals and charts, I don‘t think so we have seen the real asset tops – precious metals are likely to do great on the continued inflation turning into stagflation (GDP growth figures being downgraded), and commodities are set to further benefit from geopolitics (among much else).Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
ECB Analysis: EUR/USD selling opportunity? Taper helps with inflation, full war shock still to come

ECB Analysis: EUR/USD selling opportunity? Taper helps with inflation, full war shock still to come

FXStreet News FXStreet News 10.03.2022 16:14
The ECB has announced a quick phasing out of bond buys, boosting the euro.Shoring up the currency helps the eurozone in the short term.The full impact of Russia's Ukraine invasion is still to come.ECB may refrain from rate hikes in 2022, bringing the euro down.Influenced by inflation, (almost) ignoring the war – the European Central Bank has announced a fast pace of tapering its bond-buying scheme as prices rise and despite the adverse effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. EUR/USD has jumped, but it may be premature. The ECB plans to buy some €40 billion worth of bonds in April, falling to €30 billion in May and €20 billion in June. That opens the door to raising interest rates already in the summer rather than in the autumn. While that would not be considered surprising after the previous decision, it seems hawkish given the war. After two weeks of fighting, the Frankfurt-based institution seems to focus on the surge in commodity prices coming from Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special operation." Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and some 40% of European natural gas is sent on orders from Moscow. Ukraine and Russia are responsible for a substantial portion of global wheat exports, and port blockades are already felt in supermarkets.However, Russia's atrocities in a European country are pushing prices higher and destroying demand. A war on the doorstep of the eurozone is hitting confidence and also leaving consumers with less money to spend. Even if headline inflation rises, underlying prices may fall.ECB President Christine Lagarde promised decisions based on new forecasts presented in March, but these new projections may remain slient while the cannons are heard. The taper announcement serves to push the euro higher and somewhat squeeze the prices hikes coming from imports. However, that is nothing in comparison to the economic damage done by the war and the sanctions, and that may eventually haunt the common currency. It may come sooner than later, providing a selling-opportunity on EUR/USD now.
💥PSG 3RD ACCUMULATION PHASE⚡️

💥PSG 3RD ACCUMULATION PHASE⚡️

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 11.03.2022 08:09
Here is the link to the chart image PSG Chart As highlighted on this chart, it is evident that after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) consolidates for a while. It will then breakout, pullback and pump to a new all time high (ATH). During this accumulation phase, many factors define the rise and fall of PSG price within this range. As seen yesterday, PSG lost a match to Real Madrid which influenced the fall from $17.76 to $14. More factors and news outbreak will make price rally within this range and a bigger win by PSG will make price break out of this accumulation phase to upside. This will give investors high return with 500% - 600% ROI from $12.10 to $60 and $65 as the take profit. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section✍️ You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Follow me stay updated about this coin and more helpful projects like this🎁 Happy Trading💰🥳🤗 Here is the link to the idea on Tradingview here Please attach this to all my ideas👇 Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
NZDUSD Trades Higher, XAGUSD Nears $25.50-26 Range, US 30 Chart Shows Fluctuations

NZDUSD Trades Higher, XAGUSD Nears $25.50-26 Range, US 30 Chart Shows Fluctuations

Jing Ren Jing Ren 11.03.2022 07:40
NZDUSD consolidates gains The New Zealand dollar inched higher supported by roaring commodity prices. A break above the daily resistance at 0.6890 has put the kiwi back on track in the medium term. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests an acceleration to the upside. As sentiment improves, the bulls may see the current consolidation as an opportunity to accumulate. A close above 0.6920 would extend the rally to 0.7050. 0.6800 is the first support and 0.6730 over the 30-day moving average a key demand zone. XAGUSD seeks support Silver consolidates amid ongoing geopolitical instability. A bearish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the rally. A tentative break below 25.40 has prompted some buyers to take profit. While sentiment remains optimistic, a correction might be necessary for the bulls to take a breather. The psychological level of 25.00 is a major demand zone. Its breach could send the precious metal to 24.30 which sits on the 30-day moving average. A rally above 26.90 could propel the price to last May’s highs around 28.50. US 30 struggles for buyers The Dow Jones 30 turned south after talks between Russia and Ukraine stalled again. A rebound above 34000 has provided some relief. Nonetheless, enthusiasm could be short-lived after the index gave up all recent gains. The prospect of a bear market looms if this turns out to be a dead cat bounce. A fall below 32300 could trigger another round of liquidation and push the Dow to a 12-month low at 30800. On the upside, 33500 is the first resistance. The bulls will need to lift offers around 34100 before they could attract more followers.
The War Is on for Two Weeks. How Does It Affect Gold?

The War Is on for Two Weeks. How Does It Affect Gold?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 10.03.2022 17:21
  With each day of the Russian invasion, gold confirms its status as the safe-haven asset. Its long-term outlook has become more bullish than before the war. Two weeks have passed since the Russian attack on Ukraine. Two weeks of the first full-scale war in Europe in the 21th century, something I still can’t believe is happening. Two weeks of completely senseless conflict between close Slavic nations, unleashed without any reasonable justification and only for the sake of Putin’s imperial dreams and his vision of Soviet Reunion. Two weeks of destruction, terror, and death that captured the souls of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children. Just yesterday, Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in southern Ukraine. I used to be a fan of Russian literature and classic music (who doesn’t like Tolstoy or Tchaikovsky?), but the systematic bombing of civilian areas (and the use of thermobaric missiles) makes me doubt whether the Russians really belong to the family of civilized nations. Now, for the warzone report. The country’s capital and largest cities remain in the hands of the Ukrainians. Russian forces are drawing reserves, deploying conscript troops to Ukraine to replace great losses. They are still trying to encircle Kyiv. They are also strengthening their presence around the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian army heroically holds back enemy attacks in all directions. The defense is so effective that the large Russian column north-west of Kyiv has made little progress in over a week, while Russian air activity has significantly decreased in recent days.   Implications for Gold How has the war, that has been going on for already two weeks, affected the gold market so far? Well, as the chart below shows, the military conflict was generally positive for the yellow metal, boosting its price from $1,905 to $1989, or about 4.4%. Please note that initially the price of gold jumped, only to decline after a while, and only then rallied, reaching almost $2,040 on Tuesday (March 8, 2022). However, the price has retreated since then, below the key level of $2,000. This is partially a normal correction after an impressive upward move. It’s also possible that the markets are starting to smell the end of the war. You see, Russian forces can’t break through the Ukrainian defense. They can continue besieging cities, but the continuation of the invasion entails significant costs, and Russia’s economy is already sinking. Hence, they can either escalate the conflict in a desperate attempt to conquer Kyiv – according to the White House, Russia could conduct a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine – or try to negotiate the ceasefire. In recent days, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he was open to a compromise with Russia. Today, the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in Turkey for the first time since the horror started (unfortunately, without any agreement). However, although gold prices may consolidate for a while or even fall if the prospects of the de-escalation increase, the long-term fundamentals have turned more bullish. As you can see in the chart below, the real interest rates decreased amid the prospects of higher inflation and slower economic growth. Russia and Ukraine are key exporters of many commodities, including oil, which would increase the production costs and bring us closer to stagflation. What’s next, risk aversion increased significantly, which is supportive of safe-haven assets such as gold. After all, Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine is a turning point in modern history, which ends a period of civilized relations with Russia and relative safety in the world. Although Russia’s army discredited itself in Ukraine, the country still has nuclear weapons able to destroy the globe. As you can see in the chart below, both the credit spreads (represented here by the ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread) and the CBOE volatility index (also called “the fear index”) rose considerably in the last two weeks. Hence, the long-term outlook for gold is more bullish than before the invasion. The short-term future is more uncertain, as there might be periods of consolidation and even corrections if the conflict de-escalates or ends. However, given the lack of any decisions during today’s talks between Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers and the continuation of the military actions, gold may rally further. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Economic Indicators Of Great Britain Released

Economic Indicators Of Great Britain Released

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 11.03.2022 09:11
The new monthly package of UK statistics highlighted the fine shape of the economy in January. For the month, GDP rose by 0.8%, against an expected strengthening of 0.2% and the three-month growth rate accelerated from 1.0% to 1.1%. Industrial production strengthened by 0.7% for the month and 2.3% for January 2021, also beating economists' expectations. The UK economy started the year in good shape, responding positively to the easing of the coronavirus restrictions. This is short-term positive news for the British pound, which has managed to find support after touching another low since November 2020 at 1.3080 per dollar. A strong base in the economy will allow the Bank of England to strengthen its fight against inflation by raising rates. However, price shocks across many commodities and foodstuffs dramatically increase the chances of short-term stagflation in the UK as consumers will save more by cutting back on purchases of non-essential goods and services due to rising energy and food prices. The Ukrainian war crisis, now in its third week, has seen the GBPUSD fall 3.8%, taking more than 1/3 of the pair's rise from the lows at the start of the pandemic. A move below 1.3160 was a signal to a move into a deeper correction phase, and the pair could plunge to 1.2880 at the beginning of next week.
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Ethereum price consolidates before a 34% breakout

FXStreet News FXStreet News 10.03.2022 16:14
Ethereum price faces a decisive moment as it coils up inside a symmetrical triangle. Investors can expect a 34% move in either direction, considering the ambiguous nature of the setup. A move to the upside seems unlikely due to the presence of multiple resistance barriers. Ethereum price action shows an interesting setup that forecasts the possibility of a massive move in both directions. However, considering the technical aspects, the probability of a down move appears more plausible for ETH. Ethereum price is stuck consolidating Ethereum price sets up three lower highs and two higher lows since January 24. Connecting these swing points using trend lines results in a symmetrical triangle formation. This technical formation forecasts a 34% move in either direction obtained by measuring the distance between the first swing high and low. A bullish breakout at roughly $2,882 puts the target at $3,874, but a bearish move below $2,405 reveals the target at $1,578. However, an upside move is less likely due to the presence of the weekly supply zone extending from $2,927 to $3,413. Moreover, the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) has kept the price capped for the last three months. Additionally, the 100-day SMA present inside the weekly supply zone makes this confluence a stiff hurdle to overcome. Therefore, a six-hour candlestick close below $2,405 would indicate a breakout and forecasts a 34% crash to $1,578. ETH bulls might prevent such a steep correction due to the weekly support level at $1,730. ETH/USDT 6-hour chart On the other hand, if Ethereum price witnesses a massive surge in buying pressure that kick-starts a bullish breakout, investors can expect the upside to be capped around the 200-day SMA at $3,543 or $3,600. Any move beyond this level will require a massive inflow of stablecoins or a pileup of bid orders, which is unlikely considering the consolidative nature of BTC and ETH’s correlation to it.
UK100 (FTSE 100) 24H Chart: Top 3 Losers: Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), FRES (Fresnillo PLC) And Associated British Foods (BF)

UK100 (FTSE 100) 24H Chart: Top 3 Losers: Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), FRES (Fresnillo PLC) And Associated British Foods (BF)

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 11.03.2022 11:42
It would be good to end this week with some positive news like stock rally. In general UK100 perform quite well, but one popular brand has lost ca. 1.5% over last 24 hours. All charts are courtesy of TradingView.com Coca-Cola HBC (CCH) Chart Fresnillo (FRES) Has Plunged deeper – the loses amount to ca. 3% Associated British Food (ABF) chart also shows a decline. The price has declined by ca. 1.5% as CCH has done Source: TradingView.com
SLP CONSOLIDATION WITHIN $0.0168 & $0.0217 STILL ACTIVE

SLP CONSOLIDATION WITHIN $0.0168 & $0.0217 STILL ACTIVE

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 11.03.2022 13:16
Price has been in this range since 23rd February till date within $0.0168 & $0.0217. Price has tested this price level serving as support and resistance twice. Price is approaching the support at $0.0168 to test it the 3rd time. The question on our mind is “will price break this support or rise to the resistance zone at $0.0217?” There’s no answer to that yet. We need confirmation to know what price is going to do. Therefore, this is the possible direction to which it can follow. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/SLPUSDT/HD1GITO6-SLP-CONSOLIDATION-WITHIN-0-0168-0-0217-STILL-ACTIVE/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
AUD/USD finds support near 0.7300 mark on Russian President Putin’s comments

AUD/USD finds support near 0.7300 mark on Russian President Putin’s comments

FXStreet News FXStreet News 11.03.2022 13:37
AUD/USD witnessed fresh selling on Friday and snapped two successive days of the winning streak.Dovish remarks by RBA Governor Lowe, modest USD strength exerted some downward pressure.A goodish recovery in the risk sentiment helped limit further losses for the perceived riskier aussie.The AUD/USD pair recovered a few pips from the daily low, around the 0.7300 mark touched in the last hour and was last seen trading around the 0.7325 region.The pair struggled to capitalize on its gains recorded over the past two trading sessions and witnessed some selling on Friday in reaction to dovish-sounding remarks by the RBA Governor Philip Lowe. During his opening address to the Australian Banking Association, Lowe said that the RBA will not be pressured by financial markets to raise interest rates until prices are rising at a sustainable pace.Apart from this, some intraday US dollar buying exerted additional downward pressure on the AUD/USD pair. That said, hopes of a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis lifted the global risk sentiment and acted as a headwind for the safe-haven greenback. The optimism was fueled by comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that there are certain positive shifts in talks with Ukraine.The latest developments triggered a goodish move up in the equity markets, which, in turn, extended some support to the perceived riskier aussie. The risk-on mood, along with firming expectations for an imminent start of the policy tightening by the Fed pushed the US Treasury bond yields higher. This should act as a tailwind for the USD and keep a lid on any meaningful upside for the AUD/USD pair.Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some follow-through buying before confirming a near-term bullish bias amid the risk of a further escalation in tensions between Russia and the West. In fact, US President Joe Biden is set to call for an end of normal trade relations with Russia later this Friday, alongside the Group of Seven nations and European Union leaders.
Price Of (SHIB) Shiba Inu In Times Of Inflation And The Conflict

Price Of (SHIB) Shiba Inu In Times Of Inflation And The Conflict

FXStreet News FXStreet News 11.03.2022 13:37
Shiba Inu price action sees volume wearing thinner due to investors remaining sidelined as peace talks in Ukraine stall. SHIB bulls are a bit puzzled about what to do next as global worries on inflation and Ukraine are dampening any upward potential in SHIB price action. Expect to see the price go sideways to lower today, heading into the weekend. Shiba Inu (SHIB) price action has not been in a sweet spot for investors this week. With whipsawing price action and bears still sitting on lucrative gains, investors got burned several times on false breakouts and mixed signals coming from both the markets and price action in SHIB. Expect a large number of funds to stay sidelined as more peace talks get underway, but Russia’s stance of not wanting to meet Ukraine halfway, suggest those talks are likely to end in failure rather than success. Shiba Inu price reveals that bulls are not taking chances as new peace talks have no chance of succeeding Shiba Inu price action is on a slow downward burn after bulls got tempted in to what looked like a relief rally but instead turned out to be a full-fledged bull trap, squeezing bulls out of their positions, paring back all the gains accrued, and even making a new low for the week this morning. With the Relative Strength Index flatlining, it looks as if SHIB’s balance between bears and bulls is in gridlock as bulls do not want to engage without a clear positive catalyst, and bears are sitting on a pile of profits that they do not want to offload at the current levels. It will take either a breakthrough in peace talks or another catalyst to form some counterweight against the forecast of stagflation and further deterioration in Ukraine that is at the moment directing price action in Shiba Inu. SHIB price will test the new lows for this week and looks set to drop to the green ascending trend line near $0.00002108, which falls roughly in line with the low of February 24. Depending on how the US dollar behaves, expect to see some movement to the upside, but nowhere near the high of yesterday, so relatively muted below $0.00002400. Expect SHIB price action to go into the weekend within that price range, awaiting any headlines that could set the tone for next week. SHIB/USD daily chart If a breakthrough is made on some front, or some economic data opens a window of relief, expect to see a pop above $0.00002400, breaking the high of yesterday and opening up more upside towards $0.00002533, which is the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). SHIB price action would print a new high for the week with this. As the red descending trend line is in the near vicinity, expect possible bulls to try and reach out to that level, near $0.00002636, for a test and possible break to the upside if the positive sentiment only gains traction going into the weekend.
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WAVESUSD Has Noticeably Increased Since The Beginning Of The Russia-Ukraine Warfare

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 11.03.2022 13:03
At this point, we have a flat end to a choppy week. Markets continue to deal with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that’s been chopping up risk markets. The top 10 and 25 started the week with a solid move lower. Before buyers flooded back into coins on Tuesday. Feverish buying continued on Wednesday, and it came as a real surprise as markets were flat till lunchtime AU time. Gains reminded us of past times as many of the top ten jumped to 8% plus gains, and some coins hit 10-15% gains. The reason was unclear at the time, but news soon hit that Biden’s executive order was leaked. Traders have been nervously awaiting the details of this order as it was set to show how the US government was going to treat and regulate crypto assets. Cameron Winklevoss, president of crypto exchange Gemini Trust, wrote Wednesday that Biden’s executive order is a “watershed moment” for the industry. “It paves the way for thoughtful national crypto regulation that will allow builders to build onshore and ensure that the US remains a leader in crypto,” he wrote. “It is important for various agencies (federal and state!) and Congress to work closely together,” Winklevoss added. “The WH recognizes the importance of overarching public policy and national interest rising above narrow jurisdictional battles to best develop a coherent and cohesive framework.” The crypto world saw the bill as a win, and that was definitely reflected in prices in Wednesday’s session. This was short-lived as sellers came back with a vengeance on Thursday, and most of Wednesday’s solid gains were all or close to being erased. Buy the rumor, sell the fact, combined with failed proposed talks between Russia and Ukraine, could be some of the influences that sent prices lower. Traders made late recoveries on Friday as futures, and other risk assets gained traction during the London session. The top 10 and 25 turned positive last in the session. Waves was a real standout during the week, and it paid little attention to a lot of the external influences we saw during the week. Price started the week at 16.88 and hit a high of 30.88. A gain of 45%. 29.40 is presented as resistance on the weekly chart, but we will be watching to see if price can respond to a new pullback and retest resistance, suggesting the current rally has further to go. The post Your Crypto Focus: 12th-18th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Now, That‘s Better

Now, That‘s Better

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.03.2022 15:59
S&P 500 gave up the opening gains, but managed to close on a good note, in spite of credit markets not confirming. Given though the high volume characterizing HYG downswing and retreating crude oil, we may be in for a stock market led rebound today. It‘s that finally, value did much better yesterday than tech.CPI came red hot, but didn‘t beat expectations, yield curve remains flat as a pancake, and the commodity index didn‘t sell off too hard. It remains to be seen whether the miners‘ strength was for real or not – anyway, the yesterday discussed shallow $1,980 - $2,000 range consolidation still remains the most likely scenario. I just don‘t see PMs and commodities giving up a lion‘s share of the post Feb 24 gains next.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 can still turn around, and the odds of doing so successfully (till the closing bell today), have increased yesterday. The diminished volume points to no more sellers at this point while buyers are waiting on the sidelines.Credit MarketsHYG has only marginally closed below Tuesday‘s lows – corporate junk bonds can reverse higher without overcoming Wednesday‘s highs fast, which would still be constructive for a modest S&P 500 upswing.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are indeed refusing to swing lower too much – the sector remains excellently positioned for further gains. For now though, we‘re in a soft patch where the speculative fever is slowly coming out, including out of other commodities. Enter oil.Crude OilCrude oil still remains vulnerable, but would catch a bid quite fast here. Ideally, black gold wouldn‘t break down into the $105 - $100 zone next. I‘m looking for resilience kicking in soon.CopperCopper fake weakness is being reversed, and the red metal is well positioned not to break below Wednesday‘s lows. I‘m not looking for selloff continuation in the CRB Index either.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos remain undecided, and erring on the side of caution – this highlights that the risk appetite‘s return is far from universal.SummaryS&P 500 missed a good opportunity yesterday, but the short-term bullish case isn‘t lost. Stocks actually outperformed credit markets, and given the commodities respite and value doing well, bonds may very well join in the upswing, with a notable hesitation though. That wouldn‘t be a short-term obstacle, take it as the bulls temporarily overpowering the bears – I still think that the selling isn‘t over, and that the downswing would return in the latter half of Mar if (and that‘s a big if) the Fed‘s response to inflation doesn‘t underwhelm the market expectations that have been dialed back considerably over the last two weeks. Token 25bp rate hike, anyone? That wouldn‘t sink stocks dramatically...Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Natural Gas: When A Trade Plan Provides Consecutive Wins

Natural Gas: When A Trade Plan Provides Consecutive Wins

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.03.2022 16:24
From time to time, we may want to consider volatility as an ally. After all, why would highly volatile markets necessarily mean more losing trades?The first target was hit – BOOM! Today – just before the weekend – it is time to bank some profits from my recent trade projections (provided on March 2). Since then, the trade plan has provided our dear subscribers with multiple bounces to trade the NYMEX Natural Gas Futures (April contract) in various ways, always depending on each one’s personal risk profile.The first possibility is the swing trading with trailing stop method explained in my famous risk management article.Trade entry triggered on Tuesday, March 8 (firm rebound on yellow band), stop lifted once price extends beyond mid-point (median) price between first target and entry, thus ending at $4.607 (black dotted line), given the market closed at its daily high of $4.704 (purple dotted line) that same day and assuming you entered that long trade at $4.550 (top of the yellow band). That was a quick one that lasted only a couple hours for the day traders who closed their trades at the regular market close (two candles later, see below chart). For the swing traders, the win-stop was triggered the next day (Wednesday) on the following pull-back. Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, hourly chart)The second option is to scale the rebounds with fixed targets (active or experienced traders).This method consists of “riding the tails” (or the shadows). To get a better grasp of this concept, let’s zoom out on a 4H-chart so you can see the multiple rebounds of the price characterized by the shadows (or tails) of candlesticks, where a crowd of bulls are placing buy orders around that yellow support zone, therefore squeezing bears by pushing prices towards the upside (like some sort of rope pulling game). This trading style often requires stops to be tighter with some profit-to-risk ratio greater than 1.5 (with usually fixed targets). Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, 4H chart)Third possibility: position trading. This is probably the most passive trading style, as it would suit everyone’s busy timetable (and be the most rewarding). This is usually the one we privilege at Sunshine Profits since it allows us to provide trade projections some time in advance for our patient sniper traders to lock in their trading targets and take sufficient time to assess the associated risk with each projection as part of a full trade plan (or flying map).Let’s zoom out again to spot our first target getting hit today on a daily chart so we can have an overall view of the next target to be locked in while lifting our stop to breakeven (entry), previous swing low ($4.450) or using an Average True Range (ATR) ratio as some of you may like to use:Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart)That’s all folks for today. Have a great weekend!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
COT Currency Speculators boost Mexican Peso bullish bets to 104-week high

COT Currency Speculators boost Mexican Peso bullish bets to 104-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 12.03.2022 22:20
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday March 8th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data is the rising bullish sentiment in the Mexican Peso currency futures contracts. Peso speculators have boosted their bullish bets for six consecutive weeks and in nine out of the past ten weeks. Over the past six-week time-frame, Peso bets have gained by a total of +53.807 contracts, going from -790 net positions on January 25th to +53,017 net positions this week. This recent improvement in Peso positioning pushed the current net speculator standing (+53,017 contracts) to the most bullish level in the past one hundred and four weeks, dating back to March 10th of 2020. Joining the Mexican peso (10,639 contracts) with positive changes this week were the Japanese yen (12,876 contracts), Brazil real (48 contracts), Swiss franc (5,538 contracts), New Zealand dollar (1,793 contracts), Australian dollar (141 contracts) and Bitcoin (185 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-730 contracts), Euro (-6,095 contracts), British pound sterling (-12,189 contracts), Canadian dollar (-6,494 contracts) and the Russian ruble (-1,868 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Mar-08-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 62,447 95 34,044 85 -37,890 12 3,846 59 EUR 738,990 98 58,844 53 -83,873 52 25,029 16 GBP 246,312 68 -12,526 65 25,457 45 -12,931 29 JPY 208,683 61 -55,856 33 76,657 74 -20,801 5 CHF 51,820 30 -9,710 53 21,942 56 -12,232 27 CAD 149,425 30 7,646 55 -15,494 46 7,848 45 AUD 197,094 80 -78,195 12 78,183 77 12 52 NZD 53,250 50 -12,379 50 13,592 51 -1,213 38 MXN 166,433 34 53,017 50 -55,194 50 2,177 52 RUB 22,420 7 7,806 32 -7,325 69 -481 22 BRL 68,623 65 50,496 100 -52,564 0 2,068 90 Bitcoin 9,591 48 265 100 -422 0 157 17   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 34,044 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -730 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 34,774 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 58.6 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 73.7 12.8 9.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 19.2 73.4 2.9 – Net Position: 34,044 -37,890 3,846 – Gross Longs: 46,031 7,962 5,642 – Gross Shorts: 11,987 45,852 1,796 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.8 to 1 0.2 to 1 3.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 84.5 11.6 58.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.9 7.7 -19.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 58,844 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -6,095 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 64,939 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.9 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.8 52.3 11.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.9 63.7 8.2 – Net Position: 58,844 -83,873 25,029 – Gross Longs: 242,683 386,654 85,727 – Gross Shorts: 183,839 470,527 60,698 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.1 52.0 15.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 8.4 -7.8 0.5   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -12,526 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -12,189 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -337 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 65.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 44.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.9 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.7 66.8 9.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.8 56.4 14.6 – Net Position: -12,526 25,457 -12,931 – Gross Longs: 50,982 164,423 23,076 – Gross Shorts: 63,508 138,966 36,007 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.2 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 65.0 44.7 28.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.4 5.1 -8.0   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -55,856 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 12,876 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -68,732 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 32.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 74.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.8 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.5 81.6 8.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 34.2 44.9 18.1 – Net Position: -55,856 76,657 -20,801 – Gross Longs: 15,548 170,330 16,884 – Gross Shorts: 71,404 93,673 37,685 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 32.7 74.3 4.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.9 -3.1 -13.5   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -9,710 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,538 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -15,248 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.4 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.4 70.7 17.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.1 28.4 40.9 – Net Position: -9,710 21,942 -12,232 – Gross Longs: 4,856 36,635 8,947 – Gross Shorts: 14,566 14,693 21,179 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.0 55.5 27.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.6 9.6 -22.1   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 7,646 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -6,494 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,140 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 45.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.5 41.7 22.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.3 52.1 17.5 – Net Position: 7,646 -15,494 7,848 – Gross Longs: 48,492 62,360 33,951 – Gross Shorts: 40,846 77,854 26,103 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.1 46.4 45.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.5 2.8 1.2   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -78,195 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 141 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -78,336 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.9 74.1 13.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.6 34.5 13.0 – Net Position: -78,195 78,183 12 – Gross Longs: 19,521 146,144 25,564 – Gross Shorts: 97,716 67,961 25,552 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.2 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 12.3 77.2 52.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 4.7 -14.6 35.3   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -12,379 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,793 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -14,172 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 37.9 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.6 62.0 5.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.9 36.5 7.5 – Net Position: -12,379 13,592 -1,213 – Gross Longs: 15,775 33,005 2,792 – Gross Shorts: 28,154 19,413 4,005 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.5 51.3 37.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.7 0.5 14.8   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 53,017 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 10,639 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 42,378 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 50.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 49.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.3 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 45.7 36.4 3.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.8 69.5 2.1 – Net Position: 53,017 -55,194 2,177 – Gross Longs: 76,020 60,537 5,674 – Gross Shorts: 23,003 115,731 3,497 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.3 to 1 0.5 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.0 49.8 52.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 22.9 -22.4 -0.4   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 50,496 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 48 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 50,448 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.3 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 79.5 15.3 5.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 5.9 91.9 2.1 – Net Position: 50,496 -52,564 2,068 – Gross Longs: 54,543 10,468 3,488 – Gross Shorts: 4,047 63,032 1,420 – Long to Short Ratio: 13.5 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 90.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 62.0 -62.3 8.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 7,806 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,868 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 9,674 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 68.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.5 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.5 60.6 2.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 1.6 93.3 5.1 – Net Position: 7,806 -7,325 -481 – Gross Longs: 8,173 13,590 657 – Gross Shorts: 367 20,915 1,138 – Long to Short Ratio: 22.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.9 68.7 21.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.1 -7.0 -22.4   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 265 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 185 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 80 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.5 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.9 2.8 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 78.1 7.2 8.3 – Net Position: 265 -422 157 – Gross Longs: 7,760 272 950 – Gross Shorts: 7,495 694 793 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 7.6 16.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.4 4.5 -8.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 14th – 18th March

Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 14th – 18th March

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 13.03.2022 19:00
It’s a big week for the US Fed this week, as it meets to push through its first increase in interest rates since the pandemic, against an increasingly volatile situation in Ukraine. Last week, the markets witnessed parabolic moves for both oil and gold as risk-off sentiment increased, however, those moves didn’t last long and soon reversed. As the trading bell tolls this week, the headlines will continue to be driven by fundamental factors, which will no doubt drive even further volatility if things seemingly get worse. In today’s Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead, we examine those severe moves in Oil and Gold, while also looking ahead at a few pertinent forex pairs, as well as the Nasdaq and Bitcoin. Watch the video below to get this week’s insights ahead of the market open. https://youtu.be/zifdtVdCcK0 Join us this Wednesday at 10PM AEDT (11AM GMT) as Boris and Kathy take you through another live market update, focusing on how price action is shaping up into the weekend. It’s the perfect session to get valuable insight into what’s hot in the financial markets, as well as give you the opportunity to ask the experts your questions in the live Q&A. Click the banner below to register. Registration is free. Boris Schlossberg is Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management, Co-Founder of BKForex.com, and Managing Editor of 60secondinvestor.com. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than three decades of financial market experience. In 2007, while still at FXCM, Boris started BKForex with Ms. Kathy Lien. A year later, Boris joined Global Futures & Forex Ltd as director of currency research where he provided research and analysis to clients and managed a global foreign exchange analysis team with Kathy Lien. Since 2012 Boris has focused exclusively on running BKForex.com where he generates trade ideas and designs algorithms for the FX market in partnership with Ms. Lien. He is the author of “Technical Analysis of the Currency Market” and “Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Beat Wall Street at its Own Game”, both of which are published by Wiley. In 2020 Mr. Schlossberg started www.60secondinvestor.com a free website that distils the best of institutional investment research for retail investors. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Tuesday AUD RBA Meeting Minutes USD PPI Wednesday JPY Balance of Trade CAD CPI USD Core Retail Sales Thursday USD Fed Interest Rate Decision, FOMC Economic Projections, Fed Press Conference NZD GDP AUD RBA Bulletin, Unemployment Rate GBP BoE Interest Rate Decision Friday JPY Inflation Rate, BoJ Interest Rate Decision The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 14th – 18th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Intraday Market Analysis – The Canadian Dollar Recovers

Intraday Market Analysis – The Canadian Dollar Recovers

Jing Ren Jing Ren 14.03.2022 07:50
USDCAD struggles for supportThe Canadian dollar surged after a sharp drop in February’s unemployment rate. A break above the recent peak at 1.2875 has consolidated the US dollar’s lead.The RSI’s repeatedly overbought condition has led to some profit-taking. As the indicator swung into the oversold area, a pullback attracted bargain hunters in the demand zone between 61.8% (1.2700) Fibonacci retracement level and 1.2680.A rally above 1.2840 may resume the rally and send the pair to December’s high at 1.2960.EURJPY attempts reversalThe euro continues upward after the ECB left the door open to an interest rate hike. A pop above 128.60 has prompted sellers to reconsider their bets.However, traders can expect strong bearish pressure in the supply zone around 129.20. This level overlays with the 20-day moving average, making it a congestion area.An overbought RSI has tempered the initial comeback and the bulls need to consolidate their positions before they could push further. 126.50 is key support and 124.40 a second line of defense to keep the pair afloat.UK 100 bounces backThe FTSE 100 recoups losses as Britain’s GDP beat expectations in January. The rebound has gained traction after it broke above 7200.After a brief pause, the index met buying interest over 7050 and a bullish MA cross indicates an acceleration to the upside. Sentiment remains cautious from the daily chart perspective though and the bears could be waiting to sell into strength.7450 at the origin of the latest sell-off is a major hurdle as its breach could turn the mood around. Otherwise, there could be a revision of 6800 soon.
BITCOIN LIKELY MOVE- RISE TO $41,000 & FALL TO $37,600

BITCOIN LIKELY MOVE- RISE TO $41,000 & FALL TO $37,600

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 14.03.2022 09:45
What we have here is a descending triangle with two areas of support and resistance. We also have the inner trendline acting as potential support. I expect this inner trendline support to push price to $41,000, then a drop to $37,600. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/BTCUSDT/vmA5Ojqf-BTC-LIKELY-MOVE-RISE-TO-41k-FALL-TO-37-600/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
FANTOM BEARISH CHANNEL - TO RISE TO $1.74 & FALL TO $0.90

FANTOM BEARISH CHANNEL - TO RISE TO $1.74 & FALL TO $0.90

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 14.03.2022 09:44
This is a 4hrs timeframe analysis. We have price respecting the descending channel pattern. We have three credible resistance zones on the upper trendline and two credible support zones on the lower trendline. I expect price to hit the lower trendline and bounce up to the upper trendline at $1.740 If price get rejected at the upper trendline, price will fall to $0.90. But if the trend continues, fantom will continue to rise. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/FTMUSDT/eytIXl2y-FANTOM-TO-RISE-TO-1-74-FALL-TO-0-90/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
Credit Markets Keeps Downward Move, S&P 500 (SPX) Trades Lower Than Usual, Bitcoin (BTC) Price Is... Quite Stable (Sic!)

Credit Markets Keeps Downward Move, S&P 500 (SPX) Trades Lower Than Usual, Bitcoin (BTC) Price Is... Quite Stable (Sic!)

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 14.03.2022 13:09
S&P 500 bulls again missed the opportunity, and credit markets likewise. Not even the virtual certainty of only 25bp hike in Mar is providing much relief to the credit markets. Given that the real economy is considerably slowing down and that recession looks arriving before Q2 ends, the markets continue forcing higher rates (reflecting inflation). In a risk-on environment, value and cyclicals such as financials would be reacting positively, but that‘s not the case right now. At the same time, equal weighted S&P 500 (that‘s RSP) hasn‘t yet broken below its horizontal support above $145, meaning its posture isn‘t as bad as in the S&P 500. Should it however give, we‘re going considerably below 4,000. That‘s why today‘s article is titled hanging by a thread. Precious metals and commodities continue consolidating, and the least volatile appreciation opportunity presents the red metal. And it‘s not only about copper – crude oil market is going through supply realignment, and demand is not yet being destroyed on a massive scale. Coupled with the long-term underinvestment in exploration and drilling (US is no longer such a key producer as was the case in 2019), crude oil prices would continue rising on fundamentals, meaning the appreciation pace of Feb-Mar would slow down. Precious metals would have it easy next as the Fed is bound to be forced to make a U-turn in this very short tightening cycle (they didn‘t get far at all, and inflation expectations have in my view become unanchored already). Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bears won the day, and Nasdaq remains in a sorry state. 4,160s are the line in the sand, breaking which would accelerate the downswing. Inflation is cutting into the earnings, and stocks aren‘t going to like the coming Fed‘s message. Credit Markets HYG didn‘t keep at least stable – the pressure in the credit markets is ongoing, and the stock market bulls don‘t have much to rejoice over here. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals downswings are being bought, and are shallow. The sellers are running out of steam, and the opportunity to go somewhat higher next, is approaching. Crude Oil Crude oil is stabilizing, but it may take some time before the upswing continues with renewed vigor. As for modest extension of gains, we won‘t be disappointed. Copper Copper had one more day of fake weakness, but the lost gains of Friday would be made up for next – and given no speculative fever here to speak of, it would have as good lasting power as precious metals. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos remain undecided, but indicate a little breathing room, at least for today. Still, I wouldn‘t call it as risk-on constellation throughout the markets. Summary S&P 500 is getting in a precarious position, but the internals aren‘t (yet) a screaming sell. Credit markets continue leading lower, and the risk-off positioning is impossible to miss. Not even financials are able to take the cue, and rise. It‘s that the rise in yields mirrors the ingrained inflation, and just how entrenched it‘s becoming. No surprise if you were listening to me one year ago – the Fed‘s manouevering room got progressively smaller, and the table is set for the 2H 2022 inflation respite (think 5-6% year end on account of recessionary undercurrents) to be superseded with even higher inflation in 2023, because the Fed would be forced later this year to turn back to easing. Long live the precious metals and commodities super bulls! Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Apple Stock News and Forecast: AAPL likely to see more supply chain disruptions, $120 price target

Apple Stock News and Forecast: AAPL likely to see more supply chain disruptions, $120 price target

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.03.2022 15:57
AAPL stock closed lower on Friday as fears over Ukraine escalation hit.Apple is likely to see more supply chain disruptions due to Chinese lockdowns.Inflation will also cause significant headaches for Apple's top brass.Apple's stock (AAPL) closed lower on Friday as initial optimism on peace talks was quickly washed away by reports of an escalation of the Russian conflict in Ukraine. The market closed lower for the Nasdaq and S&P 500, and most sectors were dragged lower. Apple was not immune to the selling pressure. Apple Stock NewsApple did stage a mid-week product release called Peak Performance. The company unveiled a lower-cost iPhone and some other products in the Mac and IPad space, but the show failed to generate much investor enthusiasm as geopolitical events remain dominant. The analyst community was reasonably impressed with the launch though with Loup stealing the show as they slapped a $250 price target on Apple."Apple remains our Top Pick in IT Hardware given durable fundamentals, predictable cash flows, additional 2022 product launches, and platform stability in an otherwise uncertain and volatile market backdrop," Morgan Stanley said as they put a $210 price target on the stock.However, we note the situation in China over the weekend where lockdowns are back in the cards as the country tries to contain the latest covid surge. According to Reuters, Foxconn has had to close its Shenzen factory, and that will be a hit to Apple's supply chain. The closure is expected to be brief, but the situation is fluid. Assuming this is the Omicron variant, then it is extremely transmissible compared to earlier versions where China was able to contain the circus using strict lockdowns. This is not a good look for Apple.Apple Stock ForecastApple stock is now likely to break the key support at $153.17 today as the market will take the lockdown news negatively. But more importantly, breaking this support at $153.17 means Apple will also break the 200-day moving average, which is set just above at $153.60. This adds yet more negative momentum to the picture. The move will likely slow as there is a lot of volume down here as we can see from the volume profile bars on the right of the chart. It does bring $138.31 as the next target though. The declining Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) are confirming the bearish trend.Apple chart, daily
Increase Of Whales Wallets And California's Digital Financial Assets Law

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets in disarray

FXStreet News FXStreet News 14.03.2022 15:57
Bitcoin price loses momentum as it slides back into consolidation along the $36,398 to $38,895 demand zone. Ethereum price slides below a symmetrical triangle, hinting at a move below $2,000. Ripple price remains bullish as bulls eye a retest of $1 psychological level. Bitcoin price continues to tag the immediate demand area, weakening it. Despite the sudden bursts in buying pressure, BTC seems to be in consolidation mode. Ethereum price has triggered a bearish outlook while Ripple price shows signs of heading higher. Also read: Gold Price Forecast: Lower lows hinting at a steeper decline Bitcoin price moves with no sense of direction Bitcoin price dips into the $36,398 to $38,895 demand zone for the fourth time without producing any higher highs. This price action is indicative of a consolidation and is likely to breach lower. A daily candlestick close below $36,398 will invalidate the demand zone and knock BTC to retest the weekly support level at $34,752, which is the last line of defense. A breakdown of this barrier will open the path for bears to crash Bitcoin price to $30,000 or lower. Here, market makers will push BTC below $29,100 to collect liquidity resting below the equal lows formed in mid-2021. BTC/USD 1-day chart While things look inauspicious for Bitcoin price, a strong bounce off the said demand zone that retests the weekly supply zone, ranging from $45,550 to $51,860, will provide some relief for bulls. Ethereum price favors bears Ethereum price action from January 22 to March 4 created three lower highs and higher lows, which, when connected via trend lines, resulted in a symmetrical triangle formation. This technical formation forecasts a 26% move obtained by measuring the distance between the first swing high and swing low to the breakout point. On March 6, ETH breached below, signaling a bearish breakout, which puts the theoretical target at $1,962. A breakdown of the weekly support level at $2,541 is vital; a breakdown of this barrier will expedite the move lower. ETH/USD 1-day chart Regardless of the recent onslaught of bearishness, Ethereum price needs to produce a daily candlestick close above $3,413 to invalidate the bullish thesis. Such a development will also open the possibility of kick-starting a potential uptrend. https://youtu.be/-U0QTf_NwnI Ripple price maintains its bullish momentum Ripple price traverses a bull flag continuation pattern, a breakout from which hints at a continuation of the uptrend. This technical formation contains an impulsive move higher followed by a consolidation in the form of a pennant. The 55% rally between February 3 and 8 formed a bullish flag pole continuation pattern, and the consolidation that ensued in the form of lower highs and higher lows created the pennant. Together, the bullish setup forecasts a 31% ascent for XRP price, obtained by adding the flag pole’s height to the breakout point from the pennant. On March 11, Ripple price broke out from the pennant, signaling the start of the 31% uptrend to $1. So far, the retest seems to be holding up well, so investors can expect the remittance token to continue its journey higher to the $1 psychological level. XRP/USD 1-day chart A daily candlestick close below the immediate demand zone, ranging from $0.689 to $0.705, will create a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis for Ripple price. In such a case, XRP has the twelve-hour demand zone, extending from $0.546 to $0.633 to support any residual selling pressure. https://youtu.be/rCFQmMHWJZ4
Are Current Market Cycles Similar To The GFC Of 2007–2009?

Are Current Market Cycles Similar To The GFC Of 2007–2009?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 14.03.2022 16:14
Soaring real estate, rising volatility, surging commodities and slumping stocks - Sound Familiar?This past week marked the 13th anniversary of the bottom of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009. The March 6, 2009 stock market low for the S&P 500 marked a staggering overall value loss of 51.9%.The GFC of 2007-09 resulted from excessive risk-taking by global financial institutions, which resulted in the bursting of the housing market bubble. This, in turn, led to a vast collapse of mortgage-back securities resulting in a dramatic worldwide financial reset.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?The following graph shows us that precious metals and energy outperform the stock market as the ‘Bull’ cycle reaches its maturity. The stock market is always the first to lead, the second being the economy, and the third, being the commodity markets. But history has shown that commodity markets can move up substantially as the stock market ‘Bull’ runs out of steam.The current commodities rally in Gold began August 2021, Crude Oil April 2020, and Wheat in January 2022. Interestingly we started seeing capital outflows in the SPY-SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF in early January 2022, and the DRN-Direxion Daily Real Estate Bull 3x Shares ETF starting back in late December 2021.LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STOCK AND COMMODITY MARKETS IN 2007-2008SPY - SPDR S&P 500 TRUST ETFFrom August 17, 2007 to July 3, 2008: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust depreciated -20.12%The State Street Corporation designed SPY for investors who want a cost-effective and convenient way to invest in the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Stock Index. According to State Street’s website www.ssga.com, the Benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, comprises selected stocks from five hundred (500) issuers, all of which are listed on national stock exchanges and span over approximately 24 separate industry groups.DBC – INVESCO DB COMMODITY INDEX TRACING FUND ETFFrom August 17 2007 to July 3, 2008: Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund appreciated +96.81%Invesco designed DBC for investors who want a cost-effective and convenient way to invest in commodity futures. According to Invesco’s website www.invesco.com, the Index is a rules-based index composed of futures contracts on 14 of the most heavily traded and important physical commodities in the world.BE ALERT: THE US FEDERAL RESERVE POLICY MEETING IS THIS WEEK!In February, the inflation rate rose to 7.9% as food and energy costs pushed prices to their highest level in more than 40 years. If we exclude food and energy, core inflation still rose 6.4%, which was the highest since August 1982. Gasoline, groceries, and housing were the most significant contributors to the CPI gain. The consumer price index is the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households.The FED was expected to raise interest rates by as much as 50 basis points at its policy meeting this week, March 15-16. However, given the recent world events of the Russia – Ukraine war in Europe, the FED may decide to be more cautious and raise rates by only 25 basis points.HOW WILL RISING INTEREST RATES AFFECT THE STOCK MARKET?As interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing becomes more expensive. Rising interest rates tend to affect the market immediately, while it may take about 9-12 months for the rest of the economy to see any widespread impact. Higher interest rates are generally negative for stocks, with the exception of the financial sector.WILL RISING INTEREST RATES BURST OUR HOUSING BUBBLE?It is too soon to tell exactly what the impact of rising interest rates will be regarding housing. It is worth noting that in a thriving economy, consumers continue buying. However, in our current economy, where the consumers' monthly payment is not keeping up with the price of gasoline and food, it is more likely to experience a leveling off of residential prices or even the risk of a 2007-2009 repeat of price depreciation.THE POTENTIAL FOR OUTSIZED GAINS IN A BEAR MARKET ARE 7X GREATER THAN A BULL MARKET!The average bull market lasts 2.7 years. From the March low of 2009, the current bull market has established a new record as the longest-running bull market at 12 years and nine months. The average bear market lasts just under ten months, while a few have lasted for several years. It is worth noting that bear markets tend to fall 7x faster than bull markets go up. Bear markets also reflect elevated levels of volatility and investor emotions which contribute significantly to the velocity of the market drop.WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE CURRENT MARKET TRENDS?Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24 months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe we are seeing the markets beginning to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into metals, commodities, and other safe havens.IT'S TIME TO GET PREPARED FOR THE COMING STORM; UNDERSTAND HOW TO NAVIGATE THESE TYPES OF MARKETS!I invite you to learn more about how my three Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
Binance Academy: "How to Add Fantom to MetaMask?"

FANTOM - TO RISE BY 65% TO 1.74

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 14.03.2022 16:27
This is the continuation of my previous analysis on fantom here Price is approaching the lower trendline which is a potential support zone to push price ahead to the upper trendline. For investors, you can buy and pick a long position from $1.02 - $1.10 and take profit at $1.60 & $1.74. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/FTMUSDT/VAMApInG-FANTOM-TO-RISE-BY-65-TO-1-74/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
The Swing Overview – Week 10 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 10 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 14.03.2022 15:05
The Swing Overview – Week 10 The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than two weeks and there is no end in sight. However, the markets seem to have started to adapt to the new situation and the decline in the indices has stopped. Meanwhile, inflation in the Czech Republic rose to 11.1% and the ECB left rates unchanged as expected. There is extreme volatility in oil. After reaching 2008 price levels there has been a larger correction. The conflict in Ukraine   The high-profile meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Kuleba did not bring a solution to end the war.  Russia continues to expect Ukraine to recognise Crimea as part of Russia, to recognise the independence of republics declared by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, and not to join NATO. Kuleba commented that Ukraine will not surrender. So, unfortunately, the war continues.   The sanctions, which have caused the Russian economy a shock and which are being extended, should help to end the war. The US announced that it stopped taking Russian oil. However, European leaders have not agreed to stop taking Russian energy because of their current dependence on it. As a lesson from this war, the EU is preparing a plan to stop taking Russian gas by 2027.   Meanwhile, the markets have calmed down a bit and although a resolution to the conflict is nowhere in sight, the markets seem to have come to accept the war as a regional issue that will have a negative but limited impact on global economic growth. This can be seen in US 10-year bond rates, which have started to rise again.   Figure 1: 10-year government bond yield on the 4H chart and USD index on the daily chart   The US inflation at highest levels in 40 years Annual inflation in the US for February was 7.9%, the highest since January 1982. The biggest contributor to inflation is energy, which saw inflation reaching 25.6%, while gasoline prices were up 38%. These figures do not include recent developments in Europe. Continued supply-side logistics problems and strong demand, together with a tight labour market mean that higher inflation will last for a longer period. Figure 2: The inflation in the US   Next week, the US Fed will meet to respond to rising inflation. Interest rates are generally expected to rise by at least 0.25%.    The SP500 index Long-term investors in the SP 500 index track an indicator of the number of companies whose stock prices are above the 50-day average. Figure 3: The SP 500 Index and an indicator of the number of companies in the SP 500 Index above the 50-day moving average   This indicator has recently fallen to a value of 20. In the past, as the figure shows, reaching a value of 20 was mostly followed by an increase in the index. It is therefore likely that investors will now start buying the shares. Amazon shares gained significantly after the company announced a 20:1 stock split. The stock can thus be afforded by more retail investors. As for the current trend in the SP 500 index, it has been moving down recently. This may be a correction to the overall uptrend shown in Figure 3. In Figure 4 we have a short-term view.     Figure 4: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   From a technical analysis perspective, the moving averages suggest that the index is moving down. Investor interest in buying a dip has slowed this decline, which can be seen on the H4 chart where a higher low has formed.  Support is at 4,140 - 4,152. Resistance is at 4,288 - 4,300. The next resistance is at 4,385 - 4,415. The moving averages also serve as resistance.   The inflation in the Czech Republic has surpassed 11% Annual inflation in the Czech Republic for February 2022 was 11.1% (9.9% in January), higher than market expectations (10.3% was expected). This is the highest inflation in the Czech Republic since 1998. The largest contributors to inflation are housing (16%), electricity (22.6%) and gas (28.3%). This figure is likely to force the CNB to raise rates further. The Czech koruna has stalled against the euro at resistance around 25.80 - 25.90. The reason for the weakening of the koruna was geopolitical uncertainty regarding the war in Ukraine. Now it seems that the markets have absorbed this situation and this may be the reason for the appreciation of the koruna that occurred last week. If the war in Ukraine does not escalate further into new unexpected dimensions (such as the disruption of gas supplies to Europe from Russia), then the interest rate differential could again be an important factor, which, due to higher interest rates on the koruna, could lead to the koruna appreciation towards January levels.   Figure 5: EURCZK on the daily chart   Resistance: 25.80 - 25.90.  Support: 24.50 - 24.60 and then around 24.10   ECB and the euro The ECB left interest rates unchanged at 0%. At the same time, it surprised the market by ending its bond buying program in Q3, earlier than previous forecasts. The reaction to the news was a strong appreciation of the euro and it jumped to 1.1120 against the dollar. Eventually, however, the euro ended the session at around 1.10. The reason for this reversal is that tightening at a time when the economy is slowing could lead to stagflation. Strong US inflation data also contributed to the euro sell-off. The US is also much less vulnerable to sanctions against Russia than Europe.   Figure 6: EURUSD on the H4 and daily charts   From a technical point of view, we can see that the EURUSD has stalled right at the resistance band, which is at the 1.11-1.1130 level. The nearest support is 1.08-1.0850.   Crude Oil Brent crude oil reached $136 earlier this week, the highest level since July 2008. This was due to fears of a shortage of black liquid due to the conflict in Ukraine. However, Russia , which produces 7% of global demand, has announced that it will meet its contractual obligations. At the same time, Chevron said there was no shortage of oil and some other producers were ready to increase production if necessary. The EU has also announced that it will not impose an embargo on Russian oil imports, which would otherwise shock the market at a time when oil stocks are reaching multi-year lows, and will not join the US and the UK. Following this, oil began to retreat from its highs.   Figure 7: Brent crude oil on monthly and daily charts Resistance is in the 132-135 range. The nearest support is 103 - 105 USD per barrel. The next support is then in the band around USD 85 - 87 per barrel.  
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 8/3/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 8/3/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 14.03.2022 16:01
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 8/3/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index fell by 730 contracts last week. This change is the result of an increase in long positions by 2,270 contracts and an increase in short positions by 3,000 contracts. The decrease in total net speculator positions occurred last week in the euro, the British pound, and the Canadian dollar. The increase in total net positions occurred in the New Zealand dollar, the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.     The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Mar 08, 2022 34044 58844 -12526 -78195 -12379 -55856 7646 -9710 Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248 Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987 Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715 Feb 08, 2022 33765 38842 -8545 -85741 -10366 -59148 14886 -9399 Feb 01, 2022 34571 29716 -23605 -79829 -11698 -60640 18264 -8239 Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 08, 2022 738990 242683 183839 58844 19015 14298 20393 -6095 Weak bullish Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 700098 218973 180131 38842 14667 5410 -3716 9126 Bullish Feb 01, 2022 685431 213563 183847 29716 2479 155 1999 -1844 Weak bullish         Total Change 56038 29275 1991 27284     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached 58,844 contracts last week, down by 6,095 contracts from the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 14,198 contracts and an increase in short positions by 20,393 contracts. These data suggest a weakening of the bullish sentiment for the euro. Open interest, which rose by 19,015 contracts in the past week, shows that the downward price action movement that occurred in the euro last week was supported by volume and it was  therefore a strong trend. The euro continues to weaken under the influence of the war in Ukraine and we can see that support levels have not been respected in such a strong trend. The ECB's announcement last week to end the bond purchases in 3Q 2022 also contributed to the euro’s weakness. This hawkish statement at a time when economic growth is slowing sparked fears of stagflation in the market and therefore the euro weakened following the ECB announcement.   Long-term resistance: 1.1120 – 1.1150. Support: 1.080-1.0850. The next support is at 1.0640-1.0700.   The British pound date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 08, 2022 246312 50982 63508 -12526 34443 3303 15492 -12189 Bearish Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 197948 44709 53254 -8545 13941 15112 52 15060 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 184007 29597 53202 -23605 1967 -7069 8773 -15842 Bearish         Total Change 64272 14316 19079 -4763     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 12,526 contracts, having fallen by 12,189 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth in long positions by 3,303 contracts and the growth in short positions by 15,492 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment as the total net speculators positions  are negative while there has been a further decline as well. Open interest, which rose by 34,443 contracts last week, means that the fall in the pound that occurred last week was supported by the volume and it was therefore a strong price action. Risk off sentiment due to the war in Ukraine continues to weigh on the pound as well as the euro and therefore the pound is weakening strongly. Long-term resistance: 1.3180-1.3210.  Next resistance is near 1.3270 – 1.3330. Support is near 1.3000.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 08, 2022 197094 19521 97716 -78195 7427 6801 6660 141 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Weak bearish Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish Feb 08, 2022 196403 17323 103064 -85741 -510 -1512 4400 -5912 Bearish Feb 01, 2022 196913 18835 98664 -79829 6893 3714 270 3444 Weak bearish         Total Change 7074 4400 -678 5078     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week reached 78,195 contracts, up by 141 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth in long positions by 6,801 contracts and the growth in short positions by 6,660 contracts. This data suggests a weakening of the bearish sentiment for the Australian dollar. Last week we saw an increase in open interest of 7,427 contracts. This means that the downward movement that occurred last week was supported by volume as new money flowed into the market. The Australian dollar weakened quite significantly last week. This may be explained by the fact that there has been a fall in prices in commodities that Australia exports (e.g. gold, coal). The decline in commodity prices also reflects efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine.  Long-term resistance: 0.7370-0.7440                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.7085-0.7120.  A strong support is near 0.6960 – 0.6990.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 08, 2022 53250 15775 28154 -12379 2861 5290 3497 1793 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish Feb 08, 2022 54877 17168 27534 -10366 -3590 -2037 -3369 1332 Weak bearish Feb 01, 2022 58467 19205 30903 -11698 5151 3257 4182 -925 Bearish         Total Change -66 -173 1433 -1606     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached a negative value last week - 12,379 contracts, having increased by 1,793 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 5,290 contracts and an increase in short positions by 3,497 contracts. This data suggests that the bearish sentiment on the NZ dollar has weakened over the past week. Open interest rose significantly by 2,861 contracts last week. The downward movement in the NZDUSD that occurred last week was therefore supported by volume and therefore the move was strong. The weakening in the NZDUSD that occurred last week can be explained by the decline in the prices of commodities that New Zealand produces. Long-term resistance: 0.6850 – 0.6920 Long-term support: 0.6590-0.6600 and the next support is at 0.6500 – 0.6530.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
EURUSD Has Climbed A Bit, DAX (GER40) Has Moved Up Slightly, AUDUSD Chart Shows A Small Downtrend

EURUSD Has Climbed A Bit, DAX (GER40) Has Moved Up Slightly, AUDUSD Chart Shows A Small Downtrend

Jing Ren Jing Ren 15.03.2022 08:02
EURUSD struggles to rebound The US dollar bounces across the board as the Fed may possibly raise interest rates on Wednesday. The pair found support near May 2020’s lows around 1.0800. The RSI’s oversold condition on the daily chart prompted the bears to take some chips off the table, alleviating the pressure. 1.1110 is a fresh resistance and its breach could lift offers to 1.1270. In fact, this could turn sentiment around in the short term. Failing that, a break below 1.0830 could trigger a new round of sell-off towards March 2020’s lows near 1.0650. AUDUSD lacks support The Australian dollar slipped after dovish RBA minutes. The pair continues to pull back from its recent top at 0.7430. A drop below the demand zone at 0.7250 further puts the bulls on the defensive. The former support has turned into a resistance level. 0.7170 at the origin of a previous breakout is key support. An oversold RSI may raise buyers’ interest in this congestion area. A deeper correction could invalidate the recent rebound and send the Aussie to the daily support at 0.7090. GER 40 attempts to rebound The Dax 40 edges higher as Russia and Ukraine hold a fourth round of talks. The index bounced off the demand zone (12500) from the daily chart, a sign that price action could be stabilizing. The supply zone around the psychological level of 14000 sits next to the 20-day moving average, making it an important hurdle. A tentative breakout may have prompted sellers to cover. 14900 would be the target if the rebound gains momentum. On the downside, 13300 is fresh support, and 12720 is the second line of defense.
Have Stocks Reached the Bottom?

Have Stocks Reached the Bottom?

Paul Rejczak Paul Rejczak 15.03.2022 14:44
  The S&P 500 index extended its Friday’s decline yesterday, but it remained within a week-long volatile consolidation. Is this a medium-term bottoming pattern? The broad stock market index lost 0.74% on Monday, Mar. 14, after its Friday’s decline of 1.3%. The market bounced from the short-term resistance level of 4,300 and it extended a volatile consolidation following the early March sell-off from the 4,400 level. Last week on Tuesday it reached the local low of 4,157.87 and then we’ve seen a rebound to the 4,300 level. Yesterday the S&P 500 came back below the 4,200 level again. The market is closer to the Feb. 24 local low of 4,114.65. It was 704 points or 14.6% below the January 4 record high of 4,818.62 then. There’s still a lot of uncertainty concerning the ongoing Ukraine conflict. This morning the S&P 500 index is expected to open 0.5% higher following lower than expected Producer Price Index release. The market will be waiting for the important tomorrow’s FOMC Statement release, and we may see some further consolidation. The nearest important resistance level is now at around 4,200. On the other hand, the support level is at 4,100-4,150. The S&P 500 index continues to trade slightly above the recently broken downward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart (chart by courtesy of http://stockcharts.com): Futures Contract Trades Along the Previous Lows Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. Today it is bouncing from the 4,140 level. It’s a support level marked by the previous local low. The support level is also at 4,100. We are still maintaining our long position, as we are expecting an upward correction from the current levels (chart by courtesy of http://tradingview.com): Conclusion The S&P 500 index will likely bounce this morning following better-than-expected producers’ inflation data release. The market may extend its volatile consolidation and we may see more uncertainty, as investors will be waiting for the Wednesday’s FOMC Statement release. Here’s the breakdown: The S&P 500 index will likely bounce this morning, but we may see some more short-term uncertainty. We are maintaining our long position (opened on Feb. 22). We are still expecting an upward correction from the current levels. Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Paul Rejczak,Stock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits: Effective Investments through Diligence and Care * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Paul Rejczak and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading his reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
(XAUUSD) Price Of Gold And Price Of Silver (XAGUSD) Decreases...

(XAUUSD) Price Of Gold And Price Of Silver (XAGUSD) Decreases...

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 15.03.2022 14:12
  In line with predictions, gold is ceasing to benefit from war-fueled uncertainty. Meanwhile, silver faked another breakout. Could it be more bearish?  Last week’s powerful, huge-volume reversal in gold was likely to be followed by declines. It was – but that’s just the beginning. Yesterday’s $24 decline might seem significant on a day-to-day basis, but compared to last week’s enormous reversal, it’s really tiny. The modest extent of yesterday’s decline is by no means bullish – my emphasis on the small size of the decline so far should be viewed as an indication that much more is likely on the horizon. Besides, gold was down by about $20 in today’s pre-market trading. As I wrote yesterday, gold’s breakout above $2,000 was officially invalidated, and given the weekly reversal, it seems that the war-uncertainty-based rally is over. The decisive move below 70 in the RSI indicator after it was trading above 70 clearly confirms that the top is already behind us. Just like it was in 2020 and 2021 when similar things happened, history appears to have rhymed. On Friday, I wrote the following: Gold’s move of $0.40 (yes, forty cents) above $2,000 is not important as the breakout above this level was just invalidated the previous day. Technically, this is another attempt to break above this level, which is likely to be invalidated based on what we see in today’s pre-market trading. The fact that I would like to emphasize today is that this kind of small rebound after the initial slide is common and perfectly normal for gold. We saw exactly the same thing right after gold’s 2020 top and after its 2021 top, and also two more times in 2021 (as marked on the above chart). This means that yesterday’s upswing is not particularly bullish. It’s a normal post-top reaction. Lower gold values are to be expected. Silver declined yesterday, and it closed the day below its late-2021 high. In other words, the breakout above this level was invalidated. This is a strong bearish confirmation from the white metal. The white metal just invalidated the move above its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. That’s bearish on its own, but let’s keep in mind that it happened right after silver outperformed gold. Last Tuesday, the GDXJ ETF was up by less than 1%, gold was up by 2.37%, and silver was up by 4.57%. Silver’s outperformance and miners’ underperformance is what we tend to see right at the tops. That’s exactly what it was – a top. Silver declined profoundly, and the attempt to break above its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level will soon be just a distant (in terms of price) memory. On a medium-term basis, silver was simply weak relative to gold, but we saw short-term outperformance. In short, that was and continues to be bearish. As far as silver’s big picture is concerned, please note that it also provides us with a confirmation of the analogy between 2012 and now. At the turn of the year in 2011/2012, there was a cyclical turning point in silver, and we saw a sizable decline in silver shortly thereafter. The same happened in 2021, after silver’s cyclical turning point. Back in 2012, silver declined more or less to its previous lows and then rallied back up, but it didn’t reach its previous top. It more or less rallied to its 50-week moving average and then by about the same amount before topping. Recently, we saw exactly the same thing. After the initial decline, silver bottomed close to its previous lows, and most recently it rallied to its 50-week moving average and then by about the same amount before topping – below the previous high. Thus, the situation is just like what it was during the 2012 top in all three key components of the precious metals sector: gold, silver, and mining stocks. We have a situation in the general stock market that points to an even quicker slide than what we saw in 2012-2013. If stocks slide sharply and significantly just like in 2008, then the same fate may await the precious metals sector – just like in 2008. In this case, silver and mining stocks (in particular, junior mining stocks) would be likely to fall in a spectacular manner. All the above was confirmed by silver’s invalidation of its breakout above the late-2021 high. Not only has the medium-term outlook been bearish, but now the short-term outlook for silver is bearish too. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
XAUUSD Decreases, Russia-Ukraine Conflict Remains, Fed Decides

XAUUSD Decreases, Russia-Ukraine Conflict Remains, Fed Decides

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 15.03.2022 14:13
  It seems that the stalemate in Ukraine has slowed down gold's bold movements. Will the Fed's decision on interest rates revive them again?  The tragedy continues. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said yesterday, “Ukraine is on fire and being decimated before the eyes of the world.” There have already been 1,663 civilian casualties since the Russian invasion began. What is comforting in this situation is that Russian troops have made almost no advance in recent days (although there has been some progress in southern Ukraine). They are attempting to envelop Ukrainian forces in the east of the country as they advance from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to offer staunch resistance across the country. So, it seems that there is a kind of stalemate. The Russians don’t have enough forces to break decisively through the Ukrainian defense, while Ukraine’s army doesn’t have enough troops to launch an effective counteroffensive and get rid of the occupiers. Now, the key question is: in whose favor is time working? On the one hand, Russia is mobilizing fighters from its large country, but also from Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. The invaders continue indiscriminate shelling and air attacks that cause widespread destruction among civilian population as well. On the other hand, each day Russian army suffers heavy losses, while Ukraine is getting new weapons from the West.   Implications for Gold How is gold performing during the war? As the chart below shows, the recent stabilization of the military situation in Ukraine has been negative for the yellow metal. The price of gold slid from its early March peak of $2,039 to $1,954 one week later (and today, the price is further declining). However, please note that gold makes higher highs and higher lows, so the outlook remains rather positive, although corrections are possible. On the other hand, gold’s slide despite the ongoing war and a surge in inflation could be a little disturbing. However, the reason for the decline is simple. It seems that the uncertainty reached its peak last week and has eased since then. As the chart below shows, the CBOE volatility index, also called a fear index, has retreated from its recent peak. The Russian troops have made almost no progress, the most severe response of the West is probably behind us, and the world hasn’t sunk into nuclear war. Meanwhile, the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are taking place, offering some hope for a relatively quick end to the war. As I wrote last week, “there might be periods of consolidation and even corrections if the conflict de-escalates or ends.” The anticipation of tomorrow’s FOMC meeting could also contribute to the slide in gold prices. However, the chart above also shows that credit spreads, another measure of risk perception, have continued to widen in recent days. Other fundamental factors also remain supportive of gold prices. Let’s take, for instance, inflation. As the chart below shows, the annual CPI rate has soared from 7.5% in January to 7.9% in February, the largest move since January 1982. Meanwhile, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, surged from 6.0% to 6.4% last month, also the highest reading in forty years. The war in Ukraine can only add to the inflationary pressure. Prices of oil and other commodities have already soared. The supply chains got another blow. The US Congress is expanding its spending again to help Ukraine. Thus, the inflation peak would likely occur later than previously thought. High inflation may become more embedded, which increases the odds of stagflation. All these factors seem to be fundamentally positive for gold prices. There is one “but”. The continuous surge in inflation could prompt monetary hawks to take more decisive actions. Tomorrow, the FOMC will announce its decision on interest rates, and it will probably hike the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. The hawkish Fed could be bearish for gold prices. Having said that, historically, the Fed’s tightening cycle has been beneficial to the yellow metal when accompanied by high inflation. Last time, the price of gold bottomed out around the liftoff. Another issue is that, because of the war in Ukraine, the Fed could adopt a more dovish stance and lift interest rates in a more gradual way, which could be supportive of gold prices. The military situation in Ukraine and tomorrow’s FOMC meeting could be crucial for gold’s path in the near future. The hike in interest rates is already priced in, but the fresh dot-plot and Powell’s press conference could bring us some unexpected changes in US monetary policy. Stay tuned! If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
The Bitcoin Market Is Now Developing The Corrective Cycle To The Downside

Bitcoin Price Charts: BTC/XAUUSD And BTCUSDT - 15/03/22

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 15.03.2022 14:39
Bitcoin is needed as an alternative   The weakened US-Dollar and the present unexpected climate seems not being fully reflected in bitcoin´s price. Consequently, bitcoin prices could soar in the not too distant future. Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart, bottom building: Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart as of March 15th, 2022. A phenomenon in times of crisis is that individuals look for absolutes or extremes to resolve difficult circumstances. We instead advocate a more principle-based process of solving problems, an approach of choices. Regarding wealth preservation, this would mean gold and silver alongside bitcoin. The daily chart of the bitcoin/gold-ratio shows the bottom building after a downtrend. Currently, one can purchase a bitcoin for twenty ounces of gold. Nearly half as much as five months ago. Indeed, an opportunity to rotate one’s precious metal holding partially into a cheap bitcoin acquisition.     Bitcoin, monthly chart, in waiting position: Bitcoin in USD, monthly chart as of March 15th, 2022. War inherently divides nations, and that does not mean limiting only the ones directly in conflict with each other. It is this divide that, in addition, fuels the competition for each nation to be first in their digital currency release. Sanctioned countries have limited access to the US-Dollar. Consequently, they are highly motivated to create an alternate payment method. The monthly chart is not showing this fundamental support for bitcoin. Early signs of a triangle show that we find likely to break to the upside. Slow stochastic indicator reading (A) shows that the last time around at these levels, a strong up move followed. Similar to the yellow CCI turbo line-level reading (B). Before such a move, we witnessed a quick price spike down (C), which would be no surprise. Bitcoin, weekly chart, bitcoin as an alternative is needed: Bitcoin in USD, weekly chart as of March 15th, 2022. Zooming into the weekly time frame, we can make out the battle between bulls and bears in more detail. Over the last three weeks, prices were rejected above the POC (point of control = high volume node, where our volume profile analysis ranges over the previous fifteen months). As well, price behavior is reflecting the war climate’s uncertainty. At the same time, the bulls have held steady any attempt of the bears trying to push prices below US$37,500. Hence, we should see a substantial move once trading snaps out of this “magnet trading” to the high-volume node. Bitcoin, daily chart, gains and volatility: Bitcoin in USD, daily chart as of March 15th, 2022. The daily chart of bitcoin above describes how we see the future unfold. We anticipate the price to reach all-time highs within the upcoming month. Unfortunately, not in bitcoins typical swing trading manner. We foresee a choppy, volatile market. Consequently, short and midterm trading will be challenging. Stepping up in time frame is a helpful approach to avoid the noise. Bitcoin is needed as an alternative: Governments will try to keep their monopolies and power. However, we don’t think that the adoption of a digital dollar by the masses will not be that easy. We find this especially true to be in a highly transitory time of rapid changes and many challenges. Typically, multiple propaganda waves through media have bridged such doubt but might have lost some of its trustworthiness. Consequently, bitcoin has a fair chance for mass adoption just as well. It already has a history and carries inherent features of freedom that people might long for more than anticipated.   Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|March 15th, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, Bitcoin consolidation, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, Gold, Gold bullish, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
S&P 500, Crude Oil And Credit Markets Decrease... Only Bitcoin Price Remains "The Same"

S&P 500, Crude Oil And Credit Markets Decrease... Only Bitcoin Price Remains "The Same"

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.03.2022 16:03
S&P 500 decline was led by tech, and made possible by credit markets‘ plunge. The 4,160s held on a closing basis, and unless the bulls clear this area pretty fast today, this key support would come under pressure once again over the nearest days. Interestingly, the dollar barely moved, but looking at the daily sea of red across commodities, the greenback would follow these to the downside. Not that real assets including precious metals would be reversing on a lasting basis here – the markets are content that especially black gold keeps flowing at whatever price, to whatever buyer(s) willing to clinch the deal. Sure, it‘s exerting downward pressure on the commodity, but I‘m looking for the extraordinary weakness to be reversed, regardless of: (…) not even the virtual certainty of only 25bp hike in Mar is providing much relief to the credit markets. Given that the real economy is considerably slowing down and that recession looks arriving before Q2 ends, the markets continue forcing higher rates (reflecting inflation). The rising tide of fundamentals constellation favoring higher real asset prices, would continue kicking in, especially when the markets sense a more profound Fed turn than we saw lately with the 50bp into 25bp for Mar FOMC. Make no mistake, the inflation horse has left the barn well over a year ago, and doesn‘t intend to come back or be tamed. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 bears won the day, and are likely to regroup next – yes, that doesn‘t rule out a modest upswing that would then fizzle out. Credit Markets HYG woes continue, and credit markets keep raising rates for the Fed. The bears continue having the upper hand. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals haven‘t found the short-term bottom, but it pays to remember that they are often trading subdued before the Fed days. This is no exception, and I‘m fully looking for gold and silver to regain initiative following the cautious Fed tone. Crude Oil Crude oil didn‘t keep above $105, but would revert there in spite of the stagflationary environment (already devouring Europe). With more clarity in the various oil benchmarks, black gold would continue rising over the coming weeks. Copper Copper weakness is another short-term oddity, which I am looking for to be reversed in the FOMC‘s wake. Volume had encouragingly risen yesterday, so I‘m looking for a solid close to the week. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are very modestly turning higher, but I‘m not expecting too much of a run next. As stated yesterday, I wouldn‘t call it as risk-on constellation throughout the markets. Summary S&P 500 got into that precarious position (4,160s) yesterday, but managed to hold above. Given the usual Fed days trading pattern, stocks are likely to bounce a little before the pronouncements are made – only to continue drifting lower in their wake. That‘s valid for the central bank not making the U-turn towards easing again, which is what I‘m expecting to happen in the latter half of this year. Inflation would continue biting, and that means stocks are mired in a giant trading range a la the 1970s. Commodities and precious metals would continue building a base here, only to launch higher in response to (surprise, surprise) stubborn inflation. After all, where else to hide in during stagflations? Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Kishu Inu, A Meme Coin, Promotes Growth And Development Through Its Transparency

(SHIB) Shiba Inu Price - How Will Be The Altcoin Affected?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 15.03.2022 16:27
Shiba Inu price action sees price pressure against the technical triangle base at $0.00002140. SHIB price action set to test the low of its existence. As global markets threaten to drop into a recession, investors will flee cryptocurrencies in the coming days. Shiba Inu (SHIB) price action is on the cusp of breaking out of a bearish triangle that has dictated price action over the past two months. With a break to the downside, room opens up for an almost 70% drop towards the lowest levels in its existence as investors flee cryptocurrencies overall, following more and more reports that global markets are going into recession. With this dire projection in mind, expect to see further bleeding of SHIB price action as it falls back to $0.00000655. Shiba Inu price action bleeds as investors flee from recession fears Shiba Inu price action is seeing a massive squeeze building from bears trying to break out of the bearish triangle as more and more headwinds combine each day. The situation in Ukraine and new lockdowns in China are spelling supply chain issues again, and banks are starting to use the word recession more often in their reports about the future. This weighs on investor sentiment as cryptocurrencies are put on the backfoot and witness a daily outflow of cash from investors pulling the plug on their positions. SHIB price looks to break below $0.00002140 any moment now, with considerable momentum behind it from the death cross with the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) below the 200-day SMA. Next to that, the Relative Strength Index is nowhere near being oversold, opening the door for short sellers to pick up some more gains in the downtrend. Expect to see a sharp drop in the coming days towards $0.00001000, breaking the monthly S1 and S2 support levels along the way, only to find a floor near $0.00000607, which is near the lowest level in SHIB’s. SHIB/USD daily chart Although red flags are popping up all over financial markets, investors could still be working on a turnaround in an attempt to look beyond the current crisis at hand. If central banks can steer economies out of this dire situation, expect investors to start buying into cryptocurrencies to take advantage of lucrative discounts. This could spill into a turnaround and see price action first pop back above $0.00002500, breaking the bearish 55-day SMA and hitting $0.00002787, above the 28.6% Fibonacci level.
FieryTrading talks Solana (SOL) - November 28th

(SOL) Solana Price - What Will Be The Next Step Of The Altcoin?

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 15.03.2022 22:43
As shown here, solana is at the tip of the falling wedge pattern. The question here is, “will solana break out of the falling wedge to the upward direction or downward?” What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/SOLUSDT/SVxW6fBz-SOLANA-AT-BREAKOUT-POINT/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
USDCHF Nears 0.940 Levels, EURGBP Keeps Its "Stability", USOIL Is Like A Benchmark For Geopolitical Situation

USDCHF Nears 0.940 Levels, EURGBP Keeps Its "Stability", USOIL Is Like A Benchmark For Geopolitical Situation

Jing Ren Jing Ren 16.03.2022 08:11
USDCHF breaks major resistance The US dollar continues upward as the Fed is set to increase its interest rates by 25bp. The rally sped up after it cleared the daily resistance at 0.9360. The bullish breakout may have ended a 9-month long consolidation from the daily chart perspective. The rising trendline confirms the optimism and acts as an immediate support. Solid momentum could propel the greenback to April 2021’s high at 0.9470. Buyers may see a pullback as an opportunity to jump in. 0.9330 is the closest support should this happen. EURGBP tests key resistance The sterling found support after a drop in Britain’s unemployment rate in January. A break above the daily resistance at 0.8400 has prompted sellers to cover, easing the downward pressure. Sentiment remains downbeat unless buyers push the single currency past 0.8475. In turn, this could pave the way for a reversal in the weeks to come. Otherwise, the bears might double down and drive the euro back into its downtrend. A fall below 0.8360 would force early bulls to liquidate and trigger a sell-off to 0.8280. USOIL drops towards key support WTI crude falls back over a new round of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine. Previously, a bearish RSI divergence indicated a loss of momentum as the price went parabolic. Then a steep fall below 107.00 was a sign of liquidation. Buyers continue to unwind their positions as the price slides back to its pre-war level. The psychological level of 90.00 is an important support on the daily chart. An oversold RSI may attract buying interest in this demand zone. 105.00 is the first resistance before buyers could regain control.
Binance Academy summarise year 2022 featuring The Merge, FTX and more

Crypto Prices: Bitcoin (BTC) Gained 1.4%, ETH Increased By 3.1%, Polkadot (DOT) Went Up By 4.5% And Terra Decreased (-6%)

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 16.03.2022 08:30
BTC added 1.4% over the past day to $39.3K. Attempts to develop an offensive ran into a selling wall. The most important line of defense in the first cryptocurrency at the 38.0K area is still more confident withstanding all bear attacks. Ethereum added 3.1% to $2.6K in 24 hours. Other leading altcoins range from a 6% decline (Terra) to a 4.5% rise (Polkadot). According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market grew by 1.4%, to $1.75 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index lost 0.1 percentage points to 42.6%. Cryptocurrency fear and greed index added 3 points to 24, although it remains in the territory of "extreme fear". The FxPro Analyst Team mentioned that during the Asian session, there was a sharp jump in the rate from $39.2K to $41.7K, followed by an almost equally rapid pullback to the area below $39.0K. Stop orders were triggered in the morning low-liquid market, but it is clear that the selling pressure remains huge. In fact, since February 10, the rises in the Bitcoin rate have become less and less long and end at ever lower levels. The reason for the jump in prices in early trading in Asia was the statements of official Beijing on support for the markets, which caused a rally in the shares of the region. However, Bitcoin frankly ignored the drawdown of Asian stocks in recent days, so it quickly returned to its place, because other factors have become its key drivers in recent days. Meanwhile, Glassnode believes that bitcoin investors may face a final capitulation. This is indicated by the high proportion of "unprofitable" coins among short-term holders. At the same time, the uncertainty associated with geopolitics and the Fed rate weakened the accumulation of BTC by hodlers and caused an increase in sales on their part.
Analysis Of USD/CHF Pair: The Swiss Currency Pair Rebounds

USDCHF – Potential Bearish Reversal!USDCHF is approaching a resistance area, so we will be looking for trend-following sell setups

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 15.03.2022 20:26
on H1: USDCHF is forming a channel in red but the lower trendline is not valid yet, so we will be waiting for a third swing to form around it to consider it our trigger swing. (Projection in purple) Trigger => Waiting for that third swing to form then sell after a momentum candle close below it. (Gray area) Meanwhile, until the sell is activated, USDCHF can still trade higher till the green resistance, before trading lower. Good luck! All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly! ~Rich
How Will The Day End For Forex And USD? Awaiting Fed Decision....

How Will The Day End For Forex And USD? Awaiting Fed Decision....

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 16.03.2022 11:41
Today, the USD has continued its move lower, with fresh selling accelerating today. Ukrainian comments that peace talks are looking more realistic has set off risk demand with traders moving out of safe-havens and back into traditional risk markets like stocks and risk currencies like the AUD, GBP and EUR. Stock indexes in Europe and US futures are seeing firm gains heading towards the US session open. The Fed is another factor to watch today, and they meet at 2 pm ET. The FED is expected to raise rates by one-quarter of a percent, its first move higher since 2018. “My guess is it’s going to sound a little more hawkish than people want it to sound, and that’s going to be a little tough to digest, particularly in the fixed income markets,” David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “I think the equity market might digest it a little bit better, but it’s going to be a tough swallow.” Hawkish is normally seen as a positive for the country’s currency, but we wonder how much could be factored in from the Fed? Could it disappoint an already weak USD? It will be interesting to see if the Fed can overrule factors in Europe that have been supporting higher USD values. Oil continues to sell off from highs, inflation fears on the front might have started to cool off on the short term. We can see a LH on the daily USD chart. If this point can continue to hold, we will look for the new short term trend to remain in play—a break and close above the LH at 99.07. We will be looking for bulls to resume their push. USD Daily Chart The post Forex Update: Could the FED add to the USD woes? appeared first on Eightcap.
Snowball‘s Chance in Hell

Snowball‘s Chance in Hell

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.03.2022 15:40
S&P 500 is turning around, and odds are that would be so till the FOMC later today. The pressure on Powell to be really dovish, is on. I‘m looking for a lot of uncerrtainty and flexibility introduction, and much less concrete rate hikes talk that wasn‘t sufficient to crush inflation when the going was relatively good, by the way.As stated yesterday:(…) The rising tide of fundamentals constellation favoring higher real asset prices, would continue kicking in, especially when the markets sense a more profound Fed turn than we saw lately with the 50bp into 25bp for Mar FOMC. Make no mistake, the inflation horse has left the barn well over a year ago, and doesn‘t intend to come back or be tamed.Not that real assets including precious metals would be reversing on a lasting basis here – the markets are content that especially black gold keeps flowing at whatever price, to whatever buyer(s) willing to clinch the deal. Sure, it‘s exerting downward pressure on the commodity, but I‘m looking for the extraordinary weakness to be reversed.We‘re seeing such a reversal in commodities already, and precious metals have a „habit“ of joining around the press conference. Yesterday‘s performance of miners and copper, provides good enough a hint.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 upswing looks like it can go on for a while. Interestingly, it was accompanied by oil stocks declining – have we seen THE risk-on turn? This looks to be a temporary reprieve unless the Fed really overdelivers in dovishness.Credit MarketsHYG is catching some bid, and credit markets are somewhat supporting the risk-on turn. Yields though don‘t look to have put in a top just yet, which means the stock market bears would return over the coming days.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals are looking very attractive, and the short-term bottom appears at hand – this is the way they often trade before the Fed. I‘m fully looking for gold and silver to regain initiative following the cautious and dovish Fed tone.Crude OilCrude oil didn‘t test the 50-day moving average, and I would expect the bulls to step in here – after all, the Fed can‘t print oil, and when they go dovish, the economy just doesn‘t crash immediately...CopperCopper is refusing to decline, and the odd short-term weakness would be reversed – and the same goes for broader commodities, which have been the subject of my recent tweet.Bitcoin and EthereumCryptos aren‘t fully risk-on, but cautiously giving the bulls benefit of the doubt. Not without a pinch of salt, though.SummaryS&P 500 bulls are on the (short-term) run, and definitely need more fuel from the Fed. Significant dovish turn – they would get some, but it wouldn‘t be probably enough to carry risk-on trades through the weekend. The upswing is likely to stall before that, and commodities with precious metals would catch a fresh bid already today. This would be coupled with the dollar not making any kind of upside progress to speak of. The true Fed turn towards easing is though far away still (more than a few months away) – the real asset trades are about patience and tide working in the buyers favor. The yield curve remains flat as a pancake, and more stagflation talk isn‘t too far...Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Bitcoin price undergoes sharp fade as bulls storm out of the gate

Bitcoin price undergoes sharp fade as bulls storm out of the gate

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.03.2022 16:28
Bitcoin price action jumped 7% but fell back sharply in European trading.BTC price action looks to be set to jump above $41,756.61 once the US session kicks in.Expect to see a further continuation of this price jump throughout the week as long as positive signals come from the ongoing talks in Russia.Bitcoin (BTC) price action is performing a countercyclical move this morning as Asian bulls storm out of the gate on positive-speak from the Chinese government. From now on into the European session, gains are still present but have faded slightly. Expect to see a subsequent round of wins coming in during the US session and going further into this week as long as positive signals are communicated independently from both sides in Ukraine and Russia peace talks.Bitcoin price sees bulls swimming against the tideBitcoin price action seems to have awakened many investors who fell asleep staring at their television screen for the past three weeks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As they pulled out their money and went long cash, cryptocurrencies dried up a bit and were left to the mercy of bears. Today a few bears will be licking their wounds as bulls have gone in for a push higher as more positive signals come from both Ukraine and Russia on talks, and markets are getting used to the war headlines as everything looks to be priced in. BTC price action technically got rejected to the upside at $41,756.61, the base of a bearish triangle that formed a few weeks ago. Expect this fade in early trading to provide a window of opportunity for European and American bulls to join the rally and ramp up the price above $41,756.61, where a close above will be key this evening. If trading can start on Thursday with an opening price above $41,756.61, expect to see another leg higher by tomorrow evening, near $44,088.73 and even $45,261.84 by Friday.BTC/USD daily chartThe risk could be that the current fade, after the rejection at $41,756.61, could topple into a deeper loss if bears push the price below the opening price. This would trigger panic amongst bulls that got in and will have them remember the same scenario that happened exactly one week ago on Wednesday with a false breakout and a full paring back, and even eking out further losses the day after. Expect bulls to exit instantly once BTC price action prints red numbers, and this to spiral into a setback for BTC price towards $38,703.32 or even $36,709.19.
KOG Report – FOMC, what can we expect on Gold?

KOG Report – FOMC, what can we expect on Gold?

Knights of Gold Knights of Gold 16.03.2022 20:02
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/XAUUSD/E41DqfO0-XAUUSD-KOG-REPORT-FOMC/ FOMC – 16/03/22 This is our view for FOMC today, please do your own research and analysis to make an informed decision on the markets. It is not recommended you try to trade the event if you have less than 6 months trading experience and have a trusted risk strategy in place. The markets are extremely volatile and can cause aggressive swings in price. We’re going to use the 1H chart for todays FOMC Report and will say that we’ll stick with this for the remainder of the sessions, unless anything changes. As usual we’ll give our daily updates and levels with our latest thoughts and ideas. We can see the market reacting to any news coming out of Russia/Ukraine which is causing traders difficulty in trying to swing trade this to the upside. We expecting this to give a push up at some point, whether that’s today or not remains to be seen. The key levels here are 1889 and 1870 below with the higher levels being 1937-40 and above that the 1950-60 level which would fill the imbalance. So as usual we’ll look at this with 2 scenarios in mind with our bias being to the upside at the moment! Scenario 1: They push the price down, we’ll wait for the levels of 1880 and breaking that 1860-65 before testing the long trade back up to target the 1920-30 price point initially. We feel it will go higher if it comes back up so we’ll look to protect any trades we get good entries on and take partials along the way. We have a KOG target at 1885 which we’re not far from so there’s a chance we may hit that. Scenario 2: They push the price up, we will only be looking for extreme key levels in this scenario to short the market. There is a chance they will want to test at least that 1950-60 level so we’ll wait there to short the market back down. It’s facing difficult and extreme market conditions which are being driven by fear. We’ve maintained we will take it easy and trade this level to level which has worked very well for us this month. What we don’t want to do is get stuck in trades if this decides to move and give any profits back to the market. For that reason we would say please trade this safely, reduce your lots sizes and give yourself time to think about your entry and exit. Always have a risk strategy in place and if you’re not comfortable with it please stay out. Cash is also a position, the markets won’t be like this forever. There is of course the case that this is likely priced in and we don’t see much movement so please also keep that in mind. It all depends on the question and answer session which will be after the release. As always, trade safe. KOG
Oil Prices Keep Falling. Is It Time to Get Long on Black Gold?

Oil Prices Keep Falling. Is It Time to Get Long on Black Gold?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 16.03.2022 16:43
  Crude oil continues to decline due to lowered demand, and the petrodollar seems threatened, losing interest. What is the best strategy to take now?  Oil prices kept falling this week, driven by potential progress in Ukraine-Russia talks and a potential slowdown in the Giant Panda’s (China) economic growth due to epidemic lockdowns in some regions where a surge of Omicron was observed. As I mentioned in my previous article, India considers getting Russian crude oil supplies and other commodities at a reduced price by settling transactions through a rupee/rouble payment system. Meanwhile, we keep getting rumors – notably reported by The Wall Street Journal – that Saudi Arabia and China are also currently discussing pricing some Saudi oil exports directly in yuan. The Chinese are actively seeking to dethrone the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and this latest development suggests that the petrodollar is now under threat. US Dollar Currency Index (DXY) CFD (daily chart) The recent correction in crude oil, happening just seven days after reaching its 14-year highs, might show some signs that the conflict in Ukraine will slow down consumption. On the other hand, if Iranian and Venezuelan barrels flooded the market, we could see crude oil, petroleum products, and distillates turning into new bear markets. WTI Crude Oil (CLJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Brent Crude Oil (BRNK22) Futures (May contract, daily chart) RBOB Gasoline (RBJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) That’s all folks for today – happy trading! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
XAUUSD After Fed Decision, NZDUSD And CADJPY Climbs

XAUUSD After Fed Decision, NZDUSD And CADJPY Climbs

Jing Ren Jing Ren 17.03.2022 08:15
XAUUSD stabilizes Gold struggles as the Fed maps out aggressive tightening. The precious metal has given up all its gains from the previous parabolic rise, which suggests a lack of commitment to support the rally. The price is testing the origin of the bullish breakout at 1907 which coincides with the 30-day moving average. An oversold RSI attracted some buying interest. 1961 is the hurdle ahead before a rebound could materialize. Further down, 1880 is key support on the daily chart and its breach could reverse the course in the weeks to come. NZDUSD attempts rebound The New Zealand dollar found support from a rebound in commodity prices. The pair saw solid bids in the demand zone around 0.6725 and right over the 30-day moving average. A bullish RSI divergence showed a deceleration in the pullback, which would have caught buyers’ attention in this congestion area. A close above 0.6800 has prompted short-term sellers to cover and leave the door open for a rebound. 0.6870 is the last major resistance and a bullish breakout could propel the kiwi past the recent peak at 0.6920. CADJPY breaks key resistance The Canadian dollar shot higher after February’s CPI beat expectations. A break above last October’s high at 93.00 could be an ongoing signal to end a 5-month long consolidation. The RSI’s double top in the overbought area may temporarily hold the bulls back. As sentiment turns overwhelmingly upbeat, buyers may be eager to jump in at a discounted price. The supply-turned-demand zone near 91.60 is an important level to safeguard the breakout. The psychological level of 94.00 could see resistance.
EUR: Range-bound Outlook Amid Tightened Swap Rate Gap

Fed Raises Interest Rate By 25bps! Forex, S&P 500 And Gold (XAUUSD) Reaction Reviewed (LIVE UPDATE)

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 16.03.2022 19:09
After hawkish rhetoric Fed raises interest rate by 25bps it amounts to 0.5%. Not only did this decision affect major FX pairs, but also exotic USDPLN. Let's see how have EURUSD, USDJPY, S&P 500 and Bitcoin reacted. Some might say markets were prepared for the raise of 25bps and their reaction are not that noticeable. Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com [LAST UPDATE: 17/03/22 7:36 GMT] FX EURUSD - Slight fluctuation GBPUSD - Quite strong Pound USDJPY - chart shows a small uptrend after the release USDPLN - exotic, but interesting pair as in Poland interest rates were raised exactly a week ago S&P 500 Gold (XAUUSD) Bitcoin (BTC) Source: TradingView.com
Everything You Need To Know About The Ethereum Merge. The Future Is Now?

KCS/USDT Chart – Having A Look At The Current Support Zone And More

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 17.03.2022 12:10
KCS is overall bullish trading inside our brown trendlines and now approaching the lower bound / trendline Moreover, the area 15.0-16.0 is a "Resistance turned into Support".So the highlighted purple circle is a very strong area to look for buy setups as it is the intersection of support in green and lower brown trendline.As per my trading style:As KCS approaches the highlighted purple circle (area) I will be looking for possible buy setups (like a double bottom , trendline break , and so on...)Always follow your trading plan regarding entry, risk management, and trade management.Good luck!All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly!~Rich
Forex Update: Could the FED add to the USD woes?

Forex Update: Could the FED add to the USD woes?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 17.03.2022 11:41
Today, the USD has continued its downside move, with fresh selling accelerating. The Ukrainian comments that peace talks are looking more realistic has set off risk demand with traders moving out of safe-havens and back into traditional risk assets, including stocks and currencies like AUD, GBP and EUR. Meanwhile, stock indexes in Europe and US futures are seeing firm gains heading towards the US session open. The Fed is another factor to watch today, because they’ll meet at 2 pm ET. FOMC is expected to raise rates by one-quarter of a percent, which will be its first move higher since 2018. “My guess is it’s going to sound a little more hawkish than people want it to sound, and that’s going to be a little tough to digest, particularly in the fixed income markets,”, David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “I think the equity market might digest it a little better, but it’s going to be a tough swallow.” Hawkish is normally seen as a positive for the country’s currency, but we wonder how much could be factored in from the Fed? Could it disappoint an already weak USD? It will be interesting to see if the Fed can overrule factors in Europe that have been supporting higher USD values. Oil continues to sell off from its highs. On other hand, inflation fears on the front might have started to cool off in the short-term. We can see the lower highs (LH) on the daily US Dollar Index chart. If this point can continue to hold, we will look for a new short-term trend to remain in play—a break and close above the LH at 99.07. We will be looking for bulls to resume their push. USD Daily Chart The post Forex Update: Could the FED add to the USD woes? appeared first on Eightcap.
UK: Interest Rate Is 25bps Higher, The GBPUSD Chart Shows A Big Decline

UK: Interest Rate Is 25bps Higher, The GBPUSD Chart Shows A Big Decline

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 17.03.2022 15:02
The Bank of England raised the rate by 25 points to 0.75%. Such a move was, on average, predicted by market analysts. However, reports that one member of the Bank of England voted to maintain the rate was seen as less confidence in further hikes. The Bank’s deputy governor Jon Cunliffe voted against a rate hike, noting the risks of falling demand due to a jump in commodity prices. This vote against caused GBPUSD to immediately fall more than 120 pips, briefly sending GBPUSD below 1.3090. However, the weakening pound supported the stock market, bringing the FTSE100 back to its opening levels, in contrast to the declines in most foreign indices. Earlier, the FOMC made less harsh comments on interest rates than the market expected to see. The Bank of England, like the Fed yesterday, raised its inflation forecasts considerably and pushed back the forecast peak further, given the latest price hike. Like after the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed and the Bank of England are leaving the economy at the forefront in an attempt to tighten policy. The currency market was ready to see more determination in raising rates. The current measured approach forms a more favourable environment for financial markets than expected at the start of March.
Interaction Between Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) And Fed's Interest Rate Decision

Interaction Between Price Of Gold (XAUUSD) And Fed's Interest Rate Decision

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 17.03.2022 16:07
  The Fed will want to keep inflation under control, and that could have miserable consequences for gold and miners. Will we see a repeat from 2008?  The question one of my subscribers asked me was about the rise in mining stocks and gold and how it was connected to what was happening in bond yields. Precisely, while short-term and medium-term yields moved higher, very long-term yields (the 30-year yields) dropped, implying that the Fed will need to lower the rates again, indicating a stagflationary environment in the future. First of all, I agree that stagflation is likely in the cards, and I think that gold will perform similarly to how it did during the previous prolonged stagflation – in the 1970s. In other words, I think that gold will move much higher in the long run. However, the market might have moved ahead of itself by rallying yesterday. After all, the Fed will still want to keep inflation under control (reminder: it has become very political!), and it will want commodity prices to slide in response to the foregoing. This means that the Fed will still likely make gold, silver, and mining stocks move lower in the near term. In particular, silver and mining stocks are likely to decline along with commodities and stocks, just like what happened in 2008. Speaking of commodities, let’s take a look at what’s happening in copper. Copper invalidated another attempt to move above its 2011 high. This is a very strong technical sign that copper (one of the most popular commodities) is heading lower in the medium term. Yes, it might be difficult to visualize this kind of move given the recent powerful upswing, but please note that it’s in perfect tune with the previous patterns. The interest rates are going up, just like they did before the 2008 slide. What did copper do before the 2008 slide? It failed to break above the previous (2006) high, and it was the failure of the second attempt to break higher that triggered the powerful decline. What happened then? Gold declined, but silver and mining stocks truly plunged. The GDXJ was not trading at the time, so we’ll have to use a different proxy to see what this part of the mining stock sector did. The Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Index includes multiple junior mining stocks. It also includes other companies, but juniors are a large part of it, and they truly plunged in 2008. In fact, they plunged in a major way after breaking below their medium-term support lines and after an initial corrective upswing. Guess what – this index is after a major medium-term breakdown and a short-term corrective upswing. It’s likely ready to fall – and to fall hard. So, what’s likely to happen? We’re about to see a huge slide, even if we don’t see it within the next few days. In fact, the outlook for the next few days is rather unclear, as different groups of investors can interpret yesterday’s developments differently. However, once the dust settles, the precious metals sector is likely to go down significantly. Gold is up in today’s pre-market trading, but please note that back in 2020, after the initial post-top slide, gold corrected even more significantly, and it wasn’t really bullish. This time gold doesn’t have to rally to about $2,000 before declining once again, as this time the rally was based on war, and when we consider previous war-based rallies (U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, U.S. invasion of Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Crimea), we know that when the fear-and-uncertainty-based top was in, then the decline proceeded without bigger corrections. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
S&P 500 (SPX) - It Looks Like Fed Decision Was Needed To Go Up

S&P 500 (SPX) - It Looks Like Fed Decision Was Needed To Go Up

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.03.2022 15:57
S&P 500 reversed the pre-FOMC decline, and turned up. The upswing didn‘t fizzle out after the conference, quite to the contrary, the credit markets deepened their risk-on posture. I guess stocks are buying the story of 7 rate hikes and balance sheet reduction in 2022 a bit too enthusiastically. Not gonna happen, next quarter‘s GDP data would probably be already negative. Yet Powell says that the risk of recession into next year isn‘t elevated – given the projected tightening, I beg to differ. But of course, Powell is right – it‘s only that we won‘t see all those promised hikes, let alone balance sheet reduction starting in spring. Inflation would retreat a little towards year‘s end (on account of recessionary undercurrents and modest tightening), only to surprise once again in 2023 on the upside. I already wrote so weeks ago – before the East European events. There wouldn‘t enough time to celebrate the notion of vanquishing inflation. For now, stocks can continue the bullish turn – just as commodities and precious metals aren‘t asking permission. The FOMC is over, and real assets can rise, including the badly beaten crude oil. Made a good decision to keep adding to the commodities positions at much lower prices (or turning bullish stocks around the press conference). Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 upswing looks like it can go on for a while. It was driven by tech, participating more enthusiastically than value. The conditions are in place for the rally to continue, and it‘s likely that Friday would be a better day than Thursday for the bulls. Credit Markets HYG is catching quite some bid, and credit markets have turned decidedly risk-on. It also looks like a sigh of relief over no 50bp hike – the stock market rally got its hesitant ally. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals upswing can return – and this correction wasn‘t anyway sold heavily into. Needless to say how overdone it was if you look at the miners. $1950s would be reconquered easily. Crude Oil Crude oil bottom looks to be in, and $110s are waiting. Obviously it would take more than a couple of days to return there, but we‘re on the way. Copper Copper is rebounding, and even if other base metals aren‘t yet following too enthusiastically, $4.70 isn‘t far away. Coupled with precious metals returning to more reasonable values, the red metal would continue trending higher. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are leaning risk-on, and the bulls will close this weekend on a good note. Today‘s price action is merely a consolidation in a short-term upswing. Summary S&P 500 bulls got enough fuel from the Fed, and the run can continue – albeit at a slower pace. Importantly, credit markets aren‘t standing in the short-term way, but I think they would carve out a bearish divergence when this rally starts topping out. I‘m not looking for fresh ATHs, the headwinds are too stiff, but as stated within today‘s key analysis, the tech participation is a very encouraging sign for the short-term. The dollar indeed didn‘t make any kind of upside progress to speak of yesterday – and as I have also written at length in yesterday‘s report, the pre-FOMC trading pattern in real assets can be reversed now. Long live precious metals, oil and copper gains! Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
GBPUSD Almost Full Recovered After BoE's Decision, USDJPY Doesn't Fluctuate Significantly, S&P 500 (SPX) Is Not So Far From 4400.00

GBPUSD Almost Full Recovered After BoE's Decision, USDJPY Doesn't Fluctuate Significantly, S&P 500 (SPX) Is Not So Far From 4400.00

Jing Ren Jing Ren 18.03.2022 07:58
GBPUSD attempts to rebound The British pound stalled after the BOE failed to secure a unanimous vote for higher rates. A bullish RSI divergence suggests exhaustion in the sell-off, and combined with the indicator’s oversold condition on the daily chart, may attract buying interest. A tentative break above 1.3190 led some sellers to take profit. The bulls will need to push above the 1.3250 next to the 20-day moving average to get a foothold. On the downside, the psychological level of 1.3000 is a critical floor to keep the current rebound valid. USDJPY takes a breather The Japanese yen struggles as the BOJ pledges to stick with stimulus. Sentiment turned extremely bullish after the pair rallied above December 2016’s high at 118.60. The RSI went overbought on both hourly and daily charts, and the overextension could refrain buyers from chasing bids. Trend followers may be waiting to buy at pullbacks. 117.70 is the first level to gauge buying interest and 116.80 is the second line of support. A rebound above 119.00 would extend gains beyond the psychological level of 120.00. SPX 500 tests resistance The S&P 500 bounced higher after Russia averted a bond default. Price action has stabilized above last June’s lows around 4140 where a triple bottom indicates a strong interest in keeping the index afloat. A previous attempt above 4350 forced sellers to cover but hit resistance at 4420. A bullish close above this key level on the daily chart could trigger a runaway rally. 4590 would be the next target when sentiment turns around. Otherwise, a lack of conviction from the buy-side would send the index to test 4250.
Dogecoin Could Start The Next Impulsive Rally

Dogecoin price could tank as India’s central bank closes the doors to cryptos

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.03.2022 16:34
The Indian Central Bank came out this morning with firm rejection against adopting cryptocurrencies in the country. Dogecoin price action undergoes firm rejection against a double technical barrier. DOGE set to tank by 8% as bears see opportunity fit to pair back gains from Wednesday yet again. Dogecoin (DOGE) price action saw bulls being hit by ice-cold water this morning as two headlines made the sky drop on their heads. These were the Kremlin coming out saying that talks are nowhere near as positive as markets are frontrunning, and the Indian Central Bank (RBI) giving a firm rejection to the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The RBI branded cryptocurrencies as a tool that will wreck the currency system, monetary authority and government's ability to control the economy. This is a significant blow and setback for cryptocurrencies that saw bulls coming up yesterday for a catch of fresh air but are now again submerged underwater with negative prints today. Dogecoin price gains short-lived Dogecoin price action is not currently in a sweet spot as in just 5 minutes, two separate comments unrelated to each other trashed bulls’ game plan to target $0.1357 next week. Instead, DOGE price action fell back to its opening price and took a step back as bulls reassessed the situation – due to some unforeseen tail risks that caused headwinds overpowering the tailwinds that emerged the day before. Expect to possibly see DOGE price action tumble again to the downside, in a similar scenario to last week. DOGE price action got a firm rejection from negative headlines at $0.1197 with the green ascending trend line and that intermediary top-line proving too big for bulls to take on. Instead, price action collapsed back to the entry-level and looked heavy and dangling, as if poised to drop at any moment to the downside. A possible downside target is set at $0.1137 and $0.1100 with the last one making a triple bottom – although there is also the risk of a break even further to the downside if more tail-risk materialises. DOGE/USD daily chart Once the US session takes over, it could well be that investors look beyond these very short-term headlines, considering them as partial hiccups before moving on. That would mean a pickup in buying interest which could lead to a punch through $0.1197 to the upside. This would open the door towards $0.1242 intraday and possibly again on track for $0.1357.
Despite Ultra-Hawkish Fed’s Meeting, Gold Jumps

Despite Ultra-Hawkish Fed’s Meeting, Gold Jumps

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 17.03.2022 17:29
  The FOMC finally raised interest rates and signaled six more hikes this year. Despite the very hawkish dot plot, gold went up in initial reaction. There has been no breakthrough in Ukraine. Russian invasion has largely stalled on almost all fronts, so the troops are focusing on attacking civilian infrastructure. However, according to some reports, there is a slow but gradual advance in the south. Hence, although Russia is not likely to conquer Kyiv, not saying anything about Western Ukraine, it may take some southern territory under control, connecting Crimea with Donbas. The negotiations are ongoing, but it will be a long time before any agreement is reached. Let’s move to yesterday’s FOMC meeting. As widely expected, the Fed raised the federal funds rate. Finally! Although one Committee member (James Bullard) opted for a bolder move, the US central bank lifted the target range for its key policy rate only by 25 basis points, from 0-0.25% to 0.25-0.50%. It was the first hike since the end of 2018. The move also marks the start of the Fed’s tightening cycle after two years of ultra-easy monetary policy implemented in a response to the pandemic-related recession. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate from 1/4 to 1/2 percent and anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate. It was, of course, the most important part of the FOMC statement. However, the central bankers also announced the beginning of quantitative tightening, i.e., the reduction of the enormous Fed’s balance sheet, at the next monetary policy meeting in May. In addition, the Committee expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting. It’s also worth mentioning that the Fed deleted all references to the pandemic from the statement. Instead, it added a paragraph related to the war in Ukraine, pointing out that its exact implications for the U.S. economy are not yet known, except for the general upward pressure on inflation and downward pressure on GDP growth: The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing tremendous human and economic hardship. The implications for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain, but in the near term the invasion and related events are likely to create additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity. These changes in the statement were widely expected, so their impact on the gold market should be limited.   Dot Plot and Gold The statement was accompanied by the latest economic projections conducted by the FOMC members. So, how do they look at the economy right now? As the table below shows, the central bankers expect the same unemployment rate and much slower economic growth this year compared to last December. This is a bit strange, as slower GDP growth should be accompanied by higher unemployment, but it’s a positive change for the gold market. What’s more, the FOMC participants see inflation now as even more persistent because they expect 4.3% PCE inflation at the end of 2022 instead of 2.6%. Inflation is forecasted to decline in the following years, but only to 2.7% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2024, instead of the 2.3% and 2.1% seen in December. Slower economic growth accompanied by more stubborn inflation makes the economy look more like stagflation, which should be positive for gold prices. Last but not least, a more aggressive tightening cycle is coming. Brace yourselves! According to the fresh dot plot, the FOMC members see seven hikes in interest rates this year as appropriate. That’s a huge hawkish turn compared to December, when they perceived only three interest rate hikes as desired. The central bankers expect another four hikes in 2024 instead of just the three painted in the previous dot plot. Hence, the whole forecasted path of the federal fund rate has become steeper as it’s expected to reach 1.9% this year and 2.8% next year, compared to the 0.9% and 1.6% seen earlier. Wow, that’s a huge change that is very bearish for gold prices! The Fed signaled the fastest tightening since 2004-2006, which indicates that it has become really worried about inflation. It’s also possible that the war in Ukraine helped the US central bank adopt a more hawkish stance, as if monetary tightening leads to recession, there is an easy scapegoat to blame.   Implications for Gold What does the recent FOMC meeting mean for the gold market? Well, the Fed hiked interest rates and announced quantitative tightening. These hawkish actions are theoretically negative for the yellow metal, but they were probably already priced in. The new dot plot is certainly more surprising. It shows higher inflation and slower economic growth this year, which should be bullish for gold. However, the newest economic projections also forecast a much steeper path of interest rates, which should, theoretically, prove to be negative for the price of gold. How did gold perform? Well, it has been sliding recently in anticipation of the FOMC meeting. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal plunged from $2,039 last week to $1,913 yesterday. However, the immediate reaction of gold to the FOMC meeting was positive. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal rebounded, jumping above $1,940. Of course, we shouldn’t draw too many conclusions from the short-term moves, but gold’s resilience in the face of the ultra-hawkish FOMC statement is a bullish sign. Although it remains to be seen whether the upward move will prove to be sustainable, I wouldn’t be surprised if it will. This is what history actually suggests: when the Fed started its previous tightening cycle in December 2015, the price of gold bottomed out. Of course, history never repeats itself to the letter, but there is another important factor. The newest FOMC statement was very hawkish – probably too hawkish. I don’t believe that the Fed will hike interest rates to 1.9% this year. And you? It means that we have probably reached the peak of the Fed’s hawkishness and that it will rather soften its stance from then on. If I’m right, a lot of the downward pressure that constrained gold should be gone now. If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Bank of England survey highlights easing price pressures

BOE Quick Analysis: GBP/USD buying opportunity? Three reasons see upside from here

FXStreet News FXStreet News 17.03.2022 16:34
The BOE has raised rates by 0.25% as widely but not unanimously expected. GBP/USD has tumbled on a dovish dissent, also reverting a rise beforehand. Further rate hikes, hopes for a deal on Ukraine, could help GBP/USD recover. A dovish hike – the Bank of England has delivered a cautious increase of interest rates, similar to what investors had expected from the Federal Reserve. One dovish dissenter – Jon Cunliffe who preferred to leave rates unchanged – and a subtle change in tone are genuine reasons to sell sterling. The bank previously said that further modest tightening is likely to be appropriate, and now it says it may be appropriate. One dovish dissenter out of nine and that single word do not go the full length to explain the 100-pip downfall of GBP/USD. A quick look at the chart reveals the main reason – a classic "buy the rumor, sell the fact" response. Cable has reverted to levels seen early in the day. Investors bet on a 50 bps rate hike that – 40% chance according to bond markets, and that wager totally failed. What's next? GBP/USD has room to recover from these lows, for several reasons. First, the BOE forecasts inflation to hit 8%, an alarming level and a substantial upgrade from previous projections. It would have to act to curb it, especially as long as Britain's labor market looks strong. Second, the bank's mood may swing back to a hawkish mood next time – Governor Andrew Bailey shocked markets by refraining from lift-off in November but then provided a surprising hike in December – without a press conference to explain it. The pendulum swing to the hawkish side may follow. Third, there is room for short-term recovery on hopes for a Ukraine-Russia deal, or at least a truce. Investors remain optimistic, and that could weigh on the safe-haven dollar. China's pledge to support the economy and the stock market also underpins sentiment, another greenback-adverse development. All in all, a buying opportunity seems to be on the cards after a "buy the rumor, sell the fact" response.
The Bitcoin Market Is Now Developing The Corrective Cycle To The Downside

Bitcoin Price Prediction - $500k Level In A Few Years Time?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 18.03.2022 09:00
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, known for his bullish predictions, has unveiled a new one that sees BTC hit $500,000 in 2025. Should we believe in that? No sharp movements According to the Santiment team, Bitcoin whale activity has fallen to its lowest level in a year in recent days. Therefore, one should not expect sharp movements in the market soon. In confirmation of this, Bitcoin is down only 0.4% over the past 24 hours to $40.7K. Ethereum has added 1.5% over the same time, other leading altcoins from the top ten are changing from -2.0% (Terra) to 5% (Avalanche). According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market grew by 0.3% over the day, to $1.83 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index decreased by 0.4% to 42.4% due to the better dynamics of altcoins. The crypto-currency index of fear and greed lost 2 points to 25 in a day and again found itself in a state of "extreme fear". In searching of the bottom Despite the outstripping dynamics of altcoins, a sequence of lower and lower local highs continues to form in Bitcoin. In early February, the upside lost momentum as it moved above $45.5K. In the first days of March, the bears already dominated on the way to $45K, on the 8th already near $42.5K, and in the last two days they are trying to form a downward reversal at $41.5K. At the same time, the bulls manage to form a strong support near $38K. The FxPro Analyst Team emphasized that in terms of technical analysis, BTCUSD remains close to its 50-day moving average, clearly indicating the absence of any trend now. However, a consolidation in a descending triangle is usually a respite before the next decline. We will see the implementation of this scenario if BTCUSD fixes under $38K. An alternative scenario and a new upside momentum should be expected if the bulls manage to push the price above the previous highs of $42.5K, or close the day/week above $42K. News to consider Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, known for his bullish predictions, has unveiled a new one that sees BTC hit $500,000 in 2025. The State Russian Duma urged to speed up the launch of the cryptoruble in order to better bypass Western sanctions. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation recommended that banks strengthen control over the operations of clients related to cryptocurrencies.
Gold Is Showing A Good Sign For Further Drop

Can Disinflation Support A Decline Of Price Of Gold?

Arkadiusz Sieron Arkadiusz Sieron 18.03.2022 15:13
  Inflation continues to rise but may soon reach its peak. After that, its fate will be sealed: a gradual decline. Does the same await gold?If you like inviting people over, you’ve probably figured out that some guests just don’t want to leave, even when you’re showing subtle signs of fatigue. They don’t seem to care and keep telling you the same not-so-funny jokes. Even in the hall, they talk lively and tell stories for long minutes because they remembered something very important. Inflation is like that kind of guest – still sitting in your living room, even after you turned off the music and went to wash the dishes, yawning loudly. Indeed, high inflation simply does not want to leave. Actually, it’s gaining momentum. As the chart below shows, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 6.0% over the past 12 months, speeding up from 5.5% in the previous month. Meanwhile, the overall CPI annual rate accelerated from 7.1% in December to 7.5% in January. It’s been the largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 1982. However, at the time, Paul Volcker raised interest rates to double digits and inflation was easing. Today, inflation continues to rise, but the Fed is only starting its tightening cycle. The Fed’s strategy to deal with inflation is presented in the meme below. What is important here is that the recent surge in inflation is broad-based, with virtually all index components showing increases over the past 12 months. The share of items with price rises of over 2% increased from less than 60% before the pandemic to just under 90% in January 2022. As the chart below shows, the index for shelter is constantly rising and – given the recent spike in “asking rents” – is likely to continue its upward move for some time, adding to the overall CPI. What’s more, the Producer Price Index is still red-hot, which suggests that more inflation is in the pipeline, as companies will likely pass on the increased costs to consumers. So, will inflation peak anytime soon or will it become embedded? There are voices that – given the huge monetary expansion conducted in response to the epidemic – high inflation will be with us for the next two or three years, especially when inflationary expectations have risen noticeably. I totally agree that high inflation won’t go away this year. Please just take a look at the chart below, which shows that the pandemic brought huge jumps in the ratio of broad money to GDP. This ratio has increased by 23%, from Q1 2020 to Q4 2021, while the CPI has risen only 7.7% in the same period. It suggests that the CPI has room for a further increase. What’s more, the pace of growth in money supply is still far above the pre-pandemic level, as the chart below shows. To curb inflation, the Fed would have to more decisively turn off the tap with liquidity and hike the federal funds rate more aggressively. However, as shown in the chart above, money supply growth peaked in February 2021. Thus, after a certain lag, the inflation rate should also reach a certain height. It usually takes about a year or a year and a half for any excess money to show up as inflation, so the peak could arrive within a few months, especially since some of the supply disruptions should start to ease in the near future. What does this intrusive inflation imply for the precious metals market? Well, the elevated inflationary pressure should be supportive of gold prices. However, I’m afraid that when disinflation starts, the yellow metal could suffer. The decline in inflation rates implies weaker demand for gold as an inflation hedge and also higher real interest rates. The key question is, of course, what exactly will be the path of inflation. Will it normalize quickly or gradually, or even stay at a high plateau after reaching a peak? I don’t expect a sharp disinflation, so gold may not enter a 1980-like bear market. Another question of the hour is whether inflation will turn into stagflation. So far, the economy is growing, so there is no stagnation. However, growth is likely to slow down, and I wouldn’t be surprised by seeing some recessionary trends in 2023-2024. Inflation should still be elevated then, creating a perfect environment for the yellow metal. Hence, the inflationary genie is out of the bottle and it could be difficult to push it back, even if inflation peaks in the near future. Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today! Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
What Is Going On Financial Markets Today? Russia Will Not Resume Deliveries Of Gas

"Boring" Bitcoin (BTC) And Gaining S&P 500 (SPX). Crude Oil Price Chart Shows A Green Candle At The Right Hand Side,

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.03.2022 15:50
S&P 500 extended gains, and the risk appetite in bonds carried over into value rising faster than tech. Given the TLT downswing though, it‘s all but rainbows and unicorns ahead today. Not only that quad witching would bring high volume and chop, VIX itself doesn‘t look to slide smoothly below 25 today. Friday‘s ride would be thus rocky, and affected by momentum stalling in both tech and value. Real assets though can and will enjoy the deserved return into the spotlight. With much of the preceding downswing being based on deescalation hopes (that aren‘t materializing, still), the unfolding upswing in copper, oil and precious metals (no, they aren‘t to be spooked by the tough Fed tightening talk) would happen at a more measured pace than had been the case recently. Pay attention to the biting inflation, surrounding blame games hinting at no genuine respite – read through the rich captions of today‘s chart analyses, and think about reliable stores of real value. And of course, enjoy the open profits. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 looks likely to consolidate as the 4,400 – 4,450 zone would be tough to overcome, and such a position relative to both the moving averages shown, has historically stopped quite a few steep recoveries off very negative sentiment readings. Credit Markets HYG is likely to slow down here, as in really stall and face headwinds. The run had been respectable, and much of the easy gains happened already yesterday. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals upswing did indeed return – and the miners performance doesn‘t hint at a swift return of the bears, to put it mildly. The path to $1950s is open. Crude Oil Crude oil bottom was indeed in, and the price can keep recovering towards $110s and beyond. No, the economy isn‘t crashing yet, monetary policy isn‘t forcing that outcome, and the drawing of petroleum reserves is a telltale sign of upside price pressures mounting. It‘ll be an interesting April, mark my words. Copper Copper is duly rebounding, and not at all overheated. The move is also in line with other base metals. My yesterday‘s target of $4.70 has already been reached – I‘m looking for a measured pace of gains to continue. Bitcoin and Ethereum Cryptos are taking a small break, highlighting the perils of today. The boat won‘t be rocked too much. Summary S&P 500 bulls made the easy gains already yesterday, and today‘s session is going to be volatile, even treacherous in establishing a clear and lasting direction (i.e. choppy), and the headwinds would be out there in the plain open. These would come from bonds not continuing in the risk-on turn convincingly rather than commodities and metals surging head over heels. Both tech and value would feel the heat as VIX would show signs of waking up (to some degree). Today‘s session won‘t change the big picture dynamics of late, and I invite you to read more in-depth commentary within the individual market sections of today‘s full analysis. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Sanctions On Russia Can Help MXNUSD As Mexican Crude Oil Might Be Imported By The USA

Sanctions On Russia Can Help MXNUSD As Mexican Crude Oil Might Be Imported By The USA

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 18.03.2022 15:55
The Mexican dollar has added more than 4% over the last nine days against the US dollar. The upward momentum in this rally is followed by a brief correction but without any noticeable pullback. At first glance, this rally does not seem logical, as oil is cheap for most of this time, hurting oil-exporting Mexico. Nevertheless, in the short term, the MXN has been steadily gaining the following signs of a recovery in demand for risky assets in global markets. Mexico, like the US, finds itself far away from the military conflict in eastern Europe, so the impact on its economy will be much more indirect. Moreover, in the medium term, Mexico will also benefit from the US' rejection of oil from Russia. The states need heavier oil than their own WTI. The cocktail needed for refineries used to be made from Venezuelan oil, which was then replaced by Russian crude. Now the replacements will be Canadian and Mexican, which should benefit production levels and support MXN's strength through higher export revenues. In the coming days, the USDMXN will head for another test of 20.0. Below this level, the pair could not sustainably consolidate in 2021. If this situation proves sustainable, the Bank of Mexico will have more room to fight inflation through policy tightening without fear of strangling the economy too much. If so, the USDMXN may only be in the middle of its strengthening against the dollar, which could last for several quarters.
Natural Gas Hits Its Final Target. The Luck of St. Patrick’s Day?

Natural Gas Hits Its Final Target. The Luck of St. Patrick’s Day?

Sebastian Bischeri Sebastian Bischeri 18.03.2022 17:14
  St. Patrick’s Day is historically considered among the best trading days. Apparently, judging by the results, it may have brought some luck to natural gas. If you are interested in looking at the stats, an article by Market Watch summed them up. The second target hit – BOOM! Yesterday, on St. Patrick's Day, the opportunity to bank the extra profits from my recent Nat-Gas trade projections (provided on March 2) finally arrived. That trade plan has provided traders with multiple bounces to trade the NYMEX Natural Gas Futures (April contract) in various ways, always depending on each one’s personal risk profile. To get some more explanatory details on understanding the different trading ways this fly map (trading plan) could offer, I invite you to read my previous article (from March 11). To quickly sum it up, the various trade opportunities that could be played were as follows (with the following captures taken on March 11): The first possibility is swing trading, with the trailing stop method explained in my famous risk management article. Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, hourly chart) The second option consisted of scalping the rebounds with fixed targets (active or experienced traders). I named this method “riding the tails” (or the shadows). Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, 4H chart) The third way is position trading – a more passive trading style (and usually more rewarding). Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) The chart below shows a good overall view of NYMEX Natural Gas hitting our final target, $4.860: Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGJ22) Futures (April contract, 4H chart) As you can see, the market has provided us with multiple entries into the same support zone (highlighted by the yellow band) – even after hitting the first target, you may have noticed that I maintained the entry conditions in place – after the suggestion to drag the stop up just below the new swing low ($4.450). The market, still in a bull run, got very close to that point on March 15 by making a new swing low at $4.459 (just about 10 ticks above it). Before that, it firmly rebounded once more (allowing a new/additional entry) and then extended its gains further away while consecutively hitting target 1 ($4.745) again. After that, it finally hit target 2 ($4.860)! That’s all folks for today. It is time to succesfully close this trade. Have a great weekend! Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today! Thank you. Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist * * * * * The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Kishu Inu, A Meme Coin, Promotes Growth And Development Through Its Transparency

(SHIB) Shiba Inu Price Has Lost The Gains From The Recent Past

FXStreet News FXStreet News 18.03.2022 16:02
Shiba Inu price action falls back to Monday’s opening levels, making it a week of hardly any gains or losses. SHIB price action looks a bit bearish as another broader support test is set to kick in later today. SHIB price is still set to tank to $0.00001500 as bearish momentum continues. Shiba Inu (SHIB) price action retook a step back and pared almost all the gains from Wednesday’s rally. Investors are swinging back into bearish mode as tail risks emerge and are put at the top of the agenda going into the weekend. Conflicting rumours and contrary remarks from what is going on in Ukraine are keeping investors puzzled and refraining them from continuing to open risk-on bets. Shiba Inu price sees puzzled investors turning their back on crypto Shiba Inu price action is set to erase its gains from earlier this week. SHIB price rose after the news that peace talks were making good progress. Yet this all looked to be thrown in the bin overnight as several headlines came out about Russiabeing not at all optimistic, and the US even putting the threat of nuclear weapons back on the table, as it sees Russia possibly trying to squeeze out a peace agreement that meets all of its demands but none of Ukraine’s. Shiba Ina and other cryptocurrencies saw bulls repeating the same mistake as last week when they got squeezed out by the weekend. SHIB price action is again dropping back to the baseline of a longer term triangle with the green trend line as its base. Multiple tests up until now have been held, but with the meeting between Biden and Xi this evening, it looks clear that the US wants to get a clear answer from China as to whether it is with the US against Russia, or with Russia – offering no middle ground. The tail risk from this meeting going into the weekend could trigger a break at $0.00002111 and see a drop towards $0.00001708, the low of January, which could well overshoot towards $0.00001500. SHIB/USD daily chart Of course, a truce or ceasefire would help turn the current sentiment around. If that were to happen expect a big pop in price action, capped at a max 13% gain, to where the red descending trend line and side of the triangle intersect with the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) . Yet at the moment this seems an impossible hurdle to break through seeing the weakness of bulls currently at hand.
ECB's Dovish Shift: Markets Anticipate Softer Policy Guidance

Major Forex Pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EURGBP Affected By Interest Rates Decisions – The Week On Markets By FXMAG.COM

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 18.03.2022 19:17
Fed raised interest rate by 25bps so did Bank of England. Data shows that these events haven’t hit major Forex pairs so hard so let’s verify the theory. EUR/USD – A ca. 1.2% Gain The chart shows the week began without significant fluctuations until the Fed decision on March 16th. Immediately after the announcement of the key monetary policy indicator a huge declined stopped the strengthening Euro. The pair even neared the 2% gain level, but during the week has declined again slowly ending it near +1.2%. GBP/USD – Two announcements correlation The week hadn’t began too positively for British pound, but the following days had put GBP back on track to a ca. 1% gain after significant declines shortly after Fed and BoE decisions on accordingly Wednesday and Thursday. EUR/GBP – A ca. 1% Increased Corrected Naturally Fed’s announcement didn’t affect the single currency and British bound heavily, but the Bank of England’s fuelled EUR/GBP almost 1% jump which had been gradually corrected in the following days leaving the pair almost unchanged compared to the 14th March. USD/PLN – exotic pair with interesting outlook There’s no doubt PLN has strengthened throughout the week even if Fed announced the raise of interest rate. The stronger outlook of PLN is surely caused by the previous week’s tightening of monetary policy. EUR/PLN – PLN gained ca. 1.5% Global factors makes the pais with PLN the most interesting ones as another shows a significant loss of Euro To Polish zloty. The following week might bring next tempting fluctuations so let’s keep an eye on this pair.
The Week On Markets: Bitcoin Has Added 10%! Price Of Gold Decreased, But It Could Be Worse.

The Week On Markets: Bitcoin Has Added 10%! Price Of Gold Decreased, But It Could Be Worse.

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 18.03.2022 20:15
BTC/USD Bitcoin has added a lot over that week. A 10% gain has remained despite the fact Fed raised interest rate. Gold Gold plunged after the Fed decision, but didn’t crash ending the week with a not so big decline. S&P 500 SPX rally was caused, among others, by Chinese stocks which are said to be back in the game. UK 100 (FTSE 100) The British had its ups and downs this week, but all in all gained ca. 4% at the end of the day (week!)
Large Forex Speculators boosted their bets of Commodity Currencies this week

Large Forex Speculators boosted their bets of Commodity Currencies this week

Invest Macro Invest Macro 19.03.2022 17:45
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday March 15th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the strong speculator sentiment for the commodity currencies in the currency futures contracts. The Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar all saw boosts in their bets that either pushed their bullish standings higher or sharply reduced their bearish levels this week. The Australian dollar saw the largest improvement with a huge net gain of over +33,000 contracts this week which marked the largest one-week increase in the past three hundred and sixty-five weeks, dating all the way back to March of 2015. This week’s gain dropped the AUD’s current bearish standing down to -44,856 contracts from approximately -78,000 contracts in the previous week. The New Zealand dollar contracts saw a one-week gain of +16,032 contracts which marked its largest one-week rise in the past one hundred and seventeen weeks (back to December of 2017). This rise brought the NZD speculator positions out of bearish territory for the first time in fourteen weeks to a very small bullish level of +3,653 contracts. Finally, the Canadian dollar contracts increased by a net position of +10,094 contracts this week after falling in four out of the previous five weeks. This climb in speculative bets brings the current CAD bullish standing to the best level of the past six weeks. Overall, the currency markets with higher speculator bets this week were the New Zealand dollar (16,032 contracts), Canadian dollar (10,094 contracts), Swiss franc (4,481 contracts) and the Australian dollar (33,339 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-5,664 contracts), Mexican peso (-63,593 contracts), Euro (-40,050 contracts), Japanese yen (-6,484 contracts), Brazil real (-6,333 contracts), British pound sterling (-16,535 contracts), Russian ruble (-263 contracts) and Bitcoin (-75 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Mar-15-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 47,574 62 28,380 75 -31,969 21 3,589 56 EUR 666,010 70 18,794 41 -42,629 64 23,835 14 GBP 188,323 31 -29,061 53 37,279 52 -8,218 39 JPY 215,484 65 -62,340 29 87,597 80 -25,257 0 CHF 43,356 19 -5,229 61 17,460 50 -12,231 27 CAD 143,863 26 17,740 65 -13,145 50 -4,595 21 AUD 124,521 25 -44,856 43 48,640 55 -3,784 43 NZD 39,200 23 3,653 77 -1,815 28 -1,838 31 MXN 102,749 4 -10,576 23 7,848 76 2,728 55 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 68,874 65 44,163 94 -46,800 6 2,637 97 Bitcoin 10,198 53 190 98 -453 0 263 19   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 28,380 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -5,664 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 34,044 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 74.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 21.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 55.8 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 83.6 3.1 11.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.9 70.3 3.5 – Net Position: 28,380 -31,969 3,589 – Gross Longs: 39,767 1,452 5,242 – Gross Shorts: 11,387 33,421 1,653 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.5 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 74.7 21.5 55.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.7 16.5 -40.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 18,794 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -40,050 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 58,844 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.9 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.3 55.4 11.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.5 61.8 7.7 – Net Position: 18,794 -42,629 23,835 – Gross Longs: 202,040 369,253 75,191 – Gross Shorts: 183,246 411,882 51,356 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.8 63.7 13.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.4 4.2 -6.5   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -29,061 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -16,535 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,526 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 53.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.6 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.2 66.9 12.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.7 47.1 16.9 – Net Position: -29,061 37,279 -8,218 – Gross Longs: 32,442 125,994 23,650 – Gross Shorts: 61,503 88,715 31,868 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 53.1 51.7 38.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.9 5.0 -6.1   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -62,340 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -6,484 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -55,856 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 28.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 79.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 15.8 75.7 7.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 44.7 35.0 18.9 – Net Position: -62,340 87,597 -25,257 – Gross Longs: 34,016 163,089 15,533 – Gross Shorts: 96,356 75,492 40,790 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 28.6 79.7 0.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.1 4.1 -13.6   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -5,229 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 4,481 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -9,710 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 60.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 50.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.4 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 13.4 66.3 20.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.5 26.1 48.4 – Net Position: -5,229 17,460 -12,231 – Gross Longs: 5,808 28,761 8,768 – Gross Shorts: 11,037 11,301 20,999 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 60.8 50.5 27.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.3 1.0 -11.5   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 17,740 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 10,094 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,646 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 64.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 50.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 33.0 41.3 20.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 20.6 50.4 23.5 – Net Position: 17,740 -13,145 -4,595 – Gross Longs: 47,406 59,344 29,213 – Gross Shorts: 29,666 72,489 33,808 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.6 to 1 0.8 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 64.9 50.0 20.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.5 9.0 -23.8   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -44,856 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 33,339 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -78,195 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 43.2 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 19.5 62.3 15.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 55.5 23.3 18.6 – Net Position: -44,856 48,640 -3,784 – Gross Longs: 24,281 77,621 19,378 – Gross Shorts: 69,137 28,981 23,162 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.7 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.2 55.2 43.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 32.4 -35.4 30.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 3,653 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 16,032 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,379 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 77.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 27.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.8 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 54.8 37.4 6.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.5 42.1 10.9 – Net Position: 3,653 -1,815 -1,838 – Gross Longs: 21,493 14,671 2,417 – Gross Shorts: 17,840 16,486 4,255 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 77.4 27.6 30.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 25.8 -24.4 5.5   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -10,576 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -63,593 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 53,017 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 22.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 76.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 54.6 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 38.1 55.1 6.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.4 47.5 3.5 – Net Position: -10,576 7,848 2,728 – Gross Longs: 39,164 56,610 6,302 – Gross Shorts: 49,740 48,762 3,574 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.2 to 1 1.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 22.8 76.1 54.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.8 4.9 -1.7   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 44,163 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -6,333 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 50,496 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.1 13.7 6.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.0 81.7 2.3 – Net Position: 44,163 -46,800 2,637 – Gross Longs: 55,181 9,444 4,239 – Gross Shorts: 11,018 56,244 1,602 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.0 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 93.8 5.6 97.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 56.5 -55.9 -3.0   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 7,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -263 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.6 60.6 2.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 0.5 94.7 4.7 – Net Position: 7,543 -7,150 -393 – Gross Longs: 7,658 12,679 593 – Gross Shorts: 115 19,829 986 – Long to Short Ratio: 66.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 69.1 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.6 16.7 -18.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 190 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -75 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 265 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 78.3 2.7 10.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 76.5 7.2 7.5 – Net Position: 190 -453 263 – Gross Longs: 7,989 279 1,029 – Gross Shorts: 7,799 732 766 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 98.4 5.1 18.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.0 3.0 -2.0   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Potential recovery to approx. US$2,000

Potential recovery to approx. US$2,000

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 20.03.2022 10:13
Starting at a low of US$1,780 on January 28th, gold went up rapidly US$290 within less than six weeks, reaching a short-term top at US$2,070. Since that high on March 8th, however, gold prices fell back even faster. In total, gold plunged a whooping US$175 to a low of US$1,895 in the aftermath of last week’s FOMC meeting. A quick bounce took prices back to around US$1,950, but the weekly close at around US$1,920 came in lower.This volatile roller coaster ride is truly not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, gold has done well this year, and, despite a looming multi-months correction, it might now be in a setup from which another attack towards US$2,000 could start in the short-term.Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of March 19th, 2022.Gold in US-Dollar, weekly chart as of March 19th, 2022.On the weekly chart, gold prices have been rushing higher with great momentum. For five consecutive weeks, the bulls were able to bend the upper Bollinger band (US$1,963) upwards. However, the final green candle closed far outside the Bollinger bands and looks like a weekly reversal. Consequently, if gold has now dipped into a multi-month correction, a retracement back to the neckline of the broken triangle respectively the inverse head & shoulder pattern in the range of US$1,820 to US$1,850 would be quite typical and to be expected. In this range, the classic 61.8% retracement of the entire wave up (from the low at US$1,678 on August 9th, 2021, to the most recent blow off top at US$2,070) sits at US$1,827.79. The weekly stochastic oscillator has not yet rolled over, but weekly momentum is overbought and vulnerable.In total, the weekly chart shows a big reversal and therefore no longer supports the bullish case. However, it could still take some more time before a potential correction gains momentum.  Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of March 19th, 2022.Gold in US-Dollar, daily chart as of March 19th, 2022.While the weekly chart may just be at the beginning of a multi-month correction, the overbought setup on the daily chart has already been largely cleared up by the recent steep pullback. Despite Friday’s rather weak closing, the odds are not bad that gold might very soon be turning up again. However, gold bulls need to take out the pivot resistance around US$1,960 to unlock higher price targets in the context of a recovery. The potential Fibonacci retracements are waiting at US$1,962, US$2,003 and US$2,028. Hence, gold could bounce back to approx. US$2,000, which is a round number and therefore a psychological resistance.On the other hand, if gold fails to move back above Thursday’s high at US$1,950, weakness will increase immediately and significantly. In that case, bulls can only hope that the quickly rising lower Bollinger Band (US$1,861) would catch and limit a deeper sell-off. But since the stochastic oscillator has reached its oversold zone, bears might have a hard time pushing gold significantly below US$1,900.Overall, the daily chart is slightly oversold, and gold might start a bounce soon. Conclusion: Potential recovery to approx. US$2,000After a strong rally and a steep pullback, the gold market is likely in the process of reordering. While the weekly timeframe points to a correction, the oversold daily chart points to an immediate bounce. Given these contradictory signals, investors and especially traders are well advised to exercise patience and caution in the coming days, weeks, and months. If gold has entered a corrective cycle, it could easily take until the early to mid-summer before a sustainable new up-trend might emerge.Alternative super bullish scenarioAlternatively, and this of course is still a possible scenario, the breakout from the large “cup and handle” pattern is just getting started. In this very bullish case, gold is in the process of breaking out above US$2,100 to finally complete the very large “cup and handle” pattern, which has been developing for 11 years! Obviously, the sky would then be the limit.To summarize, gold is getting really bullish back above US$2,030. On the other hand, below $US1,895 the bears would be in control. In between those two numbers, the odds favor a bounce towards US$1,960 and maybe USD$2,000.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can also subscribe to our free newsletter.Disclosure: Midas Touch Consulting and members of our team are invested in Reyna Gold Corp. These statements are intended to disclose any conflict of interest. They should not be misconstrued as a recommendation to purchase any share. This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting.By Florian Grummes|March 19th, 2022|Tags: Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bearish, Gold bullish, gold chartbook, Gold consolidation, gold fundamentals, Gold sideways, precious metals, Reyna Gold|0 Commentshttps://www.midastouch-consulting.com/gold-chartbook-19032022-potential-recovery-to-approx-us2000About the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running his own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.
Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 21st – 25th March

Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 21st – 25th March

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 20.03.2022 21:19
As expected, The Fed came out last week and approved a quarter percentage point interest rate rise,  its first since December 2018 and possibly one of many more to come as the U.S. faces up to rampant inflation. With that big decision now priced into the markets, all eyes will be on whether stocks will be able to sustain last week’s fresh gains into a second week. There are still many headlines to be written and with the Ukrainian conflict entering its second month, there may be many more twists and turns. In today’s Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead, we look ahead at potential moves in equities, oil, gold, Bitcoin and also discuss why forex might now be an interesting play. Watch the video below to get this week’s latest insights. REGISTER FOR THIS WEEK’S LIVE MARKET UPDATE WITH BORIS AND KATHY Join us at 10 PM AEDT (11 AM GMT) this Wednesday as Boris and Kathy once again take you through another midweek live market update, discussing the key assets and price points to be looking at as the weekend approaches. It’s the perfect session to get valuable insight into what’s currently hot in the financial markets, as well as an opportunity for you to ask your own questions to the experts in a live Q&A. Registration is free. Click below to secure your seat. Boris Schlossberg is Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management, Co-Founder of BKForex.com, and Managing Editor of 60secondinvestor.com. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than three decades of financial market experience. In 2007, while still at FXCM, Boris started BKForex with Ms. Kathy Lien. A year later, Boris joined Global Futures & Forex Ltd as director of currency research where he provided research and analysis to clients and managed a global foreign exchange analysis team with Kathy Lien. Since 2012 Boris has focused exclusively on running BKForex.com where he generates trade ideas and designs algorithms for the FX market in partnership with Ms. Lien. He is the author of “Technical Analysis of the Currency Market” and “Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Beat Wall Street at its Own Game”, both of which are published by Wiley. In 2020 Mr. Schlossberg started www.60secondinvestor.com a free website that distils the best of institutional investment research for retail investors. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Monday EUR ECB President Lagarde Speaks Tuesday USD Fed Chair Powell Speaks Wednesday EUR ECB President Lagarde Speaks GBP CPI GBP BoE Gov Bailey Speaks USD Fed Chair Powell Speaks Thursday USD Crude Oil Inventories CHF SNB Interest Rate Decision, Monetary Policy Assessment, SNB Press Conference EUR German Manufacturing PMI GBP Composite, Manufacturing and Services PMI EUR EU Leaders Summit USD Core Durable Goods Orders USD Initial Jobless Claims Friday GBP Retail Sales EUR German Ifo Business Climate Index EUR EU Leaders Summit The post Trade Zone Week Ahead with Boris Schlossberg (BK Forex): 21st – 25th March appeared first on Eightcap.
Risks in the US Banking System: Potential Impacts and Contagion Concerns

The Following Week: Only One (!) Interest Rate Decision, British CPI And US Crude Oil Inventories – Economic Calendar By FXMAG.COM

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 18.03.2022 19:51
After a week full of central bank’s announcement it’s time to shift down and observe ‘boring’ economic indicators. Data: courtesy of Investing.com Monday, Tuesday - Japan And South Africa Bank of Japan released its monetary policy statement the previous week. The following Monday is a day free for both Japanese and South Africa’s people. Wednesday - Great Britain, Germany And The USA On Wednesday British CPI is released (prev. 5.5%). One and a half an hour later German Manufacturing PMI goes public. After midday (12:30 p.m.) Annual Budget Release is published and followed by the releases of US New Home Sales. At 2:30 p.m. many investors might follow the release of Crude Oil Inventories. Thursday – Switzerland, Germany And The USA At 8:30 SNB Interest Rate Decision (Q1) is released. What is not so usual – the current interest rate in Switzerland amounts to… -0.75%. At the same time German Manufacturing PMI is released. Four hours later important news comes from the USA where Core Durable Goods Orders are presented (0.7%). Friday – Great Britain, Germany And The USA Friday’s morning might be important for British people as Retail Sales indicator is published. The previously announced value was 1.9%. At 9 a.m. we head to Germany for the last time the following week, because German Ifo Business Climate is released (prev. 98.9). The last important event of the week 21/03-25/03 is the US Pending Home Sales (MoM) released at 2 p.m. Source: Investing.com Economic Calendar Time: GMT
Forex Pairs: EUR/USD, USD/CAD - Video Analysis

Forex Pairs: EUR/USD, USD/CAD - Video Analysis

Jason Sen Jason Sen 21.03.2022 09:04
EURUSD could be forming a bear flag, meaning eventually we will break lower & make a new low below 1.0800 USDCAD remains very much in an erratic & random 9 month sideways trend. A scalpers market as I do not think we can hold trades for long before prices reverse. On Friday we made a high for the day exactly at strong support at 1.2600/1.2580. Longs need stops below 1.2550. Update daily by 05:00 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD beat first resistance at 1.1065/85 to target 1.1150/70 but reversed from 13 pips below here. First support at 1.0980/65. Longs need stops below 1.0955. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 1.0910/00. This is not a support so if we continue lower look for 1.0850 before a retest of the March low & important 5 year trend line support at 1.0825/05. Longs need stops below 1.0780. Key resistance at 1.1140/60. Shorts need stops above 1.1170. A break higher targets strong resistance at 1.1230/50. USDCAD tests strong support at 1.2600/1.2580. Longs need stops below 1.2550. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 1.2485/75. Longs at strong support at 1.2600/1.2580 target 1.2670/80 then first resistance at 1.2700/20 for profit taking before the weekend. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Precious Metals: What Can We Expect From Gold In The Near Future?

20/03/22 KOG Report – The week ahead for Gold

Knights of Gold Knights of Gold 20.03.2022 18:12
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/XAUUSD/bgv5PchS-XAUUSD-KOG-REPORT/ KOG Report: In last weeks KOG Report we suggested we wanted to see the price test the lower support region to give us a good entry for the long, which we got. What we didn’t get though was that aggressive push to the upside, instead FOMC moved the price towards the 1950 level giving traders over 300pips on the move. We managed to trade the longs and the shorts in Camelot with a total of 18 targets completed last week, which was a fantastic result for Excalibur. In all we played the defensive on the markets trading this the KOG level to level way making sure we were not over exposing ourselves. So what can we expect in the week ahead? Something is telling us there is a big move on the way and its going to catch a lot of traders out! What we will say is that we will be looking for extreme resistance levels on this to add to the short positions we’re holding from above. That’s not to say we won’t be going long; we will take long trades into immediate resistance levels. We can see am immediate resistance level at the 1930 level and above that around 1945. That 1945 level is important for as long as the price remains below that level its likely we will see some lower targets being achieved in Gold in the coming week. On the downside we have the key level here of 1890-80, that’s where we will be waiting this week to go long on the market. We’re not concerned and don’t want to get involved in the immediate range unless we’re taking quick scalping trades level to level using Excalibur to guide us. So, we will look for the following scenarios on Gold this week: Scenario 1: Price opens, pushes to the upside and finds resistance at the 1930-35 level, we feel this level would represent an opportunity to short the market back down into the immediate support levels of 1910, 1903 and below that 1895-90. We will be waiting just below to take a long position to target the 1930, 1940 and above that 1960 level. IF we reach 1950 we will take a majority of our trade of the table and let the rest run with the stop to entry. This will be a great swing trade if it works out! Scenario 2: Price opens negative, we have an Excalibur target just below around the 1910 level, we would expect a potential test on that wick or just below it. We will wait for our support levels of 1902, 1885-80, this is where we will want to test the long trade into the levels we have mentioned above! Again, around the 1940-50 level we will take a majority of the trade of the table and leave the stop at entry with an open target above. What we will be looking for is resistance above where we will want to short the market again. Its been a difficult month for traders with a lot of news driving the markets, the candles look small but the pip capture is very tempting for traders who are trading large lots. The market knows this and will create the swings and choppy price action to make sure its not as easy as it looks. Try not to be roped into the orchestration. We’re still playing the defensive here, even if that means we continue to do so for another month. We would rather trade a natural market than trade in the volatility being created by the fundamentals and geopolitics. Hope this helps traders, as usual we will be updating the analysis, levels and charts as we progress throughout the week. We’ve been doing these reports and analysis a long time, please do give us a like on our ideas, it does motivate us to keep going. As always, trade safe. KOG
Can Bitcoin (BTC) Become An Alternative To... Gold? BTC Increased By 6.3% And Reached Ca. $41.3k

Can Bitcoin (BTC) Become An Alternative To... Gold? BTC Increased By 6.3% And Reached Ca. $41.3k

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 21.03.2022 09:33
Bitcoin gained 6.3% over the past week, finishing near $41.3K. The price retreated slightly to $41.0K on Monday morning, losing 2.1% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum has corrected by 2% over the same period but still added 11.6% to the price seven days ago. Other leading altcoins in the top 10 have gained between 7.3% (Polkadot) and 24.8% (Avalanche) over the past week. Total cryptocurrency market capitalisation, according to CoinMarketCap, rose 7.5% for the week to $1.86 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index fell 0.6 points to 41.9% due to outperforming altcoins. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index rose 7 points for the week to 30 and moved into "fear" from "extreme fear". Last week turned out to be a good one for the crypto market, with bitcoin rising the most in six weeks. Last Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve meeting weakened the dollar and boosted stocks, which benefited all risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, bitcoin has continued to trade in a sideways range of $38-45K for the second month, with a closer look marked by a sequence of declining local highs with bullish momentum fading near 42 in the last two weeks. The positive sentiment is supported by the 50-day moving average reversing upwards. BTCUSD broke it in a relatively strong move on March 16th, and it has been acting as local support ever since. The external environment in the financial markets remains mixed. Traders have tighter financial conditions due to higher rates and waning economic growth on one side of the scale. On the other side is the demand for purchasing power insurance for capital due to the highest inflation in two generations. Weighing these factors, Galaxy Digital head Mike Novogratz said bitcoin would continue to trade in a sideways range this year. He said BTC will resume growth and reach $500K by 2025 as inflation curbing measures are too weak. Piyush Gupta, chief executive of Singapore's largest bank, DBS, said cryptocurrencies could be an alternative to gold but would not be able to fit into the traditional financial system due to excessive volatility.
AUD/USD Touches 9-Month Low as Australian Job Growth Slips

DAX (GER 40) Has Gone Up Slightly. BMW, BAYN And DBK Have Added The Most

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 21.03.2022 14:55
German Index doesn’t shock investors with significant fluctuations despite the fact many countries interact with persistent conflict between Russia and Ukraine. DAX opened only a bit lower than it closed on Friday, March 17th and seems to end the day without any major move. As before we highlight below three companies which have gained the most during today’s session. BMW Bavarian automotive company is today’s leader, as until now it has gained over 2%. BAYN - Bayer Well-known brand associated with medicaments until now has gained over 2% DBK – Deutsche Bank One of the most recongizable banks of the world has gained ca. 2% until now Charts: courtesy of TradingView.com Source: TradingView.com
Chart of the Week - Gold Miners vs Energy Producers - 20.04.2022

Why Is The Current Crude Oil Price Higher Than Only Few Days Ago? Russia And Ukraine Still Waging War, Kremlin Says Sanctions (If Applied) Will Seriously Impact Europe

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 21.03.2022 15:08
Sanctions keep affecting the supply diversification. It’s not sure how will the following days shape so civilians, investors and big companies are following, we may say, indefinite fluctuations of Brent and WTI. The price has increased by ca. 20% since the beginning of the war on February 24th. As the chart below shows the price was interacting with the news about crude oil inventories, testimonies of countries’ leaders and all the communication. Crude Oil Price Chart – 24/02-21/03 Today crude oil has gained ca. X% opening higher as the war goes on and there’s no significant signal that it’s coming to an end. Ukrainians don’t surrender in Mariupol and, according to Bloomberg, Kremlin says that consequences of sanctions will seriously impact Europe. Crude Oil Price Chart 21/03/22 – [UPDATE: 14:05 GMT] It’s not sure what can we expect from the following days. A thing we can be sure of is that we should follow the Crude Oil Inventories release on Wednesday. Follow us on Twitter to check the markets’ reaction and don’t miss a thing! Source: Investing.com, Bloomberg.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
Blackberry Stock Price & News: BB bounces as company says Jarvis to be rolled out

Blackberry Stock Price & News: BB bounces as company says Jarvis to be rolled out

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.03.2022 16:05
Blackberry stock is back trending on retail investment sites after a long break.BB stock was one of the old meme stock favorites from last year.The stock also catches a major investment bank upgrade on Monday.Blackberry shares are back. The BB ticker is once again trending all over social media and retail trading sites after quite a long hiatus in the wilderness. That's break to you and me but my editor likes the fancy words! But Blackberry (BB) is definitely back. It was one of the original stocks caught up in the frenzy of short squeeze speculation last year but dropped off most people's attention lists as the stock was unable to push on and gave up all of its gains. BB stock fell from $20.17 in June 2021 to $5.80 in February 2022. Also read: AMC stock starts Monday with more gainsBlackberry (BB) stock news: Announces 13 channel partners for Jarvis 2.0Blackberry was the go-to business phone in the early 2010 decade before being totally outmaneuvered by the emergence of the smartphone. Holding a Blackberry was a sign that you had made it in the business world but the company and phone went the way of Nokia, totally demolished by Apple and other smartphone makers. But both companies Blackberry and Nokia have struggled along with varying degrees of success. Blackberry caught some renewed attention on Monday as it announced its Jarvis 2.0 testing tool will be offered by 13 partners to companies in the Asia Pacific region. “Asia-Pacific is at a tipping point in how it protects infrastructure and industries against growing IoT security threats as digital automation continues to advance,” said Dhiraj Handa, vice president of BlackBerry QNX for the Asia-Pacific region. Jarvis is a testing tool that allows companies to look for potential branches of security in their systems. "BlackBerry® Jarvis® 2.0 is a software composition analysis and static application security testing solution that is designed to analyze binaries within complex embedded systems. It lets you identify security vulnerabilities in products that have software from multiple sources, without the need for source code. It’s a powerful tool that provides you insights into your binaries and helps you catch potential security issues with the click", from Blackberry. This is timely given the heightened security and hacker issues surrounding many systems and companies are spending increasing amounts of their IT budgets on security issues. Blackberry (BB) stock forecastThis certainly reads positively but it is early days in the process. BB stock price has recovered but remains in a powerful downtrend. The recent spike up to the 50-day moving average is encouraging but only a break of $9.47 would really get momentum back towards bulls. Breaking above $48.50 is the first target and would put BB back in a neutral stance. Above $9.47 BB stock is bullish. The first resistance is the 50-day moving average at $7.41. Blackberry (BB) chart, daily
S&P 500 (SPX) Up, Crude Oil Up, Credit Markets Up, Bitcoin Price Oops...

S&P 500 (SPX) Up, Crude Oil Up, Credit Markets Up, Bitcoin Price Oops...

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 21.03.2022 15:37
S&P 500 did really well through quad witching, and the same goes for credit markets. 4-day streak of non-stop gains – very fast ones. Short squeeze characteristics in the short run, makes me think this rally fizzles out before the month ends – 4,600 would hold. We‘re likely to make a higher low next, and that would be followed by 4-6 weeks of rally continuation before the bears come back with real force again. July would present a great buying opportunity in this wild year of a giant trading range. As I wrote yesterday: (…) The paper asset made it through quad witching in style - both stocks and bonds. The risk-on sentiment however didn't sink commodities or precious metals. Wednesday's FOMC brought worries over the Fed sinking real economy growth but Powell's conference calmed down fears through allegedly no recession risks this year, ascribing everything to geopolitics. Very convenient, but the grain of truth is that the Fed wouldn't indeed jeopardize GDP growth this year - that's the context of how to read the allegedly 7 rate hikes and balance sheet shrinking this year still. Not gonna happen as I stated on Thursday already. Such are my short- and medium-term thoughts on stocks. Copper remains best positioned to continue rising with relatively little volatility while crude oil isn‘t yet settled (its good times would continue regardless of the weak volume rally of last two days, which is making me a little worried). Precious metals are still basing, and would continue moving higher best on the Fed underperforming in its hawkish pronouncements. No way they‘re hiking 7 times this year and shrinking balance sheet at the same time as I wrote on Thursday – Treasury yields say they‘ll take on inflation more in 2023. 2022 is a mere warm-up. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Nasdaq Outlook S&P 500 is now past the 4,400 – 4,450 zone, and hasn‘t yet consolidated. This week would definitely though not be as bullish as the one just gone by – the bulls will be challenged a little. Credit Markets HYG eked out more gains, but the air is slowly becoming thinner. As the sentiment turns more bullish through no deep decline over the coming few days, that‘s when junk bonds would start wavering. Gold, Silver and Miners Precious metals aren‘t turning down for good here – I think they‘re deciphering the Fed story of hiking slower than intended, which in effect gives inflation a new lease on life. Not that it was wavering, though. More upside in gold and silver to come. Crude Oil Crude oil is rising again, but look for a measured upswing that‘s not free from headwinds. While I think we would climb above $110 still, I‘m sounding a more cautious note given the decreasing volume – I would like to see more conviction next. Copper Copper is behaving, and would continue rising reliably alongside other commodities. It‘s also the best play considering downside protection at the moment. Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin isn‘t recovering Sunday‘s setback – but the Ethereum upswing bodes well for risk taking today, even that doesn‘t concern cryptos all too much. Summary S&P 500 has a bit more to run before running into headwinds, which would happen still this week. Credit markets are a tad too optimistic, and rising yields would leave a mark especially on tech. Value, energy and materials are likely to do much better. Crude oil is bound to be volatile over the coming weeks, but still rising and spiking – not yet settled. Copper and precious metals present better appreciation opportunities when looking at their upcoming volatility. Within today‘s key analysis, I‘ve covered the path of stocks, so do have a good look at the opening part. Finally, cryptos likewise paint the picture of risk-on trades not being over just yet. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
Kishu Inu, A Meme Coin, Promotes Growth And Development Through Its Transparency

Can (SHIB) Shiba Inu Price Go For A Rocket Launch?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 21.03.2022 16:05
Shiba Inu price is hovering above the $0.0000223 support level, eyeing a 40% upswing. A quick liquidity run below $0.0000202 is likely before triggering the move to $0.0000283. A daily candlestick close below $0.0000158 will invalidate the bullish thesis for SHIB. Shiba Inu price action seems to be repeating itself after a recent breakout from its downtrend. The rebound is pausing and might go for a liquidity run below a vital support level before a full-blown rally kicks off. Shiba Inu price prepares for a new leg-up Shiba Inu price crashed 77% from its all-time high before setting up a swing low around $0.0000202. The downswing, however, was breached on February 3, as price undertook a u-turn and made a 75% ascent. The new uptrend failed to sustain, however, leading to another downswing. After a brief period of consolidation, SHIB breached through its mini downtrend and is currently establishing a support level around $0.0000223 before triggering an explosive rally higher. However, investors can expect Shiba Inu price to slide lower first in search of liquidity below the $0.0000202 barrier. Such a move will signal the start of an uptrend and interested investors can enter long at $0.0000202. The resulting momentum will likely catapult SHIB to retest the immediate hurdle at $0.0000283. This move would constitute a 40% gain and is where market participants can book profits. SHIB/USDT 1-day chart Even if Shiba Inu price breaches the $0.0000202 barrier, the bulls will have another chance to regroup and attempt a run-up into the nine-hour demand zone, ranging from $0.0000158 to $0.0000193. A daily candlestick close below $0.0000193, however, will produce a lower low and invalidate the bullish thesis. In this scenario, Shiba Inu price could crash 15% and retest the $0.0000135 support level.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Stock Tops $500,000

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Stock Tops $500,000

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 21.03.2022 21:44
A subscriber asked us recently where he should be putting his money and how to limit losses in his retirement portfolio. He expressed frustration as he watched Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway stock going up, but at the same time, the stock indices going lower and many of his previously favored stocks experiencing substantial losses! This conversation naturally piqued our curiosity. We decided to look into this for him and, at the same time, share our findings with our subscribers.Berkshire Hathaway stock traded at an all-time record high price of $520,654.46. At a stock price of $512,991, Berkshire’s market capitalization is $756.23 billion. Last year, Berkshire generated a record $27.46 billion of operating profit, including gains at Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.BERKSHIRE vs. S&P 500 BENCHMARKWarren Buffett, age 91 (known as the ‘Sage of Omaha’), is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered by many to be the most successful stock investor in the world and, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List, has a personal net worth that exceeds $120 billion USD.Very few can compete with his long-term track record. Since 1965, Berkshire has provided +20% average annual returns, almost double the +10.2% average annual returns for the S&P 500 Stock Index benchmark. The 2022 year-to-date comparison is:BRK.A Berkshire Hathaway +14.53%; SPY SPDR ETF -6.36%; FB Facebook -35.64%However, according to Buffett’s own humility, he has endured years of underperformance and has had his share of bad stock picks. When Buffet was asked about drawdowns at one of Berkshire’s annual meetings, he stated, “Unless you can watch your stock holdings decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.” According to www.finance.yahoo.com, the five biggest percentage losses for Berkshire have been:1974 -48.7%, 1990 -23.1%, 1999 -19.9%, 2008 -31.8%, and 2015 -12.5%.WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE ‘BUFFETT INDICATOR’?The Buffett Indicator, as dubbed by Berkshire shareholders, is the ratio of the total United States stock market valuations (the Wilshire 5000 stock index) divided by the annual U.S. GDP. The indicator peaked at the beginning of 2022 and remains near all-time highs even though many stocks are well off their record levels.This historical chart of the Buffett Indicator was created by www.currentmarketvaluation.com. Doing quantitative analysis, we learn that the indicator is more than 1.6 standard deviations above the historical average, which suggests the market is over-valued and, in time, will fall back to its historical average.Berkshire Hathaway At Fibonacci Resistance!On March 18, 2022, Berkshire hit an all-time high price of $520,654. The Fibonacci resistance level of 2.618 or 261.8% of the March 23 low of $239,440 is $520,196. As shown on the daily chart, Berkshire also met resistance at the 2.618 standard deviations of the quarterly Bollinger Band.THE BENCHMARK: S&P 500 SPY ETFThe S&P 500 Index is the industry standard benchmark when comparing investment returns. It’s worth noting that as Berkshire reached the Fibonacci 2.618 resistance, the SPY found support at the Fibonacci 1.618 of the SPY March 23, 2020 low.Central banks have begun to tighten credit by raising interest rates for the first time since 2018, attempting to bring fast-rising energy, food, and housing prices under control. More time is needed to determine the full impact that rising global interest rates will have on current markets.However, on the chart below, we can see that the SPY put in a major top around 480 and, for the time being, has found support around 420 (the Fibonacci 1.618 level). Considering the increased market volatility and that we are now entering a cycle of higher interest rates, it would not surprise us to see the SPY eventually break below 420.It is worth noting that when a market makes a top after a prolonged bull-market, we usually experience distribution. Distribution with volatility results from large institutions beginning to liquidate their holdings while smaller retail investors are trying to buy stocks on sale. In other words, the retail investors are buying the dip hoping to get a bargain, while the institutional investors are selling the rally hoping to be liquidated and/or go short. It is a battle that retail investors will eventually lose!It is important to understand we are not saying the market has topped and is headed lower. This article sheds some light on some interesting analyses that you should be aware of. As technical traders, we follow price only, and when a new trend has been confirmed, we will change our positions accordingly. We provide our ETF trades with subscribers to our newsletter, and surprisingly, we have just entered five new trades.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity!WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE The CURRENT MARKET TRENDS? Learn how we use specific tools to help us understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, we expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. We believe the markets have begun to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern begin to drive traders/investors into Metals and other safe-havens.GET READY, GET SET, GO - We invite you to learn more about how my three ETF Technical Trading Strategies can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
EURUSD – Potential Bullish Reversal!EURUSD is approaching a strong support so we will be looking for buy setups

EURUSD – Potential Bullish Reversal!EURUSD is approaching a strong support so we will be looking for buy setups

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 22.03.2022 12:46
on M30: EURUSD is forming a channel in red but the upper trendline is not valid yet, so we are waiting for a new swing high to form around it to consider it our trigger swing. (projection in purple) Trigger => Waiting for that swing to form and then buy after a momentum candle close above it (gray zone) Meanwhile, until the buy is activated, EURUSD would be overall bearish can still trade lower. Good luck! All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly! ~Rich
Bank of Japan will not keep the yen from falling

Bank of Japan will not keep the yen from falling

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 22.03.2022 14:53
The Japanese yen has fallen for the third week in a row, and the amplitude of this decline has become rather scary on Tuesday. It seems yen traders' stop-lines have been blown as the markets have become increasingly aware of the monetary authorities' reaction to inflation and the outlook for the balance of payments. In addition, over the past three weeks, we have seen a careful return of investors to risky assets, which is causing the yen to sell-off.USDJPY is trading above 120.70, which was last seen six years ago, having gained more than 5% since March 7th, while GBPJPY has soared 6% and EURJPY is up 7%. Against the yen are new comments from the Bank of Japan, which shows no sign of a change in its monetary policy, while central banks in other parts of the world issue increasingly hawkish statements.The pressure on the yen is exacerbated by its dependence on oil and metal imports, which widens the trade deficit of the historically export-oriented country. The value of exports in February 2022 was 18% higher than in 2020, while imports soared by 49%. Booming prices for energy, metals, and agricultural products set Japan up for a further plunge into trade deficits.In former years, sustained surpluses helped the yen maintain its strength or even strengthen during periods of market turbulence, ignoring anaemic economic growth and rising government debt to GDP levels.The resulting crisis in commodity prices will force central banks to unambiguously choose their policy towards government bonds on the balance sheet and the general level of government debt. While the USA and Europe are tightening their rhetoric on interest rates, Japan is deliberately lagging. At the same time, the government maintains an apparent calm, pointing out that there are both disadvantages and advantages of a weak exchange rate. The yen problem is not bothering the authorities right now.We should wait and see if investor confidence in the Japanese currency is undermined. Losing control of the exchange rate would risk an escalation of selling into Japanese government debt more than 250% of GDP. The only realistic soft solution is to deflate the national debt by accelerating inflation, but only if the central bank remains a big buyer to prevent an appreciation of the national debt. Such a policy would lead to sustained pressure on the yen.
Hawkish Fed „Surprise“

Hawkish Fed „Surprise“

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.03.2022 15:55
S&P 500 wavered but is bound to get its act together in the medium term. Powell‘s statements shouldn‘t have stunned the bulls, but they did – the mere reiteration of the tightening plans coupled with remarks on the need to stamp out aggressive inflation before it‘s too late (anchored inflation expectations, anyone? I talked that in the run up to the Sep 2021 P&G price hikes and how the competition would be following in a nod to high input costs, with heating job market on top of the commodities pressure pinching back then already), sent stocks and bonds down.Add the recession fears that were assuaged during the Wednesday‘s conference, and you get the S&P 500 bulls having to dust off after Monday‘s setback. Given how early we‘re in the tightening cycle, and that the real economy isn‘t yet breaking down no matter what‘s in the pipeline geopolitically as regards various consequences to commodities, goods, services and money flows, the stock market bulls are still likely to take on the 4,600 as discussed already.Only this time, the upswing would be accompanied by a more measured and balanced commodities upswing, joined in by precious metals. Great profits ahead and already in the making.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Nasdaq OutlookS&P 500 is consolidating above 4,400, and the relative strength in value as opposed to tech, is boding well – the bulls are pushing their luck a bit too hard as a further TLT decline would pressure growth stocks.Credit MarketsHYG is getting under pressure again, but its decline would be uneven in the short run – as in I‘m looking for quite some back and forth action. First, higher in taking on yesterday‘s selling.Gold, Silver and MinersPrecious metals aren‘t turning lower in earnest – the miners‘ leadership bodes well for further gains, and is actually a very good performance given the hawkish Fed „surprise“ (surprise that wasn‘t, shouldn‘t have been).Crude OilCrude oil strength returning is a very good omen for commodities bulls broadly, and the rising volume hints at return of bullish spirits. The upswing is far from over – look how far black gold got on relatively little conviction, and where oil stocks trade at the moment.CopperCopper is acting strongly, and the downswing didn‘t entice the bears much. The path of least resistance remains higher, and the red metal isn‘t yet outperforming the CRB Index. Great pick for portfolio gains with as little volatility as can be.Bitcoin and EthereumBitcoin went on to recover the weekend setback – Ethereum upswing presaged that. They‘re both a little stalling now, but entering today‘s regular session on a constructive note. I‘m looking for modest gains extension.SummaryS&P 500 is bound to recover from yesterday‘s intraday setback – the animal spirits and positive seasonality are there to overcome the brief realization that the Fed talks seriously about tightening and entrenched inflation. While not even the implied readiness to hike by 50bp here and there won‘t cut it and send inflation to the woodshed, let alone inflation expectations, the recession fears would be the next powerful ally of stock market bears. For now though, we‘re muddling through generally higher (I‘m still looking for a tradable consolidation of last week‘s sharp gains), and will do so over the coming several weeks. The real profits are to be had in commodities and precious metals, as I had been saying quite often lately… Enjoy!Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for all the five publications: Stock Trading Signals, Gold Trading Signals, Oil Trading Signals, Copper Trading Signals and Bitcoin Trading Signals.
US Dollar (USD) Amid Fed's Rhetoric And Tomorrow’s Powell Speech. EUR/USD, GBP/USD And USD/JPY In Focus

US Dollar (USD) Amid Fed's Rhetoric And Tomorrow’s Powell Speech. EUR/USD, GBP/USD And USD/JPY In Focus

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 22.03.2022 18:48
The last raise of Fed’s interest rate seems to be tip of the iceberg as hawkish rhetoric is vivid in following Jerome Powell’s testimonies. Inflation is still here and according to Investing.com Goldman Sachs predicts that Fed’s next moves are 50bps raises in the two following months. As we’re waiting for tomorrows midday (GMT) which is the time Fed Chairman speaks, let’s review how have most traded, dollar-based pairs traded over last 24 hours. EUR/USD Morning declines appear to be only temporary, USD has weakened in the afternoon and slightly decreased as the pair gained 0.1% until now. GBP/USD The pair has gained ca. 0.6% and can be threated as a ‘trailer’ of the dollar strengthening later this week. USD/JPY After today’s news about Russian-Japanese end of negotiations considering official truce of World War II (!) and ongoing hawkish Fed’s rhetoric Japanese yen has weakened and the pair has gained ca. 1.1% USD/PLN Exotic pair shows an interesting performance once again after an increase of over 0.4% USDPLN has decreased by over 0.5% as the pair seems to be affected by many factors as the country lies close to Ukraine and had its interest rate increased two weeks ago. Source/Data: Investing.com, TradingView.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
Binance Academy summarise year 2022 featuring The Merge, FTX and more

Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) And… PancakeSwap (CAKE) – Daily Crypto Price Report

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 22.03.2022 21:11
In the new series we focus on some interesting, meme and other… non-typical coins. Today we highlight fluctuations of popular SHIB, DOGE and tasty PancakeSwap. PancakeSwap (CAKE) Price has risen by 5% today what’s probably not so surprising as it seems to be very activating project with loads of announcements on Twitter. Dogecoin (DOGE) The project which is, let’s say, “supported” by Elon Musk keeps arousing interest. Price has risen by ca. 2% until now. The price has reached but declined suddenly… Shiba Inu (SHIB) Another iteration of Doge-inspired coin has declined recently as well, ranging between 2-3% gain at the time I’m writing. Source/Data: TradingView.com, coinmarketcap.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
CZK: Koruna's Resilience Amid Global Influences - 16.08.2023

Price Of Gold, Silver And Crude Oil Price Ahead Of Powell Speech And Amid Ongoing Russia-Ukraine War

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 23.03.2022 00:28
All the markets’ old boys like crude, gold and silver are still vulnerable for the mix of the factors shaping the prices. Naturally, stocks seems to be more dynamic as the recent events show. China stocks have been fluctuating recently as, among others, COVID-19 and negotiations with the USA were topping the headlines. Global sanctions affect WTI/BRENT price – the supplies from Russia are about to be limited in Europe so the price is to rise again. Going back to gold - Hawkish rhetoric of Fed keeps precious metals investors uncertain. There’s no doubt safe-haven must be watched all the time to decide if it’s the best moment to sell or buy. Crude Oil – WTI Luckily crude oil price has decreased by 3% over last 24 hours and it’s probably ‘waiting’ for the next significant geopolitical updates. According to Reuters, some countries of the EU are still hesitating to stop importing crude oil from Russia. Gold – XAUUSD Yes, price of gold has decreased by almost 1%, but… it could be worse as Powell doesn’t hesitate to present hawkish comments. Silver – XAGUSD Silver price chart shows a significant decline which has helped it to decrease by 1.7% over last day. As wrote above, Powell testimony will let us visualise a more detailed outlook. Source/Data: Reuters, TradingView.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
The Bitcoin Market Is Now Developing The Corrective Cycle To The Downside

March 22nd, 2022, Crypto Chartbook

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 22.03.2022 19:44
Bitcoin´s time to go   Trying to pick tops and bottoms is honorable and a desirable goal. Nevertheless, there needs to be other insurances and principles in place. If an ideal spot passes or the market doesn’t provide for a low-risk entry or enough liquidity for an exit, one still needs alternate tools to participate in the market. Our quad exit strategy allows for position building and market participation that consistently extracts monies from the markets. Bitcoin, daily chart, keep calm and keep trading: Bitcoin in USD, daily chart as of March 22nd, 2022. Precision trading gets even more difficult in wartimes, when frequent and conflicting news events jolt prices alternating up and down. The daily chart above shows these jolts over the last three weeks of wartime. We can identify three low-risk long trade entry opportunities (green up arrows on double bottom price scenarios) and one short trading one (red downward arrow at a double top price formation). Our quad exit strategy takes on each of these trades a partial initial profit to mitigate risk, which allows the remainder position size to be the market’s money at risk only.     Bitcoin, weekly chart, pushing up: Bitcoin in USD, weekly chart as of March 22nd, 2022. Zooming out to larger time frames is another way to avoid noise and see a trading scenario more clearly, and, as such, find “go times” with more accuracy. This weekly chart illustrates that entries and exits are rather entry zones (red and green boxes) versus a precise price level. The trader’s goal is to exploit within such a zone a low-risk entry spot on a lower time frame to get positioned. Regarding bitcoin, we find overall price behavior to be up sloping over the last twelve months, a bullish notion. And we find a high likelihood for the momentary entry zone (green box to the right of the chart). In other words, we are right now in a price zone where its Bitcoin´s time to go. Bitcoin, monthly chart, March closing price: Bitcoin in USD, monthly chart as of March 22nd, 2022. Suppose we further remove ourselves from the noise by electing a higher timeframe. In that case, we find a pat situation on the monthly chart, pat not for a more significant edge for prices to go higher up but for timing on when to enter the markets. Our statistics show that it will be essential on what price level the month of March will be closing. With a close above current levels (white line), we will enter a bullish buy zone. Yet, if prices decline from here in the last nine days of this month, the probabilities of an immediate price advance rapidly decline. Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart, Bitcoin´s time to go: Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart as of March 22nd, 2022. An additional benefit quiet charting provides in turbulent times is to think outside the box. While all noise points toward the most heated issues, finding a trading opportunity elsewhere might be best. In our previous chart book release, we exploited a great go time for bitcoin. Last week, we provided entry points (green up arrows) for rotating one’s gold into bitcoin. Using our quad exit strategy, the trader who wanted to not expose his money to a volatile fiat currency trading world could profit near ten percent on his first fifty percent of position size. We are now placing the stop for the remainder position size to breakeven entry levels. Bitcoin´s time to go: In war, the first casualty is the truth. Under stress, our minds insist on reason, clarity, precise calls for action. Unfortunately, even the best-informed brightest minds can’t find reliable data in times of war since the distortion field of media around the world is at a level where lies and propaganda outweigh facts and truth.  Luckily, a trader can, in these times, rely more heavily on charts. Charts always encompass the sum of opinion. Charts are consistently working as a reliable source to trade from.  The psychological aspect is hugely beneficial since a consistent bombardment of news and everybody’s opinion can get quickly exhausting.  Reduce news data consumption at a time when calm and levelheadedness is the most powerful tool for wealth creation and preservation, and the “go time” will reveal itself nearly effortlessly.     Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|March 22nd, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, Bitcoin consolidation, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, Gold, Gold bullish, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
EM Index Inclusions and Exclusions: India Thrives, Egypt Faces Challenges

Everybody Awaits Powell’s Speech And Crude Oil Inventories! How Will Dollar Index (DXY) And Crude Oil Price React?

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 22.03.2022 19:18
Even if the ongoing week is not that tempting as the previous one was, there are still many events to follow. The most awaited are surely Fed’s Chair Testimony and Crude Oil Inventories as these can affect dollar exchange rate. In Great Britain BoE’s Bailey testifies as well so the pair GBP/USD can interact with both events. Morning-noon – 22/03/22 As always Britons wake up very early in the morning at 7 a.m. to announce CPI (YoY) which previously amounted to 5.5% At noon Bailey grabs the mic to and is expected to release a sneak-peak of BoE’s monetary policy. Bailey Feat. Powell we may say as at the same time in the US Jerome Powell testifies. Afternoon – 22/03/22 Half an hour later (at 12:30 p.m.) UK Annual Budget is released, at 2 p.m. it’s time to meet the US New Home Sales of February (prev. 801K). After this one Crude Oil Inventories indicator goes public – the previous value was 4.345M. Data/Source: Investing.com Economic Calendar Time: GMT
Indonesia's Inflation Slips, Central Bank Maintains Rates Amidst Stability

[VIDEO] Forex Pairs - AUD/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/USD And USD/CAD Analysis

Jason Sen Jason Sen 23.03.2022 14:06
AUDUSD beat strong resistance at the March high at 7430/40 to test very strong resistance at 7480/90. Shorts need stops above 7510. A break higher is a medium term buy signal. Shorts at 7480/90 target 7440/30, perhaps as far as 7380/60. GBPUSD break above 1.3215/25 was our buy signal targeting 1.3300/20 - hit over night as I write. Eventually we could reach as far as resistance at 1.3400. A pull back to the neck line at 1.3230/20 is a buying opportunity with stop below 1.3300. EURUSD holding first resistance at 1.1.1045/1.1060 is a sell signal targeting 1.0975/65 then 1.0910/00. This is not a support so if we continue lower look for 1.0850 before a retest of the March low & important 5 year trend line support at 1.0825/05. Longs need stops below 1.0780. Shorts at 1.1045/60 stop above 1.1080. A break higher targets resistance at 1.1120/40. USDCAD tests strong support at 1.2600/1.2580. Longs need stops below 1.2550. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 1.2485/75. Longs at strong support at 1.2600/1.2580 target 1.2670/80 then first resistance at 1.2700/20 for profit taking before the weekend. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
Gold To Go Head To Head With Fed And Inflation

Gold To Go Head To Head With Fed And Inflation

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 23.03.2022 15:17
  The Fed's hawkish alerts seem like a voice in the wilderness to gold investors. However, a carefree attitude can backfire on them – in just a few months. An epic battle is unfolding across the financial markets as the Fed warns investors about its looming rate hike cycle and the latter ignores the ramifications. However, with perpetually higher asset prices only exacerbating the Fed's inflationary conundrum, a profound shift in sentiment will likely occur over the next few months. To explain, I highlighted in recent days how the Fed has turned the hawkish dial up to 100. Moreover, I wrote on Mar. 22 that it's remarkable how much the PMs' domestic fundamental outlooks have deteriorated in recent weeks. Yet, prices remain elevated, investors remain sanguine, and the bullish bands continue to play.  However, with inflation still rising and the Fed done playing games, the next few months should elicit plenty of fireworks. For example, with another deputy sounding the hawkish alarm, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Mar. 22: "Inflation has persisted for long enough that people are starting to wonder how long it will persist. I'm already focused on letting make sure this doesn't get embedded and we see those longer-term inflation expectations drift up." As a result, Daly wants to ensure that the "main risk" to the U.S. economy doesn't end up causing a recession. Please see below: Source: Reuters Likewise, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard reiterated his position on Mar. 22, telling Bloomberg that “faster is better,” and that “the 1994 tightening cycle or removal of accommodation cycle is probably the best analogy here.” Please see below: Source: Bloomberg   Falling on Deaf Ears To that point, while investors seem to think that the Fed can vastly restrict monetary policy without disrupting a healthy U.S. economy, a major surprise could be on the horizon. For example, the futures market has now priced in nearly 10 rate hikes by the Fed in 2022. As a result, should we expect the hawkish developments to unfold without a hitch? Please see below: To explain, the light blue, dark blue, and pink lines above track the number of rate hikes expected by the Fed, BoE, and ECB. If you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the light blue line has risen sharply over the last several days and months. For your reference, if you focus your attention on the material underperformance of the pink line, you can see why I’ve been so bearish on the EUR/USD for so long. Also noteworthy, please have a look at the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield minus the German 2-Year Bond yield spread. If you analyze the rapid rise on the right side of the chart below, you can see how much short-term U.S. yields have outperformed their European counterparts in 2021/2022. Source: Bloomberg/ Lisa Abramowicz More importantly, though, with Fed officials’ recent rhetoric encouraging more hawkish re-pricing instead of talking down expectations (like the ECB), they want investors to slow their roll. However, investors are now fighting the Fed, and the epic battle will likely lead to profound disappointment over the medium term. Case in point: when Fed officials dial up the hawkish rhetoric, their “messaging” is supposed to shift investors’ expectations. As such, the threat of raising interest rates is often as impactful as actually doing it. However, when investors don’t listen, the Fed has to turn the hawkish dial up even more. If history is any indication, a calamity will eventually unfold.  Please see below: To explain, the blue line above tracks the U.S. federal funds rate, while the various circles and notations above track the global crises that erupted during the Fed’s rate hike cycles. As a result, standard tightening periods often result in immense volatility.  However, with investors refusing to let asset prices fall, they’re forcing the Fed to accelerate its rate hikes to achieve its desired outcome (calm inflation). As such, the next several months could be a rate hike cycle on steroids.  To that point, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dropping the hawkish hammer on Mar. 21, I noted his response to a question about inflation calming in the second half of 2022. I wrote on Mar. 22: "That story has already fallen apart. To the extent it continues to fall apart, my colleagues and I may well reach the conclusion we'll need to move more quickly and, if so, we'll do so." To that point, Powell said that “there’s excess demand" and that "the economy is very strong and is well-positioned to handle tighter monetary policy." As a result, while investors seem to think that Powell’s bluffing, enlightenment will likely materialize over the next few months. Please see below: Source: Reuters Furthermore, with Goldman Sachs economists noting the shift in tone from “steadily” in January to “expeditiously” on Mar. 21, they also upped their hawkish expectations. They wrote: “We are now forecasting 50bp hikes at both the May and June meetings (vs. 25bp at each meeting previously). The level of the funds rate would still be low at 0.75-1% after a 50bp hike in May, and if the FOMC is open to moving in larger steps, then we think it would see a second 50bp hike in June as appropriate under our forecasted inflation path.” “After the two 50bp moves, we expect the FOMC to move back to 25bp rate hikes at the four remaining meetings in the back half of 2022, and to then further slow the pace next year by delivering three quarterly hikes in 2023Q1-Q3. We have left our forecast of the terminal rate unchanged at 3-3.25%, as shown in Exhibit 1.” Please see below: In addition, this doesn’t account for the Fed’s willingness to sell assets on its balance sheet. For context, Powell said on Mar. 16 that quantitative tightening (QT) should occur sometime in the summer and that shrinking the balance sheet “might be the equivalent of another rate increase.” As a result, investors’ lack of preparedness for what should unfold over the next few months has been something to behold. However, the reality check will likely elicit a major shift in sentiment.  In contrast, the bond market heard Powell’s message loud and clear, and with the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield hitting another 2022 high of ~2.38% on Mar. 22, the entire U.S. yield curve is paying attention. Please see below: Source: Investing.com Finally, the Richmond Fed released its Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity on Mar. 22. With the headline index increasing from 1 in February to 13 in March, the report cited “increases in all three of the component indexes – shipments, volume of new orders, and number of employees.” Moreover, the prices received index increased month-over-month (MoM) in March (the red box below), while future six-month expectations for prices paid and received also increased (the blue box below). As a result, inflation trends are not moving in the Fed’s desired direction. Please see below: Source: Richmond Fed Likewise, the Richmond Fed also released its Fifth District Survey of Service Sector Activity on Mar. 22, nd while the headline index decreased from 13 in February to -3 in March, current and future six-month inflationary pressures/expectations rose MoM. Source: Richmond Fed The bottom line? While the Fed is screaming at the financial markets to tone it down to help calm inflation, investors aren't listening. With higher prices resulting in more hawkish rhetoric and policy, the Fed should keep amplifying its message until investors finally take note. If not, inflation will continue its ascent until demand destruction unfolds and the U.S. slips into a recession. As such, if investors assume that several rate hikes will commence over the next several months with little or no volatility in between, they're likely in for a major surprise. In conclusion, the PMs declined on Mar. 22, as the sentiment seesaw continued. However, as I noted, it's remarkable how much the PMs' domestic fundamental outlooks have deteriorated in recent weeks. Thus, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict keeps them uplifted, for now, the Fed's inflation problem is nowhere near an acceptable level. As a result, when investors finally realize that a much tougher macroeconomic environment confronts them over the next few months, the shift in sentiment will likely culminate in sharp drawdowns. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Tilray Stock Forecast: TLRY $6, $6.50 calls expiring on Friday jump 200%

Tilray Stock Forecast: TLRY $6, $6.50 calls expiring on Friday jump 200%

FXStreet News FXStreet News 23.03.2022 15:52
Tilray stock rose 6.8% on Tuesday and is up double digits in Wednesday's premarket. High level of call contracts expire this Friday. Tilray stock is down 23% so far this year and 76% in the past year. Tilray stock is trading up 4.2% at $5.92 about 45 minutes into Wednesday's session. Shares spiked up to $6.30 at the open but have steadily lost ground as the session has progressed. Due to the large-scale call buying that occurred on Tuesday, with some 30,000 contracts being traded that expire this Friday with strike prices of $6 and $6.50, Breaking above either of these levels will receive intent focus from the market. The cost of buying call contracts at those strikes – $6 and $6.50 – are up 175% and 216%, respectively, this morning. Tilray Brands (TLRY), the massive Canadian cannabis conglomerate, is riding high in Wednesday's premarket. It appears that an unusually large volume of call options were purchased on Tuesday that is driving the price higher. Tilray stock saw a volume of 13,500 March 25 call contracts at the $6 strike price exchange hands and nearly 17,000 for the $6.50 strike. Both exceeded open interest. TLRY stock closed up 6.8% to $5.68 and up another 10% near $6.25 in Wednesday's premarket. Tilray Brands Stock News: Despite dwindling share price, expansion continues Similar to its Medmen deal last summer, Tilray announced earlier this month that it had acquired $211 million in convertible notes from Hexo, another major player in the Canadian cannabis arena. If exercised, Tilray would own about 37% of Hexo. This is unsurprising as Tilray has been on a mad tear to acquire as much of the pot industry as possible. Its deal with Medmen last summer gives it access to the US market, and its merger with Aphria around the same time created the largest cannabis company in the world. Profitability is less important to management at this stage, since their stated goal is to raise current annual revenue of $600 million to $4 billion by 2024. Not much time left guys! Tilray Brands Forecast: $6.23 is key A descending top line that began one year ago back in March and connects to highs on June 9, 2021, and November 14, 2021, has been calling the resistance shots for a long time. Despite Tuesday's spike, shares are still down 76% in the past 12 months. To break out of the long-term bearish trend, TLRY needs to close above $6.75. Resistance comes first at $6.23, where there was a shelf in late February. Then $7.30 shows resistance from the swing high in mid-February. Support is at $4.81. TLRY 1-day chart
(MCO) Crypto.com Price Rises As The Company Is Presented As A Sponsor Of An Important Sport Event

(MCO) Crypto.com Price Rises As The Company Is Presented As A Sponsor Of An Important Sport Event

FXStreet News FXStreet News 23.03.2022 15:52
Crypto.com token set a stable base and rallied 12% to clear a crucial hurdle at $0.41. If CRO manages to stay above this barrier, a retest of $0.45 seems likely. A breakdown of $0.41 could trigger a correction to $0.37 or lower. Crypto.com token has set up pools of liquidity at the range low and high of recent run-up. This technical outlook creates ambiguity with directional bias, but the recent announcement indicates a bullish move is likely. The company’s Twitter account posted that it will be a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. A blog post further elaborated that Crypto.com will be the “exclusive cryptocurrency trading company” sponsoring the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. This move from the establishment is not unseen in the crypto industry with FTX partnering with major Major Baseball League, Mercedes, eSports teams and so on. The sponsorship will allow Crypto.com to garner branding exposure from within and outside the tournament’s stadiums. Crypto.com token at make-or-break point Crypto.com token fell nearly 20% between March 2 and 7, setting up a range that extends from $0.45 to $0.37. This downswing set a boundary and CRO bulls respected it and created a double bottom at $0.37, triggering then a recovery rally. So far, the Crypto.com token has managed to flip the 50% retracement level at $0.41 and is at the time of writing hovering above it. A continuation of this bullish momentum could see CRO heading back to the range high and perhaps higher. Interested investors can wait for a retest of the $0.41 barrier to enter a long position and book profits at $0.45. In some cases, the run-up could push the Crypto.com token to $0.47 especially if the buying pressure increases. CRO/USDT 4-hour chart Although things are looking favorable to bulls, a breakdown of the $0.41 support level will trigger a move in the opposite direction. If Crypto.com token produces a four-hour candlestick close below $0.37, it will invalidate the bullish thesis. This development could see Crypto.com token slide lower to retest the stable support level at $0.36.
The Swing Overview - Week 11 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 11 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 23.03.2022 16:13
The Swing Overview - Week 11 The fall in the indices that we have seen in recent days has stopped. The indices strengthened on expectations of a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than three weeks. However, these negotiations have not led to any significant breakthrough yet, so the upside potential for the indices could be limited. In addition, the Fed has started its own war against inflation and raised interest rates for the first time in three years, which is rather negative news for equity indices in the short term. However, the statistics say that in the long run it does not mean a trend reversal for the SP 500 index. The Bank of England also raised rates, but the pound surprisingly weakened. The reason for this is in our article. The war in Ukraine   The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three weeks now and there is still no end in sight. Sentiment has started to improve after reports on negotiations for a diplomatic solution to the war. However, Russia continues to make unrealistic demands that Ukraine cannot agree to. Negotiations have therefore have not led to a solution yet.   Meanwhile, the economic situation in Russia continues to deteriorate rapidly as a result of the sanctions. The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded Russia's credit rating from the current grade CCC- to CC. Russia has already announced that it is having difficulty repaying its bonds. However, Russia managed to pay the coupon payments that were due this week, averting the country's imminent bankruptcy for now.   The war in Ukraine will have a negative impact on the global economy. World economic growth for 2022 is expected to fall from 4% to 3.2%. Apart from Russia and Ukraine, Europe and the UK will be hardest hit, where there is a significant risk of recession.   The Fed has raised interest rates The US Fed has launched a war on inflation and raised interest rates for the first time since December 2018. The current rate is 0.50% and further increases will continue. The Fed disclosed that rates are expected to rise to 2.80% within a year.  Figure 1: The evolution of interest rates in the US   The evolution of interest rates, over the last 25 years, is shown in Figure 1.   Jerome Powell commented that the Fed's main goal is to achieve price stability and maximum employment. He expects inflation, which has now reached 7.9%, to reach the target of 2%, but this will take longer than originally expected.    The problem is a persistent labour shortage, which is putting upward pressure on wages. However, the situation is already starting to normalise in some sectors, suggesting that this should not be an uncontrollable spiral wage growth that would strongly support inflation.   According to Powell, the US economy is in good shape and ready for monetary policy normalisation. Therefore, the Fed will start in May to reduce the bonds in its balance sheet, which has grown considerably to almost $9 trillion thanks to the support of the economy during the covid pandemic.   The Index SP500 As far as the impact of interest rate hikes is concerned, this should not change the long-term bullish market. Statistics confirm that over the following 12 months from the date of the hike, the index has reached higher levels in every case since 1983. Figure 2: The impact of the first interest rate hike on the performance of the SP 500 index. Source: Bloomberg     However, the statistics also show that in the short term, there were declines in the index within 3 months and this cannot be ruled out now as well. As for the current developments on the SP 500 index, it has recently bounced off its supports. The reason for this was the hope for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine. However, this has stalled. The Fed also gave optimism to the indices with its statement about the economy doing well. Figure 3: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   Overall, the index is currently in a downtrend. In terms of technical analysis, the price has reached the resistance level which is at 4,383 - 4,420. According to the daily chart, the price has reached the EMA 50 moving average, which also serves as resistance. Support according to the H4 chart is at 4,328 - 4,334.  Significant support according to the daily chart is at 4 105 - 4 152.  German DAX index Figure 4: The German DAX index on H4 and daily chart   There was a significant deterioration in economic sentiment in Germany in March, as shown by the ZEW index, which reached a negative reading of -39.3. However, the DAX index, which is much more affected by the war in Ukraine than the US indices, strengthened last week.  The reason for the index's rise was mainly due to signs of a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The price climbed up to the resistance level on the H4 chart last week, which is in the area near the 14,500 price. The strong resistance according to the daily chart is in the range between 14,800 - 15,000.  The closest support according to the H4 chart is at 14,030 - 14,100.   The euro strengthened after the Fed announcement The euro price retested the resistance area which is in the area near 1.1130 - 1.1150 according to the daily chart. However, the Euro remains under pressure and although the ECB was surprisingly hawkish at the last meeting, it is still lagging behind compared to the US Fed. Moreover, the war in Ukraine, and according to some, the looming recession in the Eurozone, does not give much room for the Euro to strengthen. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the EURUSD falls to levels around 1. 0890 - 1. 0900, where the nearest support level is.     Figure 5: The EURUSD on the H4 and daily charts.   From a technical point of view, we can see that EURUSD is still in a downtrend according to the daily chart, so the current pullback may be an opportunity for trades in the short direction.   The Bank of England also raised interest rates The Bank of England raised its key interest rate by 0.25%.  Therefore, the rate is currently at 0.75%. By raising interest rates, the central bank is responding to rising inflation, which is expected to hit 8% in June 2022. But the pound surprisingly weakened sharply after the rate announcement. This was because the central bank was much more cautious in its expectations for the future of the economy. There are already signs that the war in Ukraine is having a negative impact on consumer confidence and is also having a negative impact on household incomes. This would slow economic activity. That is why the central bank has moved away from its previous aggressive hawkish tone.   Figure 6: The British Pound on H4 and daily chart.   A resistance is in the area of 1.3170 - 1.3200, where the price has halted. A support is at 1.3000.  
The US Has Again Benefited From Military Conflicts In Other Parts Of The World, The Capital From Europe And Other Regions Goes To The US

EUR/USD Loses 0.15%, GBP/USD Loses 0.35%, USD/JPY Gains 0.35%! You Hawkish Fed! Dollar Strengthens!

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 23.03.2022 20:27
Yesterday we were following forex pairs with dollars. Everybody follows dollar index (DXY) to check market’s reaction to Fed rhetoric which is verbalised by Jerome Powell (Chairman) again. Next rate hikes are highly expected. EUR/USD Chart GBP/USD Chart USD/JPY Chart USD/PLN Chart - exotic pair has gained this time, dollar seems to feel better Source/Data: Investing.com, Goldman Sachs, TradingView.com
What Will Be The Impact Of Rising Rates On Stocks & Commodities?

What Will Be The Impact Of Rising Rates On Stocks & Commodities?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 23.03.2022 21:33
Investors and traders alike are concerned about what investments they should make on behalf of their portfolios and retirement accounts. We, at TheTechnicalTraders.com, continue to monitor stocks and commodities closely due to the Russia-Ukraine War, market volatility, surging inflation, and rising interest rates. Several of our subscribers have asked if changes in monitor policy may lead to a recession as higher rates take a bigger bite out of corporate profits.As technical traders, we look exclusively at the price action to provide specific clues as to the current trend or a potential change in trend. We review our charts for both stocks and commodities to see what we can learn from the most recent price action. Before we dive into that, let’s review the various stages of the market; with special attention given to expansion vs. contraction in a rising interest rate environment which you can see illustrated below.PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR STOCK PORTFOLIOWe are keeping an especially close eye on the price action of the SPY ETF. The current resistance for the SPY is the 475 top that happened around January 6, 2022. This top was 212.5% of the March 23, 2020, low that was put in at the height of the Covid global pandemic.The SPY found support in the 410 area at the end of February. If you recall (or didn't know), 410 was the Fibonacci 1.618 or 161.8% percent of the Covid 2020 price drop. Now, after experiencing a nice rally back, of a little over 50%, we are waiting to see if the rally can continue or if rotation will occur, sending the price back lower.COMMODITY MARKETS SURGEDThe commodity markets experienced a tremendous rally due to fast-rising inflation, especially energy, metals, and food prices.The GSG ETF price action shows that we recently touched 200%, or the doubling of the April 21, 2020, low. Immediately following, similar to the SPY, the GSCI commodity index promptly sold off only to then find substantial buying support at the Fibonacci 1.618 or 161.8 percent of the starting low price of the bull trend. Resistance for the GSG is at 26, and support is 21.A STRENGTHENING US DOLLARThe strengthening US dollar can be attributed to investors seeking a safe haven from geopolitical events, surging inflation, and the Fed beginning to raise rates. The US Dollar is still considered the primary reserve currency as the greatest portion of forex reserves held by central banks are in dollars. Furthermore, most commodities, including gold and crude oil, are also denominated in dollars.Consider the following statement from the Bank of International Settlements www.bis.org ‘Triennial Central Bank Survey’ published September 16, 2019: “The US dollar retained its dominant currency status, being on one side of 88% of all trades.” The report also highlighted, “Trading in FX markets reached $6.6 trillion per day in April 2019, up from $5.1 trillion three years earlier.” That’s a lot of dollars traded globally and confirms that we need to stay current on the dollars price action.Multinational companies are especially keeping a close eye on the dollar as any major shift in global money flows will seriously negatively impact their net profit and subsequent share value.The following chart by www.finviz.com provides us with a current snapshot of the relative performance of the US dollar vs. major global currencies over the past year:KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, AND APPLICATION ARE NEEDEDIt is important to understand that we are not saying the market has topped and is headed lower. This article is to shed light on some interesting analyses of which you should be aware. As technical traders, we follow price only, and when a new trend has been confirmed, we will change our positions accordingly. We provide our ETF trades to our subscribers, and somewhat surprisingly, we entered five new trades earlier this week, two of which have now hit their first profit target levels. Our models continually track price action in a multitude of markets, asset classes, and global money flow. As our models generate new information about trends or a change in trends, we will communicate these signals expeditiously to our subscribers and to those on our trading newsletter email list.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE The CURRENT MARKET TRENDS? Learn how we use specific tools to help us understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, we expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. We believe the markets have begun to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern begin to drive traders/investors into Metals and other safe-havens.We invite you to join our group of active traders and investors to learn and profit from our three ETF Technical Trading Strategies. We can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/3/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/3/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 23.03.2022 19:52
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 15/3/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index fell by 5,664 contracts last week. This change is the result of a decrease in long positions by 6,264 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 600 contracts. The decline in total net speculator positions occurred last week in the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen. The increase in total net positions occurred in the New Zealand dollar, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc. The significant growth in positions of large speculators in the commodity currencies AUD, NZD and CAD can be explained by the rising prices of commodities exported by these countries. A large number of options and futures contracts expired last week, which explains the large decline in open interest for each currency. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators Date USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Mar 15, 2022 28380 18794 -29061 -44856 3653 -62340 17740 -5229 Mar 08, 2022 34044 58844 -12526 -78195 -12379 -55856 7646 -9710 Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248 Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987 Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715 Feb 08, 2022 33765 38842 -8545 -85741 -10366 -59148 14886 -9399   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com The Euro date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 15, 2022 666010 202040 183246 18794 -72980 -40643 -593 -40050 Weak bullish Mar 08, 2022 738990 242683 183839 58844 19015 14298 20393 -6095 Weak bullish Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 700098 218973 180131 38842 14667 5410 -3716 9126 Býčí         Total Change -19421 -11523 -601 -10922     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 18 794 contracts last week and they are down by 40 050 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 40,643 contracts and an increase in short positions by 593 contracts. These data suggest a weakening of the bullish sentiment in the euro. The open interest, which fell by 72,980 contracts in the last week, shows that the upward movement that occurred in the euro last week was not supported by a volume and it is therefore a weak price action. The euro continues to weaken under the influence of the war in Ukraine. Last week it returned to a resistance level which could be an opportunity to trade short in the event of a downtrend.  Long-term resistance: 1.1120 – 1.1150. Support: 1.080-1.0850. The next support is at 1.0640-1.0700.   The British pound date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 15, 2022 188323 32442 61503 -29061 -57989 -18540 -2005 -16535 Bearish Mar 08, 2022 246312 50982 63508 -12526 34443 3303 15492 -12189 Bearish Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish Feb 08, 2022 197948 44709 53254 -8545 13941 15112 52 15060 Weak bearish         Total Change 4316 2845 8301 -5456     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to -29,061 contracts and they are down by 16,535 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 18,540 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 2,005 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative while there is also their further decline. Open interest, which fell by 57,989 contracts last week, means that the rise in the pound price that occurred last week was not supported by volume and it is therefore a weak price action. Risk off sentiment due to the war in Ukraine continues to weigh on the pound and therefore the pound is weakening strongly. Although the Bank of England raised interest rates by 0.25% to 0.75% last week, it also warned of a decline in economic growth as a result of the war in Ukraine. The change in central bank rhetoric is a bearish signal for the pound. Long-term resistance: 1.3180-1.3210.  Next resistance is near 1.3270 – 1.3330. Support is near 1.3000.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 15, 2022 124521 24281 69137 -44856 -72573 4760 -28579 33339 Weak bearish Mar 08, 2022 197094 19521 97716 -78195 7427 6801 6660 141 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Weak bearish Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish Feb 08, 2022 196403 17323 103064 -85741 -510 -1512 4400 -5912 Bearish         Total Change -72392 5446 -29527 34973     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1     The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 44 856 contracts, having increased by 33 339 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 4,706 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 28,579 contracts. This data suggests a weakening of bearish sentiment in the Australian dollar. Last week we saw a decline in open interest of 72,573 contracts. This means that the upward move that occurred last week was not supported by a volume and it was therefore a weak move as new money did not flow into the market. The Australian dollar strengthened strongly again last week and reached a resistance level. Long-term resistance: 0.7370-0.7440 Long-term support: 0.7160-0.7180.  A strong support is near 0.7080 – 0.7120.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 15, 2022 39200 21493 17840 3653 -14050 5718 -10314 16032 Bullish Mar 08, 2022 53250 15775 28154 -12379 2861 5290 3497 1793 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish Feb 08, 2022 54877 17168 27534 -10366 -3590 -2037 -3369 1332 Weak bearish         Total Change -19267 2288 -13063 15351     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 3,653 contracts last week and they are up by 16,032 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 5,718 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 10,314 contracts. This data suggests that there was bullish sentiment on the New Zealand dollar last week. Open interest fell significantly by 14,050 contracts last week. Therefore, the upward movement in the NZDUSD that occurred last week was not supported by volume and therefore the move was weak. The NZDUSD strengthened strongly last week and reached the resistance level. Long-term resistance: 0.690 – 0.6930 Long-term support: 0.6730-0.6740 and the next support is at 0.6590 – 0.6600.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
The Interest Rate Cut Will Not Affect The Ruble (RUB)

Russian Roubles (RUB) As A Way To Pay For The Gas?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 23.03.2022 15:55
The Russian rubles adds more than 3% to the dollar, trading around 100 on news that "so-called unfriendly countries" will have to pay for gas in rubles. Impulsively (as the Russian currency market remains extremely illiquid), the USDRUB dropped below 95. This is indeed positive news for the Russian currency as it increases demand. But is it such a significant step? All exporters are now obliged to convert at least 80% of their foreign currency earnings into rubles. On the foreign exchange side, buying gas for rubles raises the bar to 100% for Gazprom and several other smaller exporters, but not for all jurisdictions (about 70% of total gas exports). For the balance of supply and demand of the ruble, this is a much less strong move than the initial order to convert 80% of all foreign exchange earnings into rubles. The news itself carries more of an emotional message for the markets. Still, the initial optimism could correct very quickly and is unlikely to be the mainstay for a sustained rally in the rubles. It also looks like an attempt to jab the USA, as selling energy for dollars has often been referred to as the basis of the reserve status of the USD in recent months. A secondary effect was the inversion of the spread between the USDRUB exchange rate on the Moscow Exchange and in Forex. Previously, in early March, USDRUB was traded up to 10 rubles less in Russia than abroad (though the spread diminished over time). Now USDRUB is settling at 98 on FX versus 100.4 on MOEX. Another secondary effect is a rise in oil prices of more than 5% since the start of the day, as some buyers will try to use the remaining alternative to gas, which can still be bought with dollars. Among the adverse effects, albeit in the medium term, it is worth pointing out that the switch to ruble settlements will accelerate a pullback of Russian gas by Europe, reducing export revenues, which has been a guarantee of ruble stability and a driver of economic growth.
$30 Trilion Crypto Market Cap!? Regulated Cryptocurrencies Might Increase Demand!

$30 Trilion Crypto Market Cap!? Regulated Cryptocurrencies Might Increase Demand!

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 24.03.2022 09:22
Bitcoin is trading above $43K on Thursday morning, gaining 2.5% over the past 24 hours. Moderate but steady optimism around bitcoin is the best breeding ground for altcoin buyers. Bitcoin is trading around the resistance For the last ten days, we have seen a systematic increase in prices, although with a very modest amplitude by the standards of the crypto market. Ethereum added 3.4%, other leading altcoins from the top ten are in the range from +1% (XRP) to +12% (Dogecoin). According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market grew by 2.8% over the past day, to $1.96 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index lost another 0.2% to 41.7%. The crypto-currency index of fear and greed has grown by 9 points, to 40. This is still a fear zone, but already close to neutral territory. Bitcoin retreated from the resistance at $43K on Tuesday. However, on Thursday it is making attempts to gain a foothold above this mark again. The last rollback in this case could be nothing more than a tactical retreat of the bulls in order to develop growth with renewed vigor. Nevertheless, confidence in the formation of a strong bullish momentum will come only after BTCUSD fixes above 45 thousand, from where we saw reversals in February and early March. Moderate but steady optimism around bitcoin is the best breeding ground for altcoin buyers. It is clearly seen that their dynamics is now better than that of the first cryptocurrency. If this trend continues for a couple more days, the effect of a feedback loop may work, when the outstripping growth of altcoins will pull Bitcoin up. Market Cap may grow in 15 times Bank of America predicts that regulation of the cryptocurrency market will increase confidence and increase its capitalization by 15 times, up to $30 trillion. The former head of one of the divisions of Bank of America, David Woo, believes that bitcoin will face economic and geopolitical pressure after the launch of the state digital currency (CBDC) of the United States. China has already acted in a similar way, which has come closest to the introduction of the digital yuan. Thailand will ban the usage of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment from April 1. They declared that such payments have a negative impact on the financial system and reduce the effectiveness of the state's monetary policy.
Fed Expectations Amid Mixed Data: Wishful Thinking or Practical Pause?

Natural Gas Price Rises As Triggered By Putin’s Rhetoric That He Will ‘Demand Rouble Gas Payments’

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 24.03.2022 12:47
According to Investing.com Russia could require gas payment in roubles what clearly affects both Forex pairs (e.g. EUR/RUB) and natural gas price (TTF) which has increased by 31%. What’s more MOEX is back to the game after such a long break. Some companies have gained significantly already and many would like to know what’s ahead. Generally speaking Russian currency and Russia-associated markets are really volatile at the moment and there are many assets to watch in the following days. Let’s begin with natural gas price. Obviously monthly chart (yes, it’s been one month since the warfare started) shows the fluctuations caused by the start of invasion which took place on February 24th We may say that the true rise came few days later, as negotiations of cease-fire haven’t changed a thing and sanctions have begun to impact the markets. Further developments containing some signals of a ceasefire appeared not to coincide with the reality heading price of natural gas to a next rise. Natural Gas Price Chat (TTF) – monthly 24/02-23/03 - +31% Natural Gas Price Chart (TTF) Daily 22-23/03/22 +18.5% Russian Roubel (RUB) – Forex Charts +11% Monthly chart shows a huge decline and strengthening of RUB. EUR/RUB Chart - Monthly +6% EUR/RUB Chart - Daily (24h) Source/Data: Investing.com, TradingView.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com  
EURUSD – Trio Retest!EURUSD is overall bearish trading inside our red channel, However, it is currently approaching a very strong support area

EURUSD – Trio Retest!EURUSD is overall bearish trading inside our red channel, However, it is currently approaching a very strong support area

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 24.03.2022 13:29
The highlighted purple circle is a strong area to look for buy setups as it is the intersection of:1- Green Horizontal Support2- Lower Red Trendline acting as an over-sold area3- Lower Brown Trendline acting as non-horizontal supportWhat I call "Trio Retest"As per my trading style:As EURUSD approaches the purple circle zone, I will be looking for bullish reversal setups (like a double bottom pattern, trendline break , and so on...)Always follow your trading plan regarding entry, risk management, and trade management.Good luck!All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly!~Rich
US Close – A brutal week on Wall Street ends on a positive note, Fed reiterates commitment to restoring price stability, Oil plummets on outlook, Gold lower on strong USD, Bitcoin’s danger zone

Crypto Express - Smooth Love Potion (SLP) Price, PanCake Swap (CAKE) And Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Charts

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 24.03.2022 14:08
PanCake Swap shows a good performance ending the previous day with a sharp rise and keeping the uptrend. Smooth Love Potion was really, really high but has decreased losing almost all 10% gain. Doge (DOGE) Price doesn’t look like the recent optimistic Elon Musk’s dance as memecoin trades below 0. PanCake Swap (CAKE) Price (CAKEUSD) – 24h Chart Smooth Love Potion (SLP) Price (SLPUSD) – 24 Chart Doge Price (DOGEUSD) – 24 Chart Source/Data: TradingView.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
Falling Japanese yen suggests a changing world order

Falling Japanese yen suggests a changing world order

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 24.03.2022 15:23
The collapse of the Japanese yen continues, and so far, there are no signs of a trend reversal. The rise in the Yen is often linked to capital flight from risky assets, and the weakening is a sign of increased demand for risky assets. But that explanation hardly fits with what is happening now. We likely see the start of a significant reassessment by the markets of Japan's position in the financial system. In a worst-case scenario, this may turn into a debt crisis in the Land of the Rising Sun and be an even bigger disaster for financial markets than the eurozone debt crisis of a decade ago.The starting point for the weakening of the Yen was at the start of February. At that time, equities were in demand as a haven for capital to maintain the purchasing power of investments. The flow into equities was interrupted by the war in Ukraine but accelerated in the last couple of weeks on signs that these events have hyped up the processes that were taking place before. And these processes are now most visible in the dynamics of the Japanese yen against those currencies where the central bank can respond adequately to inflation.Since the start of February, the USDJPY has risen by 6.5%, and almost all of this increase has taken place since March 7th, taking the pair back to levels last seen at the end of 2015. A much more impressive rally is taking place in the Aussie and Kiwi against the Yen. Since the start of February, they have soared by more than 12%. So far this month, the strengthening is the largest in 11 years for AUDJPY and in more than 12 years for NZDJPY.The interest rate differential game, which was so beloved by traders in Japan before the global financial crisis, has found a second life. Australia and New Zealand have the economic potential to raise interest rates, as they are experiencing a surge in exports due to the boom in their export prices. However, the situation in Japan looks considerably more alarming, as Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio has risen by 77 percentage points to 170% since the financial crisis. Permanent QE from the Bank of Japan has kept government debt costs down but doesn't solve the problem.In the last decade, Japan has turned into a net commodity importer due to its growing dependence on energy and metals and increasing competition from China and Korea. The exchange rate should act as a natural mechanism to stabilise trade in this situation.But this adjustment is difficult for debt-laden Japan because selling currency would de facto mean selling bonds denominated in that currency. Under these circumstances, the Bank of Japan will either have to openly accept that it will finance the government (i.e. increase purchases despite inflation) or soften QE. The first option risks triggering a historic revaluation of the Yen. The second option would deal a blow to the economy and finances by raising questions about whether Japan can service its debt.
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos on the front foot as rebound turns into new uptrend

Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos on the front foot as rebound turns into new uptrend

FXStreet News FXStreet News 24.03.2022 16:22
Bitcoin price set to touch $45,000 by tomorrow if current tailwinds keep supporting price action. Ethereum price set to rally another 12%, with bulls targeting $3,500.00XRP price undergoes consolidation as the next profit level is $0.90.Bitcoin price, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are enjoying a calm week with tailwinds finally able to thrive without constant interruption from headlines about Ukraine or Russia. Markets are also starting to adjust to the situation, with no immediate or significant movements anymore triggered by headlines coming out. Expect to see more upside with several possible cryptocurrencies eking out the best week of the year thus far.Bitcoin price has a defined game plan with $44,088 as the target for today and $45,261 by the weekendBitcoin (BTC) price is on the front foot for a third consecutive day as the rally turns into a broader uptrend. The crucial thing will be to see where BTC price will close this week, as bears need to get weakened with several short squeezes and breakouts running stops from short-sellers. Despite being elevated, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still not near the 'overbought' level, providing enough incentive for bulls and investors to keep buying BTC price action.BTC price is set to hit $44,088.73 today, the level of the March 03 highs. If that is gained – and given the current tailwinds – markets will start to expect Bitcoin to eke out new highs for the month with still a week to go. This additional bullish element should help conclude a daily close above $44,088.73. A support test on that same level will trigger new inflows from investors and provide the needed juice to pump price action up to $45,261.84, topping $45,000.00.BTC/USD daily chartA tail risk comes from the big joint meeting today in Brussels, with Biden meeting NATO, the G7 and E.U. leaders. An embargo on gas is on the table and could roil markets if the E.U. decides to walk away from Russian gas supplies, opening up the possibility of further Russian retaliation in Ukraine. That would make global markets move back to risk-off mode, with Bitcoin price dropping back to support at $39,780.68, and intersecting with the green ascending trend line. Ethereum price targets $3,500 after bulls force a daily close above $3,018.55Ethereum (ETH) price is performing a 'classic long' trading plan today after bulls pushed a daily close above $3,018.55. With price action in ETH opening slightly above this level, this morning, the price has faded slightly back towards that same $3,018.55 level to find support and offer the opportunity for new bulls and investors to enter the market. Ethereum price will move back to the upside and continue its rally, which is currently looking more and more like an uptrend that could continue over a broader time frame.ETH price will therefore need to find support around $3,018.55 as the fade will need to be kept in check, as too large a fade could spook investors. Seeing as the current favourable tailwinds are quite broadly present in global markets, expect to see another uplift towards $3,200 and $3,391.52 depending on the number of new positive headlines acting as additional accelerators. With those moves, at least new highs for March will be printed and possibly for February, depending on how steep the rally can continue.ETH/USD daily chartThe risk for Ethereum price is that price action slips back below $3,018.55. That could open the door for bears to jump in again and run price action back to $2,835.83, which is the low of March 21 and the monthly pivot. An additional fail-safe system is the 55-day Simple Moving Average at $2,808.84 as an additional supportive factor to take into account.https://youtu.be/wgpCSH70SIQXRP price undergoes consolidation as the bullish breakout hits $0.90Ripple's (XRP) price has bears and bulls being pushed towards each other as the bodies of the candles from the past two sessions grow very thin. This points to bulls and bears fighting it out and neither yet having the upper hand. Bears are defending the area above $0.8390 from bulls running to $0.8791, and bulls are trying to defend their support at $0.7843. With lower highs and higher lows, the stage is set for a breakout that, seeing the current tailwinds, will probably favour bulls, and result in a quick move towards $0.8791.XRP price is thus set to print new highs for March. With the stock markets having their best performing week for this year, expect to see even more tailwinds spilling over to cryptocurrencies and bulls targeting $0.9110. At that level, bulls will run into the 200-day SMA which will possibly be the halting point of the current uptrend as investors will need to reassess the situation before they advance. Where global markets are at that point and how far off a peace treaty is between Russia and Ukraine will determine if bulls will advance towards $1.00 in XRP price.XRP/USD daily chartAlthough several statements suggest it is unlikely, should Putin be backed further into a corner, the use of nuclear weapons could cast a dark shadow on markets. Expect a massive drop in equities and cryptocurrencies with those headlines coming out, where XRP price will fall towards $0.7843 or even $0.7600. In the first case, the historic pivotal level will provide support and further down, the monthly pivot is set to intertwine with the 55-day SMA, which should be enough to catch any falling-knife action. https://youtu.be/ZWrKMd2CiL8
Crude Oil Holds Its Breath Ahead of World Summits

Crude Oil Holds Its Breath Ahead of World Summits

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.03.2022 16:46
Current levels of oil and petroleum products are high. Given that, what can explain such a surprising drop in US crude inventories?Energy Market UpdatesCommercial crude oil reserves in the United States fell much more than expected in the week ended March 18, according to figures released on Wednesday by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).US crude inventories have shrunk by more than 2.5 million barrels, which implies greater demand and is obviously another bullish factor for crude oil prices. Such a decline in inventories is particularly remarkable as the American strategic reserves have also recorded a significant drop. This is the 25th consecutive week of falling strategic reserves since the Biden administration started to make those adjustments in an attempt to relieve the market.(Source: Investing.com)WTI Crude Oil (CLK22) Futures (May contract, daily chart)Furthermore, some additional figures extracted from the same EIA report were released and surprised the markets.These are US Gasoline Reserves, which plunged by about 2.95 million barrels over a week, while the market was not even forecasting a two-million decline.(Source: Investing.com)Thus, US exports jumped by more than 30% compared to the previous week, not only due to large flows to Europe to replace Russian barrels, but also marked by a significant rebound in Asian demand.RBOB Gasoline (RBJ22) Futures (April contract, daily chart)Beware that a NATO summit, a G7 summit, and a European Union summit are being held on Thursday, when the various countries could set a new round of sanctions against Moscow.So, how will black gold progress from now on? Do you think that the on-going negotiations with Iran and Venezuela could flood the market with additional barrels? Let us know in the comments!That’s all folks for today. Happy trading!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Price Of Gold Heading To High Levels Again? Is $2000 Possible To Reach Shortly?

Price Of Gold Heading To High Levels Again? Is $2000 Possible To Reach Shortly?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 25.03.2022 04:28
Looking at gold, buyers continue to push a case for a new rally higher. We saw the intense buying after Russia invaded Ukraine and the sell-off that followed last week. Was the selling a case of things becoming too overbought of? Could it be a case of buy the rumour sell the fact? Yes, we heard about talks and ceasefires, but the fighting didn’t stop. Our thoughts are that this could be an important indicator of where gold demand is truly at. The key driver has passed, and we saw the market react and then reverse. Currently, we are watching a new breakout from the consolidation that started on the 16th. Buyers stopped the selling and formed a range between 1916.50 and 1944. Yesterday price broke out of that range and continues to hold above that point today. A hold and continued move higher tells us that buyers are still in the market, and with continued momentum, we could see a new push to test resistance noted by the orange box at the 1992 area. Even if we see a pause at this area, if we continue to see new higher lows, we will look to see if buyers can continue the move. If we see a pullback to the orange box at 1940, this is also ok as long as buyers get price back above the range break. If we see a move by sellers that closes below the range bottom, we will be very suspect and could start to think that sellers are back in control. Gold D1 Chart The post CFD News: Gold, have bulls started a new move higher? appeared first on Eightcap.
Price Of Gold Nears $45k As Many Authorities Are Speaking Of Crypto

Price Of Gold Nears $45k As Many Authorities Are Speaking Of Crypto

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.03.2022 08:52
Bitcoin is trading above $44.1K on Friday, gaining 2.4% over the past day and 8.2% over the week. Increased inquiry for BTC Yesterday, the first cryptocurrency was in demand during the Asian and American sessions. The current values of BTC are consolidating in the area of 2-month extremes. In contrast to the previous test of these levels, this time, we see a smooth rise in the rate, indicating that the bulls still have some momentum. Also, over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has gained 2.4%, while other leading altcoins from the top ten have strengthened from 0.5% (XRP) to 7.4% (Solana). The exception is Terra, which is shedding 1.8%, correcting part of its gains in the first half of the week. According to CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market capitalization increased by 2.3% to $2 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index rose 0.1 percentage points to 41.8%. The Fear and Greed Cryptocurrency Index added another 7 points to 47 and ended up in the neutral territory. Cardano leads the last week in terms of growth among top coins (+39%) as Coinbase added the possibility of staking cryptocurrency with a current estimated annual return of 3.75% per annum. Countries assess the risks of cryptos Credit Suisse reported that Bitcoin doesn't pose a threat to the banking sector as an alternative to fiat money and banking services. The CEO of BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment companies, noted that military actions in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will increase the popularity of cryptocurrencies and accelerate their adoption. Despite the rally in global stocks over the past two weeks, financial conditions in the debt markets continue to deteriorate due to rising interest rates and inflation. Largely because of this, El Salvador has postponed the issuance of bitcoin bonds in anticipation of more favorable conditions. Since very active steps to raise key rates are expected in the next year and a half, and Bitcoin is far from the highs, it is unlikely that such bonds will be issued soon. The Bank of England intends to tighten supervision of cryptocurrencies due to the financial risks that their adoption carries. However, the Central Bank urged commercial banks to exercise maximum caution when dealing with these extremely volatile assets.
Your Crypto Focus: 26th March-1st April

Your Crypto Focus: 26th March-1st April

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 25.03.2022 09:47
This week, we’ve seen another mainly firmer week on the crypto boards, with the top 10 adding over 5% and the top 25 gaining over 5.5%. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as sellers tried to get things going lower early in the week before buyers returned and set the direction for the remainder of the week. Looking at the top 100, Qtum was one of the leaders this week, adding 45% and Looping had a fantastic week, climbing over 58% in the last seven days. ApeCoin failed to catch weekly buyer momentum, dropping over 18% during the week. One of the week’s stories to watch is reports Russia is looking at bitcoin as a payment form to settle energy transactions. Western sanctions continue to hit the Russian economy hard and effectively locked out of the USD FX market. The Kremlin is looking at other payment options, including Bitcoin. Putin has changed his tune on bitcoin. In 2021, the Russian leader told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble that while he believed bitcoin had value, he wasn’t convinced it could replace the U.S. dollar in settling oil trades. Now, the Kremlin’s top brass is weighing it as a form of payment for major exports. It’s unclear, however, whether bitcoin’s relative lack of liquidity could support international trade transactions of that magnitude. – CNBC This week we are focusing on a favorite that has, like many, seen a rough run over the last few months. Cardano started the year with two months of sharp declines that saw the price drop back to 0.7440. Since then, we’ve seen a fightback that’s produced two higher weekly bars, the first time since November 2021. This week’s price broke out of its long term downtrend, another firm sign that demand is back on track, which is what we want to see from here. If buyers can break 1.206 resistance, that would be another win, but we would like to see a new reaction in lower form. A new higher low that sets up a break and closes above that resistance point could send a firmer signal that this new run higher might actually turn into something more. The post Your Crypto Focus: 26th March-1st April appeared first on Eightcap.
Is There Any Gold in Virtual Worlds Like Metaverse?

Is There Any Gold in Virtual Worlds Like Metaverse?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.03.2022 12:15
Imagine all the people… living life in the Metaverse. Once we immerse ourselves in the digital sphere, gold may go out of fashion. Or maybe not?Do you already have your avatar? If not, maybe you should consider creating one, as the Metaverse is coming! What is the Metaverse? It is a digital, three-dimensional world where people are represented by avatars, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection, the next evolution of the internet, “extended reality,” and the latest buzzword in the marketplace since Facebook changed its name to Meta. If you still have no idea what I’m talking about, you can watch this or just Spielberg’s Ready Player One.The idea of personalities being uploaded online is an intriguing concept, isn’t it? In this vision, people meet with others, play, and simply hang out in a digital world. Imagine friends turning group chats on Messenger or WhatsApp into group meetups in the Metaverse of family gatherings in virtual homes. Ultimately, people will probably be doing pretty much everything there, except eating, sleeping, and using the restroom.Sounds scary? For people in their 30s and older who were fascinated by The Matrix, it does. However, this is really happening. The augmented reality technology market is expected to grow from $47 billion in 2019 to $1.5 trillion in 2030, mainly thanks to the development of the Metaverse. China’s virtual goods and services market is expected to be worth almost $250 billion this year and $370 billion in the next four years.In a sense, it had to happen as the next phase of the digital revolution. You see, we now experience much of life on the two-dimensional screens of our laptops and smartphones. The Metaverse moves us from a flat and boring 2D to a 3D virtual universe, where we can visualize and experience things with a more natural user interface. Let’s take shopping as an example. Instead of purchasing items on Amazon, customers could enter a virtual shop, see and touch all products in 3D, and buy whatever they wanted (actually, Walmart launched its own 3D shopping experience in 2018).OK, we get the idea, but why does Metaverse matter, putting aside sociological or philosophical issues related to transferring our minds into the digital world? Well, it might strongly affect every aspect of business and life, just as the internet did earlier. Here are a couple of examples. Famous brands, like Dolce & Gabbana, are designing clothes and jewelry for the digital world. Some artists are giving concerts in virtual reality. You could also visit some museums virtually, and instead of taking a business trip, you can digitally teleport to remote locations to meet with your co-workers’ avatars.Finally, what does the Metaverse imply for the gold market? Well, it’s difficult to grasp all the possible implications right now. However, the main threat is clear: as people immerse deeper and deeper into the digital world, gold could become obsolete for many users. Please note that cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are and will continue to be widely used as payment methods in the Metaverse.However, there are some caveats here. First, the invention and spread of the internet didn’t sink gold. Actually, the internet enabled gold to be widely traded by investors all over the world. Just take a look at the chart below. Although gold was in a bear market in the 1990s and struggled during the dot-com bubble, it rallied after the bubble burst.Second, the digital world didn’t kill the analog reality. Despite digital streaming of music, vinyl record sales soared last year, reaching a record high in a few decades. The development of the Metaverse could trigger a similar backlash and a return to tangible goods like gold.Third, some segments of the Metaverse look like bubbles. Maybe I’m just too old, but why the heck would anybody spend hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars to buy items in the virtual world? These items include virtual real estates (CNBC says that sales of real estate in the metaverse topped $500 million last year and could double this year), digital pieces of art or even tweets (yup, the founder of Twitter sold the first tweet ever for just under $3 million)! It does not make any sense to me, as I can right-click and download a copy of the same digital files (like a PNG file of a grey pet rock) for which people pay thousands and millions of dollars.Of course, certain items could increase the utility of the game or virtual experience, but my bet is that at least some buyers simply speculate on prices, expecting that they will be able to resell these items to greater fools. When this digital gold rush ends – and given the Fed’s tightening cycle, it may happen in the not-so-distant future – real gold could laugh last.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Operation in Ukraine leads to German Business climate collapse

Operation in Ukraine leads to German Business climate collapse

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.03.2022 12:20
According to fresh Ifo estimates, business sentiment in Germany fell in March to its lowest level since January 2021. The business climate index fell from 98.5 to 90.8 following a collapse in business expectations amid war in Ukraine and the associated surge in energy and several other commodity prices.The drop in economic expectations was comparable to what we saw exactly two years ago at the start of the pandemic. New sentiment data may prove to be the first indication of the depth of the economic losses in the next quarter or two from ongoing events. They could wipe out as much as 1% of GDP in the outgoing quarter and another 2% in the next.However, the current scenario is already priced in the financial markets. The Eurozone stock indices, which often outperform the economic cycle, are now more than 15% above their lows of March 7th. The same can be said for the euro, which is firmly based around USD 1.10, which has been stable for the last three months against the pound and strengthened by more than 8% against the Japanese yen.
Large Currency Speculators sharply cut back on Canadian dollar bets

Large Currency Speculators sharply cut back on Canadian dollar bets

Invest Macro Invest Macro 27.03.2022 13:29
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday March 22nd and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the sharp pullback in the Canadian dollar currency futures contracts. Canadian dollar speculators cut back on their bullish bets by a total of -22,680 contracts, the largest change among currencies this week and one week after CAD saw bullish bets rise by over +10,000 contracts (bringing the speculator standing to a six-week high). This week’s decline dropped the total net speculator standing back into bearish territory (-4,940 contracts) for the first time in the past ten weeks, dating back to January 11th. The major commodity currencies (Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar) all saw pullbacks in their speculator bets this week after strong rises last week. The only currency markets with higher speculator bets this week were the US Dollar Index (1,255 contracts) and the Euro (5,049 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Japanese yen (-16,142 contracts), Brazil real (-2,599 contracts), Swiss franc (-3,195 contracts), British pound sterling (-8,183 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-1,133 contracts), Canadian dollar (-22,680 contracts), Russian ruble (-263 contracts) and Bitcoin (-190 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Mar-22-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 51,952 72 29,635 77 -33,521 19 3,886 59 EUR 658,817 66 23,843 42 -46,378 63 22,535 12 GBP 195,712 36 -37,244 47 50,390 59 -13,146 28 JPY 248,221 87 -78,482 18 104,790 88 -26,308 0 CHF 44,911 21 -8,424 55 20,499 54 -12,075 28 CAD 124,090 13 -4,940 43 -7,565 54 12,505 55 AUD 127,767 28 -51,189 37 48,388 55 2,801 59 NZD 35,256 15 2,520 75 -2,069 27 -451 47 MXN 134,766 19 -18,051 20 13,919 79 4,132 61 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 70,832 68 41,564 91 -44,463 8 2,899 100 Bitcoin 11,274 61 0 94 -481 0 481 24   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 29,635 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 1,255 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 28,380 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 76.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 59.0 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 83.8 3.2 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.8 67.7 3.0 – Net Position: 29,635 -33,521 3,886 – Gross Longs: 43,561 1,665 5,434 – Gross Shorts: 13,926 35,186 1,548 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.1 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 76.9 18.9 59.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.1 12.1 -34.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 23,843 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,049 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 18,794 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 42.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 62.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.7 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.4 54.3 11.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.8 61.3 8.1 – Net Position: 23,843 -46,378 22,535 – Gross Longs: 207,051 357,492 75,970 – Gross Shorts: 183,208 403,870 53,435 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 42.3 62.6 11.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.6 7.6 -19.7   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -37,244 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -8,183 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -29,061 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.4 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.7 70.4 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 35.8 44.7 16.6 – Net Position: -37,244 50,390 -13,146 – Gross Longs: 32,753 137,829 19,316 – Gross Shorts: 69,997 87,439 32,462 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.2 59.5 28.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -20.7 24.3 -25.6   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -78,482 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -16,142 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -62,340 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.8 76.2 7.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.4 34.0 17.7 – Net Position: -78,482 104,790 -26,308 – Gross Longs: 36,676 189,100 17,749 – Gross Shorts: 115,158 84,310 44,057 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 18.4 88.2 0.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -12.2 14.3 -19.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -8,424 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -3,195 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -5,229 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 53.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.9 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 13.4 68.3 18.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.1 22.6 45.0 – Net Position: -8,424 20,499 -12,075 – Gross Longs: 6,012 30,663 8,143 – Gross Shorts: 14,436 10,164 20,218 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 3.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.2 53.9 27.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.7 4.0 -13.4   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -4,940 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -22,680 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 17,740 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 42.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 54.7 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.6 47.8 26.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.6 53.9 16.8 – Net Position: -4,940 -7,565 12,505 – Gross Longs: 29,314 59,269 33,406 – Gross Shorts: 34,254 66,834 20,901 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 42.9 54.1 54.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -19.2 6.8 20.8   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -51,189 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -6,333 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -44,856 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 37.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 59.3 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 18.6 59.4 20.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 58.7 21.5 17.8 – Net Position: -51,189 48,388 2,801 – Gross Longs: 23,747 75,916 25,508 – Gross Shorts: 74,936 27,528 22,707 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 37.4 55.0 59.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 32.0 -37.3 37.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 2,520 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,133 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 3,653 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 75.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 27.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 46.7 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 48.7 40.4 9.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.5 46.2 10.7 – Net Position: 2,520 -2,069 -451 – Gross Longs: 17,156 14,227 3,339 – Gross Shorts: 14,636 16,296 3,790 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 75.5 27.2 46.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 21.6 -22.8 21.9   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -18,051 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -7,475 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,576 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 78.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.5 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 43.1 51.1 5.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 56.5 40.8 2.0 – Net Position: -18,051 13,919 4,132 – Gross Longs: 58,150 68,880 6,851 – Gross Shorts: 76,201 54,961 2,719 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 19.6 78.6 60.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.2 7.5 5.5   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 41,564 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -2,599 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 44,163 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.6 15.3 6.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 19.0 78.1 2.8 – Net Position: 41,564 -44,463 2,899 – Gross Longs: 55,001 10,863 4,851 – Gross Shorts: 13,437 55,326 1,952 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 91.2 7.9 100.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.9 -21.5 8.5   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 7,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -263 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.6 60.6 2.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 0.5 94.7 4.7 – Net Position: 7,543 -7,150 -393 – Gross Longs: 7,658 12,679 593 – Gross Shorts: 115 19,829 986 – Long to Short Ratio: 66.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 69.1 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.6 16.7 -18.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 0 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -190 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 190 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 74.7 2.9 11.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 74.7 7.2 6.9 – Net Position: 0 -481 481 – Gross Longs: 8,425 326 1,263 – Gross Shorts: 8,425 807 782 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 94.3 2.9 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.8 -23.4 -0.6   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
GOLD – The week ahead from KOG

GOLD – The week ahead from KOG

Knights of Gold Knights of Gold 27.03.2022 20:13
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/XAUUSD/2YHOJMDX-XAUUSD-KOG-Report/KOG Report:In last weeks KOG Report we said we were expecting a big move on the horizon which may throw a lot of traders of course. Instead, we got majority of the week in the range and then a break just slightly above towards the end of the week. We got the push up into the 1930s price level which gave a great short into one of the targets we suggested being 1910. We managed to guide trades through the range and managed a fantastic week netting over 300pips on Gold alone. Not to mention the other pairs that hit targets at Camelot.So what can we expect in the week ahead?We’re going to keep it short this week with a plan to go long but, we want to see how the market opens. We have an area in mind which is around the 1985 price mark, but we want to see if this pushes up in the early sessions and tests that 1960-65 region first! We can see here that we have broken out of the range but only slightly, that previous resistance level has now become support, a strong test on that support is needed and this needs to hold for this to go higher and challenge that 1985 level as the first target and above that 1997. So we’ll trade this with two scenarios in mind.Scenario 1:Price come down on opening sessions and tests that lower support region which is also the top of the previous range between 1945-50. We don’t want the price to close and hold below this level, we want to see a quick visit and rejection here. IF we do get the support, we want then we will be looking to go long up towards the 1965 region first and above that 1985. The higher region and target of 1997 is where we want to see a reaction on price and depending on that reaction, we may test the short trade there! If we hold below that support level and it becomes resistance again we will be waiting lower around the 1930-25 price point where again we will look for support and attempt to go long. We will update you as we go along during the week.Scenario 2:Price pushes up into 1960-65. We want to see it resist here and then hold above the 1950 level. As long as we get that retest we will then attempt the long trade back up into those levels. This scenario only works on the retest as we don’t want to short for 100pips back down into major support. So please wait for confirmation on the trade. Again, breaking and closing below that level and we will wait lower to go long which we will update you on. Both these scenarios are effective if the price stays above the support level which was previous resistance. This week is going to be really important, it’s the end of the month, financial year and the quarter. There is going to be a lot of volume in the markets with institutions covering positions and wanting to close out of positions. That move we were anticipating last week which will throw traders off may happen this week. Please tread carefully and control your lot sizes, always have a risk strategy in place and allow yourself time to manage your position. Before we go, we would like to wish all the mothers a happy mothers day and all our followers a great end to the weekend. We’ll be back tomorrow with an update.As always, trade safe.KOG
Trade Zone Week Ahead: Non-Farm Payrolls in the Spotlight as Risk Turns Positive

Trade Zone Week Ahead: Non-Farm Payrolls in the Spotlight as Risk Turns Positive

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 27.03.2022 19:55
We wrap up this month’s Trade Zone Week Ahead coverage with a final look ahead at what’s in store this week as markets open. Last Friday ended on a positive note as Wall Street finished on a high, with both the Nasdaq and S&P500 posting positive gains for one of the best weeks of the year so far. All eyes this week will be whether this turn in sentiment continues. With the Ukraine conflict heading into new territory with talks of Russia wanting to divide the country in two, there are still plenty of headlines to keep traders on their toes, not to mention another Non-Farm payroll reading looming this coming Friday. With the Fed now pushing for further interest rate rises in the coming months, against a backdrop of a buoyant job market and rampant inflation, Friday’s result might just shed some further light on what Fed policy might look like in the months to come. In today’s Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead, we discuss the present scenarios in FX, indices, oil and gold. Watch the video below to get this week’s latest insights. REGISTER FOR THIS MONTH’S FINAL LIVE MARKET UPDATE WITH BORIS AND KATHY Join us at 10 PM AEDT (11 AM GMT) this coming Wednesday as Boris and Kathy complete their monthly takeover of our Trade Zone series. Register to attend the final midweek live market update for March, as we analyse the key moves of the week and look ahead at all the potential trade set up as the weekend approaches. It’s the perfect compact session to give you valuable pointers into what you should be watching out for as the month ends, and you also get the opportunity to ask experts the questions you have on your mind right now in a live Q&A. Registration is free. Click below to secure your seat. Boris Schlossberg is Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management, Co-Founder of BKForex.com, and Managing Editor of 60secondinvestor.com. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than three decades of financial market experience. In 2007, while still at FXCM, Boris started BKForex with Ms. Kathy Lien. A year later, Boris joined Global Futures & Forex Ltd as director of currency research where he provided research and analysis to clients and managed a global foreign exchange analysis team with Kathy Lien. Since 2012 Boris has focused exclusively on running BKForex.com where he generates trade ideas and designs algorithms for the FX market in partnership with Ms. Lien. He is the author of “Technical Analysis of the Currency Market” and “Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Beat Wall Street at its Own Game”, both of which are published by Wiley. In 2020 Mr. Schlossberg started www.60secondinvestor.com a free website that distils the best of institutional investment research for retail investors. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Monday GBP BoE Governor Bailey speech Tuesday AUD Retail Sales, Wednesday EUR Inflation Rate USD JOLTs Job Openings, ADP Non-Farm Employment Change, GDP Thursday USD Crude Oil Inventories, Initial Jobless Claims GBP GDP CAD GDP Friday EUR CPI USD Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, ISM Manufacturing PMI The post Trade Zone Week Ahead: Non-Farm Payrolls in the Spotlight as Risk Turns Positive appeared first on Eightcap.
CFD Update: Oil, have sellers regained control?

CFD Update: Oil, have sellers regained control?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 28.03.2022 07:44
Today we’re looking at oil. At the end of last week, sellers look to have regained control, pushing price lower on Thursday and stalling the recovery trend. Friday buyers did win the session, but the bar failed to test Thursday’s high. Today we saw price open 1.73% lower and quickly move back down to 109.50 before some buyer resistance emerged. 110 does show some short-term support, but our focus, for now, is on another pattern that has started to form. Looking at the daily chart, we were watching the recovery with interest to see if sellers could stall the rally and set up a Lower High pattern. That has started to come into fruition with last Thursday’s price stall and today’s move lower. From here, if you’re a bear, you would want to see selling continue with a close below the moving averages and through current ST support. The fast trend has also been broken, so if momentum continues and we see further selling, the medium-term trend line could be the next target, only if sellers can continue to get the ball rolling. Any counter-rallies from this point, we will want to see new lower highs form with lower lows after support is broken. If we see a new move from buyers that can close above last Friday’s close, that would be a warning, and a new move above 118.06 cancels out the LH and suggests buyers still remain in control. Oil D1 Chart The post CFD Update: Oil, have sellers regained control? appeared first on Eightcap.
Terraform Labs - Liquidity Pool, SINGLE - dApp Available - DeFi Update (28/03-03/04/22)

Crypto - A "Financial Bubble" And Fictional Backup?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 28.03.2022 08:39
Bitcoin rose 9.1% over the past week, ending it around $46,100. Ethereum added 9.5%, while other leading altcoins from the top ten rose in price from 3.2% (XRP) to 27.4% (Cardano). The exception was Terra (-0.4%). Bitcoin broke the resistance According to CoinGecko, the total capitalization of the crypto market increased by 9.9% in a week, to $2.14 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index added 0.2% to 40.6%. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index rose 18 points in a week to 49 and moved from "fear" to neutral. Bitcoin rose for the second week in a row against the backdrop of strengthening stock indices. On Sunday, BTC broke through strong resistance around $45,000, which reversed its downward movement several times in February and early March. The technical picture favors further gains as Bitcoin climbed above the 100-day moving average (MA) for the first time since early December and heads towards the 200-day MA ($48,200). Cryptos found new drivers for the growth The FxPro analyst team mentioned a possible driver of the uptrend in BTC are rumors about the intentions of the non-profit organization Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) to invest in bitcoin. On March 27, it became known that LFG bought more than $1.1 billion worth of coins to ensure the stability of the Terra USD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin. The best dynamics among altcoins was demonstrated by Cardano against the backdrop of the announcement of ADA staking by Coinbase crypto exchange. Meanwhile, well-known crypto critic Peter Schiff again criticized the cryptocurrency, comparing it to a financial bubble and calling it stupid for people to save their savings from inflation by buying BTC. According to Schiff, cryptocurrencies have no real value and are backed by people's trust in the same way as fiat currency.
Euro (EUR), Japanese Yen And Dollar (USD) Interactions. Dollar Index (DXY) Looks Quite Fine. A Year Full Of Fed Decisions...

Euro (EUR), Japanese Yen And Dollar (USD) Interactions. Dollar Index (DXY) Looks Quite Fine. A Year Full Of Fed Decisions...

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 28.03.2022 12:44
There has been a lot of talk lately about the decline of the US dollar's reserve status. However, investors and traders should separate long-term trends from short-term market impulses. Reserve fund managers often prefer to refrain from active selling so as not to cause unnecessary market turbulence, so all reserve trends are stretched out over decades. As long as there is no real threat to the existence of the dollar and the solvency of the US government, managers will avoid making active moves to sell dollar assets. And all the revolutionary changes, such as switching to national currencies, will only result in CBs buying fewer new dollars. But it has little effect on the exchange rate. Right now, we are seeing the opposite picture, as the main competitors are under pressure. Investors are getting rid of the Japanese yen as the Bank of Japan accelerates its currency printing to buy bonds out of the market to stem rising yields. The local government is overburdened with debt, and the economy is still stalling. The only market solution is a devaluation of the yen, which would make exports from Japan more competitive and boost domestic spending. The single currency is suffering from a spike in energy prices and economic problems related to the war in Ukraine. Trading below 1.1000, the EURUSD pair is now where it was heading for the last six months before the pandemic. The medium-term outlook for the dollar is largely influenced by the extent to which the Fed will be able to implement policy tightening. More accurately, how Fed policy compares with the policy of the Bank of Japan, the ECB, or another major central bank. The Fed is clearly acting with greater amplitude, setting itself up for 7 rate hikes this year, which is far more than one would expect from Japan or the eurozone. Moreover, the US remains much further away from the war in Ukraine in business and trade terms than its biggest competitors, which means it can continue to benefit from capital inflows as a haven.
Crypto trading volume exceeds $100 billion in 24 hours as bulls flock to the market

Crypto trading volume exceeds $100 billion in 24 hours as bulls flock to the market

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.03.2022 16:34
Proponents noted a 63.07% spike in the total transaction volume of cryptocurrencies across exchanges. Coinmarketcap data reveals a month-on-month increase of 4.75% in crypto trading volume. Bitcoin price crossed $47,000, fueled by $200 million shorts liquidated across exchanges. Bitcoin price is rallying, fueled by a frenzy of massive short liquidations on crypto exchanges. Proponents believe bulls have flocked to the market, as transaction volume exceeded $100 billion. Bitcoin price pushes past $47,000 in recent rally Bitcoin price crossed key resistance to hit a high above $47,000 in a rally fueled by the liquidation of millions of short positions. Analysts at the crypto intelligence platform Santiment observed a massive liquidation of shorts across exchanges at 1 pm and 6 pm UTC across crypto exchanges on March 27, 2022. Analysts argue that Bitcoin’s recent price rally to $47,000 was a response to liquidation in large quantities over the weekend. The average funding rate entered the long zone, where uncertainty among market participants increased. Therefore, analysts conclude that Bitcoin shorts have fueled the asset’s ongoing rally. Bitcoin and altcoin shorts liquidatedColin Wu, a Chinese journalist, reported a spike in the total transaction volume of cryptocurrencies, exceeding $100 billion over the past 24 hours. Wu referred to data from Coinmarketcap and observed a 63.07% increase in crypto transaction volume compared to March 26, 2022. The total crypto market value now exceeds $2.12 trillion. Historically, analysts have witnessed high transaction activity when large wallet investors flock to the market or scoop up crypto. Bloomberg analysts argue that Bitcoin looks overbought, compared to its 50-day Moving Average. Bitcoin price crossed key resistance at $45,000 in the current rally, erasing its losses for the year. FXStreet analysts have evaluated Bitcoin price and predicted the start of a new uptrend in the asset, as it crossed the $45,000 level.
Tesla Stock News and Forecast: Shareholders to vote on TSLA stock split

Tesla Stock News and Forecast: Shareholders to vote on TSLA stock split

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.03.2022 16:34
Tesla stock surges on news of a potential stock split dividend.TSLA is up at $1,066 of +5.6% in Monday premarket trading.Tesla stock has rallied sharply from early March lows.Tesla stock (TSLA) is back to the top of the social media chatter on Monday, usurping GameStop and AMC in the process. The stock is surging this morning on news of a potential stock split dividend. Tesla previously did a 5-for-1 stock split back in August 2020, and other companies have followed suit, notably Amazon. This makes it easier for retail investors to own the stock when it has a more affordable share price.Tesla Stock News: Stock split imminent?Tesla's board of directors has already approved the plan to split the shares for a stock dividend and will put it to a vote of the shareholders. The news was well-received by retail shareholders who tend to be more active in the premarket than other holders. A stock dividend is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of receiving cash, shareholders receive new shares in the company. This means companies do not use up cash to fund the dividend. Stock dividends are usually dilutive to earnings per share (EPS) as more shares are in issue after the event. Tesla is up nearly 6% before the open. It is not all plain sailing though for the EV giant as more Chinese covid lockdowns are announced. Tesla will close its Shanghai giga plant for at least a day on the back of lockdowns in the city. Tesla Stock ForecastA powerful rally with the next target now set at $1,210. This would set up Tesla's (TSLA) stock to break to all-time highs. Currently, on the longer-term time horizon, the narrative is still bearish with a series of lower highs and lower lows. So breaking $1,210 turns Tesla bullish on all time horizons. Naturally, it is already bullish in the short term after last week's strong rally. Holding above $945 is the key pivot for medium and long-term traders. TSLA 20-hour chartThere is a short-term pivot at $1,000, with high volume at this level. Below sees a volume gap to $945, the key as mentioned above. Tesla chart, 15-minute
Who Benefits Most From the Russia-Ukraine War?

Who Benefits Most From the Russia-Ukraine War?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.03.2022 17:25
With the unrest in the Black Sea basin, it appears that there are two more cross-trade wars in the world. These are about energy and currency.Crude oil prices, down most of Friday, finally ended the week higher after a huge fire broke out at oil facilities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following attacks by Yemeni rebels.The great winner of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is undoubtedly the United States, which now seems to be taking advantage of Europe’s moment of weakness.The latter is indeed currently switching its energy supplies from Russian natural gas (pipeline-transported) to the much more polluting and much more expensive US shale gas. The reasons are much higher extraction (fracking) and transportation costs since it requires additional processes such as liquefaction/degasification and the deployment of more port terminals that are able to provide such steps – also much more energy-consuming – linked to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supplies.(Source: ResearchGate.net)By doing so, the European Union is going to increase its dependence on the US whilst a new and stronger block (including Asia) emerges on the east side.As a result, we have already started to witness dedollarisation in international trade, with the petroyuan set to dethrone the heavily-printed petrodollar.No wonder that the US dollar supply surge has ended up triggering uncontrollable and probably still underestimated inflation. As a result, this monetary virus is spreading through the global economy at a faster pace than any other variant! WTI Crude Oil (CLK22) Futures (May contract, daily chart) Henry Hub Natural Gas (NGK22) Futures (May contract, daily chart)“Inflation is like toothpaste. Once it's out, you can hardly get it back in again. So, the best thing is not to squeeze too hard on the tube.” – Dr Karl Otto PöhlThat’s all folks for today. Happy trading!Like what you’ve read? Subscribe for our daily newsletter today, and you'll get 7 days of FREE access to our premium daily Oil Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Sebastien BischeriOil & Gas Trading Strategist* * * * *The information above represents analyses and opinions of Sebastien Bischeri, & Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. At the time of writing, we base our opinions and analyses on facts and data sourced from respective essays and their authors. Although formed on top of careful research and reputably accurate sources, Sebastien Bischeri and his associates cannot guarantee the reported data's accuracy and thoroughness. The opinions published above neither recommend nor offer any securities transaction. Mr. Bischeri is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Sebastien Bischeri’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Sebastien Bischeri, Sunshine Profits' employees, affiliates as well as their family members may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Volatility Retreats As Stocks & Commodities Rally

Volatility Retreats As Stocks & Commodities Rally

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.03.2022 21:32
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index. It is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates that are utilized to generate a 30-day forward projection of volatility. The VIX allows us to gauge market sentiment or the degree of fear among market participants. As the Volatility Index VIX goes up, fear increases, and as it goes down, fear dissipates.Commodities and equities are both showing renewed strength on the heels of global interest rate increases. Inflation shows no sign of abating as energy, metals, food products, and housing continues their upward bias.During the last 18-months, the VIX has been trading between its upper resistance of 36.00 and its lower support of 16.00. As the Volatility Index VIX falls, fear subsides, and money flows back into stocks.VIX – VOLATILITY S&P 500 INDEX – CBOE – DAILY CHARTSPY RALLIES +10%The SPY has enjoyed a sharp rally back up after touching its Fibonacci 1.618% support based on its 2020 Covid price drop. Money has been flowing back into stocks as investors seem to be adapting to the current geopolitical environment and the change in global central bank lending rate policy.Resistance on the SPY is the early January high near 475, while support remains solidly in place at 414. March marks the 2nd anniversary of the 2020 Covid low that SPY made at 218.26 on March 23, 2020.SPY – SPDR S&P 500 ETF TRUST - ARCA – DAILY CHARTBERKSHIRE HATHAWAY RECORD-HIGH $538,949!Berkshire Hathaway is up +20.01% year to date compared to the S&P 500 -4.68%. Berkshire’s Warren Buffet has also been on a shopping spree, and investors seem to be comforted that he is buying stocks again. Buffet reached a deal to buy insurer Alleghany (y) for $11.6 billion and purchased nearly a 15% stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY), worth $8 billion.These acquisitions seem to be well-timed as insurers and banks tend to benefit from rising interest rates, and Occidental generates the bulk of its cash flow from the production of crude oil.As technical traders, we look exclusively at the price action to provide specific clues as to the current trend or a potential change in trend. With that said, Berkshire is a classic example of not fighting the market. As Berkshire continues to make new highs, its’ trend is up!BRK.A – BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. - NYSE – DAILY CHARTCOMMODITY DEMAND REMAINS STRONGInflation continues to run at 40-year highs, and it appears that it will take more than one FED rate hike to subdue prices. Since price is King, we definitely want to ride this trend and not fight it. It is always nice to buy on a pullback, but the energy markets at this point appear to be rising exponentially. The XOP ETF gave us some nice buying opportunities earlier at the Fibonacci 0.618% $71.78 and the 0.93% $93.13 of the COVID 2020 range high-low.Remember, the trend is your friend, as many a trader has gone broke trying to pick or sell a top before its time! Well-established uptrends like the XOP are perfect examples of how utilizing a trailing stop can keep a trader from getting out of the market too soon but still offer protection in case of a sudden trend reversal.XOP – SPDR S&P OIL & GAS EXPLORE & PRODUCT – ARCA – DAILY CHARTKNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, AND APPLICATION ARE NEEDEDIt is important to understand that we are not saying the market has topped and is headed lower. This article is to shed light on some interesting analyses of which you should be aware. As technical traders, we follow price only, and when a new trend has been confirmed, we will change our positions accordingly. We provide our ETF trades to our subscribers, and somewhat surprisingly, we entered five new trades last week, four of which have now hit their first profit target levels. Our models continually track price action in a multitude of markets, asset classes, and global money flow. As our models generate new information about trends or a change in trends, we will communicate these signals expeditiously to our subscribers and to those on our trading newsletter email list.Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! Furthermore, successfully trading is not limited to when to buy or sell stocks or commodities. Money and risk management play a critical role in becoming a consistently profitable trader. Correct position sizing utilizing stop-loss orders helps preserve your investment capital and allows traders to manage their portfolios according to their desired risk parameters. Additionally, scaling out of positions by taking profits and moving stop-loss orders to breakeven can complement ones’ success.WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE The CURRENT MARKET TRENDS? Learn how we use specific tools to help us understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, we expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. We believe the markets have begun to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern begin to drive traders/investors into Metals and other safe-havens.We invite you to join our group of active traders and investors to learn and profit from our three ETF Technical Trading Strategies. We can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
Indonesia's Inflation Slips, Central Bank Maintains Rates Amidst Stability

Intraday Market Analysis – JPY Struggles For Bids

Jing Ren Jing Ren 29.03.2022 08:40
USDJPY seeks support The Japanese yen recouped some losses after a drop in February’s unemployment rate. The pair surged to August 2015’s high and the psychological level of 125.00. An overwhelmingly overbought RSI may cause a pullback if short-term buyers start to unwind their bets. As the market mood stays upbeat, trend followers could be waiting to jump in at a discount. 122.20 is the closest level if the greenback needs to gather support. A break above the current resistance would propel the pair to new highs above 127.00. AUDUSD hits major resistance The Australian dollar stalls as caution prevails ahead of major economic data. The rally slowed down at last October’s peak at 0.7550. A combination of profit-taking and fresh selling weighs on the Aussie. The bulls may see a pullback as an opportunity to accumulate in hope of a new round of rally. 0.7400 from the latest bullish breakout would be key support should this happen. On the upside, an extended rally could propel the pair to last June’s highs around 0.7770 and pave the way for a reversal in the medium-term. US 100 to test major resistance Growth stocks rose amid a sell-off in the bond market. Short-term sentiment remains bullish after a series of higher lows which indicates sustained buying interest. The Nasdaq 100 is heading to the daily resistance at 15050. A bearish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the rally, foreshadowing a potential retracement. 14600 is the support and its breach may trigger a sell-off towards 14200 which sits at the base of the recent breakout. A close above the said hurdle may put the index back on track in the weeks to come.
The Grains Sector Saw Continued Demand| Acceleration In The Sale Of Gold

A Mix Of Assets: Gold (XAUUSD) And Forex Pairs - USDJPY, EURJPY And NZDJPY Analysed [VIDEO]

Jason Sen Jason Sen 29.03.2022 11:50
Gold Spot broke back below support at 1937/34 for a more negative outlook. USDJPY makes the biggest single day gain since the rally started on 7th March, having risen every day except 2 in 3 weeks. This could be the end of a short squeeze as bears finally throw in the towel. Although there is no sell signal despite severely overbought conditions, I think there is a good chance the pair has seen a high for the bull run at this stage. EURJPY rocketed 350 pips, as far as 137.52, then gave up 200 pips of the gains. Although there is no sell signal despite severely overbought conditions, I think there is a good chance the pair has seen a high for the bull run at this stage. NZDJPY shot higher by 200 pips to hit 8674 but has given up 150 pips of the gains. Perhaps yesterday was a short covering day, meaning the end of the short squeeze & now prices will see a drift lower. Update daily by 05:00 GMT Today's Analysis. Gold broke strong support at 1937/34 to turn the outlook negative now. Holding below 1935 targets 1917/15, 1910 & perhaps as far as 1905/03. Further losses retest the March low at 1895/94. The important longer term pattern is the huge double top after the March high at 2069, when prices failed to beat the all time high at 2072. As long as prices stay below 1935/40 the short term outlook is negative (& in the longer term prices could head significant lower). Shorts need stops above 1950. USDJPY runs up another 300 pips in just a morning before giving up almost half of the gains. I think the pair will head lower. Minor support at 123.60/40 but below here can target 123.20/10 & support at 122.70/50. A low for the day expected but longs need stops below 122.30. Minor resistance at 124.15/25. Strong resistance at yesterday's high of 125.00/10. A break above 125.30 however can target 125.60/70. EURJPY has minor support at 135.60/50 but below 135.20 can target better support at 134.50/30. Watch for a low for the day. Longs need stops below 134.10. Minor resistance at 136.25/35. A break above 136.50 can retest yesterday's high at 137.40/52. A break higher can target 137.90/99. NZDJPY may finally react to severely overbought conditions. Minor support at 8510/8490 but below here can target 8450/40 & better support at 8410/8390. Watch for a low for the day - longs need stops below 8370. Minor resistance at 8560/70. However if we continue higher we could expect strong resistance at yesterday's high of 8655/75. A break higher however is a buy signal. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.
The Bitcoin Market Is Now Developing The Corrective Cycle To The Downside

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Charts - Daily, Monthly, BTC/GOLD - 29/03/22

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.03.2022 11:35
Bitcoin wins the race   While Russia accepts hard currencies like gold, a move like this shows that the efficient attributes of bitcoin come to the forefront in times of crisis and are accepted for large business transactions between nations. Bitcoin, daily chart, price breakout: Bitcoin in USD, daily chart as of March 29th, 2022. Shortly after, president Putin confirmed this new way of doing business. In addition, China and Russia agreed to a thirty-year contract in the gas sector, transacted in Euros. We can see that we find ourselves in times of currency warfare and that it is essential to pay close attention to where and in what form we store our values. The daily chart above reflects this recent news in a price advance of bitcoin from US$37,567 to US$47,701. A 28% advance in just two weeks. Bitcoin broke through the sideways range, and this week shall show whether this breakout will be a successful one or not. In this case, the bulls have their odds much in favor over the bears.     Bitcoin, weekly chart, price left the station: Bitcoin in USD, weekly chart as of March 29th, 2022. We have now left the entry zone (green box) compared to last week’s chart book and the published weekly chart. While the crowd now chases a trade, struggling with the typical inefficiencies of volatility breakouts (bad fills, slippage, being late), we are established in our positioning with the sum of 9 accumulated runners. The runners being the last 25% of each initial position. A fully de-risked or more precisely no-risk venture (see quad exit)! Looking at the weekly chart, we find the resistance distribution zones at around US$49,650 and US$52,430. We place additional entries if the price returns to the entry box top. Bitcoin, monthly chart, if March closes strong: Bitcoin in USD, monthly chart as of March 28th, 2022. The price has entered the confirmed buy zone from a monthly perspective. The dual chart shows the progression from last week’s anticipation to this week’s chart book release. Should prices within this week stay within the green box, all-time frames are in alignment. A picture of a confirmed bullish bitcoin trend. It is a rare occurrence and confirmation for larger time frame traders and a call to look for low-risk entries, if no sufficient exposure is at play yet. Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart, Bitcoin wins the race: Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio, daily chart as of March 28th, 2022. Another split-screen view of a chart (a daily chart of the bitcoin/gold ratio) shows the progression of last week’s chart book publication and the situation right now. We had a triangle breakout last week and a substantial advance since then. The suggested rotation out of gold and into bitcoin was/is a successful one. The overall move was 30% in just two weeks. One can use this relationship as well to indicate bitcoins’ recent gain in strength and direction. Bitcoin wins the race: Change is never accepted lightly. We typically resist change and prefer an existing state of affairs as human beings. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in less than average circumstances with a worldwide pandemic, a never-ending war, and a general divide in opinions. Russia’s recent move towards approval of bitcoin shows that when the rubber meets the road, what works and is practical in times of crisis and need, wins the race. While governments around the globe feverishly try to get their electronic payment systems developed, bitcoin already finds its use spreading, and successfully so.    Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community. If you like to get regular updates on precious metals and cryptocurrencies, you can also subscribe to our free newsletter. Disclosure: This article and the content are for informational purposes only and do not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. They do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Midas Touch Consulting. By Korbinian Koller|March 29th, 2022|Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin bounce, Bitcoin bullish, Bitcoin consolidation, bitcoin/gold-ratio, crypto analysis, crypto chartbook, DeFi, low risk, quad exit, technical analysis, trading education|0 Comments About the Author: Korbinian Koller Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBPUSD (British Pound To US Dollar) Has Decreased Amounting To Levels From The Middle Of March

GBPUSD (British Pound To US Dollar) Has Decreased Amounting To Levels From The Middle Of March

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 29.03.2022 12:55
The British pound is often closely linked to risk demand in global markets due to London’s position as a significant financial hub. However, the UK and European stocks have performed well since last Wednesday, while the pound and the euro have been methodically losing ground. GBPUSD fell earlier on Tuesday to a 3-week low, briefly hovering under 1.3050, but soon returned to 1.3100 on data indicating increasing lending in February. Although the tightening of monetary policy is designed to cool the credit market, at the start of this process and against a background of accelerating inflation, it makes sense for households to spend to buy durable goods and borrow as long as rates remain low. Buoyant stock market performance and a robust macroeconomic backdrop make for an optimistic outlook for GBPUSD, making the pair an attractive buy on a downturn.
Chart of the Week - Gold Miners vs Energy Producers - 20.04.2022

Updated Crude Oil Price Analysis After Latest News About Russia-Ukraine War

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 29.03.2022 19:32
And again we’re having a look at the crude oil price charts as this commodity is really, really volatile especially in the past few days. As the charts (courtesy of TradingView.com) show, many of ceasefire rumours haven’t turned out to be true so the price of crude oil goes back to increasing every time. As in the latest analysis we published some charts and express analysis, we should make a small update by getting to know how have the price fluctuated until today. Having said that, the monthly chart: Crude Oil Price Chart – Monthly - 8% Up The price line is like a very simplified drawing of all the events – countries’ leaders rhetoric, negotiations and today’s news about possible ceasefire. Crude Oil Price Chart – Daily As everybody knows there were some rumours that the there’s a possibility of further negotiations. However, mixed feelings remained as the news about the ceasefire are still unclear. Data/Source: TradingView.com Charts: courtesy of TradingView.com    
CFD Update: Platinum, Support hold starting new reversal?

CFD Update: Platinum, Support hold starting new reversal?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 30.03.2022 04:56
Today our focus is on platinum as price continues to post a strong rebound after holding from key support in yesterday’s session. Buyers have so far added 1.60% today after we saw a new hold at 979. This level first developed as support back on the 15th of March after sellers were defeated. This point set up a new short term rally. Price was stopped at the key supply area, and once again, we saw a new raid by sellers taking price back down to 979. Overnight, things looked dire for bulls at one stage as price was hammered through support, hitting 958. The USD was a factor as it climbed, and other precious metals were also on the bid. Momentum returned into the NY session, and buyers flooded back, cancelling out the move lower to re-hold 979 support. At this stage, we can see not only support but a double bottom and false break. These are bullish signals. Price so far today is also backing up the signals. We want to see price hold above support and continue to move higher to give these signals confirmation. A break back below support cancels out the price signals. If we do see a rally back up to supply and resistance, we would think we could see some seller pressure there. Any new higher lows we want to see from above 979 support to maintain the price signals. Keep an eye on this Friday’s US Employment data as it could have an impact on the USD, which could impact precious metals. Platinum D1 Chart The post CFD Update: Platinum, Support hold starting new reversal? appeared first on Eightcap.
DYDX AT BREAKOUT POINT

DYDX AT BREAKOUT POINT

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 29.03.2022 19:46
We have DYDX in a descending channel. We also have an inner trendline serving as support for the price movement. I expect the price to retrace back to this trendline before takeoff out of the trendline. But if price should break the inner trendline downward, then price will fall more. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/DYDXUSDT/4C2zwETr-DYDX-AT-BREAKOUT-POINT/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
USDCHF - Swiss Franc Strengthens, XAUUSD Rebounces, Will UK100 Start To Gain Consequently?

USDCHF - Swiss Franc Strengthens, XAUUSD Rebounces, Will UK100 Start To Gain Consequently?

Jing Ren Jing Ren 30.03.2022 07:41
USDCHF tests support The US dollar edged lower as traders ditched its safe-haven appeal. The pair met strong support at 0.9260 over the 30-day moving average. A break above the immediate resistance at 0.9340 prompted short-term sellers to cover their positions, opening the door for potential bullish continuation. A break above 0.9370 could bring the greenback back to the 12-month high at 0.9470. 0.9260 is major support in case of hesitation and its breach could invalidate the current rebound. XAUUSD struggles for support Gold struggles as risk appetite returns amid ceasefire talks. A fall below 1940 forced those hoping for a swift rebound to bail out. On the daily chart, gold’s struggle to stay above the 30-day moving average suggests a lack of buying power. Sentiment grows cautious as the metal tentatively breaks the psychological level of 1900. A drop below 1880 could make bullion vulnerable to a broader sell-off to 1850. An oversold RSI attracted some bargain hunters, but buyers need to lift offers around 1940 before they could expect a rebound. UK 100 heads towards recent peak The FTSE 100 continues upward as Russia promises to de-escalate. A bullish close above the origin of the February sell-off at 7550 has put the index back on track. Sentiment has become increasingly upbeat over a series of higher highs. The lack of selling pressure would send the index back to this year’s high at 7690. A bullish breakout may resume the uptrend in the medium term. As the RSI shot into the overbought zone, profit-taking could drive the price down temporarily and 7460 would be the closest support.
Altcoins: (SHIB) Shiba Inu Price UPDATE - 29/03/22❕❗️

Altcoins: (SHIB) Shiba Inu Price UPDATE - 29/03/22❕❗️

Peter Adepoju Peter Adepoju 29.03.2022 19:46
Price broke out from a support zone at $0.00002550 and it’s in a pull back to the support. Once the pullback is done, I expect shibainu to start the new uptrend. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comment section You can also demand for analysis of your preferred coin Happy Trading https://www.tradingview.com/chart/SHIBUSDT/TngcQnlm-SHIBA-INU-UPDATE/ Join my FREE Telegram Channel for daily updates and signals https://t.me/Petrock_Signals
Kishu Inu, A Meme Coin, Promotes Growth And Development Through Its Transparency

Will (SHIB) Shiba Inu Price Get In The Rocketship!?

FXStreet News FXStreet News 29.03.2022 16:43
Shiba Inu price broke through the 78.6% Fibonacci level but failed to close above. SHIB price breaks back above the monthly pivot in early trading. Expect to see an attempt for $0.00003000 near-term, with a longer-term target set at $0.00004490. Shiba Inu (SHIB) price saw bulls taking the lead on Monday by using the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) handle as an entry point that resulted in the price shooting up to the 200-day SMA of $0.00003000, but bulls were unable to perform a daily close above this level. In the ASIA PAC session this morning, SHIB price is knocking at the door of the 78.6% Fibonacci level at $0.00002782, which opens the path towards 61.8% Fibonacci level at $0.00004490, meaning a whopping 65% gain is within reach. In order to achieve that target, a daily close above the 78.6% Fibonacci should be enough to rally at a tiered pace. Shiba Inu price set for a phased rally Shiba Inu price will swing back to $0.00003000, which coincides with the 200-day SMA. Technically, this is the most significant technical hurdle to overcome if investors want to book 65% of gains in this spring rally. In case a daily close above here is reached, a significant bullish signal will be delivered to the markets, which will trigger more investors and day traders to the price action to ramp it further up, resulting in crossing some grounds quite quickly to $0.00003400, which falls in line with the monthly R1. SHIB price then has only one element that could keep it from popping further upwards to $0.00004465, and that is the $0.00003989 level which coincides with the high of December 24. Not only would that mean that SHIB price is printing new highs for the year, but in the meantime will have wholly reversed the winter downtrend that slammed price action with the Ukraine war. Only a 10% jump remains to hit the 61.8% Fibonacci level and will see a broad and significant fade to the downside as investors will want to book gains and cash in there. SHIB/USD daily chart Risk to the downside comes on Tuesday with talks in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine that could provide a setback. Both parties are still talking, but should one party walk away from negotiations, that would mean a big step back for markets as investors have been front-running a positive outcome since last week, with the expectations bar set high. A collapse of SHIB price could result with Shiba Inu price dropping back to $0.00002200, losing support of that 55-day SMA and rebalancing around that green ascending trendline marked up since January 25
Forex Pairs In Times Of Unclear Geopolitical Situation: EUR/USD Has Decreased By 0.2% Over Last Month

Forex Pairs In Times Of Unclear Geopolitical Situation: EUR/USD Has Decreased By 0.2% Over Last Month

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 30.03.2022 15:05
EUR/GBP has gained over 1% in the same period of time and USD/CHF seems to be unchanged. USD/PLN after a significant weakening of zloty at the beginning of the month switched to a downtrend. USD has weakened after rumours of a ceasefire, so the pair has fluctuated. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not ended yet and the situation on the markets is uncertain. Many assets are more and more volatile and investors wonder what should be their next moves. One of the questions is how long will Europe depend more on the own currency than on USD. EUR/USD Chart – Monthly EUR/GBP Chart – Monthly USD/CHF Chart – Monthly USD/PLN Chart - Monthly Source/Data: TradingView.com Charts: TradingView.com
Forex Update: AUDUSD could resistance set up a new leg lower?

Forex Update: AUDUSD could resistance set up a new leg lower?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 31.03.2022 09:35
Today we’re looking at AUDUSD after the price failed once again to hold above .75 cents. The newest rejection also lines up with key resistance that also continues to hold buyers at bay. Price failed at 75 cents for a fifth time today, reinforcing the current supply area. Above this area, we also have key resistance at 7540-7540. This level has been in play since July 2021, and for now, it is proving to be a significant sticking point blocking buyer’s momentum. Today, sellers so far hold control, and the AUD has led the losses out of the three primary risk majors, dropping 0.50% to today’s low. Price, for now, is setting up a new consolidation pattern with support seen at 7465. This is the area sellers need to break to get a new leg going. A move through this level could set up a new pushback into areas between support and the main trend line retracement point of view, with the idea buyers will look at regaining control. It’s the next move that matters as if they can’t reach/break supply and resistance. This could be early signs a more significant shift in momentum is developing. Traders will be watching tomorrow’s US employment data as this could impact the USD and, in turn, impact the AUDUSD. The data is due Friday at 11:30 pm AEDT. AUDUSD D1 Chart The post Forex Update: AUDUSD could resistance set up a new leg lower? appeared first on Eightcap.
Fluctuating, Rallying, Interacting - Gold, Mining Stocks And Dollar

Fluctuating, Rallying, Interacting - Gold, Mining Stocks And Dollar

Przemysław Radomski Przemysław Radomski 31.03.2022 14:51
  Gold and the USD act as if they are swinging on a seesaw. However, the apparent idyll cannot last forever – one of the assets will have to be grounded. The back-and-forth movement in both gold and miners continues. However, as GDXJ keeps trading below its rising support line, the breakout below it becomes confirmed, and the movements that we saw at the same time in gold and the USD Index suggest that the former is ready to slide once the latter rallies. Let’s take a closer look, starting with the GDXJ. Yesterday’s move in the ETF was rather insignificant, and that’s precisely what makes it… significant. What I mean is that insignificant moves after a breakdown are a perfect way for the market to take a breather before declining further. In other words, the previous breakdown makes yesterday’s irrelevant price action relevant and bearish. Consequently, my yesterday’s comments on the above chart remain up-to-date: Yesterday’s breakdown below the rising support line was not invalidated. We saw a move higher on volume that was not strong, which suggests that yesterday’s session was not a true reversal. Low volume suggests that it was a correction, and the fact that junior miners have just broken below their rising support line means that it makes perfect sense for them to correct now. Consequently, yesterday’s action wasn’t really bullish for junior miners when we take the context into account. Speaking of context, let’s not forget about yesterday’s action in the USD Index. The USD Index declined significantly yesterday, which means that gold, silver, and mining stocks “should have” rallied. After all, based on the USD’s decline, their prices (quoted in USD terms) became lower for non-USD buyers. So, the fact that silver and gold were practically flat yesterday is actually bearish for them, because it means they underperformed. Gold miners moved higher, but given that the USD Index declined visibly and the general stock market rallied, it would be natural for miners to rally more than they did. Taking all this into account, miners were not really strong yesterday. If we focus on the USD Index alone, we’ll see that yesterday’s decline was absolutely inconsequential with regard to changing the outlook for the USDX. It simply continues to consolidate after a breakout above the mid-2020 highs. Breakout + consolidation = increasing chances of rallies’ continuation. A big wave up in the USD Index is likely just around the corner, and the precious metal sector is likely to decline when it materializes. As the war-based premiums in gold and the USD appear to be waning, a high-interest-rate-driven rally in the USD is likely to trigger declines in gold. The correlation between these two assets has started to decline. When that happened during the last two cases (marked with orange), gold plummeted profoundly shortly thereafter. What happened after we posted the above? The USD Index had declined, and gold had rallied (yesterday), and then (today) the USD Index moved back up by just a little while gold declined strongly. Gold is once again in a situation where it magnifies the USD’s bearish indications while largely ignoring the USD’s bullish indications. This is a perfectly bearish sign for the short term, because it means that if the USD Index moves back and forth, then gold will most likely continue its downtrend, declining when the USD is up, and pausing when it’s down. However, the USD Index is not likely to continue to move back and forth for long – quite the opposite. The USD Index has just verified its breakout above the mid-2020 high for the third time (without moving below it; the strong support held!), which means that it’s now very likely that it will simply continue its uptrend. Based on how gold is now reacting to USDX’s movement, the uptrend in the USD Index would be likely to trigger significant declines in gold. This would be likely to translate into lower silver and mining stock prices. All in all, technicals favor a decline in the precious metals sector sooner rather than later. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFAFounder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care * * * * * All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
How Will Dollar Rate Change After The Releases In The US And In View Of Next Monetary Policy Statements?

How Will Dollar Rate Change After The Releases In The US And In View Of Next Monetary Policy Statements?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 31.03.2022 15:54
American households increased spending by 0.2% in February, compared with a 0.5% rise in income. But this data only looks optimistic at first glance. Americans saved 6.3% of disposable income compared to 6.1% in January. In other words, we are seeing a stabilisation at levels that last occurred 12 years ago. The decline in the propensity to save can easily be explained by higher inflation, just like in the first decade of the 21st century. While people largely ignore inflation of 2%, a 7% price increase burns up the value of money stored under the mattress rather quickly. Inflation is also a significant incentive to return to the labour market searching for work. An indirect confirmation of this is the weekly jobless claims data. Initial claims rose from 188K the week before to 202K. But the number of continued claims has dipped to 1.307M, last seen at the end of 1969. The published data is good for the Dollar as it sets the stage for a more aggressive policy tightening from the Fed. But the statistics are neutral for the stock market, where participants take the strong labour market as carte blanche for the FOMC to put more pressure on the policy tightening pedal.
GBPUSD Keeps The Line, NZDUSD Has Decreased, US 30 Dropped Significantly

GBPUSD Keeps The Line, NZDUSD Has Decreased, US 30 Dropped Significantly

Jing Ren Jing Ren 01.04.2022 08:39
GBPUSD attempts to rebound The US dollar went sideways as February’s PCE fell short of expectations. The pair met stiff selling pressure around 1.3300, a supply zone next to the 30-day moving average. A break below 1.3120 may have cast doubt on the viability of the previous rebound after short-term buyers rushed to the exit. 1.3220 is now a fresh resistance and buyers’ failure to lift these offers could send the pound into a deeper correction. Price action may revisit the psychological level of 1.3000 if it drops below 1.3070. NZDUSD sees a limited pullback The New Zealand dollar falls back as risk appetite subdues. The pair hit resistance under the psychological level of 0.7000 after it broke to a new high. The RSI’s overbought condition in this supply zone led buyers to take profit, driving the kiwi lower momentarily. Trend followers may see the retracement as a buying opportunity. Sentiment would stay bullish as long as the pair is above the previous low at 0.6880. A bearish breakout may dent short-term optimism and send the kiwi to 0.6790. US 30 keeps high ground The Dow Jones 30 retreats on profit-taking as the first quarter draws to an end. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that the rebound is picking up steam. The index hit resistance around 35400 and went horizontal, allowing the bulls to take a breather. Buyers may find relief as the RSI tanks into the oversold area. A rebound would propel the Dow to February’s high at 35870, where a bullish breakout could resume the uptrend in the medium term. The demand area between 34350 and 34580 is an important level.
Economic Indicators To Affect US Dollar Rate Today. Awaiting Jobs Data

Economic Indicators To Affect US Dollar Rate Today. Awaiting Jobs Data

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 01.04.2022 10:37
On Friday, markets have gone into wait-and-see mode ahead of the US labour market data release later. Average market forecasts suggest that the economy created around 500K jobs in March, of which 480K came from the private sector. Such data would narrow the gap between the peak before the pandemic to 1.5 million. Given that some job seekers have left the job market during this time, it becomes clear how tight the market remains. And this will intensify the struggle of employers. From the new data, analysts, on average, expect a further acceleration of the wage growth to 5.5% YoY against 5.1% a month earlier and a 5.4% growth of the personal consumption price index in February. Thus, the labour market has an additional pro-inflationary effect on prices as more money is available in the US economy and competition for goods tightens. If the labour market does manage to add more than half a million jobs in March, we should expect a severe tightening of the rhetoric of the US monetary authorities in the coming weeks. It will not be surprising if we see more willingness of FOMC officials to hike the interest rate by 50 points at once on the 05th of May. For the speculative currency market, robust US employment data has the potential to put the Dollar back on the upside, making the US the only economy capable of such a sharp monetary policy tightening in the coming months. The dollar index has been moving in an upward channel since the middle of last year, adding more than 11% from the bottom to the peak. Earlier in the week, the DXY pulled back after the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul. However, monetary policy could provide continued and sustained support for the US currency, very soon returning the Dollar to renew its two-year highs in the area above 100. For EURUSD, this could mean a consolidation under 1.1000 and GBPUSD under 1.3000.
Crypto Focus: Another Week of Solid Gains and Heavy Selling

Crypto Focus: Another Week of Solid Gains and Heavy Selling

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 01.04.2022 10:10
This week got off to a similar start as last, with buyers controlling momentum for the first four days of trade. Friday saw a heavy fade set up with half of the week’s gains cut on the top 10 and top 25 indexes after seeing just over 10% of gains to the week’s high. Some headlines have come out where Bitcoin has briefly moved back above 48K. Ethereum is set for an upgrade, and it’s being called a merge. This will be a joining of mainnet and the beacon chain proof-of-stake system. The ‘merge’ will mark the end of proof-of-work (PoW) for Ethereum in favour of the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism. This is due in the second quarter of 2022. Ronin hack, around 600 million was stolen from the Ronin network. A blockchain associated with the popular pay-to-earn game Axie Infinity. This was one of the largest hacks in Crypto history. Around 173,600 Ether and 25.5 stable coins were taken. Looking at this weekend and next week’s session, we are wondering if the current fade is short term or if something deeper is happening here. This is the third straight week of solid gains before heavy selling developed. Following on from the fade, Ripple is in an interesting position. Price failed at key resistance and has made a breakthrough the fast uptrend. Price bounced off the main uptrend but, for now, sits in no man’s land. A hold after the test of the main trend line could set up a new continuation higher, but if we see a break of the main trend line, this could suggest that a deeper correction could be underway. The post Crypto Focus: Another Week of Solid Gains and Heavy Selling appeared first on Eightcap.
EUR: Range-bound Outlook Amid Tightened Swap Rate Gap

GBP Loses! EUR Gains! NFP (Non Farm Payrolls) Is Released And We Know How Have Forex Pairs Reacted To This Week's Events!

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 01.04.2022 23:37
It was another week full of events, geopolitical news and economic indicators releases. As the Forex pairs charts show the fluctuation weren’t always slight and developed an interesting outlook ahead of April which has just begun. EUR/USD gained over 0.5% Let’s begin with EUR/USD. Of course this pair is significantly affected by the slowly ceasing (?) conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As we can see on the chart there was a huge rise on Tuesday as the tensions were reported to loose its momentum. Cease fire has been said to come shortly and this optimism seems to had remained till the end of the week. There’s no doubt today’s fluctuations were caused by the release of NFP. The following week’s FOMC Meeting Minutes will surely let us have a closer look of dollar’s rate future. EUR/GBP gained ca. 1.1% EUR has been fighting all the week to finally beat British pound. It seems that the single currency needs to be triggered, but only a little, to rise significantly. Naturally these supporters were positive news about cease fire in the eastern Europe. In the following week BoE’s Bailey speaks and we can expect that it will be an introduction to next monetary policy decisions. USD/CHF – Swiss franc strengthened… The beginning of the week wasn’t so optimistic for CHF. Before the news coming from Ukraine it was losing the fight with dollar. The situation got better after positive news about possible cease fire. USD/PLN – Zloty feels good Poland lies close to the area where the conflict takes place. Because of corelations and other factors Polish zloty was hit several times. After tightening of monetary policy (next decisions to come shortly) and optimistic signals from Ukraine zloty strenghthened again gaining 1.6% over the week. Source/Data: TradingView.com Charts: Courtesy of TradingView.com
Currency Speculators continue Japanese Yen bearishness, push bearish bets to 20-week high

Currency Speculators continue Japanese Yen bearishness, push bearish bets to 20-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 02.04.2022 19:33
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday March 29th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data is the increase of bearish bets in the Japanese yen currency futures contracts. Japanese yen speculators raised their bearish bets for a third straight week this week and for the fourth time in the past five weeks. Over this five-week time-frame, yen bets have now dropped by a total of -38,944 contracts, going from -63,187 net positions on February 22nd to -102,131 net positions this week. This weakness in speculator sentiment has pushed the current Yen positioning to the most bearish level in the past twenty weeks, dating back to November 9th when net positions over over -105,000 contracts. Since the new year, yen speculator positions have averaged -70,432 weekly contracts, underscoring the sentiment weakness and compared to the 2021 weekly positions average of -44,182 contracts (positions averaged +17,100 weekly contracts in 2020). Japanese yen prices have also been extremely weak versus the other major currencies. Currently, the yen has recorded losses against all of the majors year-to-date and many majors currencies are trading at the highest levels since 2015 versus the yen. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the US Dollar Index (1,306 contracts), Australian dollar (1,583 contracts), Brazil real (1,052 contracts), Canadian dollar (3,405 contracts) and the Mexican peso (9,804 contracts). The currencies with declining bets this week were the Japanese yen (-23,649 contracts), Euro (-2,469 contracts), Swiss franc (-3,155 contracts), British pound sterling (-2,826 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-3,387 contracts), Russian ruble (-263 contracts) and Bitcoin (-271 contracts). Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Mar-29-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 53,967 76 30,941 79 -35,106 16 4,165 62 EUR 662,415 67 21,374 42 -47,348 62 25,974 17 GBP 224,365 54 -40,070 45 52,009 60 -11,939 31 JPY 239,698 82 -102,131 3 124,850 98 -22,719 7 CHF 44,327 20 -11,579 50 23,228 57 -11,649 29 CAD 147,421 28 -1,535 46 -15,518 48 17,053 64 AUD 143,007 39 -49,606 39 40,894 49 8,712 74 NZD 34,881 15 -867 70 -3 30 870 62 MXN 157,779 30 -8,247 24 3,286 74 4,961 64 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 78,894 79 42,616 92 -45,623 7 3,007 100 Bitcoin 12,024 66 -271 89 -411 0 682 28   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 30,941 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,306 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 29,635 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 79.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.1 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 83.3 2.8 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.0 67.8 2.8 – Net Position: 30,941 -35,106 4,165 – Gross Longs: 44,970 1,493 5,684 – Gross Shorts: 14,029 36,599 1,519 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.2 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 79.2 16.3 62.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.7 10.7 -21.9   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 21,374 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -2,469 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 23,843 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 41.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 62.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 17.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.2 55.0 12.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.0 62.1 8.2 – Net Position: 21,374 -47,348 25,974 – Gross Longs: 200,043 364,163 80,321 – Gross Shorts: 178,669 411,511 54,347 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 41.6 62.3 17.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.0 10.7 -19.0   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -40,070 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,826 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -37,244 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 45.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 60.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.9 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 13.6 73.3 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.5 50.1 15.2 – Net Position: -40,070 52,009 -11,939 – Gross Longs: 30,624 164,519 22,187 – Gross Shorts: 70,694 112,510 34,126 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 45.1 60.4 30.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -30.5 29.1 -14.2   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -102,131 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -23,649 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -78,482 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.4 83.9 8.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.0 31.8 18.0 – Net Position: -102,131 124,850 -22,719 – Gross Longs: 15,274 201,190 20,392 – Gross Shorts: 117,405 76,340 43,111 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 3.5 98.2 7.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -22.7 19.1 -5.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -11,579 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -3,155 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,424 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 49.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 57.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.1 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.4 73.2 19.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 33.5 20.8 45.5 – Net Position: -11,579 23,228 -11,649 – Gross Longs: 3,292 32,430 8,522 – Gross Shorts: 14,871 9,202 20,171 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 3.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 49.7 57.0 29.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.3 4.9 -7.3   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -1,535 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 3,405 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -4,940 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 48.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.7 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.0 52.1 24.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.0 62.6 13.4 – Net Position: -1,535 -15,518 17,053 – Gross Longs: 32,429 76,738 36,771 – Gross Shorts: 33,964 92,256 19,718 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.2 48.3 63.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -13.3 -0.3 28.1   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -49,606 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 1,583 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -51,189 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 38.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 49.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 73.7 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.7 56.6 18.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 58.4 28.0 12.7 – Net Position: -49,606 40,894 8,712 – Gross Longs: 33,960 80,885 26,806 – Gross Shorts: 83,566 39,991 18,094 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.0 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 38.8 49.4 73.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 34.4 -42.4 48.0   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -867 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -3,387 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 2,520 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 69.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 30.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 61.8 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 44.4 44.5 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.9 44.5 8.0 – Net Position: -867 -3 870 – Gross Longs: 15,504 15,507 3,666 – Gross Shorts: 16,371 15,510 2,796 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 69.8 30.4 61.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 14.2 -18.5 40.7   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -8,247 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 9,804 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -18,051 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 23.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 74.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 64.1 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 47.6 46.9 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.8 44.8 1.7 – Net Position: -8,247 3,286 4,961 – Gross Longs: 75,081 73,952 7,577 – Gross Shorts: 83,328 70,666 2,616 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 2.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 23.8 74.2 64.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.3 6.4 8.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 42,616 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 1,052 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 41,564 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 67.3 26.2 6.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.2 84.0 2.3 – Net Position: 42,616 -45,623 3,007 – Gross Longs: 53,065 20,649 4,805 – Gross Shorts: 10,449 66,272 1,798 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.1 to 1 0.3 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 92.3 6.8 100.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 18.5 -18.9 6.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 7,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -263 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.6 60.6 2.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 0.5 94.7 4.7 – Net Position: 7,543 -7,150 -393 – Gross Longs: 7,658 12,679 593 – Gross Shorts: 115 19,829 986 – Long to Short Ratio: 66.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 69.1 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.6 16.7 -18.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -271 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -271 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 0 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 8.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.4 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.9 3.2 10.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 83.1 6.6 5.2 – Net Position: -271 -411 682 – Gross Longs: 9,722 383 1,302 – Gross Shorts: 9,993 794 620 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 2.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.5 8.5 28.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.2 -15.9 5.8   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Trade Zone Week Ahead: Indices, Cable and Bitcoin in Focus

Trade Zone Week Ahead: Indices, Cable and Bitcoin in Focus

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 03.04.2022 18:00
In today’s Trade Zone Trading Week Ahead, Simon Massey joins us from Trade Room Plus to pick up the mantle for the month of April and discuss some of the trades he’s looking at as markets open today. In this first episode,  we look at the price action for US and European indices, Cable and Bitcoin. Watch the video below to get Simon’s latest insights. JOIN SIMON THIS WEDNESDAY FOR THIS WEEK’S LIVE MARKET UPDATE. REGISTER NOW. Join us at 9 PM AEDT (10 AM GMT) this coming Wednesday as Simon begins his monthly takeover of our Trade Zone series. Register now to attend the first live market update of April, as we analyse the key moves of the week and look ahead at the potential trade moves as the weekend approaches. It’s the perfect session to give you a few valuable pointers on what you should be watching as the trading week approaches its end. Got a burning trading question you need to answer, then stick around for the live Q&A at the end, and let Simon give his view. Registration is free. Click below to secure your seat. Simon Massey is the lead trader of Trade Room Plus, the UK’s premier Live Trade Room. He believes the best way to teach people to trade is to demonstrate live trades. His trading journey started with a small trading account. This led him to trade with ever-larger trading accounts until he was able to leave his previous job and become a full-time trader. Trade Room Plus was established in 2013 and provides educational services to help develop effective trading strategies. Beginners can watch the pros trade financial assets in real-time and learn first-hand from the experts. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Monday CNY Ching Ming Festival Holiday AUD Retail Sales GBP BoE Gov Bailey Speaks Tuesday CNY Ching Ming Festival Holiday AUD RBA Interest Rate Decision, Rate Statement GBP Composite & Services PMI Wednesday USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI GBP Construction PMI Thursday CAD Ivey PMI USD Crude Oil Inventories USD FOMC Meeting Minutes EUR ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Notes USD Initial Jobless Claims Friday CAD Employment Change The post Trade Zone Week Ahead: Indices, Cable and Bitcoin in Focus appeared first on Eightcap.
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/3/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/3/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 03.04.2022 21:41
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 22/3/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index rose by 1,355 contracts last week. This change is the result of an increase in long positions of 3,794 contracts and an increase in short positions of 2,539 contracts. There was a significant decrease in the total net positions of large speculators in the Canadian dollar last week, which fell by 22,690 contracts. At the same time, total net positions of large speculators moved from bullish to overall bearish sentiment for the first time in 10 weeks. The rise in total net positions of large speculators occurred only in the euro last week. There was a decline in total net positions in the other currencies monitored. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short.   Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Mar 22, 2022 29635 23843 -37244 -51189 2520 -78482 -4940 -8424 Mar 15, 2022 28380 18794 -29061 -44856 3653 -62340 17740 -5229 Mar 08, 2022 34044 58844 -12526 -78195 -12379 -55856 7646 -9710 Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248 Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987 Feb 15, 2022 35386 47581 2237 -86694 -9333 -66162 12170 -9715   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 22, 2022 658817 207051 183208 23843 -7193 5011 -38 5049 Bullish Mar 15, 2022 666010 202040 183246 18794 -72980 -40643 -593 -40050 Weak bullish Mar 08, 2022 738990 242683 183839 58844 19015 14298 20393 -6095 Weak bullish Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish Feb 15, 2022 702047 217899 170318 47581 1949 -1074 -9813 8739 Bullish         Total Change -41281 -11922 3077 -14999     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 23,843 contracts last week, up by 5,049 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 5,011 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 38 contracts. These data suggest bullish sentiment for the euro. Open interest fell by 7,193 contracts last week. This shows that the downward movement that occurred in the euro last week was not supported by the volume and is therefore a weak trend. The euro continues to move in a downtrend. It returned to a resistance level last week, which could be an opportunity to trade short.  Long-term resistance: 1.1120 – 1.1150. Support: 1.080-1.0850. The next support is at 1.0650-1.0700. The support can b also a value around 1.0900.   The British pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 22, 2022 195712 32753 69997 -37244 7389 311 8494 -8183 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 188323 32442 61503 -29061 -57989 -18540 -2005 -16535 Bearish Mar 08, 2022 246312 50982 63508 -12526 34443 3303 15492 -12189 Bearish Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 195302 50151 47914 2237 -2646 5442 -5340 10782 Bullish         Total Change -2236 -11956 16743 -28699     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 37,244 contracts, down by 8,183 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth of long positions by 311 contracts and the growth of short positions by 8,494 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative while there has been a further decline. Open interest rose by 7,389 contracts last week. This means that the modest rise in the pound that occurred last week was supported by the volume and is therefore strong. However, the pound's growth was not significant. In addition, a pin bar formed on the weekly chart which would suggest more of a further weakening in line with sentiment. Long-term resistance: 1.3270 – 1.3300. Support is near 1.3000.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 22, 2022 127767 23747 74936 -51189 3246 -534 5799 -6333 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 124521 24281 69137 -44856 -72573 4760 -28579 33339 Weak bearish Mar 08, 2022 197094 19521 97716 -78195 7427 6801 6660 141 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Weak bearish Feb 15, 2022 192578 11692 98386 -86694 -3825 -5631 -4678 -953 Bearish         Total Change -68636 6424 -28128 34552     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 51,189 contracts, down by 6,333 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 534 contracts and an increase in short positions by 5,799 contracts. This data suggests a continuation of bearish sentiment in the Australian dollar. Last week there was an increase in open interest of 3,246 contracts. This means that the upward move that occurred last week was supported by the volume and was therefore strong as new money flowed into the market. The Australian dollar strengthened strongly again last week and reached a significant resistance level. Long-term resistance: 0.7510-0.7560                                                                                                               Long-term support: 0.7370-0.7440.  A strong support is near 0.7160 – 0.7180.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 22, 2022 35256 17156 14636 2520 -3944 -4337 -3204 -1133 Weak bullish Mar 15, 2022 39200 21493 17840 3653 -14050 5718 -10314 16032 Bullish Mar 08, 2022 53250 15775 28154 -12379 2861 5290 3497 1793 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Feb 15, 2022 64105 24923 34256 -9333 9228 7755 6722 1033 Weak bearish         Total Change -19621 -12 -12898 12886     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 2,520 contracts last week, down by 1,133 contracts from the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 4,337 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 3,204 contracts. This data suggests that there was a weakening of bullish sentiment in the New Zealand dollar last week. Open interest fell by 3,944 contracts last week. Therefore, the upward movement in the NZDUSD that occurred last week was not supported by the volume and therefore the move was weak. The NZDUSD strengthened strongly last week and reached the resistance level. Long-term resistance: 0.6980 – 0.7000 Long-term support: 0.6860-0.6920 and the next support is at 0.6730 – 0.6740.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
EURUSD And XAUUSD Trade Lower Than Before. UK100 Gains Gradually

EURUSD And XAUUSD Trade Lower Than Before. UK100 Gains Gradually

Jing Ren Jing Ren 04.04.2022 07:34
EURUSD seeks support The US dollar rallied after March’s average hourly wages jumped by 5.6%. The euro came to a halt in the supply zone at the origin of the March sell-off (1.1180). A bearish RSI divergence pointed to softness in the rebound. A fall below 1.1120 then 1.1070 prompted buyers to bail out, further weighing on overall sentiment. 1.0980 at the base of the recent bullish impetus is major support. Its breach could invalidate the recovery and trigger a new round of sell-offs. The bulls need to clear 1.1120 to regain the upper hand. XAUUSD builds support Gold retreats as the US dollar finds support from a fall in the jobless rate. On the daily chart, price action still holds above the demand zone between 1890 and 1900 which is a sign of strong buying interest. A break above 1940 forced sellers out. This may also foreshadow a reversal. Sentiment would improve if the precious metal stays above 1915. A bullish close above 1960 could extend the rally to the psychological level of 2000. On the downside, 1890 is a critical level to maintain the bulls’ optimism. UK 100 consolidates gains The FTSE 100 treads water dragged by weaker energy stocks. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that the index could be back on track in the medium term. The intraday direction is still up despite its choppiness. A close above 7590 would extend the rally to this year’s high at 7690. Trend followers may see pullbacks as a bargain opportunity. The RSI’s oversold condition attracted some buying interest over 7460. A deeper correction would send the index to 7380 which coincides with the moving averages.
The Grains Sector Saw Continued Demand| Acceleration In The Sale Of Gold

Crude Oil, Chinese Stocks, S&P 500, ECB And US Yields [VIDEO]

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 04.04.2022 11:04
MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote Crude oil consolidates near the $100pb as the latest pandemic news from China and the massive US release from strategic reserves cool down the positive pressure, but there are uncertainties on whether the US could really release 1 million barrels per day for six months to keep oil prices under control. US futures are in the negative this morning, although the S&P500 ended last week on a last-minute rally. The rising US yields and the curve inversion make investors uncomfortable, and the Federal Reserve (Fed) hawks remain in charge before Wednesday’s FOMC minutes. Gold is under the pressure of higher US yields, and may not benefit from a renewed equity selloff, if the selloff is due to the rising yields. But geopolitical tensions could throw a floor under a further selloff, if geopolitical tensions escalate amid the West preparing to announce more sanctions against Russia. Elsewhere, Chinese stocks rally on news that China will let the US authorities access the full auditing reports of companies listed in the US. Bitcoin is stuck within the $45/48K area and GameStop offers a strong intra-day volatility, though not much fundamentally-supported action in medium run. Watch the full episode to find out more! 0:00 Intro 0:30 US reserve release & Covid news soften oil bulls' hands 2:28 European inflation boosts ECB hawks, but... 3:47 US yields extend progress ahead of Wed's FOMC minutes 5:06 Gold, supported by geopolitical tensions, pressures by yields 6:04 S&P500, Nasdaq: toppish? 7:18 Chinese stocks rally on encouraging audit news 9:02 Bitcoin stuck with $45/48K range Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.
FXStreet’s Dhwani Mehta Opinion About Gold Movements

Price Of Gold - GoldViewFX - MARKET UPDATE - 05/04/22

GoldViewFX Ideas GoldViewFX Ideas 05.04.2022 09:13
// GoldViewFX - MARKET UPDATE by Goldviewfx on TradingView.com Hey Everyone,Awesome start to the week and month with our analysis once again playing out perfectly. Our target at 1931 was HIT with entries from 1921 and repeat entries from every dip. Banking and taking 20 to 30 pips at a time allowed us to get in and out more than once on the same target.As I keep stating, this is the best way to capture pips in this market condition to be able to - A: Avoid getting stuck in swings and B: to maximise on capturing pips on the same target by milking the range in and out.We have EMA5 break and cross above 1931 GOLDTURN with a candle body close, which confirms our target for 1940. We also have a retracement level at 1927 inline with MA21 and a swing range of 1911 to manage our RISK. We will continue our plans to buy from DIPS and should anything change we will keep you all updated.Please don't forget to like, comment and follow to support us, we really appreciate it!GoldViewFXXAUUSD TOP AUTHOR
Crypto Update: ICPUSD can buyers continue the new trend?

Crypto Update: ICPUSD can buyers continue the new trend?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 05.04.2022 10:02
Looking at ICPUSD we can see solid buyer demand today. The price holds a 4% gain and is trading up to 22.8. Focus remains on if today’s bullish bar can take the next step and form a new continuation. After a long, drawn-out downtrend that started in September 2021, price finally showed some signs from the buyer side in March as buyers moved past the long-term downtrend. This move confirmed a descending wedge pattern which can be a trend change signs when confirmed. So far, so good. The price continues to hold new higher highs and higher lows since breaking past the downtrend line. We can also now see a new short/medium-term uptrend in play. Today’s bar still remains held in a minor consolidation pattern, but if we can see buyers close above 22, this could be a good sign for bulls in the short term. A break and close above 23.5 sets a new higher high and continues to show buyers are in control. A worry for us would be a move back below 22, which puts price back in the range and casts some doubt on short-term momentum. A move to close below 20 would start to put pressure on the new trend unless we see a quick higher, low and higher high to show buyer support. ICPUSD D1 Chart The post Crypto Update: ICPUSD can buyers continue the new trend? appeared first on Eightcap.
US Close – A brutal week on Wall Street ends on a positive note, Fed reiterates commitment to restoring price stability, Oil plummets on outlook, Gold lower on strong USD, Bitcoin’s danger zone

April 6th Is Going To Be A Market-Shocker! Polish Interest Rate Decision, FOMC Meeting Minutes And Crude Oil Inventories Are Released Tomorrow

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 05.04.2022 22:04
Wednesday, April 6th is a day which can’t ‘praise’ itself with loads of economic events, but those which take place in the following day are definitely crucial! There is only one news which can really wake us up tomorrow and it’s UK Construction PMI (Mar) which previously amounted to 59.1 Let’s watch it closely – data can affect GBP rate. Afternoon is much, much tempting. We begin with Canadian Ivey PMI (Mar). Previously this one hit 60.6 At 3:30 p.m. US Crude Oil inventories go public. It’s surely the most awaited indicator of the day as the price of crude is topping the headlines. There’s no doubt Polish readers are looking forward to tomorrow’s evening. At 6 p.m. interest rate decision is released by NBP. In times of Russia-Ukraine conflict the rate of zloty has been hit several times and national bank tries get it back in the game. Let’s go back to the USA. Tomorrow, at 7 p.m. FOMC Meeting Minutes is published and as we wrote last time, it can be the first ‘trailer’ of Fed’s rhetoric and next interest rate decision. The last one confirmed tightening of monetary policy. Data/Source: Investing.com Economic Calendar
CZK: Koruna's Resilience Amid Global Influences - 16.08.2023

USD, Coal And Crude Oil Price To Be Shaken Today? Russia-Ukraine To Shape The Markets Today - Vision Of Next Sanctions Is Here. Will FOMC Meeting Minutes Influence DXY?

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 06.04.2022 10:31
Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Lael Brainard’s hawkish comments rocked the markets yesterday as she said that the next interest rate hikes should be more aggressive to tame the skyrocketing inflation in the US, and that the Fed could start reducing its near $9 trillion balance sheet as soon as next month, and at ‘a rapid pace’. Investors will be closely watching the Fed minutes today. There would be no surprise if the Fed hinted a 50-bp hike in the next meeting. Activity in Fed funds futures assess more than 75% chance to a 50-bp hike. Yet, what will really make the difference is the speed at which the Fed will shrink the balance sheet. And there is a big potential for a hawkish pricing on this front. In the FX, Brainard’s comments sent the US dollar rallying yesterday. The dollar index is now preparing to flirt with the 100 offers, the EURUSD sank below the 1.09 level as Cable pulled below the 1.31 mark, but if the Fed minutes doesn’t reveal a further hawkish surprise, we shall see the dollar give back the latest gains and the euro and the pound record a minor rebound. Else, the US and the Europeans are expected to announce a new round of sanctions today. EU is expected to announce a ban on Russian coal imports, but not on Russian oil and gas. The reduced risk of a European ban on Russian oil keeps the oil bulls contained. Bitcoin tipped a toe below the $45K mark on hawkish Fed comments, while gold remains undecided near $1920, supported by safe haven demand, and pressured by rising US yields. Watch the full episode to find out more! 0:00 Intro 0:24 Brainard’s hawkish comments sent stocks lower 1:50 Deutsche warns of recession 2:24 FOMC minutes: what to expect? 5:58 EU to ban Russian coal, but not Russian oil and gas 6:46 Oil bulls contained on unlikely sanctions on Russian oil 8:00 Energy stocks upbeat 8:52 Bitcoin under pressure 9:10 Gold, torn between safe haven demand & rising yields Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.
The Recent Rally Of Bitcoin Had Been Capped, The Digital Yuan (eCNY) Has Received Upgrades

Crypto Update: Bitcoin minor correction or something more?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 06.04.2022 12:09
Looking at Bitcoin, we are seeing a few things to keep an eye on. So far, crypto markets look to be following equities lower after yesterday’s Fed shock around inflation worries and policy adjustment to try and correct it (rate rises). Today has seen a second straight day off losses for Bitcoin as sellers continue to hold sway. Fed members shocked risk markets yesterday after reports showed US inflation had climbed to 40-year highs. Their comments came in aggressive and suggested they’re ready to take action to try and rein in the current inflation problem. That normally means rate rises, and comments suggested a more aggressive approach could be coming soon. Bitcoin has been patchy at best over the last 5-trading days, with more of a range forming after the late March first leg lower. That leg broke the fast trend, and we saw an LH form after that break. These one-two patterns can be a good sign of further weakness coming. Selling continued (yesterday and today), confirming the pattern. That brings us to the level/area we are watching, and we have marked it with a green box on the D1 chart. This level is a demand area, and we can see this when buyers held firm on a few occasions. This area is important to us moving forward. If buyers can hold, we are looking at a possible minor correction in play which could turn into a new continuation higher. A move through the area and we could have a deeper move lower on our hands, and we will have to look and wait for when or if price can set a new higher low above or around the new trend line. Bitcoin D1 Chart The post Crypto Update: Bitcoin minor correction or something more? appeared first on Eightcap.
Greenback Strengthens, Silver Price (XAGUSD) Seems Stably

Greenback Strengthens, Silver Price (XAGUSD) Seems Stably

Jing Ren Jing Ren 07.04.2022 07:36
USDCAD attempts to rebound The US dollar rallied after FOMC minutes showed the central bank’s plan to reduce its balance sheet. The pair found support at 1.2400 after the RSI went deeply into the oversold territory. A break above 1.2500 prompted sellers to cover their latest bets, easing the downward pressure in the process. The bulls need to clear offers near 1.2590 before they could push for a sustainable bounce. Failing that, further weakness could drive price action to October’s lows around 1.2300. NZDUSD breaks support The New Zealand dollar softened against its US counterpart after hawkish Fed minutes. The rally came to a halt in the supply zone around 0.7050 from last November’s sell-off. 0.6900 was important support and its breach forced short-term buyers to bail out. As the kiwi grinds 0.6875 over the 30-day moving average, an oversold RSI may cause a rebound. A deeper correction may send the pair to 0.6800 and cause a bearish reversal. The bulls need to reclaim 0.6940 to regain the upper hand. XAGUSD tests major support Silver struggles as the greenback recovers across the board. A bearish MA cross on the daily chart suggests a deterioration in the market mood. Buyers’ struggle to lift offers at the psychological level of 25.00 indicates prevailing strong selling pressure. Sentiment has become cautious as the precious metal revisits 24.00. Price action could be vulnerable to another round of sell-off if the bears succeed in pushing below this critical floor. Following that, 23.30 would be the next target.
Indonesia's Inflation Slips, Central Bank Maintains Rates Amidst Stability

Forex Update: USDCAD setting up a new push higher?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 07.04.2022 12:09
This week so far has definitely been about the USD. Price has seen solid gains so far, with the index adding 0.98% and hitting a new weekly high of 99.65. Inflation worries in the US, followed by aggressive comments from the Fed regarding rate increases to combat soaring inflation, have been the key driver. US inflation hit40-yearadjustment to try and get it under control. Inflation is now a widespread issue, with Europe, Britain and Australia feeling the pinch. Today we are focusing on the USDCAD as a higher USD, and weaker oil prices continue to support buying. The price broke out of its mini range yesterday, and buyers have followed up on the break with new weekly highs today. Today’s move also confirms the breakout. Price started its move from a solid-looking foundation after forming a range off a well-established support area. Looking forward, if this is a true move higher, we would like to see if buyers can get the price back up to 1.2626. This area is a previous low and could develop into resistance. What we don’t want to see is a new move by sellers pushing price back into the range or back down to support. This could become a failure break and set up new downward pressure. USDCAD D1 Chart The post Forex Update: USDCAD setting up a new push higher? appeared first on Eightcap.
How Will NEAR, BALANCER And RAMP Move In The Near Future?

How Will NEAR, BALANCER And RAMP Move In The Near Future?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 08.04.2022 15:43
At this stage, it looks like we are set for a decline in the top 25 coins, snapping a three-week winning streak that has seen just over28% added in the last three weeks. So far, the top 25 index is down a touch over 6% late in the week. The major coins started the week with gains but found it hard to hold momentum. Selling really ramped up on Tuesday as risk markets reacted to further inflation worries. US inflation hit 40-year highs and set up a quick response from the Fed. Members said that policy adjustments would be made swiftly to try and rain in the worrying inflation. This set off the USD. The USD index quickly broke back above 99 and continued to push higher, trading up to 99.71. As traders moved quickly out of risk assets, this looks to have been a strong factor for sellers of crypto. Tuesday was the worst day so far in the week, with over 5% taken off the top 10 and 6.5% taken off the top 25. Sellers tried to get another move going on Thursday but were rejected by buyers. Friday’s trade saw a fightback, but many coins share a similar pattern of a counter-rally after a trend break. Friday’s session gave us a few surprises, with NEAR and BALANCER both trading over 15% higher during the session. RAMP was another strong mover, adding over 30% during Friday’s session. Looking to next week, attention will have to remain on the inflation and policy situation of the Fed as it looks to be having an influence. We are also keen on seeing if some of Friday’s counter-rallies can become something more. This week, due to some mixed-signal price action-wise, we’re going to break down what we see on the daily top 25 index chart. Yes, with Eightcap you can trade an index CFD over the top 25 coins. Let’s not what we’re watching. Clearly, we can see the descending triangle pattern that buyers broke out of, which also broke the long-term downtrend. All nice bullish signs so far. We’ve seen the first leg up that could be seen as a stage one. In the short term, we’ve seen resistance and supply develop, which has stopped the trend for now. The leg lower has beaten the fast uptrend, but it’s started to find demand and support off the 50 and 38.2fib points, which show a healthy retracement area. Where does that leave us? With mixed price signals in the short and medium-term, we want to see if buyers can maintain the fib points and make a new move to test resistance. A break of resistance and the trend should be back on. A fail at or below resistance that sets up a new lower high is a warning and could signal further seller momentum to come. If price moves back below the 50 or 61.8%, we would start to worry about the buyer’s control on the current leg high. The post Crypto Focus: Top 25 Coins Set for a Decline? appeared first on Eightcap.
COT Currency Speculators boost Australian Dollar bets to best level in 37-weeks

COT Currency Speculators boost Australian Dollar bets to best level in 37-weeks

Invest Macro Invest Macro 09.04.2022 20:09
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday April 5th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the further retreat of bearish bets in the Australian currency futures contracts. Australian dollar speculators reduced their bearish bets for a second straight week this week and for the sixth time in the past seven weeks. Over this seven-week time-frame, Aussie bets have improved by a total of +49,181 contracts, going from -86,694 net positions on February 15th to -37,513 net positions this week. This improvement in speculator sentiment has brought the current net position (-37,513 contracts) to the least bearish level of the past thirty-seven weeks, dating back to July 20th when the net position totaled -35,690 contracts. The speculator level for the Aussie has not registered a bullish or positive net weekly position since May 18th of 2021, a span of forty-seven weeks. Despite the bearish level of speculators, the AUD has been one of the stronger currencies over the past month and has been helped along by the outlook that the Reserve Bank of Australia will start to raise interest rates for the first time since 2010. The currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the US Dollar Index (911 contracts), Australian dollar (12,093 contracts), Mexican peso (9,157 contracts), Euro (5,996 contracts), Brazil real (2,910 contracts), Canadian dollar (8,458 contracts) and Bitcoin (27 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Japanese yen (-1,698 contracts), Swiss franc (-814 contracts), British pound sterling (-1,688 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-702 contracts) and the Russian ruble (-263 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each currency where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Apr-05-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 49,049 65 31,852 81 -35,194 16 3,342 53 EUR 663,589 67 27,370 43 -49,617 62 22,247 11 GBP 238,266 63 -41,758 44 57,779 64 -16,021 22 JPY 242,217 83 -103,829 2 125,224 98 -21,395 10 CHF 40,005 14 -12,393 48 20,743 54 -8,350 39 CAD 157,562 35 6,923 54 -30,414 38 23,491 77 AUD 148,898 44 -37,513 50 22,332 36 15,181 89 NZD 35,788 16 -1,569 69 171 31 1,398 68 MXN 172,712 36 910 28 -5,778 70 4,868 64 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 65,870 61 45,526 95 -47,961 4 2,435 93 Bitcoin 11,374 61 -244 89 -397 0 641 28   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 31,852 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 911 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 30,941 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 80.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 53.1 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 83.7 2.9 10.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 18.7 74.6 3.9 – Net Position: 31,852 -35,194 3,342 – Gross Longs: 41,038 1,417 5,243 – Gross Shorts: 9,186 36,611 1,901 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.5 to 1 0.0 to 1 2.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 80.7 16.1 53.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.3 10.3 -21.2   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 27,370 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,996 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 21,374 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 61.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.3 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.8 53.8 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.7 61.3 8.4 – Net Position: 27,370 -49,617 22,247 – Gross Longs: 210,914 357,140 77,946 – Gross Shorts: 183,544 406,757 55,699 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.4 61.7 11.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.8 13.7 -27.3   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -41,758 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -1,688 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -40,070 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.4 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 15.1 73.6 8.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.6 49.4 15.1 – Net Position: -41,758 57,779 -16,021 – Gross Longs: 35,873 175,429 19,923 – Gross Shorts: 77,631 117,650 35,944 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.9 63.9 22.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -25.9 28.2 -24.4   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -103,829 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -1,698 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -102,131 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.0 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.0 84.7 7.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.9 33.0 16.8 – Net Position: -103,829 125,224 -21,395 – Gross Longs: 14,583 205,209 19,190 – Gross Shorts: 118,412 79,985 40,585 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 2.4 98.4 10.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -25.7 21.2 -4.3   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -12,393 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -814 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -11,579 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 48.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 4.6 73.5 21.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 35.6 21.6 42.6 – Net Position: -12,393 20,743 -8,350 – Gross Longs: 1,860 29,392 8,694 – Gross Shorts: 14,253 8,649 17,044 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 3.4 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 48.3 54.2 38.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.5 1.8 -0.7   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 6,923 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 8,458 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,535 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 54.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 37.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 76.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.7 49.4 26.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 19.3 68.7 11.1 – Net Position: 6,923 -30,414 23,491 – Gross Longs: 37,325 77,906 40,906 – Gross Shorts: 30,402 108,320 17,415 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 54.4 37.6 76.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.3 -11.7 37.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -37,513 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 12,093 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -49,606 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 35.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 89.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.4 53.9 21.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.6 38.9 11.5 – Net Position: -37,513 22,332 15,181 – Gross Longs: 34,871 80,207 32,313 – Gross Shorts: 72,384 57,875 17,132 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.4 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.1 35.5 89.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 43.2 -55.1 66.3   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -1,569 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -702 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -867 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 68.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 30.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 67.8 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 43.1 44.3 12.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.5 43.8 8.1 – Net Position: -1,569 171 1,398 – Gross Longs: 15,428 15,863 4,311 – Gross Shorts: 16,997 15,692 2,913 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 68.6 30.7 67.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 16.7 -21.2 43.0   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 910 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 9,157 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,247 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 70.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.7 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 45.6 49.6 4.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.1 53.0 1.6 – Net Position: 910 -5,778 4,868 – Gross Longs: 78,728 85,690 7,698 – Gross Shorts: 77,818 91,468 2,830 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.9 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.7 70.4 63.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -6.8 6.4 2.8   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 45,526 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 2,910 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 42,616 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 95.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.3 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 76.7 16.4 6.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 7.6 89.2 2.9 – Net Position: 45,526 -47,961 2,435 – Gross Longs: 50,518 10,795 4,319 – Gross Shorts: 4,992 58,756 1,884 – Long to Short Ratio: 10.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 95.1 4.5 93.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.7 -20.4 -2.4   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 7,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -263 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.6 60.6 2.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 0.5 94.7 4.7 – Net Position: 7,543 -7,150 -393 – Gross Longs: 7,658 12,679 593 – Gross Shorts: 115 19,829 986 – Long to Short Ratio: 66.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 69.1 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.6 16.7 -18.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -244 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 27 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -271 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 89.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.5 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.5 3.8 11.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 79.6 7.3 6.0 – Net Position: -244 -397 641 – Gross Longs: 8,811 437 1,322 – Gross Shorts: 9,055 834 681 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 89.1 9.6 27.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.8 -11.3 2.3   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 29/3/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 29/3/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 11.04.2022 06:40
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 29/3/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index rose by 1,306 contracts last week. This change is the result of an increase in long positions by 1,409 contracts and an increase in short positions by 103 contracts. Growth in total net positions occurred last week in the euro, the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar. There were declines in the total net positions of large speculators in the British pound, the New Zealand dollar, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. In the Japanese yen, in particular, the decline in total net positions of large speculators has been very strong. Over the past five weeks, total net positions have decreased by 38 944 contracts. The total net positions of large speculators are the most bearish for the yen in the last 20 weeks. This may be due to the Bank of Japan's continuing dovish monetary policy to support Japanese economic growth. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short.   Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Mar 29, 2022 30941 21374 -40070 -49606 -867 -102131 1535 -11579 Mar 22, 2022 29635 23843 -37244 -51189 2520 -78482 -4940 -8424 Mar 15, 2022 28380 18794 -29061 -44856 3653 -62340 17740 -5229 Mar 08, 2022 34044 58844 -12526 -78195 -12379 -55856 7646 -9710 Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248 Feb 22, 2022 36084 59306 -5809 -84080 -11551 -63187 9253 -10987   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com   The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 29, 2022 662415 200043 178669 21374 3598 -7008 -4539 2469 Weak bullish Mar 22, 2022 658817 207051 183208 23843 -7193 5011 -38 5049 Bullish Mar 15, 2022 666010 202040 183246 18794 -72980 -40643 -593 -40050 Weak bullish Mar 08, 2022 738990 242683 183839 58844 19015 14298 20393 -6095 Weak bullish Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish Feb 22, 2022 696682 214195 154889 59306 -5365 -3704 -15429 11725 Bullish         Total Change -39632 -17856 8351 -26207     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 21,374 contracts last week, down by 2,469 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 7,008 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 4,539 contracts. This data indicates weak bullish sentiment for the euro. Open interest has risen by 3 598 contracts in the last week. This shows that the upward movement that occurred in the euro last week was supported by a volume and is therefore strong price action. The euro continues to move in a downtrend. Last week it returned to the resistance level from which it bounced downwards. Long-term resistance: 1.1160 – 1.1180 Support: 1.0950-1.0980 and the next support is at 1.080-1.0850.   The British pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 29, 2022 224365 30624 70694 -40070 28653 -2129 697 -2826 Bearish Mar 22, 2022 195712 32753 69997 -37244 7389 311 8494 -8183 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 188323 32442 61503 -29061 -57989 -18540 -2005 -16535 Bearish Mar 08, 2022 246312 50982 63508 -12526 34443 3303 15492 -12189 Bearish Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 188443 42249 48058 -5809 -6859 -7902 144 -8046 Bearish         Total Change 29063 -19527 22780 -42307     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 37,244 contracts, down by 8,183 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth of long positions by 311 contracts and the growth of short positions by 8,494 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative while there has been a further decline. Open interest rose by 7,389 contracts last week. This means that the modest rise in the pound that occurred last week was supported by the volume and is therefore strong. However, the pound's growth was not significant. In addition, a pin bar formed on the weekly chart which would suggest more of a further weakening in line with sentiment. Long-term resistance: 1.3270 – 1.3300. Support is near 1.3000.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 29, 2022 143007 33960 83566 -49606 15240 10213 8630 1583 Weak bearish Mar 22, 2022 127767 23747 74936 -51189 3246 -534 5799 -6333 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 124521 24281 69137 -44856 -72573 4760 -28579 33339 Weak bearish Mar 08, 2022 197094 19521 97716 -78195 7427 6801 6660 141 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish Feb 22, 2022 192579 11553 95633 -84080 1 -139 -2753 2614 Weak bearish         Total change -49571 22268 -14820 37088     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 49,606 contracts last week, having grown by 1,583 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth of long positions by 10,213 contracts and the growth of short positions by 8,630 contracts. This data suggests weak bearish sentiment for the Australian dollar as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but they increased last week. There was an increase in open interest of 15,240 contracts last week. This means that the sideways movement that occurred last week was supported by the volume and was therefore strong as new money flowed into the market. The Australian dollar moved near a strong resistance level last week. If it is validly broken then a further bullish movement may be seen.  Long-term resistance: 0.7510-0.7560                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.7370-0.7440.  A next support is near 0.7160 – 0.7180.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Mar 29, 2022 34881 15504 16371 -867 -375 -1652 1735 -3387 Bearish Mar 22, 2022 35256 17156 14636 2520 -3944 -4337 -3204 -1133 Weak bullish Mar 15, 2022 39200 21493 17840 3653 -14050 5718 -10314 16032 Bullish Mar 08, 2022 53250 15775 28154 -12379 2861 5290 3497 1793 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish Feb 22, 2022 56636 17343 28894 -11551 -7469 -7580 -5362 -2218 Bearish Mar 29, 2022 34881 15504 16371 -867 -375 -1652 1735 -3387 Bearish         Total Change -29224 -9419 -17885 8466     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to - 867 contracts, having fallen by 3,387 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 1,652 contracts and an increase in short positions by 1,735 contracts. This data suggests that there was a bearish sentiment for the New Zealand dollar over the past week as the total net positions of large speculators got negative. Open interest fell by 375 contracts last week.  Therefore, the sideways move in the NZDUSD that occurred last week was not supported by a volume and therefore the move was weak. The NZDUSD strengthened strongly last week and got to the resistance level. Long-term resistance: 0.6980 – 0.7000 Long-term support: 0.6860-0.6880 and the next support is at 0.6730 – 0.6740.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
The Swing Overview - Week 14 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 14 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 11.04.2022 06:41
The Swing Overview - Week 14 Equity indices weakened last week on news of rising interest rates and a tightening of the US economy. The euro is also weakening not only because it is under pressure from the ongoing war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, but also from the uncertainty of the upcoming French presidential election. The outbreak of the coronavirus in China has fuelled negative sentiment in oil, where the market fears an excess of supply over demand. The US dollar was the clear winner in this environment.  The USD index strengthens along with US bond yields According to the US Fed meeting minutes released on Wednesday, the Fed is prepared to reduce its balance sheet by the USD 95 billion per month from May this year.  In addition, the Fed is ready to raise interest rates at a pace of 0.50%. Thus, at the next meeting, which will take place in May, we can expect a rate increase from the current 0.50% to 1.00%. This option is already included in asset prices.     As a result of this the yields on US 10-year bonds continued to rise and has already reached 2.64%. The US dollar in particular is benefiting from this development and is approaching the level 100. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   Equity indices under pressure from high interest rates The prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes is having a negative impact on investor sentiment, particularly for growth stocks. However, it is positive for financial sector stocks. High yields on the US bonds are attractive to investors, who will thus prefer this yield to, for example, investments in gold, which does not yield any interest. Figure 2: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The US SP 500 index is currently moving in a downward correction, which is shown on the H4 chart. Prices could move in a downward channel that is formed by a lower high and a lower low. The SP 500 according to the H4 chart is below the SMA 100 moving average, which also indicates bearish tendencies.   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the range of 4,513 - 4,520. The next resistance is around 4,583 - 4,600. A support is at 4 450 - 4 455.   German DAX index A declining channel has also formed for the DAX index. The price is below the SMA 100 moving average on the H4 chart, where at the same time the SMA 100 got below the EMA 50, which is a strong bearish signal. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart According to the H4 chart, the nearest resistance is in the range between 14,340 - 14,370. There is also a confluence with the moving average EMA 50 here. The next resistance is at 14,590 - 14,630. A support is at 14,030 - 14,100.   The DAX is influenced by the upcoming French presidential election, the outcome of which could have a major impact on the European economy.    The euro remains in a downtrend The Euro is negatively affected by the sanctions against Russia, which will also have a negative impact on the European economy. In addition, uncertainty has arisen regarding the French presidential election. Although the victory of the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen over the defending President Emmanuel Macron is still unlikely, the polls suggest that it is within the statistical margin of error. And this makes markets nervous.   A Le Pen victory would be bad for the economy and France's overall international image. It would weaken the European Union. That's why this news sent the euro below 1.09. The first round of elections will be held on Sunday April 10 and the second round on April 24, 2022.    Figure 4: EURUSD on H4 and daily chart. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.0930 - 1.0950. The significant resistance according to the daily chart is 1.1160 - 1.1190.  A support is at 1.080 - 1.0850.   According to the technical analysis, the euro is in a downtrend, but as it is currently at significant support levels, any short speculation could be considered only after the current support is broken and retested to validate the break.   The crude oil continues to descend The oil prices fell for a third straight day after the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) announced it would release 60 million barrels of its members' reserves to the open market, adding to an earlier reserve release of 180 million barrels announced by the United States. In total, 240 million barrels would be delivered to the market over six months, resulting in a net inflow of 1.33 million barrels a day.   That would be more than triple the monthly production additions of 400,000 barrels per day by the world's oil producers under the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia and controlled by Russia.   Adding to the negative sentiment on oil was a coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai, the largest in two years, which forced a more than week-long closure of China's second-largest city. This raises concerns about demand among oil consumers in the Chinese economy, which has a significant impact on prices. Figure 5: Brent crude oil on the H4 and daily charts. Brent crude oil is thus approaching support, which according to the H4 chart is at around USD 97-99 per barrel. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at the price of USD 106 per barrel. The more significant resistance is at USD 111-112 per barrel of the Brent crude.   
The Swing Overview - Week 13 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 13 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 11.04.2022 06:41
The Swing Overview - Week 13 Equity indices closed the first quarter of 2022 in a loss under the influence of geopolitical tensions. The Czech koruna strengthened as a result of the CNB raising interest rates to 5%, the highest since 2001. The US supports the oil market by releasing 180 million barrels from its strategic reserves. War in Ukraine   The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than a month and there is still no end in sight. Ongoing diplomatic negotiations have not led to a result yet. Meanwhile, Russian President Putin has decided that European countries will pay for Russian gas in rubles. This has been described as blackmailing from Europe's point of view and is not in line with the gas supply contracts that have been concluded. A way around this is to open an account with Gazprombank where the gas can be paid for in euros. Geopolitical tensions are therefore still ongoing and are having a negative effect on stock markets.   Equity indices have had their worst quarter since 2020 US and European equities posted their biggest quarterly loss since the beginning of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and the global economy was in crisis. Portfolio rebalancing at the end of the quarter boosted demand for bonds and kept yields lower.   On Tuesday, the yield curve briefly inverted, meaning that short-term bonds yields were higher than  long-term bonds. An inverted yield curve is a signal of a recession according to many economists. It means that future corporate profits should be rather behind expectations and stock prices might reflect it.    On Thursday, the S&P 500 index fell 1.6%. The Dow Jones industrial index also fell by 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite index fell by 1.5%. The European STOXX 600 index closed down by 0.94%. Even after last week's rally, as investors celebrated signs of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the S&P 500 index is still down 5% for the first three months, its worst quarterly performance in two years.  Figure 1: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The SP 500 index reached the resistance level at 4,600, which it broke, but then closed below it. This indicates a false break. The new nearest resistance is in the range of 4,625 - 4,635. Support is at 4,453 and then significant support is at 4,386 - 4,422.   German DAX index The DAX index has rallied since March 8 and has reached the resistance level which is in the 14,800 - 15,000 range.  However, the index started to weaken in the second half of the week. The news that Russia will demand payments for gas in rubles, which Western countries refuse, contributed to the index's weakening. The fear of gas supply disruption then caused a sell-off.    Figure 2: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart Resistance is between 14,800 - 15,000 according to the daily chart. The nearest support according to the H4 chart is at 14,100 - 14,200.   The euro remains in a downtrend The euro was supported at the beginning of the week by hopes for peace in Ukraine. However, by the end of the week, the Ukrainian President warned that Russia was preparing for more attacks and the Euro started to weaken. News of Russia's demand to pay for gas in rubles had a negative effect on the euro as well. Figure 3: The EURUSD on the H4 and daily charts. From a technical point of view, we can see that the EURUSD according to the daily chart has reached the resistance formed by EMA 50 (yellow line). The new horizontal resistance is in the area of 1.1160 - 1.1180. Support is at 1.0950 - 1.0980. The euro still remains in a downtrend.   CNB raised the interest rate In the fight against the inflation, the CNB decided to further raise the interest rate by 0.50%. Currently, the base rate is at 5%, where it was last in 2001. The interest rate hike is aimed at slowing inflation by slowing demand through higher borrowing costs.   Figure 4: Interest rate developments in the Czech Republic In addition, a strong koruna should support the slowdown in inflation. The koruna could appreciate especially against the euro due to higher interest rates. However, the strengthening of the koruna is conditional on the war in Ukraine not escalating further.  We can see that the koruna against the euro is approaching a support around 24.30. The low of this year was 24.10 korunas for one euro. Figure 5: USD/CZK and EUR/CZK on the daily chart. The koruna is also strengthening against the US dollar. Here, however, the situation is slightly different in that the US Fed is also raising rates and is expected to continue raising rates until the end of the year. Therefore, the interest rate differential between the koruna and the dollar is less favourable than between the koruna and the euro. The appreciation of the koruna against the dollar is therefore slower.   Currently, the koruna is at the support of 22 koruna per dollar. The next support is at 21.70 and then 21.10 koruna per dollar, where this year's low is.   Oil has weakened Oil prices saw the deep losses after the news that the United States will release up to 180 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserves as part of measures to reduce fuel prices. US crude oil fell 5.4% and Brent crude oil fell 6.6% on Thursday after the news. Figure 6: Brent crude oil on a monthly and daily chart We can see that a strong bearish pinbar was formed on a  monthly chart. The nearest support is in the zone 103 – 106 USD per barel. A strong support is around 100 USD per barel which will be closely watched.  
CFD News: Oil, can buyers continue to hold from 95.50?

CFD News: Oil, can buyers continue to hold from 95.50?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 11.04.2022 10:44
Today we’re looking at oil as price looks to have started to stall after a steady two-week decline. Key support continues to hold but seller signs remain. After the initial pullback buyers once again got price back into the 100 dollar area. This was short-lived after the US released emergency crude to overload supply and cut oil prices lower. The news had an immediate effect as oil prices fell back below the 100 dollar price level. At this stage, sellers look to be having a real issue at closing below $95.25. You can see below on the daily chart the strong level of support that has formed. This level runs back to February when it switched from minor support to the current key support. We are also noticing a new double bottom that has also started from around the support area. A new trend lower remains in play and we have seen two LHs set up during the decline. The CCI is also in bearish territory trading below the 0 line. So far sellers are missing a new LL to qualify the pattern of trend. This is where the demand/support level really comes into play. If buyers can maintain it we could see a new move higher develop. A new HL off the level backs up the level and growing buyer strength. A breakthrough with a close below support sets up the idea that the current move lower is not over and the 90 dollar area could be a lower target. The next several sessions should be interesting for oil and hopefully, give us an idea of the direction to come. We are wondering if we do see a new rally above 100, will the US release more oil to quash it? Oil D1 Chart The post CFD News: Oil, can buyers continue to hold from 95.50? appeared first on Eightcap.
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 5/4/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 5/4/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 11.04.2022 22:12
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 5/4/2022 Total net speculator positions in the USD index rose by 911 contracts last week. This change is the result of a decrease in long positions by 3,932 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 4,843 contracts. The growth in total net positions occurred last week in the euro, the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar. There were declines in the total net positions of large speculators in the British pound, the New Zealand dollar, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. Interest rate decisions will be made by the central banks of New Zealand and Canada (Wednesday) and the ECB on Thursday this week. The published monetary policy of these banks will be the decisive driver for the NZD, the CAD and the EUR this week. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Apr 05, 2022 31852 27370 -41758 -37513 -1569 -103829 6923 -12393 Mar 29, 2022 30941 21374 -40070 -49606 -867 -102131 1535 -11579 Mar 22, 2022 29635 23843 -37244 -51189 2520 -78482 -4940 -8424 Mar 15, 2022 28380 18794 -29061 -44856 3653 -62340 17740 -5229 Mar 08, 2022 34044 58844 -12526 -78195 -12379 -55856 7646 -9710 Mar 01, 2022 34774 64939 -337 -78336 -14172 -68732 14140 -15248   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com   The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Apr 05, 2022 663589 210914 183544 27370 1174 10871 4875 5996 Bullish Mar 29, 2022 662415 200043 178669 21374 3598 -7008 -4539 2469 Weak bullish Mar 22, 2022 658817 207051 183208 23843 -7193 5011 -38 5049 Bullish Mar 15, 2022 666010 202040 183246 18794 -72980 -40643 -593 -40050 Weak bullish Mar 08, 2022 738990 242683 183839 58844 19015 14298 20393 -6095 Weak bullish Mar 01, 2022 719975 228385 163446 64939 23293 14190 8557 5633 Bullish         Total change -33093 -3281 28655 -31936     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EURUSD on D1 The total net positions of large speculators reached 27 370 contracts last week and they were up by 5 996 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 10,871 contracts and an increase in short positions by 4,875 contracts. These data indicates a bullish sentiment for the euro. Open interest has risen by 1,174 contracts in the last week. This shows that the downward movement that occurred in the euro last week was supported by a volume and it was therefore a strong price action. The euro keeps moving in a downtrend. Last week it again reached a strong support in the area around 1.0850. Long-term resistance: 1.0950 – 1.0980.  The next resistance is in the zone 1.1160 – 1.1180. Support: 1.080-1.0850   The British pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Apr 05, 2022 238266 35873 77631 -41758 13901 5249 6937 -1688 Bearish Mar 29, 2022 224365 30624 70694 -40070 28653 -2129 697 -2826 Bearish Mar 22, 2022 195712 32753 69997 -37244 7389 311 8494 -8183 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 188323 32442 61503 -29061 -57989 -18540 -2005 -16535 Bearish Mar 08, 2022 246312 50982 63508 -12526 34443 3303 15492 -12189 Bearish Mar 01, 2022 211869 47679 48016 -337 23426 5430 -42 5472 Weak bearish         Total change 49823 -6376 29573 -35949     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBPUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached 41,758 contracts and thez were down by 1,688 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth in long positions by 5,249 contracts and the growth in short positions by 6,937 contracts. This suggests bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative while there has been their further decline. Open interest rose by 13,901 contracts last week. This means that the downward movement in the pound that occurred last week was supported by a volume and it is therefore strong. Long-term resistance: 1.3050 – 1.3070. The next resistance is in the zone 1.3270 – 1.3300. Support is near 1.3000. The next support is near 1.2900   The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Apr 05, 2022 148898 34871 72384 -37513 5891 911 -11182 12093 Weak bearish Mar 29, 2022 143007 33960 83566 -49606 15240 10213 8630 1583 Weak bearish Mar 22, 2022 127767 23747 74936 -51189 3246 -534 5799 -6333 Bearish Mar 15, 2022 124521 24281 69137 -44856 -72573 4760 -28579 33339 Weak bearish Mar 08, 2022 197094 19521 97716 -78195 7427 6801 6660 141 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 189667 12720 91056 -78336 -2912 1167 -4577 5744 Weak bearish         Total change -43681 23318 -23249 46567     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 37,513 contracts, growing by 12,093 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth in long positions by 911 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 11,182 contracts. This data suggests weak bearish sentiment for the Australian dollar as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but there was an increase in the previous week. There was an increase in open interest of 5,891 contracts last week. This means that the downward movement that occurred last week was supported by a volume and it was therefore a strong price action as new money flowed into the market. The Australian dollar formed a strong bearish pin bar last week. This could indicate further weakening of the AUD/USD pair. However, the pair is in a support area, so to speculate in the short direction it is necessary to wait for the pair to break this support and for a valid retest of the break. Long-term resistance: 0.7580-0.7660                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.7370-0.7440.  A next support is near 0.7160 – 0.7180.   The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Apr 05, 2022 35788 15428 16997 -1569 907 -76 626 -702 Bearish Mar 29, 2022 34881 15504 16371 -867 -375 -1652 1735 -3387 Bearish Mar 22, 2022 35256 17156 14636 2520 -3944 -4337 -3204 -1133 Weak bullish Mar 15, 2022 39200 21493 17840 3653 -14050 5718 -10314 16032 Bullish Mar 08, 2022 53250 15775 28154 -12379 2861 5290 3497 1793 Weak bearish Mar 01, 2022 50389 10485 24657 -14172 -6247 -6858 -4237 -2621 Bearish         Total change -20848 -1915 -11897 9982     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZDUSD on D1   The total net positions of speculators last week reached to - 1 569 contracts, falling by 702 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 76 contracts and an increase in short positions by 626 contracts. This data suggests that bearish sentiment has set in in the New Zealand dollar over the past week, as the total net positions of large speculators are negative and they continue to fall Open interest rose by 907 contracts last week.  It means that the downward movement in NZDUSD that occurred last week was supported by a volume and therefore this price action was strong. Long-term resistance: 0.6860 – 0.6880. The next resistance is near 0.6980 – 0.7030 Long-term support: 0.6730 – 0.6740.   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
Pairs With Dollar (USD) And Pound (GBP) To Be Shaken Shortly!? Let’s Follow EURUSD, USDCAD And GBPUSD!

Pairs With Dollar (USD) And Pound (GBP) To Be Shaken Shortly!? Let’s Follow EURUSD, USDCAD And GBPUSD!

Mikołaj Marcinowski Mikołaj Marcinowski 12.04.2022 12:40
Today US Core CPI and EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook are released, tomorrow it’s time to print UK CPI and the US PPI and crude oil inventories. What’s more, tomorrow’s afternoon Bank of Canada interest rate decision is released as well and many investors and economists await these announcement. It’s a very, very hot week as one day before holiday for many countries ECB interest rate decision goes public. It’s going to be a really tempting end of the working week! Firstly, let’s see how has EUR/USD fluctuated recently USD keeps going, yields are rising and the ECB decision is crucial considering next moves of the pair, as we have to wait longer for the next Fed’s announcement till the middle of May. EURUSD Chart USDCAD – Bank of Canada to raise the interest rate? As Investing.com predicts a rate hike, tightening of BoC’s monetary policy could help the Canadian dollar even if it’s quite strong right now even gaining in a long term. Monthly chart shows a noticeable strengthening of 1%. However, mentioned gain is a reduced value as a few days ago USD/CAD has been trading almost 3% lower. USDCAD Chart GBPUSD – A Storm Incoming? Daily chart shows a real volatility! GBP has strengthened and weakened few times already and the moves have become more dynamic recently as you see on the right hand side. The US CPI is released today and UK CPI and the US PPI go public on Wednesday so expect high volatility to persist and investors to change their minds really rapidly. GBPUSD Chart Data/Source: Investing.com, TradingView.com Charts: TradingView.com
Crypto Update: Can ALGORAND bounce if buyers hold support?

Crypto Update: Can ALGORAND bounce if buyers hold support?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 12.04.2022 11:24
Today we’re looking at Algorand (ALGOUSD) as price has started to re-hold at key support. Will we see buyers hold the move higher today and set up a new hold? Our focus remains on key support, but let’s look at the lead up to this level. First, we can see the ending diagonal that has been confirmed with the first leg higher. This also set up the first hold point of key support. It’s good to see a pattern backing up a new move higher. We saw resistance come in at 0.957. This led to the decline that brought us back to key support. Yesterday’s bar could be seen as exhaustion, but we will need to see if buts can hold the fightback through the NY session. We can also see a zig-zag forming. We have marked it in grey, and you can see the extension idea with the question mark. Our idea is if support holds and we see a new rally, we would look for the first test to come in at the last key level of resistance. We are also watching the grey line marked potential resistance as that area went from resistance to support and back to minor resistance. From here, we want to see a hold off support and a new rally carry forward. We would like to see a new leg higher, respect the zig-zag idea, and if we do see any new moves lower, we want to see new higher lows and higher highs after the red trendline break. Pressure on buyers into the NY session and into tomorrow to see if they can hold support and get a new move higher underway. Obviously, a break below support cancels out the above, and traders will be looking to see if a new downtrend is getting underway. Algorand D1 Chart The post Crypto Update: Can ALGORAND bounce if buyers hold support? appeared first on Eightcap.
Chart of the Week - Gold Miners vs Energy Producers - 20.04.2022

NAS100, SPX, EuroStoxx 50, Gold (XAUUSD), US Treasuries And More - "Financial Markets Today: Quick Take" – April 13, 2022

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 13.04.2022 11:07
Macro 2022-04-13 08:25 6 minutes to read Summary:  Markets are waking up about where they left off yesterday, as a US equity market rally in the wake of slightly softer than expected core US inflation in March was reversed back to its starting point. Overnight, the New Zealand central bank hiked more than expected, but guided less hawkish, so NZD fell. The Bank of Canada is expected to beat the Fed to the punch today by hiking by 50 basis points for the first time since 2000.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities tried to shift back to a positive stance yesterday in the wake of a slightly softer core CPI reading for March, but the rally was erased by the close, as attention is set to shift to earnings season which kicks off today in earnest. The Nasdaq 100 index has yet to break down through the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at 13,831, a break of which could usher in a full test of the 12,942.5 low. The less yield-sensitive S&P 500 index is farther above its respective 61.8% retracement level (4,299) but posted a weak session to new local lows yesterday, even as sentiment has recovered again overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) were little changed.  Energy and mining stocks outperformed.  China’s Ministry of Transport has issued a notice to local governments to urge the latter to keep highways in operation in areas affected by lockdowns.  China is also piloting in eight cities to reduce the number of days required for quarantine from 14 days to 10 days.  China reported better than expected March export data (+14.7% YoY in USD terms) while imports declined (-0.1% YoY in USD terms). Trade surplus increased to USD47.4 billion (vs consensus $21.7bln, Feb $30.6bln). Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) – the Stoxx 50 index snapped back from new local lows yesterday –emphasizing the importance of the 3,800 area support – and is fairly sideways overnight in the futures, a somewhat better performance than the major US averages, where a rally attempt yesterday was fully wiped out.  A weak euro certainly helps exporters, but energy/power prices continue to weigh on Europe’s economic outlook. EURUSD and EUR pairs  – the euro continues to trade heavily and EURUDS has nearly touched the lows for the cycle around near 1.0800. It was rather disappointing for bulls that the pair failed to get more support from a consolidation lower in US yields yesterday in the wake of the slightly cooler than expected core inflation reading (more below). The ongoing unease as Russia looks set to widen its offensive in eastern Ukraine and concerns that the ECB will remain dovish tomorrow perhaps weighing. The next major level lower is the 1.0636 level posted during the pandemic outbreak panic. USDCAD is at pivotal levels in the 1.2650 area, ... ...about the half-way point of the recent  price range and near the 200-day moving average ahead of today’s Bank of Canada meeting, which is expected to bring a 50-basis point rate hike (to take the policy rate to 1.00%), which would be the first rate hike of more than 25 bps since 2000. But with the Fed seen likely matching the Bank of Canada’s pace of tightening by year-end, the BoC may need to guide hawkish, or CAD may need to find more support from rising oil prices and improving risk sentiment broadly if it is to stage a rally against the US dollar. The technical situation certainly looks pivotal. Gold (XAUUSD) The advance in gold prices was a bit more impressive yesterday as the move higher above the key 1,966 area stuck, though the real challenge remains a bid to retake the psychologically important 2,000 level. The dip in treasury yields yesterday and weak risk sentiment in equities provided some of the boost. Crude oil (OILUKJUN22 & OILUSMAY22)  A solid comeback for oil prices yesterday, as WTI crude joined Brent in trading back above 100/bbl ahead of weekly US crude oil and product inventories from the DoE today. China moving to ease some of the Shanghai covid lockdowns may have boosted sentiment on the demand side. And longer-term supply concerns are in clear evidence as long-dated crude for December of 2023, trades within two dollars of the highest daily close for the cycle back in early March. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) and European Sovereign Debt. Treasury traders took the slightest easing of the pace of core March US inflation as a signal for consolidation yesterday, as yields dropped all along the curve, and more so at the front end as the market perhaps figures that as long as the pace of inflation rises moderates, it can stop the constant upward adjustments to the perceived path of Fed policy tightening this year. A US 10-year treasury auction saw tepid demand yesterday. Today sees a 30-year T-bond auction. EU yields also eased lower yesterday from new cycle- and multi-year highs. What is going on? New Zealand’s RBNZ surprises with 50-basis point hike, but guides less hawkish.  The market was looking for a 25-basis point move to take the Official Cash Rate to 1.25%, but instead got 50 basis points and a 1.50% policy rate. The argument in the statement was that the bank saw it prudent to bring hiking forward to reduce the risks of rising inflation expectations. At the same time, the statement frets the slowing pace of global economic activity. After an initial spike higher on the impact of the larger than expected hike, the NZD traded lower in the wake of the decision as the 2-year NZ rate dropped some 15 basis points. AUDNZD also retains an upward bias given the demand in resource-rich Australian assets. Australia’s business data also continues to hold up for now, while New Zealand is facing deteriorating business sentiment and chronic labor shortage. UK Mar. CPI out this morning – hotter than expected.  UK March CPI hit +1.1% MoM and +7.0% YoY on the headline (vs. +0.8% /+6.7% expected) and +5.7% YoY (vs. +5.3% expected) for the core CPI reading Crowdstrike (CRWD) rose 3.2% on a Goldman Sach upgrade to buy. Crowdstrikeis the world’s biggest cybersecurity company. The analyst community also likes Crowdstrike  with 93% of analysts rating the stock as a buy. Goldman Sachs expects Crowdstrike’s shares to rise to $285 in a year. USDJPY refuses to drop below 125.  USDJPY dropped below 125 following the US CPI release overnight, focusing on the less-than-expected core print and the fall in US treasury yields. This morning, the pair is trading close to the near-20 year high of 125.86. The move was however reversed suggesting sustained weakness in the yen, which will continue until we see stronger action from the Japanese authorities and not just verbal intervention. The prospect of stagflation remains for Germany.  This is the main takeaway from the ZEW index released yesterday. The economic sentiment index decreased to minus 41.0 in April versus prior minus 39.3 while the current conditions index dropped to minus 30.8 versus prior minus 21.4. The ZEW experts are therefore pessimistic about the current economic situation, and they expect that it will continue to deteriorate. The only glimpse of hope is the decline in inflation expectations.  U.S. Inflation is still uncomfortably high.  March CPI hit 8.5 % year-over-year. This is the hottest annual pace since 1981. The pace of Core CPI rises moderated a bit at +0.3% month-on-month and + 6.5% year-on-year. This is still the hottest pace since 1982. On a year-on-year basis, the sharpest increases are : fuel oil (70 %), gas (48 %), used cars (35 %), hotels (29 %), airfare (24 %) and utility gas (22 %). You can find the full list here (scroll to pdf page 9). It is clear that the U.S. Federal Reserve is behind the curve. Expect a 50-basis point interest rate hike at the May FOMC meeting. What are we watching next? Ukraine war developments as new Russian offensive operations are underway in eastern Ukraine and US President Biden promised a new round of $750 million in military aid and said Russian leader Putin is guilty of genocide. Earnings Watch. The Q1 earnings season kicks off in earnest today week with US mega-bank JP Morgan Chase reporting today, but the more Main Street-oriented banks reporting in coming days, including the largest of these, Wells Fargo, tomorrow, will be interesting for a check-up on credit demand. The UK’s largest grocer Tesco is also worth watching for a sense of the impact of inflation on margins and customer behaviour as a cost-of-living crisis has hit a large portion of the UK population. Today: Tesco, JPMorgan Chase & Co, BlackRock, Fastenal Thursday: China Northern Rare Earth Group, Fast Retailing, Ericsson, UnitedHealth, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, US Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, Coinbase, State Street Friday: Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 1230 – US Mar. PPI 1400 – Canada Bank of Canada Rate Decision 1430 – US DoE Weekly Crude Oil and Product Inventories 1500 – Canada Bank of Canada’s Macklem press conference 1700 – US 30-year T-bond auction 2301 – UK Mar. RICS House Price Balance 0130 – Australia Mar. Employment Change / Unemployment Rate   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app:    
Forex News: AUDUSD, are sellers setting up a new extension lower?

Forex News: AUDUSD, are sellers setting up a new extension lower?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 13.04.2022 10:56
Today we are looking at the AUDUSD as sellers look to be pushing at a new extension lower. After yesterday’s rally stalled at resistance so far today, we have seen momentum squarely back with sellers. Overall price remains in a long term uptrend, but since the last April high was put in, buyers have struggled to get momentum going with a charging USD continuing to pressure the AUD. Despite Australian inflation pressure and talk of rates increasing in June, this is overshadowed by 40-year high inflation in the States and Fed members vowing to act. Since that high, we have watched a new downtrend develop with price making its first leg lower, returning to 0.74. Yesterday we did see a fightback, but that was stopped by resistance and supply that remains around the .7450-.7480 area. Today’s rally was also stopped by this supply level and has started to develop into a trigger bar. If sellers can break minor support, we will continue to look for a continuation lower, maintaining the current downtrend. The big test if price makes a new push lower is the long-term uptrend. Will it stop sellers and start a new continuation point for buyers? This could be a critical crossroads for the longer-term picture, and we feel a lot will come down to the current situation with US inflation, their rates policy and demand for commodities. Covid continues to run rife in China, and if the situation continues, this could also have a knock-on effect on demand. First things first, sellers need to beat minor support to get the continuation going. AUDUSD D1 Chart The post Forex News: AUDUSD, are sellers setting up a new extension lower? appeared first on Eightcap.
EM Index Inclusions and Exclusions: India Thrives, Egypt Faces Challenges

(US Dollar) USD/JPY (Japanese Yen) Hits 20-Year-Low!? Japanese Currency Is Quite Weak. What Will Bank Of Japan Do?

Conotoxia Comments Conotoxia Comments 13.04.2022 15:50
The USD/JPY reaching 126 yen this morning means that the Japanese currency appears to be at its weakest against the US in nearly 20 years. The reason? The Bank of Japan's commitment to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy may contrast with the actions of the world's other major central banks, which appear to be normalizing monetary policy. Yen falls, bank doesn't intend to react Shunichi Suzuki, Japan's finance minister, declined to comment Tuesday on specific rates in currency markets. He said the government is keeping a close eye on the yen's trading and that excessive volatility in the exchange rate could have a negative impact on the economy and financial stability. The Bank of Japan has repeatedly intervened to keep bond yields near zero. Recently, however, Shunichi Suzuki has cooled hopes for any government intervention in the currency markets, saying the central bank does not deal with exchange rates. Since the beginning of the year, the yen appears to be the weakest among the world's major currencies and may be losing more than 8 percent to the USD. Since the beginning of April alone, JPY depreciation against the USD may have reached 3.5 percent. Learn more on Conotoxia.com Inflation 8.5 percent - rates are going up In the United States, after the inflation reading, which rose to 8.5 percent in March, the US dollar appears relatively strong, and the exchange rate of the main currency pair remains in the region of 1.08. The market may expect the Fed to decide on two consecutive interest rate hikes of 50 basis points in response to the rise in prices. Such a move is priced today with over 80 percent probability, and the next decision will come as early as May 4. Related article: ECB To Shock Markets In The Following Week!? US Dollar Rate Under Pressure As Well! Oil: demand in China falls, demand in USA rises Increased volatility may arise on the oil market. The futures contract for WTI crude oil rose to around $100 per barrel today, falling from the session high at $102. Data from China's customs office showed that crude imports into the world's largest crude consumer fell for the second month in a row. That's likely because further restrictions due to coronavirus have reduced demand. Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, saw its biggest monthly drop in machinery orders in February in nearly two years. Fears persist that supplies could become even tighter because of the war in eastern Europe. OPEC has already warned that it will not be able to replace potential supply losses from Russia. At the same time, there could be strong demand for fuel in the U.S., where gasoline and distillate stocks fell by more than 5 million barrels last week. Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Forex service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 80.77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
COT Currency Speculators drop their Japanese Yen bets to 183-week low

COT Currency Speculators drop their Japanese Yen bets to 183-week low

Invest Macro Invest Macro 16.04.2022 22:07
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday April 12th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the further rise of bearish bets in the Japanese yen currency futures contracts. Yen speculators pushed their bearish bets higher for a fifth straight week this week and for the sixth time in the past seven weeks. Over the past five weeks, yen bets have fallen by a total of -55,971 contracts, going from a total of -55,856 net positions on March 8th to a total of -111,827 net positions this week. Speculator positions have now slid all the way to the lowest standing of the past one hundred and eight-three weeks, dating back to October 9th of 2019. This recent weakness in yen positions and the yen price has taken place while open interest has been increasing which shows an accelerating downtrend as prices have been falling as more traders have been entering the market on the bearish side. The speculator strength index is also showing that the Japanese yen positions are at a bearish extreme position with the strength index at a zero percent level (strength index is the current speculator standing compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme). The fundamental backdrop has been the major driver of yen weakness. The Bank of Japan has continued on with its stimulus program and has not indicated any plans to move interest rates off their near-zero level while other central banks around the world have put the breaks on their stimulus actions and have started hiking their interest rates to try to tame inflationary pressures. The yen this week hit the lowest level in twenty years against the US dollar as the USDJPY currency pair trades above the 126.00 level. The other major currencies have all hit multi-year highs versus the yen as well. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the Euro (11,690 contracts), Brazil real (603 contracts), New Zealand dollar (1,280 contracts), Canadian dollar (5,235 contracts), Bitcoin (411 contracts), Australian dollar (8,798 contracts) and the Mexican peso (14,050 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-2,215 contracts), Japanese yen (-7,998 contracts), Swiss franc (-1,549 contracts) and the British pound sterling (-11,296 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each Currency where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Apr-12-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 54,836 78 29,637 77 -36,045 15 6,408 87 EUR 678,607 73 39,060 47 -60,750 59 21,690 10 GBP 246,152 68 -53,054 36 70,949 72 -17,895 19 JPY 245,403 86 -111,827 0 131,902 100 -20,075 13 CHF 41,231 16 -13,942 46 22,299 56 -8,357 39 CAD 155,390 34 12,158 59 -33,450 35 21,292 72 AUD 150,939 45 -28,715 58 17,876 32 10,839 79 NZD 37,585 20 -289 71 -429 30 718 60 MXN 175,905 38 14,960 34 -19,553 65 4,593 62 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 67,772 64 46,129 96 -48,954 4 2,825 98 Bitcoin 10,632 56 167 98 -439 0 272 19   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 29,637 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -2,215 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 31,852 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 76.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.6 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.8 2.2 15.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.7 68.0 3.6 – Net Position: 29,637 -36,045 6,408 – Gross Longs: 44,303 1,226 8,402 – Gross Shorts: 14,666 37,271 1,994 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.0 to 1 0.0 to 1 4.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 76.9 14.7 86.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.9 5.6 19.6   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 39,060 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 11,690 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 27,370 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 58.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.3 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.7 53.0 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.9 62.0 8.5 – Net Position: 39,060 -60,750 21,690 – Gross Longs: 221,645 359,853 79,165 – Gross Shorts: 182,585 420,603 57,475 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.0 58.6 10.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.9 9.7 -14.0   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -53,054 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -11,296 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -41,758 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 35.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.6 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.4 75.7 8.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 36.0 46.9 15.3 – Net Position: -53,054 70,949 -17,895 – Gross Longs: 35,514 186,343 19,803 – Gross Shorts: 88,568 115,394 37,698 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 35.8 71.6 18.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -38.0 33.6 -8.5   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -111,827 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -7,998 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -103,829 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.7 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 4.0 86.7 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.6 33.0 16.3 – Net Position: -111,827 131,902 -20,075 – Gross Longs: 9,925 212,850 20,022 – Gross Shorts: 121,752 80,948 40,097 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.0 100.0 12.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -26.5 25.5 -18.8   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -13,942 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -1,549 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,393 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 45.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 4.0 74.7 21.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.8 20.6 41.5 – Net Position: -13,942 22,299 -8,357 – Gross Longs: 1,642 30,798 8,742 – Gross Shorts: 15,584 8,499 17,099 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 3.6 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 45.6 55.9 38.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.3 1.6 -8.0   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 12,158 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 5,235 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 6,923 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 58.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 35.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 72.2 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 24.3 49.5 25.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.5 71.0 11.3 – Net Position: 12,158 -33,450 21,292 – Gross Longs: 37,724 76,922 38,796 – Gross Shorts: 25,566 110,372 17,504 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 58.8 35.4 72.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.0 -8.6 27.6   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -28,715 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 8,798 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -37,513 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 58.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 32.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 78.9 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 26.3 53.9 19.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.4 42.1 12.1 – Net Position: -28,715 17,876 10,839 – Gross Longs: 39,770 81,396 29,106 – Gross Shorts: 68,485 63,520 18,267 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.3 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 58.2 32.2 78.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 46.0 -52.2 49.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -289 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 1,280 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,569 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 70.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 29.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.1 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 43.4 45.9 10.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 44.1 47.0 8.1 – Net Position: -289 -429 718 – Gross Longs: 16,295 17,233 3,773 – Gross Shorts: 16,584 17,662 3,055 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 70.8 29.7 60.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 23.3 -25.5 30.2   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 14,960 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 14,050 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 910 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.5 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 46.4 48.8 4.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.9 59.9 1.7 – Net Position: 14,960 -19,553 4,593 – Gross Longs: 81,582 85,784 7,517 – Gross Shorts: 66,622 105,337 2,924 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 2.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.7 64.6 62.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -11.7 10.9 4.9   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 46,129 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 603 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 45,526 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 95.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.9 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.6 15.6 6.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 9.6 87.9 2.5 – Net Position: 46,129 -48,954 2,825 – Gross Longs: 52,624 10,591 4,496 – Gross Shorts: 6,495 59,545 1,671 – Long to Short Ratio: 8.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 95.7 3.5 97.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.2 3.3 10.9   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 167 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 411 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -244 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.1 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.2 3.6 10.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 75.6 7.7 7.4 – Net Position: 167 -439 272 – Gross Longs: 8,207 382 1,058 – Gross Shorts: 8,040 821 786 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 97.9 6.3 19.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.9 6.3 -3.8   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Trade Zone Easter Week Ahead

Trade Zone Easter Week Ahead

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 18.04.2022 08:50
Watch Simon Massey’s from Trade Room Plus analysis and his trade possibilities for the upcoming Easter week. Today, he look at the price action for German DAX index, Bitcoin, US NASDAQ, Gold and a 2 major forex pairs of note. Enjoy the video below to get all of Simon’s latest thoughts. Do trade safe! JOIN SIMON THIS WEDNESDAY FOR THIS WEEK’S LIVE MARKET UPDATE. REGISTER NOW. Join us at 7 PM AEST (10 AM BST) this coming Wednesday as Simon for another Trade Zone Live Market Update. Register now to secure your place on our next live market update of April, as Simon examines the key moves of the week so far, and looks ahead at the potential end of week action that you need to keep an eye on. It’s the perfect session to summarise the levels you need to be watching as the trading week draws to a close. Got a burning trading question you need to answer? Want to know about the fortunes of a specific pair or commodity, then let Simon give his view at the end of session Q&A. Registration is free. Click below to secure your seat. Simon Massey is the lead trader of Trade Room Plus, the UK’s premier Live Trade Room. He believes the best way to teach people to trade is to demonstrate live trades. His trading journey started with a small trading account. This led him to trade with ever-larger trading accounts until he was able to leave his previous job and become a full-time trader. Trade Room Plus was established in 2013 and provides educational services to help develop effective trading strategies. Beginners can watch the pros trade financial assets in real-time and learn first-hand from the experts. Important Data Releases & Events this Week Monday CNY Inflation Rate GBP GDP Tuesday AUD NAB Business Confidence GBP Claimant Count Change, Unemployment Rate EUR German Inflation Rate, ZEW Economic Sentiment Index USD Core Inflation Rate, Inflation Rate Wednesday AUD Westpac Consumer Confidence Index GBP Core Inflation Rate, Inflation Rate USD PPI Thursday CAD BoC Interest Rate Decision, Monetary Policy Report AUD Employment Change, Unemployment Rate EUR Interest Rate Decision, Press Conference USD Retail Sales Friday USD Michigan Consumer Sentiment Indes The post Trade Zone Easter Week Ahead appeared first on Eightcap.
Fed Expectations Amid Mixed Data: Wishful Thinking or Practical Pause?

Markets Going To Shock! What To Expect? Nasdaq, Hang Seng, ASX200, (Australian Dollar To US Dollar) AUDUSD, IBM And Netflix Earnings

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 19.04.2022 09:14
Equities 2022-04-19 06:00 6 minutes to read Summary:  Global growth to slow says the World Bank, Earnings estimates are weaker and markets brace for more rate hikes. So, Traders turn to commodities again. Oil continues its climb from last week, as global mobility picks up while supply remains cut off from Libya. Broad Asian markets are mixed, yet stocks shine in power generation and Ag. While down under in Australia, their share market inches toward its record all time high, beefed up iron ore, oil and fertilizer stocks. What’s happening in equites that you need to know? The major US indices brace for weakness:   The Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I), S&P 500 (US500.I) are on the back foot, trading under their 50-day moving averages. Q1 earnings expectations are the weakest since March 2020, plus results so far are showing profit erosion and rising input costs. Traders are digesting World Bank estimates of slower growth for the year, and bracing for more rate hike hints Thursday. Meanwhile, oil giants remain favored, Occidental (OXY) shares trade up 112% this year, Halliburton (HAL) trades up 82% YTD, Marathon Oil (MRO) up 63% YTD, with oil companies likely to see the strongest earnings growth this year. Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun   Asian markets are mixed: The MSCI Asia Pacific, ex Japan Index (FMASM2) is lower. Singapore’s STI Index (ES3) up 0.7% led by power generation firm Sembcorp (S51), travel stocks such as Genting Singapore (G13) and Singapore Airlines (C6L) as well as agriculture stock Wilmar (F34) and banks UOB (U11) and DBS (D05). Japan’s Nikkei (NI225.I) was trading flat, supported mainly by gains in base metals but dragged by Fast Retailing (9983). MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan was lower after US stocks closed in the red overnight and gains in oil prices continued. HK equities retreat.  Hang Seng Index (HSI.I) retreated by 2.8% after coming back from the 4-day long holiday weekend.  Investors found the 25 basis point reserve requirement ratio cut by the People’s Bank of China last Friday disappointing as they had been expecting a more typical 50 bp reduction and a 10 bp cut in the policy Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate as well.  Bilibili (09626) lost 11% on rumor that the company was laying off staff in its live streaming department.  E-commerce names declined on report that the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation had asked e-commerce companies to a meeting and called on the latter to improve on practices on pricing and delivery of necessities to consumers during the lockdown.  Alibaba (09988) and Meituan (03690) fell 4% to 6%. China Merchant Bank (03968) fell 11% following the abrupt departure of the Chinese bank’s president. CSI300 (000300.I) declined modestly.  Coal miners and fertilizer producers gained. The Australian share market is nearing a record all time high. The (ASX200)is up 0.5% on Tuesday, up for the third day and is now just 0.3% away from hitting its record high. The RBA meeting minutes showed that quicker inflation and a pick up in wages growth will bring forward the timing of the RBA’s first rate hike, however that’s not spooking the ASX, as most sectors trade higher. Gold stocks are leading the market today, like Ramelius (RMU) up 5%, Perseus (PRU) up 4% as investors back the safe haven asset as it traditionally rallies when interest rates rise. While shares in fertizlier and explosive company Incitec Pivot (IPL) are up 4%, to their highest level since 2018 after announcing production will kick off again at its ammonia plant. Elsewhere, oil and coal shares are pushing up while, shares in Australia’s biggest iron ore companies, BHP, FMG and RIO trade higher as iron ore sets 2.5 months highs. Crude oil (OILUKJUN22 & OILUSMAY22) continues to move up, extending its uptrend from last week, WTI oil back at $108, Brent up $113.39 as Libya oilfield outage cut off half a million barrels a day, adding to lack of supply from the war in Ukraine. PLUS, global mobility is rising. For example, Moody's (rating agency) expects travel to be back to normality in 12-18 months. More imminently, China Eastern Airlines resumed flying Boeing 737-800 jets from last weekend following the deadly crash Grain prices surge again. Wheat prices (futures) up 3.6% to $11.28 a bushel, forming another uptrend on lack of supply fears, as colder weather (snow) is tipped to slow planting in Canada. Plus, Wheat planting in US is growing slower than last year. USDA’s springs wheat seedings crop progress report shows 8% of the expected area was planted, compared to 18% last year. Wheat is likely to head higher due to warmer summers, colder winters, meaning soil temps in Canada and US are not ideal, so slimmer supply is ahead, which is supporting wheat prices. Meanwhile Corn prices near a record high. And International Rice Research institute forecasts rice yields may drop 10% in the next season - that is 36mn tons. This will continue to get worse if the war continues.   For you: Forex Rates: British Pound (GBP) Strengthening? Weak (EUR) Euro? GBP, NZD And AUD Supported By Monetary Policy? Iron ore (SCOA) trading above $155 for first time in  2.5 months.  Iron ore likely to continue uptrend and also potentially spike if China cuts interest rate again. This is supporting stocks like BHP, RIO FMG. USDJPY pays no heed to Japanese authorities’ verbal intervention, and rightly so given the monetary policy divergence between the Fed and the BOJ widens the yield differential. USDJPY surged to fresh 20-year highs of 127.55 this morning and the next level to watch is 128 but many are calling for 130 in the days to come. After some warnings from BoJ’s Kuroda yesterday, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki expressed concerns about the sharp drop in the yen today. Bitcoin dropped to lowest level in a months, as risk appetite is dropping like a stone.  Bitcoin fell below key level of support, so watch positions and also in stocks like Block (SQ, SQ2), that make 75% of revenue from BTC What you need to consider World Bank downgrades global growth estimates. The World Bank cut its 2022 outlook to 3.2% from 4.1%, dragged down by Europe and Central Asia amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said there is “exceptional uncertainty” in global markets and further downgrades cannot be ruled out. The Australian dollar is rising back up (AUDUSD) as iron ore and oil prices lift.  The AUDUSD not only pushed higher ahead of RBA Meeting Minutes, but also as the Iron Ore price hit its highest level in 2.5 months, while oil rose to its highest in 4 weeks (these are two of Australia’s largest exports). And finally, the AUD is also being supported higher as Australian tourism is picking up, with the First cruise ship docking in Sydney Harbour since covid ban two years ago. Brace for more hawkish Fed talk this week.  We had James Bullard on the wires yesterday, and he planted the seeds of a 75-basis points rate hike given that the Fed needs to get to neutral rate very soon. Base case for the May meeting is still a 50-basis points rate hike, and a final word on that should be watched from Fed Chair Powell on Thursday as he speaks at the IMF conference. Still, brace for more volatility in yields and further gains in the US dollar as Fed continues to raise the bar of its hawkishness. Trading ideas to consider Asian agriculture stocks are on watch. For reasons mentioned above, it could be worth watching grain stocks like Australia's GrainCorp (GNC), Elders (ELD), or ag chemical company Nufarm (NUF), or Incitec Pivot (IPL), or food processing company Wilmar (WIL) listed in Singapore, or Japan's Yamazaki Baking (2212) may be of interest. Singapore reopening theme in focus into the summer.  Singapore Airlines (C6L) has seen a big jump in passenger volumes this year. Air passenger traffic has reached 31% of pre-covid levels last week up from 18% a month ago. That bodes very well with our reopening theme, and stocks to watch will be Singapore Airlines, SATS (S58) and Genting Singapore (G13). Singapore Airlines and SATS are adapting big technology changes to avoid getting trapped in labour shortages, but also still hiring in a big way in anticipation of a rebound in summer travel. US Earnings to watch. Bank of America (BAC) surged on better-than-expected Q1 results but BNY Mellon (BK) slumped. Focus now on mid-tier financial services earnings like Fifth-third (FITB) and Citizens Financial (CFG). Also on watch will be J&J (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), IBM (IBM), Halliburton (HAL) and others. Key issues to consider will be inflation and Fed’s aggressive tightening, but also how supply chains and consumer demand recovery is shaping up. Key APAC economic releases this week: Tue, Apr 19: Japan industrial production Wed, Apr 20: Japan March trade, China 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates Thu, Apr 21: HK March unemployment rate Fri, Apr 22: HK March CPI, RBI meeting minutes   For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast  
Chart of the Week - Gold Miners vs Energy Producers - 20.04.2022

You Should Follow These Events And Assets! Saxo Bank's QuickTake: NAS100, S&P 500, Stoxx 50, EURUSD, USDJPY, XAUUSD, Crude Oil, Russia-Ukraine War - And More

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 19.04.2022 10:16
Macro 2022-04-19 08:34 6 minutes to read Summary:  Markets are trying to maintain an even keel as bond yields and oil prices continue to press higher. Europe returns from its long holiday weekend today as the war in Ukraine is heating up in the east and the hawkish Fed voter Bullard says he would not rule out a 75-basis-point hike at the May 4 FOMC meeting. Gold failed a bid to take the 2,000 dollar per ounce threshold yesterday.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  - US equities have been weak over the past week with negative reactions to earnings from US financials with JPMorgan Chase’s unexpected increase in credit provisions indicating credit conditions will worsen. This week major earnings releases in the US will dominate the reaction function and set the direction for the S&P 500 futures which are trading around the 4,400 level this morning with yesterday’s low at 4,355 being the key level to watch on the downside. Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun   Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I)  Hang Seng Index retreated more than 2% after investors found the 25 bp reserve requirement ratio cut by the People’s Bank of China last Friday disappointing as they had been expecting a more typical 50 bp reduction and a 10 bp cut in the policy Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate as well.  E-commerce names declined on report that the Chinse authority had asked e-commerce companies to a meeting and called on the latter to improve on practices on pricing and delivery of necessities to consumers during lockdowns. Alibaba and Meituan fell 3% to 5%. China Merchant Bank fell 11% following the abrupt departure of the Chinese bank’s president. CSI300 saw a modest decline with coal miners, agricultural chemicals and fertilizer producers, and energy sector seeing demand. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I)  – Stoxx 50 futures are stuck in the mud ahead of a critical week with US Q1 earnings releases and Russia’s new offensive in Donbass marking the beginning of the next and more critical phase of the war in Ukraine. Stoxx 50 futures are trading around the 3,750 level this morning and is boxed into a tight trading range from 3,710 to 3,800. EURUSD  – the euro traded and closed below the prior cycle low of 1.0800 after an initial sell-off through that level in the wake of last week’s ECB meeting failed to stick. Yield spreads at the short end of the curve, relative to the US, have generally trended sideways for nearly a month, although longer yields have risen more aggressively in the US since late March. USD liquidity concerns as risk sentiment is poor and the market fears more aggressive Fed quantitative tightening may be the key driver here. Watching the next chart level at 1.0636, the low from early 2020. USDJPY and JPY crosses.  The JPY continues to run away to the downside, with USDJPY hitting 128.00 for the first time since 2002, as long US treasury yields notched a new cycle peak yesterday and will soon threaten the 3.00% level if they continue to rise, underlining the policy divergence with the Bank of Japan, that continues to stick with its yield-curve-control policy that caps 10-year JGB yields at 0.25%. Both the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Finance have stepped up their verbal interventions against JPY volatility as recently as overnight, but until a policy shift is spotted, or real intervention is mobilized, the market is content to continue driving the JPY lower. The next major chart point is the early 2002 high near at 135.00. AUDJPY has also surged to fresh record highs of 94.50+ as the AUD was slightly firmer following the hawkish tilt in RBA minutes. Suzuki is heading for a bilateral meeting with the US and comments would be on watch. For you: Forex Rates: British Pound (GBP) Strengthening? Weak (EUR) Euro? GBP, NZD And AUD Supported By Monetary Policy? Gold (XAUUSD) attempted but failed to reach $2000, more a psychological than technical resistance level during Monday’s low liquidity session. Leveraged funds (futures) and asset managers (ETFs) both bought gold in the week to April 12, a sign the technical and fundamental outlook have – for now - aligned in support of the yellow metal. The World Bank cut its forecast for global economic growth while Fed’s Bullard talked up the prospect for a 75 basis point rate hikes given the need to raise rates to around 3.5% this year. While higher interest rates may weigh, worries about inflation, growth, and increased market volatility together with the geo-political uncertainties have maintain the upper hand. Support at $1965. Crude oil (OILUKJUN22 & OILUSMAY22) has extended its pre-Easter rally after Libya shuts its largest oil field amid protest, thereby draining an already undersupplied market further. Chinese fuel demand, currently estimated to be down 2 million barrels per day is likely to recover swiftly once lockdowns are lifted after China vowed to repair the economic damage. More than 500,000 barrels per day is currently offline in Libya and together with the EU attempts to phase out Russian oil imports, the market is expected to remain tight despite the announced release from strategic reserves held by the US and IEA members. Brent finding some resistance around $113.75 with a break potentially signaling a fresh push towards $120 per barrel. Copper (COPPERUSJUL22) reached its second highest ever close on Monday, as global mining disruptions continued to weigh on a market where exchange-monitored inventories are already at alarmingly low levels. Around 20% of Peru’s exports are out of action following local community protests. In addition, a Chinese government pledge to support the economy once lockdowns are lifted, and the increased urgency to reduced dependency on fossil fuels via electrification are likely to underpin the price further. Resistance at $4.86, a local high, and support at $4.65, the 50-day moving average. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) and European Sovereign Debt. Despite the fresh hawkish talk from St. Louis Fed president Bullard, who is a voter at FOMC meetings this year, the short end of the US yield curve remains relatively steady, while long yields have continued to test higher as the US yield curve steepens. The next major obvious test for the long end is the 2018 high for the 10-year Treasury benchmark at 3.25% What is going on? World Bank downgrades global growth estimates. The World Bank cut its 2022 outlook to 3.2% from 4.1%, dragged down by Europe and Central Asia amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said there is “exceptional uncertainty” in global markets and further downgrades cannot be ruled out. Get ready for more hawkish Fed talk this week. We had James Bullard on the wires yesterday, and he planted the seeds of a 75-basis points rate hike given that the Fed needs to get to neutral rate very soon. The base case for the May meeting is still a 50-basis points rate hike, and a final word on that should be watched from Fed Chair Powell on Thursday as he speaks at the IMF conference. Still, brace for more volatility in yields and further gains in the US dollar as Fed continues to raise the bar of its hawkishness. The Bloomberg Grains Subindex (AIGG:xlon) has returned to challenge to the March record high with the near month corn contract (CORNJUL22) exceeding $8 per bushel for the first time in almost a decade while wheat (WHEATJUL22) has also resumed its recent strong rally. Catalysts being the war in Ukraine, potentially reducing this year's corn crop by 40%, as well as drought and heat damage to crops in the US Midwest. In addition, the recent strong surge in US natural gas prices has further lifted the cost of fertilizer, thereby potentially seeing US farmers switch more acreage to less nutrient intensive soybeans from wheat and corn. What are we watching next? JPY intervention?  The verbal intervention from the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Finance have failed to impress the market. At some point the Japan’s MoF may feel it is necessary to mobilize an actual intervention in the market, something it has a long history of doing, though in the past, ironically in the direction of avoiding further JPY strength, not weakness. These interventions may not achieve more than temporary success if the underlying policy and market dynamic don’t shift (I.e., the Bank of Japan sticking to its current policy while inflationary pressures and yields elsewhere continue higher). But the risk of tremendous two-way, intraday volatility should be appreciated. War in Ukraine developments as Ukrainian president Zelenskiy said that Russia is initiating an effort to take the Donbas region in Easter Ukraine. An isolated force of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol continues to hold out against Russian efforts to take the city. Earnings Watch.  The Q1 earnings season started last week with EPS beating in all cases but Schwab indicated that earnings momentum is intact among US financials. JPMorgan Chase’s earnings release showed higher than expected credit provisions which may be early signs that the credit cycle is moving into its next phase. This week the key focus is on Johnson & Johnson (today), Netflix (today), Lockheed Martin (today), Halliburton (today), ASML (Wed), Sandvik (Wed), Tesla (Wed), Procter & Gamble (Wed), CATL (Thu), Nidec (Thu), ABB (Thu), NextEra Energy (Thu), Snap (Thu). Tuesday: Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Halliburton,  Wednesday: China Mobile, China Telecom, ASML, Heineken, ASM International, Sandvik, Tesla, Procter & Gamble, Abbott Laboratories, Anthem, CSX, Lam Research, Kinder Morgan, Baker Hughes Thursday: Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Nidec, Investor AB, ABB, Danaher, NextEra Energy, Philip Morris, Union Pacific, AT&T, Blackstone, Intuitive Surgical, Freeport-McMoRan, Snap, Dow, Nucor Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – Switzerland SNB Weekly Sight Deposits 1215 – Canada Mar. Housing Starts 1230 – US Mar. Housing Starts and Building Permits 1605 – US Fed’s Evans (non-Voter) to speak 1630 – Switzerland SNB’s Jordan to speak 2350 – Japan Mar. Trade Balance 0115 – China Rate Decision Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app:    
The US Has Again Benefited From Military Conflicts In Other Parts Of The World, The Capital From Europe And Other Regions Goes To The US

What A Plunge Of Japanese Yen (JPY)! US Dollar (USD) Is Really Strong! Will Bank Of Japan (BoJ) Raise The Interest Rate? USDJPY And More In Eyes Of Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 19.04.2022 12:06
Forex 2022-04-19 10:30 Summary:  The Japanese yen has seen a relentless decline over the last few weeks, underpinned by a widening yield differential between the US and the Japanese government bonds. As verbal interventions from the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance fail to be heard, we are looking at a subtle policy shift with the aim to manage volatility, or a real physical intervention. The JPY continues to run away to the downside, with USDJPY surging above 128.00 for the first time since 2002. The next major chart point is the early 2002 high near at 135.00. AUDJPY has also surged to fresh record highs of 94.50+ as the AUD was slightly firmer following the hawkish tilt in RBA minutes. Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun The big why? US 10-year treasury yields have notched a new cycle peak and will soon threaten the 3.00% level if they continue to rise, widening the policy divergence with the Bank of Japan (BOJ), that continues to stick with its yield-curve-control (YCC) policy that caps 10-year Japanese government bond yields (JGB) yields at 0.25%. Both the BOJ and the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) have stepped up their verbal interventions against JPY volatility as recently as overnight, but these have hardly had any effect. The BOJ conducted unprecedented four-day purchase plan into the end of its financial year on March 31 after the JGB yields had hit 0.25%, a ceiling the central bank had made clear in March last year. This further highlighted their commitment to capping yields. While the BoJ may be concerned about the volatility and the pace of JPY decline, the Bank is unlikely to be worried about its direction. In fact, BOJ rhetoric repeatedly suggests that it sees JPY weakness as good news for the economy and exports as well as a factor helping to spur imported inflation pressures. This is especially important if we note that GDP is still well below pre-COVID levels and core inflation is negative. Is inflation a concern? The rise in JGB yields has little to do with expectations that Japanese inflation is moving sustainably higher. CPI is expected to increase above the BOJ’s 2% (from 0.9% currently) target, but the central bank expects the move to be temporary. Much of the gains in inflation are on the back of base effects and higher energy prices, and underlying price pressures remain muted. Stripping out energy prices and fresh food clearly shows that core inflation is still very benign at multiyear lows at -1% y/y. Will the YCC be tweaked? We are probably starting to see the limit of the yield curve control program, as sustained BOJ purchases could be a problem for a central bank that already owns around half of government issues. Would the BOJ go Australia’s way that clumsily abandoned its peg in November? That would need more domestic demand for JGBs which is unlikely to be achieved. Historically, BoJ has been open to adjusting targeting range of bond yields. It widened the range to +/-0.25% from +/-0.20% in March 2021, which was changed in July 2018 from +/-0.10% before that. The BoJ could tweak its YCC policy to target 10-year yields form +/-25bps to +/-30bps to give itself more flexibility and manage volatility. This move, if effected, will be communicated as a measure to manage the increased volatility in bond markets, to ensure that it is not taken as a sign of any shift in policy thinking. Article on Crypto: Hot Topic - NEAR Protocol! Terra (LUNA) has been seeing a consistent downward price trend, DAI Should Stay Close To $1 What to watch next? Our sense is that until a policy shift is spotted, or real intervention is mobilized, the market is content to continue driving the JPY lower. Ironically, in the past, the MoF has mobilised intervention in the yen in the direction of avoiding further JPY strength, not weakness. These interventions may not achieve more than temporary success if the underlying policy and market dynamics don’t shift (i.e., the BOJ sticking to its current policy while inflationary pressures and yields elsewhere continue higher). But the risk of tremendous two-way, intraday volatility should be appreciated. Japan’s Finance Minister Suzuki is heading for a bilateral meeting with the US and comments would be on watch. Next BOJ meeting is scheduled for April 27-28, but focus will still be tilted more towards the Fed’s May meeting where a 50bps rate hike is expected along with the start of quantitative tightening. The only other way could be to hope that the yen would find a floor, and wait for BoJ governor Kuroda’s tenure to end in April 2023. This may then be followed up with rate hikes.
Forex News: EURUSD has some drive, but can it continue?

Forex News: EURUSD has some drive, but can it continue?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 20.04.2022 11:24
Today we are looking at the EURUSD on the 8H as price has broken the fast trend and has started to form a new leg higher. The move has been accelerated by today’s reversal on the USD, which looks to be taking a break after three straight sessions of gains. The EURUSD spent a fair period of time in its last trend lower after the last countertrend broke. Buyers tried a few times to regain control in the previous trend lower, but sellers had the answers until today. Today buyers look to have found plenty of drive as not only have we seen the range beaten, but we have also seen the fast trend broken. With the USD helping drive momentum, buyers look to be in control for the time being. There are a few things to keep an eye on. A fade of the current 8H bar cutting all of its gains is a warning, as is a new move back into the range which could also pressure to break the uptrend. We would like to see a positive close in today’s NY session showing buyers are in command. If we do see the rally hold, we will be looking for the next pullback to hold the new trendline further confirming it. If that all stay’s the course, we would be looking to the supply/resistance pictured on the chart to possibly offer up a test for buyers. EURUSD 8H Chart The post Forex News: EURUSD has some drive, but can it continue? appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto Focus: Another Choppy Week on the Markets

Crypto Focus: Another Choppy Week on the Markets

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 22.04.2022 14:44
It’s been a choppy week, with little direction at the end of it all on the top 10 and top 25. Both markets have seen plenty of action with decent ranges above and below the week’s open. As I write this early into Friday’s London session, sellers are now trying to get the upper hand. For now, the losses remain minor. Looking at the top 25, we saw 5.28% added to the upside and 5.77% to the downside (measuring the weekly bars high and low). Bitcoin and Ethereum both tracked closely to the top 10 and 25 indexes and were the two most significant coins edging lower after setting wide highs and lows. ETH is seeing plenty of support from 2980, and that level, for now, remains a key support point. Bitcoin continues to falter at 41,500. We are noting this level as strong resistance at this point. Fed policy remains a sensitive point for crypto traders as Friday morning’s news of a potential 50 point rate rise in May sent shock waves through major coins. This announcement definitely looks to have derailed or added to buyer worries as the fightback we had been seeing through the week stopped. Other news stated that the Treasury Department added BitRiver and ten of its subsidiaries, based in Russia, to its sanctions list. This coming week we still feel that FED policy looks to be the more sensitive issue regarding demand. Now that the news is out and being digested, could this lead to traders moving on from the shock and becoming a little more confident in buying, or could it continue to drive funds out of the top 10 and 25 coins? Some of this week’s big movers; Monero had another great week climbing to 281. Price gained 19.39% as demand remained thick for this coin. RookUSD KeeperDao is this weeks focus. We noticed the strong buying earlier in the week, and nothing changed by Friday’s session. Buyers are flocking to the coin, taking it back above USD$153, adding 34.52%! Price hit new 3-month highs this week after posting a second straight month of gains (at this point). Price has started to confirm a new trend after buyers beat resistance. If the new move can continue, we are looking at 167.60 as potential resistance. As long as we see new higher lows on the new pull back, we will continue to look for new moves higher, confirming the new uptrend. One pullback at resistance is fine, but we will want to see buyers break that level to really show that momentum is on the buyer side. The post Crypto Focus: Another Choppy Week on the Markets appeared first on Eightcap.
The Swing Overview - Week 16 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 16 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 22.04.2022 15:00
The Swing Overview - Week 16 Jerome Powell confirmed that the Fed will be aggressive in fighting the inflation and confirmed tighter interest rate hikes starting in May. Equity indices fell strongly after this news. Inflation in the euro area reached a record high of 7.4% in March. Despite this news, the euro continued to weaken. The sell-off also continued in the Japanese yen, which is the weakest against the US dollar in last 20 years.  The USD index strengthens along with US bond yields Fed chief Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the Fed could raise interest rates by 0.50% in May. The Fed could continue its aggressive pace of rate hikes in the coming months of this year. US 10-year bond yields have responded to this news by strengthening further and have already reached 2.94%. The US dollar has also benefited from this development and has already surpassed the value 100 and continues to move in an uptrend. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart Earnings season is underway in equities Rising interest rates continue to weigh on equity indices, which gave back gains from the first half of the last week and weakened significantly on Thursday following the Fed’s information on the aggressive pace of interest rate hikes.   In addition, the earnings season, which is in full swing, is weighing on index movements. For example, Netflix and Tesla reported results last week.   While Netflix unpleasantly surprised by reducing the number of subscribers by 200,000 in 1Q 2022 and the company's shares fell by 35% in the wake of the news, Tesla, on the other hand, exceeded analysts' expectations and the stock gained more than 10% after the results were announced. Tesla has thus shown that it has been able to cope with the supply chain problems and higher subcontracting prices that are plaguing the entire automotive sector much better than its competitors.   The decline in Netflix subscribers can be explained by people starting to save more in an environment of rising prices. Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart The SP 500 index continues to undergo a downward correction, which is shown on the H4 chart. The price has reached the resistance level at 4,514-4,520. The price continues to move below the SMA 100 moving average (blue line) on the daily chart which indicates bearish sentiment.  The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 4,514 - 4,520. The next resistance is around 4,583 - 4,600. The support is at 4,360 - 4,365.   The German DAX index The DAX is also undergoing a correction and the last candlestick on the daily chart is a bearish pin bar which suggests that the index could fall further. Figure 3: The German DAX index on H4 and daily chart This index is also below the SMA 100 on the daily chart, confirming the bearish sentiment. The price has reached a support according to the H4 chart, which is at 14,340 - 14,370. However, this is very likely to be overcome quickly. The next support is 13 910 - 14 000. The nearest resistance is 14 592 - 14 632.   The DAX is affected by the French presidential election that is going to happen on Sunday April 24, 2022. According to the latest polls, Macron is leading over Le Pen and if the election turns out like this, it should not have a significant impact on the markets. However, if Marine Le Pen wins in a surprise victory, it can be very negative news for the French economy and would weigh on the DAX index as well.   The euro remains in a downtrend The Fed's hawkish policy and the ECB's dovish rhetoric at its meeting on Thursday April 14, 2022, which showed that the ECB is not planning to raise rates in the short term, put further pressure on the European currency. The French presidential election and, of course, the ongoing war in Ukraine are also causing uncertainty.  Figure 4: The EURUSD on the H4 and daily charts. The inflation data was reported last week, which came in at 7.4% on year-on-year basis. The previous month inflation was 5.9%. This rise in inflation caused the euro to strengthen briefly to the resistance level at 1.0930 - 1.0950. However, there was then a rapid decline from this level following the Fed's reports of a quick tightening in the economy. A support is at 1.0760 - 1.0780.   The sell-off in the Japanese yen is not over The Japanese yen is also under pressure. The US dollar has already reached 20-year highs against the Japanese yen (USD/JPY) and it looks like the yen's weakening against the US dollar could continue. This is because the Bank of Japan has the most accommodative monetary policy of any major central bank and continues to support the economy while the Fed will aggressively tighten the economy. Thus, this fundamental suggests that a reversal in the USD/JPY pair should not happen anytime soon. Figure 5: The USDJPY on the monthly chart In terms of technical analysis, the USD/JPY price broke through the strong resistance band around the price of 126.00 seen on the monthly chart. The currency pair thus has room to grow further up to the resistance, which is in the area near 135 yens per dollar.  
Currency Speculators raise their bullish bets for Canadian Dollar to 40-week high

Currency Speculators raise their bullish bets for Canadian Dollar to 40-week high

Invest Macro Invest Macro 23.04.2022 20:49
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday April 19th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data is the rising of bullish bets in the Canadian ‘Loonie’ dollar currency futures contracts. CAD speculators raised their bullish bets for a fourth straight week this week and for the fifth time in the past six weeks. Over the past four-week time-frame, CAD bets have improved by a total of +26,166 contracts, going from -4,940 net positions on March 22nd to +21,226 net positions this week. These gains have brought this week’s speculator level to the most bullish position since July 13th of 2021, a span of forty weeks. This recent improvement in Loonie sentiment has been helped out by the hike in interest rates by the Bank of Canada (BOC). The BOC recently pushed its key interest rate higher by 50 basis points on April 13th and has in the past few days hinted that more interest rate rises were to come. The recent inflation numbers out of Canada were above expectations (6.7 percent) and according to Bloomberg, market participants have pushed their odds to 100 percent for another 50 basis point hike in June. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the US Dollar Index (2,943 contracts), Japanese yen (4,640 contracts), Swiss franc (2,492 contracts), New Zealand dollar (654 contracts), Canadian dollar (9,068 contracts)and the Mexican peso (6,704 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Euro (-7,759 contracts), Brazil real (-1,557 contracts), Australian dollar (-122 contracts), Bitcoin (-361 contracts) and the British pound sterling (-5,860 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each Commodity where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Apr-19-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 54,524 77 32,580 82 -35,893 15 3,313 53 EUR 675,939 72 31,301 45 -49,726 62 18,425 5 GBP 249,529 70 -58,914 32 72,889 73 -13,975 27 JPY 251,291 90 -107,187 3 129,842 99 -22,655 7 CHF 44,269 20 -11,450 50 23,051 57 -11,601 29 CAD 153,302 32 21,226 68 -39,338 31 18,112 66 AUD 147,309 43 -28,837 58 20,800 34 8,037 72 NZD 41,098 26 365 72 503 31 -868 42 MXN 165,403 33 21,664 37 -26,214 62 4,550 62 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 70,553 68 44,572 94 -47,063 5 2,491 94 Bitcoin 11,276 61 -194 90 -175 0 369 21   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 32,580 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 2,943 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 29,637 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.8 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 85.6 3.3 9.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.9 69.1 3.5 – Net Position: 32,580 -35,893 3,313 – Gross Longs: 46,685 1,778 5,198 – Gross Shorts: 14,105 37,671 1,885 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.3 to 1 0.0 to 1 2.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 82.0 15.0 52.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.5 3.3 -5.8   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 31,301 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -7,759 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 39,060 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 61.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.9 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.7 53.7 11.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.1 61.0 8.7 – Net Position: 31,301 -49,726 18,425 – Gross Longs: 221,003 362,930 76,939 – Gross Shorts: 189,702 412,656 58,514 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.6 61.9 4.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.5 9.7 -10.9   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -58,914 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -5,860 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -53,054 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 26.7 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.8 74.6 8.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.4 45.4 14.4 – Net Position: -58,914 72,889 -13,975 – Gross Longs: 36,811 186,134 21,987 – Gross Shorts: 95,725 113,245 35,962 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.6 72.8 26.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -33.4 28.1 -2.2   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -107,187 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 4,640 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -111,827 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.4 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.1 86.0 8.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.7 34.3 17.3 – Net Position: -107,187 129,842 -22,655 – Gross Longs: 12,723 216,101 20,761 – Gross Shorts: 119,910 86,259 43,416 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 2.9 99.0 7.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -31.6 25.9 -3.8   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -11,450 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 2,492 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -13,942 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 50.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 56.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.2 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.6 71.7 21.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.4 19.6 47.9 – Net Position: -11,450 23,051 -11,601 – Gross Longs: 2,900 31,735 9,599 – Gross Shorts: 14,350 8,684 21,200 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 3.7 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.0 56.8 29.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -3.0 1.3 1.8   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 21,226 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 9,068 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 12,158 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 67.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 31.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 65.8 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 28.7 45.0 24.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 14.9 70.7 12.8 – Net Position: 21,226 -39,338 18,112 – Gross Longs: 44,063 68,989 37,784 – Gross Shorts: 22,837 108,327 19,672 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 67.7 31.1 65.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.4 -17.2 20.4   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -28,837 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -122 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -28,715 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 58.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 34.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 72.0 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 26.6 53.8 19.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.2 39.6 13.7 – Net Position: -28,837 20,800 8,037 – Gross Longs: 39,201 79,208 28,257 – Gross Shorts: 68,038 58,408 20,220 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.4 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 58.1 34.4 72.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 45.8 -42.8 19.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 365 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 654 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -289 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 71.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.9 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 46.4 45.9 6.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.5 44.6 8.9 – Net Position: 365 503 -868 – Gross Longs: 19,081 18,853 2,797 – Gross Shorts: 18,716 18,350 3,665 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 71.9 31.2 41.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 21.4 -20.2 4.0   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 21,664 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 6,704 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,960 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 36.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 61.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.3 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 44.6 50.0 4.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.5 65.8 1.9 – Net Position: 21,664 -26,214 4,550 – Gross Longs: 73,710 82,643 7,701 – Gross Shorts: 52,046 108,857 3,151 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 36.6 61.9 62.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -13.4 12.1 10.1   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 44,572 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,557 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 46,129 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.0 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 76.2 17.6 6.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.1 84.3 2.5 – Net Position: 44,572 -47,063 2,491 – Gross Longs: 53,790 12,399 4,272 – Gross Shorts: 9,218 59,462 1,781 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.8 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 94.2 5.4 94.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.8 5.4 5.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -194 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -361 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 167 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 27.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.3 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 73.3 3.6 10.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 75.0 5.2 7.0 – Net Position: -194 -175 369 – Gross Longs: 8,263 408 1,155 – Gross Shorts: 8,457 583 786 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 90.2 27.4 21.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.8 19.8 4.8   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
A Reward For A Transaction!? What Is Kishu Inu Coin? ($KISHU) Let's Take A Look At This New Altcoin

A Reward For A Transaction!? What Is Kishu Inu Coin? ($KISHU) Let's Take A Look At This New Altcoin

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 25.04.2022 09:18
Summary: What is meant by decentralization and smart contracts. What is the Kishu Inu coin and why is it becoming so popular? The future of Kishu Inu looks bright. Other advantages of the coin. When users make a Kishu transaction, they receive a 2% reward in a decentralized wallet, thus, the more KISHU is used, the more rewards are granted to its users. The Kishu Inu Coin, represented by the token symbol: $Kishu, is a decentralized meme-coin that is community-focused, active users of the coin receive instant rewards. When users make a Kishu transaction, they receive a 2% reward in a decentralized wallet, thus, the more KISHU is used, the more rewards are granted to its users. The main difference between Kishu Inu and its comparable coins is that it is community-owned, the developers do not reserve coins for the team, but instead rely on donations. In addition, the community makes all the decisions. Read next: Global Crypto Market Value Fell By Over 2% Today. (Polygon) MATIC/USD, CRO (Crypto.com) and TRON/USD (US Dollar) | FXMAG.COM A decentralized network is beneficial to all parties involved in the transaction, as it nullifies the need for trust and authority to take part in transactions With decentralization the transfer of control and decision making is taken from a centralized entity (organization, individual or group) and given to a distributed network. A decentralized network is beneficial to all parties involved in the transaction, as it nullifies the need for trust and authority to take part in transactions. The smart contracts in KISHU Inu means the community and users are almost completely protected from any bad actors The $KISHU coin’s smart contract has been audited and its LP (liquidity pool) tokens have been burnt. Smart contracts are digital contracts which are stored on a blockchain, when predetermined terms and conditions are met, the programs are executed. They are beneficial as they leave little to chance. In addition, they automate the execution of agreements so all parties can be sure of the outcome, they also eliminate the need for an intermediary. The smart contracts in KISHU Inu means the community and users are almost completely protected from any bad actors. Originally the creation of the Kishu Inu coin was inspired by Dogecoin (DOGE), it is a meme cryptocurrency, meaning the coin is associated with a joke. However, Kishu Inu hopes to break that stigma and turn their coin into a serious cryptocurrency by taking meme coins to another level. Read next: Altcoins: (BNB) Binance Coin Jumps On The EU Sanction Bandwagon The chart below shows the price of the $KISHU token over the past 2 months or so, it shows a bearish trend overall. In the past 24 hours the value of the coin has fallen by around 8,7%, the coinmarketcap ranking is #2943. The Future: KISHU, as of now the coin is almost similar to the Dogecoin and Shiba Inu tokens. The coin also has an impressive market cap of around 2 Billion, and over 100k coin holders right now. There are some strong indicators that can indicate a jump in price over the next few years, such as the introduction of a new dog stream coin. According to some sources the price of the coin is expected to jump hugely by the end of the year, and possibly continue to increase until 2026. It is probably a good coin to watch going forward. There are many other advantages to investing in this coin, the set up of the coin is very interesting. Some of these other advantages not mentioned above include: The coin can be transferred through an inter-wallet wallet transfer across international borders, this inter-wallet charges much lower transaction fees than traditional banking would. Profit without trading is ensured by the advantage of adding coin earnings to their online wallet through staking of KISHU. KISHU holders are able to provide loans to other users on the network, the lenders will receive interest after the debt is paid. The transaction time can be completed within minutes. Read next: Global Crypto Market Value Fell By Over 2% Today. (Polygon) MATIC/USD, CRO (Crypto.com) and TRON/USD (US Dollar) Sources: Kishu.com, amazon.com, coinmarketcap.com, uptobrain.com Chart: Tradingview.com
Indonesia's Inflation Slips, Central Bank Maintains Rates Amidst Stability

US Dollar (USD) Continues To Trump Euro (EUR) And British Pound (GBP). EUR Fails To Get Boost Post Macron Election Victory - Good Morning Forex!

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 25.04.2022 11:28
Summary: Macron's victory was supposedly expected to stabilize EUR. Fed further increase in yields strengthening USD. USD continues to strengthen against the EURO inlight of further US yield increases. Market sentiment for this currency pair is bearish as of market open today, the price is down almost 0,6%. On friday the Fed announced a further increase in the bond yields, this marks the seventh consecutive week that the Fed has increased the US yields. The European Central bank is still behind the Fed on their yield increases, the expectation for this change is increasing but the increased expectations are not helping the EUR to strengthen against the USD. EUR/USD Price Chart Read Next: ECB Announcements to Possibly Tighten Monetary Policy Strengthens the Euro. EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, AUD/NZD and EUR/CHF All Increased The EURO showed overall strengthening against the GBP over the past week. Since the market opened this morning the market sentiment for this currency pair is bullish. The EUR has strengthened against the GBP continuously over the last week. Today the increase has shown almost 0,3%. The EUR is strengthening as a result of the uncertainty with the Bank of England's future yields and the inflation causing personal spending to decrease, hampering the economy. In addition, the EUR strengthened against the GBP inlight of Macron taking the win in the French elections. EUR/GBP Price Chart   Read next: A Reward For A Transaction!? What Is Kishu Inu Coin? ($KISHU) Let's Take A Look At This New Altcoin | FXMAG.COM   EUR/JPY showing bullish signals. Since the market opened this morning the market sentiment is bullish for this currency pair. Despite the bullish sentiment, the price has still fallen by almost 0,8% since this morning. This currency pair is sensitive to trends in broad based market sentiment trends, therefore, inlight of Macron’s victory causing changes in market sentiment it is not surprising this price is seeing volatility. EUR/JPY Price Chart CHF Strengthening. Market sentiment for the currency pair is bullish at the moment. However, despite the bullish signals the price has still fallen almost 4% since the market opened this morning. The Swiss Franc has strengthened today causing this fall. EUR/CHF Price Chart Sources: finance.yahoo.com, dailyfx.com, poundsterlinglive.com Read next: Monetary Policy Drives EUR/USD, The Future of the EUR/GBP Awaits the Bank Of England's Speech - Good Morning Forex  
Is This The End Of A Winning Streak/Bullish Trend Of Gold?

Gold Transformed! Gold Price (XAUUSD): From Haven To Anti-Dollar (USD)

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.04.2022 15:30
Gold lost 1.6% since the beginning of the day on Monday, testing $1900 precisely one week after an unsuccessful attempt to get above $2000. The essential factor that puts pressure on gold is the Fed's toughening rhetoric that triggers a broad sell-off of risky assets. Gold speculatively played its role as a haven for the war in Ukraine as it strengthened along with the US currency. Now gold is working as a commodity asset, turning into an anti-dollar with an inverse correlation to the US currency. Read next: (BTC) Bitcoin Priceslips To The Lows Of The Year. Crypto Regulations: Confusing Discussion In The US And The EU. Ether (ETH) And Monero (XMR) Highlighted | FXMAG.COM (...) it looks like the bulls capitulated locally The sharp declines on Friday and Monday seem to have broken the bullish momentum that was formed at the beginning of February. Last week's closing under the 50 SMA and the support areas of March and the first half of April did not attract new buyers. On the contrary, it looks like the bulls capitulated locally. Read next: Dollar changes pressure angle| FXMAG.COM (...) the gold might zero out the rally since the beginning of the year and go back to $1830 or get lower to $1780-1800 (...) In just a matter of ten days before the Fed meeting, the gold might zero out the rally since the beginning of the year and go back to $1830 or get lower to $1780-1800 before we might see a new buying impulse.
Tepid BoJ Stance Despite Inflation Surge: Future Policy Outlook

A Rocketship! Greenback Has Become A TGV! US Dollar (USD) - How High DXY Can Jump?

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 25.04.2022 14:05
The dollar continues to push back against competitors in global markets, going on the offensive against a broader front of currencies and stock indices. Geopolitics is ceding to monetary policy its role as the primary driver. And that could be bad news for risk-sensitive assets, as there is still no light at the end of this tunnel. The dollar's main competitors, the euro and the yen, seem to have exhausted their downside potential, and now the volatility threatens the next, broader range of currencies. Read next (by FXPro): (BTC) Bitcoin Priceslips To The Lows Of The Year. Crypto Regulations: Confusing Discussion In The US And The EU. Ether (ETH) And Monero (XMR) Highlighted | FXMAG.COM The yen has stabilised at 20-year lows at 128 after a 12% slump since the start of March and a 25% drawdown since the 2021 start. EURUSD was one step away from 1.0700 at the start of the European session, having lost 4.4% since March and 13% from its peak in January 2021. The movement is not too sweeping but steadily lowers the euro traded back in 2003. Read next (by FXPro): Want To Exchange 100 GBP To USD? GBP/USD Below 1.3000! (GBP) British Pound Weakens! GBP To USD - 17-Months-Low! | FXMAG.COM However, we are now seeing a marked reduction in the yen and the euro amplitude, while in contrast, it is rising in other market sectors. The British pound is flying into the abyss for a second day, losing 0.77% on Monday after falling 1.6% on Friday. GBPUSD has capitulated, pulling back to 1.2740, where it last was in September 2020. GBPUSD has moved into the lower half of the trading range this week from after the pandemic hit. The tactical target for the bears, in this case, could be the 1.2600 area, with the final point being 1.2000, where the GBPUSD has repeatedly found support over the past six years. The Australian dollar has lost about 4% since Thursday. The decline for the fourth consecutive week took about 6% off its peak at the start of April, maybe just half of the potential decline towards 0.6700, a critical turning point in the last 24 years.
Fluctuations Of Forex Pairs! US Dollar's Strength Against Japanese Yen Performance (USD/JPY), Jason Sen Comments On Euro To Japanese Yen (EUR/JPY) And NZD/JPY Forex Rate

Fluctuations Of Forex Pairs! US Dollar's Strength Against Japanese Yen Performance (USD/JPY), Jason Sen Comments On Euro To Japanese Yen (EUR/JPY) And NZD/JPY Forex Rate

Jason Sen Jason Sen 25.04.2022 10:11
USDJPY running out of steam in severely overbought conditions as predicted but there is no sell signal yet so I cannot suggest shorts. A break above 129.50 however targets 129.90/95 then 130.25/35, perhaps as far as 130.75/85. First support again at 127.80/70. Expect strong support at 127.10/126.90. Longs need stops below 126.70. A break lower can target 126.00. EURJPY no sell signal yet despite overbought conditions but less than positive candles for the last 3 days probably signal a consolidation ahead. Having held the next target of 139.95/99 perfectly, if we do continue higher look for 140.40/50 & 140.85/95. Minor support at 138.70/50 but below 138.30 can target 137.70/50. ON further losses look for 137.20/10 with best support at 136.50/30 this week. Longs need stops below 136.10. Read next (By Jason Sen): Can (XAUUSD) Gold Price Plunge To $1800!? Silver Price (XAGUSD) To Decrease As Well? | FXMAG.COM NZDJPY holding below 8540 is a sell signal for today targeting 8500 & perhaps as far as strong support at 8450/30. Longs need stops below 8410. First resistance at 8545/65. Shorts need stops above 8485. EURUSD holds 37 YEAR TREND LINE SUPPORT AT 1.0760/20. Longs need stops below 1.0670. Obviously there is nothing more important than this level this week. Again we must beat 1.0840/20 to target 1.0920/40. A break above 1.0960 is a buy signal targeting 1.1030/50. USDCAD messy as we trade sideways for 9 months. We are back above the February lows & the sideways 100 & 200 day moving averages. Further gains test the strongest resistance for this week at 500 day & 100 week moving average at 1.2775/85. Shorts need stops above 1.2800. A break higher should be a medium term buy signal. Read next (By Jason Sen): Euro To US Dollar (EUR To USD): That's An Amazing USD Performance, Will USDCAD (Canadian Dollar) Stay Close? USDJPY (Japanese Yen) Beats Records! | FXMAG.COM First support at 1.2660/40. Longs need stops below 1.2620 GBPCAD support at the April low of 1.6293/81 held again. Strong resistance at 1.6400/20. Shorts need stops above 1.6450. A break higher is a buy signal initially targeting 1.6530/50. A break below 1.6265 is a sell signal. Look for 1.6190/80. Please email me if you need this report updated or Whatsapp: +66971910019 – To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk
Tuesday's EUR/USD Analysis: Chaotic Movements on 30M Chart

Will US Dollar (USD) Beat British Pound (GBP), Japanese Yen (JPY) And All Other Currencies? Bank Of Japan To Tackle The Weaking Of JPY?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 27.04.2022 22:09
April 27, 2022  $USD, Australia, BOJ, Brazil, Currency Movement, Mexico, Russia Overview: Russia's decision to cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and the sharp sell-off in US equities yesterday casts a pall over the markets today.  But not the dollar. The euro punched through $1.06 for the first time in five years and the greenback turned higher against the yen after falling to a seven-day low.  The major bourses in the Asia Pacific region fell by more than 1% except China and Hong Kong.  The Hang Seng eked out a minor gain, but China's CSI 300 rose nearly 3%.  Europe's Stoxx 600 gapped lower but has recovered with the help of materials, consumer discretionary, and energy sectors.  US futures are firm.  Treasury yields have recovered part of yesterday’s decline, putting the 10-year near 2.77% and the 2-year close to 2.58%.  European yields are mostly firmer and the core-periphery spreads are widening.  In the foreign exchange market, the greenback is mixed.  The Antipodeans and Scandis are firm, especially the Australian dollar, after the higher-than-expected Q1 CPI.  The yen, euro, and Swiss franc are heavy.  Emerging market currencies are mostly lower.  Of note, the Philippine peso and the Mexican peso are among the most resilient today.  Hungary, the only EU country that has agreed to pay Russia in roubles, is among the weakest (~0.9%).  That dubious honor goes to the South Korean won today, off 1.1%, the largest loss since last June and the fifth consecutive decline. Gold was sold to fresh two-month lows near $1887 before steadying.  June WTI is firm but in a narrow range (~$101.50-$103) near yesterday's highs.  US natgas prices are almost 0.75% higher after gaining nearly 5% over the past two sessions.  Europe's benchmark rose about 8.2% yesterday on top of yesterday's nearly 6% gain.  It is back to early April levels.  Iron ore rose for a second consecutive session, while copper is trying to end a three-day fall.  July wheat is steady after rising 2% yesterday.  Asia Pacific Australia's Q1 CPI rose 2.1%, faster than the 1.7% anticipated by the median in Bloomberg's survey and well above the 1.3% increase in Q4 21.  The year-over-year pace accelerated to 5.1% from 3.5%.  The underlying measures also rose.  The central bank meets next week, and the market sees the inflation figures as boosting the chances of a rate hike, which previously was expected after the May 21 election.  Yesterday the market had about six basis points of tightening discounted for the May 3 meeting.  Now there are 18 bp increase priced into the cash rate futures.   The Bank of Japan's two-day meeting began today.  Officials have clearly signaled no intention to change course.  Its defense of the 0.25% cap on the 10-year yield continued to today but the softer global yields yesterday took some pressure off the JGB market and there were sellers of 10-year bonds to the BOJ under its fixed-rate operation.  The BOJ is well aware that energy and food prices are lifting measured inflation and the reduction in wireless charges drop out of the 12-month comparison.  It pushes back and says that those developments do not make the increase in CPI sustainable.  Note too that the new economic package is estimated to shave 0.5% off headline CPI in the May-September period.   Many observers still seem to put the cart before the horse.  They are concerned that the weaker yen reduces Japanese demand for Treasuries.  The recent price action lends support for the hypothesis that the causation arrow is running the other way.  The increase in US yields weakens the yen.  The US 10-year yield peaked on April 20.  So did the dollar against the yen.  They both recorded eight-day lows earlier today and have recovered.  Moreover, the indirect bids show that the recent US Treasury auctions have been strong, including yesterday's two-year note sale.  That is where foreign participation is often picked up.   The dollar found a bid after slipping a little below JPY127. A $540 mln option at JPY126.75 rolls off today.  The greenback has already resurfaced above JPY128.  A move above JPY128.25 would lift the tone, but it needs to get above JPY128.50 to sign another attempt on the JPY129.50-JPY130 area. The Australian dollar recovered from around $0.7120 to almost $0.7200, but the upside momentum faltered and it fell back to the $0.7140 area in late Asia Pacific turnover.  That said, the intraday momentum indicators suggest the potential to retest the highs in North America.  The Chinese yuan is trading in its narrowest range for a little more than a week.  The dollar is consolidating its recent gains and traded roughly between CNY6.5480 and CNY6.5615.  The cut in reserve requirements for foreign currency deposits appears to have succeeded not in pushing the yuan higher but in steadying the exchange rate.  The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate slightly higher than expected in the Bloomberg survey (CNY6.5598 vs. CNY6.5596). Europe In a bizarre turn of events, Russia is insisting on being paid roubles for its gas while Europe is insisting to adhering to contracts to pay in hard currency, euros.  Russia is making good on its threats and announced that its cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.  Poland's gas supplies are around three-quarters capacity so the cut of new supply will not pinch immediately.  Bulgaria has indicated it has taken steps to secure alternative supplies.  Russia's actions do raise the question of who is next and that will likely be seen next month.  That said, Europe's reluctance or inability to move quicker on gas reveals their vulnerability, which Russia is exploiting.  It is quitting Europe before being fired, in a way.  Meanwhile, the tensions are rising in Moldova's breakaway region.  Some argue that Russia ultimately will likely link up the parts of Ukraine that it appears to be trying to take with the Moldova region, which would pen-in Ukraine.   Musk's leveraged buyout of Twitter is spurring a debate about freedom of speech in the US.  The constitutional right protects US citizens from abridgement of that right by Congress not by the private sector.  Clearly newspapers do not have to print all the op-ed submissions it receives and its not denying the rejected authors their freedom of speech.  In Europe, the reaction is different.  Musk is reminded that Twitter, regardless of its ownership structure, must adhere to the Digital Services Act, approved last week.  It forces the platforms to moderate illegal and harmful content that their users post.   The 1.4 bln euro option at $1.06 that expires today appears to have been neutralized.  The euro fell to about $1.0585 in late Asia/early Europe.  Initial resistance is seen near $1.0630 and then $1.0660. On the downside, the 2015-2017 lows were in the $1.0340-$1.0530 area, but there is increasing talk of a move to parity which has not been seen since 2002.  Sterling's losses have also been extended.  It fell to about $1.2535 before recovering to around $1.2590 in the European morning.  The $1.25 area represents the (61.8%) retracement of sterling's rally off the March 2020 low near $1.14.  The next chart point below there is the June 2020 lows around $1.2250.  Over the last five sessions, sterling has shed more than a nickel.  The lower Bollinger Band is set two standard deviations below its 20-day moving average and sterling's losses are nearly three standard deviations below the 20-day average.   America The US reports mortgage applications, which have fallen every week since the end of January but one. March pending home sales are expected to have fallen for the fifth consecutive month. The March trade deficit, which remains near a record imbalance, and March (wholesale and retail) inventories will help economists put their final touches on Q1 GDP forecasts ahead of tomorrow's report.  Due to the revisions in retail sales reported earlier this week, the Atlanta Fed's GDP tracker fell to 0.4%. It will update it again after today's reports.   As noted, there was a strong reception at yesterday's US sale of $48 bln two-year notes.   Indirect bidders took down 2/3 and direct bidders took another 21.4%.  This left the dealers with slightly more than 12%, the least in almost two decades.  On tap today are a $30 bln two-year floater auction and $49 bln 5-year note sale.  Still, the angst in some corners of the market about the implications of a strong dollar on foreign demand is unlikely to dissipate.   Bank of Canada Governor Macklem laid out the logic of raising rates even though it will have little impact on the prices of internationally traded goods that are understood to be the main drivers of Canadian inflation. He argued that keeping inflation expectations anchored will help prices ease when the higher energy and disrupted supply chains ease.   Mexico reports its March trade figures.  The balance may have swung into a small deficit after a $1.29 bln surplus in February.  Tomorrow it reports unemployment figures ahead of Friday's preliminary Q1 GDP.  After a flat Q4 21, it is expected to have grown around 1% in Q2 quarter-over-quarter.  Brazil reports April's IPCA inflation measure today.  It is expected to have accelerated to 12.15% from 10.79% in March. This will further challenge the signals by the central bank that next month could be the peak in what has been an aggressive tightening cycle.     The risk-off mood, which unlike when Russia first invaded Ukraine, is now seen as negative for commodities and commodity currencies.  The Canadian dollar has suffered in this phase despite constructive macro considerations.  The US dollar bottomed last week near CAD1.2460 and today has approached CAD1.2850.  The year's high was set in early March slightly north of CAD1.29.  The greenback has closed above its upper Bollinger Band for the last three sessions and remains above it (~CAD1.2810) now.  The greenback remains within the range set on Monday against the Mexican peso (~MXN20.16-MXN20.4850).  A convincing break of MXN20.50 could spur a quick move toward MXN20.60-MXN20.65.  Note the upper Bollinger Band is found today slightly above MXN20.40. The Brazilian real is a market favorite this year, with high yields, monetary policy near a peak, and commodity exposure. However, alongside Latam in general and the setback for metals, market participants have raced to reduce exposure in both the options and forward markets.  The dollar has jumped from around BRL4.60 a week ago to nearly BRL5.00 yesterday.  A move above there today could target the BRL5.20 area.       Disclaimer
Top 10 Stocks to Watch: August 2023 - BY: RYAN SULLIVAN

Using Comparison Analysis For An Edge | S&P 500 (SPX), Coal, US Dollar (USD), Dollar Index (DXY)

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 27.04.2022 15:16
Multi timeframe, as well as comparison analysis, have many benefits. As traders, we tend to utilize the shorter-term time frames to enter our trades and place our stops. But the BIG money is made from gleaning information from the longer-term charts. We would classify long term as monthly or weekly while short term would be a daily or 4-hour time frame. Comparison analysis can be done by comparing different time periods or we can see how our market is trading vs another highly correlated market. Since we have a lot of subscriber interest in stocks, we thought it might be time to compare the current chart of the SPY to the S&P 500 index during the 2002-2009 period. The S&P 500 weekly chart experienced a nice bull market with several buy points from 2002 up to 2007. S&P’s 2007 top occurred at its 2.0 or 200% extension of its 2002 high vs low. Then about 5-months later sold off a little over -20%. After hitting the key -20% psychological end-of-bull-market area the S&P rallied for several weeks up to its 1.618 overhead resistance. Then after turning back down at the 1.618 the S&P lost approximately -50% of its value. The complete drop occurred over a 17–18-month period from peak to trough. 2002-2009 SPX • S&P 500 INDEX CFD • WEEKLY • TRADINGVIEW SPY VULNERABLE TO ANOTHER -8% DOWN BEFORE STAGING A DEAD-CAT BOUNCE! The SPY is down approximately -12 to -13% from its peak for 2022. It is feasible the SPY could fall another -8% or reach -20% before it stages some type of rally into late summer or early fall. If this scenario plays out, we should then prepare for what could be a significant drop or bear market in the 4th quarter of 2022 that could extend into 2023 and beyond. The 2007 top of the S&P 500 index occurred at 2.0 or 200% of its previous major high-low swing low. The 2022 top for the SPY also occurred at 2.1618 or 200% of its Covid high-low swing low. The potential exists for the SPY to pull back -20% from its peak before staging a temporary rally to a lower distribution top. 2020-2022 SPY • SPDR S&P 500 ETF TRUST • 4-HOUR • TRADINGVIEW USD CONTINUES TO MOVE HIGHER We are now seeing that major economies (US/UK/Japan) are not immune from global deleveraging and inflation. Investors have been seeking safety in the US Dollar and this may eventually trigger a broader and deeper selloff in U.S. stocks. As the USD continues to strengthen corporate profits for US multinationals will begin to disappear. Especially in times like these, traders must understand where opportunities are and how to turn this knowledge into profits. Part of what we do at www.TheTechnicalTraders.com is to distill price action into technical strategies and modeling systems. These assist us in understanding when opportunities exist in the US stock market and specific sector ETFs. Our core objective is to protect our valuable capital while identifying suitable risk vs reward opportunities for profits in new and emerging trends. A CANARY IN THE COAL MINE – BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Around 1911, miners would carry canaries into coal mines to give them an advanced warning of danger. This phrase or analogy is also utilized by traders in the financial markets. Our canary or canaries would simply be a market or stock that might give us an indication that there is a problem with the overall market or that the global equity markets are shifting from a bull to a bear. Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A (NYSE) founded and operated by famed Warren Buffet is a diversified holding company that owns subsidiaries that engage in insurance, freight rail transportation, energy generation, and distribution, services, manufacturing, retailing, banking, and others. It is a good candidate for “a canary in the coal mine”, in our case the stock market.  Berkshire is down approximately -9% from its 2022 peak but remains up +10% year-to-date. BRK’s stock price reached 200% as its shares traded above 2.618 and 2.666 for a few days before selling off. From its Covid low on March 23, 2020, to its 2022 high on March 29, 2022, BRK rallied 2 years and 6 days from trough to peak. If BRK were to lose -20% from its peak or give back all its 2022 gain in the stock price we should prepare to sell the rally that follows if we have not done so already. Note: TTT subscribers are already safely in cash awaiting trade instructions for select alternative or inverted ETFs. BRK.A • BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. • NYSE • DAILY • TRADINGVIEW UNDERSTANDING PRICE IS A GAME-CHANger As technical traders, we follow price only, and when a new trend has been confirmed, we change our positions accordingly. We provide our ETF trades to subscribers. Recently, we entered new trades, all of which hit their first profit target levels and then eventually triggered their break-even profit stop-loss orders on their remaining position. After booking our profits we are now safely in cash preparing for our next trades. Our models continually track price action in a multitude of markets and asset classes as we track global money flow. As our models generate new information about trends or a change in trends, we will communicate these signals expeditiously to our subscribers and to those on our trading newsletter email list. Sign up for my free trading newsletter so you don’t miss the next opportunity! Successful trading is not limited to when to buy or sell stocks or commodities. Money and risk management play a critical role in becoming a consistently profitable trader. Correct position sizing utilizing stop-loss orders helps preserve your investment capital and allows traders to manage their portfolios according to their desired risk parameters. Additionally, scaling out of positions by taking profits and moving stop-loss orders to breakeven can complement ones’ success. WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE The CURRENT MARKET TRENDS? Learn how we use specific tools to help us understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, we expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. We believe the markets have begun to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and have started a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern begin to drive traders/investors into Metals and other safe-havens. Historically, bonds have served as one of these safe-havens, but that is not proving to be the case this time around. So if bonds are off the table, what bond alternatives are there and how can they be deployed in a bond replacement strategy? We invite you to join our group of active traders and investors to learn and profit from our three ETF Technical Trading Strategies. We can help you protect and grow your wealth in any type of market condition by clicking on the following link: www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
Oil Defies Broader Risk-off Sentiment: Commodities Update

Crypto News: (ARUSD) Arweave, rally watch as buyers clear $27

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 27.04.2022 03:53
Today our focus is on Arweave (ARUSD). Buyers, for now, have pulled back most of yesterday’s losses and continue to push at a possible engulfing bar pattern. Last month, price was supported by news 17M was raised to help make Arweaves data storage blockchain more usable. Up until today, thing’s haven’t been the best for Arweave, with the last four weeks of trade being lower. A shift has started this week, and we can see buyers trying to pull back from losses. Pattern focus, for now, remains on the daily. Today’s candle is close to forming an engulfing bar which sits just above a level of demand. A fair bit of pressure remains on today’s bar. We really want to see a firm close that really needs to beat yesterday’s open or high, and we would prefer to see a close above yesterday’s high, confirming the bar pattern. A close at that point should also lift the CCI above the 0, moving back into a bullish area and set up a break of the current downtrend. If those are achieved by the end of today’s NY session, we could be seeing a new up-leg developing. If price retraces today and closes below $27, that would cancel out the engulfing idea. If heavy selling resumes, a break of the demand area would suggest that the current downtrend has further to run. If we do see a new move higher get going, we have marked two levels of potential resistance, but we would think that key resistance could be the first real test if reached. Arweave D1 Chart The post Crypto News: Arweave, rally watch as buyers clear $27 appeared first on Eightcap.
It's Time To Meet iPhone 14! Apple Stock Price May Fluctuate Today!

US GDP Quick Analysis: Houston, we have contraction, but three reasons support dollar strength

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.04.2022 16:39
US GDP shocked with a 1.4% contraction in the first quarter of 2022. The consumption, and inventories components all paint a rosier picture. Dollar profit-taking is in place but may reverse later on. Is it time to use the R-word? R stands for recession, which is defined by two consecutive quarters of economic shrinking. The US economy squeezed by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022 – so it would only take another one to have an official downturn. Not so fast – not a recession, nor the dollar. In raw dollar terms, the economy grew by 6.6%, and inflation eroded it by 8%, hence the negative 1.4% growth. That is a reason for the Federal Reserve to raise rates aggressively and thus send the dollar higher. The Fed announces its decision only next week, and some dollar profit-taking is currently seen, a part of end-of-month flows. This opportunity to correct some of the massive dollar gains could fade sooner than later. Even without waiting for the Fed or flows to fade, focusing purely on the report provides three significant silver linings that could help the greenback recover. 1) Personal consumption is up 2.7% annualized in the first quarter vs. 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021. That means shoppers remain resilient despite rising prices. Consumption is roughly 70% of the US economy. 2) Inventories have eroded some 0.8% – more than half of the contraction has come from using existing materials in storage. When inventories are drawn down in one quarter, they tend to be replenished in the second one. Less growth now, more later. 3) Net trade slashed no less than 3.2% from growth – an anomaly for this usually benign factor. This seems like a "pothole" that could be reversed in the second quarter. All in all, the devil is in the headline, not in the details this time. All this should lead to a resumption of the bullish dollar trend.
CEE sovereign ratings: Our latest calls

How Long Will US Dollar (USD) Rally Last? Dollar Index (DXY) – Be Prepared!

Richard Nasr Richard Nasr 28.04.2022 11:53
DXY is sitting around a strong resistance zone 103-104 so we will be expecting a bearish reversal or at least any kind of rejection. (we will be looking for sell setups on lower timeframes to confirm the shift in momentum) Unless the bulls take over by breaking above the resistance with a clean candle close above it. Then a movement till the next resistance would be expected 108-109. Which scenario do you think is more likely to happen? and Why? Always follow your trading plan regarding entry, risk management, and trade management. Good luck! All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly! ~Rich
Crypto Focus: A Week of Indecision and Dogecoin on the Up?

Crypto Focus: A Week of Indecision and Dogecoin on the Up?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 29.04.2022 13:27
It’s been another week of wide ranges with little direction. That’s not to say we didn’t see both sides try. A few of the top 25 saw solid selling, both AVAX and XRP were hit with sell-offs, while the more significant coins like BTH and ETH fought back off lows forming spinner type candles. Bitcoin traded above 40K during the week but couldn’t hold the level. On the positive, 38,900 continues to hold firm for buyers. APE coin had a massive week adding 57% ahead of its metaverse launch. Doge had a massive week, and we will touch on that further below. Aside from its massive jump, the coin can also now be used for rent payments. On the topic of payments, a Dubi real-estate developer will accept BTC and ETH for purchases of luxury homes. During the week, we did see a few small signs that buyers were trying to get a move going, but a lot like last week, we saw those signals fade as selling resumed. A fair few of the top 25 took heavy selling on Friday’s session, and that was refected as the CRYPTO25 indexes were leading the CRYPTO10 index lower. DogeCoin was the talking point last week. The coin is linked to Elon Musk regularly, and once news of his offer to buy Twitter was accepted, we saw a dramatic rally on the coin. Price jumped as much as 30% higher on the news, but the move was short-lived as a touch over 10% was taken off the following session. Since Tuesday, we have seen every direction on Doge as it looks like traders are trying to work out what Monday’s spike meant. Looking at the daily we have a solid looking range in play, and this could set up a straddle play. A straddle is where a trader places buys above the range and sells below the range. (one cancels over an option to avoid being double filled). If that spike is valid, the question that may need to be answered by traders is if we did see a breakout lower, could it retrace Monday’s spike retesting lows set on the 25th or if we break higher could we see a new test of 0.17? Until we see some direction, the market may remain rangebound. Be wary of tests out of the range, as false breaks can be very painful for breakout traders. In all trading, risk management is an essential part of the trader’s strategy. (The straddle example is an example based on Friday’s chart. The daily chart will have changed, and the range may not be in place by the time of posting) DOGE Chart Here’s 4-hour chart as well just in case you prefer it The post Crypto Focus: A Week of Indecision and Dogecoin on the Up? appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto News: (BTC/USD) Bitcoin breaking out of an ending diagonal?

Crypto News: (BTC/USD) Bitcoin breaking out of an ending diagonal?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 02.05.2022 09:39
Looking at Bitcoin on the 6H chart price pattern could suggest that a new move higher could be starting to develop. Additional time and a little more confirmation is required, but the initial breakout looks to have started for now. The pattern we are watching looks like an ending diagonal wedge. These patterns are traditionally Elliot Wave based but can be used in normal charting. They show a pattern of consolidation after a trend. A break of the pattern can set off a new trend. We can see the breakout occurring today, and the move started after reconfirming support at 37,800. From here, we want to see the new move continue to push higher. We would like to see a bit more buyer momentum to really confirm the break, and if and when we see a pullback, we would like to see a new higher low formed and the next rally to break to the previous high, signalling that a new trend could be underway. If we see a new pullback to support, that could be seen as a small worry as short term momentum may not be as strong as first thought. A break below support cancels out the idea. Keep in mind bitcoin has been sensitive to FED updates around inflation and policy. This week we have the FOMC on Thursday morning AEST. Rates are set to go higher, but the market will be looking at the statement to gauge just how much further they could increase due to the ongoing inflationary worries in the USA. Recent history has seen Bitcoin pr=erform poorly off the back of FED updates around policy adjustments to rein in inflation. This week’s FOMC meeting could have an impact on the current Bitcoin pattern. Bitcoin 6H Chart The post Crypto News: Bitcoin breaking out of an ending diagonal? appeared first on Eightcap.
The Swing Overview – Week 17 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 17 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 03.05.2022 11:04
The Swing Overview – Week 17 Major stock indices continued in their correction and tested strong support levels. In contrast, the US dollar strengthened strongly and is at its highest level since January 2017. The strengthening of the dollar had a negative impact on the value of the euro and commodities such as gold, which fell below the $1,900 per ounce. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates low and the yen broke the magic level 130 per dollar. The USD index strengthened again but the US GDP declined The US consumer confidence in the month of April came in at 107.3, a slight decline from the previous month when consumer confidence was 107.6.   The US GDP data was surprising. The US economy decreased by 1.4% in 1Q 2022 (in the previous quarter the economy grew by 6.4%). This sharp decline surprised even analysts who expected the economy to grow by 1.1%. This result is influenced by the Omicron, which caused the economy to shut down for a longer period than expected earlier this year.    The Fed meeting scheduled for the next week on May 4 will be hot. In fact, even the most dovish Fed officials are already leaning towards a 0.5% rate hike. At the end of the year, we can expect a rate around 2.5%.   The US 10-year bond yields continue to strengthen on the back of these expectations. The US dollar is also strengthening and is already at its highest level since January 2017, surpassing 103 level.  Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and the USD index on the daily chart   Earnings season is underway in equities Earnings season is in full swing. Amazon's results were disappointing. While revenue was up 7% reaching $116.4 billion in the first quarter (revenue was $108.5 billion in the same period last year), the company posted an total loss of $8.1 billion, which translated to a loss of $7.56 per share. This loss, however, is not due to operating activities, but it is the result of the revaluation of the equity investment in Rivian Automotive.   Facebook, on the other hand, surprised in a positive way posting unexpectedly strong user growth, a sign that its Instagram app is capable of competing with Tik Tok. However, the revenue growth of 6.6% was the lowest in the company's history.    Apple was also a positive surprise, reporting earnings per share of $1.52 (analysts' forecast was $1.43) and revenue growth of $97.3 billion, up 8.6% from the same period last year. However, the company warned that the closed operations in Russia, the lockdown in China due to the coronavirus and supply disruptions will negatively impact earnings in the next quarter.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart In terms of technical analysis, the US SP 500 index is in a downtrend and has reached a major support level on the daily chart last week, which is at 4,150. It has bounced upwards from this support to the resistance according to the 4 H chart which is 4,308 - 4,313. The next resistance according to the H4 chart is 4,360 - 4,365.  The strong resistance is at 4,500.   German DAX index German businessmen are optimistic about the development of the German economy in the next 6 months, as indicated by the Ifo Business Climate Index, which reached 91.8 for April (the expectation was 89.1). However, this did not have a significant effect on the movement of the index and it continued in its downward correction. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The index is below the SMA 100 on both the daily chart and the H4 chart, confirming the bearish sentiment. The nearest support according to the H4 is 13,600 - 13,650. The resistance is 14,180 - 14,200. The next resistance is 14,592 - 14,632.   The euro has fallen below 1.05 The euro lost significantly last week. While the French election brought relief to the markets as Emmanuel Macron defended the presidency, geopolitical tensions in Ukraine continue to weigh heavily on the European currency. The strong dollar is also having an impact on the EUR/USD pair, pushing the pair down. The price has fallen below 1.05, the lowest level since January 2017.    Figure 4: EURUSD on H4 and daily chart The euro broke through the important support at 1.0650 - 1.071, which has now become the new resistance. The new support was formed in January 2017 and is around the level 1.0350 - 1.040.   Japan's central bank continues to support the fragile economy The Bank of Japan on Thursday reinforced its commitment to keep interest rates at very low levels by pledging to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year government bonds daily, sparking a fresh sell-off in the yen and reviving government bonds. With this commitment, the BOJ is trying to support a fragile economy, even as a surge in commodity prices is pushing the inflation up.   The decision puts Japan in the opposite position to other major economies, which are moving towards tighter monetary policy to combat soaring prices. Figure 5: The USD/JPY on the monthly and daily chart In fresh quarterly forecasts, the central bank has projected core consumer inflation to reach 1.9% in the current fiscal year and then ease to 1.1% in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, an indication that it views the current cost-push price increases as transitory.   In the wake of this decision, the Japanese yen has continued to weaken and has already surpassed the magical level 130 per dollar.   Strong dollar beats also gold Anticipation of aggressive Fed action against inflation, which is supporting the US dollar, is having a negative impact on gold. The rising US government bond yields are also a problem for the yellow metal. This has put gold under pressure, which peaked on Thursday when the price reached USD 1,872 per ounce of gold. But then the gold started to strengthen. Indeed, the decline in the US GDP may have been something of a warning to the Fed and prevent them from tightening the economy too quickly, which helped gold, in the short term, bounce off a strong support. Figure 6: The gold on H4 and daily chart Strong support for the gold is at $1,869 - $1,878 per ounce. There is a confluence of horizontal resistance and the SMA 100 moving average on the daily chart. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is 1 907 - 1 910 USD per ounce. The strong resistance according to the daily chart is then 1 977 - 2 000 USD per ounce of gold. Moving averages on the H4 chart can also be used as a resistance. The orange line is the EMA 50 and the blue line is the SMA 100.  
Crypto News: Is LiteCoin starting new bounce off key support?

Crypto News: Is LiteCoin starting new bounce off key support?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 04.05.2022 06:55
Today’s focus is on Litecoin as price has started a new push higher after holding once again at 97.15 key support. Most coins are firm at this point in the day as buyer interest continues to pick up. We saw this yesterday, but things changed in the US session, and gains turned to losses. Could today be different? It’s a hard call as the FOMC is due in today’s US session, and a lot may come down to the FOMC statement and what it spells for rates moving forward. Recently crypto hasn’t reacted well to Fed policy adjustment news to help rein in inflation. Rates are expected to rise today, but could that be factored in? The real worry could be if the Fed commits to a very aggressive stance that exceeds market expectations. That could put pressure on risk markets to the USD and give the USD a boost. As noted, crypto has not reacted well in these situations, so it could be an interesting FOMC today. Back onto today’s focus, Litecoin looks to be setting up from a solid base with 97.15 key support holding for buyers since January this year. Since that point, we are yet to see a close below that support level. We have seen a few false starts off it, but while it continues to hold, there continues to be a floor for buyers. If things support crypto markets today after the FOMC, could we see today’s rally extend and break the current fast downtrend? Buyers do face some resistance at 100.35 and 103.90. If we see these levels cleared, that could be a good sign that buyers are trying to get a new up leg going. If we see a rally follow on, the next test will be the downtrend that caps the current descending triangle pattern. The CCI has also moved above the 0 point showing bullish conditions. We stress again today’s FOMC could have an impact on the current picture. The FOMC statement and federal funds rate is due at 4:00 am AEST, and the press conference follows at 4:30 am AEST. LiteCoin D1 Chart The post Crypto News: Is LiteCoin starting new bounce off key support? appeared first on Eightcap.
Forex News: GBPUSD beats its range. Can buyers start a new leg higher?

Forex News: GBPUSD beats its range. Can buyers start a new leg higher?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 05.05.2022 10:01
Today’s focus is on GBPUSD after its solid rally yesterday after markets surged to the USD after the FOMC statement suggested the Fed might not be as aggressive in its policy to combat inflation. The message also confirmed that the policy would do its best to help the US economy achieve a softish landing, and Powell did comment that inflation remains much too high. Let’s look at the GBPUSD. Price remains in a long-term downtrend. The last key leg we saw was a sharp down leg as the USD continued to fly higher over the previous week. Since the last low was put in on the 28th of April, we have seen a range develop, and that pattern was in place until yesterday, before buyers broke through it to the upside after the FMOC. This break has us thinking, can we see a new leg higher set up after this break? Price so far has been weaker today will sellers retracing over 50% of yesterday’s move. Buyers have been fighting back into today’s European session, and expectations are that the BOE may raise rates again today. Could this continue to give the Cable a boost and send price back up to yesterday’s high? A break and close above yesterday’s high could confirm a new up leg. A close back below the HL is a worry and could suggest that buyer momentum might now be that firm. If we do see a new close above yesterday’s highs and buyers can continue to hold momentum, we would be looking at the closest trend line as a possible higher target. Today’s BOE rates decision is at 9:00 pm AEST. Rates are expected to increase to 1%. GBPUSD D1 Chart The post Forex News: GBPUSD beats its range. Can buyers start a new leg higher? appeared first on Eightcap.
Central Bankers and Key Data Awaited: Implications for Equity Markets and Economic Confidence

New Zealand dollar (NZD/USD) falls right back down

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 06.05.2022 10:08
The New Zealand dollar has reversed directions on Thursday and is sharply lower. In the North American session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6418, down a massive 1.90% on the day.   US dollar rebounds after FOMC  The New Zealand dollar is showing plenty of volatility. NZD/USD surged 1.76% on Wednesday but has coughed up all of those gains today. The US dollar lost a step after the FOMC meeting, even though the Fed hiked rates by 0.50%, which was the largest rate increase in 20 years. The Fed continues to show a hawkish stance. The rate-hike cycle will remain aggressive, with Fed Chair Powell signalling at yesterday’s meeting that the Fed will deliver further 0.50% hikes at the June and July meetings. Yet the markets chose to focus on Powell’s statement that a 0.75% hike was not being “actively considered”. Although Powell didn’t rule out such a move, the markets were nonetheless elated, sending equities up and the US dollar broadly lower. It didn’t take long for the US dollar to recover, particularly against the New Zealand and Australian dollars. Perhaps as significant as the Fed’s rate hike was its announcement to implement quantitative tightening, after years of quantitative easing as part of its accommodative policy. Starting in June, the Fed will sell USD 45 billion/mth in assets, which will climb to USD 95 billion/mth in September. The Fed is betting that it can curb inflation through rate hikes and a balance sheet reduction, while ensuring a soft landing for the economy and avoiding a recession. The New Zealand labour market remains robust, as confirmed by the Q1 employment report. The unemployment rate remained at a record low of 3.2%, matching expectations. Significantly, wage growth, which climbed to 3.1% YoY, its highest level since 2008. The surge in wage growth is sure to raise pressure on the central bank to deliver another 0.50% rate hike at the May 25th meeting, which would bring the Official Cash Rate to 2.0%.     NZD/USD Technical 0.6391 is under strong pressure in support, as NZD/USD is sharply lower. Below, there is support at 0.6325 There is resistance at 0.6519 and 0.6648       This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
Crypto Focus: A Wild Week on the Markets

Crypto Focus: A Wild Week on the Markets

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 06.05.2022 14:21
What a wild week. Looking at the weekly charts, it just looks like another lower week, but that was far from the truth. Most coins started the week on the sell, with Monday’s session setting new weekly lows. A lot of attention was on Thursday’s FOMC meeting. US policy regarding rates due to inflation has been a key driver, and this meeting was no exception. The FOMC statement surprised the market as the tone looked to take a less aggressive tone. Risk markets jumped after the statement. Gains were across the boards as FX stocks and Crypto all rallied sharply. The USD plunged, threatening to break weeks of gains. Signs looked good on Thursday as daily candles on several coins looked to show engulfing reversal bars. As we regularly see in the markets, you can never get married to anything. The situation changed dramatically on Friday as fears returned around inflation and policy, and gains we watched evaporated into heavy selling that has carried on. However, the question remains – is this reversal a new confirmation of a leg lower? The post Crypto Focus: A Wild Week on the Markets appeared first on Eightcap.
Currency Speculators drop Euro bets into bearish territory on interest rates & low growth

Currency Speculators drop Euro bets into bearish territory on interest rates & low growth

Invest Macro Invest Macro 07.05.2022 14:13
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 3rd 2022 and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the continued drop in speculator bets for European common currency futures contracts. Euro speculators reduced their bets for the third straight week this week and have now trimmed the net position by a total of -45,438 contracts over this three-week period. This decreasing sentiment among speculators accelerated this week with a large drop of -28,579 contracts and knocked the net contract level back into a bearish position for the first time since the beginning of October 2021. The fundamental backdrop for the euro is one of weak growth and low interest rates compared to many of the other major currency countries. The Eurozone GDP for the first quarter of 2022 amounted to just 0.2 percent growth following a fourth quarter of 2021 growth reading of 0.3 percent. The war in Ukraine combined with surging inflation and weakening consumer demand has some banks believing a GDP contraction could be on the horizon while others see parity in the euro versus the US dollar as inevitable. Eurozone interest rates are forecasted to rise this year but they have been behind their major currency counterparts. The US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand have all raised their benchmark interest rates over the past quarter and look likely to see more over the year, possibly widening the interest rate differential even more if the European Central Bank does not act. This week was a very rare week when all the currencies we cover had lower speculator bets including the Euro (-28,579 contracts), Canadian dollar (-11,852 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-6,676 contracts), Mexican peso (-5,503 contracts), Japanese yen (-5,259 contracts), Brazil real (-5,096 contracts), British pound sterling (-4,192 contracts), Swiss franc (-1,038 contracts), US Dollar Index (-808 contracts), Australian dollar (-865 contracts) and Bitcoin (-24 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each Commodity where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend May-03-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 54,092 76 33,071 83 -35,684 15 2,613 45 EUR 694,926 80 -6,378 33 -24,586 69 30,964 26 GBP 268,496 82 -73,813 21 89,026 82 -15,213 24 JPY 254,813 92 -100,794 7 120,264 94 -19,470 14 CHF 49,385 31 -13,907 46 30,542 68 -16,635 7 CAD 152,779 32 9,029 56 -12,959 51 3,930 38 AUD 152,257 46 -28,516 58 34,225 44 -5,709 39 NZD 50,844 45 -6,610 60 9,879 46 -3,269 14 MXN 151,933 27 14,623 34 -18,552 65 3,929 60 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 61,549 56 41,788 91 -43,371 9 1,583 83 Bitcoin 10,051 52 388 100 -429 0 41 14   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 33,071 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -808 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 33,879 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 45.1 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 85.5 2.7 9.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.4 68.6 5.0 – Net Position: 33,071 -35,684 2,613 – Gross Longs: 46,264 1,439 5,296 – Gross Shorts: 13,193 37,123 2,683 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.5 to 1 0.0 to 1 2.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 82.8 15.3 45.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.9 -3.6 -13.9   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -6,378 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -28,579 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 22,201 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.7 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.0 55.1 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 30.9 58.7 8.2 – Net Position: -6,378 -24,586 30,964 – Gross Longs: 208,449 383,222 88,267 – Gross Shorts: 214,827 407,808 57,303 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.0 69.0 25.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.3 6.2 13.9   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -73,813 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -4,192 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -69,621 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 20.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.1 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 12.5 77.7 7.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.0 44.6 13.3 – Net Position: -73,813 89,026 -15,213 – Gross Longs: 33,536 208,754 20,590 – Gross Shorts: 107,349 119,728 35,803 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 20.8 82.3 24.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -26.3 22.8 -4.3   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -100,794 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -5,259 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -95,535 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.9 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.3 84.6 7.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.8 37.4 14.7 – Net Position: -100,794 120,264 -19,470 – Gross Longs: 18,585 215,563 18,007 – Gross Shorts: 119,379 95,299 37,477 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 6.8 94.3 13.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -13.7 7.5 13.9   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -13,907 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,038 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,869 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 45.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 68.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.3 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.8 75.8 15.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.0 13.9 48.7 – Net Position: -13,907 30,542 -16,635 – Gross Longs: 4,357 37,429 7,397 – Gross Shorts: 18,264 6,887 24,032 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 5.4 to 1 0.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 45.7 68.3 7.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.6 11.9 -14.5   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 9,029 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -11,852 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,881 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 37.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.2 47.5 21.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 23.3 56.0 18.4 – Net Position: 9,029 -12,959 3,930 – Gross Longs: 44,670 72,629 32,093 – Gross Shorts: 35,641 85,588 28,163 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 55.7 51.2 37.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.8 -4.0 -17.1   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -28,516 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -865 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -27,651 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 58.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 44.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.9 52.6 14.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.6 30.2 17.8 – Net Position: -28,516 34,225 -5,709 – Gross Longs: 46,995 80,147 21,330 – Gross Shorts: 75,511 45,922 27,039 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 58.4 44.4 38.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 21.0 -10.6 -20.8   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -6,610 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -6,676 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 66 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 60.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 45.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.4 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 34.3 60.6 4.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.3 41.1 11.2 – Net Position: -6,610 9,879 -3,269 – Gross Longs: 17,427 30,789 2,423 – Gross Shorts: 24,037 20,910 5,692 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 60.2 45.6 14.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.3 18.4 -32.3   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 14,623 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -5,503 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,126 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 65.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 59.7 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 42.0 52.3 4.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.4 64.5 1.9 – Net Position: 14,623 -18,552 3,929 – Gross Longs: 63,860 79,394 6,771 – Gross Shorts: 49,237 97,946 2,842 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.6 65.1 59.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.9 -13.5 -0.9   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 41,788 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -5,096 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 46,884 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 83.3 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.2 13.5 5.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.3 83.9 2.8 – Net Position: 41,788 -43,371 1,583 – Gross Longs: 49,991 8,280 3,278 – Gross Shorts: 8,203 51,651 1,695 – Long to Short Ratio: 6.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 91.4 9.0 83.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.2 1.1 -15.4     Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 388 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -24 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 412 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.8 3.0 8.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 76.9 7.2 8.2 – Net Position: 388 -429 41 – Gross Longs: 8,121 298 867 – Gross Shorts: 7,733 727 826 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 99.5 7.1 13.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 8.0 4.2 -10.0   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
What Could Boost ETH/USD!? Ethereum - The Merge Is Close! US: Shocking Unemployment Rate. In The Past Month S&P 500 And Nasdaq Increased

Not Only Earnings, But Also US Tresauries, Strong US Dollar (USD) And China-COVID Circumstances Arouse Investors' Interest Today | Saxo Bank: Podcast: The beatings will continue until morale improves

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 09.05.2022 10:15
Summary:  Today we look at the liquidity pressures keeping risk sentiment in the dumps as long US treasury yields and the US dollar continue to rise. US equities are perched at the lows for the cycle once again and we wonder where any sustained relief will come from until the Fed eventually has to exercise its put, but unable to do so given its primary focus on inflation. We also look at forward return potential now that global equities have come down from extremes, commodity positioning and sentiment on China's Covid lockdown impacts, earnings ahead and more. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast and have a look at today’s slide deck. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app:           If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.
CFD News: Gold, close to confirming new leg lower?

CFD News: Gold, close to confirming new leg lower?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 09.05.2022 11:20
Things have taken a turn back to safe havens with heavy selling resuming into today’s European session. After a small push at a fightback, the floodgates reopened. Stock indices and Crypto markets have been the heaviest hit, with some coins dropping over 11% lower. Sellers haven’t overlooked Gold as sellers moved back into the yellow metal knocking back below 1862. We see a little bit on-demand around this area, but this may not offer much resistance if this level of selling continues. For now, price looks to have confirmed an LH, but will we see a new LL continuing the current trend with a new point of normal trend behaviour. Furthermore, a move below the trendline would also be a sign that the current fast downtrend controls the market. A lot will come down to USD demand and continued exit from risk assets as US recession fears continue. Gold D1 Chart The post CFD News: Gold, close to confirming new leg lower? appeared first on Eightcap.
RookUSD, are buyers starting to reconfirm the demand area?

RookUSD, are buyers starting to reconfirm the demand area?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 10.05.2022 10:57
After days of heavy selling, crypto markets have started to see signs of demand today, with most of the top 25 coins moving into the positive after being hammered within 24 hours ago. Today, things continued to look dire as coins continued to touch new monthly lows. KeeperDAO (RookUSD) continues to fight back from the 71.40 -76.80 area. This area has been showing demand and support for buyers since January. Sellers till this point haven’t been able to break through, pushing the downtrend to that next level lower. Buyers have rejected five attempts at beating the level. But they haven’t been able to get a new trend going as resistance at 142.20 has continued to halt their runs. Looking at the picture now, there are two obvious outcomes. 1, we see the demand area hold, and we see a new push higher from buyers. If buyers can reach that level again, the test will be at 142.20 resistance. 2, overall pressure returns to the crypto boards, and selling returns pushing price back into the demand area and possibly through it confirming a weekly continuation. RookUSD The post RookUSD, are buyers starting to reconfirm the demand area? appeared first on Eightcap.
Forex News: EURUSD, are we seeing a new breakout?

Forex News: EURUSD, are we seeing a new breakout?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 12.05.2022 09:48
Risk markets are seeing another session of aggressive selling. The selling so far is across multiple asset classes. It’s a real good old fashioned risk-off day so far. Until today the EURUSD looked to be holding up the best out of the three main risk currencies, but that’s all changed in today’s European session after sellers finally broke through support. Until today the EURUSD continued to hold its line ignoring the AUD and GBP making lower moves to the USD. 1.0490 continued to hold for buyers and even in today’s Asian session, this level remained in play. The AUD and GBP continued to hit new lower lows while the EUR held on. We started to think, is it EU rate raise expectations holding it up? That didn’t make real sense as both currencies saw rate raises recently but continued to move lower. This all changed today after sellers broke support and confirmed a breakout of the descending triangle pattern. These patterns in downtrends are normally seen as trend continuation patterns and this case is no different. While price remains below support we will continue to look for further lower prices and with the ongoing inflation worries and global recession fears, this could be a factor that maintains selling. There is talk of parity with the USD, could this be the start of the move that realise these calls? EURUSD D1 Chart The post Forex News: EURUSD, are we seeing a new breakout? appeared first on Eightcap.
Pound rises despite Boris turmoil

(EUR/USD) USD Continues To Rally, (EUR/GBP) Pound Sterling Unlikely To See Relief, (EUR/CHF, AUD/NZD) - Good Morning Forex!

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 12.05.2022 11:57
Summary: The US Dollar continues to rally in the wake of the U.S CPI report. GBP is likely to see currency value weaken in the future. Market participants expect to see some strength in the EUR. Is the AUD starting to lose momentum? Read next: (EUR/USD) German Inflation Meets Forecasts, Pound Sterling Continues To Weaken (EUR/GBP, GBP/USD), (EUR/JPY) Japanese Yen Strengthens As Investors Seek Safe-Haven Assets - Good Morning Forex!  The US Dollar continues to strengthen against the EUR   The market is signalling bearish market sentiment for the EUR/USD currency pair. During early trading on Thursday the US Dollar strengthened to a two-decade high after U.S inflation remained high. The U.S CPI report revealed that although inflation could likely have reached its peak, it is still high and the Fed’s current aggressive tightening of monetary policy is likely to remain aggressive. This is causing the US Dollar to strengthen even further against the EURO. EUR/USD Price Chart Pound Sterling is likely to continue to weaken. The market sentiment for this currency pair is showing bullish signals. However, during early trading on Thursday the price of this currency pair has lost value. Going forward it is likely that the market will see a Pound Sterling that continues to weaken in the wake of rising prices and inflation. The combination of a government unwilling to help and an inflation-weary UK public are two factors that will contribute to the further weakening of the GBP. In addition, it is expected that the Pound Sterling is likely to fall further against the Euro and USD as the economic outlook in the UK deteriorates and prompts the Bank of England (BoE) to ease the rising interest rates. EUR/GBP Price Chart EUR expected to strengthen against CHF The market sentiment for this currency pair is showing bullish signals. Investors expect the EUR to strengthen against the CHF. Market participants expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years in the summer. Whilst the Swiss National Bank (SNB) remains dovish in their fight against inflation. EUR/CHF Price Chart NZD strengthens slightly against the AUD After the National Australia Bank (NAB) increased their interest rates early in May, the AUD/NZD currency pair increased in value. The momentum for this move has somewhat slowed since then. However, the pair still seems to be showing volatility. AUD/NZD Price Chart Read next: (EUR/USD) Wall Street Tanks, Allowing the Euro To Slightly Recover, (EUR/GBP) Goldman Sachs Betting Against GBP, JPY Gets The Better Of The US Dollar And EUR - Good Morning Forex!  Sources: finance.yahoo.com, dailyfx.com, poundsterlinglive.com
Euro-dollar Support Tested Amidst Rate Concerns and Labor Strikes

FX Update: Bond rally supercharges JPY comeback rally. | Saxo Bank

John Hardy John Hardy 12.05.2022 16:01
Summary:  An extension of the rout in risky assets has continued to drive the US dollar higher against the smaller currencies and most G10 currencies as well, but the Japanese yen has not only taken on a new shine, but is even sharply stronger against the strong US dollar as global bonds have suddenly rediscovered their safe haven appeal. Elsewhere, HKD is worth watching as the HKMA intervened for the first time of this cycle to maintain the top of the USDHKD band. FX Trading focus: JPY woke up and smelled the coffee. Watching HKD as USD presses upper level of USDHKD band. The JPY upside potential has been more fully realized since yesterday on the heavy weight of falling yields in global sovereign bond, which are finally serving their function as a go-to safe haven in an environment of generally risk deleveraging. The JPY is even handily outpacing the ongoing strength in the US dollar as the yield focus dominates. And the technical damage in JPY crosses is spreading: NZDJPY and GBPJPY, the latter our focus yesterday, are already trading back into old ranges that preceded the JPY sell-off sparked by the commodity rally in the wake after Russia invaded Ukraine. Now watching AUDJPY and EURJPY for whether the feat is repeated there (key levels around 86.00 and 134.00, respectively), and CNHJPY has come down hard, with more to come. More thoughts on the most important USDJPY pair below in the chart discussion. The JPY can continue higher, but the price is far “fairer” now relative to long term bond yields. Yields must extend lower still, possibly with a helping hand from crude oi and LNG prices for a full reversal of the JPY sell-off since late February.  Chart: USDJPYYesterday, our focus in JPY crosses was on GBPJPY, which took out the 160.00 and 158.00 area supports yesterday. Today we have a look at the big one: USDJPY and what levels might trigger a more notably slide. Arguably, the first of these has already been under strain today in the 128.50 area. Regardless, the direction of the US 10-year benchmark yield is the key coincident indicator, with global energy prices a secondary indicator. The next support area below is the 127.03 pivot low followed perhaps by the 125.00 area, which was a stopping point on the way up. Source: Saxo Group Sterling suffered a sell-off to new lows in the wake of the Q1 GDP data, which showed a +8.7% growth rate, slightly below expectations, but a -0.1% month-on-month figure for March, with weak production figures to boot. The March Trade Balance data was also out and showed a toe-curling negative £23.8B trade balance, a staggering figure. Still, after a run to fresh lows against the G3 currencies, the EURGBP rally reversed rather sharply, in part as EURUSD tipped over to new lows after a couple of weeks of defending the 1.0500 support area. All traders should monitor the crypto situation as a possible aggravator of additional volatility risk across markets. The TerraUSD “stable coin” broke its parity level with the US dollar earlier this week and traded as much as 70% below par. Then yesterday, a key Bitcoin support level at 30,000 broke, possibly inspiring the instability of the Tether stable coin, which is a commonly used as a kind of parking space between going in and out of crypto trades and in and out of the crypo market itself. The Tether coin traded as much as 5% below par against the US dollar this morning before the whole crypto-complex recovered. More directly pertinent to FX, we have to watch the Hong Kong dollar (HKD), as the USD strength has taken the USDHKD exchange rate to the upper limit of its band at 7.85 and has seen the Hong Kong Monetary Authority out intervening for the first time of this cycle overnight. The HKMA will also need to copy Fed policy to avoid the worst of pressure on the HKD, even with Hong Kong’s economy in a funk. The HKD band is one of those legacy set-ups that makes little sense here almost forty years after its creation, but Hong Kong remains a key gateway into and out of the mainland Chinese economy, and China probably doesn’t want to add HKD instability to its long list of challenges. Note the Chinese demand concerns continuing to weigh on the copper price, which has punched to the lowest reaches of the range since early 2021. This in turn weighs on the Aussie, which itself has punched to new lows for the cycle. The CAD has gotten off easy so far by comparison, perhaps as oil prices remain in the higher range here – but after breaking above resistance, if USDCAD loses its tethering to the 1.3000 area it is in danger of a sharp extension higher. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength.We have noted the euro resilience of late, but signs of this crumbling today as EURUSD, EURCHF and especially EURJPY come under pressure. But the development of note here is the strong revival of the JPY momentum and outright positive trend measurement in recent days. Elsewhere, CAD looks too strong with this backdrop, although there is quite a race to the bottom of late among the weakest horses in G10 FX. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Note EURJPY and CADJPY trying to join other JPY crosses in flipping to the negative side after the sharp JPY rally today. All G10 currency pairs save for a few GBP pairs (due to Brexit-related events) are in the highest 10% of their ATRs of the last 1000 trading days, as shown in the dark orange shading for the ATR readings. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1230 – US Apr. PPI 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1800 – US 30-year T-Bond auction 1800 – Mexico Overnight Rate Announcement
Supply Trends Resurface: Analyzing the Impact on Market Dynamics

Can British Pound To US Dollar (GBP/USD) Reach 2-year-low? NZD/USD Doesn't Seem To Be Improving And US 100 Sends A Small Recovery Signal

Jing Ren Jing Ren 13.05.2022 07:46
GBPUSD to reach 2-year lows The pound remained under pressure after a slowdown in the UK’s GDP growth in Q1. A break below the lower range (1.2260) of a brief consolidation signalled a bearish continuation. Sterling is heading towards its two-year low at 1.2100. Short-covering could be expected and in conjunction with dip-buying could drive the price up momentarily. 1.2400 is the first resistance and the bulls need to lift the recent high at 1.2640 before they could regain control. Otherwise, the psychological level of 1.2000 would be the next stop. Read next: Altcoins: What Is Polkadot (DOT)? Cross-Chain Transfers Of Any Type Of Asset Or Data. A Deeper Look Into Polkadot Protocol | FXMAG.COM NZDUSD grinds lower The New Zealand dollar tumbles as traders continue to pile into safe haven assets. The sell-off accelerated after the pair sank below June 2020’s lows near 0.6400. Downbeat sentiment may attract more trend followers after a faded rebound. 0.6100 near a two-year low would be the next target. 0.6370 is a fresh resistance and the bears may sell into strength at the next bounce. The support-turned-resistance at 0.6450 sits next to the 20-day moving average and is a major level to clear before a reversal could materialise. Read next: Stablecoins In Times Of Crypto Crash. What is Terra (UST)? A Deep Look Into Terra Altcoin. Terra - Leading Decentralised And Open-Source Public Blockchain Protocol | FXMAG.COM US 100 may see limited bounce The Nasdaq 100 struggles to find bottom as investors continue to flee risk assets. The index sees no sign of stabilisation yet as it approaches 11500. The price action has been capped by a falling trend line from last April. An oversold RSI may prompt sellers to take profit and possibly trigger a mean reversion trade to the upper band (13000) of the line. A break above 12400 may attract enough buying interest to make this happen, but the rebound could be limited unless the bulls succeed in pushing higher. Read next: Binance Academy: Crypto Fear And Greed Index Explained| FXMAG.COM
A Bright Spot Amidst Economic Challenges

(NZD/USD) New Zealand dollar sinks after US CPI | Oanda

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 12.05.2022 21:13
This week has gone from bad to worse for the New Zealand dollar, as NZD/USD has taken a tumble on Thursday. In the North American session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6248, down 0.74% on the day. The currency has dropped 2.66% this week and is trading at lows not seen since June 2020. US inflation stays hot The US inflation report for April showed that CPI eased, but the decline was much smaller than expected. US CPI dropped from 8.5% to 8.3%, above the estimate of 8.1%. This chilled any speculation of an ‘”inflation peak”, as the markets digested the fact that even if inflation is moving lower, it could do so at a very slow pace. Read next: Stablecoins In Times Of Crypto Crash. What is Terra (UST)? A Deep Look Into Terra Altcoin. Terra - Leading Decentralised And Open-Source Public Blockchain Protocol | FXMAG.COM Fed member James Bullard said on Wednesday that 50-bps moves were his base case and this appears to be the majority view For the Fed, the high inflation reading confirms that its hawkish stance is justified, but now there are calls for policy makers to be even more aggressive in tightening the monetary screws. The Fed has signalled that it plans to deliver 50-bps increases in June and July, but the markets aren’t dismissing the possibility of a massive 75-bps hike. Fed member James Bullard said on Wednesday that 50-bps moves were his base case and this appears to be the majority view. Read next: Altcoins: What Is Polkadot (DOT)? Cross-Chain Transfers Of Any Type Of Asset Or Data. A Deeper Look Into Polkadot Protocol | FXMAG.COM Fed member Mester said on Tuesday that she supports raising rates by 50-bps Still, inflation was higher than investors or the Fed had expected, and the May inflation report, which will be released just a few days prior to the Fed’s next meeting on June 14-15th, will be critical in determining the size of the next rate hike. The Fed has embarked on a rate-hike cycle primarily because of soaring inflation, so it stands to reason that inflation will be a key factor in rate policy. Fed member Mester said on Tuesday that she supports raising rates by 50-bps at the next two meetings and then speeding up or slowing down the pace of increases based on inflation levels. Read next: (BTC) Bitcoin’s Price Tanks Along With Equities. U.S. Stock Market Awaits CPI Report, Poor Performance From The FTSE 100.  At the April meeting, the RBNZ said it would act to ensure that “current high consumer price inflation does not become embedded into longer-term inflation expectations.” The RBNZ is also under pressure to tighten more aggressively after Inflation Expectations for Q2 crept upwards to 3.29% (3.27% prior). Inflation Expectations have now risen for an eighth successive month, and the RBNZ is looking to reverse this trend. At the April meeting, the RBNZ said it would act to ensure that “current high consumer price inflation does not become embedded into longer-term inflation expectations.”  With Inflation Expectations not showing any signs of easing, the RBNZ is widely expected to raise rates by 50-bps at the May 25th meeting. NZD/USD Technical NZD/USD is down sharply and has broken below support at 0.6281. Below, there is support at 0.6169 There is resistance at 0.6344 and 0.6456 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
Crypto Focus: Market meltdown continues as Terra (Luna) collapses

Crypto Focus: Market meltdown continues as Terra (Luna) collapses

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 13.05.2022 07:19
Well, what can we say about this last week? It was a horrific week on the crypto boards, with most coins plunging. The selling got going last weekend and peaked with a real market crash on Thursday. 200 billion of value was wiped off just on Thursday’s session alone. Bitcoin hit 25,338 USD at its lowest point on Thursday, and Ethereum touched $1702, setting new year lows. The rout wasn’t just about those two. The top 25 index coin index we quote cashed by 45.18% to its low on Thursday. Why did this happen? As the week went on, a few stories started to emerge. UST was the main influence, and it had a catastrophic effect on Terra Luna, which we will get to later. UST is a stable coin; these coins are meant to be pegged in value to the USD and, in theory, should be at the 1:1 value. UST is a little different as it’s an algorithmic stable coin under-pinned by code rather than cash held in reserve. This is where the trouble began. As UST fell under $1 the cracks opened and fear set in. Selling accelerated, and its value slipped down to .41 cents. This had disastrous consequences for its sister currency Terra Luna which has a floating price and was designed to absorb UST price shocks. Terra crashed on UST failure to hold value and ended Thursday’s session under 1 US cent. We’re talking at 99% plunge! This was catastrophic for traders and investors that owned LUNA as many exchanges slowed to craw trying to deal with the mass of sell orders hitting the exchanges. Pressure on bitcoin, the Luna Foundation owned a mass of bitcoin used to shore up terra in times of crisis. Talk suggested large amounts had been sold to deal with the terra issue and this compounded/added to the panic selling that session. The story continues, tether the world’s largest stable coin, also dipped below $1 US, sending a shock through the markets of a contagion. This added to the panic. It’s difficult to tell what may happen next, but from watching the events this week, it’s important you remain vigilant as this volatility continues. I’m not an industry expert, but from watching the events this week, it’s something that came to my mind.This week’s focus is a sad one, but we can’t skip over Terra Luna. I’m not going to say much more on it as the meat is above. It’s a terrible event as, yes, some might think it’s cool to see markets destroyed, but there’s a personal loss in there as many investors believed in terra and now may face very unfortunate situations. The post Crypto Focus: Market meltdown continues as Terra (Luna) collapses appeared first on Eightcap.
Fed Announced That A Further 50bps Rise In US Interest Rates Is On the Table - Dow Jones, Bitcoin & US Dollar Rally In Response

Fed Announced That A Further 50bps Rise In US Interest Rates Is On the Table - Dow Jones, Bitcoin & US Dollar Rally In Response

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 13.05.2022 17:14
Summary: The market's reaction to the Fed's announcement for the potential for further interest rate hikes. DJI, Bitcoin and USD Dow Jones rallied on friday The Dow Jones rallied during early trading on Friday. The market seems to be attempting to recover from the poor performance of the past week. This price increase comes after the Federal Reserve Chairman announced that two more 50 bp rises in interest rates are on the table for the next two Fed meetings. The daily rise is unlikely to rule out that the Dow Jones will end the trading week on an overall loss. Read next: Altcoins: What Is Polkadot (DOT)? Cross-Chain Transfers Of Any Type Of Asset Or Data. A Deeper Look Into Polkadot Protocol | FXMAG.COM DJI Price Chart US Dollar reacts well to the Fed's announcement On Friday the US Dollar strengthened further against its major rival, the Euro. In the wake of the Feds continuing hawkish attitude, the US Dollar is continuing on its strengthening path. Read next: Stablecoins In Times Of Crypto Crash. What is Terra (UST)? A Deep Look Into Terra Altcoin. Terra - Leading Decentralised And Open-Source Public Blockchain Protocol | FXMAG.COM The week for the US Dollar has been volatile, earlier in the week market participants were hesitant to place their confidence in the greenback whilst they awaited the U.S CPI report. When the report exceeded market participants expectations along with the Fed’s recent announcement regarding the likelihood of further interest rate hikes the US Dollar recovered and saw further strength. Bitcoin showing signs of recovery The price of Bitcoin has also recovered today after setting its lowest level since December 2021 on Thursday. The price of Bitcoin recovers back up to over $30,000. Whether or not this rally will continue is in question, especially with the volatility the markets saw this past week. Read next: (BTC) Bitcoin’s Price Tanks Along With Equities. U.S. Stock Market Awaits CPI Report, Poor Performance From The FTSE 100. Bitcoin Price Chart Sources: investors.com, finance.yahoo.com
UK Budget: Short-term positives to be met with medium-term caution

COT Currency Speculators raised British Pound Sterling bearish bets for 10th week

Invest Macro Invest Macro 15.05.2022 14:26
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for this week’s Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 10th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data this week was the rise in bearish bets for the British pound sterling currency futures contracts. Pound speculators have raised their bearish bets for a tenth consecutive week this week and for the eleventh time out of the past twelve weeks. Over the past ten-week time-frame, pound bets have dropped by a total of -79,261 contracts, going from -337 net positions on March 1st to a total of -79,598 net positions this week. The deterioration in speculator sentiment has now pushed the pound net position to the most bearish standing of the past one hundred and thirty-seven weeks, dating back to September 24th of 2019. Pound sterling sentiment has been hit by a recent slowing economy as the UK GDP declined by 0.1 percent in March after flat growth in February. Also, weighing on the UK economy is the war in Ukraine that has sharply raised inflation in the country (and elsewhere) and which could see the UK economy with the lowest growth rate among G7 countries in 2023, according to the IMF. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the Euro (22,907 contracts), US Dollar Index (1,705 contracts), Bitcoin (315 contracts) and the Mexican peso (2,102 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Japanese yen (-9,660 contracts), Australian dollar (-13,198 contracts), Brazil real (-1,010 contracts), Swiss franc (-1,856 contracts), British pound sterling (-5,785 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-6,386 contracts), Canadian dollar (-14,436 contracts), Russian ruble (-263 contracts) and the Mexican peso (2,102 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each Commodity where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend May-10-2022OIOI-IndexSpec-NetSpec-IndexCom-NetCOM-IndexSmalls-NetSmalls-Index USD Index 57,556 84 34,776 86 -37,174 13 2,398 43 EUR 705,046 84 16,529 40 -43,026 64 26,497 18 GBP 264,594 80 -79,598 17 95,245 86 -15,647 23 JPY 247,278 87 -110,454 1 124,927 97 -14,473 24 CHF 51,282 37 -15,763 40 29,819 69 -14,056 16 CAD 151,009 31 -5,407 38 2,939 67 2,468 35 AUD 153,209 47 -41,714 46 47,126 54 -5,412 39 NZD 56,235 56 -12,996 49 16,874 56 -3,878 7 MXN 153,858 28 16,725 34 -20,866 64 4,141 61 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 61,450 55 40,778 90 -42,031 10 1,253 79 Bitcoin 10,841 57 703 100 -789 0 86 15 Open Interest is the amount of contracts that were live in the marketplace at time of data. US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 34,776 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 1,705 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 33,071 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 42.8 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 86.6 3.2 8.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.2 67.8 4.5 – Net Position: 34,776 -37,174 2,398 – Gross Longs: 49,864 1,837 4,970 – Gross Shorts: 15,088 39,011 2,572 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.3 to 1 0.0 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 85.8 12.8 42.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.6 -3.4 -19.3   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 16,529 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 22,907 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -6,378 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.3 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.4 53.3 12.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 30.0 59.4 8.3 – Net Position: 16,529 -43,026 26,497 – Gross Longs: 228,230 376,043 84,921 – Gross Shorts: 211,701 419,069 58,424 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.1 63.8 18.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.5 1.2 0.9   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -79,598 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -5,785 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -73,813 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.2 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 11.1 79.6 7.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.2 43.6 13.5 – Net Position: -79,598 95,245 -15,647 – Gross Longs: 29,469 210,627 20,157 – Gross Shorts: 109,067 115,382 35,804 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 16.6 86.0 23.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -28.5 25.6 -7.7   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -110,454 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -9,660 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -100,794 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.0 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 4.5 86.2 8.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.2 35.7 13.9 – Net Position: -110,454 124,927 -14,473 – Gross Longs: 11,196 213,084 19,811 – Gross Shorts: 121,650 88,157 34,284 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.4 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.8 96.6 24.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.1 0.0 16.7   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -15,763 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,856 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -13,907 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 39.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.5 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.2 74.6 16.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.0 16.5 43.5 – Net Position: -15,763 29,819 -14,056 – Gross Longs: 4,727 38,258 8,271 – Gross Shorts: 20,490 8,439 22,327 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 4.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 39.8 69.2 15.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.7 8.0 -7.6   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -5,407 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -14,436 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 9,029 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 38.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 66.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 34.7 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 25.6 49.8 21.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.2 47.9 20.1 – Net Position: -5,407 2,939 2,468 – Gross Longs: 38,679 75,215 32,880 – Gross Shorts: 44,086 72,276 30,412 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 38.3 66.9 34.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -4.0 14.5 -29.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -41,714 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -13,198 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -28,516 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 39.2 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 24.1 59.9 13.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.3 29.1 16.7 – Net Position: -41,714 47,126 -5,412 – Gross Longs: 36,869 91,731 20,131 – Gross Shorts: 78,583 44,605 25,543 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.2 54.0 39.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.3 4.7 -34.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -12,996 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -6,386 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -6,610 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 49.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 56.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.4 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 27.0 68.5 3.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.1 38.5 10.8 – Net Position: -12,996 16,874 -3,878 – Gross Longs: 15,203 38,541 2,216 – Gross Shorts: 28,199 21,667 6,094 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 49.5 56.4 7.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -20.4 26.0 -54.4   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 16,725 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 2,102 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,623 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 34.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.6 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 41.5 53.1 4.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 30.7 66.7 1.5 – Net Position: 16,725 -20,866 4,141 – Gross Longs: 63,921 81,735 6,467 – Gross Shorts: 47,196 102,601 2,326 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 2.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 34.5 64.1 60.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 10.6 -10.1 -3.5   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 40,778 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -1,010 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 41,788 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 79.4 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 79.5 15.4 5.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 13.1 83.8 3.0 – Net Position: 40,778 -42,031 1,253 – Gross Longs: 48,835 9,454 3,070 – Gross Shorts: 8,057 51,485 1,817 – Long to Short Ratio: 6.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 90.5 10.3 79.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.8 3.5 -20.6   Russian Ruble Futures: The Russian Ruble large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 7,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -263 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 69.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. RUSSIAN RUBLE Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 36.6 60.6 2.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 0.5 94.7 4.7 – Net Position: 7,543 -7,150 -393 – Gross Longs: 7,658 12,679 593 – Gross Shorts: 115 19,829 986 – Long to Short Ratio: 66.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.2 69.1 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.6 16.7 -18.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 703 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 315 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 388 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.1 2.1 9.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 74.6 9.4 8.3 – Net Position: 703 -789 86 – Gross Longs: 8,789 227 989 – Gross Shorts: 8,086 1,016 903 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 14.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 19.0 -24.9 -13.6   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
The Swing Overview - Week 18 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 18 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 16.05.2022 10:51
The Swing Overview - Week 18 In the war against rising inflation, central banks in the US, the UK and Australia raised interest rates this week. Britain, meanwhile, warned of the risk of a recession. The CNB also raised rates. They have thus reached their highest levels since 1999. The key interest rate in the Czech Republic is now 5.75%.   The main stock indices have weakened strongly in response to the monetary tightening policies of the major economies and are at significant support levels. The negative sentiment on the indices is confirmed by the VIX fear indicator, which is above 30. The US dollar, on the other hand, continues to ride on the winning wave. The Fed raised interest rates by 0.5% The Fed raised rates by 0.5% points on Wednesday as expected, the highest jump in 22 years. This took the interest rate to 1%. The Fed chief announced that further half a percentage point rate hikes will continue at the next meetings in June and July. Powell also stated that the US economy is doing well and that it can withstand interest rate hikes without the risk of a recession and a significant increase in unemployment.   In addition to the rate hike, the Fed announced that in June it would begin reducing the assets on the bank's balance sheet that the central bank had accumulated during the pandemic. In June, July and August, the Fed will sell $45 billion of assets a month, and starting in September it will sell $95 billion a month.   Although Powell ruled out a 0.75% rate hike at the next meetings, interest rate futures markets continue to expect that possibility with about an 80% probability. Figure 1: The CME Fed Watch tool projections of the target interest rate for the next Fed meeting on June 15, 2022 Based on these expectations, US 10-year Treasury yields continue to strengthen and have surpassed the 3% mark. The US dollar is also strengthening and it is at the highest level since January 2017 and approaching 104.  Figure 2: The US 10-year bond yields and the USD index on the daily chart   Equity indices remain under pressure The SP 500 index initially rallied strongly following the announcement of the rate hike, after Powell ruled out a 0.75% rate hike in subsequent meetings. However, markets gave back all the gains the following day as interest rate futures continue to estimate an 80% probability that the next rate hike, which will take place in June 2022, will be 0.75%.   Figure 3: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart Thus, in terms of technical analysis, the US SP 500 index continues to move in a downtrend below both the SMA 100 and EMA 50 moving averages with resistance, according to the 4 H chart, at 4,308 - 4,313. The next resistance, according to the H4 chart, is 4,360 - 4,365.  Strong resistance is at 4,500. The current support is 4 070 - 4 100.   German DAX index German industrial orders fell by 4.7% in March, which is more than expected. A major contributor to this negative result was a reduction in orders from abroad as the war in Ukraine hit demand in the manufacturing sector. The outlook is negative and some analysts suggest that the German economy is heading into recession. The reasons are the war in Ukraine, problems in supply chains and high inflation. The Dax index confirms these negative outlooks with a downward trend. Figure 4: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The index continues to move below the SMA 100 on the daily chart and on the H4 chart, confirming the bearish sentiment. The nearest support according to the H4 is 13,600 - 13,650. Resistance is 14,300 - 14,330. The next resistance is 14,592 - 14,632.   The outlook for the euro remains negative HSBC bank on Thursday significantly cut its forecast for the euro, saying it expects the euro to weaken to parity against the US dollar this year, the first major investment bank to make such a prediction.   The post-pandemic economic environment, which has been damaged by the ongoing war in Ukraine, looks challenging for the European economy, potentially forcing the European Central Bank to tighten policy slowly compared to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has begun an aggressive rate-hiking cycle.  This has raised the prospect of the single currency falling to levels not seen in two decades. HSBC said it expects the move to happen by the fourth quarter of 2022.   ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said this week that rates may need to be raised as early as July. The precursor to any rate hike must be an end to bond purchases and that could come in late June. Markets are pricing in a 90 basis point tightening in rates this year.   Figure 5: The EURUSD on H4 and daily chart The EUR/USD pair is in a clear downtrend with resistance at 1.0650 - 1.071. The important support is 1.05, but it has already been tested several times and could be broken soon. The next support is from January 2017 at around 1.0350 - 1.040.   The Czech koruna got another injection in the form of an interest rate hike The CNB raised the interest rate by 0.75%, which exceeded analysts' expectations who projected a 0.50% rise. The current rate now stands at 5.75%, the highest since 1999. Consumer price growth continues to rise and by raising the interest rate the central bank is trying to dampen this growth by raising the interest rate. Inflation is expected to reach 15% by mid-year. The CNB has an inflation target of 2% and inflation is expected to reach these levels in 2024.   The problem is economic growth, which is slowing significantly.  But maintaining price stability is clearly more important than the negative effects of higher rates on the real economy.  Figure 6: The USD/CZK and the EUR/CZK on the daily chart The Czech koruna has so far done best on the pair with the euro, as interest rates are zero on the euro. The koruna has been weakening significantly on the USD pair in recent days. The current significant resistance on the USD/CZK is CZK 23.50 per dollar and on the EUR/CZK it is 24.70.    Bank of England warned of recession and more than 10% inflation The Bank of England sent out a strong warning that Britain faces the twin dangers of recession and inflation above 10% when it raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 1% on Thursday. The pound fell more than a cent against the US dollar and hit its lowest level since mid-2020, below $1.24, as the gloominess of the BoE's new forecasts for the world's fifth-largest economy caught investors off guard.    The BoE also said it was also concerned about the impact of renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in China, which threaten to hit supply chains again and increase inflationary pressures.    The BoE's rate hike was the fourth since December, the fastest pace of policy tightening in 25 years. The central bank also revised up its price growth forecasts, which suggest it will peak above 10% in the final three months of this year. Previously, it had expected it to peak at around 8% in April. Markets expect interest rates to reach 2-2.25% by the end of 2022.  Figure 7: The GBP/USD on weekly and daily charts In terms of technical analysis, the GBP/USD is in a downtrend. The pound is trading at levels below 1.24 pounds per dollar and has reached to the support of 1.225-1.2330. The nearest resistance according to the weekly chart is at 1.2700-1.2750.   
Forex News: USDCAD, could a new push lower be on the cards?

Forex News: USDCAD, could a new push lower be on the cards?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 16.05.2022 11:09
Looking at the USDCAD on the daily chart traders, could we see a new move lower if sellers can reverse today’s rally and break last Friday’s low? We are looking for that low break as it will back up a break of the fast trend and confirm the current bearish CCI. Risk markets look to be back in vogue on the short term, but this could be a short term move as overall inflation has not gone anywhere. There could be a case to put forward that rate rises could start to be factored in, and that expectation could outweigh the actual, but from recent history, the USD has been performing since 2021, and yes, we could see an extended retracement in the market, but fundamentals would need to change too dramatically to change the overall trend. Oil is another factor for this pair, and for now, buyers are trimming earlier losses. So we will continue to watch this pair’s price action, and if we do see a new break below last Friday’s low, we will look to see if it can turn into a new leg lower. USDCAD D1 Chart The post Forex News: USDCAD, could a new push lower be on the cards? appeared first on Eightcap.
The Swing Overview - Week 19 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 19 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 16.05.2022 10:59
The Swing Overview - Week 19 Stock indices continued to weaken strongly last week, while the US dollar has already surpassed the mark 104 and is at 20-year highs. However, a set of important data is behind us, which could bring some temporary relief to the equity markets. The Czech koruna weakened sharply after the appointment of the new CNB Governor Ales Michl, who is a proponent of a dovish approach. Thus, the rise in interest rates in the Czech Republic appears to be close to its peak.   Macroeconomic data The US consumer inflation for April was reported on Wednesday, which came in at 8.3% on year-on-year basis. Analysts were expecting inflation to be 8.1%. Although the figure achieved was higher than expectations, it was still lower than the 8.5% inflation figure achieved in March. On a month-on-month basis, the price increase in April was 0.3%, significantly lower than in March when prices rose by 1.5%.   On Thursday, industrial inflation was reported at 8.8% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month for April.   The positive thing about this data is that inflation declined from previous readings. However, it is important to note that the year-on-year comparison is based on data where inflation was also higher in the previous year due to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.   The Fed chief reiterated that he expects another 0.50% point rise in interest rates at the next two Fed meetings. He also mentioned that a higher rate hike cannot be ruled out if necessary.   The US 10-year bond yields came down from their peak and made a slight correction. However, the US dollar continued to strengthen and broke the resistance at 104. The dollar is thus at 20-year highs. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   Equity indices heavily oversold The strong dollar, rising US bond yields, the war in Ukraine and the effects of the lockdown in China were the main reasons for the decline in equity indices. The SP 500 index hit 3,860, the lowest level since March 2021. This is also where long-term support is. However, the important macro data is behind us and the market has processed all the available fundamental information. This could bring temporary relief to the markets and the index could make an upward correction. The fall in 10-year bond yields, gives this move some boost as well.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart However, from a technical analysis perspective, the US SP 500 index remains in a current downtrend as the markets have formed lower low and is also below both the SMA 100 and EMA 50 moving averages on the H4 and daily charts. The nearest resistance is 4040 - 4070. The next resistance is at 4,140 and especially 4,293 - 4,300. The support is at 3,860 - 3,900.   German DAX index In macroeconomic data, the German ZEW Economic Sentiment for May was reported last week and showed a reading of -34.3, an improvement from the previous month's reading of -41.0. Inflation in Germany for April is at 7.4% on year-on-year basis and up 0.8% from March (the previous month's increase was 2.5%). Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The index continues to move in a downtrend along with the major world indices. The price has reached the SMA 100 moving average on the H4 chart, which tends to signal resistance in a downtrend. The price is moving below the SMA 100 on both the daily chart and the H4 chart, confirming the bearish sentiment. The nearest support according to the H4 is 13,600 - 13,650. The resistance is 14,300 - 14,330. The next resistance is 14,592 - 14,632.   The big sell-off in the euro continues The euro fell to 1.0356 against the dollar, the lowest value since January 2017. This value is also an area of significant support where price could stall. Fundamentally, the euro's depreciation is due to the strong dollar and the Fed's hawkish policy, which contrasts with the ECB's policy of not raising rates yet.    Figure 4: The EURUSD on H4 and daily chart Eurozone inflation data will be reported next week, which could be an important catalyst for further movement. The significant support is priced around 1.0350 - 1.040. The current resistance is at 1.05.   Czech koruna weakened strongly on the new governor appointment The President Miloš Zeman surprised with the appointment of Ales Michl for the governor of the CNB. Michl is known for his dovish views, having spoken out against raising interest rates at recent meetings. His appointment was welcomed in the markets by a strong depreciation of the Czech koruna. However, the bank later intervened in the markets by selling part of its foreign exchange reserves to prevent further depreciation of the Czech koruna.   It is important to know that the Bank's monetary policy is decided by the seven-member Bank Board. So far, the proportion for voting on rate hikes has been 5:2. But by the end of June, the president must appoint 3 new board members. This could significantly change the voting ratio on the board and set a new course for the bank's policy, which would mean a halt to the rise in interest rates. However, it is likely that at the June board meeting the board, still with the old composition, will decide on further interest rate increases. Figure 5: The USD/CZK and the EUR/CZK on the daily chart The Czech koruna has reached 24.36 against the dollar and 25.47 against the euro, from which it started to descend after the CNB interventions.  
US Dollar To Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) Forecast: Three reasons to sell the pair as the tides turn against it | FXStreet

US Dollar To Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) Forecast: Three reasons to sell the pair as the tides turn against it | FXStreet

FXStreet News FXStreet News 16.05.2022 16:09
The yen has returned to attracting safe-haven flows as China's covid crisis intensifies. Fear of a Fed-fueled recession is pushing 10-year Treasury yields lower. Technicals are pointing to a clear peak and a clearer downtrend. USD/JPY bearish – there are good reasons to expect the currency pair to fall, and the trade seems more straightforward than other ones. *Note: This content first appeared as an answer to a Premium user. Sign up and get unfettered access to our analysts and exclusive content. 1) When things go wrong in Asia, buy the yen The yen benefits from safe-haven flows related to China's aggressive policies against covid. Lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing, the world's second-largest economies largest and most important cities, are hurting the economy. Recent retail sales figures showed a plunge of 11.1% YoY in April, nearly double the early expectations and a sign of falling demand. Read next: Altcoins: What Is Polkadot (DOT)? Cross-Chain Transfers Of Any Type Of Asset Or Data. A Deeper Look Into Polkadot Protocol | FXMAG.COM Not only consumption is dropping. Industrial output also badly missed estimates with a fall of 2.9% YoY, worse than the 0.5% increase projected. Japanese investors are repatriating investments in China and other places in Asia. The yen's status as a safe currency is mostly seen when there is trouble in its own continent. 2) The wrong yields are rising The second reason for the USD/JPY decline – and the potential for more – comes from the US. The Federal Reserve's aggressive policy of raising interest rates has been positive for the pair, especially as it contrasted with the Bank of Japan's dovish policy. However, there can be too much of a good thing. Read next: (TRX) TRON USD Decentralised Blockchain Platform That Focuses On Entertainment And Content Sharing. Altcoins: A Deep Look Into The TRON Network | FXMAG.COM While short-term Treasury yields continue rising – reflecting expectations for higher inflation and higher borrowing costs – the part that is relevant to USD/JPY is turning south. Returns on 10-year bonds have declined from their peak above 3% as investors begin pricing in growing chances of a recession. Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs said it is "a very high risk" and that consumers and businesses should get ready. That prophecy may be self-fulfilling. 3) Technical decline Third, the technical tide has turned against the pair. It has begun trading in a downtrend channel, with lower highs and lower lows. Momentum on the 4h-chart has turned negative, the RSI has failed to climb above the 50 level, and the price is capped at the 100-SMA – after falling below the 50-SMA. Read next: Stablecoins In Times Of Crypto Crash. What is Terra (UST)? A Deep Look Into Terra Altcoin. Terra - Leading Decentralised And Open-Source Public Blockchain Protocol | FXMAG.COM Support is at 128.70, which cushioned the pair twice in May. The monthly low of 127.50 is the next level to watch, and it also converges with the 200-SMA. Further down, 126.90 and 126.40 are noteworthy. Resistance is at 1.2950, and then at 130.90. Final thoughts The list above provides ample ammunition for bears, and bulls may need to cling to hopes for further yen-printing from the Bank of Japan – a highly unlikely scenario given the current, already extremely loose monetary policy.
Risks in the US Banking System: Potential Impacts and Contagion Concerns

How Are USD (US Dollar), (Canadian Dollar) CAD, (Euro) EUR, (British Pound) GBP Doing? | FX Daily: Hold your horses | ING Economics

ING Economics ING Economics 18.05.2022 08:58
The rebound in global equities is fuelling a widespread recovery in G10 pro-cyclical FX against the USD. Still, yesterday's remarks by Jay Powell were a reminder of the very hawkish Fed policy. Ultimately, rate and growth differentials should curb the dollar's weakness against most peers - except for the CAD where today's CPI should endorse more hikes Learn on ING Economics USD: Don't forget the rate and growth factor The rebound in global equities has continued to fuel a recovery in pro-cyclical currencies, and a correction in the safe-haven US dollar and Japanese yen. Overnight, Asian equities were mixed, and the CSI300 failed to follow yesterday’s jump in US-traded Chinese tech stocks following some unusually supportive comments for China’s tech companies from one of Beijing’s top officials, which fuelled speculation of some easing in the current crackdown. Stock index futures suggest a flat open in major Western equity markets today. Clearly, the monetary policy story is playing a secondary role in the market narrative at the moment, but yesterday’s comments by Fed Chair Powell were quite relevant from a signalling perspective, as he firmly reiterated the Fed’s determination to bring inflation sustainably lower, even by hiking beyond the neutral rate if necessary. While the dollar momentum is set to remain weak as long as global assets stay in recovery mode, the notion of aggressive Fed tightening continues to argue against a sustained bearish dollar trend. Incidentally, this week’s moves have likely placed the dollar in a less overbought condition. With this in mind, DXY should find increasing support below the 103.00 area. The US economic calendar includes some housing data today, and Patrick Harker is the only Fed speaker scheduled for remarks. EUR: Upside room starting to shrink EUR/USD has risen in line with other pro-cyclical pairs this week, breaking back above the 1.0500 level and now being at a safe distance from the key 2017-low support of 1.0340, which if breached would probably pave the way for a move towards parity. Today, the eurozone calendar is not busy and only includes the final print of April’s CPI numbers. We’ll also hear from European Central Bank hawk Madis Muller today, although the recent re-pricing higher in ECB rate expectations (markets now fully price in a deposit rate at 1.0% in December) means that the bar for any hawkish surprise is set very high. Our view on the limited downside risk for the dollar beyond the very short term obviously implies that the room for appreciation in EUR/USD should also start to shrink soon. We also believe that markets are pricing in too much tightening by the ECB – though not by the Fed – and expect the theme of growth divergence (exacerbated by the EU-Russia standoff on commodities) to become more relevant into the summer. With this in mind, we suspect that any further rally in EUR/USD may start to lose steam around the 1.0650-1.0700 area, with risks of a return below 1.0500 in the near term being quite material. GBP: Inflation rises, but double digits aren't assured This morning’s inflation report in the UK was broadly in line with consensus expectations, as headline CPI rose to 9.0% (largely due to the increase in the electricity price cap) with the core rate rising to 6.2% year-on-year in April. This means inflation is largely where the Bank of England expects it to be. Still, the BoE projections embed a move to double-digit inflation by the end of the year, a prospect that we are still not convinced will materialise. There are no BoE speakers today. The oversold pound has faced a strong rebound this week, recouping some of its recent sharp losses as global risk appetite improved. While the good GBP momentum may continue as equities find some stability in the coming days, the pound still faces two major downside risks in the coming months: a) a further dovish repricing of BoE rate expectations (the implied rate for end-2022 is still 2.0%); b) Brexit-related risk, as the unilateral suspension by the UK of parts of the Northern Ireland agreement would likely trigger a trade war with the EU. We think cable will mostly trade below the 1.2500 mark during the summer. CAD: Inflation data unlikely to affect BoC policy expectations Inflation data will be released in Canada today, and the market is expecting some signs that the headline rate has peaked (at 6.7% YoY), which would imply a monthly increase of 0.5% in April. Core measures may however continue to inch marginally higher. Barring major surprises in the data today, we suspect that the impact on the Bank of Canada's rate expectations and on the Canadian dollar will be limited. The BoC remains on track to deliver 50bp of rate increases in tandem with the Fed, being able to count on a tight labour market, growing workforce and positive commodity story. In our view, the BoC will ultimately have to deliver more monetary tightening than the Fed in the next year. USD/CAD has broken below 1.2800 and should continue to weaken if we see further signs of stability in global sentiment today. Crucially, the rate and growth differential that may curb EUR/USD don't apply to CAD vs USD given a hawkish BoC and strong growth in Canada, which means that a rally in the loonie should prove more sustainable than the EUR/USD one. We continue to target sub-1.25 levels in USD/CAD by the second half of the year. Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Crypto News: Bitcoin Price (BTC/USD) is range-bound. Will we see a break today? | 8cap

Crypto News: Bitcoin Price (BTC/USD) is range-bound. Will we see a break today? | 8cap

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 20.05.2022 04:05
Hi traders, today we’re seeing a similar pattern across several coins. After yesterday’s failed lower break attempt, ranges have developed. We’re seeing this pattern on a few, BTC, BNB, ETH, SOL, ADA, and XRP. We’ve zeroed in on Bitcoin as on the 4-hour chart. The range is quite symmetrical. We saw 29K come in yesterday as a demand point, and for now, price continues to hold above. The range can be broken down into inside action and overall action. On the side, we are looking at two possible directions. One, we see price maintain the pattern and move back to the bottom of the range. Two buyers regain momentum as we see a test or break of the range roof. If number two occurs, that will line up with the overall action idea of a new breakout due to steady demand seen yesterday rejecting seller attempts to break lower. We can also see a trend break on the four-hour chart and a fast trend break on the daily. If sellers can not only move back to the range base but break through it, we would look at the 27,600 area to possible offer buyer resistance If buyers clear the range, we could see resistance develop from 32,200. On the other side, if sellers can not only move back to the range base but break through it, we would look at the 27,600 area to possible offer buyer resistance. Read next: Altcoins: What Is Litecoin (LTC)? A Deeper Look Into The Litecoin Platform| FXMAG.COM It will be interesting to see which side wins this battle. Hoping all of our readers have a wonderful weekend. Bitcoin 4H Chart The post Crypto News: Bitcoin is range-bound. Will we see a break today? appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto Focus: Market Steadies but No Sign of Recovery

Crypto Focus: Market Steadies but No Sign of Recovery

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 20.05.2022 15:34
Let’s just say things have been a lot more settled this week than last week’s bloodbath. The top 10 and 25 indexes remain positive on Friday. But it’s very little pulled back compared to the damage done over the last 6-weeks. A few headlines that caught our attention this week, Ripple partnered with a Lithuanian firm for cross-border payments. Attention remains on Ethereum as it prepares to merge and just hangs on to the 2000 USD level. Tether is said to be partially backed by non-US government bonds. Is this meant to give us confidence after the stable coins fiasco last week? Talk emerging around debt defaults by El Salvador. The country famously made Bitcoin legal tender and was reported to have bought large parcels on the coin. The pressure continued this week as BTC fell below 29K. Price has moved back above 30K, but pressure remains on the country after this move. Ranges are the topic of a lot of the top ten at this point in the week. We discussed this in detail in our Bitcoin report earlier today, and it’s not really a surprise based on last week’s trade. We want to point out the weekly demand areas and support areas we are seeing holding on several coins. Definitely take a look at some of the top 10 on their weekly charts to see the areas and levels we have brought up. Continuing on from this, we want to show an example of this. As you can see below, Bitcoin weekly has held for now from the 28,600 – 30,000 area. Last week’s plunge failed to break this level, and it remains key weekly support for now. While this level remains in play, we will look for buyers to continue to consolidate.   The post Crypto Focus: Market Steadies but No Sign of Recovery appeared first on Eightcap.
Forex Speculators weaken Commodity Currency sentiment over last month - 22.05.2022

Forex Speculators weaken Commodity Currency sentiment over last month - 22.05.2022

Invest Macro Invest Macro 22.05.2022 12:34
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Click for larger image Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 17th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the commodity currency speculator positions that have been on the defensive in recent weeks. Canadian dollar positions declined for a fourth straight week this week and have fallen by a total of -35,722 contracts over the past four weeks. This has pushed the overall speculator standing into a bearish position for a second straight week and to the most bearish level since October 2021. Previously, from the middle of January, CAD positions had started to trend higher and mostly maintained a bullish position into April, reaching a 40-week high on April 19th before seeing speculator sentiment weaken (-14,496 contracts this week). Australian dollar spec positions slipped for a third straight week this week and the overall speculator position has now hit a 7-week low. Aussie positions have maintained a bearish speculator bias since last May (52 consecutive weeks in bearish territory) but had recently seen a reprieve of the weak sentiment. Aussie positions improved strongly from late-February to late-April with a 10-week contract rise of +59,043 positions from February 22nd to April 26th. The speculator positions hit the least bearish level (on April 26th) of the previous 42 weeks before these past 3 weeks has seen speculators re-up their bearish levels. New Zealand dollar speculators also added to their bearish bets for a fourth straight week and have now pushed the position to the most bearish level since March 17th of 2020, a span of 113 weeks. Kiwi speculator positions had spent almost all of 2021 in bullish levels but spec bets started to falter at the end of the year and into the new year (through early March). Recently, positions had turned positive to bullish positioning in the middle of March and again later in April before turning lower in recent weeks. The NZD speculator sentiment has now been in bearish territory for the past three weeks after dropping by a total of -18,132 contracts from April 26th to this week. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the US Dollar Index (1,437 contracts), Japanese yen (8,145 contracts), Euro (3,810 contracts), British pound sterling (357 contracts), Bitcoin (103 contracts) and the Mexican peso (11,490 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the New Zealand dollar (-4,771 contracts), Canadian dollar (-9,089 contracts), Australian dollar (-2,928 contracts), Brazil real (-2,683 contracts) and the Swiss franc (-829 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each Commodity where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend May-17-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 61,899 93 36,213 88 -39,506 9 3,293 53 EUR 706,712 85 20,339 41 -51,517 61 31,178 26 GBP 253,811 73 -79,241 17 94,344 85 -15,103 24 JPY 241,308 83 -102,309 6 115,062 92 -12,753 28 CHF 53,291 42 -16,592 37 31,181 72 -14,589 14 CAD 151,585 31 -14,496 28 12,591 75 1,905 34 AUD 163,809 55 -44,642 43 54,437 59 -9,795 29 NZD 60,804 64 -17,767 41 21,390 63 -3,623 10 MXN 170,924 36 28,215 39 -32,249 59 4,034 60 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 55,990 48 38,095 88 -39,436 13 1,341 80 Bitcoin 11,644 63 806 100 -875 0 69 15   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 36,213 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,437 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 34,776 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.5 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 86.5 3.4 8.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.0 67.2 3.5 – Net Position: 36,213 -39,506 3,293 – Gross Longs: 53,519 2,105 5,449 – Gross Shorts: 17,306 41,611 2,156 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.2 9.0 52.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.5 -7.2 -0.5   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 20,339 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 3,810 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 16,529 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 41.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 61.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 26.0 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.7 52.7 12.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.8 59.9 7.7 – Net Position: 20,339 -51,517 31,178 – Gross Longs: 230,770 372,113 85,455 – Gross Shorts: 210,431 423,630 54,277 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 41.2 61.4 26.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.2 -0.5 14.8   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -79,241 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 357 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -79,598 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.3 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 10.5 79.4 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.7 42.3 14.1 – Net Position: -79,241 94,344 -15,103 – Gross Longs: 26,613 201,647 20,811 – Gross Shorts: 105,854 107,303 35,914 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 16.9 85.5 24.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -27.0 21.6 1.9   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -102,309 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 8,145 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -110,454 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.5 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.0 84.7 8.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.4 37.0 14.0 – Net Position: -102,309 115,062 -12,753 – Gross Longs: 12,113 204,417 20,933 – Gross Shorts: 114,422 89,355 33,686 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.3 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 5.9 91.8 27.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.9 -5.0 17.6   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -16,592 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -829 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -15,763 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 36.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.8 74.5 15.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.0 16.0 42.6 – Net Position: -16,592 31,181 -14,589 – Gross Longs: 5,240 39,722 8,094 – Gross Shorts: 21,832 8,541 22,683 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 4.7 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 36.6 72.3 13.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.9 12.9 -19.8   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -14,496 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -9,089 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -5,407 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 28.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 33.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.8 52.7 20.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 33.4 44.4 19.3 – Net Position: -14,496 12,591 1,905 – Gross Longs: 36,069 79,825 31,228 – Gross Shorts: 50,565 67,234 29,323 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.2 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 28.5 75.0 33.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -22.4 33.9 -43.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -44,642 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,928 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -41,714 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 25.3 60.4 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.6 27.1 17.7 – Net Position: -44,642 54,437 -9,795 – Gross Longs: 41,473 98,903 19,187 – Gross Shorts: 86,115 44,466 28,982 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.4 59.5 28.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -6.6 24.0 -60.9   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -17,767 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -4,771 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,996 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 41.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.4 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 24.7 71.1 3.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 53.9 35.9 9.8 – Net Position: -17,767 21,390 -3,623 – Gross Longs: 14,998 43,219 2,358 – Gross Shorts: 32,765 21,829 5,981 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 41.5 63.4 10.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -27.2 32.7 -57.5   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 28,215 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 11,490 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 16,725 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 39.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 59.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.1 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 45.5 49.1 4.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.0 67.9 1.7 – Net Position: 28,215 -32,249 4,034 – Gross Longs: 77,819 83,844 7,000 – Gross Shorts: 49,604 116,093 2,966 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.6 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 39.4 59.4 60.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.6 -11.0 -3.5   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 38,095 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -2,683 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 40,778 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 80.5 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 76.8 16.9 6.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 8.7 87.3 3.7 – Net Position: 38,095 -39,436 1,341 – Gross Longs: 42,989 9,470 3,438 – Gross Shorts: 4,894 48,906 2,097 – Long to Short Ratio: 8.8 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 87.8 12.8 80.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.3 8.3 -12.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 806 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 103 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 703 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.5 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 82.1 1.7 9.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 75.2 9.2 8.7 – Net Position: 806 -875 69 – Gross Longs: 9,564 194 1,081 – Gross Shorts: 8,758 1,069 1,012 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 14.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.1 -29.8 -13.0   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.  
Forex News: GBPUSD breakout watch.

Forex News: GBPUSD breakout watch.

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 23.05.2022 07:30
Risk majors followed up their fightback last Friday with more solid gains into Monday’s session. The AUD has seen solid gains after the weekend’s Federal election, which saw a change of government. The EUR hasn’t seen those two gains but has still beat last week’s high. The breakout above last week’s high drew our attention to the GBPUSD today. This, for now, looks like a new continuation higher and maintains the new fast uptrend that we have seen form since buyers broke the last fast downtrend. We can also see a V reversal pattern forming, which is good to see in new emerging fast trends. Looking forward, we can see price moving into a supply area, and a break of the upper range would be a solid sign to continue the bull’s case. Above that, if buyers can maintain the move, we will be looking to the orange box that lines up with the medium-term trend line and if buyers can beat that area. Later today, BOE Governor Baily will speak at 12:15 am AEST GBPUSD D1 chart The post Forex News: GBPUSD breakout watch. appeared first on Eightcap.
China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI Data Might Support The New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

Discussing Monetary Policy Of Reserve Bank Of New Zealand, Bank Of Korea And Bank Of Indonesia, COVID In China And Equities | Market Insights Podcast (Episode 332) | Oanda

Jeffrey Halley Jeffrey Halley 23.05.2022 12:52
Jonny Hart speaks to APAC Senior Market Analyst Jeffrey Halley about news impacting the market and the week ahead. European PMIs are the week’s highlight tomorrow Welcome to a new week with policy decisions from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Bank of Korea, and Bank Indonesia. We start today’s podcast with a quick overview of Asian markets. A quiet news weekend has left Asian markets focusing once again on China and the covid zero slowdowns. We look at price action around Asia and discuss the future of China and covid zero. Next, it’s over to equity and currency markets. We discuss whether the worst is over for equities and if the US Dollar rally has run its course. We then look ahead to the data calendar which is fairly quiet this week. European PMIs are the week’s highlight tomorrow. We discuss them and their potential impact on the single currency. Read next: Altcoins: Ripple Crypto - What Is Ripple (XRP)? Price Of XRP | FXMAG.COM This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Learn more on Oanda
Crypto Update: AVAXUSD, are sellers planning a new bear raid?

Crypto Update: AVAXUSD, are sellers planning a new bear raid?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 24.05.2022 10:26
Today we’re looking at AVAXUSD as price remains in a solid-looking downtrend. We are watching a consolidation pattern that could be a descending triangle or a wedge type pattern in the existing trend. The key for us is at 28 support. If sellers break this level, the continuation could be on, and we would like to see a new LL set to show normal pattern of trend. If buyers can continue to hold 28 and above, this could be a worry for short term seller momentum that was set with a break of yesterday’s low this morning. This pattern is also seen on SOLUSD, and other coins in the top 10 remain range-bound. It’s really up to sellers now if they want to take this trend lower. The Daily AVAX chart is below and for more information on this idea please feel free to check out our market the video is listed below the chart. AVAXUSD Market Update Video powered by TradingView The post Crypto Update: AVAXUSD, are sellers planning a new bear raid? appeared first on Eightcap.
BTCUSD are we close to seeing some direction?

BTCUSD are we close to seeing some direction?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 26.05.2022 08:42
Today’s update focuses on BTCUSD as price remains fixed in a pennant consolidation pattern. With the Medium-term trend and possibly the longer-term trend lower, you could lean toward this being a potential continuation pattern, but as noted in the video, we defiantly think it’s essential to wait for a clear breakout before thinking about picking a direction. In today’s European session, selling pressure has ramped up, and we see some solid selling across crypto boards. BTC is now 1.76% lower after trading in the positive earlier in the day. Short-term support is seen at 29,000. If you’re looking for a lower breakout and continuation, a break of this level is a step in the right direction. ETHUSD also had the same pattern, but sellers look to be on the way to confirming a new lower breakout. We will keep an eye on the crypto boards today to see if these moves continue. (Please check our market update video power by TradingView below the BTCUSD chart) BTCUSD D1 Chart BTCUSD Video Update The post BTCUSD are we close to seeing some direction? appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto Focus: Markets Continue to Ride the Downtrend

Crypto Focus: Markets Continue to Ride the Downtrend

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 27.05.2022 12:26
Another lower week traders as the top 10 and top 25 lost further gains continuing the current downtrend. If this week closes lower, that will set 8 weekly lower bars in a row. We discussed a few coins this week, emphasising continuation patterns that formed during the week. We did see some confirmations yesterday as sellers got things back on their terms in the European session. BTC fought back from lows abut sellers regained control on Friday’s session. AVAX was one of the significant coins hardest hit as it set new monthly lows. One positive is that the top 10 didn’t retest their May lows despite most hitting new weekly lows. As noted, buyers resisted the pressure with ranges and consolidations ruling before Thursday’s push lower. ETH seen to be dropping over merger frustration. Confidence drop? Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd once saw Bitcoin hitting $400,000. Now he says it’s more like $8,000. LUNA 2.0 blockchain was approved this week. After the fundamental weakness that we all saw with our own two eyes, we wish that any readers thinking about this should approach with caution and use strict risk management if they choose to go ahead. Ripple, on the other hand, has seen solid buying as price has declined. Reports say whales have been quietly accumulating the coin during this week’s declines and we can see this on the charts today. XRP is this week’s focus due to this buying. XRP caught our attention as it started edging into the positive while other coins continued to see red. Let’s take a look at the daily chart. Price continues to see support and demand from 0.38. We see two failed lows this month, and while price remains above the latter one, we will continue to look at it as a new HL. Price sits in a descending triangle pattern. A break higher, and this could be a new leg higher in the making. A break lower and we will look for the current downtrend to continue. The post Crypto Focus: Markets Continue to Ride the Downtrend appeared first on Eightcap.
Currency Speculators reboot their Euro bullish bets to a 6-Week High

Currency Speculators reboot their Euro bullish bets to a 6-Week High

Invest Macro Invest Macro 28.05.2022 21:32
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 24th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Click to Enlarge Highlighting the COT currency data is the bounce-back for the Euro currency futures contracts. Euro speculative positions jumped by over +18,000 contracts this week and rose for a third consecutive week. This week marked the second time in the past three weeks that speculator positions increased by more than +18,000 contracts (+22,907 contracts on May 10th) and now Euro bets have gained by a total of +45,308 contracts over the past three weeks. The speculator’s bullish position marks the highest standing of the past six weeks at +38,930 contracts. Euro speculator positions had recently fallen into a bearish speculative level on May 3rd (-6,378 contracts) after dropping by a total of -45,438 contracts from April 19th to May 3rd. This was the first bearish position for the Euro since early January. The speculator sentiment has been weaker so far in 2022 compared to preceding years as Euro bets are averaging just +29,199 weekly contracts in 2022. This compares to the Euro bets average of +60,837 weekly contracts over 2021 and an average of +92,464 weekly contracts over 2020. The recent improvement in Euro positions comes amid increasing expectations for the European Central Bank to start raising interest rates higher and end their negative interest rate regime in the third quarter. The Euro exchange rate recently hit its lowest level versus the US Dollar since January of 2017 with a drop to approximately 1.350 (EUR/USD) on May 13th. Since then, the Euro has rallied over the past couple of weeks and closed Friday at the 1.0733 exchange rate. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the Euro (18,591 contracts), US Dollar Index (1,826 contracts), Japanese yen (2,865 contracts), Brazil real (619 contracts), Canadian dollar (1,809 contracts), Mexican peso (1,577 contracts) and Bitcoin (43 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the Australian dollar (-804 contracts), Swiss franc (-3,081 contracts), British pound sterling (-1,131 contracts) and the New Zealand dollar (-1,554 contracts). Speculator strength standings for each market where strength index is current net position compared to past three years, above 80 is bullish extreme, below 20 is bearish extreme OI Strength = Current Open Interest level compared to last 3 years range Spec Strength = Current Net Speculator level compared to last 3 years range Strength Move = Six week change of Spec Strength Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend May-24-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 61,857 93 38,039 91 -40,877 7 2,838 48 EUR 708,938 86 38,930 47 -72,600 55 33,670 30 GBP 253,864 73 -80,372 16 97,042 87 -16,670 21 JPY 237,256 80 -99,444 8 106,699 88 -7,255 39 CHF 49,918 38 -19,673 31 31,694 76 -12,021 17 CAD 138,508 22 -12,687 30 6,933 71 5,754 41 AUD 158,615 51 -45,446 43 53,269 59 -7,823 33 NZD 59,279 61 -19,321 39 22,703 65 -3,382 13 MXN 177,125 39 29,792 40 -34,352 58 4,560 62 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 63,976 59 38,714 88 -40,501 12 1,787 86 Bitcoin 11,729 64 849 100 -817 0 -32 12   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week was a net position of 38,039 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 1,826 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 36,213 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 47.6 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 86.8 3.5 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.3 69.6 3.6 – Net Position: 38,039 -40,877 2,838 – Gross Longs: 53,675 2,157 5,076 – Gross Shorts: 15,636 43,034 2,238 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.4 to 1 0.1 to 1 2.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 91.4 6.7 47.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 14.5 -8.0 -39.1   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week was a net position of 38,930 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 18,591 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,339 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 55.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.2 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 33.4 51.7 12.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.9 61.9 7.6 – Net Position: 38,930 -72,600 33,670 – Gross Longs: 237,072 366,345 87,892 – Gross Shorts: 198,142 438,945 54,222 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.0 55.4 30.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.0 -3.4 19.8   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week was a net position of -80,372 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,131 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -79,241 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.1 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 10.2 80.3 7.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.9 42.1 14.1 – Net Position: -80,372 97,042 -16,670 – Gross Longs: 25,936 203,802 19,107 – Gross Shorts: 106,308 106,760 35,777 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 16.1 87.1 21.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -19.7 15.4 2.5   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week was a net position of -99,444 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 2,865 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -102,309 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.7 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.0 81.0 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 48.9 36.0 13.5 – Net Position: -99,444 106,699 -7,255 – Gross Longs: 16,567 192,215 24,858 – Gross Shorts: 116,011 85,516 32,113 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 7.6 87.7 38.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.6 -12.3 26.0   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week was a net position of -19,673 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -3,081 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -16,592 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 76.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 2.7 80.0 16.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 42.1 16.5 40.7 – Net Position: -19,673 31,694 -12,021 – Gross Longs: 1,355 39,913 8,308 – Gross Shorts: 21,028 8,219 20,329 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 4.9 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.8 76.2 16.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.8 12.1 -12.4   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -12,687 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 1,809 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -14,496 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.2 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.9 54.1 23.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 30.1 49.1 19.0 – Net Position: -12,687 6,933 5,754 – Gross Longs: 28,999 74,953 32,048 – Gross Shorts: 41,686 68,020 26,294 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.1 to 1 1.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.4 71.1 41.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -25.9 32.1 -30.9   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -45,446 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -804 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -44,642 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 42.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 58.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 33.4 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.1 62.7 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.7 29.1 16.7 – Net Position: -45,446 53,269 -7,823 – Gross Longs: 36,579 99,401 18,615 – Gross Shorts: 82,025 46,132 26,438 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 42.7 58.6 33.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -15.5 26.4 -45.5   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week was a net position of -19,321 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,554 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -17,767 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 38.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 65.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.1 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 18.1 76.7 3.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.7 38.4 9.4 – Net Position: -19,321 22,703 -3,382 – Gross Longs: 10,749 45,458 2,202 – Gross Shorts: 30,070 22,755 5,584 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 38.8 65.4 13.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -31.9 35.7 -46.9   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week was a net position of 29,792 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 1,577 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 28,215 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 58.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.4 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 46.9 47.7 4.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 30.1 67.1 1.7 – Net Position: 29,792 -34,352 4,560 – Gross Longs: 83,031 84,474 7,605 – Gross Shorts: 53,239 118,826 3,045 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.6 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.1 58.5 62.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.3 -6.2 -0.1   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week was a net position of 38,714 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 619 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 38,095 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.7 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 70.5 22.1 6.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 9.9 85.4 3.2 – Net Position: 38,714 -40,501 1,787 – Gross Longs: 45,076 14,132 3,826 – Gross Shorts: 6,362 54,633 2,039 – Long to Short Ratio: 7.1 to 1 0.3 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.4 11.8 85.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.3 8.2 -12.2   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week was a net position of 849 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 43 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.2 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 82.9 1.2 9.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 75.7 8.2 9.4 – Net Position: 849 -817 -32 – Gross Longs: 9,723 141 1,072 – Gross Shorts: 8,874 958 1,104 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 3.6 12.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 13.0 -23.6 -6.9   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Britain's Rishi Sunak And EU's Ursula Von Der Leyen Will Meet Today To Finalize The Northern Ireland Drama

Russian Oil Embargo Decision Weighs on The Euro (EUR/USD, EUR/GBP), Australian GDP Data Released On Wednesday Exceeds Market Expectations (AUD/USD), Pound Sterling Takes Advantage Of The Weaker USD (GBP/USD)

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 01.06.2022 15:09
Summary: The Euro has lost slightly to the US Dollar on Wednesday. EUR/GBP reflecting bearish signals. AUD outperforms on Wednesday. Pound Sterling taking advantage of the weaker USD Expectations of a hawkish ECB remain Market sentiment for this currency pair is reflecting mixed signals. The Euro has lost slightly to the US Dollar on Wednesday in the wake of the European Union (EU) reaching a decision on the Russian oil embargo on Tuesday. The embargo has heightened investors' fears that there may be further downward growth in the eurozone. The EU PMI economic data released on Wednesday exceeded market expectations maintaining an expansionary stance. In addition, the expectation of a hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) turning hawkish in the third quarter of the year remains. EUR/USD Price Chart Investor sentiment towards the Euro has slipped The market sentiment for this currency pair is reflecting bearish signals. In the wake of the European Union reaching a decision regarding the Russian oil embargo, investor sentiment toward the euro has slipped. In conjunction, investor sentiment toward the pound sterling has strengthened. EUR/GBP Price Chart AUD is Wednesdays best performing currency Market sentiment is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The Australian Dollar may have outperformed the US Dollar on Wednesday, but future policies from both the central banks could impact this currency pair. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) GDP data released on Wednesday exceeded market expectations, making it Wednesdays best performing currency. AUD/USD Price Chart Pound Sterling taking advantage of the weaker USD Market sentiment is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The pound sterling has taken advantage of the weakening USD over the past couple weeks in the wake of recession concerns. GBP/USD Price Chart Sources: finance.yahoo.com, dailyfx.com, poundsterlinglive.com
The Swing Overview – Week 20 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 20 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 02.06.2022 16:36
The Swing Overview – Week 20 The markets remain volatile and fragile, as shown by the VIX fear index, which has again surpassed the level 30 points. However, equity indices are at interesting supports and there could be some short-term recovery. The euro has bounced off its support in anticipation of tighter monetary policy and the gold is holding its price tag above $1,800 per troy ounce. Is the gold back in investors' favor again? Macroeconomic data The week started with a set of worse data from the Chinese economy, which showed that industrial production contracted by 2.9% year-on-year basis and the retail sales fell by 11.1%. The data shows the latest measures for the country's current COVID-19 outbreak are taking a toll on the economy. To support the slowing economy, China cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.15% on Friday morning, more than analysts expected. While this will not be enough to stave off current downside risks, markets may respond to expectation of more easing in the future. On a positive note, data from the US showed retail sales rose by 0.9% in April and industrial production rose by 1.1% in April. Inflation data in Europe was important. It showed that inflation in the euro area slowed down a little, reaching 7.4% in April compared to 7.5% in March. In Canada, on the other hand, the inflation continued to rise, reaching 6.8% (6.7% in March) and in the UK inflation was 9% in April (7% in the previous month). Several factors are contributing to the higher inflation figures: the ongoing war in Ukraine, problems in logistics chains and the effects of the lockdown in China. Concerns about the impact of higher inflation are showing up in the bond market. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield has come down from the 3.2% it reached on 9 May and is currently at 2.8%. This means that demand for bonds is rising and they are once again becoming an asset for times of uncertainty.  Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on a daily chart   Equity indices on supports Global equities fell significantly in the past week, reaching significant price supports. Thus, there could be some form of short-term bounce. Although a cautious rally began on Thursday, which was then boosted by China's decision to cut interest rates in the early hours of Friday, there is still plenty of fear among investors and according to Louis Dudley of Federated Hermes, cash holdings have reached its highest level since September 2001, suggesting strong bearish sentiment. Supply chain problems have been highlighted by companies such as Cisco Systems, which has warned of persistent parts shortages. That knocked its shares down by 13.7%. The drop made it the latest big-stock company to post its biggest decline in more than a decade last week. The main risks that continue to cause volatility and great uncertainty are thus leading investors to buy "safe" assets such as the US bonds and the Swiss franc. Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart From a technical analysis perspective, the US SP 500 index continues to move in a downtrend as the market has formed a lower low while being below both the SMA 100 and EMA 50 moving averages on the H4 and daily charts. The nearest resistance is 4,080 - 4,100. The next resistance is at 4,140 and especially 4,293 - 4,300. Support is at 3,860 - 3,900 level. German DAX index The index continues to move in a downtrend along with the major world indices. The price has reached the support which is at 13,680 – 13,700 and the moving average EMA 50 on the H4 chart is above the SMA 100. This could indicate a short-term signal for some upward correction. However, the main trend according to the daily chart is still downwards. The nearest resistance is at 14,260 - 14,330 level. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The euro has bounced off its support The EUR/USD currency pair benefited last week from the US dollar moving away from its 20-year highs while on the euro, investors are expecting a tightening economy and a rise in interest rates, which the ECB has not risen yet as one of the few banks. Figure 4: The EURUSD on H4 and daily chart   Significant support is at the price around 1.0350 - 1.040. Current resistance is at 1.650 - 1.700.   The Gold in investors' attention again The gold has underperformed over the past month, falling by 10% since April when the price reached USD 2,000 per ounce. But there is now strong risk aversion in the markets, as indicated by the stock markets, which have fallen. The gold, on the other hand, has started to rise. Inflation fears are a possible reason, and investors have begun to accumulate the gold for protection against rising prices. The second reason is that the gold is inversely correlated with the US dollar. The dollar has come down from its 20-year highs, which has allowed the gold to bounce off its support.  Figure 5: The gold on H4 and daily chart The first resistance is at $1,860 per ounce. The support is at $1,830 - $1,840 per ounce. The next support is then at $1,805 - $1,807 and especially at $1,800 per ounce.
CFD Update: Could we see Oil retest 122?

CFD Update: Could we see Oil retest 122?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 03.06.2022 05:13
Today our focus is on USOUSD (Oil) as price finished yesterday’s session with a commanding reversal bar. After trading over 2% lower, buyers not only took hold but ended the session with a solid 3.83% gain. Yesterday’s session appears to show that buyers are still very active, and for now, price is not comfortable trading below 114.77. The move maintains the current trend, but we want to see further confirmation to suggest that the trend is set to continue. Also supporting price are the moving averages and CCI. The moving averages are crossed to show buyers are in control of the average price (increasing( and the CCI remains in the bull zone above the 0 line. If buyers can reverse today’s selling and beat 119.50 minor resistance, which also holds yesterday’s high, we will then be looking for the current trend to continue with a possible new test of 122 or above. A failure to break yesterday’s high and minor resistance in today’s session could be seen as a small warning to buyer strength. Please check out or oil update video just below the chart. Oil D1 Chart Oil analysis video  The post CFD Update: Could we see Oil retest 122? appeared first on Eightcap.
Market Trends and Currency Positioning: USD Net Short Position, Euro and Pound Analysis - 22.08.2023

Saudi Arabia Indicates Plans To Increase Their Oil Output (EUR/USD), ECB Plans To Start Tightening Monetary Policy Still Set For July (EUR/GBP), (USD/JPY, USD/CHF)

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 03.06.2022 13:37
Summary: OPECs plans to increase their oil output favours the Euro. ECBs window for tightening monetary policy seems to be narrowing. The market is reflecting mixed sentiment for the USD/CHF currency pair. Read next: The Euro Opened Strong On Wednesday Against The US Dollar (EUR/USD), Euro Could Continue Gaining On The GBP (EUR/GBP), Australia’s Trade Balance Beats Market Expectations (AUD/USD),   German PMI declined for the 3rd month in a row The market is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The US Dollar weakened overnight in the wake of data that showed US payroll rose less than expected in May. The European Union finalised the ban on Russian seaborne oil, with the hope of reaching a 90% decline in imports by the end of 2022. Oil prices rose in the wake of this news, however OPEC indicated its plans to compensate their western allies for the oil lost through the embargo. In addition, the German PMI fell for the third consecutive month. EUR/USD Price Chart Post-lockdown growth is slowing in even the largest EU economy. The market is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. With German PMI declining for the third consecutive month, rising stagflation and a pessimistic economic outlook within the European Union. Hence, the European Central Banks (ECB) window for tightening monetary policy seems to be narrowing. Originally plans for increasing rates were to begin in the third quarter of this year, however, given the current circumstances, it could be justified to start earlier than originally planned. Although it may be justified, it is unlikely given the ECB president has tried to set out the EU monetary policy plan from the start, despite increased pressure. EUR/GBP Price Chart USD/CHF Reflecting mixed signals The market is reflecting mixed sentiment for this currency pair. The expectation for the month of June for this currency pair is bearish, the US Dollar may be weakening, however, this forecast is based on the trends of the past. With the Swiss National Bank (SNB) expected to turn hawkish and the fears of the US economy heading into a recession, perhaps the reality will be different from the forecast. USD/CHF Price Chart USD/JPY Pair As the US Dollar weakens, investors are turning to the Japanese Yen safe-haven asset. The market sentiment for this currency pair is reflecting bearish signals. USD/JPY Price Chart Sources: finance.yahoo.com, dailyfx.com
The EUR/USD Pair Maintains The Bullish Sentiment

Euro Currency Speculators continue to boost their bullish bets for 4th Week

Invest Macro Invest Macro 04.06.2022 22:45
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 31st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Highlighting the COT currency data was the further gains in bullish bets for the Euro currency futures contracts. Euro speculators boosted their bullish bets for a fourth straight week this week and for the sixth time in the past ten weeks. Over the past four-week time-frame, Euro bets have risen by a total of +58,650 contracts, going from -6,378 net positions on May 3rd to a total of +52,272 net positions this week. This week marks the highest Euro speculator standing in the past twelve weeks. The recent improvement in Euro positions has taken place with a very strong change in sentiment as just four weeks ago the overall position had fallen into bearish territory. The Euro sentiment has been so bad that analysts have been making predictions for an inevitable decline of the Euro into parity versus the dollar. However, recently there has been rising expectations that the European Central Bank will be more hawkish towards interest rates in the near future (despite the weak outlook for EU GDP growth) and will end their negative interest rate policy. Over the past few weeks, the EUR/USD exchange rate has rebounded after falling to a multi-year low of 1.0350 in early May. This week the EUR/USD hit a weekly high of 1.0787 before closing at the 1.0719 exchange rate. Overall, the currencies with higher speculator bets this week were the Euro (13,342 contracts), Brazil real (6,602 contracts), British pound sterling (6,267 contracts), Canadian dollar (5,680 contracts), Mexican peso (5,657 contracts), Japanese yen (5,005 contracts) and the New Zealand dollar (597 contracts). The currencies with declining bets were the US Dollar Index (-501 contracts), Australian dollar (-3,236 contracts), Swiss franc (-785 contracts) and Bitcoin (-446 contracts). Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that most of the currency markets are below their midpoint (50 percent) of the last 3 years. The Brazil Real, US Dollar Index and Bitcoin are currently in extreme bullish levels. Strength score trends (or move index, that show 6-week changes in strength scores) shows the recent strong weakness in the commodity currencies (AUD, NZD and CAD) as well as the Swiss franc. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend May-31-2022OIOI-IndexSpec-NetSpec-IndexCom-NetCOM-IndexSmalls-NetSmalls-Index USD Index 63,863 98 37,538 91 -41,327 6 3,789 58 EUR 706,317 85 52,272 51 -85,186 52 32,914 29 GBP 252,881 72 -74,105 21 87,172 81 -13,067 29 JPY 239,080 81 -94,439 11 105,049 87 -10,610 32 CHF 49,579 40 -20,458 10 29,851 87 -9,393 26 CAD 135,929 21 -7,007 34 -327 68 7,334 44 AUD 153,661 48 -48,682 40 51,128 57 -2,446 46 NZD 55,134 53 -18,724 40 21,374 63 -2,650 21 MXN 212,843 55 35,449 42 -40,143 56 4,694 63 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 74,146 73 45,316 95 -47,670 5 2,354 92 Bitcoin 10,900 58 403 92 -503 0 100 15   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 37,538 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -501 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 38,039 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 58.0 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 85.9 3.7 8.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.1 68.4 2.8 – Net Position: 37,538 -41,327 3,789 – Gross Longs: 54,859 2,355 5,605 – Gross Shorts: 17,321 43,682 1,816 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.2 to 1 0.1 to 1 3.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 90.5 5.9 58.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 8.6 -9.0 5.2   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 52,272 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 13,342 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 38,930 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 51.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.9 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 33.5 51.7 12.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.1 63.8 7.7 – Net Position: 52,272 -85,186 32,914 – Gross Longs: 236,553 365,434 87,138 – Gross Shorts: 184,281 450,620 54,224 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 51.0 51.9 28.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.4 -10.1 24.0   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -74,105 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 6,267 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -80,372 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 20.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 81.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.6 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 12.2 76.6 7.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.5 42.2 12.9 – Net Position: -74,105 87,172 -13,067 – Gross Longs: 30,788 193,786 19,446 – Gross Shorts: 104,893 106,614 32,513 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 20.6 81.2 28.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.9 8.4 1.9   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -94,439 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 5,005 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -99,444 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 31.9 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.4 82.2 9.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.9 38.3 13.9 – Net Position: -94,439 105,049 -10,610 – Gross Longs: 15,201 196,584 22,605 – Gross Shorts: 109,640 91,535 33,215 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 10.7 86.9 31.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.9 -12.1 24.5   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -20,458 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -785 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -19,673 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.7 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.3 75.6 17.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.6 15.4 36.3 – Net Position: -20,458 29,851 -9,393 – Gross Longs: 2,641 37,473 8,596 – Gross Shorts: 23,099 7,622 17,989 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 4.9 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 10.3 87.0 25.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -21.5 10.4 7.5   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -7,007 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,680 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,687 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 68.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.5 51.5 24.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.6 51.7 18.6 – Net Position: -7,007 -327 7,334 – Gross Longs: 30,520 70,006 32,660 – Gross Shorts: 37,527 70,333 25,326 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.7 68.5 44.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -30.7 32.5 -21.5   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -48,682 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -3,236 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -45,446 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 39.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 57.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 46.5 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 21.4 63.1 12.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 53.1 29.9 14.4 – Net Position: -48,682 51,128 -2,446 – Gross Longs: 32,897 97,031 19,659 – Gross Shorts: 81,579 45,903 22,105 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 39.7 57.0 46.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.4 22.6 -25.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -18,724 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 597 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -19,321 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 39.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.5 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.6 76.2 5.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.6 37.4 9.8 – Net Position: -18,724 21,374 -2,650 – Gross Longs: 9,179 42,010 2,762 – Gross Shorts: 27,903 20,636 5,412 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 39.8 63.3 21.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -32.0 32.2 -20.4   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 35,449 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 5,657 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 29,792 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 42.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 56.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.9 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 53.8 41.8 3.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.1 60.6 1.3 – Net Position: 35,449 -40,143 4,694 – Gross Longs: 114,480 88,894 7,396 – Gross Shorts: 79,031 129,037 2,702 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 42.5 56.1 62.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.9 -5.8 0.6   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 45,316 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 6,602 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 38,714 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.3 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 71.3 22.4 5.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 10.2 86.7 2.7 – Net Position: 45,316 -47,670 2,354 – Gross Longs: 52,896 16,595 4,372 – Gross Shorts: 7,580 64,265 2,018 – Long to Short Ratio: 7.0 to 1 0.3 to 1 2.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 94.9 4.8 92.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.7 -0.6 -1.6     Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 403 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -446 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 849 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 23.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.2 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 79.6 1.5 9.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 75.9 6.1 8.6 – Net Position: 403 -503 100 – Gross Longs: 8,680 159 1,033 – Gross Shorts: 8,277 662 933 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 91.5 23.2 15.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.3 -20.4 -6.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Now with Purple Trading: VIX volatility index as a tradable CFD futures symbol

Now with Purple Trading: VIX volatility index as a tradable CFD futures symbol

Purple Trading Purple Trading 06.06.2022 08:55
Now with Purple Trading: VIX volatility index as a tradable CFD futures symbol The volatility or market uncertainty index (VIX) is an invaluable tool used by many when analyzing markets. However, its trading also holds great potential. That's why we have decided to include it alongside our CFD futures symbols. Read this article and find out how and when to trade VIX as an CFD futures symbol. What is the VIX index and what does it indicate The Volatility Index (VIX), as the name suggests, is an index that is used to measure the level of market nervousness, uncertainty, and volatility. For these reasons, it is also sometimes called a fear gauge or fear index. The higher the VIX index values get, the greater the uncertainty in the markets and vice versa. However, it is very important to remember that the VIX index is a forward-looking index, so it shows the expected, not actual, market uncertainty.   How the VIX index is calculated VIX index measures 30 days of expected volatility of S&P 500 index, it does so by using S&P 500 options (SPX) listed on CBOE exchange as an input. VIX takes together all SPX call and put options and compares the changing demand and price between them.   Relationship between the VIX index and the markets The VIX index generally tracks the S&P 500 index in an inverse manner. That is, if the stock markets (S&P 500) are turbulent and investor nervousness/fear increases, the same can be observed for the VIX index. On the other hand, if stock prices are on the rise, the VIX index generally declines or advances sideways.   Meet: VIX.f - tradable CFD futures instrument Similar to other indices, the VIX is not tradable on its own and needs an investment vehicle to go with it. And that is what VIX.f is - a tradable continuous CFD futures instrument that behaves just like our other continuous CFD futures products. Its price is based on the underlying asset, which in this case is a specific VIX futures contract. Continuous in this case means that before each futures contract expires, there is an automatic rollover of the position. This will result in selling of old contracts and the buying of additional nearest futures contracts. It is also important to note that since this is a CFD instrument, you don’t become the owner of VIX.f when trading it. You only speculate on its price. How to trade VIX.f futures symbol VIX.f CFD futures is a very versatile symbol that can help traders and investors in several different situations:   Buy/long in case of an expected increase in volatility or turbulence in the markets Risk management or hedging vehicle for investors - through the inverse relationship of the VIX and the S&P 500 Option to open a short position in case of expecting a positive economic development in markets Overall, it should be noted that VIX.f futures is not recommended to be traded in a buy and hold manner, but rather as a short-term investment.Symbol specification: Symbol specification Name in Platform VIX.f Leverage ESMA 1:10 Leverage PRO 1:10 Trade hours (GMT+3) Monday to Friday 1:00 – 24:00  i Check out the current trading hours and hours changes Commission 10 USD/lot Currency USD Tick size 0.01 Tick value 0.1 Volume step 1 Min trade 1 Max trade 50
Crypto News: Has Cardano started up a new leg higher

Crypto News: Has Cardano started up a new leg higher

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 06.06.2022 10:11
Happy Monday. After a flat weekend, buyers have defiantly hit the new week with a lot more energy. After a hesitant start, buyers came back into the crypto markets during today’s Asian session. In today’s European and London session we’re still seeing strong interest, with many of the top 10 continuing to hit solid gains. Our focus today is on Cardano. Has today’s rally started to confirm a new leg high? What has our interest is the pattern before today’s action. We can see a clear LL that failed to hold and a new HL in May. We did see one attempt by buyers fail after they tested .6850. After consolidation, today’s move is a breakout with support at .5460 and minor resistance at .6040. We want to see price close above resistance today. Looking forward, we want to see how buyers handle their latest move back into the last supply area. A break above or firm close, close to .68 would be a good sign buyers are in control of momentum. A close below 0.600 would worry, in our opinion. Thanks for stopping by, and please check out or market update below the chart. Cardano D1 Chart   Cardano Update Video (Powered by TradingView) The post Crypto News: Has Cardano started up a new leg higher appeared first on Eightcap.
We are expanding our futures offer. You can now trade SP500 index and orange juice

We are expanding our futures offer. You can now trade SP500 index and orange juice

Purple Trading Purple Trading 06.06.2022 11:30
We are expanding our futures offer. You can now trade SP500 index and orange juice At Purple Trading, we are expanding our offer of CFD futures symbols by 2 more. The first one is the notorious S&P 500 index, followed by the futures contract for frozen orange juice concentrate. S&P 500 as a tradable futures symbol: US500.f This is a derivative contract that allows you to speculate on the price of the S&P 500 index. US500.f is therefore a continuous CFD futures symbol which price is based on the underlying asset. Of course, it should be noted here for the sake of argument that, since it is a CFD instrument, you do not become the owner of the US500.f when trading it. Rather you only speculate on its price. Continuous in this case means that before each futures contract expires, there is an automatic rollover of the position. This will result in selling of old contracts and the buying of additional nearest futures contracts. These contracts are split by quarter, specifically March, June, September and December. Trading methods US500.f   As with every CFD instrument, with US500.f you can speculate on either rise and/or fall in its price. It can also be a valuable alternative to other CFD futures products we offer at Purple Trading (for example, the VIX volatility index, with which the S&P 500 has an inverse relationship). Furthermore, clients do not pay swap fees for holding a position on this instrument, but only the standard $10/lot fee as with all other CFD futures instruments. However, they must not forget about rollovers. Clients can also use this instrument to hedge stock portfolios or effectively expand client’s exposure to the US market. US500.f specification:   US500.f specification Name in Platform US500.f Leverage ESMA 1:10 Leverage PRO 1:10 Trading hours (GMT+3) Monday to Friday 1:00 – 24:00  i Check out the current trading hours and hours changes Commission 10 USD/lot Currency USD Tick size 0.01 Tick value 0.01 Volume step 1 Min trade 1 Max trade 50 Frozen orange juice concentrate - Orangej.f If you're a fan of the movie Trading places with Eddie Murphy, you'll remember the scene with the shorting of the orange juice concentrate futures. Guess what, now you can find exactly the same product among our CFD futures instruments! Orangej.f specification   1 lot = 2000 pound of frozen concentrated orange juice market (taken directly from GBE) Contracts every two months (Jan, March, May, Jul, Sep, Nov) Traded on ICE (US) exchange   Orangej.f specification Name in Platform Orangej.f Leverage ESMA 1:10 Leverage PRO 1:10 Trading hours (GMT+3) Monday to Friday 15:00 – 21:00  i Check out the current trading hours and hours changes Commission 10 USD/lot Currency USD Tick size 0.01 Tick value 0.2 Volume step 1 Min trade 1 Max trade 50
The Swing Overview - Week 22 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 22 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 07.06.2022 13:59
The Swing Overview - Week 22 Equity indices continued to rise for a second week despite rising inflation and sanctions against Russia. Economic data indicate optimistic consumer expectations and the easing of the Covid-19 measures in China also brought some relief to the markets. The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 1.5%. The Eurozone inflation hit a new record of 8.1%, giving further fuel to the ECB to raise interest rates, which is supporting the euro to strengthen.   Macroeconomic data The US consumer confidence in economic growth for May came in at 106.4. The market was expecting 103.9. This optimism points to an expected increase in consumer spendings, which is a positive development. The optimism was also confirmed by data from the manufacturing sector. The ISM PMI index in manufacturing rose by 56.1 in May, an improvement on the April reading of 55.4. The manufacturing sector is therefore expecting further expansion.   On the other hand, data from the labour market were disappointing. The ADP Non Farm Employment indicator (private sector job growth) was well below expectations as the economy created only 128k new jobs in May (the market was expecting 300k new jobs). The unemployment claims data held at the standard 200k level. However, the crucial indicator from the labour market will be Friday's NFP data.   Quarterly wage growth for 1Q 2022 was 12.6% (previous quarter was 3.9%). This figure is a leading indicator on inflation. Faster inflation growth could lead to a higher-than-expected 0.50% rate hike at the Fed's June meeting.   The US 10-year Treasury yields have rebounded from 2.6% and have started to rise again. They are currently around 2.9%. However, the US Dollar Index has not yet reacted to the rise in yields. The reason is that the euro, which has appreciated significantly in recent days, has the largest weight in the USD index. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The SP 500 index has continued to strengthen in recent days. The market seems to be accepting the expected 0.50% rate hike and while economic data points to some slowdown, forward looking consumers‘ and managers’ expectations are optimistic.  Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The US SP 500 index is approaching a significant resistance level, which is in the 4,197-4,204 range. The next one is at 4,293 - 4,306. The nearest support is at 4 075 - 4 086.    German DAX index Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart Germany's manufacturing PMI for May came in at 54.8. The previous month it was 54, 6. Thus, managers expect expansion in the manufacturing sector. Surprisingly, German exports rose in April despite the disruption of trade relations with Russia. Exports in Germany grew by 4.4% even though exports to Russia fell by 10%.  The positive data has an impact on the DAX index. However, the bulls in DAX may be discouraged by the expected ECB interest rate hike.   The DAX has reached resistance in the 14,600 - 14,640 area. The nearest significant support is at 14,300 - 14,330, where the horizontal resistance is coincident with the moving average EMA 50 on the H4 chart.   The euro continues to rise Bulls on the euro were supported by inflation data, which reached a record high of 8.1% in the eurozone for the month of May. Inflation increased by 0.8% on a monthly basis compared to April. Information from the manufacturing sector exceeded expectations, with the manufacturing PMI for May coming in at 54.6, indicating optimism in the economy. The ECB will meet on Thursday 9/6/2022 and it might be surprising. While analysts do not expect a rate hike at this meeting, rising inflation may prompt the ECB to act faster.  Figure 4: The EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart The EUR/USD currency pair is reacting to the rate hike expectations by gradual strengthening. A resistance is at 1.0780 The nearest support is now at 1.0629 - 1.0640 and then at 1.0540 - 1.0550.   The Bank of Canada raised the interest rate The GDP in Canada for Q1 2022 grew by 2.89% year-on-year (3.23% in the previous period). On a month-on-month basis, the GDP grew by 0.7% (0.9% in February). This points to slowing economic growth.  Canada's manufacturing PMI for May came in at 56.8 (56.2 in April ), an upbeat development. The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate by 0.50% to 1.5% as expected by analysts. In addition to the rate hike, the Canadian dollar is positively affected by the rise in oil prices as Canada is a major exporter. Figure 5: The USD/CAD on H4 and daily chart The USD/CAD currency pair is currently in a downward movement. The nearest resistance according to the daily chart is 1.2710-1.2730. Support according to the daily chart is in the range of 1.2400-1.2470.  
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 31/5/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 31/5/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 07.06.2022 15:38
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 31/5/2022 Total net speculator positions on the USD index fell by 501 contracts last week to 37,538 contracts. This change is the result of an increase in long positions by 1,184 contracts and an increase in short positions by 1,685 contracts. Significant fact is the further bullish movement in speculators' positions for the euro currency futures contracts. This week, the euro speculators increased their bullish positions for the fourth consecutive week and the sixth time in the last ten weeks. Over the past four weeks, speculators' total net positions in the euro have increased by a total of +58,650 contracts, from -6,378 net positions on May 3 to a total of +52,272 net positions last week. Total net positions for the euro are the highest in twelve weeks. The recent improvement in euro positions has come with a very significant change in sentiment, as just four weeks ago the total position had fallen into bearish territory. Sentiment in the euro was so bad that analysts were talking about the inevitable decline of the euro to parity against the dollar. Recently, however, expectations have been growing that the European Central Bank will become more hawkish on interest rates in the near future and end its negative interest rate policy, causing the euro to strengthen. In addition to the euro, speculators' total net positions rose on the British pound, the New Zealand dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Japanese yen. On the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc, total net positions fell last week. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF May 31, 2022 37538 52272 -74105 -48682 -18724 -94439 -7007 -20458 May 24, 2022 38039 38930 -80372 -45446 -19321 -99444 -12687 -19673 May 17, 2022 36213 20339 -79241 -44642 -17767 -102309 -14496 -16592 May 10, 2022 34776 16529 -79598 -41714 -12996 -110454 -5407 -15763 May 03, 2022 33071 -6378 -73813 -28516 -6610 -100794 9029 -13907 Apr 26, 2022 33879 22201 -69621 -27651 66 -95535 20881 -12869   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com     The Euro   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment May 31, 2022 706317 236553 184281 52272 -2621 -519 -13861 13342 Bullish May 24, 2022 708938 237072 198142 38930 2226 6302 -12289 18591 Bullish May 17, 2022 706712 230770 210431 20339 1666 2540 -1270 3810 Bullish May 10 2022 705046 228230 211701 16529 10120 19781 3126 22907 Bullish May 03, 2022 694926 208449 214827 -6378 6477 -14544 14035 -28579 Bearish Apr 26, 2022 688449 222993 200792 22201 12510 1990 11090 -9100 Weak bullish         Total change 30378 15550 -5421 20971     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EUR/USD on D1   The total net positions of speculators reached 52,272 contracts last week, up by 13,342 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 519 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 13,861 contracts. This data suggests bullish sentiment as the total net positions are positive while there has been an increase. Open interest fell by 2,621 contracts in the last week. This shows that the move that occurred in the euro last week was not supported by the volume and it was therefore a weak price action. The price has reached the EMA 50 moving average on the daily chart, at which it is oscillating, showing that there is a resistance here. Long-term resistance: 1.0800 – 1.0840 Support: 1.0620 – 1-0630. The next support is in the zone 1.0340 – 1.0420.   The British pound   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment May 31, 2022 252881 30788 104893 -74105 -983 4852 -1415 6267 Weak bearish May 24, 2022 253864 25936 106308 -80372 53 -677 454 -1131 Bearish May 17, 2022 253811 26613 105854 -79241 -10783 -2856 -3213 357 Weak bearish May 10, 2022 264594 29469 109067 -79598 -3902 -4067 1718 -5785 Bearish May 03, 2022 268496 33536 107349 -73813 -4296 -6900 -2708 -4192 Bearish Apr 26, 2022 272792 40436 110057 -69621 23263 3625 14332 -10707 Bearish         Total change 3352 -6023 9168 -15191     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBP/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to 74,105 contracts, up by 6,267 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 4,852 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 1,415 contracts. This indicates weak bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but at the same time there has been an increase in total net positions. The open interest fell by 983 contracts last week, indicating that the downward movement in the pound that occurred last week was not supported by the volume and it was therefore a weak price action. Long-term resistance: 1.2700 – 1.2760.    Support: 1.2160 – 1.2200.     The Australian dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment May 31, 2022 153661 32897 81579 -48682 -4954 -3682 -446 -3236 Bearish May 24, 2022 158615 36579 82025 -45446 -5194 -4894 -4090 -804 Bearish May 17, 2022 163809 41473 86115 -44642 10600 4604 7532 -2928 Bearish May 10, 2022 153209 36869 78583 -41714 952 -10126 3072 13198 Bearish May 03, 2022 152257 46995 75511 -28516 5167 -110 755 -865 Bearish Apr 26, 2022 147090 47105 74756 -27651 -219 7904 6718 1186 Weak bearish         Total change 6352 -6304 13541 -19845     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUD/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to 48,682 contracts, down by 3,236 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 3,682 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 446 contracts. This data suggests bearish sentiment on the Australian dollar, as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, while at the same time there has been a further decline in the past week. There was a decline in open interest of 4,954 contracts last week. This means that the upward movement that occurred last week was not supported by the volume and it was therefore weak price action. The price has currently reached the horizontal resistance at 0.7260 where a reaction occurred. If this resistance is  broken, a further bullish movement could continue. Long-term resistance: 0.7250-0.7260                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.6830-0.6850     The New Zealand dollar   date Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions change Open Interest change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment May 31, 2022 55134 9179 27903 -18724 -4145 -1570 -2167 597 Weak bullish May 24, 2022 59279 10749 30070 -19321 -1525 -4249 -2695 -1554 Bearish May 17, 2022 60804 14998 32765 -17767 4569 -205 4566 -4771 Bearish May 10, 2022 56235 15203 28199 -12996 5391 -2224 4162 -6386 Bearish May 03, 2022 50844 17427 24037 -6610 4334 -4658 2018 -6676 Bearish Apr 26, 2022 46510 22085 22019 66 5412 3004 3303 -299 Weak bullish         Total change 14036 -9902 9187 -19089     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZD/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached -18,724 contracts last week, having grown by 597 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 1,570 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 2,167 contracts. This data suggests that there has been a weakening of bearish sentiment on the New Zealand Dollar over the past week as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but there has also been an increase in total net positions. The open interest fell by 4,145 contracts last week.  The move in NZD/USD that occurred last week was not supported by the volume and therefore the move was weak. The NZD/USD has reached the resistance band at 0.6570 and also the EMA 50 moving average on the daily chart, which is a strong confluence and there has already been some bearish reaction there. If this resistance is broken, further strengthening could occur.  Long-term resistance: 0.6540 – 0.6560 Long-term support: 0.6220 – 0.6280     Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
Forex Update: EURUSD bucking USD demand but will we see resistance retested?

Forex Update: EURUSD bucking USD demand but will we see resistance retested?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 08.06.2022 10:38
Looking at the action on the majors to the USD in today’s London session, you might notice that the EUR is currently y running its own race as the other two majors track lower. It’s an interesting picture atm as the AUD and GBP trade lower to a firm USD while the EURUSD has broken yesterday’s high after pulling back 0.27% Price overall remains in a choppy range. Yesterday’s bar showed buyer demand as it stopped a third straight day of selling. There’s plenty of demand from 1.0675 down to 1.0650. But it’s the choppiness that’s a worry. If today’s bar can hold higher above yesterday’s close, that could kick start a new move that could retest 1.0750 demand. We want to see a move above 1.0780 to show that the current up leg is setting up as a new trend. While price remains in the consolidation, we do wonder if the weight may also easily lead to new test lower by sellers. Thursday could play a part in the short term fortunes of the EURUSD as the ECM meets. Rates are expected to remain on hold, but it’s the statement from the ECB and their future stance that might have an impact. EURUSD D1 Chart   The post Forex Update: EURUSD bucking USD demand but will we see resistance retested? appeared first on Eightcap.
ECB press conference brings more fog than clarity

Strong Expectations For ECB To Hike Interest Rates Is Offering The Euro Support (EUR/USD, EUR/GBP), Hawkish RBA is Offering AUD Support (AUD/JPY), US Dollar Benefitted From AUD Risk Sensitivity (AUD/USD)

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 09.06.2022 12:26
Summary: ECB announcement due on Thursday, analysts expect hawkish moves. Dovish BoJ causing the safe-haven asset to weaken. The market is reflecting bearish signals for the AUD/USD currency pair. Read next: Alibaba (BABA) Amongst US Listed Chinese Stocks That Have Seen Major Gains  ECB expected hawkish attitude supporting EUR The market is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The highlight of the Thursday trading day for the foreign exchange markets is the European Central Banks (ECB) announcement. Over the past few weeks, members of the ECB have been stressing the need for interest rate hikes in July with the bank's president, Christine Lagarde saying the July hioke would likely be followed by a September hike. The strong expectations are offering the Euro support against the US Dollar. EUR/USD Price Chart Euro strengthens against the GBP The market is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The Euro could strengthen further against the pound sterling if the European Central Bank (ECB) ends up turning hawkish as analysts expect. Over the past few weeks, members of the ECB have been stressing the need for interest rate hikes in July with the bank's president, Christine Lagarde saying the July hioke would likely be followed by a September hike. EUR/GBP Price Chart RBA hawkish vs BoJ dovish The market is reflecting bullish signals for this currency pair. The AUD/JPY currency pair is one of the more volatile currency pairs. The Australian Dollar has gained on the safe-haven Japanese Yen over the past week due to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) turning hawkish and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) choosing to continue with monetary easing. AUD/JPY Price Chart US Dollar benefitted from AUD risk sensitivity The market is reflecting bearish signals for this currency pair. Inflation worries resurfaced on Wall Street, which drove US stocks lower, this sentiment may have a domino effect on the Asia-Pacific markets. The fall in sentiment weighted on the risk-sensitive Australian Dollar, thus benefiting the US Dollar in this currency pair. AUD/USD Price Chart Sources: finance.yahoo.com, dailyfx.com, poundsterlinglive.com
Crypto Update: Solana, will we finally see a technical move higher?  

Crypto Update: Solana, will we finally see a technical move higher?  

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 09.06.2022 11:19
Blue on the crypto boards into today’s London session. The CRYPTO25 index leads the gains, but our focus is on Solana as the price has started to bounce after holding one again from 37.50 support. This support is the base of a descending triangle price pattern, and the price has just started to break out of it in today’s session. Yes, we’re seeing good signs with buying currently, but we hope to see the price close above the upper triangle line completing the breakout. If we do see a move confirm the breakout, we will be looking at the red resistance lines and if buyers can start clearing these resistance levels and get a new up leg happening. Looking further ahead, the next main level of resistance could be seen at the last low area, around 78.99. All of this comes down to price breaking out and not fading back into the pattern. If we see a failed rally today, that would be a worry, and it could suggest that buyer momentum isn’t that strong. A break below the support base, and we could be switching short. But for now, we will continue to watch if Solana buyers can confirm a pattern break. Solana D1 Chart The post Crypto Update: Solana, will we finally see a technical move higher?   appeared first on Eightcap.
Hedging as an effective form of protection from loss

Hedging as an effective form of protection from loss

Purple Trading Purple Trading 09.06.2022 12:19
Hedging as an effective form of protection from loss On the markets, it is used by both professional traders and big players such as banks, investment funds, and others. No wonder, because if you master hedging, it can help you to significantly reduce potential losses and keep you profitable. In this article, we'll show you how to hedge and which instruments are suitable for that. What is hedging? It is a kind of insurance in the form of a trading strategy. It is designed to mitigate potential risks. In hedging, traders (and also financial institutions) hold positions on assets/contracts that have an inverse relationship to each other and thus develop inversely. When one instrument falls, the other rises and vice versa.   Benefits There is one significant advantage to being "hedged". Namely, traders, with this form of insurance, are able to reduce the risks on their opened trading positions and thus better respond to adverse market developments that threaten these positions. At the same time, they have the comfort of being able to guess in advance the value of the maximum potential loss in the event that something goes wrong in the markets. Hedging is thus a really important tool in risk management.   Disadvantages Hedging is essentially a form of insurance. And as it happens, you have to pay for insurance. The same is true for investing in opposing instruments. By having one investment grow while the other declines, you lose a certain amount of potential profit. A theoretical example of hedging We have a trader who buys stock XY for $1000. He decides to hedge and to do so he chooses to buy a six-month put option for $100 with a strike price of $850. This means that our trader has half a year until the option expires to sell his stock at 850USD in case the market is unfavorable for him).   If the share price rises A six-month put option is about to expire and the share price is higher than 850 USD (e.g. 1150 USD). The trader will therefore logically not exercise his option, thus losing 100 USD (the original price of his option). However, by keeping XY stock, which is now worth 1150 USD, his net profit is 1050 USD (1150 - 100). As we wrote above, the hedging in this case reduced the trader’s overall profit, but that is a tax he needs to pay for being “insured”. The following example will show you what would have happened if the trader had not hedged.   The share price plunges In an alternate universe, our trader did not do well and the market gave him a slap in the face in the form of a drop in XY's share price to $600. However, our trader has hedged and exercises his still unexpired option. He can then sell his stock at the option price of the announced 850 USD. In this case, his total loss is 250 USD (850 - 600). If we would take a look at our trader in yet another alternative universe where he has not hedged, his loss would be 400 USD (1000 - 600). CFD hedging: the S&P500 and VIX index The current market developments, influenced by high inflation and the war in Ukraine, are not good for the markets. According to the VIX index, nervousness in the markets will continue to rise and stock indices like the SP500 are currently heading in exactly the opposite direction. However, did you know that these 2 mentioned indices can now be traded in Purple Trading to get a rather effective hedging tool? At Purple Trading, traders now have a unique opportunity to hedge using CFD futures contracts. Namely, we are now launching CFD futures symbols in the form of the VIX index and S&P500, which traders can find in their Purple Trading MT4 platforms. Both symbols have a highly inverse relationship with each other, which is why they are widely sought after when it comes to hedging. Chart 1: Six-month S&P500 price trend (note the apparent inverse relationship with the VIX chart below; source: Googlefinance.com) Chart 2: Six-month VIX price trend (note the apparent inverse relationship with the SP500 chart above) Relationship between VIX and S&P500 The VIX index is often called the fear or nervousness index. Its chart indicates the estimated future nervousness in the markets. This manifests itself in the form of volatility, i.e. sharp and seemingly random price fluctuations caused by nervous investors who are buying/selling more than usual. Thus, if the VIX index shows an increase, volatility/nervousness in the markets can be expected to increase. The exact opposite is true for the S&P500. It outright hates volatility and nervousness in the markets and if it is announced, the S&P500 usually starts to fall. This is due to nervous investors withdrawing from the stock markets to seemingly safer havens, which is gold for example. Thus, if the VIX index (hence volatility) rises, the S&P500 falls and vice versa. Effective hedging is one of the reasons why Purple Trading clients are among the most profitable in the EU FAQ
Crypto Focus: Many of the Top 10 Coins Remaining Heavily Range-Bound for Another Week

Crypto Focus: Many of the Top 10 Coins Remaining Heavily Range-Bound for Another Week

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 10.06.2022 12:15
Well, it was another week of ranges traders, as we saw a few moves by both sides, but the picture remains relatively the same, with many of the top 10 coins remaining heavily range-bound for another week. BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, BNB, and Doge are looking quite similar as traders continue to look for that reason to break the deadlock. Solana looked like it was trying to get a move higher going yesterday, but that was cut down into Thursday’s NY session. For now, it looks like the smart move will be to continue to sit if you’re long-term and stay on the lines if you’re a short-term trader. Until we see a shift in momentum, it could continue to be death by one thousand cuts if you continue to try and play the mini breakouts. It’s not to say we didn’t see some movement this week. ADA, a member on the top 10, did trade up to 20% higher before the fade set in yesterday. For now, ADA is in a minor uptrend, but we want to see 67 beaten to resume thinking that buyers are flat out in control. Other movers in the top 60 have been Helium +36% and THETA +12.2%. In the Top 25, ChainLink has seen a solid seven days up 23.4%. In other news, the SEC has stated that BTC and ETH are commodities. It’s going to be hard to get delivery of those. The SEC is also set to investigate the recent TerraUSD crash. Once again, we are going to end with an index to gauge the overall mood we see on the boards at present. It’s a very clear picture at the moment with the CRYPTO25 index as the price remains hemmed in its range between 11,250 and 9860. Recent price action has started to form a squeeze but that might just produce another mini-break that remains held between the range high and low. We are now at a point where we are looking for a high momentum break, either higher or lower, to set some direction. The post Crypto Focus: Many of the Top 10 Coins Remaining Heavily Range-Bound for Another Week appeared first on Eightcap.
COT Week 23 Charts: Forex Speculators Positions mostly higher led by Canadian dollar & Swiss franc

COT Week 23 Charts: Forex Speculators Positions mostly higher led by Canadian dollar & Swiss franc

Invest Macro Invest Macro 12.06.2022 17:16
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 7th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. COT Currencies market speculator bets were mostly higher this week as eight out of the eleven currency markets we cover had higher positioning this week while three markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for currency markets was the Canadian dollar (5,945 contracts) and the Swiss franc (4,326 contracts) with the British pound sterling (3,295 contracts), Japanese yen (2,793 contracts), Brazil real (1,389 contracts), Australian dollar (786 contracts), US Dollar Index (400 contracts) and Bitcoin (87 contracts) also showing a positive week. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets this week were Mexican peso (-2,723 contracts) and Euro (-1,729 contracts) with New Zealand dollar (-1,047 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week. Currency Speculators Notes: US Dollar Index speculator bets have continued their upward climb in four out of the past five weeks as well as nine out of the past twelve weeks. USD Index remains in an extreme-bullish strength level and is very close (currently +37,938 contracts) to the highest net speculator position (+39,078 contracts on January 4th) of this recent bullish cycle, emphasizing the strong speculator bias. The Euro speculator position saw a pullback this week (-1,729 contracts) after huge gains in the previous three weeks (+58,650 contracts). Speculator sentiment is still pretty strong currently (+50,543 contracts) despite a very weak exchange rate (EURUSD at 1.0524 to close the week) and weak outlook for the Eurozone economy with rising inflation. British pound sterling speculator sentiment has crumbled in the past few months. The net speculator position managed to poke its head above its negative bias on February 15th with a total of +2,237 net contracts but sentiment has deteriorated since. From February 22nd to this week, speculator bets have dropped by a total of -73,047 contracts and recently hit a 139-week low on May 24th, the lowest level of speculator sentiment dating back to September of 2019. Japanese yen speculator positions are the most bearish of the major currencies just under -100,000 contracts. The USDJPY exchange rate is at a 20-year high and there has been no sign that the BOJ is interest in raising interest rates while other central banks commit to higher rates. These factors seem to say that the rout of the yen will continue ahead for some time (but how far can it go?). Commodity currency speculator bets are on the defensive lately. Australian dollar spec bets have fallen in five out of the past six weeks. Canadian dollar bets are now in bearish territory for a 5th straight week. New Zealand dollar speculator positions have declined in six out of the past seven weeks and the net position has now fallen to the lowest level since March of 2020 Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the Brazilian Real, US Dollar Index and Bitcoin are all in extreme-bullish levels at the current moment. On the opposite end of the extreme spectrum, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc are very weak in relative speculator sentiment and sit in the extreme-bearish levels. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the commodity currencies have been losing sentiment over the last six weeks. The Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the New Zealand dollar have all had changes of at least -18.8 percent in their strength scores with the New Zealand dollar leading the decline with a -33.3 percent drop in six weeks. The US Dollar Index, Euro and Mexican Peso have had small but rising scores over the past six weeks. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-07-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 65,163 100 37,938 91 -41,863 5 3,925 59 EUR 730,667 95 50,543 51 -88,189 51 37,646 37 GBP 258,623 76 -70,810 23 80,465 77 -9,655 36 JPY 266,054 100 -91,646 12 109,109 89 -17,463 18 CHF 49,794 41 -16,132 16 27,216 87 -11,084 20 CAD 167,373 42 -1,062 40 -13,401 58 14,463 59 AUD 166,422 57 -47,896 40 47,413 54 483 54 NZD 63,540 70 -19,771 38 22,681 65 -2,910 19 MXN 248,184 72 32,726 41 -38,117 57 5,391 66 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 72,371 70 46,705 96 -48,954 4 2,249 91 Bitcoin 10,990 58 490 93 -529 0 39 14   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 37,938 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 400 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 37,538 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 85.1 3.2 8.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.9 67.5 2.8 – Net Position: 37,938 -41,863 3,925 – Gross Longs: 55,460 2,090 5,780 – Gross Shorts: 17,522 43,953 1,855 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.2 to 1 0.0 to 1 3.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 91.2 5.0 59.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.0 -8.8 13.4   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 50,543 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -1,729 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 52,272 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 50.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 51.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.7 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.5 50.0 12.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.6 62.1 7.3 – Net Position: 50,543 -88,189 37,646 – Gross Longs: 230,248 365,628 90,978 – Gross Shorts: 179,705 453,817 53,332 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 50.5 51.0 36.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 8.7 -11.9 22.7   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -70,810 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 3,295 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -74,105 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 23.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.6 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 13.4 74.1 8.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.8 43.0 12.1 – Net Position: -70,810 80,465 -9,655 – Gross Longs: 34,618 191,742 21,602 – Gross Shorts: 105,428 111,277 31,257 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 23.0 77.3 35.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.9 -4.4 17.9   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -91,646 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 2,793 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -94,439 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.0 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.9 79.3 8.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.4 38.3 15.3 – Net Position: -91,646 109,109 -17,463 – Gross Longs: 18,466 210,889 23,226 – Gross Shorts: 110,112 101,780 40,689 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 12.4 88.9 18.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.4 -2.8 3.9   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -16,132 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 4,326 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -20,458 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.0 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.2 69.3 18.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.6 14.6 41.1 – Net Position: -16,132 27,216 -11,084 – Gross Longs: 2,609 34,494 9,378 – Gross Shorts: 18,741 7,278 20,462 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.1 to 1 4.7 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 15.6 86.9 20.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -8.3 2.4 6.0   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -1,062 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,945 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -7,007 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 57.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 58.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.5 44.2 22.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 24.1 52.2 13.7 – Net Position: -1,062 -13,401 14,463 – Gross Longs: 39,288 74,044 37,463 – Gross Shorts: 40,350 87,445 23,000 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.2 57.6 58.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -23.8 14.2 9.7   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -47,896 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 786 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -48,682 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 53.6 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 19.1 59.9 14.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.8 31.4 14.2 – Net Position: -47,896 47,413 483 – Gross Longs: 31,720 99,747 24,197 – Gross Shorts: 79,616 52,334 23,714 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.4 54.3 53.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.8 13.8 4.3   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -19,771 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,047 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -18,724 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 38.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 65.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.5 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 19.4 69.1 4.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.5 33.4 8.6 – Net Position: -19,771 22,681 -2,910 – Gross Longs: 12,310 43,890 2,538 – Gross Shorts: 32,081 21,209 5,448 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 38.1 65.4 18.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -33.3 31.2 -4.3   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 32,726 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -2,723 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 35,449 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 41.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 56.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 65.9 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 48.0 35.4 3.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 34.8 50.8 1.2 – Net Position: 32,726 -38,117 5,391 – Gross Longs: 119,162 87,884 8,441 – Gross Shorts: 86,436 126,001 3,050 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 2.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 41.3 56.9 65.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.4 -6.1 8.3   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 46,705 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 1,389 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 45,316 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.1 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.1 13.5 5.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.5 81.2 2.3 – Net Position: 46,705 -48,954 2,249 – Gross Longs: 58,657 9,780 3,931 – Gross Shorts: 11,952 58,734 1,682 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.9 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 96.3 3.5 91.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.2 -0.2 4.4   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 490 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 87 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 403 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 21.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.8 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.5 1.5 9.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 77.1 6.4 9.3 – Net Position: 490 -529 39 – Gross Longs: 8,959 169 1,063 – Gross Shorts: 8,469 698 1,024 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 93.2 21.6 13.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.5 -6.4 0.6   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Crypto News: Cardano focus after support bounce

Crypto News: Cardano focus after support bounce

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 14.06.2022 08:44
Well, traders, what an insane few days we have seen on the crypto markets. Some of the falls have just about been doomsday stuff. ETH, for instance, broke below 1100 today, and Bitcoin briefly moved below 21K. Solana’s low retraced the entire 2020/21 run before buyers jumped back in today. So let’s move to today’s focus Cardano. The late May and early June price looked good, moving back above .66 before the latest bear raids kicked off. Five straight sessions saw 24% taken off the price and today looked no different as prices raced a further 9% lower. Buyers emerged into today’s Asian session and, at this stage, have pulled 17% back since today’s low. This caught our attention from where the turnaround occurred, and it lined up very nicely with .4450 support. This could be a good sign as price continues to sit in its range and is not in a solid downtrend like many other top 10 coins. If buyers can hold out today and maintain a close above support, this could be good signs that buyers are trying to regain control. A close below support, and we will be back on the bear front. If buyers can hold support and a decent push higher, we will look for broader buying to show overall demand, and we will then look to see if buyers can break the top of the range to start suggesting that a new move higher could be developing. Cardano D1 Chart The post Crypto News: Cardano focus after support bounce appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto News: Bitcoin stalling after yesterday’s recovery?

Crypto News: Bitcoin stalling after yesterday’s recovery?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 16.06.2022 09:25
After a long period of heavy selling, crypto markets saw a small respite yesterday. The Fed raised rates higher than expected yesterday and advised they will do whatever is required to get inflation back around the 2% level. Whether it was a point of oversold value or market confidence in the Fed’s message of action, the result was a recovery in risk markets. From FX to indexes and crypto buyers pushed back, posting higher closes after days of selling. This morning the script continued on from yesterday as buyers continued to hold sway, but this changed into the LON session as a wave of new sellers moved in, knocking the wind out of buyer sails. Bitcoin is the focus of today’s report. After 8 hours of buying, sellers stepped in, re-holding 22,670 resistance. Since that point, we are now seeing three straight bars lower. From here, the 4H show’s a V pattern which could become a reversal but  the trends are definitely lower at the moment, and price failed to break 22,670 resistance. We see two paths from this point. One, buyers manage to break resistance extending the current recovery. Two, we see the current selling expand with a new move back to support. If we see a break of support, this could set up a new extension of the current downtrend. Bitcoin 4H chart The post Crypto News: Bitcoin stalling after yesterday’s recovery? appeared first on Eightcap.
USOUSD OIL, Yesterday’s buyer fightback to push a new leg higher?

USOUSD OIL, Yesterday’s buyer fightback to push a new leg higher?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 17.06.2022 04:41
Thanks for tuning in, readers. Today we’re looking at USOUSD oil and wondering if yesterday’s price rejection could lead to a new leg higher from buyers. So far this week, we have seen mixed trade with buyers coming close to breaking last week’s high before sellers took hold and set up a two-day retracement. It would have been three, but buyers had other ideas yesterday, stopping sellers once they tested 112.75. Buyers quickly took price back up above 117 and posted a higher close for the session. Today so far price has been on the quieter side. If we can see a new move above yesterday’s high, we will be looking for a new up leg, but if sellers can close below 115.14 this could be a warning that the current retracement could have further to go. If we do see a new leg higher would look for price to possibly get back into the 120/21 area if buyers can maintain momentum. Happy Friday, all. We hope everyone has a lovely weekend and good trading. USOUSD D1 Chart (please see below for our analysis video powered by TradingView) USOUSD Analysis Video The post USOUSD OIL, Yesterday’s buyer fightback to push a new leg higher? appeared first on Eightcap.
The Swing Overview – Week 23 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 23 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 17.06.2022 08:53
The Swing Overview - Week 23 Major global stock indices broke through their support levels after several days of range movement in response to the tightening economy, the ongoing war in Ukraine, slowing economic growth and high inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its interest rate by 0.50%. The ECB decided to start raising interest rates by 0.25% from July 2022. The winner of last week is the US dollar, which continues to strengthen. Macroeconomic data Data from the US labour market was highly anticipated. The job creation indicator, the so-called NFP, surprised the markets positively. Analysts expected that 325,000 new jobs had been created in May. In fact, 390 thousand jobs were created in the US. Unemployment is at 3.6%. The information on the growth of hourly wages, which is a leading indicator of inflation, was important. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May, less than analysts who expected 0.4%.   Unemployment claims reached 229,000 this week. This is the highest levels since 3/3/2022. However, this is not an extreme increase. The number of claims is still in the pre-pandemic average area. Nevertheless, it can be seen that since 7/4/2022, when the number of applications reached 166 thousand, the number of applications is slowly increasing and this indicator will be closely monitored.  The ISM index of purchasing managers in the US service sector reached 55.9 in May. This is lower than the previous month's reading of 57.1. A value above 50 still points to expansion in the sector although the decline in the reading indicates  economy.   The yield on the US 10-year bond is close to its peak and is currently around 3%. The rise in yields has been followed by a rise in the US dollar. The dollar index has surpassed 103. The reason for the strengthening of the dollar is the aggressive tightening of the economy by the US Fed, which began reducing the central bank's balance sheet on June 1, 2022. In practice, this means that the Fed will let expire the government bonds it previously bought as part of QE and will not reinvest them further. The first tranche of bonds will expire on June 15, so the effect of this operation remains to be seen. Figure 1: The US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The SP 500 index has been moving in a narrow range for the past few days between 4,200, where resistance is and 4,080, where support has been tested several times. This support was broken and has become the new resistance as we can see on the H4 chart.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The catalyst for this strong initiation move is the strong US dollar and rising bond yields. Therefore, the current resistance is in the 4,075 - 4,085 range.  The nearest support is 3,965 - 3,970 according to the H4 chart. The next support is 3,879 - 3,907.   German DAX index Macroeconomic data that affected the DAX was manufacturing orders for April, which fell 2.7% month-on-month, while analysts were expecting a 0.3% rise. Industrial production in Germany rose by 0.7% in April (expectations were for 1.0%). The war in Ukraine has a strong impact on the weaker figures. The catalyst for breaking support was the ECB's decision to raise interest rates, which the bank will start implementing from July 2022. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX is below the SMA 100 moving average according to the daily and H4 chart. This shows a bearish sentiment. The nearest resistance is 14,300 - 14,335. Support is at 13,870 - 13,900 according to the H4 chart.   The ECB left the interest rate unchanged  The ECB left interest rates unchanged on June 9, 2022, so the key rate is still at 0.0%. However, the bank said that it will proceed with a rate hike from July, when the rate is expected to rise by 0.25%. The next hike will then be in September, probably again by 0.25%. The bank pointed to the high inflation rate, which is expected to reach 6.8% for 2022. Inflation is expected to fall to 3.4% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024.  Figure 4: The EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart According to the bank, a significant risk is Russia's unjustified aggression against Ukraine, which is causing problems in supply chains and pushing energy and some commodity prices up. The result is a slowdown in the growth of the European economy. The bank also announced that it will end its asset purchase program as of July 1, 2022. This is the soft end of this program, as the money that will flow from matured assets will continue to be reinvested by the bank. In practice, this means that the ECB's balance sheet will not be further inflated, but for now, unlike the Fed’s balance sheet, the bank has no plans to reduce its balance sheet. This, coupled with the more moderate rate hike plans and the existence of the above risks, has supported the dollar and the euro has begun to weaken sharply in response to the ECB announcement. The resistance is 1.0760-1.0770. Current support at 1.063-1.064 is broken and it will become new resistance if the break is confirmed. The next support according to the H4 chart is 1.0530 - 1.0550.   Australian central bank surprises with aggressive approach In Australia, the central bank raised its policy rate by 0.50%. Analysts had expected the bank to raise the rate by 0.25%. Thus, the current rate on the Australian dollar is 0.80%. However, this aggressive increase did not strengthen the Australian dollar, which surprisingly weakened. The reason for this is the strong US dollar and also the risk off sentiment that is taking place in the equity indices.  Also impacting the Aussie is the situation in China, where there is zero tolerance of COVID-19. This will impact the country's economic growth, which is very likely to fall short of the 5.5% that was originally projected.  Figure 5: The AUD/USD on H4 and daily chart According to the H4 chart, the AUD/USD currency pair has broken below the SMA 100 moving average, which is a bearish signal. The nearest resistance is 0.7140 - 0.7150. The support is in the zone 0.7030 - 0.7040. 
Crypto Focus: Prices Sink Lower as Crypto Malaise Spreads

Crypto Focus: Prices Sink Lower as Crypto Malaise Spreads

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 17.06.2022 13:26
Hi traders, well, another week, another heavy extension lower. This week’s selling really struck home as levels not seen in a while were reached on some coins. The most selling was seen on the top this week as it lost 22% while the top 25 lost 20%. Plenty of mental pain was seen over the last week as coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum hit levels not seen since 2020. Bitcoin came very close to breaking 20K, and Ethereum just missed breaking 1K. Solana hit 25.77, just about retracing the entire 2021 move. Is it a bit late to say the market is internally sick? I feel it is a bit. Confidence looks shot, and this tends to remind me of 2017/2018. Is this different? Could we see a new rally that moves are a more sustainable speed? Or have stable coins shown a fundamental weakness in the crypto world that has drawn trust out of the crypto dream? Sorry to sound so dramatic, but if you compare Bitcoin now to Bitcoin in 2017, you will see some similarities. Sirin Labs has not followed the overall market trend as it has seen ridiculous gains over the last two days. Price looks to have been helped by news that a blockchain-backed smartphone backed by football superstar Lionel Messi is set to be released in November. The market looks to approval as price of SRNUSD has exploded by over 1200% in the last two days. The post Crypto Focus: Prices Sink Lower as Crypto Malaise Spreads appeared first on Eightcap.
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 7/6/2022

Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 7/6/2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 17.06.2022 10:30
Positions of large speculators according to the COT report as at 7/6/2022 Total net speculator positions on the USD index rose by 400 contracts last week to 37,938 contracts. This change is the result of a 600-contract increase in long positions and a 200-contract increase in short positions. On the euro, there was a decrease in total net positions after a significant previous increase. A reduction in total net positions also occurred on the New Zealand dollar last week. Increases in total net positions occurred last week on the British pound, the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen, the Canadian dollar, and the Swiss franc. The markets experienced high volatility last week, triggered by concerns that the economy was tightening more rapidly on the back of rising inflation. As a result, equity indices have continued to fall and this risk-off sentiment has led to a strengthening of the US dollar and a weakening of more or less all currencies tracked. The positions of speculators in individual currencies The total net positions of large speculators are shown in Table 1: If the value is positive then the large speculators are net long. If the value is negative, the large speculators are net short. Table 1: Total net positions of large speculators DatE USD Index EUR GBP AUD NZD JPY CAD CHF Jun 7, 2022    37938 50543 -70810 -47896 -19771 -91646 -1062 -16132 May 31, 2022 37538 52272 -74105 -48682 -18724 -94439 -7007 -20458 May 24, 2022 38039 38930 -80372 -45446 -19321 -99444 -12687 -19673 May 17, 2022 36213 20339 -79241 -44642 -17767 -102309 -14496 -16592 May 10, 2022 34776 16529 -79598 -41714 -12996 -110454 -5407 -15763 May 03, 2022 33071 -6378 -73813 -28516 -6610 -100794 9029 -13907   Note: The explanation of COT methodolody is at the the end of the report.   Notes: Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. ​The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.   Detailed analysis of selected currencies   Explanations:   Purple line and histogram: this is information on the total net position of large speculators. This information shows the strength and sentiment of an ongoing trend. It is the indicator r_COT Large Speculators (by Kramsken) in www.tradingview.com. Information on the positions of so-called hedgers is not shown in the chart, due to the fact that their main goal is not speculation, but hedging. Therefore, this group usually takes the opposite positions than the large speculators. For this reason, the positions of hedgers are inversely correlated with the movement of the price of the underlying asset. However, this inverse correlation shows the ongoing trend less clearly than the position of large speculators.​ We show moving average SMA 100 (blue line) and EMA 50 (orange line) on daily charts. ​Charts are made with the use of www.tradingview.com. The source of numerical data is www.myfxbook.com   The Euro   DatE Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions Change Open Interest Change Long Change Short Change Net Positions Sentiment Jun 07, 2022 730667 230248 179705 50543 24350 -6305 -4576 -1729 Weak bullish May 31, 2022 706317 236553 184281 52272 -2621 -519 -13861 13342 Bullish May 24, 2022 708938 237072 198142 38930 2226 6302 -12289 18591 Bullish May 17, 2022 706712 230770 210431 20339 1666 2540 -1270 3810 Bullish May 10, 2022 705046 228230 211701 16529 10120 19781 -3126 22907 Bullish May 03, 2022 694926 208449 214827 -6378 6477 -14544 14035 -28579 Bearish         Total Change 42218 7255 -21087 28342     Figure 1: The euro and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the EUR/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached 50 543 contracts last week, down by 1 729 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 6,305 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 4,576 contracts. This data suggests weak bullish sentiment as total net positions are positive but at the same time there has been a decline. Open interest rose by 24,350 contracts in the last week. This shows that the downward movement that occurred in the euro last week was supported by volume and it was therefore a strong price action. The price bounced off resistance at the EMA 50 moving average and is approaching horizontal support which is in the band at 1.0400. The weakening euro is a result of the ECB's approach to inflation. The ECB announced to raise the rate by 0.25% from July, which is significantly less than the interest rate increase implemented by the US Fed.  Long-term resistance: 1.0620 – 1.0650. The next resistance is at 1.0770-1.0780. Support: 1.0340 – 1.0420 The British pound DatE Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions Change Open Interest Change Long change Short change Net Positions Sentiment Jun 7, 2022 258623 34618 105428 -70810 5742 3830 535 3295 Weak bullish May 31, 2022 252881 30788 104893 -74105 -983 4852 -1415 6267 Weak bearish May 24, 2022 253864 25936 106308 -80372 53 -677 454 -1131 Bearish May 17, 2022 253811 26613 105854 -79241 -10783 -2856 -3213 357 Weak bearish May 10 2022 264594 29469 109067 -79598 -3902 -4067 1718 -5785 Bearish May 03, 2022 268496 33536 107349 -73813 -4296 -6900 -2708 -4192 Bearish         Total Change -14169 -5818 -4629 -1189     Figure 2: The GBP and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the GBP/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week reached - 70,810 contracts, having increased by 3,295 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to the growth in long positions by 3,830 contracts and the growth in short positions by 535 contracts. This suggests weak bearish sentiment as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but at the same time there has been an increase in them. Open interest rose by 5742 contracts last week, indicating that the downward movement in the pound that occurred last week was supported by volume and it was therefore a strong price action. The pound is weakening strongly in the current risk off sentiment and has reached its long term support. Long-term resistance: 1.2440 – 1.2476.    Support: 1.2160 – 1.2200   The Australian dollar   DatE Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions Change Open Interest Change Long Change Short Change Net Positions Sentiment Jun 7, 2022 166422 31720 79616 -47896 12761 -1177 -1963 786 Weak bearish May 31, 2022 153661 32897 81579 -48682 -4954 -3682 -446 -3236 Bearish May 24, 2022 158615 36579 82025 -45446 -5194 -4894 -4090 -804 Bearish May 17, 2022 163809 41473 86115 -44642 10600 4604 7532 -2928 Bearish May 10, 2022 153209 36869 78583 -41714 952 -10126 3072 13198 Bearish May 03, 2022 152257 46995 75511 -28516 5167 -110 755 -865 Bearish         Total Change 19332 -15385 4860 -20245     Figure 3: The AUD and COT positions of large speculators on a weekly chart and the AUD/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators reached 47,896 contracts last week, up by 786 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to a decrease in long positions by 1,177 contracts and a decrease in short positions by 1,963 contracts. This data suggests weak bearish sentiment on the Australian dollar, as the total net positions of large speculators are negative, but at the same time there was an increase in them in the previous week. There was an increase in open interest of 12,761 contracts last week. This means that the downward movement that occurred last week on the AUD was supported by volume and it was therefore a strong price action. The Australian dollar is weakening sharply even though the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 0.50% last week. The reason for this bearish decline is the current risk-off sentiment which is particularly threatening commodity currencies, which includes the Australian dollar. Long-term resistance: 0.7250-0.7260                                                                                                              Long-term support: 0.6830-0.6850  (the support zone begins at 0.6930 according to a weekly chart).   The New Zealand dollar   DatE Open Interest Specs Long Specs Short Specs Net positions Change Open Interest Change Long Change Short Change Net Positions Sentiment Jun 7, 2022 63540 12310 32081 -19771 8406 3131 4178 -1047 Bearish May 31, 2022 55134 9179 27903 -18724 -4145 -1570 -2167 597 Weak bearish May 24, 2022 59279 10749 30070 -19321 -1525 -4249 -2695 -1554 Bearish May 17, 2022 60804 14998 32765 -17767 4569 -205 4566 -4771 Bearish May 10, 2022 56235 15203 28199 -12996 5391 -2224 4162 -6386 Bearish May 03, 2022 50844 17427 24037 -6610 4334 -4658 2018 -6676 Bearish         Total Change 17030 -9775 10062 -19837     Figure 4: The NZD and the position of large speculators on a weekly chart and the NZD/USD on D1 The total net positions of speculators last week amounted to -19,771 contracts, down by 1,047 contracts compared to the previous week. This change is due to an increase in long positions by 3,131 contracts and an increase in short positions by 4,178 contracts. This data suggests that there has been bearish sentiment on the New Zealand Dollar over the past week as the total net positions of large speculators have been negative and there was further decline in them as well. Open interest rose by 8,406 contracts last week. The downward move in NZD/USD that occurred last week was supported by volume and therefore the move was strong. The NZD/USD bounced off the resistance band at 0.6570 and approached significant support. The decline in the New Zealand Dollar is mainly due to risk off sentiment in equity markets. Long-term resistance: 0.6540 – 0.6570 Long-term support: 0.6220 – 0.6280   Explanation to the COT report The COT report shows the positions of major participants in the futures markets. Futures contracts are derivatives and are essentially agreements between two parties to exchange an underlying asset for a predetermined price on a predetermined date. They are standardised, specifying the quality and quantity of the underlying asset. They are traded on an exchange so that the total volume of these contracts traded is known.   Open interest: open interest is the sum of all open futures contracts (i.e. the sum of short and long contracts) that exist on a given asset. OI increases when a new futures contract is created by pairing a buyer with a seller. The OI decreases when an existing futures contract expires at a given expiry time or by settlement. Low or no open interest means that there is no interest in the market. High open interest indicates high activity and traders pay attention to this market. A rising open interest indicates that there is demand for the currency. That is, a rising OI indicates a strong current trend. Conversely, a weakening open interest indicates that the current trend is not strong. Open Interest Price action Interpretation Notes Rising Rising Strong bullish market New money flow in the particular asset, more bulls entered the market which pushes the price up. The trend is strong. Rising Falling Strong bearish market Price falls, more bearish traders entered the market which pushes the price down. The trend is strong. Falling Rising Weak bullish market Price is going up but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures contracts expire or are closed. The trend is weak. Falling Falling Weak bearish market Price is going down, but new money do not flow into the market. Existing futures expire or are closed, the trend is weak.   Large speculators are traders who trade large volumes of futures contracts, which, if the set limits are met, must be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Typically, this includes traders such as funds or large banks. These traders mostly focus on trading long-term trends and their goal is to make money on speculation with the instrument. Traders should try to trade in the direction of these large speculators. The total net positions of large speculators are the difference between the number of long contracts and the number of short contracts of large speculators. Positive value shows that large speculators are net long. Negative value shows that large speculators are net short. The data is published every Friday and is delayed because it shows the status on Tuesday of the week. The total net positions of large speculators show the sentiment this group has in the market. A positive value of the total net positions of speculators indicates bullish sentiment, a negative value of total net positions indicates bearish sentiment. When interpreting charts and values, it is important to follow the overall trend of total net positions. The turning points are also very important, i.e. the moments when the total net positions go from a positive value to a negative one and vice versa. Important are also extreme values ​​of total net positions as they often serve as signals of a trend reversal. The COT data are usually reported every Friday and they show the status on Tuesday of the week. Sentiment according to the reported positions of large players in futures markets is not immediately reflected in the movement of currency pairs. Therefore, information on sentiment is more likely to be used by traders who take longer trades and are willing to hold their positions for several weeks or even months.
Currency Speculators boost US Dollar Index bets to 5-year high while Euro bets dip into bearish level

Currency Speculators boost US Dollar Index bets to 5-year high while Euro bets dip into bearish level

Invest Macro Invest Macro 18.06.2022 20:13
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 14th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. There were many really large moves this week in the COT positioning as the data was recorded on Tuesday – just one day ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a 75 basis point increase in the US benchmark Fed Funds rate. Currency market speculator bets were mostly higher this week as eight out of the eleven currency markets (Russian ruble futures positions have not been updated by the CFTC since March) we cover had higher positioning this week while two markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for currency market positions was the Canadian dollar (24,264 contracts) and the Japanese yen (21,891 contracts) with the New Zealand dollar (12,933 contracts), Swiss franc (9,324 contracts), US Dollar Index (6,538 contracts), British pound sterling (5,214 contracts), Australian dollar (4,642 contracts), Bitcoin (571 contracts) and Brazil real (508 contracts) also showing positive weeks. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets were the Mexican peso (-59,107 contracts) and the Euro (-56,561 contracts) this week. Currency Speculators Notes: US Dollar Index speculators raised their bullish bets for a second straight week this week and for the seventh time in the past ten weeks. These increases pushed the large speculator standing (+44,476 contracts) to the highest level in the past two hundred and seventy-three weeks, dating back more than five years to March 21st of 2017. The most bullish level ever was +81,270 contracts on March 10th of 2015. The US dollar strength keeps rolling along and the overall standing has now remained bullish for the past fifty consecutive weeks, dating back to July of 2021. The US Dollar Index price has continued its strength as well and reached a high this week of over 105.75 which is the best level for the DXY since back in December of 2002. Euro speculators sharply dropped their positions this week by the most on record with a huge decline of -56,561 contracts. This record decline beat out the previous high of -52,107 contracts that took place on June 19th of 2018. Euro bets had been gaining over the past month and were at a total of +50,543 contracts before this week’s sharp turnaround which has now tipped the overall spec positioning into bearish territory for the first time since January. Japanese yen speculator bets surged this week (+21,891 contracts) and gained for the fifth straight week. Yen speculator positions have been in bearish territory for over a year and have been extremely week since many central banks around the world started raising their interest rates. The Bank of Japan has not raised rates and has signaled that it will not do so, creating large interest rate differentials compared to the other major currencies. Despite the spec bets increase this week, the yen exchange rate came under further pressure this week with the USDJPY price closing over the 135.00 exchange rate (and remaining near 20-year highs). Mexican Peso speculator bets fell sharply by -59,381 contracts this week and flipped the MXN speculator positioning from bullish to bearish. The weekly speculator decline is the largest fall in the past thirteen weeks and the decrease into a bearish standing is the first time since March 29th. Canadian dollar bets jumped this week by the most in the past seventy-seven weeks and brought the speculator position back into bullish territory for the first time in six weeks. CAD speculator bets have now gained for four straight weeks and the overall spec standing is residing at the highest level since July 2021. New Zealand dollar speculators also boosted their bets this week after the NZD positions had dropped in six out of the previous seven weeks. This week’s rise in weekly bets was the most in the past thirteen weeks but the overall speculator standing remains in bearish territory for the seventh straight week. Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the US Dollar Index (100 percent), Bitcoin (100 percent) and the Brazilian Real (96.8 percent) are leading the strength scores and are all in extreme bullish positions. On the downside, the Mexican peso (16.1 percent) has fallen into extreme bearish positioning followed by the Japanese yen (25.9 percent) and British pound (26.7 percent) which are just above the 20 percent extreme bearish threshold. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the US Dollar Index (19.5 percent), Japanese yen (19.1 percent) and Swiss franc (18 percent) have the highest six-week trend scores currently. The Mexican peso also leads the trends on the downside with a -17.5 percent trend change. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-14-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 61,144 91 44,476 100 -47,736 0 3,260 52 EUR 668,164 69 -6,018 33 -28,495 68 34,513 32 GBP 238,322 63 -65,596 27 81,063 78 -15,467 24 JPY 232,513 77 -69,755 26 86,443 78 -16,688 20 CHF 39,362 20 -6,808 39 18,147 72 -11,339 19 CAD 175,219 47 23,202 65 -30,284 43 7,082 44 AUD 142,857 39 -43,254 45 44,710 52 -1,456 49 NZD 45,410 35 -6,838 60 9,773 45 -2,935 18 MXN 197,375 48 -26,381 16 23,148 82 3,233 57 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 69,931 67 47,213 97 -48,458 4 1,245 79 Bitcoin 12,242 68 1,061 100 -947 0 -114 10   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 44,476 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 6,538 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 37,938 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.2 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 86.9 2.9 9.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 14.2 80.9 3.8 – Net Position: 44,476 -47,736 3,260 – Gross Longs: 53,133 1,752 5,553 – Gross Shorts: 8,657 49,488 2,293 – Long to Short Ratio: 6.1 to 1 0.0 to 1 2.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 52.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 19.2 -19.1 7.1   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -6,018 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -56,561 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 50,543 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 67.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 31.6 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.0 54.1 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.9 58.3 7.5 – Net Position: -6,018 -28,495 34,513 – Gross Longs: 206,986 361,159 84,823 – Gross Shorts: 213,004 389,654 50,310 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.2 67.9 31.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 0.1 -1.1 5.9   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -65,596 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 5,214 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -70,810 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 26.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.6 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 12.3 77.2 8.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 39.8 43.2 15.1 – Net Position: -65,596 81,063 -15,467 – Gross Longs: 29,343 184,011 20,625 – Gross Shorts: 94,939 102,948 36,092 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 26.7 77.6 23.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.9 -4.7 -0.5   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -69,755 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 21,891 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -91,646 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 25.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.5 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.0 75.6 9.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 44.0 38.4 16.8 – Net Position: -69,755 86,443 -16,688 – Gross Longs: 32,441 175,789 22,340 – Gross Shorts: 102,196 89,346 39,028 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 25.9 77.8 19.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 19.1 -16.5 5.7   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -6,808 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 9,324 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -16,132 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 39.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.1 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 10.9 66.2 22.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.2 20.1 51.7 – Net Position: -6,808 18,147 -11,339 – Gross Longs: 4,291 26,045 9,026 – Gross Shorts: 11,099 7,898 20,365 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 3.3 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 39.2 72.4 19.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 18.0 -19.8 17.9   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 23,202 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 24,264 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,062 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 65.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 43.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.3 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.3 45.1 16.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 19.0 62.4 12.7 – Net Position: 23,202 -30,284 7,082 – Gross Longs: 56,550 79,064 29,357 – Gross Shorts: 33,348 109,348 22,275 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 65.4 43.5 44.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 15.9 -14.4 6.3   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -43,254 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 4,642 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -47,896 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 48.9 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.2 59.9 14.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.4 28.6 16.0 – Net Position: -43,254 44,710 -1,456 – Gross Longs: 31,660 85,591 21,342 – Gross Shorts: 74,914 40,881 22,798 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.7 52.2 48.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -13.7 7.8 10.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -6,838 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 12,933 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -19,771 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 59.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 45.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.2 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.8 61.8 4.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 47.9 40.3 11.4 – Net Position: -6,838 9,773 -2,935 – Gross Longs: 14,894 28,062 2,236 – Gross Shorts: 21,732 18,289 5,171 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 59.8 45.5 18.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -0.4 -0.2 3.8   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -26,381 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -59,107 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 32,726 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 56.7 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 57.8 38.3 3.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 71.2 26.5 1.5 – Net Position: -26,381 23,148 3,233 – Gross Longs: 114,093 75,532 6,170 – Gross Shorts: 140,474 52,384 2,937 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.4 to 1 2.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 16.1 82.5 56.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -17.5 17.4 -2.9   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 47,213 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 508 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 46,705 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 79.4 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 83.0 12.5 4.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 15.5 81.8 2.8 – Net Position: 47,213 -48,458 1,245 – Gross Longs: 58,023 8,711 3,197 – Gross Shorts: 10,810 57,169 1,952 – Long to Short Ratio: 5.4 to 1 0.2 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 96.8 4.0 79.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.3 -5.0 -4.0   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 1,061 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 571 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 490 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.3 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.7 0.5 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 73.0 8.2 9.2 – Net Position: 1,061 -947 -114 – Gross Longs: 9,996 62 1,008 – Gross Shorts: 8,935 1,009 1,122 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 0.0 10.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 12.3 -30.9 -3.5   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
The Swing Overview – Week 24 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 24 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 17.06.2022 16:54
The Swing Overview - Week 24 We've had a week in which the world's major stock indices took a bloodbath in response to rising inflation, which is advancing faster than expected. Central banks have played a major part in this drama. As expected, the US, the UK and, surprisingly, Switzerland raised interest rates. Japan, on the other hand, is still one of the few countries that decided to keep interest rates at their original level of - 0.10%. Macroeconomic data The 0.75% interest rate hike to 1.75%, which was 0.25% higher than the Fed announced at the last meeting, might not have come as a surprise to the markets given that inflation for May was 8.6% on year-on-year basis (8.3% for April). The market reacted strongly in response to the inflation data, and a sell-off in equity indices and a strengthening US dollar followed.   The 0.75% rate hike is the highest since 1994 and the next Fed meeting is expected to see another rate hike again in the range of 0.50% to 0.75%. The Fed is trying to stop rising inflation with this aggressive approach. The problem is that economic projections point to slowing economic growth. Retail data for May fell by 0.3%, which was a surprise to the markets. This is the first drop in consumer spending in 2022. The Fed also lowered GDP growth projections and unemployment is expected to rise as well. All of this points to the risk of stagflation.     But the labour market data is still good. The number of initial claims in unemployment reached 229k last week, down from 232k the previous week. The US dollar hit a new high for the year at 105.86 in response to high inflation and a faster tightening economy. The US 10-year bond yields also rose, reaching 3.479%. Figure 1: The US 10-year bond yields and the USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The SP 500 index, like other global indices, was in a bloodbath last week as data on rising US inflation in particular surprised. Major supports according to the H4 chart were very quickly broken and the market is showing that it is still in a bearish mood. According to the daily chart, another lower low has formed which together with the lower highs confirms this bearish trend.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   A support according to the H4 chart is in the 3,645 - 3,675 range. The nearest resistance is at 3,820 - 3,835. A broken support in the 3,710 - 3,732 area can also be considered as resistance. The most important news is behind us and the market could take a breath for a while. The low levels could also be noticed by long-term investors who will be buying dip. But for speculators, it is very risky to speculate on a market reversal in a downtrend.   German DAX index The German DAX index offers a very similar picture to the SP 500. The ZEW economic sentiment indicator in Germany for the month of June showed a deterioration in sentiment among institutional investors and analysts, with the index reading coming in at -28.0. The ongoing war in Ukraine is undoubtedly influencing this pessimism. The end of this tragic event is still not in sight. What is clear, however, is that the longer the conflict continues, the stronger the impact on the European economy will be.    Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX is in a clear downtrend and broke through significant support at 13,300 last week. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is 13,250 - 13,300. Significant resistance is at 13,650 - 13,700. A new support according to the H4 chart is at 12,950 - 12,980.   The euro has rejected lower readings  Information about higher inflation in the US and a rate hike sent the EUR/USD pair to support levels at 1.0370. However, the level was not broken and the euro then took a strong move from this area. Investors seem to assume that the ECB will have to respond with a higher than 0.25% rate hike announced at the last meeting. Figure 4: The EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart According to the H4 chart, the nearest resistance is at 1.0560 - 1.0600. The next resistance is then at 1.0760-1.0770. Current support is at 1.0340 - 1.0370 according to the daily chart.   The Bank of England raised rates as expected Rising inflation did not leave the Bank of England in dovish mood as it raised its key rate by 0.25% as expected. The current rate is 1.25%. Inflation may be approaching double digits, but the bank could not afford to be more aggressive. In Britain, economic activity has already fallen and the GDP is falling at its fastest pace in a year. On a month-on-month basis, the GDP in Britain fell by 0.3%.  Manufacturing production fell by 1% in April. Figure 5: The GBP/USD on H4 and daily chart The GBP/USD currency pair had a very dramatic week, first breaking below 1.20, only to stage an unprecedented rally later. Anyway, according to the H4 chart and also the daily chart, the pound is below the SMA 100 moving average, which indicates a bearish sentiment. There are also clear lower lows and lower highs on the daily chart, confirming the downtrend.   The UK interest rate hike did send the GBP/USD currency pair to 1.24, but the price did not stay there for long time as the pound descended from higher values, underlining the overall downtrend. The nearest resistance is at 1.24. A support is then at 1.1930 - 1.2000.   Central Bank of Japan still dovish   In the early hours of Friday morning, the Bank of Japan was also deciding on rates. There, as expected, everything remains as it was, i.e. the rate remains negative at - 0.10%. This situation means a favourable interest rate differential between the US dollar and the Japanese yen in favour of the dollar. It is therefore no surprise that the USD/JPY pair has reached its highest level since 2002. However, the weak yen is a big problem for the Japanese economy, as it makes imports of basic manufacturing raw materials more expensive and thus contributes to inflation. Figure 6: The USD/JPY on H4 and monthly charts The USD/JPY pair has reached the resistance level at 134.5 - 135.0, the highest level since 2002. A support according to the H4 chart is at 131.50 - 131.80.  
Bitcoin trading in a possible continuation pattern?

Bitcoin trading in a possible continuation pattern?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 21.06.2022 05:17
Happy Tuesday, thanks for stopping by and checking out our latest analysis and analysis video. Today our focus is on Bitcoin’s 4H chart. Looking at the 4H, we can see that Bitcoin has made the first leg higher, breaking the last lower fast trend and moving above the moving averages. Since that break higher, we have seen the market move into consolidation. The pattern we can see on the 4H is an ascending triangle pattern. These patterns are generally seen as continuation patterns when they are sitting in up legs or up trends. From here, it is all up to buyers. Can they confirm the pattern with a new break higher? If we do see a confirmed breakout, we will be looking to see if buyers can test 22,700 resistance. If buyer momentum really carries forward past 22,700, we would then be looking at 28,500 – 31,000 to come in as resistance possibly. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s see if bitcoin buyers can first confirm the pattern and get back up to 22,700! If sellers set a new close below 20,100, we will start doubting buyer strength. Bitcoin 4H chart Bitcoin 4H analysis (powered by TradingView)  The post Bitcoin trading in a possible continuation pattern? appeared first on Eightcap.
COT Week 25 Charts: Stock Market Speculator bets mostly lower led by S&P500 Mini & Russell 2000

COT Week 25 Charts: Stock Market Speculator bets mostly lower led by S&P500 Mini & Russell 2000

Invest Macro Invest Macro 25.06.2022 14:28
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 21st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. The stock market speculator bets were mostly lower this week as three out of the eight stock markets we cover had higher positioning this week while the other five markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for stock markets was VIX (24,255 contracts) with the Nasdaq Mini (2,404 contracts) and Nikkei 225 USD (821 contracts) also showing a positive weeks. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets this week were S&P500 Mini (-148,597 contracts) and with Russell 2000 Mini (-10,350 contracts), Nikkei 225 Yen (-5,996 contracts), MSCI EAFE Mini (-4,840 contracts) and Dow Jones Industrial Average Mini (-3,184 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week.   Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the Nasdaq Mini and the VIX are both in extreme bullish levels (above 80 percent). The Nikkei Stock Average is also above the midpoint of the past 3-year with a 69.9 percent score for a bullish reading. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the S&P 500 Mini and the Russell 200 Mini are leading the downside trends with -43.7 percent and -21.9 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq Mini and the Nikkei 225 Yen are the only markets with positive six week trends.   Data Snapshot of Stock Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-21-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index S&P500-Mini 2,262,004 6 -114,319 35 144,197 92 -29,878 20 Nikkei 225 12,380 5 -1,592 70 2,139 40 -547 21 Nasdaq-Mini 236,624 34 30,806 92 -27,586 10 -3,220 42 DowJones-Mini 69,024 26 -25,473 4 28,937 98 -3,464 20 VIX 257,930 15 -49,923 84 55,730 16 -5,807 63 Nikkei 225 Yen 51,198 30 -3,047 25 25,170 88 -22,123 29   VIX Volatility Futures: The VIX Volatility large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -49,923 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 24,255 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -74,178 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.2 percent. VIX Volatility Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 18.2 53.8 8.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.6 32.2 10.7 – Net Position: -49,923 55,730 -5,807 – Gross Longs: 46,982 138,746 21,718 – Gross Shorts: 96,905 83,016 27,525 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 84.2 16.2 63.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.0 -1.8 27.4   S&P500 Mini Futures: The S&P500 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -114,319 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -148,597 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 34,278 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 35.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.1 percent. S&P500 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 12.1 75.7 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 17.2 69.4 11.3 – Net Position: -114,319 144,197 -29,878 – Gross Longs: 273,629 1,713,053 224,849 – Gross Shorts: 387,948 1,568,856 254,727 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 35.0 91.7 20.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -43.7 46.8 -5.2   Dow Jones Mini Futures: The Dow Jones Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -25,473 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -3,184 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -22,289 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.9 percent. Dow Jones Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.9 69.8 15.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.8 27.9 20.1 – Net Position: -25,473 28,937 -3,464 – Gross Longs: 10,310 48,166 10,418 – Gross Shorts: 35,783 19,229 13,882 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 4.1 98.0 19.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.9 6.6 -16.3   Nasdaq Mini Futures: The Nasdaq Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 30,806 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 2,404 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 28,402 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.9 percent. Nasdaq Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 35.0 46.9 16.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.0 58.5 17.7 – Net Position: 30,806 -27,586 -3,220 – Gross Longs: 82,888 110,913 38,577 – Gross Shorts: 52,082 138,499 41,797 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.6 to 1 0.8 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 92.2 9.5 41.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.7 -12.0 4.4   Russell 2000 Mini Futures: The Russell 2000 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -105,596 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -10,350 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -95,246 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.4 percent. Russell 2000 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.1 88.3 3.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.6 69.3 3.7 – Net Position: -105,596 107,890 -2,294 – Gross Longs: 40,382 502,812 19,004 – Gross Shorts: 145,978 394,922 21,298 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.0 100.0 20.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -21.9 18.9 8.0   Nikkei Stock Average (USD) Futures: The Nikkei Stock Average (USD) large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -1,592 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 821 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -2,413 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 69.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 40.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.5 percent. Nikkei Stock Average Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 25.3 56.8 17.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.1 39.5 22.1 – Net Position: -1,592 2,139 -547 – Gross Longs: 3,130 7,026 2,194 – Gross Shorts: 4,722 4,887 2,741 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 69.9 40.3 21.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.6 14.0 14.3   MSCI EAFE Mini Futures: The MSCI EAFE Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 196 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -4,840 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 5,036 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 24.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.3 percent. MSCI EAFE Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 4.9 92.7 1.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 4.8 93.2 1.2 – Net Position: 196 -2,076 1,880 – Gross Longs: 18,931 358,172 6,538 – Gross Shorts: 18,735 360,248 4,658 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 24.1 77.7 35.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.1 7.7 -3.4   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Currency Speculators boost Japanese Yen bets to 15-week high while Canadian dollar bets drop sharply

Currency Speculators boost Japanese Yen bets to 15-week high while Canadian dollar bets drop sharply

Invest Macro Invest Macro 26.06.2022 13:28
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 21st and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Currency market speculator bets overall were mixed this week as five out of the eleven currency markets we cover (Note: Russian Ruble positions have not been updated by CFTC since March) had higher positioning this week while six markets had lower contracts for the week. Leading the gains for currency markets was the Japanese yen (11,301 contracts) and the British pound sterling (2,349 contracts) with the Australian dollar (2,648 contracts), New Zealand dollar (1,415 contracts) and the US Dollar Index (534 contracts) also showing positive changes on the week. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets this week were the Canadian dollar (-19,097 contracts) and the Euro (-9,587 contracts) with the Brazil real (-2,868 contracts), Mexican peso (-489 contracts), Swiss franc (-349 contracts) and Bitcoin (-15 contracts) also showing lower speculator positions through June 21st. Currency Position Notables: Japanese Yen large speculator bets rose for the 6th straight week this week and this improvement has brought the overall speculator standing to the least bearish level of the past 15 weeks at -58,454 contracts. Speculators have trimmed a total of 52,000 contracts off of the total bearish position in these past six weeks after the standing hit -110,454 contracts on May 10th. Yen bets have been in bearish territory since March 13th of 2021 (67 weeks running) with the highest bearish level of the cycle occurring on April 12th at a total of -111,827 contracts. Canadian dollar bets dropped sharply by -19,097 contracts this week and fell for the first time in the last five weeks. CAD speculator bets had risen over the previous four weeks by a total of +37,698 contracts. The decline this week brings the CAD speculator position into a virtual neutral level at an overall bullish position of just +4,105 contracts as the speculator position has yet to find a sustainable trend and has been alternating between bearish and bullish net positions over the past few months. The US Dollar Index rose for a 3rd straight week this week and hit a new 5-year high level at +45,010 contracts. This is the first time the overall position has topped +45,000 contracts since March 21st of 2017 and the continued bullish sentiment for the DXY has pushed the US Dollar Index strength score (3-year range) to the very top of its range (100 percent – extreme bullish). Euro positions fell for the third straight week and dropped to its most bearish level of the past 29 weeks. The strength score for the Euro has dropped to just a 30.2 percent and it seems the speculator positioning is catching up to the bearishness of the EURUSD exchange rate. The speculator net position had been at a twelve-week high on May 31st at a total of +52,272 contracts before dropping over the past three weeks to settle at -15,605 contracts this week. Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, ranging from 0 to 100 where above 80 percent is extreme bullish, below 20 percent is extreme bearish and 100 percent is the top of the range) show that the US Dollar Index (100 percent), Bitcoin (99.7 percent) and the Brazilian Real (94 percent) are all in extreme bullish positions. On the bearish side, the Mexican Peso is the only currency currently in an extreme bearish position with a score of 15.9 percent. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the Japanese Yen (32.0 percent) and the Swiss Franc (21.8 percent) are leading the strength trends over the past six weeks. Both of these markets have overall bearish net positions but have seen the bearish sentiment cooling off strongly. The Mexican Peso leads the downside trends for another week with a -18.6 percent score. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-21-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 58,543 86 45,010 100 -46,746 2 1,736 36 EUR 671,718 70 -15,605 30 -18,182 71 33,787 30 GBP 228,266 57 -63,247 28 77,902 76 -14,655 25 JPY 218,076 67 -58,454 33 74,349 72 -15,895 21 CHF 37,669 16 -7,157 38 14,958 67 -7,801 31 CAD 140,047 23 4,105 44 -6,578 63 2,473 35 AUD 137,017 35 -40,606 47 44,608 52 -4,002 43 NZD 42,889 30 -5,423 62 8,756 44 -3,333 13 MXN 191,265 45 -26,870 16 22,977 82 3,893 60 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 68,858 65 44,345 94 -45,996 6 1,651 84 Bitcoin 13,537 77 1,046 100 -995 0 -51 12   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 45,010 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 534 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 44,476 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 1.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.5 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 88.2 2.9 7.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 11.3 82.7 4.8 – Net Position: 45,010 -46,746 1,736 – Gross Longs: 51,606 1,676 4,522 – Gross Shorts: 6,596 48,422 2,786 – Long to Short Ratio: 7.8 to 1 0.0 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 1.6 35.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 17.1 -15.2 -7.2   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -15,605 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -9,587 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -6,018 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 70.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.4 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.1 55.6 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.4 58.3 7.7 – Net Position: -15,605 -18,182 33,787 – Gross Longs: 195,554 373,695 85,208 – Gross Shorts: 211,159 391,877 51,421 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.2 70.9 30.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.9 7.0 12.1   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -63,247 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 2,349 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -65,596 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 28.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.3 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 12.5 77.6 7.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.2 43.5 14.2 – Net Position: -63,247 77,902 -14,655 – Gross Longs: 28,470 177,170 17,735 – Gross Shorts: 91,717 99,268 32,390 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 28.4 75.8 25.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.8 -10.3 2.1   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -58,454 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 11,301 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -69,755 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 32.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.1 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.4 71.6 10.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 43.3 37.6 17.9 – Net Position: -58,454 74,349 -15,895 – Gross Longs: 35,864 156,248 23,099 – Gross Shorts: 94,318 81,899 38,994 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 32.9 71.9 21.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 32.0 -24.7 -2.9   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -7,157 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -349 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -6,808 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 38.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 67.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 31.1 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.1 66.2 25.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.1 26.5 46.4 – Net Position: -7,157 14,958 -7,801 – Gross Longs: 3,068 24,927 9,673 – Gross Shorts: 10,225 9,969 17,474 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 38.4 67.3 31.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 21.8 -23.7 21.2   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 4,105 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -19,097 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 23,202 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.1 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.2 47.9 20.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.2 52.6 18.9 – Net Position: 4,105 -6,578 2,473 – Gross Longs: 42,260 67,084 29,011 – Gross Shorts: 38,155 73,662 26,538 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.0 63.2 35.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 10.7 -7.9 0.0   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -40,606 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 2,648 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -43,254 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 47.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 52.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 42.7 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 23.2 60.2 13.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 52.8 27.7 16.6 – Net Position: -40,606 44,608 -4,002 – Gross Longs: 31,745 82,514 18,756 – Gross Shorts: 72,351 37,906 22,758 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 47.2 52.2 42.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.0 -1.9 3.4   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -5,423 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 1,415 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -6,838 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 62.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 43.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.3 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 34.2 60.8 5.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 46.8 40.3 12.8 – Net Position: -5,423 8,756 -3,333 – Gross Longs: 14,652 26,056 2,145 – Gross Shorts: 20,075 17,300 5,478 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 62.2 43.9 13.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 12.7 -12.5 6.3   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of -26,870 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -489 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -26,381 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 59.5 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 50.3 45.8 3.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 64.3 33.8 1.3 – Net Position: -26,870 22,977 3,893 – Gross Longs: 96,147 87,609 6,317 – Gross Shorts: 123,017 64,632 2,424 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.4 to 1 2.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 15.9 82.4 59.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.6 18.3 -1.1   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 44,345 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -2,868 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 47,213 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.1 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.7 14.6 4.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 16.3 81.3 2.3 – Net Position: 44,345 -45,996 1,651 – Gross Longs: 55,599 10,020 3,238 – Gross Shorts: 11,254 56,016 1,587 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.9 to 1 0.2 to 1 2.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 94.0 6.4 84.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 3.5 -3.9 4.7     Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week recorded a net position of 1,046 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -15 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 1,061 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.8 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 77.5 0.6 7.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 69.8 7.9 8.1 – Net Position: 1,046 -995 -51 – Gross Longs: 10,495 78 1,048 – Gross Shorts: 9,449 1,073 1,099 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 99.7 0.0 11.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.3 -11.9 -3.1   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
The Swing Overview – Week 25 2022

The Swing Overview – Week 25 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 27.06.2022 13:52
The Swing Overview – Week 25 There was a rather quiet week in which the major world stock indices shook off previous losses and have been slowly rising since Monday. However, this is probably only a temporary correction of the current bearish trend.  The CNB Bank Board met for the last time in its old composition and raised the interest rate to 7%, the highest level since 1999. However, the koruna barely reacted to this increase. The reason is that the main risks are still in place and fear of a recession keeps the markets in a risk-off sentiment that benefits the US dollar. Macroeconomic data We had a bit of a quiet week when it comes to macroeconomic data in the US. Industrial production data was reported, which grew by 0.2% month-on-month in May, which is less than the growth seen in April, when production grew by 1.4%. While the growth is slower than expected, it is still growth, which is a positive thing.   In terms of labor market data, the number of jobless claims held steady last week, reaching 229k. Thus, compared to the previous week, the number of claims fell by 2 thousand.   The US Dollar took a break in this quiet week and came down from its peak which is at 106, 86. Overall, however, the dollar is still in an uptrend. The US 10-year bond yields also fell last week and are currently hovering around 3%. The fall in bond yields was then a positive boost for equity indices. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The SP 500 index has been gaining since Monday, June 20, 2022. However, this is probably not a signal of a major bullish reversal. Fundamental reasons still rather speak for a weakening and so it could be a short-term correction of the current bearish trend. The rise is probably caused by long-term investors who were buying the dip. Next week the US will report the GDP data which could be the catalyst for further movement.  Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The index has currently reached the resistance level according to the H4 chart, which is in the region of 3,820 - 3,836. The next strong resistance is then in the area of 3,870 - 3,900 where the previous support was broken and turned into the resistance. The current nearest support is 3 640 - 3 670.    German DAX index The manufacturing PMI for June came in at 52.0. The previous month's PMI was 54.8. While a value above 50 indicates an expected expansion, it must be said that the PMI has essentially been declining since February 2022. This, together with other data coming out of Germany, suggests a certain pessimism, which is also reflected in the DAX index. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX broke support according to the H4 chart at 12,950 - 12,980 but then broke back above that level, so we don't have a valid breakout. Overall, however, the DAX is in a downtrend and the technical analysis does not show a stronger sign of a reversal of this trend yet. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is 13,130 - 13,190. The next resistance is then at 13 420 - 13 440. Strong support according to the daily chart is 12,443 - 12,600.   Eurozone inflation at a new record Consumer inflation in the Eurozone for May rose by 8.1% year-on-year as expected by analysts. On a month-on-month basis, inflation added 0.8% compared to April. The rise in inflation could support the ECB's decision to raise rates possibly by more than the 0.25% expected so far, which is expected to happen at the July meeting.  Figure 4: EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart From a technical perspective, the euro has bounced off support on the pair with the US dollar according to the daily chart, which is in the 1.0340 - 1.0370 range and continues to strengthen. Overall, however, the pair is still in a downtrend. The US Fed has been much more aggressive in fighting inflation than the ECB and this continues to put pressure on the bearish trend in the euro. The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.058 - 1.0600. Strong resistance according to the daily chart is at 1.0780 - 1.0800.   The Czech National Bank raised the interest rate again Rising inflation, which has already reached 16% in the Czech Republic, forced the CNB's board to raise interest rates again. The key interest rate is now at 7%. The last time the interest rate was this high was in 1999. This is the last decision of the old Bank Board. In August, the new board, which is not clearly hawkish, will decide on monetary policy. Therefore, it will be very interesting to see how they approach the rising inflation.   The current risks, according to the CNB, are higher price growth at home and abroad, the risk of a halt in energy supplies from Russia and generally rising inflation expectations. The lingering risk is, of course, the war in Ukraine. The CNB has also decided to continue intervening in the market to keep the Czech koruna exchange rate within acceptable limits and prevent it from depreciating, which would increase import inflation pressures. Figure 5: The USD/CZK and The EUR/CZK on the daily chart Looking at the charts, the koruna hardly reacted at all to the CNB's decision to raise rates sharply. Against the dollar, the koruna is weakening somewhat, while against the euro the koruna is holding its value around 24.60 - 24.80. The appreciation of the koruna after the interest rate hike was probably prevented by uncertainty about how the new board will treat inflation, and also by the fact that there is a risk-off sentiment in global markets and investors prefer so-called safe havens in such cases, which include the US dollar.  
COT Week 26 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets dropped this week led by S&P500 Mini & Nasdaq Mini

COT Week 26 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets dropped this week led by S&P500 Mini & Nasdaq Mini

Invest Macro Invest Macro 02.07.2022 16:24
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 28th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. The stock market speculator bets were mostly lower this week as three out of the eight stock markets we cover had very small gains in positioning this week while five markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for stock markets was Russell 2000 Mini (976 contracts) with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Mini (400 contracts) and VIX (354 contracts) also showing a positive weeks. Meanwhile, leading the decreases in speculator bets this week were the S&P500 Mini (-24,907 contracts) and the Nasdaq Mini (-6,616 contracts) with the MSCI Emerging Markets Mini (-6,141 contracts), MSCI EAFE Mini (-2,182 contracts) and Nikkei 225 USD (-23 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week. Strength scores (3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 percent is extreme bullish and below 20 percent is extreme bearish) show that the Nasdaq Mini leads currently with an extreme bullish score of 89 percent. The VIX is also at an extreme bullish score of 84.4 percent while on the downside, the Russell 2000 Mini (1 percent) and the Dow Jones Mini (4.6 percent) are both in extreme bearish positions. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) show that the Nikkei 225 Yen (15 percent), Nasdaq Mini (5 percent) and the Nikkei 225 USD (2 percent) are the only markets with rising scores over the past six weeks. The S&P Mini (-38 percent) and the Russell 2000 Mini (-21 percent) lead the downward trends of strength scores. Data Snapshot of Stock Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-28-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index S&P500-Mini 2,248,771 6 -139,226 30 168,405 96 -29,179 20 Nikkei 225 13,442 8 -1,615 70 2,101 40 -486 22 Nasdaq-Mini 248,045 41 24,190 89 -19,930 14 -4,260 40 DowJones-Mini 66,759 23 -25,073 5 29,675 99 -4,602 14 VIX 257,123 14 -49,569 84 56,789 17 -7,220 56 Nikkei 225 Yen 56,111 38 2,330 41 24,398 87 -26,728 20   VIX Volatility Futures: The VIX Volatility large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -49,569 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 354 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -49,923 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 56.3 percent. VIX Volatility Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.4 54.5 8.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 36.7 32.4 11.4 – Net Position: -49,569 56,789 -7,220 – Gross Longs: 44,726 140,039 22,123 – Gross Shorts: 94,295 83,250 29,343 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 84.4 16.7 56.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -5.0 4.2 6.6   S&P500 Mini Futures: The S&P500 Mini large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -139,226 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -24,907 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -114,319 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.2 percent. S&P500 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 11.0 76.8 10.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 17.2 69.3 11.3 – Net Position: -139,226 168,405 -29,179 – Gross Longs: 248,313 1,726,190 223,854 – Gross Shorts: 387,539 1,557,785 253,033 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.4 96.1 20.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -38.1 39.6 -3.2   Dow Jones Mini Futures: The Dow Jones Mini large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -25,073 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 400 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -25,473 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.8 percent. Dow Jones Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 13.5 70.5 14.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.1 26.1 21.8 – Net Position: -25,073 29,675 -4,602 – Gross Longs: 9,011 47,089 9,948 – Gross Shorts: 34,084 17,414 14,550 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 4.6 98.9 13.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.0 4.9 -12.8   Nasdaq Mini Futures: The Nasdaq Mini large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 24,190 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -6,616 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 30,806 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 39.7 percent. Nasdaq Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.8 51.9 14.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.1 59.9 16.0 – Net Position: 24,190 -19,930 -4,260 – Gross Longs: 78,987 128,769 35,528 – Gross Shorts: 54,797 148,699 39,788 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.4 to 1 0.9 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.5 14.2 39.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.0 -6.6 3.5   Russell 2000 Mini Futures: The Russell 2000 Mini large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -104,620 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 976 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -105,596 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.0 percent. Russell 2000 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.2 88.3 3.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.6 69.0 4.2 – Net Position: -104,620 109,982 -5,362 – Gross Longs: 41,196 503,528 18,674 – Gross Shorts: 145,816 393,546 24,036 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.6 100.0 11.0 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -21.1 20.1 -4.1   Nikkei Stock Average (USD) Futures: The Nikkei Stock Average (USD) large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -1,615 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -23 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,592 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 69.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 40.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.2 percent. Nikkei Stock Average Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.4 52.1 16.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 43.4 36.5 19.8 – Net Position: -1,615 2,101 -486 – Gross Longs: 4,220 7,007 2,177 – Gross Shorts: 5,835 4,906 2,663 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.4 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 69.8 40.1 22.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.5 -10.4 22.2   MSCI EAFE Mini Futures: The MSCI EAFE Mini large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -1,986 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,182 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 196 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 21.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 79.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 40.7 percent. MSCI EAFE Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.1 92.2 2.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 5.6 92.3 1.3 – Net Position: -1,986 -510 2,496 – Gross Longs: 19,973 360,111 7,717 – Gross Shorts: 21,959 360,621 5,221 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 21.8 79.9 40.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.5 0.5 6.8   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Currency Speculators reduced their British Pound and Japanese Yen bearish bets to multi-week lows

Currency Speculators reduced their British Pound and Japanese Yen bearish bets to multi-week lows

Invest Macro Invest Macro 02.07.2022 20:24
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday June 28th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Currency market speculator bets were mostly higher this week as seven out of the eleven currency markets we cover had higher positioning while four markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for currency markets was the Mexican peso (12,890 contracts) and the British pound sterling (10,129 contracts) with the Japanese yen (5,884 contracts), Euro (5,009 contracts), Canadian dollar (4,992 contracts), New Zealand dollar (112 contracts) and Bitcoin (39 contracts) also showing a positive week. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets this week were the Brazilian real (-7,317 contracts) and the Australian dollar (-2,374 contracts) with the US Dollar Index (-1,781 contracts) and the Swiss franc (-1,434 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week. Highlighting the currency contracts this week was the cool off in bearish bets for both the British pound and the Japanese yen. British pound sterling speculator positions rose for the fifth straight week and this week’s improvement pushed the overall position to the least bearish standing of the past eleven weeks. The GBP speculative standing has been in a continual bearish position since the middle of February but has come down from a total of -80,372 contracts on May 24th to a total of -53,118 contracts this week after the past five week’s improvement (by 27,254 contracts). The GBPUSD exchange rate has remained in a downtrend despite the recent cool off in speculator sentiment and touched below the 1.20 exchange this week for the second time this month. Japanese yen speculator bets rose for the seventh straight week this week and reached the least bearish position of the past 27 weeks. Japanese yen bets have been sharply bearish for over a year were at -110,454 contracts as recently as May 10th. The past seven weeks have shaved 57,884 contracts off the bearish level and brought the current speculative position to a total of -52,570 contracts this week. The exchange rate for the USDJPY currency pair remains at the top of its range (yen weakness) and near 20-year highs around 135.00. In other currency contracts, the US Dollar Index speculator positions slid a bit this week after rising for six out of the previous seven weeks. The Dollar Index spec position had hit a new 5-year high last week at over +45,000 contracts and was at a 100 percent strength score (measured against past 3-years spec positioning). This week’s decline doesn’t dent the overall position much as the net position remains over +43,000 contracts for the third straight week. The Dollar Index futures price has remained strongly in an uptrend and reached a high over 105 this week before closing just below that figure at 104.91.   Strength scores (a measure of the 3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the Bitcoin (100 percent), the US Dollar Index (97 percent) and the Brazilian real (87 percent) are currently near the top of their ranges and in bullish extreme levels. The Mexican peso at 21 percent is at the lowest strength level currently and followed by the Euro at 32 percent. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the Japanese yen (31 percent) is on the greatest move of the past six weeks. The Canadian dollar (27 percent), New Zealand dollar (21 percent) and the Swiss franc (20 percent) round out the top movers in the latest data. The Mexican peso at -18 percent leads the downtrending currencies followed by the Euro at -10 percent and the Brazilian real at -1 percent. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jun-28-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 63,143 96 43,229 97 -46,558 2 3,329 53 EUR 671,472 70 -10,596 32 -19,812 70 30,408 25 GBP 228,736 57 -53,118 36 70,230 71 -17,112 20 JPY 213,767 64 -52,570 37 67,895 69 -15,325 22 CHF 40,123 21 -8,591 35 17,862 72 -9,271 26 CAD 142,584 25 9,097 50 -12,247 59 3,150 36 AUD 139,891 37 -42,980 45 47,163 54 -4,183 42 NZD 40,337 25 -5,311 62 8,551 44 -3,240 14 MXN 193,536 46 -13,980 21 9,107 77 4,873 64 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 60,107 54 37,028 87 -38,531 14 1,503 82 Bitcoin 13,707 78 1,085 100 -947 0 -138 10   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 43,229 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,781 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 45,010 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 1.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.9 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 86.5 3.7 8.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 18.1 77.4 3.2 – Net Position: 43,229 -46,558 3,329 – Gross Longs: 54,646 2,340 5,371 – Gross Shorts: 11,417 48,898 2,042 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.8 to 1 0.0 to 1 2.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 97.0 1.9 52.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.7 -11.2 0.4   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -10,596 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 5,009 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -15,605 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 70.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 24.8 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 28.2 56.6 12.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 29.8 59.6 8.0 – Net Position: -10,596 -19,812 30,408 – Gross Longs: 189,414 380,084 83,853 – Gross Shorts: 200,010 399,896 53,445 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.7 70.4 24.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -9.5 9.0 -1.3   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -53,118 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 10,129 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -63,247 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 35.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 71.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 20.2 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 15.4 74.7 7.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.6 44.0 15.4 – Net Position: -53,118 70,230 -17,112 – Gross Longs: 35,184 170,967 18,055 – Gross Shorts: 88,302 100,737 35,167 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 35.7 71.2 20.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 18.8 -14.3 -4.2   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -52,570 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 5,884 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -58,454 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 36.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 68.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.3 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.1 71.1 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 41.6 39.4 17.6 – Net Position: -52,570 67,895 -15,325 – Gross Longs: 36,462 152,071 22,379 – Gross Shorts: 89,032 84,176 37,704 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 36.5 68.8 22.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 30.6 -23.0 -5.2   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -8,591 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -1,434 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -7,157 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 34.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 26.1 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 11.3 64.8 23.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.7 20.3 47.0 – Net Position: -8,591 17,862 -9,271 – Gross Longs: 4,523 25,994 9,588 – Gross Shorts: 13,114 8,132 18,859 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 3.2 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 34.7 72.0 26.1 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.3 -21.2 18.0   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 9,097 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 4,992 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 4,105 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 49.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 58.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.2 45.9 20.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 25.8 54.5 18.5 – Net Position: 9,097 -12,247 3,150 – Gross Longs: 45,893 65,407 29,537 – Gross Shorts: 36,796 77,654 26,387 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 49.6 58.5 36.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 26.5 -20.7 2.5   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -42,980 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -2,374 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -40,606 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 45.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 54.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 42.2 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.6 61.7 14.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.4 28.0 17.1 – Net Position: -42,980 47,163 -4,183 – Gross Longs: 28,887 86,347 19,791 – Gross Shorts: 71,867 39,184 23,974 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.2 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 45.0 54.1 42.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.5 -5.4 13.7   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -5,311 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 112 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -5,423 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 62.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 43.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.4 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.1 64.9 5.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 42.2 43.7 13.6 – Net Position: -5,311 8,551 -3,240 – Gross Longs: 11,720 26,167 2,256 – Gross Shorts: 17,031 17,616 5,496 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 62.4 43.6 14.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.9 -19.8 4.4   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -13,980 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 12,890 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -26,870 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 21.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 76.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.7 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 55.3 40.9 3.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 62.5 36.1 1.1 – Net Position: -13,980 9,107 4,873 – Gross Longs: 107,031 79,060 7,059 – Gross Shorts: 121,011 69,953 2,186 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.1 to 1 3.2 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 21.4 76.6 63.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.0 17.2 3.6   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 37,028 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -7,317 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 44,345 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.4 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 71.7 22.8 5.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 10.1 86.9 3.0 – Net Position: 37,028 -38,531 1,503 – Gross Longs: 43,088 13,691 3,307 – Gross Shorts: 6,060 52,222 1,804 – Long to Short Ratio: 7.1 to 1 0.3 to 1 1.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 86.8 13.7 82.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.0 0.9 1.9   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 1,085 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 39 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 1,046 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.8 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 81.3 0.8 6.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 73.3 7.7 7.5 – Net Position: 1,085 -947 -138 – Gross Longs: 11,137 115 890 – Gross Shorts: 10,052 1,062 1,028 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 100.0 2.8 9.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.1 -4.2 -4.7   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 04.07.2022 10:50
The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022 After ashort-term upward correction, the indices resumed their bearish trend and closed the week in the red. Along with this risk-off sentiment, commodity currencies weakened, as did the British pound and the euro. Gold is losing ground as a means of inflation protection and has fallen back below the USD 1,800 per ounce. The US dollar, on the other hand, is still the strongest currency amid the looming recession. Macroeconomic data The number of new home sales in the US for May reached 696,000, beating expectations of 588,000. This is positive news.   On the other hand, the negative news is the drop in consumer confidence, which reached 98.7 for May (103.2 the previous month). The drop in consumer confidence is expected to affect consumer spendings. It is evident that American consumers are reluctant to spend in times of rising prices and are accumulating savings for the future. This is of course contributing to the economic slowdown and the risk of a recession in the US is thus becoming stronger. This was confirmed by the GDP data, which fell for the third month in a row.   The fall in GDP last month was 1.6%. GDP was therefore negative in 1Q 2022. If it is also negative in 2Q2022, it will be an official confirmation of the recession defined by two negative quarters in a row. Jerome Powell suggested this week that the risk of the economy being damaged by higher rates is less important than restoring price stability. This heightens fears that a slowdown in the US economy will take the whole world down with it. So in times when central banks are tackling inflation, this risk will set the tone for some time.    This situation is positive for the US dollar, which is seen by investors as a safe haven asset in times of uncertainty. The dollar therefore remains close to this year's highs.  Although the yield on 10-year US Treasuries has fallen below 3%, the overall trend in bond yields is still upwards. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The strengthening on the SP 500 Index that we have seen in the week of June 20 was really just a short-term correction to the overall downtrend, as we have previously suggested. Last week saw another sell-off and so the overall downtrend on the index continues.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the range of 3,810 - 3,820. The next resistance is 3,930 - 3,950. A support is 3 640 - 3 670.    German DAX index  The German Ifo Business Climate Index which measures the expectations of manufacturers, builders and sellers for the next 6 months continued to show a value of 92.3, which is worse than the previous month when the index value was 93.0. The fall in the reading suggests some pessimism, accentuated by current market uncertainties, which include the impact of the war in Ukraine and high inflation, which in Germany for the month of June was 7.6% year-on-year. However, inflation fell by 0.1% month-on-month.   The labour market has also indicated problems. The number of unemployed in Germany rose by 133 000, while the market had expected a fall of 6 000. This was very negative news, which triggered a strong sell-off on the Dax on Thursday. On the other hand, retail sales were positive, rising by 0.6% in May, while a 5.4% decline was recorded in April. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX has broken support according to the H4 chart at 12,850, which has now become the new resistance, which is in the 12,820 - 12,850 range. The next resistance according to the H4 chart is then at 13,280 - 13,375. The strong support according to the daily chart is 12,443 - 12,620, which price is currently approaching.    Eurozone inflation at a new record Eurozone consumer inflation reached another record high in June, rising by 8.6% year-on-year. This is higher than analysts' expectations, who predicted a rise of 8.4%. Inflation is therefore continuing to rise, so the expectation that the ECB could raise rates by more than 0.25% in July is on target and this could support the euro's growth. On the other hand, there is a strong dollar which could continue to slow down bulls on the euro.   Figure 4: EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.048 - 1.0500. The next resistance is at 1.0600 - 1.0610. Support is at 1.0360 - 1.0380.   Gold broke the $1,800 price tag The development in gold has once again confirmed that investors prefer US bonds instead of gold, which, in addition to being considered a "safe haven" along with the US dollar, also brings a small but still certain return. The strong dollar is not good news for gold, which has fallen below the key support of USD 1,800 per ounce.  Figure 5: Gold on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is therefore in the zone of USD 1,800 - 1,807 per ounce. Below this resistance we have several supports. The closest one is 1 780 - 1 787 USD per ounce.  
USDCAD set to stall at or break key resistance?

USDCAD set to stall at or break key resistance?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 06.07.2022 09:19
Hi, traders; welcome to Wednesday’s update. With oil tumbling and the USD jumping, we can only think of one pair that benefits from those two moves. The USDCAD is highly driven on both fronts, and the CAD is a commodity currency that generally tracks oil’s fortunes. The USD, well yeh enough said. Last night we saw key moves on oil and the USD. Oil shed up to 10% and briefly traded below the $100 level. The USD shot higher, the index trading above 106.50. Looking at the daily USDCAD chart below, we can see that price continues to trade in a new fast trend after buyers took control on the 8th of June. Since then, we have seen one reaction that set up demand and an HL late in June. Buying has continued into July, with traders retesting key resistance and supply areas that have stood since May. The recent resistance and supply lines up with a longer-term level of supply /resistance that runs back to November 2020. This is our line in the sand that buyers must break to continue the current trend. If we see a break above these levels, it could be ga,e on with 1.31 and 1.32 or higher a possibility. Fail, and we would look for a new move to possibly retest the 1.2850 area. It’s really up to buyers and mainly USD momentum to continue to drive the current buyer move. The Fed minutes are due out today at 04:00 am AEST, and they could play a role in the current short-term USD pulse. USDCAD D1 Chart The post USDCAD set to stall at or break key resistance? appeared first on Eightcap.
Oil pulling away after testing key demand area

Oil pulling away after testing key demand area

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 07.07.2022 08:39
Hi traders, welcome to today’s update. We can see demand and support developing for oil on the weekly and daily charts. In today’s update, we will concentrate on the weekly chart. Overall price remains in an uptrend; this trend is long-term as it has been running since April 2020. Since the last spike to 130, we have seen price become choppy, with resistance at $119 – $124 and a new LH confirmed last month. A fast decline occurred after the LH and price briefly broke below the $100 round number. It’s what’s happening below $100 that has our attention at the moment. We can see a strong area of demand from 97.50. Since February this year, each attempt from sellers has failed to break this area. This week so far has been no different. Once again, we have seen a move into this area rejected by buyers in that area. With this in mind, we will see a new rally set up that could end up retesting the resistance area at 122? This all rests on the premise that the demand area can continue to hold. If we did see a break, we would be looking for a new move lower that tests the main trend line. Some of the factors at the moment. Global recession fears, this could continue to drive the USD higher and put pressure on oil due to future demand. Further lockdowns in China could also weigh on demand due to China’s oil demand. Obviously, any new developments regarding Russia could also have a direct impact on supply. Demand increasing or holding firm with price holding above the demand area could be a positive for buyers, but if factors swing against and we see a break of demand, the reaction could be turning into something more significant. Finally, it’s pretty hard to believe right now that oil traded at $7.27 just over 2-years ago! OIL W1 Chart The post Oil pulling away after testing key demand area appeared first on Eightcap.
Crypto Focus: Buyers have once again come out to try and settle things down

Crypto Focus: Buyers have once again come out to try and settle things down

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 08.07.2022 08:24
Overall, it has been a positive week so far for most of the coins. After a pullback from gains last week, buyers have once again come out to try and settle things down. Could this be the start of a foundation being set by buyers that could turn into a new counter rally? More time is required before we can start thinking that’s the case, but for now, things are ok as sellers have stopped being able to set new lower lows. The top 25 index looks similar to a few of the major charts on the weekly. One solid bar up followed by a bar lower that failed to test lows and a new fightback this week that, in some cases, has set new weekly highs or beaten last week’s opening price. What we want to see from the buyer side is a hold of the last key low. If this can remain in play, that could continue to feed ideas that a bottom is trying to come in. For now, most of the coins continue to follow the wider fortunes of risk markets as we have seen a recovery in stock indexes and major risk currencies to the USD. The USD has found buyer demand today, and US employment numbers could add to or hurt that story. While Crypto remains heavily pegged to risk, it might come down to USD demand to see if we see the current lows hold. Our focus today is on Bitcoin. BTCUSD D1 continues to look positive. Price gaining over 13%, hitting 22K. price still remains below the main downtrend line, but we have seen a higher breakout of the consolidation pattern. The key now for buyers in the short term is to break 21,750 resistance. A fail there could see price continue to consolidate, but a break could set up a new test of the main downtrend. The post Crypto Focus: Buyers have once again come out to try and settle things down appeared first on Eightcap.
The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022 - 08.07.2022

The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022 - 08.07.2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 08.07.2022 09:47
The Swing Overview - Week 26 2022 After ashort-term upward correction, the indices resumed their bearish trend and closed the week in the red. Along with this risk-off sentiment, commodity currencies weakened, as did the British pound and the euro. Gold is losing ground as a means of inflation protection and has fallen back below the USD 1,800 per ounce. The US dollar, on the other hand, is still the strongest currency amid the looming recession. Macroeconomic data The number of new home sales in the US for May reached 696,000, beating expectations of 588,000. This is positive news.   On the other hand, the negative news is the drop in consumer confidence, which reached 98.7 for May (103.2 the previous month). The drop in consumer confidence is expected to affect consumer spendings. It is evident that American consumers are reluctant to spend in times of rising prices and are accumulating savings for the future. This is of course contributing to the economic slowdown and the risk of a recession in the US is thus becoming stronger. This was confirmed by the GDP data, which fell for the third month in a row.   The fall in GDP last month was 1.6%. GDP was therefore negative in 1Q 2022. If it is also negative in 2Q2022, it will be an official confirmation of the recession defined by two negative quarters in a row. Jerome Powell suggested this week that the risk of the economy being damaged by higher rates is less important than restoring price stability. This heightens fears that a slowdown in the US economy will take the whole world down with it. So in times when central banks are tackling inflation, this risk will set the tone for some time.    This situation is positive for the US dollar, which is seen by investors as a safe haven asset in times of uncertainty. The dollar therefore remains close to this year's highs.  Although the yield on 10-year US Treasuries has fallen below 3%, the overall trend in bond yields is still upwards. Figure 1: US 10-year bond yields and USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The strengthening on the SP 500 Index that we have seen in the week of June 20 was really just a short-term correction to the overall downtrend, as we have previously suggested. Last week saw another sell-off and so the overall downtrend on the index continues.   Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the range of 3,810 - 3,820. The next resistance is 3,930 - 3,950. A support is 3 640 - 3 670.    German DAX index  The German Ifo Business Climate Index which measures the expectations of manufacturers, builders and sellers for the next 6 months continued to show a value of 92.3, which is worse than the previous month when the index value was 93.0. The fall in the reading suggests some pessimism, accentuated by current market uncertainties, which include the impact of the war in Ukraine and high inflation, which in Germany for the month of June was 7.6% year-on-year. However, inflation fell by 0.1% month-on-month.   The labour market has also indicated problems. The number of unemployed in Germany rose by 133 000, while the market had expected a fall of 6 000. This was very negative news, which triggered a strong sell-off on the Dax on Thursday. On the other hand, retail sales were positive, rising by 0.6% in May, while a 5.4% decline was recorded in April. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX has broken support according to the H4 chart at 12,850, which has now become the new resistance, which is in the 12,820 - 12,850 range. The next resistance according to the H4 chart is then at 13,280 - 13,375. The strong support according to the daily chart is 12,443 - 12,620, which price is currently approaching.    Eurozone inflation at a new record Eurozone consumer inflation reached another record high in June, rising by 8.6% year-on-year. This is higher than analysts' expectations, who predicted a rise of 8.4%. Inflation is therefore continuing to rise, so the expectation that the ECB could raise rates by more than 0.25% in July is on target and this could support the euro's growth. On the other hand, there is a strong dollar which could continue to slow down bulls on the euro.   Figure 4: EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.048 - 1.0500. The next resistance is at 1.0600 - 1.0610. Support is at 1.0360 - 1.0380.   Gold broke the $1,800 price tag The development in gold has once again confirmed that investors prefer US bonds instead of gold, which, in addition to being considered a "safe haven" along with the US dollar, also brings a small but still certain return. The strong dollar is not good news for gold, which has fallen below the key support of USD 1,800 per ounce.  Figure 5: Gold on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is therefore in the zone of USD 1,800 - 1,807 per ounce. Below this resistance we have several supports. The closest one is 1 780 - 1 787 USD per ounce.  
The Swing Overview - Week 27 2022

The Swing Overview - Week 27 2022

Purple Trading Purple Trading 08.07.2022 10:27
The Swing Overview - Week 27 2022 The fall in US bond yields, the rise in the US dollar and the sharp weakening in the euro, which is heading towards parity with the dollar. This is how the last week, in which stock indices cautiously strengthened and made a correction in the downward trend, could be characterised. It is worth noting that Germany has a negative trade balance for the first time since May 1991. Is the country losing its reputation as an economic powerhouse of Europe? Macroeconomic data The ISM in manufacturing, which shows purchasing managers' expectations of economic developments in the short term, came in at 53.0 for June.  While a value above 50 still indicates an expected expansion in the sector, the trend since the beginning of the year has been declining, indicating worsening of optimism.   Unemployment claims reached 231,000 last week. This is still a level that is fairly normal. However, we note that this is the 6th week in a row that the number of claims has been rising. The crucial news on the labour market will then be shown in Friday's NFP data.   On Wednesday, the minutes of the last FOMC meeting were presented, which confirmed that another 50-75 point rate hike is likely in July. The minutes also stated that the Fed could tighten further its hawkish policy if inflationary pressures persist. The Fed's target is to push inflation down to around 2%.   The Fed's hawkish tone has led to a strengthening of the dollar, which has reached a level over 107, its highest level since October 2002. Following the presentation of the FOMC minutes, the US Treasury yields started to rise again. Figure 1: The US 10-year bond yields and the USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index The temporary decline in US Treasury yields was the reason for the correction in the bearish trend in equity indices. However, the bear market still continues to be supported fundamentally by fears of an impending recession.  Figure 2: The SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is in the 3,930 - 3,950 range. A support is at 3,740 - 3,750 and then 3,640 - 3,670.    German DAX index The German manufacturing PMI for June came in at 52.0 (previous month 54.8). The downward trend shows a deterioration in optimism.    It is worth noting that Germany's trade balance is negative for the first time since May 1991, i.e. imports are higher than exports. The current trade balance is - EUR 1 billion. The market was expecting a surplus of 2.7 billion. Rising prices of imported energy and a reduction in exports to Russia have contributed to the negative balance. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart The DAX is in a downtrend. On the H4 chart, it has reached the moving average EMA 50. The resistance is in the range of 12,900 - 12,960. Strong support on the daily chart is 12,443 - 12,500, which was tested again last week.    Euro is near parity with the USD Even high inflation, which is already at 8.6%, has not stopped the euro from falling. It seems that parity with the dollar could be reached very soon. The negative trade balance in Germany has contributed very significantly to the euro's decline.  Figure 4: EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.020 - 1.021. Support according to the daily chart would be only at parity with the dollar at 1.00. Reaching this value would represent a unique situation that has not occurred on the EUR/USD pair since 2002.   Australia raised interest rates The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the interest rate by 0.50% as expected. The current interest rate now stands at 1.35%. According to the central bank, the Australian economy has been solid so far thanks to commodity exports, the prices of which have been rising. Unemployment is 3.9%, the lowest level in 50 years.   One uncertainty is the behaviour of consumers, who are cutting back on spending in times of high inflation. A significant risk is global development, which is influenced by the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy and agricultural commodity prices.   Figure 5: The AUD/USD on H4 and daily chart The AUD/USD is in a downtrend and even the rate hike did not help the Australian dollar to strengthen. However, there has been some correction in the downtrend. The resistance according to the H4 chart is 0.6880 - 0.6900. The support is at 0.6760 - 0.6770.  
COT Week 27 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets mostly lower led by S&P500 & MSCI EAFE Mini

COT Week 27 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets mostly lower led by S&P500 & MSCI EAFE Mini

Invest Macro Invest Macro 09.07.2022 14:15
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday July 5th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. The stock market speculator bets were mostly lower for a second straight week this week as three out of the eight stock markets we cover had higher positioning this week while five markets had lower contracts. Leading the gains for stock markets was the Nasdaq Mini (6,705 contracts) with the VIX (4,068 contracts) and Dow Jones Industrial Average Mini (1,990 contracts) also showing positive weeks. Meanwhile, leading the decreases in speculator bets this week were the S&P500 Mini (-44,456 contracts) and with MSCI EAFE Mini (-31,197 contracts), Russell 2000 Mini (-13,973 contracts), MSCI Emerging Markets Mini (-4,586 contracts) and the Nikkei 225 USD (-130 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week. Strength scores (measuring the 3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the Nasdaq Mini (92.3 percent) is at the highest level of the stock markets currently followed by the VIX (86.4 percent). Both are in extreme bullish levels compared to the past three years of speculator sentiment. On the lower end, the Russell 2000 Mini (0 percent) and the MSCI EAFE Mini (0 percent) are in bearish-extreme levels and at their lowest level of positioning of the past three years. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the S&P500 Mini (-43.1 percent) and MSCI EAFE Mini (-37.5 percent) are leading the down-trending scores over the past six weeks. The Nasdaq Mini, meanwhile, leads the trends to the upside with a 9.6 percent trend change. Data Snapshot of Stock Market Traders | Columns Legend Jul-05-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index S&P500-Mini 2,309,241 8 -183,682 22 221,625 100 -37,943 18 Nikkei 225 14,508 11 -1,745 69 3,210 46 -1,465 10 Nasdaq-Mini 259,449 48 30,895 92 -25,919 11 -4,976 38 DowJones-Mini 67,437 24 -23,083 7 27,554 96 -4,471 15 VIX 266,933 17 -45,501 86 52,406 15 -6,905 58 Nikkei 225 Yen 60,276 44 3,916 46 25,226 88 -29,142 15   VIX Volatility Futures: The VIX Volatility large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -45,501 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 4,068 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -49,569 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 57.9 percent. VIX Volatility Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.2 54.0 8.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 34.3 34.4 11.4 – Net Position: -45,501 52,406 -6,905 – Gross Longs: 45,972 144,271 23,601 – Gross Shorts: 91,473 91,865 30,506 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 86.4 14.6 57.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.0 0.7 2.3   S&P500 Mini Futures: The S&P500 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -183,682 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -44,456 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -139,226 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 22.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.4 percent. S&P500 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 10.3 77.6 9.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 18.2 68.0 11.5 – Net Position: -183,682 221,625 -37,943 – Gross Longs: 237,370 1,791,046 227,663 – Gross Shorts: 421,052 1,569,421 265,606 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 22.2 100.0 18.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -43.1 42.5 -3.8   Dow Jones Mini Futures: The Dow Jones Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -23,083 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 1,990 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -25,073 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.5 percent. Dow Jones Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.4 67.4 15.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 50.6 26.5 22.0 – Net Position: -23,083 27,554 -4,471 – Gross Longs: 11,053 45,425 10,349 – Gross Shorts: 34,136 17,871 14,820 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 7.1 96.3 14.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.2 1.6 -12.2   Nasdaq Mini Futures: The Nasdaq Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 30,895 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 6,705 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 24,190 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 38.3 percent. Nasdaq Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.2 52.9 13.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 20.3 62.9 15.6 – Net Position: 30,895 -25,919 -4,976 – Gross Longs: 83,514 137,186 35,380 – Gross Shorts: 52,619 163,105 40,356 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.6 to 1 0.8 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 92.3 10.6 38.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 9.6 -9.1 -4.8   Russell 2000 Mini Futures: The Russell 2000 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -118,593 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -13,973 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -104,620 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.3 percent. Russell 2000 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 7.2 88.2 3.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.4 67.1 4.2 – Net Position: -118,593 123,533 -4,940 – Gross Longs: 42,435 517,591 19,684 – Gross Shorts: 161,028 394,058 24,624 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.0 100.0 12.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -24.8 24.2 -7.5   Nikkei Stock Average (USD) Futures: The Nikkei Stock Average (USD) large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -1,745 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -130 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,615 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 69.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 45.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.9 percent. Nikkei Stock Average Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 28.4 55.8 15.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.4 33.7 25.6 – Net Position: -1,745 3,210 -1,465 – Gross Longs: 4,119 8,101 2,250 – Gross Shorts: 5,864 4,891 3,715 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 69.2 45.7 9.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -1.1 0.2 2.3   MSCI EAFE Mini Futures: The MSCI EAFE Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -33,183 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -31,197 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,986 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.2 percent. MSCI EAFE Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.1 90.6 3.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 12.9 84.8 1.8 – Net Position: -33,183 24,926 8,257 – Gross Longs: 21,492 384,305 15,954 – Gross Shorts: 54,675 359,379 7,697 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.1 to 1 2.1 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.0 100.0 91.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -37.5 33.7 41.4   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Forex News: GBPUSD set to move lower?

Forex News: GBPUSD set to move lower?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 11.07.2022 08:52
Happy Monday, traders. We are looking at the GBPUSD today as price has started to show signs that a new lower test could be building. Overall, prices remain in a downtrend, with plenty of LHs and LLs showing a normal pattern of trend. Looking at recent price action, we can see resistance remains in play at 1.2035. Since buyers made their last rally on the 7th, they have not been able to get past that level on the attempts. Today’s bar is mid-range, but sellers are now holding control after the USD set off a firm start to the new week. Looking lower, we see minor support at 1.1915. Buyers so far have defended this level well since the first break on the 5th. A lot will come down to continued USD strength; if this remains, we will look for sellers to get back down and test support. A break and we could see confirmation that a new leg lower is getting underway. A buyer move above resistance cancels out this idea. GBPUSD D1 Chart The post Forex News: GBPUSD set to move lower? appeared first on Eightcap.
CFD News; Oil sees demand after testing key support.

CFD News; Oil sees demand after testing key support.

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 13.07.2022 08:15
Welcome to Wednesday’s update, traders. Today our focus is on oil as price has started to move higher after testing and holding for now at key support. Price continues to trade in a short to medium-term downtrend after sellers turned momentum back in June. Since that point, it’s been a series of LHs and LLs. Today’s price has shown defensive action from buyers after this morning’s lower gap failed to beat 94.90 area support and demand. Could yesterday’s bar be seen as exhaustion? If buyers can hold this level of support, we will be looking for price to continue to push higher. Obviously, if we see a break, then it’s back to looking for new LLs maintaining the downtrend. The MAs remain bearish, but the OBV has stopped putting in clear LLs despite yesterday’s strong move lower. Could support be hiding plenty of fresh demand from oil buyers? We will have to wait and see if buyers can hold the level again today. Data to keep an eye out for today. 10:30 pm US CPI and core CPI. 12:30 am US crude oil inventory numbers. Oil D1 Chart The post CFD News; Oil sees demand after testing key support. appeared first on Eightcap.
Forex News; USDCAD above resistance. Will we see a new extension?

Forex News; USDCAD above resistance. Will we see a new extension?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 14.07.2022 10:37
Hi traders, today has been an exciting day with strong gains seen from the majors to the JPY. The USD made a late fightback, and we did see new weekly highs on the USD index. Risk majors, as a result, have traded lower to the USD, but for now, the EUR hasn’t gotten back down to parity. The USD strength has lifted one pair to levels not seen in serval months. Oil was another factor as price failed to build on yesterday’s gains and has dropped close to 3% lower. The pair we’re talking about today is the USDCAD. The Bank of Canada raised rates by 2.5% early this morning, and that, combined with weaker oil prices and a firmer USD, helped buyers jump back into the USDCAD. Price has hit 1.15% in gains, and price has broken above the resistance area noted in today’s chart below. The strong surge confirmed an ascending triangle pattern; we are now looking to the two remaining supply areas. If buyers can maintain momentum, could we see a new move back into the 1.32 Handel, a level not seen since 2020 when the market entered into its sharp bear trend that moved back to the 1.20 area. The market has had plenty of time to charge up for this move, and it’s good to see the current breakout coming from a bullish continuation pattern. It will come down to USD momentum and oil strength to help maintain buyer drive. USDCAD D1 Chart The post Forex News; USDCAD above resistance. Will we see a new extension? appeared first on Eightcap.
Currency Speculators drop Euro bets further into bearish territory as EURUSD nears parity

Currency Speculators drop Euro bets further into bearish territory as EURUSD nears parity

Invest Macro Invest Macro 09.07.2022 19:55
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday July 5th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Currency market speculator bets were lower this week as all of the eleven currency markets we cover had lower positioning on the week. Leading the declines in speculator bets this week were the Brazil real (-20,695 contracts) and the Euro (-6,256 contracts) while the Canadian dollar (-4,804 contracts), Australian dollar (-4,641 contracts), US Dollar Index (-3,978 contracts), British pound sterling (-3,090 contracts), Japanese yen (-1,875 contracts), New Zealand dollar (-1,745 contracts), Swiss franc (-1,544 contracts), Bitcoin (-665 contracts) and the Mexican peso (-438 contracts) all saw lower speculator bets for the week. Highlighting the currency futures data this week was the Euro speculator position that fell deeper into bearish territory and dropped for the fourth time in the past five weeks. The speculator position has now decreased by a whopping -69,124 contracts in just the past five weeks and has brought the overall standing to the lowest level since November 30th of 2021, a span of 31 weeks. The Euro price has been strongly on the defensive against the dollar as the EURUSD currency pair this week hit the lowest level since December 0f 2002. The EURUSD fell to a low under the 1.0200 exchange rate on Friday and sets up what seems to be an inevitable test of parity which would also be the first time that has happened since December of 2002. More COT currency notes: US Dollar Index bets fell for a second straight week and dipped below +40,000 contracts for the first time in four weeks. Despite the 2-week decline, the Dollar Index speculator position remains extremely bullish which has seen increases in speculator bets in ten out of the past fifteen weeks. Overall, the Dollar Index positioning has been in bullish territory for fifty-three straight weeks after turning from bearish to bullish on July 6th of 2021. The Dollar Index price this week continued to climb (up 5 out of 6 weeks) and hit the highest level since October of 2002 at above the 107.75 level. Japanese yen speculator bets fell for the first time in the past eight weeks this week. Yen bets remain bearish but have improved strongly over the past few months going from a total of -110,454 contracts on May 10th to a total of -54,445 contracts this week. Despite, the speculator sentiment improvement, the USDJPY currency pair has remained near the top of its range (and close to 20-year highs) at around the 136.00 exchange rate. Brazilian real speculator bets dropped sharply this week by over -20,000 contracts and fell for the third straight week. These declines have brought the BRL position down to the lowest level in the past twenty-two weeks at just +16,333 contracts. The Brazil real price has been on the defensive in the past month as the BRLUSD currency pair fell to a five month low this week near the 0.1850 exchange rate and dropped under its 200-day moving average for the first time since January. Strength scores (a measure of the 3-Year range of Speculator positions, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the US Dollar Index (90.4 percent) and Bitcoin (87.9 percent) lead the currencies at the top of their respective ranges and are both in bullish extreme positions. The Brazilian real (66.4 percent) comes in as the next highest currency in strength scores but took a large tumble this week to fall out of a bullish extreme level. On the downside, the Mexican peso at 21.2 percent continues to be at the lowest strength level currently and is followed by the Euro at 29.8 percent and the Swiss franc at 30.8 percent. Strength score trends (or move index, that calculate 6-week changes in strength scores) shows that the Japanese yen (27.7 percent) leads the past six weeks trends once again this week. The Swiss franc (24.2 percent), New Zealand dollar (20.6 percent) and the Canadian dollar (19.1 percent) round out the top movers in the latest data. The Brazilian real (-22.0 percent) saw a huge decrease in speculator positions this week and leads the downside trend scores currently. The next currencies will lower trend scores were the Mexican peso at -18.9 percent followed by the Euro at -17.1 percent. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jul-05-2022OIOI-IndexSpec-NetSpec-IndexCom-NetCOM-IndexSmalls-NetSmalls-Index USD Index 60,857 91 39,251 90 -41,510 10 2,259 41 EUR 673,772 71 -16,852 30 -8,636 74 25,488 17 GBP 240,926 65 -56,208 34 77,009 75 -20,801 13 JPY 217,672 67 -54,445 35 64,063 67 -9,618 34 CHF 38,504 18 -10,135 31 20,075 75 -9,940 24 CAD 145,372 27 4,293 44 -4,533 65 240 31 AUD 146,950 42 -47,621 41 55,708 60 -8,087 33 NZD 45,403 35 -7,056 59 10,521 47 -3,465 12 MXN 197,463 48 -14,418 21 10,096 77 4,322 61 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 39,470 26 16,333 66 -17,398 34 1,065 77 Bitcoin 13,258 75 420 88 -462 0 42 14   US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 39,251 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -3,978 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 43,229 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.2 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 87.0 3.3 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.5 71.5 4.5 – Net Position: 39,251 -41,510 2,259 – Gross Longs: 52,927 2,023 4,993 – Gross Shorts: 13,676 43,533 2,734 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.9 to 1 0.0 to 1 1.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 90.4 9.9 41.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 2.0 -1.0 -6.3   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -16,852 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -6,256 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,596 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 29.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 73.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.6 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.3 56.1 12.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 31.8 57.3 8.5 – Net Position: -16,852 -8,636 25,488 – Gross Longs: 197,138 377,654 82,525 – Gross Shorts: 213,990 386,290 57,037 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 29.8 73.6 16.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -17.1 18.1 -13.5   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -56,208 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -3,090 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -53,118 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 33.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.5 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 16.4 74.2 7.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 39.8 42.2 16.0 – Net Position: -56,208 77,009 -20,801 – Gross Longs: 39,618 178,745 17,693 – Gross Shorts: 95,826 101,736 38,494 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 33.5 75.2 12.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 17.4 -11.8 -8.6   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -54,445 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -1,875 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -52,570 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 35.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 66.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 33.9 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.8 68.8 11.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 42.8 39.3 16.1 – Net Position: -54,445 64,063 -9,618 – Gross Longs: 38,660 149,702 25,452 – Gross Shorts: 93,105 85,639 35,070 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 35.3 66.9 33.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 27.7 -20.8 -4.8   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -10,135 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -1,544 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -8,591 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 30.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 23.9 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 8.4 69.2 22.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 34.7 17.1 48.2 – Net Position: -10,135 20,075 -9,940 – Gross Longs: 3,218 26,664 8,602 – Gross Shorts: 13,353 6,589 18,542 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.2 to 1 4.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 30.8 75.5 23.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 24.2 -18.5 7.0   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 4,293 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -4,804 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 9,097 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 65.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.6 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 31.2 46.7 21.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 28.3 49.8 20.8 – Net Position: 4,293 -4,533 240 – Gross Longs: 45,365 67,829 30,460 – Gross Shorts: 41,072 72,362 30,220 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 44.2 65.0 30.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 19.1 -9.6 -11.1   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -47,621 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -4,641 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -42,980 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 60.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 32.7 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 18.8 64.8 12.6 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 51.2 26.9 18.1 – Net Position: -47,621 55,708 -8,087 – Gross Longs: 27,622 95,252 18,508 – Gross Shorts: 75,243 39,544 26,595 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.4 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 40.7 60.4 32.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -2.0 1.8 -0.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -7,056 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -1,745 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -5,311 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 59.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.8 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.0 63.9 5.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.6 40.8 13.6 – Net Position: -7,056 10,521 -3,465 – Gross Longs: 13,634 29,029 2,689 – Gross Shorts: 20,690 18,508 6,154 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.6 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 59.4 46.6 11.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 20.6 -18.8 -1.0   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of -14,418 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -438 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -13,980 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 21.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 61.3 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 54.3 41.6 3.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 61.6 36.5 1.3 – Net Position: -14,418 10,096 4,322 – Gross Longs: 107,141 82,106 6,947 – Gross Shorts: 121,559 72,010 2,625 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.1 to 1 2.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 21.2 77.0 61.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -18.9 18.5 -1.0   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 16,333 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -20,695 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 37,028 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 66.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 34.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 77.2 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 61.5 29.8 7.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 20.1 73.9 5.1 – Net Position: 16,333 -17,398 1,065 – Gross Longs: 24,261 11,776 3,089 – Gross Shorts: 7,928 29,174 2,024 – Long to Short Ratio: 3.1 to 1 0.4 to 1 1.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 66.4 34.3 77.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -22.0 22.5 -8.5     Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week resulted in a net position of 420 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -665 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 1,085 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 30.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.9 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 80.3 1.2 8.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 77.1 4.7 7.7 – Net Position: 420 -462 42 – Gross Longs: 10,642 158 1,058 – Gross Shorts: 10,222 620 1,016 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.3 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND:       – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 87.9 30.9 13.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:       – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -7.8 20.6 1.7   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
COT Week 28 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets declined overall led by S&P500-Mini & VIX

COT Week 28 Charts: Stock Market Speculators bets declined overall led by S&P500-Mini & VIX

Invest Macro Invest Macro 16.07.2022 15:25
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday July 12th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. Weekly Speculator Changes COT stock market speculator bets were mostly lower this week as three out of the seven stock markets we cover had higher positioning while the other four markets had lower weekly net changes. Leading the gains for stock markets was the MSCI EAFE Mini (11,147 contracts) with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Mini (3,240 contracts) and Russell 2000 Mini (815 contracts) also showing  positive weeks. Meanwhile, leading the declines in speculator bets this week were the S&P500 Mini (-31,846 contracts) and the VIX (-20,866 contracts) with the Nasdaq Mini (-11,479 contracts) and the Nikkei 225 USD (-206 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week.   Data Snapshot of Stock Market Traders | Columns Legend Jul-12-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index S&P500-Mini 2,317,580 8 -215,528 16 247,687 100 -32,159 20 Nikkei 225 13,053 7 -1,951 68 3,206 46 -1,255 13 Nasdaq-Mini 254,260 45 19,416 86 -9,589 21 -9,827 28 DowJones-Mini 67,254 24 -19,843 11 25,635 94 -5,792 7 VIX 281,586 21 -66,367 76 73,802 25 -7,435 55 Nikkei 225 Yen 61,838 46 7,547 57 25,338 88 -32,885 7   Strength Scores Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the Nasdaq-Mini (85.9 percent) leads the stocks and is currently in a bullish extreme position. The VIX (76.0 percent) and the Nikkei USD (68.2 percent) come in as the next highest stock markets in strength scores. On the downside, the Russell2000-Mini (0.5 percent) comes in at the lowest strength level currently (extreme bearish) and continues to scrape the bottom of its 3-year range. The DowJones-Mini (11.1 percent), EAFE-Mini (12.6 percent) and the S&P500-Mini (16.3 percent) round out the next lowest scores and are also in extreme bearish levels (below 20 percent). Strength Statistics: VIX (76.0 percent) vs VIX previous week (86.4 percent) S&P500-Mini (16.3 percent) vs S&P500-Mini previous week (22.2 percent) DowJones-Mini (11.1 percent) vs DowJones-Mini previous week (7.1 percent) Nasdaq-Mini (85.9 percent) vs Nasdaq-Mini previous week (92.3 percent) Russell2000-Mini (0.5 percent) vs Russell2000-Mini previous week (0.0 percent) Nikkei USD (68.2 percent) vs Nikkei USD previous week (69.2 percent) EAFE-Mini (12.6 percent) vs EAFE-Mini previous week (0.0 percent)   Strength Trends Strength Score Trends (or move index, that calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) show that the DowJones-Mini (7.8 percent) leads the past six weeks trends for stocks currently. The Nasdaq-Mini (7.7 percent) and the Nikkei USD (5.4 percent) fill out the top movers in the latest trends data. The S&P500-Mini (-44.0 percent) and the Russell 2000-Mini (-22.2 percent) lead the downside trend scores this week followed by the EAFE-Mini (-20.7 percent) which saw an improvement from last week (-37.5 percent). Strength Trend Statistics: VIX (-10.8 percent) vs VIX previous week (-1.0 percent) S&P500-Mini (-44.0 percent) vs S&P500-Mini previous week (-43.1 percent) DowJones-Mini (7.8 percent) vs DowJones-Mini previous week (1.2 percent) Nasdaq-Mini (7.7 percent) vs Nasdaq-Mini previous week (9.6 percent) Russell2000-Mini (-22.2 percent) vs Russell2000-Mini previous week (-24.8 percent) Nikkei USD (5.4 percent) vs Nikkei USD previous week (-1.1 percent) EAFE-Mini (-20.7 percent) vs EAFE-Mini previous week (-37.5 percent) VIX Volatility Futures: The VIX Volatility large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -66,367 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -20,866 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -45,501 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 76.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 25.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 55.3 percent. VIX Volatility Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.5 59.2 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.1 33.0 10.8 – Net Position: -66,367 73,802 -7,435 – Gross Longs: 40,825 166,659 23,039 – Gross Shorts: 107,192 92,857 30,474 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 76.0 25.0 55.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.8 10.1 4.8   S&P500 Mini Futures: The S&P500 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -215,528 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -31,846 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -183,682 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.6 percent. S&P500 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 9.7 77.8 10.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 19.0 67.1 11.4 – Net Position: -215,528 247,687 -32,159 – Gross Longs: 224,577 1,802,289 233,148 – Gross Shorts: 440,105 1,554,602 265,307 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.2 to 1 0.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 16.3 100.0 19.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -44.0 39.8 -1.6   Dow Jones Mini Futures: The Dow Jones Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -19,843 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 3,240 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -23,083 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 11.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 7.5 percent. Dow Jones Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 20.3 64.3 14.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 49.8 26.2 23.1 – Net Position: -19,843 25,635 -5,792 – Gross Longs: 13,674 43,227 9,777 – Gross Shorts: 33,517 17,592 15,569 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.5 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 11.1 93.9 7.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.8 -5.1 -11.5   Nasdaq Mini Futures: The Nasdaq Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 19,416 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -11,479 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 30,895 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 20.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 28.3 percent. Nasdaq Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 30.3 55.4 12.7 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 22.6 59.1 16.6 – Net Position: 19,416 -9,589 -9,827 – Gross Longs: 76,972 140,774 32,410 – Gross Shorts: 57,556 150,363 42,237 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.3 to 1 0.9 to 1 0.8 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 85.9 20.6 28.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 7.7 -8.3 -0.7   Russell 2000 Mini Futures: The Russell 2000 Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -117,778 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 815 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -118,593 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 8.4 percent. Russell 2000 Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 6.9 89.0 3.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 26.9 67.9 4.2 – Net Position: -117,778 123,998 -6,220 – Gross Longs: 40,461 523,195 18,305 – Gross Shorts: 158,239 399,197 24,525 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.3 to 1 1.3 to 1 0.7 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 0.5 100.0 8.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -22.2 22.1 -9.9   Nikkei Stock Average (USD) Futures: The Nikkei Stock Average (USD) large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -1,951 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -206 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,745 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 68.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 45.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.6 percent. Nikkei Stock Average Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 22.9 62.1 14.8 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 37.9 37.5 24.4 – Net Position: -1,951 3,206 -1,255 – Gross Longs: 2,991 8,101 1,931 – Gross Shorts: 4,942 4,895 3,186 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.6 to 1 1.7 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 68.2 45.7 12.6 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 5.4 -2.0 -9.2   MSCI EAFE Mini Futures: The MSCI EAFE Mini large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -22,036 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 11,147 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -33,183 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 93.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.2 percent. MSCI EAFE Mini Futures Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 5.7 91.3 2.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 10.9 86.8 1.7 – Net Position: -22,036 19,139 2,897 – Gross Longs: 24,616 391,518 10,216 – Gross Shorts: 46,652 372,379 7,319 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.5 to 1 1.1 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 12.6 93.1 44.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -20.7 23.6 -14.0   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Euro, Mexican Peso & Brazilian Real lead Currency Speculators bets lower

Euro, Mexican Peso & Brazilian Real lead Currency Speculators bets lower

Invest Macro Invest Macro 16.07.2022 19:19
By InvestMacro | COT | Data Tables | COT Leaders | Downloads | COT Newsletter Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday July 12th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar. Weekly Speculator Changes COT currency market speculator bets were mostly lower this week as just three out of the eleven currency markets we cover had higher positioning while the other eight markets had lower speculator contracts. Leading the gains for the currency markets was the Australian dollar with a weekly gain of 6,021 contracts while the New Zealand dollar (1,773 contracts) and the Swiss franc (1,411 contracts) also had positive weeks. The currencies leading the declines in speculator bets this week were the Mexican peso (-8,820 contracts) and the Euro (-8,392 contracts) with the Brazilian real (-6,128 contracts), Japanese yen (-5,553 contracts), British pound sterling (-2,881 contracts), US Dollar Index (-897 contracts), Canadian dollar (-788 contracts) and Bitcoin(-591 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week.     Highlighting this week’s COT currency data is the continued decline in the Euro speculator positions which fell for a second straight week and for the fifth time in the past six weeks. Euro bets have now dropped by -77,516 contracts in just the past six weeks, going from +52,272 contracts on May 31st to -25,244 contracts this week. This weakness put the current speculator position at the lowest level since March of 2020 but it is nowhere near the extremely bearish levels of years past (for example: -114,021 contracts in 2020 or -182,845 contracts in 2015). There seems to be a lot of room for the speculator position to fall further. Will this bring the Euro price even lower? That is a fascinating question as the largest currency news story of the past few weeks has been the EURUSD reaching parity for the first time in over twenty years. The EURUSD actually hit 0.9952 on Thursday before closing the week near the 1.0080 exchange rate and with the US Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates further soon – the EURUSD will likely remain under pressure but how low can it go? The other side of the COT data this week is the continued strength of the US Dollar Index speculator positions. The USD Index speculator bets fell this week for a third straight week but remain very much near their recent highs. Speculative positions recently had three straight weeks of over at least +40,000 net contracts for the first time since 2019 while the speculator position also topped +45,000 contracts (on June 21st) for the first time since March 21st of 2017, a span of 274 weeks. The strong sentiment for the dollar has helped boost the US Dollar Index price to a high over 109.00 this week, reaching the highest level since 2002. With the two largest components of the US Dollar Index, the Euro at 57.6 percent of the index and the Japanese yen at 13.6 percent, so weak at the moment, the DXY might challenge the 110 exchange rate in the weeks to come. Data Snapshot of Forex Market Traders | Columns Legend Jul-12-2022 OI OI-Index Spec-Net Spec-Index Com-Net COM-Index Smalls-Net Smalls-Index USD Index 59,565 88 38,354 89 -40,895 11 2,541 44 EUR 682,031 75 -25,244 27 5,760 78 19,484 7 GBP 231,945 59 -59,089 31 75,405 74 -16,316 22 JPY 223,539 71 -59,998 32 75,067 72 -15,069 23 CHF 41,255 23 -8,724 34 19,882 75 -11,158 20 CAD 139,297 23 3,505 43 -4,653 65 1,148 32 AUD 158,263 51 -41,600 46 52,490 58 -10,890 26 NZD 45,837 36 -5,283 62 8,979 44 -3,696 9 MXN 195,611 47 -23,238 17 20,317 81 2,921 55 RUB 20,930 4 7,543 31 -7,150 69 -393 24 BRL 41,034 28 10,205 60 -10,868 41 663 73 Bitcoin 13,505 77 -171 77 -201 0 372 21   Strength Scores Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is extreme bullish and below 20 is extreme bearish) show that the US Dollar Index (88.9 percent) leads the currency markets near the top of its 3-year range and in a bullish extreme position (above 80 percent). Bitcoin (77.2 percent) comes in as the next highest in the currency markets strength scores with the New Zealand Dollar (62.4 percent) and the Brazilian Real (60.4 percent) rounding out the only other markets above 50 percent or above their midpoint for the past 3 years . On the downside, the Mexican Peso (17.4 percent) comes in at the lowest strength level currently and the only one in a bearish extreme level.  The EuroFX (27.3 percent) continues to fall and is the second lowest strength score this week. Strength Statistics: US Dollar Index (88.9 percent) vs US Dollar Index previous week (90.4 percent) EuroFX (27.3 percent) vs EuroFX previous week (29.8 percent) British Pound Sterling (31.4 percent) vs British Pound Sterling previous week (33.5 percent) Japanese Yen (31.9 percent) vs Japanese Yen previous week (35.3 percent) Swiss Franc (34.4 percent) vs Swiss Franc previous week (30.8 percent) Canadian Dollar (43.3 percent) vs Canadian Dollar previous week (44.2 percent) Australian Dollar (46.3 percent) vs Australian Dollar previous week (40.7 percent) New Zealand Dollar (62.4 percent) vs New Zealand Dollar previous week (59.4 percent) Mexican Peso (17.4 percent) vs Mexican Peso previous week (21.2 percent) Brazil Real (60.4 percent) vs Brazil Real previous week (66.4 percent) Russian Ruble (31.2 percent) vs Russian Ruble previous week (31.9 percent) Bitcoin (77.2 percent) vs Bitcoin previous week (87.9 percent) Strength Trends Strength Score Trends (or move index, calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) show that the Swiss Franc (29.7 percent) leads the past six weeks trends for the currency markets this week. The New Zealand Dollar (22.6 percent) and the Japanese Yen (21.2 percent) round out the next highest movers in the latest trends data as the CHF, NZD and the JPY have seen improving sentiment from speculators. The Brazilian Real (-34.5 percent) leads the downside trend scores this week while the next markets with lower trend scores were the Mexican Peso (-25.0 percent) followed by the Euro (-23.8 percent). Strength Trend Statistics: US Dollar Index (1.4 percent) vs US Dollar Index previous week (2.0 percent) EuroFX (-23.8 percent) vs EuroFX previous week (-17.1 percent) British Pound Sterling (10.8 percent) vs British Pound Sterling previous week (17.4 percent) Japanese Yen (21.2 percent) vs Japanese Yen previous week (27.7 percent) Swiss Franc (29.7 percent) vs Swiss Franc previous week (24.2 percent) Canadian Dollar (11.8 percent) vs Canadian Dollar previous week (19.1 percent) Australian Dollar (6.6 percent) vs Australian Dollar previous week (-2.0 percent) New Zealand Dollar (22.6 percent) vs New Zealand Dollar previous week (20.6 percent) Mexican Peso (-25.0 percent) vs Mexican Peso previous week (-18.9 percent) Brazil Real (-34.5 percent) vs Brazil Real previous week (-22.0 percent) Russian Ruble (-15.6 percent) vs Russian Ruble previous week (9.1 percent) Bitcoin (-10.4 percent) vs Bitcoin previous week (-7.8 percent) Individual Markets: US Dollar Index Futures: The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 38,354 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -897 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 39,251 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.9 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 10.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 44.3 percent. US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 85.8 3.9 9.0 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 21.4 72.5 4.7 – Net Position: 38,354 -40,895 2,541 – Gross Longs: 51,109 2,305 5,365 – Gross Shorts: 12,755 43,200 2,824 – Long to Short Ratio: 4.0 to 1 0.1 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 88.9 10.9 44.3 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish-Extreme Bearish-Extreme Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 1.4 0.7 -13.7   Euro Currency Futures: The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -25,244 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -8,392 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -16,852 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 77.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 6.7 percent. EURO Currency Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 28.9 56.5 12.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 32.6 55.6 9.4 – Net Position: -25,244 5,760 19,484 – Gross Longs: 197,240 385,039 83,394 – Gross Shorts: 222,484 379,279 63,910 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 27.3 77.7 6.7 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -23.8 25.8 -22.2   British Pound Sterling Futures: The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -59,089 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -2,881 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -56,208 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 74.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.8 percent. BRITISH POUND Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 14.6 75.3 8.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 40.1 42.8 15.2 – Net Position: -59,089 75,405 -16,316 – Gross Longs: 33,850 174,748 18,999 – Gross Shorts: 92,939 99,343 35,315 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.8 to 1 0.5 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.4 74.3 21.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 10.8 -7.0 -6.7   Japanese Yen Futures: The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -59,998 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -5,553 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -54,445 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 72.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.8 percent. JAPANESE YEN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 15.9 71.8 10.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 42.7 38.3 17.1 – Net Position: -59,998 75,067 -15,069 – Gross Longs: 35,533 160,589 23,147 – Gross Shorts: 95,531 85,522 38,216 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 1.9 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 31.9 72.3 22.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 21.2 -14.6 -9.1   Swiss Franc Futures: The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -8,724 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,411 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,135 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 34.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 75.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 19.8 percent. SWISS FRANC Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 17.0 63.5 19.4 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 38.2 15.4 46.4 – Net Position: -8,724 19,882 -11,158 – Gross Longs: 7,017 26,217 7,984 – Gross Shorts: 15,741 6,335 19,142 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 4.1 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 34.4 75.2 19.8 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 29.7 -15.9 -6.0   Canadian Dollar Futures: The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 3,505 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -788 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 4,293 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 32.4 percent. CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 29.9 46.4 22.9 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 27.4 49.8 22.0 – Net Position: 3,505 -4,653 1,148 – Gross Longs: 41,613 64,673 31,834 – Gross Shorts: 38,108 69,326 30,686 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.1 to 1 0.9 to 1 1.0 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 43.3 64.9 32.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 11.8 -3.6 -12.4   Australian Dollar Futures: The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -41,600 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 6,021 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -47,621 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 58.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.9 percent. AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 19.3 67.0 10.5 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 45.6 33.9 17.4 – Net Position: -41,600 52,490 -10,890 – Gross Longs: 30,527 106,112 16,570 – Gross Shorts: 72,127 53,622 27,460 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.4 to 1 2.0 to 1 0.6 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 46.3 58.0 25.9 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish Bullish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 6.6 1.0 -20.6   New Zealand Dollar Futures: The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -5,283 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 1,773 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -7,056 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 62.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 44.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.2 percent. NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 32.6 61.7 5.3 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 44.1 42.1 13.4 – Net Position: -5,283 8,979 -3,696 – Gross Longs: 14,926 28,261 2,436 – Gross Shorts: 20,209 19,282 6,132 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.7 to 1 1.5 to 1 0.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 62.4 44.2 9.2 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish-Extreme NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: 22.6 -19.1 -12.0   Mexican Peso Futures: The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -23,238 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -8,820 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -14,418 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 17.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 81.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 55.4 percent. MEXICAN PESO Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 53.5 43.1 3.1 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 65.4 32.7 1.6 – Net Position: -23,238 20,317 2,921 – Gross Longs: 104,715 84,247 6,023 – Gross Shorts: 127,953 63,930 3,102 – Long to Short Ratio: 0.8 to 1 1.3 to 1 1.9 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 17.4 81.3 55.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bearish-Extreme Bullish-Extreme Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -25.0 25.2 -7.5   Brazilian Real Futures: The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of 10,205 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -6,128 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 16,333 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 60.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 40.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 72.5 percent. BRAZIL REAL Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 46.8 46.0 7.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 21.9 72.5 5.6 – Net Position: 10,205 -10,868 663 – Gross Longs: 19,197 18,878 2,957 – Gross Shorts: 8,992 29,746 2,294 – Long to Short Ratio: 2.1 to 1 0.6 to 1 1.3 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 60.4 40.7 72.5 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bullish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -34.5 35.9 -19.8   Bitcoin Futures: The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week totaled a net position of -171 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -591 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 420 net contracts. This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 77.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 46.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 21.4 percent. BITCOIN Statistics SPECULATORS COMMERCIALS SMALL TRADERS – Percent of Open Interest Longs: 76.5 1.6 9.2 – Percent of Open Interest Shorts: 77.7 3.1 6.5 – Net Position: -171 -201 372 – Gross Longs: 10,325 216 1,247 – Gross Shorts: 10,496 417 875 – Long to Short Ratio: 1.0 to 1 0.5 to 1 1.4 to 1 NET POSITION TREND: – Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct): 77.2 46.1 21.4 – Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range): Bullish Bearish Bearish NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX: – 6-Week Change in Strength Index: -10.4 17.5 6.2   Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email *COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting).See CFTC criteria here.
Crypto: Bitcoin Price Chart (BTC/USD) - What Do We Learn?

Crypto: Bitcoin Price Chart (BTC/USD) - What Do We Learn?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 15.07.2022 12:08
Another mixed week traders. We started the week with declines that started last weekend and dragged into the week as sellers looked to have taken control. In a positive twist, buyers emerged on Wednesday and stopped the move lower. We saw an average-looking spinner bar that day, but it shifted momentum, and buyers set up a nice day on Thursday with just over 7% added to the top 10 and 7.90% to the top 25. The week centred on the continuing fallout from what’s been dubbed “the Crypto Winter” and the collapses of Three Arrows and Celsius. These two were big players in the industry, and their failures are still sending jitters through the industry. Things look bleak for leaders of TAC, as with last reports suggesting outstanding loans won’t be able to be repaid. Reports also noted the directors of TAC could have gone into hiding. Both were reported by articles on CNBC this week. Continuing to move on with the positive, today we’re seeing price continue its rebound with new two-day highs on the CRYPTO10 and CRYPTO25 indexes. As usual, opinions are divided on whether we will see a new extension lower or if we could be in a technical pause that could turn into a rebound. We are going to break down bitcoin and put forward or ideas on what we would like to see happen, to say yes, we could have a rally or the warning signs that we could see a new extension lower. There is talk from other analysts that Bitcoin could still have to make one more leg lower before it could find a bottom. The general lower price area is seen from 15,000 – 13,000. This is a slightly longer outlook for Bitcoin, but we feel that the current position and pattern is important not only for the next step in BTC but also for Crypto, as we all know that Bitcoin still drives most of the top caps in the market. Incorporating some of the points above about one more leg down this can be seen in the chart with price currently sitting in a consolidation pattern in two downtrends. We can see a triangle around the current consolidation, but we can also see two clear key levels of support and demand holding the current price action. Price has also lined up nicely with a return to the faster downtrend. The OBV also shows a pattern we have seen in the recent declines. And like price the OBV has also returned to its downtrend. So it is rather simple for us, break the triangle and break support. We could be seeing the start of a new extension lower. If buyers can break above resistance and through the fast downtrend, we could be looking at a deeper move higher. The post Crypto Focus: We’re seeing price continue its rebound appeared first on Eightcap.
What Does Inflation Rates We Got To Know Mean To Central Banks?

What Does Inflation Rates We Got To Know Mean To Central Banks?

Purple Trading Purple Trading 15.07.2022 13:36
The Swing Overview – Week 28 2022 This week's new record inflation readings sent a clear message to central bankers. Further interest rate hikes must be faster than before. The first of the big banks to take this challenge seriously was the Bank of Canada, which literally shocked the markets with an unprecedented rate hike of a full 1%. This is obviously not good for stocks, which weakened again in the past week. The euro also stumbled and has already fallen below parity with the usd. Uncertainty, on the other hand, favours the US dollar, which has reached new record highs.   Macroeconomic data The data from the US labour market, the so-called NFP, beat expectations, as the US economy created 372 thousand new jobs in June (the expectation was 268 thousand) and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. But on the other hand, unemployment claims continued to rise, reaching 244k last week, the 7th week in a row of increase.   But the crucial news was the inflation data for June. It exceeded expectations and reached a new record of 9.1% on year-on-year basis, the highest value since 1981. Inflation rose by 1.3% on month-on-month basis. Energy prices, which rose by 41.6%, had a major impact on inflation. Declines in commodity prices, such as oil, have not yet influenced June inflation, which may be some positive news. Core inflation excluding food and energy prices rose by 5.9%, down from 6% in May.   The value of inflation was a shock to the markets and the dollar strengthened sharply. We can see this in the dollar index, which has already surpassed 109. We will see how the Fed, which will be deciding on interest rates in less than two weeks, will react to this development. A rate hike of 0.75% is very likely and the question is whether even such an increase will be enough for the markets. Meanwhile, there has been an inversion on the yield curve on US bonds. This means that yields on 2-year bonds are higher than those on 10-year bonds. This is one of the signals of a recession. Figure 1: The US Treasury yield curve on the monthly chart and the USD index on the daily chart   The SP 500 Index Apart from macroeconomic indicators, the ongoing earnings season will also influence the performance of the indices this month. Among the major banks, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley reported results this week. Both banks reported earnings, but they were below investor expectations. The impact of more expensive funding sources that banks need to finance their activities is probably starting to show.   We must also be interested in the data in China, which, due to the size of the Chinese economy, has an impact on the movement of global indices. 2Q GDP in China was 0.4% on year-on-year basis, a significant drop from the previous quarter (4.8%). Strict lockdowns against new COVID-19 outbreaks had an impact on economic situation in the country. Figure 2: SP 500 on H4 and D1 chart The threat of a recession is seeping into the SP 500 index with another decline, which stalled last week at the support level, which according to the H4 is in the 3,740-3,750 range. The next support is 3,640 - 3,670.  The nearest resistance is 3,930 - 3,950. German DAX index The German ZEW sentiment, which shows expectations for the next 6 months, reached - 53.8. This is the lowest reading since 2011. Inflation in Germany reached 7.6% in June. This is lower than the previous month when inflation was 7.9%. Concerns about the global recession continue to affect the DAX index, which has tested significant supports. Figure 3: German DAX index on H4 and daily chart Strong support according to the daily chart is 12,443 - 12,500, which was tested again last week. We can take the moving averages EMA 50 and SMA 100 as a resistance. The nearest horizontal resistance is 12,950 - 13,000.   The euro broke parity with the dollar The euro fell below 1.00 on the pair with the dollar for the first time in 20 years, reaching a low of 0.9950 last week. Although the euro eventually closed above parity, so from a technical perspective it is not a valid break yet, the euro's weakening points to the headwinds the eurozone is facing: high inflation, weak growth, the threat in energy commodity supplies, the war in Ukraine. Figure 4: EUR/USD on H4 and daily chart Next week the ECB will be deciding on interest rates and it is obvious that there will be some rate hike. A modest increase of 0.25% has been announced. Taking into account the issues mentioned above, the motivation for the ECB to raise rates by a more significant step will not be very strong. The euro therefore remains under pressure and it is not impossible that a fall below parity will occur again in the near future.   The nearest resistance according to the H4 chart is at 1.008 - 1.012. A support is the last low, which is at 0.9950 - 0.9960.   Bank of Canada has pulled out the anti-inflation bazooka Analysts had expected the Bank of Canada to raise rates by 0.75%. Instead, the central bank shocked markets with an unprecedented increase by a full 1%, the highest rate hike in 24 years. The central bank did so in response to inflation, which is the highest in Canada in 40 years. With this jump in rates, the bank is trying to prevent uncontrolled price increases.   The reaction of the Canadian dollar has been interesting. It strengthened significantly immediately after the announcement. However, then it began to weaken sharply. This may be because investors now expect the US Fed to resort to a similarly sharp rate hike. Figure 5: USD/CAD on H4 and daily chart Another reason may be the decline in oil prices, which the Canadian dollar is correlated with, as Canada is a major oil producer. The oil is weakening due to fears of a drop in demand that would accompany an economic recession. Figure 6: Oil on the H4 and daily charts Oil is currently in a downtrend. However, it has reached a support value, which is in the area near $94 per barrel. The support has already been broken, but on the daily chart oil closed above this value. Therefore, it is not a valid break yet.  
Stock Market: Uber, Palantir And Moderna In Top 3...

Stock Market: Uber, Palantir And Moderna In Top 3...

Purple Trading Purple Trading 15.07.2022 13:08
TOP 3 most traded CFD stocks of this week Information is one of the most valuable commodities. No one can tell you with absolute certainty where any stock is headed. But sometimes you just need to know where, at what point, and why are investors taking the most positions to try to take advantage of the volume and volatility yourselves. We bring you a summary of this week’s top 3 most traded CFD stocks at Purple Trading. What is behind their popularity and what is the outlook for the future? You can find answers to these questions in today’s article. Uber Shares of the notoricaly loss-making taxi service are under a lot of pressure this year. They have lost more than half their value since January. Uber is now selling more than 50% below the price it was when it entered the stock markets in 2019. Comparing it to its all-time high of $63.18 in early January 2021 is even more dismal. The big drop in Uber stock isn't too surprising in the context of the company's financial results from the first quarter of the year. While Uber's revenue grew 136% year-over-year to $6.9 billion, its net loss came in at $5.9 billion due to failed investments in Grab, Aurora, and DiDi. Chart 1: Uber shares on the MT4 platform on the M15 timeframe along with the 100 and 200 day moving averages Uber has become the focus of investor attention in recent days due to leaked information about lobbying high-profile politicians such as French President Emmanuel Macron. The revelations of the scandal have made Uber shares very volatile, which traders have taken advantage of.   The outlook for the coming months is not very positive for the company - high fuel prices are making Uber's services more expensive and a possible recession could significantly affect the company's revenues. Uber's business can be described as rather cyclical and in times of recession the company could suffer as a result. Nor should we underestimate the impact of the growing coronavirus, which is once again beginning to plague the entire world.   However, Uber’s relatively low valuation (it is now trading near an all-time low) and its positive cash flow outlook for 2022 is what’s playing into Uber’s hands. The company will publish its 2Q earnings in early August, and no matter the outcome, Uber shares are likely to remain popular among traders.   Palantir Uber has become the focus of investor attention in recent days due to leaked information about lobbying high-profile politicians such as French President Emmanuel Macron. The revelations of the scandal have made Uber shares very volatile, which traders have taken advantage of.   The outlook for the coming months is not very positive for the company - high fuel prices are making Uber's services more expensive and a possible recession could significantly affect the company's revenues. Uber's business can be described as rather cyclical and in times of recession the company could suffer as a result. Nor should we underestimate the impact of the growing coronavirus, which is once again beginning to plague the entire world.   However, Uber’s relatively low valuation (it is now trading near an all-time low) and its positive cash flow outlook for 2022 is what’s playing into Uber’s hands. The company will publish its 2Q earnings in early August, and no matter the outcome, Uber shares are likely to remain popular among traders. Chart 2: Palantir shares on the MT4 platform on the M15 timeframe along with the 100 and 200 day moving averages Investors still have no idea where to classify Palantir - is it an army contractor or an IT company? The stock's performance so far this year would point more towards an IT company. Military contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies have had a great year so far, outperforming the S&P 500 index significantly. Palantir's CEO visited Ukraine in June in an effort to expand the company's operations. This obviously pleased investors, but potential expansion is difficult to quantify.   Moreover, the company's capitalization is still more than 10 times its annual revenue, a giant number compared to its competitors. Competitor Booz Allen Hamilton is currently selling for about 1.5 times annual sales, and the company's stock is near this year’s low. The company has a long track record of growing sales and, unlike Palantir, is profitable. Palantir's 2Q earnings are due in the first half of August. The company is expecting 25% year-on-year revenue growth. However, in the same period a year ago, the company grew revenue by 49%. Thus, any surprise in the earnings could cause high volatility. Palantir is definitely a stock to watch.    Moderna Seeing the famous vaccine producer among this week’s most traded companies in our CFD stock offering is not much of a surprise. Yet, back in mid-June, things were not looking good for Moderna shares - as this company was about 50% below the price we could see at the beginning of the year. However, the last month has been great for Moderna and its shares have soared almost by 50%. The reasons for this steep rise are clear - the coronavirus is once again on the rise globally. Since the beginning of June, the number of daily covid cases have practically doubled globally. The World Health Organisation has warned that the pandemic is far from over. This is just more water on the mill for companies such as Moderna and BioNTech. In addition, Moderna's actions were also helped by the June approval of a vaccine for American children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years. Chart 3: Shares of Moderna in the MT4 platform on the M15 timeframe along with the 100 and 200 day moving averages After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Moderna was the darling of investors for obvious reasons. Shares thus reached an all-time high of almost USD 500. Since last September, however, it has gone south sharply. Looking at the P/E ratio (the ratio of share price to earnings per share), Moderna looks very attractive - the ratio is now around 5, which is a great number for a pharmaceutical company. In addition, Moderna is well funded - the selling of coronavirus vaccines have given it very interesting liquidity.   The biggest concern for investors, however, is the future of the company and its earnings once the coronavirus has passed. Apart from the vaccines mentioned above, at this moment the company does not sell any other products to the public. It has several other products in the testing phase, but their final approval and sales are uncertain. Thus, Moderna's stock may continue to thrive in the coming months thanks to further covid waves. In the long term, however, the company will need more products if it is to prosper.  
Bitcoin held at 22,700 resistance. Can buyers take the next step?

Bitcoin held at 22,700 resistance. Can buyers take the next step?

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 19.07.2022 06:42
Hi and thanks for stopping by to watch today’s update. Today we’re looking at Bitcoin on the 4H after a few days of solid buying, and a few rejected pushes higher. Yesterday’s things looked bright for bitcoin and the top ten as it looked like buyers here hit on the case, and we saw plenty of solid gains across the boards. Things changed in the NY session as sellers moved in and knocked prices lower. This was short-lived as we saw fresh demand hit the markets this morning. Bitcoin retested resistance but has stalled once again, with sellers taking price back below 22,000. In today’s update, we break down resistance and price action we are watching with the current trend structure. If buyers can hold 21,480, could we see a new shot at resistance? Feel free to let us know your thoughts, and we wish all a happy Tuesday and good trading. Our Bitcoin update video is just below the 4H Bitcoin chart. Bitcoin 4H Bitcoin Update Video (powred by TradingView) The post Bitcoin held at 22,700 resistance. Can buyers take the next step? appeared first on Eightcap.
Forex: Technical Look At (EUR/USD) Euro To US Dollar By 8cap

Forex: Technical Look At (EUR/USD) Euro To US Dollar By 8cap

8 eightcap 8 eightcap 21.07.2022 07:48
Welcome to Thursday’s update. So far today, we have been watching the EURUSD as buyers have started to fight back after some demand crept in yesterday. We are watching the current price to see if a new continuation can confirm on the 4H chart as price continues to sit on its new fast uptrend. We can see the latest trend forming after buyer’s first leg higher broke the last downtrend, but we still need to see price confirm with a new push higher from this point. We would like to see a test of 1.0250 resistance, and a break of that level could confirm that we have a new trend underway. The ECB meets later today, and rates are expected to increase by 25 basis points. This is a special occasion as rates have not moved in the EU for some time now. Attention will always be on the statement and if there are hints of more to come. Will this give the EUR a short-term boost? We want to see price continue to trade firm until the decision. If we see a break of the current trend or a move below 1.0155 this could be a bad sign for buyers on the short term. Ensure you tune in for today’s ECB meeting at 8:15 am EST. Enjoy the rest of you your day and good trading. 4H EURUSD Chart Today’s EURUSD update video (powered by trading view) The post EURUSD, buyers starting to set up a new continuation? appeared first on Eightcap.
FxPro | Australian Westpac Consumer Confidence Index Decreased By 3%!

FxPro | Australian Westpac Consumer Confidence Index Decreased By 3%!

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 09.08.2022 15:31
Australia's Westpac Consumer Confidence Index lost 3% in August, developing a nine-month slump that took off 22.9%. The index was near current levels twice in 2020 during the worst periods of lockdowns and uncertainty and even earlier in 2008 during the worst financial crisis. But current levels are well above the recessionary periods of the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, this does not promise a bleak future for the economy as it will shift the government's and RBA's focus from fighting inflation to supporting demand. AUD/USD On forex, the AUDUSD has been languishing around its 50-day moving average for the last two and a half weeks. At the beginning of August, it hit a glass ceiling at 0.7000, separating the crisis from the norm for the Australian economy for years. Forex - Australian Dollar To US Dollar The inability of the bulls to push the pair higher may be seen as a structural weakness of the buyers, passed on the sight of the sharp decline in the prices of metals, an important export commodity. In this case, the AUDUSD may fall without significant headwinds to 0.6700, the low of July. If there is insufficient demand, the road to the abyss opens, and the pair will move into a channel at 0.50–0.60 for the following year.
A Bright Spot Amidst Economic Challenges

Coinbase's Plan. Is SIlver Better Than Gold? Latest Market News

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 10.08.2022 12:00
Summary:  US equities were not impressed by the lower inflation expectations in the New York Fed’s consumer survey, and Micron’s revenue warning added to the fears with broad losses seen across the semiconductor space. Equity losses broadened as earnings continued to disappoint, and the yield curve inverted further. The US CPI wait game is unlikely to be much more than just noise, but upside risks to USD are seen on stronger underlying dynamics. On the radar today will also be China’s inflation data will be parsed for hints on demand recovery and Fed speakers who may continue to bring up market expectations of Fed’s rate hike path. Markets latest news     Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  US. Equities traded lower in a quiet session, awaiting today’s CPI data.  Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2% after Micron Technology (MU:xnas), added to investors’ concern over weakening demand for microchips when the company issued a negative revenue warning, just a day after another leading chip maker, Nvidia (NVDA:xnas) similarly announced.  The company said that the current quarter revenue could come in at or below the low end of prior guidance. Share price of Micron fell 3.7%. S&P 500 fell 0.4%. After the close, Coinbase Global, Roblox, and Wynn Resorts reported weaker-than-expected results and declined in after-hours trades. U.S. yield curve inverts further Front-end U.S. treasury yields rose 6bps and caused the 2-10-year yield spread further inverted to -49.5bps. The 10-year treasury note yield edged up by 2bps to 2.78% after the Q2 unit labor costs in the U.S. came in at 10.8%, higher than expected.  The 3-year action showed decent demand from investors after yields had risen ahead of the auction.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Shares of leading Hong Kong property developers surged as much as 5% at one point in the morning session, following newswires, citing Executive Council convener Regina Ip, suggested that Hong Kong is considering to remove the punitive double stamp duty imposed on residential property buyers from the mainland.  The Hang Seng Index rose as much as 1% in the morning but both the Hang Seng Index and Hong Kong developers pared gains after the office of the Financial Secretary refuting the speculation after midday.  Hung Kai Properties (00016:xhkg) and CK Assets (01113:xhkg) finished the day 2% higher and Henderson Land (00012:xhkg) +0.7%. The Hang Seng Index reversed and closed 0.2% lower.  Shares of coal miners surged 2% to 5% across the board following reports that a large Shanxi coal mine had an incident and caused temporary suspension of production.  Chinese EV names traded lower on concerns spurred by a 64% MoM fall of Tesla sales in July despite that the China Passenger Car Association raised EV sales estimate to 6 million, 9% higher from its previous estimate. In A-shares, CSI300 was modestly higher, with coal mining, auto parts, wind and solar power storage, and chiplet concept shares outperformed.   EURUSD and USDJPY stucked The US inflation will be relevant beyond the headline print. Key focus is likely to be on the core measure, as it is evident that lower commodity prices may have helped to cool the headline measure. The US dollar rallied sharply on Friday after a solid jobs print, but has since steadied. The next leg higher could depend on the stickiness of the inflation print, which may raise further the expectations of a 75bps rate hike at the September Fed meeting. EURUSD took another look above 1.0240 overnight but reversed back towards 1.0200 in early Asia. USDJPY is also stuck in the middle of the 130-140 range, awaiting triggers for a breakout one way or another. Oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Oil prices steadied in the Asian morning on Wednesday amid renewed concerns on Russian flows to Europe. WTI futures were seen around the key $90 level, while Brent futures touched $96/barrel. API report also showed another week of strong inventory build, coming in at 2.2 million for week ended August 5 as compared to expectations of 73k. The official government inventory report is due today, and China’s inflation data will also be on watch. Grains eye the USDA report US grain futures led by corn traded higher on Tuesday in response to worsening crop conditions. Just like central Europe, soaring heat and drought have raised concerns about lower production and yields. USDA will publish its monthly supply and demand estimates on Friday. The crop condition report, published every Monday by the USDA throughout the growing season, shows the proportion of the US crop being rated in a good to excellent condition. Silver against Gold. Gold (XAUUSD) looking to test $1800 Gold’s focus remains on the geopolitical tensions, despite the recent rise in US Treasury yields. The US CPI and the $1800 resistance area are now the key tests for Gold ahead, and any pickup in rate hike expectations from the Fed could bring bears of the yellow metal back in force. Silver (XAGUSD) has been outshining Gold and in the process managing to mount a challenge above its 50-day moving average, now support at $20.33 with focus on resistance at $20.85.   What to consider?     US CPI due today will be just noise The highly-watched US inflation data is due to be released today, and the debate on inflation peaking vs. higher-for-longer will be revived. Meanwhile, the Fed has recently stayed away from providing forward guidance, which has now made all the data points ahead of the September 21 FOMC meeting a lot more important to predict the path of Fed rates from here. Bloomberg consensus expects inflation to slow down from 9.1% YoY in June to 8.8% YoY last month, but it will be more important to think about how fast inflation can decelerate from here, and how low it can go. The core print will gather greater attention to assess stickiness and breadth of price pressures. However, any surprise will still just be a noise given that we have another print for August due ahead of the next FOMC meeting. Fed’s Evans will take the hot seat today Chicago President Charles Evans discusses the economy and monetary policy today. Evans is not a voter this year, but he votes in 2023. He said last week a 50bps rate hike is a reasonable assessment for the September meeting, but 75bps is a possibility too if inflation does not improve. He expects 25bps from there on until Q2 2023 and sees a policy rate between 3.75-4% in 2023, which is in line with Fed’s median view of 3.8% for 2023, but above the 3.1% that the market is currently pricing in. US New York Fed survey of inflation expectations show sharp decline Median 1-year ahead and 3-year ahead inflation expectations declined sharply in July, from 6.8%/3.6% in June to 6.2%/3.2% in July. Lower income households showed the greatest shift lower in expectations, possibly linked to the sharp drop in petrol prices (the peak in June in one national measure was over $5.00/gallon, a level that fell to below $4.25/gallon by the end of July. China’s PPI inflation is set to ease while CPI is expected to pick up in July The median forecasts from economists being surveyed by Bloomberg are 4.9% (vs June: 6.1%) for PPI and 2.9% (vs 2.5% for June). The higher CPI forecast is mainly a result of a surge in pork prices by 35% in July from June. On the other hand, PPI is expected to continue its recent trend of deceleration due to a low base and a fall in material prices. The convergence of the gap between PPI and CPI is likely to benefit downstream manufacturing industries. Japan PPI shows continued input price pressures Japan’s July producer prices came in slightly above expectations at 8.6% y/y (vs. estimates of 8.4% y/y) while the m/m figure was as expected at 0.4%. The continued surge reflects that Japanese businesses are waddling high input price pressures, and these are likely to get passed on to the consumers, suggesting further increases in CPI remain likely. The government is also set to announce a cabinet reshuffle today, and households may see increased measures to help relieve the price pressures. That will continue to ease the pressure on the Bank of Japan to tighten policy. Coinbase is still losing but is going to give a fight Coinbase (COIN:xnas) reported la loss of USD1.1 billion in Q2, larger-than-expected. Revenues dropped to USD808 million, sharply lower from last year’s USD2.2 billion. Monthly transaction users fell to 9 million, 2% lower from prior quarter. The company sees average monthly transaction users 7 millions to 9 millions in the current quarter. Coinbase Global is worth watching given the fallout in cryptocurrency trading and the recent partnership with BlackRock to ease access for institutional investors. Chipmaker warnings continue, with Micron warning of ‘challenging’ conditions After Nvidia, now Micron (MU) has issued warning of a possible revenue miss in the current quarter and ‘challenging’ memory conditions. The company officials said that they expect the revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in August, “may come in at or below the low end of the revenue guidance range provided in our June 30 earnings call.” The company had called for $6.8-7.6 billion in revenue in its June earnings report. Moreover, they also guided for a tough next quarter as well as shipments could fall on a sequential basis, given the inventory buildup with their customers.   For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast. Source: https://www.home.saxo/content/articles/equities/apac-daily-digest-10-aug-2022-10082022
Eurozone Bank Lending Under Strain as Higher Rates Bite

USD Stucked! Russia Blocks The Oil For Europe Over The Payment Issues. Market Newsfeed

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 10.08.2022 13:00
Summary:  Market sentiment weakened again yesterday, with the US Nasdaq 100 index interacting with the pivotal 13,000 area that was so pivotal on the way up ahead of today’s US July CPI release, which could prove important in either confirming or rejecting the complacent market’s expectations that a slowing economy and peaking inflation will allow the Fed to moderate its rate hike path after the September meeting. A surprisingly strong core CPI reading would likely unsettle the market today.   Our trading focus   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) US interest rates are moving higher again and US equities lower with the S&P 500 at 4,124 yesterday with today’s price action testing the 100-day moving average around the 4,110 level. The past week has delivered more negative earnings surprises and weak outlooks impacting sentiment and the geopolitical risk picture is not helping either. In the event of a worse than expected US CPI release today we could take out the recent trading range in S&P 500 futures to the downside and begin the journey back to 4,000. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH.I) fell 3%. China internet stocks declined across the aboard, losing 2-4%. Shares of EV manufacturers plunged 4-8% despite the China Passenger Car Association raised its 2022 EV sales estimate yesterday to 6mn, 9% higher from its previous estimate. Hang Seng Index plunged 2.4% and CSI300 fell 1.1%. USD decision time The USD remains largely stuck in neutral and may remain so unless or until some incoming input jolts the US treasury market and the complacent view that the US is set to peak its policy rate in December, with the potential to ease by perhaps mid-next year. Technical signs of a broad USD recovery, whether on yields pulling higher or due to a sudden cratering in market sentiment on concerns for the economic outlook or worsening liquidity as the Fed QT schedule is set to continue for now regardless of incoming data, would include USDJPY pulling above 136.00, EURUSD dropping down through 1.0100 and AUDUSD back down below 0.6900. Today’s July US CPI could prove a catalyst for a directional move in the greenback in either direction. Gold (XAUUSD) briefly tested a key area of resistance above $1800 on Tuesday ... before retracing lower as the recent support from rising silver and copper prices faded. With the dollar and yields seeing small gains ahead of today’s US CPI print, and with key resistance levels in all three metals looming, traders decided to book some profit. The market is looking for US inflation to ease from 9.1% to 8.8% and the outcome will have an impact on rate hike expectations from the Fed with a a higher-than-expected number potentially adding some downward pressure on metal prices. Silver (XAGUSD), as highlighted in recent updates, has been outshining Gold and in the process managing to mount a challenge above its 50-day moving average, now support at $20.33 with focus on resistance at $20.85.  Crude oil Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday on news pipeline flows of crude oil from Russia via Ukraine to Europe had been halted over a payment dispute of transit fees. The line, however, is expected to reopen within days but it nevertheless highlights and supports the current price divergence between WTI futures stuck around $90, amid rising US stockpiles and slowing gasoline demand, and Brent which trades above $96. The API reported a 2.2-million-barrel increase in US stockpiles last week with stocks at Cushing, the key storage hub, also rising. The official government inventory report is due today, with surveys pointing to a much smaller build at just 250k barrels. In addition, the market will be paying close attention to implied gasoline demand with recent data showing a slowdown. Also focus on China as lockdowns return, US CPI and Thursday’s Oil Market Reports from OPEC and the IEA. Grains eye Friday’s WASDE report US grain futures led by soybeans and corn trade higher on the week in response to worsening crop conditions. Just like central Europe, soaring heat and drought have raised concerns about lower production and yields. USDA will publish its monthly supply and demand estimates on Friday and given the current conditions a smaller yield could tighten the ending stock situation. The crop condition report, published every Monday by the USDA throughout the growing season, shows the proportion of the US crop being rated in a good to excellent condition. Last week the rating for corn dropped by 3% to 58% versus 64% a year ago. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) US 10-year yields are poised in an important area ahead of the pivotal 3.00% level that would suggest a more determined attempt for yields to try toward the cycle top at 3.50%. Of late, the yield curve inversion has been the primary focus as long yields remain subdued relative to the front end of the curve, a development that could deepen if inflation remains higher than expected while economic activity slows. The three-year T-note auction yesterday saw solid demand, while today sees an auction of 10-year Treasuries.   Newsfeed   Taiwan officials want Foxconn to withdraw investment in Chinese chip company Foxconn announced a $800 million investment in mainland China’s Tsinghua Unigroup last month, but national security officials want the company to drop the investment, likely in connection with recent US-China confrontation in the wake of the visit to Taiwan from US House Speaker Pelosi and the ensuing Chinese military exercises around Taiwan. US Q2 Unit Labor costs remain high at 10.8%, while productivity weak at –4.6% These number suggest a very tight labor market as companies are beset with rising costs for work and less output per unit of worker effort. This number was down from the Q1 levels, but in many past cycles, rising labor costs and falling productivity often precede a powerful deceleration in the labor market as companies slow hiring (and once the recession hits begin firing employees which registers as lower unit costs and rising productivity). Japan PPI shows continued input price pressures Japan’s July producer prices came in slightly above expectations at 8.6% y/y (vs. estimates of 8.4% y/y) while the m/m figure was as expected at 0.4%. The continued surge reflects that Japanese businesses are waddling high input price pressures, and these are likely to get passed on to the consumers, suggesting further increases in CPI remain likely. The government is also set to announce a cabinet reshuffle today, and households may see increased measures to help relieve the price pressures. That will continue to ease the pressure on the Bank of Japan to tighten policy. Chipmaker warnings continue, with Micron warning of ‘challenging’ conditions After Nvidia, now Micron has issued warning of a possible revenue miss in the current quarter and ‘challenging’ memory conditions. The company officials said that they expect the revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in August, “may come in at or below the low end of the revenue guidance range provided in our June 30 earnings call.” The company had called for $6.8-7.6bn in revenue in its June earnings report. Moreover, they also guided for a tough next quarter as well as shipments could fall on a sequential basis, given the inventory build-up with their customers. Vestas Q2 result miss estimates The world’s largest wind turbine maker has posted Q2 revenue of €3.3bn vs est. €3.5bn and EBIT of €-182mn vs est. €-119mn. The company is issuing a fiscal year revenue outlook of €14.5-16bn vs est. €15.2bn. Coinbase misses in revenue issues weak guidance Q2 revenue missed by 5% against estimates and the user metric MTU was lowered to 7-9mn from previously 5-15mn against estimates of 8.7mn. The crypto exchange is saying that retail investors are getting more inactive on cryptocurrencies due to the recent violent selloff. China’s PPI inflation eased while CPI picked up in July China’s PPI came in at 4.2% y/y in July, notably lower from June’s 6.1%).   The decline was mainly a result of lower energy and material prices.  The declines of PPI in the mining and processing sectors were most drastic and those in downstream industries were more moderate.  CPI rose to 2.7% y/y in July from 2.5% in June, less than what the consensus predicted.  Food inflation jumped to 6.3% y/y while the rise in prices of non-food items moderated to 1.9%, core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.8% y/y in July, down from June’s 1.0%. China issues white paper on its stance on Taiwan Despite extending the military drills near Taiwan beyond the originally schedule, in a less confrontational white paper released today, the Taiwan Affairs office and the Information Office of China’s State Council reiterated China’s commitment to “work with the greatest sincerity” and exert “utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification”.  The paper further says that China “will only be forced to take drastic measures” if “separatist elements or external forces” ever cross China’s red lines.    What are we watching next?   US CPI due today: the core in focus The highly watched US inflation data is due to be released today, and the debate on inflation peaking vs. higher-for-longer will be revived. Meanwhile, the Fed has recently stayed away from providing forward guidance, which has now made all the data points ahead of the September 21 FOMC meeting a lot more important to predict the path of Fed rates from here. Bloomberg consensus expects inflation to slow down from 9.1% YoY in June to 8.8% YoY last month. The core print will gather greater attention to assess stickiness and breadth of price pressures. Will any surprise just be noise given that we have another print for August due ahead of the next FOMC meeting, os is this market looking for an excuse to be surprised as it has maintained a rather persistent view that US inflation data will soon roll over and see a Fed set to stop tightening after the December FOMC meeting? Fed’s Evans will take the hot seat today Chicago President Charles Evans discusses the economy and monetary policy today. Evans is not a voter this year, but he votes in 2023. He said last week a 50bps rate hike is a reasonable assessment for the September meeting, but 75bps is a possibility too if inflation does not improve. He expects 25bps from there on until Q2 2023 and sees a policy rate between 3.75-4% in 2023, which is in line with Fed’s median view of 3.8% for 2023, but above the 3.1% that the market is currently pricing in. Earnings to watch Today’s US earnings in focus are marked in bold with the most important earnings release being Walt Disney and Coupang. Disney is expected to deliver revenue growth of 23% y/y with operating margins lower q/q as the company is still facing input cost headwinds. Coupang, which is the largest e-commerce platform in South Korea, is expected to deliver revenue growth of 13% y/y and another operating loss as e-commerce platforms are facing slowing demand and still significant input cost pressures. Today: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Vestas Wind Systems, Genmab, E.ON, Honda Motor, Prudential, Aviva, Walt Disney, Coupang, Illumina Thursday: KBC Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Orsted, Novozymes, Siemens, Hapag-Lloyd, RWE, China Mobile, Antofagasta, Zurich Insurance Group, NIO, Rivian Automotive Friday: Flutter Entertainment, Baidu Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0700 – Czech Jul. CPI 1230 – US Jul. CPI 1430 – US Weekly DoE Crude Oil and Product Inventories 1500 – US Fed’s Evans (non-voter) to speak 1600 – UK Bank of England economist Pill to peak 1700 – US Treasury to auction 10-year notes 1800 – US Fed’s Kashkari (non-voter) to speak 2301 – UK Jul. RICS House Price Balance 0100 – Australia Aug. Consumer Inflation Expectations Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher Source: https://www.home.saxo/content/articles/macro/market-quick-take-aug-10-2022-10082022
China: Caixin manufacturing PMI reaches 49.4, a bit more than in October. ING talks possible reduced impact of COVID on the country's economy

Worldwide News. The Highest CPI Level In Two Years In The Asia Country! The US Dollar Is Making Concessions

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 10.08.2022 15:00
August 10, 2022  $USD, China, CPI, Currency Movement, Inflation, Italy, UK Overview: The US dollar is trading with a heavier bias ahead of the July CPI report. The intraday momentum indicators are overextended, and this could set the stage for the dollar to recover in North America. Outside of a handful of emerging market currencies, which include the Mexican peso and Hong Kong dollar, most are trading lower. Losses in US equities yesterday and poor news from another chip maker (Micron) weighed on Asia Pacific equities. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is steady and US futures are a little higher. The US 10-year yield is going into the CPI report softly around 2.76%. The US Treasury sells 10-year notes today as the second leg of the quarterly refunding. European benchmark yields are 2-3 bp lower. Gold continues to press against the $1800 cap. It has not closed above it for over a month. September WTI is hovering around $90. It appears stuck for the time being in an $87-$93 range. US natgas is about 1.1% higher after rising 3.2% yesterday. Europe’s benchmark is up 3%. It rose 1.5% yesterday. Iron ore is flat, while September copper is about 0.5% stronger after a small loss yesterday snapped a three-day advance. September wheat is up 1%, as it extends this week’s rise. If sustained, it would be the third consecutive gain, which matches the longest rally since March.   Asia Pacific China's July inflation readings underscore scope for easier monetary policy, but officials have shown a reluctance to use this policy lever. The key one-year medium term lending rate will be set in the coming days, but it is unlikely to be reduced from the 2.85% rate since January. July CPI rose to 2.7% from 2.5%, its highest level in two years, but shy of the 2.9% median forecast in Bloomberg's survey. Food prices were up 6.3% from a year ago, driven by a 20.2% jump in pork prices, the first rise since September 2020. Fresh food prices rose 16.9% and vegetable prices rose almost 13%. However, this seems to be a function of supply, while demand still seems soft. Service prices pressures slowed to 0.7% from June's 1.0% increase. The core rate eased to 0.8%. Meanwhile, producer price increases slowed to 4.2% from 6.1%. The median forecast (Bloomberg's survey) was for a 4.9% increase. Chinese producer prices have slowed for nine consecutive months. It peaked at 13.5% last October. Japan's well-telegraphed cabinet reshuffle was not about policy. Key ministers kept their posts, including the finance minister and chief cabinet secretary. Former Prime Minister Abe's brother, Defense Minister Kishi was replaced by Hamada, but he will stay on as a national security adviser. Trade Minister Hagiuda, an Abe acolyte was replaced by Nishimura, also for the Abe faction, but will become party policy chief. Prime Minister Kishida named his one-time rival Takaichi as minister of economic security. The reshuffle seemed to be about re-balancing power among the key factions and solidifying the government whose support has waned. The next economic policy focus may be on the drafting of a supplemental budget. In terms of monetary policy, BOJ Kuroda's term ends next April, while the term of his two deputies ends in March. The dollar is in narrow range of less than half a yen today, hovering around JPY135.00. It did edge above yesterday's JPY135.20 high but held below Monday's high slightly below JPY135.60. The exchange rate will likely take its cues from the reaction of the US Treasury market to today's CPI report. The US 10-year yield remains within the range set at the end of last week with the stronger than expected employment report (~2.67%-2.87%). The Australian dollar held support near $0.6945 but has stalled near $0.6975 in the European morning, where this week's hourly trendline is found. Intraday momentum indicators are stretched, suggesting that even if there is some penetration, follow-through buying may be capped. There are options for A$400 mln at $0.6985 that expire today. The greenback edged a little higher against the Chinese yuan, but it remains subdued. It is well within recent ranges. The dollar's reference rate was set at CNY6.7612, slightly above expectations (median in Bloomberg's survey) for CNY6.7606. Europe The more potent risk is not that the center-right wins next month's Italian election. That is increasing looking like a foregone conclusion. It is hard difficult to tell how much this reflects the judgment of voters and how much reflects the ineptitude of the center-left parties. The risk is that the center-right secures a two-thirds majority in both chambers, which would make constitutional changes possible. A poll published yesterday by Istituto Cattaneo shows the center-right drawing 46% of the vote and securing 61% of the deputies and 64% of the Senators. Analysis by Istituto Cattaneo suggested that even if the center-right saw its share of the votes go up, it might not be able to increase the number of deputies or senators. Italy's 10-year premium over German has fallen in eight of the past ten sessions, including today. It is around 2.10% today, slightly more than 25 bp off its recent peak, and a little below its 20-day moving average. Italy's 2-year premium fell to 0.73% yesterday, the lowest since mid-July. It peaked above 1.30% in late July.  Ironically as it may sound, but it is not Italy's center-right that is attacking the Bank of Italy or the European Central Bank. It is Truss who is leading Sunak to become the next leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister. BOE Governor Bailey warned that UK was about to go into a five-quarter contraction (that does not even count the 0.2% contraction that economists expect the UK will announce for Q2 ahead of the weekend). Truss quickly responded that her GBP39 bln tax cuts (~$$7 bln) could avert that scenario. Sunak hiked the payroll tax this past April. She would unwind it. Truss would suspend the green levy on household energy bills and nix Sunak's corporate tax increase that was to be implemented next year. The swaps market is 85% confident of a 50 bp hike at the mid-September MPC meeting, less than a fortnight after the new Tory leaders is chosen. In the last two meetings of the year, the swaps market is pricing another 75 bp in hikes.  The euro is first firm holding above $1.02 so far today, the first time since August 1. However, it remains within last Friday's range (~$1.0140-$1.0250). The 1.2 bln euro options at $1.0210 that expire today likely have been neutralized ahead of today's US CPI report. The session high, slightly above $1.0225 was set in the European morning. This stretched the intraday momentum indicator, and we suspect it will probe lower now. Initial support below $1.02 is seen in the $1.0170-80 area. Sterling is in the same boat. It too is consolidating within the range seen before the weekend (~$1.2000-$1.2170). The push to session highs, a little above $1.21, in Europe has stretched the intraday momentum indicators. The risk is for a return to the $1.2050-60 area. America Today's CPI report is interesting but at the risk of exaggerating, it does not mean much. First, the strength of the employment data, even if flattered by seasonal adjustments or is incongruous with other labor market readings, suggests the labor market slowdown that the Fed wants to see is still in the very early stages. Second, as we have noted, financial conditions have eased recently, and the Fed has pushed back against this. Third, before the FOMC meets again, it will have the August CPI in hand. Fourth, no matter what the data shows today, it will not and cannot meet the Fed's definition of a sustained move toward the 2% target. The median in Bloomberg's survey has converged with the Cleveland Fed's Inflation Nowcast. The median in the survey is for an 8.7% headline rate (down from 9.1%) and a 6.1% core rate (up from 5.9%). The Cleveland's Fed Nowcast has it at 8.8% and 6.1%, respectively. The Fed funds futures market has about an 80% chance of a 75 bp hike next month discounted. It may not change very much after the CPI report.  The US Treasury sold $34 bln 1-year bills yesterday at 3.20%. That represents a 24 bp increase in yield. The bid-cover dipped but was still three-times oversubscribed and the indirect bidders took down almost 63%, a sharp rise from a little less than 51% last time. The US also sold $42 bln 3-year notes, also at 3.20%. This was an 11-bp increase in yield. The bid-cover edged up to 2.5% and the indirect participants took 63.1% of the issue, up from 60.4% previously. Today, Treasury goes back to the well with $30 bln 119-day cash management bill and $35 bln 10-year notes. At the last auction, the 10-year was sold at 2.96%. In the when-issued market, the 10-year yield is about 2.79%. The US dollar traded between around CAD1.2845 and CAD1.2900 yesterday and remains in that range today. There are options for almost 1.15 bln at CAD1.29 that expire today. The greenback slipped to session lows in Europe but as in the other pairs, we look it to recover. A move above the CAD1.2910 area could spur a move toward CAD1.2950. Mexico reported slightly higher than expected inflation yesterday. It underscored expectations for a 75 bp hike by Banxico tomorrow. The US dollar is offered against the peso today and it is pressed near yesterday's low around MXN20.20. The top side is blocked around MXN20.27-MXN20.30. Options for around $765 mln at MXN20.30 expire today. A convincing break of the MXN20.20 area could target the MXN20.05 area    Disclaimer
The US Dollar Weakens as Chinese and Japanese Intervention Threats Rise, While US CPI and UK Jobs Data Await: A Preview

Podcast: Walt Disney, Electric Vehicles, US CPI And More In The Latest Saxo Market Call

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 10.08.2022 13:20
Summary:  Today we discuss the possible reactivity to today's US July CPI data point, especially if a hotter than expected core reading challenges the market's determined bet that inflation is set to roll over and normalize over the next couple of years. We also look at an equity market that is technically rolling over, a US dollar that needs to choose a direction, and compelling commodity stories and chart points in gold, crude oil and coffee. A semiconductor, EV, deglobalization, and Walt Disney focus on the equity coverage today. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are available via this link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.   Source: https://www.home.saxo/content/articles/podcast/podcast-aug-10-2022-10082022
Tokyo Core CPI Falls Short at 2.8%, Powell and Ueda Address Jackson Hole Symposium, USD/JPY Sees Modest Gains

Inflation In US Is Rising. Can It Get Worse? YES! FED Answers

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 10.08.2022 21:00
USD/JPY continues to show little movement this week, in sharp contrast to Friday, when the pair jumped a massive 1.55%. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 135.02 down 0.09%. The yen had shown some strength against the dollar recently, but took a tumble after the stunning US nonfarm payroll report on Friday. The gain of 528 thousand more was more than double the estimate of 250 thousand, and the dollar responded with sharp gains against the majors. All eyes on US inflation Inflation has been rising in the US and hit 9.1% in June. The July inflation report will be released later today, and the release could have a strong impact on the direction of the US dollar. Headline CPI is expected to fall to 8.7%, down from 9.1%. If the reading does drop to around 8.7%, the markets may start thinking “peak” when it comes to inflation, and the dollar could lose ground. Conversely, if inflation stays around 9% or moves higher, it should be a catalyst for the dollar, as the Fed will have to consider a 75 or even a 100 basis point increase in September. After the inflation release, we’ll hear from Fed members Evans and Kashkari, and it will be interesting to hear their remarks on the heels of today’s inflation release. Last week, the Fed sent out the message that its rate-tightening cycle is not about to end, as the inflation fight is far from over. The spectacular nonfarm payrolls release pointed to continued strong wage growth and the participation rate dropping a notch, from 62.2% to 61.1%. These numbers point to a tighter labour market and stronger inflationary pressures. If today’s inflation report confirms that inflation is still accelerating, I would expect to hear hawkish remarks from Fed officials, which would likely give the US dollar a boost. . USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY is putting pressure on resistance at 134.40, which was tested on Wednesday. 136.30 is the next resistance line There is support at 133.65 and 131.80 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Source: https://www.marketpulse.com/20220810/yen-drifting-as-us-inflation-looms/
Central Bank Policies: Hawkish Fed vs. Dovish Others"

US Income Is Rising But The Dollar Is Still Falling. What To Do?

John Hardy John Hardy 11.08.2022 09:30
Summary:  The market was happy to adjust US yields higher recently on stronger than expected US data points, but failed to take the USD lower, which in perfect hindsight suggests that the USD was set for a sharp drop on a soft CPI print today. And that’s what we got, with the headline CPI figure flat on month-on-month comparisons and the core rising less than expected. But how far can the market run on a single data print as data reactions have been fickle and fleeting of late. FX Trading focus: USD bears celebrate weak CPI print, but… The US CPI print came in weaker than expected for both the headline and for the ex Food and Energy figure. The headline softness was driven by huge drops in energy prices from June levels, with the entire energy category market -4.6% lower month-on-month and gasoline down -7.7%, much of the latter on record refinery margins collapsing. The ex Food & Energy category was up only +0.3% vs. the +0.5% expected, with soft prices month-on-month for used cars and trucks (-0.4%) and especially airfares (-7.8%) dragging the most on figure. Risk sentiment is off to the races as this fits the market’s Goldilocks soft-landing scenario, particularly given recent stronger-than-expected activity data. It’s hard to tell how far the market can take the reaction function to a data point like this when we are trading in an illiquid month and some very volatile categories are behind the surprise inflation number today, and recent data reactions have failed to hold beyond the end of the day. But for now, the USD has triggered lower and taken out some important local support. We suspect it is far too early in the cycle to call the aggressive shift from the Fed that the market has been pricing, as this July CPI data point has seen the market marking the September FOMC decision down close to 50 basis points now and taking more of the tightening out of the meetings beyond. The market’s interpretation of a profound shift in the Fed, the Fed’s own protestations notwithstanding, has driven a strong easing of financial conditions since mid-June. Could this result in the economy showing a heating up in the coming months, also as the shock of higher gasoline price in particular may have eased the pressure on consumer sentiment? The preliminary Aug. University of Michigan Sentiment survey could be an interesting test on that front. For now, USDJPY posted the biggest reaction to the data point today as one would expect on the big move in treasury yields – more on USDJPY below. EURUSD has broken above the local resistance just below 1.0300, but faces a more significant resistance level in the 1.0350 area – one that could lead to a return to 1.0500+ if this move sticks through the Friday close. Again, as mentioned recently, it is too early to call an end of the EURUSD bear – the market’s view will have to play out as currently priced, with all of the Goldilocks implications, etc., for the USD to shift to a sustained and broad bear market here. Elsewhere, AUDUSD has vaulted above 0.7000, the tactical bull/bear line, with a huge zone up into 0.7150-0.7250 the more structural area of note for direction. Gold not holding above 1,800 in reaction to this data point as of this writing is already a weak performance, and I am watching much of the treasury market kneejerk reaction higher seeping out of the US treasury market as well – so some of the reaction is already fading fast – stay tuned! A US treasury auction is up today at 1700 GMT – the longer end of the US yield curve may be the most important coincident indicator for all markets here – if yields pull back higher, for example the US 10-year benchmark moving back above 2.87% and especially toward 3.00%, today’s reaction in the USD and the JPY, etc.. should quickly reverse. Chart: USDJPYThe bottom dropped out of USDJPY on the softer than expected US July CPI data this afternoon, just as it vaulted higher on Friday on the stronger than expected US July jobs report – with US yields the key coincident indicator. On that note, the US Treasury market reaction fading fast in the wake of today’s data point suggests USDJPY bears should be cautious here – if the US 10-year benchmark closes back above 2.75% and especially above 2.87% in coming days, this move may be quickly neutralized, although if we do close down here well south of 133.50, the candlestick looks rather bearish for a test lower. If the pair closes back well above 134.00, the next step would be a move above 136.00 to suggest the bull market is back on (likely as US 10-year treasury yields pull to 3.00% or higher). Source: Saxo Group Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength.Let’s have a look at how the market behaves after the knee-jerk reaction to the US data point today before drawing conclusions. As noted above, some important coincident indicators for the US dollar are suggesting caution for USD bears here. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Today’s USD moves important if they stick into the close today and the close to the week – data reactions have been fickle and fleeting of late – so some patience may be required. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1600 – UK Bank of England economist Pill to peak 1700 – US Treasury to auction 10-year notes 1800 – US Fed’s Kashkari (non-voter) to speak 2301 – UK Jul. RICS House Price Balance 0100 – Australia Aug. Consumer Inflation Expectations Source: FX Update: : Soft US CPI sparks significant kneejerk USD selling, but...    
Tepid BoJ Stance Despite Inflation Surge: Future Policy Outlook

Walt Disney Results Are Beyond All Expectations. Large Chinese Company Fires More Than 9K Employees!!! Market Newsfeed - 11.08.2022

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 11.08.2022 10:40
Summary:  Risk on mode activated with a softer US CPI print, both on the headline and core measures. Equities rallied but the Treasury market reaction faded amid the hawkish Fedspeak. The market pricing of Fed expectations also tilted more in favor of a 50 basis points rate hike for September immediately after the CPI release, but this will remain volatile with more data and Fed speakers on tap ahead of the next meeting. Commodities, including oil and base metals, surged higher as the dollar weakened and demand outlook brightened but the gains appeared to be fragile. Gold unable to hold gains above the $1800 level. What is happening in markets?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  U.S. equities surged after the CPI prints that came in at more moderate level than market expectations. Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.9% and S&P500 gained 2.1%. Technology and consumer discretionary stocks led the market higher. Helped by the fall in treasury yields and better-than-feared corporate earnings in the past weeks, the Nasdaq 100 has risen 21% from its intraday low on June 16 this year and may technically be considered in a new bull market. The U.S. IPO market has reportedly become active again this week and more activities in the pipeline. Tesla (TSLA:xnas) climbed nearly 4% on news that Elon Musk sold USD6.9 billion of Tesla shares to avoid fire sale if having to pay for Twitter. Walt Disney (DIS:xnys) jumped 7% in after-hours trading on better-than-expected results. U.S. yields plunged immediately post CPI but recouped most of the decline during the US session The yields of the front-end of the U.S. treasury curve collapsed initially after the weaker-than-expected CPI data, almost immediately after the CPI release, 2-year yields tumbled as much as 20bps to 3.07% and 10-year yield fell as much as 11bps to 2.67%. Treasury yields then spent the day gradually climbing higher. At the close, 2-year yields were only 6bps at 3.21% and the 10-year ended the day at 2.78% unchanged from its previous close. The 2-10 yield curve steepened by 6bps to -44bps. Hawkish Fedspeak contributed to some of the reversal in the front-end from the post-CPI lows. At the close, the market is pricing in 60bps (i.e. 100% chance of at least a 50bps hike and about 40% chance of a 75bps rate hike) for the September FOMC after having come down to pricing in just about 50bps during the initial post-CPI plunge in yields. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Hang Sang Index declined nearly 2% and CSI300 was down 1.1% on Wednesday. Shares of Chinese property developers plunged.  Longfor (00960) collapsed 16.4% as there was a story widely circulated in market speculating that the company had commercial paper being overdue. In addition, UBS downgraded the Longor together with Country Garden, citing negative free cash flows in the first half of 2022.  Country Garden (02007) fell 7.2%.  After market close, the management held a meeting with investors and said that all commercial papers matured had been duly repaid. China High Speed Transmission Equipment (00658) tumbled 19% after releasing negative profit warnings.  The company expects a loss of up to RMB80 million for first half of 2022. Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical (00874) declined 4.1% after the company filed to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong that the National Healthcare Security Administration was investigating the three subsidiaries of the company for allegedly “obtaining funds by ways of increasing the prices of pharmaceutical products falsely”. Wuxi Biologics (02269) dropped 9.3% as investors worrying its removal from the U.S. unverified list may be delayed in the midst of deterioration of relationship between China and the U.S. Oversized USD reaction on US CPI The US dollar suffered a heavy blow from the softer US CPI print, with the market pricing for September FOMC getting back closer to 50 basis points just after the release. As we noted yesterday, the July CPI print is merely noise with another batch of US job and inflation numbers due ahead of the September meeting. USD took out some key support levels nonetheless, with USDJPY breaking below the 133.50 support to lows of 132.10. Next key support at 131.50 but there possibly needs to be stronger evidence of an economic slowdown to get there. EURUSD broke above 1.0300 to its highest levels since July 5 but remains at risk of reversal given the frothy equity strength. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Oil prices were relieved amid the risk on tone in the markets as softer US CPI and subsequent weakness in the dollar underpinned. WTI futures rose towards $91.50/barrel while Brent futures were at $97.40. EIA data also suggested improvement in demand. US gasoline inventories fell 4,978kbbl last week, which helped push gasoline supplied (a proxy for demand) up 582kb/d to 9.12mb/d. This was slightly tempered by a strong gain in US crude oil inventories, which rose 5,457kbbl last week. Supply concerns eased after Transneft resumed gas supplies to three central European countries which were earlier cut off due to payment issues. European Dutch TTF natural gas futures (TTFMQ2) European natural gas rallied amid concerns over Russian gas supplies and falling water levels on the key Rhine River which threatens to disrupt energy shipments. Dutch front month futures rose 6.9% to EUR 205.47/MWh as a drought amid extreme temperatures has left the river almost impassable. European countries have been filling up their gas storage, largely by factories cutting back on their usage. Further demand curbs and more imports of liquefied natural gas are likely the only option for Europe ahead of the winter. Gold (XAUUSD) and Copper (HGc1) Gold saw a run higher to $1800+ levels immediately after the US inflation report as Treasury yields plunged. However, the precious metal gave up much of these gains after Fed governors warned that it doesn’t change the US central bank’s path toward higher rates this year and next. With China also ceasing military drills around Taiwan, geopolitical risks remain capped for now easing the upside pressure on Gold. Copper was more buoyant as it extended gains on hopes of a stronger demand amid a fall in price pressures.   What to consider? Softer US CPI alters Fed expectations at the margin The US CPI print came in weaker than expected for both the headline and the core measures. The headline softness was driven by huge drops in energy prices from June levels, with the entire energy category market -4.6% lower month-on-month and gasoline down -7.7%, much of the latter on record refinery margins collapsing. The ex-Food & Energy category was up only +0.3% vs. the +0.5% expected, with soft prices month-on-month for used cars and trucks (-0.4%) and especially airfares (-7.8%) dragging the most on figure – again primarily a result of lower energy prices. While this may be an indication that US inflation has peaked, it is still at considerably high levels compared to inflation targets of ~2% and the pace of decline from here matters more than the absolute trend. Shelter costs – the biggest component of services inflation – was up 5.7% y/y, the most since 1991. Fed pricing for the September meeting has tilted towards a 50bps rate hike but that still remains prone to volatility with another set of labor market and inflation prints due ahead of the next meeting. Fed speakers continued to be hawkish Fed speaker Evans and Kashkari were both on the hawkish side despite being some of the most dovish members on the Fed panel. Evans again hinted that tightening will continue into 2023 as inflation remains unacceptably high despite a first sign of cooling prices. The strength of the labor market continued to support the case of a soft landing. Kashkari reaffirmed the view on inflation saying that he is happy to see a downside surprise in inflation, but it remains far from declaring victory. He suggested Fed funds rate will reach 3.9% in 2022 (vs. market pricing of 3.5%) and 4.4% in end 2023 (vs. market pricing of 3.1%). China’s PPI inflation eased while CPI picked up in July China’s PPI came in at 4.2% YoY in July, notably lower from June’s 6.1%).   The decline was mainly a result of lower energy and material prices.  The declines of PPI in the mining and processing sectors were most drastic and those in downstream industries were more moderate.  CPI rose to 2.7% YoY in July from 2.5% in June, less than what the consensus predicted.  Food inflation jumped to 6.3% YoY while the rise in prices of non-food items moderated to 1.9%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.8% YoY in July, down from June’s 1.0%. In its 2nd quarter monetary policy report released on Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China expects the CPI to be at around 3% for the full year of 2022 and the recent downtrend of the PPI to continue. China issues white paper on its stance on Taiwan China ended its military drills surrounding Taiwan on Wednesday, which lasted three days longer what had been originally announced. In a less confrontational white paper released, the Taiwan Affairs Office and the Information Office of China’s State Council reiterated China’s commitment to “work with the greatest sincerity” and exert “utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification”.  The paper further says that China “will only be forced to take drastic measures” if “separatist elements or external forces” ever cross China’s red lines.  Walt Disney results beat estimates Disney reported solid Q2 results with stronger than expected 152.1 million Disney+ subscribers, up 31% YoY and beating market expectations (148.4 million).  Revenues climbed 26% YoY to USD21.5 billion and adjusted EPS came in at USD1.09 versus consensus estimates (USD0.96). Singapore Q2 GDP revised lower The final print of Singapore’s Q2 GDP was revised lower to 4.4% YoY from an advance estimate of 4.8% earlier, suggesting a q/q contraction of 0.2% as against gains of 0.2% q/q earlier. The forecast for annual 2022 growth was also narrowed to 3-4% from 3-5% earlier amid rising global slowdown risks. Another quarter of negative GDP growth print could now bring a technical recession in Singapore, but the officials have, for now, ruled that out and suggest a mild positive growth in Q3 and Q4. Softbank settled presold Alibaba shares early and Alibaba let go of a large number of employees The news that Softbank expects to post a gain of over USD34 billion from early physical settlement of prepaid forward contracts to unload its stake in Alibaba (09988:xhkg/BABA:xnas) and Alibaba laid off more than 9,000 staff between April and June this year added to the pressures over the share price of Alibaba.   For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast.   Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 11, 2022  
Apple May Rise Price For iPhone 14! Are Fuel Warehouses Empty?

Apple May Rise Price For iPhone 14! Are Fuel Warehouses Empty?

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 11.08.2022 13:39
Summary:  Equity markets are ebullient in the wake of the softer than expected US July CPI data print yesterday, as a sharp drop in energy prices helped drag the CPI lower than expected for the month. The knee-jerk reaction held well in equities overnight, if to a lesser degree in the weaker US dollar. But US yields are nearly unchanged from the levels prior to the inflation release, creating an interesting tension across markets, also as some Fed members are explicitly pushing back against market anticipation of the Fed easing next year.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) The July CPI report showing core inflation rose only 0.3% m/m compared to 0.5% m/m expected was just what the market was hoping for and had priced into the forward curve for next year’s Fed Funds rate. Long duration assets reacted the most with Nasdaq 100 futures climbing 2.9%. However, investors should be careful not to be too optimistic as we had a similar decline in the CPI core back in March before inflation roared back. As Mester recently stated that the Fed is looking for a sustained reduction in the CPI core m/m, which is likely a 6-month average getting back to around 0.2% m/m. Given the current data points it is not realistic to be comfortable with inflation before late Q1 next year. In Nasdaq 100 future the next natural resistance level is around 13,536 and if the index futures can take out this then the next level be around 14,000 where the 200-day average is coming down to. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equities climbed, Hang Seng Index +1.8%, CSI300 Index +1.6%. In anticipation of a 15% rise in the average selling price of Apple’s iPhone 14 as conjectured by analysts, iPhone parts supplier stocks soared in both Hong Kong and mainland exchanges, Q Technology (01478:xhkg) +16%, Sunny Optical (02382:xhkg) +7%, Cowell E (01415:xhkg) +4%, Lingyi iTech (002600:xsec) +10%. Semiconductors gained, SMIC (00981:xhkg) +3%, Hua Hong (01347:xhkg) +4%. After collapsing 16% in share price yesterday, Longfor (00960) only managed to recover around 3% after the company denied market speculation that it failed to repay commercial papers due. UBS’ downgraded Longfor and Country Garden (02007:xhkkg) yesterday citing negative free cash flows for the first half of 2022 highlighted the tight spots even the leading Chinese private enterprise property developers are in. Chinese internet stocks rallied, Alibaba (09988:xhkg) +3%, Tencent (0700:xhkg) +1%, Meituan (03690:xhkkg) +2.7%. China ended its military drills surrounding Taiwan on Wednesday, which lasted three days longer what had been originally announced. USD: Treasuries don’t point to further weakness here The US dollar knee-jerked lower on the softer-than-expected July CPI data, although US yields ended the day unchanged, creating an interesting tension in a pair like USDJPY, which normally takes its lead from longer US yields (unchanged yesterday after a significant dip intraday after the US CPI release). USDJPY dipped almost all the way to 132.00 after trading above 135.00 earlier in the day. What are traders to do – follow the coincident US yield indicator or the negative momentum created by yesterday’s move? Either way, a return above 135.00 would for USDJPY would likely require an extension higher in the US 10-year yield back near 3.00%. EURUSD is another interesting pair technically after local resistance just below 1.0300 gave way, only to see the pair hitting a brick wall in the 1.0350 area (major prior range low from May-June). Was this a break higher or a misleading knee-jerk reaction to the US data? A close below 1.0250 would be needed there to suggest that EURUSD is focusing back lower again. A similar setup can be seen in AUDUSD and the 0.7000 area, with a bit more sensitivity to risk sentiment there. Gold (XAUUSD) did not have a good day on Wednesday Gold was trading lower on the day after failing to build on the break above resistance at $1803 as the dollar weakened following the lower-than-expected CPI print, thereby reducing demand for gold as an inflation hedge. Instead, the prospect for a potential shallower pace of future rate hikes supported a major risk on rally in stocks and another daily reduction in bullion-backed ETF holdings. Yet comments by two Fed officials saying it doesn’t change the central bank’s path toward even higher rates – and with that the risk of a gold supportive economic weakness - did not receive much attention. Gold now needs to hold $1760 in order to avoid a fresh round of long liquidation, while silver, which initially received a boost from higher copper prices before following gold lower needs to hold above its 50-day SMA at $20.26. Crude oil Crude oil futures (CLU2 & LCOV2) traded higher on Wednesday supported by a weaker dollar after the lower US inflation print gave markets a major risk on boost. Also, the weekly EIA report showed a jump in gasoline demand reversing the prior week’s sharp drop. Gasoline inventories dropped 5 million barrels to their lowest seasonal level since 2015 on a combination of strong exports and improved domestic demand while crude oil stocks rose 5.4m barrels primarily supported by a 5.3 million barrels release from SPR. Focus today on monthly Oil Market Reports from OPEC and the IEA. Dutch natural gas The Dutch TTF natural gas benchmark futures (TTFMQ2) rallied amid concerns over Russian gas supplies and falling water levels on the key Rhine River which threatens to disrupt energy shipments of fuel and coal, thereby forcing utilities and industries to consumer more pipelined gas. Dutch front month futures rose 6.9% to EUR 205.47/MWh while the October to March winter contract closed at a fresh cycle high above €200/MWH. European countries have been filling up their gas storage, largely by factories cutting back on their usage and through LNG imports, the flow of the latter likely to be challenged by increased demand from Asia into the autumn. Further demand curbs and more imports of liquefied natural gas are likely the only option for Europe ahead of the winter. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) shrug off soft July CPI data US yields at first reacted strongly to the softer-than-expected July CPI release (details below), but ended the day mostly unchanged at all points along the curve, suggesting that the market is unwilling to extend its already aggressive view that the Fed is set to reach peak policy by the end of this year and begin cutting rates. Some Fed members are pushing back strongly against that notion as noted below (particularly Kashkari). A stronger sign that yields are headed back higher for the US 10-year benchmark would be on a close above 2.87% and especially 3.00%. Yesterday’s 10-year auction saw strong demand. What is going on? US July CPI lower than expected The US CPI print came in lower than expected for both the headline and the core measures. The headline softness was driven by huge drops in energy prices from June levels, with the entire energy category marked -4.6% lower month-on-month and gasoline down -7.7%, much of the latter on record refinery margins collapsing. The ex-Food & Energy category was up only +0.3% vs. the +0.5% expected, with soft prices month-on-month for used cars and trucks (-0.4%) and especially airfares (-7.8%) dragging the most on figure. While this may be an indication that US inflation has peaked, it is still at considerably high levels compared to inflation targets of ~2% and the pace of decline from here matters more than the absolute trend. Shelter costs – the biggest component of services inflation – was up 5.7% y/y, the most since 1991. Fed pricing for the September meeting has tilted towards a 50bps rate hike but that still remains prone to volatility with another set of labor market and inflation prints due ahead of the next meeting. Fed speakers maintain hawkish message Fed speaker Evans and Kashkari were both on the hawkish side in rhetoric yesterday. Evans again hinted that tightening will continue into 2023 as inflation remains unacceptably high despite a first sign of cooling prices. The strength of the labor market continued to support the case of a soft landing. Kashkari reaffirmed the view on inflation saying that he is happy to see a downside surprise in inflation, but it remains far from declaring victory. Long thought of previously as the pre-eminent dove among Fed members, he has waxed far more hawkish of late and said yesterday that nothing has changed his view that the Fed funds rate should be at 3.9% at the end of this year (vs. market pricing of 3.5%) and 4.4% by the end 2023 (vs. market pricing of 3.1%). Siemens cuts outlook Germany’s largest industrial company is cutting its profit outlook on impairment charges related to its energy division. FY22 Q3 results (ending 30 June) show revenue of €17.9bn vs est. €17.4bn and orders are strong at €22bn vs est. €19.5bn. Orsted lifts expectations The largest renewable energy utility company in Europe reports Q2 revenue of DKK 26.3bn vs est. 21.7bn, but EBITDA misses estimates and the fiscal year guidance on EBITDA at DKK 20-22bn is significantly lower than estimates of DKK 30.4bn. However, the new EBITDA guidance range is DKK 1bn above the recently stated guidance, so Orsted is doing better than expected but the market had just become too optimistic. Disney beats on subscribers Disney reported FY22 Q3 (ending 2 July) results showing Disney+ subscribers at 152.1mn vs est. 148.4mn surprising the market as several surveys have recently indicated that Amazon Prime and Netflix are losing subscribers. The entertainment company also reported revenue for the quarter of $21.5bn vs est. $21bn with Parks & Experiences deliver the most to the upside surprise. EPS for the quarter was $1.09 vs est. $0.96. If subscribers for ESPN and Hulu are added, then Disney has surpassed Netflix on streaming subscribers. Shares were up 6% in extended trading. Despite the positive result the company lowered its 2024 target for Disney+ subscriber to 135-165mn range. Coupang lifts fiscal year EBITDA outlook The South Korean e-commerce company missed slightly on revenue in Q2 but lifted its fiscal year adjusted EBITDA from a loss of $400mn to positive which lifted shares 6% in extended trading. China’s central bank expects CPI to hover around 3% In its 2nd quarter monetary policy report released on Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) expects the CPI being at around 3% for the full year of 2022 and at times exceeding 3%.  The release of pend-up demand from pandemic restrictions, the upturn of the hog-cycle, and imported inflation, in particular energy, are expected to drive consumer price inflation higher for the rest of the year in China but overall within the range acceptable by the central bank.  The PBOC expects the recent downtrend of the PPI to continue and the gap between the CPI and PPI growth rates to narrow. What are we watching next? Next signals from the Fed at Jackson Hole conference Aug 25-27 There is a considerable tension between the market’s forecast for the economy and the resulting expected path of Fed policy for the rest of this year and particularly next year, as the market believes that a cooling economy and inflation will allow the Fed to reverse course and cut rates in a “soft landing” environment (the latter presumably because financial conditions have eased aggressively since June, suggesting that markets are not fearing a hard landing/recession). Some Fed members have tried to push back against the market’s expectations for Fed rate cuts next year it was likely never the Fed’s intention to allow financial conditions to ease so swiftly and deeply as they have in recent weeks. The risks, therefore, point to a Fed that may mount a more determined pushback at the Jackson Hole forum, the Fed’s yearly gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming that is often used to air longer term policy guidance. Earnings to watch Today’s US earnings in focus are NIO and Rivian with market running hot again on EV-makers despite challenging environment on input costs and increased competition. NIO is expected to grow revenue by 15% y/y in Q2 before seeing growth jumping to 72% y/y in Q3 as pent-up demand is released following Covid restrictions in China in the first half. Rivian, which partly owned by Amazon and makes EV trucks, is expected to deliver its first quarter with meaningful activity with revenue expected at $336mn but free cash flow is expected at $-1.8bn. Today: KBC Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Orsted, Novozymes, Siemens, Hapag-Lloyd, RWE, China Mobile, Antofagasta, Zurich Insurance Group, NIO, Rivian Automotive Friday: Flutter Entertainment, Baidu Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – IEA's Monthly Oil Market Report 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1230 – US Jul. PPI 1430 – US Weekly Natural Gas Storage Change 1700 – US Treasury to auction 30-year T-Bonds 2330 – US Fed’s Daly (Non-voter) to speak During the day: OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 11, 2022  
The US Has Again Benefited From Military Conflicts In Other Parts Of The World, The Capital From Europe And Other Regions Goes To The US

Is Fed Ready For It's Counter-Attack? Commodities, Earnings And More

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 11.08.2022 13:52
Summary:  Today we look at the sharp correction in energy prices driving a softer than expected CPI print for the US in July, which saw sentiment responding by piling on to the recent rally and taking equities to new highs for the local cycle since June. Interestingly, the reaction to the CPI data has generated some tension as US treasury yields are trading sideways after erasing the knee-jerk drop in yields in the wake of yesterday's data. With financial conditions easing aggressively, the Fed faces quite a task if it wants to counter this development, with recent protests from individual Fed members failing to make an impression. Perhaps the Jackson Hole Fed forum at the end of this month is shaping up as a key event risk? Crude oil, the USD, metals, earnings and more also on today's pod, which features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com. Source: Podcast: Soft CPI revives risk rally, but treasury reaction creates dissonance    
Oz Minerals’ Quarterly Copper Output Hit A Record High, Brent Futures Rose

Copper Is Smashing For The Second Time This Summer! WTI Is Back From The Dead

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 11.08.2022 14:12
Overview: The US dollar is consolidating yesterday’s losses but is still trading with a heavier bias against the major currencies and most emerging market currencies. The US 10-year yield is soft below 2.77%, while European yields are mostly 2-4 bp higher. The peripheral premium over the core is a little narrower today. Equity markets, following the US lead, are higher today. The Hang Seng and China’s CSI 300 rose by more than 2% today. Among the large bourses, only Japan struggled, pressured by the rebound in the yen. Europe’s Stoxx 600 gained almost 0.9% yesterday and is edging higher today, while US futures are also firmer. Gold popped above $1800 yesterday but could not sustain it and its in a $5 range on both sides of $1788 today. September WTI rebounded yesterday from a low near $87.65 to close near $92.00. It is firmer today near $93.00. US natgas is 1.4%, its third successive advance and is near a two-week high. Europe’s benchmark is also rising for the third session. It is up nearly 8% this week. Iron ore rose 2% today and it is the fourth gain in five sessions. September copper is also edging higher. If sustained, it would be the fifth gain in six sessions. It is at its highest level since late June. September wheat is 1.1% higher. It has risen every session this week for a cumulative gain of around 4.25%.  Asia Pacific In its quarterly report, the People's Bank of China seemed to downplay the likelihood of dramatic rate cuts or reductions in reserve requirements. It warned that CPI could exceed 3% and ruled out massive stimulus, while promising "high-quality" support, which sounds like a targeted measure. It is not tightening policy but signaled little scope to ease. Note that the 10-year Chinese yield is at the lower end of its six-month range near 2.74%. Its two-year yield is a little above 2.15%, slightly below the middle of its six-month range. Separately, Yiwa, a city of two million people, south of Shanghai has been locked down for three days starting today due to Covid. It is a manufacturing export hub. South Korea reported its first drop (0.7%) in technology exports in two years last month. While some read this to a statement about world demand, and there is likely something there given the earnings reports from the chip sector. However, there seems to be something else at work too. South Korea figures show semiconductor equipment exports to China have been more than halved this year (-51.9%) through July. China had accounted for around 60% of South Korea's semiconductor equipment. Reports suggest the main drivers are the US-China rivalry. Semiconductor investment in China has fallen and South Korea has indicated it intensions to join the US Chip 4 semiconductor alliance. Singapore's economy unexpectedly contracted in Q2. Initially, the government estimated the economy stagnated. Instead, it contracted by 0.2%. Given Singapore's role as an entrepot, its economic performance is often seen as a microcosm of the world economy. There was a nearly a 7% decline in retail trade services, while information and communication services output also fell. After the data, the Ministry of Trade and Industry narrowed this year's GDP forecast to 3%-4% from 3%-5%. While the drop in the US 10-year yield saw the dollar tumble against the yen yesterday, the recovery in yields has not fueled a recovery in the greenback. The dollar began yesterday above JPY135- and fell to nearly JPY132.00. Today, it has been confined to a little less than around half a yen on either side of JPY132.85. The cap seen at the end of last week and early this week in the JPY135.50-60 area, and the 20-day moving average (~JPY135.30) now looks like formidable resistance. Recall that the low seen earlier this month was near JPY130.40. The Australian dollar is also consolidating near yesterday's high set slightly below $0.7110. It was the best level in two months. The $0.7050 area may now offer initial support. The next upside target is seen in the $0.7150-70 band, which houses the (50%) retracement objective of the Aussie's slide from the April high (~$0.7660) and the July low (~$0.6680), and the 200-day moving average. The broad greenback sell-off yesterday saw it ease to about CNY6.7235, its lowest level in nearly a month. Despite the less-than-dovish message from the PBOC, it seemed to signal it did not want yuan strength. It set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.7324, a bit above the median (Bloomberg's survey) of CNY6.7308. Europe Germany's coalition government has begun debating over the contours of the next relief package. The center-left government has implemented two support programs to ease the cost-of-living squeeze for around 30 bln euros. A third package is under construction now. The FDP Finance Minister Linder suggested as one of the components a 10 bln euro program to offset the "bracket creep" of higher inflation putting households into a higher tax bracket. The Greens want a more targeted effort to help lower income families. More work needs to be done, but a package is expected to be ready next month. The International Energy Agency estimates that Russian oil output will fall by around a fifth early next year as the EU import ban is implemented. The IEA warns that Russian output may begin declining as early as this month and estimates 2 mln barrels a day will be shut by early 2023. The EU's ban on most Russian oil will begin in early December, and in early February, oil products shipments will also stop. Now the EU buys around 1 mln barrels a day of oil products and 1.3 mln barrels of crude. Russia boosted output in recent months, to around 10.8 mln barrels a day. The IEA estimates that in June, the PRC overtook the EU to become the top market for Russia's seaborne crude (2.1 mln bpd vs. 1.8 mln bpd). Separately, the IEA lifted its estimate of world consumption by about 380k barrels a day from its previous forecast, concentrated in the Middle East and Europe. The unusually hot weather in the Middle East, where oil is burned for electricity, has seen stronger demand. In Europe, there has been more switched from gas to oil. The euro surged to almost $1.0370 yesterday on the back of the softer than expected US CPI. It settled near $1.03. It is trading firmly in the upper end of that range today. It held above $1.0275, just below the previous high for the month (~$1.0295). Today's high, was set in the European morning, near $1.0340. There is a trendline from the February, March, and June highs found near $1.04 today. It is falling by a little less than half a cent a week. Sterling's rally yesterday stalled in front of this month's high set on August 1 slightly shy of $1.2295. It is straddling the area where it settled yesterday (~$1.2220). We suspect the market may test the lows near $1.2180, and a break could see another half-cent loss ahead of tomorrow's Q2 GDP. The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey is for a 0.2% contraction after a 0.8% expansion in Q1.  America What the jobs data did for expectations for the Fed at next month's meeting were largely reversed by slower the expected CPI readings. On the eve of the employment data, the market was discounting a little better than a 35% chance of another 75 bp hike. It jumped to over a 75% chance after employment report but settled yesterday around a 45% chance. It is still in its early days, and the Fed will see another employment and CPI report before it has to decide. Although the market has downgraded the chances of a 75 bp hike at next month's meeting, it still has the Fed lifting rates 115 bp between now and the end of year. The market recognizes that that Fed is not done tightening no matter what trope is dragged out to use as a strawman. The truth is the market is pushing against some Fed views. Chicago Fed's Evans, who many regard as a dove from earlier cycles, said that Fed funds could finish next year in the 3.75%-4.00% area, which opined would be the terminal rate. The swaps market says that the Fed funds terminal rate is closer to 3.50% and in the next six months. More than that, the Fed funds futures are pricing in a cut late next year. At least a 25 bp cut has been discounted since the end of June. It was the Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari that surprised many with his hawkishness. Many see him as a dove because five years ago, he dissented against rate increases in 2017. However, he has been sounding more hawkish in this context and revealed yesterday that it was his "dot" in June at 3.90% this year and 4.4% next year. These were the most extreme forecasts. Perhaps it is not that he is more dovish or hawkish, labels that seemingly take a life on of their own but more activity. While neither Evans nor Kashkari vote on the FOMC this year, they do next year. San Francisco Fed President Daly seemed more willing to consider moderating the pace of tightening but still sees more work to be done. She does not vote this year or next.  Headline CPI was unchanged last month and the 0.3% rise in the core rate was less than expected. At 8.5%, the headline is rate is still too high for comfort, and the unchanged 5.9% core rate warns significant progress may be slow. Shelter is about a third of the CPI basket and it is rising about 0.5% a month. It is up 5.7% year-over-year. If everything else was unchanged, this would lift CPI to 2%. The US reports July Producer Prices. Both the core and headline readings are expected to have slowed. The headline peaked in March, 11.6% above year ago levels. It was 11.3% in June and is expected to have fallen to 10.4%. The core rate is likely to post its fourth consecutive decline. It peaked at 9.6% in March and fell to 8.2% in June. The median forecast (Bloomberg's survey) is for a 7.7% year-over-year pace, which would be the lowest since last October.  Late in the North American session, Mexico's central bank is expected to deliver its second consecutive 75 bp rate hike. It will lift the overnight target rate to 8.5%. The July CPI reported Tuesday stood at 8.15% and the core 7.65%. The swaps market has a terminal rate near 9.5% in the next six months. The subdued US CPI reading, helped spur a 0.85% rally in the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index yesterday, its largest gain in almost four weeks. The peso, often a liquid and accessible proxy, rose around 1.1%. The greenback briefly traded below MXN20.00 for the first time since late June. The move was so sharp that closed below its lower Bollinger Band (~MXN20.08) for the first time in six months. The US dollar slumped to almost CAD1.2750 yesterday to hold above the 200-day moving average (~CAD1.2745). It is the lowest level in nearly two months, and it has not traded below the 200-day moving average since June 9. Like the other pairs, it is consolidating today near the lower end of yesterday's greenback range. The swaps market downgraded the likelihood that the Bank of Canada follows last month's 100 bp hike with a 75 bp move when it meets on September 7. It is now seen as a 30% chance, less than half of what was projected at the end of last week. We suspect that the US dollar can recover into the CAD1.2800-20 area today.     Disclaimer   Source: US Dollar Soft while Consolidating Yesterday's Drop
Eyes On Iran Nuclear Deal: Oil Case. Gold Price Is Swinging

Eyes On Iran Nuclear Deal: Oil Case. Gold Price Is Swinging

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 11.08.2022 14:32
Oil treading water after volatile 24 hours Needless to say, it was quite a volatile session in oil markets on Wednesday. A positive surprise on inflation was followed by a huge inventory build reported by EIA and then the highest US output since April 2020. Meanwhile, oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline resumed after a brief pause that jolted the markets. That’s a lot of information to process in the space of a couple of hours and you can see that reflected in the price action. And it keeps coming this morning, with the IEA monthly oil report forecasting stronger oil demand growth as a result of price incentivised gas to oil switching in some countries. It now sees oil demand growth of 2.1 million barrels per day this year, up 380,000. It also reported that Russian exports declined 115,000 bpd last month to 7.4 million from around 8 million at the start of the year. The net effect of all of this is that oil prices rebounded strongly on Wednesday but are pretty flat today. WTI is back above $90 but that could change if we see progress on the Iran nuclear deal. It’s seen plenty of support around $87-88 over the last month though as the tight market continues to keep the price very elevated. Gold performs handbrake turn after breakout It was really interesting to see gold’s reaction to the inflation report on Wednesday. The initial response was very positive but as it turned out, also very brief. Having broken above $1,800, it performed a swift u-turn before ending the day slightly lower. It can be difficult to gauge market reactions at the moment, in part because certain markets seem to portray far too much economic optimism considering the circumstances. With gold, the initial response looked reasonable. Less inflation means potentially less tightening. Perhaps we then saw some profit-taking or maybe some of that economic optimism crept in and rather than safe havens, traders had the appetite for something a little riskier. Either way, gold is off a little again today but I’m not convinced it’s peaked. From a technical perspective, $1,800 represents a reasonable rotation point. Fundamentally, I’m just not convinced the market is currently representative of the true outlook. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/ This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Source: Oil stablizes, gold pares gains
Bitcoin Is Showing The Potential For The Further Downside Rotation

Bitcoin Like Phoenix!? Crypto Community Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 11.08.2022 14:48
Investors are certainly in a more upbeat mood as the relief from the US inflation data ripples through the markets. Positive surprises have been hard to come by on the inflation front this year and yesterday’s report was very much welcomed with open arms. While we shouldn’t get too carried away by the data, with headline inflation still running at 8.5% and core 5.9%, it’s certainly a start and one we’ve waited a long time for. Fed policymakers remain keen to stress that the tightening cycle is far from done and a policy u-turn early next year is highly unlikely. Once again, the markets are at odds with the Fed’s assessment on the outlook for interest rates but this time in such a way that could undermine its efforts so you can understand their concerns. I expect we’ll continue to see policymakers unsuccessfully push back against market expectations in the coming weeks while further driving home the message that data dependency works both ways. That said, the inflation report has further fueled the optimism already apparent in the markets and could set the tone for the rest of the summer. PBOC signals no further easing Unlike many other central banks, the PBOC has the scope to tread more carefully and continue to support the economy as it contends with lockdowns amid spikes in Covid cases. The country’s zero-Covid policy is a huge economic headwind and proving to be a drain on domestic demand. The PBOC has made clear in its quarterly monetary policy report though that it doesn’t want to find itself in the same position as many other countries right now. With inflation close to 3%, further easing via RRR or interest rates looks unlikely for the foreseeable future. Cautious targeted support looks the likely path forward as the central bank guards against inflation risks, despite the data yesterday surprising to the downside. Singapore trims growth forecasts A surprise contraction in the second quarter has forced Singapore to trim its full-year growth forecast range from 3-5% to 3-4% as the economy contends with a global slowdown, to which the country is particularly exposed, and Covid-related uncertainty in China. While the MAS has indicated monetary policy is appropriate after tightenings this year, inflation remains high so further pressures on this front may add to the headwinds for the economy. Where’s the momentum? Bitcoin took the inflation news very well and it continues to do so. Slower tightening needs and improved risk appetite is music to the ears of the crypto community who will be more confident that the worst is behind it than they’ve been at any point this year. Whether that means stellar gains lie ahead is another thing. The price hit a new two-month high today but I’m still not seeing the momentum I would expect and want. That may change of course and a break of $25,000 could bring that but we still appear to be seeing some apprehension that may hold it back in the near term. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/ This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Source: Welcome relief
UK Budget: Short-term positives to be met with medium-term caution

Boris Johnson Resignation Cause Further Difficulties For Pound Sterling (GBP)!? MarketTalk

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 11.08.2022 12:20
US consumer prices eased in July, and they eased more than expected. US yields pulled lower after the CPI print, the US 10-year yield retreated, the US dollar slipped, gold gained, and the US stock markets rallied. Forex The EURUSD jumped to 1.0370 mark, as Cable made another attempt to 1.2272 but failed to extend gains into the 1.23 mark. And It will likely be hard for the pound sterling to post a meaningful recovery even if the dollar softens more, as there are too much political uncertainties in Britain following Boris Johnson’s resignation.   The sterling is under pressure, but the FTSE100 does just fine, and I will focus on why the British blue-chip companies are in a position to extend gains in this episode. Disney Elsewhere, Disney jumped on strong quarterly results, Tesla rallied despite news that Elon Musk dumped more stocks to prepare for an eventual Twitter purchase. Twitter shares gained.   Watch the full episode to find out more!   0:00 Intro 0:27 Softer-than-expected US CPI boosts appetite… 2:03 … but FOMC members warn that inflation war is far over! 3:39 FX update: USD softens, gold, euro, sterling advance 5:55 Why FTSE 100 is still interesting? 8:06 Disney jumps on strong results, Tesla, Twitter gain Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020. #US #inflation #data #Gold #XAU #USD #EUR #GBP #FTSE #Disney #earnings #Tesla #Twitter #SPX #Dow #Nasdaq #investing #trading #equities #stocks #cryptocurrencies #FX #bonds #markets #news #Swissquote #MarketTalk #marketanalysis #marketcommentary _____ Learn the fundamentals of trading at your own pace with Swissquote's Education Center. Discover our online courses, webinars and eBooks: https://swq.ch/wr _____ Discover our brand and philosophy: https://swq.ch/wq   Learn more about our employees: https://swq.ch/d5 _____ Let's stay connected: LinkedIn: https://swq.ch/cH Source: Stocks up on soft US CPI, but inflation war is not over! | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote
Behind Closed Doors: The Multibillion-Dollar Deals Shaping Global Markets

US Jobless Claims: Even More Than The Previous Year. PBOC Hopes CPI To Stay At 3%

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 12.08.2022 09:03
Summary:  Another downside surprise in US inflation in the wake of lower energy prices lifted the equity markets initially overnight. However, sustained hawkishness from Fed speakers brought the yields higher, weighing on equities which closed nearly flat in the US. Crude oil prices made a strong recovery with the IEA boosting the global growth forecast for this year. EURUSD stayed above 1.0300 and will be eying the University of Michigan report today along with UK’s Q2 GDP. What is happening in markets?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  After rising well over 1% in early trading amid the weaker-than-expected PPI prints, U.S. equities wiped out gains and closed lower, S&P 500 -0.07%, Nasdaq 100 -0.65%. Energy stocks were biggest gainers, benefiting from a 2.6% rally in the price of WTI crude, Devon Energy (DVN:xnys) +7.3%, Marathon Oil (MRO:xnys) +7%, Schlumberger (SLB:xnys) +5.7%.  Consumer discretionary and technology were the biggest decliners on Thursday. Chinese ADRs gained, Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index climbed 2.6%.  U.S. treasuries bear steepened In spite of weaker-than-expected PPI data, U.S. long-end treasury yields soared, 10-year yields +10bps to 2.99%, 30-year yields +14bps to 3.17%. The rise in long-end yields were initially driven by large blocks of selling in the T-bond and Ultra-long contracts and exacerbated in the afternoon after a poor 30-year auction. The yield of 2-year treasury notes was unchanged and the 2-10-year yield curve steepened 10bps to minus 23bps.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equities surged, Hang Seng Index +2.4%, CSI300 Index +2.0%. Northbound inflows into A shares jumped to a 2-month high of USD1.9 billion. In anticipation of a 15% rise in the average selling price of Apple’s iPhone 14 as conjectured by analysts, iPhone parts supplier stocks soared in both Hong Kong and mainland exchanges, Q Technology (01478:xhkg) +17.7%, Sunny Optical (02382:xhkg) +9%, Cowell E (01415:xhkg) +4%, Lingyi iTech (002600:xsec) +10%. China internet names rebounded, Alibaba (09988:xhkg) +4.3%, Tencent (00700:xhkg) +2.7%, Meituan (03690:xhkkg) +4.0%, Baidu (09888:xhkg) +5.2%. Power tool and floor care manufacturer, Techtronic Industries (00669:xhkg) soared nearly 11% after reporting  a 10% year-on-year growth in both revenues and net profits in 1H22. The company rolled out a new generation of drill drivers that have embedded with machine learning algorithm. After collapsing 16% in share price yesterday, Longfor (00960) managed to stabilize and recover 5.7% following the company’s refutation of market speculation that it had failed to repay commercial papers due. EURUSD re-tested resistance levels EURUSD reclaimed the key 1.0300 on Thursday amid a softer dollar, and printed highs of 1.0364. While weaker-than-expected inflation prints in the US this week have curtailed dollar strength, it is hard for EURUSD to sustain gains amid the energy crisis and European recession concerns. A break below 1.0250 would be needed for EURUSD to reverse the trend, however. AUDUSD, likewise, trades above 0.7100 amid the risk on tone, but a turn lower in equities could reverse the trend. GBPUSD has been more range-bound around 1.2200 ahead of the Q2 GDP data scheduled to be released today, and EURGBP may be ready to break above 0.8470 resistance if the numbers come out weaker-than-expected. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Crude oil prices gained further on Thursday amid signs of softer inflation, weaker dollar and improving demand. The International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its consumption estimate by 380 kb/d, saying soaring gas prices amid strong demand for electricity is driving utilities to switch to oil. This could be aided by lower gasoline prices, which have dented demand during the US driving season. Prices fell below USD4/gallon for the first time since March. Meanwhile, OPEC may struggle to raise output in coming months due to limited spare capacity. WTI futures touched $94/barrel while Brent futures rose towards the 100-mark.   What to consider? Another downside surprise in US inflation US July PPI dipped into negative territory to come in at -0.5% MoM, much cooler than 1% last month or the +0.2% expected. But on a YoY basis, PPI remains up a shocking 9.8%. Core PPI rose 0.4% MoM, which means on a YoY basis core producer prices are up 7.6% (lower than June's +8.2% but still near record highs). Goods PPI fell 1.8%, dominated by a 9.0% drop in energy. Meanwhile, services PPI was up 0.1% in July. Despite the slowdown in both PPI and CPI this week, PPI is still 1.3% points above CPI, suggesting margin pressures and a possible earnings recession. Fed’s Daly said she will be open to a 75bps rate hike at the September meeting. US jobless claims rise, University of Michigan ahead US initial jobless claims 262K vs 265K estimate, notably higher than the 248k the prior week and the highest since November 2021. The 4-week moving average of initial jobless claims increased to 252K vs 247.5K last week, but still below 350k levels that can cause an alarm. The modest pickup in claims suggests that turnover at weaker firms is increasing. Key data to watch today is the preliminary University of Michigan survey for August, where expectations are for a modest improvement given lower gasoline prices. China’s central bank expects CPI to hover around 3% In its 2nd quarter monetary policy report released on Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) expects the CPI being at around 3% for the full year of 2022 and at times exceeding 3%.  The release of pend-up demand from pandemic restrictions, the upturn of the hog-cycle, and imported inflation, in particular energy, are expected to drive consumer price inflation higher for the rest of the year in China but overall within the range acceptable by the central bank.  The PBOC expects the recent downtrend of the PPI to continue and the gap between the CPI and PPI growth rates to narrow. The PBOC reiterates that it will avoid excessive money printing to spur growth so as to safeguard against inflation.  China’s President Xi is said to be visiting Saudi Arabia next week The Guardian reports that President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on an invitation extended from Riyadh in March.  China has been eager to secure its oil supply and explore the possibility of getting its sellers to accept the renminbi to settle oil trade.   While relying on the United States for security in a volatile region and supplies of weapons, Saudi Arabia with Prince Mohammed being in charge is looking for leverage in the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.  UK Q2 GDP likely to show a contraction The Q2 GDP in the UK is likely to show a contraction after April was down 0.2% and May up 0.5%. June GDP is likely to have seen a larger contraction given less working days in the month, as well as constrained household spending as inflation surged to a fresh record high. While there may be a growth recovery in the near-term, the Bank of England clearly outlined a recession scenario from Q4 2022 and that would last for five quarters. Our Macro Strategist Chris Dembik has painted a rather pessimistic picture of the UK economy.   For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast.   Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 12, 2022
Global Markets Shaken as Yields Soar: Dollar Surges, Stocks Slump, and Gold Holds Ground Amid Debt Concerns and Rate Hike Expectations

Boom! Ethereum Blows Up The Market!? Bitcoin Speeds Up! Crypto News

Conotoxia Comments Conotoxia Comments 12.08.2022 09:50
US Inflation Yesterday, the US inflation report was released, which came in at 8.5% in July. The market did not expect such a large drop, estimating a level of 8.7% before the data was released. The stock markets reacted positively and the major equity indexes rose significantly. The S&P 500 gained more than 2.1% during yesterday's session and the Nasdaq almost 2.9%. Crypto Cryptocurrencies, however, reacted most noticeably - on the Conotoxia MT5 platform, Bitcoin gained around 3.3% yesterday. And today, it continues its rise, breaking through the local peak of $2,485 on 30 August 2022. At 11.30 am GMT+3, the price of BTC is $24,471. The ETH price has risen even more strongly after a surprisingly low inflation reading. Ethereum gained more than 8.5% yesterday, and at 11.30 GMT+3, it is already up more than 2.3%. The token already costs $1,887 - its highest recorded level since 6 June this year.    What to expect? The market's reaction has a lot to do with expectations of interest rate hikes, which fell after the US inflation reading. However, it is still a long way from calling it a permanent decline. Inflation is still at its highest level in decades and the economy is operating in an environment of negative real interest rates.   According to CME Group data, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to push rates even higher. Currently, the Fed Funds Rate is at just 2.5 pp, the level before the Covid pandemic. The CME Group estimates that we will still reach the 3.25 pp level this year, and peak in 2023 at 3.5 pp. However, as for the 2023 projections. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which decides them, is already much less unanimous and a lot may still depend on the information coming out of the economy.   Information on its state in the US is not pleasing. Most metrics - such as the yield curve, consumer sentiment, and economic growth - point to a recession. The labour market, which is surprisingly strong at the moment, is reacting last and is likely to become further evidence of a crisis soon.   The cryptocurrency market has never been in such a severe recession, so it is hard to determine exactly how it will behave. For now, the data shows a relatively high level of correlation between it and the stock market. This is not good news, as the latter almost always loses in a crash.   Polygon (MATIC) is an Ethereum token that powers the Polygon network, which is a protocol for building Ethereum-compatible blockchains and decentralised applications (DApps). Polygon is also referred to as a 2nd level (2nd level) solution to help Ethereum to scale faster, by increasing the efficiency of the network.    On Wednesday, Polygon shared data on user growth. Their total number in July was 11,800, gaining 47.5% since March and up 400% year-to-date. Interestingly, according to the project, "74% of teams integrated exclusively on Polygon, while 26% deployed on both Polygon and Ethereum,". This shows a very high level of confidence in the new technology, which can be the new foundation for the development of DApps. Since the local low on 19 July this year. MATIC has risen almost 172%.  Rafał Tworkowski, Junior Market Analyst, Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service)   Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.   CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.59% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.   Source: Crypto soars after the low inflation reading. Polygon grows rapidly, gaining 400% users
Gold Has A Chance For The Rejection Of The Support

Metals Recovery Process: Gold Survival Series. Copper Age

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 12.08.2022 10:24
Summary:  US treasury yields at the long end of the curve surged over 15 basis points at one point yesterday in the wake of heavy treasury futures selling and a somewhat soft T-bond auction, which helped to turn sentiment lower in the equity market after the major averages had advanced to new local highs. The jump in US yields checked the US dollar’s descent as traders mull whether a break higher in US treasury yields will offer the currency fresh support after its break lower this week in many USD pairs.   What is our trading focus?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures attempted to run higher above the key 4,200 level but was rejected forcefully, closing a bit lower for the session and just above the 4,200 level. This morning the index futures are again trying to push higher trading around the 4,222 level with yesterday’s high at 4,260 being the natural resistance level in the short-term. Today’s earnings and macro calendar are light except for the Michigan surveys at 1400 GMT on consumer sentiment and expectations for the economy and inflation which could move the market on a surprise print. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equities treaded water, fluctuating between small gains and losses. Sportswear and EV names gained. Li Ning (02332:xhkg) climbed more than 4% after reporting better than expected 1H results with sales growth of 22% and net profit growth of 12% from last year. The solid sales growth was led by online sales and wholesale business. China’s EV sales volumes grew 124% YoY (wholesale) and 117% YoY (retail) in July, much faster than the growth of the overall passenger vehicle market and had a penetration rate of 26.7%. XPeng (09868:xhkg) led the charge higher, gaining 4.2%, NIO (09866:xhkg) +3.6%, Li Auto (02015:xhkg) +1.7%. Leading semiconductor names, SMIC (00981:xhkg) and Hua Hong (01347:xhkg) reported inline and better-than expected results respectively. In its earnings call, the management of SMIC noted orders from some of its customers could fall meaningfully in near-term due to high inventories and suggested that recovery could come at around end of 2022 or early 2023. Share prices of SMIC declined 1.8%. USD: jump in long treasury yields checks the greenback’s descent After USDJPY traded to new local lows yesterday below 132.00, the pair snapped back well north of 133.00 in the wake of a surge in long US treasury yields (more below) and the USD sell-off was likewise checked elsewhere as risk sentiment also rolled over by late in the US equity trading session. The USD resilience is not yet technically significant and won’t be on a broad basis until/unless USDJPY surges back above perhaps 136.00, the EURUSD surge above 1.0300 is pushed back below 1.0250, and the aggressive AUDUSD move is pummeled back below 0.7000. The get a broader USD resurgence might require higher US yields and a deepening turn to the negative in risk sentiment, until then. Gold (XAUUSD) is heading for a fourth weekly gain ... supported by a weaker dollar after lower-than-expected CPI and PPI data helped reduce expectations for how high the Fed will allow rates to run. However, rising risk appetite as seen through surging stocks and bond yields trading higher on the week, have so far prevented the yellow metal from making a decisive challenge at key resistance above $1800/oz, and the recent decline in ETF holdings and low open interest in COMEX futures points to a market that is looking for a fresh and decisive trigger. Gold needs to hold $1760 in order to avoid a fresh round of long liquidation, while silver is looking for support at $20.23, its 50-day SMA. Copper and industrial metals in general have seen a strong recovery with COPPERSEP22 now eying resistance at $3.7150, its 50-day SMA. Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) traded higher on Thursday ... before some light profit emerged overnight in Asia. Prices have been supported by signs of softer inflation improving the growth outlook, weaker dollar and improving demand, especially in the US where gasoline prices at the pumps have fallen below $4 per gallon for the first time since March. In addition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its consumption estimate by 380 kb/d, saying soaring gas prices amid strong demand for electricity is driving utilities to switch from expensive gas to fuel based products. Meanwhile, OPEC may struggle to raise output in coming months due to limited spare capacity. WTI futures touched $94/barrel while Brent futures returned to the 100-mark, thereby supporting our view that oil prices have reached a potential through in this correction phase.   US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) see long-end yields surging US yields at the long end of the curve ripped higher with the move aggravated by a somewhat soft 30-year T-bond auction, though the bulk of the move higher in yields unfolded earlier in the day on heavy selling of treasury futures. The 30-year yield rose a chunky 15.5 basis points at one point yesterday and traded to the highest levels in weeks, with the 10-year likewise poking above local highs in the 2.87% yield area. The jump in yields is technically significant if it holds and proceeds to 3.00%, suggesting that the consolidation phase is over. As well, the rise at the long end of the curve has significantly steepened the yield curve from a recent extreme in the 2-10 inversion of –49 basis points to –34 basis points.   What is going on?   US jobless claims rise, University of Michigan ahead US initial jobless claims 262K vs 265K estimate, notably higher than the 248k the prior week and the highest since November 2021. The 4-week moving average of initial jobless claims increased to 252K vs 247.5K last week, but still below 350k levels that can cause an alarm. The modest pickup in claims suggests that turnover at weaker firms is increasing. Key data to watch today is the preliminary University of Michigan survey for August, where expectations are for a modest improvement given lower gasoline prices. The grains sector trades at a five-week high ahead of today’s supply and demand report The Bloomberg Grains Index continues to recover following its 28% June to July correction with gains this past week being led by wheat (WHEATDEC22) and corn (CORNDEC22) in response to a weaker dollar and not least hot and dry weather in the US and another heatwave in Europe raising concerns about yield and production. Hot and dry weather at a critical stage for yield developments ahead of the soon to be harvested crop has given today’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report some additional attention with surveys looking for lower yields and with that lower ending stocks. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly sees 50 basis point hike at September FOMC meeting Daly is not an FOMC voter this year. Unlike her colleague (also a non-voter this year) Neel Kashkari at the Minneapolis Fed, she is satisfied with the median forecast of a 3.4% policy rate by year-end, which would be achieved with a 50 basis point move in September, followed by two 25 basis point hikes in November and December. Kashkari thinks 3.9% is more appropriate for a year-end target policy rate. Daly noted that she is happy to see inflation coming down, but is still open for a larger rate increase in September if necessary. “It really behooves us to stay data dependent and not call it”. The market is currently priced for 60 basis points of hiking at the September 21 FOMC meeting. Illumina shares down 23% on massive earnings miss The DNA-sequencing company slashed its fiscal year outlook last night due to potential penalties in Europe from its acquisition of another company. Its FY EPS forecast is now $2.75-2.90 down from previously $4-4.20.   What are we watching next?   UK Q2 GDP likely to show a contraction ... after April was down 0.2% and May up 0.5%. June GDP is likely to have seen a larger contraction given less working days in the month, as well as constrained household spending as inflation surged to a fresh record high. While there may be a growth recovery in the near-term, the Bank of England clearly outlined a recession scenario from Q4 2022 and that would last for five quarters. Our Macro Strategist Chris Dembik has painted a rather pessimistic picture of the UK economy. Another downside surprise in US inflation US July PPI dipped into negative territory to come in at -0.5% MoM, much cooler than 1% last month or the +0.2% expected. But on a YoY basis, PPI remains up a shocking 9.8%. Core PPI rose 0.4% MoM, which means on a YoY basis core producer prices are up 7.6% (lower than June's +8.2% but still near record highs). Goods PPI fell 1.8%, dominated by a 9.0% drop in energy. Meanwhile, services PPI was up 0.1% in July. Despite the slowdown in both PPI and CPI this week, PPI is still 1.3% points above CPI, suggesting margin pressures and a possible earnings recession. Fed’s Daly said she will be open to a 75bps rate hike at the September meeting. Next signals from the Fed at Jackson Hole conference Aug 25-27 There is a considerable tension between the market’s forecast for the economy and the resulting expected path of Fed policy for the rest of this year and particularly next year, as the market believes that a cooling economy and inflation will allow the Fed to reverse course and cut rates in a “soft landing” environment (the latter presumably because financial conditions have eased aggressively since June, suggesting that markets are not fearing a hard landing/recession). Some Fed members have tried to push back against the market’s expectations for Fed rate cuts next year it was likely never the Fed’s intention to allow financial conditions to ease so swiftly and deeply as they have in recent weeks. The risks, therefore, point to a Fed that may mount a more determined pushback at the Jackson Hole forum, the Fed’s yearly gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming that is often used to air longer term policy guidance. Earnings to watch There are no important earnings today except for Flutter Entertainment which has already reported ahead of the trading start in London. Flutter reports first-half revenue of £3.4bn vs est. £3.2bn. Today: Flutter Entertainment Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0900 – Eurozone Jun. Industrial Production 1400 – US Fed’s Barkin (non-voter) to speak 1400 – US Aug. Preliminary University of Michigan sentiment 1600 – USDA's World Agriculture Supply and Demand report (WASDE) Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 12, 2022
FX Market Update: Calm Before the Central Bank Storm

AUDUSD Is Sliding Down. AUDJPY Aims High!? GBPAUD Finally Have A Chance!

Kim Cramer Larsson Kim Cramer Larsson 12.08.2022 08:47
AUDUSD AUDUSD confirmed short-term uptrend yesterday breaking above 0.7069. RSI back above 60 indicating AUDUSD is likely to move higher towards resistance at 0.7283. AUDUSD could move higher from there after a likely correction. If closing above 0.76 AUDUSD could move toward peak at around 0.7660.To neutralise that scenario AUDUSD must move back below 0.7069. To reverse it AUDUSD must collapse to below 0.6865. Source: Saxo Group Weekly chart shows AUDUSD trading in a wide falling channel. A test of upper falling trendline is not unlikely, given that the above bullish scenario plays out. Source: Saxo Group AUDJPY AUDJPY is slowly crawling higher after the spike down below key support last week. AUDJPY is back above all Simple Moving averages and RSI is still showing positive sentiment indicating a test of the slightly falling upper trendline is likely. If AUDJPY breaks above the trendline and above resistance at 95.75 the pairs is likely to take out the peak in June at around 96.90. Source: Saxo Group GBPAUD GBPAUD is testing support at 1.7173 and seems likely to break bearish out of the range it has been trading in past 6 months. If AUDGBP closes below 1.7173 the pair is set for lower levels Source: Saxo Group Weekly chart shows that 01.7173 is a key support level rejecting GBPAUD several times. If GBPAUD finally breaks below the support a medium- to long-term move towards 1.60 area is in the cards.IF it fails to close below 1.7173 GBPAUD could resume its rangebound behaviour Source: Saxo Group Source: Technical Update - AUD pairs on the move testing or breaking resistance levels. AUDUSD , AUDJPY & GBPAUD
Commodities Update: Strong Russian Oil Flows to China and Volatility in European Gas Market

Natural Gas Report After Weekly US Storage - Obnoxious Results

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 12.08.2022 11:34
Summary:  Today we note that the big surge in yields at the long end of the US yield curve were likely the critical factor in capping and reversing the extension of the rally in equities yesterday. The US dollar found a bit of resilience on the development as well, if only half-hearted. Elsewhere, we zoom in on global natural gas supply concerns after the latest weekly US storage yesterday, discuss the grains outlook with a key report up late today and look ahead at the fairly busy macro calendar next week, while wondering how the Fed deals with re-establishing its hawkish credibility. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please!   We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.   Source: Podcast: US yields jump, capping complacency
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports shrank 20.6% year-on-year

Singapore Is Still Strong Despite All The Predictions. Inflation Remains High

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 12.08.2022 12:35
Summary:  While the growth outlook for Singapore is deteriorating on the back of weaker external demand, we believe exposure to the Singapore market remains a key portfolio diversifier given its safe-haven status. Rising interest rates continue to position banking stocks favourably, while the reopening of the regional and global economies brings likely benefits to retail and hospitality REITs as well as other travel related stocks and sectors. There are also some stocks to consider in-line with our preferred global equity themes of commodities and defence. Macro conditions are deteriorating The final print of Singapore’s Q2 GDP was revised lower to 4.4% y/y from an advance estimate of 4.8% earlier, suggesting a q/q contraction of 0.2% as against gains of 0.2% q/q suggested by the advance estimate or the 0.8% q/q growth seen in the first quarter. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has also narrowed the forecast for annual 2022 growth to 3-4% from 3-5% earlier amid rising global slowdown risks. Given Singapore is an export-driven economy, it remains prone to the volatile external environment. Meanwhile, China’s Zero-covid strategy has hampered global supply chains as well as export demand from Singapore. These risks keep the threat of a technical recession – which is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth – alive. The officials have, however, ruled that out for now and suggest a mild positive growth for Q3 and Q4. Is more monetary policy tightening on the cards? Singapore’s inflation remains high, but with core at 4.4%, it is still below the global inflation levels. We can certainly feel the price pressures biting, especially in rents and transportation. That is likely to remain a key concern for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), while the gloomier growth picture will only add some caution. Headwinds from external demand will be somewhat offset by a service sector growth picking up as the local and regional economies continue to broaden their reopening measures. This is boosting retail sales and tourism-led spending, while the labor market is also still tight. What could possibly be ruled out is an off-cycle move, or possibly a re-centering of the S$NEER policy band, unless core inflation surprises significantly to the upside. Singapore’s monetary policy has entered a restrictive mode with four tightening moves since October 2021, and further steepening of the S$NEER slope cannot be ruled out. What to consider in the markets? Singapore’s safe-haven status makes it an important stabilizer in the portfolios, especially in the choppy global markets. Singapore equities are riding on services demand recovery and sustained export momentum. The banking stocks such as DBS (D05:xses), UOB (U11:xses) and OCBC (O39:xses) remain well positioned to benefit from the rising interest rates, even as the wealth management income takes a haircut due to the weak market sentiment. Meanwhile, REITs offer a good dividend yield, and therefore inflation protection. Travel related stocks and sectors, such as retail REITs, hospitality REITs, Singapore Airlines (C6L:xses) or SATS (S58:xses) could also benefit from a sustained reopening momentum. Out global equity baskets have shown an outperformance from the Commodities and Defence baskets so far this year. Defence stocks could remain in focus with the increasing geopolitical tensions, and that means Singapore Technologies Engineering (S63:xses) may be worth a look. Green transformation also necessitates a look at Sembcorp Industries (U96:xses), while Singtel (Z77:xses) remains in a position to ride through the economic crisis with its rapid 5G adoption. Wilmar (F34:xses), an agribusiness firm with market cap greater than Singapore Airlines, has gained tremendous attention due to the tight edible oil markets since the Ukraine invasion, and its exposure to consumption in some of the largest emerging markets also makes it a key inflation play. Some of the sectors to remain cautious about would be the technology or manufacturing with exposure to China. REITs with exposure to China’s property market also face further threat. Key risk factors to watch While the external demand outlook remains fragile and dampens the growth prospects of Singapore economy and companies, there are also risks from a global tightening wave which could result in capital outflows. Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions in the region could also result in cautious investor sentiment. There remains a risk of US-China trade tensions coming back, and that could be a headwind for Singapore. Lastly, a resurgence of Covid remains a key risk to watch in Singapore and Asia, as the response will likely remain stricter than Europe despite a high level of vaccination.   Source: Singapore Market Pulse: Weaker macro conditions, but safe-haven reputation supports
RBA Pauses Rates as Australian Dollar Slides; ISM Manufacturing PMI in Focus

Dollar (USD) Became Stronger, Not Enough Yet. Fed Better Meet Expectations!

John Hardy John Hardy 12.08.2022 14:23
Summary:  US treasury yields at the long end of the yield curve jumped higher yesterday to multi-week highs, a challenge to widespread complacency across global markets. The USD found a modicum of support on the development, though this was insufficient to reverse the recent weakening trend. It will likely take a more determined rise in US yields and a tightening of financial conditions, possibly on further Fed pushback against market policy expectations, to spark a more significant USD comeback. FX Trading focus: US yields jump, not yet enough to reverse recent USD dip A very interesting shift in the US yield curve yesterday as long yields jumped aggressively higher, with the 30-year yield getting the most focus on a heavy block sale of US “ultra” futures and a softer than expected 30-year T-bond auction from the US treasury. The 30-year benchmark yield jumped as much as 15 basis points from the prior close, with the 10-year move a few basis points smaller. We shouldn’t over-interpret a single day’s action, but it is a technical significant development and if it extends, could be a sign of tightening liquidity as the Fed ups its sales of treasuries and even a sign that market concern is growing that the Fed will fail to get ahead of inflation. As for the market reaction, the USD found some support, but it was modest stuff – somewhat surprisingly in the case of the normally very long-US-yield-sensitive USDJPY. Overnight, a minor shuffle in Japanese PMI Kishida’s cabinet has observers figuring that there is no real determined pushback yet against the Kuroda BoJ’s YCC policy, with focus more on bringing relief to lower income households struggling with price rises for essentials. Indeed, BoJ policy is only likely to come under significant pressure again if global yields pull to new cycle highs and the JPY finds itself under siege again. As for USDJPY, it has likely only peaked if long US yields have also peaked for the cycle. Chart: EURUSD EURUSD caught in limbo here, having pulled up through the resistance in the 1.0275+ area after a long bought of tight range trading, but not yet challenging through the next key layer of resistance into 1.0350+. It wouldn’t take much of a further reversal here to freshen up the bearish interest – perhaps a dip and close below 1.0250 today, together with a bit of follow through higher in US yields and a further correction in risk sentiment. Eventually, we look for the pair to challenge down well through parity if USD yields retest their highs and beyond. Source: Saxo Group Elsewhere – watching sterling here as broader sentiment may be at risk of rolling over and as we wind our way to the conclusion of the battle to replace outgoing Boris Johnson, with Liz Truss all but crowned. Her looser stance on fiscal prudence looks a sterling negative given the risks from UK external deficits. Her instincts seem pro-supply side on taxation, but the populist drag of cost-of-living issues has shown her to be quick to change her stripes – as she has often been, having reversed her position on many issues, including Brexit (was a former remainer). Today’s reminder of the yawning trade deficit (a current run rate of around 10% of GDP) and the energy/power situation together with dire supply side restraints on the UK economy have us looking for sterling weakness – a start would be a dip below 1.2100 in GBPUSD, which would reverse the reaction earlier this week to the US July CPI release. The week ahead features an RBNZ on Wednesday (market nearly fully priced for another two meetings of 50 basis points each). NZDUSD has looked too ambitious off the lows – there is no strong external surplus angle for the kiwi like there is for the Aussie – might be a place to get contrarian to the recent price action if global risk sentiment is set to roll over again finally now that the VIX has pushed all the way to 20 (!).  A Norges Bank meeting on Thursday may see the bank hiking another 50 basis points as it continues to catch up to inflationary outcomes. The US FOMC minutes are up next Wednesday and may be a bit of a fizzle, given that the bulk of the easing financial conditions that the Fed would like to push back against came after the meeting. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength. The US dollar hasn’t gotten much from the latest development in yields – watching the next couple of sessions closely for direction there, while also watching for the risk of more sterling downside, while NZD looks overambitious on the upside. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs. The EURGBP turn higher could follow through here – on the lookout for that development while also watching GBPUSD status in coming sessions and whether the EURUSD move higher also follows through as per comments on the chart above. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1400 – US Fed’s Barkin (non-voter) to speak 1400 – US Aug. Preliminary University of Michigan sentiment Share Source: FX Update: US yield jump brings USD resilience if not a reversal.
Canadian Dollar Falters as USD/CAD Tests Key Support Amidst Rising Oil Prices and Economic Data

Zantac: $40bn Scandal Meets The Market! S&P 500 Has Troubles?

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 12.08.2022 14:52
Summary:  The easing inflation narrative has been building strength for six weeks now and the short-term vindication in the US CPI release on Wednesday has bolstered the bulls. However, the structural issues in the supply-side of the economy have been resolved and wages combined with rents will add more pressure on inflation going forward. We also highlight the unfolding scandal around the heartburn drug Zantac as it has erased $40bn in market value from Sanofi and GSK. Finally, we take a look at next week's earnings. It is too early to call inflation is tamed The US July CPI release on Wednesday has bolstered the soft-landing and easing inflation trade catapulting high duration assets higher. S&P 500 futures are attempting to push higher and the 200-day moving average sitting around the 4,325 level is suddenly not an outrageous gravitational point for US equities in the near-term. While the equity market is buying the all good scenario on inflation we would emphasise that it is too early to call. The Fed will like to see the 6-month average on the US CPI core m/m to go back to 0.2% before easing policy and that is simply not possible until at least the end of Q1 next year. Many of the structural issues except maybe for logistics, and this pain could come back again this winter if China gets another big Covid outbreak, are still not solved as capital expenditures in real terms are still not coming up in the global mining and energy industry. Labour markets remain tight with especially the US being the worst hit having lost around 1.5%-point of its labour force due to the pandemic and these people are likely never coming back. Rent dynamics are also heating up in both the US and Europe, and this winter will test the strength of the European population as the energy crisis could get much worse. We encourage investors to watch the US 10-year yield as a break above 3% again should cause a negative reaction in global equities. S&P 500 continuous futures | Source: Saxo Group US CPI core m/m | Source: Bloomberg Potential gigantic Zantac liabilities hit Sanofi, GSK, and Pfizer Health care is typically associated with stability, high valuations, and high predictability in the underlying cash flows, but the industry is being rocked by increasing concerns over the heartburn drug Zantac. Sanofi, GSK, and Pfizer have lost combined market value of $40bn and analysts are estimating that damage liabilities could reach $10-45bn. Zantac was removed from the market in 2019 by the FDA as the drug appears to be producing unacceptably high levels of a cancer-causing chemical. There is case coming up in Illinois on 22 August which will give the first indications of where this is going. There will continue to be short-term headwinds for both Sanofi and GSK where Pfizer seems to have been selling the drug for a much more reduced period than the two others. Weekly share prices of Sanofi, GSK, and Pfizer | Source: Bloomberg Earnings to watch next week The Q2 earnings season is slowly coming to end and what a quarter it has been with earnings jumping to a new all-time high (see chart) driven by a significant increase in profits in the energy sector. The technology sector measure by the Nasdaq 100 had another bad quarter with earnings declining reinforcing the need to cut costs of many of these previously fast growing technology companies. Next week’s most important earnings are highlighted below with the names in bold being those that can move market or industry sentiment. Meituan on Monday is important for gauging consumer spending and behaviour in China. BHP Group is must watch on Monday as the Australian miner is tapped into China’s growth and demand for iron ore. On Tuesday, earnings from Walmart and Home Depot can provide an updated picture on global supply chains and price pressures across a wide range of consumer products. Tencent reports on Wednesday and is an important earnings release for investors watching Chinese technology stocks as the recent amendment to China’s anti-monopoly laws is adding more pressure on the big technology platform companies. In the payments industry, Adyen’s result on Thursday will be highly watched as Adyen is really challenging PayPal on growth and dominance in the industry. Monday: China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Meituan, China Life Insurance, China Shenhua Energy, China Petroleum & Chemical, BHP Group, COSCO Shipping, Li Auto, Trip.com Group, DiDi Global Tuesday: China Telecom, Walmart, Agilent Technologies, Home Depot, Sea Ltd Wednesday: Tencent, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, Analog Devices, Cisco Systems, Synopsys, Lowe’s, CSL, Target, TJX, Coloplast, Carlsberg, Wolfspeed Thursday: Applied Materials, Estee Lauder, NetEase, Adyen, Nibe Industrier, Geberit Friday: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Source: The soft-landing and inflation easing narrative is thriving
Chile's Lithium Nationalization and the Global Trend of Resource Nationalism: Implications for EV Supply Chains and Efforts to Strengthen Battery Metal Supply

Commodities: Prices Are Rising, Heatwaves In US And China Affect The Production Of Cotton

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 12.08.2022 16:00
Summary:  The correction that for some commodities already started back in March has since the end of July increasingly been showing signs of reversing, driven by recent economic data strength, dollar weakness and signs inflation may have peaked. With the broad position adjustments having run their course, the focus has returned to supply which in many cases remains tight, thereby providing renewed support, especially across the sectors of energy and key agriculture commodities. The correction that for some commodities already started back in March has since the end of July increasingly been showing signs of reversing. According to the Bloomberg commodity sector indices, the correction period triggered peak to bottom moves of 41% in industrial metals, 31% in grains and 27% in energy. The main reason for the dramatic correction following a record run of strong gains was the change in focus from tight supply to worries about demand. Apart from China’s slowing growth outlook due to its zero-Covid policy and housing market crisis hitting industrial metals, the most important driver has been the way in which central banks around the world have been stepping up efforts to curb runaway inflation by forcing down economic activity through aggressively tightening monetary conditions. This process is ongoing but recent economic data strength, dollar weakness and signs inflation may have peaked have all helped support markets that have gone through weeks and in some cases months of sharp price declines, and with that an aggressive amount of long liquidation from financial traders as well as selling from macro-focused funds looking for a hedge against an economic downturn.With the broad position adjustments having run their course, the focus has returned to supply which in many cases remains tight, thereby providing renewed support and problems for those who have been selling markets looking for even lower prices in anticipation of recession and lower demand. Backwardation remains elevated despite growth worries The behaviour of spot commodity prices, as seen through first month futures contracts, rarely gives us the full fundamental picture with the price action often being dictated by technical price-driven speculators and funds focusing on macroeconomic developments, as opposed to the individual fundamental situation. The result of this has been a period of aggressive selling on a combination of bullish bets being scaled back but also increased selling from funds looking to hedge an economic slowdown.An economic slowdown, or in a worst-case scenario a recession, would normally trigger a surplus of raw materials as demand falters and production is slow to respond to a downturn in demand. However, during the past three months of selling, the cost of commodities for immediate delivery has maintained a healthy premium above prices for later deliveries. The chart below shows the spread measured in percent between the first futures and the 12-month forward futures contract, and while the tightness has eased a bit, we are still seeing tightness across a majority, especially within energy and agriculture. A sign that the market has sold off on expectations more than reality, and it raises the prospect of a strong recovery once the growth outlook stabilises. Crude oil The downward trending price action in WTI and Brent for the past couple of months is showing signs of reversing on a combination of the market reassessing the demand outlook amid continued worries about supply and who will and can meet demand going forward. The recovery from below $95 in Brent and $90 in WTI this week was supported by signs of softer US inflation reducing the potential peak in the Fed fund rates, thereby improving the growth outlook. In addition, the weaker dollar and improving demand, especially in the US where gasoline prices at the pumps have fallen below $4 per gallon for the first time since March.In addition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its global consumption estimate by 380 kb/d, saying soaring gas prices amid strong demand for electricity is driving utilities to switch from expensive gas to fuel-based products. Meanwhile, OPEC may struggle to raise output in the coming months due to limited spare capacity. While pockets of demand weakness have emerged in recent months, we do not expect these to materially impact on our overall price-supportive outlook. Supply-side uncertainties remain too elevated to ignore, not least considering the soon-to-expire releases of crude oil from US Strategic Reserves and the EU embargo of Russian oil fast approaching. With this in mind, we maintain our $95 to $115 range forecast for the third quarter. Gold (XAUUSD) The recently under siege yellow metal was heading for a fourth weekly gain, supported by a weaker dollar after the lower-than-expected US CPI and PPI data helped reduce expectations for how high the Fed will allow rates to run. However, rising risk appetite as seen through surging stocks and bond yields trading higher on the week have so far prevented the yellow metal from making a decisive challenge at key resistance above $1800/oz, and the recent decline in ETF holdings and low open interest in COMEX futures points to a market that is looking for a fresh and decisive trigger. We believe the markets newfound optimism about the extent to which inflation can successfully be brought under control remains too optimistic and together with several geopolitical worries, we see no reason to exit our long-held bullish view on gold as a hedge and diversifier. Gold has found some support at the 50-day moving average line at $1783, and needs to hold $1760 in order to avoid a fresh round of long liquidation the short-term. While some resistance is located just above $1800 gold needs a decisive break above $1829 in order to trigger the momentum needed to attract fresh buying in ETFs and managed money accounts in futures. Source: Saxo Group Industrial metals (Copper)   Copper has rebounded around 18% since hitting a 20-month low last month, thereby supporting a general recovery across industrial metals, the hardest hit sector during the recent correction. Supported by a softer dollar, data showing the US economy remains robust, easing concerns about the demand outlook in China and not least disruptions to producers in Asia, Europe as well as South America potentially curtailing supply at a time when exchange-monitored inventories remain at a decade low. All developments that have forced speculators to cut back recently established short positions.The potential for an improved demand outlook in China and BHP's recent announcement that it has made an offer for OZ Minerals and its nickel and copper-focused assets, is the latest in a series of global acquisitions aimed at shoring up supplies of essential metals for the energy transition. With its high electrical conductivity, copper supports all the electronics we use, from smartphones to medical equipment. It already underpins our existing electricity systems, and it is crucial to the electrification process needed over the coming years in order to reduce demand for energy derived from fossil fuels.Following a temporary recovery in the price of copper around the beginning of June when China began easing lockdown restrictions, the rally quickly ran out of steam and copper went on to tumble below key support before eventually stabilizing after finding support at $3.14/lb., the 61.8% retracement of the 2020 to 2022 rally. Since then, the price has recovered strongly but may temporarily pause after reaching finding resistance in the $3.70/lb area. We maintain a long-term bullish view on copper and prefer buying weakness instead of selling into strength. Source: Saxo Group The grains sector traded at a five-week high ahead of Friday’s supply and demand report from the US Department of Agriculture. The Bloomberg Grains Index continues to recover following its 28% June to July correction with gains this past week being led by wheat and corn in response to a weaker dollar and not least hot and dry weather in the US and another heatwave in Europe raising concerns about yield and production. Hot and dry weather at a critical stage for yield developments ahead of the soon-to-be-harvested crop has given the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report some additional attention with surveys pointing to price support with the prospect of lower yields lowering expectations for the level of available stocks ahead of the coming winter. Cotton, up 8% this month has seen the focus switch from growth and demand worries, especially in China, to deepening global supply concerns as heatwaves in the US and China hurt production prospects. Friday’s monthly supply and demand report (WASDE) from the US Department of Agriculture was expected to show lower US production driving down ending stocks by around 10% to 2.2 m bales, an 11-year low. Arabica coffee, in a downtrend since February, has also seen a steady rise since bouncing from key support below $2/lb last month. A persistent and underlying support from South American production worries has reasserted itself during the past few weeks as the current on-season crop potentially being the lowest since 2014. Brazil’s drought and cold curbed flowering last season and severe frosts in July 2021 led farmers to cut down coffee trees at a time of high costs for agricultural inputs, notably fertilizer. In addition, Columbia another top producer, has seen its crop being reduced by too much rainfall. Source: WCU: Commodity correction may have exhausted itself
Bond Markets Feeling Weighted: US 10-Year Yield Still Pressured

EUR/USD, GBP/USD. Is It Worth To Invest Today?

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 11.08.2022 15:40
Relevance up to 11:00 2022-08-12 UTC+2 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. EUR/USD   Higher timeframes Bulls yesterday attempted to go beyond the nearest limit—the weekly short-term trend (1.0285). Their task now is to stay above the level and fix the achievement at the close of the week. In this case, the chances that the weekly upward correction will have development prospects will increase. On the daily timeframe, the nearest reference point for the continuation of the rise is now the Ichimoku cloud, the breakdown of which will form an additional upward reference point—the target for the breakout of the cloud. Among the supports today, we can note the levels of the daily golden cross (1.0246 – 1.0210 – 1.0160 – 1.0111). H4 – H1 The main advantage now belongs to the bulls, as the work is carried out above the key levels, but the pair is in the correction zone. The interests of bulls within the day today are the resistance of the classic pivot points (1.0378 – 1.0457 – 1.0545). The key levels now at 1.0290 (central pivot of the day) and 1.0226 (weekly long-term trend) separate the pair from a reprioritization in favor of a more bearish sentiment. Targets for decline today can be noted at 1.0211 – 1.0123 – 1.0044 (classic pivot points). *** GBP/USD Higher timeframes Bulls yesterday managed to push off the supports, around which the last few days have been consolidating (the main level 1.2082 is a weekly short-term trend), and enter the daily Ichimoku cloud. The breakdown of the cloud (1.2323) and consolidation in the bullish zone are the main tasks for bulls in the near term. When the mood changes, the relevance will return to supports. The support zone is now quite wide and includes 1.2174 (lower boundary of the daily cloud) – 1.2148 – 1.2089 – 1.2026 – 1.1963 (levels of the daily Ichimoku cross), as well as 1.2082 (weekly short-term trend) and 1.2000 (an important psychological level). H4 – H1 In the lower timeframes, the main advantage now belongs to the bulls. Among the bullish reference points during the day today, we can note 1.2303 – 1.2396 – 1.2515 (classic pivot points resistance) and 1.2301–34 (target for the breakdown of the H4 cloud). The balance of power will change if bears consolidate below key levels 1.2184 (central pivot point of the day) – 1.2120 (weekly long-term trend). After that, the reference points will be the support of the classic pivot points (1.2091 – 1.1972 – 1.1879). *** In the technical analysis of the situation, the following are used: higher timeframes – Ichimoku Kinko Hyo (9.26.52) + Fibo Kijun levels H1 - Pivot Points (classic) + Moving Average 120 (weekly long-term trend) Source: Forex Analysis & Reviews: Technical analysis recommendations on EUR/USD and GBP/USD for August 11, 2022
The Pound (GBP) Will Probably Continue To Move Sideways

GBP/USD Today. Pay Attention! Sell Or Be Sold?

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 11.08.2022 16:01
Relevance up to 13:00 2022-08-12 UTC+2 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Technical analysis: GBP/UISD has been trading flat today at the price of 1.2204 but I see potential for the second downside swing. Trading recommendation: Due to the strong growth yesterday and extreme condition, I see potential for the downside movement. Watch for potential selling opportunities with the downside objective at the price of 1.2135. Stochastic oscillator is showing overbought condition and bear cross, which is sign that sellers are taking control. Key resistance is set at the price of 1.2270 Source: Forex Analysis & Reviews: GBP/USD update for August 11, 2022 - Potential for the second downside swing to develop
Forex: XAU/USD Is Rising For The 3rd Day In A Row!

Gold Trading. Gold Is Spreading It's Wings!?

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 11.08.2022 15:20
Relevance up to 12:00 2022-08-12 UTC+2 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results.The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Technical analysis: Gold has been trading downside today and I see the breakout of the rising channel, which is sign that sellers are in control. Trading recommendation: Due to the breakout of the rising channel in the background, I see potential for further downside movement. Watch for potential selling opportunities with the downside objectives at the price of $1.783 and $1.770. Stochastic oscillator is showing overbought condition and bear cross, which is sign that sellers are taking control. Key resistance is set at the price of $1.805 Source: Forex Analysis & Reviews: Analysis of Gold for August 11,.2022 - Breakout of the rising channel in the backgorund
The Gold Rally Is Continuing To Stall, This Could Be A Good Year For Crude Oil

WTI Astonishing Streak! Japan Jumps. China, Australia And South Korea Are In Trouble?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 12.08.2022 15:15
Overview: The markets are putting the finishing touches on this week’s activity. Japan, returning from yesterday’s holiday bought equities, and its major indices jumped more than 2%. China, South Korea, and Australia struggled. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is firmer for the third consecutive session. It is up about 1.3% this week. US futures are also firmer after reversing earlier gains yesterday to close lower on the day. The US 10-year yield is flat near 2.88%, while European benchmarks are 4-6 bp higher. The greenback is mixed. The dollar-bloc currencies and Norwegian krone are slightly firmer, while the Swedish krona, sterling, and the yen are off around 0.3%-0.6%. Emerging market currencies are also mixed, though the freely accessible currencies are mostly firmer. The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is up about 1.15% this week, ahead of the Latam session, which if sustained would be the strongest performance in three months. Gold is consolidating at lower levels having been turned back from $1800 in the middle of the week. Near $1787.50, it is up less than 0.7% for the week. September WTI is edging higher for the third consecutive session, which would match the longest streak since January. US natgas surged 8.2% yesterday but has come back offered today. It is off 2.3%. Europe’s natgas benchmark is snapping a three-day advance of nearly 8% and is off 1.8% today. Iron ore rose 2.2% yesterday and it gave most of its back today, sliding almost 1.7%. September copper is unchanged after rallying more than 3.3% over the past two sessions. September wheat has a four-day rally in tow but is softer ahead of the Department of Agriculture report (World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates). Asia Pacific   Japan and China will drop some market sensitive high-frequency economic data as trading begins in the new week.  Japan will release its first estimate of Q2 GDP. The median in Bloomberg's survey and the average of a dozen Japanese think tanks (cited by Jiji Press) project around a 2.7% expansion of the world's third-largest economy, after a 0.5% contraction in Q1. Consumption and business investment likely improved. Some of the demand was probably filled through inventories. They added 0.5% to Q1 growth but may have trimmed Q2 growth. Net exports were a drag on Q1 (-04%) and may be flat. The GDP deflator was -0.5% in Q1 and may have deteriorated further in Q2. Some observers see the cabinet reshuffle that was announced this week strengthening the commitment to ease monetary policy. The deflation in the deflator shows what Governor Kuroda's successor next April must address as well. China reports July consumption (retail sales), industrial output, employment (surveyed jobless rate), and investment (fixed assets and property).  The expected takeaway is that the world's second-largest economy is recovering but slowly. Industrial output and retail sales are expected to have edged up. Of note, the year-to-date retail sales compared with a year ago was negative each month in Q2 but is expected to have turned positive in July. The year-over-year pace of industrial production is expected to rise toward 4.5%, which would be the best since January. The housing market, which acted as a critical engine of growth is in reverse. New home prices (newly build commercial residential building prices in 70 cities) have been falling on a year-over-year basis starting last September, and likely continued to do so in July. Property investment (completed investment in real estate) likely fell for the fourth consecutive month. It has slowed every month beginning March 2021. The pace may have accelerated to -5.6% year-over-year after a 5.4% slide in the 12-months through June. The surveyed unemployed rate was at 4.9% last September and October. It rose to 6.1% in April and has slipped back to 5.5% in June. The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey expects it to have remained there in July. Lastly, there are no fixed dates for the lending figures and the announcement of the one-year medium-term lending facility rate. Lending is expected to have slowed sharply from the surge in June, while the MLF rate is expected to be steady at 2.85%. Over the several weeks, foreign investors have bought a record amount of Japanese bonds.  Over the past six weeks, foreigners snapped up JPY6.44 trillion (~$48 bln). It may partly reflect short-covering after the run-in with the Bank of Japan who bought a record amount to defend the yield-curve control cap of 0.25% on the 10-year bond. There is another consideration. For dollar-based investors, hedging the currency risk, which one is paid to do, a return of more than 4% can be secured. At the same time, for yen-based investors, hedging the currency risk is expensive, which encourages the institutional investors to return to the domestic market. Japanese investors have mostly been selling foreign bonds this year. However, the latest Ministry of Finance data shows that they were net buyers for the third consecutive week, matching the longest streak of the year. Still, the size is small. suggesting it may not be a broad or large force yet. Although the US 10-year yield jumped 10 bp yesterday, extending its recovery from Monday's low near 2.75% for a third session, the dollar barely recovered against the yen.  After falling 1.6% on Wednesday, after the softer than expected US CPI, the greenback rose 0.1% yesterday and is edging a little higher today. Partly what has happened is that the exchange rate correlation with the 10-year yield has slackened while the correlation with the two-year has increased. In fact, the correlation of the change in the two-year and the exchange rate is a little over 0.60 and is the highest since March. The dollar appears to be trading comfortably now between two large set of options that expire today. One set is at JPY132 for $860 mln and the other at JPY134 for $1.3 bln. Around $0.7120, the Australian dollar is up about 3% this week and is near two-month highs. It reached almost $0.7140 yesterday. The next technical target is in the $0.7150-$0.7170 area. Support is seen ahead of $0.7050. Next week's data highlight is the employment data (August 18). The greenback traded in a CNY6.7235-CNY6.7600 on Wednesday and remained in that range yesterday and today. For the second consecutive week, the dollar has alternated daily between up and down sessions for a net change of a little more than 0.1%. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.7413, tight to expectations (Bloomberg's survey) of CNY6.7415. Europe   The UK's economy shrank by 0.6% in June, ensuring a contraction in Q2.  The 0.1% shrinkage was a bit smaller than expected but the weakness was widespread. Consumption fell by 0.2% in the quarter, worse than expected, while government spending collapsed by 2.9% after a 1.3% pullback in Q1. A decline in Covid testing and slower retail sales were notable drags. The one bright spot was business investment was stronger than expected. The June data itself was miserable, though there was an extra holiday (Queen's jubilee). All three sectors, industrial output, services, and construction, all fell in June and the trade balance deteriorated. The market's expectation for next month's BOE meeting was unaffected by the data. The swaps market has about an 85% chance of another 50 bp hike discounted.  Industrial output in the eurozone rose by 0.7%, well above the 0.2% median forecast in Bloomberg's survey and follows a 2.1% increase in May.  The manufacturing PMI warned that an outright contraction is possible. Of the big four members, only Italy disappointed. The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey anticipated a decline in German, France, and Spain. Instead, they reported gains of 0.4%, 1.4%, and 1.1% respectively. Industrial output was expected to have contracted by 0.1% in Italy and instead it reported a 2.1% drop. In aggregate, the strength of capital goods (2.6% month-over-month) and energy (0.6%) more than offset the declines in consumer goods and intermediate goods. The year-over-year rise of 2.4% is the strongest since last September. The disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the uneven Covid outbreaks and responses are as Rumsfeld might have said known unknowns.  But the disruptive force that may not be fully appreciated is about to get worse. The German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration is warning that water in the Rhine River will fall below a critical threshold this weekend. At an important waypoint, the level may fall to about 13 inches (33 centimeters). Less than around 16 inches (40 centimeters) and barges cannot navigate. An estimated 400k barrels a day of oil products are sent from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region to Germany and Switzerland. The International Energy Agency warns that the effects could last until late this year, and hits landlocked countries who rely on the Rhine the hardest. Bloomberg reported that Barge rates from Rotterdam to Basel have risen to around 267 euros a ton, a ten-fold increase in a few months. The strong surge in the euro to almost $1.0370 on Wednesday has stalled.  The euro is consolidating inside yesterday's relatively narrow range (~$1.0275-$1.0365). The momentum traders may be frustrated by the lack of follow-through. We suspect a break of $1.0265 would push more to the sidelines. The downtrend line from the February, March, and June highs comes in slightly above $1.0385 today. The broad dollar selloff in response to the July CPI saw sterling reach above $1.2275, shy of the month's high closer to $1.2295. Similar to the euro, sterling stalled. It has slipped through yesterday's low (~$1.2180). A break of the $1.2140 area could see $1.2100. That said, the $1.20 area could be the neckline of a double top and a convincing break would signal the risk of a return to the lows set a month ago near $1.1760. America   Think about the recent big US economic news.  It began last Friday with a strong employment report, more than twice what economists expected (median, Bloomberg survey) and a new cyclical low in unemployment. The job gains were broadly distributed. That was followed by a softer than expected CPI and PPI. Some observers placed emphasis on the slump in productivity and jump in unit labor costs. Those are derived from GDP figures and are not measured separately, though they are important economic concepts. Typically, when GDP is contracting, productivity contracts and by definition, unit labor costs rise. In effect, the market for goods and services adjusts quicker the labor market, and the market for money, even quicker. If the economy expands as the Atlanta Fed GDPNow tracker or the median in Bloomberg's survey project (2.5% and 2.0%, respectively), productivity will improve, and unit labor costs will fall. Barring a precipitous fall today, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ will advance for the fourth consecutive week.  The 10-year yield fell by almost 45 bp on the last three week of July and has recovered around half here in August. That includes five basis points this week despite the softer inflation readings. The two-year note yield fell almost 25 bp in the last two weeks of July and jumped 34 bp last week. It is virtually flat this week around 3.22%. The odds of a 75 bp rate hike at next month's FOMC meeting fell from about 75% to about 47%. The year-end rate expectation fell to 3.52% from 3.56%. Some pundits claim the market is pricing in a March 2023 cut, but the implied yield of the March 2023 Fed funds futures contract is 18 bp above the December 2022 contract. It matches the most since the end of June. Still, while the Federal Reserve is trying to tighten financial conditions the market is pushing back. The Bloomberg Financial Conditions Index is at least tight reading since late April. The Goldman Sachs Financial Condition index is the least tight in nearly two months.  US import and export prices are the stuff that captures the market's imagination.  However, the preliminary University of Michigan's consumer survey, and especially the inflation expectations can move the markets, especially given that Fed Chair Powell cited it as a factor encouraging the 75 bp hike in June. The Bloomberg survey shows the median expectation is for a tick lower in inflation expectations, with the one-year slipping to 5.1% from 5.2%. The 5-10-year expectation is seen easing to 2.8% from 2.9%. If accurate, it would match the lowest since April 2021. The two-year breakeven (difference between the conventional yield and the inflation-protected security) peaked in March near 5% and this week reached 2.70%, its lowest since last October. It is near 2.80% now. Mexico delivered the widely anticipated 75 bp hike yesterday.  The overnight rate target is now 8.50%. The decision was unanimous. It is the 10th consecutive hike and concerns that AMLO's appointments would be doves has proven groundless. The central bank meets again on September 29. Like other central banks, it did not pre-commit to the size of the next move, preserving some tactical flexibility. If the Fed hikes by 75 bp, it will likely match it. Peru's central bank hiked its reference rate by 50 bp, the 10th consecutive hike of that magnitude after starting the cycle last August with a 25 bp move. It is not done. Lima inflation was near 8.75% last month and the reference rate is at 6.50%. The Peruvian sol is up about 1.2% this month, coming into today. It has appreciated by around 3.25% year-to-date, making it the second-best performer in the region after Brazil's 8.1% rise. Argentina hiked its benchmark Leliq rate by 950 bp yesterday to 69.5%. It had delivered an 800 bp hike two weeks again. Argentina's inflation reached 71% last month. The Argentine peso is off nearly 23.5% so far this year, second only to the Turkish lira (~-26%). The US dollar fell slightly below CAD1.2730 yesterday, its lowest level since mid-June. The slippage in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ helped it recover to around CAD1.2775. It has not risen above that today, encouraged perhaps by the firmer US futures. Although the 200-day moving average (~CAD1.2745) is a good mile marker, the next important chart is CAD1.2700-CAD1.2720. A convincing break would target CAD1.2650 initially and then CAD1.2600. While the Canadian dollar has gained almost 1.4% against the US dollar this week (around CAD1.2755), the Mexican peso is up nearly 2.4%. The greenback is pressing against support in the MXN19.90 area. A break targets the late June lows near MXN19.82. The MXN20.00 area provides the nearby cap.       Disclaimer   Source: Heading into the Weekend, Dollar's Downside Momentum Stalls
Central Banks' Rates Outlook: Fed Treads Cautiously, ECB Prepares for Hike

Large Chinese Gas Companies Delisting Their American Stocks! What Is Going To Happen?

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 16.08.2022 08:50
Summary:  PetroChina, Sinopec, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, Chalco and China Life Insurance notified the New York Stock Exchange on 12 Aug 2022 of their intended application for voluntary delisting of their American depository shares and terminating the relevant ADR programs. The question now is if this is an example set for mega-cap Chinese internet and platform companies to follow. Five Chinese Central State-Owned Enterprises (“Central SOEs”) apply for delisting from the New York Stock Exchange   On August 12, 2022, after the close of the regular session of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, PetroChina (00857:xhkg/PTR:xnys), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec (00386:xhkg/SNP:xnys), Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical (00338:xhkg/SHI:xnys), Aluminum Corporation of China, also known as Chalco (02600:xhkg/ACH:xnys), and China Life Insurance (02628:xhkg/LFC:xnys) announced that they had notified the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) that they are will apply for delisting of their American depository shares (“ADSs”) from the NYSE. It is expected that the American Depository Receipt (“ADR”) programs will be terminated between September 1 and October 16, 2022, and the ADSs issued under these ADR programs can be surrendered for their underlying H shares, which will continue to trade in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“SEHK”). PetroChina, Sinopec, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical and Chalco are Central SOEs that are owned (80.4%, 68.8%, 32.2%, and 50.4% respectively) and controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (“SASAC”).  These, together with 93 others that are also owned and controlled by the SASAC are known as Central SOEs or “Yang Qi” in Chinese.  China Life Insurance, not one of those under the SASAC, is not a Central SOE in the strict sense but it is usually considered a Central SOE due to the fact that it is 62.4% owned and controlled by the Ministry of Finance.  All five companies are on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) conclusive list of identified entities under the HFCAA    In the U.S., the Sarbanes-Oxley Act enacted in 2002 requires publicly traded companies to give the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) access to audit work papers. In 2009, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) issued a rule that forbids overseas regulatory authorities from inspecting Chinese auditing firms without CSRC’s prior approval and audit work papers containing state secretes from being taken outside China.  The PCAOB’s attempt to inspect the China-based affiliates of the “Big”-4” accounting firms in 2010 was rejected by the CSRC.  The SEC subsequently prosecuted these China affiliates of the Big-4 and the cases were subsequently settled. In order to tighten the enforcement of the audit work papers requirement provided in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the U.S. enacted the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCAA”) in 2020 which provides that companies failing to make available audit work papers for inspection by the PCAOB cannot be traded in a U.S. exchange.  Since March 2022, the SEC has put 162 Chinese companies listed in a U.S. bourse first on a provisional list and then 155 of them subsequently on a conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCAA. After rounds of negotiations, the U.S. and China have so far not been able to come to some resolutions.  While the Chinese authorities have sounded optimistic, especially earlier in April and May, about eventually reaching an agreement with the U.S., SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has expressed doubts about any eventual agreement.PetroChina, Sinopec, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, Chalco, and China Life Insurance are among those on the conclusive list and facing the plausibility of being delisted by the U.S. regulators from the NYSE.  The deadline for delisting is in 2024 but the U.S. Congress is considering passing a bill to bring the deadline forward to 2023.  Actions were seemingly in concert  Each of the five companies notified the NYSE on the same day, August 12, and provided similar reasons for their decisions in their filing with the SEHK, namely relatively small capitalization of H shares being represented by ADSs, small ADS trading volume compared to the turnover of H shares and administrative burden for performing reporting and disclosure. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) said on Friday that the delisting decision had been made out of these companies’ own business decisions. Nonetheless, given the identical timing, similar reasons provided and status of Central SOEs, one has to wonder if they were acting in concert with coordination from the Chinese authorities.  The other two Central SOEs controlled by the SACAC and on the SEC conclusive list, China Eastern Airlines (00670:xhkg/CEA:xnys) and China Southern Airlines (01055:xhkg/ZNH:xnys) will probably apply for ADS delisting soon as well.  Chinese internet and platform companies are the focus in the coming weeks  While these Central SOEs are thinly traded on the NYSE, the shares of Chinese internet and platform private enterprises, including Alibaba (09988:xhkg/BABA:xnys), Baidu (09888:xhkg/BIDU:xnas), Bilibili (09626:xhkg/BILI:xnas), JD.COM (09618:xhkg/JD:xnas), Pinduoduo (PDD:xnas), Sohu (SOHU:xnas), iQiyi (IQ:xnas), KE Holdings (BEKE:xnys), Weibo (09898:xhkg/WB:xnas), Tencent Music Entertainment (TME:xnys) are widely held and actively traded on the NYSE or Nasdaq.  For examples, Bilibili and Weibo have larger average daily turnover in Nasdaq than in the SEHK and Pinduoduo, iQiyi, KE Holdings, Sohu and are listed only on Nasdaq and Tencent Music on the NYSE.  Alibaba is on the provisional list and the other names above are on the conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCAA. All of them will be subject to mandatory delisting from the NYSE or Nasdaq if the Chinese and U.S. regulators cannot reach an agreement to resolve the audit work paper inspection issue in the coming months.  Given these internet and platform companies hold a huge amount of potentially sensitive data of hundreds of millions of Chinese individuals as well as numerous private as well as public enterprises and institutions, the plausibility of the Chinese government being willing to make a concession to the SEC and PCAOB regarding the latter’s unfiltered access to audit work papers of these companies is getting increasingly slim in the midst of pervasive Sino-American strategic competition.  Through the voluntary delisting of nstitutional money which is restricted by their investment mandates and retail investors who tend to have a home bias will unload their holdings instead of exchanging their ADSs for H shares.  In the case of those companies that do not yet have a listing in the SEHK, the uncertainty and disruption will be even more significant.  The southbound stock connect flows of money from mainland investors may mitigate somewhat the impact but some turbulence initially can probably be expected.   Source: China Update: State-owned giants seek to delist from the New York Stock Exchange
The Commodity Sector Has Dropped Significantly

People Are Buying Gold. SIlver And Copper Stopped? Crude Oil Weakness

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 16.08.2022 09:23
Summary:  Our weekly Commitment of Traders update highlights future positions and changes made by hedge funds and other speculators across commodities and forex during the week to August 9. A relatively quiet week where a continued improvement in risk appetite drove stocks higher while softening the dollar. Some commodity positions, with crude oil the major exceptions, showed signs of having reached a trough following weeks of heavy selling Saxo Bank publishes weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial. Link to latest report This summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities and forex during the week to August 9. A relatively quiet summer holiday impacted week where stocks traded higher ahead of last week’s CPI and PPI print after better than expected economic data helped reduce US recession fears while the market was looking for inflation to roll over. The dollar traded a tad softer, bond yields firmed up while commodities showed signs of having reached a trough following weeks of heavy selling.    Commodities Hedge funds were net buyers for a second week with demand concentrated in metals and agriculture while the energy sector saw continued selling. Overall the net long across 24 major commodity futures rose for a second week after recently hitting a two-year low. Buying was concentrated in gold, platinum, corn and livestock with crude oil and wheat being to most notable contracts seeing net selling. Energy: Speculators responded to continued crude oil weakness by cutting bullish bets in WTI and Brent crude by a combined 14% to a pre-Covid low at 304.5k lots. The reductions were primarily driven by long liquidation in both contracts following a demand fear driven breakdown in prices. Gas oil and gasoline longs were also reduced. Metals: Buying of metals extended to a second week led by gold which saw a 90% jump in the net long to 58.2k lots. Overall, net short positions were maintained in silver, platinum and copper with the latter seing a small amount of fresh selling due to profit taking on recently established longs. Agriculture: Grains were mixed with corn and soybeans seeing continued buying ahead of Friday's WASDE  report while the CBOT corn net short jumped 36% to 20k lotsand the Kansas net long was cut to a two-year low. The total grain long rose for second week having stabilised around 300k lots having collapse from a near record 800k lot on April 22.Soft commodities saw elevated short positions in sugar and cocoa being maintained with price gains in coffee and not least cotton supporting a small increase in their respective net longs. This before Friday's surge in cotton which left it up 13% on the week after the US Department of Agriculture slashed the US crop forecast by 19% to a 12-year low. Driven by a high level of abandonment of fields in the drought-stricken Southwest.      Forex In the week to August 9 when the dollar traded close to unchanged against a basket of major currencies, speculators increased to three the number of weeks of continued dollar selling. The pace of selling even accelerated to the highest since January after the gross long against ten IMM futures and the Dollar Index was slashed by 20% to $17.4 billion, a nine week low. Most notable selling of the greenback was seen against GBP and JPY followed by EUR and CHF. The Japanese yen, under pressure for months as yield differentials to the dollar widened saw its net short being cut by 22% to a 17-month low.     What is the Commitments of Traders report? The COT reports are issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the ICE Exchange Europe for Brent crude oil and gas oil. They are released every Friday after the U.S. close with data from the week ending the previous Tuesday. They break down the open interest in futures markets into different groups of users depending on the asset class. Commodities: Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap dealers, Managed Money and otherFinancials: Dealer/Intermediary; Asset Manager/Institutional; Leveraged Funds and otherForex: A broad breakdown between commercial and non-commercial (speculators) The reasons why we focus primarily on the behavior of the highlighted groups are: They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming  Source: COT: Speculators cut oil long to pre-covid low
China: PMI positively surprises the market

Hurtful News For Chinese Economy... Is China Able To Get Up? US Use The Situation

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 16.08.2022 09:40
Summary:  The weaker-than-expected economic data from China caught much of the attention and dragged U.S. bond yields and commodities lower. U.S. equities have been in a 4-week rally. Investors are weighing if the U.S. economy is heading into a soft-landing or a recession and if the Chinese economy can recover in the coming months. What is happening in markets? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  U.S. equities opened lower on weak economic data prints from China as well as a weaker-than-expected Empire State manufacturing survey but climbed towards midday and finished higher. S&P 500 rose 0.4%. Nine of its 11 sectors gained, with shares of consumer staples and utilities outperforming. Nasdaq 100 rose 0.75%, led by a 3% jump in Tesla (TSLA:xnas).  U.S. treasury yields fell Treasury yields fell across the front end to the belly of the curve after a bunch of weak economic data from China and the Empire State manufacturing survey came in at -31.3, much weaker than 5.0 expected. Two-year yields fell by 7bps to 3.17% and 10-year yields declined 5bps to 2.78%.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equities tried to move higher in early trading but soon reversed and turned south, Hang Seng -0.7%, CSI300 -0.1%.   The People’s Bank of China cut its policy on Monday but the unexpected move did not stir up much market excitement. The visit of another delegation of US lawmakers to Taiwan within 12 days of Speaker Pelosi’s visit stirred up concerns about the tension in the Sino-American relationship.   Container liner, Orient Overseas (00316:xhkg) plunged nearly 15%.   Stocks that have a dual listing of ADRs, in general, declined on Monday’s trading in Hong Kong following Friday’s decisions for five central SOEs to apply for delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, PetroChina (00857:xhkg/PTR:xnys) -3.4%, Sinopec (00386:xhkg/SNP:xnys) -2.9%, Alibaba (09988:xhkg/BABA:xnys) -1.2, Baidu (09888:xhkg/BIDU:xnas) -1%, Bilibili (09626:xhkg/BILI:xnas) -1%. SMIC (00981:xhkg) dropped more than 6% on analyst downgrades.  Chinese property names dropped as home prices continued to fall in China.  USD broadly firmer against G10 FX, expect JPY The US dollar started the week on the front foot, amid a weaker risk sentiment following a miss in China’s activity data and the disappointing US manufacturing and housing sentiments. The only outlier was the JPY, with USDJPY sliding to lows of 132.56 at one point before reversing the drop. The 131.50 level remains a key area of support for USDJPY and a bigger move in the US yields remains necessary to pierce through that level. The commodity currencies were the hardest hit, with AUDUSD getting in close sight of 0.7000 ahead of the RBA minutes due this morning. NZDUSD also plunged from 0.6450 to 0.6356. The Chinese yuan weakened and bond yields fell after disappointing economic data and surprising rate cuts USDCNH jumped more than 1% from 6.7380 to as high as 6.8200 on Monday following the weak credit data from last Friday, disappointing industrial production, retail sales, and fixed assets investment data released on Monday morning, and unexpected rate cuts by the People’s Bank of China. The 10-year Chinese government bond yield fell 8bps to 2.67%, the lowest level since April 2020, and about 20bps below the yield of 10-year U.S. treasury notes. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Crude oil prices had a variety of headwinds to deal with both on the demand and the supply side. While demand concerns were aggravated due to the weak China data, and the drop in US Empire State manufacturing – both signaling a global economic slowdown may be in the cards – supply was also seen as being possibly ramped up. There were signs of a potential breakthrough in talks with Iran as Tehran said it sent a reply to the EU's draft nuclear deal and expects a response within two days. Meanwhile, Aramco is also reportedly ramping up production. WTI futures dropped back below $90 while Brent touched $95/barrel. Metals face the biggest brunt of China data weakness Copper led the metals pack lower after China’s domestic activity weakened in July, which has raised the fears of a global economic slowdown as the zero-Covid policy is maintained. Meanwhile, supply side issues in Europe also cannot be ignored with surging power prices putting economic pressure on smelters, and many of them running at a loss. This could see further cuts to capacity over the coming months. Iron ore futures were also down. What to consider? Weak Empire State manufacturing survey and NAHB Index Although a niche measure, the United States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index, compiled by the New York Federal Reserve, fell to -31.3 from 11.1 in July, its lowest level since May 2020 and its sharpest monthly drop since the early days of the pandemic. New orders and shipments plunged, and unfilled orders also declined, albeit less sharply. Other key areas of concern were the rise in inventories and a decline in average hours worked. This further weighed on the sentiment after weak China data had already cast concerns of a global growth slowdown earlier. Meanwhile, the US NAHB housing market index also saw its eighth consecutive monthly decline as it slid 6 points to 49 in August. July housing starts and building permits are scheduled to be reported later today, and these will likely continue to signal a cooling demand amid the rising mortgage rates as well as overbuilding. European power price soared to record high European power prices continue to surge to fresh record highs amid gas flow vagaries, threatening a deeper plunge into recession. Next-year electricity rates in Germany advanced as much as 3.7% to 477.50 euros ($487) a megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange AG. That’s almost six times as much as this time last year, with the price doubling in the past two months alone. UK power prices were also seen touching record highs. European Dutch TTF natural gas futures were up over 6%, suggesting more pain ahead for European utility companies. China’s activity data China’s July industrial production (3.8% YoY vs consensus 4.3% & June 3.9%), retail sales (2.7% YoY vs consensus 4.9% & June 3.1%), and fixed asset investments (5.7% YTD vs consensus 6.2% & June 6.1%) released this more were weak across the board.  Property investment growth dropped to -6.4% YTD or -12.3% YoY in July, well below market expectations of -5.7% YTD.  Surprising rate cuts from the PBOC met with muted market reactions The People’s Bank of China cut its policy 1-year Medium-term Lending Facility Rate by 10bps to 2.75% from 2.85% and the 7-day reverse repo rate by 10bps to 2.0% from 2.1%.  Market reactions to the surprising move were muted as credit demand, as reflected in the aggregate financing and loan growth data was weak in China. BHP ‘s FY22 results better than expected The Australian mining giant reported FY22 results beating analyst estimates with strong EBITDA and EBITDA margin. Coal segment performance was ahead of expectations while results from the copper and iron ore segments were slightly below expectations.  The company announced a larger-than-expected dividend payout and a higher capex plan for 2023. RBA minutes due to be released this morning Earlier in the month, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the cash rate by 50bps to 1.85% and the accompanying Statement on Monetary Policy emphasized an uncertain and data-dependent outlook. The RBA releases its minutes from the July meeting today, and the market focus will be on the range of options discussed for the August hike and any hint of future interest rate path.  US retailer earnings eyed After disappointing results last quarter, focus is on Walmart and Home Depot earnings later today. These will put the focus entirely on the US consumer after the jobs data this month highlighted a still-tight labor market while the inflation picture saw price pressures may have peaked. It would also be interesting to look at the inventory situation at these retailers, and any updated reports on the status of the global supply chains.     For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast. Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 16, 2022
Saxo Bank Podcast: The Upcoming Bank Of Japan Meeting, A Look At Crude Oil, Copper And More

Japanese Yen (JPY) Rise. Energy Prices Are Finally Falling!?

John Hardy John Hardy 16.08.2022 10:05
Summary:  Weak data out of China overnight, together with a surprise rate cut from the PBOC and collapsing energy prices later on Monday saw the Japanese yen surging higher across the board. Indeed, the two key factors behind its descent to multi-decade lows earlier this year, rising yields and surging energy prices, have eased considerably since mid-June with only modest reaction from the yen thus far. Is that about to change? FX Trading focus: JPY finding sudden support on new disinflation narrative Weaker than expected Chinese data overnight brought a surprise rate cut from the Chinese central bank and seems to have sparked a broadening sell-off in commodities, which was boosted later by a crude oil drop of some five dollars per barrel on the news that Iran will decide by midnight tonight on whether to accept a new draft on the nuclear deal forward by the Euro zone. In response, the Chinese yuan has weakened toward the highs for the cycle in USDCNH, trading 6.78+ as of this writing and  (there was a spike high to 6.381 back in May but the exchange rate has been capped by 6.80 since then), but the Japanese yen is stealing the volatility and strength crown, surging sharply across the board and following up on the move lower inspired by the soft US CPI data point. US long yields easing considerably lower after an odd spike last Thursday are a further wind at the JPY’s back here. In the bigger picture, it has been rather remarkable that the firm retreat in global long-date yields since the mid-June peak and the oil price backing down a full 25% and more from the cycle highs didn’t do more to support the yen from the yield-spread angle (Bank of Japan’s YCC policy less toxic as yields fall) and from the current account angle for Japan. Interestingly, while the JPY has surged and taken USDJPY down several notches, the US dollar is rather firm elsewhere, with the focus more on selling pro-cyclical and commodity currencies on the possible implication that China may be content to export deflation by weakening its currency now that commodity prices have come down rather than on selling the US dollar due to any marking down of Fed expectations. Still, while the USD may remain a safe haven should JPY volatility be set to run amok across markets, the focus is far more on the latter as long as USDJPY is falling Chart: EURJPY As the JPY surges here, EURJPY is falling sharply again, largely tracking the trajectory of longer European sovereign yields, which never really rose much from their recent lows from a couple of weeks back, making it tough to understand the solid rally back above 138.00 of late. After peaking above 1.90% briefly in June, the German 10-year Bund, for example, is trading about 100 basis points lower and is not far from the cycle low daily close at 77 basis points. The EURJPY chart features a rather significant pivot area at 133.50, a prior major high back in late 2021 and the recent low and 200-day moving average back at the beginning of the month. After a brief JPY volatility scare in late July and into early August that faded, are we set for a second and bigger round here that takes USDJPY down through 130.00 and EURJPY likewise? A more significant rally in long US treasuries might be required to bring about a real JPY rampage. Source: Saxo Group The focus on weak Chinese data and key commodity prices like copper suddenly losing altitude after their recent rally has the Aussie shifting to the defensive just after it was showing strength late last week in sympathy with strong risk sentiment and those higher commodity prices. Is the AUDUSD break above 0.7000-25 set for a high octane reversal here? AUDJPY is worth a look as well after it managed to surge all the way back toward the top of the range before. The idea that a weak Chine might export deflation from here might be unsettling for Aussie bulls. The US macro data focus for the week is on today’s NAHB homebuilder’s survey, which plunged to a low since 2015 in June (not including the chaotic early 2020 pandemic breakout months), the July Housing Starts and Building Permits and then the July Retail Sales and FOMC minutes on Wednesday. With a massive relief in gasoline prices from the July spike high, it will be interesting to see whether the August US data picks up again on the services side. The preliminary August University of Michigan sentiment survey release on Friday showed expectations rising sharply by over 7 points from the lowest since-1980 lows of June, while the Present Situation measure dropped a few points back toward the cycle (and record) lows from May. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength. The JPY is the real story today, but as our trending measures employ some averaging/smoothing, the move will need to stick what it has achieved today to show more. Watch out for a big shift in the commodity currencies in coming days as well if today’s move is the start of something. Elsewhere, the JPY comeback is merely taking CHF from strength to strength, although even the might franc has dropped against the JPY today. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs. Big momentum shift afoot today and watching whether this holds and the JPY pairs and pairs like AUDUSD and USDCAD to see if we are witnessing a major momentum shift in themes here. Also note NOK pairs like USDNOK and EURNOK here. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1400 – US Aug. NAHB Housing Market Index 0130 – Australia RBA Meeting Minutes Source: FX Update: JPY jumps on deflating energy prices, fresh retreat in yields.
Oanda Podcast: US Jobs Report, SVB Financial Fallout And More

US Giving More Manufacturing Jobs This Year But The Production Disappoints

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 16.08.2022 10:30
After two-quarters of contraction, many still do not accept that the US economy is in a recession  Federal Reserve officials have pushed against it, as has Treasury Secretary Yellen. The nearly 530k rise in July nonfarm rolls, more than twice the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey, and a new cyclical low in unemployment (3.5%) lent credibility to their arguments. If Q3 data point to a growing economy, additional support will likely be found.   While the interest rate-sensitive housing sector may still feel the squeeze, we note that activity is at historically strong levels  Housing starts are expected to have fallen for the third consecutive month in July. That would be the longest decline since the last four months of 2018. However, around 1.5 mln annualized pace, starts are still elevated. Permits, which are leading indicators, are holding up even better. They peaked at the end of last year a little below 1.9 mln and may have fallen to around 1.65 mln in July. Since the Great Financial Crisis, they were above 1.5 mln only once (October 2019). before the surge began in mid-2020. Existing home sales have come off a bit more  They are expected to have fallen for the sixth consecutive month in July. It is the worst streak since 2013. Indeed, they are likely to fall below the 5 mln annualized mark for the first time since January 2019. Elevated mortgage rates are the highest since 2008 and have squeezed buyers while rising inventories have sparked some anecdotes about price cuts. The number of houses for sale rose for the first time in three years, around three months at the current pace of sales. Below five months of inventory is regarded as tight by realtors. Of interest, first-time buyers accounted for almost a third of the sales in June. Cash sales accounted for a quarter of all transactions in June. Houses were on the market for an average of two weeks last month, the shortest for more than a decade. Recall that new home sales are recorded on contract signings, while the existing home sales are counted on closes.   While the housing market is softening, consumption and output appear to have begun Q3 on solid footing  Retail sales, which account for around 40% of consumption, are expected to have edged by 0.1%-0.2% after a 1.0% rise in June. The drop in gasoline prices will likely be seen here and weigh on the retail sales, which are reported in nominal terms. Core retail sales, which excludes auto, gasoline, building materials, and food services, are expected to have risen 0.6% after 0.8% in June. More people working and earning a little bit more (on average), i.e., the income effect should help underpin consumption.   Manufacturers added 30k people to their payrolls in July, the most in three months and matching last year's average pace  The US has added more manufacturing jobs through July than it did in the same period a year ago (273k vs. 161k). Manufacturing output has disappointed. It fell by 0.5% in both May and June. The decline in vehicle and parts output may have been partially reversed in July amid a recovery in auto sales. Higher commodity prices encouraged mining output in May and June (1.2% and 1.7%, respectively). It may have slowed as commodity prices fell in July. The scorching summer and demand for air conditioning likely boosted utility output, which had fallen in June (-1.4%).  On a year-over-year basis, industrial output often contracts into a recession but not always before the start of the recession  Through June, it has risen by almost 4.2%. The capacity utilization rate is expected to have above 80.0% for the fourth consecutive month. That would match the last cyclical peak in 2018, the longest since the Great Financial Crisis. Utilization rates fall sharply during a recession. In two of the last three recessions, capacity usage fell before the downturn was dated. In the Financial Crisis, the peak coincided with the start of the recession. The US also reports the capital flow data for June (TIC on August 15) While a favorite of reporters and analysts, it is not a market mover. Through May, net long-term foreign capital inflows have been a little more than $465 bln., which is about an 8.5% increase from a year ago. Finally, the Empire State Survey August 15) and the Philadelphia Fed surveys (August 18), the first look into August aside for the weekly jobs claims and mortgage applications. The market appears to put more weight on some components of the Philly survey.   Three economic releases from Japan will draw attention  Japan reports its first estimate of Q2 GDP to kick off the week. The world's third-largest economy contracted at an annualized rate of  0.5% in Q1 but is expected to have rebounded to 2.7% in Q2. That translates into a 0.7% quarterly expansion (seasonally adjusted) after shrinking by 0.1% in Q1. Consumption and business investment rebounded. Inventories were likely unwound. After rising 0.5% in Q1, the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey looks for a 0.3% decline. The GDP deflator has been negative for the past five quarters. It was at -0.5% in Q1, but economists (Bloomberg survey) project a decline to -0.8%.  Despite the GDP deflator still showing deflation's grip, the July CPI (August 19) is likely to show inflation continues to rise above the BOJ's target  It targets the CPI, excluding fresh food, at 2.0%. It stood at 2.2% in June and is likely to have ticked up a little in July. The Tokyo CPI has already been reported. The core measure rose to 2.3% from 2.1%. Tokyo's headline rate increased to 2.5% from 2.3%, and the measure excluding food and energy crept up to 1.2% from 1.0%.  July trade figures will be reported on August 17 Japan is experiencing a  massive terms-of-trade shock. In the first half of this year, Japan reported a JPY7.94 trillion (~$59 bln) deficit. In H1 21,  it had a trade surplus of about JPY810 bln (~$6 bln). The problem is not with merchandise exports. In June, they were up almost a fifth from last year, when they were by nearly 50% over 2020. Imports have surged with food and energy prices. Merchandise imports had risen 46% above the year-ago level in June, and that is after an increase by a third from June 2020.   The UK and Canada report July retail sales and CPI  The UK also publishes its latest employment report, while Canada updates housing starts and portfolio flows. The data poses headline risk, but the macroeconomic backdrop is unlikely to change significantly. The Bank of England warns that the economy will enter a protracted recession that will carry into 2024. The Bloomberg survey found that the median forecast assessed a 45% probability of a recession over the next 12 months.   UK's labor market is fairly strong, and the unemployment rate is at 3.8%, having bottomed at 3.7% in March, the lowest level since 1974. Inflation is rising, and the base effect underscores the upside risk. Last July, CPI was unchanged on the month.   While wage growth may be strong, it is insufficient to cover the rising cost of living and this squeezing consumption June was the first month since October 2021 that retail sales, excluding gasoline, rose. However, UK retail sales, reported in volume terms, have fallen an average of 0.5% a month over the past 12 months. If there is going to be relief for the UK household, it will have to come from the new government. The Bank of England has one objective. Bring down inflation. The swaps market has discounted almost an 85% chance of another 50 bp increase to 2.25% at the September 15 meeting. It sees a year-end rate of around 2.80%, implying nearly 75 bp hikes in Q4.   Canada's labor market improvement is stalling, and it looks like the economy is too The monthly GDP downshifted from 0.7-0.8% in February and March to 0.3% in April and flat in May. Retail sales have been strong, flattered by rising prices. Through May, they have increased by an average of 1.5% a month. The average in the first five months of 2021 was 0.6. Canadian inflation accelerated to 8.1% in June and may have slowed in July for the first time since June 2021. Underlying core measures are expected to have stayed firm. Last month, the Bank of Canada surprised the market with a 100 bp hike in the overnight lending rate to 2.50%. The swaps market briefly took the possibility of a 75 bp hike at the September 7 meeting very seriously but now has slightly better than a 40% chance.  In Australia, the labor market is in focus  It added 60k full-time positions on average a month in Q2 after a 50.5k average in Q1. The pace is likely to moderate. The participation rate of 66.8% set in June was a record high. The unemployment rate of 3.5% was also a record low. There are some signs that the overall economy may be losing some momentum. Still, with CPI accelerating from 5.1% in Q1 to 6.1% in Q2, the Reserve Bank of Australia is tightening policy. After delivering the first hike in May of 25 bp, it lifted the cash target rate in 50 bp clips in June through August. Speculation of another 50 bp hike at the September 6 meeting is seen as slightly better than even money.  The Reserve Bank of New Zealand meets on August 17  It will most likely deliver the seventh hike in the cycle that began last October. After three quarter-point moves, it delivered three 50 bp hikes. The cash target rate now stands at 2.50%. With Q2 inflation rising faster than expected (7.3% year-over-year), unemployment low (3.3% in Q2; record low set last December at 3.2%), more forceful action is possible. However, the swaps market judges it unlikely and has about a 90% chance of a 50 bp hike reflected in current prices. The New Zealand dollar is strong, at its best level in two months, but maybe too strong. Although it closed firmly ahead for the weekend, it looks stretched from a technical perspective, perhaps signaling a "buy the rumor, sell the fact" type of activity.  Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, meets on August 18  A few hours after Norway reports Q2 GDP, Norges Bank makes its rate announcement. Typically, it prefers to adjust policy when it updates its economic assessment, similar in this regard to the European Central Bank. However, last week's CPI shock heightens the risk it breaks from the pattern. Headline CPI jumped 1.3% in July, lifting the year-over-year rate to 6.8%. The median forecast (Bloomberg's survey) was for an unchanged 6.3% pace. The underlying rate, which excludes energy and adjusts for tax changes, surged by 1.5%, nearly twice as much as expected. As a result, the year-over-year change was boosted to 4.5% from 3.6%.   The deposit rate stands at 1.25%  Norges Bank began the tightening cycle last September but has raised it by a cumulative 125 bp. However, among the high-income countries in Europe, only the UK's policy rate is higher. Sweden's inflation is higher at 8.5% (July from 8.7% in June), and its policy rate is 50 bp less than Norway. Since June 16, the day after the FOMC meeting that results in the first 75 bp rate hike, the Norwegian krone has been the strongest major currency, gaining 3.9% against the US dollar and 6.8% against the euro. Look for the dollar to correct higher, even if a 50 bp hike is delivered.    Disclaimer   Source: Week Ahead: More Evidence US Consumption and Output are Expanding, and RBNZ and Norges Bank to Hike
China's Deflationary Descent: Implications for Global Markets

Dollar (USD) Comes Back? Latin America's Currencies Perfomance

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 16.08.2022 10:58
The bullish dollar narrative was fairly straightforward  Yes, the US main challengers, China and Russia, have been hobbled in different ways by self-inflicted injuries. Still, the driver of the dollar was the expected aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve. The market accepted that after being a bit slower than ideal (though faster and before many other large central banks), the Fed would move forcefully against inflation, even if it diminished the chances of an economic soft-landing.   However, now the market seems to have a different reaction function  The euro was impressively resilient after the job growth of more than twice expectations. However, the softer than expected US CPI sent the dollar broadly lower, inflicting some apparent technical damage to the charts.  We are reluctant to chase the dollar lower and impressed in a week that the US reported a decline in CPI and PPI that the 10-year bond yield closed a few basis points higher and the first back-to-back weekly increase in two months Technically, it seems that the dollar's pullback, nearly a month-old, move is getting maybe getting stretched. We will try to identify levels that could confirm another leg lower and what would suggest the US dollar may snap back.   Dollar Index:   After reaching almost 107.00 after the stronger than expected jobs data, the Dollar Index fell to almost 104.65 in response to the softer than expected CPI. It was the lowest level since the end of June. The MACD is still falling but oversold. The Slow Stochastic looks poised to turn lower from the middle of the range. Nevertheless, we like it higher in the coming days. We target 106.30 and then 107.00. A move above 107.50 could signal a return to the highs near 109.30 from mid-July. That said, a close below 105.00 would boost the risk of another leg lower.  Euro:  The euro rallied strongly after the softer US CPI, but a key trendline drawn off the February, March, and June highs begins the new week near $1.0375 remains unchallenged. Although the momentum indicators allow for additional gains, we look for the euro to push lower in the coming days. Only a move above the trendline would give it new life. We think the greater likelihood is for the single currency to initially ease toward $1.0180-$1.0200. It may take a break of $1.01 to signal a return to the 20-year low set in mid-July near $0.9950. The US two-year premium over Germany narrowed every day last week for a cumulative 11 bp to near 2.66%. Italy's premium over Germany was trimmed by six basis points. It was the third week of convergence, but at 0.75%, it is still nearly twice what it was in June. Japanese Yen:  The greenback was pushed away from JPY135 by the decline in US rates after the CPI figures. It was sold to about JPY131.75, holding above the month's low set on August 2 near JPY130.40. However, US rates closed firmer on the week despite three softer-than-expected price reports (CPI, PPI, and import/export prices). As a result, the greenback looks poised to test the JPY135.00-50 ceiling. A move above JPY136 would target the JPY137.50 area. We have emphasized the strong correlation between changes in the exchange rate and the US 10-year yield. That correlation is off its highs though still above 0.50, while the correlation with the US two-year yield has risen toward 0.65, the highest in five months.  British Pound:   Sterling rose to $1.2275 in the broad US dollar sell-off in the middle of last week. It stalled in front of the high set on August 2, a little shy of $1.23. This sets up a potential double top formation with a neckline at $1.20. A break would re-target the two-year low set in July near $1.1760. The MACD is set to turn down. The Slow Stochastic is going sideways in the middle of the range after pulling back earlier this month. Sentiment seems poor, and in the week ahead, the UK is expected to report some easing in the labor market, accelerating consumer prices, and another decline in retail sales. Canadian Dollar:   The US dollar fell to near a two-month low last week slightly below CAD1.2730, and slipped through the 200-day moving average on an intraday basis for the first time since June 9. The test of the (61.8%) retracement of this year's rally (early April low ~CAD1.2400 and the mid-July high ~CAD1.3225) found near CAD1.2715 was successful. The US dollar recovered ahead of the weekend back to the CAD1.2800 area. Although the momentum indicators give room for further US dollar losses, we suspect a near-term low is in place and look for an upside correction toward CAD1.2850-CAD1.2900. The Canadian dollar remains sensitive to the immediate risk environment reflected in the change in the S&P 500. The correlation over the past 30 sessions is a little better than 0.60. The correlation reached a two-year high in June near 0.80. The exchange rate's correlation (30 sessions) with oil prices (WTI) set this year's high in early August near 0.60. It is now slightly below 0.50.  Australian Dollar:   Although our bias is for the US dollar to correct higher, the Aussie does not line up quite as well. It broke above the high set at the start of the month near $0.7050 and has held above it. However, its surge stalled slightly above $0.7135, and it consolidated in a narrow range around $0.7100 ahead of the weekend. The momentum indicators are constructive. The main hurdle is the 200-day moving average near $0.7150 and the (50%) retracement of this year's decline (~$0.7660 in early April and ~$6680 in mid-July) found near $0.7170. A break of this area could see a return to the June high by $0.7285.   Mexican Peso:   Latin American currencies had a good week, except for the Argentine peso, which fell by more than 1%, for the dubious honor of being the poorest performer in the emerging markets. Led by Chile (+3.9%) and the Colombian peso (3.8%), Latam currencies accounted for half of the top five performers last week. The peso's 2.7% gain was its best in five months, and the dollar was sold a little through MXN19.85, its lowest level since late June when it reached almost MXN19.82.There seems little to prevent a move toward MXN19.50. Any worries that AMLO's appointments to the central bank would block aggressive tightening of monetary policy must have evaporated as Banxico demonstrated a resolve to hike rates and shadow the US.  Chinese Yuan:   The yuan took a step lower from mid-April until mid-May. Since then, it has been trading within the range more or less seen in the second half of May. That dollar range is roughly CNY6.650 to CNY6.77. For the past month, the dollar has traded between CNY6.72 and CNY6.78, fraying the upper end of the broader range after the greenback surged broadly after the US employment data. Policymakers have signaled concern about inflation and its reluctance to ease monetary policy. It would seem the domestic policy efforts might favor a firm yuan.     Disclaimer   Source: Is the Dollar's Month-Long Pullback Over?
Saxo Bank Podcast: Natural Gas On Colder Weather, Wheat And Coffee Under Pressure, JPY Weaker And More

Natgas Fought Back And Now Have A Solid Position! Iron And Copper Are Out Of Fashion!?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 16.08.2022 14:19
Overview: After retreating most of last week, the US dollar has extended yesterday’s gains today. The Canadian dollar is the most resilient, while the New Zealand dollar is leading the decline with a nearly 0.75% drop ahead of the central bank decision first thing tomorrow. The RBNZ is expected to deliver its fourth consecutive 50 bp hike. Most emerging market currencies are lower as well, led by central Europe. Equities in Asia Pacific and Europe are mostly higher today. Japan and Hong Kong were exceptions, and China was mixed with small gains in Shanghai and Shenzhen composites, but the CSI 300 slipped. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is stretching its advance for the fifth consecutive session. It is at two-month highs. US futures are softer. The US 10-year yield is slightly firmer near 2.80%, while European benchmark yields are mostly 2-4 bp higher, but Italian bonds are under more pressure and the yield is back above the 3% threshold. Gold is softer after being repulsed from the $1800 area to test $1773-$1775. A break could signal a test on the 20-day moving average near $1761. October WTI tested last week’s lows yesterday near $86 a barrel on the back of the poor Chinese data. It is straddling the 200-day moving average (~$87.95). The market is also watching what seems like the final negotiations with Iran, where a deal could also boost supply. US natgas prices are more than recouping the past two days of losses and looks set to challenge the $9 level. Europe’s benchmark leapt 11.7% yesterday and is up another 0.5% today. Iron ore has yet to a base after falling more than 5.5% in the past two sessions. It fell almost 0.65% today. September copper has fallen by almost 2.5% over the past two sessions and is steady today. Lastly, September wheat is slipping back below $8 a bushel and is trading heavily for the third consecutive session. Asia Pacific Japan's 2.2% annualized growth in Q2 does not stand in the way of a new government support package  Prime Minister Kishida has been reportedly planning new measures and has instructed the cabinet to pull it together by early next month. He wants to cushion the blow of higher energy and food prices. An extension of the subsidy to wholesalers to keep down the gasoline and kerosene prices looks likely. Kishida wants to head off a surge in wheat prices. Without a commitment to maintain current import prices of wheat that is sold to millers, the price could jump 20% in October, according to reports. Separately, and more controversially, Kishida is pushing for the re-opening of nine nuclear plants that have passed their safety protocols, which have been shut since the 2011 Fukushima accident.  The minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting earlier this month signaled additional rate hikes will be forthcoming  After three half--point hikes, it says that the pace going forward will be determined by inflation expectations and the evolving economic conditions. The minutes noted that consumer spending is an element of uncertainty given the higher inflation and interest rates. Earlier today, the CBA's household spending report shows a 1.1% jump month-over-month in July and a 0.6% increase in June. The RBA wants to bring the cash target rate to neutral (~2.50%). The target rate is currently at 1.85% and the cash rate futures is pricing in about a 40% chance of a 50 bp hike at the next RBA meeting on September 6. It peaked near 60% last week. On Thursday, Australia reports July employment. Australia grew 88.4k jobs in June, of which almost 53k were full-time positions. The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey envisions a 25k increase of jobs in July.  The offshore yuan slumped 1.15% yesterday  It was the biggest drop since August 2019 and was sparked by the unexpected cut in rates after a series of disappointing economic data. The US dollar reached almost CNH6.82 yesterday, its highest level in three months. It has steadied today but remains firm in the CNH6.7925-CNH6.8190 range. China's 10-year yield is still under pressure. It finished last week quietly near 2.74% and yesterday fell to 2.66% and today 2.63%. It is the lowest since May 2020. As we have noted, the dollar-yen exchange rate seems to be more sensitive to the US 2-year yield (more anchored to Fed policy) than the 10-year yield (more about growth and inflation)  The dollar is trading near four-day highs against the yen as the two-year yield trades firmer near 3.20%. Initial resistance has been encountered in Europe near JPY134.00. Above there, the JPY134.60 may offer the next cap. Support now is seen around JPY133.20-40. The Australian dollar extended yesterday's decline and slipped through the $0.7000-level where A$440 mln in options expire today. It also corresponds with a (50%) retracement of the run-up form the mid-July low (~$0.6680). The next area of support is seen in the $0.6970-80 area. The greenback rose 0.45% against the onshore yuan yesterday after gapping higher. Today it gapped higher again and rose to almost CNY6.7975, its highest level since mid-May. It reached a high then near CNY6.8125. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.7730, slightly less than the median in Bloomberg's survey (CNY6.7736). The takeaway is the central bank did not seem to protest the weakness of the yuan. Europe The euro has been sold to a new seven-year low against the euro near CHF0.9600 The euro has been sold in eight of the nine weeks since the Swiss National Bank hiked its policy rate by 50 bp on June 16. Half of those weekly decline were 1% or larger. The euro has fallen around 7.4% against the franc since the hike. Swiss domestic sight deposit fell for 10 of 11 weeks through the end of July as the SNB did not appear to be intervening. However, in the last two weeks, as the franc continued to strengthen, the Swiss sight deposits have risen, and recorded their first back-to-back increase in four months. This is consistent with modest intervention. The UK added 160k jobs in Q2, almost half of the jobs gain in the three months through May, illustrating the fading momentum  Still, some 73k were added to the payrolls in July, well above expectations. In the three months through July, job vacancies in the UK fell (~19.8k) for the first time in nearly two years. Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose 5.1% in Q2. The median forecast was for a 4.5% increase. Yet, real pay, excluding bonuses and adjusted for inflation slid 3% in the April-June period, the most since at least 2001. The ILO measure of unemployment in Q2 was unchanged at 3.8%. The Bank of England warns it will rise to over 6%. The market still favors a 50 bp hike next month. The swaps market has it at a little better than an 80% probability. The euro is extending its retreat  It peaked last week, near $1.0365 and tested this month's low near $1.0125 in the European morning. The intraday momentum indicators are stretched, and that market does not appear to have the drive to challenge the 1.2 bln euros in options struck at $1.0075 that expire today. With yesterday's loss, the euro met the (50%) retracement objective of the bounce off the mid-July 22-year low (~$0.9950). The next retracement objective (61.8%) is near $1.0110. Nearby resistance may be met near $1.0160-70. Sterling has been sold for the fourth consecutive session. It approached the $1.20-level, which may be the neckline of a double top. If violated it could signal a return to the low seen in mid-July around $1.1760. Sterling is holding in better than the euro now. The cross peaked before the weekend in front of GBP0.8500 and is approaching GBP0.8400 today. A break would look ominous and could spur a return to the GBP0.8340 area. America The Empire State manufacturing survey and the manufacturing PMI line up well  Both bottomed in April 2020 and peaked in July 2021. The outsized decline in the August Empire State survey points to the downside risks of next week's preliminary August manufacturing PMI. Recall that the July manufacturing PMI fell to 52.2, its third consecutive decline and the lowest reading since July 2020. There was little good in the Empire survey. Orders and shipments fell dramatically. Employment was also soft. Prices paid softened to the lowest this year, but prices received edged higher. The US reports housing start and permits and industrial output today The housing market continues to slow from elevated levels. Housing starts are expected to have fallen 2% in July, matching the June decline. It would be the third consecutive decline, and the longest declining streak since 2018. Still, in terms of the absolute level of activity, anything above 1.5 mln units must still be regarded as strong. They stood at almost 1.56 mln in June. Permits fell by 10% in April-May before stabilizing in June. The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey projects a 3.3% decline. Permits were running at 1.685 mln in June. From April 2007 through September 2019, permits held below 1.5 mln. The industrial production report may attract more attention Output fell in June (-0.2%) for the first time this year, and even with it, industrial product has risen on average by 0.4% a month in H1 22, slightly above the pace seen in H1 21. Helped by manufacturing and utility output, industrial production is expected to rise by around 0.3%. In the last cycle, capacity use spent four months (August-November 2018) above 80%. It had not been above 80% since the run-up to the Great Financial Crisis when it spent December 2006 through March 2008 above the threshold and peaked slightly above 81.0%. Last month was likely the fourth month in this cycle above the 80% capacity use rate. Note that the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker will be updated later today. The update from August 10 put Q3 GDP at 2.5%. Housing starts in Canada likely slow last month, which would be the first back-to-back decline this year  The median forecast (Bloomberg's survey) calls for a 3.6% decline after an 8.4% fall in June. Still, the expected pace of 264k is still 10% higher since the end of last year. On Monday, Canada reported that July existing home sales fell by 5.3%, the fifth consecutive decline. They have fallen by more than a third since February. Canada also reports its monthly portfolios. Through May, Canada has experienced C$98.5 bln net portfolio inflows, almost double the pace seen in the first five months last year. However, the most important report today is the July CPI. A 0.1% increase, which is the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey would be the smallest of the year and the year-over-year pace to eased to 7.6% from 8.1%. If so, it is the first decline since June 2021. Similar with what the US reported, the core measures are likely to prove sticky. After the employment data on August 5, the swaps market was still leaning in favor a 75 bp hike at the September 7 meeting (64%). However, since the US CPI report, it has been hovering around a 40% chance. While the US S&P 500 rose reached almost four-month highs yesterday, the Canadian dollar found little consolation  It held in better than the other dollar-bloc currencies and Scandis, but it still suffered its biggest decline in about a month yesterday. The greenback reached almost CAD1.2935 yesterday and is consolidating in a narrow range today above CAD1.2890. The next important chart point is near CAD1.2975-85 and the CAD1.3050. After testing the MXN20.00 level yesterday, the US dollar was sold marginally through last week's low (~MXN19.8150). It is consolidating today and has not been above MXN19.8850. It has come a long way from the month's high set on August 3 near MXN20.8335. The greenback's downside momentum seems to have eased as it stalls in front of MXN19.81 for the third consecutive session.     Disclaimer   Source: Greenback Remains Firm
USA: People Are Not Interested In Buying New Houses! Equities Are Still Trading High As The Hopes For Iran Nuclear Deal Are Still Alive

USA: People Are Not Interested In Buying New Houses! Equities Are Still Trading High As The Hopes For Iran Nuclear Deal Are Still Alive

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 16.08.2022 14:00
Summary:  Equities traded higher still yesterday as treasury yields fell further back into the recent range and on hopes that an Iran nuclear deal will cement yesterday’s steep drop in oil prices. The latest data out of the US was certainly nothing to celebrate as the July US Homebuilder survey showed a further sharp drop in new housing interest and a collapse in the first regional US manufacturing survey for August, the New York Fed’s Empire Manufacturing.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures extended their gains yesterday getting closer to the 200-day moving average sitting around the 4,322 level. The US 10-year yield seems well anchored below 3% and financial conditions indicate that S&P 500 futures could in theory trade around 4,350. The news flow is light but earnings from Walmart later today could impact US equities should the largest US retailer lower their outlook for the US consumer. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equities were mixed. CSI300 was flat, with electric equipment, wind power, solar and auto names gained. Hang Seng Index declined 0.5%. Energy stocks fell on lower oil price. Technology names were weak overall, Hang Seng TECH Index (HSTECH.I) declined 0.9%. Sunny Optical (02382:xhkg) reported worse than expected 1H22 results, revenues -14.4% YoY, net profits -49.5%, citing weakening component demand from the smartphone industry globally. The company’s gross margin plunged to 20.8% from 24.9%. Li Auto’s (02015:xhkg/LI:xnas) Q2 results were in line with expectations but Q3 guidance disappointed. The launch L9 seems cannibalizing Li ONE sales. USD: strength despite weak US data and falling treasury yields and strong risk sentiment Yesterday, the JPY tried to make hay on China cutting rates and as global yields eased back lower, with crude oil marked several dollars lower on hopes for an Iran nuclear deal. But the move didn’t stick well in USDJPY, which shrugged off these developments as the USD firmed further across the board, despite treasury yields easing lower, weak data and still strong risk sentiment/easy financial conditions. A strong US dollar is in and of itself is a tightening of financial conditions, however, and yesterday’s action has cemented a bullish reversal in some pairs, especially EURUSD and GBPUSD, where the next important levels pointing to a test of the cycle lows are 1.0100 and 1.2000, respectively. Elsewhere, USDJPY remains in limbo (strong surge above 135.00 needed to suggest upside threat), USDCAD has posted a bullish reversal but needs 1.3000 for confirmation, and AUDUSD is teetering, but needs a close back below 0.7000 to suggest a resurgent US dollar and perhaps widening concerns that a Chinese recession will temper interest in the Aussie. Crude oil Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) trades lower following Monday’s sharp drop that was driven by a combination softer economic data from China and the US, the world’s top consumers of oil, and after Iran signaled a nuclear deal could be reached soon, raising the prospect of more Iranian crude reaching the market. The latest developments potentially reducing demand while adding supply forced recently established longs to bail and short sellers are once again in control. Brent needs to hold support at $93 in order to avoid further weakness towards $90. Focus on Iran news. Copper Copper (COPPERUSSEP22) led the metals pack lower, without breaking any key technical levels to the downside, after China’s domestic activity weakened in July. Meanwhile, supply side issues in Europe also cannot be ignored with surging power prices putting economic pressure on smelters, and many of them running at a loss. HG copper jumped 19% during the past month and yesterday’s setback did not challenge any key support level with the first being around $3.50/lb. BHP, the world’s top miner meanwhile hit record profits while saying that China is likely to offer a “tail wind” to global growth (see below). EU power prices hit record high on continued surge in gas prices ... threatening a deeper plunge into recession. The latest surge being driven by low water levels on Europe’s rivers obstructing the normal passage for diesel, coal, and other fuel products, thereby forcing utilities to use more gas European Dutch TTF benchmark gas futures (TTFMU2) has opened 5% higher at €231/MWh, around 15 times higher than the long-term average, suggesting more pain ahead for European utility companies. Next-year electricity rates in Germany (DEBYF3) closed 3.7% higher to 477.50 euros ($487) a megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange AG. That is almost six times as much as this time last year, with the price doubling in the past two months alone. UK power prices were also seen touching record highs. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) see long-end yields surging. Yields dipped back lower on weak US economic data, including a very weak Empire Manufacturing Survey (more below) and another sharp plunge in the NAHB survey of US home builders, suggesting a rapid slowdown in the housing market. The survey has historically proven a leading indicator on prices as well. The 10-year benchmark dipped back further into the range after threatening to break up higher last week. The choppy range extends down to 2.50% before a drop in yields becomes a more notable development, but tomorrow’s US Retail Sales and FOMC minutes offer the next test of sentiment. What is going on? Weak Empire State manufacturing survey and NAHB Index Although a niche and volatile measure, the United States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index, compiled by the New York Federal Reserve, fell to -31.3 from 11.1 in July, its lowest level since May 2020 and its sharpest monthly drop since the early days of the pandemic. New orders and shipments plunged, and unfilled orders also declined, albeit less sharply. Other key areas of concern were the rise in inventories and a decline in average hours worked. This further weighed on the sentiment after weak China data had already cast concerns of a global growth slowdown earlier. Meanwhile, the US NAHB housing market index also saw its eighth consecutive monthly decline as it slid 6 points to 49 in August. July housing starts and building permits are scheduled to be reported later today, and these will likely continue to signal a cooling demand amid the rising mortgage rates as well as overbuilding. China's CATL plans to build its second battery factory in Europe CATL unveiled plans to build a renewable energy-powered factory for car battery cells and modules in Hungary. It will invest EUR 7.34 billion (USD 7.5bn) on the 100-GWh facility, which will be its second one in Europe. To power the facility CATL will use electricity from renewable energy source, such as solar power. At present, CATL is in the process of commissioning its German battery production plant, which is expected to roll out its first cells and modules by the end of 2022. Disney (DIS) shares rise on activist investor interest Daniel Loeb of Third Point announced a significant new stake in Disney yesterday, helping to send the shares some 2.2% higher in yesterday’s session. The activist investor recommended that the company spin off its ESPN business to reduce debt and take full ownership of the Hulu streaming service, among other moves. Elliott exits SoftBank Group The US activist fund sold its stake in SoftBank earlier this year in a sign that large investors are scaling back on their investments in technology growth companies with long time to break-even. In a recent comment, SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi Son used more cautious words regarding the investment company’s future investments in growth companies. BHP reports its highest ever profit, bolstered by coal BHP posted a record profit of $21.3bn supported by considerable gains in coal, nickel and copper prices during the fiscal year ending 30 June 2022. Profits jumped 26% compared to last year’s result. The biggest driver was a 271% jump in the thermal coal price, and a 43% spike in the nickel price. The world’s biggest miner sees commodity demand improving in 2023, while it also sees China emerging as a source of stable commodity demand in the year ahead. BHP sees supply covering demand in the near-term for copper and nickel. According to the company iron ore will likely remain in surplus through 2023. In an interview Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry said: Long-term outlook for copper, nickel and potash is really strong because of “unstoppable global trends: decarbonization, electrification, population growth, increasing standards of living,” What are we watching next? Australia Q2 Wage Index tonight to determine future RBA rate hike size? The RBA Minutes out overnight showed a central bank that is trying to navigate a “narrow path” for keeping the Australian economy on an “even keel”. The RBA has often singled out wages as an important risk for whether inflation risks becoming more embedded and on that note, tonight sees the release of the Q2 Wage Index, expected to come in at 2.7% year-on-year after 2.4% in Q1. A softer data point may have the market pulling back expectations for another 50 basis point rate hike at the next RBA meeting after the three consecutive moves of that size. The market is about 50-50 on the size of the RBA hike in September, pricing a 35 bps move. RBNZ set to decelerate its guidance after another 50 basis point move tonight? The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike its official cash rate another 50 basis points tonight, taking the policy rate to 3.00%. With business and consumer sentiment surveys in the dumps in New Zealand and oil prices retreating sharply the RBNZ, one of the earliest among developed economies to tighten monetary policy starting late last year, may be set for more cautious forward guidance and a wait and see attitude, although wages did rise in Q2 at their second fastest pace (+2.3% QoQ) in decades. The market is uncertain on the future course of RBNZ policy, pricing 44 bps for the October meeting after tonight’s 50 bps hike and another 36 bps for the November meeting. US retailer earnings eyed After disappointing results last quarter, focus is on Walmart and Home Depot earnings later today. These will put the focus entirely on the US consumer after the jobs data this month highlighted a still-tight labor market while the inflation picture saw price pressures may have peaked. It would also be interesting to look at the inventory situation at these retailers, and any updated reports on the status of the global supply chains.   Earnings to watch Today’s US earnings focus is Walmart and Home Depot with analysts expecting Walmart to report 7% revenue growth y/y and 8% decline y/y in EPS as the US retailer is facing difficulties passing on rising input costs. Home Depot is expected to report 6% growth y/y in revenue and 10% growth y/y in EPS as the US housing market is still robust driving demand for home improvement products. Sea Ltd, the fast-growing e-commerce and gaming company, is expected to report revenue growth of 30% y/y in Q2 but worsening EBITDA margin at -16.2%. The previous winning company is facing headwinds in its gaming division and cash flow from operations have gone from positive $318mn in Q1 2021 to negative $724mn in Q1 2022. Today: China Telecom, Walmart, Agilent Technologies, Home Depot, Sea Ltd Wednesday: Tencent, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, Analog Devices, Cisco Systems, Synopsys, Lowe’s, CSL, Target, TJX, Coloplast, Carlsberg, Wolfspeed Thursday: Applied Materials, Estee Lauder, NetEase, Adyen, Nibe Industrier, Geberit Friday: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0900 – Germany Aug. ZEW Survey 0900 – Eurozone Jun. Trade Balance 1200 – Poland Jul. Core CPI 1215 – Canada Jul. Housing Starts 1230 – US Jul. Housing Starts and Building Permits 1230 – Canada Jul. CPI 2030 – API Weekly Report on US Oil Inventories 2350 – Japan Jul. Trade Balance 0130 – Australia Q2 Wage Index 0200 – New Zealand RBNZ Official Cash Rate announcement 0300 – New Zealand RBNZ Governor Orr Press Conference  Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 16, 2022
Russia's Weekend Mutiny and Gold's Bounce off Support Raise Concerns; Verbal Intervention in USD/JPY and US Banking Stocks Tumble Ahead of Fed's Stress Test Results

Why Is Dollar (USD) So Important To Follow? S&P 500 Index Stumbling Block?

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 16.08.2022 13:30
Summary:  Today we look at a confusing market backdrop as the US dollar rose across the board despite weak US data and US treasury yields easing lower again. While measures of risk sentiment and financial conditions look very strong here, we need to remember that the US dollar is a financial condition unto itself and one of the most import exchange rates, the USDCNH rate should be on every trader's radar. As well, the US S&P 500 index is pushing up against a major resistance level. Crude oil, copper, earnings reports ahead and more on today pod, which features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast  Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com. Source: Podcast: The US dollar is a financial condition, too
Volume Of Crude Oil Rose For The Second Session In A Row

The Cheapest Oil In Six Months!!! How Will It Affect The Global Economics?

Conotoxia Comments Conotoxia Comments 16.08.2022 11:55
The price of WTI crude oil remained below $90 per barrel at the beginning of the week, the level before Russia's attack on Ukraine. Oil today is the cheapest in six months. It seems that the topic of a global economic slowdown or recession and how long it may last may be important for the oil market. Chinese and U.S. economic data seem to show a weaker condition in both economies and thus could affect the decline in oil demand. This, in turn, could put downward pressure on prices. According to published data, factory activity in China declined enough in July to force the central bank to cut lending rates to keep demand from collapsing. In the United States, on the other hand, the market may have been taken by surprise by the second-largest drop in the history of the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index. The above indicators may affect the market from the demand side, but this is only one part of the puzzle. On the supply side, long-awaited changes may be brewing. Once the embargo is lifted, oil from Iran may start flowing into the market again. Iran has responded to the European Union's proposal. It may seek to re-implement the 2015 nuclear agreement. The EU is also calling on the US to show more flexibility in implementing the agreement. Saudi Arabia may also be preparing to increase its oil supply. The chairman of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, stated over the weekend that his company is ready to increase production to 12 million barrels per day, the company's current production capacity limit. Only a decision by the Saudi Arabian government is needed to increase production. According to the EIA agency's forecast, the United States can also increase its production. US oil production in the August forecast averages 11.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2022. It could rise to 12.7 million b/d in 2023. If this forecast comes true, the US could set a production record next year. The current one is 12.3 million b/d and was set in 2019.   Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.59% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Source: Oil near six-month lows
Lowest China's Yield Level In 2 Years!? Dollar (USD) Is Disturbing Gold In It's Challenge

Lowest China's Yield Level In 2 Years!? Dollar (USD) Is Disturbing Gold In It's Challenge

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 16.08.2022 11:44
Overview: Equities were mostly higher in the Asia Pacific region, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets eased, and South Korea and India were closed for national holidays. Despite new Chinese exercises off the coast of Taiwan following another US congressional visit, Taiwan’s Taiex gained almost 0.85%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is advancing for the fourth consecutive session, while US futures are paring the pre-weekend rally. Following disappointing data and a surprise cut in the one-year medium-term lending facility, China’s 10-year yield fell to 2.66%, its lowest in two years. The US 10-year is soft near 2.83%, while European yields are mostly 2-4 bp lower. Italian bonds are bucking the trend and the 10-year yield is a little higher. The Antipodeans and Norwegian krone are off more than 1%, but all the major currencies are weaker against the greenback, but the Japanese yen, which is practically flat. Most emerging market currencies are lower too. The Hong Kong Dollar, which has been supported by the HKMA, strengthened before the weekend, and is consolidating those gains today. Gold tested the $1800 level again but has been sold in the wake of the stronger dollar and is at a five-day low near $1778. The poor data from China raises questions about demand, and September WTI is off 3.6% after falling 2.4% before the weekend. It is near $88.60, while last week’s five-month lows were set near $87.00. US natgas is almost 2% lower, while Europe’s benchmark is up 2.7% to easily recoup the slippage of the past two sessions. China’s disappointment is weighing on industrial metal prices. Iron ore tumbled 4% and September copper is off nearly 3%. September wheat snapped a four-day advance before the weekend and is off 2.3% today.  Asia Pacific With a set of disappointing of data, China surprised with a 10-bp reduction in the benchmark one-year lending facility rate to 2.75%  It is the first cut since January. It also cut the yield on the seven-day repo rate to 2.0% from 2.1%. The string of poor news began before the weekend with a larger-than-expect in July lending figures. However, those lending figures probably need to be put in the context of the surge seen in June as lenders scramble to meet quota. Today's July data was simply weak. Industrial output and retail sales slowed sequentially year-over-year, whereas economists had projected modest increases. New home prices eased by 0.11%, and residential property sales fell 31.4% year-over-year after 31.8% decline in June. Property investment fell 6.4% year-over-year, year-to-date measures following a 5.4% drop in June. Fix asset investment also slowed. The one exception to the string of disappointment was small slippage in the surveyed unemployment rate to 5.4% from 5.5%. Incongruous, though on the other hand, the jobless rate for 16–24-year-olds rose to a record 19.9%. Japan reported a Q2 GDP that missed estimates, but the revisions lifted Q1 GDP out of contraction  The world's second-largest economy grew by 2.2% at an annualized pace in Q2. While this was a bit disappointing, Q1 was revised from a 0.5% fall in output to a 0.1% expansion. Consumption (1.1%) rebounded (Q1 revised to 0.3% from 0.1%) as did business spending (1.4% vs. -0.3% in Q1, which was originally reported as -0.7%). Net exports were flat after taking 0.5% off Q1 GDP. Inventories, as expected, were unwound. After contributing 0.5% to Q1 GDP, they took 0.4% off Q2 growth. Deflationary forces were ironically still evident. The GDP deflator fell 0.4% year-over-year, almost the same as in Q1 (-0.5%). Separately, Japan reported industrial surged by 9.2% in June, up from the preliminary estimate of 8.9%. It follows a two-month slide (-7.5% in May and -1.5% in April) that seemed to reflect the delayed impact of the lockdowns in China. The US dollar is little changed against the Japanese yen and is trading within the pre-weekend range (~JPY132.90-JPY133.90). It finished last week slightly above JPY133.40 and a higher closer today would be the third gain in a row, the longest advance in over a month. The weakness of Chinese data seemed to take a toll on the Australian dollar, which has been sold to three-day lows in the European morning near $0.7045. It stalled last week near $0.7140 and in front of the 200-day moving average (~$0.7150). A break of $0.7035 could signal a return to $0.7000, and possibly $0.6970. The greenback gapped higher against the Chinese yuan and reached almost CNY6.7690, nearly a two-week high. The pre-weekend high was about CNY6.7465 and today's low is around CNY6.7495. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.7410, a little above the Bloomberg survey median of CNY6.7399. Note that a new US congressional delegation is visiting Taiwan and China has renewed drills around the island. The Taiwan dollar softened a little and traded at a three-day low. Europe Turkey's sovereign debt rating was cut a notch by Moody's to B3 from B2  That is equivalent to B-, a step below Fitch (B) and two below S&P (B+). Moody's did change its outlook to stable from negative. The rating agency cited the deterioration of the current account, which it now sees around 6% of GDP, three times larger than projected before Russia invaded Ukraine. The Turkish lira is the worst performing currency this year, with a 27.5% decline after last year's 45% depreciation. Turkey's two-year yield fell below 20% today for the first time in nine months, helped ostensibly by Russia's recent cash transfer. The dollar is firm against the lira, bumping against TRY17.97. The water level at an important junction on the Rhine River has fallen below the key 30-centimeter threshold (~12 inches) and could remain low through most of the week, according to reports of the latest German government estimate  Separately, Germany announced that its gas storage facility is 75% full, two weeks ahead of plan. The next target is 85% by October 1 and 95% on November 1. Reports from France show its nuclear reactors were operating at 48% of capacity, down from 50% before the weekend. A couple of reactors were shut down for scheduled maintenance on Saturday.  Ahead of Norway' rate decision on Thursday, the government reported a record trade surplus last month  The NOK229 bln (~$23.8 bln). The volume of natural gas exports surged more than four-times from a year earlier. Mainland exports, led by fish and electricity, rose by more than 20%. The value of Norway's electricity exports increased three-fold from a year ago. With rising price pressures (headline CPI rose to 6.8% in July and the underlying rate stands at 4.5%) and strong demand, the central bank is expected to hike the deposit rate by 50 bp to 1.75%. The euro stalled near $1.0370 last week after the softer than expected US CPI  It was pushed through the lows set that day in the European morning to trade below $1.02 for the first time since last Tuesday. There appears to be little support ahead of $1.0160. However, the retreat has extended the intraday momentum indicators. The $1.0220 area may now offer initial resistance. Sterling peaked last week near $1.2275 and eased for the past two sessions before breaking down to $1.2050 today. The intraday momentum indicators are stretched here too. The $1.2100 area may offer a sufficient cap on a bounce. A break of $1.20 could confirm a double top that would project back to the lows. America The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Inflation Reduction Act reduces the budget deficit but will have a negligible effect on inflation  Yet, starting with the ISM gauge of prices paid for services, followed by the CPI, PPI, and import/export prices, the last string of data points came in consistently softer than expected. In addition, anecdotal reports suggest the Big Box stores are cutting prices to reduce inventories. Energy is important for the medium-term trajectory of measured inflation, but the core rate will prove sticky unless shelter cost increases begin to slow. While the Democrats scored two legislative victories with the approval of the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the impact on the poll ahead of the November midterm election seems minor at best. Even before the search-and-seizure of documents still in former President Trump's residence, PredictIt.Org "wagers" had turned to favor the Democratic Party holding the Senate but losing the House of Representatives. In terms of the Republican nomination for 2024, it has been back-and-forth over the last few months, and recently Florida Governor DeSantis narrowly pulled ahead of Trump. The two new laws may face international pushback aside from the domestic impact  The EU warned last week that the domestic content requirement to earn subsidies for electric vehicles appears to discriminate against European producers. The Inflation Reduction Act offers $7500 for the purchases of electric cars if the battery is built in North America or if the minerals are mined or recycled there. The EU electric vehicle subsidies are available for domestic and foreign producers alike. On the other hand, the Chips and Science Act offers billions of dollars to attract chip production and design to the US. However, it requires that companies drawing the subsidies could help upgrade China's capacity for a decade. Japan and Taiwan will likely go along. It fits into their domestic political agenda. However, South Korea may be a different kettle of fish. Hong Kong and China together accounted for around 60% of South Korea's chip exports last year. Samsung has one overseas memory chip facility. It is in China and produces about 40% of the Galaxy phones' NAND flash output. Pelosi's apparent farewell trip to Asia, including Taiwan, was not well received in South Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol did not interrupt his staycation in Seoul to meet the US Speaker. Nor was the foreign minister sent. This is not to cast aspersions on South Korea's commitment to regional security, simply that it is not without limits. Today's economic calendar features the August Empire State manufacturing survey  A small decline is expected. The June TIC data is out as the markets close today. Today is also the anniversary of the US ending Bretton Woods by severing the last links between gold and the dollar in 1971. Canada reports manufacturing sales and wholesale trade, but the most market-sensitive data point may be the existing home sales, which are expected to have declined for the fifth consecutive month. Canada reports July CPI tomorrow (Bloomberg survey median forecast sees headline CPI slowing to 7.6% from 8.1% in June).  The Canadian dollar is under pressure  The US dollar has jumped above CAD1.2900 in Europe after finishing last week near CAD1.2780. Last week's high was set near CAD1.2950, where a $655 mln option is set to expire today. A move above CAD1.2920 could target CAD1.2975-CAD1.3000 over the next day or day. A combination of weaker equities, thin markets, and a short-term market leaning the wrong way after the likely drivers today. The greenback posted its lowest close in two months against the Mexican peso before the weekend near MXN19.85. However, it is rebounding today and testing the MXN20.00 area Initial resistance may be encountered around MXN20.05, but we are looking for a move toward MXN20.20 in the coming days. Mexico's economic calendar is light this week, and the highlight is the June retail sales report at the end of the week.    Disclaimer Source: China Disappoints and Surprises with Rate Cut
Walmart And Home Depot Did Better Than Expected. S&P 500 Reaches The 4,3k Level

Walmart And Home Depot Did Better Than Expected. S&P 500 Reaches The 4,3k Level

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 17.08.2022 08:35
Summary:  S&P500 index broke above the key 4,300 resistance level while the NASDAQ pushed lower amid mixed economic data and better-than-feared earnings from Walmart and Home Depot. US housing data continues to worsen, but the focus now turns to FOMC minutes due later today, as well as the US retail sales which will be next test of the strength of the US consumer. Asia session may have trouble finding a clear direction, but Australia’s wage price index and RBNZ’s rate hike may help to provide some bounce. What is happening in markets? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  U.S. equities were mixed. Tech names had an initial pullback, followed by short-coverings that narrowed the loss of the Nasdaq 100 to 0.23% at the close. S&P500 edged up 0.19% to 4,305 on better-than-feared results from retailers, moving towards its 200-day moving average (4,326). Walmart (WMT:xnys) and Home Depot (HD:xnys) reported Q2 results beating analyst estimates. Walmart gained 5% on strong same-store sales growth and a deceleration in inventory growth. Home Depot climbed 4% after reporting better than expected EPS and same-store sales but with an acceleration in inventory buildup. The declines in housing starts and building permits released on Monday and the downbeat comments about the U.S. housing market from the management of Compass (COMP:xnys), an online real estate brokerage, highlighted the challenges faced in the housing sector.  Short-end U.S. treasury yields rose as the long-end little changed The bigger than expected increases in July industrial production (+0.6% MoM), manufacturing production (+0.7% MoM), and business equipment production (+0.6%) triggered some selling in the short-end of U.S. treasury curve, pushing the 2-year yield 8 bps higher to 3.25% as 10-year yield edged up 1bp.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) China internet stocks were sold off on Tuesday afternoon after Reuters ran a story suggesting that Tencent (00700:xhkg) plans to divest its 17% stake (USD24 billion) in Meituan (03690:xhkg).  The shares of Meituan collapsed 9% while Tencent gained 0.9%.  After the close of the Hong Kong market, Chinese media, citing sources “close to the matter” suggested that the divesture story is not true. However, the ADRs of Meituan managed to recover only 1.7% in New York trading. The newswire story also triggered selling on Kuaishou (01024:xhkg), -4.4%, which has Tencent as a major investor. The decline in internet stocks dragged the Hang Seng Index 1% lower. On the other hand, Chinese developers soared on another newswire report that state-owned China Bond Insurance is going to provide guarantees to new onshore debts issued by several “high quality” developers, including Country Garden (02007:xhkg) +9%, Longfor (00960:xhkg) +12%, CIFI (00884:xhkg) +12.9%, and Seazen (01030:xhkg) +7.6%.  Shares of Chinese property management services also surged higher.  GBPUSD bounced off the 1.2000 support, NZD eyeing RBNZ A mixed overnight session for FX as the US yields wobbled. Risk sentiment held up with the mixed US data accompanied by a less bad outcome in the US retailer earnings than what was expected. This made the safe-haven yen a clear underperformer, and USDJPY rose back above 134. But a clear trend in the pair is still missing and a break above 135 is needed to reverse the downtrend. Cable got lower to remain in close sight of the 1.2000 big figure, but rose above 1.2100 subsequently. UK CPI report due today may confirm the need for further BOE action after labor data showed wage pressures. NZDUSD remains near lows of 0.6320 but may see a knee-jerk higher if RBNZ surprises on the hawkish side. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Crude oil prices remain under pressure due to the prospect of Iran nuclear deal, and printed fresh lows since the Ukraine invasion. Some respite was seen in early Asian session, and WTI futures were last seen at $87/barrel and Brent is below $93. The EU submitted a final proposal to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, and prospects of more energy supply are dampening the price momentum. It has been reported that Iran’s response was constructive, and they are now consulting with the US on a way ahead for the protracted talks. The API reported crude inventories fell by 448,000 barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles increased by more than 4 million barrels. Government data is due later Wednesday. European Dutch TTF benchmark gas futures (TTFMU2) touched €250/MWh, but has cooled off slightly recently, but still signals the heavy price that Europe is paying for the dependence on Russian gas. Copper holding up well despite China slowdown concerns Despite reports of weaker financing and activity data from China earlier this week, Copper remains well supported and registered only modest declines. BHP’s results provided some offset, as did the supply side issues in Europe. Only a break below the key 350 support will turn the focus lower. Meanwhile, zinc rallied amid concerns of smelter closures in Europe. What to consider? US housing scare broadens, industrial production upbeat Housing starts fell 9.6% in July to 1.446 mn, well beneath the prior 1.599 mn and the expected 1.537 mn. Housing starts are now down for five consecutive months, and suggest a cooling housing market in the wake of higher borrowing costs and higher inflation. Meanwhile, building permits declined 1.3% in July to 1.674 mn from 1.696 mn, but printed above the expected 1.65 mn. There will be potentially more scaling back in construction activity as demand weakens and inventory levels rise. On the other hand, industrial production was better than expected at 0.6% m/m (prev: -0.2%) possibly underpinned by holiday demand but the outlook is still murky amid persistent inflation and supply chain issues. US retailer earnings come in better than feared Walmart (WMT:xnys) and Home Depot (HD:xnys) reported better-than-feared results on Tuesday. Walmart’s Q2 revenues came in at USD152.9 billion (+8.4% YoY, consensus USD150.5bn). Same-store sales increased 8.4% YoY (vs consensus +6.0% YoY).  EPS of USD1.77, down 0.8% from a year ago quarter but better than the consensus estimate of USD1.63. While inventories increased 25.5% in Q2, the rate of increase has moderated from the prior quarter’s +32.0%. The company cited falls in gas prices, market share gain in grocery, and back-to-school shopping key reasons behind the strength in sales.  Home Depot reported Q2 revenues of USD43.9 billion (vs consensus USD43.4bn), +6.5% YoY.  Same-store sales grew 5.8%, beating analyst estimates (+4.9%).  EPS rose 11.5% to $5.05, ahead of analyst estimates (USD4.95). However, inventories grew 38% YoY in Q2, which was an acceleration from the prior quarter. The management cited inflation and pulling forward inventory purchases given supply chain challenges as reasons for the larger inventory build-up. Target (TGT:xnys) is scheduled to report on Wednesday. Eyes on US retail sales US retail sales will be next test of the US consumer after less bad retailer earnings last night. Retail sales should have been more resilient given the lower prices at pump improved the spending power of the average American household, and Amazon Prime Day in the month possibly attracted bargain hunters as well. However, consensus expectations are modest at 0.1% m/m compared to last month’s 1.0%. A cooling labor market in the UK UK labor market showed signs of cooling as job vacancies fell for the first time since August 2020 and real wages dropped at the fastest pace in history. Unemployment rate was steady at 3.8%, and the number of people in employment grew by 160,000 in the April-June period as against 256,000 expected. There was also a sprinkle of good news, with the number of employees on payrolls rising 73,000 in July, almost triple the pace expected. Also, wage growth was strong at 4.7% in the June quarter from 4.4% in the three months to May, which may be key for the BOE amid persistent wage pressures. Australia Q2 Wage Index to determine future RBA rate hike size? The RBA Minutes out on Tuesday showed a central bank that is trying to navigate a “narrow path” for keeping the Australian economy on an “even keel”. The RBA has often singled out wages as an important risk for whether inflation risks becoming more embedded and on that note, today sees the release of the Q2 Wage Index, expected to come in at 2.7% year-on-year after 2.4% in Q1. A softer data point may have the market pulling back expectations for another 50 basis point rate hike at the next RBA meeting after the three consecutive moves of that size. The market is about 50-50 on the size of the RBA hike in September, pricing a 35bps move. RBNZ set to decelerate its guidance after another 50 basis point move today? The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike its official cash rate another 50 basis points tonight, taking the policy rate to 3.00%. With business and consumer sentiment surveys in the dumps in New Zealand and oil prices retreating sharply the RBNZ, one of the earliest among developed economies to tighten monetary policy starting late last year, may be set for more cautious forward guidance and a wait and see attitude, although wages did rise in Q2 at their second fastest pace (+2.3% QoQ) in decades. The market is uncertain on the future course of RBNZ policy, pricing 45bps for the October meeting after today’s 50bps hike and another 37bps for the November meeting. FOMC minutes to be parsed for hints on future Fed moves The Federal Reserve had lifted rates by 75bps to bring the Fed Funds rate at the level that they consider is neutral at the July meeting, but stayed away from providing any forward guidance. Meeting minutes will be out today, and member comments will be watched closely for any hints on the expectation for September rate hike or the terminal Fed rate. The hot jobs report and the cooling inflation number has further confused the markets since the Fed meeting, even as Fed speakers continue to push against any expectations of rate cuts at least in ‘early’ 2023. We only have Kansas City Fed President Esther George (voter in 2022) and Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari (non-voter in 2022) speaking this week at separate events on Thursday, so the bigger focus will remain on Jackson Hole next week for any updated Fed views.   For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast.   Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 17, 2022
Online Sales Are Becoming A Part Of Everyday Life. Supermarkets Are Having A Good Time

Online Sales Are Becoming A Part Of Everyday Life. Supermarkets Are Having A Good Time

Conotoxia Comments Conotoxia Comments 17.08.2022 09:15
Home Depot (HD) and Walmart (WMT) are among the largest US retailers whose results seem to show the attitude of the average American consumer towards spending money. HD is a chain of large-format home improvement shops, very similar to Europe's Leroy Merlin. WMT, on the other hand, is the largest US retail chain. Last month, Walmart spooked markets by lowering its profit forecasts and warned of a rapid decline in demand. However, the results announced today said sales were up more than 8% year-on-year to $152.9 billion against expectations of $150.8 billion. Online sales alone rose by as much as 12%. The company is struggling with a gigantic inventory problem (worth $61 billion at the end of Q1), prominent among the backlog of products is apparel, for example. To deal with this, discounts have been introduced on many products, thereby boosting sales by stimulating demand. At present, the value of stock amounts to USD 59.9 billion. However, the increased sales do not translate directly into profits. "The actions we’ve taken to improve inventory levels in the US, along with a heavier mix of sales in grocery, put pressure on the profit margin for Q2 and our outlook for the year," - CEO Doug McMillon said. Walmart's second-quarter net income rose to $5.15bn, or $1.77 per share (EPS) against Wall Street analysts' estimates of $1.62. In the same period a year ago, net income was $4.28bn, or $1.52 per share (EPS). Walmart maintained its forecast for the second half of the year. It expects US shop sales to grow by about 3% (excluding fuel), in the second half of the year, or about 4 per cent for the full year. It expects adjusted earnings per share to decline 9% for the year. Home Depot also announced a 5.8% increase in sales, to 43.8 billion against expectations of $43.36 billion. Net sales were up 6.5% year-over-year, marking the highest quarterly sales in the company's history. "Our team has done a fantastic job serving our customers while continuing to navigate a challenging and dynamic environment," - CEO Ted Decker said, commenting on the company's results. Net income increased to $5.17 billion, up 7.6% year-over-year. EPS was $5.05 against analysts' forecasts of $4.94. Walmart and Home Depot gain 4.7% and 1.9%, respectively, on the market open. The retailers' results show that, despite the looming recession, consumers are spending money and the situation could be not that bad in the short term. However, at the same time, the figures for financing this spending are alarming. A large proportion of Americans are covering higher prices with credit cards, which must eventually be repaid, according to data published by Bloomberg. The worsening outlook for economic health, alarming PMI levels and the bond yield curve all translate into possible future deterioration in consumer health.   Rafał Tworkowski, Junior Market Analyst, Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.59% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.  Source: Retailers announce strong results - shares rise
China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI Data Might Support The New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

The Reserve Bank Of New Zealand Has The Best Main Interest Rate In 7 Years!!! RBNZ Will Be A Savior From Inflation!?

Conotoxia Comments Conotoxia Comments 17.08.2022 11:45
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today raised its main interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 3 percent, a level last seen seven years ago. It was the fourth 50-basis point hike in the current cycle, which may make the RBNZ one of the stronger monetary tightening central banks to bring down inflation.   Today's hike was in line with market expectations. Some policymakers believe that inflation may soon begin to stabilize or even start to decline through lower fuel prices and transportation prices. However, inflation may not return to the New Zealand central bank's target until mid-2024. Thus, further monetary tightening may be required, with its end expected in the first quarter of 2023 - according to a statement issued to today's decision. As a result, the RBNZ may raise the main interest rate by about 3.75 percentage points throughout the cycle, to 4 percent, from the record low of 0.25 percent that occurred in 2021. Inflation in New Zealand rose to 7.3 percent y/y in the second quarter of 2022, up from 6.9 percent in the previous period. This was the highest figure since the second quarter of 1990.   The NZD/USD exchange rate seemed to react relatively calmly to the above decision, as it was in line with the market consensus. At 07:30 GMT+3 on the Conotoxia MT5 platform, the NZD/USD exchange rate rose by 0.25 percent, to 0.6360. As a result, at this hour, of the major currencies against the US dollar, it is the NZD that seems to have gained the most. Since the beginning of the month, the NZD has gained 1.10 percent to the USD, which may make New Zealand's currency the strongest of the world's major currencies.   Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.59% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.   Source: Bank of New Zealand with another rate hike
Apple May Surprise Investors. Analysts Advise Caution

Apple Supplier In China Closing Its Factories! Big European Aluminium Plant Stops Its Production Due To Unfavorable Conditions

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 17.08.2022 12:53
  Summary:  The US equity market rally extended modestly yesterday, but turned tail upon the cash S&P 500 Index touching the key 200-day moving average at 4,325. Market today will eye the latest US Retail Sales report from July, which saw peak gasoline prices in the US mid-month, while the FOMC Minutes may prove a bit stale, given they were created before three weeks of the market rallying sharply and financial conditions easing aggressively, likely not the Fed’s intention.   What is our trading focus?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures broke above the 200-day moving average yesterday and then got rejected. Momentum in US equities got a bit more fuel from two good earnings releases from Home Depot and Walmart rising 4% and 5% respectively. S&P 500 futures are pushing higher again this morning and will likely attempt once more to break above the 200-day moving average. Long-term US interest rates are still well-behaved trading around the 2.8% level and the VIX Index has stabilised just below the 20 level. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hang Seng Index rallied 1% today, reversing yesterday’s loss. Meituan (03690:xhkg) bounced nearly 5% after its 9% drop yesterday due to a Reuters story suggesting that Tencent (00700:xhkg) plans to divest its 17% stake (USD24 billion) in Meituan.  Tencent denied such a divesture plan last night.  Power drills and floor care equipment maker and a supplier to Home Depot (HD:xnys), Techtronic Industries (00669:xhkg) jumped more than 7% after better-than-expected results from Home Depot overnight.  On Tuesday, China’s Premier Li Keqiang held a video conference with provincial chiefs from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan to reiterate the central government’s push for full use of policies to stabilize the economy.  CSI300 gained 0.6%. USD pairs, including GBPUSD, which bounced strongly off 1.2000 support  A mixed overnight session for FX as the US yields wobbled. Risk sentiment held up with the mixed US data accompanied by a less bad outcome in the US retailer earnings than expected. This made the safe-haven yen a clear underperformer, and USDJPY rose back above 134. But a clear trend in the pair is still missing and a break above 135 is needed to reverse the downtrend. Cable teased key psychological support at 1.2000 yesterday before rising later in the day above 1.2100 ahead of today’s UK CPI report, which may confirm the need for further BOE action after labor data showed wage pressures. EURUSD bounced from session lows at 1.0123 but has posted a recent bearish reversal that keeps the focus lower, particularly on any breakdown through 1.0100, the multi-week range low. USD traders will focus on today’s US Retail Sales and FOMC minutes. USDCNH – there was a brief spike higher in USDCNH earlier this week as China moved to stimulate with a small 10-basis point rate cut of the key lending rate – no drama yet, but traders should keep an eye on this very important exchange rate for larger volatility and significant break above 6.80, as Chines exchange rate policy shifts can provoke significant moves across markets. Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) touched a fresh six-month low on Tuesday with Brent trading lower, in anticipation of the Iran nuclear deal being revived, before bouncing in response to the API reporting a draw in crude oil and especially gasoline stocks. While a deal with Iran could see it raise production by around one million barrels per day, Goldmans talks about a mutually beneficial stalemate for both sides with Iran wanting to avoid sanctions while the US wants to avoid higher oil prices but also the political backlash from a potential deal. EIA’s weekly crude and fuel stocks report on tap later with the market also focusing on gasoline demand and the levels of exports. Over in Europe meanwhile the Dutch TTF benchmark gas trades near an eye-popping $400 per barrel crude oil equivalent, a level that will continue to attract demand for oil-based products due to switching. Copper (COPPERUSSEP22) continues to trade within its established upward trending range after China’s Premier Li Keqiang asked local officials from six provinces to bolster pro-growth measures after weaker financing and activity data were reported earlier this week. In addition, copper is also enjoying some tailwind from rising zinc and aluminum prices after Europe's largest smelters said it would halt production and after producers in China were told to curb production in order to preserve electricity supply during the current heatwave. HG copper’s trading range has narrowed to between $3.585, the uptrend from the July low and $3.663 the 50-day moving average.   What is going on?   US housing scare broadens, industrial production upbeat US Housing starts fell 9.6% in July to an annualized 1,446k, well beneath the prior 1,599 and the expected 1,537k. Housing starts are now down for five consecutive months, and suggest a cooling housing market in the wake of higher borrowing costs and higher inflation. Meanwhile, building permits declined 1.3% in July to 1,674k from 1,696, but printed above the expected 1,650k. There will be potentially more scaling back in construction activity as demand weakens and inventory levels rise. On the other hand, industrial production was better than expected at 0.6% m/m (prev: -0.2%) in July, possibly underpinned by holiday demand but the outlook is still murky amid persistent inflation and supply chain issues. UK headline inflation hits 10.1% The highest in decades and above the 9.8% expected and for the month-on-month reading of +0.6%, higher than the +0.4% expected. Core inflation hit 6.2% vs. 5.9% expected and 5.8% in Jun. That matched the cycle high from back in April. Retail inflation rose +0.9% MoM and +12.3% YoY vs. +0.6%/+12.0% expected, respectively. The Bank of England has forecast that inflation will peak out this fall at above 13%. Reserve Bank of New Zealand hikes 50 basis points to 3.00%, forecasts 4% policy rate peak The RBNZ both increased and brought forward its peak rate forecast to 4.00%, a move that was actually interpreted rather neutrally – more hawkish for now, but suggesting that the RBNZ would like to pause after achieveing 4.00%. 2-year NZ rates were unchanged later in the session after a brife poke higher. RBNZ Governor warned in a press conference that New Zealand home prices will continue to fall. This is actually a desired outcome after a huge spike in housing speculation and prices due to low rates from the pandemic response and massive pressure from a Labor-led government that had promised lower housing costs were behind the RBNZ’s quick pivot and more aggressive hiking cycle in 2021. Walmart shares rally on improved outlook The largest US retailer surprised on both revenue and earnings in its Q2 report with most of the revenue growth coming from higher prices and not volume. The retailer now sees an EPS decline of 9-11% this fiscal year compared to previously 11-13% suggesting input cost pressures are easing somewhat. Walmart is seeing more middle and high-income customers and the retailer has also cancelled orders for billions of dollars to lower inventory levels suggesting global supply chains are improving. Walmart shares were up 5%. Home Depot still sees robust market The largest US home improvement retailer beat on revenue and earnings yesterday in its Q2 results with Q2 comparative sales up 5.8% vs est. 4.6% highlighting that volumes are falling as revenue growth is below inflation rates. The US housing market figures on housing starts and permits cemented that the US housing market is slowing down due to the recent rally in mortgage rates. Home Depot is taking a conservative approach to guidance, but the market nevertheless pushed shares 4% higher. Apple supplier Foxconn suspends its factory in Chengdu due to a power crunch Foxconn’s Chengdu factory is suspending operations for six days from August 15 to 20 due to a regional power shortage. The suspension is affecting Foxconn’s supply of iPad to Apple. The company says the impact “has been limited at the moment” but it may affect shipments if the power outage persists. The Chengdu government is imposing power curbs on industrial users to ensure electricity supply for the city’s residents. At the same time, Foxconn has started test production of the Apple watch in its factories in Vietnam. With the passage of CHIPS and Science Act earlier this month in the U.S., there have been speculations that Taiwanese and Korean chipmakers and their customers may be accelerating the building up of production capacity away from China. Big European aluminium plant to halt production Norsk Hydro’s aluminium plant in Slovakia is halting primary production by end of September due adverse conditions such as elevated electricity prices. The aluminium company would incur significant financial losses should it continue its operations.   What are we watching next?   Eyes on US retail sales today  US retail sales will be next test of the US consumer after less bad retailer earnings last night. Retail sales should have been more resilient given the lower prices at pump improved the spending power of the average American household, and Amazon Prime Day in the month possibly attracted bargain hunters as well. However, consensus expectations are modest at 0.1% m/m compared to last month’s 1.0%. FOMC minutes to be parsed for hints on future Fed moves The Federal Reserve had lifted rates by 75bps at the late July meeting to bring the Fed Funds rate to a level they have previously considered neutral, but stayed away from providing any forward guidance. The minutes of that July meeting are to be released later today, and member comments will be watched closely for any hints on the expectation for September rate hike or the terminal Fed rate. The hot July US jobs report and the cooling July inflation number, as well as a blistering three week rally in equity markets have further confused the markets since the Fed meeting, even as Fed speakers continue to push against any expectations of rate cuts as soon as ‘early’ 2023. The next chief focus for Fed guidance will remain on the Fed’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming symposium next week. Earnings to watch Today’s European earnings focus is Carlsberg and Coloplast with the former reporting strong first-half organic growth of 20.7% vs est. 15.5% suggesting breweries are seeing healthy volume and price gains. Tencent is the key focus in Asia and especially given the recent developments in China on anti-monopoly laws and its decision to divest its $24bn stake in Meituan. In the US the focus will be on Cisco which saw its growth grinding to a halt in the previous quarter. Wednesday: Tencent, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, Analog Devices, Cisco Systems, Synopsys, Lowe’s, CSL, Target, TJX, Coloplast, Carlsberg, Wolfspeed Thursday: Applied Materials, Estee Lauder, NetEase, Adyen, Nibe Industrier, Geberit Friday: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0900 – Eurozone Q2 GDP Estimate 1230 – US Jul. Retail Sales 1430 – US Weekly Crude Oil and Product Inventories 1800 – US FOMC Minutes 1820 – US Fed’s Bowman (Voter) to speak 2110 – New Zealand RBNZ Governor Orr before parliamentary committee 0130 – Australia Jul. Employment Change (Unemployment Rate)   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Has The Best Main Interest Rate In 7 Years
The USD/CNH Pair Remains On The Bear’s Trend

China Is Planning The Devaluation? If So, CNHUSD May Become A Strong Value

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 17.08.2022 13:20
Summary:  Today we look at the US equity market rolling over a bit after hitting a key resistance point in the form of the S&P 500's 200-day moving average. We continue to note the resilient US dollar and the risk of USDCNH suddenly commanding the market's attention again if China moves to devalue its currency. We also zero in on weak Antipodean currencies as AUDUSD struggles and NZD can't get a boost from the RBNZ overnight. Crude oil, industrial metals, the latest on the dire power emergency in the EU, danger of meme stocks, earnings ahead and more on today's pod, which features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.   Source: Podcast: Watching for signs of altitude sickness
Increase In Interest Of Nuclear Energy Around The World

Decision On Closing Three German Nuclear Plants Is Not Made Yet. In France Wind Generation And Hydropower Stations Results Are Below Norms

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 17.08.2022 15:00
Overview: The biggest development today in the capital markets is the jump in benchmark interest rates.  The US 10-year yield is up five basis points to 2.86%, which is about 10 bp above Monday’s low.  European yields are up 9-10 bp.  The 10-year German Bund yield was near 0.88% on Monday and is now near 1.07%.  Italy’s premium over German is near 2.18%, the most in nearly three weeks.  Although Asia Pacific equities rallied, led by Japan’s 1.2% gain, but did not include South Korea, European equities are lower as are US futures.  The Stoxx 600 is struggled to extend a five-day rally.  The Antipodeans are the weakest of the majors, but most of the major currencies are softer. The euro and sterling are straddling unchanged levels near midday in Europe.  Gold is soft in yesterday’s range, near its lowest level since August 5.  While $1750 offers support, ahead of it there may be bids around $1765. October WTI is pinned near its lows around $85.50-$86.00.  The drop in Chinese demand is a major weight, while the market is closely monitoring developments with the Iranian negotiations.  US natgas is edging higher after yesterday 6.9% surge to approach last month’s peak.  Europe’s benchmark is 4.5% stronger today after yesterday’s 2.7% pullback.  Iron ore fell (3.9%) for the fourth consecutive decline. The September contract that trades in Singapore is at its lowest level since July 22.  September copper is a little heavier but is still inside Monday’s range.  September wheat is extending its pullback for the fourth consecutive session.  It had risen in the first four sessions last week. It is moving sideways in the trough carved over the past month.    Asia Pacific   The Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivered the anticipated 50 bp rate hike and signaled it would continue to tighten policy    It did not help the New Zealand dollar, which is posting an outside day by trading on both sides of yesterday's range.  The close is the key and below yesterday's low (~$0.6315) would be a bearish technical development that could spur another cent decline.  It is the RBNZ's fourth consecutive half-point hike, which followed three quarter-point moves.  The cash target rate is at 3.0%.  Inflation (Q2) was stronger than expected rising 7.3% year-over-year.  The central bank does not meet again until October 5, and the swaps market has a little more than a 90% chance of another 50 bp discounted.    Japan's July trade balance deteriorated more than expected    The shortfall of JPY1.44 trillion (~$10.7 bln) form JPY1.40 trillion in June.  Exports slowed to a still impressive 19% year-over-year from 19.3% previously, while imports rose 47.2% from 46.1% in June.  The terms-of-trade shock is significant in both Japan and Europe.  Japan's ran an average monthly trade deficit of about JPY1.32 trillion in H1 22 compared with an average monthly surplus of JPY130 bln in H1 21.  The eurozone reported an average shortfall of 23.4 bln euros in H1 22 compared with a 16.8 bln average monthly surplus in H1 21.  The two US rivals, China, and Russia, have been hobbled by their own actions, while the two main US economic competitors, the eurozone and Japan are experiencing a dramatic deterioration of their external balance,     The 11 bp rise in the US two-year yield between yesterday and today has helped lift the US dollar to almost JPY135.00, a five-day high   It has met the (50%) retracement target of the downtrend since the multiyear peak in mid-July near JPY139.40.  The next target is the high from earlier this month around JPY135.60.  and then JPY136.00.  Initial support now is seen near JPY134.40.  After recovering a bit in the North American session yesterday, the Australian dollar has come under renewed selling pressure and is trading at five-day lows below the 20-day moving average (~$0.6990).  It has broken support in the $0.6970-80 area to test the trendline off the mid-July low found near $0.6965.  A break could signal a move toward $0.6900-10.  The gap created by yesterday's high US dollar opening against the Chinese yuan was closed today as yuan recovered for the first day in three sessions.  Monday's high was CNY6.775 and yesterday's low was CNY6.7825.  Today's low is about CNY6.7690.  For the second consecutive session, the PBOC set the dollar's reference rate a little lower than the market (median in Bloomberg's survey) expected (CNY6.7863 vs. CNY6.7877).  The dollar has risen to almost CNH6.82 in the past two sessions and still trading a little above CNH6.80 today but was sold to nearly CNH6.7755 where is has found new bids.      Europe   The UK's headline CPI accelerated to 10.1% last month from 9.4% in June    It was above market expectations and the Bank of England's forecast for a 9.9% increase.  Although the rise in food prices (2.3% on the month and 12.7% year-over-year) lifted the headline, the core rate, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco rose to 6.2% from 5.8% and was also above expectations (median forecast in Bloomberg's survey was for 5.9%).  Producer input prices slowed, posting a 0.1% gain last month for a 22.6% year-over-year pace (24.1% in June).  However, output prices jumped 1.6% after a 1.4% gain in June.  This puts the year-over-year pace at 17.1%, up from 16.4% previously.  The bottom line is that although the UK economy contracted in Q2 and the BOE sees a sustained contraction beginning soon, the market recognize that the monetary policy will continue to tighten.  The market swaps market is fully pricing in a 50 bp hike at the mid-September meeting and is toying with the idea of a larger move (53 bp of tightening is discounted).    What a year of reversals for Germany    After years of pressure from the United States and some allies in Europe, Germany finally nixed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia.  Putin also got Germany to do something that several American presidents failed to achieve and that is boost is defense sending in line with NATO commitments. The energy crunch manufactured by Russia is forcing Germany to abandon is previous strategy of reducing coal and closing down its nuclear plants.  Ironically, the Greens ae in the coalition government and recognize little choice.  A formal decision on three nuclear plants that were to be shuttered before the end of the year has yet to be made, but reports confirm it is being discussed at the highest levels.     Germany's one-year forward electricity rose by 11% to 530.50 euros a megawatt-hour in the futures market years, a gain of more than 500%     France, whose nuclear plants are key to the regional power grid, is set to be the lowest in decades, according to reports.  France has become a net importer of electricity, while the extreme weather has cut hydropower output and wind generation is below seasonal norms.  The low level of the Rhine also disrupts this important conduit for barges of coal and oil. Starting in October, German households will have a new gas tax (2.4-euro cents per kilowatt hour for natural gas) until 1 April 2024. Economic Minister Habeck estimated that for the average single household the gas tax could be almost 100 euros a month, while a couple would pay around 195 euros.  Also, starting in October, utilities will be able to through to consumers the higher costs associated with the reduction of gas supply from Russia.  This poses upside risk to German inflation.     The euro held technical support near $1.0110 yesterday and is trading quietly today in a narrow (~$1.0150-$1.0185) range today    Yesterday was the first session since July 15 that the euro did not trade above $1.02.  The decline since peaking last week a little shy of $1.0370 has seen the five- and 20-day moving averages converge and could cross today or tomorrow for the first time since late July. We note that the US 2-year premium over German is testing the 2.60% area.  It has not closed below there since July 22.  Sterling held key support at $1.20 yesterday and traded to almost $1.2145 today, which met the (50%) retracement objective of the fall from last week's $1.2275 high.  The next retracement (61.8%) is closer to $1.2175.  The UK reported employment yesterday, CPI today, and retail sales ahead of the weekend.  Retail sales, excluding gasoline have fallen consistently since last July with the exception of October 2021 and June 2022.  Retail sales are expected to have slipped by around 0.3% last month.     America   The Empire State manufacturing August survey on Monday and yesterday's July housing starts pick up a thread first picked up in the July composite PMI, which fell from 52.3 to 47.7 of some abrupt slowing of economic activity  The Empire State survey imploded from 11.1 to -31.3.  Housing starts fell 9.6%, more than four-times the pace expected (median Bloomberg survey -2.1%).  It was small comfort that the June series was revised up 2.4% from initially a 2.0% decline.  The 1.45 mln unit pace is the weakest since February 2021 and is about 9% lower than July 2021.  However, offsetting this has been the strong July jobs report and yesterday' industrial production figures.  The 0.6% was twice the median forecast (Bloomberg's survey) and the June decline (-0.2%) was revised away. The auto sector continues to recover from supply chain disruptions, and this may be distorting typically seasonal patterns.  Sales are rose in June and July, the first back-to-back gain in over a year. To some extent, supply is limiting sales, which would seem to encourage production.  Outside of autos, output slowed (year-over-year) for the third consecutive month in July.     Today's highlights include July retail sales and the FOMC minutes     Retail sales are reported in nominal terms, which means that the 13% drop in the average retail price of gasoline will weigh on the broadest of measures.  However, excluding auto, gasoline, building materials, and food services, the core retail sales will likely rise by around 0.6% after a 0.8% gain in June.  The most important thing than many want to know from the FOMC minutes is where the is bar to another 75 bp rate hike.  The Fed funds futures market has it nearly 50/50.     Canada's July CPI was spot on forecasts for a 0.1% month-over-month increase and a 7.6% year-over-year pace (down from 8.1%)     However, the core rates were firm than average increased.  The market quickly concluded that this increases the likelihood that the central bank that surprised the market with a 100 bp hike last month will lift the target rate by another 75 bp when it meets on September 7.  In fact, the swaps market sees it as a an almost 65% probability, the most since July 20.  Canada reports June retail sales at the end of the week.  The median forecast in Bloomberg's survey is for a 0.4% gain, but even if it is weaker, it is unlikely to offset the firm core inflation readings.     The dollar-bloc currencies are under pressure today, but the Canadian dollar is faring best, off about 0.25% in late morning trading in Europe     The Aussie is off closer to 0.75% and the Kiwi is down around 0.5%.  US equities are softer. The greenback found support near CAD1.2830 and is near CAD1.2880.  Monday and Tuesday's highs were in the CAD1.2930-5 area and a break above there would target CAD1.2985-CAD1.3000.  However, the intraday momentum indicators are overextended, and initial support is seen in the CAD1.2840-60 area. The greenback has forged a shelf near MXN19.81 in recent days.  It has been sold from the MXN20.83 area seen earlier this month.  It has not been above MXN20.05 for the past five sessions.  A move above there, initially targets around MXN20.20.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is off for the third consecutive session. If sustained, it would be the longest losing streak since July 20-22.     Disclaimer   Source: Markets Look for Direction
Saxo Bank Podcast: US Equities Continue To Trade Up, Natural Gas In Europe, Bank of Japan Meeting Ahead And More

Natural Gas Is More Valuable Than Crude Oil!? Carbon Emission Is Almost The Highest In History!!!

Kim Cramer Larsson Kim Cramer Larsson 17.08.2022 16:02
Dutch TTF Gas is resuming uptrend taking out July peak testing the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement at around €242.75.RSI has broken its falling trend and is likely to trade out/cancel the divergence since mid-July. If Dutch gas closes above the 0.618 retracement the 0.764 retracement at around 281.82 is next level likely to be reached. The upper rising trend line is likely to be reached and possibly broken in a gas price that seems to accelerate.To reverse the uptrend a close below 187.50 is needed.However, a correction over the next couple of days is not unlikely given the Spinning Top Candle formed yesterday. IT is often a top and reversal indicator but needs to be confirmed by a bearish candle the following day. IF Dutch Gas closes above its peak the potential top and reversal is demolished. Source: Saxo Group Henry Hub Gas has taken out resistance at the 0.618 retracement at around $8.90 and now also 0.764 retracement indicating previous highs at $9.66-9.75 are likely to be tested. If Henry Hub Gas closes above previous highs new price targets Source: Saxo Group Brent Crude oil continue its downtrend closing in on support at around $90. RSI is testing previous lows. There is divergence indicating a weakening of the downtrend but if RSI makes a new low the $90 support could be broken. Next support would be at around the 0.764 retracement at 85.76To set the downtrend on pause a close above 100.38. That will most likely not reverse the trend but merely just put it on pause. Source: Saxo Group WTI Crude oil was rejected at the short-term falling trendline and is now back below the 0.618 retracement. Next support at 81.90. There is divergence on RSI indication the downtrend is weakening. However, if RSI closes below If WTI closes back above the 200 SMA i.e. above $95 thereby also breaking above the short-term falling trendline, a larger correction to around 105-110 is likely. Source: Saxo Group Carbon Emissions broke its falling trendline last week and has now also broken above resistance at 92.75 closing in on its all-time high just below €100. RSI is entering over-bought territory but there is no divergence indicating higher levels (above 100) is likely. However, do expect a correction from just below previous highs.            Source: Saxo Group   Source: Technical Update - Natural Gas powers higher. Oil downtrend weakening, close to and end? Carbon Emission close to all-time highs
Nuclear Power Emerges as Top Theme for 2023, Bubble Stocks Under Pressure

We Need To Build Our Green Energy Future. Here Is Why

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 17.08.2022 16:26
Summary:  We are used to not think about the energy sector, but the galloping global energy crisis has illuminated our deficits in primary energy due to years of underinvestment in fossil fuels and renewable energy sources inability to scale fast enough with the green transformation and electrification of our economy. It seems more likely now that the non-renewable and the renewable energy sector will both provide attractive returns as we will need both to overcome our short-term energy crisis and long-term aspirations of a greener energy future. The energy crisis keeps getting worse Electricity prices in Europe are nine times higher than the historical average since 2007 as lack of investments and cutting the ties to Russia’s energy supplies are severely constraining available energy in society. Since before the pandemic we have written many equity notes on the green transformation which involves building out renewable energy sources and electrifying everything in the economy to reduce the carbon emissions involved with our current living standard. Switching a large part of the transportation sector to electricity or green fuels, switching the heating source from natural gas to renewable energy through electrification (air-to-water heat pumps) etc. is very difficult as our rising wealth (measured by GDP) is finely mapped to carbon emissions over the past 300 years. We described this in our note The inconvenient truth on energy and GDP. Decoupling our wealth generating function from that of carbon emissions is probably the greatest task humans has ever set out to do. German baseload electricity 1 year forward | Source: Bloomberg There is not ‘one solution’ that fixes our energy crisis As BP’s 2022 Statistical Review of World Energy pictures primary energy demand in 2021 eclipsed 2019 suggesting the world’s demand for energy is now higher than before the pandemic and the usage of fossil fuels (82%) is only slightly down compared to five years ago (85%). We very much still live in a fossil fuel based economy. Things will change over time and the share of fossil fuels will likely decline, but the idea that the world can do the green transformation by electrifying everything based on renewable energy sources is naïve. Investors should also remember that the change in primary energy demand is mostly driven by the non-OECD countries. Renewable energy does not scale fast enough for a complete transition due to the speed on electrification and recently the CEOs of Orsted and Vestas complained about bureaucracy related to get new offshore wind power projects approved. The recent Climate & Tax Bill is acknowledging that we will need oil and gas for longer than expected just three years ago and thus our current energy crisis will allow both renewable energy and fossil fuel energy to be good investments in parallel. Renewable energy is the third best theme basket this year while the commodities basket (which includes oil & gas and mining companies) is the best performer. Our view of the future of energy is that there is no ‘one solution’ to our energy problem. We must move to a mindset of energy diversification. We will need many different sources of energy and never rely too much on one source. Germany’s reliance on natural gas for its economic model has proved fragile. Even France’s concentrated bet on nuclear power has proved to be fragile due to corrosion and now too hot rivers. The world must invest in all types of energy and thus our view is that investors mut get broad exposure to energy going forward. The non-renewable energy sector at a glance In this equity note we will focus on the non-renewable energy because this is the part of the energy sector which has changed the most relative to market pricing and expectations and where there is more room for valuations changing. Despite high oil and gas prices the energy sector is still relatively cheap as we described already back in May in our note Global energy stocks are the cheapest in 27 years where we measured valuation on the free cash flow yield. The high oil and gas prices have also led to record profits for refiners and recently the highest quarterly profit ever recorded in the global energy sector which we described in our note Earnings hit new all-time high as inflation lifts all boats. The global energy sector (defined by GICS and being the non-renewable energy sector) is still cheap relative to the global equity market with the 12-month EV/EBITDA being two standard deviations below the average valuation spread since 2005. In terms of total return the global energy sector has delivered a higher return than the global equity market since 1995 (see chart). It is also worth noting that measured on the 12-month forward EV/EBITDA the renewable energy sector has twice the valuation level compared to the non-renewable energy sector reflecting the different in expectations for the future priced in the market. As we described in our Q1 Outlook the current dividend yield and expected dividend growth suggest that the global energy sector has an expected long-term return of 10% annualised subject of course to a large degree of uncertainty related to equity valuation compression in the industry or lower dividend growth in the future than expected today. Global energy vs global equities | Source: Bloomberg The easiest way to invest in the energy sector is through ETFs tracking the sector and most investors should do that. A different approach is investing in specific parts of the non-renewable energy sector. The tables below show the top five company on market value in each of the GICS industries in the GICS energy sector. As the five-year total returns in USD column show, the industries related only to drilling and providing equipment for drilling activities have done the worst because the decline in capital expenditures since 2015 has dried up activity for this industry. The integrated oil and gas majors have done better due to refining and trading businesses. Over the past five years, the best performing industries in the energy sector have been refining and marketing due to the crack spreads (the difference between crude oil and refined products) have expanded during the pandemic. The global coal industry has also done very well which in terms of climate change and reducing carbon emissions is a sad observation but we should be aware of that the primary fuel source for power generation globally is still coal. GICS industries in the energy sector | Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Source: How to invest in energy and the unfolding energy crisis?
Liquidity at Stake: Exploring the Risks and Challenges for Non-Bank Financial Intermediaries

Sterling (GBP) And Dollar (USD) Are At The Top Of The World!!! What To Consider Next?

John Hardy John Hardy 17.08.2022 17:04
Summary:  The stronger US dollar is beginning to dominate across FX, and we haven’t even seen risk sentiment roll over badly yet, although this time it could be the US dollar itself that defines and drives financial conditions across markets. Elsewhere, we have seen an interesting fundamental test of sterling over the last couple of sessions, as sterling has begun rolling over today, even as a ripping increase in rate tightening bets in the wake of another hot CPI print out of the UK this morning. FX Trading focus: USD dominating again, GBP rate spike impact fading fast and indicating danger ahead for sterling. RBNZ hawkishness fails to impress the kiwi. The US dollar rally is broadening and intensifying, and US long yields are threatening back higher, which is finally pushing back against the recent melt-up in financial conditions/risk sentiment. The US July Retail Sales report looks solid, given the +0.7% advance in “ex Autos and Gas” sales after the June spike in average nationwide gasoline price to the unprecedented 5 dollar/gallon level. Yes, July gasoline prices were lower than June’s, but there wasn’t a huge delta on the average price for the month, and the impact of lower gas prices will likely be more in the August full month of vastly lower prices – presumably averaging closer to 4/gallon, together with the psychological relief that the spike seems in the rear view mirror, even if we can’t know whether a fresh spike awaits in the fall, after the draw on strategic reserves is halted. A strong US dollar, higher US yields and a fresh unease in risk sentiment are a potential triple whammy in which the US dollar itself is the lead character, as USDJPY has reversed back above 135.00 even before the US data, suggesting a threat back toward the cycle highs. AUDUSD has entirely reversed its upside sprint above 0.7000, refreshing its bearish trend after a squeeze nearly to the 200-day moving average there. Elsewhere, EURUSD and GBPUSD are a bit stuck in the mud, watching 1.0100 and 1.2000 respectively. The most important additional aggravator of this USD volatility in coming sessions would be a significant break higher in USDCNH if China decides it is tiring again of allowing the CNH to track USD direction at these levels. The pressure has to be building there after the PBOC’s rate cut at the start of the week. The UK July CPI release this morning raised eyebrows with another beat of expectations across the board, the day after strong earnings data. The 10.1% headline figure represents a new cycle and the month-on-month figure failed to moderate much, showing +0.6% vs. +0.4% expected. Core inflation also rose more than expected, posting a gain of 6.2% YoY and thus matching the cycle high from  April. The Retail Price Index rose 12.3% vs. 12.1% expected. The market reaction was easily the most interesting, as we have seek UK yields flying higher but failing to impress sterling much after a bit of a surge yesterday and into this morning. Now, sterling is rolling over despite a 40 basis point advance(!) in the 2-year swap rate from yesterday’ open, much of that unfolding in the wake of the CPI release today. Chart: GBPUSD Not that much drama at the moment in the GBPUSD chart, but that is remarkable in and of itself, as the soaring UK yields of yesterday and particularly today in the wake of a higher than expected CPI release are not doing much to support sterling. When rate moves don’t support a currency, it is starting to behave somewhat like an emerging market currency, a dangerous signal for the sterling, where we watch for a break of 1.2000 to usher in a test of the cycle lows below 1.1800, but possibly even the pandemic panic lows closer to 1.1500. The Bank of England hikes will only a accelerate the erosion of demand and slowdown in the UK economy that will lead to a harsh recession that the Bank of England itself knows is coming, but may have to prove slow to react to due to still elevated inflation levels, in part on a weak currency. Source: Saxo Group The RBNZ hiked fifty basis points as expected overnight and raised forward guidance for the Official Cash Rate path to indicate the expectation that the OCR will peak near 4%, a raising and bringing forward of the expected rate peak for the cycle. In the press conference, RBNZ Governor Orr spelled out the specific guidance that he would like to get the rate to 4% and take a significant pause to see if that is enough. “Our view is that sitting around that 4% official cash rate level buys the monetary policy committee right now significant comfort that we would have done enough to see inflation back to our remit.” NZ short rates were volatile, but hardly changed by the end of the day, meaning that NZD direction defaulted to risk sentiment, with a fresh dip in AUDNZD erased despite a weak AUD, and NZDUSD confirming a bearish reversal. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength. Note the big shift in USD momentum, the most notable on the chart, although the absolute value of the SEK negative shift has been even larger over the last few days as EU woes and the growth outlook weigh even more heavily on SEK, which is often leveraged to the EU outlook, also as EURSEK has now failed to progress lower after a notable break below the 200-day moving average. Note the AUD negative shift as well, with sluggish wage growth data overnight for Q2 offering no helping hand. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs. USDJPY looks to flip back to a positive trend on a higher close today or tomorrow, the recent flip negative in GBPUSD looks confirmed on a hold below 1.2000, and AUDUSD looks a matter of time before flipping negative as well, while USDCAD has beaten it to the punch – although a more forceful upside trend signal there would be a close above 1.3000 again. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1800 – US FOMC Minutes 1820 – US Fed’s Bowman (Voter) to speak 2110 – New Zealand RBNZ Governor Orr before parliamentary committee 0130 – Australia Jul. Employment Change (Unemployment Rate)   Source: FX Update: GBP in danger as rate spike fails to support. USD dominating.
Hold On Tight! Look How Much Has (EUR) Euro Weakened Against USD (US Dollar) Since The Beginning Of 2021!

Hold On Tight! Look How Much Has (EUR) Euro Weakened Against USD (US Dollar) Since The Beginning Of 2021!

ING Economics ING Economics 18.08.2022 10:27
The euro's depreciation has helped to improve the competitiveness of eurozone businesses but in contrast to previous episodes of euro weakness, exports are hardly benefiting. Remarkably, structurally weaker eurozone economies have gained relative competitiveness since the start of the pandemic Does parity bring relief for eurozone exporters? Euro-dollar reached parity for the first time since 2002 - a milestone that is largely symbolic. However, the weakening of the euro, in general, deserves attention. The euro has been falling against the dollar since mid-2021, which seems to be largely related to diverging central bank expectations and a sudden decline in the eurozone's trade balance. The latter is mainly related to the energy crisis, which has turned a solid trade surplus into a large trade deficit. The high energy prices paid in international markets have played an important role in the weakening of the currency. Because the energy element is so important in the slide of the euro, the euro has weakened most significantly against the dollar. Against other important trade partners, the eurozone has seen its currency weaken less. While the euro has lost 16.2% vis-à-vis the US dollar since 1 January 2021, the trade-weighted exchange rate has only depreciated by 6.9%. The euro's slide has resulted in a lot of imported inflation because we pay for global commodities in dollars. At the same time, gains in competitiveness have been modest. This is far from the best of both worlds. The euro weakening is closely linked to higher energy prices Source: Macrobond, ING Research Competitiveness is improving, but businesses aren't noticing it The competitiveness improvement does require a deeper look, though, as relative inflation between trade partners plays a role. Taking this into account, the real effective exchange rate (REER) for a country is considered to be a key indicator measuring competitiveness. This is an exchange rate which is weighted by local cost developments. In this case, we use unit labour costs. As chart 3 shows, the REER for the eurozone has been sliding, which boosts the competitive position of eurozone companies. This means that despite a limited drop in the nominal effective exchange rate, businesses do seem to be profiting from relatively better price competitiveness. So while the main impact of the weakening euro is definitely negative through higher imported inflation, there is at least some improvement in export competitiveness to be seen, which could cushion the recessionary effects in the domestic market. Competitiveness is improving, but businesses aren't noticing it Source: European Commission, Eurostat, ING Research   The problem is that businesses are far from feeling this though. The Economic Sentiment Indicator has a subindex which reveals how businesses perceive their competitiveness to have changed in their home markets and abroad. This indicates that competitiveness has dropped significantly within the EU and outside. While exports have recovered to the pre-pandemic trend in recent quarters, it looks like the weaker euro has not given an extra push. The question is whether this relates to price competitiveness or whether weakening global demand is causing this. Regardless, it does not look like businesses are profiting from the improved REER at this point, highlighting the fact that the eurozone is currently mainly feeling the burden from the weak euro and is reaping little benefit from it. How has relative competitiveness within the eurozone evolved since the pandemic started? Reflecting on the euro crisis, we noticed a severe deterioration in competitiveness among the ‘periphery’ countries ahead of the crisis. The big question was if the weaker economies could make structural adjustments to become more attractive exporters again and with that, run surpluses. Painful wage adjustments were modestly successful in regaining competitiveness at that point. While competitiveness is not the primary economic problem right now, it is interesting to see if any divergence in competitiveness is emerging again. When looking at the developments in the real effective exchange rate based on unit labour costs against other eurozone economies in recent years, we see interesting differences in performance. Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have seen their competitiveness deteriorate, while Italy, France and Greece have seen strong improvements. Spanish competitiveness has been stable over recent years, while Portugal has experienced a sizable deterioration. The export powerhouses of the past decade have seen their competitive position slip a little compared to other eurozone countries. This is mainly due to stronger wage growth while productivity growth did not improve in tandem. Overall, this development is a small step towards making the monetary union more coherent and reducing the risk of a new euro crisis triggered by differences in competitiveness. Internal eurozone competitiveness gains are made by France and Italy Source: European Commission, ING Research   A shift in relative competitiveness had already started prior to the pandemic. However, some of the large moves at the start of the pandemic were likely related to how furlough schemes are included in the statistics and so are not necessarily an accurate reflection of underlying competitiveness developments. This seems to be the case for the Netherlands and Greece for example, but in the Dutch case, we still notice a break from the pre-pandemic trend as cost competitiveness ended up at a weaker level in the second quarter. Since energy prices have become a dominant factor and labour cost competitiveness is muddied by government support, a look at a different measure of cost competitiveness is useful. Taking the GDP deflator, a broad price index across the economy, we see that a roughly similar picture emerges. Also here, the Netherlands and Germany have seen cost competitiveness deteriorate compared to other eurozone economies, while Italy and France have seen improvements. Compared to a broader basket of trade partners, the weaker euro dominates but still, we see that Germany and the Netherlands have experienced smaller gains compared to France and Italy. Competitiveness gains have been modest and smallest in the north The euro's depreciation has helped to improve the traditional cost competitiveness of eurozone businesses but in contrast to previous episodes of euro weakness, exports are hardly benefiting. As energy prices are probably a much larger cost concern for eurozone businesses, traditional cost competitiveness indicators have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Still, looking at competitiveness shifts within the eurozone, remarkably, structurally weaker eurozone economies have become relatively more competitive since the start of the pandemic, reducing the risk of a new euro crisis being triggered by stark differences in competitiveness. Read this article on THINK TagsGDP Eurozone Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
US: Drivers Demand Of Oil The Highest This Year! Silver Lost Almost The Half Of Its Recent Gaines

US: Drivers Demand Of Oil The Highest This Year! Silver Lost Almost The Half Of Its Recent Gaines

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 18.08.2022 10:50
Summary:  US equities traded a bit lower yesterday after the S&P 500 challenged the 200-day moving average from below the prior day for the first time since April in the steep comeback from the June lows. Sentiment was not buoyed by the FOMC minutes of the July meeting suggesting the Fed would like to slow the pace of tightening at some point. Crude oil rose from a six-month low on bullish news from the US and OPEC.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures rolled over yesterday wiping out the gains from the two previous sessions and the index futures are continuing lower this morning trading around the 4,270 level. US retail sales for July were weak and added to worries of the economic slowdown in real terms in the US. The 10-year yield is slowing crawling back towards the 3% level sitting at 2.87% this morning. A move to 3% and potentially beyond would be negative for equities. The next levels to watch on the downside in S&P 500 futures are 4,249 and then 4,200 Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Shares in the Hong Kong and mainland China markets declined. China internet stocks were weak across the board with Tencent (00700:xhkg) +2.7% and Meituan (03690:xhkg) +1%, being the positive outliers. Tencent reported a revenue decline of 3% y/y in Q2, weak, but in line with market expectations. Non-GAAP operating profit was down 14% y/y to RMB 36.7bn, and EPS fell 17% y/y to RMB 2.90 but beating analyst estimates. Revenues from advertising at -18% y/y were better than expected. In the game segment, weaker mobile game revenues were offset by stronger PC game revenues. Beer makers outperformed China Resources Beer (00291:xhkg) +3.8%, Tsingtao Brewery (00168:xhkg) +1.7%. COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (01138:xhkg) made a new high at the open on strong crude oil tanker freight rates before giving back some gains. USD pairs as the USD rally intensifies The US dollar rally broadened out yesterday, as USDJPY retook the 135.00 area, but needs to follow through above 135.50-136.00 to take the momentum back higher. Elsewhere, AUDUSD has broken down again on the move down through 0.7000 and USDCAD has posted a bullish reversal, needing 1.3000 for more upside confirmation. The GBPUSD pair looks heavy despite a massive reset higher in UK rates in the wake of recent UK inflation data, with a close below 1.2000 indicating a possible run on the sub-1.1800 lows, while EURUSD is rather stuck tactically, as price has remained bottled up above the 1.0100 range low. USDCNH, as discussed below, may be a key pair for whether the USD rally broadens out even more aggressively, and long US treasury yields and risk sentiment are other factors in the mix that could support the greenback, should the 10-year US treasury benchmark move higher toward 3.00% again or sentiment roll over for whatever reason. Certainly, tightening USD liquidity could prove a concern for sentiment as the Fed turns up the pace of quantitative tightening – something it seems behind schedule in doing if we look at the latest weekly Fed balance sheet data.  USDCNH The exchange rate edged higher again to above 6.80 overnight after a brief spike higher earlier this week as China’s PBOC moved to stimulate with a small 10-basis point rate cut of the key lending rate. There is no real drama in the exchange rate yet after the significant rally this spring from below 6.40 to 6.80+, but traders should keep an eye on this very important exchange rate for larger volatility and significant break above 6.83, as China’s exchange rate policy shifts can provoke significant volatility across markets. Crude oil Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) bounced from a six-month low on Wednesday in response to a bullish US inventory report that saw big declines in gasoline and crude oil stocks as demand from US motorist climbed to the highest this year while crude exports reached a record $5 million barrels per day. The prospect for an Iran nuclear deal continues to weigh while OPEC’s new Secretary-General said spare capacity was becoming scarce. US strategic reserves are now at the lowest level since 1985 and the government has by now sold around 90% of what was initially offered in order to bring down prices. While demand concerns remain a key driver for macroeconomic focused funds selling crude oil as a hedge we notice a renewed surge in refinery margins, especially diesel, supported by increased demand from gas-to-fuel switching Gold and silver Gold has so far managed to find support at $1759, the 38.2% retracement of the July to August bounce, after trading weaker in response to a stronger dollar and rising yields. Silver (XAGUSD) meanwhile has almost retraced half of its recent strong gains with focus now on support at $19.50. The latest driver being the FOMC minutes which signaled ongoing interest-rate hikes and eventually at a slower pace than the current. The short-term direction has been driven by speculators reducing bullish bets following a two-week buying spree in the weeks to August 9 which lifted the net by 63k lots, the strongest pace of buying in six months. ETF holdings meanwhile have slumped to a six-month low, an indication investor, for now, trusts the FOMC’s ability to bring down inflation within a relatively short timeframe   What is going on? Financial conditions are tightening, if modestly. Recent days have brough a rise in short US treasury yields, but more importantly it looks as though some of the risk indicators like corporate credit spreads may have bottomed out here after a sharp retreat from early July highs – one Bloomberg high yield credit spreads to US treasuries peaked out above 5.75% and was as low as 4.08% earlier this week before rising to 4.19% yesterday, with high yield bond ETFs like HYG and JNK suffering a sharp mark-down yesterday of over a percent. Factors that could further aggravate financial conditions include a significant CNH weakening, higher US long treasury yields (10-year yield moving back toward 3.00%, for example) or further USD strength. Adyen sees margin squeeze. One of Europe’s largest payment companies reports first-half revenue of €609mn vs est. €615mn despite processed volume came significantly above estimates at €346bn suggesting the payments industry is experiencing pricing pressures. Cisco outlook surprises. The US manufacturer of networking equipment surprised to the upside on both revenue and earnings in its fiscal Q4 (ending 30 July), but more importantly, the company is guiding revenue growth in the current fiscal quarter of 2-4% vs est. -0.2% and revenue growth for the current fiscal year of 4-6% vs est. 3.3%. Cisco said that supply constraints are beginning to ease and that customer cancellations are running below pre-pandemic levels, and that the company’s growth will be a function of availability. Stale FOMC minutes hint at sustained restrictive policy, but caution on pace of tightening. Fed’s meeting minutes from the July meeting were released last night, and officials agreed to move to restrictive policy, with some noting that restrictive rates will have to be maintained for some time to bring inflation back to the 2% target. Still, there was also talk of slowing the pace of rate hikes ‘at some point’, despite pushing back against easing expectations for next year. The minutes were broadly in-line with the market’s thinking, and lacked fresh impetus needed to bring up the pricing of Fed’s rate hikes. Chairman Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium next week will be keenly watched for further inputs. US retail sales were a mixed bag. July US retail sales were a little softer at the headline level than the market expected (0% growth versus the +0.1% consensus) but the ex-auto came in stronger at 0.4% (vs. -0.1% expected). June’s growth was revised down to 0.8% from 1%. The mixed data confirmed that the US consumers are feeling the pinch from higher prices, but have remained resilient so far and that could give the Fed more room to continue with its aggressive rate hikes. Lower pump prices and further improvements in supply chain could further lift up retail spending in August. The iron ore miners are resilient despite price pressures Despite China planning more fiscal stimulus to fund infrastructure investment, the iron ore (SCOA, SCOU2) price paired back 8% this week, retreating to its lowest equal level in five weeks at $101.65, a level the iron ore price was last at in December 2021. Since March, the iron ore price has retreated 37%, with the most recent pull back being fueled by concerns China’s Covid cases are surging again with cases at a three-month high, as the outbreak worsens in the tropical Hainan province. Despite iron ore pulling back, shares in iron ore majors like BHP, remain elevated, up off their lows, with BHP’s shares trading 14% up of its July low, and moving further above its 200-day moving average, on hopes of commodity demand picking up. What are we watching next? Norway’s central bank guidance on further tightening. The Norges Bank is expected to hike 50 basis points today to take the policy rate to 1.75% despite an indication from the bank in June that the bank would prefer to shift back to hiking rates by 25 basis points, as a tight labour market and soaring inflation weigh. The path of tightening for the central bank has been an odd one, as it was the first G10 bank to actually hike rates in 2021, but finds itself with a far lower policy rate than the US, for example, which started much later with a faster pace of hikes. But NOK may react more to the direction in risk sentiment rather than guidance from the Norges Bank from here, assuming no major surprises. The EURNOK downtrend has slowed of late – focusing on 10.00 if the price action continues to back up. Japan’s inflation will surge further. Japan’s nationwide CPI for July is due on Friday. July producer prices came in slightly above expectations at 8.6% y/y (vs. estimates of 8.4% y/y) while the m/m figure was as expected at 0.4%. The continued surge reflects that Japanese businesses are grappling with high input price pressures, and these are likely to get passed on to the consumers, suggesting further increases in CPI remain likely. More government relief measures are likely to be announced, while signs of any Bank of Japan pivot away from its low rates and yield-curve-control policy are lacking. Bloomberg consensus estimates are calling for Japan’s CPI to accelerate to 2.6% y/y from 2.4% previously, with the ex-fresh food number seen at 2.4% y/y vs. 2.2% earlier.   Earnings to watch In Europe this morning, the key earnings focus is Adyen which has already reported (see review above) and Estee Lauder which is deliver a significant slowdown in figures and increased margin pressure due to rising input costs. Today’s US earnings to watch are Applied Materials and NetEase, with the former potentially delivering an upside surprise like Cisco yesterday on improved supply chains. NetEase, one of China’s largest gaming companies, is expected to deliver Q2 revenue growth of 12% y/y as growth continues to slow down for companies in China. Today: Applied Materials, Estee Lauder, NetEase, Adyen, Nibe Industrier, Geberit Friday: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – Norway Deposit Rates 0900 – Eurozone Final Jul. CPI 1100 – Turkey Rate Announcement 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1230 – Canada Jul. Teranet/National Bank Home Price Index 1230 – US Philadelphia Fed Survey 1400 – US Jul. Existing Home Sales 1430 – EIAs Weekly Natural Gas Storage Change 1720 – US Fed’s George (Voter) to speak 1745 – US Fed’s Kashkari (Non-voter) to speak 2301 – UK Aug. GfK Consumer Confidence 2330 – Japan Jul. National CPI Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 18, 2022
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Price Analysis: The Oil Price Has Corrected And Dropped

Crude Oil Price Probably Not Reach 100$(USD) Shortly

Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank 18.08.2022 15:56
The equity rally in the US didn’t pick up momentum after the Federal Reserve (Fed) released its latest meeting minutes, which sounded more hawkish-than-expected, or more hawkish-than-what-was-needed-to-give-another-boost to the US stock markets. The biggest take was that the Fed will continue tightening its policy until it sees that inflation is ‘firmly on path back to 2%’. The S&P500 fell 0.72% as Nasdaq gave back 1.20%, although the jump in the US 2-year yield was relatively soft, and the Fed funds futures scaled back the expectation of a 75 bp hike in the next meeting. Crude price completed an ABCD pattern, and it is more likely than not we see the price rebound to the $100 level in the medium run. In China, Tencent announced its first ever revenue drop as government crackdown continued taking a toll on its sales, and the pound couldn’t gain even after the above 10% inflation data boosted the Bank of England (BoE) hawks and the call fall steeper rate hikes to tame inflation in the UK. Watch the full episode to find out more! 0:00 Intro 0:28 As expected, Fed minutes were more hawkish-than-expected 3:39 Crude oil has more chance to rebound than to fall 6:02 Tencent posts first-ever revenue drop 7:14 Apple extends gains, but technicals warn of correction 8:38 Pound unable to extend gains despite rising Fed hawks’ voices Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020. #Fed #FOMC #minutes #USD #GBP #inflation #Tencent #Alibaba #earnings #crude #oil #natural #gas #coal #futures #SPX #Dow #Nasdaq #investing #trading #equities #stocks #cryptocurrencies #FX #bonds #markets #news #Swissquote #MarketTalk #marketanalysis #marketcommentary ___ Learn the fundamentals of trading at your own pace with Swissquote's Education Center. Discover our online courses, webinars and eBooks: https://swq.ch/wr ___ Discover our brand and philosophy: https://swq.ch/wq Learn more about our employees: https://swq.ch/d5 ___ Let's stay connected: LinkedIn: https://swq.ch/cH
Rates Surge: US Service Sector Strengthens Yields

Sterling (GBP) And Euro (EUR) Can Barely Stand On Their Feet. Strong Dollar (USD)

Kim Cramer Larsson Kim Cramer Larsson 19.08.2022 09:12
EURUSD was rejected at key resistance at around 1.0360 and the falling upper trendline and is now close to test key support at around 1.01. If EURUSD closes below the support, parity is likely to be tested shortly after.RSI is still showing negative sentiment after failing to break above 60 threshold supporting the bearish picture. If RSI closes below 40 threshold combined with a EURUSD close below 1.01 down trend is confirmed., At the time of writing Bollinger bands are expanding indicating the initial stage of a (down)trend. IF EURUSD closes outside of the lower Bollinger band it is further a strong indication of a down trend.   Source: Saxo Group GBPUSD has formed a Double Top like pattern on the very short term. If GBPUSD closes below 1.20 it is confirmed and GBPUSD is likely to test July lows at around 1.1760 . If GBPUSD is to move the same distance as the difference between the peak and low of the Double Top formation after breaking 1.20 it could reach 1.1729 illustrated by the two vertical arrows. However, there could be more downside in store for GBPUSD. If it takes out 1.1760 there is not support before around 1.14. See weekly chart Source: Saxo Group     Source: Saxo Group Source: Technical Update - EURUSD and GBPUSD testing key supports. Will they hold or will EURUSD test parity again and GBPUSD drop to 1.14?
Ukraine Saves The Day For The World As The Corridor Shipping Crops Is Opened. Other Countries Harvest Is Quite Low Therefore To Weather Issues

Ukraine Saves The Day For The World As The Corridor Shipping Crops Is Opened. Other Countries Harvest Is Quite Low Therefore To Weather Issues

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 19.08.2022 11:33
Summary:  Equity markets managed a quiet session yesterday, a day when the focus is elsewhere, especially on the surging US dollar as EURUSD is on its way to threatening parity once again, GBPUSD plunged well below 1.2000 and the Chinese renminbi is perched at its weakest levels against the US dollar for the cycle. Also in play are the range highs in longer US treasury yields, with any significant pull to the upside in yields likely to spell the end to the recent extended bout of market complacency.   What is our trading focus?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures bounced back a bit yesterday potentially impacted by the July US retail sales showing that the consumer is holding up in nominal terms. The key market to watch for equity investors is the US Treasury market as the US 10-year yield seems to be on a trajectory to hit 3%. In this case we would expect a drop in S&P 500 futures to test the 4,200 level and if we get pushed higher in VIX above the 20 level then US equities could accelerate to the downside. Fed’s Bullard comments that he is leaning towards a 75 basis point rate hike at the September meeting should also negatively equities here relative to the expectations. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.4% and CSI300 was little changed. As WTI Crude bounced back above $90/brl, energy stocks outperformed, rising 2-4%. Technology names in Hong Kong gained with Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH.I) up 0.6%. Investors are expecting Chinese banks to cut loan prime rates on Monday, following the central bank’s rate cut earlier this week. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is looking at the quality of real estate loan portfolios and reviewing lending practices at some Chinese banks. The shares of NetEase (09999:xhkg/NTES:xnas) dropped more than 3% despite reporting above-consensus Q2 revenue up 13% y/y, and net profit from continuing operations up 28%.  PC online game revenue was above expectations, driven by Naraka Bladepoint content updates and the launch of Xbox version. Mobile game segment performance was in line. USD pairs as the USD rally intensifies The US dollar rally is finding its legs after follow up action yesterday that took EURUSD below the key range low of 1.0100, setting up a run at the psychologically pivotal parity, while GBPUSD slipped well south of the key 1.2000 and USDJPY ripped up through 135.50 resistance. An accelerator of that move may be applied if US long treasury yields pull come further unmoored from the recent range and pull toward 3.00%+. A complete sweep of USD strength would arrive with a significant USDCNH move as discussed below, and the US dollar “wrecking ball” will likely become a key focus and driver of risk sentiment as it is the premiere measure of global liquidity. The next key event risk for the US dollar arrives with next Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium speech from Fed Chair Powell. USDCNH The exchange rate is trading at the highs of the cycle this morning, and all traders should keep an eye out here for whether China allows a significant move in the exchange rate toward 7.00, and particularly whether CNH weakness more than mirrors USD strength (in other words, if CNH is trading lower versus a basket of currencies), which would point to a more determined devaluation move that could spook risk sentiment globally, something we have seen in the past when China shows signs of shifting its exchange rate regime from passive management versus the USD. Crude oil Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) remains on track for a weekly loss with talks of an Iran nuclear deal and global demand concerns being partly offset by signs of robust demand for fuel products. Not least diesel which is seeing increasing demand from energy consumers switching from punitively expensive gas. Earlier in the week Dutch TTF benchmark gas at one point traded above $400 per barrel crude oil equivalent. So far this month the EU diesel crack spread, the margin refineries achieve when turning crude into diesel, has jumped by more than 40% while stateside, the equivalent spread is up around 25%, both pointing to a crude-supportive strength in demand. US natural gas US natural gas (NGU2) ended a touch lower on Thursday after trading within a 7% range. It almost reached a fresh multi-year high at $9.66/MMBtu after spiking on a lower-than-expected stock build before attention turned to production which is currently up 4.8% y/y and cooler temperatures across the country lowering what until recently had driven very strong demand from utilities. LNG shipments out of Freeport, the stricken export plant may suffer further delays, thereby keeping more gas at home. Stockpiles trail the 5-yr avg. by 13%. US Treasuries (TLT, IEF) The focus on US Treasury yields may be set to intensify if the 10-year treasury benchmark yield, trading near 2.90% this morning, comes unmoored from its recent range and trades toward 3.00%, possibly on the Fed’s increase in the pace of its quantitative tightening and/or on US economic data in the coming week(s). Yesterday’s US jobless claims data was better than expected and the August Philadelphia Fed’s business survey was far more positive than expected, suggesting expansion after the volatile Empire Fed survey a few days earlier posted a negative reading.   What is going on?   Global wheat prices continue to tumble ... with a record Russian crop, continued flows of Ukrainian grain and the stronger dollar pushing down prices. The recently opened corridor from Ukraine has so far this month seen more than 500,000 tons of crops being shipped, and while it's still far below the normal pace it has nevertheless provided some relief at a time where troubled weather has created a mixed picture elsewhere. The Chicago wheat (ZWZ2) futures contract touch a January on Thursday after breaking $7.75/bu support while the Paris Milling (EBMZ2) wheat traded near the lowest since March. Existing home sales flags another red for the US housing market while other US economic data continues to be upbeat US existing home sales fell in July for a sixth straight month to 4.81 mn from 5.11 mn, now at the slowest pace since May 2020, and beneath the expected 4.89 mn. Inventory levels again continued to be a big concern, with supply rising to 3.3 months equivalent from 2.9 in June. This continues to suggest that the weakening demand momentum and high inventory levels may weigh on construction activity. The Philly Fed survey meanwhile outperformed expectations, with the headline index rising to +6.2 (exp. -5.0, prev. -12.3), while prices paid fell to 43.6 (prev. 52.2) and prices received dropped to 23.3 (prev. 30.3). New orders were still negative at -5.1, but considerably better than last month’s -24.8 and employment came in at 24.1 from 19.4 previously Fed speakers push for more rate hikes St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard 2.6% with more front-loading in 2022. Fed’s George, much like Fed’s Daly, said that last month’s inflation is not a victory and hardly comforting. Bullard and George vote in 2022. Fed’s Kashkari said that he is not sure if the Fed can avoid a recession and that there is more work to be done to bring inflation down, but noted economic fundamentals are strong. Overall, all messages remain old and eyes remain on Fed Chair Powell speaking at the Jackson Hole conference on August 26, next Friday.  Japan’s inflation came in as expected Japan’s nationwide CPI for July accelerated to 2.6% y/y, as expected, from 2.4% y/y in June. The core measure was up 2.4% y/y from 2.2% previously, staying above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target and coming in at the strongest levels since 2008. Upside pressures remain as Japan continues to face a deeper energy crisis threat into the winter with LNG supplies possibly getting diverted to Europe for better prices. Still, Bank of Japan may continue to hold its dovish yield curve control policy unless wage inflation surprises consistently to the upside.   What are we watching next?   Strong US dollar to unsettle markets – and Jackson Hole Fed conference next week? The US dollar continues to pull higher here, threatening the cycle highs versus sterling, the euro and on the comeback trail against the Japanese yen as well. The US dollar is a barometer of global liquidity, and a continued rise would eventually snuff out the improvement in financial conditions we have seen since the June lows in equity markets, particularly if longer US treasury yields are also unmoored from their recent range and rise back to 3.00% or higher.  The focus on the strong US dollar will intensify should the USDCNH exchange rate, which has pulled to the highs of the cycle above 6.80, lurch toward 7.00 in coming sessions as it would indicate that China is unwilling to allow its currency to track USD direction. As well, the Fed seems bent on pushing back against market expectations for Fed rate cuts next year and may have to spell this out a bit more forcefully at next week’s Jackson Hole conference starting on Thursday (Fed Chair Powell to speak Friday). Earnings to watch The two earnings releases to watch today are from Xiaomi and Deere. The Chinese consumer is challenged over falling real estate prices and input cost pressures on food and energy, and as a result consumer stocks have been doing bad this year. Xiaomi is one the biggest sellers of smartphones in China and is expected to report a 20% drop in revenue compared to last year. Deere sits in the booming agricultural sector, being one of the biggest manufacturers of farming equipment, and analysts expect a 12% gain in revenue in FY22 Q3 (ending 31 July).   Today: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 1230 – Canada Jun. Retail Sales 1300 – US Fed’s Barkin (Non-voter) to speak Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 19, 2022
Tokyo Issues Warning as Yen Depreciates, USD/JPY in Positive Territory

Dollar (USD) Rules!!! Natural Gas Prices Collapse

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 19.08.2022 13:00
Summary:  Today we note the strengthening headwinds against the melt-up in financial conditions as the US dollar continues to rise, having now broken higher against the Euro, sterling and yen, and as a new surge in US 10-year yields threatens. Elsewhere, US Natural Gas prices ease despite a weak storage build yesterday and wheat prices are retreating rapidly. In equities, focus on Applied Materials after their earning report, Canadian Solar and a look ahead at Deere. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.   Source: Podcast: USD and treasury yields pushing back against the melt-up
Latam FX Outlook 2023: Brazil's Local Currency Bonds Can Be Very Attractive

Mexican Gold - Peso Is Climbing High. Russia Is Building Nuclear Plant In Turkey!?

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 19.08.2022 14:26
Overview:  The dollar is on fire. It is rising against all the major currencies and cutting through key technical levels like a hot knife in butter. The Canadian dollar is the strongest of the majors this week, which often outperforms on the crosses in a strong US dollar environment. It is off 1.5% this week. The New Zealand dollar, where the RBNZ hiked rates this week by 50 bp, is off the most with a 3.5% drop. Emerging market currencies are mostly lower on the day and week as well. The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is off for the fifth consecutive session, and ahead of the Latam open, it is off 2.1% this week. Asia Pacific equities were mostly lower, and Europe’s is off around 0.4%. It was flat for the week coming into today. US futures are lower, and the S&P and NASDAQ look poised to snap its four-week advance. Gold, which began the week near $1800 is testing support near $1750 now. Next support is seen around $1744.50. October WTI is consolidating in the upper end of yesterday’s range, which briefly poked above $91. Initial support is pegged near $88. US natgas is softer for the third successive session, but near $9.04 is up about 3.2% for the week. Europe’s benchmark is up 1.7% and brings this week’s gain to almost 20%. Demand concerns weigh on iron ore. It was off marginally today, its fifth loss in six sessions. It tumbled 8.8% this week after a 1.15% gain last week. Copper is up fractionally after rising 1.3% yesterday. September wheat is trying to stabilize. It fell more than 4% yesterday, its fifth loss in a row. It is off around 8.5% this week. Asia Pacific Japan's July CPI continued to rise  Th headline now stands at 2.6%, up from 2.4% in June, up from 0.8% at the start of the year and -0.3% a year ago. The core measure that excludes fresh food accelerated from 2.2% to 2.4%. It is the fourth consecutive month above the 2% target. Excluding both fresh food and energy, Japan's inflation is less than half the headline rate at 1.2%. It was at -0.7% at the end of last year and did not turn positive until April. The BOJ's next meeting is September 22, and despite the uptick in inflation, Governor Kuroda is unlikely to be impressed. Without wage growth, he argues, inflation will prove transitory. With global bond yields rising again, the 10-year, the market may be gearing up to re-challenge the BOJ's 0.25% cap. The yield is finishing the week near 0.20%, its highest since late July. Separately, we note that after divesting foreign bonds in recent months, Japanese investors have returned to the buy side. They have bought foreign bonds for the past four weeks, according to Ministry of Finance data. Last week's JPY1.15 trillion purchases (~$8.5 bln) were the most since last September.  China surprised the markets to begin the week with a 10 bp reduction in the benchmark 1-year medium-term lending facility rate  It now stands at 2.75%. It was the first cut since January, which itself was the first reduction since April 2020. Before markets open Monday, China is expected to announce a 10 bp decline in the 1- and 5-year loan prime rates. That would bring them to 3.60% and 4.35%, respectively. These rates are seen closer to market rates, but the large banks that contribute the quotes are state-owned. There is some speculation that a larger cut in the 5-year rate. The one-year rate was cut in January, but the 5-year rate was cut by 15 bp in May. The dollar is rising against the yen for the fourth consecutive session  It has now surpassed the JPY137.00 area that marks the (61.8%) retracement of the decline from the 24-year high set-in mid-July near JPY139.40. There may be some resistance in the JPY137.00-25 area, but a retest on the previous high looks likely in the period ahead. The Australian dollar is off for the fifth consecutive session and this week's loss of 3% offset last week's gain of as similar magnitude and, if sustained, would be the largest weekly decline since September 2020. The Aussie began the week near $0.7125 and recorded a low today slightly below $0.6890. The $0.6855-70 area is seen as the next that may offer technical support. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.8065 (median in Bloomberg's survey was CNY6.9856). The fix was the lowest for the yuan (strongest for the dollar) since September 2020. Yesterday's high was almost CNY6.7960 and today's low was a little above CNY6.8030. To put the price action in perspective, note that the dollar is approaching the (61.8%) retracement of the yuan's rise from mid-2020 (~CNY7.1780) to this year's low set in March (~CNY6.3065). The retracement is found around CNY6.8250. Europe UK retail sales surprised to the upside but are offering sterling little support  Retail sales including gasoline rose by 0.3% in July. It is the second gain of the year and the most since last October. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales rose by 0.4%, following a 0.2% gain in June. It is the first back-to-back gain since March and April 2021. Sales online surged 4.8% as discounts and promotions drew demand, and internet retailers accounted for 26.3% of all retail sales. Separately, consumer confidence, measured by GfK, slipped lower (-44 from -41), a new record low. Sterling is lower for the third consecutive session and six of the past seven sessions. The swaps market continues to price in a 50 bp rate hike next month and about a 1-in-5 chance of a 75 bp move. Nearly every press report discussing next month's Italian elections cited the fascist roots of the Brothers of Italy, which looks likely to lead the next government  Meloni, who heads up the Brothers of Italy and has outmaneuvered many of her rivals, and may be Italy's next prime minister, plays the roots down. She compares the Brothers of Italy to the Tory Party in the UK, the Likud in Israel, and the Republican Party in the US. The party has evolved, and the center-right alliance she leads no longer wants to leave the EU, it is pro-NATO, and condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The center-right alliance may come close to having a sufficient majority in both chambers to make possible constitutional reform. High on that agenda appears to transform the presidency into a directly elected office. The Italian presidency has limited power under the current configuration, but it has been an important stabilizing factor in crisis. Ironically, the president, picked by parliament, stepped in during the European debt crisis and gave Monti the opportunity to form a technocrat government after Berlusconi was forced to resign in 2011. Fast-forward a decade, a government led by the Conte and the Five Star Movement collapsed and a different Italian president gave Draghi a chance to put together a government. It almost last a year-and-half. Its collapse set the stage for next month's election. The center-left is in disarray and its inability to forge a broad coalition greases the path for Meloni and Co. Italy's 10-year premium over German is at 2.25%, a new high for the month. Last month, it peaked near 2.40%. The two-year premium is wider for the sixth consecutive session. It is near 0.93%, more than twice what it was before the Draghi government collapsed. Some critics argue against the social sciences being science because of the difficulty in conducting experiments  Still an experiment is unfolding front of us. What happens when a central bank completely loses its independence and follows dubious economic logic?  With inflation at more than two decades highs and the currency near record lows, Turkey's central bank surprised everyone by cutting its benchmark rate 100 bp to 13% yesterday. Governor Kavcioglu hinted this was a one-off as it was preempting a possible slowdown in manufacturing. Even though President Erdogan promised in June rates would fall, some observers link the rate cut to the increase in reserves (~$15 bln) recently from Russia, who is building a nuclear plant in Turkey. The decline in oil prices may also help ease pressure on Turkey's inflation and trade deficit. The lira fell to new record-lows against the dollar. The lira is off about 7.5% this quarter and about 26.4% year-to-date. Significant technical damage has been inflicted on the euro and sterling  The euro was sold through the (61.8%) retracement objective of the runup since the mid-July two-decade low near $0.9950. That retracement area (~$1.0110) now offers resistance, and the single currency has not been above $1.01 today. We had suspected the upside correction was over, but the pace of the euro's retreat surprises. There is little from a technical perspective preventing a test on the previous lows. Yesterday, sterling took out the neckline of a potential double top we have been monitoring at $1.20. It is being sold in the European morning and has clipped the $1.1870 area. The low set-in mid-July was near $1.1760, and this is the next obvious target and roughly corresponds to the measuring objective of the double top.  America With no dissents at the Fed to last month's 75 bp hike, one might be forgiven for thinking that there are no more doves  Yet, as we argued even before Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari, once regarded as a leading dove, admitted that his dot in June was the most aggressive at 3.90% for year-end, hawk and dove are more meaningful within a context. Kashkari may be more an activist that either a hawk or dove. Daly, the San Francisco Fed President does not vote this year, suggested that a Fed funds target "a little" over 3% this year would be appropriate. She said she favored a 50 bp or a 75 bp move. The current target range is 2.25%-2.50%. and the median dot in June saw a 3.25%-3.50% year-end target. St. Louis Fed President Bullard says he favors another 75 bp hike next month. No surprise there. George, the Kansas, Fed President, dissented against the 75 bp hike in June seemingly because of the messaging around it, but it's tough to call her vote for a 50 bp hike dovish. She voted for the 75 bp move in July. She recognizes the need for additional hikes, and the issue is about the pace. George did not rule out a 75 bp hike while cautioning that policy operates on a lag. Barkin, the Richmond Fed President, also does not vote this year. He is the only scheduled Fed speaker today.  The odds of a 75 bp in September is virtually unchanged from the end of last week around a 50/50 proposition.  The October Fed funds implies a 2.945% average effective Fed funds rate. The actual effective rate has been rocksteady this month at 2.33%. So, the October contract is pricing in 61 bp, which is the 50 bp (done deal) and 11 of the next 25 bp or 44% chance of a 75 hike instead of a half-point move. Next week's Jackson Hole conference will give Fed officials, and especially Chair Powell an opportunity to push back against the premature easing of financial conditions  The better-than-expected Philadelphia Fed survey helps neutralize the dismal Empire State manufacturing survey. The median from Bloomberg's survey looked for improvement to -5 from -12.3. Instead, it was reported at 6.2. Orders jumped almost 20 points to -5.1 and the improvement in delivery times points to the continued normalization of supply chains. Disappointingly, however, the measure of six-month expectations remained negative for the third consecutive month. Still, the plans for hiring and capex improved and the news on prices were encouraging. Prices paid fell to their lowest since the end of 2020 (energy?) and prices received were the lowest since February 2021. The Fed also asked about the CPI outlook. The median sees it at 6% next year down from 6.5% in May. The projected rate over the next 10-years slipped to 3%. Canada and Mexico report June retail sales today  Lift by rising prices, Canada's retail sales have posted an average monthly gain this year of 1.5%. However, after a dramatic 2.2% increase in May, Canadian retail sales are expected (median in Bloomberg' survey) to rise by a modest 0.4%. Excluding autos, retail sales may have held up better. Economists look for a 0.9% increase after a 1.9% rise in May. Through the first five months of the year, Mexico's retail sales have risen by a little more than 0.5% a month. They have risen by a 5.2% year-over-year. Economists expected retail sales to have slowed to a crawl in June and see the year-over-year pace easing to 5.0%. The greenback rose the CAD1.2935 area that had capped it in the first half of the week. It settled near CAD1.2950 yesterday and is pushing closer to CAD 1.2980 now. Above here, immediate potential extends toward CAD1.3035. The US dollar is gaining for the third consecutive session against the Canadian dollar, the longest advancing streak in a couple of months. Support is seen in the CAD1.2940-50 area. The Mexican peso is on its backfoot, and is falling for the fourth session, which ended a six-day rally. The dollar has met out first target near MXN20.20 and is approaching the 20-day moving average (~MXN20.2375). Above there, the next technical target is MXN20.32. The broader dollar gains suggest it may rise above the 200-day moving average against the Brazilian real (~BRL5.2040) and the (38.2%) of the slide since the late July high (~BRL5.5140) that is found near BRL5.2185.    Disclaimer   Source: The Dollar is on Fire
Commodities: Deglobalization, Green Transformation, Urbanization And Other Things That Got Involved

Commodities: Deglobalization, Green Transformation, Urbanization And Other Things That Got Involved

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 19.08.2022 15:50
Summary:  Commodities traded with a softer bias this week as the focus continued to rest on global macro-economic developments, in some cases reducing the impact of otherwise supportive micro developments, such as the fall in inventories seen across several individual commodities. Overall, however, we do not alter our long-term views about commodities and their ability to move higher over time, with some of the main reasons being underinvestment, urbanization, green transformation, sanctions on Russia and deglobalization. Commodities traded with a softer bias this week as the focus continued to rest on global macro-economic developments, in some cases reducing the impact of otherwise supportive micro developments, such as the fall in inventories seen across several individual commodities. The dollar found renewed strength and bond yields rose while the month-long bear-market bounce across US stocks showed signs of running out of steam.The trigger being comments from Federal Reserve officials reiterating their resolve to continue hiking rates until inflation eases back to their yet-to-be revised higher long-term target of around 2%. Those comments put to rest expectations that a string of recent weak economic data would encourage the Fed to reduce the projected pace of future rate hikes.The result of these developments being an elevated risk of a global economic slowdown gathering pace as the battle against inflation remains far from won, not least considering the risk of persistent high energy prices, from gasoline and diesel to coal and especially gas. A clear sign that the battle between macro and micro developments continues, the result of which is likely to be a prolonged period of uncertainty with regards to the short- and medium-term outlook.Overall, however, these developments do not alter our long-term views about commodities and their ability to move higher over time. In my quarterly webinar, held earlier this week, I highlighted some of the reasons why we see the so-called old economy, or tangible assets, performing well over the coming years, driven by underinvestment, urbanization, green transformation, sanctions on Russia and deglobalization. Returning to this past week’s performance, we find the 2.3% drop in the Bloomberg Commodity Index, seen above, being in line with the rise in the dollar where gains were recorded against all the ten currencies, including the Chinese renminbi, represented in the index. It is worth noting that EU TTF gas and power prices, which jumped around 23% and 20% respectively, and Paris Milling wheat, which slumped, are not members of the mentioned commodity index.Overall gains in energy led by the refined products of diesel and US natural gas were more than offset by losses across the other sectors, most notably grains led by the slump in global wheat prices and precious metals which took a hit from the mentioned dollar and yield rise. Combating inflation and its impact on growth remains top of mind Apart from China’s slowing growth outlook due to its zero-Covid policy and housing market crisis hitting industrial metals, the most important driver for commodities recently has been the macro-economic outlook currently being dictated by the way in which central banks around the world have been stepping up efforts to curb runaway inflation by forcing down economic activity through aggressively tightening monetary conditions. This process is ongoing and the longer the process takes to succeed, the bigger the risk of an economic fallout. US inflation expectations in a year have already seen a dramatic slump but despite this the medium- and long-term expectations remain anchored around 3%, still well above the Fed’s 2% target.Even reaching the 3% level at this point looks challenging, not least considering elevated input costs from energy. Failure to achieve the target remains the biggest short-term risk to commodity prices with higher rates killing growth, while eroding risk appetite as stock markets resume their decline. These developments, however, remain one of the reasons why we find gold and eventually also silver attractive as hedges against a so-called policy mistake. Global wheat prices tumble The prospect for a record Russian crop and continued flows of Ukrainian grain together with the stronger dollar helped push prices lower in Paris and Chicago. The recently opened corridor from Ukraine has so far this month seen more than 500,000 tons of crops being shipped, and while it's still far below the normal pace, it has nevertheless provided some relief at a time where troubled weather has created a mixed picture elsewhere. The Chicago wheat futures contract touched a January low after breaking $7.75/bu support while the Paris Milling (EBMZ2) wheat traded near the lowest since March. With most of the uncertainties driving panic buying back in March now removed, calmer conditions should return with the biggest unknown still the war in Ukraine and with that the country’s ability to produce and export key food commodities from corn and wheat to sunflower oil. EU gas reaches $73/MMBtu or $415 per barrel of oil equivalent Natural gas in Europe headed for the longest run of weekly gains this year, intensifying the pain for industries and households, while at the same time increasingly threatening to push economies across the region into recession. The recent jump on top of already elevated prices of gas and power, due to low supplies from Russia, has been driven by an August heatwave raising demand while lowering water levels on the river Rhine. This development has increasingly prevented the safe passage of barges transporting coal, diesel and other essentials, while refineries such as Shell’s Rhineland oil refinery in Germany have been forced to cut production. In addition, half of Europe’s zinc and aluminum smelting capacity has been shut, thereby adding support to these metals at a time the market is worried about the demand outlook.An abundance of rain and lower temperatures may in the short term remove some of the recent price strength but overall, the coming winter months remain a major worry from a supply perspective. Not least considering the risk of increased competition from Asia for LNG shipments. Refinery margin jump lends fresh support to crude oil Crude oil, in a downtrend since June, is showing signs of selling fatigue with the technical outlook turning more price friendly while fresh fundamental developments are adding some support as well. Worries about an economic slowdown driven by China’s troubled handling of Covid outbreaks and its property sector problems as well as rapidly rising interest rates were the main drivers behind the selling since March across other commodity sectors before eventually also catching up with crude oil around the middle of June. Since then, the price of Brent has gone through a $28 dollar top to bottom correction. While the macro-economic outlook is still challenged, recent developments within the oil market, so-called micro developments, have raised the risk of a rebound. The mentioned energy crisis in Europe continues to strengthen, the result being surging gas prices making fuel-based products increasingly attractive. This gas-to-fuel switch was specifically mentioned by the IEA in their latest update as the reason for raising their 2022 global oil demand growth forecast by 380k barrels per day to 2.1 million barrels per day. Since the report was published, the incentive to switch has increased even more, adding more upward pressure on refinery margins. While pockets of demand weakness have emerged in recent months, we do not expect these to materially impact on our overall price-supportive outlook. Supply-side uncertainties remain too elevated to ignore, not least considering the soon-to-expire releases of crude oil from US Strategic Reserves and the EU embargo of Russian oil fast approaching. In addition, the previously mentioned increased demand for fuel-based products to replace expensive gas. With this in mind, we maintain our $95 to $115 range forecast for the third quarter. Gold and silver struggle amid rising dollar and yields Both metals, especially silver, were heading for a weekly loss after hawkish sounding comments from several FOMC members helped boost the dollar while sending US ten-year bond yields higher towards 3%. It was the lull in both that helped trigger the recovery in recent weeks, and with stock markets having rallied as well during the same time, the demand for gold has mostly been driven by momentum following speculators in the futures market. The turnaround this past week has, as a result of speculators' positioning, been driven by the need to reduce bullish bets following a two-week buying spree which lifted the net futures long by 63k lots or 6.3 million ounces, the strongest pace of buying in six months. ETF holdings meanwhile have slumped to a six-month low, an indication that investors, for now, trust the FOMC’s ability to bring down inflation within a relatively short timeframe. An investor having doubts about this should maintain a long position as a hedge against a policy mistake. Some investors may feel hard done by gold’s negative year-to-date performance in dollars, but taking into account it had to deal with the biggest jump in real yields since 2013 and a surging dollar, its performance, especially for non-dollar investors relative to the losses in bonds and stocks, remains acceptable. In other words, a hedge in gold against a policy mistake or other unforeseen geopolitical events has so far been almost cost free.   Source: WCU: Bearish macro, bullish micro regime persists
Dollar (USD) Waits For The Jackson Hole Symposium Results. Nvidia With Good Earnings

Dollar (USD) Waits For The Jackson Hole Symposium Results. Nvidia With Good Earnings

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 22.08.2022 11:41
Summary:  The dollar story will face a fresh test this week as the central bankers gather for the Jackson Hole symposium from August 25 to 27. We can expect some more push back on the 2023 easing expectations, and this could also mean some upside in US Treasury yields. July PCE due at the end of the week will likely be side-lined by the event, and any gasoline-driven easing should have little relevance. In Europe, the gas situation remains on watch and the July PMIs will likely spell more caution. China’s LPR cuts this morning have signalled a stronger support to the property markets, but the Covid situation and the power curbs continue to cloud the outlook. Earnings pipeline remains robust, key ones being Palo Alto, Nvidia and Intuit, followed by a few discount retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree in the U.S., and China Internet companies, JD.COM, and Meituan.   US dollar awaiting its next signals from the Jackson Hole There is a considerable tension between the market’s forecast for the economy and the resulting expected path of Fed policy for the rest of this year and particularly next year, as the market believes that a cooling economy and inflation will allow the Fed to reverse course and cut rates in a “soft landing” environment (the latter presumably because financial conditions have eased aggressively since June, suggesting that markets are not fearing a hard landing/recession). Some Fed members have tried to push back against the market’s expectations for Fed rate cuts next year it was likely never the Fed’s intention to allow financial conditions to ease so swiftly and deeply as they have in recent weeks. The risks, therefore, point to a Fed that may mount a more determined pushback at the Jackson Hole forum, the Fed’s yearly gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming that is often used to air longer term policy guidance. This will have further implications for the US dollar, which is threatening the cycle highs versus sterling, the euro and on the comeback trail against the Japanese yen as well. The US dollar is a barometer of global liquidity, and a continued rise would eventually snuff out the improvement in financial conditions we have seen since the June lows in equity markets, particularly if longer US treasury yields are also unmoored from their recent range and rise back to 3.00% or higher. Europe and UK PMIs may spell further caution The Euro-area flash composite PMI and the UK flash PMI for August are both due to be released on Tuesday. Following a slide in ZEW and Sentix indicators for July, the stage is set for a weaker outcome on the PMIs too. July composite PMI for the Euro-area dipped into contractionary territory at 49.9, while the UK measure held up at 52.1. The surge in gas and electricity prices continue to weigh on GDP growth outlook, with recession likely to hit by the end of the year. More price pressures to come to Asia Singapore's inflation likely nudged higher in July, coming in close proximity to 7% levels from 6.7% y/y in June. While both food and fuel costs continue to create upside pressures on inflation, demand-side pressures are also increasing as the region moves away from virus curbs. House rentals are also running high due to high demand and delayed construction limiting supplies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has tightened monetary policy but more tightening moves can be expected in H2 even as the growth outlook has been downwardly revised. We also get Japan's Tokyo CPI for August, which is likely to suggest further gains above the Bank of Japan's 2% target. Consensus expectations point toward another higher print of 2.7% y/y for the headline measure and 2.5% y/y on the core measure, signalling inflationary pressures will continue to question the Bank of Japan's resolve on the ultra-easy policy stance. Malaysia’s July inflation is also due at the end of the week, and likely to go above the 4%-mark from 3.4% previously. Softer July US PCE print would not derail Fed’s tightening After a softer CPI report in July, focus will turn to the PCE measure – the version of the CPI that is tracked by the Fed to gauge price pressures. Lower gasoline prices mean that PCE prints could also see some relief, although we still upside pressures to inflation given that energy shortages will likely persist and easing financial conditions mean that inflation could return. We would suggest not to read too much into a softer PCE print this week, as the stickier shelter and services prices mean that the 2% inflation target of the Fed remains unachievable into then next year. This suggests that the aggressive tightening by the Fed will likely continue, despite any likely softness in the PCE this week. Housing markets, Covid-19 cases, and power curbs are key things to watch in China this week The data calendar is light in China this week with only July industrial profits data scheduled to release on Saturday.  This morning, China’s National Interbank Fund Center, based on quotes from banks and under the supervision of the PBoC, fixed the 1-year loan prime rate (“LPR”) 5 bps lower at 3.60% and the 5-year loan prime rates (“LPR”) 15 basis points lower at 4.30%.  The larger reduction in the 5-year LPR, which is the benchmark against which mortgage loan rates in China are set, may signal stronger support from the PBoC to the housing market.  Last Friday the Housing Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, and the PBoC, according to Xinhua News, jointly rolled out a program to make special loans through policy banks to support the delivery of presold residential housing projects which are facing difficulties in completion due to lack of funding.  Investors will monitor closely this week to gauge if there is additional information about the size of the program and if the PBoC will print money to fund it.  As daily locally transmitted new cases of Covid-19 in China persistently surged and stayed above 2,000 since August 12, 2022, the market will watch the development closely and how it will affect the economy.   In addition to the pandemic, power shortage in the Sichuan province and some other areas in China due to unusually high temperature (higher power consumption for air-conditioning) and drought (which affects hydropower output), investors are assessing the impact of the government-imposed power rationing for industrial users on production, in particular the auto industry and consumer electronics industry in the affected areas. Key earnings this week On Monday, investors will scrutinize the results from Palo Alto Networks (PANW:xnas) in the U.S. to gauge the latest business development in the security software industry, which has drawn much attention this year as cybersecurity has become a focus. Intuit (INTU:xnas) is scheduled to report on Tuesday and its results may provide information about the small and medium-sized businesses that the company focuses in it business.  After a disappointing preannouncement earlier in the month, the bar for Nvidia (NVDA:xnas)’s earnings release this Wednesday may be low.  In HK/China, the results from the Postal Savings Bank of China may provide the market with some insights into the state of the Chinese banking system, especially situations outside the top-tier cities. JD.COM (09618:xhkg/JD:xnas) on Tuesday and Meituan (03690:xhkg) on Friday will be the focus of investors monitoring the business trend of eCommerce and delivery platforms in China.  Key economic releases & central bank meetings this week Monday, Aug 22 South Korea: Exports (Aug, first 20 days)Hong Kong: CPI (Jul)   Tuesday, Aug 23 United States: S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI (Aug, preliminary)United States: S&P Global US Services PMI (Aug, preliminary)Eurozone: PMI Manufacturing (Aug)Eurozone: Consumer Confidence (Aug)United Kingdom: PMI Manufacturing (Aug), PMI Services (Aug)Japan: PMI Manufacturing (Aug)Singapore: CPI (Jul) Wednesday, Aug 24 United States: Durable Goods Orders (Jul, preliminary)United States: Pending Home Sales (Jul) Thursday, Aug 25 United States: GDP (Q2, second)United States: Initial Jobless Claims (Aug)United States: Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity (Aug)United States: Jackson Hole Symposium (Aug 25 to 27)Germany: IFO Survey (Aug)France: Business Confidence (Aug)South Korea: Bank of Korea Policy Meeting Friday, Aug 26 United States: Personal Income, Personal Spending, PCE Deflator & PCE Core Deflator (Jul)United States: U of Michigan Sentiment Survey (Aug, final)United States: Fed Chair Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole SymposiumFrance: Consumer Confidence (Aug)Eurozone: M3 (Jul)Italy: Consumer Confidence (Aug)Italy: Economic Sentiment (Aug)Tokyo: Tokyo-area CPI (Aug)Singapore: Industrial Production (Jul) Saturday, Aug 27 China: Industrial Profits (Jul) Key earnings releases this week Monday: Postal Savings Bank of China (01658:xhkg), Palo Alto Networks (PANW:xnas) Tuesday: Medtronic (MDT:xnys), Intuit (INTU:xnas), JD.COM (09618:xhkg/JD:xnas), JD Logistics (02615:xhkg), Kingsoft (03888:xhkg), Kuaishou (01024:xhkg) Wednesday: PetroChina (00857:xhkg), Ping An Insurance (02318:xhkg), Nongfu Spring (09633:xhkg), LONGi Green Energy Technology (601012:xssc), Pinduooduo (PDD:xnas), Nvidia (NVDA:xnas), Salesforce (CRM:xnys), JD Health (06618:xhkg) Thursday: AIA (01299:hkgs), Wulinagye Yibin (000858:xsec), China Life Insurance (02628:xhkg), CNOOC (00883:xhkg), Dollar General (DG:xnys), NIO (09866:xhkg/NIO:xnas) Friday: Meituan (03690:xhkg), China Shenhua (01088:xhkg), Sinopec (00386:xhkg)    Source: Saxo Spotlight: What’s on investors and traders radars this week?
China Rolled Out A Special Loan Program! Fed's News

China Rolled Out A Special Loan Program! Fed's News

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 22.08.2022 12:33
Summary:  Equities closed last week on the defensive as a rising US dollar and especially US treasuries weighed. The US 10-year yield is threatening the 3.00% level for the first time in a month ahead of the important US July PCE inflation data and Fed Chair Powell’s speech on Friday. How forcefully will Powell push back against the virtual melt-up in financial conditions after the market felt the Fed pivoted to less tightening at the July meeting?   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures are still rolling over as the US 10-year yield zoomed to 3% on Friday with the index futures trading just above the 4,200 level this morning. The next levels on the downside sit around the 4,100 to 4,170 range, but in the longer term the 4,000 level is the big level to watch. Energy markets are still sending inflationary signals which is key to watch for sentiment this week. In terms of earnings, Palo Alto Networks and Zoom Video will report earnings. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hang Seng Index and CSI300 were moderately higher, +0.2% and +0.8% respectively. Chinese developers gained on today’s larger-than-expected cut in the 5-year loan prime rate and last Friday’s report that the PBoC, jointly with the Housing Ministry and the Ministry of Finance to roll out a program to make special loans through policy banks to support the delivery of stalled residential housing projects. Great Wall Motor (02333:xhkg) soared 11%. In A-shares, auto names were among stocks that outperformed. Xiaomi (01810:xhkg) dropped 3% after reporting Q2 revenues -20% YoY and net profit -67% YoY, largely in line with expectations.  US dollar dominates focus in forex this week The US dollar rally picked up speed last week, with key levels falling in a number of USD pairs last week that now serve as resistance, including 1.0100 in EURUSD and 1.2000 in GBPUSD, both of which now serve as resistance/USD support. A significant break of EURUSD parity will likely add further psychological impact, and more practically, an upside break in yields at the longer end of the US yield curve is playing a supportive roll, one that will intensify its driving roll if the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield follows through higher above the 3.00% level it touched in trading overnight. A complete sweep of USD strength also threatens on any significant follow through higher in USDCNH as it threatens an upside break here (more below). The next key event risk for the US dollar arrives with this Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium speech from Fed Chair Powell (preview below). USDCNH Broad USD strength is helping to drive a move to new cycle highs above 6.84 as the week gets underway, but CNH is not weak in other pairings with G10 currencies, quite the contrary. Still, a move in this critical exchange rate will remain a focus, and the contrast between an easing PBOC (moving once again overnight) and tightening central banks nearly everywhere else is stark. The USDCNH moving higher will receive considerable additional focus if the 7.00 level. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Crude oil turned lower in the Asian overnight after modest gains last week as the focus continues to alter between demand destruction fears and persistent supply shortages. Fears of an economic slowdown reducing demand remains invisible in the physical market but it has nevertheless seen crude oil give up all the post Russia invasion gains while speculators or hedge funds have cut bullish bets on WTI and Brent to the lowest since April 2020. WTI futures trades back below $90/barrel while Brent futures dipped below $96. Still, the gas-to-fuel switch led by record gas prices in Europe has seen refinery margins strengthen again lately and it now adds to the fundamental price-supportive factors. Focus may turn back to Iranian supply early in the week though, with reports that a deal is ‘imminent’. Cryptocurrencies The crypto market took a major hit on Friday with the total crypto market cap diving by more than 9 %, but prices have stabilized over the weekend. The total market cap is now close to the psychological $1 trillion level. US Treasuries (TLT, IEF) Rising US Treasury yields are pushing back against the strong improvement in financial conditions of recent weeks after the US 10-year Treasury yield benchmark jumped to new highs on Friday, well clear of the prior range after a few teases higher earlier in the week and bumping up against the psychologically key 3.00% level. Any follow through higher toward the 3.50% area highs of the cycle would likely add further pressure to financial conditions and risk sentiment more broadly. What is going on? German PPI shocks on the upside Germany’s July PPI smashed expectations to come in at 5.3% MoM, the biggest single gain since the Federal Republic started compiling its data in 1949 and above the consensus estimate of 0.7%. The data suggests potentially a lot more room on the upside to Eurozone inflation, and a lot more pain for German industries. European PMIs due this week will gather attention, as will Germany’s IFO numbers. Berkshire Hathaway wins approval to acquire Occidental Petroleum Warren Buffett’s industrial conglomerate that recently increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum to over 20% following the US Climate & Tax bill which adds more runway for oil and gas companies has now won regulatory approval for acquiring more than 50% the oil and gas company. This means that Berkshire Hathaway is warming up to its biggest acquisition since its Burlington acquisition. The power shortage in China China is currently being hit by a heatwave with a large part of the country experiencing -degree Celsius temperatures since the beginning of August. The surge in air conditioning caused electricity consumption to soar. To make things worse, drought has reduced hydropower output.  Some provinces and municipalities, especially Sichuan, are curbing electricity supply to industrial users in order to ensure electricity supply for residential use. This has caused disruptions to manufacturing production and added to the headwinds faced by the Chinese economy. China cut its 5-year loan prime rate loan prime more than expected China’s National Interbank Fund Center, based on quotes from banks and under the supervision of the PBoC, fixed the 1-year loan prime rate (“LPR”) 5 bps lower at 3.60% and the 5-year loan prime rates (“LPR”) 15 basis points lower at 4.30%. The larger-than-expected reduction in the 5-year LPR, which is the benchmark against which mortgage loan rates in China are set at a spread, may signal stronger support from the PBoC to the housing market.  The Chinese authorities are coming to the developers’ aid in delivering pre-sold homes Last Friday the Housing Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, and the PBoC, according to Xinhua News, jointly rolled out a program to make special loans through policy banks to support the delivery of presold residential housing projects which are facing difficulties in completion due to lack of funding.  Investors will monitor closely this week to gauge if there is additional information about the size of the program and if the PBoC will print money to fund it.  The resurgence of Covid cases in China Daily locally transmitted new cases of Covid-19 in China persistently stated above 2,000 since August 12, 2022, with Hainan, Tibet, and Xinjiang being the regions most impacted. The constituent companies of the Hang Seng Index will increase to 73 from 69 Hang Seng Indexes Company announced last Friday to add China Shenhua Energy (01088:xhkg), Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (01929:xhkg), Hansoh Pharmaceutical (03693:xhkg), and Baidu (09888:xhkg) to the Hang Seng Index, bringing the latter’s number of constituent companies to 73 from 69. The changes will take effect on September 5, 2022. In addition, SenseTime (00020:xhkg) will replace China Pacific Insurance (02601:xhkg) as a constituent company of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.  Australian share market at a pivotal point After rising for five straight weeks including last week's 1.2% lift, many market participants hold their breath this rally will continue. However, standing in the way are profit results from a quarter of the ASX200 companies to be released this week. For the final week of profit results, we hear from Qantas (Australia's largest airline), Whitehaven Coal (Australia's largest coal company), as well as other stocks that are typically held in Australian superannuation funds; including Coles, Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Endeavour. And lastly about 20 companies trade ex-dividend this week, however they are not expected to move the market's needle. Money managers increased their commodity exposure for a third week to August 16 The Commitment of Traders (COT) Report covering positions and changes made by money managers in commodities to the week ending August 16 showed a third week of net buying with funds adding 123k lots to 988k lots, a seven-week high. The buying was broad led by natural gas, sugar, cattle and grains with most of the selling concentrated in crude oil and gold. More in our weekly update out later. Prior to the latest recovery in price and positions hedge funds had been net sellers for months after holding 2.6 million lots at the start of the year. What are we watching next? USD and US Treasury yields as Jackson Hole Fed conference is the macro event risk of the week Friday The US dollar strengthened sharply, with EURUSD challenging near parity, USDCNH breaking higher today after another PBOC rate cut, and USDJPY not far from cycle highs. US Treasury yields have supported the move with the entire curve lifting over the last couple of weeks and longer yields pulling to new local highs last week. The Fed has pushed back consistently against the market’s pricing of a Fed turnaround to easing rates next year with partial success, as expectations for rate cuts have shifted farther out the curve and from higher levels. This week, the key test for markets is up on Friday as the US reports the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the July PCE inflation data, while Fed Chair Powell will also speak on Friday, offering the most important guidance on how the Fed feels about how it feels the market understands its intentions.   Earnings to watch Plenty of important earnings releases this week with the largest ones listed below. Today’s key focus is Palo Alto Networks, Zoom Video, and XPeng. Cyber security stocks have done reasonably well over the past year despite valuations coming down as demand is still red hot, Analysts expect Palo Alto Networks to report revenue growth of 27% y/y. Zoom Video, which was the pandemic superstar, is also reporting today with estimates looking for 9% revenue growth, down considerably from 54% y/y growth just a year ago. Monday: Palo Alto Networks, Zoom Video, XPeng Tuesday: CATL, Intuit, Medtronic, JD.com Wednesday: LONGi Green Energy, Royal Bank of Canada, PetroChina, Ping An Insurance Group, Nongfu Spring, Mowi, Nvidia, Salesforce, Pinduoduo, Snowflake, Autodesk Thursday: South32, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Fortum, Delivery Hero, AIA Group, China Life Insurance, CNOOC, CRH, Dollar General, Vmware, Marvell Technology, Workday, Dollar Tree, Dell Technologies, NIO Friday: Meituan, China Shenhua Energy, China Petroleum & Chemical Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – Switzerland SNB weekly sight deposits 1230 – US Jul. Chicago Fed National Activity Index 2300 – Australia Aug. Flash Manufacturing/Services PMI 0030 – Japan Aug. Flash Manufacturing/Services PMI Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 22, 2022
Oil Price Surges Above $91 as Double Bottom Support Holds

All Eyes On Fed Chair Powell's Speech. Latest Natural Gas Developments

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 22.08.2022 12:52
Summary:  The US dollar wrecking ball is in full swing, taking even USDCNH to new highs for the cycle after another rate cut in China overnight. Longer US treasury yields are also pressuring financial conditions and risk sentiment as the 10-year benchmark yield threatens 3.00% again. The chief event risk for the week will be the Jackson Hole, Wyoming speech from Fed Chair Powell. We also discuss the latest natural gas developments in Europe, speculative positioning in the commodities markets, the long term perspective for tangible vs. intangible stock returns over the last couple of decades, upcoming earnings, & more. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher If you are not able to find the podcast on your favourite podcast app when searching for Saxo Market Call, please drop us an email at marketcall@saxobank.com and we'll look into it.   Questions and comments, please! We invite you to send any questions and comments you might have for the podcast team. Whether feedback on the show's content, questions about specific topics, or requests for more focus on a given market area in an upcoming podcast, please get in touch at marketcall@saxobank.com.   Source: Podcast: USD and US yields brewing up trouble ahead of Jackson Hole
Gold Has A Chance For Further Downside Movement - 30.12.2022

Gold Is At Risk Of Being Liquidated!? Ukraine Shipment Accelerates

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen 22.08.2022 13:47
Summary:  Our weekly Commitment of Traders update highlights future positions and changes made by hedge funds and other speculators across commodities and forex during the week to August 16. A week that potentially saw a cycle peak in US stocks and where the dollar and treasury yields both traded calmly before pushing higher. Commodities meanwhile continued their recent recovery with funds being net buyers of most contracts, the major exceptions being gold and crude oil Saxo Bank publishes weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial. Link to latest report This summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across commodities and forex during the week to August 16. A week that potentially saw a cycle peak in US stocks with the S&P 500 reversing lower after reaching a four-month high, and where the dollar and treasury yields both traded calm before pushing higher. Commodities meanwhile continued their recent recovery with all sectors, except precious metals and grains recording gains. Commodities Hedge funds were net buyers for a third week with the total net long across the 24 major commodity futures tracked in this update rising by 14% to reach a seven week high at 988k lots. Some 56% below the recent peak reached in late February before Russia’s attack on Ukraine drove an across-the-board volatility spike which forced funds to reduce their exposure. Since then and up until early July, worries about a global economic slowdown, caused by a succession of rapid rate hikes in order to kill inflation, was one of the key reasons for the slump in speculative length.Returning to last week, the 123k lot increase was split equally between new longs being added and short positions being scaled back, and overall the net increase was broad led by natural gas, sugar, cattle and grains with most of the selling being concentrated in crude oil and gold. Energy: Weeks of crude oil selling continued with the combined net long in WTI and Brent falling by 26k lots to 278k lots, the lowest belief in rising prices since April 2020. Back then the market had only just began recovering the Covid related energy shock which briefly sent prices spiraling lower. While funds continued to sell crude oil in anticipation of an economic slowdown the refined product market was sending another signal with refinery margins on the rise again, partly due surging gas prices making refined alternatives, such as diesel, look cheap. As a result, the net long in ICE gas oil was lifted by 24% to 62k lots while RBOB gasoline and to a lesser extent ULSD also saw net buying. The net short in Henry Hub natural gas futures was cut by 55% as the price jumped by 19%. Metals: Renewed weakness across investment metals triggered a mixed response from traders with gold seeing a small reduction in recently established longs while continued short covering reduced bearish bets in silver, platinum and palladium. With gold resuming its down move after failing to find support above $1800, the metal has been left exposed to long liquidation from funds which in the previous two weeks had bought 63.3k lots. Copper’s small 1% gain on the week supported some additional short covering, but overall the net short has stayed relatively stable around 16k lots for the past six weeks. Agriculture: Speculators were net buyers of grains despite continued price weakness following the latest supply and demand report from the US Department of Agriculture on August 12, and after shipments of grains from Ukraine continued to pick up speed. From a near record high above 800k lots on April 19, the net long across six major crop futures went on to slump by 64% before buyers began dipping their toes back in to the market some three weeks ago. Buying was concentrated in bean oil and corn while the wheat sector remained challenged with the net long in Kansas wheat falling to a 2-year low. The four major softs contract saw strong buying led by sugar after funds flipped their position back to a 13.4k lots net long. The cocoa short was reduced by 10% while the coffee long received a 25% boost. Cotton’s 18% surge during the week helped lift the long by 35% to 44.7k lots.     Forex A mixed week in forex left the speculative dollar long close to unchanged against ten IMM futures and the DXY. Selling of euro saw the net short reach a fresh 2-1/2-year high at 42.8k lots or €5.3 billion equivalent while renewed selling of JPY, despite trading higher during the reporting week, made up most of the increase in dollar length. Against these we saw short covering reduce CHF, GBP and MXN short while CAD net long reached a 14-month high.    What is the Commitments of Traders report? The COT reports are issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the ICE Exchange Europe for Brent crude oil and gas oil. They are released every Friday after the U.S. close with data from the week ending the previous Tuesday. They break down the open interest in futures markets into different groups of users depending on the asset class. Commodities: Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap dealers, Managed Money and otherFinancials: Dealer/Intermediary; Asset Manager/Institutional; Leveraged Funds and otherForex: A broad breakdown between commercial and non-commercial (speculators) The reasons why we focus primarily on the behavior of the highlighted groups are: They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming   Source: COT: Gold and oil left out as funds return to commodities
Japan's Prime Minister Tested Covid Positive. Gazprom Confirmed Gas Shipment Would Be Stopped!

Japan's Prime Minister Tested Covid Positive. Gazprom Confirmed Gas Shipment Would Be Stopped!

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 22.08.2022 16:28
Overview: The euro traded below parity for the second time this year and sterling extended last week’s 2.5% slide. While the dollar is higher against nearly all the emerging market currencies, it is more mixed against the majors. The European currencies have suffered the most, except the Norwegian krone. The dollar-bloc and yen are also slightly firmer. The week has begun off with a risk-off bias. Nearly all the large Asia Pacific equity markets were sold. Chinese indices were a notable exception following a cut in the loan prime rates. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is off by around 1.20%, the most in a month. US futures are more than 1% lower. The Asia Pacific yield rose partly in catch-up to the pre-weekend advance in US yields, while today, US and European benchmark 10-year yields are slightly lower. The UK Gilt stands out with a small gain. Gold is being sold for the sixth consecutive session and has approached the (61.8%) retracement of the rally from last month’s low (~$1680) that is found near $1730. October WTI is soft below $90, but still inside the previous session’s range. US natgas is up 2.4% to build on the 1.6% gain seen before the weekend. It could set a new closing high for the year. Gazprom’s announcement of another shutdown of its Nord Stream 1 for maintenance sent the European benchmark up over 15% today. It rose almost 20.3% last week. Iron ore rose for the first time in six sessions, while September copper is giving back most of the gains scored over the past two sessions. September wheat rallied almost 3% before the weekend and is off almost 1% now.  Asia Pacific Following the 10 bp reduction in benchmark one-year Medium-Term Lending Facility Rate at the start of last week, most observers expected Chinese banks to follow-up with a cut in the loan prime rates today  They delivered but in a way that was still surprising. The one-year loan prime rate was shaved by five basis points to 3.65%, not even matching the MLF reduction. On the other hand, the five-year loan prime rate was cut 15 bp to 4.30%. This seems to signal the emphasis on the property market, as mortgages are tied to the five-year rate, while short-term corporate loans are linked to the shorter tenor. The five-year rate was last cut in May and also by 15 bp. Still, these are small moves, and given continued pressures on the property sector, further action is likely, even if not immediately. In addition to the challenges from the property market and the ongoing zero-Covid policy, the extreme weather is a new headwind to the economy. The focus is on Sichuan, one of the most populous provinces and a key hub for manufacturing, especially EV batteries and solar panels. It appears that the aluminum smelters (one million tons of capacity) have been completed halted. The drought is exacerbating a local power shortage. Rainfall along the Yangtze River is nearly half of what is normally expected. Hydropower accounts for a little more than 80% of Sichuan power generation and the output has been halved. Officials have extended the power cuts that were to have ended on August 20 to August 25. Factories in Jiangsu and Chongqing are also facing outages. According to reports, Shanghai's Bund District turned off its light along the waterfront. Japan's Prime Minister Kishida tested positive for Covid over the weekend  He will stay in quarantine until the end of the month. In addition to his physical health, Kishida's political health may become an issue. Support for his government has plunged around 16 percentage points from a month ago to slightly more than 35% according to a Mainchi newspaper poll conducted over the weekend. The drag appears not to be coming from the economy but from the LDP's ties with the Unification Church. Meanwhile, Covid cases remain near record-highs in Japan, with almost 24.8k case found in Tokyo alone yesterday. Others are also wrestling with a surge in Covid cases. Hong Kong's infections reached a new five-month high, for example. The dollar reached nearly JPY137.45 in Tokyo before pulling back to JPY136.70 in early European turnover  It is the fifth session of higher highs and lows for the greenback. The upper Bollinger Band (two standard deviations above the 20-day moving average) is near JPY137.55 today. We suspect the dollar can re-challenge the session high in North America today. The Australian dollar is proving resilient today after plunging 3.45% last week. It is inside the pre-weekend range (~$0.6860-$0.6920). Still, we like it lower. Initial support is now seen around $0.6880, and a break could spur another test on the lows. That pre-weekend low coincides with the (61.8%) retracement of the rally from last month's low (~$0.6680) to the high on August 11 (~$0.7135). The Chinese yuan slumped to new lows for the year today. For the second consecutive session, the dollar gapped higher and pushed through CNY6.84. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.8198. While this was lower than the CNY6.8213, it is not seen as much as a protest as an at attempt to keep the adjustment orderly. Europe Gazprom gave notice at the end of last week that gas shipments through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be stopped for three days (August 31-September 2) for maintenance  The European benchmark rose nearly 20.3% last week and 27% this month. It rose 35.2% last month and 65.5% in June. The year-to-date surge has been almost 380%. The energy shock seems sure to drive Europe into a recession. The flash August PMI out tomorrow is expected to see the composite falling further below the 50 boom/bust level. Bundesbank President Nagel, who will be attending the Jackson Hole symposium at the end of this week recognized the risk of recession but still argued for the ECB rate increases to anchor inflation expectations. The record from last month's ECB meeting will be published on Thursday. There are two keys here. First, is the color than can be gleaned from the threshold for using the new Transmission Protection Instrument. Second, the ECB lifted its forward guidance, which we argue is itself a type of forward guidance. Is there any insight into how it is leaning? The swaps market prices in another 50 bp hike, but a slight chance of a 75 bp move. The German 10-year breakeven (difference between the yield of the inflation linked bond and the conventional security) has been rising since last July and approached 2.50% last week  It has peaked in early May near 3% before dropping to almost 2% by the end of June. It is notable that Italy's 10-year breakeven, which has begun rising again since the third week of July, is almost 25 bp less than Germany. Several European countries, including Germany and Italy, have offered subsidies or VAT tax cut on gasoline that have offset some of the inflation pressures. Nagel, like Fed Chair Powell, BOE Governor Bailey, and BOJ Governor Kuroda place much emphasis on lowering wages to bring inflation down. Yet wages are rising less than inflation, and the cost-of-living squeeze is serious. They take for granted that business are simply passing on rising input costs, including labor costs, but if that were true, corporate earnings would not be rising, which they have. Costs are being passed through. Later this week, the UK regulator will announce the new gas cap for three months starting in October  Some reports warn of as much as an 80% increase. It is behind the Bank of England's warning that CPI could hit 13% then. The UK's wholesale benchmark has soared 47.5% this month after an 83.7% surge last month. Gas prices in the UK have nearly tripled this year. The UK's 10-year breakeven rose by 38 bp last week to 4.29%, a new three-month high. Although the UK economy shrank slightly in Q2 (0.1%), the BOE warned earlier this month that a five-quarter recession will likely begin in the fourth quarter. Unlike the eurozone, the UK's composite PMI has held above the 50 boom/bust level. Still, it is expected to have slowed for the fourth month in the past five when the August preliminary figures are presented tomorrow. The euro and sterling extended their pre-weekend declines  The euro slipped below parity to $0.9990. The multiyear low set last month was near $0.9950. The break of parity came in the early European turnover. Only a recovery of the $1.0050-60 area helps stabilizes the tone. Speculators in the futures market extended their next short euro position in the week through August 16 to a new two-year extreme and this was before the euro's breakdown in the second half of last week. The eurozone's preliminary August composite PMI due tomorrow is expected to show the contraction in output deepened while the market is expecting the Fed's Powell to reinforce a hawkish message on US rates. After falling to almost $1.1790 before the weekend, sterling made a marginal new low today, closer to $1.1780. The two-year low set last month was near $1.1760. The $1.1850-60 area offers an initial cap. Strike activity that hobbled the trains and underground spread to the UK's largest container port, Felixstowe, which handles about half of the country's containers. An eight-day strike began yesterday. Industrial activity is poised to spread, and this is prompting Truss and Sunak who are locked in a leadership challenge, to toughen their rhetoric against labor. America This is a busy week for the US  First, there is supply. Today features $96 bln in bills. Tomorrow sees a $60 bln three-week cash management bill and $44 bln 2-year notes. On Wednesday, the government sell another $22 bln of an existing two-year floating rate note, and $45 bln five-year note. Thursdays sale includes four- and eight-week bills and $37 bln seven-year notes. There are no long maturities being sold until mid-September. The economic data highlights include the preliminary PMI, where the estimate for services is forecast (median in Bloomberg's survey) to recover from the drop below the 50 boom/bust level. In the middle of the week, the preliminary estimate of July durable goods is expected. Shipments, which feed into GDP models is expected to rise by 0.3%. The revision of Q2 GDP the following day tends not to be a `big market movers. Friday is the big day. July merchandise trade and personal income and consumption measures are featured. Like we saw with the CPI, the headline PCE deflator is likely to ease while the core measure proves a bit stickier. Shortly after they are released, Powell addresses the Jackson Hole gathering.  Canada has a light economic diary this week, but Mexico's a bit busier  The highlight for Mexico will be the biweekly CPI on Wednesday. Price pressures are likely to have increased and this will encourage views that Banxico will likely hike by another 75 bp when it meets late next month (September 29). The July trade balance is due at the end of the week. It has been deteriorating sharply since February and likely continued.    The US dollar rose more than 1% against the Canadian dollar over the past three sessions. It edged a little higher today but stopped shy of the CAD1.3035 retracement objective. Initial support is seen near CAD1.2975-80. With sharp opening losses expected for US equities, it may discourage buying of the Canadian dollar in the early North American activity. The greenback is rising against the Mexican peso for the fifth consecutive session. However, it has not taken out the pre-weekend high near MXN20.2670. Still, the next important upside technical target is closer to MXN20.3230, which corresponds to the middle of this month's range. Support is now seen near MXN20.12.    Disclaimer   Source: No Relief for the Euro or Sterling
iPhones Banned in Chinese Offices: Tech Tensions Escalate

China's Plan For Dying Property Markets. Nasdaq 100 And S&P 500

Saxo Strategy Team Saxo Strategy Team 23.08.2022 08:37
Summary:  Equities were sold off on Monday, continuing a slide from their summer rally high, in the midst of position adjustments ahead of the Jackson Hole central banker event later this week. U.S. 10-year yields returned to above 3%. China cut its 5-year loan prime rates and plans to extend special loans to boost the ailing property markets. What is happening in markets?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  U.S. equities lost ground and continued to retrace from the high of the latest rally since mid-June.  The market sentiment has become more cautious ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s speech this Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium and a heavy economic data calendar, S&P 500 – 2.1%, Nasdaq 100 -2.7%.  The rise of U.S. 10-year bond yield back to above 3% added to the selling pressures in equities.  Zoom Video (ZM:xnas) fell 8% in after-hours trading as the company reported Q2 revenues and earnings missing estimates and cut its full year revenues guidance. U.S. treasuries (TLT:xnas, IEF:xnas, SHY:xnas) Bonds were sold off as traders adjusted positions ahead of the Jackson Hole.  The treasury yield curve bear flattened with 2-year yields surging 8bps to 3.30% and 10-year yields climbing 4bps to 3.01%, above the closely watched 3% handle.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Hang Seng fell 0.6% while CSI300 climbed 0.7% on Monday. Chinese developers gained on today’s larger-than-expected cut in the 5-year loan prime rate and the Chinese authorities plan to provide special loans through policy banks to support the delivery of stalled residential housing projects, CIFI (00883:xhkg) +11.5%, Country Garden (02007:xhkg) +3.2%.  China extended EV waivers from vehicle purchase tax and other fees to the end of 2023, but the share price reactions of Chinese EV makers traded in Hong Kong were mixed.  Great Wall Motor (02333:xhkg) soared 11%, benefiting from launching a new model that has a 1,000km per charge battery while Nio (09866:xhkg) and Li Auto(02015:xhkg) fell 4.2% and 1.4% respectively. Xiaomi (01810:xhkg) dropped 3.3% after Q2 revenues -20% YoY and net profit -67% YoY, on lower smartphone shipments (-26% YoY).  Smartphone parts suppliers, AAC Technologies (02018:xhkg) and Sunny Optical (02382:xhkg) declined 5.6% and 4.2% respectively.  The share price performance of the four companies that will be added to the Hang Seng Index was mixed, Baidu (09888:xhkg) +0.9%, China Shenhua Energy (01088:xhkg) +2.1%, Hansoh Pharmaceutical (03692:xhkg) +3.2% but Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (01929:xhkg) -0.6%.  SenseTime (00020:xhkg) gained 4.2% as the company will replace China Pacific Insurance (02601:xhkg) -2.8% as a constituent company of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.  ENN Energy (02688:xhkg) plunged more than 14% after reporting H1 results below market expectations.  China retailer Gome (00493) collapsed 20% after resuming trading from suspension and a plan t buy from the controlling shareholder a stake in China property assets.  EURUSD falls below parity, eyes on 0.9500 The latest concerns on the European energy crisis weighed on the Euro which was seen sipping below parity to the US dollar. Higher US yields and gains in the US dollar also underpinned, taking EURUSD to lows of 0.9926. The European recession is coming hard and fast, and the PMIs today will likely signal increasing pressure on the region. Also on the radar will be Fed Chair Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole later this week, with a fresh selloff in the pair likely to target 0.9500 next. USDCNH heading to further highs After PBOC’s easing measures on Monday, the scope for further yuan weakness has increased. USDCNH broke above 6.8600 overnight and potentially more US dollar strength this week on the back of a pushback from Fed officials on easing expectations for next year could mean a test of 7.00 for USDCNH. Still, the move in yuan is isolated, coming from China moving to prevent the yuan from tracking aggravated USD strength rather than showing signs of desiring a broader weakening. EURCNH has plunged to over 1-month lows of 6.8216 on the back of broader EUR weakness. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Crude oil prices made a recovery overnight despite the strength in the US dollar. A global shift from gas to oil, from Europe to Asia, has taken a deeper hold amid gas shortage fears accelerating in the wake of another upcoming maintenance of the Nordstream pipeline. Diesel and refinery margins have also been supported as a result, with Asia diesel crack rising to its previous high of $63 amid low inventory levels. WTI futures reversed back to the $90/barrel levels and Brent were back above $96. Comments from Saudi Energy Minister threatening to dial back supply also lifted prices, but these were mis-read and in fact, focused more on the mismatch between the tightness in the futures and the physical market. Gold (XAUUSD) and Silver (XAGUSD) Gold broke below the key $1744 support and is now eying $1729, the 61.8% retracement of the July to August bounce. Dollar strength and a run higher in US yields weighed on the shine of the yellow metal, which has seen downside pressures since last week after touching the critical $1800-level. Hawkish Fed talk this week could further weigh on the short-term prospects for Gold. Silver also dipped below the key 19 handle, erasing most of the gains seen since late July.   What to consider?   German year-ahead power prices hit a fresh record high German year-ahead power prices surged to EUR 700/MWh with Dutch TTF gas prices close to EUR 300/MWh. The surge came on the back of another leg higher in natural gas prices which rose over 8% in Europe amid concerns around the next scheduled 3-day maintenance of the Nordstream pipeline. It appears that demand destruction remains the most obvious but painful cure right now, along with a longer-term focus on ensuring a broad-based supply of energy from coal, gas, nuclear, solar, hydrogen, and more.  Australia and Japan services PMIs plunged into contraction Australia saw its services PMI drop to 49.6 in August in a flash print, from 50.9 in July. Manufacturing PMI, however, held up at 54.5, just weakening slightly from last month’s 55.7. The spate of rate hikes seen from Reserve Bank of Australia is likely taking its toll on demand and manufacturing. Meanwhile, prices remain elevated amid the persistent supply chain issues, and more rate hikes are still on the cards. Japan’s flash manufacturing PMI for August came in lower at 51.0 from 52.1 previously, nut stayed in expansion territory. Services PMI however plunged into the contraction zone below 50, coming in at 49.2 for a flash August print from 50.3 in July. The fresh COVID wave in Japan, although comes without any broad-based new restrictions, is impeding the services demand and will likely weigh on Q3 GDP growth. Europe and UK PMIs may spell further caution The Euro-area flash composite PMI and the UK flash PMI for August are both due to be released on Tuesday. Following a slide in ZEW and Sentix indicators for July, the stage is set for a weaker outcome on the PMIs too. July composite PMI for the Euro-area dipped into contractionary territory at 49.9, while the UK measure held up at 52.1. The surge in gas and electricity prices continue to weigh on GDP growth outlook, with recession likely to hit by the end of the year. China’s plan to provide loans to ensure delivery of presold residential projects is said to be of the size of RMB 200 billion Last Friday, Xinhua News reported that the PBoC, jointly with the Housing Ministry and the Ministry of Finance rolled out a program to make special loans through policy banks to support the delivery of stalled residential housing projects but the size of the program was not mentioned.   A Bloomberg report yesterday, citing “people familiar with the matter”, suggested the size of the support lending program could be as large as RMB 200 billion.  Beijing municipal government rolled out initiatives to promote hydrogen vehicles The municipal government of Beijing announced support for the construction of hydrogen vehicle refueling stations with RMB500 million for each station, aiming at building 37 new stations by 2023 and bringing the adoption of fuel-cell cars to over 10,000 units in the capital. Earlier in the month, the Guangdong province released a plan to build 200 hydrogen vehicle refueling stations by 2025. Since last year, there have been 13 provinces and municipalities rolling out policies to promote the development of the hydrogen vehicle industry.  Earnings on tap Reportedly there have been shorts being built up in Dollar Tree (DLTR:xnys) as traders are expecting that discount retailer missing when reporting this Thursday.   On the other hand, investors are expecting Dollar General (DG:xnys) results to come in more favourably, , which also reports this Thursday.  Key earnings scheduled to release today including Medtronic (MDT:xnys), Intuit (INTU:xnas), JD.COM (09618.xhkg/JD.xnas), JD Logistics (02615:xhkg), Kingsoft (02888:xhkg), and Kuishaou (01023:xhkg). Singapore reports July inflation figures today Singapore's inflation likely nudged higher in July, coming in close proximity to 7% levels from 6.7% y/y in June. While both food and fuel costs continue to create upside pressures on inflation, demand-side pressures are also increasing as the region moves away from virus curbs. House rentals are also running high due to high demand and delayed construction limiting supplies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has tightened monetary policy but more tightening moves can be expected in H2 even as the growth outlook has been downwardly revised.     For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast   Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 23, 2022
What Should We Expect Before Winter? Will Energy Crisis Come?

What Should We Expect Before Winter? Will Energy Crisis Come?

Peter Garnry Peter Garnry 22.08.2022 18:44
Summary:  Financial conditions loosening over the past six weeks were a natural evolution of the US economy improving in July, but the Fed is poised to hike potentially 75 basis points at the September meeting to tighten financial conditions even more as the nominal economy is still running too hot to get inflation meaningfully lower. The most likely scenario is weaker equities as winter approaching as the energy crisis will hurt. Financial conditions will soon begin tightening again S&P 500 futures are trading 3.4% lower from their high last week touching the 200-day moving average before rolling over again. Sentiment has shifted as the market is slowly pricing less rate cuts for next year with Fed Funds futures curve on Friday (the blue line) has shifted lower compared to a week ago (the purple line) as inflationary pressures are expected to ease as much as betted on by the market over the past month. Fed member Bullard recently said that he was leaning towards 75 basis points rate cut at the September FOMC meeting to cool the economy further. If the Fed goes with 75 basis points while the real economy is seeing lower activity it will mean that financial conditions will begin tightening more relative to the economic backdrop. Financial conditions have been loosening since June but expectation is that we will see another leg of tightening to levels eclipsing the prior high and with that US equities will likely roll over. S&P 500 futures are now well below the 4,200 level and currently in the congestion zone from before the last leg higher. The next gravitational point to the downside is the 4,100 and below that just above 4,000. December put options on the S&P 500 are currently bid around $208 which roughly a 5% premium for getting three-month downside protection at-the-money. S&P 500 futures | Source: Saxo Group   Fed Funds futures forward curve | Source: Bloomberg   US financial conditions | Source: Bloomberg The US is headed for a recession, but when? US financial conditions eased in July lifting equities and with good reasons we can see. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (the broadest measure of economic activity) rose to 0.27 in July from -0.25 in June suggesting a significant rebound in economic activity. The rebound was broad-based across all the four major sub categories in the index with the production index rising the most. The three-month average is still -0.09 with -0.7 being the statistical threshold for when this indicator suggests that the US economy is in a recession. The probability is therefore still elevated for a recession but the slowdown in the US economy has eased which is positive factor for US equity markets. Predicting the economy is difficult but our thesis going into the winter months on the Northern hemisphere is that it is very difficult to avoid a recession, at least in real terms, when the economy is facing an energy crisis. The most likely scenario is that the US economy will slide into a nominal recession but continue at a fast clip in nominal terms.          China is facing a 2008-style rescue of its real estate sector We have written earlier this year about the downfall of Evergrande and the other Chinese real estate developers. The stress in China’s real estate sector was a big theme earlier this year but has since faded, but recently the Chinese central bank has eased rates and today the government is planning a $29bn rescue package of special loans for troubled developers. Tensions in Chinese real estate are weighing down on the economy through lower consumer confidence and investors are increasingly reducing exposure to China has we have highlighted in our daily podcast. The PBoC (central bank) is urging banks to maintain steady growth of lending, but with the market value of banks relative to assets having declined for many years the market is no longer viewing the credit extension as driven by sound credit analysis, but more as an extended policy tool of the government with unknown but likely less good credit quality.   Source: Equities are rolling over as conditions are set to tighten
Asia Market: Optimistic Headlines From Regional Leaders China And Japan

Worrying China-Taiwan News, S&P 500 And Nasdaq Decreased Yesterday, EUR/USD Avoided Reaching Parity

ING Economics ING Economics 31.08.2022 08:21
China-Taiwan tensions rise again after drone incident Source: shutterstock Macro outlook Global markets: It’s slow, and it’s measured, and volumes are normal, but US equities declined again yesterday. Both the S&P500 and NASDAQ declined by about 1.1% on Tuesday. Equity futures are mixed, but basically flat. Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report may provide the next big leg up or down. US Treasury yields are also grinding very slowly higher. The yield on the 2Y US Treasury rose 1.8bp to 3.442%, while that on the 10Y bond remained flat at 3.102%. 10Y UK Gilt yields pushed up 10.2bp yesterday, catching up their European peers after the public holiday on Monday.  EURUSD was fairly steady yesterday, holding above parity and edging up to 1.0022. The AUD pushed up strongly at one point to close to 0.696, but then collapsed back to 0.6857 on a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) report cited by Bloomberg that hinted at more moderate rate hikes ahead. Cable collapsed back below 1.17 to 1.1658 after the public holiday, while the JPY has remained fairly steady at 138.75. Asian FX was a mixed bag. The PHP and SGD joined Australia at the bottom of the pack, and the TWD was also weaker – perhaps disturbed by reports that a Chinese drone was shot at over the Kinmen islands. The INR, IDR and MYR all solid made gains yesterday, the INR rising on hopes that Government securities may be included in the JPMorgan global index. G-7 Macro: Eurozone preliminary CPI inflation for August and the US ADP employment survey are the main macro releases today. EU inflation could rise to 9.0% from 8.9%YoY. While analysts expect the ADP survey to show a 300,000 increases in private sector employment in August.   China: Official PMI data for China are due out at 0930SGT. Consensus forecasters expect the manufacturing index to remain in contraction territory at 49.2, though this would be a slight improvement from the July figure of 49.0 if so. The non-manufacturing index is expected to show a slowdown in growth with the index easing down to 52.3 from 53.8. India: Later tonight, India releases GDP data for 2Q22, where the consensus expects a base-effect dominated series could deliver a 15.3%YoY increase. This will keep India on track to achieve 7%-plus rate of growth for the calendar-year 2022. The consensus estimate is in line with our own expectations. Fiscal deficit data for July will also be released. Australia: 2Q construction work done and private sector credit growth are today’s macro offerings. Both will provide some indication of the work the RBA will need to do to slow the economy enough to bring inflation down. Construction is bouncing along either side of zero quarter-on-quarter and is due a slight upward bounce in 2Q after a -0.9%QoQ result for Q1. Private sector credit growth is running at more than 9%YoY and will need to come down to be consistent with the Reserve Bank’s inflation target. Korea: The July Industrial production outcome was weak with the all-industry index falling (-0.1% MoM). Manufacturing production (-1.3%), retail sales (-0.3%), equipment investment (-3.2%), and construction (-2.5%) all dropped while services (0.3%) alone rebounded. Forward-looking machinery orders and construction orders also declined, suggesting a weak investment outlook for the next quarter. Also, it was particularly noticeable that all semiconductor-related figures came out poorly. The weak start of the quarter poses downside risks to the current quarter’s GDP. We don’t expect growth to contract in the current quarter, but the likelihood of a negative quarter is growing. If GDP contracts this quarter, it will complicate the BoK’s policy action at the year-end. Japan: In contrast to Korea, the July Industrial production (IP) performance was pretty strong. IP rose unexpectedly by 1.0% MoM sa (vs -0.5% market consensus), following a 9.2% surge in June. Retail sales also rose more than expected (0.8% in July vs -1.4% in June).  Also, output forecasts for August and September improved suggesting that solid production is likely to continue this quarter. Today’s reports signal that the economy continues to recover, mostly due to catch-up production gaps and reopening boosts. What to look out for: Regional PMI and US non-farm payrolls South Korea industrial production (31 August) Japan industrial production (31 August) China manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI (31 August) Hong Kong retail sales (31 August) India GDP (31 August) Fed's Mester speaks (31 August)  South Korea GDP and trade (1 September) Regional PMI manufacturing (1 September) China Caixin PMI manufacturing (1 September) Indonesia CPI inflation (1 September) US initial jobless claims and ISM manufacturing (1 September) Fed's Bostic speaks (1 September) South Korea CPI inflation (2 September) US non-farm payrolls and factory orders (2 September) Read this article on THINK TagsEmerging Markets Asia Pacific Asia Markets Asia Economics Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Chile's Peso (CLP) Has Been Helped By The IMF's Support, But It Is To Early To Rest On Laurels

Chile's Peso (CLP) Has Been Helped By The IMF's Support, But It Is To Early To Rest On Laurels

ING Economics ING Economics 31.08.2022 15:02
Chile’s agreement with the IMF for an $18.5bn Flexible Credit Line should offer some much-needed comfort to investors concerned about significant FX intervention and the fall in international reserves this year. A widening current account deficit and domestic political uncertainty present risks despite the nation’s overall strong credit profile The IMF's headquarters in Washington Chile turns to the IMF Chile has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a two-year Flexible Credit Line (FCL) arrangement, worth $18.5bn. The FCL differs from normal IMF programmes in that once agreed, there are no conditions for use and generally, they are seen as “precautionary” measures. Additionally, they are reserved for countries described by the IMF as having “very strong policy frameworks and track records in economic performance.” Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Poland have had FCL arrangements since their inception in 2009, while only Colombia has actually drawn on these resources.  The move looks significant for Chile, given the volatility seen in the peso this year and July’s announcement of a $25bn intervention programme by the central bank. International reserves at the central bank have fallen to $44.4bn from a peak of $55bn in October 2021, so the size of the FCL should provide a welcome but necessary extra buffer and offer some comfort to foreign investors who may have been concerned about the scale of FX interventions planned. The central bank only intends to draw on the FCL in an emergency, but if tapped it would augment the nation’s existing FX reserves. Chile has been struggling this year with a widening current account deficit of over 8% of GDP on a rolling annual basis as of the second quarter of this year, driven by weakening terms of trade. Copper prices, a key export, have come off the boil after rallying through to April while surging energy prices have driven imports higher. Against this backdrop, the nation remains one of the stronger hard currency sovereign credits in the EM space, with A1/A/A- ratings, but has performed weaker than its rating peers this year, with dollar bond spreads around 50bp wider on average YTD. Overall this latest agreement with the IMF signals an acceptance that the external backdrop is difficult for Chile, but should be seen as a marginal positive.  Chile's current account deficit at 8% of GDP is severe Source: Macrobond, ING   Peso rallies but remains vulnerable As we noted in the August edition of FX talking, we had felt that Chile committing nearly half of its FX reserves to a peso support programme was a dangerous move. Looking back on this, perhaps local officials at the time of the intervention announcement (late July) had some confidence that IMF support would be forthcoming. The news of IMF support has been welcomed by the peso - but we would be surprised if it drives the currency substantially stronger. As we've noted, Chile's staggering current account deficit of 8% of GDP leaves the peso heavily reliant on foreign capital inflows. Chile's well-respected central bank and 10%+ implied yield through the 3-month non-deliverable forwards are peso supportive. Yet the very strong dollar story (something we expect to continue for most of the second half of the year), and the uncertain environment for industrial metals given the Chinese slowdown, suggest Chile's peso is not out of the woods yet. The most immediate event risk is probably a referendum on Chile's new constitution wich takes place on Sunday.  We continue to favour USD/CLP trading back above 900 for the remainder of the year. Pressure on Chile's peso has depleted FX reserves - prompting IMF support Source: Macrobond, ING Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Oanda Podcast: US Jobs Report, SVB Financial Fallout And More

There Are Some Reasons Why The US GDP May Reach Ca. 3% | ISM Manufacturing Index Reached 52.8

ING Economics ING Economics 01.09.2022 20:22
Decent manufacturing activity, improved trade and inventory contributions and the cashflow boost from falling gasoline prices mean the US is set for a strong third-quarter GDP reading of around 3%, but another decline in residential construction reinforces the worries about what might happen later in the year The ISM manufacturing index held up better than expected in August, which should give a boost to strong third quarter GDP ISM holds up as rising orders and falling prices offer hope for the sector The ISM manufacturing index held up better than expected in August, coming in at 52.8, unchanged from July and better than the 51.9 consensus. Mixed regional indicators and a softer China PMI had raised warning flags, but instead new orders moved back into positive territory at 51.3 from 48 while employment rose to a five-month high of 54.2, boosting hopes of a decent manufacturing contribution to Friday's jobs number. Regarding jobs, the ISM reported that “companies continued to hire at strong rates in August, with few indications of layoffs, hiring freezes or head-count reductions through attrition. Panelists reported lower rates of quits, a positive trend”. US and Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' indices Source: Macrobond, ING   There was also a rise in the backlog of orders which suggests that the dip in the production component to 50.4 from 53.5 is just a temporary blip and that manufacturing output can continue growing at a firm pace over coming months. Indeed, the ISM cite the better lead time for supplier deliveries and the falling prices paid component as factors that “should bring buyers back into the market, improving new order levels” The Fed will also take some comfort from the prices paid component declining to 52.5. This index was above 80 as recently as May and reflects the steep falls in energy and key commodity prices. Putting it together, with the better trade and inventory numbers and the massive support to consumer spending power and confidence from the falls in gasoline prices we look for 3% annualised GDP growth in the third quarter after the technical recession in the first half of the year. This should be supportive of our Fed funds call of 3.75-4% rates for year end. Construction highlights the weakening medium-term outlook There was less positive news in the construction data, which fell 0.4% month-on-month  in July after a 0.5% fall in June. Residential construction was the main reason with the slowdown in housing activity set to translate into falling home building over at least the next six months. Annualised US residential and non-residential construction spending ($bn) Source: Macrobond, ING   Declining housing transactions implies big declines in residential construction and weakness in some retail sales components such as building supplies, furniture and home furnishings. Falling house prices would compound the downside risk for confidence and spending so while 3Q activity overall looks pretty good, 4Q will be much more challenging, especially with China under pressure and Europe facing an energy catastrophe. Read this article on THINK TagsUS Orders Manufacturing Construction Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Podcast: The Japanese Yen, US Dollar And Economic Outlook Under Scrutiny

Podcast: The Japanese Yen, US Dollar And Economic Outlook Under Scrutiny

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 07.09.2022 12:36
Summary:  Today we look at markets trying to remain steady yesterday after a strong US August ISM Services survey took US treasury yields sharply higher again, but that rise in yields aggravated the decline in the Japanese yen, which accelerated lower overnight and hardly registered stern warnings from Japan's Ministry of Finance. We also discuss factors driving gold below $1700/ounce again and the commodities complex weighed down in general by the strong US dollar and economic outlook. Equity market focus on sluggish volatility relative to prior cycles and the ongoing US-China disengagement. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Podcast: Bank of Japan fiddling as yen burns | Saxo Group (home.saxo)
It's not clear we find out the results of mid-term elections immediately. Binance to buy FTX

Japanese PPI Stays The Same. Decline Of The US CPI Let US Stocks And EUR/USD (Euro To US Dollar) Gain

ING Economics ING Economics 13.09.2022 12:46
Asian currencies likely to extend gains against the USD as risk sentiment remains solid ahead of the US inflation report  Source: shutterstock Macro outlook Global Markets: US equities made further gains yesterday ahead of the US CPI release later today, which is expected to show a decline in headline inflation thanks to lower crude oil, and hence retail gasoline prices. The risk-on sentiment has also hurt the USD, with EURUSD pushing back above 1.01 to 1.0126, and other G-10 currencies all following suit. In Asia, currencies yesterday made modest gains on the whole against the USD, but have lagged the G-10 moves. So with equity futures suggesting no turn in sentiment just yet, Asian FX will likely continue to strengthen today ahead of the US session. USDCNY is now down to 6.9265, taking the USDCNY 7.0 target off the agenda for the time being. US Treasury yields were slightly higher yesterday, especially at the back end, where a lackluster USD32bn 10Y auction saw yields on 10Y bonds rising almost 5bp to 3.358%. G-7 Macro: It’s all about the US August CPI result tonight. And though the headline inflation rate will most likely decline from July’s 8.5%YoY rate, thanks to lower gasoline prices, the core rate is expected to rise 0.3%MoM, and take core inflation up to 6.1% from 5.9%. Markets are likely to balance any headline falls against core rises, so its too early to be celebrating the end of inflation, as some market participants seem already to be doing. UK labour market data and Germany’s ZEW business confidence survey are also on the calendar. India: August inflation came in just above the consensus expectation at 7.0% (consensus 6.9%, ING f 7.0%), mainly due to somewhat stronger food price inflation. In any event, with inflation still well above the RBI’s target range (2-6%), more rate increases are still likely over the coming 2 meetings before the year end. The repo rate is currently 5.4%. We see rates ending the year at 5.9%.   China: With the yuan under recent weakening pressure, we don’t anticipate the PBoC making any further amendments to its 1Y medium term lending facility (1Y MLF) rate today, which will remain at 2.75%. Japan: Pipeline prices appear to have stabilized in August. Producer price inflation remained unchanged at 9.0% YoY in August (vs 9.4% in June) and import price growth slowed to 21.7%YoY (vs 26.1% in July). Despite the recent weakness in the JPY, the drop in global oil prices has led to price stabilization. But next week’s August CPI report is expected to show inflation still accelerating to nearly 3.0%. Despite the recent depreciation of the JPY and looming 3% inflation, we still expect no policy change from the BoJ at its September meeting. What to look out for: US inflation and China activity data Japan PPI (13 September) Australia consumer confidence (13 September) US CPI inflation (13 September) Japan industrial production and core machine orders (14 September) Hong Kong PPI and industrial production (14 September) US PPI inflation (14 September) Japan trade balance (15 September) Australia labour market data (15 September) US initial jobless claims and retail sales (15 September) South Korea unemployment (16 September) Singapore NODX (16 September) China industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset (16 September) US University of Michigan expectations (16 September) Read this article on THINK TagsEmerging Markets Asia Pacific Asia Markets Asia Economics Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
The China’s Covid Containment Continued To Negatively Impact The Output At The End Of 2022

Forex: Possible Scenarios For USD/CNH (US Dollar To Chinese Renminbi)

Jing Ren Jing Ren 14.09.2022 08:58
The last primary wave â’¸ takes the form of an intermediate 5-wave impulse (1)-(2)-(3)-(4)-(5). Perhaps the last intermediate wave (5) is currently under development. It is assumed that it will take the form of a minor impulse 1-2-3-4-5. For its full completion, a sub-wave 5 is needed. The growth in this wave may continue to 7.097. At that level, sub-wave (5) will be at 100% of wave (3). An alternative scenario shows that the construction of the entire cycle correction IV has already been fully completed. It took the form not of a simple zigzag, but of a double zigzag consisting of primary sub-waves â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž. If this assumption is correct, then the market may begin to move in a downward direction, forming the final cycle wave V. Read next: Great Britain’s CPI Lower Than The Expected, Eyes On US PPI| FXMAG.COM Most likely, the wave V will have the form of a primary impulse, as shown in the chart. And it will finish its pattern near 6.572. At that level, sub-wave V will be at 50% of impulse III.
Poland's Inflation Expected to Reach Single Digits in August, but Disinflation to Slow Down

AUD/USD: Is There Any Sign Of RBA Lifting The Pedall Off The Metal?

TeleTrade Comments TeleTrade Comments 20.09.2022 16:09
AUD/USD remains depressed near 0.6700 mark amid stronger USD, seems vulnerable A combination of factors prompts fresh selling around AUD/USD on Tuesday. Aggressive Fed rate hike bets, elevated US bond yields revive the USD demand. Recession fears also underpin the buck and weigh on the risk-sensitive aussie. The AUD/USD pair attracts fresh selling in the vicinity of mid-0.6700s, or a three-day high touched earlier this Tuesday and continues losing ground through the early North American session. The pair is currently placed near the lower end of its daily trading range, around the 0.6700 mark, and remains well within the striking distance of its lowest level since June 2020. The Australian dollar started weakening following the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) September meeting minutes. The central bank reiterated that policy was not on a pre-set path and noted that interest rates are getting closer to normal levels. The RBA further added that it sees the case for slowing the pace of rate hikes. This, along with resurgent US dollar demand, is exerting downward pressure on the AUD/USD pair. Expectations that the Federal Reserve will stick to its aggressive rate-hiking cycle to curb stubbornly high inflation assist the greenback to rebound swiftly from a one-week low. The US central bank is expected to deliver at least a 75 bps rate hike at the end of a two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. This, in turn, remains supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields and continues to act as a tailwind for the greenback. Apart from this, a softer risk tone - amid growing recession fears - provides an additional lift to the safe-haven buck and contributes to driving flows away from the risk-sensitive aussie. The USD sticks to its intraday gains and moves little following the release of the mixed US housing market data. Nevertheless, the fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for the AUD/USD pair is to the downside. Bearish traders, however, might prefer to wait for some follow-through selling below the 0.6670 region before positioning for any further depreciating move. Investors might also refrain from placing aggressive bets and prefer to move to the sidelines ahead of the key central bank event risk - the highly-anticipated FOMC decision on Wednesday. Technical levels to watch
Asia Market: Optimistic Headlines From Regional Leaders China And Japan

South Korea And Decision To Use The Country’s Foreign Exchange Equalization Fund

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 26.09.2022 09:18
Summary:  The bullwhip crunch in global manufacturing is hurting all the world’s largest exporters. In our view, the most vulnerable countries are South Korea, Germany and the United States. But there is more: the situation could further deteriorates if the current overvalued dollar environment causes a global currency crisis. Last week’s Bank of Japan and Japan Ministry of Finance intervention in the FX market is perhaps only the beginning of more interventionism to come. Click to download this week's full edition of MacroChartmania composed of more than 100 charts to track the latest macroeconomic and market developments. All the data are collected from Macrobond and updated each week. South Korea’s exports fell 8.7 % in the first twenty days of September from the same period a year earlier. This matters because South Korea is considered as a bellwether for global trade and growth by economists. The drop is partially explained by holiday effects (the Chuseok holidays from 9 to 12 September) and by slowing growth in main trading partners. Exports to Japan over the same period decreased by 8.2 % and exports to China dropped by a stunning 14 %. This is an indicator of how strong the current slowdown of the Chinese economy is – see the below chart. Exports to Vietnam are falling by 12.9 %. The South-East Asian country is a major trade partner for South Korea. Over the years, many South Korean high-tech companies have sent components to be assembled there (Samsung, for instance). This has accelerated in recent years on the back of the US-China trade war. A bullwhip crunch in global manufacturing The counter-performance of South Korea trade is just one of many bad trade indicators that have been released in the recent weeks. For example : container spot rates are set for a hard landing. The bellwether Shanghai Containerized Freight Index is down 58 % since January and spot rates have fallen by around 10 % for the fourth week running. This is the most watched rate indicator on sea freight from China. This is not only caused by the effect of China’s zero covid policy on trade. This reflects first and foremost a slowdown in global demand. The Drewry World Container Index draws a similar picture. This is a composite sea freight rate on eight major routes to/from the United States, Europe and Asia. It has been going down for the 30th week in a row. It is now standing 57 % lower than the same period last year. Global recession or no recession, it seems obvious that the bullwhip crunch in global manufacturing is going to hurt all the world’s biggest exporters, in the same way they enjoyed a massive boom in 2020-21. During the Covid period, consumers have reacted by stocking up on essential goods, thus leading to shortages. Supply chains have had to ramp up production to cope with the unprecedented increase in demand. Now, demand is decreasing due to higher cost of living and fears of recession. The world’s largest exporters are in a tough position. In our view, the most vulnerable countries are South Korea, Germany (where the manufacturing sector is hit by a massive 139 % year-over-year increase in the energy bill) and the United States too. The beginning of a global currency crisis ? The risk of a global currency crisis is another headache for exporters. A weak currency is usually beneficial for exports. But a too weak currency often increases the cost of intermediary goods and energy for countries which are dependent on it from external supply. Last week, Japan intervened in the forex market to stem the depreciation of the Japanese yen with the blessing of the U.S. Treasury. However, this is unlikely to succeed unless there is a coordinated intervention by the United States, Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom, as we saw in the September 1985 Plaza Accord. Other countries are favoring less costly options – forex interventions are depleting foreign reserves and are rarely successful in the long run. For instance, they are providing FX hedging protection to most-exposed companies. This is the pace chosen by South Korea. On 23 September, the government decided to use the country’s foreign exchange equalization fund to meet shipbuilding companies’ forex hedging demands for their overseas orders. As currency volatility is increasing in an overvalued dollar environment, expect more and more countries and central banks to try to rein in the depreciation of their local currency. But we doubt this will be enough to revive global manufacturing.   Source: https://www.home.saxo/content/articles/macro/chart-of-the-week--s-korea-trade-data-are-on-a-free-fall-26092022
Previous Fed Hikes Didn't Trigger Bitcoin To Fall, But...

Previous Fed Hikes Didn't Trigger Bitcoin To Fall, But...

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 11.10.2022 21:13
  Bitcoin continues to trade in almost absolute flat. It hasn't moved much in the last few weeks. In the last few days, it has been moving along the downward trend line on the 24-hour TF, so there is still hope that this line will remain relevant, and with it, the downward trend has been maintained for almost a year. However, this requires the cryptocurrency to overcome the $18,500 level. There have been several attempts to go below this level, but none have succeeded. If the price nevertheless overcomes the trend line, we remind you, this will not be considered a buy signal, since this signal will be formed in a total flat. In this case, the price will remain inside the side channel of $ 18,500-$24,350. Therefore, the side channel will be the priority. There will not be many important events this week that can affect the movement of the entire cryptocurrency market, particularly bitcoin. We have already said that the ordinary news of the cryptocurrency sphere does not affect the "bitcoin" movement. Therefore, it doesn't even make much sense to analyze them. Global events and reports can move bitcoin from the "dead point" to which American inflation can be attributed. Recall that in the last two months it has been showing a slowdown, which is a positive effect that gives market participants hope for the completion of an aggressive Fed rate hike over the next 6 months. However, this is still a very long period during which the rate will increase.     Most experts, including us, agree that at the next Fed meeting, the rate will rise by 0.75% for the fourth time in a row. Inflation has slowed down too weakly to talk about a softening monetary approach. By the way, the last two Fed rate hikes did not provoke the collapse of bitcoin. But at the same time, the euro and the pound, along with the US stock market, continue to fall. Therefore, there is a feeling that a new fall in bitcoin will happen in the near future. Thus, we are still waiting for the quotes of the first cryptocurrency in the world to reach $ 12,426. In the 24-hour timeframe, the quotes of "bitcoin" could not overcome the $ 24,350, but they also could not yet overcome the $18,500 (127.2% Fibonacci). Thus, we have a side channel and it is unclear how much time Bitcoin will spend in it. We recommend not rushing to open positions. It is better to wait for the price to exit this channel, and only then open the corresponding transactions. Overcoming the $18,500 level will take you to the $12,426 level.   Relevance up to 17:00 2022-10-12 UTC+2 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/324013
The German Purchasing Managers' Index, ZEW Economic Sentiment And More Ahead

The Economic Outlook In Euroland And Germany Is Getting Worse

Kamila Szypuła Kamila Szypuła 18.10.2022 10:21
Today the market will be calmer as I do not have very important data that could be confusing. Mainly, the eyes of traders will be focused on the results of the ZEW Economic Sentiment in Germany and in Euroland as well as the statements of bank criminals in these regions. From the American economy, we are only waiting for the report on Industrial Production. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) events As the day started, events from Australia arrived. The first event took place at 2:05 CET, and it was a speech. The speaker was Michele Bullock, who is an Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Her public engagements are often used to drop subtle clues regarding future monetary policy. The RBA minutes provide a detailed record of the discussions held between the RBA’s board members on monetary policy and economic conditions that influenced their decision on adjusting interest rates and/or bond buys, significantly impacting the Australian Dollar (AUD). ZEW Economic Sentiment German ZEW Economic Sentiment According to the report on the six-month economic outlook, the mood is currently pessimistic. Another decline is projected from -61.9 to -65.7. Since March, the indicator has been below 0, which means negative results. In June it looked like the situation could improve, but the next results quickly showed that it was a temporary change and that the downward trend has been consistently maintained since then. Source: investing.com Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment In the euro zone, the outlook is also negative. It is expected to drop from -60.7 to -61.2. Contrary to Germany, the situation in the euro zone deteriorated only in May. The downward trend has continued since then. The higher results than the German index are due to the fact that 19 Member States have an influence on the European one. Source: investing.com Speeches Also today, representatives of the central banks of Europe and Germany will take the floor. The speeches will be held in the evening. The first one at 18:00 CET and the speaker will be a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, Isabel Schnabel. One hour later at 19:00 CET, Joachim Nagel, who is Deutsche Bundesbank President and voting member of the ECB Governing Council, will speak. Canada Housing Starts The annualized number of new residential buildings that began construction during the reported month will published today. It is expected to drop to 263K from 267.4K. At the beginning of the year, the trend was exemplary, with the highest level recorded in May (287.3K). After this reading, the trend changed to a downward trend. The positive fact is that since the April reading the result was higher than expected. Source: investing.com Canada Foreign Securities Purchases The overall value of domestic stocks, bonds, and money-market assets purchased by foreign investors in Canada is expected to increase compared to the previous month. Canada Foreign Securities Purchases is expected to reach 17.32B. Purchase by foreign investors will provide new money to the Canadian economy and will also demonstrate its attractiveness. During the year, the appearance of the indicator varied considerably. At the beginning of the year it was in a downward trend, then the readings for January and February were downward. After these negative results, the highest reading was recorded at 46.94B. This very positive result was followed by a shift to a downward trend. A rebound after a negative reading in June could mean an improvement. US Industrial Production There are no forecasts for the change in the total inflation-adjusted value of output produced by manufacturers, mines, and utilities. Observing the last result, the trend is downward, and the last reading was 0.13% lower than the previous reading (3.81%). We can only expect it to decline slightly. Summary 2:05 CET RBA Assist Gov Bullock Speaks 2:30 CET RBA Meeting Minutes 11:00 CET German ZEW Economic Sentiment (Oct) 11:00 CET ZEW Economic Sentiment (Oct) 14:15 CET Housing Starts (Sep) 14:30 CET Foreign Securities Purchases (Aug) 15:15 CET US Industrial Production 18:00 CET ECB's Schnabel Speaks 19:00 CET German Buba President Nagel Speaks Source: https://www.investing.com/economic-calendar/
The cost of green steel production compared to conventional steel

The US Dollar To Thai Baht (USD/THB) Rate Will Indicate A Side Move

TeleTrade Comments TeleTrade Comments 25.10.2022 11:50
Markets Strategist Quek Ser Leang at UOB Group’s Global Economics & Markets Research suggests USD/THB is expected to trade within the 37.90-38.46 range in the short-term horizon. Key Quotes “We highlighted last Monday that ‘There is room for USD/THB to test Sep‘s high of 38.46 before the risk of a pullback increases’. While USD/THB rose to a high of 38.46 last Thursday, the pullback from the high has been relatively limited.” “The price movement appears to be part of a consolidation phase. For this week, USD/THB is likely to trade sideways, expected to be between 37.90 and 38.4. Looking ahead, if USD/THB breaks above 38.46, the focus will shift to 38.55.”
The Mexican Curve: Deeper Inversion Than the US, Signaling Turning Points Ahead

Before The Elections In Israel, The USD/ILS Pair Can Rise

TeleTrade Comments TeleTrade Comments 26.10.2022 11:18
General elections will be held in Israel on Tuesday, November 1. Ahead of general elections, economists at Credit Suisse continue to expect USD/ILS to rise towards 3.65 later in the fourth quarter. Ready to buy USD/ILS on possible dips on “clean” election outcome “The latest polls show a tie between former Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and the one led by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Although this points to possible lingering political uncertainty, we do not expect much of an impact on the shekel.  “We continue to expect USD/ILS to rise towards 3.65 later in Q4.” “We would view possible short-term pullbacks in USD/ILS on the back of a clear election outcome as a buying opportunity.”
Greenback decreased yesterday. Cryptocurrency world is absorbed with Binance-FTX case

Greenback decreased yesterday. Cryptocurrency world is absorbed with Binance-FTX case

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.11.2022 15:57
S&P 500 closed on declining volume higher yesterday, but bonds weren‘t truly confirming for much of the session. Still, the table was set for the break higher, and I didn‘t hesitate in calling for it even in absence of bond or USD confirmation. Till the closing bell, the bonds chart posture improved somewhat, leaving the stock market upswing more well rounded than it would otherwise have been if you looked only at sectoral strength. The dollar went down a bit too much, bit too fast yesterday, and even though real assets (with copper bucking the trend today as much as it did yesterday with its close in the red) are modestly down on a less than decent USD upswing. Crypto daily woes remain isolated to the FTX (FTX-Binance) trigger, and are unlikely to spill over into other markets. Precious metals and copper offered a pleasant sight for the bulls, amply justifying my change of tune in the weeks gone by and still to come – note that even gold consolidated on declining volume, proving that there isn‘t much willingness to sell. As for today‘s S&P 500 levels, 3,815 has to hold as support while 3,848 – 3,855 represents solid resistance that can be reasonably overcome only on a sharp risk-on turn in bonds, which doesn‘t look to get a catalyst during today‘s session. Let‘s see about a possible pleasant surprise – still, the medium-term trend is up, and it‘s only a matter of time (more likely facilitated by Thursday‘s CPI confirming the notion of inflation peak being in, than midterms) before this level gets broken to the upside. This explains today‘s title „More of the Same“ = „Grinding Higher, not a Turnaround Tuesday“. This run can continue alongside the commodities and precious metals upswings, but the real asset one would prove more durable as in Q1 2023 stocks would look around and ask „based on what have we been rallying“. Crude oil would be comfortably in the triple digits by then... Keep enjoying the lively Twitter feed serving you all already in, which comes on top of getting the key daily analytics right into your mailbox. Plenty gets addressed there, but the analyses (whether short or long format, depending on market action) over email are the bedrock, so make sure you‘re signed up for the free newsletter and that you have Twitter notifications turned on so as not to miss any tweets or replies intraday.
CEEMEA FX Outlook 2023: The Situation Remains Fragile

CEEMEA FX Outlook 2023: The Situation Remains Fragile

ING Economics ING Economics 20.11.2022 11:51
The geographic and geopolitical situation has made this a difficult period for the region. However, things should normalise in the coming year. We expect global pressures to ease and central banks to drop their FX intervention approach. Nevertheless, the situation remains fragile and we remain vigilant Source: Shutterstock Make the FX market normal again Although it can be said globally that the last few months have been very complicated, the CEEMEA region and in particular the CEE4 have been clearly leading the way in this mess. The Covid years forced central banks in Central and Eastern Europe to start a global hiking cycle, and this year's events have compounded the burden on the region. In our view, the main shock is already over, but we are far from out of the woods and are only moving into the second stage – the aftermath. In addition to the standard drivers of FX, such as rate differentials and EUR/USD, the price of natural gas has now become a central theme for the CEE4 region. The coming winter will test the unity of the European Union with a shallow recession and central bank efforts to end record hiking cycles bringing further pain to FX. Moreover, twin deficits, which will remain with us for a longer period, do not play in the region's favour. Central banks have been forced to do more than just hike rates to ensure price stability and the CEE4 region has split into two camps: full FX intervention regimes (Romania and the Czech Republic) and hybrid defence (Poland and Hungary). To make matters worse, politics has also come into play, and in particular, the dispute between Hungary and Poland with the EU has weighed heavily on the forint and the zloty. As you can see, the cards are heavily stacked against the CEE region, and we carry all these themes into the next year. However, we believe that these issues will be addressed in 2023 and market conditions will begin to normalise. By far the biggest potential, in our view, is the Hungarian forint, which has suffered badly from the government's uncertain access to EU funds, full dependence on Russian energy, and the greatest sensitivity to a global sell-off. Therefore, with the calming of these issues, which we believe is only a matter of time, the hidden potential of the forint could be unlocked, outperforming its CEE peers. We see a similar story on a smaller scale in Poland. On the other hand, the Czech National Bank and National Bank of Romania have taken the path of keeping FX under control, leading to artificial overvaluation. In both cases, we expect a loosening of the central banks' approach in the first half of next year, which should lead to significant depreciation. Among the high-yielders, Turkish policymakers have used an array of unorthodox policy measures to limit weakness in the Turkish lira. The Turkish election in June will be a pivotal period for financial markets, and investors will remain wary that unchecked inflation could put pressure on the lira. In South Africa, the rand looks to have found some good buyers near the 18.50 area in USD/ZAR. Those levels could be tested again early next year should the Federal Reserve push real interest rates higher again, but as pessimism in the Chinese economy starts to fade in the second half of 2023, (the rand is very much driven by commodity prices and China’s performance) USD/ZAR could be trading well below 17.00. Finally, USD/ILS normally proves a good bellwether for the broad dollar trend. And the Bank of Israel might be slightly more tolerant of shekel strength in 2023. We target 3.00 for USD/ILS. Twin deficits - the new standard in the region Source: ING forecast EUR/PLN: Conditions to improve, zloty remains at risk   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 EUR/PLN 4.70 Neutral 4.90 4.85 4.74 4.66 4.70 Valuation: Our relative value EUR/PLN model (gauging the exchange rate against other market variables, such as swap spreads, option volatility, etc) continues to point to the zloty still being some 3% undervalued against the euro. We attribute this to a mix of risks, both external, particularly the war in Ukraine and its economic fallout, and internal, specifically, tensions with the EU, elevated CPI risk and expansionary fiscal policy undermining the local currency bond market – Polish government bonds (POLGBs). Many analysts suggest another major Russian offensive may be due in the spring. If Russia simultaneously attempts to put economic pressure on the EU, this could again sour sentiment towards the CEE region. The prospect of the conflict coming to an end is a major unknown, but investors should at least become increasingly resilient to news about the war. External position: Fundamental backing behind the zloty should improve next year, but risks behind the local policy mix will rise. We expect the current account deficit to tighten from €35bn to €26bn, owing to e.g. a more favourable terms of trade. Poland is also likely to draw some €20bn from the 'old' EU budget. Moreover, the government finally decided to lean towards hard currency funding. All of this is likely to be converted via the market under the current Ministry of Finance's FX strategy – balancing the current account deficit. Also, FDI inflows should remain solid, already standing at a net €16bn in the first half of 2022. Year-end 2022 may prove more difficult, as refilling natural gas reserves may again prove costly. Politics: Domestic politics is a major unknown in 2023. The proximity of the October elections is a key risk for the fiscal consolidation the government recently unveiled to curtail weak POLGBs. The government is also attempting to reset relations with the EU – possibly encouraged by Hungary’s pro-EU turn. While reaching an actual compromise will take time (and may prove impossible ahead of the general elections), it is at least a move in the right direction and likely to improve the market perception of Poland. Moreover, opinion polls show increasing support for the EU-orientated opposition. A victory for them could prove supportive to the zloty, as investors would bet on swift access to the 'new' EU budget. EUR/HUF: Waiting for a forint breakout   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 EUR/HUF 405.00 Bearish 400.00 390.00 380.00 385.00 390.00 Inflation: The forint's (HUF) underperformance is largely related to price pressures. Despite the anti-inflationary measures provided by the Hungarian government via price caps in basic food, fuel, and utilities, core inflation is the highest in the EU. However, we believe that the peak is close. Real wage growth dropped into negative territory from September, consumer confidence is close to a record low and a higher share of companies are complaining about a lack of demand rather than a lack of labour. These factors should tame the pricing power of companies. Thus, we see headline and core inflation peaking around the end of 2022 or early 2023. As soon as inflation starts to ease, inflation expectations will come down, so a forward-looking positive real interest rate will spur interest in the HUF. Monetary policy: The central bank stepped into Phase 3 of its tightening cycle in mid-October with an emergency move. New temporary targeted measures were introduced to maintain financial stability alongside the main goal of price stability. The effective rate is now defined by the one-day deposit quick tender, sitting at 18%. With further fine-tuning in the system, we see monetary transmission improving, with short-end rates rising further. In parallel, tightening via the squeezing of liquidity will continue. The exit strategy from the 'whatever it takes' stance will be triggered by materially improved risk sentiment (see next bullet). We think this could translate into a gradual convergence of the effective rate to the base rate, starting as soon as late December. Internal risks: As this policy turnaround will be triggered by a materially improved risk environment, we see a potential relief rally in the forint, despite some normalisation in interest rates. The two key elements of internal risks are the Rule-of-Law procedure and the current account imbalance. Regarding the former, we expect Hungary to settle the dispute with the EU, opening the door for EU transfers as soon as mid-December. This will eliminate a key barrier to HUF strengthening. We expect the country’s external balance to improve in the coming months as the recession and coming winter will dampen the country’s import needs, easing the systemic pressure on the forint. In our view, this could result in a 5% strengthening of the forint over the next six months. EUR/CZK: Koruna under CNB control   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 EUR/CZK 24.30 Neutral 24.50 24.50 25.00 25.00 24.50 Monetary policy: The Czech National Bank left interest rates unchanged at 7.0% for the third consecutive meeting and we think the Bank has now ended its hiking cycle – the first central bank in the region to do so. The economy already posted a decline in the third quarter of 2022 and we believe it is heading into a shallow recession. Wage growth remains high but inflation below the CNB's forecast suggests a hawkish surprise is unlikely, in our view. The current account has plunged into a record deficit and, in relative terms, we forecast it will reach the largest deficit since 2003. Moreover, fiscal policy shows only marginal signs of consolidation, and so the Czech Republic joins the twin deficit club within the CEEMEA region. FX Interventions: The main topic for the Czech koruna in the coming months is the fate of the CNB's FX intervention regime. According to the central bank's figures, it has so far spent 16% of FX reserves from mid-May to the end of September. In our view, the CNB's activity in the markets has been zero in recent weeks, as confirmed by the Bank's board member Oldrich Dedek in a recent interview. Therefore, we see the CNB in a comfortable position and expect FX intervention to continue at least until the end of the first quarter next year with a line in the sand at 24.60-24.70 EUR/CZK. What next? For now, the koruna is clearly capped on the upside due to the presence of the CNB in the market, while we also see the pressure on the CZK from the global environment as gradually easing. Moreover, within CEE, markets see more interesting themes in Poland and Hungary and several CZK short squeezes have discouraged bets against the end of CNB FX intervention. Therefore, we expect EUR/CZK to trade slightly below the CNB's unofficial line and the koruna will return to the market's attention in the second quarter of 2023 when we think the topic of the CNB's exit strategy will return. EUR/RON: Focus on the 'managed' in managed float   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 EUR/RON 4.91 Mildly Bullish 4.94 4.95 5.10 5.10 5.10 Hiking cycle: Having reached a key rate of 6.75% in November, the National Bank of Romania is either at or very close to the end of the hiking cycle. We narrowly favour no more hikes in 2023, though we admit that chances are high for another 25bp increase in January. The NBR’s commitment to firm liquidity management will likely – on average – keep carry rates above the policy rate. However, we see a good chance for the liquidity situation to improve substantially into year-end on the back of accelerated spending by the Treasury. Mopping up this liquidity is likely to take a good couple of months. Twin deficits: While on the budget deficit side, policymakers seem committed to reaching the 3.00% of GDP target in 2024 (with a 4.4% target for 2023), developments on the current account side are not encouraging. Due to unfavourable price developments in external markets (including the energy sector) but also on the back of robust GDP growth in the first half of 2022, the trade balance deficit will close well within double digits in 2022, possibly flirting with levels last touched in 2008 when it surpassed 16.0% of GDP. This represents a significant structural weakness that will keep pressure on the leu and require constant FX intervention from the central bank. Strong EU funds absorption will be key to balancing this imbalanced picture. Politics: The relatively eventless political scene in 2022 has been rather remarkable after years of political turmoil. As per the current coalition agreement, the PNL prime minister will resign in May 2023 and a PSD prime minister should be voted in by the same coalition. While there are no real signs of trouble currently, the impending 2024 electoral year still makes it somewhat hard to picture a completely serene change of power in May-June 2023. EUR/RSD: IMF acts as an anchor of stability   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 EUR/RSD 117.30 Neutral 117.30 117.30 117.35 117.40 117.40 IMF: On 2 November, the IMF announced that a EUR2.4 billion 24-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) will replace the current Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), subject to IMF Board approval in December 2022. The agreement will help to address “emerging external and fiscal financing needs”. On the external front, the IMF estimates the current account deficit to reach 9.0% of GDP in both 2022 and 2023 due to “sharply higher energy import costs along with shortfalls in domestic electricity production, as well as weakening external demand”. On the fiscal side, the initial 3.0% of GDP budget deficit target will be exceeded, most likely ending up around 4.0% of GDP. Summing up, the country needs financing, and the current choppy markets have made the IMF SBA look more appealing despite the strings attached. Monetary policy: Beyond the proposed reforms on the fiscal side, the SBA will undoubtedly shape monetary policy as well. The 2 November press release specifically mentions that “the macroeconomic policy mix should be tight to contain high inflation and support exchange rate stability” and “the ongoing monetary tightening is crucial to ensure that inflation does not become entrenched”. Essentially, we read this as a signal that the IMF is relatively comfortable with the current FX stability policy but that interest rates should continue to be increased. We revise our terminal key rate forecast from 4.50% to 5.75%, which should be reached in the first quarter of 2023. (Geo)Politics: While on the internal front, the April 2022 elections have settled things for some time, the regional developments – be it the war in Ukraine or the Kosovo car plates dispute – are making it more and more difficult for the country to sustain the ambivalent stance it has so far maintained. Absent more clarity, Serbia’s progress as a candidate country for EU accession might see little improvement in the short to medium term, which could dent its efforts to achieve the long-awaited investment grade status. USD/KZT: A defensive play on local fundamentals   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 USD/KZT 460.00 Mildly Bullish 480.00 480.00 470.00 470.00 470.00 Scope for higher exports: The Kazakh tenge (KZT) depreciated 6% in the first 10 months of 2022, which is defensive given the geopolitics in the region and the 10-15% US dollar appreciation against major currencies. This is attributable to Kazakhstan’s stronger trade. Exports grew 48% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2022, and the current account is back to a $7.9bn surplus vs. a $5.6bn deficit in the first nine months of 2021. Oil production of 1.5m barrels per day is below the OPEC+ quota of 1.6m bpd, and the official target of 1.9-2.0m bpd, meaning there is scope for an increase in exports in 2023, assuming stable oil prices. Meanwhile, oilfield maintenance and an 85% dependence on Russian pipeline infrastructure are downside risk factors. The government is looking to reduce involvement in the FX market: The government is planning fiscal consolidation to reduce the breakeven oil price from a high $110-140 in 2021-2022 to a more comfortable $55-76/bbl to 2023-25. As a result, more FX oil revenues could be saved, reducing the gross spending of the sovereign fund to $7bn in 2023 from $9-11bn in 2021-22. However, the planned 3% GDP increase in non-oil revenues appears ambitious, and the actual conversion of FX oil revenues into KZT for state spending could be higher than officially planned in the event of non-oil revenue under-collection and higher than expected spending. Private capital flows remain uncertain: While the state capital flows, including the sovereign fund and foreign debt, are normally a mirror image of the current account, the private sector’s capital flows are subject to uncertainty. In the first nine months of 2022, private outflows (including unidentified operations) narrowed to $0.3bn vs. $3.8bn in 2021, in line with our expectations, due to the post-Covid recovery in corporate borrowing and the government’s capital repatriation measures. Continued capital inflows will require further progress in structural reforms, improvement in the global/regional risk appetite, and signs of a reversal in the nominal key rate trend, which is so far heading higher. USD/UAH: Central bank allows further depreciation   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 USD/UAH 36.80 Neutral 40.00 40.00 38.50 37.70 37.00 Central bank: 2023 prospects for the hryvnia remain concerning. Analysts warn that the recent Russian mobilisation may prolong the conflict by at least several months. Moreover, the Ukrainian military progress may slow this winter after recent successes. This leaves the economy struggling with a massive trade deficit (US$5.4bn during the first eight months of 2023), largely reliant on international aid to shore up its FX reserves, currently at $25.2bn owing to a massive injection. However, while the scale of FX intervention has decreased markedly since its peak in July ($4bn), it remains considerable ($2bn in October). The very likely intensification of fighting in early 2023 may again push up the scale of FX intervention required to stabilise the currency. That is why we expect the central bank to allow for further depreciation of the hryvnia, possibly in the first half of 2023. Long-term view: The prospects for the Ukrainian currency largely hinge on the timing of an end to the conflict and the ensuing inflow of reconstruction aid. Various estimates indicate that the restoration may cost up to $750bn (or nearly four times the 2021 Ukrainian GDP). A fraction of this should suffice to drive USD/UAH lower, considering the costs of Ukraine’s FX intervention so far. New normal: Returning to pre-war USD/UAH levels is impossible, though. Given the massive damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure and means of production, the economy will for years remain dependent on investment-related imports. Even if those could theoretically be covered by inflows of foreign aid, the country will likely aim at maintaining a weaker hryvnia in order to support exports. USD/TRY: No relief in sight for TRY   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 USD/TRY 18.60 Bullish 19.50 21.20 22.40 23.30 24.00 Central bank focus to keep financial conditions supportive: The Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) has delivered 350bp in cuts since August, pushing rates to 10.50%, while also signalling that the rate-cutting cycle will end in November at 9%. The reasoning behind the extension of the rate-cutting cycle at an accelerated pace remains the same. The CBT has cited the need for supportive financial conditions so as to preserve the growth momentum in industrial production and the positive trend in employment. Further signs of a slowdown in economic activity and the recovery in FX reserves since late July are likely factors for the cutting cycle. However, given tighter regulations on the asset side which selectively limit loan growth, cuts are not easing financial conditions quickly. Supportive fiscal stance and continuation of selective credit policy: The timing of the recently announced Credit Guarantee Fund package (reportedly at least TRY50bn) and any possible easing in macro-prudential regulations could reverse the recent momentum loss in lending ahead of elections, with the objective of further supporting domestic demand. Policymakers are also leaning towards a more expansionary stance on the fiscal side as the budget deficit, estimated in the Medium Term Program at 3.4% of GDP in 2022, has been rapidly increasing from c.1.4% in September. The budget deficit forecast for 2023 is 43% higher than this year's forecast. And we should not rule out a breach of this target as the elections approach – scheduled for June 2023. Inflation and external imbalances remain as major concerns: While the policy mix has tilted to a more supportive stance lately, sustained disinflation is not likely unless real rates are normalised. The recent steps are not sufficient to facilitate an external rebalancing which will be determined by the evolution of energy and gold imports. In this environment, TRY is likely to remain under pressure not only because of macro fundamentals but also because of the current unsupportive global backdrop. A recovery in FX reserves will be more challenging in this environment. USD/ZAR: Surprise fiscal outperformance   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 USD/ZAR 17.20 Mildly Bearish 18.00 17.50 17.25 17.00 16.50 Some good fiscal news: For many years, the fiscal position has been the rand’s Achilles' heel, including the high-profile downgrade to junk status of its sovereign bonds in 2017 and their removal from key bond indices in the 2017-20 period. However, the October budgetary statement in parliament projected South Africa running a fiscal surplus next year and the country’s gross debt-to-GDP stabilising at lower and earlier-than-predicted levels. This has helped the sovereign five-year CDS retrace from the 360bp levels seen in late September. This suggests that if external conditions improve, the rand would be rewarded. Terms of trade will be key: As a high beta, EM commodity exporter, the rand is also very much driven by both commodity prices and China’s performance. Commodity prices and weak imports had helped South Africa’s current account position switch to a strong surplus in 2021 and early 2022. Into 2023, however, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) forecasts the terms of trade declining 17% and the current account moving back into deficit. South Africa will also be playing its part in the energy transition as it switches from coal and the hope is that the nation’s electricity provider, Eskom, can find some stability if the sovereign assumes a big chunk of its debt. The profile: It seems as though international investors have started to find value in the rand when USD/ZAR trades at 18.50. We think it could trade there again into early next year if the Fed tightens US real rates still further. Yet the global stagflation story is well flagged and into 2023 we think investors could switch to a more reflationary mindset if it looks like the Fed is preparing to cut rates later in the year. Equally, it is hard to see investors remaining as pessimistic on China for the entirety of 2023. We therefore see USD/ZAR trading back to 17.00 and possibly even 16.00 as 2023 progresses. USD/ILS: Shekel well positioned when equities turn   Spot Year ahead bias4Q221Q232Q233Q234Q23 USD/ILS 3.40 Bearish 3.50 3.40 3.25 3.10 3.00 Equities a key driver: 2022 has proved a strange year for the shekel in that when the Bank of Israel (BoI) finally turned hawkish, and with good reason, the shekel sold off along with the rest of the EMFX complex. Recall that for many years the BoI had been battling shekel strength with a large FX intervention campaign. Apart from widespread dollar strength, it also does seem that the shekel is very much driven by equities. Here, declines in overseas (mainly US) equities markets drive margin calls to Israeli buy-side investors and generate shekel weakness. We tentatively expect this dynamic to reverse in the second quarter of 2023. Strong economy: The Israeli economy is expected to grow around 6% this year and 3% next year – even when the US and Europe are likely to be in a recession. Perhaps Israel should be warier of second-round inflation effects than most since the economy is operating above capacity and at full employment. However, the BoI hints that its tightening cycle might end around the 3% area and that inflation should come back into the BoI’s 1-3% target range by the end of 2023. The risks would seem to be skewed towards the BoI needing to tighten further. Why we like the shekel: Israel runs a 3%+ of GDP current account surplus, has strong domestic growth and a central bank not afraid to get involved in FX markets – meaning that shekel weakness will not be particularly welcome. In our experience, USD/ILS is always at the forefront of the dollar trend and if the dollar does turn in the first half of 2023 as we expect, USD/ILS should come a lot lower. Less concern over deflation by the BoI should mean that it will be more tolerant of USD/ILS breaking below 3.00 towards the end of 2023 – which could be the surprise. Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more  
Franc Records 11th Consecutive Daily Decline Against the Dollar as US Economic Concerns Mount

Peak of the USD may take a few more quarters, the rise in COVID-19 cases in China is weighing on US stocks, the use of space for security

Rebecca Duthie Rebecca Duthie 21.11.2022 16:10
Summary: The USD may take a couple more quarters to peak. COVID-19 flare-ups in China rekindled worries about slowing growth. Russia's invasion on the Ukraine is proving how important space is for security. USD peak may come in the coming quarters Goldman Sachs (GS) warned in a research report on Friday that investors eager to predict when the dollar should peak may need to wait a few more quarters. According to historical cycles, peaks in the dollar are often accompanied by a "trough in measures of U.S. and global growth" and a loosening Federal Reserve, according to Goldman. According to Goldman, a dollar top would still seem to be "several quarters away," and the bank expects the Fed to wait until 2024 before starting its easing program. It also stated that the U.S. economy is not projected to soon reach its low point. The U.S. investment bank observed that despite a number of significant rate hikes, high inflation and consistent U.S. economic growth have supported the dollar. Estimates of the cyclically neutral rate have risen as a result of the Fed's admission that the idea of a "restrictive" policy rate is a changing objective. In line with the Fed, Goldman economists now anticipate a longer hiking cycle and an even higher terminal rate. While the smaller G10 economies are more sensitive to higher rates or changes to policy rates due in part to the rise in variable rate mortgages, the euro area continues to face significant challenges from energy shortages. The U.S. economy, on the other hand, has a better outlook and might be less sensitive to higher rates, according to Goldman, which should support the dollar. *U.S. DOLLAR 'TRUE' PEAK STILL A COUPLE OF QUARTERS AWAY: GOLDMAN SACHS - https://t.co/mBlo3F3hSq $USD 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/YAo7OFeBTV — Investing.com (@Investingcom) November 21, 2022 US stocks in the wake of a rise in COVID cases in China The major Wall Street indexes were expected to open lower on Monday as COVID-19 flare-ups in China rekindled worries about slowing growth. In contrast, Disney shares surged as investors praised Bob Iger's unexpected return to the top job. Beijing issued a warning that the pandemic was posing its most serious test yet, closing down businesses and schools in hard-hit areas and tightening entry regulations as infections grew both locally and nationally. In premarket trading, shares of American casino operators with operations in China fell between 3.3% and 5.8%. These operators include Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) Ltd, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Corp, MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) International, and Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Ltd. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) Group Inc. and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Holdings Ltd., two companies in the travel industry, experienced declines of 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively. In spite of this, a 9.7% increase in Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Co was expected to prevent further drops in the Dow Jones Industrial Average following Bob Iger's appointment as the company's new CEO. After some officials reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue tightening monetary policy until inflation was under control on Wednesday, attention also turned to the release of the minutes from its November meeting. *U.S. STOCK FUTURES DECLINE AS CHINA COVID CASES RISE; DISNEY JUMPS ON CEO CHANGE - https://t.co/v8TbZHlR6o pic.twitter.com/nv1fGxeHoN — Investing.com (@Investingcom) November 21, 2022 Space and and security The horrific Russian invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated just how important space is to our security. An invasion was foreshadowed in January by GPS imagery showing Russian forces gathering at the Ukrainian border. Satellite connections have kept frontline troops in touch with their leaders throughout the whole conflict. In the meantime, Ukraine's use of GPS-guided Himar rocket launchers has helped tip the scales of battle in their favor by enabling them to locate and eliminate Russian artillery and ammunition depots well behind enemy lines. This is the first significant conflict in which space-based technologies have been heavily utilized by both sides. It won't be the final. Ukraine shows how space is now central to warfare https://t.co/tolg7XW4WH | opinion — Financial Times (@FT) November 21, 2022 Sources: ft.com, twitter.com, investing.com
The cost of green steel production compared to conventional steel

The USD/THB Pair Has Been Relatively Stable

TeleTrade Comments TeleTrade Comments 22.11.2022 09:00
Over the past week, USD/THB has been relatively stable slightly above the 35.50 mark. For the week ahead, economists at MUFG Bank see the pair within a range of 35.17 to 36.68. Further THB gains may need more improvements in fundamentals “In the week ahead, markets will watch Q3 GDP numbers and October trade numbers. We expect a relatively buoyant GDP print of 4.6% YoY in Q3, from 2.5% in Q2. However, the trade deficit may continue, due to high import bills. Further THB gains may need more improvements in fundamentals.”  “For the week ahead, we see USD/THB within a range of 35.17 to 36.68 and slightly biased on the upside, along the 200 and 100 moving averages.” “We see downside risks to our end-2022 forecast of 39.25, given previous moves and are reviewing our forecasts.”   
SEK: Riksbank's Impact on the Krona

Craig Erlam and Jonny Hart talk Fed minutes, Bank of Korea decision and more - Oanda Market Insights Podcast

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 24.11.2022 22:09
OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam reviews the latest market news with Jonny Hart. They discussed the Fed minutes, BoK rate hike, Chinese lockdowns, and oil as the G7 finalise the Russian price cap. http://www.subscribeonandroid.com/audioboom.com/channels/4947364.rss This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Market Insights Podcast (Episode 402) - MarketPulseMarketPulse
The handling and demise of FTX have ultimately set the ecosystem's facilitative regulatory agenda and adoption efforts back

The handling and demise of FTX have ultimately set the ecosystem's facilitative regulatory agenda and adoption efforts back

Zhong Yang Chan Zhong Yang Chan 13.12.2022 07:30
Many of us used to count certain time on digital assets market as appealing only at the time of sensational price movements. As FTX collapsed and the hodlers and market participants confidence changed, it's not only about value anymore. Now, the attention is drawn to the stability (sic!) of stablecoins and processing the FTX crash consequences. As you know in recent weeks we've found ourselves flabbergasted by the announcement of Porsche NFT collection in times of Non-fungible tokens winter. We're happy to talk all these news with Zhong Yang Chan, Head of Research at CoinGecko. Are USDT and other stablecoins at risk? Zhong Yang Chan, Head of Research at CoinGecko: Despite the shrinking market capitalization of stablecoins, centralized stablecoin issuers are still able to honor redemptions and withdrawals. As long as users remain able to redeem 1:1 and redemptions are processed in a timely manner, there should still be confidence in the major centralized stablecoins, including USDT. Read next: We predict that nothing radical will happen in the crypto market by the end of the year says Geco.one COO | FXMAG.COM Porsche has just announced their own NFTs. It's one of the most prominent brands in the world - would it mean the NFT market isn't 'dead' yet and prices may bounce some time in the future? Porsche's new NFT collection is a great initiative, and this follows suit from other established brands like Starbucks and Reddit announcing their own NFT collections. NFTs are still nascent, and there is space for its proposition to evolve beyond what people see today (PFPs or 'just a JPEG'). In spite of the bear market, projects are still building to bring about NFTs with utilities, phygital NFTs, and others, and we remain bullish on its future. It is said all the consequences of FTX collapse are in prices. Would you agree or disagree? While the price drop has been significant, it is not the only consequence of FTX's collapse. User confidence—including that of institutions—has been shaken, and there are on-chain projects that have been impacted and may be forced to fold. FTX's demise may have also likely impacted venture capitalists and funds in terms of investments in the blockchain or Web3 ecosystem, and developers may similarly be less keen on building in this space. Finally, the handling and demise of FTX have ultimately set the ecosystem's facilitative regulatory agenda and adoption efforts back. Visit CoinGecko
In December, the Fed maintained a tougher rhetoric than the market consensus, playing on the bears' side

In December, the Fed maintained a tougher rhetoric than the market consensus, playing on the bears' side

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 15.12.2022 15:12
BoE is expected to hike the rate by 50bp on Thursday, but the day before CPI inflation data is published - would you expect a hawkish pivot if CPI bounces back above November print? The annual price growth rate in the UK fell slightly in November to 10.7% from a peak of 11.1% a month earlier. This reversal coincides with earlier trajectory estimates from the Bank of England, so it should not cause a meaningful change in the commentary. On the other hand, the Fed continues to surprise markets with more hawkish rhetoric, even with five months of slowing consumer prices under its belt. Key central bankers are pushing the idea of a more protracted and decisive fight against inflation into the markets at this stage. In contrast, markets are set to repeat post-2008 history, when the central banks' primary concern was stimulus but not suppression of inflation. Read next: The BoE And The ECB Raised Rate By 0.50% To 3.50% Today, Australian Dollar Falls After Disappointing Data From China| FXMAG.COM Santa Rally: Would Santa skip coming to town amid turbulent times and uncertain beginning of the next year? Turbulent times do not rule out periodic and strong rallies against the trend. However, the Fed could now be the Grinch who wants to steal the holiday in the markets. Since the second half of November, the broad stock indices (S&P 500, Russell 2000) have been struggling with resistance against the downtrend. In August, the Fed decided the fate of this battle by siding with the bulls. In December, the Fed maintained a tougher rhetoric than the market consensus, playing on the bears' side. However, market dynamics show that there are fewer sellers anymore.  ECB decides on interest rate this week - what do you expect from the Bank this time? When could the cycle come to an end? The ECB will raise the rate by 50 points, not wanting to surprise the markets. In addition, we should expect indications of further policy tightening via a plan for asset sales from the balance sheet and rate hikes. Currently we expect the ECB to raise rates up to Q3 2023. From the second quarter, it could be a rate hike of 25 points. At the same time, there are many surprises along the way as de-globalisation will contribute to higher inflation in the region and force the ECB to take a more hawkish approach in contrast with zero rates after 2016.
I expect consumer spending to remain strong for most of 2023 with savings not running out until near the end of the year says Ivan Cummins, Chief Equity Analyst at FXStreet

USA: The biggest decline in retail sales in almost a year

ING Economics ING Economics 15.12.2022 15:54
Poor November data on retail and industrial activity reinforce the message that recessionary forces are building. So while the Federal Reserve’s near-term focus is defeating inflation via higher interest rates, expectations of a policy reversal later in 2023 will only grow November retail sales in the US were softer than hoped Retail sales show broad falls US November retail sales were softer than hoped, falling 0.6% month-on-month versus the -0.2% consensus expectation. This is the biggest decline in 11 months. We knew that autos (-2.3%MoM) were going to be a drag given lower unit sales released at the start of the month, while the fall in gasoline prices was also going to depress sales given it is a dollar value figure – although we thought it was going to be even worse than the -0.1% it recorded. Unfortunately, there was a broader weakness with the "control group" which excludes volatile items such as autos, gasoline, food service and building materials, sinking 0.2% MoM after a solid run of 0.4% and 0.5% MoM gains. Furniture fell 2.5%, department stores saw sales fall 2.9%, while electronics were down 1.5%. On the positive side of the ledger, food and beverage sales rose 0.8% while health/personal care increased 0.7% and miscellaneous sales rose 0.5%. Level of US retail sales versus February 2020 Source: Macrobond, ING   Retail sales can be quite a volatile report, but this is a disappointing outcome, especially with some downward revisions also thrown in for good measure. In an environment where the Fed is purely focused on the battle to get inflation down and is signalling another 75bp of hikes from here on, it is going to reinforce market concerns about the prospect of a recession. Shrinking manufacturing output intensifies recessionary fears Adding to the negativity surrounding the US economy, the Fed has reported that industrial production fell by 0.2% in November versus the consensus expectation of 0.0%. This weakness was led by a 0.6% drop in manufacturing output – the first decline since June. Admittedly there was a small upward revision to October's print, but the overall outcome is still weaker than hoped. Auto output fell 2.8%, but even excluding this major component, manufacturing fell 0.4%. Utilities rose 3.6% on colder weather, while mining fell 0.7%, presumably in response to falling oil prices. US industrial production levels Source: Macrobond, ING   This data add to concerns that with the Fed not yet done with rate hikes, a recession has to be the base case. This will help to dampen price pressures as companies fight for customers, and with the inflation basket strongly orientated towards housing and vehicles, we think inflation will fall to 2% late next year. As such we stick with our call that there will be an eventual policy reversal from the Fed with interest rate cuts in the second half of 2023. Read this article on THINK TagsUS Retail sales Industrial production Federal Reserve Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
"SD/JPY Nearing Intervention: Japanese Officials Prepare for Action

Euro bonds benefit from Christine Lagarde's rhetoric. Euro touched 1.0736

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 16.12.2022 09:30
I should admit that I thought the major event of this week would be Federal Reserve (Fed) President Jerome Powell's speech and a dot plot from the FOMC members, which would look significantly more hawkish than the expectations, and a couple of eventless 50bp hikes from the other major central banks including the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England (BoE) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB).   But the week's central bank surprise came from Christine Lagarde yesterday.   Lagarde's 'whatever it takes' moment  The ECB raised its interest rates by 50bp as expected yesterday, and hinted at the accompanying statement that there would be more rate hikes on the pipeline.   And President Christine Lagarde killed all hope that the ECB would take into account the slowing economy, and recession, when hiking rates.   Instead, Lagarde kept telling reporters that the rates in the Eurozone will continue to rise 'steadily and significantly' over the next meetings. She said that the ECB will raise the rates by another 50bp at the next meeting. Then by another 50bp in the meeting after that. And another 50bp in the meeting after that. Then another one!   No central banker has given such 'forward guidance' before. The idea of 'meeting to meeting adjustment to the monetary policy', the concept of 'we will be watching the data to decide the next steps' got hammered, yesterday. Christine Lagarde made the most hawkish speech since she came to the office. And yesterday's meeting was one of the most important ones since Mario Draghi's 'whatever it takes', back in July 2012.   Lagarde's speech was the 'reverse whatever it takes', or the new 'whatever it takes to bring inflation to 2%'.   And oh, the ECB will also start unwinding its balance sheet from March, but the officials sound like they don't have a clue about how that will play out, because they have never done it before. This is what they said.   Merry Xmas!  European yields spikde during Madame Lagarde's speech. The German 10-year yield jumped more than 10%. The French and the Spanish 2-year yield did the same. The Italian 2-year yield soared more than 13%.  Christine Lagarde's speech also sent the markets to hell yesterday, and smashed whatever hope was left for a year-end stock rally.   The DAX and the CAC fell more than 3%.   Of course, the ECB's hawkish announcements – that came a day after the Fed's hawkish decision - wreaked havoc across the US equities as well. The S&P500 slipped below its 100-DMA, as Nasdaq fell below its 50-DMA.   Read next: EU economy expected to grow 0.8% in 2023. Following ECB hikes can be higher than Fed ones | FXMAG.COM Here in Switzerland, the SMI also paid the price of a 50bp hike from the SNB and the ECB. The index fell around 2.50%, although some breathed a sigh of relief that the EURCHF stayed relatively stable, not the get the Swiss franc more expensive for European clients.   Go, euro!  Even though the euro was relatively stable against the franc, the single currency got a nice initial boost from the ECB decision and especially Lagarde's cruelly hawkish press conference against the US dollar.   The EURUSD spiked to 1.0736, the highest level since April, then gave in to the broadly stronger US dollar, and is back below the 1.07 mark this morning.   But the significant hawkish shift in ECB's policy stance, and the determination of the European leaders to shot inflation to the ground should continue giving some more support to the euro, therefore, price pullbacks in EURUSD could be interesting dip buying opportunities for a further rally toward the 1.10 mark.  And if the US dollar strengthened yesterday, it was certainly due to a heavy selloff in stocks and bonds that ended up with investors sitting on cash. Other than that, the data released in the US yesterday was not brilliant! The retail sales fell by most in a year; holiday shopping apparently didn't help improve numbers. The Empire Manufacturing index tanked from 4.5 to -11, versus -1 expected by analysts. Both data hinted at a slowing economic growth in the US, which should normally boost recession fears and keep the Fed hawks at bay. And that could mean a further downside correction in the dollar in the run up to Xmas.
Analysis Of The Euro To US Dollar Pair Situation - 30.01.2023

Craig Erlam talks euro against US dollar amid central banks decisions

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 16.12.2022 23:41
OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam discusses how EURUSD has traded in the aftermath of the Fed and ECB interest rate decisions.   This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. EUR/USD - A bullish breakout? - MarketPulseMarketPulse
UK GDP Already Falling And Continuing To Do So For This Calendar Year, Copper Is Still Within A Tightening Range

Bank of England decision wasn't unanimous as one member voted for a 75bp hike with two other opting for inaction

Enrique Díaz-Álvarez Enrique Díaz-Álvarez 19.12.2022 16:35
We’d been warning for some time about the large gap between market expectations for future ECB rates and the inflationary reality. The central bank swung clearly to our view at its meeting last week, warning of 50bp hikes for as long as is necessary and forcing European rates higher across the curve. The Federal Reserve was also hawkish, and the Bank of England maintained its unblemished track record of muddled messaging and general confusion. The euro benefited the most, while sterling, emerging market currencies and risk assets generally reacted badly to the news that the two most important central banks continue to focus exclusively on reining in inflation back to targets.   The week before Christmas tends to be on the dull side in financial markets, as traders wind down for the year. In fact, little news of note will come out next week, beyond the PCE inflation report in the US on Friday. However, the market is still digesting the hawkish surprises from last week’s central bank meetings so we still expect an interesting week in currency markets. Figure 1: G10 FX Performance Tracker [base: USD] (1 week) Source: Refinitiv Datastream Date: 19/12/2022 GBP While rates in the UK were hiked by 50bps as markets expected, there was a three-way split among Monetary Policy Committee members, with one member voting for a 75bp hike and two more voting for no change in rates. This was, at the margin, a dovish split, but on the other hand there seemed to be yet another swing in Bank of England communications, this time towards hawkishness and acceptance of higher market expectations of future hikes. Read next: EUR/USD Pair Looks Reasonably Well Supported | The Japanese Yen Galloped Higher In The Morning| FXMAG.COM Overall a muddle message that resulted in an underperforming currency as sterling finished the week right near the bottom of the G10 currency rankings. No major news will be released this week, so expect the pound to move off events elsewhere. EUR The ECB sent markets an unmistakably hawkish message last week, validating our view that there was a massive gap between expectations of future hikes and the inflationary realities in the Eurozone. President Lagarde warned of 50bp hikes, harsher and earlier quantitative tightening, and a higher terminal rate for the ECB. Another positive factor for the euro were the December PMIs of business activity, all of which improved measurably from the previous month. The worst-case scenarios for an energy crisis look increasingly remote, and China’s pivot away from zero-COVID policies only adds to the bullishness (relatively speaking) on the Eurozone economy. However, the common currency has already had a blistering rally of over 10% since its late-September low and perhaps a pause is to be expected in the lead up to the Christmas holiday. Figure 2: G3 PMIs (2020 – 2022) Source: Refinitiv Datastream Date: 19/12/2022 Aside from China, Japan has been one of the few countries in the world to adopt an easing bias in the current cycle, so a move away from this at a time when most central banks are delivering dovish pivots would be unambiguously bullish news for JPY. The BoJ will be announcing its latest policy decision on Tuesday, though we see very little chance of any policy changes, or tweak to the bank’s forward guidance. CHF The Swiss franc outperformed most G10 currencies last week, although it ended slightly lower against the euro. Last week’s Swiss National Bank meeting largely followed the script, and had little impact on the franc. As expected, the SNB raised its policy rate by 50 basis points to 1% and reiterated its pledge to intervene in the FX market as necessary. President Jordan confirmed that the bank has indeed sold foreign currency in the past few months and that it may intervene on both sides of the market. The bank’s conditional inflation forecast was little changed from September and the SNB continues to pencil in inflation of 2.4% in 2023. Moreover, the bank expects growth to decelerate from around 2% this year to 0.5% in 2023. Even though price pressures in Switzerland have moderated of late, the fight against inflation is not over and the bank signalled that it may hike rates again. We expect the SNB to maintain its hawkish stance in the near-term, but also think that it won’t be long until the bank considers ending the hiking process. With barely any news from Switzerland on tap this week, the franc may trade off events elsewhere, though volatility may be limited. AUD The Australian dollar was one of the underperformers in the G10 last week, with heightened uncertainty surrounding the covid situation in China keeping gains for AUD in check. While news of a possible move away from zero-covid should be keeping the currency well bid, reports of jumps in caseloads have soured optimism. Economic news out of Australia last week was mixed, with a strong jobs report offset by another drop in the composite PMI, which remains in contractionary territory. Most economists, ourselves included, expect Australia to avoid recession in the coming months, though a slowdown appears inevitable, particularly in light of the acute uncertainty abroad. The latest RBA meeting minutes will be released on Tuesday. Markets see a relatively low possibility of another rate hike at the next meeting in February, so we could see a bout of AUD strength if one were to be alluded to in tomorrow’s minutes. NZD Strong third quarter GDP data perhaps contributed to an outperformance in the New Zealand dollar relative to its antipodean counterpart last week. The New Zealand economy expanded by 2% on the previous quarter, more than double expectations, and by 6.4% year-on-year (5.5% consensus). The reaction in markets to the news was, however, rather limited, as economists believe that this jump in activity was driven largely by one-off factors, notably the reopening of borders in August. We suspect that volatility in NZD will be low this week as we approach the typically subdued Christmas period. Focus in the New Year will revert back to RBNZ monetary policy. The bank is expected to be the most active in the G10 next year, which may provide some scope for a dovish surprise. Figure 4: New Zealand GDP Growth Rate (2015 – 2022) Source: Refinitiv Datastream Date: 19/12/2022 CAD A lack of major domestic news caused CAD to put in a middling performance last week. The modest uptick in global oil prices should be supporting the Canadian dollar, although the Bank of Canada’s dovish policy stance has made gains hard to come in recent months. Inflation and GDP data out on Thursday and Friday respectively could receive some attention this week, though the BoC has indicated that it may have already ended its tightening cycle, which could mean that these data points become slightly less relevant. That said, economists are pencilling in a four-month high in the headline inflation numbers that, if confirmed, could raise the possibility of another 25bp hike in the first quarter of next year, even if we think this is doubtful. SEK The ECB’s hawkishness sent the krona to its lowest level in almost two months against the euro last week, although Sweden’s November inflation data perhaps prevented a more aggressive move lower in the currency. The annual inflation rate increased to 11.5% in November, its highest level since February 1991, following a 10.9% surge in October, while core inflation increased to 9.5%. The continued rise in inflation supports our view that the Riksbank will likely need to raise interest rates further during the next few meetings. This could support the krona, as most other major central banks appear to be nearing the end of their tightening cycles. November retail sales will be released this Thursday. Apart from that, there are no events that are expected to move the currency, and as we approach the festive period we expect market movements to abate. NOK The slight rebound in Brent crude oil prices, and last week’s rate hike by Norges Bank, allowed the Norwegian krone to post modest gains against the euro last week. As expected, Norges Bank raised rates by 25bps last week, lifting its key rate to 2.75%. The bank announced that it expects to continue hiking rates further at the next meeting, and that it expects rates to be close to 3% in 2023. As for the macroeconomic outlook, the bank expects inflation to remain higher than expected for a longer period of time, with the economy set to slow down more than initially expected. As inflation remains well above target, we now expect Norges bank to carry out two additional rate hikes of 25 basis points at the January and March meetings. However, this will depend entirely on the data available until then. The December unemployment rate will be released this Friday, although there are no other events that are expected to move the currency aside from that. CNY The Chinese yuan ended last week roughly in the middle of the emerging market currency dashboard, and just a touch lower against the US dollar. Initial optimism about China inching away from zero-COVID appears to be turning into caution as the country is battling through its first winter wave of covid. China’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou expects two more to come, with the latter ending in mid-March. This casts a shadow on the near-term economic outlook – data in the last few days has certainly not helped allay this pessimism. Hard data published last week was overall weaker-than-expected. Perhaps the most disappointing was retail sales, which showed a slight contraction year-to-date. Following discussions at the Central Economic Work Conference last week, authorities telegraphed that economic stability is their top priority for next year, and also stressed a pursuit of steady progress. The messaging was in line with recent signals from authorities, and confirms they’ll be focused on reviving poor domestic demand and encouraging an expansion of the private sector. This week we’ll continue to focus on covid news, albeit we will also keep an eye on monetary policy. China’s medium-term lending facility rate was kept unchanged last week, albeit the PBoC injected a net 150 billion yuan into the banking system via the facility (after we consider maturing loans). On Tuesday, we await the decision on 1- and 5-year loan prime rates, albeit no change is expected there. Economic Calendar (19/11/2022 – 23/12/2022) To stay up to date with our publications, please choose one of the below: 📩 Click here to receive the latest market updates👉 Our LinkedIn page for the latest news✍️ Our Blog page for other FX market reports 🔊 Stay up to date with our podcast FXTalk Read the article on Ebury
FX Daily: Hawkish Powell lends his wings to the dollar

Fed Chair Powell's new 'guide'. US wages in spotlight next year?

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 19.12.2022 23:54
  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has a new guide in helping him fight inflation, and it will put U.S. wages at the heart of monetary policy next year. Powell says he's looking at a price scale that covers everything from health care and haircuts to a night in a roadside motel. Because wages are a particularly large cost item for these service industries, "the labor market is key to understanding inflation in this category," he told the Brookings Institution in November in his closing speech before the Fed's latest interest rate hike.     In his press conference following that decision Wednesday, Powell returned to the topic. Now, he said, wages are rising "well above matching the 2% inflation rate." The key question for Fed officials is whether the rise in U.S. wages over the past 18 months or so is a one-time blow as companies adjust to labor shortages and the realization that their workforce is underpaid, or a pernicious feedback loop in which prices and wages are mutually reinforcing. There are signs that they are risk averse, which means that Powell's new guide is pointing to tougher policies. Forecasts released by the Fed last week suggest that the prime rate for next year will be 5.1%, higher than the expected value that led to the stock market crash. Relevance up to 17:00 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/330214
Further Upward Price Movement Of The AUD/USD Pair Is Expected

Key event for Aussie this week is the release of RBA meeting minutes

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 19.12.2022 23:57
The Australian dollar paired with the US currency at the start of the new trading week tried to develop a corrective growth, which was due solely to the decline in the US dollar index. But this is just price noise against the background of an almost empty economic calendar on Monday. The high-profile events of last week have been left behind, and now traders will have to trade for several weeks in conditions of information hunger. The traditional pre-holiday bliss is coming. However, there is still one information occasion in store for the Australian, which in the current conditions can provoke increased volatility for the pair. We are talking about the publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia this year, the release of which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 20.     Let me remind you that following the results of this meeting, the RBA expectedly increased the interest rate by 25 basis points (fully justifying the experts' forecast), signaling a further rate hike to curb inflation, which, according to the regulator, remains at a high level. At the same time, the head of the Central Bank, Philip Lowe, ignored early signs indicating that inflation in Australia could reach peak values in the third quarter, after which it will begin to slow down. At the final press conference, he refrained from any signals in the context of a possible pause in tightening monetary policy. At the same time, the tone of the rhetoric of the accompanying statement still suggests that the RBA does not exclude all options for the development of events. The regulator excluded from the text of the final communique a reference to its main forecast for the growth of inflation (consumer price index) for the next year. In addition, the Central Bank excluded from the statement the forecast for the growth of the labor market in 2023. Such unexpected gaps indicate that the RBA is waiting for more recent macroeconomic data that will allow the Central Bank's leadership to decide on further actions. In other words, the regulator is not ready to signal a possible pause before the publication of a report on inflation growth in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2022. Therefore, at the December meeting, the Reserve Bank actually repeated the scenario of the November meeting and did not rush events with the announcement of "dovish" decisions. However, the minutes of the last meeting of the RBA members may, so to speak, lift the veil of secrecy. If the published document supports the basic market forecast, according to which the Australian regulator will soon take a break, the aussie will be under extreme pressure, including paired with the greenback. Even if such a scenario is discussed in the context of the first half of next year, bulls will still react negatively to such rhetoric. The fact that this will happen somewhat later than previously expected will not matter much for the foreign exchange market. In this case, the current monetary policy of the RBA will not support the Australian dollar: an upcoming pause will loom on the horizon. The US dollar acts as a lifeline, allowing bulls to organize corrective counterattacks. But in general, the situation for the bulls of the pair looks like a stalemate. Take a look at the weekly AUD/USD chart: for 6 weeks – from mid–October to mid-November - the aussie showed a pronounced northern trend, which was mainly due to the weakness of the greenback. But then the upward momentum faded: traders got bogged down in the 0.6800-0.6900 range. Bulls have repeatedly tried to approach the boundaries of the 69th figure, but in vain. The last attempt, which was made last week (on the eve of the Fed meeting), also ended in failure. As a result, the initiative was intercepted by the bears: they managed to pull the pair into the price range of 0.6650–0.6800, within which it is now being traded. However, this price corridor is a temporary haven for both bulls and bears AUD/USD. So, for the development of the southern trend, bears need to overcome the support level of 0.6650: at this price point, the average line of the Bollinger Bands indicator coincides with the Kijun-sen line on the weekly chart. In turn, bulls need to overcome the resistance level of 0.6790 (the Tenkan-sen line on the daily chart) to return to the price range of 0.6800–0.6900. In my opinion, the minutes of the December RBA meeting are able to push the pair out of the current price range – but only if the document contains rhetoric that differs from the rhetoric of the accompanying statement and/or Philip Lowe. At the moment, it is advisable to take a wait-and-see attitude for a pair. Short positions will be relevant when the bears cross the 0.6650 mark (the next bearish target will be located at 0.6450 – this is the upper limit of the Kumo cloud on the D1 timeframe). You can consider long positions in case the pair settles above the 0.6800 mark (in this case, bulls will try to approach the limits of the 69th figure again). It is likely that the RBA minutes will provoke the corresponding volatility, the only question is – in favor of aussie or against him. Relevance up to 11:00 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/330218
Australian dollar declines as RBA minutes suggest a pause in rate hikes may happen

Australian dollar declines as RBA minutes suggest a pause in rate hikes may happen

Jing Ren Jing Ren 20.12.2022 08:19
EURUSD consolidates gains The euro found support after ECB officials pledged to keep raising interest rates. The pair came under pressure near last June’s high of 1.0780. A RSI divergence shows a deceleration in the upward momentum and could be significant in this supply zone. After traders took some chips off the table, new buying interests will need to follow through to maintain the single currency’s edge. 1.0530 is a key level to make that happen or the price could tumble below 1.0440. A rally back above 1.0700 would keep the bulls in play. AUDUSD tests major support The Australian dollar slips as the RBA minutes hints at a possible pause in rate hikes. The pair has so far struggled to clear 0.6900 at the origin of the September sell-off. A combination of profit-taking and fresh selling has weighed on the aussie. A push under 0.6750 may have dampened the enthusiasm, putting the recent lows around 0.6670 at test. The bulls must lift offers in the newly formed supply zone around 0.6790 before they could regain control. Otherwise, a fall below said support could trigger a broader liquidation. US 30 seeks support The Dow Jones 30 falls as investors offload risk assets over the prospect of further rate hikes. Last week’s reversal has dented the short-term mood, forcing leverage positions to abandon 33400 and lifting volatility. The index is looking to secure a foothold at 32500 which is a 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the rally from October. The 50% level and daily low at 31800 is critical in keeping the recovery intact in the medium-term. On the upside, 33500 then 34100 are two obstacles to clear before the uptrend could resume. Read next: The FCC Seeks More Than $200 Million From Four Cellphone Carriers| FXMAG.COM
Ralph Shedler's Technical Analysis Of The USD/JPY Pair

Bank of Japan announces yield target to 0.0-0.50% range, but rate differential remains significant

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 20.12.2022 14:58
The Bank of Japan made a surprise move on Tuesday morning, extending the permissible yield range of 10-year government bonds. The decision caused the yen to strengthen by more than 3%, and the Nikkei225 index lost as much as 4% before recovering almost half of its initial decline. The central bank of Japan said at the end of its regular meeting that it would switch from a 0.25% yield target to a 0.0-0.50% target range instead. As yields had been held at 0.25% solely due to BoJ purchases, the range extension immediately sent yields to the upper end of the range. This decision meant that the BoJ would print fewer yen to buy government bonds for the FX market, strengthening the currency. Strictly speaking, the Bank of Japan has made monetary policy less accommodating. However, the difference with key rates of other countries remains disastrous, as it is the only one keeping rates negative with an active QE phase. On the other hand, the signal from the softer central bank itself is definite and could be a trial balloon for a fundamental policy reversal. Bank of Japan meetings are no longer boring. We also pay attention to the timing of the changes. The powerful interventions of the Japanese Ministry of Finance in November stopped the USDJPY rising and confirmed the reversal in the pair thanks to a decisive move down on a break-down of the 50-day moving average. Read next: The Bank Of Japan's Decision To Allow 10-Year Government Bonds Caused Turmoil In The Financial Markets, USD/JPY Trading Below 133| FXMAG.COM Throughout December, we saw a three-week consolidation of the pair just above the 200 SMA. The decisive move down after the extended consolidation has been reinforced by the fact that during the lull in the pair, the stop orders pulled closer to the market and are now triggered in droves. A sharp pullback of the pair under its 200 SMA often signals the reversal of the long-term trend. We had similar signals earlier in the EURUSD and the GBPUSD. In addition, the fall of the USDJPY below 133 was below the 61.8% retracement of the entire momentum of the pair from the beginning of 2021 to the peak in October 2022. Market participants' conviction of a hawkish reversal of Bank of Japan policy could trigger a new round of decline in the pair with a technical target near 127. This is where the 50% level of the mentioned last rally and the support area in May of the year gone by are concentrated.
Oanda's Kenny Fisher talks US dollar against Canadian dollar

There are two important releases this week which will be followed by Bank of Canada

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 20.12.2022 15:21
USD/CAD has edged lower on Tuesday. In the European session, USD/CAD is at 1.3626, down 0.19%. We could see stronger movement in the North American session when Canada releases the November retail sales report. Will retail sales bounce back? Canada’s retail sales were soft in October, as the headline reading came in at -0.5% and core retail sales at -0.7%. The markets are expecting a mixed report for November, with a consensus of -0.3% for the headline and 0.8% for core retail sales. This will be followed on Wednesday with the CPI data for November, with headline inflation expected to rise to 7.4%, up from 6.9% a month earlier. The Bank of Canada will be following the retail sales and inflation data carefully. The BoC raised rates by 50 basis points earlier in December, bringing the cash rate to 4.25%. The Bank’s current rate cycle has been steep, with 425 points of tightening in just nine months. BoC Governor Macklem expressed a mea culpa on Monday, admitting that the BoC had missed the boat on rising inflation, which was a “very big forecast error.” Still, Macklem said that a turnaround in inflation was near. Over in the US, the Federal Reserve continues to battle with investors, who are not listening to the Fed’s hawkish message and received a cold shower from a hawkish Fed meeting last week. Former New York Fed President Dudley emphasised this point on Monday, warning that investors were ignoring the Fed at their peril, as the Fed would simply continue to tighten if it saw that conditions were becoming too loose. The Fed has projected a terminal rate of 5.00% to 5.25%, a view seconded by Goldman Sachs. However, the money markets have priced in a terminal rate of 4.88%, somewhat more dovish than the Fed. Read next: The Bank Of Japan's Decision To Allow 10-Year Government Bonds Caused Turmoil In The Financial Markets, USD/JPY Trading Below 133| FXMAG.COM USD/CAD Technical There is weak resistance at 1.3681. The next resistance line is 1.3766 USD/CAD has support at 1.3596 and 1.3484 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Canadian dollar eyes retail sales - MarketPulseMarketPulse
From the fundamental point of view, these facts may become a game changer, sending the EUR/USD pair to the parity level

From the fundamental point of view, these facts may become a game changer, sending the EUR/USD pair to the parity level

Aleksandr Davidov Aleksandr Davidov 14.12.2022 19:48
The European Central Bank started to raise its key interest rate after the US Federal Reserve kickstarted its rate hikes. The record-high inflation forced the regulators to make such a decision. The ECB is expected to increase the interest rate to 2.5% from 2.0% during its December meeting to curb the double-digit inflation in the region. However, the markets are speculating about how long the ECB will continue rate hikes. The EU inflation rate is higher than in the US. Moreover, it does not decelerate as much. Two months ago, everyone believed the ECB would have higher interest rates than the Federal Reserve in 2023. Nevertheless, such expectations may prove to be wrong. The US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank steer their monetary policies in slightly different environments. Notably, the markets pay close attention to inflation but the regulators also closely monitor the labor market when making decisions. In this connection, there is a huge gap between the United States and the European Union. The Fed has to combat inflation and deal with the overheated labor market at the same time. The US central bank managed to ease inflationary pressures but the labor market continues to raise woes. This fact leaves the regulator with insufficient room for action and rules out any reduction in the refinancing rate. At the same time, declining inflation is forcing the Fed to act more softly. The regulator is expected to moderate the pace of interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, it is likely to keep the rates high until unemployment starts to rise toward 5.0%. Read next: Given the peculiarities of the US labor market and the high labor mobility, the acceptable unemployment rate is considered to be 5.0%| FXMAG.COM In the EU, unemployment is considerably higher. As a rule, central banks stimulate job growth by lowering interest rates. However, rising inflation forces them to increase the rates. In other words, a 6.5% unemployment rate reduces the ECB's leverage for sharp rate hikes. Especially, when the unemployment rate is falling. If the refinancing rate is raised aggressively, the fragile employment growth is likely to be damaged. Therefore, one can hardly imagine that interest rates in Europe will be higher than in the US. The ECB may put brakes on the rate hikes before the Fed will do so. Meanwhile, there is another burning issue. In 2022, US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. It includes direct subsidies for industries located in the US. The scale of the business support is so impressive that some major European industries have already openly announced that they are considering moving some of their production facilities from Europe to the US. The European Union is already voicing concerns. France is stating that the United States has declared a trade war on the European Union with this act. The country urges other EU members to take appropriate countermeasures. The problem is that the cost of energy in the European Union is several times higher than in the United States. This greatly affects the cost of production. Europe becomes less competitive. So, European companies have only two options left. They can either cut profits or cut costs by transferring production facilities out of Europe. Neither of these two options suits the largest EU countries. In the context of the enormous debt burden of the European Union, it is possible to subsidize businesses on such a large scale only when interest rates are extremely low or even negative. In addition to direct budget subsidies financed by government borrowing, since there are no alternative sources of income, it is also possible to facilitate business crediting. However, this may come true only when interest rates are low. In this relation, the ECB should consider lowering the refinancing rate rather than raising it. The European regulator may stop monetary policy tightening earlier than the Fed. Moreover, it may become the first regulator to start lowering interest rates. First of all, it needs to decrease inflation to appropriate levels. Notably, the central bank has already made some progress regarding this matter. Thus, in the middle of next year, the ECB is expected to gradually reduce the refinancing rate. From the fundamental point of view, these facts may become a game changer, sending the EUR/USD pair to the parity level.
Analysis Of The AUD/USD Commodity Currency Pair's Price

Australia: according to RBA meeting minutes, pause in hiking was on the cards

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 20.12.2022 16:16
The Australian dollar has posted sharp losses on Tuesday.  AUD/USD is trading at 0.6647 in the North American session, down 0.77%. Minutes – RBA considered pause The markets were hoping that the RBA minutes would provide clues as to when the RBA might wind up its tightening cycle, and the RBA appeared to deliver the goods. The minutes indicated that the central bank considered pausing its tightening in December, although in the end board members voted for a third-straight hike of 25 basis points. This marked the first time since the tightening cycle started in May that board members made a case for no change and indicates that the current cycle may be close to its end. The minutes noted that according to the Bank’s forecasts, inflation would not return to the 2% to 3% target for several years, and members also stated that no other central bank had yet paused. The RBA is being careful not to show its hand, with the minutes stating that there was “considerable uncertainty” in the economic outlook and that rate hikes were “not on a pre-set path”. With the next rate meeting not until late February, it’s wait-and-see time for the RBA. Inflation remains the RBA’s number one priority, but policy makers are aware of the pain that high inflation and rising interest rates are causing to businesses and households. The RBA would love to pause, but it will need to first see evidence that inflation is definitely on the way down. If the RBA ends tightening too early, there is the danger of a price-wage spiral, which would greatly complicate the battle against inflation. Read next: There are two important releases this week which will be followed by Bank of Canada| FXMAG.COM AUD/USD Technical AUD/USD has support at 0.6611 and 0.6535 There is resistance at 0.6752 and 0.6828 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. AUD/USD slides after dovish RBA minutes - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Wage agreement may be game-changing in a way. First meeting of the new BoJ Governor Ueda takes place on April 28th

Japanese yen gained, New Zealand dollar decreases because of larger-than-expected trade deficit

Jing Ren Jing Ren 21.12.2022 08:35
USDJPY breaks major support The Japanese yen soared after the BoJ unexpectedly relaxed its yield cap. The previous rebound quickly had turned into a bull trap at 137.80 under the 20-day moving average. The sharp fall below 134.50 is a sign of liquidation, invalidating the recovery attempt. The August low of 130.50 is a critical floor to test the bulls’ resolve and its breach may pave the way for a bearish reversal in the new year. As the RSI sank into oversold territory, the former demand zone next to 135.00 has turned into a supply one. NZDUSD struggles for support The New Zealand dollar edges lower over a larger-than-expected trade deficit in November. The bears have faded last week’s bullish momentum and pushed the kiwi back below 0.6400. This level has since become a fresh resistance which suggests strong pressure ahead. Previous lows around 0.6300 coincide with the 20-day moving average and an attempt to break below puts the pair at the risk of a deeper correction, with 0.6200 as a possible target. A close back above 0.6400 would keep buyers in the game. XAUUSD grinds resistance A retreating US dollar boosted the appeal of bullion. Despite the metal’s choppy price action, the bulls have been looking to consolidate their gains above August’s high of 1805. With sentiment shifting to a brighter side, more buyers may place follow-up bids as the RSI drops back to the neutral area on the daily chart. This could be confirmed by the price bouncing off the 20-day moving average (1775) then the psychological tag of 1800. A close above the recent high of 1823 could attract momentum buyers and trigger a rally to 1860. Read next: Indonesia Has Potential In The Development Of Solar Energy| FXMAG.COM
S&P 500 ended the session 1.4% higher. This evening Japan's inflation goes public

If rental prices keep falling that fast, core inflation will decline allowing Fed to calm down

Jing Ren Jing Ren 22.12.2022 12:18
The last couple of US inflation readings came in well below expectations, showing a dramatic acceleration to the downside in the inflation rate. In fact, inflation for November was recorded as lower than in January. December might prove to be a bit of an exception because of the demand distortion around the holidays. But, the value of the dollar is tied to the expectation of the Fed's rate policy in the months ahead. Which in turn is largely predicated on where inflation is headed. One of the main questions is whether the Fed will keep rates high as the economy slows. If inflation remains high, the chances of a Fed "pivot" fade. However, there is an indicator here which could show increasing downward pressure on inflation, which could allow the Fed a little more room for dovishness. What happened? First, we need to distinguish between core and headline inflation. The latter is driven in large part by increasing energy costs, which tend to be more volatile. Headline inflation has been coming down in line with fuel prices. But the Fed generally ignores this indicator, and focuses more on the core rate, which doesn't account for energy or food costs. Diving a little deeper into the core inflation data from the last couple of months, we can see that the largest contributor to the drop was a cooling real estate market. CPI figures don't take into account the cost of houses, but do consider rent. And rent prices have been slowing down dramatically in line with slower home sales, as interest rates push up the cost of mortgages. The new data The presumption is that core inflation will continue its slide if rent prices continue their current trend. And a new gauge developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland points in that direction. This indicator looks at the change in the amount of rent paid by new tenants and compares it to existing tenants. Essentially, it measures how much people are paying to rent a new place compared to their current rent prices. Rent prices rise slowly, as it takes time for landlords and tenants to negotiate new contracts. But prices of rent coming on the market can fluctuate quite quickly. If there is demand, then the price of new contracts will rise quickly. If there is less demand, then the price of new contracted rents will drop. That's even if landlords raise asking rent; it won't be reflected in the data unless a contract is actually signed. Read next: Netflix Wants You To Pay For Sharing Your Password With Others| FXMAG.COM The trends and the future What the indicator shows is that new rental contracts spiked through 2021 and early 2022, showing that people were renting at as much as 13% higher prices than the prior year. But, since September, those price increases have started to come down dramatically. People are still paying significantly higher rental prices, at a growth rate of 5% compared to the prior year in November. But the trend is showing an even faster fall than the rise in prior years. In fact, it's the fastest drop on record. If the trend maintains, it could contribute to core inflation coming in below expectations once again. That, in turn, could give the Fed more reason to keep rates from rising as high, and potentially allow room for a pivot to the downside at some point.
Canadian dollar becomes weaker in the wake of inflation print, consumer confidence supports greenback

Canadian dollar becomes weaker in the wake of inflation print, consumer confidence supports greenback

Jing Ren Jing Ren 22.12.2022 08:40
USDCAD hits resistance The Canadian dollar softened as November’s inflation reading showed signs of slowing down. On the daily chart, the uptrend remains intact and a bullish MA cross indicates solid support and a potential acceleration to the upside. However, the pair is still grinding the supply area around 1.3700 as the pressure builds up. A breakout would lead to a test of November’s peak at 1.3800, which would be a step closer to a bullish continuation. On the downside, 1.3530 next to the 30-day moving average is the first support. USDCHF tests critical floor The US dollar steadies as consumer confidence climbed to an eight-month high in December. Still, the pair has given up all the gains from its rally earlier this year, which shows a lack of commitment to keep the dollar rolling. The mood is still downbeat as the pair drifts lower and is capped by a series of lower highs, the latest being at 0.9370 right under the 20-day moving average. Last April’s low of 0.9210 has attracted some bargain hunters but its breach could trigger a new round of sell-off to 0.9100. USOIL grinds higher WTI crude edges higher over a larger-than-expected draw in US inventories. The commodity has so far found support at a 12-month low also the psychological handle of 70.00. Then a brief retracement saw follow-up bids over 73.50, suggesting solid interest from the buy side. A break above the recent high of 77.70 would open the path towards the daily resistance at 82.50 where renewed selling could be expected. Its breach, however, would put the oil price back on track. 75.80 is a fresh support in case of weakness. Read next: Netflix Wants You To Pay For Sharing Your Password With Others| FXMAG.COM
Bank of Canada keeps the rates unchanged. After the release of the US inflation, Fed's Barkin drew attention to cooling demand, but still strong labour market and inflation

Tomorrow greenback and Canadian dollar meet key data - Canada's GDP and US Core PCE Price Index - Fed's preferred inflation indicator

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 22.12.2022 14:33
The Canadian dollar continues to have an uneventful week. USD/CAD is unchanged on Thursday, trading at 1.3608 in the European session. Canada’s CPI slows to 6.8% There was mixed news from Canada’s November inflation report and the Canadian dollar showed little reaction. Headline CPI slowed to 6.8%, down from 6.9% in October but above the consensus of 6.7%. However, the trimmed and median core rates, two key measures that the Bank of Canada uses to track core CPI,  were slightly higher in November. This could leave BoC policy makers scratching their heads as to which way inflation is headed – it appears too early to tell if inflation has peaked and is finally moving in the right direction. Investors were hoping the inflation report might provide some clues about what to expect from the BoC at its January meeting. Inflation remains the BoC’s number one priority, and at the December meeting, the BoC rate statement said that inflation was “too high”. The latest data is unlikely to change this view, which means that there’s a strong likelihood of the  BoC delivering a modest hike of 25 basis points, after back-to-back increases of 50 bp. BoC Governor Macklem said earlier this week that the Bank had badly miscalculated the rise in inflation, and I would expect Macklem will want to see strong evidence that inflation has peaked before he will consider wrapping up the current rate tightening cycle. USD/CAD could show some volatility on Friday, with key releases on both sides of the border. Canada will release GDP for October, with a weak gain of 0.1% m/m expected, unchanged from September. The US will publish the Core PCE Price Index for November, the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator. The index is expected to slow to 4.6% y/y, down from 5.0%. Read next: The GBP/USD Pair Is Trading Just Above 1.20, The Australian Dollar Is The Strongest Today| FXMAG.COM USD/CAD Technical USD/CAD is putting on pressure on resistance at 1.3640. Above, there is resistance at 1.3762 There is support at 1.3576 and 1.3454 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Canadian dollar yawns after mixed CPI report - MarketPulseMarketPulse
The EUR/USD Pair Chance For The Further Downside Movement

Euro and greenback - CB Consumer Confidence catched markets by surprise rising to 5-month high

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 22.12.2022 14:51
EUR/USD continues to drift this week, content to stick close to the 1.06 line. There are no eurozone releases today, so I expect the euro to continue treading in place for the remainder of the day. This week’s data calendar in Europe has been very light, with mostly tier-2 releases. On Thursday, Germany and the US both released consumer confidence data, which pointed to very different consumer mindsets. Germany’s GfK Consumer Sentiment Index remained in deep freeze at -37.8, although the index has been inching higher, courtesy of energy prices stabilizing. Still, the German consumer is deeply pessimistic. At home, high inflation and rising interest rates are squeezing consumers, while the war in Ukraine, which has dampened economic activity, shows no signs of ending anytime soon. The German release mirrored Tuesday’s eurozone consumer confidence, which is also mired deep in negative territory. Contrast this gloomy outlook with the US, where CB Consumer Confidence surprised the markets by climbing to a 5-month high, with a reading of 108.3 in December. This blew past the November reading of 101.4 and the consensus of 101.0. The CB noted that inflation expectations fell to their lowest level since September 2021, in large part due to the drop in gas prices. The strong improvement in consumer confidence is interesting, as the US economy is expected to tip into recession – perhaps consumers are confident that the recession will not be all that bad. ECB’s De Guindos talks hawkish The ECB eased up on the pace of rates at the December meeting, as it delivered a 50-bp increase after two consecutive 75-bp increases. ECB President Lagarde warned that this was not a dovish pivot and that further rates hikes were coming. ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos sounded hawkish on Thursday, saying, “Increases of 50 basis points may become the new norm in the near term.” De Guindos said the ECB had to do more in the fight against inflation and voiced concern that the markets might underestimate the persistence of inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell would likely agree, as the Fed has had a tough time trying to convince the markets that it plans to continue tightening in order to curb inflation. Read next: Tomorrow greenback and Canadian dollar meet key data - Canada's GDP and US Core PCE Price Index - Fed's preferred inflation indicator | FXMAG.COM EUR/USD Technical EUR is testing resistance at 1.0610. Above, there is resistance at 1.0714 1.0484 and 1.0380 are providing support This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Euro steady on light data calendar - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Caixin Services PMI Data Has Helped The Chinese Yuan (CNH)

USD/JPY: There could be monetary policy shifts before the end of Kuroda's tenure

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 22.12.2022 16:09
The Japanese yen has edged higher on Thursday. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 132.09, down 0.27%. The dust has settled after Tuesday’s dramatic events, when the yen shot up 3.7%. This followed the Bank of Japan’s shocking announcement that it would widen its yield curve control on 10-year bonds from 25 bp to 50 bp. The markets were completely blindsided, which could very well be what the BoJ was hoping for. The markets hadn’t expected any policy moves until after BoJ Governor Kuroda ends his term in April, but now there is talk of major policy moves before then, such as raising interest rates out of negative territory. The BoJ releases minutes later today, but these are minutes of the November meeting. Still, with all of the drama that the BoJ has produced this week, investors will be keeping an eye on this release, looking for clues about future policy. National Core CPI next What will be of more interest to the markets is National Core CPI for November, which will also be released later today. The index is expected to inch up to 3.7%, up from 3.6% in October. Japan’s inflation rate is much lower than the US or the UK, but price pressures have nonetheless put the squeeze on households and businesses, which became accustomed to decades of deflation. With economic conditions improving and inflation rising, there has been speculation that the BoJ might consider major policy moves in the short-term, such as exiting from its stimulus programme. The BoJ showed this week that it was willing to make significant moves, and more tightening could be on the way. Read next: Credit Suisse Sold Building In Geneva, Visa Is Building Success At The Expense Of Small Retailers | FXMAG.COM USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY has support at 131.13 and 130.15  There is resistance at 132.83 and 134.12 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Japanese yen steady ahead of CPI - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Wage agreement may be game-changing in a way. First meeting of the new BoJ Governor Ueda takes place on April 28th

Japan's inflation hit 3.8% in November and is expected to jump another 0.2% next month

ING Economics ING Economics 23.12.2022 09:58
Consumer price increases speed up but look to be nearing their peak. Meanwhile, market expectations of further tightening increase. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda 3.8% Consumer price inflation % YoY Lower than expected Consumer inflation is nearing its peak In November, headline CPI inflation rose 3.8% YoY (vs 3.7% in October and 3.9% market consensus). The government’s travel subsidy programme partially eased the pressures on service prices, yet continued price hikes in utilities pushed up overall inflation. We expect consumer prices to hit 4.0% in December but to slow from next January, for the following reasons: (1) The government plans to provide electricity subsidies from January (estimated to reduce electricity bills by 20%), (2) nuclear power is expected to increase next year and to also likely lower the burden on electricity bills,(3) the JPY will likely remain strong for a while, (4) global energy prices are expected to stabilize, (5) spring salary negotiations will not likely catch up with real wage increases, and (6) higher market interest rates are expected to eventually curb inflation. Consumer inflation accelerated, mainly due to cost-push factors Source: CEIC BoJ watch After the Bank of Japan’s unexpected policy tweak earlier this week, the market apparently no longer relies exclusively on what the Bank of Japan mentions to predict the BoJ’s future policy actions. Governor Kuroda may have rescued the effectiveness of YCC policy in the financial markets, but in return, it has hurt the credibility of the BoJ and continues to elevate market speculation and uncertainty on future policy direction. We still expect the BoJ’s policy rate to remain unchanged in 2023 - the BoJ is unlikely to move until it meets its mandate of inflation targeting. Governor Kuroda will lead policy decision meetings in January and March before he finishes his term in April, and we expect the BoJ to take a wait-and-see stance on how the recent adjustment will affect financial markets. As mentioned above, Japan’s unusually high inflation looks temporary and should see a decline next year - we think the BoJ will have time to take its next step. The policy pivot should come with proper procedures - we think that policy review should come after the new Governor comes on board and then we will have a clearer view of the BoJ’s next move. Read this article on THINK TagsCPI inflation Bank of Japan Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
FX Daily: Hawkish Powell lends his wings to the dollar

Current low prices may boost the US government's purchase of crude to replenish its strategic reserves, which it has been depleting to mitigate the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine

Yohay Elam Yohay Elam 23.12.2022 13:20
Some time ago we had a great opportunity to ask FXStreet to comment on commodities, American consumers and NFP. Here’s what we’ve heard from Yohay Elam. Brent crude oil nears $80 at the actual start of heating season, is China's covid situation affecting it to that extent or there's another 'hidden' factor and what can we expect till the end of the year? Yohay Elam (FXStreet): Fears of a US recession have been weighing on energy prices, but I see several reasons for a significant bounce. First, China's reopening is far from being fully priced in markets. Beijing is relaxing its draconian measures and at a dizzying pace, and higher demand expectations are set to boost demand. Second, Current low prices may boost the US government's purchase of crude to replenish its strategic reserves, which it has been depleting to mitigate the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine. Third, supply remains tight as a result of under-investment in recent years. Fourth, and as mentioned in the question, winter has arrived, and with it higher demand for energy. All in all, I see prices rising from the current abyss. Could NFP save the dollar from a quite long downtrend? Dollar index has been losing since ca. 7 weeks, is correction coming to USD? The robust Nonfarm Payrolls report – and especially the upbeat wages data – helped stabilize the Dollar but do not serve as a game-changer. The #1 market mover in recent months has been the CPI report, and the next one is due shortly. If Core CPI rises by 0.6% or more, it would trigger a massive turnaround in favor of the Dollar. A lower figure would resume the Greenback's downtrend. Read next: Migration Of Sports From Traditional Television To Streaming Is Chugging Ahead- The NFL Sunday Ticket On YouTube| FXMAG.COM According to Adobe, Black Friday sales soared $9.12bn despite headwinds like high inflation, rising interest rates, recession fears and uncertain geopolitical outlook - what made consumers buy goods so willingly? Americans still have excessive savings from the pandemic era, and were clearly delighted to see price cuts – partially related to high inventories and the unsnarling of supply chains. Recession fears, uncertainty and political polarization have negatively impacted sentiment, but not actual shopping. There is a gap between what Americans say about the state of the broad economy and what they feel and see in their community. Moving forward, I think consumption will ease, but not collapse, staving off a recession in the US.
GBP: BoE Stands Firm on Bank Rate and Mortgage Interest Relief, EUR/GBP Drifts Lower

US Dollar 2023 Outlook

Jing Ren Jing Ren 23.12.2022 14:30
Over the last year, the dollar saw an extended period of strength, but turned around in autumn. Although there were many events to influence that trajectory, the main overriding theme has been the Fed. And as we turn our attention to the new year, it appears that will be the main driver going forward, as well. And not just the dollar, as risk sentiment could have some significant fluctuations over the coming months. What's expected… There remains a discrepancy between what the market expects the Fed to do, and what the Fed says it will do. Fed officials have repeatedly said that rate hikes will continue. But the market is pricing in a terminal rate of under 5.0%. That implies at most two more hikes in the coming year, a significantly slower pace than what has been happening so far. The first quarter is the moment of truth, to find out whether the Fed stays true to its implication that rates will be higher than the markets are expecting. The economic situation might be significantly different in the coming months, which could change the Fed's position. It's not that the market thinks the Fed is being dishonest, it's that the market thinks the Fed is being too optimistic about the economy. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood… Everyone seems to agree that there will be some kind of slowdown in the US at the start of the next year. The issue is whether it will be severe enough to knock the Fed off its rate trajectory. Or, will the slower economic activity pull inflation down faster than expected. So far, headline inflation has come in below expectations by quite a lot over the last few months. But core inflation has been a little more "sticky". Slower economic activity would imply less demand for crude, and energy has been one of the leading factors pushing the difference between core and headline CPI. A more mild winter and a diffusion of geopolitical tensions could help reduce inflation faster than anticipated. Combined with an underperforming economy, the Fed could have every reason to not only stop hiking, but to retrace its steps. Less risk outlook and a dovishly inclined Fed could significantly weaken the dollar over time. The path less taken… The consensus among economists is that there will be a relatively mild and short recession in the early part of the year, followed by a slow recovery. That considers a Fed keeping rates tight, and aggressively winding off its balance sheet. That represents the scenario that could weaken the dollar initially, but generally remain strong through the year, thanks to higher interest rates. The divergent opinion is that there won't be a recession at all, and the US will power through on good employment figures and increased government spending. That means inflation could remain elevated, and the Fed might not be as aggressive in raising rates. This scenario implies that the dollar will weaken in the early part of the year and simply continue its trend. Check back in twelve months to see who was right.
British pound to US dollar - trend analysis and what can we expect this week

New doves coming to town? Federal Reserve is ahead of staff changes

Jing Ren Jing Ren 23.12.2022 14:29
A new year, and a new set of rotating Fed board members come in. Giving the varying opinions of the different main and alternate members, this annual transition can change the FOMC's bias and outlook. This could be a factor in the trajectory of the markets, because: There is extensive debate, still, on how high the Fed will go Once there, there are widely differing opinions on whether the Fed will hold fast or "pivot" Potential debate over whether the Fed will prioritize inflation or wages later in the year. The other factor is that Powell has managed to maintain a particularly tight ship, even during the extraordinary measures taken to fight inflation over the last year. In fact, there have only been two dissenting votes out of all the meetings since the bottom of the pandemic. Even if more doves do get on the FOMC, it's also a question of whether they will end up actually voting for a more restrictive policy. What's going on The FOMC has officially 12 members, 8 of whom are permanent. Well, technically 7 are permanent, but the president of the Reserve Bank of New York "rotates" in place. Often there are less than 12, as vacancies at the Fed tend to take a long time to fill. This means the changes from the four rotating members can have a bigger impact. The rotating members are the heads of the respective regional reserve banks. If the regional bank changes its president, and is rotated onto the board, then that will be a new member on the FOMC. That is the case this year with the arrival of the new president of the Chicago Fed, Austan Goolsbee, who's rumored to be dovish. However, it takes some time to assess the inclination of a board member's votes. What does the rotation look like The current holder of the Chicago chair is Evans, a noted hawk. But he will be stepping down early in the year. No hawks are slated to replace him, meaning that there will only be three board members inclined towards hawkishness next year. Centrists Collins and George will rotate out. But also no centrists are expected to rotate in. Instead Logan will rotate in, and he's generally considered a moderate dove. He will likely be joined by Goolsbee in this camp. Two doves will rotate out and be replaced by two other doves. That is, Kaskari and Harker will replace Mester and Bullard. Read next: Signals of softening inflation make US stocks come back from below-the-line levels | FXMAG.COM In summary, one less hawk, one less centrist; replaced by two moderate doves. The dovish end of the board remains unchanged. It's not a big shift, but it does incline the bias a little. The immediate impact of the shift might not be noticeable, as there seems to be pretty broad agreement among members on the near-term policy. The dot-plot shows unanimity in projections in the short term. But getting towards the end of next year shows a widening split. And now there could be two more votes added to the bottom half of the average, implying a softer rate path after summer.
Beyonce Bounce and Soaring UK Inflation: A Challenge for Bank of England

British pound to US dollar - technical analysis - December 23rd

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 23.12.2022 22:43
  Overview : The GBP/USD pair hit the weekly pivot point and resistance 1, because of the series of relatively equal highs and equal lows. But, the pair has dropped down in order to bottom at the point of 1.2031. Hence, the major support was already set at the level of 1.1991. Moreover, the double bottom is also coinciding with the major support this week. Additionally, the RSI is still calling for a strong bearish market as well as the current price is also below the moving average 100. The GBP/USD pair has dropped sharply from the level of 1.2164 towards 1.1991. Now, the price is set at 1.2030 to act as a daily pivot point. It should be noted that volatility is very high for that the GBP/USD pair is still moving between 1.2100 and 1.1950 in coming hours. Furthermore, the price has been set below the strong resistance at the levels of 1.2098 and 1.2164, which coincides with the 23.6% and 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level respectively. Additionally, the price is in a bearish channel now. Amid the previous events, the pair is still in a downtrend. From this point, the GBP/USD pair is continuing in a bearish trend from the new resistance of 1.2098. Thereupon, the price spot of 1.2098 remains a significant resistance zone. Therefore, a possibility that the GBP/USD pair will have downside momentum is rather convincing and the structure of a fall does not look corrective, in order to indicate a bearish opportunity below 1.2099, sell below 1.2099 with the first targets at 1.1991 (the double bottom is seen at 1.1991) and second target 1.1950 - 1.1950. However, the stop loss should be located above the level of 1.2164. Relevance up to 20:00 2022-12-24 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/306198
USDX Will Try To Test And Break Below The 103.50 Level

Euro benefits from ECB hawkishness, Dow Jones steady as macroeconomics don't encourage to trade

Jing Ren Jing Ren 28.12.2022 08:31
EURUSD consolidates gains The euro keeps the high ground thanks to the ECB’s hawkish approach. The euro has retained its upward trajectory, and the RSI returning to the neutral area on the daily chart has taken some heat off the rally. The current consolidation may allow the bulls to accumulate above the 20-day moving average. The recent high of 1.0700 is the first resistance and its breach would lift the pair to last May’s high of 1.0780 which is a major obstacle in the medium-term. 1.0570 is an important support to keep intraday buyers interested. USDJPY recoups losses The US dollar regained some lost ground on the back of rising Treasury yields. The price action is seeking to hold above August’s low of 130.80 as a bearish breakout could pave the way for sustained weakness in the new year. The bounce could be driven by sellers’ profit-taking in this critical demand zone. 135.00 at the confluence of a support-turned-resistance and the 20-day moving average might make it a tough level to crack. Its breach, however, would turn the tide in the bulls’ favour. 132.70 is the closest support. Read next: Dallas Mavericks' (NBA) owner, Mark Cuban, praises Bitcoin, willing to buy more when it gets cheaper| FXMAG.COM US 30 stays in range The Dow Jones treads water as thinning liquidity and few economic data keep investors at bay. The sell-off in mid-December has prompted short-term buyers to bail out. Though the latest retracement secured bids in the critical demand zone around 32500. A rally back above 33450 would help the bulls regain confidence. 34400 near the recent top is a major resistance and the recovery could be back on track should buyers succeed in lifting the last offers over there. On the downside, 32850 is the first support.
The EUR/USD Pair Has Key Support Is Near At The Price of 1.5075

Forex: What can we expect from euro to greenback? Orbex Analyst: "It is preferable to add this pair on our watchlist!"

Jing Ren Jing Ren 28.12.2022 13:07
In the long term, the EURUSD currency is expected to form a bearish cycle impulse, which consists of five main sub-waves I-II-III-IV-V Most likely, the cycle impulse sub-wave III was fully completed, after which the formation of a bullish correction IV began. This complex correction is similar to a triple zigzag consisting of primary sub-waves â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž-Ⓧ-Ⓩ. The primary sub-waves â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž-Ⓧ look complete. The development of the last sub-wave is expected in the near future. It may form a double zigzag pattern (W)-(X)-(Y) near 1.090. At that level, correction IV will be at 50% of impulse III. According to the alternative version, the cycle correction IV has already been fully completed and is a triple zigzag, as in the main version. In the last section of the chart, we can notice the development of the initial part of the cycle wave V, which may take the form of a primary impulse or an ending diagonal. It is assumed that the bears can re-go to the minimum of 0.953, at which a large impulse wave III was completed. Read next: Dallas Mavericks' (NBA) owner, Mark Cuban, praises Bitcoin, willing to buy more when it gets cheaper| FXMAG.COM It is preferable to add this pair on our watchlist!
The Cable Market (GBP/USD) Is Likely To Show Signs Of A Bullish Trend

GBP/USD - Lack of US data and US Redbook didn't support US dollar

FXStreet News FXStreet News 28.12.2022 16:34
GBP/USD is back above the 1.2100 figure, courtesy of the US Dollar weakness. China’s relaxing Covid-19 restrictions keep sentiment positive. GBP/USD> Testing the 20 and 200-DMAs, on its way toward 1.2200. The Pound Sterling advances sharply following a European choppy trading session, bouncing off the day’s lows around 1.2000, posing a challenge to the 1.2100 figure in the New York session. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD is trading at 1.2108. Improvement in sentiment weighs on the USD Investors’ mood is mixed amidst the North American session. The lack of US economic data, with the US Redbook released around 13:55 GMT, coming at 9.6% YoY, compared to the previous reading of 7.6%, failed to underpin the US Dollar (USD). Later at 15:00 GMT, US Pending Home Sales for November and the Richmond Fed Indices are expected to improve slightly compared to its previous readings. Another factor that improved traders’ sentiment is that China is removing Covid-19 restrictions on visitors while beginning to issue travel permits to Hong kong residents. Additionally, authorities started to issue passports and would officially reopen its borders on January 8. Even though the mood shifted positively, fears that inflationary pressures would rise keep traders wary. In the meantime, the US Dollar Index (DXY), a gauge of the buck’s value against a basket of peers, losses 0.28%, down at 103.984, undermined by falling US Treasury bond yields. Ahead into the week, the UK economic docket is empty, while the US calendar will feature Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending on December 23, ahead of the release of the Chicago PMI on Friday. GBP/USD Price Analysis: Technical outlook From the daily chart perspective, the GBP/USD is testing the 20 and 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 1.2113 after bouncing from weekly lows around 1.2000. If the former is cleared, the nest resistance would be an upslope trendline previous support-shifted- resistance around 1.2180, followed by the 1.2200 figure. On the flip side, failure to stay above 1.2100 could pave the way toward weekly lows at 1.2000 and the 50-day EMA at 1.1935.
Kim Cramer Larsson's technical analyses of DAX and EuroStoxx 50

European stocks closed mixed. The DAX 40 fell 0.50%, the CAC 40 declined 0.61%, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.32%

Intertrader Market News Intertrader Market News 29.12.2022 10:20
DAILY MARKET NEWSLETTER December 29, 2022               Pre-Market Session News Sentiment Technical Views           EUR/USD   Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)   Brent (ICE)                 Please note that due to market volatility, some of the key levels may have already been reached and scenarios played out.                     Price Movement Analyst Views Target Pivot   Dax (Eurex) 13,937.00 -52.00 (-0.37%) Read the analysis 13,900.00 13,990.00     FTSE 100 (ICE Europe) 0.00 0.00 (0.00%) Read the analysis 7,500.00 7,450.00     S&P 500 (CME) 3,810.00 +2.50 (+0.07%) Read the analysis 3,788.00 3,837.00     Nasdaq 100 (CME) 10,796.50 +23.75 (+0.22%) Read the analysis 10,700.00 10,890.00     Dow Jones (CME) 33,021.00 -25.00 (-0.08%) Read the analysis 32,920.00 33,240.00     Crude Oil (WTI) 78.47 -0.49 (-0.62%) Read the analysis 79.10 77.90     Gold 1,808.20 +3.845 (+0.21%) Read the analysis 1,814.00 1,801.00                     MARKET WRAP           Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, CommoditiesOn Wednesday, U.S. stocks remained under pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 365 points (-1.10%) to 32,875, the S&P 500 fell 46 points (-1.20%) to 3,783, and the Nasdaq 100 was down 143 points (-1.32%) to 10,679.Technology hardware & equipment (-2.67%), energy (-2.22%), and consumer durables & apparel (-2.17%) sectors lost the most.Apple (AAPL) slid 3.07% on concerns that a potential recession would impact demand for the company's products. Amazon.com (AMZN) fell 1.47%.Southwest Airlines (LUV) declined 5.16% following its mass flight cancellations and delays due to winter storms in the U.S.MicroStrategy (MSTR), a big bitcoin-holding listed-company, sank 6.53% as the company sold some of its Bitcoins for the first time ever.From a technical point of view, Chevron (CVX), IBM (IBM), and Visa (V) crossed under their 50-day moving average.Regarding U.S. economic data, the number of pending home sales fell for a sixth consecutive month in November, declining 4.0% on month (vs -0.9% expected).The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield advanced 4.4 basis points to 3.885%.European stocks closed mixed. The DAX 40 fell 0.50%, the CAC 40 declined 0.61%, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.32%.U.S. WTI crude futures dropped $0.90 to $78.67 a barrel.Gold price was down $9 to $1,804 an ounce.Market Wrap: ForexThe U.S. dollar index climbed to 104.52.EUR/USD fell 29 pips to 1.0611.USD/JPY jumped 96 pips to 134.45. The Bank of Japan issued a summary of opinions from its latest policy meeting, showing that policymakers backed a continuation of ultra-accommodative policy. GBP/USD declined 7 pips to 1.2018.AUD/USD added 6 pips to 0.6738.USD/CHF edged up 4 pips to 0.9294, and USD/CAD gained 85 pips to 1.3608.Bitcoin traded further lower to $16,490.Morning TradingIn Asian trading hours, USD/JPY retreated to 133.72.Meanwhile, EUR/USD edged up to 1.0625 and GBP/USD climbed to 1.2035.Gold rebounded to $1,807.Bitcoin remained subdued at $16,523.Expected TodayThe eurozone's November M3 money supply is expected to grow 4.8% on year.In the U.S., weekly initial jobless claims are estimated at 220,000.           UK MARKET NEWS           Basic Resources, chemicals and insurance shares gained most in London on Friday.From a relative strength vs FTSE 100 point of view, Aviva (+0.81% to 447.6p), Barclays (+0.72% to 158.88p) crossed above their 50-day moving average.           ECONOMIC CALENDAR           Time Event Forecast Importance   08:30 Initial Jobless Claims (Dec/24) 220k MEDIUM     08:30 Jobless Claims 4-week Average (Dec/24) 225k LOW     08:30 Continuing Jobless Claims (Dec/17) 1.671M LOW     10:30 EIA Natural Gas Stocks Change (Dec/23) -201Bcf LOW     11:00 EIA Gasoline Stocks Change (Dec/23) 520k MEDIUM     11:00 EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change (Dec/23) -1.52M MEDIUM     11:00 EIA Refinery Crude Runs Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:00 EIA Distillate Stocks Change (Dec/23) -2.05M LOW     11:00 EIA Distillate Fuel Production Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:00 EIA Cushing Crude Oil Stocks Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:00 EIA Gasoline Production Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:00 EIA Heating Oil Stocks Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:00 EIA Crude Oil Imports Change (Dec/23)   LOW     11:30 8-Week Bill Auction   LOW     11:30 4-Week Bill Auction   LOW     13:00 7-Year Note Auction   LOW                                     NEWS SENTIMENT           Argo Group Ltd ARGO : LSE 11.00 GBp 0.00% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   AstraZeneca PLC AZN : LSE 11,250.00 GBp -0.50% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   BP PLC BP. : LSE 480.40 GBp +0.52% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Diageo PLC DGE : LSE 3,668.50 GBp +0.15% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Fresnillo PLC FRES : LSE 891.60 GBp +2.37% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Neutral       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   CVS Group PLC CVSG : LSE 1,985.00 GBp +1.12% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                           TECHNICAL VIEWS           EUR/USD Intraday: under pressure.   Pivot: 1.0645   Our preference: Short positions below 1.0645 with targets at 1.0605 & 1.0590 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Above 1.0645 look for further upside with 1.0660 & 1.0675 as targets.   Comment: As long as the resistance at 1.0645 is not surpassed, the risk of the break below 1.0605 remains high.                     Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: under pressure.   Pivot: 3823.00   Our preference: Short positions below 3823.00 with targets at 3785.00 & 3770.00 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Above 3823.00 look for further upside with 3842.00 & 3858.00 as targets.   Comment: The RSI is below its neutrality area at 50%                     Brent (ICE)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: the bias remains bullish.   Pivot: 83.00   Our preference: Long positions above 83.00 with targets at 84.10 & 84.80 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Below 83.00 look for further downside with 82.50 & 81.90 as targets.   Comment: The RSI is mixed with a bullish bias.        
Banks intensify the squeeze on US growth prospects

West Texas Intermediate crude oil treads water. Gold goes up and down amid greenback's efforts to recover

Jing Ren Jing Ren 29.12.2022 08:40
GBPUSD seeks support The pound struggles as market sentiment remains cautious with thin liquidity. The pair is still looking to hold onto its gains after clearing last August’s high of 1.2280. Even though short-term buyers have bailed out, the psychological level of 1.2000 has seen an inflow of buying interests. But only a close above 1.2140 would signal confidence in Sterling and help turn the market mood around. 1.1190 is a critical level to keep the directional bias upward in the weeks to come, and its break could trigger a deeper correction. XAUUSD grinds rising trend line Bullion remains sideways as the US dollar attempts to claw back losses near year’s end. On the daily chart, the price has been inching up along the 20-day moving average. A rising trend line from early November also offers support to the price action on the hourly time frame. A pop above the recent double top (1823) indicates a strong bullish pressure, but a bounce off the congestion area (1795) formed by the trend line and the base of the bullish breakout is key in keeping the rally going, with 1850 as the next target. USOIL tests key resistance WTI crude steadies as Russia bans countries that abide by the Western price cap. On the daily chart, the commodity would remain in a downtrend unless it manages to break free of 82.00. A bearish RSI divergence suggests slowing momentum as the price tests this major supply area. The resistance-turned-support at 77.00 is the level to assess the strength of follow-through. Its break would make the price vulnerable to a new round of sell-off, possibly towards the recent low and psychological level of 70.00. Read next: The US Will Require PCR Testing For Travelers From China, BRF Agree To Pay $111 Million To The Government| FXMAG.COM
USDX Will Try To Test And Break Below The 103.50 Level

Forex: Trading British pound to US dollar pair during American session

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 29.12.2022 16:28
I focused on the 1.2050 level in my morning forecast and suggested making decisions about entering the market there. Let's analyze the 5-minute chart to determine what transpired there. A false breakdown that developed at 1.2050 grew and formed, producing a strong sell signal. The downward movement, as a result, was about 25 points, and the pressure on the pair is still present. Technically speaking, the second half of the day has not seen any changes.     You require the following to open long positions on the GBP/USD: Data on unemployment benefit applications in the US are released during the US session, which could cause a brief increase in market volatility - particularly if the data come in worse than expected, which would weaken the US dollar's position, but only temporarily. With favorable news, it is best to watch for a decline in the pair and a potential false breakdown in the 1.1994 support level, which corresponds to the December low. This will result in a buy signal and enable you to return above 1.2050 because it will show that there are significant buyers in the market. We can anticipate a sharper upward jerk and an update to the level of 1.2111, from where the pound was actively sold yesterday, if there is a breakthrough and consolidation above this range. The growth prospects at 1.2183, where I advise fixing profits, will be opened up by an exit above 1.2111 with a comparable test. The bulls' pressure on the pair will increase significantly if they are unable to complete the tasks assigned to them and miss 1.1994 in the afternoon. This will cause the demolition of the stop orders placed below by buyers. Because of this, I suggest that you hold off on making any purchases and instead open long positions on a decline and a false breakdown close to the minimum of 1.1949. I advise purchasing GBP/USD right away in anticipation of a recovery from 1.1904 to gain 30-35 points in a single day. For opening short positions on the GBP/USD, you will need: The bears clearly stated that they are nearby at 1.2050 and that they expect to continue guarding this area. While trading will take place below this range, the main objective is to keep the pair below 1.2050. However, sellers have a good chance of breaking through the December lows. In the present scenario, it would be best to hold off on making any new sales until a false breakdown forms in the region of 1.2050, which will be another strong sell signal in anticipation of a resumption of the bear market and a sustained decline to a minimum of 1.1994. Only a breakout and a reverse test of this range from the bottom up will provide an entry point to sell with a move to 1.1949 and the potential for updating 1.1904, where I advise fixing profits. Nothing terrible will occur, but the pressure on the pound will lessen due to the possibility of GBP/USD growth and the lack of bears at 1.2050. In this case, the only entry point into short positions to move down is a false breakout in the vicinity of 1.2111. If there is no activity there, I advise you to sell GBP/USD right away at the highest price of 1.2183, but only if you are counting on the pair to fall back by 30-35 points during the day.     There were more long positions and fewer short ones in the COT report (Commitment of Traders) for December 20. It was made clear after important central bank meetings that regulators would keep raising interest rates and tightening monetary policy, which by all logic should increase demand for national currencies, including the British pound. The report makes it clear exactly how things stand. However, traders are unlikely to continue buying the pound with the same zeal in January, given that GDP data for the UK's third quarter were revised in the direction of a larger decrease, and the start of the recession is not an expectation for next year, but rather a reality this year. According to the most recent COT report, long non-commercial positions increased by 3,276 to a level of 35,284 while short non-commercial positions decreased by 16,860 to a level of 40,887. As a result, the non-commercial net position's negative value decreased to -5,603 from -25,739 the previous week. In comparison with 1.2377, the weekly closing price dropped to 1.2177.     Signals from indicators Moveable Averages The fact that trading occurs around the 30 and 50-day moving averages suggests that the market is lateral. Notably, the author considers the period and prices of moving averages on the hourly chart H1 and departs from the standard definition of the traditional daily moving averages on the daily chart D1. Bands by Bollinger The indicator's lower limit, which is located around 1.010, will serve as support in the event of a decline. Description of indicators Moving average (moving average determines the current trend by smoothing out volatility and noise). Period 50. The graph is marked in yellow. Moving average (moving average determines the current trend by smoothing out volatility and noise). Period 30. The graph is marked in green. MACD indicator (Moving Average Convergence / Divergence - moving average convergence/divergence) Fast EMA period 12. Slow EMA period 26. SMA period 9 Bollinger Bands (Bollinger Bands). Period 20 Non-profit speculative traders, such as individual traders, hedge funds, and large institutions use the futures market for speculative purposes and to meet certain requirements. Long non-commercial positions represent the total long open position of non-commercial traders. Short non-commercial positions represent the total short open position of non-commercial traders. Total non-commercial net position is the difference between the short and long positions of non-commercial traders. Relevance up to 13:00 2022-12-30 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331116
FX Daily: Euro’s attractiveness on the rise

Vice-President ECB's Luis de Guindos hints at 50bp rate hikes as "new norm"

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 29.12.2022 22:51
We’re seeing limited movement in the currency markets this week, which is not uncommon during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Trading volume remains thin and the data calendar is very light. In the North American session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0649, up 0.35%. The US released unemployment claims today, one of the highlights in a quiet week. Initial jobless claims climbed as expected to 225,000, up from 216,000. A rise in week-to-week claims should not alarm investors, as there is bound to be some fluctuation in the releases. The 4-week moving average, which smooths out these fluctuations, remained virtually unchanged at 221,000. Will Spain’s CPI continue to decline? There are no tier-1 releases out of Germany or the eurozone this week. On Friday, Spain releases CPI for December, and inflation in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy could signal what to expect from next week’s German and eurozone inflation releases. Inflation in Spain has been steadily dropping, from a peak of 10.8% in July to 6.8% in November. The downtrend is expected to continue in December, with a consensus of 6.1%. The ECB has sent out hawkish messages lately, with Vice-President Luis de Guindos saying last week that “Increases of 50 basis points may become the new norm in the near term.” De Guindos added that the ECB was concerned that the markets might underestimate the persistence of inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell would wholeheartedly agree, as the Fed has found it tough going to convince the markets that it remains hawkish and plans to continue raising rates into 2023. Read next: 2023 Predictions: EUR/USD will eventually fall once the penny drops that Fed rates will remain above 5% for the year. Ivan Brian talks cryptocurrencies and Forex in 2023 | FXMAG.COM The markets jumped on a couple of soft US inflation reports as an indication that the Fed would pivot and become dovish, sending the US dollar sharply lower. It was only after a hawkish Fed meeting earlier this month that the markets seemed to get Powell’s message. Still, the Fed remains concerned that such speculation could loosen market conditions and complicate the Fed’s painstaking battle to curb inflation. EUR/USD Technical EUR is testing resistance at 1.0660. Above, there is resistance at 1.0746 1.0574 and 1.0488 are providing support This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Euro higher as US jobless claims rise - MarketPulseMarketPulse
The Pound Is Now Openly Enjoying A Favorable Moment

Technical analysis - British pound to US dollar - December 29th

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 29.12.2022 23:18
  Pound price prediction : Remember that the GBP/USD pair is in donwtrend since a week! so, the GBP/USD pai is really a great fortune. Hence, our target 1.1991 in the next two days. Today, the GBP/USD pair is trading below the weekly pivot point 1.2099. Because the GBP/USD pair broke support which turned to a minor resistance at the price of 1.2099 last week in 2022. The price of 1.2099 is expected to act as major resistance in the first week of December 2022. As long as there is no daily close below 1.2099, there are no chances of a fresh increase below 1.2099 (R1) in the H1 time frame. The support levels will be placed at the prices of 1.2099 and 1.1950. As long as there is no daily close below 1.2099, there are chances of breaking the bottom of 1.1950. The volatility is very high for that the the GBP/USD pair is still moving between 1.2099 and 1.1950 in coming hours. As a result, the market is likely to show signs of a bullish trend again. Hence, it will be good to sell below the level of 1.2099 with the first target at 1.1950 and further to 1.1900 in order to test the weekly last bearish wave. However, if the GBP/USD is able to break out the daily resistance at 1.2099, the market will rise further to 1.2164 to approach resistance 2 in coming days. Daily Forecast : Pivot Point : $22,462. Forecast : According to the previous events the price is expected to remain between 1.2099 and 1.1991 levels. Sell-deals are recommended below 1.2099 with the first target seen at 1.1950. The movement is likely to resume to the point 1.1950 and further to the point 1.1950. Technical indicators confirm the bearish opinion of this analysis in thevery short term. However, be careful of excessive bearish movements. It is appropriate to continue watching any excessive bearish movements or scanner detections which might lead to a small bullish correction. From this point, the pair is likely to begin a descending movement to the point of 1.1991 and further to the level of 1.1950. The level of 1.1900 will act as strong support and the double bottom is already set at the point of 1.1950. This would suggest a bearish market because the RSI indicator is still in a negative area and does not show any trend-reversal signs. The pair is expected to drop lower towards at least 1.1950 in order to test the second support (1.1900). On the other hand, if the EUR/USD pair fails to break through the first support of 1.1950 today, the market will move upwards continuing the development of the bullish trend to the level 1.2218 (double top). Relevance up to 20:00 2022-12-30 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/306791
Inflation slowdown may let Reserve Bank of Australia go for 50bp or inaction

AUD/USD: Greenback decreased amid risk appetite, Nasdaq and Dow Jones up

FXStreet News FXStreet News 29.12.2022 16:30
Wall Street up sharply, Dow Jones gains more than 300 points. Improvement in risk sentiment boosts the Australian Dollar. AUD/USD moving without a clear direction, Aussie needs a confirmation above 0.6770. The AUD/USD pair rebounded from levels near 0.6700 and printed a fresh daily low at 0.6764 during the American session amid a rally in equity prices in Wall Street. The improvement in the demand for riskier assets in US markets weighed on the US Dollar that reversed its course, turning negative. The Dow Jones is up by 1.03% or 330 points while the Nasdaq climbs by more than 2%. US yields are moving without a clear direction, holding near recent highs. The US 10-year yield stands at 3.86% and the 2-year at 4.375. Read next: Major US indices up. Tesla, Amazon and Netflix edged higher in the premarket| FXMAG.COM US economic data released on Thursday showed Initial Jobless Claims rose to 225K during the week ended December 24, in line with expectation; Continuing Claims rose to 1.71 million, the highest level since February. On Friday, the Chicago PMI is due. In Australia will be a holiday. The 0.6765/70 holds the upside The AUD/USD is moving sideways. On the downside, the pair again found support above the 0.6700 area. A break lower could trigger an acceleration, targeting initially 0.6675. If the Aussie manages to rise and hold firm above 0.6770 it would gain momentum, likely rising to test the weekly high area at 0.6800.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor suggested this meeting may bring a 25bp

Greenback softened while Nasdaq benefits from the US labour market data. Kiwi gains on the back of risk appetite

Jing Ren Jing Ren 30.12.2022 08:09
USDCHF tests major support The US dollar slipped after data showed a rise in initial claims for unemployment benefits. The price is testing last April’s low near 0.9200 after giving up all the gains from the breakout rally eight months ago. This means that the greenback is at a critical level as a deeper fall would cause a bearish reversal in the medium-term. On the hourly chart, the latest rebounds hit resistance at 0.9345, forming a double top in the process. 0.9290 would be the first hurdle to lift before a recovery could materialise. NZDUSD bounces back The New Zealand dollar recovers thanks to an uptick in overall risk appetite. After the pair cleared the August high of 0.6460, sentiment favours the kiwi as it goes into a consolidation mode. A bounce off 0.6230 indicates that buyers have stepped in and a close above 0.6330 has prompted short-term sellers to cover their bets. 0.6300 has become a fresh support. The support-turned-resistance at 0.6400 is a major obstacle and its breach could help the bulls regain control and extend the rally beyond 0.6500 eventually. NAS 100 tests critical floor The Nasdaq 100 bounces as signs of a cooling US labour market eases concerns about a hawkish Fed. On the daily chart, a U-turn from mid-September’s sell-off point (12200) was disconcerting. With the price having retraced all the way back to the start (10620) of the November rally, the index could be vulnerable to renewed selling. A break below 10450 would confirm a dead cat bounce and cause a sustained bear market. 11130 is the first resistance and 11280 a key level to lift before buyers could turn the situation around. Read next: Apple rose 2.83%, Amazon.com gained 2.88%, Alphabet climbed 2.82%, Meta Platforms advanced 4.01%, and Netflix was up 5.14%| FXMAG.COM
USD/JPY: Bracing for the second half US recession

The current USDJPY structure suggests that the formation of a global cycle impulse could have been completed not so long ago. Then the fall of the exchange rate and the formation of a new bearish trend began

Jing Ren Jing Ren 30.12.2022 09:18
It is assumed that a bearish double zigzag of the primary degree â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž may form in the market. To date, the actionary wave â“Œ and the intervening wave Ⓧ may have been completed. Thus, in the near future we can expect the development of the final actionary wave â“Ž, which may take the form of a double zigzag (W)-(X)-(Y), and end near 127.93. At that level, wave â“Ž will be equal to wave â“Œ. Alternatively, it is assumed that in the bearish double zigzag, only the first actionary wave â“Œ is completed, and the intervening wave Ⓧ is still under development. Read next: Japan Is Trying To Maintain Cover For LNG Vessels In Russian Waters, How Digital Money Could Look Like According To The IMF| FXMAG.COM Perhaps the wave Ⓧ will have the form of a zigzag (A)-(B)-(C), as shown in the chart. In the near future, the price growth may continue in the sub-wave (C) to 138.75. At that level, wave Ⓧ will be at 38.2% along the Fibonacci lines of wave â“Œ.
The USD/CHF Pair Is Likely To Decline More

US dollar has gained impressing 8% this year, but it didn't hurt Swiss franc very much as USD/CHF is only 1% higher

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 30.12.2022 15:59
The Swiss franc is steady on Friday. In the European session, USD/CHF is almost trading at 0.9240, up 0.08%. On Thursday, USD/CHF dropped by 0.6% and hit a low of 0.9210, its lowest level since March 28th. KOF rebounds in December A quiet post-Christmas week wrapped up with the KOF Economic Barometer release today. After losing ground in the past two readings, the index rebounded in December and climbed to 92.2, up from 89.2 in November. This easily beat the estimate of 86.9 points. The main driver for the improvement was stronger manufacturing activity. Earlier this week, ZEW Economic Expectations also headed higher, rising from -57.5 to -42.8 points. The upturn is encouraging, but the indicator is still mired deeply in negative territory, as financial experts remain pessimistic about the Swiss economy’s outlook. As we turn the page to 2023, let’s take a quick look at the highlights of the Swiss franc’s performance over this past year. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but interestingly, USD/CHF is only about 100 points higher from where it was on January 1st. A US dollar rally in September and October saw USD/CHF break parity and hit 1.0148, its highest level since May. Since, then, the momentum has reversed, with the Swiss franc gaining an impressive 800 points since November 1st. Read next: Real bargains on Wall Street, Barron's point to, i.a. Google and Amazon as undervalued stocks | FXMAG.COM The US dollar has enjoyed a strong year, with the dollar index rising 8%, its best performance since 2015. The greenback has been boosted by a drop in risk appetite, but this didn’t hurt the Swiss franc, as both the dollar and the franc are Swiss haven currencies. In a major policy change, the Swiss central bank raised rates three times this year, which helped the Swiss franc keep pace with the US dollar even as the Fed aggressively raised rates. USD/CHF Technical USD/CHF is putting pressure on support at 0.9256. Below, there is support at 0.9159 There is resistance at 0.9377 and 0.9498   This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Swiss franc touches 9-month high - MarketPulseMarketPulse
EUR/USD Pair is Structurally Working On A Larger-Degree Upswing

Spain: Although headline CPI decreased, core inflation rose 0.6%. Euro hasn't moved significantly

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 30.12.2022 16:18
It’s the last trading day of 2022, and EUR/USD is almost unchanged in what should be a quiet day in the currency markets. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0674, up 0.13%. Spain’s CPI drops below 6%  The week between Christmas and New Year’s is usually very light on data, and there were no tier-1 events in Germany or the eurozone this week. Earlier today, Spain released the initial CPI estimate for December, which showed that inflation continues to weaken. CPI dropped to 5.8%, down from 6.8% and below the estimate of 6.0%. Inflation in Spain slowed for a fifth successive month, as energy costs keep coming down. Headline CPI is down sharply from a peak of 10.8% in July, but the news was not all positive, as core inflation rose to 6.9%, up from 6.3%. Read next: Real bargains on Wall Street, Barron's point to, i.a. Google and Amazon as undervalued stocks | FXMAG.COM The Spanish inflation report kicks off a host of eurozone inflation releases next week. Investors will be hoping that the German and eurozone CPI data will mimic the Spanish release and point to inflation heading lower. The ECB will be keeping a close eye on these inflation reports, and the data will be an important factor in the ECB’s decision as to the pace of future rate increases. The ECB delivered a 50-bp hike earlier this month, down from the 75-bp increase in October. ECB President Lagarde warned the markets not to view the move as a dovish pivot and said that more rate hikes were on the way. ECB Vice Vice-President Luis de Guindos reiterated Lagarde’s hawkishness last week, saying that 50-bp rate hikes “may become the norm in the near future.” EUR/USD Technical 1.0660 is a weak support line. Below, there is support at 1.0616 There is resistance at 1.0702 and 1.0778 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Euro shrugs as Spain's inflation drops - MarketPulseMarketPulse
It Is Quite Possible That The Australian Dollar Is Tired Of Growth

Australian dollar rose 2% since December 23rd, China's data crucial for Aussie

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 30.12.2022 17:48
The Australian dollar has been rising since last Friday and is in positive territory today. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6801, up 0.37%. The final week of the year, bookended by Christmas and New Year’s, is usually quiet, with reduced trading volumes and a very light economic calendar. Still, the Australian dollar managed to put together an end-of-the-year rally, rising around 2% since December 23rd. Australia watching China reopening In a week short on economic news, one of the highlights was China’s announcement that international tourists would no longer be required to enter quarantine upon arrival. This marks another step in China’s rush to reopen, a massive shift from its harsh zero-Covid policy that choked economic activity. The pivot is expected to invigorate China’s economy, which has been experiencing a slowdown. The reopening policy is expected to boost the economy in the long term but has already led to a surge in Covid cases. This has kept many people indoors, hurting businesses, and many workers have reported being sick, which has reduced factory production. The reopening has been abrupt and chaotic, and that is likely to result in a contraction in GDP in the first quarter of 2023. China’s economy is, however, expected to recover, and HSBC is projecting 5% growth for 2023. Read next: Real bargains on Wall Street, Barron's point to, i.a. Google and Amazon as undervalued stocks | FXMAG.COM Australia is watching these developments closely. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and how well China’s economy performs can have a strong impact on the direction of the Australian dollar. If China’s economy contracts in Q1, Australian exports will suffer and the Australian dollar could be in for a bumpy start to the year. AUD/USD Technical AUD/USD has support at 0.6703 and 0.6620 There is resistance at 0.6841 and 0.6969 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Aussie finishes strong in 2022 - MarketPulseMarketPulse
EUR/USD: Examples of things that could get the market moving are US treasury yields moving out of the range on data improving or deteriorating

EUR/USD: Chicago PMI above expectations. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping had a video call. Signs of potential further cooperation between Russia and China

FXStreet News FXStreet News 30.12.2022 16:16
EUR/USD is still rangebound, failing to crack the 1.0700 ahead of the year’s end. The Chicago PMI for December exceeded expectations and the previous month’s reading. EUR/USD Price Analysis: Upward biased, but failure to conquer 1.0700 would expose the pair to selling pressure. The EUR/USD advances modestly in the last trading day of 2022, during the North American session, though above its opening price by 0.13%. A light economic calendar keeps the EUR/USD pair within familiar ranges ahead of the week, month, quarter, and year-end. At the time of writing, the EUR/USD is trading at 1.0695. Wall Street is set to open lower as US equity futures tumble with no fundamental catalyst. The US economic calendar is light, with the release of Chicago’s Purchasing Managers Index for December at 44.9, beating an estimate of 40. Thursday’s release of unemployment claims exerted downward pressure on the US Dollar (USD), weakening against most of the G7 currencies. The US Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the buck’s value against a basket of currencies, drops 0.33%, down to 103.634. Even though the greenback is falling, the US 10-year Treasury bond yield is rising five bps, at 3.869%. Aside from this, the European economic docket revealed that inflation in Spain dropped for the fifth consecutive month, to 5.6% YoY, below November’s 6.7% reading. However, due to thin liquidity trading conditions and 2023 around the corner, it failed to trigger any upside reaction that could break the EUR/USD 1.0600-90 trading range. Of late, ECB’s Stournaras said that rates should be restricted sufficiently, lifting the pair towards 1.0700, before erasing those gains. Meanwhile, on geopolitics, Russia and China continue to deepen their ties, as Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping videoconference showed intentions for further cooperation between both countries on trade, energy, finance, and agriculture. Read next: “Eat the Rich” – review and story behind the Netflix mini-series| FXMAG.COM Furthermore, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued during new year’s eve, as the fourth wave of drones attacked civilian buildings, as reported by Ukrainian authorities. Shelling continued in Kiyv and Kharkiv, killing at least two people. EUR/USD Price Analysis: Technical outlook From a technical perspective, the EUR/USD is still upward biased. Nevertheless, the inability to decisively crack the 1.0700 mark would expose the pair to selling pressure. Oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Rate of Change (RoC) favor EUR/USD upside, but low volumes keep traders at bay. However, the EUR/USD key resistance levels lie at 1.0700, followed by the December 15 daily high of 1.0736 and 1.0800. On the other hand, if the EUR/USD drops below 1.0638, a test of 1.0600 is on the cards, followed by the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 1.0575.
Expect the ECB to keep increasing rates at the short-term, at least until the summer

IMF's Georgieva warns of further growth issues. Eurodollar: German Manufacturing PMI edges up, eurozone inflation to be released this week

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 02.01.2023 12:19
Welcome to the first trading day of the New Year. Trading remains thin, as most markets are closed.  In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0679, down 0.23%. I expect a quiet day for the euro. German Manufacturing PMI improves There are no US events on the schedule. German Manufacturing PMI improved to 47.1 in December, up from 46.2 in November and shy of the consensus of 47.4 points. Manufacturing remains below the 50.0 level that separates contraction from expansion, and expectations remain pessimistic. The silver lining to a gloomy situation is that the outlook has improved slightly, as the December release was the strongest in three months. It was a similar pattern in the eurozone, as the Manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8, up from 47.1 in November, also a three-month high. Manufacturing in Germany and the eurozone has suffered a tough year, and demand remains weak. The global outlook remains uncertain and with the ECB promising further rate hikes, the risk-to-demand outlook is tilted to the downside. Still, December showed an improvement, as concerns over an energy crisis have lessened and inflation has eased. We’ll get a look at key inflation releases this week. German publishes December CPI on Tuesday, followed by eurozone CPI on Friday. Both indicators are pointing to inflation heading lower, which could have an impact on ECB rate policy. The ECB raised rates by 50-bp in December and meets next on February 2nd. Read next: Twitter Did Not Pay $136,260 Rent, Microsoft Reported Its Worst Quarterly Results In Years| FXMAG.COM If anyone needed a sober forecast for 2023, there was one today from the International Monetary Fund. The head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, warned that 2023 would be tougher than last year, as the US, EU and China would see growth slow. Georgieva said that she expected one-third of the global economy to be in recession. In October, the IMF cut its growth outlook from 2.9% to 2.7%, due to the war in Ukraine as well as central banks around the world raising interest rates. EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is testing support at 1.0674. Below, there is support at 1.0566 There is resistance at 1.0782 and 1.0852 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
British pound against US dollar on January 2nd, Stefan Doll takes a technical look

British pound against US dollar on January 2nd, Stefan Doll takes a technical look

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.01.2023 15:17
Trend analysis (Fig. 1) GBP/USD may start moving down on Monday, starting from the closing of Friday's daily candle at 1.2092 to the lower fractal at 1.2008 (daily candle from 12/30/2022). If this level is tested, the pair will resume rising towards the historical resistance level of 1.2213 (blue dotted line), then fall down again.     Fig. 1 (daily chart) Comprehensive analysis: Indicator analysis - downtrend Fibonacci levels - downtrend Volumes - uptrend Candlestick analysis - uptrend Trend analysis - uptrend Bollinger bands - uptrend Weekly chart - uptrend Conclusion: GBP/USD will fall from 1.2092 (closing of Friday's daily candle) to the lower fractal at 1.2008 (daily candle from 12/30/2022), rebound to the historical resistance level of 1.2213 (blue dotted line), then move down again. Alternatively, the pair could rise from 1.2092 (closing of Friday's daily candle) to the upper fractal at 1.2124 (daily candle from 12/28/2022), then bounce down to the support line at 1.2065 (thick white line). Upward movement may resume after testing the level. Relevance up to 07:00 2023-01-03 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331263
What's ahead of Euro against greenback today? Let's look at Stefan Doll's review

What's ahead of Euro against greenback today? Let's look at Stefan Doll's review

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.01.2023 15:34
Trend analysis (Fig. 1) EUR/USD may start moving downwards from the level of 1.0706 (closing of Friday's daily candle) towards the support level of 1.0673 (thick white line). Upon testing the level, it will resume going up to the target level of 1.0773, which is the upper fractal level (yellow dotted line).     Fig. 1 (daily chart) Comprehensive analysis: Indicator analysis - downtrend Fibonacci levels - downtrend Volumes - downtrend Candlestick analysis - uptrend Trend analysis - uptrend Bollinger bands - uptrend Weekly chart - uptrend Conclusion: EUR/USD will decline from 1.0706 (closing of Friday's daily candle) to the support level of 1.0673 (thick white line), then bounce up the upper fractal at 1.0773 (yellow dotted line). Alternatively, the pair could climb up from 1.0706 (closing of Friday's daily candle) to the upper fractal at 1.0735, then fall down to the support level of 1.0656 (thick white line). Relevance up to 06:00 2023-01-03 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331261
Federal Reserve splits highlighted by May FOMC minutes

Euro against US dollar by Alexandros Yfantis - short-term technical analysis - January 2nd

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.01.2023 16:08
Black lines- support trend lines Green line -resistance (broken) EURUSD is trading around 1.0680 after breaking last week above the short-term resistance 1.0660. Price back tested the break out level and has now started making higher highs and higher lows in the 4 hour chart. Short-term support is at 1.0660 where previously resistance was. Price has the potential to continue higher as long as we stay above 1.0660-1.0650. Key support remains at 1.0570. A break below 1.0650 would be a bearish sign, but the confirmation will come with a break below 1.0570. Until then bulls are in control. Relevance up to 15:00 2023-01-03 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/307045
The Results Of The March Meeting Of The Bank Of Japan Are Rather Symbolic

This week seems to be resilient, but Japanese yen fill in a gap

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 02.01.2023 22:04
The Japanese yen is in positive territory on the first trading day of the new year. US and Japan markets are both closed today, and the yen will likely continue to remain calm in holiday-thinned trading. Currently, USD/JPY is trading at 130.65, down 0.34%. Markets keep an eye on BoJ There are no tier-1 events out of Japan this week, but investors will be nevertheless keeping a close eye on the surging Japanese yen. The currency had a long slide for most of 2022 and fell below 151 in October, its lowest level in 24 years. This forced the Ministry of Finance to intervene in the currency markets. The yen has made a remarkable comeback since then, rising about 11%. The Bank of Japan shocked the markets in December when it widened the yield curve band from 0.25% to 0.50%. The move sent the yen sharply higher and has raised speculation that the Bank of Japan could be planning to exit its massive stimulus programme, although the BoJ has denied it has any such plans. The Bank of Japan holds its next meeting on January 18th. What made the BoJ move so dramatic is that the markets were expecting the BoJ to remain in cruise control until BoJ Governor Kuroda’s term ends in April, after a decade at the helm of the central bank. BoJ policy could well change, depending on the new governor, but Kuroda has demonstrated that he is not shy about making policy moves at the end of his term and the markets will watching for further measures which could shake up the Japanese yen. The yen may have bounced back over the past two months, but USD/JPY has still gained 13.7% in 2022, which is the yen’s worst performance since 2013. The driver behind the yen’s descent was the BoJ’s ultra-loose policy, which capped 10-year yields at 0.25%, contributing to a constantly widening US/Japan rate differential. The BoJ’s tweak which widened the yield curve band to 0.50% has given the yen a boost, but we’ll have to wait to see if the yen can hold onto these recent gains. Read next: First Trading Day Of 2023: GBP/USD Is Trading 1.2051, USD/JPY Pair Below 131, The Aussie Pair Is Around 0.68 And EUR/USD Above 1.0680| FXMAG.COM USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY faces resistance at 131.66 and 132.55 There is support at 129.76 and 128.41 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Japanese yen's rally continues - MarketPulseMarketPulse
British pound to US dollar - trend analysis and what can we expect this week

British pound to US dollar - trend analysis and what can we expect this week

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.01.2023 22:20
Trend analysis This week, the price may continue to rise with a target of 1.2445 (the upper fractal) from the level of 1.2092 (the close of the last weekly candle). When testing this level, it is possible to advance with 1.2600 as the target, a 76.6% retreat level. Fig. 1 (weekly chart). A comprehensive analysis - Indicator analysis – up; - Fibonacci levels – up; - Volumes – up; - Candle analysis – up; - Trend analysis – up; - Bollinger lines –up; - Monthly chart – up. The sophisticated analysis has an upward movement as its conclusion. The first lower shadow of the weekly white candle (Monday - down) and the existence of the second upper shadow indicate that the price for the next weeks is likely to have an upward trend. This is the overall result of calculating the candle of the GBP/USD currency pair on a weekly chart. Price may continue to rise from the level of 1.2092 (close to the previous weekly candle), with the upper fractal objective of 1.2445 as the endpoint. When testing this level, it is possible to advance with 1.2600 as the target - a 76.6% retreat level. Alternative scenario: The price may continue to rise with a target of 1.2445, the upper fractal, from the level of 1.2092 (close of the last weekly candle). When the price tests this level, a pullback movement downward with a target of 1.2138 - a pullback level of 14.6% - is possible. Relevance up to 10:00 2023-01-07 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331291
Forex: British pound against US dollar - technical analysis - January 2nd

Forex: British pound against US dollar - technical analysis - January 2nd

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.01.2023 22:39
Overview : The GBP/USD pair broke resistance, which turned into strong support at 1.1991. Right now, the pair is trading above this level. It is likely to trade in a higher range as long as it remains above the support (1.1991), which is expected to act as a major support today. Therefore, there is a possibility that the GBP/USD pair will move upwards and the structure does not look corrective. The trend is still below the 100 EMA for that the bullish outlook remains the same as long as the 100 EMA is headed to the upside. From this point of view, the first resistance level is seen at 1.2077 followed by 1.2163, while daily support 1 is seen at 1.1991 (last bearish wave - 00% Fibonacci retracement). According to the previous events, the GBP/USD pair is still moving between the levels of 1.1991 and 1.2163; so we expect a range of 172 pips. Consequently, buy above the level of 1.1991 with the first target at 1.2077 so as to test the daily resistance 1 and further to 1.2100. Besides, the level of 1.2163 is a good place to take profit because it will form a double top. On the contrary, in case a reversal takes place and the GBP/USD pair breaks through the support level of 1.1991, a further decline to 1.1949 can occur, which would indicate a bearish market. Overall, we still prefer the bullish scenario, which suggests that the pair will stay above the zone of 1.1991 - 1.1949 in coming three days. In the same time frame, resistance is seen at the levels of 1.1991 - 1.1949. The stop loss should always be taken into account for that it will be reasonable to set your stop loss at the level of 1.1949 (below the support 2). Forecast: - The market opens above the daily pivot point. It continues to move downwards to hit the daily pivot point. Consequently, buy at the daily pivot point (1.2040). - Take profit: It should set take profit at R1 (1.2077), R2 (1.2100) and R3 (1.2163) .The previous range was large (185pips). - Stop loss: Stop loss should set depending on the money management. In this case, we prefer setting the stop loss depending this formula <=> Take profit = 3/2 x Stop loss. Thus, if a breakout happens at the support level of 1.1949, then this scenario may be invalidated. Relevance up to 21:00 2023-01-04 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/307071
Australian dollar against US dollar: USD may rise on the back of the Republicans and Democrats negotiations

In Asian trading hours, AUD/USD edged up to 0.6810 from 0.6805 in the prior session

Intertrader Market News Intertrader Market News 03.01.2023 12:05
DAILY MARKET NEWSLETTER January 3, 2023               Pre-Market Session News Sentiment Technical Views           EUR/USD   Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)   Brent (ICE)                 Please note that due to market volatility, some of the key levels may have already been reached and scenarios played out.                     Price Movement Analyst Views Target Pivot   Dax (Eurex) 14,119.00 +131.00 (+0.94%) Read the analysis 13,990.00 14,150.00     FTSE 100 (ICE Europe) 0.00 0.00 (0.00%) Read the analysis 7,421.00 7,501.00     S&P 500 (CME) 3,861.00 -10.75 (-0.28%) Read the analysis 3,900.00 3,842.00     Nasdaq 100 (CME) 11,022.25 -10.50 (-0.10%) Read the analysis 11,150.00 10,945.00     Dow Jones (CME) 33,285.00 -90.00 (-0.27%) Read the analysis 33,550.00 33,170.00     Crude Oil (WTI) 80.26 +1.86 (+2.37%) Read the analysis 80.75 79.30     Gold 1,824.02 +9.111 (+0.50%) Read the analysis 1,851.00 1,827.00                     MARKET WRAP           Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, CommoditiesOn Monday, U.S. markets were closed for the New Year holiday.Tesla (TSLA) reported that vehicle deliveries increased 40% on year to a record of 1.31 million vehicles in 2022, and amounted to 405,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up from 308,000 vehicles in the prior-year period.In Europe, the DAX 40 rose 1.05%, the CAC 40 gained 1.87%, while the U.K. market was closed for a bank holiday.Market Wrap: ForexThe U.S. dollar index climbed to 103.63.EUR/USD fell 38 pips to 1.0667.GBP/USD dropped 35 pips to 1.2048.However, USD/JPY declined 39 pips to 130.73.AUD/USD lost 8 pips to 0.6805.USD/CHF edged up 2 pips to 0.9247, and USD/CAD added 18 pips to 1.3572.Bitcoin traded higher to $16.700.Morning TradingIn Asian trading hours, AUD/USD edged up to 0.6810 from 0.6805 in the prior session. China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.0 in December from 49.4 in November, above 48.0 expected.Meanwhile, USD/JPY sank further to 130.05.EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0667 while GBP/USD bounced to 1.2070.Gold advanced to $1,832.Bitcoin was broadly flat at $16,670.Expected TodayFinal readings of December S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers index is estimated at 44.7 for the U.K. and 46.2 for the U.S.Germany's December jobless rate is expected to be steady at 5.6%, while consumer price index is anticipated to be up 9.1% on year.In the U.S., construction spending is expected to drop 0.4% on month in November.           UK MARKET NEWS           GSK, a pharmaceutical company, was downgraded to "underweight" from "neutral" at JPMorgan.Auto & Parts, telecom and industrial goods & services shares fell most in London on Friday.From a technical point of view, CRH (-0.86% to E37.01) crossed under its 50-day moving average.           ECONOMIC CALENDAR           Time Event Forecast Importance   04:30 S&P Global/CIPS Manufacturing PMI Final (Dec) 44.7 MEDIUM     09:45 S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final (Dec) 46.2 MEDIUM     10:00 Construction Spending MoM (Nov) -0.4% LOW     11:30 3-Month Bill Auction   LOW     11:30 6-Month Bill Auction   LOW                                     NEWS SENTIMENT           Capita PLC CPI : LSE 24.26 GBp -2.41% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Deutsche Bank AG DBK : XETRA 10.942 EUR +2.17% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Neutral       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Brenntag SE BNR : XETRA 60.70 EUR +2.43% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Eqs Group AG EQS : XETRA 24.50 EUR +0.41% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   CVS Group PLC CVSG : LSE 1,936.00 GBp -2.37% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Standard Chartered PLC STAN : LSE 622.40 GBp -0.42% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                           TECHNICAL VIEWS           EUR/USD Intraday: key resistance at 1.0685.   Pivot: 1.0685   Our preference: Short positions below 1.0685 with targets at 1.0645 & 1.0630 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Above 1.0685 look for further upside with 1.0710 & 1.0735 as targets.   Comment: The upward potential is likely to be limited by the resistance at 1.0685.                     Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: key resistance at 3869.00.   Pivot: 3869.00   Our preference: Short positions below 3869.00 with targets at 3819.00 & 3803.00 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Above 3869.00 look for further upside with 3884.00 & 3895.00 as targets.   Comment: As long as 3869.00 is resistance, look for choppy price action with a bearish bias.                     Brent (ICE)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: further advance.   Pivot: 84.70   Our preference: Long positions above 84.70 with targets at 86.20 & 87.00 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Below 84.70 look for further downside with 83.90 & 83.00 as targets.   Comment: The RSI is bullish and calls for further upside.        
Federal Reserve splits highlighted by May FOMC minutes

FOMC Minutes may show Fed members' interest in longer hiking

FXStreet News FXStreet News 03.01.2023 15:34
The US ISM Manufacturing PMI is seen dropping further to 48.5 in December. A potential improvement in US ISM components could drive the US Dollar trades. Moves could be restricted ahead of the Federal Reserve December meeting minutes. The US manufacturing sector contraction is set to deepen further in the final month of 2022, having shrunk for the first time in November after May 2020 when the economy began to recover from the Covid lockdown-induced downturn. The US data will be published on Wednesday at 15:00 GMT. The November ISM report showed that manufacturing registered an overall 49.0, down sharply from October’s 50.2, with New Orders and Employment sub-indices registering further deterioration. In December, the headline ISM Manufacturing PMI is seen lower at 48.5 while the New Orders Index is expected to improve to 48.1 alongside the Employment Index at 49.1. The US ISM Prices Paid component is likely to continue its downtrend, foreseen at 42.5 in December when compared to the previous reading of 43.0. Source: FXStreet.com Despite expectations of a softer headline figure, an improvement in new orders could provide the much-needed respite to the US Dollar buyers at a time when the European demand for orders is seen dwindling, with the full impact of winter and the Russia-Ukraine war coming through. Even domestic demand and exports are expected to be badly hit due to the stubbornly-high inflation in the US economy. Also, investors will gear up for the US Federal Reserve December meeting minutes due for release at 19:00 GMT, limiting the US Dollar price action on the US ISM data release The US labor market continues to show an uptrend but remains at risk of layoffs, with the global economy heading closer to a recession this year. However, the temporary signs of recovery in the sub-indices could revive the demand for the US Dollar. However, the US Dollar price reaction could be short-lived amid the extended retreat in the Price Paid component, suggesting a further easing of inflationary pressures in the world’s largest economy. Read next: 2023 Predictions: Natural gas prices in Europe and the US may in the nearterm struggle to find upside momentum with inventories staying elevated due to mild winter weather and consumers curbing demand| FXMAG.COM Also, investors will gear up for the US Federal Reserve December meeting minutes due for release at 19:00 GMT, limiting the US Dollar price action on the US ISM data release. Minutes of the Fed’s December meeting are likely to show that members see the need for interest rates to go higher for longer but markets will look for hints on any talk of pausing the tightening cycle or debates surrounding rate cuts later this year. It’s worth noting that markets are pricing in rate cuts for late 2023, with Fed fund futures implying a range of 4.25 to 4.50% by December. To conclude, mixed US ISM Manufacturing survey findings could fuel temporary buying in the US Dollar, which could fizzle out as the Fed expectations will lead the way starting out 2023.
FX Daily: Euro’s attractiveness on the rise

Forex: Euro against US dollar - technical analysis by InstaForex's Mourad El Keddani (January 3rd)

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 03.01.2023 20:35
Overview : The EUR/USD pair drops sharply today but stays above 1.0520 resistance turned support. Intraday bias remains neutral first. On the downside, break of 1.0520 will confirm short term topping, on bearish divergence condition in 1 hour RSI(14). Deeper fall would be seen back to 1.0520 support and below. Focus stays on 38.2% retracement Fibonacci levels of 1.0594 (morning high) to 1.0548 at 1.0520. Rejection by 1.0594 will suggest that price actions from 1.0520 medium term bottom are developing into a corrective pattern. Thus, medium bearishness is retained for another fall through 1.0500 at a later stage. The EUR/USD pair traded lower and closed the day in the red near the price of 1.0548. Today it, on the contrary, grew a little, having risen to the level of 1.0594. On the hourly chart the EUR/USD pair is still trading below the moving average line MA (100) H1 (1.0594). The situation is similar on the four-hour chart. Based on the foregoing, it is probably worth sticking to the south direction in trading, and as long as the EUR/USD pair remains below MA 100 H1, it may be necessary to look for entry points to sell for the formation of a correction. The EUR/USD pair hit the weekly pivot point (1.0594) and resistance 1, because of the series of relatively equal highs and equal lows. But, the pair has dropped down in order to bottom at the point of 10520. Hence, the major support was already set at the level of 1.0520. RSI is still calling for a strong bullish market as well as the current price is also above the moving average 100 Moreover, the double bottom is also coinciding with the major support this week. Additionally, the RSI is still calling for a strong bullish market as well as the current price is also above the moving average 100. Therefore, it will be advantageous to sell below the resistance area of 1.0594 with the first target at 1.0500. From this point, if the pair closes below the weekly pivot point of 1.0594, the EUR/USD pair may resume it movement to 1.0500 to test the weekly support 1. the, continue towards 1.0450 (the weekly support 2). Read next: 2023 Predictions: Natural gas prices in Europe and the US may in the nearterm struggle to find upside momentum with inventories staying elevated due to mild winter weather and consumers curbing demand| FXMAG.COM Stop loss should always be taken into account, accordingly, it will be of beneficial to set the stop loss above the last bullish wave at 1.0639 . However, sustained break of 1.0594 will raise the chance of trend reversal and target 61.8% retracement at 1.0639. On the upside, however, firm break of 61.8% projection of 1.0639 to 1.0671 from 1.0671 at 1.0713 will pave the way to 100% projection at 1.0713. Relevance up to 18:00 2023-01-04 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/307228
How to turn volatility into opportunity? Stephen Dover from Franklin Templeton offers some judicious perspective

Eurodollar: dominance of hawkishness in tomorrow's Fed minutes may support greenback

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 03.01.2023 20:58
This morning, the euro/dollar pair abruptly collapsed to the base of the fifth figure, updating a three-week low in price. Although the price hit the 1.0700 support level (the top line of the Bollinger Bands indicator on the D1 timeframe) yesterday, the price has since retreated. Interestingly, there was no formal explanation of a fundamental nature for why there was such a rapid bend to the south. Unemployment in Germany maintained its November level in December (5.5%, with a modest increase, projected to 5.6%), and there were 13 thousand fewer unemployed people than expected, as opposed to projections for a 15 thousand increase Today's economic schedule for EUR/USD is relatively quiet: The crucial release on Tuesday will only be available in the afternoon. We shall learn the early figures for Germany's December inflation growth. German labor market data were released in the first half of the day, although this release is unrelated to the market's overall strengthening of the US dollar. In addition, the report was positive: unemployment in Germany maintained its November level in December (5.5%, with a modest increase, projected to 5.6%), and there were 13 thousand fewer unemployed people than expected, as opposed to projections for a 15 thousand increase. Trading in EUR/USD, however, disregarded this release. The pair moved in lockstep with the US dollar index, which in a matter of hours went from 103.23 to a daily high of 104.54. All currency pairs in the major group were impacted by these dynamics, and the euro/dollar pair was no exception. Regarding the nature of the US currency's behavior at the start of Tuesday's European session, there is no agreement on the market. I believe that several diverse basic reasons that were simmering last week and have now become apparent have increased demand for a secure dollar. Generally speaking, the strengthening of the dollar is advanced in character on the eve of the release of the minutes from the Fed and nonfarm meeting in December, as well as against the backdrop of rising anti-risk sentiment. Due to unstable market conditions, it is dangerous to initiate short bets on the EUR/USD pair at the moment. First of all, the suddenness of the price cut and the absence of a convincing explanation are concerning. There are numerous verbal explanations of the current situation available. It is clear that China indirectly supports the safe dollar. Let me remind you that the Chinese government repealed several restrictions associated with the "zero tolerance" COVID policy towards the end of last year. Following that, the prevalence of coronavirus in the country skyrocketed. Unofficial reports claim that between 250 and 300 million Chinese became ill in December, overwhelming the PRC's healthcare infrastructure. According to media reports, hospitals are congested in most areas. It is also reported how busy the crematoriums are (the WHO reports that in China, only 40% of those over 80 received the recommended three doses of the vaccine). The market's stance on the recent events in China has shifted multiple times during the past several weeks. At first, the safe dollar was supported by an anti-risk mentality. The markets' appetite for risk then rose once again when Beijing made it apparent that it would not tighten its COVID policy. However, it appears that the pendulum has now swung back toward panic, giving dollar bulls cause for increased confidence. Additionally, the rise in the number of cases is secondary; China is not likely unable to control a significant outbreak of the disease. The market is still seeing the situation in China through the lens of potential economic repercussions. And these repercussions appeared quickly. Read next: 2023 Predictions: Peter Garnry - Our target for S&P 500 is still around the 3,200 level sometime during the year leading to an overall drawdown of around 33% from the peak in early 2022 | FXMAG.COM Today's Caixin manufacturing PMI index for China dropped to 49.0, placing it in negative territory Thus, contrary to expectations of a reduction to 48 points, the manufacturing PMI for December in China decreased to 47.0 according to the data released today and on Saturday. For the third consecutive month, the indicator is below the critical 50-point threshold. Today's Caixin manufacturing PMI index for China dropped to 49.0, placing it in negative territory. This dynamic, according to many analysts, is brought on by the worsening of China's epidemiological situation, which is causing a temporary labor shortage and more supply chain disruptions. The Chinese factor is not the dollar's only ally, though. Before the release of the December Fed meeting minutes, in my opinion, the dollar is in high demand. Let me remind you that the December meeting's outcomes put pressure on the US dollar due to Jerome Powell's dovish remarks (which permitted a downward estimate of the PEPP's current tightening cycle's terminal point) and a pause in rate hikes. John Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, addressed the audience after the meeting and shocked the markets with his hawkish stance. He specifically stated that the rate of increase in consumer prices in the United States is "stubbornly high." In addition, he said that the regulator would increase the base rate "as far as it takes to bring inflation under control," which might go over the proclaimed maximum of 5.1%. The United States inflation rate has started to decline, but, according to Williams, who has a permanent vote on the Open Market Operations Committee, "a considerably more significant slowdown is required so that the Fed may soften its position on the need to tighten policy." The dollar will get a lot of support if the document's wording is primarily hawkish The minutes of the December meeting have become more important in light of these contradictory signals. The dollar will get a lot of support if the document's wording is primarily hawkish. Now, the value of the dollar is rising in advance following the "buy on rumors, sell on facts." However, the fact that the EUR/USD price fell by 150 points without any discernible, tangible, or clear causes is concerning. Since the aforementioned fundamental elements grew in strength throughout the New Year period and now have the function of a trigger, it may be concluded that such dynamics are also caused by the fact that today is the first working day of 2023. Given that such impulsive moves on such fragile bases are typically unstable, it is impossible to discuss the priority of short positions on the EUR/USD pair in this instance. Right now, it is best to adopt a wait-and-see strategy, keeping an eye on how the price moves around the 1.0505 support level. The Fed procedure in this situation can play a significant role in the medium term, supporting or weakening the US currency. If the bears can break through this price barrier, then in this case it will be possible to talk about the first symptoms of a resumption of the southern trend. Relevance up to 12:00 2023-01-04 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331381
Bank of England Faces Dilemma: Will They Raise Rates by 25bps or 50bps?

British pound against US dollar - technical analysis for January 3rd. What can we expect from GBP/USD?

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 03.01.2023 21:07
Overview : The EUR/USD pair faced resistance at the level of 1.2077, while minor resistance is seen at 1.1991. Support is found at the levels of 1.1904 and 1.1841. Pivot point has already been set at the level of 1.2077. Equally important, the EUR/USD pair is still moving around the key level at 1.2077, which represents a daily pivot in the H1 time frame at the moment. Yesterday, the EUR/USD pair continued moving upwards from the level of 1.2077. The pair rose to the top around 1.2077 from the level of 1.1904 (coincides with the last bearish wave at the same time frame). Right now, the pair is trading above this level. It is likely to trade in a higher range as long as it remains above the support (1.1904), which is expected to act as a major support today. Therefore, there is a possibility that the EUR/USD pair will move upwards and the structure does not look corrective. Read next: Eurodollar: dominance of hawkishness in tomorrow's Fed minutes may support greenback| FXMAG.COM The trend is still below the 100 EMA for that the bullish outlook remains the same as long as the 100 EMA is headed to the upside. In consequence, the EUR/USD pair broke resistance, which turned into strong support at the level of 1.1904. The level of 0.6695 is expected to act as the major support today. We expect the EUR/USD pair to continue moving in the bullish trend towards the target level of 1.2163. On the downtrend: If the pair fails to pass through the level of 1.1904, the market will indicate a bearish opportunity below the level of 1.1904. So, the market will decline further to 1.1840 and 1.1904 to return to the daily support. Moreover, a breakout of that target will move the pair further downwards to 1.1840. On the other hand, if a breakout happens at the support level of 1.1803, then this scenario may be invalidated. Relevance up to 20:00 2023-01-04 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/307232
Issue on the US debt ceiling persists, Joe Biden goes back to the US

Forex market: Greenback has outperformed most of majors. Eurozone inflation print on Friday could be a turning point

Marc Chandler Marc Chandler 03.01.2023 21:19
January 03, 2023  $USD, China, Currency Movement, EMU, Japan, jobs, US Overview:  Market participants have returned from the New Year celebrations apparently with robust risk appetites.  Equities and bonds are rallying, and the dollar has surged higher. The markets seem to be looking past the surge in China's Covid cases and anticipates a recovery, helping Chinese equities lead Asia Pacific bourses higher, where Japanese markets are still on holiday.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is 1.6% higher in late morning turnover. US equity futures are also 0.8%-0.9% higher. The 10-year US Treasury yield is off 13 bp, shedding most of last week's gains. European benchmark yields are 6-11 bp lower.   The dollar has surged against most of the major currencies. Aside from the Scandis, yen and Canadian dollars, the other G10 currencies are off by more than 1%. The strong greenback gains seem like a bit of unwinding some of the weakness seen in thin holiday markets, and what we suspect, is an overdue technical bounce. Recall that the dollar trading heavily in December. More than that, the G10 currencies, except the Canadian dollar, rallied more than 5% against the greenback in Q4 22. Of note, today, with Tokyo markets closed, the dollar traded below JPY130 for the first time in six months. The Australian and New Zealand dollars are leading the losses, off around 1.5%.   Asia Pacific China's abrupt shift from its zero-Covid policy, which apparently was faltering, is causing similar but different set of economic disruptions.  The human cost is mind-boggling in terms of infections and fatalities. Beijing is not very forthcoming, which is frustrating on numerous levels. Reports suggest President Xi is trying to bolster China's foreign relations, the lack of transparency about Covid and its massive aerial harassment of Taiwan in late December, shows the limitations of such gestures. Appointing the former US ambassador as the new foreign minister should not be seen as a substantive change unless proven otherwise. The reversal of Covid policy on December 7 has further disrupted the already fragile economy. The "official" composite PMI fell to 42.6 in December, the lowest since February 2020, and the third month below the 50 boom/bust level.    No one wants to be bitten by the same dog twice. Caught by surprise, most seem to believe that the BOJ's doubling of the 10-year bond yield's cap to 0.50% is a prelude to it abandoning its negative interest rate policy here in the first part of the year. The swaps market has the policy rate slightly positive by the April 28 BOJ meeting. Governor Kuroda's last meeting is March 10, and the swaps market has been flirting with a positive rate by then. The two-year yield is holding above zero for the first time for six-seven years. Fiscal subsides, the appreciation of the yen on trade-weighted basis (~9.5%-10.0%) since the October low, coupled with weak demand, may slow inflation. In November, industrial production fell for the third consecutive month, retail sales (median forecast in Bloomberg's survey was for a 0.2% gain) tumbled 1.1% from October, and the volume of exports fell 3.6% year-over-year. The Bank of Japan ended last year with an unprecedented three consecutive days of unscheduled bond purchases. The combination of fixed rate and fixed-amount purchases boosted December's buying to around JPY17 trillion (~$128 bln), which appears to be a record amount.    In Asia, with Japanese markets still closed, the dollar fell to JPY129.50, the first break of JPY130 since last June. It recovered to nearly JPY131.20 before coming off again in the European morning.  The sharp decline in US Treasury yields, where the 10-year is off more than 13 bp, is doing the greenback no favor. The next area of technical importance may be around JPY128.60. The Australian dollar initially rose to a two-and-a-half week high near $0.6835 before being sold a little through $0.6700. The retreat gives back the gains scored since Christmas. A close below $0.6700 could signal additional losses toward $0.6650 and possible $0.6600. The $0.6800 area, stacked with expiring options in the second half of the week, should now offer resistance. The greenback also jumped back against the Chinese yuan after falling to nearly CNY6.8760, a four-month low. Chinese and Hong Kong equities rallied as some investors are trying to look through the Covid surge and focused on the re-opening, and reports suggesting traffic increases in several large cities. The PBOC set the dollar's reference rate at CNY6.9475 compared with the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey for CNY6.9488.  Europe The eurozone highlight of the week comes on Friday. It is the preliminary estimate of December CPI. For the second consecutive month, headline prices may have slipped by 0.1%. That will allow the year-over-year headline rate to slip back below 10% for the first time since August. The risk, as ECB President Lagarde noted, that headline price pressures may increase later as government subsidies for energy end. Tellingly, the core rate is expected to be unchanged at 5.0%, year-over-year. Before the New Year, Spain reported its preliminary December inflation figures. The harmonized headline measure fell to 5.6% from 6.7% (and a peak of 10.7% in July). However, this seems to be at least partly a function of energy subsidies.  The core rate rose to a new cyclical high of 6.9% from 6.3%. Today, Germany's turn. Based on state reports, there appears a little downside risk to the 0.8% month-over-month decline expected in the Bloomberg survey that saw the year-over-year rate falling from 11.3% to 10.2%. Separately, Germany reported an unexpected 13k decline in its unemployment, with the unchanged at 5.5%, following the downward revision in the November series.   It may be lost over the holidays but note that several monetary divergences have swung in the euro's favor. Consider that since the end of October, the ECB's balance sheet has been reduced by about 8.8%, while the Fed's has shrunk almost 2%. The US 10-year premium over Germany has fallen from around 190 bp to almost 130 bp. The two-year spread favor the US by 250 bp at the end of October. It traded below 170 bp before Christmas. One caveat is that the speculative participants (non-commercials) have amassed a significant large, long position. It has swung from a net short position of nearly 50k contracts contraction in late August 1 to more than 140k net long (125k euros per contract).   We have been struggling between a conviction that the US dollar peak is behind us and the momentum indicators that suggested it was oversold on a near-term basis. That dilemma is being resolved by today's price action. The euro had been flirting with the upper end of its recent consolidative range around $1.07 at the end of last year. It has been sold to $1.0535 today, through its 20-day moving average (~$1.0610) for the first time in nearly two months.  Options for 1.2 bln euros at $1.0580 expiring today may have also contributed to the sell-off. The intraday momentum indicators are stretched, and that $1.0580 area may now offer resistance. Still, ahead of Friday's US jobs data, we suspect there may be potential toward $1.0400-30. Sterling has been sold through the $1.20 shelf to almost $1.1900, its lowest level since November 30. Cable's 1% decline is a bit less than most of the other majors, leaving aside the yen. That suggests that the rail strike activity may be disruptive for travelers and commuters but is not taking a special toll on the exchange rate. A break of $1.1890 could spur losses toward $1.1750-60. Initial resistance may now be seen in the $1.1950-70 area.   America The data highlight for the first week of the new year is the employment report on Friday. As Fed Chair Powell has argued there are several dimensions of the labor market, and not one data point captures them all. That said, there are several signs that the labor market, while still strong, is slowing. We will see it tomorrow with the JOLTS report on job openings, which has gotten a great deal of attention in this cycle. It is expected for fall to 10.0 mln from 10.33 mln in November. And if it does, it will be the lowest since June 2021. The median in Bloomberg's survey calls for a 200k increase in nonfarm payrolls, which would be the least in two years. Private sector job growth is expected to fall below 200k for the first time since the end of 2020.   Average hourly earnings growth may tick down to 5.0% from 5.1%. It would match the three-month average, which is the slowest since October 2021. It is not the measure of labor compensation that Fed officials most often seem to talk about, but it is seen too high for price stability from core services. We also tend to put more emphasis on auto sales than others, and we note that auto sales are expected to have fallen around 3% at an annualized pace to 13.7 mln (SAAR) from 14.14 mln. Through November, US sales are running slightly more than 9% less than 2021. Still, after contracting in the first two quarters, the US economy appears to have grown by more than 3% (annualized) in Q4, for the second consecutive quarter. The latest estimate by the Atlanta's Fed GDP tracking model is for 3.7%. It will be updated later today. Economists polled by Bloomberg are not as optimistic, the median forecast at 1.1% (December 20), after a 0.5% forecast in the November survey.   Read next: 2023 Predictions: Natural gas prices in Europe and the US may in the nearterm struggle to find upside momentum with inventories staying elevated due to mild winter weather and consumers curbing demand| FXMAG.COM The Canadian dollar often outperforms in a strong US dollar environment and when US stocks are bid. Today is no exception. After the Japanese yen, the Canadian dollar is the strongest of the G10 currencies, nursing less than a 0.5% loss. Still, around CAD1.3620-40, the greenback is at its best level since a little before Christmas. Nearby resistance is seen in the CAD1.3665-85 area and then slightly above CAD1.3700. Canada's December manufacturing PMI tends not to be much of a market-mover and is likely to have remained below the 50 boom/bust level for the fifth consecutive month. Emerging market currencies are mostly lower, led by central and eastern European currencies. The Mexican peso is fairly resilient, slipping around 0.20%.  The dollar is trading near MXN19.51. The upper end of the post-Christmas range extends toward around MXN19.58, and addition resistance is seen in the MXN19.60 area, which also houses the 20-day moving average. In thin trading yesterday, the dollar extended its pre-New Year's rally against the Brazilian real. The greenback rose 2.3% last week and another 1.5% yesterday to around BRL5.36. The next important chart area is closer to BRL5.43. Disclaimer
The Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge For Australia Rose More Than Expected

Forex: Aussie against greenback - less aggressive investors would wait for FOMC Minutes

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 04.01.2023 16:03
Yellow line- bearish divergence Blue line- support Red lines- bearish channel AUDUSD is trading around 0.6870 just below the upper channel boundary resistance. Short-term trend is mixed as price has not made any real progress over the last few days. Support is key at 0.6650 and a break below this level would provide a sell signal. Price remains inside the medium-term bearish channel as the RSI is not following price to new higher highs. The combination of the bearish divergence and the fact that price is just below major resistance, makes it more appealing to bears to open new short positions at current levels. Less aggressive investors would wait to take action after the FOMC Minutes to be published later today. Read next: Bitcoin: As for the price levels, one should pay attention to the level of $18,000 that has been recently hit. Probably, this level may well serve a starting point for buyers in case the price holds above it on a daily chart | FXMAG.COM Relevance up to 13:00 2023-01-05 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/307353
The Data May Keep The British Pound (GBP) From Rising

According to Samir Klishi, US dollar may be rising this week

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 04.01.2023 16:19
According to the hourly chart, the GBP/USD pair performed a reversal in favor of the US dollar on Tuesday and a powerful fall toward the level of 1.1883. Within a few hours, the British pound had already seen a reversal and had returned to the 1.2007 level. The pair is currently attempting to regain control of 1.2007. If this occurs, the growth process may continue in the direction of the corrective level of 127.2% (1.2111). The increase in quotes since 1.2007 will help to restart the decline in the direction of 1.1883. The first aspect of yesterday to consider is the motion in various directions. The British pound fluctuated throughout the day, rising and falling, and at the time of writing, it is only 20 points away from its opening position from the previous day. Trading was therefore highly active yesterday, but neither the dollar nor the pound gained significantly. Although yesterday's information background was quite thin, traders have already started practicing trading during the Friday release of significant numbers. The two wavered, emerged from the side passage, and are now only able to move vertically but in a specific direction. Read next: Bitcoin: As for the price levels, one should pay attention to the level of $18,000 that has been recently hit. Probably, this level may well serve a starting point for buyers in case the price holds above it on a daily chart | FXMAG.COM Another point I'd like to bring up is the FOMC protocol, which may provide some insight into how high US interest rates will eventually be. Numerous economists now anticipate that the likelihood of a sharper tightening of monetary policy will rise to 5.50–5.75% during the coming weeks. This, in my opinion, is what supports the US dollar. The dollar may restart growth if the Fed minutes confirm the "hawkish" assumptions. Everything on Friday will depend on information about the US labor market and unemployment. Bear traders will be helped by strong reports. I'd think there's a good probability the dollar will keep rising this week. The pair closed under the upward trend corridor and consolidated under the 1.2008 level on the 4-hour chart. Since traders' sentiment is currently turning "bearish," I believe the consolidation of quotes under the upward trend corridor to be the most crucial phase. Now, it is possible to continue the price decline in the direction of the Fibo level of 161.8% (1.1709). Divergences that are maturing are not seen in any indication. Report on Commitments of Traders (COT): The sentiment among traders in the "non-commercial" category over the last week has shifted more "bearish" than it did the week before. The number of short contracts increased by 10,585 units, while the number of long contracts held by investors increased by 5,301 units. However, the major players' overall outlook is still "bearish," and there are still more short-term contracts than long-term contracts. However, during the past few months, a significant change has taken place, and presently there is not a significant disparity between the amount of long and short positions held by speculators. There was a threefold change a few months ago. As a result, the pound's chances have greatly improved recently. However, given that the 4-hour chart crossed above the three-month ascending corridor, the British pound may soon continue to decline. The following is the UK and US news calendar: United States - ISM manufacturing sector business activity index United States - FOMC protocol There are no noteworthy events scheduled for Wednesday in the UK or the US. The background information's impact on today's traders' attitudes will be minimal. GBP/USD forecast and trading suggestions: In the event of a new close at the 1.2007 level with a target of 1.1883, I advise selling the pound. When the British pound is locked above the 1.2007 level on the hourly chart, it will be possible to buy it with a target of 1.2111. Relevance up to 11:00 2023-01-05 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331445
Oanda's Kenny Fisher talks US dollar against Canadian dollar

Oanda's Kenny Fisher talks US dollar against Canadian dollar

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 04.01.2023 23:27
The Canadian dollar is sharply higher on Wednesday. In the North American session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3492, down 1.29%. It has been a busy start to the new year for the Canadian dollar, which started the week with losses but has bounced back today. US, Canada Manufacturing PMIs slow The first release out of Canada this year was a disappointment. Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in December, down from  49.6 a month earlier, but it managed to match the forecast. This is the fifth straight reading below 50.0, which separates contraction from expansion. Production and new orders were down, and prices continue to increase, forcing manufacturers to pass on the higher costs to clients. Confidence remains weak, and the only good news was a slight gain in employment growth. As we start the new year, the outlook does not look particularly positive for the manufacturing sector. In the US, December manufacturing data was also soft. The ISM Manufacturing PMI contracted for a second straight month, slowing to 48.4 from 49.0 in November. The PMI fell to its lowest level since May 2020, when the coronavirus recovery started. On a positive note, the Employment Index improved and expanded in December to 51.4, up from 48.4 in November. Read next: Canadian dollar jumps, as US Mfg. PMI slips - MarketPulseMarketPulse The Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its December meeting later today. The Fed has pushed back against speculation that it will ease on tightening and Jerome Powell reiterated this message at the December meeting, saying that interest rates could reach a higher peak than previously anticipated and rates could stay high for an extended period of time. If the minutes echo this hawkish stance, and the markets buy what the Fed is selling, the US dollar could gain ground. USD/CAD Technical USD/CAD has broken below support at 1.3628 and 1.3535 and is putting pressure on 1.3476 There is resistance at 1.3709 and 1.3780 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Canadian dollar jumps, as US Mfg. PMI slips - MarketPulseMarketPulse
According to Althea Spinozzi, it's clear that inflation remains Fed most significant focus

FOMC minutes affect S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Federal Reserve warns investors. Today it's time to discover ADP report

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 05.01.2023 11:01
Released yesterday, the FOMC minutes were hawkish enough to get the S&P500 erase early gains, but not hawkish enough to get the index to close in the red. The index closed the session 0.75% higher. Nasdaq gained 0.50%.   The Federal Reserve (Fed) repeated its determination to keep fighting inflation with further rate hikes, and warned that this determination should not be underestimated by investors.   No one talked about a rate cut in the foreseeable future, even though pricing in the market still shows that investors continue to bet that the Fed will start cutting rates before the end of this year.   Yes, there are some data pointing at slowing economic activity in the US, but the jobs market – which is closely watched by the Fed - remains surprisingly tight – while the Fed keeps saying that bringing inflation back to the 2% target requires some 'softening' in the jobs market.  Helas, a softening that has not showed up its nose, so far. Released yesterday, the US jobs opening data was again stronger than expected. The JOLTS data showed that there were still around 10.5 million job openings in November – little changed from last month, and a bit less than half a million less than the market expectation.  Read next: Samsung Suffers From Weakening Demand, Amazon Will Increase The Total Number Of Layoffs To Over 18,000| FXMAG.COM ADP Today, we will see what the ADP report tells about new hirings in December. Analysts believe that the US economy may have added around 150'000 new private jobs last month.   Note that the latter is not a good indication regarding what's to come on Friday. Last month, the ADP printed a weak 127'000 figure, while the NFP came in at 263'000. Therefore, even the avalanche of layoff news from big companies, and a soft ADP print may not be enough convince that the US jobs market is cooling.   On the rates front, there will likely be at least another 50bp hike this quarter, and perhaps one or two more 25bp hikes. Right now, activity on Fed funds futures gives a higher chance for a 25bp hike in the next Fed meeting.   To me, that means that there is room for a hawkish readjustment in expectations through January.  Oil tanks  Weaker nat gas prices, combined to the past few days' recession fears, and news that OPEC output increased in December thanks to the recovery in Nigerian supply from outages – despite the OPEC+ will to cut output to keep prices sustained - pulled the price of American crude 5% lower yesterday. The $75/76 support has been broken; I revise my short-term view from bullish to neutral, and expect the new support, around $70/72 range, to hold on tight supply, and the Chinese reopening story.   In the FX  The Australian dollar is surfing on the positive Chinese vibes. The Aussie-dollar shortly traded above the 200-DMA, near 0.6850, yesterday, but gains remained capped into the major 38.2% Fibonacci resistance on 2021-2022 selloff, if cleared, should hint at a bullish reversal in Aussie-dollar's medium term trend. And I think that a bullish reversal in AUDUSD is a matter of time, as the rally in iron ore prices triggered by the Chinese reopening should continue giving support to the Aussie in the coming weeks.   Elsewhere, the US dollar index couldn't extent the early week gains, and we are about to see a death cross formation on the daily chart, where the 50-DMA will cross below the 200-DMA very shortly.   A death cross formation is closely watched by investors and is seen as a bearish sign. Although it is a lagging indicator, it is in line with our 2023 outlook of softening US dollar against many currencies, and gold.  The EURUSD is bid around 1.0550, as Cable sees buying interest below 1.20 despite its worse economic fundamentals compared to other G7 economies.   One of the most popular trades of the moment is long the Japanese yen against EUR, USD and pound, as the BoJ's latest decision to double its cap on JGB yields spurred hawkish Bank of Japan (BoJ) expectations. Even though the BoJ warned that this doesn't mean that a rate hike is imminent, the BoJ won't be able to maintain rates below zero while rates are soaring elsewhere. Sooner or later, the BoJ will hike, and that's enough for traders to pile into the yen, which has been the worst performing major currency last year.
According to Althea Spinozzi, it's clear that inflation remains Fed most significant focus

US NFP are expected to hit 200K, unemployment forecasted to reach 3.7%

Jing Ren Jing Ren 05.01.2023 17:26
The BLS has reported that NFP have been above expectations for five months in a row. The most dramatic were the July figures which came in twice the number expected. It seems economists have been consistently underestimating the number of jobs the American economy can make. Of course, that this is a net figure instead of a gross number has something to do with this. Each month, around 6 million people find new jobs. Of them, about 4 million are quitting a current job in favor of a different one (typically, one that pays more). What the NFP represents, more accurately, is whether more people found work than lost work. A quirk of the numbers that can have market implications Given the extraordinarily high "churn" (the number of quits and rehires within the same month) NFP represents dynamism in the labor market. Which isn't the same as the number of jobs created. Because there are two aspects of the labor market: the number of job offers, and the number of people taking up jobs. We've written extensively about how there are vastly more job offers than there are people seeking jobs. Which is why we have to be wary about the concept of "job creation". If we are talking about new jobs being put on offer, whether there are enough people taking them, counts as a job "created". Or we consider that when an open offer is filled, then a job was "created". The hidden numbers There is a practical implication here. Businesses could be shutting down jobs and laying off workers at an increasing rate, conditions that we would normally associate with harsh economic times and even a recession. But NFP could still come in above expectations and the unemployment rate remains steady. In part, this could be because a high number of people quitting leaves open jobs for other people to take. This would be reflected as a stable number of jobs, even though one person less is working. Read next: ADP deliver markets with the print of 235K jobs. Manufacturing sector lose 100 thousands, employment increases in small and medium-sized companies | FXMAG.COM As long as there is a large difference between the number of open jobs and the number of people seeking work, NFP could continue showing dynamism in the labor market. That is, despite a consistent rise in the number of people on unemployment and several high-profile firing sprees, particularly in the tech industry. What to look out for Analysts are once again forecasting 200K jobs created in December, a slowing pace from the 263K reported in November. This is what normally would be considered good jobs growth, if it weren't for the distortion of covid. Although the total number of employed has returned to above the number before early 2020, the labor force participation rate remains significantly lower. The unemployment rate is expected to once again stay at 3.7%. Note that this figure is seasonally adjusted, and takes into account the normal surge in retail for the holiday shopping period.
EUR/USD Pair is Structurally Working On A Larger-Degree Upswing

Oanda's Kenny Fisher comments on Euro against US dollar - January 5th

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 05.01.2023 19:44
EUR/USD is almost unchanged on Thursday. The economic calendar is light, with no tier-1 events out of the eurozone. The US releases the ADP employment report and unemployment claims, ahead of the jobs report on Friday. Will eurozone inflation dip? German inflation fell sharply in December, falling to 9.6% from 11.3% in November. This was a positive way to end what was a rough 2022 – annual inflation hit 7.9%, its highest level since 1951. France and Italy’s inflation levels also fell and investors are hoping for a repeat performance on Friday, when the eurozone releases the December inflation report. Eurozone CPI is expected to drop to 9.7%, compared to 10.1% in November. A drop into single digits will be welcome, but much of the decline could be a result of energy subsidies in Germany and elsewhere. ECB President Lagarde has noted that headline inflation could rise once the government subsidies come to an end. Core CPI provides a more accurate indication of whether inflation is really falling, and the forecast is for the core rate to remain unchanged at 5.0%. A decline in the CPI reading will create headlines but is unlikely to sway the central bank from raising rates at the February 2nd meeting, likely by 50 basis points. The ECB is committed to curbing inflation and is unlikely to ease up on rate hikes until it is convinced that inflation is on a sustained downturn. The Federal Reserve minutes reiterated the hawkish message that Jerome Powell had for the markets at the December meeting. FOMC members committed to maintaining a restrictive policy while inflation remained unacceptably high, saying that more evidence was needed to show that inflation was on a “sustained downward path to 2 per cent”. The minutes noted that several members warned against “prematurely loosening monetary policy”. The Fed has been consistent with its hawkish stance for some time, yet there is still a dissonance between the Fed’s message and market pricing. The minutes noted that no FOMC members expect any rate cuts this year, while the markets have priced in a possible small reduction by the end of 2023 and have forecast a funds rate peak at 4.5%-4.75%. The Fed, on the other hand, expects rates to hit 5% or higher. The Fed is not pleased with this disconnect and the minutes contained a warning to the markets not to underestimate the Fed’s resolve to maintain high rates in order to curb inflation. EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is putting pressure on support at 1.0566, followed by support at 1.0487 There is resistance at 1.0636 and 1.0740 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Euro calm as data calendar remains light - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Forex: US dollar against Japanese yen amid volatility and macroeconomics

Forex: US dollar against Japanese yen amid volatility and macroeconomics

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 05.01.2023 20:17
The Japanese yen is sharply lower on Thursday. In the North American session, USD/JPY is trading at 133.90 down 0.93%. What a difference a few days can make. The yen was cruising on Tuesday, as it broke below the 130 level for the first time since May. Since then, the dollar has gone on a tear, pushing the yen close to the 134 line. The yen has been showing volatility since the last week of 2022, and it’s a sure bet that the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, which dislike sharp movements by the yen, will be watching to see if the downtrend continues. Read next: Precious metals: Gold retreats as traders await tomorrow's jobs report| FXMAG.COM In the US, the focus in the latter part of the week has been on employment data, with all eyes on Friday’s jobs report. On Wednesday, JOLTS Job Openings dipped slightly to 10.46 million, and the ISM employment index rose into expansion territory. This was followed by more positive data today – unemployment claims fell to 204,000, down from 223,000. As well, the ADP employment report rose to 225 thousand, up sharply from 127 thousand. The data points to a strong labour market, and this is an important factor in the Fed being able to continue raising rates and count on the economy being able to withstand the tightening. Fed minutes reaffirm hawkish stance The Fed minutes were hawkish, but this shouldn’t surprise anyone, given that Jerome Powell pushed hard against the markets at the December meeting and said rates were not going down anytime soon. The minutes echoed what the Fed has been saying for months, that more evidence was needed to show that inflation was on a “sustained downward path to 2 per cent”. The minutes noted that several members warned against “prematurely loosening monetary policy”. The markets haven’t aligned with the Fed, forecasting a funds rate peak at 4.5%-4.75%. The Fed, on the other hand, expects rates to hit 5% or higher. The Fed has spent a lot of energy pushing back against market speculation about a U-turn in policy, and the minutes contained a warning to the markets not to underestimate the Fed’s resolve to maintain high rates in order to curb inflation. USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY has support at 133.48 and 132.13 There is resistance at 134.56 and 135.85 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Japanese yen's slide continues - MarketPulseMarketPulse
The Pound Is Now Openly Enjoying A Favorable Moment

Forex: According to InstaForex's Irina Manzenko, greenback will be in charge of shaping the GBP/USD pair

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 05.01.2023 23:52
The pound and the dollar fluctuate gently in a range of 100 points, starting alternatively from the price corridor's edges. Sellers and buyers of GBP/USD are engaged in a heated battle within this level; the former is attempting to keep the price within the 20th figure, while the latter is attempting to push the price down to the base of the 19th price level. And it is clear from the outcomes of the conflict, which lasted almost three weeks, that no one has emerged victorious. The price of the pair is still fluctuating between 1.1945 and 1.2050, occasionally going above its limits depending on the circumstances. However, sellers cannot fall to the goal of 1.1900 and purchasers cannot achieve the mark of 1.2100 at the same moment.   The pre-vacation season is not the sole cause of the slowdown among GBP/USD traders. Since the buyers of the pair gave up their goals in the middle of December, following the publication of the outcomes of the Bank of England's final meeting in 2022, the "dead season" only indirectly affected this situation. It is important to highlight that the English regulator carried out the fundamental scenario by taking a hawkish stance. The Central Bank increased the interest rate by 50 basis points while also signaling a future increase in the rate. However, most market participants expressed skepticism over the rate announced by the British Central Bank; several analysts predict that the Bank of England would either lower the pace of tightening monetary policy in 2023 or stop completely. Many currency strategists concluded after analyzing the minutes of the December meeting that the regulator had moved the focus of its speech to evaluate the dangers and negative effects of tightening the PEPP. Also brought to light is the fact that the Central Bank mentioned the slowing in inflationary increase in a "different line." The first quarter of 2023 will see a slowdown in inflation indices, according to economists at the Central Bank. The fact that two (out of nine) members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted against hiking the rate further put additional pressure on the pound. They demanded that it be kept at three percent because, in their words, it would be "more than enough" to bring inflation back to the desired level. In other words, while publicly implementing a fundamental, hawkish scenario at the December meeting, the British regulator did not turn into a supporter of the pound. The GBP/USD pair reached the six-month price limit on the night of the December meeting, reaching 1.2444. Since September 2022, specifically, when the pound fell to the 1.0345 level due to the budget crisis and political unrest, the price has been steadily rising for several months. The pound has gained more than 2000 points in just 3.5 months, demonstrating its aspirations to reach the 25th position. However, the paradoxical outcomes of the British Central Bank's most recent meeting in 2022 confounded everything: the GBP/USD pair initially dropped by about 400 points, but then became trapped on the cusp of 19 and 20 figures. I believe that the dollar, whose "well-being" will depend on the dynamics of important US macroeconomic data, will determine the future course of the pair in the medium run. Such a disposition puts Non-farm, which will be released tomorrow, January 6, front and center. Preliminary predictions state that the overall trend of the December indicators should be similar to that of the November ones. The unemployment rate should stay at 3.7%, and 210 thousand more individuals should find work in non-agricultural sectors (an increase of 263 thousand was recorded in November). Salary indicators should follow the release's trajectory (+5.0% y/y, 5.1% in November) as well. The GBP/USD bears may attempt to penetrate the defense near the 1.1950 level and move to the base of the 19th figure if the report is released in the green zone. In all other scenarios, the pair is likely to keep drifting along the corridor stated above as it gets closer to its upper border (a temporary breakthrough to the 1.2070 mark is not excluded). The British pound currently lacks "own" justifications for continuing the northern movement. The GBP/USD northern trend was halted by the actual split in the Central Bank Committee and the statement's cautious phrasing. The dollar, which is currently in standby mode, is now in charge of the initiative. Technically speaking, the pair is situated above the Kumo cloud on the daily chart, between the middle and lower lines of the Bollinger Bands indicator, and simultaneously between the Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen lines. In other words, the method lacks any obvious cues, necessitating a wait-and-see attitude. The 1.1950 level (the actual boundary of the three-week price range) is the closest level of support, and the 1.1900 goal is the key price barrier (the upper border of the Kumo cloud coinciding with the lower line of the Bollinger Bands indicator on D1). The number 1.2100 serves as the resistance level (the average line of the Bollinger Bands on the same timeframe). However, 1.2070 has been the actual price ceiling for the past approximately three weeks. Relevance up to 14:00 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/331563
How to turn volatility into opportunity? Stephen Dover from Franklin Templeton offers some judicious perspective

US dollar weakens amid labour market data, Canadian dollar gains

Jing Ren Jing Ren 09.01.2023 09:10
EURUSD recoups losses The US dollar tanked after wage growth was slower than expected in December. The pair previously came under pressure near last June’s highs around 1.0750. A double top at 1.0710 capped the euro’s advance and led to a correction. A three-leg sell-off below 1.0520 prompted some buyers to bail out but strong support has been observed in the demand zone 1.0450-1.0480. A bounce above 1.0630 may help the bulls regain confidence, making 1.0600 a fresh support. A close above 1.0710 would extend the rally towards 1.0800. USDCAD tests major support The Canadian dollar surged after its labour market’s strong performance in December. Renewed selling pressure has driven the pair below the swing low at 1.3470 from the start of the year, which suggests a lack of support. The daily level and December’s low of 1.3390 is a critical floor and its breach could lead to a bearish reversal below 1.3300. As the RSI inches to the oversold area, the demand zone may trigger a ‘buy-the-dips’ behaviour. 1.3560 would be the first hurdle should the greenback manage to bounce back. Read next: Current market gains could be partly due to people returning from holiday breaks and reentering the market, leading to increased demand and trading activity| FXMAG.COM US 30 breaks higher The Dow Jones 30 bounces as mixed US job data may temper the Fed’s hawkishness. The swings between 32500 and 33500 along the 30-day moving average showed a temporary equilibrium between supply and demand. A bullish breakout means that the recovery bias is still intact and 32900 is now the immediate support. 34350 at the origin of the mid-December trough is an important resistance. The bulls would have the last laugh if they succeed in pushing past it, resuming the rally from last October.
On the current USDCAD chart, we see the internal structure of a large correction pattern similar to a cycle triple zigzag w-x-y-x-z

On the current USDCAD chart, we see the internal structure of a large correction pattern similar to a cycle triple zigzag w-x-y-x-z

Jing Ren Jing Ren 09.01.2023 10:26
Perhaps the first four parts of this construction are fully completed, and now the final actionary leg is being built – the sub-wave z. Apparently, the wave z takes the form of a primary double zigzag â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž, where the sub-waves â“Œ-Ⓧ are formed. Thus, at the moment it is possible that the last actionary primary wave â“Ž is under construction. It may end in the form of a double zigzag (W)-(X)-(Y) near 1.403. At that level, cycle wave z will be at 161.8% of cycle wave y. According to an alternative, the formation of a cycle triple zigzag could be fully completed. Therefore, now the initial part of a new bearish trend can be built. We assume the construction of a primary double zigzag â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž, which is the beginning in a larger correction pattern. It is likely that the primary waves â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž are already over. In the near future, we can expect a continuation of the bearish primary wave â“Ž, which may take the form of a double zigzag (W)-(X)-(Y) and end near 1.313. At that level, it will be at 76.4% of primary wave â“Œ.
Issue on the US debt ceiling persists, Joe Biden goes back to the US

If Fed go for balanced moves, stock market could get back to its "forecaster" role

Jing Ren Jing Ren 09.01.2023 20:33
We all know that the forex and stock markets are related, so it's of course a good idea for forex traders to keep an eye on what equities are doing. But there are a couple of circumstances that are coinciding this quarter that make this relationship especially pronounced. The stock market, particularly in the United States, could give us some insight into what to expect in the currency markets. What's going on? To get a better understanding of the situation, we have to remember that one of the key ways the stock and currency markets are connected is through bonds. When bond prices fall, for example, then investors pile into that currency to buy. This pushes up the price of the currency with respect to others. At the same time, investors leave the stock market to buy bonds as well. This means the stock market goes down. Hence, the standard inverse relationship between currencies and the stock market. Now, that doesn't always line up exactly, because it depends on why the price of bonds have gone down. The other main factor is risk sentiment. Stocks are higher risk, so investors will get out of the stock market and buy bonds when there is a risk-off market. What's driving the underlying market The issue is that the bond market right now is highly distorted, particularly in the US and Japan. This is because over the last couple of years, the regulators have been intervening in the market. Almost all central banks and governments have done this, but some more than others. Which is why there could be a discrepancy in the reaction from currencies. Read next: The Aussie Pair Is Trading Above 0.69$, The Euro Above 1.07, The British Pound Also Benefits From A Weak Dollar| FXMAG.COM During covid, governments issued massive amounts of debt in the form of bonds. That would normally force the interest rate higher, due to supply and demand. But central banks stepped in to buy bonds in order to force interest rates down. That creates an artificial situation in the bond market. Tracking the distortion The natural situation is that bond yields represent relative risk. That means the longer the bond term, the higher the interest rate. This is called the "bond yield curve". But central banks have stepped in to "control" the yield curve, such as the BOJ, or the BOE. The US bond curve is "inverted"; that is, short-term debt has a higher interest rate than long-term debt, which reflects expectations of central bank policy. Why it matters Investors are going to put their money where they believe there is the best risk-reward ratio. Bonds are low risk compared to stocks, so the higher the interest rate, the more interest there is in selling stocks. If the central bank is distorting the market, then investors have a different incentive structure. This can lead to a run-up in stocks, like in 2020-2021 when conditions aren't so good; and then a drop in the stock market when conditions are improving, like in 2022. So, central bank policy can outweigh economic data. The Fed is expected to slow or stop its rate hikes sometime this quarter. With the Fed keeping policy steady, then the natural dynamics of the market could return. Which means the stock market could return to its more usual role of forecasting sentiment. Which in turn provides insight into how much demand there is for bonds, and whether or not a currency in particular will appreciate or weaken.
Australian dollar against US dollar: USD may rise on the back of the Republicans and Democrats negotiations

Australian dollar: RBA is expected to raise the interest rate by 25bp. CPI prints of Australia and the USA to be released day after day this week

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 10.01.2023 17:54
The Australian dollar is in negative territory on Tuesday. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6898, down 0.21%. This follows a two-day rally in AUD/USD climbed over 2%. Australian CPI looms It could be a busy week for the Australian dollar, with Australia releasing CPI on Wednesday, followed by the US on Thursday. Australian headline inflation dropped to 6.9% in October, down from 7.3% a month earlier. The markets are bracing for inflation to rise again, with a forecast of 7.3% for December. As well, the trimmed mean rate (core CPI) is also expected to rise to 5.5%, up from 5.3%. The RBA is widely expected to continue its tightening at the February 7th meeting. The markets are currently pricing in a 25-basis point hike at 60%, and this will likely rise if inflation reverses directions and climbs higher on Wednesday, as expected. The RBA is well aware of the pain that high rates are causing to consumers and businesses and remains flexible with its rate policy. The minutes of the December meeting indicated that the RBA considered three options at that meeting – a 25 bp hike, a 50-bp hike and a pause. In the end, RBA members opted for the 25-bp increase. Read next: The EUR/USD Pair Is Still Above 1.0700$, The USD/JPY Pair Was Little Changed| FXMAG.COM The Fed hasn’t had much success in convincing the markets to adopt its outlook on interest rates. The markets have stubbornly clung to a dovish approach, pricing in a terminal rate of 4.93%. In contrast, the Fed dot plot indicates a terminal rate of 5-5.25%. But you can’t fault the Fed for not trying. On Monday, two non-voting FOMC members reiterated the Fed’s hawkish stance, saying that rates would likely rise above 5%. Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic said he expected rates to remain above the 5% level for “a long time” and that he would put rates on hold throughout 2024. Bostic added that if Thursday’s inflation data showed inflation easing, it would strengthen the case for reducing the rate hike at the February meeting to 25 basis points. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly echoed this stance, saying that holding rates at its peak for 11 months was a “reasonable starting point.” If inflation is stronger than expected, the markets may listen a bit more closely. Conversely, a soft inflation release will make it harder for the Fed to convince the markets that it is not planning to wind up the current tightening cycle with a “one and done” hike in February. AUD/USD Technical AUD/USD has support at 0.6703 and 0.6620 There is resistance at 0.6841 and 0.6969 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. AUD/USD edges lower, CPI next - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Australian dollar against US dollar - "It seems that the currency will soon hit a price above 0.68"

Forex: Australian dollar against US dollar can decrease to 0.617

Jing Ren Jing Ren 11.01.2023 08:39
Most likely, the AUDUSD currency will form a bearish triple zigzag Ⓦ-Ⓧ-Ⓨ-Ⓧ-Ⓩ in the long term, where the primary wave Ⓩ is a simple zigzag (A)-(B)-(C). At the moment, an impulse wave (C) is being formed, which consists of minor sub-waves 1-2-3-4-5. Perhaps the development of the minor corrective wave 4 in the form of a minute triple zigzag has been completed. Thus, the market may continue to move down in the impulse wave 5. The currency is expected to decline to the previous low of 0.617, marked by the impulse 3. Alternatively, the corrective wave 4 continues its development. Bulls could build only four parts of correction 4, that is, we can see fully formed sub-waves ⓦ-ⓧ-ⓨ-ⓧ, and the sub-wave ⓩ is still being built. In the near future, the market may grow to 0.724. At that level, actionary sub-waves ⓨ and ⓩ will be equal. An approximate scheme of possible future movement is shown on the chart.
How to turn volatility into opportunity? Stephen Dover from Franklin Templeton offers some judicious perspective

China's inflation came at 1.8%, US crude oil (WTI) gained over 4% yesterday

ING Economics ING Economics 12.01.2023 08:33
Today is the most important day of the trading week, in terms of economic data release, as the US will reveal its latest CPI update, and it could be a make-or-break moment for the market sentiment.  Consumer price inflation in the US probably eased to 6.5%, from 7.1% printed a month earlier.  Beyond the headline figure, the core inflation should be closely watched, and should also ease enough to spur Fed doves. The core inflation fell to 6% at last release, from a peak of 6.6% printed for October, and is expected to fall to 5.7% at today's release. The Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have insisted that they will also be focusing on specific categories, like services excluding housing, energy and food cost to have a sense of where consumer prices are headed, and what are the next policy steps.   Overall, a data set in line with the soft expectations, or ideally softer, should further boost the Fed doves, increase the bets of a 25bp hike in February, pull the treasury yields and the US dollar further down and give a further boost to equities.   If, however, the CPI print is higher than expected, and God Forbid, higher than last month, then we could see a sharp repricing in favour of a 50bp at the next FOMC meeting.   The market currently gives more than 77% chance for a 25bp hike in February.   In the markets  US equities extended gains yesterday, on hope that softening inflation will further boost the Fed doves. The S&P500 advanced 1.28%, as Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.76% and closed a touch above its 50-DMA. The US 2-year yield is waiting to find direction near its 100-DMA, while the 10-year yield is steady, slightly above the 3.50% level. The US dollar index is testing the 103 support.   Today's US inflation data will help move things, to one side or the other. But keep in mind that there is room for decent hawkish pricing given that the money markets still price that the US interest rates will top around 4.9%, while the Fed officials are struggling to convince investors that they will go above 5%.   One last thing about inflation...  Even if we welcome a soft, and encouraging CPI figure at today's release, I don't think that inflation will be on a smooth downward path this year.   The Chinese reopening, rebound in energy and commodity prices are the major risks to inflation.   Copper futures, a major barometer for economic growth, are up by nearly 13% since the start of the year, and more than 30% since the end-of-September dip, with a stronger case building for a further rally than the contrary – especially after the Chinese return from their New Year break.  Read next: Yesterday S&P 500 and Nasdaq increased by 1.28% and 1.76% respectively. US CPI to be released later today.| FXMAG.COM US crude, on the other hand, rallied more than 4% yesterday, even though the EIA data showed that the US crude inventories jumped by more than 18 mio barrels, and gasoline inventories increased above 4 mio barrels last week.   Released early this morning, the Chinese inflation advanced to 1.8% as expected, but the contraction in producer prices has been slower than what analysts penciled in. With the reopening, the Chinese producer prices will also pick up momentum, and that may become a problem for price prospects for the rest of the world.   Trading dovish Fed expectations via bonds  Softening Fed expectations, combined to mild recession odds should give a more sustainable boost to bonds, before stocks this year – as potential recession will certainly erode corporate profits and cause further headache for stock investors.  Therefore, bonds could be a better option than stocks for trading softer Fed expectations, as stocks will be subject to earnings risk in the coming weeks.
FX Daily: Resuming the Norm – Dollar Gains Momentum as Quarter-End Flows Fade

Tesla (TSLA) gained 3.68%. It was reported that the electric-vehicle maker is close to a preliminary deal to set up a factory in Indonesia that could produce up to one million cars per year

Intertrader Market News Intertrader Market News 12.01.2023 09:30
DAILY MARKET NEWSLETTER January 12, 2023               Pre-Market Session News Sentiment Technical Views           EUR/USD   Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)   Brent (ICE)                 Please note that due to market volatility, some of the key levels may have already been reached and scenarios played out.                     Price Movement Analyst Views Target Pivot   Dax (Eurex) 15,048.00 +45.00 (+0.30%) Read the analysis 15,095.00 14,954.00     FTSE 100 (ICE Europe) 0.00 0.00 (0.00%) Read the analysis 7,755.00 7,703.00     S&P 500 (CME) 3,988.75 -1.25 (-0.03%) Read the analysis 4,008.00 3,966.00     Nasdaq 100 (CME) 11,465.25 -11.25 (-0.10%) Read the analysis 11,540.00 11,375.00     Dow Jones (CME) 34,099.00 -11.00 (-0.03%) Read the analysis 34,330.00 33,830.00     Crude Oil (WTI) 77.54 +0.13 (+0.17%) Read the analysis 78.40 76.40     Gold 1,883.91 +8.22 (+0.44%) Read the analysis 1,892.00 1,872.00                     MARKET WRAP           Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, CommoditiesOn Wednesday, U.S. stocks posted further gains ahead of the closely-watched inflation data that will be released today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 268 points (+0.80%) to 33,973, the S&P 500 rose 50 points (+1.28%) to 3,969, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 196 points (+1.76%) to 11,402.It is widely expected that the U.S. inflation rate eased further to 6.7% on year in December from 7.1% in November.The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped 9.1 basis points to 3.528%.Real estate (+3.6%), retailing (+3.45%), and automobiles (+3.1%) sectors led the market higher.Tesla (TSLA) gained 3.68%. It was reported that the electric-vehicle maker is close to a preliminary deal to set up a factory in Indonesia that could produce up to one million cars per year.At the same time, other electric-vehicle makers Rivian Automotive (RIVN), NIO (NIO),and Lucid Group (LCID) rose 3.83%, 2.4%, and 10.29% respectively.Also, Apple (AAPL) increased 2.11%, Amazon.com (AMZN) rose 5.81%, Alphabet (GOOGL) climbed 3.51%, and Microsoft (MSFT) was up 3.02%.European stocks also closed higher. The DAX 40 rose 1.17%, the CAC 40 increased 0.80%, and the FTSE 100 gained 0.40%.U.S. WTI crude futures advanced $2.50 to $77.61 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Department reported that the latest crude oil stockpiles increased 18.96 million barrels, in contrast to a reduction of 2.24 million barrels expected.Gold price was little changed at $1,876 an ounce.Benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) exceeded $9,000 a tonne for the first time since June on hopes that Chinese demand will rebound.Market Wrap: ForexThe U.S. dollar index was stable at 103.25.EUR/USD climbed 23 pips to 1.0756, a 7-month high.GBP/USD declined 4 pips to 1.2150.USD/JPY added 20 pips to 132.46. AUD/USD rose 20 pips to 0.6909. USD/CHF gained 87 pips to 0.9314, while USD/CAD dipped 2 pips to 1.3424.Bitcoin posted a four-session rally trading at $17,900.Morning TradingIn Asian trading hours, AUD/USD edged up to 0.6920. Government data released this morning showed that Australia's trade surplus totaled 13.2 billion Australian dollars, above 10.9 billion Australian dollars expected.Meanwhile, USD/JPY slid to 131.55.EUR/USD rose further to 1.0768 and GBP/USD climbed to 1.2160.Gold bounced to $1,884.Bitcoin advanced to $18,272.Expected TodayIn the U.S., consumer price index is expected to be up 6.7% on year in December, while weekly initial jobless claims are estimated at 215,000.           UK MARKET NEWS           Tesco, a groceries and general merchandise retailer, reported retail like-for-like sales growth of 6.4% for the 19 weeks to January 7. The company reconfirmed its full-year retail adjusted operating profit guidance of between 2.4 - 2.5 billion pounds.Whitbread, a hotel and restaurant group, posted like-for-like sales growth of 18.3% for the 13 weeks to December 1, 2022, as compared to the prior-year period.Persimmon, a housebuilding company, said as a result of the lower sales rates and elevated cancellations in the second half, and against a strong comparative at the start of 2022, its forward sales position has reduced to 1.0 billion pounds from 1.6 billion pounds in the prior year.Centrica, an energy and services company, said it has continued to deliver strong operational performance from its balanced portfolio since its prior trading update in November, and currently expect to report full-year adjusted EPS of above 30 pence.Auto & Parts, food & beverages and telecom shares fell most in London on Tuesday.From a relative strength vs FTSE 100 point of view, Ashtead Group (+0.75% to 5102p) crossed above its 50-day moving average.From a technical point of view, BP (+0.73% to 478.55p), Croda International (+1.95% to 6906p) crossed above their 50-day moving average.           ECONOMIC CALENDAR           Time Event Forecast Importance   08:30 Inflation Rate MoM (Dec) -0.1% HIGH     08:30 Core Inflation Rate MoM (Dec) 0.2% HIGH     08:30 Inflation Rate YoY (Dec) 6.7% HIGH     08:30 Core Inflation Rate YoY (Dec) 5.8% HIGH     08:30 Initial Jobless Claims (Jan/07) 215k MEDIUM     08:30 CPI (Dec) 298 MEDIUM     08:30 Jobless Claims 4-week Average (Jan/07) 214.5k LOW     08:30 Continuing Jobless Claims (Dec/31) 1.691M LOW     10:30 EIA Natural Gas Stocks Change (Jan/06)   LOW     11:30 8-Week Bill Auction   LOW     11:30 4-Week Bill Auction   LOW     12:00 Quarterly Grain Stocks - Corn (Dec) 11.153B LOW     12:00 Quarterly Grain Stocks - Soy (Dec) 3.132B LOW     12:00 Quarterly Grain Stocks - Wheat (Dec) 1.344B LOW     12:00 WASDE Report   LOW     13:00 30-Year Bond Auction   LOW     14:00 Monthly Budget Statement (Dec) -73B MEDIUM                                     NEWS SENTIMENT           HSBC Holdings PLC HSBA : LSE 569.60 GBp +0.76% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Deutsche Bank AG DBK : XETRA 11.698 EUR +1.77% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Barclays PLC BARC : LSE 173.54 GBp +0.65% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Standard Chartered PLC STAN : LSE 687.40 GBp -2.52% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   Volkswagen AG VOW : XETRA 162.40 EUR +1.72% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Very Negative       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                                   AstraZeneca PLC AZN : LSE 11,634.00 GBp -0.65% In the last 5 days         NEWS SENTIMENT (24H) Positive       TECHNICAL SCORE Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term                           TECHNICAL VIEWS           EUR/USD Intraday: the upside prevails.   Pivot: 1.0740   Our preference: Long positions above 1.0740 with targets at 1.0785 & 1.0800 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Below 1.0740 look for further downside with 1.0725 & 1.0710 as targets.   Comment: The RSI shows upside momentum.                     Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurex)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: bullish bias above 4089.00.   Pivot: 4089.00   Our preference: Long positions above 4089.00 with targets at 4131.00 & 4157.00 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Below 4089.00 look for further downside with 4070.00 & 4053.00 as targets.   Comment: Investors have to remain cautious since these levels may trigger profit taking.                     Brent (ICE)‎ (H3)‎ Intraday: the bias remains bullish.   Pivot: 81.80   Our preference: Long positions above 81.80 with targets at 83.40 & 84.40 in extension.   Alternative scenario: Below 81.80 look for further downside with 80.85 & 80.00 as targets.   Comment: Even though a continuation of the consolidation cannot be ruled out, its extent should be limited.        
There’s still life in the US jobs market, but challenges are mounting

Currencies: US dollar index can decrease to 101.41. What is the alternative scenario?

Jing Ren Jing Ren 12.01.2023 12:07
DXY: Triple ZigZag Pattern Likely To Complete Near 101.41. The DXY index chart shows the end of the global corrective trend, which took the form of a triple zigzag consisting of five main cycle waves w-x-y-x-z. Thus, the market may currently be at the beginning of the first part of a major bearish trend. It is assumed that the bears form a triple zigzag pattern Ⓦ-Ⓧ-Ⓨ-Ⓧ-Ⓩ. It seems that the sub-waves Ⓦ-Ⓧ-Ⓨ-Ⓧ have already been completed. In the near future, the price is expected to continue falling in the primary wave Ⓩ. Its end is possible near 101.41. At that level, it will be at 76.4% of wave Ⓨ. The wave Ⓩ itself is also similar to an intermediate triple zigzag. Let's consider an alternative scenario in which the formation of a cycle triple zigzag will continue. The wave z may take the form of a zigzag Ⓐ-Ⓑ-Ⓒ, where the first impulse Ⓐ and the correction Ⓑ in the form of an intermediate double zigzag are already completed. The entire wave z can complete its pattern near 115.16. At that level, it will be at the 61.8% Fibonacci extension of wave y. The first target is located at the previous high of 107.20, where a small fourth correction of the minute degree was marked.
FX Daily: Hawkish Riksbank can lift the krona today

US inflation reaches 6.5%, jobless claims hit 205K. What about next Fed rate hike?

Ed Moya Ed Moya 12.01.2023 21:30
US stocks initially rallied as inflation continues to ease and as Fed members are clearly signaling a smaller tightening pace going forward.  The dollar also headed lower as a subdued inflation report should let the Fed slow their hiking pace again. It became clear fairly quickly that stocks would not hold onto initial gains as we will likely remain being data-dependent going forward. The labor market is still hot and much of the relief we saw with energy prices appears to be going away this month. CPI Wall Street is feeling more confident about another downshift in tightening by the Fed after a pivotal inflation report showed pricing pressures continue to cool. Disinflation trends are clearly intact as cheaper energy costs helped deliver the first month-over-month decline in 2 ½ years.  The headline CPI index cooled from 7.1% to 6.5% as gasoline prices tumbled. Gasoline prices fell 9.4% on a monthly basis and declined 1.5% from a year ago. New and used vehicles also posted declines from a month ago, while shelter and apparel posted strong gains. Shelter prices take the longest to cool, so many traders are not too worried about the 0.8% monthly gain. As expected, core CPI on a monthly basis edged higher for a modest 0.3% gain. Inflation isn’t broadly coming down, but it is cooling as the economy starts to feel the impact of the Fed’s earlier rate hikes. Claims The Fed almost had a perfect economic day, but weekly jobless claims continues to support the idea that labor market will keep wage pressures alive. Initial jobless claims were little changed after the prior week saw a modest revision lower. Claims fell 1,000 to 205,000, verse an expected increase to 215,000. Everyone is expecting claims to rise but seasonality typically distorts this data set in January. Until we see strong signs the labor market is cooling, the Fed will keep suggesting a rate hike could be coming. Read next: At the moment, we see numerous factors that have a negative impact on S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite – lowering money supply in the US and increasing interest rate environment to name a few| FXMAG.COM Fed Yesterday’s Fed comment by Collins that she’s leaning toward supporting a quarter-point interest rate hike is looking like it could become the consensus view. Fed’s Harker also joined the 25 bp pace camp and signaled that they could raise rates a few more times this year.  Harker’s comments are what moved the market as it clearly outlines what the Fed’s path playbook will be for the rest of the year.  The Fed appears poised to deliver a 25 bp rate hike at the February 1st meeting, then be data-dependent for the February and March meetings.  Oil Crude prices extended gains after the dollar weakened as inflation slowed for a sixth straight month.  This inflation report supports the idea that the Fed could be close to done with raising rates soon and that the US economy might avoid or see only a shallow recession.  Oil has been rallying on China’s reopening momentum and now that they stopped reporting COVID tally data, traders are focusing on satellite images. China could face a difficult surge over the Lunar New Year holiday period, but for now energy traders are locked into the potential upside risks to demand.  WTI crude has initial resistance at the $80 a barrel level and that could hold as the weaker dollar trade might have been exhausted.  Gold Gold prices tested the $1900 level after inflation cooled again and confirmed what everyone was already thinking the Fed would do going forward.  Gold has been steadily climbing since November, but it could be running out of momentum right now.  The dollar might be poised for a short-term rebound that could weigh gold down.  Gold needs to have a daily close above the $1900 level to pave the way for another move higher.  Bitcoin Bitcoin made a run towards the $18,500 level after inflation slowed for a sixth straight month.  The nearing of the end of Fed tightening gave risky assets an initial boost, but that is quickly fading away.  Bitcoin was unable to break the $18,500 barrier, which suggests price might remain trapped in the trading range that has been in place over the past couple of months.   This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Volatile session after another cool CPI report, Fed’s Harker/Collins support another downshift, Claims suggest labor still too strong, Oil rallies on weaker dollar, Gold tests $1900, Bitcoin nears $18,500 - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Banks intensify the squeeze on US growth prospects

US dollar: Fed's James Bullard, Thomas Barkin and Patrick Harker talk interest rates and inflation

Michael Hewson Michael Hewson 13.01.2023 08:49
Yesterday's US CPI report for December, while positive for the narrative that inflation is falling back sharply, as well as reinforcing the belief that the Fed will implement another downshift in the pace of their rate hiking cycle to 25bps, also presents the FOMC with a problem. It is welcome that headline inflation has fallen back again, along with core prices, however given that most of the decline came as a result of sharp declines in gasoline prices, there is a risk that the market is missing the wood for the trees and becoming complacent that this trend can continue. The markets still appear to be pricing the prospect of a rate cut this year, with the sharp fall in 2-year yields presenting a huge problem for the central bank's credibility in not allowing financial conditions to loosen too much. If that were to happen inflation could well take off again, and while Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, who is a voting member, said that a step down to 25bps was now appropriate, we haven't heard any Fed official argue for a terminal rate that is anywhere below 5.25%. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin was slightly more equivocal, saying that inflation was still way too high, while also arguing that the Fed can afford to slow the pace. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he was still in favour of getting rates above 5% as soon as possible and front-loading rate hikes, in a clear sign that splits were starting to open up about the future size of a move in February. The market appears to have already made up its mind that they are getting 25bps, with the potential for a pause in March, which at this point seems somewhat premature with such a tight labour market. Read next: CMC Markets' Michael Hewson comments on markets and Forex pairs EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP and more | FXMAG.COM Nonetheless the fact that inflationary pressure has continued to slow also had a positive effect on markets in Europe which continued their strong start to the year yesterday. The FTSE100 had yet another strong session and has risen by over 4.5% since the start of the year buoyed by strong gains from retailers and housebuilders, as the UK blue chip index looks to close in on the record highs of 7,903 set back in 2018, briefly pushing above 7,800 and, closing at a 4-year high. The DAX also had a strong session, closing above 15,000 for the first time since February last year, The strong start to the year appears to be a result of a combination of falling prices, warmer weather, and better than expected trading statements from a host of companies, after the widespread pessimism that characterised a lot of the narrative in the lead up to Christmas. Of course, challenges still remain, not least what happens to commodity prices as the Chinese economy reopens. This morning's China trade numbers merely serve to showcase the damage done by the various restrictions, lockdowns, and the relaxation that caused the virus to let rip in December. This decision to let the virus rip through a largely unvaccinated population is likely to have consequences over the next few months, which could act as a brake on Q1 economic activity, as we look towards Chinese New Year at the end of this month. As for the December trade numbers, exports were expected to slow by -12%, and imports set to decline by -10%. Today's actual numbers came in at -7.5% for imports and -9.9% for exports, more or less guaranteeing an economic contraction for the Chinese economy in next week's Q4 GDP numbers. While the numbers were slightly better than expected and will improve in January they still point to an economy that is experiencing with significant economic disruption as a result of the virus. This morning we get the latest November GDP numbers for the UK economy, which are expected to point to the UK economy already being in a modest recession. With the economy contracting in Q3, it is quite likely we might see a further contraction in Q4. Monthly GDP in October rose by 0.5%, although on a rolling 3-month basis the economy contracted by -0.3%. This rolling 3-month figure isn't expected to change in this morning's November numbers with another figure of -0.3%, while the monthly number is expected to decline by -0.2%. All sectors of the economy are forecast to show a contraction in November, manufacturing and industrial production are expected to slow by -0.2%, construction output by -0.3% and index of services of -0.1%. This is perhaps why the pound has underperformed in recent days, in that markets feel the Bank of England doesn't have as much scope to raise rates given how fragile the UK economy appears to be, with both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank considered to have more headroom. EUR/USD – moved through the June highs at 1.0787, opening up the prospect of a move towards 1.0950 which is a 50% retracement of the move from the 2021 highs to last year's lows at 0.9536. A move through 1.0950 opens up a move towards 1.1110. GBP/USD – moved above the 1.2200 area, but the rallies aren't convincing, despite the recovery off 1.1830/35. The next big resistance lies at the 1.2350 area. We need to hold above the 1.2000 area for further gains to unfold. EUR/GBP – looks set for a move through the 0.8870/80 area, which could see a move towards 0.9000. Support remains at the lows this week at 0.8770/80 area. A move below 0.8770 opens a move back to the 50-day SMA at 0.8700. USD/JPY – the move below 129.50 looks set to see further losses towards 126.50 which is the 50% retracement of the up move from 101.18 to the highs at 151.95. Resistance remains back at the highs of last week at 134.80. Above 135.00 targets a move towards 138.00. FTSE100 is expected to open 12 points higher at 7,806 DAX is expected to open unchanged at 15,058 CAC40 is expected to open 3 points higher at 6,978 Email: marketcomment@cmcmarkets.com Follow CMC Markets on Twitter: @cmcmarkets Follow Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst) on Twitter: @mhewson_CMC To stop receiving market commentary emails from Michael Hewson, please reply to this email with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line. CMC Markets is an execution-only service provider. The material (whether or not it states any opinions) is for general information purposes only and does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by CMC Markets or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. Although we are not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, we do not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination
Federal Reserve splits highlighted by May FOMC minutes

According to ING outlook for US economy doesn't look promising. Fed will cut rates in the second half of the year

ING Economics ING Economics 13.01.2023 08:59
US inflation shows price pressures are easing, yet in an environment of a strong jobs market, the Federal Reserve will be wary of calling the top in interest rates. A 25bp hike in February is likely with a further 25bp in March. Inflation will slow even more meaningfully in 2Q though, with the prospects for 2H rate cuts looking strong as recession bites hard Source: Shutterstock Inflation clearly slowing December US CPI has come in exactly in line with expectations at -0.1%MoM/6.5%YoY for headline and 0.3%MoM/5.7YoY for core. The deceleration continues after headline had peaked at 9.1% year-on-year in June and core at 6.6% YoY in September. We still aren’t below the 0.17% month-on-month threshold that over time would get us to the Fed’s 2% YoY target, but the last three months of data are a notable step down from the 0.5-0.6% MoM average seen through the second and third quarters of 2022, giving the Fed justification to raise rates by 25bp from now on. Core MoM inflation readings and the key 0.17% MoM threshold to get to 2% Source: Macrobond, ING Shelter remain the main upside influence, but that will soon change Shelter remains strong at 0.8% MoM, but with house prices having fallen through the second half of 2022 and rents now topping out nationally, that will slow rapidly from the second quarter of this year onwards. New (-0.1% MoM) and used vehicles (2.5%) are falling and that will intensify in the months ahead as demand falters and production continues to rise thanks to improved supply chains. Medical care (+0.1%) will also remain depressed by the BLS medical insurance cost calculations through to September having risen 0.4-0.8% MoM pretty consistently through 2022. Zillow observed monthly rents $ Source: Macrobond, ING   The Fed has emphasised services ex shelter given the importance of wage costs in what remains a tight jobs market. The story here looks fine too with airline fares falling and recreation rising just 0.2% MoM with education/communication up 0.1% MoM. Apparel was the strongest component outside housing, rising 0.5%. As such it looks as though housing is the main issue keeping core CPI above that important 0.17% threshold. That will soon change so we believe there is enough here for the Fed to opt for a 25bp hike in February – Fed voter Pat Harker suggested such a move “will be appropriate going forward” immediately after the release. Nonetheless, given the strength of the jobs market, officials will remain cautious and likely heavily hint at a further 25bp hike in March. 5% Fed funds top by March We think that will mark the top for rates (5% Fed funds ceiling) with housing, vehicles, medical and weak corporate pricing power allowing inflation to moderate more significantly through the second quarter. In this regard, the National Federation of Independent Business produces a series for the proportion of businesses expecting to raise their prices over the coming quarter. It is collapsing as worries about the economy intensify. The chart below points to core inflation (both PCE deflator and core CPI) dropping to somewhere between 2-3% YoY by late summer. NFIB survey points to steep decline in core inflation pressures over the summer Source: Macrobond, ING But meaningful rate cuts in the second half are our base case With both the manufacturing and service sector ISMs in contraction territory, the National Federation of Independent Business optimism survey below the low point hit in the pandemic and the Conference Board’s measure of CEO confidence at its weakest level since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis the prospects for the economy are not looking good. As such we are strongly of the view that with inflation slowing rapidly and recession looking inevitable the second half will witness meaningful rate cuts, possibly as much as 100bp. Read this article on THINK TagsUS Interest rates Inflation Federal Reserve CPI Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Analysis Of The USD/CNH Pair By Economist Lee Sue Ann And Markets Strategist Quek Ser Leang At UOB Group

Forex: USDCNH may reach 7.37? What could be the alternative scenario?

Jing Ren Jing Ren 13.01.2023 10:09
USDCNH: The Market Is Preparing For Bullish Growth In A New Wave. In the long term, the USDCNH pair is expected to form a large double zigzag consisting of three cycle sub-waves w-x-y. The actionary wave w took the form of a standard zigzag. The bearish intervening wave x may be fully constructed, since at the moment it is completed by a double zigzag of the primary degree â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž. Thus, in the near future, market participants may expect bullish growth in the actionary wave y. Perhaps it will take the form of a standard zigzag â’¶-â’·-â’¸. Read next: Altcoins: Avalanche increased by over 20% as its developers partnered with Amazon| FXMAG.COM Most likely, we will see the end of the first primary wave â’¶ at the maximum of 7.00, or a little higher. Let's consider an alternative scenario in which the price will move in a downtrend. Perhaps the cycle intervening wave x is not yet complete, most likely, it will take the form of a triple zigzag â“Œ-Ⓧ-â“Ž-Ⓧ-Ⓩ, not a double one. If the actionary wave â“Ž is completed, then a slight increase in the second intervening wave Ⓧ is expected in the near future, after which the fall can be continued in the final primary wave Ⓩ. The approximate level to which the market may collapse is 6.591. It is determined using Fibonacci lines. At that level, wave x will be at 76.4% of wave w.
Apple Q3 2023 Results – Surpassing Expectations and Aiming for New Heights

Japanese yen rose, Canadian dollar increases, Gold gained on the back of the US CPI print

Jing Ren Jing Ren 16.01.2023 08:05
USDJPY falters over Japan’s rising inflation The Japanese yen extended gains as accelerating inflation may pressure the BoJ to act soon. One of the major themes of 2023 could be Japan finally normalising its monetary policy. Consumer prices have been rising steadily nationwide, with the latest CPI in Tokyo reaching 4%, above the central bank's 2% target for seven months in a row. The US dollar’s reversal from its 32-year peak against the yen suggests that the market believes that inflation is not transitory and has shrugged off Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s dovish statements. Last May’s lows around 126.50 is the next support and 134.50 is the immediate resistance. USDCAD struggles on improved risk sentiment The Canadian dollar recovers as markets go risk-off. Domestically, a strong December jobs report gives reason for another rate increase by the Bank of Canada, with a 25 bp hike priced in by the market. However, overall sentiment since the start of the year may carry the risk-sensitive loonie. Outflows from the safe haven US dollar means that higher beta counterparts can enjoy a sustained recovery. Meanwhile, the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, has settled in the green for a few days in a row, offering an effective support to the currency. November’s low at 1.3230 is a key support and 1.3680 is the first resistance. Read next: Lowering The Price Of Electric Vehicles Is Supposed To Be Tesla's Unusual Strategy To Generate Demand In The US Market| FXMAG.COM XAUUSD outperforms softer dollar Bullion strengthened as the US dollar slipped post-CPI. Traders have been repositioning themselves for a more dovish Fed in the coming months, starting with a 25 basis points hike in February. A cool-off in US CPI at a steady pace would eventually make the central bank reconsider its policy stance. The only billion dollar question is when. The US dollar’s sluggish performance has put gold on a springboard. As the dollar bulls locked in profits, traders are wondering whether the current correction would slide into a reversal, which in turn would benefit the precious metal. The price is pointing towards 1930 with 1830 as a fresh support. US 30 bounces as falling CPI rekindles pivot hope The Dow Jones 30 rallies as the market raises its bet of a policy pivot soon amid softer inflation. Despite the Fed’s repeated insistence not to lift the tightening prematurely, investors wager on seeing the terminal rate soon, which says a lot about policymakers’ credibility. A steady fall in consumer prices in December further cemented hopes of a dovish turn by the central bank, possibly at its February meeting. The prospect of interest rates plateauing means that equity markets may see the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least that is what the bulls want to believe. 34800 is the next hurdle and 32800 the first support. Key data release (GMT time) Tuesday, 17 January 07:00 ILO Unemployment Rate Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices 13:30 BoC Consumer Price Index Core Wednesday, 18 January 03:00 BoJ Interest Rate Decision BoJ Press Conference 07:00 Consumer Price Index 13:30 Retail Sales     Thursday, 19 January 00:30 Unemployment Rate   Friday, 20 January 13:30 Retail Sales  
Euro's Rally Stalls as Focus Turns to Inflation and Data Disappointments

US dollar decreased, British pound recovered, DAX gains on the back of risk-on

Jing Ren Jing Ren 16.01.2023 08:37
USDCHF hits resistance The US dollar softened after Fed policymakers cheered the news of easing inflation. On the daily chart, the pair has remained under pressure after a tentative break below last April’s low of 0.9200. The current rebound from this critical level has led to a consolidation. Though the greenback must clear the recent swing high and daily resistance at 0.9400 before it would attract buyers. A bullish reversal could take shape should this happen. Otherwise, renewed selling pressure would send the pair towards 0.9100. EURGBP tests support The pound recouped losses as the UK’s economy avoided a contraction in November. However, overall sentiment still favours the single currency. A break above the higher band (0.8870) of the consolidation range means that the bulls are still in charge of the price action. A pullback would be seen as an opportunity to stake in and join the trend. The previous low of 0.8830 is the first support and further down 0.8770 on the 20-day moving average is a critical floor. 0.8930 from last September’s sell-off is the target. GER 40 grinds higher The Dax 40 extends gains as markets go risk-on post-US inflation. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart confirms increased risk appetite after a rally above last June’s high of 14650. As the RSI repeatedly flirts with overbought territory, a pullback may catch the eye of bullish followers. Another sign of exhaustion comes from the hourly chart where a bearish RSI divergence shows a loss of momentum. 14960 is the immediate support in case the index takes a breather. 15400 at the start of a sharp sell-off in February is the target. Read next: McDonald's Will Be Replaced In Kazakhstan By The Russian Vkusno & Tochka| FXMAG.COM
Federal Reserve splits highlighted by May FOMC minutes

2023 predictions: Euro - all significant factors that pressured the common currency lower against the US dollar in 2022 don’t seem to disappear upon entering 2023

Santa Zvaigzne Sproge Santa Zvaigzne Sproge 13.01.2023 16:07
A year of steep interest rate hiking is behind us. Same time year hardly anybody could have predicted all the factors which made central banks increase interest rates to that high levels making Forex market fluctuate almost all year long. To say the least, in 2022 we've discussed EUR/USD reaching parity! After such a turbulent time, what can we expect from eurodollar, Swiss franc against US dollar, USD/JPY and other Forex pairs? Let's see what are Conotoxia's Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge's predictions for 2023 on the Forex market. What do you expect from the euro and pound in 2023? Euro - all significant factors that pressured the common currency lower against the US dollar in 2022 don’t seem to disappear upon entering 2023 - the worsening of the euro zone's outlook amid the deepening energy crisis and relatively timid interest rate hikes despite the excessive inflation may continue to hold the euro currency around parity with the US dollar. Pound sterling - although recovered slightly from the disastrous fiscal policy announcement that pushed the currency to a record low of 1.04 USD, the pound is not expected to recover to before-2022 levels. Large external financing needs, lower interest rates relative to other major economies, and increasing undersupply of the workforce may hold the pound sterling back. What can we expect from EUR/USD, CHF/USD, USD/JPY, CNY/USD? What macroeconomic and geopolitical factors will be crucial for currencies in 2023? All the above-mentioned currencies are highly affected by the monetary policy of the corresponding central bank as well as the Fed (due to the currency pair involving USD). The Federal Reserve is still maintaining (and expected to maintain until at least mid-2023) a hawkish policy of increasing interest rates and lowering the money supply leading to a stronger US Dollar. For a deeper analysis of the US Dollar from such viewpoints as the reserve currency and petrodollar as well as other valuable insights see Conotoxia Ltd. Yearly Outlook available here. <- put link once posted. EUR/USD: Strong US Dollar in combination with the worsening economic outlook and geopolitical uncertainties in the eurozone may continue to pressure the currency pair to trade around parity. CHF/USD: As the world, and in particular, the eurozone, may enter a recession in 2023, the Swiss economy, with its sizable current account surplus and having its inflation at a much more controlled level (3% in Switzerland vs 7.1% in the US and 10.1% in the EU in November) is possible to attract funds as they flow away from riskier markets giving additional strength to the Swiss currency. Read next: 2023 predictions: At the moment, we see numerous factors that have a negative impact on S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite – lowering money supply in the US and increasing interest rate environment to name a few | FXMAG.COM USD/JPY: Next year may come with perceptible changes in the Bank of Japan’s dovish policy as its current governor’s term is coming to an end on 8 April 2023. The yen may see increased levels of speculation and volatility as the market awaits a potentially more hawkish governor. Pressure on the Japanese Yen may be posed by the worsening trade balance: Japan has been reporting a trade deficit of over 2 trillion JPY each month since August 2022 (the only time before a deficit above 2 trillion JPY was reported in January 2014). USD/CNY: Chinese currency has been appreciating against the US Dollar recently due to the easing of the zero Covid policy but is still under uncertainty as due to the reopening of its economy, China has been experiencing a surge in new Covid cases and hospitalization numbers, which may eventually push China to rethink its policy stance.
EUR/USD: Examples of things that could get the market moving are US treasury yields moving out of the range on data improving or deteriorating

2023 Predictions: EUR/USD will eventually fall once the penny drops that Fed rates will remain above 5% for the year. Ivan Brian talks cryptocurrencies and Forex in 2023

Ivan Brian Ivan Brian 29.12.2022 15:13
Let's have a look at Ivan Cummins' predictions for 2023. In this article you will learn what Chief Equity Analyst at FXStreet expects from fiats - euro, dollar, pound and forex pairs and the leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. How will the price of the most important cryptocurrencies change in 2023 - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin? Please justify the forecast. Slight recovery stabilisation in H2 but still underperform other risk assets such as stocks. H2 will be negative with high rates and a looming recession. Also another looming black swan is probably still to be unveiled. Overall negative outlook for 2023. Which cryptocurrency may turn out to be the "dark horse" of 2023 and bring excessive profits to its owners? None, I think excessive speculation in crypto is now finished. What do you expect from euro and pound in 2023? I expect the Euro to fall below parity. The Euro is a cyclical currency so will hold up in H1but the world faces a recession in late 2023 or 2024 and the Euro will fall as a result Sterling is beset with problems still unwinding from Brexit. IT will continue to lose its investibality status and become less important as a global currency. It will fall 10% versus the Dollar and is unlikely to finish the year positively agaisnt any other major currency save perhaps the Euro if Italian/German spreads blow out. Read next: EUR/USD Pair Remains Within Its Horizontal Trading Range, The Aussie Failed To Break The Resistance At 0.68| FXMAG.COM USD/JPY will move back toward 150 as the BOJ panics in the face of a global recession and sticks at or clsoe to zero rates EUR/USD will eventually fall once the penny drops that Fed rates will remain above 5% for the year. The European economy will not be as bad as feared but the US will still outperform. A strong global recession in late 2023 early 2024 will see haven demand for Dollars increase and lead Euro/USD below parity and lower. USD/JPY will move back toward 150 as the BOJ panics in the face of a global recession and sticks at or clsoe to zero rates. CNY will weaken as the Chinese economy struggles with an overheated property sector and falling global demand for its exports. What macroeconomic and geopolitical factors will be crucial for the dollar in 2023? US economy to avoid recession until 2024 keeping interest rates higher for longer. Stronger than expected European economy to cap Dollar gains until second half of the year.
Forex: What to expect from British pound against US dollar - January 17th

Forex: What to expect from British pound against US dollar - January 17th

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 17.01.2023 08:22
Yesterday the price formed a black candlestick with the upper long shadow. The pound's hopes to climb to the target level of 1.2410 is undermined, though it is possible to speak about it more confidently once the price has settled below 1.2155 (low of May 13).     The mood of the Marlin oscillator is neutral - the signal line is moving along the zero line. GBP will rise once it crosses yesterday's high at 1.2288. In this case, the 1.2410 target will become relevant again.     There is a double divergence on the four-hour chart. This is an additional argument in representing the trend as a fading local growth with a reversal to a short-term decline, to the nearest target at 1.1933. Relevance up to 04:00 2023-01-18 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/332439
FX Daily: Euro’s attractiveness on the rise

Forex: What can we expect from Euro against US dollar - January 17th

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 17.01.2023 08:43
As we expected in yesterday's review, due to the US holiday, the euro moved sideways, confirming the consolidation above the target range of 1.0758/87. But over the past 24 hours important nuances appeared, while the main idea of the price breakdown of t1.0990 is preserved.     Our traditional Marlin oscillator still has the potential to form a renewed flat divergence, which is marked with a dotted line, and the so-called slow Marlin managed to form a traditional divergence, which increases the probability of a price reversal from the current levels. This will be confirmed once the price crosses the lower limit of the support range at 1.0758/87. Crossing yesterday's high at 1.0874 will push the pair to rise towards the target at 1.0990.     On the four-hour chart, under the pressure of a double divergence, the signal line went under the zero line, into the area of the downtrend. Now the price will be under pressure in the short-term. On the current chart, we see that crossing the lower limit of the range at 1.0758 coincides with crossing the MACD indicator line, and this will enhance the signal for further downward movement. We wait for the development of events. Relevance up to 04:00 2023-01-18 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/332441
US Flash, that is to say preliminary, PMI for April came in at a better-than-expected 50.4 versus a downwardly revised 49.2 in March and a forecast 49

US Data, and the Disinflation Narrative

Jing Ren Jing Ren 19.01.2023 15:16
After months of inflation coming in way above the Fed's target, the latest releases show a different trend. US monthly CPI figures for December showed a drop in prices, largely aided by energy prices. Yesterday, producer prices came in much more negative than expected. If inflation is bad, then the opposite would be good, right? Not so much. The opposite of inflation is deflation, and it can be just as bad for the economy as inflation. Particularly in the case of the US, where the Fed has never had to deal with runaway inflation. High inflation, yes; but hyperinflation like experienced in Europe in the last century, for example, has not happened. What the Fed did have to deal with up until the US left the gold standard, were bouts of deflation. And, as such, the Fed tends to be more worried about deflation than inflation. The warning signs More immediately for traders, however, deflation is an important warning sign. Increasing economic activity typically translates into growing prices; and the reverse, slowing economic activity typically translates into deflation. Looking at yesterday's data, the surprise deflationary PPI came along with a surprise drop in retail sales and industrial production. The data was expected to be negative, but it was a lot more negative than expected. A similar vein is expected in the coming data to be released later today and tomorrow relating to the largest component of the American economy: Housing. Home prices have been on the backfoot as rising interest rates have made buying houses much more expensive. But, over the last few weeks, interest rates have been coming down, including the average mortgage rate. What are the projections Despite the lower costs to buy, housing starts are expected to continue to fall, forecast at 1.36M compared to 1.43M in November. Typically in the winter, homes sell slower, but the expected slowdown is much faster than what is typical of the season. Existing home sales are also expected to continue its descent to 3.96M compared to 4.09M in November. In the wake of the latest data, the dollar slid compared to other pairs as the US benchmark bond rates slid, hitting the lowest level since last September. The greenback was at its worst level since May of last year. Which brings us back to the potential Fed reaction. Which way are we going? This shift in price trends is happening in the middle of a market debate over whether the Fed will raise rates and keep them high, or there will be a pivot and the Fed will cut rates. Traditionally, the Fed is much quicker to cut rates to head off potential deflation than it is to raise rates to counter inflation. In the end, the Fed does want there to be some (controlled) inflation. For now, the deflation has shown up in the headline CPI figure and PPI, which aren't the key metrics used by the Fed to determine rates. Some volatility in the headline inflation number is understandable, particularly when the Fed is trying to lower inflation. But if this is the first sign that negative inflation numbers will become the norm, then it could increase the chances of a Fed rate cut in the near future.
Forex: On Friday US dollar against Japanese yen increased by 0.9%

Japanese yen: judging from Kenny Fisher's words, Bank of Japan action is not about "if"

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 19.01.2023 22:31
The Japanese yen has edged higher on Thursday, after showing strong volatility a day earlier. In the North American session, USD/JPY is trading at 128.48, down 0.32%. There was plenty of anticipation ahead of the Bank of Japan meeting on Wednesday, with speculation that the central bank would follow up on the December meeting and change its policy settings. In the end, the BoJ defied market expectations and maintained policy. After the announcement, the yen dropped as much as 2.6% but pared most of those losses. The BoJ may have got the last laugh (for now) against speculators with its non-move, but that doesn’t change the big picture. A shift in the BoJ’s ultra-loose policy appears to be a matter of when rather than if, given that inflation is hovering at its highest level in 41 years. The markets expect to get another confirmation that inflation is rising, with the release of Tokyo CPI later today. The headline figure is expected to climb to 4.4% in December, up from 3.8% in November, while the core rate is projected to accelerate to 4.0%, following a 3.7% gain. The BOJ has insisted that inflation is transitory, but this stance is becoming harder to defend as inflation continues to rise and shows no sign of peaking. Read next: European Central Bank's President Christine Lagarde warns, but...| FXMAG.COM Mixed US data US numbers were a mix today. Unemployment claims sparkled, falling from 205,000 to 190,000 and beating the forecast of 214,000. The US labor market remains robust and is a critical factor in enabling the Fed to remain hawkish and continue raising interest rates. The manufacturing sector, however, is looking dismal. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index came in at -8.9, its seventh decline in the past eight months. This follows a dismal read from the Empire State Manufacturing Index earlier this week, which fell to -32.9 in December, down from -11.2 in November. USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY is testing support at 128.40. The next support line is 127.13 There is resistance at 129.40 and 131.33 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Yen edges higher ahead of Tokyo CPI - MarketPulseMarketPulse
There’s still life in the US jobs market, but challenges are mounting

The US GDP is released shortly. 2.5% print is expected. Support for eurodollar amounts to 1.078

Michael Hewson Michael Hewson 26.01.2023 13:26
European markets underwent another modestly negative session yesterday, weighed down by negativity from the other side of the Atlantic after US investors reacted negatively to a weak outlook from Microsoft. The Nasdaq 100 led the way lower initially, pulling sharply away from its 200-day SMA, however a late rebound saw the index close well off the lows of the day after the Bank of Canada raised rates by 25bps, as well as signalling a rate pause for the next few meetings, as they assess the impact of multiple rate hikes on the Canadian economy. It appears that markets reacted to this announcement on the basis that the Federal Reserve might look to do something similar when they meet next Wednesday, given that US markets turned around off their lows after the Canada rate decision was announced. This would be a huge assumption and could well end in tears next week. We certainly won't have to wait long to find out. Having seen Microsoft disappoint on guidance, attention quickly shifted to the next set of earnings numbers, notably Tesla after the bell, where we saw a similar focus on margins and guidance. As a result of yesterday's rebound in US markets, European markets look set to open higher this morning as we look ahead to today's US Q4 GDP.   Having started the first half of last year with two successive quarters of negative GDP growth, the US economy saw a return to positive GDP growth in Q3, of 3.2%, after a late upgrade from, 2.9% at the end of last year, with personal consumption coming in at 2.3%, a decent improvement on the 2% seen in Q2, and a significant improvement on the first iteration which only came in at 1.4%. Read next: McDonald's earnings: Currently, it is anticipated by several analysts that the EPS forecast for the quarter ending December 2022 is $2.44 | FXMAG.COM The upward revision higher came about as a result of a rebound in consumer spending, as well as higher government spending. As we look towards today's first iteration of Q4 GDP is seems quite likely that we'll see a slowdown from the strong performance in Q3. Expectations are for a modest slide to 2.5%, although with signs in recent months that consumer spending is slowing you might think that there could be considerable downside risks to that estimate. Despite these concerns the estimates for personal consumption are for an increase from 2.3% to 2.8%. Quarterly core PCE is expected to fall sharply to 3.9% from 4.7%.  Weekly jobless claims are also in focus after slipping to 190k last week and matching the lows seen last September. The slide in claims since the 241k peak in November suggests that the US labour market is still very tight, with little indication despite the recent announcements around job losses across the tech sector that the jobs market is deteriorating. That doesn't mean however that what we're starting to see in tech won't ripple out across the rest of the economy in due course. Expectations are for claims to edge higher to 205k.   EUR/USD – continues to range between the highs this week at 1.0927, and wider resistance at the 1.0950 area which is 50% retracement of the move from the 2021 highs to last year's lows at 0.9536. A move through 1.0950 opens up a move towards 1.1110. Support remains back at the 1.0780 area. GBP/USD – rebounded from the 1.2260 area yesterday retesting 1.2400 in the process. We need to see a move through the 1.2450 area to target further gains. Above 1.2450 could see a move towards 1.2600. A move below 1.2250 could see a move towards 1.2170.  EUR/GBP – pulled back from the 0.8850 area yesterday with resistance at the previous highs at 0.8900. Still have support above the 50- and 100-day SMA which we saw last week at the 0.8720/30 area. Below 0.8720 targets 0.8680. USD/JPY – slid back from trend line resistance from the October highs, which now sits at 131.00, earlier this week. Further declines could see a return to the lows at 127.20. We have interim support at the 128.20 area initially. FTSE100 is expected to open 19 points higher at 7,764 DAX is expected to open 88 points higher at 15,169 CAC40 is expected to open 36 points higher at 7,080 Email: marketcomment@cmcmarkets.com Follow CMC Markets on Twitter: @cmcmarkets Follow Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst) on Twitter: @mhewson_CMC To stop receiving market commentary emails from Michael Hewson, please reply to this email with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line. CMC Markets is an execution-only service provider. The material (whether or not it states any opinions) is for general information purposes only and does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by CMC Markets or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. Although we are not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, we do not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination
Brazilian President suggesting replacing US dollar with own currencies of developing countries

Whereas a year ago, inflation was at a 50 year high, and double figures were being approached, inflation in the United States had declined to 6.5 percent in December

Gary Thomson Gary Thomson 25.01.2023 22:42
According to Gary Thompson (FXOpen UK), lower print of the US GDP could make GBPUSD even more volatile. The expected print is 2.6%. FXMAG.COM: USA GDP is the big one this week, what asset could benefit the most from the lower/higher-than-expected print? Are you of the opinion GDP will be seriously taken into consideration by FED?  Gary Thomson, Chief Operating Officer at FXOpen UK: The forthcoming announcement which will reveal the GDP for the fourth quarter of 2022 in the United States is a very interesting metric specifically because this is the period of last year during which the previously rapidly increasing inflation rate actually slowed down, stopped and inflation began to reduce. Whereas a year ago, inflation was at a 50 year high, and double figures were being approached, inflation in the United States had declined to 6.5 percent in December. The reducing levels of inflation began in October, and by November 2022 the inflation rate was standing at 7.1 percent, therefore looking quite healthy compared to mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, inflation remains at approximately 10%. Therefore, the Federal Reserve Bank may be unperturbed and not concerned with either reducing or increasing interest rates, largely because the inflation levels are now far lower than previously, but the economy is still slowing, therefore a conservative view may be taken. Read next: Trump Returns To Social Media, Meta Will Restore The Former President's Account| FXMAG.COM The labor productivity of the United States' workforce will be interesting during this period which shows strength in the US economy compared to its European counterparts, but of course lower inflation in the US means that North American companies need to pay more to their European suppliers and subsidiaries as the inflation remains high in those regions by comparison, potentially affecting corporate revenues. Therefore, GBPUSD values may be worth watching, as the British Pound has been very volatile against the Dollar recently and a lower GDP figure may exacerbate this. It is entirely possible that the overall economy may have actually slowed during the fourth quarter of 2022, and one particular forecast alludes to that already. Tomorrow, officials are expected to report that US GDP grew by 2.6 percent in the three months to December 31, according to a Bloomberg poll of economists, which, if this turns out to be correct, would represent a move lower from the 3.2 percent in the third quarter.
FX Daily: Hawkish Riksbank can lift the krona today

US dollar: judging from Jing Ren's words, 25bp Fed rate hike by is almost cemented

Jing Ren Jing Ren 26.01.2023 12:48
Amidst all the debate of whether the US is heading into a recession this year, we get the first look at last year's GDP figures. This could be the biggest market moving event of the week, especially if expectations are not met. And there is something of a wide range of forecasts. The Fed's GDPNow tool is saying it will be 3.5%, while the consensus among economists is that it will be 2.6%. That compares to the prior quarter's revised 3.2% result. But it's important to remember that just as a country can have a "technical recession", it can have "technical growth" as well. One of the main drivers for third quarter GDP growth was an unexpected decline in imports. Meaning that the trade calculation contributed to GDP, but only because Americans were buying less. It's all inflation's fault Given the context of high inflation at the time, it's logical Americans were buying less. At the time, the dollar was relatively strong, meaning that imports constituted deflationary pressures. Since then, the dollar has gotten weaker in anticipation that the Fed will stop raising rates. That means imported goods have increased in price, which could technically support a growing GDP figure. The other interesting factor is that a recent review of leading indicators by the Conference Board showed that all segments of the US economy were decreasing except for two. Those were employment and personal consumption. The unemployment rate remains remarkably low, just a couple decimals off a multi-decade low. But that is likely because it's still dislocated from covid. Where's the money coming from? Turning to address the personal consumption factor, Americans have been spending down their savings of late. More worrisome for the long-term resilience of the economy, they have been taking on increasing amounts of debt. Major US banks pointed this out in their latest earnings, as deposits have diminished. Concurrently, net charge-offs (a measure of distressed debt) have been creeping higher, as Americans struggle to pay for their credit cards. Read next: McDonald's earnings: Currently, it is anticipated by several analysts that the EPS forecast for the quarter ending December 2022 is $2.44 | FXMAG.COM The head of JPMorgan, who's rather pessimistic about the economic future of the US, pointed to the rate of savings among his bank's customers is dwindling and would run out by October of this year. If interest rates remain high, it would be much harder for people to take on debt to continue spending. The largest driver of the US economy, and one of only two positive sectors at the moment, is dwindling. Gauging the market reaction The market might not particularly like a good GDP figure, since that would imply the Fed could keep hiking in order to tame inflation. But, even if that hurts stocks, it could give the dollar a bit of a boost. Meanwhile, a disappointing figure could give the markets some relief over rate hikes, as it could be interpreted as a sign that the Fed's forecasts are a little too optimistic, and they might even have to cut rates in the near future. The Fed meets next week, and there is a pretty solid consensus that there will be just a 25bps hike. This is the last major data point before the meeting, because January NFP figures won't be released until the Friday after the FOMC. Therefore this data could be pivotal for expectations for the Fed.
According to Althea Spinozzi, it's clear that inflation remains Fed most significant focus

There doesn't seem to be any reason for decoupling currently, with Bitcoin expected to mirror the price action of major US equities, namely the Nasdaq and S&P 500

M4Markets Analysis M4Markets Analysis 23.01.2023 13:39
FXMAG.COM team asked M4Markets to share their thoughts on the Eurozone inflation and European Central Bank interest rate decision, Bitcoin, Microsoft and Tesla earnings. M4Markets: From the last ECB meeting minutes, there is a stronger contingent looking for higher rates. Headline inflation came down from 10.10% to 9.20%, but that tends to be volatile, so the ECB doesn't pay as much attention to the headline figure as it does to the core. And core expanded from 5.0% to 5.2% year-on-year, so there would be even more reason to hike than the last meeting.  Given the high inflation, the main reason for the ECB not to raise rates as much would be lingering concerns about the impact on the Eurozone economy. As long as the economic indicators are positive and core inflation remains elevated, the ECB will likely be more inclined towards 50 bps or even 75 bps hikes. Note that European rates are still 2.0%, or 200 bps, behind the Fed's.  Bitcoin had given back some of its spectacular gains, but its price its still elevated. What do you expect from the leading crypto in the near future? Crypto has largely been responding to the actions of central banks, as would be expected of a relatively high-risk asset. There doesn't seem to be any reason for decoupling currently, with Bitcoin expected to mirror the price action of major US equities, namely the Nasdaq and S&P 500.  Read next: Bitget analyst about the US GDP: In my opinion, we will see higher GDP than expected 2% - in Q3 and Q4 revisions we’ve seen stronger economic momentum than expected | FXMAG.COM The recent 40% surge in BTC has recovered more than the loss suffered in the aftermath of the FTX scandal and could continue to follow the general risk-on-risk-off trend as the event is now fully dismissed. With the Fed expected to slow hiking and pause in the near future, BTC could get some more backing as the dollar weakens through the winter. Corrections must be expected, though, as we near last summer's high of $25200. Some big names report earnings soon. What do you expect from Microsoft and Tesla? Microsoft has been quite active lately, announcing a deal to invest in ChatGPT and reducing its workforce to cut costs. So there will likely be much attention on additional financial details about how these moves will affect the company. The issue is if there will be an impact on guidance since Microsoft typically provides it for the coming quarter.  Tesla is still all about deliveries, so the main thing would be to see if there has been any change in sales numbers due to the recently announced price cut. And then to see how much that might revise guidance. There has been much anticipation for a potential announcement of another Gigafactory, potentially in Mexico, and if that isn't announced, it could lead to further disappointment.
Australian dollar against US dollar - "It seems that the currency will soon hit a price above 0.68"

Australia: It is better to be prepared for lower data and a slowdown in CPI to 7.2-7.3%

Alex Kuptsikevich Alex Kuptsikevich 24.01.2023 15:38
Let's hear from Alex Kuptsikevich, Senior Financial Analyst at FxPro, who answers FXMAG.COM team questions. We asked Alex about Australian CPI, UK PMIs, British pound and the US GDP. This week Australian CPI goes public what do you expect from the print and the RBA decision on February 7th? On average, market analysts expect inflation to accelerate to 7.5%. It is better to be prepared for lower data and a slowdown in CPI to 7.2-7.3%. The Australian dollar has risen more than 14% from its October lows, helping to reduce external price pressures. Also worth noting is the 14.6k drop in employment in December and the stubborn unemployment rate of 3.5% for the past six months. In other words, the labour market needs to do more to accelerate inflation. At the same time, the construction market has been in steady decline since October 2021, which is a significant negative signal for the economy. As in most developed countries, such a disposition could already be working towards lower annual price growth. If we are right, AUDUSD could give back some of January's gains as the market reassesses the outlook for monetary policy. The weak data reinforced the double top formation signal in the GBPUSD The UK PMI indices recorded another month of declining activity. However, the rise in the manufacturing PMI from 45.3 to 46.7 suggests that the rate of decline is slowing. The services PMI fell from 49.9 to 48.0, clearly indicating that the recession is spreading to the broader economy. The CBI's industrial orders balance was also a nasty surprise, falling from -6 to -17, the lowest since February 2021. The weak data reinforced the double top formation signal in the GBPUSD, which is turning lower for the second time since mid-December as it approaches 1.2450. Traders are likely betting that the Bank of England will struggle to maintain the pace of policy tightening in light of the economic data released. This is not for nothing, given the reversal in the inflation trend. Read next: The Aussie Pair Is Above 0.70$, GBP/USD Pair Lost Its Level Of 1.24$| FXMAG.COM The GDP report has a good chance of delivering an unpleasant surprise, pushing the dollar further down The impact of US GDP on the markets isn't a trivial issue. Much depends on the balance between growth and inflation. If US growth comes in at or above expectations, the Fed may have more incentive to keep raising rates for longer than the markets are currently pricing in. This would be negative for equities and oil but positive for the dollar. Such a market reaction is long overdue. However, it is still too early to confidently bet on the Fed's hawkishness to take on the entire market. The GDP report has a good chance of delivering an unpleasant surprise, pushing the dollar further down. Still, it is highly likely to push equities and metals higher in the short term. 
The German Purchasing Managers' Index, ZEW Economic Sentiment And More Ahead

The Worst Outcomes For Europe In The Wake Of The EU Shutting Itself Off From Cheap Russian Energy Were Thankfully Not Realised

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 07.02.2023 09:54
Summary:  Models are used everywhere in the financial world. But what do you do when the models you use don't work anymore? That's what this Quarterly Outlook is all about. An Executive Summary In the introduction to this outlook for early 2023, Saxo CIO Steen Jakobsen argues that our economic models and our assumptions for how market cycles are supposed to work are simply broken. And so should they be, as why should we even want to return to the ‘model’ of central banks engaging in moral hazard and bailing out incumbent wealth, rentiers and risk takers, the rinse-and-repeat we have seen in every cycle since Fed Chair Greenspan bailed out LTCM in 1998? This new post-pandemic and post-Ukraine invasion era we find ourselves in has brought an entirely new set of imperatives beyond bailouts and reinflating asset prices. Instead, we need to brace for the impact of higher inflation for longer as we scramble for supply chain reshoring and redundancy, and as we transform our energy systems to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce our impact on the climate. And it won’t be all pain for all assets. Quite the contrary; it will bring a refreshing return of productive investment and a brighter future for everyone.  The return to more productive deployment of capital will have to mean investing more in the real, physical world to accomplish the new set of supply chain and resource access imperatives, not pouring money into digital platforms that capture excess profits by monopolising markets and user attention. On that note, our equity strategist Peter Garnry looks at whether the multiple decades of underperformance for equities dealing in tangible assets is ending, with intangibles and financials set to underperform after decades of excess financialisation. He also pokes into the geographies that look the most interesting as supply chains diversify.  Our macro strategist Christopher Dembik notes that the worst outcomes for Europe in the wake of the EU shutting itself off from cheap Russian energy were thankfully not realised. Danger and opportunity lie ahead for Europe, which faces the steepest challenges in the new world order, but where the sense of crisis will bring the needed change the quickest. As well, Europe is set to benefit from China, its largest trading partner, coming back online this year. Our market strategist for Greater China, Redmond Wong, looks at where the most potential lies in Chinese equities after China executed a seeming total about-face in its zero-Covid tolerance and other policies that cracked down on the property and technology sectors and were presumed to be the hallmarks of rule under Xi Jinping. Charu Chanana, our market strategist in Singapore, picks up on the rest of Asia, weighing the relative value across several Asian markets. She argues that India and also the traditional exporters will benefit both from renewed demand from China and from investment by both China and OECD countries looking to leverage production – and supply chain diversification potential. In commodities, Ole Hansen looks at the potential for the extension of a bull market in industrial metals as China, the world’s largest commodity consumer, returns in force from lockdowns and not least, as the metal-intensive investment in green energy deepens. The end of China’s lockdowns will also boost crude oil demand by the most in years as China normalises air travel levels. On the supply side, the avoidance of Russian crude and the end of risky, massive drawdowns of much of the US strategic reserves will weigh. Gold could be set to thrive with a turn lower in the USD, but also as a growing roster of countries looks for alternatives to the greenback for maintaining reserves and conduction trade outside the USD system. Our strategist in Australia, Jessica Amir, breaks down what Australia has to offer as a formidable exporter of resources and list of Australian resource companies involved in everything from the EV-battery supply chain to iron ore and gold. With the return of solidly positive interest rates after the seeming endless years of ZIRP and NIRP, especially in Europe, Peter Siks of our CIO office looks at a far better expected return for the traditionally balanced portfolio. This is somewhat ironic, given that 2022 offered the worst nominal returns for traditionally ‘balanced’ stock and equity portfolios in modern memory. FX strategist John Hardy looks at the potential for a turn lower in the USD this year and the likelihood of a much stronger JPY in the first half of the year, chiefly driven by its late-comer status to the central bank tightening party and the exit. Finally, crypto strategist Mads Eberhardt sees the risk of more challenges ahead for crypto, particularly the smaller cryptocurrencies as retail participation risks continuing to wither, even as the longer term prospects will brighten in line with the deepening institutional participation in the space in coming years. We wish you a safe and prosperous 2023.  We strongly believe that markets and the global economy are entering a new era. It won’t be an easy transition, but all great transitions bring exciting new opportunities for those willing to walk away from the old assumptions and to look at how their investments and efforts can contribute to the new world taking shape before us.  Source: Quarterly Outlook Q1 2023 - The models are broken | Saxo Group (home.saxo)
Impact of Declining Confidence: Italian Business Sentiment in August

2023 Is Likely To Prove A Rough Ride For Currencies

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 07.02.2023 10:36
Summary:  2023 could be a tough year for currencies but EUR and JPY may have some upside. Q4 saw a massive retreat in the US dollar as the market ignored the Fed’s pounding on the table on the need to keep the policy rate ‘higher for longer’, profoundly inverting the US yield curve. Meanwhile, the ECB played catch-up with its tightening cycle, the JPY bounced back with a vengeance on the Bank of Japan arriving to the tightening party just before central banks elsewhere are trying to shut it down, and the Chinese renminbi came back from the brink as well on a disorienting policy about-face. 2023 is likely to prove a rough ride for currencies if the USD bear market fails to continue in a straight line, but EUR and JPY may outperform. As 2023 gets under way we see the market expressing increasing confidence in a disinflationary outcome for the US. Despite the Fed’s persistent ‘higher for longer’ narrative and the FOMC having placed the median dot plot Fed Funds rate forecast above 5 percent for this year at its December 2022 meeting, the market is happy to continue to mark Fed expectations lower by the end of this year. In the early weeks of this year, the market has priced in accelerating rate cuts for 2024 after recent data points have shown significantly weaker ‘soft’ data, including a weak ISM Services survey for December, but also as several inflation data points have come in softer than expected. Emboldening traders to price an easier Fed beyond the hump of perhaps two more 25 basis point hikes over the next couple of quarters is that annualised inflation from the last several months, minus the notoriously lagging and heaviest component of the official CPI data series, the owner’s equivalent rent, is practically back within the Fed’s target range of 2 per cent. As our The Models are Broken theme for this outlook argues, however, we find it highly unlikely that the disinflationary backdrop can persist for long in an under-invested world that is scrambling to transform itself away from fragile, globalised supply chains, to upgrade and green its energy system, and to arm itself for new national security imperatives. Thus, any nominal growth slowdown will prove shallow and growth will re-accelerate on the bounce-back in demand for commodities as China comes back online. In the meantime, the USD may occasionally rally hard if the market has to second guess its expected path for the Fed next year, and if that adjustment sees new bear market lows in risky assets, particularly US stocks. The ingredients for a sustained USD sell-off would include the Fed providing liquidity and a global rebound in risk sentiment, with the latter as important as the former. In the past two cycles, the big USD sell-offs have come only on the Fed providing massive liquidity after some sort of global crunch. But this Fed is still tightening! So how has the USD weakened in Q4 and into early Q1? That has largely been down to falling yields as the market prices the Fed to roll over but easily as importantly, also due to other factors that have helped offset the Fed’s tightening, including a US Treasury that continues to aggressively draw down its account at the Fed, adding liquidity to the system, and banks shifting of reserves and the drawdown in usage of the Fed’s reverse repo facility that can act as a king of ‘stored QE’. The latter is unpredictable, but the US Treasury contribution to liquidity will rapidly run dry in coming months and will then actually drive a liquidity headwind when it rebuilds its account, sooner or later, after the latest ridiculous spectacle of Congress clearing the debt-ceiling issue sometime in Q1.  In the meantime, a slowdown in corporate profits and recession fears could bring a comeback in the USD as a safe haven at times in the first half of this year, even if it falls short of the cycle peak. Further out the curve, far beyond the purview of Q1, when inflation reaccelerates beyond a possible short-term growth scare and the current misleading comedown in inflation, the USD may finally turn significantly lower on the Fed having to provide liquidity to ensure an orderly treasury market, even without significantly cutting rates or cutting them at all. Think QE with no ZIRP – a new paradigm that breaks the old model. Rounding out the G3: win-win for the JPY. EUR steady. The JPY looks the win-win setup for Q1 and possibly into early Q2, even after its significant repricing higher versus the USD from the incredible extension higher in USDJPY to above 150 late last year. December saw a surprise tweak in Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy after Japan drew down a significant chunk of its reserve to defend its yield-curve-control band. While Governor Kuroda failed to follow this up with a further shift in January, the overall sense that Japan is set to exit its extreme monetary policy experiment of the last 10 years continues, with Kuroda set. The ‘win-win’ setup is that the JPY can rise on the anticipation that the BoJ is set to normalise policy at a time when other central banks are easing off the pedal and even if it entirely fails to shift, yield spreads could continue to come crashing down on uglier-than-expected outcomes for the global economy earlier this year, the traditional source of JPY strength. The ideal ingredients near term for further JPY strength are both tepid to lower yields this quarter and a growth scare that further aggravates risk sentiment. A vicious rally in energy prices sooner rather than somewhere in late Q2 or later would challenge the recent JPY rally, unless the BoJ front-loads its shift away from the Kuroda era. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Graphic: A recap of the chart of G3 currencies (USD, EUR & JPY) from the Q4 outlook. Then, we noted that for the USD and JPY "the jaws are widening perilously!". Well since then, they widened even more before finally beginning to snap back the other way, if somewhat tentatively. Note how modest the JPY comeback has been so far. For the rest of 2023, we would look for the two currencies to continue converging, with the EUR a bit more sedate middle ground, if still firm relative to the US dollar and elsewhere.   For the EUR, we have an ECB that found the rate-tightening religion late in the game at its December meeting and is signalling further strong tightening from here, emboldened by a collapse in natural gas and energy prices on a mild winter (even if these prices are above historic ranges). The fiscal outlook is more robust for Europe than almost anywhere else, and the anticipation of a return of Chinese demand could keep downturn risks very shallow. Long term energy and power issues are a concern for the long term, but supplies concerns are not an issue through this winter. Solidly positive bond yields in Europe, even if real yields remain quite negative, could help to keep a domestic investor focus. The EUR may prove a relatively steady ship in rough seas this year. Sterling would benefit most, meanwhile, from a very soft landing elsewhere and steady global markets. Not sure that is what we will get, and sterling risks getting painted with the same balance sheet challenges noted for the ‘G10 smalls’ below, although it is tricky to understand sterling risks when the currency is already heavily discounted, even after the Truss trauma of last fall. Read next: Adani Group Company's Crisis Is Gaining Momentum, Finland Is The Happiest Country| FXMAG.COM The G10 smalls: balance sheet recessions offsetting eventual commodity strength. The G10 smalls are all small open economies, where housing markets largely got a free ride, or only suffered a bad blip, during the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The G10 smalls suffered horrendous volatility back then, some from over-exuberant carry trading (AUD, NZD and NOK) while others enjoyed pro-cyclical strength on the commodity angle (CAD and SEK), or both, with the exception of SEK. Forced to gut interest rates in a competitive devaluation move post-GFC, housing markets were set on fire in these economies and were super-charged yet again during the pandemic response of 2020-21. Now, with a steep rise in longer lending rates like these economies haven’t seen in decades, housing markets are set for a further massive correction, one that is already under way. Real estate is a notoriously illiquid asset and absorbing the impact of the rate rises in the back will take time. But there will be rolling and tremendous impact on both construction sector activity as well as private balance sheets and likely on consumer sentiment more broadly in these economies, especially for those housing markets highly vulnerable to floating rate mortgages, including Australia, Sweden and Canada. While our longer term commodity outlook is very constructive to say the least and will provide some offsetting strength in the next growth cycle for the commodity have-alls like Australia and Canada, the bloated leverage in the private sectors in all of these smaller economies could significantly offset their upside potential. The risks in Sweden could get downright systemic and require significant intervention. This could already be behind the SEK’s notable weakness in late Q4 and into early Q1.  China and EM: Much has already been priced for the CNY after its powerful comeback from the brink on the huge policy pivot described in Redmond’s outlook for China in Q1. The coming quarter may prove less remarkable in fx terms as investors have already front-run a good deal and China will want to prevent excessive CNY strength on wanting to keep its exports competitive, even as it moves up the value chain. The rest of the EM may be in for a bumpier ride early this year on the global growth scare after very strong performance since late last year as the market pummelled the USD and rates fell, offering strong performance for EM bonds in local currency terms. But value shopping for commodity-leveraged FX in the coming quarter is worth consideration (BRL, IDR, ZAR and others). Source: Latecomers to tightening party, EUR and JPY, may prove safest harbours in the first half. | Saxo Group (home.saxo)
Analysis Of The USD/THB Pair Movement By Markets Strategist Quek Ser Leang At UOB Group

Analysis Of The USD/THB Pair Movement By Markets Strategist Quek Ser Leang At UOB Group

TeleTrade Comments TeleTrade Comments 14.02.2023 12:07
Markets Strategist Quek Ser Leang at UOB Group notes USD/THB faces a solid barrier at the 34.20 level. Key Quotes “Last Monday (07 Feb, spot at 33.62), we highlighted that ‘deeply overbought conditions suggest USD/THB could consolidate for a couple of days first before heading higher’. While USD/THB subsequently consolidated, it did not make any headway on the upside. That said, short-term upward momentum is beginning to build and the bias for USD/THB this week is tilted to the upside.” Read next: Brazil’s Bank Allows To Pay Taxes Using Cryopto, Ford Will Cut Jobs In Europe| FXMAG.COM “Overall, barring a breach of 33.35 (minor support is at 33.55), the chance of USD/THB breaking 34.00 is increasing. Looking ahead, the next resistance above 34.00 is at 34.20.”
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor suggested this meeting may bring a 25bp

RBNZ Preview: 50bp hike, but the peak is close

ING Economics ING Economics 16.02.2023 15:37
We expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike rates by 50bp to 4.75% next week, in line with market pricing. Peaking inflation and a deteriorating housing market and activity suggest the RBNZ will not reach its projected 5.50% peak rate. A hawkish hike (unchanged projections) should lift NZD, but more NZD strength may soon rely only on external factors Source: Shutterstock Some things have changed since the November meeting On 22 February, the RBNZ will make its first policy announcement of the year. The most recent meeting, held in November, resulted in a 75bp rate increase (to 4.25%) and a significant upward revision to the Official Cash Rate (OCR) estimates, which indicated that rates would have peaked at 5.50%. At the time, the hawkish surprise seemed to be supported by robust CPI and wage figures as well as encouraging activity indicators. The economic landscape in New Zealand has changed since then. Although the third-quarter GDP numbers were good, activity and consumer confidence surveys began to decline, wage growth slowed, unemployment edged up, inflation did not accelerate further, and inflation expectations dropped. The housing market has continued to deteriorate in line with RBNZ forecasts, with prices falling by 9% since the March 2022 peak. Change to New Zealand house price index from the peak in March 2022 (% change) Source: ING, CoreLogic A (hawkish) 50bp seems appropriate now We believe that the most important input to the monetary policy decision right now is the growing evidence that inflation has peaked. The headline rate steadied at 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the RBNZ had forecast another acceleration to 7.5%. Crucially, falling energy prices, wage growth, and inflation expectations point to disinflation beginning in the first quarter, whereas the RBNZ had predicted 7.5% for the first quarter and a slowdown to 6.90% only in the third quarter of 2023. Read next: USD/JPY Is Trading Close To 134.00, EUR/USD Is Remaining Above $1.07| FXMAG.COM The less alarming inflation story argues against another 75bp move next week. Nonetheless, given the low frequency of RBNZ policy announcements, policymakers will want to take the chance to deliver a 50bp hike before hard economic data deteriorates materially. Markets are fully pricing in a 50bp hike in February, so the references to future tightening will drive most market moves. Updated economic projections will shed some light in this sense. A revision lower in inflation forecasts will be necessary, but we suspect the RBNZ will resist the temptation to scale back peak rate projections, which may be left at 5.50% in an attempt to avert a bond rally similar to the one seen in the aftermath of the latest Fed and ECB meetings. High chances that 5.50% won't be reached at all Indeed, the deterioration in the property market has been in line with the RBNZ forecasts, but this does not mean that the Bank is willing to risk facing the repercussions of the estimated 19% house price contraction for the broader economy and financial stability should the disinflation story prove more benign. With many indications that such improvement in the inflation picture will materialise earlier than previously expected, and the New Zealand economy already feeling the strains of tighter financial conditions, we think the chances that another 75bp of tightening (as per latest projections) will be delivered after 50bp next week have decreased meaningfully. Markets have indeed started to cast doubts on the RBNZ projected rate path, with the peak rate pricing embedded into the OIS curve having declined to around 5.30% from 5.50% starting from mid/late January. Unchanged RBNZ rate forecasts next week see rate expectations staying at least supported in the near term, but we think data will ultimately provide enough evidence to trigger a dovish repricing. Our base case is only one last 25bp hike in April, so a 5.0% peak rate. There are non-negligible risks of another 25bp in May, but we’d rule out a 5.50% peak rate unless the inflation picture changes dramatically. We think the RBNZ will see more value in stopping earlier and shift to a credible 'higher-for-longer' rhetoric, rather than pushing rates higher and inevitably face rate cut speculation. At the moment, markets are seeing a 60% probability of rates cuts starting already in November this year. NZD could rise next week, but bullish domestic inputs will fade The two-year NZD-USD swap rate has been on a steady downtrend in the past three months, having declined from the 75bp December levels to the current 25bp. This has been due to the combination of repricing higher in Fed rate expectations and contracting RBNZ peak rate pricing. Rate differential and NZD/USD Source: ING, Refinitiv   However, the rate differential continues to play a secondary role for NZD/USD compared to the relative equity performance and global risk sentiment, according to our short-term fair value model. This means that NZD/USD is not overvalued despite the deterioration in the short-term swap rate differential. NZD/USD rose after each of the past three RBNZ announcements, and given markets are not fully pricing in the 5.50% projected peak rate, a hawkish 50bp hike may trigger a small NZD rally next week. But, as discussed above, we think the domestic push for a stronger NZD will run out of steam as data should endorse the disinflation story and the RBNZ should ultimately fall short of its expected tightening projections.   Our bullish view on NZD/USD for the remainder of the year is therefore primarily a function of global factors: improved risk sentiment, positive exposure to the China reopening story, a benign USD decline. We target 0.67-0.68 in the second half of 2023. Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
US core inflation hits 5.5% and it's the second lowest reading since November 2021

Judging from Ebury analyst comment, the difference between BoE rate hikes expectations and probable variants could help British pound

Enrique Díaz-Álvarez Enrique Díaz-Álvarez 06.03.2023 15:48
G10 currency trading was fairly uneventful last week, as the dollar had a mixed reaction to the relentless march higher in interest rates, as risk assets took it in stride. Emerging market currencies were the stars last week, led by the Latin American ones. The reopening of the Chinese economy after the end of COVID lockdowns is going better than expected, boosting sentiment on commodity exporting countries. The Chilean and Mexican pesos topped the charts, rallying by over 2% against the US dollar. In Europe, yet another upward surprise in inflation, with the core climbing to yet another record high, meant higher European rates and a stronger euro. The trend is now that strong economic and inflation data in the US is being matched elsewhere, and rates are rising in parallel across most economic areas, so that the dollar fails to benefit much. This trend will be tested in the coming days by Fed Chair Powell’s semi-annual testimony to Congress on Tuesday, and the US payrolls report on Friday. Markets are expecting a slowdown in job creation from the monster levels reported in January, but to a level still consistent with an extremely tight labour market. We will be focusing mostly on the wage numbers, where an upward surprise may provide further fuel for the increase in interest rates. GBP News out of the UK last week was in line with what we have come to expect: stronger than expected economic data and confusing Bank of England communications. BoE governor Bailey provided very little clarity on future policy, warning that rates may have peaked, while failing to rule out additional hikes. In our view, another hike at the 23rd March meeting is all but guaranteed, and with limited fresh data out between now and then, markets may be slightly underpricing the possibility of another 50bp hike. January monthly GDP is the main data point on tap this week, but we continue to think that the gap between market expectations of Bank of England hikes and likely outcomes should be a tailwind for sterling in the coming weeks. EUR The factors supporting higher interest rates in the Eurozone, and consequently a stronger euro, remain firmly in place. On the one hand, inflation continues to surprise the upside. There is no sign as yet that core inflation has peaked, unlike the US, and indeed this key print rose to a fresh record high in February. Read next: In crude oil, we are increasingly likely to see a year of two distinctive halves| FXMAG.COM On the other hand, growth numbers continue to surprise on the upside and the impact from the fast Chinese rebound has yet to be felt. Rates in Europe are rising even faster than in the US and this is putting a floor under the common currency. Retail sales for January will be in focus Monday, but the euro may largely trade off news elsewhere this week. USD Strong business activity PMI and weekly jobless numbers confirmed that the US economy is so far shrugging off the impact of rate increases and is, if anything, picking up speed. This brings up the possibility of a 6% peak in Federal Reserve rates, although the US dollar is not benefitting as much as rate expectations elsewhere are rising even faster. The key now is whether the Fed switches back to 50bp hikes at every meeting until a clear downward trend is evident in the monthly inflation numbers. Powell’s testimony to Congress this week will be as critical (if not more) as the payrolls report on Friday. Given the recent string of upside surprises in US data, we think that another hawkish turn is all but guaranteed. To stay up to date with our publications, please choose one of the below: 📩 Click here to receive the latest market updates👉 Our LinkedIn page for the latest news✍️ Our Blog page for other FX market reports 🔊 Stay up to date with our podcast FXTalk Source: Emerging market currencies celebrate Chinese optimism | Ebury UK
Issue on the US debt ceiling persists, Joe Biden goes back to the US

Rates Spark: Powell takes markets for a spin

ING Economics ING Economics 07.03.2023 10:37
Powell’s spin on the latest economic data matters less than the data itself. Don’t expect much clarity on 50bp hikes or the terminal rates but note that the hawkish re-pricing is helpful. At the ECB, data dependence is mainly wage dependence and on consumer inflation expectations US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Don't expect Powell to rule anything out Jerome Powell’s Congressional testimony is today’s main event. It is near certain that the Fed chairman’s tone will reflect better economic data since January, and more specifically inflation. Both make his disinflation optimism at the February meeting look misplaced. What markets would like to know is something more specific. Firstly, how high will the Federal Open Market Committee revise its estimate of the terminal rates in this cycle? Secondly, is the Fed going to revert to 50bp hike increments in March after a downshift to 25bp in February? On both counts, we think markets will be disappointed. There is still one jobs and one inflation report before the next Fed meeting so it wouldn’t make sense for the Fed to give up some optionality by guiding markets on one outcome or the other. Even if our hunch is that reverting to 50bp hikes is still the minority outcome compared to a longer string of 25bp hikes at the coming meetings, it is fair to say that the recent hawkish re-pricing is helpful in the fight against inflation. This is one more reason for Powell not to take anything off the table. Central bank commentary should lose its importance compared to the economic data guiding it The last point to make is that the Fed’s professed data dependence means central bank commentary should lose its importance compared to the economic data guiding it. The caveat is of course that this supposes market participants are understanding the Fed’s reaction function correctly. Given the shift in tone from late 2022 to early 2023, we wouldn’t blame investors for being confused. Given recent data, whatever Powell says, we wouldn’t be surprised if markets conclude that erring on the hawkish side is the correct strategy. Even if we find dollar rates high, we doubt today’s speech will prove the catalyst of a reversal of the February Treasury sell off. Don't expect Powell to rule anything out as inflation break-evens are rising again Source: Refinitiv, ING ECB: Data dependence is wage dependence As the self-imposed European Central Bank’s pre-meeting quiet period is due to start on Thursday, we’re likely to see more unscheduled attempts to skew expectations. There is clearly a range of opinions between the doves (eg, Mario Centeno yesterday) and hawks (Robert Holzmann). On the dovish side, focus seems to increasingly be on celebrating the drop in headline inflation forecast owing to the fall in energy prices, while the hawks flagged the acceleration of core inflation to push for further 50bp hikes beyond the one already signalled in March. ECB has struggled to kick its forward guidance habit Despite the stated data dependence aim, the ECB has struggled to kick its forward guidance habit. This is to say that we do not rule out further attempts to guide markets towards certain outcomes at the May and later meetings. One key variable going forward, as chief economist Philip Lane highlighted in a speech yesterday, will be wages. A jump in inflation expectations was another risk he stressed, which means today’s ECB survey of consumer expectations should receive a great deal of attention. Meanwhile, market-based inflation compensation are on a tear. Barring a sudden turn of event, these risks are going to keep EUR rates high. In fact, we would expect them to narrow the gap with their US peers. The EUR curve is power-flattening, with core inflation keeping the ECB hawkish Source: Refinitiv, ING Today's events and market view An upside surprise in German factory orders in January on better foreign demand should further slow the bond rally. Today’s economic calendar is relatively thin with only Spain’s industrial production in the morning and the US wholesale inventories in the afternoon. The ECB’s survey of consumer expectations, including questions on inflation, will probably gather more attention. Read next: In crude oil, we are increasingly likely to see a year of two distinctive halves| FXMAG.COM Instead the focus in European hours will be on supply. The European Union mandated banks for the launch of a long 10Y benchmark. This will be alongside auctions from Austria (10Y/30Y) and Germany (10Y Linker). Away from the eurozone, bonds supply will be short in maturity, with a 2Y gilt and 3Y T-note auctions in the UK and US respectively.   Last but not least, Fed Chair Powell is on the docket for the first day of his two days of testimony before Congress. Dollar rates are close to the top of their range for this year but we doubt Powell's intervention is what will make them come down. Read this article on THINK TagsRates Daily Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Euro's Rally Stalls as Focus Turns to Inflation and Data Disappointments

FX Daily: Dollar can hold gains on limited Powell pushback

ING Economics ING Economics 07.03.2023 10:44
The highlight of today's FX session will be Fed Chair Powell's first leg of his monetary policy testimony to Congress. He speaks in the Senate at 16CET today. While welcoming the start of a broad disinflation process in early February, we doubt Powell will push back much against expectations of another 75bp+ of Fed hikes. This should see the $ hold gains Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell USD: Little incentive for Powell to push back Monday's overnight FX session was another quiet one. The highlight was a dovish 25bp hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). It still promised more monetary tightening ahead, but the language softened on the immediacy and magnitude of further rate increases and prompted yields at the short end of the Australian curve to drop 13bp and AUD/USD to drop 0.5/0.7%. Elsewhere, what was seen as encouraging Chinese net trade figures failed to budge USD/CNH from the 6.94 area. On to today and the highlight will be Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony on monetary policy. This comes at a time when the market has priced in 25bp hikes at the March, May, and June meetings plus is half thinking about another 25bp hike in the third quarter. The big, hawkish adjustment in Fed tightening expectations was driven by the data last month, not Fed speak. Having said that, however, there were a few FOMC non-voters pushing the view that the Fed should have hiked 50bp on 1 February rather than 25bp. Interesting for markets today will be whether Powell does say the Fed would be open to 50bp hikes in the future – presumably, he cannot rule that out. He may also now be drawn out on what the Fed considers the terminal rate (5.40/5.50% is priced at the moment). He may try to elaborate on remarks made on 1 February that the broad disinflation process has started, but with inflation proving sticky (not just in the US, but around the world), consumption and employment trends staying firm and risk assets supported, it would seem unlikely he chooses to push the 'all-clear' inflation narrative today. His remarks can probably see the dollar gently bid. A better chance of the dollar and US yields reversing February strength probably comes with Friday's US February jobs release, where ING's US economist, James Knightley, looks for a softer number.  It does not look like we have any hawkish ECB members due to speak today (hawkish ECB comments having helped European currencies and weakened the dollar yesterday), which suggests DXY might nudge back to the top of a short-term 104.00-105.00 range. In the medium term, we retain the view that the dollar will break lower later this year – please see our latest FX talking update. Chris Turner EUR: European hawks in focus Helping EUR/USD yesterday were comments from ECB ultra hawk, Robert Holzmann, that the ECB should deliver four more 50bp rate hikes. That would take the deposit rate to 4.50% versus the already aggressive 4.00% currently priced. ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane tried to calm things down by suggesting the ECB should not go onto autopilot after what should be a 50bp hike this month. But the market is more sensitive to the hawks given the sticky inflation data. We do not see any ECB speakers scheduled today. Data today will be the ECB consumer expectations survey released at 10CET, though January retail sales data released yesterday mildly disappointed. As above, Powell's testimony should dominate today and might nudge EUR/USD back to the lower end of the 1.0600-1.0700 range. Elsewhere today we have a rare speech on monetary policy from Swiss National Bank (SNB) president Thomas Jordan. He speaks at 19CET today. He will probably have had to tweak his speech after yesterday's release of Swiss February CPI data, which rose 0.7% month-on-month, matching the highs from last summer. The SNB takes its inflation-targeting mandate very literally and this inflation data should prompt some sharply hawkish rhetoric. We and the market look for a 50bp SNB hike on 23 March. And the market looks for a further 50-75bp of tightening after that. Anyone in need of securing CHF balances or CHF funding in the near term should probably do so before tonight's speech. Chris Turner   GBP: Strong second-tier data fail to lift sterling Following on from stronger service sector confidence data, yesterday saw a very positive PMI release for the UK construction sector. And this morning's BRC Like-For-Like Retail sales data has also come in at a strong 4.9% year-on-year for February. This strong second-tier data have not had much impact on sterling, however, where hawkish ECB remarks have dominated and EUR/GBP has pushed back to the top of its 0.88-0.89 range. We suspect that will be the direction of travel this year – helped later in the year when the Bank of England shifts into a formal pause with its tightening cycle. Cable is trading well inside last week's 1.1925-1.2145 range and we would have a slight downside bias given Powell's testimony today. Chris Turner ILS: Shekel searches for stability As we discuss in this month’s FX Talking publication, the normally stable shekel has been hit hard over the last month. USD/ILS has risen 10% – seemingly on the Israeli government’s desire to push through very contentious judicial reform. Opponents of this proposed policy in Israel's lucrative tech sector have even suggested that IPO proceeds would not be brought back to Israel unless this policy proposal was altered. The Israeli foreign minister criticising the Bank of Israel’s (BoI's) recent 50bp hike has not helped the shekel either. Yesterday, however, the shekel got a lift from the Israeli president suggesting that an agreement on judicial reform was ‘closer than ever’. Details to back those comments were scant. At the same time, we noted that the February release of BoI FX reserve data suggests there had been no FX intervention to support the shekel last month. That may come as a disappointment to some looking for the very interventionist BoI to step into the market. Perhaps the criticism over the rate hike made FX intervention too political? We do like the shekel multi-quarter and it had been one of our top picks for the year assuming the dollar bear trend does re-assert itself in the second half. But investors will very probably want to see some concrete political agreement on these judicial reforms before rebuilding long positions in the shekel. Chris Turner Read this article on THINK TagsFX Dollar Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Jerome Powell wasn't that dovish yesterday, hinting at acceleration of rate hikes and higher rate peak

Jerome Powell wasn't that dovish yesterday, hinting at acceleration of rate hikes and higher rate peak

Michael Hewson Michael Hewson 08.03.2023 09:27
After a fairly low-key start to the day, European markets eventually finished the day lower yesterday, dragged lower by weakness in US markets after Fed chairman Jay Powell's semi-annual testimony to US lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Any prospect that we might see a dovish Powell yesterday was quickly dashed as the Federal Reserve chairman struck quite a different tone to the one he used at the last FOMC press conference. While markets focussed on his comments about disinflation at the beginning of February, there was only one mention of that word in his statement, in his remarks to US lawmakers yesterday, and that was to say there was little sign of it. His comments that the pace of rate hikes may need to be accelerated, and that the likely rate peak could well be higher than expected were not well received by markets, but given the strength of recent data, the change of tone shouldn't have been surprising. The Fed has always insisted it is data dependent and Powell's comments appear to reflect that, given the strength of recent data, which means as strong as yesterday's reaction was, with 2-year yields pushing above 5% for the first time since 2007, it could just as quickly reverse if this week's payrolls data or next week's CPI numbers disappoint. We do have other labour market indicators due out today with the February ADP payrolls report which is expected to see an improvement from 106k in January to 200k. We also have the latest job openings (JOLTS) data for January. Given the strength of the January payrolls report of 517k, you would expect to see a sharp drop in vacancies from December's 11m to about 10.6m.   Powell's comments did something else yesterday as markets started to price in the prospect of a 50bps rate hike in 2 weeks' time, despite stepping down the pace of rate hikes in February to 25bps. If the Fed were to step back up to 50bps in 2 weeks' time it would be tantamount to an admission of failure and that they made a mistake, and open up the central bank to accusations of being too reactive, and flip-flopping. Such a move would probably be unwise and open the central bank of not knowing what it is doing. Far better to follow through with another 25bps and raise their dot plots indicating that several more 25bps hikes are likely to follow.    While US markets finished sharply lower, both the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100 still remain above their 200-day SMA which acted as strong support last week. Read next: Turkey: For now, inflation could be said to have dropped because of the high base in 2022| FXMAG.COM With the European Central Bank also making loud hawkish noises and likely to hike by 50bps next week, the weakness in equity markets also translated into lower commodity prices on increasing concerns over the effect of what higher rates for longer might mean for global growth prospects. Staying on the central banks front we have the latest rate decision from the Bank of Canada later today, and where it is expected to keep rates on hold. At its last meeting in January, the Bank of Canada decided that it would take the decision to signal a pause in its rate hiking cycle after its latest rate rise of 25bps took the headline rate to 4.5%. The central bank did indicate that the pause was conditional on inflation coming down, however, the decision to signal a pause with hindsight, given the strength of recent data does come across as a little hasty, especially given Fed chair Jay Powell's hawkish tone yesterday. Headline CPI in Canada has fallen to 5.9%, but core prices still look sticky at 5%, and recent economic data has shown the economy looks resilient. Consumer spending has held up well in recent months, while January payrolls also saw a huge jump of 150k, with most of them being in full-time employment. The participation rate also surged to 65.7%, a sharp rise from 65.4%. The Bank of Canada may have to settle for delivering hawkish guidance along with a hold. As for today's European session, we look set to see a lower open on the back of yesterday's sharp US sell-off, with the focus in Europe on German retail sales for January and the final iteration of EU Q4 GDP which is expected to see be revised lower from 0.1% to 0%. EUR/USD – looks set to retest the previous lows at 1.0530 with the prospect we could see a retest of the 1.0480 area. The 1.0730 area remains a key resistance. GBP/USD – falling below the 200-day SMA has seen the pound fall to the 1.1820/30 area, opening up the prospect that we could slide towards 1.1640 on a break below the 1.1800 area. Resistance back at the 1.1980 area. EUR/GBP – broken through the trend line resistance at 0.8900 from the January peaks and could see a move towards the 0.8980 area. We need to push below support at the 0.8820/30 area to retarget the 0.8780 area. USD/JPY – has retested the 200-day SMA which is now at 137.20, with a break through the 137.30 opening up the 138.20 area. Support comes in at the 135.20 area. We also have interim support at 133.60.   FTSE100 is expected to open 19 points lower at 7,900 DAX is expected to open 35 points lower at 15,524 CAC40 is expected to open 17 points lower at 7,322
US core inflation hits 5.5% and it's the second lowest reading since November 2021

FX Daily: Biden’s budget serves as debt ceiling reminder

ING Economics ING Economics 09.03.2023 09:54
The dollar heads into Thursday's European session near recent highs, buoyed by hawkish Powell testimony and the resultant spike in short-dated US Treasury yields. Expect a quiet session ahead of tomorrow's February US jobs release. Of interest, however, may be the White House's new budget plan. This will serve as a reminder of US debt ceiling event risk Source: Shutterstock USD: Expect consolidation ahead of jobs data tomorrow The dollar is consolidating near recent highs and one can see why. Hawkish testimony this week from Fed Chair Jerome Powell has seen market pricing of the terminal Fed rate push up to 5.65% for a peak in September. US two-year Treasury yields are now 5.05% with the US 2-10 year curve inverted close to 110bp and prompting growing fears of a Fed-induced recession. In short, this is a far cry from the Fed disinflation/Rest of World recovery story that drove the dollar 10% weaker between November and January.  We cannot really look for a broad dollar decline until that disinflation story returns and acute US yield curve inversion breaks by the short end coming lower. This looks more like a story for the third quarter now. Before that, however, the market will take great interest in US activity and price data - hence the strong interest in tomorrow's US jobs number. More on that tomorrow. For today, the US focus may be on headlines emerging from the White House regarding the new budget. Reports suggest the Biden Administration will present a fiscally conservative budget plan to cut the deficit by US$3tn over 10 years, helped in part by tax increases on the wealthy - both income and capital gains tax increases are being touted. However, this budget has no chance of seeing the light of day given that Republicans control the House of Representatives. The budget does seek, however, to position the Democrats as fiscally conservative ahead of a challenging debate over raising the $31.4tn debt ceiling. We suspect this comes to a head in the July-August window when stop-gap funding measures are exhausted. The debt ceiling is certainly a live event risk for 3Q and probably one which is dollar negative - despite some touting a flight-to-safety dollar rally. Expect DXY to stay supported into the US nonfarm payrolls tomorrow. We doubt the dollar will turn substantially lower ahead of the 22 March FOMC meeting and indeed there is an outside risk that DXY could push up to 107.80 were US February activity and price data not to slow as much as expected. Chris Turner EUR: ECB division could prove costly The European Central Bank's hawkish turn since late last year has certainly provided support to the euro in the face of higher US rates. The ECB's trade-weighted euro is now up close to 5% from the lows seen in late August. Lower natural gas prices have certainly helped here, too. However, we were surprised to see comments from ECB dove, Ignazio Visco, yesterday openly criticising ECB colleagues for making forward-looking statements about monetary policy. Presumably, he was taking aim at remarks made on Monday by ECB arch hawk, Robert Holzmann, saying he favoured four 50bp hikes. Read next: ADP payrolls report hit 242K. Japan: YCC may remain unchanged| FXMAG.COM Public dissension amongst monetary policymakers is never welcomed by currency markets. The euro was plagued in its early years under President Wim Duisenbrg, who struggled to corral diverging views. And presumably, ECB President Christine Lagarde's job will only become harder on this front as the ECB takes rates higher into the summer. Please see a full preview of next week's ECB meeting here.  For the time being expect EUR/USD to trade in a 1.0500-1.0600 range and tomorrow's US jobs report will determine whether it needs to break below 1.0500. Elsewhere, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) held interest rates unchanged at 6.75% yesterday - as expected. NBP Governor Adam Glapinski speaks today. Presumably, he will be a little dovish. We would be wary of chasing any zloty gains near term given the risk of further negatives emerging on the FX mortgage story this month. Please see our March edition of FX talking for more on the EUR/PLN story. Chris Turner GBP: Sterling risks getting run over by more hawkish central banks elsewhere UK Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Catherine Mann's comments from earlier this week are resonating in FX markets. She said sterling risked coming under pressure from hawkish policy overseas. And certainly hawkish Fed remarks this week have taken their toll on GBP/USD which has traded down to 1.1800. In the March FX talking, we highlighted the outside risk of GBP/USD trading down to 1.1650. This certainly looks like the direction of travel looking at the stronger Fed policy trajectory now. We continue to favour EUR/GBP trading up to and staying near 0.90 over coming months given the risk of the Bank of England shifting to a pause far earlier than the Fed or the ECB. Chris Turner CHF: SNB may increase FX sales In a speech on Tuesday evening, Swiss National Bank President, Thomas Jordan, said the Bank's monetary policy was still too loose and that it could raise rates again, ‘but also sell foreign currency’. As we have discussed on these pages before, the SNB is trying to deliver a stable real exchange rate by delivering nominal Swiss franc appreciation. The fact that we are probably looking at the dollar holding its gains through a large part of the second quarter means that a weaker EUR/CHF will have to pick up a larger share of the CHF nominal appreciation. This is where FX intervention comes in. The SNB has been selling FX since 3Q last year and given Swiss inflation is still proving very sticky, it looks like the 1.0050/1.0100 area is becoming a hard ceiling for EUR/CHF in the first half of the year. We would say the direction of travel here is back towards the 0.9800/0.9825 area over the coming months. It could even be lower were the SNB to surprise with a 75bp hike on 23 March. Chris Turner  Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Brazilian President suggesting replacing US dollar with own currencies of developing countries

British pound against US dollar has been influenced by the UK GDP print. Price action can change if NFP print beats expectations

Michalis Efthymiou Michalis Efthymiou 10.03.2023 14:22
Throughout the day, investors will be concentrating largely on the Non-Farm Payroll figure and will be preparing for the next weekly inflation data. Altogether, there will be 4 major announcements over the next week. This afternoon investors will be monitoring February Non-Farm Payroll, which is expected to return to previous figures. Economists expect the NFP figure to read 225,000, less than half of the previous month but still considerably high. Some economists believe the Unemployment rate may remain at 3.4%, whereas others lean towards 3.5%. However, the Unemployment rate would need to be significantly higher to lower inflation. Some analysts have stated the Unemployment rate would need to be more than 4% for the employment sector to become “more balanced”. Read the first part of the update by NAGA: Dow Jones has declined for 4 consecutive days and lost 1.7% yesterday| FXMAG.COM Investors should note that next week’s inflation figures will likely strongly influence the US Dollar and Stocks. Therefore, traders need to remember that investors will start to prepare for the inflation figures later in the day. The Consumer Price Index is expected to read 0.4%, which will keep the yearly inflation at a similar rate. Furthermore, investors are expecting the Producer Price Index to show 0.3%. If the employment and inflation data is higher than expected, investors will likely lean towards the Dollar as interest rates will accelerate. GBP/USD - Investors Brace for Non-Farm Payroll Results and Inflation Figures The GBP/USD continues to increase as the US Dollar generally weakens over the past 24 hours. The Pound has also been supported by the latest Gross Domestic Product figures released this morning. Even though the Pound has gained 1.35% since yesterday’s US session, investors still should be cautious of a potential downward trend. The exchange rate has still formed 3 significantly lower highs over the past 2-weeks. When looking at technical analysis, we are still waiting to get a major indication of a longer-term upward trend. However, this is possible if the price maintains momentum and surpasses 1.19628. Nonetheless, the price is currently trading at a resistance level and following a downward trend pattern. Traders await bearish indications from moving averages, crossovers, and price action. GBP/USD 2-Hour Chart on March 10th Global stocks over the past week have tumbled and have lost more than 4% since Tuesday’s Fed testimony. Since the reaction, the market has started buying bonds with a significantly higher yield than in previous years. This indicates that safe-haven assets are coming into play and can also affect the US Dollar. Though the US Dollar will only be able to act as a safe haven asset if interest rates remain competitive. Read next: USD/JPY Is Close To 137.00, EUR/USD Is Below 1.06, GBP/USD Is Trading Below 1.20| FXMAG.COM This morning the GBP/USD has been fueled by the UK GDP figure, which read 0.3% instead of the expected 0.1%. The figure is deemed positive for the Pound as it indicates the UK may be able to avoid a formal recession for the time being. The UK’s GDP figure was significantly higher than the previous month, which read -0.5%. Though traders should note that the price action can change if the NFP figure is higher than expected.
EUR/USD: Examples of things that could get the market moving are US treasury yields moving out of the range on data improving or deteriorating

FX Daily: US banking stress sends ripples across FX markets

ING Economics ING Economics 10.03.2023 17:22
The S&P 500 closed down 1.8% yesterday led by financials (-4%). Heavy losses for SVB Financial, a California-based lender to the venture capital industry, are raising questions over the unrealised losses on bond portfolios amongst US banks. This and today's US February jobs release are creating dangerous cross-currents for FX markets USD: Making sense of overnight moves Making headlines over the last 24 hours have been developments in the US banking system, where Californian lender SVB Financial has come under stress after realising losses on its bond portfolio. Driving it to realise those losses, apparently, was pressure on its deposit base as higher rates across the system have encouraged depositors to switch and forced banks to compete harder for deposits. Developments at SVB Financial have raised questions on the subject of unrealised losses on bond portfolios and what it means for bank capitalisation levels. Financials led the S&P 500 index lower yesterday. Earlier this week the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman, Martin Gruenberg, said that US banks had around US$620bn of unrealised losses on securities that were held to maturity or available for sale accounts. This seems like a big number, but as the Financial Times reports today, equity capital amongst US banks stood at $2.2tr at the end of 2022. It is hard to say how far this story will run, but we can try to make sense of what it means for FX markets. The first impact seems quite clear – the news has encouraged deleveraging of open FX positions. Hence the two darlings among the FX investment community this year – the Mexican peso and the Hungarian forint – have led losses in the EMFX space at -2.2% and -0.8% respectively. This theme could continue should the story run. The G10 FX performance has been more mixed, but makes some sense too. Modest losses have been seen among the higher-beta currencies, such as the Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone (down 0.3% versus the dollar). The outperformer has been the Swiss franc (+1.1%) against the dollar. In addition to its traditional role as a safe haven currency, we have been highlighting recently that the Swiss National Bank has the Swiss franc's back – i.e. is prepared to sell FX reserves to prevent weakness in the franc as it uses the exchange rate as part of its monetary policy regime. The dollar story is a lot more mixed and is complicated today by the big release of the February jobs data. Pressure on the US banking system is questioning whether the Fed can push ahead with such an aggressive tightening cycle. This has seen US two-year Treasury yields drop 25bp over the last two days alone. This is dollar bearish. Yet one would normally think that a sell-off in equities is dollar bullish, perhaps not, however, if the epicentre for current stress is the US banking system. That leads us to today's NFP release. Our US economist James Knightley takes us through the preview here. As James asks: "Was January's 517k jobs release a fluke?'. The consensus is around +200k, with most estimates in the +100-300k range. Such an outcome looks unlikely to unwind the new-found hawkishness demonstrated this week by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. But a big dip in the headline number and any big backward revisions lower – especially were the wage data benign – could see the dollar come off 1%. Clearly a day then of many cross-currents. Given the stress in financials, we would probably prefer to be overweight Swiss franc and Japanese yen (despite the Bank of Japan not adjusting policy overnight) and slightly underweight the dollar heading into the NFP release. DXY could head back towards where it started the week at 104.10/20. Chris Turner EUR: Caught in the cross-fire The SVB Financial-inspired repricing of the Fed curve has seen the two-year EUR:USD swap differential narrow by 20bp in favour of the euro over the last two days. This is providing some support to EUR/USD. A soft NFP job release – questioning whether the Fed has to be as hawkish as Jerome Powell sounded earlier this week – could send us all the way back to where we started the week near 1.0700. Read next: Surprise UK growth rebound means technical recession could be avoided| FXMAG.COM We have highlighted above the pressure of deleveraging on the forint. The Czech koruna – also a favourite of the market – has held up slightly better. Look out for February Cezch CPI today. We see upside risks, though doubt this will have much bearing on Czech National Bank policy settings. Chris Turner GBP: Vulnerable to financial sector stress The UK has just released a marginally better-than-expected January GDP release. But the numbers are very volatile and a better read comes from the 3m/3m release at 0.0%. Our UK economist James Smith thinks "today's figures suggest that first quarter GDP could come in flat or only a touch negative, raising the possibility of the UK avoiding a recession in the first half (a rather moot point given that we are talking very small quarterly decreases in output if it does happen)". In short, not a big driver of sterling. Sterling has been performing a little better over the last 24 hours. However, if the banking stress story has a little further to run we can expect a little sterling under-performance, given the relatively large size of financial services in the UK economy. EUR/GBP can turn big again above 0.8900, while GBP/CHF should make a run at 1.10. Chris Turner CAD: Less relevant payrolls Jobs figures will be released in Canada as well today. Consensus expectations are centred around a very small headline increase (10k) after the very strong 150k January read, while the rather volatile wage growth index is seen accelerating beyond 5.0% once again. This week’s policy announcement by Bank of Canada policymakers fully endorses the disinflationary narrative (here is our meeting review), and while there is still the door open for more tightening if needed, the lack of a hawkish twist in the message despite January’s strong jobs data means that labour factors alone are insufficient to prompt new hikes. So, today’s jobs data out of Canada may well matter less than the US payrolls for CAD, given the loonie’s elevated exposure to global risk appetite. We continue to see short-term upside risks for USD/CAD, but remain bearish over the medium term, largely on the back of a projected USD decline, rather than CAD outperformance compared to other pro-cyclical currencies. Francesco Pesole Read this article on THINK TagsFX Dollar CAD Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
How to turn volatility into opportunity? Stephen Dover from Franklin Templeton offers some judicious perspective

Strong US jobs, but market angst means the Fed is in the balance

ING Economics ING Economics 10.03.2023 17:28
Another strong jobs figure for February would on its own have boosted market expectations for a 50bp rate hike on 22 March, but market angst is on the rise. Monetary policy operates with long lags and higher borrowing costs and reduced access to credit are going to make the jobs market look a lot weaker later in the year. The likelihood of policy reversal is high US jobs growth was strong once again in February 311,000 Number of jobs added in February   Better than expected Strong headline jobs growth, but the composition should be considered US non-farm payrolls rose 311k in February, above the 225k consensus. There were 34k of downward revisions to the past two months of data, but this is still a strong number. A third of the jobs created were in the leisure and hospitality sector while retail added 50k, trade and transport rose 38k and private education/heath gained 74k. Those sectors that didn’t do so well include manufacturing, which fell 4k and financial services, which was down 1k. One of our concerns about the labour market is that we are seeing a big pick-up in lay-off announcements in well-paid, full-time sectors such as technology and financial services while the growth has been in lower paying, less secure, part-time sectors such as leisure and hospitality. This caution remain valid, but at least this month we did see the job growth coming from full-time positions. Nonetheless, as the chart below shows, the number of full-time Americans in work has effectively flat lined since March last year. Virtually all of the jobs created on balance over the past 11 months have been part-time, which isn’t a sign of strength. Therefore the composition of the jobs created is an important consideration in gauging the strength of the economy. Full-time versus part-time employment levels (millions) Source: Macrobond, ING Market angst and bank caution means the jobs market will weaken Moreover, the report isn't strong throughout with average hourly earnings coming in below expectations at 0.2% month-on-month/4.6% year-on-year and the unemployment rate ticking up to 3.6% from 3.4%. Indeed the household survey showed employment rising a more modest 177k while the labour force grew 419k. Read next: Surprise UK growth rebound means technical recession could be avoided| FXMAG.COM We are concerned that the labour market is a lagging indicator – it is the last data point to turn in a cycle – and the outlook is becoming increasingly challenging. Certainly, we have been experiencing the most aggressive period of monetary policy tightening for 40 years and our long-term fears have been that the harder and faster you go into what we would term “restrictive” territory, the less control over the outcome. As a result, we are constantly looking for signs of stress and clearly concerns about the stability of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and potentially other institutions are making investors nervous right now. The January Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer survey has shown banks are becoming much more cautious with the proportion tightening their lending standards having increased significantly over the past two quarters. Therefore, we should not only be concerned about the rapid rise in borrowing costs, but also access to credit. Struggling companies and households are going to find themselves under intensifying pressures, with the chart below showing that typically when you see spikes in bank caution, the real world on activity and jobs isn’t far behind. Indeed, this charts suggests we should be braced for unemployment to rise from late second quarter onwards. Senior Loan Officer survey shows banks are nervous and weaker credit flow means job losses Source: Macrobond, ING Fed is a close call, but lingering market worries would favour a 25bp move This then brings us to the question of what the Fed will do on 22 March. Chair Powell’s testimony clearly signaled that 50bp was firmly on the table and another strong jobs number will embolden the hawks on the committee. Next week we have CPI, retail sales and industrial production. We think the two activity reports will be soft, but see little reason for the core CPI to come in below the 0.4% MoM consensus forecast this month. This is still more than twice the rate needed (0.17% MoM) that would, over time, get us down to a 2% YoY inflation rate. The macro newsflow and Powell's testimony on their own would therefore suggest 50bp on 22 March, but market angst regarding SVB and potentially others is unlikely to disappear. If that's the case a 25bp move would make more sense, especially given monetary policy operates with long lags and the cost and access to borrowing are going to increasingly weigh on the economy. Read this article on THINK TagsUS Payrolls Jobs Federal Reserve Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Federal Reserve splits highlighted by May FOMC minutes

Federal Reserve is expected to go for a 50bp rate hike. Unemployment rate hit 3.6%

FXStreet News FXStreet News 10.03.2023 15:53
The US Nonfarm Payrolls data for the month of February came in at 311,000, above expectations. Solid NFP data fuels expectations of a 50 bps rate hike by the Federal Reserve at the March 21-22 meeting after Chair Jerome Powell's statement from Tuesday. The crypto market reacted positively to the NFP data as Bitcoin price rose above $20,000. The United States Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data showed the US economy added 311,000 jobs in February, surpassing forecasts of a 205,000 gain. The month of February was expected to note a relatively lesser increase in the jobs report as compared to January. The enormous increase of 504,000 (revised from 517,000) in January was beyond expectations, but it also noted that the economy was in good shape. In addition to the strong jobs report, the unemployment rate rose to 3.6% while the labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.5%, still standing below the pre-pandemic levels of 63.3% in February 2020. However, another strong jobs report is expected to result in a higher rate hike next month, as stated by FXStreet Lead Analyst Eren Sengezer, The CME Group FedWatch Tool shows that markets are pricing in a 78% probability of a 50 bps rate hike in March, suggesting that there is more room for additional US Dollar strength in case NFP surpasses the market consensus. Still, despite the higher-than-expected job gain, the US Dollar weakened as an immediate reaction, sending the Bitcoin price back above the $20,000 level to the $20,300 area. Read next: Binance has proven to be a more trusted player in this space than 99% of other crypto companies | FXMAG.COM Going forward, the Fed is expected to increase the rate by 50 bps in March, a sentiment shared by Chair Jerome Powell as well. Powell on Tuesday was noted saying, The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated. The crypto market reacts positively At the time of writing, the crypto market noted a bullish response to the NFP data. Bitcoin price could be seen hovering around $20,200, rising by 1.32% in the last hour after touching its lowest level in two months at $19,550. Altcoins seemed to be following BTC's lead as well. BTC/USD 1-day chart Following the release of the NFP report, Ethereum price rose by over 1.02% to trade at $1,406. Cardano price noted a similar reaction gaining 2.32% to $0.3113. XRP could be seen moving at $0.368, noting an increase of 1.21% over the last minutes. Similarly, MATIC price rose by nearly 2% and was trading at $1.00.
Gold Trading Analysis: Technical Signals and Price Movements

FX Daily: What to expect from another day of market mayhem

ING Economics ING Economics 14.03.2023 10:02
As markets continue to address the fallout of the SVB and Signature collapse and monitor US regional banks, a big question is emerging: will the Fed stop early? Markets are betting heavily it will, and this can mean a much weaker USD, but it’s not worth looking any further than the very short term for now. US CPI today will obviously have a much smaller impact HSBC has bought the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank USD: Risks of another leg lower The fallout of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank is still unfolding. Let’s start by taking stock of what's happened since markets reopened after the weekend: Depositors at SVB and Signature could access their funds on Monday thanks to intervention by US regulators, which aimed at preventing contagion. The Fed’s $25bn Bank Term Funding Programme came into action, offering advantageous conditions for banks that can get loans with collaterals valued at par – therefore avoiding incurring losses when selling securities that have lost in value. It remains to be seen to what degree this will ultimately be leveraged. The repricing in rate expectations has been titanic. In the US, markets now see only a 50% chance of a 25bp hike in March, and fully price in 67bp of cuts by year-end. US 2-year yields edged below 2.0%, more than 100bp below Thursday’s levels. US equities have steadied but failed to rebound despite the Fed’s moves to calm investors. In FX, the dollar drop has been quite contained: in this article, we explain why EUR/USD hasn’t spiked on the huge Fed repricing. So, what can we expect today? Volatility is likely to remain the name of the game. US stock futures point at a marginally positive open this morning, but markets are constantly monitoring incoming news on the health of other financial institutions, in particular US regional banks. It’s worth keeping an eye on the share price of First Republic Bank (another Californian institution) today, after a 62% drop in yesterday’s trading session. Inflation data will be released in the US today: consensus is for a 0.4% month-on-month, 5.5% year-on-year read. Should we see some “orthodox” reaction in rates to a potential data surprise, this could be a signal that some degree of confidence has returned to the market. In FX, we think the balance of risks is tilted towards another leg lower in the dollar. The Fed and US regulators have taken decisive steps to restore market confidence and may be ready to do more (on the monetary side, when it comes to Fed) should financial risks fail to abate. While it is true that the move in rates appears overblown, there is ample room for a bounce in risk sentiment, and FX is currently much more sensitive to equities than rates. AUD and NZD still look attractive in a risk recovery. Should equities fail to rebound, CHF and JPY may emerge as outperformers. It will be interesting to follow where the political discussion goes when it comes to banking regulation. Clearly, this has now become a very central topic in Washington. Francesco Pesole EUR: Capped, for how long? EUR/USD is holding up at 1.07 despite the huge move in US rates. Admittedly, eurozone rates have also followed with a mammoth repricing, and markets are now even doubting the 50bp hike which was “promised” by Christine Lagarde for the March meeting. We teamed up with our rates colleagues and tried to give some clarity about the market impact of Thursday’s ECB announcement in our ECB cheat sheet. Despite markets only pricing in 38bp of tightening this week, our economics team only expect the recent financial turmoil to impact the discussion on the rate path beyond the March meeting, and we therefore stick to our original 50bp call as the ECB remains – on paper – focused on fighting inflation. Read next: The softening in some of the metrics in the February jobs report is easing fears of a more hawkish Fed, especially in light of the failure of SVB| FXMAG.COM From an FX perspective, this would be good news for the euro, but: a) a repricing higher in rate expectations would still require President Lagarde to convince markets at the press conference (which will prove exponentially more challenging given recent developments); b) rate differentials remain an absolute secondary driver of EUR/USD, and the direction for the pair is set to be determined almost solely by how the Fed reacts – or “overreacts” – to the SVB fallout. For now, we target 1.08-1.09 by the end of this week. Francesco Pesole GBP: Upside despite potential hold by the Bank of England Market focus in the UK has been centred around HSBC’s purchase of SVB UK, an operation which was championed by the UK government. It is hard to draw any obvious conclusions from an FX perspective, especially in the current market environment where we could see large daily swings in equities driving a pro-cyclical currency like the pound. On the data front, data released this morning show clear signs that wage growth might have finally peaked, as recent BoE surveys previously hinted. The 3M/3M annualised rate of growth – one of the better measures of momentum in the pay numbers – has slowed noticeably over recent months. This will be welcome news for the BoE and does question whether the Bank will indeed hike by 25bp next week amid the SVB fallout. Even if the BoE decides to hold, this should not prevent Cable from testing the January 1.2450 highs if the Fed pivots to the dovish side and risk sentiment bounces back. Francesco Pesole CEE: This market leaders remain most sensitive Today's regional calendar does not have much to offer. This morning, we saw industrial production data from Romania, which posted a decline of 6.1% YoY for January. Later, retail sales for January in the Czech Republic will be released, which should confirm the sharp year-on-year decline. In the FX market, the Hungarian forint and the Czech koruna remain the main focus again, failing to reverse further losses yesterday. On the other hand, the Polish zloty and Romanian leu have maintained admirable resilience to global turbulence. The Hungarian forint seems to be the most sensitive to market sentiment and energy prices in the region at the moment, with the koruna a close second. Both factors have pushed the forint and the koruna higher in recent days, but yesterday's US trading and the reversal in gas prices indicate that the sell-off should end today and both currencies should at least stabilise at current levels, supported by a higher EUR/USD. Frantisek Taborsky Read this article on THINK TagsFX Dollar Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Gold Trading Analysis: Technical Signals and Price Movements

UK economy: according to Ebury analyst, recession is becoming increasingly less likely

Enrique Díaz-Álvarez Enrique Díaz-Álvarez 14.03.2023 22:23
Inflation data and central bank policy took a back seat late last week to the news coming out of California that the record fast increase in US rates had claimed its first major victim: a mid-size bank that had severely mismanaged its interest rate management. Stocks fell into Friday close, and the traditional risk havens in currency markets, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen, topped the charts. Notably, the euro was flat and sterling managed even a small rise, in a sign that markets see the problems circumscribed to the US. The collapse of SVB, combined with Friday’s mixed US payrolls report, has also led to a violent downward repricing in US rate expectations in the past few days, which has further weighed on the dollar. A 50bp hike from the Fed in March, which appeared to be telegraphed by FOMC chair Powell on Tuesday, now appears firmly off the table.   Since Friday close, we have seen forceful intervention to stem any potential bank runs by US bank authorities, while HSBC has stepped in to buy the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank. We think that the intervention will be sufficient to restore calm to US regional bank depositors, and currency markets will go back to focusing on inflation data and central bank policy. This week is a critical one on that front, as the February CPI inflation report is released on Tuesday. This will be followed by the ECB March meeting on Thursday, where a 50bp hike is widely expected and unlikely to be derailed by US bank troubles. GBP Newsflow out of the UK continues to confirm a resilient economy, and a recession there is becoming increasingly less likely. This, combined with sticky inflation, leads us to believe that the Bank of England will be forced into yet another volte face away from its recent dovishness, in line with the increased concern we are seeing out of the ECB. This week’s UK labour report is likely to be likewise strong, in terms of both job creation and wage increases. We remain positive on the pound over the medium-term, and think the two further rate increases priced in by the markets are insufficient. EUR The European economy continues to outperform expectations, as do inflationary pressures, and this means a 50bp is all but certain at this week’s European Central Bank meeting. We expect a sharp upward revision to the 2023 core inflation expectations in the staff forecasts, a thoroughly hawkish press conference, and clear indications that another jumbo hike is in the cards at the next meeting. Read next: Pfizer Will Buy Biotech Seagen For $43 Billion| FXMAG.COM In line with the dialling back in US rate expectations, we have seen a similar, albeit more modest, retracement in the expected terminal ECB rate. As mentioned, we think that the impact of the SVP collapse will be contained to the US, and this ensures that we still think expectations for the terminal euro rate are too low. As and when these are correct, we expect the euro to resume its upward trend. USD While it was overshadowed by the news from SIlicon Valley Bank, the US payrolls report for February contained some tentative, but meaningful, signs of labour market loosening, news that the Fed should welcome. Banking fears should probably be assuaged by the decisive measures taken over the weekend, including a full deposit guarantee, but this probably makes the Fed more reluctant to hike rates, which is providing clear headwinds for the dollar. This Tuesday’s US inflation report remains an important one for Fed policy. We expect to see further signs that the core inflation rate is stabilising around an unacceptable 5% annualised rate, which means the above mentioned reluctance to hike may not be long lived. That said, we will now need to see a sizable surprise to the upside for investors to again consider the possibility of a 50bp hike from the Fed later this month. To stay up to date with our publications, please choose one of the below: 📩 Click here to receive the latest market updates👉 Our LinkedIn page for the latest news✍️ Our Blog page for other FX market reports 🔊 Stay up to date with our podcast FXTalk Source: Silicon Valley Bank failure hammers risk assets, drives safe-haven flows | Ebury UK
Bank of England raised the interest rate for the 12th meeting in a row

FX Daily: A nervous calm returns to FX markets

ING Economics ING Economics 15.03.2023 12:59
Measures of stress in financial markets have eased back from their spike on Monday - but remain elevated. Investors remain nervous over deposit flight from the less well-scrutinised US regional banks and whether any more of those banks will run into trouble. Expect another rangy session for FX markets and focus on today's UK 'budget for growth' USD: Dollar takes a trip across its 'smile curve' Financial market conditions have settled a little. Without any further public policy pronouncements yesterday, US regional banks reclaimed some of Monday's heavy losses, US bond yields reversed some of their enormous drop, and measures of money market stress such as the 3m FRA-OIS spread or the 3m EUR cross-currency basis swap partially eased back from stressed levels. However, it seems far too early to sound the 'all-clear' on this topic. The genuine fear is that depositors in these less scrutinised and less regulated banks (the 2018 roll-back of regulation in the Dodd-Frank reforms is being blamed here) will choose to migrate deposits to more highly scrutinised, highly regulated, and better-capitalised banks. Overnight Bloomberg reports that $15bn of deposits have flowed to Bank of America, one of the Financial Stability Board's 30 Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs).   Investors will probably continue to monitor the stock prices of these US regional banks for signs of stress and might also gain some insights on deposit flight by Thursday's release of Federal Reserve borrowing data. Borrowing through the primary credit facility at the Fed's discount window will be scrutinised - last week's reading saw $4.4bn being borrowed versus a March 2020 pandemic peak of $50bn. Presumably, we might also get a read on Thursday evening of banks' use this week of the Fed's new Bank Term Funding Program. This offers funds for 90 days- one year at 10bp over one year USD OIS - currently at 4.68%. This is marginally cheaper than the 4.75% rate through the primary credit facility at the discount window. The size of any borrowing could have a say on market sentiment. This brings us to the Fed and the dollar. As our US economist, James Knightley, wrote after the release of the February CPI yesterday, inflationary pressures are still evident but are expected to fall. The Fed must be praying that market pricing of the 22 March FOMC meeting moves back to a +25bp hike (+20bp now priced) such that it can deliver a no-fuss hike and, like an Olympic high-diver, adjust rates without barely making a ripple in the pool of financial markets. Read next: On Tuesday S&P 500 increased by 1.65%, Nasdaq gained 2.30%. US inflation in line with expectations| FXMAG.COM For the dollar - more settled financial conditions should allow it to reconnect with softer rate differentials and leave the dollar slightly offered. Our concern is, however, that the dollar could easily cross its 'smile curve' should US banking sector stress re-appear and banks want to hoard dollars - that is why we should focus on the EUR cross-currency basis swap now. The idea of the smile curve is that the dollar does well when things are very good or very bad (e.g. start of the financial crisis in 2008 or the start of the pandemic in March 2020) and tends to gently sink at any conditions in between. Expect a further day of consolidation in the dollar, although softer US retail sales figures at 1330CET could give it a gentle downside bias. DXY could nudge down to 102.75 should conditions allow. Chris Turner EUR: Settling in for the ECB After the wild swings in short-dated bond yields this week, the two-year EUR:USD swap differential seems to be settling around the -100bp area - some 40bp narrower than last week. Should equities settle down a little, EUR/USD could start to reconnect a little with yield differentials and head up to the 1.08 area. As above, any severe signs of US money market stress could easily see these EUR/USD gains reverse. The mood in EUR/USD may also be subdued ahead of the European Central Bank's expected 50bp hike tomorrow. Elsewhere, we have just seen an above-expected February CPI release for Sweden. This should cement 50bp hike expectations for the 26 April Riksbank meeting. This would take the policy rate to 3.50%. EUR/SEK has sold off 0.4% on the news, but we would be wary of holding the Swedish krona at the current time. The Swedish banking system is one of the more dependent on wholesale funding markets and also has sizable exposure to the Swedish residential and in particular commercial property sector. Ever higher rates in Sweden only stand to heap more pressure on the property sector, on the banks, and on the SEK. Chris Turner GBP: A 'Budget for growth' At 1330CET today, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will present what has been billed as a 'budget for growth'. At the heart of the budget seems measures to ameliorate the cost of living crisis (caps on energy bills), measures to address the decline in the UK labour force (childcare support and pension reform) plus perhaps some incentives on investment (new forms of tax breaks). While the UK's near-term growth forecasts may be revised higher, ING's UK economist James Smith argues that medium-term growth prospects will be revised lower. And we suspect that Chancellor Hunt may be saving more overt fiscal stimulus for the Autumn Statement or the Budget this time next year ahead of elections later in 2024. We doubt anything in the Budget will be sterling negative - after all taxation levels are near the limit - but equally we do not see it as especially sterling positive either. With the Bank of England nearer to a pause than most, we think EUR/GBP can reclaim recent losses and head back to 0.89, while cable may struggle to break 1.22. Chris Turner CEE: First inflation reminder after SVB Today, we will see an inflation test in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region after the recovery of global markets. In the Czech Republic, PPI numbers will be released, which surprised massively to the upside in January. Although PPI has been falling since last July in year-on-year terms, surveys suggest that a significant drop is not in place, as already indicated by the CPI numbers. In Poland, we will later see CPI numbers for February, the latest in the CEE region. We expect the February number to show a rise from 17.2% to 18.7% YoY, slightly above market expectations. The February CPI reading is highly uncertain due to the annual update of basket weights, however in any case it should be this year's peak. At the same time, core inflation is projected to remain sticky and elevated as the earlier energy shock should continue feeding into the prices of other goods and services. In our view, the path of core inflation will not allow the National Bank of Poland to start cutting rates this year and the easing cycle may start late next year. In the FX space, yesterday we saw the CEE currencies find a floor and stabilise a bit. The Hungarian forint, the biggest underperformer in recent days, even posted a 0.7% gain yesterday. We believe that it is the Hungarian forint and the Czech koruna that should benefit the most in the region from the calming global markets. If the euro maintains its dominance over the US dollar we should see further gains for these two currencies, supported by a return of gas prices to previous lows and higher market rates. Thus, we expect a move to 385 EUR/HUF and 23.70 EUR/CZK for now. Frantisek Taborsky Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
FX Daily: Time for the dollar to pause?

According to InstaForex's Irina Manzenko euro against US dollar may get bearish

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 16.03.2023 23:42
The European Central Bank implemented the base scenario by raising interest rates by 50 basis points as a result of the meeting's results in March. A few days before today's meeting, the market began to question the determination of ECB members. Several analysts and market participants were confused by the failure of numerous large banks in the United States (mainly SVB) as well as the concern surrounding the Swiss bank Credit Suisse. For instance, on the day of the meeting, experts at Deutsche Bank predicted that the ECB would raise interest rates by merely 25 basis points or perhaps adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Barclays Bank economists issued a similar forecast yesterday. In particular, Barclays stated that there is a 60% possibility of a 25-point rate increase, a 20% risk of a 50-point rise, and a 10% chance of the rate remaining the same. Yet, the European Central Bank has disregarded investor requests to delay policy tightening or slow the rate of rate increases (at least until sentiment stabilizes). Today, the regulator put into practice a hawkish scenario that was first announced in February. It cannot be said that today's judgment turned out to be dramatic if there is no irony. On the eve of the meeting, critical insider information was released to the media. For instance, Reuters journalists on Wednesday reported a rate rise of 50 points; according to anonymous sources in the ECB camp, the regulator's members are not exploring alternative scenarios because they are worried about damaging their credibility and causing market volatility. Not to mention the infamous inflationary factor, which continues to cause the Central Bank "headaches." Market reaction The hawkish situation did not benefit EUR/USD buyers, which is significant. The pair experienced a sharp decline to 1.0550 before briefly reclaiming some of the lost positions. Nonetheless, despite the northern pullback, a northward breakthrough is unquestionable. Despite its determination, which some currency experts questioned, the ECB did not support the euro. The market's reaction ultimately failed, primarily as a result of the Central Bank's inconsistent signals. On the one hand, the regulator was worried about inflation, which in February started to increase at a rapid pace once more across the nations of the eurozone. On the other hand, during the following meeting, the Central Bank opted not to announce an increase in interest rates. According to Christine Lagarde, the relevant decisions will be made by "evaluating the prospects for inflation in light of incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of core inflation, and the efficacy of monetary policy." For instance, it should be noted that the President of the ECB informed the markets about the impending "substantial" rise after the meeting's outcomes in February. As we can see, the situation has changed today. The fate of the rate is currently in the "hands" of inflation, according to the economists of the Swedish financial group Nordea. In addition, based on Christine Lagarde's rhetoric, the European Central Bank will largely concentrate on the movements of the core consumer price index, which excludes prices for food and energy. Let me remind you that the core CPI ended February at 5.6% (with an anticipated fall to 5.2% from the previous number of 5.3%) and updated the historical record once more, demonstrating upward dynamics. The overall consumer price index was down 8.5%, compared to the 8.2% that most experts had predicted. According to Nordea economists, the ECB will raise the rate by 25 points in May and continue to base its decisions on new data if the core inflation index rises once more in March (or even if it stays at the same level). Several analysts predict that the European Central Bank will advance at its meeting in May only if March inflation is higher than in February. Any signs of a standstill or a slowdown in growth will be used to support the status quo. Conclusions Despite recent developments in the U.S. and European financial sectors, the European Central Bank adopted a "hawkish" scenario in response to the meeting's outcomes. The ECB stepped on the gas and increased rates by 50 points, ignoring the current developments and retaining an "unperturbed look," in contrast to the requests of several economists to maintain a wait-and-see stance. This factor helped the euro, which allowed the pair to leave the area of the fifth figure. Yet, Lagarde's rhetoric as well as that of the supplementary statement in general were highly vague. About its future actions, the ECB has maintained uncertainty. All of this suggests that the EUR/USD pair is likely to see a strong bearish mood. While the dollar is steadily improving its position as a result of the rise in hawkish expectations regarding the Fed's future activities, the European Central Bank has not turned into an ally of the euro. The market anticipated immediately after the US "bankfall" that the Federal Reserve could temporarily hold off on hiking rates in March. Nevertheless, once the first emotions dissipated, traders started to look at the issue more realistically. The current consensus forecast predicts a rate increase of 25 points following the outcomes of the March meeting. In terms of technology, the price on the daily chart is placed under all of the lines of the Ichimoku indicator (including the Kumo cloud), as well as between the middle and lower lines of the Bollinger Bands indicator. All of this points to the southern scenario as having priority. The initial and current key target is the 1.0510 mark (the lower line of the Bollinger Bands indicator on the same timeframe). Relevance up to 17:00 UTC+1 This information is provided to retail and professional clients as part of marketing communication. It does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice or investment recommendation or an offer or solicitation to engage in any transaction or strategy in financial instruments. Past performance is not a guarantee or prediction of future performance. Instant Trading EU Ltd. makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, or any loss arising from any investment based on analysis, forecast or other information provided by an employee of the Company or otherwise. Full disclaimer is available here. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/337835
Small factors combine to pressure credit

Euro against US dollar: what were the reasons of a 50bp ECB rate hike?

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 20.03.2023 12:54
After a tumultuous week in the financial markets, things appear to have settled down. The euro is showing limited movement, trading at 1.0655. Central banks move in unison to contain contagion It was anything but a quiet Sunday, as the Swiss government engineered an emergency bank merger, with UBS agreeing to buy Credit Suisse, the second largest bank in Switzerland. At the same time, six major central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the ECB, announced a joint move to ensure liquidity in the financial system. Both moves were aimed at restoring confidence after two US banks collapsed and Credit Suisse shares plunged. This has caused market turmoil and battered the global banking system, with European, Japanese and US bank shares all down by around 10%. The palpable fear is that the contagion could spread and trigger a full-blown financial crisis and it remains to be seen if the Credit Suisse merger and the central banks’ move will calm the markets. Read next: UBS Take over of Credit Suisse means over 50% of deposits will be held by a single institution| FXMAG.COM The ECB kept the pedal on the floor last week, delivering a 50-basis point rate hike which brought the cash rate to 3.0%. The move came in the middle of the banking crisis, and there was speculation that the Bank would opt for a modest 25-bp increase. There were two strong reasons for the oversize rate hike. First, ECB President Lagarde had stated that the ECB would raise rates by 50 bp, and not following through could have damaged the Banks’ credibility. Second, inflation remains high at 8.5%, and with Germany and the eurozone showing some decent economic numbers, the conditions were ripe for a 50-bp move. The ECB is lagging behind other central banks with a cash rate of 3.0% and will have to continue raising rates to lower inflation closer to the target of around 2%. EUR/USD Technical 1.0622 has been a key level throughout the week. EUR/USD is testing resistance at this line. Next is 1.0718 There is support at 1.0542 and 1.0446 This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Euro edges lower, ECB and other central banks take joint action - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Gold Trading Analysis: Technical Signals and Price Movements

FX Daily: Testing the market’s cautious optimism

ING Economics ING Economics 21.03.2023 10:23
Yesterday’s tentative recovery in risk sentiment will be tested today as investors still deal with the unresolved regional bank crisis in the US and AT1 bond market turmoil in Europe. Barring clearly positive developments in the banking sphere, we suspect the approaching Fed announcement (tomorrow) could favour some defensive dollar positions today US Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC USD: FOMC risk event draws closer Today’s session will really be a test of the sustainability of yesterday’s rebound in risk sentiment and pro-cyclical European currencies. The market’s focus in Europe appears to be on the vulnerability of Additional Tier 1 bondholders after the Credit Suisse acquisition deal by UBS saw AT1 bonds being wiped out. European regulators and central bankers are now attempting to restore confidence in the AT1 bond market, which now poses a major threat to any extension of the recovery in investor sentiment in the region. In the US, the regional bank turmoil remains far from resolved. The Treasury is reportedly seeking legal paths to expand the FDIC insurance to all deposits greater than $250,000 following requests by multiple banks concerned about contagion risks and further deposit outflows. The core of the issue is whether the Treasury ultimately holds the authority to expand that insurance without the approval of Congress. The market impact of such emergency measures has not proven to be unilateral during the ongoing banking crisis, as officials are often walking a very thin line between offering a backstop against systemic risk and risking an exacerbation of the ongoing banking turmoil by sending the “wrong message” of mistrust in the banking system. This is a similar kind of conundrum to that faced by the FOMC as it starts its two-day meeting today. A 25bp move, which is still narrowly our base case, can either be read as a sign of confidence in the financial sector and a reiteration of the inflation focus – remember the Fed already deployed a funding facility and boosted USD swap line to ease financial stress -  or as a policy misjudgement that could accelerate banking troubles. On the flip side, a hold may either reassure investors or be interpreted as a de-facto sign of alarm. What is undoubtful is that tomorrow’s rate announcement will be a big risk event, and markets are only pricing in a 60% chance of a hike. From an FX perspective, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the dollar – which fell yesterday as risk sentiment rebounded –find some support into the FOMC announcement as markets turn more defensive and potentially factor in a greater risk of a hawkish scenario. Francesco Pesole EUR: Lagarde has a new motto The post-European Central Bank meeting period has been a rather crucial one for the Bank’s communication in recent times, and the current fast-developing environment makes incoming comments highly valuable for markets. Yesterday, President Christine Lagarde reiterated her new motto: there is no trade-off between financial stability and price stability. The recent big change in rate expectations across major central banks during the ongoing banking crisis might argue against her point, but her message is a clear one (and to a certain school of thought, a necessary one): the ECB will keep the monetary (inflation-oriented) and financial stability tools separated – at least as long as it is feasibly possible. We’ll see whether the Federal Reserve repeats this rhetoric tomorrow. Still, the impact on the euro of ECB speakers is probably not very significant at the moment. First, unlike in other instances, it seems like there has been no communication gap between markets and Lagarde at last week’s press conference. Second, higher rate expectations on the back of hawkish rhetoric are not a short-term EUR driver in the short-term at the moment, as the common currency is trading strictly in line with risk sentiment and on news about the banking sector. The ability of European regulators to restore some calm to the AT1 bond market appears a necessary condition to keep EUR/USD supported, even though we think some USD recovery is possible into the Fed meeting. Read next: Asia Morning Bites - 21.03.2023| FXMAG.COM Lagarde will speak again today, along with French governing council member Francois Villeroy, although both are participating at an event about CBDC, where monetary policy may be only a side topic, if anything. On the data side, we’ll start looking at a some March activity surveys ahead of Friday’s PMIs: the German ZEW is released today, and expected to show a mixed picture after recent improvements. Francesco Pesole CAD: Inflation a secondary factor Inflation data for February will be published in Canada today. Consensus expectations are for a 0.5% month-on-month reading and a deceleration from 5.9% to 5.4% in the year-on-year CPI. The Bank of Canada's preferred measure of inflation should also decelerate. All this should endorse the BoC decision to stop tightening and give very few hints that there is a need to reconsider this policy pause. The bigger incentive to stay put from now on is, however, the recent banking crisis in the US, which is seeing the Canadian dollar perform quite poorly compared to other high-beta currencies, likely due to Canada’s vicinity and exposure to the US financial system. Today’s inflation may have a very limited impact on CAD given the BoC's recent stance. CAD should continue to lag other pro-cyclicals on any rebound in risk sentiment unless there is a clear stabilisation in market sentiment on the US banking sector. At the same time, the BoC's dovishness is likely lowering the medium-term attractiveness of CAD: we continue to expect a drop below 1.30 in USD/CAD by the second half of this year, but that should primarily be a consequence of USD weakness rather than idiosyncratic CAD strength. Francesco Pesole CEE: Forint signals a turnaround in the region Yesterday's monthly industrial and PPI data in Poland reflected a stagflationary picture rather than a disinflationary one. Today's releases will also again come from Poland. Retail sales fell 1.4% YoY in February according to our estimates, roughly in line with market expectations. However, we can expect the CEE region to continue to be driven mainly by the global story. The FX market yesterday showed signs of relief coming from the core markets as the Hungarian forint closed trading with a 0.75% gain and the rest of the region was essentially flat, showing that unless the global situation escalates further, we have peaked in the region. As we mentioned earlier, the Hungarian forint currently has the highest beta to global sentiment and risk aversion and should be the first to signal a turnaround in CEE FX. Yesterday's move could thus be the first hope for easing conditions in the region. In addition, the National Bank of Hungary and the Czech National Bank will get their say as early as next week. We think both central banks will maintain a hawkish tone given the currently weaker FX in an effort to support currencies and help each other fight inflation. Thus, unless the global story brings further negative surprises in the meantime, both currencies, in our view, have decent potential for a recovery in the days ahead. However, we will need to see a more pronounced decline in risk aversion for bigger gains. For now, we see room for a move to 393 EUR/HUF and 23.85 EUR/CZK. Frantisek Taborsky Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Australian dollar was boosted by record low Australian unemployment rates, historical local budget surplus and a surprising resumption of cash rate

FX Daily: Unorthodox correlations

ING Economics ING Economics 30.03.2023 10:08
With the yen bearing the brunt of the risk rally, the dollar saw some delayed benefits from the re-tuning in Fed rate expectations and enjoyed a modest recovery yesterday. Today, all eyes will be on CPI data from Germany and Spain. Elsewhere, USD/MXN could break below 18.00 today as Banxico hikes and oil stays supported USD: Dollar takes a breather as yen takes a hit Yesterday’s moves in the FX market provided another confirmation that we cannot apply the traditional frameworks to the interaction between currencies and other assets. If diverging monetary policy paths (at least as perceived by the market) in the US and Europe are gradually reconstructing the link between USD/European FX and front-end rate differentials, the interactions between safe-havens, high-beta currencies and swings in the equity market continue to prove rather unorthodox. An important point is that the dollar’s safe-haven status was perhaps dented by the fact that the banking turmoil has primarily been a US story. Furthermore, another safe-haven currency, the Swiss franc, got caught up with idiosyncratic banking stress, leaving the yen to benefit widely from the initial shock – especially considering its high inverse correlation with Federal Reserve rate expectations. This helps us understand the underperformance of JPY since the start of this week and especially yesterday. Improving sentiment asymmetrically hits the yen given it is accompanied by an unwinding of dovish Fed bets: the USD/JPY level might rebound to the 135.00 area, even though we favour another decline in the pair beyond the short term. The bloc of pro-cyclical currencies remains extremely homogeneous. Markets have fallen out of love with the Aussie dollar as lower inflation points to a stronger chance of a pause in rate hikes and the New Zealand dollar is now looking like a more attractive option in the region. Oil-sensitive currencies may continue to enjoy decent momentum as we see more upside risks to oil prices. The Canadian dollar is also benefiting from the general improvement in American (North and Latam) sentiment but lacks a domestic tightening story, so its rally may start to run out of steam sooner than other peers (like MXN and NOK). We think the Mexican peso has more room to rise, as discussed in the MXN section below. We see Norway's krone as more attractive than Sweden's krona in the near term. Back to the dollar, we think the small recovery seen yesterday could be one of many along a gradual decline path, but would favour some consolidation around current levels today. Today’s calendar sees the third release of fourth-quarter GDP figures, plus speeches by the Fed's Thomas Barkin, Susan Collins and Neel Kashkari. Francesco Pesole EUR: First CPI readings in focus Preliminary March inflation readings in Spain and Germany will be closely watched today. The German figures will obviously draw greater interest, and consensus expectations are for a deceleration from 8.7% to 7.3% in the headline rate. Spanish numbers will be published earlier this morning and we must remember that they did trigger some market shake-up recently. Expectations are for a flat core rate at 7.6%, but a sharp deceleration in headline inflation from 6.0% to 3.7%. Read next: Rates Spark: Your timely inflation reminder| FXMAG.COM With the European Central Bank explicitly data-dependent despite an implicit hawkish bias, this week’s inflation figures are set to be an important driver of the market’s rate expectations. There are currently two 25bp rate hikes fully priced in by September in the OIS curve, and the bar for another hawkish repricing is set quite high. However, ECB speakers have leaned on the hawkish side of late and the EUR OIS curve is not discounting banking stress in the same way the USD OIS curve is. The EUR/USD rally took a break around 1.0840 and we could see it hover around those levels today, but we still favour a break above 1.0900 and ultimately a test of 1.1000 in the near term. Francesco Pesole MXN: 25bp hike by Banxico, and maybe a break below 18.00 We think the Mexican peso’s bullish momentum may have further to run. Today, Banxico will announce monetary policy and we expect a 25bp rate hike to 11.25%. This is a consensus view and markets are almost fully pricing in this outcome, so most of the focus will be on forward-looking language. Recent banking turmoil would suggest policymakers will hold a more cautious stance on the future path of monetary policy. However, market pricing suggests investors have already scaled back expectations for additional Banxico tightening beyond today’s hike. If anything, leaving the door open for more tightening if needed as the Bank reiterates its resolution to fight inflation might see some positive impact on the peso. Beyond the central bank risk event, we think MXN remains attractive in an environment where markets favour currencies with high carry and positive exposure to rebounding crude prices. A break below 18.00 in USD/MXN may be on the cards soon, potentially today on a hawkish surprise by Banxico. Francesco Pesole CZK: Koruna welcomes hawkish Czech National Bank The CNB board decided yesterday to keep the key interest rate at 7.00%, in line with expectations. Also, unsurprisingly, six of the seven members were in favour of the decision, while one voted for a 25bp rate hike. The board also confirmed that it would "continue to prevent excessive fluctuations of the koruna". The governor during the press conference commented on market expectations of a peak in interest rates at current levels and a significant rate cut this year (roughly 125bp in cuts priced in before the meeting). However, according to the governor, a rate hike cannot be ruled out and rate cut expectations are premature at this point. The Czech koruna visibly welcomed the CNB's hawkish tone and moved below 23.60 EUR/CZK for the first time since the sell-off in global markets two weeks ago. The central bank has confirmed that it is ready to intervene if needed, but current levels are far from where the CNB was last active. On the other hand, the central bank's statement is clearly supportive for the koruna and implies that the currency is safe in the event of a global sell-off. Moreover, with the prospect of higher rates for a longer period of time, a solid FX carry is also certain. Overall, the koruna thus offers decent risk/reward and we expect it to strengthen further. Frantisek Taborsky Read this article on THINK Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
Small factors combine to pressure credit

Judging from Koning's advices, ECB may hike the rate by 50bp and abandon previous rates targets

Michalis Efthymiou Michalis Efthymiou 06.04.2023 16:00
US equities decline for a second consecutive day as the market prepares for the US employment data being released tomorrow afternoon. Both the SNP500 and the NASDAQ are experiencing downward price movements. The SNP500 has declined by 0.25% and the NASDAQ by just over 1%. The global index which managed to hold onto gains was the Dow Jones which climbed 0.24%, and the FTSE100, up 0.35%. European Indices also declined, with the DAX 0.54% lower and the French 40 declining to a weekly low. The main reason for the decline is poor economic data and lower investor confidence at current price levels. The past 24 hours have also been busy for global central banks, which have given traders clear indications of how interest rates will likely develop over the next quarter. Most signals from the Central Banks around the globe are not dovish, but neither indicates a hawkish policy. EUR/USD The price of the EUR/USD came under pressure as the US market opened, and the exchange rate formed a full price correction. As a result, the exchange rate gave up previous gains from earlier in the week. Nonetheless, the US Dollar remains relatively weak and has not yet obtained significant bullish signals. However, investors are contemplating whether this may change as the European Central Bank becomes less hawkish than in the previous two months. The European Central Bank’s monetary policy committee members have locked horns over the Eurozone’s monetary policy. The difficulty for the EU and the ECB is each State has different economic requirements and inflation levels. For example, the Bank of Greece governor is pushing to halt interest rate hikes as his country’s inflation rate has declined and is lower than in German. However, employment and economic growth remain poor and require monetary policy support. Therefore Mr. Stournaras is pushing for a halt to the cycle, as are the heads of Lithuania, Croatia, and France. At the same time, Germany continues to support interest rate hikes. The Euro has come under pressure from a potentially weaker interest rate cycle. Boris Vuscic has advised, “The biggest part of the cycle is behind us”. Macro Strategist, Mrs. Koning, has advised most economists to believe the ECB may hike a further 50 basis points and will likely abandon previous rate targets. The Federal Reserve, on the other hand, is the Federal Fund Rate will most likely increase a further 0.25% before the committee halts the cycle. This is also something that FOMC member, President Mester, has confirmed in her latest interview with Bloomberg. Mester also advises that any rate cuts in the coming months would be a mistake. EUR/USD 30-Minute Chart on April 6th Price action and technical indicators are currently pointing towards a bullish trend forming in the short term. The exchange rate is now at a critical level where the price has created a retracement, but traders will be looking to see if the instrument breaks to a lower low or a higher high. The Euro has gained momentum over the past hour as the European markets open. Read the second part: The US Non-farm payrolls expected to hit 235K, unemployment rate forecast to remain at 3.6%| FXMAG.COM
Australian dollar against US dollar decreased amid weak China CPI data

Australian dollar against US dollar decreased amid weak China CPI data

John Hardy John Hardy 11.05.2023 14:08
Summary:  Tomorrow’s CPI number is the most significant US data release this week. A survey of the last four US CPI releases shows that there have been very few surprises of note in the data series, with last month’s March CPI report surprising slightly to the downside at the headline. With the market searching for catalysts here, any data surprise could trigger significant intraday volatility, and today’s article looks at the scale of market volatility to the last four releases across asset classes. Today's Saxo Market Call podcastToday's Global Market Quick Take: Europe from the Saxo Strategy Team FX Trading focus: Mean reversion the name of the game recently – sterling set to join in? Bias notes today: AUD and CAD: recently have been on watch for bullish breakouts, but these never materialized, and given the copper breakdown overnight, if that holds, looking for AUDUSD downside as long as price action stays south of 0.6800 for at least a range trade. JPY: the long JPY bias worked a bit yesterday in USDJPY and EURJPY on the dip in yields, but the lack of momentum building today is a slight concern very tactically, even if a chart top is in place for now based on the recent reversal. With EURUSD suffering, more interested in EURJPY downside break potential. EURUSD: leaning negative for a try toward 1.0800 if we stay below perhaps 1.0980. Conviction not strong, but supported by positioning. US jobless claims the data risk in a rather flaky market. GBP: Have a bias that Bank of England will be sterling negative tactically, but we have already seen a solid move lower ahead of the event risk today. Will update tomorrow. Yesterday once again demonstrated a market that doesn’t want to sustain directional moves for long after the US CPI triggered a slide in US treasury yields and the US dollar. While yields stay lower, the greenback entirely failed to hold and has even reversed quite aggressively higher into the early European trading today. The euro continues its weakness, while the JPY rally attempt yesterday on the dip in yields has also failed to sustain as the wily USDJPY has bobbed back above 134.75 after testing below 134.00 overnight. AUDUSD ran lower on weak China CPI data and especially as copper tests below its 200-day moving average this morning – a critical coincident indicator for the Aussies, and likely the reason that AUDNZD is testing the last shreds of support. Read next: Expect the ECB to keep increasing rates at the short-term, at least until the summer| FXMAG.COM Bank of England: another mean reversion setup? Given nearly every direction move of late has failed to find fuel as this market scratches around for a narrative, one wonders whether the last couple of weeks of extensive sterling strength will also mean revert/consolidate on the Bank of England event risk today. (The struggle to get momentum going almost anywhere is reflected in the two months of bottled up range trading in US treasury yields – arguably we should all wait for a break of the 2-year or 10-year yields out of the range as the next big macro signal). The BoE is expected to hike the policy rate 25 basis points, and the forward curve looks a bit aggressive at over 40 additional basis points of tightening through the November meeting, by which time the Fed will supposedly be cutting for the second time by 25 basis points. One half of that scenario feels unlikely, unless the US is making an own goal by taking the debt ceiling issue beyond the brink (some sort of spending limitations seem more likely to me than any technical defaults on treasuries, in my view.) Will the BoE be willing to signal as much further tightening here as the market has priced? The bar feels higher for a hawkish than dovish surprise today, especially as BoE Governor Bailey seems ever reluctant to favour a clear hawkish message. Any suggestion that the BoE is revisiting its aggressive disinflation forecasts could help justify market expectations. Chart: GBPUSDGBPUSD closed almost unchanged for three consecutive days after getting capped yesterday on the failure of the greenback to stay lower in the wake of the CPI release. If the BoE surprises dovish, the first focus will be the psychological 1.2500 rea, but the 1.2450-00 area looks far more important here for whether cable will remain in this uptrend. To the upside, the next focus is the 61.8% retracement of the entire sell-off from the 2021 highs of 1.4248 (can you believe it) to the panic lows of Truss-Kwarteng near 1.0350 (can you believe it).   Source: Saxo Group Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength.The Euro weakness is only exceeded by CNH weakness, but note the huge momentum shift lower after its former strength. Elsewhere, JPY has a long way to go to prove itself – needing a more significant yield melt-down to confirm the recent reversal in some JPY crosses. The NZD outperformance is looking stretched – NZ inflation expectations up tonight possibly key there.   Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.The EURNOK uptrend looks set to end unless we see a huge rally into the close today (after over 110 days in positive) Note that USDJPY is close to a downtrend, but needs another solid sell-off bar to confirm that it is developing momentum. It looks about the same for EURJPY. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights 1100 – UK Bank of England Bank Rate Announcement 1130 – Bank of England press conference 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1230 – US Apr. PPI 1245 – US Fed’s Kashkari (Voter 2023) speaking 1415 – US Fed’s Waller (Voter) to discuss financial stability and climate. 1700 – US Treasury to auction 30-year T-bonds 0300 – New Zealand Q2 Inflation Expectations Source: FX Update: Sterling latest to play mean reversion game? | Saxo Group (home.saxo)
Small factors combine to pressure credit

Small factors combine to pressure credit

ING Economics ING Economics 16.05.2023 08:18
Weakness in credit markets in the form of wider spreads and the primary market struggling, begs the question of what is driving the recent weakness in credit markets? The answer to the question seems to be a combination of many smaller factors including credit looking expensive, a shift from yield buyers to spread buyers, and limited issuance windows   From a technical perspective credit markets should be well supported, but that is not the case, so what is going on? After a long period of limited supply, earnings blackouts, mutual fund inflows and volatility, liquidity should be plentiful. The abundant cash should be put to work in primary markets, but the opposite is true. Primary is struggling, which begs the question what is driving the recent weakness in credit markets? We currently see both secondary market spread widening and less demand in primary (in conjunction with higher new issue premiums and lower subscriptions levels). The answer to the question seems to be a combination of many smaller factors. EUR credit is expensive. EUR corporate spreads are trading in overbought territory, below the trading range we have outlined. EUR financials and USD corporates trade in the middle of their trading range, whereas USD financials actually trade wider than the range. EUR corporate spreads are looking very expensive compared to EUR financials, USD corporates and USD financials. Taking last week as a proxy, financial spreads tightened and much of the primary market deals were met with a stronger appetite compared to corporates. High Yield has been under the most pressure, namely off the back of comments regarding the significant tightening of lending standards.  Illiquid market resulted in a squeeze that primary is widening out to true levels. Credit (particularly EUR corporates) has been very illquid over the past number of months, as the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) holds a large portion of the market and supply has been minimal. Therefore, investors are long on cash, as not too many bonds are available. This has resulted in secondary markets becoming too squeezed, and thus spreads do not reflect the true value of where spreads need to be. As such, primary markets will continue to drive secondary spreads by pushing secondary spreads wider to match the primary levels, which is the true place where substantial supply meets substantial demand. Are yield investors saturated or taking a breather? Thus far in 2023, it has been yield investors that have been driving credit markets. With the much higher yields being offered in credit, there was very strong inflows and decent demand. This recent weakness could be signalling a saturation, as rates have dropped from their peaks, resulting in less yield being offered. Therefore, we need to see a shift from yield buyers to spread buyers meaning a repricing is needed to create more value for spread investors. Concerns on the external environment. Risks and negative drivers still remain high, thus turbulence and volatility is expected. Concerns on inflation, recession around the corner and importantly tightening bank lending conditions will all weigh on credit. Tightening lending standards will have a negative credit effect. The feedback loop to credit spreads is evident and thus should be a negative driver for spreads. New issue premiums (NIPs) on newly issued bonds will increase and, ultimately, spreads will need to be priced wider long term. This will particularly be the case for the high yield market. This isn’t necessarily driving spreads now but does add an additional negative factor in a secondary effect. More sector diversification and alpha driven investment. As economic background becomes more questionable, sector diversification has risen and becomes more important (certain sectors will see low demand in primary and secondary, for example autos). Certain sectors have created losses. The real estate sector continues to be under pressure, with spreads 60bp wider from 3 months ago, while the rest of the market is closer to 5bp wider. We continue to underweight the rates sensitive sector and expect a continuation of underperformance.  The primary market is now fully based on windows of opportunity. The macro environment has become ever so important for credit and rates thus primary markets will remain closed during economic data publications, central bank meetings and holidays. Therefore, when an issuance window is open, there is a big rush of new deals, from corporates, financials and sovereigns, supranationals and agencies. Saturated primary markets therefore results in very heavy days of supply indigestion. It becomes too much for one day, rather than a pure lack of value. Lower demand for new issues. Furthermore, primary market tickets have not just reduced in size, but also have become fewer. This gives us a real bearish feel, as both liquidity is drying up and there is an active preference to not participate. CSPP is basically non-existent in credit. CSPP being tapered and ultimately ending fully in July, has left reinvestments very low, meaning no added buyer of credit. Reinvestments have been only around €1bn per month in April, May and June. Mutual funds flows have faltered over the past month. Mutual funds were negative again last week with outflows of 0.4% from EUR IG. This marks the third week of consecutive outflows. Flows on a year-to-date basis are still positive at 3.8% of AuM, and inflows are very much skewed towards the belly of the curve, with the short end seeing outflows, in both EUR and USD. Reverse Yankee supply is adding to the barrage. Reverse Yankee supply was also plentiful last week, with €8bn issued. The calculation is now very favourable for a cost saving advantage for US issuers to bring a EUR bond to the market, namely on the back of USD spread underperformance versus EUR. There is roughly 10bp or so on average cost saving advantage on the 5yr and a substantial 45bp on the 10yr area. Deals included Booking, AT&T, Corning and American Tower. These deals were priced very much in line with the market, as stated above NIP is higher due to some supply indigestion. Reverse Yankee deals tend to offer a more attractive NIP, particularly when the cost saving advantage is decent. This adds to the barrage of EUR supply we are seeing, further adding supply indigestion pressure. Read next: Synthetic fuels could be the answer to shipping's net-zero goals, but don’t count on them yet| FXMAG.COM All in all we are still constructive on credit markets long term but we do feel a repricing in the short term is necessary as the dynamics of the market changes. We expect to see more turbulence and weakness in credit over the coming weeks. Moreover, we will continue to see days with very heavy supply indigestion. Credit remains much an alpha game, with sector and name selection being of utmost importance. Read this article on THINK Tags Markets Inflation Federal Reserve ECB Credit Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
UK Gfk Consumer Confidence index got better fourth month in a row

What are the possible scenarios for GBP/USD? British pound against US dollar - inidicator analysis

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 19.05.2023 11:20
Trend analysis (Fig. 1). The market may move upward from the level of 1.2404 (closing of yesterday's daily candle) with the target of 1.2460, the historical resistance level (blue dotted line). Upon reaching this level, a downward movement is possible with the target of 1.2422, the 76.4% pullback level (blue dotted line). Fig. 1 (daily chart). Comprehensive analysis: Indicator analysis - up; Fibonacci levels - up; Volumes - up; Candlestick analysis - up; Trend analysis - up; Bollinger bands - up; Weekly chart - up. General conclusion : Today, the price may move upward from the level of 1.2404 (closing of yesterday's daily candle) with the target of 1.2460, the historical resistance level (blue dotted line). Upon reaching this level, a downward movement is possible with the target of 1.2422, the 76.4% pullback level (blue dotted line). Read next: What are the possible scenarios for EUR/USD? Euro against US dollar - inidicator analysis| FXMAG.COM Alternatively, the price may move downward from the level of 1.2404 (closing of yesterday's daily candle) with the target of 1.2343, the lower fractal (blue dotted line). Upon reaching this level, an upward movement is possible with the target of 1.2432, the 14.6% pullback level (red dotted line). Relevance up to 09:00 2023-05-20 UTC+2 This information is provided to retail and professional clients as part of marketing communication. It does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice or investment recommendation or an offer or solicitation to engage in any transaction or strategy in financial instruments. Past performance is not a guarantee or prediction of future performance. Instant Trading EU Ltd. makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, or any loss arising from any investment based on analysis, forecast or other information provided by an employee of the Company or otherwise. Full disclaimer is available here. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/343650
Euro's Rally Stalls as Focus Turns to Inflation and Data Disappointments

FX Daily: Low volatility sees carry trade in focus

ING Economics ING Economics 23.05.2023 10:47
FX markets seem rather non-plussed about the threat of a US debt default. Instead, traded levels of volatility are sinking back to pre-Ukraine invasion levels. Investors are expecting a quiet summer. Lower volatility is favouring the carry trade, where currencies in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe offer the highest risk-adjusted yields US President Joe Biden met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House yesterday USD: Dollar does ok in a carry trade world Talks to prevent a US Treasury debt default trundle on. Yesterday's discussions between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling were described as 'productive.' Apart from the slightest of kinks in the one-month part of the USD/JPY volatility term structure, it is hard to discern much risk priced around a possible 'X' date (US Treasury runs out of money) in June.    Instead the stand-out is the lower levels of traded FX volatility around the world – both in the developed and emerging FX space. Volatility has fallen back to pre-Ukraine invasion levels in early 2022 as investors fear a prolonged period of unchanged rates, e.g. will the Fed hike, cut, or leave rates unchanged all year? Lower levels of volatility go hand-in-hand with a slightly more constructive risk environment, where the MSCI World equity index is edging up to the highs of the year. Here it seems investors are preferring to put some money to work absent of clear signs of the sky falling in on the back of tighter credit conditions. Putting money to work in the FX space means a look at the carry trade – or expecting spot FX to put-perform steep forward curves. For example, selling USD/MXN three months forward would return 2%, should spot USD/MXN stick around current levels. And looking at volatility-adjusted returns around the world, the currencies of Latin America (especially the Mexican peso) and Central and Eastern Europe (especially the Hungarian forint) offer the best risk-adjusted return. These have been the outperformers this year and could continue to do well unless US debt ceiling negotiations take a turn for the worse. Offering overnight rates in excess of 5.00%, the dollar scores quite well on carry trade metrics. And the current environment probably explains why the Japanese yen is performing poorly despite all the perceived risk. Expect the dollar to stay slightly bid in this rangy FX environment until there are much clearer signs of US disinflation and a slowing activity – which we have argued is more a story for the third quarter. For today, look out for US PMI releases, new home sales data and perhaps some remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. DXY to trade well within a 102.80-103.60 range. Chris Turner EUR: Positioning still seems quite long Despite the correction in EUR/USD from nearly 1.11 to 1.08, net speculative long euro positioning still seems quite stretched, and presents an outside risk in EUR/USD to the 1.05 area should conditions drive it there. Such conditions could include serious speculation over another couple of Fed rate hikes (only another 10bp of hikes is currently priced) or severe dislocation in US money markets if the US Treasury gets very close to an unthinkable default on its debt. Neither of those is our baseline view and instead EUR/USD probably hangs around this 1.08 area for a while. We think the third quarter will be the period when clear signs of US disinflation and weaker activity data drive a much more obvious dollar bear trend. In Europe today, look out for some eurozone May PMI numbers and also the March current account data. Having seen a monthly deficit as wide as €36bn last summer on the back of the energy spike, the eurozone current account is now returning towards more familiar monthly surpluses in the €25-30bn area. This serves as a reminder that EUR/USD is still probably undervalued on a medium-term basis. Chris Turner Read next: The Commodities Feed: Debt ceiling talks & a more hawkish Fed| FXMAG.COM GBP: Services PMI in focus In the past, the release of services PMI data has been a driver of sterling given the large representation of the services sector in the UK economy. Another positive reading is expected today in the 55 area. Such an outcome would unlikely dent the market's current pricing of an 84% probability that the Bank of England hikes by 25bp on 22 June. Far more important to that debate will be the UK April CPI data released tomorrow. 0.8660-0.8735 is the clear EUR/GBP range and it will probably be tomorrow's CPI figures which pose the best chance of a range break-out. Chris Turner NZD: RBNZ to deliver hawkish 25bp hike In New Zealand, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is expected to raise rates by 25bp to 5.50% overnight. This is also our call (more details in our meeting preview) and what markets are fully pricing in, so all eyes will be on the new set of economic and rate forecasts. The RBNZ had originally signalled rates would have peaked at 5.50%, and there hasn’t been much in the economic data to suggest an urgency to revise the peak rate higher: the jobs market has remained tight, but inflation slowed more than expected in the first quarter. What truly changed the economic backdrop was the government’s budget announcement last week, with a fiscal boost that exceeded expectations and a sharp revision in growth forecasts, which no longer include a recession this year. When adding consistently higher-than-expected inbound migration figures (which the RBNZ itself deemed as an inflationary event), it is likely that the Reserve Bank will acknowledge fresh upside risks for prices tomorrow, and will add more tightening to the rate projections. Markets are pricing in a 5.80% peak, but we think the RBNZ may push the projected peak up to 6.00%. NZD/USD remains largely driven by the global and USD story, but AUD/NZD has seen increasing pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)-RBNZ policy divergence. A hawkish 25bp hike by the RBNZ tomorrow could give NZD/USD some support even if USD stays bid while pressuring AUD/NZD further: the 1.0485 December lows may soon be tested.  Francesco Pesole Read this article on THINK Tags New Zealand dollar FX Daily FX Dollar Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
The Uranium Spot Price Soars Amidst Supply Concerns, Nuclear Power's Rise, and Bubble Stocks' Decline

Challenging Start to 2023: Company's Q1 Results Fall Below Expectations

GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 26.05.2023 11:13
Q1'23 revenue was PLN 412.2m (-2% y/y), in line with our expectations. Management signalled at the last earnings conference call that 1H'23 may not look optimistic. • Gross margin (28.9%) at a noticeably weaker level y/y - we had assumed a y/y decline, but it is larger than we had assumed. The company argues for the decline with higher raw material and energy costs and falling volumes. We note that the raw material cost base will start to become less demanding from Q2'23 onwards. • The ratio of SG&A costs to revenue has increased markedly y/y (a sizable increase in cost of sales on lower volumes).   • Impact of the balance of other operating activities in Q1'22 at: PLN -1.5 million. • EBITDA amounted to PLN 9.9m in Q1'23 (vs. PLN 36.8m a year ago). The result was much weaker than we had anticipated (due to weak margins and high SG&A expenses). Lowest EBITDA in Q1 since 2018. • Financial activities with a negative impact of PLN -5.4m (significant impact of foreign exchange). • Net result in Q1'23 at PLN -5.1m • Operating cash flow was PLN -76m in Q1'23 (significant increase in receivables). CAPEX: PLN 13m. • The Company had net debt of PLN 126m (PLN 76m after adjusting for loans to related parties). • As at the balance sheet date, inventories located in the 'conflict region' amounted to PLN 57m and receivables from customers from unrelated companies in the region amounted to PLN 23m.     The company's Q1'23 results are clearly below our expectations, despite our assumption that the results of Q1'22 could not be repeated. The gross margin fell more sharply than we expected, and SG&A costs rose sharply despite the decline in sales volumes. Management signalled at the last earnings conference call that 1H'23 may not look optimistic. It should also be taken into account that usually Q1 and Q4 are seasonally weak for the company and the strong results in Q1'22 and Q1'21 were rather a deviation from the norm. We assume that the demand environment for the company may continue to be challenging in the coming periods, while we expect cost pressures to ease (raw material prices in many categories are already clearly lower y/y, relatively high MDI prices in Europe remain a challenge). Our last forecast for 2023 was for PLN 151m EBITDA (vs. PLN 199m in 2022) - its realization will now largely depend on H2'23 (the base in Q2'23 will not be as demanding as in Q1'23, while Q3'22 was very strong in 2022, and Q4'22 recognized a one-off on the bank settlement). The company is not holding an earnings conference call, nor has there been a traditional earnings press release on the website to date. For the last four quarters' results, EV/EBITDA=3.6x, P/E=6.1x.      
Germany's Economic Déjà Vu: A Look Back and a Leap Forward

EUR/USD Technical Analysis: Bearish Momentum Persists Amid Volatility and NFP-Payrolls Anticipation

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.06.2023 10:44
Technical Market Outlook: The EUR/USD pair has been seen getting away from the swing low located at the level of 1.0636 and the recent local high was made at the level of 1.0780, just above the technical resistance seen at 1.0761.   The immediate technical support is seen at the level of 1.0747. On the other hand, the next target for bears is seen at the level of 1.0623 and the down move should resume as soon as the pull-back is done. There is no indication of the down trend to terminate or reverse yet. The market participants await the NFP-Payrolls data release that might trigger an increase in volatility.     Weekly Pivot Points: WR3 - 1.07387 WR2 - 1.07284 WR1 - 1.07229 Weekly Pivot - 1.07181 WS1 - 1.07126 WS2 - 1.07078 WS3 - 1.06975   Trading Outlook: Since the beginning of October 2022 the EUR/USD is in the corrective cycle to the upside, but the main, long-term trend remains bearish. This corrective cycle might had been terminated at the level of 1.2080 which is 61% Fibonacci retracement level. The EUR had made a new multi-decade low at the level of 0.9538, so as long as the USD is being bought all across the board, the down trend will continue towards the new lows.  
Assessing the Resilience of the US Economy Amidst Rising Challenges and Recession Expectations

GBP/USD Surges Unexpectedly: Examining the Market Movement and Anticipating Nonfarm Payrolls Impact

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 02.06.2023 10:47
On Thursday, the GBP/USD pair grew "out of nowhere" again. And it was an impressive one at that. Take note that there was no significant news from the UK this week. If, for example, the Bank of England had made hawkish statements, the movement would have been understandable.   However, all the data that influenced the market came from overseas, and many of them favored the dollar. The situation with the euro is slightly different, which explains its growth. After all, yesterday and the daybefore that, several important reports were released in the EU, two speeches by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde took place, and the ECB minutes were published. But it is very difficult to say why the pound is rising again.       However, we did experience a good intraday trending movement yesterday, which made the trading signals strong and profitable. Initially, the pair consolidated below the range of 1.2429-1.2445 and managed to move down by about 20 pips, allowing for setting a stop loss at breakeven and leaving the trade without losses when the pair consolidated above the mentioned range. Based on the buy signal, long positions should have been opened, and the price subsequently surpassed the nearest target level of 1.2520.   The trade should have been manually closed in the evening, resulting in a profit of about 75 pips, which is quite good. But let's reiterate: it is convenient to trade when there is a strong and trend-driven movement. It is necessary to avoid flat markets.     According to the latest report, non-commercial traders closed 8,100 long positions and 7,100 short ones. The net position dropped by 1,000 but remained bullish. Over the past 9-10 months, the net position has been on the rise despite bearish sentiment. The pound is bullish against the greenback in the medium term, but there have been hardly any reasons for that. We assume that a prolonged bear run has begun. COT reports suggest a bullish continuation. However, we can hardly explain why the uptrend should go on.   Both major pairs are in correlation now. At the same time, the positive net position on EUR/USD shows the end of the uptrend. Meanwhile, the net position on GBP/USD is neutral. The pound has gained about 2,300 pips. Therefore, a bearish correction is now needed. Otherwise, a bullish continuation would make no sense even despite the lack of support from fundamental factors. Overall, non-commercial traders hold 57,600 sell positions and 69,200 long ones. We do not see the pair extending growth in the long term.     In the 1-hour time frame, the pair has started an upward movement, surpassing all the lines of the Ichimoku indicator. The pound doesn't exactly have grounds to buy the pound, which remains heavily overbought. However, take note that the market has the right to trade regardless of the fundamental and macroeconomic backdrop. The only thing I can say is that the movement doesn't correspond to the nature of the reports and news.   On June 2, trading levels are seen at 1.2269, 1.2349, 1.2429-1.2445, 1.2520, 1.2589, 1.2666, 1.2762. Senkou Span B (1.2550) and Kijun-sen (1.2375) lines may also generate signals when the price either breaks or bounces off them. A Stop Loss should be placed at the breakeven point when the price goes 20 pips in the right direction. Ichimoku indicator lines can move intraday, which should be taken into account when determining trading signals.   There are also support and resistance which can be used for locking in profits. Today, the event calendar is empty in the UK.   On the other hand, the United States will release its highly anticipated Nonfarm Payrolls and unemployment reports. We have no doubt that the market will react to them, and the reaction could be practically anything - it is currently impossible to predict the values of the reports. Indicators on charts:   Resistance/support - thick red lines, near which the trend may stop. They do not make trading signals. The Kijun-sen and Senkou Span B lines are the Ichimoku indicator lines moved to the hourly timeframe from the 4-hour timeframe. They are also strong lines. Extreme levels are thin red lines, from which the price used to bounce earlier. They can produce trading signals. Yellow lines are trend lines, trend channels, and other technical patterns. Indicator 1 on the COT chart is the size of the net position of each trader category. Indicator 2 on the COT chart is the size of the net position for the Non-commercial group of traders.  
Inflation Dynamics and Market Pricing: Assessing the UK's Monetary Outlook. Job Openings Decline Continues in the US

Inflation Dynamics and Market Pricing: Assessing the UK's Monetary Outlook. Job Openings Decline Continues in the US

ING Economics ING Economics 31.05.2023 08:39
It is in the UK that the local swap curve is diverging most from the central bank’s message. Swap currently imply another 100bp of tightening will be implemented before year-end. We do not disagree that core inflation has been disappointingly slow to decline in the UK but betting on another four 25bp hikes this year requires a strong opinion on inflation dynamics which we think few in the market actually have.   This means current pricing is unlikely to be maintained. Markets should also be on alert for a pushback by Bank of England (BoE) officials against market pricing. Only Catherine Mann is due to speak today. As the more hawkish member, she is the least likely to disagree with elevated rates but her pushback would be all the more potent.   Forward EUR rates have been relatively immune to the recent re-pricing higher in USD and GBP rates   Today's events and market view Chinese PMIs released today missed expectations on both manufacturing and services, although the latter remains at a healthy level above the 50 expansion/contraction line.   French, Germany, and Italian CPIs for the month of May will be released today. In addition to yesterday’s Spanish prints, this means over 70% of the eurozone-wide print, which is only published tomorrow, will be available to markets today. As is increasingly the case, focus will be squarely on service inflation.   After the sharp re-pricing in BoE hike expectations Catherine Mann’s speech will be closely watched, although, as the most hawkish member on the MPC, we don’t see her as the most likely member to push back against the nearly 100bp of further hikes priced by the curve.   In the US, the decline in job openings is expected to continue, albeit at a more modest pace than last month. Details of the report, such as a worsening of the quits rate, will be closely watched for hints of a further softening of the labour market into Friday’s non-farm payroll release.
Czech Republic Economic Outlook: Anticipating the First Rate Cut

Bank of Canada Decision: A Close Call with Hawkish Expectations

ING Economics ING Economics 07.06.2023 08:45
FX Daily: A close call on the Bank of Canada today We expect a hawkish hold by the Bank of Canada today, but pressure on policymakers to hike has risen and it’s admittedly rather a close call. We don’t think it’s a make-or-break event for CAD – but we should keep an eye on the implications of a hike for the broader market and the dollar. In the CEE region, the main focus will be the NBP press conference.   USD: Lack of domestic factors A quiet data calendar has left the pricing for the Federal Reserve's June meeting little changed, with a 20-25% implied probability of a hike after the soft ISM services figures on Monday. That and the generally supported environment for equities haven’t triggered any substantial dollar correction though.   The market’s bearish mood on European currencies remains the prevailing theme, and the dollar’s resilience probably denotes reluctance to add dollar shorts ahead of the US CPI risk event on 13th June – which is still seen as having the potential to tilt the balance to a hike the following day.   We think markets will watch the Bank of Canada decision (which we discuss in detail in the CAD section below) with great interest today. Following the Reserve Bank of Australia rate hike yesterday, another hawkish surprise from a developed central bank in the run-up to the FOMC meeting could cause the revamp of some hawkish speculation, especially considering Canada’s economic affinity with the US.   Given the lack of other market-moving events today, a BoC hike could end up supporting the USD too. But, as discussed in our BoC preview, we expect a hawkish hold – in which case the spill-over into the dollar may not be very material given that should be insufficient to prompt markets to price out the implied chances of a Fed June hike currently embedded in the USD curve.
Assessing China's Economic Challenges: A Closer Look Beyond the Japanification Hypothesis"

Bearish Outlook Persists for EUR/USD as Resistance Holds

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 07.06.2023 09:26
Technical Market Outlook: The EUR/USD pair has been seen bouncing from the local low made at the level of 1.0675 and so far the high of the bounce was made at the level of 1.0732. The intraday technical resistance is seen at 1.0780, so bulls need to break out above this level in order to continue higher. Any breakout below the level of 1.0675 would sustain the bearish outlook and put the level of 1.0636 for a test (swing low). The weak and negative momentum supports the short-term bearish outlook for EUR as the bulls are not able to move above the neutral level of fifty on the RSI indicator.     Weekly Pivot Points: WR3 - 1.07335 WR2 - 1.07121 WR1 - 1.06983 Weekly Pivot - 1.06907 WS1 - 1.06769 WS2 - 1.06693 WS3 - 1.06479   Trading Outlook: Since the beginning of October 2022 the EUR/USD is in the corrective cycle to the upside, but the main, long-term trend remains bearish. This corrective cycle might had been terminated at the level of 1.2080 which is 61% Fibonacci retracement level. The EUR had made a new multi-decade low at the level of 0.9538, so as long as the USD is being bought all across the board, the down trend will continue towards the new lows.  
Challenges Loom Over Eurozone's Economic Outlook: Inflation, Interest Rates, and Uncertainty Ahead

EUR/USD Technical Analysis: Bouncing from Local Low, Bearish Outlook Persists

ING Economics ING Economics 07.06.2023 09:30
Technical Market Outlook: The EUR/USD pair has been seen bouncing from the local low made at the level of 1.0675 and so far the high of the bounce was made at the level of 1.0732. The intraday technical resistance is seen at 1.0780, so bulls need to break out above this level in order to continue higher. Any breakout below the level of 1.0675 would sustain the bearish outlook and put the level of 1.0636 for a test (swing low). The weak and negative momentum supports the short-term bearish outlook for EUR as the bulls are not able to move above the neutral level of fifty on the RSI indicator.     Weekly Pivot Points: WR3 - 1.07335 WR2 - 1.07121 WR1 - 1.06983 Weekly Pivot - 1.06907 WS1 - 1.06769 WS2 - 1.06693 WS3 - 1.06479   Trading Outlook: Since the beginning of October 2022 the EUR/USD is in the corrective cycle to the upside, but the main, long-term trend remains bearish. This corrective cycle might had been terminated at the level of 1.2080 which is 61% Fibonacci retracement level. The EUR had made a new multi-decade low at the level of 0.9538, so as long as the USD is being bought all across the board, the down trend will continue towards the new lows.  
Armenia's Economic Dynamics: Immigration Spillover, Trade Boost, and Challenges Ahead

Armenia's Economic Dynamics: Immigration Spillover, Trade Boost, and Challenges Ahead

ING Economics ING Economics 14.06.2023 07:48
Armenia has benefited from a spillover of the war in Ukraine through net immigration of middle-class Russians and other CIS citizens, boosting services exports, domestic consumption and GDP, increasing its two-way trade with Russia and boosting budget revenues.   Yet unless there is a new wave of immigration, growth is set to normalise amid still high unemployment and sluggish credit growth. Budget policy, prudent so far, may face higher military spending if tensions with Azerbaijan re-emerge. As CPI passed its peak and monetary stance has been conservative so far, there is a scope for cautiously lower local rates. The FX rate, however, is now 24% stronger to USD vs end-2021 and is facing the risk of correction. On the plus side, the central bank has used the one-off windfall to boost reserves, strengthening external buffers.
Unraveling the Outlook: Bond Yields and the Australian Dollar Amidst Volatility

Unraveling the Outlook: Bond Yields and the Australian Dollar Amidst Volatility

ING Economics ING Economics 15.06.2023 11:50
Outlook for bond yields and the AUD It has been a volatile 12 months for the Australian dollar, which dropped as low as 0.617 intraday against the US dollar in September 2022 and reached as high as 0.716 in February this year. Currently, the AUD is sitting in the upper half of this range. Further volatility is probable. The combination of a turn in global central bank rates, a pick-up in risk sentiment, and China’s reopening, all point to a stronger AUD in the medium term. Still, the long-awaited weakening of the USD is proving very elusive. Global risk sentiment, as proxied by the Nasdaq, which is up more than 25% year-to-date hardly needs any further encouragement and may be due a re-think if analysts’ earnings forecasts finally start to price in recession. And China’s reopening story may prove to be a case of the dog that didn’t bark. That makes the argument for further volatility seem a stronger one than our directional preference.     We feel on stronger ground on bond yields. Australian government Treasury yields track US Treasuries closely, so the broad direction is likely to be driven by those, with local factors (RBA policy, Australian inflation etc) of second-order importance though still useful for considering the direction of spreads. And right now, with US Treasury yields up at around 3.80%, the balance of risks for lower bond yields certainly feels better than it does for higher yields. The current spread of Australian government bond yields over US Treasuries is about 20bp, and this could widen as we think the US inflation story will improve quicker than that in Australia, resulting in a more rapid return to easing in the US.       Summary forecast table
Why the Bank of England is Cautious about Endorsing a 6% Bank Rate: Assessing the Impact on Homeowners and the Mortgage Market

Analyzing the Fed's Decision. Gold Market in Turmoil!

Marco Turatti Marco Turatti 15.06.2023 13:29
In the wake of the recent Federal Reserve (Fed) decision and its implications for the financial markets, we reached out to experts, analysts, and economists from HF markets to gain their insights on the current situation. Our focus revolves around two key areas: the Fed's decision and its impact on the gold market. With these topics in mind, we explore the potential outlook for gold prices in the coming weeks and discuss the market's response to the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) decision.   Gold Market Analysis When considering the trajectory of gold prices in the near future, experts express skepticism regarding the likelihood of reaching a new all-time high for XAU. While certain central banks, including Turkey, China, and India (which added 2 tonnes to its reserves in May), have increased their gold purchases to diversify their reserves away from the US dollar, investors, speculators, and hedge funds focus on other factors. Notably, gold is currently trading at a premium compared to its valuation against the US 10-year real interest rate. Recent price movements indicate a potential further decline, with a possible target range of $1860 or even lower to $1785. FXMAG.COM: Could you give as your point of view about how the gold prices would behave in next weeks? Is there a chance that there will be new ATH? Marco Turatti – HFM Market Analyst: It seems unlikely that we will see a new all-time high for XAU soon. Its price has so far been supported by increased purchases by certain central banks, such as Turkey, China and others (India added 2 tonnes to its reserves in May). The aim is to differentiate its reserves from the USD.  But investors, speculators and hedge funds look at other fundamentals and gold is very expensive compared to where it should trade against, for example, the US 10-year real interest rate. Just today it broke $1940, and could continue to the $1860 zone, if not lower to $1785.    Fed's Decision and Market Reaction Regarding the FOMC decision, experts highlight the surprise factor. Many anticipated that the Fed would approach the peak and initiate rate cuts in the coming months. However, the Fed's stance indicates that the official rate could reach 5.75% in 2023, with Chairman Jerome Powell stating that no cuts are expected for approximately two years. This stands in contrast to the Dot Plot projections. The Fed also expressed optimism regarding the new growth and job outlook.     FXMAG.COM: Could you please comment on the FOMC decision? Marco Turatti – HFM Market Analyst: The Fed really surprised: a lot of people thought we were close to the peak and ready to cut rates this year, but this is not the case. The official rate will probably reach 5.75% in 2023 and Jerome Powell says there will be no cuts for about 2 years (which is different from what the Dot Plot says).  They were also quite optimistic about the new growth/jobs outlook. The market didn't really go anywhere: yes, there was a lot of up and down movement in both indices and the USD, but at the end the day it ended with the US500 flat and the USDIndex having recovered 103.  Now there will be time in the coming hours to better process the central bank's message. Today (15/06) we are seeing declines in the stock market futures and this makes sense for equities (also given the emphasis on labour market monitoring, the Fed wants it weaker).  One direct and clear reaction we are noticing, however, has obviously been the rise in rates along the whole curve, which is weighing on gold.
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Powell's Testimony and Inflation Surprise Shape FX Markets

ING Economics ING Economics 21.06.2023 09:58
FX Daily: Powell set to sail FX markets into the next data releases Fed Chair Powell starts two days of Congress testimony today. Based on last week’s post-FOMC comments, we suspect he will focus on pushing back against rate cut expectations. A successful hawkish message could give the dollar some support into the next key releases. In the UK, another inflation surprise leaves few doubts about a hawkish BoE hike tomorrow.   USD: Expect Powell to focus on rate cuts, not rate hikes Fed Chair Jerome Powell will face Congress today and tomorrow (House Financial Services Panel first, Senate Banking Panel then) and will be extensively questioned about the path of monetary policy in light of recent inflation and jobs developments. It is a good opportunity to fine-tune a policy message that appeared slightly muffled by a rather aggressive set of Dot Plot projections, which are still largely disregarded by the market: the OIS curve price in 24bp to a peak, while the median Dot Plot signalled two more rate hikes this year. Powell himself seemed reluctant to put excessive weight on Dot Plot projections last week, and instead focused on pushing back against rate cut expectations. We would be surprised to hear anything less resolute on easing speculation at this round of Congress testimony. Remember Powell said rate cuts are “a couple years out” last Wednesday: at the moment, the difference between the 3 months (peak rate) and the 1-year OIS implied yield is -64bp, which is the magnitude of easing currently expected in the next twelve months. Should Powell successfully force a hawkish retuning of rate cut expectations around the one-year tenor, expect some dollar gains across the board. As discussed in yesterday’s daily note, the dollar appears trapped between the supportive highly inverted yield curve and the unsupportive rally in equities. Stock price sensitivity to the prospect of monetary easing down the road means, however, that Powell testimony can have important implications for equities too. A successful rate-cut pushback this week by Powell can offer the dollar some support in the near term, but the greenback is set to remain overwhelmingly more sensitive to data as market pricing remains un-anchored from the Fed’s Dot Plot projections for the next rate hikes. Still, the first week of July is when we’ll get the most important set of data releases in the US, so Powell’s words can determine whether DXY will end the quarter above or below the 102.00 mark.
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Central Banks Take Center Stage: Rate Hike Debates and Emerging Market Currencies Impact FX Market

ING Economics ING Economics 22.06.2023 09:29
FX Daily: 25, 50 and 1150bp rate hikes on the table today It is a big day for central bank policy meetings around the world. In the G10 space, the debate over whether policy rates get hiked 25 or 50bp is very much alive in the UK, Norway and to a lesser degree Switzerland. And there is much focus on the return of conventional policy and large rate hikes in Turkey. More hawkish policy overseas can keep the dollar offered.   USD: Rest of World catch-up with Fed sends dollar offered Price action in the FX space suggests investors are losing interest in the strong dollar story and are minded to seek out opportunities overseas. The return of portfolio flows to emerging markets is normally a slightly negative one for the dollar and can perhaps explain recent price action where the dollar is slightly offered even though US rates are at their highs and the US yield curve is steeply inverted.  Two such emerging market opportunities are Turkey (which we discuss below) and Brazil. Here, the central bank is resolutely keeping the policy rate at 13.75% (even though CPI is at 4%) and awaiting for longer-term inflation expectations to converge to target. Given that investors are giving Brazil's fiscal policy (long Brazil's Achilles heel) the benefit of the doubt, money looks to be flowing into the Brazilian real and driving one-month implied yields down to 10.88% from 12.50%. Spot USD/BRL looks as if it can drop to the 4.50 area. The only place where the strong dollar story is playing out is in USD/JPY, where a resolutely dovish Bank of Japan means that USD/JPY will be at the forefront of any dollar rally on the back of strong US data. On the calendar today is the second set of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, existing home sales and weekly jobless claims. The recent rise in jobless claims is starting to gain some attention and any surprise rise today could knock 0.5% off the dollar. Given lots of rate rises in Europe today and some interest in emerging market currencies, we can see DXY staying gently offered. 101.50/60 would be the next target for DXY on the break of 102.00.
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Bitcoin Surges 24% in 6 Days: Deutsche Bank's Crypto-License Search and Race for Bitcoin ETF Fuel the Rally

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 22.06.2023 13:58
Bitcoin's over 24% increase in just 6 days is due to several significant events. Deutsche Bank's search for a crypto-license and the race to create a Bitcoin ETF fund are the main reasons why BTC began to climb again towards 30,000. USD. On June 15, BlackRock filed a Bitcoin Spot ETF application with the SEC, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Yes, to the same SEC that is pursuing cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase.   It is worth noting that the SEC has definitively rejected such applications in the past, however, the latest attempt was made by the largest player in the asset management market. In reaction to these events, Invesco applied for the creation of such a fund many times in the past. The third applicant turned out to be WisdomTree, which also intends to apply for the creation of a cryptocurrency exchange fund ETF in the United States. An interesting event in the context of the increase in the value of Bitcoin is also WallStreet's support for new digital asset platforms - EDX Markets. Although there is still a long way to ATH, interest in the oldest cryptocurrency is still very high. The actions of the SEC did not scare off investors, which could have been suggested by the record transfer of BTC from crypto-miners.   Technical Market Outlook: The BTC/USD pair has been seen rallying over 24% from the low made at the level of $24,753, so the last local high made at the level of $30,777. The bulls had broken above the technical resistance located at $28,446 and now this level will work as the technical support. The market conditions are extremely overbought on the H4 time frame chart and on a Daily time frame chart. The next target for bulls is still seen at the level of $32,350.  
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Asia Morning Bites: Japanese Inflation Rises, Anticipation of BOJ Policy Adjustment

ING Economics ING Economics 23.06.2023 12:00
Asia Morning Bites Japanese core inflation excluding food and energy edges higher in May - tees up the Bank of Japan for a July tweak to policy.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  After several days of decline, US stocks turned around on Thursday, and equity futures indicate that they may have a little further to go today. The S&P 500 rose 0.37%, while the NASDAQ rose 0.95%. China was out for Dragon Boat Day and will be out today too.  US Treasury yields went higher again. The Yield on both the 2Y note and the 10Y bond rose 7.6bp, taking 10Y yields to 3.795%. 10Y UK Gilt yields fell 3.8bp after the larger-than-expected Bank of England hike. EURUSD pushed above 1.10 yesterday, despite the rise in US yields, but it could not hold on to its gains and has retreated back to 1.0956 – not much changed from 24 hours ago.  G-10 currencies including the AUD and JPY lost ground to the USD, but GBP was steadier, helped by higher rates. Most Asian currencies weakened against the USD yesterday. The THB rose to 35.075, and the SGD rose to 1.3447. USDCNH has risen to 7.1957 and topped 7.20 overnight.   G-7 macro: There were further hawkish comments from Jerome Powell overnight, who said that the US may need one or two more rate hikes. Barkin also indicated that he was happy to see rates go higher. The main macro release from the US for the day was existing home sales. Lack of supply seems to be helping house prices to remain supported, as James Knightley writes here. Initial jobless claims held on to the recent highs at 264K, though continuing claims drifted a little lower. Not quite a smoking gun for the labour market, but it is becoming a little more interesting. The Bank of England’s 50bp hike took markets by surprise. James Smith and Chris Turner write about it here. James notes, “We’re tempted to say that today’s 50bp move won’t become a new trend, but two further 25bp hikes seem like the most likely route after today’s meeting”. Today is another quiet day for macro releases, with nothing of note from the US and only retail sales from the UK to look at.   Japan:  May inflation data came out slightly higher than expected. The headline inflation rate was 3.2% YoY in May (vs 3.5% in April, 3.2% market consensus) but core (3.2%) and "core-core" (4.3%) inflation beat market expectations. Inflation excluding food and energy even rose from 4.1% in April. The headline CPI index was unchanged month-on-month, but goods prices fell 0.1% MoM sa, while service prices rose 0.1%. Housing, transportation, telecommunications, and entertainment prices continued to rise, while utilities fell again. We think there are signs of inflationary pressure building up on the supply side, but it is certainly not strong enough for the BoJ to bring about immediate tightening.Looking ahead, the current energy subsidy program will end in September and some power companies will begin to raise electricity fees again. Thus, we see headline inflation staying above 2% for a considerable time. We expect June Tokyo inflation, released next week, will also pick up again.  We think that the BoJ will upgrade its inflation outlook in July and a yield curve control (YCC) tweak is still possible despite the dovish comments from several board members. They will probably justify their action by saying that a YCC tweak is not a tightening, but instead, that it is done to improve market functionality. Another reason that we think a July tweak is possible is that a shift in YCC may need to come as a surprise to avoid a large bond selloff. Singapore:  May inflation is set for release today.  The market consensus points to a slight softening in inflation with core and headline inflation slipping to 4.7%YoY and 5.4%YoY, respectively.  Continued robust domestic demand is preventing price pressures from dissipating quickly.  Despite the dip in inflation, the MAS will likely be on notice monitoring price developments with core inflation still well above target.  
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Navigating the Monetary Policy Dilemma: Markets, Central Banks, and Financial Conditions - 27.06.2023

ING Economics ING Economics 27.06.2023 10:56
FX Daily: Hawkish Sintra kicks off The ECB Symposium in Sintra starts today, with an introductory speech by Lagarde plus remarks from other ECB members. A generally hawkish tone should come from all sides: the eurozone (despite a worsening growth outlook), the UK (despite the mortgage crisis) and the US. We’ll also monitor the speech by Norges Bank Governor today and Canada’s CPI numbers.   USD: Slightly weaker into Sintra The week has started on a rather quiet tone across most asset classes. The dollar is trading softer against the pro-cyclical currencies, a sign that the FX market has also fully overlooked the weekend crisis in Russia. As highlighted in yesterday’s FX Daily, investors are fully focused on the central bank story, and with the FOMC and post-FOMC hawkish messages having now been absorbed, we are transitioning to a period where data will tell investors whether there is any need to push tightening expectations beyond the one rate hike priced in for July. The notion of first and second-tier data releases is a bit more muffled in an environment where markets are spasmodically looking for evidence of disinflation and/or economic slowdown. We will see a gradual intensification in the US data release calendar in the coming days, which will culminate with ISM services and payroll data on 6 and 7 July; and then June CPI figures on 12 July. Zooming back into this week, the Conference Board consumer confidence data today will be the highlight of the day, although some focus will also be on May’s Durable goods orders and new home sales, and on June’s Richmond Fed Manufacturing index. Consensus expectations point to a relatively firm set of numbers, and we see no reasons to strongly disagree. Considering the low likelihood of a dovish turn by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at his Sintra speech tomorrow, an acceleration in the dollar decline does not seem very likely.
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Monitoring CNY Fixing and Industrial Profit Data: Global Market Insights and Key Economic Indicators

ING Economics ING Economics 28.06.2023 08:02
Today's daily CNY fixing will be watched closely to see how much pushback the authorities will deliver after the recent CNY weakness. Industrial profit data for China are also on the calendar, as well as lower Australian May inflation numbers.     Global Macro and Markets Global markets: China’s daily CNY fixing was lower (stronger) yesterday, suggesting that the authorities felt that the pace of CNY depreciation had been a little too fast, or had gone on too long without any correction. The CNY traded in a much flatter range yesterday and is 7.2242 currently, well off the 7.24 peak on Monday. Today’s fix may hint whether the PBoC is more concerned about the level, or the rate of change in the currency. The USD lost some ground yesterday, and EURUSD traded up to 1.0977 before settling back to 1.0957. The AUD tried to go higher yesterday but hit a barrier at 0.6720 and has returned to 0.6682, little changed from a day ago. Cable made some modest gains, rising to 1.2747. But the JPY lost some further ground, drifting up to 143.90 amidst a lot of talk about intervention. For the most part, Asian FX gained against the USD yesterday, and the PHP led these gains, moving down to 55.32. The KRW also got back to 1300, and the SGD followed, dropping to 1.3496. A brighter session in US equities overnight may help Asian FX make further gains today. The S&P 500 rose 1.15% and the NASDAQ gained 1.65% making it one of the strongest sessions in the last few weeks. Semiconductor stocks did well, but so too did household items producers, auto manufacturers, steel producers and homebuilders after strong durable goods orders data and consumer confidence figures.  Chinese stocks also did well. The CSI 300 rose 0.94% and the Hang Seng index rose 1.88%. The stronger data and improved risk sentiment lifted US Treasury yields. 2Y yields rose 7.5bp to 4.755%, while the yield on 10Y Treasury bonds rose 4.3bp to 3.764%.   G-7 macro: Contrasting with the expectation for a decline, May durable goods orders actually rose 1.7%MoM, with core capital goods orders rising 0.7% and upwards revisions to April data showing that US industry is not as battered as might have been imagined after all the monetary tightening. Consumer confidence figures from the Conference Board were also considerably better than expected, and some of the regional manufacturing surveys also came in stronger than the previous month. US house price data also firmed. There is less on the calendar today, with only mortgage applications, inventory figures and advance trade balance numbers to peruse.   China: Industrial Profits are expected to weaken further in May after their 18.2%YoY decline in April (-20.6%YTD YoY%). Ongoing slowdowns in manufacturing together with falling factory gate prices will weigh on the May numbers.     Australia: May CPI inflation will fall from the 6.8%YoY April rate to only 6.2% (INGf, consensus 6.1%YoY). The decline mostly owes to strong month-on-month gains last year not being replicated this year. We anticipate the month-on-month increase came in at around 0.2%, which if it could be sustained, would take inflation back to the RBA’s target range. The lower May inflation rate will, we think, be enough to keep the RBA on hold in July after they hiked in June. But August may see a further, and hopefully, final rate hike as electricity tariff increases will keep inflation from falling much further, and could provide an excuse to hike due to slow progress.   What to look out for: Australia CPI inflation (28 June) Philippines bank lending (28 June) US MBA mortgage applications and wholesale inventories (28 June) Fed’s Powell speaks (28 June) Japan retail sales (29 June) Australia retail sales (29 June) US initial jobless claims and pending home sales (29 June) Fed’s Powell and Bostic speak (29 June) South Korea industrial production (30 June) Japan labour market data (30 June) China PMI manufacturing (30 June) US personal spending and Univ of Michigan sentiment (30 June)        
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Sintra's Hawkish Message: Impact on Major Central Banks and FX Market

ING Economics ING Economics 29.06.2023 09:13
FX Daily: How “contagious” are Sintra's hawks? The ECB’s message in Sintra has been firmly hawkish and has helped the euro. Today, a panel with Lagarde, Powell, Bailey and the BoJ’s Ueda will tell us if other major central banks will follow such hawkish rhetoric. It should be the case for Powell (backed by strong data) and Bailey (too early to push back against hike bets), but is Ueda ready to talk up the yen?   USD: Room for rebound The dollar has traded on the soft side since the start of the week, but US data has come in on the strong side, which makes us reluctant to think the dollar has much further to fall in the second half of the week and ahead of today’s Sintra speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.   Yesterday, all US data releases beat consensus. Durable goods orders rose in May despite expectations for a drop and the S&P Case Shiller US house price index rose for a third month in a row in April as tight supply keeps prices supported despite weak buyer demand in response to surging mortgage rates. Home sales also rose more than expected and consumer confidence jumped to 109.7, the highest since January 2022 (despite being considerably below pre-pandemic levels). Today, the US data calendar is lighter: MBA mortgage applications and wholesale inventories.   While those are not the set of data points either the markets or the Fed primarily focus on, they surely point to some resilience in key parts of the US economy and would underpin a reiteration of a hawkish message by Powell today. That would probably take the shape of a further endorsement of dot plot rate hike projections (two more before the peak) with potentially an additional pushback against rate cuts.   Markets continue to price only another 28bp of tightening and a 73% implied probability of a July hike, so there is still ample room for a hawkish repricing in the USD curve. We’d be cautious when jumping on a dollar bear trend before the data gives a more solid basis to justify the market's dot plot gap.
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Market Focus Shifts to US Data Amid Quiet Start to the Week

ING Economics ING Economics 03.07.2023 09:32
FX Daily: Quiet start to an intense week The Independence Day holiday in the US means the week should start quietly in markets, but US data will soon attract the market's attention again now that a July Fed rate hike is a consensus view and there is also speculation about a move in September. We think the dollar can find some support this week. In the CEE region, central banks in Romania and Poland meet.   USD: Data in focus amid thin holiday volumes The month of June saw the dollar weaken against all G10 currencies except for the Japanese yen, but the greenback has been quite supported in the past few days. Some hawkish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell at the Sintra central bank symposium last week have helped markets to close the gap with the FOMC’s dot plot projections: the Fed funds futures curve currently prices in 34bp of tightening to the peak, a 10bp increase compared to a week ago. Crucially, markets are now actively considering the option of two rate hikes. This week should start quite quietly with the Independence Day holiday meaning US markets should have reduced flows until tomorrow. Still, US data activity will peak as markets assess the probability of a September hike now that a July increase appears to be the consensus view. Today, all eyes will be on the ISM manufacturing index, although a greater focus will be on the services survey released on Thursday (the May print dropped more than expected). On Friday, jobs figures for the month of June will be published: after the latest comments by Powell, it will probably take a very weak reading to put a July hike under discussion. On the Fed side, the first event to note is on Wednesday, when the June FOMC minutes are released. The dollar can probably find some more support this week as markets see more reasons in the data and the minutes to gradually align with the more hawkish dot plot projections.
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EUR: Core inflation concerns persist as ECB awaits July hike

ING Economics ING Economics 03.07.2023 09:37
EUR: Core inflation issues continue for the ECB The decrease in headline inflation in June was likely insufficient for the European Central Bank given the tick-up in core prices (from 5.3% to 5.4% for the whole euro area). With President Christine Lagarde having pre-committed to a July hike, the discussion is currently around a move in September. Markets are fully pricing in two final hikes, but not by September. Either way, the stickiness in core inflation will give the ECB hawks a chance to reinforce their message. With ECB members having had the opportunity to clarify their rhetoric at the Sintra symposium last week, this week’s speakers may not have a very strong impact on the euro, even though markets will be interested in comments following the inflation report for June. It seems likely that the USD leg will drive most of the EUR/USD moves this week, especially once US data starts to come in. There is some room for the pair to decline modestly on the back of some dollar strength, although a big drop below 1.0800 may be premature.
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Quiet Day in FX as US Markets Take a Break on Independence Day

ING Economics ING Economics 04.07.2023 09:18
FX Daily: A hawkish ‘skip’ by the Reserve Bank of Australia The RBA decided to focus on decelerating inflation rather than the strong labour market and kept rates on hold overnight. Still, it reiterated a data-dependent approach and signalled openness to more tightening ahead. In general, it should be a quiet day in FX today due to the US national holiday, but things will get hectic again from tomorrow.   USD: National holiday today, but volatility to pick up from tomorrow The week has started without very clear direction dynamics in dollar crosses, largely due to reduced flows in US markets around the Independence Day holiday: US bond and equity markets are closed and there are no data releases, so expect another quiet day in FX. Yesterday, the ISM manufacturing index was released and came in at 46.0, below consensus expectations. The print was in contractionary territory (i.e. below 50) for the eighth consecutive month and hit its lowest level since May 2020. It’s worth noting that ISM manufacturing has been a historically accurate leading indicator of GDP dynamics and it currently points to a substantial slowdown.   This week, markets will once again need to filter their rate expectations for the evidence offered by data releases in the US. The reaction to the ISM manufacturing index has been limited due to reduced volatility around the US holiday, and also because the ISM services (out on Thursday) has been a bigger market mover. USD-crosses volatility will pick up again tomorrow when the focus will shift to FOMC minutes.
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FX Daily: Fed Minutes and Data Releases Awaited as Dollar Bears Seek Evidence

ING Economics ING Economics 05.07.2023 08:43
FX Daily: Dollar bears still need data evidence US markets reopen today and FX volatility should pick up again. The minutes from the June FOMC meeting will be in focus but we doubt markets will find much evidence to turn any less hawkish on Fed tightening, which will leave data releases the task of driving any substantial dollar move for now. Expect the NBR's hawkish tone to continue.   USD: Back from holiday Thinner volumes at the start of this week have coincided with some moderate support for commodity currencies in the G10 space. US markets re-open today and we expect some pick up in FX volatility, with both Fed communication and data coming into focus. The minutes from the June FOMC meeting are the main highlight today. First of all, the minutes will shed some light on the compromise between keeping rates on hold but strongly signalling more hikes ahead. From a market perspective, it will be key to gauge where most of the committee sees core inflation dynamics going and the scope for further tightening. Markets will also be sensitive to any details about members’ positions on rate cuts. We heard some strong pushback by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in the post-meeting press conference against cuts in 2024, but the dot plot projections show easing starting sometime next year. Overall, the dot plot projections and the post-meeting Fed communication suggest that markets may not find many hints to recalibrate their tightening expectations lower today. If anything, the trigger for such a dynamic would be weak US data. Today, the calendar is not particularly heavy in the US: factory orders for May and the final print of durable goods orders. Tomorrow’s ISM services and ADP employment figures are a bigger risk event for the dollar.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

ING Economics ING Economics 06.07.2023 08:15
Asia Morning Bites Australia reports trade this morning, and Taiwan releases June inflation data. US Fed minutes showed officials in favour of additional rate hikes. Busy day for US data ahead of Friday's payrolls.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  It was the turn of the back end of the yield curve to rise yesterday. 10Y US Treasury yields rose 7.7bp to 3.932%. But despite some fairly hawkish Fed minutes, the front end didn’t move much. 2Y yields rose only 0.9bp to 4.945%. US equities opened lower yesterday, but after a choppy day which lacked direction, finished only slightly down. The S&P 500 ended 0.2% lower while the NASDAQ fell 0.18%. The USD continued to find support from the Fed outlook, and EURUSD moved down to 1.0855. Other G-10 currencies also lost ground.  The JPY remains at 144.43, similar to this time yesterday, though it has been quite volatile. Most of the Asian FX pack lost ground to the USD yesterday. The CNH has traded back up above 7.26. G-7 macro:  Despite what was clearly a meeting with considerable differences of opinion, and very low conviction on the way forward, the key element to the June FOMC minutes seems to be that “almost all” officials thought more tightening would be needed this year. Here’s a link to the transcript. Today, we have the ADP survey of employment, jobless claims, and the service sector ISM survey, all coming ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls. Taiwan: June inflation data will remain subdued, with consensus estimates targeting a 1.8%YoY inflation rate, slightly down from the 2.02% reading in May. Core CPI is running slightly higher, but not much, and could also decline slightly from the 2.57% May reading. This all suggests that Taiwan’s central bank need not follow the Fed if they decide to hike rates again this month, as now looks likely.   What to look out for: US ADP and Australia trade Australia trade (6 July) Taiwan CPI inflation (6 July) US ADP employment, initial jobless claims, trade balance, ISM services (6 July) South Korea BOP balance (7 July) Taiwan trade (7 July) US NFP (7 July)
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FX Daily: Hawkish Fed Minutes and the Impact on Data Expectations

ING Economics ING Economics 06.07.2023 09:26
FX Daily: Hawkish Fed minutes raise the bar for data disappointment Yesterday’s release of the June FOMC minutes gave very few reasons to doubt the Fed’s determination to keep raising rates. In a way, the bar for data disappointment and consequent dovish repricing may now be higher. Still, expect a hit to the dollar if the ISM services fall into contractionary territory. Job openings and ADP payrolls will also be watched.   USD: Growth and jobs under the microscope The narrative that emerged from the minutes of the June FOMC meeting fell unequivocally on the hawkish side of the spectrum. The summary of opinions confirmed some divergence within the committee, as some members would have favoured a hike already in June, but accepted a pause and signalled instead more tightening via the new dot plot projections. “Almost all” participants thought more tightening was likely this year. There was also an acknowledgement of ongoing firm GDP growth and high inflation, with core inflation, in particular, showing no tendency to ease as of yet this year. The Fed also noted that credit remains available to high-rated borrowers, but that lending conditions had tightened further for bank-dependent borrowers. Still, the risk of a credit crunch was deemed modest. All in all, the minutes offered no reason to doubt the Fed will go ahead with a July hike (85% priced in) unless data points firmly in the opposite direction on the economic and inflation side. The hawkish minutes, however, may have further raised the bar for disappointing data to cast doubt on further tightening. Today, the ISM services figures for June will be closely watched, as last month’s print (50.3) surprised sharply on the downside. Consensus is expecting a rebound to 51.2, while another surprise drop could take the index into contractionary territory – where the ISM manufacturing has been for the past eight months. Expect any surprises on the ISM release to drive most of the dollar reaction today, but markets will also look at some labour data, in particular, the JOLTS job opening figures for May and the ADP payrolls for June. The dollar has drawn some strength from the hawkish FOMC minutes, which have so clearly pointed to more tightening, that it will probably take some substantial downside surprise for markets re-consider their expectations. With this in mind, the dollar's reaction to today’s data may not prove particularly long-lived, especially if tomorrow’s payrolls continue to point to a tight jobs market and keep a post-July hike on the table.    
A Delayed Dollar Downtrend: Evaluating the Medium-Term Outlook for EUR/USD

A Delayed Dollar Downtrend: Evaluating the Medium-Term Outlook for EUR/USD

ING Economics ING Economics 06.07.2023 13:37
We had previously pointed at the third quarter of 2023 as the period where the dollar would decisively turn lower. Recent developments in US data and Fed communication may well have delayed the big chunk of the USD decline, but medium-term valuation and our expectations for Fed rate cuts in early 2024 mean EUR/USD can still eye 1.15 around the turn of the year.   A prolonged pause in the dollar decline In previous rounds of forecasting, we had pointed to the third quarter of this year as the period where a dollar downtrend could truly materialise, as the combined evidence of slowing inflation and the economic slowdown would lead the Federal Reserve to a dovish turn. Now in July, we have to acknowledge that it may still be too early for the dollar to take a decisive and sustainable turn lower this summer. The recent strengthening in FX with short-term rate correlations means central bank divergence remains generally the predominant driver across USD crosses, and the dollar outlook is likely to remain strictly tied to Fed rate expectations. Our rates team believes a drop in short-term USD rates now looks more likely to be a fourth-quarter and early-2024 story, which means EUR/USD could mostly bounce around the 1.08-1.10 range this summer, without a very clear sense of direction, before taking a decisive turn higher to 1.15 by year-end. The ECB’s hawkishness, underpinned by sticky core inflation in the eurozone, can help keep front-end EUR swap rates supported, and offer more support to the euro, but is also unlikely to do the heavy lifting in a longer-lasting EUR/USD bull trend. We expect two ECB hikes, in July and September, and only a gradual abatement of the hawkish rhetoric. Markets however are fully pricing this in, and the magnitude of potential Fed expectation repricing remains considerably larger compared to the ECB’s.    
Market Analysis: EUR/USD Signals and Trends

Asia Morning Bites: Korean Authorities Limit Fallout as MGCCC Branches Close, US Non-Farm Payrolls in Focus

Michael Hewson Michael Hewson 07.07.2023 08:48
Asia Morning Bites Korean authorities give a strong deposit protection message to limit fallout as it closes some branches of MGCCC. US non-farm payrolls later - and a big number is expected following the ADP release.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  Strong US labour data ahead of today’s payrolls release caused US Treasury yields to move higher again yesterday. US 2Y yields rose a further 3.6bp while those on 10Y USTs rose 9.8bp taking them to 4.029% for the first time since early March. Equities didn’t respond well to the stronger-than-expected data. The S&P 500 fell 0.79%, while the NASDAQ dropped by 0.82%. Chinese stocks were also down. The Hang Seng fell 3.03%, while the CSI 300 fell a more modest 0.67%. In spite of the rise in yields, the USD lost a little ground to the EUR, and EURUSD moved up to 1.0894. The AUD was weaker though, falling back to 0.6630, while the GBP moved a little higher to 1.2743, and the JPY also made some gains, moving to just below 144. Most of the Asian FX pack was weaker against the USD yesterday G-7 macro: Yesterday’s market-moving release was the US ADP survey, which showed a 497 thousand increase in private employment in June. This was more than twice what had been expected and could set the market up for an upside surprise to the 230 thousand payrolls median forecast today. There was also a stronger-than-expected reading from the service sector ISM index, with both headline and employment indices rising a lot. It is going to be quite hard for the Fed to ignore these numbers at its 27 July meeting. As well as payrolls today, we also get hourly earnings data, which is expected to show a slight moderation from the 4.3% rate of annual growth in May. The unemployment rate, however, is thought likely to go down, not up. Korea: The risk of a bank run emerged suddenly as the delinquency rates of MGCCC rose sharply and a couple of branches decided to close. The government has issued a strong message that deposits will be protected. The BoK will keep rates on hold as financial market stress is expected to continue for a while. Please see details. Taiwan: Trade figures for June could show rates of decline moderating in year-on-year terms, though they are likely to remain in a double-digit descent. In USD terms, Taiwan’s exports have been steadily declining since August 2022, and today’s reading may simply signal that the rate of decline has eased slightly. This would be in line with what we see in other regional peers like South Korea.   What to look out for: US jobs report South Korea BOP balance (7 July) Taiwan trade (7 July) US non-farm payrolls (7 July)
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Asia Morning Bites: China's Inflation Report, Global Markets, and Upcoming Economic Indicators

ING Economics ING Economics 10.07.2023 10:44
Asia Morning Bites Monday features China's inflation report which should show both CPI and PPI reflecting weak demand.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US equities didn’t much like Friday’s labour market report, though they didn’t hate it either. The S&P 500 fell 0.29% while the NASDAQ lost 0.13%. US equity futures are looking a little brighter currently. Chinese stocks also had a disappointing end to the week. The Hang Seng fell 0.9% while the CSI 300 dropped 0.44%. US Treasuries were also a little unsure how to react to the labour report. The yield on 2Y US Treasuries fell 3.5bp, but yields on the 10Y UST rose 3.2bp to 4.062%. The USD weakened against the EUR on Friday. EURUSD rose to 1.0964. Other G-10 currencies were also strong, including the JPY, which has tended to strike its own path recently. USDJPY has fallen to 142.22. Friday was a mixed day for the Asia FX pack. The CNH made some modest gains, falling to 7.2328, but most of the rest saw modest losses, which they may well recoup in early trading today. G-7 macro:  The US labour report on Friday showed some welcome signs of slowdown in hiring, especially after the much stronger than expected ADP survey earlier had increased anxiety about a much bigger number, but it was a very mixed story, with a falling unemployment rate, and sticky wages all indicating that the Fed will be hiking again in July. James Knightley provides more detail in this note. In terms of the numbers, non-farm payrolls rose 209 thousand, the unemployment rate declined from 3.7% to 3.6%, and average hourly wages growth was unchanged at 4.4% YoY. There isn’t much on the G-7 calendar of note today. China: PPI data for June will likely show a further deterioration from the -4.6% YoY May figure, weighed down by weak demand. Aggregate finance data is released this week, possibly as soon as today. We should see an increase over the May figure of CNY1362bn, but probably less than last year’s June number of CNY2806bn. The consensus estimate is about CNY2300bn.   What to look out for: China inflation China CPI inflation (10 July) Japan trade balance (10 July) US wholesale inventories (10 July) Australia Westpac consumer confidence and NAB business confidence (11 July) Philippine trade (11 July) South Korea unemployment (12 July) Japan PPI inflation (12 July) New Zealand RBNZ policy (12 July) India CPI inflation (12 July) US MBA mortgage application, CPI inflation (12 July) South Korea trade and BoK policy (13 July) China trade (13 July) US PPI inflation (13 July) Singapore GDP (14 July) Japan industrial production (14 July) India trade (14 July) US import prices and University of Michigan sentiment (14 July)
FX Daily: Evaluating Short-Term Dollar Bearishness and Potential for Rebound

FX Daily: Evaluating Short-Term Dollar Bearishness and Potential for Rebound

ING Economics ING Economics 10.07.2023 10:57
FX Daily: Short-term dollar bearishness remains unconvincing We remain a bit reluctant to chase the dollar lower. The greenback still has to catch up with recent market dynamics – higher US rates in particular – and the scope for further dovish repricing in the USD curve is not broad. This week’s US CPI is undoubtedly a risk event, but we don’t see a EUR/USD move above 1.1000 as being very sustainable just yet.   USD: Room for a rebound Last week saw the dollar trade on the soft side amid mixed data from the US. The latest and most important release, the US payrolls figures for June, came in a bit weaker than expected, but the jobs market likely remains too tight for the Fed to backtrack on a July hike. After all, the headline print was solid (+209k) and with wages remaining high and unemployment moving lower, there aren’t many strong dovish arguments to be extrapolated from the June jobs report. We are still reluctant to chase the dollar lower from this point – not particularly because we expect incoming data (US CPI above all) to surprise on the upside, but because the dollar still has to catch up with some recent market dynamics. Front-end US treasuries arrested their selloff, but remain very close to 5.0%, and 10Y UST are at the 4.0% benchmark level. Equities have also shown some signs of instability since the start of July. All of this should, in theory, put the dollar in a solid position to rebound from the current levels – especially given there isn’t much room for a further dovish re-pricing in the USD swap curve. That currently factors in 35bp of tightening to the peak, still short of the 50bp signalled by the Fed in the latest dot plot. The big risk event for the dollar this week is the June inflation report on Wednesday. Our economist expects a consensus 0.3% month-on-month core read, which should keep providing encouraging news on the disinflationary story – but should still fall short of tweaking the Fed narrative or convincing markets to price out a July hike. A downside inflation surprise could see DXY test the 101.00 April lows, but we think that the dollar could instead find some support into the CPI release and stabilise in the second half of the week. Today’s calendar includes some Fed speakers: Michael Barr, Mary Daly, Loretta Mester and Raphael Bostic. Elsewhere, we expect the Bank of Canada to hike by 25bp this week. This is far from a consensus view, with the pool of economists split between a hold and a hike and markets pricing in around 67% of implied probability of an increase. We explain our reasons in our latest Bank of Canada meeting preview.
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Chinese Authorities Extend Support for Property Development Companies, Global Markets Show Modest Gains

ING Economics ING Economics 11.07.2023 08:27
Asia Morning Bites Chinese authorities extend support for property development conpanies.    Global macro and markets Global markets: Small gains in US stocks yesterday were in line with the early steer from equity futures, but those are not providing much direction today.  Chinese stocks also rallied slightly, helped along by an extension of relief measures for property development companies. Two of China’s financial regulators put pressure on financial institutions to extend outstanding loans to these companies. The measures also specify that project-based loans from commercial banks would not be classified as higher risk, and there was added encouragement for support to enable construction projects to be completed. Treasury yields dropped yesterday. The yield on the 2Y note came down by 8.8bp, while that on the 10Y UST fell 6.8bp to bring it back below 4%. The USD weakened further on Monday and has now pushed above the 1.10 level. The JPY has rallied down to 141.25. The AUD and GBP were more mixed. Both rallied in late trading, which brought the GBP up on the day but left the AUD lower than where it started. The rest of the Asia FX pack was very mixed. But with the exception of the IDR, which weakened by 0.39%, moves were muted.   G-7 macro: There were quite a few Fed speakers doing the rounds yesterday, and the key message was that rates needed to be raised further, probably twice more and then held at those levels to be sure inflation was on the path towards its target. That doesn’t match what we saw happening in bond or currency markets, where you would have expected such comments to be supportive of higher yields and the USD.  ECB comments from Nagel and Herodotou were similarly hawkish, though Nagel believed that a hard landing could be avoided in the Eurozone. Today’s macro calendar has only the German ZEW survey and US NFIB surveys to watch for.   Philippines: May trade data will be out today. Both exports and imports should post double-digit falls with the overall trade deficit likely settling at around $4.8bn. Exports will fall due to soft demand for electronics while imports are expected to contract due to relatively less expensive imported energy.   What to look out for: Philippines trade Australia Westpac consumer confidence and NAB business confidence (11 July) Philippine trade (11 July) South Korea unemployment (12 July) Japan PPI inflation (12 July) New Zealand RBNZ policy (12 July) India CPI inflation (12 July) US MBA mortgage application, CPI inflation (12 July) South Korea trade and BoK policy (13 July) China trade (13 July) US PPI inflation (13 July) Singapore GDP (14 July) Japan industrial production (14 July) India trade (14 July) US import prices and University of Michigan sentiment (14 July)
EUR/USD Targets 1.1275 as Soft US Inflation Boosts Euro

EUR/USD Targets 1.1275 as Soft US Inflation Boosts Euro

ING Economics ING Economics 13.07.2023 08:51
EUR: 1.1275 is the next target for EUR/USD Soft US inflation data has been good news for all the pro-cyclical currencies including the euro. EUR/USD is comfortably trading at new highs for the year and the next technical target would be 1.1275 as it continues to retrace the 2021-2022 decline. For today, look out for the account of the 15 June European Central Bank meeting. Presumably, the ECB will see no advantage in trying to diffuse market pricing of two further 25bp rate hikes this year. Elsewhere, we note EUR/CHF breaking down to some new lows. We would not chase this too much lower since the Swiss National Bank will be getting a lot of their desired appreciation in the nominal trade-weighted Swiss franc from the big move lower in USD/CHF.
Norges Bank Takes Action: Policy Rate Hike Signals Tightening Monetary Policy and Inflation Focus

Norges Bank Takes Action: Policy Rate Hike Signals Tightening Monetary Policy and Inflation Focus

VT Markets VT Markets 11.07.2023 15:00
Norges Bank Takes Action: Policy Rate Hike Signals Tightening Monetary Policy and Inflation Focus  Norges Bank's recent decision to raise the policy rate by 0.50 percentage points to 3.75 percent reflects their assessment of the Norwegian economy and the need to address inflationary pressures. This move indicates a tightening monetary policy stance and signals the potential for further rate increases in the near future, with expectations of another raise in August. Inflation in Norway has exceeded the target, driven by higher-than-expected wage growth and a weaker krone. The strong activity in the economy, coupled with tightness in the labor market, has contributed to these inflationary pressures. To combat the risk of entrenched inflation, Norges Bank deemed a higher policy rate necessary. The governor of Norges Bank Ida Wolden Bache emphasized the importance of raising the policy rate to prevent a further acceleration of prices and wages, which could have long-term consequences. By taking proactive measures, Norges Bank aims to bring inflation back towards the target and maintain stability in the economy. The future path of interest rates will depend on economic developments, including the strength of the krone and any persistent pressures in the economy. If these factors deviate from expectations, it may require higher-than-projected rate hikes to control inflation. However, the effects of previous rate increases are yet to fully materialize, and uncertainties surrounding the impact of high inflation and higher interest rates on household consumption remain. Norges Bank's revised policy rate forecast indicates a trajectory towards 4.25 percent in the autumn, reflecting their commitment to managing inflation and achieving their target. However, the outlook remains subject to changes in economic conditions, and if inflation declines more rapidly or the Norwegian economy experiences a more pronounced slowdown, the policy rate may be lower than currently anticipated.    
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Global Markets React to Disinflationary Pressure as USD Weakens and Stocks Rally

ING Economics ING Economics 14.07.2023 08:24
Asia Morning Bites The RBA is to get a new Governor, Michelle Bullock, in September. In the US, James Bullard will step down from the St Louis Fed. More disinflationary pressure from June PPI data helps stocks to rally and the USD and US treasury yields to slide.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  Further disinflationary signs from US PPI data yesterday helped US Treasury yields to drop sharply. 2Y yields fell 11.6bp to 4.63%, while 10Y yields fell 9.4bp to 3.763%. This probably helped to spur further USD weakness. At 1.1224, it does really look as if the long-awaited USD turn has arrived. We haven’t seen levels like this since March 2022.  The AUD also made solid gains against the USD, rising to 0.6890. Cable too has surged, rising to 1.3131, and the JPY has plunged below 140 to 137.96. All Asian currencies were stronger against the USD yesterday, and it looks like a fair bet that this will be the theme in trading this morning. US stocks also seemed to like the additional disinflationary message from the PPI numbers. The NASDAQ rose 1.58% while the S&P500 rose 0.85%. Chinese stocks were also positive. The Hang Seng rose a very solid 2.6% while the CSI 300 rose 1.43%.   G-7 macro: US PPI rose just 0.1% MoM in June for both the headline and core measures. This resulted in a final demand PPI inflation rate of just 0.1%YoY, though the ex-food-and-energy PPI inflation rate was 2.4%YoY, down from 2.6% in the prior month. Initial jobless claims were a little lower though, so we shouldn’t get too carried away with the disinflationary theme.  Today, the US releases import and export price data, which should also indicate falling pipeline prices The University of Michigan confidence publication will also throw some light on inflation expectations, which are forecast to come down slightly on a 1Y horizon. There is May trade data out of the Eurozone. In Fed news, James Bullard, one of the FOMC hawks, and in this author’s view, one of the most thought-provoking and consensus-challenging members of the FOMC, is to step down to pursue a career in academia. Shame.  Meanwhile, Christopher Waller has said the Fed will need two more hikes to contain inflation because the negative impact of the banking turmoil earlier in the year has faded. Markets don’t agree.     Australia:  According to a Bloomberg article, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Governor, Philip Lowe, will not be reappointed when his 7-year term ends on September 17. This may not come as a massive surprise following an independent review of the central bank, which criticized some of the RBA’s forward guidance on rates during Covid and the pace of the response to higher inflation. Lowe will be replaced by Michele Bullock, who is currently Deputy Governor.   China:  June FDI data is due anytime between now and 18 July. The last reading for May showed utilized FDI running almost flat from a year ago. Given the run of recent data, it is conceivable that we see a small negative number for June, indicating net FDI outflows.   India: Trade data took a sharply negative turn in May, and today’s June numbers, while likely to show exports still falling from a year ago, may have moderated slightly from the -10.3%YoY rate of decline in May. The trade deficit could shrink slightly from the May $22.12bn figure.     Singapore: 2Q GDP surprised on the upside and settled at 0.7%YoY compared to 1Q GDP growth of 0.4%YoY.  The Market consensus had estimated growth at 0.5%YoY. Compared to the previous quarter, GDP was up 0.3% after a 0.4% contraction in 1Q23. The upside surprise to growth may have been delivered by retail sales, with department store sales and recreational services supported by the return of visitor arrivals. Services industries as a whole expanded 3%YoY, much faster than the 1.8% gain reported in 1Q.  The rest of the economy, however, continues to face challenges with manufacturing down 7.5%YoY, tracking a similar downturn faced by non-oil domestic exports as global demand remains soft.    What to look out for: China FDI, India trade and US University of Michigan sentiment China FDI (14 July) Japan industrial production (14 July) India trade (14 July) US import prices and University of Michigan sentiment (14 July)
USD Weakness Boosts Commodity Complex as Oil Supply Disruptions Drive Prices Higher

USD Weakness Boosts Commodity Complex as Oil Supply Disruptions Drive Prices Higher

ING Economics ING Economics 14.07.2023 08:38
The Commodities Feed: USD boosts the complex The commodity complex continues to move higher, aided by the weakness seen in the USD since the US CPI release. For oil, supply disruptions have provided a further boost to the market.   Energy – Oil supply disruptions grow Oil continues to move higher thanks to tailwinds from the below consensus CPI report earlier this week along with weakness in the USD. ICE Brent is now trading above US$81/bbl, the highest levels seen since late April. Brent is set for its third consecutive week of gains. It is not just macro factors driving crude at the moment. Chinese trade data for oil was constructive with flows significantly higher year-on-year and also up month-on-month. In addition, there are some renewed supply concerns. Both Libya and Nigeria are seeing disruptions at the moment. In Libya, both the Sharara and El Feel oil fields are in the process of being shut down due to protests spreading in the country. These fields have a combined production capacity of around 370MMbbls/d. Meanwhile in Nigeria, Shell has suspended operations at its Forcados oil terminal due to a possible leak. The terminal was set to ship 220Mbbls/d of crude in July. Combined, these disruptions are significant and will be felt in a market that is already set to tighten. There is also uncertainty over whether we will see reduced appetite for Russian crude oil, given that Urals are now trading above the G7 price cap. Western shipping and insurance services can only be used for crude priced under US$60/bbl. Russia has tried to blunt the impact of the price cap by securing alternative shipping capacity, but only time will tell how successful it has been in doing so. Both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC released their monthly oil market reports yesterday. The IEA revised lower its demand growth forecasts for 2023 by 220Mbbls/d to 2.2MMbbls/d, which still leaves oil demand this year at record levels. This should also mean that the oil market still tightens up over the second half of 2023. As for 2024, the IEA expects oil demand to grow by 1.1MMbbls/d. OPEC are more bullish on oil demand, revising up their demand growth forecasts for 2023 slightly to 2.44MMbbls/d, whilst for 2024 the group expects oil demand to grow by 2.25MMbbls/d. This is quite aggressive when considering the uncertain macro outlook. In Europe, refined product inventories in the ARA region have declined for the fifth consecutive week, falling by 53kt over the last week to 5.65mt. Gasoline stocks fell by 30kt over the week to 1.34mt, although stocks are still comfortable and well above the 5-year average. However, middle distillates continue to tighten. Jet fuel stocks in ARA fell by 20kt to 730kt, which is the lowest level seen at this stage of the year since 2018. Meanwhile, gasoil inventories fell by 29kt over the week to 1.93mt, which is around 371kt below the 5-year average. These draws continue to offer good support to the gasoil market, with the crack remaining above US$20/bbl whilst the prompt time spread remains in backwardation.
The Commodities Feed: China's GDP Disappoints, Adding Pressure to the Complex

The Commodities Feed: China's GDP Disappoints, Adding Pressure to the Complex

ING Economics ING Economics 17.07.2023 10:40
The Commodities Feed: China’s GDP falls short The complex has come under pressure this morning following China’s second quarter GDP data, which came in below market expectations. The data will do little to ease concerns over the Chinese economy.   Energy – China data weighs on oil Oil’s venture above US$80/bbl was relatively short-lived, with Brent settling below this level at the end of last week. Downward pressure has continued during early morning trading today following weaker than expected Chinese GDP data. A slight recovery in the USD has also put some pressure on oil whilst supply concerns have also eased, with both the Sharara and El Feel oil fields in Libya reportedly resuming after a brief shutdown last week due to protests. However, it appears as though loadings at Shell’s Forcados oil terminal in Nigeria remain halted after a possible leak was discovered last week. The terminal was set to ship 220Mbbls/d in July. This follows a number of other recent supply disruptions in the oil market, including Kazakh output being affected by power issues and Mexican output bieing hit by a platform explosion, whilst the market is still awaiting the resumption of Kurdish oil flows via the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey. Speculators increased their net long in ICE Brent over the last reporting week, buying 48,123 lots to leave them with a net long of 233,029 lots as of last Tuesday. This is the largest net long speculators have held since April. However, the current speculative long is likely to be somewhat larger, given that this data will not include the post-US CPI rally. The Commitment of Traders report also shows that producers appear to have taken advantage of the more recent strength by selling into the rally, with the producer gross short increasing by 34,930 lots over the last reporting week. The latest rig count data from Baker Hughes shows that the number of active US oil rigs continues to trend lower. The oil rig count fell by 3 over the last week to 537, which is the fifth consecutive week of declines. The number of active rigs has fallen from a year-to-date peak of 623 in mid-January. Whilst up over the last week, Primary Vision’s frac spread count does suggest that completion activity in the US has plateaued over the last few months. China released its second quarter GDP numbers this morning, which showed that GDP grew 6.3% year-on-year, falling short of market estimates of 7.1%. Even so, quarter-on-quarter GDP numbers came in line with consensus at 0.8%. June industrial production came in above expectations at 4.4% YoY, whilst retail sales in June slowed to 3.1% YoY from 12.7% previously, which was also below expectations of 3.3%. The weaker than expected GDP numbers are likely to continue to cause concern for markets. Digging a little deeper into industrial output numbers shows that apparent domestic oil demand was strong over June, coming in at 14.86MMbbls/d, up 13.6% YoY and 1.4% MoM. However, the oil market clearly seems focused on weak headline numbers.
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FX Daily: Dollar Bears Urged to Be Patient as Dollar Reconnects with Rate Differentials

ING Economics ING Economics 24.07.2023 09:26
FX Daily: Dollar bears being asked for patience Quiet summer markets are seeing dollar pairs consolidate in new, slightly lower ranges. It will be another quiet session today ahead of a big week for G3 central bank meetings. Dollar bears may find some reassurance from emerging markets, where the PBoC is trying to limit USD/CNY gains and the South African rand is holding up despite the lack of a rate hike.   USD: Dollar reconnects with short-term rate differentials As my colleague Francesco Pesole has been writing this week, the dollar has made a modest comeback as both US yields adjust higher and short-term rate spreads stay in the dollar's favour. In fact, one could argue that the dollar should even be a little higher given that two-year US yields have retraced about 50% of their drop in the first half of July and the DXY has only retraced one-third of its losses. Price action over the past week probably shows that a switch to the disinflation trade will not be easy and will require a constant drip feed of supporting evidence – be it softer price or weaker activity data. Yesterday's drop in US initial claims clearly did not help here. Casting around the world in quiet FX markets we see the People's Bank of China (PBoC) continuing to fight a weaker renminbi by printing lower USD/CNY fixings than model-based estimates suggest. Despite credible calls for a lower renminbi to support growth and battle deflation, it seems Chinese policymakers prefer to keep renminbi losses contained and prevent a 'sell China' mentality building. The PBoC's battle against a stronger USD/CNY is a slight dollar negative in quiet summer markets – especially should it extend to outright dollar sales. Today's session should be a quiet one as the market prepares for US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan (BoJ) meetings next week. Regarding the BoJ, expectations of any Yield Curve Control policy tweak seem very low (perhaps too low) given that the 30-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield is drifting lower and the forward market prices 10-year JGB yields at 50bp in three months and at only 55bp in six months. These 10-year yields should be priced a lot higher were the market expecting a policy change. USD/JPY may well drift to the 141.15/142.00 area before next Friday's BoJ meeting.
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FX Daily: Dollar Bears Urged to Be Patient as Dollar Reconnects with Rate Differentials - 24.07.2023

ING Economics ING Economics 24.07.2023 09:26
FX Daily: Dollar bears being asked for patience Quiet summer markets are seeing dollar pairs consolidate in new, slightly lower ranges. It will be another quiet session today ahead of a big week for G3 central bank meetings. Dollar bears may find some reassurance from emerging markets, where the PBoC is trying to limit USD/CNY gains and the South African rand is holding up despite the lack of a rate hike.   USD: Dollar reconnects with short-term rate differentials As my colleague Francesco Pesole has been writing this week, the dollar has made a modest comeback as both US yields adjust higher and short-term rate spreads stay in the dollar's favour. In fact, one could argue that the dollar should even be a little higher given that two-year US yields have retraced about 50% of their drop in the first half of July and the DXY has only retraced one-third of its losses. Price action over the past week probably shows that a switch to the disinflation trade will not be easy and will require a constant drip feed of supporting evidence – be it softer price or weaker activity data. Yesterday's drop in US initial claims clearly did not help here. Casting around the world in quiet FX markets we see the People's Bank of China (PBoC) continuing to fight a weaker renminbi by printing lower USD/CNY fixings than model-based estimates suggest. Despite credible calls for a lower renminbi to support growth and battle deflation, it seems Chinese policymakers prefer to keep renminbi losses contained and prevent a 'sell China' mentality building. The PBoC's battle against a stronger USD/CNY is a slight dollar negative in quiet summer markets – especially should it extend to outright dollar sales. Today's session should be a quiet one as the market prepares for US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan (BoJ) meetings next week. Regarding the BoJ, expectations of any Yield Curve Control policy tweak seem very low (perhaps too low) given that the 30-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield is drifting lower and the forward market prices 10-year JGB yields at 50bp in three months and at only 55bp in six months. These 10-year yields should be priced a lot higher were the market expecting a policy change. USD/JPY may well drift to the 141.15/142.00 area before next Friday's BoJ meeting.
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USD: Heavy Short Dollar Positioning Ahead of Key Rate Decisions

ING Economics ING Economics 24.07.2023 10:22
USD: Short dollar positioning looks quite heavy It's a big week for FX markets given looming rate decisions in the US, the eurozone and Japan. The dollar goes into these meetings in a slightly corrective mood and retracing some of the sharp losses after the release of the soft US June CPI report earlier this month. What might support that corrective mood is market positioning, where the latest data from the FX futures markets in Chicago suggests that asset managers are running their largest short dollar position on record when aggregating their positioning across eight FX futures contracts. We also happen to see some upside risk to the dollar this week from Wednesday's FOMC meeting, where we think it's still too early for the Fed to switch to a data-dependent approach to any further rate hikes.  This week also sees US consumer confidence, second quarter GDP revisions and the second quarter Employment Cost Index. As always, the dollar story is driven by the push-pull factors of the US versus the Rest of the World (RoW). Unless we get some upside surprises in European PMIs today or Chinese authorities announce some overwhelming stimulus measures at Friday's Politburo meeting, it looks like the dollar can continue in this corrective/slightly bid tone. DXY looks like it could grind higher to the 101.50 area.
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AUD/USD Rebounds at Key Support as China's Policy Boosts Aussie Dollar

Kelvin Wong Kelvin Wong 25.07.2023 08:34
AUD is the biggest gainer (+0.22%) against the USD in today’s Asian morning session. The current rebound of the AUD/USD has taken shape right at the key 200-day moving now acting as support at 0.6700. Intermediate resistance for the AUD/USD stands at 0.6835. This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “AUD/USD Technical: Short-term bullish revival” published on 18 July 2023. Click here for a recap. Since the 20 July 2023 intraday high of 0.6847, the AUD/USD has declined by 132 pips to print a low of 0.6715 yesterday, 24 July in light of short-term bearish sentiment seen in China equities due to the continuation of bleak key economic data (Q2 GDP, retail sales, youth unemployment, housing prices) that indicates weak internal demand environment, and heightened risk of a deflationary spiral in China. Interestingly, the 132 pips slide has managed to find support on the key 200-day moving average and staged a bounce of 41 pips to print a current intraday high of 0.6756 in today’s Asian morning session. The Aussie dollar is the strongest currency against the USD with an intraday gain of +0.22% that surpassed the other majors, GBP (+0.13%), JPY (+0.13%), NZD (+0.11%), EUR (+0.08%), CHF (+0.05%), CAD (+0.02%) at this time of the writing during today, 25 July Asian morning session. Today’s outperformance of the AUD/USD has been reinforced by China’s top decision-making body, the Politburo which issued a statement of “hope” at the end of its meeting yesterday that vowed to implement counter-cyclical policy to boost consumption, more support for the property market, and ease local government debt.   The medium-term trend is still sideways   Fig 1: AUD/USD medium-term trend as of 25 Jul 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The medium-term trend of the AUD/USD is still trapped with a sideways range configuration between 0.6930 and 0.6580.   Held at key 200-day moving average with bullish short-term momentum   Fig 2: AUD/USD minor short-term trend as of 25 Jul 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) In conjunction with the current rebound right at the 200-day moving average, the hourly RSI oscillator has traced out a series of “higher lows” after an exit from its oversold region and has yet to reach its overbought region. These observations suggest that short-term momentum has turned bullish. Watch the 0.6700 key medium-term pivotal support to maintain the bullish tone with intermediate resistance coming in at 0.6835 and a clearance above it sees 0.6890 next (also the 16 June 2023 swing high). On the flip side, failure to hold above 0.6700 negates the bullish tone to expose the next near-term support at 0.6630.
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FX Daily: Fed Patience Supports Risk Assets, Eyes on ECB Meeting

ING Economics ING Economics 28.07.2023 08:26
FX Daily: Fed patience provides breathing room for risk assets The market reaction to last night's FOMC statement was a mildly positive one, as Chair Powell's acknowledgement that the Fed could afford to be a little patient saw US yields and the dollar soften slightly. Today, all eyes will be on the ECB, where a 25bp hike is widely expected along with the door being left open for another hike in September.   USD: A little early to chase the dollar lower In the end, the dollar tracked US yields and marginally softened after yesterday's FOMC rate decision and press conference. Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered another credible performance, and it seemed that markets – perhaps because of positioning – latched onto comments that the Fed "could afford to be a little patient" as a result of all the tightening implemented so far. US two-year yields edged some 7-8 bps lower, and December 2024 futures contracts priced Fed Funds some eight ticks lower at 4.07%, embracing five 25bp cuts in 2024. One of the clearest messages coming through from the press conference was that Chair Powell felt the Fed was "not in an environment where we want to provide a lot of forward guidance". In other words: listen to the data, not the Fed. On that subject, he highlighted that by the time of the next meeting on September 20th, the Fed would have two new CPI reports, two new job reports, and the Employment Cost Index (which will be released tomorrow).  While the dollar is a little lower today post-Fed, we would not chase the move just yet and prefer to take our cue from the data, starting with tomorrow's ECI. As we discussed in our FOMC review, the carry trade environment will still be popular and with overnight deposit rates at 5.25%, the dollar is clearly not a funding currency. Beyond the ECB meeting today, the US calendar should see some downward revisions to second quarter GDP, durable goods orders, and initial jobless claims. Of these, claims might be the most important given the ongoing need to see tight conditions ease in the US labour market. Barring any hawkish surprise from the ECB today, DXY should trade within a 100.60-101.20 range.
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FX Daily: Carry Trade Remains Popular Amidst Global Monetary Policy Changes

ING Economics ING Economics 31.07.2023 15:51
FX Daily: Carry trade en vogue despite monetary hikes, pauses and cuts Monetary policy tightening cycles are close to their peak in the G10 space, although this week should see a 25bp hike in the UK and possibly Australia too. Policy changes are more advanced in parts of the EM world, where Chile cut rates 100bp on Friday and Brazil should start easing this week too. However, low volatility looks set to remain a key driver of FX.   USD: Overnight rates at 5.30% make the dollar an expensive sell The dollar is proving quite resilient. Overnight USD rates at 5.30% are probably playing a role here. Also, evidence of a 'Goldilocks' scenario in the US is helping too, where there are further signs of disinflation even though US consumption is holding up quite well. This compares to Europe and China where business surveys remain soft and the concern is that stagnation deteriorates into contraction. Testing the US soft-landing thesis this week will be the release of ISM surveys and Friday's nonfarm jobs report. Later today we will also see the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Survey, where we'll receive insights on lending volumes and how much credit conditions have tightened. Recall that the equivalent survey from the European Central Bank last week undermined the euro. Some last vestiges of tightening cycles in G10 economies can be offset against developments in emerging markets. Here, Latin America saw some of the earliest and most aggressive tightening cycles during the pandemic and, on Friday, Chile kicked off easing cycles with a 100bp rate cut. Money markets seem to imply expectations of a 700bp rate cut over the next 12 months. And Brazil is expected to start easing on Wednesday with a 25bp cut. In theory, this should be good for emerging market growth prospects (and EM portfolio flows) and a slight dollar negative. The risk, however, is that rates are cut too far too fast - let's see. Also, look out today at 0900CET for any new measures from China's State Council to boost consumption (and EM growth prospects). Despite this diverging global growth and monetary policy story, cross-market volatility remains low - perhaps as investors are now expecting prolonged pauses in core interest rate markets. This remains a negative for the Japanese yen and a positive for the high yielders including the Mexican peso and the Hungarian forint. The dollar is probably trapped somewhere in the middle here and unless we see some sharp deterioration in US activity that would favour the Fed not just pausing, but easing - the dollar can probably trade out ranges over coming weeks. DXY to trade 101.00-102.00 near term.
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AUD/USD Underperforms Amid Split Views on RBA's Monetary Policy Decision

Kelvin Wong Kelvin Wong 01.08.2023 13:25
AUD underperformed among the major currencies against the USD from 27 to 28 July 2023 ex-post FOMC, ECB, and BoJ. Split view among economists and interest rates traders on RBA monetary policy decision today. Short-term bearish downside momentum at this juncture as the AUD/USD failed to trade above the 200-day moving average. Key short-term resistance on AUD/USD is at 0.6740. This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “AUD/USD Technical: Rebounded right at 200-day moving average” published on 25 July 2023. Click here for a recap. The AUD/USD staged a rebound thereafter and reached an intraday high of 0.6821 on 27 July, just shy of the 0.6835 intermediate before it staged a bearish reversal and shed -198 pips ex-post FOMC, ECB, and BoJ to print an intraday low of 0.6623 on last Friday, 28 July. The Aussie has underperformed among the major currencies against the US dollar in the last two trading days of last week where the AUD/USD recorded an accumulated loss of -1.68% from 27 July to 28 July versus EUR/USD (-0.63%), GBP/USD (-0.71%), and JPY/USD (-0.65%) over the same period. The weak performance of the AUD/USD is likely to be attributed to the wishy-washy monetary policy guidance of the Australian central bank, RBA that led to a split forecast among economists and traders for today’s RBA monetary policy decision. Split view among economists and traders on RBA decision According to polls, the consensus among economists is calling for a hike of 25 basis points hike to bring the policy cash rate to 4.35% after a pause in the previous meeting in July. In contrast, data from the ASX 30-day interbank cash rate futures as of 31 July 2023 has indicated a patty pricing of only a 14% chance of a 25-bps hike, down significantly from a 41% chance priced a week ago.     Fig 1: AUD/USD medium-term trend as of 1 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) From a technical analysis standpoint, the price actions of the AUD/USD are still trapped within a major sideway range configuration with its range resistance and support at 0.6930 and 0.6580 respectively.       Fig 2: AUD/USD minor short-term trend as of 1 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The AUD/USD has managed to stage a minor rebound of 117 pips from its last Friday, 28 July intraday low of 0.6622 in conjunction with an oversold reading seen in the hourly RSI oscillator on the same day. Interestingly, the minor rebound has challenged and retreated at the key 200-day moving average yesterday, 31 July during the US session (printed an intraday high of 0.6739). Right now, the hourly RSI oscillator has broken below its ascending support after it hit an overbought condition yesterday which indicates that short-term momentum has turned bearish. Watch the 0.6740 key short-term pivotal resistance to maintain the bearish tone, and a break below 0.6625 intermediate support exposes the major range support of 0.6600/6580. However, a clearance above 0.6740 negates the bearish tone to see the next resistance at 0.6835 in the first step.  
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AUD/USD Faces Bearish Momentum as RBA Decision Divides Economists and Traders

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 02.08.2023 09:21
AUD underperformed among the major currencies against the USD from 27 to 28 July 2023 ex-post FOMC, ECB, and BoJ. Split view among economists and interest rates traders on RBA monetary policy decision today. Short-term bearish downside momentum at this juncture as the AUD/USD failed to trade above the 200-day moving average. Key short-term resistance on AUD/USD is at 0.6740. This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “AUD/USD Technical: Rebounded right at 200-day moving average” published on 25 July 2023. Click here for a recap. The AUD/USD staged a rebound thereafter and reached an intraday high of 0.6821 on 27 July, just shy of the 0.6835 intermediate before it staged a bearish reversal and shed -198 pips ex-post FOMC, ECB, and BoJ to print an intraday low of 0.6623 on last Friday, 28 July. The Aussie has underperformed among the major currencies against the US dollar in the last two trading days of last week where the AUD/USD recorded an accumulated loss of -1.68% from 27 July to 28 July versus EUR/USD (-0.63%), GBP/USD (-0.71%), and JPY/USD (-0.65%) over the same period. The weak performance of the AUD/USD is likely to be attributed to the wishy-washy monetary policy guidance of the Australian central bank, RBA that led to a split forecast among economists and traders for today’s RBA monetary policy decision.   Split view among economists and traders on RBA decision According to polls, the consensus among economists is calling for a hike of 25 basis points hike to bring the policy cash rate to 4.35% after a pause in the previous meeting in July. In contrast, data from the ASX 30-day interbank cash rate futures as of 31 July 2023 has indicated a patty pricing of only a 14% chance of a 25-bps hike, down significantly from a 41% chance priced a week ago.     Fig 1: AUD/USD medium-term trend as of 1 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) From a technical analysis standpoint, the price actions of the AUD/USD are still trapped within a major sideway range configuration with its range resistance and support at 0.6930 and 0.6580 respectively.   Short-term momentum has turned bearish   Fig 2: AUD/USD minor short-term trend as of 1 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The AUD/USD has managed to stage a minor rebound of 117 pips from its last Friday, 28 July intraday low of 0.6622 in conjunction with an oversold reading seen in the hourly RSI oscillator on the same day. Interestingly, the minor rebound has challenged and retreated at the key 200-day moving average yesterday, 31 July during the US session (printed an intraday high of 0.6739). Right now, the hourly RSI oscillator has broken below its ascending support after it hit an overbought condition yesterday which indicates that short-term momentum has turned bearish. Watch the 0.6740 key short-term pivotal resistance to maintain the bearish tone, and a break below 0.6625 intermediate support exposes the major range support of 0.6600/6580. However, a clearance above 0.6740 negates the bearish tone to see the next resistance at 0.6835 in the first step.
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Asia Morning Bites: Mixed Payrolls Impact and Indonesian 2Q23 GDP Focus

ING Economics ING Economics 07.08.2023 08:40
Asia Morning Bites Asian Markets have yet to fully respond to Friday's mixed payrolls report. Indonesian 2Q23 GDP today.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US equities dipped slightly on Friday after a mixed labour report that contained some hints that the US economy was slowing. The S&P 500 declined 0.53% and the NASDAQ fell 0.36%. Chinese stocks had a better end to the week. The Hang Seng rose 0.61% and the CSI 300 rose 0.39%. US Treasury yields retreated sharply on Friday. The 2Y yield dropped 11.7bp, and 10Y Treasury yields fell 14.1bp to 4.034%. The USD also softened against the EUR. EURUSD rose sharply to 1.104 intraday, before settling back to just over 1.10.  The AUD took a look above 0.66 but has also settled back to 0.6572. Cable rose to 1.2747, and the JPY dropped to 141.91. Asian FX was mostly weak against the USD on Friday but will likely recover lost ground in early trading today. The KRW and THB were the two weakest currencies on Friday. The KRW is now 1309.70. G-7 Macro: Friday’s labour report was very mixed, with the headline payroll numbers coming in a bit lower than expectations, but wages growth rising and the unemployment rate falling. James Knightley thinks this should keep the FOMC on hold at their September meeting.  Fed speakers last week gave conflicting messages. Bostic suggested that as the labour market was now slowing, the Fed did not need to hike any more  - a view that is in line with our house forecast. Bowman said that more hikes were likely. There is nothing of any note from the G-7 today. Later this week, we get July CPI inflation from the US, which could move slightly higher again from June’s 3.0% reading.  Core inflation is forecast to stay at 4.8%YoY. Indonesia:  2Q23 GDP is set for release today.  The market consensus points to a 5.0%YoY expansion for 2Q with consumption getting a lift from fading inflation.  Meanwhile, softer export growth, partly due to moderating global commodity prices likely capped growth momentum amidst slower global trade.  This would match the expansion reported in 1Q with growth on track to meet government expectations.  Bank Indonesia recently retained its growth outlook for 2023 at 4.5-5.3%YoY.   What to look out for: Fed speakers Thailand CPI inflation (7 August) Indonesia 2Q GDP (7 August) Fed’s Bowman and Bostic speak (7 August) South Korea BoP current account balance (8 August) Japan trade balance (8 August) Australia Westpac consumer confidence (8 August) China trade (8 August) Philippines trade (8 August) Taiwan trade (8 August) US trade balance (8 August) South Korea unemployment (9 August) China CPI inflation (9 August) Taiwan CPI inflation (9 August) US MBA mortgage application (9 August) Japan PPI inflation (10 August) Philippines GDP (10 August) RBI policy meeting (10 August) US initial jobless claims and CPI inflation (10 August) Singapore CPI inflation (11 August) Hong Kong GDP (11 August) US PPI inflation, University of Michigan sentiment (11 August)
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FX Daily: Dollar Demand Persists Amidst Waiting Game

ING Economics ING Economics 07.08.2023 08:50
FX Daily: Waiting game keeps the dollar in demand Another mixed US jobs report on Friday has maintained choppy conditions in FX markets. While consensus expects the dollar to edge lower through the year, we are yet to see both the decline in inflation and activity (particularly jobs data) that would cement this trend. Key inputs to FX markets this week will be Thursday's CPI data and the Treasury refunding.   USD: CPI and quarterly refunding will be the highlights Friday's release of a mixed US July jobs report was enough to deliver some calm to the US bond market. Recall that the sharp sell-off at the long end of the curve had upset benign market conditions on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Lower headline employment in July saw 10-year Treasury yields drop nearly 15bp on Friday and investors jump back into their preferred high-yielding currencies such as the Mexican peso.  Looking ahead, we see two key US highlights this week. The main event will be Thursday's release of July CPI figures. Despite base effects nudging the YoY rate higher, MoM readings should deliver another benign 0.2% outcome at the core level and provide another piece of disinflation evidence for the Fed. The problem for FX markets is that it seems that disinflation is not enough to get the dollar lower. Instead, we also need to see signs of softening activity - especially in the labour markets. Unless initial claims spike on Thursday or consumer sentiment falls sharply on Friday, there are few real signs of softer activity coming through just yet. The second highlight of the week will be the US Treasury's quarterly refunding, where a collective $103bn of three, ten, and thirty-year US Treasuries are auctioned Tuesday through Thursday. It is very rare to have a bad Treasury refunding - e.g. consistently low bid to cover ratios or other such metrics. But the risk is that dealers build concessions into bond prices ahead of the auctions - keeping US yields firm and the investment environment mixed. On the face of it then, this week looks unlikely to trigger the kind of benign dollar decline around which the Rest of the World currencies can rally.  Additionally, events in the Black Sea and what they could mean for food and energy prices could keep investors nervous about embracing disinflation trends. For today, we doubt Fed speakers will have a meaningful impact on the dollar and can see DXY trading well within a 101.80-102.80 range.
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Navigating Temporary and Contrasting Drivers: US CPI Anticipation Amidst Economic Signals

ING Economics ING Economics 10.08.2023 08:44
FX Daily: Temporary and contrasting drivers Short-term drivers of market sentiment are piling up ahead of tomorrow’s US CPI. Some clarification from the Italian government on the bank windfall tax is pairing with welcoming signs from yesterday’s UST 3-year auction to help sentiment and offset deflationary news from China. Today, all eyes will be on the $38bn 10-year UST auction.   USD: Treasury auctions in focus Headlines about the Chinese economy are centre stage amid the lack of market-moving US data releases before tomorrow’s July inflation report. The plunge in Chinese exports reported yesterday was followed by a widely-anticipated fall into deflationary territory overnight: June CPI contracted by 0.3% (consensus was -0.4%), and PPI failed to ease back substantially (-4.4% from 5.4% in June). It is the first time since the pandemic peak that both CPI and PPI have contracted. Evidence of combined consumer and producer price deflation undoubtedly endorse the notion of a broad-based economic slowdown in China, but a big chunk of the China growth re-rating appears to have already hit markets and we are actually observing little spill-over of today’s numbers as investors tentatively re-enter high-beta positions after yesterday’s risk-off unwinding. The dollar had found substantial demand at the start of this week, but the prevalence of temporary drivers while Fed-related pricing has been put on hold ahead of key data releases continues to prevent a sustainable dislocation from recent ranges. What may have helped to throw some cold water on the dollar rally yesterday was the result of the 3-year US Treasury note auction, which resulted in a slightly lower yield than pre-auction trading, a welcoming sign given recent concerns of dwindling demand for bonds. Today’s $38bn auction of 10-year notes and tomorrow’s $23bn of 30-year notes, which are both larger by $2-3bn than the previous corresponding offering, will be watched quite closely. Today’s 10Y UST auction is likely the only real highlight given a very light US calendar and no scheduled Fed speakers. Should we see more welcoming signs from today's Treasury debt sale, the dollar can keep paring recent gains into tomorrow’s pivotal CPI read.
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Assessing the Risk of Prolonged Economic Stagnation in China - Insights by Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 11.08.2023 08:09
Is China on path for longer economic stagnation?  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Released yesterday, the latest CPI data showed that the headline inflation in the US ticked higher from 3 to 3.2%. That was slightly lower than the 3.3% penciled in by analysts, core inflation eased to 4.7% in July from 4.8% expected by analysts and printed a month earlier.   But the rising energy and crop prices threaten to heat things up in the coming months and inflation's downward trajectory could rapidly be spoiled. That's certainly why an increasing number of investors and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) Mary Daly warned that this was 'not a data point that says victory is ours'.   And indeed, looking into details, the fact that the 20% fall in gasoline prices is what explains the decline in headline number is concerning. The barrel of US crude bounced lower yesterday after a 27% rally since the end of June, and the latest OPEC data indicated that we would see a sharp supply deficit of more than 2mbpd this quarter as Saudi cuts output to push prices higher. And this gap could further widen as global demand continues growing and shift to alternative energy sources is nowhere fast enough to reverse that upside pressure.   On the other hand, we also know that the rising energy prices fuel inflation expectations and further rate hikes expectations around the world. And that means that oil bears are certainly waiting in ambush to start trading the recession narrative and sell the top. The $85pb could be the level that could trigger that downside correction despite the evidence of tightening supply and increasing gap between rising demand and falling supply.   Today, eyes will be on the July PPI figures before the weekly closing bell, where core PPI is seen further easing, but headline PPI may have ticked higher to 0.7% on monthly basis, probably on higher energy, crop and food prices.     In the market  Yesterday's slightly softer-than-expected inflation numbers and the initial jobless claims which printed almost 250K new applications last week - the highest in a month - sent the probability of a September pause to above 90%, though the US 2-year yield advanced past the 4.85% level, and the longer-terms yields rose with a weak 30-year bond action, which saw the highest yield since 2011.   Major stock indices stagnated. The S&P500 was up by only 0.03% yesterday while Nasdaq 100 closed 0.18% higher, as Walt Disney rallied as much as 5% even though Disney+ missed subscription estimates and said that it will increase the price of the streaming service. Disney is considering a crackdown on password sharing, which, combined with higher prices could lead to a Netflix-like profit jump further down the road.     In the FX  The USD index consolidates above the 50 and 100-DMAs and just below a long-term ascending channel base. The EURUSD sees support at the 50-DMA, near the 1.0960 level, and could benefit from further weakness in the US dollar to attempt another rise above the 1.10 mark.   European nat gas futures fell 7% yesterday after a 28% spiked on Wednesday on concerns that strikes at major export facilities in Australia could lead to a 10% decline in global LNG exports. Yet, the European inventories are about 88% full on average and the industrial demand remains weak due to tightening financial conditions imposed by the European Central Bank (ECB) hikes. Therefore this week's massive move seems to be mostly overdone, and we shall see some more downside correction.     Chinese property market is boiling  The property crisis in China is being fueled by a potential default of Country Garden, which is one of the biggest property companies in China and which recently announced that it may have lost up to $7.6bn in the first half of the year as home sales slumped and the government stimulus measures didn't bring buyers back to the market. Equities in China slumped further today, as property crisis is not benign. In fact, China's local governments have plenty of debt, and their major source of income is... land and property sales. Consequently, the property crisis explodes local governments' debt to income ratios- And the debt burden prevents China from rolling out stimulus measures that they would've otherwise, because the government doesn't want to further blast the debt levels.   Shattered investor and consumer confidence, shrinking demographics, property crisis and deflation hints that the Chinese economy could be on path for a longer period of economic stagnation. We could therefore see rapid pullback in investor optimism regarding stimulus measures and their effectiveness. Hang Seng's tech index fell to the lowest levels in two weeks yesterday, as all members fell except for Alibaba which jumped after beating revenue estimates last quarter.   
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Dollar's Strength: A Consequence of Limited Alternatives

ING Economics ING Economics 11.08.2023 10:44
FX Daily: Dollar benefits from a lack of alternatives The US remains on an encouraging disinflation track, but the dollar is not turning lower. This is, in our view, due to a lack of attractive alternatives given warning growth signals in other parts of the world (such as the eurozone and China). Evidence of a US economic slowdown is needed to bring USD substantially lower.   USD: Disinflation not enough for the bears July’s US inflation numbers released yesterday were largely in line with expectations, reassuring markets that there are no setbacks in the disinflationary process for now. Core inflation inched lower from 4.8% to 4.7%, while the headline rate suffered a rebound (from 3.0% to 3.2%) due to a reduced base effect compared to previous months, which was still smaller than the consensus of 3.3%. With the exception of resilience in housing prices, price pressures clearly abated across all components. All in all, the US report offered reasons for the Fed and for risk assets to cheer, as the chance of another rate hike declined further. Equities rallied and the US yield curve re-steepened: the dollar should have dropped across the board in this scenario. However, the post-CPI picture in FX was actually more mixed. This was a testament to how currencies are not uniquely driven by US news at the moment. The Japanese yen drop was not a surprise, given abating bond and FX volatility, equity outperformance and carry-trade revamp, but FX markets seemed lightly impacted by CPI figures and the subsequent risk-on environment, as many high-beta currencies failed to hang on to gains. From a dollar point of view, we think the recent price action denotes a reluctance to rotate away from the greenback given the emergence of concerning stories in other parts of the world. This is not to say that the activity outlook in the US is particularly bright – jobless claims touched a one-month high yesterday, and the outlook remains very vulnerable to deteriorated credit dynamics – but if economic slowdown alarms are flashing yellow in Washington, they are flashing amber in Frankfurt and Beijing. Chinese real estate developer Garden reported a record net loss of up to $7.6bn during the first half of the year yesterday, at a time when China’s officials are trying to calm investors’ nerves about another potential property crisis. Back to the US, PPI and the University of Michigan inflation expectation figures out today will clarify how far the disinflation story has gone in July, but we still sense a substantial dollar decline is not on the cards for the moment, or at least until compelling evidence of slowing US activity makes the prospect of Fed cuts less remote. DXY may consolidate above 102.00 over the next few days.
Kiwi Faces Depreciation Pressure: RBNZ Expected to Hold Rates Amidst Downward Momentum

Kiwi Faces Depreciation Pressure: RBNZ Expected to Hold Rates Amidst Downward Momentum

Kelvin Wong Kelvin Wong 16.08.2023 11:37
The Kiwi is the worst-performing currency among the majors where it depreciated by -7.1% against the USD on a rolling one-month basis. RBNZ Is expected to maintain its OCR at 5.50% since the last interest hike in May. Watch the key medium-term support of 0.5900/5860 where the downside momentum of NZD/USD may start to pause after declining for six months. New Zealand central bank, RBNZ will announce its latest monetary policy decision today at 0200 GMT followed by a press conference one hour later. The consensus is calling for another round of pause to its interest rate hiking cycle to maintain the official cash rate (OCR) at 5.50% since its last 25 basis points (bps) hike that was implemented in May. So far, the RNBZ has raised borrowing costs by a total of 525 bps since October 2021. Also, the RBNZ will release their latest OCR track today which likely shows they will remain on hold into 2024 and the in the previous May meeting, the forecasted path of the OCR was to remain at 5.50% until August 2024 when the first interest rate cut would be enacted. So far, the Kiwi has come under downside pressure in the past month where it depreciated by -7.10% against the USD, making it the worst-performing currency among the majors based on a rolling one-month basis. The current bout of weakness seen in the NZD/USD has been primarily driven by weak external demand and jitters over China’s ongoing deflationary risk.   Approaching the lower boundary of medium-term “Expanding Wedge”       Fig 1:  NZD/USD medium-term trend as of 16 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Since its 2 February 2023 high of 0.6538, the price actions of NZD/USD have been oscillating within a medium-term “Expanding Wedge” configuration. Its recent 4-week of impulsive minor down move sequence has it towards key medium-term support of 0.5900/5860 (the lower boundary of the “Expanding Wedge”, 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the prior medium-term up move from 13 October 2022 low to 2 February 2023 high & 1.00 Fibonacci extension from of the on-going medium-term down move from 2 February 2023 high).   Short-term downside momentum remains intact Fig 2:  NZD/USD minor short-term trend as of 16 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Short-term price actions of the NZD/USD have drifted lower within a minor descending channel in place since the 14 July 2023 high. Watch the 0.5995 key short-term pivotal resistance to maintain the bearish bias for the next supports to come in at 0.5900 and 0.5860 before price actions start to shape a potential consolidation after six months of down move. However, a clearance above 0.5995 negates the bearish tone to expose the next intermediate resistance at 0.6050 (also the upper boundary of the minor descending channel).  
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Global Market Update: US Stocks Bounce, Yields Rise, and China's Data Awaited

ING Economics ING Economics 16.08.2023 11:52
Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US stocks bounced on Monday, but that wasn’t because the interest rate environment improved, yields on US Treasuries continued their upward march. The yield on 2Y US Treasuries rose 7.2bp to 4.967%, not far off the effective Fed funds rate of 5.33%, which tells you all you need to know about the market’s expectations for rate cuts over the next two years (not much), while yields on the 10Y rose 3.9bp to 4.191%. The S&P 500 nonetheless managed to rise 0.57%, and the NASDAQ rose 1.05%. Chinese stocks in contrast had another bad day ahead of today’s activity data releases. The Hang Seng dropped 1.58%, while the CSI 300 fell 0.73%. Higher yields mean a stronger USD. The EURUSD has now fallen to 1.0905 and actually pushed below 1.09 yesterday. This has dragged down G-10 currencies. The AUD has fallen to 0.6488. Cable is down to 1.2682 and the JPY has pushed up to 145.52. Asian FX was all weaker against the USD, with the peso leading the pack. The PHP has risen to 56.810. The CNY has risen back to 7.2573, and although one of the best performers of the day, the INR briefly rose above 83 to the USD, before moving slightly below. This puts it at its weakest since October 2022, and slightly outside the range in which it has traded since that time. Is this time for an upwards break? That depends on whether the RBI thinks that maintaining this tight band is worth the cost in FX reserves.   G-7 macro:  Yesterday’s macro calendar was devoid of interest, but today we get more to consider. US advance retail sales for July are released, and the consensus expectation is for a relatively robust 0.4% MoM figure, with a stronger core series. This is in line with the market’s recent conversion to the soft-landing hypothesis and could see further rate cuts priced out of the curve for 2024/25. Elsewhere, we have UK labour data for July. Here, the attention may be on the weekly earnings data, which are expected to pick up into the mid-7% range. That won’t allow the Bank of England to let its inflation guard down. And in Germany, the ZEW survey is expected to remain very bombed out. China: Later this morning, we get the monthly data dump, where the general message is likely to be one of ongoing meagre growth. But while in the past, weak numbers may have spurred thoughts of a government stimulus package, hopes seem to be waning for the traditional fiscal response to economic weakness given the overhang of debt in the economy. China also decides on the rate for the 1Y Medium-term lending facility. No change is expected this month, with the consensus building behind a September cut.   Indonesia:  July trade figures are set for release today.  Both exports and imports are likely to remain in deep contraction with the overall trade balance set to dip to $2.6bn, down from $3.5bn.  Exports and imports will be lower for July given lower commodity prices compared to last year.  The narrowing trade surplus is a fading support for the IDR which is under pressure recently.  Government officials recently implemented a partial restriction for export earnings with exporters asked to keep a portion of earnings on shore.    What to look out for: US retail sales plus China data activity data China medium-term lending facility (15 August) Australia RBA minutes and wage price index (15 August) China industrial production and retail sales (15 August) Indonesia trade balance (15 August) Japan industrial production (15 August) US retail sales (15 August) New Zealand RBNZ policy (16 August) US building permits, housing starts and industrial production (16 August) Japan trade balance (17 August) Singapore NODX (17 August) Australia employment report (17 August) Philippines BSP policy (17 August) US initial jobless claims (17 August) Japan CPI inflation (18 August) Malaysia GDP (18 August) Taiwan GDP (18 August)
Russian De-Dollarisation and Shift Towards Yuanisation: Recent Developments and Implications

Russian De-Dollarisation and Shift Towards Yuanisation: Recent Developments and Implications

ING Economics ING Economics 17.08.2023 09:50
The situation changed dramatically in 2022, when the sanctions were focused on SDN sanctions covering around two thirds of the banking sector, expanded to the central bank and the government and started covering Russia’s key exports. This resulted in a new wave of de-dollarisation, which this time involved the FX market and led to the replacement of USD, EUR and currencies of other sanction-imposing countries with ruble and yuan.   Starting in 2022, official Russian data on the FX breakdown has become scarce, but some bits of information are still available. Looking at the trade statistics, it appears that Russian foreign trade is becoming more China- and CNY-focused (Figure 34), and the usage of CNY is more active on the imports side (Figure 35) leading to a trade deficit in CNY. The higher share of China in Russia’s foreign trade is by no means a new trend, but the more active usage of CNY instead of USD and EUR is new. By now, almost 40% of Russia’s foreign trade turnover is with China, and around 80% of the bilateral trade is in CNY.     On the foreign asset side, very little is known, as the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) stopped disclosing the structure of its international reserves, and the international investment position of the Russian economy. The Finance Ministry is still disclosing the structure of the National Welfare Fund (the sovereign fund), which contributes to the funding of the central bank’s international reserves.   The available data suggests that the government had de-dollarised already in 2020, with USD and EUR replaced by CNY and gold, which have become the only two liquid assets available to the Russian government since 2022 (Figure 36). Since 2023, the Russian government has been selling CNY in 1H23 as per the fiscal rule (due to the under collection of budgeted fuel revenues versus its plan).   The dramatic change in the FX structure of trade and quite possibly the capital flows finally led to a material de-dollarisation of the FX market (Figure 37), something that was not possible during the first wave. According to the Bank of Russia, the CNY-leg of the FX trading on the Russian FX market reached 15-40%, pushing down the USD share to 30- 50% depending on the segment.  
Factors Impacting Selena FM: Exchange Rates, Competitive Pressures, Raw Material Prices, Construction Market, and M&A Risks

2Q23 Sales Revenue and EBITDA Outlook for Seco Warwick

GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 17.08.2023 11:45
In 2Q23, we expect sales revenue to reach PLN 176mn, up 17% y/y, as a result of the company's record order book. We assume clear revenue growth in the Melt Furnace, Aluminum Process and Aftermarket segments. In our view, EBITDA profitability in 2Q23 will be lower both y/y and q/q, due to the appreciation of the PLN against the USD and EUR and an increase in selling and management costs. We expect higher personnel costs.   As a result, we expect 2Q23 EBITDA to be PLN 14mn, 12% lower y/y. We assume that the inflow of new orders in 2Q23 may have been below realized revenues, leading to a decline in the order backlog q/q, but it should still be higher y/y, and despite the strengthening of the PLN y/y as well.        
EUR/USD Rangebound Ahead of Data Releases and Rate Expectations

EUR/USD Rangebound Ahead of Data Releases and Rate Expectations

ING Economics ING Economics 22.08.2023 08:48
EUR: Becalmed EUR/USD continues to trade in very narrow ranges, with US Treasury yields and USD/CNH probably the main short-term drives in thin summer markets. 1.0850-1.0930 looks to be the short-term range and we do not see a local catalyst for a breakout until tomorrow's release of the flash PMI readings for August. As to tightening expectations, the market only now prices in 20bp of rate hikes by the turn of the year - probably underestimating the chance of a 25bp ECB rate hike in September. The Eurozone data calendar is light today. But amidst the pessimism in the Eurozone we should at least see a better monthly current account surplus reading - somewhere in the EUR10-20bn area. Remember this compares to the huge EUR35bn monthly deficits seen a year ago, when the spike in energy prices sank the euro. Elsewhere, high US rates are keeping under pressure the high beta European currencies of Norway's krone and Sweden's krona. It seems a long time until the krona could possibly derive some support from the next Swedish Riksbank meeting (September 21st) meaning that EUR/SEK probably trades 12.00 in the interim.EUR/USD Rangebound Ahead of Data Releases and Rate Expectations
Market Trends and Currency Positioning: USD Net Short Position, Euro and Pound Analysis - 22.08.2023

Market Trends and Currency Positioning: USD Net Short Position, Euro and Pound Analysis

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 22.08.2023 14:49
The net short position in USD grew by $490 million to -$16.272 billion over the reporting week after a strong correction a week earlier. The decline is largely related to long positions on the euro, and in terms of other major currencies, the notable trend is selling across all significant commodity currencies (Canadian, Australian, New Zealand dollars, and also the Mexican peso). The yen and franc are slightly doing better, i.e., there is demand for safe-haven currencies and a sell-off in commodity currencies. Since long positions in gold have decreased by $4.5 billion, we can expect increasing demand for the US dollar.     PMIs for the eurozone, the UK, and the US will be published on Wednesday, which can significantly influence the rate forecasts of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve. Last week, we witnessed a clear uptrend in bond yields, suggesting increased demand for risk amid more upbeat economic reports. At the same time, we see a sharp deterioration in China's economy, which, on the contrary, points to slowing demand. This dilemma may be resolved after the release of the PMIs, so we can expect increased volatility.   EUR/USD The final estimate confirmed that the euro area annual inflation rate was 5.3% in July 2023, with core inflation unchanged at 5.5%. Since there are no seasonal factors that could explain the price increase at the moment, it would be best to assume the most obvious explanation - price growth is supported by broad price pressures in the growing services sector. Stubborn inflation supports market expectations that the ECB will raise rates in September, and this increase is already reflected in current prices. The strong labor market is also in favor of a rate hike. After a sharp decrease a week earlier, the net long position in the euro grew by $1.275 billion, putting the bearish trend into question. The settlement price is below the long-term average, giving grounds to expect a continuation of the euro's decline, but the momentum has noticeably weakened.   A week earlier, we assumed that the bearish trend would continue. Indeed, the euro consistently passed two support levels, but did not reach the 1.0830 level. The resistance at 1.0960, which the euro can reach if a correction develops, is still considered in the long term. We assume that the trend remains bearish, and the 1.0830 level will be tested in the short term. GBP/USD Inflation in July fell from 7.9% to 6.8%. This is mostly due to the fall in the marginal price of OFGEM (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) from 2500 pounds to 2074. Without this decline, inflation would have still fallen, but much less - to 7.3%. Despite the sharp decline, inflation remains at a very high level, and further falls in the marginal price of energy carriers are unlikely. The NIESR Institute suggests that, among the possible scenarios for future inflation behavior, we should choose between "very high", assuming an average annual inflation of around 5% over 12 months, and "high persistence", which is equivalent to an annual level of 7.4%. Needless to say, both scenarios imply inflation higher than in the US, so the likelihood of a higher BoE rate remains, leading to a yield spread in favor of the pound. These considerations do not allow the pound to fall and support it against the dollar, while against most major currencies, the dollar continues to grow. After three weeks of decline, the long position in GBP grew by $302 million to $4.049 billion. Positioning is bullish, the price is still below the long-term average, but, as in the case of the euro, an upward reversal is emerging.       In the previous review, we assumed that the pound would continue to decline, but UK inflation pressure remains stubborn, which changed the rate forecast and supported the pound. A correction may develop, and the nearest resistance level is 1.2813. If the pound goes higher, the long-term forecast will be revised. At the same time, we still consider the bearish trend, and the chances of restoring growth are high, with the nearest target being the support area of 1.2590/2620.  
Turbulent Times Ahead: ECB's Tough Decision Amid Soaring Oil Prices

Asia Morning Bites: BoK and BI Meetings, G-7 PMI Data, and Global Market Insights

ING Economics ING Economics 24.08.2023 11:58
Asia Morning Bites BoK and BI meet today to discuss policy. G-7 PMI data undermine the higher-for-longer narrative.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US stocks moved higher on Wednesday despite the backdrop of a thin macro calendar and anxiety ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium. The main catalyst for the move seems to have been some capitulation by bond bears, as bond yields tumbled. Yields were down in Europe after some weaker-than-anticipated PMI figures and were matched by falls in US yields as US PMI data also undershot expectations. The 2Y Treasury yield fell 7.9bp to 4.967%, and the 10 Treasury yield fell 13.2bp to 4.192%. So far, with bond yields down across the board, it hasn’t done too much to FX relativities. EURUSD remains roughly unchanged at 1.0863, though the AUD has caught some support from the drop in US yields, and is up to 0.6479 now. Cable dropped sharply in late trading yesterday before recovering most of the ground lost taking it back to 1.2718, and the JPY is looking stronger today at 144.67.  Asian  FX was mixed. The gainers included the CNY, where the PBoC seems to be winning the war of attrition with markets for the moment, and taking the CNY to 7.2786. After their earlier spike, CNH tomorrow next forward points have dropped back, suggesting the short squeeze from higher funding costs has done its work for now. The CNY’s gains have helped lift currencies across the region, including the SGD and VND. Propping up the bottom of the pack, the PHP and THB both weakened against the USD yesterday.   G-7 macro:  Big drops in Europe’s service sector PMI for August yesterday started the ball rolling for markets. The headline service sector index dropped from 50.9 to 48.3, a contractionary reading, offsetting the slightly higher but still recessionary manufacturing gain from 42.7 to 43.7. The US PMIs released later showed a similar pattern, though the drop in the US service sector PMI to 51.0 from 52.3 still leaves it in weak expansion territory, not recession. There was no respite for the US  manufacturing PMI though, which dropped further from 49.0 to 47.0. If soft survey data like this is backed up shortly by "hard" activity data and labour market figures, then the market's higher-for-longer belief will come under substantial pressure, with negative implications for both bond yields and the USD. That’s still a big if, but the probability has been nudged a little following these numbers. It is also going to make it harder for Jerome Powell to get the nuance right in his Friday speech. If he talks up the data-dependency of policy, then these recent softer releases must play into a less hawkish outlook…? Today’s data isn’t terribly exciting. Jobless claims and durable goods are the main US releases.   South Korea:  The Bank of Korea will meet this morning. We are in line with the market view expecting another “hawkish pause”. At today’s meeting, we think that the BoK will likely strengthen its hawkish stance because inflation will likely reaccelerate in the coming months.  This will be reinforced by the fact that the KRW has also been quite volatile and because household debt is increasing again. The updated economic outlook will be released after the announcement of the policy rate decision. We expect a small downward revision to the GDP forecast mainly due to rising concern over China’s slowdown and the sluggish export recovery. The inflation forecast is likely to remain unchanged, which will support the Bank of Korea’s hawkish stance on monetary policy.   Indonesia:  Bank Indonesia (BI) meets today to discuss policy.  Market expectations point to BI keeping rates unchanged at 5.75% today despite moderating inflation.  Pressure on the IDR is one reason why the central bank could opt for a pause.  But we would not rule out a surprise hike from Governor Warjiyo since the trade surplus, a key source of support for the IDR, has narrowed significantly this year.  A rate hike from BI could help steady IDR now that interest rate differentials have collapsed to a mere 25bps.      What to look out for: BoK and BI meetings, Jackson Hole conference on Friday South Korea PPI inflation and BoK policy meeting (24 August) Indonesia BI policy meeting (24 August) Hong Kong trade balance (24 August) US initial jobless claims and durable goods orders (24 August) Japan Tokyo CPI inflation (25 August) Malaysia CPI inflation (25 August) Singapore industrial production (25 August) US Univ of Michigan Sentiment (25 August)
AUD: RBA Maintains Rates as New Governor Upholds Continuity

Asia Morning Bites: Tokyo Inflation Dips and Markets Await Powell's Jackson Hole Speech

ING Economics ING Economics 25.08.2023 09:03
Asia Morning Bites Tokyo inflation for August dips slightly on base effects. Asian markets await the outcome of Powell's Jackson Hole speech.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  Pre-speech nerves? US equities reversed Wednesday’s gains on Thursday. The S&P 500 dropped by 1.35% while the NASDAQ fell 1.87%. Equity futures are non-committal ahead of Powell’s speech today.  Chinese stocks put in a rare up-day on Thursday. The CSI 300 rose 0.73%, and the Hang Seng index rose 2.05%, though this may have been following the earlier US lead, and could reverse today. US Treasury yields moved a little higher yesterday after Wednesday’s large falls. The 2Y yield is back above 5% now at 5.023%, while the 10Y yield regained 4.5bp to reach 4.237%. That’s still about 13 bp off the recent high.  The increase in yields was enough to push the USD stronger against the G-10 currencies yesterday, and EURUSD is now down to 1.0799. The AUD reversed all of Wednesday’s gains falling to 0.6415, Cable has dropped below 1.26 and the JPY is back up again to just under 146. In Asia, the KRW benefited from the BoK’s hawkish pause, and has gapped down more than a per cent to 1322.35. The TWD was also among the gainers, moving down to 31.786. The VND was weaker again yesterday, rising to 24008 as it looks to recalibrate against the CNY against which it has appreciated this year. The CNY was roughly unchanged on the day at just under 7.28.   G-7 macro:  Today’s Powell speech will get a great deal of scrutiny and there has already been a lot written about what he will say, with the majority view being that he will tread a cautious path with respect to any further potential tightening, looking for confirmation from the totality of the data before committing to any additional hikes. Lots of comparisons to the Greenspan “risk management” era are being wheeled out. At the same time, the Fed pundits are also saying that he will not want to suggest that there is any pre-set path for easing. We will know soon enough how well markets take his comments. The fact that this speech is scripted, and there is no Q&A means that room for going "off-piste" is limited. Besides this, and all the other Fed speakers this weekend, the University of Michigan publishes its August consumer confidence and inflation expectations surveys. Sentiment has been picking up recently, while the inflation expectations numbers have eased back slightly. Yesterday’s data was mixed. Weaker durable goods figures but lower jobless claims.   Japan: Tokyo inflation eased to 2.9% YoY in August (vs 3.2% July, 3.0% market consensus) mainly due to base effects and lower energy prices. Utility prices dropped to -15.0%YoY from the previous month’s -10.8%. However, core inflation excluding fresh food and energy stayed at 4.0%YoY as expected for the second month, the highest level for decades. Demand side pressures are clearly building up, suggested by inflation increases in entertainment (5.7%), transport & communication (3.6%), and medical care (2.8%). On a monthly comparison, goods prices dropped -0.1% MoM sa while services prices stayed flat. Also, higher than expected PPI services inflation (1.7% YoY in July vs revised 1.4% June, 1.3% market consensus) also reinforced the same message.   There are risks on both sides in the near future. On the downside, entertainment price pressures will be partially reduced as the summer holiday season ends. On the upside: The energy subsidy program will come to an end by September; Recent renewed JPY weakness; and rises in pipeline service prices. We believe that upward pressures will likely build a bit more significantly at least for the next few months and push up inflation again. We think inflation will exceed the BoJ’s outlook for this year and next year and core inflation excluding fresh food and energy will likely stay in the 3% range by the end of this year.   Singapore:  July industrial production is set for release today.  We expect another month of contraction, tracing the struggles faced by non-oil domestic exports, which were down 20.2%YoY for the same month.  We can expect industrial production to stay subdued until we see a turn in NODX, which should also weigh on 3Q growth.   What to look out for: Jackson Hole conference Malaysia CPI inflation (25 August) Singapore industrial production (25 August) US Univ of Michigan Sentiment (25 August)
FX Daily: Lagarde and Powell Address Jackson Hole – Hawkish Expectations and Eurozone Concerns

FX Daily: Lagarde and Powell Address Jackson Hole – Hawkish Expectations and Eurozone Concerns

ING Economics ING Economics 25.08.2023 09:27
FX Daily: Lagarde faces a harder test than Powell The world’s two most prominent central bankers are both speaking at Jackson Hole today. The dollar has strengthened into the risk event and we think a hawkish tone by Powell is now largely priced in. Lagarde has to deal with a worsening economic outlook in the eurozone, but we suspect she will stick to data dependency and a hawkish tone. EUR/USD can rebound.   USD: Powell hawkishness looks largely in the price Some Fed speakers laid the groundwork for today’s keynote speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium. This bulk of Fedspeak comes after a rather quiet summer in central bank communication. A couple of standouts from yesterday’s remarks: Patrick Harker (2023 voter) leaned on the dovish side and said that the Fed has “probably done enough” on policy tightening. Susan Collins (non-voter) also suggested the Fed may have to hold for some time but refrained from signalling where the peak is. We also heard from former Saint Louis Fed President James Bullard, who stuck to his usual hawkish rhetoric. Bullard’s successor is still to be named, but the St. Louis seat is not going to be voted for until 2025, so the impact shouldn’t be imminent. So, what’s on the agenda for Powell today? Arguably, the backdrop has not changed dramatically since the FOMC rate announcement a month ago. The disinflation process has progressed in line with expectations, while key activity indicators have continued to prove resilient. Surely, the rather substantial revision in payrolls suggests a less rosy picture for employment than originally indicated, but we doubt that could be enough to trigger a change in the overall policy communication. Powell will once again have to deal with his own Committee’s projections that see rates being raised one last time this year: he will probably reiterate the Fed is open to such a possibility and retains a data-dependent approach. Markets will hardly be surprised by that, or by any restatement that rate cuts are still a long way out. The recent rise in US rates is surely complementing the monetary-policy-induced tightening of financial conditions, but given the stabilisation in the bond market following the July-August big sell-offs, we don’t think Powell will be overly concerned about prompting fresh UST weakness. The recent firmness in the dollar probably factors in some of the markets’ expectations for a hawkish tone by Powell, so we don’t expect another USD rally today. Christine Lagarde’s speech may have a greater impact on the euro (as discussed below) and cause a DXY correction.
FX Daily: Eurozone Inflation Impact on ECB Expectations and USD

FX Daily: Eurozone Inflation Impact on ECB Expectations and USD

ING Economics ING Economics 30.08.2023 09:47
FX Daily: Eurozone inflation, round one Spain and Germany will release inflation figures today, and market expectations for the ECB's September meeting may already be impacted. Eurozone numbers are out tomorrow. Meanwhile, ADP payrolls are out in the US after a soft batch of data hit the dollar yesterday, while AUD is shrugging off lower-than-expected CPI figures.   USD: ADP could be inaccurate, but may move the market Two softer-than-expected data releases in the US yesterday prompted a sizeable correction in the USD 2-year swap rate yields, which fell from 4.94% to the 4.80% area. JOLTS job openings data fell to 8.8 million in July, meaning there were approximately 1.5 open positions for each unemployed worker – the lowest ratio since September 2021. The hiring rate declined marginally, but the layoff rate was unchanged. Consumer confidence figures also disappointed, with the Conference Board survey dropping from a revised 114 level in July to 106 in August. Other components of the survey also declined. The rally in pro-cyclical currencies and the dollar’s weakness across the board was a confirmation of how US activity data – even if non tier-one releases – remain firmly in the driver's seat for global currency markets. Developments in China and in the commodity sphere, while important, clearly continue to play a secondary role. Today, expect markets to focus on the ADP employment figures. These have not proven to be a very accurate estimator of the official payrolls recently but have often impacted rate expectations. The consensus is for a 195k print. Wholesale inventories and pending home sales for July, as well as the GDP and core PCE secondary release for the second quarter, are also on the calendar today. The dollar is regaining some ground this morning after yesterday’s losses, but data will determine the direction of travel today. We had called for a weaker dollar at the start of this week and we’d like to see whether eurozone inflation data boost the chances of one last hike from the European Central Bank. With markets being more convinced of no more hikes by the Federal Reserve – barring a surprise in payrolls – a re-tightening in the EUR/USD short-term real rate gap could set the tone for a weaker dollar across the world. DXY may continue its correction from the 104.00 highs and test 103.00 should eurozone inflation figures come in strong enough and US employment not surprise on the upside. 
ATM Grupa: Buy Rating and Valuation Update

Tackling Currency and Contractual Challenges: A Closer Look at Ailleron Group's Risk Landscape

GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 30.08.2023 14:37
Currency risk. Export revenues in 2022 accounted for 76% of the group's revenues (including foreign customers invoiced by their Polish companies), with the US accounting for 27% and the European Union 38%.   A sudden weakening of the USD or EUR against the PLN may result in a decrease in PLN-denominated revenues and translate into a margin decrease in the short term, before the company adjusts rates in contracts. Some of the risk is hedged by currency hedging. In the 2022 report, the company indicated that sales in non-reporting currency (PLN) accounted for 60%, while purchases in non-reporting currency accounted for 29% of the group's purchases.     Risk of claims from Pekao in relation to termination. According to management's communication, the value of claims that Pekao may seek should not exceed the value of the annual contract revenue, i.e. approximately PLN 4m, which is less than 2% of the company's capitalisation. Any potential litigation would probably take several years to resolve.  
FX Daily: Low Volatility Persists Amidst US Jobs Data Ripples

FX Daily: Low Volatility Persists Amidst US Jobs Data Ripples

ING Economics ING Economics 31.08.2023 10:30
FX Daily: Low vol environment continues US jobs numbers continue to cause ripples in a becalmed summer FX market. Expect more of the same today as the market focuses on the weekly initial claims ahead of tomorrow's big NFP report. In Europe, the focus will be on the eurozone's August CPI release. Expectations of a further hike from the ECB are firming up and justify EUR/USD trading at 1.09-1.10.   USD: Thrashing around in a low vol environment Second-tier US jobs data (JOLTS and ADP) have seen the dollar soften a little this week. However, the data have yet to prove the smoking gun that can mark the end of the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance. Stronger trends will only start to develop should we see a large downside miss on tomorrow's release of the August NFP jobs data or a sharp rise in the unemployment rate. That would undermine the thesis that strong employment consumption can keep the Fed in hawkish mode for a lot longer than most think.  For today, the focus will again be on some second and third-tier jobs data in the form of the weekly initial claims read. We will also see personal income, spending, and the core PCE deflator for July. Consensus actually sees the core PCE deflator rising to 4.2% year-on-year from 4.1% – so hardly a reason for markets to add to dollar short positions. In general, cross-asset market volatility remains low and there is not much to argue against the Japanese yen or Chinese renminbi-funded carry trade. As we have noted before, 5.30% overnight rates mean the dollar can hold gains in a carry trade environment. Currencies outperforming remain the EM high-yielders, such as those found in the CEE3 region and also Latam. Here, the Mexican peso continues to hold gains and offer near 12% implied yields. The peso should also be helped by the latest remarks from Banxico that, unlike Brazil and Chile, it is not considering rate cuts anytime soon. Unless we see a sharp spike in the weekly initial claims data today, we suspect DXY does not break too far from a 103.00-103.50 range.
5% for the US 10-Year Treasury Yield: A Realistic Scenario

Mixed Economic Signals: ADP Jobs, Revised GDP, and USD Trends

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 31.08.2023 10:43
ADP posts 177,000 new jobs but traders not convinced US Q2 GDP revised lower to 2.1% (2.4% previously) USD pares six week gains after weaker figures this week   The recovery in equity markets appears to have stalled on Wednesday as traders likely eye the big economic releases later in the week. The ADP and revised GDP numbers may attract some attention but they were never likely to have too great an impact. The ADP report has long been ignored as a reliable precursor to the NFP report on Friday and at times it’s frankly been wildly off. That it’s come in at a reasonable 177,000 doesn’t offer any real insight in terms of Friday’s payrolls, with the focus instead remaining on them in relation to yesterday’s JOLTS data which saw a marked decline. If we see a trend of weaker hiring and fewer job openings then the Fed will be more at ease ending the tightening cycle. Today’s data was never likely to be overly impactful with tomorrow’s inflation, income, and spending figures, prior to Friday’s payrolls, always the primary focus. That could well set the tone for September ahead of some major central bank meetings.   EURUSD has been buoyed by the recent economic data, with the figures indicating that the higher for longer narrative may be less intense than feared.   EURUSD Daily       The pair has now rallied for three days and is closing on an interesting level around 1.10 where it may run into some resistance from the 55/89-day simple moving average band. It’s also a notable psychological level. There are also some interesting Fib levels around here if this is merely a corrective move following the sell-off of the last six weeks.
US August Jobs Report: NFP Beats Expectations, Dollar Rallies, EURUSD Faces Bearish Pressure

US August Jobs Report: NFP Beats Expectations, Dollar Rallies, EURUSD Faces Bearish Pressure

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 04.09.2023 11:03
NFP 187,000 in August (169,000 expected, 157,000 previously) Average hourly earnings 0.2% (MoM), 4.3% (YoY)  EURUSD slips after making earlier gains   If you’re a Federal Reserve official, you’ll find it hard not to be very pleased with the way this week’s gone from a labor market data perspective. The JOLTS release at the start of the week was extremely encouraging as it continued a clear trend that brought the number of vacancies back to levels not seen in two years and not far from the pre-pandemic norm. Even without today’s report, that will have come as a huge relief for the Fed. When you consider today’s report on top of that, the week couldn’t have gone much better. The headline NFP may have been a little stronger than expected but it’s still below 200,000 and the beat was more than offset by last month’s revision. Then there’s average hourly earnings which fell back to 0.2%, a level far more consistent with the Fed’s goal if it can be repeated and again, below market expectations. The cherry on the cake is the participation beat and jump in unemployment, both of which point to more slack appearing in the labor market. To be clear, the Fed won’t get carried away with today’s report. It’s just one that needs to be repeated on a number of occasions but there’s plenty of cause for optimism in there. If there was any doubt that the Fed will pause in September, today’s report surely puts an end to that debate.   USD rallies after initially falling The initial move in the dollar made a lot of sense, it fell after the release as it was viewed as being beneficial for interest rates (less chance of a hike, earlier cut next year), but it didn’t take long to reverse course.   EURUSD Daily     The catalyst for that is irrelevant but from a technical perspective, it doesn’t look great for the pair. Rather than looking to test this week’s highs, it’s slipping back toward the lows and near the 200/233-day simple moving average band. A move below last Friday’s lows could be viewed as a very bearish move, particularly in light of today’s report.
Riksbank's Role in Shaping the Swedish Krona's Future Amid Economic Challenges

Riksbank's Role in Shaping the Swedish Krona's Future Amid Economic Challenges

ING Economics ING Economics 08.09.2023 10:48
Swedish krona still searching for the bottom, but the Riksbank can help EUR/SEK is close to the 12.00 level, trading at historic highs as external and domestic factors have added pressure to the already weak krona. In the medium term, we have few doubts SEK can recover and converge with higher fair value, but the timing is highly uncertain, and will be more dependent on the global market environment than on Sweden’s economic woes.   Why it’s still hard to pick the bottom for the krona Back in May, we published a note entitled “Sweden: Hard to pick a bottom for the unloved krona”. More than three months later, it is still hard to pinpoint an end to the EUR/SEK rally, and the key drivers behind the strength in the pair have not changed materially. Back then, the Riksbank had just lifted the cap on the pair with a dovish surprise, and while it later attempted to restore a currency-supportive hawkish stance, markets have continued to price a good deal of domestic downside risk into SEK. In the broader FX picture, pro-cyclical currencies like SEK are primarily responding to US data at the current juncture: the recent resilience in activity indicators has kept market expectations for Fed easing capped, global rates elevated, the dollar strong and high-beta currencies under pressure. Remember how NOK and SEK emerged as the two biggest underperformers during the core of the Fed tightening cycle? As the higher-for-longer narrative in the US consolidates, investors are once again turning their backs on the illiquid Scandinavian currencies. And with Sweden facing domestic headwinds and the eurozone’s economic outlook deteriorating, EUR/SEK is trading at fresh highs, and at risk of touching the 12.00 pain level.         The Riksbank can cap krona weakness The chart below shows the risk premium (orange line) that has been built in for the krona (against the euro) since the start of the year. That tells us how much higher EUR/SEK is trading compared to what we estimate is its fair value according to market drivers (like rates and equities).       Despite perceived real estate concerns building steadily into the end of April, EUR/SEK traded close to its fair value thanks to the Riksbank’s currency-supportive hawkish tone. The shift in narrative at the April meeting (when two members voted against a 50bp hike, and the rate path was more dovish than expected) led to a spike in SEK undervaluation, which lasted for two months. Crucially, the return of a currency-supportive hawkish stance at the Riksbank’s June meeting saw the EUR/SEK mis-valuation drop to zero. The following build-up in the EUR/SEK risk premium was much more short-lived compared to the one in May-June, and primarily a consequence of the bond sell-off in the US.   So, what is this telling us? The Riksbank can still impact the krona substantially. Despite not being able to fully insulate a high-beta currency like SEK from external drivers, it can prevent it from trading below its short-term fair value. To do this, it must meet or exceed market expectations on future rate tightening (i.e. via rate path projections), which has the additional benefit of signalling that the Bank is not so worried about the economic outlook and the risks to financial stability as to overlook its inflation mandate and the need to stabilise the currency. Markets are fully pricing in a 25bp hike in September, with a 50% implied probability of another 25bp hike at the November meeting. The Riksbank will likely have to signal one more hike in its rate path projections to support the krona when it raises rates in September. Our SEK forecast: the question is timing, not direction One aspect of the lingering SEK risk premium is that it has detached from short-term rate dynamics, which had been a key driver until April/May last year. Based on the EUR:SEK two-year swap spread alone, EUR/SEK should be trading around 11.00 (chart below). In the current market conditions that is, obviously, inconceivable.     We continue to base our medium-term forecast on the evidence that the krona is significantly undervalued, both against the euro and the dollar. On the back of this, our forecast profile for EUR/SEK is downward-sloping for 2024, and we expect the pair to trade below 11.00 by next summer. We must admit, however, that the timing of the SEK recovery remains quite uncertain. In our view, this is not excessively dependent on domestic factors; the krona is already pricing in a sizeable amount of weakness in the domestic economy, and markets will either see the most dramatic scenarios for the real estate sector materialise (not our base case) or will have to price them out of the krona next year. Missteps by the Riksbank, if anything, have a higher chance of causing FX damage.   External drivers hold the key to the recovery We think, instead, that SEK’s reconnection with its stronger fundamentals will be driven by the global FX narrative. A strong dollar on the back of higher-for-longer rates in the US is incompatible with a recovery in the krona. The past few months have been a clear testament to this. We expect US activity data to start turning from 4Q23, and the Federal Reserve to start cutting from March 2024, and that is the window when pro-cyclical currencies like SEK can stage a good rebound. However, we admit that the resilience in US economic data could persist for longer than we estimate, and delay as well as reduce the scope of the recovery in pro-cyclical currencies. A further deterioration in the eurozone growth outlook can also make the krona’s recovery harder.   Until a US data/dollar turn occurs, the krona will remain vulnerable, and we only see 12.00 as the really strong resistance level for EUR/SEK. So far, the Riksbank has ruled out FX intervention but might start throwing that idea around to gauge market reaction (the effective applicability remains doubtful) should we break above the 12.00 mark. We see room for a SEK rebound around the Riksbank’s upcoming meeting when we expect the SEK-supportive narrative to prevail and a good chance of another hike to be added to the rate path. EUR/SEK could be easing back to 11.70 by the end of September.
The American Dollar's Unyielding Strength Amidst Market Surprises and Economic Divergence

The American Dollar's Unyielding Strength Amidst Market Surprises and Economic Divergence

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 08.09.2023 14:06
The time is coming when the strongest trend is coming to an end. But this does not apply to the American dollar. In 2021, it strengthened due to expectations of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, and in 2022, due to its implementation. In 2023, investors expected the trend in the USD index to be broken. And at first, everything was going according to plan. However, in the summer, there was a 180-degree turnaround, which came as a real surprise to hedge funds. They remain short sellers of the American currency and are losing money.   Dynamics of the U.S. dollar and hedge fund positionsej     The September survey of Reuters experts suggests that in the short term, "bears" on EUR/USD will maintain their strength due to a strong economy and high U.S. Treasury bond yields. However, over the next three months, the euro will rise to $1.09. In 6 months, it will be worth $1.10, and in 12 months, $1.12. This forecast is based on the idea of a dovish pivot and the central bank's move towards reducing federal funds rates. Derivatives indicate that it will drop by 100 basis points in 2024. The same opinion was held about the U.S. dollar at the beginning of the year, but its opponents were proven wrong. At that time, investors were worried about a recession.   It was supposed to force the Federal Reserve to loosen its monetary policy. In the early autumn, markets began to fear not an economic downturn but its overheating. If the United States maintains its strength, inflation could accelerate, prompting the Federal Reserve to return to monetary tightening and further strengthen the American dollar. If we also consider that the American economy is the cleanest shirt in the basket of dirty laundry, the decline in EUR/USD seems logical. Indeed, following new manufacturing orders in Germany, German industrial production disappointed.   In July, it contracted by 0.8%. The leading economy in the eurozone has still not emerged from the slump. Is it surprising that the GDP of the currency bloc grew by only 0.1% in the second quarter? Less than the 0.3% in the initial estimate.     Thus, if in 2021-2022, the focus in the Forex market was on monetary policy and fear of high inflation, in 2023, they gave way to economic growth divergence. Judging by the strong labor market positions and the surge in business activity in the services sector to a six-month high, the U.S. GDP in the third quarter may expand by 3% or more. What's the point of selling the dollar? It's much more interesting to acquire securities denominated in it. The capital flow to North America has supported and will continue to support the "bears" on EUR/USD.     The ECB, on the other hand, can only sympathize. On the one hand, the European Central Bank is obliged to maintain "hawkish" rhetoric in the face of inflation exceeding 5%. On the other hand, the higher the interest rates rise, the greater the chances of a recession in the eurozone economy. Technically, on the daily chart of EUR/USD, the inability of the "bulls" to hold onto the key pivot level of 1.0715 indicates their weakness. The decline of the pair to 1.066 and 1.0595 continues. The recommendation is to hold shorts.  
EUR/USD Faces Resistance at 1.0774 Amid Inflation and Stagflation Concerns

EUR/USD Faces Resistance at 1.0774 Amid Inflation and Stagflation Concerns

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 08.09.2023 14:09
EUR/USD On Thursday, the euro dipped a bit further and reached the target level of 1.0692. The convergence between the price and the Marlin oscillator on the daily chart is getting stronger and becoming more pronounced.     Now, the main concern is on inflation figures in China and the US, which is related to the global inflation issue. This is because a spike in oil prices is preventing a significant decline in inflation. There is talk about a stagflation looming over the world. Investors will pay attention to China's CPI figures, to be released on Saturday, and the main event will be the US inflation data for August on Wednesday.   It's possible that oil prices have not yet been included in the CPI (although they have already affected producer prices), in which case it may create the impression that concerns about stagflation are exaggerated. Today, for instance, the forecast for Germany's CPI is a drop from 6.2% YoY to 6.1% YoY. As a result, the dollar may weaken and we might see a corrective growth in the euro. This could persist until the next Federal Reserve meeting. On the 4-hour chart, the price and the oscillator have formed a convergence. The euro started to rapidly rise, and we have all the conditions for the pair to reach the first target at 1.0774. The MACD indicator line is approaching this level. Overcoming it may provide additional strength for the upward movement. Let's also take a look at the weekly chart. The pair has continued to fall for the eighth consecutive week, and the current candle is on the 5th Fibonacci timeline. Two scenarios are possible: either it continues to fall for another 2-3 candles (making it 11 candles in total), or the next candle and the following ones (up to the 6th line) will be white.            
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Hawkish Signals from Asia Soften USD Momentum: A Look at Forex Daily Trends

ING Economics ING Economics 11.09.2023 10:56
FX Daily: Hawkish vibes from Asia Governor of the BoJ Kazuo Ueda suggested the Bank may have enough evidence on wages for a policy shift by year-end. To us, it sounds like a successful attempt to support the yen. Meanwhile, the PBoC is pushing back against CNY weakness. All of this is softening the dollar momentum, but US data will be back in focus soon and USD upside risks are non-negligible.   USD: BoJ and PBOC drive dollar lower The seemingly unstoppable dollar run is being dented this morning by two currencies that had all but contributed to consolidating USD strength until now: the yen and the yuan. The Bank of Japan’s Governor Kazuo Ueda released an interview where he said policymakers may have enough information by year-end – if wage inflation continues – to make a decision on unwinding some monetary stimulus. The market reaction to this has been significant. The overbought USD/JPY is falling and testing 146.00, and the benchmark JGB yields are at 0.70% despite the BoJ deploying the loans-for-bonds programme to curb yields. The timing of Ueda’s interview may suggest an intent to support JPY without deploying intervention – which wouldn’t be warranted by an excessively concerning rate of JPY depreciation anyway. In China, authorities are back with strong defence measures for the renminbi. This follows a growing consensus later last week that the People's Bank of China was starting to tolerate further CNY depreciation as USD/CNY had rallied past 7.30. Alongside a significantly stronger CNY fixing, the PBoC issued a statement saying market participants should “voluntarily maintain a stable market” and avoid speculative trades. The general softening in USD momentum this morning has helped take USD/CNY back below 7.30. This morning’s change of direction in dollar dynamics has clearly been fuelled by moves from the BoJ and PBoC, but whether USD/JPY and USD/CNY can stay under pressure relies on the dollar’s reaction to its own domestic drivers. This will be a busy week in US data, and the latest releases have tended to be quite supportive for the greenback. The main highlight of the week in the US calendar is the CPI report on Wednesday, which is widely expected to show an August inflation rebound, and our economics team flags upside risks to consensus expectations. The core CPI print is expected at 0.3% month-on-month, an acceleration from the 0.2% MoM seen in recent months. There are no data releases to watch today, but we'll see the NFIB survey, retail sales and industrial production figures in the US later this week. The FOMC has already entered the pre-meeting blackout period, but the latest indications clearly pointed to a pause in September. Can inflation change policymakers’ minds? It would probably need to be a materially stronger than expected print, but from an FX perspective, expect the bullish pass-through to the dollar to be felt anyway. Markets can still add to the 11bp of tightening by year-end and push rate cut expectations further down the road. The two-year USD swap rate (OIS) may retest the 4.94% August highs and offset the efforts by the PBoC (likely to be a continuous one) and the BoJ (more likely a one-off move by Ueda) to lift their domestic currencies.
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EUR Finds Some Support Ahead of the ECB: What to Expect from the European Central Bank Meeting

ING Economics ING Economics 11.09.2023 11:00
EUR: Some support before the ECB It’s ECB week in the eurozone, and there is a growing sentiment that this will be a very tight decision. The governing council is clearly facing growing division as some signs of lingering inflation are met by evidence of an economic slowdown, which recently strengthened the dovish front. Our economics team thinks that while it’s a close call, the European Central Bank should deliver one last 25bp hike (here's our full preview). Market pricing is 10bp ahead of the meeting and 18bp of total tightening by January. Still, we think the chances of the ECB skipping this meeting and hiking later on are relatively slim given the rapidly worsening outlook. EUR/USD has been given some life by the PBoC and BoJ, with USD softening and EUR/USD finding support into the 1.0700/1.0750 area. The pair can remain supported for today given the lack of major data releases, but we have seen evidence of the unwinding of speculative EUR positions into the ECB meeting. Given the upside risks for the dollar ahead of the US CPI release, we suspect another drop below 1.0700 before the ECB announcement on Thursday is all but possible.
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Metals Update: China's Increasing Metals Output Signals Optimism

ING Economics ING Economics 12.09.2023 08:47
Metals – China's metals output edges higher Copper along with other base metals edged higher yesterday as the USD eased, while the market remained optimistic about a post-summer pick-up in metals demand in China. Better-than-expected Chinese credit data, signalling stabilization in household demand for mortgages, also boosted sentiment. The percentage of Russian-origin aluminium on-warrant in LME warehouses was unchanged at the end of August, from the end of July, at 81%, according to the latest data from the exchange. Russian aluminium on-warrant in exchange warehouses totalled 183,650 tonnes. The latest SMM survey shows that China’s copper cathode production rose 15.5% YoY and 6.8% MoM to 989kt in August as some domestic smelters resumed production after completing maintenance. Cumulatively, copper output increased 11.5% YoY to 7.5mt over the first eight months of the year. Among other metals, Chinese primary aluminium production rose 3.9% YoY to 3.6mt last month, while year-to-date output rose 2.8% YoY to 27.3mt in Jan’23-Aug’23.
Turbulent Times Ahead: USD Smile and JPY's Future - Q3 2023 Analysis

Turbulent Times Ahead: USD Smile and JPY's Future - Q3 2023 Analysis

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 12.09.2023 11:20
Q2 brought a reacceleration of central bank tightening expectations, as impact of the bank turmoil from March faded quickly. The USD is on its back foot as global markets continue to celebrate an eventual Fed rate peak and steady long US yields. On that note, USD shorts are set for a vicious reality check if the US economy remains resilient and core inflation remains sticky, possibly engaging both sides of the "USD smile" that drive USD strength: the Fed on the warpath and market turmoil. And the stakes are even higher for the Japanese yen if the longer yields of the major sovereign yield curves have to price in a new economic acceleration, as the BoJ will have to eventually capitulate on its yield-curve-control policy. We composed our Q2 quarterly update in the thick of the fallout just after the March banking turmoil. The cratering of investor confidence at the time and the belief that this would bring forward the end of the central bank tightening cycle due to in incoming credit crunch wrong-footed many, including this analyst. Instead, as core inflation levels nearly everywhere have proven sticky and economies largely resilient, global central banks have largely continued and even resumed tightening rates. As of late Q2, forward expectations for the Fed policy "terminal rate" have crept back close to the cycle highs from early March, before Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Elsewhere, two G10 central banks, the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia, abandoned the pause in their tightening cycles and resumed hiking rates in Q2. So yes, the banking turmoil was a milestone pointing in the direction of further tightening on credit that will eventually lead to an economic slowdown, but it looks like “eventually” will prove much further over the horizon than we anticipated. The most extreme example of a reacceleration in forward tightening expectations in Q2 was for the Bank of England, which reported an alarming spike in core inflation to a new cycle high of 6.8% in April with the market pricing BoE tightening to continue through early 2024. And yet global risk sentiment continues to soar, as markets apparently continue to believe in a Goldilocks soft landing of disinflation and no recession, or at least an extremely shallow one. That's the only way to interpret strong risk sentiment in an environment of increasingly inverted yield curves. The USD to smile and potential USD strength in Q3 Indeed, the markets remain reluctant to believe that inflationary dynamics and the economic cycle will extend much longer and were quick to celebrate the June FOMC rate tightening pause from the Fed, even as Powell and company penciled in two more rate hikes for later in the year. Powell's declaration of data dependency in the press conference at that meeting has set up markets for a wild ride in Q3 and Q4 on incoming data releases. The market will be poorly prepared for resilient inflation and activity data and for any ensuing need to reprice the Fed. This brings us to the "USD smile", a rule-of-thumb model for what drives the US dollar. The one side of the smile is the USD rising when there is any major form of global market turmoil. When markets are stressed, investors run for safety and scramble for the US dollars needed to service USD-denominated assets, which dominate global liquid assets. Once the Fed intervenes with sufficiently forceful easing to calm markets, the USD retreats. The other side of the smile that drives USD strength is any aggressive rise in US yields, especially at the front end due to Fed tightening (especially 2022, but arguably also 2015, when the contrast of slow Fed tightening with other central banks was great). A USD smile driven by long US treasury yields rise as well (for example, most traumatically from one moment to the next in the 2013 "taper tantrum" and again when both the Fed and market forces took the entire yield curve higher in 2018 after the Trump supply-side tax reforms of the prior year). The middle part of the smile is when there is no significant turmoil or when the Fed is not providing any drama. This allows USD direction to yield to external factors and generally means a weaker USD. For example, once the bulk of Fed tightening was priced by late 2022 and long US treasury yields had peaked (well ahead of what was the peak (so far!) at the front end of the curve this March), the USD eased off and more notable developments elsewhere could take center stage. In the case of late 2022, those developments were the ECB coming in more forcefully with tightening. Later, AUD, CAD and GBP grabbed the spotlight on the notable adjustment in policy expectations noted above. In Q3, our belief is that markets are overconfident in benign outcomes for inflation and therefore for central bank policy. This could engage either or even both sides of the USD smile: sticky inflation and a drum-tight labor market could force the Fed to continue hiking far more than the market imagines as we leave Q2. The most dramatic scenario would be renewed strength in the economy, as this could trigger an unmooring of longer US treasury yields. With global risk sentiment in near euphoria as of late Q2, we're watching the 10-year US Treasury benchmark, which would threaten a reality check and boost the USD as well on a move to new cycle highs. Sure, as long as incoming data cooperates with the disinflation and soft landing and anchored long US yields narrative, the USD can weaken, but beware the USD smile if the music changes. Waiting for the Bank of Japan dam break Broad measures of JPY in late Q2 show the currency edging toward the record modern lows posted last fall, even as the weaker USD has meant that USDJPY has yet to challenge the cycle highs. The most obvious driver of the weaker yen in Q2 was the fresh widening of policy spreads, as central banks elsewhere continued to tighten, while the Bank of Japan remains unmoved with its -0.10% policy rate and +/- 0.50% band on 10-year JGB's, or yield-curve-control. Our belief that the economic growth and hiking cycle could extend from here would prove a real challenge for the Bank of Japan and for the very stretched JPY valuation.
USD Stable as Oil Prices Rebound Ahead of US CPI Report Release

USD Stable as Oil Prices Rebound Ahead of US CPI Report Release

FXMAG Team FXMAG Team 14.09.2023 09:57
USD: Oil price rebound continues ahead of US CPI report release The main foreign exchange rates have remained stable during the Asian trading session with USD/CNY continuing to trade just below the 7.3000-level and USD/JPY at just below 147.50. The verbal intervention from domestic policymakers in China and Japan to support their currencies has at least helped to stable their currencies close to recent lows although is unlikely to trigger a more sustained reversal of US dollar strength on its own. Market attention will shift back to the global inflation outlook today when the latest US CPI report for August will be released. The recent rebound in the price of oil and gasoline has continued at the start of this week which if sustained would create a more challenging backdrop for central banks next year in their ongoing efforts to bring inflation back down to their targets. The price of Brent crude oil rose further above USD92/barrel overnight extending its advance since the low last month to almost 13% and to almost 30% since the low from back in June. The latest data published by OPEC showed that global markets face a supply shortfall of more than 3 million barrels a day in Q4. If realized it could be the biggest inventory drawdown since at least 2007 according to Bloomberg. OPEC’s 13 members have pumped an average of 27.4 million barrels per day so far this quarter or roughly 1.8 million less than it believes consumers needed. This gap between OPEC supply and demand is expected to almost double in Q4 when it estimates it will need to provide 30.7 million barrels a day to satisfy demand. Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to extend production cuts until the end of this year means that OPEC supply is expected to remain stable. The developments are encouraging speculation that the price of oil could rise back above USD100/barrel by the end of this year. A negative development for global consumers and would limit room for central banks to reverse policy tightening in the year ahead.    
AUD Surges on Strong Employment Gains, RBA's Hawkish Outlook

AUD Surges on Strong Employment Gains, RBA's Hawkish Outlook

ING Economics ING Economics 14.09.2023 10:47
AUD: Stronger than expected employment gains The Aussie dollar is trading on the strong side this morning after a stronger-than-expected August jobs report in Australia. Employment rose 64.9k after July’s negative reading, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%. As explained by our economist in this note, the hiring spike was almost entirely related to part-time jobs. Still, some of those jobs will become full-time in the coming months, which can also push wages higher. We remain reluctant to pencil out another hike by the Reserve Bank from our forecasts, and still narrowly favour one last rate increase to 4.35% by year-end. The new Governor, Michele Bullock, may want to convey the message she is serious about bringing inflation down, and if inflationary pressures show some resilience, she could deliver a final hike at one of the three remaining meetings of 2023. Markets are pricing in a mere 9bp of tightening to the peak, even after the strong jobs figures, meaning there is ample room for a hawkish repricing and AUD to benefit from it. Still, the USD/US activity data story remains much more important for AUD/USD, and we see the pair being capped below 0.6500 for the remainder of September as the USD remains supported post-Fed.  
Rates Markets Shift Focus: ECB Reaches Peak as Fed Holds Steady Amid Resilient Data

Rates Markets Shift Focus: ECB Reaches Peak as Fed Holds Steady Amid Resilient Data

ING Economics ING Economics 15.09.2023 08:30
Rates Spark: Transitioning from level to duration The European Central Bank has entered the next stage - rates markets are starting to look beyond the peak, with macro concerns guiding rates lower and the curve flatter. This is in contrast to the US where macro resilience holds hawkish tail risks for the Fed, but for now also gradually lifts the floor for longer rates.   Dovish relief with the ECB peak being reached The ECB delivered a dovish 25bp hike – and, a more mechanical increase in very front-end rates aside, the rest of the curve rallied. The decision was supported by a “solid majority” of the Council. The first reason for that reaction was that the ECB basically said that it has reached the terminal rate. The ECB does add the caveat that this applies given the current assessment of all data and data dependency could still mean that rates will increase –  President Lagarde did add that one could not say key rates reached their peak. Indeed, markets are also discounting tail risks of another hike over the coming months. But for all practical purposes the ECB no longer has a bias in rates and we are at the peak as long as there no larger surprises to the underlying scenario.    The other reason for the curve flattening is that the ECB did not offer anything to prop up longer rates. As Lagarde remarked during the press conference, neither outright asset purchase programme asset sales nor shortening the pandemic emergency purchase programme reinvestment period was discussed at any point. Riskier assets reacted with relief, in particular spreads of Italian government bonds over German Bunds saw a considerable tightening with the key 10Y spread tightening more than 4bp. That still leaves it somewhat wider compared to the end of last week with the Italian government’s growing budget deficits having come under increased scrutiny. Widening risks linger, but at least the ECB is not adding to those concerns for now.   The EUR curve may flatten relative to USD Going into next week’s Fed meeting we have already seen different narratives unfolding across USD and EUR rates. After initial oscillations rates took different directions – 10Y Bund yield closing down 6bp while the 10Y Treasury rose 3bp. While EUR markets were digesting the potential end of the tightening cycle amid growing concerns surrounding the growth outlook, the US was confronted with another slate of better-than-expected data. US CPI data earlier this week had seen some of the hawkish Fed tail risk being priced out. This was now reversed with the 2Y rate crossing above 5% again, and the curve a tad flatter. It is widely anticipated that the Fed will hold next week, but at the same time it will keep another hike on the table. While cooling, for now the data does not show any signs of the economy really toppling over. It may still mean that next week will likely be the last hike of the Fed's cyclce, but at the same time staying pat for longer amid resilient data will mean that gradual steepening pressure from the back end of the curve can take over again.     Today's events and market view The post ECB meeting period is usually marked by more background reporting on the Council’s decision and members giving their personal flavours surrounding the decision. Here we will be looking in particular at any differing assessments of  inflation versus growth concerns, and indeed in a first FT article some ECB hawks have warned taht a hike is still possible if inflation and wages stay hot. But overall the ECB has been quite clear in signalling that it has now entered the next stage, shifting the focus from the level of rates towards the duration that they will now be held steady to achieve its inflation target.   In the US, before we get back to a broader bear steepening theme the market may well want to first digest the import prices as well as the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey and its inflation expectations component to round off its assessment of inflationary tail risks. Other US data to watch are industrial production and the Empire manufacturing index.  
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

ING Economics ING Economics 26.09.2023 14:40
Asia Morning Bites Singapore reports August production figures. Global bond yields keep rising. USD keeps gaining.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US equity markets did what the futures markets had earlier suggested, and rose modestly yesterday. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were both up respectively 0.4% and 0.45%, though this took some effort as stocks opened down and had to dig themselves out of a hole to achieve even this modest increase. Additional slight gains are signalled by the futures markets currently. Chinese stocks turned negative again yesterday, reversing Friday's gains. The Hang Seng fell 1.82% while the CSI 300 fell 0.65%. US Treasury yields continue to move higher. The 10Y yield rose 10bp yesterday, taking it to 4.533%. There was less going on with the 2Y yield, which rose only 1.5bp to sit at 5.125%. Fed speakers are cited as being behind some of the weakness in demand for Treasuries, according to one newswire. However, the most notable Fed speaker yesterday, Austan Goolsbee, a renowned dove, merely said that a soft landing remains a possibility, but that there remain risks. That doesn’t feel like it was worth 10bp on the 10Y, probably not even 1bp. Rising yields have boosted the USD, and EURUSD has dropped below 1.06 to 1.0595. It was slightly lower back in February and March this year when it got down to 1.0516. The AUD has drifted down to 0.6423, Cable has similarly gone down to 1.2215, and the JPY has weakened to 148.83 as Governor Ueda stuck with his exceptionally cautious tone on the outlook for inflation. Other Asian FX was mostly slightly weaker against the USD on Monday. The CNY is back above 7.30 at 7.3120, and despite the recent bond news, the INR has risen back above 83. As has often been the case recently, the THB is propping up the bottom of the league table.      G-7 macro:  Yesterday was thin for Macro, with a slightly weaker German Ifo survey as the main data point. The Chicago Fed national activity index (a contemporaneous recession indicator) fell below the zero mark in August, but house prices continued to rise. Today, US new home sales and the Conference Board consumer confidence index are the main releases.   Singapore:  Singapore reports industrial production numbers for August later today. We can expect another month of contraction for industrial production as the sector tracks the struggling export market.  Non-oil domestic exports have seen a string of negative growth numbers due to soft global demand, and we expect industrial production to stay subdued until we see a meaningful pickup in global trade.      What to look out for: US consumer confidence South Korea consumer confidence (26 September) Singapore industrial production (26 September) US Conference board consumer confidence, new home sales, FHFA house price index (26 September) Australia CPI inflation (27 September) China industrial profits (27 September) Japan machine tool orders (27 September) US durable goods orders and MBA mortgage applications (27 September) Australia retail sales (28 September) US initial jobless claims, personal consumption, pending home sales (28 September) Fed's Powell, Goolsbee and Barkin speak (29 September) Japan Tokyo CPI inflation and labor report (29 September) Thailand trade (29 September) US University of Michigan sentiment, personal spending (29 September)
Asia Morning Bites: Australia's CPI Inflation Report and Chinese Industrial Profits

Asia Morning Bites: Australia's CPI Inflation Report and Chinese Industrial Profits

ING Economics ING Economics 27.09.2023 12:52
Asia Morning Bites Australia's August CPI inflation report should show inflation rising again. The fall in Chinese industrial profits may be moderating.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  For a change, US Treasury yields didn’t rise yesterday. Nor did they fall particularly. The yield on the 2Y UST was down just 0.4bp to 5.121%, while that on the 10Y bond rose just 0.2bp to leave it at 4.536%. This was despite Neel Kashkari, a voter on the FOMC this year, saying that he thought even a soft-landing scenario would probably require one more rate hike this year. Michelle Bowman talked about the need to cool the economy to bring rents down in line with wage growth, though she did not explicitly outline a path for rates. But she implied more was needed. With this, it feels as if markets are listening and choosing to believe that in the end, the Fed will not carry through on their threats to raise rates again, either because the threat lacks credibility, or because they believe that the growth and inflation evidence will turn sufficiently to make it unnecessary. It’s a tough call to make and leaves upside as well as downside risk. Kashkari and Bowman are both due to speak again today. US Stocks cooled on Tuesday. The S&P 500 dropped 1.47% while the NASDAQ fell 1.57%. Equity futures are looking mildly positive. It was also another off-day for Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng fell 1.48%, while the CSI 300 fell 0.58%.   The risk-off sentiment may be helping the USD, which has pushed even lower overnight, dropping to 1.0570. The AUD has declined below the 64 cent level, though may get a boost from CPI inflation data later on today. Cable has dropped to 1.2148, and the JPY has risen to 149.07, a level at which you have to think there could be some more verbal intervention (Finance Minister Suzuki has already waded in) and close to a level where physical intervention may occur. The CNY has held roughly level at 7.3112, though the rest of the Asia pack was weaker against the USD. The KRW and THB, together with the IDR were the weakest currencies in the region yesterday. G-7 macro:  US new home sales fell a little more than expected in August, dropping 8.7% MoM to a 675K annual pace. The Conference Board consumer confidence index was down slightly, breaking down into a slightly stronger present situation response, but a sharply weaker expectations survey. Germany also releases consumer confidence figures from GfK today. The only US data of note is the August durable goods orders and shipments figures.   Australia: A combination of base effects wearing off, and higher gasoline and food prices will take Australia’s monthly inflation rate for August back up again after the surprising decline in July. The inflation rate should push back from the July 4.9% YoY rate to a little over 5%. The consensus estimate sits at 5.2%, which is not far from our estimate of 5.1%. While this does not immediately threaten the market’s view that the RBA has peaked in its rate cycle, a few more results like this, plus some economic resilience may spur thoughts that there is still one more hike to come. We certainly are not ruling another hike out.   China: Industrial profits figures for August are released this morning. The year-on-year decline in this series has been moderating, and we expect this to continue, though probably still leaving profits down from a year ago.   What to look out for: Australia inflation Australia CPI inflation (27 September) China industrial profits (27 September) Japan machine tool orders (27 September) US durable goods orders and MBA mortgage applications (27 September) Australia retail sales (28 September) US initial jobless claims, personal consumption, pending home sales (28 September) Fed's Powell, Goolsbee and Barkin speak (29 September) Japan Tokyo CPI inflation and labor report (29 September) Thailand trade (29 September) US University of Michigan sentiment, personal spending (29 September)
Stocks Down, USD Up Amid Looming Government Shutdown Concerns

Stocks Down, USD Up Amid Looming Government Shutdown Concerns

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 27.09.2023 13:04
Stocks down, USD up By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank     Investors continue to dump stocks and buy US dollars on looming uncertainty regarding whether the US government will be shut in three days. There is progress regarding a 6-week short-term funding deal, but getting an approval from the Senate will be a challenge. In the meantime, falling savings, rising theft and delinquencies hint at the growing cost-of-living crisis whereas the central banks' inflation fight is certainly not over just yet.  The looming government shutdown talks continue feeding into a stronger US dollar. US politicians have agreed to a 6-week short-term funding to keep the government running for another month and a half, but getting approval from the full Senate will be a challenge with far-right Republicans' determination to 'shoot it down if it reaches the floor'.   The S&P500 fell to the lowest levels since the beginning of June and the Stoxx 600 could slip below 445 due to slowing European activity, waning Chinese demand, the European Central Bank's (ECB) pledge to keep the monetary policy tight until inflation comes down significantly. The euro's depreciation makes inflation harder to ease along with rising energy prices.     After a few sessions of consolidation, and despite a more than 1.5-mio-barrel build in US crude inventories last week, US crude is upbeat this morning, again. The barrel of American crude is trading above the $92 level, as the European nat gas futures flirt with the 200-DMA. The EURUSD lost around 6.5% since the July peak. Oversold market conditions call for consolidation, or recovery, yet appetite in the US dollar remains too strong to let the other currencies breathe. And if this is not enough bad news, the EU is now investigating the degree to which China has subsidized EV manufacturers. Tesla is clearly in a hot seat, but not only. Some European carmakers including Renault and BMW also have joint ventures in China and will be probed. The cherry on top, VW announced to cut EV output at German sites due to lacking demand. All this to say, there is little place to go in the market other than the FTSE 100, which could at least take advantage of the energy rally.     The combination of higher energy and stronger dollar has well pushed inflation in Australia to 5.2% in August, up from 4.9% printed a month earlier -which was a 17-month low. We could see a similar upturn in global inflation metrics due to rising oil prices. The Eurozone data will soon be coming in. Unfortunately for the Aussie, the uptick in inflation won't prevent it from getting smashed against the US dollar. The pair will likely test and take out the September support of 0.6360
EUR/USD Downside Risks in a Bearish Bond Market: Assessing the Impact of 10-Year Treasury Yields at 5.0%

EUR/USD Downside Risks in a Bearish Bond Market: Assessing the Impact of 10-Year Treasury Yields at 5.0%

ING Economics ING Economics 27.09.2023 13:05
Gauging EUR/USD downside risks in a bearish bond market We estimate that further US bond weakness and 10-year Treasury yields hitting 5.0% would bring EUR/USD to the 1.02 area. While near-term upside risks to back-end yields are non-negligible, short-term USD swap rates should be more capped given a smaller pricing/dot plot gap compared to last June. Our medium-term baseline remains bullish for EUR/USD.   10Y Treasuries at 5% can bring EUR/USD to 1.02 Our colleagues in rates strategy argued in this piece that 5.0% 10-year US yields are no longer a remote possibility. The higher-for-longer Federal Reserve narrative that has been supporting the dollar recently has been mirrored in higher treasury yields, and the implications for the FX market are tangible. We simulated a scenario where the 10-year Treasuries hit 5.0%, based on the past year of EUR/USD coefficients. We estimate the pair would be trading around 1.02 with 5.0% 10Y yields. That would be an approximate 3.5% drop from current levels, the same kind of depreciation observed in the period when UST 10Y yields rose from 4.0% to the current 4.50% levels (EUR/USD sliding from 1.10 to 1.06).   EUR/USD and Treasury yields Dashed lines are ING estimations in a 5.0% UST 10Y scenario        
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Smaller Potential for Short-Term USD Swap Rate Repricing in EUR/USD

ING Economics ING Economics 27.09.2023 13:07
Smaller hawkish repricing potential for short-term swap rates The rewidening of the USD:EUR short-term rate differential in the past few months has been another driver of EUR/USD depreciation. It must be noted that such re-widening has been entirely driven by rising US swap rates, and not by a decline in EUR rates. With US swap rates facing wider volatility on the back of the Fed’s higher starting point to cut rates, we can expect the EUR:USD short-term swap rate differential to continue to be driven predominantly by the dollar leg. Incidentally, the chances of the European Central Bank making a rapid transition to monetary easing appear inconsistent with the lingering hawkish pressure from numerous members of the Governing Council. Once it’s been determined that USD short-term swap rates will remain the key driver, it’s worth investigating whether they have the same potential that our rates team attached to the 10-year Treasury yields. The price action since June can help us in this case. Back then, like now, there was a question of markets not fully trusting the hawkish dot plot in the aftermath of the Fed meeting. Expectations of Fed easing – rather than the level of the terminal rate – have been driving most dollar moves of late, and markets are now attaching a greater weight to the 2024 dot plot projections. We can see in the chart below that the gap between the current end-2024 implied rate (4.68%) and the September median dot plot for 2024 (5.13%) is around 40bp, much less than the 80bp+ after the June meeting.   Market pricing closer to dot plot compared to June   US activity data in the summer months pushed market pricing closer to the median dot plot for 2024, and the same could happen in the fourth quarter. However, the room for a hawkish repricing is now substantially smaller than it was in June. Incidentally, the Fed only has two more meetings to deliver on its “promise” (as per its 2023 dot plot) to hike one last time this year. Should it pause until December, one 25bp hike could theoretically be trimmed off the 2024 projections as well, more than halving the gap with market pricing.   EUR/USD implications While we do see risks of US back-end yields staying high, and cannot exclude a 5.0% scenario for the 10-year tenor, additional bearish pressure at the shorter end of the USD curve may be curbed. A look at recent EUR/USD correlations suggests that the pair has responded to back-end US yields just as much as short-term swaps. All in all, we estimate 1.02 as the most likely bottom for EUR/USD in a scenario where the US bond sell-off continues.   Correlation between EUR/USD and US 10-year yields/2-year swap rate   Our baseline scenario in the medium term, however, signals the opposite. ING’s economics team is expecting a sizeable re-rating in the US activity outlook by the first quarter of next year as excess savings are drawn down and the consumer spending support to the US economy dwindles. We sit on the more dovish end of the spectrum when it comes to Fed expectations and therefore expect a dovish repricing to drive a dollar decline in 2024. In the short-run – i.e. until US data turns negative - the growth differential between the eurozone and the US, a lingering high real USD rate and an unstable risk environment point to a downward-tilted balance of risks for EUR/USD. We think 1.05 may be the bottom for the pair in current conditions, but as discussed, a drop all the way to 1.02 cannot be excluded.
FX Daily: Resuming the Norm – Dollar Gains Momentum as Quarter-End Flows Fade

FX Daily: Resuming the Norm – Dollar Gains Momentum as Quarter-End Flows Fade

ING Economics ING Economics 05.10.2023 08:36
FX Daily: Back to the status quo The quarter-end flows effect has faded. Markets are steadily back on a short-bond/long-dollar track, helped by an improvement in US ISM manufacturing and hawkish Fed comments. EUR/USD and GBP/USD look on track to test the 1.0400 and 1.2000 support levels. Meanwhile, the RBA's new governor sent a message of continuity and added pressure on AUD.   USD: Reclaiming the crown We had pointed at quarter-end flows as the likely cause for dollar weakness into the end of last week, and yesterday’s price action set markets back on the short-bonds/long-USD track that has been the norm since mid-July. Two factors have helped this narrative re-consolidate along with the quarter-end effects fading: an improving ISM manufacturing and hawkish Fedspeak. US September ISM manufacturing beat expectations yesterday, climbing to 49.0 from 47.6. S&P Global Manufacturing PMIs for September were also revised higher to 49.8. As discussed in this note, this is the 11th consecutive ISM manufacturing read in contractionary territory (sub-50). Still, the improvement to the 49.0 level and the close correlation with GDP means we might see a very respectable 4.0% annualised growth print for the third quarter. That would surely boost the Federal Reserve's soft-landing view for the economy. In the past few days, we have also heard FOMC hawks becoming increasingly vocal about the prospect of more rate hikes in what appeared to be a 'rate protest', with markets only pricing in a 50% implied probability of another rate increase to a peak despite that being part of the dot plot projections. Loretta Mester hit the headlines with a call for another hike this year, following Michelle Bowman’s suggestion that multiple hikes are still needed. Michael Barr struck a more moderate tone but did not rule out another hike. The USD 2-year swap rate climbed back above 5.0% yesterday, which might now work as a floor with the Fed sending hawkish messages and barring a turn for the worst in US data in the near term. The residual gap between the dot plot projections and market pricing for 2023 and 2024 also indicates good chances that USD short-term rates can build some support. Expect markets to focus primarily on August JOLTS job openings figures today, the only highlight in the US data calendar. Raphael Bostic – a fairly dovish voice as of late – is the only scheduled Fed speaker. Volatility in back-end yields should continue to determine the direction of FX moves. Another bearish leg to 4.75%+ in US 10-year bonds can probably keep DXY on track to hit 108.00 in the near future.    
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Immobile Fed: Anticipating a Pause with a Nod to Higher Yields

ING Economics ING Economics 02.11.2023 12:28
FX Daily: Immobile Fed to give a nod to higher yields We expect the Fed to pause today, in line with expectations. There is a mild risk of a dollar correction, but that should be short-lived. Japanese authorities are stepping up efforts to contain unwanted volatility in rates and FX, but we suspect markets will keep pushing USD/JPY higher and into the new intervention level.   USD: A quiet Fed meeting The Federal Reserve is in a desirable position as it prepares to announce policy this evening thanks to the combined effect of rate hikes and higher Treasury yields keeping pressure on prices. The economy has proven resilient so far. In the art of central banking, inaction is action, and inaction is broadly what we expect from the Fed today as we discuss in our preview. A pause is widely expected by markets and economists, as numerous FOMC members signalled higher Treasury yields were adding enough extra tightening of financial conditions to stay put. One question for today is to what extent the statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell will acknowledge this non-monetary tightening of financial conditions. It’s unlikely the Fed wants to drop any dovish hints at this stage, but a market that is well positioned for a broadly unchanged policy message could be rather sensitive to the wording on this topic and may interpret an “official” recognition of tighter financial conditions as an implicit signal more tightening is off the table. The typically cautious Powell may anyway try to mitigate any dovish interpretation of the statement during the press conference. After all, the Fed dot plot still says one more hike by year-end and has a strong commitment to higher rates for longer. The first of these two statements was never taken at face value, but the latter is what is contributing to higher yields. Expect no divergence from it. The Fed isn’t the only event in the US calendar today, and markets will likely move on the ADP payrolls release (although these are unreliable), JOLTS jobs openings and the ISM manufacturing figures for October. There is room for a short-lived dollar correction today as markets will be on the hunt for implicit admissions that another hike is actually off the table with higher yields. Positioning adjustments have favoured some dollar slips recently but they have not lasted, as the overall message by the Fed has been one of higher for longer with a hawkish bias. That message won’t change today (barring any great surprises) and we think that buying the dips in any dollar correction will remain a popular trade, especially given the more and more unstable ground on which other major currencies (JPY, EUR) are standing.
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Asia Morning Bites: Markets React to FOMC, US Treasury Yield Shifts Ahead of Payrolls

ING Economics ING Economics 02.11.2023 12:38
Asia Morning Bites 2 November 2023 Asian markets digest US Treasury yield swing ahead of payrolls release tomorrow.   Global macro and markets Global markets: If last night’s FOMC meeting was supposed to be a “hawkish pause”, then markets weren’t listening. Yields on the 2Y US Treasury note dropped 14.4bp, taking them below 5% (4.944%), and there was an even bigger drop at the longer end. 10Y yields fell 19.7bp to 4.734%, and implied rates now show a 25bp cut priced in at the June meeting in 2024. FX markets are still a bit mixed and may spend today catching up with the implications of the drop in yields. EURUSD is fractionally higher at 1.0582, having drifted lower for most of yesterday. The AUD is looking stronger, probably as markets (and ourselves) are firmly of the view that the RBA actually hikes rates again next week, closing the policy rate gap with the US a bit. AUDUSD is now up to 0.6418. Cable is also a little higher after a choppy session, and is currently trading at 1.2177, while the JPY has edged slightly down from yesterday’s highs to 150.65. Losses from the THB, KRW and IDR yesterday will likely reverse today and follow the AUD and JPY. US stock markets were lifted by the drop in bond yields. The S&P 500 rose 1.05%, while the NASDAQ was up 1.64%. Chinese stocks were broadly flat yesterday. G-7 macro: Here is a link to our US economist, and FX and rates strategists’ note on the FOMC meeting. The twin features of the Fed suggesting that higher yields are doing some of their work for them, plus lower supply issuance pressures at the longer end are probably the main causes of the big drop in yields overnight. Nevertheless, the Fed is still leaning towards higher, not lower rates, so last night’s bond swing may not be the end of the story just yet. Ahead of the non-farm payrolls release tomorrow, yesterday’s ADP print was 113K. That is close to its 89K reading last month, which was hopelessly inaccurate, so it is anyone’s guess if this is a useful, or contrarian steer ahead of payrolls. Perhaps more ominously, the manufacturing ISM slowed sharply. The headline ISM index was already in negative territory in September (49.0), but dropped to a much weaker 46.7 reading in October, with a sub-50 employment index too (46.8). New orders also dropped sharply to 45.5. Today’s US macro data is the final durable goods/factory orders data for September, which won’t have much additional bearing on the market in all likelihood. The Eurozone releases its own manufacturing PMI data today. Korea: Consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to 3.8% YoY in October (vs 3.7% in September, 3.6% market consensus, 3.9% INGf). Korea’s inflation has been reheating for three months in a row after the recent low of 2.3% in July.  Food and energy was the main reason for the rise; fresh food (12.1%), gasoline (6.9%), public transportation fees (11.3%), taxi (20%), and dairy products (milk 14.3%). Core inflation excluding food and energy edged down to 3.2% YoY, but has stubbornly stayed around that level for four months. Looking ahead, we expect headline inflation to climb even more to touch the 4% level in November but we look for core inflation to ease down into the 2% range, mostly due to base effects. This will make it more likely that the BoK will hold its hawkish stance longer than expected, but another rate hike possibility is still low. Japan: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to announce an economic stimulus package. The planned size, JPY21.8 trillion, is smaller than in the pandemic era, but still higher than the market expected. But markets seem a little sceptical of the positive impact this stimulus package will have on the economy. A highlight of the stimulus is income and residential tax rebates to aid households (especially low-income households), hit by higher inflation. But the impact of tax rebates is usually smaller than cash transfers or shopping vouchers. Also, the rebates will only be temporary, thus the impact could be limited. Australia: Australia's trade surplus narrowed sharply in September. Exports fell 1.4% MoM, (partly reversing last month's 4.5% gain). But the main damage was done by a solid 7.5% MoM increase in imports, with imports of capital goods rising especially strongly, taking the surplus down from AUD10.2bn to AUD6.8bn.  Malaysia: Bank Negara Malaysia will meet today to discuss policy rates, and is unanimously expected to leave rates unchanged at 3.0%. inflation is currently only 1.9%YoY, so there is no need for them to tighten at this stage. 
Worsening Crisis: Dutch Medicine Shortage Soars by 51% in 2023

FX Daily: Fed's Hawkish Hold Spurs Renewed Interest in Carry Trade as Rate Volatility Drops

ING Economics ING Economics 02.11.2023 14:45
FX Daily: Fed pause renews interest in the carry trade Even though it was a hawkish hold, the Fed's decision to leave rates unchanged for a second meeting in a row has seen interest rate volatility drop and high-yielding currencies start to perform well again. This may be an emerging trend, especially if tomorrow's jobs data isn't too hot. The focus today is on rate meetings in the UK, Norway and the Czech Republic.   USD: Investors look set to explore the Fed pause The dollar has been a little weaker over the last 24 hours. Helping the move has likely been the rally in the US bond market, supported by a lower-than-expected quarterly refunding announcement, the soft manufacturing ISM and then the FOMC meeting. Despite the Fed retaining a tightening bias, it seems investors are more interested in reading and trading a Federal Reserve pause. This has seen interest rate volatility drop and triggered renewed demand for high-yielding FX through the carry trade. Calmer market conditions have gone hand in hand with the re-pricing of the medium-term Fed cycle. Recall that last month, the story was very much 'higher for longer' and rather incredibly, the low point for the Fed cycle over the coming years was priced at just 4.50%. That pricing has now adjusted 60bp lower over the last few weeks and has even seen yields at the short end of the US Treasury curve start to move lower, e.g., sub 5% again. It may be too early to expect these short-end rates to go a lot lower just yet, but it does seem as though investors are a little more open to the prospect of weaker data knocking the dollar off its perch. Without that confidence that US growth will decelerate this quarter, the Fed's pause can, however, see further demand for carry. In the EM space, it has been a good week for currencies in Chile, South Africa and Mexico, while in the G10 space, the under-valued Australian dollar is doing well. We continue to see upside potential for AUD/CNH. This would normally be a weak environment for the yen as well, meaning that we cannot rule out USD/JPY retesting 152. US data will determine whether the dollar can generally hold steady in this carry trade environment or whether weaker US data finally triggers a more meaningful and broad-based dollar correction. For today, the focus will be on the weekly jobless claims data – where any decent jump higher can knock the dollar – and the volatile Durable Goods Orders series. Do not expect big moves before tomorrow's US jobs report, but we would say the dollar's downside is vulnerable today. DXY to drift towards 106.00.
Worsening Crisis: Dutch Medicine Shortage Soars by 51% in 2023

Asia Morning Bites: Focus on China's Caixin Services PMI and Anticipation for US Non-Farm Payroll Data

ING Economics ING Economics 03.11.2023 14:07
Asia Morning Bites China's Caixin services PMI report will be the focus for today ahead of tonight's US non-farm payroll data.   Global markets and macro Global markets:  Front-end US Treasury yields bounced slightly yesterday after their big post-FOMC drop. 2Y UST yields rose 4.6bp, but remain below 5% (4.989%). But yields on the 10Y Treasury kept falling, dropping a further 7.5bp to 4.659%.  US equity markets are benefitting from the drop in bond yields. The S&P 500 rose a very decent 1.89%, and the NASDAQ was also up (1.75%). Chinese stocks were more mixed. The CSI 300 fell 0.47% on Thursday, but the Hang Seng rose 0.75%. The USD lost further ground on Thursday. EURUSD rose to 1.0617. The AUD rose to 0.6428. Cable pushed back above 1.22, though has dropped back to 1.2194 now, and the JPY has eased down to about 150.5.  Asian FX was broadly stronger against the USD on Thursday and looks likely to keep making gains today.  The KRW led the rest of the Asia FX pack, dropping to 1343. The THB followed, dropping to 35.99. The CNY also made small gains, and USDCNY has moved down to 7.3143.   G-7 macro: It was the turn of the Bank of England to sit on its hands yesterday, following the FOMC’s “pause” the previous day. The MPC committee decided to leave Bank Rate at  5.25%. But pushed back against the market’s expectation for rate cuts next year. Today, non-farm payrolls provide us all the entertainment we need to take us into the weekend. For what it is worth, the consensus forecast for the payrolls headline is +180K, with no change in the unemployment rate (3.8%) and average hourly earnings growth dropping from 4.2% YoY to 4.0%. We also get the non-manufacturing ISM. However, whatever it produces will be eclipsed by the payroll numbers.   China:  After the disappointments of the official PMIs, and then the Caixin manufacturing PMI indices earlier this week, the consensus view of a slight rise of the Caixin service-sector PMI to 51.0 from 50.2, looks in strong danger of being undershot.   Singapore: September retail sales are due for release later today.  We can expect another month of modest expansion with retail sales possibly up roughly 1.5%YoY supported by robust department store sales driven by the return of visitor arrivals. Retail sales have been a bright spot for economic growth this year but elevated inflation should cap its upside in the near term.    What to look out for: China Caixin PMI services and US NFP China Caixin PMI services (3 November) Singapore retail sales (3 November) US NFP and ISM services (3 November)
Worsening Crisis: Dutch Medicine Shortage Soars by 51% in 2023

EUR/USD Analysis: Navigating Market Pressures and Consolidation Ranges

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 08.11.2023 13:46
EUR/USD On Tuesday, the euro continued to face pressure from Monday, even slightly more so due to the decline in commodity prices (crude oil down 2.1%) and as U.S. Treasury yields fell. German industrial production dropped in September by 1.4% compared with the previous month (-3.86% YoY), which fueled concerns about a European recession. Now we are waiting to see if other news will support the euro's upward movement. However, we don't expect to receive any news today or tomorrow, unless Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell or John Williams suggests an the end to the rate hike cycle. On the other hand, a certain event that could exert pressure on the dollar would be the so-called U.S. "government shutdown", as the emergency 45-day funding measure is set to end on November 16. Congressional leaders struggle to reach an agreement over the 2024 budget year limit. Take note that market participants may already be preparing for this event.   On the daily chart, the lower shadow carefully tested the support of the MACD line. Now, the euro has established a consolidation range between yesterday's low and the Fibonacci level at 1.0665-1.0750. Settling below 1.0665 could lead to a decline towards the price channel line around the psychological level of 1.0500, while a move above 1.0750 opens the target range of 1.0834/57. The uptrend remains intact. On the 4-hour chart, the bullish momentum remains intact. After retreating, the price is now staying above the indicator lines, and the Marlin oscillator may form a bullish reversal from the neutral zero line.  
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Asia Morning Bites: Rising US Treasury Yields Impact Asian FX, RBA's Monetary Statement, and India's Industrial Production Report

ING Economics ING Economics 10.11.2023 10:24
Asia Morning Bites Rising US Treasury yields should weigh on Asian FX today. Also, the RBA has released its latest monetary statement and India will report industrial production later.   Global macro and markets: Global markets:  A disappointing auction for 30Y Treasuries yesterday fed through to higher yields across the curve.  The yield on the 30Y bond rose 15bp to 4.765%, and that lifted yields on the 10Y (+14.9bp to 4.624%) and also the 2Y (+8.8bp to 5.02%). Despite nosing below 4.5% the other day, it looks for now as if yields are happier this side of that line, though will get tested again next week as US inflation numbers look set to drop sharply. Our US economist, James Knightley, thinks that US inflation could drop to around the target range by 2Q24.  Jerome Powell took a tough line in his remarks early this morning at the IMF conference, saying that the Fed wouldn’t hesitate to hike if needed and that the inflation fight had a long way to go. These comments may also have helped to lift yields. Powell’s tone makes sense. There is no point in corralling the market into expecting cuts until shortly before they look necessary. However, there will come a point where the rhetoric and the macro diverge to such an extent that either markets call the Fed’s bluff, and start to price in cuts, or the Fed has to do an abrupt turn and throw in the towel. For now, though, further tough talk is likely. Whether this transforms into tough action will depend on the run of the macro data. Higher yields gave the USD another lift, and EURUSD dropped back to 1.0665. The AUD, which has been trading heavily since the RBA hike, dropped to 0.6360.  Cable is down to 1.2216 and the JPY has risen up to 151.35. Asian FX was slightly softer yesterday against the USD, and will likely soften further today in line with the overnight G-10 FX moves. USDCNY is back to 7.2846 and pushing back in the direction of 7.30. US stocks don’t like these higher yields, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.81% yesterday. The NASDAQ was down 0.94%. Chinese stocks were mixed to flattish, with the CSI 300 up just 0.05% and the Hang Seng down 0.33%. G-7 macro:  There was nothing too exciting on the macro calendar yesterday. Even the weekly US jobless claims were close to expectations, with a slight overshoot for the continued claims numbers. There is no US data to speak of today, and UK production and trade figures dominate the G-7 calendar. These won’t have any broader bearing on markets outside the UK. Australia:  The RBA has released its November statement on monetary policy. We did not think that the statement released with the earlier rate hike decision was particularly dovish, though the market certainly seemed to think so. We don't think this longer more detailed statement is particularly dovish either, but the link is included above, so have a read and make up your own mind. Once again, the market seems to have decided that whatever the content of the statement, lower yields are the way to go. We think that a bit of reflection may see that view reverse in time. That said, we do think rates have probably peaked. But there are risks to this view. The first is that inflation may well increase again when October data is released. Secondly, the monthly run rate (MoM% increase in the price level) has been 0.6% for the last two months, and that is way too high to be consistent with the RBA's inflation target. So that needs to drop, or there is still a chance, in our opinion, that rates have to rise again next year.   India:  September production data will be released later this evening, and the consensus forecast is for a drop from the 10.3% YoY rate of growth recorded in August, to just 7.0% in September. This would be consistent with a decline in the level of production, as implied by the sub-50 PMI index in September. We wouldn’t be surprised if the production growth figure came in a fair bit higher than that, as we aren’t convinced that, despite the PMI numbers, we will see an actual contraction in activity in September. What to look out for: India industrial production and Fed speakers India industrial production (10 November) US University of Michigan sentiment (10 November) Fed Bostic and Logan speak (10 November)
Federal Reserve's Stance: Holding Rates Steady Amidst Market Expectations, with a Cautionary Tone on Overly Aggressive Rate Cut Pricings

FX Daily: Navigating Familiar Ground with Fed Caution and USD Consolidation

ING Economics ING Economics 22.11.2023 14:39
FX Daily: Hard to get excited by the same story Fed minutes once again reiterated the cautious approach to interest rates but for the US dollar, this seems to be a non-event. Expect trading volumes to fall away into Thursday's US Thanksgiving holiday, and look out for US jobless claims today instead of tomorrow. Meanwhile, the NBH delivered another 75bp rate cut, which is good news for FX.   USD: Consolidation continues Federal Reserve minutes once again reiterated the cautious approach to interest rates, which did not excite the markets much. US equity markets broke a five-day winning streak and Treasuries ended a little lower again. For EUR/USD, this seems to be more of a non-event. Looking ahead, expect trading volumes to fall away into tomorrow’s US Thanksgiving holiday but the holiday means we get to see US initial jobless claims earlier than usual. Here, continued claims are expected to climb, reflecting a softening labour market. Today’s US calendar also sees durable goods orders and the latest readings on US consumer confidence - the latter is expected to stabilise at the lowest levels since May. In terms of the bigger picture, we tend to think it is a little too early to expect the dollar bear trend to run a lot further just yet. That will require some substantially weaker US data or the Fed formally taking an additional rate hike off the table.  
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FX Daily: No Thanksgiving Turkey for Dollar Bears as Resilient Jobless Claims Boost the Greenback

ING Economics ING Economics 23.11.2023 13:11
FX Daily: No turkey for dollar bears The Thanksgiving holiday means thin volumes and no US data releases today. We expect some stabilisation in EUR/USD after strong jobless claims fuelled the dollar rebound. Still, eurozone PMIs might trigger some fresh position-squaring events. In Sweden, we are slightly in favour of a Riksbank hike today, but it is a very close call given krona strength.   USD: Stronger into the Thanksgiving holiday The dollar rose for a second consecutive session yesterday, this time helped by a surprise drop in initial jobless claims to 209k from 233k: an indication of good labour market resilience ahead of the 8 December payrolls data, which will be key in setting the tone for FX into Christmas. University of Michigan inflation expectations were revised higher, although durable goods orders came in softer than expected in October, which probably limited the scope of the market impact of jobless claims. Today, FX flows will be subdued due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Equity and bond markets are closed, and there are no data releases in the US. Part of the rebound in the dollar observed over the past two sessions (especially on Tuesday) may well be related to some profit-taking on risk-on trades and more defensive positioning ahead of Thanksgiving. We think DXY can find some stabilisation around 104.00 into the weekend amid thinner trading volumes and a lack of market-moving data releases in the US.  
Bank of Japan Keeps Rates Steady, Paves the Way for April Hike Amidst Market Disappointment

Asia Morning Bites: Focus on China's October Industrial Profits Amid Global Market Dynamics

ING Economics ING Economics 27.11.2023 15:08
Asia Morning Bites China profits data for October to dominate Asian macro releases on an otherwise quiet day.   Global macro and markets Global markets: US Treasuries ended the week with yields rising again. The yield on the 2Y Treasury rose 4.9bp, while the 10Y yield went up 6.2bp to 4.466%, taking it close to the 4.50% line again. The USD was softer again on Friday. EURUSD rose to 1.0943. The AUD has tested the 0.6590 level before settling down to around 0.6584. Sterling has broached 1.26 for the first time since September. But the JPY is still hovering below 1.50 and hasn’t gained as much as its other G-10 peers. Other Asian FX was mostly softer on Friday and will likely catch up with the G-10 moves this morning. The weaker currencies, KRW, THB, and TWD will probably outperform the others. The CNY is little changed at 7.1490. US equities did very little on a low trading volume day as many market participants dragged the Thanksgiving holiday over to the weekend. US equity futures are looking a bit negative today. Chinese markets were down on Friday, possibly reflecting unease after a criminal probe was launched into the financial conglomerate, Zhongzhi, though most of the weakness in the CSI 300 came from the info-tech part of the index, along with consumer discretionary stocks and industrials. Financials were down 0.44% on the day. G-7 macro: Friday’s very meagre offerings on the macro front don’t offer much new insight. The S&P PMI indices for the US rose fractionally for manufacturing but remained just in contraction territory at 49.9. The service sector PMI was stronger at 50.3, but down from the October 50.8 reading, and takes the composite PMI down to just 50.4. There isn’t enough history for this series to draw any meaningful conclusions from this. Today, we just get US new home sales for October. The US housing market has been doing surprisingly well, but the market is looking for a small 4.7% MoM decline this month – mainly a statistical pullback from the very robust September figure. China: Industrial profits data for October come out today. This is expected to show the contraction in earnings abating slightly, in line with some of the slightly stronger PMI and activity figures. The September figure was a -9.0%YoY ytd decline. Figures around the -6.7% mark have been cited as the consensus forecast. What to look out for: China Industrial Profits and US new home sales China industrial profits (27 November) Thailand trade (27 November) US new home sales (27 November) Australia retail sales (28 November) Taiwan GDP (28 November) US Conference board consumer confidence (28 November) South Korea business survey (29 November) US GDP, personal consumption, wholesale inventories (29 November) US Fed Beige book (30 November) South Korea industrial production and BoK meeting (30 November) Japan retail sales and industrial production (30 November) China PMI manufacturing and non-manufacturing (30 November) US initial jobless claims and personal spending (30 November) US pending home sales (30 November) Japan jobless rate and job-applicant ratio (1 December) South Korea trade balance (1 December) Regional PMI (1 December) China Caixin PMI (1 December) Indonesia CPI inflation (1 December) US ISM manufacturing (1 December)
FX Daily: Fed Ends Bank Term Funding Program, Shifts Focus to US Regional Banks and 4Q23 GDP

USD Slips Below 200-DMA Despite Rebound in Yields: A Weekly Market Analysis

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 27.11.2023 15:10
USD slips below 200-DMA despite rebound in yields  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Last week ended on a positive note where the US equities advanced to fresh highs since summer on a holiday shortened trading week. The S&P500 gained for the 4th consecutive week and closed the week near 4560, the rate-sensitive and technology heavy Nasdaq 100 extended gains beyond the summer peak, and hit an almost 2-year high, while the VIX index, which is known as Wall Street's fear gauge, or the volatility index, slumped to the lowest levels since January 2020. The belief that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is done hiking the interest rates, and the rapidly falling US long-term yields are at the source of this optimism – especially after the latest CPI update in the US printed a softer-than-expected number, suggesting that inflation in the US fell to 3.2% last month. This week, investors will find out if the Fed's favourite inflation gauge, the PCE index, tells the same story. The PCE index is expected to have fallen from 3.4% to 3.1% in October, and core PCE may have eased from 3.7% to 3.5% during the same month. Anything less than soothing could lead to some more correction in the US long-term yields. The 10-year yield jumped to 4.50% early Monday, though the positive pressure slowed above 4.50%.   News that the Black Friday spending jumped 7.5% this year to hit a record high of $9.8 billion certainly reminds investors that consumer spending in the US remains strong. The latter gives a strong support to the US economy, which in return gives a solid confidence to the Fed that keeping the rates high for long is not necessarily a bad idea. Today, the sales continue with Cyber Monday deals.   Yet the holiday shoppers' enthusiasm is less visible on the financial markets this Monday. The US futures are down, along with their Asian peers on the back of a rebound in US yields, the nearly 8% slump in Chinese industrial profits in October and news that children in China are suffering from respiratory infections – which spurs speculation that it could be a new strain of Covid. Chinese authorities say that it's simply a mix of known respiratory diseases. But you know, once bitten, twice shy.   
German Ifo Index Hits Lowest Level Since 2020 Amidst New Economic Challenges

FX Daily: Yen Back in the Spotlight Amid Bank of Japan Speculation

ING Economics ING Economics 12.12.2023 13:18
FX Daily: Yen back in the spotlight Ahead of tomorrow's US jobs data release, the short-term highlight in the FX market is the continued outperformance of the yen. This has nothing to do with a risk-averse environment (asset markets are bid) and everything to do with the Bank of Japan potentially ending its negative interest rate policy. It looks like the yen can hold its gains near term.   USD: Mixed environment, yen strength stands out FX markets remain relatively calm. One anomaly is that global risk assets (both bonds and equities) are doing quite well, but the dollar is staying quite bid. Normally one might expect the dollar to be easing gently lower in an environment like this. One explanation for this is that while interest rates are falling around the world (risk positive) they are actually falling faster overseas (especially in Europe) than in the US. Notably, EUR versus USD swap differentials are at the widest of the year and exposing the soft underbelly of EUR/USD. But the short-term highlight is the outperformance of the yen. The focus here, once again, is whether the Bank of Japan (BoJ) plans to end eight years of negative interest rates when it meets on 18/19 December. The FX market has been here many times before with this story - only to be rudely disabused of its speculation every time. However, at ING we have pencilled in a BoJ rate hike in the second quarter of next year. Our suspicion is that speculation of a BoJ move at the 18 December meeting is premature since there is no accompanying Outlook Report - a report that could show CPI sustainably hitting 2% and justifying an end to negative rate policy. That said, USD/JPY could still drift to the 144.50/145.00 area over the next week as speculation continues to build about a December BoJ move. The underlying dollar story, however, will be determined, by tomorrow's US jobs report and next week's FOMC meeting. It looks like the US bond market is already pricing in a soft number - which warns perhaps of a firmer dollar if the data is not too weak. Yet we suspect that investors are in the mood to put money to work - noting a major pro-risk turning in the inflation and interest rate cycle - such that the dollar gets sold into any rally tomorrow.  For today, we doubt jobless claims will be a big driver of price action today. We will be interested to look at the October US consumer credit data after the close today to see whether record-high credit card interest rates are finally taking their toll on the US consumer.  DXY has been performing better this week, but we see a scenario where it stalls in the 104.25/50 area.    
FX Daily: Yen Bulls on Alert as Focus Shifts to US Payrolls and BoJ Speculation

FX Daily: Yen Bulls on Alert as Focus Shifts to US Payrolls and BoJ Speculation

ING Economics ING Economics 12.12.2023 14:06
FX Daily: Yen bulls turn to US payrolls The big yen rally has been exacerbated by positioning factors, but markets may keep speculating on a BoJ December hike unless Japanese officials protest against hawkish bets before the meeting. A bigger upside risk for USD/JPY is today’s US payrolls, which could paint a still resilient jobs market picture, and help the dollar.   USD: Payrolls may ruin the party for the yen The exceptional rally in the yen remains the biggest story in FX at the moment. The size of the drop in USD/JPY and the volatile intraday price-action are a clear consequence of the heavy short positioning on the yen into this round of hawkish speculation on Japanese rates. USD/JPY net longs amounted to 42% of open interest on 28 November, as per the latest CFTC data. Despite technical factors such as positioning having exacerbated the yen moves, we’d be careful to call for a peak in the JPY rally just yet. First, because there is likely a lot more bearish JPY positioning to be scaled back by speculators, second – and most importantly – because markets may not have many incentives to unwind bets on a December BoJ hike unless Japanese or central bank officials step in to tame the speculation before the meeting. Our view remains that the BoJ would prefer to exit negative rates policy at either the January or April meeting, when the Outlook Report accompanies the policy decision and Governor Kazuo Ueda can use an upside revision in inflation to justify a rate hike. Incidentally, the final release of 3Q GDP in Japan signalled a worse economic contraction (-0.7% QoQ) than previously estimated. We’ll be looking at USD/JPY closely today not only to gauge how much markets continue to speculate on BoJ tightening but also in relation to US risk events. The US jobs figures for November are a key turning point for markets' ongoing speculation on Federal Reserve easing in 2024. The payrolls’ consensus number is 183k, but soft JOLTS job openings and ADP payrolls (despite the latter having no predictive power for official figures) suggest markets may be positioned for a weaker reading. Our economics team forecasts 180k, and we suspect the US jobs market may still prove a bit more resilient than expected – triggering some unwinding of dovish Fed bets and supporting the dollar. The US calendar also includes the December University of Michigan surveys; markets will mostly be moved by the inflation expectations numbers, which are expected to have declined. All in all, we see some upside risks for the dollar today. The high sensitivity of USD/JPY to US rates means that US payrolls could trigger a rebound in the pair. That said, the ongoing bullish momentum in the yen on the back of hawkish domestic bets means sellers of USD/JPY may re-emerge around the 145.0 area.  
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Federal Reserve Outlook: Navigating Monetary Policy in the Face of Market Expectations and Economic Signals

ING Economics ING Economics 12.12.2023 14:11
We expect another Fed hold, but with pushback on rate cut prospects The Fed last raised rates in July and we think that marked the peak. There is growing evidence that tight monetary policy and restrictive credit conditions are having the desired effect on depressing inflation. However, the Fed will not want to endorse the market pricing of significant rate cuts until they are confident price pressures are quashed   Fed to leave rates unchanged, oppose market pricing of cuts The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave the fed funds target range at 5.25-5.5% at next week’s FOMC meeting. Softer activity numbers, cooling labour data and benign MoM% inflation prints signal that monetary policy is probably restrictive enough to bring inflation sustainably down to 2% in coming months, a narrative that is being more vocally supported by key Federal Reserve officials. The bigger story is likely to be contained in the individual Fed member forecasts – how far will they look to back the market perceptions that major rate cuts are on their way? We strongly suspect there will be a lot of pushback here.   Markets pricing 125bp of cuts, the Fed will likely stick to 50bp prediction There has been a big swing in expectations for Federal Reserve policy since the last FOMC meeting, with markets firmly buying into the possibility of some aggressive interest rate cuts next year. Back on November 1st, after the Fed held rates steady for the second consecutive meeting, fed funds futures priced around a 20% chance of a final hike by the December FOMC meeting with nearly 90bp of rate cuts expected through 2024. Today, markets are clearly of the view that interest rates have peaked with 125bp of rate cuts priced through next year. Underscoring this shift in sentiment, we have seen the US 10Y Treasury yield fall from just shy of 5% in late October to a low of 4.1% on December 6th.   Federal Reserve rhetoric has certainly helped the momentum of the moves. Chief amongst them is the quote from Fed Governor Chris Waller suggesting that if inflation continues to cool “for several more months – I don’t know how long that might be – three months, four months, five months – that we feel confident that inflation is really down and on its way, you could then start lowering the policy rate just because inflation is lower”. The real Fed funds rate (nominal rate less inflation) is indeed now positive and we expect it to move above 3% as inflation continues to fall. Does it need to be this high to ensure inflation stays at 2%? We would argue not, and so too, it appears, do some senior members of the Fed. Other officials, such as Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic, suggest that the US hasn’t “seen the full effects of restrictive policy”. However, there are still some residual hawks. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly is still contemplating “whether we have enough tightening in the system”.   ING's expectations for what the Federal Reserve will predict   Fed to talk up prolonged restirctive stance In that regard, the steep fall in Treasury yields in recent weeks is an easing of financial conditions on the economy and there is going to be some concern that this effectively unwinds some of the Fed rate hikes from earlier in the year. For example, mortgage rates have been swift to respond, with the 30Y fixed-rate mortgage dropping from a high of 7.90% in late October to 7.17% as of last week. With inflation still well above the 2% target despite recent encouraging MoM prints, we expect the Fed to be wary of anything that could be interpreted as offering an excuse to price in even deeper Fed rate cuts for next year and result in even lower longer-dated Treasury yields.   Consequently, we expect the Fed to retain a relatively upbeat economic assessment with the same 50bp of rate cuts in 2024 they signalled in their September forecasts, albeit from a lower level given the final 25bp December hike they forecasted last time is not going to happen.Fed Chair Jay Powell’s assessment in a December 1st speech is likely to be the template for the tone of the press conference. There, he argued, “it would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease. We are prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate to do so”. Similarly, NY Fed president John Williams expects “it will be appropriate to maintain a restrictive stance for quite some time”.   But the Fed will eventually turn dovish We think the Fed will eventually shift to a more dovish stance, but this may not come until late in the first quarter of 2024. The US economy continues to perform well for now and the jobs market remains tight, but there is growing evidence that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases and the associated tightening of credit conditions are starting to have the desired effect. The consumer is key, and with real household disposable incomes flatlining, credit demand falling, and pandemic-era accrued savings being exhausted for many, we see a risk of a recession during 2024. Collapsing housing transactions and plunging homebuilder sentiment suggest residential investment will weaken, while softer durable goods orders point to a downturn in capital expenditure. If low gasoline prices are maintained, inflation could be at the 2% target in the second quarter of next year, which could open the door to lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve from May onwards – especially if hiring slows as we expect. We look for 150bp of rate cuts in 2024, with a further 100bp in early 2025.   The Fed will try to keep the market rates impact to a minimum There may be some interest from the press on money market conditions following the spikes seen in repo around the end of the month and reverberating into the early part of December. It comes against a backdrop where banks' reserves are ample, in the US$3.3tr area. The last time the Fed engaged in quantitative tightening, bank reserves bottomed at a little under US$1.5tr and there was a material effect felt on the money markets. It’s unlikely that we'll get anywhere near that this time around. Bank reserves will certainly get below US$3tr and possibly down to US$2.5trn. The Fed will want to get liquidity into better balance as a first port of call, but beyond that, it won’t want to over-tighten liquidity conditions. Taking this into account, QT likely ends around the end of 2024. In the meantime, the clearest manifestation of quantitative tightening is to be seen in falling liquidity volumes going back to the Fed on the overnight reverse repo facility. This is now at US$825bn but will hit zero in the second half of 2024. Whether Chair Powell gets drawn into this will likely be down to whether the press wants him - they'll need to ask the question(s)! In terms of expectations for market movements, we doubt there will be much. If, as we expect, the Fed sticks to the hawkish tilt and does not give the market too much to get excited about, then expect minimal impact. As it is, the structure of the curve, as telegraphed by the richness of the 5yr on the curve, is telling us that a rate cut is not yet in the 6-month countdown window. That will slowly change, and we’ll morph towards a point where we are three months out from a cut and the 2yr yield really collapses lower. It's unlikely the Fed will change that at this final meeting of 2023, though, and they won’t want to.   Fed pushback could dent recent high-yield FX rally As mentioned above, a Fed pushback against market pricing of the easing cycle in 2024 should be mildly supportive of the dollar. Even though EUR/USD has performed poorly through the start of December and could get some mild support a day later from the ECB, this FOMC meeting could prompt losses to the 1.0650 area. We have had 1.07 as a year-end target for a few months now and expect the more powerful, dollar-led, EUR/USD rally to come through in 2Q when we expect those short-dated US yields to collapse. Perhaps more vulnerable to a decent Fed pushback against lower rates might be what we call the 'growth' currencies, such as the high beta currencies in Scandinavia and the commodity sector (Australian and Canadian dollars). These currencies have had a good run through November on the lower US rate environment. However, as per our 2024 FX Outlook, these currencies are our top picks for next year and should meet good demand on pullbacks this month. As to the wild ride that is USD/JPY, higher US yields could provide some temporary support. However, we doubt USD/JPY will sustain gains above the 146/147 area as traders re-adjust positions for a potential change in Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy on December 19th. We suspect that USD/JPY has peaked, however, and are happy with our call for USD/JPY to be trading close to 135 next summer after the BoJ starts to dismantle its ultra-dovish policy in the first half of next year. 
Federal Reserve's Stance: Holding Rates Steady Amidst Market Expectations, with a Cautionary Tone on Overly Aggressive Rate Cut Pricings

Tectonic Shift: Unexpectedly Dovish Fed Sparks Market Dynamics

ING Economics ING Economics 14.12.2023 13:57
Surprise dovish twist By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The Federal Reserve (Fed) wraps up the year with a resounding finale. The Fed is not bothered to see the US yields fall in preparation for a rate cut. On the contrary, they endorsed the idea of a policy pivot thanks to an encouraging fall in inflation and sounded way more dovish than everybody expected at their announcement yesterday – which clearly exposed that the policy pivot is coming. This is the major take of the final FOMC meeting of the year, and it was totally unexpected. Jerome Powell still said – just for the sake of saying – that 'it is far too early to declare victory' over inflation, but the committee lowered their inflation forecasts for this year and the next, and the so-called dot plot – which plots where the Fed officials see the interest rates going – plotted a 75bp cut in Fed funds rate next year. The median expectation now suggests that the Fed rate will be lowered to 4.6% by the end of next year. And that's quite a big change compared to last time the Fed President spoke to say that the rates would stay high for long. It now appears that the rates won't stay high for so long. The first Fed rate cut is now expected to happen in March, with more than 85% probability.  As a result, the US 2-year yield – which captures the Fed rate bets – sank to 4.33% yesterday, and with the dovish message that the Fed sent to the market, the 4.50% level that I saw as a support at the start of this week should now act like a resistance. The US 10-year yield sank below 4%, reflecting the idea that the policy pivot suggests some meaningful slowdown in the US economy. The falling yields sent the S&P500 above the 4700 mark, to the highest levels in almost two years and the Dow Jones Industrial Index hit a record high. There is no reason to stop believing that the S&P500 will soon renew record as well, unless there is a meaningful decline in earnings expectations.   The dovish Fed echoed loudly across the FX markets as well. The US dollar was sharply sold, the EURUSD rebounded back above the 1.09 level, Cable extended gains to 1.2650 and the USDJPY fell almost 1.80% yesterday and slipped below the 141 level this morning. Trend and momentum indicators are comfortably negative, the fundamentals – meaning the narrowing divergence between the more dovish Fed and the more hawkish Bank of Japan (BoJ) – are comfortably positive for the yen, hence price rallies in the USDJPY are now seen as opportunities to strengthen the short USDJPY positions.  Now today, it's the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England's (BoE) turn to give their final policy verdict for this year. And both Mme Lagarde and Mr. Bailey are certainly annoyed to see the Fed go so soft yesterday, as Christine Lagarde had said herself that no reduction in rates should be expected in the next few quarters. It will be interesting to see if ECB and BoE officials feel comfortable about giving up their tough stance. I still believe that Lagarde will repeat that it's too early to talk about rate cuts, in which case we could see the EURUSD jump above the 1.10 level and finish the year above this level.   Across the Channel, the situation is less obvious. The UK economic outlook is not bright, and wages show signs of slowing. One big argument is that inflation has more than halved in the UK since the start of this year. Yes. But inflation in the UK – though halved – stands at 4.6% which is more than twice the BoE's 2% target. The latter makes the BoE less inclined to initiate rate cuts compared to the other two major central banks.   
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Rates Puzzle: Powell's Silence and Central Banks' Divergence

ING Economics ING Economics 14.12.2023 14:00
Rates Spark: Does the Fed know something we dont? The surprise from the FOMC was partly the extra 25bp implied cut added to 2024, but it was more the lack of pushback from Chair Powell on the 2024 rate cut narrative. He almost endorsed it, which leads us to question whether he knows something of significance that we don't. Today's focus is on the ECB and BoE policy meetings.   Chair Powell validates the move from 5% to 4% on the 10yr yield Such was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's phraseology at the press conference that one must suspect that he knows more than we know. And its not about the macro data. We can see that. It's more about what the Fed might be seeing under the hood. Perhaps in commercial real estate, or single family residential rentals or private credit, or another other area of the system that might find itself overexposed to rate hikes delivered, under water and vulnerable to breaking. We don't know of course, but a Fed chair that stands up asserts that he understands the dangers they run by keeping rates too high for too long is one that looks like he's ringing alarm bells. Along with the Fed, the market too has added an additional 25bp rate cut for 2024, now at 150bp cumulative. The entire curve has shifter lower, led by real rates. The 2/10yr curve has gapped steeper too. This is a meaningful outcome. The question now is whether the 2yr can really break free and head lower as a driver of the yield curve, steepening it out from the front end. That traditionally happens on a three month run in ahead of an actual rate cut. We’re on the cusp if this, but not quite there just yet. It’s been a remarkable ongoing market move, especially as it has been interlaced with some tailed auctions, indicative of resistance to the falling market rates narrative (in the long end). But there’s been little from Chair Powell and the FOMC to stand in the way of this. Recent data has not really validated the dramatic fall in yields. But today the Fed has helped to do so. A far more hawkish Fed had been anticipated. The question ahead is where is fair value for the 10yr. We think it’s 4%. It’s premised off the view that the funds rate gets to 3% and we are adding a 100bp curve to that. We are about to sail below 4% though as a theme for 2024, with 3.5% the target. But the move below 4% towards 3.5% will be an overshoot process. If something breaks, we fast track all of that and jump to a new environment. That has not happened as of yet, but we think the stakes have risen.   ECB to push back against early cut expectations With a first rate cut more than fully discounted by April and on overall anticipated easing of 135bp over 2024, the market’s expectations of European Central Bank policy stand in stark contrast to the official line of rates having to remain high for longer. But since the last meeting in particular the inflation data has surprised to the downside, which even influential ECB officials like Isabel Schnabel had to acknowledge. The prospect of further hikes is clearly off the table, but she warned that central banks will have to be more cautious. That also meant that the ECB should be more careful with regards to making statements about what will happen in the next six months. The ECB’s new growth and inflation forecasts will have to be lowered, the crucial question is just by how much. Also taking it from Schnabel, the ECB is unlikely to give any longer rate guidance, which would only mean a truer meeting-by-meeting and data dependent approach. Still, the ECB is unlikely to endorse the aggressive market pricing, especially that of cuts already early in the year. So far the communication has been that one is particularly concerned about the development of upcoming wage negotiations which makes pricing for March rate cuts look premature. But how can the ECB still convey a hawkish tilt? One possibility is using communication about plans to shrink the balance sheet. We do not think there will be concrete decisions yet, but the ECB could state that it has begun discussing to potentially end PEPP reinvestments earlier than planned.   BoE likely reiterate rates will stay restrictive for an extended period Expectations of policy easing have further deepened ahead of today’s Bank of England monetary policy committee meeting. A first rate cut is now fully discounted by June with an overall expected easing of close to 100bp over 2024. One reason for growing expectations was a downside surprise in wage growth which saw private sector regular pay growth fall to 7.3% year-on-year from 7.8% YoY. Another trigger was yesterday’s disappointing GDP growth for October which means we are potentially on track for a fractionally negative overall fourth quarter figure. The BoE is likely to reiterate the guidance from November, where it said it expected rates to stay restrictive for “an extended period.  A hold is also widely anticipated by the market, but the recent data could convince some of the three MPC’s hawks who had still voted for a hike in November to back down from that position toward a ‘no change’.    Today's events and market view The central bank meetings are clearly the focus today given how far market expectations of policy easing have come. There may well be some disappointment in store for pricing of rate cuts as early as March. But further out we must acknowledge that the shift lower in rates is also driven by a drop in inflation expectations. The 10Y EUR inflation swap for instance has come down all the way from levels closer to 2.6% in October to currently 2.15%. Even central banks themselves have become more positive about the disinflationary tendencies taking hold. On the heels of the FOMC meeting rates markets in the US will look out for the initial jobless claims as well as retail sales data today. we will also get import and export prices.
Poland on the Global Investment Map: Analyzing EBRD’s Record €1.3 Billion Investment

EUR Outlook: Gauging ECB Pushback Amid Dovish Market Expectations

ING Economics ING Economics 14.12.2023 14:19
EUR: Gauging the ECB pushback Attention turns to the ECB today. Investors are currently pricing in over 125bp of rate cuts next year, with the first full cut priced for the April meeting. We think that is far too early. However, the question today is how far ECB President Christine Lagarde wants to push back against that. Feeding into the story will be revisions to ECB staff growth and inflation forecasts. The larger the downward revisions to both growth and inflation (e.g. if the 2025 CPI forecast gets cut below 2%), the more euro money market rates will soften, and the euro will lag other currencies as they advance against the softer dollar.  Our ECB market preview felt there were upside risks to EUR/USD going into this ECB meeting. EUR/USD has already enjoyed a strong rally on the back of the softer US rate view, and assuming the ECB does not fully embrace dovish expectations for next year, we would say the bias for EUR/USD lies towards 1.0945/65 and probably 1.10 multi-day. Over recent months, we have been forecasting EUR/USD to end the year somewhere near 1.07. After last night's Fed shift, we expect EUR/USD ends the year closer to 1.10 now. Also, today look out for the Norges Bank and Swiss National Bank meetings. Presumably, the SNB will cut its inflation forecasts. Having consistently sold FX since last year – delivering nominal Swiss franc appreciation and keeping the real Swiss franc stable – we are interested to hear today whether the SNB has been both buying and selling FX. If it confirms it is on both sides of EUR/CHF, rather than just being a EUR/CHF selle, and we suspect EUR/CHF can jump back up to the 0.9550 area.
The Yen's Rocky Start to 2024: Impact of Earthquake and Bank of Japan's Caution

BoJ Stands Firm: Yen Rocked, but Is a Second Quarter Hike Looming? 🇯🇵💹 Catch the Pulse of FX Markets: USD Mixed After Cautious Fedspeak!

ING Economics ING Economics 19.12.2023 11:56
FX Daily: Cautious BoJ hits the yen The Bank of Japan did not give in to market pressure and kept its dovish guidance intact. However, the wording on the economic and inflation outlook paves the way for a hike in the second quarter in our view. The yen should revert to being driven mostly by US rates after taking a hit today. Elsewhere, Fedspeak will remain in focus along with some US data.   USD: Mixed Fedspeak The dollar has started the week modestly offered, with Scandinavian currencies performing well and the yen dropping after this morning’s Bank of Japan announcement (more in the JPY section below). The US calendar was empty yesterday, so the spotlight was on Fedspeak. Loretta Mester said that the markets are “a little bit ahead” on rate cuts, and Mary Daly said that her outlook for rate cuts is very close to the median Dot Plot (75bp of easing next year). Interestingly, Daly said that policy would still be restrictive if three cuts were delivered next year, which would probably imply greater room for easing if the economic outlook deteriorates. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said he is confused by the market reaction to the Dot Plot, but remarks from Daly and Mester instead seemed to endorse investors’ bullish response. We’ll keep monitoring Fed speakers today, with Thomas Barkin and Raphael Bostic (the latter swings more to the dovish side) set to deliver remarks. However, the focus will also be on US data, with housing starts set to have declined along with building permits in November. October TIC data is also due today. Tomorrow’s consumer confidence and Friday’s PCE and personal income numbers will be the last bits of data that can move the market before Christmas. Today, FX markets may stay quiet, and the general mood on the dollar could be modestly bearish unless we hear some more convincing pushback on rate cuts by Fed offici
Bank of Japan Keeps Rates Steady, Paves the Way for April Hike Amidst Market Disappointment

Bank of Japan Keeps Rates Steady, Paves the Way for April Hike Amidst Market Disappointment

ING Economics ING Economics 19.12.2023 12:14
JPY: Ueda disappoints markets, but April hike on the table The Bank of Japan kept rates unchanged today as widely expected, but disappointed market hawkish expectations. The Bank kept its dovish guidance unchanged (“take additional monetary easing steps without hesitation if needed") which forced markets to abandon speculation of a rate hike in January.   The yen took a hit, falling almost by 1.0% against the dollar after the announcement and press conference by Governor Ueda, but we identified a few changes in the Bank’s assessment of the economic outlook that likely endorse the market’s lingering expectations for a hike in April. In particular, the BoJ noted that private consumption has continued to increase modestly, that inflation is likely to be above 2% throughout the 2024 fiscal year and that underlying inflation is likely to increase. Those statements are aimed at paving the way for policy normalisation in 2024, in our view. We expect the yield curve control to be scrapped in January and a hike to be delivered in April. From an FX perspective, the yen may simply revert to trading primarily on external factors (US rates in particular) after the BoJ ignored market pressure and likely signalled the path to normalisation should be a gradual one. We remain bearish on USD/JPY in 2024, as the oversold yen can still benefit from the end of negative rates in Japan and we see the Fed cutting rates by 150bp, but the pace of depreciation in the pair will be gradual in the near term, and we only see a decisive break below 140 in 2Q24.   ⚠️ Did the #BOJ fall asleep on the $JPY 🖨️ print button or what? 🤭Almost makes you wonder if someone out there is in desperate need of liquidity… 🤔 https://t.co/EdRfXb9vUH pic.twitter.com/z2dN3YVtuH — JustDario 🏊‍♂️ (@DarioCpx) December 19, 2023
Metals Market Update: Aluminium Surges on EU Sanction Threats, Chinese Steel Mills Restock, Nickel Faces Global Supply Surplus, and Copper Positions Adjust

Fed Daily Update: Dollar Support Unfazed by Slightly Elevated US CPI

ING Economics ING Economics 12.01.2024 15:27
FX Daily: Not too hot to handle Rate expectations were not moved by slightly hotter-than-expected US CPI, and support for the dollar has mostly come through the risk-sentiment channel. Range-bound trading may persist despite conditions for a stronger dollar. Inflation in the CEE region is falling; the NBR leaves rates unchanged.   USD: Markets still attached to March cut US CPI data came in a bit hotter than expected yesterday, with the core rate rising 0.3% MoM and slowing to 3.9% YoY versus 3.8% consensus. The upside surprise in headline inflation was bigger: an acceleration from 3.1% to 3.4% YoY versus the 3.2% consensus. The dollar jumped after the release, also thanks to weekly jobless claims printing lower than expected. Somewhat surprisingly, the US yield curve did not react by scaling back rate cut expectations, as a knee-jerk selloff in 2-year Treasuries was fully unwound within an hour of the CPI release. We've already discussed how we did not expect this inflation read to leave a long-lasting impact on markets, and it definitely appears that most of the fixed-income investor community is almost overlooking the release. The support to the dollar appears mostly tied to the negative response in equities, given the neutral impact on short-dated US yields. A March rate cut is still over 60% priced in, and we still see short-term vulnerability for risk assets from a hawkish repricing. The conditions for a higher dollar this month are surely there, but we have observed numerous indications that markets remain reluctant to make short-term USD bullish positions coexist with the longer-lasting view that US rates will take the dollar structurally lower by year-end. The chances of rangebound trading until we receive clearer messages by activity data and the Fed are high. Today, PPI figures for December will be released, adding information about lingering price pressures and potentially steering the market a bit more. On the Fed front, we’ll hear from hawk Neel Kashakari.
Poland on the Global Investment Map: Analyzing EBRD’s Record €1.3 Billion Investment

FX Weekly Update: Anticipating Central Bankers' Impact on Resilient Markets

ING Economics ING Economics 16.01.2024 12:19
FX Daily: Waiting on central bankers to shake data-resistant markets Investors have cemented Fed easing expectations despite some hotter-than-expected US data. We suspect a market reluctant to price out rate cuts will need strong words from the Fed – perhaps Powell himself – to reconnect rate expectations with data. Meanwhile, USD may stay rangebound. This week, Lagarde will speak in Davos, and UK CPI should slow further.   USD: Rate expectations still disjointed from data The first half of January has shown a dislocation between rate expectations and data in the US. The two most important data points for the Federal Reserve, labour and CPI inflation figures, both came in hotter than expected. PPI was a bit softer than consensus on Friday, but that is not enough to justify markets’ reluctance to price out Fed easing. The Fed funds future curve prices in 21bp of cuts in March, and 168bp by year-end. Our view remains that the Fed won’t start cutting before May, and that the total easing package will be 150bp. Accordingly, the rally in short-term USD rates appears overdone, and weakness in the front part of the USD curve should support some recovery in the dollar. However, we suspect that the data may prove insufficient to trigger a USD rebound for now; the consensus view of a dollar decline later this year seems to be making investors keen to sell dollar rallies. Also, the Fed probably needs to send a clearer message that the latest data does not justify the kind of aggressively dovish view embedded in money market pricing. There are a few more Fed speakers lined up this week, but perhaps dollar bears will want to hear it from Fed Chief Jerome Powell, who is not scheduled to speak until the 31 January FOMC announcement. Incidentally, the US data calendar isn’t very busy this week. Retail sales and the University of Michigan inflation expectations will attract the most attention along with jobless claims - which came in well below expectations last week, reinforcing the narrative of a still-tight labour market. We think the dollar will be driven more by other events than data this week, barring major surprises. First, the results of the election in Taiwan have raised again the delicate question of Taipei-Beijing relationships, with tensions among the two seen as a major risk for Asian and global risk sentiment this year. The dollar might benefit from some outflows from exposed EM FX. The situation in the Gulf also looks rather volatile after the US and UK military operations last week, even though the impact on oil prices has been muted so far.   Domestically, we’ll monitor the market reaction to the business tax relief extension currently being discussed in the US Congress. The impact of fiscal support may turn out to be negative for risk sentiment – and positive for the dollar – as markets see a greater risk of sticky inflation and a lower chance of Fed rate cuts. We think the dollar is more at risk of a rebound than a further correction from these levels, although the chances of another rangebound trading week in FX (DXY still hovering in the 102/103 region) are high.
All Eyes on US Inflation: Impact on Rate Expectations and Market Sentiment

USD: Mixed Signals from December Payrolls Report and the Anticipation of CPI Inflation

Enrique Díaz-Álvarez Enrique Díaz-Álvarez 16.01.2024 12:57
USD A mixed payrolls report for December offered some contradictory signals: steady job creation and healthy wage growth in the establishment survey, contrasted with a sizable drop in labour force participation in the household one. Investors initially reacted to the strong December job creation number by sending the dollar higher, although the greenback quickly reversed course on realisation that the 71k downward revision to the October and November data more than made up for the upside surprise in the final month of the year. All in all, the US labour market continues to enjoy full employment, but signs of cooling are accumulating. All this will be overshadowed by the key December CPI inflation report on Wednesday. A two-in-three chance of a March cut from the Federal Reserve currently priced in by markets still strikes us as too high, and this week's inflation number will go a long way towards settling the debate.
Sygnity's Final Results for FY2022/23 Meet Expectations, Neutral Investor Reaction Expected

Analysis of Monthly Sales Growth: Key Clients in November 2023 (+10% YoY)

GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 GPW’s Analytical Coverage Support Programme 3.0 24.01.2024 15:06
This report is prepared for the Warsaw Stock Exchange SA within the framework of the Analytical Coverage Support Program 4.0. 32/2024/AR     Event: Monthly sales growth to key clients in November 2023 at +10% yoy. Yesterday, after the market close, the Company released a monthly sales growth dynamic to key clients in November 2023 that reached +10% yoy. Expected impact: Slightly negative. Monthly data are calculated based on US$-denominated revenues. Given the US$ weakening vs PLN in November 2023 (by c. 12% yoy) they imply a yoy dynamic at c.-3% for the figures denominated in PLN while we expected +4% yoy for 4Q23.
National Bank of Romania Maintains Rates, Eyes Inflation Outlook

Turbulence in Asia: China's Rescue Plan and BoJ's Inflation Revision

ING Economics ING Economics 25.01.2024 12:48
FX Daily: Asia in the driver's seat The dollar is softer and pro-cyclical currencies are following the yuan higher after news that China is preparing a CNY 2tn rescue package for the stock market. The BoJ revised inflation expectations lower but signalled further progress towards the target, keeping anticipation for a hike in June alive. We expect New Zealand CPI to be soft tonight.   USD: China and Japan in focus The dollar has been mostly moved by developments from outside of the US since the start of the week. China remains the centre of attention before key central bank meetings in the developed world. Risk sentiment was boosted overnight as the Chinese government is reportedly considering a large CNY 2tn package to support the struggling stock markets. The rescue plan should be mostly targeted to the Hang Seng stock exchange, which has sharply underperformed global equities of late. This is a strong message that conveys Beijing’s intention to artificially support Chinese markets in spite of the deteriorating economic outlook in the region, and it is reported that other measures are under consideration. It does appear a temporary solution, though. Ultimately, stronger conviction on a Chinese economic rebound is likely necessary to drive a sustainable recovery in Chinese-linked stocks. For now, the FX impact has been positive; USD/CNY has dropped to 7.16/7.17 and we are seeing gains being spread across pro-cyclical currencies as safe-haven flows to the dollar are waning. Doubts about the impact of Beijing rescue package’s effects beyond the short-term automatically extend to the FX impact. It does seem premature to call for an outperformance of China-linked currencies (like AUD and NZD) and softening in the dollar on the back of this morning’s headlines. Another important development in Asian markets overnight was the Bank of Japan policy announcement. In line with our expectations and market consensus, there were no changes to the yield curve control, and forward guidance remained unchanged. Inflation projections were revised lower from 2.8% to 2.4% for the fiscal year starting in April. The revision was mostly a consequence of declining oil prices, and the inflation path continues to show an overshoot of the target for some time. All this was largely expected, and markets are focusing on Governor Kazuo Ueda’s claim that Japan has continued to inch closer to the inflation goals, keeping expectations for an eventual end to the ultra-dovish policy stance some time this year. The yen is experiencing a rebound which is likely boosted its oversold conditions. Money markets currently price in a 10bp rate hike in June. Extra help from a declining USD this morning might push USD/JPY a bit lower (below 147) today, but we suspect that markets may favour defensive USD positions as the Fed meeting approaches. Domestically, the only release to watch today in the US is the Richmond Fed Manufacturing index, which will give some flavour about the state of the sector ahead of tomorrow’s S&P Global PMIs. DXY may stabilise slightly below 103.00 once the China-led risk rally has settled.
Continued Growth: Optimistic Outlook for the Polish Economy in 2024

Commodities Report: EU Plans to Sanction Russian Aluminium Boost Prices Amid Easing USD and Positive API Numbers in Oil Market

ING Economics ING Economics 25.01.2024 15:12
The Commodities Feed: EU sanction plans on Russian aluminium An easing USD offered support to the commodity complex, with oil prices edging higher this morning. On the inventory side, API numbers remained largely bullish for the oil market. Meanwhile, recent reports of EU plans to sanction Russian aluminium helped to lift aluminium prices.   Energy – Weaker USD supports the complex The oil market has been trading higher this morning as a sharp drawdown in oil inventories reported by API helped to improve the broader sentiment. Meanwhile, a softer dollar also supported the complex. The prompt spread for Brent has moved into a deeper backwardation of US$0.43/bbl up from just US$0.03/bbl at the start of the year, indicating tighter near-term conditions. Recent numbers from the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported yesterday remained largely constructive. US crude oil inventories fell by 6.67MMbbls over the last week, significantly larger than the market expectations. Similarly, Cushing crude oil stocks are reported to have decreased by 2.03MMbbls. On the other hand, a sharp rise in gasoline stocks weighed on demand expectations. API reported that gasoline stocks jumped by 7.2MMbbls while distillates inventories fell by 0.25MMbbls, over the week ending 19 January. The more widely followed EIA report will be released later today. Meanwhile, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East remained uncertain. Qatar delayed LNG shipments to Europe as the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea are slowing shipment deliveries. It has been reported that Qatar has diverted at least six shipments heading to Europe from its regular Red Sea route since 15 January. However, despite the transport challenges, Qatar has not reduced its LNG exports with shipments for the last two weeks estimated to be up 7% compared to the same period last year. The gas market has managed to remain largely unaffected so far with the recent disruptions in the Red Sea. European gas futures continue to trade near six-month lows due to weak industrial demand, availability of alternative LNG supply and higher inventory levels.
FX Daily: Fed Ends Bank Term Funding Program, Shifts Focus to US Regional Banks and 4Q23 GDP

FX Daily: Fed Ends Bank Term Funding Program, Shifts Focus to US Regional Banks and 4Q23 GDP

ING Economics ING Economics 25.01.2024 16:02
FX Daily: Fed cancels the free lunch European FX markets will today be monitoring how US asset markets react to the news that the Fed will not be renewing its Bank Term Funding Program. US regional banks will be in focus here. Elsewhere, the focus will be on what should be a decent 4Q23 US GDP figure and central bank meetings in the eurozone, Norway, Turkey and South Africa.   USD: Let's see how the US regional banks do today FX markets continue in their slightly risk-averse mode, where some of the investors' favourite high-yield currencies - such as the Mexican peso and the Hungarian forint - remain under some pressure.  This is despite global equity markets doing reasonably well. In short, we continue to see a very mixed investment environment and one in which conviction views can be dangerous. Looking ahead today, there are two US themes to focus on. The first is the Federal Reserve's announcement last night that its Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) would end as scheduled on 11 March. And effective immediately, banks will be charged the rate paid on Fed reserve balances (around 5.40%) rather than the prior one-year USD OIS +10 bp (around 4.88%) to borrow money from the facility. This cancels the free lunch of banks borrowing at the BTFP and parking it at the Fed. The question is how US regional bank equity prices react to this news today. We presume that the Fed has a good handle on this such that these regional banks do not come under stress again. But let's see how this group trades today and whether it ushers in a new, potentially risk-off tone in US markets. The second focus is the 4Q23 US GDP data. We are looking at an above-consensus 2.5% quarter-on-quarter annualised figure. Consensus is now 2.0%. In theory that should be dollar-positive, but not necessarily risk-negative because the price data is far more important to the Fed right now. On that topic, Friday sees the December core PCE deflator (expected at a subdued 02.% month-on-month), while 13 February remains a major day for calendars in the release of the January CPI figure and the 2023 annual CPI revisions. Given also the event risk of the US quarterly refunding on Monday as well as the CPI release on 11 February, we doubt investors will want to commit much capital just yet. Instead, then, we think rangebound trading is the order of the day, with little follow-through should the dollar look particularly bid or offered. 102.75-103.75 looks the near-term DXY range.

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